In other news, I’ve also made this cute FD button that you can add to your side bar if you so wish… I’ll be adding buttons onto my new blog so if you feel like trading, leave me a link to your button!

Grab the code:

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Three years ago, I remember having a “light bulb moment.”  I was sitting in my environmental law class, the first class in my environmental education program (my second MS).  I was taking notes in black pen on my repurposed notebook, learning about how a bill becomes a law and listening to my professor talk about the comment period.

I remember thinking that I had never learned this before.  I’m sure at some point in my education I was supposed to learn it, but to be honest I was much more interested in things like studying the cartilaginous skeleton of sharks, adding insect species to my entomology collection, tracing the evolution of placental viviparity, and the genetics of Przewalski’s horse.  I kid you not, those were my passions and college.  I didn’t see how US law was connected to the natural world.  But then suddenly, years later, I got it.

I could do all I want on my own to protect everything I love about the natural world.  I could stop dying my hair, make my own cleaners and read every environmental book since Silent Spring, but that wasn’t enough.  If I wanted to affect real change on a large-scale, I had to get politically active and advocate for legally protecting the environment.  I had to speak up and make sure others were listening.

Now, I am so proud to play a role in the environmental movement at the political level.  I’m thrilled to be one of over 800,000 people who made their voices heard and contacted the EPA about the new Mercury and Air Toxics Rule.  I hope that my writing for the Moms Clean Air Force encouraged even a small fraction of those 800,000 people to speak up for the health of our atmosphere and the air that our children breathe.  Thank you to everyone who contacted the EPA, and congratulations on taking a stand on protecting our environment. 

The EPA is going to consider all the comments and release the final Mercury and Air Toxics Rule by November 16.  This doesn’t, however, mean that our work is done.  It’s only the beginning of the road to clean air.

I was thinking about that class in environmental law today, and how I should email my professor to thank her for starting me down this path.  As a teacher myself, I know how much she’ll appreciate hearing from me.

Please join the Moms Clean Air Force to help us fight for clean air for our kids. Thank you!

Don’t those look like delicious raspberries?

Too bad they’re not actually raspberries… they’re unripe blackberries.  Joshua likes to pick and squish raspberries, so when he grabbed a berry from the blackberry bush I thought that was what he was going to do.  Instead, he decided that after days of squishing berries he was ready to eat one.  He’ll probably never eat one again!

Later that day, while visiting my family’s farm, we went for a wagon ride and picked some sweet corn and peaches.  I hoped a sweet, juicy peach would make up for the unripe blackberry incident.

To my surprise, Joshua ate half of that very big peach, skin and all! He loved it!

Joshua’s vocabulary has expanded, and I want to list out all of his words to have on record.  (In semi-order of appearance)

• Mama
• Dada
• tractor
• duck
• dog
• hi
• bye
• what’s that? (wassat?)
• moo
• uh-oh (or uh-whoa)
• whoa
• horsie
• wow
• baa
• bock bock bock
• meow
• truck
• yeah
• NOOO!
• eat
• out
• up

Joshua also knows that he can grab people’s hands and lead them where he wants to go.  I can tell he wants to communicate with us more, and it must be so frustrating to not have the words to do so.  He gets upset when we don’t understand, or also when we don’t do exactly what he wants.  I can see the “terrible” twos coming on, but for the most part I’m doing my best to understand why he acts the way he does, out of being tired, hot, overwhelmed, etc.  I’m also trying to treat him with respect, understanding and compassion, especially when he’s having a hard time.  It’s not always easy!

Joshua loves books, especially The Big Red Barn, Moo, Baa, La La La, anything with tractors or farm animals, and Goodnight Moon.  He loves to watch “Thomas the Train” on TV and we try to play outside every day, especially with rocks, dirt and sand.  Joshua is a fearless climber and keeps me on my toes.  He loves to be chased, climb the stairs, and play peek-a-boo.

Joshua is such a fun-loving boy.  We’ve had lots of good times this summer playing at the beach, in the pool, on the farm, at Ed’s parents’ house, in our play room, and outside in the driveway.  I am thoroughly enjoying staying home for the summer, and I’m completely exhausted at the end of the day.  I crash into bed knowing that Joshua will have me up early the next morning, since he has never wasted time by sleeping in.  His days are full of fun and excitement.

As far as I’m concerned, the best part of eating ham for dinner is having scalloped potatoes alongside it on your plate.  We have a freezer full of ham steaks that need to be used up before December, when our next round of pigs will be all grown up.  Have I shown you piglet pictures yet? I can’t remember, so here you go!

Anyway, I had a big bunch of local leeks in my fridge, so I decided to add them into my normal recipe and it was delicious! I don’t measure when I make this recipe, since it’s all about the layering, so these measurements are just estimates.  Seriously, you want to make this recipe!

Scalloped Potatoes and Leeks

• 1 clove of garlic
• half stick of butter
• 3-4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced OR 8-10 small red potatoes, washed and thinly slided (no need to peel them!)
• 2 large leeks, well washed, halved and sliced
• 4-6 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar this time, but any cheese you like will do)
• salt and pepper to taste (I like LOTS of black pepper, and add a little bit to each layer)
• 2 cups whole milk

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Cut the garlic clove in half, then rub the cut side on the inside of the a 9 x 9 pan to flavor it, then use 1 tsp of butter to grease it.  Begin with a layer of potatoes by placing them in the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and about a Tbsp of flour, then dot with about 1 Tbsp of butter.  Add another layer of potatoes, more salt, pepper, flour, and butter.  Next layer in about half of the leeks.  Add another layer of potatoes, salt, pepper, flour, and about half the cheese.  Add another layer of potatoes, salt, pepper, flour, and butter.  Add the remaining leeks, then another two layers of potatoes, salt, pepper, flour, and butter.  Pour in the milk until the potatoes are mostly submerged, then press the layers down with your hands.  Top with the remaining cheese, some more pepper, and maybe even some more butter.  Bake for an hour until bubbly and the cheese is nicely browned, then let sit for about 15 minutes to cool and thicken before serving.  I’ve found that if I double the recipe I need to bake for up to an additional half hour to make sure the potatoes aren’t crunchy.

Ham? What ham? Pass the scalloped potatoes and leeks, please!