Balancing Hormones Naturally {for Moms}

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When I was a youngin', pregnant with our first child, I remember teasing my husband one day, quipping that 'wasn't he glad that I didn't cry at the drop of a hat like those other pregnant women?'

I didn't experience hormonal issues back then. In fact, I didn't until my sixth pregnancy.  Near the end of that pregnancy, I began feeling angry for no apparent reason.  I realized then that I was experiencing the dreaded hormonal shifts that I had only heard other women talk about.  Even still, it wasn't too bad, and it was usually short lived.

Each pregnancy following, I would experience those irritable and angry feelings a little sooner in the pregnancy than the one before.  It was getting worse.  Those shifts were so unpredictable in my third trimesters that I knew I needed to do something about them or else my poor family would suffer.  Or tie me up and throw me in the closet.

Read the full article at The Marathon Mom.

How to Make Sourdough Starter

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Have you ever wanted to make Sourdough bread, only to realize that you need a starter?  The starter is what gives your bread that classic sourdough taste.  Mmm!

It's easy, but does requires a little patience.  It's worth the wait!

Sourdough Starter

In a large bowl, dissolve 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 pkg) active dry yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water.

Then stir in:

2 cups warm water
2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar or honey

Whisk until smooth and cover with a cloth, napkin, or coffee filter.  Let sit at room temperature for 7-10 days.  I told you it required patience. ; )  I usually go for the whole 10 days.  Be sure to stir your mixture 2-3 times a day.  Oh, did I forget to mention you have to babysit your starter?

After the 10 days, transfer your starter to a jar and cover with cheesecloth, napkin, or coffee filter and secure with a rubber band around the jar.  Do not cover tightly with a metal lid.


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To use your starter

Bring desired amount to room temperature.  Use in favorite recipe.


Replenish your starter each time you use it by adding:

3/4 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar or honey

Stir well.  Let stand at room temp for just one day, and then store in refrigerator until next use.  It's a good idea to "feed" your starter once a week by adding equal parts flour and water.  If you're not using the starter often enough, you may need to discard some of it each time you feed it just so you don't end up with an enormous amount of starter.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it's really not.  And the yummy taste of homemade sourdough is well worth it.  If you really want to be adventurous, and improve the health benefits of your sourdough (by pulling yeast from the air), find out more here.

*Troubleshooting:  If after 5-7 days your starter is no longer bubbly, or it has a layer of water on top (hooch), don't worry...you haven't killed your starter yet.  Simply feed it by transferring about a cup and a half of your starter to a clean bowl, and add to it a cup and a half of flour, and 2/3 to 3/4 cup of water.  Mix and let sit at room temperature for a couple of hours.  You'll have a revived starter!

Do you make your own starter?  What is your favorite sourdough recipe?  Please share a link in the comments.

The Homeschool Moms' Winter Summit

I am so excited about the upcoming Homeschool Moms' Winter Summit.  Last year, I won a ticket to the conference in Oklahoma and was looking forward to attending.  I even had a ride lined up with my friend Lisa from The Pennington Point, but I wasn't able to attend.  It turned out, my daughter had a very important piano competition that happened to be the same weekend.  I had to give up my ticket, that I pray blessed another mom.  Oklahoma is a long way from San Antonio, TX.  But I'm SO excited to announce.......

The Summit is expanding to Texas! 

The Texas Homeschool Moms' Winter Summit will be in San Marcos, Texas at the beautiful Embassy Suites on January 24-25, 2014.  Woot!

And to kick off The Summit's maiden voyage in Texas, we are having a giveaway for fellow bloggers to help spread the word!

We would like to give away a Summit pass PLUS your hotel stay.

Here's how you can enter to win a trip to The Homeschool Moms' Winter Summit:

• Write an awesome blog post about The Homeschool Moms' Winter Summit by Friday, Oct. 11th. Be sure to mention the date and place of the Texas Summit!
• Include the button above.
• Include links to The Homeschool Moms' Winter Summit website and registration page, and the Facebook page.
• Encourage comments BECAUSE ONE COMMENTER WILL WIN A SUMMIT PASS, TOO!
• Link back to this post so others can enter too!

When you have published your post, come back here and submit your link. The Summit team will choose one blogger to win a room and a Summit pass based on the following criteria:

• Creativity of post
• Number of comments

See you on January 24-25 at The Homeschool Moms' Winter Summit in San Marcos, Texas!

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