A Milkmaids Muses

My Favorite thing about summer.....

2011-05-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

I love flowers. I love to take pictures of flowers even more. Playing with my camera is one of the things that I do to pass time. The flowers and the garden are my saving grace and taking my camera with me just makes it even better.
Today I was playing with different settings and such on the camera while taking pictures of flowers. Look at some of these. I think I may need to have some of the printed out for on the wall to decorate in the house with!
This is my Columbine that is lavender and white, taken in both the chrome setting and the black and white setting!

And this is the Hydrangea

And some others that I think are just gorgeous! I love pansy's which shows in the flowers we planted for Mothers Day! There is also daisy's which I love as well.
I enjoy using the black and white setting on my camera, saves me time so then I don't have to use editing software to do it and I think the defination is so much better!

Rainbow Birthday (only a month behind)

2011-04-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

Nevaeh turned 4 in March and her request was a RAINBOW birthday party. So that is what we did!
It was a lot of fun to get ready for the party since there is so much you can do with a rainbow.
We decided to have them finger paint a big picture to put on the wall for her. I got a rainbow of shirts for them to wear over their clothes and we embroidered the shirt for Nevaeh. They were so cute in all the shirts.

We went on a scavenger hunt and found pots of gold. The kids thought this was great.

We had a Rainbow cake with confetti Ice Cream. The cake turned out perfect even though the hubby thought it was going to be a muddled mess.

For the favors, we did a rainbow of sand buckets with rainbow colored bubbles, a twisty straw cup, some rainbow colored candy, a rainbow pinwheel and a unicorn shaped crayon with paper.
They had so much fun.
I honestly can't believe my little girl is 4 years old already. Where did the time go!
Here she is in all her 4 glory in the shirt I appliqued for her and the capris I made to go with it.

Playing in the mudd

2011-03-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

The weather was nicer today and the kids NEEDED to get outside. So out they went in mud boots and coats and boy did they have fun, so much so the end result was a bath!

Personal Pizza's HOMEMADE style!

2011-03-07T07:47:00.000-08:00

The kids love to be involved in the kitchen and the other day we decided to make personal size pizzas and it was such a hit.
For starters we used all cast iron pans to make them which made the BEST pizzas ever!
Each kid go to make their own and even little Carter had a blast, and man do they ever eat them better than even moms!

We made lots of toppings and they went at it.
We have done it again since this and they loved it just as much. I am hoping that we can continue to add more things that they can help with to our dinner menus because it seems to be a great way to get them to eat more variety!

A day in the SNOW

2011-01-28T17:59:00.000-08:00

Well it has been brought to my attention that I have not posted in forever on here and tho I have a ton of things to post about, this was our fun day today!!!

We had a great day of almost 40 degree weather so we played in the snow, making an awesome snowman with the kids.

I came into the house and got a scrap of fleece to make a scarf, found a hat that was too small and a pair of missmatched mittens to keep his/her hands warm. Add a carrot, a couple rocks and some fabric dye and you have something fun that looks like no other!

Pattern Testing Part 2

2010-10-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

As promised here is a look at the adorable patterns I have recently test knit.
Oh how I love to test patterns. There is always something new to learn and its great to help other designers in there quests!

Recently I tested 2 different shrug patterns.
The first was the Whirligig Shrug. It is a short sleeved shrug that is oh so sweet. Very well written and the designer was a dream to work with as well. Stephani puts a lot of love into her pattern and is very easy to work with.
I got my first taste of cabling and can't wait to do more. It really isn't nearly as hard as I imagined it would be and adds such a sweet affect!

Thank you Stephani for sharing this pattern with us!
I knit this from Three Irish Girls Meg colorway. Very pretty and I used the super Merino superwash yarn that was a dream to knit with.

The next pattern I tested was the Something Beautiful
Shrug From DaKine Knits.
Nicole is so sweet to work with, great to work through some possible changes and just a doll in general.
The Something Beautiful Shrug is probably the easiest thing I have ever knit up, very fast, very simple and very gratifying. At 5.00 I think this is a a steal of a pattern. Lots of sizes and many many uses!
I first made it out of Cotton in a size 6/7!

I then could not resist making it up again for another mom. This time in a newborn size that turned out to be the sweetest thing ever, I truely can not wait to see it on the baby! I used the Periwinkle semi solid from Three Irish Girls that I got to go with the Meg colorway. I then added an adorable owl button from Tessa Ann Designs. These buttons are to DIE for if you have never used them. Made to match anything you have to make!

I have one more test knit in the works and I will add that soon. Have to finish a leg and it will be ready to go!

Pattern Testing Part 1

2010-10-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

I have done a bunch of pattern testing lately. There has been knits and sewing both.
I am going to start by talking about the sewing patterns in this post and will do a seperate post for the knits.

The first one I tested was an adorable dress for Laura of Ellie Inspired! Let me start by saying Laura is the sweetest to work with. Her patterns are timeless and sweet and perfect for those that don't want something too trendy and that will be able to be used over and over again.

The first pattern I tested was her http://www.ellieinspired.com/apps/webstore/products/show/1496453 pattern.
This is a sweet little a-line dress that has a inverted pleat in the front. I love it. I made it in a size 4 for Miss Nevaeh out of a red with white polka dot fabric. Think Minnie Mouse! I then added 3 buttons to the front in the shape of Minnie's head and used snaps for closing the back.
The sleeves are gathered and then bound and very sweet. Laura even has a long sleeve pattern that can be used on any of her dress patterns. How awesome is that.

This pattern is super easy to put together, can have many details added if you choose to but don't have to be. She also includes a free hand embroidery design with each of her patterns. I can't wait to have the chance to play with them as they are the sweetest things ever.

I then tested her Nanny Etticoat pattern.
Another amazing pattern that will have so many uses. I made up the size 4 half slip and it is so fun. I had my size 7 put it on and it fits her as well. On the size 4 it is a long length on the 7 year old it is a knee length fit.
This is another pattern that can be as simple or elaborate as you choose to make it. I went simple with an eyelet cotton fabric and no added techniques. It would be adorable out of quilters cotton as a full length full skirt as well. It also has a slip, petticoat and camisole pattern included, as well as a free hand embroidery pattern to add to your finished product. Plus the Heirloom options she included are just amazing. Something to play with when you have time or when you want to learn something new, but not a have to when you sew it up if you are in a hurry and need a slip for a dress.

Thank you Laura for letting me test your patterns for you. It is a true honor and I can't wait to test more for you in the (near) future!

Going to the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

The kids got to go to a total of 3 pumpkin patches this year. The first one wasn't much of a trip, they didn't have anything fun for the kids to do, no hay rides and you couldn't even pick your own pumpkin.

So we decided it was time to go someplace with things going on and off we headed to Deals Orchard. The kids had a great time. They got to listen to music, go in a Tee Pee, ride the pony's (the girls loved this, Carter was petrified), the petting zoo wasn't much but the kids thought it was fun. We rode on the hay ride that was pulled by draft horses to the patch and picked out the perfect pumpkins. Then off to the little store for a sample of apple cider and a free apple. We go a carmel apple to share and the kids thought that was pretty cool too.

Then the next weekend we went to the Berry Patch with their Aunts, Uncle and cousin. They had fun there too. Got to pick another small pumpkin after riding the hay ride out to the patch.

The best part of fall, going to the pumpkin patch did not disappoint yet again!

6 already and a friends party too!

2010-10-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

How does it happen that they grow up so fast? My little girl was just a baby not so very long ago and now she is 6, in school full time and ready to be a grown up.
The week of inductions to try to help you along, the day at the pumpkin patch, scaring the tractor driver when we went to pick out the perfect pumpkins. The feelings that you were never going to come. And now you are here, you are perfect in every way. You know what you want and have no problem questioning something if you just don't think that it can possibly be the right way. All the qualities I hope you have as an adult you have already. You drive me to the brink of craziness with them now but all I can hope is that you keep them as you get older and don't let anyone tell you its wrong.

We had purple cake on your birthday along with your favorite...LASAGNA! The cake wasn't the greatest but it sure was pretty!!

You got to have your very first friends party and what a party it was.
The ice cream party was a huge success. I spent many hours preparing for it.
It all started with the invites!

I then made a banner that said happy birthday

We set up everything to look like an old time ice cream parlor. We had old jars for the candies, we ate our ice cream out of old ice cream dishes. I got lemon drops, sour cherries, mini unicorn suckers and marshmellow ice cream cones for treats.

We put the toppings in old mason jars and you got to build your own sundaes, out of homemade ice cream of course. What could be better than Homemade ice cream from fresh milk?

We played pin the cherry on the sundae and everyone put their names on the cherries. What a great way to remember your party and who all came to enjoy it with you?

We had ice cream cone cupcakes that most didn't eat, the ice cream was so much better, but they sure looked cute!

Then we opened gifts and boy did you get some great ones.

After that we decided since it was so beautiful outside we should go out and play. The kids had so much fun. It was fun to watch them cycle through all the fun stuff outside, from playing frisbee to the riding the rope swing, playing on the playset and of course the sandbox was a hit too.
I also made the gift bags from ice cream fabric, added ribbon hair ties and the kids loved them.

Teasers

2010-10-20T13:27:00.001-07:00

There is so much that I need to post...so just a teaser of whats to come!
There is birthdays, sewing, pumpkin patch and knitting. So much that I will have several posts of things to share!

It was comfort foods for dinner

2010-10-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

I am sure we all have those food that we had when we were in school that we miss. There are not a lot of them that I remember as being all that great but there is one. One that I have spent many a day trying to find a recipe, that one that I have thought long and hard about. And that is the one that I have finally figured out how to make at home. With good ingredients, that is fresh, and YUMMY.
SPOONBURGERS!!!!
Now doesn't this look DELISH!

It is going to seem pretty involved but it really is quite easy to make.
Here is what you need for the meat mixture.
2 to 3 lbs hamburger (or your choice of ground meat)
1 small onion chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic chopped
2t ground mustard
2 t chili powder
1 can diced tomatoes drained and pureed
1 to 2 cups ketchup
salt and pepper to taste
dash worcestershire sauce
1/4 t celery seed

Brown the meat, onion and garlic, drain.
Add remaining ingredients and bring to a bowl.

For the breading on top
1.5 cups scalded milk or reconstitued powdered milk
1/2 c sugar
1.5 t salt
1/2 cup butter or shortening
2 eggs beaten
2 T or 2 pkts yeast in 1/2 cup hot water
Flour (approx 4 cups)

Mix all ingredients together, when you can touch it and its still a little sticky.
Let rise
punch down
Take 1/3 of the dough and roll out to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. This will be put on top. Save the remaining dough.

Now put the meat mixture in the bottom of a 8 x 11 baking dish. I sprayed mine with cooking spray and it helped with the breading.
Place cheese slices (I used kraft cheese slices) on top of the meat mixture.
Now take your rolled dough and place over the top, trimming to fit and rolling the edge around to make it all fit.

Place in a oven at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes until top is browned and cooked thru.
This is what was left when it was finished!

Now we used the rest of the dough to add to the meal and made cinnamon rolls.
So take the remaining dough and roll out to 1/4 inch thick.
Smother it with softened or melted butter.
Cover it with a nice layer of brown sugar. I was out of brown sugar so I made my own. It is sugar and molasses to taste.
Sprinkle with cinnamon (this is to taste)

Roll into a jelly roll, cut approx 1/2 inch thick and place in the pan to let it rise.
Cook at 350 for 25-35 minutes.

Now I don't know about anyone else but I don't think that cinnamon rolls are complete until you FROST them.

This is the recipe we made for the frosting, it is a Cream Cheese Frosting.
1 package cream cheese (8 oz)

1 stick butter (8 tablespoons)

4 cups confectioners sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons imitation vanilla (I think if you use pure vanilla extract cut it to 1 tsp)

Make sure your cream cheese is softened to make it easier. Add the first 3 ingredients to the bowl and then when it is mixed up add your vanilla. It is oh so yummy.

The "cold" lunch saga

2010-09-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

So school is in full swing, Araya loves it and we are very happy for that, tho I for one wish she was still home during the day. It is just not the same with her gone all day.

Lunches have been something of a challenge as I don't want the kids eating school lunch. I don't think that its nearly as good as what we feed them at home and we work hard to keep things as natural as possible. But really how many days can you take pbj or cold meat sandwiches before you are totally sick of it?
Now I have to say that Araya has had some pretty yummy lunches, we cook her up grilled cheese and tomato soup, pizza rolls, shrimp, chicken nuggets, lasagna, and the list continues on. However, even with our thermos bowl things were not staying as warm as we would have liked. That is until we found this!

This is great, it has a heat pack that actually keeps the food warm for her until she is ready for lunch. She came home the first day and was so excited that her pizza rolls were still just the right temp when she went to lunch.

Now the options are endless and we are very happy for that!

They grow so fast

2010-09-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

It doesn't seem long ago that I was sitting in the hospital holding you, you were my biggest baby, yet seemed so tiny at the time.

And now you are 2 and so big. So smart and into everything. You keep me on my toes, always having to guess what you currently are up to. Not exactly an easy job let me tell you!

You had a great 2nd birthday. You picked your candles for your cake which had to be from the movie Cars, you enjoyed your spaghetti dinner, your funfetti cake and yes you loved the presents.

We love you little man....heres to a great next year!

The latest creation

2010-09-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

Its time for some birthday sewing and we decided that Carter could use a pair of Jammies for his birthday. I made up the Oliver + S Bedtime Story Pajama's and they are adorable.
I will be making them again but will make them longer for little man next time. However being I was in a hurry (as seems the case a lot lately) I didn't measure just went by size. I will be taking the cuff off the bottom and adding a bigger cuff to make them last through the winter.

These are made from a sweet flannel fabric and tho they have lavender on them for our little guy, he doesn't mind. I also omited the ties and used snaps for simplicity on dressing him.

I will add some action shots on Friday after he gets them for his birthday!

Where have I been???

2010-09-20T09:11:00.001-07:00

Its been sorta busy and crazy here but its been fun as well.

I have been testing some patterns, both knit and sewing. Plus with all the canning, school starting, dance starting and yes soccer this year its been very crazy!!

First I knit up this adorable shrug for miss Araya, it will have a jumper dress to go with it for her birthday!

Then I tested another shrug pattern that will be for my niece for Christmas. It is by far my favorite and I can not wait to knit this one up for my girls as well. Completely adorable.

Then I sewed up the most adorable dress for Nevaeh, which is another tester for a friend. She has decided that things HAVE to be red, and she loves minnie mouse. More about this pattern when it is released because it is so sweet to sew up and so simple as well.

I also have a sweater on the needles right now for Nevaeh to wear this fall and you guessed it, it has red in it as well. I am hoping to have it finished up this week so that she can start to wear it!

Soccer has been a blast, Araya loves it, and her latest game she scored 2 goals. You go girl!

So I am staying busy, I have 2 more patterns I will be testing the beginning of October, Araya's dress for her birthday to sew up plus Halloween costumes in October. Then its into Christmas gifts from there. I have big plans if I can get them done, so we shall see!

Salsa

2010-08-25T13:36:00.001-07:00

One of our favorite things to make each year is Salsa. Araya will eat store bought if that is all there is but let me tell you she loves the homemade.

Here is our recipes and I am including the changes we make when we make it up.
20 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained (we don't drain them and I use closer to 25 cups when I make it)
4 large green peppers, chopped
3-4 Banana peppers, chopped (you can use whatever sweet peppers you have, our last batch was not banana and its great. Also I use closer to 5 to 6 in ours)
1/2 cup Jalapeno peppers, remove seeds and chop fine (if you like it hot leave the seeds in)
2-4 large onions, chopped (I normally do 4-5)
1 cup vinegar
4 Tablespoons canning salt
4-6 teaspoons crushed red pepper (we prefer to use fresh red peppers, either chili's or something equivalent)
2 teaspoons garlic salt
4 Tablespoons brown sugar
3-4 cans tomato paste

A note here, if you like hot salsa as my dad does, he is known for adding a Habanero pepper to his batch. Just remember that a little goes a long way in the world of hot peppers

Combine all ingredients, simmer to cook down about 30-40 minutes. Pour into jars and seal. Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes

Makes approx 14-16 pints or 6 quarts.

I hope you enjoy this. It is a very good anyone can eat salsa when made by the recipe.

A busy week of Canning

2010-08-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

This week has been very crazy. Long days with lots to do.
I started on Sunday at my moms. We picked a 10 gallon tote of green beans that was 2/3rds full. We also brought home enough tomatoes for a batch of salsa. On top of that I had a bunch of tomatoes (more than a batch of salsa worth) sitting at the house from our garden.

So Monday I snapped all the beans to prepare them for canning. We ended up getting 14 quarts of green beans when I canned them on Tuesday.

Tuesday I started my day with getting a batch of green beans in the canner and set in peeling the tomatoes. I filled my huge water bath pan with diced tomatoes by the end of the day. After we had supper I mixed up salsa and cooked up 2 batches, equaling 37 pints of salsa. We have a grand total of 54 jars for the year. Araya is thrilled as she loves to eat it on anything she can. I was also able to get 7 pints of diced tomatoes and tossed out about 4 more to the chickens as I was out of space in the 2 water bath canners that had at this point ran twice after putting kids to bed. I was so tired, it was time to call it a night.

Then Wednesday I peeled, cored and sliced up a grocery sack full of pears and got them ready to can. I put them in an extra light syrup which is just perfect for my family and canned up 11 pint jars of them. Now if I can get enough pears to do that 4 more times we will have enough to get through the year.

Thursday I will start my day by getting Applesauce cooking and then peel, core and slice up apples to put in the freezer. Tho they don't look the prettiest they make great apple pies and apple crisp in the middle of winter.

A Labor of Love

2010-08-24T05:46:00.000-07:00

I love to create new things. It doesn't matter if it is sewing, knitting, paper crafts, cooking, I love to create.
Lately when I am not canning I have been knitting. I made Carter 2 pairs of knit shorties which he absolutely adores.
Then I decided it was time for something different. I cast on a sweater for my oldest. I had gotten this yarn a year ago to make a sweater and had not gotten around to do it.
I chose Elliebelly Crayon yarn on Ellie BFL. It was divine to knit up.
I decided on a cardigan with a hood. It is a knitty pattern and while it was not horrible to knit up it was not my favorite and it doesn't fit the way I would like it to. I added 2 inches to the length and I sure am glad I did because it would not have fit at all had I not.
But the most important thing is that Araya loves it. She loves the colors, loves that mommy made it for her and that it was ready to wear today when it was cool outside.

I used the most adorable buttons every from Tessa Ann Designs. They are all handmade and so incredibly adorable that I want to add them to everything!

The little kids thought it was great and want to know when theirs will be ready. Nevaehs is next, right after my week of insane canning. I have to get another skein of yarn because I didn't order quite enough for her sweater.

1st Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

How is it possible? It seems like just yesterday my little girl came into this world and brought so much joy to our lives. Then it was oh so recent that she started off to preschool and was gone for a few hours a day a couple days a week.

But now, today she went off to school for the first time. She walked right out to that big ole school bus and climbed on and sat down. She never looked back. Mom and Dad cried their eyes out and were beside themselves all day. I found myself looking at the clock over and over to see what time it was and if it was time for her to come home yet. You had better believe how happy I was when I saw that school bus coming down the road and my baby girl climbing back off.

When I asked how her day was she told me "good" I asked what she did and she said "we didn't do too much today because we were not there all day, but we got to play on the playground twice" Upon more drilling she said that was her fave thing of the day but that she LOVED when they went to the library and they read to her. She is my little book worm that is for sure.

So it has been a year of firsts for her, going to stay for a WHOLE weekend (3.5 days actually) with her Aunt and Uncle and starting school. Mom was so not ready for any of it and wishes she could keep her home all the time. But they all have to grow up and we are so incredibly proud of her and how confident she is. It really is what we had hoped for all along and we couldn't ask for anything else.

Going to the Movie with Daddy

2010-08-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

Araya got to spend a weekend recently with her Aunt and Uncle in Omaha, however her sister was less than impressed that she didn't get to go. So we tried to make her time as fun as possible. This didn't work out as we had planned as she ended up running a fever and feeling ill for most of the time she was gone.
She did get to go to the movie with Daddy and see Toy Story 3, even if she was ready to come home an hour into the movie, she had fun and that is what mattered!
Next time she will stay the whole time I am sure, and we will try to not have her being sick when we try it again.

Saving the Boy Parts

2010-08-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

Carter has thing lately about taking his diaper off and trying to play with his wiener. Now this wouldn't be nearly the issue it is if he didn't pee on the floor everytime he is naked. So I went to using prefolds and snappies when we are in the house because even shorts don't stop him from removing his diaper, he just takes those off as well.
So the other day he is playing in the living room and all of a sudden I notice that he has pulled his wiener out of the diaper and it is now loosing circulation from the snappy. This was the last straw I cast on a pair of knit shorties that can be tied on, that night. Well in just over 24 hours they are completed, tho they are not exactly what I had wanted as they are tighter and longer in the legs than I planned, they are finished and will work for the rest of this summer.

Beyond Belief

2010-08-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

I am having a challenge with my 5 year old. She is of the mind that nothing in the house should be her responsibility. She doesn't think it is fair that she has chores, or has to help out in any way. She doesn't think it is fair that we make her participate in the things that are done around here. I think she is old enough to help out. She can help with picking up the toys on a daily basis, make her bed and help to feed the dogs. Her chore list is very small, when she does it and doesn't complain it takes her a max of 30 minutes to have it all completed and I am there helping along the way. Am I way off on this.

The part that is hardest for me to deal with is that she knows how to act. When she is not at home she helps pick up, doesn't throw fits and is an all around good kid. She proves that we are raising her to be a productive member of society. However when she is at home she is the total opposite. She is mean to her siblings, complains about everything and is all around miserable to be around 90%of the time.

What do I do to help resolve this issue? She is going into kindergarten, she is in dance and is allowed to have fun time away from the farm and her siblings at least 1 time a month besides this. I have tried rewards, not sure what would work for punishments but nothing seems appropriate.

I am open to any suggestions that anyone has.

Sweet Pickle Relish

2010-08-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

Our family uses a lot of sweet pickle relish but the stuff we can find in the store always has High Fructose Corn Syrup in it. I have worked very hard to prevent my family from consuming this but had not been able to find a way to prevent it with this particular staple other than to make it ourselves. We have tried in the past, never finding what we want. However, we found it! It is perfect and will be a recipe we use for many many years to come.

You can find the recipe for it here at Heritage Recipes. They have so many great recipes that I will be trying out as well.

What a fun night

2010-07-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

My baby sister is graduating high school this year (cry) and wanted me to take her senior pics for her. We had a lot of fun and took over 150 pics! Here is a sampling!
It was great to have some sister time without the kids and to catch up. Been a long time since there was no one but her and I around!

Dill Pickles

2010-07-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

It seems we are always looking for the perfect recipes when we are canning. Last year I made a bunch of pickles and while our bread and butters are spot on, our dills were not exactly what we were looking for. A family friend shared some with us of hers that she made and they are great. They remind me of the Clausen Dills you can buy in the grocery store cold.

Here is the recipe
Use freshly picked cucumbers and wash them using a stiff brush. Cut off both ends then cut them in half or quarters. Small cucumbers can be left whole.

For each jar of pickles you will need:

1/2 tsp alum
2 to 3 medium cloves of garlic
2 to 3 heads fresh dill
1/2 to 1 red small hot chil pepper (dried one)

Put one clove garlic and one head of dill in bottom of the jar. Then put cut pickles into the jar. Then top the pickles with dill, garlic and alum on top of the cucumbers.

Bring to a boil and pour over cucumbers:

3 quarts water
1 quart apple cider vinegar
1 cup "pickling" salt

This will make enough brine for 6 quarts.

Cap each jar as soon as you pour boiling brine over cucumbers.

Seal.

Brine will keep in the refrigerator if you have some left but must be used within the next 2 weeks.

I am not on the hunt for a recipe for Vlasic or Gedney style pickles to please the other little miss, and a good sweet pickle recipe for the man of the house! If ya have one to share I would love it!

A garden update

2010-07-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

The garden is doing great as are the weeds, but I am doing my best to stay ahead of the weeds and enjoy the garden.
The constant rain, super hot temps and crazy humidity has been great for growing everything but our peppers, I am hoping to get some off them but they are not going to have a great harvest that is for sure.
Our tomatoes are absolutely massive. These pictures are about 2 weeks old now and they are now taller than all of the kids. Now if we can get some to turn read I will be one super happy mama!

The onions are growing great, the bulbs are forming and I am beyond excited to harvest and enjoy them!

Our broccoli is forming heads that will be ready soon, I think that we will have the first one in the next day or so.

We harvested our first banana pepper which was great on a salad. If they come around I would love to pickle a jar or two of them for on sandwiches as well but not sure that will come about this year.

Our green beans are doing wonderfully. I just picked them today and we are having them with dinner tonight. Yummo.

We will have cabbage soon as well and our cucumbers are getting huge. We have enough that we will be making pickles from them tomorrow. Araya has been enjoying eating them with every meal but has started to fall behind.

And we are most excited for the watermelon. We grew sugar babies this year and it is so fun to watch them grow. Now its just being patient until it is finally time to enjoy them!!!

How time slips away

2010-07-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

Things have been so busy here on the farm this summer. It has made it hard to stay caught up on the blog and that makes me sad.
But where to start....
The state is doing construction on the interstate a half mile from our house and our quiet gravel road has turned in a noisy thorough fair. The only bright side is that the kids have enjoyed seeing the trucks and their grandpa has been driving by which they love. He honks every time and the kids just giggle. And since its 45 minutes from his house he has stayed with us a couple times which they dearly love.

The 4th of July was fun as well. We didn't get to go see any fireworks this year because it won't stop raining here in Iowa. However, we did go to grandma and grandpas. The kids had a great time playing with their cousin and Aunts and Uncle.

The girls have been through swimming lessons. Araya will now be in Level 2 next year. She is a little fish, loves to get toys from the bottom and spend as much time under water as she possibly can. She can do so much but she loves to show off that she can back float and dive to the bottom the best.
Nevaeh went through the preschool level and did great. She will be in Level 1 next year. This year was great for her and she enjoyed it greatly. Learning so much like treading water, floating and basic pool and water safety.
Carter thought it was pretty boring to water his sisters in the water and not be able to join but next year he will get his chance as well.

Other than that is has been super busy with keeping up with the farm, canning and spending every day we possibly can outside.

Sisterly Love

2010-07-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Miss Ashley what to say! While we have not always had the greatest friendship that you can hope for between sisters I have always looked out for your best interest. From on the bus when kids would pick on you, to the stupid boyfriend that just had no brains. Now it may be argued that I wasn't looking out for your best interest when I had you carry the laundry to the basement and you fell and cut your head, or when WE played Double Dare as kids and I broke water balloons over your head.
I hope that I have taught you things in your life that you will carry with you for many years to come.
It is nice to have you as a sister, and to be able to talk to someone when being a mom isn't going exactly how I had planned.
Thank you for being a great sister, a wonderful aunt and an awesome person!

No you shut up Katrina

2010-07-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that is has been 17 shorts years since you were born. It seems like just yesterday you were born. It really can not have been 15 years ago that you would meet me at the door telling me to "hut Up Kuika" to which I would respond " No you shut up Katrina" followed quickly by "Mom Kuika told me to Hut Up" with lots of giggles.
Or that its been 10 years since you would come to Minnesota and spend a week in the summer visiting me, we would have so much fun going and taking pictures, visiting places that Shane and I thought were so cool and having so much fun. Or that its been nearly 6 years ago that you were with me when I had my first baby. Or that you have been driving a car for a year now. And the part that is hardest for me to swallow is that in less than a year you will be graduating High School and moving on to the next adventure in your life. It really makes me almost cry.
Thank you for being my sister! Thank you for being my friend! And thank you for being a great Aunt for my wonderful Children.
Heres to MANY MANY more years of fun and adventure!

Never enough hours in the day

2010-07-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

The farm has been keeping us all so busy.
We have had a lot of rain in Iowa this year, so we have been taking full advantage of every day that we are able to be outside. The garden is always in need of weeding, the yard mowing and trimming. The animals need their attention as well. Plus we have had swimming lessons, time to play in the sand and figure out what other projects need to be tackled.
We are starting to harvest in our garden a little at a time. We have gotten our first cucumbers from our plants and my adorable Araya has eaten them all. None for mommy yet there.
We have lots of tomatoes growing and doing great. The peppers are not doing as well. I have baby peppers but the leaves are falling off the plants and we are not understanding why. It is happening at my folks place as well, so we are not sure if it is the awful weather we have had this summer or what. We are hoping to get enough to enjoy and make salsa but we shall see. May have to buy those this year.

Aside from that, just not much time to sit and relax and that is sad too.

More to come soon, with some fun photos to enjoy as well.

A giveaway that you will love

2010-07-12T14:44:00.001-07:00

This fabric is amazing and everyone needs to check it out! What a great giveaway!
Flower Sugar Fat quarter bundle giveaway

Fresh Produce

2010-07-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

Our favorite thing about this time of year is the selection of fresh fruits and veggies keeps growing. We are picking cucumbers, green beans and a few tomatoes from our garden. The local road side stand has some stuff that they have brought in from other states and there is local sweet corn now as well.
Nothing is like a meal where we can eat all fresh produce and feel full at the end of the meal.

I believe the Children are our Future

2010-06-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

"I believe the children are our are future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier"

Whitney Houston says it best with those few words. I honestly believe that our children hold the key to our future. It is a war I have with myself and sometimes my husband quite often. I am not 100% sure that their future is best left to the public school system and I question it more and more each day.
Now I realize that many are not in a position to be able to homeschool an we are not sure if that is an option we are wanting to pursue at this time. So knowing that it is very frustrating to me as a mother of 3 young children that deserve a fair education like every other child in this country, to watch as members of our government refuse to send out aid to states to help the teachers be able to keep their jobs. Thus creating larger class sizes and less one on one time with the children. No way to afford to update the books and keep computers current. No librarians in many schools so the library is not available for them to get the information that they need. There are so many ways that this affects our future, but all we hear about from those that are not willing to let the legislation pass is that they need to stop the deficit spending. I UNDERSTAND that we don't want to pass this debt on to our children, grandchildren etc, however if we continue to lower our quality of education because of it, those children, grandchildren etc are not going to have an education that makes them able to compete with foreign countries for jobs that will help to keep this country afloat.
So the next time you hear them talking about not passing this bill or many others that would help in this recession that is hurting SO MANY of our precious children, remember, the lack of money spent today will affect those children in a way that may not be exactly positive either!!

Toes

2010-06-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

What could be cuter than painted toes on cute little girls? I am not sure I have ever found anything. With summer here we try to paint our nails often, keep them looking pretty and cute and the girls love the added attention to them each individually. Plus its a way to slow down and have some time that is not "farm" related.

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

2010-06-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

The girls found a caterpillar the other day and brought in to show me. My first thought was grab the bug house and help them find it some food. Within a couple of days it had formed it cocoon. The girls checked it every day several times a day.
Then one day we looked in the morning and it was not open, but by that evening he had emerged. We had a beautiful Monarch butterfly. The kids got to let him loose and they were sad to see him go but knew it was in his best interest.

Garden Galore

2010-06-30T11:47:00.001-07:00

Our garden is doing so wonderfully. I am a bit excited for things to start being ready to harvest. There is nothing like a meal that is has been completely raised on the farm.

We have several little cucumbers on the vines with MANY more blooms to soon become yummy food to eat as well.

We grew 2 watermelons this year and they have several blossoms as well. They are my kids absolute favorite all around and we are hoping for a good return.

Our onions look wonderful. Growing nice and tall and hopefully nice and plump below the surface.

Our cabbages are growing nicely and starting to form small balls of goodness.

The peppers may be small but they are covered in blooms which we all know that means soon we will have lots of yummy peppers to add to salsa and dinners.

The tomatoes are out of this world. Growing nice and large and full of blooms and some with fruit as well. We grew some heirloom varieties and were given a white variety as well. We are very excited to try them this year and see what we think. There are romas for salsa and sauce, big boys and better boys for salads and just munching and then the heirlooms. A sweet delicious tomato is in my future, I can taste it already.

We also grew just enough green beans to be able to go and pick for meals, my parents grow a bunch each year and we share from that bounty. The rule of thumb is they grow them, I can them and we share them for the year. Works well for all involved.

And last but definitely not least we have some broccoli/cauliflower mix. These were given to us by a gal that sells Amish raised veggie and fruit plants. It will be fun to give these a try and see what the family thinks!

And last but not least the strawberries we started from runners from my folks. They are doing great, sending off lots of runners. The best part is these are everbearing and will produce all summer. It will be great to have our June berry variety for making jams and the ever bearing to eat through the entire summer and make wonderful deserts from.

This is how I feel!

2010-06-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

I was reading a blog that I really enjoy, farmama, and she said everything I feel and more! I wanted to share it with you all.
http://farmama.typepad.com/farmama/2010/06/stuff.html
Hope you all enjoy!

French Bread

2010-06-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

The other day the kids were begging for spaghetti with meatballs and all I could think of was how great french bread sounded with it. So last minute I decided that I was going to make some up and if it put dinner a bit late we would make due. Whats the worst that could happen? Kids in meltdown, we know how to work through that! So off we went.
I have my go to bread book, an oldie but a goodie!
It is Bread & Soup Cookbook put out by Culinary Arts Institute with a copyright of 1978. My mom picked it up for me at a garage sale and let me tell you, it gets a work out at our house.

The recipe was so simple:
5 1/2 to 6 cups flour
2 pkgs active dry yeast or 2 tbsp
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups water (very hot tap water is what I use)

Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl
Add water and mix on high until well mixed, about 3 minutes.
Slowly add in flour until you get a soft dough.
I then add a bit more, put on my kneading hook on my kitchenAid mixer and knead it for about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Turn out onto a floured surface, split in 2 and roll each section out into a 15 x 12 rectangle.
Roll each rectangle up tightly, starting at one 12 inch end. Be sure to pinch your seams, taper the ends, fold to bottom and make sure tightly closed.
With a sharp knife, make 1/4 inch deep diagonal cuts along loaf tops.
Cover, let rise until less than double in size (around 20 minutes)
Brush with water.
Bake at 400 for 15 minutes,
reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
For a crisper crust, put pan of hot water in bottom of over and 5 minutes before the loaf is done, brush with glaze of 1 beaten egg white and 1 tbsp cold water.

This made for a really nice loaf of french bread, nice moist chewiness on the inside with a great crust on the outside.

NOTE: I added 1 tbsp garlic powder and 1/2 tbsp onion powder while it was mixing together for the added flour, just perfect!

Tree Damage

2010-06-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

The stormy weather has been very hard on our trees lately. It was just a couple of days ago that we had a tree fall on our strawberry patch. That same tree was then pushed off the strawberries last night by the wind from another storm. Very scary to think that the wind can push a tree that has already fallen.

Then today when we were out working around the farm we noticed that another tree had fallen, right onto an auger that we are preparing to have removed from our farm. Rather than sitting at an angle with one end on the ground, the auger was parallel to the ground.

We had to move the auger out of the way to let the tree finish falling as to not have it be a danger to the kids when we are outside. We were very lucky in that it could have fallen right onto our chicken coop creating a lot of work for us in repairs, but instead fell just to the front of it, only pushing a little on it.

Play dough and Modeling Clay

2010-06-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

So it was way too hot and humid to play outside today. When your 5 year old looks at you and says "its hard to breathe outside today mommy," you know you have problems.
So I decided it would be a good day to stay inside, make up some play dough and just have good "clean" indoor fun.

We tried out 4 different recipes and I thought I would share with you what we thought of them and the recipes and links to where we found them.
The first one we tried out was from Pioneer Thinking. It is recipe 1.
I really liked that this one did not require any cooking so it is something that the kids can easily help make, and that it didn't have any ingredients that we may not have in the house at the time. But it has to be stored refriderated which is not nearly as simple as throwing it in a baggie and stuffing it in the box. I also felt that while it was probably the nicest to work with for an adult, it does dry out the quickest.
The next one we tried out was recipe 3 from Pioneer Thinking.
This one was one of the kids favorites to play with, that makes it a winner in my books.
However, the cooking process was a bit harder in my opinion, but maybe I am just a wimp when it comes to stirring things that get so stuff you can't move your arm in a circle. It also needs to have cream of tarter which I don't always have in the house.
We then made up the Kool-aid Play Dough from The Holiday Zone.
This one basically doesn't require cooking other than a cup of boiling water. It smells great and it doesn't stain the hands when you are mixing it in. The kids loved making this one.
The last one we played with today was Perfect Play Dough from The Holiday Zone.
I have to say as far as making it up this was my least favorite. I don't like using the microwave for this sort of thing and it just wasn't much fun. However it was very nice to play with once it was cooled down enough to play with. I also did not like that it called for liquid food coloring. I much prefer to use my wilton cake dyes to color things, it is much less messy and leaves it with less of a sticky feeling.
All in all we had a good time, but I can say that I am not a fan of the salt feeling it leaves on my hands~!
Here are a few of the creations.
The girls each made kitty cats and Mama made a flower and then Araya had to try that out as well.

Glad we found an activity we could all enjoy and not be so terribly hot doing!

5 weeks already

2010-06-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

The time sure is flying by. I can not believe that in a week they will be going to the locker. They didn't even have time to get stinky this time. What a difference having a nice place set up for them makes.

My drop stitch scarf

2010-06-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

I was recently on a the quest for a cute wrap to wear to church. Tho this pattern didn't end up being that for me as it is not as wide as I would have liked, the pattern is adorable and easily altered to make it wider, which I will do next time.
So this is what I found! Drop Stitch Scarf
or if you are not on Ravelry you can see it HERE

It knit up so nicely, so smoothly and so beautifully that my little girls are asking me to make them one for this winter as well.

I knit it up out of Sugar Bubbie's Promise Me Autumn colorway that was dyed up on Gaia Organic Merino worsted weight.

The latest creature

2010-06-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

We are big about animals on our farm. If we see an animal that needs help we do our best to help them. If we find something new or different then we are sure to make the that the kids are involved as they love the animals as much as mom.
On Fathers Day we found a Salamander in a pot by the house. He wasn't looking so good tho and I kept it hidden from the kids til I knew how it would do. You see he was sunbathing in a black pot that had no water in it and he was working on baking himself in the pot. I actually was unsure if it was alive or not when I found it. But the movement told me we needed to see what we could do. I added some water and within a couple of hours the poor little thing was moving a bit better and by the next morning so much better.

The kids wanted to keep it but I didn't think that we could adequately feed him and keep him alive so we decided it was best to let him go. Now the choice location was the pond area and that is just were we let him go.
He was totally gone within a couple hours from when we released him which made the kids very sad but they know that is what is best for all of gods creatures is to be put in there environment to thrive and that is what we did!

Picking Peas at Grandma and PaPa's

2010-06-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today we went to my parents house to see the new baby chickens and help pick peas. The kids had a great time helping and we were able to bring home quite a few wonderful fresh peas for us to enjoy. I love it when we get to start enjoying the fruits and veggies of the year!

Nevaeh loved carrying the peas for us and putting them in the basket. They all enjoyed picking the peas. They would ask first if it was big enough most of the time and did a great job.
And before we left grandma found a "butterfly" which was actually a moth but something the kids all loved just the same!

What a great day

2010-06-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

We had such a great day today on the farm. We were able to get straw for bedding from a local farmer for free which is a great score for us. A little labor for the hubby but in the end it saved us so much.
We did start out day with one of our steer calves on the loose. Not exactly my preference on how to wake up but it was alright in the end and he went back into the barn then pasture very easily.
This afternoon was spent with some family time. The weather is supposed to turn really rainy and stormy again tonight so we took full advantage of the great weather.
We started off by starting a fire and sitting around it enjoying the crackly of the wood.

I then grilled up some hot dogs and brats, pulled out the macaroni salad and potato chips and we had dinner on the blanket.
Then for desert, what campfire could be complete without......SMORES.

The kids had a blast with the smores, followed by baths for all and bedtime. It was so great to have a peaceful night with the family. I am hoping for many more just like it this summer to enjoy.

a great giveaway

2010-06-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this, I love this site and thought you should all see it too!
http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2010/06/1000th-post-party-giveaway-marie-madeline-studio-fabric-and-patterns.html#more-5601

Enjoying a beatiful evening

2010-06-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Our nice days have been limited lately. It has either been stormy and rainy or really hot. However, we did manage to enjoy a day and it was wonderful.
We ate lunch at the picnic table but for dinner we ate on a blanket and the kids thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Even the dogs and cats came to enjoy it with us. Nothing quite like a picnic in the yard with the animals watching for leftovers.

4 weeks already and a couple projects

2010-06-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

The baby chicks are 4 weeks old already. It is really flying by and they are growing like crazy as I am sure you can see.

We are filling their feeder, which is actually an old hog feeder but works PERFECT for this, with a 40 lb bag of feed every day. Much less waste with this feeder than before which is great. And we are filling the 7 gallon waterer twice a day and they will empty it. It is really amazing how much they eat and drink.
And I have been working on some sewing and knitting as well.
I made a couple skirts that I didn't get pics of, but they are adorable little a line skirts that will be perfect for church.
Then I had this organic cotton fleece that I dyed up for myself about a year and a half ago and was for a pair of capri length sweats for me. Well I finally got them cut out and sewn up and boy do I love them!

And I decided I needed a wrap or shawl for wearing to church when I choose to wear a tank top so I went on the search for the perfect pattern. This one is awesome, knitting up fast but it is not as wide as I had hoped for. So it may end up being my scarf for winter as its is awesome yarn and very pretty.
Finished pics and more info when I am all done

Baby Shower gifts

2010-06-14T11:12:00.001-07:00

We had a baby shower to attend this past weekend and I am not one to go to the big box stores to get a gift. So instead I pulled out a pair of booties I had put away when we found out our youngest was to be a boy. They had pink in them and were not what we thought would work the best for our little man.
Then I went to work making a baby blanket. I used the bamboo velour that is just a dream to snuggle with, dyed it in pretty shades of pink and purple and had it embroidered with babies last name and the year she will be born.
It will be wonderful for her to snuggle up with.

Pizza Night

2010-06-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

Its pizza night here at our house. We go through spurts where we have it a lot and other times when we just don't have it often. But it sure sounded good tonight and the kids are super excited to have it!

I make my crust from scratch, This is the recipe I use tho there are many out there.
Makes 2 12 inch pizzas (or I can get 2 14 inch ones since we like it thin)
3.5 cups all purpose flour
1T Sugar
1T instant rise yeast (you can also use 1 pkt)
1t salt
1 cup HOT water
1.5 Tablespoons EVOO
I use the kitchenaid mixer to make mine!
In a large bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
You can heat your oil and water to 100-110 degrees or just use straight HOT water from the tap and add your oil on top of that. Always works out perfect for me.
Stir into flour slowly, mix well.
Stir in remaining flour, just enough to make a stiff dough.
Knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 mins by hand about 5 in your mixer.
Preheat oven to 450
Let dough rest in a oiled bowl about 10 minutes under a towel.
From here add your favorite pizza sauce (we love chef boy r dee) and your fave toppings. We do ours a lot with hamburger or hamburger and onion because we are simple like that. Makes for a very yummy meal that is not real pricey either.

Tonight I added leftover fajita veggies to the adult pizza. The kids want theirs to ONLY HAVE hamburger on theirs, they want it simple unless I am making taco which was not in the works tonight.

It was super yummy and the kids even surprised me and tried the one with peppers on it.

garage sales

2010-06-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

It was a good day at garage sales and those are the days that I love.
We were able to find a karoke machine to put up for the kids for either birthday or christmas for 8.00. So cute adn they will love it.
DH found a set of 4 can lights to put in our living room that has no overhead lighting which totally makes me happy. Tho I think that lamps are cute, the kids are horrible on them.
But the find of the day was this!

It is a hoosier cabinet from Sears and Roebuck company. We paid $50.00 for it. With a fresh coat of paint it will be a wonderful addition to our home. I sincerely can not wait to show it to you when it is finished!!!

Ice Cream

2010-06-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

Its all about the ice cream lately. We have made many different flavors and ate more than our fair share. I think that my favorite has to be the chocolate, but the mixed berry and the strawberry are close runner ups!

Thought I would share our recipe for the chocolate!
1 qt of whole raw milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate syrup
Mix well and add to your ice cream freezer!

It is very chocolaty and oh so yummy!

Busy as usual

2010-06-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

Things seem to always be busy on the farm, but that is how I like it.
The baby chicks are now 3 weeks old and they eat like crazy. They are going through nearly 50 lbs of feed every day. It really is amazing to me how much they eat and drink.

Bessie our milk cow is giving us 4+ gallons of milk a day and we have been using and sharing as much as possible. The ice cream is absolutely wonderful and we are making and eating til our hearts are content.

The ducks love being out in the pasture with cows following them around.

Our beef cows will go to market in October and they look great as well. I love to watch how they grow and change.

We have lots of baby kittys right now as well. The kids dearly adore them and we try to play with them daily. We do have some that are still wild but one litter is very friendly.

Last night we had some stormy weather go through. This last one was absolutely wonderful to watch. It was sunny over most of our house and then this huge cloud was over part of it. My cousin lives 7 miles from us and they got a ton of rain out of it. We didn't get more than a few drops. Then after it was mostly past the clouds were almost daunting to look at from behind.

Then just a pretty picture of the sage that is growing in the flower bed. The kids love these flowers the best of all the flowers we have blooming right now!

Recital

2010-06-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Araya's dance recital and she did wonderfully. It was a very long show but even so it was very nice. The dance instructor retired and they have a new one starting this year. Luckily they were taught by this gal this year as well and she is just wonderful! Thank you Audrey for your hard work and Marijo for your many years of teaching that has formed such a wonderful bunch of kids.

The kids had a wonderful day tho Carter was pretty bored.

The recital was dedicated to 2 of the studio moms who have survived breast cancer. We all wore pink shirts that say "Fight like a Girl"
And the retiring teacher danced the final dance to "I hope you Dance" She had everyone in tears, it was just beautiful!

Araya got a dozen roses from Grandma following her show. She was just in love!

A great weekend on the farm

2010-06-05T15:33:00.001-07:00

This weekend has started off well.
We started off with our normal, chores and milking the cow and getting going for the day.
Next on the list was taking Miss Araya to her dance rehearsal. She did great and is ready for recital tomorrow.

After they got home and had some lunch we started in on making Jam. 14 pints of Jam made this am and we will do that again this evening, giving us a total now of 41 jars in the cupboard. We will wait to make more after we have raspberries and blackberries to add to the strawberries.

We also got the strawberry patch picked, filled the turkey roaster til it was heaping full and ate a few too.

We also planted 5 new rose bushes that we got for 1.00 each. The rose garden is growing nicely and Araya just loves it.

Still much that needs done on the farm but it is wonderful to see things coming together and making our mark on this wonderful 4 acres we call home.

A giveaway that you should see

2010-06-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

I love this pattern and the fabrics from Marie-Madeline are just adorable.
So stop by and enter for your chance to win as well
http://www.reganfamfarm.blogspot.com/

Oil Spill

2010-06-04T08:58:00.001-07:00

The current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been weighing very heavily on my mind lately. It is so devastating in so many ways to our country that I can not even begin to imagine how long this will affect us negatively. The only thing I can hope is that some good can come of it. Maybe just maybe the average person will be more aware of the risks involved in the amount of oil we use in this country. There are so many things we can do to reduce our footprint and use less. I find myself thinking of ways that I can reduce my footprint less more and more through this catastrophe.
Some of the things we do in our family are:
* pay our bills online through direct pay to reduce the amount of mail that is needed to be delivered.
* cloth diaper, this not only reduces the amount of trips we have to make to town to get diapers but also reduces the amount of energy needed to produce them, not to mention there is less trash to be picked up and put in our landfills.
* Raise our own meat and garden not only so that we know where our food comes from, but it again reduces the amount of oil used both in our trips to the store but also in shipping of the products to the stores.
* Buying as much as possible locally for the same reasons.
* We use very little in the way of disposable products
* We think twice before we make a trip to town for no reason. We try to reduce our trips and consolidate.

I am constantly trying to think of other things we can do. It is in our faces right now, we have a golden opportunity to tell the oil giants that we are going to reduce our dependency upon then and find other ways to do the things that we feel we need to do.

I am all for going back to simpler times, using what we have and getting by without all the extras.

So what have you done in the past, lately or in the plans for the future to help our country be less dependent upon oil?

A busy weekend

2010-06-01T20:59:00.001-07:00

Well we had a great 3 day weekend and were able to get so much done.
For starters we got most of the garden in and will have the rest of it in by the end of this week. I am not planting a huge garden this year, I put in some tomatoes, onions and peppers, enough to enjoy and to make salsa with as well. We put in 2 cucumber plants and 2 watermelon plants. We are putting in a small row of green beans, enough to go out and pick to enjoy, we will have plenty to can from my parents garden. Then we have some cabbage and broccoli plants yet to plant as well.

We picked strawberries on Sunday and got around 3 gallons when it was all said and done. They are looking great and I will be so sad when they are done for the season. We are enjoying them to their fullest while we still have them.

The roses are in full bloom right now. They look beautiful and we are so happy with them. Araya has decided they are her favorite flower which is all the more enjoyable. We found them on sale for 1.00 a bush this weekend and picked up 5 more and Araya was given another for her gift for her dance recital next weekend. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving.

Aside from that we were able to open up the baby chicks and give them more room to play and grow. They were scared at first but seem to have opened up to it well.

I scream, You scream, We ALL scream for Ice Cream

2010-05-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

Yay its that time of year that fresh ice cream is the best. And what is even better is that we have our own cow and can make fresh homemade RAW ice cream. It is to DIE for. We also made up fresh strawberry topping to go on it and that was just awesome too. The next batch we made was strawberry ice cream again using our fresh strawberries. It is just the greatest after a hot day working outdoors to sit down and have a bowl of ice cream!
Our recipe for Raw Ice Cream is
1 qt fresh whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Add to your ice cream maker and thats all!

For the strawberry we used the same recipe as above and mixed in 1.5 cups pureed fresh strawberries. Again super easy and way too yummy

Our strawberry topping for our ice cream is just cut up strawberries that are then coated with sugar and set to rest for 12 to 24 hours in the fridge.

On another note the moon looked wonderful last night and was so pretty I couldn't resist this awesome photo op before heading in for the night to relax.

Preschool Graduation, baby chicks and strawberries

2010-05-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Another busy title today!
On Tuesday my oldest graduated from Preschool. What an accomplishment and how quickly she has grown, it seems like just yesterday I was trying and hoping so much for a baby of our own. And now that baby is getting ready to start Kindergarten.

Isn't she adorable!

All the graduates!

And here she is with her bff

And on other farm news!
The new baby chicks are a week old. They have grown a TON, about double the size they were and they are starting to get real feathers.

And our strawberries are coming on great. The patch we are picking from is our June Berries, we have another patch started that is the everberry type. These we are enjoying fresh and I also made some up for ice cream topping but that is another post.

Kitchen, camera theives and kittens

2010-05-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

What a title huh, well its been a pretty special day for us around here. Last night the kids got the first taste of fresh out of our patch strawberries. But I didn't have my camera so we will have to talk about that more maybe tomorrow, or the next day since my oldest graduates from preschool tomorrow night. What a sad but fun day!
I had a special request to show photos of my kitchen. Its not huge, but I love it. It is set up so nicely, I have lots of counter space and its easy to get to everything when you are cooking.
Here is my catch all counter. I keep my computer (a netbook with wireless) over here along with the hubbys coffee pot. No food is on it normally unless we have company and then we completely clear it and use it for serving.

Looking from the main door into the house into the kitchen. There is the peninsula that separates the kitchen from the dining area. I love this for the kids to be involved in the cooking. We have plans to remove the cupboards from above to make it more open and add some lights and a breakfast bar to it in the next few years.

From the dining room back into the kitchen, like I said its not real big but set up so nicely. Its dated in the cupboards but I think it is fitting the lifestyle we live.

And not a great picture but this is from the catch all counter looking at my sink. There is a glass shelf that hubby added for me that I absolutely adore. It is the greatest place for putting a few plants and the glass birds from my grandmother seemed to be a wonderful addition as well.

In other news my kids got ahold of my camera again today and these were the two keepers that the took. I think that Nevaeh took this one of Carter

And here is a silly one that was taken of Nevaeh, she is all the time trying to get us to take pics of her with her tongue out lately.

And last thing of the day is a surprise with my daughter tonight, we went out to do chores and Araya came yelling over "mama this is really important" "ok Araya whats going on?" "Carter and me were over by the barn and there was a grey kitten coming out from under where Harvests Kittens are" "Really? Well lets go take a look" So we head back to the barn and sure enough there is a cute little grey and white kitten tailing behind a black mama cat we have that won't let us mess with her but keeps herself knows as well.
So I go to check on Harvests kittens since we were in there and there was a mysterious kitten in there. I pick it up and this is what we had

There are actually 3 kittens, 2 like this one and a grey and white one!

Olabelhe dress's with a twist

2010-05-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

So my oldest graduates preschool next week and what better time to make some pretty dress's for the girls. I knew the style I wanted but didn't have the EXACT pattern I needed, however with a little tweak here and there I am beyond happy with how they turned out.
Dawns patterns are so sweet and timeless that I need her entire collection. Her attention to detail can not be matched in my opinion.
I took the Amelia pattern from Olabelhe that I love so much and made it up. Adding some adorable rick rack to where the bodice meets the skirt. From there I continued as it said up until the point where it said to add elastic to the bottom to make it bubble. I was twirly and frilly so instead I added lace.

The results were so adorable that I had to make one for the younger daughter as well.
For hers I had some adorable baby nay fabric that just screamed to be used and I used some wonderful buttons I had gotten from Tessa Ann. They are handmade and oh so fun. I can not wait to use more of her buttons on other projects, she is great to work with when it comes to customs as well, and they are good for so much more than JUST sewing, so be sure to check her out.

Blessings

2010-05-23T11:10:00.001-07:00

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. Last weekend we were lucky enough to do some pictures with the whole family on my side. They include my mom, dad, siblings and my niece. My hubby was working so he wasn't included but all in all I love the pictures

And then we got a photo of my grandfather, my father, me and all my kiddos. What a blessing to have 4 generations in one picture

Family Pictures meets Tie Dye

2010-05-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today we went to my mother in laws house and I wanted to do some family pictures and see about getting one that is good enough to put on the way. Well for this I am pretty crazy and want everyone to match, so I dyed up shirts for the whole family in red white and blue tie dye and we had a lot of fun. However I will tell you that it is nearly impossible to get all 3 of the children looking at the camera and smiling at the same time, but we did our best and got some really fun shots.

Then later in the day I was playing in the grass with the kids and the husband was able to capture these wonderful shots. I am thinking these are totally frame worthy as well!

We have more great photos but they are for another day. Mom was on a photo kick and made the girls change clothes even. I am just as excited to share those so it will likely be tomorrow!!!

Flowers

2010-05-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

Flowers make me smile and this spring has been a spring of surprises. We purchased our home after most things had bloomed last year so we didn't know what all we had. I was happy to discover our first open bloom on the Iris yesterday, tho the wind was very hard on it. The clematis bloom opened this morning and is beautiful as well. There are many others bloomed out as well, some I know what are, others I am not sure. Its been great to move things around to where we want them, discover what we have to work with and enjoy the sights and smells of the beauty as well.
purple roses we planted this year in the rose garden

yellow phlox

Dianthus

More to come another day!

Our little piece of paradise

2010-05-20T22:04:00.001-07:00

I thought I would share a glimpse into where I call home. We have a ranch style house with a pole style barn, 2 corn cribs (1 has been sided with tin to make it waterproof) an old milk barn, a chicken coop, and what I call my garden shed which is really a small storage shed. There is also an old sow house that is not in very good shape that we will be taking down this summer along with 2 other small sheds.
There are many small flower beds that we are in the process of changing around and eliminating some, almost 4 acres of land and a rather large strawberry patch that we can't wait to harvest this year!!!

A fun treat

2010-05-20T18:51:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we decided that since Daddy took the day off from work. One thing that the girls are always asking to do is have a picnic and play at the park, so with a beautiful day and all of us home, what better day could we ask for.
So I fried up the last chicken we have in the freezer (for now, but not for long) and made a bowl of potato salad. We took juice and iced tea along to drink and a blanket to sit on and away we went. The kids had so much fun and so did mom and dad.
After we finished eating we played on the playground.

Carter has absolutely no fear. There is one slide that is way up there, it is probably 10 to 12 feet in the air and he loved it.

We spent a lot of our time playing on this slide and it was so fun to see the smiles from the kids

From there we decided to add to the treat of the evening and went to the local Ice Cream shop Sweet Treats. They have all homemade ice creams and it is just wonderful!!
Carter had his first cone all by himself and he was in heaven!

They all enjoy swinging on their swing before we leave and always do.

It was an all around great day. We were able to finish up some things on the farm, There is now new entries into the barn, we were able to burn the large pile of tree debris from our hail storm last summer and laundry washed and dried on the line. Plus I was able to to get most of a dress sewn up for Nevaeh, but thats a whole nother post that will come later.

Busy Days

2010-05-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well we have been busy here on the farm the last few days. We had to finish making preparations for the 100 meat chickens that arrived this am. Man are they ever cute.
We got a ring and a cover to put the lights in set up and put in ground up corn stalks for bedding. The corn stalks are working great, nice for the bottom but also no so small they get it stuck all over them!

Then we put in 4 waters for them, they are quart size jars and this is what we have found works best when they are so small.
They had a longer trip than was planned, the USPS dropped them off at the wrong post office this am and they had to go back and get them to bring to our post office. Poor little things had a busy second day of life I'd say.
When we got them here we took them out one at a time, showing the kids the babies and then dipped their beaks in the water so that they knew it was there. They were all drinking like crazy after their long ride. In all they drank nearly a gallon of water today and ate almost 1/2 a gallon of feed. I can only imagine what they will eat before its all said and done!

The hatchery puts in a few extra to make sure that there is the right number when they arrive as there are times that a couple don't make it on their trip, however they all made it on the voyage and we are now the proud owners of 103 baby chicks. And in 7 weeks they will go to the locker and we will have ours and many others dinners for the year!

Besides that I have been busy sewing up a dress for the oldest Preschool Graduation next week. I can not believe my baby girl will be starting school this fall. More to come later on that, she was so grubby from playing in the water, sand, dirt and of course mud that I was not about to try to get some cute pictures in it.
We also were able to finally get the flowers in the ground we bought a week ago and the flower bed is coming along nicely. I will post some pictures of that soon.
As a parting note I could not resist this beautiful sunset we had a couple of days ago and thought I would share. It is always so relaxing to watch the sun set on a beautiful day.

A nice day at last

2010-05-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well things have been so soggy lately that we have not been able to accomplish much outdoors. This has been great on getting things in order around the house but when you have been cooped up all winter thats the last thing you want.
So today we spent the day preparing for the 100 meat chickens that we have arriving tomorrow. We are all excited for them to arrive. There isn't much cuter than 1 day old baby chickens.
After that I was able to get a few more flowers planted and some weeds pulled in the roses. Those rose bushes are brutal. They don't forgive and my fingers are the proof to that. I also weedeated some to get the weeds down in one of the flower beds. It will be covered in mulch soon to help with that issue but I need to finish moving flowers into it before I do that.
I also was able to hang lots of clothes the last couple days and we are caught up on laundry now. Just have to put it all away, tho that part is not nearly as relaxing.
To end the day I opened the chicken coop up and let the chickens roam for the evening. They really enjoy that and always go back in to roost for the night at which point I close them up to keep them safe.
And just cuz shes so darn cute, here is Nevaeh laying in the grass watching the cows at my folks yesterday. She is such a sweet thing and needed a special spot for her.

Thats MY camera

2010-05-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

There is hardly a day goes by that I am not snapping a picture and that means that my camera is always out where I can grab it quickly. Well with that comes the children getting their hands on it as well. This can be good and bad, but it makes my heart sing to see my oldest so interested in taking pictures. She has her own camera but the batteries are dead and to be honest the pictures it takes are not of very good quality.
So here is a sampling of some of Araya photos she has taken recently with my camera.
Here is her brother hiding

Miss Nevaeh posing for her sis

And another of carter

Yes she does know she is cute

Oh I love my brother

And her cousin showing off

And when Nevaeh sees that Araya is taking pictures she has to take some too. However she doesn't hold nearly as still and hers just are not normally quite as good yet. But here is one from her as well.

Stepping Stones

2010-05-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

Tonight the kids made stepping stones for my mom for mothers day. I know that we are a week late but since she had to work last weekend we are seeing her this weekend instead.
The girls had a great time painting theirs, tho it was supposed to have a foot print in it, I am afraid that the mold was not big enough and I let them set up too far before I tried to do it. However I learned my lesson and Carters has his foot print in it. They all turned out great and I am sure that grandma will love the.
Here is Nevaeh painting her's

Here is Araya painting hers

Gotta clean off the brush in between colors

Nevaehs

Arayas
\
and all 3 together!

Flirty Fun Apron Tutorial

2010-05-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

So I decided that I wanted an apron for wearing when I am working around the house and farm, but after looking all over the internet and through all my patterns I could not find exactly what I wanted. Well that didn't stop me, just made me think harder and decided that I would make it up on my own and share with everyone so if they wanted one as well they too could make one!
Now I am going to preface this by saying that I have never done a tutorial before but I tried to take lots of pictures so you can see what I did. Also I purposely did not include any measurements because I didn't want my measurements to limit you. I decided what I needed by measuring what I would be carrying and going from there. My biggest thing I needed to have safe was my phone that is always with me.
With that, I will start.
First off TURN ON YOUR IRON. I hate using the iron but it really is one of my dearest friends when it comes to sewing.
I took measurements of where I wanted the apron to sit, for me it was hip to hip from the front, then I measured my phone so that I had a pocket to carry it in. From there I went a couple inches smaller for the front pocket. I also cut strips for the waistband and the ruffles at this time. For me I was able to cut 2 strips the width of the fabric for each and it was plenty.
Here are all the pieces

From there I took my pockets and went to the iron. I folded in the edges for the hem and ironed them down.

I like to add a stay stitch with a loose straight stitch on my machine to be sure that they don't move on me but that is totally up to you.
Next I added some elastic lace to the top of the small phone pocket to gather it up. Regular elastic would work just fine, I wanted the added frill to the apron for me.

I also added the same lace elastic to the bottom of the pocket, without stretching so that it did not gather there for the frill.
I then sewed on the smaller pocket to the front of the larger pocket. Be sure not to stretch the top of the smaller phone pocket when you pin it on or it won't gather the way you are wanting it to.
My next step was to add the ruffle. I like the look of a clean pleated ruffle, you can also use a ruffler foot for your sewing machine or do 2 straight stitches and gather it that way but you will need more fabric or that. So I pinned on my ruffle.
For mine I made the ruffle wide enough to fold in half and pin it to the apron front with right sides together. This gives a clean edge that I don't have to hem up

Next up was adding the waistband. I sewed my 2 pieces of waistband together, folded them right sides together and ironed them. I then sewed it together into a tube and turned it right side out. I also ran the top of my apron thru my serger to avoid it unraveling on me. Then I pined the waistband to the top of the apron, starting at the middle of each and working out.
I sewed them together, and went back through and topstitched all of my edges for a nice finished look.

Once finished I added 2 snaps to the hip of the waistband. I will now get a couple of hand towels that match the apron and add snaps to it so I can snap the towels to the apron and always have one with me.

I hope you enjoyed and this is able to help someone with an apron that is just right for them as well.

A Yummy Dinner

2010-05-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight I decided that we were going to have Baking chicken for dinner. In part because I love using my new Le Creuset Cookware. If you have not seen it, check it out. It really is the best! I picked the Kiwi green color which is so pretty and very springy!

So back to dinner....
I put the whole chicken in the dutch oven and cooked it at 350 for about 3 hours with about a cup of water and a poultry seasoning my brother and sister in law gave us for Christmas. After that time I added a bag of baby carrots and turned the heat down to finish cooking until dinner time.
I then made up some homemade garlic mashed potatoes with cream cheese and home frozen sweet corn. It was delish!!! Oh and we added some fried up morel mushrooms to finish it off, the last of the season and they were so yummy.

The kids enjoyed it and Carter made a huge mess with the mashed potatoes.
All in all it was a huge success.

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-09T12:53:00.001-07:00

Today as I sit here and think about what today means to me I remember back to our tough journey to become parents. How hard it was, how we longed to have the children we do today and what a joy it was to finally become them.

The journey started not long after we married in 1999. We wanted nothing more than to bring children into this world and raise them to be productive members of society. But it was not something that was going to come easily for us. We tried for a very long time, many false hopes and squashed dreams. It wasn't until 4.5 years later that we would finally see those 2 bright blue lines on a stick that we had purchased so many times and thrown away just as many. We were very excited but isn a cautious way. We had tried on our own, and were just about to go full force into fertility treatments when it happened. We were actually waiting for the beginning of that next cycle to start. It was January 9th that we found out and a day that we will never forget. The next 9 months were a flurry of ups and downs. I was sick with morning sickness until the day our daughter arrived. The tiredness was something like I had never experienced before. But the joys that I felt when I would feel that little being move around inside me was something I had longed for. I complained about her tiny toes being stuck in my ribs but deep down I was thankful for them at the same time.
While we thought we were ready for her arrival I can honestly say now looking back, it was much easier to have toes stuck in your ribs that it is to raise a child in the world we live in. It is not something I could ever give up but it is something that is a bigger challenge than I knew was coming.
The delivery was not what we expected, after several failed attempts to induce and her not coming on her own, we ended up in a c-section. I felt deflated, this was not how things were supposed to go, but looking back now, I am glad to have my beautiful daughter and it really doesn't matter how she entered the world.
The days were much more beautiful and more interesting than I could have ever imagined on my own. I found a new liking for the small things in life. I saw things I hadn't seen in years.
And 2.5 years later we welcomed her little sister into the world. Another bundle of joy that reminds us of what the world should be but maybe isn't.
And when she was 10 months old we found out we were expecting again. A shock to say the least. And 9 months later we welcomed our son into our arms.
While I can't say for sure that our family is complete, it feels complete most days. The children are close enough together that they are able to play together. They have the fights as all siblings do, but the looks they give to each other of pure love is something that melts my heart.
The family I have today is so very special and each day I thank the lord to have them, even as I am asking what was I thinking and when is their bed time.

Lessons

2010-05-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

The lessons learned in childhood I believe form who we will be as an adult. This is something I am a firm believer in, so the things I am trying to teach my children are very near and dear to my heart.
The lessons are really quite simple. The one that has been hardest to teach my children is that no matter what happens in life your siblings will always be there for you. They are the most important people in your world. Now I know that this is not always easy for a 3 or 5 year old to understand so every day I tell them this again and again.
And the other that I am working hard to teach them lately is that if you work hard for things you will be rewarded. The farm is something that will keep each and every person in a family quite busy. There is always something that needs to be done and no one person can do it all. While they kids I think can understand this, they don't always agree that they should be expected to help with the things needing done.
So on good days that we are able to get a lot done, and the kids either help with the things needing done or with keeping each other happy, those are the days that we do something fun. Last night we went to the Ice Cream shop. They have the best homemade Ice Cream ever and really have good prices as well. The kids had a great time, tho the temp dropped a lot and it was rather chilly to sit outside and eat it. It just made it so that it didn't melt as fast right.
I hope that these lessons will stick with them through time along with many others that I have taught them along the ways.

The kids

2010-05-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

They are growing up so fast. I can not believe that come fall I will have one in Kindergarten and one in preschool. It seems like just yesterday that Araya came into this world and turned it upside down.

Araya is such a mini adult. She thinks she runs the show but still has a very hard time expressing herself when she is upset. She is so in love with anything that could possibly be translated to the teenage years. She is so smart and quite the thinker. There is always something going through her mind and she is always trying to figure out what comes next.
Nevaeh is my mini mommy that thinks she needs to take care of everyone. So loving and caring. Always one to include everyone, not wanting anyone to be left out, especially her. Her favorite things right now are baby dolls and Dora.
Carter well he is such a boy. Its so hard for me to believe that he is already a year and a half old. Very bossy and sassy, he thinks nothing of telling us no or in his words "uh uh" when he doesn't agree with something we are saying.
But over all they are very sweet loving children that want nothing more than to please the world. So innocent and special. The apple of their moms eye. I really can not imagine life with out children and am so blessed to have them each and every day. They never let it be boring.

What a great Daddy and Husband he is

2010-05-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I think I have the best husband, at least most of the time. He does things just because he knows that they will make me happy and my life that much easier. He works more than anyone should have to just so that I am able to stay at home with our children and he is a WONDERFUL daddy.
His children love him so much that it melts my heart. I love to see them with him. He reads to them, plays with them and includes them in anything that he safely can.
Tonight we had a wedding and the joy that he brings was so apparent. He spent time with all 3 of his children. He held Carter and played with him to help prevent him from getting bored before the fun began, and made him feel comfortable in a group of people he was unsure about.

He helped to make sure that everyone had something to eat before going back to get his own meal. And after that he ate his meal quickly so that everyone could have some fun.
The girls got to dance with daddy which they thought was great. They really enjoy the time that is just one on one with daddy!
Araya is getting so big that soon she will have to dance from the floor but this year she was still able to dance in his arms.

Nevaeh is just a sweet thing and loves to be in your arms. She melts into her daddy and loves to cuddle with him. She will not be left out of her time to dance with him as well.

I am very thankful for the husband I have. The Daddy my children have and the wonderful man that I get to spend the rest of my life with!
Thank you baby!

The joys of dealing with insurance

2010-04-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I completely hate dealing with insurance agencies.
Our middle daughter has asthma issues and needs to have a nebulizer. With needing this having one that was portable was something that we felt was important. So we talked with insurance and a company that we could purchase one from. Got everything worked out and were able to get one. Well this has been over 6 weeks ago and we have been waiting to get the money that we paid out of pocket back from our health savings account and have made several phone calls. Well in finally getting ahold of people today we found out that they didn't bill it as a purchase, but as a rental instead. This makes it so that we are not getting the money back out of our savings account.
Well after many phone calls back and forth our insurance company has said that they were supposed to bill it as a purchase, the company says our insurance company is saying they it has to be a rental. So now we sit, in limbo waiting on phone calls. What a mess. And there are people saying we don't need Health Reform...UGH

Cow vs Sick Mommy

2010-04-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

Now who would you think the winner would be in this fight? The milk cow or the mom? Well honestly being I have not yet gotten to milk the cow I am saying that the cow has so far won the battle.
Tonight I have no energy, it takes about all I have to take care of my kids but I know that the cow needs milked as well. So out we go to milk the cow. First off I need to get the baby cows out of the stall, either back into their pasture or into their pen, one of the two. Ok got them back in the pasture, shut that door.
Next step is getting the cow into her stall so that I can milk her, easy enough right....wrong. I forgot to open the door to her pen and she walked right out the end of the alley way into the rest of the barn. Ya know that part where the baby is sitting in his stroller, the feed is houses, the milker parts are sitting, dads truck is parked along with a tractor, bales of hay and the corn stalk bales. Ya that part. Oh and don't let it be missed the the BIG door to the outdoors, the entire yard is wide open. So mom runs to that door, pulls a fence panel over and block the door. The cow is now at least contained to the barn. She really is just curious about this area that she has seen so much but never been able to sniff out. Ok now how do we get her back in the pen. Get some corn, cows love corn right. Well that was great but she has to sniff the baby first. He loves the cows, at least when they are on the other side of the fence he does. Not so loving them when they put their nose right to his.
So I finally get her back into the pen, only she decides that the calf's feed looks so much better than hers. Of course it does because it is sweet feed rather than just corn and protein. So she makes herself seem small and sneaks in there, not an easy task being the top rail of the fence that stays there is taller than her back.
So she is currently in the calf pen, with the door open. I am hoping she will decide to go back to her pen so that I can at least get her milked or hubby can when he gets home at midnight, one of the two.

So we shall see how it goes next time, but for today the battle has been won by the cow. Not the war, only the battle.

Little Wall Lake

2010-04-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after picking the oldest up from school I decided that we would go try to look for some of the elusive Morel Mushrooms. It didn't matter that I felt terrible and should have really been sleeping rather than hiking. I wanted out of the house and the kids enjoy getting out and doing something fun as well.

So we went to Little Wall Lake and had a walk. It was a lot of fun, didn't turn up any of those silly mushrooms since the trees and land was not right but that didn't matter. Watching my kids explore and the excitement on their faces totally made up for it.

Araya found a big pinecone that she was really excited about and Nevaeh needed one as well. The sweet kind hearted soul wasn't about to leave her brother out and emerged from under the tree with one for her and one for her brother.

The enjoyed picking the dandelions and watching the water. Running ahead to see how far they could get before mom yelled for them to stop. For them everything is an adventure and it is so fun to watch them explore and learn about new things. The birds flying overhead even caught their attentions. What better way to spend an hour than water then grow and learn about nature!

Mommy's Sick

2010-04-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

Why when mom is sick is there no one there to take care of her? That is the question of the day. This mommy doesn't feel well at all and really could just climb into bed and try again tomorrow but that just doesn't work.
The littles don't seem to understand that and their list of demands is longer than they are tall. Get me juice, Im hungry, can we go outside, put this apron on me, will you read me a book, can we have a bath.....and it goes on and on.
Plus the farm doesn't seem to care either. I had to milk the cow and thankfully the cow was cooperative. She didn't fight, she let down her milk nicely and stood well. The chickens needed fed and their eggs picked up. They knew I felt terrible as well because today they stayed away from the door. It really was surprising.
Now its time for dinner and while I prefer to cook from scratch, I decided that frozen pizza was better than Mcdonalds, both for those of us eating it but also on the pocket book, so that is what we are having.
It will be an early night tonight. I have decided that since the baby doesn't want to sleep well right now due to him not feeling well either, that mom is going to bed when they do. It will be 7:30 at the latest when we all climb into bed and I am hoping for a decent nights sleep and to be feeling so much better tomorrow. There is tons to do.
But that list will still be there tomorrow, no matter if it is longer than it was today. If I feel better maybe I will be able to conquer it all!!!

Apple Blossoms and Honey Bees

2010-04-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

I love apple blossoms. They are so delicate, and sweet. So pretty and speak so many things to our lives.

They are food for the wonderful bees that then bring us honey to enjoy. They create a sight that is like no other. The color they provide after the cold and long winters is always welcome. Then as the year progress's they turn to apples. A fruit when preserved properly can help to feed us the rest of the year.

Our tree is in full bloom right now and with it being right next to my clothes line I get to enjoy it every time I am outside. I am sad right now tho as I have not seem many bees on it to pollinate them. Without those hard working bees we will have no apples and the honey this year will be limited.
This is very saddening to me on so many levels. Our bee population has been hurt so badly in the last few years and I hope that we are able to bring them back. Without them our food supply will be in such jeopardy. We try to eat as much locally as we can when it is available and that isn't possible when we are unable to care for the trees and plants that available.
I have to say that I am really hoping that I am just not seeing them because it is going to hugely affect what I have for my family this year not only with the apples, but also the strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. Plus the garden will be going in soon and we need them there as well. It has made me realize that in the next couple years I need to learn more about bees and do my part in helping to preserve them.

We also need to get the word out that pesticides are killing them off. I really don't want to see my poor apple blossoms left to be lonely this year or any year there after.
Oh and lets all hope for no late frosts this year because that will be horrible for our crop as well. We lost all of our apples last year to the hail storm and I am greatly looking forward to enjoying these apples this year.

A taste of Freedom!

2010-04-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

My chickens normally do not get to free-range unfortunately, however we are in the process of building them their own chicken tractor so that they have access to more of the farm. The choice to not free range them is not one that I have made lightly. It would be my preference, they would be so much happier and it really is better for them....NORMALLY. However my 9 lb Miniature Dachshund thinks that they are toys and is very detremental to them.

Today tho they decided to get out of their coop. Ya see there is not any lights in there so when we go in to feed then or get eggs you have to leave the door open to be able to see. So they decided to make a break for it. Really it was pretty funny to see as they must have been planning it because while the door was open a pair made the run for it. So out I go to chase them and silly me I didn't shut the door behind me and by the time I had caught the first one, there were 3 or 4 more out. So I gave up and let them have their fun.

And boy were they having fun. In fact they didn't go back in until right before dark at which time they were all back in the coop perched up for the night.
This has given me the incentive to get our act together and get their chicken tractor ready for them. They need to have the time to get out in the grass, eat the bugs and enjoy themselves.

Earth Day

2010-04-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

On this beautiful Earth Day it has me thinking of what we do to help the Earth on a daily basis. And while we have a long ways to go to be complete at our house, in the last 10 years we have came a very long way.
For us we use Cloth Diapers, and tho we have times that we do use disposables, I can proudly say that through 3 kids we have not used what most people use in the lifetime of 1.

We use cloth toilet paper, reusable menstrual pads, cloth napkins, and no paper plates or cups to speak of.
We buy 99% of our clothing and other items used thus reducing the impact on the landfills with waste. And when things wear out and are no longer usable or sellable, we will recycle them into something else.
We buy locally whenever possible, grow what we can with fruits, veggies and meats. And do what we can to support small business's and work at home moms when purchasing new.

We plant trees and flowers that will help to take pollutants out of the air.

I am sure that there is more but those are the ones that I can think of right now. So what do you do that helps our earth?

With Age comes......INJURY

2010-04-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

That's right, they say its wisdom, but I totally disagree! We think we can still do the things we did when we were younger but that is just not so. When we try, we end up hurt. As an example, cartwheels! Do I need to say more?
But in all reality, tonight I took the kids for some fun at the park. The oldest has been asking to go to the park and have a picnic. So the weather was absolutely beautiful and it just seemed like a good idea. What better way to be able to forget about all the work that is needing done on the farm and spend some time playing with the kids.
So away we went, and it was so much fun. However, that slide is not made for adults. While it wasn't built too small for an adult to go down, when you smash your elbow into the slide holding hands with your little man, well its not something that you recover from nearly as fast as they do!!!
But all in all we had a great time. We ate our dinner at the picnic table, playing on the swings, the slides and spent lots of time giggling!!!

Baby Kittys

2010-04-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Yet another sign that spring is upon us. Yesterday one of our farm cats had her kittens. Not that we were in need of more kittens but it is also something that we have little control over.
They are so incredibly cute and mama is doing so wonderful. We did try to move her and her kittens to a "safer" location because otherwise one of our dogs likes to go find kittys, but she was having no part in that and as soon as we left the barn, promptly moved them back to where she deemed a nice location. SO we have added another fence panel to stop the dogs, and young children from entering the barn uninvited.
So our patch had 5 beautiful babys, first was an adorable yellow/orange, then came a all black baby, we then added one that was black and white, followed by another all black and finished up with the most beautiful calico just like mommy.
They will be a wonderful addition to our mousers on the farm and the kids will enjoy playing with them through the summer.
Here is mommy with her babies (doesn't she look annoyed with the camera!)

Next is a couple shots with mama out of the picture.

TULIPS

2010-04-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

T terrific
U Unique
L Luminating
I Intriguing
P Perfect
S Stunning

That is what I think of when I see these beautiful flowers at the start of each spring!

Cheese Making and more

2010-04-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

So this milkmaid is not sure if cheese making is a science, an art of just a pain in my behind, but it is certainly one of the 3. I have made cottage cheese 3 times now and none of them have turned out. The first 2 the flavor was just not what we were wanting and this last time, the flavor was great but it was totally over cooked. Very chewy and not at all yummy.
Plus I have made a batch of mozzerella and while that didn't taste bad, it wasn't what I was hoping for either. It was possibly overcooked as well and was more of a stringy cheese than what I was wanting.
Now the good of this was that I figured out how to make sour cream that has wonderful flavor and will save us when we are needing sour cream for meals. It also let me get 2 gallons of milk out of my fridge and make room for something more.
The sad thing is that in the time it took me to make these two batches of cheese I could have gotten my entire house cleaned rather than making an even bigger mess for myself. Plus it is really discouraging to invest 4 to 6 hours of your day into something just to throw it away and start over.
But I am determined to at very least perfect the cottage cheese so that we can have that for the family. We all like to eat it and the large container from the store is not enough for the entire family to have what they want with a meal. So this is something that I really have to figure out!
And on a side note, another sign of spring....kittens are being born! More on that probably tomorrow!

Things I love

2010-04-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

After a very long, very cold winter, the signs of spring come with wide open welcome arms. Every day it seems that we walk around the yard only to discover that something else is emerging from the ground, a new tree is getting leaves or a new flower is starting to bloom.
Two things really caught my eye and made me smile. The first was the dandelions. While I know that they are technically a weed they are still very pretty. Bright yellow flowers that emerge so early in the year. There is something about that cheery yellow that you can't help but smile the first time you see it each year.

The next is the strawberries starting to bloom. I found the first blooms of the year while walking around. This is something that made me especially excited being it means that soon there will be fruit on the plants that are so wonderful to eat in so many ways, from fresh off the vine to jam to pies. There is nothing better than a freshly picked strawberry!

So what are your favorite things about spring?

Whats for dinner

2010-04-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

As a mom to 3 kiddos it is very important to me to not only feed my kids in a healthy manner but also in a way that is rather frugal. So I am always looking for things that can stretch. And if it can be a fix it and forget it type recipe that is even better!
Today I am talking about chicken and it fits into all of the above catagories.

Crockpot Salsa Sour Cream Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 jar salsa
1/4 cup sour cream

Place chicken in crockpot
sprinkle taco seasoning over top
Add salsa
Cook 4-6 hours til done

Remove chicken, add sour cream and heat up.

I then shred the chicken and add it back in.

My favorite way to serve this is in tortillas with cheese served with spanish rice and refried beans. However it is very good to have it as a meat served with rice or potatoes as well.

Enjoys

How do you use it up?

2010-04-08T06:57:00.001-07:00

For Easter we served a turkey for lunch. It was very good but as I am sure you know there is always lots of leftovers when you have a turkey. A goal of mine is to use as much as possible and waste as little as possible. So with the turkey so far we have boiled the carcus and made broth that is going to be made into noodles. We had turkey sandwiches and left over sides and I made Chicken Salad with some of the meat.
Now have you ever tried to find a recipe for Chicken Salad? I have been searching for one that we like the way it tastes for nearly 10 years and have yet to find one, so I just started putting things together and figured it out on my own. So I thought I would share that with you in hopes that it saves someone 10 years of their life.

Chicken Salad:
3-4 cups chicken or turkey chopped or cubbed
1.5 cups Mayo
1 cup Miracle whip
2 to 3 T mustard
2-4 T ranch dressing
1/8 cup chopped onion
1/8 cup chopped celery
1/4 t celery seed
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder

Mix well, chill and serve on your favorite bread.

This was very easy to make and tastes just wonderful!!!

So how do you use up your leftovers??

So they asked me why

2010-04-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

So I was recently asked why we choose to live the life that we live and the answer I gave was so simple. Because we want the very best for our children. However the full answer is so much more and much deeper as well. It isn't a question that is simple if you think about it.
So lets discuss this.
Why do we choose to own a cow that is then milked twice a day? Well we want to be able to provide fresh, raw milk for our family. Because is having the cow that we then milk we are able to save a substantial amount each month on what we spend in milk and butter and hopefully more as we become more accustom to making things. On top of that the experience that it teaches out children is that tho it is not always easy and we don't always want to get up and go out to the barn to milk the cow, it is something that needs to be done and so we do it.
Why do we raise our own meat and eggs on our farm? Again we want to be able to know where our food is coming from and what its been fed and how its been treated. And again the responsibility that it will teach the children is very important to us as is the cost savings.
Why do we choose to use cloth products rather than disposable? Well for starters they are much softer for use. They also don't create the trash for the landfill which is a huge eco benefit for me as well. Plus it again has teaching value for the kids. While it is not always the easiest way out it is the most responsible way.
So many of our choices are done for many reasons but in the end they come back to wanting the very best for our kids and to teach them responsibility with their choices.

Why the violence?

2010-03-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

So I have to sit back and think on things today. Just 2 days following the historic vote on Health Care Reform and I have to say I am deeply disappointed in what this country is becoming. I have a hard time believing some of what I am hearing, what I am seeing and really what I am believing.
For starters, I thought that our country was headed in the right direction in terms of racism. But I am not so sure anymore. To yell racial slurs at our congressmen made my jaw drop, but really was not something that I could not have expected.
To target a congressman because of his sexual orientation, again, made my jaw drop but again I could have expected it.
To call another a Baby Killer, this one I could not believe came out of the mouth of an adult to be completely honest.
But there are 2 things that happened that makes me seriously question what this country is becoming. Spitting on another adult, and resorting to breaking windows of offices of the democratic party. Neither of these are even remotely acceptable no matter what the subject is.
I don't care what your party affiliation, I don't care what your sexual orientation is, I don't care what you believe, these things are not acceptable from anyone, especially someone that considers themselves an adult.
I am very saddened as of late from what I am seeing, what I am hearing and what I am feeling. I hope that everyone can find a way to come together, because right now we are a very weak country because no divided country can be a strong one.

Health Care Reform.....

2010-03-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I am on the fence about how it is written, however I am one that believes that something had to change with our health care system. My MIL can hardly afford her insurance since her husband passed away, I know many people that are without insurance because they simply CAN NOT afford it.
While this bill is not perfect, nothing ever is and it is a start. There is still 4 years before much of it even starts. That is plenty of time for things to be worked out.
To me I wish that this issue had not needed to be politicized. If every doctor, nurse, clinic, hospital, insurance company etc would have done things in such a way as to treat the people using the services the way that they themselves would have wanted to be treated then we would not be in this situation. It is something that we learned when we were young, treat others the way you want to be treated. And the huge bills that people receive for services really is insane. Insurance premiums are ungodly high and it is because services that are covered cost so much. These can be things that take 2 seconds to do to 2 hours, it doesn't matter. When I go to see the dr because I have an ear infection that is killing me, it should not cost me 100.00 just to have them look in my ears. Then another 20.00 to get a prescription, and even with my "good" insurance it costs me 20.00 to see the dr and 5.00 to get the meds to take care of it. If these costs were better regulated we would not be in the place that we are today.

And on a side note I really wish we could have all see how Obama would have governed this country had he not been elected and taken office at a time when our country was in such a dire situation. No one can argue the fact that when he took office our country was in a spiral DOWN economically. It was started long before he was elected and lasted into the time that he was in office. However another thing that can not be argued is that while on his watch it is starting to get better.
And I feel this way about Bush as well, I don't blame his for the 9/11 attacks, I don't blame him for the way that things went down, he had to deal with the aftermath less than 1 year after taking office.

So that all being said, we all knew that something needed to change with Health Care, that has been being said for more years than most of us have been able to understand or care about what is going on, for many of us longer than we have been alive. Now that something has been passed, it gives way for passage of changes to the current bill that will hopefully in the end allow for something better to come around. I just really wish that all the representatives, both Dem and Rep could find a way to stop acting like they are in preschool, get along and work this out together. They both need to shut up, listen to the others, find a compromise and include things to make it better for everyone. And that is not a knock at either party, they both need to work better at getting along, its a fact. Illness does not care what party you are affiliated with, you will get sick no matter what you believe and EVERYONE deserves to be treated in a human manner, not left to wonder had they been able to afford health care, or been able to afford insurance, would they not be dying because they could have gotten help.

I am sorry that everyone is so upset about the passage of the Health Care package, I am sorry that it doesn't contain many of the things that this country seriously needs, and I am sorry that the country that I call home is so seriously divided that they can not work together to help each other.
_________________

The sweet days of Spring!

2010-03-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

So spring is finally here in Iowa. The days are getting longer, we are having more warm days and surprisingly there are flowers starting to sprout. Most years this comes as no real shock but after the long winter that has been, you really start to question if it will ever come. This year as gone down in the record books as one of the worst winters Iowa has ever seen and its number 5 of the snowiest. That is something that we didn't have to make the books for but we can say that we have survived our first winter in our new house and it was not an easy one to survive!

So with the coming of spring there really is so much to do. Today the kids and I spent a portion of the afternoon outside playing and cleaning up the yard. So much trash blew into the yard with the snows that we worked on cleaning up. We surveyed the damages by the rabbits. We are hoping that we did not loose too many trees but it will really be touch and go this year. They had such a hard winter and ate so much bark from the young apple trees. So we shall see what the warmer weather brings with them. The roses are greening up and now I need to read up on how I am supposed to prune them back. The strawberries are coming back and it makes me long for the day that we can start picking and eating them. Oh so sweet and yummy.

But there is still a great deal of work to be done. We need to clean off all the flowers so that new growth can form and start cleaning out the stalls in the barn. So much of that will have to wait a bit longer until we can let the cows back out onto the pasture without fear of killing the grass that is trying to grow.
The chickens ventured out of the hen house and into the grass today. What a beautiful site to see them playing on the grass and enjoying some fresh air.

And with that the end of a beautiful spring day has arrived. We did some cleaning in the house and now the kitchen will be cleaned up and some relaxing will be done. Until the next day that we can get outside and enjoy ourselves....goodnight.

Cooking From Scratch

2010-03-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

Something that is very important to me is to provide my family with the healthiest foods possible and one way I am able to do that is cooking from scratch. At least that way I know what has gone into the foods that they are eating. It started with our main meals being made from scratch, very very little is processed foods. We have gotten to the point that all of our eggs are from the farm and we have the feed custom ground for them. Our milk is now fresh from the farm as well. We grow our own animals for butcher as well. In the summer we have a large garden and preserve as much as we possibly can. This winter I have added to the list our bread as well. It started off with making our bread for the house and once that was to the point that I felt that I could add something more I went searching. The next thing I made was homemade french bread for with spaghetti. It was wonderful. I was on a mission. What else could I make that my family enjoys to reduce what came processed from the store?
I found it.......BAGELS. Now I was really nervous before I made them the first time. Its not normal in my book to take the dough you have made and boil it, how in the world was this possibly going to turn out good when I have just boiled my dough? But I took the plunge and all I can say is YUMMO. My family loves them! I can't even keep a batch of them in the house more than 24 hours when I do make them and to me that says something!
Tonight I made English Muffins and while they are not exactly what I think of from the store, they are DELISH if I do say so myself.
So I thought that I would include the recipe for the Bagels tonight for anyone looking for an easy recipe that is very good and healthy for your family as well.

Brooklyn Bagels
4 to 5 cups all purpose flour
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1.5 cups hot water (120-130 degrees)
2 Tablespoons Honey or Sugar (I use local honey)
1 egg white
1 teaspoon water

Combine 1 cup flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl.
Stir in hot water and honey; beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; continue to work in flour until dough is stiff enough to knead. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes)
Cover with a bowl and let rest 15 minutes
Divide dough into 12 equal parts (I find this is too small and divide mine into 8 to 10 equal parts) Shape each into a flattened ball. With thumb and forefinger poke a hole into center. Stretch and rotate until hole enlarges to about 1 to 2 inches.
Cover; let rise about 20 minutes
Boil water in a large shallow pan, about 2 inches deep. Reduce heat. Simmer a few bagels at a time 3.5 minutes each side. Remove from pan; drain on a towel about 5 minutes. Place on a greased baking sheet; brush with mixture of egg white and water.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until done.
To serve, split and toast.

Hope you enjoy!
We plan to make some variations of these into some flavored bagels for the family but for now they are still enjoying the plain ones so that is what I have been making!

What happens to the days?

2010-03-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is a question I ask myself daily, WHERE DID MY DAY GO? It seems I am never able to complete even half of what I would like or need to do in a day. Between nursing the littlest one, feeding all of them and trying to pick up behind them it seems that 90% of my day is gone. The other 10% gets spent taking care of the animals and figuring out what is the most important thing that still remains to be done.

Take today for example. We got up, fed the kids, milked the cow and did the chores. By this point it was time to start thinking about what to have for lunch. Throw the food in the oven to cook and get the dishwasher started. During that time make the phone calls that need made and pick up as best you can behind 3 children 5 and under. Lunch is now ready, feed the kids and get them and the mess cleaned back up and it is now time to get the oldest ready to go to preschool. Out the door she goes with her dad and into bed with the youngest to nurse him to sleep. He is up and now its time to check your emails and get things ready for the afternoon. You see its dance night so when the oldest is done with preschool we have a 30 minute drive to another town for that. So pack the diaper bag, fill out paper work and make sure that the dance bag is ready for dance. When the 2 youngest children wake from naps it is time for a small snack, a dose of medicine to help one feel better and time to head out the door to pick up their sister. At this point we head to town to go to the library to grab some books and off to dance. After dance which ends at 5:45 we head for home. Dinner was supposed to be served about 15 minutes ago so the children are all in meltdown wanting to eat NOW. Stop at the fast food chain and pick up the worst meal you can possibly feed your family and hurry on home. Once home, sit down to eat all the time thinking that this cannot possibly be good for anyone, but hey the kids are happy right. Give the kids a chance to run off a bit of energy all while trying to prevent the melt down that will occur if anyone looks at the other wrong and then time to get ready for bed. Once I get the 2 littlest off to dream land its time for a book and bed for the oldest. Ahh the sound of silence. That few minutes in the day when you sit back and say WOW I MADE IT THROUGH ANOTHER ONE.

Now that leads me to the rest of the evening. I know that I should be picking up the toys, changing laundry, emptying the dishwasher and probably even scrubbing my floors, but you know what, I am tired. I need a break from the day and a chance to regroup because just like today, tomorrow will be a busy one.

And someone close to me once asked me if I could really stay busy all day once my kids were in school....ya I am pretty sure I can and my animals may not have to deal with stalls that seem to ALWAYS need cleaned!!!!

Night all

The circle of life....

2010-02-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

Whoever says farm life is easy must not have any animals because it really is bitter sweet to have animals you have raised from babies go to the locker. Yes you know when you get them that this is what they are for. You try to not make them into pets, but really its inevitable that you will have some form of attachment to an animal that you feed and water twice a day, watch playing in the pasture and chasing other animals around in fun and talk to daily.

Yes today was the day that our 2 pigs went to market and while I know that its what was meant to be, it was still bitter sweet. I went to do my chores at the end of the day and I was sad to not have them standing there, voicing their opinion that they wanted fed first and just in general making their presence known.

Now I am sure that it was not nearly as bitter sweet for my father after picking them up. They proceeded to tear up the front of his stock trailer to the point that we will now have to replace the wood that sectioned off the tack compartment. They then decided that they were the alpha animals and jumped on his 2 pigs that were also destined for the same fate. So I guess next time I need to teach the pigs how to play nicely with others and how to not destroy the trailer.

I will be happy to see the fresh sausage, bacon, roasts and hams that will soon stock our freezer, but for tonight I am sad to know that my poor little piggies are spending their last night in an unfamiliar pen hungry for their dinner.

The wrong side of the bed

2010-02-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

So waking up on the wrong side of the bed does not work so well at this house. You are not allowed to be crabby, need extra time to wake up and get going for the day, let me explain!!

Today I was not in the mood to get out of bed. I wanted to sleep, I wanted rest and most of all I wanted that quiet peaceful place that I can only find when my eyes are closed and I am laying in my bed. Well that wasn't an option so I started my day to kids that were oh so noisy, and playful and full of energy, something I certainly did not have.
From there it was time to go out and milk Bessie. Milking was not real high on my list of things I WANTED to do because, well, I am tired of the cold. Plus she didn't get milked yesterday which means she is always an ubber mess and that is something I was not in the mind to deal with. But out we went!

Once I arrived out there and saw how bad the udder really looked it just reaffirmed that I was not in the mind frame for this, but it had to be done.
After cleaning her up and getting her ready to milk, things went fairly well aside from fighting the milker to do all 4 quarters at once, something that seems to be our biggest fight of all.

After that I walked back into my house and had a better idea of why I woke on the wrong size of the bed.
This is what my living room looked like:

Now they say you can clean your house when the kids are grown and all that jazz, but I have to say its much more peaceful when things are all least picked up. And that was what we did today.

So the next time you think that your house is a mess just come back here and be reminded that, its not really that bad.

The day proceeded pretty well, until the evening that is, when there was an added youngster and 3 of the 4 were in foul moods and having a hard time getting along. But at the end of the day, we all survived and tomorrow will be better!

Who would have thought?

2010-02-25T08:56:00.001-08:00

If someone would have told me 14 years ago as I was graduating from high school that some day I would a stay at home mom to 3 kids, living on 4.5 acres and milking a cow I would have laughed at them. I was going to be business woman, with a career and all that good stuff. My kids were going to drink bottles, not be breastfed. I was going to have a big house in the middle of town where all the "fun" stuff was at. Oh how little I knew and how crazy an idea now that I look back on it.

Thinking back I can't think of a time in my life that I have felt so fulfilled by what I get done in a day. Even on days that I say I have gotten nothing done that is so far from the trust. I have changed many diapers, fed the children more times than I can count. I have fed the animals and milked the cow and gathered the eggs. Just those things alone are enough to keep any sane person busy right.

A normal day on the farm is always busy and there is always more that needs to be done. Take today for example, the kids are crabby from not enough sleep and its so terribly cold outside that the last thing I want to do is go outside. But I have nursed the little one 3 times, loaded the dishwashers, taken food scraps to the chickens and checked for any stray eggs to prevent them from freezing. The husband also fed all the animals and made sure that waters were still full. The milking was put off because we didn't seperate the calf off last night and the attempt to milk would have been a wash. Add to the day that the dishwasher is running and lunch is thawing and laundry has been started and its been a pretty productive day so far.

Having a farm that you choose to live off of is not for the faint at heart or for someone that wants the easy way out, but it is something that can fill your heart with joy and that is something to be proud of.