good quote

I'm not sure if this is an actual quote, but rather a saying. I really liked it. It kinda sums up my life as a mom!

Good moms have sticky floors, messy kitchens, laundry piles, dirty ovens, and happy kids!

what's cooking in my kitchen

 I have been cooking, but have taken no pictures of it. And other things have been going on. But this morning we woke up to the cow mooing. Or I woke up and nudged Matthew and asked if he was awake. He made a noise to let me know, not really and what did I want. I informed him the cow was mooing and was wondering what time it was and if we should go milk her. He looked at the phone beside his head and it was 6:30. I figured Maggie was thinking she didn't want to wait a half an hour. We usually milk at 7am and 5pm. But last night she gave 25.5lbs, translation almost 4 gallons. I milked her and Matthew went to get grain. She let all her milk down! She only gave 17 in the morning when Matthew milked, and we were pleased at that 3 months into her milking cycle. Matthew got up and went to milk and I got up a few minutes after he had left, and decided I'd make something for breakfast. Some of the kiddos were up and some were not so I wanted to be quiet and not wake them. Even though it was so very tempting seeing how they always wake us up! A little pay back, haha,  I know not very grown up of me but whatever... Well Maggie didn't let all her milk down this morning either, only 8 3/4lbs, translation 1 gallon. She'll be sore tonight, and mooing too.
I had asked Emma what she wanted for breakfast and she said she didn't know as she climbed up into Matthew's lap to snuggle for a minute. I asked him what he wanted and he said "French Toast." I curled my nose at him and said "couldn't we just have rice cakes for breakfast?" It's in one of my all time favorite movies, that line anyways, and I just love it, and use it from time to time.  But I did make french toast for breakfast this morning, and I love love love this recipe! It's so good. No longer just milk, eggs and cinnamon! My mother in law gave me a cookbook filled with some family favorites and Matthew's favorite meals for a bridal shower gift. She had had Matthew ask if I would like that and I said yes. I thought it was great idea. It's also got pictures of his family, the ones who gave me the recipes, as well as pictures of him growing up. I may have mentioned that before, don't remember.
Now that I have made this a longer post then I had intended and not really about cooking let me get on with the pictures!!

 Here are all the ingredients mixed into the bowl

 mmm homemade whole wheat/white flour bread I made last night. I like the flour half and half. Wonderful bread!!

 Plop a piece of bread in the batter, both sides

 Put it on your hot cast iron, or other pan. I just love to cook with cast iron. It's just wonderful when it's all seasoned!

 flip it and cook the other side. mmmm looks good!

 Last step is to eat it, after putting on the butter and maple syrup. Just gotta say it's homemade butter, and syrup that we made last year!! Yummy. Yes I like syrup with my toast. Don't judge me. Or go ahead!!;)
Now if you would like the recipe here tis

French Toast              

1 large egg
2 Tb melted butter
3/4 C milk
2 tes Vanilla
2 Tb sugar
1/3 C flour
1/4 tes salt
6-8 slices of bread (I think this is store bought bread, b/c it's never enough for my homemade bread. I make a double batch)
That's it. It's so good. We all like it anyways!
Have a great day all!

dandie update

Phew, we made it through the night without any problems. Both Maggie and Dandie settled down and slept and ate. Although last night when Matthew milked Maggie didn't let her milk down, and we figured she wanted to save it for Dandie. We were told she might not let it down and she didn't. Well this morning we were woken up by a very loud cow. Maggie was full and wanting to be milked. We got 17lbs. That translates to 2 gallons and a pint. Most we've gotten in a while!! Dandie didn't like that idea of her not getting the milk and then the two of them started bellowing to see who could outdo the other! It was a bit loud in the barn this morning. But we did notice that Dandie had drank all her water, ate some grain and hay. She has even pooped, and peed. We are so very thankful for that, means all systems are a go, she's eating and feeding herself to fill up her belly. They lay down for a while, then get up eat and moo. I did see Maggie lick Dandie's face this morning. 
We had Maggie AI'd this morning. She was showing signs so we put a call in and tada! They didn't have any of the bull named Stone, so we chose a bull named Denali, who is actually not going to be available anymore. Stone is Dandie's father. So now we wait and pray that Maggie doesn't come back into heat and she settles. In 60 days we'll have her preg checked, if she doesn't come into heat before then. And if all is a go we should have a calf sometime in October!! Yaay!!
Have a great day!

poor dandie

Oh for today is the day! What day you ask? Well...

Weaning poor Dandie.

 This is when he started to build her stanchion. The hens decided to eat Dandies grain. It's a little narrower then Maggie's, but she's also younger and smaller and we are praying we won't still be here when it comes time to be milking her, and have a bigger barn. I did help by handing him things and holding the wood as he cut some pieces!

 Here it is all done with Dandie in it. Looks nice dontcha think?

 Now if you look real close she is sticking her tongue out at me! I'm on her poop list. She has all the hay, water and grain that she wants. So far there has been little mooing on either of their parts. She jumps around and pulls her head and pushes her butt down to try to get out, to no avail. Matthew looked at me and said "wait until she's hungry, then you'll hear her." Oh boy. At some point we will move her water and grain bucket, but for now it has to stay there on the side.

She looks really cute here, but  I think she is really not happy with Matthew who is standing right next to her, and she's giving him the evil eye, and he's on her poop list too! He put her in there after all. The kiddos all ran out side to go see her, and feel bad for her. We all do, but it's time and I try not to humanize the whole thing too much. It's part of her life and the next step to becoming a productive member of our farm. Granted it will be a while before she pays for herself, you get what I mean!

Here's My Man reading a book ("When Life was Young on the Farm" by C. H. Stephens), in case you were wondering, in the barn right next to Dandie. He's sitting out there with her to make sure she doesn't strangle herself. We know a dairy farmer who lost a cow that way. Somehow managed to fall down and couldn't get her footing to get back up. Kinda scary. We would all be devastated if anything happened to Dandie. She's such a sweet little calf.  I'm sure during the night we will be up to check on her as well.
We decided to wait and wean her when it had warmed up. Last week it was so cold and windy that we didn't. We didn't want all that stress of being taken away along with below freezing temps to have a negative affect on her. We figured that her having all that nice warm milk in her belly would be better then cool water while it was so cold.  This week is supposed to be warmer, 30's-40's! It can't be too bad they are right next to each other and can lick each other.
Oh and we think Maggie is in heat today!!! Hooray!! We have a call into the AI Tech and should be getting a call back from them soon!! Very excited about that! I'll keep you posted!
Exciting times are coming here on the farm! I can almost smell the spring! hehe

Been a busy week for me. Things to do places to go.   Haven't really gotten a lot of house work done this week. The house is a mess. I was behind of laundry, but I'm finally caught up. For the present minute. That could change you know in about 30 seconds. It's been really cold here this week too, and windy. Burrrr. The kiddos seem like wild things running around the house. They go outside for a few minutes, but come right back in because the wind is too much. We don't have much snow, but I just looked out my window and it's snowing. Didn't know it was supposed to snow today. Oh well, it is winter now for sure.  Not much of a chance of getting 40 degree weather until March... it would be nice if it were 30... I'm done complaining. No really.
My boy went to my sisters for the weekend. He was over the moon excited about that too. He loves hanging out with his cousin. |They are the same age and when they get together they are such fun to watch. Don't think he'll get much sleep. But that's ok.
I went out with a bunch of friends the other night! Had a blast! It was so nice to talk and giggle with the girls, and not be interrupted by the kiddos, mine or theirs. Ahhh, a whole evening without being interrupted. So nice! Then we went shopping after stuffing ourselves full with some wonderful food, we didn't have to cook! More laughing and looking at some rather interesting clothing. Bikinis!!! Burr. I was surprised to see them displayed right out front, not really. I was like really? It's January and it's below freezing out there! How can you think of, oh no wait I wish it were warmer, so I guess that would work. But really! I was shopping for a sweater, not a bikini!  We went to several stores looking for sweaters. Do you think we could find a good selection? Nope. But the ones we did find were all on sale. We looked and looked. I tried several on and didn't like them. Or I liked them, but not enough to buy it. I wanted one in particular, but it is no more this year. Bummer.  Maybe I'll look online. Sometimes they have things online they don't have in the stores. Well after almost giving up my friend called me over and showed me a beautiful dark gray sweater. I liked it well enough, and hoped it would look good on me and not just the hanger. It's warm and comfy and fits just right. Now for the price...it was $18.00!! Whoohoo!!! I wanted two for that price. Anyhow, I get to the check out and looked at the computer screen with my total, it said I saved $72. How did I do that? I looked at the tag more closely and saw that it was a $90 sweater! Jackpot!! I was happy! Got a new sweater and got a good deal on it!

There's the proof!! Yup I'm happy I got a new sweater, I just loved the selection out this fall. Too bad I missed the one I really wanted, but I got a different one and I love it!  I also had a great evening out with friends, so that was even better. I also bought the CD Adel 21! Oh I just love her singing. Amazing!  Just my 2 cents on the fact.
Have a great weekend all!

good quote

Because it's Martin Luther King Jr. day I thought I'd post some of his quotes I like! 

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Martin Luther King Jr.

hats on

Me gots a new hat!! I love it!!  Here it is! A friend of mine had one similar this summer and I loved it! My husband was sneaky and between the 2 of them got me the hat and it came in the mail yesterday!  My girls say it's sparkly!!  Just thought I'd show it off!

Have a great weekend all!

just so you know

Alright, so I again changed the look of the blog. It's winter now, and "it's snowing to beat the band" as my husband likes to say. Although not much has come down, yet. I think the back ground is nice with the snow and the trees. The white text of the letters was too hard to read, so I made them blue, and a little larger. Hope it still works out. I get bored with the look, and have yet to figure out what I want for my own picture on the top of the blog, so... I know just rambling on there.

Can't see it snowing in the picture, but it's just a blah kinda day. The sky says it all!

I know ya'll will be excited to to know this!;) Maggie finally showed signs of being in heat this month! We haven't seen any of that since she had Dandie. Not really sure why, or if we were just so into having a heifer and making sure she grew strong and healthy we didn't notice, or having a calf on her for almost 12 weeks, and us milking what is left out after Dandie is done, took it away. Anyways, I was milking one night and noticed and told Matthew, he called the AI Tech, but she bled out the next am. Missed it, but we wrote on the calender to keep an eye out for it around the 21st of this month! So I will let you know if we get her AI'd! Dandie's daddy is named Stone. Not sure who we will use this time. Will have to wait and see who the AI Tech has available when he/she comes. We are starting the (and by we I really mean Matthew) building of Dandie's stanchion so we can wean her. Oh boy that's not gonna be fun. I'll let you know how it goes... Gonna hear lots of bellowing, but it's time. She has had a great start to her life being right with mama from the start. We figured Maggie could do a better job taking care of her washing, eating and loving on her then we could. Granted us humans love on her lots, and make sure they are cleaned out and have food and water, but you get the drift. Dandie is a great little heifer. She moos at us if we don't stop in and say hi to her. She loves to chase the chickens around her pasture, I think she just wants to play, but the chickens run for their lives! Kinda funny. She will play with me when I'm out cleaning her stall, and rub her head on my thigh, and jump around, so I squat down and jump around with her and rub her head. I really like her, as do the rest of us, in case you hadn't noticed!
 Well I have to run, we are having supper at my in laws tonight, it's my MIL's birthday, and I need to start cooking and finish up...eerr start with the rest of my daily chores! And maybe dig out the kiddos ski pants...
Have a great day all!

good quote

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."
William James

messes

Last week we started back up with home school after a short break for Christmas. I took the kiddos shopping with me and they had doctor appointments as well. I was setting up another appointment and was asked what time would work, after school, and I said whenever, I home school and can come any time. The lady looked at me and I braced myself for the comment I was sure was coming, I just love all the looks and comments I get at times, but she smiled and genuinely said "Wow, that's wonderful. I am such a strong believer in home school. I'll bet they are getting a great education. I think that's wonderful you are able to do that. I'll bet you get a lot of slack for that too." I tried to keep my mouth from hitting the floor at the comment. I stumbled through a thank you. I couldn't believe it. She made my day! I have gotten some looks from people while out shopping during "school" hours and been asked if it was a day off, I smile and say "nope, we home school" and go on my way. I've been asked how do it do it as they see I have 3-4 kiddos with me, depending on how much shopping I have to do. I've been called the lady with all the kids before too. I think it's funny. Or the very typical wow you have your hands full, or how many DO you have? I don't consider 4 kiddos to be a lot, or that I have a large family. Granted sometimes if you were to come to my house and hear the noise level or see the tornado of kiddos stuff that has gone through my house, tripped on or were to sit on one of the toys you might wonder how many kiddos lived here! I usually always have some sort of mess to clean up, and my counter top is never fully cleaned off, and nothing is usually where it belongs for more then about 10 seconds, but I have come to the realization that it's ok. My kiddos have wonderful imaginations, love to be outside, and don't get to watch T.V all day, or everyday for that matter, and if they do get to watch TV it's Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons or Danial Boone type movies. They help out tons with the chores, love to lug fire wood, and stack it in the fall with daddy. They help me clean up the house and put things away when they are asked.  I trip over a toy or two every time I walk through the living room, or get my foot snagged on a dress up dress. But before I go to bed at night I pick up the things left scattered about the house and put them in the kiddos rooms and look at them sleeping peacefully, tired from a full day of life in the country, and smile. Life is good.  I know there will be a day when they will be grown and leave my house and have one of their own and I will miss tripping on something every time I walk through the living room. I once read on a blog to think of house work as a good meal. You work really hard to make that meal, and look at it for about 5 minutes before it's all gone. The people you love enjoyed the meal you made for them, and it makes me feel good. It's kinda like that with house work, you work really hard to get the rooms cleaned, only to have someone come behind you and mess it up. They enjoyed your work and the clean room, even though it was only clean for about 5 minutes. I'm glad they enjoyed the clean room.Know what I mean?
Anyways life has been very busy for me, that's why I haven't been blogging. House work, school, ya know! haha!
Have a great night all!

mr roo

So as I said last year, haha, sorry couldn't resist the pun, we have a new little rooster. My brother in law brought him over. Guess he's paying us back for the very loud rooster we gave him this summer!!  Just kidding, kinda! Actually he's only here for the winter.We put him in with the big girls and prayed for the best for him. I hoped he wouldn't be a bother where he is small. I'm not real sure what kind of chicken he is. He's friendly too, and comes right up to me when he's outside. His name is Snowflake, he came with it. I think my nieces must have named him. I never name the chickens. But so far he's made it, the hens don't seem to bother him and he usually runs when they come too close. I would too if I was out sized by about 3-4 times my size! eeks!
So here is Snowflake. Anyone know what kind he is?

Pardon my smashed pumpkin there. He was eating it when I snapped the picture and then Mama hen comes running and he too off! He doesn't stay still very long either! And I have yet to hear him crow. Even better!

We traded something, don't remember what, for six Barred Rock hens a while back. They are about the same age as our other hens, and all are laying quite well. She's a big girl, but most Barred Rocks are!
Below are a few pictures of the other girls running up to me. They heard me out there and wanted a photo op too! They couldn't be left out, so I snapped a few pictures and told them what good girls they were. I found 20 eggs in the coop this afternoon, and one hen was still in the box!

Such nice looking hens dontcha think? They are enjoying this weird winter we are having with no snow and about 35 degrees this afternoon. They don't like the snow! Ever see a chicken in the snow? It's kinda funny. I have to go grab them and get them out sometimes, they just stand there and squawk! They fluff their feathers and strut around after they are on the ground again, like they meant to do that! They are too funny!
Have a great day all!

good quote

"The best way to predict your future is to create it." Peter Drucker