Snowin' and Blowin'...Again

I'm dreaming of flip-flops and tan legs. It seems this winter won't end. My 7 year old had some great insight on this when she said, "Mom, February has the shortest amount of days, but it feels like the longest month." I whole heartedly agree.

We've had snow on and off for the last week. Yesterday's storm was a surprise. The weatherman said "30% chance of snow, no significant accumulation."

Lies. All lies.

We even got hit hard on the other side of the mountain where we winter the cows. Thankfully, my in-laws fed hay for us, or it would have been a very long, treacherous trip over the hill.

Below is a picture my daughter snapped on our way to church yesterday morning.

One word: Treacherous.

The menfolk left at 6:00 am to feed the horse and headed to church early because my husband was helping with the music. My son was shoveling snow around the parking lot.

We girls left a little later.  It was a white-knuckle trip!

First, we were delayed because there was an ambulance and fire truck loading up a snow covered pedestrian laying on the side of the road.  Then we nearly slid out into the highway to be hit by traffic. Thankfully the breaks kicked in at the 11th hour and we had enough traction to stop.   The roads were so icy that we slid down the hill and almost past the church turn off....in 4-wheel drive. We barely made it alive, and we were ten minutes late.

We had all of our praying in for the day before we even arrived in the parking lot of the church.


Some bright spots:

1. I got rock star parking. Turns out folks don't flock to church in a blizzard.
2. I was forgiven for my tardiness.
3. I got to wear my snow boots to church. Toasty toes make me happy.

The good news is that there is nothing but sunny skies in this week's forecast. WooHoo!

Ain't nobody gonna steal my sunshine,

Nell

Living Life Outside Of The Box

I was cleaning up the living room when I spotted it out of the corner of my eye.

The kids were scattered through the house working on their school assignments, so I used my most serious "Mom" voice to fire off a stern warning:

"KIDS! If I find this horse tooth sitting on my couch one more time, it's gonna be mine forever!"

As soon as I blurted the words out, I had to keep myself from chuckling because:

1. I have no desire to keep a 30 year old horse tooth for myself.
2. I'm not even sure what one does with an old, nasty tooth of this nature.
3. I instantly realized that this was an odd thing to be hollering across the house, and that most people don't have equine body parts lying on their couch.

Evidently, the horse tooth is a prized possession because my threat brought three children racing down the hallway to rescue the tooth from the wrath of Mom.

In an instant, I realized just how different our lives are from our urban counterparts.

While many of my children's friends were sitting in a classroom on Friday, our kids were with us at a vet appointment.  Armed with pencil, paper, and a camera, my daughter interviewed the vet as he floated her horse's teeth.
























For 45 minutes she observed, asked questions, wrote down information, and took pictures of the whole process, including the tools and their names.

 Our two vets were incredibly generous and patient, taking the time to answer all of her inquiries while they worked.  They were PRICELESS!!! One vet was excited to bring out the skull of a 7 year old mare, and began to show the kids how the horse chews, what the horse's teeth look like, and how to tell the age of a horse.

Below is a tooth from the skull. He explained to the kids that a horse's teeth are about 4" long, and keep growing upward until eventually, they have worn down so far, there is nothing left to keep them in the mouth so they fall out.

The tooth below was really loose on Friday so the vet pulled it right out of our old horse's mouth and gave it to the kids. They compared its length to that of the 7 year old horse.

In addition to being present for the horse teeth floating, the kids also helped run the gates for heifer Bangs vaccinating, ear tattooing, and applying the metal ear clips.

After the afternoon spent with the vet, the kids went home with their new-found knowledge, combined it with  other research, and wrote a report.  Our son wrote his on animal identification methods, and our daughter wrote hers on horse teeth floating. Our littlest is doing her report on horse grooming.

Finally, they took their reports and turned them into presentations, complete with pictures and visual aids.  They'll present them orally to their entire 4-H group tonight.

I feel so blessed that through homeschooling, our kids have many opportunities to interact with great mentors in our community, learn things first hand (not just out of books in a classroom), and share their new knowledge with friends in a way that really challenges them to get out of their comfort zone.


Tonight, we returned from a trip to Dairy Queen and as we walked through the front door, my husband noticed the dog drop that old tooth out of its mouth and on to the floor. He must have retrieved it from the girls' bedroom.

My husband hollered, "KIDS! You better put that horse tooth away before the dogs try to eat it up!"

I just cracked up. It appears that the dogs think that old tooth is as much of a treasure as the children do.

Yes, we live life outside the "normal" box, but I wouldn't have it any other way.


Nell

Monday on the Home Front

( As always feel free to share what's going on in your neck of the woods in the comments, or on your own blog. Just let me know so I can come read it!)

Outside:

Snow, snow, and more snow with another 10" expected today. The high today is 28°F and the low is 12°.

In the Kitchen:

I'm slow cooking a roast for Italian Beef Sandwiches tonight.  ( I use one jar of Pepperoncinis OR Italian Giardiniera, not both.)

I'm loving this Rice Krispie Treat Recipe that a blog friend pinned on Pinterest. It truly has the PERFECT ratio of butter/marshmallow to cereal.  If there's one thing I hate, it's dry Rice Krispie Treats. These are YUMMY!!!

In the Bathroom:

 My hair really takes a beating with my life-long curling iron obsession, and the fact that I heat style it every. single. day. It's been feeling a little dry this winter so I bought this Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil and so far, I'm enjoying its conditioning properties. I know that there are far more expensive versions of this online, but this was only $6 at Walmart, and it got good reviews.  I only apply a scant dime sized amount to the ends of my hair (where the curling abuse occurs) when I get out of the shower, being careful not to get it up near my roots where my head produces its own oils. When I blow dry my hair and style it, my hair feels soft, and curls up nicely without even a hint of oiliness. It just renewed that bounce that my hair has after a fresh cut from the salon.

(Not a Paid advertisement) ;)

In the School Room:

OK, who am I kidding, I don't have a school room. At my kitchen table, the kids are working diligently on their assignments, and the days seem to be a bit long.  We try to get as much done as possible these winter months while the snow flies, because spring and summer months are where the real learning takes place outside of the classroom with calving season, travel, and outdoor adventures. 

In the Pasture:

This will be a busy week with the vet. Heifer Bangs Vaccinations, Horse teeth floating, Annual equine vaccines, and a follow-up visit for Jake's leg injury. The cows are due at the end of March, and are looking more plump these days.

In the Feed Shed:

We waged an all out assault on the mice, and have trapped 18 in a week. There is a lull in the activity so we may have temporarily eradicated them, no thanks to the lazy cat. The mice paid a high price for the bag of peppermint flavored horse treats that they devoured. Take that, Vermin!!!

Over the Air Waves:

We're listening to an audio book from the library. It's a Newberry Award Winner called, "A Year Down Yonder" by Richard Peck.  It's about a 15 year old girl from Chicago who goes down south to live with her grandmother for a year.  With its setting around the time of The Great Depression, there are a lot of great lessons about resourcefulness, frugality, and counting every small blessing.  We're only half way through the book, but it has already sparked many conversations with the kids about history, character traits, and finding real joy in the midst of hard times. I hope the second half is as good as the first!

On the bookshelf:

We just received a copy of "A New Home For Lily" by Mary Ann Kinsinger and Suzanne Woods Fisher. It's the second book in "The Adventures of Lily Lapp" Series, and we were so excited to find it in our mailbox! We've thoroughly enjoyed reading a few chapters before bedtime each night.  More on this book to come when we've finished it......

On the Calendar:

This is going to be a full week with Valentine's Day, sorting cows, riding lessons, vet visits, and a date night!

Happy Monday, Readers!

Nell 

Extreme Sledding

We had GORGEOUS weather on Saturday! After we did the chores, checked cows, and filled water tanks, we had the entire afternoon to play in the snow.  

The sled hill had some serious ramps that propelled the kids high in the air.  Big air also brings big wipe-outs.

The sled with the steering wheel used to be my husband's when he was a boy. They just don't make them like that anymore. It's as fast as greased lightning.

Our baby is a total dare-devil.

Our son is a serious sledder.  "No guts, no glory" is his motto.  As soon as his sled came to a stop, he was right back up the hill to make another run.  He took a few spills, but other than a few bruises, he walked away unscathed.

 It was REALLY bright outside... hence the squinty eyed boy.

 The sledding hill also happens to be located in the Wallow Fire burn area.  It's sad, really.  It just looks like a bunch of match sticks all around.

Even the grandparents got in on the sledding action!! Below, Pop Pop is taking a ride down the hill.  The sleds go faster with the grown-ups aboard.

Even I had a few runs... screaming all the way down the mountain. Ha Ha!

Judging by the smiling faces, I'd say it was a successful day on the sled hill.

A day of fun and silliness was exactly what this family needed!

Nell

7 Random Things

1. Last year, I purchased one of these gallon sized Anniversary Ball Jars. I thought it was so cute, but at the time I couldn't afford more. Then, when I wanted to expand my collection, I couldn't find them locally so I scoured the internet. I got the best deal! I went to the cheapest source I could find, (kmart.com of all places...) and then got a major internet coupon for 40 % off and free shipping. I'm so excited with them! I think they make my open pantry shelves look a little less cluttered. They hold a ton of the dry goods that I normally buy in bulk and keep stored in white 5 gallon buckets. They have such a wide mouth that I can fit a measuring cup in them, and it saves me from lugging the buckets in from the garage storage every time I want to prepare beans, rice, wheat bread, oats, and more. 

2. For my 4-H sewing class, I taught the girls how to sew in a zipper. We made these cute little lined make-up/toiletry bags using a great tutorial I found on Pinterest. Here's the link:

Zippered Pouch Tutorial

3. The weather has been horrible, so the kids have been forced to ride in an arena. They've been taking a few lessons to improve their horsemanship for the upcoming 4-H season. 

4. Jake's leg seems to be all better, and he comes a runnin' for meals, but the vet said no riding for 6 weeks.  Even though he looks great, we're sticking to the doctor's orders because we want him good and sound for the spring.  Unfortunately, this means that my baby has been riding a pony for her lessons.  It's the cutest thing ever, but in her eyes, she's been completely demoted and  humiliated. She went from riding a giant noble steed to an ornery little midget with short man syndrome.  HaHa! 

All of her friends love the pony, but she can't wait to ride her ole' Jake again.  I think it's good for her because the pony has a naughty streak, and she really has to school him and show him who's boss.  She never has to be that tough on Jake because he's so sweet to her. She's counting the minutes until she can be re-united with her buddy.

5. After having a foot of dirty snow blanketing the yard, it warmed up to the 50's and rained cats and dogs for 3 full days.  It melted all of the snow, and I finally saw my grass for the first time in over 2 months.  The yard had a huge puddle in it and it attracted six ducks who were wading in the front yard, and coming to eat from beneath our bird feeder every day. I think some of them are the offspring of Harry and Mildred, and are coming back to our yard from memory. They've nearly been killed crossing the road from the little watering hole every day, but so far, no fatalities. They've been feasting on bird seed and old bread for days now.

The bad news is that it finally got cold again and the end of the storm brought a fresh blanket of snow.  Sometimes it feels like winter will never end.

6. The last two times the guys went out to go deer hunting this month, catastrophe has ensued and they've had to come home.  The first time, it was so cold that we busted a water pipe in the yard. They had to climb out of the tree stand and drive home.  The second time, they were almost to their hunting spot when they put it into 4- wheel drive and the truck made an awful sound.  They had to be towed home by their buddies, and my husband spent the day re-building the 4-wheel drive in the old truck. Talk about serious disappointment.   

7. Our mouse eradicator is seriously slacking in the peak of her hunting season.  Everywhere I look, I see her sleeping on kids, beds, and sunny windows.  I'm going to cut her cat chow rations, and lock her in the feed shed if her performance doesn't improve.  The girls have pampered her too much, and she's turned into a purring blob of fur.  They've ruined her.  She's no good to me! 

Only two more days until January's over. Woo Hoo!!!

Nell

A Letter to my Babies When They're Grown

Dear sweet babies,

When you were born, our dusty old computer had only three programs: Word, Solitaire, and E-Mail.  There was no Pinterest, blogging, or internet forum to help us solve your problems, decorate your nursery with the latest trends, or record your milestones for the world to see.  It took 3 hours to download a picture on something called "dial-up", and we still had real film in our cameras. There was no cell phone app to tell us what fruit size you were each week in gestation, and no website available to upload weekly baby- bump photos to share with far-away relatives. We were at the cusp of a new technological era, and by the time you were in Kindergarten, everything had changed! But your first years were spent in the dark ages of technology.

With each of you, I was given something called a "Baby Book" to record all of your milestones in. This journal that captured your "firsts" was a standard gift at baby showers. I did my best to write things down in them, however, I'm sorry to say that I failed you all miserably.

This is the reason for my letter. I want to apologize for the blank pages in your Baby Books.

Son, being the first born has its privileges.  I did the best with your book, and I got most of the way through the first year. But girls, by the time you came along, things were happening so fast and furious, that I never wrote it all down. Whether sleep- deprivation or forgetfulness is to blame....the bottom line is, your books only have the first few pages filled out. For this, I am deeply sorry.

This is in no way, shape,or form a reflection of my love for you. On the contrary,  I was so enamored with each of you that I didn't have time to pick up a pen and dig your Baby Book out of the closet to write things down in it. I was too busy living in the moment. I was too busy wiping your noses, kissing the boo boo's, and nibbling your sweet little toes after I changed your diapers.

The pages of your book aren't blank because I wasn't proud of you. No. I was beaming with admiration for you. I was the obnoxious parent who told the cashier at the grocery store your height, weight, and head circumference. I cooked you for 9 months in my belly, sacrificed my bikini body, birthed you from my loins, and nourished you at my breast for a full year. With God's help, your dad and I made a tiny person, for goodness sake, and I wanted to show you to the whole wide world!

I might not remember when you got your first molars, but I'll never forget your first word.  It was "Dada"... for all three of you.  I birthed you. I nursed you at 2 am. I changed 95% of your diapers, and your first word was still "Dada". It torqued me to no end and made your daddy beam with pride.

I might not remember the exact date that I first fed you solid food, but I'll never forget how much you loved apple sauce, sweet potatoes, and bananas.  I'll never forget the way you would feed the dogs your Cheerios, and giggle when they licked your chubby little hands from the side of the high chair.

I might not remember the exact time of your first smile or first laugh, but I'll never forget the way you twirled your hair on the top of your head when you were sleepy, or stuck your tiny fingers in my mouth while you nursed, or the way your little lips would keep right on sucking, long after the pacifier fell out of your mouth while you slept.

You all hated the booger sucker, bottles, and tummy time.  You loved the songs your daddy sang to you, and the way he gently petaled your legs back and forth when you were gassy. He cradled you in his arms, face down, the way a receiver carries a football, and walked you up and down the hallway so you could "look for pennies" on the floor. It was your favorite way to be held when you were fussy.

No matter how early or late you achieved your milestones, your dad and I thought you were the most brilliant, most beautiful, most amazing human beings ever made, and we spent hours admiring you, wondering how on earth we got so blessed.

The pages of your books are blank, but the pages in my mind are overflowing with every detail of your precious little lives.  I was soaking up all of those tiny treasures that make life grand, and didn't have the inclination to pick up the pen at the risk of losing the moment.

I hope that one day you will understand.

Love,

Mom

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Cream of Wheat

I'm usually a big believer in feeding my kids a breakfast high in protein and healthy fats.  But sometimes, a bowl full of comfort food just sounds  more appealing. On cold winter days when the hens aren't laying well, and eggs aren't plentiful, I whip up a batch of homemade Cream of Wheat. It's delicious and cheap!

Awhile back, I discovered that the boxed Cream of Wheat that my mom had purchased my whole life was really nothing more than ground up wheat berries.  The Hard Red Wheat Berries seem to work best, and I just run them through the wheat grinder. I wish someone would have told me this years ago. It costs just a fraction of the price of the boxed stuff.

Of course, I doctor mine up so that it appeals to my family, but everyone likes it different. As a kid, my mom used to tell us the story of how my grandma used to make it for her daughters, and they liked it lumpy.  For our family, smooth and creamy is the preferred choice.

Here's my Recipe:


Cinnamon Roll Cream of Wheat
(Serves 4)

3/4 cup of ground Hard Red Wheat (Or 3/4 cup of the 2 1/2 minute Cream of Wheat)
4 Cups Milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

In a large sauce pan, bring the milk and salt just barely to a boil.  Whisk in the ground wheat and cook for 2 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly. (It make take just a bit longer if you use freshly ground wheat.) Remove from heat. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir.