Barefoot Kentucky Mama

Broody Hen and A New Skirt

2012-02-05T18:40:00.000-05:00

The boys are very excited that we have a broody hen. One of the buff orpingtons, which the kids named Sol (Spanish for sun because she's yellow) is sitting on 7 eggs. She started yesterday, and continues to sit, so the kids are hoping for baby chicks. I'm pretty sure it takes 20 days before they'll hatch, but I have to double check in a chicken book.

In other news, I made Lydia a new skirt. She says it's a dancing skirt, and she wore it to church today to rave reviews. I plan on making more for sale in my etsy shop. It's my version of a half-circle skirt, and I'm excited with how it turned out. It has an elastic waist, and yes, it is great for dancing since it has enough fabric for some swishing action.

She loved posing for the camera, as always!

Just Playing Around

2012-01-31T16:13:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while, and there's not really any big reason for that. We've been busy, but not terribly so. The boys have been really absorbed in Legos:

And Lydia has been playing with my old gymnastics mat. It has many uses, including a mat for roll balls (summersaults) and a way to drag all her stuff down the hall:

Lastly, I've been doing some sewing, and I recently made my favorite sundress ever:

Unfortunately, it's a little small for me, but just looking at it makes me smile.

Rooster and Rome

2012-01-19T14:22:00.000-05:00

Our Rooster "Green Taily", or "Smarty", depending on the boys' mood

I figured that it's been a while since I've shown you a picture of the rooster, so here he is. He has some really pretty feathers. We still don't know what kind of chicken he is.
Our hens are laying way better than expected. The Ameruacanas are said to lay 3+ eggs a week, and the rest were all supposed to lay 5+ eggs a week. Well, we get 7 to 9 eggs a day from 9 hens, so they are really taking this laying job seriously. Yesterday I collected 9, today 8. That's pretty typical over the last week. As you can imagine, we have lots of eggs, so it was good to hear that Nathaniel's friend/coworker wants to buy a dozen a week.

Also, I think all of you know that my wonderful husband traded his airline points to get us tickets to Rome for our 10th anniversary this year. As it's getting closer, I've been getting more and more excited. I've been trying to learn Italian and brushing up on my Latin. (Yes, I'm that nerd.) Anyway, I now can say things like Vorrei un po'di formaggio per favore. (I'd like a little cheese please.) Many years ago, Mamaw and Papaw got me a learn Italian set (because I've always wanted to learn a lot of languages) but now I've actually got some motivation and am currently on lesson 22. I can't say a whole lot, but I am learning, so that's nice. As for the Latin, I'm actually remembering more than I thought I would, and I'd like to be able to read the monuments myself, so I'm brushing up on that, too. Maybe someday I'll actually be fluent in a couple of languages. That would be so cool.
As I study the Italian, Spanish filters through my head. I remember that when I first studied Spanish, I filtered it through the Latin I knew, so this is not new, just kind of odd. Now I often think in Spanish while I'm reviewing Latin, too, since my Spanish is better than my Latin now. I've found myself trying to talk in Italian and ending up in Spanish. Oh, well, it may work out in the end. My Columbian friend Gloria assures me that Italian is pretty much "like Spanish with a bad accent". (Her words) Of course, she doesn't actually speak Italian, either. I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever heard any "real" person speak Italian, just some bits on the Godfather movies or other tv (and now my learn Italian tapes).

Homemade Cream of Celery Soup

2012-01-17T16:37:00.000-05:00

Missy, this is for you. :)

I've been making cream of mushroom for a while, but I never tried cream of celery. I played around today, and came up with a recipe for a good cream of celery. It's lighter and uses little salt. It makes about 3 cups.
You need:
1 bunch of celery, diced (even the leafy bits)
4T olive oil, divided
1 1/2 c chicken stock (or veggie stock, if you wanna go vegetarian)
about 3/4 c milk (I used whole milk)
1/2 tsp celery salt
generous sprinkle of pepper (1/2 tsp?)
1/4 c white whole wheat flour

In a skillet, saute celery in 2 T oil for a few minutes. It will still be fairly crisp, but somewhat cooked. Add rest of oil and flour and spices, making a roux. Add chicken stock and scrape bits off the bottom of the pan. Add milk. Turn off heat. Use an immersible blender to puree. (Mine still has some small pieces of celery; it's not totally pureed.) That's it! Here's a picture, but keep in mind that cream of celery has never looked too appetizing:

I used mine in some chicken tetrazini. Yum. I don't know if it will freeze well or not.

Kitchen Cabinets

2012-01-09T18:54:00.000-05:00

Finally, I painted all of the kitchen cabinets. This is the before picture:

(And aren't you surprised that I remembered to take a "before" picture!)
I painted all of the cabinets, and Nathaniel spray painted the hinges and drawer pulls. We bought new knobs, and Nathaniel has been busy hanging cabinets. In fact, he's still hanging them right now, with Elijah's help. But I wanted to show you how nice the ones that are hung look:

I think it's a pretty impressive makeover for very little money. It took longer than I'd wanted, but there has been a lot going on, and this was definately worth the wait!

Random Thoughts on Twelfth Night, Bean Sprouts, and Egg Production

2012-01-08T13:58:00.000-05:00

I had every intention of making a yummy chocolate trifle for Twelfth Night and having a little celebration with my family. No, we've never actually celebrated Twelfth Night before, but you all should know what a history buff I am, and traditionally, the Christmas season was capped with a big last hurrah party on Twelfth Night, or January 5. (Epiphany is Jan 6, and traditionally the day the wise men's arrival was commemorated. And techinically, Jan 6 is twelfth day, but that's another discussion.) Anyway, I had thoughts of having a little dessert party here, but alas, it just didn't happen. I still plan to make the chocolate trifle sometime, though. Maybe for Valentine's Day or something. Aunt Bess always made a trifle for Christmas and special gatherings. Hers was made with pound cake (or angel food cake, but I remember the pound cake being used more often), vanilla pudding, and cherry pie filling. It is absolutely fabulous, but since we're pretty big choco-holics around here, I started making a chocolate one that's been a huge hit with everyone except Malachi. (Well, he eats the chocolate pudding and chocolate cake, but not the cherry pie filling.)

Another thing I've been doing, besides dreaming of chocolate desserts, is sprouting beans:

My friend Karen gave me a jar and seeds for growing bean sprouts. Nathaniel and I actually love bean sprouts on sandwiches and in salads, so I did the first package, and it's already been eaten. They grew really well, and I was thrilled at how easy it was, especially since bean sprouts are very nutritious, and I'm always trying to get more green things into Nathaniel's diet. We have a second bag of seeds that says they are sprouts for stir-fry, so I plan to grow in the next week or two and add them to a stir fry. Then the kids might accidentally eat some, too!

Lydia has been a big helper in the kitchen lately. Here she is cutting up mushrooms:

She actually cut up the entire container for me. Usually she tires of helping earlier, but lately she's really been sticking with me more.

Lastly, our chickens have been producing like crazy. Here's the number of eggs this week:

Tuesday -6

Wednesday -9

Thursday -5

Friday - 7
Saturday - 9

Sunday - 8 so far

Obviously, all 9 of our hens are laying quite productively. They come running whenever any of us goes outside now, even Nathaniel. (Apparently, they've forgiven/forgotten his role in Zebra 4's demise.) They are also mostly staying in the yard. We did have one time they "escaped" to the side of our yard, but the boys quickly rounded them up. The rooster has been accepted by the hens, but he is still quite timid around us, which is not a bad thing.

Eggs and Friends

2012-01-03T16:59:00.000-05:00

The kids enjoyed playing at our friends' house. How many kids can fit on a bean bag? Apparently, 7 can!

The chickens are really laying now. Yesterday, we got 6 eggs. Today, we got 8! We had scrambled eggs for dinner last night, and Lydia and I baked pumpkin muffins and banana bread today, but there is no shortage of eggs in our fridge. Two of the eggs I cracked for scrambled eggs yesterday had double yolks (one was a brown egg, the other green). I also hardboiled some for snacks and salad topping.

The chickens don't seem bothered by the cold. It was only 18 degrees this morning when I went to let them out, but they were all outside in their tiny yard already, and eagerly came running to the door for me to let them into the main yard.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-27T16:49:00.000-05:00

Goodbye to Zebra 4

2011-12-19T17:26:00.000-05:00

Well, we are down to 10 chickens. Zebra 4, as our sons called the Barred Rock Rooster, had to be killed Thursday when Nathaniel got home. He had started associating Lydia with a hen and was dive-bombing her back when she was in the yard. We do miss him; he was terribly friendly and smart for a chicken, but of course we can't have roosters flying at Lydia. So now we have 9 hens and 1 rooster. Nathaniel also clipped the wings of the hens because we were having trouble keeping them in our yard. They've been staying in the fence since then, so we're hoping they stay put from now on. We don't want our chickens bothering the neighbors!

On the plus side, we've been getting 3 to 4 eggs a day from the hens. The barred rocks and ameruacanas are laying. I'm not sure about the Rhode Island Red, and I'm really pretty sure that the buff orpingtons are not laying yet. Despite the trama of losing the lead rooster and having feathers clipped, we are still collecting eggs! I'm really excited that all of our eggs are now coming from our own hens.

Wrapping Paper

2011-12-15T10:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Lydia was able to paint on the easel in the driveway. She made several nice pictures that are now serving as wrapping paper. Today it's raining, so we set up shop on the kitchen floor with crayons. She's been busy making more wrapping paper. It's an easy, creative craft she enjoys, just like her brothers used to. Actually, sometimes they still participate, especially when I break out the paint. I thought we were out of large paper (which is all left over from moving), but I just found another stash in the basement, just in time to make Christmas wrapping paper. Some sheets are brown; most are white. Either way works great. I haven't bought wrapping paper for at least two years, because between the kids' art and the now-dwindling big box of wrapping paper Nathaniel brought home from work for free a few years ago, we've had plenty of wrapping paper.

Christmas Program

2011-12-11T14:44:00.001-05:00

Lydia is to the far left, dressed as a camel. She sang and did the motions to Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells like a champ in front of a packed sanctuary! She was all smiles.

When Ms Laura asked Malachi to be a wise man, he replied, "Well, that makes sense cause I'm really smart." My kids do not lack self-esteem!

I "directed" the nativity. The kids (ages 4-7) did great. They also played "The First Noel" with handbells, and you could tell what song we were attempting to play!

Listening to the big kids sing

Elijah played the chimes and sang 3 anthems.

We got to see Santa at the boys' school.

Malachi talked and talked to Santa!

And one more thing- we got a blue egg!

Egg news

2011-12-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

At least 3, probably 4 of our chickens are now laying. Today was the first day I got 2 eggs out of the nesting boxes, and one was not from a Barred Rock hen, so either the Rhode Island Red or one of the Buff Orpingtons is laying now. (No blue or green eggs, so the Ameruacanas aren't laying yet.) One of the Barred Rock hens is now laying full-sized eggs. It's pretty exciting news to us!

Lydia and Katie

2011-12-07T14:59:00.000-05:00

Lydia Quote of the Day: "Mommy, Katie just sneezed like a people. Can I get her a tissue?"

Chicken Pictures

2011-12-04T08:31:00.000-05:00

Malachi had a lot of fun yesterday taking pictures of the chickens. Here are some of his favorites:

He loves that they play in the knocked-over soccer goal.

Chickens about to escape

He calls this the "chicken tushy" picture.

And in other news, Elijah went to his first chess tournament yesterday. He only started playing about 2 months ago, but he got 2nd place out of 15 kids! He was very excited. Nathaniel says he's turning into a pretty good little chess player!

How My 7-year-old's Mind Works

2011-12-01T21:02:00.000-05:00

EGGS!

2011-11-28T09:39:00.000-05:00

Wednesday morning, we were packing and getting ready to head to my in-laws when I found this lovely egg. It was in the nesting box, right where it should be, and we were so excited to get our first egg. When we came home yesterday, four more eggs were waiting for us! You can tell which ones they are in the carton below, because first eggs are typically small:

We were surprised that they were that big, though. We had expected them to be smaller at first. We're not sure which hen(s) are laying, but Nathaniel suspected the Rhode Island Red was the first one, from her behavior. This morning when I went to let the chickens out, one of the Barred Rock hens was sittting in the nesting box and didn't move out with the others, so I assume she's laying. Fun, fun!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. The boys went with their grandparents to cut down a tree:

Lydia is usually such a Grandpa's girl, and she still is, but this weekend she gave Grandma a lot of attention, too:

We played Mexican Train Dominoes. This picture cracks me up because it looks like Nathaniel and Ben are concentrating so hard!

Another Easy Thanksgiving Craft

2011-11-22T17:04:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday, the boys went to Afterschool Adventures at the library and came home with a cute craft:

It's hard to tell, but they took little pumpkins with the stem area hollowed out, and glued a candle there. Then the kids glued little berries, leaves, twine, etc to decorate it. The boys were thrilled with it, and they will make a great centerpiece for a Thanksgiving table!

In other news, my passport came!! I'm very excited about our anniversary trip to Italy in March. I never thought I'd be thankful that Nathaniel earns so many miles traveling for work.

I've been very busy with my etsy shop lately, and I'm excited that I've been able to add to the adoption fund. Sales have been picking up for Christmas, and I've been adding new things. It's been fun. I'm also working on some Christmas gifts, and I'm still painting my kitchen cabinets white. So much to do! And we leave tomorrow for my inlaws for Thanksgiving. Whew! It's busy here, but going well. (I really wanted to have the cabinets done before Thanksgiving, but I there's no way that can happen, because even if I got the painting all done, we need to special order two hinges to replace the broken ones, and then spray paint all of the cabinets' hinges. So hopefully, that will all happen in the next couple of weeks.)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

P.S. We've been intentionally working on talking about how many blessings we have and what we're thankful for lately, and so if you get a chance to talk to the kids, be sure and ask what they're thankful for. Sometimes it's the usual (family, friends, dog, etc) and sometimes it's funny and surprising.

Turkey Craft

2011-11-16T13:53:00.001-05:00

Gobble, Gobble! This cute turkey was made by my 3 kids (ages 2, 7, and 8). It is an easy craft idea that came from my wonderful sister. I cut out 2 cardboard circles and let the kids glue fresh leaves to them. (Note: Don't use crinkly leaves. They should still be pliable.) Make sure to glue some sticking off the cardboard for the tailfeathers. Then I glued the small circle onto the big circle and let it dry. Next, the boys cut out eyes, feet, waddle, and beak from cardstock (construction paper would work, too) and Lydia glued them on. Wha-la, one easy Thanksgiving decoration. I've thought about taping a piece of string to the back so he can be hung on the wall, but right now he looks pretty good just lounging on the mantle, sorta leaning against the wall.

Cabin Fun

2011-11-15T20:13:00.000-05:00

Check out how big the log pile is! The boys loved playing on it.

Here Lydia is on "her" tree. She walked up and down it over and over.

Fishing with Pa in the wind. Elijah learned how to use an open-face reel and caught a large mouth bass.

Chili and Misc

2011-11-10T07:22:00.001-05:00

Well, Nathaniel's back for a few days. The kids are so happy. I've been busy sewing and adding to my etsy shop in between managing everything else.

Yesterday it was rainy and windy....and a perfect day for chili! I used to always make my mom's chili recipe (with my Grandmommy's elbow macaroni thrown in) but we've moved so much that finding the brand of chili mix she uses is not always possible. So I've tweaked it and made up my own, which is very similar to Mom's but also adds some more vegetables (which no one around here has noticed!).
So here it is, basically:
2 c pinto beans (mine were cooked from dried, but canned works just as well)
2 cans red beans
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, diced
1/2 of a bell pepper, minced (Lydia and I ate the other half raw. Use red if you want it to blend in better.)
1 c pumpkin puree (No, really, no one will taste it!)
1 c tomato sauce
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
about 1 1/2 c elbow macaroni
1 T taco seasoning
2 T chili powder

Brown the ground beef and onion in the bottom of your soup pot. Drain if necessary. Add spices, garlic, pepper, pumpkin, and tomato sauce and stir well. Then add beans and water, about 3 cups, but more if you like your chili less thick. Bring to a boil and then simmer, for any time from 10 minutes to all day. (If you go for a long time, you'll have to occassionally add more water.) About 15 minutes before serving, increase heat to high and add a cup or two of water and the macaroni. Serve when the macaroni is cooked. For really good chili, add shredded sharp cheddar cheese to each bowl. Yum!
Notes:
I make my own taco seasoning and keep it in a container in the pantry, but you can use ready-made just as easily.
I use wheat elbow macaroni.
My pumpkin puree is homemade, but again, canned works great. I often have an extra cup because like the store bought kind, I usually have 2 c per container and I often use 1 c for pumpkin muffins and then have 1 c leftover. Pumpkin really is a powerhouse of nutrients, so I like to put it in things.
I always make my chili really thick, so add more water if you want it a little more soup-like.
You could easily use the whole bell pepper, it's just that Lydia loves raw bell peppers right now.

Chickens

2011-11-01T21:42:00.000-04:00

Well, I think I owe you all a chicken update. Right now we have 11. 1 rooster we are keeping, 9 hens, and 1 black chicken that I'm afraid is a rooster, but I keep hoping.

This is the barred rock rooster we're keeping.

The one on the left is our only Rhode Island Red. On the right is an Ameruacana.

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These rings have been a bit hit.

Buff orpingtons

This is the black one I'm afraid is a rooster. See his tail? Roosters' tails develop big feathers that droop. Hens don't. Also, green feathers are usually present in roosters, not hens.

And one last Halloween picture, because they look so cute!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2011-10-31T07:11:00.000-04:00

11 Chickens

2011-10-30T15:01:00.000-04:00

Well, one of the white roosters wouldn't stop harrassing the hens, so today Nathaniel killed the 2 white roosters. The kids handled it much better this time. The boys helped him catch them, and Malachi wanted to watch him butcher them.

He was particularly fascinated by how small a chicken's heart is.

So now we have 10 hens (hopefully) and 1 rooster.

The kids will be doing a trunk or treat tonight and trick or treating tomorrow night, so they are very excited. Unfortunately, on Friday Nathaniel found out that he has to go to England on Monday, so he will miss Halloween night with us. He'll be gone a lot this month.

Camping and Tie-dye

2011-10-25T21:40:00.000-04:00

We had a great weekend camping with Nathaniel's family. The weather Friday and Saturday was great. Sunday we did have a little rain, but it was just annoying sprinkles. The kids had a blast. They even had some cousins to play with there, and that was a big bonus.

Lydia couldn't remember camping, of course, so she was intrigued by the whole idea. When I told her that the whole family was going to sleep in the tent, she thought I was joking. It was fun to see her "discover" what camping was.

Now we are back home and back in the swing of things. Malachi was excited to try out his tie-dye kit, and he and Elijah dyed some shirts, long underwear, and 3 sheets. Malachi spent some of his money to buy a second tie-dye kit, which we will use another day. (One kit is plenty for one day!)

Kid pics

2011-10-20T15:13:00.002-04:00

I really can't quite believe that my baby boy is 7 already. Can you?

And here is proof that it can be nearly impossible to get all 3 kids looking at and smiling for the camera:

2011-10-18T08:19:00.000-04:00

Mamaw pointed out that it's been a while since I posted anything, so I thought I'd share a bit. Lydia loves getting her picture taken:

The boys are on fall break this week. Yesterday we just stayed home and had a free day. They had needed that, I think. We have been very busy lately. My friend Katie came for the weekend, and she and I saw Dracula. That was fun. I love to go to plays.

I've also been sewing. Here's my new doll:

The remaining 13 chickens are doing great. We are going to have a neighbor feed them and Katie (the dog, not the friend!) while we're camping this weekend.

Pumpkin Field Trip, a Birthday, and a Loss

2011-10-10T09:42:00.000-04:00

Whew, it was a busy weekend around here! But first, I wanted to share the pictures of Lydia and I going on Malachi's class field trip to the farm to pick pumpkins:

The kids all loved the "hay pit".

Then, my family came for the weekend. We invited Malachi's class to a video game birthday party at a local place, but we were surprised just a few hours before that the place had had a fire and could not accomodate us! Plan B went into full effect, with my parents and sister helping clean my house while Nathaniel worked out the details on the phone. So the kids came here, and we started with outside play:

The chickens were a big hit with everyone:

And then the "Gamebulance" arrived, the mobile video game unit in an old ambulance:

It worked out fine, especially since the chickens were such a hit that two little girls spent the whole time chasing them instead of waiting for a turn to play games, so the wait time was less. All in all, everyone had fun, and Malachi and Elijah dubbed it the best party ever. So a last minute panic worked out wonderfully!
Then Sunday morning, the boys sang in church choir and Elijah read the scripture (Ezekiel 37:26-28). After our family left, we relaxed and spent some time outside. It wasn't until I went to put up the chickens that I knew something was wrong. Penguin always runs to meet me in the yard, and she didn't. She is gone. We looked everywhere for her, but I knew we wouldn't find her alive. Luckily, we didn't find her body, either. But we think she got out of the yard and was eaten by something. The kids are upset. This was just before bedtime, so it was sad to end such a great weekend on a down note.

2011-09-29T13:05:00.000-04:00

Eating Roosters

2011-09-28T12:31:00.000-04:00

Last night, I cooked some of our chicken for dinner. I put legs (thighs and lower legs still attached together) on a baking sheet and sprinkled them with salt and pepper for the kids. For Nathaniel and me, I took the bone-in breasts and cut slits in them to stuff with cream cheese, then topped with bacon. Mmmmm. It's probably my favorite way to bake chicken. Anyway, I cooked- and probably overcooked- it all to make sure it was done. Then I made a pasta salad with the kalamata olive tapenade Nathaniel made this weekend, and I made homemade apple sauce from the apples Lydia and Malachi picked. So it was a rather special dinner.

And then we all sat down to pray and eat. The kids love chicken, and they were really digging in when Malachi asked, "Are these our roosters?"

I wasn't sure what to respond, so I said, "What do you think?"

"No, they're too big. Our roosters were littler than this."

Then Nathaniel answered (while I cringed), "Actually, these are our roosters."

I didn't have to wonder for long if that would ruin their dinner. Elijah said, "I knew they were our roosters all the time." Lydia ate and ate. Malachi had 3 legs. All three kids decided that our roosters tasted great.

Nathaniel was so amazed at how juicy the chicken was, he suggested that next year maybe we should consider raising meat birds. Believe it or not, I didn't think he was crazy.

So I guess we handled eating meat we had raised pretty well, even me. I prefer not to think about (or talk about) chickens while eating it, but it was really good. That's a good thing, because we have more in the freezer, and there are 2 more roosters in our flock that will eventually need butchering. Yes, the morning after the big rooster harvest, 2 of our chickens that we had hoped were hens came out crowing. So now we have 11 pullets and 3 cockerels, and we're only keeping one rooster, so in a few weeks, Nathaniel will have to kill the other two.

And then there were 14...

2011-09-25T17:42:00.000-04:00

This is a fond farewell to 7 cockerels. The upper one is a Rhode Island Red, while the lower is a Sussex. Nathaniel and his uncle butchered the 7 today. (Aunt Darlene, Lydia, Malachi, and I went to pick apples, a much happier way to get food. Elijah was playing with the neighbor.) So now we have chicken cooling in ice water, and only 14 chickens left in the yard. (One pullet got killed by a hawk on Friday.)

It's a good thing her eyes aren't blue...

2011-09-20T20:11:00.000-04:00

because we'd have a heck of a time telling her apart from Malachi in the monkey costume pictures!

They've grown!

2011-09-15T13:50:00.000-04:00

As you can see, the chickens have grown quite a bit.

The second picture gives you a good idea of how small Penguin is compared to the others. Elijah's decided that she looks more like a snowy owl now than a penguin, but the name doesn't change. We still have 22, and will for about another week and a half. Then Nathaniel and his uncle are going to cull roosters, at least some of them. But we are thinking of keeping one, and the barred rock is the current favorite.

Baby Shoes

2011-09-09T09:25:00.000-04:00

Some good friends of ours are having a baby soon, so I decided to use a pattern I had bought on etsy a while back to make reversible baby shoes. They are so cute! I made the 3-6 month size for our friends, then I decided to play with the newborn pattern and see if I could make them for dolls to sell in my shop.

These pictures are the two doll pairs I've made so far (the third picture is the "other side" of the first two). I think they're so cute. The ones I made for the real baby are just like the pink polka dot ones. I plan on making more soon. They really are fun for me, and fairly quick to make.

Lego Creations

2011-09-01T15:47:00.000-04:00

The boys are happy that they will go to Lego club at the library this month. It's free, but you have to sign up, and spots are limited. I remembered to call the first day you could, so they're in!

Elijah worked really hard on this. It is a computer with Lego Star Wars on the screen. The second picture is a close-up of the "keyboard", which he copied painstakingly from our real keyboard. He figured out how to do it all by himself, including the words on the "screen".

And here is Lydia booing chickens. Unfortunately, when Mamaw and Papaw were here Tuesday evening, the chickens didn't cooperate. Most were already in the coop, and the three that weren't were hiding in the bushes and wouldn't come out. I cut back the bushes, and last night Lydia was booing them as usual.

Actually, I really messed up when Mamaw and Papaw were here. I had cut up a cantaloupe (the second from the garden!) and completely forgot to serve it to them! The kids and I finished it off yesterday, and today another is ripe. Yum. I also forgot to send home some tomatoes. I forget that they don't have a garden now. But we had a really nice visit.

Nathaniel gave us a great surprise and came home early from the conference. He wasn't supposed to be in until today, but work wanted him back here for meetings today, so he changed his flight and came home yesterday evening.

It's going to be a busy weekend. My inlaws are coming tomorrow, and Nathaniel's friend is coming Saturday.

Beauty Is...

2011-08-29T07:58:00.000-04:00

A ripe cantaloupe from my very own garden

and my three adorable children showing off their face paint.

Pictures!

2011-08-26T12:26:00.000-04:00

Well, Nathaniel wasn't able to fix my old camera, but he promptly bought me a new one. He's been spoiling me lately. So now I have pictures again! Yesterday, all of my cantaloupes were green, but today:

I'm starting to get excited about those! And the chickens have grown a lot, as you can see.

One of the Ameruacana. We have 2 more that look a lot like this one, including Penguin, and we think all three of those are pullets!

This is a barred rock, my favorite type.

The chickens are 7 weeks old this weekend. It looks like more than half are pullets (will be hens).

Lydia and I have been playing outside in the third, grassy yard with the chickens the past few mornings. She likes to pick the morning glories. When we're done, she "boos" the chickens back into the second yard, which is to say that she runs at them yelling "boo chickens!" until they are all in the second yard. It doesn't take long.

This last picture is at my parents' house, where I had the kids posing in front of the "naked ladies" when the last camera died for good.

Today at our house

2011-08-22T08:52:00.000-04:00

The boys are in school, but they did get up happy this morning. They seem to be adjusting to the school year now. Malachi even admitted that school was "good" a few days ago, so that's an improvement!
Lydia's doing good with potty training.
We all went to a local orchard and picked apples. (not tons) This place has an ice cream shop, too, so that was a nice treat as well, and I got lots of peppers for our meals this week, seranos, anchos, and bells. Mmm. We plan to go back in about a month and pick lots of apples, for applesauces and jams/butters.
By the way, Elijah told me the other day that he doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up, but maybe a teacher or an orchard worker. I had to smile.

The chickens are doing great. Since Nathaniel stapled the netting to the top of the second fence, the chickens have been enjoying that yard without any more issues. (Knock wood) Lydia and I did let them into the third yard for a little bit this morning. I think it's like heaven for chickens, at least that's how they seem to take it! We are only letting them in that yard when we're outside, though.

I had a few tomatoes, enough to make a good salsa for the Saturday afternoon visit to a neighbor's pool. We had snacks and swam. It was nice.

The camera is broke...

2011-08-18T08:01:00.000-04:00

...so I have no pictures to share here today, not of my niece's fun birthday party nor of my garden nor anything else. I bought a new battery for it, but it still doesn't work. I'll have to have Nathaniel try to resurrect it (he's sometimes able to do stuff like that), but I'm afraid it's really done this time.

I'm finally getting tomatoes from the garden, maybe one or two a day now. That's great for eating - which I do constantly! - but I'm hoping that a ton more ripen soon for salsas.

The chickens are doing good, but they are confined to the small yard while Nathaniel tries to trap the feral cat that killed one the other day. I hope he can trap it and get it to the Humane Society, but we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, we have to try to cat-proof the second, larger yard.

I made a batch of blackberry peach jam yesterday, so the boys are thrilled with me. I'm almost to the end of the peaches, which is good because I need to pick the crabapples and make some crabapple butter soon. (I'll post that recipe when I make it. It is really beautiful and different, but I figure I should post it this time, since I don't remember exactly what measurements I used last time. Surprise, surprise, I just add a little of this and a little of that and forget to jot it all down!)

Penguin Problems

2011-08-11T12:08:00.000-04:00

Penguin has a problem:

His/her beak is not supposed to be "crossed" like that. We did some research, and evidently it's just bum genes, not much you can do. If it continues to be able to eat and drink, it should be ok, but we may have to cull the kids' favorite bird. Elijah commented that we should name more of the chicks, and I said "NOT YET! Wait til we know which ones are roosters and which are going to make it! He agreed. We still have 23 of them (for those of you that don't know, Nathaniel had to kill Floppy).
The rest, though, are looking pretty good:

We're pretty sure this black one is a rooster.

Our garden is coming along nicely, even if it is much later than I'd like. We have some little cucumbers that are about ready to pick. We just ate some more broccoli, probably the last of it. The pumpkins look good. The zucchini plants are growing, but no zucchini just yet. I'm hoping soon. And although I haven't gotten any more red tomatoes, I hope to eat these soon:

Lastly, do you remember how last year I decided I wouldn't try cantaloupes again this year? Well, I changed my mind and planted just 2 hills of them. Now, I've got these:

Isn't it beautiful? I have at least 4 growing. I'm hoping, but not saying much around them, because I don't want them to hear me and decide to die! :)

In other news, Elijah and Malachi had a good first day of school yesterday. Lydia's still potty training, and doing good most of the time (but of course, there are still accidents). And now I'd better get to exercising and sewing.

He lost it!!

2011-08-10T08:47:00.000-04:00

Updates

2011-08-05T19:52:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a full week, which is good since it was the last full week of summer break. Malachi's tooth is still loose. He actually carried the bunny pillow that Karen made him around yesterday, just in case he lost the tooth and got to put it in the pocket. (He named the bunny Juicy Fat. Really.) But the tooth's just not loose enough yet.
The chicks keep growing:

And the pumpkins are turning more orange:

And I finally got red tomatoes from my garden. There have been only 3 red ones, and they were tiny, but they were delicious!
Tomorrow the boys get to meet their teachers.
This morning Lydia decided to wear panties. And she did all day. She did really well for a first try, even when we were not at home. She started having problems this evening, so we went ahead and got her in her jammies with a diaper and plan on going for the underwear again in the morning. The boys are praising her like crazy every time she goes potty, so that's nice. She's so proud of her panties. I hope tomorrow goes well.

Chicken/Pumpkin News

2011-07-30T16:08:00.000-04:00

Well, since I wrote that Elijah is less interested in the chicks, he has made it a point to be more into them. Here he is holding Penguin. He was really proud beause he caught Penguin by himself.

See how the barred rock chicks are getting white stripes?

Add caption

Malachi wants everyone to know that he has a loose tooth! He's so excited. He's never lost a tooth before and has been waiting eagerly for this day.

Look! Two pumpkins are turning orange. There are still blooms on several plants, too, as well as an all-green pumpkin.

Millions of Peaches....

2011-07-29T19:44:00.000-04:00

Peaches for me!

Our garage fridge. We turned it on just for this, and it's a good thing we did! The small box on the very top holds raspberries, one of the big cardboard boxes holds nectarines, and the rest are all peaches.

We had a blast picking peaches at the orchard! (And notice Lydia's Mickey Mouse dress. It's a little big, but that's ok because she can wear it next summer. I just got it finished; now I have to work on Annabelle's!)

Little Pumpkins

2011-07-28T19:24:00.000-04:00

I have little pumpkins growing! The heat has been intense, so the leaves of the pumpkins get pretty droopy later in the day. I 'm trying to keep them well-watered.

And look at this:

Finally, we have tomatoes that are getting ready to ripen. There are two orangish ones right now, and several plants look very healthy, so I'm hoping for more soon. I just love fresh tomatoes.
The kids picked and ate two cucumbers from the garden yesterday. I managed to get one slice, and it was very tender and sweet. Mmmm. There should be more in a few days. So all in all, the garden is doing ok.

Feathers

2011-07-27T08:10:00.000-04:00

You can see the little feathers on the chicks' wings. Some have more than others. The rhode island red or sussex (in picture) seem to have the most, and the buff orpingtons have the least. They are growing fast. My youngest two love to check on the chicks. Malachi likes to observe them; Lydia likes to touch them. She's doing pretty good at remembering not to just pick them up, though. Elijah doesn't have the interest in them that the other two do. (Now he just read that line and objected, "I love the chicks!")

We still have all 24!

Chicks and Nieces

2011-07-24T13:56:00.001-04:00

My sister, mom, and nieces came for a visit this weekend, and they were here on Friday when we went to get new chicks! The girls were very happy with the chicks. Alaina helped Malachi and Elijah choose them, and the three of them helped me get them settled into the coop. (The little two were napping.) Everyone enjoyed seeing the chicks. We have 24. The only downside is that they are straight-run, which means that about half of them are going to be roosters, which we will have to deal with in a couple of months. We got four kinds of chicks: ameriuacana (which lay green and blue eggs), barred rock (the little black chicks), rhode island red (or sussex, we're not quite sure), and buff orpingtons (yellow). The kids' favorite is the one they call "penguin", for obvious reasons:

Of course, we did a few other things besides play with chicks:

Katie really wanted in with the chicks.

Back home

2011-07-20T08:57:00.000-04:00

Well, we were out of town for visiting family and friends, and a wedding. We had a good trip, and now the boys are back in swim lessons again, which can only mean one thing:

more tree hugging!

I need to mention that on our trip, we went to the (lake) beach. The kids had a blast in the sand and water. When we got back, I hung all our wet suits on the line to dry. In the morning, Malachi's suit had a surprise:

a cicada shell! He was very excited and insisted that I take pictures so Nana and Pa could see, too. (In the lower pic, the shell is actually on the table. We put it on his shoulder so you can see it better in the other picture.)

And here is our family dolled up for the wedding:

Waiting....

2011-07-12T16:58:00.001-04:00

Small, green tomatoes

I've been waiting impatiently for the tomatoes to grow and turn red. It's still not time yet... I've had to buy some at the farmer's market to tide me over until mine start producing. The pumpkins are growing like crazy, and I have seen several blooms on the plants. The cucumbers and zucchini have blooms, too, but no fruit yet.

Pumpkins

Stevia

One thing I could use now is the stevia, but I'm not really sure what to do with it. It's a very sweet herb, and it can be used as a sweetener, but I'm not really sure how to try it out.
We just harvested some more broccoli, which I put into the leftover soup we're eating for dinner tonight. Of course, I'm going to call it chicken rotini soup, rather than leftover soup. That sounds a bit more appetizing.

I've been playing around with my etsy store, adding more items and trying some things. I'm running a coupon code (JULYSALE) for 10% off this month. I'm not sure if that will do much or not.

We hope to get new chicks next week!

On the Fly Chocolate Buttercream Icing

2011-07-10T15:08:00.000-04:00

Today, I made chocolate cupcakes for the church picnic, but I didn't realize that I had no powdered sugar until I was whipping up the butter for the icing. I should have probably thought of it; I don't usually keep powdered sugar on hand, as I almost never use it. However, I winged the recipe, and it worked out great. The kids were delighted. So here it is:
6 T room-temperature butter
3-5 T milk or buttermilk (I actually had buttermilk because of another recipe, so I used that.)
heaping 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder

Mix well and enjoy. It makes enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes.

Lots of broccoli

2011-07-05T21:57:00.000-04:00

While some things in the garden are not producing as planned (peppers) or growing slower than expected (tomatoes), the broccoli this year has done fabulously. We've gotten more than ever before, and it all grew from seed we started in the sunroom. I planted sage near it, because they are supposed to do well together, and sage deters cabbage worms (caterpillars). It seems to have really helped, because last year we had tons of caterpillars all over the plants, and this year I've only seen a couple.

And as an update to our chicken plans, Nathaniel has trapped 2 raccoons. We are planning on securing the coop this week, and cleaning it out. After we go to an out-of-town wedding in just under 2 weeks, we plan on trying again with new chicks. The kids are so excited, so we hope we have success this time!

Blueberry Banana Muffins

2011-07-01T19:08:00.001-04:00

My kids basically stopped eating banana muffins a while back, and I still have bananas in the freezer. So today, when I had extra blueberries (from ones the kids and I picked), I decided to try my hand at creating a new muffin recipe. Here it is:

3 c whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
heaping 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
4 or 5 mashed bananas
1/3 c maple syrup
1/3 c blueberry syrup (see note below)
1/3 c apple sauce
3/4 c blueberries (could easily use 1c)

Mash bananas with fork. Add wet ingredients, then dry. Mix well. Add blueberries last. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes for mini muffins and about 15-17 minutes for regulars. This recipe made one batch of minis and one batch of regulars for me.

Blueberry syrup - I make fruit syrups for pancakes and keep leftovers in the fridge. This one was about 1c water, 1/2 c maple syrup and 1 c smashed blueberries mixed together and brought to a low boil. (I don't measure, though, so this is all approximate.) You can also buy blueberry syrup, but it's pretty expensive.

Tree Hugging

2011-06-29T12:01:00.000-04:00

The boys have been taking swimming lessons the past two weeks, and while they are at lessons, Lydia and I go to the playground. She lasts about ten minutes there, then we explore the park. Specifically, we visit the trees. The first day, she ran up to a tree and asked, "Can I hug it?"

After I said yes, her goal everyday is to hug several trees, and also to jump off of the various stumps in the grass.

And I took a picture of the boys after they had changed and were devouring lunch:

It's a great day to hug a tree.

I-Spy Bottles

2011-06-20T15:37:00.000-04:00

I'm in charge of crafts for Bible School this week, and this first craft was a big hit. You need:
empty, dry clear water bottles
dry (uncooked) rice
small trinkets

First, we were doing this for VBS, so I had little foam shapes with the connection words for the week on them. We had 5 shapes (yellow cross, pink heart, etc). We put a little rice into the bottom of each bottle, so they would stand up and not get knocked over so easily. Then we had the kids put in their shapes. You could easily put in whatever small treasures you have on hand (beads, seashells, sequins, tiny erasers, etc) or cut your own shapes out of colored foam or felt. White objects will be harder to find in the rice, if you think the kids want a challenge. Anyway, then you just fill the bottle about 3/4 full with rice. Cap, shake, and start trying to find your objects! Naturally, this project involves rice spilling, so I advise doing it outside.
The kids wanted a picture of the bottles inside the jungle scene Elijah made for school (which all three of them still play with), complete with rain forest animals, so here that is:

Chicken Massacre

2011-06-17T07:38:00.000-04:00

I will spare you the pictures of this one, although there wasn't much to photograph. All of my chickens are dead. A nighttime raid on the coop killed all of them. It was most likely a raccoon. Damn raccoon.

The boys were very upset. Lydia doesn't really understand. She keeps looking for the chickens in the yard.

I'm not sure if we'll get more this summer or wait until next spring, but we won't do anything until we're sure we've secured the coop and better secured their yard.

Can you believe that I actually miss chickens?! I'd gotten really fond of those fluffy things.

Clipping Feathers

2011-06-14T14:27:00.000-04:00

Well, the feather clipping went much better than anticipated. It was actually quite easy. However, I think they could still jump/sorta fly out if they really want to. Elijah took these pictures so you could enjoy:

Snip, snip

I am concentrating really hard!

The kids petted each chicken afterwards to comfort it.

Some days are like that....

2011-06-12T20:38:00.000-04:00

Don't ya love it?
Today had high points and low points. I enjoyed teaching English at Spanish church, and I even learned the word for toilet, which I had never actually heard before: taza del bano. Literally, it means bathroom cup. Fun to know.
On the low side, we had a chicken run. It turns out that our chickens can (and did) fly out of the 8-foot fence in the second chicken yard. Although the book I read assured me that I really didn't need to clip their wings so they can't fly, I'm going to have to tomorrow, or we'll just keep losing chickens. We're down to only 6! Of course, the neighbor cat that keeps stalking them may have encouraged them to fly the coop, but I actually saw one chicken on top of said fence and about to fly out with no predator in sight. I got that chicken back in, but the others are long gone. 6 left. Sigh. So now I have to take scissors and clip the long feather on one wing of each pullet, so they can't fly out. This does not sound like fun.

My plants are actually growing!

2011-06-07T21:18:00.000-04:00

Aren't they beautiful? Lydia and I planted these pumpkin seeds just a few days ago, and they are already up and growing. Things are looking up in the garden after a rough May. The tomatoes are finally growing again, although they are still small. The zucchini is trying to hang in there. I have buds on the raspberry plant. Strawberries are healthy. And look:

Broccoli! We actually ate a little broccoli the other day. The kids were so excited about it. I hope that we can harvest some more soon. And while we're talking about growing things, check out the chickens:

They get bigger everyday. We have 9 now, and they seem active and happy. Chickens really are fun to watch. It's funny to see them chase moths around the yard. (Moths must be pretty dumb, because they don't fly UP, just straight ahead until they're eaten!)

And it's June...

2011-06-05T22:09:00.000-04:00

So now it's June already. The boys are out of school and ready for zoo camp tomorrow. (They asked if Daddy has to work on summer break...oh how I wish he didn't!) It's been busy here, and pretty fun. My inlaws came down for a couple of days, so we took them to the Renaissance Festival. Huzzah! At the very first show we went to (Nuttin But Mud), my father-in-law raised his hand when they asked who had never been to a Ren Fair. (For those of you who haven't realized yet, that's a dead giveaway to the sucker in the audience!) Anyway, he ended up part of the show:

The "P" stands for Prince, but also sets him up for the (corny) joke, "You have a little p on you." Nathaniel also ended up onstage later:

Now, for those of you that haven't been to a renfaire, don't let these pictures discourage you. We've been twice before and never ended up on stage. It's usually quite easy to avoid volunteering, if you never raise your hand! (In Nathaniel's case, though, they used every ambulatory guy in the audience. He probably could have avoided it, but what the hey.) One sure way to avoid being "volunteered": hold a small child. But really, mostly the volunteers don't have to do too much.

The kids had a fabulous time. We stayed way past nap time, and eventually, Lydia gave up:

Crafts

2011-05-26T21:26:00.000-04:00

This is the doll I gave away in the White Sugar Brown Sugar Blog giveaway. I think she turned out adorable. It was actually a bit of a challenge, because I usually make these with real wool stuffing, which is where shaping the head comes into play, but she asked for polyfil so it could be machine washed. It was a little more difficult to sew her head on, but I think she turned out great. I've also been busy sewing to add to my etsy shop inventory.

Vacation Bible School is coming up, too, and I'm in charge of crafts for that. I've been tracing pattern pieces on foam for magnets and getting supplies figured out. The kids always enjoy VBS, and so do I.

Memorial Day weekend is almost here, and soon after will be the last day of school. It has flown! I'm also trying to get things together for summer. I really want to focus on teaching more Spanish to the kids this year.

The chickens get a friend

2011-05-24T08:16:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, we were inside the chicken yard when I noticed something unexpected. An orange box turtle is living in the chicken yard! We had never noticed before, but since Nathaniel went and killed the poison ivy, (and by default, a lot of the other vegetation, too) we saw him for the first time. He's got very orange head and legs. He's also not too shy; when I picked him up, he kept his head and legs out. The kids were very excited about him. Apparently, he's been living in the yard for some time, since there's no way a turtle could get in or out of it. Since I have the door open to the third yard, he may wander that way, but I think he's pretty well stuck in the chicken complex. Neither he nor the chickens seem to mind, though.
I'll try to get a picture of him a little later, if it's not still rainy.

Almost Feathered Out

2011-05-18T18:30:00.000-04:00

The chicks seem to get more feathers every day. They enjoy the outdoors very much. We open the two yards that connect directly to the coop every day. I haven't let them in the large adjoining yard yet; maybe when the weather's better. They are about a month old now!

This is in the coop, where they all cluster in the corner when Lydia comes running and saying, "I want to pet a chick!"

Lydia wanted a mommy and me shot, so here it is, the kind where I hold the camera in front of us and snap!

Horsing Around

2011-05-16T08:01:00.000-04:00

A lady Nathaniel works with invited us over to the farm to see her horses. She even let them ride Midnight, her new Gypsy vanner horse from Scotland.

Lydia didn't want to ride, but we did get her to sit for a moment.

Check out the horse's hairy feet.

We all had a good time. Lydia cheered on the boys as they rode (Go Malachi! Go Elijah!) It was funny. We also got to see Joan's race horse (Royal Start) and her old horse (Thunder Cloud), who really enjoyed carrots and mints.

Little Chickens and Garden Update

2011-05-14T09:03:00.001-04:00

Well, the chicks aren't so chickish anymore. They're really starting to resemble little chickens. They have real feathers covering their wings and parts of their necks/backs.
As for the garden, the broccoli and brussel sprouts look great. The tomatoes are alive, if a bit sad.

Black Brandywine tomato

broccoli

In the Coop

2011-05-10T09:24:00.000-04:00

Well, the chicks are in the coop now. We have the heat lamp on at night and have them shut inside, but during the day they can roam their smallest yard. I haven't let them in their bigger yards yet, but they are really enjoying the taste of outdoor freedom.

The coop isn't pretty, but it's functional!

Nathaniel put in the nesting boxes. (One divider is missing here.)

The Chicks Have An Exciting Day

2011-05-07T07:57:00.000-04:00

Well, no one died, so the first problem doesn't qualify as a disaster, but it was a mess! When I went to change the water, the lid came unscrewed as I lifted it and water spilled all over the cardboard box. The box was ruined, and I had to find a new spot for the chicks fast. Luckily, Nathaniel made nesting boxes Thursday evening, so I modified them while the chicks chirped in terror from a smaller cardboard box. Finally, we got them into their new temporary home:

Later in the day, the kids and I decided to let them have some time outside. Elijah took these shots:

I'm not sure if you can tell in any of the pictures, but some of the chicks now have tail feathers. They've definately changed since Monday when we got them! The kids had a blast finding worms and roly-polys to feed to the chicks. The chicks sure loved it, too.

Looking for bugs.

Lydia kept scooping up the chicks, even though I told her to pet them, not pick them up. She just can't seem to help herself. Luckily, she's actually very gentle with them and picks them up right. The boys are leery of actually picking up the chicks; they prefer to pet softly. When I transferred the chicks back to the brooder, one was temporarily misplaced, but we soon found her and all 12 made it back inside.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...Garden Update

2011-05-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

It was so nice to have a sunny day yesterday. My plants desperately need to dry out. The tomatoes are looking sad, except for the cherry ones, which look fantastic. Go figure. The broccoli and brussel sprouts look healthy but haven't grown in a week or so. The cucumber and zucchini may be a loss at this point, but we have more seed, so it's not a disaster. One bright spot:

Cilantro! I have lots of cilantro, and so I bought some tomatillos and made tomatillo salsa. So yummy! Malachi and I like that green salsa.
I am trying my hand at making my own chorizo, too. I got a recipe off the girlichef blog and it is now sitting in the fridge, soaking up the flavors before I fry it up tonight with scrambled eggs. I ground up a pork butt from the pig we bought, and mixed the spice paste and herbs into it. I hope it turns out good. I sent Nathaniel to a Mexican grocery in Louisville yesterday to get the dried chiles I needed. I usually have anchos on hand, but the recipe called for pasillas and chiles de arbol, so he had to go exploring. Thanks honey!

Nathaniel and the boys also made the nesting boxes for the chickens last night. He'll install them in the coop tonight. I'll have to get a picture later.

Doll Giveaway

2011-05-04T17:14:00.000-04:00

I'm featured on a blog http://whitesugarbrownsugar.blogspot.com/ where I'm giving away one of my dolls. (If you want one, feel free to enter!)

In other news, the chicks are doing great, and the kids are so taken with them. Katie doesn't know what to think of them. She keeps sniffing around the box and staring at me in utter confusion. When we are holding chicks, she just stares at them. I'm just thrilled she isn't barking at them. Yet. That may change when they're running around the yard.

CHICKS!

2011-05-03T08:28:00.000-04:00

We actually did it. Here are 12 Golden Comet pullets. They are settled into a box in the garage, since they are only about 1 1/2 weeks old. It isn't a pretty pen, but it will do until they are a bit bigger and able to get into the coop. The kids are fascinated by the chicks. Lydia loves them and is constantly wanting to go get them. We've had them for less than 24 hours, so we'll see if they hold her interest. They might; she's really in love with all sorts of animals.

Wedding Fun

2011-05-02T08:45:00.000-04:00

Alaina, flower girl :)

the Melissas take a quick break

My kids were glad to see friends at the reception.

Annabelle had a blast.

Our table was kid city. At one point, we had 8 kids at it during the wedding!

Great Easter Weekend

2011-04-26T13:27:00.000-04:00

We had a great Easter weekend. We got to see lots of family, and Nathaniel and I enjoyed a date night! We went to my sister's church on Easter morning, and none of my kids misbehaved (YAY!)

Lydia's been quite the Daddy's girl lately.

My parents have the cutest grandkids in the world! :)

We visited with Grandma Betty and her "new knee".

Tomato Plants

2011-04-22T09:35:00.000-04:00

All of my tomato plants are in the garden now. (You can see our newspaper "mulch in this photo. It's ugly, but it works well to keep weeds out and decomposes.) We planted: 16 brandywine (or 15, we might have lost one) in yellow, pink, red and black; 6 Old German; 6 Box Car Willie; 5 "Mystery" Tomato; 6 Amish Paste; 6 Better Boy; and 6 Kentucky Beefsteak, which I think is an orange variety. We also have some cherry tomato plants coming up, surprisingly in the spot I wanted them to grow this year. And the zucchini and cucumbers are also in the big garden. In the pumpkin garden, I've got all the brussel sprouts and broccoli out along with some sage, which is supposed to deter cabbage worms. We'll see.

Playing in the garden

2011-04-19T08:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Lydia and Elijah helped me transplant tomatoes: 6 better boy, 6 Old German, and 6 Amish Paste. We still have a dozen to transplant in the sunroom. (And I had already transplanted the Box Car Willies.) But it was a good start, and the kids really had fun helping. (Malachi decided to play in Lydia's new water table instead. He's in love with that toy!) Lydia gets so excited over the worms. She demands to hold any worm we find, and she delights in her "wormies". She puts them back in the garden (usually still lively) when she's done. Elijah spent a lot of time playing with the rolly-polies. We have lots more to do, but I'm loving gardening.

Unexpected Blessings

2011-04-15T08:07:00.000-04:00

The other day I ordered another small painting for my kitchen. I'd been eyeing the shop on etsy; it was full of inexpensive art that I liked. I finally used the last of my art budget and bought this:

It really fits with the kitchen, and I had a spot for it. When it arrived in the mail, I was shocked to find a note and cash inside the package. Maggie had given me money for my adoption fund after reading my shop site on etsy. I added it to the account, and now I'm telling all of you about her shop. If you have any need for artwork, consider visiting http://www.maggiepainting.etsy.com/

Back from the Beach

2011-04-10T21:30:00.001-04:00

We had a great Florida vacation. The kids love playing in the sand. The weather was nice (low 70s most of the time), and we had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures:

Lydia loved walking on bridges.

Lydia and the ducks were great friends.

X marks the spot. Malachi loved making x's in the sand for hidden treasure.

Elijah tries out our surf board.

The boys on the Island at the Pirate Playground

And so our vacation was great. We got home yesterday evening, and today was work day. A tree fell down while we were gone, so Nathaniel got out the chainsaw for that. The boys hauled the logs. Lydia helped me prepare the garden, and then while she napped, I planted 100 strawberry plants. That's not a typo: 100!

Hopefully most of them grow great. I also planted some lettuce, spinach, carrots, and basil outside. My plants in the sunroom still look great, and I plan to transplant them this week. Our yard is blooming all over and looking so pretty. Here is Lydia smelling the flowers:

Happy spring!

Lenten Pretzels

2011-03-31T16:17:00.000-04:00

A pretzel before baking

On Ash Wednesday, the boys made pretzels at church. They brought home a recipe, which I altered somewhat accidentally and somewhat on purpose. It is so yummy!! You need:
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c warm water
1/2 tsp sugar
1 pkg dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
3 c white flour
1 1/2 c wheat flour
1 egg

In bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Mix in salt, flour, and egg. Knead dough for about 5 minutes, then cover and let it rest for one hour. It will rise some. Now shape into pretzels, or whatever shape you prefer. Brush lightly with olive oil on both sides and place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt, or cinnamon and sugar. Bake in a preheated 425 oven for 12-15 minutes. These are soft inside and lightly browned outside. (I cook them for 12 minutes.)

Shaping the dough

"Mine is a balloon!"

"My pretzel! Mine!!"

The finished pretzels, salt on the left and sugar/cinnamon on the right.

Busy weekend!

2011-03-27T19:58:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone. We've had a good but busy week. We celebrated two kids' birthdays yesterday, and we were so happy to have my family here with us! The kids had a great time. And then my parents and my sister's family were able to stay overnight and see the boys sing in the church choir this morning, which was really fun. They both did so well, and the girls enjoyed watching them. I also was busy working at the church preschool consignment sale this week, and I'm happy to be able to put some money in the adoption fund from that. All in all, a happy, busy week.

Ta-Daah!

2011-03-17T17:42:00.000-04:00

I am so happy with how the boys' lizard shirts turned out! They are so proud of them, too. I think I might actually be getting the hang of this sewing thing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Getting ready to garden!

2011-03-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

We started some seeds in the sunroom, and they are taking off! The ones in the foreground are brussel sprouts and broccoli, which both like cold weather and so are doing great. Some of the tomatoes have just started sprouting, too. I have one Box Car Willie, an Amish Paste, a Better Boy, and an Old German popping up. They are small but growing. The cucumbers and zucchini are looking good, too. Some of the stevia is also starting to show up. All in all, I'm very excited with how our start-from-seed experiment is going. I plan to move some of the broccoli outside next weekend, because they actually like the cold and it says you can move them out several weeks before the frost-free date. (But I'm keeping some in the sunroom in case they die!) The boys helped plant the seeds, and Elijah helped label the tags. Malachi is in charge of watering, and he's really good about keeping up with it. Nathaniel tilled the garden patches last weekend and dug the poision ivy out of the strawberry patch, so things are getting ready. I cut out dead plants from the flower beds, and we have purple crocus blooming! We also have some yellow/orange, and white. The daffodils are almost ready to put on a show. Spring!!!

Fabric Collages

2011-03-05T11:03:00.000-05:00

Since I've been doing a lot of sewing, I have a lot of fabric scraps. I've been saving them for a while, and today was a good (rainy) day to make fabric collages. Some fabric scraps, yarn, a little ribbon and miscellaneous (including holey socks), glue and scissors add up to a good time. The kids all had fun with this project.

Here are some of the finished pieces:

Malachi's soccer ball yo-yo

Elijah's garden, with turtle and worms

Malachi's cool picture

Ready for Spring

2011-03-04T17:03:00.000-05:00

I am so happy with how this turned out! And I managed to make it really quick after I figured out the pattern. (It was a little confusing to me.) I think she may need more of these kinds of outfits for summer; they are so cute! But next up is spring green shirts for the boys. They will be a bit harder, I think, but I'm gaining confidence.

Moroccan Stew

2011-03-01T12:54:00.000-05:00

Mmmmmmmmmmmm...
I got a cookbook from my friend Karen called the Healthy Cook. I started thumbing through it and came across a recipe for Moroccan Vegetable Stew. I immediately made changes, without ever trying it (as usual), but I didn't change any of the spices, which I guess is what makes it "Moroccan". I really wouldn't know, though, because I've never had Moroccan food, so here's the disclaimer for those of you who have: I have no idea if this tastes like Moroccan stew or not. But it is really delicious! So here is the stew the way I made it:
1 small onion, chopped
1 c chopped celery
1 bell pepper, diced
4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T flour
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
1 small (or 1/2 of a large) butternut squash, peeled and diced
2 c tomato sauce
2 - 3 c stock*
1 - 2 c water
salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp each)

Cook onions, celery, pepper, and garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of your pot until softened, maybe 5 minutes. Add all of the spices and flour, and cook another minute or two. Then add everything else. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or so, until the squash is tender. You can add more stock or water if you want it, but I like mine very thick. Enjoy!

*I actually used pork stock, but chicken or vegetable would work fine.

Lydia's first glue experience

2011-02-22T16:52:00.000-05:00

We got out the bean box today. After letting her pour for a while, I decided to let her try glue, too. She loved it:

Kitchen Art

2011-02-21T21:24:00.000-05:00

My kitchen makes me so happy. It is really cheerful now.
I went on etsy and had fun buying artwork. All of these paintings come from etsy, from 4 different shops. (Have I mentioned that I love etsy?)

Here are the 4 in relationship to the room. You can see Lydia's high chair. This is the only "large" section of wall I have in the kitchen. (It obviously isn't very large.) The kids were very excited as I hung these tonight. I was originally going to wait until Nathaniel gets home from Europe, but we needed a diversion, and this was fun. He hasn't seen all of the paintings yet. Actually, I think only one was here before he left.

The Library

2011-02-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

I don't think I mentioned what I came home to:

Dad installed my bookshelf, and Mom filled it full of my books. She even organized! My parents and brother gave me the shelf for my birthday, and I am so excited to have my books out of the cardboard boxes that they have lived in for years! (For those of you who don't realize my book addiction, this shelf is full of my history and language non-fiction. Seriously. Fiction, children's and other non-fic are on two smaller bookshelves in the same room.) I also hung some photos that I've been meaning to put up:

I love this one. It's in the "library", too.

My library is now a real room, not full of boxes and junk. It's so nice. Thanks so much to Mom, Dad, and Missy for all their work here!

In other news, we've just been dealing with colds. The boys are getting over theirs; they got them over the weekend. Lydia and I are really a mess today. I'm even letting her watch 3 Mickey Mouses, which is about 2 1/2 more than usual! But we are both tired and needed some couch time.

Snow Birds and Lions

2011-02-04T14:18:00.000-05:00

I just saw snow birds outside my window, so I guess the weathermen are right. They are predicting up to 2 inches of snow tonight. It's supposed to be 40 tomorrow, though, so I doubt it will stick around...if they're right about that!

When we went to Vegas, we stayed in the MGM Grand. So when I told the kids that there were lions in the hotel, Malachi asked, "Were they in your room!?" Too cute. We did take a few pictures of the lions, and I explained about it being like a zoo room inside the hotel, but it's hard to describe to the kids. They were highly impressed.

The lion with the blue bowl was playing the whole time!

Nathaniel leaves for Europe on Valentine's Day.....

Guacamole

2011-02-02T12:36:00.000-05:00

Since I just got back from Las Vegas, Lydia and I ran to the grocery yesterday in search of fresh things. I think because it's the middle of winter, I'm really craving fresh fruits and veggies right now. Lydia started begging for tomatoes. Now, I don't usually buy tomatoes in the winter because, well, they aren't really tomatoes. But I will make an occassional exception for cherry tomatoes, because at least they have some tomato taste to them. And avacados were on sale...and so I decided to make guacamole. Lydia and I devoured it. You need:
1 clove garlic, diced and then mashed with a little salt
2 avocados
juice of one lime
about 2 strips of bell pepper, diced
about 2 cherry tomatoes, diced
a small amount of minced onion

Smash the avocado with the lime juice and then add everything else. None of the guys in my house will touch guacamole, but Lydia and I eat it as the main course.

All dressed up

2011-01-23T13:03:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while, we clean up good!

Pickin' and Grinnin'

2011-01-16T14:09:00.000-05:00

(Ignore the laundry baskets in the background. We'll get around to that when the strumming is done!)

Finally done with orange....

2011-01-10T08:52:00.000-05:00

I finally finished painting the kitchen orange. It took a lot more coats than I had hoped, because the stenciling at the top was very hard to cover. But it is done, and I am thrilled. Now I need to get artwork for the little bit of wall next to Lydia.

The boys made these jellyfish back in August at our friends' house, and they have been on display in the kitchen ever since. I think I will move them to the hall bathroom (which actually has an underwater theme) but for now, they are still in the kitchen. And yes, I realize that the snowman picture looks a bit odd on orange, but I really don't much care. This summer, I hope to paint the cabinets white, but that will wait until warmer weather for sure!

...And a Happy New Year

2011-01-01T09:34:00.001-05:00

Christmas morning at my parents'.

Well, it's 2011. Whew. No, I didn't stay up til midnight. I honestly am not sure when the last time I rang in the new year at midnight was! But it's still 2011 in the morning, so I'm fine with that. We had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and are trying to get our house back together from the presents/laundry explosion that always occurs when we get back home. I also am putting the finishing touches on the orange in the kitchen (a long project, I know). And I've been busy sewing for a big custom order of doll sleeping bags. Right now I hear zhu zhu pets whirring around my kitchen, and Lydia is calling "me too" to be included in something. Nathaniel has been off for two weeks, and that has been so nice. It will be hard to get back to normal this week, especially since he's heading to Canada for a couple of days.

And because everyone loves cutie pictures:

My beautiful niece on Christmas morning

I don't know why they are both covering their mouths!

I just love babies!

The big boys hanging out

Just look at those curls!

Loving on Mickey Mouse

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and here's hoping for a blessed new year for all!

Nicki's Diapers: Babysitters and Cloth Diapers

2010-12-22T21:53:00.001-05:00

I have a guest post at Nicki's Diapers: Babysitters and Cloth Diapers: "When I first started cloth diapering my daughter over a year ago, I thought that I might be the only person willing to change her diapers. ..."

'Tis the Season...

2010-12-21T19:33:00.000-05:00

It's been busy around here. I've been finishing up a few gifts that I'm making for Christmas. The kids are helping me bake cookies. They love wearing the aprons Mamaw made. Lydia wore hers for days straight, actually. It is really cute; it reminds me of an old-fashioned pinafore. Nathaniel is off until the new year, so we've been enjoying his company. Unfortunately, he's had to spend quite a bit of time dealing with our heater. It's broken. We hope the repairmen call back tomorrow to set up the appointment to fix it. In the meantime, we do have heat, but it's not functioning right and will cost a lot more on our electric bill. All of this is pretty minor, though, when I've been thinking about a dear friend whose son has a heart condition. It's one of those things that you wish you could just fix for them. So we're just hoping and praying that his heart and lungs don't get any worse.

Ranch Potato Salad

2010-12-13T07:52:00.001-05:00

This is so yummy! My parents have been talking about this different potato salad that they get at the lake, made with bacon and sour cream and some ranch flavors instead of mayo. Well, I decided to try and make some, and it was a huge hit with Nathaniel and me. Here's what I did:
6-8 pieces of bacon, cooked and diced
4 baked potatoes, cubed (I took about 1/2 of the skins off, but left half on)
1/2 c cheddar cheese (plus another 1/2 c, optional)
1 recipe of my garlic ranch dressing (see http://barefootkentuckymama.blogspot.com/2010/07/garlic-ranch-dressing.html)

Combine all ingredients in a 2 quart baking dish. Now it is great just cold like that. But then you can add the additional 1/2 c or so of cheese to the top and stick it in the oven for about 15 minutes. And then it's really heavenly.

First Sled Ride

2010-12-04T18:04:00.000-05:00

It snowed last night and all morning, so we decided to introduce Lydia to snow and sledding. She loved it, of course. She really likes to walk in the snow. She finds it fascinating. Our neighbors are nice enough to let us use their hill, which is perfect for kids' sleds. Here's a shot of the hill:

Here is where Nathaniel hangs out at the bottom of the hill, to make sure our kids don't wind up in the road or in front of the few cars that could come by. (None did.)

Doesn't Lydia look cute in her snow suit? I think we bought it for Malachi at a yard sale or something, but then we moved to Texas, and it never got used. Well, today it saw snow, and she stayed dry underneath, so it was a perfect suit for her!

Here they are before sledding.

It was tons of fun. I haven't been on a sled in years. I took Lydia in after only about 15 minutes (she is only 1), but the boys stayed out for quite a while. It was perfect play-in-the-snow weather, right around 31 degrees. Unfortunately, later in the afternoon Lydia got sick, and now she is sleeping in her footies in her crib. I guess if we get more snow tomorrow, the boys will have to enjoy it without her. :( They willl have a busy day, though. They are singing and doing their puppets at the nursing home tomorrow after church.

Leaves and Spanish storytime

2010-12-03T21:38:00.000-05:00

This picture is a couple of weeks old now, as you can guess since it's way too cold and wet now to be playing in the leaves, but I thought it was a fun action shot. My kids and nieces were helping Pa and I rake at my parents' house. OK, mostly, they were playing, but we did get some help out of them. It was a lot of fun. My siblings joined in, too, and all three of us were taking multiple pictures.

Does anyone else have trouble putting more than one picture in a blog entry? Sometimes I have no trouble, and other times it just won't let me browse for more.

I just printed up the fliers for my next project: a Spanish storytime. My church asked if I could do something with moms and kids, and we came up with a storytime format. It will be in Spanish and English. The idea is to slowly introduce English to Spanish-speaking toddlers/preschoolers and their stay-at-home mamas. I start in January. I am nervous, but very excited. (Missy, I will be asking for help with felt farm animals!) This is really all me, because no one else at church speaks Spanish, but they are eager to reach out and start some type of ESL program. This is the beginning of something that will hopefully expand later on...

After Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T13:24:00.000-05:00

Yes, I've been gone a while. We went to Nathaniel's parents' for Thanksgiving, and that went well. We took the boys bowling for the first time. I wish you could all see Malachi's happy dance. It is so cute, and he did it after EVERY single frame! Both boys had a blast, and my ordinarily super-competitive father-in-law just sat back and enjoyed watching them bowl, which was awesome. (And my boys thought the bowling shoes were cool! :)
Now we are just trying to get back in the swing of things and get ready for Christmas. My poor baby had a stomach bug Monday, but she's fine now and we're hoping no one else gets it.

Lydia's Favorite New "Game"

2010-11-16T08:17:00.000-05:00

Lydia's favorite new "game" right now is to change her baby. She strips her doll and gets her own (real) cloth wipes. I can hear her talking to her baby. "Oh, poop. Clean you up. Change you."

Pink Applesauce

2010-11-13T21:22:00.000-05:00

Around here, pink applesauce has been extremely popular. No, I haven't been buying the neon pink, expensive concoctions you can find in individual servings at the grocery. I've been making my own strawberry applesauce, which we all enjoy, even Malachi, who won't eat strawberries or apples!

When I first looked into making applesauce, I consulted my husband's grandmother's old (1950s?) cookbook. It listed applesauce under dessert, and my first thought was who in the world would ever consider applesauce a dessert? And I certainly kept in mind that this is a cookbook that actually advised housewives to serve margarine at every meal for their families' health! But I get it now. Homemade, hot applesauce topped with a bit of vanilla ice cream definately qualifies as a delicious dessert (and you know I love desserts!).

This is more of a how-to than an actual recipe. All you need is strawberries, apples, cinnamon, and water. If you have one of these:

The boys love turning the handle on the apple peeler.

it really helps. My corer/peeler/slicer is from the Pampered Chef, but I'm sure there are other brands, too. The only thing is, you have to have firm apples, so you need to use it soon after you get your fresh apples. Waiting a couple of weeks means that you will have to peel and core by hand!
I basically fill my biggest pot almost full of apples and add about 2 cups of frozen strawberries. (No need to defrost.) I add 1-2 cups of water and a healthy amount of cinnamon. Then you just cook it until the strawberries turn to goo and the apples can easily be smashed with the back of a spoon. You do need to stir it, but not constantly. I'll stir, then put pajamas on my daughter. Stir, then read the boys a book. Stir....you get the idea. Then you can either leave it lumpy or blend it smooth. I love using the immersible blender my sister gave me, but the food processor or regular blender will work just fine. Whatever you use, be careful; it is HOT! I usually turn off the heat and let it sit a while before blending. It does freeze well, but I put the jars in the fridge overnight to cool before freezing. Try other fruit, too. We also like purple applesauce (made with blueberries), and I've thought of trying other combinations.

In other news, Nathaniel is home from Europe!!! We are so glad to have him back. He and the kids are all asleep now, and it is wonderfully quiet and peaceful here.

Down time and etc

2010-11-12T11:53:00.001-05:00

Lydia's been taking a regular, longer nap these days, so I've had a bit more downtime in the afternoons. It's been wonderful. I've been busy crocheting and cooking lately. I messed around with my ranch dressing recipe and improved it (I will update it on the blog, if anyone's interested). I'm currently crocheting Nathaniel a wool hat. I hope it fits. And I've had to spend many mornings this week at the school. One of the reasons was Malachi's Thanksgiving program. And he and Elijah both got medals at the assembly for participating in the PTA art contest (which they loved!). We've been keeping busy, which is good since Nathaniel's been in Europe all week. We can't wait to have him home tomorrow night!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

2010-11-09T14:05:00.000-05:00

Cranberry-Orange Muffin on a placemat my wonderful friend Karen made for me!

This weekend, my sister and nieces came to visit! We had a great time. Nathaniel watched all 5 of our kids (in the evening, including bedtime!) so my sister and I could go see Burn the Floor. Fabulous!

For breakfast, I made the ever-popular pumpkin muffins, but I decided to try something new, too: Cranberry-Orange Muffins. I am happy with how these came out. Malachi particularly liked them. I think they are better cool; the orange flavor doesn't come through when the muffins are hot.

1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c honey
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1/4 c water
1/4 c applesauce
1 orange
1 c fresh cranberries

Chop the cranberries. (I measured them before chopping.) In a bowl, combine milk, water, egg, and applesauce. Zest orange into bowl. Then add the dry ingredients and mix. Add cranberries. I peeled the orange and broke it into small segments. I added half of the orange to the mix (my kids ate the other half). Bake at 400 for 9-10 minutes for mini muffins or 19-20 minutes for regular muffins. Enjoy!