My "YES" Mom Adventure

You've seen the blog posts and read the books about being a "yes" mom. Ya know, when your kids ask if they can have some whipped cream, the spray kind, before dinner. And then you say yes and you're well on your way to being a great mom who creates lots of memories. And then it happens, they ask for another squirt of whipped cream and you have to say no. Or, what if you say yes? Super-cool-awesome-best-mom-ever! 3 squirts? Ah, it must stop somewhere. What happens the next day when you open the fridge to get your leftover chicken broth and your 3 yr old spots the spray can of greatness? When does it end? Saying yes to stuff like this makes my skin crawl with guilt; when the opportunity arises too much, and I must say no because it will eventually whirl into a spiral of chaos and then I go back to become a "you never let us do anything" mom.

I was/am a "proactive pinners". The one that pins others' brilliant ideas and actually do them. Most of them are fun things to do with my kids, and my kids do have fun with them. And then when I post pictures on facebook it looks like I'm always doing "cool" things with my kids. I give credit where credit is due and I don't take ownership of the great ideas, but I DO take ownership of everything that happened afterwards... where I said YES!

So, in no particular order, these are the things that weren't "on" pinterest or weren't thought out ahead of time to be "memory makers". But these things my kids talk about all the time, and these things they remember. Most are from a while back, and it makes me happy that they still remember. I hope you can be a "what the hell, yes mom" too!


Jello swimming with friends. This was totally planned and all my idea and it was perfect. We still talk about it often!







Pudding painting. Painting with pudding. Fun for all ages.

Fun story. I decided I was going to put my little Cinderellas to work one afternoon and have them literally scrub the floor with just soap and water. We actually pretended to be penguins.







Sidewalk chalk paint... YES to body paint made of chalk.






Leaving at the butt crack of dawn for a balloon festival. They want to do this all the time. Once a year is enough for this mom!

YES to stargazing on the trampoline... at 5am. Instead of going back to bed. I joined them after I poured my coffee.









YES, you may lay down in the street while it's raining. Supervised of course










YES you may play in the mud in your "not for playing in the mud" clothes.

YES you can go down into that creek in your "not for playing in a creek" clothes. Watch out for snakes kids.
.

YES you may make snow angels with the flour/baby oil mix that was supposed to stay in the bin for some nice clean sensory play









And for your viewing pleasure. My Granny goes nuts every time I tell her we allow our kids to jump on the couch. But, YES, you may jump on the couch! Be careful though.

Toddler Instruction Manual?

I've had my "bad mommy" moments in the almost 7 years I've been mommying. But, I have to say, I've got it nailed! Especially this toddler thing. They are a breeze really. My toddler, who we refer to as A4, is the cutest little thing. She listens and obeys every word I say. She never cries or throws tantrums. She ALWAYS tells me she's done with her food and would NEVER dream about throwing her plate onto the floor. I'm telling you, I've raised this kid RIGHT!!

For instance, we were outside this afternoon enjoying the beautiful autumn weather and I told A4 to go pet the goats. Without skipping a beat she goes to pet the goats. I turn around for a moment, and wouldn't you know she is going above and beyond and shaking petting a chicken. What a sweetheart! Then I gently take her over to the barn where she can learn how to properly fill a chicken waterer. She decides she would like to help me turn the compost. That's right, I look up and she has ever so quietly walked over to the compost pile and begins turning it... with her feet... and her hands. A great helper!

I proceed to tell her thank you in my meek and gentle voice and rinse her hands. I send her on her way to continue "helping" mommy. I've created clear boundaries for my children in the pasture (a.k.a gates they can't open), so I'm confident in A4 being in a certain area. When I turn around from listening to A1 tell me a story about the length of a short novel, I discover A4 investigating bovine droppings for worms. It's a good thing I decided not to trim her fingernails the last 3 weeks. They aloud her to really dig through good.

After all the afternoon chores were through I decided it was time to go in and wash hands (because that's good hygeine). I also let A4 eat the cheerios that spilled on the floor from this morning.

Mommy. Of. The. Year.

The Reality of Farm Chickens

"Girl, chickens are just looking for a place to die." My good friend Kelsey told me shortly after we purchased our first set of chicks. That's kinda harsh Kels. And every thing I read on chickens prompted me to not believe that... until about 3 months ago. And really are started coming 'round to the idea that chickens are a "dime a dozen" about 6 months ago. I was in denial.

This is our poultry ICU. Mr. Smash built another coop so we would be ready for more birds (hoping to house about 100 for meat and eggs). It has now turned into the sick/injured ward.




We have unintentionally lost 15 birds since January. 4 to injury/predator meals, 3 to random walk into the coop and they're dead, and 1 to drowning. The others we saw coming and immediately separated them from the flock. Chickens will obliterate the weak link in a flock. Whether it's a young chick or an injured rooster, you must separate a weaker bird because you will have a horrible homicide if you don't. It can get nasty. So, we do. Now they can have buddies and a bit more space.



 The cage that our little English bantams are in was the former quarantine area. Perfect for these little ones. Sky is our lady and she's been acting out of sorts for a few days. We put her in here with her man so she won't get buddy sour and we can put her on antibiotics.






We treat any chicken that is acting sick with a general antibiotic for about 5 days. Here's the thing, we have close to 50 birds right now. I am not going to make a trip to the vet for every bird that gets ill. On the farm with lots of land and birds that free range... chickens die. That's just how it is. They get into things that you may not even know are available to them. With 19 acres of ours to roam and the neighbors extra 15 that is available to them, they can catch all sorts of viruses and bacteria that can lie dormant for years.

We are currently battling Marek's disease with our flock. So we think anyway. And the thing about this virus is that it is incurable. Some say St Johns Wort works but, ya know, I'm fresh out. The vaccine isn't very effective. Some chickens are effected by it and some aren't. Some will not survive it, and some will battle through and come out as good as new. So, knowing all of that, we will quarantine those who may be infected. We will give them antibiotics, just in case it isn't Marek's, and hope for the best.

Backyard chickens who live in coops are completely different. If you feel the need to take your bird to the vet for treatment, then by all means! If I only had a few backyard chickens I would probably do the vet thing. But we have a different situation and chickens lose their life at the drop of a hat. Whether from hawks or coyotes, coccidiosis or a respiratory infection, and even little hands who squeeze a bit to tight. It's unfortunate, but it's real.

Our kids know what to expect and how it all works. So, if you are looking into getting some chickens and letting them free-range. Know all this. Do NOT sugar coat it for your children. Let them see dead things, it's part of life.

We are going to continue getting more birds. We LOVE our ducks, and even I am partial to a few of our chickens; and buying them has become sort of an addiction. Preparing my own head to not get too attached has been a work in progress, because that is the life of a free-ranging farm bird.

Keeping Your Eyes on the Prize (a goat story)

We decided to let the goats in the front yard to help clean up some falling leaves.They love the leaves but they also love my sweet potatoes, citronella, marigolds, basil, and lemon balm. So, they must have supervised visits to the front yard. I was mowing on the riding mower with my littlest A, and the job of my other 3 A's were to let the goats in the front yard and then pick up all toys and trash while the feast commenced.

We have scaredy goats. It wasn't that easy to get them in the yard while I was riding on the big loud beast of destruction. So, A1 took it into her own hands and "got it done". With no help from me....

 

She made a leaf trail. It worked for a short while and then as soon as I turned the corner, these silly goats ran back to the stall. A2 would then coax them out with more leaves to get them back on the trail of goodness, and then I would come around with loudness and distraction and back in they would go.

Mr. Smash and I were talking about this later that evening and couldn't help but enjoy the blatant message the good Lord was sending to us. 

Are we not just like the goats? He has laid out a trail of goodness for us to follow, to get to Him, and to feast on His exquiset glory that He has created for us. But how often do we get distracted? The noise and destruction of the world has us quick to take our eyes off the PERFECT path that He has laid out before us. Even when the ones who care about us the most coax us to stay on the path, the enemy seems to have a stronger pull. Pulling us back to... our comfort zone? Maybe? 

When we decided to move to our farm/ranch/homestead/responsibility, I was scared. I told Mr.Smash that. He told me time and time again that if the Lord has it in His plans for us to take this path, then the road will continue to bear blessings. I even took a step back. Stopped packing. Almost called our realtor and said no. Something about a voice saying "that will be too hard", "you won't have any 'me time'", "you can't afford this".

Kinda scary huh? I leaned on my husband and my Jesus. Prayed... A Lot. Had faith to stay on the path that was laid out before me. Still got scared.

We are here now. It is GOOD! Not paradise, not perfection, and definitely hard work, with little 'me time', and money is tight. But, the good leaves keep falling and it is delicious!

You're All My Favorites

"You're both my favorite." It's what my mom used to tell me and my brother. My Mimi would tell each of her kids "you are my favorite, but don't tell your brothers and sisters." This truth didn't come about until close to her Heaven move-in date. Isn't that BRILLIANT!

James 2: 1-13 talks about showing favoritism and how it's a no-no. I think they actually use the word "forbidden" in some texts. Okay, so I do love all my kids. One no more or less than the other. I mean, look at them! How could you not.

I know that James was telling us to stop condemning or giving a backseat to those who are poor, needy, and maybe low on the socioeconomic class. But that also means not condemning the rich and entitled. OUCH! Guilty.

BUT, this isn't about any of that.

What is my favorite animal on our homestead you ask? Ha! I definitely have a favorite, and a least favorite. I feed and care for ALL of them though, not to worry.

Here's the run through:

Birds: Probably close to the bottom. They smell. They lose a lot of feathers over the course of life. They are constantly under my feet when I walk outside expecting food and that drives me crazy. But they are so much fun to watch. Mr. Smash and I often do the voice-overs for these silly animals. Evening pecking orders, squabbles over kitchen scraps, and love triangles are more entertaining than you think. And OH, the chicks!

 The Lone Donkey: Shorty, well, he's an ass. He was skittish when we got him. Then he attacked another one of our animals. We whipped him. Then he hated us. He's coming around though. He eats grass, drinks from the pond, and will stay in the pasture in raging thunderstorms (STUBBORN).

Dogs: Every homestead needs a good outside dog. He isn't my favorite because of 1 reason. He gets on my nerves. He wants to be all over me all of the time.
But, he barks excessively at anything on 4 legs which is fabulous for predator control. And he will growl and snap at people who come to our porch. Does. His. Job.   Good boy.

Goats: Hilarious! Possibly the funniest animals here. The runner-up for my favorite and I didn't want them at first. Even told my friend Katie not to get them because they eat everything. And they do. Every plant I had. But I couldn't get mad at that sweet face. And the kids... that's another post! Thankful to Kelsey for talking us into it.








And the winner is.....

Cows: Big, sweet, babies! They'll do anything for feed and a rub down (for some reason Mr. Smash comes to mind). If you ever get a chance to snuggle and love on a cow DO IT! You won't ever forget it.









There. Question answered. What's your favorite?

An Open Invitation

I think I've decided to "get off facebook" or "delete my account" at least 5 times now. Or maybe 6. I get so engulfed in the lives of my friends and close acquaintances that I tend to put other things on the backburner. I.E. schooling my kids, folding laundry, going to bed. I even make my trips to the bathroom extra long so I can read a few more things off my news feed.

And that's bad y'all.  Like really bad. So I think about getting rid of facebook and all it's splendor. But then, I like it. I like seeing pictures of my friends' kids. I love hearing about the funny things that happen in the lives of some distant family. I love it when some close acquaintances
open the facebook community up to a rough circumstance and ask for prayers, and I can pray for them. And I love it even more when they don't ask and I still pray for them.

And honestly, I really enjoy sharing this awesome life the Lord has entrusted me with. So, here we are. A blog! Like I have time for this!

I don't.  I'm gonna make time. When you say yes to something, you say no to something else right? But this way I can share with some and even help others, but also, how cool will it be to document this journey.

This would be your invitation to follow me... us.