Farmstead Mornings with Littles.

My children wake up and get their clothes on and come out to the living room. They give me a big hug and proceed to put their overalls and jackets on. We all head outside with smiling faces. We stop to notice the smell of fresh air and the beautiful sunrise. They all skip to the barn and immediately start on their chores that I have previously delegated to them. Sometimes we sing Old MacDonald.

HA! Totally kidding!

They wake up and come out to the living room and someone is crying because "she got the blue cup with the blue lid and I'm princess of the day". I tell them to SHHHHH! because A4 is sleeping. A1 goes to get dressed and has a small meltdown because she wants the Elsa shirt and it's dirty because she wore it yesterday. She has to settle for purple. A3 decides to pull the string hanging from a sock and now cries because there is a string on her sock. A2 lays on the couch and whines because she needs help picking out her clothes.

Fast forward 20 minutes and we are all ready to go. Overalls on. Jackets on. We walk outside and A1 takes off to the chicken coop. A2 starts crying because "she didn't wait on me". A3 is playing with bugs in the dog water. A2 also can't get her boots on. I'm bending over as to get to child height, and our big monster of a dog is licking me in the face. He's a poop eater so his breath is absolutely fabulous. Boots on! MOMMY! There's something in my boot! Now we are frantically kicking our boot off because there is a piece of straw in her boot. Ok, boots on. I have to go potty. What? Seriously? Back inside. Back outside. "She didn't wait on me!" Bleh. Head to the barn.

Crap, I forgot to feed the dog. He really needs to get fed before we let out the chickens because those little birds will come eat his food. And dog food is expensive and chickens can eat bugs. This is A2's job, but I will NOT be taking off her boots to have her go back inside to do dog food. There are some things that just aren't worth it.When he's done eating he gets to go out to the pasture and chase the donkey. It keeps them both young.

Then we feed Julie. The 2nd easiest animal we have right after Shorty. But she's sweeter so she wins.

Chickens are next. They all get a small scoop of food. We feed and water any chickens in ICU before the others so they don't try to squeeze into the sick ward. Then we open the big coop door. The plan is to sprinkle the food on the ground; however, there is always someone who holds on to their scoop and a chicken is flying up around their face and perching on their arms to try and eat. This causes a bit of chaos, and some crying. Then some, "Obey mommy and that won't happen." Then it's mommy's job to scrape nightly droppings into a dish a bin to take to compost. Mommy also fills water with the help of an apple cider vinegar "pourer". The waterer is too difficult for my kids to maneuver at this point, but they can pour. ACV is great for animal gut health! Then we put more straw in the laying boxes. not sure why because our Australorp, Lucy, goes to every box and kicks it all out. It's a great job for the girls! Except the straw hurts their fingers. Not every day, just some days.

Then we take care of hoofed animals. This is tricky because they're all ready. Bleating and moo'ing for someone to come give them a treat. Really it's just a treat. 9 goats and 3 heifers share about 4 quarts of show developer. It's smothered in molasses and has corn and types of grain in it. They LOVE it! We originally got it for our calves as a starter feed. We bottle fed them, and their momma wasn't their to let them nurse whenever or teach them out to eat grass and such. Now we keep it as a treat. They are mainly grass fed. Eventually they will be purely grass fed, but for now, we do this.

I squeeze in the run where they have set up camp to wait on me. I usually get bombarded by goats running around my legs. Prayerfully the cows just stand there and don't do as the goats do. As I pour that scoop of yummy into the feeder I must quickly move. They're fast and strong. The sound of munching fills the air. I let in A1 to help scoop the gifts the cows left in the stall overnight. Yes, GIFTS! It's fantastic compost. We put it into a cart. Once the cart is full, we dump it into our compost pile. The chickens go nuts over fresh poo. MMMM, eggs. We don't fill up water troughs often because we have a pond that our hoofed animals drink out of. We do fill them up every 10 days or so. We also mix ACV in their water also.

Once a month we spend about 4-5 days on lead work. We put rope halters on all 3 of our calves. Tie 2 up and lead one around the run. This is good for learning how to be tied up and stand when we start milking. It's also good for them to learn to trust us and walk with us. Then repeat. A1 likes to ride our oldest calf, Honey. When she did it every morning, Honey cooperated. We slacked off and she's become as stubborn as our donkey.




Recently we decided to start working with some of our unruly goats. We have 3 that are as sweet as can be. The others will eat out of our hand, but run when we try to pet them. So, the name of the game is catch the goat and hold her in my lap while A's feed yummy leaves and we all give her a nice back scratch. There is kicking and bleating and head butting. Fun stuff.

We dump any more compost. Open the gate for the ducks to go out to the pond. And I get trampled by a big monster of a dog who wants some lovin. The A's play with the animals for about 10 minutes, and then we go inside. Well, I say, "Come on, let's go inside". And I get responses like, "I don't want to", "Wait for me" (followed by sitting on the ground and crying while the dog proceeds to lick the face of said cryer), "Moos" sounding off for more food, and then the always fun "I CAN'T GET MY BOOTS OFF!".

Today, I was a Farmer

So, today I felt like a farmer. We have this old mound of hay in one of our pastures that is now becoming a mound of bermuda. It would be great except we aren't really wanting a mound of bermuda. Cows could climb on it, trip, break their leg, and then it would be bad. So, out to the mound I go. I got my heavy duty wheel barrow, my trusty overalls on, and a pitch fork. I figured pitch fork would be the proper way to go about removing hay from an area. Just like a farmer.

Yeah, not so much. I mean, it worked great with some of it. However most of it had already started to become blended in with the actual ground. So, the pitch fork flew across the pasture because it wasn't doing what I was telling it to. I used my hands and was ripping this hay from the grips of finely woven grass. Then my triceps were telling me, HOLY CRAP WHAT ARE YOU DOING! It felt nice. I quickly realized that this was, in fact, a workout! The term workout (a verb, also known as exercise) was pretty much eliminated from my life around the year 2011. Funny, that's when A3 was born. Anyway, this was a workout! My back, my abs, my triceps and even lats were on fire. I switched gears from feeling like a farmer to feeling like an athlete!

Any former athlete turned mom-of-many will tell you that you turn any activity into a workout when you get the chance. As I dumped my cart full of old hay I get a giant whiff of the, um, compost we collect in that same cart. As I wipe the dust off my face I also get a big whiff of the, um, chicken compost that was on my glove. Yes! Back to farmer.

And when one of our chickens that doesn't like anyone comes and sits next to me I feel like the chicken whisperer. When our big baby of a heifer walks behind me a stares at company, I feel like a livestock protector. Kind of like a donkey. I totally just called myself an ass.

When I hang clothes up on the line or knead a loaf of bread because my bread machine is broken, I feel like Caroline Ingalls. And when I read my girls something new and they get really into it, I feel like Sally Clarkson. When I cook something completely from scratch and Mr. Smash comes in from a day of working outside and raves about it, yep, Pioneer Woman!

There are days that I feel like I really can do this farming and homesteading thing. The days that each hat fits perfectly during that moment in time. Then there are days that I question what I got myself into. My city friends ask if I ever get lonely out here. The answer, yes. I got lonely in the burbs too. It was a different kind of lonely. I had many friends in the neighborhood that I could go visit in attempt to break that loneliness. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. It's not that I was really lonely, it was more like I was having a mommy overload moment and I needed to talk to someone, in person, other than a preschooler.

That feeling happens here too. I can't walk down to a friend's house and have a chat and some coffee. It's unfortunate really because I could definitely use that some days. I miss my neighbor friends and my play group friends. Here, whenever I get overwhelmed, I go outside. I take care of these animals and this dirt that God has blessed us with. It's a mommy instinct to take care of things. It's FREAKING AWESOME to go out and take care of a living thing that doesn't whine or complain or say "I hate this dinner".

So, yes I get lonely. I just have to change the way I handle it. Instead of running to more noise, I tend to run to the quiet.

Sick Kid-Big Family

 Your best made plans get all jacked up when your 3yr old wakes up puking. On Fridays we go to a homeschool co-op in the area. My kids and I love it! So, it especially sucks when something like this happens on a day we look forward to.

Having a sick kid sucks. Having a sick kid when you have other children to care for sucks even more. Having a sick kid when you have other LITTLE children... you get the idea. I think the only thing worse would be if I was sick, or my husband was home sick. So, how do you care for a sick kid when you have other littles at home to care for that are very well? Here is what I've learned on this topic over the last 4 years of having more than 1 kid.

1. Your plans are now obsolete. Do not deny it. Do not try and go on with regularly scheduled programming.

2. Turn on the T.V.  Now, there are some who have kids who won't watch t.v. so I'm obviously not talking to you. But the "only let them watch t.v. for 30 minutes a day" concept is also obsolete. Turn that thing on! For everyone! It occupies the poor sickling and gets her mind off of how incredibly crappy she feels. The other children are also happy because they get to watch t.v. and aren't focused on how mom isn't paying them any attention. It gives mom a break. You can still do dishes and laundry and play with or nurse your baby. Because even though someone is sick, your domestic responsibilities are still there awaiting. And if there is puke, there is laundry.

3. Be prepared. Pull out your towels. Cover your non-leather couch and an area of your carpet and keep the puker in that area. Dust off  pull out your cleaning supplies. Empty your washing machine to have room for soiled items. Have your oils, fever reducers, and Popsicles close by.

4. If you have a puker, now is the time to explain what it feels like to need to throw up. Give them a bowl for starters. Don't try to teach littles to run to the toilet. You'll end up with a mess. Little sips of peppermint water, lemon water, Pedialyte, or vitamin water helps keep stuff down while staying hydrated. No matter what they tell you, LITTLE SIPS. Like every 10-15 minutes. If a puker doesn't want to drink, popsicles do great! Pedialyte makes popsicles, but even the sugar ones still have water in them and will work if that's all you have on hand. This is great stuff to always have on hand for times like this. You can't run to the store for items with all your helpers when one of them is down. If you already have it, it will save you time and sanity. So go ahead and put your sick-prep on your next grocery list.

5. Upper respiratory problems? Let me preface this by saying I'm not talking about asthma or allergy related respiratory stuff. That's in a league of it's own. I'm talking about RSV, extreme colds and sinus infections that affect normal breathing. If your child is gasping for air, please call 9-1-1! If they have a ton of drainage and even sound like a coffee pot, this is what has helped me.
First, get a stethoscope! It is great to be able to know if you have clogged lungs or a snotty esophagus. Even better is to take it to your pedi next time, and let her/him teach you how to use it and what to listen for.
Second, get a breathing machine! We were able to get a hefty script for albuterol last year. It's fantastic to be able to drop that steroid in and give a breathing treatment to a child who sounds funny breathing. We've delt with croup and RSV too many times to not have one. It has saved us from that initial trip to the doc and the middle of the night ER visit. That little machine completely relaxes their breathing muscles. Obviously talk to your pedi first. Ours is pretty awesome!
Third, oils! I can't say enough awesome things about essential oils. Pure Eucalyptus in a diffuser will open up those sinus cavities and they sleep like a husband! Morning diffuser of peppermint is great to wake up too. I'm a baby oiler, so I'm still learning.

6. Get them outside! Not only does fresh air and breaking the cabin fever do wonders for the body, the sun carries that crucial vitamin that boosts an immune system. That's why we don't get as sick in the warmer months. We get more Vitamin D. We sat outside today to help fight off this tummy bug, and prayerfully prevent it in everyone else. A3 sat in my lap and munched on saltines. The other 3 played. Win-win!

7. Dinner needs to be easy! You've planned a 5-course meal? Tell your man he's getting cereal tonight. Your other kids will remember that your the cool mom who lets them have popcorn for dinner. You can continue to care for your sick one. And your sick one won't sick all over you cause you smell up the house with the same things that they've been upchucking all day.

8.  Snuggle. That's sounds like a no-brainer, but seriously. I'm one who won't sit and watch a show with my kids outside of family movie-night. But on these days, I do it. I sit and snuggle and watch whatever. I remember when we had the flu a few years ago. Everyone got it, but it was staggered. My kids loved the show Horseland at the time. I'm pretty sure I have now seen every episode 3 times because I sat down and snuggled. Since all I did was dishes and laundry, I had the time.

9. Your 1st priority is your sicko. Then the younger ones. Then the older ones. Then you. Normally I would say you need to take care of yourself first. Not this time. It doesn't work when you are well and you are caring for one that isn't. You take that backseat and know that the Lord is pleased with your service. He will give you the strength and energy to care for your children when they need you most. And when they're sleeping, spend some time praying that no one else gets it. Cause that's probably the suckiest!

Got Ealry Morning Risers?

I'm writing this at 5:52am. The smell of peppermint boiling on the stove and granola in the oven fills the air in my home. I'm also listening to A1, A2, and A3 talk and be silly all in 1 bed. They've been up for about 30 minutes. That's late. Most would agree that this is super early! I've even gotten comments like "I don't ever let my kids get up that early". Okay, last time I checked, you can't MAKE someone fall asleep. You can make them stay in their bed, but not stay asleep.

A good friend of mine has 3 kids, and 1 is a newborn so I'm not really gonna count him. Her other 2 have been known to wake up at 4:30am on a regular basis. I have been there! They start yelling "I"M AWAKE" through the monitor, or they walk ever-so-sweetly into your room and tell you they're ready to wake up. Her oldest has now gotten to where she'll go straight to the living room and turn on the t.v. without waking up mom. That's good parenting right there!  Her kids also go to bed at 7pm; sometimes even 6:30. There's the trade-off. But I also remember trying to keep mine up later so they'd sleep later. Yeah, that doesn't work with littles.

I do remember waking up before I intended to snuggle on the couch and watch t.v. with my babes. It was frustrating at times. All I wanted to do was sleep! I looked at every possible reason why they were waking up early. Did they need to go pee and just couldn't fall back asleep? Maybe they were hungry. I should feed them a snack before bed! Move bedtime later? No, we already went over that. I've always been a morning person, not 4:30 in the morning, but nonetheless. <---Maybe it's genetic. I looked at our days. Was there anything I could change to make them sleep later?

Most of the children I know who wake up super early have moms who stay home with them all day. MOST, not ALL. Most of the moms I know who stay home all day are extremely active with their kids. They do crafts, play games, go on field trips, and get messy. They have a lot of fun!

So, the prognosis? LISTEN UP MOMMAS! You make the days so fun for your sweet ones that they just can't wait to get up and get started! That's it! It's because of you, and they absolutely LOVE it! My almost 7 year old still comes out to the living room at 5am and is dressed and ready to go out to start farm chores. She loves it! She can't wait to get started! Even before dawn! YOUR kids are the same way. If they are little they may have a hard time telling you why they're up so early, but now you know. Keep making their days memorable by continuing to do what you do. But now, know that those early mornings are creating memories too.

And just a tip from someone whose been there: if you can get up earlier than your kids, it may not take you so long to get going. Not to mention they LOVE being greeted by a mommy lap awaiting.

Keep on mommas!

Dear God, What is this QUIET time you speak of?

Have you ever had a pastor or friend tell you to listen to God's voice? I mean, obviously early on in my walk it was something I struggled with. Only biblical prophets heard God's voice. Surely I'm not the only one. Even later in my walk, though, I had a hard time understanding the concept of "hearing" what the Lord was telling me. I had this vision of God using signs to tell me things. Like, billboards. Quit giggling. God does work that way in some circumstances, and I figured I was always working multiple jobs so a billboard would be perfect. I was always in the car.  

Fast forward to my early mommy days (I'm still in my early mommy days, but earlIER). I loved it when I attended women's bible studies. You know what I didn't love? When these seasoned mommas would say, "we MUST have quiet time with the Lord". These women were nuts! I have babies! They wake up early, that means I must wake up early! You want me to get up at 4:30am and have some quiet time? 1 is nursing in the middle of the night, so I'm already sleep deprived anyway. In the evenings before bed? Sha! I can barely hold my eyes open to spend "time" with Mr. Smash much less read my bible.

In the book of Samuel we learn that this boy whose momma gave him to the Lord as she promised, starts to really mature as an upcoming leader in the temple. The Lord speaks to Samuel in chapter 3, and it takes him a good while to figure it out. He's actually laying in bed and runs to His mentor thinking he's being summoned. Samuel does it several times before he realizes that it's the Lord summoning him. What I realized... Samuel was laying down. Like, getting ready to go to sleep. He was still. Probably quiet.

EEEEE GADS! That's it! I need to be still and quiet! Wait, what? A SAHM of littles to be still and quiet. I mean, I'm still and quiet when I go to bed, but as soon as my head hits the pillow I'm out. Maybe if God spoke to me in dreams. That wouldn't work because I'd want to sleep all the time so I could hear him, and my children will NOT have that nonsense.

For the past 2 years or so I've yearned to simplify my life. When we moved to our farm it was a great opportunity because I knew I would be so busy with animal and land maintenance that I would need to get rid of the unnecessary. So, I have. I have simplified. We still have too much "stuff", but I'm talking simplifying more of my mind. What is really important? I want to be able to "the dishes can wait", rather than "I'll sit down when the kitchen is all clean and the floor is swept and mopped". It's not easy though. It seems everything must get done before I have quiet time. That's ridiculous!

Jesus gave up His life for me and I can't find 10 minutes in 24 hours to sit and read my bible??!!! A lady said that in a bible study class once and the guilt hovered over me. That wasn't her intention, and I knew her heart. But still.

This is what I've discovered. Because I've been able to simplify a bit and re-prioritize my lists, I find time for my Jesus. Not every morning I sit in my chair and read my bible, BUT I sure do it before I blog. Some days I'm in constant time with my Jesus because prayers are flowing off my lips all day (it may or may not be directly correlated to the amount of whining my kids are doing). There are some days I fall asleep to praise music because I'm so exhausted, and my Jesus knows that.

Whatever your season or stage of life, find time to be with our amazing Father. He loves it no matter how much or what kind of time. However, I encourage you to find QUIET time with our amazing Father. It's in those moments you can hear His voice. The noises of every day life will easily drown out His words. Whether it's in your bathroom closet and just you, the Lord, and a candy bar; or the stairwell at work for 3 minutes. That quiet and still will open your heart and your ears to what He's been trying to tell you.   

Rooster for Hire

We've had 7 roosters come through our farmstead so far. And by that I mean they came and left. We are now interviewing for a new head Roo. We are planning to hire internally because each of them know how we operate.

Every animal here has a job. For roosters, they either do their job alive or they do their job dead and become a meal for our family. We don't have a specific number we are looking for; it all depends on the applicants. You must fit somewhere in the job description to stay alive. You don't have to have all of the qualifications but you definitely have to have atleast 1. Some are more crucial than other.

Rooster Job Description on RBG Ranch:

1. All roosters must have a protective instinct. The hens are of the utmost important to protect. This means you must follow them around and keep a good distance as to be sure you can observe all of your surroundings. You must protect them from predators including, but not limited to, coyotes, hawks, mountain lions, dogs and cats and fiesty goats. They do NOT need protection from people. (Please read number 2)

2. You must NEVER attack a person. It doesn't matter who the person is, do NOT attack. We have a guardian dog for that.

3. Friendliness to the ones that feed you will earn you extra points in the interview process. However, this is not necessary. If friendliness is not something that comes easy to you, that is okay. You are better off avoiding people at all cost rather than attack (see #2.).

4. Part of a rooster's job here is to make babies. You must be efficient at this process. Quick, to the point, and accurate. If you doddle or have trouble with balance or aim, you will adversely effect our hens. If our hens stop laying because you can't effectively breed, you are no use to us.

5. Since the hens here are your #1 priority, they must come before you. You must allow them to eat any scraps first before you jump in and join them. It is appropriate to help them hunt for the creepy crawly protein in the pastures and yards. Please be a gentleman.

6. If more than 1 rooster is hired you must share the role. This role can be shared effectively. You will both know which group of hens you will be "running" with and you will understand this is a team effort. Roosters who share the role in a flock will have squabbles. Make it short where no one gets hurt. If your squabbles effect the hens, you will be removed from your position promptly.

7. You must be pretty to look at.



Our top applicants are as follows:

Blaze.
Easter Egger
*Doesn't like to be pet
*A fast "doer" with no resistance from hens
*Good forager
*Isn't scared of dog
*isn't a fighter
-unfortunately tends to forage at the neighbor's

 Red
Rhode Island Red

*Will allow petting and eats out of human hands
*Isn't scared of dog
*Good forager (likes our pasture)


hasn't made any attempts with the hens

-doesn't seem scared of us. point deduction
-seems to be a bit of a bully with roos AND hens

 Bardie
Barred Rock/Wyandotte

*good forager (stays in the yard mostly)
*isn't scared of dog
*VERY thick. lots of meat
*will allow petting during feed times, but runs from humans any other time
*not a fighter

hasn't made any attempts with hens

-has an unusual relationship with our male guinea





Because the last 2 prospects are a good month younger than the 1st, we will wait to make a final decision. There are other applicants, but these were the best. We DO love the English bantam but he will have to be happy just being here. No head job for him, and the dinner table isn't a possibility either. We have 20+ hens and planning on more, so this guy will have a big job.

My fellow rooster lovers. What are your top qualifications for a roo?

Why I Stopped Reading Blogs (for a while)

I have moments when I could completely get rid of every single toy in our home. Like now. I have a few moments to myself and I here the fighting. Well, it's the very sassy "can i PUHLEASE have a turn." I read this blog post that went around Pinterest about a lady who got rid of every toy in the house except for a few dolls. I was totally on board. Forget the fact that it's less fighting and less clean-up, but it gives my kids a chance to use their imagination and expand their minds.

I follow another blogger who is so fun and a great writer. She got rid of her t.v. How cool! Think about it! My kids wouldn't feel the need to sit zoning out in front of the television. They would never develop ADD, ADHD. or any of that. They would be a genius because their frontal cortex would completely develop because the neurons wouldn't get zapped by the constant flash from the screen. We would sit as a family in the living room and play board games and read LOTS of books. Our children would know that we really love them.

There is another blogger I've checked out a few times who talks about listening to your kids intently. Letting them tell you everything they need. She also says we need to play with them. A lot. Because play expands the mind, and by playing with them they will truly know the love we have for them. And if we don't stop what we're doing and fully listen to what they are saying then they will grow up to be teenagers who won't open up and tell us that they've been thinking of having sex and drinking and doing drugs. And they will forever keep secrets and run away from home and run away from God and drop out of school!

Because I told my 3yr old to go get her fork instead of listening to how she's a horse and a girl with blue hair and stars and her name is Star because she has stars in her hair... for the 20th time.

I stopped reading blogs for a while. I was having a hard time figuring out our family with our own systems and our own views on why we do things (or don't do things). I had to stop reading and really look at our stage of life. The reality of it is this:

I'd love to get rid of toys, but to do that with 4 under 7yrs old is not ideal. The fighting will happen whether over toys or a cup or a stick. They play with their toys. They will put barbies and ponies and dragons all in the doll house and create a scene where everyone lives in harmony until the giant baby monster comes to attack. GREAT imagination. But those toys get played with after we are done with school and chores, and they clean them up sometimes. I'm still contemplating another system with our toys. Stay tuned.

We watch t.v. Not a lot. We don't have cable or even an antennae. We don't have netflix anymore either. We watch the movies we have or we check some out at the library. It works great! AND, every day around 5:00pm I will turn on Baby Einstein or Boz or Barney for my 16 month. And she will sit and watch it, and I am perfectly fine with that. NO, I am ecstatic about that because I can cook dinner without her pulling on my legs or pushing me away from the counter. I do prep some dinner at naptime, but not all and not every day. I have cooked several meals with a baby on my hip but a toddler is very different. She's not content or happy just being held. She wants to touch and get down and back up and eat the raw meat that I'm trying to cut and cook with 1 hand. So, I will sit her in front of an age appropriate show. And I will back my decision!

OK, about the listening and playing. I play with them. We do messy crafts and activities. We play Candyland and Don't Break the Ice when A4 is sleeping. We play pretend some ( i really don't like to do it though. i'm always the bad guy and A1 won't talk with her dragon. she'll just make dragon noises. BUT, i suck it up). And I still worry about the whole "listening to every single thing they say without doing anything else". But, dinner has to be cooked, and Mommy sometimes needs to be on the computer paying bills or on the phone with someone who receives money from us. And that's just how it is. So, I will tell one of my A's that the discussion needs to wait until I'm done. And that's okay.

I want to raise kids who know how much I love them. I want to raise kids who see me work hard and read my bible and love their Daddy and SMILE! All of these things stress me out on a regular basis. But when I stopped reading so many blogs, I started realizing the family we are supposed to be. Our kids watch t.v. and play with toys. Our family times are mostly farm related work now. We have evenings where we watch movies. And that's who we are.

Trying out another family's method is perfectly okay. But when it seems like too much, move on and try something else. And quit worrying about how your kids will turn out! If you love them and show them and tell them every day, it doesn't matter how much t.v. they watch or what toys they play with. I pray every day that they will surrender to God's will for them. I pray that they give their WHOLE heart to them starting at a young age. I believe my prayers will be answered because God loves them way more than I ever could. And He says "Ask and it will be given to you" Matthew 7:7. And I believe that is true because I KNOW it lines up with His desires for my children... for all of His children.

For the Love of Tuesdays!

A while back I posted on facebook that I hate Saturdays. I received a lot of comments, none that were bad, just a lot. You know what I LOVE? Tuesdays! Mr. Smash has Mondays off, so the day is normally filled with projects around the farm. Starting Friday afternoon I stop cleaning. <----- Yep! I do the normal stuff like dishes and laundry (if needed), but I very rarely pick up the living room or clean the bathrooms. Friday nights are typically movie nights and the weekends are "work days".

For a mom with littles, weekends are no different than any other day. And spring break and Christmas break and summer break is all the same as well. With littles there's no "FRIDAY! It's the weekend! Yea! We get to sleep in!" Yeah, no. Littles still wake up early and expect to eat and what-not.

For a homeschooling mom it sometimes looks a little different as well. It's not like the family whose kids are in school and Dad or/and Mom work 8-5. I'm not sure how the weekend goes for my fellow HS friends, but I know that Mondays for mom's like myself are FAB-U-LOUS! That's right! You read that correctly! Many homeschooling moms I know love Mondays!

Since Mr. Smash is home on Mondays, I'm a Tuesday kinda gal. (Let me emphasize that I LOVE my husband and I LOVE when he is home. Just here me out.) Wanna know what this "1st day of the week" love is all about. Listen up. I am back to my regular schedule, PLUS some good ideas topped with motivation. My early morning quiet time is in full effect on Tuesdays. Mr. Smash gets an outstanding lunchbox full of healthy stuff. I'm smiling very similar to the always punctual Mrs. Cleaver, and I welcome my sweet little ones with a morning hug and kiss.

Our morning chores are normally done close to perfect because "I won't let mediocre slide anymore"! Breakfast is healthy and table work is on-time. We craft and do "pintrest-y" things. We read and everyone listens. We play outside, and do nature walks and swing. Our schedule is working! It's flowing! I got this!

Naptime still sucks, but you know.

Afternoon chores are moving right along because I am smiling and cheerful and playing music to help us all work together. Daddy is greeted with happy hugs, and dinner is prepared with little complaining. That's usually where it ends because after dinner and bedtime routines might as well be Wednesday.

For homeschooling moms that 1st day of the week is wonderful because our high hopes and "keeping me up at night" thoughts are put into play. We are motivated! I wish everyone could love that 1st day of the wee,k and not dread it like so many do.

The Inevitable Dirty Truth

We had our first vet trip yesterday. It was a good experience for my little farm kids. Every other problem we've dealt with we've treated ourselves or a good friend of ours made a house-call. This one pulled on my heart strings a bit. We love our sweet girl Stripe. Hears the back story.





A1 is almost 7 years old. Yep! For almost 7 years I've dealt with poop. A lot of poop. And most of it hasn't even been my own. As moms we know that it is inevitable. Well, after the 2nd child we know it's inevitable. Moms get pooped on. Mom's clean up poop in places other than a bottom. It smells, of course, but who else is gonna do it? You clean it up and move on.

If you cloth diaper then you deal with poop in a different way than if you use disposable. I've done both, and the money I save using cloth FAR outweighs the poop factor. Moms also know that poop can tell a lot about the health of your baby who can't communicate yet. Raise your hand if you've ever been worried about the color of poop or lack of poop. ME!!!

And then there's the tummy bugs. Nevermind. We'll pass on that one.

But in the past 9 months the poop has multiplied by close to 200. With all the animals here, we have all learned to "bask" in the poop. BASK not BATH! When we have visitors I will prepare them by saying, "there is a lot of poop! only dog poop in the immediate yard, but everywhere else there is lots. don't wear nice shoes if you're worried about it. and no shoes in my house. <<< PERIOD!"  They laugh. And then their kids have poop on their shoes.

I've soaked and wiped poop off of a chick that had major "pasty butt". Every morning when I scrape the droppings board I observe and investigate all chicken poop for problems. We muck both stalls for our hoofed animals because no one likes to sleep in poop, including cows and goats. The poop we muck goes into a cart that gets dumped into the compost pile; which our chicken will scratch around and dust in (that's actually pretty gross). We mow over the stuff in our close yard and pastures because poop is fertilizer and we are hoping to be able to re-seed this way (an experiment that seems to be working well).

My children know about poop. We get it on our hands and wipe it on overalls. A1 is now very knowledgeable about poop. She has pointed out funny looking chicken poop and hunted out the one it belonged to. We treated that bird and now she's well. When we were bottle feeding Bella, Cassie, and Dartanian we were constantly trying to catch them in the act. 2 had scours, which is diarrhea (to keep it simple). It can be treated but the outcome isn't always good. Bella beat scours, Dartanian wasn't so lucky. RIP buddy.

Now back to Stripe. We went out to feed them and she didn't eat. She stood in the stall. She didn't even want her own bucket food. Goats will ALWAYS eat. I knew something was up. I put her in the yard and texted my good friend who "knows" goats. When I came back A1 says, "mom! this isn't good. this is NOT normal goat poop. It came from Stripe." Smart girl. We scraped it up, put it in a tupperware bowl, and hauled all of my human kids to the vet. The did a fecal float test to see what we were dealing with. WORMS. Well, shoot a high strength wormer down her and I'll tell you what, almost back to her old self in a matter of hours.

So if you have the desire to homestead and have animals, be ready. You will step in it, lay in it, touch it with more than a finger tip, and if you know how helpful it can be, you will be happy to be in close proximity to poop.

And that's the dirty truth.

A Message to City Folk

We didn't quite live in the "city" before we moved to our little farm. But HOA said we definitely weren't "country". I grew up in a small town, but not farm town. There were a lot of things I assumed until 9 months ago when we started our homestead/farming journey. I want to share some of these things with you because I know most of my peeps are city folk.

1. Chickens and eggs- All hens lay a daily egg. Not all of those eggs will hatch a chick. You must have a male and female to have a baby; therefore, you must have a rooster to have an egg that will hatch a chick. So, the eggs you get from the grocery store are most likely NOT fertilized (depending on your chosen grocery store I suppose). The farm fresh eggs you get from a neighbor or friend, there's a possibility that you are eating a fertilized egg. If they have a rooster of course. And yes, chickens "do it". There is an actual mating process that takes place, and a rooster sperm will fertilize a hen's girly parts. If you want to know more click here.

2. Animals tied up in the front yard- I used to drive by a house with their horse or cow tied in the front yard. I thought it was cruel. I thought they obviously don't have the space for a large animal. BUT, horses and cows are lawn mowers. I can't tell you how many times we've let our cows in a certain area because we just didn't feel like mowing. Or didn't have time. This may not always be the case, but I now get it.

3. The "junk" in the yard- We have so much stuff in our yard right now. Here's the thing, we don't get complimentary city bulk trash pick-up. We must wait until the 1st weekend of the month to load up a trailer and go to the county dump. Sometimes we are busy that 1 weekend. And, guess what, no HOA. So, who cares. Ha! I said it. The junk that's waiting to go to trash eternity does bother me some, but knowing some association isn't going to come fine me for it makes it not so bad.

4. Skinny Livestock- Driving the back roads I would witness skin and bones on horses and cattle. It made me sad that the owners couldn't afford to feed them. Well, I know now that some cows look skinny. Dairy cows specifically have very little rump meat. Here's more on that at Green Eggs and Goats
I also know that some livestock owners have trouble putting weight on certain animals. Whether they are sick or have some sort of parasite they are battling, it has nothing to do with negligence. SOME horse owners are trying their hardest to figure out why their horse isn't gaining weight. I've met a lot of rescue owners too. They bring in the horses and cattle that are underweight and starving and they're in the process of fattening them up.

5. Clothing- I always wondered why the hideous fashion statement of "overalls". Now, I get it! You put them on over your regular clothes. Go do your messy jobs outside. Then come back in and take them off. Hang em up (cause you'll just be putting them back on later). And you still have clean clothes on. ALL HAIL TO OVERALLS!

6. Goats- I never understood the love for goats. They climb and escape. I would often see goats outside of a fenced in residence and it baffled me. Why would they let their goats out there? Why would they let them climb on stuff? Goats have the climbing and escaping instinct. Just like cats scratch and babies put things in their mouths. Feed the instinct or put away the desire. Our goats have giant cable spools they climb on and they love it. Tip to goat owners- make a climbing castle out of cinderblocks and it helps file their hooves down. Our goats have never gotten out of our fenced in area. I believe the reason is because they run the pasture with the cows, and they have about 15 acres to eat on. The desire to go anywhere else is diminished when they have this much area (and now that i said this I'll be chasing goats down this afternoon). I know some don't have that option, and that's okay. Just have good fencing! But really, I LOVE our goats. Another post on that later.

7. Structure- Why the need for structures? Barns and shops and extra houses. I didn't get it. I know you need a barn for animals, but why 3? Well, it's not just feed you need to store. Fencing, buckets, tools, heavy machinery, extra supplies, and always the "what if's" (like brooder boxes, calf pullers, heat lamps, extra lumber). Most homesteaders and farmers like to DIY. Therefore they need space and tools to DIY. 

8. Hermits- Then notion and thought that farmers and homesteaders are "home-bodies" is quite the assumption. People are different, but for us it's true! I'm a really social person so it's not the introvert in me. We just have so much to do at home and we enjoy it so much that there is no need to go elsewhere. I actually HATE going anywhere away from my home. It's awesome that the Lord has provided us with a living environment that lines up with our desire to be at home. I wish all people wanted to be home. It would alleviate the need for vacations.


And there ya have it. Everyone is different, so this isn't always the case in every circumstance. Anything you've wondered or assumed about country living? Comment below and I can help you out or find someone who can.

The "Good Morning" That Wasn't

My alarm goes off at 5:20am on a regular day. Yesterday I decided to not get up until 5:45am. I knew better.

I woke up at 5:30am to A4 talking in her bed. Fabulous! My little baby usually doesn't wake up until close to 8. I was getting Mr. Smash out the door and spilled coconut oil. Crap is expensive! But, trying to stay positive i moisturize my entire body and put a smile on my face because it was an opportunity to clean a spot on the counter and floor that normally gets the shaft.

Moving forward. A1 and A2 cheerfully wake up and get ready for morning chores. A3 wakes up crying and soaked from head to toe with pee. That lovely smell prompts me to wash a load of sheets. (Been 2 months, probably time to do it anyway). Into the shower she goes while I finally get A4 out of her crib. We all head out to take care of farmer business. I set A4 in the compost pile since I know she'll be happy there... just kidding, I didn't do that ;) But she did decide she wanted to take up permanent residence on my hip. Fun times mucking stalls with a 25lb leech on ya.

Back inside to wash hands and make that 2nd cup of coffee. Ah! Love some coffee. Preparing a fun morning of baking with the crew. Find out A4 had plans to eat dog food instead. We get it from Wells Brothers,so I know it's much healthier than what's on America's dinner table. A3 chooses to draw pictures on the bathroom counter in toothpaste. Art class. A2 can't decide what to wear. Logic.

Mommy gets stuff back in order and herds everyone to the kitchen for cooking fun. I take a big gulp of my now luke warm coffee and get surprised by a fly. In my mouth. And when it go to spit it out it sticks to my tongue. After i squirt hand sanitizer in my mouth I stare at my almost full cup of coffee. I don't want to pour it out. But I do. And tears filled my eyes.

I should go back to bed and reset my alarm and start the day over. BUT I CAN'T. It's totally not feasible.

I complain! Why? Because I had a plan for the day. This plan is not happening. I'm trying to make it work. We have a routine! A schedule! Kids thrive on routine. I thrive on routine! And that's why we homeschool. So we can have a schedule. Wait, no. That's not why we homeschool. The cool thing about homeschool is we are flexible. We can make a last minute trip to the library or to go see Mr. Smash at work. We can go for a nature walk or spend the day in PJ's in front of the t.v. (educational shows of course).

So, why am I complaining? I'm a planning, scheduling, like to know what's gonna happen kind of gal. I come by it honestly. My mom and I planned my last c-section. We also had a plan B and plan C if the said plan A didn't work. I need to have a plan when my plans don't work, and this day totally caught me off guard.

 So I take a deep breath and put my big girl panties on and figure out a way to get this day in check. A4 takes an early nap so we take art and all it's messy glory outside. Did it turn out to be a good day? We had great moments. A4 and A3 still had their toddler/3 yr old fits. A4 still complained about table work. A3 continued to doddle while doing chores. But the Lord has been working on scaling back my Type-A perfectionist attitude, and this morning was one such day. I'm still a work in progress.


I know He'll have some words to say to me when I get home though. My murder instinct that goes into effect when I see these hideous flies is probably not healthy.