Farewell to the Departed

We've had to say goodbye to some of our animal friends over the last several months. Some were planned. Others came as a complete surprise. A few were thought out pretty hard. We love every animal that comes onto our farmstead. We give them the best possible life we can. Sometimes they leave our home to be a part of another great home, and sometimes it's a painful hard departure. Here are the ones that left some impact. 

Note: we've lost countless chickens this year. I believe our running total is in the 60's. I'm not including them in this post.

I won't save the best for last. She belongs first. I don't like cats. Like, at all. I don't like their attitude. I don't like how the shed. I don't like how you have to give them a box to poop in. I don't like how they hide in your house and you have no idea where they are and at any given moment they'll jump out and attack your feet.

I almost shed a few tears when we lost Jewel. This was our momma  barn cat that we got as a 7 month old. Her buddy we got her with was coyote breakfast on day 3. Jewel hung around, and at her 2 month mark we took her to get vaccinated. She loved to be pet for a little bit. She always patiently waited for her morning milk. And she gave us 6 beautiful kitten in the spring.

One morning she just didn't show up for breakfast. She never missed. I knew. Farewell Jewely.

Our Miss Charlotte came with her baby boy pure bred brown swiss. Craig was a bit of a fit thrower when he came. It's amazing what happens to an attitude when you slap a halter on it. I should try that with my A's. I'M KIDDING! He spent 10 weeks of his childhood here on our farm right next to his momma 24-7. Unfortunately with little nursing animal boys, mommas' body suffers pretty bad. Some worse than others. Craig was cutting Charlotte's teats with his teeth and she was losing a good amount of weight. Since she is confined in our pastures, she can't go search for a heavy supply of grazing. So, we continued to feed her a good amount of grain. When Craig was old enough to be a cow and not a calf (i.e. eat grass and drink water like a big kid), he went to a new home. He is a show project for a 10 year old little boy in the Texas pan-handle. I'm sure he's living a pretty good life right now. Farewell Craig man.

In February we received 2 nubian doelings in a trade. Aurora and Belle had a hard time adapting to their new home. After months of working with them, Aurora became very friendly. Belle, not so much. In June we lost Belle to a possible parasite load. She and her sister came with a bit of a worm load, and we always had a tough time keeping it under control with our herbal routine. When Belle would no longer respond to herbs, we went synthetic. She didn't respond to that either. Maybe it wasn't parasites. Maybe she ate too much milkweed. Regardless, they weren't parasite resistant enough for our farm regimen, After Belle died we listed Aurora for sale. She was healthy at the time we sold her so no judging necessary. Farewell sweet girls.

This is a horrible picture. Like, the quality is terrible. One of our Freedom Rangers was immediately hated by the other 99. After a month of getting pecked, his brain was starting to show. I was mad at myself for not removing him earlier, but with 100 broilers, some things get overlooked. We did finally move him to quarantine for about 3 weeks. Then he started ranging with our laying/breeding flock. That little booger made it to slaughter day and went to the crockpot the first week. He didn't have as much meat on him as the others, but I'm happy we didn't lose him to injury. Farewell Skull Cap.

Horns. They have no place here. Buck has horns, and they're enough for us. We almost said farewell to buck because he was being so unruly, but I love him. So him and his horns will stay. But his babies will say goodbye to their horns. Horns are untrusting things to say the least. Animals that have them know they have them. We took Madeline, Amaris, and Mindy to get disbudded. We use a hot iron that burns the nerves around the horn bud and keeps them from growing. It sucks. They cry. BUT, only for a little bit. Not even 5 minutes after the first burn they were running around and playing. So, farewell horns.

Remember our bottle baby buckling "Z"? Well, he was being too much of a nuisance for this girl, so he was rehomed to a man who has pack goats for yard management. Farewell Z.

It's life here. We had some go faster than they came. And then plan is to keep some until they're old and senile. I tell you what though, you learn real quick not to get too attached.

Meet Angel

I knew that when we moved to a bigger piece of land that we would need another dog. Thor does an excellent job patrolling the property but the 20 acres we were at was his max. He needed a partner in crime. And we needed a canine that wasn't so, umm, err, well, dumb. Seriously! Thor is the dumbest smart dog ever created and we LOVE him!

So, we set out to find a smart livestock guardian dog. This is Angel. She is a 2 1/2 (the same age as Thor) Great Pyrenees. She had a bit of a rough start here. When Thor first met her he sniffed her rear and then wanted to play. She was having none of it and snapped at him pretty good. He held a grudge big time, and I don't blame him. She stayed on the porch when we were inside, and then followed us around once we walked outside. But anytime Thor got close she'd show her teeth. We got her on a Friday, they got into a pretty good spar on Monday.  We put her in with the goats and cows. She's terrified of Charlotte. Threatened by Missy, so therefore she barks at her like crazy. And she likes to herd the goats. None of those things are her job. She also was caught "playing" with a chick. The chick was completely unharmed, but that's kind of frowned upon at RBG ranch as well.

Tuesday morning we had made arrangements to return her to her previous home. When I went to do chores that morning Angel and Thor were running in from the woods... together. Then, lo and behold, they started playing. We held off on the return, and it's a good thing we did. Not only did the septic guy show up 2 hours early (that's a whole other load of crap we won't discuss), but she is great!

She's great with my kids. Her and Thor are the best of buddies. She has made friends with the goats. And she is a protector by nature, so she stays watch close to the house mostly until she hears Thor holler for help. We have coyotes like crazy, so Angel and Thor are a wonderful tag team and we are so happy she has been added to RBG ranch. Except the long hair. That kinda sucks.

Charlotte

So back in early spring we said goodbye to our sweet Jersey/Holstein, Honey. She was my like my 5th baby. When times got tough and this momma was stressed, I'd go sit and snuggle with Honey because cows don't cry. I miss her. But she went to a great home and allowed us to buy Miss Charlotte.   Charlotte is a beautiful 5 year old pure bred Brown Swiss. Her demeanor is to die for. So sweet and gentle in nature. Yes, she does have her moments of bratty diva, but for the most part, she makes my morning chores worth it.

We noticed in June that her hooves looked so bad. Completely overgrown and starting to cross, and with the insane amounts of rain, I feared hoof rot. We called all over and finally found a vet with a tilt table that would trim cow hooves. $70 later (ouch!) she was much better. Her hooves naturally cross which is why she was sold off the dairy line. Bad feet can't stand on concrete for long periods of time. She has a good home here.

When we got her we decided we wanted to go ahead and start transitioning her off of grain. Cows don't need it. We aren't requiring some unruly amount of milk from her, so she can eat grass like she was created to do. When her bull calf went to his new home we removed all grain. She did wonderfully and is still a grain-free cow. We dropped her to 1 1/2 gallons 1x/day the last month before we moved. It was just too chaotic to "do stuff" with the milk. Now I'm in the process of bringing her production back up to somewhere around the 3 gallon mark. Our plan for her is to raise calves. Genetic testing revealed she is A1/A2. Eventually we won't rely on her milk for our family directly, but she loved her calf so maybe she'll enjoy being an adoptive momma until she has another baby of her own. We shall see.

We did AI (artificial insemination) Charlotte in July in attempts to get this girl pregnant again. I don't think she took. She's shown too many signs of heat cycles in the past 3 months. I probably should have her vet checked. Hmmmm. Or the big ole black angus bull across the street could kindly jump the fence for me just to make sure.

For now she just provides yummy liquid gold for my amazing family and a few of our current farm critters. She isn't the happiest cow on the block right now because, due to fencing issues, she is in a pen with our goats and heifer eating hay. She does get tied out in the front yard in the evenings some, but it's a big culture shock for her coming from 12 acres of whatever she wanted.

Ta-Ta for now!

What's with All the Silence?

So, I got off facebook. It was a personal decision really. I don't miss it. I miss knowing what's going on with my friends, but I don't miss it. That little blue icon on my phone was like the "eye of target". It just reeled me in every time I was close and took up way to much of my time. So, I removed myself permanently from the social network and that included all RBG Ranch updates.

Where have we been? What have we been up to? Lots really. Spring and summer brings a season of busyness to any farm. Whether you grow big crops, cut and bale hay, run a load of cattle or raise poultry... it's BUSY! That was no different for us. Baby goats born, chicks arriving and butchering, a few animals departed, and another farm addition. I will update on every little thing I can think of over the next few weeks. But, the biggest part of "busy". Well, we moved.

Yes, we are still in the best state EVER! But we are further out. Surrounded by beautiful pines (Mr. Smash is more than happy because pine trees=deer) and other hardwoods. There is amazing sandy loam soil, 2 full pear trees, mature peach trees, apple trees, and persimmons. And our hoofed grass eaters are already enjoying bits and pieces of pasture and meadows that this place has to offer.




I say bits and pieces because our fence isn't completed. We decided to splurge and get good strong pipe around the front of the property and a small pasture closer to the house. The rest has pretty good 5 strand barb. Mr. Smash is also down a "shop", and our chickens are sleeping in a nice predator-proof pen but have no real coop. Which means there are tools and machinery everywhere, and every day is an egg hunt. Just waiting for the crew we already gave 50% to, which is quite fun and full of suspense.

But I got a milk room!

Stay tuned.


.

So You Want to Buy a Bottle Calf? Read This First!

We moved to our property and immediately started buying animals. Knowing we would have to fulfill the requirements for ag exemption on our property, we were on the lookout for some cattle. We found some calves reasonably priced. We could afford to get bottle calves but would I have the time? 4 children under 6 was a lot to care for already. PLUS, bottle calves. PLUS, a new still packed up home. PLUS, a piece of land and a lifestyle I know nothing about.

It came down to 1 weaned calf or 2 bottle calves. Big decision. 4 young children, homeschooling, Mr. Smash has a 40+ hr/week job off the farm, we just moved in, and we know nothing. Why in the world would we get a bottle fed calf let alone 2?!

So we got 2 bottle fed calves. Our homeschool demands are still pretty low. 1/2 of our children will remember this time. I've never done it and would like to try. It was either now or not until A1 is atleast 15, and that's a long time. It was a great decision and I wouldn't have changed a single minute! Bottle feeding a 3 day old calf is almost up there with nursing your own child. They are just so sweet and so dependent on you and they'll let you know how much they love you. And they grow to be huge and you know that YOU helped grow that animal. But they don't all end up with a happily ever after.


Babies are meant to be raised by their mommas. PERIOD. I understand that sometimes cows die during birth and there is still a calf that needs to be raised. I also understand that the production demands of large scale dairies depend on ALL of the milk from their cows, so there will be no sharing with a calf. These things will produce a bottle calf. If you want to be one of the ones who raise one of these calves then that is great! It is a very rewarding experience. It can also be very heartbreaking. Here are some tips, do's and don'ts, and a bit of caution.


1. Where are you buying your calf? It is very difficult to find a full beef bottle calf. It is possible but difficult. Your best option is a dairy breed. Jersey and Holstein bull calves are extremely easy to by. Dairies are always looking to sell their babies, and don't let anyone tell you dairy breeds make bad meat. Jersey meat is AMAZING! So marbled and tender!!!  You can also find dairy heifer bottle calves as well. The good thing about raising a bottle heifer is you get to keep her! She can be a great calf grower for you in the future. Some find it very hard to raise a calf on a bottle and then eat it. If this is you then get a heifer!
  Places like craigslist, facebook, and even auction barns are some places you can find bottle babies. Unless you personally know the farmer, you will never know what you're gonna get. Just come to terms with that.


2. You need to feed them something. The options vary from raw goat milk and raw cow milk to whole milk from the grocery store and formula from the feed store. The ultimate best would be milk from the calf's momma. Anything after that is equal game. A few words of caution and wisdom. If feeding raw milk make sure the donor is healthy. If feeding formula/replacer be absolutely POSITIVE there is NO SOY product in the ingredients. Soy is not easily digested by ruminants and can cause nutrient absorbancy problems along with an array of other issues. Stay consistent. Too much change in milk can be very bad.



3. When feeding your bottle calf, HOLD ON! These little boogers nudge so hard they'll knock ya on your butt. You will need a giant 2 quart bottle to feed with. The nipple doubles as a teething toy for human babies. You may need to open the hole just a bit because some places sell them without the hole. Make sure the milk is very very very warm. At least 100 degrees. Remember your mimicking a momma cow. Find a system. 1-2 qts 2-3 times per day. I've successfully had a 2x/day regimen. I know people who prefer 3x/day. They need milk for at least 8 weeks. Some bucket train their calves. With our next one I may go that route, but for your first one, do the bottle. It's fun!


4. Get familiar with the term "scours". A fancy word for diarrhea really. Calves on milk  will have a typical "baby" poop. It's soft a yellowish. With scours it is more watery. When you go shopping lift up that baby's tail and see if there are any remains. Look around their living quarters. Even better, wait until you see it poop before you take it home. That way you know if you are about to spend a few hundred $ on a calf that will need some extra attention as soon as you get home. MANY things can cause a calf to scour. Change in milk, feed, and environment. Bacterial and viral infections like e.coli and coccidiosis. <--- a lot can be spread to other animals on your property so take caution of which boots and gloves you use and even which animals are allowed to come in close proximity to your scouring calf. Some are even contagious to humans so wash your hands!


5. So, what do you do about scours? There are so many options from home remedies to vet assistance. The first thing is to replace what is being lost. HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE! There are many electrolyte formulas out there; re-sorb, bounce back, deliver are a few. Even gatorade when you're in a pinch will do. I've found the absolute best thing to hydrate a calf is iv fluids. YIKES! That's a vet trip. You're right, it is. You don't have to do it, but it's the best way. The other ways have worked for us at times too, but nothing beats fluids directly and constantly into the body. Then what about the nutrients that are lost? Adding a SAFE raw egg and plain yogurt to the bottle does some good things. The egg amps up the protein, and the yogurt helps replace the bacteria that was not only lost during the bouts of diarrhea but also gives probiotics that they aren't getting from momma's milk.
   Next, stop the scours. Some use Kao-pectate, also known as pepto-bismol. Both do great. If you are crunchy, a blend of peppermint oil and ginger tea internally would be an option. We have used crushed activated charcoal in the bottle also. There are scour boluses available which is basically a giant sulphur pill. This also comes in a paste form that's a bit easier to administer. Both can be bought at your feed store.
  What is causing the scours? This can be a little tricky because a blood test may be needed to find your answer. By the time you get the results back it could be too late. A fecal can be done by your vet as well to rule out parasite issues. A good brainstorm of outside factors would help. Really though, you may never find your answer. You must decide how important it is to you. And, you must keep reading.

4. Shelter. Little calfy will need somewhere to be. Having grass available to sniff out is a GREAT place to be. Some say keep them penned for atleast 2 weeks. This could be beneficial as to make sure nothing the calf brings home can infect your other animals. It also keeps them in a "safe" place; like kids, they need boundaries. Others allow them to have pasture available alongside other animals. Often a calf can go downhill just from being buddy sour. Cows, no matter how young, are herd animals and they need other animal contact. If you aren't comfortable with having them around your other animals make sure the calf is in a spot where it can see you and interact with you regularly.
   The temperature in the shelter needs to be no less than 50 degrees for a healthy calf. A struggling calf needs to be much warmer than that. I've had many a calf in my bathtub because of freezing temps. If a calf gets too cold they can't digest their meals. If you find your calf has gotten too cold, warm it up first then feed. NEVER feed a cold calf!!!

5. Make a decision before you buy the calf about protocol. Bottle calves can range anywhere from $150-$400. Know that a down calf can easily cost you $200 more in treatments and vet bills. Will you go to the vet or will you treat from home? I would suggest getting everything you may possibly need BEFORE you bring the calf home. When a calf starts scouring you can lose them in a blink of an eye and there won't be time to run to your local feed store, so be prepared.

This is just a quick run through. Please don't let it scare you! Bottle feeding a calf is so much fun and you will remember it forever! But it can end badly and I want you to know that going in.

If you do have a problem with your calf, there are so many ways to treat but I have only 1 definite demand. Do NOT call the one who sold you the calf and jump down their throat about selling a sickly!  There are way too many variables that come into play, and when you pay that money you take the chance.

Do you want to know how you can buy a bottle calf and lessen your chances of it going down? Purchase 1 that's already a month old. The difference between 5 days and 4 weeks is tremendous! The digestive system is already well on it's way to developing and calfy should be nibbling on grass by then too.


 There is much more and no amount of reading can do what experience will. Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions. And if any of my experienced followers feel I forgot something and need to add it, comment below!

What's In A Goat?

Snowball

Do you ever play the game hi-lo? Where you tell the people around your dinner table your high point of the day and the low point of the day. Last week my high was that we sold 85% of our goats. The low was that we sold 85% of our goats.

It started when a few of our goats kept squeezing through gate rungs and eating our ducks' food. Our ducks eat grass, bugs, algae, and the amazing high protein grain we feed them. Our goats get sweet feed and have a 55" round bale of beautiful coastal, and they choose to kick our ducks off morning feed. I was livid. I mean I was throwing gloves, scoops, halters, and anything else I could find to get them off the feed from across the barn. I had HAD it! I called Mr. Smash, and I believe the words out of my mouth were "we are selling these turds or we are having goat for dinner."

So, fast forward to 14 days after that. We've sold 12 goats. At the beginning of this fiasco we had 16; including 3 babies. I could deal with getting their head in the fence and even jumping the fence; they always came back. But eating my ducks food was the last straw. The first 10 that were gone included our very first goats, Spot and  Stripe, and also included our first kid to ever be born on our farm, Tater. I did get teary eyed. We were left with 3 doelings, 2 does we were milking, and our 1 horned doe (Elsie) who was due to kid any day.

Sweet Patty

Last night we sold Patty. I did more than get teary eyed. If you remember her story, she lost her little buckling to a horrible donkey attack. She was the reason we started our milking adventure. We bonded. We also sold snowball last night. A3 was hysterical! This little goat mimics ADHD on steroids, but is the sweetest little thing in the world. They both went to a great family who are beginning homesteaders... like us!

We have kept in contact with the buyers of our goats. We love them and want to keep up with their progress because many were pregnant by big man Tater.

Buck.

 But wait, so we are getting out of goats?  Good gracious NO! We have moved to a bigger breed. And it was a GREAT plan God had for us. I really do agree with Him on this one. ;)  8 days ago we purchased a beautiful Nubian buck named Goliath. Everyone knows that Goliath was a big mean giant. This guy, not so much. What a pansy! He is so very handsome and sweet and it's a good thing because his horns are huge! He is considered "moon spotted" and is about 2 years old. We've changed his name to Buck after a vulture on a show called Oscar's Oasis. 






But, we can't have a buck without some does. Nubians are big goats. It is possible to breed a small buck to a big doe, but not the other way around. Birthing problems galore. So we set out to find him some women. An amazing family that has decided to change breed sold us the most amazing goats I've ever encountered. Sunny and Diamond are both registered full blood Nubian does. They love to be loved!

A1 and Diamond

We decided to go with Nubians for 2 reasons; their size and their milk production talent. There was one time in my life that I swore I would never milk a goat, much less drink goat milk. It all completely changed when I realized that was God's plan for our family at this time. 7 days ago we bought Sunny and Diamond, and for the last 6 days we have been drinking raw goat milk.

We go out about 20 minutes earlier to have time for milking. We follow safety protocols, and by naptime we have ice cold milk available. A1 is starting to get really good at it too! We have plans to build a new barn with a milking parlor this spring. Hopefully by then we can have 3 does being milked by 3 A's. Maybe that's too much to ask. Honestly though, I enjoy it! It's peaceful, the goats love you for it, and I know exactly what I'm feeding my family. Well, the milk anyway. Does it taste funny? Not really. It tastes like whole milk, but there's a freshness to it that is hard to describe. Right now, ours has a "goaty" aftertaste because they've been in with Buck. The pheromones that are given off from the buck affect the taste of the milk. It doesn't bother me or the A's, but it does Mr. Smash. He is just going to have to make his weekly Braum's trip until we get Honey and Missy going.

So, what's next? We're always in the market for a goat. They are so very addicting, and you will never get it until you have one or two or twenty. Tomorrow we take our sweet Frostine to a man in east texas to trade for 2- 5 month old Nubian doelings. That will leave us with 4 total kids and 1 doe who will domino any day. Plus 1 buck and 2 adult does who are most likely pregnant. We're going to keep milking and I'm looking into raw milk laws from our extension office. We are getting a ton, and I'd love to sell it. There's a market in our area for it, so it may be a new business endeavor. Maybe I should've paid attention in that business class I took in college.

Wow! We've Been Busy

Let me start by saying that, unless it is the main source of income (but even then), farming is NOT a 24-7 job. It's not. You are not constantly tending to animals, pastures, building projects, or gardening plans. Very rarely does it consume 24 hours each day for 7 consecutive days. These last 2 weeks we got pretty darn close.






So when Fuzzy died almost 3 weeks ago we weren't quite sure what our goat situation would evolve into. We knew we had to relieve some of the pressure in her filling udder, so we started milking her. What a riot! We had Patty, our now kidless lamanchaX, in a sheep stand attempting to milk her. She was uncomfortable and still healing from the pain of a lost kid and here I am. A novice. Trying to milk a goat for the first time. Plus she is a member of the itty bitty titty committee. Poor thing. But, $50 later to a FFA student trying to earn money, we got a goat stanchion.

Now, we had another problem. The other little kid, Snowball, was lonely. Her momma isn't what you would call the "playing" kind. So, we set out to find another goat kid. A week later. We found a momma with nice sized bags and her 2 doe kids. Bingo! We'll keep milking and now Snowball has 2 friends to play with. We got them from a man who loves his goats, but I don't think he really cares for them like he should. There were probably 30 goats, 10 of them were nannies and each had twins. All about the same age. So trying to figure out which babies belonged to which mommas was tough. CHAOS. We finally got them home.

Sweetie, Big Momma, and Annie

Get ready.

We left them in the crate in the barn. Mr. Smash left to go to the bank and pick up some milk (we don't get that much from our goats). I run inside and put A4 to bed and start a movie for the other 3. It's 8pm. I go back out to milk Patty. We'd been doing this for a week now. I got back inside just in time for Mr. Smash to say... let's go. Where were we going? Right before we left to go get the goats we heard back from a lady we'd been trying to get a hold of all day. We found a 2 week old angus bull calf. Of course we discussed it in depth since we lost another bottle bull calf almost 1 year ago to the day. But, for this price it was certainly a no-brainer.

We drove 45 minutes with 4 sleeping angels in the truck to pick up this calf. What a cutie!!!  We got back home about 11pm. Mr. Smash set up his stall next door to our coop complete with kiddie pool filled with hay and heat lamp. He looked so comfy in there. Finally got to bed at 1am. Work and the Smash School for Girls would be commencing in 8 hours.

This was the start of what I realized was the busiest 2 weeks of my life.

The next day said bull calf wouldn't take his bottle. The previous bull calf was still very fresh in my mind, so our new guy came inside and took up residence in our bathtub. It was warm for him and convenient for me. I was able to care for him and my 4 children. We did end up cancelling school that day so we could go to the feed store, vet, and back home in the middle of medical decision making for this guy. Good thing Mr. Smash came home early so I could go to COURT! Yes, court. For a flipping speeding ticket. But, while I was gone the calf drank a bottle and was bucking and running around outside like normal. Yea!

I pulled back into our driveway just in time to see the buyer load up our sweet Holstein Cassie. Yup, we sold both of our heifer bottle babies that were born a year ago. I loved on her and helped load Bella. I then told the lady to leave because I was going to either change my mind or absolutely LOSE IT! I love those cows almost as much as my children. The money was nice though.


After close examination of our pastures and yards without Cassie and Bella we noticed 2 things.
#1. Honey was very upset and will be throwing a fit for a while. The bellowing continued for the next week. She also started being a total snot. Now, she could've been in heat during that time. We'll find out in about 28 days if those are in fact her heat symptoms
#2. One of the new goat kids doesn't belong to the doe we got. <---- Did you read that correctly? We got a momma and 1 of her kids and another completely unrelated kid!!!!! So now we have a bottle baby. Fast forward to later that evening. This kid is close to 5 weeks old; she's not digging the bottle.


Let me slide in a little blurp here. A1 decided she doesn't want to go to the rodeo for her birthday. She wants a Shaun the Sheep party at our house. And to coincide with some family coming in town, we will be having it in 11 days.

So, here we are. Bottle feeding a calf in the morning and night. Milking 2 momma goats and attempting to milk the 3rd who doesn't know us. Allowing this orphan kid to nurse on our kidless momma after I'm done with her in the stand. Attempting to keep these 3 kids out of the pasture with that stupid goat killer donkey.

8 days later we are in a bit of a routine. We lost 3 chickens from Mareks disease in that time and had a few dentist appointments, but for the most part we are pushing through and trying to plan a party and get the house clean. I look out the window to check on our animal family and notice that our now 3 week old bull calf is looking a bit lethargic. He had scours (which is a fancy animal word for diarrhea), but it's pretty common and he was eating and drinking and had a round of antibiotics to hopefully clear up the cause. So, this droopy looking bull calf kinda worried me.

Thursday (Day 9) we had an issue. He didn't want to eat and the scours were worse. I brought him in and syringe fed him 2 quarts of electrolytes. The only vet that does A.I. in our area called me a few days prior to discuss options for Honey. Apparently he lives down the street from us and has family that works with Mr. Smash. I took advantage of the phone call and asked about the calf. He gave some great advice.    So, I called this vet back and told him what was going on. $100 worth of meds was delivered to us to administer to the calf. He did pep up that night and drank a bottle of electrolytes, and because of the diarrhea that's the most important thing he could get in him.

The next day was not good. Syringe feeding some more because he was close to lifeless. He had some very ups and downs, but never took a bottle again between then and Sunday. Total feedings administered in the next 2 days was close to 10. Each took about 30 minutes. 1 med twice a day. 2 shots once a day. And we had to hold him up to keep the blood flowing through his legs because he was too weak to stand.

Now, we'll take a break and discuss goats. We're getting good amounts of milk from Patty and Frostine every night, and Patty gets in the stand in the morning just to let Annie nurse. We tried to separate Big Momma from Sweetie during the day so we could milk her at night also, but that little kid gazelle's it over the fence. Turd. So, she's put on hold now.


Saturday, Day 10. We find the cutest little 10 week old Jersey heifer with a touch of Guernsey. Ready to be weaned. We ring this guy's phone off the hook and we are FIRST IN LINE! A trip to the store for last minute party food (which is on Sunday) and off to this homestead we go to get this little girl. Problem, she's never been handled. Her momma and the other adult Jersey are milked. So, not only is she running from the owner, her daddy is too. Wait, what? Yes, her big black Jersey bull of a daddy is pissed we are there. He's going nuts in this pen. The seller has the nerve to invite us in the pen to see the calf. Uh, no thanks. I'll stay where the bull can't kill me.

After 30 minutes the owner got the lasso around her. We put her in the transport cage and she completely breaks it. 200 lbs of wild broke our cage. We (yes, the seller, Mr. Smash, and I) finally got her out of the pen, and Mr. Smash had to jump on her. The seller was sitting on her back 1/2 and we hog-tied her feet. She could still move, just not up right. We used tie-downs to secure her on her side in the back of our truck. Again, because SHE broke our cage. Guess which lucky momma got to ride in the back of the truck with her all the way home? THIS GIRL!






Our family that was visiting was in for a treat. They beat us back home, so they got to unload this wild thing. We stalled her next to Honey and in a completely different area than the bull calf (before you asked). It's pushing 6pm. Bull calf needs electrolyte therapy, human kids need to eat dinner, and there are groceries in the car. Oh yeah, we have eggs hatching in the incubator.

Day 18 LOCKDOWN

Add caption

Sunday. PARTY DAY! Completely ecstatic that our cousins are here to help do life with us. Mr. Smash was up all night with his cousin so he sleeps in and I go tend to animals. Can't wait to see this little heifer calf and give her a piece of my mind for bellowing all night. I guess it's understandable when you've been taken away from your momma. Sad face. First thing I go do is check on our bull calf patient. Ultra sad face. Losing 2 bull calves in 1 year can only mean that maybe it's not the right time for a bull here.


We move on with our day because we have 5 little girls coming over for a party at 3:00pm. At noon our family starts packing up to leave. We decided to reevaluate these hatching chicks. They need help! The 2 that had already hatched were affecting the temp and humidity levels in the incubator. We needed to get those chicks out and help the ones that had already started hatching. We successfully helped #5 hatch. It was so cool. The other 5 that had started hatching were no longer. Another sad face. The conclusion we came to was that as the already hatched chicks were running around in the incubator they were sucking out the humidity and the ones in the process of being born were shrink wrapped by the surrounding membrane. 2 eggs were early quitters. So, we have 3 chicks in the brooder box.

Birthday Sheep

Our littlest Sheep

Party in less than an hour. My reinforcements arrived, aka Mimi and Papa. Party was "the best party ever". Everyone left. We check on the chicks. Only 2 still alive. The sad faces are getting old.

Missy

 So, here's a happy face. This little heifer, Missy, is a big project to train.
But, she is beautiful and will make a great milker one day. Honey is happy to have a friend. Annie is now weaned from the morning feeding. We're getting almost 10 oz of goat milk and that's good for us. Big momma is settling in, although still won't get in the stanchion. My house did get cleaned... sort of.

Well, You Can't Do THAT in the Country

When we moved out here we couldn't stop talking about everything that we would be able to do! While there is so much to do out in the country, so much freedom, there are certain things you just can't do.

1. Have a picnic. When we lived in our cute little suburb we would have frequent picnics in the backyard. We'd keep our little Boston Terrier inside so he wouldn't help himself to our lunch. It was a nice picnic really. Out here, not only do we have to fight our outside dog to stop begging. BUT, we have 30 something chickens flying up on our homemade cable spool picnic table pecking at our pizza while attempting to perch on our drink cups. One of them actually flew up and snatched my 3 year old's pizza right out of her hand. No more backyard picnics.

2. Neighbor coffee breaks. I would frequent 3 of my neighbor mommy friends for afternoon coffee. There was a short while when we would meet at 7am in the morning. We all had little kids so we were all up early. There's no more of that here. Sure, everyone within a 20 mile radius is up just before sunrise. But, coffee and chat? Not happening. Unless you want to hop in your car and you have nothing else to do. I do miss walking to my girlfriends' house.

3. Go for a walk/bike ride with young kids. Even though A1 did learn how to ride her bike sans training wheels in the pasture along side our young heifers, it's not really ideal. We live on an asphalt county rode with no sidewalks, and 4 young kids on a street where big trucks go 50mph isn't exactly safe. The times we have gone on a trek down the road we have met some "neighbors". So, that was cool.

4. Run to the store. Yes, there is none of that. I mean, we could do it. We could go to the store for toilet paper and what not, but it's 40 minutes. Add that to the near hour it takes to get everyone out the door and that quick run to the store takes the entire afternoon.

5.Have internet, cable, or cell service. In the search for a simpler life, these things don't bother us anymore. But seriously, it is EXTREMELY difficult to get any kind of technology hook-ups where we are. It's kind of a punch in the gut when you come from the suburbs.
5b. In addition to getting the above services, getting items delivered always is preceded with the questions, "Is that within a ___ mile radius of zip code ____?" and "Can a 20 ft semi trailer get to your property easily?". Often the answer is no.

6. Pizza Delivery. It's blasphemous really.

7. Keep your vehicle clean. When the only way to leave your home is down, not 1 or 2, but 3 dirt roads keeping your truck (or car) clean just isn't happening. And wouldn't you know, there aren't really any car wash places close either. Thank goodness for water hoses, dawn, and working hands.

8. Laziness. I thought this would be a good thing to round out the list. There is absolutely NO laziness in the country. Even if you don't want to work, you'll still be thinking about the work that needs to be done. And you'll do it. And you'll enjoy it.

Even though you can't do any of these things in the country, there so much more you can do. And it's so worth it.
That is all.

A Very Devastating Day on RBG Ranch

So, today we had an extremely heartbreaking moment that led to much crying by every female in the house and 1 special female outside the house.

Fuzzy (5hrs old) and Mama Patty

Our sweet little Fuzzy who was born December 22, 2014 died today. No, it wasn't because of some sort of bacterial infection or viral pneumonia which takes the lives of so many goat kids. Here's the story.



We decided to let our new momma goats back in the run with the rest of the herd for some socialization and intense grazing on the big pasture. They enjoyed it. We opened up a small hole in the gate so their new kids could get to them if they wanted and then go back in the yard when told to. It has worked great the past 3 days.

This afternoon was an unusually beautiful January day. Both mommas and kids were relaxing just outside the barn next to the 3 cows. We have a perfect visual of our barn right out my back door from the kitchen. I was in my usual kitchen spot when I heard Thor barking up a storm. I look out and see Shorty (donkey) running the cows and goats out of the barn. He does that. The cows don't realize they outweigh him by mountains.

I'm so glad I took a second glance. That glance was when it began. I realized Shorty had our 2 week old baby boy goat in his mouth, and was flinging him around like a rag doll. I took off out the door completely barefoot and leaving doors and gates wide open trying to get to this sweet baby goat. What was I going to do? Tell Shorty to put him down and maybe attempt to pry his mouth open? That would've been the end of me.

Prayerfully Thor was right behind me, and went directly after Shorty. I scooped up Fuzzy, and started running back to the house going through every bit of Frankincense, Oregano, and Thieves inventory I had. That's when I realized that Fuzzy had in fact taken his last breath.

I was standing in the kitchen with this sweet baby boy goat and my 4 girls. We were all in tears. I went outside to call Mr. Smash and tell him what happened, and I still had Fuzzy in my arms. I couldn't let him go. That's when I heard his momma bleating and calling for him. My heart sank.


This was a devastating day for us. But also a great opportunity to teach my girls that animals are animals. They are unpredictable. And life here is sometimes very short lived. And when we lose someone/thing that we love, it's okay to cry.

So, what's next? All of my mommy friends who've ever nursed a baby know what it's like to be engorged. Well, I have a momma goat who will be engorged. I will milk her out tonight and most likely put some Valor and lavender behind her ears. As for tomorrow. We shall see. 

The way We detect heat; and the day I chased my cows

A lot goes into getting a cow pregnant. Sure, you can have a bull and take the "easy" way out (j/k, that doesn't always work either) but if you want to pick the breed of the pending calf you must do a little AI. Also known as artificial insemination. If you do AI you must be able to know exactly when your cow is in heat. Some are more difficult than others. We have young heifers and they're all due to come into heat for the first time about now. We've definitely been on heat watch.

There has been the normal mounting, rubbing and bellowing. Honey lost her appetite one day and was kind of getting pushed around by our other cows. Honey is our BOSS so it was definitely out of the ordinary. We thought she was getting sick. What happened yesterday told us otherwise.

Amazing pasture

It was a normal naptime afternoon. We just had a goat kid, and A1 was snuggling with that sweet babe so momma goat could go graze. I had big plans to finish our 4th garden plot. We have a big back pasture that isn't all the way fenced in yet. Mr. Smash just mowed some weeds down and there was beautiful lush green underneath. Very appetizing to those who eat grass. We've let our 3 heifers out there before when we were out doing work. They go to the middle of this pasture and chow down. We ring the bell and shake the feed bucket, and they come back in to the fenced area. Today was different.




I let them out and they stayed next to the current fence eating around our fruit trees. The made their way over to where Mr. Smash is building the new fence. Cassie, who is just a big goober, ducked under the posts and level string that was up, and starting grazing around the driveway. I CALMLY pushed her back into the pasture. When I walked off she went back out towards the driveway. This time, when I walked back over to her, she started bucking and running away from me.

That is when the other 2 noticed where she was. They decided to join her. I was pushing them all back in. They were reluctant. Our farm dog, Thor, came over and decided he wanted to play with me. Bad timing bud. I attempted to encourage his inner herding abilities to get all 3 cows back in the big giant pasture with lush green areas and tall dried grass that they seemed to enjoy in the past.

Let's just say Thor is demoted.

Like little children. Cassie, Bella, and Honey ran around our driveway bucking and turning in circles. Ears as high as they could be, prancing out into the street. I chase them for a while, and quickly realize they run much faster than me. Obvious, I know. They get there and stop. Staring down the road. I'm screaming at A1 to get some cattle cubes, and I'm running to get the cow bell. I give her the bell and she is ringing her little tail off. I get the 3 escapees' attention and they're now staring me down. I have the bright yellow bucket filled with solid gold.

And here they come. A stampede. Now I've taken a deep breath because they're no longer out on the road that cars tend to drive 50mph down. But my stomach drops again as I realize I have a collective 1500lbs running towards me. A1 opens the gate to the backyard and hops up onto it. I'm back pedaling (this is where my former athlete really came into play) shoving treats into their mouths and trying not to get trampled. A1 closes the gate behind them and runs to open the gate to the FENCED pasture. Luckily Cassie stopped to eat a pumpkin rind left behind by our chickens, so we're down to 1,000 lbs.

We get them out of the yard and back into the pasture and I throw the cattle cubes on the ground. They're sniffing around, and I go back into the yard and just about collapse onto the ground from being out of breath (I said FORMER athlete). A1 closes and locks the gate. Mission completed.

After they finished scrounging for the treats that I threw on the ground. They stared me down and moo'd in frustration and "but it was so fun Mom!". Then Honey and Cassie spent 15 minutes staring back out at the street.






Why on earth would they do that? Well, here is the view from the street.

There! Right in the middle. That is a 2,000lb Angus bull.

Case closed.

How I grocery shop with 4 young children

This is how I do it. Others may do it differently but this is my way.

I go to the grocery store every 2 weeks. And I take every one of my children. All 4 of them. From 18 months to 6 years old. Some have the option of going to buy groceries alone. Like, with no children or significant other. I include significant other like I include children because I'm including Mr. Smash. We have made the occasional family trip to Target. We always come home with extra stuff, courtesy of Dad (aka "Sucker"). It's very similar to when your kids put candy in the cart without you knowing.

So anyway, I do not grocery shop by myself. 

"I don't know how you do it" they say. "You're crazy" they say. Well, you can do it. It's a mind-set momma! A mind-set!

You are creating adults. And right now you are starting from scratch. Going to the grocery store is a teaching opportunity. I'm not just talking about learning their fruits and veggies or figuring out what's cheaper. I'm talking about how to interact with people. How to say no to what's not on the list. How to organize a trunk/backseat/truck bed full of groceries. And how to push through those last 20 minutes at the store without losing it. L-O-S-I-N-G   I-T. We all need to work on that.

I don't make my children sit in the cart the entire time. It's a 35 minute drive to the nearest Kroger. I'm not going to make them sit in the car, sit in the cart, and sit back in the car to go home. Not making them sit in the cart while at the store helps them learn to walk with mommy. Okay, seriously, A4 (18 months) does not walk beside me; or even in the same aisle as me for that matter. Actually, she runs the complete opposite way. The great thing is that A1, A2, and A3 walk with me when needed and come back to me when I tell them to. Each one of them ran away from me at 18 months. So, I keep pressing on.

If A4 deliberately disobeys then she must sit back in the cart for a few minutes. Then she gets another chance. I know it's gonna get better because her sisters act great now. Teaching opportunity! There are times when they will all run down an aisle or start playing with the sprinkles in the baking section. During those times of disobedience they must sit. This is torture! We get those big boat carts that can hold multiple children. I like them because it's a great time-out spot and I can still keep shopping.

All 4 of them will take the groceries from the cart to the shelf. They often get paired together to get produce. I've tried to teach them the correct way to pick out an apple, pepper, bananas, etc. Sometimes they nail it. Other times, not so much. I don't mess with it too much because I'm still not okay with a 4 hour grocery trip during nap time. I'll remind them of the wrong fruit choice when we get home and they want to eat it. Life consequence.

Note: We always get the free kids cookie at the bakery. We get it before we do the frozen aisles. It helps with the "I'm ready to go home" fit throwing. And keeps everyone happy just a little bit longer.

The 3 bigger girls must unload the cart at checkout. This is NOT an option. I have to remind them not to throw, and I do get heavy stuff and glass stuff. Once there is space in the basket I'll put A4 in and let her help. I've got to be on my game though and get the glass stuff out before she can see it.

And when that bagger at Kroger asks me if I want help out today, I look at my 2 full carts and 4 tired children and smile and say "sure!". When we get to the car I put A4 in her car seat, and A1 helps me load up. Sometimes the others help and sometimes they get a pass. By this time I'm tired, irritated, happy, and a ton of other emotions because not only did we make it another trip, I still have to unload the groceries when we get home.

That's how we grocery shop. I take all of them with me, 99% of the time. I enjoy having done it on the days I don't have to go. Why I say having done it? Because it's not fun at the time. Seriously. But I'm glad I get the opportunity to teach my girls how to live life.

So you want to dehorn your yearling?

Ah, horns. Most cows have them. There is a common assumption that only bulls have horns. Let me squash that my city friends.

Honey With Horns about 9 months old

The truth is all male and female bovines have horns except:
- Angus
- Red Angus
- Brangus
- Red Brangus
- Galloway
- Belted Galloway
- Red Poll
- Black Maximizers
- Speckle Parks
- British Whites
- Amerifax
- Senepol
- American White Park (though 3 to 5% are horned)
- Murray Grey
- Jamaica Black
- Jamaica Red

These breeds are naturally polled. They were not bred that way, they are created that way. That's a lot of breeds you say? Well,many more are horned. The only somewhat common dairy breed on this list is the Belted Galloway, which is more of a dual purpose breed. We have dairy cows, they were born with growing horns.

When we got our heifers we had every intention of letting those God-given horns stay. They were just little nubs at the time. No harm.

As the horns continued to grow we loved them even more. They gave Honey such character and personality. The decision to dehorn them was last minute and not really thought out. But, it's one such decision where there is not a right way or a wrong way, and it really depends on your way of life with cows. These are family cows. Things may look a bit different if we were running several hundred head.

A lot of my mommy friends would say "the horns gotta go". It's a safety issue. I haven't met someone yet who has dehorned for any other reason than safety. Of course there is always the fact that they sell better... because the person buying them feels safer without the horns. And we have children and cows are big and yes, the horns gotta go.

If you happen to be like us and waited until your heifer or bull was nearing the 1 year mark, this post is for you. Here's how it went:



Go to a vet! When horns get this developed the dehorning paste doesn't work well, and disbudding requires surgery because they're not really buds anymore. Plus, this hurts. You don't want her to associate you with this kind of pain. If this is your family cow, go to a vet.

 The vet puts your 500+lb cow in a headlock/chute. He then puts nose tongs on and ties her head up to one side. She can't move but she can see, so I would suggest that you (as the owner) stand behind her. Doc will shave around the horns to make sure the cut is good. He takes a tool that looks like giant hedge clippers and puts it directly over the horn. Chop. There are nerve endings in horns and when they're this developed blood spews everywhere. Your cow may scream at this point. I'd imagine it hurts.

dehorning clippers

nose tongs

Be aware that she'll now have a giant hole in both sides of her head. And she'll be bleeding down the side of her face. The once precious cow you loved will now look very different. It'll take some time getting used to, and if she is a family cow like ours, it'll take a bit longer.

It sprays black

So, now what? Some will say to just leave them. I will NOT say that. Sure, they could probably heal fine on their own. Everything will eventually close up, scab over, and be good as new. If it rains and your cow is outside; however, she will get water in those giant holes. That will cause infection. That will not be pleasant. The way we did it? Pack the holes with a cotton ball. Keep her tied up and have a helper, she won't like this part any more than she liked her time with the vet. Once you have a cotton ball over the hole enough where it won't fall out, spray the area with auto undercoating. You can find it at most autopart stores. This will keep the cotton ball in place and the holes covered, but it will still be able to be removed or dislodged when the area is almost done healing.

Bella's Ooziness

After the cotton was removed

After 3 weeks we noticed Bella had some puss oozing from under the cotton ball. We went ahead a pulled off the cotton ball to discover a bit of drainage. We left it uncovered and sprayed with Vetricyn to keep away any infection that may develop from flies or other bugs. Notice it looked bad with the cotton still on, but once we uncovered it we saw it wasn't bad at all. It did smell a bit but wasn't even cause for antibiotics.






NOTE: DO THIS IN THE WINTER. FLIES WILL LAY EGGS IN THE WOUNDS DURING THE HOTTER MONTHS AND YOU'LL HAVE A WHOLE NEW PROBLEM ON YOUR HANDs.

Cassie Perfectly Healing

At 4 weeks we removed all cotton from the 3 cows. Bella had the shortest horns so naturally the holes were pretty much completely closed. Cassie and Honey were still a bit hollow but were definitely healing. You can choose to leave the cotton balls in until they come out on their own, but we noticed Cassie had some draining too so we just took them out. We kept Vetricyn on the day we removed the cotton to help with the healing. If you use essential oils then a blend of frankincense and melaleuca sprayed would do great as well. I don't have a glass spray bottle so I took the easier route.





And that's it. I would recommend not waiting until they are older if you can help it. If you get a family cow older than this then leave those horns. The stress from becoming a new family member is enough for her. And if she's in milk, I think the adrenaline and stress from dehorning would definitely affect milk production. Get those horns when they're young. Ideally 2-4 weeks old is key.

Good luck~

The New Honey sans horns. 1 year old.

A Message to Michelle Duggar, from A Mom with Littles

Michelle Duggar is the mom who lives in a shoe and has so many children who has 20 kids now I believe. She birthed all of them (none adopted) and she has a reality show. From what I understand, the proceeds from the show go to charity. Her and her husband are completely debt-free and that's how they are able to afford the things they have. THIS IS WHAT I'VE HEARD. Anyway, they are raising fabulous children. The ones that are adults are really good people, and that's what matters. All of us who have children are in the business of creating adults and she's doing a fantastic job!

But Dear Michelle Duggar, I don't want to hear anymore on how to raise 20 kids! Or 10 kids! Or even 5 kids! I'm sure you have your difficult days, but I want to know how you raised your oldest 3 when the oldest was a preschooler. I want to know how you did it when you had no sibling helpers. When you didn't quite have a decent chore plan in place. When they were just learning to obey. When your house was a complete disaster and you tried to homeschool your reluctant kindergartener while cleaning up toddler potty taining woes and holding a flailing baby on your hip cause you don't know what's wrong with her!

Some days I want to go tell all the parenting books, blogs, and columnists to go jump in a lions den. Today started as one of those days.

Time change. Well, we all must deal with it. It doesn't bother me. My kids don't get it, and they are early risers anyway. I know this. I roll with it. This morning was grand. They woke up at 5am new time. I was up at 4:30am new time because I did, in fact, forget about DST when I set my alarm. I had my quiet time and got what I needed to get done before they woke up, so all was good. I even decided to sit and watch a Sunday morning movie with them. Mostly I "get crap done" when the tv is on.

Baby woke up early. Even for her. That's where the fun really began. She woke up fussy, snotty, hungry, and indecisive. She wanted mommy to hold her and let her down all at the same time. We snuggled for a bit more of the movie when I noticed the sun was coming up. We rearranged the chickens and their coops last night, so it was important we get out there first thing or the roosters would have a giant brawl. Think Anchorman news team brawl.

Problem, I have a hip baby. I'm 99% positive she will want down if I walk outside. She's got pj's on still, and the others aren't dressed either. And there's poop. And she likes to put the little raisinettes from our goats in her mouth and squish the gifts from the chickens. Bleh.

I blow it off. Mr. Smash will be up soon and he'll run out there and take care of it.

My plan was to make biscuits this morning. It is nearly impossible to make biscuits from scratch with 1 hand. Especially when the other 2  hands that have been added have decided they want to grab everything. So, forget breakfast. I'm gonna go play with my kids. <--- Experienced moms tell you to do that ya know.

I'm always in the kitchen, so I figured I was going to listen to what these mom-encouraging bloggers and speakers say. I'm sitting in the playroom playing. It lasted about 5 minutes when I smell something. A3 has let out a tinkle in her britches which is becoming quite common for her. I now stop playing to go get her changed and encourage her to get all of her tinkles in the potty. BUT, I don't ever do this without baby on my hip so why would I stop now. All 3 of us head to the potty. A3 is crying because she needs "help" while A4 is aggressively trying to play in the toilet that another A forgot to flush. I hear, MOOOOOOOOMMMMM, this dress won't go on my puppy! Yes, I'll help you when I'm done helping your sisters.

We get back to the playroom and I'm attempting to put a barbie dress on a beanie baby. I smell something. Hard to miss because she is climbing all over me. I get back up and truck it to A4's room to change that lovely dipe. She decides this morning that she wants to leave it on and rolls ALL OVER THE FREAKING PLACE while screaming. Pardon me daughter while I remove the poop from your butt! A little "old mc donald" gets her still. I can't just chunk this diaper in the trash (or leave it in her room until I go back in later) because it's cloth. I must take care of it now. So I head to the laundry room to clean off this diaper, with a baby on my hip. She likes to "help".

So, 20 minutes have passed since I was going to play with my kids. Before I even make it out of the laundry room A2 comes out and says that A3 is taking things from her and will I please come play. Trying to "spend time with my kids" I go back to sit and play again. A1 asks when breakfast is because she's getting kind of hungry. Makes sense, they've been up for 2 hours. Nope, no breakfast, we're playing! A3 hops up and says she has to go potty. GREAT! Go! She gets to the bathroom and says she needs help because it's too dark. I tell her to turn the light on. She starts crying and says she can't and she needs help and she has to go real bad. I get up and run quickly. Baby is now crying and following me. On my hip she goes.

I give up on playing, and with a guilt filled heart go to the kitchen to make breakfast. I put A4 on the floor. She hang on my pant leg and cries while I mix biscuit dough and crack eggs. She then gets between me and the counter and pushes me away. So, my arsenal for the morning? A giant cup of cheerios. She eats a few. I finish the dough and pop them in the oven just about the time she spills a few cheerios. Clean-up clean-up I say in my sweet encouraging voice. She realizes that pouring out the entire cup would be cool. So, she proceeds to do that.

A3 comes in, "Mommy, will you PLEASE come play with me!". A1 pops in a says, "Mom, I'm soooo hungry". A2 walks in crying and says nothing. After many attempts to find out what's wrong with my sweet 4 year old, she finally says "I don't know why I'm crying". I give her a hug and contemplate snuggling with her on the couch to help her emotional stress and let her know I'm always there for her. Because.... when shes 16 and she's dealing with some adult issues I want her to be able to open up to me. It all starts now folks!

I'm quickly reminded why sitting on the couch with my crying 4 year old isn't a good idea. My skillet is smoking, the biscuit timer is going off, A3 is pulling out granola bars, A4 is flailing because she sees the granola bars and wants one, and A1 is frustrated because she wants me to re-do her ponytail. Kiss kiss, it'll be okay sweetie.

At this point I'm not quite certain if the tears that are about to fall down my face will salt the eggs enough.

I wrote this several days ago. I can still feel the frustration and the guilt from that morning. It happened again 5 days ago. Same story, different chapter.

Why oh why is there an overbearing need to follow the encouragement of moms that have been there? They know what they're talking about I'm sure! But, I want to hear from a mom who IS there! I noticed about 2 years ago that I couldn't find a blog from a mom with 3 kids under 4. I was the only one of my close friends who was in this life stage at the time. I had a close mom friend who had been there and she was fantastic encouragement. But, it wasn't the same.

Then I realized why I couldn't find a blog from a mom in the same life stage as me. WHO THE HECK HAS TIME TO WRITE A BLOG?!