I'm Baaack!

I have missed posting! I tried to write the other day, but everything I wrote came out wrong and depressed. I have been really sick for the past week. Yesterday I went to the doc and got a prescription for a massive dose of antibiotics, so maybe I'll start feeling back to normal!

My kids have been taking care of all of the household chores and animal chores, so I have no great stories. I have watched every episode of 7th Heaven's Season 5, though! I'm really glad those DVDs came before I got sick! My younger kids & I just lounged in my bed all week and watched tv. I'm glad that they like 7th Heaven too!

In between times of lying down, I did get my Early Girl Tomatoes planted on Monday. I still have a flat full of flowers (I had to say that for alliteration sake, even though they are really vegetable and herb plants, not really flowers) left to plant this week. A friend and I visited a local nursery and bought some transplants the day before I got sick last week, so I have a lot of work to do!

I wish you all health and happy gardening!

Journals

These are two of the four journals I made for the church auction. All of them sold to young girls who were very happy to get them. Matt and Emily are excited for me to make theirs. I'm still thinking of selling some on Etsy....

Springtime

What a springtime this is and has been! So many new animals coming into our home...and going right back out again! ;-)

We "donated" our kittens to a pet store in a far-awayish town yesterday (about 35 min away). They were happy to be receiving and we were happy (more or less) to be giving. Too many kittens spoil a household. My older cats were reverting to kitten behavior of not always using the litterbox. I hate that! And the kittens, though I tried hard, did not always make it to the litterbox without being locked in a doggy kennel with nowhere else to go but in the litterbox. Now we are starting life afresh without the kittens. As of last week, two of my three indoor cats are now "fixed". The third came down with an unexplained fever on the spay day, so she will need to return later. We still have two outside cats and a litter of kittens to deal with, but at least they are OUTSIDE!

Most of the chicks are outside. The only indoor chicks are the cochins and brahmas. Those babies are slow to mature! They are just getting some of their body feathers as we speak, while the other birds of their same age have had theirs for quite some time. The brahmas look about ready to go outside, though, so two down, five to go.

The two "fast-growing" (too slow for my taste!) chickens are ready to be butchered. The others are still coming along. And I have a litter of rabbits that are almost ready.

The ducks are grown and quacking.

But the baby goats are still needing to be bottle fed, and there is no relief in sight. They are adorable, though, and make us feel like Mary with her little lamb when we let them out of their corral and they follow us around wherever we go.

My apricot tree is starting to grow its fruit. My volunteer spinach is doing great! (We have eaten two salads from it so far.) The strawberries that I planted last fall are flowering. One of my two rhubarb plants that I planted this spring has taken hold. My apple tree is blossoming (and smelling wonderfully!) I need to transplant my cabbage plants into the garden.....should have been done already, but our weather has been absolutely crazy! And I still need to work on the warm weather plants like tomatoes, peppers, squash, green beans, corn.

Steve has been making hay while the sun shines by teaching internet classes in addition to working for card cafe http://www.cardcafe.com. We are trying to pay off our debts slowly but surely.

My kids are calling, so time to go feed a bottle!

Have a great springtime day!

New Kids on the Block

I broke down and bought a goat yesterday...ok, two goats. I had visited a dairy with my friend the day before and found that they are selling off all of their goats. With food prices the way they are, and the economy the way it is, I am trying to be a little more self sufficient. While these girls won't be milkers for a while, they were less expensive than a full grown doe. In fact, I got both of them for less money than I'd spend for just one adult. And goats like company. And I want the girls to be comfortable with me long before I start milking. And my kids like the kids.

Here they are:

She is a La Mancha/Alpine cross: (notice the tongue!)



















And she is a Nubian/Saanen cross: (she still has a little milk left on her nose after drinking!)



















And here is Emily the Goatherd:
















And remember my chicks and ducks? Here they are now!:








I just love spring!

Mother's Day Present

Steve told me a few days ago that he had ordered my Mother's Day present and hoped it would be here on time, so I have been waiting on pins and needles to see what it is. A few minutes ago I heard knocking on the door and opened it to find a package sitting on my doorstep from amazon.com! I called Steve, thinking (hoping!) that it was my Mother's Day present and IT WAS! So I opened it, and inside was the most beautiful present I could get!

A few months ago we started watching 7th Heaven. I had trouble being able to watch the shows in the right sequence; sometimes I'd see episodes far ahead of the last, then a few behing....it was hard to follow the story. BUT, I LOVED the show! And Steve knew I loved the show SO.....
He got me the first 5 Complete Seasons of 7th Heaven! How thoughtful! What a great guy! I would have been happy with whatever he got me. Really, I would. But I am THRILLED to be able to watch the Camden kids grow up and see how the parents cope. I love this show!

Thank you Steve! You're the best!

Journals

Our church youth group is going to Martin's Cove this summer, and they are trying to raise money to cover the costs. The youth are having an auction in a few weeks, and have asked everyone to help by making crafts, volunteering services, making baked goods, etc.

I was trying to decide how I could help when I remembered this fabric covered journal that I made for Amber when she got baptized:

So today I took the kids and went shopping for fabric. I found quite a few cute/nice/pretty patterns, and have enough fabric for 7 journals and enough books to make 2 - I'll have to go back for more books as they are available.

I have been toying with the idea of setting up an Etsy shop of my own and starting by selling some journals and then add new crafts to that as they happen. So I've decided that any left over journals from the auction will be the beginning of a new adventure! If there are no left over journals, I will still start a store; it may just take me a little bit longer to get started.

Amber noticed that I like doing crafts and sewing in the summer...I'm afraid I'm doing things backwards! I wish that I enjoyed doing those things in the winter when there isn't a garden or baby animals to care for! Ah well, I can still work on extra projects during the hottest part of those long summer days!

A few weeks ago as I was looking at some potholders my grandma made for me, I decided that I'd like to start making my own cute potholders for myself and for gifts. Quite by accident, a few days after deciding that I want to start sewing potholders, I ran across a great book on amazon.com:

It is available on June 2nd, and I want a copy! I found a few bloggers talking about their additions to the book, and they look adorable!

I'll update with pics of the new journals soon!

Birth Order of Children

I had to share this! Enjoy!

*BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN*

What you wear:

*1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.

*2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.

*3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

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Preparing for the Birth:

*1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.

*2nd baby:* You don’t bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn’t do a thing.

*3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

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The Layette:

*1st baby: You pre-wash newborn’s clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby’s little bureau.

*2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.

*3rd baby:* Boys can wear pink, can’t they?

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Worries:

*1st baby: At the first sign of distress–a whimper, a frown–you pick up the baby.

*2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn

*3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

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Pacifier:

*1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.

*2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby’s bottle.

*3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

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Diapering:

*1st baby: You change your baby’s diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.

*2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.

*3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

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Activities:

*1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.

*2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.

*3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

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Going Out:

*1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.

*2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.

*3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

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At Home:

*1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.

*2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn’t squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.

*3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

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Swallowing Coins (a favorite):

*1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.

*2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.

*3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

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Cute Little Kittens

Aren't they cute? And they've grown up so quickly! We are working on their litter box training and they are all weaned and ready to go.... Any takers?