Lally

A Year In Pictures ~ 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:43:00 +0000

We had a great 2011 and I cannot wait to see what 2012 has in store for us.

January

There was a lot of rain!

We watched it flood.

We left the country house

There was dancing and lots of moving boxes

February

We moved back to the city

The new house

Brownie cupcakes!

We celebrated Valentines Day!

March

The chickens enjoy their new home

I finally got myself a greenhouse

We made spring flowers

Grandma Evelyn came to visit

Uncle Terry and Grandma Karen visited as well.

Someone turned 8!

Someone turned 3!

First of the garden starts.

April

There was a Mom's Night In Craft Night.

Someone turned 5!

Kids did crafts

There was hiking with Daddy.

We made newspaper pots.

You can too, instructions here.

A poultry show.

Nerf battles

We filled the greenhouse

May

We played with the goats at the farm.

There were underwear-sock wars

I planted the hill of death. Though in

May we called it the pumpkin-squash-hill.

I had farmers to help me.

I learned to coupon. I saved us when business slowed down.

We survived on the pantry for months!

I just used up the last of my laundry soap today.

This is part of it, cost me 99 cents!

The mint loved the greenhouse.

June

We butchered our first rabbit.

Greens from the garden

We started a garden tee-pee

My daughter went and grew up. (self portrait)

And so did my son!

July

There was sleeping,

and fireworks,

Chamomile,

and snap peas.

An abundance of flowers.

Lots of swimming happened.

There were chalk paste footprints across my patio.

I became one of those mom's. The ones who have a

billion animals at their house. This is Skipper.

My oldest, bestest, most wonderfulest friend got married.

(now I don't think she read this blog so lets

just say that I am not so patiently

waiting to be an Auntie and want to spoil her kids

rotten. Come on all ready Jenny!)

August

There was goat shaving.

Chicken holding

Goat nibbling

Loving on babies

Chicken love

First year rabbit showmanship!

Goat showing

and overall lots of Fair!

September

Garden Harvest

Pie baking

Canning season coming to a close.

Found and loved a hamburger bun recipe. Finally!

October

Banana Split Night. A yearly tradition every October 31st.

Another trip to Grandma's so I could stay with her while she was

in the hospital. Her front porch, which is actually her back porch.

I don't know if you can read this. I found it when

I was wandering the halls of the hospital late

one night while my Grandma slept. Made me tear up.

Another poultry show.

November

We did some pressure canning.

Some donut making

Sisters, 23 months apart, its a love-hate relationship in which they are

all ready fighting over clothing.

And more baking. Recipe for these coming soon, they are so yummy!

And more baking. Recipe for these can be found here.

I use this dough for everything. Bread, breadsticks, french bread (using steam in the oven),

dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, everything.

December

Someone turned 11!

A group of friends made each other feel better by sharing

our "Real" houses on facebook. Do you feel better now too?

Another chicken show this time with

members of our new 4-H group.

We spent time at Grandma Evelyn's for Christmas.

No snow but I love this tree.

More at Grandma's house. See that little bridge in the middle?

Almost 10 years ago Joe and I said our vows right there.

If you made it this far congratulations! I hope you have a wonderful 2012.

Nope I did not...

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:49:00 +0000

Not Me Monday is a regular thing over at MckMama. You can head over there to see all the Not Me Monday posts! You can also check out her other posts, she's got goats and a creepy barn. What more could you want right?

I absolutely did not make sausage gravy twice in one day. We did not have it for dinner and for breakfast just because Daddy wasn't home.

I did not wonder what the smell was in my kitchen all day today. It was definitely not the bones left in the crock pot from straining chicken broth on Sunday morning, cause I took care of those right away and did not put the lid back on and leave it for later.

I also did not let my kids jump off the cement wall in our backyard into a monstrous leaf pile. And I absolutely did not help them rake the leaves. And I really did not encourage the three year old to jump off the wall twice her height. That's not safe.

And last but not least I did not post on facebook this morning "It is for sure a Monday." cause my Monday's are awesome, always, cause who does not love Mondays. They rock.

Canning Season 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

We had a great canning season here. You can see totals (though I lost count and completely forgot to tally some items) if you click on the Harvest Totals tab above. We made pear sauce, apple sauce, lots of tomato sauce, jams, jellies, and more.

We had enough tomatoes from the garden every day to make
an entire canner full of sauce daily.

Because I thought it was funny that I took pictures of the mess. Homeschool curriculum piled up, looks like some baking happened, and canning mess.

Did you get any canning done this year? What was your favorite thing you put up?

Skamania County Fair 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:55:00 +0000

The kids participated in Skamania County Fair again this year. It was in August but I am so far behind posting photos of anything on here! It was Madeline's third year participating in fair, Michael and Marah's first year participating.

Marah and SnowGold

Michael and Buster the Polish Rabbit

#95

I really liked this rabbit judge,
he was really good with the novices.

All dressed up in her show clothes

When time came she froze and the livestock superintendent was nice
enough to let older sister go out and stand next to her. Maddy later
said "If I'd know I was going out there I would have
wore my show clothes!"

It was an excellent year at fair. The kids had a blast as always. It was also the first year that the littles and I camped the entire time. There were several meltdown moments, not only by the little girls! We will do it again this year and the kids have all ready started planning their 2012 4H year.

Homemade Non-Petroleum Jelly

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:43:00 +0000

Found this excellent post about making your own Homemade Non-Petroleum Jelly. I smeared Michael in Vapor-rub last night and am envisioning a homemade version! This is more a note to self as I really want to do this!

Frogs, snails, and puppy dog tails

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:40:00 +0000

I am always amazed at what I find when I help tidy the kids rooms. These pictures are brought to you from the depths of the boy child's room.

Arrows

Tools

Do these things breed?

This guy likes to hide where
Mom will unexpectedly uncover him.
His massively large family also likes to hide places.

Foot puncture trap

What unexpected treasures do you find in the depths of your child's room?

Potato Leek Soup ~ Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:21:00 +0000

Potato Leek Soup

5 medium Leeks (white and pale-green parts only)
2 TBSP Butter or olive oil
6 Russet Potatoes, peeled and chopped (or don't peel if you'd like)
30 ounces Chicken broth (I have also used vegetable broth)
1/2 to 3/4 cup half and half (I've used whole milk or skipped this as well)
salt and pepper to taste
sometimes I also add garlic powder

1) Halve leeks and slice into 1/4 inch thick half moons. Rinse and drain well.

2) In a large pot melt butter over medium heat. Add leeks and cook until tender, be careful not to brown (though I do it all the time and it tastes fine unless they are black, then its well uh gross. Hey I'm a mom, I get sidetracked. lol)

3) Add prepared potatoes, broth, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil: reduce heat to simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender. About 15-20 minutes.

4) Puree with an immersion blender (or regular blender) until smooth. Stir in half and half and season with salt and pepper. (Or don't blend at all for chunky soup, I tend to blend about half as the kids like the creamy and Husband likes the chunky, so they have to share and get both. I totally just noticed a similarity here, its to peanut butter.)

Enjoy! I tend to make this soup from memory so its a bit different each time. Sometimes more potato, more leeks, etc. Its pretty forgiving and I've never made a version that kids didn't devour. I usually serve with fresh bread and butter.

Life Verse

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:55:00 +0000

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I read this verse everyday. It hangs on the wall by my kitchen sink. As I wash up from breakfast and lunch and dinner I see it. Hanging there, waiting. Read me, live me.

I need to read this verse everyday. It speaks to me and every time I read it I love it more.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I am not joyful always. I struggle to be joyful when the mountain of laundry overwhelms me. When the uncertainty of paying bills looms in the near future. When I see friends hurting so deep that nothing on this earth can even begin to help, I struggle because I do not understand.

There are days when my prayers are just scattered random thoughts. There are days when I sit down broken and ready to let go of my control, my inadequate understanding of this life.

My thanks are inconsistent. I like to think that I am grateful, yet some days the blessings I receive are unnoticed and forgotten. Chalked up to hard work instead of my Father who gives, over and over, forgiving.

I want to live this verse. To be joyful, full of prayer and thanksgiving. To find joy in the hard stuff as well as the easy. To find joy in the mundane and the exciting. To be thankful for every second, minute, hour, especially when it is spent doing something that I do not understand.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What about you, do you have a verse that you want to live? A verse that speaks so deep into your soul that you want to devour it every chance you get.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 02:45:00 +0000

Was reading blogs the other night and came across this post over at Freedom Acres Farm the other night. I love her blog and am in awe of her pantry. As soon as I saw the recipe for Hamburger Buns I knew I had to try it.

These are something I try but are never right. Too crunchy, not fluffy, shape is off.

These homemade hamburger buns were perfect! I did use regular whole wheat flour in place of fresh ground soft white flour and noticed no difference. Though as I don't have a flour grinder I may not know what the awesomeness of fresh ground flour is. :)

So head on over to her blog for the recipe and I'd love to know how

they turn out for you!

P.S. The kids liked them, need I say more?

Who are You Serving?

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:31:00 +0000

I have been working with one of the ladies at my church working on what are my strengths and spiritual gifts. It has been a fun and eye opening experience. After meeting with her on Wednesday I really felt the need for more direction for where I am supposed to be.
Read more »

MIA

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:55:00 +0000

I've been MIA lately. Lots going on and lots of posts I want to do but my laptop is dead, again. Second time in a month. Sigh... Its in the shop so hopefully soon it will be back. So for the time being I am using the old dinosaur the kids use. Can't do any photos so won't be posting much.

Anyone know how to get rid of the white borders around my photos. Its a blogger template so am thinking this is just something I can't change. It puts a white border around my signature which is driving me NUTS! Its set to transparent and shows that way other places which is why I think its a blogger template issue. If anyone knows please email me or comment here.

Hope everyone is having an awesome summer and your gardens are doing well!

Chicks

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:00:00 +0000

We had two show bantams go broody last month so we took some eggs from the 4-H Farm just for fun. We didn't really need any new chicks, but the kids have always wanted to hatch some. Well I did not expect a 100% hatch rate. lol So 7 new chicks are here and boy were the kids excited to see this little chick in the nest box. Hope fully there are some girls in there. They are all mixed breeds as there is no separation out in the barnyard but it was fun. Hoping that we get a green egg layer out of one at least. 4 of the 7 eggs were dark green so we shall see!

Strawberries are Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:43:00 +0000

Strawberry season is here again. The kids had fun picking though we went late in the day so ended up with half what we normally pick. We plan to go back when the farm opens up their second field. We spent two afternoons processing what we picked and totals are up in the sidebar.


Strawberries

Strawberry Jam

Dehydrator full on yummy smells!

Fruit Leather. Ingredients: Strawberries :)

Finished jam

So what are you turning your strawberries into?

Canning Memories

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:44:00 +0000

I love canning and preserving. That love came from my Grandma. Each time I was at her house breakfast included toast with her homemade blackberry jelly. It was so pretty sparkling it its little jar. Such a deep purple, my mouth is watering as I write this. There is nothing like her blackberry jelly. Mine does not compare. She also canned peaches and pears and applesauce. Her applesauce was so good I used to love to spread it on toast. I learned that delicious idea from my Grandpa.

As I grew up my Grandma let me help. She would take me out to pick berries when I would spend a month with her in the summer. We would crush and strain and measure and boil. Out would come these little jars of goodness. This is where I learned to love the little pinging sound that jars make when they are sealing. That love doesn't come from the thought of the food inside them (well part of it does) but it comes from my memories of doing something in the kitchen with my Grandma.

When I grew up I spent less and less time there in the summer. I was a uhh shall we say difficult teenager? I could learn to do it all myself, don't ya know? No more canning days with Grandma but when I did see her she would load my arms up with jars before I left.

As an adult when I became pregnant with our first child I went down and spent a week with her. Her canned peaches were the most amazing thing my pregnant self had ever tasted and she sent me home with an entire box. I swear that entire pregnancy I ate canned peaches. When they were gone I wanted to drive the 8 hour drive to her house just to get more but that is a long way to go for peaches when you are 8 months pregnant. The bed rest didn't help either, I doubt my doctor would have okayed that trip. But peaches!!!!

As I got older so did my Grandma. Sadly in the last few years her canning days ended. She has slowly passed a lot of her jars onto me. Now its my turn to repay her with jars of purple jellies and golden applesauce. I love bringing her what I have recently canned and love it when she says I will return the jars. Only a canner understands that. When I can with my kids now I wonder if they will have the same feelings I do about canning. Will the sound of pinging lids bring back happy memories? I sure hope so. I hope that one day my children will be canning and passing on their goodies to me when I am too old to can fresh summer berries, pears picked that day, and apples so fresh that they are still warm from the sun.

Finding Joy

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:31:00 +0000

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

This is my focus lately. I found this verse when searching for verses to string together for a homework project for women's group. I need more joy, I need to give thanks. I find myself feeling very ungrateful lately. Not that I want more, cause I don't, I want less. Less this, less that, less work, less laundry, less loneliness. I am really struggling with this, finding joy in all things!

Instead of being thankful
I complain,
complain about the hours
grumble about the laundry
whine
moan
feel lonely in a house full of gifts from God
I get grumpy
yell
snap
lose my joy because I am not being thankful in ALL things.
I hide

I work on this. Daily, hourly, every minute.

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,

Do not fear; I will help you.

Isaiah 41:13

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Psalm 30:11, 12

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 21 May 2011 14:00:00 +0000

First salad of the season. Red and Green Leaf lettuces, Chard, Spinach, and Arugula. Kids and I made homemade croutons, topped with cheese, ranch, and sunflower seeds. Yummy!

Couponing

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:13:00 +0000

I have been taking a couponing class at my church and it has been so exciting. I had to share two transactions I did yesterday.

This is my 18 cent transaction! So far the best I have ever done!

This is my 99 cent transaction. My calculations put it at free but I think I forgot about tax and something else happened. Going to take the receipt to class next week so I can figure out how it worked the way it did. Still though 99 cents is good in my book!

All right back to your regularly scheduled blogging. I was so excited I had to share! lol

Busy week and Summer Camps!

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Thu, 19 May 2011 07:13:00 +0000

Its been a busy week and my poor blog is once again neglected! I really wanted to keep up with the Kindergardens series but seems I am all ready behind. I am going to be playing around with my blog design so if things look funky here please be patient with me. I am really not liking the feel of it lately. Have a lot of gardening posts to do and am super excited about how my garden is doing. Its spring so all I think about is gardening!

I have also been busy helping our 4-H group with their website. Please go check it out at Camas Camp-n-Ranch. It is an excellent farm, my family loves it out there. If you are local make sure you check out their facebook page and their summer camps. Please pass the information on to anyone else locally you know! They have 3 different themes as well as horse camp in July.

Large Family Logistics - Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:00:00 +0000

I finished up Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman last month and thought it would review it here. The first part of the book is about the Proverbs 31 Woman. I didn't know this was in there and was almost giddy with excitement when I saw that. Proverbs 31 is one of my favorite parts of the Bible. I love reading about the Proverbs 31 woman and spent a good deal of time reading this section, taking notes, and reading in my Bible.

The remainder of the book is split into two parts. Part one being more philosophical and offering encouragement. Part two being the how to application of how she does things in her household. I sat down with the book with the intention learning. As I read I took notes and looked up any Biblical references or verses she noted. Any ideas I thought would work for my family I wrote down in a notebook and ones I thought might work I noted and tweaked a bit.

There were some specific chapters and sections that I really enjoyed. I started to implement some of her ideas right away, such as the office and paperwork ideas. Others I have implemented over time. I keep referencing this book which is a plus for me. I like books that make me want to look at them again rather than just collecting dust on my shelf.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for practical ideas of how to handle the day to day in a house with lots of kids. Though I think had I read this when I was a mother of one it would have made things a lot smoother going from one to two, to three, and then to four! lol

You can purchase the book at the above link or its also on Amazon. Her blog Large Family Logistics has some good posts, though posts are more frequent on her facebook page which is linked on her blog. If you have read this book or plan to I would love to hear what you thought about it!

I do not know the author and have not been given anything or asked to do this review. This is just my thoughts.

Making Newspaper Pots

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Last year I saw a post somewhere about making newspaper pots. They used a store bought tool to do so and I have thought about that tool often when transplanting. I seem to never have enough pots for my transplants! As I was re potting tomatoes and peppers I ran out of pots and decided to try making my own. It worked wonderful!

What you need:

Newspaper

Cup

Soil

Seedlings

Flat or plant tray

I couldn't find any newspaper in my house and as I was searching the garage my eye fell on this roll of newsprint. Perfect! I got it from the newspaper office. The local paper here gives away the ends of the rolls and I usually grab one or two for crafts and such. It was absolutely perfect for this purpose.

Roll of newsprint

Step one: Cut newsprint into pieces. Size will depend on the size of pot you are making. Make your pieces double the height as you will be folding them in half.

Cut pieces

Step Two: Fold your piece of newsprint in half lengthwise.

Cut and folded piece

Step Three: Get your cup. I used a plastic cup I had laying around my greenhouse.

Cup

Step Four: Line your paper up on your cup to the height you would like. I did fairly large as I was transplanting tomatoes and wanted them to be deep. Place the folded side on the top of the cup as this will be your top edge.

Placing paper on cup

Step Five: Roll paper around cup keeping top edges even. It will not be tight around the cup if your cup is smaller at the base.

Paper rolled around cup with top edges even

Step Six: Turn cup over and fold the bottom like a present. It will be bulky and try to unfold. I ended up placing it flat in my hand and squeezing around the bottom the cup and crumpling the paper a bit.

Bottom folded

Step Seven: Take the pot off the cup and continue to hold the bottom so it does not unfold. Place a small amount of damp soil into the bottom to help it keep its shape.

Soil in pot

Step Eight: Place pots into flat or plant tray.

Finished pots

Step Nine: Transplant as normal. I labeled each pot with a small piece of tape and placed the tape on the rolled edge. This wasn't necessary to hold the pot together but I had several different varieties in each tray and did not have enough plant markers.

Finished transplanting

Make sure to water them and then you are done!

What's in the Garden?

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 07 May 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Seedlings in the Greenhouse

Morning Glory

Onions

Winter squash or pumpkin

I am anxiously awaiting warmer weather. Most of the cool weather crops are out in the garden beds. The warm weather crops have been transplanted and are growing more and more each day waiting to go outside. Excited to see what comes of this years harvest. What's in your garden?

Family Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:00:00 +0000

KinderGARDENS 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Thu, 05 May 2011 21:41:00 +0000

I have never participated in KinderGARDENS and I think its an excellent idea. You can find more info at The Inadvertent Farmer. For my family teaching our children where their food comes from is very important. Knowing that the carrot they are eating was grown by someone. Grown from a seed, watered, weeded, and cared for rather than just magically appearing in the supermarket for us to buy.

Are you a first time gardener who needs help and encouragement or are you a veteren gardener that can help others here?

I am not a first time gardener but I don't consider myself a veteran either! I look forward to learning from these blog posts and hope I can add to the discussions as well.

Are you gardening with your kids or grandkids or are you doing a school garden or maybe gardening with college kids?

I am gardening with my children. We have four ages 3, 5, 8, and 10.

Are you going to expand on last year's ideas or are you going a whole different route?

We moved in February so have a brand new canvas to start on this year. Our garden will consist of two 4 by 15 raised beds as well as an area of hill I am fencing off for the larger plants.

What are your kids dreaming of doing this year...remember to involve them in the planning stage, after all that is why we're here!

My kids have all ready planted a few things. Flowers and pumpkins. Both of my oldest children have hopes of growing pumpkins and watermelons for 4H to take to fair. I usually give each child a garden space but I am not sure what this will look like this year.

Anyone doing a hobbit house? Ohhhh I hope so!!

I am planning a tee pee this year for the kids. I have started some vining flowers and a mini vining pumpkin that will grow up the sides. Also will add beans, peas, and sunflowers to the mix. I tried this last year but I never got farther than setting up the tee pee poles! Its high on my priority list so hopefully I will accomplish that this year. :)

Chicken Show - April 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Thu, 05 May 2011 19:04:00 +0000

Maddy participated in a chicken show in April. Her first of the 2011 4H year. She did a wonderful job. I love seeing her out there. She looks so grown up to me in these photos. :)

I didn't take a lot of other photos. There were tons of chickens on show for the kids to look at. Naomi and Marah just love looking at all the different kinds of chickens.

Beeswax Finish

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:40:00 +0000

Just a note to myself. Make your own beeswax finish. Excited to make some of this for the kids wooden toys and play kitchen.