Life at Goodness Grows Farm

We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

2012-02-11T09:59:00.002-05:00

Hi!

How've you been?

It's been busy around here but that's not why I haven't been writing.

I went through a period that (from what I read on other blogs) is kind of common with bloggers like me (people who are blogging as a means of documenting family memories). A period where I was internally debating whether what I was documenting was ethical to my family. I mean, I don't really imagine my little anecdotes are going much beyond my family and friends, which is more than enough, but on the chance that they were, I was struggling on whether I was going to do irreparable damage to my children's' psyche by publishing the stories and pictures that I post with my entries. I tried to imagine them at an adult age, reading some of the stories and wondered if they would find the stories an adorable set of memoirs where I documented their lives, or will they be angry about every little thing I documented and hate me?

Factor in all of the worries about weird perverts checking out my blog (and stealing innocent pictures) and I had a bit of a breakdown of my system for a while.

After some time in thought and prayer, I decided I would resume blogging as normal. I know there are risks to what I post but there are risks every day of what I am doing, so I try to be as cautious as possible for my children, but I'm not going to stop recording our memories based on fear. I've also chosen to believe that my musings will be considered a great memento of childhood for my babes and they will cherish me for documenting all of these silly stories and be glad for them.

Children, if you are reading this and you HATE ME for this blog, I'm sorry. I didn't think it would cause any harm. And I promise, I will only blog about you as teenagers if you do stupid things that I want to embarrass you about as a punishment and reminder to never do something that stupid again. Or if you do something super exceptional (like win an award, get an A, or just wake up on time for school) and I will try not to embarrass you at all.

So you might wonder what's new at Goodness Grows Farm?

Not much except a lot of GROWING!

I celebrated a birthday which pushed me into the next age bracket on surveys and questionnaires. I'm now closer to the next decade than I was to the previous one. That sounds weird when I think of it, but for the most part, I still think the 1990's were 10 years ago so my "age" doesn't affect me.

Christmas Eve was a bit different for us this year. I ended up taking the children to my hometown for a quick visit with my family before Christmas. We had a lovely meal on the 23rd with my Papa, Mom, Dad and a visit from my Aunt B. who was in town from Florida. We drove home the morning of December 24 and then had a gathering at our house for Christmas Eve. For some reason, our kids just started melting down one by one in the hour before we were to leave for Christmas Eve services, so we made a BOLD decision to stay home. We got the kids in their jammies, settled in on the couch and read scripture and some Christmas books we have about the birth of Jesus. It was something totally different from what I have done all of my life. I think it was the first time EVER (well, aside from the day I was born) that I didn't attend a Christmas Eve service. In it's own way, the night was peaceful and reverent. I missed the tradition of the Christmas Eve service, but I am glad I have the memory we made instead of the one that could have been - you know, that one where we sat in church shushing our kids, wrangling Whitaker, not being able to pay attention to the music or the message because I am searching my purse for gum, pens, paper and other paraphernalia to distract my hoodlums so I can get something from the service.

Whitaker had already gone to bed, but I got one picture with my older three on my birthday.

Best of all, my dearly beloved bestowed me with some beautiful bling.

The kids exchanged presents to each other. Will got Walker a watch

and Maggie a pair of Christmas socks.

Willie got a Lego kit from Maggie . . .

and was so excited that he gave his sister an unprompted bear hug as thanks!

I have to say, that over the Christmas Holiday and into the last few months, we have seen such a generous side to Willie. He was the first to raid his piggy bank to buy presents for his siblings. He took a great pleasure in picking out the perfect gifts for them too. I am so proud of his generous spirit and greatly look forward to fostering this gift.

On their way to bed to wait for Santa!

Christmas morning was a blast! Santa visited us and left some really great prizes and we had a nice leisurely morning opening presents, playing with them and having fun.

A few gifts didn't fit under the tree. Like Maggie's Barbie Doll house - the ONLY gift she asked Santa for. Santa found this gem at a yard sale last summer for $10! It only needed a little elevator repair and some new furniture to complete it. I have to brag a bit about Maggie on Christmas day. She opened up all of her gifts under the Christmas tree and there was no doll house. She looked under the tree, at me and then said, "Is that it?" I told her "Yes" and she got a very sad and dejected look on her face, but picked up one of her new toys and sat on the couch to watch the rest of the kids open their gifts. Her face obviously said, "I can't believe I didn't get the dollhouse I asked for!" But she never once complained or made fuss. She just sat there until I suggested that there might be other gifts to search for that might not have fit under the tree.

Once the boys finished opening their gifts from under the tree, I sent them on a scavenger hunt. She eventually found her doll house (after I prompted her with clues like, "What looks different in here from last night?" and "LOOK UNDER THE BLANKET!")

Walker got a basketball hoop that Santa didn't finish building in time. But that meant that Dad and Walker got to finish putting it up together.

When Erik and I went Black Friday shopping, we happened across this mo-ped at a really good price. We forwarded the info onto Santa knowing Willie would love any type of battery operated vehicle. A few weeks later, Willie told me he wanted a motorcycle for Christmas. Kismet! Willie has been zooming around the house on his flashy new Mickey Mouse Moped ever since!

Whitaker's big present was this giant plush Donkey. He absolutely loves it and sleeps with it every night. To get him to go to bed, I sing,

Where is Donkey,

Where Is Donkey,

In your crib

Let's go find your Donkey

And go to sleepy

go to sleep

Some more pictures of Christmas Morning.

Four days later, Erik and I were blessed to celebrate our 10th Anniversary.

We hadn't planned anything very special and then at the last minute, thanks to Erik's mom, we were able to head to Pittsburgh for the night and enjoy an extravagant dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We pricelined a hotel room, made a reservation for dinner and had a lovely night away from home. Our server at the restaurant made our dessert an event.

Erik chose a Creme Brule, I had a triple chocolate mouse (which was to die for) and the little chocolate round in the top center was a chocolate cheese cake. This dessert and the potatoes gratin absolutely made the dinner. It was a great one time experience, but I can't say it was the best steak I ever had.

Since then, we've been raising puppies,

and getting them sent off to new homes.

Except this one. This is Lucy and she's Goodness Grows Farm's newest addition.

We've been playing in the barn.

Getting Dirty.

Hunting Big Buck with our new Wii from Nana.

Visited the PA State Farm Show.

Played outside in the snow (when we have it).

Tried on and fit into size 18 month pants. (This boy is 8 years old)
Got our braces off too.

Made (and devoured) this Buckeye Cake recipe courtesy of Pinterest. If you haven't seen pinterest, don't even get me started. It's probably another reason this blog has been suffering for three months. Don't even look into pinterest unless you want to waste VAST amounts of time looking at what other people are looking at online! It's worse than facebook! I'm totally addicted but it's also inspired me to do all kinds of interesting things. Ok, well, I dream about doing interesting things!

Just after New Years, we got a surprise visit from friends who had moved out to the Chicago area a few years ago. It was an absolutely fantastic visit and we got to catch up on each others lives. I'm now in cahoots to plan a trip to visit them in April since we have a long Easter break! Hopefully they're cool with that!

And the boys put up a shelter for my van. Now there's a big grey blob outside my back door. I like that I don't have to scrape snow off my vehicle, but don't like that I can't easily see the back anymore.

We took Walker and three buddies to the Science Center to watch an Omnimax movie and then out to a buffet restaurant for dinner for Walker's 8th birthday. It was a great day and we got a chance to hang out with some of the boys that Walker has been developing friendships with at school. It was a great lesson for Erik and I that all eight year old boys are the same! Crazy, inconsistent, and all movement!

We're now in mid-February and have our first true "arctic blast" snowstorm of the season. We got about three inches over night and once we finish making Valentine boxes and signing our Valentine cards we'll head out for some sled riding!

Thanks for coming back to see us. I promise, I'll keep you posted.

Is It Really November Already?

2011-11-03T23:32:00.002-04:00

Previously on Goodness Grows Farm:

Labor Day weekend we spent camping (in luxury in our dear friends travel trailer) at Seneca Hills Conference Center - a beautiful Christian camp in Franklin, PA. We had a wonderful time visiting with friends, despite the rain for the last few days and using the amazing facilities!

I am so in love with this little guy! In September, he had just started walking and he kept us on our toes as he toddled around the campsite, making sure he stayed away from the fire!

Not sure why Maggie looks so desolate and sad, but what a funny picture! Someone must have told her that it was her last smore for the night. I look that way too when people tell me that.

This was taken after Chapel services on Sunday at Seneca Hills. We're with Jim and Darlene Cossin. Jim was the director of Seneca Hills the years that Erik worked there as a maintenance man and then as a camp counselor. He was a mentor to Erik and he delivered the message at our wedding. It was such a blessing that he did that for us as he knew Erik so well and gave our wedding such a personal touch. He and his wife are just wonderful and since we're approaching our 10th anniversary, we wanted to have a picture with them. Not to mention to show off what our awesome little family!

The Schoyer kids. We've gone celebrity and combined our last name with the last name of our dear friends. I would imagine that we spent no less than 10 days without seeing each other this summer, so to say our families were joined at the hip would be an understatement. Since this photo was taken, our friends have moved to the Franklin area and while they've only been gone two weeks, it's been hard. I have a wonderful friend in K, a friend like I've never had before. The way our lives paralleled is surreal and to steal a quote from "Anne of Green Gables" K and I are kindred spirits like no other. Our husbands joke that we are the same person in two different bodies, but as I point out, I don't like coffee and as K points out, she's not a fan of the sparkly. I'm working on her though. I broke out my bedazzler for her Christmas gift : )

These two little beings are just adorable. They treat each other like a little old couple who's been married 60 years treat each other. Even as bully as Willie can be, he's always go time to take care of his Ellie. On this night, we were on our way to the rec center to play and the bridge across the stream was slippery from the rain, so of course, Willie had to escort his beloved across. "Don't worry, Ellie. I will take care of you," is what he said as he extended his hand to her and assisted her across.

Once at the rec center, Whitaker had a ball. Literally!

He had such a good time that he ended up in a mini bath in the outdoor sink!

Then camping was over and we were back to real life. One rainy day Erik quit work early and sat with Willie and Frankie. Shortly after this photo all pictured were snoozing contentedly.

Everyone loves playing outside, but Whitaker hates not being allowed to swing on the big kid swings. He decided sitting on Walker's lap was a better option.

In mid-September, Erik took the boys to Mt. Hope, Ohio to an exotic animal auction where they picked up Cupcake the baby pot belly pig. Unfortunately, Cupcake did not make it very long here on the farm because of her young age, but they loved her while she was here and I even allowed her to live in the house for a while. Until she got so stinky and I couldn't take it anymore.

In August, I started selling Wildtree products. Wildtree is an all-natural food line and I LOVE it! This was a picture of all the products that came in my first party order! Success!

This was my portion of the delivery! Since, we've enjoyed a Wildtree meal at least five times a week.

Maggie did a mini-cheer camp this Fall and got to cheer on the field with the big cheerleaders at our local high school football game. She loved it except for "It was a lot of standing."

Willie had his fourth birthday this month. He was the line leader at his preschool on his birthday and we brought mini cupcakes for the class. This guy kills me. He's lovey dovey one minute and then Mr. "Get away" the next. Mostly though, he's a lovey dovey!

Since Willie's birthday was actually on a Saturday, we decided to have a big party and invited all of our friends. Our dear friend, KJ, offered to supply the makings for scarecrows - all families had to bring were the clothes to stuff. It was a huge success!

As you can see, the kids adored the scarecrow project!

Another set of new and wonderful friends brewed their own beer and brought it to the festivities. Now we all want to take classes from them and all brew our own beer!

The yard after I called everyone in for dinner!
Scarecrow Down
Pennsylvania Scarecrow Massacre
I can't decide which caption best fits this scene.

We're blesses with amazing neighbors who provided us with even more entertainment for the day. Our back property neighbor hitched up his tractor to the hay wagon and took us down the road to another farmer's property where we got to pick pumpkins right out of the patch.

It was a bumpy ride but lots of fun!

We did a count and figured we had 37 kids at our event! Everyone stopped for a few seconds on the way into the pumpkin patch for me to capture this picture.

Heading down into the pumpkin patch through the corn field, and nestled between the onion and potato fields.

Our only rule: You can only pick what you can carry!

Baby E's first trip to the pumpkin patch.

Baby B's first trip to the pumpkin patch.

Whitaker loved the pumpkin patch. He thought it was a field filled with balls!

Two of my book league girls!

The ride back from the pumpkin patch.

We sang Happy Birthday to Willie on the way home and he thought it was "Too Loud"

Finally it was Halloween and the kids carved their first pumpkins ever.

Whit even got to join in on the action. That is until he started eating pumpkin guts and seeds.

Poor Maggie. Her pumpkin had already started rotting inside, but it was still good enough to carve.

Erik gets in on the carving.

I help Willie scoop out the guts.

Whitaker waits patiently for everyone else to finish.

He loves his jack o lantern!

We asked Whit what kind of face he wanted on his pumpkin and this was the face he modeled for us. I think Erik managed to recreate the likeness wonderfully.

Everyone tried the vampire teeth.

Walker's were purple.

Our Jack O' Lanterns all lit up.

And that's what you missed !

Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning

2011-09-10T01:29:00.001-04:00

DISCLAIMER: I'm sure in the last 10 years, thousands of people have written about their experience with September 11 with more eloquence, have written a more thoughtful story and one that is more articulate and less choppy, but this is not one of them. This is extreme stream of consciousness writing here

One of the country radio stations we listen to is playing a remake of Bryan Adam's song, "Heaven" with voice overs of a little girl talking to her daddy in Heaven over the last 10 years - all the milestones she's gone through the last 10 years. According to my vast (insert sarcasm) research on Google, I've come up with this link and believe it to be the most accurate version of the song we've heard on the Radio.

Maggie is so intrigued by this song. On the way to my Bible study this morning at our church, this song came on the radio and Maggie and Will were asking me why that girl in the song is talking to her daddy in Heaven (which I couldn't believe they gleaned that from the song since there is only the implication that the daddy is dead). So I told them today about 9/11 - it was strange having to explain it to them - that we hadn't explained it to them before now. But then, it's not something that is easy to explain to children their age. I mean, let's face it, until it actually happened, I don't think that even the potential of such an event even crossed anyone's mind. At least, it never had for me. I know I was aware the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and then the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, but I guess I myself was too young to attribute to those events the weight they were due. I was only 17 and 19 at the times of those bombings and in that self-centeredness of youth, those events did not register with me significantly.

Now, here we are living in a Post 9/11 world and I am driving through our little city of Butler trying to explain to my children, whose biggest fear is foxes and coyotes and who have no idea what terrorists are, what 9/11 is all about. My rather inadequate explanation went something like this:

In New York City there are very tall buildings called skyscrapers. Those buildings are so tall you would have to stack four or five of these tall buildings in Butler on top of each other to even get close to how tall they are. Back before you were born and before Momma & Daddy were even married, some very evil men got into airplanes and crashed those airplanes into some of those tall buildings and caused those buildings to fall down. It is very sad because there were people inside of those buildings and not all of them were not able to get out of the buildings before they fell down and those people died.

After having told them this much, I started to get a little worried. You know how as a parent, as you're trying to explain to your child in an age appropriate way something that you think they might find scary, you have this other internal voice in your head talking out the conversation simultaneously? For instance:

What I think I want to tell the children: 10 years ago, very evil men stole airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center.
Simultaneous thought: Oh no! I can't tell them that! They are going to be afraid that evil people could hijack airplanes again and then they'll never want to fly - not that we can afford to ever fly anywhere - nor do I want to have to put them through all that TSA stuff if we did want to fly somewhere - but if we ever need to fly somewhere, they're going to be scared because of what I'm telling them. I'm not even going to mention Flight 93 and the Pentagon!

Maggie then asked, "Was that girl in that song's Daddy in that building?" I explained to her that the the song represented what might be the life of a little girl who lost her Daddy on 9/11. We talked about the fact that many people lost Mommies and Daddies, Aunts and Uncles, Grandmas and Grandpas and on and on. I really thought the conversation was going to blossom into a much bigger conversation than it did - I anticipated questions about what might happen if something happened to me and Erik, questions about how God could allow all those people to be hurt, why did those men even want to fly airplanes into buildings, etc. Instead, Maggie says, "Will, aren't you just so sad that had to happen?" Will responded with a very melancholy yet emphatic, "Yes!" and the conversation was over. They had no more questions, no more comments, we were just silent the rest of our drive.

I've tried for an hour to come up with an appropriate closing to this story of mine and it's just not coming to me. I thought about just saving the draft and coming back to it, but then I decided that leaving it unfinished kind of sums up the whole September 11 experience - it is a story that we will never be able to "finish".

The title of this post references a song written and performed by Alan Jackson shortly after September 11. I've included this link to a You Tube video of it. May we never forget where we were the day the world stopped turning . . .

First Day of School 2011

2011-09-05T22:16:00.001-04:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

First Day of Preschool/First Day of School Eve

2011-08-30T16:36:00.000-04:00

I wish I could update you on all kinds of exciting and fun things we did in August, but there's nothing to report. We did the usual, mundane, everyday things to round out the summer and had a great time doing it. All of a sudden I woke up this morning to The First Day Of Preschool and First Day of School Eve. My little Willie J was up bright and early at 7:30 this morning after having spent the night in our bed coughing. ALL . . .NIGHT . . . LONG!

I'm not sure if this coughing is illness related or allergy/season related. Maggie went through a bout of it after the Farm Show earlier this month, and still has coughing spells. Now Willie has it pretty bad and he decided it would be best for him to keep his dad and me up all night because of it. Apparently that made him feel better because he slept like a log where as his dad and I were not so chipper this morning. The fact that Willie went to preschool this morning is beyond belief. I don't feel like any of my children are old enough to even be in school, let alone three of them.

Yesterday, to celebrate, Mimi came over and took the kids on a quad ride picnic lunch. She always comes up with fun things for them to do and I really appreciate her doing that for them. I allowed them to take the little camera with them and they had a great time and some of the pictures are so funny.

This day has been creeping up on me all summer, yet I am still surprised it is here. I've been doing all the required paperwork, completing forms, making appointments and still, the fact that Maggie and Walker start school tomorrow is completely shocking to me!

As is required, we did the back to school pictures with Willie today. He had a great time except for the 15 minutes at 8:45 this morning that he stubbornly refused to go to school.

I thought it would be awesome to take a picture on the new outdoor sofa I got at Rogers Auction for only $1. It desperately needs repainted and new cushions, but it is very sturdy and my attempt at a slip cover and pillows brightens it up and hides its flaws. But, it was in full sun and Willie was not cooperative.

So we moved to the side steps where the impatiens look so beautiful. And of course, everyone had to get in.

I have a picture of Walker sitting similarly to this on his first day of Preschool. I love those little guys.

I also wonder if they will ever look at these pictures and the ugly insulbrick on our exterior and ask, "When did our house have that green stuff on it?" Strike that. I HOPE they look at these pictures and the ugly insulbrick on our exterior and ask, "When did our house have that green stuff on it?" because I hope by then we will have finally finished the exterior!

Willie at school.

Willie and his classmates coming out of his classroom to meet us.

Willie and his friend, Ellie, after their first day of school together.

We've known Ellie just over a year, and a while back, I made a comment (because all of our kids are the same ages) that we should just go ahead and betroth the first three because we like each other and the opposites match up. Willie and Ellie have taken the joke to a whole new level acting like an old married couple all ready. They seriously act like those old couples you see out at the mall, bickering at each other, but holding hands and supporting each other. It's so funny. And kind of strange. Because the "love" seemed be reaching a kind of inappropriate level in terms of seriousness with them, we have had discussion about being good buddies, not boyfriend/girlfriend, etc., but they refuse to cooperate. Both Willie and Ellie (from hence on to be referred to as "Wellie" have relatives planning weddings and so marriage and weddings are in the forefront of both of their lives and randomly, they will announce to us (the mothers) "When I marry Ellie, I will . . ." and they will proceed to tell us the plans of their wedding, where they will live, etc. So now they get to experience preschool together and if they ever do make it down the aisle as they are predicting, we sure will have LOTS of cute pictures of them together for their wedding slide show.

Now I'm off to prepare for our supper and get the kids ready for their first day tomorrow. Walker has to be up at 7 am to catch the bus at 8 and Maggie has to wait until 12:30 to leave for Kindergarten. It's going to be an interesting day.

Goodbye, Summer. It's time for a new season to begin. I can't say I'm looking forward to it yet, but I know there are lots of good things to come. So I'm officially declaring this to be the FALL O' FUN here at Goodness Grows Farm. Let the FUN continue!

Winding Down

2011-08-03T10:58:00.001-04:00

I was looking at my calendar yesterday and realized there are only three weeks left of non-school filled summer for us.

This is breaking my heart.

I am not ready for summer to be over. I know, I should focus on the three weeks we have left, but when you factor in the week we will be spending at the Butler Farm Show, the preschool orientation, the Kindergarden orientation, and the last few appointments we have of the summer, there aren't many days left! Even though there have been days where my kids are picking and fighting, screeching and screaming, whining and begging, I am not ready to pack them back up and send them on the bus/drive to preschool.

I was cleaning out some old folders yesterday and came across this "letter" from a newsletter of a MOPS group I used to attend. It was kind of my unofficial motto for summer without me even knowing it. I gave up on any heavy duty chores for the summer, which is why my house now looks like I am prepping for an episode of hoarders . The cobwebs are killing me! I literally have them everywhere. In fact, I left my Kitchen Aid mixer on my counter last night and this morning there was a cobweb from the mixer to the cabinet!

I was talking to a friend yesterday who told me she had spent an unreasonable amount of time at a local shoe store trying to get her four children fit into sneakers for the coming school year. As she told the story, I vowed that I will not take my kids back to school shopping. They don't need anything and I am going to try to avoid the realization that school is going to start as long as possible. As I finish out these fleeting summer days, I am going to keep this letter on my refrigerator to remind me that these days are going by way too fast and my job is to create memories and have fun with my kids.

Just for this day.

Just for this morning, I am going to smile whenever I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying.

Just for this morning, I will let you wake up softly, all rumpled in your flannel and I will hold you until you are ready for the day.

Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile and say how perfect it is.

Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you outside to play.

Just for this morning, I am going to eat a huge breakfast , with bacon eggs, toast and waffles, and you don't have to eat any.

Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle together.

Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the
computer off, and sit with you in the garden blowing bubbles.

Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.

Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to 'fix' things.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you put all kinds of barettes in my
hair, and put lipstick on my face, and I will tell you how pretty you have made me look.

Just for this afternoon I will take you to McDonalds and buy us both a Happy meal so you can have both toys.

Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born, and how much we love you.

Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the bathtub and not get angry when you throw water over your sister's head.

Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the
porch swing and count all the stars.

Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours and miss my favorite show on t.v.

Just for this evening, When I run my fingers through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given. I will think about the mothers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers who are visiting their their children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and mothers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer, and when I kiss you goodnight I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then that I will thank God for you, for all that I have and not ask for anything, except . . . just one more day.

When everyone is in school, I will have time to tediously clean my house, clean out the kitchen cabinets and wipe down all the contents, and do all the mundane cleaning I feel that I should do now. And someday, no one will be here except me and Erik, and I will be like our neighbor and invite the neighbor kids down to play because even though I haven't vacuumed in a month, there are no foot prints in the carpet.

So, today, when I thought I was going to "crack down" in an attempt to get our lives back on track, I looked at this letter again and decided the kids didn't have to match their clothes, comb their hair, or clean up the playroom like I had originally intended. I will do the chores that must be done (if I don't fold and put away clothes today, no one is going to have any underwear) but after that, we will see where the day takes us. Because all too soon, I am going to be telling them, "In just one more day we go back to school."

Water, Second Edition

2011-08-02T11:42:00.000-04:00

We were blessed last week with some rainfall. Unfortunately, we got short, hard deluges of rain, which dropped anywhere from 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch in a few short minutes instead of a long, misting shower over the course of a day. While this meant there was TONS of water, it was not able to do much because the ground is so hard that the rain was quickly running off the ground and away from the areas that needed it most.

Thursday afternoon was one such storm day here. The storm clouds rolled in just as we finished a mid-afternoon swim. I had hustled the kids in the house in anticipation and was just getting all of the towels off the deck railing as the rain began. I was quickly soaked in just a few seconds, glad to still have on my bathing suit. As I came in the house, I realized we had moved the buckets we were keeping under the downspouts and they needed put back, so I ran back outside to do that. Well, we don't actually have downspouts everywhere yet. We re-roofed a few years ago and while we partially put up the gutters, we haven't finished the project, so most of our gutters are open ended, which causes water to gush out the ends and alongside the house, which in turn, despite our french drains, causes some leaking in the basement. You would think that since the problem could be easily solved, we'd actually do something to fix it, but we haven't yet. We are good project starters, but not so good at the finishing details.

I knew the water coming out of the downspout would be a problem, so I rushed to gather the five gallon buckets we were using to catch the run off. I knew there was a problem when I put the bucket under this gutter and it literally filled in less than 20 seconds.

On a side note, I want to give a huge SHOUT OUT to the Tyvek people. Our sunroom has been wrapped in Tyvek for years and other than some fading and dirt on it, the Tyvek is still in place, protecting the interior of the house from the elements. If Tyvek was offered in colors, I would buy it and just put it around my whole house and say "DONE." Yes, of course, I want siding and proper mill work around my windows, but until the day comes when we can finally do it right, yellow Tyvek would really do the trick!

I filled every other bucket and container I could find

I even put our giant cooler under a gutter and we still had water gushing out of the gutter and pooling around the house.

I quickly called Erik because every available container I had was filled with water and I needed something else. Something bigger. Earlier in the week, Erik had picked up his huge, I-don't-know-how-many-gallon-water tank from a friend who had borrowed it. Since it requires the skid steer to load and unload it, he just automatically took it to the barnyard and unloaded it there. I suppose this was partly because we were not anticipating any rainfall, but also we didn't really think twice about it. That is until we had rain on Thursday and he wasn't here to load the tank with his skid steer and move it under the above mentioned downspout.

The final words of the call were, "You can drive it, honey. You've done it before." Mind you, the only times I've used the skid steer before is when we have been working on a project and Erik has been right beside me shouting explicit instructions on what I was supposed to do every single step. The one time I did use it by myself it was just to move some dirt that was already in the bucket up to where I wanted it and even then, I just shoveled the dirt out of the bucket. This was big. HUGE. So, I slipped on my Mary Jane crocs, (you know, typical footwear for the seasoned farmer) yelled to Walker, "Come on buddy, you're going to have to help me!" and headed out to the barn to get the skid steer.

We get out there and the bucket is attached to the front of the skid steer, so we have to unlock it and get it off. The process for starting the skid steer is pretty simple, you climb in, sit down, pull the safety bar down (it has an automatic safety that if this bar is not down, you cannot drive it) and push an overdrive button, then use the handles to move the machine forward or backward. I put Walker in the drivers seat and he did all of that and it would not move. He shut it down, and started it back up to try again and just as he was going to back up, I noticed our Banty hen had her three tiny baby chicks under the skid steer. Luckily one of the kids had left his or her butterfly net out in the barn, so I was able to reach under and scoop up the baby chicks one at a time and put them on top of the lawn mower and safety. This, however, put the mama in a tailspin, and she was NOT coming out from under the skid steer until she found her babies. I finally got her caught in the butterfly net, scooped her and her babies up and put them inside one of the feeding troughs so they would be safe. Walker tried to back up again and it didn't work so I told him we had to switch places. I don't know what we ended up doing, but finally we got it to go in reverse. Walker climbed in with me and we backed out of the barn and headed toward the hoop house shed where Erik typically keeps the fork attachment for the skid steer. We meandered through the obstacle course that is typical for this time of year to the back shed and it wasn't there. So, thinking that after all that, we have to give up, we start back towards the barn to put the skid steer away when we see the forks on the other side of the barn. We spent a good 10 minutes in pouring rain trying to get the forks on the skid steer.

Just so you know, driving a skid steer is easy. Operating the bucket/fork attachments is very difficult. Our particular skid steer has pedals on the floor boards that operate the arm function. The toe and heel area of each foot controls a certain operation of that arm. The right toe and heel raises and lowers the bucket/forks and the left toe and heel lifts the arms up and down. If you do not have firm grasp of this, you look like I did trying to get the forks set on the arms, jerking up and down, raising the arm up above the top of the skid steer. It is a really delicate process, and if you ever have the opportunity to see an operator in action and see how smoothly they are able to do their job, it is a thing of wonder. Walker understood that each toe and heel movement performed a specific function of the skid steer, but due to the loudness of the machine itself, plus the pounding of the rain on the steel roof of the skid steer, it was hard to hear him giving me directions as he helped me line up the arms to put the attachment on. Finally, he climbed back into the skid steer with me, would lean down and push the toe or heel that was to do the work. He was like my Annie Sullivan for the skid steer world. Once we got the forks on, he jumped back out, locked them, and we were able to easily put the tank on the forks, drive it up to the house and put it under the gutter.

Thankfully, it was still raining by the time we got it under the downspout and while we didn't manage to catch as much water as we could have, you can see we have about five inches at the bottom of the tank. A good start for sure and an adventure with my oldest boy that he will hopefully remember and laugh about and cherish when he is older.

Water

2011-07-29T22:21:00.000-04:00

When we first bought our house, taped onto and inside almost half of the cabinet doors of the kitchen were notes on what to do if there was no water. Since we completely renovated the house and replaced the holding tank for the well, we never were particularly concerned. Our only apprehension was that the well itself was drilled adjacent to the house and incorporated into the basement structure of our house. Along the driveway, there is a large concrete surface about 18 inches above the ground and in the basement (which is actually a cellar) you skirt through the parts that would be behind the house and in the back is where all the gear for our well is. It's a damp, dark, desolate room that I try to avoid as much as possible. In fact, I think I've managed to only visit that area two or three times in the eight years we've lived here.

Most places we've been or looked at tend to have the well drilled away from the house. In the "old" days, people used to put those sweet little rounded stone walls with a roof on their wells so that they could draw water from it with a bucket. In fact, there's a farm near us that has a beautiful field stone well wall in their yard from days of yore.

We were not so lucky. All we got was a white and green, aluminum clad, falling down, double seater, faux outhouse.

(this is not a picture of our faux outhouse but is quite close except our roof was dark green)

Yes, that's right, I referred to an outhouse as faux. Why might I do this? Because although the outhouse was equipped with everything from the half moon door to the double seats inside,

there was no ditch for the "function" portion of the outhouse. We attempted to move the outhouse several years ago to use it as a shed near our now non-existent garden, but as soon as Erik lifted it with the skid loader bucket, it fell apart.

Anyway, the well is located basically beneath our house. In the almost eight years we've lived here, it's never given us a lick of trouble other than our holding tank at times not being able to keep up with our demand and that is usually only when an animal has knocked the automatic waterer off the base and caused the trough to overflow or if the kids have decided to crack open one of the frost free's

and make mud puddles, mud pies, or cover each other in mud.

That is, until now.

The last few months have been abnormally dry around here. About three weeks ago, we started having problems with water. Our first fear was that our well was running dry. We'd have periodic spells where we'd be running water and then all of a sudden, the water would stop. Not good. We immediately implemented our best conservation practices; doing a few loads of laundry at the laundry mat, restricting showers (the kids take a nightly bath in the pool except Saturday when we wash them in the shower and wash their hair), unplugging our commercial icemaker (I'm sure this seems frivolous to many people, but having a limitless supply of ice for Erik to take to work daily, especially during this recent heat, is almost essential), not running the dishwasher, etc. When you think about what is required of our well daily, just on the human population alone, you can see the well is really put to the test. I am so grateful we have a well and don't have to pay for water! Add in our barnyard critters, which the goats, alpacas, and donkey alone drink at least a gallon a day draining about 75 gallons of water daily!

Erik would hustle down to the well-room and wiggle the pressure gauge on the tank and he would hear water start trickling in the holding tank again. After about a week of this stop and go water, Erik finally had the time to run to the plumbing supply company that we frequent and was able to buy the replacement parts and fix the gauge. So far, the water has not run out like it was doing before, but there are times, on days when I really push the well to its limits, that we have very low pressure for a few minutes.

All of this background story is to tell you about the adventure Walker and I had on Thursday afternoon during a BIG storm!

But that story is for another day.

For now, please whether you have city water or a well, please conserve your water. When you are running your water while brushing your teeth, or waiting for the hot water to come through the pipe, think about the portion of the USA that is in a severe heat and drought crisis and pray for them. I've read in farming publications that portions of the Southwest haven't seen a drop of rain since September 2010! Many farmers/ranchers are selling their cattle at a HUGE loss because they no longer can feed or water them. The heat is especially bad for our crops too. Many of you know sweet corn was behind schedule (and supplies are limited as evidenced by Ambrose's selling out of corn by 11 am most days) because the heat and lack of rain is horribly detrimental to our crops. While you may think this only affects the farmers and ranchers, it does not. If corn harvests are bad, prices will rise yet again. If you think the oil industry caused trouble because of the prices rising, imagine what the impact will be if food AND fuel cannot meet demand! If you're not really a praying person, now would be the time to pray not just for rain, but for those folks depending on the rain, not just for relief, but for their lives.

You Might Be a Farmer's Wife . . .

2011-07-27T11:12:00.001-04:00

I found this and am reposting. So funny! I highlighted the ones most applicable to my current life, although, several others apply to me as well. Kudos to all you farm wives out there - especially the ones that work WAY harder than I have to.

You Might be a Farmer's Wife . . .

If your name is taped to the side of a cakepan:
If you call the implement dealer and he recognizes your voice:
If the vet’s number is on the speed dial of your phone:
If you know how to change the flat on your car, but can’t because the spare is on a flatbed:
If your second vehicle is still a pickup:
If the folks in the Emergency Room have a pool going for your kids and it involves the type of injury and when it will occur:
If your husband has ever used field equipment to maintain your yard:
If you’re in the habit of buying foodstuffs in bulk:
If a "night out" involves the local 4-H club:
If the word "auction" makes you tingle:
If you’ve ever washed your kids or the dishes with a pressure washer:
If "picking rock" is considered a chance to get out of the house:
If "wild game" reminds you of dinner and not the bedroom:
If "a little bit of lunch" involves 6 courses and a dessert made from scratch:
If the "fresh ingredients" your recipe calls for reminds you to do the chores:
If taking lunch to the field is as close as you get to a picnic:
If that pail with a hole in it is a flowerpot in the making:
If your rock garden was hand-picked:
If you can mend a pair of pants and the fence that ripped them:
If you’re on the lookout for new uses for "Jell-O":
If the shopping list in your purse includes the sizes of filters, tires, overalls, chains, belts, lights, cables, spark plugs or shotgun shells:
If "Farm", "Ranch", "Country", "Cowboy" or "Antique" is in the name of your favorite magazine:
If your tan lines are somewhere below your shoulder and above your elbow:
If "Lacey" or "Frilly" refers to a farm animal but not your nightgown:
If you ever went on a date to the rodeo:
If you’ve ever been grateful for fingernail polish, because it hides the dirt under your nails:
If you’ve ever called your husband to supper, using a radio: (cell phone)
If you buy antiques because they match the rest of your furniture:
If being taken out to dinner has ever included a talk by a seed corn dealer:
If your driveway is longer than a stone’s throw:
If your mailbox looks like a piece of farm machinery:
If your kids’ wading pool has ever doubled as a stock tank, or vice versa:
If the daily paper is always a day late:
If you have a yard, but not a lawn:
If you have lots of machinery and each piece is worth more than your house:
If the leaky barn roof gets fixed, before the leaky house roof:
If duct tape is always on your shopping list:
If the neighbor’s house is best viewed with binoculars:
If the directions to your house include the words, "miles," "silos," "last," or "gravel road":
If the tractor and the combine have air conditioning and an FM radio but your car doesn’t:
If your storage shed is a barn:
If you measure travel in miles not minutes:
If your farm equipment has the latest global positioning technology and you still can’t find your husband:
If you consider "hot dish" a food group:
If your husband says, "Can you help me for a few minutes?" and you know that might be anywhere from a few minutes to six hours:
If you plan your vacations around farm shows:
If Zaa Zaa Gabor is on your list of "Most Admired Persons":
If grass stains are the least of your laundry problems:
If your refrigerator contains medicine, livestock medicine:
If your car’s color is two-toned and one color is gravel road brown:
If you knew everyone in your high school:
If you’ve ever grown your own wall decorations:
If you’ve entertained the romantic notion of living in an old, country farmhouse with a fireplace, but gave it up because firsthand experience tells you that it’s cold, drafty, smoky and sooty:
If you use newspapers to help keep the kitchen floor clean:
If you’ve ever said, "Oh, it’s only a little mud.":
If you need a pair of vice grips to run a household appliance:
If your husband gave you flowers, but you had to plant the seeds yourself:
If you've used the loader to reach the windows when they needed washing:
If you’ve ever used a broom to shoo a critter:
If you’ve ever discovered a batch of kittens in your laundry basket:
If dinner is at noon and lunch is before and after dinner:
If you don't need the recipe to make Rice Krispies bars:
If you shovel the sidewalk, with a skidsteer loader:
If you can find a use for that old tractor seat:
If you've ever found mice in the underwear drawer:
If quality time with your hubby means you'll have a flashlight in one hand and a wrench in the other:
If you know the difference between field corn and sweet corn:
If you buy your husband's "dress" socks at Campbell's Supply:
If family "pets" include deer, coons, squirrels, foxes or birds:
If you can make a meal that can be ready in six minutes and will still be ready in two hours:
If your basement is really a cellar:
If "sharing a cab" has nothing to do with a taxi and everything to do with getting across the field:
If your job in town is considered a farm subsidy:

Heatwave: July 21st Edition.

2011-07-21T23:45:00.000-04:00

All you folks out there that complain of 6 below temperatures this winter, I have one questions?

"Are you happy now?"

Personally, I'd take 20 below over 95 with a heat index of 105 and humidity ANY day.

Seriously!

I'm not exactly going to say I long for days that look like this, but I could handle some cooler temperatures:

Sure, a lot more clothing is involved, but has anyone noticed it is far easier to HEAT a home than it is to cool it? Well, at least at our house where our fuel is not only free, but abundant. It would take us a long time to burn all the trees on our property - if we had to. We don't have to - don't yell at me about the environment. We only burn already fallen trees or trees that are starting to die or will not grow because of the over growth in the vicinity.

Not that I'm complaining though. We are very fortunate that the pool is FINALLY set and we've been swimming constantly all week. We actually got the liner correctly last Monday, scheduled water for Tuesday and got all three tanker loads in with NO incident. We even managed to work together to cut the liner for the skimmer and patch a few small holes that we got in the liner due to the overworking of it the previous two weeks.

It is heavenly.

Everyone in the family LOVES it and we're happy to have our friends over to swim with us!

The kids are exploring all the new pool toys I've been able to buy on clearance since summer is half over : ) I'm thinking pool toys/rafts/beach towels will be GREAT things to stock up on for stocking stuffers and Easter baskets. Someone please remind me to do that as I do not ever want to leave the house again since I can stay immersed in the pool all day!

The people we bought our pool from used had a box of pool things they threw in with the pool. In the box were some plastic sharks, dolphins and an alligator. Willie loves that alligator.

Hello, Walker. These giant green goggles are the only ones that fit him. I cannot find any goggles to fit my kids faces. Even the Youth 4+ goggles I found at Walmart, where the eye pieces are the size of quarters don't fit them.

We had my niece and nephew stay with us for a few days.

Our schedule went something like this:
Wake up.
Eat
Swim
Eat
Swim
Eat
Swim
Make kids get out of pool and rest even though they don't really want to but bribe them with a movie and a sweet snack.
Swim
Eat
Swim
Eat
Brush teeth
Bed

The times of these events really don't matter - in fact, I'm relearning that when you have a pool, the time doesn't matter. You just rely on your carnal instincts to tell you what your body needs.

Today some of the girls from my book league managed to drag their sweaty bodies to my house for a swim party. We were supposed to also discuss the book we recently read,

but apparently only me and one other girl (who was unable to make our meeting today) enjoyed the book, so our discussion was pretty much just a poll of who actually read the book, who liked it, and then silence.

But we got to visit with this little fella.

And everyone hung out in the pool.

The kids jumped and played and swam.

and noodled

and splashed

and smiled.

And I smiled. Because we were fortunate enough to be able to put in this pool and we have wonderful friends to share it with us. These memories are what will keep me warm when the days once again look like this:

Update: End of Spring, Beginning of Summer 2011 Edition

2011-07-01T18:11:00.000-04:00

The last two months have FLOWN by.

Don't I say that every post?

Since I last posted:

This guy had a first birthday.

And a first birthday party complete with a blow up slip n slide. He didn't get to partake in the slip n slide portion of the party, but other kids did and they had a blast.

Willie James, our little daredevil, flies down the slide with no fear!

Guests sit on the deck and enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

Will on a tummy slide.

Maggie gets in on the slide action too.

Crashing at the bottom.

We had a froggy theme birthday complete with a froggy cake. The little cupcakes to the side of the frog are supposed to be decorated with flies. I ran out of black food coloring, so I had to make them red.

Whit was a little hesitant to eat his cake at first,

but once he saw his big brother, Will, scarfing down the cake,

he dug in pretty quickly with his hands.

At the end of the day we had lots of sleepy

It was a huge success even though we didn't get our pool in by the time of the party. The day was beautiful, and as always, we have wonderful family and friends who make every event so special!

This girl had her last day of preschool and is now officially a Kindergartener!

Maggie May on her last day of school with her super sweet teacher, Mrs. Yam.

This guy finished first grade with all A's and B's and despite having all A's and B's, he was worried he wasn't getting into second grade. I reassured him he passed and he's now happily working the summer away waiting to start second grade while I pray that time slows down so I can have him as my little boy forever.

First day 2010:

Last day 2011:

He's actually wearing the same outfit, you just couldn't see it on the first day because he wore a sweatshirt. You can't tell, but in the first picture he is missing teeth and his teeth are crooked, and the last day, his teeth have all come in, they are straight and he's wearing braces and expanders. He's getting all grown up looking and I can't even stand it. So far since school has been out, he's chosen to go to work with Erik more days than he stays home, he talks and acts like an older boy, and I can tell that as the summer wears on, he'll lose the remaining "little boyishness" he has left. It makes me extremely sad.

This guy:

hasn't changed a whole lot except his vocabulary is becoming more four year old than three year old. He can swim without a bubble for a limited amount of time, dives into the pool, swims underwater and can dive for things on the bottom of the shallow end of the pool. He may be my Michael Phelps. He only has had swimming lessons since September of 2010 and we quit all lessons for all of the kids for the summer so we don't have to adhere to a schedule so we could enjoy our new pool.

Which brings me to THE POOL!

We found a used above ground pool for an amazing price. It is an old aluminum one and when Erik went to look at it back in MARCH, he said it was in great shape, the people took really good care of it and it was perfect.

We didn't even begin to tear it down until the beginning of June. If you can remember, prior to this drought, we had a month of rain. Even if it had been dry enough for Erik to go get the pool, he was busy catching up on work from all the days of rain we had. So, the pool party I was planning for Whitaker's first birthday became a slip n slide party.

Enter mid June, we finally get the pool to our house and set up. Our awesome friend, Fred, spent the entire afternoon with Erik along with another friend that sometimes works for Erik, we got the pool set up and the liner installed. It was the hottest day of the year by far, and they were working with brown aluminum. I should have known it all went too easily.

The three men got the 27 foot pool up with what I would consider little difficulty. It was hard, physical work, and they made it look very easy.

By the time evening came, the liner was in, all the pieces were in place and by amazing fortune, a local Volunteer Fire Department happened to return my call saying that they would be able to deliver water to fill the pool so we were able to cancel the more expensive delivery of water from a water service. Once the liner was in, Erik commented as they were putting the caps on, "Wonder if we should have tried flipping the J-channel to see if the liner was supposed to fit the other way?" Those words would turn out to be might fortuitous . . . but in the meantime I was dancing a jig that in just a measly 24 hours, we would have a pool to swim in!

They were going to deliver the water the day after we got the pool put together. PERFECT!

Enter the 5,000 gallon tank delivery truck.

The volunteer fireman begins filling the pool up with water. I'm watching, contentedly knowing by afternoon we'll be swimming in our very own pool!

Just like that, tragedy strikes. I look away for two seconds and the liner has fallen out of the track and the day is over. Turns out Erik's prophecy was correct and we did indeed have the J-channel upside down. I politely ask the volunteer if he can please stop, almost have a heart attack as I check the liner thinking that it has torn, not just fallen out, and then I go inside and cry my eyes out. Not really. I called my husband in a panic, we mayday/sos message all of our friends and set up another work night to get the liner pulled back into the track and get the pool fixed.

We are blessed with an amazing group of friends who rolled up their sleeves and helped us out so much. God has truly blessed us with such amazing people in our lives and I can't praise them enough for their sacrifice and love. They all know who they are and know that they now have a lifelong pass to the Schwalm pool!

I finally arranged today for delivery of the final 16,000 gallons of water to our pool! Hopefully by Sunday afternoon, we'll be sitting in our pool rafts sipping an icy beverage while the kids splash around us.

Of course, that's the plan and you all know about the best laid plans.

Blue Jeans

2011-05-17T13:06:00.000-04:00

Maggie got a copy of Tangled for Easter. As a result we've been watching the movie on a regular basis on these rainy afternoons when the kids have been restless and normal activities are not occupying their time.

Today, after swimming lessons, while Maggie is eating peanut butter crackers, we have this conversation:

Maggie: Can I play Barbies in my room after Whitaker wakes up from his nap?

Me: Sure you can.

Maggie: Momma. I need to get thin wire.

Me: Um, Ok. Why?

Maggie (in a haughty, you ought to already know tone): You know! For blue jeans.

Me: Wait? Who's blue jeans. Why do you need thin wire for blue jeans?

Maggie: For Rapunzel

Me: Oh, you mean your horse? Did you name her Blue Jeans ? (here I was thinking I was cleverly catching on to her train of thought by remembering that in the Hannah Montana movie, she has a horse named Blue Jeans so I thought Maggie had named her Barbie horse Blue Jeans). What are you going to do with thin wire and Blue Jeans?

Maggie: I need Blue Jeans so he can marry Rapunzel

Me: I still don't understand why you need thin wire!?

Maggie, thoroughly exasperated with me: Mooooommmmmaaaaa! Thin Wire is Blue Jeans. That's hims real name in the movie. When he's a stealer, he's Thin Wire, when he's gonna marry Rapunzel, he's Blue Jeans.

Let me introduce to you Flynn Rider also known around our house as Thin Wire. His real name is Eugene or around our house he's Blue Jeans.

I'm so thankful I can count on my kids to provide some comic relief to my day. I wish I could capture in printed word the frustration, irritation and exasperation in Maggie's tone as we were having this discussion.

I'm trying not to think about the fact that in just a few short years, she may be speaking to me in that tone all the time.

In case you were in need of some more clarification about the characters of Tangled and all things Disney:

the horse in Tangled is named Mass-i-mus.

Cinderella has a fairy godmudder because fairy godmudders are good.

It turns out that Mother Gothel, the woman who steals Rapunzel from her Royal parents, is a Fodder-god-mudder. Fodder-god-mudders are bad.

I'm glad we don't have any Fodder-god-mudders around here.

Schwalmish

2011-05-17T00:13:00.000-04:00

Our family is a little enamored with the Amish. We are lucky to live in an area where there are still a few Amish communities relatively close and we take advantage of their proximity by visiting many of the communities and purchasing goods from them. Walker's loft bed was made by a friendly Amishman, Christ Miller.

We got our play house at an Amish fundraising auction. These types of auctions can be found almost every Saturday of the summer. Most often, the auctions are used to raise money for Amish communities to use toward community needs - to raise a barn that had been destroyed by fire, to build a new schoolhouse, and most often, to raise funds to pay for medical bills for a family. My mother in law first introduced me to these auctions and she was the one put in charge of finding the playhouse. I frequently give her a list of items I'm looking for and most Saturdays I keep my cell phone handy waiting for a text asking how high I'm willing to go on a certain item. The play house was an amazing steal - we got it for thousands less than we would have paid to buy one in a kit at a box store or to even buy the materials and build it ourselves. Thankfully, Erik had the tools to get it home (a truck and large flatbed trailer) and we moved it right in pretty easily. It's been a dominant feature in the children's play just about every day and it serves as a great dog house for our pack of farm dogs!

From applebutter to rag rugs, we turn to the Amish for a lot of things at our house. One thing that I've become envious of as we drive around Amish country and visit the businesses in search of some goodies is their clotheslines. Many of the women have extraordinary clothes lines that start at the back door and are strung up to a tall tree a hundred feet or so away. The lines are on a pulley system so all the launderer has to do is step outside the door with the dirty clothes, pin them on the line and pull the opposite line to get the clothes to climb up the pulley and hang in the breeze.

Erik actually bought me the tools we would need to create such a line for Christmas. The bag of stuff has sat on a shelf in the decorative Christmas bag for months until this past week when we had to take the old clothesline down in order for Erik to dig a large hole in our back yard to prepare for the installation of a fun summertime toy.

Erik had borrowed an extension ladder from our neighbor, a general contractor, in order to plug a hole in our house pecked out by a woodpecker. As he was filling the hole with expandable foam insulation, I said, "Hey! While we have this ladder, why don't we put up the new clothes line?" So he did! He attached one pulley to a sturdy cherry tree out in the woods (after clearing some poison ivy off the left side of the tree - you can see in the picture that the trunk V's about feet up).

He then attached a second pulley to the side of the house about six feet above the deck.

Thankfully, we had some beautiful days last week and I was able to hang some clothes outside. The first day I hung clothes out, I didn't have enough clothespins, so I had to make do with what I had, but I have to admit I was very disappointed that I didn't have enough clothespins.

I got more clothespins now and I think I'll have enough space to hang almost all of our bedsheets at once!

I can't wait for the sunshine to finally arrive so I can test my new Schwalmish clothesline to the fullest!

Farm Fresh is ALWAYS Best!

2011-05-14T17:31:00.000-04:00

I haven't had to buy meat from a grocery store in years (going on 5 years) now. We get all of our beef, pork, poultry, etc., by raising our own or by purchasing it from a local farmer and having it processed at a local butcher.

I am low on beef and pork now and I saw in a local grocery store ad that they had pork tenderloins for $3.99 a pound which I thought was a good deal. Given the rising cost of groceries in general, I was psyched to find such a good deal. Add to the good deal the fact that I needed to have some pork on hand for some upcoming meals I was planning, it seemed like a win-win situation. Normally, I am strict about buying locally, but I figured since we don't have enough cash on hand yet to buy and process the entire hog, I would get by with purchasing some grocery store meat. Since I haven't done it in five years, it seemed like an OK plan.

I purchased the pork tenderloin on Monday. The "sell by" date was 5-11-11. I opened the vacuumed sealed pork the morning of 5-12-11 to find a slimy rancid piece of pork.

After sticking my nose into it a few times, hoping each time that I would come up with a different result, I had to finally admit that the meat was spoiled. I grabbed a baggie from the drawer to put the meat back in so I could return the meat to the store and as I was grabbing the packaging to show the manager, I realized that there were actually TWO stickers on the package. One was overtop of the other. I held the package up to the light and was able to see through the label that the first "sell by" date was actually 5-5-11.

Infuriated that the store did that, I went online to research whether that practice was illegal and it turns out it IS NOT! According to the USDA website:

What is Dating?
"Open Dating" (use of a calendar date as opposed to a code) on a food product is a date stamped on a product's package to help the store determine how long to display the product for sale. It can also help the purchaser to know the time limit to purchase or use the product at its best quality. It is not a safety date. After the date passes, while not of best quality, the product should still be safe if handled properly and kept at 40 °F or below for the recommended storage times listed on the chart (see below). If product has a "use-by" date, follow that date. If product has a "sell-by" date or no date, cook or freeze the product by the times on the chart below.

[Top of Page]

Is Dating Required by Federal Law?
Except for infant formula and some baby food (see below), product dating is not generally required by Federal regulations. However, if a calendar date is used, it must express both the month and day of the month (and the year, in the case of shelf-stable and frozen products). If a calendar date is shown, immediately adjacent to the date must be a phrase explaining the meaning of that date such as "sell-by" or "use before."

There is no uniform or universally accepted system used for food dating in the United States. Although dating of some foods is required by more than 20 states, there are areas of the country where much of the food supply has some type of open date and other areas where almost no food is dated.

Refrigerator Storage of Fresh or Uncooked Products

Product Storage Times After Purchase

Poultry 1 or 2 days

Beef, Veal, Pork and Lamb 3 to 5 days

Ground Meat and Ground Poultry 1 or 2 days

Fresh Variety Meats (Liver, Tongue, Brain, Kidneys, Heart, Chitterlings) 1 or 2 days

Cured Ham, Cook-Before-Eating 5 to 7 days

Sausage from Pork, Beef or Turkey, Uncooked 1 or 2 days

Eggs 3 to 5 weeks

According to these guidelines, I should have had three to five more days to cook the meat based on the date that was clearly visible on the package!

Obviously, I'm going to return the meat to the store and demand a refund and strongly suggest that they stop re-labeling meat and selling it to the public. When I think of the ways things could have gone wrong - what if I was an inexperienced cook who did not know that slimy, smelly meat meant it was spoiled? It's scary! What if I had still had a head cold and hadn't been able to smell the putrid odor coming from the pork? it is irresponsible for that grocery store to sell items that could be a health hazard.

One of the issues that modern day farmers have great debate over are situations like this. It is only common sense that small farmers must practice ethical, safe and healthy ways of farming in order to build a reputable business. Unfortunately, there are TONS of rules and regulations that small farmers must follow, hoops to be jumped through, and red tape to cut in order for a small farmer to have a successful and profitable business. However, the government has less strict standards for larger industries. If you boil it all down, what most farmers feel is that they are paying (literally) to be allowed to farm and larger farming institutions (and those related to those larger institutions such as grocery stores) are able to do whatever they want without the same standards. Larger farming institutions are not hurt if one of their product is substandard, but if one of our products is substandard, it hurts our reputation and our business for a very long time.

Additionally, paying the fees required for certain classifications within the USDA guidelines are more than most small farmers can pay when they are starting up a business. Most of the farmers I know practice many components of farming that would be considered "organic." However, having a farm certified organic is often such cost to a farm that any profit that would come from obtaining the certified label would be more than they could spare.

Now, I'm not saying that buying organic is not a good option. As I've said in other posts, these words are just my opinion, and should be recognized as such. I am not an expert, I'm just telling you the experiences I've had as someone (relatively new) in the agriculture industry. In terms of the purchases for my family, it is more important for me, right now, to buy products that are grown locally. Especially beef, pork, and chicken. Right now we are in the process of raising our own chickens again. We have also purchased Berkshire pigs but the sows are being raised to be breeding stock, so it will be a while before we have Goodness Grows Pork available for our own consumption and sale, but in the mean time, we have a friend that raises beef and pork so we will be purchasing beef and pork SOON!

If you are looking for a local farmer to purchase product from, talk to your friends and neighbors and see what they are doing. Stop at a local feed store like an Agway or something like that and ask if they know of anyone who is raising animals for sale. Produce farmers are a little easier to find because of the recent rise to popularity of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and Farmer's Markets. Lots of times, if the farmer you contact doesn't have something you are looking for, he or she will know someone that they can refer you to. And you can be happy because you are buying a product that is healthier for you and you are supporting your local community.

My main motivation in purchasing the pork loin was that it was CHEAP. I have officially learned my lesson. I'll be taking my refund from the chain store grocery, running to my local butcher who only sells LOCALLY RAISED beef, pork and chicken, and buying a new piece of meat. Sure, it will be a little pricier, but I will be getting the quality that I'm paying for. And that is worth more than anything.

Al Fresco

2011-05-09T23:35:00.001-04:00

We did something tonight that we haven't done in a long time.

It was a little bit risky. It was something we used to do all the time. It didn't involve much clothing.

We even let the kids join us.

We finally got to eat our dinner outside on the deck!

No long sleeves, not coats, not hats, mittens or snow pants. Boots were still involved, but boots are a staple of our clothing at the farm.

It was amazing!

It was one of those glorious days where the temperature was perfect, the sunshine was so very welcome, and being outside was truly a joy. The kids played outside all day, which made me VERY happy because I had forgotten how clean my house can stay when NO ONE IS INSIDE ALL DAY! Woo-hoo! I did a few chores with limited interruption, was able to start a few projects as well as enjoy a little time outside. Hooray!

I could really get used to this.

The only drawback of the day? An annoying woodpecker pecking the side of our house waking us up early! As Maggie said, "Yeah, that woodpecker kept me up ALL morning!" He sure did make sleeping difficult, and I am afraid he may have done some damage to our lovely exterior. Obviously, he couldn't damage the look of the house, but I do think he managed to put a good hole in the insulbrick. Of course, it had to be on the side of the house where reaching the 2nd floor is all but impossible without some sort of bucket truck. I have a feeling he'll be visiting us again tomorrow morning and then my day will include a trip to Agway to see if I can buy one of those silly plastic owls to hang out of Maggie's window in the hopes of scaring the woodpecker away. The frustrating part is that it's not like we aren't surrounded with 20 acres of woods, some of which we specifically avoided timbering so that we could provide an ecosystem for the variety of animals already in residence on our property. We have on tree in particular that we've seen many redheaded woodpeckers utilize but not this guy.

It looks like tomorrow will shape up to be very similar to today. I can't wait. I'm hoping Erik will have time to finish this big hole he started to dig in the back yard. Details regarding the hole to come soon!

Lyrics and Lessons

2011-05-06T13:46:00.000-04:00

I listen to Country music. That's probably fairly obvious given my lifestyle. But I mostly like it because the lyrics usually tell some pretty in depth stories in just a few short verses and I LOVE a good story. Also because it is a "mainstream" genre where artists/writers are able to inject their stories with their beliefs without being rejected as "wacko" and without them being overly religious. I'm sure there is more to the process than what comes out on the radio, but as a general listener, I'm pretty impressed at how many songs with beliefs make it to radio.

Having said that, one of the songs that has been getting a lot of air play lately is Keith Urban's "Without You." Although not one of the aforementioned types of songs, it is a sweet love song. One of the lyrics of this song is "And people that I barely knew, they love me 'cause I'm part of you, Man it's tough to figure". This lyric has been resonating with me a lot in the last few weeks, thinking about how I've been so embraced into our new church home because the people there that I barely knew, knew or knew of my husband and just accepted me because of him. It's happened within my book club with girls, some I knew very well, some not so much, who have just clicked and bonded in a way I could have never dreamed. In a matter of a few months, we've become an additional support system for each other - one that feels like it's been there for a lifetime, not just a few months.

Tonight, it was personified for me - people who love me just because were there for me, so I could in turn be there for a friend.

It shouldn't be surprising that this lyric resonates, because at it's core, it is part of the gift Christ has given us with His sacrifice dying on the cross and His resurrection. I'm part of a larger family because of my belief in Christ. I shouldn't be surprised when someone I barely know does something out of love for me, because it is a reflection of Christ and his love for us. It seems very strange for me, as a girl who grew up in the church, to finally be "getting" this, but it has been resonating so deeply for me of late. I don't know if it because of my age, my life experiences, or just becoming more educated in the Word, but I'm so thankful for this insight. The understanding is allowing me to be more generous with my time and energy and also to be more accepting and thankful of other's gifts of time and energy.

The thing I needed to do tonight would have never happened if people I loved hadn't been there for me to take care of the things I needed cared for while I helped a friend, that they barely knew. My belief is that it all fell into place because God had his hand on the situation opening the doors that needed opened and filling us all with His love so that we could show His love.

So Proud

2011-05-03T16:37:00.000-04:00

Today was report card day.

I'm so proud of my boy!

Back Yard Jelly

2011-05-01T22:59:00.001-04:00

Many years ago I was introduced to violet jelly. Someone brought it to work and it was a tasty little jelly with the most amazing violet color. More recently, a local craftswoman I met mentioned she makes the violet jelly and sells it at farmers markets and specialty stores and it demands what I thought to be a rather high price. The wheels started turning in my head and I thought maybe I should try my hand at making the jelly and if it turned out, maybe I could market "Goodness Grows Farm Violet Jelly."

The April showers have brought a plethora of violets to our yard here at Goodness Grows Farm, so I decided to try my hand at making it. This little section of yard is what inspired me. It was dotted with the tiny purple violets that are so pretty but so fleeting.

I did what probably a lot of American farmwives do now a days and I Googled "Violet Jelly." The first site that came up was Prairielandherbs.com .

Under their recipe section I found: Prairie Land Herbs Violet Jelly.

The recipe is as follows:

2 heaping cups of fresh violet petals (see note below)

2 C boiling wter

1/4 C well-strained, clear lemon juice

4 C sugar

3 oz liquid pectin (Certo)

NOTE: Look for fully opened flowers, not partially opened buds, for better

color and more intense flavor.

Wash petals well, drain and place in heat-proof glass or nonreactive bowl. Pour boiling water over petals and let steep from 30 minutes to 24

hours. It usually takes about two hours for violets. Strain through a fine sieve, reserving the clear, purplish liquid or infusion. If not using

immediately, refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Place jars and lids on rack in pan or stockpot deep enough to cover them with about two inches of water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, keeping the jars hot until ready to fill.

To make the jelly, stir lemon juice and sugar into reserved infusion in a two-quart nonreactive or stainless steel pan. Bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add the liquid pectin and continue to boil two minutes, skimming any foam that may rise to the surface.

Ladle quickly into jars to within about 1/8 inch from the top; clean each rim and threads of the jar as it's filled, and place flat lid and ring on each before filling the next.Place the jars in a hot-water canning bath and boil for 10 minutes (or the appropriate time for your area). After canning, carefully check to make sure the lids have all sealed.

Sealed jars will last up to one year in a cool, dark place. Put any unsealed jelly in the refrigerator. it should keep about three weeks. Makes four or five half-pint jars.

I photographed this little patch of violets to show you how bountiful it was:

and how quickly I plucked the heads off the stems and put them in my colander.

This is a little section along my driveway. This 2' x 4' section was all I needed to pick in order to get a colander full. I say that with a bit of sarcasm because although it was a very small section, picking violets is very tedious. I had ~~bribed~~ offered my children money to help me, but they tired quickly. Clearly they have not received the memo that suspends child labor laws for farm wives trying to force their children to pick violets.

I had several stops and starts to my picking process, so it took me over two hours to complete my task - and since it was a warm day and the violets started to wilt a bit once I plucked the flowery head off the stem, so they began to compact in the colander. When all was said and done, I had four heaping cupfuls of violets.

As I was picking violets, I noticed the dandelions that are also growing so bountifully in our yard. The amount of dandelions and the fact that under the violet jelly recipe on the prairielandherbs.com website was a recipe for dandelion jelly had me thinking I would try my hand at dandelion jelly.

So I also picked a colander full of dandelions. I rinsed them thoroughly and followed the directions of cutting as much of the green sepals off of the yellow petals.

I ended up with some green still attached, but overall, my measuring cup looked like this.

I was quite dubious about the methods, but I followed the recipe.

I boiled the water, placed the thoroughly rinsed petals in jars and poured the boiling water over the petals, capped the jar and let the mix steep for 24 hours. As you can see, as soon as the boiling water was poured over the petals, the violet color began to seep from the petals - just like tea.

I had enough for two jars of violets and one jar of dandelions.

The violet mixture eventually gets VERY dark. Like, royal purple dark. You can see that the violets actually start to lose their pigment and the petals turn white.

The dandelion water gets very dark - almost a dirty honey color.

After steeping for 24 hours, I lined my mesh colander with cheesecloth and emptied the jars. The violets were saturated with the water and when I poured the water out, I only had one and a quarter cups of liquid. I was glad I ended up deciding to use the cheesecloth because I was able to squeeze the remaining liquid from the violets to get the recommended two cups of liquid.

See how dark the liquid is?

I repeated the process because I was going to double the batch.

I poured the liquid into my cast iron enameled pot and whisked in sugar and lemon juice.

Once the sugar and lemon juice are added to the mixture, the liquid gets lighter in color.

I also boiled the jars and lids, prepped them and kept them warm to pour in the jelly.

So now is the point in the story where I tell you that while I doubled the liquid portion of the recipe, I forgot to double the sugar and lemon. I got all the way through of boiling the liquid, adding the pectin, pouring the mix into jars, putting the lids on the jars, boiling the jars for 10 minutes BEFORE I realized I had forgotten to add the extra sugar and lemon juice.

So, what did I do?? I tried looking up a solution on the internet, but didn't find any fast answers, so I poured the liquid all back into the pot, added the sugar and lemon juice, brought it back to a boil and repeated the process. There was a bit more foam to skim this time, but it all seemed to work out. The jelly gelled and I had eight jars of jelly instead of just four.

I then cleaned all of my pots, utensils, etc., and repeated the process for the dandelion jelly. I heeded the advice from the recipe and I added yellow food coloring to get a more yellow color and got a really pretty color. I do think next time I make the jelly I won't and see how the color turns out. The only reason I added the food coloring was because I had the sneaky suspicion that my children would be confused when searching for the honey because the colors of the jelly and our natural honey are so similar.

As I was looking at the jars, I remembered the Christmas gift I had received from my sisters. An embosser from Williams Sonoma.

The embosser has an engraving plate that says, "Goodness Grows Farm." To be honest, I'm not sure if the design in the middle is supposed to be an "S" or if it is just a symbol of some sort, but I'll play it off and pretend it is an "S."

The stickers were the perfect size for the lids of the jelly jars.

My dozen jars of jelly. All in all, the process took me about 3 hours due to jar sterilizing and the mix up with the violet jelly. However, I am going to look into the dishwasher processing of the jars - where you time your dishwasher cycle to end just as you are ready to pour your jelly into the still warm jars. From what I have read, it is just as sterile and as easy. I'm torn about the final processing aspect - whether I need to boil the filled jars the additional 10 minutes or if I can just let them seal on their own. Most of my jar lids actually "popped" before I even put them in the hot water for final processing, which means it was sealed properly and should not spoil.

Additionally, I am going to break down the cost of making the jelly. I happened to have lemons on hand, but I am going to investigate purchasing certified organic lemons and sugar to see what the cost for producing an "organic" product would be and if the cost would be worth even trying to sell. I'm also going to look into getting my kitchen USDA certified so I can sell the jellies at local farmers markets and specialty stores. Keep you eyes out!

My second sister graduated from Pitt on Friday with her MBA. So I packed these jars for her and gave them to her as a little gift. I told her even if she didn't want to eat them, she could put them on a shelf and they would look pretty.

Now I just have to convince Erik that I need to buy a jelly cabinet to display all my beautiful wares.

Pillowcase dresses

2011-04-14T14:57:00.000-04:00

With the warmer weather approaching and spring consignment sales picking up, I am obsessed with finding quick, easy sundresses for Maggie. Unfortunately, they are priced more than I want to pay for something that is either going to be worn through mud and manure or only as a bathing suit cover up. So I started searching the web, and came across these "pillowcase dresses."

The original design for the dress is centuries old I imagine - made literally from old pillowcases. Ones I saw online are typically made of those charming vintage cases with the lovely embroidery on the open side. After looking at several sites, I decided I could probably make the dress myself. And I could do it without a pattern.

I wanted some color and pattern to my dresses so I headed to JoAnn for a look-see. I fell in love with HUNDREDS of fabrics. But I limited myself to just a few this first go round. I ended up with a watermelon print, a sweet turquoise and celery paisley and I grabbed this strawberry fabric because it has the elasticized top that makes a really cute dress, and would be so easy to make! I also picked up coordinating green satin ribbon for the straps/neck ties and

some ribbon and embellishments for coordinating hair bows.

My pattern choices

My trusty Brother sewing machine. I haven't used it in years but she always comes in handy!

My mom got me this sewing box back when I was planning on a blue and yellow theme for my living room.

This is my Grammie Foster's sewing basket. I love the red paisley quilted top. It is still full of stuff of hers. I don't know what to do with most of it, but I keep it. The spools of thread are marked 5 cents!

This is a dress I picked up at a consignment sale for Maggie for about $2. I decided to use this dress to fabricate some sort of pattern for the pillowcase dresses.

First I folded the fabric so that it was basically turned inside out. Right sides facing each other.

Then I traced around the dress with one of the kids washable markers.

I measured across the chest of the red dress, then divided the number in half and added another 1/2 inch or so to the measurement for seam allowances. Then I folded the fabric in half so that the chest portion of the dress was in half,

then I cut the dress out.

When you unfold it, it will look like this and the top of the dress is still attached .

The one yard of allowed me to cut three dresses from that particular fabric. This will vary depending on the width of your fabric.

I then took a piece of felt and traced the dress pattern again. Now when I go to make more dresses, I just have to fold the fabric in half, lay the pattern on top and cut the pattern from the felt. I did it with felt A) because I had felt lying around and B) I thought felt would be more durable than paper.

To give some character to the dress, I decided to make the hem in a complimenting pattern. I cut fabric slightly longer than the length I wanted to achieve, pinned "right' sides together and sewed the hem fabric in place.

The most difficult part of the task was the arm holes. Thankfully, I had the red dress to use as a pattern. Many of the designs I saw online suggested using bias tape to finish the arm holes. I do not know how to use bias tape, so I just folded the arm seams over once about 1/4 of an inch, ironed it well, folded it over again about 1/4 of an inch, then used a zig zag stitch to sew the seam. It came out looking pretty good if I do say so myself. Of course, in my focus on figuring out how to make the dress, I forgot to take thorough pictures of my process.

This is the first version of the dress I made. I didn't add anything to the chest of the dress, just folded down the top of the dress about 1/4 of an inch, ironed it, then folded it over again about 1/2 an inch and sewed it straight across. Then I took green ribbon, attached a safety pin to one end and threaded it through the front and back "yoke" of the neck. The ribbon can be tightened to accommodate almost any size.

The second dress, I folded the green ribbon over the "yoke" of the dress and threaded a gossamer organza ribbon through it.

The third dress, I got a little fancier and made a "yoke' to match the hem. It was relatively easy. Cut the strip of fabric to fit the "yoke," fold in the top and sides about 1/4 of an inch and iron. Make sure to sew the sides before you fold the entire thing in half because you'll stitch your openings shut! Fold the fabric in half, iron then fit it close to the top of the yoke and stitch very close making sure you have the patterned fabric inside your complimentary yoke or it will fall apart or miss catching the fabric.

I found this fabric a few days later at the fabric store and since some of the dresses were for presents, I had to pick this Hello Kitty Easter fabric up for one of the girls as Hello Kitty is one of her favorites!

I also made coordinating hair accessories for the dresses. This little number got a cute silver headband with a green flower accent.

The headband up close.

This is the watermelon pattern. I gave it a turquoise yoke, but did not make a matching hem. This dress I cut a little wider than the others because I wanted it to be shorter and a little blousier than the others. I got coordinating celery green leggings to be worn with it, so hopefully, it turned out cute.

I also made a matching headband for it with the little pink and white polka dot flowers.

I'm still experimenting with technique, but overall, it's been a rewarding process. I'm not sure if I'm saving that much money as fabric is still rather price, but I guess if you factor I'm getting on average two dresses per yard, and I only am spending $3.99 a yard, the dress prices out under $5. Not bad for a novice seamstress.

Now, here's hoping Maggie likes all the dresses I make!

Pretty little Milkmaid

2011-04-03T15:45:00.001-04:00

Last year about this time, I mentioned to my friend, C, that I had seen the most adorable little butter dish in my Country Living magazine. It was shaped like a little doll.

I said it was in the Anthropologie catalog so it must be expensive.

Fast forward a few months and Whitaker was born. After he was born, C gave me this HUGE box. Inside the box is a smaller box containing the little yellow Milkmaid butter dish.

I was beyond touched, thrilled and so excited. She told me that she tried to get me the red one, but it was out of stock. It became a cherished item in my house, and like many cherished (and fragile) items, I did not know what to do with her. I mean, if you use her, you run the risk of chipping, or worse, breaking her!

But, if you don't use her, what's the point of having her? I mean, of course she looks adorable just sitting around, but in order for people to see her, I have to have her out!

I did have her sit around for a while, but then I started using her for her intended purpose. I slapped some butter under her skirt and we've used her for months. The children were all instructed that she was a precious item and that they MUST be careful with her.

That is until last Sunday. Last Sunday, it was just me, Maggie & Whitaker. I was feeding Whitaker in his high chair and while my back was turned, the go-go gadget arms that only a baby possesses managed to reach the little milkmaid and knock her from the kitchen island onto the floor.

The carnage was awful.

I was devastated. I know she was just a thing, but she represented so much. In the back of my mind, I imagined that I was going to give this butter dish to Whitaker's wife when she had her first baby. I'd tell her all about where the dish came from, the importance of C in my life, and how important friendships are once you become mother. I picked up every piece off the floor and set the pieces to soak in hot water to get the butter off. I then ran to the computer and went to Anthropologie.com to see if I could buy a replacement. They were no longer in the catalog. I google searched every tag that could remotely relate to the dish and still nothing. I looked at ebay, replacements.com, every non-traditional auction site online. I even searched craigslist in various large cities in other states. NOTHING!

With little hope left, I went back to Anthropologie.com and zipped off an email to customer service:

I received a yellow Milkmaid Butter Dish as a gift after I had my last baby. My son accidentally knocked it off the counter and broke it. Not only is it my most favorite kitchen accessory, it holds great sentimental value and I desperately want to replace it. Can you help???

Sincerely,

Jennifer Schwalm

Monday morning, around 7:30, I check my email and there in my box is a reply:

Hello Jennifer,

Thank you for your interest in the Milkmaid Butter Dish. This item is currently available. You may place your order by contacting us at 1-800-309-2500. Please refer to item number 973751. Quantities are very limited; to ensure that you receive this item you will want to order as soon as possible.

If you require additional assistance or have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at service@anthropologie.com.

Please include this email with your reply.

Sincerely,
Amber Hart
Anthropologie

7:45 AM, I was on the phone with Anthropologie and I ordered TWO new dishes. One Yellow and one Red!

Thursday, the UPS man showed up at the door with a big box with Anthropologie on the return address. I knew as soon as the UPS man handed me the big box, something was broken. You could hear the tinkling of broken porcelain that easily. I gingerly opened the box and found two smaller boxes inside. The first box was the yellow Milkmaid. She was intact. The obvious conclusion was that the red one was broken. I still held out a little hope that maybe it wasn't really broken - maybe the packaging wasn't as good and the top was clanking against the bottom.

As soon as I opened the lid, I could see the bottom dish was shattered.

I gingerly pulled it out to see that it was broken in many pieces.

But the top portion was perfect! The little milkmaid was in perfect health!

I called Anthropologie's customer service line and explained to the representative what had happened. She immediately issued a refund and when I asked how I was to ship the broken item back, she said, "Oh, no. We don't expect it to be returned. We cannot have broken porcelain going through the mail." She then proceeded to give me the phone numbers for stores across the country that still had the milkmaid in red in stock. I could call them and ask them to ship a new one if I so desired.

Since the lid to the little lady was still in perfect condition, I figured I could find a replacement bottom until I remembered to go to the store and buy some porcelain repair glue to see if I could glue the bottom back together.

I have a small collection of red transfer ware plates that I had started collecting back when I was just out of college and living on my own in a little three level townhouse in Seven Fields. Blue transfer ware has always been popular, and since I love red, it seemed a natural choice for a "grown up" collection. Just as I started collecting the red transfer ware, Country Living magazine featured a huge article on transfer ware in general and the red became a new collectors item. After that I could rarely get my hands on a saucer for under $20 - prior, I had been picking up actual dinner plates for under that price. Thus, my collecting of vintage red transfer ware ended. I still occasionally pick up a new piece at TJ Maxx or Marshalls, but the vintage stuff is out of my price range.

So, I had a pair of these vintage saucers in the cupboard that I use as serving pieces at different functions.

I pulled it out and placed the little red milkmaid on top and voilà!

It didn't match up perfectly, but it will work for now.

So now I have two beautiful little ladies to hold my butter.

The lady in red.

And her pretty little yellow friend.

They now sit on top of the refrigerator and I won't make the mistake of leaving them anywhere that could be in reach of Mr. Whitaker.

The broken pieces are in a box in the closet, waiting for me to remember to pick up some epoxy to fix them. Although my yellow lady is not the original, I will still be able to look at her and be reminded of my friend C. her thoughtfulness, and the friendship we share, how our friendship has enriched my life an continues to do so every day and how something as simple as a butter dish can be so much more. I can eventually pass down the "healthy" yellow milkmaid to Whit's wife, and I'll put the original one back together and continue to cherish the memory it holds for me.

Following

2011-03-15T13:51:00.000-04:00

I don't have time to read a ton of blogs out there even though I would love to with regularity. I've seen titles for some blogs that crack me up and ones that intrigue me. I usually take a quick peek at them, but if I don't mark them immediately, I forget what they were and never get back to it.

The ones I do read with regularity, I have listed on my site. One that was recently launched, I am very excited about, called "Doorposts" which their site describes as, "weekly character-building projects, along with other articles, book reviews, and occasional giveaways. Our goal is to build up parents, encourage Bible-centered parenting, and help you get to know Doorposts and our family better. We also look forward to your comments and input, as we discuss parenting ideas and questions!"

We've used some of their materials at church and I have really enjoyed them. One that we try to utilize is the :

Brother Offended Checklist

Based totally on Scripture, this cartoon-illustrated chart-and-book set outlines:

9 steps for an offended person to follow
5 steps to encourage the offender to confess and forsake his sin
10 Scripture-based guidelines for parents when they must assume the role of judge in offenses.
Examples from lives in the Bible
What to do with a false witness
How to discipline a child who takes pleasure in getting another child in trouble

Includes a chart outlining steps for both parties, with Scripture and cartoon drawings, and a 28 page booklet giving further directions, ideas, and verses that apply. The booklet material can easily be incorporated into your family worship time.

Having this around helps us when our instinctual answer is to say "Because I said so!"

Anyway, Doorposts just launched as Blog, so I wanted to share this in case anyone else was interested.

Time: Part 4,861

2011-03-08T23:18:00.000-05:00

If you follow my ramblings with any regularity, it is likely that due to the very quantity of posts I write on this subject, you have some idea of my perception of time, how fast it is going, and how it means my children are growing up.

Tonight I had one of those shocking realizations of how fast time is passing. It all started very innocently. This morning, when getting the kids in the car to go to swimming lessons, I decided to forego the standard infant carrier carseat we have been using the past nine plus months and I strapped Whitaker into Willie's convertible carseat.

He LOVED it!

I took those photos with my iphone and sent my Mom a picture. She responded with an appropriate text response: "how cute. . . perfect timing 2 b a big boy . . . his last day as the baby of our family"

(I guess I should insert here that my sister is scheduled to have her labor induced tomorrow morning bright and early, so with luck, by lunchtime I will have a brand spanking new niece or nephew!)

As I read those words, a sudden panic came over me. Whit no longer a baby?

I have been avoiding the fact that he is indeed growing up. I avoid thinking about his age and the milestones he is achieving. Seriously, I've become that mom that has to actually count out his age (picture me with that squinty, looking up to the sky face as I look at my fingers and count, "May, June, July . . ." to the current month) on my fingers in order to tell people how old he is. This isn't because I am not able to count, it is because I do not want to acknowledge how old he is. I also have found it unconcerning at all that he refuses to crawl forward or pull himself up from a sitting position at the couch or coffee table. Never mind that Walker was walking at 11 months - the other kids too - I have no comparisons. As far as I'm concerned, the last major milestone I am allowing him to have is sitting up on his own. Oh, and eating on his own. There is a refreshing freedom to be found now at suppertime because I can just cut up tiny pieces of whatever we are eating and feed it to him. I can actually try to sit and eat a few bites before one of the kids needs a refill of their drink or forgot they wanted ketchup.

But all other developmental milestones are off limits!

I know this weekend, when we go to visit my sister and her beautiful new baby, Whit is going to seem like a MONSTER and my heart is going to be a little crushed with the physical evidence that Whit is no longer a baby.

This all begs the question, "How do all of you moms out there do it? How do you deal with your kids growing up?" Because it KILLS me.

I'm sure my emotions are acerbated by the fact that I have been in planning mode for Maggie's 5th birthday next week.

FIVE

That is a big number. Big things happen at 5. Five is a long way from this:

Walker has agreed to stop growing at age eight. He chose eight because at eight he will be old enough to enter 4H shows. But he doesn't understand that just minutes ago, he looked like this:

And tomorrow we're headed to the orthodontist to have his expander adjusted.

And Willie - well, I will be honest in saying that I am looking forward to outgrowing this three year old stage. As loveable as he is, I did not expect this guy:

To turn into this guy:

And I completely forgot that nine months of growing a baby inside your belly is nothing compared to nine months watching him grow outside.

One year ago, I had this:

Nine months ago, I had this:

And every day, I wake up to this beautiful boy who is TRULY the happiest baby in the world:

I am so very blessed, and so very grateful for the privilege of getting to raise these four creatures. They have taught me so much about God's love. What an honor it is to be their mother. My fervent prayer is that I will cherish every moment and hold it fast to my heart. I try not to take for granted that every moment I have is precious. And there is not one thing about it I would want to miss!

maggies5th

2011-03-01T09:27:00.001-05:00

Petite Potentate Pink Birthday Invitation

Happy birthday to you. Birthday wishes by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

With Love, I Plead, BAN THE BAG!

2011-02-11T17:41:00.002-05:00

Valentines Day is Monday and as is tradition, both Walker and Maggie came home with notes in their backpacks from the party planning moms that said, "Our party is Monday, blah blah, if you wish to send in an item for the treat bag, please have it to the teacher by blah, blah, blah."

I'm going to let you in on a secret. I hate this treat bag party tradition.

Here's my list of why I hate this tradition:

1. My children do not need anymore candy than I already provide for them. In fact, during my recent cabinet cleaning, I threw out about 500lbs of left over JUNKY Halloween candy.

2. When asked to provide treats for an entire class, most parents turn to the least expensive bag with the highest quantity of candy which inevitably turns out to be the super-saver extra large, jumbo sized bag of Laffy Taffy, Pixie Sticks, Sweet Tarts, fruity Tootsie Rolls, and Dum Dum lollipops. It's quick, it's easy and you can buy one bag and get 5 million candies - enough to share with each child's classroom. Bing Bang Boom, you're in and out of the Walmart and done.

3. Those candies suck! (Sorry if you love these candies, but if you really want to give a "treat", give some GOOD candy. A mini Dove, a Hersheys kiss. Just sayin').

4. My children do not need another Oriental-Trading- Dollar- Tree-Dollar -Store -made -in- China plastic miniature toy that will get left on the floor for me to step on or for the baby to put in his mouth and potentially choke to death if he does not first bite it into pieces with his incredibly razor sharp baby teeth and swallow it bit by bit leaving me not to worry about his lead levels but his Cadmium levels as we all know this is now the chemical to worry about.

There are several ironies to this treat bag situation.

The first is that my family is already overly blessed in the toy and goodie department. In fact, as parents, Erik and I struggle with how much excess our kids have. I struggle daily with the dilemma of too many toys, not enough organization, and deciding whether I should keep items because they were given as gifts, donate them to a cause that could use them, or is that wasteful because it is likely that having three boys, one of the younger boys will receive a duplicate gift to the one we've given away because a well-meaning relative sees that we don't have that particular type of tractor/truck/farm animal in our collection and "By Jove" they've found the perfect gift for us. (repeat cycle). We are trying to teach our children to first be grateful for what they have, second, not fall into the societal traps of envy and want, and third, not expect something at every little occasion.

I wonder what happened to the days of the party moms planning some games, doing a craft and then the class enjoyed a nice home-made (or store bought) treat. A heart shaped cookie, a red iced, red velvet cupcake or some rice Krispy treats with those red, white and pink sugar balls sprinkled on them? Remember when that was the treat? And what about when someone brought in cupcakes baked in an ice cream cone??? Holy Moly that was the hit of the party! Right? If we were really lucky, one of the moms brought in juice boxes to go with the snack. If not, we got a dixie cup from the teacher and got some water from the fountain out in the hall and carried it back to our desks. We liked it, we appreciated it and we looked forward to it. Then we'd take out our Valentines cards, go around and drop them in our classmates decorated boxes and we'd be done. We'd grab our full box and head home and maybe find some candy Necco conversation hearts in our boxes from our teacher.

There is all this campaigning for us to teach our children respect, acceptance and tolerance no matter what. I am not opposed to this. So, my question is, what does distributing a treat bag teach our kids about acceptance for just being who you are? My educated guess as to why we celebrate Valentines Day in school is to allow our kids to show friendship and love to each other, to encourage them to extend the virtues of universal friendship to everyone - this is why the teacher usually sends home the prerequisite note saying that the students are expected to bring a Valentine card in for EVERY student in the class. If we are sending in gifts as well as the cards, aren't we teaching our kids that a card is not enough to demonstrate our affection to someone - that we must buy their friendship with candy or toys? I'm pretty sure Patrick Dempsey illustrated quite conclusively that money "Can't Buy Me Love."

(On a side note, after searching for this image, I realized that I married Ronald Miller - that's another blog post entirely!)

Third, our governments, Local, State and Federal invest millions of dollars each year into educational programs designed to teach our children about the evils of junk food, the importance of eating healthy and exercising daily. In fact, at the PA State Farm Show, there was an entire exhibit geared towards teaching kids about "60 minutes a day" which not only taught the kids aerobic dance style exercises, but offered FREE exercise videos to take home. Our school lunch menu features the fruits and vegetable choices prominently. Whole wheats and multigrains are italicized to highlight the progressive healthy choices that are offered. We get "help at home" sheets offering advice on how to make and keep our kids healthier. We even get a note from the school nurse stating that our child's Body Mass Index (BMI) has been measured and based on the results, we are given tips on how to reduce or maintain the results. I am not opposed to this.

Additionally, the classrooms have separate garbage cans for regular trash and paper that can be recycled. The cafeteria has recycling garbage cans. The kids are presented with programs, assemblies and other curriculum to encourage environmental awareness. I am not opposed to this.

Even Disney Channel gets in on the bandwagon with their partnership with the First Lady in commercials highlighting the fight against Childhood Obesity. Disney also sponsors a "Friends for Change" campaign encouraging kids to go green, to reduce consumption of electricity, plastic bottles, car emissions, etc. An encouraging campaign, right?

So, what does this have to do with our kids? Well, what kind of mixed messages are we sending when our schools have educational programs telling our kids to eat healthy and exercise, then we send them home from a party with two pounds of sugary candy? What message does it send when schools and television stations tell our kids to "make a change" "reduce, reuse, recycle" and DIScourage kids from consuming more, but we send them home from a class party with a PLASTIC goodie bag filled with PLASTIC wrapped candies and PLASTIC toys made in a factory and designed to exploit the mass consumerism of American children?

I know it is pretty ridiculous to get all upset over these little goody bags. They truly are innocent enough and I'm sure the distribution of them was designed to allow every child have that feeling of excitement of receiving a gift at the end of a party. However, not only have they become so common that their existence becomes ho-hum and ordinary, but we are filling them with JUNK that is harmful to our bodies and our environment.

This post wasn't meant to be soap boxy, but it was inspired by a post from a friend on Facebook who is new to this whole school party experience and she commented that she took the teachers note asking to send in Valentines cards for the class at face value and she was shocked that her child came home with a goody bag full of stuff. It sparked some interesting comments. Overall, the general consensus was that for the most part, moms HATE these goody bags, not for the reasons I mentioned, but just because Moms HATE having to CLEAN UP THE MESS the wake of these goody bags leave. "Nothing irks me more than finding those little dollar store bag fillers (balls, cheap toys, etc.) all over my house. Its just more crap for me to throw away! " was the quote from one mom.

I agree. I am sick of the bag fillers! While the reasons I stated above are very valid and when I dig deep, are actual reasons why I hate those bag fillers, the real reason I hate the treat bags is that I truly, madly, deeply, abhor picking up, keeping track of, stepping on, retrieving, and eventually throwing away the junk. If it is not a toy bag filler, it's the candy. The candy just sits in a big bin in the cupboard until January rolls around and I throw the whole bunch out. Now that Walker has braces and an expander, he can't even EAT the candy he's going to receive.

So, for all of us in the minority who hate the goody bags. BAN THE BAGS! Say you're doing it for your child's health, say you're doing it for the environment, or go ahead and say you're doing it because there's this one bitchy mom in your kids class (me) who hates the goody bag. But BAN THE BAG. Instead, take a little extra time, sit down with your child and help him or her understand that LOVE isn't about materialism and treat bags. Love is many things, but for our kids, it should be a sweet little 1x3 inch card from a friend. The candy will rot (well, maybe not) and the plastic made in China toy will either get broken or thrown out, but the little Valentines card may sit in a classmates keepsake box their entire life to remind them of a time when love was innocent and uncomplicated. They'll pull that little card out of their treasure box someday and read the uncertain handwriting and they will go back to first grade. They will smell paste and feel the texture construction paper, aluminum foil, and white paper doily as they cut out hearts to cover their Valentines Day box. They will remember a childhood friend, and that memory will put a smile on their face as they remember showing genuine affection for others without guile, just because they were your friend.

That's the lesson we need to teach and carry with us as we celebrate Valentines Day.

With Love . . .

Bieber Fever

2011-02-07T15:11:00.000-05:00

We don't have Bieber Fever in our house. My kids actually don't really even know who he is. Since I am a fan of pop culture, I am aware of who he is but I have not formed an opinion of him other than for some reason, when I've seen him on TV interviews, he irritates me.

I've seen him on some talk shows where he seems like a nice enough young man, and my sister (who knows A LOT more about this kind of stuff and is much younger than I am and way more cool) says, "I think he's sweet and cute and talented and adorable and good to his mother and not a total 16 year old creep like most gross boys. His songs are catchy and adorable. And your son looks just like baby beiber."

As evidenced here:

Mr. Bieber

Willie J

Thanks, Justin Bieber for the very funny commercial for Best Buy last night at the Superbowl

I filmed this of Willie J today:

And I'm thinking if Justin Bieber can do it, maybe Willie J has a chance at fame as well. He rocks a mean Paper Jams guitar after all.