What day is it?

Can it really be almost Friday? I haven't even posted about last weekend yet! Whew! Last weekend was busy and enjoyable. Eric's kids were here, Jake and Delilah were down as were Aunt Hazel and Terry. We did a little work, ate a lot of food, and enjoyed spending time together.

It is rare to have all the cousins here at the same time. It was interesting to note how they paired up in threes: Ashley, Miles & Kellen; Lydia, Jude & Nolan; Elise & Vivian, yes, I can count, that is only two, but I'm guessing that the new baby girl coming will be the third in that group. Don't panic, it isn't my new baby girl, Delilah is expecting in late July.

The kids played and played. They got to sleep in a tent. (except Elise and Vivian) They didn't all make it every night, but they all did at least one night. Nolan was so funny. The first night we didn't let him sleep in the tent because he was wiped out, very grumpy, and having a melt down.

The second night we planned to let him try, but he didn't believe us. After dinner he kept sneaking off to the tent. I think he was afraid we weren't really going to let him, and he was going to be in that tent before we could tell him no. When we told him it was time to get ready for bed, in the tent, he just beamed. He was so proud to be doing what the big kids were doing. I think he was the first to go to sleep, and continued to beam the whole next day anytime anyone asked him about sleeping in the tent. Hmm. . . maybe I should let him sleep in a tent every night!


The guys worked on the siding of the house. It is coming along. We worked in the garden some. We took a walk to the creek. It is almost dry which is very unusual for this time of year. We did find a salamander though. There was a birthday party for the kids with May or June birthdays. We played games, had a campfire, roasted marshmallows, and chatted. It was busy and relaxing at the same time.


Sunday we attended the Vandalia Gathering. I love this festival. It celebrate traditional West Virginia Culture. There are multiple stages with old time music. Even off the stages you see little groups playing banjo, fiddle, mandolin and other instruments. There is dancing; square, Irish, Bavarian, and others.


There was a hands on area for the kids with animals, instruments, candle making and other old time crafts. The kids made candles and corn hush dolls, tried their hand at grinding corn, and playing instruments.


The vendors at the Gathering are fabulous. Most things are handmade. There were wood workers, gardeners, potters, quilters, and so much more. I saw some very interesting wood projects that I think we could manage ourselves too. We packed a lunch, but there were plenty of food vendors there too.

The Gathering is held at the State Capital. All of the buildings are open, so we had a self guided tour of the capital building.

I love Vandalia! It is a great event, and did I mention it is free! Free parking, free entertainment , and activities. You know I love free! The only thing we paid for was the gas to get there, the food we packed and $3 for a plant I bought.

So, that was last weekend. This weekend we are planning to go to a huge swap meet. We have a list of animals we are hoping to buy. I'll keep you update. (Hopefully, before Thursday night next week!)

How to Enjoy Your Brother's Party

Wordless Wednesday

Good Stuff

We had a great, albeit busy weekend. More on that later. For now, though, here are some links for you to check into:

Farmers Market Edition of Carnival of the Recipes full of great recipes for fresh produce.

Carnival of Shopping, a wide variety of articles on shopping, including saving money and being fashionable.

Carnival of Pregnancy, moms and moms to be share stories, tips and ideas about pregnancy.

Carnival of SAHM, more mom stories. A little bit of everything here.

Postie Carnival, a carnival for affiliates of Pay Per Post. The theme was around the neighborhood, somehow I missed that!

Make It From Scratch, my favorite carnival *wink* There is a new blog roll for participants too!

My Favorite Plant plant lovers sharing their favorite plant of the week.

Carnival of Thrift, ever wonder what you can find at thrift stores and garage sales? Here is the place to see.

Enjoy your browsing and your day!

I'm Still Here

In case you were wondering, like another reader who emailed me, we are still here. Things are very busy, but fine. Still no more rabbits. Looks like maybe the other two does weren't bred. Rabbits not breeding who ever heard of that?! We'll try again, but Kellen won't have market rabbits for the fair!

Our crazy hen, Chatter Box, is sitting! She made her nest under a table in a storage area, not the chicken coop. She preferred to roost in the storage area too. Hopefully, we will have some chicks running around soon. The ducks are both laying too. They've made a nest under our deck. I'm beginning what is wrong with our coop that nobody wants to lay there?

We did notice a rather large black rat snake nearby the other day. Any suggestions for how to keep him around (for the mice), but keep him out of the eggs?




Jake & Delilah are here with their kids. Miles and Ashley are here, and Aunt Hazel and Terry are coming. We have a full house this weekend. Kellen, Miles, Ashley, Lydia, and Jude slept in a tent last night in the woods. It is far enough that I can barely see the tent, but not so far that we couldn't hear them giggling away last night. There were in at 6:30 for breakfast this morning. I wonder how grumpy they will be today.

Today we are hanging out, and having a birthday party for the May and June birthdays. Tomorrow we are going to the Vandalia Festival in Charleston. We went last year. This post tells a little about it.

There is a quick update. Guessing I won't be around much until Tuesday. Enjoy your long weekend!

Baby in a Basket

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Links

Make it From Scratch

Carnival of the Recipes - Pancake Edition, next week farmer's market

Carnival of Frugality

Festival of Frugality

Carnival of Homeschooling

Carnival of Family Life

Sorry for the quick links, and lack of other posting. I just can't seem to keep up the last few weeks. Everything is fine, just busy. More later!

Regarding Yesterday's Post

We lost them all. Our lows were in the upper 30's F last night. We moved the kits together for warmth and snuggled them in with fur. We wrapped a tarp around the hutch. Tim wanted to put a heat light in. I was afraid that they'd get too hot. Tim was right. We lost all the kits. Still none from the other does.

New Babies

Our rabbit, Blanche, kindled today. That is rabbit terms for she had her kits. That is rabbit speak for she had the babies! We are so excited! This afternoon we found six live kits, and one dead one.


Sorry, I know newborn rabbits aren't exactly cute, but they will be! I'll post more pictures later. As you can see, she pulled quite a bit a fur, and made a nice nest for them. It is supposed to be cold tonight (38 F) I hope they will be OK.

This is the rabbit that was out for a few days when we were on vacation. So, we are wondering if she was bred to our buck, or if these kits have a wild daddy. We should be able to tell in a few days. Either way, they will be fine for meat for us, but Kellen will not be able to use them for the fair if they aren't New Zealand's. We do have two more does bred around the same time. Hopefully, they will also kindle in the next couple of days.

I'll keep you updated.

Cowgirl in Training

Wordless Wednesday

Better Late Than Never

I didn't get the links posted yesterday, but here they are:

Make It From Scratch

Carnival of the Storytellers

Carnival of Recipes - Mac & Cheese edition, next week pancakes!

My Favorite Plant

Carnival of Thrift

SAHM carnival

Carnival of Homeschooling

Carnival of Family Life

Ch-Ch-Changes

Things sure do change quick around here. This weekend we welcomed some new humans to the 100 Acre Wood. They aren't permanent residents, but weekender's. My Great Aunt Hazel and her friend, Terry, purchased a camper to keep here. They've said we could also use it as guest quarters when they aren't here. I have a feeling it won't be available many weekends! They plan to be here a lot.


For now the camper is on the driveway. A more permanent spot has been chosen, but needs cleared. It is a nice spot in the woods, but close enough that Aunt Hazel can get to the houses.

She and Kellen really hit it off this weekend. She is into puzzle books; word and number puzzles. She showed Kellen how to do them, and he was instantly hooked! It was touching to see them working them together. Kellen also asked her about rationing during World War II. She is 91. It is amazing to think of the things she has seen in her lifetime.

One year ago we had exactly two animals on the farm; a dog and a rabbit. Now, we have a petting zoo with a grand total of 19 animals. I've told you about the horses & cows. We have three each now. There are six rabbits, three ducks, and a chicken.

Over the weekend we acquired two more animals. The first a rooster for our crazy chicken. Kellen named him Alpha Rooster.



As Nolan found out, he is not an animal to pet. Don't worry no harm done, but Nolan would not leave that rooster alone. He wanted to pet it. (Did I mention he is a stubborn kid?) The rooster finally had enough. He puffed himself up, flapped his wings and strutted toward Nolan. Nolan now has a healthy respect for Alpha.

We also acquired a sheep. We are keeping her indefinitely for a friend. Her name is Maggie. She is very gentle and tame. The first thing we did was give her a hair cut. We don't have the proper tools, so it was a long process. Here Terry is helping Papaw. See, even weekender's get put to work around here.


Maggie is very tame and gentle. She will follow you about anywhere. The kids and I took her for a walk yesterday. We led her on a dog leash with no problems. Lydia likes to brush her. We may have her bred later, but for now she is serving as a weed eater, and clearing out some over grown spots.


You would think that would be enough for awhile wouldn't you? But no! The rabbits will hopefully have their litters this week. The other cow is expecting calf within the next month. We are hoping that the chicken and ducks hatch out some eggs this summer yet. And we are planning to purchase a pig and goats in early June, and perhaps some more hens too. The pig is a birthday present for Miles from Mamaw and Papaw. (That is what he wanted!) The goats will be used to help eat the weeds and improve the pasture. We will probably also use them for meat, and maybe, milk down the road.

One year ago we also had no garden. This year we have two. A small one by the house,

(as you can see the siding is still a work in progress) and a much larger one the neighbors are letting us use.

Things are changing fast in the 100 Acre Wood. It is fun and exciting. It is going to be a very busy summer! I just hope we haven't bitten off more than we can chew!

Happy Birthday Nolan

Today is Nolan's third birthday. Nolan keeps me on my toes. He is all boy. Loves trucks and tools. Loves Papaw's big equipment. He is a very physical kid, constantly on the go. He climbs everything, and thinks he can do anything that his older brother and sister do.

He is a very sweet natured kids. He sleeps with his red blanket. He and the blanket often find their way into mommy and daddy's room in the middle of the night. Most nights he cuddles up on the floor, just happy to be near us. He is cuddly and very affectionate.

He is also a big stinker. Full of curiosity, he often explores and gets out things he shouldn't. It is hard to hold the line with him sometimes because he is just so darn cute. He also knows how to play that "so darn cute" card.

He also has quite the stubborn streak in him, as I've posted about here and here. Sometimes there is just no reasoning with him. Once his mind is set, he will battle till the end to get his way.

My little boy is full of life and energy. Though he challenges me daily, he truly is a blessing, and I am so thankful for him. Happy Birthday little man! I love you!

Four Seasons

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Wordless Wednesday

And a Link, Link There

It is a busy morning so today the links are short and sweet!

Make It From Scratch

Carnival of Homeschooling

Festival of Frugality

Learning in The Great Outdoors

Carnival of the Recipes - This week, International. Next week Mac & Cheese.

Carnival of Family Life - Anniversary Edition

Write Away Contest - Theme Vacations, Deadline May 15th.

We are off to our co-op picnic. The weather looks perfect for it!

With a Quack, Quack Here

The newest farm members:



We were expecting to get four, but apparently last week King Duck took out the competition. (The other one was a male that one of the hens hatched this spring. ) We are hoping that they will hatch some ducklings this summer yet, so we will have to read up on how to protect the males. Any advice is appreciated. I've never had ducks before so this is all new.

Our one chicken is not too thrilled with the arrangement. One of these days I must devote a whole post to the antics of our one chicken. She is quite entertaining. And to why we have only one chicken. We would like to get more, but haven't taken the time to make it happen.

As you may have noticed, I haven't been around much. I almost couldn't believe I hadn't posted since Thursday! How can that be? It has been busy. I went to a women's retreat with our old church on Friday. It was a wonderful! I don't really have the words to explain it, but I deeply miss the fellowship we had there.

We've been busy outside too. Working on gardens, wild foods and animals. The weather has been very comfortable and nice. I long to be out there digging in the dirt. In fact, I went out and planted after the kids were in bed. I was planting until 9:00! Hope the enthusiasm last through the harvest!

My nephew, Jude, was here today. The kids were so excited and they all played and played and played. They are sleeping well tonight. My SIL and niece are coming tomorrow, and my brother may stop in while he is in the area for a business trip.

In other news, we are getting new residents (yes humans!) to the 100 Acre Wood. They will be moving in this weekend. I'll post more about that later.

M.R.'s birthday is this week. This is probably the first year ever that I haven't been a little down at this time. I'm really trying to not expect anything, but deep down I'm very anxious for contact. Kellen asked me yesterday when we were going to meet her. I wish I knew son, I wish I knew.

Sorry for the rambling type post tonight. I'm a little tired, and feel like I have so much to catch up on! I have a feeling my posting and visiting will be a bit irregular through the summer. Apologies in advance. Maybe I will get a better written post in tomorrow! Hope you are enjoying fabulous weather in your part of the world too!

I'm No Superwoman TT #4

Over the past few months I have gotten many flattering comments. I appreciate them, really, please do not stop! But it occurred to me that you are not seeing the whole picture. There are many, many things I don't do well, or do not do at all. Here are some from that list.

1. Iron.
Tim does that. They are his clothes after all!

2. Windows.
Can't remember the last time I've cleaned them. Never at this house!

3. Boxed Mac & Cheese.
As you may have noticed in this video.

4. My Van.
Constantly embarrassingly dirty. I haven't cleaned it out since we left for our vacation. Well, since Tim cleaned it before our vacation.

5. Bathrooms.
I hate cleaning them. They get pretty bad. I thought I had the solution: cleaning them while the kids were in the bath, but got out of that by having Tim give the kids their baths.

6. Dusting.
You could write your name on my desk right now.

7. Yelling.
I yell more than I'd like, in a tone that makes me cringe when I hear the kids use it with each other. Not proud of this, but keeping it real here.

8. Kids' Rooms.
Desperately need a de-clutter and thorough cleaning.

9. Exercise.
Don't I get enough chasing Nolan (almost 3) ?

10. My Husband.
I take him for granted. Thanks for all you do Tim!

11. My Self.
I don't do my hair, rarely wear makeup, have trouble keeping up with shaving and with painting my toe nails. Finger nails? Only care they get is a quick trim.

12. Friends & Family.
I'm not good at keeping in touch especially with those far away. This blog serves that purpose to a point, but I really should make more phone calls and write more letters.

13. TV
I let the kids watch shows so I can get some quiet! There I said it!



I don't stress over the things needing improvement. What is the point? Being a mom, a wife, a responsible human is hard work! We all have things we do well with, and things that need improving. We all have the same number of hours in the day, and an impossible number of tasks to complete in those hours. We do the best we know with our time and circumstances. We look for ways to improve where we can. I'm no more superwoman than the rest of you. We all are superwomen!

Thursday Thirteen

Baby Sign Language

This is our 14 month old, Vivian.

Wordless Wednesday

Is a video stretching it?

Linking Up

We've been having some beautiful days here. We've been working on the garden and fencing in the pasture. The guys cut up a couple of locust trees to use for post. We all (ok they did most of it) had to hoof them up to the fence, over the fence, up the bank and load them on the trailer. I love all the outside work, but my body is reminding me it is much more physical work than I'm used to. It's all good. I need the exercise. Now, if I could just stay out of those chocolate chips!

Here are your Tuesday links.

Festival of Frugality - May Day Festivities
Full of good ideas to save you money! My entry ((Low Cost (and Free) Flower Beds)) made the top ten! YES!

Money Stories
These are personal stories about money issues.

Postie Carnival
A little bit of this and a little bit of that from Pay Per Post Affiliates.

Carnival of Recipes - Quick and Easy
I may need some of these. We were working outside until after 8 yesterday. The kids go to bed at 9. Talk about needing a quick and easy meal!

Next week's edition is International Recipes. I love international food. Can't wait to see what is offered.

Carnival of Family Life
Jennifer did a wonderful job hosting this large, but great carnival.

Carnival of the Story Tellers
Stories to entertain. Some true some fiction.

Make It From Scratch

Michelle has announced this month's Write-Away Contest topic: vacations! Should be a good one!

Have a great day!