Farm Day 2010

This was an interesting year for our annual Farm Day....I cancelled it b/c the radar was showing ALL GREEN for the entire afternoon...then an hour or so before the party I uncancelled it b/c the sun was shining. About half the folks who were set to join us still came and we ended up having a super time with perfect weather (there was only one small shower)...
The kids did some silly band trading, petted the goats, swam in our new and improved baby pool,jumped on the trampoline, played with our dogs, fed our big horses some yummy treats, ate homeade chocolate ice cream, rode Patty-Cake, got eggs from the chickens, enjoyed the Power Wheels, hiked to the waterfall, swam in the waterfall (even I went under this time with HC and Faith), and enjoyed the zip line and tire swing. The kids were nasty and exhausted when they left so I considered it a good time!
I look forward every year to sharing our place and enjoying our farm with friends. I hope to do it again in the fall.

A morning in my life...

Today I have been a wolf, a dog, a hen ... yes, I am a full-time mother these days. I have made breakfast, cleaned it up, made beds, changed/brushed/fixed kids for the day, picked up toys, read books, put aways clothes, cleaned pancacke syrup off of every nook and cranny of the kitchen (and the TV??), washed down doors that have who knows what stuck on them (I am hoping the dark stuff is ice cream sandwich residue?),wrote up a few recipes I want to try (see below), refereed a few fights, taken kids down out of dangerous places and played a load of games in between. I have mastered playing hide and seek WHILE putting aways laundry. Caleb just needs to learn not to shout out, "in here!" while I am searching. I don't work full-time, but it is still refreshing to not have to grade papers, plan classes, read classic literature or look at MLA citations for the summer!

School is out and we have had a good morning just being home. Jeb has whoooped me in Ice Age DVD game and in foozball. Papa D rescued this foozball table from going to the dump. It does not have legs, so I put it outside on a card table that we had...perfect! Now I can keep up with Caleb and hone my fooz skills while entertaining Jeb! Jonas and I are going to start having some serious competitions when we put the kids down to bed!

Jeb and I started subtraction today and that was interesting and was a test of my patience.


Ranch Mashed Potatoes
3lbs red potatoes, ¼ c. milk, ½-1 stick butter, 1 cup cheese, 1 pkg ranch seasoning, ½ cup bacon and pepper to taste.
Partially peel potatoes, cut them into smaller pieces, rince, boil and cook til tender. Mash and add ranch/pepper. Mix in butter/milk. Add cheese, bacon, and mix.

Greek Chicken
2tbsp flour, ½ tsp salt, pepper, 1/4lb feta cheese, 1 tbsp lemon juice,1 tsp. oregano, 6 chicken breasts, 2 tbsp olive oil, 11/2 c. water, 1 cube chicken boullion, crumbled, 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, 1 ripe tomato, chopped.

1. Combine flour, salt, pepper,. Set aside. In small bowl, combine cheese, lemon juice, oregano.
2. With mallet pound chicken and spread cheese over leaving ½ inch border. Fold breasts in half, secure with toothpick..coat each with chicken breasts.
3. In large sillket heat oil an cook breast for 2 mins on each side. In small bowl whisk water, boullion, and remaining flour and pour over chicken. Add spinach ande tomato to skillet and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer 8-10 mins. Discard toothpicks.

Cheddar Sausage Muffins
1lb sausage, 1 can cheddar cheese soup, 1 cup cheddar cheese, 2/3 cup water, 3 cup Bisquick.
Brown sausage on med heat, drain. In sep. bowl, combine soup, cheese and water. Stir in biscuit mix. Add sausage and mix. Fill muffin cups ¾ full. Backe at 350 20-25 mins.


Sausage Dip
1 roll sausage cooked/drained
1 pkg cream cheese
1 can rotell
Add sausage, cheese, rotell in crockpot –heat and stir. Serve with tortilla chips.

CrockPot Salsa Chicken
Chicken breast, 1 pkg taco seasoning, sour cream, 1 cup salsa, 1 can cream of mushroom soup.
Put chicken in crockpot, sprinkle over seasoning, add salsa, then soup. Cook on low 6-8 hours then when you remove from heat add sour cream. Serve with Mexi-Rice.

Holy Smoke
Crust: 1 cup flour, 1 cup pecans, 1 stick margarine…Melt marg. Then add flour and nuts. Mix and press into 9/13 dish. Bake 350 for 20-25 mins. Let cool completely.
First layer: 1 cup pwdr sugar, 1 8 oz. cream cheese, 1 cup cool whip and mix and put on crust.
2nd layer: 1 lg. pkge choc pudding
3rd layer: spread on cool whip…grate Hershey bar or crumble any candy bar on top. Refrig. 1 hour.


Mozzarella Chicken Rollups
2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened
1/4 cup finely chopped green peppers
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.), pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1 cup spaghetti sauce
HEAT oven to 400°F.MIX first 4 ingredients until well blended; stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella. PLACE chicken, top-sides down, on work surface; top with cheese mixture. Starting at one short end, tightly roll up each breast, tucking in ends of chicken to completely enclose filling. Place, seam-side down, in 9-inch square baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Top with spaghetti sauce; cover. BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella; bake, uncovered, 3 to 5 min. or until melted.
Egg and Cheese Waffle Sandwich
HEAT oven to 400°F. Generously COAT baking sheet with cooking spray. PLACE waffles on baking sheet.
SPOON egg over waffles, spreading to fill cavities. BAKE in 400°F oven until egg is set and waffles are crisp, 10 to 12 minutes.
TOP one waffle with cheese. COVER with remaining waffle and press together. LET STAND 1 minute to allow cheese to melt.

Things around that make me happy!

Matthew 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Reminds me that God DOES care about the little things...
Both of my grandmothers LOVED flowers and gardening and apprarently those roots run deep. Both of them would take pictures of the plants they loved so I have started doing some of the same! Each one is a treasure from God and I am amazed at the joy they bring me each spring when they arrive. They remind me as they die and bloom that indeed== His mercies are new every morning...
I now get my exercising during the days chasing boys on their Power Wheels and walking around the yard enjoying the plants that my "yard boy lover" has planted or that I have planted myself. They seriously bring me great joy. I have started to make arrangements from my plants to bring inside each week and enjoy on my kitchen counter (see pic). The magnolia (see pic) is Jeb's tree and I take his pic in front of it each Mother's Day to watch it grow and see how he has grown. The weeping cherry (see another earlier blog on that lovely tree) is Cay's and I am taking his pic in front of it. There was much weeping before his arrival, but the cherry blossom on it remind of the sweetness of waiting on God in his situation/birth. The day I bought the tree was the day of my miscarriage exactly one year (3/29) before his birth on 3/29 the next year. The hydrangeas at the hammock are reminders of my wedding and the gorgeous hydrangea blooms that I carried that very wonderful day! They are still my all-time favorite flower. The yellow daffodils were given to me by one of my best buds and they remind me of her and of how much I love yellow! The rose bush is like a tie-dyed rose this year...last year it was white..I think that is super cool. The red bud reminds me of LOVE since I have always loved the Red Bud leaves that are heart-shaped at the tennis club and I LOVE tennis! I think every time I walk by that tree that God must have done that on purpose. The hosta remind me of my dear grandmother who loved to get down and dig and I enjoy having lots of varieties of them to grow/divide/enjoy and give away! The blackberries and blueberries are also things I love and can't wait to eat. I always laugh about mid-summer when the boys eat so many their poop is BLACK. They get berries all over their face and hands and generally ruin a few outfits a year eating berries. The blackberries are from Mr. Ray and will alwasy remind me of the special friendship that we share with our 80-something year-old neighbors. They are so fun. Also, this year we are planting lettuce thanks to Ray's example. It has been a fun project for the kids and I to watch it come up! We will have our first salad this next month! The eggs are so pretty that our chickens are working hard making every day. We like to watch them and they are quite opinionated which fits me perfectly. Those ladies do not take any junk. When Bailey or Sherman or Sgt. try to chat with them they have a hissy fit and when I tried to put in golf balls to fool them into sitting on their eggs so the boys can have chicks they kicked all the golf balls out to show me who was boss! They must have worked all day to get those out of the nesting box and into a another area. Mr. Ray says that he eats eggs everyday and is donig GREAT at 80-something so I am eating more eggs these days and worrying less about the choloesterol hype. It is quite freeing.
Jeb is ending school this week and that, too, is making me happy. However, it is tempered with sadness knowing that the next 8 weeks are our last to have full days together. Our life is seriously about to change and although I am good with change in and of itself this one is still going to tear me apart and rock my world.
We have a new goat in our herd....Welcome Buttercup!

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Song of Solomon 2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

Mountain Memories Pt.II

The last day of our camping trip Nana came up and brought B and K to come hiking with us! The boys enjoyed at picnic in NC and climbing up some huge rocks. Then, we hiked a mile or so to Bearwallow Falls. After that, we loaded up and visited Whitewater Falls; it is a 411 foot fall and it was so majestic. They hiked 2 miles and I was so proud of all of them for making it with very little complaining! They even found a huge centipede that entertained them for a while. Next, we visited our local fish hatcher and they got to "pet" some trout of all sizes. Finally, we got to put our toes in the river. Bradley and I fjorded the river and were the toughest of the bunch to make it across the icy cold river. The boys (and Jonas) had a tough man contest to see who could go under/across, and stay in the longest and Bradley won! He was amazing. We ended the day with a burger and blizzard at Dairy Queen...that place is nasty but the food hits the spot.

Mountain Memories...Pt. 1

We had our 5th trip in our camper this weekend and it was again--a blast! We had family with us and good friends. We rode bikes, ate yummy food, laughed, chased on the playground until exhaustion, made lots of puppy friends, made a load of smores, and had some good hiking adventures (next post).
Funny thing I don't want to forget:
---Jonas almost killing himself chasing a 5th grader almost into a pole, a fence, and a tree during playground freeze tag. I laughed till I hurt and B almost barfed he was laughing so hard. As J would say later, "it was not his proudest moment." There were a few injuries during playground freeze tag.
--T and Jeb can now start their own bikes and ride on gravel like champs...even making on some uphill jaunts that taxed me.
---Cay likes to get out of the camper FIRST thing in the morning and walk around in his PJ's playing trucks and helping start the fire.
---Jonas builds enormous camp fires even if it is 80 degrees.
---The kids begging to bike before breakfast, after breakfast, before lunch, after lunch, before supper, after supper...you get the picture.
---"The Bear" that was in the woods (up in the trees supposedly) ...it was really Jonas but Caleb NEVER forgot it for 3 days he was looking for the bear!
---Caleb is doing really well at saying everyone's names in the sweetest baby way possible and that warmed my heart. He is so loved by so many ...we are so blessed, thank you God.
---Jonas is an A+ hubby b/c he does all the dishes/cooking when camping and that is such a refreshing break for me. He also has the coffee ready when I wake up in the am (just like home)!
---How the boys collapse into bed and never move till morning b/c they are so exhausted.
---asking "where is Caleb" two-hundred thousand times. He is FAST.
---watching Caleb manuever the putt-putt course like it is a jungle gym with holes.
---hearing Jeb whine when camping is over..he is pooped out...but is sad to pack up.
---playing spaids with Sonya--she whooped tail...hopefully not rookie luck!
---eating real bacon each morning!
---watching the kids eat massive amounts of marshmellows

Jenny and Jess brought their new pup and the kids never let the pup's feet hit the ground. Caleb was especially fond of the little gal.
Papa D and Nana Mac came up and grilled burgers and ate supper with us on Friday night. Jeanie and Dave stopped by to say hello and Jameson stayed with us Friday and Saturday. Then, on Sunday Nana brought up Bradley and Kyler for our hiking advenuture in NC (see next post).