Thursday, June 18, 2015

A normal Wednesday morning at our house...

I hope your Wednesday was as beautiful as ours!  The weather was perfect, the sun was perfect, lots got done around the house and farm, no complaints here!

In the morning, the kids had their 4-H cattle out for walks and baths.  I took pictures of the kids' yearling heifers.  They are actually aunt and niece, I think...  I know for sure that Bossy (Danny's first heifer, now 6 year old cow?) is mother to one, and grandmother to another.  You can keep trying to figure it out, but I --for one-- am on vacation.

Don't you think this picture needs a caption?
Carrie's choice:  Blair says, "Beth, can you keep a secret?"
Drew's choice:  Blair says,  "Mmmm... Beth, your face tastes yummy!"
Holly's choice:  Blair says, " Tastes like rope!"


Leave your suggestion in the comments below!

And finally, here's a picture of Holly all by herself.  Isn't she a doll?


P.S. I've already ordered a 5 x 7 for my desk at work :)

Thursday, June 11, 2015

It is so good to have a sister!

The day Emma was born, the delivery room nurse said, "This is the best gift you'll ever give your older daughter", and how right she is.  I know my own sister is one of my greatest treasurers!

It rained today, so that meant staying inside.  Holly decided it would be a good day to start her sewing project for 4-H.  She bought some material with jelly beans on it last spring, with the intention of making pajama pants.  Holly's been reading through the project book and decided maybe this year we should start with the skirt.  But, she seems to be over the jelly bean thing, so I suggested that she make a "practice" skirt for Emma out of the material!  (This was also a great way to force us into making a second skirt, since she'll have to model her piece on judging day.  She can't model Emma's skirt, so we can't slack off now!)

Emma was the most obliging fashion model you'll ever meet.  It was "take your jeans off", then "put your jeans back on, it'll be a while", then "take them off again and try on the skirt--watch out for the pins!", then, "okay, take it off again"...

Holly had a lot of fun measuring her and making the skirt for her!  She was so proud of how well it fit and how much Emma liked it!

Holly did a great job for her first try! She remembered a lot of the things we learned at the sewing clinic last February. She is thinking of using something black and white for a more  "classic" type skirt, to be worn with a black sweater and black sandals.

Saturday, June 6, 2015

An afternoon well spent...

Danny received a new fishing pole from his aunt and uncle for his birthday/promotion/confirmation present and wanted to christen it at his favorite fishing spot, a private pond owned by some friends who live "across the country block" as they say.

We picked up his best fishing buddy and we headed over.
The kids headed off to the "Best Spot" on the other side of the lake while I sat down in their beautiful gazebo and began my mental list of all the things I should be doing:

  • cleaning up the kitchen from lunch (we had to rush out in a hurry)
  • folding the 6 loads of laundry on my bed
  • cleaning out closets,
  • vacuuming behind the washer and dryer 
  • sorting through the hats&gloves&mittens&winter coats that all need to be laundered and put away
  • I'll stop boring you with the list now.
After a while, though, the serenity sunk in and I decided to just relax.  

It was a GORGEOUS day!  Not too hot, a slight breeze, the fish were biting, and my kids were NOT fighting with each other!

And here is the miracle in it all:  When I got home the kitchen wasn't really the disaster area I had in my mind, it only took a few minutes to load the dishwasher and wipe down the counters!  Also, the closets still haven't been sorted through, but yet we are somehow all still alive.  Weird, right? Maybe it IS okay to sit back and relax on a beautiful Thursday afternoon and spend time with my children, doing something other than chores!

Hmm... I'll have to try it again to see if it was perhaps an isolated incident...

Thursday, June 4, 2015

The annual well-baby visit...

Yesterday the calves had their well-baby check ups!



We had lots of helpful hands, including my cousin's son, Jake.  He was the lucky winner of the "hold the tail" job.  He also had to push the calves into the head-gate and then out of it when the shots were finished.


 The calves were counted,
vaccinated for pink eye and given a dewormer,
 and implanted with a growth hormone to boost production performance.  After spending all of about a minute and a half in the chute, they were sent on their way, back out to the nice green grass and shady trees!












In today's media, there is so much bad information about growth implants, but here are some FACTS:
  • a 3 ounce serving of non-implanted beef contains 1.3 nanograms of estrogen
  • a 3 ounce serving of implanted beef contains 1.85 nanograms of estrogen
  • a 3 ounce serving of peas contains 341 nanograms of estrogen,
and it was explained to me (by our nutritionist from Dekalb Feeds) that a nanogram is equivalent to 1 blade of grass on a football field. For more information, click here to read more from the University of Nebraska.

The cows also got to take a turn in the chute, too, receiving a new fly tag and a splash of de-louser.  These will keep them SO much more comfortable this summer!  You know what they say, "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"!

My job was to stay out of the way and take farm-girl selfies!