Family Fun

Family Fun

Friday, January 29, 2010

Brian stayed home from work today. I highly doubt there would have been many customers looking to get pierced during our worst storm of the season, but you never know. It would not have been worthwhile to drive to Tulsa and back for just 1 or 2 people though. Thanks to papertoys.com we had alot of fun. 6/9ths of us played outside for a bit. Even with near whiteout conditions it was awesome. Brian and I walked together to take care of the neighbors beautiful Gypsy Vanner horses. They are a sweet bunch, albeit rather intimadating in a herd like that. It was so peaceful...walking in the snow, hearing our boots crunching, just he and I. He is such a gem, still makes me feel so lucky to have him as mine.
The cinnamon rolls in the bread machine were a HUGE hit. They were easily better than store bought, and really were not difficult to make. It did take almost 2 hrs, but that was 1.5 hrs in the bread machine on the dough cycle.Really not bad, and a great treat that the kids will get once a week. The blueberries on the side made it better for all of us though!
I am thrilled that Logan is truly reading now.He didn't even stumble...once he got it he just ran! Still working with Gavin, he is getting eager which is what I have been watching for. Christian got eager to read and then took off, same with Logan. Oh, how spoiled I was with Trinity. She just read starting at age 4. That's how I did it too. I never expected I would have late readers, never thought I would deal with the disapproval that (especially) homeschoolers face when their child is not ahead of the game. Griffon should read this year also, and Jubilee is showing pre reading skills already, so hopefully the struggling will have been confined to Christian, Gavin, and Logan.I am so proud of them though, that even as non readers they have always had a zest for books.
The guineas are locked up with the chickens tonight. We tried shooing them out so they would go home to Bill( a convicted child molester who lives two houses away, who free ranges his birds but comes knocking to ask where they are if they stay here) but they kept perching in the trees by the hen house. I really don't want them to get eaten, and with this weather and the knowledge that they would just perch in the trees, we let them stay. And will from now on. They are still his, we just feed them and enjoy seeing them around. I think the female has been laying in the laying box, but really...how am I going to know what egg is hers from 16 eggs? I get stuck in regards to my feelings about Bill. He is crazy...literally not all there. He is at least 75, probably more like 85. He comes on our property often, in a skulking kind of way. He reminds me of Gollum...I am horrified by the thought of what he has done, but I pity him for his current state also.Not enough to invite him near my children, but I have often thought of taking some baked goods to him. I do NOT want him to feel like he is welcome near the kids though, and it seems a hard line to see.
My nose is so runny, and my nostril piercing is getting agravated. I have a small bump(scar tissue building up) that bugs me to see. I did sea salt soaks to no avail, and emu oil made no noticable difference, but peroxide has helped alot. The congestion going away would be a good thing though.
Time to tend the fire.
Busy morning so far...I will be back in a bit to write more. I am making bread machine cinnamon rolls that look amazing. I got the recipe off the money saving mom blog on FB. I also am entering to win a cool homesteading video on the blog here: http://newlifeonahomestead.com/ . That would be very cool! So anyway...be back soon.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

There is supposed to be an ice storm headin in tomorrow. The predictions make it sound as if it will be worse than the 07 storm that knocked out our power for 2+ weeks, a thought that has me sick. I am not actually fearing the storm, but a feeling of dread fills my stomache as I recall trying to keep us all warm and put on a happy face for two dirty and frigid weeks sleeping in one room of 8 people.
I have stacked wood in the laundry room, we have a stocked pantry, and I will spend the day cooking tomorrow so we will have ready to eat food. The generator will be ready, water is on hand. I hope we do not need to use any of this precautinary stuff, but definately better safe than sorry. Brian is kinda excited to use the snow chains some more.*eyeroll* Silly man...
I completely redid my school area, deep cleaned and decluttered the library, deep cleaned and decluttered the master bathroom.It is some kind of odd nesting, except I am not pregnant.It feels good to simplify our already simple stuff though.
I have been doing good with the coupons. We save a consistant 15 dollars each trip. I know there are families that do way better, but this is working for us. So we save what we can, and plan on enlarging the gardens, plan on getting our piglets, and being as self sufficient as we can for right now. We should be getting about 8-10 chicks in a week or so. :)
The kids are playing happily outside...it is beautiful. There is a slight cloudiness, but the sun is shining and jackets are not even needed. Very nice winter weather :P ...a great precursor to ice storms.
We will be feeding the neighbours horses while they go to a show again, and M called to iron out details this morning. She wants to pay us for being neighborly, which I prefer her not to do. She really pushed though, and offered to bring over a round bale for the donkeys and llama which would be a HUGE help to us, so I reluctantly, but happily agreed. This feels extremely uneven though, so I need to cook up some goodies to help balance things a but more.

Friday, January 15, 2010

I figured I would blog about our loverly animals today. It is a gorgeous foggy day and I spent a good portion outside working to the sweet birdsounds of 20+ chickens and two loud guineas. We have a rooster named Goliath(black Jersey Giant), a bantam roosetr who I don't know the name of, a bantam rooster named Dusty, and a flock of prolific egg laying hens. We get 6 on a bad day, 20 on a great day. Pink, brown, green, and white. We will be getting more hens in a couple months to supplement the pigs with eggs.
Twinkie is our yellow lab. She is old, moves slow, and allows the baby to climb all over her. She smells bad at times, but I can not imagine a sweeter dog,ever. We got her from the pound two years ago and she is Christian's best friend.
Tigger is our orange inside cat. He is old, ashmatic, and aloof. We got him from the pound 9 years ago and he has been a really great cat.
Panther is our black outside tomcat. He is Very aloof, a fantastic survivor, and surprisingly cool to have around. Most of our cats have vanished outdoors(coyotes, stray dogs, any number of predators) but he stays alive and dominates. We got him from a friend of my sisters.
There are 4 fish in 2 tanks. I don't care for fish, they are not mine, but I do feed them.
There is Copper. He is a royal(or ball) python and has grown alot since we got him for Gavin's birthday in June. He eats live mice, fast thankfully, but still. I will hold him if someone has him out, but I do not stick my hand into his home and I don't particularly care to hold him. He is beautiful though, and I marvel at God's diversity in animals.
Two donkeys reside out back. Not little grey cute donkeys, large black pretty girls. They came to us as a rescue mission, and Brian adores them. They are good for nothing right now(as in we can't ride them until they are older) but they are still pretty cool. Cuzco the llama lives with them. Brian called me one day and said he bought a llama. WHy? Because he could. Yes, he spits, but only at the donkeys.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Tulsa Zoo Tragedy

Yet another animal has died at the Tulsa Zoo. They just brought in two females to breed with the male giraffe and both have died. The giraffes arrived in October and the first one died in Dec, the second one died yesterday. Although they are a good zoo I can't help but think they have an unusually high animal mortality rate. The two brown bears also died last year, the polar bear died. I think this is going to bring a huge amount of negative publicity, maybe some cut funding, and it will all really hurt the zoo.
I think I am going to get some decor for my hair. I like the peyote stitches alot and they seem a bit more natural looking than the beads, although I like the beads too.
I am going to do my placenta print tree of life this week. I found one on the web that I am going to model mine after, it was beautiful!!!I want to use reds, oranges, and several greens to accent it, and possibly coat it with a sparkle gold dust. I am nervous...I only have the one placenta so I really need to get it right!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

It is chilly today! I coincided turning down the thermostat with the coldest day since 1980something here in our piece of Oklahoma. Lol...I woke up thinking how this wasn't so bad...I was even a bit toasty. I started chores...was actually really toasty. Hmm...I checked and the heat was at 73! Brian got home, didn't know about our(the kids and mine)idea. So he turned the heat up to be helpful. Sweet, silly man. He will be in for it tonight.It is going to be a windchill of -20.The heat is again set at 65.I put blankets at the windows, everyone has socks on, and they said they will sleep with nightcaps on hehe.
We had latkes(potato pancakes) today to go with Story of the World lesson on the end of the Jewish Nation. They were very tasty.We ate them with ketchup instead of jam though. Noone wanted to try jam or sugar on hashbrowns.Not even me.
I read about large Blacks(hogs) and bees today. I still want to do bees, but am not thrilled to do the large blacks. They are Brian's first choice by a long shot though.We are getting berkshires this year anyhow, as we will have to get on a waiting list for the Large Blacks, and find a true breeder anyway.
I am going to attempt more with photography this year...I want some of those really fun and abstract pics that I see on other blogs. In fact...I am going to try some tonight.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

I turned the thermostat down to 65...it feels sooooo cold to me now. I know alot of people keep it here and always have.I am not one of those people. I despise having cold feet.Or a cold nose. Or cold anything. I despise the thought that my discomfort in an area that I can physically adjust could impact my future generations in a much bigger way! SO I turned it down 6 degrees. I am a pretty stubborn(in a good way) person so I believe it will stay down for the winter. The kids always cheer these projects on, and I rejoice to think that a new generation of earth loving enviromentalists is being raised. Good stewards of the earth, in Jesus name!!!
We did a great science lesson today, the best part was reading about George Washington Carver. I was pretty frustrated that the book portrayed his "owners" as such good people for giving him their last name and raising him after his mom was stolen and lost, but they were still slave owners! He had such a tragic beginning, yet rose to be one of the MOST admirable men I have read about. It was a fantastic way to show the kids someone who lived their morales.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Clearing out

Griffon is doing much better.His face is still grotesquely swollen, but it is not swelling further. He threw up so very much throughout the night because of the antibiotics though :( .
Trinity and I went on a nature walk this morning to get some photos for her American Girl contest. We got several great ones, but the closeness, conversation , and the deer we saw were far greater rewards! As we were walking and chatting a deer rustled about 50 feet from us and bounded away! It was majestic and breathtaking. Trinity is the first of the kids to see a deer on our property. We want to make these walks a staple.
I am donating a ton of stuff. Because it is stuff. Not that we don't use it...not that we don't like it. Because it is stuff and bogs down our life. I do not want to have things to make us feel good or fulfilled. The kids are so on board with this. I am also going to strive to not buy new unless there is no used option. No new shoes, clothes, things. Ebay, Etsy, Craigslist, Thrift stores.I think this will make a huge difference this year! I am going to track our money fiercely. We spent on average 400 dollars per week on groceries last year. The past month I was frugal and clipped coupons and got that down to 200 per week. We cut fast food almost entirely and only went to a resteraunt one time. I would rather go to a resteraunt a little more often...it is good for my spirit to eat in a fun enviorment with the family.