Archive for Farm Stuff

#36 Saturday Top Five Laughs

Saturdays Top Laughs dentistmelsbbutton-11

It is hard to believe we are inching closer and closer to a year for participating in the Saturday Top Five Laughs posts. But here we are joining The Mommyhood Chronicles on week #36 (for us)! Most of them will be compliments of Jr., our four year old.

5. “That smells yummy”, Jr. exclaimed as his 11-year-old brother made him some hot chocolate. A boy after my own heart!

4. Jr. went potty one day this week and announced, “I made a cow patty!”

3. You all know I get up at 2am most mornings to do two paper routes. On one particular morning, the children kept coming in and out of our room (hubby must have been otherwise occupied or else that usually does not occur) and I was getting a little exasperated. So the next time Jr. came in I gave him a look. My older girls call it my “dragon” look and Jr. simply looked at me and said, “Mommy, you look creepy.”

2. It is fly season. Living on a farm we are overrun with flies. After the first year here, we finally succumbed to those ugly sticky fly paper that hang from the ceiling. We have never hung one in our bedroom before but had to this week due to the amount of flies camping out in there. Hubby hung it by the light fixture, which happens to be over our six year old and four year old’s bed. Our six year old tells us, “I have nightmares about that fly trap falling on me.” Guess that would be freaky, if it happened, but it is held by a tack so it is pretty secure. Hubby knocked his head on it today, which was a close call. Good thing his hair is cut in pretty much a buzz cut! I just thought it was kind of funny that he said he had nightmares about it. I have not heard him waking up, just so you know!

1. Today I hear this high pitched screaming, then gobble-gobbles. I listen for a while and realize one or two of the younger children were doing the screaming in order to get the turkeys to gobble! Wish I could have recorded it, but it did not last very long, nor did I think of it until now. Turkeys are rather interesting to observe and listen to.


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#35 Saturday Top Five Laughs

Saturdays Top Laughs dentistmelsbbutton-11

We are joining Mel over at The Mommyhood Chronicles for week #35 (for us) in our Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week. I actually kept better track this week! Hoo-rah!

5. My 14 and 12 year old are sitting next to me and being rude and silly. Then when I made a face, my 14 year old gave an evil laugh and said she knew I was going to make that face hahahahaha!
I live with goofballs!​

4. I was eating frozen blueberries while working on my laptop and my 12-year-old son asked, “Mommy, are you going to eat your blueberries?” I said, “Yes, why are you eyeballing my blueberries?” He said he was and wanted to eat them. Then my 14-year-old tried to steal them! My blueberries just are not safe anymore!

3. My 12-year-old said, “I want to learn to say poop in every language. Then my life goal will be complete.” Oh the aspirations! ;)

2. $2.40 for an ear of corn!? NOT, but that’s what I came up with when I did the math the first time after my hubby came home with two big burlap bags with 48 ears in each. I was in sticker shock, ready to write to the farm stand until….I did the math again and came out with 41 cents/ear. Whew.

1. One of the children asked where another child was and our 14-year-old said, “She’s in her stall.” Then started laughing and I said, “That just made the Saturday Top Five Laughs list!” ;) We had just been talking about the animals and the sheep being in their stall so that’s why she came out with that.

What funny things have you done this week?


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#34 Saturday Top Five Laughs

Saturdays Top Laughs dentistmelsbbutton-11

Here it is Saturday once again….so we will be joining Mel over at The Mommyhood Chronicles for week #34 (for us) in our Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week, if I can scrounge up enough fun things to post!

5. Jr. says, “Ah no” when responding to us. It’s a line a minion says in the movie Despicable Me.

4. One of our goats (the one with horns) and our dog knocked each other out while head butting or doing whatever they were doing. One of the children found both of them laying on the ground next to one another. Crazy animals.

3. Hubby and our older two girls went to the library the other evening. I told Jr. that daddy would be back soon and his response was, “Daddy never come back!” He has been saying such weird/funny things lately. Such a goof ball!​

2. A little girl who saw cherub angels on TV and said, “Ewwww….naked babies! I see their nooples (nipples!)” Cute or what?

1. Someone dropped by this week and said, “One of your llamas is on the road.” Ahhhh….we do not have any llamas. They did not know the difference between goats and llamas. It made us chuckle!


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Can You Say Huge Farm Fresh Egg? – Wordless Wednesday

My daughter showed me this farm fresh egg last night and we could not help but wonder which hen laid this egg. She thinks it was a smaller one because the smaller hens are mighty when it comes to laying over sized eggs! Guess we will never really know.

FFR Huge Egg 090214


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#33 Saturday Top Five Laughs

Saturdays Top Laughs dentistmelsbbutton-11

I have been under the weather all week and really did not keep track of our funnies very well. And here it is Saturday once again….so we will be joining Mel over at The Mommyhood Chronicles for week #33 (for us) in our Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week, if I can scrounge up enough fun things to post!

5. I was playing with Jr. yesterday on our bed. He left and came back and I was eating frozen blueberries but I wasn’t playing with him any more so he goes, “Mommy play with me!” It was cute.

4. Jr. said to hubby, “Blaze has big eyes!” In case you forgot, Blaze is our horse.

FFR Dr. Jr._2 082014

3. Jr. was playing with my blood pressure cup and then started calling himself, Dr._____(and his name). Too cute.

FFR Dr. Jr. 082014

2. Our dog is confused. He’s attracted to our female sheep. Need I say more? Sigh.

1. Our oldest went away for the weekend to help her aunt with a trade show and Jr. goes, “Why did ‘Bobbie’ have to go? Me like her. Me want _____ to go.” He wanted his big brother to go away instead!


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Garden Harvest – Wordless Wednesday

Garden Harvest

The little ones raided the garden one day and found these organic veggies! Can you say yummy garden harvest?

FFR Children's hands full of veggies


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The Benefits of Organic Beef Over Traditional Beef

This is a partnered post.

Lately more and more food related articles can be seen in the headlines and on social media, which I think is great because consumers are becoming more aware of what they are eating and what they are putting into their bodies. From old news of mad cow disease to pink slime to buying all organic food and pastured meats, we are seeing an increase in interest and buying of organic, grassfed, NON-GMO products.

Organic Beef_

We use to buy traditional beef in the stores but stopped, finally, and ordered grassfed organic beef online from a farm which comes to the Green Market we sell at once a month. We order online and pick up on market day. It makes for very convenient ordering and buying.

So what are the benefits of organic beef over traditional beef?


The Benefits of Organic Beef Over Traditional Beef

Loony Acres Neighbor's Dutch Belted cows collage

1. No fillers (such as pink slime).

2. More Omegas-3 and much more nutritious. “In B-vitamins, beta-carotene (look for yellow fat), vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), vitamin K, and trace minerals like magnesium, calcium, and selenium. Studies show grass feeding results in higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid, the “good” naturally occurring trans fat.” (Source: marksdailyapple.com)

3. No pesticides or chemicals. Generally speaking, organic and grassfed farms do not use pesticides or any other chemicals.

4. Cattle are happier and healthier. There are less diseases and illness among grassfed beef, if raised correctly. The cows get plenty of sunshine, fresh air and pasture. Only if a cow is not performing well or does not possess the breeding qualities a farmer wants to continue putting into his or her herd, will he or she cull (kill) or sell the cow.

5. NON-GMO. Most organic farmers do not use GMO products. Take us for example, when we planted our pasture we used NON-GMO seeds. Our grain that we feed our cows is organic, NON-GMO.

6. Less fat content. Organic, grassfed beef is typically lower in fat than traditional beef. That is why it has to be cooked slightly differently than traditional beef. (see #2).

If you would like to buy organic beef, visit
http://www.americanfarmersnetwork.com/beef.html


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Week #27 Saturday Top Five Laughs

Saturdays Top Laughs dentistmelsbbutton-11

This week was a “barrel” of laughs from our three year old and our six year old, yet again! So without further adieu, we are joining Mel over at The Mommyhood Chronicles for week #27 (for us) in our Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week.

5. Three year old: ” Me take a bath? Me smell like soap!” He wanted to smell like soap. Gotta get that boy out of the “me” habit.

4. Six year old: “Mommy was I born with big eyes?”
Me: “Yes, you were born with big eyes.”
Six year old: “Yay! I was born with big eyes!”

3. Three year old: ” I want to walk to nanny’s house.” I laughed, my mom laughed and hubby laughed and all said that’s a loooonnnnngg way to walk…..1600 miles or thereabouts!

2. Three year old: “Mommy put in a pony tail!” His bangs were too long, but hubby cut them after this photo was taken.

FFR Jr.'s Pony Tail 072014

1. And Saturday top laughs wouldn’t be the same without a pet story. We are pet sitting and there are several different animals, but the funny is the outside dogs are fed in the mud room and allowed in the house, unless they are dirty. Well, last night we did not think to close the door from the mud room to the main area of the house but neither did we know how hard it was going to be to get them out when it was time to leave! Both dogs hid in the living room at first and just barked at us, then we coaxed the male out with dog treats but the female hid in the bedroom and wouldn’t come out. Treats were not a motivator. Finally, B just took her by her collar and walked her out. Novel idea, use the collar!

How was your week? Did you remember to laugh and enjoy your children’s antics? Or pets for that matter? Do tell!


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Why We Aren’t Taking a Family Vacation #PGeveryday #Sponsored

My husband and I love to travel, so do our children. We have traveled to Texas, Canada, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Minnesota and Iowa on family vacations or weekend trips. We always have fun, make memories and of course face challenges.

Travel Map of USA
Copyright: hamik / 123RF Stock Photo. Used with permission

It has been a number of years since we took a family vacation. Probably 2009, if I remember correctly. Money has been tight, plus we have chosen to become farmers. Summer is our busiest time on the farm with our CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture), markets, egg and chicken business. That is one of the downsides to farming. One of the agreements Robert and I had when we decided to farm was that we’d still take vacations. Well…we didn’t realize how long it would take to recover from a bout of unemployment nor did we expect another season of unemployment so soon.

FFR CSA Week 2 062514

Like the author of this article on P&Geveryday™ titled, Why We’re Skipping Summer Vacation, I admit it is kind of hard sometimes when we hear of others taking their family vacation. I also confess to being green with envy sometimes. But like Christie Tate and her husband, we realize this is the season of life we are in. Extended family vacations are not in the cards for us due to our commitments at home.

That does not mean we cannot take day trips to Chicago to visit museums, the zoo, Navy Pier or the Shedd Aquarium or travel other short distances. It just means it will take a bit of planning on our part to make sure everything at home is taken care of first.

P&Geveryday™ has a section on Travel Tips that will be useful to parents planning trips with children. P&Geveryday™is committed to making every day just a little easier by helping you achieve a life full of rewarding moments. Every day. The site aims to inspire, support and empower you to unlock the extraordinary potential in your everyday life. It offers a variety of topics, helpful articles for family life, delicious recipes for the 4th of July, etc. Check out their informative P&Geveryday Facebook page too.

Do you plan on taking a family vacation this summer? If so, where? If not, why not?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.


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Returning a Gift – Wordless Wednesday

Have you ever tried to surprise someone? It takes a lot of work and secrecy, even then plans can be thwarted. We successfully surprised our 14 year old daughter three weeks ago with the gift of a Palomino horse (she’s a quarter horse), on the condition that we’d keep her if she passed the vet’s pre-purchase exam. Sandy is an 18 year old Quarter horse, give or take according to the vet’s look at her teeth.

FFR Sandy Cheeks Palomino

Over a week ago the vet did a pre-purchase exam and could not pass Sandy based on some lameness issues. The issues are fixable but would cost money and could cost us a good horse if she went completely lame. :( We were hoping for an easy keeper since Blaze his a hard keeper.

lameness
lame
1 [leym] Show IPA
adjective, lam·er, lam·est.
1.
crippled or physically disabled, especially in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.
2.
impaired or disabled through defect or injury: a lame arm.
3.
weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy: a lame excuse.
4.
Slang. out of touch with modern fads or trends; unsophisticated.
verb (used with object), lamed, lam·ing.
5.
to make lame or defective.

We had hoped to keep Sandy for a good long time and let her get her weight up on our yummy pasture. Her stables do not have access to pasture. The horses live in their stalls.

So we say good-bye to Sandy tomorrow evening when her owner comes to pick her up. We had her here on a trial basis. Kind of sad to see her go. Our daughter is handling it like a champ and we are proud of her.

It is hard as a parent to successfully surprise your child with a gift she’s wanted since she was nine and then to have to turn around and return the gift.

Have you ever had to return a much wanted gift?


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