Showing goats
This week is the Big Butler Fair! We entered some of our goats in the Fair and Erik and the kids showed them this past Monday.
It was a HOT HOT HOT day. Unbearably hot. The kind of hot where you wake up in the morning and say to yourself, "Who moved our house onto the surface of the sun while we were sleeping?" Miserably hot and humid at 7 am and it just continued to get more hot and humid as the day progressed. The show didn't start until 12:30 pm which meant that the kids & Erik had to go to the fair wearing one outfit and had to get dressed in their show clothes (white shirt, black pants & boots) at the fair. I stayed up late the previous night (July 4) creating and ironing on decals displaying our farm logo so I didn't get up and leave as early as Erik did the morning of the show. I'm glad because it was torture walking from the car to the goat barn and then sitting in the dairy cow barn watching the goat show. Imagine a huge steel barn, a few hundred dairy cattle, stifling heat, and all of us holding onto a goat (or two). I can't remember being so hot!
So, to sum it up, in case you haven't figured it out yet, it was hot.
The children did a great job showing their goats. I took some pictures to document the event, and unfortunately, they didn't all turn out so great. The "show ring" was in the center of the dairy barn, which was also in the center of the barn where people walked through to see the dairy cows. This created a lot of motion and caused my camera to not focus too well. I was shooting on Auto mode because I knew there would be times when I wouldn't be behind the lens, so I wanted to be able to get everything. I also was running late that morning and forgot to switch lenses which also affected my photos. Anyway, the pictures still tell a great story so here it is:
This is the pee wee showmanship class. The lady on the left is the judge. She's talking to each child, asking them the name and age of their goat, the breed of the goat and a few other general questions. The point of this class is to get young children used to showing an animal, listening to the judge and answering questions with ease. Notice my Maggie May in the center, hand on her hip. Her goat is not lined up as it should be and she doesn't care. Walker is earnestly trying to keep his goat "set up" (keeping the legs positioned in such a way as to show off the goats muscle & bone structure) and is very eager to please the judge.
Maggie continues to wait for the judge to get to her.
Here's the entire class lined up allowing the judge to examine the front ends of the goats. Walker is showing Carmella Cream. Carmella has two babies that she is desperate to nurse. We had to milk Carmella last night and not allow her babies to have access to her because the judge needed to see her bag and udder structure on the day of the show. I desperately felt Carmella's pain of not being able to feed her babies for over 12 hours. She called out to her babies and they returned the call, which created some difficulty for Maggie & Will who were showing the babies.
Here is the judge examining Will's little goat, Veronica. He man-handled her something fierce. Veronica is only 4 weeks old and all she wanted to do is get to her mom and nurse.
Maggie & Will are having some trouble keeping their baby goats in line because they can hear their mother a few feet away and all they want to do is eat.
Now the children have to lead their goats in a short walk in a circle around the ring. They do this to demonstrate how the goat stands on her feet. They also do it to show that they work with their animals and have control over them. Walker did a very good job of leading Carmella, but Maggie and Will had no such luck. Their goats were jumping and bucking and a little out of control.
This is Will's attempt to get his goat, Veronica, set up and under control. He is such a bull he just uses brute force to get things to do what he wants. He was determined to get Veronica to stand if it killed him!
The judge was very sweet and gave all of the pee-wee competitors a blue ribbon. She said they all did a great job of knowing their goats name, breed and age. All of the children were so excited to get a blue ribbon.
Will shows off his ribbon.
"Look Momma! I got a bwue one!"
Maggie is now showing in a new class.
She takes second place.
And Reserve Grand Champion.
And Will eats some lunch.
Maggie sets up her goat. She's showing Veronica this time.
Maggie gets her ribbons from the Fair Queen.
And Maggie showing off her ribbons.
This is Walker showing Carmella Cream. He is the only competitor in this class so he wins first place and the Grand Champion ribbons.
Here's a photo of a boy who is so excited he just won two awesome ribbons and doesn't have any clue that he won basically because there were no other competitors in his class. As he would say, "SWEET!" (insert fist pump here)
Here is Walker showing one of our Boer goats - the goats we primarily intend to show at future events. To be entirely truthful, we only entered Carmella and her babies because we (Erik) thought you got admission passes based on how many animals you had entered in the shows. We entered five goats so he assumed we'd get five passes. Unfortunately, it's based on WHO registers them and since Erik registered all of our entries in his name, we only got one pass. Ooops.
Anyway, Walker showed Miss Hulk up against a 21 year old girl. He did a pretty great job winning the class.
We were very proud of him.
The part of the story you won't see illustrated is that after the next class, Erik and Walker had to take one of the goats back to the pens because she was feeling sick. While he was doing that, they called for Miss Hulk to be shown again for the best in show competition. Maggie and Will were not strong enough to handle Miss Hulk, so guess who was left showing a goat? ME! I had no idea what I was doing or if I even showed Miss Hulk off to her best potential, but I was in that ring showing her off. I did not win a ribbon.
The children all felt sorry for me so they said they would share their ribbons with me.
I've got such nice children.
Now we're gearing up for the Butler Farm Show in August.
Unless it's as miserably hot as it has been during Fair week. Then I'm defecting.
My Morning
It's a beautiful morning here at Goodness Grows Farm. After a very late night of fitting goats (that means using a clipper to trim their fur in a way that highlights their positive attributes and hides their flaws - I also view this as trickery and do not think fitting animals should be permitted in shows, but that is an entire different post) and a very late supper, we are off to a semi-slow start this morning. Well, the children are at least. Erik was up at 5:30 to get his equipment ready and loaded to travel to South Pointe to work with Western Pennsylvania Geothermal to complete a Geothermal project. I was up at 6:45 to tend to Whit.
Maggie woke around 8:30. She laid down on the couch and I put Whitaker next to her and this is what happened:
Then I decided to go outside and pull some of the mint that is growing everywhere in my one flower bed. I'm not opposed to it running wild as it has - I knew it was a terribly invasive plant, but it's starting to cover the steps leading to the play set, so I wanted to pull some of the stuff covering the steps. As I reach down to pull some of the mint out, I see this:
Our friendly (but scary) garter snake. I know he is good to have around the house - I just don't like seeing him so much! He's been getting around quite a bit. I'm not sure I like that so much!
Being out in that flower bed led me to see this:
Maggie woke around 8:30. She laid down on the couch and I put Whitaker next to her and this is what happened:
Being out in that flower bed led me to see this:
My dad gave the kids big pumpkins last October for Halloween. We put them on our stone steps and didn't throw them out before the first snowfall. After a long winter of massive snowfalls, the pumpkins had rotted and decayed leaving nothing but a large pile of seeds that had started to sprout. I threw the seeds off to the side - not even scraping up any dirt for them to root into. A month or so later, here is my pumpkin patch. I couldn't figure out what those pretty yellow flowers were in that part of the bed - I knew I hadn't planted anything there. How exciting. Although, if they grow anything like the last batch of pumpkins I tried to do - Big Max Pumpkins - everyone will be pretty disappointed. My Big Max's turned out to look more like "little oranges."
Not even a two year old gets excited about carving a little orange!
Time in Perspective
When this guy got on the school bus for the very first time to go to Kindergarten:
This guy was just a figment of our imaginations:
Whitaker
It's amazing how fast life can change. It still feels like yesterday that this guy was born:
Walker
And now six and a half years later, he's having his last day of Kindergarten!
First day: Almost last day:
I can't even believe this outfit still fits him. I'm glad to see at least that the shorts are a little shorter on him 10 months later. If only his hair was a little longer!
Hope you all are having a wonderful summer and the rest of summer brings you great joy and countless memories!
Randomness 1-16
1) I would not have made it through the last 4 weeks without the help of my very good friend seen here:
I only have one at lunch time and somedays I want to cry with joy at the cold fizz sliding down my throat. Most days I'm praying that the cold fizz will provide me that extra boost around supper time, as all mother's know is the "witching hour" when I'm at my most tired and all hell seems to break loose in and around the house.
2) Whit is an absolute angel. He sleeps and eats and dirties diapers. He's just starting to have more "awake" time during the day and shows extreme fascination with my hair line. I highly suggest to all blond mothers that they color their hair dark because infants find the contrast between the white of the forehead and the dark of the hairline irresistible. People comment all the time on how intently Whitaker watches his Momma. I smile and say "Thanks" but I know the reality is that the contrast on my hairline is what is most interesting to him.
3) Potty training a 2 1/2 year old in the weeks after his new baby brother is born is a stupid thing to try to do. Maybe I will write a book: The Eight Stages of Potty training:
1) Excitement: In this phase, both parents and child are excited to start the process
2) Encouragement: In this phase the parents try to encourage each other and the child to keep trying.
3) Bribery: In this phase, parents attempt to bribe the child with candy and toys to use the potty consistently
4) False Accomplishment: In this phase, the child has consistently gone to the potty several days in a row and has successfully been wearing underwear with no accidents. This phase lasts just long enough to get parents excited that they have officially potty trained said child.
5) Regression: In this phase, the child starts pooping and peeing in his pants again.
6) Exasperation: In this phase, parents are tired and worn out. Mom is especially tired of changing underwear and washing them but is equally tired of cleaning up poopy diapers. This is usually when parents tell their friends they think something is wrong with their child and that "this one" probably won't be going to college. In fact, they are pretty sure the kid won't even make it to Kindergarten because he won't use the toilet.
7) Denial: In this phase parents deny that they have started the potty training process. The phrase, "He'll let us know when he's ready" is thrown around a lot to grandparents and neb-nose friends who want to compare kids achievements and gloat that their kid has been potty trained since he was 18 months!
8) Acceptance: In this stage the parents just accept that they will not be potty training this child any time soon. They give up and buy another jumbo pack of 100 size 5 diapers. Three diapers into that jumbo pack of diapers, the child will decide he wants to wear big kid underwear and use the toilet all of the time and will potty train himself in a matter of minutes. Parents will then accept that they are stuck with 97 size 5 diapers.
Right now we are in the Exasperation phase and rapidly approaching the Denial phase. My hope is that the Acceptance phase will be fast. It seemed to work with Walker - as soon as we "gave up" on potty training, he started going on the potty all the time. And just so I don't feel like a total failure in the potty training department, I'd like to point out that Maggie was potty trained at 18 months. We won't discuss the fact that her being potty trained had nothing to do with me other than me forgetting to pack diapers for her one day when she was visiting her grandmother and Mimi put a pair of underwear on her and she never looked back!
I'm still taking credit for it!
4) I got Mastitis this time around and boy was it awful. I felt the milk duct getting clogged on a Thursday night - tried to circumvent the mastitis by using warm compresses, pumping or nursing every hour, etc., but to no avail. I woke up Friday with a mild fever and by afternoon had a temperature of 103. I attempted to get to the Walgreen's clinic and the new FastER care emergency center - Walgreen's staff was at lunch and the new FastER care did not take my insurance yet. So, I had to come back home, wait for Erik to get home from work and then drive myself to the ER where I was given IV fluids and IV antibiotics and waited for blood tests to come back. Luckily, the infection hadn't affected my blood counts so I was able to go home with a prescription for an antibiotic and instructions to REST! Easier said than done, but I was feeling much better by Saturday morning. Sunday was even better, but I was so tired still. Now I'm all healed and feel much better.
5) I don't remember feeling so tired with the previous three babies. I guess running after three kids and then tending to an infants midnight feeding demands is really exhausting.
6) I forgot how much I love my hair postpartum. It is even thicker and longer and curlier. It will start falling out soon and look gross for a while until my hormones level out again.
7) The "big" kids have been so great with Whit. They love him dearly and try to help me out as much as possible. The possibly love him too much!
8) I am both bothered and glad that Walker has still had school this past week. It has been nice to still have a routine where I have to get him on the bus and to school and the three "little" kids all go down for a nap in the afternoon, but I feel like he is missing out on summer. We went to visit my mom for a quick overnight Saturday to Sunday and the weather was so gorgeous and it was so relaxing sitting at my Papa's pool and letting the kids swim with their cousins. I wanted to stay a few more days but we had to get back so Walker could finish school. He'll be done Friday and then we'll really start having some fun!
9) I already worry about what type of relationship I will have with Maggie as she grows up.
10) I worry more about how we're going to afford to feed three boys!
11) Whit had jaundice when he first came home from the hospital and the visiting Nurse and the PA at the pediatrician's office said they wanted me to supplement my nursing schedule with formula. Ever since, I've been giving him a formula bottle about once a day and each time I prepare the bottle, I think how easy it is to do and have about three seconds where I think about giving up nursing. Then I feel guilty.
12) Walker devastated me a week ago by getting a "buzz" cut. In my opinion he was scalped! I cried when he walked in the door. I'm still having a hard time getting used to this "hair cut." Thank goodness it has grown in so much already!
13) We did a family photo at my Mom's house the other day. Walker was having a particularly difficult time getting in the mood of posing for pictures. His dad gave him a little lecture and my sister managed to catch it on film. This is one of those photos that needs no words - you can tell right from the start the jist of what is going on. It will be one of those timeless photos we have in our album.
14) Me and my sisters:
15) All the grandkids & Nana enjoying their favorite "toy" at Nana's:
16) My blessings:
Camp With Me 3
Walker and his cousin are at Seneca Hills Bible Conference this weekend for Camp With Me Primary. Their Mimi Schwalm is there helping them enjoy their camping experience. Next year, they get to camp all on their own! Looks like they are having a pretty good time. Can't wait to hear all the stories when Walker comes home Saturday!
Goodness Grew!
We've got a joyful addition to our lives!
Whitaker Scot Schwalm joined us May 26th.
What a blessing.
The doctor called about 8:30 that morning and said some test results indicated that it would be in my best health to go ahead and deliver today. So, by 10 am we were at the hospital getting ready. My mom and sister got there shortly after we did! It was crazy. I guess they were pretty excited.
This picture of my mom makes me cry a little because she looks so much like my Grammie (her mom) - which is unusual because most people say my mom takes after her dad (my Papa). I actually took this picture from my recovery bed - she was busy posing for my sister, but from my angle, I saw this and wanted to have a copy for myself.
My mom was such a trooper this week. I am so grateful for her giving up her routine and comfort for me to come out and care for the older three children while I was at the hospital and so Erik could work one day. She made sure Walker got to school on time and clean, kept my wild middle two occupied and happy, and did odds and ends around the house so Erik wouldn't get overwhelmed and I would be OK with the state of the house when I got home from the hospital. She kept on top of laundry and even cleaned the laundry room (which was Erik's responsibility). When she and Erik left the hospital on Wednesday night, I felt horrible because I had not gotten around to finishing some of the chores I had wanted to have done in order for her to stay comfortably with us. I had washed the bedding for her room, but didn't get it put on the bed and I wanted to either get her a good fan or possibly an air conditioner to use while she was with us too because I knew it was going to be so stinking hot and she is like me and would rather be freezing cold than too hot. We don't have central air conditioning and survive with two window A/C units - one in our bedroom and one in the sun room which we can block off from the rest of the house with our pocket doors. I just felt awful that she wasn't going to be comfortable sleeping at our house. But I was relieved to hear that she had thought ahead and brought her own fan with her. Erik said it sounded like a small jet engine blowing away in there, so I hope she managed to stay semi cool and comfortable. There are not words to thank her for helping us out so much and I'm overwhelmed with gratitude that she wants to take the older three again this week - this time taking them to her house to stay for a few days while I continue to rest, recover and bond with Whit.
I had some minor mix ups in the delivery room and there was a delay in me getting an epidural. In an attempt to give me some comfort, the nurses tried giving me stadol (which I had already told them didn't work) but I was in such pain and emotionally drained that I caved and let them give it to me. It was the wrong choice and I was left feeling drunk and having contractions. I also look drunk and unsteady post delivery from it wearing off.
Erik was so funny during the labor. I knew he was terribly uncomfortable with me being in such pain, but he just didn't know what to do or say and became so withdrawn - which is so unlike him. He was very brave and was by my side which was all that I needed.
This guy is totally in love with his new baby brother and has shown no jealousy so far. This is a picture of him shushing everyone in the room because we were being too loud for his baby. He has a cute saying and will ask, "Momma? I soft him?" about the baby. This request is for permission to touch heads with Whit and rub against him - kind of like a cat does. It's pretty cute.
Miss Maggie May is quite the big sister and is prepared to take over for me in the event I should become unable to fulfill my obligations.
Our precious little guy. He has no neck and several chins.
and blond highlights to his hair.
He sucks his fingers for comfort.
And he is the final piece to my heart.
Where did those days go?
I didn't sleep well last night, so I am up early - well, early for me. I'm not really a morning person - not a good trait for a farmers wife. Anyway, I visited all my usual morning websites and blogs and nothing had changed since yesterday so I decided to look through my iphoto library and realized I took a bunch of pictures I hadn't realized I had! Since this blog is aimed mostly at keeping family and friends updated on what is going on here at Goodness Grows Farm, I thought I'd just post pictures and some little stories inspired by them.
This boy just melts my heart. He works harder than most grown men. Everything he does, he does with all of his heart. He's kind, responsible, caring, and sensitive. In fact, there are times I fear he is too sensitive. I worry about his heart and am afraid it will be broken many times in his life. He is innocent and everything a little boy should be!
Did I mention how much I love his freckles? These photos were taken back in March, right after a hair cut - his hair has grown out a lot since then and on humid days, it gets really curly. He hates it and wants to get a buzz cut for the summer, but I keep putting him off. I fear he won't stand for it much longer.
This little princess is something else! She's smart and sassy and quite the tattle tale. She doesn't restrict her tattles to things the boys are doing wrong - she gives me updates on everything that is going on. She tells her stories with such passion and animation that even when she is being a tattle tale, it is quite funny to listen to her story.
She and Will are my big sweets eaters. They would eat sweets 24/7 so I have to be very careful on what they are allowed access to.
Maggie & Walker have their very own cowgirl/boy hats. On this day they were playing cowboys/cowgirls and were wearing their hats and boots.
Will is obsessed with goggles.
Will falls asleep in our bed. Typical male.
Maggie exerts her sisterly dominance and applies lipstick to her little brother!
Walker holds Tubby - now named Levi as we say good bye!
I can't express with words how much joy these creatures bring to my life. We wait with great anticipation for the arrival of this little guy. We're at two weeks! But we wouldn't be too disappointed if he came sooner!
This boy just melts my heart. He works harder than most grown men. Everything he does, he does with all of his heart. He's kind, responsible, caring, and sensitive. In fact, there are times I fear he is too sensitive. I worry about his heart and am afraid it will be broken many times in his life. He is innocent and everything a little boy should be!
Did I mention how much I love his freckles? These photos were taken back in March, right after a hair cut - his hair has grown out a lot since then and on humid days, it gets really curly. He hates it and wants to get a buzz cut for the summer, but I keep putting him off. I fear he won't stand for it much longer.
This little boy also melts my heart, but he challenges me in ways I never would have imagined.
He is stubborn and strong willed and at times quite a bully. He is independent, yet is fearful of doing things without his siblings. He, like his older siblings, has been blessed with impossibly long eyelashes. We recently had a bit of a melt down because he was having a problem with the new sunglasses he got. He was telling me they were broken and I couldn't figure out what he meant by "broken, Momma!" Finally, I had him put them on and I looked all around his face to see where they were broken. When I looked down on them from above, I could see his eyelashes were smashed against the lenses. Poor guy's eyelashes were too long for him to wear the glasses so far up on the bridge of his nose! Who complains about that?
We're also working on potty training this little guy. He went through a phase for a while where he always had to be wearing this blue skirt from Maggie's dress up bin. On this particular day, he has on sweat pants, pull ups, the blue skirt and his muck boots. I told him if he was going to wear the pull ups he wasn't allowed to pee in them. Well, that worked, but he decided to pee outside, far away from me and then couldn't get all of his pants back up. He was pretty stuck. Of course, being the good mother that I am, I had to take pictures of it before I could go help him.
This little princess is something else! She's smart and sassy and quite the tattle tale. She doesn't restrict her tattles to things the boys are doing wrong - she gives me updates on everything that is going on. She tells her stories with such passion and animation that even when she is being a tattle tale, it is quite funny to listen to her story.
Maggie & Walker have their very own cowgirl/boy hats. On this day they were playing cowboys/cowgirls and were wearing their hats and boots.
Will was very disappointed to not have his own hat. All we had left was a costume type hat that I had to modify to fit him. He was pleased as punch, which is all that matters in the moment. However, I have a feeling that when this photo comes to surface sometime in the future, I'm going to get in trouble. Something along the lines of "sure, typical third child, always getting the left overs!" Willie J, my consolation to you is only this: Imagine the short end of the stick your new baby brother is going to get!" Poor guy - I had to find a super larger rubberband and wrap it around his hat and chin to keep the at on him!
Scenes from fishing camp at my dad's.
Enjoying the last days with the puppies.
Will is obsessed with goggles.
Will falls asleep in our bed. Typical male.
Maggie exerts her sisterly dominance and applies lipstick to her little brother!
Will isn't such a photogenic model demonstrating his recent lipstick application!
Walker holds Tubby - now named Levi as we say good bye!
I can't express with words how much joy these creatures bring to my life. We wait with great anticipation for the arrival of this little guy. We're at two weeks! But we wouldn't be too disappointed if he came sooner!
Catch up
It feels like the last two months have been a whirlwind! We've been busy enjoying warm weather and enduring the ups and downs of the temperature. We've also been working through a few weeks of various illnesses. Maggie & Will came down with the 24 hour stomach flu, thankfully not at the same time. Walker had a bout of what I believe was Fifths Disease, which then led me to a series of blood work to determine if I have an immunity to the disease (I am) and general life on the farm! We ordered 50 broiler chickens to raise for our own consumption and hopefully to sell to customers. Erik has been super busy with his landscaping business as well as keeping our other customers happy. In addition to the Burmese families that come to the farm to purchase their meat, we've been approached by a young man from the Pittsburgh area who is opening a gourmet market in the Strip District featuring hard to find meats/delicacies. He has put in an order for a variety of things: Ducks, geese, goat, in addition to specialty items like lamb belly (he makes a bacon out of it) and is even looking for venison, game birds, etc. Erik is doing his best to accommodate him, but finding a lot of these animals on demand is hard! It is kind of ironic that the game animals that Pennsylvania has been so well known for are so hard to find through domestic resources.
We've had two ultrasounds and as of May 13th, the baby was estimated to weigh 7 lbs 13 ounces. That measurement was taken about three weeks before my due date. Baby's gain about half a pound a week the last four weeks of gestation, so factoring that in, we're looking at a pretty big baby - about 9 lbs give or take! I'm not really worried about it - have you met the children I've already birthed? They are peanuts! We are actually struggling right now with Walker because he has graduated up to the official "Olympic" pool at the YMCA for his swim lessons. Unfortunately, the Olympic pool is kept at 80 degrees and he finds it freezing! We've tried using those rash guard shirts to keep him warm, but it just doesn't work. He's such a skinny little fellow and by the end of the 40 minute lesson, his lips, fingertips and toes are purple from cold! Unfortunately, the class he is in is a mix of kids that have graduated from preschool swimming classes and youth ages 6 and up that have never taken lessons before. His class has two inexperienced swimmers in it, which makes it difficult for the instructor to really provide much additional instruction. He's too busy convincing the one student to move away from the wall and encouraging the other student to actually move his arms and legs. This situation has been a real challenge for me because I want to interfere somehow because I feel the rest of the class is being treated unfairly. They end up swimming the length of the pool and are left waiting at the end for the beginner students to catch up. It's especially frustrating because Walker used to LOVE swimming lessons and now he cries and complains each week when I tell him we have to go to lessons. He hates being that cold. In fact, this past week, the instructor said that next week will be report card week, so that means only two more weeks of class. Walker burst out with a "HOORAY!" when the instructor made the announcement. Now I'm torn between registering him for class again. My hope is that he will advance to the next group and leave the beginners behind but my fear is that the instructor, really having no time to evaluate the entire class on their progress, will not see that Walker would benefit from advancement into a more active class. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
The wait and see portion of parenting is the hardest for me to deal with. I like to look at the calendar and make plans for what is going to happen. (More like make plans for what I want to happen!)
All six of our puppies have found homes. HOORAY! I was a little sad to see them go, but I know they all have wonderful new homes and are loved. That's a good feeling for sure.
Walker has been taught how to mow grass and has been mowing it every week now. We felt bad because we kind of scared him to death, lecturing him about the responsibility of mowing grass, how the other kids, dogs, etc. were not to be in the yard when he mowed, he was NEVER EVER EVER allowed to mow without our permission, and all the other bad things we could think of to scare him into being safe (like accidentally mowing off his leg, or his brother's leg). But, we think he got the message and he did a great job of mowing! He's very conscientious of what he is doing and I'm very proud of him for doing such a great job!
We've had two ultrasounds and as of May 13th, the baby was estimated to weigh 7 lbs 13 ounces. That measurement was taken about three weeks before my due date. Baby's gain about half a pound a week the last four weeks of gestation, so factoring that in, we're looking at a pretty big baby - about 9 lbs give or take! I'm not really worried about it - have you met the children I've already birthed? They are peanuts! We are actually struggling right now with Walker because he has graduated up to the official "Olympic" pool at the YMCA for his swim lessons. Unfortunately, the Olympic pool is kept at 80 degrees and he finds it freezing! We've tried using those rash guard shirts to keep him warm, but it just doesn't work. He's such a skinny little fellow and by the end of the 40 minute lesson, his lips, fingertips and toes are purple from cold! Unfortunately, the class he is in is a mix of kids that have graduated from preschool swimming classes and youth ages 6 and up that have never taken lessons before. His class has two inexperienced swimmers in it, which makes it difficult for the instructor to really provide much additional instruction. He's too busy convincing the one student to move away from the wall and encouraging the other student to actually move his arms and legs. This situation has been a real challenge for me because I want to interfere somehow because I feel the rest of the class is being treated unfairly. They end up swimming the length of the pool and are left waiting at the end for the beginner students to catch up. It's especially frustrating because Walker used to LOVE swimming lessons and now he cries and complains each week when I tell him we have to go to lessons. He hates being that cold. In fact, this past week, the instructor said that next week will be report card week, so that means only two more weeks of class. Walker burst out with a "HOORAY!" when the instructor made the announcement. Now I'm torn between registering him for class again. My hope is that he will advance to the next group and leave the beginners behind but my fear is that the instructor, really having no time to evaluate the entire class on their progress, will not see that Walker would benefit from advancement into a more active class. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
The wait and see portion of parenting is the hardest for me to deal with. I like to look at the calendar and make plans for what is going to happen. (More like make plans for what I want to happen!)
Walker has been taught how to mow grass and has been mowing it every week now. We felt bad because we kind of scared him to death, lecturing him about the responsibility of mowing grass, how the other kids, dogs, etc. were not to be in the yard when he mowed, he was NEVER EVER EVER allowed to mow without our permission, and all the other bad things we could think of to scare him into being safe (like accidentally mowing off his leg, or his brother's leg). But, we think he got the message and he did a great job of mowing! He's very conscientious of what he is doing and I'm very proud of him for doing such a great job!
Separation of House and Barn
Erik is out of town for the weekend having taken Walker to an event in the state capital. I am left home with the two youngest and 40 acres of chores.
I think it's pretty safe to say that each household has its division of labor. Just from my general friendships, (*DISCLAIMER: I am not implying or saying that this is EVERY household in the world - it is just my view of the microscopic circle in which I am part) I think that typically, the household is divided into outside and inside chores.
I realize that many men participate in and maybe even enjoy the inside chores, but generally women do dishes, clean house, do the laundry, shopping, schedule and schlep the children, and men typically mow grass, shovel snow, fix things that need repaired, coach the teams the moms are schlepping the children to. That is just a generality, but one that is, I feel, pretty accurate of the area in which I live. Now, that is not to say that men can't do the inside stuff or women can't do the outside stuff - it just tends to be how it works out. There times in the summer months when I pack up the kids, load up the car and drive to my hometown for a week and leave Erik home alone. I try to have all the laundry done, stock the refrigerator and pantry and leave little notes about what is there to make for meals, etc. I can guarantee you nine times out of 10, when I call Erik at the end of the day to say goodnight, he has either been invited to eat at someone else's house or he just ate "on the go." I come home to expired lunch meat and produce. I don't usually expect Erik to do any of my inside chores because they don't have to be done. I can usually catch up with them when I return. That's not to say I don't appreciate it when he does go ahead and do some of those chores while I'm gone - especially the laundry, but it isn't necessary. Which is funny because while all of the chores I do are vital to our house and family looking and smelling good, basically none of them have to be done daily, well, other than meals.
This time of year at Goodness Grows Farm, outside duties include: starting and maintaing a fire in the outdoor wood burner, feeding goats in two barns, watering goats in one barn, feeding chickens in the chicken house, collecting eggs, feeding a variety of ducks and chickens that live outside of the chicken house at various points in the barn yard, and feeding four dogs. Today this all had to be done in the mud and muck in the pouring rain. And I had to do it all by myself!
The thing about these chores is that they have to be done regardless of who is home! See, when I go away in the summer time to visit my hometown, all the chores I do INSIDE on a regular basis do not have to be done! Erik does not have to do laundry. He does not have to sweep floors, do laundry, cook meals,
do laundry, take out garbage, do laundry, clean toilets, do laundry, make beds . . . and did I mention do laundry?
Sure, most times he does do some of that stuff, but most of the time he doesn't. And that's okay, I'm fine with that. My personal view is that because I have the privilege of being a stay at home mom, there are just certain duties that fall into my jurisdiction as part of the job of staying home. Maybe that's old fashioned, but it's my philosophy.
But here I am, alone, 30 weeks pregnant (yeah, I slipped that one in) and I HAVE to do all of those outside chores or else I won't have any hot water for bathing, cooking or LAUNDRY, no heat in my house and I would have a barnyard of dead animals on my hands (well, I don't think they would really die of starvation in four days, but you get the point).
This realization has given me pause. All of the things I do around here that I think are so vital to our existence here, really aren't. Well, maybe cooking - but that's about it. Okay, and keeping my kids clean, that is kind of important too, but as evidenced by pictures, I don't do such a bang up job on that front.
Here I was earlier tonight feeling all martyrish that not only was I doing my chores (which, by the way, I do not understand how removing one grown man and one six year old boy from the equation lessened my burden by so much, but it did) but I also had to do the outside chores on top of being 30 weeks pregnant (I know, I'm milking the pregnancy thing). I was throwing logs into the fire (logs, I might add, my husband carefully cut to manageable sizes and then stacked in a trailer at the same height as the furnace door so I wouldn't have to do any heavy lifting) the rain soaking my hair and dripping into my eyes, mumbling something about how he'd (my husband) better appreciate the fact that I'm willing to come out here and do all these things! when I realized I took for granted that my husband not only willingly goes out and does all of these chores daily, he does so happily and with no complaint, unlike me, who complains at least a million times a day about the mud and the laundry! I think at most, there have been maybe two times that Erik has complained about a chore and that was when he needed to cut more firewood for the furnace after having already been awake and plowing snow for 16 hours. But he fired up the skid loader, trekked through a foot of snow and cut wood for the furnace because it was VITAL to our survival.
So, I'll end my little tale by admitting that I have been significantly chastised and have let go of my martyrdom. I've turned my complaints to prayers of gratitude for a husband that keeps all the outside chores running so smoothly and for never grumbling about having to do them.
I am grateful for the luxury of living on a farm where the separation of house and barn is an option and that should I ever find the desire to participate in the barn world, I can, but in the meantime, I'll continue to plow through the mountain of laundry that constantly lies in wait, even though I'm 30 weeks pregnant. And I'll try not to think about how much MORE laundry I'm going to have in 10 weeks time.
I think it's pretty safe to say that each household has its division of labor. Just from my general friendships, (*DISCLAIMER: I am not implying or saying that this is EVERY household in the world - it is just my view of the microscopic circle in which I am part) I think that typically, the household is divided into outside and inside chores.
I realize that many men participate in and maybe even enjoy the inside chores, but generally women do dishes, clean house, do the laundry, shopping, schedule and schlep the children, and men typically mow grass, shovel snow, fix things that need repaired, coach the teams the moms are schlepping the children to. That is just a generality, but one that is, I feel, pretty accurate of the area in which I live. Now, that is not to say that men can't do the inside stuff or women can't do the outside stuff - it just tends to be how it works out. There times in the summer months when I pack up the kids, load up the car and drive to my hometown for a week and leave Erik home alone. I try to have all the laundry done, stock the refrigerator and pantry and leave little notes about what is there to make for meals, etc. I can guarantee you nine times out of 10, when I call Erik at the end of the day to say goodnight, he has either been invited to eat at someone else's house or he just ate "on the go." I come home to expired lunch meat and produce. I don't usually expect Erik to do any of my inside chores because they don't have to be done. I can usually catch up with them when I return. That's not to say I don't appreciate it when he does go ahead and do some of those chores while I'm gone - especially the laundry, but it isn't necessary. Which is funny because while all of the chores I do are vital to our house and family looking and smelling good, basically none of them have to be done daily, well, other than meals.
This time of year at Goodness Grows Farm, outside duties include: starting and maintaing a fire in the outdoor wood burner, feeding goats in two barns, watering goats in one barn, feeding chickens in the chicken house, collecting eggs, feeding a variety of ducks and chickens that live outside of the chicken house at various points in the barn yard, and feeding four dogs. Today this all had to be done in the mud and muck in the pouring rain. And I had to do it all by myself!
The thing about these chores is that they have to be done regardless of who is home! See, when I go away in the summer time to visit my hometown, all the chores I do INSIDE on a regular basis do not have to be done! Erik does not have to do laundry. He does not have to sweep floors, do laundry, cook meals,
Sure, most times he does do some of that stuff, but most of the time he doesn't. And that's okay, I'm fine with that. My personal view is that because I have the privilege of being a stay at home mom, there are just certain duties that fall into my jurisdiction as part of the job of staying home. Maybe that's old fashioned, but it's my philosophy.
But here I am, alone, 30 weeks pregnant (yeah, I slipped that one in) and I HAVE to do all of those outside chores or else I won't have any hot water for bathing, cooking or LAUNDRY, no heat in my house and I would have a barnyard of dead animals on my hands (well, I don't think they would really die of starvation in four days, but you get the point).
This realization has given me pause. All of the things I do around here that I think are so vital to our existence here, really aren't. Well, maybe cooking - but that's about it. Okay, and keeping my kids clean, that is kind of important too, but as evidenced by pictures, I don't do such a bang up job on that front.
Here I was earlier tonight feeling all martyrish that not only was I doing my chores (which, by the way, I do not understand how removing one grown man and one six year old boy from the equation lessened my burden by so much, but it did) but I also had to do the outside chores on top of being 30 weeks pregnant (I know, I'm milking the pregnancy thing). I was throwing logs into the fire (logs, I might add, my husband carefully cut to manageable sizes and then stacked in a trailer at the same height as the furnace door so I wouldn't have to do any heavy lifting) the rain soaking my hair and dripping into my eyes, mumbling something about how he'd (my husband) better appreciate the fact that I'm willing to come out here and do all these things! when I realized I took for granted that my husband not only willingly goes out and does all of these chores daily, he does so happily and with no complaint, unlike me, who complains at least a million times a day about the mud and the laundry! I think at most, there have been maybe two times that Erik has complained about a chore and that was when he needed to cut more firewood for the furnace after having already been awake and plowing snow for 16 hours. But he fired up the skid loader, trekked through a foot of snow and cut wood for the furnace because it was VITAL to our survival.
So, I'll end my little tale by admitting that I have been significantly chastised and have let go of my martyrdom. I've turned my complaints to prayers of gratitude for a husband that keeps all the outside chores running so smoothly and for never grumbling about having to do them.
I am grateful for the luxury of living on a farm where the separation of house and barn is an option and that should I ever find the desire to participate in the barn world, I can, but in the meantime, I'll continue to plow through the mountain of laundry that constantly lies in wait, even though I'm 30 weeks pregnant. And I'll try not to think about how much MORE laundry I'm going to have in 10 weeks time.
Random Conversations with my Children
I know that this post will have no real appeal to anyone outside of my family, but since the main goal of this blog is for me to have a record of the things my family does, I thought that it was time to put together a post of Random Conversations with my children.
Momma: Maggie? Why did you spread your curtain that fell down all across the floor last night?
Walker recently went to the dentist and came home with a goody bag filled with a new toothbrush, toothpaste and floss. He left it in his Dad's truck but then asked Maggie to carry it to the house for him.
Maggie: Because a BIG cwocodile and a wittle cwocadile was gonna get me.
Momma: What were you more afraid of, the big one or the little one?
Maggie: Well, I sure wasn't afraid of the wittle one!
The children have been expressing a great deal of interest in what is going to happen to me as I get closer to my due date. Unfortunately/fortunately, they are pretty aware of the actual birthing process having watched a wide variety of animals give birth on the farm. Walker has expressed some anxiety over all the doctor appointments so we recently had him come with us. It was a busy day - I had to do a one hour glucose test where I drank a sugary orange drink (I found out that this drink contains 3x more sugar than a Mountain Dew soft drink!) and then after waiting for one hour, I have blood drawn. In the one hour wait time, we took Walker to the maternity ward, showed him the rooms and the nursery. He wasn't too impressed. Then we headed back to the lab to get the blood work. He wanted to come in and see what happened and was sitting in a chair across from me. He was a little scared but I just explained that the phlebotomist would stick a needle in my arm kind of like a shot and blood would come out through a tube and fill a little vase. He watched with a little horror as she inserted the needle, but the we could see him straining to see. The phlebotomist told him he could come over closer to see. So he watched me fill up to vials of blood.
Phlebotomist: Here's one vial of blood - all filled up. Touch it, it's very warm.
Walker: Momma! I didn't know your blood was so hot!
Phlebotomist: Ok. We got two tubes so we're all done.
Walker with great disappointment: Aw. Can't we just do another one?
I admit with some shame that occasionally we are those parents that threaten the kids with a wooden spoon. We've never actually had to use it really, just the threat scares them pretty good because I have told them stories of my mom hitting me with a wooden spoon or the 'pank turner (pancake turner/spatula) and I make it sound so gruesome that they know it will really hurt. The other night, Walker and Maggie were whining a great deal about cleaning up the toys they had gotten out.
Erik said threatening: Where is that wooden spoon?
Will, running into the kitchen: I get it for you, Daddy!
Walker picking his teeth with his fingernails: Momma. What did Maggie do with my gloss?
Momma: Gloss? I don't think you have any lip gloss, buddy.
Walker: No - my GLOSS! For my teeth!
Momma: Oh - your dental floss. Yeah, it's in the cupboard with the toothbrushes.
It has been a beautiful and sunny week here at Goodness Grows Farm. Yesterday, the children spent hours outside. Rather than come in the house and ask for one, they kids decided they would just get in the car and raid the stash of lollipops I keep in there for emergency bribe moments. So yesterday afternoon, Will comes in the house with a lollipop and says:
Will (with a big smile on his face and laughter in his voice: Momma. Chloe like me pop. So funny.
Momma (a little stricken, but complacent in only the way a farm mom can be when her children tell her about sharing their food with the pets): Oh yeah? Chloe likes lime lollipops, huh?
Will: Yeah. Her say 'Yummy in my tummy'! Then makes a big slurping noise.
It has been a beautiful and sunny week here at Goodness Grows Farm. Yesterday, the children spent hours outside. Rather than come in the house and ask for one, they kids decided they would just get in the car and raid the stash of lollipops I keep in there for emergency bribe moments. So yesterday afternoon, Will comes in the house with a lollipop and says:
Will (with a big smile on his face and laughter in his voice: Momma. Chloe like me pop. So funny.
Momma (a little stricken, but complacent in only the way a farm mom can be when her children tell her about sharing their food with the pets): Oh yeah? Chloe likes lime lollipops, huh?
Will: Yeah. Her say 'Yummy in my tummy'! Then makes a big slurping noise.
Will (after eating lunch) sticking his belly out and lifting up his shirt: Dere's a baby in mys tummy.
Momma: Really? What kind of baby?
Will: A pink one.
Momma: So that must mean it is a girl baby.
Will (in his most indignant voice): NO! It is a pink one!
Will leaves kitchen in disgust.
Momma: Really? What kind of baby?
Will: A pink one.
Momma: So that must mean it is a girl baby.
Will (in his most indignant voice): NO! It is a pink one!
Will leaves kitchen in disgust.
Small Farmers Part 2 - Antibiotics/Pharmaceuticals on the Small Farm
Small farming provides a host of challenges. As we approach the Spring and Summer farming seasons, it brings about a new set of goals and obstacles for us. And by "us" I mean Erik. Due to my current state of pregnancy, I'm really not much use out back at the barns. I am clumsy and not able to lift anything, so if I manage to maneuver the long path of sludge that we call the driveway to the barn, I basically just stand there and observe. Erik is in charge of everything for the farm - from the day to day feeding to the planning for crops, arranging crops to be planted and harvested, managing our herds, flocks, etc., to performing emergency medical procedures and treatments, Erik has a handle on everything. That's not to say that I don't help out a little and through helping out, I've gleaned a little knowledge and some opinions on the subject. Here's the disclaimer I posted in my first post about small farming :Small Farmers Part 1 - The Chicken Chronicles
the following comments are the opinion of the author and are a compilation of conclusions I have come to after MINOR research into the small farm business. Please do not interpret my OPINIONS as fact nor should you take my OPINION as an endorsement for anything in particular.
I have to say that our farm has benefitted greatly from the internet. In our area of Western PA., large animal vets are few and far between. By the time you actually reach one on the phone and get them to your place, chances are your animal may be dead. We have spent a lot of time on our cell phones - Erik in the barn giving me a list of symptoms and me at the computer looking those symptoms up for a possible treatment. God Bless all those folks out there who are willing to share their knowledge with the rest of us on the net.
Having had to do that has led us to some conclusions about antibiotics and other practical drugs used in small farming. Many people ask us if we are organic or hormone free, etc. The answer is yes and no. First of all, there is no such thing as "hormone free." All animals that are consumed contain hormones because all animals create their own natural hormones. When you butcher and consume them, you can't extract the hormones - well, at least the butchers we use don't offer that option. I'm sure in some scientifically based, sterile laboratory out there some where, it can be done. Usually when people refer to "hormone free" they are asking, "does the farmer inject or feed growth hormones to the animal?" Growth hormones have been a popular choice in the past to enhance the growth of animals, creating larger animals at younger ages. Here at Goodness Grows Farm we choose to manage growth through natural breeding practices. Why don't Factory Farms use natural breeding practices to promote natural growth and weight gain? Well, basically because it is a money issue. To make more money faster, you have to produce more animals faster, which means you have to sell off animals at higher weights faster. Not only does this mean introducing growth hormones, but it also means feeding the animals a steady diet of antibiotics to ward off infection.
Now, I'm not a big conspiracy theorist or one who always believes everything that she reads. However, I've come across enough "conspiracy" articles to make me think twice about the ethics of factory farms and how they are "creating" animals for the marketplace (your local supermarket). There are TONS of articles out there from major news organizations highlighting the problems with factory farm animals, but here are a few links to both major news organizations and some posts from other farm bloggers about their discoveries as to why factory farms use antibiotics as a PREVENTATIVE measure and what that means for us, the consumers.
Is Your Food Safe?
Giving Antibiotics to Animals . . . Not So Smart
If you don't feel like reading these articles, the break down is this. Factory Farms routinely give their animals small doses of antibiotics as preventative measure to cut down on infections, etc. that tend to plague feed lots. Additionally, research has shown that routinely feeding cows (beef) antibiotics there is a three percent increase in growth in those animals. This should be wonderful, right? Cows are growing faster, staying healthier, and the factory farmer is making better profit AND better yet, the increased good health of these animals leads to better prices at the supermarket because the farmer has less loss (death) to counterbalance.
Well, research is showing that not only are feed lots/ factory farms unhealthy regardless of the use of antibiotics, the use of antibiotics in consumable meat is leading to the mutation of many forms of common viruses. Not only are the viruses mutating, but humans are consuming (through their meat and environment) small doses of COMMON antibiotics making those antibiotics useless to treat many common infections.
So, what does this mean for the small farmer? Well, here at Goodness Grows Farm, we use antibiotics and/or other pharmecutical treatments regularly AS NEEDED. Why? Well, if you had a serious infection that could be treated easily with a course of antibiotics, you would do it, wouldn't you? Strep throats, ear infections, etc., are all treated regularly with a simple course of antibiotics. It is important for your health, right? It's the same for a small farmer. A while back, we had an outbreak of pink eye in our goat herd. Should we have completely ignored the infection, allowed our goats to go blind and let our consumers see us treat our goats inhumanely or were we right in secluding the infected animals, treating them all with a minimal course of antibiotic treatment and then once they were healed return them to the herd? Economically, the right thing to do was to treat our herd. The antibiotics were administered for less than 10 days. We do not believe in the daily administration of antibiotics to our animals, but yes, when needed, we will provide adequate medical care. It is good farming practice.
Animals are expensive - especially animals considered "stock" which refers to the animals kept on a farm for breeding purposes only. If we did not treat our breeding stock appropriately when they are sick, we would be out of stock in months. Every animal has a disease or ailment that they are prone to. Goats often develop pneumonia. Is it humane to let our stock suffer with pneumonia just so we can say our animals are "antibiotic" free? Of course not. That's just ridiculous. Just as any extreme is ridiculous. Most small farmers I know practice a common sense, middle of the road approach to farming. Especially small farmers that rely on that farm for income. Whenever possible, we use as many home remedies as possible. I can't even tell you the concoctions we have created in my kitchen for our goats they are so bizarre, but they didn't involve pharmeceuticals and we were able to treat and even in some cases save the lives of our stock. In fact, one simple treatment many dairy farmers use for their cows when they have a twisted stomach or other stomach ailment is to give the cow a bottle of beer. The yeast in the beer has components that help level out the bacteria in the stomach. It seems so simple yet is very scientific. On the other hand, when we have a dire situation, we have the proper antibiotics and other medications on hand to treat our animals appropriately.
It's all about balance, folks.
the following comments are the opinion of the author and are a compilation of conclusions I have come to after MINOR research into the small farm business. Please do not interpret my OPINIONS as fact nor should you take my OPINION as an endorsement for anything in particular.
I have to say that our farm has benefitted greatly from the internet. In our area of Western PA., large animal vets are few and far between. By the time you actually reach one on the phone and get them to your place, chances are your animal may be dead. We have spent a lot of time on our cell phones - Erik in the barn giving me a list of symptoms and me at the computer looking those symptoms up for a possible treatment. God Bless all those folks out there who are willing to share their knowledge with the rest of us on the net.
Having had to do that has led us to some conclusions about antibiotics and other practical drugs used in small farming. Many people ask us if we are organic or hormone free, etc. The answer is yes and no. First of all, there is no such thing as "hormone free." All animals that are consumed contain hormones because all animals create their own natural hormones. When you butcher and consume them, you can't extract the hormones - well, at least the butchers we use don't offer that option. I'm sure in some scientifically based, sterile laboratory out there some where, it can be done. Usually when people refer to "hormone free" they are asking, "does the farmer inject or feed growth hormones to the animal?" Growth hormones have been a popular choice in the past to enhance the growth of animals, creating larger animals at younger ages. Here at Goodness Grows Farm we choose to manage growth through natural breeding practices. Why don't Factory Farms use natural breeding practices to promote natural growth and weight gain? Well, basically because it is a money issue. To make more money faster, you have to produce more animals faster, which means you have to sell off animals at higher weights faster. Not only does this mean introducing growth hormones, but it also means feeding the animals a steady diet of antibiotics to ward off infection.
Now, I'm not a big conspiracy theorist or one who always believes everything that she reads. However, I've come across enough "conspiracy" articles to make me think twice about the ethics of factory farms and how they are "creating" animals for the marketplace (your local supermarket). There are TONS of articles out there from major news organizations highlighting the problems with factory farm animals, but here are a few links to both major news organizations and some posts from other farm bloggers about their discoveries as to why factory farms use antibiotics as a PREVENTATIVE measure and what that means for us, the consumers.
Is Your Food Safe?
Giving Antibiotics to Animals . . . Not So Smart
If you don't feel like reading these articles, the break down is this. Factory Farms routinely give their animals small doses of antibiotics as preventative measure to cut down on infections, etc. that tend to plague feed lots. Additionally, research has shown that routinely feeding cows (beef) antibiotics there is a three percent increase in growth in those animals. This should be wonderful, right? Cows are growing faster, staying healthier, and the factory farmer is making better profit AND better yet, the increased good health of these animals leads to better prices at the supermarket because the farmer has less loss (death) to counterbalance.
Well, research is showing that not only are feed lots/ factory farms unhealthy regardless of the use of antibiotics, the use of antibiotics in consumable meat is leading to the mutation of many forms of common viruses. Not only are the viruses mutating, but humans are consuming (through their meat and environment) small doses of COMMON antibiotics making those antibiotics useless to treat many common infections.
So, what does this mean for the small farmer? Well, here at Goodness Grows Farm, we use antibiotics and/or other pharmecutical treatments regularly AS NEEDED. Why? Well, if you had a serious infection that could be treated easily with a course of antibiotics, you would do it, wouldn't you? Strep throats, ear infections, etc., are all treated regularly with a simple course of antibiotics. It is important for your health, right? It's the same for a small farmer. A while back, we had an outbreak of pink eye in our goat herd. Should we have completely ignored the infection, allowed our goats to go blind and let our consumers see us treat our goats inhumanely or were we right in secluding the infected animals, treating them all with a minimal course of antibiotic treatment and then once they were healed return them to the herd? Economically, the right thing to do was to treat our herd. The antibiotics were administered for less than 10 days. We do not believe in the daily administration of antibiotics to our animals, but yes, when needed, we will provide adequate medical care. It is good farming practice.
Animals are expensive - especially animals considered "stock" which refers to the animals kept on a farm for breeding purposes only. If we did not treat our breeding stock appropriately when they are sick, we would be out of stock in months. Every animal has a disease or ailment that they are prone to. Goats often develop pneumonia. Is it humane to let our stock suffer with pneumonia just so we can say our animals are "antibiotic" free? Of course not. That's just ridiculous. Just as any extreme is ridiculous. Most small farmers I know practice a common sense, middle of the road approach to farming. Especially small farmers that rely on that farm for income. Whenever possible, we use as many home remedies as possible. I can't even tell you the concoctions we have created in my kitchen for our goats they are so bizarre, but they didn't involve pharmeceuticals and we were able to treat and even in some cases save the lives of our stock. In fact, one simple treatment many dairy farmers use for their cows when they have a twisted stomach or other stomach ailment is to give the cow a bottle of beer. The yeast in the beer has components that help level out the bacteria in the stomach. It seems so simple yet is very scientific. On the other hand, when we have a dire situation, we have the proper antibiotics and other medications on hand to treat our animals appropriately.
It's all about balance, folks.
Sharp wire brushes leave your caviar looking clean
Sharp wire brushes leave your caviar looking clean
I'm trying to earn money on my blog. One of the ways to do this was to register with a site that will not suggest advertisers to place ads on my site, but will also allow advertisers to request that I write articles for them.
We'll see what happens, but for now, I had to publish that silly opening sentence so they can verify I own this site and am not trying to make money off someone else.
I'm not sure how effective this is going to be - but if you happen to catch me out purchasing a vacation home or something, I guess you'll know my attempt at gaining advertisers worked!
Thanks : )
I'm trying to earn money on my blog. One of the ways to do this was to register with a site that will not suggest advertisers to place ads on my site, but will also allow advertisers to request that I write articles for them.
We'll see what happens, but for now, I had to publish that silly opening sentence so they can verify I own this site and am not trying to make money off someone else.
I'm not sure how effective this is going to be - but if you happen to catch me out purchasing a vacation home or something, I guess you'll know my attempt at gaining advertisers worked!
Thanks : )
Life at Fertility Farm . . . ur I mean, Goodness Grows
Way back eight years ago we bought this farm. In January of 2003, we started 9 months of demolishing and rebuilding the farmhouse. During that time, we would spend evenings here working. When we were thirsty, we drank the water from our well. On the days that I would finish my job before Erik, I would come over and walk the property - explore the woods and throw sticks for the dogs. One late summer day on a walk, I encountered our now beloved neighbor, Donna. She gave me some history about the farmsteads surrounding ours and the low down on how many children were born at each place. The farm she now lives on belonged to her husbands family. Dan was one of I believe 15 children. She and Dan had five children even though they didn't buy and build a house on the property until their children were all grown. Up the road a bit lived another family that had a dozen children, and so the stories went on. I had recently found out I was pregnant and Donna said, "Be careful . . . there's something in the water around here."
Since purchasing this house and drinking the water, I've conceived four children. Three are alive and well, and the fourth is, as we joke around here, still incubating.
Since we started our goat production herd, we've had about a 99% success rate with our breeding program. (For all you non-farm folk, for an operation that relies soley on ONE billy to get the job done, that's high).
Our most recent fertility success story is that of our beloved Chloe.
As many of you may be readers know, Chloe went into labor Tuesday night and gave birth to SIX wonderfully healthy and robust puppies. I was always under the impression that there typically was a runt in every litter. Not so. Each of these puppies is as roly poly as the next.
"Tubby" is the name we've affectionately given the first born. He is almost completely white with a brown head and a brown spot on his shoulders and another just at the spot where his spine and tail meet. He is our most vocal pup and cries anytime he is separated from his mother or litter mates.
And we know this one was our last born because it was interesting that our first born and last born were so similarly colored (minus one spot).
The other three are typical in terms of markings - brown heads, white collar, brown backs & tails with white tips.
This is "Dot." She's our only girl.
Six babies and only one female in the litter.
They're all pretty cute though - and the best is watching how they cuddle up with each other when Mama Chloe needs to take a break.
ALL six of the puppies are for sale. If you are interested in one, please contact us. We also highly recommend that you do some research on Border Collies if you are not familiar with the breed. Do your research and then decide if the breed would match your lifestyle and your family dynamic. They are a high energy, high maintenance breed. They are super intelligent, super loving and all around good dogs, but if they are not living a particular lifestyle, their intelligence and EXTREME work ethic will get the better of even the most loving of owners. Remember, these dogs are bred to be herders, and that instinct does not go away just because they are not living on a farm. They will herd small children, birds, and to their demise, tires. I've heard countless stories of Borders "herding" the tires on the family car with a fatality or traumatic injury the result. Even our Chloe, who has ample exercise and "working" time, will attempt to herd the tires of our quad.
I don't mean to scare away potential owners, but I feel it is my duty to warn you about the nature of the breed because I love the breed so much.
Puppies will be ready for visitors in about 10 more days or so.
Since purchasing this house and drinking the water, I've conceived four children. Three are alive and well, and the fourth is, as we joke around here, still incubating.
As many of you may be readers know, Chloe went into labor Tuesday night and gave birth to SIX wonderfully healthy and robust puppies. I was always under the impression that there typically was a runt in every litter. Not so. Each of these puppies is as roly poly as the next.
"Tubby" is the name we've affectionately given the first born. He is almost completely white with a brown head and a brown spot on his shoulders and another just at the spot where his spine and tail meet. He is our most vocal pup and cries anytime he is separated from his mother or litter mates.
Notice in this picture you cannot find Tubby. That's because his favorite place to sleep is under his Mama's leg. If you lift Chloe's leg up, you'll find him tucked up under there. Funny dog.
The only other one's we've really identified w/ a name are "Brownie" (well, because he is all brown)
And we know this one was our last born because it was interesting that our first born and last born were so similarly colored (minus one spot).
Although we've discovered something different about this one than all of the rest.
This is "Dot." She's our only girl.
Six babies and only one female in the litter.
They're all pretty cute though - and the best is watching how they cuddle up with each other when Mama Chloe needs to take a break.
I don't mean to scare away potential owners, but I feel it is my duty to warn you about the nature of the breed because I love the breed so much.
Puppies will be ready for visitors in about 10 more days or so.
Small Farmers Part 1 - The Chicken Chronicles.
I've been going a little stir crazy lately, waiting for our Border Collie, Chloe, to give birth. Even now, she sits to my right in the superyard we borrowed from our friends to serve as the whelping box/nursery. I have been doing my normal household chores, but nothing seems to be distracting me enough. I've been doing lots of online reading on a variety of topics from "how to tell if a dog is in labor" to "complications that can occur in dog labor." So today I decided to shift focus away from dogs and whelping to doing some research on farming, small farmers, local producers and buying/selling local and got inspired to talk a little bit about the subject and to explain a little bit about where we are coming from as small farming meat producers.
Special Alert: while writing this, Chloe went into labor! I tried to complete and publish this post, but I could not find it in me. It was too exciting to watch her. I'll do another post on that adventure!
I'm probably not saying anything new here, I mean, for years we've been hearing about the trends towards buying food and products that are free range, organic, cage free, hormone free, etc. I've said in previous posts that I support the efforts of people to find and purchase these items, but buying products from a grocery store with those stamps on them for our family is not as important as buying your food products locally. By no means am I an expert in this field, I mean, we've only been "small farmers" for about four years now, but in those four years, I've managed to form some opinions, which I can share.
DISCLOSURE: the following comments are the opinion of the author and are a compilation of conclusions I have come to after MINOR research into the small farm business. Please do not interpret my OPINIONS as fact nor should you take my OPINION as an endorsement for anything in particular. If you are interested in the facts, please do your own research and perhaps check out this NPR interview.
NPR interview with Vilsack about ‘Know your famer, know your food’Opinion 1: Buying organic, free range, etc., is great, BUT buying local (and from small farmers) is more important. My opinions are based heavily on the meat production market. I know a little bit about produce/crop production but not as much as I do about meat production/farming. I know that the biggest concern of consumers in regards to buying produce/crops in terms of the choice to buy organic is the use of pesticides and other chemicals that are sprayed onto fruits and vegetables and how those chemicals remain on the skins of the fruit produced. Obviously ingesting harmful chemicals is not something we want to do. And we don't want to feed animals that we are to consume products that have been grown with these chemicals. A friend of mine, who is much more educated regarding most of these matters has written several posts regarding sustainable living - from organic gardening to sustainable building, she's a plethora of knowledge and I've learned so much from her posts alone. I'd like to give a shout out to "Grace" a pseudonym she goes by to protect the privacy of her children (how excited am I that I get to use the word pseudonym!? My childhood obsession with "Nancy Drew" is paying off!) and her blog, Life Under A Blue Roof and include this link to a post she wrote on buying organic which addresses why buying organic produce is healthier on so many levels. She also offers a great system for thinking about and implementing organics into your life - which you can also apply to the meat production industry.
For the most part, the food you purchase from the grocery store is typically grown on a mega farm or feed lot of some sort. When I say "mega farm" I don't necessarily mean in terms of acreage - I'm talking in product. I guess the new term out there for these farms is "factory farm" which implies that an unnaturally large number of animals are maintained on these farms. Whether the farm is here in the USA or in another country, large farms typically have larger problems with their crop or livestock. The number one problem these factory farms have is disposal of animal waste. Now, I know that everyone needs to and deserves to make a living, but my personal opinion is that the factory farm is not the best, healthiest, or easiest way to farm. Additionally, factory farms require less workers, less skill, and when you boil it all down, the meat appears to be much cheaper than locally grown, but the true cost is never truly revealed because as taxpayers, we pay for government subsidies to these farms and we must cover the costs of pollution produced by them.
Unnaturally large numbers of animals are kept on such farms. They are kept in close confinement in order to restrict movement allowing for maximum calorie intake and minimal calorie burn. They are fed unnecessary high calorie diets in order to promote fast growth. High calorie diets in animals result in high fat foods for consumers. Sure, in a processing plant, meat can be de-fatted, but from experience, I can tell you it is far easier to start the butchering process with an animal that is leaner. Additionally, these animals are usually confined indoors with minimal room for normal animal behaviors and limited access to sunlight and fresh air (both which are needed in order for the body to absorb and maintain proper vitamin levels).
For instance, a hen laying chicken facility can house up to 30,00 - 82,000 chickens on one farm.
For a meat chicken farm, they can maintain up to 125, 000 chickens. Numbers are based on the manure processing/treatment facilities of the factory farm.
Many of you know that Erik and I have been raising layers (hens that lay eggs) for their eggs since we bought our farm. We also have been raising meat chickens for our home consumption. We've done this for about 3 years now and through trial and error have learned valuable lessons. Our first experience in raising meat chickens was good, but we followed the advice of an article based on production from a factory farm. We kept 25 chickens penned into a section of our barn about 4 feet square. We offered feed to them 24 hours a day. We did not buy organic or locally produced feed. They were limited in movement and had no exposure to the outdoors. The idea behind this was to promote maximum growth in fewer days. The chickens we raised were even genetically bred to pack on the pounds in six to eight weeks. Confined to such a small space, these chickens grew to be quite large and as a result, they also lost their ability to walk - their tiny bones could not support their weight. If we did not butcher them by 10 weeks, they would be worthless. They also became aggressive with each other - crowded for space, they fought for every spare inch they could get. Finally, they were dirty. Unable to walk and move, they were covered in their own excrement. Gross. When we butchered them, they were very fatty. When I cooked them, I spent a long time cutting away fat, which actually left adequate meat- but it was a pain.
The second time we raised meat chickens, we kept them confined to a similar size space, but changed our feeding schedule. We heard about feeding them for 12 hours and then taking the feed away to help eliminate the amount of fat the chickens produced. This system did produce less fatty chickens, but the results were still the same in terms of them being dirty and not having any exposure to the outdoors.
This third round, we raised the chickens in confinement, however, we gave them a larger area in which to live. Erik basically fenced in one area of our hoop-house barn, which receives a lot of sunlight due to the 5 foot wide barn door being open. We fed them locally grown (about two miles away), locally milled (ground up) feed and were surprised when the eight week mark came and went without the chickens showing signs that they needed to be butchered because they could not support their own weight. In fact, because we raised these chickens over the summer, we ended up going about 12 weeks or so before we had them butchered and they did well. We even somehow missed a chicken and he is still alive living with our laying hens to this day. He's almost six months old - that's like 500 years in a meat chickens lifespan! We eat our home grown chicken about once a week (if not more). I find this batch of chicken to be the most flavorful, likely because the feed we are offering is a better feed. Additionally, it is less fatty. This is important because although the first year we did chickens, we butchered them ourselves, the last few times we've found local people to do the butchering for us. Costs go up when the butcher has a lot of extra fat to remove. Also, when we get the chickens home, I take a few and cut them down myself into portions for meals that require individual chicken pieces. For us, the cost of about $2 per chicken to have someone else butcher it is worth the cost so we don't have to deal with the time consuming (and let's face it, gross) process of doing it ourselves.
We also feel justified in doing this because we are supporting another local business in their efforts to make a living. After all, that is part of sustainable farming - utilizing the time, effort, talent, knowledge and skill of other small local farmers so that you ALL profit.
This is a lot of information to put out and to digest, so I'm going to end the post for now. There is so much more I want to say about factory farming, the use of pharmaceuticals, and what we can do to improve the lives of small farmers, that I'll do a series based on this initial post.
I hope you enjoyed it and that you heed my disclaimer and do your own research so that you can make your own informed decisions about the food you eat and the farmers that you support. Most people don't want to think about where their food is coming form - hence the popularity of the prepackaged, fast frozen products we can buy at the grocery store. But there are consequences both economically, environmentally, and let's face it, physically to our health if we don't consider the farming practices behind the food that graces our table.
Some book links from Amazon.com that have been helpful.
Unnaturally large numbers of animals are kept on such farms. They are kept in close confinement in order to restrict movement allowing for maximum calorie intake and minimal calorie burn. They are fed unnecessary high calorie diets in order to promote fast growth. High calorie diets in animals result in high fat foods for consumers. Sure, in a processing plant, meat can be de-fatted, but from experience, I can tell you it is far easier to start the butchering process with an animal that is leaner. Additionally, these animals are usually confined indoors with minimal room for normal animal behaviors and limited access to sunlight and fresh air (both which are needed in order for the body to absorb and maintain proper vitamin levels).
For instance, a hen laying chicken facility can house up to 30,00 - 82,000 chickens on one farm.
For a meat chicken farm, they can maintain up to 125, 000 chickens. Numbers are based on the manure processing/treatment facilities of the factory farm.
Many of you know that Erik and I have been raising layers (hens that lay eggs) for their eggs since we bought our farm. We also have been raising meat chickens for our home consumption. We've done this for about 3 years now and through trial and error have learned valuable lessons. Our first experience in raising meat chickens was good, but we followed the advice of an article based on production from a factory farm. We kept 25 chickens penned into a section of our barn about 4 feet square. We offered feed to them 24 hours a day. We did not buy organic or locally produced feed. They were limited in movement and had no exposure to the outdoors. The idea behind this was to promote maximum growth in fewer days. The chickens we raised were even genetically bred to pack on the pounds in six to eight weeks. Confined to such a small space, these chickens grew to be quite large and as a result, they also lost their ability to walk - their tiny bones could not support their weight. If we did not butcher them by 10 weeks, they would be worthless. They also became aggressive with each other - crowded for space, they fought for every spare inch they could get. Finally, they were dirty. Unable to walk and move, they were covered in their own excrement. Gross. When we butchered them, they were very fatty. When I cooked them, I spent a long time cutting away fat, which actually left adequate meat- but it was a pain.
The second time we raised meat chickens, we kept them confined to a similar size space, but changed our feeding schedule. We heard about feeding them for 12 hours and then taking the feed away to help eliminate the amount of fat the chickens produced. This system did produce less fatty chickens, but the results were still the same in terms of them being dirty and not having any exposure to the outdoors.
This third round, we raised the chickens in confinement, however, we gave them a larger area in which to live. Erik basically fenced in one area of our hoop-house barn, which receives a lot of sunlight due to the 5 foot wide barn door being open. We fed them locally grown (about two miles away), locally milled (ground up) feed and were surprised when the eight week mark came and went without the chickens showing signs that they needed to be butchered because they could not support their own weight. In fact, because we raised these chickens over the summer, we ended up going about 12 weeks or so before we had them butchered and they did well. We even somehow missed a chicken and he is still alive living with our laying hens to this day. He's almost six months old - that's like 500 years in a meat chickens lifespan! We eat our home grown chicken about once a week (if not more). I find this batch of chicken to be the most flavorful, likely because the feed we are offering is a better feed. Additionally, it is less fatty. This is important because although the first year we did chickens, we butchered them ourselves, the last few times we've found local people to do the butchering for us. Costs go up when the butcher has a lot of extra fat to remove. Also, when we get the chickens home, I take a few and cut them down myself into portions for meals that require individual chicken pieces. For us, the cost of about $2 per chicken to have someone else butcher it is worth the cost so we don't have to deal with the time consuming (and let's face it, gross) process of doing it ourselves.We also feel justified in doing this because we are supporting another local business in their efforts to make a living. After all, that is part of sustainable farming - utilizing the time, effort, talent, knowledge and skill of other small local farmers so that you ALL profit.
This is a lot of information to put out and to digest, so I'm going to end the post for now. There is so much more I want to say about factory farming, the use of pharmaceuticals, and what we can do to improve the lives of small farmers, that I'll do a series based on this initial post.
I hope you enjoyed it and that you heed my disclaimer and do your own research so that you can make your own informed decisions about the food you eat and the farmers that you support. Most people don't want to think about where their food is coming form - hence the popularity of the prepackaged, fast frozen products we can buy at the grocery store. But there are consequences both economically, environmentally, and let's face it, physically to our health if we don't consider the farming practices behind the food that graces our table.
Some book links from Amazon.com that have been helpful.
Grammie
My Grammie's birthday was yesterday. I meant to post this yesterday, but I got busy and distracted - and well, to be honest, I really had to think about what I should write. She has been an influence on my life like no other and there isn't a day that I don't think about her. She passed away unexpectedly shortly before my first wedding anniversary. It was probably the most painful experience of my life so far. Grammie was a lovely and classy lady. She was raised in a different time and was the quintessential homemaker. Although I've never watched the show, the images of January Jones as the housewife in Mad Men make me think of her. The black and white photos we have of Grammie from the 50's and 60's are her dressed impeccably, posing with her children or her friends. She wore the beautiful housedresses, pedal pushers and keds, etc., just like all the images of the women of those days. I think the only time she ever dressed down was pool side. Typically, every Friday, she would wash her hair in the morning, then she would set her hair in pink foam rollers and sit in the sun and let her hair dry. As long as I can remember, this was her summer ritual. I can still see her sitting back in one of the white patio chairs, feet propped up on a second chair, wearing a coral or yellow, or royal blue simple spaghetti strap tank suit, her hair in pink rollers, reading glasses on and a Harlequin Romance in her hands. When we would get to the pool, she would dip her chin down, her eyebrows would raise and her big blue eyes peek out over her glasses. "Well, hello, Angel!" she would exclaim - as if she hadn't just seen us the day before and like we didn't live 300 yards from her. She was always happy to see us and she never cared that we just popped into her house whenever we felt like it.
This photo is of me with them at their 25th Wedding Anniversary Party. I was pretty young here - maybe going on four, and I don't remember much about the party. I just remember that anytime we went to the Country Club with them (or any restaurant for that matter) Shirley Temples were at our fingertips within seconds. I'm pretty sure that Shirley Temples were on the menu for that special day as well.
I know that a lot of my memories are tainted by the rose colored glasses that grandchildren typically have in regards to their grandparents. I know that she had flaws and made mistakes, but there is so much about my Grammie that I remember and hope to emulate. Her husband and family always came first. She loved us all fiercely and wanted only the best for all of us. She may not have always gone about it in the best way, but her heart was in the right place.
To me, Grammie was soft pink kisses that stained your cheeks, a whiff of Chantilly Lace perfume, Harlequin Romance novels and stacks of VHS recordings of soap operas. She was a lover of everything shiney and sparkely, diamonds, real or fake, big clip on earrings, a collection purses and shoes that required their own zipcode, but most importantly, she was LOVE. She was our protector and encourager, a lady that went after what she wanted and taught us to never settle.
Most importantly, no matter who was around, how busy she was, or what the circumstance, she made me feel like I was the most important thing to her because I was her First Angel Baby.
Seriously, There's Something Wrong With Me!
I know that everyone has their individual fashion woes. I'm sure that each individual feels that their particular fashion problem is the worst problem in fashion.
ALAS is the not-so-medical term for my condition. What is ALAS? Abnormally Long Arms Syndrome. It is a devastating fashion disease. The only symptom, abnormally long arms, is unfortunately incurable. A few years ago, I thought the Fashion industry had become sympathetic to the condition because three quarter length sleeves became the rage.
However, I soon discovered that once again, the designers were just making fashion statements, just as they refuse to acknowledge that Plus Size women want to dress in fashionable, well made clothing instead of velour housecoats,
elastic waisted, tapered leg, polyester dress pants in putrid shades of pastels,
and T-shirts with Looney Tunes, Winnie the Pooh, or other ridiculously juvenile characters screen printed on them. They were ignoring the plights of the many (or one person) suffering from ALAS. How do I know they were ignoring my condition? Because the trend of three quarter length coats became popular in our fashion, but the elbow length glove did not enter the fashion scene until just this past year - from what I can tell in the fashion epicenter of Western PA. 
For now I will focus on ALAS as it is in the winter that I suffer most from this syndrome. Here is what a normal winter coat should look like on a person. Most of you won't need the illustration as you probably already have normal length arms so you know what it looks like. The cuff of the coat sleeve reaches the wrist and possibly hangs slightly below.
Here is what a smartly dressed, normal length armed woman would look like out and about in the winter. See how the cuff of her coat arm adequately covers the wrist and leaves no exposed skin?
Here is what a smartly dressed, normal length armed woman would look like out and about in the winter. See how the cuff of her coat arm adequately covers the wrist and leaves no exposed skin?
This is a picture of my arm outside the other day as I scraped the snow off the roof of my mini van.
Is that not ridiculous? I have a good 5 inches of arm exposed to the elements!
You suggest I just buy longer gloves. Easier said than done, my friends. My fingers are also unusually long, so finding gloves to fit are also difficult. My only consolation is that my fingers are skinny, so at least mens gloves are somewhat too big for my hands. Still, mens gloves are made short as well and since I'm not wearing a man's parka, the 5 inches of forearm are still exposed to the elements.
I was so excited this fall - Old Navy was selling the most adorable 3/4 length sleeve coat - but I had to pass it over because I could not find gloves that would cover my abnormal wing-span to make the coat look fashionable and care for me in the elements. I can't even rely on long sleeved shirts to span the difference because long sleeve shirts are still about 2 inches short on my abnormally long arms.
I wish Opera gloves would come back into style, but I have a feeling that those gloves were made for someone with delicate and dainty hands. I do not have delicate and dainty hands.
There you have it folks - my horrible disfigurement of ALAS and how I struggle to keep the five inches of skin on my forearms from suffering hypothermia. Short of learning to knit or crochet, I'm not sure how I will ever remedy my situation. Ski gloves can be helpful, but they are bulky and not very attractive accessories for dress coats. There is no Abnormally Long Arms section of the department store and custom made gloves are outrageously expensive.
Feel my pain, won't you? And try not to laugh at my disfigurement the next time you see me or someone like me. We know we look ridiculous, we did look in the mirror and we are aware that our gloves do not meet our sleeves. It is not a deliberate fashion faux paux. It is a cruel twist of genetic fate. I have a dream that one day my daughter will be able to wear long sleeves with pride and freedom.
Then I will buy her all the adorable coats I wish I could have had.
Feel my pain, won't you? And try not to laugh at my disfigurement the next time you see me or someone like me. We know we look ridiculous, we did look in the mirror and we are aware that our gloves do not meet our sleeves. It is not a deliberate fashion faux paux. It is a cruel twist of genetic fate. I have a dream that one day my daughter will be able to wear long sleeves with pride and freedom.
Then I will buy her all the adorable coats I wish I could have had.
Time goes by so . . .not slowly (part deux)
I can't believe how fast a month has flown!
In the last month we've done A LOT!
I tired of it quickly and I think the children did too a little, but we made it through, learned from the Boer Goat judging and watched some awesome PA Preferred cooking demonstrations. I've now added a Mushroom Bisque to my cooking arsenal and if I do say so myself, it is awesome. A big thanks to chef Andrew Little, Executive Chef at Sheppard Mansion, Hanover, PA for providing the recipe and demonstrating it. I cooked the bisque this past weekend for my family for Walker's birthday and plan to cook it again on the 13th for a Valentine's Day supper I'm hosting for a few friends.
We did manage to make the trip to Hershey World (per my request) and the kids really seemed to get into the "How Chocolate is Made" show. Here's my attempt at taking a group photo of us on the tour.
We've been busy with a lot of the little things that make life go so fast. Pretty much every Monday night, Erik takes the kids to the YMCA for open swim. When I don't have a mountain of laundry to get put away, I usually join them. We take turns swimming laps in the pool and have the kids chase us. I'm not sure who is more tired when the evening is over, the parents or the kids. I'm also not sure which is more tiring: swimming laps or giving the kids showers and dressing them.
We had a doctors appointment this month AND had our first (and probably only) sonogram this past Monday. Here are the sonogram pictures. They're not super great - I don't know if it is the imaging center that we use, the technician, or if our babies are just too squirmy, but we've never gotten a good profile picture. You can tell that these are profile pictures, but they aren't as clear as others I've seen.
The other night at supper, we were talking about the Super Bowl and Walker told us that he was going to wear his new football helmet that his Aunt Lara got him for Christmas. Maggie, not to be outdone, said she was going to dress up like a cheerleader, but needed those "fings." As she told us this, she began waving her arms around and flapping them like a chicken. I was confused and asked "what are you talking about?" and Walker interjected with, "Momma, she's talking about CHEER BOMBS" After further investigation, I realized that Cheer bombs are pom poms.
Finally, in preparation for the future, we are getting a whelping box ready for our Border Collie, Chloe. We are expecting Chloe to have puppies sometime next weekend. Her estimated dates are between February 12 and 16th. That's going to be pretty exciting for us. The kids are so anxious for them to arrive. We aren't going to be keeping any of the pups from this litter, unless of course, for some reason they don't sell. I'm sure they will be adorable and I can't wait to see how many she has.
In the last month we've done A LOT!
We headed out to the PA State Farm Show in Harrisburg, PA. Overall it was a good time. I admit I ran out of patience easier on this trip. It all goes back to discussing expectations with your spouse. My expectation was that since we were going to be there for three FULL days, we wouldn't have to spend ALL day there. Erik's expectation was that since we were going to be there three full days, we would spend EVERY WAKING MINUTE THERE!
I tired of it quickly and I think the children did too a little, but we made it through, learned from the Boer Goat judging and watched some awesome PA Preferred cooking demonstrations. I've now added a Mushroom Bisque to my cooking arsenal and if I do say so myself, it is awesome. A big thanks to chef Andrew Little, Executive Chef at Sheppard Mansion, Hanover, PA for providing the recipe and demonstrating it. I cooked the bisque this past weekend for my family for Walker's birthday and plan to cook it again on the 13th for a Valentine's Day supper I'm hosting for a few friends.
We've been busy with a lot of the little things that make life go so fast. Pretty much every Monday night, Erik takes the kids to the YMCA for open swim. When I don't have a mountain of laundry to get put away, I usually join them. We take turns swimming laps in the pool and have the kids chase us. I'm not sure who is more tired when the evening is over, the parents or the kids. I'm also not sure which is more tiring: swimming laps or giving the kids showers and dressing them.
We had a doctors appointment this month AND had our first (and probably only) sonogram this past Monday. Here are the sonogram pictures. They're not super great - I don't know if it is the imaging center that we use, the technician, or if our babies are just too squirmy, but we've never gotten a good profile picture. You can tell that these are profile pictures, but they aren't as clear as others I've seen.
The other night at supper, we were talking about the Super Bowl and Walker told us that he was going to wear his new football helmet that his Aunt Lara got him for Christmas. Maggie, not to be outdone, said she was going to dress up like a cheerleader, but needed those "fings." As she told us this, she began waving her arms around and flapping them like a chicken. I was confused and asked "what are you talking about?" and Walker interjected with, "Momma, she's talking about CHEER BOMBS" After further investigation, I realized that Cheer bombs are pom poms.
Finally, in preparation for the future, we are getting a whelping box ready for our Border Collie, Chloe. We are expecting Chloe to have puppies sometime next weekend. Her estimated dates are between February 12 and 16th. That's going to be pretty exciting for us. The kids are so anxious for them to arrive. We aren't going to be keeping any of the pups from this litter, unless of course, for some reason they don't sell. I'm sure they will be adorable and I can't wait to see how many she has.
Hello Baby
Hello Baby. I am your Momma. Your Daddy and I affectionately refer to you as "Jenerik." We have called all of our babies by this name during your growth in my womb. It started with Walker because that year, it was very popular for parents to combine their names to create a name for their baby. So we combined our names and this is what we came up with.
People constantly want to know if you are a boy or a girl - and they usually ask me, "Do you know what you are having?" and I tell them, "A baby."
I feel like I've been neglecting you the last 18 1/2 weeks, but I talk to you and about you every day.
I explain to your big brother, Walker, that despite the fact that he says he will "bust you in the face" if you are a girl, he will love you and find you adorable. If, however, you are a girl, I will be sure to provide you with the appropriate head gear for your first month home. I'm pretty sure he won't bust you in the face, but I can't be certain. This boy is in the big K now and his loyalties are a changin'. We find it ironic that he says he doesn't want a sister because all of his short life, his friends have ALL been girls. Even now, when we ask him who he plays with at school, he says, "Lindsey and Lauren." Twin girls!
I tell your big sister, Maggie, she will be a big helper to me when you join our family. She's been practicing her mommy skills on her baby dolls and her baby brother daily. I even caught her trying to change Will's diaper the other day. It's great she's trying so hard to be helpful, but she'll be an even bigger help if she would learn to do onesie snaps all by herself. She keeps dressing and undressing her babies and requires my help to finish the job. I told her I won't have the time to dress you and her babies all day, every day. It would be really helpful if she could just learn to dress everyone.
I tell your Daddy how happy I am that we decided to add to our family and that yes, things are going to change, but they will be a good change and we will adapt to a family of six quickly. Sure, we may need to invest in a bus to get places requiring any luggage, but we're Schwalm's and your dad will use his McGyver like skills to rig up whatever we need. I tell friends and strangers that pregnancy is treating me well (except for the constant swelling of my nasal passages) and that no, I don't feel sick, haven't had any morning sickness, and other than my pants getting tighter and tighter, everything is great. Some people respond happily to that information, others look a little disgusted. Either way, it is the truth and I'm proud of it. Daddy says I was built to be barefoot and pregnant. I tell him he's lucky we don't live in a different time period or you probably wouldn't be our LAST baby - we'd just be getting started.
The next 22 weeks are going to be long - but the reward is going to be worth the wait.
Love,
Momma
The Great Debate
There comes a day in every mother and daughter's relationship when they must have a discussion. It is a matter of infinite importance and its aftereffects can be monumental. It is of great risk, but also great reward if it is done correctly.
And as it grew out just a bit in the Fall and last winter, I had was still able to put it in pig tails and hair bows.
I was always able to pull her hair to the side and put a little bow in it.
But then, I guess length of hair has nothing to do with how cute it looks.
In my defense, I do believe this was taken AFTER a nap.
Last February, my niece, Taylor, got this adorable wedge bob. It is super cute, and Maggie has said since then she wanted to get her hair cut like that. I'm not sure if I want to go for the wedge for Maggie.
Hair now:
Potential hair if we do a bob:
The great debate remains. What to do?
I'd love to hear from you.
Seriously . . . tell me what to do. I can't make the decision myself. This is one area where I am indecisive. I can't help it. I have horrible pictures to prove what the wrong haircut can do. Thankfully, they are at my moms house and I cannot post them here. What a relief. But trust me they are horrendous. Let's just say the "pixie" cut was not an attractive look for a chubby, early developing girl. No matter how much pink you wear, you know people are wondering if you are a boy.
See why I am so conflicted about what to do?
Help me. Please!
That issue? Hair.
Maggie's hair has grown quite long and we are approaching a crossroads. It is still in that state where when it is cared for and groomed, it looks beautiful. She has the hair I long for - straight, thick, and takes curl. Even when it hasn't been washed in a few days (or a week) it is healthy, shiny, and pretty - you can just brush it and it looks beautiful. I refer to it as Breck hair. However, it is starting to require more and more care. Gone are the days of once a day brushings and let it go. If I don't brush it as soon as she wakes up and put it in some sort of style, pig tails, pony tail, etc., it gets wild and unruly and ugly. We have to use leave in conditioner or a spray detangler to get a comb through it after it's washed, and let's not get into the rats nests we deal with in the morning. Needless to say, I now understand why women in pioneer times wore their hair in braids to bed and wore a bedcap.
But, I am able to do so much with it in its current state. I can curl it, put it in cute long pony tails, French braids and decorate it with all kinds of bows and barrettes. It's to the point now, where I think if I let it grow a few more inches, what we cut off could qualify to be sent to Locks of Love, a charity that collects hair to make wigs for children undergoing medical treatments that cause them to lose their hair. But, it would take another six months at least to grow it to the ten inch length that is required. Shorter hair is accepted, but it is not as desirable as the 10" lengths.
But, I am able to do so much with it in its current state. I can curl it, put it in cute long pony tails, French braids and decorate it with all kinds of bows and barrettes. It's to the point now, where I think if I let it grow a few more inches, what we cut off could qualify to be sent to Locks of Love, a charity that collects hair to make wigs for children undergoing medical treatments that cause them to lose their hair. But, it would take another six months at least to grow it to the ten inch length that is required. Shorter hair is accepted, but it is not as desirable as the 10" lengths.
When Maggie was just two, I took the bull by the horns and cut off all of the wispy baby hair she had straggling down her back leaving a cute little bob. It fell just to the bottom of her ears and was adorable. I was looking back at those pictures today and debating about what to do.
Here's her hair the summer after I cut it, over a year and a half ago. The front is a little messy, but the back - oh, the back. How cute is that little flip?
And as it grew out just a bit in the Fall and last winter, I had was still able to put it in pig tails and hair bows.
I was always able to pull her hair to the side and put a little bow in it.
I love this photo - she reminds me of the character Darby, on the Playhouse Disney show, My Friends Tigger and Pooh.
But then, I guess length of hair has nothing to do with how cute it looks.
In my defense, I do believe this was taken AFTER a nap.
Last February, my niece, Taylor, got this adorable wedge bob. It is super cute, and Maggie has said since then she wanted to get her hair cut like that. I'm not sure if I want to go for the wedge for Maggie.
Straight
Curly
The great debate remains. What to do?
I'd love to hear from you.
Seriously . . . tell me what to do. I can't make the decision myself. This is one area where I am indecisive. I can't help it. I have horrible pictures to prove what the wrong haircut can do. Thankfully, they are at my moms house and I cannot post them here. What a relief. But trust me they are horrendous. Let's just say the "pixie" cut was not an attractive look for a chubby, early developing girl. No matter how much pink you wear, you know people are wondering if you are a boy.
See why I am so conflicted about what to do?
Help me. Please!
Happy Birthday To My One and Only
Today is my better half's birthday. I won't divulge his age, even though he's not embarrassed by it. I'll just say that he is two years older than me.Erik and I had a whirlwind romance. We met the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2000, were "pre-engaged" by Valentines day of 2001, officially engaged by June of 2001 and our wedding was December 29, 2001.Let me say that in general I do not believe in nor am I a fan of pre-engagement. I think it is silly. Why would you promise to get engaged to someone - just get engaged. So, in my mind, we were engaged by Valentine's day. That Valentine's Day we didn't do anything special. Erik was doing snow removal way back then and was usually up early in the morning, helped deliver food at his brother's restaurant and very tired by the end of the day. I worked full time, so I wasn't available during the day to do anything so he had just come to my townhouse that night and we cooked and hung out.
