Brooding

We have a broody hen & I am quite excited. She has been sitting ever so faithfully & is about on day 19 or so. I am hoping by the 1st of next week to maybe see some baby chicks. I am not sure how many eggs she is sitting on (my husband moved her to this temporary home while she broods & I don't even know if he counted the eggs. ) Anyways we are crossing our fingers something develops, this is the 1st broody hen we have ever had. We will let you know you know how it turns out.

Menu Monday & This Weeks To Do

This Week's Menu      I am trying something new & sharing the recipes for some of our meals. If you enjoy it, I  will try to share them more often & maybe one day add pictures. 

Monday:
        B- Scrambled Eggs ,
         D- Chili w/ Homemade Cinnamon Rolls


 Tuesday: 
         B- Whole Wheat Pancakes
         D- Pork Chops with Pineapple Fried Rice from Pioneer Woman

Wednesday:  
          B- Cream Egg on Toast,
          D- Beef n' Broccoli
 
Recipe for Beef & Broccoli
     Cut up your choice of beef & marinate in sauce for 30 minutes  or a day before. (Keep in mind of I have not marinated the meat & just made it up & cooked it immediately & it was still delicious. )
   Sauce
    4 T. Soy Sauce                                     1 tsp. Garlic
    4 T. White Sugar                                    2 green onions cut up
    2 T. Oil                                                  1 T. Sesame Seeds

Mix everything together but the sesame seeds & add meat. Let marinade if you can, if not dump into to a pan & begin to cook until meet is almost done. Add as much broccoli as you desire & cook until done. Add sesame seeds just before serving.  Serve over rice.

We usually double the sauce recipe because we love it so much. I can't give exact amounts because at this house my boys love cooked broccoli so usually I  can't put enough in.  It is yummy, quick & I almost never make enough. Oh yeah & I never have sesame seeds at our house, so I have actually never made it with them in it.


Thursday:
      B-     Cream of Wheat/Oatmeal
       D -  Chicken Roll Ups w/ Rice

Recipe for Chicken Roll Ups (Not an exact recipe, sorry)
      Cooked Chicken Breast ( I usually use 3 or 4 breast I think)
      1 -2 pkg. Cream Cheese
       2 pkgs of Pillsbury rolls
      Cornflake Crumbs
       Melted Butter

Cook chicken  & shred.  Mix with cream cheese until a nice moist  & creamy. Roll out your rolls & put a spoonful of the chicken cream cheese mixture into the roll & seal the edges.  Dip then into melted butter & roll into cornflake crumbs. Place on cookie sheet. Continue with doing that  until chicken mixture is finished. Bake at 350 Degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. We serve with rice & gravy made out of cream of chicken soup. Yummy!


Friday: (My Hubby's Birthday!!!)
  B- Biscuits & Gravy
  D- Date Night or  Steak. Baked Potato & Strawberry Rhubarb Pie w/ Vanilla Ice Cream


Saturday: 
        B.  French Toast  
        L:   Hot Dogs/ Brats & Salad
       D - Oriental Chicken Wraps - I will share the recipe later this week.

Sunday:  
        B- Pancakes    
        L:  Roasted Chicken w/ Garlic & Lemon
        D -Chefs Salad

Baking:  Homemade Wheat Bread, & the boys are begging for Cinnamon Rolls.  



As always I am linking up to Organizing Junkie. 

This Week's TO DO
  I know these are repeated, from last time, but nothing got done as planned last week, so they are on the schedule for this week & will be done by the end of the week!!! 

• Finish Editing Pictures & Return 
• Finish Costly Quilt
• Follow this cleaning Schedule  for my house (my March Goal)
• Sort through & DI 1/2 of my kids toys
• Finish crocheting this baby boy's baby blanket

Being a mom is hard . . .

  You know how some days turn out so lovely & others seem to not be nearly as lovely.   Oh today is one of those hard days to be a mom. Our day actually started out really well. We went to  party & we hung out with the boys this morning, but this afternoon it took a turn for the worse.  Nothing terrible happened. just some exchanged words with my son while trying to get him to do some chores. The things he said, hurt me, made me wonder how to help him & what I have done not quite right for him to get a image of himself that makes me cry.  Oh some days being a mom is hard . . . my hubby then showed up & knowing I am having a hard day. He showed up, got a call from his best friend saying that he needed to meet him.  - When real friends call at this house, and need something - no matter time of day, we go. So less than 5 minutes from when he walked in, he walked back out for an indefinite period of time.  And I am feeling a little more than lost on what to do, so after browsing my favorite blogs in efforts to cure my mood, I am here telling life as it really is. Some days being a mom is hard & heartbreaking.  Not knowing the best way to help your kids & teach them is hard. But that is what life is about . . . so I will quit whining now & pray that somehow I can make tomorrow a little better, and hope my hubby returns soon, because he can almost always make me feel better.  Thanks for letting me whine . . . see you tomorrow. 

Cinderella is Proof . . .

"Cinderella is proof, that a new pair of shoes can change a girls life."

     I love shoes, but I don't buy a new pairs very often. Unless is Spring, I buy a new pair of flip flops every year, sometimes 2 depending on how fast my cheap 7 dollar pairs wears out. I used to buy shoes a lot more, when I was single.  I love looking at shoes, but with 3 kids & 1 on the way I can never justify a pair of shoes for me, to many other things to spend money on. 

       Well the other day we went shopping at our local Farm & Ranch Store, for the boys new muck boots. I was getting frustrated with them wearing their good shoes out to the pig pen, & well coming in gross to say the least.  So off we went & picked up new muck boots to outfit my boys. 

         When my husband offered to buy me a pair, so I too would quit wearing my decent shoes to the barn, I conceded. Under one condition, that I could at least pick out a girly looking pair, instead of regular black pipe boots. He didn't care so I came home with these:

   

  Now, I am not really a horse girl, but I do love pink & brown. I asked my hubby what he thought & his remark was "It's not going to matter once you walk in the pig pen they going to be covered in . . . (well lets just say manure)."   And yes he may be right, but at least now when you see some person wearing too large of Men's Carhart Overalls & Coat (because nothing else covers my growing belly) walking out to the barn,  at least one look at the boots & you will know it's a girl. And that is all I want. Something that looks a little girly out in the barn. 

Menu Monday & This Week's To Do

This menu may look similar to last week, since  I only made 2 items of it, but it made this weeks planning a lot quicker & easier.




This Week Menu


Monday: B- Boiled Eggs ,  D-   - Parmesan Crusted Chicken 

 Tuesday: B- Whole Wheat Pancakes   D-  Slow Cook Pork Roast

Wednesday:  B- Cream Egg on Toast,  D-  Lasagna, Garlic Bread & Salad


Thursday:  B- Sticky Rolls & Fruit,  D -   Chow Mein


Friday:  B- Cream of What or Oatmeal;       D- Ham & Bean Soup Or Clam Chowder

Saturday: B.  French Toast     D- Hot Dogs/Brats & French Fries

Sunday:  B- Pancakes             D - Roasted Chicken w/ Garlic & Lemon

Baking:   Bread, Muffins,



As always I am linking up to Organizing Junkie. 

This Week TO DO

• Finish Editing Pictures & Return 
• Finish Costly Quilt
• Follow this cleaning Schedule  for my house (my March Goal)
• Grocery Shopping - Case Lot Sale
• Quilt Club
• Sort through & DI 1/2 of my kids toys

I am hoping to get a little more accomplished than I did last week, but I almost made my list shorter at least it could seem as if more is getting crossed off.  Best of luck to you on, this week schedule & we will see you tomorrow.

Things kids say . . .

The things kids say, before I forget I just have to write down to funny sayings my boys have said the last few days. 

 1st - My Little Dude came to me complaining he wanted to go outside, but not by himself. To which I replied, take Kota (the dog), she would love to go outside. He exasperated looked at me and said 
  "No mom, I want to go outside with a human."
  All I could do was laugh. 


2nd My Cowboy - 
               I was quickly trying to get the boys into our vehicle so we could run a quick errand in town. When the boys are loading in & I looked at them all with mud all over their pants & boots. I sighed & said how in the world am I supposed to take you guys to town, if your filthy.
   My Cowboy: Looks at me a little exasperated too & said, "MOM, we're boys."
          Your right Cowboy, enough said.  

A Year or So Ago

 I was thinking the other day about the changes in a year or so ago. A year or so ago we were just getting started in a long whirlwind month or two of daily interactions with these:

Sheep, now you have to remember I was not raised with sheep. In fact my first experiences with any sheep was when we lived in Montana. It was a learning curve, with most people I am sure, rolling their eyes as this girl tried to figure things out.  So back to  a year ago. A year ago our days were spent feeding baby lambs & boy did we spend out day feeding lambs. 

The sea of Sheep. Literally. And we weren't feeding just once, or twice, but 4 times a day. I think our daily average was 50 lambs every feeding. Sometimes more, sometimes less.  It was exhausting. 

It was fun, & the excitement of my little boys faces, who loved the sheep was wonderful. They helped us feed 3 out of the 4 feedings a day. The 4th was always a hot date with my hubby to the barn were we would end our night feeding  & visiting & it became quite lovely. It was hard work for little  boys, but just look at that face. 

Eventually they learned to do this: Eat off free choice feeders. Which made life so much easier once they figured that out. Because it was once less lamb, you had to handle & bottle feed. I remember one day figuring out that in bottle feeding alone I spent 8 hours. That doesn't count my hubby's hours, or my boys. That was my time spent in the barn feeding. My husband usually spent several hours a day driving around picking up the bums. And just as lambs started slowing down,  my father-in-law started kidding & we started bringing these home too. 

Baby Goats. Adorable, baby goats. These guys are tough & hardy & so much easier to feed then lambs.  So we spent our time working on feeding sheep & now goats & just when it started slowing down, our own sheep began to lamb. 

So we stayed busy & busy & busy. Doing checks & feeding & making sure in the nasty winter that we didn't miss any. Those we didn't catch soon enough (in other words found that they had lambed), sometimes baby lambs died. We would walk the pasture, & and as soon as they were done lambing you would go up grab the usually wet baby & hurry as fast as you can across the pasture carrying 1, 2 & sometimes 3 baby lambs, while the mother quickly followed behind. Some moms were quite aggressive & stuck to you like glue until you let go of her babies, in a warm jug in the barn. I had one mother literally run me over once I made it into the barn & set  down her babies. My husband could only stare & ask, "are you okay?"
Other mothers would follow you & then turn back & go to where they had them, trying to find your babies. It was frustrating  & would take forever. Then in our almost free time, we bottled feed more animals, adding bedding, fed & some days snuck a nap in because we were exhausted.  But it was our life  & I loved it. I especially loved when spring hit & the pasture started getting color & the lambs got bigger & stronger & I would watch these adorable animals just play. 

And I have decided I love sheep. If you would have told me years ago, I would have rolled my eyes, but it is true. I have learned to really enjoy sheep. Yes, some days I could have passed on things we had to do, but for the most part, I truly enjoyed it. Fast forward a few months & more.
We have since sold our sheep, it was a sad day for me, & many times I wish we still had them.  I have days I miss them, the other day was such a day. And then I tried to imagine doing everything I did last year, but 32 weeks pregnant.
     I can only imagine. My coveralls that kept me warm for the hours outside in the barn, no longer zip up. I can put them on, but that is about it. Tying my shoes is a chore, let a lone bending over for hours while feeding sheep. I could scale the side of our barn & was getting pretty fast at jumping & climbing over gates & such to get into areas. The thought climbing anything besides stairs makes me laugh, trying to do a wall with my belly sticking out, would surely mean me falling backwards & landing in something unpleasant. The thought of carrying straw & bedding, sounds near impossible at that weight. And as I was walking through the blizzard the other day, I tried to imagine how I would go about carrying 1,2 or 3 lambs at a jog across a pasture while their angry momma followed behind. It is a not only a scary sight, but one of great humor. And the aromas of animals, while being  pregnant,  I can't even imagine; as my husbands cologne (which I normally love) right now is enough to send me running to the bathroom.
And so I contemplated life a year ago & now. Trying to imagine  doing the things I did in life last year, in my current state.

And though I miss my sheep & baby lambs, & I am sure one day I will have them again.   I am grateful that someone else who knows  more than I do about the great scheme of things is a little more in charge then me.  

Homemade Febreze

I love Pinterest to help you find things you normally wouldn't. My latest find was a recipe for this:



Febreze. We use Febreze a lot of it at this house. On Sunday I ran out. just as I desperately needed some. Then I remembered a pin, about making some & decided it was  great time to try it out. It is simple, only needs 3 ingredients & as far as I can tell works. 


I  used the recipe off of Fake it Frugal  & even though they used the recipe in a 32 oz. bottle I just slightly reduced the Fabric Softener amount & used my 27 oz. bottle. 


Here is the Recipe :


1/8 c. Fabric Softener (I used slightly less)
2 T. baking soda
Fill the rest of your bottle full of HOT water. Shake until you feel it is mixed & go to work.




So far, I am happy with this. I have only been doing it for a day or so. We will see after a while if I change my mind. But considering it cost me less than a quarter to make versus buying it for $5.00 dollars. I am happy woman. And if I use it up fast, it's not a big deal.


So try it out & let me know what you think. 

Menu Monday & This Weeks To Do

Well folks we are a back finally for another Menu Monday. I have struggled, because right now nothing sounds good. So I finally just wrote some stuff down. I hope it tastes good in the end.


Monday: B- Sausage & Eggs ,  D-   Steak & Twice Baked Potatoes

 Tuesday: B- Cream of Wheat/Oatmeal     D-  Slow Cook Pork Chops

Wednesday:  B- Cream Egg on Toast,  D-  - Parmesan Crusted Chicken 


Thursday:  B- Whole Wheat Waffles,  D -   Meatball Hash brown Bake


Friday:  B- Sticky Rolls       D- Ham & Bean Soup

Saturday: B.  French Toast     D- Hot Dogs/Brats & French Fries

Sunday:  B- Pancakes             D - Roasted Chicken

Baking:   Bread, Muffins,



As always I am linking up to Organizing Junkie. 

This Week TO DO

• Finish Editing Pictures & Return 
• Finish Costly Quilt
• Make Baby Gift for Baby Shower on Saturday
• Follow this cleaning Schedule  for my house (my March Goal)
• Grocery Shopping
• Iron my hubby's shirts
• Make St. Patrick's Day Garland
• Sort through & DI 1/2 of my kids toys
• Can Pinto Beans

I don't know what you have on your schedule this week, but good luck to you & we will see you tomorrow. I actually have several posts in mind for this week. So check back in.