They call the thing Rodeo

"It's the bulls and the blood. It's dust & mud.  . . .  And they call the thing rodeo."  You know that Garth Brooks song. "Rodeo". If not go listen to it. Up until now the thing they call rodeo was something that every year or so we would go watch at the local county fair. 

 That was until my brother-in-law talked to my husband & told him about a Jr. Rodeo Association in our area & how he thought our boys would love it & maybe we should look into it. 

And so he did.

And then we looked into it.

We have been debating for a long time what we could have our boys do, that wouldn't take a ton of time away from the family & chores.  You see I live in a small town & we have a great athletics program for kids around here. HOWEVER, even for the 5 year olds  have games twice a week & practice twice a week & some groups practice every day. I am sorry, but for me I feel like that is a little ridiculous to be taking your 5 year old to sports practice everyday in the week. It's at least too much for this family. I know others think it is great & if that is you. Good for you, but for us. That isn't what we want. Since rodeo is primarily individual sport, my boys could practice in the front yard if they wanted. That was an appeal.  

Then we asked my boys what they thought.

Then my hubby found out that only the #1 spot in each event actually got a belt buckle & 2nd & 3rd a gift certificate. There were no trophies for just participating or taking a up space in the arena. 

Then we joined. 

And so for the last few weekends over the last 2 months we have spent our Saturday watching our boys Rodeo. Now we know nothing about rodeo, but we have been trying to learn as much as we can as quickly as we can. And we have loved it.

My oldest son has been participating in Chute Dogging & Steer Riding. 

  Chute dogging is they start the boys ages 9-12 in the chute with the steer, open the gate. Once it passes a line 10 feet out there goal to to turn the steer so it down. It's quite the challenge for these boys.

                                                   Then of course there is steer riding . . .

         There is definitely a technique to staying on.We have eaten a lot of dirt this season, but we are definitely getting better. They are required to stay on the full 8 seconds.

                      My 2nd boys "the monkey" participated in Goat Tying & Calf Riding. 

       The last rodeo we went to, he finally rode the calf his entire 8 seconds & received a score. He was so proud of himself & it was so fun to watch.

 
When we started goat tying (this is an 0-8 year old category) We didn't even know how to tie a goat.

 By the last rodeo he had made a time. It has to be under 30 seconds in order to received a time.

                            

                               My little dude also participated in calf riding & goat tying as well.  

           

   Once the goat it tied, you have to wait 6 second to make sure it holds. This little boy finally got his first time at our last rodeo. He has been working hard to finally get it!
.

 Then of course the calf riding. For being the youngest in this event, he always got some of the biggest calves.

 

He came so close so many times of lasting the whole 8 seconds, but he never quite made it there. 

                      "Red" (my new baby) was usually quite good the whole time of the rodeos & this little mischief

  Well this mischief  LOVES to watch. He loves the animals & is constantly yelling & waving his arms at them trying to "herd" them back to the corrals.

 He spends the whole rodeo just like this: leaning against the bleacher in front of him. watching intently & occasionally I can get him to peel his eyes away & smile for the camera.

Overall our rodeo experience this summer has been great. The 5 rodeos we participated in were so fun to watch & the boys made some good friends. They had some great mentors helping teach them, since their mom & dad are still learning as well. The boys favorite part was one of the older boys, a bull rider, who helped them & coached them every rodeo. I loved to watch how even though they were all competing against each other there were plenty of pat on the backs & coaching along the way.

This is the bull rider the boys have become friends with. 

I must admit. I love watching the bulls, but I know that these boys are only 13-16 on these bulls & it honestly makes my heart stop every time one of them gets on & rides, and I am not even their mother. I can only imagine what is going to happen as my boys grow up & want to hop on & ride bulls. 

Until then we will savor every moment we can with what we are doing. They are already asking about next year & what events they can do. They are counting down days until we can find some calves & practice in our own yard. So we are learning & will continue to learn & practice & watch events. And keep working at this new sport. because there is something rather addicting about this thing they call rodeo. 

Our Newest Addition . . .

   Today I wanted to finally introduce you to our newest addition.  Meet our little boy "RED". (This is not his actual name, just a nickname for the blog)

  He was actually born over a month ago weighing 7 lbs. 11 oz & 21 inches long.
He was healthy happy & besides our normal bout with jaundice perfect. So we spent the first 10 days on a billi-light getting it under control.

  I don't have cool birth story to go with him either. It was my 5th c-section, so it's pretty normal for us. I did have a month where my incision wouldn't heal, so we spent the first month at the doctor 3 times a week getting special care for it. But we are now all cleared & healed & feeling great. Just trying to get a new normal around here, but that may never happen.

 But we just wanted to share him with you. He is loved & admired by all the other boys as well & it has been wonderful.

 Here is is now just over a month old & he has already joined us on 2 fishing excursions, 3 rodeo's & a multiple road trips.  We are so blessed to have him join us! And I am so happy to no longer be pregnant & feeling great everyday. Hopefully, I will be showing up on here a little more often as well. I have lot I want to share with you.

Life

I have been MIA for months. Literally months. I didn't mean for it to happen.  I was trying to have LESS time on the internet  &  it happened. Then things just snuck in & time slowly crept by. For those that are still checking out this little blog, I thank you. Here is a quick glance at what I have been up to.

As usual life has been kept busy with these ladies. More for my husband, than for I. Shearing came & went.

All the sheep were moved off the fields & back into the lambing sheds.

And then lambing began. The first lamb dropped on the ground Jan 1st. 3 weeks earlier than we planned.  We are down to our last few waiting to lamb, but it has been a long 3 months. My poor husband just keeps going & going, but I don't know after 90 plus days. He is superman.

I have been trying to get a few minutes in of sewing here & there as I can. And to have LESS unfinished projects lying around my home.

We discovered the boy number 5 will still be in blue. This has been the main reason for my absence. I only have 8 or so weeks left, but am lucky to enjoy morning sickness for the entire 10 months. So with everyday feeling awful. or at least throwing up in the morning, things don't always happen as I would like.

We have tried home school experiments that haven't worked & some that have. If anyone discovered the secret to building your own hot air balloon, please let me know. We have tried multiple you tube videos & tutorials all of wish never even get off the ground.

 So I am hoping to get back on here, once or twice a week again, but no absolute promises yet. At least not for 8 more weeks. I will try, but for now we  have been just spending our days trying to get by & make the most of what we have. Trying to enjoy more of the simple things: like watching a boy & his dog. 

Last Weeks Frugal Accomplishment's

                   

  If you read my last post, you would know that my one goal for 2014 is Less.  Included in this goal is spending less. This is hard for me, but something I really want to become better at in 2014. 
           One blog I read to get more ideas on how to be more frugal is The Prudent Homemaker.  This woman is AMAZING!!  She feeds her family of 8 on just a 100 a month. A month. 8 people.  I think she does have a  slight advantage is she can garden almost year round, but none the less she is amazing.  I love to read her blog.  It inspires me to do more, try harder. If you have a few minutes, go check it out!  Now, I have LONG way to go before I am even close to being that frugal, but she definitely gives me something to strive for. Almost every week she does a post about her latest Frugal Accomplishments.   I enjoy reading them & seeing what she is doing. I also like how some things she does, I didn't even think about it being frugal & I can go "Hey, I did that too!."  I have tried to write down frugal things I have done in the past week & I realized the more I write down, the more I want to do just so I can add it to my list. (I am kind of a dork like that.) 

          So in effort to share some of the ways I am trying to spend less this year, I thought I would join in with her. Now I don't know it will be weekly or just randomly. It will depend on our crazy life. So for now you can just take it as it comes. 

  Last Weeks Frugal Accomplishments:

• I cleaned out my freezer & saved the ice from the ice maker into a gallon ziplock added it into my freezer downstairs. I am starting to do this, so when we need massive quantities of ice for gatherings or other reasons, I don't have to buy it from the store.
  
• Sewed a button back on my 2nd son shirt.
  
•  I used leftover chicken from the Saturday before, to use on Sunday for chicken sandwiches & again for White Chicken Chili for dinner on Wednesday.
  
• Sewed  buttons back on 2 of my little dudes shirts as well.

•  I canned 14 quarts of pinto beans.
  
• Checked out books & DVD's from the library..
  
• I was able to become an affiliate for Craftsy. In getting accepted I also received a free class for up to a $50 dollar value. I choose the Beginning Serging class that was $50 dollars. I have been wanting to take this class for a long time, but never justified the expense. I was thrilled when I could now take it for free!
  
   
• Because of this class, I was finally able to figure out how to thread & actually use my serger. I have had it for almost 3 years, but barely used it because I didn't know how to thread it properly.
  
• I then used my fixed serger to fix a pair of pants. I have a long list of things I want to sew with my serger now. I am so excited.
  
• I made 10 loaves of bread & 9 hamburger buns. The bread gets cut up in slices & put in the freezer. We pull out a loaf at a time & use it. The hamburger buns were put in the freezer &  I will use them later this week for a meal.

• When I sliced up the bread, I took the ends & sliced them in small pieces. I dried them out for bread crumbs & will use them to make croutons & homemade stuffing. None of my kids or hubby will eat the ends so they would go to waste if they just were in the bag. I finally realized that cutting them up in advance was a way of using them so they are not wasted.
  
• I made homemade Granola without all the ingredients, just the ones I had on hand, instead of buying cereal. I normally don't buy cereal, but when I am pregnant I CRAVE cheerios. I buy it quite a bit when pregnant, because some days it is the only thing I can keep down. I resisted this week & made the granola instead. The granola isn't quite the same for me, but it still has been good. My kids love it & it makes a simple breakfast on the mornings I am not feeling well. 

• We worked at the ranch this week. Our trailer we slept in last year is now the cook shack, so all 6 of us camped out in this sheep camp. It was cozy & a complete adventure.
  
  
• While working  & traveling to the ranch we did eat out for a meal or two, but when we did we made it as affordable as possible. One meal was at Pizza Hut & my kids used their book-its for their personal pan pizza. So we only needed to order enough to feed my husband & I. The other time we ate at Subway & just got a couple of  their $5 dollar foot longs & split them between two people.
  
• I watched shows on CBS & Hulu.
  
• My furnace quit working while we were home & my hubby at the ranch. So he called a friend to come check it out & they were able to get it up & running. It only cost me his gas money, instead of a couple of hundred dollars for a service call.
  
• When I did go to to the store, I put items back just so I could stay in the budget I set for myself. I tried to only buy the items that were absolute necessity.

So there you have it last weeks frugal accomplishments. I have already to begin to write down this weeks & see what I can do to spend Less. What did you do this week to be frugal?

LESS

     I am sure if you have browsed around the internet for more than a minute or two you would see the trend of choosing one word as a type of New Years Resolution or statement. This year there was something about the idea  that seems to appeal to me. Maybe it was the possibility of making it simpler to actually remember my new years resolutions.

    I  remember growing up, we would almost always have a Family Home Evening about goals in January. My mom would make a cute handout for us to write our resolutions on. Most of the time they would be divided into 4 or more categories: Spiritual, Physical, Mental & Emotional. I used to love those lessons & the excitement of setting new goals, but after several months these great goals would fall by the wayside. Maybe it is my inability to focus on something very long, or that I am slightly blonde or just get easily distracted. Either way many resolutions were set, few were actually accomplished. 

   So for the sake of simplicity & hoping it will "stick" better I am chose One Word for my Goal. 

This year I want LESS.

• LESS stuff cluttering my home, so I have More time to do what we enjoy.
• LESS spending, MORE Saving.
• LESS self doubt, MORE Self belief.
• LESS discouraging words, MORE encouraging ones.
• LESS fear of failure, MORE trying new things.
• LESS time with technology, MORE time with my family
• LESS reasons why I can't, MORE  . . "I will . . ."
• LESS poor habits, MORE good ones.
• LESS time partially distracted, MORE time focused.

You get the idea. I do realize it is kind of a two worded goal, for every "less" I also have a "more" but you get the idea.  I loved this system that I read about last year ( I couldn't find here original post about it, so you get this one). So every month for the next year I am just focusing on one aspect of my less goal. One thing in my life for that month  I want less of & at the end of  the month I will share what is was & how it went. So here is a to a new year with a whole lot  LESS!

Do you have a new years resolution or goal? I would love to hear what it is. 

Shearing & Ranching . . . Not for the faint of heart.

 I love our profession. I truly do. I love ranching, though it was something I never imagined in my childhood what I would  be doing. I did have those days I dreamed I was cowgirl, something  I am still trying to achieve. Like I was saying, I love ranching, however, and I mean a BIG however, I have come to the conclusion: Ranching is not for the faint of heart.

Now this is something I knew, but the weekend after Thanksgiving continued to add confirmation to my belief. 

I am sad to say I didn't even take any pictures of this weekend, but for future generations & those one day this will be funny stories. I feel the need to add this one.

We had just finished up a wonderful holiday visiting my husbands side of the family. Friday morning we went up to the mountains, cut down a fresh Christmas tree & had every intention of driving the 2 hours "home" before coming back on Saturday to work. Its always nice to sleep in your own bed, even if it is just for a night. My husbands parents live close to where the ranch is, so while I packed up our gear he headed over to "check on things." He wanted to make sure we were ready to go for Saturday. Now Saturday was shearing day. Well partial shearing, but I will get to that in a minute. 

A short time later, I receive a text: "It's not happening."  In other words, "There is too much work to do, we aren't headed home." It wasn't a big deal, to be truthful I was kind of expecting it, but it is always nice to be wrong in these sort of situations.  My father-in-law, bless his heart, extended a stay at their house "for however long I need it, and to just plan on coming back here tonight." Now there is no house like your own, but this offer almost brought tears to my eyes I was so grateful & so thrilled not to be a sleeping  with sleeping bag & outhouse in November.

So we headed over to the "Ranch" & worked building a new set of working corrals until dark. We had a new plan & new system that we were hoping would be smoother & easier to work the sheep in.  At dark, we returned as guest to warm beds, delicious hot foods & crawled into bed early; tired & knowing tomorrow was going to be a long day.

My hubby got up & going by 5:30  a.m. The boys & I on the other hand slept a little longer & didn't make our way over to the ranch until sometime after 8. 

We began shearing, each person having their own area to work. The boys helped move the sheep into the different pens, it was my job to keep the sheep running up the chute into the shearing trailer. 

(These are pictures from last year's shearing)

 I held a rod in hand to help prod the ewes along, up into the chute & into the trailer for shearing. This weekend, however was a special shearing: Bellies & Tags. (Translation: Bellies & Bottoms. This is because we won't be doing our regular shearing until after lambing season has started. If we kept the ewes bellies & bottoms unsheared, when it was time for deliver & new lambs to find milk, it would make it that much harder for the lambs. It's a hard enough survival game, without adding additional risks.)

So we are shearing Bellies & tags. 

Here is a glance of what the inside of a shearing trailer looks like. 

(Last year's picture once again)

The morning goes a little slower than we wanted, but it goes. It is always good exercise. It was also so much fun to watch because we had 3 generations working those sheep that day. My husband, his father & my kids. 3 generations side by side. It was awesome. I am still kicking myself for not getting a picture. Besides the usual take care of the baby & few brief spouts of frustration from my hubby, it moves along.

Lunch arrives. It was delicious. A wonderful break to sit down. After lunch, life got a little more interesting. We are working, when I get the "MOM!" with panic. One of my poor boys wasn't feeling well & now needed me to run him back to the house for a fresh set of clothes. My poor boy.

The sad part of ranching  & days like today. It doesn't matter how you feel. The work still has to be done. So we return, I go back to helping & my boy that doesn't feel well becomes the designated baby sitter for the youngest. Pretty soon my husband wants to know where the eldest disappeared to? I go searching & discover that he doesn't feel well either. We make another make-shift bed in the car & I return to helping. 

Soon its a "MOM!" I go running back to the car. Now we have an outhouse on the place that was probably less than a 1/8 mile walk to it. Not far. TOO FAR for a sick belly & a little boy. So we load in the car I drive the short distance to the outhouse just in time. I drop him off, just in time for another boy to climb in & beg for a quick drive to the outhouse. And that was the rest of my working afternoon. I would help for 20 minutes. Hear "MOM" and then go driving like mad  women to the outhouse for a little boy. Except for the brief hour when two of the  boys were sleeping it off & I grabbed the baby to help me herd. 

My baby love sheep &  was doing a great job. He as thrilled with the chance to be in the corrals & herding ship. He was thrilled until he went head on with a ewe with a dog on her tail. The ewe took definite victory & my baby went face first into the yuck. Poor boy. Road rash & everything. Then more "MOM" a run to the bathroom, trying to soothe a baby, running back to work to help with the sheep. Then just push repeat on it, over & over again. Until it becomes dark & the wonderful words of  "I guess we better call it a night." Hallelujah.

I make a plan with my hubby take  the sickest boy & the baby & drive the 20 minutes to town to stock  up on snacks, Gatorade & whatever else I can think of to make it through the next day.  I finally arrive at my in-laws home, to which my wonderful mother in law has made us a fantastic dinner, and once again around 8 o'clock  I send my kids & us to crawl into bed, because no matter what: we have to do it again tomorrow.

Sigh.  That night my hands are throbbing in pain. Eventually morning comes. We fix breakfast, and a while later follow the hubby back over to the ranch. For day 2 of shearing Bellies & Tags. 

I resume my post of helping prod the ewes into the chute. Except today I realize how little arm muscle I have. My hands hurt from grasping my rod for hours on end  the day before. Every time I lift my arms I want to cry. I am officially a wimp. The shearer  I am standing next too, looks at me, smiles & says in broken English  "How it is such a good arm workout." I smile & agree. "Yes, yes it is."

The 2 youngest who aren't feeling their best hang out in the car, & come out every now and then to pet the puppies & check sheep. Around 10 they appear to be doing well, and come out to work. My little dude helps move sheep & rides on the ewes backs when he can. The baby just walks back & forth on the outside of the corrals. Yelling at sheep & petting dogs.

Lunch time comes but not before I get another major workout in for my arms & hands. However, shearing  went a lot better this morning & everyone seems to be doing alright. We only had to make a couple quick emergency runs to the outhouse. We join some visiting family for lunch back at the house & linger a little longer than normal because my husbands tells me they are moving sheep around. I only partially feel bad, on the inside I am secretly rejoicing. My husband may be superman, I am not & was grateful for the extended break.

Once we visit with family & they head down the road, we make out way back out with lunch for my hubby & the herders.  We had friends drop in to see us & the shearing for a bit. It was a great little visit & my boys always enjoy playing with their kids. Once they leave my husbands informs me, that my job has been given to another man & I may just help move sheep & take it a little easier the rest of the afternoon. So move sheep we do & of course a few quick runs with the car to the outhouse. The rest of the afternoon, besides the huge amounts of wind & dust goes along nicely. The beloved words of "Lets call it a night." are said & we can return back to the house to make dinner for everyone.

Then night came. Oh. what a night. In short description, the 2 middle boys & I all got hit with the flu. Not fun, not fun at all. My blessed husband is up most of the night with the boys & I get up only on occasion to  throw up before returning to my bed. About 4 a.m my dearest hubby wakes me up, informs me even though I am sick he has to get at least of couple of hours before he goes again for another long day. I agree & try my best to take over my parental duties. Morning comes, I give him a kiss goodbye & beg for Mercy. "I can't do it honey. Not another day. We need to go home."  He agrees that sick kids need to be home & so does their exhausted mother. " I can finish up today. No problem. Go home."

I silently cheer. "Yea." Then run into the bathroom. We must be loved from up above because for a brief period of a couple hours we were able to pack up our bags, load our car & make the drive home. Incident free. 

Upon returning home. the flu continued to claim us for the rest of the week.  That first night though as I cried out in pain when trying to lift my sore arms above my head, & my exhausted body crawled into my bed. I realized " I love what we do. I love the ranching & working sheep on days that are less than ideal. I  may have married Superman, but I am far, far away from every being wonderwoman. Yes, I am still quite faint of heart."

Filling the Freezer: Homemade Hashbrowns

  I love the look of a freezer full of food. There is something satisfying about knowing you have food to eat in the coming months. Our freezer seems to fluctuate on being full & then needing to fill it up again.  I also love to fill it up with  stretching my budget as much as I can. Here is one quick ways you can help fill up your freezer without killing your budget.

Hashbrowns. 

My boys love hashbrowns, but to buy a bag of them at my local store is an average price of $2.50-3.50. That usually only makes it through one meal. Scary I know, I can only imagine how much food I am going to go through when my growing boys are actual teenagers. At the price of $3.00 average for a bag, I can't get very far. On the other hand, I can buy a 50 lbs box at my local Potato plant for $12 a box. That means I can buy 4 bags of hashbrowns or 50 lbs on potatoes. Its not rocket science.

 So what? Now, whenever I bake a potato for dinner I always add an extra 10 or so in the oven too. I might as well fill the oven up. You want them to cook until they are almost done. They will grate easier if they are slightly under done than overdone.  After they cook, I throw them into the fridge so they get cold. Once they cool I get out my handy Food Processor. (If you don't have one, you can either cut up the potatoes in a square (Southern style) or just use your cheese grater). 

 
                            I set mine to the largest size it can grate, for our family, this is our favorite. 

         Then I grate up all the potatoes & spread them out on a cookie sheet with a little wax or freezer paper.

           Then go down & set your cookie sheet in the freezer. I usually just let them freeze over night. Or if  I put them in first thing in the morning, usually before bedtime & can take them out. 

Take your frozen cookie sheet of hash browns & begin to break them into pieces and chunks. I put them into gallon freezer bags & mark them. This allows me to get into each bag & only take out what I will need.  

Take out the amount you need for your breakfast, as you need them. Fry them up, or use them in casseroles.

Either way they are delicious. I figured a bag of hashbrowns now only cost me .50 cents instead of $3.00 and a little of my time. I make 3 or so bags at a time & fill my freezer for pennies. 

Do you have any other ideas to help fill your freezer for pennies? If so I would love to hear about them.