Wordless Wednesday- First Hatch of The Season...

Wordless Wednesday- Happy St. Patrick's Day!

There Will Be Therapy In My Kids Future...

I decided to bake some pita pockets tonight to have for lunches and such. I then had the brilliant idea to make pita pizzas for dinner (kill two birds with one stone).



I have these beautiful daughters, who are just angels. So I make smiling faces on their pita pizzas.



Then while they were eating came the sure sign that I watch way toooo many zombie movies and allow my daughters to watch parts of said movies. Both my daughters would take a bite out of their pizza people and mumble "BRRAAAAAAAINS"...

Wordless Wednesday- Sisterly Love...

Its Monday, What Are You Reading?

This week I'm about 60% of the way through "Under the Dome" by Stephen King.

I have to say I found this book really easy to get into. That is one of the things I like about King's novels, how easy it is to picture yourself in one of his suburban hells. I can picture Big Jim Rennie and honestly believe the female version of him lives about 2 miles down the road from me.

Maddy is going to start "Are You There God? It's Me Margaret." We are starting to slowly have the birds and the bees talk and I thought this was a fitting book to read since it deals with all the craziness that comes with puberty. I remember reading this book when I was Maddy's age and thinking "Thank god, it's not just me that feels this way". We'll see how she likes it.


Bean got to go to the bookstore with us and picked out "Dora's Potty Book". She was very excited that it has a button that makes a flushing sound when you push it. Ahh, the simple joys of being a toddler.

Happy 2nd Birthday Bean!!!

"I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me" -Heartland

Today is one of those bittersweet milestones in my baby's life...she turns 2 today.

Two years ago today as I sat in the hospital scared out of my mind. I was scared of the major surgery I was facing (C-section), I was scared my baby would have to go to the NICU due to complications from my gestational diabetes, and most of all I was scared my baby wouldn't do well with me as his/her mom (we didn't know the sex of the baby until she was born).

The very first picture of Bean

Well at 12:58 pm all those worries went away. The surgery was uneventful (other than taking 45 min to retrieve Miss Chevelle from her comfy spot jammed in my rib cage), she was perfectly healthy, and I was on cloud nine.

Her "thinking face"

At first I thought it was the pain meds that were making me so euphoric, but then I realized it was just the happiness and joy I found in my baby. She was so perfect and beautiful. So here is a letter to my beautiful daughter on her birthday.

In her christening gown, 5 months old

Her 1st Birthday

Dear Ashlyn Chevelle,
First I want to wish you a happy birthday!!! I am so proud to be your Mama, you are the apple of my eye.

I thought you changed a lot your first year of life, but I definitely think you changed more during your second year. You started this first year just having learned how to walk, not quite sure of yourself. I was so proud that you could say "Mama" and "Dada". In the past year you have gone from toddling around to running, jumping, doing somersaults, and climbing. You speak in full sentences, ask questions, learned to tattle (much to your sisters dismay), and have developed a sense of humor (you have even learned how to use sarcasm).

You are a very inquisitive and independent little girl. You love to be Mama and Dada's big helper, always running up to me while I am kneading bread ("I helper you Mama") or grabbing your tool box to help Dada ("I good fixer Dada"). You adore your big sister and cousin, even though you drive them a little crazy. You feel the dogs are your personal jungle gyms, and the chickens and turkeys are your personal pets. You love digging in the dirt and jumping in puddles. You are my little tomboy. A go-kart ride will make you smile and laugh anyday.

You have a little dare devil side to you. You climb onto the back of the couch just to dive off and give me a heart attack. You love coloring (even when it consists of crayons on my wall). You help me clean, and love the bath tub. You would live off of waffles, hot dogs, donuts, apples, and strawberries if I let you.

There is not a day that goes by that you do not make me laugh out loud. You come up with the crazy ideas sometimes, and are not afraid to laugh at yourself. You make my life better everyday you are in it. I can't imagine my life without you. I love seeing things from your eyes. You remind me what is good about the little things in life.

The lyrics I put at the top of this post make me tear up everytime I hear it. I know it is meant from a father to his daughter but I don't know how any father's feelings could surpass a mother's. I loved you first. From the moment I knew I was expecting you, I loved you. I loved every kick and hiccup I felt. The moment you were born my heart swelled and I thought it would burst. I still feel that way everyday. You are my miracle I didn't think I would ever be able to give birth and then I received the greatest gift.

So for this next year Bean, keep having fun. Keep being my silly girl. Sing your songs, chase bugs and chickens, color beautiful pictures, enjoy ice cream, make mud pies, and just have fun. You are well loved, and I hope you enjoy being 2!

Love,
Mama

Knock Knock Joke

Ash: Knock Knock
Me: Who's there?
Ash: I run (she falls over hysterically laughing)

I guess I just don't get my almost 2 year olds sense of humor.

Backyard Sledding, Just Another Reason I Love Living in the Country

Today my sister brought her daughter and step-daughter over for a playdate with me and Ash. It was a nice 27 degrees outside so I had them bring their sled for a little backyard sledding.

While Bean was uber excited about going outside she decided she does not walk in snow and it was Mama's job to carry her or pull her in the sled constantly (Diva!).

We had so much fun! we stayed outside for about an hour, until everyones cheeks were red, noses were running, and I didn't think I could pull a children laden sled up the hill even one more time.

These are the times I'm glad we moved out of the city into the middle of nowhere. How else would my children experience shoo-ing a turkey off their own personal sledding hill?

Rock City Park Olean, NY

During Maddy's birthday weekend she decided she wanted to go to Rock City Park. Its this great 3/4 mile hiking trail through some of the biggest rock formations I have ever seen. Since we have had a very cold rainy summer most of the trees have already started changing and losing their leaves so our hike was very beautiful.

Now with taking three small children hiking (they're 8, 3, and 19 months) our hike was probably over 2 miles long. They decided to ditch the map and take turns being the leader so we were lost many times.

We spent the afternoon hours exploring and hiking. It was great exercise for the girls and very relaxing for the grownups.

I love taking my daughters and niece out on these little day trips. It gives us a chance as a family to reconnect and slow down after a week of rushing around. And especially with Jay's departure looming in the near future, it gives him a chance to spend quality time with his girls.

If you are ever in the Olean area and are looking for something do for the day that is fun for the whole family and not expensive make sure you check out Rock City Park.

A Good Day...

Moose, Lilly, and Ash
I woke up with a bad cold this morning. Then my rooster, R.J., was stuck in the turkey pen and it took me 30 minutes to get him out. While I was outside chasing R.J. the dogs ripped up shredded a stuffed animal so I came back in to little white tufts of stuffing everywhere.

I really thought this would be the theme of my whole day.

But then Moose brought Candi and her daughter Lilly over. It was so nice to have a friend to chat with and to watch Ash get to play with someone a little closer to her age. We had a nice dinner and the girls took a bath together. Now the little ones are sleeping and I'm going to dope myself up on some Nyquil.

But all in all it turned out to be a good day.

Worless Wednesday- Up To No Good

Wordless Wednesday

I give my toddler cookies when she won't eat lunch...

Ok I feel bad but sometimes my 17 month old really isn't interested in eating whatever I'm serving for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I offer the food and give her plenty of time to eat it. Most of the time she will eat some but definately not enough to fill her little belly. Next I will try and give her some fruit or yogurt that she usually devours. But in the instance that even that is not working, I have been known to give her animal crackers or a cookie.

**Hides my face in shame**

I am always analyzing everything that goes in my baby's mouth. I breastfed for as long as she would take it, I fed her pumped milk for awhile after that, I made my own baby food. And here I am allowing my toddler to shove sugary substances in her face instead of a well balanced meal.

You may wonder what my reasoning is for this. It's simple I can't stand my children being hungry, especially when its time to lay down for a nap or go to sleep for the night. I know some would say if I left her hungry eventually she would eat what I made her but it just doesn't feel right when she's so little and can't actually tell me why she doesn't want to eat what was provided.

So as it goes today she wouldn't eat her tuna mac n' cheese casserole and right now she's happily chomping down on animal crackers....

My Buddy Axl Rose...

Just wanted to share a few recent pictures of my puppy, Axl Rose. I took these pictures today trying to catch how cute Ash was being (she is like officially in love with the Nug man). When I was looking over them I realized how old he looks. My main man just turned 7 on May 21, 2009. Where did the time go?

He started out as my one and only, my baby. Slept with me everynight, got preferential treatment over everyone (even my first husband, lol). Then he became my support system when I went through a horrible divorce.

And now he has become a living breathing jungle gym for my girls. Poor guy, even his toenails are painted...

Fresh Meat

Well we have completed the first half of our first time run of raising CornishX meat birds. It was time for our 6 oldest birds to be processed. Our babies were 9 weeks old this past weekend and definately big enough for "Freezer Camp". I didn't want to wait much longer because we ran the risk of losing some of them to either broken legs or heart attacks. Although I do not feel bad for raising them to be slaughtered, I would feel bad if they suffered at all. I was very proud of Maddy and Ash for not freaking out. They both watched with awe on their face as the birds were dispatched and bled. Maddy even helped plucking and somehow enlisted her friend Shannon's help.

It is very important to both me and Jay that our daughters are not sheltered, and that they understand and appreciate where their food comes from. Maddy is a little more sensitive and I worry sometimes that she will be upset, but so far so good. The more and more we get into this homesteading the better I feel.

One of the CornishX chicks at 1 week old (sorry about the sideways picture)

CornishX at 6 weeks

My baby on the chopping block

Maddy & Shannon plucking

More plucking fun

Wordless Wednesday....

I'm now a cloth diapering Mama!!!

I finally did it. I switch over to cloth diapers, and now I'm wondering what the hell took me so long to do it in the first place. I guess I let the nay sayers scare me out of it. But now living in the country where we have to burn our garbage, I felt it was the right time. You see 'sposies don't burn completely and you have to bury the jelly stuff that is left over. I guess I just don't feel right doing that so it was time to make the switch.

I got my shipment of prefolds and Imse Vimse soft covers today. I was so excited to see the mailman. The prefolds went right into the wash and a few hours later Miss Chevelle had a nice fluffy butt.

She was really funny, she kept looking down and her diaper and going, "OOOOhhhh" and smiling. I think she really digs them too.

So now we'll just see how the next few days go, but for now we have one happy Mama and a smiling baby!!!

Oh, the Joys of Teething...

This is Ash in the middle of the scariest hour of her young life. She woke up this evening screaming and proceeded to continue screaming for over an hour. Not only was she screaming she would not let me hold her. NEVER in her short life has she not let me hold her. She also would not accept her zombie monkey. She ALWAYS takes zombie.

This is the first real time of problems teething. The most she's ever had was a little bit of a runny nose and not wanting a bottle.


This was just not my happy baby. I cried when I realized she wouldn't let me hold her. She is a Mama's girl and this made me so sad. But after some medicine (including a mothers savior, teething tablets) my girl was back to normal.

Now I know you probably think I'm over reacting about how scary this was, but if you knew my girl you would know how out of character this is. I actually thought she was seizuring at one point. But now all is well she is snoring away in her crib.

**UPDATE**
Following morning she was right as rain. Ate normally, drank from her cup, was as cheerful as normal.

My Baby The Klutz

Ash had a very terrible, horrible, no good very bad day (ah, how do I love Alexander the Great? Let me count the ways...). Actually it was more two days. Since having learned the art of walking at 11 months, my now 13 month old has had her fair share of missteps, tumbles, and outright falls. But starting yesterday it got worse. First she attempted to hold onto the tail of Yoda, the ugly pug, whilst he was spinning trying to catch his tail (dumb dog is 8yrs old and still does that). This resulted in her being spun around and falling head first into the coffee table. That would be bruise number one. Then today she tries to run while clapping her hands and doing her 'Axl Rose' dance. She proceeds to trip over thin air ramming her shin into the rocking chair that happend to be there to catch her fall. Later on today while at my Mom's for dinner, she banged her forehead no less than three times on the dining room table resulting in a nice bruise on the opposite side from the one she got taking on the spinning pug. My poor baby, somebody is going to call child protection on me. I don't know what to do with this kid, sometimes I think I should put her in a bubble like that kid from the wipes commercial. Tell me why my poor kid has the grace of an elephant?