Makeup Day

This morning we had a lovely rain.  I love waking up to a dark sky and the thought of a rainy morning.  It's cozy.

Well, Matt was up early and went out to finish plowing a field before the rain came.  He came home around 9:30.  After he had some coffee, he laid down on the kitchen floor and took a little nap/rest/frequently interrupted doze. While he was down and out, Adina took the opportunity to practice some of her makeup applying skills.  She thought her daddy would be a great manikin.  And, he didn't seem to mind. Here's what I caught from their conversation throughout the hour or so she played makeup:

(Adina painting Matt’s nails…while he’s sleeping/dozing on the floor.  He said it was ok. )

 

A:“You gonna be ho pretty, Daddy.”

M: “MHMMM. Do you have eyeliner?”

A: Yep, I do.  Uphairs.

M: Do you even know what eyeliner is?

A: Yep, I do. It’s hor eyes. (pointing to her eyelids…she’s talking about eyeshadow.)

M: Do you have any lipstick?                                              

A: Yep, I do have yiphick.  It’s uphairs in my room.

M: (looks up from his nap at his nails…) Wow, that’s really pink.

A: (all the while, working, putting on makeup) You pretty, Daddy. (after putting sparkly lipgloss on Matt)

M: What’s that, Adina?

A: It’s hor your heeks. (rubbing blush all over his cheeks)

A: Here you go, Mom.  (puts a necklace around my neck.) Here you go, Dad. (same thing)

M: Oh thanks, Adina. Who are you writing to, Jacki?

Me: I’m typing your conversation for my blog.

Matt: HAhahaha.

Matt: I don’t think that goes there, Adina.

A: Yes, it does. It’s hor eyes.

M: Are you done yet, Adina?

A: I not. Here a pin, Daddy.

M: Are you gonna put that on me?

A: (Pokes the lovely pin into Matt’s shirt.) That not hurt.

M: All right, anything else? Are you done putting makeup on me? Aren’t you gonna put makeup on me? I didn’t even get eyeliner, Adina. Don’t you have mascara?

Me: Adina, I have mascara if you want to put some on him.

Matt: Oh no, that’s what mascara is?

A: Yep, it’s my mommy’s.  Now we need put hum on you, ok, Mom? We need to, Mom. We need put hum mascary on you, Mom.

Matt: ha, it will be scary after she’s done with you.

 And that’s the end of that.

Here’s her final product:

 Matt's always laying down on the hardwood floor for a quick nap.  Looks comfy, huh?

He's got mascary, lip gloss, blush and eye shadow on, complete with a lovely orange necklace.

 

 First she put orange polish on one hand and yellow on the other, then she put pink over top of both. She told me it's okay if boys put on orange and yellow nailpolish.  I told her only dad can, no other boys. :)

 You can't see it very well, but on her cheeks she's got blush and she put mascara on herself, but didn't do too bad of a job.

 

And she put some mascara and blush on me, too.

So that's the fun we had this morning.  Now I'm baking 7 tea rings, 5 of which I'm selling for an anniversary party this weekend.  Have a super day!

 

Celebrating

It's been a fun six years since Matt and I walked down the aisle.  We were both 21, just starting a farm, finishing college, and had a pile of dreams.  Three kids, 2 college degrees, and a pile of calving seasons later, we're still living the dream.  Happily.  Busily.  In love. :)

Today my parents are taking the kids and we're heading to GF for a date.  I'm so excited to spend time with just Matt.  It's a rare occasion, as you well know.  And the kids are excited for a day at Grandma's, so we all win!

 I love that he makes time for family;  here, we're having a picnic in the woods while he's fencing.  He'd had Clarence and Adina with him all morning.

 We had to take turns with the kids.  I love them.

 He's fun and playful with the kids; he's giving Adina a bucking bronco ride.  :)  It's one of her favorite things!

At Clifford's baptism.

 

 

Happy Anniversary, Matt! I hope we're blessed with a lifetime more of them! Love you.

Hay Haulers

The other morning, Matt asked if I could come out to the hay fields and help him move equipment around so he could get everything hauled off.  Of course, I said "sure" because that's what good farm wives do.  :)  When I got out there, he asked if I could just stay a little while and drive the semi around the field so it would go quicker for him. 
"Sure, Matt."  (Good thing I brought Spif a bottle!) 
We finished off one field, then he said, "Would it be ok if we ran down to Anderson's quick because you're already out here?"  (We have a small hay field in our neighbors' back yard.)
"Sure, Matt." (I guess it no longer matters since I already have them all out here and so far, they were behaving pretty well.)
We got to Anderson's house...Matt drove the semi down there with Clarence and Adina; I drove the tractor with Clifford.  I pull into the yard 5 or so minutes after Matt had gotten there.  Matt walks out of their house and waits for me.  I got out of the tractor and went up to the house.  Marge (our neighbor) had the kids sitting at her island eating brownies and drinking water.  They were pretty happy!  Matt decided to go out and load the semi himself, so I sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee with Marge. We were out on her screened in front porch, which I was taking notes on....(you know, for future reference).   The kids played nicely and she put cartoons on for them to watch.  Clarence polished off three brownies while we were there.  It was a fun morning!  We left for home about 1ish...I was overdue for pumping, and the kids were way overdue for lunch and naps (Clifford fell asleep in the tractor on our way back home...it was adorable!)

Before we left for the field that morning, Adina was trying on some new dress-up clothes she'd gotten the night before.  She was loving all her new toys!  I took a few pictures of her because she was so cute and just loved her outfit.  Here's a few from that day:

Here's me and the kids in the semi.  Adina brought necklaces for us, as well as a purse full of other toys that she willingly let Clifford play with.  They're so sweet and fun!


Today Clarence and Adina are at my mom's house; she had them spend the night last night.  It's so fun for them to get to spend the night there. They love doing something different.  Clarence was really hoping he'd get to help Grandpa Lowell haul some hay.  On the way over, he kept noticing Dad's fields and telling me maybe he'd get to help haul hay today.  I hope so, Clarence!  They also brought their bikes and swimsuits, so I'm sure they'll have a blast today.  Clifford and I are mixing up bread/buns and I hope to pick a bunch of stuff out of my garden, as well as clean up the house since the two messy terrors are gone. :) 
Until next time, friends!

P.S.  I really don't like hot weather; out of all the days to bake, why did I pick today?  My house will be like a sauna by the end of the day!

P.S.S.  It's our six year anniversary tomorrow! I love my husband! :)

Moving Cows - *Family Time*

Yesterday morning, we all jumped in the pickup and headed down to my pasture to move cows.  The cows need to be moved every 4-5 days to a new paddock.  If they aren't, they'll eat the grass down too short in their current paddock and it will make for a slow re-growing period.  So, it was time to move them. 

Since we've had a fast and busy summer, the kids and I haven't gone down to move cows with Matt much.  I always love to go with and see the cows.  They're always so eager to get to a new paddock.   They follow us right through the gate as we open it.  Then we watch carefully to make sure everything looks healthy.  This is usually the time when we'll spot if something is in need of a shot because they're limping behind or just walking really slow from some ailment.  All was well yesterday, though, thankfully.

I brought my camera with hoping I'd be able to take some pictures.  I got a bunch of good ones.  Here are some of my favorites.

Here we'd just let them into their new paddock.  They just run through the gate, excited.

 

Matt's giving mineral.

Here we went to the far end of this paddock to make sure the gate going into the next paddock was closed.  It wasn't, so we had to find the gate and shut it.  (I'm using "we" loosely.  Matt was out doing all this while I took pictures.)   The cows are running towards us, hoping to keep on moving.

 

A little closer...

And closer...Right up to the pickup.

 

Then someone called Matt  while he was out trying to find the gate in the grass.  He has a hard time multi-tasking, so he kind of just wandered around while he was talking.  :)

 

Hello...This is my cow. My cows have green tags; Matt's cows have blue tags.  Clarence's cows have orange tags.  Clifford and Adina don't have any cows yet.

 

Hello, Mama. 

 

Farmer Spif was exhausted!  And extra handsome!

 

Farmer Clarence checking cows out his window.  He likes to stay updated with them.

 

And just for the record, Adina was with on this trip.  She was kind of crabby, though, and only talked about eating treats (that I didn't bring with) and taking her seat belt off.

 

My husband, still out looking for the gate to shut.

The calves.  Most of these were born in April.  It's so fun to watch them grow out on pasture.

 

More calves.  They're so fun to look at, and always so curious.

 

And a few more before we headed out.  Have a good rest of the summer, calves!

And that's some of the fun we have out moving cows.  Well, it's fun to us anyways.

Have a great night!

Clifford The Handsome

Well, here he is...

My third baby.

The sweet, tiny, happy boy.

The one who has slept through the night three RANDOM times since he was born. :)

He's loved by all of us.

Adina does well to play with him; Clarence does well to kiss and smother him.  But they both love him.

He's a great companion for me. 

He goes by Clifford, Cliff, Cliffy, Spiffy Cliffy, and Snaggletooth.  He was seven months old on August 15th, so I really need to give you all an update on my little man.  Here's some pictures, month by month.  Enjoy!

These first two are the day he was born, January 15th.

About 1 month.

About 2 months.

About three months.

 

 

He has a big nose. :)

 

About 4 months.

4 1/2 months.

Almost 5 months...he's camping out at Lake Bronson.

Mommy's happy camper.  (almost 5 months)

6 months.

 

7 months.

7 1/2 months.  It was taken today when we moved cows.  He was exhausted!

 

 

And, that's the update on Clifford's life.  He's a wonderful baby.  We're incredibly blessed!

Catching Up

Well, it's been over a month since I last wrote a post.  Not because I didn't want to, but because I've been having some computer issues and have been too busy to do anything about it.  Oh well, maybe that's for the better?

Anyway, last week, I went to GF with Nikki (she had her 37-week dr. appt.) and Spiffy Clifford.  We had a great day...shopping, lunch, and a handsome boy to keep us company. I bought a new computer...a laptop. I'm so excited to have fast internet, a fast computer, and the ability to upload pictures quickly!  Yay!

So my goal from now on is to add some fun pictures of my kiddos and farm life.  I'll be working on that later today or later this week or later this month.  Eventually...you know.


The garden's doing great...I planted 60 or so tomato plants and after 3 or 4 plants died, the rest have grown quite wonderfully.  We've been eating BLT's a few times, and yesterday I made a roaster-full of spaghetti sauce to can.  I ended up with 12 quart jars of sauce. Wonderful progress amidst a busy day of being a momma.  I've also froze some bags of green beans as well.  Green beans and corn are the kids' favorite winter vegetables, so I need to make sure I make very good use of what I've grown and freeze away. 

The kids are good...

Clarence has been farming a lot; he likes to help in the garden.  A couple weeks ago, after the fair, the garden was a disaster.  We couldn't find rows because of all the weeds.  Matt and I took a couple days (an hour or two here and there...not full days) and weeded.  Clarence was right there with us, taking the weeds out of our hands and putting them in his wagon, then pulling the full wagon over to the pasture and depositing them in the pasture for the cows to dig through (or for them to die there).  Then he'd bring the wagon back and fill it up again.  He's so cute!  He was working so hard at it and that darn wagon was heavy...loaded up with weeds and four flat tires.  What a kid.  Meanwhile, Clifford was busy working in his office and watching us and Adina was eating suckers.  She'd wander around the garden with a sucker in her mouth and visit with us. Matt would ask her to help and she'd say, "tomorrow, Dad."  Ha...she makes me smile.  And Spiff....well, he's wonderful. He doesn't like sleeping through the night yet, and we're ok with it...at least I am.  Matt doesn't ever hear him cry in the night, but we like to hang out once in a while. Sometimes he'll drink a bottle/nurse and go right back to bed. Other times, he'll hang out for an hour before falling back to sleep.  OH well...he's such an easy baby I can hardly be upset about it.  We'll sleep better next year, or the year after, or the year after.  Someday. :) 

Clarence and Adina are getting pumped up for school.  Adina will be starting pre-school this fall, and Clarence will be in his 2nd year of pre-school.  We'll be busy and learning a lot around here!

Well, I'm off....off to make lunch and stuff. 

I'll update again soon!

The Farm...A Legacy for Future Generations

On Tuesday, Matt and I took the day off and went on the Minnesota Stockmen's Cattle Tour in Roseau County.  It was so fun spending the day together.  The kids stayed with Grandma Carmen.  We stopped at a feed place, a feedlot, a few different farms, and a place that makes outdoor woodstoves.  We were carried around on a charter bus, and given a variety of information/sources on different subjects.

Anyway, one of my little booklets I was reading through said this:

"Telling the REAL Story of Beef 
As the gap between consumers and agriculture widens, consumers have questions about how beef is raised.  Farmers and ranchers like you can bridge that gap by answering questions and telling your personal story. 

Telling the REAL story means telling YOUR story:

• You care for your animals, 365 days a year, often at all hours and in all weather.
• You care for the land because it is your livelihood an dlegacy for future generations.
• You care about providing safe and nutritious beef for consumers."

My thouhts today are on the second bullet point.  I've always thought my parents raised us a little differently than (most) other kids.  My dad told us all the time that he hoped we'd come back after high school and take over the farm.  He wanted us around to continue with what he'd started.  It was a totally different viewpoint than we hear in schools:

• Go!
• Get away from here for a while.
• Be somebody!
• Get an education
• Make a ton of money
• You don't need to come back here; there's nothing here anyway.

While some kids truly do want that, I didn't.  And I think all of my classmates and family knew it.  That's why I came back, I guess.  I kind of regret going to college to be a teacher.  Yes, it is a job that I could get around here, but it's not truly what I wanted to be.  I want(ed) to be a farmer, stay-at-home mom, helper, etc.  I didn't want a job in town. I was raised helping on the farm.  That's where I wanted to be. 

I suppose I was pushed into finding a major in college.  Yes, I did love it.  I'm a nerd that way.  I loved learning new things.  However, I wish I would've studied something I was truly passionate about, like farming/cows/piano.  Oh well...I guess I can study things I'm interested in on my own.  I'm not saying I'm not happy with having my education, because it has come in handy with subbing on the side here and there, but if I could do it over, I'd have gone to NDSU (after I got over being scared of Fargo) or UMC.  Anyway, my point in all of this is because I always think about my own kids now that I have my own family.

I'm going to tell them all the time that I hope they come back and farm with their dad or come back and live around here.  I want them close.  Selfish? Maybe.  Maybe not.  Maybe it's just  a momma hoping my children love the land and the way they were raised and want the same thing for their own families.  I know it's a long way off, but that's my hope and dream.  

Today's Motivation

Today, I am:

Mom
Wife
Baker
Gardener...

Plus many more...
But these are the ones I want to be good at today!


And Clarence...he's a cattle farmer.
He woke me up this morning with his clothes on, ready to go outside (at 6:30). He wakes me because I want to know where he's going and because he needs clean work pants, which are in the dryer. He's been working with his bottle calves ever since.  I looked out a minute ago, and he had his wagon by a little bale Matt had given him. He was busy filling the wagon up with hay, then he brought it over to feed to the horses.  He's such a hard worker and has so much ambition.  And he's having fun doing it, too.  I love my boy!

What about you?