Over the weekend, I attended a classmate's wedding. She was a beautiful bride. And it was a lovely wedding. I saw so many friends from high school...people I have seen maybe once or twice since the summer we graduated. It made me think about the last ten years and how things have changed for all of us. Here are ten things I like and don't like about growing up.
10. I miss the days when we would go uptown during lunch hour for tacos...all of us piled into a few vehicles...then back to school.
9. I miss going to friends' houses and watching "The Bachelor" or other shows we enjoyed at the time and just hanging out.
8. I miss being involved with 4-H...especially now with summer here and the fair coming...I miss picking out new heifers to name and train. However, I'll get to start that again soon enough with my own kids.
7. I miss riding horse. I know I can still go. It's just so much juggling with my three little kids who don't know the rules around horses...and trying to squeeze in the time. I'd have to wake up really early (I already don't get enough sleep these days), or use naptime (when it's so darn hot out!). I suppose that, too, will pick up again when the kids can all be involved in riding horse with me. I CAN'T WAIT!
6. I miss talking with my friends. Sure, now we have facebook and texting, but it's definitely not the same as visiting face to face. And since we're all so spread out, that's unrealistic, too. I'm looking forward to our class reunion in July to catch up with them all again!
5. I like growing up because I had dreams...things I wanted to do...find a handsome guy and get married, have a passel of kids, buy a farm....check, check, check. I've completed (most of) those. I'd still like another baby or two, God willing. :)
4. I like watching my kids grow. They have their own unique personalities. It's fun to see who they're turning out to be. It's also a very difficult thing to try and guide them along that path.
3. I like being involved with my own farm - helping Matt, making decisions with him, being a stay-at-home mom.
2. I like that we've grown up and have moved past the drama of high school. Not that there was a ton of it, but looking back, some behavior is so "high-schoolish".
1. I love my life. Period. But the number one thing I don't like about growing up is TIME is going WAY TOO FAST. My kids are growing in the blink of an eye. I don't want to miss a thing!
Have a super hot day! Ugh! One of the things I like the least about summer - the heat!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
Lots of Work, Lots of Play
Summer is finally here.
I love it!
I don't have much time to write today because I'm getting ready for Adina's birthday on Sunday...cleaning the house and baking buns. Matt's working on fixing up the yard.
We've been:
The kids and I have been helping with:
Also this month, Adina turned three on June 9th...we'll be having a family birthday party for her on Sunday; she's been such a patient little girl waiting for her party.
It was my birthday on the 16th (I shared it with Father's Day). I'm now 27...getting so old! Matt celebrated his birthday on Memorial Day out at Lake Bronson...and he's 27 as well.
Here he is with his cake and his birthday buddies:
One quick story:
A couple days ago, Clarence came out of the house with his and Adina's scissors and pulling his wagon. I asked, "Whatcha doing with your scissors, Clarence?"
He replied, "Just cutting long grass."
Me: (thinking, Ok, whatever, you're keeping busy outside...go for it)
Later on that day, I asked, "So why were you cutting the long grass? To feed to your calves or the horses?"
C: "No, I'm making trails. Snowcat trails in the woods. For next winter."
Ha. He makes my day. He's always working and planning ahead. :) And just so you know, he did take advantage of his scissors and give Adina some layered bangs. It's nothing too terrible, but it's not quite the look I was going for with her. Oh well...at least hair grows.
Well, now to get working. Have a fabulous weekend, all! I'll update again soon...maybe even get some of our camping pictures up!
I love it!
I don't have much time to write today because I'm getting ready for Adina's birthday on Sunday...cleaning the house and baking buns. Matt's working on fixing up the yard.
We've been:
- seeding (it's finally all done!)
- hauling cows out
- AI-ing cows and heifers
- putting bulls out on pasture
The kids and I have been helping with:
- working at and attending Vacation Bible School
- cleaning the yard
- cleaning the house
- planting the garden
- playing in the little blue pool
- swatting mosquitos
- chasing bottle calves around the yard (the kids, NOT Matt and me)
- Clifford's been working on his tan....
Also this month, Adina turned three on June 9th...we'll be having a family birthday party for her on Sunday; she's been such a patient little girl waiting for her party.
It was my birthday on the 16th (I shared it with Father's Day). I'm now 27...getting so old! Matt celebrated his birthday on Memorial Day out at Lake Bronson...and he's 27 as well.
Here he is with his cake and his birthday buddies:
One quick story:
A couple days ago, Clarence came out of the house with his and Adina's scissors and pulling his wagon. I asked, "Whatcha doing with your scissors, Clarence?"
He replied, "Just cutting long grass."
Me: (thinking, Ok, whatever, you're keeping busy outside...go for it)
Later on that day, I asked, "So why were you cutting the long grass? To feed to your calves or the horses?"
C: "No, I'm making trails. Snowcat trails in the woods. For next winter."
Ha. He makes my day. He's always working and planning ahead. :) And just so you know, he did take advantage of his scissors and give Adina some layered bangs. It's nothing too terrible, but it's not quite the look I was going for with her. Oh well...at least hair grows.
Well, now to get working. Have a fabulous weekend, all! I'll update again soon...maybe even get some of our camping pictures up!
Friday, May 31, 2013
Dilemmas and Mishaps
So, we've had a busy week...seeding, shots, working outside, etc.
I'll start with the dilemmas.
Dilemma #1: Clarence has one dilemma. (And so do we, I guess.) I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Cha-Cha had a baby. Cha-Cha's the pony the neighbors gave us when they moved away. Anyway, she had a baby on Mother's Day. We still haven't officially named him/her (or figured out the gender!). Nikki suggested that we name him/her Smoky Bun. Then I told Clarence, "Remember on Little House, Laura's horse is named Bunny?" Well, Clarence remembered. Now he wants to name the baby Bunny Rabbit. Nikki keeps arguing with him that it can be Smoky Bun. That way she can call it Smoky and he can call it Bunny. He's determined, though, that that won't work. It has to be Bunny Rabbit. I've suggested Smoky Bunny Rabbit, but that won't work either.
I'll let you know if this dilemma is solved. Or if we all just pick a name and call the horse whatever name we want. We'll see, I guess.
Dilemma #2: It's May 31st and we're not done seeding. And it's rained a lot in the last two weeks. I think the rain we had yesterday and durin the night was around 4 inches...am I right, people? I don't have a rain gauge set up; we rely on people to inform us.
A lot of other people aren't done seeding, either. It's really not that crucial for us since we have our cows, but it's nice to know we have some feed growing that we can depend on. Otherwise, we'll be selling cows, buying feed, or scrounging around last minute to make sure we'll make it through the winter okay.
Dilemma #3: So much work to do, so little time! What to do, what to do. Matt's to-do list is a mile long. He's got fencing, cleaning machinery, getting hay equipment ready, hauling cows, fixing water tanks, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on and on. And there's not really anything I can set out and do myself. I can help, which I will do, but I guess we just have to go a day at a time. In order for me to help, we also need to count on the babysitter; there's no way I can be much help if we don't have a babysitter. Well, I could pretend to be helpful and bring the kids with, but you know...:
"Mom, I need to go pee."
"Mom, my tummy hurts."
Mom, I'm hungry."
"Waaahahhhaaa" (Clifford's hungry/tired/wet)
"Mom, come see this."
"Mom, I'm stuck."
"Mom, Conce did pinch me."
"Mom, Adina hit me."
"Mom, Conce did push me in the water."
"Mom, Adina pushed me first."
And yeah, you get the point. I'd be REALLY helpful.
Dilemma #4: Do I dare tell my kids that dandelions are weeds, not flowers? They think dandelions are the most beautiful flowers. And they pick me bouquets nearly every day. (I think I just answered my own question...if I get bouquets of dandelions, then they can be considered flowers.) :)
Mishap #1: Matt seeded on Wednesday. I ran back and forth to Hallock 3 times getting huge totes full of soybean seed. We're small little farmers...everything takes longer because we don't have big equipment. But I'm not complaining; we like being cattle farmers with only a few crops on the side for our rotation. All I'm saying is, what it takes big farmers to do in an hour or two, it takes us a whole day. And then our drills broke at the end of the night. Matt was wondering if he should keep seeding or wait and do it in the morning (when it was supposed to and did rain). The drills answered the question for him. A bolt broke that connects the two drills together, and he went about ten feet down the field with one set of drills. The other had broke off and sat in the field. I'd gone out to check on him and help him refill the drills (by hand, with 5-gallon buckets) and found him puzzled, standing in the field. It took a little while to put it back together, and he would've been able to seed again yesterday morning, but then it rained. A lot. Guess it'll be put on hold for a bit.
Only one bad mishap, I guess...other than cows are still getting out occasionally. We'll be plugging away at fencing, one pasture at a time.... :)
And the shots I mentioned at the beginning were for Clifford. He had his 4-month shots yesterday (2 wks overdue). He is 17 lbs. 12 oz., 26 inches long, and was such a tough guy yesterday. He cried during his shots, then was totally fine the rest of the day. I remember my other kids being cranky after their shots (Clifford was even cranky after his 2-month shots), but he was so happy and totally himself. I'm so glad. It always makes me sad to see them cry from their shots.
Have a great last day of May....(Where did May go, by the way?)
I'll start with the dilemmas.
Dilemma #1: Clarence has one dilemma. (And so do we, I guess.) I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Cha-Cha had a baby. Cha-Cha's the pony the neighbors gave us when they moved away. Anyway, she had a baby on Mother's Day. We still haven't officially named him/her (or figured out the gender!). Nikki suggested that we name him/her Smoky Bun. Then I told Clarence, "Remember on Little House, Laura's horse is named Bunny?" Well, Clarence remembered. Now he wants to name the baby Bunny Rabbit. Nikki keeps arguing with him that it can be Smoky Bun. That way she can call it Smoky and he can call it Bunny. He's determined, though, that that won't work. It has to be Bunny Rabbit. I've suggested Smoky Bunny Rabbit, but that won't work either.
I'll let you know if this dilemma is solved. Or if we all just pick a name and call the horse whatever name we want. We'll see, I guess.
Dilemma #2: It's May 31st and we're not done seeding. And it's rained a lot in the last two weeks. I think the rain we had yesterday and durin the night was around 4 inches...am I right, people? I don't have a rain gauge set up; we rely on people to inform us.
A lot of other people aren't done seeding, either. It's really not that crucial for us since we have our cows, but it's nice to know we have some feed growing that we can depend on. Otherwise, we'll be selling cows, buying feed, or scrounging around last minute to make sure we'll make it through the winter okay.
Dilemma #3: So much work to do, so little time! What to do, what to do. Matt's to-do list is a mile long. He's got fencing, cleaning machinery, getting hay equipment ready, hauling cows, fixing water tanks, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on and on. And there's not really anything I can set out and do myself. I can help, which I will do, but I guess we just have to go a day at a time. In order for me to help, we also need to count on the babysitter; there's no way I can be much help if we don't have a babysitter. Well, I could pretend to be helpful and bring the kids with, but you know...:
"Mom, I need to go pee."
"Mom, my tummy hurts."
Mom, I'm hungry."
"Waaahahhhaaa" (Clifford's hungry/tired/wet)
"Mom, come see this."
"Mom, I'm stuck."
"Mom, Conce did pinch me."
"Mom, Adina hit me."
"Mom, Conce did push me in the water."
"Mom, Adina pushed me first."
And yeah, you get the point. I'd be REALLY helpful.
Dilemma #4: Do I dare tell my kids that dandelions are weeds, not flowers? They think dandelions are the most beautiful flowers. And they pick me bouquets nearly every day. (I think I just answered my own question...if I get bouquets of dandelions, then they can be considered flowers.) :)
Mishap #1: Matt seeded on Wednesday. I ran back and forth to Hallock 3 times getting huge totes full of soybean seed. We're small little farmers...everything takes longer because we don't have big equipment. But I'm not complaining; we like being cattle farmers with only a few crops on the side for our rotation. All I'm saying is, what it takes big farmers to do in an hour or two, it takes us a whole day. And then our drills broke at the end of the night. Matt was wondering if he should keep seeding or wait and do it in the morning (when it was supposed to and did rain). The drills answered the question for him. A bolt broke that connects the two drills together, and he went about ten feet down the field with one set of drills. The other had broke off and sat in the field. I'd gone out to check on him and help him refill the drills (by hand, with 5-gallon buckets) and found him puzzled, standing in the field. It took a little while to put it back together, and he would've been able to seed again yesterday morning, but then it rained. A lot. Guess it'll be put on hold for a bit.
Only one bad mishap, I guess...other than cows are still getting out occasionally. We'll be plugging away at fencing, one pasture at a time.... :)
And the shots I mentioned at the beginning were for Clifford. He had his 4-month shots yesterday (2 wks overdue). He is 17 lbs. 12 oz., 26 inches long, and was such a tough guy yesterday. He cried during his shots, then was totally fine the rest of the day. I remember my other kids being cranky after their shots (Clifford was even cranky after his 2-month shots), but he was so happy and totally himself. I'm so glad. It always makes me sad to see them cry from their shots.
Have a great last day of May....(Where did May go, by the way?)
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Farm News Flash
Lots of things to talk about today, I guess...
You know why?
Because all three kids are sleeping and I have peace and quiet!
I need to get out and finish planting my garden, though...time's flying by, and I want my plants to get growing.
The other day, Matt called about ten after one. Clarence had been sleeping for about 45 minutes, Adina had been sleeping about 10 minutes, and I was in the process of trying to get Clifford to fall asleep. Matt called. He said he'd gotten stuck with our tractor trying to pull Mark's tractor out on some CRP ground. He needed me to come quick and pick them up and bring them to get another tractor. I needed to hurry because there's a hole in the back tire of our tractor and it goes flat within an hour. So what did I do? Wake the kids up and run down to get them. I wasn't very happy about it. At all. Then yesterday we went to my cousin Brittany's house for a little playtime with the cousins. We got home around 2:30; there were cows out by the highway (ALREADY! It'll be a long summer if they keep that up!), so the kids wanted to ride 4-wheeler down there with Matt to put them back in. So they skipped their naps yesterday, too. They've been sleeping in, though, which is nice since we all go to bed kind of late. However, as a mom with children who love to play, talk and be busy during their every waking minute, it's sure nice to have a little quiet time. :)
Two days ago, Clarence went from having one bottle calf, Lila, to having three bottle calves, Lila, Lola and Wayne. Lola and Wayne don't love being bottle calves yet, so they don't come running for bottles when Clarence goes out to feed them. They still have to be cornered in the pen, then shown the bottle and the milk inside. Soon they'll figure it out, though, and Clarence will be one busy boy, feeding three calves two or three times a day. He loves it, though. He's such a little farm boy, and such a hard little worker (even if the work he accomplishes is only beneficial to him...). The other day he told me, "Mom, when I grow up, I'm gonna raise cows and be a horse trainer like my dad." I wasn't overly surprised. About the raising cows part, that is. But a horse trainer....did anyone know Matt Przekwas knows how to train horses? I didn't. :)
It's cute, though, that Clarence thinks Matt trains horses...I guess getting on and going for a ride could be considered that, huh?
Well, anyway, Matt's spent all yesterday afternoon and most of today fencing. He's not very happy about it, either. But it's only the beginning of the summer, and we don't want to deal with cows out all over the place, either.
And, tomorrow's his birthday. He'll be 27! He told me not to get him anything. I really don't need to, but I feel like I should. However, the day kind of snuck up on me and I didn't plan ahead, so he really isn't going to get anything (except maybe homemade cards by the kids and a birthday cake...). Hope he isn't disappointed.
Well, off to be productive during naptime. Have a fabulous long weekend!
You know why?
Because all three kids are sleeping and I have peace and quiet!
I need to get out and finish planting my garden, though...time's flying by, and I want my plants to get growing.
The other day, Matt called about ten after one. Clarence had been sleeping for about 45 minutes, Adina had been sleeping about 10 minutes, and I was in the process of trying to get Clifford to fall asleep. Matt called. He said he'd gotten stuck with our tractor trying to pull Mark's tractor out on some CRP ground. He needed me to come quick and pick them up and bring them to get another tractor. I needed to hurry because there's a hole in the back tire of our tractor and it goes flat within an hour. So what did I do? Wake the kids up and run down to get them. I wasn't very happy about it. At all. Then yesterday we went to my cousin Brittany's house for a little playtime with the cousins. We got home around 2:30; there were cows out by the highway (ALREADY! It'll be a long summer if they keep that up!), so the kids wanted to ride 4-wheeler down there with Matt to put them back in. So they skipped their naps yesterday, too. They've been sleeping in, though, which is nice since we all go to bed kind of late. However, as a mom with children who love to play, talk and be busy during their every waking minute, it's sure nice to have a little quiet time. :)
Two days ago, Clarence went from having one bottle calf, Lila, to having three bottle calves, Lila, Lola and Wayne. Lola and Wayne don't love being bottle calves yet, so they don't come running for bottles when Clarence goes out to feed them. They still have to be cornered in the pen, then shown the bottle and the milk inside. Soon they'll figure it out, though, and Clarence will be one busy boy, feeding three calves two or three times a day. He loves it, though. He's such a little farm boy, and such a hard little worker (even if the work he accomplishes is only beneficial to him...). The other day he told me, "Mom, when I grow up, I'm gonna raise cows and be a horse trainer like my dad." I wasn't overly surprised. About the raising cows part, that is. But a horse trainer....did anyone know Matt Przekwas knows how to train horses? I didn't. :)
It's cute, though, that Clarence thinks Matt trains horses...I guess getting on and going for a ride could be considered that, huh?
Well, anyway, Matt's spent all yesterday afternoon and most of today fencing. He's not very happy about it, either. But it's only the beginning of the summer, and we don't want to deal with cows out all over the place, either.
And, tomorrow's his birthday. He'll be 27! He told me not to get him anything. I really don't need to, but I feel like I should. However, the day kind of snuck up on me and I didn't plan ahead, so he really isn't going to get anything (except maybe homemade cards by the kids and a birthday cake...). Hope he isn't disappointed.
Well, off to be productive during naptime. Have a fabulous long weekend!
Sweet Summertime - The Bucket List
It's officially summer...(as far as commitments, school, piano lessons, graduations, and Sunday School goes). I'm so excited about this!
Here's our Summer Bucket List: (and this is according to me, since I layed the kids down without asking their opinions on what would be fun for the summer)
Here's our Summer Bucket List: (and this is according to me, since I layed the kids down without asking their opinions on what would be fun for the summer)
- Go camping at least 3 times.
- be beach bums at Bronson... (I think Clifford will look AMAZING as a beach bum!) :)
- go on a road trip...maybe out West to see Uncle Mike...
- go fishing
- Attend and participate in the Kittson County Fair
- Clarence has a cow/calf pair picked out already; she's red with a red calf, looks really great, and is a nice, quiet cow. And he has two heifers we might work with so down the road he can take them as cow/calf pairs.
- The kids are going to ride Chico in lead line in the open class horse show, so that means we need Chico up here for a week or two to practice! Fun!
- Attend my 9-year Class Reunion
- Have friends over for suppers and bonfires
- Clean up the yard
- Side the rest of my house...yes, friends, my house is currently white on the new part and pale yellow on the old part...I really don't even notice it anymore, but it'd be nice to get it done...
- Keep my flowers looking pretty all summer long
- Fix up the old shed into a playhouse
- Use all the produce in my garden: fresh, canned or frozen
- Enjoy each and every day!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
A Beautiful Week
Yay for nice weather!
Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
I love this verse. It is so easy to adapt this to each and every day, and it's also so important so I have the right outlook on everything.
You know....
Like when:
Mr. Mustard buns (Clifford) poops up to his armpits....
Poor Clarence who's had a high fever and woke me up the other night because he'd puked in his bed.....Yuck for me to clean and yuck for him to feel that way! It's so sad to see them not feeling good.
When Adina won't decide between two dresses to wear because neither one of them is "petty" enough...
But I try to be optimistic....
Well, hope you all enjoy the beautiful day and week. Rejoice and be glad!
Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
I love this verse. It is so easy to adapt this to each and every day, and it's also so important so I have the right outlook on everything.
You know....
Like when:
Mr. Mustard buns (Clifford) poops up to his armpits....
Poor Clarence who's had a high fever and woke me up the other night because he'd puked in his bed.....Yuck for me to clean and yuck for him to feel that way! It's so sad to see them not feeling good.
When Adina won't decide between two dresses to wear because neither one of them is "petty" enough...
But I try to be optimistic....
- I had the kids pray for rain the other night; God blessed us with rain that very night!
- Mother's Day was fun...we went to church, had lunch here at home with Nikki, Mark and Harley, went to the greenhouse to buy some flowers for the Grandma's, then went to Mom and Dad's for supper and a bonfire...fun times!
- Clarence came in on Mother's Day after we'd gotten home from church and said, "Mom, Cha-Cha had her baby!" Of course, I didn't believe him, because I was expecting a baby in a month or so at the earliest....nope! We went out and Cha-Cha (a miniature horse the neighbors GAVE us a few years ago because they didn't want to feed it anymore) had a tiny little baby dancing around her. The baby's about the size of Ruby, our dog. I'm not sure yet, though, whether it's a boy or girl. We haven't been that close to it. We're going to put Cha-Cha and the baby in their own pen for a while to work with it and so the kids can play around with it.
- It's time to plant flowers....I love buying them and planting them; now the kids are old enough, too, that they just love helping me. :) It helps give them something productive to do. I have a bunch of garden seeds to plant, too. Hopefully within this next week I'll get it done!
- A couple weeks ago I posted about my frazzled life and always having a messy house; I'm trying to remedy that. Before the kids can go out and play, I have them go through the house and find four things that they can pick up and put away in the right spot. This is so helpful because we usually end up doing it together, we usually end up picking up more than four things apiece, and the kids don't mind doing it now that we've done it a few times. Also, if they come in early before lunch time and just want to sit around, I've been giving them little jobs. The other day, I gave Adina a spray bottle and a wash cloth and let her work on scrubbing spots off the floor. We both loved it (she because she likes that stuff, me because the floor was getting clean!). She also put away all the silverware in the dishwasher, and didn't mind a bit. I'm hoping this is something we'll keep working on all summer for my sanity!
- Clarence's stories about what he works on outside; he sits in the sandbox for hours hauling beet pulp and tailings to our neighbors, Arlen and Eddie.
- Clarence has a new bottle calf in his calf pen; he's overjoyed! He's named her Lila. He bottle-feeds her 3 times a day, with a little help from his daddy. :)
- Adina's still planning on getting purple gucks this spring. Anyone know where I could get some?
- She's also started calling Clarence "Conce" instead of "Har" now. It's fun to hear how her vocabulary is changing.
Well, hope you all enjoy the beautiful day and week. Rejoice and be glad!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Funny Kids
Tonight when Matt came in for supper, Clarence walked into the kitchen to talk to him. Here's what I remember from their conversation...
C: I had a calf today, Dad.
M: Oh you did, where?
Me: In his pen.
C: (shakes his head 'no', points towards his farm animals)
Me: On his farm.
C: Yeah, on my farm.
Matt: What did you have?
C: A heifer.
Matt: How many calves have you had so far now?
C: Three heifers, one bull.
Matt: Oh, I see. Have you lost any?
C: Yeah, one. It got laid on.
Matt: Have you had any twins?
C: Yeah, the cow today had twins.
Matt: Oh, really? Are they both doing good?
C: No, the cow went into the woods and lost one of her calves.
Matt: Oh, that's too bad.
C: Yeah.
(From there, the conversation was pretty much over...we were both hiding behind our sleeves listening/participating in this conversation. It was hilarious. He knows so much!)
_________
Adina's been at daycare all week while Matt and I haul pairs out. Each day when I bring her to and from town, she points out all the wildlife to me. We see eagles (eagows), ducks (gucks), deer and geese. Her favorites are the gucks.
One day on the way home, she told me she wants girl gucks. Purple girl gucks. With parkles. (Those would be cute, don't you think?) I guess we'll have to try and find her a couple ducks to raise with our baby chicks this spring.
And the other day after I'd been teaching piano lessons all day, I picked her up. In the car, she asked me, "Why you not pretty today, Mom?" I asked her, "What do you mean?" She told me that my clothes weren't pretty. (I was wearing khakis with a zip-up fleece jacket...not pretty, no, but comfortable and presentable. I guess she needs to show me a few things about what's pretty and what's not. :)
_________________
We've made a lot of progress hauling pairs out to pasture this week. If anyone out there needs a good workout, please come over and join us for a day. Walking through the mud all day really makes a person work! We've got 100 pairs out on pastures close to home, which is so wonderful! Matt ordered the medicine in 50-dose bottles this year...let's just say he probably won't do that again. Hauling out fifty pairs in one day between the two of us is hard work. I'm really tired tonight. I hope the kids sleep in in the morning........
Hope you have a fabulous weekend and enjoy the balmy weather!
Oh, and p.s......Clifford says hello. He's just busy sleeping and being cute. :)
C: I had a calf today, Dad.
M: Oh you did, where?
Me: In his pen.
C: (shakes his head 'no', points towards his farm animals)
Me: On his farm.
C: Yeah, on my farm.
Matt: What did you have?
C: A heifer.
Matt: How many calves have you had so far now?
C: Three heifers, one bull.
Matt: Oh, I see. Have you lost any?
C: Yeah, one. It got laid on.
Matt: Have you had any twins?
C: Yeah, the cow today had twins.
Matt: Oh, really? Are they both doing good?
C: No, the cow went into the woods and lost one of her calves.
Matt: Oh, that's too bad.
C: Yeah.
(From there, the conversation was pretty much over...we were both hiding behind our sleeves listening/participating in this conversation. It was hilarious. He knows so much!)
_________
Adina's been at daycare all week while Matt and I haul pairs out. Each day when I bring her to and from town, she points out all the wildlife to me. We see eagles (eagows), ducks (gucks), deer and geese. Her favorites are the gucks.
One day on the way home, she told me she wants girl gucks. Purple girl gucks. With parkles. (Those would be cute, don't you think?) I guess we'll have to try and find her a couple ducks to raise with our baby chicks this spring.
And the other day after I'd been teaching piano lessons all day, I picked her up. In the car, she asked me, "Why you not pretty today, Mom?" I asked her, "What do you mean?" She told me that my clothes weren't pretty. (I was wearing khakis with a zip-up fleece jacket...not pretty, no, but comfortable and presentable. I guess she needs to show me a few things about what's pretty and what's not. :)
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We've made a lot of progress hauling pairs out to pasture this week. If anyone out there needs a good workout, please come over and join us for a day. Walking through the mud all day really makes a person work! We've got 100 pairs out on pastures close to home, which is so wonderful! Matt ordered the medicine in 50-dose bottles this year...let's just say he probably won't do that again. Hauling out fifty pairs in one day between the two of us is hard work. I'm really tired tonight. I hope the kids sleep in in the morning........
Hope you have a fabulous weekend and enjoy the balmy weather!
Oh, and p.s......Clifford says hello. He's just busy sleeping and being cute. :)
Monday, April 22, 2013
Another Day....
Well, I hope Grandpa Lowell, Uncle Chuck, Auntie Nikki, Uncle Nathan, and Uncle Mark are enjoying Clarence Przekwas and his knowledge, love and expertise of the bovine species today.
We're missing our little farmer.
He and Adina spent the night at Nikki and Mark's last night. They love sleepovers with Nikki. :)
(This wasn't last night...it was the last time when just Clarence slept over.)
Anyway, Nikki and Mark brought Adina home this morning before heading to the farm. I saw Clarence for a few brief seconds. He had two missions to accomplish before leaving our house this morning: he had to quickly check for fresh eggs, and he had to come in and get his cow book, complete with a purple and yellow marker (because my dad has yellow tags and Nikki has purple tags - he needs to correspond the correct number with ear tag color). He did that, gave me a quick kiss and was out the door. He's having a blast, I'm sure, and being a huge help. And probably talking non-stop about his cows at home and which cow had a heifer and which cow had a bull....it goes on continuously.
Adina's been kind of quiet today. She watched a movie, then played play-doh. Then I talked her into going out to help Matt for a while, to give her something different to do. I told her she could take a treat with her for the tractor ride. She ran into the kitchen and came back carrying five suckers. Matt asked if he could have one. She said, "No, dese hor ractor." She did decide to share one, but the rest all went into her coat pocket for the tractor ride. I came out of my room from laying Clifford down an hour ago and found her sleeping on the couch. I hadn't even heard Matt bring her in. She's still sleeping...
I've got piano lessons here in just a little bit, so the kids will be going to daycare while I go. Adina loves getting to go and play with her friends at daycare. Clarence doesn't mind going, but if he can stay home, he does. He's got so much work to do, you know.
Clifford was baptized last Sunday. He was such a good little boy the whole day and looked so perfect and darling in the baptism gown....(the gown was mine and my siblings when we were babies, brought over from Sweden for us from my grandparents).
Family pictures are fun, right? :)
And this morning, Matt came in and said that a heifer had calved, the calf was doing great, and he went out to check on things now and she'd layed on her calf. That's such a frustrating thing! The cow's got plenty of other places in the pasture to lay down, and she chooses to squash her baby. GRRR!
At least the weather seems to be warming up a little, right?
Off to get the kids ready for town.....see ya later!
And this was the kids on Easter at my house....fun times!
We're missing our little farmer.
He and Adina spent the night at Nikki and Mark's last night. They love sleepovers with Nikki. :)
(This wasn't last night...it was the last time when just Clarence slept over.)
Anyway, Nikki and Mark brought Adina home this morning before heading to the farm. I saw Clarence for a few brief seconds. He had two missions to accomplish before leaving our house this morning: he had to quickly check for fresh eggs, and he had to come in and get his cow book, complete with a purple and yellow marker (because my dad has yellow tags and Nikki has purple tags - he needs to correspond the correct number with ear tag color). He did that, gave me a quick kiss and was out the door. He's having a blast, I'm sure, and being a huge help. And probably talking non-stop about his cows at home and which cow had a heifer and which cow had a bull....it goes on continuously.
Adina's been kind of quiet today. She watched a movie, then played play-doh. Then I talked her into going out to help Matt for a while, to give her something different to do. I told her she could take a treat with her for the tractor ride. She ran into the kitchen and came back carrying five suckers. Matt asked if he could have one. She said, "No, dese hor ractor." She did decide to share one, but the rest all went into her coat pocket for the tractor ride. I came out of my room from laying Clifford down an hour ago and found her sleeping on the couch. I hadn't even heard Matt bring her in. She's still sleeping...
I've got piano lessons here in just a little bit, so the kids will be going to daycare while I go. Adina loves getting to go and play with her friends at daycare. Clarence doesn't mind going, but if he can stay home, he does. He's got so much work to do, you know.
Clifford was baptized last Sunday. He was such a good little boy the whole day and looked so perfect and darling in the baptism gown....(the gown was mine and my siblings when we were babies, brought over from Sweden for us from my grandparents).
Family pictures are fun, right? :)
And this morning, Matt came in and said that a heifer had calved, the calf was doing great, and he went out to check on things now and she'd layed on her calf. That's such a frustrating thing! The cow's got plenty of other places in the pasture to lay down, and she chooses to squash her baby. GRRR!
At least the weather seems to be warming up a little, right?
Off to get the kids ready for town.....see ya later!
And this was the kids on Easter at my house....fun times!
Friday, April 19, 2013
Alive
A week or so ago, someone posted this on facebook. I thought it pretty much fits my life right now, so I did, too. And, I think it's pretty funny, especially when people post about everything they accomplish in a day, and I look around at my toy-strewn house....
So, Moms who claim to get it all done in a day, (plus have a clean house, fresh-baked bread, bathed kids, and still time for yourself), how do you do it?
Most days, I can manage to feed my kids, wash a load or two of clothes, pick up through the house once (but not twice or three times), sometimes bathe them before bed, and sometimes get my own shower. I can shove Clarence and Adina outside for a while...Clarence will stay there for hours; Adina will last about 20 minutes. During that time, Clifford usually wants me, so I accomplish nothing. :)
At the end of nearly every day, I look around my little house, discouraged at the mess that is constant. Will they ever learn to pick up after themselves? Will I have to remind them every single time until they do learn to do that? Will there ever be a minute where I can sit down and really not have anything that is yelling my name...kids, laundry, dirty dishes, a dirty floor?
At the end of every day, at least I know my kids are happy, healthy and alive, and that I am blessed. Someday they'll be big and more help, I'm sure. And someday I'll want these days back again.
So, Moms who claim to get it all done in a day, (plus have a clean house, fresh-baked bread, bathed kids, and still time for yourself), how do you do it?
Most days, I can manage to feed my kids, wash a load or two of clothes, pick up through the house once (but not twice or three times), sometimes bathe them before bed, and sometimes get my own shower. I can shove Clarence and Adina outside for a while...Clarence will stay there for hours; Adina will last about 20 minutes. During that time, Clifford usually wants me, so I accomplish nothing. :)
At the end of nearly every day, I look around my little house, discouraged at the mess that is constant. Will they ever learn to pick up after themselves? Will I have to remind them every single time until they do learn to do that? Will there ever be a minute where I can sit down and really not have anything that is yelling my name...kids, laundry, dirty dishes, a dirty floor?
At the end of every day, at least I know my kids are happy, healthy and alive, and that I am blessed. Someday they'll be big and more help, I'm sure. And someday I'll want these days back again.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Calving in a Winter Wonderland
As always when we send the bulls out in late June, we're hoping that the following spring will be nice and warm, high and dry, and full of healthy, hoppin' newborn calves.
Well, the healthy, hoppin calves is what we have. The rest, not so much....as every single one of you knows!
I'm not going to spend the whole post talking about the weather, because there's not a darn thing we can do about it. However, it's sure nice when the weather's like it was last spring for calving compared to how it is this spring.
Yesterday, I watched Matt and Bob doing chores for a little bit. They were going in to feed the calves. Matt had to unhook the bale processor from behind his tractor, get in front of the tractor pulling the mixer wagon, and pull that tractor through the calf pen to feed the calves. Sounds like a lot of progress, huh? Yuck! I don't know what he's going to do to feed the calves this week...I'd just dread feeding them if it were me.
Matt's now experiencing what it's like (for me) to have a new baby in the house. What I mean is: I had a baby in January and have been up at least one or two times every single night since then. We had our first calf the middle of March, and he's been up at least once every night since then, now, too. Now we both know why we're pretty tired each day. Oh well...it won't last forever. Matt's dad has been over the last two weekends to help out. It's been really nice of him because Matt really needs extra help out there since we still have all this snow, and I have the kids in the house...at least the two youngest. Clarence lives outside these days. :)
On Easter, Clarence talked my brother, Nathan, into moving his little fence panels over by the barn with the little square straw and hay bales. He's been out there every day since then setting them up, pail feeding the heifers right beside his pen, and dragging a bunch of dry straw bales from inside the barn out to his pen. He told Matt that they'll dry out this summer....no big deal. He spends hours outside. I look out the window and see him carrying a bucket in each hand full of oats, carryiing them over to his pen to feed to the heifers that have calved right by his pen. That pen of heifers is special to him because his heifers, Dolly, Regan and Andi all live there, as well as Regan's calf (which is a black bull calf....totally the opposite of what he wanted, which was a red heifer calf. Regan is red, so he was hoping she'd have a red heifer calf...then he could keep it next year and name it. But, since he got a black bull calf, he didn't name it and he doesn't want it.)
Clarence is all business when it comes to living on the farm. I asked Matt today if Clarence could stay home with him when I go into piano lessons or if he wanted Clarence to go to the sitter. Matt said, "He can stay home if he wants." I told him, "Clarence doesn't farm to live, Matt...he lives to farm." It's so true, too. Anything and everything about him has to do with cows. He carries a little black book around with an orange, blue and green marker. Every time Matt comes in the house, Clarence asks, "Any new calves, Dad? Write their numbers down for me." So, Matt or I will take the book and depending on whose cow calved (Matt has blue tags, I have green tags, and Clarence has orange tags), we use the correct color marker and write down the cow number and her calf's number. It's so adorable.
So anyway, we're making progress on the house, but not much these days. Matt finished our bedroom last week, so we're getting used to sleeping in a bigger room with huge windows. It's beautiful, too. I just love my new bedroom. Thanks, honey!
Adina's been doing well. One minute she tells me I'm her best friend, then another, I'm not anymore. She picks out her own clothes, puts on her own undies and pullups, wipes herself, but when it comes to helping me do something, she'll say, "I can't". She's got Cinderella almost memorized, right down to what the birds say to Cinderella at the beginning. Talk about movie overload, I guess. I'm thinking she'll be out more and more as the days warm up (at least I think the days will warm up, but maybe not before the first day of summer!). She does ask to go outside, and she'll play out on the hill or with Clarence or in the mud, then come back in. She likes coloring - sometimes. She can walk in high heels better than I can, and she loves wearing makeup and dresses and looking like a princess.
Clifford is perfect. He smiles, eats, sleeps, and does it all over again. He's just a wonderful little boy, and growing so fast. He's three months old today. Yesterday was his baptism at church. It was a wonderful day, and we had a bunch of family come and celebrate with us at church. He looked so handsome in his baptismal gown. He likes our new bedroom now, too, since that's his room right now too. Now he doesn't have to take naps on the couch wondering if he'll be jumped on, poked, or be woke up by a yelling or crying sibling. He's so relieved and sleeps so well in there.
As for me, I'm just trying to enjoy every minute of Clifford's baby stage. With the other kids, I'd try and prop a bottle, let them cry in their seats a while, or just leave them be, but with him, I don't. I pick him up, we talk, cuddle, smile, and don't get much work done. But I know that next year at this time, he'll be walking and not little anymore. And I'll miss it. And there will always be work to do....
Well, off to take advantage of naptime. Have a super day!
Well, the healthy, hoppin calves is what we have. The rest, not so much....as every single one of you knows!
I'm not going to spend the whole post talking about the weather, because there's not a darn thing we can do about it. However, it's sure nice when the weather's like it was last spring for calving compared to how it is this spring.
Yesterday, I watched Matt and Bob doing chores for a little bit. They were going in to feed the calves. Matt had to unhook the bale processor from behind his tractor, get in front of the tractor pulling the mixer wagon, and pull that tractor through the calf pen to feed the calves. Sounds like a lot of progress, huh? Yuck! I don't know what he's going to do to feed the calves this week...I'd just dread feeding them if it were me.
Matt's now experiencing what it's like (for me) to have a new baby in the house. What I mean is: I had a baby in January and have been up at least one or two times every single night since then. We had our first calf the middle of March, and he's been up at least once every night since then, now, too. Now we both know why we're pretty tired each day. Oh well...it won't last forever. Matt's dad has been over the last two weekends to help out. It's been really nice of him because Matt really needs extra help out there since we still have all this snow, and I have the kids in the house...at least the two youngest. Clarence lives outside these days. :)
On Easter, Clarence talked my brother, Nathan, into moving his little fence panels over by the barn with the little square straw and hay bales. He's been out there every day since then setting them up, pail feeding the heifers right beside his pen, and dragging a bunch of dry straw bales from inside the barn out to his pen. He told Matt that they'll dry out this summer....no big deal. He spends hours outside. I look out the window and see him carrying a bucket in each hand full of oats, carryiing them over to his pen to feed to the heifers that have calved right by his pen. That pen of heifers is special to him because his heifers, Dolly, Regan and Andi all live there, as well as Regan's calf (which is a black bull calf....totally the opposite of what he wanted, which was a red heifer calf. Regan is red, so he was hoping she'd have a red heifer calf...then he could keep it next year and name it. But, since he got a black bull calf, he didn't name it and he doesn't want it.)
Clarence is all business when it comes to living on the farm. I asked Matt today if Clarence could stay home with him when I go into piano lessons or if he wanted Clarence to go to the sitter. Matt said, "He can stay home if he wants." I told him, "Clarence doesn't farm to live, Matt...he lives to farm." It's so true, too. Anything and everything about him has to do with cows. He carries a little black book around with an orange, blue and green marker. Every time Matt comes in the house, Clarence asks, "Any new calves, Dad? Write their numbers down for me." So, Matt or I will take the book and depending on whose cow calved (Matt has blue tags, I have green tags, and Clarence has orange tags), we use the correct color marker and write down the cow number and her calf's number. It's so adorable.
So anyway, we're making progress on the house, but not much these days. Matt finished our bedroom last week, so we're getting used to sleeping in a bigger room with huge windows. It's beautiful, too. I just love my new bedroom. Thanks, honey!
Adina's been doing well. One minute she tells me I'm her best friend, then another, I'm not anymore. She picks out her own clothes, puts on her own undies and pullups, wipes herself, but when it comes to helping me do something, she'll say, "I can't". She's got Cinderella almost memorized, right down to what the birds say to Cinderella at the beginning. Talk about movie overload, I guess. I'm thinking she'll be out more and more as the days warm up (at least I think the days will warm up, but maybe not before the first day of summer!). She does ask to go outside, and she'll play out on the hill or with Clarence or in the mud, then come back in. She likes coloring - sometimes. She can walk in high heels better than I can, and she loves wearing makeup and dresses and looking like a princess.
Clifford is perfect. He smiles, eats, sleeps, and does it all over again. He's just a wonderful little boy, and growing so fast. He's three months old today. Yesterday was his baptism at church. It was a wonderful day, and we had a bunch of family come and celebrate with us at church. He looked so handsome in his baptismal gown. He likes our new bedroom now, too, since that's his room right now too. Now he doesn't have to take naps on the couch wondering if he'll be jumped on, poked, or be woke up by a yelling or crying sibling. He's so relieved and sleeps so well in there.
As for me, I'm just trying to enjoy every minute of Clifford's baby stage. With the other kids, I'd try and prop a bottle, let them cry in their seats a while, or just leave them be, but with him, I don't. I pick him up, we talk, cuddle, smile, and don't get much work done. But I know that next year at this time, he'll be walking and not little anymore. And I'll miss it. And there will always be work to do....
Well, off to take advantage of naptime. Have a super day!
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