Why I Love Trick-Or-Treating in Happy...

Last night I was again reminded of how blessed we are to live in our little community. Here are a few reasons why:

• You don't have to get out at every house with your kids for two reasons. 1. Everyone knows them. 2. You'd never finish trick-or-treating because you'd visit too much.
• My kids received candy from some of the same people that used to hand it out to me.
• If you do get out with your kids, you can almost bet you'll walk away with a piece of candy, too.
• When someone opens the door, you hear, "Come on in here."
• The first year T.S. went trick-or-treating, a friend of ours opened both hands and gave T.S. a choice--candy or a golf ball. T.S. chose the golf ball. He's gotten a golf ball from him every year since.
• I came away from one house with new crocheted pot holders.
• Sadie was sad that we, "couldn't stop by Roberta's this year." How often does a 9 year old remember that a 90+ year old passed away since last Halloween? You could never leave Roberta's house without a sack of candy and a hug/kiss. She always wore bright lipstick, too.

Boots

I took these pictures of T.S.'s boots the other day. We were at the fair, and, of course, he didn't want his picture taken. He did, however, want me to photograph his boots. I wasn't thrilled with the background. (T.S. was actually standing on an over-turned trash barrel.) I changed the picture to black and white and antiqued it. I can't decide which I like best: color, black and white, or antiqued.

Black and White:

Antiqued:

What do you think?

Firecracker Fun

When I was a kid, my mom taught me how to "blow up cans" like she did as a child, now my mom is teaching my kids how to do it. I love the traditions we hand down from generation to generation. If you have never done this before, you need to try it--it amounts to hours of entertainment at our house.

First, find two cans that, when empty, just fit inside each other. (Mom was nice enough to find some out-of-date ones in her pantry and empty and clean them out when she came. She's also very smart--she brought a set for each kid.) Then, punch a hole in the end of the can so a firecracker will fit very snugly.

Pour a small amount of water in the large can. (You'll learn that the amount of water affects the height the can goes--that's the fun part, experimenting)

Place the can with the firecracker in like this:

Mom says the secret is to put the can in the can with water, then put the firecracker in.

Light fuse:

and get away:

The can will launch into the air.

Collect the can, and do it all over again.

To see more photos and read more about our family celebrates the Fourth, go here.

Mother's Day

Yesterday, mom treated us to supper at El Camino. When we returned back to Nonnie's room at the nursing home, we took this picture:

The picture isn't fantastic, but the quality of the picture isn't as important as who's in the picture. There are four generations in this picture. Growing up, I knew two of my great-grandmothers. I spent time with them and have vivid memories of time spent with them. I've been blessed to know both my grandmothers and make many memories with them.

Sadie had the opportunity to know my Grandma Gracie for a little while. She was very young when Grandma passed away, but she vaguely remembers her. Unfortunately, Parkinson's had set in and Sadie didn't get to know Grandma like we did. My children have been very blessed to know both their grandmothers and even more blessed to spend time with their great-grandmother, Nonnie. Sadie can still remember helping her make biscuits. T.S. and Sadie both enjoy going to visit Nonnie at the nursing home. They are making memories there now.

Sadie and T.S. love spending time with my mom, their GeGe. They are always ready to help her with farming. They know exactly where the popsicles and microwave popcorn are at her house.

I just wanted to capture four generations of our family together, I'm sure Sadie will someday understand what an incredible thing that was/is.

Look what came in our house last night...

Every time I think I need to remove the large wooden door between the kitchen and dining room (we rarely close it and it takes up space) something like this happens:

Robby stepped outside last night to see what Petunia was barking at, I looked up to see this lovely mud swallow perched on the curtain rod. By the time I got my camera, it perched on the picture--for those of you who recognize the frame, rest assured, the picture was not harmed. Anyway, it took Robby quite a while to take care of the situation. AsI stood holding the front door open, I tried not to laugh.

Mud swallows have been the bane of my grandmother's existence for as long as I can remember. Now that we live in her house, I am a little more understanding. They like to build their nests in the most inconvenient places. And, they make a huge mess under them. The awning at our back door still has measuring spoons and remnants of plastic bags hanging from it--all attempts by my grandmother to ward off the birds.

I remember once when one got in, it wouldn't go out--you'd have to know my Nonnie to appreciate the site of her chasing it around the kitchen with a broom. Needless to say, that swallow didn't make it out alive.

I looked up some information about mud swallows, supposedly they eat thousands of insects, most notably, mosquitoes a day. Based on my mosquito bites, I'd say these guys around our house aren't doing the job. I also found this interesting site that offers animal and bird control. For a small fee they'll come to your house to help with anything from rats to alligators and birds to coyotes. They'll even give you help over the phone for a nominal fee--maybe that should be my next job: professional animal control.

I guess for now we'll just keep the door between the kitchen and dining room.

CATS

Despite the scare of contracting H1N1 (formerly known as swine flu), Robby and I travelled to the big city today to see a touring production of CATS. I had seen it in Spanish in Mexico City and didn't want to pass up the chance to see it in English in Amarillo. It was a fun afternoon--lunch, a theatrical production and a little shopping with your husband all made for a pretty good day. I've had more culture in a week than a usually get in a year. My reading list is growing longer I've added T.S. Eliott to the list with Maya Angelou.

Cake!

Every year I make the kids' birthday cakes. We've had everything from a star to Lightning McQueen and a golf course to Dora the Explorer. This year T.S. wanted an "army cake."

So, I tried my hand at "sculpting" a cake. Here's what we ended up with--T.S. was thrilled with the end results.

The pictures aren't great--my camera doesn't seem to be taking very good ones, and I haven't gotten used to the one my sweet sister is letting me borrow.

Planting Potatoes

The kids raced down the newly made rows.

My great-grandmother always said to plant potatoes on Good Friday, so this year we actually did that. After we planted them we put hay on top of the rows. Hopefully it will hold moisture in (we are having to water right now because it is so dry) and keep weeds down.

Our seed beds look really big because we make them with the same implement you would use in a regular-sized field. When it is time to water, we have a cool pipe with holes drilled to fit the spacing of the rows so we can water four at a time. A bolt fits in the hole to stop it up if one row gets soaked before the rest is out. I'm afraid we are going to have to pre-water this year, so pictures of that eventually.

Our seed potatoes: Red Lasoda and White Kennebec

Memories

On a friend's blog today I read about sandwiches she used to eat as a child. That made me remember that mom used to fix me (or let me fix?) a ketchup sandwich or two. We'd put them in a little orange, plastic picnic basket and I'd walk over to my great-grandmother's (we called her Memaw) to visit. I think Memaw couldn't believe that mom let me eat ketchup sandwiches. They really are good, you know, especially on very fresh, white bread.

I can't believe that Memaw used to let us stick a straw in an orange to suck the juice out, instead of making us eat the orange. She always had lemon drops for us as well and Chicken 'n' Biscuit crackers (I think that's what they were.) All of those things tasted so good at her house.

Memaw always did mom's ironing. She loved to iron. When I was at her house, she would lower the ironing board and let me iron dad's handkerchiefs. I'd work very hard at it and put the finished, neatly pressed and folded kerchiefs in a pile on her TV--remember the big console ones?

I seem to remember that she always had a little "something" in her electric skillet on the counter. She'd warm that up for her supper, I guess. It's amazing that she didn't die from food poisoning. My other great-grandmother would leave all the dishes leftover from Sunday dinner out. She'd just cover them and heat them up later. (and I seem to have survived my childhood unscathed) Now we kill ourselves to get everything in the refrigerator.

It's amazing how mention of one thing can lead you down a road of happy memories. It's also amazing that I grew up knowing two great-grandmothers. Oh to go back to the simple time of childhood and ketchup sandwiches.

Spring Break

This year we travelled to my sister's in Magnolia. We had a ball with the kids and even planned a great adventure for one day (that's another post). In the end, we found out that the kids were content to make their own adventures on their own time.

The highlight of the week for the kids may have been playing in the sprinkler and then having manicures and pedicures as well as makeovers when the very talented neighbor came to stay so the adults could take a trip to College Station. The best part of the week for me?

• Seeing my sister and her family
• NO responsibilities--the harsh reality of real life hit me like a brick today
• Going to College Station and hanging out with adults--remembering good college times and making new memories as well

More to come--just haven't had time to upload pictures or organize my thoughts (don't hold your breath on the last one)

Why Do We Have Chickens?

It occurred to me that this might be a good time to explain how we got into the chicken/egg "business." In first grade, Sadie's class hatched eggs in an incubator. Sadie kept coming home from school telling me that if I sent a note she could bring home some chicks. This was before they even hatched so I kept putting her off. Come to find out, she was right, so we allowed her to bring three Leghorn chicks home. We figured they wouldn't make it through the winter (for some reason they hatched them in October-November which is not an ideal time around here.)

The three--Pecky, Eatie, and Roostey--soon outgrew their box in the house. We "borrowed" a huge rabbit hutch from our friends and Robby built a smaller house with a heat lamp to put inside the hutch and we moved them outside. We never dreamed they'd all survive the winter; we actually had snow that year. They did survive, so we built a house and pen in our backyard in town.

We moved all three chickens and the house and pen to the country with us. Our neighbor in town had "fancy" chickens. He decided that we needed some Cochin Bantams. We were excited to expand our flock, so we agreed. He called one day to tell me to come pick them up. He already had them in a cage. He gave us an older hen and 3 of her chicks. After I got home with them he said, "By the way, I'm pretty sure two of those are roosters." I didn't want roosters. Roostey, the original Leghorn was getting mean and cantankerous, I wasn't interested in more.

To make a long story short, Roostey got so mean he wouldn't let us in or out of the pen. I had to carry a "chicken stick" with me to get eggs and the kids wouldn't go near the pen (except Tryce, which is another story.) Petunia, the dog, killed the old bantam hen when she got in the yard and her chick, that was now a hen, died from loneliness. Roostey went on to greener pastures when we adopted our cousin's second-grade chicken Adventure Cheepy. (He, by the way, was not smart enough to come in out of the rain and unfortunately didn't last too long here.) So, we were down to the two original Leghorns and the two unwanted Bantam roosters.

In August we bought 5 Rhode Island Red and 5 Leghorn chicks. Fast forward to now. We still have the two hens from first grade. The chicks we bought last fall are all laying and we have eggs coming out our ears. (For sale, by the way, if you are interested.) The roosters, after 2 years of living in peace, have begun to fight. Our hens will probably never sit on eggs to hatch them (broodiness has been bred out of them). Because of that, it kind of makes the roosters unnecessary. So, renovations to the pens and relocation of the "fighting" roosters are on the to-do list for this spring.

If you'd like a slightly beat up Bantam rooster, let me know. I guess you could say they are "free to a good home."

Pictures I Didn't Capture

At the stock show I didn't always have my camera handy. I've learned that when the perfect moment comes, it is often ruined by digging out the camera. I missed a few pictures just because my zoom isn't strong enough. So, here are the "ones that got away", but will be etched in my mind for some time.

• Wednesday morning about 7:00am--Sadie all dressed up to show almost asleep in a chair holding Leonard's halter; he stood patiently beside her with his head in her lap and fell asleep.
• Sadie's face as she turned around to catch Robby's and Craig's eye when her lamb was being weighed.
• Robby's and Craig's faces when the judge pulled Sadie and she made it through the weigh back. (Some have said it is more fun to watch Robby and his reactions when Sadie is showing.)

Stock Show Secrets

We're back from the San Antonio Stock Show. You can go over to the family blog for updates and pictures of that. Sadie and Leonard placed 14th. We were really proud of both of them. Get ready for lots of posts about the week. Kids in the car for 8 hours, animals and being a tourist give lots of post options.

Today I'm going to share a few tips I learned at the show:

• If you don't have an exhibitors' pass or a parking permit, arrive before 7:00am. No one will be there to check. Of course, none of the exhibits are open yet, only one place is open for breakfast and the line is long (lamb, pig, and steer people have to eat) and if you aren't there to show or watch someone show you won't have anything to do for several hours. But, you'll get in free. It makes for a really long day, though. (Net savings: $18)
• The food is expensive and not that great. If you wander around long enough you'll find some free samples, though. We were treated to chuck wagon coffee and biscuits, free ice cream cones (small, but good) and various samples from H.E.B in the afternoon. If you go through the lines enough times, you can fill up. (Depending on how many people you are feeding and how many meals you are there for you can save anywhere from $10-$50 a day by sticking to the samples, however, you probably aren't doing your part for the economy if you follow this tip and the first one)
• The exhibits that are geared toward kids are terribly crowded and congested during school hours--try to wait until all of the school groups leave before checking those out.

Here's a sampling of what T.S. ate:

• Monday--1 hot dog
• Tuesday--2 hot dogs, 2-3 biscuits, 4 ice cream cones
• Wednesday--biscuit (his goal was four, but we didn't make it back over to the chuck wagon), 1 ice cream cone

More useful (or useless) stock show info to come...

It's Friday...

It's Friday, so where are my Friday Fill-Ins? Well, I read them and they didn't just jump out at me. My brain is terribly tired today, so I'm skipping them--maybe next week.

We are BUSY with stock shows. We love this time together as a family. It's fun to spend time with the other families in our 4-H club, too. Sadie has worked very hard--you might not could tell it is her first year if you didn't know her. We're looking forward to a fun weekend.

More on the stock shows when we have time to stop and see if we are coming or going....

How to Tell if Your Church is "Kid Friendly"

I am very thankful that our church is "kid friendly." We don't send the kids out after children's time and for the most part, the low rumble that comes with the numerous kids in our congregation is not only accepted but welcome. Here are some signs that your church is "kid friendly." (in no particular order)

• No one minds that your 4 year old son takes off his shoes and socks five minutes into the service.
• Peppermints are provided in the foyer and no one stands guard over them limiting each kid to only one. (Although sometimes I wish we did, but I don't want to be the peppermint guard.)
• It is perfectly acceptable for your child to run up the aisle (barefooted) to children's time and "slide" into his spot on the floor. It is also acceptable for him to run up the center aisle and slide into his pew. (We did discuss this today and T.S. promises not to make a habit of it.)
• Your preacher stops in the middle of the sermon to acknowledge the child (usually his granddaughter) that is waving/talking to him.
• Members of the church tell you that you are being too hard on your kid (when you take them out to discipline) and you should, "just let them be kids." These are the same people that would have never let their kids get away with what you are trying to stop your child from doing.
• When you get a new preacher, he is often confused about which kids belong to which parents because babies are handed off and kids take turns sitting with their friends regularly.

Is your church kid friendly?

Homemade Gifts

This year I am proud to say that I have been able to make quite a few of our gifts. We've made snowmen ornaments, bottle cap necklaces and wine charms, and homemade marshmallows. I'm very proud of the play mats Robby and I painted, here is a picture:

They are designed so the boys can use their cars, trains and farm equipment to play. They can be rolled up for easy transport, too. If I figure out how to photograph the necklaces and ornaments without a glare, I'll post them as well.

Merry Christmas!

Bell Ringer--Part 2

The other day I mentioned that last year T.S. thought he was paying to ring the bell when we put money in the Salvation Army kettle. This year he thinks we have to put money in to pay to go in the stores. We put some in on the way into WalMart the last few times we have been there. When we arrived at Hobby Lobby he asked if I was giving him more money to get in.
Hopefully if we keep explaining, the reason we put money in the kettle, it will sink in.

Gift Ideas

So, it is officially December. Now the mad rush begins. Decorate the tree (and now days the whole house--even the bathroom--and yard), buy lots of presents, wrap them all, bake, make candy, run, hurry, see about checking into a home for crazy, frazzled Christmas people....

On this site, Granny Sue's News and Reviews, she offers some very simple, very thoughtful Christmas gift ideas. Check it out.

I was exaggerating (but not much) in the first paragraph. This Christmas, try to go with the flow. Don't stress about the small stuff--you can't even see the floor where our tree is supposed to go. Take time for yourself, take time for your family. Make an attempt to savor the moments and memories. Have fun! And, most of all, don't forget the real reason we have Christmas. Celebrate the birth of Jesus with everyone you come in contact with. Maybe if we all started trying to go back to the basics of the holiday we could start a national trend or something (I can dream, can't I?)

Kittens

It is time for the kittens to make the next step in their lives--move outside. We really enjoy having them in the house, but know eventually we will have issues like climbing on the furniture and shedding. There is also the possibility they will realize we have a rat and gerbil in the house.

It is crazy that I would have such a difficult time sending the cats outside. It is not like we'll just throw them out and forget about them. They'll have a nice bed in the garage and we'll feed them everyday. It's just that I have invested time into them--bottle feeding, making them poop, etc. (for more on that whole adventure go here and search our blog for "kittens.") I also know that as the adopted mom I have been unable to fully prepare them to go outside--I have no idea how to teach a cat to hunt. So,in hindsight, our rat and gerbil are probably safe.

I think I'm getting a glimpse of the future and what it will be like when it is time to send the kids on to new adventures in their life. As moms are we ever prepared for this?

Biscuits

I was reading Granny Sue's News and Reviews today--I'd like to visit her. She is a story teller that lives in the Appalachians. Anyway, she gave her biscuit recipe today. I do not intend on making biscuits, the womp-um ones are just fine, thank you. And, we have the frozen ones for special occasions.

What I am getting to is that it brought back really good memories of Nonnie making biscuits. When we asked for the recipe, she would always say that it depended on how many people were eating that day. No matter how pressed for time she was, she would always let Sadie help her. I wish I had a picture of the little toddler sitting on that cabinet helping make biscuits. Nonnie would always let Sadie "make" a few of her own and bake them. Usually by the time Sadie was finished playing with the dough, they didn't rise much and turned out a little hard when cooked.

I am so grateful that Sadie, Nonnie and I have that memory. Sadie still talks about making biscuits.