Adventures in Hartland

Spring Break

2010-04-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Last week was Zoey's first official Spring Break--I can't believe my girl is almost done with her Kindergarten year! We had a pretty low key week, but met up with my brother, D, and parents for an outing to Carlsbad Caverns National Park on a weekend trip. The caverns were amazing! I hadn't been there in at least 17 years, so it was like looking at everything for the first time.

The trail is very well maintained, but a bit intense. I'm so proud of my girls for making the trek MOST of the way. Thanks Apple and D for letting them use your shoulders! Between my mom and I, I think we got some pretty good pictures (although I haven't seen hers yet!)

Here's D and Zoey posing--The caverns maintain a constant, cool 62 degrees year round. But let me tell you, we worked up a good sweat climbing some of the trails! On an interesting side note, there was an earthquake in Carlsbad while we were there, not huge, 4.3 on the Richter (?) scale. We actually didn't feel the earthquake itself because we were on a floating walk bridge over the Pecos River at the time, (Cue Mom, "Wow the water got choppy all of the sudden, didn't it?") But a tremor awoke me at 0430 the next morning. Weird.

Oddity

2010-04-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

I came home from work last week to my 5 year old exclaiming, "Mommy, one of the chickens laid a ball!" Well, here it is, our egg-ball. This came from one of my younger hens, so I'm assuming that even though she's laid some normal sized eggs, things are still 'getting started'. Gonna have to do a little research on that.

I wanted to crack the egg open to see if there's a complete mini egg inside, but Tom wants to save the shell. Guess I'm going to have to figure out how to blow the egg out of this tiny thing without marring the shell. I still laugh when I see it! One of the interesting things about raising chickens, I suppose.

Introducing...

2010-04-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Kenzie, the wonder dog! Actually, that was her name the first day we brought her home. Now that she's been a part of our family for almost 2 weeks, she's also affectionately referred to as Terror or Poop Machine. What on earth did Tom talk me into?

Kenzie is a 7 week old American Bull Terrier--also known as a Bully. Tom and I have talked about having one of these dogs since we first began dating...Well, a long time ago! She's a handful, but very loved (and spoiled, as you can see!) It's been a long time since we had a puppy, life is back to the times of having a newborn. Gotta love those 2am potty breaks.

Blowin' Away!

2010-04-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce that Spring has officially arrived in Hartland--and with it, our annual Springtime winds! As I sit and type this, I can hear a horrible howling and see our still bare pecan trees swaying violently in the wind. The past couple of days have been horrible, with wind so strong you can hardly stand up! The a dust cloud encompassing the entire valley, so much so that, at one point yesterday I couldn't see my neighbor's house. Thank the good Lord that none of us have allergies! (Knock on wood!) We know several people that are suffering right now...

The garden continues to grow! This pic is actually a couple of weeks old--now I have beautiful spring mix and bib lettuce, swiss chard, beets, and carrots flourishing! It's my plan this weekend to get my tomato and pepper plants into the ground. Well, if mother nature cooperates, that is. And then once they are in the low raised beds, it will be my mission to keep the dogs and chickens out!

Our chickens continue to amuse us on a daily basis. Since we only have 6 hens, we've really gotten to know each one's unique personality. Quarky, to say the least! Every morning that I'm off from work Cams and I let the gals out to wander the back yard and scratch, scratch away!

Here's a shot of one of two of our new apple tress, newly planted into the ground. They are a Honeycrisp and Prairie Spy apple, both antique varieties. I also have a Fuji apple, along with 4 peach trees and two pear. The new trees have sprouted beautiful, bright green leaves already, and the older trees are enjoying the warmed weather. The peach trees are covered in blossoms, and the pear trees aren't too far behind! Happy Spring everyone!

Suprise!

2010-03-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

It has been the inside joke here in Hartland, about my egg-less chicken adventure since we hatched the 4 little chickies last April (2 of which met an early end, the other 2 being roosters) I purchased 3 bantam chicks to add to my sad little flock and ALL 3 turned out to be roosters as well...We are now rooster free, and have a flock of 6 hens that came to live with us late in the summer of 2009. Four of them were too young to lay, and the other 2 were older hens but molting. And so Hartland was still egg-less. The days have warmed and finally one of my sweet Aracaunas gave us a surprise beautiful green egg!

Since that day, about a week and a half ago, "Flower" has inspired her comrades and each day we have been blessed with 3-4 homegrown eggs! The eggs are so much better tasting than store bought white eggs, even my 3 year old could tell a difference! I plan on selling extras that we can't keep up with--I already have people lined up from my work wanting to buy!

On the homefront

2010-03-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

Spring is well on its way here in Hartland and we are so ready for it! The different tomato and pepper seedlings are several inches tall now and hopefully will be in the ground in about 3-4 weeks. Fingers crossed! Today, little C and I planted beets, Bib lettuce, Swiss chard and carrots into one of our raised beds for some early spring greens. This raised bed also holds our garlic, yellow and red onions, and Egyptian Walking onions planted late last year.

My wonderful hubbie just finished building me two new planting beds out of railroad ties over the weekend, they are both 3 x 16 ft. It's going to be a great addition to our family's gardening square footage, as well as beautifying our back yard. It was fun to involve our whole family in preparing the new beds, I love to see my girls with their hands in the dirt!

I recently ordered 2 new apple tree varieties to add to our little orchard. They are both antique varieties and will join the 4 peach, 1 apple, and 2 pear trees that we already have. All of our trees are young, but I'm hoping to see some fruit this season! Walking through them yesterday, I noticed that the peach trees are loaded with blossoms just about ready to make their debut. Anticipation! One other indulgence I'm expecting is a Meyer lemon tree that should arrive with the apple trees. It's my plan to plant the lemon in a large (hopefully movable) pot for the back patio. That way during the winter months I can bring the tree inside when we're expecting frosts. Our little homestead continues to grow and we are so grateful for God's plentiful blessings!

Science

2010-02-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

We recently visited a hands-on science museum in Albuquerque called Explora. It was so much fun and geared for kids as young as Camryn (and probably younger!) to adults. The best part was that every display allowed you to play or interact with it. Fun!!! Zoey and Cams loved it! Here are just a few of the pictures that we took that afternoon. If you are in the Albuquerque area, I highly recommend spending a day at Explora--we can't wait to go back!

Planning

2010-02-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

2010 Garden Roster

Tomatoes: Old Fashioned Goliath, Amish Paste, Big Zac Hybrid, Sugar Snack, Super Marzano, Red Alert, Big Mamma Hybrid, Beefsteak, Jersey Giant, Mortgage Lifter, Brandywine, Purple Kalabash, and Rinaldo.

Peppers: Quadrato Giallo D'Asti, California Wonder, Yellow Monster, Pequis, NuMex Sunrise

Cucumbers: Armenian and Pionner Hybrid

Also have Romano bush beans, Lungo Bianco squash, Chinese Long Bean, Black zucchini, Crenshaw melon, Tigger melon, Rocky Top lettuce, Chioggia beets, chives, Ali Baba watermelon, Cinderella pumpkin, Thai White Ribbed eggplant, Scarlet Nantes carrot, Desert King watermelon, Tromboncineo squash and Buttercrunch lettuce.

Long live the homegrown revolution!

Mommy Brag

2010-02-02T16:02:00.000-08:00

My Kindergartner read her first book by herself! I am completely amazed how much Z has learned since she began school--what a smarty pants! Meme Jo was visiting us and got to share in the excitement :)

Ready, Set, Grow!

2010-02-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

February marks a flurry of garden activity here in Hartland, time to get seeds growing indoors and to start early spring veggies outside. I am blissful! After being taunted by seed catalogs for the last 2 months, I can finally play in the dirt! I wanted to share a few garden prep pictures with you all. This year, I'm trying something a little different for my seed starting. I purchased several lidded, shallow storage containers to place my homemade newspaper pots in (Love holiday clearance!!!). They have made it easy to transport the seedlings to sunny windows around the house, plus with the lids on, I have a mini greenhouse. If you ask my wonderful husband how many mini greenhouses I have, you'll probably just get a "too many..." My newspaper pot maker proved invaluable again this year--I would recommend anyone getting one! Once the seedlings are ready to put into the garden beds, I plant the whole pot and the newspaper composts into the soil.

In the raised bed closest to our back porch I have garlic sprouting, and have since added red and yellow onions. Beets and carrots will also be direct sowed here once the weather warms just a tad. It won't be long!

Recycled restaurant containers have a new life now as my indoor salad greenhouses. Cams helped me with the soil filling and in the seeds went!

At least until the seeds sprout, I have the container lids in place and here they sit in a sunny south facing window. I plan on planting lettuce outdoors as well, but the sooner I can harvest, the better!

Longing for...

2010-01-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

As I sit here blogging, the weather outside is cold, raining and now trying to snow. It's miserable, to say the least. I am dreaming of...Longing for a warm, humid breeze blowing across calm, crystal waters. So quiet, you can almost hear the clouds moving across the sky. Yes, I need a vacation! But I'll settle for some warmer weather here in Hartland, I suppose...

Ravel Me This

2010-01-13T18:28:00.001-08:00

I've been playing around with knitting off and on for about a little over a year now--not great at it at all, but I'm making progress! I would love to find a class somewhere, someday, but for now I try to figure it out and watch a lot of YouTube demonstrations... I just finished a little beanie for Cams today, it's called a Hurricane Hat because of the swirling pattern on it. It just took me a few hours, pretty easy to knock out. I'm also proud to say that this was the first knit creation I've made from reading a pattern. Learning, yay me! Here's my beautiful little ladybug modeling her new chapeau.

Cold Days

2010-01-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

We've have some cold, cold days in Hartland lately. It's been rough not being able to play outside much with the kiddos, but we're attempting to keep everyone well. Late morning a few days ago, I spotted these little doves on our back porch trying to stay warm. Hope that you all are nice and toasty this January!

Cheesemaking Experiment

2010-01-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

My parents gave me a cheesemaking kit for Christmas (thanks Dad and Mom!) that I've been itching to try out since I opened it! Yesterday I had some time to spare so I declared it cheesemaking day and set to work :)

I used a gallon of milk that we would normally drink in our household: Plain ole' store bought 2%. The instructions specifically said that milk that had been ultra pasteurized would not work, but the labeling on my milk said it was only 'pasteurized'. The kit is pretty simple and instructions clear cut, nice for a beginner like me! I added my citric acid to the milk and then heated according to direction.

Once the adequate temperature was reached, I added my rennet, which was a tablet dissolved in a small amount of water. After sitting for several minutes I began to see a separation of the
curds from the whey! And that's where my trouble began...

Although there was a distinct separation of the curds from the whey, the curds didn't seem to firm up quite as much as the directions said it should. My next step was to cut up the curd and reheat, while stirring, to further separate. Afterward I drained the majority of the whey and opted to use the microwave to heat up the curds to 135 degrees to begin the stretching/shaping process.

End verdict: My curds never really firmed up, resulting in more of a ricotta-like texture instead of mozzarella (although it was still quite tasty!!!) Troubleshooting directions suggested that I should possibly use more citric acid than the recipe originally called for, or choose a different kind of milk. My next door neighbor is a co-owner of a dairy near us, so maybe I can get some milk from him. Can't go wrong with milk straight from the source! And there's no way I could convince Tom to milk a cow twice a day when I'm working!

Welcoming A New Decade

2010-01-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010 from Hartland everyone! Wishing you all many blessings and adventures in this new year AND decade that's upon us! Any New Year's resolutions that anyone has made and cares to share? I myself, haven't made any official resolutions, other than to attempt to increase our family's self-sufficiency. But more on that in posts to come!

We had a small dusting of snow just before the new year that was pretty, although it didn't last long. There was no sign of white stuff for Christmas, so I had to sing along to just a couple of Christmas carols early that morning while beautiful, little flakes danced from the sky to the ground. And then all Christmas paraphernalia went into the attic...

The girls enjoyed getting bundled up and playing in the falling snowflakes while they lasted. And then the house was filled with tracked in mud for the rest of the day, until the ground could soak up all the moisture! Here are a couple of video snips of Zoey and Camryn playing. Enjoy!

Promises

2009-12-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

I get a sense of wonder with each change of a new season. Each is different and magical in it's own way. I love the cold winter months here in Hartland, but as these of weeks of frost and snow (yes, SNOW!) roll by I begin to long for warmer weather. There are promises of Spring around me, even in December. The blooming of my 7 year old, beautiful geranium plant, the little shoots of green from under a thick layer of straw in the garden (onions sets that were planted in the Fall), and a stackful of seed and garden magazines recently from the mail, teasing me!

Merry Christmas from Hartland!

2009-12-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all people. For unto you this day is born in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger". Luke 2: 9-12

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9: 6-7

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; Therefore the child to be born will be called holy--The Son of God".
Luke 1: 35

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5: 1

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7: 14

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6: 23

From our family in Hartland, we wish you a very blessed Christmas!

Winter in Hartland

2009-12-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

Happy December from our family in Hartland! We took our family heirloom, the Green Beast, out for a photo session not long ago. For fear of posting the wrong year (apologies to Tom and my Dad!) it's a 60's GMC truck that belonged to Tom's grandfather.

The acres of pecan orchard behind our house have lost their leaves, but at this time the trees were still heavy with pecans. When the big tractor-like shakers grab on to the trees, you can feel the ground vibrate many, many yards away at our at our house. Another season, come and gone. We are so blessed to live in such a rural area of our town--we have space to play and create adventures!

Surgery

2009-12-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

Our sweet big girl has had problems with enlarged tonsils for several years now. Especially over the last couple of years she's been prone to tonsillitis and strep throat. She was also a little 'nasal sounding' when she talked, snored when sleeping, and seemed liked she had a chronic runny nose! Poor girl! Z's elementary school was dismissed for Winter Break on December 18...And Zoey had a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy on December 21. I felt completely guilty about it, but I know that she is going to be so much healthier for it in the future! We've had it with monthly antibiotics!!!

There is nothing worse than the feeling you have as you watch your semi-drugged 5 year old being wheeled away from you on a stretcher to the operating room. Horrible, HORRIBLE! Everything went smoothly and we were home with her later that morning, along with a mountain of popsicles, ice cream and gatorade. She had a pretty slow week, but was recovered enough to enjoy Christmas. We are a week post-op now, and other than some occasional referred ear pain, she is back on track. What a story she will have for the other Kindergartners when school starts again!

Last Soccer Game

2009-12-28T11:16:00.000-08:00

Mid November was Zoey's last soccer game of the season--and it's quite possibly her last soccer game. The kids and families of the Badgers' soccer team have been wonderful, most of the kids on the team (as well as Z) started when they had just turned 4 years old. It's been fun seeing each of them grow over the past three seasons. Zoey, however, has decided that it's time to move on and try different things. Up next, we'll be giving ballet a try! I'm going to miss those fun little games and getting to know all the different families at the soccer practices. Camryn will be able to play in the Spring of 2011 (wow, that was weird to type...) so we'll see if that's what she's like to do. Thanks Badgers for three fun and memorable seasons!

Compost

2009-10-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of years I have become an avid composter. Initially, my idea was to start composting to supplement the soil in my garden (and yes it's definitely a bonus for some healthy plants and beautiful veggies!) But composting kitchen scraps also lessens your household waste and keeps less junk out of landfills. You don't need anything fancy to compost. I usually collect my kitchen waste in a plastic container and empty it out at the end of the day into my compost bin. It's important to add 'brown waste' to the compost as well as the 'green waste' kitchen scraps. Brown waste are things like grass clippings and dried leaves. Keep your compost pile moist and it will break down into black gold for the garden! If you'd like to learn more about composting, visit composting fundamentals--a guide to composting at:
http://vegweb.com/composting/

Maize Maze

2009-10-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Not long ago in Hartland we spent an afternoon at our local corn maze! A family farm grows a VERY large field of corn and in conjunction with our local university, the surveying department cuts a maze design through the field. This year the design was a honey bee with honey comb. Fun! They also have many different activities and educational booths set up so kids can learn about agriculture in our area. The girls had a blast (not to mention dad and mom...)

The farm also had tractor rides through pumpkin fields they had planted--they grew some monsters! Here you could guess the weight of these 5 pumpkins and if the weight we entered is correct then we win that pumpkin for Halloween! I don't think Zoey's guess of 7 pounds was right, but we'll see...

Out in one of the acres and acres of pumpkin patches--Camryn finds one just her size! She brought it home and named it Spooky. Spooky eats, sleeps and even takes baths with Cams. Hope it lasts until Halloween!

We had such a great day there!

Apple-licious!

2009-10-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

Apple harvesting season has officially arrived! My Dad has a decent sized apple orchard and it was a pretty good year. My chef Zoey helped in the kitchen prep of washing, drying and coring apples to make apple butter! The house smells heavenly of a menagerie of apples, cinnamon, and allspice. One bucket down and 4 more to go! I let the cored apples cook down slowly in my crock-pot and then we canned them up. So delicious, Fall if officially here! Thanks Dad and Mom for the wonderful apples!

Hard at Work

2009-09-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share some pictures of my firefighter, hard at work! Tom does 24 hour shifts at NASA and works with a great group of guys. They stay pretty busy, but as you can see there is the opportunity for downtime every now and then...Rock Band anyone?

School Days

2009-09-26T05:11:00.000-07:00

We have a Kindergartner here in Hartland! Zoey officially started school on August 17 and now in the month following we have seen her blossom and grow! It has been wonderful to see her interact in her new social setting and make friends! There are 20 kids in her class--14 girls and 6 boys, so Z has plenty of potential princesses to recruit! Her school is probably the smallest elementary school in the city, which is near and dear to my heart (For those who don't know, I grew up in a VERY small, but great school!) I decided to become a volunteer in her classroom and had to have fingerprinting and a background check done (Nope, no tater salad here for you Ron White fans!!!) Zoey's teacher and classroom assistant are amazing and we are so grateful for them!

A little bit late.

2009-09-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

As usual, our busy days here in Hartland have left me falling behind on my little blog. I was also a little down on myself about the blog, but after a bit of positive feedback from a loved one I've decided to have another go-round to keep you all updated in our lives. Thank you to my readers!

We have had a great summer--God has showered his blessings on us in so many ways! And now Fall is officially here, the changing of the seasons from Summer into Fall if my favorite time of year (especially since our horrid mosquitoes have almost disappeared!) Only the Catalpa tree in our front yard is beginning to turn golden, but soon our Pecans and the orchards surrounding us will start to put on an Autumn show! The days have been warm and sunny but in the mornings and evenings things cool down to sweater weather!

I was a bit disappointed in our overall garden harvest this year, so a few days ago I decided it was time to clean out and start some Fall veggies. It's always a little sad to see the garden go, but now I have a fresh, clean canvas for the lettuce (Black Krim, Red Romaine and Butternut Crunch varieties), carrots (Thumbelina), and beets (Red Detroit) that the girls and I planted. The carrots and beets I know that we can winter-over, but I'm hoping to get a nice crop of lettuce going before a good freeze hits! Guess it will be time to make some home-made garden bed covers!

Wildlife

2009-08-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

Our chicken experience has been a fun one! We have 5 very entertaining chickens--one rooster in the bunch (that we've discovered so far, at least...) and 4 hens. Each one of them has their own very distinct personality! Tom welded together a fantastic frame for our chicken pen and we covered it in chicken wire. We still have a bit of time before the hens start laying, so he's just begun to put together some nesting boxes. Can't wait for some fresh, homegrown eggs! These two are Romeo and Juliet, and the remaining 2 chickies that we hatched ourselves. They are the most inquisitive, funny things. We usually let the chickens roam around the backyard in the mornings and evenings when we're home and they follow us around like little, lost puppies.

The three other chickens we have are bantams, although I have figured out what kind yet. I bought them from a local feed store when they were hatchlings (to supplement our sad little flock when tragedy struck!) They have been dubbed Oreo, Coco and the littlest roo ever (but with a newly found mighty voice!) Clementine!

The girls love spend hours chasing them around and vice versa!

Falling behind

2009-08-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

These summer months have kept us so busy and I've fallen behind in updating you all to the happenings of Hartland! I was surprised that my last post was still in June--where on earth did July go? I wanted to concentrate on the garden for this post, at least. The days have been HOT and dry but our garden has persevered! These are some of my San Marzano tomatoes--my garden pride and joy this year! This was my first experience with this variety and I'll definitely be saving seeds for next year. San Marzano's have an extra meaty flesh that is great for saucing. Whenever we harvest these I just bag them into the freezer. At the end of the tomato season, I'll make (hopefully) a winter's worth of yummy sauces and salsa!

Here's a snap of some of the gorgeous red peppers we have growing--they love our hot, sunny weather!

Carrots! This was the first year that we've had a nice looking carrot crop. I have no idea what I did differently this time around, but they are so tasty and beautiful--and we have a bumper crop of them! These carrots are probably the girl's favorite as a grab and go snack from the garden when we're working or playing outside. And most of the time, I can get Camryn to wash the dirt off of them (oh well, dirt has nutrients, right?)

A side shot of a row of our tomatoes and Zoey's sunflower.

The sunflower that Zoey planted from seed and has diligently taken care of! The birds have started eating the seeds produced from it and she likes the idea of taking care of them.

One of my heirloom Cherokee Purple tomato plants--another experiment for me this year. They're not quite as prolific as I'd hoped, but they sure are pretty!

Some climbing cucumbers and Tromboncino squash. We've trained the squash to climb the fencing of our dog run.

The Tromboncino squash has been really fun to watch grow. It has big, bright green leaves and giant yellow flowers. The fruit itself is a winter squash that has a long, narrow neck. My longest one so far is 29 inches! I'll have to get some better pictures for the full effect.

Can you tell that we love sunflowers here in Hartland? Here's another addition to brighten up our backyard.

Well, it's not really a garden picture, but I had to share my Cams checking on her chickies!

Happy Birthday Zoey!

2009-06-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

My beautiful girl is 5 years old--so hard to believe! We had a great water party over the weekend with our slip n slide, sprinklers, water balloons and splash pools! The weather was nice and muggy, so cooling down was quite a treat. Really wasn't too much of a theme going on this year. She chose animal invitations, wanted a princess castle cake, and a Hannah Montana pinata. What a combo :)

Above is everyone gathered 'round the castle singing to the birthday girl! I love all of her relationships with her little friends--she is so sweet natured and her imagination is fantastic!

What do you think of the castle cake we made? It's rough that our girlie can't have a pink castle, but I think the yellow came out pretty good. Zoey was ecstatic about it, and that's an A in my book!

Water baby Cams playing in the yard for the party. What kid can resist running through the sprinklers?

Kleine Schätze

2009-06-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to show off my little ladybugs--we're having a great summer! The days have been pretty warm now in June, so we try to stay indoors for most of the afternoon hours. That means playing and projects! Here's Zoey practicing writing her name and the alphabet for Kindergarten! She is doing such a great job! Camryn loves to play with Mommy's guitar--maybe she'll want to learn with me soon! I took a video of her a couple of days ago strumming the guitar on the floor and belting out 'want to be a rockstar...want to be a rockstar!' Just too funny!

Chicken Business

2009-06-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

Our little chickies continue to grow and make us laugh every day--they are 5 weeks old now! We have now moved them from our brooder (dog crate) in the kitchen, to a small A frame chicken run in the backyard. For about a week I was bringing the dog crate outside during the day and taking the bottom out so that the chicks could scratch and forage through the grass. Teaching my chickens to be chickens...HA! They are so entertaining and the girls absolutely love them. Our cat, Biggs, checking out the day old chicks. He would spend hours just watching, probably dreaming of a little, fluffy snack! He doesn't bother now, they would probably gang up on him now!

This was one of their first adventures outside! Look how much they've grown!

In the evenings when we can be out in the backyard with them, we let the chicks out to wander. They always stay in their little pack, moving from tree to tree. The above pic is of the chicken tractor tilted up on its side, until it's time for bedtime!

Canning Day

2009-06-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

The garden is growing and producing! In past years I've used our freezer in preserving what we harvest, but this year I have been doing more research on canning. Truly, canning seems kind of like a lost art. Earlier this week was my first canning experience and I had a blast! My Great Grandma Ann canned all the time, and one thing in particular I remember was her watermelon rind pickles. Sweet, sour, crunchy, and soft all in one bite. For my family reading this--you remember, I know! So drawing from that, I found a recipe online (I love recipezaar.com) for watermelon rind pickles. I couldn't get ahold of my mom at the time for the family recipe, but these turned out great as well. Can't wait to try new things as more things are ready for harvest in the garden!
Above are the watermelon rinds softening up a bit and sterilizing my lids.

Giving the first batch a nice hot water bath! This giant enamel pot was used by my Grandma and Grandpa back in the day!

Filling my jars--do you see all of my zucchini and Delicata squash in the background?

My project finished! On the left I canned some zucchini pickles and the right are the watermelon rind pickles. They both tasted great and I'm sure it will only get better after curing for a few weeks!

Busy Weekend!

2009-06-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we were surprised (a fantastic surprise!) by our Tio, Tia and cousins coming for a visit to Hartland! We always have such a great time when we're together--the combo'ed menagerie of all our kiddos always makes me smile! We had quite an adventure at the big air show in town with jets, snow cones and air pirates...And of course I forgot my camera! It did get pretty warm (I'm still trying to recover from a toasty sunburn on the back of my calves!)

Afterwards we all needed a cool down so the slip-n-slide and kiddie pool were hauled out to relax and rejuvenate! Here are some pics of the mischief makers! Oh how I love them all :) Above is Alexis taking a break from the slip-n-slide.

Here's Justin taking the scooter for a cruise!

Alissa hanging out with her Daddy (Our Tio)

The kids have fun...I get my grass watered!

My little Cams giving a big cheese for the camera!

Success!

2009-06-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Success! After a short search for some local fertile eggs here in Hartland, we decided to give incubating eggs another try. I posted an add on craigslist that I was looking for some eggs and a great lady responded who lived just a couple of miles south from us! We hatched 4 of the 7 eggs that she gave to us (better than 50%, I'm ecstatic about that!) and they are just the cutest little balls of fluff ever! Our egg donor told me she had a pretty wide variety of chickens, so I'm not quite sure what we'll end up with. 2 of them are bright yellow and the other 2 are a cinnamon sort of color. It was quite a bit of work consistently monitoring the incubator temperature, turning the eggs and making sure there was enough humidity, but I'm happy with our results.

We have a 'nursery' brooder now set up for our chickies in the kitchen. It's made from a dog kennel with lots of shredded paper bedding and a sheet to keep the heat in from our heat lamp. The girls are having so much fun with our new babies!

The video below is of our first hatch! Tom called me as I was on my way home from work on Thursday and told me that one of my eggs was chirping! Those sneaky little chicks weren't supposed to start hatching until the next day--it was a fun surprise! Oh and in case you're wondering, the names of the chicks are Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Cookie and Cupcake.

Veggies

2009-05-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

More picture updates of the garden in this last week of May! The past three days we've blessed with a good amount of rain in Hartland and the plants are soaking it up! Ahhhh, nothing beats the smell of rain in the desert... I swear that everything has doubled in size because of it!

One of the first of the zucchini with a million more to follow it! Zoey helped me plant seeds this year and I think she got ahold of the zucchini packet...I couldn't stand to pull out too many of the zucchini seedlings that came up, so we're going to have zukes morning, noon and night in a week or two!

Most of the tomatoes we started this year were paste varieties, but I couldn't help but a few of our cherry tomatoes! I also had a couple of volunteer cherry tomato plants come up from last year. Hopefully there will be a bumper crop this year so I can make a lot of salsa and spaghetti sauce!

I think that in a previous post I hadn't planted any cucumbers yet, but I gave in and as you can see they are climbing away! We also put together another small raised bed to add to our collection and I planted more cucumbers and tromboncino squash. The bed is just a make-shift one made from concrete block and it's next to our dog run. Hopefully the squash and cukes will climb the fence with a little training.

Here we have a little mingling of beets, okra and carrots. Hopefully some yummy veggies soon!

Then and Now

2009-05-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

This is our amazing Zoey Ash when she was just over 2 years old (younger than Cams is now!) I can't believe how fast that she's grown. She has always been such a sweet natured, smiley girl! We had planted the Catalpa tree behind her not too many days before this picture was taken. And I'm proud to say that that is one of the trees that I started from seed!

Here is our same pose today! Catalpa's are really fast growing trees and since the almost 3 years that the first picture was taken, it has grown probably 3+ feet! Not to mention the little beauty who has also seemed like she's grown 3 feet! I'm going to have a Kindergartner soon!

imagenes

2009-05-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

Camryn is my little early bird in Hartland, so most mornings when I'm at home she and I have a bit of time by ourselves before Zoey wakes up (Daddy has either already gone to work, or hasn't made it home from work yet...) Sometimes she'll help me with breakfast, but mostly I like to set her up with a project to keep her little hands busy! We don't buy Play-Doh because firstly it has plenty of dye in it and my girls are allergic to red dye. Plus have you read the ingredients? Just can't help not wanting that junk around my ladybugs. So in turn I make home-made playdoh--simple flour, salt, and cream of tarter. Easy as that and if they happen to put it in their mouths (which happens A LOT!) it's perfectly fine, albeit a bit salty! If you're wondering about where the purple color came from? Blueberry juice! Hello all natural :)

And as an added thought: Yes, Camryn absolutely got her morning hair from me!

Garden

2009-05-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

The garden is growing, growing, growing! And we're loving every minute of it! I'm of the mind frame of intensive gardening. In other words, cram as much stuff as you can into as little space as possible. This helps to conserve water in our hot desert summer days, and also helps me to have more of a harvest when I have only raised bed gardens. Even now in May I'm still trying to sneak in different seeds!

Look at my artichokes! This is the second year that they've been in the ground and Zoey and I are hoping for tons and tons of them! These are definitely in honor of my Grandpa Robert--can't wait to share these with him.

Flop

2009-05-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Well for all who are wondering, my egg incubating experiment was unsuccessful this go round. I'm attempting to try and find someone with local eggs to try again eventually but until then, the heat lamp lies dormant in the corner of our kitchen. I'm a little sad, but my friend Kelli (who inspired me to try incubating) had the same results... Between us we've got a full back of chick feed and nothing to feed it to!

On this week's agenda is to get some pics posted of mine and Zoey's little garden! I didn't get my second raised bed finished like I'd hope, but next year we'll have uber garden! So far we've got tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno, zucchini, delicata squash, watermelon and a giant sun flower courtesy of my beautiful little girl! I was planning on putting cucumbers and tromboncino squash in the second bed, so it looks like I'll have to do without my cukes this year...Boo! We've also got a big group of hearty artichoke plants and can't wait to eat 'em!

Badger

2009-05-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pics of my proud little Badger holding her Spring 2009 soccer trophy--it was a bobble head trophy and quite possibly the most stinking cute thing I've seen because it LOOKS LIKE ZOEY! We had such a fantastic season, Z has so much fun with her little soccer buddies. And I have to say that for all of them still being only 4 years old at this point, they were doing a great job out on the field!

In other news we found out last week that the school Zoey has been attending for preschool (which is a fantastic school!) isn't the one we're zoned for, for Kindergarten. The mamma bear in me had a handful of emotions run through me when we heard the news. Tom and I immediately filled out an 'out of zone' transfer form for her to stay where she is. Yesterday was her official Kindergarten registration and we also had an IEP meeting scheduled at the new school to set up her education plan for the fall. I was so skeptical walking in to the place, but God being the amazing Creator that He is took off our blinders and showed us our daughter's future! This new school is much, much smaller and we have been told time and time again that it is very family oriented. During our registration we were able to meet the 2 Kindergarten teachers at the school. Tom and I are taking the weekend to think things over and do a lot of praying, but there's a good chance we might be taking back our transfer form. Keep our family in your prayers!

Bliss

2009-05-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

Can I even put into words how much I completely adore this little girl? She is so so so animated all the time (I had to share a fraction of her great expressions!) And she is such an outside girl. We've really enjoyed these beautiful spring afternoons!

Irrigating

2009-05-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again here in Hartland, when my favorite fireman hauls out our giant hoses and we start irrigating the pecan trees. Messy, but oh the fun! Of course Dad and Mom took a little fun out of it because the girls were sure wanting to undress and streak through the front yard. For those of you who don't know, we have 20 mature pecan trees on our property--in the 4 years we've been here it's been kind of trial and error, but we've learned a lot in the art of 'pecaning' (Okay I just made up that word, but it sounded appropriate!) Zoey also colored herself in pink chalk and is not the lobster that she appears to be!

Helmet

2009-04-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, I couldn't resist throwing in a post with some oldie-but-goodie pictures in it! Here are some blast from the past poses of our babies! It's kind of a tradition we've got going to take the girl's first 'riding pictures'. Enjoy!

Problems...

2009-04-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well our 'big computer' is misbehaving and we think caught a virus--hopefully not the swine flu, but this being the border one never knows! We do have our fantastic laptop but I don't have our camera dock hooked up here (and honestly I'm not sure where the cd is with the programming, that was quite awhile ago...) Hopefully Kodak has something on their website that is down loadable. So for this post at least, no picture updates...Boo! I have SO MANY new great ones to share!

It has been such a busy, but fulfilling week! I had three classes: Neonatal Resuscitation recert, AWHOON Fetal monitoring recert and an ACLS class (acute cardiac life support: compressions, meds, shock shock shock!) I finished day 2 of ACLS today and am so very glad to have that over and done with! For 2 more years, at least. Tom took his Intermediate EMT state test, and even though we don't have the official 'pass' yet, he's very confident that he did great. Go Babe! And in between all that it's been work, work, work!

The girls have been busy bees as well! Zoey has school for a few more weeks, her last day is May 13th and then summer vacation for her! Kindergarten registration is this week for her--can't believe how our big girl has grown! She also finished spring soccer up until the fall season rolls around again. Maybe we'll try out gymnastics or ballet for the summer to switch things up a bit! Camryn is loving our warm weather and gets head-to-toe dirty every day playing outside. Sometimes I feel like I should hose her off before letting her come inside, but she is so happy. Our big thing right now is drawing all over the sidewalk in our front yard with the big bucket of chalk. Trust me, it's a loooooong sidewalk...At the end of the day I hose it down and we have a fresh canvas for the next day!

Alright everyone--fingers crossed that I'm able to either find my photo program cd or am able to download it somehow. Hope that you're all completely wonderful! P.S. A praise to God: our friends Mike and Debra we able to bring their baby home from the hospital a couple of days ago! Samantha was born at 29 weeks on February 24th. Go Samantha go!

Eggs-periment

2009-04-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay enough with the egg titles I know! A friend of mine here started incubating some chicken eggs and got me in the mood to experiment with incubating as well. So a week or so ago we purchased a tiny little dome incubator (nothing fancy in the least, it looks like a little flying saucer). I purchased some Cochin Bantam eggs off of ebay--which off track, isn't it amazing all the random things you can find there? The eggs arrived in the mail today, all extremely well packed and in great condition and we could fit four of the eight eggs into our little incubator. The other four set on our counter for the afternoon until I could stand it no longer and gathered supplies to make my own incubator. Here are some pics of our fun! I cut a little window in our home made incubator so that we could all peek in and check out anything going on. The girls think these are the greatest things since finger paints! Zoey cracked me up all afternoon, walking by every 5 minutes and asking 'Are the chicks ready to come out yet?' It's going to be a LONG 21 days for her, my poor girl. Both girls will probably lose interest in the whole thing by the time the eggs hatch (fingers crossed that at least some will hatch!!!) So, anyone want any chickens in about a month? Our neighborhood doesn't allow non-domesticated animals, but maybe I can smuggle them into our backyard. I just have to convince Tom first!

Egg-stravaganza

2009-04-11T20:53:00.001-07:00

Had to show off my artistic little beauties with their egg dying skills! We visited my parents for a few days and had to have a egg dying party since we won't see them for Easter this year. Thanks Apple and Meme for letting us commandeer your house for those days, we had fun! (You're probably still trying to out it all back together...) So here are Zoey Ash and Cams with two of their favorite people, doing what they do best...Making MESSES!

Hope that you all have a wonderful Easter! Praise Him, Christ Jesus our Savior is risen!

Slacker

2009-04-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

Holy cow, I can't believe that I let almost a month go by without blogging. What a slacker I have been! I thought about it frequently, but just never took the time to sit down and do it! It's been a busy past few weeks--let me catch up and probably make 10 different posts tonight...

It has been work, work, and more work for Tom and I lately, but at least it pays the bills, huh? This while month is a busy one for with with my ACLS class, Neonatal Resuscitation recert class, and fetal monitoring recert class. You think I'd be smarter and split them up a little. Oh well, maybe next time. Tom is getting ready to take his state test for his EMT intermediate license and he has a PALS class (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) coming up as well. Our phenomenal girlies are wonderful! Zoey is still loving school and riding the school bus. She came home with a flier earlier this week about Kindergarten registration at the end of the month. I can't believe it's really time! Zoey's last soccer game of the spring season is next Saturday--a light bulb must have clicked on in the last couple of weeks because she went from our princess soccer player who was more likely to be doing pirouettes on the field to a pretty aggressive little player! It's so fun to see her get in there go after the ball! Camryn is growing by leaps and bounds--we sure don't have a little baby anymore. She is doing great with potty training and has become Mommy's little helper.

The past week has been pretty ugly, weather wise. Gusty, dusty winds that nearly knock you over when you're out in them. Today was cooler with a few sprinkles of rain to go along with the wind, only to make a nice layer of mud on everything! Ah, Hartland in the Spring! I've gotten a decent amount of my tomatoes out in the garden and planted a few other things, but until the weather gets a little more inviting I won't be able to finish the second raised bed I've got started. Many, many other things going on!

Deuce

2009-03-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

I have yet to introduce you all to the new baby in our family--well, Tom's new baby! We are now the proud owners of a Harley Davidson Deuce motorcycle. Pretty, isn't it? Don't tell Tom I said that! Here are a few pics of recent days with the bike.

I haven't had a lot of ride time with Tom, due to the fact that a family of four can't exactly 'cruise'. (Buy a side car Daddy!) But yesterday our fantastic neighbors watched the girls while Tom took me on an expedition. It was a lot of fun! Can't wait to have some time to ride with him again.

Beds

2009-03-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

When did my babies get so big? It truly is amazing how fast time can go by! It has almost been a week since Camryn's crib came down and she moved to her 'big girl' toddler bed! It was bittersweet to see the crib go into storage in our garage--knowing that we don't have a baby anymore and also for the containment factor! She has done decently well about staying in her bed. The first 2 nights were a little hard because of the newness to her and novelty of her new found freedom. If we can just get her to stay still for a couple of minutes, she crashes out without any problems!

We also decided that since Cams was getting a new bed that it was time to make a change for Zoey as well. She was sleeping on my old childhood bed, an antique wrought iron ensamble. Once she moved from the toddler bed we never put the head and foot boards on this bed bed because it makes it pretty high. And Zoey is our wild sleeper... So we decided to make her big girl bed into a true BIG bed. We painted it the purple color that she picked out and she is thrilled with it.

Sand

2009-03-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

It was a fantastically gorgeous Hartland day on Sunday and we enjoyed an adventure at White Sands National Monument. The girls had never been before (Seems like we don't take enough time to go do things that are in our neck of the woods!) and the two of them thought this giant sandbox was better than candy!

The sand was a little cool on our bare feet when we were climbing our way to the tops of the dunes, but we didn't let that get in our way. We brought our snow sled along for the ride and did a little sand sledding as well. Zoey even decided that she wanted to be buried and loved it! All of us came away with enough white sand in our clothes, hair and ears to refill the back yard sand box!

I just love this picture of Zoey trekking up this dune with only her little footprints marking her way.

Sand

2009-02-25T18:55:00.001-08:00

Not any news to post, just wanted to show off my completely wonderful NASA firefighter! The test facility had a 50th anniversary day a few weeks ago and the 'boys' got to play around with new equipment. How many people do you know that get to tinker with million dollar space suits? I was jealous! And speaking of people with connections, we're going to have a private little tour of the non-public areas of White Sands Missile Range. Dustin and Tom both have access and we're going to go play around in the "Transformers" movie set. Hopefully I'll get some pics to share--I'm a little nervous having the ole' camera around all that sand!

Warm

2009-02-25T18:55:00.000-08:00

This late February weather has been absolutely wonderful, and boy are we living it up! Lots of play, play, play for the kiddos and for Daddy and Mommy in Hartland. Tom had been a little under the weather from a freak back injury, but is 98% better now. Thank goodness, it's never easy to have someone in your household down and out (literally!) He's been doing a little tinkering in the garage and playing with a new toy. More to come on that.

I found a couple of nice fruit trees on sale this week and came home with a Bartlett and Moonglow pear. My Dad also donated to my mini orchard with a Gala apple tree. Thanks Pops, love you! I've also got a couple of peach trees that are just about to blossom! As you can see, the tomato seedlings are springing up and looking fantastic. The girls love to peek at them every day to check progress and count numbers with me! None of my peppers have emerged yet. I'm giving them another week and then trying different seeds, perhaps the ones from last season just aren't gonna cut it.

My little garden helpers have been busy turning soil for me in the big raised bed. Too bad the weather isn't just a tad warmer and I could hose them off outside!
We're living up this gardening weather before our Hartland ghastly March winds make their appearance. Ugh, not looking forward to that!

Waiting

2009-02-19T18:33:00.001-08:00

My sweet big girl rode the school bus for the very first time yesterday! This was MUCH harder for me than having her start preschool! Here are a couple of pictures of our big first day--waiting for the school bus and then getting settled in! I was a wreck (and her Daddy too, though he won't readily admit it!) She did great! Since we live a little ways out, she's the first on and the last off the bus.

School is going wonderfully, her teachers and speech pathologist are very amazing. Have I mentioned that Z is allergic to red dye? All we needed was a note from our pediatrician and the whole school changed their food menu to accomodate us. AWESOME! Kindergarten is going to be a breeze for us this Fall!

Planting

2009-02-16T16:15:00.000-08:00

The tomato seeds are officially planted! My fantastic little helper Zoey and I made 70 little newspaper pots and filled each one. I can't wait until we see the little green seedlings popping up! Zoey also made some little pots all herself and decided to plant sunflower and cosmo seeds. She really got into it this year...Yay for my little gardener! In the next couple of days I'll be planting my different pepper varieties as well. Our tomato varieties this year include: Brandywine, San Marzano, Costoluto Genovese, Sweet 100 Cherry, Roma, Purple Cherokee and Rinaldo. MMMmm can't wait for saucing season!

H.V.D.

2009-02-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day from Hartland everyone! I just wanted to share a few pictures from this past week of my three very special Valentines. Here are the girls, doing what they have the most fun doing: playing dress up. Cams has fun, but hasn't quite mastered the art of being a fashionista like her sister. Doesn't Zoey look like she belongs in a children's fashion magazine?! She mixes and matches all herself! Oh how I love my little ladybugs! The last picture is of the girls loving on their Daddy. Hope that you all had a wonderful day, surrounded by people you love!

Dirt

2009-02-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

So I came across this article by way of a website that I frequent quite often and wanted to share. 'American children’s overly sterile surroundings and overprotective parents may pose dangers to their health'. Thank you pathtofreedom.com for the link to this article! Here's the link: http://newsletter.vitalchoice.com/e_article001334309.cfm?x=b8drcdL,b5PRNLJ0,w

Give a look, it's worth reading. And it's not just the researcher coming out in me either! And of course, after reading it you'll know why I have the healthiest kiddos in Hartland! Here is Camryn last summer helping Mommy in the garden. We're getting ready to get seeds started in the next couple of weeks and both girls are excited to help. And of course I'm loving that they're getting their hands dirty right along side of me.

Twirling

2009-02-07T16:55:00.001-08:00

Just in case you were wondering, yes, we are all girl in this household. Poor Tom doesn't stand a chance against all the dress up, tea parties and artistic dance! For quite a while we thought that Cams would be our little rough houser of the bunch, but she too is blossoming into a little princess. Zoey is ecstatic. If we ever decide to add another little addition to Hartland, I don't want to say it's just to try for a boy. But could this house handle any more estrogen? According to Zoey: YES and her name will be Ariel :)

Artist

2009-02-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

There's a little artist shuffling around in Hartland...The girls and I were home and I was doing little projects and cleaning up around the house. The girls were playing in their bedroom, or so I thought. I walked into my bedroom and saw a little white plastic cap lying on the floor. Hmmm, what's this? I was on my way to throw it in the trash when I realized that my bathroom door knob was gooey. And that my bathroom door was gooey. And that my entire bathroom from three foot down was gooey. What in the world? Then more evidence... A crumpled tube of minty fresh toothpaste next to the toilet. Ah man! It was a complete mess, and of course neither of my innocent little angels were claiming anything. Pleading the 5th...Smarties! I got everything cleaned up and pretty much forgot about it. Later that afternoon I ran across a little paste-y hand print on our bed. It's so cute that I've left it on for the past few days (besides, it's on Tom's side of the bed!!) Our little artist, Camryn.

Tidbits

2009-01-28T20:22:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me a little challenge to list 25 things about me to pass on to others, and I thought I'd share mine with you. Some things came to mind quickly, but others I had to ponder for awhile.
1. I didn't have my ears pierced until I was almost 19 years old, not that I was afraid to do it, but I guess that I never got around to it. My navel was even pierced before my ears!

2. Tom and I have been together almost 9 years and I don't think there's been a day since our second time meeting up that we haven't talked to each other.

3. I have always been a spiritual person, but never more than now that I am the mom to two amazing little girls. It really sets your priorities straight!

4. I am a composting freak! Even my 2 year old knows that she has to save the peel of the banana she just ate for Mommy's compost bucket :)

5. I love black licorice.

6. My husband is covered in tattoos and I'm still too chicken to get one (hey, I can't decide what I want, ok?!)

7. I have a lot of German in me and sadly have the stubbornness to prove it. Sorry babe!

8. I once *accidentally* picked up a rattle snake that had an egg in it's mouth while I was gathering eggs at my parents' place. Never really cared for gathering eggs after that experience.

9. My brother calls me the urban hippie.

10. My family and I have a cat named Mr Bigglesworth.

11. Mr Bigglesworth (also known as Bigsy) is the meanest cat in the world!

12. My college roommate, Monica, has more dirt on me than anyone else in the entire world! She is still one of my best friends (and not just because of the dirt business!)

13. I can play the piano, and am slowly learning how to play the guitar.

14. I have no sense of direction whatsoever. Thank goodness I own a GPS!

15. My grandmother passed away almost 15 years ago and I still can't even think about it without at least tearing up.

16. I love my job, and being a nurse, but sometimes it's really hard to have compassion for stupid people.

17. One of my favorite past times is silly dancing with my girls in our kitchen.

18. I have become addicted to the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer--and am secretly having an affair with a vampire.

19. I might be biased, but I think that my husband has the most beautiful eyes in the world.

20. My favorite holiday if the 4th of July.

21. If I was a boy, my name would've been Robin.

22. I have never seen the Pacific Ocean.

23. I have shaken hands with a baby--before it was born...

24. I may complain about it occasionally, but I truly do love my naturally (very) curly hair.

25. I may not have the cleanest house on the block, but spending more time with my family is WORTH IT!

Twilight

2009-01-26T16:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, the book has been around what seems like forever (the whole series, actually), and the movie which came out in November has come and gone. So truly I guess I missed most of the hype. But I have recently finished Stephanie Meyer's Twilight and the second in the series, New Moon. Yes. I'm addicted. I can't even tell you why. It is all very high school, but the whole story is very intriguing to me. Earlier this month I watched a pirated version of the movie online (what can I say? I have a preschooler and toddler running around at home. Tom and I don't have a lot of leisure time to watch movies at the theater--unless it's Bolt or Madagascar 2...) The movie wasn't half bad either, but I definitely recommend reading the book--so much is always left out of movies based on a book!

*On a side note, half of my co-workers are now in love with Edward Cullen, including me!*

Waiting

2009-01-26T15:51:00.000-08:00

The weather was horrible today. It was a nice 65 degrees, but a ghastly wind has been blowing since the sun rose this morning. So that means indoor activities for Hartland today(and chipping away at Mommy's sanity). I was putting away laundry in the girls' bedroom this afternoon and caught them both in a rare down-time moment. Oh how they wanted to play outside! I think they were watching the garbage truck come through the neighborhood.

On a separate note, today was our first meeting of Ms. Mari and Ms. Maureen, Zoey's preschool teachers. They are so wonderful! The girls and I visited at the end of the preschool day. We met the six other students enrolled and had snacks with them. Zoey jumped right in, it was great to see! Now we'll just have to wait and see how Daddy and Mommy do once she's there!

Happenings

2009-01-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been 70+ degrees here in Hartland, and the warmth has given me even more spring fever than in previous days. My old pruners disappeared over the winter (either eaten by a dog or forever hidden by little hands) so today I purchased a trusty new pair and got to work. Our little quad trailer was filled with clippings of shrubs from the front upper yard. I also attempted to hack out a menacing weed-bush that I haven't been successful in killing in the 3 1/2 years we've been at the homestead. I will prevail! This year we're just going to have to dig it out because trimming it WAAAYYYYY back only seems to make it grow bigger and faster!

The garden prep continues with adding more fill soil and compost to the raised bed. Just a couple of more weeks and we can get seeds planted indoors! Then starts the cycle of bringing all the plantings outside in the morning for sunshine, and back indoors once the sun goes down. *Thank you my love for putting up with your maniac wife!* I've noticed that the garlic and Egyptian walking onions I planted over the winter are starting to peek little green shoots out of the ground.

In other news, this next week is going to be a busy one for miss Zoey. On Monday morning she and I get to go visit her preschool classroom and meet her teacher Ms. Huband and the speech pathologist! She's also going to get to have snacks with the 6 of her new classmates. Exciting stuff! We've been a little concerned about her speech (she has a huge vocabulary, but has trouble with several different consonants) and after being evaluated she qualified for a preschool program through the public schools here in Hartland. Even better, her preschool will be the same school she'll transition into for kindergarten. On Tuesday Tom and I will meet with all of Zoey's new teachers to set up an IEP, then that afternoon starts Zo's soccer practice! Yes, Badger hoopla has begun once again! Wednesday is Zoey's first day of school and Camryn has her 2 year checkup at the pediatricians. If I continue to blog, you'll know that we survived our week :)

Tea Time

2009-01-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

Tea time everyone! Never mind that we employed the use of straw cups and a bucket of goldfish instead of fine china! As you can see, all of our friends came to join in the festivities (even a poor, naked barbie doll...) And a grand time was had by all!

Zoey's new favorite past time is to host tea parties or play restaurant. And that in turn, means that our living room is crowded with every little chair and stool she can find :)

Camryn happened to miss out on this particular party because of nap time. Thank heavens I can still get her to lay down for one--but it's starting to be a struggle. If she wasn't still in her crib (read: cage!) I don't think that she stay still long enough to fall asleep. Much to our horror in Hartland, Zoey went cold turkey on naps just before her 2nd birthday. Cams has lasted a few months longer, but sooner or later we're going to have to retire the crib!

Retro

2009-01-21T10:24:00.000-08:00

Freshman prom, holy cow...My friend Michelle (far right) shared this picture with me the other day. Now after embarrassment, then laughter, I'm passing it on for you to enjoy (no snorting, please!) This was 1993, the year where we all pretty much decided to go stag because the girls were boycotting the boys and vice versa. What rebels we were! Good times, good times.

Fever

2009-01-17T07:06:00.000-08:00

And so the season starts... Since the last week of December these garden supply and seed companies have been teasing me with beautiful pictures of luscious, bright red tomatoes, mouth watering peaches and spicy peppers. Oh the agony I feel as I turn each page! Spring fever has hit!

In the next few months you will realize that I am a small scale gardener with very large scale dreams! Over the past few winter months I have been diligently composting my raised garden bed and have been slowly buying supplies to construct another raised bed in the next few weeks (What did I tell you? Large scale dreams!) I saved several seed from plants during last year's growing season, including: Sweet 100 cherry tomato, zinnias, yellow banana pepper, and my jalapenos. They were all great producers. Also to return from last season (I had seed left over): Detroit beets, German radishes, okra, zucchini, butternut squash and many, many different flower varieties!

My goal this season is to have a large array of tomatoes for sauce and salsa to freeze/can. I have bought several seeds in the last few months and so far am planning on starting: Roma tomato, San Marzano tomato, Purple Calabash tomato, Costoluto Genovese tomato, Brandywine tomato, Rinaldo Red Bomb tomato. Last year I had 28 tomato plants, and this year I'd like to at least double that (Don't tell Tom! LOL) Just a few more weeks and I can get things started indoors! More to come as I finalize the list. Thank you Grandpa Robert for my love of playing in the dirt!

Shelling

2009-01-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

Here in Hartland when Tom is at work, the girls and I mostly keep it low key in the evenings. One of Zoey's favorite things to do when the weather is cooler and we can't stay outside long at the end of the day is to shell some of our pecans. We moved to our little farm just a few days after her first birthday, so she's now had three seasons of pecans to gain some experience! We gather our supplies at the dining room table: nut cracker to share, a big shell bowl and a pecan bowl for each of us. Thus far Camryn has maintained the position of being in charge of passing out pecans to us (and sneakily eating the harvest...), but it won't be long before she's sitting right along side us as well! Once we're finished, we bag up the bounty in little freezer bags to pull out for snacks or recipes later. There is nothing quite like a cold, crunchy pecan to munch on (Some great memories of Great Grandma Ida and her pea green fridge--I remember running over to her place and asking for some of her frozen "capons"!) The cracked shells make a great addition to the compost pile.

This year was a resting year for the trees, meaning that the trees put more energy into growing instead of producing pecans. We gathered about 12-15 grocery sacks full of pecans this winter (Not quite sure because we've been giving some away as we gather), so we decided not to sell the bulk of them as we usually do. Next year should be another high yielding year for us. I think I'd like to start weighing the production we have each year to collect some data--Hhhhhmmmm, I sense a project! If anyone would like some pecans let us know, we have many bags and evenings of shelling to go!

PT Time Again

2009-01-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well here in Hartland we've slacked the last couple of months, but beginning this week we are hard core potty training. I kept telling myself that I just needed to get through our little vacation stint before potty madness started...And here we are.

Not that I've had mountains of experience in the potty training field, but for us it's panties or bust! And of course, setting the timer numerous times throughout the day. Day 1 was a headache, but thanks to a little bowl full of pink M&M's (yes, as a matter of fact I DO bribe my children!) Camryn didn't mind too much that she spent more time in the bathroom than ever before! Day 2 was pretty much the same, but we were able to stretch the time out to 45-60 minutes between bathroom excursions. On Day 3 I decided it was time to venture out of the house. The girls and I walked to our neighborhood park and played for a little over half an hour before walking home. Accident free, you go Cams! We spent most of the afternoon in the back yard playing and seemed to stretch potty breaks out further. That evening as I was cleaning up the kitchen, I realized that I had forgotten to set the potty timer and also that I hadn't seen or heard from my busy little toddler for awhile. Dreading what I was going to find (e.g. I once found Zozo in her closet painting her walls with a lovely, but stinky shade of brown...No further info needed!) I tip toed down the hallway and found a little pair of pants thrown to the side. At the bathroom door was a carelessly tossed tiny pair of purple Dora the Explorer panties. And much to my surprise was Camryn, sitting atop the potty! Yay ladybug! Who cares that she unrolled half the roll of toilet paper trying to get a handful?! Today is Day 4, and much to amazement and delight, we've had much of the same. Please, oh please let this not jinx us!

Play Time

2009-01-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

We had such an incredible time in Cloudcroft, hanging out with the family! AND to our surprise there was plenty of snow for us desert rats to play in! Okay, it was really only 4-5 inches (more in a few drifty places) but it was more snow than Zoey and Camryn had seen ever! Our home away from home was very 'mountain cottage' like and very cozy. We enjoyed plenty of snowball fights, sledding and snow angels.

We brought bicycles for everyone to ride around on but then found that the cabin was pretty much in town. Of course for those of you that have been to Cloudcroft, you know that town consists of a little mercantile and an Allsup's convenience store (okay, plus some touristy places!) We didn't get to ride bikes due to excess ice and snow, but we walked all over the place which was nice. There were several little play areas around town that we visited to let the girls run off some extra steam. It was so nice to be up in the tall pines and have a change of pace and scenery. And so now it's back to reality and all the fun that goes with it.

Happy 2009

2008-12-31T17:28:00.001-08:00

From Hartland we wanted to wish you all a fantastically wonderful, blessed 2009! It's hard to believe that 2008 has already come to a close, and here I am on New Year's Eve! Looking back it was a good year for us. Tom started work at NASA and we decided that I should drop down my hours at work to part-time. For the most part one of us is home with the girls (but thank heaven we do still have our amazing sitter just a phone call away!) Zoey was a busy girl this year with soccer, play dates and our preschool homeschooling. Camryn has grown so much this year and is no longer our little baby! It's hard for me to believe that she was still only crawling just over a year ago, amazing! God has blessed us so much! Please be safe on this new year holiday!

Getaway

2008-12-31T17:12:00.001-08:00

We are so looking forward to our little escape this weekend! We've rented a cabin in Cloudcroft, NM for a long weekend and are all ready to tune out post-holiday chaos and relax. Sadly, there's no snow at the moment--so unless we have a freak storm come through the area in the next few days we'll have a cold, dry weekend. I don't mind though. It will be nice to do some hiking and sort through all the treasures that nature has to offer us.

I've been jotting down checklists about packing, food supplies and entertainment equipment. It's unbelievable how much stuff a toddler and preschooler need for four days! Wish us luck!

My Husband, The Photographer

2008-12-27T20:35:00.000-08:00

I was going through random pictures and came across this one that Tom took a couple of weeks ago. It was on the way back for his quick Texas escapade with Zo and Cam. Isn't it fantastic? They were traveling through Hondo, just before you head into the tall pines of the Sacremento mountains. He said that there were deer everywhere in the open fields near the road, and they found this stock pond full of Canadian geese. It looks very serene.

Recovery

2008-12-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

We had a fast paced Christmas holiday here in Hartland, but it was wonderful! Our family traveled up to my parents on the 23rd, to drop the girls off--Tom and I both had to work on Christmas Eve. We brought up a new pellet stove for the apartment my parent's rent out and Tom and my Dad had a doozy of a time getting that thing up and running. The girls and I played with Meme at her house for a little while and then headed down to the store to add some helping (distracting?) hands! Having the girls run around the store reminded me a lot my growing up experiences there. I think that I was about 4 or 5 when my Dad, Mom and Grandpa Robert first opened up Valley Market. We helped set out rolls to rise and cookies to bake, and boxed up all kinds of goodies to sell. Good times!

Christmas Eve was horrible at work. You'd think that people would want to stay home for the holiday, but we had women coming in to Labor & Delivery for the dumbest things. Honestly people, call your clinic's after hours hot line! Tom had a nice, relaxing shift--those spoiled guys! Each of the firefighters brought a few things to add to the breakfast buffet they had that morning.

On Christmas day we headed up to Gila again once Tom got home--Dustin hitched a ride with us as well. Once we were at Apple and Meme's we quickly exchanged gifts and then off we went to the family dinner. Thank you Julie for hosting, your new place is really nice! And you're right, very rocky :) It was a great time, I only wish we could have stayed longer in Gila. But soon enough we were back on the road with our beautiful girls, made a pit stop to visit Grandpa Robert and Shelby and deliver gifts, then off to Hartland again. Whew!

On a side note, Christmas day is my little brother's birthday. When we were younger I think I was a little resentful that he always had these beautiful decorations all over and a tree. Man, what's with all the pomp and circumstance? But now Dust, thanks for being a good sport about it! I hope that you had a fantastic day (and that you weren't as stuffed as I was, ugh!) Hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas!

O Happy Day

2008-12-21T18:45:00.000-08:00

It's official! Ben & Cynthia we are so full of a million wonderful emotions (as I know that you both are!) that can't quite describe how happy we are that you have two beautiful girls and two beautiful boys that are officially your daughters and sons! All of the many months of paperwork, meetings, fire escape plans (yes, we're still laughing about that!) are done.

Tom, Zoey & Camryn made a mad dash to Texas on Friday to attend the adoption hearing of our new nieces--9 year old Alexis and 15 month old Alissa. Sadly, I had to stay behind and work. Darn the pregnant women that inconvenienced me that day :) Here's a picture of Camryn and her GG (great grandma Mona) waiting at the court house for the adoption hearing to start. Tom was wonderful and took lots of pictures for me! Welcome to the family Alexis and Alissa HART! We love you B, C, A, N, J, A!

One To Share

2008-12-09T07:56:00.001-08:00

Okay, I had to share this last one for the day! Our poor little Snoop Dog isn't made to handle these cold December days ( thank goodness we don't live in Wisconsin or somewhere like that!) So I did what I always thought was the most ridiculous thing... The girls and I bought him a little army sweater. He seems pretty content with it. Not spoiled in the least, is he?

Cold & Dreary

2008-12-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the heat from our furnace is so delightful!!!! It is a cold and dreary day today in Hartland, and I think that if it cools down just a tad bit more we'll have snow today! Of course, it's too wet outside to stick.

On a day like this I'd like nothing more than to stay in my pj's, sit under a blanket on the couch and watch chick flicks. Yes, Tom is on shift today! However, my dirty house is calling to me, there is laundry to be done and Zoey has been itching to make some Christmas cookies. I found a recipe for dog biscuits--I think that might be a good one for the girls to make today, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if a little egg shell made it into their treats :)

Introducing...

2008-12-09T07:12:00.001-08:00

Hartland proudly welcomes the newest addition to our family, Snoop Dog aka Snoopy. As you read in a previous post, our Molly dog went missing and we haven't seen her since that time. Our poor fattie girl....Well Blue seemed very content, but a certain unnamed fireman sure had an itch to look for another dog. And he and the girls had been randomly checking out our local animal shelter (while mommy was working!). His story goes that after looking over several dogs he chose Snoop because the little guy crawled into Camryn's lap when she sat on the ground.

After his checkup and surgery (sorry little dog!) he came home to us last Thursday. He's a chihuahua mix and is a little smaller than our monster cat Biggs. And he fits into our family just fine.

Family Time

2008-12-04T15:57:00.000-08:00

We had a great time trimming the Christmas tree--and yes, Camryn did already pull it over one time :) The first thing that Zoey does every morning when she wakes up is to run and plug in the tree. They are both fascinated by it. It's been really cold the last couple of days so we haven't put the lights on the house yet, but Zozo reminds us of it every day! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Back In The Day

2008-12-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

I was just browsing the old pc files, trying to clean things up when I stumbled across my favorite video clip of all time! This is Camryn when she was probably 7 or 8 months old. The picture quality isn't the best since I videoed it from my phone. But this truly is my favorite of all time :) Hope that you get a kick out it!

Fa La La

2008-11-30T20:14:00.001-08:00

Merry early Christmas from Hartland! The holiday bug has bitten me hard and for the last couple of days we've been jammin to SUNNY 99--All Christmas, all the time. The house is slowly turning into a winter wonderland and there are packages to be wrapped. Thank goodness were done with shopping already!

We'll set up the ole' trusty artificial tree again this year. One because I feel guilty about killing a real tree *note that it may be argued, but I am not a tree huggin' hippie!* Next the live potted tree we bought when Zoey was one didn't survive once planted. Lastly I have this sneaking suspicion that Camryn might be trying to climb the tree this year, and a real tree would smash her. We're also going to ditch the ornaments this year (Again, for mom's sanity and Camryn's safety...) for construction paper chains, red and white jingle bells, and lights.

Also Meme and Apple just gave the girls a very cute Fisher Price Little People Nativity set. The girls LOVE it! It's fun to play with them and talk and about the REAL Christmas story. Feliz Navidad from Hartland everyone!

Missing Molly

2008-11-30T17:41:00.000-08:00

Very sadly, we've lost our brown Molly dog. We last saw her the morning of Camryn's birthday party and there's been no sign of her since. She was a really sweet dog, so we're hoping for the best and maybe someone picked her up. Both of our dogs had recently been on a spree of jumping out of the yard...So now Blue Blue is flying solo in Hartland and she's very much taken to being a house dog :) Verrrrrry much. In fact today we girls went on a shopping trip and bought her a big fluffy pillow to lounge on. The only thing she has to get used to is the girls lovingly laying all over her!

Tom is kind of set on finding miss Blue a companion, but I'm still teetering on the fence about it. We've visited our local animal shelter several times in the last few days looking for missing Molly and there are several cuties there...I'd probably come home with 10 of them though. Our 2 cats would be thrilled!

Birthday Girl

2008-11-30T17:17:00.000-08:00

Camryn is 2! We had such a fantastic time having everyone here for her birthday party, celebrating with us! We planned a monkey themed party: lots of monkey party favors, green jungle crepe paper decorations, and the piece de resistance of Tom decorating a monkey cake that I had baked.

A little cranky

2008-11-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a whirlwind week and frankly, I'm just exhausted... Hope that you all had a wonderfully fantastic Thanksgiving! Tom is on a 48 hour shift and I work the holiday, so we didn't get much celebrating in on this end. Thank you so much Apple & Meme (aka Dad & Mom) for trekking down to LC to hang with our girlies. We love you!

After I've had a decent amount of sleep on board, there will be lots of stuff to dish about tomorrow :)

Awareness

2008-11-19T06:44:00.001-08:00

Our great neighbor and friend was told last week that she had breast cancer. Yesterday she was admitted to the hospital and had a bilateral mastectomy and hysterectomy. Please keep her and her family in your prayers during her course of chemotherapy and recovery.

October was breast cancer awareness month, but
just a little reminder that truly, every month should be breast cancer awareness month! We are all connected in some way, shape or form to someone that has/had breast cancer. Show them your support!

Hot, hot HOT!

2008-11-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

And when I say hot I am referring to both the fire and one particular NASA/South Valley firefighter!!! This week a big plant/nursery facility (that is actually pretty near Hartland in the south valley) went up in smoke. Apparently it was a welding job gone very, very wrong. Anyhow Tom spent most of his day here with many other city and volunteer firefighters doing a dirty, tiring job. This pic is of the ladder truck from NASA where Tom works.

For the first few hours Tom was the water control officer, meaning he coordinated every truck that showed up at the scene. Then when NASA showed up he jumped on the ladder truck and snuck inside the building to fight the flames and ventilate. It's a good thing he told me about that before I saw the pictures...This was an ugly fire! Thanks to all of you firefighters out there that serve the public in a very important way, we appreciate all you do!

Badger Mania

2008-11-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the Badger's last soccer game of the 2008 season. It was a frigid one, but we had fun! The first pic is of Zoey with her team and coach. The second (bear with me, I couldn't figure out a way to rotate...) is of a very proud little Badger holding her soccer trophy! After the game our team, along with their entourage of parents/family/friends went to a nearby park to picnic, have a purple Badger cake and play.

Our new season starts in early February and guess who was conned into being a second coach for the team? Yup, Tom and I get to split because of our opposite schedules. I guess I'm going to have to google a lot of coaching ideas for soccer practice--not sure what we're getting ourselves into! Also we're going to try and down grade the team to a 4-5 year old team. Hopefully we'll be a little more evenly matched next year! We're also looking for three more players...Anyone, anyone?

Domesticity

2008-11-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

So little miss Cams has developed a new obsession over the past few days...Apparently the dining room chairs are at her disposal and she can take them anywhere she wants. More often than not, it's to pull one over to the kitchen sink. 'Mamma I wash my hands', 'Mamma I wash dishhhhes', 'Mamma I cooking'. Sigh, if only it would last into her teenage years, right? And of course, it was all fun and games until she figured out that our faucet can be switched from regular to turbo blast jets! My floors have never been so clean, they've been moped so many times today... She is too funny--I can't believe my baby will be turning two years old VERY SOON!

Also on the homefront the pecan harvest has started in Hartland. My kitchen counters are littered with grocery bags filled with dusty goodness. We haven't even officially shaken the trees yet, but we've been picking up pecans from the ground that have already fallen. Trying to stay a little ahead of the game--that, and picking up as many as we can before our skunky blu blu dog crunches them all. Mmmm, fiber!

Go Badgers

2008-11-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

Zoey turned 4 years old during the summer and we were able to sign her up for peewee soccer here in LC. Since Tom and I have split our schedules, the girls are pretty much home with us and getting her more involved with other kids can only be a good thing! Anyhow, we never realized the cult following of peewee soccer that existed out there. Saturdays from sun up to sun down there are anywhere from 10 to 25 games of soccer going on at one time. Unbelievable.... And a lot of fun!

Zoey is part of the Deep Purple Soccer League and her team is called the Badgers. Go Badgers! There were originally 8 kids on her team, which is a 4-6 year old team. Go Badgers! They've slowly dwindled in numbers to 4, sometimes 5 kids--All of which are 4 years old! Go Badgers! It's fun to watch them, but in our next season that begins in February we're going to try to switch to a 4-5 year old team. Yes, we've pretty much been smeared across the field in each of our games against obviously older, more coordinated players! Here in Hartland we're trying to work on Zoey's competitiveness for next season. She's such a mother hen that she runs over to every kid that falls down and dusts them off. She's also very polite and will gladly get out of the way when the ball rolls through :) Well, at least she's not standing off in a corner of the field picking her nose, right? Go Badgers! One more game on Saturday and then we wait out some cold days until February.

Testing the waters...

2008-11-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

Blog, blog, BLOG! So, in this day and age it seems like everyone is talking blogging. So the Hart's are going to give it a try. Everyone has such fast paced schedules (including us!) that I thought this might be a fun way with letting you take a peek into our family and what we have going on. This will probably be a whole lot easier than trying to keep up my old webpage, which was more often than not, sorely neglected. So, pass it on and tell your friends! Here goes--Ready, set, BLOG!