In Honor of World Egg Day 2010...

Breadwinner ordered 50 laying hens from McMurray Hatchery this morning in honor of the occasion. Sounded like a great idea from the comfort of my chair as I sipped my starter cup of coffee at the dawning of the day. Now, as I gulp my reviver mug, I'm having second thoughts. I know how I feel about the responsibility of care taking for 50 more live beings. I'm hoping Madigan turns into a chicken lady akin to her Aunt Mollie. We'll let you know how this one unfoulds- I mean unfolds...

It's What's Inside That Counts

The outside of our house looks bad. I can see my mom wince from the kitchen window every time she pulls in the drive. At last count there were five different sidings and house wraps advertising three different home improvement centers covering the exterior. We re shingled a few years ago, but since the house is pretty tall you really miss out on the best part.

We moved here almost 9 years ago. I remember precisely as it was 4 days after our second child was born. Three months later we welcomed two three month old Great Danes into our family. In the dead of winter. Great Danes don't have much hair. Baby Great Danes get cold easily. They spent the winter in our basement. The only advantage to this was that when they finally went outside they would only relieve themselves on hard surfaces. I never had to worry about setting my babies down on a "land mine" in the grass. They commandeered an abandoned outbuilding for their purposes. They apparently used the gravel road that runs by our house too, if the casual remarks from our neighbors about almost driving off the road to go around the gigantic piles left by our "horses" was any indication. In winter they hardened to boulders with the propensity to wreke great havoc to the undercarriage of passing cars. But I digress...

It used to bother me that it appeared that we lived in an abode no one cared for. I have long since stopped looking at the exterior when I come in the drive. The continuous addition of garden space is my coping mechanism. I am simply trying to divert attention long enough to get visitors in the front door. Much energy, time, and resource has been spent creating comfortable interior living space. I continue reminding myself it is a work in progress. We keep adding to the pre-siding punch list. The exterior is a theft deterrent, nobody would case this joint. We are only a decade into this... Most of all, our hope is the most important things are happening on the inside.

The neighbor stopped by yesterday. He wanted Breadwinner to give him an estimate for his roof. I'm pretty sure we will get the work because it gives our neighbor reason to stop and talk for the duration of the job. It's harder in the country to unobtrusively stop by to chew the fat. You can't just lean over the back fence or pause on the sidewalk as you casually walk by. While driving in the country you may think folks are rubber necking, but they are simply scoping for the opportunity for a neighborly chat.

Around our section are quite a few farms that were originally owned by the same family. Quite a few of the relations are still around. I learned yesterday this neighbor's father was born on our place in 1899 in a tiny house that sat where our grain bin does now. Our house was built not long after. I believe he said the family had 8 children. He also mentioned that 3 of them died. One from appendicitis, one from pneumonia, and he wasn't sure about the third. He said the four boys all shared one room above the kitchen, which is the master bedroom today. Two of the brothers never married and lived out their days here raising pure-bred cattle.

When we had our fifth baby here at home our midwife asked if we knew if any other babies had been born in this house. This intrigued me. Home birth used to be the norm. Our current culture tends to sterilize life. We remove major landmarks of life from the home. Often we are born and die somewhere other than where we really lived. Yesterday I learned our house has welcomed 6 babies into the world. This tidbit of information put a smile on my face and a bit more warmth in my heart for this old place. My family is beginning to stir this morning. My cue that the important things are about to begin happening...

The Way to Happiness

We tend to seek happiness when happiness is actually a choice!

This is something I have to remind myself often. As a mother I give much mouth service to this philosophy. I even painted Choose Happiness above the toilet in the kids bathroom to encourage my then 4 year old that, "We don't need to cry about everything!" I figured since we were in there so much it would get much eye service which would eventually sink into his brain. He doesn't cry as much anymore, but I think it has more to do with him getting older than the grinning cat and butterflies on the wall. Could have something to do with the fact that he still can't read...

John 3:30 says, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

I'm toying with what wall in my house this verse should grace. If I can remind myself to put the Lord first and get my selfish keister out of His way we will all be happy. Happiness is a choice. No one else can make it for you...

You've Got The Cutest Little Babylegs...

I'm firing up the blanching water to can tomatoes, so I have a few minutes to share a project with you. Honestly, my mom gets on my case if she doesn't have a post to read each morning! I get extra points for this one because she is showing off our model in the last photo.

We started cloth diapering with our 5th child. This is a whole post unto itself so I won't elaborate now or I won't get the tomatoes put up before church tonight. With the new advances in cloth diapering it changes the way in which we dress our kids. Snap crotch onesies our olders lived in are not cut full enough for the bulk of a cloth diaper. So someone came up with the idea of marketing "leg warmers" for babies. These footless socks retail for around $12. While this isn't outrageous, I knew I could make them for less. Our first pairs were made for Maielle from Mad's old knee high socks out of which she had blown the big toes. I had to make new ones for Merritt because he was wearing pink polka dots around the house during a construction phase and Matt was concerned the guys would make light of his young manhood. To tell you the truth he wasn't real thrilled with the knee socks I went out and purposefully purchased either. I had to remind him that they were for a baby and said baby was really an accessory of mine. Therefore, the socks only had to suit me!

1. Cut shaft from foot right above the heel. Then cut off toe where it starts to round.

2. Take mid-foot section and turn it wrong sides together. Slip it over the shaft raw edges even.

3. Serge or zig-zag stitch the raw edges together.

4. Let big sister try them on because she thinks everything I make is for her.

5. Show off the adorable legwear wish I had started cloth diapering sooner!

These are the leftover toes. I added this picture at the last minute for my dad. They remind me of the leftover parts we always had from working cattle. I always thought I should have saved a few and made something from them, so in hindsight I pulled these from the trash. Never know when you might take a last minute trip to the arctic and need to make a nose warmer or two...

A is for Apple...

When you are a homeschooling mom whose husband is self-employed there is often no such thing as a weekend. The week never ends. So it is up to me to create the party atmosphere. This is not an easy thing for me. I am not, as are my mom and sister, from "fun country". I am from "perfect/control country". (thank you Rev. Andrew) I would prefer to just "keep on truckin' ". I am okay with "all work and no play" as long as we are making accomplishments. But for the sake of my children who are at least 1/4 "fun country" I persevere in the pursuit of fun.

We try to differentiate that is it indeed the weekend by celebrating Too Fun Friday! For at least 5 years the kids have had Chicken Nugget and Fry Day. They eat this culinary masterpiece on plastic segmented picnic plates at our Little Tikes picnic table while they watch a movie. As if that weren't enough, we party hearty into the evening on a wave of frolic and jocularity with Fiesta Friday. In our revelry we consume refried beans, tacos, and pina coladas. At the same time, thanks to a long ago gift from my dad for the occasion, we're serenaded by Mariachi Madness.

On the particular Friday in focus we would be skipping the Fiesta as I had invited us to my folks' for supper. I offered to provide dessert. Since I recently covered cream pie school with my oldest sous-chefs in training, and mostly because said help was finishing up book work, I commandeered the younger set for a lesson. The following is what passes for fun at our house. How to make an apple pie...

-Use as little iced water as needed to hold your crust together. If available use lard, if not use real Crisco shortening. Cheaper brands have too much liquid content.

-Free apples fresh from the tree make the best pie. If the apples aren't tasty add extra cinnamon and serve with butter brickle ice cream. As long as the crust is tender and flaky no one will notice.

-Get some cute little sprite to drool and take a few bites from the apples while cutting them. This keeps them from browning and adds needed moisture. This always worked for my mom when my brother Sam helped her make cookies. Aunt Mary won't eat them to this day...

-Use a tiny cookie cutter to cut the shape of an apple in the top crust. This will distinguish the kind of pie and also distract from tasteless apples. Brush the top with 1/2 and 1/2 and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Remember it is all in the crust!

-My mom always lays a beautiful table. These were my grandmother's everyday dishes. Love the little orange nasturtiums.

The apples were only okay, but favorable comments were made concerning the crust. I count that a victory. Mom suggested we serve some smoked cheese alongside. She quipped, "Apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze!" I can only guess that one is from before they made butter brickle ice cream...

Another first on Sunny Toad Farm...

It seems as if one cannot call themselves a roofer until they have made a work related visit to the ER. Matt has now found himself a member of this elite order. He was on a lower roof and stood up under the eave where he had already "steeled" and sliced into his head. He always wears a hat as he is pretty much hair handicapped. Unfortunately it was cloudy so he wasn't wearing his floppy sun hat, and his stocking cap is still in its summer hibernation buried deep in the recesses of the front closet. Therefore, there was nothing to offer the slightest resistance to his poor naked noggin. On the bright side, he doesn't have to buy a new hat and the extraction of foreign fabric was not required from the split in his scalp.

He called to tell me the home owner was driving him to the ER- after they dropped home two of the kids who had been helping clean up the work site. My first instinct was to question the necessity of an ER trip. I have a perfectly suitable bottle of super glue here at home that takes care of most injuries. Following quickly was the realization that if the injury required Breadwinner to cease his industrious activities there must be a pretty good reason. A few short hours later he was delivered home swathed in a pressure bandage that wrapped around both the breadth and width of his head. Apparently he had hit an artery, a fact that came to light a few days later. This would explain why 24 hours after the incident when I removed the pressure bandage I had to soak the gauze to loosen the clots that glued it to the wound.

This all seemed pretty minor after Merritt's escapade a couple weeks ago. The doctor had instructed Matt to return in 10 days to have the staples removed. Instead Matt headed to our nearest Napa dealer and purchased a brand new pair of side cutters. I dug out my jeweler's pliers and we proceeded with the after supper entertainment. Madigan recorded video footage of the process which I will refrain from posting due to its potentially to cause swooning. Matt assured me it hurt a lot less than he supposed it would have had the procedure been performed by an actual medical professional. I have to admit I garnered enjoyment from the process and was not the least bit queasy. I do enjoy the removing of wayward splinters and picking of a ripe fester- a trait handed down by way of my mother.

Sorry if this post has been a bit on the scabby side. It has been that kind of fortnight here on Sunny Toad Farm. After Matt's troubles Madigan stubbed off the end of her big toe- and if you've seen Mad's big toe you know that is no small wonder that it got caught up on something. Maliah stepped on a nail which hurt but also put a hole in her tennis shoe. The foot has healed, but no amount of triple antibiotic ointment has helped the shoe. Most recently Maielle fell of the couch and bit through her front lip. Seems that has caused her toe and finger to ache as well, especially when she is asked to do something to which she is adverse. Our lofty goal is to hit 3 days without man hours lost due to injury. I'll let you know how that goes...

Because I Have A Sister I Will Always Have A Friend

Happy Birthday to my first and best friend!