Can I get some lunch please?

Someone always needs to be fed in this house!

The kids:




The chicks:



They sure are growing fast! They are around 6 weeks old now and most of their feathers have come in. They are pretty sweet, they let me pet them when I come to feed them as you can see in that first picture.

Oh lets not forget about the garden and the bunny who also demand they be fed!






Then of coarse there's Big Daddy (sorry no pic, he's at work), but Iv got to figure out something for dinner here soon. I think I might go with goulash...we'll see.

Sunday, Beautiful Sunday

This morning we made the decision to join our church.
A rather quick decision really. It was the time of invitation and prayer. Those who wanted could go up to the front of the church and talk with the Pastor or pray or accept Christ or join the church. I leaned over to Russ and said, "Do you want to join this church?" He looked confused, he thought I meant later or like I just wanted to know in general. Then I made a motion to go up the isle to talk with Bro. Ricky and then he got it, he said "now?" and I said sure! No time like the present right?
Anyway, we have been going for the last 3 weeks or so and we hadn't been members of a church since we left Washington really, so I thought it was time. It just felt right. Everyone is so nice there and I like their music:-) The pastor is funny, the sermons are short, and I always leave feeling great. So Im excited:-) I want my kids to grow up in a church like that. A small but happy church.

They also have one of my favorite passages hanging on the wall in the church. When we are in church I must read it 20 times while we are there. I just love it.

"No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool.
Isaiah 1:18

I also think this one is fitting for my day:

Hebrews 10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Remember those who served

Happy Memorial Day!

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One whole week

Wow its been a whole week since Iv posted! Okay I really need to get better at this whole blogging thing. I just get so busy with everything. Between teaching Cheyenne, chasing down Madi, cooking, cleaning, gardening, raising chickens (although admittedly there's not much to that), and spending time with Big Daddy...man I just can't get a spare moment it seems.
Well tonight Im home alone...well not really but Im the only adult in the house until tomorrow afternoon. Iv been extremely productive today. Among all the other daily to do's, Iv also managed to mow the front yard, ditches and build a compost bin. Like this one.
Oh and I made some more laundry detergent. Iv been making my own laundry detergent for about a year now. I love it! I know exactly whats in it and it gets our clothes clean for a fraction of the price of Tide or All or any of that other stuff in the super markets. Here is the recipe that I use, if you google laundry detergent recipes you will come up with many. I have tried 3 different ones now and this is the one that I like most. This is very basic. You can add essential oils to the mix if you want scented soap. Lavender EO is a great one for laundry. Although the batch I made today I used this recipe and no EO. I use vinegar for my fabric softener, just about a 1/4 cup in the rinse cycle does the job. I always have fresh smelling laundry and soft towels.
Okay enough, here's the recipe.

Items you will need:
large pot
measuring cup
wooden spoon or paint stir stick
Borax
Washing Soda (not baking soda)
Fels Naptha (hard to find, but you can get it on the web) or Ivory
2 gallon bucket with lid


Ingredients:
Hot water
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/3 bar Soap (grated) (I've used Fels Naptha and also Ivory)

Instructions:
In a large pot, heat 6 cups of water. Add the grated bar soap and stir over medium/low heat until melted. Then add the washing soda and borax. Stir until powder is dissolved, then remove from heat. (this is also when you would add EO to the mix.)
In a 2 gallon clean pail, pour 4 cups of hot water and add the heated soap mixture. Top pail with cold water and stir well.
Use 1/2 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).

Okay Im off to watch Space Buddies with my daughter. She picked it okay! Later after her bedtime, Im watching Bride Wars, it should be funny.

Today is Thursday!

Cheyenne has asked me about 7 times now what day it is..I tell her its Thursday May 14th, she goes okay and runs off. Then about 20 minutes later she does the same thing. I think she's messing with me!
Well Big Daddy is gone from the house/farm until tomorrow night. So I am on a mission to clean the place spotless, or until I lose all motivation. Tonight the girls and I are having a "slumber party". There will be popcorn, a movie and girly things done. Like, testing the stain resistance of the couch painting nails and having my scalp exfoliated brushing hair! Ill be doing my best impression of Cher in Mermaids tonight as we have finger foods for dinner, you know sandwiches cut in pretty flower shapes and such. It's sure to be a blast. I do love having daughters!
Although I will be anxious for Big Daddy to return home tomorrow night!

Oh and have I told ya'll about the "lone Chicken"? No? Well we have a chicken that lives here on our farm that has been here before we moved here. She was a part of a flock when we first got here. See the previous residents had these chickens that they didn't take with them when they moved so they "gave" them to the neighbors, well they didn't stay at their knew coop. And slowly over about a months time they all got picked off by the various wild things out here that prefer chicken for dinner. Sad but true. Somehow though this one has survived. I think she lives out in some trees/bushes in the corner of out front property. She isn't very social and is scared of us. I started throwing some feed out for her last week, well now she has begun to wonder closer and closer to the house.

A few minutes ago I looked out the window and saw her...


I took this pic through the window, I didn't want to step out on to the porch and scare her off.
Poor chicken...

Anyway, back to cleaning!

Magical Mondays...

Why did I name this post Magical Mondays? Because it seems that I only barely get started with my Monday to do list and then like magic the day is gone!
Its a windy and cool day out today...when I say cool I mean for Texas. Probably in the mid to upper 60's. This weekend we did alot of yard work and working around the house. Yesterday was Mother's Day of coarse. We went to Corsicana to meet Russ' Mom and sister's bunch for a quick lunch in the park and then we were off to do our errands. One of the things we do every week is grocery shopping. Although not a pleasant experience it must be done. Russ was particularly grouchy while shopping yesterday b/c we had to go to the dreaded place, a place he hates and avoids at all costs, that place is Walmart. Yeah I really don't like going there either. But in a small Texas city its almost always your only choice. This is one of the reasons we have took to growing and making alot of different things. Like growing veggies! This season being we got a late start we only have two small garden beds. But I have high hopes for the fall season.





Oh and we also got these little ones to help in our self sustainability efforts.


Here they are the day we got them, May 2nd.



And Today...they sure do grow fast!

They are buff Orpingtons. We are going to use them for eggs and just as pets too. Although one rooster will be used as a meat bird.

Okay well that's all for now. Im never very good on Mondays, can never truly become as productive as I would like...but at least I have dinner in the crock pot, slow cooker garlic chicken, and I have a laundry list of other items that need to be attended to before the days end.
Including laundry!

PSA- Drink water Dang it!

1.It takes a loss of only 1% - 2% of your body's ideal water content to cause dehydration.

2. You MUST remember to drink even when you're not thirsty.

3. An average person loses about 90 ounces of water daily.

4. Drink more if you're engaged in sweaty exercise.

5. Beverages containing alcohol and caffeine create
an un-quenchable thirst in the body.

6. Only water truly hydrates the body and alleviates the diseases of dehydration.

7. Don't like plain ol' water? Plain water boring??? Spice it up by saturating it with fresh bruised mint leaves or a squeeze of lemon or lime. Use your imagination.

8. Never set down an empty glass without refilling it with water.

9. Drinking ice cold water actually makes you lose weight because fat calories are burned to bring the water temperature up to internal 98.6 degrees F. Some people find they have stomach cramps from this, so experiment and see if your body is ok with this.

10. The sense of thirst dims with age -
so make sure older people are drinking plenty of water.

11. Those on high-blood pressure or other medications should consult with their doctor to determine their proper water consumption.

12. Never pass a water cooler without stopping for a sip.

13. Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat.

14. Don't misinterpret your thirst drive as hunger. Drink an "ice-cold" glass of water and wait a minute or two. You'll find your not as hungry as you thought.

15. Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention. Give your body plenty of water and the stored water will be released.

16. If you don't drink enough water, your body's reaction is to retain the water it does have. This in turn hampers kidney function and waste products accumulate. Your liver is then called upon to flush out the impurities. As a result, one of your livers main functions - metabolizing fat into usable energy -
is minimized.

17. Over-weight people need more water than thin people.

18. Re-vamp your lifestyle to include lots and lots of water. It will prove to be the simplest, least expensive, most powerful and longest lasting key to long term fat reduction.

19. Average, "within proper weight" people should drink eight, 8 oz. glasses of water each and every day. (About 2 Quarts) Over-weight people need one additional glass for every 25 pounds of excess weight.

20. Water helps maintain proper muscle tone and prevents sagging skin.

21. Water helps rid the body of toxic waste.

22. Water helps detoxify the body from the effects of long term smoking, helping to eliminate the insidious tar and and acidic nicotine from the lungs.

23. Hate to urinate??? Remember each time you do, you are ridding the body of unwanted waste, unwanted fat, and unwanted toxins.

24. Hate hangovers from drinking too much alcohol??? Stop drinking too much alcohol. Or maybe, just make sure that you drink 4 times as much water as you consume in alcohol. It'll make the effects of alcohol last longer and cost you less in the long run.
PLEASE NOTE : Drinking coffee after drinking too much alcohol does nothing more than make you a wide-awake drunk.

25. Water has a profound effect on brain function and energy levels. Even a slight dehydration can produce a small but critical shrinkage of the brain, impairing neuromuscular coordination, concentration and thinking.

26. A deficiency of water can alter the concentration of electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and chloride which has a negative effect on the function of the brain.

27. Beverages that contain caffeine, i.e. coffee, some tea and some sodas act as diuretics, increasing urine production and promoting loss of fluids.

28. Negative effect of caffeine provokes insulin release and may in fact enhance the storage of what is eaten - as fat.

29. If your eyes, nose, and throat feel dry - drink some water before you use eye drops, nasal sprays, or suck on a candy or cough drop. Your body has been trying to tell you that you need MORE WATER.

30. Healthy people stay healthy with water - it's cheap; nearly free, and good for you.

31. Dehydration reduces blood volume, creating thicker, more concentrated blood which stresses the heart. This also decreases the ability to transport oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and other living cells.

32. Dehydration can be linked to impotence - via - not enough fluids to create seminal fluids.

33. Dehydration can also be linked to hair loss - not enough fluids to carry proteins to the scalp.
You name it, almost every dis-ease known to man or woman is probably linked to a lack of water.


This has been a public service announcement about the importance of staying properly hydrated. I myself have just spent the last two days getting over being DEHYDRATED> not fun!

Dizziness, rapid heart rate, chills, nausea, feeling overall crappy. Last night I started drinking water like it was going out of style and man do I feel better this morning. I especially love fact #13.

yumminess- is that even a word?

Go make this cake today!
It truly is the best chocolate cake evah!

I made it for Madi's birthday and then again for her birthday party. And I will be honest and say that I made again on Saturday for no good reason.

There are lots of variations out there, usually called Texas sheet cakes, but this is the only one in my opinion that is worth the caloric intake!

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This picture was taken 6 year ago.



We were crazy kids then, LOL. No really we were. I was 23 and he was 22. He was in the Army and I was wild and free. I had just separated from my ex-husband. Russ was just out of a slew of meaningless relationships. When we met it was like fireworks that were accidentally lit. Shouldn't of been exploding but beautiful none the less. I mean sometimes things have to fall apart for other things to fall into place.
We wanted each other more then any one wanted anyone in the history of the world! And we knew that this was it,either we had to take the chance of being happy together for the long term and making a few people unhappy in the short term, or letting others dictate what we did. Of coarse we chose the first option, because we were/are rebels like that:-) And never looked back or regretted anything to this day.
About 9 months after that picture was taken, this happened..


Life was not easy for awhile after Cheyenne was born. Things got hard for awhile. But we stuck it out, because anything worth having is worth fighting for. And if there is one thing my hubby and I have learned about each other is that we are fighters. We are stronger then we think.
Thankfully (all thanks to God) we got through the tough times and came out better for it.
Then a few years later this one made an appearance...

Oh Madi, if she had been our first we would of had a 2nd alot sooner...LOL

I guess what the point to this post is to just say that I love my husband more then words could say. Life would be okay if I never met him, but it certainly would not have been all that it could be.
Everyday, he still gives me butterflies. He's the only one I want to kiss for the rest of life.
Now aren't you glad you stopped by to read this silly mushy little post of mine? I know I am.