It rained ALL NIGHT LONG!

wow it started raining about 10pm last night and literally rained all night long!  Along with lots of thunder and lightening.  So glad my kids aren't scared of storms like I was when I was little.  Suprisingly the ground soaked up most of it, since it was a nice steady rain, but I don't remember the last time it has rained for such a long period of time.  We needed the rain this time, the garden has just been sitting out there and not growing whatsoever.  We have potatoes, peas, lettuce, carrots, and green beans planted.  NEED to plant the onions but haven't been anywhere to get sets yet. The strawberries didn't really come back after alst year, I think we need to put them in a different spot.  We planted 100 plants last year and only like 6 came back :( not very good odds.  Though the ones that did come back are bloomed and will most likely make strawberries...

I love the taste of fresh strawberries- I wish I knew why the strawberries in the stores taste nothing at all like fresh strawberries out of the garden.  I remember mom and dad used to have a HUGE strawberry patch-they had like 400 plants and people would come and pick strawberries--Mom and dad never charged anyone--most people were from church or just from the community.  My granny and papa always had strawberries too-theirs were bigger and better than mom's. I think it was because they had more room to grow-their patch wasn't as big.  Our thornless blackberries are all leafed out, but the rasberries aren't looking so hot. 

Spring is such an exciting time to me.  Not just flowers blooming, babies being born, and warm weather though...it is also everyone getting out into the fields--working up the ground.  Dad spread fertizler the past few days, our neighbors have been plowing, discing, and rolling their fields, Chris got the hay baler out and has been working on it, yards are being mowed again (I mowed ours last weekend), and it just seems people are in a better mood.  People are happy even though we are all going through rough times financially and farmers are really tight on cash with the prices of every thing being sky rocketed and don't even talk to me about fuel prices!  Used to everybody wanted diesel thing because diesel was cheaper--farm diesel is almost the same price as unleaded!!  Regular diesel is 20-30 cents higher than unleaded!  One of our friends was down at the pumps the other day filling up his tractor...$350 later... ugh!  It is really hard to get anything done with fuel being that expensive!

Okay I am going to quit rambling about that lol!

So I started on my nestboxes the other night after getting home from town.  Chris is dually impressed as I.  They are coming along nicely.  I am makeing 2 rows of 3 with storage on top.  I have more done than what is in this pic, but I took this before working on them yesterday:

I am repurposing the wood that Chris used when he attempted to build a storage building...2 years ago!  lol  He will never live that one down, like I have said before- Chris is NOT a carpenter.  But then again I didn't really think I was either--but I do throughly enjoy this!

The chicks are growing like crazy, especially the meaties.  I can't believe how fast they grow and how messy they are!  I really don't like thinking about it though.  I don't think I will ever raise this kind again; if we do raise meaties I will go for a heritage meat bird instead of the jumbo cornish X.



3 weeks old!



I have this one duck that just amazes me by her coloring!  I always thought she was just black, but yesterday she was in the sunlight in a certain way, and her feathers are different colors! So beautiful!!

I just love the greens and blues, reminds me of a peacock- which I would LOVE to have but they are soooo $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!! I saw an adult on CL go for around $300 for ONE!! insane.

Oh and I took this pic of the rooster yesterday evening--- EVIL ROOSTER!! lol

I think I am going to name him Satan!

Lots of things been going on around here!

Well for starters the chicks are growing like crazy!  I got the other coop built (mostly by myself!!) I am so proud of myself, and Chris is too! The meaties are already in the coop (with a light of course--they are only 2 weeks old)  and I actually have a broody hen!  She is an EE and I named her Miss Iris the EE.  I have her sitting on 8 chickens eggs and 1 duck egg.  I have her in a cage inside the new coop so she won't really be bothered.  She is kinda grouchy :)

Today Chris took off work and we all went to Springfield.  I bought 5 sheets of OSB board, a new blade for the SKIL saw, and some screws.  Then we went to Harbor Freight and I bought a jigsaw, extra blades, and free screwdrivers.  I had coupons for both places!  I need to build nestboxes for the new coop!

Sophia broke her crib...well just one side of it, so we just took it off.  So she has a "toddler bed" now.  She is not wanting to take a nap at all today!  Driving me nutty!

I haven't cooked anything special lately, I have been so busy outside it seems.  The weather has been in the 70's and 80's and sunny the past few days.  It has been so NICE!

A-Z About me

saw this on another blog...

Thought it looked like fun :)

A. Age: 25

B. Bed size: King :)

C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning bathrooms...yuck!

D. Dogs: love smaller dogs

E. Essential start to your day: cuddles with the kids

F. Favorite color: BLUE

G. Gold or silver: Silver :)

H. Height: 6'3"

I. Instruments you play(ed): Piano...I can only read notes- don't know how to play chords. weird I know.

J. Job title: Secretary, cook, caretaker, financial planner, housekeeper, etc. (stay at home mom)

K. Kids: Cooper 3 & Sophia almost 2!

L. Live for ______: my family and friends (and all my animals!)

M. Most embarrassing moment: I can't think of anything recently, but one time in JR high I fell down the stairs in the hallway and I had a skirt on...my skirt flew up and I was so embarrassed! Not to mention my crush was at the top of the stairs!

N. Nicknames: Honey and Mommy

O. Overnight hospital stays: Three times...one for each baby and gallbladder surgery

P. Pet peeves: kids running wild and talking to strangers

Q. Quote from a movie: "You tell them I am coming and Hell is Coming with me! Ya HEAR? HELL is coming WITH ME!"

S. Siblings: 2 older sisters; Karen and Elizabeth

T. Time you wake up: whenever the kids wake up

U. University attended: Northwest Missouri State Univerity for 1 year and OTC community college

V. Vegetables: love them

W. What makes you run late: the kids...

X. X-rays you’ve had: Dental lots of dental...

Y. Yummy food you make: steak! and desserts...

Z. Zoo animal favorites: all babies!

Chicks galore!

Okay so I failed with the rabbits. I don't know what happened!  Only 1 doe out of the 3 pulled fur but she didn't have any babies. sigh.  I have another doe due this week, so we will see.  I used 2 different bucks, so I don't know what I did wrong. oh well I guess it is all trial and error. But I wanted baby bunnies!

Moving on....

125 CHICKS!!!

I finally got them yesterday!  They are all so cute and snuggly!  I just want to sit and stare at them for hours!

So right now I have 133 chicks! It is so crazy.

Oh and 3 days ago I got my first duck egg!

I have gotten 5 duck eggs since.  Hoping that they will sit on them and hatch out baby ducks.  If not we may have to put some in the incubator...after we are done with the 55 eggs that are in there now...

I hope at least half of the 55 eggs we have in the bator will hatch, if not I will be mad. But I will try again. 

Gosh the wait is killing me!

3 of my rabbits are due anytime now and it is driving me insane! I feel like I did when I was pregnant with Sophia and didn't know when she would come.  This is nuts!  2 of them have made nests but none of them have pulled any fur as of 10 minutes ago...yes it is after midnight and I just went and checked on them. lol

Our pet numbers have increased since the last time I posted- we gained a new puppy--his name is Scooby:

Cooper named him!  We are keeping him on the backporch for now.  He goes outside with me when I do chores and we let him run around the house a couple times a day.  He chews literally EVERYTHING!  He will be 7 weeks old tomorrow.  He is half beagle and half??? maybe yellow lab?? He is just so squishy and adorable.  We already love him so much.

Today I talked Chris into driving to Nixa to go to Chick day at Nixa hardware!  Came home with 9 chicks...

They are so cute!  I wanted more but I know better because we are going on Thursday to pick up our 125 from Cackle.  We were supposed to go last Thursday but they called earlier in the week and said they weren't going to hatch them until the 30th of March.  So I had to wait another week.  The wait is killing me!

Tomorrow is Homecoming at church, we are celebrating 50 years in the building and have an all day service planned.  I just finished making bread and cinnamon rolls for the dinner.  In the morning we will have regular Sunday School and worship and then we will eat and in the afternoon Bro. Efton Piper is coming to bring the afternoon message.  It shall be a glorious day I am sure.  I am also sure that it will be a long day kid wise. sigh.  Sophia will get really tired...I think I will take the stroller downstairs when we eat and PRAY that she falls asleep in the stroller so MAYBE she will get her nap in.

Life is not fair. (A minor rant about family...and other things...)

Don't get me wrong, I love being a stay at home mom, but sometimes I just want a break!  Since my sister went off the deepend I don't have a babysitter aka grandma and papa since they have Jake full time now. My kids have only spent the night there a couple of times and whenever mom and dad need to do something I get stuck with Jake.  I love Jake, I really do-but he and Cooper fight constantly!  Everyone says it is just because Jake is 6 and Cooper is 3 but I think Jake is a bully.  Everything has to be HIS way no matter what and he is always right.  It drives me nuts.  He will argue with you until he/you are blue in the face.  He treats Cooper like he is dumb because he doesn't know as much.

Today Chris and dad decided to go to an auction.  I wanted to go but dad didn't want to deal with Jake so I have to stay home and babysit Jake with my kids. Mom is at work and then she has to go to a funeral.  My plans were if I didn't get to go to the auction then I would go grocery shopping-well I can't do either and its not FAIR!  I know I am whining but I just want a break once in awhile where I can go to town and not have to worry about getting everything done before naptime, or changing diapers in the car, or getting home intime to pick up the kids.  I just want to go to town and have the day to myself.  I would also like to have a night with just Chris and I.  I don't care if we stay at home, I want to be able to stay up as late as we want and sleep as late as we want.  We have to go to bed at 8 or so since Sophia sleeps in the living room and even if we don't go to sleep we have to be really quiet and keep the tv in our room turned down low.

I want to be able to cook supper and sit down and eat with Chris at the same time.  Whenever I cook Chris comes and gets his plate and sits down.  I then fix Cooper's and Sophia's and then mine.  By the time I sit down to eat Chris is already done and in the shower.  I wish we had a bigger house so we could have a kitchen table so we could all sit down together. 

But I guess I shouldn't complain too much because there are other people that have worse problems than I.  I should be lucky that I have a family who loves me and cares for me.  I am happy with my life most of the time and I love all my animals, friends, family, neighbors, church families... but life isn't perfect all the time.  No ones life is perfect.

And to top it all off-just looked outside a bit ago and 2 of the big steers were in the front yard-down by the highway.  Thankfully we have a fence in our front yard, but the driveway isn't gated off.  I got them back in, but it seems like something always goes wrong when dad and Chris leave. 

Oh well- here are a few pics I took the other day.  Love this pic of Sophia:

Had a busy few days-

Missouri Weather is CRAZY! Yesterday it snowed, the day before it rained, the day before that it was 70!  Today the high is 58 and by Thursday it is supposed to be 80! Craziness I tell you.  But I shouldn't complain because we could be having weather like Japan- earthquake and tsunami. ugh. I don't know about this world anymore.  I saw this status update on Facebook earlier today and it really makes you think:

Sept 11th- New York, January 11th- Haiti and March 11th- Japan. Luke 21:10-11 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes', famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. 'Jesus says for behold I come quickly' so ask yourself, are you ready?


Friday the kids and I went to Fair Grove and picked up T-Bone...525 pounds of beef!  We now have 3 freezers stocked with ground beef, cubed steaks, roasts, brisket, t-bone, porterhouses, and much more!  He was so lean though we didn't get any rib eyes or sirloins.  I cooked a lb of hamburger last night and there was ZERO grease.  I had to add water to keep it from sticking to my pan!

Friday night we went to Springfield and picked up 4 rabbit cages from a lady off of CL.  Great deal!  We then went to Mongolian BBQ and saw my cousin and his wife.  hadn't seen them since Christmas.  Also saw some of Chris's 'friends' from Weaubleau.

Saturday we went to Pittsburg to fix Shelly and Randall's lake house-the heat wouldn't come on and they are selling it.  So it needed to be fixed.  Got it fixed and then went to Weaubleau for a few minutes.  Stopped in Hermitage and ate at Tators-pretty good food.

Saturday afternoon we rearranged the bunnies in the shed and worked on the brooder houses.  We burned some brush piles and tall grass too.  The weather was just so beautiful we didn't want to go in the house.  Plus it was warmer outside than it was inside!

Sunday we overslept for church.  Stupid Daylight Savings time... I cleaned the house and did some laundry while Chris and the kids slept the afternoon away.  Later we all went to Bolivar and got haircuts (except Sophia that is).  I didn't like my haircut at first but after I played with it is okay.

Yesterday I went to WalMart and saved $40 in coupons!  Got a bunch of catfood, 4 toothbrushes ($0.24 each), 3 tubes of toothpaste ($1.00 each) and 6 more bottles of Purex.  I will not buy anymore laundry detergent for a LONG time!


598 loads worth!