Did You Know...?

Did you know that organic farmers are legally allowed to get manure for their crops from feed lots? This manure comes from animals treated with antibiotics, hormones, and are fed genetically modified food. We were told this recently from a big time, organic farmer who sells pre-started plants, cheese, milk, butter, meat, etc. all over this state. They use this manure (although I'm not clear on why - maybe because it's readily available and free) with their pre-started plants! Organic foods aren't quite what they're all cracked up to be unless... you have grown them yourselves and know exactly what went into that plant.

Draft Horse Expo

About 1 1/2 weeks ago, right after my hubby got back from a business trip, my family and I headed off for a day at the Draft Horse Expo just one town away. Here are a few pictures from our enjoyable outing:

This was one of our favorite teams. I think they won in both the Unicorn competition and the 6-horse team competition. For the 6-horse team they, of course, added on three more horses.

These mules, in spite of pulling that big bulky wagon behind them, won the Canadian maze race!

These folks nearly won the Canadian race. They sure went fast! It would have made sense if they had been the fastest with that nice, small, light wagon and a good looking team of horses pulling it.

A beautiful team.

Later, when Ethan was telling his papa, Jack about the draft expo he summed it up with, "It was kind of boring." It did last a long time for little ones, but I enjoyed it! All three of the children did great sitting still for the whole thing. I was very proud of them. Here's Ethan talking to his papa about the expo:


Here's a picture of Robby that doesn't really go along with the rest of this post. I can just see it in his little face - he was contemplating what to do with that pencil first before Mom noticed (the golden head is Madeleine's):

Back on Track

The cold has finally passed. Ethan had it for the shortest amount of time and I'm thinking it's because he prepared for it better. He consistently took Echinacea tincture, Elderberry tincture, plenty of liquids and vitamin C. If I had been making sure all the children took those things before cold season even started we may have been able to avoid that cold! However, it's very difficult to get a 3-year-old to take things like that. She'll take the vitamin C without a problem, but the nastier tasting things are a whole different story. I took all of the above as well as ate fresh garlic and was able to avoid the cold all together. I'm very thankful for that! It's hard enough tending to 3 little ones with a cold without having a cold yourself!

With everyone well again we're back on track with schooling, schedule, and chores. Both Ethan and Madeleine have reading lessons each day along with beginner math, writing, and science. They're both doing really well! I had to include Madeleine since she couldn't stand for Ethan to get all of the "attention"! Robby isn't as quiet during lessons as he used to be. He is learning to get around better and better all the time. He climbs up onto the couch, climbs behind the couch into the bay window, then back down. He usually aims for Madeleine lap on the way back down right on her school books. It's entertaining, but distracting, so I try to get him to sit somewhat quietly with some board books on my lap.

With the season change upon us we're preparing for winter; ordering hay for the animals, my husband is finishing up a few summer project he had going, etc. Madeleine and I built a campfire pit yesterday so we can have a few campfires this autumn. I thought it would be a fun evening activity - gathering wood together, sitting around the campfire and baking potatoes or corn in the fire. I remember all the summers of camping from when I was a child and my favorite part was always the campfire. So, why not have that here at our own home?

Well, I should get back to work! I hope everyone is doing very well!

Not Much New

It has been a week now and I still can't seem to come up with a good post! I've been busy with the usual; children, household chores, teaching, crafting, etc. The children came down with a cold, so I'm more tired this week from interrupted nights. Other than that, not much is new. I hope everyone else out there is staying well! :c)

Brrr...

I had a feeling for over a month now that winter would come early. Little did I know we would get our first snow on September 1st, though! Brrr! Of course, since the ground isn't frozen down here in the valley the snow melted within hours of the sun rising. Still, when it isn't raining we've seen snow flurries today. It's chilly! It finally warmed up to 47 degrees, but that doesn't feel very warm and it's supposed to get down to 29 degrees tonight. The rest of this week it's supposed to get into the 60's. The warmest day of the week (Sunday) is supposed to get up to 71 degrees. I'm wearing layers today since I'm not used to this weather. I refuse to turn the heat on this early in the season! Especially since this place is heated with heating oil. Ugh. We're hoping to talk the landlord into allowing us to put in a wood stove. That would save us thousands! If that doesn't work we'll heat with the minimum needed, which would make it a very chilly winter.

Anyway, I didn't mean to bore everyone with a weather update! Still, it's on my mind since I sit here in a lightweight fleece jacket thinking to myself... it's supposed to feel like summer still!

Last night I made up a big batch of cake donuts (the ones covered in cinnamon and sugar) for my hubby who had a hankering for them. They sure are tasty. Especially if eaten along with a glass of fresh apple juice. I've made way too many sweets this week; huckleberry pie, cherry pie, oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate cake w/homemade vanilla frosting, and then the donuts. Is anyone getting a sweet tooth reading this? Good thing I keep finding plenty of help eating these things or certain, unmentionable parts on me might be showing extra, unwanted gain right now!

Well, that's all I can think of for now. I really should get to cleaning since I have a friend coming over tomorrow to craft with me! I hope everyone is having an excellent Labor Day! Bye for now!

A Windy Day

The wind is whipping around this house, causing all sorts of creaks and groans. This sort of weather reminds me of when one of our temporary buildings was blown over. Still, as long as it's not destroying anything I enjoy it - storms, that is. It seems like an adventure hits when it's storming. I'm not sure why. It always causes this excited, awed, cozy feeling for me.

The dark clouds have been hovering over the mountains all day and I keep wondering if it might be snowing up there. It would seem a little early, but still beats having fires all over! As long as the snow sticks to the high peaks and doesn't come down here in August, I wouldn't be bothered. I always have loved how mountain peaks look with snow on them - so clean, white, sharp, and... cold.

Yes, a day like this makes me think of pumpkins, hot apple cider, autumn leaves & colors, a lightweight jacket, blue jeans, schoolwork, and outdoor fun. It sure beats the temperatures we had last Monday when it hit 103 degrees! Today it's 60 degrees, but is supposed to be in the upper 80's and sunny on Sunday. Although the warm weather will be back for a little while, today makes me realize summer is nearly over. We shall enjoy maybe a month or two more of warm weather before winter arrives, then it will be time to pull out the coats, hats, gloves, and snow pants. Bicycles will have to be put in safe places along with other summer toys. Hopefully this winter won't be so windy and we'll have enough snow to build snowmen with! Either way, there will be lots of learning. Ethan has been doing great with his reading lessons, but it's time to start working on mathematics with him. Madeleine, at three-years-old, is ready to start preschool this year and I'm sure she'll do great. She already has about half of the alphabet memorized, knows some shapes, all of her colors, and numbers up to 10.

Summer Fun

I have so thoroughly enjoyed this summer! The temperatures have mainly been 70's and 80's, which is just perfect for summer in my book - especially the 70's! I wouldn't mind it if the weather was like this all year around, except for maybe 2 really snowy weeks of the year!

Ethan and Madeleine are old enough now to enjoy new things - like the circus we went to (talked about in my last post) and the fair we went to today. I have learned how to multi-task even more than before (I always find it amazing how many things can be done in a day!) My hubby has been in fair health and able to get several things done. Things are good.

Well, I'll try to find a more "awake" moment to write sometime soon. I just woke up from a nap and am feeling all groggy. I shouldn't have taken a nap right after eating! It felt good, though. I've been spending two hours a day on house cleaning each day due to my husband asking me to. Cleaning the kitchen, cooking, and laundry time don't count towards those two hours, though, so I've been extra busy this week! I hope everyone has had a wonderful week!