I have always enjoyed writing. As the existence of this blog shows. Suzanna is a writer too. And we got some neat news this afternoon. An essay she wrote has been selected to compete in the State 4-H Mark of Excellence program. Her topic was "Because of 4-H I can....." She wrote about how it has given her confidence to talk to people, know about her project so she can answer questions the judge may ask her and also giving oral reasons in dairy judging. We are all very proud of her and will wait to see what happens in June when the final awards are made.
Good job Suzanna!!!!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Stop the world.....Mom is sick!!!!!
Well, the creeping crud has hit me. It started with a funny feeling at the back of my throat sometime early Saturday morning. By noon yesterday, I was wiped out on the couch. I have a cough and my chest hurts. Thankfully there is nothing pressing that has to happen around here, so I can rest and hope it passes soon.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
How kids hear words....
Do you remember as a kid hearing a word in a song or a saying and being sure you knew how to say it, only to find out later in life, you were totally wrong??? My kids are no exception and remembered one yesterday when the kids came home from school.
Thomas and Kathryn had a substitute teacher yesterday. They have had her before, since she is a regular sub for the school. I had to chuckle though, as I remembered the first time she subbed for their class. They had half-day Kindergarten, and because it is a bit of a drive to the school, they went to aftercare for the rest of the day, rather than me make three trips to school a day. They were crazy about their aftercare teacher. They had tons of fun with her and despite the fact that she made him rest every day, Thomas thought she was pretty neat.
One day when I picked them up, he was very upset. It seems Mrs. Cook was sick that day and they had had a substitute. I asked who, and he told me Mrs. Wheelbarrow. I did my best not to laugh out loud and said don't you mean Mrs. Wilbur? No, he insisted, it was Mrs. Wheelbarrow!!! I didn't think it was worth arguing with an upset six year old, but believe me, I was laughing on the inside.
Thomas and Kathryn had a substitute teacher yesterday. They have had her before, since she is a regular sub for the school. I had to chuckle though, as I remembered the first time she subbed for their class. They had half-day Kindergarten, and because it is a bit of a drive to the school, they went to aftercare for the rest of the day, rather than me make three trips to school a day. They were crazy about their aftercare teacher. They had tons of fun with her and despite the fact that she made him rest every day, Thomas thought she was pretty neat.
One day when I picked them up, he was very upset. It seems Mrs. Cook was sick that day and they had had a substitute. I asked who, and he told me Mrs. Wheelbarrow. I did my best not to laugh out loud and said don't you mean Mrs. Wilbur? No, he insisted, it was Mrs. Wheelbarrow!!! I didn't think it was worth arguing with an upset six year old, but believe me, I was laughing on the inside.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Don't light a match.....
that is a polite way of saying our dog had a problem last night. It is always important to make sure things are not where Emma can get into them while we are out of the house. She loves butter wrappers and will dig through the trash to find them. She has also been known to eat a stick of butter if it is within reach on the counter top. One time we realized that she had helped herself to the last of the monkey bread after breakfast.
So yesterday morning in the midst of coping with the time change(Don't get me started on that!!!!)one of the kids realized at about 9:30 that we were the greeters at church, which starts at 10am. That put the hustle on the family, but we did manage to put the almost full bag of trash in the garage on our way out the door.
When we got home, Emma didn't come to greet us. That is a sure sign she was guilty of something. Soon we discovered that she had helped herself half a chocolate chip cake. She didn't seem any worse for the wear, considering what they say about dogs and chocolate. It wasn't solid chocolate, so that may have kept her out of trouble that way.....but it gave her gas and she couldn't even stand to be in the same room with herself. Every time she let off a stink bomb, she left the room and the rest of us suffered the consequences. She wasn't allowed to sleep on our bed last night, that was real punishment in her book.
She seems better this morning and therefore got to ride with me to take the kids to school. Lesson learned....nothing on the counter tops is safe with Emma around.
So yesterday morning in the midst of coping with the time change(Don't get me started on that!!!!)one of the kids realized at about 9:30 that we were the greeters at church, which starts at 10am. That put the hustle on the family, but we did manage to put the almost full bag of trash in the garage on our way out the door.
When we got home, Emma didn't come to greet us. That is a sure sign she was guilty of something. Soon we discovered that she had helped herself half a chocolate chip cake. She didn't seem any worse for the wear, considering what they say about dogs and chocolate. It wasn't solid chocolate, so that may have kept her out of trouble that way.....but it gave her gas and she couldn't even stand to be in the same room with herself. Every time she let off a stink bomb, she left the room and the rest of us suffered the consequences. She wasn't allowed to sleep on our bed last night, that was real punishment in her book.
She seems better this morning and therefore got to ride with me to take the kids to school. Lesson learned....nothing on the counter tops is safe with Emma around.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The dog gets the mouse.....
In the kids song Old McDonald Had A Farm the dog gets the cat, the cat gets the mouse. Not true at our house. The dog is quicker than the cats at our place.
I was folding laundry yesterday and Emma as always was with me. Suddenly she jumped up and raced toward the laundry baskets sitting along the wall. I got up from my chair and moved the first basket. Out ran a mouse, but it didn't run very far. Emma got it. Then Butterscotch came along and checked to see what all the excitement was. Then Hop Sing, the newest kitty in the house showed up. The deed was done by the time those two showed up.
Thankfully we have one less mouse in the house. I have always heard if you see one, there are more. YUCK!!! Hope Emma stays on the job!!!
I was folding laundry yesterday and Emma as always was with me. Suddenly she jumped up and raced toward the laundry baskets sitting along the wall. I got up from my chair and moved the first basket. Out ran a mouse, but it didn't run very far. Emma got it. Then Butterscotch came along and checked to see what all the excitement was. Then Hop Sing, the newest kitty in the house showed up. The deed was done by the time those two showed up.
Thankfully we have one less mouse in the house. I have always heard if you see one, there are more. YUCK!!! Hope Emma stays on the job!!!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Barn Cleaning Wrap-up
I had to follow-up on Saturday's barn cleaning. It was a looooooonnng day. We started around 10am and got back in the house at 7:30pm. Part of what took so long was putting sawdust into the freshly cleaned stalls.
We get our sawdust a gravity wagon load at a time. For anyone not familiar with a gravity wagon, here is a description. They are used by farmers to haul grain. It is a wagon with sides, and a floor that slants to one side and a door on the side of the wagon. That allows the grain to slide down the slant and out the door. We have adapted that principle and use one to get sawdust in. There is a sawmill not too far from our place and they will fill it up for $20, which beats buying bagged shavings!
So we got a fresh load of shavings about a month ago, but had only gotten a little of the stuff out of it since then. Despite the fact that we keep it covered, the water still gets into it. Add that to the fact that it isn't kiln dried, and you have damp stuff that when it is below freezing day after day after day, it will freeze in. As the kids began to attempt unloading the sawdust, it was obvious the stuff was frozen, and a pitchfork wasn't gonna do the job. Dad handed Suzanna a pick axe and Thomas an axe. That made me nervous, but it didn't matter much, since the kids were only loosening about a tablespoon of sawdust at a time. Dad disappeared, and I was sure he decided to take a break while his kids were working hard and accomplishing nothing. Never fear......he soon returned......with the chainsaw. The kids eyes got huge, and mine did too I am sure. But it was logical, sawdust is wood, so why not use the chainsaw to get the stuff out.
We sent the kids to their favorite ice spot for a break and daddy started cutting. The sawdust was flying everywhere, and he began to push blocks of sawdust out of the wagon. Once he got through the first layer of frozen stuff, the stuff underneath was loose and pushed out easily. The kids came back out to the barn and ended up building "walls" with the frozen blocks, which dad then mushed with the lawn tractor.
Once all that was done, it was time to put the barn back together. What a nice feeling it was to be in that nice clean place when it was all done. We were all tired out by the end of the night, but it was worth it.
PS: Obviously I didn't make it to the Stallion Service Auction. Never fear, trainer Mike took care of it and we ended up with just what we wanted and even got some bargains in the deal.
We get our sawdust a gravity wagon load at a time. For anyone not familiar with a gravity wagon, here is a description. They are used by farmers to haul grain. It is a wagon with sides, and a floor that slants to one side and a door on the side of the wagon. That allows the grain to slide down the slant and out the door. We have adapted that principle and use one to get sawdust in. There is a sawmill not too far from our place and they will fill it up for $20, which beats buying bagged shavings!
So we got a fresh load of shavings about a month ago, but had only gotten a little of the stuff out of it since then. Despite the fact that we keep it covered, the water still gets into it. Add that to the fact that it isn't kiln dried, and you have damp stuff that when it is below freezing day after day after day, it will freeze in. As the kids began to attempt unloading the sawdust, it was obvious the stuff was frozen, and a pitchfork wasn't gonna do the job. Dad handed Suzanna a pick axe and Thomas an axe. That made me nervous, but it didn't matter much, since the kids were only loosening about a tablespoon of sawdust at a time. Dad disappeared, and I was sure he decided to take a break while his kids were working hard and accomplishing nothing. Never fear......he soon returned......with the chainsaw. The kids eyes got huge, and mine did too I am sure. But it was logical, sawdust is wood, so why not use the chainsaw to get the stuff out.
We sent the kids to their favorite ice spot for a break and daddy started cutting. The sawdust was flying everywhere, and he began to push blocks of sawdust out of the wagon. Once he got through the first layer of frozen stuff, the stuff underneath was loose and pushed out easily. The kids came back out to the barn and ended up building "walls" with the frozen blocks, which dad then mushed with the lawn tractor.
Once all that was done, it was time to put the barn back together. What a nice feeling it was to be in that nice clean place when it was all done. We were all tired out by the end of the night, but it was worth it.
PS: Obviously I didn't make it to the Stallion Service Auction. Never fear, trainer Mike took care of it and we ended up with just what we wanted and even got some bargains in the deal.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Barn Cleaning
Not the most fun you can have on a farm, but a necessary part of life. So today we will take on that project. We have three box stalls in the barn, and all three need help. Fortunately, we don't have to do it all by hand. Our lawn tractor has a bucket attachment which hubby uses to scoop out the stalls. The front of one stall comes off and the sides for the other two stalls can be removed as well. The only pitching you end up doing is pulling the stuff away from the wall so the bucket can pick it up.
It is a sunny day and suppose to get up in the middle 30s, so it should be a nice day to be outside and enjoy the outdoors.
Today is the Michigan Morgan Futurity Stallion Service Auction. Many stallion owners donate a breeding to their stallion to be purchased at auction. The foals that result from the breedings purchased tonight are eligible for bonus money in 2009 at the Futurity. Trainer Mike and I discussed what stallions would work for our two mares and will hope to pick up one for each tonight. I had hoped to go to the Gala, but think Trainer Mike will have to bid for hubby and I. Barn cleaning takes priority over social stuff today.
It is a sunny day and suppose to get up in the middle 30s, so it should be a nice day to be outside and enjoy the outdoors.
Today is the Michigan Morgan Futurity Stallion Service Auction. Many stallion owners donate a breeding to their stallion to be purchased at auction. The foals that result from the breedings purchased tonight are eligible for bonus money in 2009 at the Futurity. Trainer Mike and I discussed what stallions would work for our two mares and will hope to pick up one for each tonight. I had hoped to go to the Gala, but think Trainer Mike will have to bid for hubby and I. Barn cleaning takes priority over social stuff today.
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