R.I.P.

Poor thing, not even a day old. The little guy was hanging out by the fence and our neighbor's Doberman tunneled underneath two fences to get to him. Grabbed him by the tail and drug him under kicking and screaming. Lily witnessed the whole thing and is pretty traumatized. She's upset because she couldn't do anything about it and had to stand helplessly by. She was very scared of the dog. Our neighbors came by when they got off of work and found him in their yard. They were so sorry and embarrassed, I felt bad for them and told them not to worry about it. They're going to fix the fence, but I have it blocked with large rocks for now.

*Sigh* At least my children are learning how to deal with sad things. That's important for when they grow up and learn that life isn't fair and never will be, that is, until Jesus comes to take us home. Then all things will be made right. God is good and He has a plan and a purpose in everything that He allows to happen to us. We may never know His reasoning until we see Him face to face, but we can trust Him to see us through the trials He gives us.

Busyness

Well, we've been keeping busy around here! Hope had her 5th birthday. She told Ginger that she was 15, and on our way to church she informed us that she doesn't do bad things like interrupt conversations anymore. I have no more babies in the house! :( If I had kept on at the rate I was going at in this past decade I should have had three more babies by now. I miss them a lot, but I am starting to enjoy my big kids more. I also like having a little more freedom to be able to sew, which is a good thing since I forgot to get Hope a birthday present. When we got home from church I raided my pink fabric stash and busted out a sparkly dress in record time. She loved it! Thank goodness little girls are so easy to please.

Sorry it's fuzzy, she couldn't stand still!

Let's see... oh yes, last week Faith and I had an opportunity to volunteer to help train Chico and Sacramento police horses not to freak out when confronted with a noisy crowd. It was a lot of standing around but was also pretty fun. The riot police even trained with us. Faith was so ecstatic!

Earlier that same day Abi and Lily got a chance to attend a free cooking class for kids put on my the Galley, a local kitchen supply store. The instructor had the genius idea of giving the kids plastic lettuce knives to cut the soft veggies with. They're sharp enough to cut soft things with, but not sharp enough to cut little fingers. He gave us one ;) They loved it so much they want to sign up for the next class.

Last but not least, Violet finally birthed her babies! Sadly though I'm pretty sure they're both boys. We'll have to sell them. Violet and Daisy are different as night and day. Daisy is a loud, pushy pig who will eat herself sick; and Violet is a timid, gentle sweetheart who will scrounge for Daisy's leftovers. Daisy moaned and yelled LOUDLY all night during the birth of her babies; Violet was so quiet we didn't know she had her babies till the next morning. I had to separate Daisy into a different pen because she was jealous of all the attention Violet was getting and kept on ramming her and trampling her babies. The good news about daisy is that her milk isn't sour anymore and we can drink it now without getting sick. I think she just ate something that disagreed with her last time we let her out to graze in the yard.

Well, I guess that's all I'll post for now. Things are happening all the time around here so that I can hardly keep up! Now this is what home schooling is all about! I love it!

This Chick Rocks!

New Dress A Day

365 Days. 365 New Outfits. 365 Dollars.

 

Marisa takes totally horrible Thrift Store bargain bin finds for a buck, then mends and alters them into super cute garments (mostly). She's a bit more artsy and flamboyant for my taste, but she certainly has guts and a style of her own. I'll have to try some of this action myself, she's got some great ideas! ;) Warning: her blog rates a 10 on the addictive scale. Seriously, I stayed up till 2 am looking at all her before and after pics. 

Poor Lily

Well, today we learned that a big rock (yes, the one on the left) dropped on a little foot doesn't feel so good. This is the same child who I had to take to the hospital when she was 3 because she had stuck a blueberry up her nose. (Seriously, it was in so deep that they had to sedate her.) I'm thinking she might need to learn how to make wise decisions ;)

None of my kids have had a broken bone (yet, though I'm an expert on scratched corneas) so I wasn't exactly sure what to look for. I pretty much made the decision to go to the hospital based on the fact she was screaming bloody murder. When she was going through triage the nurse tried to put a thermometer in her mouth. You can tell that my kids don't get sick very often by the fact that my 8 year old didn't know what a thermometer was and wouldn't let the nurse use it till I reassured her that it wouldn't hurt. By now she was much better, especially after the male nurse (she was shocked that a man would be a nurse) pampered her with an ice pack, warm blanket, and stickers. Can you tell she's suffering?

After waiting for a couple hours in the hallway reading Little Pilgrim's Progress (a wonderful book! every parent must read this to their children),

the lady doctor (which really confused Lily, a male nurse and a female doctor? The world is full of wonders!) finally came to see us and pronounced Lily's toe perfectly fine without even having to take an X-ray! There was no swelling or pain anymore. I still can't figure it out. Did you see the size of that rock?! Maybe she was just more scared than hurt. I don't know. The only thing that Lily cared about was that I'd take her out to ice cream afterward, which of course, I was more than happy to do.

The End.

My Baby's Sewing!

This has got to be the easiest pattern ever! It's just one pattern piece that you use to cut 2 pieces out of the fabric with. Cut on the bias (diagonally, see pic below) so the bottom end flares a bit when finished. To find how big to make it just measure your hips and add a couple more inches. It's better if you make it a little loose rather than too tight, you can always take it in, but it's harder to let out. As for length, measure from your waist to your knees and add 3 inches, (one for bottom hem, two for waistband). So really, you don't need a pattern for this at all. It's just a slightly shaped rectangle/square.

Then you sew up both side seams, front of fabric pieces facing each other (pic1). For the bottom hem fold up 1/2 inch and iron. Then fold up 1/2 inch again iron and sew (pic2).

You do the same for the waistband except that you fold up 1 inch to make a wide enough casing for the elastic to slip through, iron and fold up another inch so you have a finished edge (pic 3). When you sew the waistband leave a 2 inch opening so you can thread the elastic in (pic4). Here's a tip: clip a large safety pin onto the end of the elastic before you thread it through. That gives your fingers something easier to handle and it goes more quickly. After you thread the elastic through cut it to a comfortable length for your waistline, not too loose and not too tight. Sew the ends of the elastic together and tuck it into the waistband casing (pic5).

Lastly, sew up the 2 inch gap, turn right side out and voila! You have yourself a snappy new skirt! I think this will work with just about any fabric, but probably something that's not very stiff. You'll need about a yard and a half. (Since you're cutting on the bias you'll need a little more room.) You can always use the scraps to make a headband! Happy sewing!

Potluck Sunday for August!

This week I think I'm going to make Chinese Beef and Broccoli. I don't really have a recipe for this. For the beef I usually use leftover pot roast chopped up. But the kids broke my crock pot a while back so I bought pre-chopped carne asada meat which I'll fry up with onions in a pan. Then I have beef and broccoli seasoning packets that I'll add with water and soy sauce. When that's thick and bubbly I'll add chopped broccoli, simmer till it's soft, then serve over cooked brown rice. Actually, since it's for potluck I'll make it up the night before, mix the rice in and refrigerate in a casserole dish. Sunday morning before church I'll pop it in the oven to warm, and voila! A yummy potluck dish!

What about you ladies of Sovereign Joy Christian Fellowship? What are you bringing?

Rock Creek

We love free stuff. We also love getting out and doing things together. How often do these two things mesh? Not often enough. But we have stumbled upon an awesome place for a fun day trip with the kids, Rock Creek! I don't know how Patrick found it, but it's a fairly secluded creek off of the Feather River only about 40 minutes from our house. It's a beautiful place full of giant boulders, waterfalls, frigid swimming holes, and hidden nooks filled with mossy coolness. The best part? It's free! We take a picnic lunch and spend the whole day there, the kids and the dogs love it. Here are some pics from our most recent trip.

Shabby Apple Boysenberry Pie Apron Guest Giveaway

 Shabby Apple Boysenberry Pie Apron Guest Giveaway

Super duper cute aprons, I can't resist!

Potluck Sunday for July!

I wish I could enlarge this image so you all could read it more clearly, but I can't without fuzzing it up too much. :(  But the good news is POTLUCK IS ON for this month! We had a bit of a scare though, when I went to reserve the kitchen I was told it was being used by someone else. But then they called back a little bit later and said they had made a mistake and we could use it. WooHoo! Here's what I'm thinking of bringing:

This recipe was taken from http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_greek_salad.htm

 

Greek salad, or horiatiki salata, is a rough country salad of juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, sliced red onion, green pepper, crumbly feta cheese and plump kalamata olives. Serve this delightful combination as a side dish or as a light meal with some crusty bread.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic—minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and extra for garnish
3 tomatoes—cut into wedges
¼ red onion—sliced into rings
½ cucumber—sliced into thick half-moons
½ green pepper (capsicum)—julienned
4 oz (120g) feta cheese—cut into small cubes
16 kalamata olives

PLACE the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a small jar with a screw-top lid and shake to combine. PLACE the salad ingredients in a large bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving. GARNISH the Greek salad with a little freshly ground black pepper.

Ladies of Sovereign Joy Christian Fellowship, what are you bringing? Ginger is out of town this week so she won't be able to come. Denise told me she's making meatballs, yea! We'll also bring some sort of dessert, Moriah hasn't decided what she wants to make yet, I'll let you know.

If you happen to read this post leave a comment with what you'll be bringing so we don't double up on dishes anymore! ;)

We're Home!

We went on trip last week to visit Patrick's parents down in Southern California. We had a blast! Patrick was unable to go since he had to work, so I just took the three older girls while my mom helped watch the younger two when Patrick was at work. It was so bizarre to have only three kids! And now that they're 13, 11, and 9 they are able to take care of themselves, well, with a little reminding that is!

We helped Grammie with some projects, visited a yummy bakery which has a show on TLC called The Bakery Bunch, went to a thrift store and bought some dresses, went to see the new movie Sorcerers Apprentice, spent an afternoon at the beach, and visited Patrick's grandmother Mammy. Of course we also sat around watching a lot of T.V. and eating way too much junk food! On the whole we had a wonderful time!

There was a sad, sad, tragedy here at home while we were gone though. One day when Patrick went to work one of the baby goats, Flora, got out and the dogs got to her. They must have played with her to death because there was no open wounds or blood. They probably shook her like they do when they catch a chicken. I don't blame the dogs, they were following their instincts, unfortunately.

That said, here are some pics of our trip:

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...