Ma's Place

Run Robin Run!

2011-05-21T03:28:00.000-07:00

I just thought I'd take the time to tell a little story about when I was little. We raised chickens when I was a kid and there was 1 rooster that just chased me every morning in my little red bathrobe. My brothers used to laugh so much as I went screaming through the yard, around the house, up the woodpile to wait out that 'pecketdy ol wooster'. And I have to admit. While my daughter wasn't running from a peckty ol wooster in this clip (she was trying to get the chicks to follow her, not running away) it WAS still hilarious in the clip and I had to watch it about 50 time laughing until tears rolled down.

Enjoy the clip! We sure did! Heather

http://manyrandommusings.blogspot.com/2011/05/spring-look-for-you-giveaway.html is giving away a free blog design! I'm really hoping I win it because she's done a wonderful job on hers and mine is... well not exactly the most creative!

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T05:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I had a fabulous one! I was up early to pick my husband up from work and he made me breakfast (mmm fried potatoes, my favorite!) after I tended the chickens and had bought me a fuschia plant. My kids made me love notes through the day and Rosemary gave me a necklace and earrings she had bought at the maple festival. Of which she had to check every 5 minutes throughout the day to see if I was wearing them and how much I adored them. Catherine and Robin took turns hugging my leg while I was gardening and asking 'Can I say something?' me- 'yes' them 'I love you!' throughout the day. And David and Andy made dandelion soup while I was trimming pine trees .... and served it on the deck steps on mud patties. I have a sneaky suspicion the mud patties came from one of my planters in the herb garden. As it smelled slightly of oregano and mint.

I did not blog on mother's day. I was avoiding the cyber world yesterday for 1 reason. I didn't want to spoil my day. Mother's day is great! It's a day intended to recognize and acknowledge mothers who often do their best work when noone is looking. For the world in general to say YAY MOMS! To acknowledge all the things we do for our families but it's also to me about BEING a mom and ME recognizing and acknowledging the blessings God gave that MAKE me a mom. Being a mom means cooking, cleaning, wiping tears and noses, bandaids, diapers, refereeing, sore feet, loud children, hugs, kisses, story times, love notes in crayon on your fresh painted walls, hunting for shoes, saying prayers at bedtime and teaching manners. We signed on for this! We may not love all that it entails but we can all agree that we love our children and wouldn't give them up to be shet of the messes. If your family does these things every day... how can it be reasonable to expect them to be different on 1 particular day? Do you want them to be?

I've seen so many people saying their mother's day was aweful and grumping about it not being as nice as someone else's. I have to wonder who's yardstick it's being measured by. I love my family. Just the way they are. Every day. I wouldn't want them to disappear. No, I didn't have a day free of housework. I didn't sleep in until noon. I didn't have a day free of parenting. And I hope I never do. Mother's Day isn't a day to have a free pass from your family. It's a day to enjoy them and celebrate the fact that your children are THERE to argue, and spill, and cry, and eat..... and it's my pleasure to enjoy every moment of it!

How big is your yardstick? And is it a different color that your family has never seen before on Mother's Day?

Bullseye Blasters

2011-04-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

My older kids had their final meeting for the 4-H Bullseye Blasters rifle club tonight. (Photo included) The last meeting of the season is always to finish up their log books for the records. On the first page the book asks what you wish to achieve this year in this program. Every one of them wrote some form of 'shooting better'. Towards the end it asks them what they learned this year. Every one of them wrote some form of 'shooting better'. I have to wonder what they expect the children to write there and had myself a little chuckle. What if.... they asked the parents to answer those questions? Why DO I send them to rifle club? I can teach them to shoot just fine here. We home school for everything else so why not that?

What do you wish your child to achieve this year in this program? I hope that my children will learn patience, responsibility, safe handling and appropriate care of weapons, respect for guns-people-authority-property and have fun while doing it. I hope that my children will gain self-respect, assurance, confidence and pride in their achievements. And yeah... I hope they get a better aim too! Is that asking too much? I don't think so.

My kids have a wonderful team of coaches! They take the time to know the kids. To interact with them individually and encourage them. To show them each that they are worth something! And like Who's line is it anyway... the points don't matter. At the end of the year some have scored high, some not so much. But they ALL did great. The high scores are celebrated and the not so high are congratulated on their improvement and efforts. My heartfelt gratitude and kudos go out to the amazing coaches and assistants who make this program outstanding for the kids who are in it.

Thank you coaches! You're amazing!

Day 10 - video

2011-04-10T07:29:00.001-07:00

The chicks are so curious! Anything in their space gets thoroughly inspected. You can see in the video how much faster the meat birds are growing than the layers. The layers sure hold their own though!

The chicks are busy busy busy but still manage to settle right down for a snuggle with Robin. While the videos are uploading let's talk about kids and animals. Never ever leave a child alone with an animal. For the safety of both. Baby animals are adorable! But they're also fragile and require some special care. Teach children to handle them properly to ensure the safety of both the animals and the kids. Chicks can get sick easily and animals do carry diseases and germs so be sure kids wash well before and after handling them. It's natural for kids to squeeze when they're excited and toss when they're startled so it's helpful to have a smock or towel to set the animal on. This will keep the chick safer and free the child's hands for petting rather than smothering. Draw attention to the way the animal naturally sits and encourage children to hold the animal in a similar way. For chicks the wings should be folded normally and not allowed to flap and feet should be free of obstruction. Be engaged with them. Take the child's hand in yours and show them how to pet gently. This way you can demonstrate appropriate pressure. Gentle with a dog is much different than gentle with a baby chick. If the child will hand feed be sure to warn them about a little pinch and show them to hold their hand flat so there are no little skin folds to be nipped. And don't forget to wash those hands! These early lessons will lead to a long time of mutual enjoyment and fun!

Chick Patrol 1

2011-04-10T04:46:00.001-07:00

Another week has passed and boy have those chicks grown!

Day 2 - Look at those wings! Just yesterday there wasn't a feather in sight!

Day 4 - starting to get some color on those feathers and maybe a bit of fluff starting a tail?
Day 6 - Wing feathers are taking shape and they're starting to scratch for food and chasing bugs. We had a minor issue on Day 7. A snow storm came through and left us without power for about 8 hours. It was a bit of a rush to get all the chicks into laundry baskets and around the wood stove to keep them warm without the lights. They fared well though and after a day of sleeping it off they were back to their chirpy, busy selves again.

Day 8 Feathers on top! And definitely showing some tail feathers too!

The chicks are here!

2011-03-31T06:41:00.000-07:00

The Chick Mansion is occupied!

What an exciting morning! We received a phone call from the post office at 7 am saying our chicks had arrived! Looking out the door at all the fresh fallen snow (on March 31!) I wasn't pleased with mother nature! The ladies at the post office assured us they were cute as could be and all different colors (Who could resist taking a peek with all those cute chirps?!?) and had taken good care of them and even had them up front near the heat. They're now all in the crates sipping water and chirping away. We lost 2 in travel and a couple lame ones (their feet were stuck in the crate dividers) But overall they look to be a healthy lot.

We used wire hangers to lower the light down as they were all crowding together tight. (Never hang a light from the cord) New chicks need to be kept at about 95 degrees f but you can see this without a thermometer by noting their behavior. If it's too hot the chicks will move away from the light and be listless. If it's too cold they'll group tight together like the picture below. When it's just right they'll be active and moving around. In the photo below Topper keeps guard over these strange noisemakers. We'll have to keep an eye on him! What he's sitting on is a wire grate about 12 x 12". That's where the water goes. Straw is not very stable and we don't like leaks so there is a small block of wood for height with the grate on top for a level surface. We've added vitamins to the water and use medicated chick feed as recommended for good health.

Half of the chicks are being moved to the second crate. This crate has a white light only because the local store was out of red. Red is preferred here as it's less harsh but a chick's gotta have heat. So white it is.

The great chicken adventure!

2011-03-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

Box crate on pallet (sorry for the dark photos!)

So it's almost baby chick day! We're getting ready for 175 new chicks that are supposed to arrive in 2 days. It's important to have their place prepared before their arrival because we're getting newly hatched chicks that are just 1 day old. They need to be kept at 95 degrees and can get sick very easily. I was so lucky to score some large box crates at the local feed store! (Erways is great if you're in the area to stop in!) So I've set up 2 of them. They're pretty simple really just a wood pallet on the floor, then a large plastic trash bag (in case there are any leaky water spills), and the box crate on top.

Then a couple layers of cardboard inside the crate.
Some of my kids hopped in to test it out!

Then a couple inches of bedding inside it. We're using straw because it's what we have handy. The kids will have fun shredding paper towels to mix in with it. And after the straw is nice and dry (it was frozen out at the coop) we'll put a layer of window screen over it for the first few days so the chicks don't try to eat the bedding before learning where the food is. You can see we've put duct tape securely over those shipping handles to make sure no chicks wander out or a get a draft. We'll remove that and replace it with screens when they've settled in. Those handle holes will serve a purpose later!

We do free-range our chickens but baby chicks need a good healthy start. So they start out eating medicated chick feed to keep them healthy for the first couple weeks. After they have some feathers we'll switch them to a small ration of natural pellets each day and all the fresh foraging they can find.

Thanks for following our adventures and stay tuned for tomorrow's update after we've finished preparing the Chick Mansion! God Bless!

Is it really spoiling?

2011-03-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! My first great-niece will be born in the next 6 weeks! I was blessed to be invited to her baby shower yesterday and it was so much fun shopping for baby Vanezza that I didn't want to stop! What better blessing is there in life than that of a new baby in the family? AND I get to spoil it rotten without doing diaper duty!! WOOHOO!

I don't really think it's possible to spoil an infant. Infants are so pure. They don't even care about STUFF. Babies need a pair of loving arms, a clean and safe place to sleep, and nourishing food. The cute stuff is all about the adults who enjoy it! So I enjoyed myself greatly and I hope her mom and dad enjoy using the gifts as much as I enjoyed shopping for them!

I didn't take a photo of it all but here is a photo of the diaper cake the girls and I made. There's about 140 diapers in there and all kinds of goodies. We had a ton of fun making it!

My girls picked out a cuddly nursing pillow that's pink with white polka dots. They all agreed it was their most favoritist ever baby thing a long time ago when they were babies. HAHA And all the kids made some cute princess pictures to decorate the new baby's room!

The boys picked a camo colored diaper bag so Vanezza's daddy could tote her in style too!

And Great Uncle Dennis determined she HAD to have the perfect, safe, and totally awesome new carseat/stroller combo. And I picked out an adorable black and bright pink travel bed/changing table that I thought would make mommy's job easier and it's just the colors that I thought she'd love! And added in some Dr. Brown's bottles and monitor that I loved with my own babies. We couldn't decide on any one thing so we just got them all! What fun! I can't wait to spoil her more!

Go Fish - Ten Commandment Boogie (VBS Version)

2011-03-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

Go Fish - Kickin' It Old School

2011-03-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

How it started

2011-03-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

Our chicken raising adventure really started out as a science project. A few years ago we decided that raising chickens through a season would be good project for both science and responsibility. My family raised chickens and pigs when I was younger and I didn't remember it fondly with the exception of 1 bawdy rooster who took a fancy to chasing me up the woodpile. The deal was that we would get a dozen chicks and raise them, then at the end of the season the older kids would assist in preparing them for the freezer instead of dissecting frogs for no good reason. We decided free-range would be fine and they wouldn't really need a coop or anything because we were only keeping them for 1 season after all!

So we researched all the needs and care of chickens online and popped on down to the local feed store for some chicks. (If you happen to be in the area Erways is awesome! The people are friendly, the produce is fresh, and the attached restaurant is our favorite place to eat with our large family!) Where we proceeded to obtain all the necessary gadgets for raising chicks. A light, waterer, feeder, chick feed, and most importantly... the chicks.

It went great! We kept them in a pen in the house until they head a hearty coat of feathers and the kids loved on them until they were ready to go outside. Those chickens very quickly learned to follow the kids around when they were outside and it was so cute to watch them line up at the front window peeking in when we weren't. Then came fall. Time to end our project but the kids decided they wanted to keep them. Forever. It had been a great year for them and the hens were laying eggs that all enjoyed. The kids learned a lot and we all enjoyed having them so we said if the kids would care for them and keep them alive through the winter we would keep them and build a coop in the spring. The chickens spent their first winter living on our front porch (much to my husband's dismay) and in the spring we added a few more chickens.

We didn't get a coop built that second year. But we didn't want them on the porch either! We settled them in the lean-to shed by the garage with some nest boxes and I think it was only 5 minutes before they were back on the porch. All year we tried to encourage them to use that instead of the porch but they were set in their ways and quite determined to live with the family.

The third year we began a chicken coop. We got as far as building the foundation for it before I ended up sick and there just wasn't time in the day. So they spent another year living on our porch. The kids were still very much wanting to keep them and care for them and we had grown quite fond of having our fresh eggs!

So the fourth year my mother and father in law helped out. They built this awesome little coop out of scrap lumber that would fit just perfectly on the foundation I had made. And the chickens wouldn't use it! We really wanted them off the porch! I tried closing them in the coop for a couple days so they'd get used to it as their home and as soon as they came out they were right back on the porch. So we did the next best thing. We bought more. We added 25 chicks and 2 turkeys to the flock and THIS TIME we took them directly to the coop when they had their feathers so they would learn the coop as their home. We figured the older hens were set in their ways and as they grew old at least the newer ones would be at the coop and we would eventually reclaim our porch.

We still have a couple of the birds from our first flock who claim the porch as their own. 5 years old and laying just as good as that first year and looking just as pretty! They're pretty spry in their old age! By all accounts a chicken's life is 1-4 years so with all our learning we must be doing something right! The younger chickens use the coop most of the time and after a minor hassle with a couple roosters who decided to guard the coop from a tree we have just a couple old biddies sharing the front porch.

So this year as I posted earlier I got ahead of myself and decided to go big. We'll have about 200 chickens this year and a lot of work! But from past experience we're going to love it!

Crazy Ma is at it again!

2011-03-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe I remembered my login info! I don't blog nearly enough! That's all about to change though.... maybe. Hopefully. I did something totally crazy today! So what's new? HAHA! I had planned on ordering 50 new chicks this year to expand my chicken flock. I ended up ordering a few more... 175 to be exact! EEK! They're scheduled to arrive March 30 so stay tuned for our latest chicken adventures! In the meantime here's a couple photos of last year's chicks! If I can figure out how to post them!

Winter Fun

2011-01-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

Baby it's cold outside! Here in PA my family and I live somewhat rural. It's often too cold for the younger kids to play outside and we really don't have too many options for getting out of the house. There is no mall to roam or play lands to visit or mommy and me gym classes so we spend a lot of time indoors at home.

By January the kids have been cooped up for a month or more and starting to get bored. Their new Christmas toys have all been played with, their stocking treats are depleted, and their games have all been played and brushed aside. So it's time for me to find them some new and exciting things to entertain themselves with! Here are some things that we've already done or are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to try!

Making ice cream - YUM, who can resist a tempting treat like that?? Here are a couple different ways kids can make it right at home.

http://crafts.kaboose.com/ice-cream-in-a-bag.html
http://teachnet.com/lessonplans/science/plastic-bag-ice-cream-recipe/ (made this one in the summer and it worked good but melted quickly in the hot sun! - like that was a surprise! lol)

This is the one we'll be trying today!
(I don't have a link for this source but it was copied from a friend's facebook and I don't remember which one, so if I got this from you and you have a link please message me so I can give proper credit!)
Sisse Pfieffer 's famous snow cream
1 big bowl of clean snow
In another large bowl mix:
1 to 2 C. sugar
1 to 2 tsp. vanilla flavor
...1 to 2 C. milk
1 to 2 raw eggs (optional)
After mixing those well, taste to be sure that it is very sweet, the snow will dilute the taste. Add more sugar if needed. (hard to dissolve sugar after you add the snow.) Start adding snow until you get the consistency you like.

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Snow painting! We filled some spray bottles with water and a couple drops of food coloring then used them to decorate baking pans full of snowballs. When the colored snow melted we tossed it out in the yard to color the snow outside!

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Snow science!

We did some experiments to see how long it took for snowballs to melt inside the house in different places. On the woodstove, in the freezer, in the laundry room, in the fridge, in the tub.... covered, uncovered

Here are some more snow science activities to try!
http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/snow.htm
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments.html

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Make a snow globe!

Take a clean baby food jar (or any small jar with a tight fitting lid - or even a small, clear tupperware container for small children)

glue pretty decorations inside it, add some sparkle, add water with a drop of lemon vinegar (to prevent bacteria growth), seal and shake!

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Pudding painting

Tape a piece of paper to a high chair tray or table and let the kids paint with pudding on it. It's completely edible so there is no worry about small children eating their 'paint' and you can use food color to color vanilla pudding any colors you like! Cleanup is as easy as after a snack and pudding dries solid on paper so you can keep the artwork afterward.

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Snow tracks!

Ever sprinkled baking soda on your carpet to remove odors? Let the kids help! Put the baking soda on a baking sheet and let the kids walk through it making tracks on the carpet. Vacuum when done!

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Chocolate spoons

A tasty treat they can make and looks cute too! melt some chocolate pieces in a cup and dip plastic spoons in it. Hang to dry then wrap with plastic wrap and a pretty ribbon until snack time. Use them to stir their warm milk for a chocolaty treat.

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Kids lost or outgrown their baby mittens? Let the kids fill them with dry beans and sew the end closed for some cute bean bags to toss into a circle on the floor for a fun game!

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Snowman dressup! Little kids love to dress up! Instead of the every day princess and superhero costumes set out the bin of snow hats, mittens, and scarves! What fun to dress up like eskimos and live in a sofa-cushion igloo for a day!

Enjoy this time! Before long your kids will be out running with their friends and you'll wish they were home sipping cocoa and munching cookies with you!

How do I teach discipline?

2010-07-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

How do I teach discipline? It depends on the child and the circumstances. I'm a firm believer in expectations being the result. Children will do what you EXPECT them to do if you give them the means and knowledge to accomplish it. Why? Because it's in their nature and the natural consequences are more easily learned than punishments.

Now this doesn't mean that you can just EXPECT your children to behave like angels and have it be so! You teach them to follow expectations when they are little by allowing them to experience natural consequences. When you put a toy into a baby's hand and they drop it the toy disappears. That's a natural consequence. If you replace it before that baby realizes it's gone you may have eliminated the fussing to have it back but you've also eliminated the natural consequence. So give it a minute for your baby to realize it's gone, comment on the toy having fallen, and return it to within reach. Pretty simple right? Use the same concept as they grow.

A 2 year old who refuses to eat his meal will be hungry. There's no need to punish him or fight over food. If he doesn't eat he's hungry. Just don't undermine that natural consequence by offering different selections or giving snacks between meals.

She doesn't want to put her shoes on? Then she can't go out. Argued for 20 minutes about putting on shoes? Sorry, you missed the playground, it's time for lunch now. Didn't like your drink so you threw the cup? Here's a washcloth, let's clean it up together. Sorry, no, we won't be refilling it. Stuck a whole roll of stamps all over the wall? Wow, that will take you a long time to clean them all off! Best get started or you might miss snack time. You don't want to clean the stamps off the wall? Ok, mommy will do it but that means I don't have time to make a snack and you'll have to sit here and watch so you don't get into mischief.

Back to the expectations. This has a lot to do with YOUR actions and example. If you tell your child it's time to go then stand there watching him to see if he's going your WORDS say it's time to go but YOUR ACTIONS say he has options. You've just said with your actions that you do NOT expect him to follow you. If you say it's time to go and WALK OUT THE DOOR your actions say that you EXPECT him to also walk out the door... now... not in a few minutes.

Don't give options (or the appearance of options) if there are none. If you MUST go RIGHT NOW then do not ask your child if he wants to go. Tell him it's time to go. Don't ask him to please put on his shoes. Tell him it's time to put your shoes on. There will be plenty of more appropriate times to give them options and learn decision making. You can even provide some options that go with it without compromising your need for immediate action. It's time to eat now, would you like to sit in this chair or that one? It's time to put your shoes on, would you like to wear the pink sneakers or the blue ones? The time is not negotiable, the details are. EXPECT your child to comply immediately.

1-2-3 - I've heard so much about this book and all I have to say about this method is WHY would you teach your child that they have 3 chances to NOT listen before you expect them to actually comply? For those who will surely message me that it 'works wonders for us!' .... how many times have your kids actually counted it TO YOU? This is not cute... it's disrespectful and says your authority doesn't mean anything unless you say 3. And then requires you to punish them in some way. When your pre-schooler runs out in the road those '3 chances' could be 2 chances too many when you say STOP!

Some natural consequences of course you want to avoid. The natural consequences of running out in the road is not one any parent wants their child to experience! That will be the next topic.

TRAIN THEM UP IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GO AND THEY WILL NEVER STRAY!

2010-07-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

I've been talking to some friends lately about discipline and how to start it so it seems a good time to blog about my thoughts on it. First you should understand that discipline is not the same as punishment. Discipline is learning to self-regulate your behavior and actions. A consequence is the result of an action and punishment is a consequence that is dealt by someone else.

Discipline really doesn't HAVE a starting place. From birth children learn discipline through experience. When a baby cries and receives a response they learn communication. From there they learn that your response to their cry leads to specific actions. When that same infant sees you unbuttoning your shirt and stops crying while waiting to breastfeed this is DISCIPLINE. (or sees you filling a bottle and waits for it). The infant has begun learning the must rudimentary form of patience (discipline) and attains the ability to control his/her actions.

Praise this! Foster it! That's where you begin to nourish your child's discipline. Then you continuously raise the bar as they achieve each new level of discipline to build on the last. When you feed a hungry child that child is learning the cues that tell him/her that she is hungry and that child naturally knows when he/she is full. An infant knows when they are full and will stop eating. If you stop feeding the infant when he shows cues that he is full he will carry the lesson through life and DISCIPLINE takes over when he learns to stop himself at that point. However, if you over-ride that cue and continue to feed after he is full you are teaching him to eat everything available and not to self-discipline his eating habits. It begins at birth.

As parents our goal is not only to keep our children safe and healthy through childhood but to prepare them for adulthood. This requires self-discipline, independence,strength and stability. They don't magically attain this at age 18 and they certainly don't teach it at school. That's YOUR job and you can't do it with a pretty speech at a sweet 16 party.

So now that we understand it's our job and it starts at birth the next question is HOW?? How do I teach discipline? If you've started at birth you teach by example. If you want your children to behave a certain way then YOU must show them what that behavior is. So your first step is to discuss between you and your spouse the things you feel are important behavior and habit wise for your children. Some things may seem illogical to discuss in regards to an infant who hasn't even found her fingers yet but it IS something that you should both be on equal terms about. Here are some common discipline issues that tend to evade parents' thoughts until you actually realize your child doesn't possess the discipline required for them.

Table manners - will you expect your children to eat at a table with the family? In a restaurant? What are your expectations? Will your children be expected to finish their plates, try two bites of everything offered, or eat whatever they want? Will your children be expected to remain at the table through the meal or free to go at any time? Will you expect them to say grace before meals or eat as soon as it's on the table? Ask to be excused or just leave when finished? Eat what's served or short order cook in the house?

Self-care - Will you expect your children to do age appropriate self-care tasks themselves? Or will you do it for them as long as they want you to? (for example: your teen is capable of washing laundry, will you expect them to do at least some of it or will you do it all? or If your 5 year old is capable of taking his supper plate to the sink will you expect him to do it every time or will you do it for him and only expect him to do it when specifically asked?)

Address - How will you expect your children to address other people? Mr and Mrs? Sir and Ma'am? Helen and Bob? buttmunch? Will their friend's parents be addressed as Tom and Martha or Mr and Mrs Doe or Jimmy's Mom and Dad? How about the cashier at the gas station? Addressed by the name on the tag, sir, ma'am, miss, lady with the funny hair?

Sex - Yes, I said it. Sure your baby is innocent. But eventually they all grow up and my how the time flies! Before you know it your child is in need of some answers. What will yours be? Discuss it now so you aren't caught off guard. What exactly do you want the final result to be? How much are you ready to discuss with a 5 yr old who asks why she's different from her brother? How about a 2 yr old who wants to shower with Daddy? Are you ok with that? Things to think about.

Chores - Let kids play and be kids right to age 18 and then tell them to grow up? Choose a set time to start teaching it? When will that time be? Age appropriate chores as deemed ready?

Gender roles - Will you encourage gender roles? dolls for girls, cars for boys.... girls in the kitchen, boys in the garage? Gender neutral everything until they 'find themselves'? Will your 2 yr old boys be allowed to have a pink doll and buggy if they ask for one? Will your little girls be invited to help change the car tire?

respect - for both people and possessions. What are your expectations for home? Home is where you let loose and it's ok to use the sofa as a launchpad? Ok to use the tv as a toy too? How about mom's make-up? Ok to climb on people? (Maybe your family is active and sports are common enough that this IS ok, or maybe someone in the family needs a more gentle approach so it won't be ok)

tv - Set time? Anytime? Only when a parent needs a breather? Anything they want or limited?

schooling - if they will go to school then is your view on discipline at school that it's the SCHOOL'S responsibility to ensure proper discipline while at school? or will you take an active part in it? (I know parents who think both ways)

These are a few of the many disciplines that begin being learned as infants. We'll spend the coming week discussing some of the HOW for these. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions!

TRAIN THEM UP IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GO AND THEY WILL NEVER STRAY!

A Special Wish for Father's Missing Their Sons and Daughters

2010-06-20T03:40:00.000-07:00

For all the fathers out there who will wake up this morning to wishes they only hear in their heart. Who will eat their quiet breakfast and dream of days past when the sweet silence was broken by squeals of glee and lopsided toast. Long after the sounds have gone the memories remain. May you spend the day remembering the good times before the silence. Happy Father's Day - Always and Forever in your heart

Excalibur Giveaway

2010-06-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

Shameless blog entry to get myself into a giveaway for an excalibur dehydrator! I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! I SOOOOO want one for my own! I currently use an older dehydrator and it works round the clock so much that I don't even bother putting it away. It lives on my island and my husband hooked up an extra outlet JUST for my dehydrator at the island. All my bits and pieces leftover when I cook go in the dehydrator instead of the fridge and I never have to worry about what leftover bits and pieces I need to use up before they go bad. They just go right into a jar and are ready for use as needed!

So here's my excalibur dehydrator giveaway blog! My family would be in HEAVEN if I had one because a happy ma means a happy family! And check out the site it comes from! LOTS and LOTS of tips and great suggestions!

I'm entered to win a $220 Deluxe 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from @KeeperHome and @SavingNaturally. Get entered here: http://bit.ly/afHgUy

2010-06-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

So good morning all! It's a beautiful day out today! Just browsing through the news this morning and see Spaghettios have been recalled. KUDOS to campbell! We understand mistakes happen. They watched, they saw, they dealt with it. And didn't even need Nannybama to hold their hands. I wonder at our changing world sometimes. And applaud the companies who do right just because it's right. And mourn the nanny state that has trained people that they can't think for themselves. Every action must have a law or order from the government to make it necessary.

So check your campbells everyone! Just in case.

http://www.campbells.com/consumeralert_spaghettios.aspx

I was also grabbed by a news article about the oil on the banks and local efforts to minimize damage. Here again is a story of a HUGE problem. The locals watched, they saw, they dealt with it.... and the coast guard stopped them.?! Don't clean up that mess! You can't possibly decide on your own if the danger to yourself is worth the results of not acting. And we can't possibly pass out fire extinguishers and life vests to clean up crews without the proper permits and studies first!

How can you hold people accountable for the cleanup when a governor aquires materials in their local efforts only to have them confiscated and moved somewhere else by the coast guard deemed more in need? Who's the boss? And do they have the right to destroy efforts of local areas working hard to protect their homes and livelihoods?

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bp-oil-spill-gov-bobby-jindals-wishes-crude/story?id=10946379

I pray that my children grow up to be responsible for their own actions and that they still have the opportunity to be so. And even more than wishing I'm starting NOW when the children are young. Train them up in the way they should go and they will never stray. This is the one single parenting RULE to remember. When we're taking a walk and see a wrapper on the ground we PICK IT UP. When you see someone have an accident you don't point and blame - you ask if they're ok and if you can do anything to help. THIS is being responsible and THIS should be the future for our children. And THIS should be what's taught in school. It should take priority yet sadly is trained out of children who are told 'that's not your job' and 'leave it to those who are trained'.

Ma

Meet the family

2010-06-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hi again! Come meet my family! They're the droopy looking bunch hanging out at the top of my blog page. That's a picture of my crew after a long day at Disney

My husband Den and my 7 kids Jon (14), Josh (10), Rose (8), Andy (5), David (5), Catherine (4), Robin (2) My life, my heart, and my soul. After God nothing else can compare to my devotion to my family.

I have the perfect life. My husband and I have a perfect marriage and are always in exact agreement on everything. He picks up his dirty socks without asking and I've never left hanging hose on the shower rod. My house is spotless, meals are full course, always on time, healthy. The kids do chores and schoolwork with a smile and beg me to put my feet up after dinner........ NOT!!!...

Ok, so life here is hectic. But we still call it perfection!

We live on 5 acres on a hill at the edge of state forest lands. Just far enough away from town to be rural but not so far that we couldn't run in for ice cream if we really wanted to. We have a nice neighbor on one side who we get along great with. (Hi Nette!) She teaches my kids the finer social aspects of life. Such as all the different ways to describe your trips to the restroom and lyrics to some songs that people are sure home-school kids miss out on. Rest assured she's got that covered! We love her! I'd trust her with my kids any day and the kids would surely miss her if she ever decided she no longer wanted to live next to us unruly weirdos.

And that should be it but it's not.... there is a creepy old man (come on, everyone has one somewhere!) who lives a couple miles up the road who I won't go into detail about right now. But rest assured it won't be long before he's front and center.

We started a chicken raising project for homeschooling a few years ago and decided we like it so now we raise our own chickens and this year added a couple turkeys.

We do grow a garden and harvest what we can which is then preserved by whatever method I find convenient at the time. But on our rocky hill some stuff just doesn't grow well, chickens like to eat young garden plants, and sometimes I'm just so busy tending kids I don't have time to do the gardening properly so I also get produce other places as it's available and welcome any GIFTS of garden leftovers that someone decides to drop on our doorstep. God will provide! And he really does through many ways. There's nothing more blessed than returning a jar of fresh salsa to a local neighbor who passed on their extra tomatoes!

We homeschool because I believe God gave us that responsibility. There are many things I could say to 'reasons to homeschool' but that is my primary reason. God said it's my job to teach the children. And so I do.

We don't do vaccinations for many reasons. My main one again is God. But there are other reasons and I choose to not argue them. As long as decisions are made for the best interest of our family I don't need to defend them.

You can see the trend here where my values and thoughts run for the guiding of my family. I believe God will guide if I only listen. So I try to stay as close to God as possible.

Some people like to label things so if you wanted to give me a label I suppose you'd be hard pressed to find one who would accept me!

I'm Godly - but I don't follow a specific religion - I read the Bible, pray, and believe God is my savior and my only path to heaven. My husband is catholic so we go to catholic mass for him but I'm just as happy sitting in a circle in the garden with the kids and reading from the Bible and I might often be caught just gazing into nowhere just to be laughed at for daydreaming..... (I was probably just asking God in my head for some extra flowers to bloom on tuesday morning when my friend comes to visit because she'd really like them) He's my friend and I talk to him often.

MOVEMENTS don't fit either - quiverful, crunchy, tree hugger, modern, anti-school - you could find a bit of everything here I suppose but I don't think anyone would really claim me. My beliefs are long-standing and I believed in God led family planning long before the word quiverful ever lashed out as a 'movement'.

Health nut... not really - just following what God said to do. "Eat what I give. It's the only food you'll ever hunger for." Maybe it's a parable... or maybe it's literal... at my table it means eating the tomatoes God grew in my garden instead of licopene supplements made in some secret lab.

anti-vaccine brings to mind the people who are against all medical intervention... I'm not that either. We get checkups as needed, keep up to date on medical break throughs, and my son gets daily asthma treatments. But I'll exhaust every option to reduce a fever before I give an infant reducer or a pill for colic.

home-school doesn't equal anti-public school - it just means we teach at home. I'd love to be invited to participate in the school's science fair or share some text books and I have some questions I'd love to chat with the teachers about. The school has it's benefits, so does homeschool. It would be great to have a peaceful co-existence.

law - It has it's place and serves it's purpose. Every area should have local ordinance to reflect the needs of the area. It should be a guideline though. Not the nosey neighbor's entertainment to see how many things he can dream up to 'catch' illegal neighbors unlawfully allowing rain to wash out a driveway on a stormy night. Some people should be banned from complaining.

So now you know a little about me and who I'm NOT feel free to ask questions! I love to answer questions! Anything at all... really! Want to know what kind of socks I wear or my thoughts on the lady who called 911 on burger king for getting her order wrong? Go ahead and ask! I'll write a whole blog just for your answer.

Ma

Ma's New Blog

2010-06-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I decided on a whim (seriously, I was bored and read someone else's blog and thought to myself how silly is it to post daily about random stuff that makes absolutely no sense to anyone but yourself and who would possibly care what 1 unknown person's opinion is about the color of fruit loops) and decided it sounds FUN! A place I can randomly post my opinions about anything and everything that hops in my mind ?

I like to talk to myself! Now I can do it without anyone looking at me funny HAHHAHA

So here I go! Getting started and figuring this out should be interesting! Wish me luck!

Ma