What a week!

It has been a very cold week here in Tennessee! The good thing is everyone and all the animals have survived the freezing temperatures. I'm very proud of my daughter Brittany and I, for helping each other deal with the animals all week.  We have carried 5 gallon buckets of water down to feed the animals every night,  because the water hose down to the animals has been frozen! 

Adyson has enjoyed the weather too! She got out there on Monday and made snow angels on the deck! She was so proud of herself. 

I'm still working on goal number 2. (So I have found an app "Meal Board" in the App Store. I LOVE this app. It has a pantry, shopping list, recipes, the works!!!! You can also go and get recipes from websites (there is about 15 websites connected to this app) I am going to be using this app a lot in 2014! I am very excited about it. MEAL PLAN BETTER) I'm going to be hitting this one hot and heavy this weekend.  The freeze and the kids being out of school extra time through me all off! 

Glad the temperatures are back to normal! The kids are enjoying not have to bundle up like Eskimos to go to the car! Now time to hit the normal routine!

What did you get accomplished today? 

Winter prepping on a farm!

Tennessee is due to have an extremely cold spell over the next 2 to 3 days.  To prepare for it, we went and got hay for the animals.  Made sure their stalls were clean and put down fresh bedding. Today was also family day so everybody joined in to help. 

 

The cows always try to overpower us when we feed them! 

Poor Brittany trying to hide behind a tree and fool the animals.... It didn't work. 

The water buckets have been emptied cleaned and refilled. The heated water bucket has been plugged up. Hoses have been disconnected from the pipes. All the animals have been fed. The hay has been covered. 

We went yesterday and got groceries. We bought five cases of water, had to get eggs and bread. I made sure I had 10 gallons of water out in the garage. We checked our propane tanks and our grill out on the back deck. 

Now it's time to start on the inside stuff. I'm doing loads of laundry in case my pipes freeze tonight and tomorrow. All the dishes have been washed everybody's taking showers. All in all it's been a very successful Sunday afternoon! 

WHAT DID YOU GET ACCOMPLISHED TODAY? 

Week 13 &14

Farm happenings- the vet came out to see the cows... The girls got their wormer, vaccinations, and exam. We were told that Hamburgerella has week lungs probably from pneumonia when she was born, and She shouldn't be bred, don't want to pass the "week lung" trait on to the next generation. But Steaktessa would be great for breeding. And they both got a clean bill of health!!!! Yippie!

SMOKING- I fell off the wagon about 2-3 weeks ago, but as the old saying goes "try, try, again!" Its harder then I thought it would be! 


ORGANIZING- So proud of myself! Took ALL those "rewards/store/perk" cards, registered them all online. Threw out what I don't use, and registered all the cards with the apps on my phone AND got a spare key ring and put them all together on 1 ring in the pocket of my purse!

Adysons room is still under a little construction but  as soon as its done I promise I will post before and after pictures. I'm LOVING it so far. 

CRAFTS- I found the idea from Pinterest. I was getting tired of always wearing black bobby pins in my hair. So Brittany and I had fun painting some! We lined the bobby pins up on cardboard (we used a cereal box) and used nail polish and created the colors we wanted!

I also found an idea on Pinterest about room decorating. I bought Adsyon 2 bookcases for her room. I didnt like the "all white" look. So I started looking for ideas, I didn't want to paint so the challenge was even bigger to find something different. I ran across an idea. I went to the store and found a KING size sheet set. I took the "fitted" sheet and cut them to fit the back of the bookcase! I stapled the fabric to the backboard, then nailed the back board to the bookcase! 

fabric stapled to the back of bookcase!

My Aunt wanted to make matching curtains for the window & the closet opening! It worked out perfect! We had enough fabric to do BOTH bookcases, window and closet opening and still have some left over! Best part is it all MATCHES!!!! So for  $10 for KING size sheet set, and got basically 2 sets of curtains, and extra fabric for the bookcases..... NOT BAD!

curtains! 

closet opening!

NO CHEMICALS- Update- Adysons eczema is doing great!! The homemade ointment from a few weeks ago! Her patches have gone from red and cracked to pale pink! They are no longer cracked! I have been doing the ointment about every other day. 

I a FEW new things over the last couple weeks, and so far LOVE them! 

Make Up Wipes- You heard me! I am tired of paying $6+ for 32 little make up wipe removers! So I scoured the internet and found a "recipe" that I LOVE. It works for MY combination skin type! 

 1.5 tbl  of Coconut oil   (Walmart for 14 oz $6.50)

1.5 cups of DISTILLED water- (distilled water prevents molding/mildew cost $2.50 gallon)

2-4 pumps of your favorite face wash

3 drops tea tree oil  (Walmart 2 oz $ 6)

1 roll of BOUNTY paper towels (the cheaper ones do NOT work) $2

SHARP not serrated Knife.

container large enough to hold the paper towels, I found a 2 quart pitcher works! cost $3)

Lay the roll of paper towels down and cut them in half. This takes a minute! Pour all your   ingredients into a cup and microwave about 30 seconds to a minute, just enough to melt the coconut oil. Stir well. Put 1 of your cut halves in the container CUT SIDE DOWN. Slowly pour the liquid over the paper towels let it sit 3-5 minutes. Then you can pull out the middle cardboard section and start using.  You should get about 70 wipes, (depending on the size of your paper towel roll) WARNING- keep out of direct light, heat this will cause mold/mildew. 

These cleaned all the make up off my face, and left it feeling clean and moisturized. There was no need for me to "wash" my face or use lotion afterward! I also made a batch for my aunt and daughter, they love them too! 

I'm working on dish soap, a replacement for my Swiffer wipes, Lysol wipes so check back and see what I make! I must admit I am loving making my own stuff. The best part is I know whats in everything!

See everyone in about a week! Hope you have a great week! 

Our newest Kid, Adyson named her "Poopey", who knows why.......

Week 7

The weather still doesn't know what it wants to do. I'm hoping spring is coming soon. Getting very impatient for spring to get here. 

Adyson & Snowflake

Rella

FARM HAPPENINGS-

Tessa

We had exciting times on the farm this last week, it was time for everyone to get their wormer and bug treatments. It was fun mixing up solutions for the bug treatments, that was easy. Now getting the treatment sprayed/poured on animals, now thats a different story. The big girls (cows) did well. The goats, no way. Had to trap them in the stall and pray for the best. In the end I won, so I consider this a success! I only spilled 1 dose!!!!  This week I have been researching heavily on ORGANIC/NATURAL ways to treat my animals instead of using antibiotics and chemicals. Not having much luck. I know there HAS to be a way because I was reading the guidelines for USDA Organic and it said you can not give antibiotics, chemical treatments, etc to any animal. So how do farmers treat their animals for sickness, bugs (lice, fleas, ticks) etc? I don't know either.... Working on this. So if you have any information, send it my way PLEASE!


FAMILY TIME- This week Brittany helped me get the animals treated. We laughed, slipped in mud, got a dose of bug stuff on us. We have been relaxing together in the living room a lot this week. I made dinner 2 times this week and we have been eating left overs for the rest! that was kind of nice. 

HEALTHY EATING- I know these 2 recipes have "seasoning packets" in them. I'm looking for recipes to make my own taco, ranch and cream of soup mixes. I will be putting some of them to the test in the next couple weeks. 

Ranch Pork Chops

4 pork chops, ranch seasoning packet, cream of chicken soup, 1 can water) ~ 

Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.  You can easily double the recipe if needed. I made rice one night and noodles the next night to go with the gravy/sauce. 

Crockpot  Mexican Chicken

couple chicken breast, can of black beans, can of rotel, can of corn (or mexi--corn), 1 packet of taco seasoning, (YOU CAN add 1 hr before serving 1 -8oz cream cheese)
Cook on low 6-8 hrs. You can serve this over rice, tortilla chips, for tacos, burritos.

EXERCISE- gotten plenty of that this week. Mucking stalls, hay, chasing animals for treatments. Oh did I mention that I helped CHASE my neighbors cow through 2 pastures. This past week has been all about the animals finding holes in the fence. My neighbors dog got out. 
My goats got out once (crawled UNDER the fence in the creek bed, BUT all I did was shake a feed bucket and they came running back :) So fast walking, running has 

ORGANIZING- I found a trick in a book to organize all my cards. (I can't remember what book.) yes I know cards seem "old fashion" but I still send cards to many people throughout the year. I find them on sale after a holiday( valentines day, Easter, Christmas, etc) and save them until the next holiday. I used to put them all in a shoe box and dig for them when I needed them until now! I repurposed an accordion file. I labeled the tabs -address labels, envelope stickers, Birthday, thinking of you, sympathy, missing you, holiday,etc. So now they are all organized by category and protected from being bent/thrown in a box. I was also able to paper clip a set if stamps & clip 2 pens to the first tab so everything to write a card is in one place.

READING- lots of internet time. researching how to treat my animals naturally. Looking for ORGANIC ways to prevent/deter fleas, ticks, lice, etc. Since summer is coming. I have found Tee Tree oil is a GREAT oil to dilute in your shampoos and conditioners, lotions, soaps etc for skin problems and insect deterrent/repellent. Also Lavender oil. 
Also found great uses for olive oil. Olive oil is WONDERFUL for cooking and using as part of your beauty routine. 

CRAFTS- Adyson and I chose to make our Valentine cards this year. We took construction paper and folded it in 1/2. I cut out the heart shape. Then I took about 10 sheets of different colored tissue paper and folded them in 1/2 and cut a heart shape. I let Adyson glue the tissue hearts to the construction paper heart. She had a blast.

NO CHEMICALS- I found a "recipe" for homemade furniture polish. I was impressed with the POLISHING aspect BUT it doesn't CLEAN. So if you have any dried on spots from drink spills or food you will have to clean them up first BEFORE using polish. I HAVE NOT USED THIS ON RAW WOOD only furniture that has a clear coat/protected.  Best of all I love how my hands feel after using this polish, since its ALL NATURAL there was no need to wash my hands after using it. You can only make small batches of this because it will go bad (I haven't tried to refrigerate it, I made a small batch & used what I made), since I dust my house once a week I can take 30 seconds to make the polish as I need it. Best of all this is SAFE FOR YOUR CHILDREN TO BE AROUND.

Furniture Polish

2 tbl olive oil - (GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN TOO!)

1 tbl lemon juice (GOES BAD IF NOT REFRIGERATED)

small spray bottle- labeled (small 3 oz SPRAY bottle, found in the "travel" isle of the store)

Pour ingredients together in spray bottle. Put lid on and shake! For me a little went along way. Spray a little on a small space and TEST just to make sure it is safe for your furniture! Polish/buff with a clean dry cloth!

All of my furniture (coffee table, entertainment center, bookshelf, end tables passed) they all have a clear coat! I have NOT used this on my raw wood YET!

GARDENING- I have found that the Lavender plant has TONS of good things to provide us, insect repellent, wonderful smell/perfume to add to soaps, room deodorizers, etc. So I have decided to plant some from seed. Most say its a little difficult to grow from seed, so wish me luck! 
Going to make a "fertilizer tea" organic farmers use it instead of commercial stuff. Supposed to be really good for tomatoes, peppers and any other plants that need a little kick. When you do your own research about this process you will find MANY versions. This to ME is the simplest way to start getting into the "teas". 

Fertilizer Tea
a scoop/shovel of livestock poop (cow,horse (chicken poop use 1/2 scoop) & outside garbage can filled with water. Stir it up a little and let it steep for 3-5 days. Use to water your plants. 


My African Violets still have sent any shoots out yet. Its been 3 weeks.
My tomato, cucumber plants are about 6-8 inches tall!!! 
Green peppers are about 4 inches tall
kohlrabi is stumped. It hasn't done a lot in a couple weeks. 

Week 5

This week was pretty busy. The husband was home plus home a few extra days. It always throws me off when he is home extra days! I LOVE him being home, but all I want to do is spend time with him and the family so my stuff doesn't get done. So when he does go, I spend the next couple days playing catch up. 

Last Friday we lost the freezer. So I was busy emptying the big freezer and organizing the kitchen freezer. I am proud to say I only lost 2 loaves of bread and 3 bags of carrots and 4 boxes of waffles. I was able to save ALL the meat from the big freezer. So because I was busy last week I feel I didn't give you guys a very good weekly blog. So I am going to rewind to last Monday.

Monday (Jan 21st) we went out to the pasture to feed animals and found 2 new additions. Mama goat had kids! I got 1 nanny(black & white head) & 1 billy (solid white).  So since we were under a winter weather advisory I had to get my butt in gear & go get pine chips, extra feed and a heat lamp. I set them up in Luke's dog house with Mama so they could have some peace and be warm in the cold weather.  You can click on the links below to watch some FUNNY videos of the farm!




Kids playing in yard

Kids in the yard

Luke and the goats

Adyson catching goats

Luke LOVES watching the kids play in HIS house. It actually funny to watch the "big bad" Doberman looking so sad into his house knowing that the kids have taken over! haha


So all last week was dealing with the new babies and playing with them. Adyson tries so hard to catch the kids, but they are too fast for her.

Then the freezer went on Thursday night/Friday morning. So busy, busy, busy here on the Appleby Farm.

On to this week... Sunday  we got 2 calves. Can't wait until they get older. We are trying to be self sufficient/sustaining. So we are raising these girls for slaughter/milk. So I would like you to meet Hamburgerella & Steaktessa. They are about 4 months old.

Quitting smoking- still going strong! I love not being tied down my anything. Don't have to worry about stopping to get smokes for the night/weekend, etc. 

Family Time- it didn't work out this week like I thought it would. Everyone seemed a little selfish this week. I have been watching Super Nanny on TV, and I am noticing , I think that my family is addicted to technology, we all have a cellphone, laptop and 2 out of 4 of us have NOOKs. Going to brainstorm on some ideas.

Organizing- Adyson's room will hopefully be this month. Still looking up ideas. Loving the ideas & colors in these pictures. So hopefully I will be able to pull it off. Adyson has so many cars and little toys and books I need lots of shelves for bins and books.

Eating Healthy- I had a few slips this week. One night we ate hotdogs and mac & cheese. But I dont have too many more boxes left so gotta eat whats here! I have been making my own bread & rolls (with the help of my breadmaker!) Loving have FRESH bread, my house smells great, I know whats in my bread!

Exercise- Been getting plenty of that! HAHA moving hay, pine chips, cedar chips, water buckets, etc haven't done anything extra, very disappointed in myself. 

Reading- I have been reading LOTS of gardening, homesteading, self sufficiency books. Right now I am reading THE WEEKEND HOMESTEADER. So far this has been helpful little tips, tricks to working your own land. Teaches how every animal has a job on the farm if you let that animal do it. 

Brain games-I'm addicted to Logic Games, it's a free app in the App Store. It's kind of like Sudoku.Can't forget my favorite app Sudoku!! Oh did I mention my 4 yr old is addicted to Flow Free. It's helping her match colors and use her brain to figure out the path, without crossing over another path! 

STILL BLOGGING :)

Positive thinking- its a challenge EVERYDAY to stay positive. I have learned NOTHING good comes from negative thinking. No matter how bad the issue, there is always a positive in there somewhere. 

Craft- I feel terrible about not doing a craft this month, means I am 1 down. For February we are going to be making Valentine cards and sending them out! 

Music- hasnt worked out this week either, with the new additions to the farm, BUT I am going to schedule in some music time for later today.

NO CHEMICALS- so far I haven't purchased any chemicals. I have 1 bottle of laundry soap left and then I will be making my own! I can't wait. Making my own bread & rolls along with coffee creamer! 

Gardening- My African Violets seem to be doing well. No sign yet whether they will sprout or not yet. It takes 4-6 weeks, but I am hopeful.  The little green house I started has got nice strong plants. I transplanted all of them to bigger pots last Saturday. So they should be good until its time to plant them in the ground in April!

Adyson at story time


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