After days and days of boring, everyday living, we hit a string of busy tasks/events and this poor series fell to the wayside. (19/31 posts = 61% success rate.  Oops.)  The tiny bit of perfectionist remaining in me hated that I didn’t push through anyway, but I’m also old enough now to know that I can’t do it all.  And that’s okay.  Maybe next year!

So what happened these past ten days?

+ Summer temperatures arrived with a string of 90°+ days.  The little kids immediately pulled out the inflatable pool and sprinkler and were happy as can be for hours.  After a few days of fighting it, we also eventually had to turn on the A/C…thankfully, we’ve had a nice long run without it!
+ The older kids helped me move the fencing around the chicken coop.  We’re rotating them every couple of weeks as a pseudo-free range option and it’s been working great so far.  This time, the chickens got two trees and they looove them.  We often see them roosting in the low branches or relaxing in the shade.
+ I made English muffin bread a few times and it’s become a crowd favorite.
+ Our strawberries are plentiful and we pick handfuls each morning.
+ I have been steadily selling a book/piece of clothing every few days and while I’m definitely not getting rich over here, it’s nice to get things out of my house!  All of the extra money I make goes toward extra principal payments on our mortgage.  (Still chipping away at that Baby Step #6!)
+ Our most exciting news is that my oldest son received the Sacrament of Confirmation and my daughter received her First Holy Communion!  A beautiful, grace-filled day.
+ After whining considerably, I put on my big girl pants and ordered standardized testing for my kids.  They arrived in the mail quickly and my biggest kids knocked it out, no big deal.  (Two of them finished it all in a single day!)  I have two little kids to go and then we can really consider it summer break.
+ We had a crazy thunderstorm one evening and our power was out for eight hours.
+ Our second batch of broiler chicks arrived.  We got a “bonus chick” in each box, so we’re starting out with 102!  They are so teeny and sweet.

Due to a misunderstanding on my part, we learned today that we are actually still responsible for standardized testing.  I have strong feelings about standardized testing, especially for kids with learning disabilities like mine, but we’re just going to grit our teeth and do the best we can.

New Books!

When I saw that Better World Books was having a “Bargain Bin” sale around Mother’s Day, I just couldn’t help myself!  It felt a little like browsing the library stacks because these are completely random choices.  The books arrived today and I’m excited to try something brand new.  I bought (affiliate links ahead):

• Solomon’s Oak by Jo-Ann Mapson
• Mr. and Mrs. Doctor by Julie Iromuanya
• The Escape Room by Megan Goldin
• Ashes of Fiery Weather by Kathleen Donohoe

Little Laundry Wins

I’m a little embarrassed that so many of these daily posts have included my laundry, but here we are.  I’ve been in the market for a new drying rack and decided to try this A-frame version.  I LOVE it!  It’s huge, folds up when not in use and holds a ton of clothes.

Cute Snail Mail Cards

More snail mail delivered!  These are birthday cards from Happy Tines and they were packaged so cute.  She passed along a coupon code (THANKS10) that I can share with friends for 10% off.

Art that Makes Me Smile

My aunt sent me this adorable card last year and I knew I wanted to frame it for our schoolroom.  Makes me smile every time I pass by.

Garden Progress

I spent the morning soaking up that Vitamin D!  I watered and weeded the garden and hilled the potatoes again.  (I’m almost to ground level, so will finally be able to just let them go.)  We’ve had such a mild spring and the plants are growing, but soooo slowly.

Another Declutter Challenge Update

Today’s pile includes four empty boxes from my Fontanini nativity pieces, another broken ceramic jewelry box (how? why?) and a necklace I never wear.

After dinner, I was wild and crazy and jumped on the trampoline with my little kids!  They were so tickled to have me jump with them; I need to do this more often.  (Even if I pee my pants a little.)

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On Sunday, my parents came to visit us after Mass and I didn’t take a single picture!

Not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but we used a lot of our tax return this year to invest in something we’ve always wanted to do: bulk meat directly from the farm!  (The upfront price is quite steep, so this was the only way we could financially afford it.)  Anyway, Mark picked up our order today and it was so exciting!  I had every intention of neatly organizing the deep freezer, but got overwhelmed by the sheer amount and we just started tossing them in!  Oh man…I know I’m going to regret that decision later on.  A project for another day. (This also crosses off 100 Little Things #12!)

A New Baby Cousin!

My cousin just had her second baby and I’m so sad that we live so far away!  So grateful for pictures in the meantime.  I sent out this super sweet card from Paper & Peonies (affiliate link) right away.

#28things7days, Week Two Day Five

I’m quickly realizing how random this decluttering challenge has become, ha!  Today’s grouping includes: a pair of soccer shin guards, a book, a building guide for shelving, a Bible case (I think? this must have been a hand-me-down) and some round plastic pieces from unknown origins.

A New Bar of Soap

In other exciting news, I chose a new bar of soap to use from my stash from Borden Acres (affiliate link)!  It’s the little things in life, right?  This time I went with Grapefruit & Orange, which has a really fresh scent.  Borden Acres has become my go-to source for soap (you can find lots of small soap businesses in this post) and I highly recommend them.  I always choose the 3/$20 or 5/$30 options and forgo the packaging for even more savings.  She ships super fast and has a great coupon code for returning customers too.

School’s out for summer!  The kids worked hard to finish up the last of their schoolwork and we are all ready for a nice, long break.  They’ll still read books and do crafts/science experiments/music on their own all summer long, so the learning really doesn’t stop, just Mum’s involvement in it, ha!

A Different Kind of Decluttering

Today I tackled a long overdue chore: shredding four containers worth of personal documents and junk mail.  I threw all the shred in the first bin I found (in hindsight, not my best idea) and tossed it all in the compost pile.

Homestead Project of the Day

I forgot to mention yesterday that the tree company came to cut down the two dead trees.  They cut one of the trees into big chunks and my two biggest boys worked for hours today hauling them up the hill and then cutting them up into firewood.  They worked so hard!  Later, when they were blistered and sore, my daughter went out with the wheelbarrow to stack the pieces on the woodpile.  It definitely takes a family to run a homestead!

Smell Ya Later, School Books!

I went around the house and collected school books; they seemed to be sprinkled everywhere!  Hoping to get everything organized and put away in the next few days so I don’t have to think about anything school-related for awhile.

A Workhorse Laundry Basket

Isn’t it funny how laundry works?  You take one day off and it seems to take three to catch back up!  I’ve had this laundry basket since I went away to college almost 18 years ago (yikes, I’m old) and it’s still going strong.

Working on my 2021 Goals

One of my 2021 goals is to take a deep dive into the Constitution, so I was so excited to find a free course online. I’ve been slowly making my way through the course and have already learned so much!  After dinner, I listened to the second to last lecture. The course continues into Constitution 201 and I definitely want to complete that one too.

I woke up feeling much better and headache free, praise God!  Mark went into town in the morning and due to the pipeline situation, many of the stations were already completely out of gas.  He said that the few that were still open had incredibly long lines.  I’m so grateful that we filled up last weekend!  A little nerve-wracking, but the plan is to stick close to home as much as possible and combine errands when we need to go out.

Wildflower Garden, Year Two

It’s been so exciting to see what flowers are coming back in my front wildflower beds!  The pink one above bloomed overnight and is so beautiful.  It looks like tissue paper.  In other flower news, I bought two “mosquito shoo” geraniums (as bareroots) and they are starting to grow and flower as well!

Back to Decluttering

Week Two, Day Three: I chose these three super old makeup brushes.  I never use them and they just sit in the bottom of my makeup bag, so definitely time to go.

My Latest Read

Update from my TBR Jar post: I decided to try The Wives of Los Alamos (affiliate link) since it was the shortest and so far, so good.  The writing is written entirely in first person plural (we do this, we did that), which is new for me, but isn’t too distracting.  I’ll report back.

Our First Meal from our Broilers!

Our first taste of the chickens we raised and processed – what a surreal feeling!  Mark grilled chicken quarters and I served it with potato salad.  Delicious.

Day 12 was a big day here at the Big White Farmhouse: our very first Processing Day!  (I only took photos during the setup, so they only tell a small part of the story.)  Mark and I slept fitfully the night before, excited and nervous and hopeful that we hadn’t forgotten to purchase anything important!  We started setting up at 7:45am and finished cleanup by around 2:30pm.  We only had 42 birds, but went really slowly so we could learn the right way to complete each step.  And all in all, we’re really happy!  We learned a lot and already have a list of tweaks for the next time.

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On Tuesday, I had a horrible tension headache for most of the day, so I did the bare minimum and napped in between responsibilities.  Guess I needed the break!

Thank you, women who are mothers! You have sheltered human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail. This experience makes you become God’s own smile upon the newborn child, the one who guides your child’s first steps, who helps it to grow, and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life. – Saint Pope John Paul the Great

I had a quiet Mother’s Day, which could not have been more perfect for me.  No big fuss or gifts, just a good homemade meal (that I didn’t have to cook!) and a lot of laughter.  What more could a gal ask for?  I’m so grateful for this vocation and for the six souls God has entrusted to my care.

Day ten!  We spent the day planting in the garden and prepping all the things for broiler processing on Monday.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute to take everything out of the box and make sure it works, ha!  I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts later on, but right now, I’m feeling so much gratitude for these chickens that we’ve had the privilege to raise the past 8+ weeks.  We’ve given them the best of us and I believe they’ve enjoyed the sunshine and fresh pasture.  And in the end, they’ll feed my children for weeks to come.  I’m so grateful for the opportunity to do this.

Fighting a Reading Slump with a TBR Jar

I’m having a weird reading year.  I’m reading more than ever, but the quality of the books are just so-so.  I’ve never had so many 2-star reads!  Anyway, I saw the idea of a “TBR Jar” on Youtube and maybe this will help to shake things up?  I came up with about two dozen prompts and pulled five to start (affiliate links ahead):

• A WILLA AWARD WINNER // The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
• A BOOK THAT STARTS WITH “M” // Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson
• A MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL // The Call of the Wild by Jack London
• A BOOK THAT IS 400+ PAGES // Fatherless by Brian J. Gail
• HISTORICAL FICTION // The Wives of Los Alamos by Tarashea Nesbit

P.S. I made a free printable on my new Ko-Fi site if you want to start a TBR Jar too!

Not Quite a Crazy Chicken Lady, But…

I think they love me!  Every time I visit the hens, they swarm my boots and follow me around as I fill their feeder and waterer.  I never grew up with animals, so this is all so new to me.  I love it.

Two More to Add to the Decluttering Pile

For Week Two, Day Two of the challenge, I found two curtain rod finials.  I don’t have any more windows to curtain and have no plans to change the existing finials, so these can definitely go.

My grandmother used to keep a daily journal and I always got a kick out of the way she noted her more boring days; she called them her “Nothing Days.”  On Friday, I had my own Nothing Day: the weather was cool and gloomy and I was tired!  We all bummed around the house and I cozied up with a hot cup of coffee and a book (affiliate link) for most of the afternoon.  So in lieu of anything exciting to record, I thought I would instead share a favorite pastime here at the Big White Farmhouse: Dad Jokes.  Technically, we should call them “Mum Jokes” because I love them.  The cornier, the better!  Here are a few of the latest jokes I’ve sprung on my poor children:

What do you call a mischievous egg?  A practical yolker!

A man tried to start a fight by throwing dough, shredded cheese, and tomato sauce at me.  So I said, “You wanna pizza me?”

What kind of vegetable do you get when an elephant walks through your garden?  Squash.

A weasel walks into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, “Wow! In all my years tending bar, I’ve never had a weasel stop by! What can I get you?”  “Pop,” goes the weasel.

A man is driving down a country road, when he spots a farmer standing in the middle of a huge field of grass. He pulls the car over to the side of the road and notices that the farmer is just standing there, doing nothing, looking at nothing. The man gets out of the car, walks all the way out to the farmer and asks him, “Ah excuse me mister, but what are you doing?” The farmer replies, “I’m trying to win a Nobel Prize.” “How?” asks the man, puzzled. “Well, I heard they give the Nobel Prize … to people who are out standing in their field.”

First Aid Organization

We live about 25 minutes away from the closest hospital and it recently dawned on me that I probably should keep some basic first aid supplies at home, just in case.  I found this helpful printable on Simple Family Preparedness and have been adding a few things to my shopping cart each week.  I still have quite a ways to go, but something is better than nothing, right?  I also picked up this first aid manual (affiliate link) and need to start learning!  Maybe that can be a summer project…

Decluttering, Week Two

I’m starting Week Two of #28things7days with not one item, but one type of item.  I have so many of those baby hangers and no more tiny clothes to hang on them!  I’m thinking I’ll offer them on Trash Nothing.

Today’s Gardening Project

My potatoes are growing faster than I can hill them!  Really enjoying this new method of growing so far.

Learning a New Skill

Multitasking at its best!  I folded laundry while watching a free canning seminar from Homesteading Family.  The training ultimately led up to her Masterclass (which I can’t afford right now) but it was a great starting point and I’m anxious to learn more.