Birthday Girl.

R turned 1 recently and we had a great little party here at home with her. Here is her and cousin K who are 9 weeks apart in age. She loved the sparklers but didn't seem to know what to do with her hands. So she hugged them tight the whole time.

We have an odd tradition on 1st birthdays. Because the child having the birthday normally can't blow out the candle the next oldest child, in this case E, gets to blow out the candle. So E blew out R's candle, L blew out E's candle, J blew out L's candle and Auntie Ria (my younger sister who just happened to start this tradition) blew out J's candle. Her Lady Bug mini cake. She barely ate any of it. The legs were licorice and she ate 3 of them and the spots where her 'favorite snack' chocolate chips and she ate almost all of them!! The 1st thing she did was take the head off and eat the whole thing!! LOL. She pretty much ate icing and candy:) Oh and a bit of homemade Oreo ice cream!! YUMMM.

Red sparklers stick to EVERYTHING!!! And because they are pointy they hurt when we washed them off until we stuck her in the sink for a quick rinse!!

Pig Butchering Day.

We butchered two pigs recently and let them hang over night to cut and wrap the next day. I will not post butchering pictures again as my blog was tagged last time I put up butchering pictures. But we managed to kill, skin and gut 2 pigs in an hour and a half with 3 of us working (and the other adult watching the 6 kids inside) and as Papa works at 11am these days and he even had time to brew a coffee before running off to work. We cut and wrapped the next day with another couple, M & A, which made it a lot faster and funner. One of the pigs was M&A's and so we weighted each piece as it came inside and did theirs first so nothing got mixed up. The pieces all together weighed in at 238lbs!! Which means the live weight of the pig was about 310lbs. Not a bad size!! We didn't weigh the last two pigs we did but we think they were only a little bit smaller then this one. Our meat saw and grinder worked GREAT and we love being able to do all but the cured stuff. We had a few setbacks trying to figure out the stuffer but we got it going and it works great too. We made almost 100lbs of stuffed sausage, and cut and wrapped both pigs, including chops, tenderloin, and roasts. The bacon was the only thing sent out to be cured as neither of us wanted hams. The fat we froze in bags to be rendered another day. What a day though. M&A's kids were babysat out most of the day but our 4 were here and relegated to the living room, which they are used to and don't mind. They watched several movies and got to 'picnic' out on their kids table for both meals. The kitchen was a total mess. I was wearing thick socks ( I don't like shoes) but Papa and M&A all wore boots or shoes. By the end of the day they could not stand upright on the floor... it was that slimy with mess. Fat mostly. I still could as my socks stuck to the floor. We used a cheap plastic table cloth over the table for the messy stuff so when it came time to wrap up the meat we took the whole mess off and worked on a clean table for the wrapping. This way we could keep the wrapped packages clean and not have to scrub all the fat off the table every time we needed to wrap. We burned the table cloth when we were finished!! Even though we had several delays and setbacks we're happy that we got these two pigs done and got most of the kinks out of the meat saw and the process itself. 4 down 2 to go. Oh and on that note we recently ordered pigs for this spring. Last fall we found a family nearby that raises Berkshire pigs and we've ordered 6 wieners (about a 40 to 60 lb piglet) from them for April. We are planning on keeping one or two of the gilts (a female pig = to a heifer) to breed ourselves next winter and raise up our own piglets. These pigs are an old fashioned black breed which is said to have better meat taste and tenderness.

Here is Papa separating the chops from the bacon/ribs on the big pig with our new saw!! The saw itself makes a surprisingly little mess, almost all of the mess goes into a tray under the blade and NONE was on the cabinets or oven.

COLD!!

Yesterday morning was a healthy -17F but this morning out did itself!! We had -25F here this morning at 8am... but my sister just down the road had a whopping -37F!!!! They always have a bit colder temps then we do. We are a bit more sheltered with trees then they are. BURR pretty cold for March 10th!!! Last year on this day... if I remember right and I should :)... it was sunny and around 15F. What a switch. But they are saying, the weather men, that we should hit 45F by Sunday. BRING ON SPRING!!!!

Tub Time.

As some of you may remember we had a water leak in the back bathroom which flooded out into our 'closet of books'. Instead of spending the $80 to fix the whole mess Papa got a plug and just turned off all the water to that bathroom except the toilet. This bathroom is now pretty much storage with a toilet anyway so no real harm done. He'll fix it this summer when it's nice and warm out and he has time. Because there are so many of us in such a small space we've been using the tub for storage for quite some time. So whenever we needed the tub I would just empty it of foam chairs and beanbags and the odd box or toy and we'd rinse it and fill it up and have a bath. The tub has no shower and the shower has no tub. Now that the water is turned off the kids have been having showers instead, with the girls having quick baths in the kitchen sinks every once and awhile to have some fun. Well Papa recently came up with a great idea for them to all be able to have a bath. He took one of my new totes and put it in the shower. Then he filled it up half way with water and TA DA a mini tub!! They love it. And that 1st day they all 3 soaked for some time. L had the water warm enough it was a mini Hot Tub!! Lucky. Now if only I fit!! LOL.

Baby R's First Steps.

They smile and they grin, teeter and totter, move their legs up and down with out actually moving, beaming all the while. R is almost a year old and tonight she took her 1st steps. We are all very excited and J, L and E helped me cheer her on as she walked from leaning on the couch to my arms 4 or 5 times. Between 3 and 5 steps at a time. I lean her against the couch and then move away and call to her. She thinks this is great fun and claps her hands and yells. So we are all clapping and yelling. Then she stops and grins and moves her little tiny feet up and down. Teasing us.. ready to walk but having fun. Then slowly, ever so slowly she moves forward. Funny little unknown jerky movements that always remind Papa of a puppet on a string. Grinning the whole time, pleased that she can do this new thing. Excited that we are all watching and waiting for her. Then she reaches me and stands for 2 seconds completely still before I scoop her up and tickle her, and we are all laughing and yelling and telling her how great she is. Then L stands up and goes to the couch.. Look Momma I can do it too. I can come to Momma too. So he does and we cheer, then J, cheer, then E and we cheer again. Then it's R's turn again for a few more rounds. Cheering and yelling, the house is bedlam. Then L goes back to the couch and slowly, almost perfectly, imitates his sisters slow uncertain steps. But he's so excited when he gets to me instead of me catching him he jumps up and down. He is a mimic and he's very good!! I'm quite amazed every time one of the kids start to walk. It seems like such an expected yet totally unexpected thing. You expect them to walk sooner or later but you forget that they will be moving, tiny little people who stand less then 2 feet tall who actually look and walk like people. They seem to little somehow and too immature. But they aren't, they are just right where they are and loving it. I love watching them walk around but I also regularly forget that there is a new person learning a new skill walking around. I'm not a terrible graceful person and the 1st few days of a new walker are always a bit of a bump and grab time. Bump them as I, or they, walk into them and then quickly grab them before they hit the floor!! R is so tiny that I'm really going to have to watch out. She's so short that she's almost invisible.Hopefully she will be like J and E and go into it slowly so I have some time to readjust and not like L who just got up one day at 9 months and walked!!!

Baby R is still a tiny little mite, sweet and loving. She loves hugs and clings like a monkey. Before she was walking she was trying hard to walk. The older kids would take turns walking her around and encouraging her to step out on her own. We also have a push car that she can walk and push and when she gets going they all 3 go and turn her around when she gets stuck! Her birthday is soon and we are planning her party and cake. The kids are all excited about it and J wants to go to the $ store and buy her a birthday gift. ( I wonder if he thinks that is the only place he can buy things as he's very adamant about that store) She is almost 1 year old and I'm going to start to refer to her as R instead of Baby R. I'm seeing so much more little person in her these days that we don't even call her Baby R anymore but only R. So I'm having to add "baby" to all my posts, because I no longer think of her as a baby but as a toddler. So from now on she will be R and not Baby R.

SUNSHINE!! And Soup!!

We had a beautiful day the other day and we enjoyed it greatly. I'm not sure if we hit the expected high of 45F or if we passed it... I was out and about having a great time in the sunshine and didn't even check!! LOL. We took a trip to town to get some last minute butchering supplies then came home and played out of doors until past nap time. We grabbed the sled and hauled a load of shavings, we took pictures of the 'fort'

Going Inside.The Front Room.The Side Room and the Hallway. And the SWORD Holder!! Also can be used to keep a stick across the doorway so that no one can go in.The Back Room., we ran and threw snow. We got absolutely totally soaking wet and loved it. The sun was shining and warm. The water was running here and there. There is a large puddle under the Travelalls rear end that extends out and L loved to play in it!! We put all the kids (all totalling 110 lbs) in to the sled and I pulled them to the mail box and back. Baby R sat in the snow, sun on her face and watched the others run and play. We had a great time. I checked the fence that I just posted pictures of and the snow has melted between 4 and 6 inches!! Then we headed inside, sucked down a can of soup and went down for naps. I love feeding soup to my kids. Well. No I love the quickness of it. I wish it was our own tomato soup then I would really love the whole deal. Soup for 3, or 4, is easy!! I grab a can of soup. J opens it and puts it in a 4 cup measuring cup or a bowl. I add water and microwave it, then I grab a jug of milk and straws and add enough milk to make it 'warm' and they all drink it up through the straws out of the measuring cup. Measuring cups work the best as they are not so tippy as bowls and have smaller tops. If Baby R is awake for lunch she gets soup and milk mixed in a cup with her own straw!!

A Quick Answer to Prayer!!

One night last week I was reading on the couch (it is winter!!) and I heard a beeeep. It sounded like my bread maker?? So I looked over and the power was out on the microwave. Strange... but not too unexpected. Several weeks ago Papa got home late at night from work and went to microwave his supper and about half way through the microwave stopped. He went and checked the breakers and nothing was flipped. OK. Then we noticed that not only was the microwave dead, so was the bread maker, our bedroom lamp and our alarm clock, the kitchen over head range lights, our main kitchen light and fan. PLUS the entrance light and fan!! But the bathroom lights worked, the lights above the microwave worked, our overhead bedroom light worked and the rest of the house was fine. Things from 5 different breakers had quit. Very strange. So he ate his meal and by the time he was done all of the dead things were back on!!! Stranger yet. We agreed it was something to watch out for and look into and went to bed. Then several weeks later it happened again. While I was sitting there reading these lights and things flipped off then back on, then off then on again. The 2nd time I got up and unplugged some stuff thinking that somehow it was just working too hard!! But the breakers were not flipped!! I even went outside to see if there was a problem out there and unplugged some things to test it. Nothing helped. Then it quit and I had no power in those things. Strange. I went to get a drink and realized I had no power on that half of the house and NO WATER!!! Well this is new!! So I called Papa at work and he said we'd be fine til he got home, I was wondering about electrical fire hazards. When he got home he pulled the breaker board off and did some testing then called our local hydro company and told them what was up. We had supper and then Papa headed out to milk the cow!! And before he was done milking the truck was here to fix the power. It turns out the new fuse they put in last fall was not put in correctly and water had entered it and broken it. The kids stood in the window and watched as the bucket truck lifted a man up and he replaced the fuse and then lowered him again. Pretty neat stuff right out our front window. The new pressure gage Papa put in the water system recently turns it's self off when the pressure gets too low. So Papa had to crawl around under the trailer for a minute but within an hour of his call we had power and water!!! As Papa said "It's not everyday you get an answer to prayer THAT fast!!" God is Good!!

Sunday Afternoons.

I love Sunday afternoons. I love to be lazy and lay in the sun shine. We have a wonderful big window in our bedroom and the sun shines right on the bed. Papa and I often lay in the Sunday sun shine and talk and dream while the kids are napping. Often we are lulled to sleep by the laziness of it all, but other days we plan our week or like today we made several decisions we've been putting off and made some tentative plans for spring. We moved to the living room and the computer to figure out our Christmas gift. LOL. Yeah we're a bit late. We wanted to get cheese making supplies but we kept forgetting or not having enough time. So finally today we got it all written out what we want (we couldn't order online) and tomorrow Papa will call it in and ask some questions we need answers too. As soon as it gets here I'm sure we'll be neck deep in it and your likely to hear all about it. :) This Sunday Papa finally got me out in our new car. It's a little black Honda and we've had it for a couple weeks. He's been wanting me to test drive it since the day we brought her home. But alas I'm not the driver he is and I was avoiding it. I LIKE things to stay the same. I'm used to the Travelall. But I'm going to have to drive the car sometimes and so off I went. Oh wait. First I had a ten minute talk about this and that and the other thing.. most of which went in one ear and out the other (one would have come in handy I learned later). Papa even ran out and started her for me. As of yet she is not named but we'll get there. So I grabbed my purse thing (actually I use a fanny pack which comes in really handy if I need both hands) and a jacket and headed out. I got about half way to town and decided to head to the movie store. All the kids are sick or getting sick and sick days go by faster with some new entertainment. So I dug some change out and went and found a couple movies to keep the little people entertained this week, well after I managed to get the door open!! I was stuck for a minute as the inside handle is broken and a bit hard to open.. but it does help if you UNLOCK it first. Hee hee. I got home safe and sound though the car being so much lower then the Travelall feels like your FLYING when your really not even up to speed!! Never mind the lack of engine noise. Nice to hear my self think again while I'm driving. HEY I just realized that I might just like this new car after all. :) The car is 19 years old, the newest rig we've ever owned (by choice) and it's 19 years newer then our Travelall. I'll try and get a pic soon. But every time I see the thing it's dark out as it's Papa's work car. The days are getting longer, however slowly. Anyway I got to run it's almost movie time. The boys are almost done cleaning up toys, E is finally done eating and Papa is sweeping up the baby's mess.. got them all well trained!! LOL.

Dinner Out!

Well I guess all the fuss for a baby sitter was wasted. The dinner out tonight was canceled and it was probably a good thing all around. E has a runny nose and all the kids are a bit cranky which makes me wonder if they are all fighting a cold. If they get a cold it will be the 4th one for E but only the 3rd one for everyone else. Which I find interesting because the only difference in food between E and the rest of us is that she rarely eats meat. Of course she could also have a weaker immune system for some unknown reason. Every time she's been sick she's been the 1st one to get it and twice the last one to get over it. She gets the same vitamins as the boys and goes the same places. They are older though so their body's might be able to fight infection off better. Who knows. Baby R is a bit protected through me as she is still nursing so it makes sense that she is rarely sick. Today is going to be a lazy day. We'll probably watch a movie, take some extra vitamins and get a good head start on healing.

The weather warmed up to 12ish F and we have great big beautiful snow flakes falling slowly down outside. Very pretty.

The Firewood Walk!!

In my Turning post I told you that Papa and I went out and got some pine firewood from the back of our property. This is the 'trail' we made bringing in 3 loads of pine. He did the last one by himself as I could hardly move!! You can't see the whole thing. It keeps going down for awhile and then turns to the left. The pine tree was a huge one that was on a rise above the tiny pond we have back there. The fence on the right is our property line. We have a decent sized sled and could only haul 3 blocks at once as the peices were so big!! Notice how high the snow is on the fence post. That is a normal fence!!!