~Isabel~

Isabel joined the Griggs Family Farm recently. She is a purebred Holstein 4 year old cow. She's due to calve on March 17th with her 2nd calf. She is a year minus a day younger then Maggie :) They are both from the same dairy and we checked their records while we were there. Maggie's original name was Mindy, which we changed because we have a friend named Mindy. But we have no friends named Isabel so Isabel it will be. The dairy names them for paper purposes but refers to them by number so Isabel doesn't know her name, that also makes sense as to why Maggie learned her name so fast.. She'd never been called anything and Maggie was really her first name, not her second like we thought. I think it will be a bit of a challenge to name Isabel's calf when it's born if it is a bull.. as we name them with the first letter of their mothers name. Iggy?? Ian? Inch thick steaks?? lol. We shall see. Isabel is bred to a mixed semen lot from a Holstein, Jersey and a unknown beef breed.  So we could get just about anything, but we are sort of hoping for a Jersey heifer.. NOT a Jersey or Holstein steer, or a beef steer!! Or maybe a Holstein heifer?? There are a lot of possibilities!

Isabel and Maggie taking a walk to the water. She's just as tall as Maggie but her hip bones are wider.. Not sure if that is because she's a month from calving or because she's just wider. Maggie is SO happy to have company and if it all works out the two of them will not be separated.

 Isabel and Maggie went head to head at their 1st meeting literally! Isabel just came out of a herd of cows about 75 strong and she really felt she need to make sure Maggie knew Isabel was the boss. They went at it forehead to forehead and shoved each other around some. Maggie gave up rather soon and, I think, she was just so happy to see another cow she didn't care who won!  Later that night they were standing head to tall for warmth and the next morning they were best friends sharing the hay bale. Papa has already gone out to the hay bale with a bucket of our sweet mix we use instead of grain and poured some out for both cows so that Isabel will catch on to the wonderfulness of it and we can slowly start to stanchion train her before she calves so we can easily milk her when she does calve. Isabel so far has not realized that there will be food available at all times and is pretty possessive over the food. Apparently when Papa dumped the sweet mix out on to the snow she headed over there and demanded her share which really works to our favor. Soon she'll be like every other bovine on the place and drool while Papa mixes it, bawl for a taste and INHALE it when ever she's allowed some. Perfect! They say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach.. I'm not too sure about that but I know for a fact that the way to a cows heart is through her stomach :) 

     A few things we have to watch for.. Isabel has never out on snow. She didn't seem to mind it at first and thankfully the cow pen is not super icy, only one area is even the tiniest bit icy, but after half an hour or so she would pick up her legs and give them a good shake trying to get the snow out of the hoofs. This morning she looks a bit foot sore, gingerly picking her way along. 

      She also is fascinated with the pigs and chickens.. When/if either of them escape their pens Isabel will probably react badly. 

      Because Isabel is a food hog, so far anyway, milking could be interesting for a couple of days.. if she figures out there is sweet mix in the milking parlor and chases Maggie out of the milking parlor before we lock her in or if she tries to get Maggie's sweet mix WHILE Maggie is locked in.. well lets just say we'll try really hard to NOT let that happen as the results could be interesting to say the lest! 

   All in all both Papa and I think we made a good choice. Time will tell as in all things but she's perfect for us in many ways. She'll calve in the right month so we will not have to have a dry spell with no milk while we wait for Maggie to calve. She's already on a spring calving schedule which is really handy! Maggie is only giving just over a gallon a day now but should, if she follows her pervois pattern, be able to keep giving a gallon until Isabel calves in March.   

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.New International Version (©1984)

     

Baby G @ 3 Months.

She is such a little doll. Tonight I got her first real giggle out of her. Now that she's found her giggle I expect we'll hear it a lot. She is a very happy smiley contented child and a pure JOY to be around. I can't help myself I laugh at her when she cries because she is SO STINKING CUTE even crying. She tries so very hard to be sad, but turns around 2 seconds later SMILING up at you like your the only person in the whole world and she knows how much you love her.

This pose is what we call a 'Baby Sausage' wrapped up tight arms at sides with another extra blanket to keep it tight. The purple and white rolled blanket is her baby blanket I crocheted for her. It's bright colors don't quite seem to fit her yet so while I wait for her to grow into them and it I've placed it beside her in her bed for a comfortable 'space reducer.' She loves to be cuddled and snuggled and this is some thing to make the large space in her bed seem like a smaller more cuddly space :) Even though she almost never even touches it!   

I love this look! Her shirt says 'My <3 belongs to Daddy.' 

We got her weighed today and she came in at 11lbs 1 oz. At 6 weeks she was 10lbs, 4 oz. Yup that is a Griggs girl as I told our wonderful Doctor :) Come out big babies, grow into small girls! She is really long though so maybe she'll be taller like E?? She eats enough, sleeps enough, poops enough and smiles and coos and now laughs. She's found her hands and loves to stare at her toes. She can make any one of the 7 people she has totally wrapped around numerous digits laugh out loud with just a look or a smile. She loves a good ceiling fan, you know the kind.. the ones that is on!, and enjoys 'kid watching' from her safe chair on couch for several hours a day. She still thinks the camera's green light is evil though has decided the Ipad2's camera is not :) So I have finally gotten a smiling picture but I don't as of yet have it on the computer. She loves to 'talk and tell stories' and can make a surprising number of sounds that are not words or cries. She hangs on tight to my shirt as she nurses and is already eyeing up the food on my plate. I'm going to have to start dressing her in a jacket even in her car seat as she's not falling asleep instantly in it anymore and enjoys looking out at the big wide world.. or at least the ceiling of the Travel all. 

Valentines Day 2012 :)

Papa likes to surprise me a day early with Valentines day stuff :) This year the kids and I got 3 boxes of chocolates to share and I got these lovely flowers in a mug!! Perfect fit for me as I love mugs ;) and the red rose in the bunch is fake and will not die on me like so many of my flowers do. Also I love daisies :) as they remind me that summer will come again.. even when winter seems amazingly long as it does every year in the north. The message on the mug puts a smile on my face every time I see it.

For supper on February 14th we had a snack night and for dessert we had chocolate fondue.. with out the fondue?? So maybe we should call it fruit drizzled in chocolate! Very yummy! 

LOOK it's a J3 fondue!! 

 I think he liked it! :) I know the rest of us did! :) 

Feast!!

Mr and Mrs B came over for supper one night recently and we OH we feasted BIG time!! Mr. B and Papa did pretty much all the cooking. Mr. B did a pork roast on the BBQ that was heavenly!! Papa and Mr. B did shrimp together, Papa did these mussels resting in our sink in a white wine sause and we dipped them in a wonderful butter/lemon juice mix before inhaling them!! We had baked potatoes and salad and veggies and dip. It was amazing!! 

Attacking Mr. B is always on the menu :) 

Awana Grand Prix

They really loved it and Papa and I really enjoyed watching them love it :) 

J loved it because it was new and exciting and his car did really well.

L loved it because it was cars and racing and FUN!! (His car also did really well but he hardly noticed!)

E loved it because well.. because her brothers loved it and she loves them. 

R loved it because she got to cheer on the other kids and dream about when she could do Awana. 

J3 loved it because he is a boy and he loves cars. He loved to clap when we clapped. 

Baby G could care less about car racing but Momma was there, Papa was there, J3 was there and she had smiles for anyone who came her way!  

L placing his car! He really worried the 1st time he had to go up there and put it on the track so Papa went with him the 1st couple of times. Too many people for him. 

L waiting with a friend to see who's car won! L's car won almost as many times as J's. E's car did really well too and was only ever beat by one of her brothers cars!! (and maybe one other?)

E picking up her car at the finish line :) 

J placing his car.. I think of all the times he raced he only came in second once!! 

E placing her car!! Oh so carefully. I really liked how they had the ladder for the smaller kids. Made the little kids feel like they were important! 

J and his trophy for the second fastest car in the Prix!! 

He was pretty excited!!  

Their home made and painted cars now race around my living room, sleep in their special boxes, and have an active part in everyday life. They are already planning their cars for next year and J is already planning on bringing home another trophy :) This time he wants the 'most original' trophy :) 

What a fun way to learn about playing fair, playing to have fun and that life is not about winning or losing but about living for God and treating others the way you'd like to be treated, no matter what life throws at you!  

Yogurt Love :)

I recently found this online.
 
Took me all of 4 seconds to talk Papa into ordering it for me :) Here Glengarry Cheesemaking is where he ordered it from. My new butter churn I got this summer is right under the yogotherm :) I love it too!!

I LOVE IT!! It makes 1/2 a gallon of yogurt at a time by simply keeping it the right temp. I recently did a bit of an experiment where I did my half gallon of milk heated to the right temp of 115F and added the starter; about 1/4 cup of yogurt from the last batch, stirred for a bit and poured it into the half gallon bucket that fits nicely into my new yogotherm pictured above. I had a little bit left over so I poured it into a plastic container, put a lid on it and placed it beside the wood stove on a table. I expected to have yogurt in both containers when I finished as this was how we used to make yogurt.. though with not a super good success rate which is why I got the yogotherm. In about 7 hours I took the container and the bucket and placed them in the fridge.  The next morning J wanted yogurt for breakfast so I took the container and opened it.. the milk had separated and not made yogurt!! I was a bit apprehensive but got called away and J got the bucket out of the fridge and placed it on the table.. and dished it up and it WAS yogurt! When my old yogurt failed I assumed it was because the starter had not worked.. but I learned with this experiment that it had not failed.. my temps by the wood stove must vary too much to keep the yogurt alive but the insulation in the yogotherm keeps it regulated and makes perfect yogurt every time.. or at least the 3 times we've had enough extra milk to try it :) Like I said I LOVE IT!!!

THAT STUFF MUST GO!!

The kids have a cute Berenstain bears movie where Papa Bear is trying to get rid of a stump in the yard and he keeps saying.. "That STUMP must GO!!" Well I've been going through the kids clothes, the back bathroom (also know as a catchall for all things), closets and the whole general house and bagging it up in black garbage bags and hauling it to the second hand store. I'm not nearly done yet but I'm getting there. I took 9 black garbage bags, so far, and probably 10+ boxes of stuff out of our house so far.  The boxes went on to the floor.. some of jars, clothes that will still be needed for the younger children. It's amazing how much more ROOM we have now..

You might be wondering why I'm getting rid of all this stuff.. some of it simply doesn't fit in the house anymore.. those cute foam chairs J and L used to have out in the living room to watch movies in just simply not longer FIT in the living room.. E and I are both allergic to polyester and I can't even wear clothes washed with fuzzy polyester so we are getting rid of TONS of polyester clothing, blankets and all. I plan on going through all the totes of kids clothes on the floor and culling...eventually :) SO if anyone is interested in going through some of these bags before I send them off to the thrift store.. let me know what your looking for and when I clean out those sizes I'll let you know and we'll set it up.

Ice Rink.

With all the nice cold weather we had there for a bit in January Papa expanded the natural ice rink we had beside the house and made it quite a bit bigger.. it's not huge but it's a nice size for a learning ice rink. He flooded it several times a day when it was -38C and now it's a nice smooth rink. This picture was right after the kids had been skating so there is a lot of snow on it.. it's a bit longer then the picture shows as well. 

A Little More Fun Science!

The first part of Papa's talk about batteries.. Baby G was in my arms and she started fussing, you can hear her on the video and as she goes from 0 to 60 in 4.2 seconds and I had to miss the rest,but I thought I would share it anyway to give you an idea of what they talked about. 

Fun Science.

Papa does Science with the kids for school. He enjoys it and homeschooling gives us the flexibility so that he is able to do this fun stuff with the kids and call it school. J's science this year is all about liquids, solids and gases. His teacher sent a great book. 

Which we have really been enjoying. They have done a couple of the experiments now and we have a list of others they want to do.. some of them even make ME excited about science and that means it's a pretty neat book as I'm not normally even a little excited about science :)  

This one was called Indoor rain and you were suppose to use a ladle that you had frozen in the freezer but it was -38C outside and Papa's frozen hammer worked just as well. :) Basically you boil water and put the frozen ladle over the boiling water and it condensates and makes rain!  

It's hard to see but he's holding this....

This ones is called Strong Air. Water in a glass with a piece of cardboard over it.. tip the glass upside down and the air pressure keeps the cardboard on the glass and the water in the glass. Very cool. They all got a turn pulling the cardboard off and seeing how little air pressure it takes to keep it there. 

Did you know??? If you throw boiling water into the air at -30C it will not hit the ground?? It works. We tried it, several times :) Papa found that the smaller amounts of water got the best reaction. There are several youtube videos if your interested in seeing it for yourself and don't have cold weather. The water goes from a liquid to a gas and floats away! VERY COOL!! Very cold too.. brrr... glad it only stayed a few days.

Looks like fun right? What does it have to do with science?? Well I'll admit not much.. but it turns out that because of the way we cut the trees here in the front the wind makes a circle and it's just about impossible to fly a kite in that open space!! So they learned quite a bit about wind currents watching their kite go around and around and crashing to the ground :) Papa took them to the neighbors field and they got to really fly the kite there.. "Way up so high you could barely see it Mom!!' Very cool. 

They took a break from skating one of our warmer winter days recently to watch as Papa took apart and explained a old frozen car battery. Apparently there was no danger involved as the battery had frozen solid proving that there was no more acid in it. 

The fins and dividers in the battery. My children now know more about batteries then I do..