“There’s poop”

Forgive me for speaking of poop in this post and for one more Zebu post but I just couldn’t resist.

My mom is living with us now and farm livin’ is well, not her style.  Bless her heart she wants to try to be helpful though.  Tonight the weather report came on and said that there was a cold front coming in and the temperature was going to fall below freezing. 

Crud!  The “original” herd Molly, Neptune, Tonka, Jolly, and Faith were all in the front pasture.  There isn’t any shelter in the front and poor Faith is still so tiny, I was fearful she might not make it through the night in such cold temps.  The “new” cows, Fancy, Silver, and Sparkles (ugh horrible names) aren’t so sure they love the “original” crew and were loving a peaceful state of  separation. 

Mom decided to join me outside to help hold the flashlight while I untied the twine holding the gate shut.

I  stepped over the barbed wire fencing carefully.  She held the flashlight in one hand and with the other hand she started to hold down the top row of wire.  I said “It’s okay you don’t have to come in. You can just hold the light from out here.”  Her reply…

“I’m not… there’s poop”

My laughter almost scared the cows! 

Somehow I managed  pull myself  back together and untie the twine allowing the “original” herd to go to the back pasture and seek warmth in the barn.  The “new” cows  must think I am out to get them releasing the bully herd on them in the dark like that.  Poor things keep getting chased by the bulls and then Molly shoves them out of the way with her horns if they are doing, well, just about anything.  Molly really thinks she owns the place.

Charts and more Charts

About 3 years ago I bought a book called Accountable Kids.  I read it and then made my own charts for the kids.  It WORKED!  My household chores became less and less as the kids were actually taking care of a lot of the little things on their own. 

Then we moved….. and sort of got out of the habit. 

Two weeks ago I pulled the book back out, found the charts I had made, and printed off new tags and tickets for the kids.  I had made the charts out of wooden picture frames that I painted in a different color for each kid.  We have 2 hooks at the top of the chart, one for chores to do and one where the completed chores get turned over and placed on.  At the bottom there are 3 hooks, one for tickets received, one for tickets used and one for book points.  They get 30 minutes of electronics time for each ticket (tv, computer, Wii etc….)  If they get all 3 tickets (morning, afternoon, evening chores each = 1 ticket) they get a punch on their book points card.  When that card is full they get a trip to the bookstore to buy a new book.    Here is a picture of  their charts.  Ignore the faucet.  The only place I have to put these right now is on the window ledge in the kitchen.  It is VERY important that these charts are in a place where they are visible to all.

 

Another chart we have been using is our Family Home Evening Chart (aka Family Night).  One day I was frustrated with the fact that we were not regularly having FHE and if we did no one knew what they were in charge of that night.  So I grabbed a plank of wood from the garage told Rodi to cut it about 16 inches long.  I then painted it blue.  When it dried I went to work with a paint pen (LOVE THESE THINGS) and some hooks.  Here is what the finished product looks like.  The lesson hook is really lesson/activity hook.  Oh and it does have a place on the wall but I painted in the kitchen and just haven’t gotten this hung back up.

 

 

Charts can be a fabulous thing when you use them.

Still a little too City and not nearly enough Country

So as I said before, our cow Molly had a claf this past Sunday.  My  visions of  bottle feeding this babe were just visions apparently.  Today I went out to the barn bottle in hand to have my bonding time with the Fatih (the calf).  The only thing I did was tick off  Molly and tire Faith out.  Molly was very patient with me as I followed Faith around the pasture trying to get close to her calf.  She kept an eye on me the entire time and I let her know I was aware she was watching.  Every now and then I would go over and let her smell the bottle to show her I meant no harm.  Then I would rub her in that spot she loves behind her ear, before trying a little longer to convince Faith to give the bottle a try.  I am sure I looked like a big goof out there, but then again I have never fed a farm animal from a bottle before (except at the zoo once and I am not sure that counts). 

Finally Faith went into the barn and into the side with the gate.  “WHOO HOO this is finally going to happen”  The kids who had been giving me passenger seat directions this entire time came bolting into the barn.  Allowing Faith to be at ease stressed out even more, I am sure.  Soon Molly came a callin’ too.  She was a tad miffed at me by now and was quite vocal about the whole ordeal.  She paced on one side of the barn while Faith darted from one side to the other trying to avoid me at all cost.

I finally managed to get Faith settled down a bit and even got the bottle to her mouth.  However she didn’t drink a darn drop.  Nope she wanted nothing to do with me or the bottle.  Feeling sorry for her and Molly I let her out the gate where she quickly latched onto her mamma and began to nurse… Go Figure.

*On a side note the kids are laughing because JJ got the whole thing on video and they want me to put it on  the internet.  NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!*

You make me smile

JJ and I were on our way to the store when she told me this funny little story.

JJ: “Mom the other day at gymnastics Tami (not her real name) told me how lucky I was because she only gets $1 a week for allowance.  I told her I don’t get an allowance.  Then she said ‘Oh well, I do chores for my allowance’  Mom, I told her I do chores and don’t get an allowance.  It’s not like everyone gets an allowance.”

ME:  “That’s right.”

JJ: “Tami said that she has to watch her little brother for an hour a day to help out her mom.”

ME: (said in my head) I know you watch your little sister and brother all the time.

JJ: “Tami asked me how I get all my money then.  I told her.  I said I pull my teeth.”

ME: *Laughing really hard*

JJ:  “Then I told her I just wait for Birthday money or sometimes even some money at Christmas. But I have some more loose teeth”

ME: *Still laughing*

*** SIDE NOTE*** 2 weeks ago Carley lost THREE teeth in one night.  The tooth fairy had to borrow money that night.

The Auction Box

Tonight at the end of family night we tried something new, a toy for chore auction.  Over the past week as I have picked up the family room, kitchen, dinning room table or any other room/area I have collected toys, books etc… that did not belong there and put them in the “auction box”.  Tonight I brought out the box and the kids had to bid chores to retrieve the items.  We took notes and they won’t be getting their treasures back until the chore they bid is done.  Tonight no child could bid on another child’s toy unless the owner of said toy decided it wasn’t worth a chore for them.  If there were no bids the toy went in the trash.  Next week if toys went unclaimed due to the chore not being done the anti goes up and anyone can bid.  Should be interesting.  I will keep you posted on how it goes.  I am thinking that if a toy is up for auction twice and still never ends up in the hands of the winning bidder the toy will end up in the garbage can.  What I am really hoping is that there will be less and less toys to auction each week as the kids will realize it is just easier to pick it up in the first place.

Another thing we re-instated was the laundry schedule.  It just works so much better than me trying to do it all (I think that doing laundry is worse than cleaning toilets!).  Monday through Friday everyone has a day to do their laundry and then on Saturdays we will wash all the bedding.  Sunday there will be NO LAUNDRY.  This system was working so well for us and I don’t even know why we stopped doing it.

A new year should at least start off somewhat organized, I guess. *grin*

Hi, remember me?

Okay I know I have been bad about keeping everyone up to date on what is going on in the land of Rodi.  I had to take a bit of a holiday break I guess.  I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours.  I really love being home (in our house) for Christmas.  I know, some love being at their parents house or with other family, but for me there is no better place than our house on Christmas morning.  I am fine with being places before or after, but on that morning I want to be here in my pj’s surrounded by my kids, watching them as they gaze in amazement at what is inside those mysterious packages.

This year I was in my pj’s but sadly this year I had an eye and sinus infection which made my mood less joyful.  Rodi took a picture of me (because he is kind that way *grin*).  It is so sad, me only able to stick my tongue out half way at him, I had no reserve energy left to really razz him.  My glasses are VERY crooked due to close inspections on a weekly basis by Moe.  Then there is the puffy very itchy and sore eye, lovely really, just lovely.

This has been a very crafty, handy sort of month for us.  As I was reading my friend Lammy’s blog I discovered this great blog that led me to this great blog, which led me to yet another fabulous blog where I discovered how to  make this crayon roll for Moe and new pajama bottoms for all the kids.  I only have a picture of the boys pj bottoms as the girls were in the wash when I was taking pictures today.  The pj’s were a HUGE hit Christmas morning.  Bubba even gave them top ranking in the gifts he received.  He has also proved that by wearing them every night since Christmas.  I finally snagged them to throw in the wash today.

 

   

Today was no less crafty or handy.  The boys were outside working magic with used lumber, while us gals were inside stitching up a storm on the ol’ sewing machine.

The boys project…. make a hay feeder for the cows so they (the cows) would stop making such a mess of things in the field.  You know they do the silliest things with those round bales of hay.  They dig their horns right into the center of the bale and start tossing hay everywhere.  Then they do their business (to put it kindly) on the scattered hay.  For some reason they don’t want to eat it after that *not that I blame them*.  Hopefully this will keep the wasted hay to a minimum.  The boys worked hard all day and just as dark began to fall upon us the feeder was ready to be put in the pasture with the cows.  YAY BOYS!  A job well done!  It was too dark for a finished project picture but I will get one on this week.  Oh and for a $$$ moment it only cost us around $2 to build as we used recycled wood from what the previous owner left behind the barn and in the loft.  Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

                                       Here was the only sad moment for me, they were taking apart my “bench”  Well okay so it was just some boards lying across two logs to make a make shift bench.  But it was my spot to put the marshmallows when we made s’mores.  *boo-hoo*

 

My dad would have been so happy to see his grandsons today out there working with their dad.  Both boys showed a bit of their grandpa today.  Bubba was sporting the torn up jean look and Moe had the tape measure fastened to his hip the entire day.  Both of those were looks Grandpa Jones sported daily.  Okay his jean weren’t quite as bad as Bub’s were today but that is only because Bubba made his worse while out working with Rodi today.

The girls projects….. make pj’s for Moe (he didn’t get his under the tree, my eye hurt too bad that night to finish and he was already getting the crayon roll so I knew he wouldn’t mind waiting a day or two), JJ wanted to make a pillow to match her pj’s, and we have a drafty door so we stitched up a “draft thingy” to put under the door.  I didn’t take a picture of that.  Sorry but it just isn’t that exciting.  I take that back, Nina was thrilled to be able to stuff that one.  JJ  did a great job on  her pillow.  Now I have a fear I am going to have to move on to more complex projects for her.  My control issues are really being tested these days *grin*.

 

We were all very thankful for the 70 degree weather we had (sorry I know I shouldn’t have gone there for some of you) today.  It allowed us to get many things done outside and allowed for Moe and Nina to play on the swing while others of us were doing things not as hands on for the younger ones.  I will tell those of you in snowy places….. my kids would trade you.  They really miss those snow filled Decembers and January’s in Germany.  I miss the look of it but not the feel of it * grin*

Oh and for those who are wondering …. Jolly the baby Zebu is doing wonderful.  She is getting more and more playful and is even a bit more friendly to us 2 legged creatures.

The Rowdy Rodi’s go Shopping

See Mom take a deep breath,

See Mom open the van doors,

Hear Mom tell the kids to walk, not run,

See Mom FASTEN the belt around Moe in the seat of the cart,

See Mom take one more deep breath as she takes those first steps through the doors,

See Nina make a run for the cupcakes,

Hear Mom say “not today, if it’s not on sale it’s not going in the cart.”,

See Nina pout and whine,

See Moe grab a bag of bagels as Mom and Nina discuss the cupcakes,

See Mom smile as she sees sale signs galore,

See JJ go to the scale with the magic print button, ready to weigh and print at request,

See Nina go to the plastic bags and go on a tearing spree,

See Mom try to stop the tear fest while stopping Moe from playing baseball with the sweet potatoes,

See Mom venture down the aisles aware of the stares she is attracting with her brood,

See Moe throw all items in the cart out of the cart,

Hear Bubba and JJ laugh and laugh,

See Mom growing tense

See Moe climb over the edge of the cart as mom goes for the milk,

See Moe throw a bottle of vanilla half way down the aisle missing all on coming shoppers,

See Mom apologize over and over,

Hear JJ say “I have to go to the bathroom NOW”

Hear Mom sigh

See Mom at the check out ……. Well that was just to ugly for words.

Good news is that we saved $109.00 and managed to get 2 turkeys at a huge discount.  We paid $5 for a 19lb turkey and $6 for a 21lb one.  What a deal! Now we have Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner all taken care of.   Okay we still managed to spend what we normally spend but I did get a ton more this time.  The deals were just too good to pass up. 

whistle while you work

So it’s 1:30am and here I sit.  I am trying to decide weather I should go to sleep or continue on in my quest for a tidy home.  I think the bed may win this one.  Though I will have to set the alarm for an early rise.  There is a sitter coming to the house in the early morning and well we are not currently presentable.

So why the post?  Well I thought I would share with you a MOEment I had an hour ago.

 As I said I am doing a bit of cleaning.  More like a disaster relief assesment.  Anywhoo…. I went to move a small table of the kids, one of those plastic, probably lead contaminated tables, when I was met with a cold shower of water.  Yep the table has drawers…. Moe + cup+ water+ drawer= water filled drawer.  He has a fasination with pouring liquid from one object to another. 

If nothing else gets done tonight the drawers are sparkling clean.  *grin*

Not bad for a city girl….

We did it!  We found the farmer who said he would sell us a round bale.  We watched as Mr. B the farmhand loaded the bale into the bed of the truck.  We worried about the weight of the bale.  We drove cautiously home.  Then we decided to take pictures of our treasured bale of hay.  For those of you who don’t know we are in a serious drought.  I think this week we are down 14inches from our yearly norm.  Hay is hard to come by and what you can find is costly.  So today we feel as if we were transporting treasured jewels to our lovable Zebu.

Can you tell JJ has been practicing her cheers *grin*

Moe saw the others on top of the bale and there was no way he was going to get out of the truck bed until he had his turn on top too.  Must get his stubborn qualities from Rodi *giggle* 

 

I wish I could have been quick enough with the camera to get a picture of them playing in the hay.  They made that big mess of hay around the bale by digging their heads int eh bale and throwing the hay all around.  It was a pretty funny sight.  It was sort of like a “Hay Day” party. LOL

OKAY I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE for the next not so pretty photo.  I just have to share with you how WIDE Ms. Molly is getting these days.  She is due ANY DAY now.  Okay remember I apologized in advance *cheesy smile*

 

 

 

 

Again SO SORRY

 

 

 

 

Really I am

 

 

 

 

See I told you it wasn’t pretty. 

Just because

Just because I should be sleeping and am instead sitting here at the computer I thought I would share what I never thought I would be doing when I grew up…..

Never in a million years did I think I would live where I live and have COWS.

Never did I think one of the things on my to do list would be “call Mr. E about getting a round bale of hay”

Never did I think I would be on the board of a youth wrestling league

Never did I think I would be homeschooling my children

Never did I think I would be married with FOUR children

Never did I think I would be e-mailing and talking long (very long) distance to my husband rather than eating dinner with him and discussing the daily events.

Never did I think my Faith would play such a HUGE  role in my DAILY  life.

Never did I think I would be  interested in politics

Never did I think I would clapping and cheering for events such as going “poo in the potty”

Never did I think I would dread doing laundry quite as much as I do.

Never did I think that all these things would make my life feel so full and wonderful.  Some may seem to be a great challenge at times, but still, they make me who I am and for that I am thankful. Very thankful.