3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!: October 2015

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Last one...

Tonight we head out for our last camping trip of the year. I'm super excited, although it's a sad thought. We always dread the long winter of not being able to use it. For now though, I'm excited about climbing back in for the weekend! It should be a great time! Doug is taking Friday off so that we have an extra day, so that is awesome! Days when he is home are so much better, being in the camper will just be that much better! Now to pack....

No blog tomorrow...

I hope you all have a great weekend!

See you all Monday!

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Clay creations!

Remember the weird clay stuff that the girls were molding a few blogs back? Well, they finally finished them! Sooooo cute!

Marissa's creations....

Madalyn's creations....

They turned out great!

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

The job is DONE!!!

The girls and I spent about 2 hours outside last night digging potatoes and carrots and we got it done!

I'm not sure even how many pounds of potatoes we got, but I struggled carrying these two bags to the garage! There were quite few little ones this year and then some decent sized ones. I love the little ones because I cook them up like salt potatoes!

This is our carrot crop....

It took all three of us girls to carry the bag LOL! We have some crazy huge ones again this year but overall, we got pretty straight good sized carrots! The girls are excited! Peterette should have carrot tops for a while now! I'm super excited that this project is done! Now to get them in the freezer ;)

Just a random fact....the bunny won't eat carrots! Isn't that weird???

Monday, October 26, 2015

:)

We had another great weekend! Praise the Lord we were able to see the last of the tin go on the church roof this weekend. Siding is going up and sheetrock on the inside is being put in place as well. It's neat to see all the work coming together!

This week sounds iffy on weather so I'm really hoping to bundle up this afternoon and dig the carrots and potatoes. Right about now I'm wondering why we waited so long, but we did and it needs to be done so I stop thinking about it!

I hope you all are having a great day!

Friday, October 23, 2015

It's Friday!!!

It's been a long week and I for one am very happy to see Friday!

I've been making homemade laundry detergent for 3 years. For the past 6 months, we have been struggling with sink, stain and grunge issues. I did some research and found out how to fix the problem. So as of Monday, I've been stripping my clothes, turning around and rinsing them in the washer, rewashing them and then drying....for EVERYTHING in the house! It's been a chore, but I'm finally finished! Lesson learned...homemade soap does not work for this house. I don't know if it's our water, washer, or the detergent, but whatever the combo is I just no that it's a no go here now! So thankful to rest and relax this weekend...kind of! ;)

Thursday, October 22, 2015

So thoughtful...

I shouldn't complain...She was thoughtful enough to leave me one cushion! LOL

Spoiled rotten is all I can say, spoiled rotten!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Successful homeschooling...

...requires the help of a furry friend ;)

(She is just underlining, not writing so we let her stay for a bit)

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Another little mommy

I know I have made posts before about what a good "big sister" or "mommy" Marissa is. Madalyn has started walking right in her shoes!

Even if it is with the dog...

She is great with the extra kiddos that come to play too!

I love my caring, sensitive girls!

Monday, October 19, 2015

The basement...

I'm not sure I ever posted our before since our house is on the market and I wasn't sure how that made it look LOL...but since it's fixed now, I can post them! It's hard to tell from the picture how far the wall had moved, but if you look at the stairs, right in the middle of the picture, it give you a pretty good idea how far it moved!

I'm so thankful that we were able to get this done. I'm also thankful for people who do this for a living that have a whole lot more knowledge for this than we do!

Finished!

He even fixed our gap in the stairs!

I had to take a picture of it dry...

Since we had our septic tank pumped and no one knew exactly where the cover was, he drew a diagram on the door so we can't miss it!

Friday, October 16, 2015

Usborne

So here is the result from my Usborne party! I didn't have high expectations so I was very pleasantly surprised with what I walked away with!

This is one I was pretty pumped about! I mostly wanted it for the world atlas, but what an awesome book! The kids have already sat down with it a couple times and think it's pretty cool!

My kids love art! It's not something with struggle with homeschooling, but we don't really have a curriculum either. I'm excited to try this out with the girls...they seem pretty anxious as well!

I love their touchy-feely books...so well made!

These are big kid coloring books...who doesn't love to color right?

I think we are going to save these for Christmas!

A peek inside the books...

Super cool! Thanks a lot for opening my eyes to Usborne Liz! (I'd never heard of it before!) If anyone is interested in books and would like to take a look at this company, my sister in law and my sister both sell for them now. I can hook you up! ;)

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Family Time

My twin brother, sister in law, and their two kids came up last week and spent a few days with us. It was so nice to see them and spend some time with just us and them! Daniel and the girls got busy playing right away...

I had an Usborne party with Liz, who is a consultant for them (more on that later when my books come). I made a double batch of lemon bars and a double batch of taco dip and only one friend ended up being able to come with her kids, so we had lots to eat! We didn't complain any because it was yummy! So this as us at lunch the next day....

I promised Daniel we would go see cows...on our walk we saw this itty bitty apple tree that was loaded...pretty neat!

We decided to take the scenic route, which ended up being pretty funny. I wish I had gotten pictures, but we all had our hands full!

Sooo sweet!

Daniel was pretty tired that night and decided that Molly looked like a good pillow!

Hopefully we will get to see them again at Christmas! Whenever the next time is we get together...I can't wait!

If you were to ask me where I would see myself in 10 years, I never would have guessed that I would be here. However, I couldn't be happier! I'm very happily married to the love of my life and have two girls. We have begun our journey towards adoption and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us over the next couple of years. I'm a stay at home mom who home-schools. I enjoy researching and finding things out for myself. This blog allows me to share with others my passions and keep in touch with family that I wouldn't normally be able to keep in such close touch with.

Daddy is such a blessing to me. We met in college and became best friends. About one and a half years after we met we were dating. The rest is history. Together we have grown in the Lord and learned many lessons even in our few years together. Things haven't always been smooth, but together and with the Lord's help we can accomplish anything. He is the love of my life and my true soul mate. He is 100% committed to his family and the Lord. He is currently working for Dairy One in Ithaca. He loves to ski, ride dirt bikes, tinker on things, mow the lawn :) and spend time with his girls.

Marissa is our oldest. She was born in May 2005. She is 100% Daddy's girl. She is a home body and usually isn't away from home for long and she is asking to go back to our house. She always claims a job and sticks with it till its done. She is very quick and catches on fast. You have to be careful what you show her, because before you know it she is going to be attempting it herself. Madalyn is her best friend. She loves church and loves learning and singing about Jesus. Marissa is now is school and she is doing great. She loves to read and do projects. She LOVES animals and has decided that she wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up!

Madalyn is our youngest. She is 100% Mommy's girl (nice of them that they split us up so that one isn't quite so overwhelmed isn't it?). Madalyn knows what she wants and goes for it. She has no fear and is usually the leader of my two even though she is younger. She does love to shadow her older sister though. She is my girly girl, but also my one that is always getting messy. She loves her hair done, to get dressed up, and shoes! We are in trouble with this one! She loves school and is super smart. She has decided she wants to be a "snow plow driver" when she grows up. She is also going to build a house RIGHT next to us and live there so she can still see us every day ;)

Case was actually our "oldest child". Sadly we said goodbye to him on October 29th, 2013. He was a black lab/ red-tick coonhound. He loved to roam the fields, swim, play ball, catch frisbees, go hiking and spend time at the barn. He also very much enjoyed those black and white cats that roam in the dark and have stripes down their backs...or he must have because he kept getting sprayed! He hated to be abandoned by his family and preferred us to all be in the house by 9pm or he started pacing. His biggest dislike was winter. He hated the cold and would rather hold his potty all day long than to go out and pee. Even when he did go out he barely makes it out the door and he was starting to go! Haha He was our "little boy in a doggie suit" as my aunt says. We love him and miss him like crazy.

Cali is our first cat together as a married couple. Sadly we said goodbye to her on October 8th, 2014. We got her from the barn shortly after we moved. She had to be one of the softest cats you had ever felt and of course one of the best looking calicos. LOL She was a great mouser and spent alot of her time in the basement hunting. She had a funny quirk. When she got ready to settle down and sleep, she parted the hair on her tail so only a few hairs were sticking up and then she proceeded to suck on those hairs.

Beaker is a litter mate to Cali. She is a great mouser. She loves to sneak outside when she gets the chance but if you say her name she quickly darts back in. She is VERY attached to Doug and is always coming up to him purring just as loud as can be begging to be picked up. Beaker of course never does this to me. She doesn't like change and isn't fond of strange dogs, although she has gotten much better with the dogs. She will still swat at Molly but it's not angry, it's almost like she is playing.

Sid was our Marshall Ferret. We said goodbye to him in 2012. He was amazing! Great with kids and other animals, but a total goofball. He definitely lived up to the typical ferret personality and a total thief! Sid's favorite thing to steal was pacifiers. He would take them right out of a baby's mouth if given the opportunity and then take off running! He always hid everything in the same place, so at least we knew where to find them, but of course they were always ruined. Anything rubber was in danger of ending up in the said spot. We definitely miss having him around.

Chloe is Cairn Terrier. She is a blast to have around and I'm definitely sold on the terrier family! She is great with the kids and loves spending time outside. She is a great woodchuck hunter and will sit at an occupied hole all day till she catches one. Even in the winter time she will spend forever out there and come back looking like a snowman. She loves to swim and will swim in any temperature water. She loves to mother other animals. Whether it be kittens from the barn, Case, or her own litter of puppies, she is a great mother! We have since fixed her. Although I'm sad there won't be another litter, it's for the best with the probability of us moving and having to find a new vet.

Meet Molly, our newest dog addition :) After taking some time to heal after losing Case, we decided that our household wasn't the same without a big dog around and we were missing something. So we took the plunge and went full out this time. Molly is a purebred, mis-marked mantle, Great Dane :) She has grown into one good looking pup! I'm still in love with this old picture though, so I'm not changing it! She stands about 31 inches at the shoulder and weighs over 100lbs (although honestly I'm not sure how much over because I can't lift her anymore!) She is great with the kids and loves to cuddle. She shares our bed and is the biggest baby ever. She is very protective and does not like when anyone is pinned down. She is right there to break up the "fight" LOL We love her to pieces!

When Doug's sister and her husband started breeding rabbits, I had a feeling deep down that it was only a matter of time....Here she is! Peterette started out as "Peter". When Madalyn realized "he" was actually a "she", she settled with Peterette. :) Peterette is a flemish giant, which according to what I have read is the Great Dane breed in the bunny world! Figures right? She is super sweet, very laid back and loves to be cuddled and pet. She'll stick her nose out of her cage when you enter the room just so you will scratch it!