The Children's Bike Building

Shawn has been working really hard on this for a little while.  He's not one to let a project sit unfinished, but the snow and ice delayed him getting it done as fast as he wanted.  We were originally going to purchase one of the pre-built storage buildings that would just be delivered to our property, but after figuring up the costs we realized that Shawn could build one for half the cost.  So, that's what he did.

 He began by framing a 10' x 10' floor, elevating and leveling it with concrete blocks.

 Next came the frame of the walls.

 The walls were held in place by 5-year-old Andrew while Shawn nailed them down.  He said in a few years he'll have Andrew in charge of construction and Shawn can hold the boards for him.

 The roof is 8 1/2 feet high at the front and 6 1/2 feet high in the rear.

 The walls and roof are made from sheets of OSB (a type of strong plywood) and sheets of metal were used on top instead of roofing shingles for durability and longevity.  (You can see here that the children are already anxious to move things in!)

During the snow and the cold, Shawn installed the doors and did some finish work.  A ramp will be added and the wood treated with a waterproof stain once the weather improves.

Now my job starts.  I need to sort through all the bubbles, sidewalk chalk, balls, trucks, outdoor games, and ride-on toys to see how everything should be best organized.  Shawn's relieved that now the shop can actually be used as a shop!

Oh, and this was his project last month, an implement shed that he built behind the barn.  He's been busy despite the cold!

2012 Garden Update

Yes, we're still here. We've just been very busy and computer-time hasn't been a priority.

I wanted to take some time to talk about changes on our homestead this year. We've been adding things, improving things, organizing things, experimenting with things...we've been busy! We've changed things in several areas, but I want this post to focus on the garden.

Since we had big plans for the garden this year I knew that I'd have to be organized if there was any way we'd succeed at keeping everything alive. So, I took some time this winter and planned out our garden.


I also made up a binder with each month's homestead duties listed. This way I won't go to do something (like prune fruit trees or start seeds inside) and realize that I should've already done it last month.

Based on the past couple years, Shawn and I knew that the two of us are no match for the number of weeds that this property can produce. So, we took drastic measures this year and decided to mulch our entire garden with wood chips. We got the idea for this by watching "Back To Eden." It's a free movie available online. So, we are currently covering our garden with wood chips as we plant an area. Then Shawn is also collecting grass clippings every time he mows. We're adding the grass clippings to the top of the wood chips in the garden.

Everything was going great until a couple nights ago when we got a last-minute frost. Now everything is a little burned in the garden. I think it'll all survive, but it doesn't look nice and pretty like it did before the frost.

Carrots


Peas are being grown on cattle-panel arbors


Cauliflower and cabbage


Blueberries


Turnips


Beets (background has arbors where green beans and cucumbers will be planted)


Garlic and onions


Potatoes being grown in tires (one of our experiments this year.) As the plants get taller we'll add another tire to the stack and fill it with dirt. The theory is that the potatoes will grow vertically and fill up the tires.


So, that's where we currently are in the garden. Lord willing, I'll add separate posts here detailing what we're doing in the orchard, vineyard, and with the animals on the homestead.

Wonderful Monotony

Today I made a trip to the big city. It had been six days since I left our property. I think some people's jaws may have just dropped to the floor at the fact that I just spent nearly a week at home. However that's really not all that uncommon. We live far enough out now that it is a decent undertaking to go into town. If I'm going to load up all three kids and drive 35 minutes into town, then I need a pretty good reason. Also, I'm going to make real sure that the trip into town is worthwhile. I plan my stops and try to get everything done in one trip. I think it's a little funny that the kids now know which shoes are their "town shoes" and which outfits are their "going to town clothes."

Ten years ago, if you had told me that I needed to spend six days at home, I probably would've balked. What in the world would I do at home for six days? Well, I guess what I do now could be considered monotonous. However, I really enjoy the monotony. I don't like drama. I enjoy life rolling along at a nice, even pace. Doing the mundane is a joy for me.

Living in this rural area gives me a chance to stay home and live a wonderfully monotonous life. I while back I made up a schedule that fit our family. I have it up on the refrigerator. Momma and Daddy's chores are printed in black and the children's duties are printed in red. If the kids ever fuss over doing something, I point to the list and say, "See what time it is...It's time for (whatever they're fussing about.)" It works for my kids and makes life easier for me. Anyhow, here's our daily schedule:

7:00-8:00
Children: Computer time
Momma: Bible study, then fix breakfast

8:00-9:00
Eat Breakfast at 8:00
Children: Clean off table, get dressed, brush teeth, make beds, then play with toys
Momma: Get dressed, make bed, wash dishes

9:00-10:00
Children: Movie time
Momma: Morning chores, feed chickens, start laundry, meal prep

10:00-11:00
Snack time at 10:00 then take honey medicine
School time – read books, play games, study outside

11:00-12:00
Children: Play with toys
Momma: Prepare lunch, check email

12:00-1:00
Eat lunch at 12:00
Children: Clean off table, clean up toys
Momma: Wash dishes

1:00-3:30
Children: Quiet time in bedrooms
Momma: Afternoon/outdoor chores then computer time

3:30-4:00
Snack time, then outside play time

4:00-5:30
Momma: Prepare supper
Children: Daddy time/School time

5:30-6:30
Eat supper at 5:30
Children: Clean off table then play outside
Momma: Wash dishes, sweep floor
Daddy: Put chickens to bed

6:30-7:30
Children: Bath time then play with toys
Momma: Tomorrow’s meal prep

7:30-8:00
Family time, then clean up toys

Every family's list will look different, but this one is working for us right now. It really has been helpful in keeping our monotony productive!

Menu-Planning Monday

I bet you all thought I had disappeared, huh? I'm finally taking the advice from my friend Suzanne (Hi Suzanne!) and posting something new on here. She told me several days ago that she's tired of looking at pumpkin!

So...new post time.

I used to be so very good at planning out my menu every week. At one time I even got motivated enough to plan it out two weeks ahead of time. Here lately, though, meal plans have been made around 3pm every day. Since we now eat in a way that requires some preparation, that makes for some pretty hectic evenings!

I'm proud to announce that I have my meal plan made for the week! I know you're all dying to know what we'll be eating this week, so here it is:

Breakfasts
homemade granola cereal and milk
pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins
leftover muffins
oats with maple syrup and milk (two mornings)
pancakes
leftover pancakes

Lunches
leftovers
grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit
cheese quesadillas and fruit

Suppers
Beef stir fry with rice, pineapple
Fettucine Alfredo with Broccoli and Chicken, spinach salad
Seasoned Rice and Beef, green beans, boiled carrots
Laura's Probeans, spinach salad
Grilled steak, corn, sweet potatoes
Monterey Chicken with Potatoes, guacamole and chips
Beef and Potato casserole, peas, boiled carrots

Snacks
apples
bananas
peanuts
pumpkin seeds
sunflower seeds

It is such a relief to already have this planned out. My day goes so much smoother with a little pre-planning. I know I have everything on hand to make these meals. I already have the necessary meats thawing in the fridge for use later this week. Yay for organization!

And I promise that it won't be another week before I post again. I already know that I'm going to do a post on decorating birthday cakes with natural food colorings. I have the pictures and everything ready to go. So, I promise in the next couple days I'll have that one put up here.