9 years

Happy Anniversary (late) to the man who makes my heart race.

seven little birdies

I just finished sewing and stuffing the last of these little birdies I made using this pattern.

My plan is to put them together with twigs in some way for a mobile for the girl birdie's nursery.  She's almost 4 months old and I'm still working on her room.  Unfortunately, that's the way we roll around here.





These little birds were so much fun to make!  My mom and I chose the fabrics months ago, and it was interesting to come up with the color combos for the birds' bodies and bellies.

All the sewing was done by hand, which was new for me.  I'm used to whipping things up on my machine.  It was very satisfying to sew each stitch by hand.  Time consuming, but satisfying.

Stay tuned for the finished mobile...

hey, wuh! Wock ben!

There are some songs that we currently are lovin' on in our nest these days.

Do ya'll know the bluegrass band Old Crow Medicine Show?  Perhaps the song Wagon Wheel rings a bell?

Here's a link  It's a live version because I almost linked to the music video and then I remembered my grandma reads this blog...

Well, Baby Boy Birdie is kind of totally obsessed with Wagon Wheel.  It's to the point that every time we get in the truck he immediately says, "WAGON WHEEL!  Please."  Only here's the funny part.  If you know the boy, you know how talkative he is, and how huge his vocabulary is, but for some reason, homeboy cannot get the words right to this song.

The chorus goes:
Rock me mama like a wagon wheel,
Rock me mama any way you feel,
Hey, mama, rock me.
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain,
Rock me mama like a south bound train,
Hey, mama, rock me.

Baby Bird's verson goes something like:

Wock ben, wike WAGON WHEEL!
Wock ben, wike southbound twain!
HEY!  WUUH!  WOCK BEN!!

Oh. Help. Me.  It is so funny!  The other funny thing is that you CANNOT correct him.  He apparently likes his version the best.

Another song we like, and I'm really even embarrassed to write this, but Jason Aldean's Dirt Road Anthem is permanently stuck in my head these days!

Sorry Jason Aldean, you ain't got a thing on Daddy Bird.

Here's a link.

This is not the type of song I usually go for, but it's kind of a guilty pleasure.

Part of the chorus says:

Smoke rollin' out the window,
An ice cold beer chillin' in the console.

I know, I know Mom.  This may not be the best parenting decision I've ever made, but I'm sure you did some questionable things too. 

We change the words to:
I'm playin' with my backhoe,
An ice cold milk chillin' in the console.

Boy Birdie sings it for all he's worth.

Do any of ya'll have songs you can't stop singing?

basement bathroom

I haven't done a basement update for ya'll in forever.  We took a bit of a break working on things after baby girl was born, but that was ages ago it seems.

The tile is finished, and the cabinet has been installed.

I'm really happy with how the cabinet turned out.  I don't have a great photo of just the cabinet, but you can kind of see it here:

If you think custom cabinets are way out of your price range, look into a local cabinet maker.  Chino Ross at Countryside Cabinets built this for us for less than what we had priced at Lowes.  Plus, we were able to get exactly what we wanted.

We went with hickory wood and kind of a pecan finish.  I really like simple, clean lines so the doors are a shaker style.



I must confess, I really wasn't crazy about the tile that we chose at first.  Daddy Bird really loved it though, so I compromised.  Now that it's in the room I really do like it.

The area to the left of the bathtub is going to be open shelving.  We just have to get the shelves in.

We used the large 12x12 tiles everywhere, but a little over half way up the tub wall, Daddy Bird put in this brick pattern for a few rows.  I like the interest it gives, and it breaks things up a bit, don't you think?

All that's left is painting, putting in the shelves, and installing the light fixture and mirror over the vanity. 
We're almost finished with the bathroom! 

I'm looking for a reasonably priced large mirror to hang over the vanity.  I've thought about checking at Garden Ridge.  Any other suggestions?

jr. league horse show

How was your weekend?

Ours was busy, but great.

A few weeks ago, one of Daddy Bird's vet school classmates called and asked us to join he and his wife for an evening at the Junior League Horse Show.  Of course, we were thrilled to join them!  Brad is a veterinarian at Rood and Riddle, an amazing equine veterinary practice in Lexington, and they were sponsoring a class at the show.

We had great seats.

Hello there.

Can you tell how great our seats were?

The evening was great.  No kids.  Adult conversation.  Catching up with friends.  Not too hot, and just a little sprinkle of rain.  Just enough rain to make my hair frizz.

That's ok.  My life is just one big bad hair day.

Brad and his wife Susie are some of our dearest friends.  Like, the kind of friends you don't see every day, but when you get together it's like no time has passed.

As I mentioned before, Brad and Daddy Bird were friends at Auburn.  We have lots of crazy fun memories with Brad, one in particular involving catfish, and illegal fishing at night.  Another involving a hurricane.

The best word to describe Susie is delightful.  She is honestly one of the nicest people I know, and always fun to be around.  I remember when Brad and Susie started dating, and I think I told him something like "you'd better not mess this up, Brad."

He didn't, thankfully.

Why yes, I am currently nursing.  Why do you ask?

Anyway, back to the horse show.

I know nothing about Saddlebreds.  Daddy Bird knows more than I do, since he was an equine vet in the Saddlebred capitol of the world, but when it comes right down to it, we are quarter horse people.  Cow horse people.

We try to make our horses calmer, and quieter.  We use our horses for work.

We do not shake plastic bags at our horses.  We do not shoot off fireworks at our horses.  I find this absolutely fascinating and hillarious.

Like I said, I know nothing about Saddlebreds, but I do have an appreciation for them.  I think they are very beautiful, and incredible athletes.  I appreciate the amount of time and training that is involved to allow these horses to compete at this level.

And there's just something really fun about Saddlebred shows.  They are truly spectator sports.  I love the people watching, and all the yelling and hooting, and I love to hear trainers yelling instructions to their riders.

We were in a box right next to a trainer and it always cracks me up to hear things like, "more leg!  more leg!  too much leg!!!!!"  and "sit baaaaack!!  sit back farther than you've ever sat in your life!!!!"

We were all obsessed with this grey horse.

He may have been a total plug, I have no idea, but he was so pretty!

Thanks Brad and Susie for treating us to such a fun night out!

twins

We had a cool thing happen this year.  One of our mama cows had twins.

It's not a super unusual thing to happen with cattle, but it's also not an extremely desirable thing.  What happens a lot of times is that when a cow has twins, she has trouble feeding them both, and neither one thrives the way they should.  Or one thrives, and the other does poorly.

This is not the case here.  Both calves look pretty great!  And mama seems to be doing well too.  Daddy Bird thinks that some cows are prone to having twins.  I'll take his word for it - he is a veterinarian, right?

We're pretty sure this same mama had twins last year, and I ended up bottle raising one of them.  Ugh.  Not cool.

I told Daddy Bird there would be no bottle raising this year.

Luckily, there's no need this time!  I feel for this mama though.  I'm nursing one baby and it seems like it's all I do some days.  I can't imagine nursing two!

Although, all she has to do is graze.  She doesn't have to cook, clean, and do laundry.  And her husband's not around, asking her to do things for him.

Ah, the life of a cow.



so...what's a csa?

Our friends, Shane and Mary Courtney (along with their 2 kids) are a farming family in the truest sense of the word.  Shane and Mary both grew up on farms, but following college they each took jobs that were in the field of agriculture, but not actually farming.  A few years ago, the Courtneys decided to buy a farm, and transition into farming full-time.  They raise tobacco, but in an attempt to diversify, vegetables were added to what they grow.  Shane and Mary raise over 90 varieties of produce. 

Makes my little garden with tomatoes and squash look kind of small.

Last year the Courtneys began a Community Supported Agriculture program, or CSA.  In a CSA, members partner together with a farmer, in this case Shane and Mary, by buying a "share" of the produce raised.

A CSA has many benefits. 

 Members are able to enjoy fresh, local produce that was picked usually that morning instead of days ago and then shipped across the country.

It's like having your own garden but without all the work!

The benefit I appreciate the most is knowing exactly where your food comes from.  We have a personal relationship with the farmer that grew our veggies.  I like that, and I like being able to support another local farmer.

We purchased a share this year and each week we pick up our bag of produce.  It's so exciting to see what's waiting in that heavy green bag!

Rainbow swiss chard!   How beautiful is that?  I used it to make a really yummy greens and eggs recipe from the Courtney's website.

A sunburst patty pan squash.  Pretty, huh?

Here's my favorite...

Beets, ya'll.

I love me some beets.

We're not talking the canned pickled beets you get on the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday.

I'm talking, I watched Mary Courtney pull these beets fresh out of the ground this morning, beets.

Did you know if you clean fresh beets and trim the tops and bottoms off, wrap them in a foil packet with some olive oil and roast them at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or so, something magical happens?

When they cool, you can peel them, slice them and serve them with some kosher salt and pepper if you like.

Oh. My.

Who knew something as homely looking as a beet could taste so good!

I encourage you to investigate CSAs in your area.  If you live around the Shelbyville/Louisville, KY area, check out our friends the Courtneys.

If you live elsewhere, check out http://www.localharvest.org/ to find a CSA in your area.

Have a great week ya'll!

it's official!

Bluegrass Beef (our grassfed beef business) officially has beef for sale!

You can read more about it today on our friends the Courtneys' website and blog.

Mary and Shane Courtney are a local farming family that also run a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture.  They have graciously allowed us to partner with them to offer our grassfed beef to their CSA members, and non-members alike.

What is a CSA you ask?

Read more about it on the Courtneys' site, and stay tuned here for a post on that topic soon.

We will also sell beef privately to family, friends, and others, but buying through the Courtney's site allows you to support 2 local farming families at once.

More to come!

a happy day!

Today my beautiful mom turned another year older better.

My cousin Meredith was also in for a visit from Atlanta.

I loaded up the birdies and headed to Lexington for a day spent relaxing with family.  I must say it was wonderful!

We celebrated over dinner on the patio at Harry's.

Mom and Dad.

My Aunt Sue and Big "D"

Of course this stinker.

The girl birdie getting some snuggles.

We topped the evening off with Gigi's cupcakes.

Please, please do yourself a favor and DO NOT Google how many calories are in one of these suckers.  Just enjoy, and try not to think about it.

Happy birthday, Mom!  Here's to another great year!

my new normal

It's been 12 weeks since I had the Baby Girl Bird, and I swear, I'm just now starting to feel back to normal.

Ish.

My new normal.

That's really what it is, and now that I've accepted that I now have a new normal, life is moving much more smoothly. 

I knew life would be different when we had our first, and so I felt more prepared for that new normal.  I had no idea that things would change so much yet again with two!

I've really been in a funk this time around, but now it seems like the fog is clearing a bit, and we're settling into our new normal.

I'm learning things again.  Like, how to ask for help, and how to accept help when it is offered.

I'm learning to accept and make the most of the "or" instead of wishing longingly after the "and".

Clean the house or take a shower.

Write a blog post or wash the dishes.

I just can't do it all.

Things still get done, they just get done much more slowly than they used to.

The new normal isn't bad, it's just different, and it's taken me 12 weeks to learn that. 
I'm a slow learner.
And stubborn.
Ask Daddy Bird, and my Mom.

I honor of discovering and accepting my new normal, here is a random compilation of what's been happening in our new normal life lately:

My mom came over last Tuesday and watched both kids ALL DAY so I could just clean my house.  Do ya'll know how awesome it feels to just have a clean house again?  I feel like I can relax in my own home again.

We went on vacation a few weeks ago and I feel like it was a turning point for the Girl Birdie and I.  She is crying much, much less, sleeping more, and is just more enjoyable to be around.  I've also moved her into her own room and I feel really good about that.  It was time.  We're all sleeping much better now.

Speaking of vacation, yes, that is Daddy Bird in shorts.  Don't count on seeing that again any time soon.

Things have really picked up with our grass fed beef business.  We have a name - Bluegrass Beef, and we're planning on having beef available in about a month.

Our Red Bull is getting big!  He's in with the cows now and loving life. :)

This is what we did on Sunday, in the blazing heat and dust:

I ruined a great pair of sandals because someone didn't tell me I was going to be working gates, and sorting cattle in the dirt and manure.  Arrggghhh!

At least we got the job done, right?

 See this?

This is probably the last bottle baby girl bird took well.  Apparantly the princess has decided she is too good for bottles!

All kidding aside, this is not good.  Any advice in this department would be appreciated.  I bought some of the Tommy Tippee bottles the other day (they seemed a bit more realistic)and we've seen a little improvement, but not much.  I'm not giving her formula in the bottle, just breast milk.  Any advice?  Please?

Mama needs a date night.

I went on my first solo trip to Target with both birdies this morning.  Things went really well.  Another confidence boost for this Mama Bird.

I have so many blog post ideas rattling around in my brain right now, so I hope to begin to be a bit more prolific in that department. 

For now, I'm off to do some laundry.  It piles up around here.