Mama Bird

mommy break

2012-02-07T22:29:00.000-05:00

Daddy Bird and the babies went to spend the night at his parent's house tonight.

Yep. You read that right.

BOTH baby birds went with their Daddy Bird and left me in the nest ALONE.

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus.

Oh my word, I have such a conflicted desire to get a ton of things done around here, and sit on the couch and do nothing.

I plan on being productive tomorrow, but tonight I have a date with the couch, the TV and the computer.

In other news, did you watch Smash last night? I'm thinking it's going to be worth watching.

I'm reading The Omnivore's Delimma right now, by Michael Pollan. I'll give y'all a review when I'm finished. I'll say this - it's got me thinking A LOT about my food and where it comes from, and what goes into producing it.

I'm going to sleep in tomorrow.

Did anyone else just HAVE to be outside today? I'm enjoying this warm weather immensely.

I'm going to clean my house tomorrow.

We have 2 baby calves on the ground! I need to get some photos for y'all. They are pretty cute.

I was just thinking about this time last year. I was preggers:

With this one:

Oh my word she is almost 10 months old!

Did I mention I'm sleeping in tomorrow?

product love

2012-02-05T23:00:00.000-05:00

Hey, y'all.

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I'm in a bit of a bloggy funk I guess! I've got lots to say, and lots on my mind, but not much time to blog. I'm also short on photos, and posts are more fun with photos.

Enough excuses!

So, I'm a bit of a make-up and hair product junkie. Between Christmas gifts, Christmas money, and a recent trip to Sephora where I let a "fancy" man put make-up all over my face, I've been loving on some new, and not so new beauty products! Let me show you what I'm loving:

First up, High Definition Foundation from Make Up For Ever.

Wow. This stuff is great! My 31 year old skin is starting to look a little not so great these days. I'm not sure if it's just my age, or nursing, or pregnancy or a combo of the afore mentioned, but this foundation does the trick! It has great coverage without feeling or looking heavy, and a little goes a looong way. It's going to run you a bit more than your drug store brand, but it's well worth the extra cash. It looks especially great when applied over:

Mattifying Pomegranate Primer from Korres.

I had never tried a primer before and I was given a sample at Sephora. A very large sample thank goodness! I had never tried a primer before but man oh man I do love it. It all but makes my pores disappear, and that's been a major issue for me lately. I'm going to be pretty sad when this sample runs out and I actually have to spring for a tube of this little baby.

Next,

My new foundation goes on even more smoothly when I use the foundation brush from this set:
Professional Airbrush Set from Sephora.

I went a little wild at Sephora. Christmas money was burning a hole in my pocket.

I had never used a brush to apply foundation and I love it! It really does make my skin look super smooth.

Speaking of smooth, my hair is anything but. Y'all have seen the curly mop that is my hair. My hair is so dry and frizzy, I HAVE to use some sort of product every time I style it. Daddy Bird's Aunt Janie is a beautician and she introduced me to this little combo of moisture for my dry locks:

Farouk Royal Treatment Pure Hydration Shampoo by Chi and,

Chi Silk Infusion leave in treatment.

These are not new products, but they are new to me. I think they've made my hair less dry and more shiny. I really love the Silk Infusion, and it's great whether I'm leaving my hair curly or attempting to straighten it (why do I bother?).

Another hair product I love is:

Aveda Be Curly Curl Enhancer.

I love, love Aveda products, and this one has been great for taming the curls. It's lightweight and not crunchy. Love it.

Here's one my Mom in Law gets all the credit for,

Ultra Balm, baby.

Ok, this one is a splurge. If I was not given this as a gift, I may not buy it for myself, but, a little does go a long way, and it is really, really great stuff. My heels are nasty dry. This stuff, along with a daily rasping with the trusty Ped Egg, is slowly softening the nastiness. Sorry to be so graphic, but it's really bad. As in, the Boy Birdie touched my heel a few months ago and said "ouch! Mommy you cut me with your foot!" Ahhh, from the mouths of babes.

To top off my pedicure, I love

Essie nail polish.

I love that I can pick up Essie at Target and even some Wal Marts now. I love Essie's colors and I feel like the durability of the polish is excellent. I'm really hard on polish, you know, with the cows and all. I actually worked cattle in my last manicure with Essie and didn't get a single chip. Now that's sayin' something.

Here's a little trade out I learned recently. I'm a HUGE fan of Lancome's Hypnose Mascara. Like, I wear it everyday. If I was stranded on a desert island I would take my Hypnose. Well, in December I ran out of the stuff (AAAKKK!) and I thought I was probably getting some for Christmas so I didn't want to buy any. I decided to try this $5 beauty

Maybelline Falsies Flared Mascara

Dang if it's not a good substitute! I'm going to keep buying this stuff. What a steal.

There are my current favorite beauty finds. What are yours?

OH, PS, None of these are paid endorsements, duh! None of these companies could give a crap about how I feel about their products, I just wanted to share with y'all!

meet john

2012-01-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

This is John.

You'll have to excuse the quality of these photos, as John is kind of an elusive guy. Not the type that's going to cheese for the camera.

John is the wonderful man who happens to own the farm that Daddy Bird and I recently began renting to graze our mama cows and baby calves. They get to live here and have their babies here until the babies are weaned and we take them to the other farm to "finish".

John is in his mid-80s and until this past September, this farm was John's dairy farm. He and his family moved to this land in the mid 1940's and he's been milking ever since. That kind of dedication blows me away, because, y'all, being a dairy farmer is tough business!!

John's "retirement" from dairy farming worked out really well for us because we were able to move our mamas here to this beautiful place.

They love it here, let me tell you!

John is an amazing landlord as well. He checks on our cows every day and feeds them hay when we can't get out to do it.

Maybe at some point I'll get John to smile for the camera but until then, this is what you get

Have a great week!

hot dog chowder

2012-01-18T15:17:00.002-05:00

I have a confession to make. I LOVE hot dogs.

I realize some of you may be throwing up in your mouth at the thought of eating a hot dog, so I'm sorry. But I really do like them.
Bratwurst too. And Knockwurst. And any other type of wurst or sausage or hot dog like thing you can put on a bun.

I'm a bit of a hot dog snob though. I will not eat just any hot dog. I don't like the cheapie ones. I will pay a bit more for the good hot dogs. It's worth it.

I know they are "not very healthy".
I know we "don't really know what's in them".
I know they are probably full of "leftover parts".
(I'm picturing Chris Farley here in all his "Matt Foley Motivational Speaker" glory)

But hot dogs are tasty folks, so go ahead and embrace them.

Here's a recipe I've enjoyed for years, thanks to our family friends Bruce and Karen Dungan. The Dungans make their famous Hot Dog Chowder at group gatherings when the weather gets cool. It's a great, tasty way to feed a crowd, or just your family, and it's really budget friendly. I'm not going to lie and say it's really healthy, because it's not. But it's not too bad either.

If you're lucky, it's a good way to get your kiddos to try some veggies as well. I made this the other night and the boy birdie ate vegetables he normally would not. Probably by accident, but who cares, right?

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Karen and Bruce Dungan:

2 cups diced raw potatoes
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen mixed vegetables (I use a little extra)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tbs. snipped parsley (can use fresh or dried)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3/4 tsp. salt
8 oz . hot dogs, thinly sliced (5-6 hot dogs)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. white pepper (or regular black pepper)
3 cups milk
2 Tbsp butter or margarine

In a saucepan, combine potatoes, vegetables, onion, parsley, bouillon cubes and salt. Add 1 cup water; bring to boiling. Cover and boil gently for 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add hot dog slices. Blend flour, white pepper and milk. Stir into vegetables; bring to simmer. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Add butter or margarine (you could leave this out to cut calories, but I usually don't. Come on!). Top servings with paprika and serve.

So how do you feel about hot dogs? Love them? Hate them? Try this soup and you might learn to love them!

happy new year

2012-01-15T15:43:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year...a few days late!

I'm still here, just too ~~busy~~ lazy to upload photos from my camera to my computer and y'all need to see some pictures for my posts to be interesting, right?

I'll be back in the next couple of days, I promise.

In the meantime, here are a few happings from here at the nest:

We were all sick over Christmas. Like, sick for 3-4 weeks. Merry Christmas to us.
Our first calf of the year was born! Pictures to come.
The girlie bird is 9 months old! Can you believe it! She is all. over. the. place.
The boy birdie got 1.4 million tractors and other farm paraphanalia for Christmas. Tractors are all. over. the. place.
Winter is upon us. Remember my boot problem from a few months back? It's about to reach an all time high (or low). I dug a chunk of what I am telling myself was dirt (ahem) out of the girlie bird's mouth the other day. I don't have to tell you whose boots that came from. Hint - they weren't mine.
Daddy Bird did take the kids to his parents' place the other day so I could spend a little quality time cleaning the nest. 6 hours of "me time" later, I can now say my home is presentable.
I've got some new recipes for you. One involves hot dogs.
The basement is so close to being finished I can hardly stand it.

Ok, enough updating!
I'll be back soon, promise.

nativity

2011-12-19T10:53:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite childhood memories of Christmas was setting up the nativity every year. We had one with lots of pieces: shepherds, wise men, lots of animals, and a stable that my dad made (I think) probably before I was born. I loved arranging the figures in the stable.

Until this year, the only nativity we had was a little one my mom gave us when we lived in our trailer in Alabama.

It's so cute, but I'd been thinking that we needed something a little larger, and maybe something with more pieces.

My Aunt Sue and Uncle David (Big D) came over for dinner last week and brought us a wonderful, wonderful Christmas gift! A new nativity set!

I'd had my eye on this nativity from Willow Tree and Aunt Sue read my mind. I love it!

The little sheep are so cute.

And the donkey with his floppy looking ears:

And this is my favorite part:

In so many nativity scenes, the baby Jesus is shown in the manger, but in this scene, Mary is holding him. I love that! You mamas out there know Mary probably spent a great deal of time in those first few days just holding, feeding and loving on her little baby. It just makes this nativity all the more sweet to me.

Do you have a special nativity scene in your house?

then and now

2011-12-12T21:47:00.000-05:00

Daddy Bird was out checking on our weanling calves last week and snapped a few pictures. It was really interesting to see how much these calves have grown since they were born!

I'm going to do a little comparison for y'all with the pictures taken when they were born in March. Keep in mind these calves were raised on their mothers' milk and grass.

Here's a little Angus Charolais cross steer wading in the creek at about a week old.

Here's the same steer at approximately 9 months and 600 lbs!

Here's a little black and white faced cutie.

Here's the same steer now! Not quite as cute.

This photo was taken the day this little lady was born.

This is her today. Her Mama is always the first cow to greet us when we come out to move them to a new pasture. We're thinking about keeping her to breed next year.

This is my favorite calf of the whole bunch. The red calf in the front.

Here she is today. I'm keeping this one whether Daddy Bird wants to or not.

It's amazing to me how much these calves have grown in almost 9 months. We'll do another comparison at a year.

Next year's calf crop should start arriving in 3 months or so!

round up

2011-11-15T23:19:00.000-05:00

A couple of times a year Daddy Bird and I help our good friends the Paces round up and work their cattle.

I've known Clint

and his dad Fred

almost as long as I've known Daddy Bird.

Fred recently married one of the most kind and delightful women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Caroline and Fred are truly perfect for each other!

Just look at the newlyweds!

Anyway, back to the cattle. Depending on the time of year we gather approximately 100 head of cows and their calves and either work them, wean them, sort them, or whatever else needs to be done.
Gathering the cows wouldn't be such a big deal except for the fact that they are on like 300 acres and it's just one big field with lots of places for them to hide, a creek or 2 to cross, and they really don't want to be rounded up in the first place.

I wish I had some photos of the whole rounding up cattle drive process, but honestly it takes all my concentration to make sure my horse and I are in the right place at the right time and not allowing any stragglers to get past us. I can't do that and take pictures at the same time!

There are always stragglers. Here's Clint bringing up the last of the group

After we herd all the cattle into the holding pens, the sorting begins. This time we were weaning, so the calves had to be seperated from the cows. It's during this process that I'm always amazed that no one gets killed. It's usually a bit of a rodeo.

Something always gets roped.

Here are some random snapshots from the day. I'll let them speak for themselves.

Whew what a day! I always leave filthy and tired and sore, but it's such a treat to spend a day outdoors, enjoying nature, my horse, and my friends and family.

i'm back

2011-11-11T11:38:00.000-05:00

Wow! Wowee! Wowza!
I feel like I have been absent from this blog for an eternity!
We've had a lot going on around here, including, but not limited to:
-moving part of our cattle to a new farm
-attending the KY Women in Agriculture Conference
-taking the baby birds to their first rodeo
-weaning calves, and working cows, both for ourselves and a friend
-a day and a date night spent with the Daddy Bird (we needed that!)
-just living life in our normal busy fashion.

I want to share with y'all why I took a little break from the old bloggy and also some of the thoughts that have been rolling around in my head.
But for now, Happy Friday!

2 week hiatus

2011-10-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

Y'all, I am taking a 2 week break from the blog to do a little refocusing.

Hope you'll meet me back here in a couple of weeks - I've got lots to share with you!

See you soon!

a visit to my grandma's

2011-10-17T12:12:00.000-04:00

Last week I packed up the baby birds and headed down for an overnight visit with my grandma.

We basically just relaxed and enjoyed spending time with "Ma" as we call her. We did spend some time enjoying the outdoors.

Playing in the leaves:

Finding pinecones for our "collection"

And I spent time just soaking in the details of Ma's house.

My grandparents built this house in 1971. It's the very last house on a dead end road, several miles out of town in the county. When they built, I think they were the only house out here.

The house is very rustic on the outside. Lots of stone and wood.

The property backs up to some woods, and if you walk through the woods, you are right on Green River Lake. My grandfather loved to fish and at one time, my grandparents ran the county boat dock on the lake. I vividly remember Granddaddy cleaning and scaling fish on the counter in Ma's kitchen. She tolerated that better than I probably would have! Although I guess instead of fish scales, I deal with cow crap.

It is so peaceful here, like a retreat. Whenever I visit, I always feel a sense of calm and peace. So many of my best childhood memories are here as well. This is where I woke up every Christmas morning until I got married. We also spent quite a bit of time here in the summer. My grandfather would always raise a huge garden, and I remember picking beans, and helping my grandma make pickles.

Granddaddy liked roses. I remember during the summer there was always a rose or two in a vase on the kitchen table.

I could go on and on, and maybe in another post I will.

I know you're reading this Ma, so thanks for letting us invade your house whenever we like!
I love you!

wordless wednesday

2011-10-12T22:20:00.000-04:00

adapted recipe

2011-10-11T14:51:00.000-04:00

Are you an "always follow the recipe" kind of person, or do you like to improvise a bit when you cook?

My Mom and I laugh about this when we cook or sew together because she is such a rule follower. She measures things exactly and generally plays by the rules. She likes to sew from patterns, and follows the patterns exactly. That's probably why she is such a good cook and wonderful seamstress! It's kind of surprising though because my Mom is such a creative person, I would have guessed she would take more "liberties" when cooking or sewing.

I on the other hand do things differently. I like to sew things that don't use patterns, and just "figure it out". I like to pattern sew, but I'm ok with changing things up a bit as long as it doesn't affect the structural integrity of the finished product. I rarely use measuring cups when I cook, only when I bake (you do have to be really exact then). And I'm fine with substituting ingredients in a recipe with those I have on hand as long as the outcome is similar.

So I came across this yummy sounding recipe for Queso Potato Chowder in my latest Southern Living. Seriously? Is this like queso dip crossed with potato soup? Right up my alley.

I had some great looking poblano peppers and bell peppers from our CSA share this week, so they would work as the peppers in this soup. I didn't, however have the refrigerated southwestern style hashbrowns the recipe called for. I did have some regular potatoes in the pantry though, so I cubed them up and subbed them in.

I also didn't have the queso asedero cheese the recipe called for. I wish I had because I bet it's super creamy like queso dip. I did have some monterey jack cheese though, and that made a good substitution.

I had the milk and half-and-half, but I'm sure I could have used all milk to cut some calories, but who's cutting calories?

So here's the recipe. I'm giving you the original, from this month's Southern Living Magazine, and I'm showing you my substitutions out to the side.

I guess my point with this post, besides sharing a really yummy recipe, is to say, don't be afraid of substituting ingredients! It's ok to sub out similar veggies, cheeses, fruits and sometimes spices. Make it your own, you may even find you like your own version better!

Queso Potato Chowder (from the October 2011 issue of Southern Living)

1/4 C butter
1 C finely chopped red bell pepper / I used a mix of orange and red
1 C finely chopped onion
3 poblano peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 (20 oz.) package refigerated southwestern-style hash browns / I used 5 good sized Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced. Next time I'll grate them.
1/4 tsp. ground cumin / I used a bit more
2 (14 oz) cans low sodium fat-free chicken broth / I used 1 (32 oz) box
1/3 C flour / I didn't measure
1 1/2 C milk
1 C half-and-half / you could just use all milk instead of the half-and-half
1 C (4 oz) freshly shredded asadero cheese / I used Monterey Jack
1 C (4 oz) freshly shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1. Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium-high heat; add bell pepper and next 3 ingredients, and saute 4-5 minutes or until tender. Add potatoes and cumin, and saute 5 minutes or until browned and tender. Gradually stir in broth, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of dutch oven. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 25 minutes.
2. Whisk together flour and next 2 ingredients. Stir into potato mixture, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low. At this point I mashed some of the potatoes in my soup with a potato masher to further thicken the soup.
3. Add cheeses, and cook, stirring constantly, until cheeses melt and mixture is thoroughly heated.

Yummy!

Note: If anyone from Southern Living happens to read this post, I in no way meant that your recipe needed adapting! I was just too lazy to go to the store to get your required ingredients. I have read your magazine for as long as I can remember (seriously - probably not normal for a 16 year old to read Southern Living) and look forward to every issue. Over and out.

basement update (finally)

2011-10-07T13:18:00.001-04:00

We're painting! Actually Daddy Bird is doing most of the painting and he's pretty much finished at this point, but the point is, the beast that was the drywall has been conquered and there is now paint on the wall!

Of course we had different opinions on the color we should use. Daddy Bird wanted yellow (say what?!?!?!) and I wanted some boring shade of neutral. Although I love color (and I do like yellow sometimes) I just really thought with the busy pattern of the slate in the bathroom and everything else we have going on in there, yellow just wasn't my choice.

So we compromised and went with :

This shade - Antique White. It's about the shade of a stick of butter, so it's a little bit yellow, and a little bit boring, so, perfect, right? And it looks good with the tile and the flooring.

Not sure if I've shown y'all what we chose for the flooring. I love, love, the look of the really wide plank floors, and someday, in our dream home I will have them, but we chose this for the basement and I've fine with it. It should be durable, I like the look, and it was fairly easy on the pocketbook as well.

The flooring will be the next thing to go in.

So here's the wall color in the room:

Have I told y'all about this desk? I'll save that for another time.

We're going to need to make some more decisions soon. I've got to come up with some lighting options and figure out what my options are as far as window coverings.

We're getting close to being finished! I'm so excited to use this space!

the fire pit

2011-10-01T11:01:00.000-04:00

OK, let me clarify what I meant a couple of posts ago. I don't hate fall. I really don't. It's just not my favorite season. I'm trying really hard this year though. I feel the love coming...

One thing I do love about fall is the chance to make a fire in our fire pit and roast marshmallows.

Daddy Bird (and I helped a little) built this great brick patio behind our house a couple of years ago. We've just this summer been able to get some furniture out there and we added a fire pit as well.

From the time we built the patio I had envisioned some brightly colored adirondak chairs surrounding our fire pit. Daddy Bird painted these for me! I'm really loving them.

The other night we made a fire and taught the Boy Birdie the art of roasting marshmallows.

We all had a great time. Daddy Bird likes building fires.

Why do men like fire so much? The Boy Bird and Myself enjoyed toasting and eating the marshmallows.

Girlie Bird enjoyed just hanging out.

I ate so many marshmallows I almost made myself sick. It was fantastic.

There is something so relaxing about a fire, and even better when it's in your own backyard!

foggy morning

2011-09-29T14:45:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday we woke up to a really thick fog.

That dang fog was thick as pea soup. Have you ever heard that expression?

Anyway, we needed to sort out a crazy cow that Daddy Bird had been needing to sell for weeks, and we had to do it in the fog.

I went out and took feed to the cows to get them to come up into the pen, and Daddy Bird brought up the rear on Pedro.

Here come the stragglers.

Remember the twins? There they are with their mama. They're not as big as the other calves, but that's what happens with twins.

Here comes Pedro.

It was really creepy how I couldn't see anything coming until it was right up on me.

We were a bit concerned that crazy cow wouldn't come up with the rest of the herd, but everything worked out well.

It's amazing how motivating food can be.

Our other calves are getting big.

Here are the three amigos. That red heifer on the right is my favorite.

The fog burned off by late morning and we went back later in the day for the previously mentioned "nasty calf incident." We looked across the pen and saw this enormous steer:

nursing his mother through the fence! I wish I had gotten a shot of that for y'all. What makes it even funnier is
1. He's been weaned 2 times already and
2. She actually stood there next to the fence and let him do it!

If you look really closely you can see the milk dripping off his chin hair.

I guess other species have trouble weaning their babies too.

some things

2011-09-27T22:51:00.000-04:00

1. I don't really love fall.

Fall is really here in our neck of the woods, and every day I'm hearing things like "ooooh I just looove fall!" Well, I really don't love fall. I'm more of a summer fan. There are things I like about fall - football, sleeping with windows open, fall colors, so, ok, I do like fall. But I still don't love it. Fall means winter is coming. Yuck.

2. I have no less than 4 loads of laundry in baskets that are clean and waiting to be folded. Does anyone else hate folding laundry?

3. We had a really fun, really busy weekend that involved a really nasty incident with a calf. I will not be recounting said incident on this blog. All I will say is that it was nasty, and veterinary related and Daddy Bird made me help.

4. I love goldfish crackers.

5. One thing I love about blogging is getting to know people, through their blogs, that I have never met in person. I met one of those people today. I started reading Life is Full of Perks months ago, which is authored by the beautiful Lindsey, AKA Mama Perks, AKA Shubie. Shubie happens to be friends with another real life friend of mine, Rachel. She was in town for a visit and we met up tonight at Rachel's house. I felt like we were old friends already. So much fun! Great to meet you for real, Lindsey!

6. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Parenthood is one of the best shows on TV.

7. The Girlie Bird has two teeth. Ouch, if ya know what I mean.

8. The Boy Bird is pooping in the potty. I'm afraid to even talk about it, for fear I may jinx something. So I'm not going to talk about it. All I'll say is, YYYYAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

9. The drywall is finished in the basement and even has a coat of primer! A basement update is long overdue.

10. I rode a horse this weekend and walked/ran 2 miles today. Something tells me, judging by how out of shape I am currently, that I will be very sore tomorrow.

Here's to fall, teeth, poop, and getting back to getting in shape.

meet mable

2011-09-18T19:01:00.000-04:00

I realized today that I've never really introduced y'all to our dog, Mable. Poor thing, she's really moved down the food chain now that we have baby birds...

Without further ado, meet Mable:

Full name: Mable

Age: 10

Birthday: Dec. 25

Likes: Barking at cows, rolling in cow poop, barking at horses, rolling in horse poop, herding anything that moves, having her butt scratched, getting on the couch when no one is looking, stealing food.

Dislikes: Baths, being clean, the doorbell, being locked in the bedroom when guests are over.

Daddy Bird was given Mable as a gift from a friend that bred Border Collies to sell as working dogs. Mable has been part of our family before we were even a family! She's gone from being a full time outside dog when we lived in Alabama, to being a full time inside dog when we moved back to Kentucky. Needless to say we do not knowingly allow Mable to roll in poop anymore, since she lives indoors with us. Not that that stops her from an occasional romp in the poo.

Nasty.

Border Collies are great dogs, but I will say this. They. Are. Neurotic. Border Collies that have been bred as working stock will drive you insane if they do not have a job. Right now, Mable really doesn't have much of a job. Therefore, she drives me a bit insane.

I still love her though.

poor lakin

2011-09-16T14:22:00.000-04:00

We were at my grandma's house last weekend for a wedding, and my brother and sister-in-law brought their dog, Lakin. Lakin had just had surgery on one of her ears, and her bandage had come off.

Daddy Bird sprang into action.

Lakin is the best dog ever. I'm not kidding. She is such a sweetie.

I just wonder what was going through her mind.

It was probably either, "Awww man! Now all the other dogs are really going to laugh at me!" or probably more likely "ok, now how am I going to get this thing off?"

Poor Lakin. Yeah, she had that thing off in like 5 seconds. Sorry Daddy Bird.

these boots

2011-09-12T20:57:00.000-04:00

I have a little problem and I need some advice. You see, Daddy Bird, well, ok, me too, well, we have a lot of boots. There are boots for riding, boots for working, boots that you keep clean, boots that are allowed to get covered in cow crap. This is what you see when you walk into our house and look down:

Ok, one pair is mine, and one belongs to the boy birdie. The rest are Daddy Bird's.

Our house is small. Our front door is our main entrance. It's the only entrance that makes sense to use all the time. The boots are dirty. I don't want what is attached to the boots to make its way all over the house. What do I do?

Cold weather is coming. The boot problem gets worse. Add mud and snow and frozen cow and horse poop to the mix and you've got one big problem for the entry way to our home. I'm tired of a bunch of boots and shoes by the front door. Cleaning the boots thoroughly each time one enters the house is not an option.

What's a mama to do? Where should all these boots live? Any suggestions?

blessed

2011-09-08T11:28:00.001-04:00

I can't help to think how blessed I am to have this view every morning out my back door.

What makes you feel blessed today?

logo

2011-09-06T11:28:00.000-04:00

Thanks to our friend TJ Bean, we now have this fantastic logo for Bluegrass Beef!

I absolutely love it. I'm ready to plaster it all over hats and T-Shirts.

Speaking of Bluegrass Beef, we now have a Facebook Page!

Come on over and 'like" us on Facebook.

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. I'll be back soon with a post to show you what we did.

whaddya think?

2011-09-01T23:08:00.001-04:00

I've been wanting to give things a new look around here. I've still got some work to do. Not so crazy about my background anymore.

I made this header tonight using picnik. It was super easy and really fun.

The perfect way to put off doing the housework I should be doing instead of creating blog headers.

I'll be back after the long weekend. We've got lots going on - calves to work (if it's not too hot), my uncle and aunt visiting from Houston, among other things.

Happy Labor Day!

thank you

2011-08-31T15:17:00.001-04:00

Do y'all know what the 5 Love Languages are? The 5 Love Languages in a nutshell are the 5 different ways that people express and receive love. They are : words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time, physical touch, and gifts. You can read more about them here.

My Love Language is words of affirmation. This means I tend to express love to others through compliments, and kind words. I also feel the most loved when someone expresses love to me with words and compliments, either written or spoken.

I'm saying all this to say - thank you! Over the past few weeks we've had several friends kind enough to try our beef, and they've let us know how much they enjoyed it through comments on this blog, texts, voicemails, etc. This is especially meaningful to me because of that whole love language thing.

Your words have really made me feel good, and that means a lot!

If you didn't get to try the beef this time around, no worries! You'll have another chance in a month or two. You can be sure I'll let you know when it's ready.

Thanks again, y'all!

state fair

2011-08-28T14:53:00.000-04:00

We took our annual trip to the Kentucky State Fair last week.

This was the beginning of the day, fresh and full of energy. The whining had not yet begun.

My big boy birdie chose his own outfit that morning and it was just easier to roll with it. His ensemble consisted of khaki shorts, boots, a curious george t-shirt, and a belt with an enormous belt buckle. What can I say, the kid is inheriting his dad's sense of style.

We enjoyed all the exhibits, the petting zoo, the beef cattle (duh!), the border collies herding ducks, and most importantly, we enjoyed some fair food and ice cream. For me a pineapple whip. Yummy! Oh, and the duck slide. We can't miss the duck slide. I could watch that thing all day.

So what I want to know, is the duck slide a Kentucky thing, or do other states have duck slides at their fairs too? Who came up with the duck slide? Who figured out that the ducks would continue going down the slide over and over again, just to get a tiny bite of food every time?

This is how I feel about the fair:

Not really sure what's going on there, but whatever. This is how baby girl birdie feels about the fair:

This is how boy birdie feels about ice cream:

Who doesn't feel this way about ice cream, though?

summer gazpacho

2011-08-24T22:18:00.002-04:00

Do y'all know what gazpacho is?

Gazpacho is a cold, tomato based soup that can be eaten as an appetizer or a light main course. If you are like me, the last thing I want when it's 90 degrees outside is a bowl of hot soup.

Enter gazpacho. This soup is so refreshing, sometimes I just drink it from a mug instead of bothering with a bowl and spoon.

My favorite recipe for gazpacho came from my Aunt Cathy who was kind enough to share it with me!

Here's how you make it:

In a large bowl combine:

1 c. peeled tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 c. finely chopped green pepper

1/2 c. peeled, chopped cucumber

1/4 c. chopped onion (red onion is especially good or a mild sweet onion)

2 tsp. minced parsley

1 tsp. snipped chives (I leave these out if I don't have them)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

3 T. red or white wine vinegar

2 T. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

4 c. tomato juice (or more depending on how thick you like your soup)

Chill. Serve as an appetizer or cold soup.

Easy peasy. Try it, you'll like it. And, it's good for you!

And one more thing. For an easy way to peel tomatoes, get a sauce pan full of water simmering on the stove. Cut an X in the bottom of your tomatoes and place in the simmering water for about 30 seconds. Remove from the water, and the peel will come off easily with a knife.

three

2011-08-22T13:52:00.000-04:00

Ooops.

Someone around here turned three and I didn't even mention it.

There was a cake and ice cream, and lots of family, and probably the best thing was...

A new tractor!

Happy Birthday Big Boy Bird!

tragedy and hope

2011-08-21T22:44:00.001-04:00

A friend of ours passed away unexpectedly this weekend.

He was young and healthy but suffered a massive stroke. He left behind a wife and young son.

My heart breaks for this family.

His wife is devastated, of course, but generously, bravely made the decision to donate his organs. Because he was young and healthy, our friend's organs have the potential to give hope and help to 100 families!

Amazing.

I ask for your prayers tonight. For our friend's wife and son.

Hug your family. Tell them you love them.
Try not to take anything for granted - we are all so blessed.
Get right with God.

Choose to donate your organs - what an amazing, selfless gift for another person.

a few things

2011-08-15T22:53:00.001-04:00

I felt the need to share some of the stuff rattling around in my head this Monday morning. Bear with me...

We went to a wedding this weekend. An outdoor wedding. As we were seated, the rain clouds started rolling in. As the beautiful bride walked down the aisle it started to pour rain and the wind was blowing like 40 miles per hour. You know what the best part was though? No one left! They had like, the quickest ceremony ever, they kissed, everyone cheered like crazy and we all ran back to our cars! The bride and groom even took photos in the rain afterward. Daddy Bird said it was the best wedding he had ever been to.

I was married before digital photography. That makes me old.

I looked at our wedding photos last night. This is really bad - we have all the proofs, but we never ordered prints! Oops! Does that make me a bad person? Depends on who you talk to.

I love coffee. I mean I really, really love coffee. I especially love iced coffee in the summer. I've been using this recipe from the Pioneer Woman, only in decaff and I'm not sure life would be the same without it.

Girlie Bird is a really great sleeper. She has been sleeping from 10-6:30 or 7 pretty consistently for over a month now. However, for the past 2 nights she's been waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning. Seriously? What's up with that?

I got mastitis last week. Hmmm. Not fun. We're all good now though.

I really just want my son to poop in the toilet. I really do. I'm so over dirty diapers. Is there some kind of potty training camp I can send him to?

I went to a baby shower this weekend and Daddy Bird's cousin made all the food. It was
A-MAZING! I'm hoping to get some recipes to share with ya'll this week.

I may or may not have eaten a big piece of strawberry cake at the shower with the full knowledge that the Girly Bird may or may not break out in a rash when I eat strawberries. I just really needed that cake. Does that make me a bad mother? Depends on who you ask. No rash yet.

My cousin Patrick just climbed a freakin' mountain! Check it out!

Now that my brain is empty, I think I'll head off to bed.

Here's to a night of uninterrupted sleep?

what's a ruminent?

2011-08-06T13:40:00.001-04:00

Are ya'll ready for your ag lesson of the day? Here's a post written by Daddy Bird for your reading enjoyment.

How can cows and other herbivores survive on grass alone?

A cow is a ruminant, and a ruminant has four stomachs. The first stomach is called the Rumen, which is a large fermentation vat. The Rumen can hold 40 gallons of food! In this large fermentation vat (Rumen), cows have bacteria that break down grass. It is actually those bacteria, as they die in the Rumen that provide much of the nutrition and protein that the cow needs.

Have you ever heard of a cow chewing it's cud? Well, when a cow rests after grazing they will sit in the shade and chew their cud. They actually regurgitate Rumen contents and re-chew their food. This allows the cow to break down the grass into smaller pieces to make it easier to digest.

So what are the other three stomachs?
One is the Reticulum, which is a small stomach attached to the Rumen. Another is the Omasum which has multiple folds like the pages of a book. These folds absorb nutrients. Last is the Abomasum which is much like our stomach and secretes gastric acid and digestive enzymes.

So what are some other ruminants? Sheep, goats and buffalo are all ruminants.

Horses are not ruminants. They have one stomach much like ours (humans) but they also have a very large cecum (like a huge Appendix) and a very large colon. The Cecum acts kind of like the cow's Rumen and holds 8 gallons, while the horse's colon can hold approximately 20 gallons of digesting food and liquid.

Thanks Daddy Bird!

the beef is in

2011-08-05T22:46:00.001-04:00

The Girly Bird and I drove down to Marksbury Farm in Lancaster yesterday to pick up our beef. It was almost an hour and a half one way. I'm not complaining, just sayin'.

We made burgers for dinner, and if I do say so myself, the beef is goooood. There's always a bit of unknown with grass fed beef. It can taste a bit different with each steer depending on what they were eating, their age, etc. This one worked out really well, and Daddy Bird and I breathed a collective sigh of relief. Ahhhhhhh.

Then the fun began. We were up past 1 AM parceling out all the beef that had been prepurchased, and then freezing it. Ugghh. This morning came a bit too early.

All our steaks and roasts are sold. We've got lots of ground beef left. If you are local and may be interested, drop me an email at bluegrassbeefky@aol.com

Happy Friday - I'm off to bed.

a package from japan, via atlanta

2011-08-03T14:19:00.001-04:00

My Mom came over Monday and we loaded up the two birdies and took a trip to the zoo. When we got back, there was a package in the mail for the girlie bird from my cousin Meredith. Meredith lives in Atlanta, and the last time she was in town visiting she mentioned that she and her brother Patrick (also my cousin, duh!) had picked a little something up for the new little birdie when she was in Japan visiting.

Patrick lives and works in Japan. You can read all about it on his blog, which he doesn't update very often, but when he does it's super interesting. :)

Well!

I tore into the package and this is what I pulled out:

What a sweet little baby kimono!!! How thoughtful of them!

Look at these exquisite details:

The sewing part of me is nuts over this decorative stitching

And I love the little pleats on the arms

I'm seriously thinking about framing this when she outgrows it. It's really a keepsake as well as something to wear.

She looks cute in it too.

I've always really loved Asian inspired clothing and decor, so this is really the perfect gift. Thanks Patrick and Meredith!

9 years

2011-07-29T10:20:00.000-04:00

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

seven little birdies

2011-07-27T12:29:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-07-22T10:02:00.001-04:00

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

2011-07-20T10:57:00.000-04:00

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

2011-07-18T10:43:00.001-04:00

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

2011-07-15T09:54:00.000-04:00

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?

2011-07-10T22:06:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-07-08T15:58:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-07-06T23:04:00.000-04:00

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

2011-07-05T15:24:00.001-04:00

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.

surprise!

2011-06-28T11:02:00.000-04:00

My dad recently celebrated his 60th birthday, so we felt it would be a good idea to throw him a surprise party!

I'm always looking for an excuse to throw a party, so I was all over this.

My brother Stan, sister-in-law Annie and their kiddos came in for the festivities which was one of the best parts since we don't see them often. My brother arranged for he and Dad to play some golf with a couple of Dad's buddies so that got them out of the house for a few hours.

While they were gone, Annie, Mom and I went nuts getting everything ready.

The party had a golf theme, but we didn't go too overboard with that.

The menu included:

appetizers - meatballs, salsa roll ups and veggies with homemade dill dip

assorted wrap sandwiches

Spicy pasta salad with smoked gouda, tomatoes and basil

Fruit Salad

Brooke's Black Bean and Corn Dip (recipe to come)

Arnold Palmers and Lemonade

and of course, Birthday Cake!

My favorite part of the whole evening was that Dad was truly surprised!

I was so busy during the evening that I really didn't get to take many photos, but here are a few:

My brother and my adorable nephew:

The boy birdie and my niece:

The cake:

Annie did a FANTASTIC job with the cake, and also made some really great golf themed flower arrangements:

The whole evening was just such a great chance to celebrate my dad! So many of his friends were there and it was so much fun to make him the center of the celebration.

Happy Birthday Dad!

dusting off the machine

2011-06-23T13:48:00.000-04:00

I dusted off the old sewing machine recently. It had been 10 WEEKS since I last sewed ANYTHING!

We went on vacation last week and I knew I needed a nursing cover for the trip. I also wanted to make nursing covers for my lovely friends Rachel and Danielle, also the mamas of new baby girls.

Here's what I came up with.

For Danielle and baby Harper:

Danielle has such a cheerful personality, and when choosing her fabric I wanted to reflect that. I was also drawn to fabrics that included orange, probably because Danielle chose a beautiful shade of pinky orange to paint Harper's nursery. I also wanted to include brown because Danielle has used brown in her home decorating, and I think she looks great in brown.

There is a coordinating fabric to this and my plan is to make Miss Harper some other things to go along with the nursing cover. Maybe an appliqued onesie or two, some burpies and a changing pad?

I thought the fabric was really fun and retro looking.

Now, for Rachel. I didn't get a shot of her nursing cover, but here is the fabric:

I really had trouble finding something for Rachel. I knew it HAD to include pink, and for both girls I wanted something designer looking, but nothing was really jumping out at me for Rachel.

I liked this choice, because it included the pink (what I think of as Rachel's signature color), but it also had some pretty green shades as well. If you've been in Rachel's home, you've seen her bright green kitchen - beautiful! I liked that in the fabric. Also, if you look closely at the fabric, you can find some of the areas have a Morocoan lattice like pattern in them. I've seen this a lot recently in Southern decorating, and it reminds me of Rachel!

See below.

Again, as for Harper, for Miss Warren I want to make some coordinating accessories to go with the nursing cover.

Now for myself.

I really wanted something that looked non-babyish. Feminine, but not girlie. Modern and fresh, but not TOO contemporary. And, it had to include some aqua/turquoise, some brown, and some pink.

Here's what I found:

I love, love, love this paisley print, but when you combine it with the other fabrics from the line...

It gives the whole thing a middle eastern bazaar like feel. I can't wait to cut into some other projects for myself with it!

The fabrics also look good in the girl birdie's room, so I'm thinking of incorporating them in some way.

For now, I'm just happy to get a few nursing covers made!

happy father's day

2011-06-19T12:22:00.000-04:00

Happy father's day, to one great Daddy Bird!

working cattle

2011-06-18T13:54:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, we've spent a lot of time lately with our cattle. It's just that time of year. A couple of weeks ago, we had to do what's referred to as "working" our herd, and I thought I'd share with ya'll exactly what that means.

Working cattle can mean different things, depending on the time of year, and also what type of producer you are (cow/calf, vs. backgrounder). We are primarily a cow/calf operation, which means we breed cows to have babies, and then either sell those babies when they are weaned, or starting last year, we keep the babies that are suitable for us to raise to maturity for grass fed beef. When we work our cattle in the spring, it generally means we deworm them, vaccinate them, castrate any bull calves, replace ear tags on mamas and place ear tags on babies, and sort out any cattle that need to be sold for any reason.

First, we have to gather all the cattle into a large pen. We usually do this on horseback, as it is the most efficient and stress-free method for us to gather cattle. We feed them in this pen, so they usually walk in pretty well.

I don't have a shot of Daddy Bird gathering these cattle, but here's Pedro after the job was finished:

Pedro is just hanging out in case we need him again. Good job Pedro.

Once the cattle are gathered in the large pen, we must sort out and temporarily separate the mamas from the babies. This is because we run the cows through what is called a chute and head gate and the calves are a little to small to go through properly.

The sorting process is usually accomplished on foot. Here are Daddy Bird and the father-in-law sorting out the mamas. If there were audio to these photos, you'd hear a lot of arguing going on. Somehow I managed to stay out of this whole proccess this time!! That's a first.

They are saying things like, "get that one, not that one!" and "Dad, I told you stand there!" (Daddy Bird), followed by "If I knew where there was, I'd be standing in it!" (father-in-law)

It's usually pretty entertaining.

Once the mamas are sorted out into a smaller pen, we push them in small groups into a chute where they are caught in a headgate, like this:

The father-in-law isn't crazy about this mama swinging her head around!

We catch them in the head gate to hold them still so we can replace any lost ear tags (kind of like getting their ears pierced with a numbered tag), deworm them, and check to make sure they are pregnant. That's the Daddy Bird's job. It involves a long plastic sleeve:

Ah, the work of a veterinarian. You should see the laundry.

After all the mamas are finished and let back out into the pasture, it's the babies' turn. I don't have photos of this because I actually had to get out from behind the camera and help with this part. It's pretty much a rodeo though, and it involves roping the bull (male) calves, vaccinating and castrating them and placing ear tags, and then roping the heifers (females) and vaccinating and tagging them. It also involves a lot of grunting, swearing, lifting, poop and mud. I'll get some photos next time.

Then the babies are released to go find their mamas:

It always amazes me how they just go right back to whatever they were doing, just like nothing happened, while we are covered in mud, poop and blood, and sore for days from the work!

Another word about working cattle. We try to work our cattle in the least stressful way possible for them. We try to move quietly around them and get them to stay as calm as possible. We generally don't use electric cattle prods either. All this keeps things as stress-free as possible for them and for us. When cattle are stressed it keeps them from gaining weight as efficiently, and when they run around unnecessarily, it produces tougher meat.

Plus, we believe in using humane practices in handling our animals.

There's your lesson in working cattle.

Happy Saturday!

wow

2011-05-27T10:15:00.000-04:00

Wow. All I have to say is wow.

Who knew going from one baby bird to 2 would be such an adjustment!

I don't talk too much about the kids here, but right now my life consists of babies and cows, so that's what I've got to work with.

I just felt I needed to explain my break from blogging, so here goes...

Baby Girl Bird eats all. of. the time. I'm talking, she is 7 weeks tomorow and she still eats AT LEAST every 2 hours during the day, and occasionally she'll give me a 3 hour stretch at night.

I'm trying not to complain, because I know it's burning lots of calories, right? But it's really hard to get anything done with a baby attached to your boob 24/7.

It's really hard when daddy bird is working, to give the boy bird the attention he needs, so I'm learning to deal with that one.

Baby Girl Bird is much fussier than the boy birdie was. We think there are some reflux issues, and maalox helps some, but whatever it is, it causes her to cry and fuss in the evenings, some nights worse than others. This usually happens about the time I need to get the boy bathed and to bed. Whew.

All that crying does a number on your mental state.

She's such a sweetie though, and I'm trying to just focus on all the good things.

We are also in the throes of the busy season with our cattle. Everybody has calved, except for this mama and maybe one other.

She's as big as a house. I feel ya sister.

We've had to work the cows and calves (another post), sell a few, buy a few, there's just a lot going on right now. It's more difficult since Daddy Bird works his vet job, and I'm so wrapped up in Mommy mode right now. Daddy bird is spending much of his off time working on cattle stuff, and looking like this:

I'm spending most of my time either helping with it, thinking about it, or stressing out about it.

Anyway, I've lots of posts to write, if I can get around to writing them, but bear with me as I continue to make this crazy transition from 1 birdie to 2.

It's a crazy, happy, stressful time, but I'm so blessed to experience it!

2 weeks

2011-04-21T14:29:00.000-04:00

I promise to post about things other than baby birds soon, but these were too sweet to resist:

Happy Thursday!

our new baby bird

2011-04-16T19:29:00.000-04:00

April 9th 2011

10:14 AM

7 lb 1 oz

20 in long

More to come...

a busy nest

2011-04-08T09:58:00.000-04:00

Wow! It's been a long time since my last post and we've had a LOT of excitement around here!

First, ya'll probably know I'm about 8 1/2 months pregnant. About a week and a half ago I managed to gracefully fall FLAT on my enormous belly. Needless to say, Daddy Bird and I went straight to the hospital where we learned I was in labor. Great times. To make a really long story short, we spent the night in the hospital, my labor slowed down and I went home the next morning without giving birth. Yay! I spent about a week on modified bedrest and now we're in the clear. Baby girl bird is a-okay, just cooking away a little longer.

Thanks to my awesome family for helping out TREMENDOUSLY during the whole mess!

So! After that little scare, we really got a jump on some projects around here, but I'll give you updates on that later.

Yesterday was my birthday.

After I recovered from the trauma of coming to terms that I am indeed 31 years old, I really had a great day.

Some events included:

Looking out the window and seeing this in my front yard:

Ha! One of our neighbor's cows managed to wander into our front yard!

I wish I had grabbed my camera faster because she actually was almost to my front porch, looking into my windows, but I was too busy laughing. After staring at me for a few minutes, she just wandered back home. My enormous self didn't even have to run after her to shoo her away! Thank you mama cow, for sparing everyone that sight.

My rhododendren are blooming:

It's so nice to see color after a long winter.

Daddy Bird gave me a new set of outdoor furniture for my gift! I have been wanting this for years. We are outside so much of the year, I can't wait to have a comfy place to relax. He even put it together for me, with lots of "help" of course.

Why do boys like sticks?

Baby Bird was lots of help.

My angel of a Mother let us know that she WOULD be coming over to watch the Baby Bird, so Daddy Bird and I could go out to dinner together. Fantastic.

We drove over to the Old Stone Inn in Simpsonville and I enjoyed some yummy Ahi Tuna.

We snapped this before we left:

Maybe the last photo of just the three of us?

I am really huge.

To top off the evening, Mom brought over a chocolate merengue pie in lieu of a birthday cake. All I can say is YUMMY. I have been craving chocolate like crazy lately (see above photo) and this pie was like heaven.

The best part? There are leftovers.

I'll update you on what else we have going on around here soon!

tax time

2011-03-25T20:48:00.000-04:00

The Daddy and Baby Bird are at the in-laws for the night, so I have an evening and a morning OFF! I need to use my time wisely, right?

I have several blog posts I've been wanting to write, but I'm really trying to get my taxes finished.

Do ya'll prepare your own taxes, or do you pay someone to do them?

I started doing ours right after we were married, and I must admit I was a bit intimidated at first. My accountant father (not a tax accountant though) gave me a few "tax preparation lessons" and I've been doing them ever since! I will say that it's super nice to be able to call him with my random questions though.

There have been years I've considered paying someone. Like the year that between the two of us, we worked in 4 states (Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and New York). That made things a bit complicated.

Now that we have all the farming stuff to deal with as well (bring in the schedule F) - I've questioned my abilities, but Dad always convinces me to keep doing them.

There is a part of me that feels kind of proud of myself for being able to do this and not have to pay someone, even though it takes a little time and effort.

What do ya'll think? Is it worth it?

Happy Friday! And Happy Birthday to my Sister-in-Law Annie!

happy birthday

2011-03-21T21:27:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Daddy Bird!

Hope year "32" is the best one yet!

view from the truck

2011-03-12T09:28:00.000-05:00

back in the saddle

2011-03-11T10:19:00.000-05:00

After a loooong break (we're talking months) from sewing, I've finally dusted off the old machine and climbed back in the saddle! I've missed sewing and creating, but honestly, I needed a break. Being pregnant, several bouts of sickness, working on the basement and nursery, serving at church, all the farm/cattle stuff...we've just had a lot going on. Something had to give!

I had some unfinished projects though, and several friends had asked for some things to give as gifts, so I'm back at it now!

Here are some projects I worked on yesterday. Nothing new, but I wasn't sure if I'd shown these fabrics on the blog before.

This one is fun for a little girl! I love paisley, and these fabrics are good ones if you're not sure of the mom's taste.

Here's the wipes case:

I LOVE these next fabrics.

Excuse the pins. I hadn't stiched them on yet and I was burning daylight for the photos.

This fabric is such a nice, feminine break from the usual pink. I love the larger scale floral, and the lattice pattern on the left is very popular right now in home dec. I've seen it on furniture, walls, lampshades, etc.

Here's the wipes case:

I'm working on some other projects I can't wait to show! A nursing cover or two and some little things for the nursery.

Happy Friday!

first calf of the year

2011-03-08T21:52:00.000-05:00

I went out with Daddy Bird last evening to feed and check on the cattle, and even though it was chilly, it was really nice to have a half an hour or so just the two of us.

First we he loaded some square bales of hay on the tractor to take back to the bull and steers.

Did you know that a castrated male cow is called a steer? Now you do.

Daddy Bird LOVES when I snap photos of him.

One nice thing about being pregnant is that I don't have to lift 50-70 lb hay bales!

Then we hopped on the tractor and drove back to the back pasture to feed. Being pregnant does NOT, however prevent me from having to get down and open and close all the gates. Oh well.

Here's our "red bull"! He still doesn't have a name.

He's pretty tame as bulls go. He will eat out of your hand, which is more than I can say for most of our mama cows.

Then we drove the tractor back to the middle field to grab a big round bale of hay for the rest of the cattle. Do you know how farmers move those big round bales of hay around to feed their animals?

Like this. Sorry I don't have step by step photos, but there is basically a big spear-like thing on the back of the tractor that grabs the bale and lets you carry it around.

After we grabbed the round bale, we drove up to the big field where our mama cows live, and we got to see this!

Our first calf of the season! He/she (I couldn't get close enough to tell) was born a couple of days ago.

It's always so rewarding when the first calf is born healthy and strong. There is so much work that is involved with raising livestock, and the little successes like this remind us that it's worth the work!

We are so blessed to be able to witness little miracles like this in our everyday lives, and my prayer is that I don't ever begin to take them for granted!

guilty pleasure

2011-03-06T21:29:00.000-05:00

So, everyone has their guilty pleasures, right?

One of mine happens to be Celebrity Apprentice.

I love it because it's generally a train wreck, and the disaster of this season is unfolding as I write this.

Star Jones, Meatloaf, Gary Bussey, David Cassidy, Nene Leaks, Latoya Jackson, 'Lil Jon. Please. Could it get any worse?

I'll be severely disappointed if Nene doesn't scratch someone's eyes out with those nails.

Excuse me while I go watch this train derail.

What's your guilty pleasure show? Or am I alone here?

friday favs

2011-03-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

What I'm lovin' as of late...

*The weather getting warmer! I love the promise of spring! Or neighbor plowed up his garden yesterday and it gave me major spring fever.

*This great idea for a nursery mobile! I think I'm going to make a similar one with a few changes. Does the bottom bird on the one in the picture look a little odd, or is it just me?

*I'm loving this blog's series on fun boy stuff! I want to make some of these projects.

*The progress being made on our basement. We're still not close, but the electrical work is finished, the tile should be in early next week, and the vanity is ready to be installed, as soon as the tile is in.

*Movie night. Baby Bird and I have movie night on Friday nights when Daddy Bird is working. Usually we watch The Incredibles. I really need to visit red box next time.

*This tutorial for making curtains from bed sheets. I think I'm going to do this for the nursery, but maybe embellish them a bit?

*Chocolate.

*Pizza. I could eat pizza every night of the week right now.

*Stretchy pants.

*My bed. I am so tired these days.

*The temporary tattoo my son put on my belly this morning. It's a bear. I'll spare you the photo.

*I heard that Costco now has Hannah Andersson pj's for $12. I'm not a member there, but I'd love to find someone who is. Have ya'll bought those pj's for your kiddos? They are the BEST!

* I love that my brother is reading my blog and commenting. Heehee! Please don't make me have to edit your comments, Stan :)

*I love our camera.

Happy Friday!

random photos

2011-02-28T22:03:00.000-05:00

I've been backing up all of the photos that we have stored on both of our computers because I am thoroughly convinced that if I don't, one or both of them will crash tomorrow and I'll lose everything.

Is this a form of nesting?

Anyway, I've come across a few interesting photos I just had to share. It's amazing the pictures you don't remember, and the ones you wish you could forget!

I'm warning you, my hair has been an issue for me my entire life...

This was an especially good look don't you think? Before braces, and during the growing out process of my "wedge" haircut. Mom, seriously, I still can't believe you cut my hair short.

Meredith, that's you with the paci I believe :)

The late 90's look. Go flyers.

I was a ballerina. Did you know? And I thought I was fat here.

Speaking of hair...

Teehee!

Can we say mullet? I didn't ask the daddy bird's permission, and he is going to kill me.

I'll put in a cute one to redeem myself:

He started early. Baby bird would love that thing!

Speaking of baby bird...

it looks like he's posing here. We call this his glamour shot.

More hair. I put this in because this is like 2005 and I look like a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader from the 80's. When we go anywhere near a beach (Hilton Head here) this is what I'm blessed with. Seriously, I need some help.

Here are some "did you know?'s"

Did you know I was the Murray State Mascot my senior year of college?

Nice windsuit mom. Sportin' the school colors.

Did you know our firt home was a trailer in Alabama?

This is the day we moved out. Check out the huge redneck antenna attached to our porch. Here's the really funny thing, I cried when we left! I loved that trailer and I loved Auburn.

I know you should never say never, but I hope to NEVER live in a trailer again!

There was a longhorn cow that lived on the farm that would occasionally wander into our yard:

I'm not really sure what else to say about that.

Did you know there are rednecks everywhere?

I shot this not in KY or AL, but in upstate NEW YORK where we used to live. This was a gas station like, a mile from our house. Hahahaha!!

Did you know I went to Louisiana a week after hurricane Katrina to help with disaster relief?

They wouldn't even let people into New Orleans yet, so we went to Mandeville which is right across the bay. I had never experienced such destruction in the US, and I still think about all those people at least weekly.

Did you know when horses pee, it's like, gallons?

I actually have no idea how much it is but it seems like gallons. I just thought this was a funny shot.

Did you know if you let people throw birdseed at you at your wedding you will find said birdseed for years after, still hiding in crevasses in your car?

It's true. You will. But it was fun :)

I don't really have much to say about this one. I've just always liked the shot. Daddy Bird was still in vet school and he just looks young and skinny and handsome :) We didn't have a care in the world.

Go through your photos tonight! You'll have a blast, I promise!

a day to myself

2011-02-22T19:05:00.000-05:00

So Daddy Bird and Baby Bird are on an overnight trip to the in-laws to take care of some "cattle stuff" and since I work a weekly 4 hour volunteer shift on Wednesdays, I needed to stay home. Plus, I now have this evening and tomorrow morning to myself!

It's so wierd because even though I have a MILLION things to do around here, I find myself missing the noise of my two-year-old and the companionship of my hubby.

It is really, really nice though to be able to have time to myself, and I really appreciate the Daddy Bird for giving me lots of opportunities like this.

So what are my plans for "me-time"?

Laundry!!!!
I have two baby showers coming up so I'm dragging out my neglected sewing machine and getting back to some sewing.
I made a solo trip to Target and Babies R Us today to do a little registering. Amazing how fast you can get in and out of a store when you're by yourself!
I made myself a little omelette for dinner and used some leftover grilled chicken, asparagus, shredded mozzarella, onion and salsa. Sounds strange but it was super yummy!
I really need to get on top of some clutter/cleaning.
I plan on watching Parenthood tonight. Do ya'll watch that show? Daddy Bird and I think it's the best show on right now.
Backing up my digital photos. I took a photo workshop last Sunday with my girl Melissa Mann Bean of MelissaMann Photography, and she has me convinced that my computers are both going to crash at any minute, thus resulting in a loss of every digital photo I have ever taken. I have nothing backed up (I know, I know) so I'm working on that.
Did I mention laundry? It's a never ending battle.

On a completely different note. Can I just tell ya'll how outraged I am about the crazy, wacko, University of Alabama fan Harvey Updyke, who poisoned the two 130 year old, beautiful, live oak trees at Toomer's Corner, on the corner of Auburn's campus?

Now I realize that if you are not an Auburn fan, this may mean absolutely nothing to you, so I'll explain.

When AU wins a sporting event, primarily football, but at times other sports, thousands of fans flock to Toomer's Corner to "roll" the two live oak trees that have been a fixture there for the past 130 years!

It's pure craziness, and I know it's just a silly sports tradition, but those trees are truly in the center of town, and they are really beautiful, when not covered in TP.

Last week, Harvey Updyke, a retired Texas State Police trooper admitted to poisoning these trees! He even called in to a radio talk show to brag about it! It's pretty much been determined that not only will the trees most likely die, but because the soil is so contaminated, new trees can't be replanted on the same site. I don't know an Auburn fan who is not just sick over this, and many Alabama fans are as well.

Crazy wacko.

I wish I had a great picture of Daddy Bird and I in all our Auburn glory at Toomers Corner. But I don't. So here he is with some of his Auburn vet school buddies. Take note, because this may be the only time you EVER see Daddy Bird in shorts.

War Eagle!

easy calzones

2011-02-18T14:30:00.000-05:00

Do ya'll like calzones? I am such a sucker for stuffed pizzas, calzones, and stuffed breads. It's comfort food for me. I've had this recipe for calzones for a long time, and my two favorite things are that 1. It's easy and quick enough to make on a week night, and 2. You can change up the filling ingredients to fit your taste or mood.

Don't be intimidated by making your own crust. It's super easy, and the dough could also be used for a traditional pizza if you are so inclined.

We had these for dinner last night so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Easy Calzones

For the crust:

1 pkg yeast (I like to use rapid rise for this recipe)

1 Cup warm water

1 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. oil (olive oil or vegetable oil)

1 tsp. salt

2 3/4 Cups flour

For the filling:

Whatever you like on a pizza!

Some suggestions would be:

mushrooms (canned or fresh)

green pepper

onion

pepperoni

browned italian sausage

mozzarella cheese

provolone cheese

olives

grilled chicken

artichoke hearts

pizza sauce or alfredo sauce

Last night we used pizza sauce, pepperoni, mozz cheese, mushrooms, green pepper, and onion.

Veggie calzones would be awesome Meredith, if you are reading this :)

Melted butter for brushing

Dissolve the package of yeast in the 1 cup of warm water in a large mixing bowl. You want your water on the HOT side of warm if that makes sense. I usually turn my tap on as hot as it will go, let it heat up, fill my cup measure and then by the time I get it over to my bowl with the yeast it's about the right temp.

Stir in the sugar and wait about 5 minutes for your yeast to "bloom."

If you've never cooked with yeast before, it's a bit like a science experiment. When the yeast get all warm with the water and all fed with the sugar, they start to reproduce rapidly and you can actually watch this take place in your bowl. It's called "blooming", and it's probably only cool for a baking nerd like myself.

Add the oil, salt, and flour and mix your ingredients until smooth. You may have to mix the ingredients with your hands at the end to get them all incorporated.

Throw some flour down on your counter, and rub some oil on your hands.

Dump the dough out on the floured counter and knead it until it becomes nice and smooth, about 3-5 minutes.

Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl (or one sprayed with cooking spray), cover it with a clean dish towel, and let it rise in a warmish place for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare your filling ingredients and oil a pizza pan and sprinkle it with some cornmeal. The cornmeal is optional, but I like to do it.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

After the 30 min rising time on your dough is up, remove it from the bowl and divide it into 2 pieces. Roll each piece into a circle approx. 10 inches in diameter. They do not have to be perfect! My circles look more like ovals, and sometimes they are kind of squarish. No big deal.

Divide your filling evenly between your circles. Fold dough over the filling and crimp the edges to seal. You want to get your dough sealed pretty well here, otherwise all that yummyness will leak out all over your pizza pan. Transfer the calzones to your prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. After 15 minutes, brush the tops with a little melted butter to help them brown.

I like to serve these with maranara sauce for dipping.

You can double this recipe, but each calzone is pretty big. I usually just eat a half, especially if I'm having a salad or something along with it.

Enjoy and have a GREAT weekend!

happy valentine's day!

2011-02-14T21:44:00.001-05:00

I was feeling so much better last night that I made some cookies for the Daddy Bird to take to work.

I used this recipe from the Tasty Kitchen website (if you haven't checked that site out, you really should!) and they turned out pretty yummy! They were easy to throw together and the cream cheese icing was great. I also like how the cookies aren't meant to be decorated perfectly. The frosting just has a nice, homey look.

You could, of course add some sprinkles, or ice the cookies in different colors, but I was still feeling a bit lazy for all that.

When Daddy Bird came home this morning, he not only brought donuts (yay!) but he brought me an adorable Jade plant!

He knows me well! Jade plants are my favorite! So cute.

After he'd been home several hours, we realized Daddy Bird was coming down with the same sickness that had plagued me all weekend. Oh, what fun! Happy Valentine's Day, Honey!

Last night, when Baby Bird came home, he handed me this:

and said, "Happy Valentimes Day Mommy!" Melt my heart! Thanks to the Mom in Law for doing the shopping.

So my little nest is overflowing with plants now...let's hope I can keep them alive. I didn't really inherit my mom's green thumb.

Today, we had a fun Valentine's party to attend at our friends' the Stover's house.

Sherri is one brave woman having all those kids and Mamas over! She even had crafts!

There were lots of pregnant bellies there too, so of course we got a fun "belly shot."

Guess who's belly is the biggest? At least I'm the farthest along.

Hope your "Valentime's" Day was a fun one!

sickness and boredom

2011-02-12T20:06:00.001-05:00

I managed to contract the bug that made the baby bird puke all over Kroger last week. It hit me yesterday, and though I didn't puke in Kroger, I did puke down the side of my mom's car. While we were driving down the road. Good times.

My in-laws (bless their hearts) took the baby bird for the weekend so I could recover.

The basement is all framed in. Yay! The next step is to get an electrician in here and then drywall.

We also purchased the flooring (I don't have a pic) so that will be ready to go in after the drywall.

Kourtney Kardashian is making me sick right now. How does she look like that after having a baby?

I'm buying a belly bandit and I'm wearing it for like, 6 months after I pop this kid out. Starting in the hospital. I'm serious.

Speaking of buying, we are buying a bull. He looks kind of like this, only younger:

He is a Red Poll bull. We currently have an Angus bull named Oscar, but he is getting old, and we're not sure how much longer he'll be able to do his "job" well. If I need to explain what Oscar's "job" is, please let me know.

Also the Red poll breed is known for producing superior grass-fed beef, so after some research, we chose this breed.

Ya'll need to help me come up with a good name for our new, red bull.

Don't those men in the above picture crack you up? They are so serious looking!

The Daddy Bird has to work on Valentine's Day this year. Honestly, we don't do much to celebrate anyway. How do ya'll celebrate love day with your special person?

Can ya'll tell I'm bored? It's one thing having a weekend to yourself when you feel like being productive, but when you are sick, being alone means a lot of boredom. I'm not complaining though. Really!

Hope you and yours are staying sickness free this weekend!

let's go krogering!

2011-02-06T21:58:00.000-05:00

The above title does not apply to the baby bird any time soon. In fact, I am convinced that we may now be banned from our local Kroger.

So I don't really talk much about my baby bird on this blog. I mention him from time to time, and I love him to pieces, but I just usually choose to focus on other topics when I make my entries.

The following experience bears writing down, however, for a couple of reasons. One is that I want to be able to read it later and laugh (hopefully) and two is that I need to give PUBLIC recognition to a very, very good friend that came to my rescue the other day.

WARNING:

If you don't have kids, you may not want to read this. It may cause you to never want them. And if you are considering children in the near future, this may make you want to rethink.

So the baby bird and I were doing some shopping the other day at Kroger when he began telling me that his "tummy hurt". What do you say to that? Kids' tummies hurt all the time. Being the caring, sympathetic mother that I am, I continued my shopping, but I did notice he wasn't eating his free sample of cantaloupe that I so generously allowed him to have. Hmmm, that's funny. My kid is like me. We don't turn down food.

When I looked at him next, he was beginning to look green. I asked him if he felt sick and he proceded to vomit all over himself, the cart, and the produce aisle. Oh. My. Gosh.

I, like anyone, reached out to attempt to catch said vomit in my hands, but then quickly realized I couldn't contain it all, and what the heck was I going to do with it anyway?

One woman watched the whole scene unfold and graciously offered me a tissue. Thanks lady, but I really need roll of Bounty.

What on earth do you do in these situations? Why isn't there a section in parenting books called "when your child pukes in a public place" ?

I rolled the cart over to the customer service station and informed the lady there that I was very sorry, but my child puked in the produce aisle. Baby bird and I then made our way into the restroom to clean up as best we could. He had yacked all over his coat, so I put mine on him and began to search for my keys.

About this time I realized that my keys were conveniently locked inside my vehicle.

About this time I began to cry.

I decided that this constituted an emergency and began to call my sleeping hubby who was in the middle of a seven night work stretch, but I couldn't for the life of me get him to answer his phone.

Suddenly I began to smell a foul, foul aroma coming from my child. Oh yes. Diarrhea. It just keeps getting better. To top things off, I had a diaper, but no wipes.

I was getting desperate. I decided to call my dear, precious, amazing, awesome friend Katie because I knew she would come to my rescue. She's just that kind of friend.

Katie was there in 2 seconds flat. She let me change the foulest diaper you can imagine in the back seat of her car, and she took my vomitous son and I home to retrieve my spare keys and then back to Kroger.

That, my friends is a true friend.

I am so blessed with a group of wonderful, Christian, women/fellow mothers/friends in my life that I can call on in ANY situation.

I LOVE YOU, KATIE!

I'll leave ya'll with a slightly more angelic version of my baby bird from Christmas, and the hope that your coming week will be better than my last one.

nursery ideas

2011-02-05T14:07:00.000-05:00

So, not only are we currently trying to finish our basement, but we also have another project...

A Nursery!

I haven't really talked much about my pregnancy, or the baby girl bird growing in my belly, but I'm 28, almost 29 weeks along and I'm starting to get antsy about this nursery thing.

When baby bird #1 was born - 4 weeks early - we weren't prepared AT ALL! The room was painted blue, and that was it! It sent me into a world of panic, even though I knew he wouldn't sleep in that room for weeks (actually 5 months to be exact).

If I can tell you the one thing that I would change about myself (and my wonderful hubby too) it's our habit of PROCRASTINATING! I've always been a procrastinator with a capital P, but I have gotten better in recent years. With the home projects we are currently working on, I'm not really procrastinating, it's just that I really can't do much on my own without the help of the Daddy Bird.

We've got to get the ball rolling on this though, so let me show you my ideas for the nursery so far.

And, let me add at this point, shopping for girl stuff is WAY, WAY more fun than shopping for boy stuff. Oh. My. Goodness.

Here is the bedding:

It's from Pottery Barn and honestly, it's one of the few bedding options that I saw that I even remotely liked. I really like the colors in this, and I like the modern look.

Here's another view, in a room:

The main difference is that we have a dark wood crib and dresser, so the room will have a different look, but I think it will still be pretty.

We're going to paint the walls that light aqua, turquoisy color, and I'm loving that.

The other thing I love is this chandelier:

Hey, we're going girly, we've got to have a chandelier, right? I think it will really add to the look of the room.

To add some pink, because I do really love pink, we're going with this rug on the floor:

It's super soft and pretty and will hide some of the stains that somehow appeared on the carpet in the room!

In addition to the crib, probably the only furniture we'll have in the room is a dresser with a changing pad on top, and a brown rocker/recliner. The room is really small!

Oh, also, we'll probably do some decorative painting on the walls as well. Daddy Bird has some plan for a tree with flowers or something, but I've been looking at some bird stencils in case plan A falls through and we need a plan B :)

So what do you think? Any ideas for me? Give me your style/decorating opinions because I'm not really good at these type things!

eggs

2011-02-03T14:29:00.000-05:00

News Flash!

Did you know eggs come in other colors than white?

Brown you say?

What about blue?

Fortunately for us, one of the vet-techs, Ann, that works at the Daddy Bird's practice raises chickens. Ann is more than happy to sell us her chickens' lovely eggs. Ann's eggs come in a rainbow of colors and a variety of sizes:

If you have never tasted fresh eggs that are not what you buy in your local supermarket, PLEASE, do yourself a favor and find some! Our family eats at least 2 dozen of these eggs a week. They are that good folks. I had no idea that there would be such a difference in store bought eggs and farm-fresh ones. They are so rich and tasty.

I'm also just fascinated by the colors and sizes.

I mean, how beautiful are these eggs?

This spurred me to do a little chicken and egg research for ya'll today:

Do you know how you can tell what color eggs a chicken will lay? Look at their earlobes! Chickens with white ears will generally lay white eggs, while chickens with red ears will typically lay brown. Another way to tell is just to know the breed of chicken. Certain breeds of chickens will always lay the same color eggs.

Where do those blue and green eggs come from then? They come from a breed of chicken known as the Aracuana, Americauna, or "easter-egger". These breeds tend to lay eggs in varying shades of green to blue. Some of Ann's chickens are Americaunas.

Certain breeds of chickens are better egg layers, and certain breeds of chickens are raised for their meat.

It takes a chicken about 24-26 hours to lay an egg, so chickens can lay about an egg a day! The world record for egg laying was set in 1979 by a White Leghorn chicken that layed 371 eggs in 365 days!!!!

There are over 150 varieties of domesticated chickens.

A hen lives an average of 5-7 years but can live as long as 20 years! She will lay eggs her entire life, with production slowly decreasing after year 1.

There you go. Some fun conversation starters for your next party :)

Now go find some fresh eggs to enjoy, and if you really love chickens, go buy this purse.

our cattle

2011-02-02T10:56:00.000-05:00

We made a quick trip to visit Daddy Bird's parents this past weekend and also to check on our cattle. Daddy bird and Baby Bird make the drive up about once a week, but it had been a while since I had gone with them.

We have our approximately 15 mama cows on the in-laws beautiful farm because our little place here is just too small for all of those cattle!

A quick lesson on cattle production:

Our cattle are beef cattle, which means we raise them for the purpose of providing meat. There are also dairy farms which raise cattle to produce milk. Certain breeds of cattle are more suited to produce beef vs. milk, and our cattle are specifically bred for this purpose.

We are cow/calf producers. This means that we have mama cows that we breed to a bull every year to get calves. After the calves are much bigger and have been weaned, we sell them to someone else that finishes raising them to market weight and in turn sells them for beef. This finishing process usually takes place on what is called a feedlot, but that's another lesson for another day.

We are experimenting this year by raising a couple of the older calves ourselves, and instead of selling them to someone else to finish on a feedlot, we are raising them on our grass pasture where they are free to roam around and behave as cattle were intended to behave. This is called "grass-fed beef" or "grass-finished beef" because from birth to the end of their life they only eat grass.

HOOORAAAY for grass!

You see, God designed cows to roam around and eat grass.

We, as humans created the whole feedlot thing where cattle are generally confined to a small area and finish their lives eating a grain based feed of corn and other grains.

Please know this too. Grass-fed is NOT the same thing as organic. Beef can be labeled organic and still raised in a feedlot situation. The cattle are just fed organic grain products.

Don't get me wrong! I'm not knocking the farmers and producers that make their livings running feedlots! It produces a very tasty steak and is a very profitable way to raise cattle. It's just that Daddy Bird and I feel that maybe there is a way for us to raise beef that is healthier for us, and the cattle.

Here are some of our mamas:

This lady is my favorite! Our cattle are not pets, and they don't have names, but this one is particularly tame, and she is short and dumpy looking and so cute!

She's giving me the evil eye here though.

Our cattle have it made, really! They get to roam around a beautiful farm, and have food brought to them, and the only thing we ask of them is that they have babies and get fat. Seriously. I could live like that.

I probably gave you way more info than you wanted in this post, but it's good for all of us to know where our food comes from. A vegetarian lifestyle is definitely not for me, but I do want to make sure I am feeding my family animal products that don't have a bunch of added hormones and steroids, just to increase the profits of the producer. Not to mention, I like to support farmers that care for their animals in a way I think God intended us to care for them.

Thanks for listening to me rant!

basement update

2011-01-28T09:58:00.000-05:00

So, our basement is coming along nicely!

The daddy bird, his dad, and my dad have had several good days of work and have managed to complete almost all the framing in the bedroom/office and the bathroom.

We now have some walls!

It's kind of hard to get your bearings with these pictures because I can't get the entire room in the picture at once, but, you can kind of tell where the bathroom is located. This next shot shows where Josh has added some closets for the bedroom:

We've chosen a vanity for the bathroom too. Actually we decided to go the custom cabinet route since daddy bird and mama bird couldn't seem to agree on ANYTHING already made (imagine that) and when we started pricing things, it really wasn't much more to just have something made for us. Plus, the whole piece will be solid wood, instead of the fabricated stuff, and Chino (the cabinet guy) will come install the whole thing for us, and we wouldn't have gotten that with Lowes. Sorry Lowes.

We chose hickory for our wood, and went with a plain, shaker style door:

We're still not sure of the stain color yet. This photo is of a natural hickory with no stain at all, but you can see how much variation the wood has. Ours will probably be stained a darker color, but we both like the rustic look that hickory provides.

Here's where I need your help. We need to pick some tile! We are going with a slate tile for the floor, and the tub surround, but we need to choose which color. I have it narrowed down to 4 choices, so give me your opinion! Here are the options:

autumn lilac

desert raja

golden sun

china apricot

So, what do you think? I'm not even going to tell you which choice I'm leaning toward because I want your opinions.

More updates coming soon....

a list

2011-01-20T14:17:00.000-05:00

1. I'm making beef stew for dinner tonight and it smells really, really, good.

2. It's snowing right now.

3. I hope the weatherman is wrong and we get 10 inches of snow. I love snow.

4. Why is it when men get a cold it is always so much worse than the cold their wife gave to them?

5. I'm tired today.

6. I think it's because I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep until 4:30. During that time I managed to go to the bathroom 5 times and pee on myself once.

7. My son named our male horse "Girl". We let him. In fact, we just call him Girl ourselves. It's easier than trying to fix that mess. He's for sale anyway.

8. The horse, not my son.

9. At my last Dr.'s visit, my OB politely said I may want to "watch out for the bad carbs" that I may be eating. It could be because I've already gained 28 pounds and I'm only 26 weeks pregnant. My OB is way too nice to tell me I'm getting too fat.

10. What exactly is a "bad carb"? Is cheese a bad carb? If it is, I'm not going to "watch out" for it. I'm going to eat it.

11. I really need to clean my kitchen floor, but there are Thomas the Train tracks all over it. I should probably take them down and clean the floor, but then I'd have to put them back together, and that's too much trouble right now. Oh, what to do?

12. I think I'm going to take a nap.

strawberry butter

2011-01-18T10:53:00.001-05:00

Our couple's group met last night at our friends the Burnettes' house, and the menu theme was "breakfast for supper." Yummy. I love breakfast, anytime of day. I was asked to bring bread (biscuits, croissants, etc.) which is great, but what is good breakfast bread without something yummy to spread on it?

Our family has a special fondness for strawberry butter. There is a great place to eat not too far away from Murray State called Patti's, where they serve strawberry butter to spread on this warm, yummy bread baked in flower pots. It is unbelievable. It will change your life. Check out Patti's if you're ever in west KY. The daddy bird and I shared a few dates there back in the good old days.

I found this recipe in my well used copy of the Cotton Country Collection, a cookbook put out by the Junior League of Monroe, LA in 1972. I made a couple of changes, and this is what I ended up with:

You will need:

1 pint of fresh strawberries (washed and hulled) or 10 oz frozen, thawed and drained

(I usually use frozen)

1/2 lb unsalted butter

1 cup powdered sugar; if using frozen berries use 1/2 cup

Make sure all ingredients are at WARM ROOM TEMPERATURE! This is crucial to your success.

Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer, starting at medium speed and increasing to high speed, until combined and fluffy.

If your mixture looks curdled, keep blending, it takes quite a while to get everything combined well, especially if the butter or strawberries are cool at all. The ingredients must be at room temp to combine well.

Chill, and serve with biscuits, rolls, muffins, toast, waffles, pancakes, pretzels, or just eat it straight out of the bowl, ha!

Makes 2 1/2 cups

This may be just as good with margerine. I usually use butter when I cook, but I could see margerine being substituted here with great results.

Enjoy it ya'll!