Wool Soaker

I finally made K a soaker out of a lambswool sweater I bought from Goodwill at least 2 months ago. It was a sweater from the Gap that I got for $2! I'm super excited. It turned out pretty nice:
I won't show you the inside though! It worked pretty well last night, he was only a little damp this morning. I stuffed it with a prefold, microfiber insert, hemp doubler and a fleece liner. I'm going to make 2 more today (3 soakers for $2! Yes! Way to save money!) and then wash and lanolize them. Hopefully they'll be bulletproof by then!

Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

So we had a small twister on Monday night. And our poor garden and computer didn't make it through, so this will be on hiatus until I get to my parents' house in Virginia next week. I have lots of pictures and updates from the storm and our trip to Florida for my sister's graduation, so check back on Tuesday or Wednesday!
~b

Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

So, this post was supposed to be about Kellen's doctor's appointment and his four shots he was scheduled to get, but Medicaid has yet to send us his paperwork, so he managed to get out of the shots. Lucky little monster.
As we drove home from town, this is what we were driving into:
Okay. A Big Storm. And it was coming fast. One thing about living on the prairie is that you can see the fronts move in across the land.

Baby and I booked it to the house, where I unloaded and called Patrick, who had gotten home about 10 minutes before us, to come out to look at the sky. About half an hour after we got in the house, the skies opened. The house shook, water was coming in through the (closed) windows, hail was smashing everything green into the ground and the wind was getting stronger and stronger. We called the dogs in, who immediately fell asleep in the laundry room, and the cats took advantage of the momentarily opened door to come streaking in, where they sat on the couch in the den and yowled for about 20 minutes straight. Okay, everyone is inside and safe. Then, click. Power down. We lost power.

Not a big deal, we expected that to happen, we keep a million candles on hand just in case. We lit several candles and then settled in. Patrick grabbed the camera and stood on the back porch watching the storm, while Kellen and I stood in the kitchen watching the storm through the kitchen window. As we stood there, amazed at the hail and wondering if the power was going to stay out for long, the barbecue grill lifted up off the ground and flew horizontally to smash into the back fence. At that point, I decided that maybe standing by a window wasn't a good idea. Kellen and I spent the rest of the storm in the hall bathroom.
The rain and wind finally died down about 2 hours after they started and we went out to survey the damage.

The lemon tree lost all of it's blossoms and had it's leaves chewed up and all of the plants on the porch looked like someone had taken a weedwhacker to them.
One of the trees in the front split in half.
There was water everywhere in the pasture. We looked at the rain gauge the next day and we ended up getting 4 inches of rain.


Of course, the dogs loved it. Schatzi and Klaus thought God had created a private lake just for them, complete with birds to chase!

We're very glad we didn't have any serious damage and God knows we needed the rain. We found out late that night (from the electric company) that there had been a small tornado on our road a few miles down. One of our neighbors lost half of their garage roof and got a free fence-cleaning from the sand blowing around, but that's the extent of the damage. Hopefully the next time it rains it will come without the hail and wind!

Chicken Run

The chickens have revolted!

2 Months

Kellen is officially 2 months old today!

Here's where we were on February 25th:


Here's where we are today!

Fluffy Mail

Yea! Kellen and I finally made it to the post office this afternoon and we had a new diaper waiting for us! I had ordered a variety of diapers off of Etsy a few weeks prior and this was the third one to come in. And it was the first disappointment. We put it on to go to our friends', Brian and Christina, house and it wicked. I was so bummed, because it was so cute and incredibly soft, not to mention cheap! Oh well, we can use it as a fitted.

The other two were great.

jojosmom sent us a one-size stuffable fitted diaper in alien flannel that I love, love, love. She is working on a custom bamboo fleece diaper for us right now.

purpleducks sent us a KCK one size pocket diaper with red robots that is so incredibly cute. It is so well made, but gives little shrimpy Kellen the biggest fluffy butt I've ever seen. I can't wait until it actually fits, I have a feeling I'll be reaching for it again and again.

Kellen is thinks he likes his new diaper

Even when it gives him a HUGE fluffy butt!

We are waiting on one more diaper from Etsy and then one package from a hyenacart store that was shutting down. Fluffy mail is awesome!

Wandering in the Desert

It is hot outside. Really hot. Know how I know?

I decided at 1pm to stick kiddo in the stroller and walk to the post office. I hadn't gone in a few days and my gas tank was below E, so I thought, hey, it's only a few miles, I didn't get to go to the gym last night, it'll be good for us to get out of the house!

Yeah. We made it as far as the Fannin Battleground (two miles from the house, one mile to the post office).
Kellen was fine, he was shaded and it was breezy enough to keep him cool, but I was wiped out and the three dogs, who were dumb enough to tag along, were melting. Schatzi and Klaus were smart and went from shady spot to shady spot and just sat and waited for the baby and I to catch up. Leni, however, wouldn't leave my side and walked on the hot pavement all the way there. She has a thicker coat than the other two, I surprised she didn't turn into a little puddle of puppy.

Luckily, the caretaker for the battleground was home and let me use his hose to fill up a bucket for the dogs. He was super nice and happy to find out who the dogs belonged to. He'd "seen 'em around a lot and figured they was ranch dogs at first, but then he saw that they had collars on, so then he figured they was somebody's pets. They always looked real nice, but he didn't want to get too close, 'cause you just never know. He doesn't see too many people these days -definitely never a lady pushing a baby walkin' down the road! and that's his only entertainment, watchin' deer and the dogs get stuck in the park." Apparently, Klaus and Schatzi are regulars at the park. Two miles away. With someone else's land in between. Now we know why they're never home in the afternoon and why they're so dang skinny.

There's a chain link fence around the park and I guess if the gate is closed, the dogs can't figure out how to get out. The caretaker said he's seen them jump the fence (!) and "they're real pretty, like grace in motion when they run." I have to agree with him on that one, they are beautiful when they run, and boy, do they run. We've clocked Schatzi at about 28 miles an hour in the pasture. Anyway, the caretaker gave us a ride back to the house, kiddo and I in the front, the stroller and three dogs in the back. As soon as we got in the house, I realized my face was as red as a beet and the poor guy must have thought I was about to pass out. Everyone survived and the dogs didn't look too bummed at having their secret hangout revealed. I guess this means we need to make doubly sure their collars are on at all times!

~b

*first picture is our driveway, second is of Leni

Lessons Learned

I learned two very valuable lessons today.
1. If you are sitting naked in your backyard, make sure you have clothing within arms reach that you can toss on in case someone drives up.
2. If you are sitting in the backyard and leave the gate open, Bully-Wooly will walk in and try and join you.

Kiddo and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and get some outside time in the yard today. I laid out a blanket, grabbed the laundry that needed to be dried, my thank-you notes and got Kellen naked to enjoy the air for a bit. He looked so happy that I decided to join him. Since we live in the country, with a mile-long driveway and usually don't get unannounced visitors, I figured I was safe. So, there we are, hanging out, naked and happy under the tree with our laundry drying in the fresh air, when the dogs start barking. Crap! Someone's driving up in a white truck! I leap up, sprint into the house and frantically look for clothing I can toss on before whoever it is walks into the yard. Luckily I managed to find something right before the dogs welcomed (with wagging tails, yes, they're useless as guard dogs) the meter reader for the electric company. She was very nice and got a kick out of Kellen laying naked in the shade. So yeah. As soon as she left, I went inside and grabbed a dress that I could slide on in about ten seconds, just in case someone else decided to come by.

I suppose Bully-Wooly, the bull that my grandmother bottle-fed as a calf, was watching all the excitement and decided he would join the fun. I had left one of the gates in the chain link fence open by accident, and in he walks! Of course, all 3 dogs immediately start going nuts, barking at him (which has no effect whatsoever) and then racing over to me to tell me he's now in the yard. As if I hadn't noticed a half-ton bull strolling in to say hello. Well, I know (from experience) that if you let him hang out, he will step on everything you don't want him to and pester you constantly, so I grabbed the water hose and started spraying him, hoping he'd get the hint. Luckily, he did. He shot me a sorrowful look and turned and ambled back out the way he came. At that point, Kellen decided we had had enough outside time and demanded to go back in. Which was fine with me.

This is a pic from a few weeks ago - BW is on the right. See what I mean about hanging out? He stayed in the yard for a week.

~b

A Mouse in the House

Last night as I was feeding Kellen, I kept hearing rustling by the fireplace. My first thought was "Crap, we've got a mouse." My second thought was "Don't be silly, what mouse would have the balls to sneak past two cats and get into a house where there's almost always someone awake? It must be those damn chickens."

Then I looked down.

Yep. We have a mouse.

~b

1 Baby, 2 Cats, 3 Dogs, 4 Chicks . . .

I feel like I'm living in a "Learn to Count on the Farm" book lately. Patrick brought home 4 baby chicks last week. Now all we need is 5 goats.
~b