Snuggled

 

As we snuggled up for stories tonight, I was just thinking of how tiny my littles were when they were littler. I was thinking about when they were just days old and their entire little bodies would fit just on my chest.  And now they are sprawled across me with their limbs that keep growing overnight, so it seems.

Everyone says it goes by so fast. 

Trying to live each day letting the joy sink in, there's so much to smile about.

(Him)

(Her)

(Now)

Mama Made: Tiny Polar Bear

Way back last summer, I made sweet girl this tiny elephant (click here). My son really really really wanted to keep it. But... I made it for her. 

I told him I'd make him a tiny stuffed animals.

"How about a cow?" 

Truth be told, my creative energy is a little tired of the same requests.  Cows, tractors, farms. Repeat.

I told him I would make him a surprise and it probably wouldn't be a cow.  That was months ago. Finally following through. 

Meet the tiniest little polar bear.

 When Adrian saw it , he said 'Mama, I love it! Thank you so much! I'm going to name it 'Tracotr'.  'Tractor Polar Bear.'

 So we have a homemade little farming polar bear.

 At least he loves it.  In fact he sleeps with it. 

 He couldn't be more thrilled. As for me?  My heart sings when a mama made becomes a favorite!

Oh Holly...

Now, I'm the first to admit I wasn't super enthusiastic when Holly arrived.

But...

She is fitting in just fine and is really well loved.

I'm glad we have her.

(Although if my husband surprises us with another puppy, I will lose my mind. He knows better now, I hope....)

Here's our Holly girl.

 

Made My Goat a Homemade Coat

These frigid temps, I hate them. Well below zero in actual temps and way below zero with the wind chill. Lots of layers, lots of trips to the barn, some dread going out at times. The wind just whips across the field and stings your face. I could do without the 10pm checks.  Truth be told, they could do without the 10pm checks.  But, I sleep better knowing I did that one last check, so there's that. all

Anyway, all barn animals are on lockdown in the barn.  No one is going outside. It's waaaay too cold.

The chickens have their huge run right now and the goats and our milk cow are together.  Last month, we passed the calf on to a new family.  I don't think I mentioned that here. We loved Oliver and he was a good calf, but I never set out to have a herd. Having less 5 gallon buckets of water to bring out, less manure to scoop, one less mouth to feed was a good choice for us. Oliver is still ours though, we're sharing him with the new family.  Come butcher time, we'll split him.  This will be interesting for me, as I have only bought beef for our table once in the last 12 years we've been together and it was a birthday meal for my husband. My husband is super excited to have beef. As for me?  Well, I don't know what I think about all that. 

Back to those frigid temps.  Call me crazy, I don't care.  I have been treating them with warmness for treats.  Molasses water, warm oats.

 

Most animals seemed okay, except for our goat Katy.  She's always been the shy/nervous goat. She's spent a lot of time quivering or shivering in this cold.  Not sure if she's nervous or if she's freezing, but I decided to do a little something about it. I upcycled a wool sweater and upcycled the elastic ties from my husband's old (broken) coat.  I made a mini turnout blanket.   A coat. For a goat.

 I'd say she looks mighty fine in it.

Our other goat is never cold because he spends most of his time getting into trouble. You think he looks innocent. Ha!  Trouble I tell you.

 

 

And the third one to the trifecta is Ophelia.  Ophelia is unphased by the weather.

It's so fun going out there to hang with them.  In fact, we spent a good chunk of our days out here, regardless of the weather.  Here's Ophelia and Katy and her new coat again.

 Long story short, I'm glad to have that barn to have all the animals tucked away safely for the night. I'm thankful for my helpers too. I'm also sort of in love with the coat I made for the goat.  Maybe I ought to make more. I'd have the most fashionable goat ever!  I'm sure every goat is dying to get into the fashion world anyway.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Making our Valentines the way we know best.  Add a homemade card and there you go.  Homemade/handmade always has the most love I'd say.  Recipe here. Happy Valentine's day to you!

Making the days better

So many changes lately, such small changes from an adult perspective, but such monumental changes from a smaller perspective. 

So we together work on things that bring joy. Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (strawberries and rhubarb picked and froze when fresh) and a guitar made from our own squash.  Together time and happy things makes us all more centered. We're over the hump now and onto smooth waters. 

Thank you ladies!

Our feathered friends, we're mighty happy with them!  3 dozen eggs over summer went to a half dozen a day this winter.  Well, yesterday we had 23 and today we had 22 eggs. Haven't had that many since October.  Likely with this cold snap, production will decrease again, but how fun is it to collect a basket full?!

The first 3 pics were taken by a friend (Thank you Bryce!).

Celebrating our ladies with my fave miniature girl.

Thank you, ladies!