If you want to keep up with us

If you want to keep up with Hesterman's Happenings, you will now find it over at the other blog Deep South Kikos News (http://deepsouthkikosnews.blogspot.com/)  I feel like Deep South Kikos News and Hesterman's Happenings are one in the same but they each document different aspects of our lives.  It's time to put it all together.  Maybe by moving, I will be able to post more often.  So come on over to see what going on with us!

Thinking of moving....

You know, I'm thinking of combining this blog, Hesterman's Happenings, with my other blog Deep South Kikos News.  I mean it's really kind of hard to keep it apart.  I intended for this blog to be mostly about the kids and our family doings, but you know what???  Our kids and our family doings are so closely intertwined with our farm, Deep South Kikos.   What do you think???  Check out our farm blog here and see if it would totally bother you the read about our farm mixed in with family outings and such.  There are a lot of you that do read both blogs, and it will be easier to keep it all on one site.  Just click on the comments below and let me know what you think.....I really do appreciate all of you that keep up with our blogs.  I would love to hear what you think.

Baseball Season 2011

We are finally finished with this baseball season.  Dillon's team was presented with a trophy for placing 2nd in their league for the season.   Those were some happy boys and girls.  This is the last year to play "coach pitch" for some of the players.   The 8 year old kids will move up to "kid pitch."  I have really enjoyed Dillon being able to be on this team this year.  What a great group of kids we had this year!




2nd place Pee Wee National League
13-7



The picture below is where we always were seated for the games.  Shane called it the bull pen and I called it the play pen.  This is a fenced in section for the pitchers to warm up in.  At this age, we don't have the kids pitching, so we were able to sit right next to the dug out.  It was good because Mallory had an area to play, but she couldn't get out of my sight during the game.  It ended up being a popular place for the kids.  One night we had over 10 little ones playing in the dirt building castles.  That is the reason I called it a play pen.  

Mallory, Shane, BB, and Me

After each inning, Shane was able to give Dillon a pep talk before going to bat or getting out in the field. We weren't the only one's sitting in this spot either.....one night we had 10 adults cheering in this section. I have to say, it was a pretty good seat! We were either seated right at 1st base or 3rd base (depending on if we were home of visitor).

Coach Matt talking with the team after a game.

They had an end of the year baseball party which included fishing, a big inflatable water slide, and swimming.  The Ryal's hosted the party at their home and cooked hamburgers and hot dogs.  Mallory and I had a "girls night" while the guys went to the party.  I kind of wished we would've went, but I think Mallory deserved a night devoted to all things girly because she attended every one of her brother's games; whether she wanted to or not.....

The team was presented with an autographed baseball at the night of the party.  Coach Patrick was able to get each player from the USM Golden Eagles baseball team to sign a baseball for each of the kids.  I thought that was really nice of him!

Everyone with their autographed baseballs.

Summer has officially begun!  Who knows what exciting things we may get into this summer.....

McMahan Family Reunion

Yesterday we attended the McMahan family reunion.  This is Shane's maternal grandmother's side of the family.  We didn't get around to taking photographs until several people had already left; so not everyone made it into this year's photo (Shane's mother is on the front row in the hot pink shirt).  It was nice to get together and have good Southern cuisine and catch up with everybody.  It seems like these days people are having family get togethers less because everyone is so busy.  Next year's reunion has already been planned for the same weekend; the Saturday before Memorial Day.  Hopefully more will be able to attend. 

Registered and ready

My youngest is now registered and ready for the big Kindergarten.  She has been really excited about starting school.  So excited, that when this past school year began, she wanted to go ahead and get her immunizations to be ready for the next school year.  What child asks to go get their shots to get ready for school?

We had to go to the library to register instead of going to tour the classrooms.  There was only one kindergarten teacher there for the registrations; Mallory wanted nothing to do with any of it.  Funny how quickly she changed her mind about school being the most awesome place and not being able to contain her excitement.  This day she stuck right beside me and acted as though the cat had her tongue.  It's going to be a rough first day, I can just feel it.  Tears all around.....Mallory tears and mom's tears.  Shane has already suggested I stay home on that first day of school....he says it would probably be better for the both of us.....I am going to do my best to put on my " I'm-not-gonna-cry-cause-my-baby-is-going-to-kindergarten-and-she's-growing-up face.  It didn't work so well with my first, Dillon.   Lord, help me.  I'm gonna need it!

Tornado picture

My mom emailed me this picture yesterday and I wanted to share. This was taken when the tornadoes ripped through the South....My uncle was working at Big Lots in Tuscaloosa Alabama ( I think this is the correct city....correct me if I'm wrong Uncle Paul) and was able to snap this shot before the tornado made it's way to the store. His store was destroyed, but they made it out alive! Praise the Lord!

Cellphones and rice

I just wanted to let you know that the rice trick worked quite nicely on my cell phone.  Wondering why I'm doing tricks with rice and cell phones?  You can read about that here .   So for now, my cell phone is in working order again.  Thank you rice!

If you're unable to reach me.......

Hi.  If you have been unable to reach me by my cell phone, it's because I dropped it in the toilet.  Yep, that's right.....the toilet.  What's worse.....this is the second time I've done it.  At least I can say this time, I didn't flush it too!   Seriously folks, I just can't make this up. 

The black spot in the left hand side of this container is my cell phone covered in rice.  I am trying out something that I was told would revive a phone that has been submerged in water.  We'll see if it works.  I'll have to let you know. 

Work in progress

We are nearing the finale of our addition.  Shane went to Surplus Warehouse and found some deals on kitchen cabinets so we decided to put them in our bathroom.  They are wider than bathroom vanities, but I'm not hard to please. That just gives us more storage space!  I'm just ready to get moved down the road into this house.  I also got this counter top at Surplus Warehouse too. 

Bathroom counter top without the
hole cut out for the sink yet.

Here is a picture of the color I chose to paint our bedroom.  I really like it a lot.  It is a very warm color to me.  It's called Soft Suede by Glidden.  I also picked out some 5 1/4" crown molding.  It is giving Shane fits!  This is his first time he has ever put up crown molding so it's a learning experience.  I'm just trying to be supportive through it all.......not sure how good I'm doing at it, but I'm trying.  We ended up laughing the other night about no matter how many cuts he tried to make 45 degrees, none of them matched up.  We decided it was the saws fault....Darned old saws don't know what they're doing!

Hope to have more pictures to show you soon.  We will start working on remodeling the kitchen next!

Had to share....

I saw this clip and laughed pretty hard, so I thought I'd share.  My grandmother used to say this prayer with me as she tucked me into bed when I was a child
  

I remember when tucking Dillon in bed when he was 3, he started asking me what it meant when I would say "I pray the Lord my soul to keep, and "if I should die before I wake". I can remember trying to explain this to him and thinking, this is probably kinda scary for a 3 year old. 

The bridge is finally open

For those of you that know about coming the long way around to get to our house, we will finally be able to cross this bridge.  It had been closed for 2 years.  It is now new and improved.   I am super excited that we will be able to shave a little time off of our trips.  It's so nice to see our neighbors and their homes again.  Who knew something so simple could make one woman so happy! 

Finally!

Can you guess what I've been doing?

If you can't tell by the photos.... I started painting (priming) on the new addition yesterday.  I am in no way a neat painter.  I made the mistake of wearing an old pair of flip flops, which in return caused my feet to be exposed to getting covered in paint.  I scrubbed and scrubbed last night only to remove a small amount of the paint to be removed from my skin. I had it all over my arms, face, feet, and my clothing.  I was doing the ceiling so it would just splatter from above and shower me with it.  I did manage to wrap a bandanna on my head to keep my hair from getting paint in it.  Even though I took this measure, I still managed to get it in my hair.  Imagine that.

Mallory had an old pair of blue jeans from last year that she loves.  They are about 3 inches too short and have really seen better days.  I remembered being a kid and having my blue jeans cut-off for the summer time. I haven't noticed anyone wearing original "cut-offs" these days.   

I decided to get out the old scissors and make her a pair of good ole' cut offs to wear to play in here on the farm.  It only makes sense to get the most out of those jeans, since they aren't in good enough shape for someone else to wear as pants.

I think they will make perfect shorts for playing around on the farm.  If I had a penny for every nice piece of clothing that was ruined from cow or goat manure, grass stains, and many other farm related stains; I'd be one wealthy momma!

Yep, it's more about baseball

I loved this picture of all of the boys waiting eagerly to get the ball thrown their way.  I had to share it.  If you notice, one of the team members has a black cast on his arm.  Right before opening day, he broke his arm at school.  He has been unable to play, but the coaches let him get involved as much as possible.  He runs out to get the bats after each of our little guys bat.  It is the sweetest thing.  I hope that he will be able to get his cast off soon and play at least one game this season.  He has so much team spirit. 

Below is another picture I had to share.  We have really been coaching Dillon on the understanding of not letting a ball get by him on 3rd base.  He was determined to get this particular hit.....whatever it took....Even though it was at least a good 3-4 feet above his head.  He leapt with all his might and I happened to be snapping a picture.  There was no way he would've caught the ball, but he was giving it all of his might to catch it. 

On another note, Shane sprayed the texture to our drywall in the new addition to our home, so I will be out purchasing primer and paint this week.  It is getting really exciting now!  I think I am going to go with a "brownish" color for our room.  Something like cappuccino, but not too dark.  I hate having to make the commitment to a color and then ending up hating it later on.  I did that with the kids bathroom in our house a few years ago.  The walls are bright green; like fluorescent green.  Everything is trimmed in white, and it has a tropical underwater theme; but I will not be doing that in the other house.  I want to have something that will last a few years without getting on my nerves. :)

Update on the addition

Shane has almost finished the mud on the sheet rock in the bedroom and bathroom in our other house.  It is taking a while, but we are doing everything on our own.  I have to say, I'm pretty proud of how well Shane has done so far; considering it's our first time to do any of this. 

My best friend has an "orange peel " texture to her walls, and we are planning on doing that texture to this addition as well.  It should be a fun experiment :)  After we get this end finished, we will start working on the kitchen.  We stripped everything out of it last year, so it is bare.  I am super excited to get it completed to move in.  I can't wait to share the completion of the bedroom and bathroom with you! 

Do you have any tips??

I was hoping that I could get some good tried and true ways to get Dillon's white baseball uniform to stay white. White. Can you believe this is what "color" they chose for 7/8 year old's uniform? I've already had orange mud successfully removed with a lot of effort and A LOT of Clorox 2. If you have any tips for keeping them clean, please let me know. There is a place for comments below this post. Just click on comments and it will take you to the box for comments. I really do appreciate it. I'm getting prepared for the stains before they occur, so I won't end up having to buy more white pants :)

Baseball and of course boots!

Baseball is all around us!  We've been busy practicing and making quite a few trips to "town" for games.   We (funny how I say we) played a game last night and I thought I'd share a few photos.

Dillon playing second

Rounding 2nd heading for 3rd



Playing 3rd



Out here in the "sticks" this is how Dillon gets a little practice.  We have a section of chain link fence propped up against a fence post.  Dillon is able to hit off of the tee and the ball bounces right back to do it again.  He isn't playing t-ball this year, but hitting off of the tee is good practice for the swinging and coordination.  It's also good when you don't have a "pitcher".  I can honestly say I can not pitch.  Just ask Dillon, he'll tell you.

I loved this picture below.  He has such concentration and determination on his face.  Love it!

Of course, since mom had the camera, he had to show off for me to take more pictures.  I think I counted at least 80 pictures taken at one time of this practice.  He wanted to show me his "pitcher" moves.

Did you notice the cowboy boots?  I think he'd wear them instead of cleats at the games if they'd let him;  Nothing better than boots with baseball.

Or wearing boots (with shorts) while playing in the dirt.

All of the commotion Dillon was causing with that baseball and fence caused our LGD, Jael, and her pups to come up from the field to check out what was going on.   Aren't they too cute?

What we've been up to

Shane bought another horse last week.  Her name is Dixie and she is also a Tennessee Walker like one of our other horses, Sonny.  She is beautiful!   She is quite spooked by everything around here: birds, rabbits, shadows.  Maybe she'll get used to those things soon.  Shane and Mallory took a quick ride yesterday afternoon. 

 

Baseball season is here!  Dillon's team has been practicing a lot to get ready for opening day.  It looks like it is going to be another busy baseball year.  Some of the other players have younger siblings, so it's a good thing for Mallory this year.  She has all sorts of friends to play with during his game.  She isn't too interested in sitting for too long to watch a game. 

 

Spring not only brought us 70 kids (goats) but it also has been bringing us calves too.  Mallory and I tagged along with Shane while he tagged the new calves ears. I get nervous everytime he does this.  Those momma cows don't play around when you mess with their babies.  They will let out a call to the whole herd, and you better watch out.  You can get taken down pretty easy.  Shane does it so calmly.  I think I would fall out as soon as Mrs. Cow blows at me while shaking her head.  Yep, I don't think this is  a  job I will ever do.  Sorry honey, this is all you!

Stay calm, and all will be ok (fingers crossed)

Hope everyone has a great day!

Trampoline fun

The kids were jumping on the trampoline yesterday, and I decided to take some pictures of them.  I mean, I'm always taking photos of our farm animals for our farm website....Why not take pictures of our children!!!  They, of course, loved to do many tricks for me to take photos of.  So I chose one for each of them to show. 

Dillon doing the "spin around"

I think this is a karate move
(she's going to kill me one day for this!)

My favorite. 

Have a great day everyone!  We are totally enjoying Spring Break!

Mississippi Mud

With all of the rain we received for 2 days, my children had the opportunity to have some real fun.  A puddle formed where we had our pool in the backyard last summer.  The pool had killed all of the grass, leaving nothing but dirt.  Good ole'  Mississippi dirt mixed with tons of rainwater = Mississippi Mud. 

This is what I found when I looked out my kitchen window......They were having a blast, so I couldn't bring myself to fuss about Dillon's school uniform getting covered in mud.  They were giggling and laughing so much, it made me laugh.  Who knew mud could be so fun? 

 I mean, just look at that!  Who doesn't just want to dive in and play with that?  Nothing like a little Mississippi Mud to bring 2 siblings together ;)

I also wanted to share another thing that I relate to Mississippi.  I cooked pink-eye purple-hull peas last night for supper.  Thank goodness my grandmother (Scooter) taught me how to cook!  I took about 3 TBSP of bacon drippings and chopped onions and simmered until the onions were starting to caramelize.  Can't you just smell it?

Then I put my peas (what I put up last summer) added water, salt, and pepper in the  pot with the onions and bacon drippings.  Pair that with some buttermilk cornbread and you have a meal!  Of course I had to make macaroni and cheese too.  We also had sweet potatoes baked with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar!  Yummy!

Sorry no pictures of the cornbread and cooked peas.  A pack of hungry wolves ran in and cleaned up all of the supper on the table. 

Spring Cleaning

I have been busy doing my spring cleaning.  You know, that kind of cleaning where you get down on your hands and knees and REALLY clean.  Okay, so some of you may clean that way all of the time, but I have to admit I don't deep clean on an everyday basis, maybe not even on a weekly basis.  Did I just say that?  Now that doesn't mean that my house is filthy, but I don't  get down and scrub the baseboards often, and I couldn't tell you the last time I cleaned my oven!  I can't believe I just admitted to that.  Just trying to keep it real!  So here's to Spring and to Spring Cleaning!

She was compensated!

Mallory had to help me out all day yesterday due to my back.  She helped me unload the dishwasher, reload the dishwasher, get clothes out of the dryer and put in a basket.  On top of all of that, she also helped me by picking the baby goats (kids) and put them in the bucket to be weighed.  She was a tremendous help to me!  I couldn't have done it without her. 

Since Mallory went above and beyond her few "chores" I decided she deserved to be compensated.  I told her she had the option of a prize that I had stored in my closet (it was a future birthday or Christmas present) OR she could get money.  She chose the prize in the closet, not knowing what it would be.  I don't think it was too shabby though.  It made one little girl quite happy.  See for yourself.

My little Pony
Mommy and baby in convertible

By the way, my back is getting much better.  Thank goodness for anti-inflammatories.  When completely well, I will be working on some back strengthening exercises.  I definitely don't want this to happen again!

My aching back

Yesterday while checking for newborn baby goats in the pasture, I found myself in a predicament!  I was down at the bottom of a steep hill with a doe and her 2 kids, bending over, and did something to my back.  I could barely stand up straight, nor could I pick up my feet to make the effort to walk back up that hill.  So I shuffled my feet like a little old person back up the hill. By the way, if you are a little old person that shuffles your feet, I am in no way making fun or judging you!  Just stating the facts of how I proceeded up the hill.  After a long journey to get to the house, I landed on the couch and didn't move.  Poor Shane had to come home after work and make rounds to check on any new kids that had to have their ears tagged.  Of course, 14 kids had been born since the time I had been out there.  I think they did it on purpose! 

So here I am after heating pad, ice packs, and 800mg Ibuprofen; I am going to attempt to get some things done today.  I will need Mallory's help for the bending over stuff, poor child.  I had to have help to get out of bed (thanks honey!) and to put on my socks and shoes this morning.  It's a shame; 30 years old and I start falling apart! 

Oh and by the way,  Happy Birthday to the most wonderful man in the world!  I love you!!!  And don't try to run away from me when I have the camera....I will get your picture, you know! 

#1 Hubby

It's Mega Swagbucks Day!

Today is Mega Swagbucks Friday on Swag Bucks!  Swag Bucks is a search engine that offers you the chance to win cool prizes every time you do an internet search. It works like Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. So, if you know how to do an internet search you won't have any problems using Swag Bucks for your internet searches.

1.) Go here to register and you will receive 30 Swag Bucks for signing up.



2.) From today through the 28th, you can enter the special code "BirthdayFun" for and additional 25 swagbucks.( The bonus is only for new sign-ups.) You will then have 55 swagbucks right off the bat---And for only 450 swagbucks you can redeem for a FREE $5 Amazon Gift Card!


There are several ways to earn Swag Bucks- the easiest way is for your internet searches. For example, you want to search for "Hesterman's Happenings". You would type Hesterman's Happenings in the search bar and it would bring up the possible sites. Sometimes you will not earn anything for your search and other times you will earn Swag Bucks.  Also your Swag Bucks amounts can vary.  I have personally gotten 22 Swag Bucks for one search. 


I have installed the Swag Bucks tool bar on my computer.  Each day you log in to Swag Bucks to search on the tool bar, you get 1 Swag Buck per day. 


I've gotten my mom hooked to searching with Swag Bucks.  It is wonderful to earn free gift cards just for doing your regular searches.   You can also earn up to 1000 Swag Bucks from each of your referrals.  Remember it only takes 450 to get $5 Amazon Gift Card!  WOW!
 

This special bonus code runs Today through the 28th...so you must register by the 28th for the special bonus!  Go here to sign up.

If you have any questions, just email me or leave me a comment below.  Happy searching!

Wait....you mean these aren't baby squirrels????

So yesterday I got out and took some pictures of our LGD's pups for our farm blog, and was overcome with warm fuzzy feelings by looking at those sweet little pups.

It reminded me of a funny story, so I thought I'd share.

Several years ago, Dillon and Mallory were out in the yard digging in the dirt.  Soon, Dillon came running in excitedly shouting, "Mom, I found some baby pigs!  Come look, come look!"  Of course, I just knew he didn't find baby pigs, but I went to see what he had discovered.  Right there where he had been digging, he had uncovered some sort of nest.  It had pieces of plastic in this hole with all of these tiny little babies.  They were  so tiny, with no mother in sight.  All I could think about were these sweet little things dying without their mother.  I must admit all things baby just make me turn into a total mush.  I couldn't really tell what these babies were, but it just had to be baby squirrels.  It crossed my mind, that they may be something else, but I couldn't focus on that.  It was that these little creatures needed to be taken care of. 

I went inside and got a shoebox and mixed up a small amount of evaporated milk.  I had a time finding a syringe small enough for these little things, but finally came across a 3cc syringe.  It had a small tip on it, which worked well for their little mouths.  I fed them one by one, letting a little milk form on the end of the syringe, and they would suck it down.  I felt so proud that I was taking care of these sweet little baby squirrels.  

Shane came home later that day.  The kids and I were so excited to show him what we had been taking care of.  One look at them, and Shane burst my bubble.  He said that those weren't squirrels, they were mice!  He couldn't be right....I had not just spent the day feeding little mice.  After Shane pointed out the obvious (things I couldn't see through those "warm fuzzy mushy" eyes of mine)  I realized I indeed had been taking care of mice.  OK.  So I couldn't continue to take care of mice, that would just be gross.   Even though I truly did feel torn and a little sad,  I had Shane return them to the wild.  The picture below is right before we set them "free".  Just look at how proud my little one is of his "baby pigs".

I can't believe I just shared that with you.....Hope you don't think I'm some kind of weird-o now. Hey, maybe I am.  Some things you just can't help.   Have a great day!

He's back in the saddle again

Well it has happened. Dillon has decided to give horseback riding another try. He has been riding in front of the saddle with Shane. Shane has been letting Dillon do the "driving". So what do you know.....Dillon decided he could ride all by himself. Of course, I was a nervous, nauseated, almost had a heart-attack---wreck. I'm so proud that he conquered his fears and wanted to try again. Way to go Dillon!!!   ( I think I'm going to need medication for sure :)

Unmotivated

I need to go to the bank
I need to do laundry
I need to vacuum
I need a haircut
I need to get off of my butt
I need to work-out
I need to plan what's for supper
I need to drink more water
I need to do too many things
I'm highly unmotivated today.

Boys and their boots

A thought came to me the other day and it made me think......When I was in 1st or 2nd grade there was a boy in my class that wanted to be my boyfriend.  One day, one of his friends walks over to me, while I'm swinging, and asks me if I would "go" with his friend.   I remember ever so clearly telling this fella "N-O....no... He wears cowboy boots everyday and I don't like it." 

Here's the irony.......Our son absolutely loves to wear his cowboy boots everyday.  He even wears them to school with his school uniform (just picture it). Let me help you.  This is his most recent pair of boots.  He said that he and one of his friends decided that they were made of crocodile skin from Australia.  So here's the picture....

Snazzy, huh?

I was thinking about that poor little boy in elementary school was probably just like Dillon, loving his boots. So to the guy from grade school, if you're out there, I have to really say I am sorry for making fun of your boots.  Every little boy needs their cowboy boots. 

And by the way, I do not personally have anything against boots.  I see them everyday as a matter of fact.  Sometimes clean......Sometimes not.  Most of the time, not so clean.  

Take a look at our back door in the utility room.

     

Meanest mom-EVER

Okay.  So I'm the meanest mom ever once again, and I'm sure it won't be the last time I hold that title.   My 8 year old's school is having a school dance this afternoon.  I am not allowing him to go to this dance, which is for grades K-8.  Am I the only one who can't see why Kindergarten students need to be mingling at a dance with a bunch of hormone driven 8th graders?  He just innocently wants to go and spin around on the gym floor on his back so his 8 year old buds will laugh, but I think we can do that in another setting.  Just sayin'. 

Going to get groceries or church???

Yesterday I needed a pick-me-up and decided that I would put on a little make-up to lift my spirits.  I had purchased some new eyeshadow and planned on trying it out to see how the colors looked too.  As I'm putting on my make up Mallory walks in and says:

"Mom are we going to church or to get groceries?"  I told her that we weren't going anywhere, and wondered why she asked.  She said, "Because your gettin' ready."  I laughed and thought it was cute............  Fast forward to picking up Dillon from school.  He gets in the car and the first thing he asks is "Where did y'all go today?"  I told him nowhere, and asked him why did he ask that?  He said "You got that make up on your eyes."  I'm sitting there thinking this is too funny that my kiddos think that I only wear make-up when I'm going somewhere.  Then Shane comes home, and we rode out to put minerals out for the goats.  After about 10 minutes,  I asked him if he had noticed my new eye make-up, and that I had put it on for a pick me up.  He said, "Yeah, I noticed it a while ago, and thought you must have went to town today or something."  Okay.  Seriously.  It's a shame when the only time I put on make-up and try not to look like I just rolled out of the bed, is when I have to get groceries or go to church!  

Thanks guys for bringing it to my attention (all day)!! 

The Flu

Our home is being taken over by the flu

Dearest friends what shall I do

I now have come to the realization

Next year we'll get our immunization!

Randomness....

I'm really needing to fold some laundry right now, but I keep coming back and staring at it.  It's almost like I'm hoping it will fold itself.....knowing it's not going to happen.  Doesn't hurt to have wishful thinking!

Would it be possible for me to go back to work, and still be a stay-at-home-mom?  I'm really struggling with this concept.  I love staying at home with my kiddos.............................................................................................................................  As I sit here and type this, I realize that I am going to stay right where I'm at....Too funny, when you sit down and really think about it, the answer comes to you loud and clear.  When I became a nurse, I wanted to be able to help those that were sick and comfort them....That's exactly what you do as a mom.  Nursing, on the other hand, isn't so much of that...You are piled down with so much responsibility that you can't take the time to give that kind of care.  My first job was at a nursing home....You are assigned 30 patients to be under your care for that shift.  Ridiculous!  I came fresh out of school and had a rude awakening!  It is a shame that utter greed has taken over those facilities.  No one is concerned about giving those patients more one on one care....Just the money........Same in a doctor's office.  When I worked there, appointments were scheduled for every 5 minutes.  What kind of care can you get in 5 minute allotments?  Okay, so I'll just stop there.

Staying at home and taking care of my family and farm, is what I believe I'll be doing.....God blessed me with a gift of  compassion and care-giving and I think this is where it should be used.....  Thanks for listening......

Disinfecting....

My hubby had the flu over the weekend and was finally able to get back to work today.  I don't think I have ever seen him as sick as he was this past weekend.  Today will be a day of disinfecting the whole house....I do not want Dillon or Mallory to get the flu!  They spent the weekend with their grandmother BB, so hopefully we have minimized their chances of getting it.

Sticking with it

I have officially been sticking to my exercise regimen for 3 weeks now and starting on my 4th week.  To some, it may not seem like anything major.  For me, it IS major.  I usually get discouraged at this point because I am not a patient person.  I want to see major results right now.  When I don't, I usually get frustrated and quit.  Not this time though.  The scales are not going to get me down.  Yes, I've only lost 2-5 pounds ( it changes from week to week; frustrating), but I feel better, and I can tell I'm getting more toned.  That alone, is going to keep me going.  I want to be healthier for myself and my family. 

My outdoor walking view

 I have been doing some Walk Away the Pounds Express videos by Leslie Sansone.  For the past 2 weeks, I've been doing the 3 mile walk, which is 45 minutes.  Also, I put on my headphones and take a walk outside.  I had read that you burn more calories when it's cold outside, so hey....... any extra help for me.....I'll take it.

Here's to walking and getting healthy and in shape!!!  We should be having near 100 baby goats born in a few weeks, so I am going to need the stamina to keep up with all that involves (weighing and tagging).  Our pastures are not level by any means, and those goats get in the darndest places to have their babies.  A big workout....Those hills kick butt!

Blog Book

The whole reason I started this blog was to have memories recorded and to be made into a book.  I am currently working on getting my book made from all of last year's posts and photos.  I am so excited to see what it will look like when I'm finished.  If you have a blog and are interest in getting it published into book form, you should check out this site.  I haven't decided how many pages I want to include in my book, but for a 20-page softcover book, it is listed for $14.95.  I'm sure mine will be larger, and I plan on getting a hardcover, but I think this is something great to be able to pull off the shelf and look at years down the road. 

The site I am going through is called The Cutest Blog on the Block.  They also have free blog backgrounds for any occasion.  This is where I get the backgrounds for my blogs.  You can get to their website by clicking here and to make the blog book by clicking here. 

( I just wanted to share this information...I am in no way affiliated with this site, nor am I getting any compensation from them.  Just something I thought was pretty neat to share!)

2 pounds

I am trying my best to make better choices about my health.  One week ago, I started doing exercise tapes in the morning before the kids get up to go to school.  So far, so good.  I'm not real enthused about exercising, but it does make my day go a whole lot better.  So far 2 pounds down.  I'm trying not to focus too much on the numbers, just getting in shape.  I spent my 20's paying no attention to physical fitness, and that's got to change.  So wish me luck.  Maybe putting it out there for everyone to read will make me more accountable.  We'll see......

Swagbucks

I just wanted to let you know about this site called Swagbucks.  It is a website that you can do your internet searches and get rewarded in points called "swagbucks".  You can redeem your points through them to get rewarded with cash, gift cards, and all kinds of goodies.  Probably the best offer that I have used is 450 swagbucks will get you a $5 Amazon.com gift card.  So far, I have earned $30 just by doing searches through them instead of Google or Yahoo.   I also installed their toolbar which gives me 1 point everyday just for signing in.  You should give it a try....there are other ways to earn points through them.  Just check it out....  If you decide to sign up and use this link I am  providing, I will earn bonus swagbucks for you joining.  So get started earning your swagbucks!  To sign up, go HERE .  Your account will get 30 swagbucks just for joining.  You can save these all year to go towards some of those awesome deals at Christmas!!!!

Thirty....Gasp!!!

Since my last post, I had a birthday......My 30th birthday that is.  I have dreaded this one all year long.  But when the day rolled around, I looked at in in another perspective.  No I may not be a 20-something anymore, but God has blessed me with another year to be with my family.  I have always thought of 30 as being "old" and no longer "young and fresh."  Yep, that was just my naively 20-something self thinking!  My 20's were filled with college, getting married, new career, 2 babies,  and I can't wait to see what my 30's hold for me.  Our youngest will be starting kindergarten next year, so who knows what my next chapter will contain.  So for now, 30 isn't looking all that bad anymore.