Our Animals

 Ty riding Scout for the first time. 

Our goats and a Kid.

Ty was getting his first pony ride on Saturday.  He did quite well.  Not a whimper out of him! 

Last Saturday we brought goats home to our barn.  Three Nannies and one Kid.  Two Nannies are about to have babies, so we are really excited about that! Bailey, Tayler, and Jake are each purchasing a Kid as an investment.  They have worked hard and saved the money to do so.  The baby that Tayler is holding is Jake's kid. He named her Jumpy (self explanatory name, right!?)  Bailey and Tay will choose their kid from the babies that come this month.  

Let me tell you how we hauled the goats home. he he he...

We do not have a pickup.  We don't have anything by which to haul animals home.  So, I took to the internet and googled 'how to haul goats home with a van'.  Yep.  That's how I figured it out.  Jason took the back seat of the van out, put a tarp down and duct taped it to the sides of the van.  Then he laid wood shavings down.  He also put up cardboard as a 'gate' to keep the goats from coming to the front of the van.  The three nannies were in the back and the kid was with our kids (lol) in the middle (the previous owner thought the baby may get smothered if she was back with the nannies while driving).  They hauled them home on a two hour drive.  They arrived safely and I couldn't wait to get out to see them (I stayed home with baby Ty because there wasn't room for all of us).  They are doing quite well in the barn and we are just waiting for the babies...

Farm Fresh Eggs

 The other day I went out to collect chicken eggs.  I started laughing when I found this huge one in the 'Chicken Motel'.  Can you guess which one I am talking about??

 Here is another angle...

The one on the far left is the big one.  I don't even know how that hen laid it!  I couldn't wait to get back to the house to weigh it (that is a favorite thing for us to do: weigh the big eggs we find.)  The biggest egg we have found so far weighed in at 2.8 ounces.  This huge one weighed a whopping 3.4 ounces.  I haven't cracked it yet to see how many yokes it has, but I am sure excited to do that soon!  I will let you know what the outcome is.

Do you have Farm Fresh Eggs?  We love them.  I started selling them a few weeks ago.  We have 22 laying chickens and 50 chicks we just picked up last week.  Those will start laying in August (hopefully).  I will be making a 'Farm Fresh Eggs' sign for the end of our driveway so we can advertise and sell more. 

From Scratch Tortillas

So, I did it.  One day a while back I needed tortillas and I didn't want to run to the store.  I made them from scratch.  And these are my families ultimate favorite tortillas.  The kids get so excited when I make them for supper!  They are simple to put together and taste outstanding!

Flour Tortillas

4c. flour

2tsp. salt

1/2c. shortening

1 1/2c. warm water (add more if dough is dry)

Mix flour and salt.  Cut in shortening.  Add warm water and kneed dough.

Split into 12 balls.

Let rest for 15 minutes.

Roll out thin.

Cook on skillet (high heat) until golden spots appear.

Flip over, cook until golden spots appear on side two.

Eat.

 

Kid Tested. Mother Approved.

My Four Kids and our Horse

 Here is a pic of all four kids.  Ty is growing every day.  They all love Ty and we love all our kids :)

We also added a little horse to our family.  'Scout'.  He is gentle and perfect for the kids as their first horse.  I enjoy going out to the barn to get him ready for a little walk around our place.  We hope to add some goats soon, too!

Our Baby Boy!

 Ty Oyen Coleman

December 27, 2013

3:10am

8lbs 9oz

21 inches

Our little baby boy has arrived and are we in love with him or what!!  He is such a sweet and mellow baby.  If you are wondering where we came up with the middle name 'Oyen', it's my maiden name.  Norweigen, can you tell?  :)  The kids love their baby brother and can't get enough of him!

Thrifty Thursday - SIMPLIFY

I am trying to find ways to simplify my life and re-work our budget.  And it's the Holiday Season, which means more in nearly every aspect of life, right?  More money spent, more activities, more food etc.  So, I am coming up with ideas to have a special Holiday Season without breaking our budget, being overloaded with activities, and not going to the store every day to get more ingredients (I love to bake!).  Here are just a few things that I have incorporated into our lives and I want to share them with you in hopes that these tips are helpful.

*Play games with family (Skip-bo happens to be our 'game of the season')

*I asked my kids to make some paper snowflakes to hang on our windows instead of me buying more decorations (and don't kids love to see their artwork displayed for all to see...and their artwork brings a smile to my face more than store bought decorations)

*Turn on Pandora for Christmas music. (I love music.  Turning on pandora.com and choosing my favorite 'station' is a perfect way to add cheer in the home as well as getting quality 'concerts' without having to go anywhere!)

*Bake treats with what is in your pantry.  Yesterday I found an awesome recipe for Toffee Crackers and asked Jake to help me make them.  Super easy and super delicious.  Plus, he had a great time helping Mom.  recipe at end of post

*De-clutter (ok, maybe not a 'holiday activity' but it sure brings cheer to my when I know my house is a little less cluttered and a little less dirty)

*Light a candle.  This just brings all sorts of fuzzy feelings about Christmas.  Find your perfect Christmas scent and light it up!  I found two great candles at Menards on Black Friday for $1.99 each.  That certainly didn't break our budget.  I also have my wax warmer scents that I had purchased last year.  So, for under $5 I have a lovely scented home.

What are some ways your are enjoying your Holiday Season this year?

Toffee Crackers

50 saltine crackers

2 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

Line jelly roll pan with foil and spray non-stick spray on foil. 

Place crackers in rows on pan

Melt butter and sugar and bring to a boil.  Boil for 3 minutes.

Pour over crackers and spread evenly

Bake at 325 for exactly 8 minutes, do not overbake

Let cool.

YUM!

*I had all these ingredients on hand

Thrifty Thursday - Freezing Cabbage

 I had a half a head of cabbage in my fridge that needed to be used up, but we don't eat a lot of cabbage.  I decided to freeze it and bag it in snack sized bags so that I can pull a small amount out to add to a soup when needed.  I think it's the perfect way to not waste the cabbage, thus not wasting money, and a great healthy addition to soup!  

I filled a pot with water and allowed it to come to a boil. I then added the shredded up cabbage and let it blanch for 2 minutes (cook at a boil).  After the two minutes were up I took the pan off the burner, drained the cabbage and cooled it all off with a cold water bath.  Let it set a few minutes longer to make sure it was cooled down.  Then I put it in snack sized bags labeled cabbage and today's date.  Stick in the freezer and when I make my family a pot of soup, I can add some cabbage to it!