A Big Thanks

Today, like most days, I have been visiting my farmgirl sisters on the Mary Jane's Farm forum...I have so many sweet kindred spirits there. That is where I get a lot of encouragement, motivation, ideas, and support. They are like virtual neighbors that walk over and sit a while on my front porch over tea. They make the small things sweeter and more meaningful. They remind me about the good old days and how the simple things in life are so rewarding. Most of them will pray for you when you have a need, send you a card just to see how you are, or email you when they haven't seen you in the forum in a while. I have always (from a VERY young age) had an appreciation for the old days, farms, antiques, crafts, and how women ran their households and supported eachother back in the good old days. I am very thankful to my mom, my mom-mom, Mamaw Amerine, and Grandma Lane for telling me about the simpler days, and for instilling an appreciation for them in me. I always look SO forward to getting together with my grandparents...we always talk about the way things use to be done and talk about crafts we would like to do or are working on. I'm also greatful to my Grandma Branch for introducing me to The Good Old Days magazine. One day, when we were little,my sis and I were snooping around on her back porch and we found a big box FULL of very old issues. We were hooked...and they kept us busy for years...yes, there were a lot of them. Well, I could go on for days. Mainly, just wanted to thank all my grannies and mom for instilling in me a love for all the simple things, old things, and for things a lot of women do not take the time to appreciate...and thanks to Mary Janes Farm for all my farmgirl friends and for giving me the gumption to try so many new...and old things. Most importantly, God brought them all into my life, so He gets the biggest thanks :) Proud to be MJF's Farmgirl Sister # 241 and founder of the Southern Indiana Barn Chicks MJF Chapter. www.maryjanesfarm.com

Broken Crayons?

I'm so tired of all those broken crayons in Cooper's box! We fixed it with a quick little project. I took a metal cookie cutter and laid it on foil (on a cookie sheet) then folded the foil up and around. We peeled the paper off the broken crayons, then filled our cookie cutter mold up about half way. We put it in the oven on the lowest setting until they melted, then we let them cool (you can put them in the refrigerator for a bit, too). Now Cooper has a BIG crayon and I don't have to find all those little broken crayons everywhere anymore...well, at least until he breaks some more :) We had a sweet time together being creative. I love doing little projects with my boys...Corbin is growing fast and will actually be able to join in on the fun soon instead of just watch. Can't wait!

He really enjoyed helping!

I Love Lemons!

Yesterday, my son and I made homemade lemonade. We don't have a juicer of any kind. So, we had to do it the REAL old fashion way using the tools God gave us...Cooper really enjoyed himself and it kept him occupied for a good while. He really enjoyed drinking it after we added sugar. It was soooooo good. After we made lemonade, I used the lemon leftovers to clean... it's a miracle worker on hard water stains around your stainless steel sink. Just use a half of a lemon as a little scrubber then rinse and dry... it's important to dry after rinsing. Otherwise the water left from rinsing will create a new hard water stain. Lemons make my house smell so nice!

Inspiration

Well, I'm not getting my blog pretty like I wanted to...I guess there's plenty of time for that. I just wanted to blog about a project that I have been wanting to do. I have a toddler and like to have foods on hand that are easy AND healthy. I am in the process of collecting recipes to freeze healthy snacks for when we need something healthy fast. I would like to set aside one day a week or maybe every other week to cook and freeze snacks and main courses in bulk to stock up my freezer. My goal is to use organic and whole foods and veggies that I grow myself or from my family, friends, and farmer's market. This way, I don't have to worry about antibiotics in our chicken or chemicals in the veggies. This is an ongoing project for me and I hope it inspires you :) Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Under Construction

I am officially putting my blog under construction. I will not be posting for a few days so that I can take time to figure out how to make it prettier :) Talk to ya'll soon!

Cooper's Lunch

So, I was trying to get creative with lunch today because I'm somewhat limited on supplies at the moment. My 2 1/2 year old is a light eater and I need to get some veggies in him. I thought about spaghetti and hiding spinach in the sauce, but spaghetti is common around here. So, I decided to make a spaghetti style bake/casserole...only I used rotini noodles instead. I'm sure he enjoys a change of noodle once in awhile. I boiled a couple handfuls of rotini until they were almost done. Drained them. Poured in some spaghetti sauce, 1 egg, a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese, and small handful of canned spinach (canned or frozen in a bag is less stringy than frozen in a box and is less of a choking hazard for small children). Then I put it all in a small casserole dish, topped with more mozzarella and some pizza/pasta magic seasoning and placed in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. If only I had a "smell this" button you could click on!!! Mmmmmmm. I do my best to use whole wheat, organic, and whole foods. But use up what you have. If you don't have spinach, use carrots, or corn, or squash from your garden. Here is Cooper's lunch...I think he will thank me with a big saucy kiss :)