Wordless Wednesday

 Painting

Little brother thinks he needs to do everything big brother does

and this applies to more than just painting.

One of those weeks

Have you ever had a week where you feel like you are swimming but not getting anywhere? That was my week. The week started great with a nice day of family activities on Easter Sunday.

 

The rest of the week was full of planting season. We were barely home which explains why I couldn't get the kitchen cleaned, laundry done, hog records caught up, blogging and preschool lessons taught. This week we were farmers. The only reason I'm feeling caught up now is because it rained 2 nights ago. We are thankful for rain for the crops as well a little break before getting back into the field. This week about 600 acres of corn was planted in several different fields. I get called for food deliveries and help shuttling or escorting equipment from different fields. The boys love getting to go help Daddy which means they get dirty too. We were out late every night except once this week, which is starting to show in the littles attitudes. One night set the record for the longest we all 4 have ridden in the tractor. We took Big C supper and rode a little bit; 2 1/2 hours. The boys did great and that was the most we had seen Daddy all week. I decided not to watch the clock and just enjoy being there. We could have walked to our car but walking across a dark field with 2 boys wasn't appealing; so we rode. Flexibility is what I've learned from being a farmer's wife. As the boys get older it's easier to be flexible with their schedules. Little C1 was excited that he got to stay up as late as Mommy 'til 11pm that night. The boys are quite busy while awake and I rely on evenings to get my housework done. This week my evenings were spent in the field.

I'm thankful for last night with the ladies from church. I scheduled a sitter to watch the boys and after week like this one it was nice to have a little break. I was looking forward to those few hours all week. We painted and it was really relaxing.

I did enjoy our week busy with planting and it won't be our last; we are just starting. It's nice to be able to step away for a bit and recharge. In my case, the rain allowed for it and a night out happened to be in this break.

Learning what most important is sometimes a hard lesson to learn too. My boys will not remember that the kitchen was piled high with pots and pans for a week or their clothes weren't folded but they will remember the time we spent in the field and tractor. That's the memories worth making.

Taking a walk.

 

Fishing-what an imagination. Preschool that wasn't planned.

Wordless Wednesday

Busy on the farm today.

 Little C1 jumping in to air up the tractor tire.

 

Little C2 following Daddy.

 

 Playing in the wheat field.

The time has come....

...Planting season is here.

       I had hopes of filling my freezer with food for quick meals during planting season but the week I injured my hand was the week I had planned for cooking. This week I have worked a little on filling it with a few casseroles and parts of meals. I also made some sausage balls for quick breakfast or evening snacks after late nights in the field. These boys aren't even 2 and 4 and are eating lots so planning ahead helps because meals that lasted for a few left overs are gone the first night.

 

    I will share this recipe it's as simple as 1-2-3.

 Ingredients: 1 package of sausage; cooked (mine tend to be 1 1/2 lbs), 2 cups shredded cheese, 3 cups Bisquick.

I cook the sausage and crumble in small pieces; mix with room temperature American cheese-shredded, and Bisquick. It works best if the sausage is still pretty warm to form the balls. I've had some experimenting to get the consistency quite right. Practice makes them better. The balls cook for  10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. I then let them cool on the cooling rack and put in ziplock bags and freeze. When ready to eat them  just pop them in the toaster oven for about 10 minutes.

 

Today (Saturday) at 5:30pm the planting entourage left the farm to plant the first field; which did get finished after dark.

Little C's waiting to see Daddy

Corn is our first crop of 2014 to be planted; soybeans will come later.

 We are now busy when days are nice like today. The sky was clear and I almost broke a sweat.

I'll leave you with one last thought. You see this large tractor and line of vehicles and yes we take up a lot of road and do move at a slower pace; please be courteous when you meet us. We have flashing lights and trucks to lead the way to warm or block the road. The majority of people we meet are courteous and pull over. I'm sorry if we make you late for an appointment but please remember we are planting food to feed your family. We are doing the best we can and we have to use the roads to get to different fields. Our roads around this county will be full of big tractors and planters for a few months. Let's share the road.

Wordless Wednesday

We start 'em farmin' young...not even 2!

It's the little things in life

        I learned last Wednesday how things can change quickly. I had such a great day. The day started with getting the oil changed in the car. Who knew I'd considered this great? Then my mother-in-law stayed with the boys and I got my hair cut. That's  more exciting. I took the plunge and got side bangs; I haven't had bangs since I was 8. We took a stroller ride after lunch which I posted about that for Wordless Wednesday last week. (Yes, I'm breaking that trend today.) Big C was working in the fields and rain was in the forecast. He was spreading fertilizer until the rain came.

 

       When it rains we normally go out to eat because when it's pretty Big C is outside working. I had not planned dinner in hopes that rain was coming. It looked promising on the radar but 6pm rolled around and no rain. The little boys were getting hungry. The quickest thing I thought I could fix was hamburgers. This is when the excitement happened. I normally defrost the frozen patties before separating but not last week. I tried to separate the patties with a sharp knife. The knife slipped and when through the burgers into my hand. Ouch! It actually didn't hurt but the amount of blood coming out I knew it was deep. I'll spare you the other details. Little C1 was a big help getting stuff ready to head to the doctor. I called Big C and told him it wasn't necessary for him to leave the field his mom could take me and the boys. While I was getting stitched up the boys ate supper with grandma at Sonic. So in the end we did eat out.
 

        Lesson learned don't use a knife to separate frozen burgers. I knew I shouldn't have but I've done it before and not had problems. Just use the microwave and wait a few minutes. So thanks to my mother-in-law for helping with the boys and helping get them in bed. She came and washed dishes and bathed the boys the next day since I couldn't put my hand in water for 36 hours. These are the little things in life we take for granted. Most of Thursday I couldn't use my right hand it was so sore. Little things like lifting Little C2 out of his crib. Big C was around to help me. Other things like putting my hair in a ponytail, putting socks on Little C2, twisting lids, even clipping a nail I couldn't do for a day or so.  
 

      I became thankful that I didn't cut any nerves or tendons that would permanently alter my hand. It could have been a lot worse. I can deal with a few days of pain. I'll go Friday to have the stitches out. I also am thankful for Big C's help and his mother's help with the boys. Little C1 has been helpful too; I couldn't even open the canned biscuits the first morning. He was more than willing to help pull them out and put on the pan.

 

     This post is a long explanation for why I haven't been around the last week. I couldn't use a keyboard for a few days then I was trying to catch up on housework. Be thankful for little things.

Wordless Wednesday

 Out for a walk. The wheat is growing and turning really green.

 

 

He said he got hot.