Building Our Chicken Coop

So the chickens are finally home and our coop is almost completed. The only thing that needs to be finished is the paint and a bit of trim work. Eric and I built the coop as my birthday gift :) Days 1-4 were completed during nap times. (Usually 2 hrs)

On day one, we bought the lumber and built the frame. I made all the cuts and drove every screw in. I wanted to be involved.

On day two, we put up a wall, laid the floor, and added framing to the run. Again I made all the cuts and drove all the nails&screws.

Elena woke up early so she came out to "help".

On day 3, Eric stood 2 more walls and built a window while I began painting.

Day 4 the roof went on, rear wall installed, and I painted some more.

I love the heart shaped ventilation hole.

Day 5 was super hectic!!!

Eric woke up and worked on finishing the at 6am. We went to pick our hens up at 9am. They finally made it into their coop at 3pm that day! 

They must be happy ladies because they have laid 3-4 eggs a day since arriving. We couldn't be more thrilled to have them. Only one has a name do far, her name is cinnamon, she's the big meanie ;) So the coop won't be finished for another week or two but our girls don't mind. I'll post the completed coop when we get it done.

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Military Wife

As a military wife, I couldn't be more proud of my husband. After spending 8 years on active duty in The United States Marine Corps and the past couple years in the Air Force Reserves, he has dedicated his life to serving the people of this great nation. His reserve unit will likely deploy next year (for 6 months or more) and while it is always in the back of my mind, I try not to worry about it. Every month he is gone for a few days and at least once a year he is gone for two weeks (or more). This year, like many before, he will be gone on my birthday. I'd love to "be that girl" who is cool about it, no sweat. For my family, I am. On the inside, this sucks! Not just because it's my birthday this Saturday, but because I can't spend it with my very best friend.  We have learned to love FaceTime on our iPhones but it's never quite the same.

[Above: Our daughter standing in daddy's boots that are clean and ready to be packed.]

As a military wife and mother, we must ever be the bookends holding everything together while our spouse is away. At least in my family, those times are generally shorter now. :) since our daughter is only 18 months old, she is not at the age where she understands it all yet but I will say, I'm not looking forward to the inevitable "daddy is leaving" tears. Cross that bridge another day.

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Chickens!

I'll post more on this later but my chickens are finally home!

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Wax Paper & Autumn Leaf Sun Catcher

Fall is here! The leaves are turning and air is crisp. One of my favorite fall crafts as a kid was the Leaf Sun Catcher. Today, Elena helped me make one for our new home!

Elena picked most of the leaves out and we laid them out on a cooling rack to inspect.

Then we chose the design we wanted and arranged the leaves on a long piece of wax paper.

The wax paper is on an old towel. We folded the wax paper over top and turned the iron on high.

Then we placed an extra towel over top and ironed the wax to seal the leaves in place.

We held it in front of the light but ultimately taped it to a window. I cannot wait to see the morning sunlight pour through the rich colors!

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How to Make Apple Butter

If you are anything like me, then you probably enjoy the fall. I take it to the extreme! I buy too many apples, drink too much cider, and purchase too many sweaters! My family recently went to an orchard and pumpkin patch with my friend Amy's family. 

Naturally, I came home with a lot of apples. This year I set out to make apple butter. We picked Macintosh and Cameo apples, though I'm sure you can use any kind for this. Here's the recipe I used:

Apple Butter

10 medium apples

2 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 dash of salt

1 cup apple cider (not pictured)

1/4 brown sugar (optional)

Peel, core, and slice your apples. Add all ingredients to your crockpot and cook on low for 8-12hrs or until spreadable. Pour into jars and refrigerate for up to 6 weeks. The jars can be frozen for up to a year as well. 

Make sure to remove every trace of peel. Peel bits are to apple butter as egg shells are to scrambled eggs; not good!

Throw it all in the crockpot and give it a good stir.

Half way there! I kept the lid on for the first 8 hrs and then cracked the lid to allow it to thicken up a bit.

The end result was 24oz of eat-by-the-spoonful deliciousness! The recipe I received from a friend included a can of juice concentrate but at the last minute I used a cup of apple cider instead. I decided that the juice concentrate would be way too sweet! I added a bit of brown sugar but it turned out almost too sweet so wait till the end to see if you need it!

I wish that I could have bottled the smell of the apple butter cooking; divine!

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Letters to my Daughter

Dear Elena...

And that's how it began. On my only daughter's first birthday I began writing her letters. Sometimes I only get to it once a week, other times twice a day. I'd like to share these memories with my daughter down the road. I pay special attention to the little things that make me fall in love with her over and over again. These details tend to get lost with time. Myself, I have an awful memory. I write to her for her, for the memories, and for myself. I've been faithfully writing for 6 months. I just don't want to forget, the story of us. I realize that it's not for everyone but I hope sharing this will inspire someone else to do the same. But then maybe I'm just a sap...

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Pillowcase Dress DIY

Tonight I had a great time crafting in the kitchen. I decided to attempt the "Pillowcase Dress" that often pops up as soon as the summer begins. I am very green when it comes to sewing, very green! Let me preface that by saying that I am not a puzzle person. Does that make me anti green puzzles... maybe so. I look at sewing patterns like a puzzle and I find them very difficult to follow. This is why the pillowcase dress appealed to me so much (though I didn't use a pillowcase). I just browsed google images and free sketched my basic design. Here is my finished dress.

The end result was decent although I marked the dress in pen and so this was just for practice. I have made drawstring pj pants for myself using the sewing machine (the hubby walked me through the pattern portion of it, darn puzzle!) My other projects included: 2 dog beds, 2 dog coats, a 6 month onesie, car seat canopy, a skirt with a zipper back, and drapes. The dog beds were the easiest and turned out the best. The pj bottoms are great and I still wear them occassionally. 

This week has been a doozy! We have had my niece over three days this week as well as plenty of fall chores to complete. We've been working on the chicken coop as a family. The floor is in and two walls are up now!

We also finally had good conditions to burn up the huge brush pile at the back of the property. It may look small but those are 4x4x8 posts in the picture. Luckily we kept it very tame and the neighbors didn't call the fire dept.

We also mapped out the dog run and next year's raised bed garden. All in all, it was a productive week. What have you done to prepare for shorter days and colder nights? As always...

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Toddler Bedtime Battles Solved!

Let's face it, I'm exhausted and out of ideas! If you've raised children, nothing strikes fear in the hearts of moms and dads the world over more than a kid fighting BEDTIME. The during the past week my beautiful 18 month old has been a nighttime terror. While previously a wonderful sleeper, she now fights falling asleep and then wakes throughout the night. Perhaps a combination of nightmares and sleep regression, she is running me ragged!

Then it dawned on me (after the fact), she wants to feel like I'm there but she doesn't actually need ME so much as my voice. I started to love my Aunt Toni's gift giving abilities a whole lot more after tonight.

Star was a great gift for Elena's birthday. It is recordable and plays the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." So I recorded my best rendition and Elena has played with it sporadically ever since. Tonight I was tired of story reading so I grabbed Star and gave her a squeeze. Much to my surprise Elena cuddled star and wouldn't let go. After finishing a cup of milk, she, Star, and MooCow all were put to bed. Elena played that song more than a dozen times before all went quiet and she drifted off. This is a hallmark exclusive and runs about $25. (Note: I am not compensated for reviewing this product, it just happened to save my bacon tonight!)

What works for your bedtime woes? (In addition to routine, routine, ROUTINE!) As always...

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Selling Homemade Cookies

My husband came home yesterday and said, "babe, I need you to give me a small menu with prices of your breads, cookies, and cupcakes." I kind of gave him a sideways glance. This is it, he's finally going to pay me for all the baking I've done for him over the years, I jokingly thought to myself. Well, I was only partly right. Some of his employees came to him with the idea of asking me to sell my baked goods. Evidently a woman used to work there did that during the holidays but she retired last year. A lot of the workers take on a ton of overtime and can't find the time to bake.

Late last night I came up with a list of goodies and prices. I emailed it to Eric (he works 3rd shift currently.) Much to my surprise, I have an order for 4 loaves of bread and 4 dozen cookies worth $50 on the very first day! 

I hope that I'm not in over my head! Have any of you had a small business at home? 

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Hot Topic Alert: Vaccination & Your Child

It seems like everyone has a strong opinion when it comes to vaccinating their children. For me, I am really and truly on the fence. Today was my daughter's 18 month pediatric appointment. We made the decision to begin getting Elena immunized. We had plans of waiting till Elena was 2 years old but we have been spending a lot of time around other kids lately and felt like now was the time. Today she received the DTaP combo shot and her first of two flu shots. I have always felt like less is more in regards to medicine in general. I delivered my daughter on her due date without any pain meds or IV. As a low risk patient, I felt comfortable attempting a more natural birth and I'm happy that I had her in a hospital that supported that choice.

I am fortunate to have found a doctor who understands my concerns about early vaccinations and while she would recommend the CDC approved schedule, she really lets me be the final say. We are not anti-vaccine. However, I am all about slowing the pace down for MY children. This way, the reactions should be lessened and problems can be pinpointed with greater ease.

Some have said that it will be more traumatic if I wait. I can finally say today that it was quite the opposite. I cuddled her during her shots and she didn't even shed one tear. She was such a trooper and I couldn't be prouder. Next month we will go back for more but we are skipping the chickenpox vax and the rotavirus vax. How do you handle vaccines for your family?

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Boo Bags!

Tonight I assembled 2 boo bags for some of our neighbors. We are the new family on our street and most of our neighbors are much older than us (55+). My hubby insisted that I boo the neighbors and so here is the result. 

If you are unfamiliar with booing your neighbors then read on. (Read on even if you do!) So you make up your boo bags (qty 2) and set them secretly on your neighbors porches. (Don't get caught!) I included a cute cup, ghost peeps, a candy corn tube, and Reese's Pumpkins in my boo bags.

 Inside the bag you include instructions for "passing the boo around". Once you've been booed, you are to put the "we've been booed" sign in your window so that you don't get booed again. The boo bag recipients make boo bags and continue the little gift bag cycle. The idea is that all of your neighbors (and hopefully yourself too) get one eventually. 

I started by printing off these free Boo Bag instructions and cut them out. I only put the "We've been booed!" cut out on the bag but here they are side by side.

I decorated the bags with stickers and filled them with the goodies and instructions!

Most of the goodies made it into the bags...

But not all of them... Shhhh.

All in all it was fun and hopefully they will make the neighbors smile. Do you plan on booing your neighbors?

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Potty Training, is she ready?

Next week my sweet girl will be 18 months old. For the past week, she has been hiding behind her toy box when she has to poop. She poops on schedule so I knew right away that that was the reason. Maybe it's a little odd but I got super excited for her. This is a mini milestone. She is clearly aware of when she is pooping. 

Now I'm not going to jump right into a naked weekend tomorrow but I will focus more on potty words. (Blog about naked weekend: http://myfamilyandme.net/blogarticles/potty-training-the-naked-weekend ) We have been working on teaching Elena to pull her pants down and up. Personally, I feel this is an important ability to have when starting to potty train. Time to really work on potty words! Our goal is to be out of diapers by 2 1/2 but ultimately it'll be based on her readiness. For now, bring on the diapers and wipes!

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Stay At Home Mom

I guess I should have a little post about myself. My name is Jenn B and I grew up in Northeast Ohio. I am a 25 year old stay at home mom and wife. I married my best friend and the man of my dreams in October of 2010. Marrying him also meant living in Alabama and so I went to college at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. We had our first child in April of 2012 and have recently returned to Ohio to be closer to our family. Since Elena turned 1 and started running as well as eating real food, I have lost 55lbs and adopted an all around healthier lifestyle. I grew up on white bread, hot dogs, and mac&cheese. It's taken my adult years to learn to enjoy whole grains, veggies, and eating clean (it's a work in progress). My mission is to expose my family to healthier meals and better nutrition. I try to make as much from scratch as I can. I bake our bread, can our jam, make soups, ect. We try very hard to keep processed food to a minimum. Not only are they expensive but this way I have more ingredient control. 

My husband and I are very interested in self sustainable living and so on our one acre, we have been gardening and getting ready to have a micro farm. This fall we will bring chickens home and we have begun discussing having a milk goat. Rain barrels and composting are on the list as well.

I enjoy knitting, crocheting, cooking, canning, bike riding, sun tanning, gardening, coffee, and long car rides.

We used to watch waaaay too much tv so we shut the cable off! Now we have more time to focus on reality instead of watching it manufactured for the masses.  (Yes, I used to LOOOOOVE reality tv!) 

I'm tired, so I guess that's me. There is so much more but it's always moving. This is just a photograph, stay tuned and as always...

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Today is my husband's birthday. We both had great childhoods though were brought up very differently. Birthdays at my house were decorated, cake and ice cream, and gifts. Eric said that growing up, they would have a watermelon (yum) and that his mom didn't really decorate but birthdays were always fun and full of love! Eric requested pineapple upside down cake and so I pulled out my recipe. He opened gifts after work and I made french toast (a special occasion food at our house) and fruit for brunch. It was Elena's first time eating french toast and she loved it! Here's the recipe for my cake!

Fantastic Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Topping:

1/2 c butter

1 c brown sugar

12 pineapple rings

12 cherries

-Melt the butter, mix in brown sugar, pour into 9x13 cake pan, place pineapple rings and cherries on top of sugar mix.

Cake:

1/2 c butter (softened)

1 1/3 c sugar

3 egg whites

1/2 c milk

1/2 c pineapple juice

1 1/2 tsp vanilla 

2 1/2 c cake flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

-Sift together the salt, baking powder, and flour and set aside, cream butter and half of sugar together, beat in liquid ingredients, beat in rest of sugar, slowly add in the flour mixture and combine thoroughly. 

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I didn't make any healthy substitutions since I haven't tried playing around with it yet. Since it's a birthday cake I just make sure not to include calories in the ingredients list ;) 

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

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Avoid the Common Cold with these Quick Tricks

It's back to school time and cold season, let's talk colds! I am not a big medicine person. I tend to have a high pain tolerance and usually wait out pain to better gauge how it's progressing. Color me old fashioned but it works for me. I am, however, a cold & flu wimp! I used to pop DayQuil if some sneezed within a 10ft radius of me (not quite, but you get my point). 

My family has been making huge strides toward eating better and living more consciously. I have found the cure for the common cold. Yes ladies and gents, I have done it. 

This week at RiteAid there was a BOGO sale on Nature Made vitamins and naturally we stocked up! At the earliest signs of anyone in my house getting sick, I begin taking one vitamin Zinc melt and one vitamin C caplet a day. The zinc melts actually taste okay. I was scared but they are honey lemon flavored ;). I take them at night with my prenatal pills and folic acid for the duration of my family's sickness. Also, I abhor tea but I have heard drinking green tea during a cold also helps though this is not advised during pregnancy. 

I followed my vitamin routine this week and Eric did not (Elena's too young for it); guess who feels great..? Me! Let me know how it works for you. 

Just remember to always consult your doctor first!  I am not a doctor and this should not be taken as professional medical advice, more or less a little mommy know-how.

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