March 1-9, 2013

 

Whipping through the months (while the blizzard whips snow into drifts outside my kitchen window – yes, I’m writing about March during an April blizzard)…if you are still reading, ‘May God Bless YOU!’ 

This is quite possibly one of my favorite pictures of Marcus.  Taken o the 5th of March, he’s just learning to sit and entertain himself.  He rarely tips over.

The first full week in March is the Valley City Winter Show.  Eric is at the show all week, and the kids have the State 4-H Crop Judging Contest on Friday. 

Angelina is the 2013 State Junior Champion! 

This has been her goal for two years.  Zeke (Jr. division) and Dash (Sr. division) did well and improved their scores. 

This year, we took all the kids to the Winter Show on Saturday, March 9.  Usually I bring the kids in on a weekday, but with a baby, I just wasn’t up to doing it.  The grounds are usually very muddy and messy…this year was no exception.  Graham and Angelina, especially, want to see the magician that performs, but all the kids enjoy the show.  I also wanted to see the kids’ crop/seed sample entries.  Dash, Angelina, and Zeke all had multiple entries and even placed in the overall division with some of them.  It was a fun day and we ended by going to mass at 4pm in Jamestown. 

Afterwards we went out to eat at a small Chinese restaurant.  There was only one table available – their heat was out in the main dining area – but it was so worth it.  We’d not eaten there before, but we all agreed that it was the best Chinese we’d eaten in quite some time.  Plenty of leftovers for the next day, too!

February 1-9, 2013

Ok, so the meal is uncooked in the top photo, but the end result was excellent.  Both these dishes are the result of a Wildtree Freezer Workshop that I took part in via Skype.  The end result was at least 10 freezer meals for everyone.  I ended up with a few more because I doubled some of the recipes.  The top is a Rosemary Herbed Pork Tenderloin Roast and the bottom is a Steak Fajita filler.  With a million and one things on the calendar, I was grateful that my friend allowed me to take part in this way.

And a couple pics of the yard from the early part of February.  Believe it or not, this is the most snow we’d had all winter, and it’s not as much as my family would’ve liked.

Frosted trees are so beautiful.  I really enjoy winter and the beauty of it…even when it’s snowing and blowing.  It doesn’t bother me when I’m at home looking out my kitchen window!

I also want to note that Angelina, Zeke and Dash all competed in 4-H and FFA Crop Judging at Little I in Fargo on the 8th.  They had fun and did well.

My mom came to stay with us on the 3rd.  I had surgery on the 4th, so she came to help with the kids for the week.  I needed to leave Marcus home, so I felt most confident leaving her with him.  I was unable to nurse him for 48 hrs and he refused to take a bottle – no big surprise there.  The other option was a medicine dropper, so that is how he ate.  He doesn’t eat much during the day anyway, so this actually worked out ok.  He still didn’t like it, but at least he was getting something.  The surgery went well.

DayLook: Monday, February 21, 2011

Looking out from my back porch... it’s snowing again.  Guess the positive way to look at this is that the crusty, yucky looking snow is being covered up. 

I am thankful for... a day at home, the ability to order online, meeting new couples (from our 1st CCL class last night) who are excited about their faith and living it.

I am reading… Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy.  I’ve been on a thriller/mystery kick the last couple weeks.

I am hearing... Graham playing with toys, Dash writing on paper and making clicking noises … why do kids make random annoying noises??  To make their mothers work on patience!

I am wearing… an old sweatshirt (remember I don’t need to go anywhere today), jeans, and tennies.

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)… Angelina’s dance costume needs adjusting.

From the school room... the plans for next year are coming together and the supplies lists are well on their way to being filled, too.  I’ve started to use a few more computer resources in the last few weeks.  Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing has be wonderful for Dash & Angelina!  I also downloaded the current version of Math Facts Now! for Zeke, who needs a bit of practice on the multiplication tables.

From the kitchen… this weekend, I made a huge (as in 18 cups of oatmeal … HUGE) batch of monster cookies.  I baked half and froze half the dough in balls for baking later. 

From the farmyard… the chicks are ordered!  5 Buff Orpington females, 5 Barred Rock females, and 35 Cornish Rock Cross slow broilers (straight run for butchering in early August) should arrive as chicks the first week in May.  The first 10 we’ll add to the current laying flock.

Barred Rock, above, and Buff Orpington, below.

A successful moment… FINALLY, all the composition papers are corrected.  I’d been two weeks behind for what seems like forever. 

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Monday: Eric leaves tonight for a meeting in MN.

Tuesday: Angelina has a haircut tonight before her dance class.  She and I are going to a Lia Sophia jewelry party tonight, too.

Wednesday: Stay home

Thursday:   Real Presence Radio Banquet – Archbishop Chaput from Denver is the speaker.

Friday: National Quiet Day – I’ve been dreaming of this all month…that’s how long I’ve known that there IS a National Quiet Day. 

Saturday/Sunday:   Crop Judging for Angelina and Dash.  Niece – Miss E. – 1st Birthday Party on Sunday.

A picture memory... This is our county 4-H Crop Judging team.  They placed first at the Oakes Contest.  Angelina won High Individual in Oakes.  Not to be outdone, Dash (on the right) won High Individual this past week in Kindred.  They go back and forth … competition is good. 

Crop Judging

Crop judging started up this past weekend.  Although it was blustery on Saturday morning, Eric, Dash & Angelina left at 7:30a to arrive in time for registration.  The contest started a half hour late to allow extra time to registrants to arrive.

Dash and Angelina have improved much compared to last year.  They were the only 4-Her’s at this contest (again!), so they judged with the FFA kids.  The FFA contest is a little more involved than a regular 4-H contest, but was good practice.

They received the 4-H team plaque and Angelina received the High Individual 4-H plaque.  (Yes, she’s a little proud of that … two years in a row … placing higher than her OLDER brother.)

The Results

Well, the crop judgers arrived home from their first-ever contest excited to show me their results. Turns out they were the only junior team at the contest, so they actually won awards! Plaques for high team and high individual are awarded; they brought home both. That was quite a shock to their dad and me, who expected this to be a 'get your feet wet' and experience the nerves, timeline, and attention to detail that is part of a crop judging contest.

High Junior Team Plaque

True to his name, Dash raced through the different crop classes and was the first to be done in almost every class (according to his dad). He earned an individual blue ribbon.

Dash with his blue individual recognition

He admitted that his sister, Angelina, bettered him ...

While Dash was visiting the Golden Acres grandparents (my parents) the previous week and unable to study crop judging materials, Angelina studied every day. On Thursday and Friday, she had individual attention from Grandma and Grandpa Green Acres (my husband's parents), who were impressed with her good attention skills.

In fact, during the contest, she noticed that one set of sheets was a different color from our practice sheets! It threw her, but not for long. Angelina came home with an individual plaque.

Angelina with the High Individual Plaque

By scores, there is much room for improvement. However, each can increase their scores quite easily. Cards must be filled out correctly and completely - easier to remember after participating in a contest. The next meet is Little I at NDSU. This will be a much bigger meet; I hope they've been inspired to work and learn.

Crop Judging

On Saturday, Dash and Angelina will enter the realm of 4-H Crop Judging by competing in their first meet. To prepare, they've been studying weed mounts, weed seeds, crop seeds, and grading grain samples since the beginning of January.

Dad has been leading this endeavor as I've never crop judged; my closest experience would have been an Agronomy course in college. From my own experience in the class, I can tell you that judging will involve a lot of memorization and attention to detail.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the kids do at the contest. A little competition is good and at best, it will create a little motivation for self improvement.

Barley Sample