One Little, Two Little, Three Little Life Lessons

Our dog Hank found himself a few fun toys to play with the other night.  He dug up a rabbit's nest.  We were able to save three of the babies from his overly joyful grips. 

We didn't really have a plan for the rabbits, just thought they would be cute to show to Monkey and didn't want Hank to unnecessarily torture them all.  Once we brought them insde though, Monkey was in love.

So then we were faced with the dilemma of what to do.  We could try to put them back in the nest, but we didn't know if the momma was still around and if she was, would she take them back after we had handled them?  Hank knows where the nest is now, so odds are good he'd just get them again.  Two of the babies were not so carefully played with by Hank, they could have internal injuries.  Would they even survive?  Do we try to raise them ourselves?  The thought of bottle feeding baby rabbits every 3 hours isn't something I relish.  I'd honestly rather have another baby if I'm going to be up during the night anyway.  

I then started thinking, what would be easier: the rabbits disappearing now and Monkey never seeing them again?  Or trying to raise them, getting attached and having them die later?  Disappearing now seems like the much easier solution.  

But, isn't that one of the great parts of growing up a farm kid?  I cherish the memories I have of bottle feeding calves, raccoons, goats, and whatever other random animals we raised throughout the years.  I want Monkey to have those experiences too. 

Yes, there was sometimes pain.  Animals died.  Some we coudn't nurse back to health, others disappeared, and some ended up on our dinner table.  We were sad, but at the same time, it taught us about life and death and we learned from these experiences.  

It seems that there is a disconnection from death in our present society.  People don't want to talk about it.  If the family's goldfish dies, the parents would rather flush it and get a new one with the child never knowing, than to deal with the possible tears.

While I don't ever want to cause Monkey pain or see tears run down her face from having her little heart break, I do want her to value the life cycle.  I want her to know where the food on her plate came from and how important it is to nurture the livestock that ends up there.  I want her to know that no matter what happens on the farm or in life, life continues.  

That was a lot of thinking inspired by three tiny creatures, but it got my wheels spinning.  And I think we might just keep the rabbits.        

Wordless Wednesday: Wine Tasting

Thanks to my parents neighbor, we were able to enjoy an awesome bottle of homemade rhubarb wine on Easter.  We'll be your taste-testers anytime you want Joe!

Weekend Update

We had a great weekend celebrating Easter and Monkey's birthday.  A lot of family time was had, her two out-of-state aunts (also known as Bugs) were able to come home for the weekend.  They took her shopping to pick out her present, most kids in a toy store would be excited about all the prospects.  Not this one... they would pick out something let her hold it and ask if she wanted it, she'd look at it and say with all seriousness... Nope.  Finally they settled on this...      

 

I think it was a hit.

We had a cookout at our house for her birthay and also an Easter egg hunt.  I didn't think Monkey would be too into it, but it turns out she was!

The weather held out for us and ended up being a gorgeous day.  Thanks to everyone who came out to help us celebrate!

Time Flies When Your Having Fun

Two years ago today, Monkey made her grand debut to the world.  It's hard to believe that two years have gone by so quickly. 

Happy birthday Monkey, you are one lucky little girl to have so many people that love you, yet I think WE are the lucky ones!  Love you baby girl!

Wordless Wednesday: Jail

Let me set the stage:

JC and I are hard at work, he on some landscaping and I on preparing a pizza for the grill.  Monkey and Hank were running around the yard playing.  He hears Monkey yelling for help and this is what we find...

I'm hoping this will be the one and only time we are called for help to bail her out.

Indy Childrens Museum

We took a girls trip over the weekend to the Children's Musuem of Indianapolis.  The weather was kind of crappy, so it was really the perfect day to be inside expending energy.  

They had some really awesome exhibits: dinosaurs, Dora & Diego, Playscape, trains, construction site, ScienceWorks and SO much more.  There were some exhibits that the kids weren't that interested in (Barbie for example), but we still managed to spend the entire day there.  The favorites were Dora and Bumblebee (this was an actual prop that was used in the Transformers movie)!

We stopped at one of my all-time favorite restaurants on the way home, The Beefhouse.  What a perfect way to end a long day, with full bellies!

Busy Bee

I love spring.  The newborn calves frolicking thru the pastures, the green grass, flowers popping up, leaves on trees... all signs of spring I love.

However, I don't love what comes with it.  The dreaded spring cleaning.  Yech.  I know a few very sick individuals who actually LIKE it, but for the most part I'd say my feelings on spring cleaning reflect most red-blooded Americans feelings. 

The one thing I do like about it is that I get to observe Monkey "help" her dad out.  She takes the job very seriously.

So serious, in fact, she insists that SHE use the big shovel and her dad must use the small one.

She also really focuses on her jobs, making sure she does it to the best of her ability.

No slacking off from this little worker bee!  Me on the other hand, I was sipping on a Mai Tai, reclined back in my lawn chair just taking in the sun. 

Oh, how I wish.

Signs of Spring

Every day I'm seeing more and more signs of spring.  These branches were bare just a few measly weeks ago and now this!

Thursday Thirteen

1. My little itty bitty baby is going to turn 2 years old in a little over a week!  How is that possible?

2. We are going to take Monkey & her cousin Peanut to the Children's Musuem of Indianapolis on Saturday as sort of a birthday celebration. 

3. Going this weekend rather than her actual birthday weekend has nothing to do with the fact that after she turns two, she'll no longer have free admission, nope not at all.

4. We are going to have a joint birthday party and Easter dinner with the family this year.  I'm thinking instead of going the traditional birthday cake route, I'll make these and maybe a giant cookie.  Any great Easter/Birthday party dessert ideas?

5. Easter is really late this year, I can't even remember the last time it was this late.  I don't much care for it. 

6. I had a night out with the girls a few weeks ago, we went and watched Cody Canada and the Departed.  We had so much fun, I can't wait to do it again!

7. My sand volleyball league starts tonight, so excited for this!

8. I'm so thrilled about the great start we have for the 5K for the VA.  We've already got some great sponsors but really need more, if you are interested, or know someone who might be, please pass the information along.  Our past, present and future troops need our support! 

9. And don't forget to sign yourself up for it!!  Sponsors aren't all we need, participants are even more important!  Don't be scared, if you aren't a runner, you can walk.  AND there will be a fun run just for kids... you don't want to miss that!

10. We are loving spring around our house.  The fresh air and sunshine are doing us all a lot of good!

11. We had a converstation at work yesterday.... what to do with old engagement/wedding rings.  Is it okay to trade them in if you ever get engaged again?  Is it bad mojo?  If hubby had been engaged prior to me, I don't think I would be offended if he traded that ring in for a new one for me.  As long as it was new... I don't want to wear the same ring he gave someone else!  Some people in the office agree with me, but then others say it's bad mojo.  What do you think?

12. I can't remember if I shared a picture of Monkey's first black eye.  She fell and popped her face with a toy.  Here it is almost all healed up.

       

13. I will be in St. Louis most of next week for work, if I don't get a chance to post anything, I apologize in advance!  I am looking forward to going to a Cardinals game while I'm there, GO CARDS!!

Wordless Wednesday: Pocket Pillows

A box of the pillows that we made at the last American Legion Auxiliary meeting to send to troops...

Are you looking for a way to give back to those that fight for our freedoms? Click here.

For more Wordless Wednesdays, click here.

Down on the Farm

I took Monkey over to the farm the other day to check out the calves.  There were two new ones born that very day. 

She was one excited girl, but didn't quite understand why she couldn't get out and go love on them like she does with Hank.

When she saw this guy, she yelled out "Doonnnkey... Shrek!"  Can't tell what her favorite movie right now is, can you?

After checking out the cows, we took a spin over to one of the fields were Dad was working.  He just happened to be broken down so was pretty excited to see us roll up.  After getting things in working order, he gave Monkey a few pointers on how to drive the tractor.... 

And off she went!  She was a natural of course.

Three Warriorettes

When I was young tyke I loved playing outside. I loved going down to the creek and playing in the water and mud. I loved digging up dirt in the yard or fields surrounding the house. I loved rolling around in the grass with the dogs and various other pets we had at the time (goats, raccoons, deer, you name it, we had it). I just loved being outside and getting dirty. Everything about it was fun.

I also loved sports and being active. Volleyball, basketball, track, baseball, cycling, and football… well all of it, really. If it had rules or a ball, I was in. I was quite the active child. I guess I haven’t changed all that much. My time for said activities has decreased, but I still love getting out every Thursday and playing volleyball or even throwing a football around in the yard.

And as for the playing in the dirt part of it… well I guess I haven’t grown out of that either.

I saw the site for the Warrior Dash two years ago and KNEW that I had to be a part of it. The idea of not only running through obstacles, but running through mud has me so excited. Unfortunately, the dates of the races nearest me just never worked out. That is until this year. There is one in Indiana, only two hours away, on a weekend when I have NO plans!

When I found this out, I immediately called my husband to double check that we didn’t have any plans and that he would be okay with watching Monkey that weekend so I could go. He gave me the all clear! I am officially signed up for what will be the most awesome 5K I have ever experienced. And I thought it would be hard to top the Fat Ass 5K of last year (which by the way, I will be doing again this year)!

With mud, fire, old beat-up junk cars, rappelling, running through a river, and more, I think this one will take the cake. And the coolest part is that both of my sisters are going to do it with me!

Support Our Troops. (No Really, Here's How)

I have recently become involved with my local American Legion Auxiliary.  So far, I'm enjoying it immensely and look forward to our meeting tomorrow night where we will again make pocket pillows for soldiers and bibs for veterans in nursing homes.  I feel like I'm really doing something to give back to those who fight for our freedoms.  Which is why I'm so happy to announce that we are trying something new this year.

We are planning the first ever 5K for the VA to be held on Saturday, September 17 in McLean, IL. I think we have a great start to the program so far, but in order to make this a success, I need help!  

A little background... All proceeds from this event will go to help veterans in the Danville VA Hospital. This is an organization that is dedicated to improving the health of the men and women who have so proudly served our nation. Being the 8th oldest VA facility, they consider it a privilege to serve our veterans’ health care needs in any way they can. Services are available to more than 150,000 veterans living in the surrounding 34-county areas of Illinois and Indiana. They are dependent on the goodwill of their benefactors and volunteers who wish to give something back to America's heroes.

So this is where the help comes in... if you would like to sponsor or know of someone who might be interested, please pass the word along.  We really want to give back to the people that have fought for our freedom as this is something that we hold near and dear to our hearts.  And along with sponsorship, you would have a chance to make your business known to the community while showing support for the American Legion Auxiliary and our veterans! 

We have four different sponsorship opportunities available:

GOLD:

• Prominent placement of name and/or logo on participant t-shirt.
• Two complimentary race registrations. 

SILVER:

• Placement of name on participant t-shirt.
• One complimentary race registration. 

BRONZE:

• Placement of name on participant t-shirt.

BLIND SUPPORTER:

• For those who would like to donate, but not have recognition.

All sponsors will also be eligible to put promotional items into the participants' goodie bags.  This can be anything from a business card, brochure, coupon, freebie item, etc. 

If you are interested in supporting this cause, please send me an email at armsfarmsandfam@gmail.com or download the sponsorship form here and mail to:

5K for the VA
7048 Waynesville Rd
Wapella, IL 61777

If you are interested in running or walking the race, by all means, we'd love to see you there!  There is a race just for the kiddos too.  To register, just click here.  And veterans can register for FREE!

Five Seconds of Fame Never Tasted So Good

Remember this awesome birthday cake? 

It's famous!  A friend emailed me yesterday because she was watching the Rachael Ray show and saw MY cake!  Check it out for yourself...

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/cake-wrecks-baking-gone-bad/