A good mail day!

Today marks the first time Spee-Dee Delivery stopped at our house for me! Usually when their white truck pulls into the yard they are delivering car parts for my husband. This week they sent a bunch of the stuff I ordered for the sheep came today.

Everyone helps unpack the box.

It was like Christmas. Everyone was excited to see what was in it. The local farm stores cater to the needs of cattle and hog hog growers, as they out number the number of residents of the county. I ordered several items from Premier1. They cater to sheep growers. The best thing is that they are based in Iowa.

Good mail days means good boxes to play with and mostly likely bubble wrap.

In addition to my drench gun, nutri-drench, and a few pieces of fence tensioners for our high-tensile wire there was the charger for our electric fence. My husband, who has a degree in electrical engineering was so excited to see how well it has been built-- including the crimps on the wires, and the construction of the box.

Ooh look at this...

We opted for a solar charger as we aren't for sure what our final fences will be located and getting electricity run to the appropriate location. J just admits that he's turning in to a hippie who will soon start dressing in all sorts of stereotypical "hippie" attire.

Honestly, I think he's just as excited about the arrival of the sheep as I am. By the time we had the box unpacked, E-minion (who has strep throat) ran off with the bubble wrap. I-minion had taken over the box and Baby O was scheming his way to get into the box. We're waiting for one more box to come, this one will have our portable netting fence that we'll use for temporary fencing and movable paddocks.

I've received confirmation that my shipper will be picking up the woolie beasts on or about April 6, and they'll be making their way to Iowa, after that. Our shipper has four other stops before he arrives in Iowa. If I had to guess, they'll probably be here around April 11 or 12. That's just a total guess on my part, and I'll update when I have a better idea of when they arrive.

Sheep and Death

We raised sheep when I was little -- like really little. We moved off the farm in 1984, just after I turned 5. I vividly recall my parents joking about one sheep having a brain, and with two sheep you have half a brain. Since sheep are flocking animals, an individual owns more than a couple, you've diminished sheep brain power significantly. Really sheep can't be that unintelligent as they've survived for thousands of years and really can thrive in almost any environment.

Since my quest for sheep formally began, I've heard several more tidbits about sheep and their likelihood of keeling over. My favorite, from a co-worker who also raises sheep: "Sheep die and then they get sick."

Folks who are around sheep regularly know they can be pretty sneaky and don't really show symptoms of being ill and when you realize they're sick and then it's pretty dire.

J, who has never been around livestock, spends his free time reading books about sheep, namely Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep, and he's a little disturbed by the health section talking about all the diseases and issues sheep can and do come down with. So much so, while working on the fence J was channeling the sheep saying things like "Oh, I'm tired, I don't think I'm going to go eat, so I'm going to die." Or "I'm bored today, so I think I'm going to die." Or, "I haven't had any energy drink to day, so I think I'm going to die."


Last night at supper while we were discussing fencing, I-minion decides that to try his own hand at a sheep death joke. Here's what he said "We wouldn't want to the fence to not be square, because it would upset the sheep and you know they might ..." At that moment he cocks his head to the side and clicks his tongue, indicating the sheep's demise.

Well we're going to do our best to make sure the fence is square. We've settled on high tensile wire, likely five strands, and the option of electrifying. Since we're expecting a cold, rainy weekend, we'll probably pull out the remaining woven wire fence that is so squished a 5-year-old can step over it without problems.

Operation Sheep Preparation

This weekend was a busy one at our Mount Olympus. The family fencing expert, my older brother Dan, came down to help us get things ready for the arrival of the flock I won from Juniper Moon Farm earlier this month.

Uncle Dan, Fencing Expert.

We haven't come to a consensus about the best way to fence in the total property, but we're getting closer. One thing that we agreed to was that the sheep would live in half the machine shed -- which up until now has been the home of my 1949 International hot rod and 1969 Lincoln Continental, and the inside area that our dogs have access to from their kennel.

Saturday morning we started by moving the cars and cleaned everything out. It was cold, rainy and relatively icky in the morning. We raked the dirt floor and ran the magnet bar over the entire floor and picked up several pounds of nails and other random pieces of metal.

Baby O helped pull the supplies where we needed them to go.

Then we settled on the plans -- three small pens that will serve as lambing jugs and a place to keep sick sheep will be located on the north side and open up into a larger pen. Then using old metal cattle panels were installed outside the building so the sheep will have a place to play.

By 10:30 Saturday morning, we had a plan and I was heading into town to pick up posts. A short break of soup and sandwiches to warm up, it was time to dig post holes. Everyone took a turn digging.

I-minion digging a post hole.

Once we got past the first 18 inches of compacted dirt and frost it was relatively easy to dig -- a vast difference than the fence I helped build in an area that probably should have been a gravel quarry -- lots of rocks and hard digging in clay.

E-minion taking her turn at digging.

Four posts were dug, tamped in, and then came time to scavenge wonderful 2x10s and 2x6s boards to hang on the posts. The boards came from our large barn. One side has fallen down, and the roof is gone. It's unusable now, but has a lot of great wood. The boards were originally part of the hay mow and pens/alleys inside. These boards are HEAVY and honestly 2 inches wide. Most new lumber that says it is 2x6, is more likely an 1 1/2x6.

I wasn't able to help as much as I would have liked, as I was main cook and kid wrangler. Baby O spent a fair amount of time playing in the dirt, and eventually napped in his stroller. The afternoon while he was sleeping, E-minion and I went inside and matched a batch of cake donuts for everyone to snack on. Once again, forgot the camera.

By supper time, we had the majority of the fence in, including rails along the inside walls, to make sure the sheep won't push the wall out. And EVERYONE was filthy and tired. The minions all bathed and crashed.

Baby O played hard, and was obviously in need of a bath.

Sunday we started with the side panels of the lambing jugs, and debated gate construction -- but we decided to wait until we had hardware for hinges and closures before finalizing the plan.

The north side of the building, and will eventually become the three lambing pens.

At the end of the weekend we have to round up bedding and a few bales of hay and we're set. We need to build four gates, and round up another big tub for water -- my plan is to snag Rocky and Jasmine's big tub for water to meet the immediate needs.

The main inside pens, looking south. The wall is actually doors that open to a large pen outside. The far left side of the picture will be hay storage.

This next week's tasks include rounding up the medical supplies, hay and bedding (which will be in the form of baled corn stalks and are easily available here). We are also meeting with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to discuss cost share options for rehabbing the pasture areas, as we intend to graze the sheep as much as possible.

The sheep will be leaving Juniper Moon early in April, and will arrive a few days later.

A Successful Quest

Thank you everyone who voted to help me in my quest for sheep. I won! My much dreamed about theoretical sheep will become real sheep -- in the fleece!

I haven't worked out all the details yet, but I will be the recipient of a flock of Cormo Sheep and Angora Goats. Guess who will be doing a lot of fencing in the near future?

Once I have some things finalized, I'll post them here. Once the sheep arrive, I'll be sure to post lots of pictures of them.

Quest For Sheep

The next task in my master plan of turning our acreage into a real farm is Mariah's Quest for Sheep. The easiest way to do that is to win them!

Recently I entered a online contest at Juniper Moon Fiber Farms to win a flock of Cormo Sheep and Angora Goats. Out of all the folks who submitted videos and essays, I was chosen as a finalist. Please check out my essay, and vote for me here.

Contest runs until March 1.


Edited to add actual Essay Text to blog post:

My name is Mariah and I was born in the year of the Sheep. As a 4 year old who spent nearly every waking moment in the barn with the family's lambs, discovering that fact was way cooler than the first taste of Chinese. I knew sheep were part of my destiny. My parents' raised sheep, hogs and one calf a year for meat in western South Dakota. I relished in all aspects of raising sheep: guarding gates, moving the flock along the chute when we were worming, helping herd them to greener pastures and even washing glass soda bottles and feeding bum lambs. I celebrated the miracles and mourned the losses alongside my parents. I had my own ewe – Melody.

As with a lot of farm children during the early 1980s, my parents' were forced to leave in 1984. We sold Melody and the rest of the flock. Melody became a nice nest egg that eventually helped pay for college. We moved to the city and I never could shake the love for the smell of wool or the comfort and friendship that the lambs provided me.

That probably explains why this city girl convinced her even more of a city boy husband to purchase seven acres of Iowa farmland. One thing that drew us to our acreage was the restored prairie adjacent to our property. I've always wanted to re-establish our land as a working farm – a challenge in a county where the average family farm consists of 350 acres and where hogs out number the human inhabitants 32 to 1. The surge of small, niche operations intensified my desire. Learning to knit and spin focused it.

It's taken eight years, but my husband is actually excited about the idea of sheep. I tell him it will be great for our family (now consisting of 5-year-old twins, an almost 1-year old and two dogs the size of small calves), but really I think he likes the idea that we won't have to mow as much.

In the last two years I've begun to consult with my shepherd friends, natural resource conservationists and other area experts. I've tried to learn as much as possible about the best mix of pasture grass to sow in the “Back 40” to provide proper nutrition throughout the growing season, where to find feed in the winter, what fencing options are best and how to contend with parasites. Recently, there has been great focus on developing a business plan and picking the right breed of sheep that will thrive in Iowa's hot summers and cold winters.

By establishing a flock here in my little corner of the state, I hope to not only create a niche of high-quality fiber animals producing more than enough fiber for me to spin but to develop a business selling yarn and fiber for fiber enthusiasts in the upper Midwest. I also hope to instill a similar work ethic and education in my children that I received in the barn as a child.

Here are the photos I submitted along with my essay, in addition to the one at the top of the blog.

Sleeping beauties

I realized this had been sitting around in my drafts folder for a while, so I've decided to post. This was before the great bunk bed purchase of 2010, but after Baby O was born. March maybe?

I captured these images when I checked on them right before I went to sleep.

My aunt always put new makeup on right before she went to bed. When I was about 5 I asked her why she did that she told me that if I die at night the undertaker will know what I'm supposed to really look like.

In some ways my daughter takes after her -- red curly hair, fiery personality. In her own right E-minion loves the color pink, purple and jewelry. If something were to happen, she'd want everyone to know that she's a princess -- or was. Now she's really into Darth Vader.






I knit these red sleeping socks for I-minion at his request. He soon discovered they didn't stay on his feet really well, but made excellent lobster claws, and were perfect for keeping his hands warm at night.

A confession, of sorts

I’m nearly sloth like about maintaining this blog. So folks don’t think it’s gone totally dormant, a post!

I am totally a wannabe domestic goddess. It may not look like it, but I’ve been told I’m a pretty good actress. My kitchen floor is sticky. Dust bunnies roam the house in search of vigilante justice. Tori the cat lives in fear. J describes the living room as filled with “rubble.” And Mount Laundry? Only the bravest souls attempt to conquer it.

Since I work full time, have three kids, two dogs, a cat and a husband I don’t want to (and obviously) don’t spend my days tending the house. I felt like I was losing a battle in the house, not spending the type of time I wanted with the kids or J. I certainly felt guilty when I would to take some “me” time.

I count coup on days I toss something in the crock pot or remember to put in a load of laundry in the washer in the morning and put it in the dryer in the evening. More than once I’ve opened the lid and realized there’s a load of fragrant towels waiting for the dryer.

I also have things I want to do in life – knit, spin, play in the garden and help my kids explore the world.

Where we live it is expectation that the mothers take on the bulk of child rearing, all or nearly all of the cooking and the vast majority of housekeeping. Working moms I know say “I’d love you to come over for lunch, but the house is such a mess.” In reality, they’re busy, they do the dishes after supper and they yell to have the kids pick up the living room. When they collapse at the end of the day they are too tired to mess with the stray Legos on the carpet or the cat fur on the back of the couch. They are like me.

At our Mount Olympus, J does half (at least) of the cooking and cleaning around the house. He’s just as integral to the family routine and caring for the kids (Most nights they’d rather have dad do baths).

We were both tired of keeping up with the illusion. No more smoke and mirrors at our Mt. Olympus. Something had to give.

I’m admitting it here, so to not insult mothers out there trying to work, raise a family and keep the health department from condemning the house.

We hired a cleaning lady.

I’ll call her Alice, in honor of Alice from the Brady Bunch. I’m sure Alice is all that kept Mrs. Brady from ringing the neck of her six wonderful and charming children/step children every time she needed to change the bedding – eight beds!

My Alice comes every two weeks. She sweeps, mops, vacuums, dusts, changes the sheets on the beds, cleans the bathroom, does a few loads of laundry, cleans my fridge out and any other stuff she sees that needs to be done. She’s been to our house three times.

I admit I actually jumped for joy and “squee-d” when I went upstairs the first time and saw the reflection of my kids playing in their room on their door – it was that clean and sparkly. My 50+ year old linoleum in my kitchen was so reflective. Alice she even scraped off the Mickey Mouse sticker that was adhered to the floor, it blended in so well that I left it. It was a great way to distract the kids when I was cooking "Quick! Find Mickey!" See, again with the faking.

Most weeks she spends nearly eight hours at my house and it works out to about $75 a time. On the evening she comes, I pause, take a deep breath and realize I’ve spent that kind of money before and not received that type of enjoyment or peace of mind.

The kids love it when Alice comes because she brings a baked treat of some kind – as she says, most husbands think that the wives should be able to keep up with the house, the wives think they need help. The fastest way to when the men over is by leaving a home-baked treat each time.

We are not a family that cleans before the cleaning lady comes. But I am ruthless about making sure things are put away where they belong. I’ve learned there is a distinct difference between “cleaning” and “de-cluttering.”

Surprisingly, J – one of the biggest culprits – and the kids are getting used to making sure if you get it out, it gets put back where it came from. Each time before Alice comes there is less and less that I feel that needs to be done. Thus, the house remains less cluttered, cleaner and my stress levels are reduced.

What’s the best part? I don’t feel like I have to spend Saturday cleaning, squeezing in something fun with the kids and then having to stay up late to do spend time with J or do something by myself. Now the house is clean, we can do fun stuff in the morning and when the kids nap, I do what I want guilt free.

Spring Fever

Buried under all of that is my garden. This photo was taken on Jan. 30 and the drifts through my garden were about 4-5 feet tall. Today, April 1, they are about 2 feet tall through only a small portion.

This winter has been long, hard and down right miserable. I am so anxious to get out and feel the dirt under my fingers and to see things growing once again. The kids are getting anxious to work in the garden, too. This year I am anticipating J taking a more active role in the gardening process. He never grew up around a veggie garden, and didn't know what to expect. This year he does. He's also excited about about growing fresh food for the family this year, too.

We are planning to improve the garden this year in the following ways:

• Better bunny proofing. We've had chicken wire wrapped around hog panels (that keep the deer out) and relied on Jasmine with bunny patrol. This year we're going to build wood frames with the chicken wire stapled to it so we can customize the size of the garden and make it safer. This is based on the plan Uncle Dan has implemented in his garden. As far as the deer are concerned, we're going to rely on the predators (aka Rocky and Jasmine) to keep them out. We don't normally see the deer near the house.
• Garden contents: We are planning on planting more green beans and peppers. I did not realize how much my children loved fresh green beans and green peppers. Whenever I make fajitas I have to secretly cut the peppers up so the kids don't snarf them as I'm preparing to cook. I want to plant potatoes and onions but local lore says to plant them on Good Friday (which is tomorrow). There is still snow where I intend to plant them, and who knows if the ground is still frozen.
• Return on the Killer Tomatoes: We'll be planting more tomatoes this year, too. Romas, cherry or grape tomatoes and maybe one or two plants of slicing tomatoes. I'm not a big fan of tomatoes, but I like little ones to pop in my mouth or include in salads. I also intend on making tomato sauce and salsa with the remains.
• Composting: It is true Iowa has amazing soil. My first garden we tilled up a chunk of the yard and I plopped my seeds and tomato and pepper plants in the ground and watched them grow. This year I intend to make a more concerted effort to improve the soil, and create good soil for growing things. As an added bonus, I'm all about recycling and minimizing our footprint on the earth.

Bring on the green things, I'm anxious to start gardening.

Mission (almost) Impossible

My friend Victoria challenged me to this way back in June, and I'm just getting to it now -- that's what makes it a nearly impossible task. Go to your sixth photo folder and find your sixth photo in the folder and write about it.

Here is mine:


This was taken shortly after Christmas in 2006, the kids were just over a year and were truly interested in controlling their world. At 13 months there isn't much you can control, but they found out that they could turn on and off the lamps in the living room and proceeded to do it over and over and over again.

Life was just getting easier at our house. After the minions were born, life was a blur of feedings, diaper changes and eventually giggles and belly laughs from them. Honestly, it was at about this time that I really started to enjoy being a parent. I could interact with them, they were starting to talk -- or at least make their opinions known. Life was getting easier because they could start to feed themselves. Each new phase while at first is a challenge, has made life as the parent of twins easier.

When they started walking we had to keep a close eye so they didn't wander away, but soon we didn't have to carry them any more. Next it was potty training. They've turned from blobs of baby to intelligent and independent children.

These little guys are 4 and are amazing. They know instinctively how to piss off the other one but in the next breath they are willing to fight to the death to protect the other one.

Now the exciting thing isn't turning the light on and off, but "reading" their favorite books to Baby O. He lays on the floor kicking and cooing. The minions sit next to him reciting their favorite books -- E-minion's prefers the Lorax and I-minion likes Richard Scary's Big Story Book. When they're done, E-minion will kiss his forehead and I-minion will give him an Eskimo kiss and tell him good night.


I'm tagging
Lazy Goddess
Mary @theyellowdoor

Justified hiatus

The last little while I've been a bit busy.




Baby O, officially known as Owen James arrived at 8:43 a.m. Monday, Feb. 1 and he weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 inches long. The "little" guy was two weeks early but very, very healthy.



From the beginning I have been convinced he takes after his father. While in labor he kept sneaking away from the Doppler they were using to monitor his heart rate. At one point in the night I'm sure that he put on his tinfoil hat and said "Screw this, I'm going into hiding."

When went in for the cesarean section, he had disengaged himself from my pelvis and had floated to the top -- attempting to get away.

The only instance we've had of the minions disliking their brother came after a no-nap day and E-minion told me that she wanted to send him back. I-minion likes to give him Eskimo kisses. (For the interested folks, that's Grandma K ).


The first two weeks the kids always commented on the fact his eyes were open. It took me another week to realize the reason why they were so interested was because the only other babies they'd been around were baby kittens, who don't open their eyes for a couple weeks.


Hello Handsome, welcome to the world!

Hot off the needles

With the snow and advancing pregnancy, I haven't spent a lot of time outside or otherwise living life in the fast lane. What I have been doing is knitting.

Pattern:Zip-up-the-back hoodie (ravelry link to pattern)
Yarn: Valley Yarns Superwash in green and yellow
Model: Baby Ryan -- I-minions baby that Gramma Caela made for him. This baby wears a 0-3 sleeper -- he's just not as thick as a regular baby.
Notes: This is for Baby O. I was inspired to find this sweater after my doctor mentioned that someone knit one for her oldest when he was a baby, All of her kids used it and it was very useful because you could put it on the kid while in the car seat.

This would be a quick knit, if I decided to do it the simple way. Instead of just one color or simple stripes, I decided the sleeves should be one color and the body a different one. I think at one point I had five or six balls of yarn attached to this sweater. It was a mess to keep straight, but the finished project was worth it.

The zipper took a bit to find one that would work and I sewed it in by hand. Not quite as speedy as doing it with the machine, but worked just as well.



Pattern: Saartjes-bootees (ravelry link) for Baby O
Yarn: Valley Yarns Superwash in green and yellow. This was some of the leftover from the zip up the back hoodie I made for the baby earlier. The little fish buttons were the only ones I could find at Hobby Lobby in Sioux Falls, SD, that weren't obviously boy or girl buttons and yet still geared for kids.

Notes: They knit up quickly. I'm not sure when they'll fit the baby, but at some point in the first few months they will likely fit.

If I were to make this again, and I probably would. I would extend the number of stitches that you cast on to make the straps (trust me it will make sense when you look at the pattern) and then make a buttonhole with a YO and a K2tog in one of the middle rows.


Pattern: Basic Socks, no real pattern
Yarn: Wool Ease worsted -- a wool/acrylic blend and that means they are machine washable.
Notes: These were for I-minion. He had been requesting red sleeping socks for a long time. They are just a basic ribbed sock. They didn't take long to knit up, and he likes to wear them and slide around the house.


Pattern: The Squidge Cloth
Yarn: Sugar N' Cream Solids and Ombres -- two skeins. Although I had to snag some left over purple cotton to finish the one.
Notes: E-minion is a big girl. To celebrate that I made for her two washcloths, and towels with velcro so she could wrap them around herself and make them stay up, and found two pink hair wraps to soak up the water after bath time.



There are other things on the needles and have not photographed. They include a sweater that still needs one short sleeve, a pair of top secret socks , a stole and The Shawl of Doom. I finished a pair of socks that I started in the summer, but neglected to photograph them before I sent them home with Gramma Caela.

Is winter over yet?

It's been a long winter here on my Mount Olympus. We've gotten smacked by major snow storms every two weeks for at least the last six weeks -- that means we've had a lot of snow, and blowing snow. It also means that if and when the sun shines it's blinding.

Most of these images were taken Christmas Day -- when one of the biggest snow storms hit. It prompted the cancellation of all Christmas services at area churches for four days. We really needed Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to save Christmas. But, I hear he was too busy helping Santa.

Since these photos were taken we've had additional snow, freezing rain. It's like a glacier out there and the piles are just taller.

E-minion climbing into the snow pack from the driveway -- it was about as tall as she is.


The barn. Our last snow storm, on Jan.25, nearly the entire roof on the south side of the barn fell because of the weight of the snow and 55 mph winds we had.

And finally, Ms. Jasmine swimming her way through the yard. The freezing rain created a nice crust on the snow so she can run and jump all on top of the snow that's about 2 1/2 feet deep. It also means that she doesn't have to stay in the areas where J has plowed out.

Projectile Vomit

Three more sleeps has become my mantra over the last 24 hours or so. J will return from China late Wednesday night.

I had two fears while he was gone. My No. 1 concern was a big snow storm would hit and I'd have to plow out the yard. My second concern was that the kids would get sick. It happened.

We were 35 miles from home after spending the weekend at Gramma Caela's when Edie started complaining her tummy hurt. Then she proceeded to projectile vomit throughout the entire car.

We stopped and I mopped it up best I could, changed her clothes and we got on the road again. I think I got the car cleaned out (although I fear opening the door to see if the smell is gone). I think her seat is clean, too. I think this afternoon I'll reinstall her car seat.

So far, no barf today. I think she's over it, and will be able to go to day care tomorrow and I can go back to work.

Precious Gem

When I bought my spinning wheel earlier this year from a fiber friend who discovered she didn't really like spinning, I volunteered to spin her some roving she purchased with intentions of spinning.

I recently got the guts enough to declare I was decent enough in spinning to tackle making yarn for someone else. Let me tell you a plastic bag identifying it as a 1/2 pound garnet, and nothing else. I took to spinning it.

I haven't been spinning long, but I realize this spun like butter. Nice long fibers, soft and a beautiful color. For some reason, it also has a wonderful cinnamon smell, too.

I finished spinning it a week ago Friday, and began plying Saturday evening while I placated the kids with a movie. I spun two bobbins, but obviously didn't get an even amount on both. I plied what I had, and then attempted to unwind what was left on two into a center pull ball so I could ply from that -- something I've managed to do in the past. Apparently it wasn't meant to be.

I created, what I think, was muppet fur [which I regrettably did not take a picture of] It was a nightmare. At least I did end up with a fair amount of yarn.




Details:
Fiber: Wool -- something with a long staple length and quite soft
WPI: 13 or so. That makes it slightly finer than a worsted weight wool
Yards: 330 yards.

I told Ellen that I needed to know what it was and where she got it, so I can procure some for my own use, as it was a dream to spin.

A Goddess Improvises

For the last several days I-minion has been begging me to make "Oatmeal Cookies." I finally relented on Sunday and we mixed a batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies courtesy of Grandma Caela.

This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe my mother ever made when I was growing up. I must clarify, that by the time I could make my way around the kitchen my mother declared "Making pie is against her religion." and I'm pretty sure that making cookies would also nominate her as heretic of the year.



If you notice the chips in these cookies are not quite "chocolate" in color. You see, this wannabe domestic goddess got everything mixed up before she realized there were NO chocolate chips in her house. This shocked me, as I usually have a stockpile of chips of the chocolate variety in my cupboard. I'd picked up a package of vanilla chips for a recipe I had intended to try out. For the record -- the cookies are quite tasty with vanilla chips.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp hot water
1 tsp vanilla
1 12oz package of chocolate chips
2 cups oatmeal

Cream sugar and shortening well. Add eggs and mix. Combine baking soda and hot water and add to mixture. Mix in remaining ingredients, the chocolate chips last. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees until brown. In my oven it was about 13 minutes. Let the cookies cool, and store in a air-tight container.

If you are like this wannabe domestic goddess, you'll use a fancy cookie jar. In my house, you can see it is a pretty sweet container.



Under typical baking situations at our house, I mix the cookies -- often with help from the minions. Then J actually bakes the buggers. It's part of our teamwork. We both like cookies. I like to mix them up, but hate baking. He hates mixing but enjoys baking. This time around the kids and I mixed cookies, and I ended up baking them while they went outside and built a fence out of posts they discovered behind the chicken coop.

Self Portrait

Up until recently I used our small Canon point and shoot camera for my photographic needs. I have a old-school film SLR that was rarely used. Since my bills aren't paid by my picture taking skills, I never upgraded to a digital version of my film camera. Until now.

For those interested (and for those not, just scroll down) it is a Canon XSi with an 18-50 mm f2.8 lens. I think I've found a new love.

May I present a rare self portrait I took with the new camera.

The Far East

From now until Thanksgiving the minions and I are holding the fort down while my husband is exploring the Far East. Well, maybe not the entire country, but the Eastern coast and Shanghai area. J's job is one where he works with engineers and suppliers who are based in China. He is on his annual trip across the Pacific.

We've spent the previous couple weeks getting the minions ready for the trip. We've made paper chains to count the number of sleeps until Dad comes home (13 as of today, Friday, Nov. 13). The kids cut and taped/glued them together. When I-minion finished his chain he commented on its length. "This is really long, that means Dad is going to be gone a long time." He started to cry. "There is water coming out of my eyes and I can't stop it."






The kids have been asking a lot of questions about China and where it is in relationship to where we live. After lunch on Sunday J broke out my globe circa 1918 (a antique store find more than a decade ago). Normally it sits on my cabinet in my dining room looking scholarly.

J pointed out where we live, and how far away China is and pointed out some of the different cities they'll be visiting.

Last time J was in China the kids were just about ready to turn 2. This time they know what's going on. Multiple times a day I hear: "I'm sad because my dad is gone" or "I miss daddy."

We'll be talking to J via skype a couple times. The kids' stuffed dogs that look like their real dogs are with him in China. I expect checking e-mail regularly with the kids so they can see what type of adventures the puppies have.

This is of course difficult for me, too. J and I are partners in everything in life. J and I split cooking, cleaning and parental duties. I'll be honest when I say it is intimidating to be doing this alone right now. It's also unusual for me to take over some of the duties that J just normally handles -- like loading and unloading the dishwasher and putting the dogs in the kennel in the morning.

I was raised by Muppets

I learned about life by watching Sesame Street. So many life lessons were learned on the street: Making friends, compromising, and counting in Spanish. Gordon was the first black man I'd ever encountered. Kermit the roving reporter inspired me to become a journalist.

We lived in the country. After my brother hopped on the bus, I would eat breakfast and Mom and I would head outside to do chores or other tasks of farm life. But mostly, I played with the sheep and chased the cats.

By 11:30 we'd be back inside and my mother would let me turn on the television. South Dakota Public Television was one of three channels that came in clearly. The first notes of the theme and seeing the kids and Big Bird walking through the grass would send me running to my mother urging her to start the water for macaroni and cheese.

As the water boiled and the noodles cooked I watched Kermit, Grover, Oscar and Cookie Monster learned about a world that seemed so foreign to a preschooler living in rural western South Dakota. I admit "Monster Piece Theatre" scared me, and I giggled madly when they decided they needed to count all thieves from "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves."

The life events that happened on Sesame Street seemed to mirror what was happening in my own life. Maria and Louis had Gabby about the same time my little brother was born. Mr. Hooper died shortly before my grandmother did. Seeing how the Muppets coped with life somehow made it OK for me to be worried if my parents would have time for me after the baby was born and to be sad about Grandma Edie dying.

As I've grown up I realized the skits, parodies and events at 123 Sesame Street mirrored pop culture, great literature and world events. Looking back, I think the combination of Sesame Street and my parents' influence played a critical role in developing my love of literature and learning.

I'm now the parent of 3-year-old twins. As cliche as it sounds as much as things change, they stay the same. I still live in the country. It's western Iowa instead of South Dakota. We get four television channels over the air and one of them happens to be Iowa Public Broadcasting. Sesame Street is a big part of my children's lives.

The format has changed a bit. The theme has a hip-hop bend. The Muppets are still there, so are the lessons. Interestingly enough I find the show draws me in much like it did when I was a child. Perhaps not quite to the extent of E-minion and I-minion are. They are exploring their world via the same street I did. Unfortunately the worlds are completely different. I am comforted that the kind words of Maria and the rest of the Muppets (including one of my favorites, Grover) are there to guide my babies as they grow up.

Today marks the premier of the 40th Season of Sesame Street. The Minions and I will be watching at 5:30 p.m., when it airs on IPTV. So in honor of the anniversary I am providing a couple of videos marking some of the best of the best. One old school clip -- Kermit the Frog, roving reporter -- and one that the minions and I both love -- Murray Had a Little Lamb.

More Conversations with now 3-year-old

Cast of Characters:
I-minion, E-minion, Mom and Dad
Setting: At the supper table
[Half way through supper, a new topic of conversation is proposed]

Mom: What do you think about a baby coming to live at our house?
E-minion: [tilts head to the side and ponders for a moment] That's OK. I'm a big girl now. I have a big girl bed. The baby can sleep in my baby bed because I don't need it.
I-minion: [with a very serious look on his face] Mama, That is NOT funny.
Dad: Why?
I-minion: Well, babies cry all the time, and that hurts my ears.
Mom: [to Dad] Well, I guess we'll bring this up later.


Conversation Continued a few weeks later (after I-minion has learned it could be cool becoming a big brother and seeing that babies don't cry ALL the time)

E-minion: We could have a boy baby ...
I-minion: Or, a girl baby, OR [looks directly at our black labrador and thinks no, we won't have a puppy] a black baby.
Dad: Huh?
I-minion: We could have a boy baby, a girl baby or a black baby.
Mom: Oh, I don't think so.

Summer Hibernation

Based on the temperatures, cloudy skiesand the rain drops filtering through the atmosphere, it must mean that summer hibernation is officially over at Portrait of a Wannabe Domestic Goddess.

As good as my intentions are to blog consistently throughout the summer, it just isn't meant to be. This summer has been an unusual one in our little part of Iowa.

Let's name off the big news of the summer:

• My in laws who have claimed western Pennsylvania as home for the last 12 years continued the process of moving to Iowa. A lay off just before Christmas and new job in a neighboring town prompted my father-in-law to move here, live with us for six weeks, before buying a house. It's October now and my brother-in-law is here, and my mother-in-law is in the process of getting the house in PA ready for sale.
• With the excitement of the move and helping get everyone settled the garden was NOT planted this year. Rabbits have moved into the weedy area and have been feasting on the volunteer Marigolds and Dill I planted last year.
• We camped with Kelli and T and their superstar dog Lilly. That had a big impact on the kids as they frequently "go camping" in the yard or upstairs.
• We began discussing with the kids their thoughts on having a baby come live at our house. Thankfully they came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be so bad as there will be a baby arriving in February.
• E-minion and I-minion moved into their big girl and big boy beds without issue. Their former room has become the "baby's room."
• I've been knitting, a little, but more frequently ripping out since projects haven't been going my way.
• I've been cooking some, but not a lot -- as the early pregnancy ickies took hold firmly this time. They've passed and I've got some semblance of energy now.

Since it's fall, I am in the process of making Halloween costumes, preparing for the baby and for my husband to travel to China for work sometime in November.