Last post of 2008!!

Well, Christmas came and went. Crazy, wild and exciting. It was awesome. The boys had a blast. They loved everything. I am glad to be moving on from all the hustle and bustle though. Tonight is New Years Eve, and we don't have anything planned. That is par for the course of being a farm family. Philip still has to get up at 4:30 am and milk. The girls could care less what day or year it is, or what is going on... These are the times I seem to feel it the most. I won't lie. It does bother me. Oh well. The boys had their first overnight with my mom since Sawyer was a tiny baby. It was nice to have the break. I still had to get up and do chores in the morning which sucked but atleast I didn't need to cart the boys down to the barn. They are going to stay again on Friday night and I won't have to do chores so that will be nice. Philip and I will be able to go and get breakfast and pick them up together. Philip's great aunt Caroline Ranney turned 100 yesterday. She is doing well. We went to see her and Donald and June and some others and had Cake and Ice cream. It was really nice. Caroline isn't talking too much, but she listens. She has in home care round the clock now, which is good. She has for only about the last 2 years or so. She is such a remarkable woman. Well I guess that is all for now. I got to get our pizza ordered. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and safe 2009!

Fudge, Fudge and MORE Fudge!!!

I have been making FUDGE all morning! Mmmmmmmm!!!!! I have made chocolate walnut fudge, plain chocolate fudge, chocolate coconut fudge, chocolate peppermint fudge!! I still need to make the Peanut Butter Fudge, which is our personal favorite!

I used the recipe on the back of the Nestles chocolate chip bag for Nestles Famous Fudge!

The recipe is...
1 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
2/3 Cups evaporated milk
2 tbsp butter or margerine
1/4 tsp salt
2 Cups mini marshmallows
1 1/2 Cups Semi Sweet chocolate chips (9oz)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Line 8 inch pan with foil or wax waper
Combine Sugar, evap milk, butter and salt into medium saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Do this about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in chocolate and marshmallows at the same time, along with vanilla. Stir vigorously until melted. Pour into prepared pan, cool 2 hours until firm. Lift from pan and cut into peices.

This makes a great base fudge. Add in options-
crushed peppermint candy (on top)
walnuts
coconut

I will let you know how the peanut butter fudge comes out and post the recipe as well!! :)

Poking Hay...

I hate it. WHY do I hate it so much? Because the mother in me can't stand when each cow doesn't have the "same". LOL. Yes. It's true. It drives me crazy!! Most of the cows could care less, but every now and then I get one girl that looks at me as if she were saying..."They got MORE!" Silly I know. :)

Christmas is coming!

The goose is getting FAT!! lol. Just kidding. (About the goose anyway!) Life sure has been hectic around here preparing for the big day! We had Sawyers "Wemo Paaarty" (Nemo Party in sawyer-ese). It was great. We had pizza and wings and it was a pretty mellow gathering for the most part.

My christmas shopping is almost done. The boys pretty much are. Now if only I could stop seeing things I think they MUST have! I have a few extended family left to get for, and alot of baking to do next week :)

We got hit pretty hard Thursday night/early friday morning with rain/sleet/ice. We lost power for a short time here. About 2:30 am until about 4:15 am. I had been up with a sick Sawyer when it went out. and was up with a disgruntled farmer when it came back on... lucky me :) In all seriousness though, we were concerned about the barn, milking with the generator and Philip not getting oatmeal for breakfast!

Sure enough though, the barn was flooded. Big time. Poor Willie was standing in about 2 inches of water, and the girls in the last section near the end of the barn were totally flooded as well. Wet udders and all. Our little sump pump was NOT going to work. Philip milked, wading through rough waters, and after he was done, called around to find a pump that was bigger. We did, and it worked. Thank Goodness! We were able to get all the water out of the barn before the temperature dropped below freezing. We would of had a skating rink!

Every calf that could get loose that morning did, although it was quite cute, and their spunky little attitudes and total cuteness, entertained Philip and I, and kept us from losing our minds with all that had gone wrong.

There are still quite a few without power, and it really makes me think about how lucky we were this time around. And how blessed we are in general to have the things, luxeries really, that we have, and just how much we take them for granted. Farming is alot of hard work for sure, but it was alot harder back in the days when they did everything by hand or horse. Sometimes when everything seems to go wrong, it's easy to forget that things really could be worse. Alot worse.

So that is about all for now. I most likely won't get a chance to get back to update again before the holidays.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!! (and to all a GOOD NIGHT!)

My baby is turning 3!!!

I can't believe it. Sawyer will be 3 on Friday. (December 5th) It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home all bundled up in a snowstorm. Now he's a walking, talking maniac! He is such a fun little boy. He has a sweet, care free personality. He wants to go to school so bad. Earlier today, he walked up to me and says "I Wuh you mom." and as he walks away he says "I wuh you so much!" awwwww. I melted. I just can't get over how big he is.

Crazy Curious Babies!

The Belted Galloway Twins, Johnny and June, are getting so big and more and more curious by the day! lol. They are sooo funny. Philip has them, along with Leda (their mother) and Sable (their big sister) down behind the barn now. They keep sneaking under the fence and grazing ou ton the front lawn. It's super cute! So naughty! The tenants in the farmhouse haven't minded yet, aside from trying to shoo them back. (In which Johnny gave her an attitude and headed right back to where he was) The Putney Craft Tour was this weekend and Steven told Philip that more people stopped and go tout and took pictures of the twins being naughty than anything! We should have joined the tour and charged for photos! I will admit, they are VERY cute. And Silly. And naughty.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! While things are tight $$wise for us this year, we have SO much to be thankful for. Our handsome fellas, and just everything about them, our marriage which is wonderful, our cozy home, our furbabies, the cows, our health, and overall happiness, food in our tummies (and GOOD food too!) The list goes on and on. I am So thankful I got 3 extra days with my gram before she died a couple weeks ago, that I DID get to tell her how much I loved her that last time, and hear her tell me the same. Sometimes it is easy to forget these things. It gets hard to take the time to reflect. Worry and stress always seems to find us, yet the beautiful amazing things in our lives, we take for granted. We had a great Thanksgiving.

Getting ready for the Holidays.

The crazy, exciting, season. It's my favorite season. I love Christmas music and the whole feelign of it all. I love the hustle and bustle, good food, friends and family. I love seeing the kids eyes light up as they open their gifts. I love how they fall asleep in random places that night because they just can't stay awake any longer. I love Christmas cookies! This year we will be having our Holidays the night before since Our farm hand, Steven will want to be with his family. Philip will have to work those days. That is ok with us though. The Wednesday Night before Thanksgiving, we are having our friends and a few family over for dinner, Tim and Gelsy and their kids, Jon and Laura and their kids, Cora Skot and Erik, Harold and Joyce, Charles and Elaine (if Elaine is up to it) and Eloise and Larry. We will have a great time and great food. I know this because Tim is an AWESOME cook! (NO that isn't the only reason we invited him! Just a bonus :) Then on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, the boys and I are going to see my family at my Uncle Shawns house. We will come home around 4:30 to hel Daddy feed calves and do evening chores. Our Christmas plan are pretty much the same basic idea, but with less people. We will do our whole tree that evening, since Daddy milks every morning. We can't have him missing out on the gifts and the kids faces. We got our cards done, and I almost have them all ready to go out. I am hoping to hand most of them out as I see people over the next couple weeks to save on postage. We also had a cute one made for the farm to mail to all of our business contacts as well. They came out great. I am slowly getting my holiday shopping done. I have done alot of it on Ebay and Craigslist this year and have gotten some great "package deals". I hope everyone else is having lots of luck getting prepared, and finding those special gifts!

Farming Chatter

Well, things are holding up on the farm. Willie is getting bigger and handsome. His "longhorns" are growing so much! He is so friendly. Philip has been trying to get roundbales home. Last year he didn't beat the snow and it made things MUCH harder than need be. We have pretty mych wrapped up haying (No pun intended :) except for one last field but it doesn't appear that the weather is going to cooperate much there. We would have had it ALL done long before now had the tractor not decided it needed a very expensive break. The cows are now staying in during the night. They still go out during the day so Philip can get the chores done. No one has come down with milk fever lately which is good since we had a couple of older cows recently calve. Other than that there hasn't been too much going on. I have been busy trying get prepared for the Holidays. (Are we ever REALLY prepared though?) Also Sawyer's 3rd birthday is coming right up on December 5th. He is going to have a Finding Nemo Party that evening. I just won a great lot of Take along Thomas trains, tracks and accesories for his "big" birthday Present. He loves Thomas! I can't wait to see him play with them all.

Rest Peacefully Grandma

On Sunday, November 9, my great Grandma, Dorothy Benware, lost the battle of life. She was 90 and in pain. I was blessed to be able to see much of her during her final 3 days. I went over each night after the kids were in bed to help my family members care for her into the night. When she was awake, she was alert and knew who was there and was able to talk a bit as well. I was able to tell her I loved her so much. I was able to hear her say she loved me too. She told Libby, (Her daughter and main caretake-my nana's sister) "Don't cry, I am just moving on"

Knowing this comforts me, but it doesn't ease the pain of the fact that she is really gone. Her duaghter passed away in the 50's at the age of 13 and she had outlived 4 others as well, and Grandpa, so I know she was looking forward to the reunion in Heaven when she got there. She was an amazing woman. I looked up to her so much. I always wanted to be just like her. Her voice was stern yet comforting to me. She always made me laugh or smile. She was the strongest woman I ever knew. She had a hard life, alot of sorrow, yet she NEVER seemed down. As a kid, I just thought she'd be here forever and I still can't grasp the fact that she's gone. We laid her to rest on Wednesday. A beautiful sunny day. Rest peacefully Grammy. Know that I will carry you in my heart and in my memories, until we meet again. I love you so much. Thank you for everything you gave to me and taught me. I hope I have become a woman you are proud of.

A little of This and A Little of That.

I know I have posted twice already today, but this is more of a family type update. Enough of the farming junk already. LOL>

I turned 27 this past Monday (October 20th). It was a beautiful sunny day, and Philip and the boys made it extra special! Garrett had SO much fun making me a card, and decorating my cake and they all treated me like a princess all day. That evening, my dear friend Cora and her family came over for Corn Chowder. It was really fun. I am so blessed with an amazing family and wonderful friends.

October 22nd marked the 10 year anniversary of Gary's death. (Philip's little brother) It is hard to believe that 10 years has passed. I can remember it like it was yesterday. We brought a gorgeous mum up to the cemetary and upon arriving, we realized that a PUMPKIN was growing from the plants in front of his headstone. We had put a small one up their last year, and it composted and sprouted. The caretaker had mowed and weedwhacked around it all summer and here on his anniversary was this perfect little pumpkin. Very cool. We picked it and put it up next to the mum, and it looks just right.


The boys are doing well. Everyone is finally over their colds and sicknesses.

Garrett is loving school. He has gone on two field trips, and is never ceasing to amaze me with all that he is learning. He is writing ALOT now, and more and more without help. He spelled his friend Kobe's name as well as Mom without anyone showing him how to spell them! He is starting to write numbers as well. I am SO proud of him!

Sawyer is talking more and more and clearer everyday. He misses Garrett so much while he is at school. He is doing well though. He is now only one size smaller clothing wise than his "big" brother. He got a new carseat the other day, A Graco Nautilus and he loves it. I think his favorite part of it is the cupholder.

Our friends, Gelsy and Tim Young, welcomed their 3rd child, a little girl, Isabel Valentina 3 weeks ago. She is simply gorgeous! and soooo sweet. She joins a brother Ethan, (who happens to be Garrett's very best bud) and a sister Elina. I am really looking forward to watching her grow and getting my baby fix :)

Philip's aunt Elaine had her operation, and is recovering well. My great grandmother isn't doing very well, she is 90 and having some serious complications. Also just found out another close relative has breast cancer. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Philip's cousin, Jolena and her family welcomed their 6th child, a baby girl who came 2 weeks late and weighed above 9 lbs. Her name is Rith Catherine. She joins Dad Clifford, brothers Nick, Joseph, Samuel and Jonathan, and sisters Hannah and Grace.

Well that is enough of an update for now!!

Free Bull Calves!

A local man had been taking all of our bull calves for awhile now, and he recently decided he had enough. "Oh Great," we thought. "NOW what are we going to do?" since you basically get charged to send them to auction as they bring nothing and you have to pay trucking. Well I got creative and posted an add on craigslist. I can't get over the response! We have had so many calls and emails, we now have a waiting list! Some of them want to raise meat, one family wants 4 for 4-H projects... everyone on the list wants 3-6 calves. We should be good to go through the spring at this rate and have no issues getting rid of them.

Nothing Runs like a Deere...

Except when they break down. Ugh. We were told a short while back that our tractor would soon need a clutch job and were given an estimate. We really had no choice as this is our only tractor with a loader and 4wd. We couldn't afford to have it gone as corn was soon to come. Well corn came, and the ol' girl held out for us. We HAD to get through packing the pile. LITERALLY 5 MINUTES after Philip finished packing the final pile, he was pulling out of the bunker and she gave out. There she sat. She sat in that spot for a week while we decided what we were going to do. Finally we agreed we just had to get her fixed. The repair company came and got her and she sat over there for a week while they figured out was wrong. Come to find out, she had a vast array of issues and was going to cost 2 and a half times what we had originally been quoted. Well after another week she was fixed and back home and now we are FRANTICALLY trying to catch up on the last of our 2nd cut hay.... which we MUST get. That and we are trying to figure out how to make some Golden milk... to pay for the repair job.

Goodbye Waylan...

Well... little Waylan didn't make it. I am sad, but we tried so many different things. I honestly think he had an intestinal deformation. He wasn't growing or putting on weight. Atleast he isn't suffering now. This is the hard part of farming. You do get attached to the animals. I am really sad, even though deep down I knew he wasn't getting any better. Birth defects don'thappen often, but they do happen and it is beyond our control. There goes our hopes for an oxen team. We waited 9 long months, hoping both of our girls bred to longhorns would have bulls that weren't polled. I can still remember the day Philip came down off the hill in the pouring rain carrying Waylan in his arms. "IT'S A BOY!!" He yelled to me while I waited at the gate. "WOOOHOOO!!" I yelled back... thinking that our neighbors probably thought we were nuts. Rest peacefully little bull. Please know that we really wanted to raise you, to work you and train you and that we pulled out all the stops to save you. Goodebye Waylan, we will miss you.

Wow! Lots and Lots of new!!

So, I guess it has been awhile!! Jeepers! Lots to update on. The farm has been crazy busy. Leda, Our beef Mama, surprised us on Sept 13th and gave birth to Belted Twins!! We were SO excited!! A boy and a girl... Johnny and June. They are doing great and are soooo cute! Willie, our longhorn steer is doing great. We have successfully haltar trained him and he loves to walk out front with Sawyer and I to meet Garrett from the bus. Waylan unfortunately isn't doing so well. He has had diarrhea for a long time now and is losing all the hair on his rump as well as his face. We really don't know what is wrong with him and have tried numerous different things as has our vet. He isn't getting any better and I think we will have to let him go soon. I hate it, but it is par for the course I guess. My personal opinion is that he may have an intestinal birth defect. We have treated him for just about every illness he could get with no luck. So, there goes our team of oxen. We will still keep Willie for fun. We had a HUGE run of heifer calves so far this fall. Which is good. We were able to sell off a few. The John Deere is at the repair shop.... it needs a clutch job which is NOT GOOD. Very expensive since they basically have to tear the tractor in half to get to it and who knows what else they will find to repair while they're in there. Philip's aunt Elaine was diagnosed with Colon Cancer and underwent surgery on Sept 24th. As far as we know the surgery was a success. Please keep her in your prayers. Well... That is all I can think of for now. Dinner is done. I will update some more later!!

This and That Continued....

Sorry... my blog is acting up... We have a good start on 2nd and a weeks worth of great haying weather forecasted! Also Philip, Steven and Jake have been plugging away at the firewood. It's a good feeling knowing that we will be warm all winter! Oriole had a heifer calf the other day, Selena, and she is doing well. Philip is really looking forward to hunting season this year as we finally have some good help, and he might actual get to take some time to go. He really deserves it as hard as that boy works! He didn't get ANY time in last year. Hopefully soon we will be hiking the pinnacle and going out to dinner to celebrate getting our 1st cut in, as well as the fact that on Sept 4th Philip and I will have been "dating" for 11 years!!! I guess that is all for now. It's late and my brain is cramped!

This and That

So, Garrett started Kindergarten! He's been there for two days now and all seems well. He sure comes home tired though! The first day he forgot his lunchbox, the 2nd day his sweatshirt AND the lunchbox.... wonder what he'll leave behind tomorrow!?

Steven and his friend Jake, (who is also working for us now) also went back to school. It's been a slight adjustment for everyone to get into the new routine, but so far things are going well. Sawyer and I have been putting Garrett on the bus at the farm and then going to do chores until about 8:30. Steven and Jake come about 3:20 and Steven is still milking in the afternoons, just starting a little later.

Busy Week!

Oh my! This week has been hectic for sure. I just noticed that I haven't blogged since Wednesday and today is Sunday!

Philip and Steven have been busy haying all week. We got our 1st cut totally finished and now we are headed to 2nd cut which is exciting.

I have been busy getting the kids ready to start school. Garrett starts this Wednesday and Sawyer will start on September 2nd. Steven also goes back to school this week. I have pretty much gotten all of the school shopping done, and they are pretty much ready to go. We had our home visit with Garrett's Kindergarten Teacher, Ms. Vicky on Thursday. Philip was glad to finally be able to meet her and Garrett was very excited to show her around our house and our yard. He asked a few questions about Kindergarten and Philip and I were able to get a better understanding about how the Kindergarten classes work. The visit lasted just about an hour and was very nice. Tomorrow night we have a Welcome Families Picnic to attend at the school which will be alot of fun.

Ingrid, Ingrid, Ingrid.... Our crazy cow who calved last week and was battling Milk Fever, she gave us a bit of a struggle this week. She had both Milk Fever and Ketosis AGAIN, got very sick but responded ok to treatment and then we realized that she also has a nasty form of Mastitis which can also make them VERY sick. Philip treated her udder for the Mastitis and she is getting back to normal and has been able to go out with the herd during their pasture times for the last couple days.

I posted my steer, Stryker for sale on Craigslist, but upon chatting with my good friend, Cora, I learned that her in-laws are interested in getting a steer to go along with their goat, sheep, and other small critters. Cora thought Stryker would be perfect for them, and they thought so too. So, Stryker is now officially sold and waiting to be transported to his new home. I am so glad he is going to a little hobby farm. He is such a sweet boy and will make a great addition for that kind of set up. Plus he will be close enough so we can visit him on occasion!! :) I will surely miss him.

Not too much new with our oxen team, Willie and Waylan. I am still looking for rope haltars that will fit them so we can begin training them to walk on a lead. The boys are really looking forward to that! So for now, they are just chillin' in the barn, growing, growing, growing. Oh... We did however, discover that Willie is a little escape artist and figured out how to get out of his pen by sticking his head between the boards and moving it up and down until the gate part came loose. Philip had to use baling twine to make it so he couldn't do that anymore! It's quite humorous actually.

Steven got to deliver his first little farm baby the other day! That was very exciting. We brought Nina home from one of our Dummerston pastures and she calved the next day. (Yes, we cut it pretty close!) Steven was there and helped pull her calf out. She is the proud mom to a little Heifer we named Sasha!

Yesterday, while shopping at TJ Maxx, I saw they had a Vsmile Pocket for $29! These run new about $60-80, and I really want to get Garrett one for Christmas since he loves his Vsmile and it takes the same games. I have been looking and looking for good deal on one and $30 is about what the USED ones are going for on Ebay. SO I grabbed it, had the lady at the counter hold it for me so Garrett didn't see me purchase it as he was walking around with my friend, Amanda. Well when I go up to check out, I totally FORGOT the Vsmile Pocket! I realized it when I was all the way home and we are like 35-40 mins. Not a short drive! So I called TJ Maxx and asked them if they could hold it until Wednesday when I was going to Keene with no kids. Nope. They will only hold it for 24 hours. Ugh. Ok. Then I called back to see if I paid over the phone with my credit crad if they could then keep the PAID FOR item until Wednesday. (I was really trying hard not to make an uneccesary trip to Keene!) NOPE. They won't let me pay over the phone. Grrrrrr!! The lady was really rude about the whole thing and it really got to me. I thought Customer Service was upposed to be friendly. When all is said and done and I have the item, I will write them a letter of complaint for sure. Anyway. My MIL is riding all the way back to Keene with me today... because for that price I just can't pass it up... and they only had 2 in the store.

Well that is all for today! I will try not to miss so many days in a row next time but I guess that is life as a mom on a farm! Busy Busy Busy!!!

Mowing Hay!

Finally! We have a 4 day stretch of good weather and Philip mowed down the rest of our 1st cut. What a bittersweet feeling! It feels great to finally be almost done with our first cut, but that means ALOT of work over the next 4 days. We have had an awful summer for haying so far. Apparently the wet weather has been great for the corn though.

Ingrid ended up with Milk Fever again yesterday and I helped Philip treat her via IV. It was the first time I have participated in such an event... and it made me wonder how Philip does it himself, sometimes in the wee hours of the night or out in the field. I think he's Superman! He must be. As far as I know she is doing better today. She really perked up after the treatment was over yesterday, and I haven't heard Philip saying he had to treat her at all today. She is definately what we refer to as a "calcium cow" meaning this happens just about everytime she calves.

Willie and Waylan are doing great. We moved Waylan into the pen right across from Willie so they can get aquainted, afterall, they are half brothers. We tried to put a harness on Willie yesterday, but aparently a calf haltar isn't really designed for a calf as it was WAY too big!! The boys were really looking forward to walking with him... but I guess that will have to wait until I can find a haltar that fits them.

I took Sawyer to urgent care today for a "rash" on his arm. It wasn't really "urgent" but our Dr. couldn't see him until Tuesday and I wanted to make sure it wasn't contagious since he goes to Daycare tomorrow. It's not. Apparently it is just fly bites that are a bit swollen.

I may not post too much over the next couple days as they will be pretty busy. We will be haying, and cleaning, and having a home visit from Garrett's new Kindergarten Teacher, Ms. Vicky. I will be back though :)

Blabber....

Today is Tuesday, August 19th. I can't believe that August is almost over. Garrett starts Kindergarten in 1 WEEK!! Wow. I talked to his bus driver the other day, and he is going to get on and off at the farm since I will be doing chores Monday-Friday while Steven (our hand) is at school. He is a senior this year. I wanted him to get off at the farm because at that time... someone is ALWAYS in the barn milking so someone will be able to meet him if I am running late.

The boys and I went down to the barn bright and early this morning to help with chores. We now have 9 calves taking a bottle, 1 taking milk from a pail and 16 water calves! One of the bottle calves though is Ingrid's bull calf and hopefully a friend of ours who raises bull calves is coming to get him soon. We can't send him to auction because we found out this morning that the auction now charges for bull calves.... since you don't really get anything for them... so we give them to this man who raises them and sells the beef for extra money.

We finished all the basic chores and let the cows out to pasture. After that we went to Allen Bros. for breakfast and a short joy ride over Hartley Hill to see the Belted Gallaways up at the mansion... most of them were gone though and Garrett scared off what was there because he was being too loud.

We came back and helped Philip finish up with gutters and feeding hay. The boys seem to be exhausted from the barn work... (hahaha)... (They filled Philip's sawdust container for him... that is hard work!) so we came back home and now Garrett is entertaining his brother while playing his new Superman game on the VSmile.

Ingrid is still showing signs of a minor case of milk fever. She had been doing well, but this morning she wasn't really interested in eating grain. (You know a cow is sick when they turn away GRAIN! That is like their candy.) Philip thought she mihgt have ketosis, but the pee strip came back negative. Her ears were starting to feel a little cool again though, so he gave her an oral tube of calcium before turning her out to pasture.

It is rainy and cool outside so I am thinking it is good day to get some housework done. Hopefully the boys will take naps today and I can actaully make some headway.

Until later.....

Milk Fever

Milk Fever- A calcium definciency in a cows body due to the onset of lactation. Generally a very easy to diagnose, easy to treat issue, but if gone unnoticed for too long, can be fatal in cows. A cow generally right after calving, will come down with cool ears and not want to eat or drink and have no energy. Treatments include calcium, either given orally or through an IV line. It is more common in dairy cows than beef cows because they produce more milk, and generally occurs in mature cows 4 years old and older.

With all that said, it is 9:15 pm and Philip just headed down to the farm to check on Ingrid, one of our older cows who was in labor a bit earlier. She was already coming down with Milk Fever before she calved so he gave her a tube of calcium and left her in a paddock near the barn, so she wasn't very far in the field so he could check her easily....

update: Ingrid is the proud mother to a bull calf! Her ears are warm and she has been up so she is ok for now. Philip will probably have to get up to check on her around midnight. Guess we better head off to bed!

Mr. & Mrs. Joel Stoddard!

Congratulations Joel and Heather!

We went to their wedding yesterday and we had a blast! We ended up taking the boys with us at the last minute becuase little Paisley got stung by some bees and they were watching her to ake sure she didn't have an allergic reaction. We haven't heard from Rachel or Chip yet, but I am assuming no news is good news. Lots of Hugs for Paisley!

The boys were very good and had so much fun dancing and playing with thier cousins, Ashlynn and Jesse. They loved the lake right out front and enjoyed throwing rocks into it.

We saw my Dad, which is always nice! The boys had fun playing with Grandpa Steve as well. Joel and Heather looked GORGEOUS! I realized how little of them I actually see and I think it is time to change that! Matt (Joels little Bro) made a very nice toast as the Best Man! Good Job Matt!

We got some really great pics of the kids with family and out on the lake. I am so glad we were still able to go! We weren't able to see Braden though. He wasn't able to make the trip from PA because his wife is about to have their 2nd baby anytime!

The boys and I went down this morning to help Daddy with morning chores. Always fun! I got to feed Willie a bottle for the first time! (For me anyway) He is so cute!!! We have an abundance of calves right now, which isn't necessarily a bad thing! The boys got a kick out of "Sweetie" being on the loose in the manger. She was having a grand ol' time drinking free choice water from Jasper's water bowl. Philip said she was so proud of herself when she figured out how to use it! She was all happy and wagging her little tail! The boys didn't want me to put her back in the calf barn... they thought she should be loose forever.

Busy, Busy Busy!

Today is Saturday. Philip just called and said the Massey Ferguson had a flat tire, so he is headed over to RN Johnsons to get that fixed. Luckily it was one of the smaller front tires and they are open until noon. It would have been a small disaster if this occured tomorrow. Generally we would have ridden over with him and gotten breakfast at Allen Brother's, our all time favorite little deli/farmstand. (They make the BEST cider doughnuts!!) We didn't today though because Philip and I are going to Joel and Heather's wedding tonight at Loon Lake which is about an hour from here and I wanted to get the house picked up and some other stuff done before Chip and Rachel and Paisley get here to babysit.

I am so excited to see Joel get married. He is my Dad's brother's son, and I met him when I was about 13 and he was probably 6 or 7. I can't believe he is getting MARRIED! I am so happy for him. I am also looking forward to spending some quality time with Philip and to see my Dad. He lives in Manchester NH, a couple hours from here and I don't see him all that often.

I'd like to add some pics to my blogs at times but not sure really how to do that... if anyone has any advice on how to add things like pictures, tickers and just plain cool stuff to my blog, please feel free to help me! LOL.

2 Weddings and A Funeral

That is what I have done this week... On Sunday, One of my dearest friends, Nicole, married her sweetheart Damian. Garrett and I along with Cora, Skot and Erik drove up to Derry NH to see her get married. It was a crazy drive, lots of weather, traffic and even an Eagle! But well worth it to see Nicole and enjoy her beautiful wedding. Garrett fell in love with her! He has talked about Nicole ALL week since!

The funeral was for my stepfather, Doug. He was killed last week in a motorcycle accident. He was 44 years old. He wasn't wearing his helmet and should have been. It has surely been a long week with many many emotions. A beautiful service with many many people. He was a musician all his life, and so my fmaily had a friend of his design an urn that was attached to his Bass Guitar and that is what he was buried in, inside the guitar case. I am sure he is rockin' it out with all the other crazy musicians who have passed before their time.

The Next wedding is tomorrow night. My cousin Joel is getting married! I am so excited to be their. Philip and I have a sitter lined up and are going to enjoy some grown up time! I am really looking forward to seeing my Dad and his side of the family along with a good friend of ours from Pennsylvania we don't often get to see.

I think next week will be rest and relaxation and getting the boys ready to start SCHOOL!!! Kindergarten, here he comes!

Meet my family!

My husband, Philip is 28 years old and has been farming his whole life. He just loves it. The cows are his livelyhood. He enjoys working with them and trying new things. He learned how to drive tractor when he was 9 years old, and worked summers on the farm until he was old enough to take on more resposiblity. He also enjoys hunting, reading, Classic rock and Country music, spending time with our boys and teaching them all the things he knows.

Our sons:

Garrett was born on August 4th 2003. He is a smart kid with an amazing memory. He is very observant and blows me away with things he remembers. He is a very fast learner and enjoys being taught. He has a very serious nature about him, always asking questions. He is about to embark on this new adventure called "Kindergarten" in about 2 weeks.

Sawyer was born on December 5th 2005 weighing in at 10lbs even though he was 3 weeks early. He is my happy, care-free spirited boy. He loves being around people and is a very loveable kid. He is about to start preschool for the first time very soon.

Welcome to my Blog!!

Welcome to my blog everyone! I am Teah, a 26 year old mother of two little boys, Garrett turned 5 on August 4th and Sawyer who will turn 3 on Dec 5th. I am married to the love of my life, my highschool sweetheart, Philip Ranney. We recently took over his family dairy farm, which have named Ranney Ridge Farm. We have a herd of about 120 Jersey cows, generally milking about 70 at any given time. We also have a few beef critters and just this month our team of oxen were born! Waylen and Willie are Texas Longhorn/Jersey crosses and are simply adorable. We are really looking forward to learning how to work with a team of oxen. We also have 2 dogs, an 8 year old Dobie named Emmy, and a 1 year old GOlden Retriever named Brooklyn. Our foul include at this time... 3 Guineas (2 males and 1 hen) and 8 bantam chickens (3 roosters and 5 hens) that are still pretty young.

So stay tuned for my adventures as a stay at home mom and farmers wife!! Never a boring day around The Ranney Ridge Farm!!!