The New Brooder...

We needed a larger brooder set-up in order to house the larger number of chicks we have in each batch this year.  We needed a secure, warm area to get the chicks ready for their movable pens which takes about 3 weeks from time of hatch.  So we built this structure to house the chicks and then we built an inner box with legs that houses a heat lamp to warm the chicks.  We also have a creep feeder built into the wall of the brooder that features a gutter for the feeder trough at the bottom, angled 2x6s, and plywood to keep the feed contained. 

The new brooder is on the left, the older chicken coop (with a fresh coat of paint now) is on the right.

 Inside the hover box, there are 2 heat lamps to keep the chicks warm.  The bulbs can be changed out for less wattage for less heat and the legs can be set on top of blocks to reduce temps as well.  

So far so good with this design and arrangement.:)  Chicks seem happy and warm.

The Making of a Bed...

We needed a bed frame, it was about time we had some real bedroom furniture.  I loved the Pottery Barn style furniture, but couldn't afford it, so I looked around to find something similar that I might be able to build myself.  I am not carpenter but I have done a few projects that turned out reasonably well.  A couple years ago, I found this great website that was full of Pottery Barn knock off ideas and had FREE plans! I knew I had found my kind of place.  The website is Ana-White.com and she has fabulous plans, tons of pics from people who have made them and great tutorials.

Here is the start of the head board an foot board for a queen size bed frame.  This was pretty easy to build.  I cut the arch in the top boards with a jig saw and sanded (and sanded a LOT more).  Then I lined up 1x8 inch boards until I was close to the width I needed then trimmed the last 2 boards on each side to get the right width.  Next I laid a top piece and a bottom piece on top and below the 1x8 inch boards and glued and nailed them in place.  I let it dry overnight, and went on to the next stage.

This image shows the gentle arch (after some serious sanding).

Eventually, I had to come up with a way to attach the leg posts to the head and food boards, along with the side boards.  It was a challenge but I managed to carve out the area for the boards to fit into.

I added some very simple trim boards to help make it look a little more like furniture, added some top boards to both the head and foot board sections, and got busy painting.

I let Sunshine paint the primer coat, she did a great job!

Once it was all together I added a coat of white paint (or 3), and sanded the edges some for a distressed look.  In this image you can see the basic trim boards I used.

Then it was time for the set-up process.  Bob made sure it was all square and secured tightly.

Spud man tests it out.  FYI this sucker is HEAVY!  You don't want to have to move it...trust me.

 Ahhh....all done.....satin sheets and all.  That was the night we discovered we don't actually like satin sheets.

Obviously this was finished near Christmas time, as we have our Christmas comforter on there to be festive.

Official testing committee.  We've had the bed in use for a couple years and so far so good.  The only thing I'd do differently is to add a better primer coat to seal the wood before adding white coats.  The yellow from the pitch in the pine wood did bleed through just a little on a few boards but it isn't too noticeable.  Other than that it is wearing like iron and still sturdy.

Let the silliness begin!

Shortly after this we read them a book called No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!

How To Get Kids to Help...

If you really want kids to help sometimes you just have to let them use their toys to do the job!

Amazing what you can get the kids to do when you let them use their toys! We get all kinds of help with yard work and gardening thanks to the thrill of hauling anything in a Tonka dumptruck!

Then there is this beauty.....well I wouldn't call it a beauty but it is rough, tough, and industrial for a reason.

This wagon is built from a great kit we found in the Northern Tool Catalog. This wagon makes it so easy to get the kids to help with things like hauling firewood, hauling animal feed from the car to the feed storage, toting around yard plants for spring planting, we've even use it as a way to move heavy appliances, and so much more.

The other cool part is how much fun they have with it, they love this wagon. It goes pretty fast and it is QUIET, I couldn't stand how loud the old fashioned red wagons were when you tried to take the kids for a walk in it.....oh and the handle is nice and long for adults too.

We have went through about 3 wagons before finally settling on the idea we needed something tougher than the typical red wagon could hold up to. This one has an 800lb load capacity and I don't think it is going anywhere. The cost of the wagon kit at about $70 has been far outweighed by the many uses we have found for this workhorse of a toy!

So there is one of our tricks to getting kids into helping more. Oh and the other trick is they don't have a choice if they help or not.:)

Sunshine's room.....

So since I am a sucker and anytime anyone mentions something I once did I feel I must indulge them. hee hee. Now I want you to understand that I am not bragging, I am moreso embracing what I used to be capable of. The thought of doing a wall mural or some other artisitc feat these days leaves me feeling overwhelmed and numb with lack of creativity.

Anyway that is the only reason I share these today, so that maybe just maybe I will again aquire some creativity and energy to act on that. The mural mentioned in the comments is actually not a true wall mural (in the sense of paint anyway). Though, I do have a mural style quilt that I made for Sunshine several years ago (back before 2 more boys came into our lives and sucked the majority of my creative braincells out of my body upon their birth evidently). Also I painted a partly cloudy sky on her ceiling, then we put a neat horsey wall border along the wall as well.

The whole quilt is supposed to represent childhood dreams and a little girl's dream playhouse.

You can see a little bit of the ceiling in this next pic.....

The next one is some appliqued flowers, these were really fun flowers to make .

Also I love sunflowers to I had to put on in here....along with a sweet kitty on the swing.

Everyone could use a little sunshine sometime....

Here is her wall border. Could someone please load me up that sweet mare in the middle and bring her to my house (along with the 10 acres I don't have, and the dream home we didn't just build.)

Here is the ceiling with a little more to see...tough to capture on a camera though.

Thanks for hanging in there, the photography was bad.....I need more practice and my camera has some major limitations in low light conditions.:(

Disclaimer: The room was not able to be captured in it's entirety, due to dangerous conditions within the parameters of the encounter. One particular child may have been harmed during the making of this tour.

Welcome To My Kitchen.....

Welcome.........come on in. I thought I would give you a little tour since we had just been talking about my kitchen mural. So sit back and have a cup of tea and lets pretend we are sitting around the kitchen table chatting together. Please don’t look too closely…..I gave it a once over but that’s where the neatness stops…you saw my freezer earlier.

That reminds me we (read: Mr Wonderful) really need to get that micro vent enclosed with trim. Yet another to~do thing around here.

Every kitchen must have an undercabinet radio, really....it is required in my house if I am to endure the laborious hours of work to be done in my kitchen.

Now on to the fun side of my kitchen. The mural…..

Please excuse the cat, he thinks he will die without nourishment in the next 3 mins. The utility room…thru that door was beyond the scope of my little cleaning session. It is the site of Mt. Washmore my famous laundry pile, trust me you don't want to see that!

Now it is time to get up close and personal with some of the characters….

“Gang, meet Robin.”
“Robin, meet the gang”

Our resident flock of sheep and a few of the flowers.

My flock of sunflowers, I really like sunflowers.

Delphiniums, daisies, and hollyhocks…......I must remember to finish putting up those pickets, this area used to be hid behind my computer cabinet back when I had a desktop so we could not reach to apply the wooden pickets. Oops…add that to the to~do list as well please.

Ahhhh…yes the single most inspiring thing on the wall, I love barns, I love the smell of hay, I love long lingering barn talks, I love haylofts…..speaking of hay lofts I really, really want to go here….. The Anniversary Inn (The Hayloft Suite) oh sorry back on topic….. anyway sometimes I envision hanky~panky happnin' in that hay loft....just kidding. Did you know that as appealing as that sounds...it really is not a good idea, in hindsight for very prickly reasons.;)

Well hello there Mr. Butterfly….

And last but not least, every momma Robin needs a nest!
Hope you enjoyed the tour! Would you like some more tea?

Disclaimer: This clean kitchen is subject to change within 10.2 seconds after the last counter is wiped. Unpaid help cannot be held responsible for any actions upon discovery of said changes.

Adventures in Cake Making......

Spud Man's birthday is today! Happy B-Day Buddy!!! I wanted to make him a special cake since normally we are so socked in with fog and dreary weather this time of year I end up completely failing at making his B-Day special. Anyway I let him pick out his own cake.....why is it when left to their own choices every kid of mine chooses this one?

But who could resist a kid with this face?

So the journey began, making his cake. The only redeeming factor here is this product brought to you by our spoiled backyard chickens. These should make up for ALL the artificial everything in the cake mix. It's true, see.....

Anyway on goes the process........gotta love those spinkles....

B-Day boy helps out....whoa slow down there Spud! Ok Time for the BIG guns.....but first how about a lick for the B-Day boy?

Please don't look in my dirty oven.......

I thought I told you not to look in my dirty oven! Wanna know the sad part? It's a self clean oven. Oh shush, I know your oven is dirty too. Or it used to be before you ran off and cleaned it!

Missing patience bones I think could be hereditary, since the Munchkins had a hard time waiting too. Spud Man displays his super powers to move faster than a camera shutter! Do you think the sugar kicked in from that lick of cake batter earlier?

See the parchment paper sticking out from under the cake but on top of the plate? I do that so that the when I am being messing and frosting it my plate will stay clean.......who cares if this is the first time I ever thought to do that....I am sure it is a well known cake making thing I just was unaware of.

Oh ya and those wonderful sprinkles!

Of course you have to have frosting between the layers because it just would not work without it!!!!!! Hmm not quite cool enough to frost quite yet, what shall I do? I nervously look at the clock and decide patience is NOT an option......not because I am in a hurry, just because I have no patience bone, it was missing at birth.






It seemed like the only thing to do really. So soon after I started to frost.......and frost.....

And frost some more, with some final details too. Told you I was messy with frosting...thank goodness that parchement paper is there huh?

Too bad my kitchen is worse for the wear.....notice the bottle of Motrin? It was very much a part of this cake making process. Thank God for Motrin! HAHA Remember the parchement paper...yup time for it to go. There it is finished all of it's humble glory! By the way in case you are wondering that is an excavator Spud Man's favorite thing of all time.

Look at those lip smackin' munchkins! They would really really like a little frosting...what do you think? Should I?

Oh Alright I guess so! Who could resist a B-Day boy's face anyway?

Thanks for joining me on my adventure in cake making!

Disclaimer: No sugar was consumed by the maker of this cake and therefore said maker shall be rewarded later for such self control in a pig out session promply beginning at 7pm this evening! No chidren were harmed during the making of this cake.