I bought an economy-sized bottle of winter lotion. Never. Again.
Hmmm...
I'm thinking that there may be a trail...
Any idea...
How to get lotion out of carpet?
Well, at least it's not ALL in the carpet. I mean, there's some on the TV and remote too!
Any guesses on who was responsible? I’ll give you a clue. He’s cute, he’s two and he’s AMAZINGLY fast!
I have two snack recipes ready to go…first is Homemade Root Beer, the second are Homemade Mozzarella Sticks. They are both super easy and sooooo delicious! Made a great after-school snack today! (And don’t forget about my Gooseberry Patch cookbook giveaway!)
Here we go!
Homemade Root Beer
Ingredients
Doesn't take much, but tastes so good!
Dissolve yeast in a little tepid water. Mix extract with sugar, add a quart of water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a gallon jug. Add dissolved yeast, add enough tepid water to fill jug. Let stand 6 hours with cap off, then screw on cap and put in refrigerator. It is ready to drink as soon as it’s cold. (Root Beer recipe came from the Fullerton 125th Cookbook.)
Letting the yeast dissolve in tepid water.
Not dark in color, but full in flavor!
And treat number two:
Homemade Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients:
Only two main ingredients! So simple!
Place string cheese on egg roll wrapper, fold ends in and roll up the wrapper. Wet the corner of the wrapper with water to seal. Heat oil on stove top, place 3-4 sticks in hot oil. Cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until brown. Turn and cook other side. Drain on paper towel. Enjoy! (This recipe came off Pinterest. That’s right. I actually made something off Pinterest. Amazing. I know.)
Roll up stick (make sure ends are tucked in) and seal with a dab of water!
Send those sticks for a little swim in hot oil...this is extra virgin olive oil.
Really...to die for...really.
So, is there any good coming of this Christmas Angel Project? Well, I happen to think so. So far, I have matched up 15 different requests/angels…and hoping to keep it up for another 10 days.
Remember, you have until Dec. 15 to make a request on behalf of someone, or to volunteer to be a Christmas Angel yourself.
It’s the season for giving, right?
I knew it would happen one day, but this one was a doozy…and I’m thinking someone may end up paying for it with her job.
Apparently a news anchor expressed her opinion during prime time that the easiest way to handle Christmas in these tough economic times was to tell children that there is no Santa Claus. Wow. I’m guessing the big guy’s gonna have some coal for someone’s stocking this year.
Now, as a mother of four children, oldest age 9, I’m constantly bombarded by the question, “Mom, is Santa real?” And my answer is always the same, “What do you want to believe?”
To me, the answer is simple. In a day when we are hit with so much bad news, so much doom and gloom, so many heart aches and issues, why do we need to pop the bubble of happiness that surrounds the Christmas season? Yes, my children know that celebrating Christmas is ALL about the birth of Jesus and what He has sacrificed for us. Christmas is a religious holiday in our house. Always has been, always will be. But does believing that someone delivers a gift for you, without expecting anything in return, all that different?
My children have never been told that a man in a red suit and reindeer is at our house. We don’t have a fireplace, and cookies aren’t always left. Sometimes we’re home, and sometimes we’re not. They know that the Santa’s in the mall are not the “real” Santa. And whatever else they have made up in their mind, is just that, their own beliefs.
Telling the world during the newscast that the solution to your financial woes at Christmas is to break your children’s hearts and tell them that the mystery surrounding Christmas is fake…well, that’s just plain mean. And I can tell you for a fact that it’s not true. There is a Santa Claus. He might not live at the north pole, he might not like cookies and he may be allergic to reindeer fur, but he’s real and he’s important and he lives inside each and every one of us.
And if you don’t believe it, then why would a woman from North Dakota set up a project to send gifts to and from people all around the country? (Speaking of which, click on the blue angel in the top right corner…I’m looking for more angels!) Why would a company set up red kettles throughout the country, knowing that others will give when they can? And why would children willingly give up their gifts, to another child that they know would appreciate it more?
God and santa CAN coexist…I’m pretty sure both big guys are OK with that. I know I am.
Normally I don’t discuss a lot of political stuff and government-type news. We get enough of that every day, I feel. But this latest proposal hits close to home…in fact, it hits our family directly, and possibly yours, too.
The US Department of Labor has submitted proposed new “rules” regarding children under the age of 18 working agricultural and non-agricultural jobs. Some of them make sense, and seem almost silly that we need to have a law for it. (Who truly believes that a 16-year-old should be allowed to work with dynamite?) Yet others would severely affect our farm…and many farms across the country.
The proposed laws would eliminate children from the farm-labor work force, or at least not without proper training and certification. Sounds great, right? I’m all for more safety on the farm. But upon closer inspection, these rules do very little to ensure safety and do a lot to infringe upon farm families.
For instance, a child would no longer be able to pick up sticks and branches around the yard while Mom or Dad is using a chainsaw, or some other mechanical method to bring down trees and shrubs. (Actually, the child couldn’t be using ANY power tool…that would include battery-operated drills, screwdrivers, etc.) The only exemption would be if Mom and Dad own the farm wholly on their own (not in cooperation with someone else, including family). I know that not everyone is aware of this, but many farms incorporate and set up business structures, so that success can be shared throughout the family equally, same as expenses.
Is this the closest he'll get?
Another portion of the proposed rules states that a child under the age of 16 could not work “on a farm in a yard, pen or stall occupied by a bull, boar, stud horse maintained for breeding purposes, sow with suckling pigs, or cow with newborn calf (with umbilical cord present).”
Trust me, as a mother of four young children, our house already has laws and rules in place regarding what our kids can and cannot do, including not being anywhere near the bulls, staying out of the yard when the cows are calving, etc. But now would we be open to fines if our children were to go into the barn to feed the cats while cows were in the barn with their calves? (And just to clarify, there are pens that keep each cow/calf separate and out of the main part of the barn.)
EJ, keeping me company while waiting for the silage cutter to be fixed.
And yet one more silly section would make it against the rules for anyone under the age of 18 to even ride IN a tractor with someone who is working, or in the process of working.
How in the world are we supposed to educate and involve the next generation? What about those that don’t have farm backgrounds, but are interested in becoming involved in agriculture? How do we tell the next generation that we don’t want their help, until they’re adults? One thing I have learned quickly, raising four boys, is that the more involved I get them earlier on, the more they enjoy and want to learn about the farm. If you leave them out, where will farming be in 40-50 years?
Waiting his turn...his dad is in the tractor, his grandpa is in the combine. Is his future in jeopardy?
And what about 4-H?
The answer is not clear. Would children be able to show their animals if their parents weren’t direct owners of their operations? Would they be able to sell their livestock and receive the money for college funds, as so many kids in 4-H do?
My oldest two have found excitement and education in 4-H. Is that in jeopardy as well?
I understand the need to update regulations…the present set hasn’t been updated since 1970. Yet, can common sense come into play, please? They rattle off statistics of children that are injured or killed in farm accidents, but if you look closely, some of those statistics are misleading.
One such example they give is a 17-year-old who was illegally employed and was a fatality in an accident. The way I look at it, if the child was already illegally employed, then changing the laws would do nothing to ensure that child’s safety. Laws only protect those that follow them.
Yes, I’m all for protecting our children, especially those that live on or near farms, but we cannot protect our children while making their home off-limits and telling them that they’re not wanted, or needed, on the farm. That’s a disservice to all.
Comments on the proposed changes are being accepted through TODAY, please make your voice heard. Visit www.regulations.gov, it’s RIN 1245-AA06.
Today is Thankful Thursday. Today I am thankful that my children can be raised on our farm, in a safe and loving home. I’m thankful that I, as a parent, can teach and instill in my children the love and respect for the farm that it deserves. But it’s MY job to be a parent…not my government’s.
Wag'n Tales 
