A Three Day Potty Training Journal

Not a baby anymore!!

Day One

Got off to a rough start this morning. A busy weekend left me with a messy house, and an ignored alarm clock. Not to mention little time to mentally prepare myself and the rest of the family for the next few days of “potty boot camp.” But we’ve been through this before, and today is the day that I marked on the calendar. I rearranged the day care schedule, there’s no turning back now. Justin helped me get kids up and out the door. Lucy went to day care and Russell is spending the day with Justin. So that leaves me to focus on Hazel and no more diapers.

I’m following Lora Jensen’s Three Day Potty Training Method. It worked well for Lucy last summer. And I really like the idea of just getting the diapers over with. I think it’s easier for everyone in the long run. The general concept is that you quit diapers cold turkey and go straight to underwear. It involves three days of being attached to the potty trainees side, lots of positive reinforcement, and “silent” rewards.

So, after breakfast, I took Hazel’s diaper off, helped her put on some “big girls,” and showed her the potty and what goes on in there. I do believe I have uttered the phrases, “Let me know when you have to go potty,” and “Your underwear are dry, good job!” at least 100 times today.

I started out the day with about 30 pairs of underwear, and we went through all of them. Hazel just doesn’t seem to get it. I am beyond frustrated, I don’t remember this being such a challenge with Lucy. Then again, maybe it was. Lora says to stick to your guns, sometimes it takes the full three days of accidents before it “clicks.” Urrrrrrrgh, I hope not! She also hates sitting on the potty, which Lora also addresses, saying that you should simply set them on the potty and not force the issue if they wriggle right off….it will “click.” Again, I hope so…

Day Two
Justin took Lucy to daycare and Russell is spending the day with him again. Hazel still screams when I take her to the potty. I attempted to feed her fruit snacks while she sat there, but she just threw them on the floor. I’m really trying to keep the faith that she will get it, but I’ve got to admit that I’m thinking about quitting. The only thing that keeps me going is that I have blocked off this entire week for potty training, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to find the time again.  Staying postive has been a huge challenge for me today.  Thank goodness Justin didn’t have much going on on the farm and was able to take over for a little while so I could get out of the house.  (All I did was mow lawn, but I needed the break.)  Please God, let her “get it.”

Hazel took advantage of Russell not being around and played with his toys.

Day 3

I woke up with a new resolve today to keep at it no matter what.  Hazel wore that down pretty quickly though. I finally got her in the middle of peeing, got her on the potty, and some of it went in.  She was screaming and resisting the entire time.  I got super excited for her though.  Told her, “Listen! That’s you’re potty going in the potty! Yay! I’m so proud of you!”  She still didn’t care or get it.  I made us ice cream cones to celebrate.   She was ok with that.

We caught a few more accidents in progress and got them in the potty, and I can see Hazel’s resistance softening just a little.  She has told me “Mommy, Potty” a couple times, and willingly sits on the potty, but nothing happens.  At least she’s sitting on it.  Justin and Russell were busy working cattle, so Hazel and I had to pick up Lucy from day care.  That went fine, Hazel stayed dry through it.  I think it acutally helped to have Lucy around.  Hazel got excited when Lucy cheered for her.

The day ended in flames though.  I lost my patience.  I didn’t get mad at Hazel, but I did get mad.  I felt like a total failure, stressed, and disappointed.  Hazel just was not getting it.  I was sick and tired of constantly following Hazel’s every move, and I just wanted a solid 15 minutes to myself.  When I get mad I slam and throw things, and then I cry.  Justin got home about and hour after my mommy meltdown.  He took the kids into the living room so I could get supper finished.  After supper I had to make a Wal Mart run, and Justin put the kids in bed.  I saw a lot of people I knew at Wal Mart, and have come to the conclusion that after 8 on weeknights, Wal Mart is the place to be if you’re a mom.  I returned home with some new incentives (hersey kisses) for Hazel, and some Skinny Cow treats for myself.

Justin and I have decided to keep it up with Hazel until Monday, and if there’s no signs of progress, we’ll take a break for a few months and try again.

Day 4

A miracle happened today!  Just when I lose all hope, and was about to give up, Hazel said “Mommy, Potty.” I took her, she sat down, and went potty! We had a couple accidents after that, but she finished in the potty with those instead of just letting them go.  Finally, progress!  Just as I was about to throw in the towel.  Then, she stayed dry through her nap and while we went to pick up Lucy.  We got home and I was sure she’d be going soon.  We had a snack.  I told her I needed to go potty, and her response was “Mommy, Potty.”  So I held it.  She went up to the potty, matter-of-factly pulled down her undies, sat down, and went potty.  HALLELUJAH!  Lord, please tell me we are over the hump!  She’s a girl after my own heart, she just needed a little chocolate bribery with the kisses!

The rest of the day sort of plateaued.  She had some flat out accidents where she just stood there and watched the potty go on the floor.  And there were a couple other times were she asked to go potty and got some in the potty.  Then there were times where she was just looking for a treat and nothing happened.  Slowly, progress, slowly.  I guess that’s better than nothing!

We’ll see how tomorrow goes with all three kids in the house.

Day 5

Frustration and progress.  Those are the two words that defined today.  Hazel seems to be getting that potty goes in the potty, but she doesn’t seem to understand the significance of keeping her underwear dry.  We ventured to church this evening.  I figured a half an hour tonight would be better than trying to get through an hour plus tomorrow.  She did great, right up until the closing song, when she peed on the pew.  (Don’t worry, I thoroughly cleaned it up!!)

Two more days, and we’ll see what the verdict is.  Right now I’m thinking she’s made enough progress that going back to diapers would be very confusing for her.  We shall see.  Please, God, I’ll keep it up as long as it takes, but I would be ok with it being sooner rather than later.

Day 6

Today was pretty much a repeat of yesterday.  A little bit more “clicking” happening, but the frustration (and potty puddles) are still happening.  Justin “made” me go for a long horseback ride tonight.  I am so glad he did.  I REALLY needed it.

Day 7

I have decided to break one of Lora’s cardinal rules.  I am going to convince Hazel to use the potty instead of reminding her to tell me when she needs to go.  I’m also going to quit pushing the liquids.  My mother’s instinct tells me she needs to feel dry for longer than an hour, and realize that is the norm.

I’m am glad I made this decision.  We had far fewer pairs of wet underwear today, and even success with pooping on the potty!  I’m beginning to feel like maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  We decided to keep her out of diapers, and keep on with the training.  Tomorrow Hazel goes to day care.  It will be interesting to see how she ends up doing there.  Could be either way, I think.

Day 8

Today is the first day I can say that our efforts have been successful.  Hazel stayed dry all day, aside from one accident that I don’t really count because she was in the process of getting her pants off at the potty when it happened.  SHE FINALLY GETS IT!  Sometimes she asks to go, and sometimes I have to convince her.  But, I feel like I can take her out in public with little fear of horribly embarrassing situations.

Day 9

Today has been good.  One accident, but she knew it and went to the potty right away.  We’re going to the fair tonight, which will be a real test.  Wish us luck!

I think I can finally say that we are done with diapers in this household.  Boy, does it feel good!

What a learning experience!!

Our first big outing in big girl undies was to the fair.

Day 10 and beyond

We’ve been doing pretty good, made a few outings, which surprisingly, she does better during them!  We still deal with an accident or two per day, but sometimes they aren’t all Hazel’s fault.  She definitely “gets it.”  She knows what’s expected of her, and soon the days of smelly diapers and wipes will be nothing but a faint memory.  🙂

Cheese!

Swimming Lessons

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Barbecue Beef Pizza on the Grill – Revisited!

Finished pizza....tastes and smells even better than it looks!

I’ve been grilling a lot this summer. I just love grilling. And not with gas. Oh no. One must use charcoal to grill, otherwise it’s just cooking outside, not grilling.

So, I’ve never considered myself as one to enter a cookout contest. Until the other night at our Farm Bureau meeting when I got to thinking about the contest that our county sponsored on Monday. A few days before that I had made an absolutely delicious perfect pizza on the grill. And, we were lacking in entries for the contest. So, the little hamster wheel in my head started spinning and I decided I’d do it, just to have another entry in the contest.

I also figured it would be a good way to promote this blog. Selfish, I know. At least I admit it. Anyway, HELLO to all who saw me at the contest and are stopping by as a result!! I hope you take a little time to explore my site.

So, I tweaked the recipe I used when I first posted about this pizza. I used The Pioneer Woman’s recipe for pizza dough. And I cooked the beef roast on the grill, which was sooooo good!!  I did a practice run on Saturday, invited the family over for supper, and they loved it.  So I decided to go for it.

The ingredients for the incredible crust, recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman.

The dough all mixed up.

First, the crust. I did something a little scary and made it from scratch.  Like, with yeast and everything!  And it turned out spectacular!  Sooooo much better than the frozen bread dough I’ve used in the past.  And it was easy!  I may have conquered my fear of yeast.  Maybe.  Time will tell.  Anyway, it was good, and it seemed to make it harder to burn the crust on the grill, which I had been having issues with using frozen dough.

Then the sauce.  I made it from scratch as well.  I wouldn’t recommend using this sauce as a condiment, but it does work very well for this recipe, and for making bbq shredded beef.  And the amounts are just guesstimates.  If you like a sweeter sauce, add more brown sugar, or for more zing, add more vinegar.  Same goes with the liquid smoke, onion, garlic, and beer.  Add more or less according to your own personal taste.

The roast, unthawed in the fridge and ready to be unwrapped, marinated, and re-wrapped in tin foil.

All ready for the marinade.

Marinated, wrapped, and ready to go!

Finally the roast.  I used top sirloin, but any beef roast will do.  You can make it in the crockpot, or the grill.  Here’s how I did it on the grill.  First, light your charcoal.  I used a disposable tin foil pan, lined it with two sheets of tinfoil, laying them opposite ways across each other with long ends to fold over the roast.  Basically, you’re forming a pouch to hold the roast & marinade, and the pan is to catch any possible leakage.  Marinate the roast with a cup of the bbq sauce, and a cup or so of beer.

For cooking the roast, I use the chimney to light the coals, and then dump them out into the baskets for indirect cooking.

Once all of the coals are lit, at least 50% gray, then dump them out into two piles on the edges of the grill.  I have baskets for the charcoal, but two piles would work just as well.  Place the roast and pan in the center of the grill where there are no coals.  Cover and let it be for at least three hours, four would be more ideal.  You don’t want to take the lid off at all during this time, as you’ll lose a lot of heat.  Just trust your grill to do the work.  Make sure you start with plenty of charcoal, and you’ll be just fine.

The finished product after about 4 hours on the grill.

Finished beef product.

When the roast is done, it should be so tender you can easily shred it with a fork.  Go ahead and shred it with two forks, discarding any scrap.  Mix in some of the sauce, to a consistency that is juicy but not runny.  You don’t want a runny pizza.

Light another batch of charcoal, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the amount you used for the roast.  You don’t want a lot of intense heat for the pizza, and the coals don’t need to last very long, as the pizza will cook in about 15 minutes.

Then, to assemble the pizza, stretch the dough across a pizza pan that has been brushed with olive oil.  Top with approximately one cup of sauce, followed by a generous spread of beef, 8 oz of mozzarella cheese, and your preferred toppings.  I used pineapple, green pepper, and red onion to make it a “Hawaiian style” pizza, and it was delish!!

All assembled and ready to go in the grill.

Once the coals are well lit, and the flame is all gone from them, spread them out evenly across the bottom of the grill.  Add your pizza, cover, and check in 10 minutes for doneness.  The pizza is done when the crust is golden brown, the cheese is bubbly, and the toppings are tender crisp.  It should only take 10-15 minutes to cook.

There was more competition at the contest than we expected, and it was really great just to see (and taste) what the other contestants were doing.  I didn’t win anything, and I really didn’t want to.  It was a fun experience, and I got to talk to a lot of nice people and share this site with them, so I consider it a win.  I can’t wait to hear if any of you try this.  Heck, a frozen pizza would probably even be good on the grill!  So, let me know if you try it out, or if you have any other creative grill creations you’d like to share!

And, of course, click here for the easy to follow, printable link to this recipe at Sparkpeople.com!

My crazy farm girls love this pizza!

Through the Eyes of the Media

I did a scary thing last week.  I gave a reporter and camera man permission to come to our farm.

Yeah, I turned my camera on them!

I was contacted by Jeanne from Swiss TV a couple weeks ago.  She was persistent in her desire to talk to me.  I was flattered and scared all at once.  I won’t lie.  I ignored her messages for awhile, because the thought of talking with any sort of media intimidates the heck out of me.  I am not a good conversationalist. I much, much prefer writing.

But, I figured I’d better at least give her a call back and find out what she wanted.

So I did.

And she told me they were doing a story comparing Swiss dairy and beef farms to American dairy and beef farms.  Hmmm, ok.  Well, I’m not the only one on this farm, so I needed to get the permission from the other stakeholders (i.e. the rest of the family.)  So I called a powwow.  And I got their blessing  tolerance.  

In the meantime Jeanne was breathing down my neck, and had left a message saying they wanted to come within the week.  So I called her back and said come on over.  She then proceeded to question me specifically about what our cattle eat.  And then she wanted to know about the hormones we feed them. “Hold up,” I told her.  “Our cattle don’t eat hormones.  They’re implanted in their ear.”

“Oh, well, can we see that?”  She asked.

“Well, sure, but if you’re coming this week, you won’t be able to.  None of our cattle are scheduled to receive an implant for quite some time.”  I get the feeling she was expecting us to be shooting our cattle up on a daily basis.  I told her that I’d be glad to explain the process and show them the implant and tool we use to put it in the calf’s ear.

“So, can we see the implant in the calf?”  She asked.

“Um, no.  I can show you where it goes in the calf, but it’s tiny.  You can’t really see it.”  I was getting a bit suspicious by now. But, the optimist in me said I’ve got nothing to hide or be ashamed of, and I could probably teach them something.

And then the conversation turned to antibiotics.  I told her I’d be glad to explain what we administered and how and why we do so.  I’d show them what I could.  Now I was really beginning to wonder if there was a hidden agenda.  And I again decided that it didn’t really matter if there was or not, I am who I am and do what I do because I know it’s the right thing to do.  They’re going to get their story somewhere and I’d rather it come from a direct, positive source, than second hand.

So, Jeanne told me a cameraman and reporter would be coming in a few days to witness our cattle chores and discuss our farm with us.

Tilman (the reporter) and Marcus (the cameraman) arrived on Wednesday evening to scope out the farm and get a few details.  They were very nice, and although they were fluent in english, it was obviously their second language.  They wanted to know if they should wear boots the next morning.  I told them it might not be a bad idea, as it had been raining here the past several days and things were pretty muddy.  I pointed them in the direction of the local farm store and they were off to buy some rubbers (boots.)

Marcus was filming everything like crazy!

They showed up bright and early Thursday morning.  We talked and showed them around a bit, and then got down to business.  I had Justin there with me to help out.  I just had a feeling they would need a guide to explain what was going on and how to keep from getting run over.  I tell ya, the whole experience was unnerving.  They had us do things over and over slowly to get good shots and different angles.  We had Marcus climb up the feed wagon so he could film the mixing of the feed.  I do believe I got in and out of the tractor about 10 times so he could film me getting in and starting it up.  I’ve never fed cattle so slowly in my life.  :S

Then came the questions from Tilman.  For the most part, I’d say he was just looking for information, and may have had a bit of an agenda, but kept it subtle.  There were some blunt questions, and he repeated some of them over and over.  But I just answered them.  I wonder if he thought he was going to get a different answer if he kept asking?  Oh well.  I guess that’s the media’s job.

They spent all morning on the farm.  They explained that SwissTV could be compared to PBS in America.  Both of them would speak german to each other once in awhile.  They told us that Switzerland does not allow hormone implants and sub-therapeutic antibiotics on their beef farms.  So I imagine that is why they were so curious about that.  The footage they got from our farm is going to be used in a half-hour segment.  They didn’t have a timeline, except that “sometimes it takes awhile to put it all together.”  They also told us that they were just shooting the footage and doing the interviews for another reporter in Switzerland who is putting the whole project together.

One concept that kept coming out in the interview that irked me a bit was that he kept trying to get me to say that the purpose of hormones and antibiotics was to grow the cattle bigger and faster.  But that is not what it’s about.  It’s about making the most from the least.  Conservation of resources means putting the least amount of inputs into a calf with the maximum amount of output.  Another thing that struck me, was that they didn’t realize the value of our livestock’s manure.  They thought it was a waste product.  But, I’ve covered that topic before.  Around here, manure is a precious commodity!  And we told them so.  Half the reason we have cattle and hogs is to fertilize our crops!

It will be interesting to see what comes of all of this.  It was a big learning experience for us.  I keep rolling things in my head that I wish I had shown and told them.  I feel like I was a bit of a deer in headlights that day.  I was prepared for them, but still can’t help but feel that way.  I’m guessing that is something that one never gets over.

I know that no matter what sort of spin (if any) the story takes, I was genuine in my answers and proud to show our farm to the public.  I hope that part shows through my stumbly bumbly answers.  Although I have a bit of trepidation about this whole thing, I have nothing but good to say about Marcus and Tilman.  They were very friendly and genuinely interested in our farm.  We were glad to have them.

Justin explaining the cattle's ration and how it changes over time.

Adventures in Pickling a Cow Tongue

The finished product.

So, I’m beginning to notice a trend in my family.  We seem to like to eat weird food on special occaisions.  I’ve posted before about Justin’s special meal that he appreciates more than any hallmark card.  Then there’s a famed Nieman dish called Suet Pudding.  I’ll just let you google that one, I’ve yet to attempt it.  Although I have tasted it. 

Well, the cow tongue notion comes not from Justin’s side of the family, but mine.  As a little girl, I can remember a jar of pickled tongue being an occaisional installment in our refridgerator.  I have a very clear memory of my dad pulling that jar out at opportune moments and asking houseguests if they wanted some.  It was always amusing to watch their reactions. 

I had kind of forgotten that part of my history, up until a few weeks ago.  Dad called me up to say that he had just made a really good roast (from one our cattle, of course) and wanted to put an order in for a quarter of beef the next time we send an animal to the locker.  So, in our discussion of how to cut it up, we somehow got on the subject of cow tongue.  And it all came back to me. 

Well, I drive by our local locker at least 4 times per week when I am taking the girls to daycare.  I was pondering what to do for Dad for Father’s Day when our conversation switched on the lightbulb in my head.  I stopped in at the locker and asked what it would take to get ahold of a cow tongue.  Again, that priceless look.  I’m guessing they must not have many inquiries specifically for cow tongue. 

 “WHAT FOR?!” was the first thing out of the butcher’s mouth! 

“Father’s Day,” was my response. 

“You mean, like, a gag gift??”

“Well, no.  I mean, like, to cook and eat.”

“Oooookay.” He then proceeded behind a door for few seconds,  came back out with a rubbery looking cow tongue on the tip of his knife, slapped it down on the table, and wrapped it up for me. 

“So, how much do I owe ya?” I asked.

“$1.00.”  Transaction complete, and I was on my merry way home with the cow tongue.

After the kids were in bed, I pulled out Justin’s old pressure cooker and dusted it off.  The gods of Google had bestowed a recipe upon me.  I took a moment to metally prepare myself, unwrapped the tongue, took another moment, picked up the tongue, took another moment, trimmed some of the funny looking parts off, got over it, and washed the tongue in cold water in the sink.  I cut 6 slits in it, and put a clove garlic into each.  Into the cooker it went, along with a gallon of cider vinegar, a gallon of water, two cut up onions, and a “handful” of pickling spice.  

This was my first experience with a pressure cooker.

The tongue is in there somewhere...

I turned the heat on high, put the lid on, and waited.  And waited. And waited…………And waited some more.  Finally the pressure gauge started climbing.  When the little valve started acting like it was going to blow off, I turned off the heat and went to bed.  I was supposed to take it out after 40 minutes, but by then it was 1 AM and I could barely function.  So, I got back up and at em at 5.  I pulled the tongue out, and pulled the skin off it.  (…sh sh shiver….)

This is after cooking...I forgot to take before pics.

I was surprised at how tender it was.

I sliced it up, put it in a jar, filled it with the pickling juice, cooled it off, and put it in the fridge to wait for Father’s Day.

We had a spur of the moment get-together at our house for Father’s Day.  It turned out to be a wonderful day.  My Dad and his girlfriend, Deb, came down and brought their horses.  We went riding over the farm while Justin and the kids prepared a delicious meal of ribeyes, fried potatoes, and carrots on the grill.  We also had fresh lettuce salad from the garden and watermelon.  Grandpa Nieman, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Melissa, and Abby came over too.  Dessert consisted of one of Grandpa Nieman’s favorites, German chocolate cake and ice cream.  The kids took a dip in the kiddie pool, and it was just a perfect summer day. 

The reaction to my Dad’s unique gift was just as I remembered.  Dad eats it like candy, everyone else, not so much.  Some humour him, some taste it only with a big glass of water at hand, and others turn a little green just looking at it. 

My Dad and his cow tongue.

 

Happy Father's Day Grandpa!

Friends Week “FARMnWIFE”

Judi at FARMnWIFE.com is “just” a farm wife on a mission to help fellow farmers become more comfortable with social media.

Even though she drives a Big Green Combine, I really like Judi and what she’s doing online.  And I’m not just saying that because she made me one of her featured farmers. 

I look up to her, because I see a lot of similarities between my family and hers.  I’m pretty sure if  I pushed the fast forward button on my life about 10 years, that my family would practically mirror hers.  Her kids are farm kids through and through…they even have their own blog!

This could totally be my kids in about 10 yrs. (Well, excpet I have two girls instead of two boys...but their ages are spaced very much like my childrens'.

Her farmnwife.com site is just getting up and running, and I have sneaking suspicion that it will be big.  She features farmers from across the country to help inspire other farmers to increase their online presence.  I just really like her style.  She has a good blend of technical and personal articles.  Advice on how to take good farm photos, how to upload video, or why farmers should be online..just to name a few topics. 

So, go ahead and bookmark her site, farmnwife.com.  I know it’s one you’ll want to keep checking back in on. Oh yes, and if you’re a twitterer…her handle is @farmnwife (duh.)  🙂

Friends Week “Cause Matters”

(Ok, so I fell a little behind last week, and will be posting the last two friends from Friends Week today.)

 

Michele Payn Knoper is the woman behind Cause Matters

As I mentioned in my Farm Bureau post, Michele Payn-Knoper, and her business, Cause Matters, were a big inspiration for me to start this very blog.  Back in 2009, I was a part of Iowa Farm Bureau’s Ag Leader program.  It consisted of a hand full of two day leadership sessions over the year, and culminated with an incredible trip to Washington D.C.  I can honestly say my participation in that program made some awesome changes in my life and I made some friendships that will last a lifetime.

Any way, back to Michele (also fondly known as MPK)… she was the session leader at our second get together, and she challenged our group in many ways.  She introduced us to the power of connecting with the consumer about agriculture.  She helped me to see just how hungry people are to know where their food is raised and who is raising it.  She also shed light on the fact that facts aren’t as important as finding common ground with someone in a discussion.  Sure, facts are important, but no one is going to listen to them if they don’t see you as someone who is honest and trustworthy.

MPK challenged us to set specific personal goals for ourselves.  She had us create plans and steps for reaching out to interested consumers.  I just loved her passion, and it fueled me to use my love for writing and create this blog.  Obviously, her plan worked!  She recently asked me to guest post on her blog, where I chose to write about my personal experiences with “agvocacy.”

Love this foundation!

Then, last year, MPK was instrumental, along with a group of farmers, in creating the AgChat Foundation.  It all started on Twitter, with weekly conversations about topics important to farmers and consumers.  It quickly grew into a foundation, and by summer the first AgChat Foundation conference was planned.  I knew I had to go.  My blog was just getting off the ground, and I wanted to expand my social media skills.  And that’s what the AgChat Foundation is all about, helping farmers and producers to reach out and share their point of view with others through social media and other publicity avenues.

So, I signed up and went to Chicago last August.  I learned, and I met some great people from across the country.   Michele, among many other talented presenters, provided a ton of knowledge and inspiration.  Many topics were covered, and there was ample time for issues to be addressed one-on-one.  It was so successful, they are doing it again this year, this time in Nashville.  I would so highly recommend it if you are at all interested!!

Friends Week “Kitchen Stewardship”

Please take some time to visit Katie's website. It is incredibly well written and informative.

Awhile back, Katie at Kitchen Stewardship contacted me with a proposal.  She was putting together a panel of cattle farmers to talk about how they raise their livestock.  She was looking for a diverse group,  somehow got ahold of my blog, and thought I’d be a good representation of a “big” farmer.  I browsed her site, and was instantly intrigued.  Katie and I hold many differing viewpoints, but I deeply appreciate her respect for that.  In her own words, “Kitchen Stewardship dishes out on real food and natural living in bite-sized baby steps. Stewardship of our resources is a call from God, and you can answer it!”  Well, there’s a concept I can agree with.  I can’t say it enough, I love her viewpoint (even though I may not 100% agree with it!)

I’ll admit, I haven’t had much time to explore her site, but in the limited time that I have, I have really liked what I see.  She makes a lot of food from scratch, food that I wouldn’t even think of making from scratch…things like yogurt and granola bars.  Take a look at her most popular recipes!   I haven’t had a chance yet to try any of her recipes, but I soon will!

I was so honored to be a part of Katie's farmer panel.

I thoroughly enjoyed answering the questions she put forth,  reading the other farmers’ answers, and seeing the reaction of her readers.  It was a pleasant experience and wonderful opportunity to participate in such a mature, educational forum.  I strongly recommend you skip over to her site and check it out.

Katie is one person that I’d love to meet face to face someday, I can only imagine that conversations we could have.  She’s a mom of two, soon to be three.  She’s a Christian. And she’s concerned and educated about where her food comes from.  If only there were more people like her out there.  I’m proud and honored to be a (small) part of what she’s doing over at her site, Kitchen Stewardship.

Friend Week “Iowa Farm Bureau”

The Iowa Farm Bureau Ag Leaders class of 2009, a wonderful, year long experience that I was a part of. This class gave me a ton of motivation, inspiration, and confidence!!

I have been involved with my county and state Farm Bureau for about 6 years now.  It all started way back when I was a newlywed, newly pregnant farm wife.  I got a phone call one night from an acquaintance through church.  She was recruiting new board members, and was wondering if  Justin would be interested in attending a meeting.  I told her he might be, but I definitely was!  I was new to the community yet, and looking for something to get involved in.  The way she described Farm Bureau made it sound like something I’d definitely want to be involved in.

Many people recognize Farm Bureau as an insurance company.  But there is a whole other, separate yet connected side to it, the Farm Bureau Federation.  Farm Bureau works to represent farming families and businesses in their local communities, states, and nationwide.  It does so through lobbying efforts, public relations, educational programs, and various other services.  The greatest part about Farm Bureau is that it is grassroots driven, it represents what its members want it to represent.  Anyone who is a member can be active with their county, state, or the American Farm Bureau and let their voice be heard.

This last winter, I got to present at the Iowa Farm Bureau's Young Farmer Conference.

I have had countless wonderful experiences with Farm Bureau.  I am so thankful for the opportunities it has brought me. From the statewide young farmer conferences, to the county’s policy development process, to becoming the county president…and much, much more…I have grown and learned so much!  Farm Bureau is a great organization, and I invite you to check out their blog, Farm Fresh, if you’re not already familiar.

I’m calling the Iowa Farm Bureau a bloggy friend because, if it was not for my participation in Farm Bureau activities, I never would have found the resources it took for me to get this blog going.  In 2009, I was a part of the state’s leadership program, which allowed me to attend an interactive session with Michele Payn Knoper, an expert on social media and “ag-vocating.”  She inspired me to start this blog (and she will be featured this week too!)   Farm Bureau really supported me, and brought some readers my direction when they picked up this post I wrote about Farmers in Business Suits, and shared it on their blog.

Also, if you are interested in joining, especially if you live in Delaware County, send me a message!!  I’ll hook ya up!  It’s the best $35 you’ll ever spend!

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A Little Help from My Friends

This picture is a classic. All of these boys were born to our group of friends within 6 months of each other.

So, as you may have noticed, I’ve been ignoring this blog lately.  I just haven’t been “feeling” it, but now, I’M BaaaAAACK!  And I’m giving all the credit for my newfound inspiration to you, my friends!  This little project of mine would be a lot easier to give up on if I didn’t have readers holding me accountable.  And for that, I say THANKS!!

In fact, I’m so inspired, I’m declaring this week, “Friends Week” here on Life as an Iowa Farm Wife.  I’m going to do a few posts highlighting my bloggy friends, returning the favor that they gave me when they featured this blog on their different sites.

I hope you enjoy reading some different perspectives this week.  I respect all of the upcoming posters for different reasons, and I have been highly flattered that they have chosen to give me some space in their worlds.

And next week, I’ll return to my semi-regular format and give you all an update on this farm family’s whereabouts in the last few weeks.  Enjoy!!