Winner from the giveaway!!!

I didn't have too many entries, but there were a few to choose from. Thank you to everyone who left caption suggestions for the picture below! And the winner chosen by my family is.......

Holly T!!!! And here is her caption:

Gluten-free, grain-free cheese sticks!

I made up this recipe and may tweak it some more, but I love it so far. These were really, really yummy!

Warning if you follow this recipe......I don't always measure things exactly, so this is just close to what I did. Make any adjustments you feel necessary. And note, if you use too much Parmesan cheese it will be too salty!

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup flaxseed meal/flour

2 tsp (or less) Parmesan cheese

1 tsp parsley flakes

1/4 tsp salt

Be sure to freeze your cheese sticks at least several hours in advance. We used cheddar cheese, but I'm sure mozzarella would be great too.

Mix all of these ingredients together in one dish and put some scrambled eggs in another dish. Dip the cheese sticks in eggs, then flour mixture, then eggs a second time, then flour mixture a second time. Fry in oil of your choice (I used coconut oil) for about 5 minutes or so. Let cool and enjoy! YUM!

These would be so great with marinara sauce, but I haven't found a recipe I like yet. If you have a good one, please put it in the comments!

Interview with my children

You can learn a lot about yourself when you interview your child(ren). It gives you a whole new perspective.....theirs. And sometimes that isn't a nice thing. *sigh*

Here are the questions (something I found on Pinterest) and the answers for my oldest three kiddos:
#1 = 11yo boy
#2 = 9yo girl
#3 = 7yo boy

1. Something mom always says to you?

#1 - Do your chores.

#2 - Get Joe! (the baby)

#3 - Do your chores.

2. What makes mom happy?

#1 - Me being happy.

#2 - Obedience.

#3 - When I do my chores.

3. What makes mom sad?

#1 - When someone dies.

#2 - Disobedience.

#3 - When I'm gone for a while.

4. How does mom make you laugh?

#1 - When you burp really loud unexpectedly. (Gee, thanks!)

#2 - When you tickle me.

#3 - When you tickle me.

5. What was mom like as a child?

#1 - A tomboy.

#2 - Friendly? I have no clue. (haha!)

#3 - Happy.

6. How old is mom?

#1 - 37 (the winner!)

#2 - Um, how old ARE you?

#3 - 40

7. How tall is mom?

#1 - 5'6" (smarty pants)

#2 - Probably 4 1/2 feet. (I know she's smarter than this.)

#3 - 6'

8. What is mom’s favorite thing to do?

#1 - Computer.

#2 - Play with us.

#3 - Computer.

9. What does mom do when you’re not around?

#1 - Computer.

#2 - Hang out with your friends.

#3 - Computer. (I see a theme here.)

10. If mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

#1 - Singing and dancing. (I have no idea where the dancing came from!)

#2 - The biggest zoo.

#3 - Singing.

11. What is mom really good at?

#1 - Typing really fast.

#2 - Bossing us around.

#3 - Computer.

12. What is mom not very good at?

#1 - Shooting diapers into the trash can. (Haha! So true!)

#2 - Writing with a broken pencil. (I had just tried to use one.)

#3 - Shooting BB guns. (I'm actually a good shot, he just never sees me shoot!)

13. What does mom do for her job?

#1 - Feed me, take Daddy's money.

#2 - Clean rooms, drive us places, cook food, give Jack and Joe a bath. (See, it's not all computers!)

#3 - Help us.

14. What is mom’s favorite food?

#1 - Italian Shells.

#2 - Italian Shells. (I like it, but it's actually everyone else's favorite.)

#3 - Nutella. (This kid KNOWS his mother.)

15. What makes you proud of mom?

#1 - You're famous on Facebook. (I have no idea why he thinks this or why in the world it would make him proud!)

#2 - Cause you're my mom! (((HUG))) -- (Special moment!)

#3 - Cause you take care of me.

16. What cartoon character would mom be?

#1 - Foghorn Leghorn. (Why on earth???)

#2 - Willa's teacher. (From Willa's Wild Life)

#3 - A lady on Mighty Machines. (Not exactly a cartoon.....does this mean he things I am strong and can tear stuff up?)

17. What do you and mom do together?

#1 - Laugh, raise our eyebrows. (He noticed one day that when we look at each other, we both raise our eyebrows, so now we do it on purpose and laugh every time!)

#2 - Sing, go to Panera Bread.

#3 - Eat out.

18. How are you and mom the same?

#1 - We both have freckles.

#2 - We're both girls.

#3 - We both like Farkle. (A dice game.)

19. How are you and mom different?

#1 - Length of hair.

#2 - You're bigger and I'm smaller.

#3 - You don't play the Wii. (I do, just not often.)

20. How do you know mom loves you?

#1 - When you give me food and kiss me.

#2 - You make food for me.

#3 - You give me hugs and kisses.

21. Where is mom’s favorite place to go?

#1 - Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles....YES!)

#2 - Panera Bread

#3 - Italian Restaurant

And there you have it, what my kids think of me! That was very enlightening and quite humorous, at times! Apparently I really like the computer and eating out more than I realized. :)

Chicken brooder

We used this as a brooder for the first time last year and it worked so well. This was just a koi pond that was sunk down in our front yard of the first house we bought 12 years ago. It was ugly and very impractical, so we dug it up. It is about 5 feet across and 22" or so deep, so lots of room!

We eventually started using it as a swimming pool for the kids. It was a GREAT swimming pool, but as the kids got older (and there are more of them now!), it just didn't seem big enough any more. I really did love it as a swimming pool though!

I also noticed a crack in the bottom, so we decided maybe it would make a nice brooder. All I can say is, if I was a baby chick, this would seem like a mansion! I'm sure they love it, and it could hold probably 50 chicks pretty comfortably for a short time, if we needed to.

This pond/pool/brooder cleans up very easy and really nicely (we've had to clean it out so many times over the years), so I think I'm going to turn it into something else this summer.....a sand box! How fun will that be?!?! And then maybe over the winter we can have it over a garden area (we've had some really nice grass/weeds in winters past!) before using it as a brooder again next year.

But for now, our new little chicks can run and play in their little huge chicky mansion.

It was a little chilly out, so it took a few minutes to warm up the place. I wish I had a picture of them when we first turned the heat lamp on. They literally stood up tall, stretching toward the lamp, and closed their eyes, just basking in the warmth! Haha! It was adorable!

Notes on what we used: The tire was just there so the 15 month old could see inside. :) The big black thing is a platform type structure built of wood and covered with some kind of rubber. We found it (and several more) in a huge dumpster. That is to keep in heat and keep rain and animals out. We took some chicken wire (also free) and attached it the edge of the black platform, attached the other edge of the wire to a 2x4 (also free), and this serves as a vent during the warmer part of the day and also to keep out predators. Then we have a board covering it, which we can remove to release heat, when needed, and a tarp over all that to keep the rain out. This is all angled as well so the rain will run down and out. It should work very well, and we are very happy with it, especially since it was all free. Oh, and the stepping stones we have the feed and water sitting on, and the cinder block the light is attached too......also free. :) Yep, every bit of it was FREE. Hey, even the eggs the chicks hatched from were free! We just had to buy a new heat bulb, water and feed trays, and wood chips. :)

New chicks and a giveaway!!!!

Heritage Rhode Island Reds. We had 5 of them hatch, but the last one had to have help, and I think it is too weak to make it. The other 4 though are all doing really, REALLY well. Here are some pics of them taken yesterday.

And now for the giveaway......This last picture for some reason just really makes me laugh! I am not a witty person though, so I need a good caption. You may enter as many times as you want and even put them all in one comment, and the caption that makes me and my family laugh the most will win this book:

Just to be clear, this is the picture to create the caption for. Share with your friends! We will pick a winner this Sunday evening, March 25th. Have fun, and thank you! :)

(I want to do another giveaway soon, so stay tuned!)