Category Archives: Farm Family

All things farm kids, marriage, motherhood, faith and church, grieving and growing, traveling, and other fun activities for busy families; including how to make time for family activities, keeping things simple for busy families, and being active in the outdoors as a family. , camping, hiking, and fun!

Key topics: Farm kids; motherhood and the daily grind; faith and family: family time; farm kids; grieving and growing; marriage; family travel; and camping and hiking.

Making Iron Man Do His Chores…And Other Boy Mom Adventures

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I was loading the dishwasher the other day when Iron Man popped in to ask for a snack. So I offered him some yogurt-covered raisins in exchange for emptying the compost bucket. He didn’t really think that Iron Man should be distracted with such menial work when there was a whole planet to save.  He was just look for a little jet fuel. So I threw in a juice pouch to sweeten the deal. It turns out that negotiating with Super Heroes involves a lot of fruit snacks and cheese … Continue Reading…

The 5 Love Languages

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After reading an article about terrible Mother’s Day gifts, I thought this would be a great time to post about the 5 Love Languages–in case you need to run back to the store before Sunday! The 5 Love Languages is a book by Dr. Gary Chapman  which I highly, highly recommend.  However, if you really, really, really aren’t a reader (and I know some of you, my dear friends and readers, who aren’t…Mr. Fix-it included)  the website is pretty cool too. His website sums it up like this… After many years … Continue Reading…

How to Organize Family Electronics for Easier Travel

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I was recently had to travel out-of-town for work. Our family’s preference for traveling light meant my ninja packing skills fit 3 days of business-casual clothing and traveling-office gadgets into a 40L travel backpack. Some of my colleagues were amazed–as they wheeled their full-sized suitcases down the hall. As a pick-up-truck family, packing light for travel has always been our thing. We just don’t have space for stuff.  Our Spring Break Road Trip really had us paring down to the essentials to travel 5,000 miles with practically no storage space other … Continue Reading…

Picking Cotton and Loading Bales

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I think cotton is my favorite crop. As someone who doesn’t grow any crops, anyway. I love the way it grows tall and dark green (compared to soybeans anyway), the pretty pink and blue summer flowers, the way the bulbs form, and then slowly fill, until they start to burst at the seams… I’m not a big fan of the smell when the farmers start spraying the defoliation stuff. Or when the plants turn all brown and stick-like and the cotton hangs out like wisps of trash…But I find the … Continue Reading…

How to Pack for Overnight Summer Camp (with FREE Checklists!)

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Well, it’s summer camp time again! The time when I buy new socks and boxes of Ziploc bags and start the sorting and organizing for the kiddos to head out to church camp for a week. Do your munchkins go to overnight camp? Our kiddos head off for a week each summer with their church group. Sometimes the different age groups go at different times, but this year all 3 of our farm kids are heading off together–that’s a new stage for us! {smile} Our first year I did a … Continue Reading…

Farm Lane Philosophy

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This past weekend while I was wandering around the farm checking on a few new happenings (some cute, fuzzy, news coming up tomorrow!) I started using the viewfinder on our camera instead of the LCD screen. Just trying it out. I’ve got my eye on a new Nikon D5100, but my coffee can savings bank still has a lot more rattle than rustle in in. And I haven’t maxed out the abilities of our current camera anyway. And I thought about Ann Voskamp’s 1,000 Gifts (which I highly recommend!) where … Continue Reading…

DIY 50 State Passports…with FREE Printable

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One of the special projects I did when planning our spring break trip was making fun 50 States passports for the kiddos to get “stamped” as we traveled. It wasn’t that hard, and I’ve got a free printable for you if you’d like to try it yourself. I found a lot of ideas and a few awesome templates on Pinterest, but I didn’t want to mimic a real international passport too much. The Ladybug just got back from a mission trip and we spent a lot of time emphasizing (and re-emphasizing!) … Continue Reading…

Our First Dentist Visit

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Ok, call me a bad parent. Our kids just got their first visit to the dentist the other day, Yep, first ever. The Ladybug has been bugging me about making an appointment ever since she learned about Mr. McCavity in school. Darn those schools for teaching all that personal health and wellness stuff! {grin} Honestly, Mr. Fix-It and I are way overdo for cleanings, etc. too. But who has time to take off work for if you’re not actually in pain over a cavity or something? I already have to … Continue Reading…

Daily Learning Routine for Non-Homeschooling Moms

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Boy, the world is quite a mess lately, hmm? Our kiddos are home full-time until September and Mr. Fix-It and I are both Essential workers at our off-homestead jobs, so our house has been kinda reeling lately. A little bit of organization goes a long way! We have always done summer home-learning activities, but I had to look over my previous activities and make some adjustments for this new phase of Crisis-Schooling. It’s not really the same as homeschooling. I’m not trying to cover a complete school year or curriculum. … Continue Reading…

Football, Fairgrounds, and Finding Lost Socks…the Daily Farm Adventures {125}

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Fall is in high gear around here. The sheep are moving into breeding season and doing all kinds of crazy, unpredictable things like getting stuck upside down on the compost pile and accidentally locking themselves in the chicken house while trying to steal chicken food. We’ve been checking on them more than normal lately to try and keep up with their shennanigans. Football and Volleyball season are also rolling along for our two oldest and this week we also had the local county fair going on. The Ladybug is in … Continue Reading…

Great Football Movies for the Family

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Well, we registered the boys for football this Fall. Practice doesn’t start until August, but we’ve started accumulating their gear. And they are so excited that they’ve started wearing it around the house and to do their chores, especially walking the dogs. You know, just to get used to it. {smile} Speedracer is particularly excited about it and has been filling all his extra summer minutes with football movies–which then inspire him to throw his gear on and run around the backyard like a gridiron superstar. When it comes to sports … Continue Reading…

Lunch Gear When You Pack Every Day! {School Days Series}

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We’re getting ready to head into yet another school year in just a few weeks, and I know a lot of folks are already in school or full-on back-to-school mode. I’m still sorting and organizing to get us ready right now, and I thought this little {School Days} series might help any busy mommas new to the school scene–or frustrated because what they’re doing just isn’t working. In addition to managing clothes, chores, homework, and school supplies, there’s this whole time slot of our daily life that revolves around lunches. Yep, lunches. … Continue Reading…

There was this Girl Farmer…the Daily Farm Adventures {101}

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I was walking down the alley with the dogs yesterday evening and ran into this girl… She was tall, and slim, and wearing a well-worn pair of muck boots like she knew something about the business of mud. Her barn coat was a little rough around the edges and shrugged comfortably across her shoulders as she warmed her hands in her pockets. Her scarf was set just so, casual and deliberate, just so to warm and breath, and there was a rosiness to her cheeks that suggested she knew the winter evening … Continue Reading…

Kids Need More Than Book-Learning

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Ok, we’re not even a month into the school year and I’m already over the homework. Sheesh. I’m just the Momma, it’s not even my homework! And the more I read and think and pray, the more oppose to homework I am, except for two cases… The child is not being diligent and getting their classwork finished and has to bring it home to work on it. This would go hand-in-hand with a student with a specific learning challenge that needs extra work. (Um, we have one of those. Maybe two. … Continue Reading…

Spring Break, Stitches, and Sunshine…the Daily Farm Adventures {110}

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We kicked off Spring Break with a trip to the ER. Speedracer had a playground accident at school and needed six stitches.   I was pretty traumatized by the whole thing. He was fine. {smile} Mr. Fix-It ended up picking him up from school and taking him to the doctor because I was in training for work when the call came through. I think everyone probably preferred it that way (except me) because my husband tends to be cool as a cucumber about these things while I tend to spend … Continue Reading…