Choosing a chicken coop door

 Choosing a chicken coop door for us wasn’t as easy as 1, 2, 3. We are on our second year of being chicken owners and I love it! Although I love them, it gets to become a chore some nights having to walk back out and close everything up at night. 

First automatic chicken coop door we got was part of my Mother’s Day gift. 💝 but didn’t work so well. After Ben got all the measurements set up, pieces made, got the solar panel charged up in the sun and our youngest son helped him with installing it….it didn’t work. The App we were instructed to download to work it rarely worked with it. The remote control didn’t close it for us. We had to go out and press the close button on the solar panel every single night defeating the purpose of having an automatic coop door.

China made vs American made

We ordered it through Amazon from China. It was cheaper than the American made one we were eyeing up so we thought we’d save a few bucks. The customer service man from Amazon was very kind and tried to help, we got into contact with the makers, they made it quite a hassle but after a few weeks we got a replacement. During the wait for the replacement, they sent us a code for $40 on Amazon to leave a good review. We threw the code out 🗑️. We appreciate the gift card, but we’re not going to lose our integrity for it. In our opinion, that company did not provide a 5 star performance. 

The second one they sent didn’t work well at all. Every evening when we’d close it, no matter what we tried with the app, manually pressing buttons and trying to time it, the chicken coop door would open after every 30 minutes through out the night. First night it clearly stressed out our chickens a bit. 

🐔🐔😖😖🐔🐔

So we bought the other automatic chicken coop door we had our eye on. Through Amazon. It costs more but it's American owned and we’re happy with it. Company is Farmlite. No app baloney, timer works and comes with remote….that works!! Weather resistant which will be tested in these Wisconsin winters!! So far so good. I recommend it 👍

Get it for your chickens here https://amzn.to/4d1J6tC  👈🐔

Now I haven't had to worry if we were gone late and forgot to close everything up! We free range our chickens but if we know we are leaving for awhile, we keep them in the fence. Most evenings, I can go out, make sure their window is shut, get them in the fence, count them up and head back inside for the evening. They still get their extra long summer nights outside, just in the safety of the fence and when they're ready to head in for the night, the automatic coop door closes up for me!

Time sure has flown by

 If you're visiting my page, YAY!!! Thank you. As you can see, my last blog post was in 2020!!! Time sure has flown by and alot has changed. Both with my family and the world. Covid really affected people and our country. We're the United States of America and since covid, our country seems far from United. It is very sad. Growing up I always had such pride for America. I knew I was lucky to be born here and still feel lucky. I love our freedom and hope we not only get to keep it but that our children grow up in a land of the FREE too. The whole worlds just gone crazy.

Moving on, when I started this blog, I was in a real good place mentally. My kids were young and I was just happy. Although I still am  happy, my kids are older and alot has changed.

For one, in my last post I touch on the subject of hoping the kids were able to head back to public school soon. Although my daycare kids went back, my son went back for a year and the things that were entering our school systems and how they ran things....well we didn't agree with everything. We have been homeschooling now for the last two years. We have our ups and downs. We have our days that we get a lot accomplished and days we focus on reading and physical activities which are both super important.

I could go on and on about our whys of homeschooling and things we've been through since my last post in 2020 but I mainly just wanted to hop back on my blogspot and say hello!!! I'm a tired mom, still working from home and trying to help my son's dad with the household income that needs to come in while making sure the house is clean, the pets are taken care of (oh yeah, we added chickens to our family a little over a year ago!) and making sure there is a home cooked meal every night...which makes needing to provide good steady income very important because if you live in America and are raising a family, you know thats an expensive trip!!!

Well my duties are calling and this mom's little bit of sit down time is up! Hope everyone is doing well and hang in there!!! Time sure has flown by since 2020, try to find the simple pleasures in your everyday!

Covid-19 homeschooling

In March when they said school was temporarily closing until April 6th I was a little relieved to be able to keep my children home and not get added absent days. I had my sons, my nephew and a friends kids. We had our good hours and our bad hours. I was both excited and nervous. I’m not very tech savvy but it pushed me to learn the new world of everything virtual. 

Then we were told it was going to pass April 6th. Come pick up your kids new packets. All the uncertainty became annoying. I, like many other parents still needed to carry on their jobs during the day and make sure my kids were staying caught up and doing their best. I kept my same routine but sometimes my schedule got pushed back and hour here and there Mainly due to zoom meetings with their teachers but we did it! Staying on a routine was very helpful and the kids were able to keep stability in uncertain times. 

Chill morning, breakfast 8:00AM

then I made sure every child was sitting down for no less than 2 hours every morning of learning. GoNoodle on YouTube was AMAZING!! Most days I’d have them work for a solid hour or two then everyone would enjoy a fun or silly BRAIN BREAK then back to work for a little bit. 

No later than 12:00pm (sometimes they could get out by 11-11:30) I’d make sure they were able to get fresh air and enjoy the outdoors. 

It was later than I’d like but I had to let go of my strict old schedule of lunch at that time. To ensure they had a solid morning of learning and outside we pushed lunch to 1:00pm then a much needed QUIET TIME! Nap if you want or don’t but you’re chilling out and watching a movie. 

After the movie they’d have a snack and do another 30mins, 45mins or 60mins of school work. Then no school work after 4:00pm. The evenings stayed family time. 

I’m so proud of all of them! The kids didn’t always like it. My youngest son would argue with me almost every single day or make a 15minute assignment last 45 minutes due to complaining but it was all so worth it. My son was included in a viral message sent from his teacher to the whole district showing off her TOP FIVE VIRTUAL LEARNERS then just last week the PANTHER PRESS (which is a 4 page newsletter sent to everyone in the districts area) my son, Maverick, was in it for completing his work. Great! I appreciate it. It shows him as well as the other students that you’re still being watched. People and leaders see your work! 

I dealt with multiple teachers. Maverick’s teacher was good and sent very organized lesson plans daily. My nephew (2nd grade) his teacher did amazing! Not only is she a mom and helping her own children but she showed up for her 2nd graders EVERY DAY! My nephew had a lot of work. More work than my 8th grade stepson but his teacher was involved. Still teaching not slacking. She did group zoom meetings and individual reading group zoom meetings. She helped not only my nephew stay on track but was a huge help for me in keeping my nephew focused. 

With that being said....here’s to hoping things go back to normal and school starts up in Fall!! I want my children safe, I want them to see their friends. Get out and learn good social skills and have their field trips again. 

7 Tips for Mom during Big Family Sleep Overs

We just had some family staying with us the past two days and for how much I worried about certain things that could go wrong, that didn't happen, I decided to share with you some quick helpful tips to ensure you're ready to roll with the punches and enjoy the moment.

Ben's brother and his family were back here visiting from where they now live, Puerto Rico. All together that's a family of 6. I love them dearly but we also have our two sons, my brother who lives with us, and I run an inhome daycare. I was wondering how things were going to play out. I like to have an idea of what is happening and how much to plan for but when you get two households together, its not always organized. 😜 Good people but our two families seem to ride different waves 😜

The thing about this visit is we had no idea who was all staying with us or when. First day we planned 6 people and got one adult with 3 kids (a newbie arrived with them! Their cousin from their moms side. super good boy!) then of course we had some family come over and see them. The second day, my brother inlaw had to run errands and the kids got to hang here with me and the group! When he came back with his wife during a busy time of day for me with some kids getting picked up, the talk of added visitors was in full swing.

Now comes to the moment where I'm scrambling to think where is everyone going to sleep?! Do we have enough food? Someone needs to pick up more milk! 

We ended up having a very nice visit. The kids had fun, we had enough food, Ben and I were able to enjoy nice conversation by the bonfire with my brother and sister in law. The kids slept good and although Ben had to work the next morning, he made coffee for us and I was able to make everyone a nice French toast breakfast before the kids took one last dip in the pond and they packed up and left. Leaving my sons and I in complete chillness....and missing them a great deal.

Here are my tips to help you roll with the punches when having family sleep overs that have no plan

1) Remember it goes by fast. Breathe and let the children make memories! (and moms and dads of course!)

2) Plan One big meal for dinner that kids all enjoy (I went with spaghetti with garlic bread! Everyone loved it and kids asked for seconds and thirds!) Plan One big breakfast. The other mornings the kids can just have toast or cereal! Doesn't need to be fancy and they're all fed!

3) Worried won't have enough to drink? Can't go wrong with water! HYDRATE! Specially during these summer months. We get our water from a well so its clear and refreshing....and FREE! I just refill their water bottles and they can carry them around and get a drink whenever. Helpful shopper tip: when you buy the "good2grow juice" with the fun character twist tops, keep them! I just reuse them and the kids love them!

4) Can't go wrong with popsicles. I planned that atleast one day during their visit, I'd have enough popsicles for every child while they played outside. BOMB POPS! (I had 10 in one day with my daycare, nieces, nephews, my youngest son and my brother in laws nephew who came along)

5) Kids can entertain themselves but lets face it, in todays generation they act bored. We did a shark puzzle then I said get your swim suits on! Water play, rather it be a sprinkler, pool, or water balloons. They'll love it! Luckily we have a pond so doing jumps off the dock keeps them occupied for awhile. My nieces just painted their nails and went on the swings. Don't always have to plan a big activity or place to go.

6) Everyone can AGREE ON THESE SHOWS; the PBS channel. Duck Tales (we watch the original), Phineas and Ferb then of course I have never met a child or adult who doesn't like Scooby Doo! 

7) Take pictures! Please put your phone down, enjoy the conversation that is in front of you but when your kids are making memories and bonding with their cousins, get updated photos atleast once a year if you can! 

Father's Day Ideas

Father's Day is coming up Sunday, June 16th and it will be here before you know it! Every year I try to come up with something that not only my son's dad will enjoy but also the dads of the daycare kids who come here! Some years I've had everyone do the same gift and other years I go with the separate personalities of the families to create different gifts for each father.

I honestly cannot remember all the Father's Day gifts I have done with my boys and their friends. I do although remember some and want to share them with you.

*One year for Ben I remember I bought him a red cooler that he could easily carry anywhere and filled with random fun things I thought he'd like or need. Toy guns for him to play with the boys, some of his favorite snacks, new underwear and small sized camping gear!

*For one of Maverick's earlier Father's Day gifts we went with the saying "Following in my daddies foot steps" where I  painted the bottom of one of Ben's shoes with blue paint and stamped it on paper, then putting Maverick's shoe print beside Ben's then added a board around it.

*Another year Maverick and the rest of the boys found some pretty heavy rocks that they could carry and I had them paint the rocks. Once the paint dried, I took some glitter glue and wrote "My Dad Rocks!" on a nice service of the rock that could be seen well while sitting on a shelf.

*Last year Jonah asked if he could make a Ninja Turtle fathers day card so we traced his hands on green construction paper, added a strip of orange construction paper to create Michelangelo's orange ninja mask then I had Jonah write "You're Turtl-ly awesome" then an added message of his wish.

*A fishing picture with white construction paper, glued to green construction paper for a boarder. "Hooked on Daddy!" was the message read on it. Maverick's foot was the fishing pole and his hand the fish. He picked out the colors he wanted to use and at the time was learning to write his name so it was an added bonus to have him sign his own name on his gift for dad. I then took a paper puncher to make a hole in each top corner and used some rustic rope looking string to loop through the holes. It not only added a nicer touch to the fathers day picture but now it can hang anywhere!!!

There as been many more, such as canvas art with the boy's foot print and I drew a golf course around it. I'm Brooke Gagnon on pinterest. I have an example of this golf themed fathers day present under my Pinterest Board "kids crafts" check it out and many more ideas if interested! The idea of this one was not mine though. Thank goodness for Pinterest some weeks!

Now this year our oldest, Jonah, has decided to use some of his chore money to order his dad something special. Our youngest, Maverick is in school now and he made a present for dad at school. Fun surprise for both me and dad!! Then of course this mama had to get something a little extra special for our special guy. I ordered a canvas picture through Walmart that reads at the bottom "BEST DAD EVER!"  with a group picture of Ben with both boys (it was taken in December with Rudolph at the tree farm) then under the group picture, it shows a nice picture of dad with Maverick and then a separate nice picture of dad with Jonah. I was a little nervous how it would turn out but after receiving it in the mail today, I'm happy with how the colors burst on it and how well everyone looks. It was tricky trying to be casual and asking dad to take random nice pictures with the boys. Their looking so different and grown up these past few months that I knew I'd need updated pictures.

Now for my daycare kids....hmm I have ideas but I am still stumped on just exactly what I will have them make. So far, I'm thinking two kids will make a stepping stone for their dad's but I still need to come up with something special for the rest. I can't wait to share with you what it may be. It gets tricky for me some years because when a child comes to my care, I typically care for them for 5 years so that's a different fathers (and mothers) day gift for not only my children but for their friends as well every year.

I wish everyone luck on finding something special to make the man you love feel special this year. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

5 years

The sun has risen in the sky, birds of all kinds are making their beautiful sounds from all directions. The bumble bees have woken up and started buzzing around the cherry blossoms and the school bus has just drove by. Usually I'd be getting my son on that bus but he gets a ride from his grandma some mornings and this morning happens to be one of them, giving me just a little extra ME TIME! I'm celebrating by enjoying a peaceful quiet moment on my deck, drinking coffee with my girl Goose. Our half husky half boxer 5 year old dog.

As I catch a hummingbird zooming through the tree branches and other birds compete with the red winged black bird for bird seed, I can't help but remember the first year in our home, back when the red winged black bird use to dive bomb our heads. While we were pregnant with our son, Maverick, we were looking for a new home. We were living in a decent two bedroom, two bathroom townhouse in a nice town but shoulder to shoulder to nosy neighbors. We not only wanted more privacy, but we needed more space and an extra bedroom so a 7 year old Jonah could still have his own room.

Ben found our home driving around on his bike (motorcycle) one evening and immediately put an offer on the table assuring me after he got home that it was perfect for us. Over the next couple months while I was still pregnant, we'd drive past. Started eating out at the houses local food places. We had the house taken from us with a better offer, just to get it back with the other buyers bad luck, then lost it a second time just to luck out again and find out the buyer was just buying it to flip it a little bit. Eventually, while in labor May 1st 2014, Ben got a phone call saying we could pick up the keys. Ben told him he'd come for the keys the next day. Our family helped us move while I was still in the hospital with Maverick.

We were officially moved in by May 3rd and I couldn't have felt more blessed. New home, new baby, help from family, and OUR PRIVACY! I felt  such bliss that whole first year. Besides the slight fear that comes with a newborn and every terrifying story you hear on the news! I couldn't get much sleep though. Not because Maverick was up all night...no, he slept through the night very well. I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop staring at him. When he was a baby we had him sleeping in a bassinet right next to my side of the bed. I couldn't help but risk it when I had to lay my hand on his belly every hour to make sure he was still breathing!

We took our first year slow. Giving ourselves time to plan what all needed to be done with the house. One big job was we needed to finish adding on a bedroom for Jonah downstairs. That first year while Maverick slept in our room, Jonah slept in Maverick's room. Still, we took our time. We even took on a puppy against my wishes, having a dog and cats already and not to mention the newborn! It was still a great year, spending as much time as possible outside. Due to our nosy neighbors at the previous house, we didn't get much peace in our old backyard. I was thrilled to lay with Maverick as he just stared at the green trees, blue skies, white clouds floating by. Imagining what he must've thought of it all experiencing it so fresh! Other than trying my best to keep him protected from the  dang mosquitoes all summer long, it was a magical time everyday. Maverick was such a good baby. Didn't cry much, eager to learn and eager to get moving. With having a big brother, you can imagine that he felt he needed to catch up. That motivation getting him to walk by 10 months for sure! He was a pro by his first birthday. Dancing, walking, running, climbing and of course a lot of mini heart attacks for this mama!

Now that big brother is going to be 13 this summer and that baby is 5 years old, we are still excited for our everyday adventures but entering a new set of fears. The preteen is always looking cranky and just had dumped his first girlfriend (to which this mom says, WOOHOO! GET OUTTA HERE!) Then of course we have the 5 year old. I named him Maverick to be wildly independent and boy did he come out living up to his name but now that 5 year old is still looking up to the big brother and thinks hes 15 trapped in a 5 year olds body. Our peaceful mornings of snuggles and cartoons have turned into me having to drag him out of bed early, get him dressed and fed and out the door for school. The easy baby that never cried started giving me the tantrums when he was 3 years old and they haven't stopped yet but we do seem to be getting through them easier and less often. Then of course this house! We've been here for 5 years, time to get our butts moving for all the jobs we planned. (and yes, if you're wondering, Jonah was in his own room shortly before Maverick's first birthday!)

Well, I hear a car pulling in. Our daycare friends are arriving and its time to start the day! I did start this blog stating that I was enjoying a peaceful MOMENT. This mom doesn't get much ME TIME! Hope everyone has a great Friday and enjoys some peaceful moments.

To post or not To post

Here I am trying to start a blog and completely torn about sharing my children's faces on social media. Yes, I post pictures of my sons or nieces and nephews on Instagram or snapchat but I've always been a private account. I only add friends and family with the occasional mom account after looking up and down their pages before allowing them to see my page. I use to not allow any strangers  but with wanting to start this blog, I feel I need to make myself more public. The tricky thing is I don't want to be so public, which is obviously a big problem when at the same time I want to get myself out there.

I've had an Instagram since late 2012. Since then I've posted beautiful memories of my life and my loved ones. Ben was very against social media and showing our kids faces and I was always on the fence. When our son Maverick was born I didn't post anything! It wasn't until our son was 6 months old that I posted a picture and from then, its just a picture here and there every few weeks if any.

Recently I came to terms with knowing that if I want people to come to my blog, I need to put myself out there more, something I never wanted to do. I get plenty of requests from people wanting to follow me but I decline. I just can't get myself fully comfortable with many people being able to see pictures of my children or my personal life. Then why start a blog right? Well the reason is, like anything, if you put the work in, something can be successful. There are women out there (and dads!) that are able to be full time parents to their kids and still make an income for their family....through blogging! I figured why not try? I know not everyone can wham bam become a successful blogger but if I could, how swell. How easy! NOT! One big cut back, I'm so nervous about sharing too much.

I read blogs that are very detailed and personal where it seems like they don't hold much back then I see other blogs that are open and personal but keep their kids faceless and some even nameless. Either way it has been fun connecting with women around the country. Some chats I've had with people are short and sweet while other conversations I have had are more open and sharing.

Knowing that as of right now, I want to see how it can go, I deleted at least 20 or more pictures of our kids that showed their faces from my Instagram to open myself up to more followers.  I'm finding myself a little sad that I took down so many pictures mainly because it was such a convenient place to hold their memories and now I need to print the pictures off and hope to not lose them physically. The other half of me is ready to walk to the deep end of blogging and let myself explore more openly to the experience and possibilities!