As a mom, this is always the most exhausting week of the year for me. I know it is not entirely my fault that Ava’s birthday is 3 days before Christmas. My due date with her was suppose to be the 27th, but she wasn’t waiting around for that. So, I have tremendous mom guilt. That guilt paired with the love we have for her drives myself and Scott to make her special day super special. We had a small outdoor family party at the farm for her, so all of our family got to see the silly nonsense that happens around here with the chickens, goats, cats, and ducks wandering about.
Since most bakeries around here do not have both gluten and dairy free options, I always make my kids birthday sweets. The last few years it has been donuts, which they love. I might attempt a full cake or mini-cakes next year. We shall see how far my skills progress next year.
The kiddos seemed to really like the ducks, so I’m thinking maybe next year we might hatch some ducklings and give them as party favors for the kids….haha.
We found these wonderful sand diggers that the kids love playing on and apparently are also very entertaining to the animals as well. Scott and I will probably bury some “treasures” in the sand to keep them busy digging and working together. Here is the exact sand diggers we found on Amazon. I was able to find them before Christmas for $49.
Ava on her special day digging what she said was Grinch Mountain.
This Week’s Books
Our author of the week was Laura Numeroff. We each had our own favorites. Mine was “Two for Stew”. Shep’s was “If you give a pig a pancake” and Ava’s favorite was “The Chicken Sisters”.
Gluten Free & Dairy Free Menu
- Sautéed chicken, sweet potato fries, homemade hummus with cucumbers, peppers, celery, and tomatoes
- Homemade hummus with cilantro.
- Coconut lime chicken with cilantro, gala apples, and sweet peas.
I have made this hummus recipe a few times now and my family really likes it. Shep just spoons it up and eats it. I find that I like the fresher taste of it than the store bought. Coconut lime chicken is one of Scott’s favorites. Coconut milk is something I am also finding that I really love cooking with. It gives such a richer flavor and thicker sauce with the recipes I have tried with it.
Farm Animals
Thank you so much to everyone who is saving their egg cartons and donating them to us! We are definitely putting them to use. I was originally thinking we would be able to donate 2 dozen a week, but our hens have been stepping it up and laying about an average of a dozen a day. With that, we will be able to donate 3-4 dozen farm fresh eggs a week.
Meet Dolly. She is one of my favorites. Currently, she is the only one brave enough to come eat treats directly outta my hand. The others come really close, but so far Dolly is the most trusting and also gets the most snacks. Something I am sure she is perfectly ok with.
Workouts
My greatest workout this past week was spending a whole day helping working on our barns. We managed to get the whole tractor shed down in a day. I was excited to have that done, but I was definitely feeling it the next day.
On Another Note…
We looked for the Christmas star on December 21st and this is the best I could get with my phone. We were a little too unprepared with our camera to get a good shot with the right settings. Still, it was nice to just be able to witness and keep as a memory.
This Week in the Shop..
If you are looking for super cute boots, I have several pairs available on Poshmark including these:
You can check them out here.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and follow that up with a happy new year! God Bless!
