Jess

Hello again

June 25, 2015 by Jess Leave a Comment

Yes I am still here. It’s been a whirlwind of a year and not so much in a good way, but we have pushed through it. Easily the most stressful and busiest year of my life (even more than my time in the EATM program – which at the time I didn’t think anything could top that!).

Numerous times I have sat down and started writing posts and for various reasons they never got finsihed, or photos never got downloaded, and they are all still sitting in drafts. I am going to finish them and post them anyway, so things may be a little backdated around here in the next while. I have lots of new recipes to share that I’ve created, lots of stories, lots of photos.

Some of our big news is that we have moved to 5 acres, only 10 minutes away from where we previously were. We have more room to expand and grow now, which we need for the animals. Most of our property is all wooded so there is still much to explore in there. Our new little house needed a LOT of work, which we have mostly done ourselves. I took many photos throughout of all the befores and afters so I can post a bunch of tutorials – from DIY refinishing of hardwood floors with minimal equipment to recaulking showers to painting over wood paneling. Both Steve and I have learned a ton of things since moving here.

We have welcomed many new animals (including 2 more pigs!) – but if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram then you probably already know that! Most of my photos lately have been of my child, my dogs or my pigs 🙂 And we have had many sad goodbyes as we have lost animals too. It never gets any easier, never 🙁 Our hearts continue to break each time one of our animals passes away.

So with that, I will leave you with a few photos for now but hopefully I will be able to get a bunch of new posts up soon 🙂

I can’t believe this little nugget is almost 3!

Ava with one of our ferrets “Buffy”

With one of our new little pigs “Napoleon”

Yummy Lemon Squares Recipe

June 16, 2014 by Jess 1 Comment

Here’s an oldie but a goodie! Here is my favorite Lemon Squares recipe – I’ve been making this one for about 8 years or so. Always a favorite! Enjoy 🙂

Yummy Lemon Squares

Crust:

1.5 cups flour

3/4 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)

3/4 cup butter

Lemon Filling:

6 large eggs

3 cups sugar

1 1/3 cup lemon juice

grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sift the flour and powdered sugar for the crust and then add the butter. Mix it by hand – it should be a crumbly texture. Press it into the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake the crust for about 20-30 minutes – it will smell SO GOOD – like shortbread!

Filling: Whisk together the eggs and sugar. Add the zest and lemon juice. (I also squeezed the lemon into it after I used the zest). Sift the flour over the mixture and stir it until its mixed in. Pour over the baked crust and pop it back into the oven for another 35 minutes. Let it cool completely before cutting, then store the bars in the fridge. Enjoy!!

Easter Outtakes

April 12, 2014 by Jess Leave a Comment

Well, all my latest attempts at trying to get Ava’s Easter photos taken this year keep getting squashed. The weather has just been awful and I really wanted to take the photos outside. It inevitably gets put off and put off, as I keep hoping for better weather each day. One day was beautiful and sunny but sooooo sooooo windy.

Today was the day, I decided that first thing this morning. It was our warmest day of the year so far, so it would be perfect to take the photos outside right? Well….I’ll tell you how the events of today panned out….

Ava and I left the house by 9:45am this morning to make it down to our local Easter Egg hunt. I was SO excited about this – her first egg hunt! We lined up with all the other parents and toddlers for the “toddler egg hunt” which was essentially just a mound of straw with a ton of plastic easter eggs thrown all over them. Not such a hunt, but good for the tiny kids I guess. As we were waiting for it to start the sky became very dark and thunder started rolling in, then lightning, then rain. Oh JOY. They let us start the egg hunt early so we all rushed in and I showed Ava how to throw the eggs in her basket – she caught on really quick and we only stayed maybe 3 minutes, tops. Then I grabbed her and we ran to the car. As we were driving home, the rain basically stopped, so we made a quick stop at the dollar store. Right as we are going through the check out, I look over at the window and there is hail coming down – HUGE hail, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so big before. Yeah we were not going out in that, no way. Neither of us had coats since it was so warm out, plus I had parked across the parking lot cause it was so busy when we drove in. So we waited for it to die down, but then I suddenly remembered that Norman was out in the backyard when we left. Steve had already left for shows so no one was home. NORMAN!!! I grab Ava & our bags and I sprint out to the car. We were just down the street from our house so we made it home quick and by the time we did, it was barely raining again. What is up with this weather??

Poor Norman was so dazed when I finally found him in the backyard. I couldn’t find him at first and he wasn’t coming when I called. I got this horrible feeling that he was so scared he broke through the fence and was running amuck in the neighborhood! But thankfully he was just hiding somewhere. I brought him inside, dried him off and gave him a bunch of freshly washed fleece blankets to lie on. He spent the next 4 hours laying in his bed not making a peep. Poor traumatized piggy!

Soon after that our babysitter arrived and I had to load animals in the vehicle and rush out to a show. I got back late in the afternoon and Ava was napping so I took our Patagonian Cavy for a walk in the backyard. I got this great idea to hook him onto one of those dog tie out cables that we had out there from before we got our fence built a couple years ago. Bad idea, very bad idea. I had just walked away from him to get a shovel and I turn around and see him trying to back out of his harness. I drop the shovel, bolt over to him but I was too late – just as I got to him, he slipped right out and BAM – away he ran! If you have ever seen a Patagonian cavy – you will know they have very long spindly legs – great for running and jumping. They are capable of jumping 6 feet in the air from a standstill and our fence is about 6 feet tall. I had visions of him jumping over the fence and then me trying to find him out in the neighborhood somewhere. Steve would so not be pleased at all right now.

So there I was following him all over the yard trying to catch the slippery large rodent. The worst thing to do is chase him, so I had to be very calm, even though inside I was everything BUT calm. After 15 minutes of this, I went in the house to get a blanket to try to throw over him to try to catch him that way. When I got to the backdoor, I turned around to check his location and he was right behind me. He had followed me all the way back to the house. I tried to get him to come inside but he just sat at the back door. I grabbed a beach towel that was in the kitchen then I went and got his big travel crate. I took that outside (he was still sitting near the back door) and I placed it beside him and opened the door. I then had to use the towel like a matador to try to usher him into the crate. It worked! But now I had the cavy in the crate but no harness on him. That was my next task. I took him back to his enclosure and then I had to go into it with him, closing myself right into it. The next 20 minutes (and they were very long minutes) I spent trying to get the damn harness back on him. He is an extremely skittish animal with powerful legs. He kept burying his face into the far corner and then when I tried to slip the harness over his head, he’d bolt past me to the other side. It was quite the struggle but I finally got the harness back onto him. I practically fell out of his enclosure, I was so exhausted, not to mention covered in wood shavings from head to toe.

Meanwhile Ava was still napping and I was waiting for her to wake up so we could do the Easter pictures. It was now a bit sunny, a bit overcast but not raining at all, and still warm. Since the rest of the week is supposed to be crappy weather, today is my only chance. I got everything ready ahead of time – the camera was outside in the spot where I planned to have her sit, her outfits were waiting (yes outfits, I had 2 dresses and a pants outfit I wanted to change her into). Oh and the animals. We just got 2 new baby chickens a few days ago – they are about a week old and I thought it would be so cute to have them in the photo with her. I also thought it would be cute to have 2 Flemish giant rabbits – one on either side of her, and then I also wanted one of her with our mini rex bunny. I went and rounded up all the bunnies, put them in their travel carriers and brought them over to the photo spot in the wagon. Everything was ready! Ava woke up just minutes after -great timing! I changed her into the first dress and carried her outside. We took the chicks out first. She was not overly excited to see them since they reside in our living room right now so she sees them and plays with them all the time. *sigh* Then of course guess who comes on over to get in the way? Yep Norman. Then the dogs run by in the background. Then Ava finds it fun to pull all the green shredded paper stuff out of the basket. Then the chicks jump out of the basket. Then Norman comes over again and starts eating the green shredded paper. Not what I envisioned, that’s for sure! Here are the photos:

And here’s Norman… and Angus is also in the background

The chickens are out of the basket, all the green shredded paper has been thrown from the basket and both Norman and Moose and in the photo too.

And Norman is back…again (also Angus is way in the back again too)

With Hank, our Mini Rex. He kept trying to jump out and she would not look at me. Not once.

The first Flemish Giant Rabbit

the second Flemish Giant – getting them both in the photo – yeah right! The gray one had already taken off and was way across the yard!

ok, I give up

What I learned from this wonderful experience…

1. Make sure the dogs and pig are in the house while trying to take outdoor photos that do not involve them.

2. Don’t bring a white blanket outside for the photos (see photo above)

3. Don’t try to attempt to use 2 rabbits at the same time unless there is another person (and not Ava) there to help

4. Forget the outfit changes – not going to happen!

5. Have bribery treats on hand for Ava. It was so hard to get her to smile for the photos!

The great ending to this fantastic day: I put the chickens back in their travel cage, the mini bunny in his and I put everything into the wagon. I hauled them over to the rabbit enclosure then I had to chase the other 2 rabbits around trying to catch them. I finally got all the rabbits back in their home and I turn around and Norman had pulled the extra outfits out of the wagon and was nosing them around – getting mud all over the back of the white dress! UGH

And I am officially finished with taking Easter photos and with this day.

Good night!

Right Now

March 31, 2014 by Jess Leave a Comment

It is the last day of March today and our first “nice” day of the year so far here in Chicago. Today is the warmest day of the year at nearly 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 60 degrees??? Heatwave for us! It’s a little windy outside but I am so tempted to pull out all my summer clothes so I can wear shorts and a t shirt outside right now. Enough of being cooped up indoors, this has been the longest winter ever.

But since the snow all finally melted just last week (and there are still some piles of it around), our backyard is a glorious big mud pit. (well some of it is anyway). Which makes it oh so fun to clean off 16 little feet when they continuously come in from outside all day long (3 dogs and a pig).

We did get outside for a bit yesterday which was really really nice! I took Ava, Angus and Zoey for a long walk to a nearby Forest Preserve and we had a little picnic there. (Moose and Steve were doing shows for most of the day). Poor Angus is getting older now so he was pretty worn out on our way back to the car. I plopped him into the stroller with Ava for the last bit and both of them were quite content! Ava was actually really excited to have her buddy sit with her.

Speaking of Ava, she is 20 months old now and talking up a storm! She knows all the dogs by name now and can say their names perfectly. She also says “norman” now and not “Normo” or “NumNum” anymore which I kind of miss cause it was so darn cute. She also knows our cavy “Waldo”. Yesterday when Steve got back, we were all playing in the backyard together (yes Waldo and Norman too!) and Ava learned how to climb up and go down her little slide all by herself. It seems like such a small thing, but it is so big. Our baby is not such a baby anymore and we are sure realizing that everyday! Just like when Norman was trying to play with her and knocked her down accidentally. Ava sat there stunned for a second then looked up at us and said “what happened?” as clear as day. Wow.

Norman was trying to play with the chickens at one point. I promise that no chickens were harmed! 🙂 Great action shot of our chicken Nuna though!

What Happened?

Watching these two together makes my heart want to burst with love 🙂

Such a Daddy’s girl 🙂

Other things that are going on:

There is a fun article about me over on the Little Lake County Blog that I write for.

I recently got to review Yummi Pouches and did a review for them here

I also created 3 new yummy recipes – primarily so I can use them in pouches for Ava and they are all hidden veggies recipes!

And later today I am going to attempt to take some Easter pictures of Ava in the backyard. We’ll see how that goes!

Happy Monday everyone!

Go Organic! How to Eat Organically on a Budget

March 31, 2014 by Jess Leave a Comment

With all the information out there now, it’s no surprise that Organic and non GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) food are better for us, but what is really stopping so many people from eating the better foods? Usually it tends to be price. For example, if you see some organic apples with a price tag of $2.99 a pound and they are sitting next to some identical (but non organic) apples for $1.99 a pound, which are you likely to go for? Hopefully after reading up on the benefits of eating organic and reading the dangers of non organic foods, will change your mind and make you reach for that organic apple every time.

For fruits and veggies I try to follow the “Dirty Dozen” which means that I stay away from all the most contaminated produce and only buy those when I can find organic ones. There are so many more options popping up in a variety of stores by the day now, it really is making it much easier to eat healthy.

Here are some other tips that I have found make it much easier to eat organically and on a budget! It can be done!

– Only buy what you need for the week or less, depending on how often you can get to the store. I have learned not to over buy now as I hate wasting food. We now buy just what we know we will be able to eat before the food goes bad. (but with a pig in the house, we rarely have any food to waste anyway!)

– Take a walk through the bakery area and see what catches your eye. Some delicious lemon bars recently caught mine in Whole Foods but at $4 a slice, no thanks. Instead I bought organic flour, organic lemons, organic blue agave syrup, etc and made an entire batch of them for less than the cost of one slice! And homemade are always yummier too 🙂 I love baking and I love knowing exactly what is going into all my baked goods.

– If you shop at Whole Foods, pick up their free publications when you walk into the store. “The Whole Deal” is full of great recipes and valuable coupons to use. I also found a “Better Yummies for Little Tummies” pamphlet there that has lots of great tips and menu ideas for kids.

– Most major grocery store chains are now featuring a healthy eating aisle and many have their own lines of organic items. Jewel Osco/Alberson’s has the Organic Harvest line, Dominicks/Vons/ Safeway has O Organics, Meijer has their own Meijer Organics, Whole Foods has the Organic 365 line and Target has some organic items in their Simply Balanced line. I have found the pricing on these organic lines are very reasonable and in my opinion, fully worth buying.

– Whole Foods has a bulk discount – any items can be bought in a “case” which will get you an automatic 10% off. To find out how many are in a case, look at the barcode on the shelf sticker. There should be a /6 or /12, etc at the end. Just ask any of the associates if you have trouble finding the case amount. They also stack discounts, so if Veggie Puffs (regularly $2.99) are on sale for $1 each and you buy 12 (a case amount) then you end up getting the Veggie Puffs for 0.90 each!! I know this as I have recently gotten this amazing sale. And Veggie Puffs are delicious by the way!

– Trader Joes, Walmart and Target also have some organic items and I’ve been noticing that they are getting more and more in.

– Costco is GREAT for shopping for organics. They also are getting more organic stuff each time I visit – it’s fabulous! Some of my favorite ORGANIC things to get there are : frozen broccoli, frozen raspberries, carrots, spinach, bananas, agave syrup, ground flax meal, yogurt, cheese strings, cheese slices, eggs, crackers, fruit pouches (toddlers), quinoa, guacamole and hummus. They have changed things recently as they have so much more organic stuff than they used to, and now they have a green sign for all organic items whereas the regular stuff has a white sign. It makes it super easy to spot the organics if that’s what you are looking for (which I am when I am there!).

for example, here is a picture of one of the shelves at Costco showing both a green “organic” label and a regular white label.

all those aisle displays were organic! I was in heaven!

– Both Costco and Trader Joes has the best price I’ve seen for organic chicken. It’s all I will buy now, organic meat or nothing. Not only is it healthier but I make sure it comes from a company that practices humane treatment of their animals. That is HUGE.

Here is the chicken from Trader Joes, I had already opened it and taken the legs out before remembering to grab a photo!

– Most stores now sell organic eggs and they are not much more than the others. Please buy organic/cage free eggs. The treatment of chickens in non cage-free settings is atrocious. Chickens may just be chickens, but they feel pain and all that too. They can be affectionate in their own ways and they have their own little unique personalities. Since we have had pet chickens the last year, I have learned a lot, and I can’t imagine the horrors that people put chickens through, disgusting. I will never support any of those companies again. We have been fortunate in that I think I’ve had to buy eggs once or twice in the last year. Our chickens keep us regularly supplies with big fresh eggs on a daily basis. We even have enough to give to some of our other animals. Our pig, coati, raccoon and hedgehogs all love scrambled eggs 🙂

– Another great place to stock up on organic produce is local Farmer’s Markets. They should start popping up around here in the next coupe months so I’m looking forward to that.

Basically, it is much much easier to get ahold of good organic food at an affordable price now than it used to be. Hopefully it will continue this way as more people choose these options 🙂

More Free Disney Frozen Printables

March 27, 2014 by Jess Leave a Comment

Ok, I admit I went out and bought the Frozen DVD already. How could I not though? It was on sale at target this week for $5 off plus you get the digital version as well if you buy the Blue Ray. What does the digital version mean? Well, it means you can watch it through Amazon or a number of other online providers, stream it through your TV, etc. So now it’s permanently in our watch list on Amazon Prime and we stream that directly through our TV. Technology is amazing sometimes (and other times it can be a pain in the butt!). 😉 It also means that we don’t have to be watching only Bubble Guppies (the only thing Ava will watch for more than a few seconds). I put Frozen on for her a couple days ago and she seemed to like it! Yay!

Anyway, the point of this post was to show you some more free Frozen printables! My friend Aunesty has been working hard again (she is amazing with creating these printables!) and she has now just released an Easter set! If you are enjoying these free printables, please leave us some comments either here or on one of our Frozen posts on Homeketeers and let us know 🙂 Also let us know what other kinds of printables you’d be interested in.

Other great free Frozen printables can be found here: