Shaelynn and Santa....

So, we took Shaelynn to see Santa.  We took her to Cabela's - we had shopping to do and it is SO much less stressful than the mall!  There was NO line, and the fee for the picture and visit was a donation to charity.

So, since Thanksgiving Shae has been working on her Christmas "list".  I use the word list lightly, because it's more like a Sears and Roebuck Catalog as my dad says.  She decided that writing everything out was too much work ... so she compiled more of a 20 page (front and back) scrapbook of sorts.  On top of each page she wrote "I want this", and on the next page she wrote "And This ...".  Countless glue sticks and rolls of scotch tape met their demise while Shae was compiling her list.  Here's a little how her Santa visit went.

She went through every item on every page.  Doesn't Santa look pleased?!

In line with her "Catalog"



And, last but not least ...  a picture of my crazy awesome cattle feeding skills.  I managed to get the bale in there on the first try, without crushing the bale ring or a cow!  Go me!!!

I've been crazy busy with Soap Mom lately, and I'm sick as a dog.  My poor husband has been so very patient with me.  I'm tired, cranky, and smell like a mix of vomit and eggs (that's all I really want to eat lately). He's doing excellent at this pregnancy gig.  I have a Dr.'s appointment on the 28th to confirm the due date, but I'm sure it right on give or take a day or so.  In case I don't get a chance to talk to all of you before Christmas, I hope you have a great one, stay safe, and if anyone doesn't have family coming in your are ALWAYS welcome at our house!!!

The 1st Grade Christmas Play

Shae singing...

Well, Hollywood may not be in Shaelynn's future afterall.  She had her 1st grade Christmas play Monday night.  She sang, she warbled, she even did dance moves and hand gestures all by herself.  ... She's a mess!

Hand Motions with a bell...

The entire circus....

Waiting to make her next fabulous move...

Annnddd...I think she just punched the boy next to her!

She's a giant...

And, of COURSE ... I have a video.  Overall it was a sweet play.  They sang 11 songs, about 130 kids in all.  I feel so very sorry for the music teacher :)

Damn this rain!!!

So....I woke Shae up this morning and the FIRST thing she said was "do I have to walk to the bus in the RAIN?!"  Of course I wouldn't make her walk in the rain, so I started up the truck and hopped in to drive down to the bus.  Well ... that little adventure led to me hooking up the trailer in the dark and the rain (did I mention that every part of that thing needs greased?!), and I headed to the Co-Op to get some feed for "the girls" (aka, our cows).

Well, at 7am I am not functioning well.  I went in my pajamas, missed my turn, tried to do a U-turn but was scared off by a cop.  So, I drove 7 miles out of my way so I could turn around and head back to my missed turn. 

Everyone at the Co-Op is retarded.  I told them my name and exactly what I needed.  They just stood there and stared at me.  Eventually they told me they needed me to repeat myself.  ?? Seriously?  How hard is it to comprehend "my name is Rebeca Hazaleus, I have feed that is already paid for.  I need the beef cubes in the brown bag with blue letters - the same stuff I bought last week"....apparently they do not get many wet women wearing pajamas so I had to repeat myself.  Twice.  Dummies.

I made it home, backed into the driveway, and began to unload my feed.  Jeff says its a ton, it seems more like 8 tons.  It SUCKS unloading all that!  But, my wonderful hubby made my dad when he told me I'm a cattle rancher's dream wife.  Yay!!!

I just fed my girls ... we have really bonded over these last few weeks.  The poor things were starved to death, and never handled.  But, I've got them all coming up to eat, no longer pushing me around, and a couple I can pet and feed by hand.  Yes, I'm the Cow Whisperer. 

Here are a few pics of my "Ladies In Waiting" ... many are bred and we will be calving in a few months!!!

My cattle feeding partner "the Governor", Seattle!

I see your baby belly!!!

Hello friends!

Hi there!  We are LOVING the new house!  This morning at sunrise we looked out our bedroom window and saw 6+ deer and at least 50 ducks on our pond!  Its so beautiful to wake up to see our cows and wildlife right out our window!   Its also great to have Starbucks coffee to go with that...and I got it on SALE!!!  I have to share that ... I got this Starbucks French Roast whole bean coffee for $8/bag....saw the same stuff at Costco for $21.99 !!!! Woooo hoooo!  Bargains like that make my day! 
Jeff and I have begun "stocking up", since we have moved out here to the country.  Its just too time consuming to drive all the way to town for milk or potatoes, so we have been hitting Costco.  If you use their coupons and shop around you can get some real bargains!  Their bread is essentially buy 1 get 1 free, milk is $2 cheaper per gallon, bacon is $3/pound cheaper!  And all of this freezes!  (Yes, even milk freezes!)  We have 3 refrigerators/freezers in this house and a deep freezer also - I have filled them ALL!  And ... I found 2 turkeys in the deep freeze - thanksgiving dinner and I paid $.29/lb for them!  Woo hoo!!  Okay, the crazy Pugs are barking so I had better go check on them!!!

The Adventures of Jeff and Bec ....

Well, We have been busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!  We are all moved into the new Casa de Hazaleus, with many thanks going to all of our parents for pitching in!  Big John and Momma Linda came with a moving truck full of Jeff's WY necessities, and helped us move and clean out the old house.  My mom and Shaun helped move and my mom has been busy decorating for us (since I am NOT domestic!).
Last week we re-covered the Man Cave chairs with OSU fabric ... it's the perfect poker table now!  Jeff still has his beloved John Wayne life size cardboard, he is shooting at you when you walk down the stairs.  And .... he now has the biggest tv available to mankind.  He's set!

We have our trip to TX planned to purchase the rest of our furniture (specifically bar stools and dining room chairs) ... I've done all the bargain-hunting I can and it's still cheaper to haul the big 'ole trailer to TX and back!

We spent last weekend fixing fence and water gaps, and cutting down a giant tree.  Do I have a video and pictures of the event?  Does a fat baby fart?  Of COURSE I have video and pics!!! Okay, I can't get the video to work.  I'll have to play with that.  Here's pics for you though!

It's hard to see, but Jeff is actually standing uphill from the tree.  We had already cut off all of the large limbs, so it would fall away from the fence!

I started counting rings, but I just don't have the patience for that.

Look at my view now!!!  It's BEAUTIFUL!!!  Thanks honey!!!

I think our next project will be getting the pegboard hung in the office.  Jeff needs somewhere to keep his cattle info organized, so I went to the hardware store on Friday and bought pegboard, hooks, and 1 x 2's to mount it on.  I'm an organization freak, so this is right up my alley!!

My lovely little soap company Soap Mom Handcrafted Soaps  (don't you just love that shameless plug?) is doing well.  Keeping me VERY busy, and I'm about sick and tired of these 2am work sessions!  I just can't help it though, I keep thinking up new products, displays, and ideas!  Here's a pic for you ... this was a soap I made over the summer, Pink Grapefruit.

I have a new product that I'm unveiling at a big craft show this weekend, I only have a few days to get it put together though, so I had better get a move on!!

Shae is doing well in school.  She has gotten in a little trouble, but nothing major.  Turns out she is a little bossy and doesn't do well working with others.  No surprise there really.  Jeff and I don't worry about it too much, we figure she's destined to be a leader!!

The Pugs are loving their new abode.  Except Belle and Ellie ate mouse poison on Friday, and Ellie took a cross-country journey on Sunday.  I induced vomiting immediately and that solved the mouse poison problem.  We hunted for Ellie for 2 hours, and finally found her across the road and bean field, 3 houses down.  Now, this may not sound like it's far, but out here in the country and for a 11 year old fat Pug ... that's a journey!  She was too scared to come to anyone, but she finally came to Jeff.  Had a scratched toe and today she's just fine!  That was a God thing for sure!  We were praying, and I was crying and considering throwing up ... all ended well though.

This is my sweet old lady a few years back.  Shaelynn thought she needed a barrette.  

Lots of News!!!

Hello friends! I have some exciting things to share with you! First off ... Shae has started 1st grade! We had to put her in a new school (details to follow) and we ... Okay, I.... Was worried about her. Once again, Jeff was right. She has been here for a week now and she is friends with every kid in her class, and most of the other classes! She did get in a little trouble yesterday - she was working with a partner named Jordan and they got into an argument about something-or-other. I didn't get onto her too much though - working in a group with a "stinky" boy is the pits!! ;)

So, for those of you not friends of mine on Facebook ... Guess what happened on Thursday? We bought a house!!! I am so stinking excited! It is about 9 miles southwest of where we are now, a beautiful home on 61 acres. That is a different town/school district so Shae had to start the year in a different school. We are hoping to move in mid-September. The house is move-in ready now (it is essentially brand new, only lived in for about 3 months), but we wanted to do some painting and patio work. Plus, we need time to rally the troops to help us move! We are planning a few parties, one of which WILL be a very casual wedding reception.

Okay, I am volunteering at Shae's school today so I had better get back to work!

Beca

Iowa adventures

Hello friends! Jeff and I have been married for 8 months and I haven't update our blog once! So, I will tell you about our adventures these past few days. We had one Pug puppy left from our February litter, and she went to her new home on Sunday. We drove to SD to meet her new family and I cried the whole time! Last night we stopped at Lake Okoboji,IA after our work travels. The kid at the hotel said that Fisherman's Wharf was THE place to go for dinner, so we stopped in. Lemme tell ya, The Wharf is NOT the place to eat in Boji, it was terrible! We only had appetizers - fried mushrooms and lobster bites-and we were not impressed. There was nothing unique about the menu - burgers, fried fish, hot wings ... Standard pre-packaged and cooked restaurant fare. Plus, the service was terrible, half of the outside deck overlooking the lake was reserveds (for customers that never did show up!), and they had a sign that REALLY irked me. It says "Do not move to another table after being seated". Really? You're not even going to say "Please"? Just for that, I'll sit at every dang table here! Maybe I'm just being a stubborn brat - but I sure didn't appreciate that signs tone of voice!

After our lousy appetizers we found a friend's bar ... Pirate Jack's. Now THAT is our type of place! Its a bar on a boat, down by the amusement park. The whole place had a Coney Island feel eventhough I've never been to Coney. We sat at the bar, chatted with strangers, watched the sun set over the water ... PERFECT!

We are headed home today. Shaelynn starts First grade tomorrow at a new school! She is so very excited, and eventhough she doesn't know anyone, we're sure she will have her own fan club by lunch!