Field Trip: Shatto Dairy Farm

The Shatto Dairy Farm field trip was, like, the most awesomest field trip EVER! And yes, I DO plan on teaching my children my crazy form of grammar!

The tour went like this: seeing where they process the milk,



seeing where they wash the bottles, milk-tasting, seeing where they milk the cows, milking a cow by hand, feeding and brushing calves,





buying stuff in the cool general store. You can buy their yummy milk in half gallons or pints, in any flavor (whole, skim, 2%, banana, root beer, strawberry, chocolate). Sometimes they even make the BEST ice cream, which tastes like when my dad makes it himself. We even bought some butter!!! There is a deposit that you pay them for the milk bottle, but you can get it back when you return the bottle to a store that sells Shatto milk.

We went with what I call my Protestant Homeschool Group (Shaping Hearts) on a Friday morning this month. Aron was off work and got to come, too. The cost was $4 per person, which included a tour that was over an hour long plus all the milk tasting you could want. I was pretty sure Eva was going to wean off of me when I saw the way she was inhaling the Shatto milk.

The sad part was when I asked, “What do you do with the babies once they are born?” I wish I hadn’t asked. Crybaby (me) learned that the calves only get to stay with their mothers for about a day (then they have to moooove out). They don’t want the calves to get attached to their mothers because then they are hard to handle (hmmm, sounds familiar). Plus the calves rough up the udders of their mudders (haha!). So the boy calves are sold and the girls are born into their mother’s profession. One cow has had TWELVE calves so far. Tresa said it’s almost enough to make her stop drinking milk.

Yeah, I get it. I drink milk, so I am perpetuating this. But I am an Open Wound at times, and it makes me sad that animals are separated from their mothers. Zoos also make me sad. And Sea World. Sue me.

Oh, and yes I did try out the milking machine on my finger. It hurt less than a breast pump.

By the way, if you read my earlier rant about MapQuest, you’ll appreciate the fact that the Shatto web site says to NOT go by MapQuest’s directions, and Mr. Shatto (who is very cool!) provides directions himself on the site.



The milk we bought (we called the pints our "milk babies"):

Post-dating Blogs

Yeah, it’s like when you used to be able to post-date a check. Remember those days? Now you write a check and (1) you are looked at very strangely and (2) the check is somehow run through your bank in the same time it takes to run a debit card, so why even write the flippin’ check in the first place?

Don’t get me wrong, you bloggers with the fancy Web sites. I like that you have Guest Bloggers when you go on vacation or move. Maybe you DO have the option of post-dating on your site and choose to actually take a break. It’s just depending on people is not my favorite thing to do (it makes me feel guilty for some reason).

[My mom is laughing at this point because I totally leech off of her when Aron goes out of town.]

Anyway, I’d be constantly calling my Guest Bloggers to ride their butts: “Did you post yet? Your house burnt down? I don’t care. I’m sure they have Internet at the shelter you’ll be staying at, so go there and post your damn thoughts on the matter. And they’d better be good.”

So for those of you on Blogger, check out that little thing toward the bottom that says, “Post options.” Click on it. You can set your nifty little post to post (I love words that are both a noun and a verb … like lots of cuss words are; so diverse!) at whatever date and time you want! And I went ahead and put the “sign up for my posts via e-mail” thing on my blog to make sure I totally inundate my poor readers.

Well, I’m going to take the leap: I would LOVE to have some Guest Bloggers because I’m sick of the sound of my own voice. So here are your assignments:

Eva: you’re on the VBAC and homebirth beat

Chris: you’re on the digital scrapbooking beat (explain what it is like I’m a 2-year-old because I’m not clear on what it is!)

Lisa: you’re on the 30 Queries in 30 Days beat and I’ll stick that one on my writing blog, as well

Tresa: oh, man, there’s so much you could talk about! Travel widowing, healthy baking, writing poetry, sewing, your recent travels

Anyone else have something to say and don’t want to start an entire blog? E-mail me at mommykerrie@yahoo.com. And, dear Lord, it does not have to be about anything related to this blog. Write about travel, an ex-relationship (I could put you as Anonymous!!!), your crappy job or lack thereof.

I'm a Bad Wife

I Wouldn’t Wanna Be Like You

Anyone remember that song? It rocks. And applies to Aron. Meaning: who would want to be poor Aron? Let’s investigate:

His wife is a lazy vacuumer. When she vacuums, loud clanking and crunching noises ensue. She sucks things up into the vacuum that should not be vacuumed.

Recently his wife accidentally let a dishrag fall into the kitchen sink drain and ultimately broke the garbage disposal. He called his dad for some assistance and I think he was told, “You don’t need a new garbage disposal; you need a new wife!”

He comes home from work to a house full of his own kids plus all the neighborhood kids.

He never comes home to a dinner of coq au vin or duck a l’orange.

He never comes home to a wife stripping wallpaper in the bedroom like she’s supposed to be doing. She likes to say, “I’m an artist (yeah, right … she’s merely a wannabe writer), so I don’t see the things that need to be done around the house.”

And he tolerates all of this with such grace that it brings tears to my eyes.

10/24/08

Naptime Confession: I Let My Babies Nap on Me Daily

“That baby is never going to be able to go to sleep without you.”

“Don’t you want to lay him/her down so you can get some things done?”

“So you’ve come to my house to visit during your baby’s naptime. Where are you going to lay him/her down? Did you lug a portable crib? Want me to make him/her a pallet on the floor? I could pluck some chicken feathers and make him/her a nice bed in the laundry room!”

Here’s a link to the story La Leche League’s New Beginnings published in 2007 about my “problem.” E-mail me at mommykerrie@yahoo.com if the link fails to produce my astonishing work of genius.

A “Typical” Homeschool Day

Joel is doing Math and Spelling with me; later he’ll do tons of handwriting (he loves it) and will read to Callie.

Michael is playing Mickey Mouse Kindergarten on the computer; later he does some Explode the Code for reading and learns about money.

I’m painting and stickering Callie’s nails and we’re counting; later she’ll color and play with Eva.

Eva is eating banana puffs and trying to figure out how to drink apple juice from a sippy cup in her high chair; later she’ll play on the floor, nurse, fall asleep.

I’m making cookies, ignoring the phone, helping the kids, organizing photos. So much for being “in the now.” Eckhart Tolle and Oprah would kick my ass.