Rachael Eliker's Blog, page 37

Spelling Bee

Warming up before their classmates came in to watch. Evelyn came home a few weeks ago with the news that she'd been selected to participate in a school spelling bee. She made it abundantly clear she did not want to participate. After all, the thought of competition, especially competition in front of people (gasp!) is not her idea of fun. At her age, I would have done the same thing, so naturally, I encouraged her to reconsider. And by reconsider, I mean I practically forced he...

Cranberry Almond Salad

Wanting something different, we had this salad for dinner. Crunchy, sweet, filling, quick? Yep! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Salad 16 ounces baby spinach and/or lettuce1 cup sliced almonds, toasted1 cup dried cranberries
Seasame Seed Dressing 2 Tablespoons white vinegar1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar1 1/2 Tablespoons white sugar1/4 cup olive oil1 1/2 Tablespoon honey1/2 Tablespoon finely minced green onion or shallot1 Tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Whisk the vinegars and sugars until dissolved. Whisk in...

Weekend Mania

Dolly waiting for Henry to open the gate so Jack can drop off a round bale.Weekends are my FAVORITE. You'd think as a stay at home mom, one day would run into another without a set work schedule but I am just as excited for Friday night to roll around as everyone else. I love having everyone home and for the projects we accomplish, the new adventures we have together, and the teensy, tiny bit extra of rest we can sneak in.
Jack a.k.a. Ron Weasley trying out for quidditch.Any given weekend migh...

How We've Grown

Look how we've grown!It's no secret that winter isn't my favorite season. The endless frigid temperatures, bleak landscape, frozen water troughs, dirty snow, and short days leave me dreaming of all the other seasons I love better. Truly, one of the blessings of a winter wedding has been looking forward to our anniversary every year. Its a reason to celebrate and as our family has grown, we get to celebrate together. This year, we're all the way to number eleven!
Baby-faced and newly wed.L...

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Saturday mornings are one of my favorite times of the week. We get to sleep in (hahahaha...everyone except me and Zoey, who hasn't yet discovered the appeal of late mornings) and before we go out to work hard and play hard, we usually share a special breakfast together. This week, Claire wanted to make everyone some cinnamon roll pancakes. The original recipe took a bit of tweaking to get right but eventually, we got the hang of it and they were a hit!

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Mixtu...

Work Hard, Play Hard

Getting the chores done.Though we'd love to stay snuggled up inside all winter (human hibernation, anyone??), alas, farm life doesn't stop with the bad weather. That means animals still need to be fed and watered, stalls need to be cleaned, hay needs to be moved.
Henry is more than happy to help if tools are involved. Usually, we wrap everyone up but since we needed to do some catching up on our chores and it was still well below zero today, we waited for Henry and Zoey to take their afte...

Chicken in Coconut Mango Sauce

I was looking for something a little different than our usual go-to dinners and after perusing what we had on hand, this sweet, spicy dish was made. It was delicious and had just the right balance of bite along with the juicy mango to make it a hit!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken, sliced into 1-inch strips
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1 cup salsa
1 cup chopped mango
1 jalapeno, deseeded and deveined
3 to 5 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons lime...

The Sledding Hill

Hitching a ride out to the sledding hill.When we got home from Nebraska, we had a few extra days at home with Jack and though we typically enjoy spending a good deal of time outside, Mother Nature sent winter in with a vengeance. The cabin fever was getting to everyone--me in particular--so Jack stayed inside with Zoey and sent me out with the kids to have a bit of fun.
Raven, for one, was thrilled to have some real time outdoors--lately, she's been limited to quick potty breaks since we don't...

The Rehomesteaders' 2018 Goals

And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been. ~Rainer Maria RilkeI know that a lot of people hate New Year's resolutions, vowing to spend their life going with the flow and unworried about deadlines. However, I LOVE goals. Fitness doesn't just happen, trips aren't spontaneously taken, books don't pour out of my brain onto the page, finances aren't tamed, horses don't win shows, photographers don't show up to take family pictures, etc, etc, etc without some planning. I'...

3rd Christmas and New Year's Eve

Drywall and all!Happy 3rd Christmas and New Years Eve from The Rehomesteaders! Jack is Santa's Helper.Because we spend Christmas visiting family in Nebraska, we have a tradition of coming home to have Christmas as a family. But, since a burst water pipe kept us up later than anticipated when we arrived, 3rd Christmas was postponed to New Year's Eve.


The kids were kind of thrilled to have two holidays in one. What are the chances?!
Blanketed and stuffing themselves with alfalfa. Livin' the dream!...