Personal Note

Sep

Since the children were awake and full from breakfast they were feeling a bit restless. I thought this might be time to go ahead and pull out one of our traveling games. Out came the Magna-Doodle and the “What Did You See Today?” game.

The Magna-Doodle is something I picked up from Wal-Mart for only $5 and it is proving to be more popular with than the Etch-A-Sketch. I think it might be because of the dexterity needed for maneuvering the two knobs on an Etch-A-Sketch vs the easy, pencil-like use of a Magna-Doodle.

The “What Did You See Today?” game is one of the mom-made products of the company Excited 2 Learn, run by two, twin sisters Amanda and Sarah. I love the home-made feel of the water colored art work of the game but the pieces are durable and sturdy. How do you play the game? There are about 3 dozen pieces of common sights that children can look for on the drive; a horse, a bulldozer, a flag, a yellow car, etc. Parents choose six of the pieces and velcro them on the six spaces on the back. Then as your child finds each one they can move it forward to the front space and when they’ve filled each of the six spaces they “win”.

Searching for the items on her game pieces....hmmm....

My kids enjoyed it although Brianna got impatient looking for her last item – a police car. Goodness knows we had seen enough of them earlier in the trip I thought it would be an easy gimme but….no. *laughing* Oh well. You can see in the picture how content she was for a good 30 minutes so that’s pretty good indeed. When it was Evan’s turn to play it was easy to just select a DIFFERENT six pieces for his round and make it a whole new game.

This got us through the mid-morning wigglies until we were ready to stop for another tank of gasoline. Having a variety of games came in handy. Grammie’s Dollar-Tree binoculars were a big hit too and came in handy for playing the I-Spy game.

Brianna using her binoculars to search for the ellusive policeman.

Jun

Bulldog Stud

By AngEngland | Our Dogs

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Maximus - Bulldog Stud in Oklahoma

Maximus – our AKC, Champion-sired English Bulldog. Residing in Southern Oklahoma, Max is not only a loving member of our family, but a fantastic stud dog. A great temperament, healthy and active he is available to select English Bulldog bitches.

Max is the son of Champion Cherokee Legend Pretty Boy who is not only a Hall of Fame Bulldog, but was also named the 2006 and 2007 Bulldog Stud of the Year.

Contact us to request a copy of a stud contract. Basic stud fee is $500 and we will travel within a 60 mile radius of Atoka, OK. Further distances such as Dallas, TX or Oklahoma City, OK can be arranged but traveling costs will be extra. We do not usually breed for promise of a pup except in special circumstances. Email ang.england (at) yahoo (dot) come for details or to schedule a breeding. Maximus is a proven sire and previous liter picture are available upon request.

Apr

Wordless Wednesday – My computer desk

By AngEngland | Fun Stuff

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The desk of an (argueably) successful and very busy work from home mommy. Hope that encourages all of you who assume I “have it all together”.

Hectic workspace of a mom with too much to do.

Mar

New Kids – Baby Milk Goats Have Arrived!

By AngEngland | Dairy Goats

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After much impatience on my part, our first set of baby goats have arrived – Cream had two little girl kids, or goatlets as I like to call them so as to not confuse them with my own children. *laughing*

And now, of course, pictures -

Goatlet #1 – A pretty little light-red, dappled roan kid with a bald face. Gorgeous.

La Mancha and 1/4 Nubian Milk Goat Female Kid - Southeast Oklahoma

Goatlet #2 – Darker red colored with a little bit of white on her face, and two tiny white spots on her back.

Nubian/La Manch Milk Goat, Female Kid - Southeast Oklahoma.

I have to admit – I’m glad these two are little girls as it bodes well for their future. Two healthy females, already trying to get around and curious about who we are. I guess I need to figure out how to do this whole milk goat thing now, eh?

Angela <><

Mar

All About Me Paper Album Resources

By AngEngland | Photography, Scrapbooking/Photo Gifts

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The fantastic new webinar by Sue Benedict features one idea that even this busy mother can see herself actually getting done – the All About Me Paper Album. When I got these extra resources from Sue, she mentioned that she had been filling many requests for them. So here I have compiled them all for easy-non-filling-Sue’s-inbox-access!

about-me-interview-sheet – This document will have a series of questions and prompts to get you started on your biographical album. You could even have someone fill this out ahead of time.

all-about-me-page-photo-handout – This is a sample album shows what you might do for a female. So beautiful. And the decorative stuff is already coordinated for you, making it easy for even the Color-Matching-Challenged.

all-about-me-guy-version-visual – And just so we don’t have the men in our lives feeling left out – here is the sample of how you could put something together for a special grandpa, dad or husband.

And here are the title pages if you don’t want to have to think up your own. Just print it out on archival quality paper like the Photo Mounting Paper I get from my Creative Memories Consultant.

To see more photos of sample albums (Some have done “what I love about Quilting” or albums featuring themselves for a child or grandchild!) visit the Creative Memories Scraps ‘n’ Stories Facebook Group.

Feb

How Can I Make My Garden Look Good in the Winter?

By AngEngland | Ebooks, Garden Design

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There are several ways for gardeners to increase the appearance of their garden during the long winter months. By wisely choosing plants with year-round interest, even amateur garden designers can create amazing landscapes through the cold, bleak months of winter.

One of the first article series I published on Suite101 was about Using Plants for Winter Interest. In this article gardeners learned the six main ways that plants can be used to create interest in the garden throughout the usually colorless winter.

Creating interest in the winter garden can be done through the use of:

winter-blooming flowers
evergreen shrubs and plants
interesting plant silhouettes
unique bark texture or color
ornamental seeds or cones

For specific plant suggestions in each of the six categories, I have put together an ebook with over 30 pages of tips for making your winter landscape a thing of beauty with perennials, shrubs and trees every gardener should consider.

Using Plants for Winter Interest: Creating a Year-Round Garden is only $3.99 and will give gardeners several lists of plants to try in their landscapes. From variegated evergreen shrubs, to plants that flower during the coldest winter months, this book is pack with ways to increase your garden’s curb appeal.

Feb

New Dairy Goats in our Oklahoma Backyard

By AngEngland | Dairy Goats

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Update March 3, 2009 – All the male kids have been reserved and one or two female kids. If we have more than two female kids we would have one available. Contact us to place your name on the waiting list.

Yesterday we added two LaMancha milk goats to our backyard menagerie. The great thing about living in Southeast Oklahoma is that nobody cares. *laughing*

Here is the most experienced doe, an experienced kidder and the heaviest producer. We’ve named her Cream.

LaMancha goats often have no or little visible ears.

She’s in winter coat right now but will slick out come summer’s warm weather.

Here is Crybaby, a 4 year old doe who’s calved with triplets once and twins once. She is very outgoing and the friendliest with the children.

Crybaby, the tolerant and friendly LaMancha goat

They are both already trained to milk, tether, lead and load. Crybaby loves the kids already and is patient with their “love”.

Crybaby will tolerate the children's hugs

We should have three or four kids that will be born in late March or early April and we may have one or two available. Contact us to reserve yours.

Feb

English Bulldog Stud Playing in Oklahoma Weather

By AngEngland | Our Dogs

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With this moderate weather our champion-sired bulldog stud, Maximus has been having a blast. Like all bulldogs, Max prefers not-to-hot and not-to-cold weather, so after an evening by the fire in the living room, he welcomes a chance to stretch his legs in the warm (but not hot) afternoons.

Our playful Bulldog stud in the cool Oklahoman weather

I welcome the chance to keep my children entertained. So off they all go to the backyard, children and canine, to run about. Maximus is very active, much more than people think of Bulldogs able to handle. Here is a candid shot I happened to catch where he is almost squared up. Pretty boy!

Maximus, our English Bulldog Stud.

Here’s another photo from when we first got our bulldog from an AKC breeder in Oklahoma City at not-quite a year old. You can see how his chest and shoulders have broadened and his head has matured and filled in. Quite the looker, isn’t he?

Maximus - Bulldog Stud in Oklahoma

But of course, it’s not all just running about for our Bulldog stud. Sometimes a little bit of couch cuddling is in order. Thankfully, his bloodline is known for their patient and tolerant demeanor.