This was one big thing I wanted to do this summer: visit a dairy with the girls. I tried and tried to find a place near me that would let us in but with no luck.  When I went to go visit my sister this past weekend up in Logan, I saw that Rockhill Creamery (the brand of cheese we adore and that they sell at Utah Farmers Markets) does self guided tours on Saturdays.

Yes!

Rockhill Creamery is up in Richmond, Utah and is a “micro-dairy.”  They have six cows that they just ADORE. They are so well taken care of.  The staff has given them names and can tell you all about their fun personalities. The place where the cows eat, play, work and sleep is clean and the cows are lovingly taken care of.

We were treated to a real surprise when we went up there and learned they had THREE new baby calves, one that was 3 weeks old, one that was 1 week old and the last was born just the night before.

The girls pet, fed and loved on those baby calves.  Boy, did it feel good to show them HOW animals that we use for food should be treated.  And boy, does it feel good to see my girls already know that it is important and to see their relationship with WHERE their food comes from growing and growing.

P.S. If you have not had this cheese, YOU NEED TO. Great local company.

Three lovely ladies thought of a fun idea, Christmas in July! Where one of them would share sewing tutorials, the other craft tutorials and the last one food tutorials based on holiday ideas. They all have different fun guest bloggers posting a different idea on each blog in July.

For instance on A Southern Fairytale the “Food Host” they have tutorials on:

Chocolate Mint Cookies from HowDoesShe.com

Peppermint Bark from Home-Ec101.com

Caramel Dipped Pretzel Rods from TidyMom.net

Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies from CarrotsnCake.com

Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies from Savor the Thyme

Homemade Chocolate Dipped Marshmellows from Good Life Eats

Easy No Bake Petit Fours by I Am Mommy

Sugar & Spice Candied Nuts by Buns in My Oven

Christmas Light Sugar Cookies by Bake at 350

And that’s all I know of right now, they will have more as the week goes on!

Then on Skip to my Lou the “Sewing Tutorial Host” they have these great ideas:

Make-Up Brush Holder by Freshly Picked

Reversible Apron by Gros Grain Fabulous

Cosmetic Bag Tutorial by Prudent Baby

Camera Strap Cover by Cluck Cluck Sew

Glasses Case by Amazing Mae

Feet Warmer by V & Co

Super Hero Cape by Creative Kismet

One Hour Bag by Ric Rac

Crayon Holder Apron by Grace Violet

They will have even more of these throughout the week as well, can’t wait to see the ideas!

Then the part I am a contributor on is the….Craft Side! Let me show you what they have already posted on According to Kelly the “Craft Tutorial Host” of the Handmade Holiday Craft Along:

Silhouette Art by Katydid & Kid

Snow Globes by dada rocks

Personalized Subway Art by TaterTots & Jello (love her!)

Rustic Cookie Bags by Lolly Chops

Ribbon Christmas Frame by Little Birdie Secrets

Hand Trees by At Second Street (this might be my favorite idea of ALL!)

Book Wreath by Living with Lindsay

Netbook Case by Dollar Store Crafts

Framed Fabric Monogram by Somewhat Simple

and me…I won’t tell you what it is! It will be up today or tomorrow and I bet you it is something you have not seen before.

Don’t forget to head on over and check it out:

I want to start off by saying we are *learning* on the go about how to raise backyard chickens. I want to share everything as we do it.  Am I the expert?  No.  And I would love any tips from my readers if I am doing something the wrong way.

The girls and I came back from a trip to baby chicks.  Actually, they are 3 weeks old now. Finding chicks in the “off season” (which is June to October) is hard, but my husband had found some while we were gone. We have a total of six chicks.  4 are White Leghorns and 2 are Spotted Leghorns. They don’t produce the beautiful colored eggs; just plain lighter eggs. At full size they will be around 3-4 pounds and are not usually used for poultry meat.

We decided to buy chicks instead of grown hens because we want to get used to each other.  I want the girls to see, touch, play with and feed them every single day so they are comfortable around them.  I also want the chicks to be very used to human touch. I also wanted to control where I got the chicks and which kinds. I have been told that if you buy from a local source, the chances of them being born from a mother who was treated humanely and not pumped with growth hormones is much higher. Hens don’t like to be alone. They recommend that you have at least 3.  I am still not sure why he got SIX, but it will be fun and we have the room.

Right now their “home” needs to be kept at a very warm (actually kind of hot, 90 degrees) temperature which is perfect for the weather right now.  They are not in their chicken coop in the backyard quite yet, but in their baby carrier with their water.

We are doing this for a few reasons: #1 For fun #2 To further teach the girls WHERE their food comes from  #3 Because the Free Range Organic Eggs I buy cost too much! #4 We just adore animals #5 We have the room! #6 They are great for fertilizing the garden soil and keeping tabs on all those bugs!

The girls and Tyler named them: Athena, Audrey, Belle, Buttercup, Lilly and our favorite chick, Piper.

I’ll be sure to keep you updated on our process with raising backyard chickens.  Wish us luck!

Added Notes: There is a very particular way you need to keep chicks.  I did not go over this. Make sure that your other animals (3 dogs in our case) have NO access to the chicks and make sure your city’s zoning laws allow for backyard hens.

Have you ever heard of a Cazookie? I had not until I went to review The Chocolate in Orem with our SassyScoops.comgroup. Ever since, I have been trying to come up with a recipe for the Cazookie and I think I have finally done it.

*Disclaimer: The Chocolate’s  cazookie is better.  You should go take a trip and order it. However, the store is 45 minutes away from me so I don’t get down there as much as I would like!

Cazookie

This makes 2 Cazookies

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup of flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
3/4 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475. YES, 475.

2. Beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together.

3. Sift salt, flour and baking soda together. Add two mixtures together and add in chocolate chips.

4. I split the cazookie dough into two oven safe bowls.

5. I cooked mine for 11 minutes until it was golden on top (and still a bit gooey in middle).  Be careful with this.  I am sure it is going to be different with whatever bowl you use.

Sandwiches are one of my favorite things to prepare and eat for family dinner in the summer.  Cooking anything in the oven or on the stove just makes the house even hotter.  Sometimes I don’t even like dealing with a crock pot!  This recipe will not heat up your house, other than when you cook the chicken quickly. And you can always get a rotisserie chicken, although I prefer just the chicken breast meat in this healthy chicken salad recipe.

My girls love the grapes, nuts and yogurt in this salad.  They find chicken salad with mayo a bit yucky, but this way it seems as if they are eating a yummy cup of yogurt! (They are used to just plain flavored yogurt.)

Healthy Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts, seasoned, cooked and diced

1 3/4 cups of Plain Yogurt

3 tsp of Curry

3 Celery Ribs, chopped

1/2 of an Onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups Grapes, halved

4 tsp of Parsley, chopped

1 cup chopped almonds OR pecans OR cashews OR walnuts (my girls usually pick cashews)

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Combine yogurt and curry powder in small bowl. Then add in the chicken, grapes, celery, onion, nuts and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.

2. Serve on whatever sandwich bread you like. We really enjoy this with a high grain & seed bread.  The textures go together really perfectly. Such a perfect Healthy Chicken Salad recipe!

Monday’s Maven

Full Name: SOPHIE ULIANO

Location: Los Angeles

kids: LOLA 9 YRS OLD

One Word that Describes You: Passionate

What makes you smile? Enthusiasm

What is one of your dreams you hope to accomplish soon? To reach more women by having a TV Show

One of Your favorite motherhood moments? Lying on the beach in Hawaii with my husband, our daughter between us, and looking up at the stars at night while holding hands!

What is your guilty pleasure? So many of them – let’s start with a very full, very hot bath filled with essential oils (20 gallons of guilty water!)

What do you love most about you? My sense of humor, because I love belly laughing..

Favorite Place? Favorite place to travel is The Big Island, Hawaii

Who is your hero? I have a bunch of heroine’s (women I revere) in my life. Most of them are older women who I know personally – women who carry a torch by living their lives beautifully – always with open hands, always have the courage of their convictions. Women who age gracefully and keep an eternally youthful spirit by finding the joy in life.

Your advice to other moms on how to be gorgeously green: Pick just 2 actions that you can take this week – things that you’ve been thinking about changing for a while, but just haven’t got round to it. It can be as simple as buying a reusable travel mug or talking to your kids about conserving water and energy (and why that’s important). You don’t have to overhaul your entire life, just know that small actions are cumulative and will spur you on to make others. Find your sweet spot for green – it might be in the Kitchen, the school or even your garden.

My mom sometimes comes over to the house with a craft planned.  A while ago, it was a bag full of things to make a Barbie bed. Here is a great Barbie bed “How-To” from my mother to you.  And it could always be a bed for Woody or a beloved bear, not just girlie Barbies!

Barbie Bed “How-To”

Supplies:

One 6×6x1 pine board - have it cut at Home Depot in 1 foot pieces
Four 1 1/4″ wooden balls
One decorative wooden plaque about 4″ x 5″
small wood screws
E-6000 glue
Craft Paint
Buttons, jewels, etc. to decorate
Sand paper
Clear Acrylic Spray Satin Finish

Directions:

1. Sand the 6″ x 12″ piece of wood

2. Drill in where the “footstools” will go on the bottom of the bed, like shown above.

3. Paint the “bed” and “headboard” and four balls.  Let dry.

4. Squeeze a small amount of glue at the end of the 6×12 piece of wood and press the headboard/plaque onto the end.  Screw in two screws to secure connection.

5.Apply glue to bottom of the balls and press onto bottom of 6×12 wood piece.  They will be the “feet” of the bed.
6. Let the bed rest for one day so the glue can set.

7. Add decorations to the headboard.  Spray bed with a clear acrylic satin finish. Let dry and you are done!!

We did another art group last week.  It was messy but fun! And I am a bit bummed that I didn’t get good pictures of the end product or the mixing of paint…what can I say? I was busy!

I had butcher paper laid out on the ground, held down with rocks. Each child could have their body traced  with a marker. It is really fun to have the kids do “action shots.”  It looks even cooler when you cut it out!

Then I made watercolor paint with powdered tempura paint and water. I put water in a lot of cheap plastic storage containers and then had all the kids sit on my front steps. Then we went over what all the colors are and which ones you can mix together.  We put the powdered paint in the containers (not too much because we were just making watercolor paint), put on the lids and let the kids shake them around to make the different colors. Then we got to painting!

I tried to pick a picture where you couldn't see any kid's faces.
Let me know if you can!

We painted with things beginning with the letter F: feathers, fingers and feet. Then we did a painting technique called “flicking,” where you just bend the paintbrush back and flick the paint on.

At the end you can cut out your body shape and hang your art up on the back of your wall. This was a fun, but MESSY one!