#LifeHacks from a Cowgirl Mama

*Redneck spray shield*
As a cloth diapering mama whose lil Buckaroo just hit the "peanut butter poo" stage my new diaper sprayer is much appreciated!
Well, unless you feel like cleaning the bathroom after each time you spray diapers, a spray shield is required!
Last night Cowboy installed my new diaper sprayer AND made me a spray shield to go with it!
Ready? Take two 5 gallon buckets (that will stack) . Cut the bottom out of one.
The bottomless bucket is your spray shield, the other bucket is your storage base!
Eventually we want to add clips to hold the diaper but I used it this morning and just held the clean edge of the diaper.

*Sheet on highchair*
I got tired of trying to get crumbs out of all the tiny crevices of lil Buckaroo's highchair this morning. So I grabbed one of the sheets I was given for the change table mattress and fitted it around the chair! Works like a charm!

*Wear an apron*
Sounds funny I know, but it helps!
I'm starting to try to grab my apron when I walk into the kitchen. It saves me steps! I mostly use it for a towel LOL but it also works to (obviously) protect my clothes, and carry stuff (laundry, garden veggies etc)

*Bleach tablets*
My whites always get bleached but I was having trouble remembering to add the bleach after the washer filled with water!
Enter bleach tablets! After putting the clothes in the washer I place a tablet on the agitator. Once the washer has filled, the agitator starts moving and the tablet falls into the water and dissolves! Presto!

What are your favorite #Lifehacks? I'd love to hear them!

How I Went From Ewww to Proud

My journey into the world of Cloth Diapers. Guest post on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer

Antics In The Pasture Photography Contest

Hey y'all! We were out feeding today (like most days) and the calves were having so much fun I just had to snap a couple pictures and it sparked an idea.... we're gonna have a photography contest!
Now the only prize I can offer is a mention on my blog, but I still thought it'd be fun!
So! From now until the end of March post your #Calving15 photos on Twitter or Instagram and tag me ( @CowgirlAmerica ) and use the hashtags #AnticsInThePastureContest & #Calving15
On Facebook, post the pictures to RJ's Fun Stuff.

Don't have pictures to post? Thats ok, you still have an important role in the contest! I need YOU to go through and vote for your favorite pictures!
Vote as many times as you like.
At the end of the month I'll post the 3 pictures with the most likes / favorites on the blog with your name.

I Needed To Be Spoonfed

I was tired this morning. Lil Buckaroo kept us up most of the night, and then spent most of the morning demanding to be held. Cowboy was able to occupy him for a bit before going to work and I slept then (which I SO appreciate! ) but I was still tired. With that tiredness came frustration. I have piles of laundry and counters of dishes that need doing, and its hard to do those when you're holding a complaining infant!

At some point this morning I posted this in my mommy group on Facebook :

I got some really good replies that I'll share in a bit, but of course those replies weren't instantaneous. I scrolled my newsfeed for a bit to see if I'd get replies and saw this:

from Smithspirations (by the way, if you're on Facebook I highly recommend that you follow her, I've been blessed many times by her daily scripture passage and old hymn!) There were some really good comments there.

I was still needing a boost so I headed for Google.
I'm sure you've noticed I didn't head straight for my Bible. I thought of it, but didn't know where to start, I wanted a list of encouraging passages, and my Bible doesn't have a book entitled "Encouragement for tired mothers" LOL
So I went to Google. I typed in "Scriptures for tired mothers, kjv" and came up with a list of blogs. One of the first in the list was MY JOY FILLED LIFE where I found this post

(I received all 20 cards, along with others, as a thankyou for subscribing to their email list)

I read through these passages, drinking them in, and then my favorite scripture started running through my head:
Isaiah 40:31
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

I needed to be spoonfed this morning. I didn't have the mental energy to go searching the Scriptures for encouragement but I knew Scripture was what I needed. I needed to be spoonfed and My Father supplied my needs.

Scriptures from my mommy group:

What's YOUR favorite passage when you're feeling tired and need encouragement?

Fluff In The Field

I'm excited to announce that a post I submitted was chosen to be published on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer! check it out here!

I Am My Cowboy's Sweetheart!

I almost didn't post this. While I was writing I quit editing for public consumption and just let my heart spill onto the page. It became a love letter to my Cowboy.
I spent the last week trying to figure out if I should edit it (and what parts get cut?) Or write something completely different for a V-day post. But then I got thinking, when Cowboy and I were courting I said so many times how I wanted to shout from the rooftops how much I loved him! Well, here's my chance, I'm taking it!
Cowboy, I LOVE YOU!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAYwYscqXJQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I AM My Cowboy's Sweetheart
Ever hear the song I WANNA BE A COWBOY'S SWEETHEART? Its a song that I've loved since I first heard it and you know something? In a lot of ways it (and many other daydreams) has come true for me!

First off, I have my Cowboy!
I haven't learned to rope yet. I keep telling Cowboy that he has to teach me before Bubba learns to walk
I do ride, and Cowboy is teaching me to be a better rider (when we have time to play with the horses)
I've ridden through the plains of Saskatchewan, but I have yet to see a desert.
I love hearing the coyotes and watching the sunset, GOD is an amazing artist!
I AM My Cowboy's sweetheart and it's the life I love the best!

There's nothing like the feeling of flying on a horse's back! Camping out under the stars....
Mmm yeah definitely my kind of good time!

And yknow, there's more than the song lyrics. There's my dream of living on a ranch (check) raising my children (one so far) but most importantly having a GODly man as my husband.
Its hard to believe how many things that were on my "wishlist" that GOD supplied and surpassed!
I wanted a Christian first and foremost (check)
A man who was both strong and gentle (check)
A man who loved children (check)
A man who loved animals (and could he please be a Cowboy? (Surpassed!)
A man strong enough to be the leader of our home, while still allowing me to be his partner (check)
Boy it'd be nice if he played guitar... (wish fulfilled!)
...and maybe sing? (Yup!)
YOU wouldn't let him be tall and good looking ...would you? (Yes again!)

I LOVE YOU COWBOY!!!

Things To Thrill A Mother's Heart

-seeing my son reach out to hold his Daddy's hand
- how Bubba's face lights up when Cowboy walks in the door
- hearing laughter of Daddy and son while I fix dinner.
- watching Bubba do everything he can to get to his Dad, because after all, unless he's hungry Daddy is his favorite person!
- seeing the look on my husband's face as he watches his firstborn child. It makes me so grateful that GOD allowed me to be a part of giving Cowboy this gift! I love being a mother, and someday I hope we have a daughter but there's something special about a man having a son. Maybe its old fashioned, but we're an old fashioned kind of couple.