Klein Haus Happenings

So much has happened since my last post on here! 

Our chicks arrived:

Some of the chicks in the box they were shipped in.

We enjoyed a busy but fun spring break:

We added to our garden, and sampled a preview of our bounty:

Bub thoroughly enjoyed every bit of that tiny radish--leaves and all! And he'll typically turn down a store-bought radish, so that is a big deal!

My dad finished our cabinet doors, and they were installed!

We had a {semi-successful} yard sale, and enjoyed the company of family and some dear friends.

Apparently bunny breeding has begun...

Munchkin, one of our bucks, enjoying a relaxing afternoon  out of his cage.
 {He then proceeded to dig a couple holes in Sissy's garden, suspending bunny free-time in the yard.}

Spring is in full swing, as evidenced by possibly my worst seasonal allergy attack ever. That also means that Lily, our pregnant doe is getting ready to kid.

Sweet Mama

And our chicks (now 2 weeks old) are getting their big girl feathers!

I'll be back tomorrow with our meals for the week and the meatloaf recipe. Now it's time to buckle down and get back into the school mindset after our 10-day break. Happy Monday!

What's Been Hiding in My Closet {and our weekly meal plan}

Half of my KCC stash for tomorrow's sale

I have been busy, busy, busy the past few days preparing for the Kid's Closet Connection consignment sale. I have been saving the kid's out-grown clothes, toys, and baby gear for the last year in preparation for this sale. This is my third time participating (our move prevented me from getting in on their last fall sale), and I love it more every time! Each Spring and Fall, Kid's Closet Connection holds several sales around my metropolitan area. Moms from all over price and tag their gently used kids' items, and drop them off at their local sale. KCC takes care of the rest, advertising (often on the news, etc.), and manning the sales. Consignors can even volunteer to help out in exchange for a KCC gift certificate. At the end of the sale you have the option to pick up any unsold items, or KCC will donate the leftovers to a charity of their choice. In addition to the obvious benefit of de-cluttered closets, consignors can earn a nice return on their time & item investmen--a whopping 70% of their sales, minus a small ($12.50) advertising fee.

I LOVE these sales because I make money, but they're also great for saving money. With over 200 families participating in each sale, there are SO MANY great deals to be found, whether you are just starting your family, searching for maternity clothes and baby gear, or are outfitting your middle-or high-schooler. First-time, foster, and military moms, as well as volunteers are allowed to shop the night before. And if you like their Facebook page, you can get an early-shopping pass and enter to win a $100 gift certificate! {Click here to find a sale in your area!}

Unfortunately, I have really procrastinated this time (which I swore I wouldn't do!), and I have about 200 items to prep and drop off tomorrow afternoon--my local sale starts Wednesday. As a result, I have slacked a bit with my dinner planning for this week. My parents watched our kiddos on Saturday so we could go out on our anniversary date, so I didn't get to the Mongolian beef last week. We'll be having that tonight. Also on our table this week will be:

• Spaghetti squash with some Aidell's sausage I scored at Costco last week
• fish tacos
• ground {grass-fed} beef tacos (I'll have these & the fish on top of a salad. Kids will have them deconstructed, and Hubby will eat them with tortillas.)
• Orange Chicken (I'll sub coconut aminos for the soy sauce)
• Blackened Skirt Steak BLT Salad

{I am in no way profiting from this post--unless you attend the sale & buy some of my stuff this week!--and KCC has no idea I was planning to write this post. Just wanted to pass on some great deals!} Have you ever participated in a consignment sale? What's on your table this week?

Today I'm linking to Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie.com and Menu Monday.

Introducing Jax

We added another memeber to the family on Sunday. We actually were not planning to add a dog, as we've decided no more dogs indoors. However, our neighborhood--suburban though it may be--has an issue with coyotes, and we've toyed a bit with getting a dog to protect our livestock. Hubby mentioned this casually on Saturday night when we were visiting with friends who recently purchased a puppy. Although I detest cleaning up doggie messes in my house, I am fond of the creatures, and the kids have wanted a puppy for as long as I can remember. I took advantage of this opportunity and began searching my go-to online classifieds. We soon discovered that your typical guard dogs are not necesarily great at protecting livestock. Enter: Livestock Guardian Dogs.

I didn't even know these creatures existed before Sunday. There are actually certain dogs bred specifically for guarding goats and sheep. These are not sheep dogs, which look to the shepherd for guidance, but intelligent guardians who act on their own instinct to protect their flock. Since herding is not particularly widespread in our big city, we didn't find much in the way of Lifestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs) for sale. We also were specifically searching for a puppy we could train around our own animals from the beginning, which further narrowed our search. Fortunatley, we found one litter of Anatolian Shepherd puppies for sale. We researched the breed, and were pleased with what we read. Anatolians are calm, loyal dogs well-suited for extreme heat (they originated in Turkey). Currently Anatolians are used by farmers in Africa as a non-lethal deterrant to keep cheetahs from taking livestock.

We chose the breeder's favorite puppy, whose dad was a "gentle giant" at 185 pounds. Jax bonded with us quickly, and definitely identifies us as his flock. Now we are working to integrate him with his real flock. We're not quite comfortable leaving him in the pasture 24/7, as the pigs are a bit rough with him. Soon, though, he'll be big enough to avoid getting trampled, and he'll graduate from our porch to the pasture. Right now he's missing us at night, and tries to convince us to let him in. (Hopefully he'll soon notice that he only succeeds when he's quiet.) He has already figured out (just shy of 7 weeks old!) how to open our back door, which I am now keeping locked.

Do you have any dog-training experience, particularly with Livestock Guardian Dogs? Any advice for us? We are previous dog-training failures, so anything helpful is appreciated!

8 years with the love of my life {and our food for the week}

8 years ago, I married my best friend. We have survived deployments, major medical issues, several cross-country moves, unemployment, and philosophical differences. We have given birth to three {beautiful} children, and parented 12 children we did not conceive. Like any marriage, we have had our ups and downs, but I can't imagine life without him. I've written before about why I love my amazing husband, but today in honor of our anniversary, I'm going to give you the top 8 reasons I love being married to him.

1. He loves me--even when I act unlovable, and despite my shortcomings, hormones, aging body and physical afflictions.
2. He is a great father.
3. He is faithful.
4. He works hard to provide for us.
5. He loves our animals.
6. He humors me, especially when it comes to different food experiences. 
7. He respects our differences, and works to find compromise.
8. We have fun together.

I love being married to him, and I can't wait to see what the next 8 years have in store! We'll be having a flexible meal tonight (trying out a new Chiniese restaurant!) to celebrate our anniversary, but we'll be eating primally for the remainder of the week. On the menu:

• Chicken Souvlaki
• more Roast Chicken with Gravy
• Paleo Mongolian Beef, possibly with this fried rice
• Kalua Pig
• carnitas (with the left over kalua pig!)

I also have a lot in store for the blog this week, including a Sissy update, my long-awaited (and I think perfected) meatloaf recipe and a large, spur-of-the-moment purchase we made this past weekend. I'm also working on a review and giveaway. We have a busy and exciting week ahead. What do you have going on??