Project Chicken Coop!

So I got the idea that I wanted chickens in the Fall last year, after researching pre-built chicken coops and how expensive they were, I decided that we could build one ourselves. So we went and bought wood and collected pallets to use. Our timeline is to have it completed before we get chicks in the spring.

So we got all the wood we needed and it sat just like ^ for a couple months. We finally got one warm day in January and decided to get started.

We got the base built and we put it into the ground a little bit. Note to anyone thinking about building a coop... if you decide you are going to put it into the ground don't get to far ahead that its too heavy to pick up. Yeah, that happened we had it completely built and then realized we weren't going to be able to move it ourselves, we took it apart, moved it and then put it back together.

The zoomed view from our deck

so far we have used: 3- 4x4 for the legs (cut in half) I'll have to get the dimensions of the 2x? they started as 2x12's (I think) and then we cut them down 3 pieces of plywood that we also cut down to fit perfectly
I am really bad at keep receipts so I don't know what I paid but when I go back to the store I will look for you guys.

Our helpers!

Before we took it apart we started to put the pallets up as walls. It was exciting to see but it was short lived since we had to disassemble to move it to its forever spot.

This is it for now, hopefully we will get another day soon to work on it!

Well, hello 2014!

Where to even begin? I am still working towards my goal of being able to quit my full time job and just work part time. My Scentsy business is doing amazing! I earned the incentive trip again this year! I didn't go last year because I was very pregnant with Hunter so I am looking forward to this years trip that much more!! The question will be what trip will I earn? The options are Greece, Bahamas or all expense paid trip to the Scentsy Family Reunion 2014! ahhh I'm so excited! On the topic of Vacation, I was suppose to be in Cancun earlier this month but my poor baby boy, Hunter got sick... really sick. He ended up being diagnosed with Viral Myositis and we spent 3 nights in the hospital. That first night in the hospital when we didn't know what was wrong and they were running a bunch of tests was one of the scariest nights of my life. I think it might be tied for first place with the day Alexis was born.

Hunter has done amazing though since coming home. You can't even tell he was ever sick!

Couponing has been amazing. I literally get 5x the amount of stuff I use to get every month with the same if not smaller budget. I have shampoo, spaghetti sauce and cough drops that will last me YEARSSSSS! lol I am still in love with Cloth Diapers! Although with working full time and everything else going on were only about 50/50 cloth vs. disposable. I'll wash them and then let them hang for days before I stuff and bring them upstairs. oops!

On the homestead we finally started our Chicken Coop! We still have a lot more to do but we are getting there, slowly but surely!! My mom bought me a Pressure cooker for Christmas, I cant wait for canning season to put it to good use! My MIL bought Chris & I a foodsaver and a dehydrator, which have both been AWESOME!

Our little helpers!

Oh, & my BEST FRIEND IS GETTING MARRIED!!!! wooooo! A month ago my friend told me she was never getting married and now we are planning her October 2014 wedding!!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

To say life is a little bit crazy would be an understatement! So many exciting things happening that I want to blog about but who has time to log on to a computer anymore! Let alone take pictures while I'm doing things with an actual camera. 

We are going to Disney in 4 days!! Can't wait, Alexis is going to love it!! I am trying to find time to do a few Disney DIY.  Wish us luck it will be our first time flying with kids... yikes! 

I started an instagram for my hobbies if you want to follow me @abrams_homestead 

Cloth Diapering- First Day Recap!

I wanted to share my thoughts after finishing my first day of cloth diapering so as my opinions evolve, everyone is up to date! 

I need more diapers... Stat! I bought 5 diapers and 10 inserts from a mama friend, not nearly enough.  With 5 I would have to do laundry at least every day or supplement with disposables. 

Poop?... I was nervous about my first poopy diaper, lets face it this is the least appealing thing about cloth diapering! But it was not bad at all, Hunter is at the stage where most of his poop is actually turd shape so none of the poop even ended up on the diaper it just rolled out when I pulled his diaper down. 

Cloth diapering is much more time consuming, at least right now it is.  I think the more I cloth diaper the better my system will be worked out the more efficient I will be. 

The brand diaper I am using right now is Coolababy. Hope this helps you guys! Let me know if you have any questions!