Tractor Time - A Time for Reflection

My tractor and grain cart - where I have "tractor time"

One of my favorite parts of helping with harvest is having "tractor time."  What is tractor time you may ask?  Tractor time is a time to reflect, to pray, to dream.  I'm so thankful that I have this time of reflection daily.  Before I started to be at home full-time, my reflection time happened during my long car rides with my job.  And in college, my reflection time came during my walks to and around campus.  I've always found time to reflect, pray and even dream.  For me, this is an important element to a healthy life, a way to learn, and a part of the process to grow and move forward to the next step.  Do you make time to reflect during the busyness of life?  Here are a couple ways to incorporate your own version of "tractor time" in your life:

• Schedule a time to reflect during your day.  Like I mentioned earlier, I have always found a time during my day to reflect.  Maybe for you it will be while driving home from work, or while you're on a walk, or laying in your bed before you go to sleep.  Whenever and wherever it is, find a time, schedule it even if you need to, that way you can start developing the habit of reserving this time to stop, slow down and review.
• Remove any distractions.  If you think finding a time to reflect is hard, then watch out for this step.  As a Mom of two kids, two and under, I find this challenging, but you really can't have a good deep, heart-provoking reflection time with interruptions in your way.  Turn off your computer, put your phone on silent and find a quiet spot where you won't be disturbed.  Now, I will admit, in a tractor I can't zone out and be unaware of my surroundings and my duties, but at the same time, I do find my time in the tractor to be somewhat quiet.  It's a place where I can't worry about what's next on my to-do list or what needs to be done at the house, because I'm not at the house and I'm gone for so long during the day I don't really have time to work on my to-do list (like blog...).
• Pray and Dream.  After you have made your time to reflect, free from distractions, it is time to pray and then dream.  No matter if you're reflecting about work, about family or about life in general, taking the time to pray and talk to God about your deliberations, your desires, and your praises is important to do daily as well.  And then dreaming is the fun thing you can do to round-out and finish your "tractor time".  I have always enjoyed thinking about and even trying to plan the future.  Now I say that while reminding you about the old saying, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans."

I hope you all find time to reflect during your day.  What other steps would you add to encourage others to take the time to reflect?  Where do you have "tractor time"?

To conclude, I have to share this quote that I found when I got home today from the field.  I think it goes so well with this post, as well as encompasses harvest time in general.

Mommy Monday - Nuby Mommy Review: Clik-it No Spill Grip n' Sip

Today I'm excited to share my second review, as part of my five-part series for Nuby and their Mommy Blogger team, on Nuby's Clik-it No Spill Grip n' Sip.  Be sure to check out last week's review here.

There comes a time in every infants life when they must make the switch from a bottle to a sippy cup.  I am here to tell you that you can do it as early as 4 months old with Nuby's Clik-it No Spill Grip n' Sip.  I haven't talked about this too much but I breastfeed my children.  I breastfed LP until he was 1 year old and I plan on doing the same with MP.  But there comes times when I am away from my kids and others need to feed them.  I figure why have my kids get attached to a bottle, so I started using a sippy cup with LP when he was 6 months old and have started using a sippy cup with MP at 4 months old.

I like Nuby's Clik-it No Spill Grip n' Sip cup for a couple reasons:

1. It holds more fluid than the bottles I own (the bottles I have are 5 oz and this sippy cup holds 8 oz), which is nice for those feeding MP so they don't have to make more than one bottle.  
2. The cup's spout releases the fluid easily and fast.  MP sucks strong enough on a bottle's nipple that it dents in and she has to let go so the nipple can release and refill.  (If you have a baby, you know what I'm talking about here.)  With this stage one sippy cup, MP can suck as strong and long as she wants and will always receive an ample flow.
3. The sippy cup really is leak proof!  MP is young enough she isn't shaking and tossing around the sippy cup, so I did for her (her day will come...).  I filled up the sippy cup with water, screwed on the top, heard the "click" and started shaking the sippy cup.  There was no water coming out of the spout or where the lid meets the base.  I have thrown away a lot of sippy cups through the years because they leak.  This sippy cup passes my leak-proof test.

MP kicking back and drinking from her stage one sippy cup

If you are interested in getting your own Nuby Clik-it No Spill Grip n' Sip, they can be found at Target.

To learn more about Nuby, get connected through their various channels of social media:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram

When did you switch your kid(s) from the bottle to a sippy cup?  Did you have problems making "the switch"?

Farm Friday

Time for a farm update with photos: 

 

Corn and soybean harvest continues on the farm this week.  We are about 85% done with soybeans and about 20% done with corn.  Our soybeans have been doing really well, which makes us really happy that we planted the most soybeans than we have in probably the last 10 years or more.  Our corn has been doing okay; we're hoping that things get better as we harvest more fields.  (By the way, farmers are eternal optimists!)  With the snow that came earlier this week, I do have to say, this is the only year since My Farmer and I started farming ourselves that both spring planting and fall harvest were delayed due to snow!  What are the chances?  Beside harvest, we've also been keeping busy with our hogs and got in some new pigs a couple days ago.

Combining Soybeans

Combining Soybeans at Dusk

Combining Corn

Combining Corn and Catching On-The-Go
(When I'm out in the field helping I drive the tractor and wagon -
aka the catch cart.  The catch cart then brings the grain over to
another set of wagons or semi-truck to be hauled into town or the grain bins.)

LP and MP sitting in the tractor waiting for the combine

Hope you all have a great weekend and stay safe!

Only in Iowa...

Can you wake up to this...

Unpack your winter snow gear so you can enjoy this...

Then watch the afternoon sun melt everything from the morning, so by early evening you can do this...

And then from the sounds of it, do it all over again tomorrow!

Man I love Iowa, but this is why Iowa's weather sometimes gets a bad rap.  Two pluses came from today:  first, Audrey got to experience her first snow and Klayton enjoyed playing and jumping in the snow, and second, we were still able to combine corn today.  Two negatives from today:  first, we now have some corn that was snowed on after it was planted and snowed on before it was harvested, and second, we still have soybeans left to harvest.  Corn is more "hardy" than soybeans.  Soybeans need, shall we say, ideal conditions to harvest well or nicely, and I don't think having snow on them equals "ideal"...

Oh well, life and harvest goes on and you have to go with the flow, especially when it comes to weather in Iowa.  Like the old weather saying goes, "Whether it's cold or whether it's hot, we shall have weather, whether or not."

What are some weather sayings you have heard?

Mommy Monday - Nuby Mommy Review: Fun Drinking Cups

First, I'm happy to announce that I have began a new venture with Nuby as one of their Mommy bloggers.  This allows me to try their products and then follow up with a review.  With a toddler, a baby and plans to continue our family - what a better company to work with!  I have always found Nuby products to be high-quality & functional so I was very excited to become part of their Nuby Mommy team.

Today I am starting a five week series reviewing five of their products.  Be sure to check in every week as I'm working on a giveaway with Nuby at the end of the series!  Today's review is on Nuby's Fun Drinking Cups.

How many of you out there keep telling yourself that you should really start having your toddler drink out of an open cup and not a sippy cup?  I'm raising my hand!  I know I should move LP out of a sippy cup and into an open cup but I really don't like having slight panic attacks whenever I do let him drink out of our "regular" glasses.  I hadn't really found that good "beginning" open cup yet and loved hearing about Nuby's Fun Drinking Cups.

Which would you rather having your toddler drink out of???

Nuby's Fun Drinking Cups are durable and come in a variety fun colors and designs on them.  (The ones we have our yellow and orange and have frogs on them - which LP thinks is pretty cool.)  They're small enough for small hands to easily handle but yet big enough to give your toddler their desired amount of milk, juice, water, etc.  Nuby says this product is great for children ages 18+.  I find the cups as a great beginner open cup and am happy to have them in our cupboard.

LP has officially graduated up from the sippy cup!
(And why shouldn't he - he graduated from
plastic bowls and spoons a long time ago!)

If you are interested in getting your own set of Nuby Fun Drinking Glasses they can be bought online through:

• BuyBabyDirect.com
• Amazon.com

To learn more about Nuby, get connected through their various channels of social media:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram

What is your new favorite baby or kid's product?  I can't wait to continue to share more reviews with you in the upcoming weeks!

Wordless Wednesday

As you can see we're still making progress on our house this fall.  The new coat of paint to the outside I think just freshens up to house, along with removing the over grown bushes.  Next year our plan is to look beyond the house and make some more decisions on the rest of the acreage, i.e. outbuildings, landscaping, etc.  I'm looking forward to that and hopefully still adding a deck this year before it snows.  To see some of the inside updates check out my Moving Up Monday posts:

• September 16, 2013
• September 2, 2013
• August 12, 2013
• July 29, 2013
• July 15, 2013
• June 17, 2013
• May 13, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Where am I?

Where am I?

That's right, harvest has started on the farm and I have started my fall job of catch cart driver.  Here are a few photos I took on my phone of my view from my tractor cab.  I'm going to try to stay on top of my blogging throughout the fall, but if I don't, you'll know where I'm at and doing instead!

Hope you all have a great Wednesday!