Tamales, a labor of love

Some of you might have heard that tamales are a Christmas tradition among Mexicans. Now I know why. They are a lot of work! But, they are super delicious and worth the effort! For Father's Day weekend my in-laws came into town and my husband's Aunt and cousin had come up from Mexico. We had a full house which always means lots of food and lots of love. My in-laws even brought my niece Leila. It was a party! Unfortunately, Wyatt was sick so he was sad most the time. It is so hard to see Wyatt sick and fussy because he is always so cheerful. Anyway, here are some pictures of the Tamale making process.

We made green chile and cheese tamales. Yum, so good!

You would typically buy this premade dough from a Mexican market. It's just cornmeal, lime, and water.

Because I have a mixer we did it the easy way. You would typically do this by hand. "I love technology..." Shout out to Napoleon Dynamite.

Then, to cook the tamales, you make a little cornhusk teepee in a pot so the tamales don't touch the bottom.

 Here is our table all set up for us to start putting everything together.

Once you assemble the tamales you stack them upright around the teepee. You do not want the tops of the tamales be submerged.

You then add more corn husks and form a cover. You pour about 2 quarts hot water around the edges and cover with a lid. We then cooked them for 2 hours. Oh, so delicious!

It took us about 5 hours from start to finish but the recipe made 50 tamales, so I will have plenty to freeze and eat later. Next time, I will make the pork with red sauce variety. I'm sure it will take me much longer doing it alone and that is exactly why tamales are a labor of love.

Horsemanship

We have two young horses that live here on our property. These horses are abotu 2 years old so Isaac can't ride them at work quite yet. Often, when Isaac gets off work, we all go out back and Wyatt and I watch Isaac train his horses. It is pretty neat to see the progress the horses make. 

Isaac took this picture at work.

Even though Isaac won't admit it, I think Isaac is a great artist. Most recently, Isaac has been trying his hand at leather work. He made these leggings (some of you might call the chaps). Don't mind his feet at the bottom of the photo.

He hand stitched these.

This is our neighbor's horse. Her name is Jazzy. She is a beautiful horse. She looks so powerful closeup.  Isaac was working with Jazzy because he was preparing her so that he could  use her at work.

In this picture you can see Isaac's arm is extended. It is interesting to see how he signals the horses and they know exactly what to do. I'm always surprised at how fast they catch on though some horses have been a little stubborn.

My handsome husband! I love this picture of Isaac. He looks so focused.

This is the first time he put a saddle on Boots. Isaac's first horse Blue birthed Boots about two years ago. She is a pretty gentle horse and you can tell that she trusts Isaac.

I love this next photo. It shows Isaac in action. Basically, this is what happens when horses don't want to obey.

Here are our two horses, Gres (Grey) and Boots.

Boots on the run!

Isaac giving praise for a job well done.

Isaac rides Boots for the first time.

The smallest cowboy. Oh, he is so handsome! Who could refuse that face?

Like Father, like son.

Wyatt's first time on a horse!

 I don't know what Wyatt was thinking during this picture but it looks like he is up to no good. I'm pretty sure that's the "mom is too far away to stop me from licking this!" face.

So focused for a young buck!

Our little cowboy!

Our garden is growing!

I'm so happy! Our seeds have sprouted! Let's hope the wind dies down so these plants can grow tall and bare fruit!

Corn

 Watermelon

 Cucumbers

Squash

Gardening 101 with the Lucero's

Some of you may know that Isaac worked for Texas A&M Agrilife and acquired some knowledge about gardening. So this year, we decided to plant our own garden. I am so excited! I have so many fond memories of my grandparents' garden. We lived far away from them, but if we went to visit during harvest time, we would set up a little table and sell cucumbers and other garden produce with our cousins. I remember picking the peas out of the snaps. (I probably was not a good helper at harvesting considering I would eat the veggies as I picked them.) When we were not visiting during harvest time, we could always count on a big box of sweet corn and cucumbers arriving in the mail. Oh, we treasured that corn! Homegrown food just tastes so good and I hope to create that tradition in my own family.

Well, since I have never "planted" a garden I am learning a few things from my husband Isaac. Let me just tell you upfront. THIS TAKES TIME. And, it is a workout!

First, we rented a tiller from Home Depot and Isaac "tore it up!" We actually ended up renting the tiller twice because the ground was so hard we didn't get very deep the first time. We soaked the area and then tilled again once it dried. So a piece of advice: water the area days before you till so you only have to do it once. 

Isaac then shoveled the dirt to form these rows. (It sounds like I'm doing nothing. Hey, I'm the assistant so I, you know, hand him the shovel and the tape measure, bring him a drink, that kind of thing)



Wait, I forgot, I was helping! I was gathering...wait for it... horse manure. That's right. Finally, we have a use for that crap! Ha ha. Don't worry, I am laughing out loud right now at my own joke. I love puns!



We threw the manure in with dirt to use it as fertilizer. Don't worry, it wasn't the fresh stuff. I guess fresh poop is so potent it could kill your plants so you have to wait till it is dry and has broken down more.

Here are our beautiful rows! 

 And here is the crew. Here we have farmer Joe on your left and farmer Jane on the right.

                     

And baby Wyatt. Wyatt was a great observer, though he seemed to focus more on my water bottle than anything else. Don't you just love how the strap on his hat accentuates his double chin?! Ha ha.

And here is the finished product! (As in finished planting)

Another view of our little garden

I will add more to this post as our little garden (hopefully) grows. We planted corn, tomatoes, poblano peppers, jalapeno peppers (the Mucho Nacho variety, love that name!), bell peppers, squash, zucchini  watermelon, and cantaloupe. So if all goes well, I might be setting up a little table and selling my produce just like I did at grandma's!

A Mother's Love

A faint cry wakes me in the night

I stumble as I try to find the light. 

Exhausted, wondering how much time has passed

I make my way across the house.

I find you in your crib searching for mommy,

your laugh turns to a giggle when you find me. 

As I pick you up, I give you a warm hug 

and hope that you will always feel my love.

I bring you over to the couch

and prepare to feed your tiny mouth.

You look up at me and tug my hair

It makes me smile to see your wondering stare.

Your tiny hands reach up and explore my face.

You fall back asleep, in my arms you are safe. 

The house is quiet, the night is dark, 

a tear trickles down because someday we will part.

I wonder what kind of man you will grow to be

and feel grateful that God chose me.

Time ticks so quickly and you grow too fast,

but these nighttime moments give me a memory that will last.

I'm a soccer mom!

I always thought the term "soccer mom" would describe me driving my kids to a soccer game in my minivan. I never expected that I would join a soccer team after I had become a mother. My church has a large email group where people post community activities, church announcements, items for sale or for free, and ask various questions and favors. Well, one day someone had sent an email looking for someone to buy their soccer team membership because she was leaving town. I thought, I need something to motivate me to workout and this seems like fun. She said that the league was pretty laid-back and thank goodness because I haven't played soccer since the 5th grade! We lost the first couple of games and I even pulled my quad muscle pretty bad at one of the games. But, we won this last game and it was so exciting! I feel so youthful! Growing up is great but sometimes growing up can be sad because you often have give up some hobbies. I have really missed team sports. I loved playing field hockey and lacrosse as a kid. I really wish I could be on a field hockey team but field hockey isn't popular in Texas. But even though I can't play field hockey, I am having a blast playing soccer. And I am grateful to have Isaac and Wyatt cheering me on the sidelines. And yes, Wyatt cheers. He waves his little arms and makes his cute little noises. Oh, I love my little fan!

Bye Bye Betty

 Here is a picture of me feeding Betty. Often you have to straddle the calf and hold the bottle 

above it's head. This helps you get the closest angle to as if it were nursing from its mother.

Well, another one bites the dust yet again. We were sad when we lost Buttercup. Only a couple weeks later, Isaac brought home Betty. Betty seemed so promising. She sucked on her bottle a lot better and was much more active. However, Betty had no tail. By the time Isaac had found her at the feed yard, some coyote had already gotten her tail. Isaac doctored her up but I now wonder if she got an infection or lost too much blood.

Lubbock has CRAZY weather. The past couple weeks we have seen record highs and record lows. One day it will be 90 degrees and the next night it will be below freezing. Betty was our first ever animal sleepover. And let me tell you, she was a party animal, literally. She stayed in our "laundry room." It is really just a laundry area by the back door. I put down some newspaper to keep the area relatively clean. We also put up a board so that she couldn't escape.

Betty would get up and wobble around a lot in the night. She also peed everywhere. You may think, "that is gross!" but we all know that even people, well drunk people, behave this way so give Miss Betty a break! She actually has a legitimate excuse. Well as the days went on, Betty appeared to be gaining strength but we noticed that her eyes were turning cloudy and blue. Betty was blind. So sad! Well, one afternoon when I went out to feed her, she wouldn't eat and I noticed that she was lethargic. The next time we went to feed her she wouldn't even get up. I even lifted her up (usually the cow will straighten its legs and stand if you do this) but she just collapsed. A few hours later she was dead. I was so disappointed. I took consolation in that maybe it was for the best. I had read on the internet that blind cows need to be in a herd for protection or they would become prey to predators such as coyotes. Since we don't have a herd of cattle, she may have died a more tragic death in the future. Betty was so cute! She would use her hearing to follow us around. And bless her heart, she would wag that little stump of a tail trying to get rid of the flies that congregated around her bum. I'm gonna miss that heifer!

Another update: Isaac brought home another calf yesterday. From the beginning she didn't drink very well. I named her "Lucky" in hopes that the third time really is a charm. She also spent the night inside with us because this week we also had a freeze. Today she passed away. I felt sad and told Isaac that I might need a break from trying to keep these cows alive. When I asked him why we keep losing the calves he told me that most likely these calves aren't getting colostrum from their moms and sometimes they aren't immediately found by the cowboys. Well, someday we will get a cow that will make it. I just know it!

Here is a funny picture of Betty. Betty hung out a little bit with our dog Snax. I guess the grill is a hot hang out spot. When I saw her smelling the grill I chuckled and thought, "How ironic!" Oh Betty!

 

My uniform

I don't normally take the "selfie" but the other day I thought that I should document my "mom/wife of a horseman"  uniform. Everyday I wake up and go out to feed the horses before Wyatt wakes up and I need to feed him. As long as I slept in suitable sweats, I typically just slip on these cowboy boots. Now, these boots are a little big because they were given to Isaac by a friend but they are too small for him. So, I claimed them as mine. I used to go out in tennis shoes but we have this horrible weed/grass that leaves stickers everywhere and running shoes are the worst for that. I always wonder what people think as they drive past me as I walk out to get the mail in my sweatpants/cowboy boots combo. Do they think, "oh that is normal" or do they think, "who wears sweat pants with boots?" OR maybe they think, "trash." 

Well, I stay in this uniform to take out the trash, get the mail, feed the dog, really whatever my day requires. I usually postpone showering till before I have to leave the house (don't worry, I shower daily). I do this for three reasons. One, there is about a 7% chance, I might actually do a video workout sometime during the day. Two, housework can make a girl sweaty. And three, if I take a nap, I want to do it before I style my hair. So there you have it, the stay-at-home-mom uniform. 

Love me some baby Wyatt!

A tisket, a tasket, Wyatt's in a basket!

Wrapped up in mommy's and daddy's sheets!

Having a good ol' time with his buddies at Texas Roadhouse!

 Baths are for babies, showers are for real men!

Plumbers butt! When you are on the go, who has time to pull up their diaper?

If you nap with a blanket on your head, it is like it is night time...

Lubbock's crazy weather calls out the beanie.

Who eats the head? This guy does for the body!

Sometimes, you just need to wear your shirt like a viking.