Mr. & Mrs. Bloom 7/11/08

My friend, Becca e-mailed this picture to me so I thought I'd post it since I don't have my pictures back from my photographer yet.

Tori on her first day of school

Tori was so excited to go to school this morning when she woke up. She got dressed, waited patiently while I did her hair and ate a good healthy breakfast all while talking about school and all the fun she is going to have. When I took her to school, we found her classroom and before I could tell her goodbye (and without saying goodbye to me), she ran inside and asked an aide where her seat was. Tori came home on the bus around 11:15 am. When she got off the bus, she waved and shouted goodbye to all her new friends.

Tripplets: A very rare event

A few weeks ago, about the week after we got married, I received a phone call from Ben who told me that I need to go help Emmy bring a cow, Abigale and her calves in to the corral because she had twins, but she abandoned one and took the first one with her to the other side of the pasture. This is the calf that Abigale abandoned. In this picture, Abigale hadn't even licked him yet to clean him off and increase his circulation.



So, Emmy and I went out to the pasture and sure enough, that poor little calf was all alone in the middle of the pasture and Abigale, much to our astonishment was on the other side of the pasture with her first born calf AND A THIRD CALF!!! This is Abigale with her 1st triplet on the left and the 3rd born on the right. As you can see, the one on the right is still wet and slimy. Abigale was just starting to lick it when we arrived.


So, with the help of Ben, Dean and Alex, we all brought Abigale and her three calves into the corral. Abigale accepted all of them and they are all strong, healthy and doing great! It is very rare for a cow to have triplets, especially having them all survive and all healthy. Emmy said that the Veterinarian said that he's only seen one other cow have triplets in all the years that that he's been a veterinarian.


Here is Abigale in the corral with her triplets.

Easy Recipe of the Week (Or until I decide to change it!)

Tamale Pie
Prep & Cook time: 20 minutes

1 pound ground beef
1 package (about 10 ounces) frozen corn, thawed
1 can (about 14 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 ounces) sliced black olives, drained
1 package (1 1/4 ounces) taco seasoning mix
1 package (6 ounces) corn muffin or cornbread mix, plus ingredients to prepare mix
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded cheddar cheese
1 green onion, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 400* F. Brown beef in large skillet 6 to 8 minutes over high heat, stirring to break up meat. Drain fat. Add corn, tomatoes with juice, olives and seasoning mix to beef. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Pour into deep 9-inch pie plate; smooth top with spatula.

2. Prepare corn muffin mix according to directions. Spread evenly over beef mixture. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with cheese and on ion. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings