mommato3boys

I had about 4 PMs this morning that thought I was stretching reality of the trail life by serving pizza yesterday for lunch. Yes it is possible to make pizza on the trail we do it all the time camping. The trick is to make personal pan size pizzas using a small iron skillet fry your crust. It will not be a deep dish that is for sure. But thin and crsipy. Put your toppings on (if you top it with meat cook your meat first) and stick it your camp stove to melt. I actually own two small skillets IRL just for this. We are little more liberal with our cooking because with 3 boys we didn't do hotel rooms when on vacation. We camped in the moutains, at the beach, at the lake and at the river. I learned to cook just about anything on the camp stove and in the camp oven. I have a cook book that I made with recipes that my family likes just for camping. Camping Pizza Pizza crust already made up (I make mine up and freeze it in small balls about the size of a lemon this make the perfect size pizza because it will rise when it thaws) Grated cheese (this freezes well also) meat(the trick is to cook your meat if you use ground beef or sausage;however, my guys love peppoeroni which is already cooked and ready to eat. prepared pizza sauce or chunky speghatti sauce (I usaually buy Hunts Garlic and Herb pizza sauce in the can for camping but I have canned pizza sauce also it is just like canning speghatti sauce) There are two ways to do this.. #1...roll thawed dough and place in small skillet fry one size then flip dough over and top with your favorites and cover and place back over fire until cheese is melted and bubbly. #2 this one involves a camp stove...roll thawed dough cook in small skillet on both sides then top with your favorite toppings and place in camp oven until cheese is melted.

I had about 4 PMs this morning that thought I was stretching reality of the trail life by serving pizza yesterday for lunch. Yes it is possible to make pizza on the trail we do it all the time camping. The trick is to make personal pan size pizzas using a small iron skillet fry your crust. It will not be a deep dish that is for sure. But thin and crsipy. Put your toppings on (if you top it with meat cook your meat first) and stick it your camp stove to melt. I actually own two small skillets IRL just for this. We are little more liberal with our cooking because with 3 boys we didn't do hotel rooms when on vacation. We camped in the moutains, at the beach, at the lake and at the river. I learned to cook just about anything on the camp stove and in the camp oven. I have a cook book that I made with recipes that my family likes just for camping. Now back to our story.... Dear Diary, I think I love Michael and Mt. Rider today!!!!!!! Ok so I do love them but they made my day. Mt. Rider sent Michael to pass the news we only had 9 miles to go before we stopped for the day. Michael is hoping everyone will have a pack lunch so that we only have to stop to water the animals. I hoping am hoping that we make it there by lunch time. If we get an early enough start we could delay lunch and be there in 5 hours. The rain has moved out and took my headache with it. But my head still feels like there is cotton stuff up in it. (IRL when we get a lot of rain I get sinus infections I feel like there is mold growing in my head) But as the weather dries so will my head. I am washed out but feel like I could walk the 9 miles if need be. I am just so please to be pain free today. It is going to be a beautiful day. The sunrise this morning was lovely. It is cool this morning will need something on our arms for a couple of hours this morning. It is hard to believe we have been on the trail for 5 weeks. We left Monday March 1. OH My Stars!!!! Yesterday was Good Friday. Easter is tomorrow. I guess I will have to sneak around and get my special meal in order so I can surpise the guys. They have been such champs on this trip. They thought I had really lost my mind when I talked their dad into this. Guess I will have to get A in on this becasue I will not be able to do it on my own. Well I hear that lovely words...Wagons HO!!! More later....

Dear Diary, It was yet another day with the migraine but it is starting to ease. So I wasn't as sick to my stomach today. With dark sunglasses I was actually able to meander around some. At lunch I surprised everyone with home made pizza. While pulling meat out I found some pizza crust so I layed it out then at lunch I made pizza. The guys were very much delighted to have some old comfort food. It actually didn't take as long as I thought it would. While cleaning up lunch I start some peaches rehydrating. I made fried pies tonight along with the country fried steak. It is still drizzly rain and we are experiencing high winds so I used the camp stove again tonight. We are not wanting to have many fires going since it is so dry here. We do not want one getting away from us and buring the rancher's pasture. At lunch I strolled over to Mother's wagon with a stack of newspaper. She was thrilled to have it for Sasha. She seems to think it won't be long now. Sasha seems to be taking to the journey pretty good. She doesn't leave Mother's side much. Even today when our Boss was have a fit about 100 feet from our wagon. We thought he found a pairie dog but when N (ds#3) went drag him back because he wasn't coming when called N discovered a rattle snake. Hummm cougars or rattle snakes. Neither one are any good. Any wat N shot it and Mother milked it for the venom. So times I wonder about that woman. But she has been a godsend on this trip. N skinned it but the library wagon driver wanted the meat. Barfff didn't like it the last time I ate it don't plan on eating it again. It sure does not taste like chicken. Bill says it all in the mind. What ever he was welcome to it. It was quite comical around the campfire tonight. Mr. Mom and Mother told of being pelted with forks and spoons on the trail this morning. HEHEHEHE it seems that CeeGee's grandson was bored and invented his on game. He liked watching the forks and spoons bound and then stick in the ground. CeeGee almost come unglued when one of her cups went out of the back of the wagon. Thanks goodness it was a tin cup. I believe Mt. Rider was able to recover all of the wayward dishes and return them. P (ds#1) let CeeGee's grandson ride on his horse while he walked. He thought he was a big boy. Saints fan pulled out a bar of Zote soap tonight and showed her grandson how to whitle a boat using a table knife. So I guess CeeGee will have soap shavings to do dishes with for a couple of days. I figure if we are lucky it might get him through to tomorrow. The boredom is rough on the adults I can't imagine how it is on the little ones. This has been a drastic change for all of us. Even those of us that didn't have tvs and computers we at least had lights and running water. I noticed in the benefactor group tempers were on short leashes and flared up quite a bit today. I hope that Mr.H and Mr J. have things well in hand there. Dss are relearning how to play the guitars they haven't touch them in so long but it is coming back especailly for W (ds#2) P is more of a brass player and N is more of drums but they all love music. Saintsfan is teaching some of the children sign language. Some of the adults are learning also. N is also teaching some of the older boys SOS signals with flashlights. P is teaching land nav to a couple of the other boys. He said they are catching on quickly since they can already read maps. The topical maps are different so they take a little to get use to. Well all of the "fresh" food is gone so now we move on to the dried food. I was surprised that the fresh food lasted as long as it did. The pies were a big hit tonight. I think W ate 3 of them. Peach are their favorite. I have apple sauce rehydrating tonight. The lettuce is big enough that we will be able to have greens tomorrow night. I was looking at the planters on W and dil2b (A) wagon and the turnip greens are just about thick enough to have a mess of them hopefully in a day or two. Well before I turn in tonight I must go find Mt. Rider and ask her about the planting season where we are headed and how much longer we have. We may want to go head and get starter trays going with tomatoes and peppers at least.

Dear Diary, Today was a killer day. It was sad in a way. We have left behind civilization well what is left of it and now we are on the plains. I am not sure that the ranchers are going to welcome us with open arms any better than the towns did that we traveled through. But is also a happy day we are getting closer to our new home. We are leaving behind cars and pavement for flat land and dirt and gravel. We will have to keep a better check on hooves now. Rocks will cause one of the horses to come up lame faster than anything. Not only that but the oxen will stop if their hooves start hurting and stand there. The barometer has dropped and that has brought on a migraine. So I am living off tea and crackers today. The swaying of the wagon and the jarring of the ruts are not helping. But at least it was cloudy and drizzly rain so the inside of the wagon was cool enough that I could keep the curtains drawn to block out light. We rearranged the wagons yet again before pulling out this morning. We were really getting strange looks. We ended up almost totally unpacking one wagon and repacking it. Some (Michael and Lori especially) were shaking their heads at some of the stuff I had packed. So of the benefactors couldn't figure out why I was handing out safety glasses and bandannas to my crew. But I guess they figured that out when we had those high winds and just about everyone was blind from the dust except us. I think I would have felt a little smug if my head didn't hurt so bad. DH delivered a bag of kibble to Mother today for the newest member. He is still not to sure about having a pregnant dog along on the trip. He is not thrilled about the idea of her whelping on the trail. He did say he was hoping she was far enough along that the ride would not cause her to loose them. He may even have a soft spot for the ole gal. He asked if I had packed all that old news paper that we had and I said yes that it was in the wood stove. He said we should pull some of it out and send it over to Mother so that she would have it on hand for when Sasha went into labor. Said it would make clean up easier up until the pups got big enough to waddle around and potty outside. He also wander if Mother had anything big enough to make Sasha and the puppies a bed. Hummm he may have a point. Sasha is a huge dog I do wonder what Mother is going to do for a bed. I can't picture Mr. Mom letting Sasha and puppies sleep with them. Well maybe after my head eases up some I will stroll over and ask Mother if she has something. May have to use the newspaper to weave a basket for Sasha. It won't be much but at least it will keep the pups together so they don't get squished. Well like I said today has been a killer day. Even Michael wasn't a peppy as he usually is. As the days get longer we are staying on the trail longer. I think we are trying to make up some time from having to travel so slow through all those towns and then that extra lay over we had didn't help. I think we maybe behind schedule. I know every one was hoping to arrive in time to get an early garden planted but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. Hopefully we arrive in time to get a garden planted. I need to ask Mt. Rider what planting zone we are going to be in and when the first frost usually arrives. Maybe we can still get to harvest in. Dil2b is starting to grumble she is ready for a normal bed. I think we are all ready for that. At least she is not a spoiled brat and used to having the best of everything. She seems to have gotten over her spill from the other day. Hubby and DS#3 did make her and extra step to put on the ground so it would be easier to climb in the wagon. Her and her short legs were having a hard time there. They attached a rope to it and tied it to the seat so she could pull it up after she got in the wagon. I need to rethink our meals. I was hoping not to touch the freezer until we got settled but the guys are needing more calories than I first planned. They are needing more protein. I guess I will move some meat to the ice chest so it will have a chance to thaw. Ds has asked if we have steak. I think I have some cubed steak I will make him some country fried steak and potatoes. That will be easy and I have potato flakes so cooking won't be so hard. However tonight will be sourdough biscuits and eggs maybe even hash browns and sausage. That will make them happy and we will have the biscuits for breakfast in the morning. Dil2b can cook the eggs and sausage. Don't think I will be able to handle the smell tonight. I think tonight we will be lucky to have camp fires to cook food on. Hopefully we can get the fires going before the wood get too wet. Good night all.

This is something that needs to be STRESSED - DO NOT EVER- leave an animal behind. As much as I hate to see a life destoryed whether it is a beast or not DO NOT EVER take the chance that like that. If mother had been biten we would have to cage the dog and take it with us just so we could watch it to see if the dog got sick with rabids. Since she was not biten and we didn't know who's she was I am sorry to say that maybe the best thing for the dog would have been to put her down. She was skin and bones, sooner or later (probably sooner since she was pregnant) she would have gone feral. Whether the towns people like us or not we don't need to leave dangers behind us if we can at all help it. I know people's opinion will vary on this but it is something that you will have to think about. As times get tougher in real life and you can not care for you beloved house pets what are you going to do? I personally think it is cure and unusual to turn a house pet loose to fend for themselves. Not only that but they will be more apt to go into the general population because they have been around people. IRL the animal shelters around here are over flowing with animals that people can no longer take care of it is all they can do to feed their kids. Ok getting of my soap box and going back to my wagon. Mother I have 10-20#bags of kibble. I think I can spare one bag with no problem. Like I said Boss gets all of scraps unless there is no scraps then he kibbles (even IRL and he pouts then) I just get a puppy out of the deal. I love saints, we just won't tell Saintsfan that I am getting a puppy 0:-)

Ok so she is a Bertie instead of a Barney...puppies....well we know where all the extra goat milk will go now don't we

I am feel like I have been road hard and put up wet. I am bone wear tired today. was up early this morning, not sure I ever went back to sleep last night. I had just dozed off when all the gunfire went off. And yes Mother it was just a cougar. I wonder if that is the one we caught scent of before we caught up with you guys. If this is the one he has been stalking ya'll for a while. We picked up his scent when we crossed that ditch back there. I know Boss (our black lab) has been bristled up for a couple of days and clingy worse than a sick child. He would not let anyone leave camp without him. Mother glad to know just your pride was all that was hurt and you have a new best friend. I have some extra kibble I could share until we get to the next big town. I hit a sale on BOGOF just before we left and I stocked up (IRL I really did hit a BOGO sale on dog food although Boss doesn't eat it that much he had rather have our table scraps) I am concerned about this dog though. Who's was/is he...where has he been...and what is kind of nasties is he carrying? I mean we are not in the greatest situation if he comes down with rabies. I am concerned about how it will react to the rest of the group once we start mingling and hanging around Mother. What happens if one of the little ones run up to Mother without thinking. Mother is such a tiny thing and this is a big dog, can she control him...will he be willing to be controlled by her? It makes you want to stand on your wagon seat and yell STRANGE DOG STRANGE DOG. But I guess this is where we will have to follow Mother's lead and see how he reacts. Barney may surprise us and be a good dog I hope so. Aw sucks I have done it now I have gone and named the lump of matted fur guess we are stuck with him. Ann I understand about the jerky. I am tired of jerky and chicken myself. Tonight we are having shepherd pie made with that no-no dried ground beef. My lettuce is just about big enough to start pinching leaves off of so we can have salads again. As much as I would love a really nice dinner I sure don't feel like cooking it at night after we make camp. We pull in at dusk, set up, rinse a few things, tend to animals, and then cook over an open fire or on the camp stove. I miss my oven and microwave oh and my crock pot those items sure made cooking a lot easier. The camp stove is ok but it just does not do justice to cooking. I am wearing out quick...MtRider how much longer do we have until I can soak in a big tub of Epson Salt? Over all we are holding up rather well. Mother DS didn't come down with anything I think it was just allergies and sinus drainage. He has gone to wearing a bandana over his face to help keep dust out and he seems to be doing better. We were kind of at the back of the wagon train and he breathed dust all day. As much as I don't relish traveling in the rain this place really needs some. I am worried about how dry it is are we going to be able to have camp fire? The little stream back there sure didn't look very inviting either is really kind of muddy and stagnant. Just a word to the wise this will not be the only aggressive wild animal we will cross paths with. As we come in to towns we need to watch out for feral dogs. Cats too but I don't think cats will be as big of problem as dogs but with children around we all need to be on guard against house cats gone bad. Maybe we should say animals in general, if they are not yours then treat them as if they are wild.

Well the guys made it back and with a surprise M&Ms. They seem to think that if no more than 4 or 5 go into town at a time then it wouldn't be big problem Mr.J and MrH went them and it is civil. We are in the back side of the "better" part of town. Still they are very leary of strangers especially in large numbers. MrH talked to a couple of grocery stores they are not getting the shipments they use to get because people just can't afford to buy. They are willing to sell to us but they will limit what we can purchase and how much we can purchase. There are two large grocery stores that are willing to deal with us. The small mom and pop store would like our business but MrH suggest only going there if we can not find what we need in the larger store. He said their prices are just way too high. They told him that they will probably be closing their doors after the first of the year. They are really not well stocked either but they do carry quite a bit of local stuff like local honey and seasonal veggies. They do have a good supply of fresh fruit at all the stores so we should be able to restock on that. Thanks to MrMtRider Dil2b is moving fairly well. The compresses that Q suggested are helping with the bruising and swelling. But she is still stiff and that comes from riding all day. She is trying to be brave but I keep telling her that her body has to heal and if it means 1 or 2 days riding in the back of the wagon that sure beats weeks that she maybe out of she doesn't take care of herself. DS#2 is starting to cough but I pulled out grandpas homemade cough syrup and he will sleep tonight. Not only that but I have increased his Vit. C dosage for a couple of days. Hopefully that will nip this bug in the butt. Mt.Rider you have ruined it now...ice cream...strawberry cheese cake ice cream...oh wait butterpecan ice cream....aaaahhhhhhh. OH GREAT!!!!!!!!! BUGS!!!!! Meal worms ... I hate bugs. Well I guess I will just have to deal with it. Hummm think think.... My o2 pack must be out of juice. Everyone check your supplies.

Our wagons were loaded, and ready to go. We had all our fishing gear, clothes lines and other camping gear nice and neatly stoed away in the wagons. But we had to stop this morning before getting started good and replace a shoe. One of our horses threw a shoe. Hubby said that we will need to trim hooves and reshod them all on the next long lay over. The pavement is rough on shoes. The oxen on wagon 2 do not like the pavement either. It seems that the pavement chips off in the hooves and we have to keep a close watch on them and keep them clean. DH is beginning to feel this trip in his knees. Dil2b fell out of the wagon well not really out she missed her step getting in to the wagon and now has a sore shoulder and bruised leg so she did not drive the team today. I sent her over to see Mother but she come and said she didn't want to get to close because Mother was sneezing and coughing so she went to see Mt. Rider. Mt. Rider fixed her up, thanks Mt. Rider. We are all exhausted and the grumbling has started. The guys are going through their withdrawals from technology and cell phones. Guitar Hero was their past time. They are missing hanging out with their friends at college and miss being able to run to the store for junk food. DS#2 is wishing for a Chicago style pizza. Dil2b is missing her family and wishes she had stayed behind but doesn't want to leave ds and ds won't stay behind without us. I miss my appliances like the washing machine and dryer. I also miss my dish washer. Hopefully now that we are with the group and we can slow down our pace some we will all be in better spirits. Lunch today was left over biscuits and ham and the last of the fresh fruit. Dinner will be a hobo dinners. That way clean up will be easy. Will wash the foil and use it again when I bake potatoes. There is beans soaking in the pot in the back and they will go on to cook for lunch and dinner tomorrow. I plan on making tortilla shells tonight so that we can have bean burritos tomorrow on the road. Saintsfan doesn't know but he is getting a treat tonight. I found and bucket of sugar sugar I thought we had finished off but it still has about 6 cups left in it so I am going to make him some oatmeal boiled cookies tonight. That is if he can beat the boys to them first. Mother like you I am hoping this is a good town. There are a few things I am running low on and would feel better about the next leg if I had a few extra goodies to pull out to prop up the spirits. PMS has settled in here and a big bag of peanut M&Ms sound wonderful. Two of the boys and four other men have taken our bikes in to town and to check it out I am getting worried they are not back yet. I hope they are ok.

Wheww what a day yesterday was....all the bedding was pulled out and aired blankets dried and the mounds of laundry done. While I waiting for the clothes to dry I wander along behind Mother taking notes along the way. The next few meals will be interesting to say the least. MrMtRider and Michael were both thrilled with the addition of guards. Michael was slapping his head and saying why didn't I think to bring a bike. Mother those bikes are how we found you guys. Ds#1&2 would ride in to town and meander around listening. Ya'll have caused quite a stir along the way. Thank goodness people were still talking about you when we came through. Yes we saw the ruts in the ditch. When we got to the ditch we stopped and wasn't too sure if we were going the right way and if we should continue until we saw your trail. We did have ever go down about a quarter of mile where it wasn't so rutted and went across rather easily. Last nights dinner was rather simple I was too tired to really make a big production so it was chicken noodle soup and sourdough biscuits. The leftovers will be served at lunch today. I have beans soaking for the meals tomorrow so hopefully I will get them cooked tonight and use the left over chicken to make chicken chili. I think while we are stopped I will make Mexi-corn muffins to go along with the chili. I will have to say that I am please that dil2b has fell in line and pulled her weight. She is having the time of her life. I was wrong to worry about how she would fit in but I guess she will be ok. She is having withdrawals from her cell phone and texting though. ***snicker snicker snicker*** To be honest I guess that is the hardest thing for my group. They are all tech savay and now they have very limited access. Saintsfan is adjusting to life on the road. He likes to say he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. He and ds#2 have gather enough wood for the next few days. This morning I found him and Michael strolling through camp with coffee mugs in hand. I was really surpised that he was up so early he is not a morning person but he said that the coffee was calling his name. LOL Well I guess it is time to clean up the wagons and organize them. I dont' know how the early settlers did it. I thought surely with the 3rd wagon it would not be so unorganized but I guess since we are living out of boxes and totes instead of a panty and closets things get suffled around alot.

Whewwww glad ya'll stop for a couple of days didn't think we would ever catch up especially after that early morning departure. We had a little trouble back there trying to figure out how to get around the town. It was not a pretty sight but we stayed way out on the outskirts. Thought we would going to be another day behind you but since we only have 3 wagons we were able to get through before they knew much of what was happening. Sorry we are so late but saintsfan and sons would not leave the computer behind so we had to come up with a way to charge batteries along the way. So ds#2 (the geek) along with saintsfan set up wagon#2 to be a turbine of sorts. They have it rigged so that when the wheels turn it will charge the batteries that we run the small freezer off of. Sorry I had just bought a months worth of meat and didn't have time to can it before we left. But we do have a way to freeze water for ice packs. We also have a little electric refrig. I will need to plug it back in and let it cool but we can put stuff in it need be. I am so glad I have a geek for a son. I have an extra couple of guys with military experience for guards. Also had to bring along #2 sons girlfriend he would not leave her behind Not sure how she will work out but too late now. She is good with kids and will do what she is told. She may have to be showed a couple of times but she catches on fairly quick. So far she has been a big help. My arthritis has kicked my butt with all this wet weather and handling the team has really taken its toll. She got a crash course along the way of driving the team. The boys had bail and run recons. Those bikes have come in handy. They are really quite too. Quit laughing Michael yes those are flower boxes on the side of my wagons. There is lettuce and herbs planted there. And yes that is a wagon towing a cattle cart. The poor little goats could not keep up as fast and hard as we were going trying to catch up so we rigged that up cart. It saved them a couple of times ... unfriendly dogs. Did I hear some one say vit. C I have some stocked up just before we left. Spent the last of my flex spend on cold and flu meds. Saintsfan said we would part with one of our wagons for a while if you needed it for sick folks. Sons #1&3 could walk or ride in one of the other two wagons. Glad we are stopped for a couple of days. This will give me a chance to cook up some hot meals. Like I said we have been running long and hard (no we haven't been pushing the animals) we have just not made too many fires and stay as quite as possible since we were running alone. It is nice to be with the group so we can have fires again and hot food. We have been using the camp stove sparingly didn't want to draw attention to ourselves with the smell of food cooking. The boys have been living off of left over MREs from hurricane season but I don't need that many calories. I am sure they will like some home cooked food.

Originally Posted By: Momo Who stays up nights inventing these products? I saw an ad today for PB&J slices. It is pb&j in a slice like American cheese. They even commented it is such a neat way to keep your jelly from being contaminated from a knife with pb on it!!! Excuse me I am reading this correctly PB&J slices like cheese And who uses the knife from the pb on it to get jelly out of jar everyone knows knife for pb and spoon for jelly.

bumping again because several of us are looking at getting goats or have just gotten goats

Originally Posted By: michelle Oh man I must be certified psycho then because I make lists of everything... there are lists of my lists! Naw she is lying she has just been peeking at my office corner where there is list upon list

for HannaLee

DS#3 wore out a pair of cons but refused to throw them away. They were literally falling apart so he duct taped them they lasted until I caught him gone one day and threw them away. I have used duct tape to fix a rip in a skirt. I was at work and ripped my skirt so I went in my office and shut the door took the skirt off and put tape on the inside. It worked until my son could get here with something else to wear (I had a hard time getting the tape off to repair the rip I was about ready just to leave it on there)

I have to say NO these are not unnecessary at least they were not for my ds#2. I could not nurse him, everything I ate gave him gas. He ended up on this horrible smelling forumla and I used those playtex nursers. They were wonderful. They really do help with the gas. I tried regular bottles oh heavens you would have thought we were beating the child. I don't know which was worse the gas from me nursing him or the gas from him not burping good on regular bottles. These were a life saver. Yep I would spend the money today if I had to do it all over again.

Originally Posted By: Tiger Plus, who can't fry bacon? The ones that can't make a PB&J sandwich I do have to say that although the taste is not the greatest it does make camp cooking a little easier. Ok okay so it doesn't attact bears as fast as real bacon cooking does.

Ok how about the pre-packaged dinners in the meat sections - like the pot roast...you get a roast and a few carrots and potatoes and a seasoning pack for outlandish amount. What gets me is these commercials - you have probably seen this one. The mom is driving home and all of the fast food icons are following her home. She jumps out of the car and holds up a meat loaf and says back off. Then it goes into a spiel about serving your family a homecooked meal. Please!!!!!

This one gets my vote. They look nasty. First of all frozen bread. then frozen peanut butter. I am pretty sure when they are thawed they get mushy... BARF!!! And Momo you right about the price. For $3 you can buy a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and get 3 times as many sandwiches and they are fresh, not frozen.

Hey Mother, Don't forget dealing with the dead. Methods of embalming, and cremation. Not just humans but we need to discuss livestock and pets.