Friday's Fabulous Mom: Cathryn Hagel

Cashmere & Carrot Sticks' fabulous Mom for this week is Cathryn Hagel, the Farmer's Trophy Wife. You may remember Cathryn from our Closet Cleanse earlier this year. Well, this spunky, stylish Mama of two is back for some Q&A with C&CS.  Cathryn lives in Alberta and lives and loves the Western life ... so I thought it only fitting with the Calgary Stampede being on right now to shout out this fabulous Mom!  After you read all about Cathryn, be sure to check out her blog - the Farmer's Trophy Wife. 

 

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My husband and I farm together with his family on a 3rd generation cattle and grain farm in Southern Alberta. We have two darling kids, Cassie age 3 and Hudson age 1 1/2. I am a Labour & Delivery nurse in my spare time and love anything and everything to do with our western lifestyle!

  

Cathryn & Her Kids


 How does a day start for you and what’s being served for breakfast?
My husband's day starts earlier than ours...poor thing! He's up and out of the house around 7...while the rest of us sleep in till 8 or 9 if I'm lucky. Breakfast is as random as the day - toast, cereal and fruit depending on how long ago I went grocery shopping!

Favorite bedtime story(ies) currently on the must-read list for your little ones?
Since the sun is out so late, we've all been getting to bed later and later. We try to go visit my husband out in the field or play outside till late..this cuts the book time out because everyone is EXHAUSTED by bedtime. But usually any book is popular, they aren't picky!

What’s on your bedside table right now?
A stack of magazines about a foot tall! I am addicted to home and style magazines and read and reread them till I'm sure I've got everything out of them!

Tip or Trick for getting those daily vegetable servings in:
We grow a garden every year, and the kids have always been big veggie fans...so I don't actually have any tricks. If they aren't sure about eating it, we make them take one bite. If they hate it, good enough for us. If they love it...well...great!

Something you do as a Mom that June Cleaver would approve of …. And something she would raise her eyebrow at?
I try to use as much home grown or local stuff as possible when making meals. But since pregnant with #3...frozen pizza and kraft dinner have been a frequent meal.

Any words of advice for keeping all the clutter and toys from overtaking?
I pack a bunch of stuff away when the kids aren't around, they are still little enough to not notice if something is missing. Then every 6 months or so I rotate out the toys. And I give A LOT away to Goodwill. You only need so much stuff.

If you had an entire afternoon to yourself, what would you do?
Sigh....that would be fabulous. I would head into town for a Starbucks, pedicure and an hour or two of shopping by myself. That would be a fabulous afternoon!

How do you squeeze in the ever-so-important time for just you and your husband?
Well...farmers rarely take hours or days off. His day starts at 7 and ends around 11 during the summer. So if we get to go say hi or go for a ride in the tractor/sprayer/baler for a bit, that's about as good as it gets. From November to March is when we spend the most time together...all he usually has to do daily is feeding cattle and maintaining the yard (snow!) and anything else that pops up. We try to take the kids swimming or do family stuff during these months!

Something special unique thing that you do for your family that you hope they remember fondly in the future:
I like making little things into "adventures." We go checking cows or take my husband a lunch and try to hit as many puddles as we can or see as many baby animals as we can find. Farming is a lifestyle and kids remember the little things like catching frogs or riding horses more than anything else.

Your go-to family meal that you know will be loved by all, eaten by all and serve some nutrients too: 
Hmmmm...homemade potato soup and buns are always a hit and so easy!! Check out my blog for my favourite recipe and try it tonight!!