The Farmer's Dozen

It has been nearly 11 months since we bought our hobby farm.  We have 2 sheep, 25 chickens, 16 guinea fowl, 1 pig (the other one was recently slaughtered), and 1 farm dog. 

We have put up paddock after paddock of fencing.  We have build shelters and aviaries.  We have cared for and wrestled with our various animals.  We have plowed with a tractor and sowed with our hands.

Why God Made Men

My lower back has been bothering me so I (finally) decided to put cold or heat or something on it.  I put a cold pack on the first day, which was nice, but after talking to my husband about it he recommended I use heat.  The next day I put a warm rice bag on the area for twenty minutes and started feeling better.  The next day (because I can only manage to heat my back  once a day - twenty minutes is a long time for a mom of little ones!!) I put the warm rice bag on again and could feel a real difference.  So I stopped.  The pain wasn't terrible anymore so the twenty minutes disappeared.

Anyway, today my back started really hurting again so my 3 year old daughter asked if I wanted the rice bag.  I said thanks and helped her to put it in the microwave flat.  I told her to turn it on for 45 seconds then we would turn it over and push the 45 and start again.

She tried and tried and started to get frustrated that it wouldn't work.  She normally doesn't have any trouble pushing the buttons on the microwave so I went over to help.  She had successfully entered "45" but the "start" button wouldn't push.  I tried several times and couldn't get it to work either.

I took the rice bag out of the microwave and told her it was broken and we'd have Daddy look at it when he got home.

My daughter diligently told him about the problem when she saw him and when he came in from farm duties he immediately went to start working on the microwave.

It wasn't even 2 seconds later that he had the microwave happily humming away!

I was astonished!  How on earth had he managed it?

Sheep-Shearing

My family is currently reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder so I know for a fact that Almanzo says that sheep-shearing is fun...

So naturally, I was expecting sheep-shearing to be fun.

Nope, it wasn't.  It was crazy, hard and scary.  But mostly crazy!

Here I am with our half-sheared Leicester Longwool sheep, which is a critically endangered heritage breed.

We went to a sheep-shearing party at the farm where we bought our sheep and watched a man from New Zealand who had been brought in hand-shear the 20 or so sheep.  He sat the sheep down on their rumps and sheared them each in about ten minutes or less by himself.

It was our first time so we erred on the conservative side and figured with electric shears, two people, and a whole afternoon (for two sheep) that we would be fine. 

We weren't.

Gardening - Asparagus Success!

We planted our asparagus early.  We dug holes in our red, clay soil, mixed in some black soil for good measure and watered faithfully.  After a month of nothing happening we decided that we would rather use that space in our tiny garden for our tomato plants so we transplanted out tomatoes from their starter pots in the house and put them in the section where we had just dug up the dud asparagus and we put the asparagus into the started pots and put them in our front window.

The general plan was to water the asparagus if we thought about it but otherwise to not waste anymore time or thought about the dead asparagus crowns.  We placed a spray bottle next to the plants and let the kids squirt (or sometimes drown) the poor little plants as they wanted to.

What to do with laundry...

This morning I was making my bed and thinking about the dishes I needed to get done and then I noticed the laundry pile in the corner of our room and remembered that I forgot to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer last evening. Ahhh! Ever have a morning like this? I started my day feeling overwhelmed before 8am, that is a little depressing.  Unfortunately, I think I start the majority of my days this way.  Beginning my days in such a stress filled state is just asking for disaster. I am snippy with my husband, impatient with my son, and just frustrated in general. What can I do about this?

What a Girl Wants

It is funny to think back to what I wanted in high school and compare that to what I want now as a woman.

I wanted to be living in Europe with a career in something international, business suit required.  I did not want to be married and most definitely did not want children.  I wanted to be able to travel on a whim and see and experience whatever culture I found myself in.  I wanted independence and importance.

That is not what I want now...

When in Louisville.

If you were to come to Louisville I'd suggest a few places to try out.  For a good cup of coffee Sunergos  is the place for you.  They roast all of their own coffee beans and the result is always a smooth satisfying taste.

If you are into doughnuts then you can just walk next door to Nords bakery .  There apple fritters are basically to die for.  

Letter Love

Recently, I've been thinking about Christmas card season. I love writing Christmas cards. I love addressing all the envelopes, affixing the stamps and sealing stickers, and writing the personal note most of all. The last few years we have been sending picture cards so that family and friends can see how much our boys have grown. The only problem with this type of card is that it's not very personal (besides the family picture, of course). So I try to send a personal note along with most of the cards. It's so much fun!

I love to receive hand-written notes from people at all times, and I love to send them just as much. I don't know why. I guess it's just a quirky passion God has given me. It's too bad that "snail mail" is a dying practice. It does take more time, especially if I'm trying to write a card with little ones around. For some reason, when Mama is writing someone, they suddenly have an urge to magnetize to me- pulling my arm, reaching for my paper. These two blessings have certainly instigated a decrease in letter-writing output from me. But, that's to be expected. Anyway, I digress. My heart really smiles when I have a completed note (thinking of you, birthday, anniversary, etc) dropped into the mailbox. It's such a small thing, but it is an offering of love to write them, and I imagine it brings the receiver a small amount of joy as well. What could be a sweeter, simpler surprise than a note from a dear one amongst the junk mail and bills? I love to picture the smile they may wear as they open and read the note. I know, I'm a little odd with this passion of mine.

Remembering Mother's Day

Lizzi: We just celebrated Mother's Day this past Sunday.
How many years have you celebrated it, as a mother?

Maude: 4 years

Esther:  2 or 3.  Three years if you count being pregnant.

Lizzi: And mine is 3!

Maude: I didn't do anything when I was pregnant - I figured I would celebrate as my last Mother's Day not being a mother instead! Because I will never not be a mother again!

Lizzi: That's a good idea!

Esther:  Haha! So true!

Maude: I like to celebrate all sorts of things! Anything I can, really!

Lizzi: I have recently heard friends say that what they'd like for Mother's Day is to have hubby take the kids and get to spend the day alone. (Relaxing with a book, maybe a day at the spa, etc)
Do you agree? What is your idea of a great Mother's Day gift?

Climbing the Mommy Ladder

I am a mommy. I have been for over three years now. My mommy has been a mommy for 38 1/2 years. (I'm not 38. Just to clarify in case you were wondering.) Wow! When I put it in those terms it really highlights the difference in our amount of experience. If motherhood required an application and hiring process, my mom's resume would be at the top of the pile. Or, maybe she would be the one doing the hiring since she would know what would make a stellar candidate. She would certainly be at the senior management level, helping to train and establish a new generation of mothers.

In fact, that's just what she's doing. I live faraway, so I can't "drop by," but I call her repeatedly with questions upon questions, and I fill her in on silly happenings that only Gramma could care about. Mom will answer potty training and sleeping questions, brainstorm about eating issues, and share creative learning activities from her plethora of knowledge. Actually, I'm not really sure why I'm writing this blog instead of her! She could put hundreds of "new recruits" at ease with her warm and easy manner, wise and patient advice. Hmmm... that's a thought.

Does a Mom have time to workout?

We live in a very different world then we once did.  We once lived in a world full of physical labor.  Now we are sitting all the time.  Men used to work the fields, work with their hands.  Women would get down and scrub the floor on their hands and knees and wash the laundry by hand.  People once walked to the places they needed to go, not anymore!  Now we have vehicles, sit at desks all day, just to come home and sit at the dinner table and then move to go sit on the couch.   I am glad we have the modern convinces we do but unfortunately, one of the things that was lost with more technology was the necessity to be active. We now have to work to be active, we now call being active "working out".  I do not know if I am the only one, but working out that is more difficult then I would like it to be.  Not only do I  find the time hard to come by but also the motivation to do it!  It just makes so much more sense to have activity built around your day  like it once was then to isolate "activity" to 3 hr. a week (or whatever it may be for you).  Now don't get me wrong, I do not think there is anything wrong with having a workout routine, going to the gym, or for a run, in fact, I would greatly encourage that! I just know that regularly heading to the gym or going for a run can be hard to keep up with. Especially if you are a Mama.  Do you workout in the evening so your husband can watch the kids? That can cut into family time and when does he get to workout? Do you try to do it in the day? How a Mom of three or more kids goes for a run (or has time to workout at all) is completely beyond my comprehension! (Please, fill me in on how you make this happen!)  Some gyms provide childcare, but what if you can't afford a gym?

How is a Mom supposed to get the opportunity to work out?  Between dirty diapers and laundry it can get to be kind of challenging.

Events Worth Noting

Today is a holiday, even if we don't get out of work or school to celebrate it. Many people don't even observe May Day, simply treating it as any other day of the year. I guess I am really one of those people. However, growing up, we would prepare some kind of gift basket or baked good and then drive around to various friends' houses to leave it on their doorstep, ring the doorbell, and run so that they found the treat, but not us. Some years we would call ahead and drop it by, staying to visit after we surprised our dear one with our goodies. It was a lot of fun and a good lesson for us kids in remembering to treat others with kindness and love. I don't know if you do anything special for May Day, but I also wanted to use this opportunity to bring to light two other events going on this week.

The first is Screen-Free Week, which actually began yesterday and goes until May 6th. Its purpose is to encourage children and families to turn off all electronic screens and spend time together doing other fun activities. If you click on the link above you will see the wide array of organizations participating in Screen-Free Week, and that is because our children (and us, too!) spend a horrendous amount of time watching TV and using other electronic forms of entertainment. (Yes, that does include the computer, and thus, our blog.) The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age two watch NO television (that's right- zip, nada, zero) and that children over age two (no age specification) watch only 1-2 hours per day.

The second event I wanted to highlight is The National Day of Prayer, taking place on Thursday, May 3rd. This is an annual event in which the focus is lifting our nation up in prayer to God Almighty. If you aren't sure how to get involved, here is a list of ways. Most importantly, use this event as a reminder of the importance to regularly pray for our country and its leaders.

Stay-at-Home Mom's Response to Ms. Rosen

I'm sure you've all heard about Hilary Rosen's comments about Ann Romney on Thursday, April 12th. By now it is old news so it may even be hard to find the original story, but her comments clearly showed her disdain for women who choose to stay home to care for their children. I know that she tried to clarify, implying that it was Ann Romney's wealth that kept her from being an "expert on women and the economy" but we all know the truth. Hilary Rosen would have had no problem with Ann Romney being an expert on the economy (and women!) if she was a wealthy "working" woman. (Well, at least if she was a liberal wealthy working woman.)  Leftist feminism wants every woman to  have a choice, as long as the woman's choice lines up with their ideology.

Brothers Together

We are four days into a new sleeping routine with our boys: shared bedroom. Our oldest has been experiencing fears and wanting "someone with him" for some time now, and usually when we lay him down to sleep either my husband, or myself, stay upstairs (in our room) until he is asleep. It seems that just knowing we are down the hall helps him to fall asleep peacefully. It started out innocently enough, but eventually became a problem (especially at night) because we'd come down, only to have a few minutes before we had to head up to bed ourselves. (Yes, he was taking that long to fall into a deep sleep.) I know many of you parenting experts are chiding us right now, but it's really a hard choice when you're in the midst of it, you know? Anyway, when my mom was here, she helped us to come downstairs by sharing with him that the distance downstairs really is about the same distance as "down the hall" and instating a special sign to share when we went down. Worked great. The problem, though, was that he knew Gramma would be sleeping in his room later that night, and he had that to look forward to. Well, after Gramma left we were back at square one. And so we decided that our younger son was sleeping well enough through the night at this point to attempt the transition.

We talked up the move and they both seemed excited. They "helped" Daddy move the crib and set it up in big brother's room. Now the trouble was figuring out a compromise: Our oldest had started sleeping with a night light on and the blinds up in his room, and our youngest was used to a blackout curtain over the closed blinds. We decided to start with the blinds closed (especially with increasing daylight rapidly approaching!) and leave the night light for a little while. Well, now that we are four days in, I don't know why I worried about the night time! They fall asleep pretty quickly because they are so worn out from partying during nap time!

My garden

We did it! We planted our garden. I was beginning to think it was never going to happen. We have been having torrential downpours here. But, on Saturday evening we got it planted! Because we have had such rain I have not watered it once! (That is my kind of garden).

Memory Monday: Coloring Easter Eggs

Today, we colored Easter eggs. Gramma is still here, so she made the food coloring/vinegar dye and we set to work. It was my first year to attempt coloring eggs with my son. (We did it during naptime for my 14-month old.) He turned three recently, and so it seemed a good year to begin this tradition. In years past I knew I would be the only participant, so I had no desire to begin until he could fully enjoy it himself.

A Special Visit

Right now at my house, Gramma is visiting. We have had a wonderful time and my boys have eaten up each moment they have gotten to spend with her. I have also enjoyed the continual conversation we've filled the days with. Our thoughts may be interrupted constantly by, "Excuse me, Gramma..." or, "Ahhhhh!!" (a blood-curdling scream) but somehow we have managed to piece together where we left off and even continue on into hours and days of contented chatting.

Spring has SPRUNG... or summer?

Aubrey Renee Photography

The high in Louisville Kentucky yesterday was 88 degrees. I greeted the first day of Spring with windows closed and A.C. blaring. Is not Spring supposed to be around 65 degrees or am I crazy? (Don't answer that!)  Despite the heat I LOVE spring.  It is time to head back to the Zoo! I have to admit we have a pretty rockin' Zoo around here and I live less than 10 minutes from it (Score!) We spend a lot of days/evenings/mornings at the Zoo.  It is also chalk-sidewalk-art season! Translation: I attempt to draw flowers with chalk on my sidewalk but give up when my 17-month-old's scribbles look better than my "flowers" (if only I were joking).  On Friday we are going to attempt to plant our garden.  (I do say "attempt" or "try" a lot don't I? I think that is because I am a lot like Amelia Bedlia and most of my "attempts" go a little awry. But, that is a post for another day!)  I will let you all know how our garden adventures go. I am hoping for success and lots of growing veggies!

Anybody have a Theory?

On Sunday, our pastor shared a quote during his sermon that I thought was hilarious. Hilarious, and true. I don't remember it verbatim, and I don't remember the author of it, but the gist went like this, "Before I had kids, I had six theories about raising them. Now, I have six kids and no theories." That sure made me laugh.

I have certainly been guilty of theories. Theories mixed in with the certainty that I was right about every one of them, before I had any experience on which to base those theories! Before I was married, I had lots of theories about marriage and about being a wife. Before I had kids, I had lots of theories about parenting. It's funny how those theories tend to fall away the longer I am within these roles! Every situation is just too unique to place a black-and-white stamp on it.

Growing a Heart that Gives Thanks

I know this isn't the appropriate time to be talking about thankfulness. I mean, Thanksgiving was over three months ago! But we were talking about its importance in my home today and so it led to my pondering it, which led to a blog post. :)

The fact is, if I want to instill the importance of being thankful in my children, I must be thankful myself. All the time. It is more than just teaching them the proper and polite words to say when someone gives them a gift or shares their toy, it is to be a constant attitude of the heart. I don't want my sons to have the thanks squeezed out of them through gritted teeth, I want it to flow naturally from their lips because their hearts are already bubbling with it. But how does it get there? How do I teach the process of being thankful in all things? How do I display that to them?