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Homeschooling in Illinois
Jun. 1, 2009
Chicken Eggs
We have 16 eggs sitting in an incubator. Today, I noticed the first pip. Meaning, the first little crack in the egg. I was surprised because it is only day 19 of 21. I noticed it around 4ish and it hasn't gotten very far. I read that it could take 24 hours! Hopefully it won't hatch during the night. I want to see it! I keep checking the egg like every 1/2 hour. Sometimes I can hear the chick peeping. I want to break the chick out so bad, but I know not to. During one of my checks, I noticed another egg rocking slightly. I wasn't sure if it was the egg, or an earthquake. Being that it was the only thing moving, I ruled out earthquake.
On the subject of babies, yesterday, my fil brought us 6 guinea keets. The are so tiny and cute. Once again, my camera is in the other room and I don't feel like getting it. I will post pics of the keets when I post picks of the chicks.
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May. 25, 2009
I Love My Ducks
We built the ducks their own duck tractor. (When the chicks move in, it will be a chicken tractor.) They grew out of their plastic container pretty much the day we got them. They grow really fast. They are already twice the size they are in the picture.
Anyway, I cut some pieces of wood and screwed them together and then enlisted my hubby to put on the chicken wire. I hate using the staple gun. It's very frustrating.
The next day I tried to put the door on. Two screws broke and the eye hook wouldn't stay hooked. So I had to have hubby to that for me, too. It's always nice to have back up. 
The ducks are loving their new home.
They love the green grass and dandelions. Lucky for them, we have tons of dandelions. On nice days, we throw a blanket over half of the cage to give them some shade. Today, I had to put a tarp over it because it was rainy. A couple of days ago, I gave them a shallow container to swim in. I had visions of duckies swimming and dunking their heads. We put the ducks in the water and they ran back out. One duck sat there looking confused. The next day, one of the ducks had it figured out. It was sitting there, splashing it's head. It was everything I hoped it would be. Today, two ducks were in it. Once they all get in, I'm going to need a bigger pool. Hopefully soon, they will be big enough to wander the property without me worrying that a hawk will grab them.
I'm pretty sure I had something else to talk about, but I don't know what. Ah, story of my life....
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May. 19, 2009
Lil' L's One and Other Things
My baby turned 1 yesterday! On Sat we had a huge party for her and for Hubby's transfer. It was a blast. We had 45 people over. I am so thankful for all the people who made it out. We had people from a mile away to 130 miles away.
My garden is slowly coming together. We had put chicken wire all around it to keep out the chickens. That worked, but apparently I should have built it to keep out bunnies. I have never seen a bunny on my property, but my neighbor says they are here. My tomato plants are all getting chewed to nothing. My broccoli and cabbage plants are all nibbled. My garden is so frustrating to me. We have put so much hard work into it and it looks so junky! There are weeds all over, grass, half eaten plants, rocks, slopes.... it looks awful. We were out there today working on it and it looks a bit better. My mom put some bricks around the outside of the chicken fence to try and keep out the bunnies and we all dug out some weeds and grass. I planted a few more tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, acorn squash, yellow squash, and sweet corn. I still have a lot more things to plant. The calendar keeps moving.
Last week we didn't do any school in order to get ready for the party. This week is looking like we won't be doing any school work. It's garden week. Hopefuly next week we can squeeze in a few more lessons before we quit for the year. Of course, who am I kidding? We probably already have.
My ducks are getting so big. I love my ducks! I want more! They are so adorable! I wish I had pictures to post, but the camera is in the other room and I don't feel like getting up and uploading them. Sorry, I'm just too lazy right now.
We have 16 eggs in an incubator right now. They are due to hatch the first week of June. Hopefully. I am paranoid that none of them will hatch. Reading about all the things not to do it seems as though they don't have a chance.
Well, hopefully soon I will have some pictures for you guys. Until then....
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May. 6, 2009
Farm News
Our new addition to the farm is.....
four cute little ducklings! I was only planning on getting 2, but I wanted to give myself better odds at having females and also, just in case one or two died. We are new at this, ya know.
In other news, we've been working hard at getting our garden ready. Well, not as hard as I should be. My allergies are killing me! I have had a constant headache and have been crazy sleepy. My allergies are much worse here in the country. So bad that I have had to take medication to help. I hate medication. Anyway, our garden. We put in a couple of tomato plants. The cutworms got to a couple of them. So sad. I sprinkled diamatacious earth around them to try and keep them away. Hopefully that works. We have peas coming up. We have onions, garlic, lettuce, radishes, turnips and spinach planted. About a month ago, I made a makeshift cold frame. I put an old window on top of our barrel that held flowers last year. So now we have a nice thick garden of lettuce. Once I harvest all of that, I can put flowers back in it. I love useful things.
I had better go. I am trying to blog and watch tv at the same time and I am just no good at multitasking anymore. Good bye for now!
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May. 5, 2009
Hopefully I Am Back
It is so great to be back on the internet! We were having Hughes Net problems... again... and I was so incredibly fed up with how much I was paying for internet almost as bad as dial up and sometimes even worse! So we canceled. And then we had no internet! So I checked our computers for a free trial of something, and all I could find was a free trial of AOL on my mom's computer. I was only able to get on that a few times, but my mom's computer is getting old and acting funny, so it wasn't long before her computer decided it didn't want to connect to the internet. So now, I have an aircard through US Cellular. That is pretty neat because I can connect to the internet anywhere. Hopefully I will be happy with this.
Now, what do I do first? Blog? Read blogs? Bank? Facebook? Look up all of those things that I kept saying, "if only we had internet we could look that up"? Maybe I ought to do some banking....
We have some new arrivals on our farm. I don't have pictures yet. But they sure are cute. You'll have to come back later to find out what they are. We had to say goodbye to someone. Our boy goat, Buddy. We gave him to my fil for his birthday. The kids were sad, but it was a good experience. I warned them that next year when all of our goats give birth there is no way we are keeping them all. Of course, they were sad about that. At least with Buddy, they had to say goodbye, but they will get to visit.
Ok, off to the bank...
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Apr. 3, 2009
Two More Goats
Wednesday afternoon, our goat Havanah gave birth to two does! I was able to be at the birth this time. Seeing her deliver really made me feel sorry for the people who attended my births! It's scary stuff! She was yelling like crazy and it looked like her bottom was going to explode! She was pushing and after a couple of minutes and only the baby's hooves and snout were sticking out, I started getting worried. "Is she going to be able to push them out? What happens if they don't come out? What do I do?" And then she got louder. And she started to panic. She started trying to stand up! What should I do? Should I keep her down? She's going to smash the half out baby if she gets up! And then, FLOOP, out it came.
Ok, I can breathe again. Now what. Ok... wipe of the nose and mouth, bring the baby around to the mommy.... HERE COMES ANOTHER ONE! FLOOP! Out in a matter of seconds. Much, much better.
The second one was trying to walk the second it came out. She is a fiesty little thing. And very, very tiny. But so adorable! She looks just like her momma and even has blue eyes as well.
Here is a pic of the first girl all cleaned up. Sorta. Havanah isn't the best cleaner. They are still kind of crusty. 
She is such a pretty thing. And they are both friendly already. Much calmer than Star's babies were at this age.
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Mar. 28, 2009
Baby Goats
I finally have my internet service back. During a wind storm three weeks ago, our internet got knocked out and we just now got it back. So I didn't get to announce the birth of our goats. Just over two weeks ago, on a Wednesday night, Starberry gave birth to twins. A boy and a girl.
My girl with Star's girl.
And her little boy:
He doesn't have blue eyes. Goats eyes turn blue from a flash like our eyes turn red.
Havanah is due starting tomorrow. Hopefully I will have internet when she gives birth!
These kids are so stinkin cute! They hop and jump and leap and buck. My kids will carry the babies to the corner of the pen and then race them back to the barn. The goat babies win every time. 
As soon as my milking supplies come in the mail, I will begin to attempt to milk. That should be interesting.
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Feb. 27, 2009
Havanah
She is such a lover.
They both really hate it when I leave. But Havanah, REALLY hates it. As soon as I close the door, they start "maa"ing. And then they stand there looking at me. "Please don't leave us," they say. "Take us in the house with you. We want to sit on your lap and watch TV".
So the other day when I was leaving, Havanah scared the pants off of me. She was looking up at me, just like in the picture, when she stuck her backside down and geared up to jump over the 4ft wooden wall. "NO NO NO! DON'T JUMP OVER THE WALL!" Thankfully, she chickened out. But she did give me a heart attack. Hopefully she never tries that again. Because if she does, I just might have to bring her in the house with me. 
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Feb. 27, 2009
Crawling Out of Her Pants
Feb. 27, 2009
Haircuts
It was time for our annual haircuts the other day. 
B usually only gets a trim when I cut the other boys hair. I figured it was about time to cut all of his hair.
I wasn't exactly happy with the way the front laid, so I tried something different. 
He thought it was great!
And Princess C's hair was really scraggly.
So she got a trim. I looks SO much better now.
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Feb. 23, 2009
Simple Woman's Daybook
For Today...
Outside my window... Blue sky, not a cloud in sight.
I am thinking... too many different depressing things.
From the learning rooms... trying to get back in the full swing of things.
I am thankful for... a hubby that lets me get goats.
From the kitchen... we are going to have rice and beans for dinner.
I am wearing... black pants, t-shirt, sock, slippers.
I am reading... Don't Make Me Count to Three!
I am hoping... the kids attitudes will turn around quickly.
I am creating... way to many projects that I keep leaving undone.
I am hearing... D spelling words to look up in the dicionary. The sound of Princess C cutting paper. B's very high voice saying things that I can't understand from a room away.
Around the house... lots of messes from moving rooms around.
One of my favorite things... chocolate. I need some...
A few plans for the rest of the week...finish my undone projects, including finding the rest of the minerals that I need for the goats.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
My little girl is a farm girl! HOW COOL!
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Feb. 21, 2009
Farm Name
I need help! I need a name for our farm.
So, here are some random facts that might help you out.
I have 5 kids.
I have never lived in the country before July.
I have no country knowledge.
It is really windy here.
Our theme song is "Where the Blacktop Ends".
We have chickens and goats, but we don't want to stop with only those animals.
A Biblical name would be cool.
So, give me your suggestions! PLEASE! Pretty please? I am so not creative.
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Feb. 19, 2009
My Goaties!
The goat in the back is Star Berry. The one in the front is Havanah. She has blue eyes. Star Berry is due March 8. The lady we bought her from thinks there are two babies in her. And Havanah is due March 28 and the lady thinks she only has one baby.
Now we just have to wait and see if they live through the night. I have crazy "daymares" that the coyotes will smell them from miles away and somehow find a way into the barn. Or I think that they will turn into icecubes. Crazy, I know. That's how my mind works.
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Feb. 16, 2009
Goats
Some lady in Wisconsin can say to me, "I've got your 'goat'". HA! On Thursday, me and hubby are driving up there to pick up our two pregnant does! We are all excited over here. All week we have been working on getting ready for them.
The first thing we needed to do was take down the old rusty fencing and barbed wire. The chickens helped.
Hubby's dad and step mom came out to help. Hubby's dad started a fire to clear away all the overgrowth. There was so much, the goats would have gotten lost! Hubby was quite worried, being a city boy and all. I thought it was very cool.
And the finished fencing:
After we finished the fence, we went to work inside of the barn making a kidding pen. We will finish that up today.
And that's a small part of what we have been up to lately. I'll post picks of the goats when we get them!
WOOHOO!!!!!
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Jan. 27, 2009
Major Rambling
Time sure flies when you look at blog land. I can't keep up with blogging. I can't even keep up with reading blogs. Why is it, then, that it is still January? Real life is going so slow! Why isn't it spring yet? My kids are going bonkers. They are constantly running through the house. Am I crazy to try and stop them? The weather needs to get above freezing so they can go outside and play. There are almost three acres out there just begging to be tromped over. Stop tromping on my hard wood floors! *sigh*
I can't wait for spring. I can't wait to start my garden. I can't wait to buy a goat. I can't wait to kick these kids out of my house!
In non cabin fever news.... We celebrated Chinese new year by eating Chinese food. I had hubby pick it up and bring it 100 miles just for us. I actually think this is related to cabin fever. Even though I have it, I don't have the will power to drag us out in the cold to go grocery shopping. And even if I did, I'm sick of cooking the same boring winter foods. I want to grill! Maybe if it would get above freezing... Anyway, Chinese new year... Hubby wished the guy at the restaurant a happy new year and looked all cool because he knew it was their new year. And today we celebrated chocolate cake day. My mom made a Wilmington Mud Marsh cake. Sinfully delicious... I should really take some to our neighbor so that we don't eat it all. But that would be leaving the house. And it snowed. So the roads are slippery. Just like they have been for 2 months!
Here is an interesting bit of information. Every time that me and hubby go to Walmart, it snows. And the roads are terrible. We don't go that often, but the weather is bad that often. And we don't even have tons of snow to show for it. So we don't get the fun part of snow. Just the icy, snowy, junky roads part of it. I should really stop complaining now.
I have some fun news. We got a Wii! My mil gave us our Christmas gift early. Yes, you read that right. This is our 2009 Christmas gift. It's a lot of fun. That has helped with the fact that we can't go anywhere. Somewhat. It hasn't stopped the kids from running. I don't think anything will. And we are back on that subject.... All roads lead to... where do all roads lead to?
I had better get to bed.
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Jan. 14, 2009
Lil' L
Lil' L is almost 8 months now. Can you believe it? I can't. I still think of her as such a baby, so when she does things that show signs of human life, I am shocked. Things like learning to wave. She waved for the first time at our friends who came to visit. And today, we were shocked to see she knows how to sign please. She was sitting in her highchair banging her hands and screaching, and then she signed please. I don't think she was asking for anything, I think she was just practicing. But it was really cute when my hubby was trying to take a picture of her and he said, "say cheese" and she signed please.
I also love how she tries to imitate things. She will tilt her head to the side, scrunch up her face, open her mouth and shhh if we do it first. Or even if we don't.
She crawls now. Hubby insists I can't say that becuase it's not the hands and knees crawl. She soldier crawls. I told him that since she doesn't "crawl" I guess I don't have to worry about keeping things off the floor.
In December, she still wasn't sleeping through the night. Well, actually, at about 3 or 4 months she was, and then she stopped after about a month. In Dec, she was waking up 2x a night to nurse. I tried to wean her to once, which worked for a couple of nights, but I couldn't keep up with letting her cry. When my family was staying with us, she was up 3x a night! I think she knew I had to get her right away so she wouldn't wake up the whole house. As soon as my family left, I kicked her out of my bedroom. It was cold turkey time. My hope was that hubby wouldn't hear her cry down the hall. It worked! It took her two nights and now she sleeps through the night no problem. Life is so much better now. My problem now is that the rest of the kids are all in one room. Princess C teases and kicks N while they are supposed to be sleeping. We put her to bed before the older boys, but she takes forever to fall asleep!
Lil' L started solids at about 6 1/2 months. She doesn't really like much. She likes Cherrios and bread with cream cheese. I know I shouldn't give her wheat yet, but she does not like to be spoon fed! It's really hard finding little finger food for a 7 mo old. If you have any suggestions, please, let me know.
I think that's all the milestones Lil' L has reached the past month. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Lil' L.
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Jan. 13, 2009
McDonald's Fun
My brother, sil, and two nieces flew in from California to visit us for two weeks. They are used to warm weather and being able to go out and do things. We tried to find somewhere fun to go, but most things around here close for the winter months! If that doesn't tell you winter is bad here, nothing will. My brother finally got cabin fever and suggested we all go out to the McDonald's play land. Of course, that's not exactly right down the road. Would you believe the nearest McDonald's is 20 minutes away? Same with Walgreens. I didn't think there was anyplace without one on every corner.
The kids had a blast and it was nice to get out of the house for a little while. I vowed to take my kids back someday when they really needed some exercise, although I know it will not be so pleasant with less adults to help me out.
My brother and my niece, Toddler A.
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Jan. 12, 2009
Christmas
Christmas came late this year. We opened our presents on Jan 1. Hubby was working Christmas and with so many other things going on and him not being off until the 1st, we decided to just wait. And I am so proud of my kids. They didn't complain, or bug me at all. Not once did they ask to open the gifts. It could be that they got plenty from other people, though...
I enjoyed being able to leisurely open the gifts, and then actually use them instead of rushing off to my sil's for Christmas dinner and then open up more gifts. It was nice to have the celebrations spread out. I am now a fan of celebrating the 12 days of Christmas.
We finally cut back this Christmas. Every year I want to not buy so much, but every year I feel guilty and end up buying a bunch of toys that we don't need. This year I got the kids mostly usable things. Like flannel sheets.
And winter work pants. They will come in handy when we get more animals.
The older boys each got a tool box with a few tools to go into it. And Toddler B got a wheelbarrow to help out in the garden. The boys put it together with their new tools.
And Princess C got a rake and a shovel to help out in the garden.
The kids were happy. And my bank account is happy.
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Jan. 11, 2009
Ice Storm
I think I'll ease back into blogging slowly. It's been a very busy few weeks. I'll start with posting pictures of the ice storm we had. It was so gorgeous, but terrible to drive in. Our road doesn't get salted and we were stuck in the house one and off between ice storms, snow and freezing rain. It was pretty cool at first because this is our first country winter, but it got old pretty fast. I'm ready for spring now.
Our weeping willow cracked in the middle.
The poor birds had a hard time eating through the icicles. Here is a woodpecker. 
I did get some amusement out of watching the birds land on the ice and then the wind would blow and slide them across. Quite comical, but I can't get that as a photo.
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Dec. 15, 2008
Country Games
Out here in [Ba] Boony Land, we have to find our own source of entertainment. Especially on days that the internet isn't working and the satellite TV is out. One of our games is "Is that our Van?" When someone goes to town, we all gather around the kitchen window and stare down the road. When we see a car in the distance - which can be a good mile and a half away - we guess if that is our van or not. It's harder than you think. But, we don't leave the house much, so that doesn't keep us very occupied.
The other game we play is "Guess when the wind will change." (I know, you are thinking what losers we are right about now.) Yesterday the wind was outrageously strong. I looked outside and saw the neighbor flying by on a bicycle. The wind was SSW at 24 mph. One of my south facing windows has plastic on it. The plastic was so bubbled out, I thought it was going to pop. The other south facing windows had a wonderful wind coming straight through them. Anyway, every time I went upstairs, I noticed my plastic, and I would check it to make sure it was still sealed nice and tight. So, the wind was supposed to change direction sometime during the night. On my way up to bed, I noticed the plastic was no longer bubbled, but it was sucked to the window. I excitedly ran to my mom's room and said, "The wind changed!" (Hey, remember people, no internet, no TV!) My mom was excited, too. She said the wind changed at 11:18. The wind had suddenly died down for a few minutes, and then picked back up again, now going west. I checked my west facing window, and now that plastic was a nice huge bubble.
We also get great pleasure in watching the birds. We haven't had many birds here. We had lots of goldfinches, but that was about it. Now, we have a quite a few woodpeckers, a cardinal couple, lots of juncos, and some sparrows. We have the occasional flock of starlings and every now and then some crows. Today, the sparrows were actually on the bird feeder. We had that bird feeder up since we moved in and the only birds we ever saw on it was a purple finch couple for a few days. At our old house, we had to refill that thing every day. The birds hand around underneath it - even the chickens hang around under it. But today, there were actually birds on it. I'm so excited.
So, does country life sound exciting? You want to join us out here in [Ba] Boony land?
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Dec. 15, 2008
Happy Birthday Toddler B!
My Toddler B is no longer a toddler. Today he is 3. I went into his room this morning and asked him where my 2 year old was. He said, "In sissy's room." So then I asked him who he was and he said, "I'm an angel!"
He is really excited to be 3. But he is really digging the whole present thing. On Friday, my mil, sil, and sil's 5 kids came over to celebrate B's and N's birthday (which is the 24th). So B got to open presents then. He keeps asking if they are coming back over today to give him more. He talked to Hubby on the phone last night and Hubby said he would be coming home for his birthday and B asked, "Are you going to bring me a present?"
Happy Birthday my baby boy!! I hope 3 is a good year for you!
On another birthday note. My blog just turned 3. Happy birthday to me!
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Dec. 4, 2008
The Best Toy Ever
Hubby desperately needed a new cell phone. So we went to US Cellular and splurged. Yup, bought two new phones. And they each cost $0.01. Hehe.... I would have loved to have a cool phone, but I didn't need one, I only wanted one.
The kids got our old phones. I thought that Princess C and Toddler B would love them. After all, they loved to play with them when they were not toys. However, D and N got a hold of them. And they LOVE them! The phones have a camera and video on them, so they are the perfect toy. They boys have played with them non stop since we gave them to them. They have found things on the phones that we never knew were there - and we had the phones over 2 years!
So this is what the boys have looked like for the last week.
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Nov. 29, 2008
Thanksgiving
We had a great Thanksgiving. There was a total of 19 people. Of course, 8 from my house and 8 from my sil's house, and you have yourself a crowd right there.
We had three tables lined up across my kitchen. I can fit 19 people in my kitchen!!! How cool is that? In my old house, I could only fit the tiniest table, and since there were so many of us, it was pointless to even try and squeeze a table in there. The white table was lengthwise while we were eating. We only moved it to make more room from cleaning up. Actually, only 18 fit at the tables. Poor Lil' L was pushed off to the side.
We are enjoying desserts. 2 cheesecakes and pumpkin squares.
Lil L got to enjoy her second day of food.
After we were all stuffed and then able to moved away from the table, my hubby put on some old home videos. We got to see my hubby and his sister when they were teens. Hi-LAR-ious! We had a great time laughing at those videos. Now I want to look at some videos of when the kids were small. I think I'll get out some of past Christmas'. That should be fun.
I hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving!
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Nov. 24, 2008
Simple Woman's Daybook
FOR TODAY November 24, 2008...
Outside my window... My mom is fixing the solar lights. They are constantly getting knocked off. Also, we keep checking to see if the hawk we saw this morning came back.
I am thinking...That I am really glad we don't have neighbors. Otherwise they would have been laughing at me when I was running around the yard in my pink pjs and slippers trying to chase the hawk away.
I am thankful for... a FIL who likes to make my kids happy.
From the learning rooms... Light schedule this week. The kids are trying to hand feed Ozzy, our new pet bird.
From the kitchen... I have bread baking. Going to make pizza rolls for dinner. I am also making a batch of yogurt.
I am wearing...jeans, Sea World sweatshirt.
I am creating... a list of foods I need to make for Thanksgiving. Also a list of things to do, and when they need to happen.
I am going...to finally get the plastic on my windows tomorrow. I am. Really. I hope. I think. Maybe. Yes, I am.
I am reading...Super Baby Food. Lil' L is already 6 months old!
I am hoping...Lil' L will start sleeping through the night soon.
I am hearing...disobedient children.
Around the house...I am getting so aggravated by the messes these children make and how it takes them for. ev. er. to clean up. Pretty soon everything in this house will be at the dump.
One of my favorite things...A day away from the kids, to just sit and relax and maybe sip some coffee or hang with a friend. At least, I think. I wouldn't know.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Thanksgiving at my house. I can't wait. Stuffing, gravy... yummmy! Oh and all the other stuff, too. Friday I plan on going to Kohls and finalizing my Christmas shopping.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
For more day book entries, click here. Come on. Join the fun!
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Nov. 24, 2008
Our New Pet
I have a few pet rules in my house. You know, certain things I will not. allow. in the house. Hamsters are one, birds are another.
My fil came over yesterday with a surprise for the family. He took us all out to his truck to show us. This is what it was:
Oh. My. Word. How do you say, "No way, take it back," without hurting his feelings and making the kids cry? Well, you don't. You keep the bird. It is pretty. And if the kids can train it to talk, it will be cool.
But the last thing the boys needed was another distraction. And the last thing Toddler B needed was something else to get into. But, it's not like the boys weren't distracted and Toddler B never got in trouble before. So I guess I really doesn't matter.
The poor bird is really, really scared. Hopefully it will relax soon. And I suppose today we will be spending time googling, "How to take care of a bird". Anyone know anything about birds?
I will look on this as a learning experience. I did say I wanted to be a crazy animal lady, right?
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Nov. 21, 2008
Goat Farm
Thursday we were able to visit a goat farm. We could potentially be buying goats from them, so we wanted to see what the goats looked like and if they were friendly. They were.
We also wanted to talk to the lady about fencing and keeping the goats safe and we were hoping to sample some milk.
It was SO COLD! Princess C was the first to go back to the car. Lil' L never made it out. Then Toddler B joined the girls. But before he did, he was kind enough to act a little goofy.
This one was my favorite. She was just beautiful.
We did get to sample some milk. It was from a Nigerian Dwarf, which is what we would get. It was GOOD! I was shocked! I heard they had good milk and that it didn't have the goaty taste, but I never believed it. My hubby even tried it, and he agreed that it was good! So if you know him, you know it was good.
We had a great time despite freezing. She had llamas and a guard dog, and she also had tons of chickens, ducks, turkeys, and sheep.
When I grow up, I want to be a crazy animal lady. 
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Nov. 21, 2008
We Need A Doorbell...
Nov. 19, 2008
N-ism
Nov. 17, 2008
Simple Woman's Daybook
FOR TODAY November 17, 2008
Outside my window... I saw chickens pecking at the ground under the bird feeder. I also saw a few snow flakes fall today.
I am thinking... I wish last night's dream would come true. I dreamed my hubby got his transfer - immediately.
I am thankful... that my brother and his family will be coming in for Christmas. I will get to meet my new niece and see my "old" niece again.
From the learning rooms...working on a Thanksgiving lapbook. We are focusing on being thankful, since we all need to be reminded of the blessings we have. We are also focusing on the history of how Thanksgiving became a holiday. We are taking a break from the normal pilgrim and indian study this year.
From the kitchen...We have lots of cookies from our cookie baking day. I am eating way too many of them.
I am wearing... A sweatshirt, and yet I am still cold.
I am creating... a huge mess! I just switched my boys bedrooms. I had to move their clothes and finish switching out the seasons and the too small clothes.... oh my....
I am going... to get in a got bath when the kids are all in bed.
I am reading...Storey's Guide to raising Cattle, Pigs, and Goats.
I am hoping... I can convince my hubby to let me get a guard dog.
I am hearing... Li' L crying. Why is she awake?
Around the house... I still need to put plastic on the windows. You know it's bad when you can smell fresh air when the windows are closed.
One of my favorite things... catching up with my sil. Both of them.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Thursday we are going to a goat farm to learn first hand how to care for and house goats.
Here is picture thought I am sharing..
Sunset after a rain.
For more Daybooks, go here.
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Nov. 14, 2008
Bin Diving
It's amazing the things you find when you start going through bins. Being that we moved into this house a mere 4 months ago, we still have a lot of bins filled with stuff. What.. I'm not all that sure of. My garage has gotten so that you can't even walk through it. I started that mess when I decided to put all the kids toys in there. And, boy, what a can of worms I opened. I never finished that project before I moved on to the next. Ha, story of my life... Anyway, what was my point? Oh yes, today, I decided that I should move all of the bins of games into the basement. That way they will be out of the garage - because Christmas is coming and we need room for all the Christmas bins - and also so they will be a little easier to access. On my way through the kitchen with my first bin I had the brilliant idea of going through the bins and making lists of what games were in which bins. I must inform you, there are 4 giant bins and 1 regular size bin of games. I know, too many. But we are a bunch of pack rats and we think, "We might want to play that some day." We can never agree on a game to actually get rid of. We have different ideas of what might be played someday. Actually, we did get rid of two games when we packed up. hehe... My list idea turned out to be a good idea. Besides the yelling at the boys to stop opening all the games and trying to play them and the yelling at them to stop moving all the games around because they were confusing me, it went pretty well. And the bonus is, I found some very important things. One being the directions to assemble our ping-pong table. It was taken apart when we moved and hubby didn't think he would ever be able to put it back together again. (Sounds very Humpty Dumpty-ish) Now we have the directions, all we need is the time to put it together, and the space to set it up in. Hmm.... My other special find was my Jurassic Park playing cards. I got those in high school when I was a huge Jurassic Park freak. And the creme de la creme.... drum roll please... I found my mil's secret cheesecake recipe. It was written down on a score sheet. And I am holding it ransom. She will have to pay me $1 million or else I will sell it on ebay. Mom, you have until midnight tomorrow... 
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Nov. 10, 2008
I Met JenIg!!
How cool am I? I met THE JenIg! And I made it onto her blog!
On Friday, we went to a barn dance hosted by the Bluedorns. I almost didn't go because I was starting to feel like I was way out of my league. On Laurie's blog, she posted pictures of different desserts that people were bringing and my desserts looked nothing like those. I was freaking out, thinking that I hadn't prepared good enough. But really, I had no idea what to expect. Anyway, my driving force was, "I'm going to meet JenIg." So I went. And I am SO glad I did. I feel so cool now.
My kiddos got cranky and were ready to go early, so I saw Jen and gave her my raffle tickets. I figured I had little chance of winnning, but it would be my luck that I did and wasn't there to claim my prize. So I asked her to check my tickets and if by chance I won, we would figure something out. I had bought two tickets for the quilt her daughter Coie made, and two tickets for a violin. As I was giving her my info, her hubby runs in to tell us they are drawing for the raffle right then. Before we could get anywhere, some guy sticks his head into the room we are in asking if someone has the ticket #661. I looked at my tickets and I won the quilt! My hubby later told me I was rather funny because I was like, "#661? A blue ticket? For the quilt? Really?" I never expected to win. I was so shocked and excited. Jen was excited, too, because she shreaked in delight.
Here we are. Me looking all goofy next to this beautiful lady:
We got home, and put all the sleepy kids to bed. I tried out the quilt on my bed, but, alas, it was too small. So, I put it on Princess C's bed. She woke up so thrilled! She came up to me first thing and said, "Thank you for the quilt, momma!"
You just can't keep a cat away from a freshly made bed. And while I was making Princess C's bed, Toddler B was in my room destroying my bed! The circle of life... or something like that...
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Nov. 10, 2008
Simple Woman's Daybook
FOR TODAY November 10, 2008...
Outside my window...I can see for miles down the road now that the corn is down next door.
I am thinking...how corrupt the FDA is.
I am thankful for...a huge garden to grow my own organic food.
From the learning rooms...we are working on Thanksgiving Lapbooks.
From the kitchen...I am going to make a taco casserole out of left over chili.
I am wearing...black pants, t-shirt, slippers
I am going...to the neighbor's to ride in another combine.
I am reading...about all the past Thanksgivings.
I am hearing...kids cleaning up the kitchen.
One of my favorite things...meeting bloggy friends.
A few plans for the rest of the week: finish getting the plastic on the windows.
Here is picture thought I am sharing..
Click here for more daybooks.
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Nov. 5, 2008
Field Trip
Hubby was off on Thursday and it was a gorgeous day out, so we packed up the kids and headed to an Early American Museum. A nice and free one.
Princess C got to do some weaving.
I put N to work hauling water.
And Toddler B churned butter. But he was having a little too much fun.
There were some really neat trees outside the museum.
I pointed to this tree and told the kids to go run to it. N took off towards it, Princess C took off towards a tree in the opposite direction, and D stood around looking lost. Toddler B had run off to meet hubby who was on his way back from the car. One out of four. That's not bad, right? Right? Sigh...
Another really cool tree.
And I got in on the fun on this one. Now there will be two pictures of me in the family albums.
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Nov. 3, 2008
Princess C-ism
Nov. 2, 2008
Combine Ride
Our neighbor was harvesting his corn down the road from us and let us come on down for some rides. What a blast! I hope my boys grow up to be farmers.
D and N went first on the combine.
Then I took Princess C and Toddler B. Toddler B was already in, sitting on Jim's lap.
Hubby had his turn last, and I apparently didn't take any pictures of him. I had to go feed Lil' L, so I must not of thought of it.
Here is the view from inside.
B really loves watching the tractors, so he was thrilled to explore this one.
Here's a bit of trivia for you. Do you know were a combine gets it's name? Well, it combines the jobs of taking down the corn stalk, taking the corn off the stalk, and taking the kernels off of the corn. Yeah, duh, combine, combine. Seems so obvious once you know the answer. Maybe you guys are smarter than me, but I'm just a city girl.
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Oct. 31, 2008
They're Free
A little nervous at first.
Rooster on the look out.
Today was the fourth day that they were let outside. They were so anxious to get out this morning. And they ended up staying out until sundown. I had to shoo them into the coop because they were still hanging around just outside the door.
Their favorite spot is our compost bin. There are a couple of holes there that they like to "bathe" in. There are also a line of bushes that they can take shelter in. Hopefully they will continue to go in every night and not one day decide to roost in the trees. I don't want to have to chase them back into the coop. The rooster scares me. 
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Oct. 28, 2008
Vote Values
Check out this video.
I am voting for McCain/Palin because I cannot vote for a man who will support murder. Do you know what they do to babies when they are doing a partial birth abortion? It's sickening.
I am voting for McCain/Palin because I cannot vote for a man who supports gay marriage. I do not want the gay agenda shoved down my throat. I will not "accept" it. It is sin.
I am voting for McCain/Palin because I cannot vote for a man who believes in giving my hubby's hard earned money to someone who doesn't work for his own. "Redistributing the money" or "Spread the wealth".
Obama is going to lead America down a scary path, quickly. And most of America won't even realize it's happening. I am reminded of Sodom and Gomorrah. Bold gays, practicing in the streets. God destroyed them. I am reminded of the nation of Israel, sacrificing their babies to other gods. Our's is the god of selfishness. God left them to their own demise. Our nation was founded on Christ. If we continue to let sin in, we will no longer be a blessed nation. How many righteous men will God find in America this election? Hopefully enough.
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Oct. 27, 2008
Simple Woman's Daybook
For Today...
Outside my Window...Bright sunshine. Cold wind.
I am thinking...of all the things that I need to do today.
From the learning rooms...it's empty. D is reading Carry On Mr. Bowditch in the frontroom. N is writing a story in the kitchen. C and B are coloring letter B pages in the kitchen.
I am thankful for...friends and fun games.
From the kitchen...the smells of breakfast - bacon, eggs, and apple fritters.
I am wearing...black pants, a tee shirt, and long white socks in anticipation of putting on my work boots to get in the chicken coop.
I am reading...too many blogs.
I am hoping...a miracle will happen and hubby will get his transfer before April.
I am creating...an If, Then chart.
I am hearing...Children getting along. Wha???
Around the house...I need to put on flannel sheets, put plastic on windows, hang up diapers, gather eggs, put away yard toys., mow the lawn...I think I'll stop there,
One of my favorite things...the smells of fall.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...Take a field trip Wednesday. Organize my desk. Do all things that I want to do today that I know I won't.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
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Oct. 22, 2008
Green Monster
Oct. 21, 2008
Bug Catching
When going bug catching, never open up the container your bugs are in.
Otherwise, your bug will get away.
And you will get really frustrated trying to get it back.
And end up really, really sad.
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Oct. 20, 2008
Simple Woman's Daybook
For Today...
Outside my Window... the sun is shining bright and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful fall day.
I am thinking...wondering, really, what the secret is to making children focus.
From the learning rooms...the boys are working on their new school books and Princess C is getting ready for some alphabet pages.
I am thankful for...My mom's help.
From the kitchen...I am planning on making soup and french bread for dinner.
I am wearing...lounge clothes.
I am reading...Lies Women Believe.
I am hoping...I'll finish that book sometime this year.
I am creating...a toy area in the garage.
I am hearing...N making weird noises from the school room.
Around the house...I really need to vacuum.
One of my favorite things...hearing my rooster crow.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...I want to find a fun place to take the kids on a field trip next week. I also need to order some probiotics for the kids.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
He can always get her to sleep.
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Oct. 19, 2008
Homeschooling on TLC
TLC PREMIERES "SIX FOR THE ROAD" ON OCTOBER 29, 2008
Two-part special follows family of six as they explore America in a RV
Los Angeles, CA One year ago today October 15, 2007 one unique six-member family moved out of their 3,400 square foot house into a 340 square foot RV and set out for an adventure that continues today. Capturing their time adjusting to life on the road as they crisscross the United States, TLC will air the limited-run special SIX FOR THE ROAD over two Wednesday nights October 29 and November 5 at 10 PM ET/PT.
Having now traveled more than 31,000 miles, the family comprised of parents Vern & Kati, daughters Auvi (14) and Zoe (12), and sons Kelby (10) and Conner (7), along with three dogs balances homeschooling, running an internet business, navigating the RV culture, and exploring America. Can they adjust to life as modern nomads, or will the limited privacy and increasing cost of gas drive them back to a more conventional lifestyle?
SIX FOR THE ROAD is produced for TLC by Figure 8 Films.
Check out their website HERE.
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Oct. 15, 2008
Ultimate Happiness
Oct. 15, 2008
Fresh Egg
Because of the stress of moving the chickens, we didn't expect any eggs. But there was one chicken, my favorite, whomever she is, that laid us an egg.
Albeit on the ground...
The bottom egg is the one from my chicken. The top is a farm fresh egg, too. But not as fresh as a few hours!
 
Have you ever seen such an orange yolk? YUM!
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Oct. 14, 2008
Step 3, 4, & 5
Oct. 14, 2008
Step 2
Oct. 12, 2008
Robinson Crusoe
N loves to read. He reads multiple books at a time. He loves to carry them around with him. I don't think he finishes many. I think they don't hold his interest. Right now his pile contains, John Sails his Boat, Children's Stories from Dickens, Eric Sterling Secret Agent, and Robinson Crusoe - Scholastic Junior Classics. Quite the wide variety. The difference is, he LOVES Robinson Crusoe. He is already half way through it and he only started it a day or two ago. He keeps coming up to me and telling me all about it. I love it when they can find a book they enjoy that much. I think for D's next reading book, I'm going to give him the real Robinson Crusoe and see how he does with it. Right now he is reading Blacky Beauty and is enjoying it.
Well, I'm off to work more on my surprise today.
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Oct. 11, 2008
Pregnant Mantis
The kids found a pregnant praying mantis a couple of weeks ago. I never got a pic of it, but it had a very swollen bottom. The other day it finally laid it's eggs! I was afraid the boys were going to kill it before she got a chance to lay them. I had to keep reminding them to feed the poor girl.
The egg sack is alien looking. It's up near the top of the cage on the leftish.
And here is momma and eggs. Mom on right, eggs on left.
She is looking mighty thin. You would never know she just gave birth to up to 400 babies.
I have since let the momma go. She wasn't getting enough food with us. I opened the cage but she stayed for awhile. I thought she might not leave her babies, but she did. Now we just have to wait until next year for the eggs to hatch.
And on the mantis subject, I saw one mantis eating another mantis. My guess is they were just... ehem... because when I found them, only the head was missing. The legs were still kicking and the body was still wiggling.
That lady chomped away at that poor guy and ate him all up. Only the legs and wings were left. And she ate him pretty quickly, too. Imagine eating something the same size as you within 15 minutes. Talk about a stomach ache. The boys took what was left of him and put him in our nature jar with our butterflies.
We were so excited when we saw our first mantis. That was only two months ago. Now we've counted up to 9 at one time, seen a pregnant one and then her egg sack, and watched one devour another. I love the country.
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Oct. 11, 2008
They're Coming!
Can you see it? Way in the distance, between the tree and the flag. They are taking my beautiful corn! I can't see it either... but it's there. I can see it in real life. My beautiful front porch view will turn into stubble. It won't be long now...
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Oct. 10, 2008
Timber
This tree was in the middle of no where, doing nothing important. It only got in our way.
So, with our new used chainsaw, down it went.
I do NOT like that chainsaw. It's handy, yes. But, boy, is it scary! I used it one time, and I will never use it again. I watched. And pushed. And grimaced. And prepared to run. It came down the way we planned.
Hubby was proud.
His hands were sore for quite some time. He cut off all of the branches and we piled them up next to our shed to dry out for firewood. Gotta stock up for future wienie roasts.
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Oct. 9, 2008
Step 1
Oct. 9, 2008
Frugal Tip - Hang Dry
I had been wanting to hang my clothes out for a while, but never put up a clothesline. Well, my new house has a clothesline. And I have been putting it to good use. I must admit that my mom hangs up most of the clothes. But I do my share, and when she was in CA, I did it all by my self. I actually find it very relaxing. The younger kids can go out and get some fresh air, or they can stay in and I can get away from them for a few minutes. That's always nice. They are either napping, or I put a video on to keep them in place and I make sure the older kids know to keep an ear out for them.
So here is me hanging up the diapers.
My mom was hanging over the front porch trying to take this picture. I don't have many laundry baskets, so I grabbed a bag instead. It worked well. I didn't have to keep bending over to pick up more laundry. If I do use a basket, I will pick up a bunch and drape them over my shoulder. I have a bag for clothespins, but when that was broke, I clipped a bunch on my shirt so I had easy access.
I have found that on windy days, the clothes come out nice and soft. But if there is no wind, they come out rather starchy. To remedy that, I throw the clothes in the dryer on air dry for a time. The kids don't mind having stiff clothes, so I don't bother doing that to theirs.
I always thought that I didn't have time to hang up clothes, but like I said, I do enjoy it. Especially when the sun is shining. And I enjoy thinking about all the money I am saving on Propane. Now, if only there was a way to enjoy putting away the clothes.... yuck...
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Oct. 7, 2008
Don't You Hate Surprises?
Oct. 3, 2008
Chainsaw
This is the third time I am trying to write this post. The first time, I hit the wrong button and everything disappeared. The second time I was interrupted by my cat chewing on something on my bed. I thought it was a hairball. Upon further inspection, I realized it was a baby mouse! I my bed! EEK! I'm not so sure about this country life anymore....
Anyway, here are some pics of what we did with a chainsaw. I don't think I need to explain. Except I will say that we did it because we are lazy.
  
That trellis will go in the opening to make it look purty. (Don't you love where we keep the gas cans? Don't worry. They aren't there anymore. )
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Oct. 3, 2008
Frugal Tip - Laundry Soap
I was a laundry detergent snob. I only used Tide. It was the only thing that got my clothes clean. Until I discovered Borax. And then I could use cheap detergent. Borax is awesome!
Although I could now use cheap detergent, I knew that making my own, would still be way cheaper. Especially since homemade detergent is made partly out of Borax. If I made my own, I wouldn't have to add the extra Borax.
So after months of the recipe sitting in my notebook, I finally took the plunge and made the detergent.
It was fun! Especially when you have a future homemaker helping you:
I doubled the recipe so I wouldn't have to make it again right away.
HERE is the recipe. Go try it. I dare you. Don't be scared. It's really very easy.
I found Fels Naptha and washing soda at my local grocery store. Walmart doesn't carry them.
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Sep. 30, 2008
Wienie Roast
For dinner on Saturday, I decided to have a wienie roast. It was a blast! We normally eat around 5, but due to pirate bugs, we had to wait until they went to bed before we could eat.
Our first wienie roast was at our neighbor's house. They had safe hotdog forks that were bent backwards so if you are a kid running with one you won't poke someone's eye out. So when we went to Big R - which by the way is such a cool store - we of course had to pick some up.
We built a fire in our driveway. Our driveway! I love the country. Except of course, for the bugs.
The secret to a perfectly roasted wiener is sticking it deep into the fire. It gets nice and black and oh so yummy.
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Sep. 29, 2008
Frugal Tips Coming
I love saving money. Who doesn't? It has come fairly easy to me since I am a... um... I don't know the right word for it... scrooge? I used to love hearing about frugal tips until I realized, they were all the same tips, and I already did them. Like, don't wash laundry until you have a full load. Same with the dishwasher. Umm... with a large family, is it possible to have small loads?
With hubby driving 3 hours, at least twice a week, I either have to get really frugal, or start selling children. I do have a lot of children... but, I don't really feel like going through nine months of... well... I've been getting creative and doing things that I swore I would never do.
I like the Grocery Cart Challenge blog. She feeds her family on $60 a week. While I am not willing to do some of the things she does, she is inspiring. (For one thing, I can't go to multiple stores to shop. There aren't multiple stores around!)
So, I hope to post here and there about the different things I do to save a buck or two. So, keep checking. I know you're excited! HA!
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Sep. 28, 2008
We're Trapped
Today's post is brought to you by the letter P - for pirate bug. And the number bazillion - for the amount of pirate bugs I have.
Ever hear of a pirate bug? Have you ever been bitten by a tiny black bug and it HURT? That's a pirate bug. They are swarming out of the corn fields and attacking us. I can't wait for frost. Did I just say that? I did not just say that. Yes, I did. We are trapped inside! We were outside a few days ago, and we all ended up running back into the house yelling. Seriously. Today, we were able to stay outside. They only semi-attacked. But they were all over our screens. We had to close the windows of our house so they wouldn't get in. And now, as I sit here, they are coming to my computer screen. Help me...
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Sep. 23, 2008
Fun Meme
6 random things about me.
Gayle had a clever idea. It was too clever to pass up. Read my 6 random things for clues as to whom the 6 people I tagged are. If I'm talking about you, you're it!
1. I will never let my children own a hamster. Although, fluffy and puffy are very cute names.
2. I am somewhat obsessed by spiders. In the I can't believe there are more! kind of way.
3. If we had a windstorm, I would totally turn it into a school lesson. I mean, once I came up out of our basement.
4. I HATE airplanes. I would never go to Greece.
5. All of my read alouds are the read-it-together-but-independently-then-chat-about-it kind.
6. I am so in love with my baby girl and can't believe she is 4 weeks months old!
So, who am I talking about?
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Sep. 22, 2008
Catching Up
Well, hubby is gone and we are trying to get back to normal. Trying to do some school, catch up on blogging... man am I behind... I still need to finish digging up my garden
clearing weeds, diapers to hang
and still try and take care of these guys:
 That's them riding around in our new poly cart. Buttercup looks like she's having a good time, but really she's very nervous and soon jumped out and ran over to my mom for protection.
We brought those wood containers with us from the old house. They held chives, basil, cilantro, 2 pepper plants, and merigolds. I had one and a half bags of dirt that I laid on the ground, cut the top off the bags, and poked holes in the bottom of the bag. I planted cucumbers and beans. I was hoping to get a good crop before frost. We have already picked 3 cukes, which makes it worth it to me. :-) I love fresh food. The beans are finally growing and we should have some in a week or so.
The part we have dug up so far, we spread some manure on from my fil's horses. Way in the back, behind the green cart, is my compost bin. We used the stakes from our survey and the wire fencing that we found in the barn, so it was free. We are throwing in all of are food scraps, mowed grass, leaves, dirt and manure. And everytime we find a worm, we throw that in, too. On the far left side of the picture is my blueberry bush.
Here is where I had my tomoto plants. They only produced a handfull of tomatoes. The plants have dropped their blossoms, looked diseased, and had giant tomato hornworms. The world was against them.
And now I need to shower and walk the lil' princess around. She has been getting very demanding lately. She likes to be walked around in her stoller.
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Sep. 18, 2008
3 Month Pictures
Sep. 16, 2008
Busy, Busy, Dreadfully Busy
When I put off blogging, I end up with too much I want to post about. And when I end up with too much to post about, I put off blogging.
Hubby was home all of last week and we have been busy. He is home next week and we already have a lot of plans.
We put a screen door on our back door. I am so proud of us for that one. It took us all. day. long. But it was so worth it. It lets a nice breeze into our kitchen.
We also weed whacked all the weeds next to our garage, put down weed cloth, and put in a weed barrier thingie. I should really know the names of these things....
I planted the plant that I got from my mil for my birthday. I also bought and planted a Black Eyed Susan plant. And I would like to get a rose bush there.
We planted a blueberry bush and a peach tree.
I have to find a cherry tree or two to plant. In the spring we will plant a different variety of peach and blueberry to give them good pollination. And a different apple tree. It seems as though our apple tree is a red delicious. I'm not too found of those.
Hubby rented Indiana Jones Lego Playstation game. So we all have been taking turns playing that. And since we were in the Indian Jones mood, me, hubby, and my mom watched the movies, too.
I think I'll end my post right now. It's already taken me three days just to write this little bit. Hopefully I will have some more time soon.
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Sep. 6, 2008
History
We went to our neighbors house for a weeny roast. I had never been to one before, and now I want some sticks so we can have our own. And often. Weeny roasts are great! I love the country, outdoors, fire, and hotdogs. Put them all together and you have great memories.
Anyway, that's not the point of this post. As we sat and chatted we got to hear some history of our house. The neighbors have lived there for some 30 or 40 years, so they knew a lot. And then, Jim's family have always been in the area so he really knows a lot. One of Jim's boys, now a grown man, was telling us that he used to be best friends with one of the boys who lived in our house. He told us a story of a big lean-to that they built. And he also mentioned a platform they built in a tree.
Yup, that's the platform. It's 20-some years old. Not in the best shape. Pretty rotted. But still there. Pretty cool, huh?
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Sep. 5, 2008
Book Giveaway
Sep. 3, 2008
(Twilight Zone Music)
An alien came and switched Toddler B with some other child.
I was changing him this morning and I asked the same question I do every morning. "Are you going to sit on the potty today?" Only today, he said yes! I thought I heard wrong so I asked again. "You want to sit on the potty?" He said yes. So off he went to sit on the potty. He sat for a few seconds and said, "It's not coming." I let him get off and decided to ask if he wanted to wear undies and to my surprise, he said yes! I was shocked. I figured he really didn't know what was going on being that he said, "It's not coming," and actually looked confused as to why it wasn't. But I know 90% of the battle was getting him to actually want to use the potty. To my even greater surprise, he did extremely well. He had two small accidents, but he was able to hold it back and get to the potty to finish. And the poor thing, had a fever! He ended up falling asleep on the couch:
And he even stayed dry the whole time! By that time though, I had to give him Tylenol because he was so hot.
In the evening he was battling the #2 urge but eventually, he went on the potty! I think this is the strangest day I have ever had in 10 years of parenting.
Yesterday, we were at my sil house. Her two year old is potty trained. I keep telling Toddler B about him. "Look. Carter goes on the potty. Isn't he a big boy? Do you want to go on the potty?"
"No."
So I was very jealous and had some harsh feelings toward them, but now I think I owe B's "early" (for the boys in our family) potty training to them. He was watching Carter in interest yesterday. And today when he got dressed he found the shirt Carter gave him and wanted to wear it. He often says, "I'm Carter."
Sorry Michelle for saying I hate you! hehe....
Now, I hope tomorrow goes just as well. Hopefully Toddler B won't be back to his normal self. I do hope he isn't sick, but hopefully being well doesn't mean he is back to being stubborn!
Oh and one more strange thing. I sent the other kids to bed but kept him up since he had a nap. He almost followed them up. I had to call him back and tell him he didn't have to go to bed yet. I said, "You don't even have your pj's on yet." So he went and got his pjs and a diaper and started getting himself ready for bed. And after he was ready, he played for a few minutes and then came over, gave me a kiss, and then headed up to bed. He got up there and was calling for me to put him to bed. And then, after I put him to bed, he stayed in bed! Do you hear the twighlight zone music yet?! Strange, yet glorious...
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Sep. 1, 2008
Sunset
I don't have a west facing house like I would love to have. In fact, I only have one window that faces the west, and it is all the way upstairs. But, I still get a beautiful view out of my front window:
Who knew that corn could hold the beautiful colors of a sunset?
As I opened the door to take this picture, a hawk flew out of the tree across the street. He is our resident hawk. I walked all over in my bare feet trying to get a picture of him to no avail. But I did get this picture:
I live there!
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Aug. 29, 2008
Cricket?
Any one know what this is?
I was sweeping out my garage of all the crickets and this was with them. I don't know if crickets have queens? The wings are so tiny. I also saw a big grub. Like the size of a cricket. Do crickets start out as big grubs? I can't seem to find any info on the internet.
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Aug. 29, 2008
The Bus Driver
One morning, a truck pulled into our driveway, and the guy who got out introduced himself as Don, our bus driver. He had heard that there were kids living in the house and he wondered why there were no new kids on his bus route. After we informed him we homeschooled, he let us know that was "fine". Umm... Thanks.
We chatted with him for awhile. He asked hubby if he was still working up north and he said, "yes". And then hubby asked, "How did you know I was working up north?" To which he informed us that our neighbor, Don (is everyone named that around here?) let him know. That was quite interesting being that we've never even met him! Apparently, we are the talk of the town.
Oh, and another thing. The people who lived here before us weren't very well know. Even though they lived here for 12 years, when people find out where we live, they don't say, Don's place (yes another Don). They say the old Marty place.
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Aug. 27, 2008
A New Four Year Old
Princess C turned four on the 24th. My baby. My 1st Princess.
On Sat, we went to my SIL and celebrated there:
Then on Sunday, she helped make her cupcakes.
And opened more presents.
I asked her what she wanted to eat for her birthday dinner. I figured she was old enough to start choosing. She chose, "Eggies, pizza, popsicles, ice cream and cake." She got eggs for breakfast, pizza for dinner and cake. She was happy. She forgot her other requests. Hehe...
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Aug. 26, 2008
Whose Kids?
Aug. 23, 2008
Blog Around the World
![]("http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh151/dmnorberg/BlogAroundWorld21.png")
This lady is giving away something I just had to try and win. Plus, you can sign up your blog in your state and see who else is blogging in your state. Now I think that is cool. I need to meet someone in my neck of the woods. I know to many awesome bloggers that live too far away to visit. 
Can't talk any more. Broken glass.... ugh....
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Aug. 22, 2008
Just Breathe
I want to teach my kids about the weather this year. My only problem is, HOW? I have a stack of books that I don't know what to do with. Do I make a lapbook? If so, how? Do I just make a weather notebook? How do I plan this? How can it be organized? What paper should I use to write on? I'm having heart palpitations just thinking about it!
So, instead of figuring it out - since I CAN'T, I am playing dice with D. And I am slaughtering him! Poor kid. But, I can't really enjoy it because I am still nervous about the weather study! I can't even fully enjoy my ice cream. I don't know what it is about this that is getting me so unnerved. Breathe in, breathe out....
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Aug. 21, 2008
Smiling Pictures
Lil' L was all smiles the other day. She was so smiley she didn't even notice the weird metal object flashing lights at her.
 
Yesterday, Lil' L turned over! I left her on the floor in the frontroom. She was playing nicely and then fell asleep. After awhile I heard her make some noise and then quiet down some. I went to check on her and this is what I found:
I was so shocked! When ever I put her on her stomach she cries. She hates it there. And yet, when she put herself there, she was having a grand old time.
On a Toddler B note, I forgot that he also fell asleep in his sister's chair:
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Aug. 20, 2008
No More Naps?
Toddler B has been fighting naps. When I can get him to take a nap, he fights bedtime. One night I was yelling from my own bed for him to get back in his bed. So I decided to let him skip his naps rather than fight him. The only problem is, he often doesn't make it to bedtime.
Here he is falling asleep at dinner. He did that twice.
He also fell asleep while my mom read him a book.
And here he is toppled over on the couch.
 (That cat gets in all the pics, huh?)
It's nice to see him sleeping because it's a chance for him to look all sweet and innocent. He's lying still, not getting into trouble or tearing things apart. Isn't he cute?
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Aug. 19, 2008
We Started!
I hadn't planned on starting school until after labor day, but my mom reminded me that hubby has vacation in September. So, in an effort to get some school work done before October, we started school today. N was excited, D had quite the attitude. Luckily, he got over it quickly.
We got a lot done today. I was shocked. But boy, it's going to be a tiring year. N was great. He had a great attitude, he loved his books, and he worked by himself. Princess C wanted to do school. She was very excited. A little TOO excited. "What now?" was heard over and over again. And Toddler B... oh boy.... He was acting like a 2 year old. Can you believe it? Lil' L behaved quite nicely. She slept the whole time. But I know that's not normal and she will be in the mix tomorrow.
We started with Math. D got to open his new Saxon math book 76. (Bought cheap off Ebay). And since I couldn't get a cheap Saxon math for N, he is using a mix of a half used second grade math book that D used and some extra Abeka sheets from my mom's class last year. And if I need anything else, I'll search the internet for something free. Then I did some First Language Lesson's with N. D listened. Then N grabbed a work book and got to work. He loves workbooks. D worked a little in one of his books - a critical thinking book - then we did history. I really want to buckle down and get a lot of history done this year. We barely touched history last year. I want to finish the Story of the World 1 by Christmas.
For science this year, I want to be diligent with our nature journals and also do a weather study. And that's about all the planning I've done.
After school ended, which was in record time - just after lunch - we headed outside and did some yard work. Quite the productive day. I'm happy.
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Aug. 19, 2008
3 Months
It has come to my attention that I have not posted any pics of Lil' L for quite some time. Well, now is a good time to post being that she is now 3 months old. WAAAHHHH!!!! 3 months already!! Slow down, baby! I need to enjoy you!
Isn't that the absolute sweetest picture ever? I would post a picture of her wonderful smile, but when she sees the camera, she gets quite fascinated with it and then won't smile for anything.
Quite the weird look, huh?
I looked around for some photos of her, and it appears as though she isn't getting enough attention. Most of the pictures I have of her, she is in her car seat. The one up above, we were at the arboretum and I have lots of pics of the kids doing fun things, but all she did was sleep. And the one I am about to post I took when we went to the beach. Once again, I have lots of pics of the kids doing beachy things, but being a baby, she was stuck in the shade in the stroller. She doesn't look too upset, does she?
Oh and here she is at a restaurant. Can't ya tell?
I guess my mission for the week is to take some pictures of poor Lil' L. Oh, and maybe write in her baby book...
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Aug. 15, 2008
SNAKE!
I am way behind posting all the wildlife we see here, but I thought I would skip ahead to what I saw yesterday. I was outside watering my flowers, when I spotted him:
I just happened to look at this bush because it was half dead and I realized that that wasn't all bush that I was looking at. I started yelling, "UHHH... GUYS?!?! There is a SNAKE! AHHHH!!!! Come look!!" And everyone started clamoring about yelling, "Where are you?" and, "Can I see it too?"
Ugh. Freaky. The only other time I saw a snake in the wild was when I mowed it over as a kid with the lawn mower. I can in the house screaming and crying that I mowed a snake and my mom laughed at me. But then we had to get the neighbor to come over to dispose of the body because my mom wasn't about to touch it either!
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Aug. 9, 2008
My Love Hate Relationship
Computers. You gotta love em. And yet, they are so frustrating! The other night, my charger stopped working. And them my battery died. So I had no laptop. Ok, fine, I'm stuck to a desk. But noooo. My desktop computer decided it didn't want to turn on. It does that sometimes. So I suffered all day without a computer. The next day, I realized, duh, my mom left her laptop here. So today I was using her laptop. But her laptop kept acting up and the websites weren't loading right and I had to keep refreshing. I decided to check my laptop to see if by some miracle my charger started working again. It had! Yippee. I was so glad to have my computer back and was excited to be able to get websites faster. Or so I thought. It turns out my mom's laptop is just fine. It's the internet connection that is slow today. So annoying! As if I don't spend too much time on the computer as it is... Now the internet connection is making everything take longer. It's enough to make me just close the lid and give up. Which is what I'm going to do. Hopefully I will have better luck tomorrow. Adios.
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Aug. 7, 2008
Photo Updates
My hubby's best friend's family came to visit. I guess I could make it easy and say we had friends of the family over, but that's no fun. My hubby and his friend are so close, they call each other brothers. Right now, he is in Iraq. His family was in town visiting for the summer. They currently live in North Carolina. I didn't get many pictures, but here are some of them playing Disney Seen It.
Their boy really seemed to like D. And Princess C attached herself to their girls. It was really cute watching them all play. They all got along great. They spent the night, which was great. I don't like being alone at night.
The next day, I thought my brother and sister were coming over, but they didn't come until the following day. My younger brother is going to school in Colorado, so this was the last time we got to see him before he leaves. He loved it here! It was great. He mowed part of the lawn and enjoyed it. He said he wanted to live in our barn. hehe... He commented on how quiet it is here. He sat and watched the sunset and then the stars come out. It was really neat to watch him enjoy it here.
Here he is with four of the kiddos. (I didn't realize N was shirtless... oops... )
Unfortunately, I didn't get out the camera until after I put Toddler B to bed. Do you think I could stick his head somewhere in this picture?
Yes that is pen all over his face. He and Princess C found a pen and colored each other. And the top of my couch... Ho hum....
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Aug. 2, 2008
Beautiful Sky
Aug. 2, 2008
Howdy
Just a quick note to say we are all still alive. No, I haven't gone crazy. Yet. Hubby was home for a few days and I was enjoying every second of it. And then we had friends come over yesterday and spend the night. They left this morning but today my brother and sister are coming over. The kids are SO much easier to handle when I'm not by myself. I'll post some pics later.
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Jul. 28, 2008
Our Neighbor
Our neighbor has stopped by three times now. Just to chat. He and his wife are real nice. We have drive down to see them some time. Did you catch that? I said drive. We all have to pile in the car and drive to our neighbors! How great is that? His name is Jim and I keep wanting to call him Jim Nabors.
His wife said she knows of a place to get fresh honey by the bucketful. She said all you have to do is freeze it, and it won't sugar. I've got a whole list of questions for her. I think I'll start with, "Just what is that strange creature?"
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Jul. 28, 2008
Nursery Rhyme Gone Terribly Wrong
Little Miss Momanna98, sat on her porch, trying to enjoy the view.
When along came a spider,
Right down in front of her,
And sent her running into the house in terror!
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Jul. 25, 2008
My School Room
I have a school room! Yippee!!! I'm so happy. It took me so long to finish it. I've been working on it for days. I would get stuck sometimes because I was unsure of where to put things. But, what a relief it is to now have it done.
This is what it used to look like:
After a lot of rearranging and unpacking and making a huge mess because you can't do any cleaning with making a big mess, this is what it looks like now:
I have all the books sorted by general topic. Science, history, etc. Eventually I will have them all sorted into more specific topics to make things easier to find. I have a shelf for books I want the boys to read this year, read aloud books, children's books, and a nature shelf.
I have games and puzzles in the built in, math and science manipulatives under the fish, and in the bookcase I have things that I want to finish up from last year, what I want to work on this year, the kid's notebooks showing some past work, and homeschooling books for my benefit. Above the fish tank I want to get a cork board so I can display some of the kids work. The top of the built in is empty so far. I wanted to put some nice things in there and not just games or books.
That is my nature shelf. My nature box is on the floor my the bookshelf for easy access. The boys can grab it and go. If they ever felt so inclined...
Now, on to the next room. Ugh...
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Jul. 25, 2008
Sacrifice
My 2 yo is really frustrating. I want to give up. He runs around, messing things and destroying things. He couldn't care less about any type of discipline. He will go right back to being disobedient. He likes to disobey. He enjoys it. He is stubborn. He knows how to use the potty, but refuses. He will not keep his fingers out off his mouth, even though I keep reminding him to take them out.
But as I think about giving up, I am reminded about what Jesus did for us. He died on the cross. He knew we would still be stubborn. He knew we would continually sin, even though we know better. He knew we would enjoy sin. And yet, He didn't give up on us. He didn't say, "Well, no matter what I do, these people will never learn." Nope. He did what he had to do. He suffered for us. He made the biggest sacrifice knowing full well that we could never fully appreciate it. Some of us would never even acknowledge what He did. Am I too selfish that I will give up on a two year old because I am sick of disciplining?
Lord, please help me get though this stage.
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Jul. 23, 2008
Ever See Amityville horror?
Jul. 22, 2008
Baseball - What Went Wrong
I was going through my photo's and I just had to post this. It's too funny.
At the start of the season, D's team was doing very well. Half way through, they started doing awful. They had lost heart. They didn't seem to be trying. Well, now I have proof. Take a look at all three kids in the background. Do they look ready to play to you?
And I wanted to post this picture because I thought D looked just like a pro. Although, you have to wonder, where did the kids go?
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Jul. 21, 2008
Sunset
We get some beautiful sunsets here. Tonight, D came running down stairs telling me I "have to see the sunset!" He has a great view from his bedroom and his bed even is faced right so that he can lay in bed a watch the sunset.
I ran outside to "sunset corner" to get some pictures.
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Jul. 21, 2008
Strange Animal
We saw our first wildlife on our property.
You see it peaking? My mom was out hanging up the wash, when this thing just wonders out of the trees, past her, and into the hostas. She started baning on our window to get our attention. It then wandered out of the hostas and into the back of the property where the overgrowth is.
It had a gimp leg. Is it a really pathetic looking raccoon? Or is it something else? I can't tell.
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Jul. 19, 2008
The Coming Weeks
My hubby has been staying at my grandma's house. His transfer has not come through, so he can not live with us yet. Please pray that it goes through quickly. My mom is going to Cali for almost a month. She leaves tomorrow. That means I will be all alone with five kids. Day and night. Hubby comes home when he has the day off, but that's only two days a week! I'm scared! I think the kids are going to tie me up and destroy the house and jump off the barn roof. I know, many people have to live like this, and I am probably just a big wuss. On the bright side, one of hubby's coworkers is going to Greece for a month and offered his house to hubby. So he will have internet access and cable tv. At my Grandma's, he was stuck watching what she watched. No cable, no dvr.. it was like the stone age! Hehe.... I'm really glad for him. My grandma is very hard to talk to. Mostly because she doesn't hear what you say. Hubby seems to be getting along with her good, though. He's good like that.
There are still boxes all over my house. It has been hard to get anything done. My mom has done a lot, thankfully. But, I imagine that when my mom comes home, the house will look the same as it did when she leaves. I'll try. I really will. Did I mention I have five kids?! Toddler B is a two year old terror. Even if it were just him, I don't think it would be any easier. He is definitely the most difficult.
I never got to borrow a rototiller, so I never got a garden going. And I think it's really too late now. But I should be able to plant lettuce when the weather cools. My grandma gave me two tomato plants and I brought one with me. I also brought two pepper plants with me along with chives, basil and cilantro. So I am not completely gardenless. We have an apple tree here. I hope we get apples. Those stinkin Japanese beetles are destroying everything. They completely ate our plum tree, There are maybe three leaves left on the poor tree. They had eaten it before I even knew I had a plum tree.
Well, I think I've rambled enough for one night. Talk to you the next chance I get!
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Jul. 17, 2008
Tick
We had our first tick experience today. I had never seen one before. Man, are they creepy! My mom was petting the dog when she felt something. When we took a look, sure enough, it was a tick. Ugh... I'm creeped out just thinking about it. Gross... Ticks aren't the only yucky things around. There are some nasty spiders out here. And biting flies. And little flies that look like bees. And other bugs that I don't recognize. Oh! And Japanese beetles! We have trees completely covered in them! I didn't realize how prolific the bugs are out here.
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Jul. 14, 2008
Lawn Tractor
Hubby got a new toy the other day.
It took 6 of us taking turns on it...
and we still didn't get it done.
We ran out of gas so hubby had to run to town and get more.
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Jul. 11, 2008
We're Here!
Just a quick note to let everyone know all went well and we are in our new house. We are having too much fun - even with the mess of boxes all over. In the next couple of days, I'm going to start a small garden for some fall crops. Who wants to be inside unpacking when there are 2 1/2 acres to romp around in?!
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Jul. 6, 2008
Uhhhhhh........
Well, we spent the last two days packing up all of our... umm... stuff. Boy, I hate moving. I am really, really, really bad at this. My mind is shot. I can't think. I'll be glad when this is over. Hopefully, my mind will return. Our home group has been absolutely awesome. They have given so much of themselves. And the craziest thing is, after physically and mentally exhausting themselves for two days, they were still happy! They were out there, loading the truck, whistling and joking and having fun! Who does that?!
Our house closes tomorrow. We close on the new house on Tuesday and then we get to unload, unload, and unload some more. That's about all I can think about right now. I probably won't blog until at least Thursday. That's when our internet comes. So much to do, so little brain cells....
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Jul. 6, 2008
Baby Bunnies
Look what we found in our garden.
Isn't it adorable? There were two of them in my garden. My garden that has chicken wire all around it to keep out the bunnies.
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Jul. 3, 2008
Happy Birthday, D!
My oldest has hit double digits today. WAAAHHHHH!!!! I can't believe a decade ago I was in labor for the very first time. Right about now was when they were telling me that I was in false labor and they were going to send me home. He was born an hour later. Good thing hospitals take forever to discharge patients. I'm not a mushy sentimental type person, so I can't come up with a great post, but I will say that he has brought me much joy over the years. He change my life. He changed me. I went from never wanting kids, to wanting a slew of them. He is a tremendous help. And always has been. Right now, I can give him Lil' L when she is fussy, and he knows how to calm her down. Something I can't do....
I love you D!! Have a great 10th birthday! You're half way to 20! Yikes!
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Jul. 2, 2008
Gigantor Baby
I took Lil' L for her 1 mo appointment. Last week? Two weeks ago? I can't keep track... Anyway. She was a whopping 12 lbs 1 oz. And she was 23 3/4 inches long. So in a little over a month, she gained 3 lbs and grew 2 1/4 inches. Is that astronomical or what? Her height and weight are on the top line of the chart, but her little head is just below average.
You like her little snarl? The attitude goes well with her shirt.
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Jul. 1, 2008
D's A Star
Yesterday was supposed to be D's last baseball game. It was his first tournament game, and we just assumed they would lose. They have lost the last 7 or 8 in a row. But, they won. And now they play again Wednesday. It's ok, though. D pitched an amazing game! Everybody was complementing him. I even was asked what I fed him that day. He faced 20 hitters, gave up only one hit, and struck out 13 of them. He had 8 strike outs in a row. It was awesome. Unfortunately, he is unable to pitch Wed because of the number of pitches he threw.
My little star will be 10 on the third....
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Jun. 26, 2008
Contest
Jun. 25, 2008
Too Much Change
I don't like change. Hubby doesn't like change. N detests change. All the kids are acting up more and more. Kids tend to do that when we need them to be on their best behavior. But N has been down right moody. The poor kid. A new baby came into the house. And if that wasn't change enough, we are moving. And now we just find out that my brother is moving to Colorado. And (yes, one more and), in 3 weeks my mom is going to be visiting my brother and sil in California. He has always acted up when things changed. Even small changes. When my family lived in GA, he would act terrible for a week after they had visited. So, anyway, my point is, please pray for all of us, especially N. Pray that this move would go smoothly and that the kids would enjoy their new house and feel right at home.
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