Our Week

I was without a computer all week as we were having it fixed.  I wrote a lot of posts in my head over the last few days but of course I've forgotten them all by now.  So I'll just do a short recap of the week. 

~The spring blooming that begins here with all of our flowering trees has begun.  Last weekend the magnolia trees begin to flower.  They are my favorite.

~Last weekend Grace and Jackson got to cash in on the awesome Christmas present Auntie Katie and "Kiss" gave them... a weekend at a hotel with an indoor water park.  So Saturday morning without waking Ryan or I, they both got up early, got dressed, brushed their teeth, and packed their bags.  I awoke around 7:30 to Grace standing by my bed saying "okay mom, we're all set to go!".  So with barely a kiss goodbye they left us to enjoy a weekend of watersliding, bunkbedding, and pizza partying among other things. 

~I fit some writing in last weekend while the two big kids were away.

~Little Nora has become a very happy, smiley little girl.  She even laughed at me today.

~There was a lot of painting that went on here this week.  Thank goodness too because our fridge needed some spring color.

~Nora is finally starting to take a liking to the sling.  This is big.  I have been trying and trying with my collection of slings to keep her happy in one but up until recently it has been pretty difficult.  Finally within the last week or so she has started to become more accepting of them.  Phew.

~We are starting to build our garden fence this weekend.  It's going to be a slow process that we will hopefully finish up by the end of the summer (see how I'm starting to lower my expectations of things to a more realistic time frame... giving myself a pat on the back for that one).

~I did some sewing this week, a pair of long shorts for Jackson and a skirt for Grace.  I can't believe how much I love to sew these days.

~I'm sure I'm forgetting some important details but that's all I can remember for now. Oh, except for Easter Egg dying... next post.

Easter Eggs With Grandma Lee

Dreams

We are pretty content on this little (tiny) farm of ours for the moment.  Chickens, bees, gardens, a cat and three children seem to be just the right amount of craziness to keep us happy for now.  And since happiness is my main priority, I do want to be careful not to cross that fine line.  But at the same time, I'm still dreaming... 

Probably the animal I dream of most, that is ironically the farthest away from reality for us, is a cow.  A nice brown (brown cows are so beautiful I think) Jersey (or Minature Jersey) milking cow.  The morning milkings, fresh milk, cheese making... all of it sounds heavenly.  But not right now of course.  And not anytime soon, if I want to enjoy it anyway.  So sheep (Cheviot is what I'm thinking) and goats (Nigerian Dwarf) seem to be the most realistic possibilities for the next additions to our farm.  Again not right now but perhaps we'd be ready for one or both of those animals in a few years.  So for now I'll just continue to enjoy the reading about/learning about/planning stage, which is also pretty fun.

Interestingly, as I was recently going through every single thing in our bedroom after the fire, I came across all my old journals.  This picture below is of one of my journals from 12 years ago.  It was part of a collage of "my future farm".  I had almost forgotten how long this farm dream of mine has been alive for.  It even has the brown cow in it.



Also in that journal I found this list of wants (again from 12 years ago, just out of college)...

1. I want to get married up north in Crosslake and make a whole weekend out of our wedding
2. I want to be successful at work and create a good job for myself
3. I want a hobby farm with lots of trees and on a lake or a river (does a pond count?)
4. I want to live in a cute older house that we will fix up as we can afford it (yes, I honestly wrote that... really Amy, this is your want list, you couldn't have just put "a cute older house that has already been fixed up", or "that we will easily fix up with the piles and piles of money we have")
5. I want to be an art therapist
6. I want to take a trip around the world
7. I want to publish a book
8. I want to have kids and spend a lot of time with them
9. I want to have a happy life with Ryan

How fun to come across this list and realize how many things I could check off, or that I'm close to checking off.  Really just that pesky book left... I better make some more writing goals for myself...

2 1/2 Months

And It Was

A good one that is...














Weekend Highlights...
~ The return of "Frankie and Frida"... a sure sign of spring
~ Breakfast smoothies and pumpkin muffins on the porch
~ Renting a log splitter and Ryan getting all the wood split
~ Pancakes with our very own maple syrup
~ Finding a pile of lost mittens throughout the yard (along with several other random things that have gone missing over the winter)
~ Playing a family game of hide and seek outside (even Nora played)
~ Popsicles
~ Gardening! Hands down my favorite part of the weekend... my little farmer boy helped me plant peas, lettuce and kale
~ Noticing that the wood pile is about the same size as last years which is very exciting since we made it through this winter with no gas (but of course it was a very mild winter)
~ Eating dinner with the french doors wide open
~ The walk that ended our weekend

Off To A Good Start

These two stayed outside all day today... having a picnic, digging for clay, weeding around the blueberries, jumping in puddles (without their clothes on I might add) and who knows what else.  In the mean time Nora and I cleaned (almost) the whole house, put away piles of laundry, and got clean sheets on everyone's bed. 

This weather is amazing.  It was 80 degrees today and the next two days are suppose to be more of the same.  I think this weekends going to be a good one...

A Day of Firsts

First picnic of the year with friends
First outing with all three of my children
First monkey bar crossing without mama's help
First walk with Nora on the outside
First seeds arrived in the mail

73 degrees

Life is good.

Exploring At the "River"

To Make a Long Story Short (A visual summary of my day)

Spring(?!) Weekend

Weekend Highlights...
~ Boiling sap (and Ryan's excitement over it)
~ Eating syrup
~ No jackets
~ Nora getting to experience the outdoors a little
~ Spring cleaning
~ Eating outside
~ Watching my bees emerge (but being totally caught off guard by the nice weather and not having the winter cover off before hundreds of bees begin to exit)
~ Grace and Jackson asking me to pack them a snack in their rucksacks so they could go on an adventure
~ Having two kids full of mud at the end of both days
~ Really, really yummy quiche dinner
~ All our visitors (Grandma Sam on Friday, Grandma Lee and Papa on Saturday, my sis on Sunday)
~ Happy chickens

Big Brother

The Piano!

It's here!  These pictures are kind of dark because they were taken in the early morning (which is a great time to play the piano right... good thing we don't have any close neighbors).  It was a bit of a squeeze to fit it in here but after a little rearranging I think it fits perfectly. 
I took piano lessons for 8 years when I was little but unfortunately I probably lost a lot of what I learned.  I'm hoping it comes back with some practice.  And these two are also both excited to start lessons.  I think we'll start this fall for Grace, but maybe wait a few more years for Jackson. 
It is so beautiful too.  A great craig's list find (and gift from my mom).  We are thinking it's around 100 years old... and made right here in Minnesota which is kind of neat.  Now I only need to refinish the piano bench and we'll be all set.

Random Thoughts

~ Wow on the laundry these days.  I'm still getting use to this new amount. 

~ However I am loving that new stack of tiny clothes though each time I fold.

~ Speaking of Nora, she's got a new favorite song.  She really does have good taste.

~ I've been incorporating things like hot dogs into our dinners each week and I'm all the more happier for it at the moment. 

~ The hot dogs are from here which somehow makes me feel like it's more of a real meal.

~ We are getting a new (old) piano tomorrow!  But I'm trying to figure out how it's going to fit in our living room.

~ I'm starting to get really, really excited for gardening season.  And I'm even more excited that I won't be pregnant during it.

~ I'd love to have a spring like this one we had two years ago.  I think I'm starting to get a little spring fever.

~ I'm so in love with our bedroom that is almost finished.  It's so light filled and cozy.  Pictures to come soon.