Homemaking mama

So I am once again a stay at home mom about 90% of my time. I am attending college classes and working towards my BA of Biology with a minor in Physical Therapy. But that fortunatelly frees me up to be a great mama and hang with my kids. :D

So that also means that the kids are in a bit more activities that usual. Alexis is in basketball and gymnastics, Cj is in wrestling, and Casey plays basketball. We will usually be gone on Saturdays with a meet for Alexis or Cj, possibly a basketball game for Alexis depending on how that goes when it starts.

Im getting more things done at the house and bunker down the animals for the winter.

Animals, remodel and life

So I am so happy with the progress of the house. We have installed all the flooring in the living room, built a huge wall unit for tv, books and such plus installed framework for kitchen cabinets, countertops and sink. Whew, that was alot.

Same floor different lighting.

On top of that we have 2 week old chicks, 6 goat does, 3 goat bucklings, and two horses on the property now. All of which had to be fenced and housed, which I must say was an interesting adventure itself.

Chicks week 1 Chicks week 2

Goats day 1

Goats after 1 month

Needless to say God has blessed our farm and our family, we get milk every day and the chickens are growing nicely. Soon we will have milk and eggs daily. We also will be putting in our large garden plot and planting a small orchard next spring.

Greeeeennnn acres is the place to be....Farmmm Livving is the life for me

Yes its a long title but Im so enjoying this. I mean 0530 comes really early most mornings but hey I was a Marine once right. Anyway we have 6 does and 3 billies in our Goat herd. Most the town finds it amusing. No one has complained about them yet. I think we will be fine. Not sure the billy goats were they age that they stated cause one of them already went into Rut. Although my book does say that they can go into Rut as early as two months, I just didn't think they were even a month old yet. But you know people make mistakes. Anyway, so we have the goats.

We also got 28 chickens delivered in a cardboard box last Friday afternoon. We are now down to 26, but hey I only ordered 25 so we are ahead of the game. They are doing quite well also but that chicken coop needs to get put up soon cause I am pretty sure they will out grow the brooder box that I have make shifted for them, pretty soon.

The kids are doing great, we have some basketball practice started, great grades and even went to an assembly today for veterans at the high school.

Well I am off to bed as 0530 comes really early and the goats get mad when I don't milk them. Fortunatelly only milking two right now.

Birthdays, goats and remodels

Whew, its been a bit but we have been working hard. First off, we have painted, layed flooring, fixed walls, installed a new front door, replaced toilets andjust overhauled most of the house. We are working on getting everything tightened up before the cold sets in. As of right now we do not have a working heater but we have purchased one and are just looking for someone to install it.

After all that inside work we have also set up our first paddock for our Goats. We got 6 does yesterday and got them all set up in the paddock. Ryan will be building some goat houses today as well as working on the chicken coop. We rented a post hole digger but it was not our best investment. It took alot of work to run and thinking we should have rented a bigger one.

As for everything else, work is going well, school for RYan and I is going okay and the kids are doing absolutelly wonderful here.

Well I am off to breakfast with my birthday boy, Ryan. Happy birthday babe, love you.

Right where I am supposed to be

Today had beautiful weather. We opened all the windows. Ryan finished up the front porch so the kids can just bound down the steps to get on the bus and not break anything. I watered the trees. The kids helped pick up the front yard so that it is looking pretty again.

I did have to take a nap. I have fibromyalgia, but as a friend has told me, I will not let that label me. It was just a tough morning. Yet here I sit at 10:58 pm writing my blog because I took a nap earlier today.

We also sealed the bedroom floor so that we can move our bed in there sometime soon. I don't want to share a room with the kids too much longer.

I spoke with my mom tonight and talked about paths and lessons. I was telling her how funny it was that I am right back where I started 7 years ago when I got out of the military yet I have grown. Seven years ago I drove into town with just Alexis and Cj plus a carload of junk. We stayed with my dad while Ryan and I were dating. Although difficult to date as single parents we worked on it for a bit. Since then we have moved around Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Florida. It has been quite the learning experience but I am sure that the plan was to go and grow, which we have both done.

Mud, baseball and family

Today we got alot done on the house. The first thing we did was burn off the pile of stuff that we tore/took out of the house. It has burned most of the day but the yard will look very nice once its all cleared out. It already look 100 times better because it was about 6 foot high and 7 foot wide pile.

Next Ryan moved the steps on the front deck from the side of the deck to straight out front and centered on the door. This will be helpful for when the kids start school because the bus picks them up right out front. This way they can just walk right out the front door, down the steps and out to the bus. Soon we will have a gate and small bridge over the ditch for them.

My friend Lu came out today and helped us out with some work in the house. We sanded walls where we had taped and mudded. We also filled in tons of nail holes. Then we pulled out hardware from old drapes and blindes. The kids also pulled out carpet staples.

The greatest joy of my day was actually laundry. I washed it all then hung it out to dry. It was a great day for drying, sun and a breeze. So the clothes all dried in about 45 minutes, which is just as fast as my dryer. I was AMAZED. We have now decided that we will dry all our clothing outside during the warmer months. I cant wait to see the cost efficiancy of it.

We are also working on some child retraining as the enviroment is completelly different and the entertainments that they had in the city is not there. So they tend to get into mischief because of having idle hands. Today was better until the evening when they had some free time. They are testing boundaries. So the boundaries just need to be tightened until the training is set forth.

Our dog Nemo also got to play outside off leash. He enjoyed fetching the ball that my DD was hitting with the bat. Its so fun to play baseball with a dog. :D Dad and I even got in on a couple hits while she pitched us a few balls. She has a great arm.

Blessings

Sun Dried Clothing

So today I had to work. Im not sure if anyone reading this blog knows that I work outside the home. I am a massage therapist. I got into massage therapy as a way to help others seek other options in thier healing process. Whether healing from physical pain or something on a deeper level, massage therapy has always been beneficial.

So today I went to the Spa to work. I worked with a few different people with different issues. The biggest thing I get from giving a massage is knowing that for that hour, I helped them forget pain or forget worries, to just rest.


My DH was so wonderful today. He is working with the kids and trying to find the right structure for them. The big issue is that right now we are in a state of transition so they are testing boundaries. Even in the testing, I am hoping that they are learning something and also that dad will have patiences to deal with the test that they are throwing his way. Tommorrow we will be having a sit down with the kids to discuss the boundaries of the new farm and what is expected of them.

DH brought the washer in today and hooked it up. So I plan to sun dry my clothes on the line tomorrow morning. I don't think I have done that since the we lived on the ranch in 2006. The kids may or may not remember that, but I love fresh washed linens dried on the line. I hear that there will be a nice breeze tomorrow.

I hope to post pictures tomorrow as while we unpacked some today, I was able to find the camera. We have cleaned up the yard, will be burning off the pile of stuff that the previous tenants graciously left us, and hopefully getting the chicken coop ready for chicks around the first of September.

Progress at a standstill

So we have moved into part of the house, the back part to be exact. Although the kitchen is in working order and I am blesse with a stove, fridge and even a dishwasher. Under the kitchen sick has old water damage that no one took the time to fix when they replaced the plumbing. The plus side of that is I know the plumbing is not bad. I tested it, I promise. But I also teste the floor where the old water damage was, yep its bad.

But back to where we are in the house. We are staying in a room of about 150 square foot, maybe 175. We have set up two queen size beds and a bunk bed. There is still room to walk in there barely and we are house ALL our clothing in a walk in closet in a very unorganized manner. I am going to work on organizing that on Sunday afternoon. I saw a post on another blog about a family closet and hope that I can come up with that same concept before school starts...because the clothes will have to stay back there even if we get a couple more bedrooms going, due to the dust.

So that is where we sleep. Then you step out of that room and there about a 50 sq ft room that houses our dining room table. We also have a 15 sq ft space that is storing everything else. My husband has also taken over a 100 sq foot space that houses his desk and tools. Ryan doesn't sleep much so he has to have access to his computer. Its his one vice playing games while everyone is sleeping. Otherwise he would wake everyone up because he would want to work on the house.

Finally we have an operational toilet and shower...in seperate gutted bathrooms. Oh and sink also in the bath with the shower. It makes for interesting mornings getting ready for work.

This week Ryan killed a timber rattler in the yard. My youngest impelled his foot with an iron rake. We have moved into the house, cleaned, primed, layed flooring, and knocked down the chest high grass. What we have not done yet, made chicken coop, fenced in the pasture, layed more flooring, and finished painting.

New flooring, injuries, and hard work

Sleep has not been something I have been enjoying latelly. We packed up everything at the rental and have been trying to get someone to move the storage trailor over to the house. So I have been sleeping on a feather bed on the floor for the past three nights and my back is not happy.
So today we are taking a day off from the house. Its rainy and I needed to go into work. So I am at work.

Yesterday we put flooring down in Alexis' room. We plan to put a bit down this next weekend too. But it will all depend on what is going on with family and work. If not then we will take a weekend off the house and go to the lake with relatives. My grandpa says he will be there sunday.

Progress

Okay, so I hadn't posted since the first. We had to wait for the current "tenant" to move out of dads house. They finally left on the 7th. We went to check the house out on the 8th. It was in sorry condition, trash left, nothing cleaned, holes in doors, urine smell in carpets, it was just plain gross.
So on the 9th we dug our heals in and began demo. First thing we did was pull all the carpets out. This would have been fine but there was also a heat wave going on and the ac in the house is broken. So we were at the house by 0530 working til we could no longer take the heat. Then I would come home shower and nap, then head to work til 1900. It has been a rough week or so, but we have accomplished so much. All the trash is out of the house, the kitchen has been bleached and scrubbed. All the carpets are removed, floors swept and then vacummed. We also had to bug bomb the house 3 times cause of bug infestation. The best part of the whole week was laying the laminate wood flooring in the living room, that is what gives us hope and lets us know the potential of the house. I lived there before, so I know how it can look and did look. I am just saddened that someone would leave it such a mess. The other thing that scares me is that there was lots of dirt and cobwebs...don't people clean. Yuck. We also sealed all the subfloors so the pet odors do not come out once we put the flooring in.

I will post some pictures in my next update.

House updates

So saw the current tenants moving out of the house today. But talked to my dad and we have to wait for courts to sign off on the house and hand it back to dad. It was a rent to own situation so kinda sticky. Hopefully that only takes another week, dad has a great lawyer. Plus the grass needs really mowed bad, it hasn't been done since the guy got the notice to move.

This is pictures of the front half of the property and part of the back half...from my grandma's yard. A middle part of the property is missing as well as some of the back part and a whole north side of the property.

We went to check out a local 100% natural not just organic farm today. Was very cool. I even tried some very fresh goat milk and I have to saw it taste just like cows milk. I think I can even fake the kids out with it in a regular milk jug. :D Also was able to look at their setup with how they keep everything natural, chickens, garden, goats and much more. I can't wait to get our own goats and chicks. Which I plan to do ASAP.

Early Morning Sunrise

So this morning I woke up before the sun, about 5am. I was sitting there thinking of all the things I could do in our temporary living situation. So I did change the laundry over to wash my work clothes. But since we are only going to be here about a week longer, there is no dishes to do because I bought paper products to get us through the week, cause I packed up the kitchen stuff again.

SO this is where we are at with the move. We stayed with my dad and step mom for about a week, but they still had 4 kids living at home plus our 3 and us. God bless them for putting up with that many people for a week. Luckily my lovely step mom comes from a large family but she has ways she does stuff so us trying to help out wasn't working. So we decided to look for a temp place to rent. Dad said it could take up to a year, turns out the guy in the farm house didn't want to fight the eviction notice, so he said he would be out in 30 days. We will know for sure on Saturday next week whether he actually moved out. IF so we will move into the farm on Sunday. I plan to take pictures of our adventure as soon as I find the camera.

Anyway back to the sunrise, so I woke Ryan up at 5:45am and asked if he would like to go for a walk. Dawn was just breaking and the sun had not started to rise just yet. It reminded me of when I was little because my bedroom faced the east and I was always awaken by dawn and I would watch sunrises from my bed. So we took a walk down towards the house from where we are staying. We actually walk by there a couple times a week when I get home early enough to take the kids and the dogs for a walk. This morning Ryan and I were able to walk by ourselves because the kids were still asleep. Another reason to LOVE the country life. You can leave your kids and take a short walk and not be concerned at all about what might happen. Short of them waking up and watching cartoons, nothing will happen. Although our children were still not awake when we got home at 7:45am. We took a walk, brought the dogs back to the house and then headed to the little cafe down the block for some breakfast. Mainly I just wanted the coffee because our coffee pot is still in the moving trailer that we are storing our stuff in. Ryan is pretty sure said coffee pot is probably destroyed but I didn't find that box yet. Hopefully its still in one piece.
So we went to have breakfast and that place is quite a buzz at 6:45 am. Many of the local farmers and families have breakfast or at least coffee there in the mornings. It was good to listen to the local news from all the people chatting. They also asked how we were doing, let us know that they were there to help once we got into the house. Just fun socializing with those who had not seen me since I was a child. Good thing I can remember everyone's faces...even if I forgot names. :D

Moving Day

I have not blogged in quite a bit again and I will be deleting previous entries as we are starting over. A new life, a simple life, and as self sufficiant as possible. Today we embark on a journey that can change our whole outlook on life. Today we pack up the moving truck and drive a very long 16 hours to a quaint town in SE Kansas, called Mapleton. Mapleton has a population of 84 people. Mapleton is the little town that I grew up in. I rode my bike about 5 miles a day, visiting older people who I affectionatelly called grandma and grandpa even when they really weren't, went fishing in the river, explored the woods, and scraped my knees. This is also the town that when you are a teenager and ready to graduate high school you swear you want to leave but secretly wish you could stay forever because it is safe. Mapleton has a small cafe, fire department and even a post office, but no stop lights just stop signs. My grandmother lives 100 yards from the house and acreage we plan to move on. The house is my childhood home. I have memories of tree forts, basketball and my dog Maggie from this house. It is a quaint farm community. The house is a small farm house but the kids will still get their own small rooms. We will have to remodel most of the house as it has seen better days. I will also be able to add some animals to the tiny farm, our first is a little goat from my Step Mom and Dad for the kids.
The kids are excited. They think it is neat to go to the same school mama did. Although I warned them that some of the teachers were teachers when mom was there and I was not the most well behaved kid in school. I wasn't horrible but I am sure some of those teachers will have some memories of me good and bad. I am excited for Alexis the most, my best friend from High School has a daughter a year older than Alexis. The girls have met and played when they were younger and became friends, but it would be so neat if they could be best of friends like me and my best friend.
The boys are excited to be able to farm. They have pretty much lived in a city their whole lives or at least a larger town. I am not sure what they will think of 5am chores, but only time will tell.

My plan for this blog is to document the changes we are making from the bustle of the city to the comfort of the Farm. I plan to post recipes we are trying out, ideas we have from the farm, pictures of the progress of the house (even the bad part we may be moving into), kids meeting the animals for the first time and just our day to day activities.
I will also be posting on our spiritual lives and how we are seeking God first in all we do. We will be looking for a new home church in the area, so I will post little tidbits on each church we visit and how we feel we will fit in. We have not been involved in the church here as much in the past few months due to the economy and our church was a drive away.
In the country everything is a drive away, so I will have to prepare for many trips in a more thought out way. I will no longer just be able to hop in the car and got to Wal...mart. I will have to plan our grocery trips and bring coolers so items can stay cold, although the nearest store is about 30-40 mins away, I still would like the frozen items to be frozen once we get home. I will be stocking a pantry for the first time ever. Will be buying in bulk and freeze meat. I am hoping to get some beef from my dad in the fall and that should get us through the winter. We have not eaten alot of red meat in the past three years due to the prices of meat.

So now I must go and prepare for our exceptionally long day. We are picking up the movign truck this morning and hitting the road around 12. First stop New Orleans, to pick up my neice...four dogs, 3 adults and 4 kids, all packed up into a four door car and a huge Uhaul truck. Sounds like a recipe for FUN. Thank goodness for laptops, ds's and sleepy kids. Im thinking I will need a HUGE break come this time tomorrow.

God Bless.