Husky Football

My son loves football.  And basketball.  And being a freshman he was prepared to have to work hard this year.  Our little school didn't have enough players for a freshman team.  So we were expecting him to have to play JV.

But he worked his tail off this summer and got to start Varsity on defense.    It was so much fun to watch him play all season on Friday nights.

Our football team may not have done as well as we would have liked, but this group of boys is a lot of fun.  It's great seeing them all support one another.

He is #33.  We have a parent who loves to take pics of the boys.  I have a good camera but it's hard to get pics from the stands.

While the team didn't have a very good season (3-7), the lessons these boys learned and the friendships they formed are more important than any win.

The last 3 or 4 games have been cold and rainy.  And now it's over for the year.

And now he has 3 or 4 days off and basketball starts.  I hope our school has a good season.  But either way, I know where I will be for the next few months:)

Chemical free cleaning

When I first got started with Essential Oils 10 or so years ago, I used the cheaper ones from my local health food store. And I saw on the label (of course afterwards) not for human consumption. Great. But I made my laundry soap, made my degreaser and my all purpose cleaner.  And I loved them. I truly did. And until recently I used the cleaner and the degreaser faithfully. 

Then I came across Young Living. And actually a dear blogging friend from the early days started posting about them on Instagram. It took me a few months and I jumped on the bandwagon. But of course I’d go back and forth with them. 

Then my daughter stole my diffuser and started using them. And I started using them pretty hard core about 8 months ago. In the midst of this I’m trying to find a way to manage my Lupus. 103 degree fevers for days are no fun. And my doctor is really big into alternative medicines. 

So I brought a 14 oz bottle of Thieves cleaner. And I’m blown away. I brought that bottle the middle of July. And I’m still using it. Not only does it clean everything:

It’s so stinking affordable!! I won’t get the full 16 spray bottles because I add it to my Thieves laundry soap (more on that later) but I’m not even half way through the bottle yet. 

It smells amazing. It does a terrific job. And I just have 1 spray bottle for my entire house. I haven’t brought a chemical laden cleaner in almost 3 months. I do make sure I have baking soda (buy the big box at dollar general - you won’t regret it for $2 a box), white vinegar, borax and washing soda on hand. And that is it. 

I must say, my house smells fantastic.  And while my kids are older and know better, when I have little kids over I don't have to worry about them getting into something they shouldn't.  

If you are interested in this cleaner - send me an email - bairk2072 at gmail dot com.

The college that wasn’t meant to be

Remember me saying what a wonderful college Jessie had found and she was so excited to be starting at a college she knew she was going to absolutely love? 

Cue manical hysterical laughter here......

We went to Bradford Schools I don't know how many times to see the college, fill out paperwork, deal with orientation, etc.  Each time she loved it.  

We moved her in the Sunday before Labor Day.  I should have known something was wrong that afternoon.  Tyler and I left her there at 2 p.m. By 8 p.m. (!?!?!?!) I had received no less than 500 text messages, 4 or 5 dozen phone calls, a half a dozen face time videos.  I figured it would just take her a little bit to get used to the school.

Nope.  She called me Monday night. Her roommates were shopping at night and she didn't want to be in the dorm room by herself.  So could I please drive to Columbus and hang out with her.  Because at 18 she still doesn't like to stay home alone at night.

Wednesday night she called me and said she was done with school.  They weren't doing large animals for vet tech just cats, dogs,and mice.  And she wanted to come home.  I told her when she got home on Friday we would talk about it.

Due to our county fair starting on Friday, my parents hauled her butt home Friday afternoon.  And she met them at the car with a ton of her stuff.  She was done.  She didn't like the classes, didn't like the apartment, didn't like any of it.  And not getting to work on large animals was the icing on the cake.

So in amongs dealing with the shit show that was our county fair thanks to the weather, on Sunday morning my dad, her and her boyfriend and I drove back to Columbus to pack all her stuff up and bring her home.  Let's just say I do feel bad for her roommates because what started out as everyone contributing ended up me buying most of the stuff.  The Tv.  The WiFi router,  the printer, the bathroom supplies, the kitchen supplies.  

As we were carting everything to my car I made her text her roommates.  I didn't want them coming back to an empty room.  We got it all in my car and my parents car for the drive home.  And it only took us an hour to pack her back up.

It was a very nice school.  I think it is a terrific program.  I just think it was too much for Jessie to take on all at once.  She is my homebody after all.

And she starts a new school in October.  And it's only 35 min. Away so she will be commuting and working.  Lol. I'm not providing a free ride until she is 50.

I must say though I am glad she was home for a few weeks.  I did have some help getting Tyler to and from all his activities and help around the house.

County Fair

I had to wait a few weeks to recover from our county fair before I felt like talking about it.  This was the roughest year we have ever had animal wise people wise and just everything in general. My kids and I love working with the animals for our fair but it just seems like this year was rough! 

We got the market animals in there. Amidst torrential downpours. After lots of bickering and arguing I thought this was going to go well. Nope. It wasn’t happening. The weather sucked, my kids steers both weighed the EXACT SAME weight. And they were grumpy.  

But they pulled it off and we did decent. Tyler got a 4th and a 2nd and was 10th overall. 

Jessie got a 2nd and a 3rd and was 6th overall steer. 

But then we found out right after the final drive for the market steer class they were cancelling showmanship and evacuating most of the animals due to rain. The steers were going to the auction barn to be held until sale day. The pigs were being trucked 2 counties away so the kids could still show Monday and Tuesday. And the lambs were staying right at the fairgrounds. Oh and the camper had to be moved that evening along with all the show equipment. 

But we got it all done. It was absolutely heartbreaking to say goodbye to these guys so early. They truly were pets this year. 

Then we had to start driving all over. Go to our home county to feed and take care of lambs. Go 45 min away to deal with pigs. Back and forth multiple times a day. 

I am so thankful Richland County opened their fairgrounds for the swine exhibitors. And the kids did well. 

Jessie went 2nd in showmanship and 3rd in her market class 

Tyler went 2nd in both showmanship and his market class.

And let’s not forget the sheep. Jessie went 6th in showmanship and 8th in market. 

Tyler got 7th in his market class. He likes the sheep but he has a hard time showing due to his height. 

It was a long, exhausting week. We also moved Jessie home from college during the fair.  She’s staring next week at another school so hopefully that school is a better fit. 

And now it’s onto next year. But we are taking a little break for a couple weeks. 

Xoxoxo

Kris