Friday Night Chillin'

I am so glad this week is over. It has been both blessed and super, super busy.


Jessie got her cast on today - full length, hot pink. So far it's healing good. 4 weeks in this super long cast, and then 2 -3 weeks in a cast just up to her knee. She broke it good, but it should heal very well. I think we are finally over the worst of the pain - which I am so thankful for (now if she would just sleep through the night again, I would be a wonderfully ecstatic person - hehe).

Little Miss Hop Along

My seeds have sprouted. All but 7 on the first tray are growing strong.

Tyler has gotten to spend some quality time with Mom.



And after much soul searching and thinking, I don't think I'm going back to office work any time soon. I have several possibilities that have opened up in neighboring school districts and our school district, including substitute teaching, teacher's aid, paraprofessional (I think a fancy name for teacher's aid) and possibly a bus driver. I'm going in to talk to everyone next week - and will decide from there. I have come to realize I don't want an 8-5 Monday through Friday job again - it's just not me. I want to be out with my kids in the summer, working on the farm, growing a huge, kick butt garden and I can hardly do that in an office setting. As I told Todd this morning, I would rather go into a factory and work 3rd shift so I could be home during the day, than go back to a 8-5 job. Funny how I'm figuring out what I want to do at 36 years old!!!



The green around here is AMAZING. Seems like just a couple weeks ago, everything was brown and muddy, and now everywhere I look there's green grass, green hay, and still lots of MUD.

My rhododendron, which has millions of buds on it - I can't wait for it to bloom

Looking out over the horse pasture -

the square of dirt in the background is our little rented cornfield -

the grass next to it is our rented hayfield.

Although there is still a muddy mess in the cattle lot -

although the green behind them is their pasture -

here in another 3 weeks or so they will go out there.

Todd's been working a million hours this week - every night it has been 9 or 10 until he has gotten home, and he's been up and gone by 6:30 in the morning at the latest. And he will work tomorrow and miss Tyler's soccer game:( , but I will video tape all the important parts so he can see it.

And thank you so much to everyone who has left kind comments - I really appreciate each and every one of you. And for those lurkers out there - introduce yourself - it's really fun meeting people from all over, cheering them on and knowing they are cheering us on in our daily doings!!

I hope everyone has a blessed and wonderful weekend - I know I will!!

Kris

What a week.

Jessie and I were home on Monday while Tyler was at preschool. She is recuperating. Lots of pain, lots of tears, lots of boredom. I went and got her a wheelchair, which seemed to help the mobility issue - she is about as graceless as they come. Then Tuesday morning, I got her on the bus, got Tyler on his bus, and went up to the elementary school to get her off the bus, talk to the nurse, her teacher and get some sort of routine established for her. I go in to work for a few hours, and then leave work early to get her off the bus.

School went good for her, she was tired, so Wednesday starts the same routine all over, although I dropped them off at the babysitters so I could go to work, to get there and find that my position (and 2 others so far as of today) have been terminated, so I come home unemployed. I was royally ticked yesterday, until I realized that with what we are paying in babysitter's and gas, we will be able to squeak by surviving on what Todd makes and unemployment compensation that I will receive (and how "generous" were they to mention they wouldn't fight the unemployment issue - idiots) until I can find something. So now I am pounding the pavements. I have a good/fairly definite offer/possiblity of several job opportunities at the school starting next year (as long as there are no budget cuts or the State cuts the funding to our school system), and I've put resumes out to about 10 places so far this morning, but in the meantime. . . . . I be looking. Am I upset? Not really. I'm ticked that after 11 years, this had to happen, but . . . as I told Todd last night - I haven't been happy there at my job for a number of years now, and keep looking around at job postings in our newspaper, so this could actually be a blessing in disguise. Todd says I should just sit back and collect the unemployment for the 16 - 20 weeks, but somehow, the idea of not working after years of working just seems wierd to me.

It has certainly given me more time with the kids - Tyler and I cleaned up some of my flowerbeds yesterday, this afternoon I am going to clean out my fish pond. And I am going to start the rest of my seeds - if I won't be working (or if I end up 3rd shift somewhere) I'll have lots of daytime opportunities to be out in a garden.

And it is amazing the amount of gas I was using to drive back and forth to work - a tank of gas would maybe last 5 days - since I filled up yesterday morning before attempting to go to work, I've only driven 60 miles (and that included a trip to and from work).

So I guess for now, I'm taking the position that everything happens for a reason, and something will come up and we will go on our merry little way. But for now, I'm going to enjoy my time with my kids.

On a fun note though - does anyone have any idea how to make these:

They are crocheted dish scrubbies out of tulle netting. I have searched high and low for a pattern for these - I absolutely love them to do dishes (and when they get grody, I just toss them in the dishwasher and instant clean). If anyone has any ideas - please let me know. I am down to my last 3, and can't find them in a store anywhere (Todd's great aunt made me like 10 or so for Christmas a couple years ago - I guard these with my life).

Kris

ANOTHER day off work

Can I hit re-do on a weekend??? Please???

Yesterday was Tyler's birthday party with the family - everything's going well, I'm right on track - and realized at 12:40 (as I am in the middle of kneading bread:)) that I have to take Jessie and another little girl to their brownie ice skating party - and I have to leave by 1:00. So I hurry up and finish the bread, toss the kids in the car, drop them off and the leader tells me her emergency plan in case one of the girls' gets hurt - but that's not going to happen.

I go home, clean up outisde on the deck and patio so we can be outside for Tyler's party, help Todd grind a batch of feed (dusty business that is) and decide it's 3:50 I have time for a quick shower before everyone gets there. Lay my phone down on the bed and then. . .

Todd comes racing in the driveway because Jessie has fallen on the ice (with 8 minutes of skating to go no less) and they think she broke her leg so her leader is taking her to the ER (and of course, my phone is still on our bed after my shower - having forgotten about it). So my sister-in-law (the one with the cute little girl from one of my first posts and who is a nurse, so I had somewhere there that new all that doctor mumbo jumbo with me - and as everyone who knows me will testify - I am really not good in an emergency) and I go racing to the hospital to leave Todd and my Mom to handle the party.

And she broke it.

A nice big spiral fracture in her shin bone. So I miss Tyler's party:( but he did get lots of cool toys and a bunch of new clothes. And now I have a little girl in a splint who will need to go to an orthopaedic guy to get a cast on sometime this week, and figure things out with the school so they can get her back and forth as I'm going to also try and get her a wheelchair today as there is no way she can handle crutches.

4-6 weeks in a cast. There goes spring soccer (but as she said, I have next year to play soccer but I am never ice skating again).

So between Tyler and his tonsils and Jessie and her leg, I would really like to redo the weekend (or at least yesterday) - if anyone knows how!!!

And I am assuming the party was a success - and if not, oh well - there will be others!!

Can you tell he has a truck fetish?

The completed fire truck quilt, in all it's glory.

It will be a long 4 weeks!!!!

Kris

Tyler turns 5

Wow. 5. I. Cannot. Believe. It.

You are such a sentimental little boy - usually a look is all it will take when you do something you are not supposed to - always willing to please - yet still get into "boy mischief."

Jessie was a good baby - but you put her to shame you were such an easy happy baby.

You love school, but are fairly quiet (I'm sure that will change before too long). I think alot of that has to do with your speech/articulation delay - as you know when people can't understand you and it does upset you. But you are learning. You do make friends easily, which is a very good thing.

You like anything farm related - tractors, cows, field work, hunting and just being outside. This past week about killed you not being able to play like you want for as long as you would like.

You go back and forth on soccer - some days you really like it some days you don't, but you are having a good time playing - which is what it should be all about at this age.

You are still a cuddler - to this day, you will want to sit in a rocking chair and just rock for 5 more minutes before bed time. I don't mind - as all too soon you will be grown up and out of the house and on your own.

Happy birthday buddy!!

Mommy

Mud, Mud Everywhere

Yesterday and today have been quite dreary (actually so little happened yesterday I don't really remember what it was like:)) It's just been drizzling off and on today, interspersed with some pretty heavy rain.

Tyler keeps going back and forth - he feels great, then he's crying because he feels so bad. He did go to school yesterday and his teacher said he was fine - a little quiet but. . . I think we are in the middle of the healing process, and he doesn't drink and then his throat gets sore. He did eat a hotdog last night, cut into incredibly small and thin slices and some mac n cheese. The hotdog about killed me (just thinking about what goes into them) but that is what he wanted so, how could I refuse? I think I'm coming down with bronchitis - I do this every spring when the weather really starts swinging back and forth - and managed to loose my voice today - hopefully by tomorrow it will be better.


No new calves and the poor cows are in mud and manure up to you know where. But the next few days are supposed to be nice - 60's/70's and sun, so hopefully everything will dry out.


This is what I've been working on in my limited time. I needed something quick, easy and simple to do. I really have not enjoyed being back at work these 2 days - 5 days off really spoiled me:

This is how far I have it done

This is what all the borders will look like when it is totally done

I still have one more patchwork border to put on and the white borders on the outside. I didn't buy any new fabric for this quilt. It's turning out larger than I had anticipated, but it's going to be pretty. Not my normal colors, but I am trying to break out and try different things. Jessie has already asked that it be her next quilt on her bed - all that white - I don't think so.



No sprouted seeds yet - hopefully this weekend - a couple look like they might be coming up though. Tyler turns 5 tomorrow, and his family party is Sunday afternoon, so that will keep things interesting.



Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Kris

What I Did Today

This is my last day off with Tyler:( Tomorrow he is going to go to preschool if all continues to go well through the rest of the day (he is bored silly here at home with Mom), but I have gotten lots done so far:

I finally started my seeds (before running out of peat pellets to fill up a tray - I will swing through somewhere tomorrow and get more peat pellets to finish up):

I planted 45 sauce tomatoes, 3 cherry tomatoes, 4 beefsteak tomatoes, parsley, dill, oregano, paprika and cilantro. After I get more peat pellets I will plant pepper, eggplant, cabbage and lots and lots of lettuce plants.

I cleaned my house (which I am so not showing pictures of)

And I turned this:

Into this:

So I don't have to store my clothespins like this any more (the original clothespin bag I had died a quick death last summer, so most of the pins have been on the lines):

Amazingly, it took 5 minutes, it's cute and it hangs really nice and it holds lots and lots of clothespins. All I needed was a wooden hanger and a vinyl tablecloth. I could have probably used a metal hanger or plastic, but I wanted it to have some weight so it doesn't fall off the clothesline.

I have also made 1 trip to take Jessie to school and Tyler to see his teacher and go to the library to get some movies, and I am leaving here shortly to make 2 trips to go ingredients to make a batch of cattle feed this weekend. Unless I think my Durango can haul 750 lbs. - but since Todd specifically told me to make 2 trips, I'm pretty sure that it will need to be 2 trips.

Then Tyler and I took a walk in the woods:

This is about 1/2 of our pond at the far end of our property - in the summer when it's really dry it's nothing more than a deep mudhole, but the geese come faithfully every spring. One of these days, maybe, we'll clean it up, dig it deeper and enjoy it. . . when there isn't so much other stuff to be doing!

And we looked at the fish in my water garden pond - all of which have survived the winter (all 14 of them). Hopefully in the next couple weeks, well, actually I have to in the next couple of weeks, drain the pond, clean out all the debris and get everything up and running for spring.

Oh. . . and yesterday we had 54.5 tons of limestone delivered so we don't bounce up and down the driveway going in and out. I'm looking for a 5 mph speed limit sign now to post at the end of the drive cause everyone (us included) flies in and out, and the gravel goes everywhere:

Doesn't it look nice and pretty and white? (Until Todd has to haul manure that is - hehe)

And now it's time to think about dinner (which will be mashed potatoes and hamburger w/ gravy so Tyler can at least eat the mashed potatoes and gravy) and 4-h meeting tonight.

What a wonderful day we had.

Eons Ago

Back when I was a new bride (all the way back in 1995 - seems so long ago) the local quilt shop was having a block of the month quilt class/club that I thought would be kind of interesting. The only catch. . .







the entire quilt top had to be done by hand. So I stitched, and I learned and it drove me nuts at times!!! But I ended up with this quilt top:





I am not sure that if I were picking out fabric for the same quilt today, I would choose the same colors, but I do love it. It has sat on the quilt rack I received as a wedding gift since I finished it (incidently it was the winter of 1998-1999 that I finished it, right before getting pregnant with our first child). Yes, it took a long time, but I keep saying it was worth it to spend all the time on it - I did get each of the 12 blocks done on time for each class, but wanted to do the extra 4 blocks (I had visions of making a king sized quilt for our bed).



Now I keep looking at it - do I machine quilt it and get it done, or do I attempt to quilt it by hand? I really am stuck on what to do. I am petrified of doing something of this magnitude by hand - any suggestions out there?


P.S. Tyler is still doing wonderfully - but I am staying home again tomorrow until we are sure he is able to eat soft solid foods (scrambled eggs, mac n cheese, etc.). He ate oatmeal tonight - he said "I just want some real food mommy - I'm tired of popsicles and applesauce and jello."