I'm here!!

Wow! This summer has been so busy. I've been taking summer classes online with Austin Peay. Silly me decided to go ahead and do 4 classes!! It's been a lot of reading!!! But at least I'll have 12 credits out of the way. Classes end this week and then I'll get a 2 week break before the fall semester starts. I'll still be taking 4 classes online, but it will be for 15 weeks rather than cramming everything into 5 weeks, and I'll go once a week to the school for biology lab.

The kids have started school. Ashley is in 8th, Jacob in 5th, and Megan is starting PreK. Megan will start going everyday next week, starting the 18th. She has gone for one day and will go again tomorrow, but is excited to go! Her meds seem to be working great for her ADHD! Caleb is in the process of potty training. We are doing "forced" potty training because I've decided I no longer will buy pull ups. He's actually doing very well. Still has a couple of accidents each day, but doing much better than when we had pull ups.

Daisy just had puppies on Saturday! They are so adorable! She didn't give us much warning that she was about to have them. She ended up having 5 in 1 hour! Then it was about 2 1/2 hours before she gave birth to the last one that didn't make it... :( But she is a good mommy. She had 4 girls and 1 boy....4 black and 1 black and white (the boy is black).

The garden didn't make out too well. We've had several storms with high winds that killed several of the plants. The tomatoes are producing, but they keep splitting before they get ripe...don't know why. The only things that has done very well is the okra and the cilantro. Carrots are still growing, so maybe they will be good too. Oh, and the marigolds are doing wonderful!! I know what to plant all over for color next year!!

Okay, I'd better go get some housework and reading done!!

Has it been almost a month already!?!

Wow, time goes by quickly when you're busy! Warning now--this will be a long post! Ryan just a left a few days ago to go back to NY after having visited for a few weeks. This time, Jacob went with him. I think it will be great for both of them, but especially Jacob. He is at an age where he really needs his dad. He's usually stuck with girls and little people. He'll be up there for about 6 weeks.

Okay, where to start.....how 'bout Ryan's running tractor! He did get it started this time and has just had fun riding around on it and put her to work pulling branches and trees, and the trailer to give the kids a ride. Of course, Megan and Caleb got to have a ride right beside daddy!

And the garden is growing! I already got a huge zuchini (which, of course, I forgot to take a picture of). It was about 10" long and at the widest part about 7" around. I sliced it and grilled it with some chicken...yummy!!

Carrots

Okra

Lettuce

Watermelon...a total of at least 6 growing!

Zuchini

Pumpkin

Tomatoes

Strawberries

Cucumbers

Corn and Sunflowers

Nasturtiums

And, I've noticed that Dragonflies gather to fly above the garden at dusk...I wonder why?



The chickens are doing great! We have had a couple of casulties..one of the older chicks--we think one of the stray dogs that's been hanging around dug underneath and got to it; and 2 of the little chicks. They are all out on pasture now. We believe the older chickens are all pullets and are Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, and Red Star. The little chicks are Rhode Island Reds and Speckled Sussex. We know one of the RIR is a rooster, but we're having a hard time with the SS. At first glance all 3 look like roosters, but researching the breed, it seems even the hens have big combs, and some waddles. So, I guess we're still waiting to see.

We may be expecting puppies sometime soon! Not intentionally!! Our little Pek-a-poo went into heat earlier this month and attracted a little boyfriend! He seems to be homeless, but well-mannered and sweet-tempered, so we decided to add him to the family. So, now we have Sadie, Daisy, and Charlie. I've been researching doggy pregnancy, and it seems puppies are born in about 8-9 weeks, so we'd be looking at the first week in August if we are expecting. BTW, if you think you know what breed Charlie might be, let me know. We think he has a little chihuahua in him, but we can't figure out what else.

And last, a picture of our littlest after having taken a bath after a long day of playing outside...he looks like a little sleeping angel!

Have a Wonderful and Blessed Day!!!

Same ole stuff

I know I haven't updated in a week, but it's just been busy around here with the kids, the grass, and the garden. We had our yard sale and it turned out okay, but I'm going to try again this weekend. It's been raining off and on. Actually, I hear thunder right now. I'm getting ready for VBS that's at our church June 1st-3rd. I do the music for the beginning and ending, and I'm making little cards for guests to write on to include in the crisis care kits our church is collecting.

This has been a hard week for me emotionally, so if you pray, please include me, and Ryan in your prayers. This separation is just taking it's toll on us.

Since, I don't have anything interesting for today, I'll include a few pics of the chickens and our girls.

Anybody out there?

It occurred to me that the people who may be reading my blog may not know how to post a comment. All you have to do is click on the word "comment" at the bottom of each post and it will bring you to a page where you type in your comment. You can leave your name, email, or be anonymous! Go ahead, give it a try! If you have any problems, please email me so I can fix it.

I will be busy the next few days getting ready for a yard sale....finally! We have so much stuff just taking up space and we have a need for money right now! My main concern is getting people to come out here. I made up signs and put them out, but on my way home today, I decided if it doesn't go well this weekend, I really need bigger signs and will try again next weekend. I did get store bought signs (they look much bigger in your hands than when you actually hang them up) and used my Cricut to cut out the info out of vinyl so I can reuse the signs. But when you're driving, they are very small. Hopefully, we will do well this weekend!!

Never ending work!

You know, it's not very easy being a temporary single mom to 4(is it really only 4?) kids and trying to take care of 6 acres and 17 chickens and 2 dogs and a garden. It keeps me very, very busy, especially during the warmer months.

Let's see, this week I have been working on mowing the marsh in our backyard. I've gotten the mower stuck once and had to pull it out with the van. I finished putting up the chicken wire to hopefully keep the critters out that's been eating my veggies. I planted some new tomatoes and broccoli to replace the eaten ones. I also planted new corn and sunflower seeds because over half didn't sprout (I'm guessing because of the rain or maybe birds).

We've also completely cleaned the downstairs. We had a water leak from all the rain on the ground side of the basement. So, I had to clean the carpet. Well, to clean the carpet, all the junk underneath the furniture had to be cleaned out (can I just say "ewwww"!). Since I was down there and could supervise. I had the kids thorougly clean the family room and laundry/kitchen. It looks so much better! Now, if I could just get Ashley to clean her room!

I do have a cute/embarassing thing to share about a Caleb. Apparently, he has discovered "it". The other day, he came out of the bathroom after a bath, and was just grinning ear to ear. I was across the room and he saw me. Then he looked down, looked back up grinning, looked down, and then said "Mommy, it got bigger!" He did the same thing last night, only this time saying "it growed again!" I guess that answers a lot of questions for Ashley about boys!

Okay, enough for now. Time for me to go take the garbage to the dump and see if I can get another section of yard mowed before it starts raining again!

Have a Blessed Weekend!!

It's Mother's Day!

I'd like to give special thanks to my husband's mom, Sharon! She has always been an awesome mom to me! She has accepted me unconditionally into her family. I appreciate the way she calls to check up on us...to see how we are doing. And she calls for advice as well! Thanks, Mom!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

P.S. I did get the card out a bit late, but here's a preview:

Busy, busy!! (long with lots of pics!)

Will the rain ever stop??? It has been raining almost daily with very little sun! I NEED SUN!!! But, in between storms, I have done a few things outside.

First, here's a pic of the finished veggie garden:

Then some individual plants.....Lettuce (grown from direct seeding)

Carrots (grown from direct seeding)....

Spinach plant (that some little critter has had for dinner....spinach must be the favorite as this is the best one that's left)....

Tomato plant (I only have about half of them left as a critter likes them as well)...

And beans (grown from direct seeding)...

The critter also got most of my lettuce plants and some dill, basil, and cilantro!! Guess I need to put up some chicken wire or screen or something to keep the little critter out.

I also moved our big chicks out to pasture into their chicken tractor (we can move it to fresh grass as often as we want).

And moved the little chicks into the bigger brooder.

I've also made 60 bridal shower invitations for church. On my way to church, I realized it takes me approximately 10 hours to make 60 invitations, with all the steps! Still, I have lots of fun doing them! These were very basic, yet elegant, using black and cream cardstock that was embossed with the Cuttlebug. I popped the top two layers and added a bow. BTW, I cased this design from Beverly--she made her mom's wedding invitations the same way. I usually like to come up with my own creations, but short notice didn't give me enough time to think...just to do!

And now, I'm working on organizing my room, which also is the storage place for all the scrapbook/card making supplies. I got a cool container a few weeks ago when it was on sale at hobby lobby to put small embellishments in, like brads and buttons. The best thing about it? The compartments are child-proof!! You have to push in a little lever on the side to open each little compartment. I love it!! Now, I just need to make sure I don't open it in front of little ones, or the lock will be useless. It's the Ezy Snappin Organizer made by Craft Mates, and comes in different sizes. Take a look if you're trying to figure out the best way to organize all those little embellishments. I've also found a great way to organize ribbon (I'm working on it right now). For all those yard or two ribbons, get some safety pins and a "lock ring"-like a key ring, but it can be snapped apart (not to be confused with a jump ring that is very popular for holding keys. You can take a set of like ribbons, find the middle, put the safety pin through, close safety pin, and then hook onto the lock ring. You can even add a tag on the safety pin if you want to remember the designer. Here's the start of mine:

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this long update!!! I guess I need to post more often so there's not so much to share all at once!!

Have A Blessed Day!!!

Quickie Update....

This is a neat picture that I took last week when the kids had their little sprinkler on. Just thought I'd share!

We have air conditioning in the house again!! Low refrigerant, a leak at the service valve, and ice in the cooling unit were the problems. I ended up with a nice guy who happens to be the stepdad of one of Ashley's friends, so he gave us the "friend's" discount!! I also, went ahead and replaced all four tires on the van, since it really needed to be done. Procrastination is just going to lead me into more problems if I didn't take care of it. So, two problems fixed! Oh, and Caleb is just fine now....still have no clue why he was running a fever this weekend.

Now to show you a few things that I've been doing (well, before the crisis, that is!). First, I finally got the garden ready for planting! Here's what it looked like before I started planting:

I've planted all the seedlings, and just have a few seeds left to plant; and I need to finish up the area where the corn and sunflowers are going to be...just outside the far end of the fence. Here's what the tentative plan is:

And, some time during the week (I don't even remember when!!), I found the time to sew Nicole this beautiful apron! I absolutely love the fabric and may have to go back and get some more to make me one!!

And, now, since it is supposed to be raining for the next 10 days (according to the Weather Channel), I'll be catching up on inside things, like making bridal shower invitations, and other papercrafting projects. And, I'll find time in between rain showers to go finish up those seeds.

Have A Blessed Day!

Ever feel like your world is falling apart?

That's the way I'm feeling right now! It took several days to get the garden ready for planting and now several more to get things planted! Things just keep coming up.

So, our van's air conditioner went out the end of summer last year. Of course, it couldn't be an easy fix. The air compressor went out--that's about a $700 fix! Needless to say, we put it off. Well, here it is April and it went from winter to summer overnight! No warning-just decided to go from 50 degree rainy days to 85 degree sunny, humid days! So, we are stuck with wind blown hair for the time being.

And if being in a hot van isn't enough, I got to come home Saturday to a hot house. Seems the AC here is being stubborn as well. Air blows, it's just not cold. We've got ceiling fans and box fans running everywhere and it's still 80 degrees in here!

And it didn't help Caleb this weekend when he was running high temps for no apparent reason. Saturday afternoon he had a temp of 104!! Gave him some Motrin and within an hour it was down to low grade and would stay that way for about 8 hours when it would shoot up again. Sunday morning at 4:00am was the last day he had that high of a fever, but it stayed around 100 all day. Today he seems fine except for a little neediness.

The next mishap was when I was on my way home from the chiropractor. I tried to pretend it wasn't happening, but I couldn't ignore the clonking--yep, a flat tire!!! What else could go wrong? Oh, wait....how about not having a spare because you're using the spare because the "good" tire got a flat in almost the exact same place a few weeks ago and you just hadn't thought to go get it fixed? Or being in an area that only gives you enough signal to text and not make a call, so you're trying to text your husband who's in NY to try to figure out what do? Thankfully, a nice young man and his daughter stopped to help, and when I say help, I mean help! First, he took me up to the store to get Fix A Flat and try that on the tire. That's when we realized this wasn't just a hole. The whole back of the tire was worn right through! So, then he took me home and offered to take a look at the other tire. He ended up taking that tire with him, plugging it up, going back to the van, changing the tire, and then coming to get me to take me back to the van. You think he'd be through then, right? Nope, he followed me back home just to make sure I made it there alright, put the busted tire in the garage, and then, gave me his phone number in case I ever needed help again! I think he felt sorry for me with my husband in NY, having 4 kids, and all these things to take care of! Anyway, so now, I need to go get that tire fixed more permanently, and get a new/used tire.

And if that's not enough, Ryan is having problems with his Jeep. It's just locked up. Put the key in and try to start and nothing!! It's not a battery problem. It's something with the ignition, but no idea what or how much it might cost. Good news is, since he works with Officers, one let him borrow her car she has for sale til he can get his Jeep working. The for sale sign on the car says $38500 or best offer! Yes, that is 5 numbers! It's a custom, decked out Volvo that originally cost $50,000. She had it for a whole month before she found out she was pregnant(first child) and it wasn't practical, so she bought an SUV instead. OMG!! It must be nice to just have money to throw around!! But it was awfully nice of her to lend the car to Ryan!

So, where are we going to get all this money from to fix everything? NO IDEA!! I'm thinking of starting up a donation page, or better yet, maybe I could take all four kids after they've played in the mud to a busy street corner with a homemade cardboard sign that reads "Please help, we need air!" JUST KIDDING!!! We'll figure it out--we always do. I think that's what keeps our marriage strong--we work together to figure out a solution. None of this is either one's fault, so we don't play the name blame game. What's the purpose in that? You just end up mad at each other and nothing gets fixed.

Okay, I'm exhausted! Good night!

Gardening Time!

It's that time! The temp here right now is 72 and it's nice and sunny! I've been outside the past few days as much as I can getting things ready for the garden. I've already purchase some plants and seeds for planting this weekend. I'm in the process of getting all the root stems from the veggie garden so we don't have grass grow again this year. And, I'm making a flower garden area beside the veggie garden. I've got 3 "plots" designed out ready to dig. I decided to go with an offset kidney pattern rather than squares or rectangles. I can't wait to see flowers growing out there!! I've been looking for some basic plans for an Adironack(sp?) chair. I love the look of those, and I think with the wood, it wouldn't blow away during high winds.

I also made a top for our chick brooder to make it easier to get to them and change out their food and water. I'm pretty proud of having made it all by my self!!

It's supposed to start raining tomorrow afternoon and Sunday, so I'm sure I'll get some sewing and papercrafting done then! I keep thinking I'll make something at night, but by the time I come in (late, mind you, because it doesn't get dark til after 7), make dinner, eat, baths, and then bedtime for the little ones, and then cleaning up inside, I don't have any energy or creativeness left!! But I have been itching to use the My Mind's Eye Dreamy 2 papers that Bev gave me, and I just got some new inks in from CTMH, and I still have the 2 PTI sets and Copic markers that I haven't gotten to play with yet! There's just not enough time in the day!!

In case I don't get on here for a few days.....

Have a Blessed Weekend!!!

Acrylic Album

I made my first Acrylic Album!!! Beverly had asked me if I ever done one before and I said I hadn't. She was trying to find a project for me to do. I said, I don't mind trying! So, I got the supplies and came home, intimidated! I spent two evenings looking online trying to get ideas, but didn't find much. Finally, I just sat down and started. Once I got going it was very hard to stop!! I think it turned out very cute!! I did add ribbons to the rings once I got back to the store, but I had already taken a picture and left my camera at home.

Supplies: Paper~Baby Safari Baby Girl 8x8 Paper & Punch-Out Tablet (Little Yellow Bicycle); Ribbon~The Paper Studio; Embellishments ~Pearls(The Paper Studio), Purely Pebbles-Grapevine (Scrappers Must Haves), Stickles-Diamond (Ranger), Brads (The Paper Studio). All of these supplies can be purchased through Beverly at Precious Scraps.

Wish me luck!

I am taking my COMPASS test today at Austin Peay State University! This is the last step for me to start registering for class. The COMPASS is like the ACT; it is a college placement test. It only as Math and English on it, so I think I should do fairly well. Then I will be starting classes this summer, and on my way to becoming a nurse! I have a lot of prenursing classes to take before I am officially in the nursing program, but I am so excited!! I can hear you saying now, "what about the kids?" Well, Megan will be starting PreK in the fall, and looking at the fall schedule for school and take 3 classes on 2 days a week and have Caleb in a nearby preschool. So, it works out nicely!



And, now, to share a layout.







This is the Basic Grey January Page of the Month that I completed through a class at Precious Scraps. Everything (paper, buttons, embellishments is from Basic Grey). This year's theme is "All About Me" and I love it as I love the idea of having something the kids can look at and know things about their mom they may not have otherwise known.

Have a Blessed Day!!