Father's Day

A Daddy was born at the very end of 2003!

 A little girl had him at hello...

Hello son, I'm so proud to be your Daddy!

We're a family and we'll work together... 

And play together... 

And have lotsa FUN together!

'Cause I'm your Daddy 

and I'll always be lookin' out for you.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Thank you Daddy for ALL you do for us.

We are soooooo BLESSED to have you!

Farm talk

Sarah spoke exceptionally early and exceptionally well. 

Since looking at me in the truck one day and brightly saying "hi!" at nine months, she's never shut-up slowed!

 But she never babbled at all prior to that. (?!)

Two of our favorite words Sarah said were "hote doog" (plain hot dogs were the only "treat" -blech- she could get from 7-11 on her restricted diet) and "Sasho" a bizzarre way of saying Shorty - her first pony's name.

She still calls Barbie dolls (who wear gingham Little House dresses as often as princess gowns)"BarBque dolls" which is just fine w/me! ;-P


Jack has a new cute "Jackism..."

"Excitement site" (construction site he made in our front yard)
My observant boy was a late talker. He gets speech therapy and is trying to make up for lost time and keep up with his sister now!
After too much wasted time worrying, I'd give anything for a "piece of quiet" most days...

This classic can challenge my exhausted Mommy brain at the end of the day;  "Momma, tawnpeas." (song/lullabye please)

"Poon" still manages to keep me guessing some mornings before coffee. 

Don't I know he needs that to accompany his "opa meal" (oatmeal)?!
He's also quick to point out where the "Wops" live, no slur intended - they sting!

Baby Jack first called for his sister by yelling "ah aH!"    That became "Ee-ah" for a long time. We were all sad when that changed to her actual name.... Sarah the most.

Oh well, he's still full of his own words and I bet we'll continue hearing "A widia, NO!"  

as in "Olivia, drop my toy dinosaur."  

... or the cat!  ;-P
'til both boy and dog grow up...

Both kids confuse most folks when they talk about "bike hiking" which really just means when we throw the bikes in the truck bed and drive someplace to walk n ride. Riding on gravel farm drives is no fun so my barn aisle was the favorite spot to practice with the trikes! Talk about making horses unflappable...


Actually "town folk" can be pretty confused by A LOT of things we say out here on the farm... ;-)  

Kinda like a fun country blog I love to visit The Blind Pig and the Acorn  with posts on Appalachian dialect & much more. I LOVE what she calls her kids - "Chitter n Chatter!"
Go check it out for great music, pics, info and giggles! She's even hosting a give-away! Click below.

What about your family n kids - do you have any cherished words or sayings? Leave a comment, let's talk!

The Dirty Truth

Absolutely pitiful. 

It takes my hero, Donna at FJI, to make me "gitter dun and quit stallin'!"

The Farmer does not understand the power of my blogging buds.

Why couldn't I deal with this under my own steam?!

Yeah, we're crazy busy makin' hay but...

We're not talking some elaborate creative DIY endeavor. 

No, we're talking a nasty rug that needed attention of some sort. 

Any sort.

You see, I have this leopard rug that I am way too attached to and puppy Olivia had nearly destroyed. 

It was gross. 

She was apparently sick during the night and wanted to "hide" it...

Come morning I found my cherished, all but indestructible rug, covered in nasty and clawed n torn as she tried to ball it up and bury the evidence.

I was so upset that I sprayed it off well with every chemical I could find in my organic home and left it out on the porch. 

Way  t o o  long.

I couldn't face throwing it away and didn't think it was salvageable...

Instead, in my current mode of make do or do without, I threw down a hooked rug that barely passed worked.

Thanks to Donna's admonition to get something finished that we'd put off, I DID IT!

Voila - my rug is resurrected!!! see above

(Sorry, you didn't want a "before" shot anyway!)

It'd actually come pretty clean so all I had to do was cut off all the ripped fringe and brush up the nap really well.

It's not much, but to me, in my current overload mode,  it's a lot.

As is just joining MY FIRST LINKY PARTY

THANKS DONNA!  :-) 

Here're a few pics of the rest of the powder room ...

The wall color is actually not that gold at all. More camel/tan. Stupid flash.

I used old junk to give this new room some character; 

farm journals & a wrench off Ebay that feature my name, etchings, a baby stirrup and horse bits to hang the hand towel and hold back the curtain...

All was stuff I'd collected over time and just grouped in a new way.

My mom gave me the old medicine cabinet that had a gold (ick) detail on the mirror. 

I painted it black and added an old tractor sticker that matched. 

I love my toile handtowels but yes, they're well used n dirty...
I did wipe up after the messy short people, wash the bowls and cobweb.
Only so much I can git dun, sorry Donna!
Have another party and I'll tackle more!  ;-P
So now you know the dirt on me...
Sorry if it's TooMuchInformation! ;-)
What about your hidden procrastination projects? Have any?
Go see the more impressive works linked at Funky Junk's party.

Sweet as Pie

Hmm, seems like fate... I was just finishing up some leftover home made berry pie and channeling Ruth Ann, while sneaking in some blog time and I saw her give-away! Go see what she's been up to at Sugar Pie Farmhouse . Her very own e-book adorably titled Watermelon and Fireflies is like a cute GooseBerry book for summer. I've often found a good shot of motivation to cook n clean over there... She makes it sound so noble and fun!  ;-P  Seriously, I do appreciate how she keeps her focus on serving family and The Lord front n center and includes sweet stories and nostalgic pics. And her "Oh, Honey!" s  always remind me of my dear Grandma Betty who said the same thing!  <3

BTW - my pie was super easy to make - just 5 cups mixed berries, gently folded with 1/2 cup sugar mixed w/2T cornstarch, and a premade crust (yeah, I know, but it's soooo nice to have one waiting in the freezer for unplanned berry surplus & little hands eager to "help"). For extra sparkle n crunch I brush milk n sprinkle sugar on top - an Aunt Ruthie tip!

Here's a recipe from Allrecipes.com w/the details. (my Macs not doing links these days!)

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar and cornstarch. Add strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries; gently toss until berries are coated. When using frozen fruit allow fruit mixture to stand for 15 to 30 minutes, or until fruit is partially thawed.
2. Line a 9 inch pie plate with half of the pastry. Stir berry mixture, and transfer to the crust lined pie plate. Top with second crust, and seal and crimp the edge. To prevent overbrowning, cover the edge of the pie with foil.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 minutes when using fresh fruit, 50 minutes for frozen fruit. Remove foil. Bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Fire bucket

I found this bucket by the side of the road! Being the whacko smart girl that I am, I had to turn around and go back. I planted it with extra vinca vine that is taking over a bed and a few leftover white impatiens. It's hung by the doors to our barn aisle, where I also have a vintage fire safety sign just inside... Too bad you can't really see the blooms against the barn trim now. I have high hopes for an impressive display as it fills out. But for right now, Free n Easy = perfect!

I needed some escape instant gratification. BAD. We've been working like crazy and I've had no time for anything fun or creative. I have a ton of pretty projects n pics just waiting for me to find time. I really need some cleaning help  girlie time. I might have also fallen into a parallel universe where Blogger loads my pics almost instantly. But I don't want to get spoiled and think that's reality... We'll see.
* NOPE twenty min load time EACH again*
IF I get some play time and IF blogger n my dying Mac can get along, I'll post a lot more soon.

Meanwhile, it's hay season here and with the tight economy it's pretty much just the Farmer and I making it all... We do get some nice suckers friends to help unload wagons in the early mornin' hours when it's bearable cool, but by days end we're cooked out. I'll post some pics soon of our pretty hay. It IS a beautiful process. Our kids are super troopers and enjoy the tractor time, but I'd have to say that insane playful Olivia enjoys it by far the most!

What about you? What fun finds have you picked up?

A year in a blink...

Really?!
Our first school year is over ALREADY?
It seems like last week that I put my baby girl up on that huge bus for her first day (and cried)!
Today my little baby finishes and has been told she may now refer to herself as a A FIRST GRADER all summer!
Not even a year ago my bold n outgoing girl was scared to death and clinging to me tearfully at orientation...
Now as she walks down the halls she waves to so many new friends in ALL grades.
She wrote beautiful notes n baked cookies n packed gifts for all - including Miss Miriam the sweet bus driver.
But I bet she'll miss dear Mrs. Luckenbaugh and Mrs. LeBrun and be nervous again by Sept!

The little man has been out of preschool for a week.
He blew us all away 10 (?!) months ago with his bold announcement at the preschool orientation;
I could "go shopping and leave now."
Say what? Where'd my shy n quiet Momma's Boy go???
That was a true testament to our amazing preschool teacher - Miss Martha!!!
She and her warm and supportive assistant, Miss Heidi, sure make that school feel like an educational visit to Grandma's...
They've always gone out of their way to include Jack even when he was tiny and it was Sarah's time.
What a blessing our neighbors insisted we go there - 15 years after their sons had graduated from Miss Martha!

They both act like pros now - just your average b i g kids...

Such a huge transition year that I worried about for my little babies, but THANKS to some AWESOME teachers and fantastic schools, they breezed through, with never a worry or concern!

I am amazed and grateful.

Now on to a crazy fun summer!!!

(Where I might find myself crying b/c they're NOT in school!)

How 'bout your family?