It's go time...

My parents will be arriving in T - 6 hours. Yee-haw!!! The house has yet to be cleaned. I just went on the back porch to find a black mess from one of the potted plants. It was probably the chipmunk or the husband being over enthusiastic with the hose. They have no bed to sleep on at the moment. The house smells funky.

We have a really fun weekend planned, though. Mom and I are shopping and leaving the boys on their own. We are all going to the renaissance festival this weekend to see the Knights! We just did a little study on knights for fun and I thought we'd wrap it up with this. Plus, it will just be fun.

Well, I'm off to put Mrs. Meyers (lavender scented if you were wondering) to work and get this house clean. I'll be back after a nice long weekend.

An only child...

After stopping over at Rocks in My Dryer and reading the guest post from the Mom of an only child, I thought I'd drop my 2 cents here. This is my blog, so I can do that.

I am the Mom of an only child. It wasn't a choice. We struggled for years after we had my son to have another. It is simply not meant to be. I regret often that we don't have a house full of children. I worry what will happen to our boy when we are gone. Hopefully, he will be a grown Man with a family of his own by then. But I often wish he could have the bond of a sibling. Someone to grow up with and fight with and play with. I REALLY sometimes wish he had someone to play with.

But there ARE good things about being an only child. You really do get all the presents. Our Christmas tree is usually overflowing and it all goes to one child. You would think this would make him spoiled and give him a sense of entitlement. Not really. When he does have someone over to play he's more than willing to share his toys. He gets them to himself all the time.

He can play alone in his room for hours.

He loves to be with us. Now, sometimes this means I am his only source of entertainment. I always envied my friend who could send her kids to the playroom together to play. I can't just send my son off to get him out of my hair. I get to play one more game, be the bad guy, and get captured every time.

Vacations are cheaper.

Our life is generally not hectic. I don't usually have to have some fancy planner to know where we are supposed to be. What activities we have that day and who needs to go where. We're usually on time for everything. There are few battles over getting everyone ready.

It's easy to pick out a restaurant for lunch.

I can buy one kind of pudding.

The regrets that I have are because I didn't realize he'd be an only child. Everything he did was special but I wish I hadn't rushed him. I didn't take full advantage of being pregnant. I really should have held out for more back rubs and let people do more for me.

I won't get to bring another baby home from the hospital, have his first bath, take his first picture, pick out nursery bedding, change tiny diapers, carry a cute diaper bag, hold little hands when they walk, wonder at first steps.

I worry that we put too much on his shoulders. I'm afraid he'll feel like he has to be and do everything we dream for him because there isn't someone else to carry some of that load. He'll want to please his father and please me. And it is a lot to ask for someone to be everything to everyone. We obviously will try NOT to do that and to let him go his own way. But, our son is a people pleaser.

Christmas can be a challenge. We like to have Christmas at home. A few years ago money was tight (when isn't it) so we just bought gifts for him and nothing else under the tree for us. He opened a present or two and waited. He wondered if anyone else was going to open anything. Then he was upset Santa didn't bring us anything. Ouch. So, we won't do that again. I don't care how tight money is, we'll go to the dollar store and get us something to open.

I often don't feel like a real Mom. I can't get on here and go on and on about the chaos in our lives. Things generally run pretty smoothly. And I feel very guilty on days that I can't get it together. I have one child! How hard can it be to get things done? But seriously, when you are the ONLY playmate and confidant, getting things done can be a real challenge.

But there are many many wonderful things about our life. Vacations are easy. He gets the whole back seat. No one fights over which movie to watch. Birthdays are all-out blowouts! He has the most generous and thankful heart of any kid I've ever seen. He says the dogs are his sisters. I'm OK with that. He loves animals. There's not a lot of yelling at our house. Yet, there is a LOT of laughter. The three of us are close as can be. We always say it is us against the world.

I love those big loud families. But, I'm also thankful for the little life we live. It is thoughtful and calm. We all fit on the same couch. We can share a blanket watching a movie.

My boy is a loner. He takes a lot on his shoulders. He likes to take care of me and his Daddy. He wants to adopt every manner of wildlife we see in the woods. He likes to cook with me, watch Star Wars with Daddy, hunt and fish with Pap Pap, snuggle with his "Grammer", wrestle with his uncle, tell stories to everyone who'll listen.

He's going to be very well rounded. He's going to look after those who are smaller than him. It's just his nature. And he can shoot a gun.

Make no mistake, I may not have 8 kids but my quiver IS full. I've got one really big bad arrow.

Contentment

Not that I speak from want,
for I have learned to be content
in whatever circumstances I am.

Phillipians 4:11

"Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, you've got to make a lot of noise, because life is the very opposite of death." Mel Brooks

"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine,
freedom, and a little flower." Hans Christian Anderson

"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory." Susan B. Anthony

"Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead." Anon.

Learning to be content with where we are and what we have doesn't mean we're giving up on what we want. Just that we're grateful for what we have. We need to see that spending our life being discontent only robs us of the joy we could be finding in the simple moments. There is so much joy to be found in those small happy moments. An exuberant hug from my child, a tender kiss from my husband or the touch of his hand to my hair, laughter at the dinner table over a home-cooked meal, a rousing game of "go fish." Life is full of these little moments. When we are caught up in being discontent or wanting to move on it tends to eat up all our conversations and the bitterness creeps into our words and faces.

I want to dream our dreams together. A little homestead, a small town, fresh air and sunshine. I want to dream them with joy though. I don't want to look at them as an escape. I have a wonderful life. It's full of pitfalls and stresses but the little moments are wonderful.

I have so much to be grateful for. So many chances to find joy. Life is complicated, messy, and loud. Just as it should be.

The spirit I intended...

I find that all my talk of throwing off the shackles of the city are not really the spirit of what I intended when I started this.

Something has settled onto my heart today. I find that all my dreams for a farm and land and a fresh start are still there and still strong. However, I also just want a little normal for a while. Without heavy worries of starting over and new jobs. I just want to live the life we have right here and right now.

And I have plans. Plans that include cozying up our home and getting a better handle on our routine. Plans that include giving this place a chance to work on my heart.

I think that sometimes the reasons we are always unhappy lies much deeper in our hearts than what we see. I think we're scared. We get over our heads and think we have to move on. And maybe we will in a few years but right now I'm ready to stop the plotting and planning.

There is joy to be had in a cozy day at home, a simple soup and fresh bread for supper, cookies on Sunday afternoons, a roaring fire, snowmen and hot chocolate, holidays with family, Friday nights playing games and watching movies, slipping off for a weekend and a long-awaited vacation.

Of course, I can work on myself but I can't work on my husband. I hope that he can find peace with working in the city. I think he will. I find my attitude affects his a lot of times. Maybe we can work together.

I think we're looking for freedom more than anything else. And you know what is funny, if we stay here and catch up and get our lives together, we'd have more freedom than we've ever had before. It's something to think about.

Our path to a simpler life....

So, we've talked an awful lot about ditching the rat race lately. Getting away from the city. Taking a cut in salary, buying a piece of land and all that good stuff. We want it and want it bad.

We KNOW that this is what we want. We've decided to work up a plan to get us where we want to be. I know that there will never be a perfect time to do something like that. It's like having a baby, there is never a "perfect" time to decide to have a baby. You just do it.

I'm thinking we should set up a time line. Say two years. Fall of 2010. In the mean time, we take the acre we've got here and we have two more summers to plant and practice, we buy food in bulk like we're out in po-dunk, we make things from scratch, build things, learn and research and save, save, save. We stop worrying about big schemes and live a normal life in the mean time. Take a few weekends away, spend time in the country together. Buy things like a lawn tractor that we'll need. Simplify our lives. Have simple home grown holidays.

And if the Fall of 2010 comes looming on the horizon and we are still struggling and not in that "perfect" place to pick up and move, we do it anyway. We prepare ourselves the best that we can and we do it anyway.

You know of course, the other option, the one that is hard to resist is the voice that says, do it now. Take all those hits now. Go where you want to be and then take the next two years to recover. But at least be in that place you need to be. Get out of the city. And that voice is so very hard to silence. It's a constant urging to just go. Find a simpler path. To find a path with time to be together. A husband without the weight of the city on his shoulders. The land to sustain us through the tough days. The peace and quiet to hear your own thoughts. To give our son the gift of his parents. To all get a chance to make a life that we want. Oh, I know we couldn't buy a farm right now. But, we could get out of the city. Leave the rats behind. Find a place with open skies, and welcoming arms. A little Church where the Sunday School teacher actually knows the kids' names and doesn't have to have traffic control. Church suppers and Friday night football games. Ugh, I have to stop talking about this or I'll lose my reserve altogether.

I'm sitting here staring out the window and the wooded acre here. I see no birds or squirrels. I hear the constant hum of traffic, horns and sirens. I get so sick of the traffic and sirens. How many freaking fires can there be in one day?

But, it's all doable. It's just working out the timeline. Getting the ducks in a row. And then doing it anyway!

Menu Plan Monday

We're getting a cool front out of Canada for this week. Highs around 81-83 degrees and much lower humidity. I'm so very glad. We've really been in the mood for comfort food. Plus, I'm getting my new stove on Wednesday. I'm so excited. The stove here is around 30 years old. No lie. The oven is so yucky. I can't even say how I feel about it. It is nice to have the new stove just in time for baking season. My parents are coming at the end of the week for the long weekend so menus are short for me this week! Also, I'm uninspired by the end of summer and a faulty stove. It will all be much more creative next week!

Monday: Smoked Sausage, Au Gratin potatoes, Green beans

Tuesday: Grilled Cheese, soup of choice (Soccer Night)

Wednesday: New stove is supposed to be in. Will be pulling out the old one and putting in the new one after hubby gets off work. We'll probably just get pizza.

Thursday: Spaghetti, salad, garlic toast

Friday: My parents arrive. We'll be going out.

Breakfasts: Cereal, poptarts, baked oatmeal (after the oven goes in)

Lunch: Ham sandwiches, bologna, chips, cheese sticks, fruit

See many many more (and much more creative) menus HERE!

September School/Home Plans

SCHOOL:

We've gotten the school year off to a decent start. We've been doing some review and the Knights Lapbook was a huge hit. We're going to the renaissance fair Labor Day weekend to wrap the whole thing up.

My biggest thing is that I've realized we really need to do some work on our school room. At one time I thought it would be a good idea to put all the legos, Lincoln logs, Tinkertoys, and other building toys into the school room. However, I've realized I was insane. It's a mine field in here.

So, we are doing some rearranging of the rooms. I hope to do that as soon as my parents leave from their visit. I'm also going to paint in here. It's peach and I just can't take the peach any more.

I'm going to add another Lapbook in for September. I'm thinking of one on weather or perhaps space.

We'll take a trip to an apple orchard.

We've built a squirrel feeder to put out. And also have a bird feeder to fill. We need to make homemade suet cakes.

I'm changing our reading program and adding in actual handwriting. We'll continue with math as we have been for the time being. Need to make up the Fall reading list. We are enjoying the Scooby Doo mystery books together. I'm wondering about trying a Hardy Boys book. I don't think he'd go for Nancy Drew!

I'm going to lengthen our school day and also TRY to add more arts and crafts.

We'll continue to keep up our nature journal and watch as the seasons change. We are LOVING our daily nature walks and keeping up with our journal.

HOME:

It's time to take down the pool, put up all the floaties and clean off the deck.

I'm pulling up the garden. It didn't do well but I know it was mostly my fault. I'm done with it. I will put the black fabric down on the herb garden that we pulled up from a previous tenant. It was so overrun with onions. You couldn't kill them. We finally cleared it out and I don't want it growing back. I want that space next year to be usable.

We cut down some hideous shrubs and need to pull out the stumps.

We have some switching around of rooms and furniture. And some painting.

My new oven comes in on Wednesday. (YES!!!!)

It's baking season again! (We'll be having baked oatmeal for breakfasts and fresh baked bread with supper).

I want to make some homemade applesauce from the orchard.

Need to get a couple loads of wood.

Clean the fireplace and tools.

Start washing up the winter bedding and hanging on the line.

Start planning Christmas. Get notebook put together. Start working on Christmas scarves for everyone.

Give the kitchen a good scrubbing and organizing before holiday baking starts. Jamie bought me a big giant shelf for the garage for canned goods and extra appliances that are eating up space in my kitchen. It will be nice to get that all organize.

It sounds like September is going to be a busy month. I like it that way. It makes it easier to be content. I'm looking forward to the cool down this week. Yay!!!!

A little deep for today...

Do you ever wonder where you went?

Sometimes I'm so sick of worrying and wondering. Planning and plotting. I wonder where I went. What day, what event started to turn the tide and turn me into this discontented worrier. I think it was when my husband's company laid him off and we had to move into my parent's basement.

It was such a dose of cold water. I'd been able to go along until that time feeling somewhat invincible. Sure, money was tight and we'd had our share of financial problems. But, that was the first time I was really scared about our future. I'd always just assumed we'd come out OK. It was OK to dream big. I realized that I'm not actually in control of our life. Shocker there!!

Now every dream seems to come with an * at the end. I really want to live in the country on some land.* Won't it be great to have some chickens and a giant garden!

*I know that may not happen and it will take a long time for that to happen and right now that dream is impossible so I'm not really counting on it happening but it makes me happy to think about it so I'll use that dream to get me through the day.

But, now, today, I just really want to be carefree and happy again. I want to put the plans into place and just be able to go on. To know the big bad wolf is out there but to not be so scared of it.

I get so caught up in trying to make better tomorrows that I forget to make today better. I could be a better mother, a better wife. Instead of wishing I had the money to take a vacation, I could make a vacation here. Instead of wishing we could find a cabin and getaway, we could turn the lights off, light the fireplace, turn off the TV play a real boardgame on the coffee table and light the candles.

I think my family is way too interested in their technology for this though. Maybe I'll just have to work on them.

Not really the point. I just sometimes wonder where my husband and I went. Where that happy carefree couple that used to just take off for the weekend went. Where to two people that were happy to make the best of any situation went. We seem to have a new hobby of being miserable.

We can't seem to be happy anywhere. No house is good enough. No yard big enough. No sky blue enough. The mountains are too tall. The plains are too flat. The trees are too small. The trees are too tall. The place is too deserted. The traffic is too heavy. The stores are too far away. The stores are too close.

Where did these pessimists come from and how to I get rid of them?

A change is coming...

There is a change in the air this morning. I went out to feed our dogs and you can just feel it. I know it is still the middle of August and we have a little more of summer to get through. But, you can tell that Fall is not far behind.

For me Fall is a time for new things. Renewal. I don't feel that way in Spring. In Spring I'm ready to just get on with Summer. In Fall, I get a taste of things to come. I love getting our winter clothes washed up and ready to go, buying outerwear for my son and making our home cozy.

Great things always happen to me in the Fall. I fell in love with my husband carving pumpkins on the deck of his apartment. Our wedding was in October of the next year. Our son was born in October of the following year. Fall is good.

This year it will be wonderful! I'm looking forward to cozying up our home for the cold months. My husband and I talked it over and decided to redecorate. Invest in organizing and getting our place nice. We rented this place for the yard and the trees. The house leaves a little to be desired. However, it has good bones. We decided with a little creativity and elbow grease we can dig in and make it nice here. We want to be here a few years while we save money and pay off bills. But, we thought we'd take just a little bit of money and make this place nice.

We can paint so we'll be painting a few rooms. Moving things around. Buying lots of containers and taking major trips to Goodwill and probably the dump. My parents are visiting next weekend so I can't really start anything. Boo hoo!!! But, I'm glad they are visiting so I won't complain.

I think we'll feel so much better and a lot less temporary once things are put away and looking pretty. YAY!!!!

Simple things...

I sometimes wonder what it would feel like to just ditch all the modern conveniences. To build a log cabin with my family, farm the land and simplify our lives. I know realistically, I'd never really do that. However, I'd love to simplify.

Sometimes I feel like I can't even hear my own thoughts because I'm being drowned out by the sound of the TV, the radio, the computer, the traffic, the fans, the air conditioner, sirens, video games and much more. There are days I just long for a little silence. I want to hear the wind rustle in the trees, the bugs buzzing around, the birds talking, a frog in the pond, the call of something wild in the woods.

Do I want to go live Little House on the Prairie? Well, no. But I'd love to have lace curtains blowing in the breeze. To NOT hear the constant hum of traffic and sirens. To have notice of people coming up my drive by the barking of the dogs. To sit on my front porch in my nightgown drinking hot tea and watch the sun rise or set. To curl up by the fire with a book and watch the snow pile up and not worry that anyone in my family has anywhere to be. To sleep with the windows open. To walk down a quiet country lane with my husband and son and pick wildflowers on the way home. I want to NOT have to duck for cover when the neighbor is out. To NOT see the old lady standing at the fence staring at my wash on the line.

I need to love and to nurture. I have so much more of myself to give. I want a few animals, some privacy, a garden and soil to call my own.

I used to spend summers on my Grandparent's farm. They had all these things and it was wonderful. I speak from the mind of a child. But, I spent my summers there clear through high school and a few in college. The work was hard. I would snap beans on the porch until my fingers were numb. My Grandma had the biggest garden I have ever seen and she had flowers everywhere. It was enchanting. I would haul water from the spring to water them when it was dry. It was soothing and purposeful. There was a lot of work feeding the chickens and don't even get me started about the summer we mad 'kraut. UGH! Shaving and pounding cabbage in a crock. But there was something about getting the eggs that morning and frying them in the pan.

I'd love to give my son that taste of purpose. Of growing food, seeing where it comes from. Raising a cow, picking apples and peaches. Driving a dusty dirty farm truck across the field. The wonderful thing is in these modern times you have a safety net. If it doesn't work out, you can always go to Wal-Mart.

Menu Plan Monday

My menu for the week is bound to look a little disorganized. I like to grocery shop two weeks at a time and this is week two. Sometimes things can start to run a little lean. Also, we are getting rid of one of our cars so we'll just be a one car family. At least for a while. Which means, I won't be running to the grocery store whenever I need something. I'll have the car on days when I have school functions, field trips or park days.

We're back to homeschool now. I think it is almost LESS hectic. The days seem to flow a lot better and with a much better routine. I need to do a better job menu planning to help that along!

MONDAY: Spaghetti and Meatballs (meatballs from batch I made a couple weeks ago and froze), Garlic Bread, Salad

TUESDAY: Husbands Birthday. He has requested Italian meatloaf stuffed with mozzarella cheese, mashed potatoes, and corn. I have just realized this is going to be a LOT like meatballs. Oh well. We'll also make a birthday cake.

WEDNESDAY: Grilled Chicken legs, Rice, green beans and rolls.

THURSDAY: Pinto Beans and Corn bread

FRIDAY: Beef and Bean Burritos (using leftover pintos)

Saturday: It is grocery shopping week. We'll grocery shop and pick something up to cook on Saturday.


Italian Meatloaf: I don't really have a recipe. I just made it up one day and it was a hit.
Ground Beef
Italian Bread Crumbs
Eggs
Basil
Oregano
Chopped garlic
finely chopped onion
hit of tomato sauce

Mix together and divide in half. Put half in the bottom of a loaf pan. Take mozzarella cheese and place on bottom half leaving room to seal the edges. Top with remaining loaf.

Top Meat loaf with tomato sauce and Italian herbs. Bake until cooked through. Allow to stand before cutting for a few minutes or cheese will all run out. It's not a very healthy meatloaf but it gets the MANLYMANHUSBAND seal of approval.

Check out more Menu Plans here!!!

I'm alllll allllloooonnnneeee!!!

There's no one here besiiiiiiddde meeeee....

It is 5:35 on Friday evening. I've showered. I'm in my pajamas. I'm putting White Christmas in the DVD player.

The husband and the son are out to dinner and off to see Star Wars.

I think this is going to be the start of a wonderful tradition in our house. Four blessed hours that I am ALL ALONE!

Must go. I'm having popcorn for dinner.

New with School

I think we're going to start something new with our school. I'm going to try some unit studies. We're starting with Knights and Castles. There's a really great Renaissance fair that starts at the end of the month and I thought we could tie it all together. We'll see how it goes since we're making our first Lap Book. I can really see N. enjoying the whole process because he likes to be hands on and this kind of breaks everything down. Now, if I survive it, we'll see.

Time

I know that no one really reads this. It is just nice to pretend I'm talking to someone. It's like a journal.

Anyway, I sounded very unhappy in my last post. I'm not unhappy. I'm just frustrated. I DO like a lot of things about where we are. The yard is awesome and I love the fireplace. My frustration is more with being temporary. Just wanting my own place.

And it will pass. I will remember to do my best to make this place a home. I will keep my feelings from clouding our life here. It's a good place to call home. And while we are doing our time here, paying our dues for the mistakes we've made, I WILL remember that I have a wonderful, full life. I have a husband I adore and a son who it the light of my life. I will do my very best to make this a home for them.

Some day we will move on. I want to look back on this time with happy memories.

A home

I'm feeling lost today. Not where I want to be, not sure where that is, exactly. I'm lost between what I want to be and what I am. Wondering why things are such a mess sometimes. Everything seems so much easier for other people.

I think we do this to ourselves, though. We can never be satisfied. We are always jumping around to something else. From the minute we moved in, we've been trying to move out. The problem is I'm not sure if this is the best place for us. I'm not sure it is the right side of town or even the right town for that matter. But, WHY? Why do we do this. I think we must jump into our decisions far too quickly. We get scared and we make a run for it.

I see the life I want for my family in my mind. It's always just a little bit out of reach. Actually, I see several versions our life. It's kind of funny. Sometimes we're in a nice subdivision on the better side of town. We have BBQs in the back yard, friends across the street and we always try to outdo our neighbors with Christmas lights. The yard isn't real big the the neighborhood has nice streets for bike riding, maybe a pool. There's a neighborhood picnic in the summer.

Sometimes I see us out in the country. A little log home with a HUGE garden. We are sitting on the front porch in a swing enjoying the breezes and listening to the crickets. Or snow is falling and we are all tucked up inside all nice and cozy. N. has 4-H projects, the dogs are laying in front of the fireplace, we all have mud boots lined up along the mudroom. We've planted a Christmas tree every year and really made a home place.

Never, though, in my imaginings, are we HERE. It's lonely and isolated here but without the privacy of the country. It's just a bunch of grumpy old people, abandoned houses and overgrown yards.

But, maybe it isn't the place. Maybe it is what it represents. We are living in someone else's house. We gave up the house we owned when we left West Virginia. We lost a lot of money and really hurt ourselves financially to make this move. We sacrificed a large part of our future to come here. We sacrificed our relationships with family and friends. Some days I feel so out of place. I don't belong here, but I don't belong back there either.

Mostly, I don't want to be a renter. I want a home of my own. I want to plant things I can watch grow for years and years. I want family traditions, holiday tables, friendships, a Church family, to wake up one morning and decide I want a lavender bedroom, . To have a safe haven for my family that is ours. This being a renter, being temporary, is the biggest block to being content I have in my life. We've moved so many times.

Give me a trailer, a vinyl village, a farm house, a shack. Just make it mine.

I'm at the end of my rope. I'm tired. I just want to be home.

State Fair

Ok, really there is no better way to say this. We went to the State Fair and it ROCKED! So much so, we are going back this week. We didn't get to see everything because we spent so much time with the animals. We didn't even get to ALL the animals.

We really had the best time. N. and I have decided to buy a farm and raise a cow for 4-H. There's the problem of money and J. having to work in the city. But, we see those and minor obstacles.

Oh, and I had a huge hand-dipped corn dog smothered in mustard. We skipped the deep fried brownies. Ick.

And, I must admit that the state fair here is probably 4 times as big as the one in WV and more people are at this one on a WEEKDAY than live in the entire city of Charleston, WV.

The State Fair is definitely a point in favor of our new home.

It's a good start...

The weather is absolutely perfect today. The sun is shining. The sky is blue. There is no humidity. It is currently 64 degrees. High today around 80.

It is amazing what a little break in the heat can do for your sense of well-being. It's like that odd 70 degree day in February. A spirit lifter.

We have company coming today and I have many things to do. I am full of ideas and dreams for gardens and potting sheds. I'm realizing my negative attitude has caused me to miss out on the wonderful things around me. The acre of land I have here and the free reign I've been given to enjoy it. It isn't mine in name but I'm going to be here a while. I should enjoy it. So, I'm planning gardens for next year, flower beds, dried herbs, and expanding my patch of dirt for veggies. There is a two-story barn on the property. It's in wonderful shape but overtaken by bugs and spiders. I think we'll reclaim it. Clean it out, spray it for bugs, hang curtains in the windows and turn it into a club house and potting shed. N. can have the upstairs. He'll be thrilled!

Yikes. 9:00 and much to do!

A Blossom

You know, I haven't been in my new home state for even a year yet. Already though, I can see how we are blossoming here. As a family. It is hard sometimes not to have a circle of family and friends to rely on. At the same time, I think we, as a family, have come together in ways I didn't realize were missing.

My husband has been supportive and has really taken an active role in N.'s life. He's really come to the plate helping me with school. He knows that come the weekend, I've spent a week at home and will need to get out. And even now, he's looking for some country roads so we can drive with the windows down and the leaves billowing out behind our tires this Fall.

There are festivals coming this Fall and I am SO ready to attend. Indiana is still largely agricultural despite having the 12th largest city in the nation. So, harvest festivals abound. We moved here late November and we missed all the festivals. BUT, Thanksgiving was COLD here. Back home we frequently could have eaten on the picnic table. We wore sweatshirts to put up Christmas lights and cut our tree down. Here, last year, we went to cut down our tree and nearly got frostbit. Call me crazy, but I love a cold Christmas.

And yes, I'm already thinking of the holidays. August is like February. It's just a month I could skip all together. August is too hot to do anything. Summer is winding down but the cool breezes of Autumn are not yet on the horizon. So, I like to start planning the holidays. It gives me hope for the change of seasons. As much as I loved West Virginia, I would get worked up over the change into Fall but most often it stayed hot through October. The nights would cool down and the mountains would have a nice chill. But, for the most part, I would never get that crisp Fall day I craved until after Halloween. So, I'm looking forward to a little crispness in the air.

Oh, and it seems the Midwest is due a cold spell this weekend. Low 52. High 80. And we're going to the State Fair. It promises to be a great weekend!

Home

I miss home today.

I'm not from that part of the state but have driven through there many times. But it really just represents the whole state. I've seen views like that hundreds of times and taken them for granted. When I look out my window I see flat land, houses upon houses, cars and busy roads. No lonely highways here.

But I also see my son's sandbox, a giant Oak Tree, a gentle breeze, grass that needs cut, and my future.

But, I'll always love home.

It's the little things...

Sometimes it is something so simple and little that gets in the way of being content. Just a tiny chink in the armor and the next thing you know, your walking around with a chip of discontentment resting on your shoulder.

For me yesterday it was this silly video I was watching of these people dancing at their wedding. It was so funny and irreverent. I was laughing. Then I was hit with a wave of sadness. I wanted to BE like them. I wanted to be free to have fun like that. To laugh with my husband at ourselves. To dance, sing, laugh, joke, anything. We've been so serious lately. Everything is a HUGE deal and everything is a DISASTER. The money, we must talk about the money. All. The. Time.

And I get that this was just a snippet of these people's lives. Who knows what was waiting for them after the fun. But, that is just the point. They danced anyway. They were having fun anyway. Maybe everything for them is roses and sunshine and it is easy to laugh and have fun with each other. Maybe it isn't.

I know that life is serious. We have lots of things in our lives right now that are real problems. Big problems that need to be solved. I'm glad we are open in communicating them. I'm glad that we tackle them head on and that we talk about it together. We couldn't love each other more. I couldn't ask for a better man to share my life with.

But still, I wish we remembered to have a little more fun with each other.

First Day of School...

We had our first official day of homeschooling today. I thought it went well. I had this huge day planned for us. Sort of a HOMESCHOOL EXTRAVAGANZA!!! But, then Sunday night I thought, "am I crazy?!" So, I pretty much scrapped the whole plan. We came in with bacon and pancakes (kid's choice), we went for a nature walk armed with our camera and notebook, did some review, an educational game, cozied up in bean bag chairs and read books, "played" a reading game on the computer, and talked about what we'd be doing this year.

It was a great first day back. Our first real day. Last year was kindergarten and there wasn't really much going on. This is First Grade. Real School. I'm not such a stickler for routine and I don't run a real tight ship. If we aren't at our desk by 8:00, I don't freak out. However, his education is very important to me. So I'm making sure I get everything covered. At the same time, if we follow a few rabbit trails, that's OK, too.

We walked out the back door this morning to look around the backyard and walked right into a Hawk eating his breakfast. I got a few pictures but he was pretty far away and my camera isn't the greatest. That is the first time we have seen one. Let alone on the ground eating. We found the remains of his breakfast. Ick. I left it there for J. to deal with. After all, he wants to be part of the learning experience, too.

Menu Plan Monday

Yay! My first Menu Plan Monday. I love to plan our menus. I ALWAYS have a plan before I go grocery shopping. We may not stick to it perfectly but it does serve us well as a guide. This is our first week back to home schooling after the summer. So, I may be overly ambitious here.

Monday: Homemade pizzas

Tuesday: Roasted Turkey, stuffing, dumplings, sweet potato casserole, rolls. I am in a Fall kind of mood and turkey was $.78 a pound last week. It is supposed to be cooler toward the end of the week so it may get moved.

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Pinto beans, cornbread

Friday: Company is coming for the weekend. We will be eating out on Friday Night.

Saturday: Going to the State Fair. Will likely just consume 4,000 calories of junk food. Corn dogs, Ribeye sandwiches, cotton candy, candy apples, funnel cakes etc... And Saturday night we will lay around miserable from the heat and the junk food we ate.

Sunday: We will take company out to breakfast before they leave. Will probably just grab something cheap later in the day for supper.


Usually I am much more imaginative. I'm just trying to stretch things a bit this week due to company coming for the weekend.

Check out more menus at Organizing Junkie.

Turn of the tide...

In a wonderful turn of events, I'm going STOVE SHOPPING with the owner of the house next week. Be. Still. My. Heart.

We might just save Christmas after all!