Canning Days

Canning days are here again.

Today we picked a laundry basket full of green beans.  Traditionally, as we work throughout the garden we take up a collection of things--- besides whatever vegetable that we are picking.  This time, in addition to the green beans, it was a collection of frogs and toads. 

This one was my favorite:

Note that Abram made him, and the other toads, a wonderful habitat out of beet leaves and green beans.

Tipping beans has never been a welcome task of mine.  I always begrudgingly complete this chore.  But, today Abram kept my mom and I busy with chatter about frogs and toads.  We were also surrounded by toads in jars and buckets while we spent hours prepping the beans.

After the other toads were released back to nature, "Jumpy," (pictured above) was taken inside with us.  This is the first year that I have pressure cooked beans with a toad in attendance. 

The sun was starting to set and it was time to free Jumpy.  This was very hard for little brother.

Dad and Abram set off to the garden to return Jumpy to his home.  Upon returning inside, Abram sadly said, "I miss him already."

"It will be alright.  Jumpy will grow big and strong.  Hopefully he will eat some of our potato bugs!" I chimed in.

Then Abram brightened a little, "In six years I'll see him again.  I'll say 'hey Jumpy.' And then he'll say 'hey Abram.'  Oh wait... I forgot to tell him my name!"  It was a serious moment, but Aaron and I could not stop ourselves from laughing. 

This Summer

Summer has flown by.  It's already a third over.  And Little Brother cannot wait to get back to school.  Big brother couldn't care less if school ever came.  I explain to him over and over that school is a privilege... not everyone gets to go to school... not everyone can read.... we are very fortunate.... on and on.  But he never seems to have a change of heart.  He enjoys school as a social gathering--- and not much more.  And really, I think that is OK for a 10 year-old.

This summer has been consumed by family and friends.  I am the type of person who would be elated with laying in our hammock and reading a smutty romance novel on my Nook---one that takes absolutely no brain power and a just a little imagination.  But this summer has been RUN RUN RUN (or DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE.)  Drive to swimming lesson (thank God that's over,) Drive to piano, Drive to tutors and so on.  I am looking forward to Thursday---it's the only day I am staying home this week.  I was worried at the end of last school year because keeping two busy boys occupied is never an easy task.  It is hard to switch from full time school to full time home (almost full time- I do work part time.  But then they go to our neighbors which is also like home.)  But now I am dreading them returning back to school because it will be like a piece of me missing...again.  Now I am rambling... onto our bird mishaps....

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Abram has been patiently waiting for, Cujo, our black chicken (who is a tad bit psychotic--- like something right out of a Stephen King book) to get up off eggs that we have been trying to hatch so we can see if the rooster--- Dr. Evil--- has done his job.  Unfortunately Cujo, being the crazy bird that she is, refused to get off of the nest.  Well, the eggs were three days overdue for hatching. I know very little about chickens, I don't know if eggs go overdue (like humans.)  So, I took the very angry bird off of the eggs, kicked the rooster who was defending his hen, and this is what I found out...

I did not know that a chicken would continue to lay eggs even when she is nesting... or brooding... or whatever they do.  Cujo was sitting on over 20 eggs.  This is not good. 

The second thing that I learned is that the rooster did do his job, but Cujo (being like a character out of a really bad animal horror movie) killed the four chicks that had hatched.  I will not go into details, but it sucked. 

So, we bought an incubator and will try again.  In a little more controlled environment--- without psychotic black chickens.

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So, having lost at least four chicks, Abram's heart was broken.  But, guess was he found in the yard?  Oh, yeah.... a baby bird. 

 Some people have caterpillars in their laundry room.  We have a hideously ugly baby bird.  Abram dug worms for it and caught bugs for it.  The bird was so new that it still needed it's food chopped up and needed to be fed.  We even gave it water through a dropper. 

He talked to that little bird that he was the last bird in the world.  It reminded me of a book I read to him and Noah a million times... "Flap Your Wings," by P.D. Eastman.  Abram would tell the bird to flap his wings--- just like the momma and daddy birds in the book (only they were teaching an alligator to fly, you gotta read the book to appreciate it.)

I could only handle taking care of this baby bird for a day.  It was so noisy and so much work.  The bird ate constantly (just like in the book.)  I give props to bird mommas... they put human mommas to shame. 

Eventually I explained to Abram that we could not keep this bird.  I do not have time to give it the care it needs. 

So, Aaron and Abram meandered through our yard in search of a mother bird.  And they found a Robin's nest with two eggs in it.  Aaron gently placed the bird in there.  Imagine what that momma thought when she got home!  Hopefully, she took as good of care of this baby bird--- as the momma bird in the book took care of her alligator.

New Family Members

After a several week hiatus, my computer finally decided to work again (with the help of a spendy new power cord and some gentle--- cough---- coaxing on my part.)  It is not a surprise to anyone that I am not connected to the computer world.  No Face book (I tried for about a week... my account got hacked... I received a few messages from crazy people... and that was that.) No Twitter or Pintrest and I do not have my own email account--- although I am seriously considering it.  Yes, I use my husbands, which he does not like.  But here is somewhere I like to be.  I like to vent my frustrations and document our everyday life.  Even if I do not hit the "publish" button I usually feel much better.  I like the little insight into other peoples lives.  It is inspiring and refreshing. 

The sad thing is, not much has changed since the last time I was here...

We increased our family by 15.  Chickens that is.  Laying hens.  The boys take care of them, but little brother is definitely their guardian.  Abram talks to them like they are people.  The hens are 'his ladies.' 

He will coax them, "Come on girls... lay some eggs now."  Or chide them, "No pecking at each other ladies."  Or get after the ornery rooster.  He scoops bedding, feeds them religiously, makes sure they have enough water, pets them, collects eggs (only I am instant on washing them) and so on.  The chickens look at him with their beady eyes while he coos and fusses over them.  One little hen follows him around like a dog (much to the old roosters dismay.)



I will be the first to admit that I know absolutely nothing about chickens.  But I did learn that the rooster gets his knickers in a twist when you pet/hold/talk to any of his hens.  He and I had a slight argument at the beginning of our relationship (involving a scared Abram... a pan... and a flying rooster) but now we get along fine. 



I also learned that the chickens really like fresh air.  They have layed far more eggs when they are exposed to fresh air.  Even with a German short hair throwing a fit, watching the birds, trying to to figure out which one to point at.  They are constantly "pooping out"---as the boys would say--- eggs like a well oiled factory.










At supper tonight, we were talking about the boy to girl ratio in our family. 

Noah informed us that the ratio changed once we got the chickens home because they are part of our family.  So, including all animals, our ratio is now 17 girls to four boys. 

"The chickens may be part of our family," I said.  "But they are much easier to take care of.  I cannot just stick you in a chicken coop and check on you once a day."

Noah, being the quick witted child that he is, replied, "Yeah... well... we cannot just stick you in the chicken coop and tell you to lay eggs either."  He is too smart for me.

I am not going to even talk about car shopping with hundreds of pounds of chicken feed in the back of our SUV.  By the time we were done, the salesmen thought we were nuts!

Another Change

A slight change entered our lives.  In hindsight, it maybe seemed small but it grew into something much more.

Noah's piano teacher decided that he was moving to Minneapolis and getting "a real job that gives me insurance"---his exact words.  I certainly understand his reasoning.  Living out here in the sticks does not give people many opportunities career wise.  The kicker was, he was moving now.  Only giving a weeks notice. 

So, we had to regroup and frantically find a new piano teacher.  This task, out here in the sticks, is easier said than done.  Two weeks later, the piano teacher is found.  Julia is her name.

I new I was going to like her right away.  Well, because my favorite name in the entire world is Julia.  Kinda silly, I know.  I talked to her on the phone a couple of times and then off we went to meet her. 

Now this lady is not the typical conservative/ Midwestern/ modest lady.  Oh, no...she is definitely unique.  And I love it. 

She is the daughter of a kind of famous local artist.  And lessons are held at her mothers art studio. 

Noah and I hopelessly drove around our rinky-dink little town, searching for this "art studio" and silently praying that we weren't late.  Then my eyes caught it.  An old white shack, for lack of a better term, with a simple hand painted art studio sign hung outside.  And again, I am in love. 

We were greeted outside by Julia's radiating smile and then we entered into another dimension.  Please remember, we left our tidy, traditional, every-thing-is-in-its-place home, and walked into a porch where the grass was literally growing through the floor boards.  Strung beads graced the doorways within the shack.  Piles and piles and piles of beautiful (that seems like an understatement) artwork were everywhere.  There were paint brushes, paints, and countless different types of art media---- everywhere.  Did I mention the parakeets?  Oh, yeah.  There are parakeets, freely flying.  I looked around for bird poop and found none.  They must only poop on the designated newspaper. 

My heart sped up a little (no SVT---its ok girls.)  This is what I love.  I love art.  All kinds of art.  I always have.  It is something that I had to set aside when Aaron and I became parents.  Don't get me wrong, I don't have any regrets.  But I miss painting and sketching.  And sometimes, I secretly still do (but for whatever reason it makes me feel so guilty---there are aways so many chores to complete.) 

Noah and I relayed 'The Shack' story to my hubby.  I added that someday, when the boys are grown and out on their own, I want a shack/ art studio.  That has alway been a dream of mine. 

I thought Aaron would instantly shoot my idea down, telling me how it would not be energy efficient or something.  But, instead he surprises me.  "The neighbors are going to tear down their old grainery, I'll look into maybe moving it to our house," he says.

What?  Did my ears deceive me?  He really just said that.  That is one thing that I love about him.  He is a dreamer, just like me.

Happy Birthday Big Guy!

{I haven't been here in a while... which is somewhere that I want to be.  I will have to strive to come here more.  I wrote this shortly after Abram's birthday (ahem---at the end of March---cough cough) and never got around to pressing publish post button.}

Saturday morning I awoke with a pair of chocolate eyes gazing intently at me.

"MOM!  Get up, get up get up get up... It's my birthday!  I am six!  I grew in my sleep last night!  Do I look taller!"  and on and on and on.  Little brother was exploding with excitement over his birthday.

I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed, and Abram's birthday- day began. 

Aaron had to head to work.  "Abram, you want to go to work with me?" he asked.

"No! I am not working on my birthday!"--- it was a statement that we were surprised to hear from our little work-a-holic in the making. 

Overall the day went well.  Aaron's oldest brother, Ryan, and his family came to celebrate Abram's birthday (and lay some tile--Thank you Ryan!)  And we ended the day with some serious bowling action. 

It is crazy that my little- big guy is six.  Sometimes I lay awake at night and think about the future of my children---  what will they be when they grow up?  Will they be family men or career driven?  Will they move across country?  What ifs and whens and hows enter my mind... it's enough to drive a mom insane!  Ahhh... what an adventure it will be.

Knee Deep

Spring is in full swing here in the midwest.  Warm temperatures have allowed us to wear sweatshirts instead of winter coats.  The windows that I washed in January (yes----January) look dirty...again... and need to be re-washed.  And spring showers have brought us lots of mud puddles to play in and rivers to make. 

Because spring makes the natives restless, today after school went something like this....

"Why don't you boys put on your mud boots and go outside to play in the mud?"  I couldn't believe the words escaped my mouth until they were out (because I had just washed the floor.)

"Mom... did you actually just tell us to go outside and play in the mud?"  Asked Noah.

"Yep."  They jumped at the chance.

Besides mudslinging, to celebrate spring we planted seeds... in our dining room.  Where else would a country girl start seeds? 


My seed saving efforts from last year were foiled by over watering and lack of effort on my part... I will have to make a greater effort this year. 








The seeds have sprouted and have been crushed by our crazy cat several times, while she as in pursuit of flies.  For being a cat, she sure is not graceful.  But, they are still alive and are seeming to recover.

This spring gives way to change... big changes are coming to our life.  Things that I have prayed about and fretted and stewed over.  And, no, I for one am NOT having a baby. Decisions have been made.  Paper work is being completed.  An important deadline was completely missed... so there has been a slight delay that seems to be for the better.  But, all of that is a completely different blog. 

For today, I am just enjoying spring.

A Snow Day

This post is from one of the only snow days we have had this year (which is completely unusual here in the sticks)...


This week I had planned on having today by myself.  I had counted on it.  The boys would be at school and I would get some much needed cleaning, scrap booking, and organizing done. 

But Mother Nature intervened with a blizzard... school was cancelled... and I was accompanied at home by the boys.

Don't get me wrong, I love having them home.  But, I had my life (for this week) plotted out meticulously... step by step... the goals and tasks that needed to be completed day by day... planning that I would have a day alone.  The tasks that I wanted to accomplish---I have a hard time doing when my boys need constant attention. 

So, instead of doing paper work and washing floors and preparing for a much put off tax appointment...

We built snowmen (actually snow boys)....

The 'Mother of All Snowball Fights' was had (and subsequent injuries were treated)...

Cut out cookies were made and frosted...

Heart to hearts were given....

Snow forts were formed and then destroyed and then reformed...

Cold hands were kissed...

Pictures were sketched and painted...

Dad came home early and helped with snow forts...  which, by the way, were much cooler than moms snow fort effort...

The chicken coop was worked on...


I did not get a stitch of cleaning or organizing done.  Instead, we had spent the day doing things the boys wanted to do.  And it was much more special than any amount cleaning/ organizing that I could have completed.

Happy Snow Day my boys!