Easy like Sunday morning... two weeks ago.

Oops... just realized a Sunday morning pic post never made it up.  I love technology but relying on my phone to do my posting is obviously not the best idea.  So, better late than never:

Chilly!

Snow in early November??  Weather in the 20's??  This southern girl was not ready for all that. But I do love a fire... And so do the girls!

Porch and Big Lollies

Outting

Wrote a lovely post about my recent outting with the girls to a local park. And just realized that in my dumbness with a smart phone I have been posting not to this blog but to an old one I haven't used in years. So.... Better late than never here are a few pics of our most lovely evening. 

Where did summer go?  My oldest started first grade (what?!) this week, and her sisters will start classes in the next two weeks.  It's our first year of all three in school.... 3 year preschool, 4k and 1st grade.  And Farmer Allen finally gains two small windows of farm-only time on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  What will he do with no little girls running around him for 4 hours straight?  Hopefully work on the darned addition that I am so ready to see complete.  We are getting close.... dry wall is hung and finished. And I snuck in a look at paint swatches today during my lunch.  Oh the girly colors my kiddos want.... never did I think I'd have a house with a lavendar room beside a pale pink room and yet now it is a possibility.  We are hanging up some of our darker colors (bye bye brown bedroom) for some more light and airy spaces.  De-clutter.  Simplify. 

Stuck out of my house during renovation, so how am I passing my time at my parents'?  By putting food in jars.

Crochet, peaches, and crazy dancing.

It's what we are up to:

New crochet project in the works (no, still haven't finished the blanket!!)

Peaches heading into cans for later consumption.

Playing on the new front porch.  The girls have deemed it to be the perfect stage!

From my understanding, the addition now has windows and soon air conditioning will be returned to our little 800 square foot family nest.  Whew!

Front porch

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a front porch.  I am happy to say that we finally have a rocking chair worthy porch in process.

Granny Squares

Since I can't be at home right now, I am trying to make the most of my time by preparing to fill some new space.  And using up some of my crazy yarn stash at the same time.  Current project: granny squares.  What will they become?  I guess I will figure that out on down the line.  I guess if this renovation takes too long, this may go from farm blog to crochet blog!

Other  current hobby: crazy pictures with the kids.

Hot

Our house is hot.  Hopefully we will ba able to put the air conditioner back in three weeks.  Unfortunately that is another three very hot July weeks.  

The girls and I have jumped ship to sleep at my parents.  That means two things - lots of swimming and extra time to work on the never ending blanket.  Trying to get it done before we finish her new room.  Getting closer...

Progress

The addition is coming along.  If I was on top of my game, I would be taking pictures.  I am not on top of my game.  I am, however, grateful for the crazy, rainy June weather that we had - it kept our house livable while we deal with lack of air conditioning.  Hopefully in another 3 weeks we will be back up and running.  Of course, those would be the last 3 weeks of July!!  It will be worth it, it will be worth it, it will be worth it....

My flower picker

Daddy and daughter tractor time

Summer concert

Rainy day

And so it begins...

Ground was finally broken Friday.  Permit ws hung.  Addition to the house is officially underway.  Between a mass boom in business at work, Allen working Saturday mornings at the farmer's market (managing, not selling!), it being our busy farm season, and a house project, I imagine I will be MIA on this blog for a few months.  Or maybe I'll get on the ball and photo-document our journey to having more than one bathroom!!! 

Old Town Market

http://www.onlyinoldtown.com/fresh

Less than two weeks until the farmer's market opens up for the summer!  Come on out and support your local farmers on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings!!!  No, we will not be selling veg this year, but Farmer Allen will be running the Saturday market, so stop in and say hello!

Raspberries and salad

This year Allen relocated our raspberry patch to give them more room to grow and to give the girls easier access to pick them.  The girls love the satisfaction and immediate gratification of picking and immediately eating them.  While the raspberries are enjoying their new spot, they have left behind a bit of a mess.... more and more raspberry plants popping up all over the area they once were.  And it makes me sad to pull and toss a perfectly good plant.  So .... we are trying to sell our friends one why they should offer our baby plants a good home to grow!!  Come and get them! 

Last night I ate my first salad out of the garden.  Well, the lettuce was out of the garden.  It was so yummy.  And colorful.  And happy.  And I'm eating another one for lunch today!  I do understand the thrill my kids get of picking their own food.  It is a beautiful thing knowing that a half hour prior to it being on my dinner plate.  While we are enjoying our meats from a local farm (pork and beef), I cannot wait to be at a point where at any given meal I can claim all the meat and veg as being raised by us. 

 

Easter

I'd say this picture about sums it all up.

Bunnies!

Spent a couple nights last week churning out Peeps-style bunnies.  I definitely am happy with the results.

 As was Emma.

 And Mary Claire.

 And Olivia.

 They call them their "Squishes" because the little bunny bellies are squishy (stuffed).  Love seeing my babies enjoying things I have made.  Makes my heart smile!

Also love a table with fresh flowers and a room smelling of daffodils.  Now if only the weather would get on board with being spring ALL the time instead of only half of the time.  Go. Away. Rain. And. Cold.

The Sickness.

After making it all winter with only minor colds here and there, I hate to say that our house has officially been hit with The Sickness.  It was brought to us courtesy of our kindergardner, whose school is currently experiencing flu in epidemic porportions.  Lovely.  Emma was first down, followed by Allen, and now Olivia.  Mary Claire and I are keeping our distance.  This one is definitely a doozy.  I guess it's better to be sick while we had the miserably cold and dreary weekend and still-cold week.  If only that sun would quit shining in such a teasing way.... I keep expecting to walk outside and enjoy the warmth.  But there is no warmth.  Is it not supposed to be spring already?! 

Crossing my fingers for a not-freezy/not-rainy/not-sick Easter. 

This weekend.

 Possibly my new favorite picture of all the girls

I love a sunny day.  There is nothing like fresh sheets or towels hung out on the clothes line.  These girls crack me up.... they love a fresh smelling blanket, but cannot stand to be separated from their "memes" long enough for them to dry.

Riding.

It's that time of the year again.... when the girls give up half of their play room to a table covered in seed trays.  When we start daydreaming about the fresh produce we'll be eating in no time.  When we rush to get the peas in the ground before it gets too warm.  It's the almost spring push and it never fails to make me feel like re-organizing, cleaning, rethinking how I do things.  Late winter fever??  I don't know, but at least it seems to make me productive.  I'm moving stuff out of the house with a vengeance!  How is it that we manage to accumulate so much stuff?!  And stuff we really do not need?

My current big project is The Great Room Swap of 2013.  Yes, Emma is finally getting her own room.  Sparked by Olivia deciding to sleep at the foot of Mary Claire's bed every.single.night.  Who knew it would be so hard to separate Emma and Mary Claire's stuff... same size clothes, into the same toys, and rooming together for the last 3 years.  Not sure what I was thinking but it's too late to turn back now!!!  My list of projects has also grown with the move.... a rug, blanket, and decorations for Emma's new abode all seem to be top priority (to her at least!). 

Snow!

Yes, this evening it snowed.  Not for a very long time, but enough to accumulate over an inch.  Hopefully it will still be there in the morning for the girls to play in.

Inside I chose to sit and crochet in front of a toasty fire. One of my recent projects - booties for my newest nephew Caleb!

 Random backyard playtime pics:

Valentines

Not sure how I've caught the Valentines bug.... but all of a sudden I want to make heart shaped ice, sugar cookies with red sprinkles, hair bows with heart on them, make red, gawdy cards....  And thankfully I have three little girls who are happy to join me in any and all Valentines decorating, planning, doing that my little heart desires.  I guess after a long winter of crocheting, I'm enjoying some different "domestic goddess" type projects! 

Oh, and my other side project right now - trying to take what I would only guess to be at least 5,000 pictures I've taken in 2012 and condense them down into a 12ish page coffee table photo book.  This should be interesting....

My kind of winter day