Is It Really November Already?
Previously on Goodness Grows Farm:
Labor Day weekend we spent camping (in luxury in our dear friends travel trailer) at Seneca Hills Conference Center - a beautiful Christian camp in Franklin, PA. We had a wonderful time visiting with friends, despite the rain for the last few days and using the amazing facilities!
I am so in love with this little guy! In September, he had just started walking and he kept us on our toes as he toddled around the campsite, making sure he stayed away from the fire!
Not sure why Maggie looks so desolate and sad, but what a funny picture! Someone must have told her that it was her last smore for the night. I look that way too when people tell me that.
Once at the rec center, Whitaker had a ball. Literally!
He had such a good time that he ended up in a mini bath in the outdoor sink!
Willie had his fourth birthday this month. He was the line leader at his preschool on his birthday and we brought mini cupcakes for the class. This guy kills me. He's lovey dovey one minute and then Mr. "Get away" the next. Mostly though, he's a lovey dovey!
Scarecrow Down
Pennsylvania Scarecrow Massacre
I can't decide which caption best fits this scene.
It was a bumpy ride but lots of fun!
We did a count and figured we had 37 kids at our event! Everyone stopped for a few seconds on the way into the pumpkin patch for me to capture this picture.
Whitaker waits patiently for everyone else to finish.
And that's what you missed !
A Day In The Life Pictorial
In the morning, I wake to this little lovey. He lies in his bassinet and coos and talks until I get up and get him out to feed him. When I peek over the edge of his bassinet and he sees me, he gives me a huge smile and my heart swells with love.
Walker loves helping me with Whitaker. I taught Walker how to make a formula bottle and feed Whit. I'm thinking this may come in handy! Walker got his teacher and bus assignments yesterday. It's really hitting home how much I'll miss him. This morning when he woke up, he was telling me something as he picked out his clothes, and I kind of got lost listening to him - flashing back to him as a little guy and looking at how grown up he is now - how he seems more like a boy than a little boy. *Insert sobbing here.*
After supper when I went outside, here's what I saw.
This is one Cookie. She is a pygmy goat and is pregnant. Heavens, does she waddle. I feel for ya, sister. I think she's very glad the temperature has dropped finally.
Erik cleaned out the barn last night so the herd was released to the yard. We have a couple really cute babies too. They are so fun to watch. The large furry animal on the right is our LLalpaca or Allama - it's an Alpaca/Llama cross. He tends the herd and watches for predators.
Three months ago, this little guy didn't like his baths so much. His tub must have felt so big and scary.
Last night, this big guy got a bath and now look at how small the tub is. He's going to be able to go in the big bath tub soon. I can't wait until he enjoys splashing and playing in the tub. But then, he'll be growing up. I'm not ready for any of them to grow up.
Maggie has been so worn out at night lately that she just fell asleep on the daybed the other night after supper. I am glad that sending kids to bed dirty is not cause for protective services to take your kids away from you. Because I'd wager that this summer at least 5 out of 7 nights a week my kids go to bed with a considerable amount of dirt on them. That's ok - skin, hair, clothes and sheets all wash up pretty easily.
Because moments like this go pretty fast!
Goodness Grew!
We've got a joyful addition to our lives!
Whitaker Scot Schwalm joined us May 26th.
What a blessing.
The doctor called about 8:30 that morning and said some test results indicated that it would be in my best health to go ahead and deliver today. So, by 10 am we were at the hospital getting ready. My mom and sister got there shortly after we did! It was crazy. I guess they were pretty excited.
This picture of my mom makes me cry a little because she looks so much like my Grammie (her mom) - which is unusual because most people say my mom takes after her dad (my Papa). I actually took this picture from my recovery bed - she was busy posing for my sister, but from my angle, I saw this and wanted to have a copy for myself.
My mom was such a trooper this week. I am so grateful for her giving up her routine and comfort for me to come out and care for the older three children while I was at the hospital and so Erik could work one day. She made sure Walker got to school on time and clean, kept my wild middle two occupied and happy, and did odds and ends around the house so Erik wouldn't get overwhelmed and I would be OK with the state of the house when I got home from the hospital. She kept on top of laundry and even cleaned the laundry room (which was Erik's responsibility). When she and Erik left the hospital on Wednesday night, I felt horrible because I had not gotten around to finishing some of the chores I had wanted to have done in order for her to stay comfortably with us. I had washed the bedding for her room, but didn't get it put on the bed and I wanted to either get her a good fan or possibly an air conditioner to use while she was with us too because I knew it was going to be so stinking hot and she is like me and would rather be freezing cold than too hot. We don't have central air conditioning and survive with two window A/C units - one in our bedroom and one in the sun room which we can block off from the rest of the house with our pocket doors. I just felt awful that she wasn't going to be comfortable sleeping at our house. But I was relieved to hear that she had thought ahead and brought her own fan with her. Erik said it sounded like a small jet engine blowing away in there, so I hope she managed to stay semi cool and comfortable. There are not words to thank her for helping us out so much and I'm overwhelmed with gratitude that she wants to take the older three again this week - this time taking them to her house to stay for a few days while I continue to rest, recover and bond with Whit.
I had some minor mix ups in the delivery room and there was a delay in me getting an epidural. In an attempt to give me some comfort, the nurses tried giving me stadol (which I had already told them didn't work) but I was in such pain and emotionally drained that I caved and let them give it to me. It was the wrong choice and I was left feeling drunk and having contractions. I also look drunk and unsteady post delivery from it wearing off.
Erik was so funny during the labor. I knew he was terribly uncomfortable with me being in such pain, but he just didn't know what to do or say and became so withdrawn - which is so unlike him. He was very brave and was by my side which was all that I needed.
This guy is totally in love with his new baby brother and has shown no jealousy so far. This is a picture of him shushing everyone in the room because we were being too loud for his baby. He has a cute saying and will ask, "Momma? I soft him?" about the baby. This request is for permission to touch heads with Whit and rub against him - kind of like a cat does. It's pretty cute.
Miss Maggie May is quite the big sister and is prepared to take over for me in the event I should become unable to fulfill my obligations.
Our precious little guy. He has no neck and several chins.
and blond highlights to his hair.
He sucks his fingers for comfort.
And he is the final piece to my heart.
Where did those days go?
I didn't sleep well last night, so I am up early - well, early for me. I'm not really a morning person - not a good trait for a farmers wife. Anyway, I visited all my usual morning websites and blogs and nothing had changed since yesterday so I decided to look through my iphoto library and realized I took a bunch of pictures I hadn't realized I had! Since this blog is aimed mostly at keeping family and friends updated on what is going on here at Goodness Grows Farm, I thought I'd just post pictures and some little stories inspired by them.
This boy just melts my heart. He works harder than most grown men. Everything he does, he does with all of his heart. He's kind, responsible, caring, and sensitive. In fact, there are times I fear he is too sensitive. I worry about his heart and am afraid it will be broken many times in his life. He is innocent and everything a little boy should be!
Did I mention how much I love his freckles? These photos were taken back in March, right after a hair cut - his hair has grown out a lot since then and on humid days, it gets really curly. He hates it and wants to get a buzz cut for the summer, but I keep putting him off. I fear he won't stand for it much longer.
This little princess is something else! She's smart and sassy and quite the tattle tale. She doesn't restrict her tattles to things the boys are doing wrong - she gives me updates on everything that is going on. She tells her stories with such passion and animation that even when she is being a tattle tale, it is quite funny to listen to her story.
She and Will are my big sweets eaters. They would eat sweets 24/7 so I have to be very careful on what they are allowed access to.
Maggie & Walker have their very own cowgirl/boy hats. On this day they were playing cowboys/cowgirls and were wearing their hats and boots.
Will is obsessed with goggles.
Will falls asleep in our bed. Typical male.
Maggie exerts her sisterly dominance and applies lipstick to her little brother!
Walker holds Tubby - now named Levi as we say good bye!
I can't express with words how much joy these creatures bring to my life. We wait with great anticipation for the arrival of this little guy. We're at two weeks! But we wouldn't be too disappointed if he came sooner!
This boy just melts my heart. He works harder than most grown men. Everything he does, he does with all of his heart. He's kind, responsible, caring, and sensitive. In fact, there are times I fear he is too sensitive. I worry about his heart and am afraid it will be broken many times in his life. He is innocent and everything a little boy should be!
Did I mention how much I love his freckles? These photos were taken back in March, right after a hair cut - his hair has grown out a lot since then and on humid days, it gets really curly. He hates it and wants to get a buzz cut for the summer, but I keep putting him off. I fear he won't stand for it much longer.
This little boy also melts my heart, but he challenges me in ways I never would have imagined.
He is stubborn and strong willed and at times quite a bully. He is independent, yet is fearful of doing things without his siblings. He, like his older siblings, has been blessed with impossibly long eyelashes. We recently had a bit of a melt down because he was having a problem with the new sunglasses he got. He was telling me they were broken and I couldn't figure out what he meant by "broken, Momma!" Finally, I had him put them on and I looked all around his face to see where they were broken. When I looked down on them from above, I could see his eyelashes were smashed against the lenses. Poor guy's eyelashes were too long for him to wear the glasses so far up on the bridge of his nose! Who complains about that?
We're also working on potty training this little guy. He went through a phase for a while where he always had to be wearing this blue skirt from Maggie's dress up bin. On this particular day, he has on sweat pants, pull ups, the blue skirt and his muck boots. I told him if he was going to wear the pull ups he wasn't allowed to pee in them. Well, that worked, but he decided to pee outside, far away from me and then couldn't get all of his pants back up. He was pretty stuck. Of course, being the good mother that I am, I had to take pictures of it before I could go help him.
This little princess is something else! She's smart and sassy and quite the tattle tale. She doesn't restrict her tattles to things the boys are doing wrong - she gives me updates on everything that is going on. She tells her stories with such passion and animation that even when she is being a tattle tale, it is quite funny to listen to her story.
Maggie & Walker have their very own cowgirl/boy hats. On this day they were playing cowboys/cowgirls and were wearing their hats and boots.
Will was very disappointed to not have his own hat. All we had left was a costume type hat that I had to modify to fit him. He was pleased as punch, which is all that matters in the moment. However, I have a feeling that when this photo comes to surface sometime in the future, I'm going to get in trouble. Something along the lines of "sure, typical third child, always getting the left overs!" Willie J, my consolation to you is only this: Imagine the short end of the stick your new baby brother is going to get!" Poor guy - I had to find a super larger rubberband and wrap it around his hat and chin to keep the at on him!
Scenes from fishing camp at my dad's.
Enjoying the last days with the puppies.
Will is obsessed with goggles.
Will falls asleep in our bed. Typical male.
Maggie exerts her sisterly dominance and applies lipstick to her little brother!
Will isn't such a photogenic model demonstrating his recent lipstick application!
Walker holds Tubby - now named Levi as we say good bye!
I can't express with words how much joy these creatures bring to my life. We wait with great anticipation for the arrival of this little guy. We're at two weeks! But we wouldn't be too disappointed if he came sooner!
Catch up
It feels like the last two months have been a whirlwind! We've been busy enjoying warm weather and enduring the ups and downs of the temperature. We've also been working through a few weeks of various illnesses. Maggie & Will came down with the 24 hour stomach flu, thankfully not at the same time. Walker had a bout of what I believe was Fifths Disease, which then led me to a series of blood work to determine if I have an immunity to the disease (I am) and general life on the farm! We ordered 50 broiler chickens to raise for our own consumption and hopefully to sell to customers. Erik has been super busy with his landscaping business as well as keeping our other customers happy. In addition to the Burmese families that come to the farm to purchase their meat, we've been approached by a young man from the Pittsburgh area who is opening a gourmet market in the Strip District featuring hard to find meats/delicacies. He has put in an order for a variety of things: Ducks, geese, goat, in addition to specialty items like lamb belly (he makes a bacon out of it) and is even looking for venison, game birds, etc. Erik is doing his best to accommodate him, but finding a lot of these animals on demand is hard! It is kind of ironic that the game animals that Pennsylvania has been so well known for are so hard to find through domestic resources.
We've had two ultrasounds and as of May 13th, the baby was estimated to weigh 7 lbs 13 ounces. That measurement was taken about three weeks before my due date. Baby's gain about half a pound a week the last four weeks of gestation, so factoring that in, we're looking at a pretty big baby - about 9 lbs give or take! I'm not really worried about it - have you met the children I've already birthed? They are peanuts! We are actually struggling right now with Walker because he has graduated up to the official "Olympic" pool at the YMCA for his swim lessons. Unfortunately, the Olympic pool is kept at 80 degrees and he finds it freezing! We've tried using those rash guard shirts to keep him warm, but it just doesn't work. He's such a skinny little fellow and by the end of the 40 minute lesson, his lips, fingertips and toes are purple from cold! Unfortunately, the class he is in is a mix of kids that have graduated from preschool swimming classes and youth ages 6 and up that have never taken lessons before. His class has two inexperienced swimmers in it, which makes it difficult for the instructor to really provide much additional instruction. He's too busy convincing the one student to move away from the wall and encouraging the other student to actually move his arms and legs. This situation has been a real challenge for me because I want to interfere somehow because I feel the rest of the class is being treated unfairly. They end up swimming the length of the pool and are left waiting at the end for the beginner students to catch up. It's especially frustrating because Walker used to LOVE swimming lessons and now he cries and complains each week when I tell him we have to go to lessons. He hates being that cold. In fact, this past week, the instructor said that next week will be report card week, so that means only two more weeks of class. Walker burst out with a "HOORAY!" when the instructor made the announcement. Now I'm torn between registering him for class again. My hope is that he will advance to the next group and leave the beginners behind but my fear is that the instructor, really having no time to evaluate the entire class on their progress, will not see that Walker would benefit from advancement into a more active class. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
The wait and see portion of parenting is the hardest for me to deal with. I like to look at the calendar and make plans for what is going to happen. (More like make plans for what I want to happen!)
All six of our puppies have found homes. HOORAY! I was a little sad to see them go, but I know they all have wonderful new homes and are loved. That's a good feeling for sure.
Walker has been taught how to mow grass and has been mowing it every week now. We felt bad because we kind of scared him to death, lecturing him about the responsibility of mowing grass, how the other kids, dogs, etc. were not to be in the yard when he mowed, he was NEVER EVER EVER allowed to mow without our permission, and all the other bad things we could think of to scare him into being safe (like accidentally mowing off his leg, or his brother's leg). But, we think he got the message and he did a great job of mowing! He's very conscientious of what he is doing and I'm very proud of him for doing such a great job!
We've had two ultrasounds and as of May 13th, the baby was estimated to weigh 7 lbs 13 ounces. That measurement was taken about three weeks before my due date. Baby's gain about half a pound a week the last four weeks of gestation, so factoring that in, we're looking at a pretty big baby - about 9 lbs give or take! I'm not really worried about it - have you met the children I've already birthed? They are peanuts! We are actually struggling right now with Walker because he has graduated up to the official "Olympic" pool at the YMCA for his swim lessons. Unfortunately, the Olympic pool is kept at 80 degrees and he finds it freezing! We've tried using those rash guard shirts to keep him warm, but it just doesn't work. He's such a skinny little fellow and by the end of the 40 minute lesson, his lips, fingertips and toes are purple from cold! Unfortunately, the class he is in is a mix of kids that have graduated from preschool swimming classes and youth ages 6 and up that have never taken lessons before. His class has two inexperienced swimmers in it, which makes it difficult for the instructor to really provide much additional instruction. He's too busy convincing the one student to move away from the wall and encouraging the other student to actually move his arms and legs. This situation has been a real challenge for me because I want to interfere somehow because I feel the rest of the class is being treated unfairly. They end up swimming the length of the pool and are left waiting at the end for the beginner students to catch up. It's especially frustrating because Walker used to LOVE swimming lessons and now he cries and complains each week when I tell him we have to go to lessons. He hates being that cold. In fact, this past week, the instructor said that next week will be report card week, so that means only two more weeks of class. Walker burst out with a "HOORAY!" when the instructor made the announcement. Now I'm torn between registering him for class again. My hope is that he will advance to the next group and leave the beginners behind but my fear is that the instructor, really having no time to evaluate the entire class on their progress, will not see that Walker would benefit from advancement into a more active class. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
The wait and see portion of parenting is the hardest for me to deal with. I like to look at the calendar and make plans for what is going to happen. (More like make plans for what I want to happen!)
Walker has been taught how to mow grass and has been mowing it every week now. We felt bad because we kind of scared him to death, lecturing him about the responsibility of mowing grass, how the other kids, dogs, etc. were not to be in the yard when he mowed, he was NEVER EVER EVER allowed to mow without our permission, and all the other bad things we could think of to scare him into being safe (like accidentally mowing off his leg, or his brother's leg). But, we think he got the message and he did a great job of mowing! He's very conscientious of what he is doing and I'm very proud of him for doing such a great job!
Separation of House and Barn
Erik is out of town for the weekend having taken Walker to an event in the state capital. I am left home with the two youngest and 40 acres of chores.
I think it's pretty safe to say that each household has its division of labor. Just from my general friendships, (*DISCLAIMER: I am not implying or saying that this is EVERY household in the world - it is just my view of the microscopic circle in which I am part) I think that typically, the household is divided into outside and inside chores.
I realize that many men participate in and maybe even enjoy the inside chores, but generally women do dishes, clean house, do the laundry, shopping, schedule and schlep the children, and men typically mow grass, shovel snow, fix things that need repaired, coach the teams the moms are schlepping the children to. That is just a generality, but one that is, I feel, pretty accurate of the area in which I live. Now, that is not to say that men can't do the inside stuff or women can't do the outside stuff - it just tends to be how it works out. There times in the summer months when I pack up the kids, load up the car and drive to my hometown for a week and leave Erik home alone. I try to have all the laundry done, stock the refrigerator and pantry and leave little notes about what is there to make for meals, etc. I can guarantee you nine times out of 10, when I call Erik at the end of the day to say goodnight, he has either been invited to eat at someone else's house or he just ate "on the go." I come home to expired lunch meat and produce. I don't usually expect Erik to do any of my inside chores because they don't have to be done. I can usually catch up with them when I return. That's not to say I don't appreciate it when he does go ahead and do some of those chores while I'm gone - especially the laundry, but it isn't necessary. Which is funny because while all of the chores I do are vital to our house and family looking and smelling good, basically none of them have to be done daily, well, other than meals.
This time of year at Goodness Grows Farm, outside duties include: starting and maintaing a fire in the outdoor wood burner, feeding goats in two barns, watering goats in one barn, feeding chickens in the chicken house, collecting eggs, feeding a variety of ducks and chickens that live outside of the chicken house at various points in the barn yard, and feeding four dogs. Today this all had to be done in the mud and muck in the pouring rain. And I had to do it all by myself!
The thing about these chores is that they have to be done regardless of who is home! See, when I go away in the summer time to visit my hometown, all the chores I do INSIDE on a regular basis do not have to be done! Erik does not have to do laundry. He does not have to sweep floors, do laundry, cook meals,
do laundry, take out garbage, do laundry, clean toilets, do laundry, make beds . . . and did I mention do laundry?
Sure, most times he does do some of that stuff, but most of the time he doesn't. And that's okay, I'm fine with that. My personal view is that because I have the privilege of being a stay at home mom, there are just certain duties that fall into my jurisdiction as part of the job of staying home. Maybe that's old fashioned, but it's my philosophy.
But here I am, alone, 30 weeks pregnant (yeah, I slipped that one in) and I HAVE to do all of those outside chores or else I won't have any hot water for bathing, cooking or LAUNDRY, no heat in my house and I would have a barnyard of dead animals on my hands (well, I don't think they would really die of starvation in four days, but you get the point).
This realization has given me pause. All of the things I do around here that I think are so vital to our existence here, really aren't. Well, maybe cooking - but that's about it. Okay, and keeping my kids clean, that is kind of important too, but as evidenced by pictures, I don't do such a bang up job on that front.
Here I was earlier tonight feeling all martyrish that not only was I doing my chores (which, by the way, I do not understand how removing one grown man and one six year old boy from the equation lessened my burden by so much, but it did) but I also had to do the outside chores on top of being 30 weeks pregnant (I know, I'm milking the pregnancy thing). I was throwing logs into the fire (logs, I might add, my husband carefully cut to manageable sizes and then stacked in a trailer at the same height as the furnace door so I wouldn't have to do any heavy lifting) the rain soaking my hair and dripping into my eyes, mumbling something about how he'd (my husband) better appreciate the fact that I'm willing to come out here and do all these things! when I realized I took for granted that my husband not only willingly goes out and does all of these chores daily, he does so happily and with no complaint, unlike me, who complains at least a million times a day about the mud and the laundry! I think at most, there have been maybe two times that Erik has complained about a chore and that was when he needed to cut more firewood for the furnace after having already been awake and plowing snow for 16 hours. But he fired up the skid loader, trekked through a foot of snow and cut wood for the furnace because it was VITAL to our survival.
So, I'll end my little tale by admitting that I have been significantly chastised and have let go of my martyrdom. I've turned my complaints to prayers of gratitude for a husband that keeps all the outside chores running so smoothly and for never grumbling about having to do them.
I am grateful for the luxury of living on a farm where the separation of house and barn is an option and that should I ever find the desire to participate in the barn world, I can, but in the meantime, I'll continue to plow through the mountain of laundry that constantly lies in wait, even though I'm 30 weeks pregnant. And I'll try not to think about how much MORE laundry I'm going to have in 10 weeks time.
I think it's pretty safe to say that each household has its division of labor. Just from my general friendships, (*DISCLAIMER: I am not implying or saying that this is EVERY household in the world - it is just my view of the microscopic circle in which I am part) I think that typically, the household is divided into outside and inside chores.
I realize that many men participate in and maybe even enjoy the inside chores, but generally women do dishes, clean house, do the laundry, shopping, schedule and schlep the children, and men typically mow grass, shovel snow, fix things that need repaired, coach the teams the moms are schlepping the children to. That is just a generality, but one that is, I feel, pretty accurate of the area in which I live. Now, that is not to say that men can't do the inside stuff or women can't do the outside stuff - it just tends to be how it works out. There times in the summer months when I pack up the kids, load up the car and drive to my hometown for a week and leave Erik home alone. I try to have all the laundry done, stock the refrigerator and pantry and leave little notes about what is there to make for meals, etc. I can guarantee you nine times out of 10, when I call Erik at the end of the day to say goodnight, he has either been invited to eat at someone else's house or he just ate "on the go." I come home to expired lunch meat and produce. I don't usually expect Erik to do any of my inside chores because they don't have to be done. I can usually catch up with them when I return. That's not to say I don't appreciate it when he does go ahead and do some of those chores while I'm gone - especially the laundry, but it isn't necessary. Which is funny because while all of the chores I do are vital to our house and family looking and smelling good, basically none of them have to be done daily, well, other than meals.
This time of year at Goodness Grows Farm, outside duties include: starting and maintaing a fire in the outdoor wood burner, feeding goats in two barns, watering goats in one barn, feeding chickens in the chicken house, collecting eggs, feeding a variety of ducks and chickens that live outside of the chicken house at various points in the barn yard, and feeding four dogs. Today this all had to be done in the mud and muck in the pouring rain. And I had to do it all by myself!
The thing about these chores is that they have to be done regardless of who is home! See, when I go away in the summer time to visit my hometown, all the chores I do INSIDE on a regular basis do not have to be done! Erik does not have to do laundry. He does not have to sweep floors, do laundry, cook meals,
Sure, most times he does do some of that stuff, but most of the time he doesn't. And that's okay, I'm fine with that. My personal view is that because I have the privilege of being a stay at home mom, there are just certain duties that fall into my jurisdiction as part of the job of staying home. Maybe that's old fashioned, but it's my philosophy.
But here I am, alone, 30 weeks pregnant (yeah, I slipped that one in) and I HAVE to do all of those outside chores or else I won't have any hot water for bathing, cooking or LAUNDRY, no heat in my house and I would have a barnyard of dead animals on my hands (well, I don't think they would really die of starvation in four days, but you get the point).
This realization has given me pause. All of the things I do around here that I think are so vital to our existence here, really aren't. Well, maybe cooking - but that's about it. Okay, and keeping my kids clean, that is kind of important too, but as evidenced by pictures, I don't do such a bang up job on that front.
Here I was earlier tonight feeling all martyrish that not only was I doing my chores (which, by the way, I do not understand how removing one grown man and one six year old boy from the equation lessened my burden by so much, but it did) but I also had to do the outside chores on top of being 30 weeks pregnant (I know, I'm milking the pregnancy thing). I was throwing logs into the fire (logs, I might add, my husband carefully cut to manageable sizes and then stacked in a trailer at the same height as the furnace door so I wouldn't have to do any heavy lifting) the rain soaking my hair and dripping into my eyes, mumbling something about how he'd (my husband) better appreciate the fact that I'm willing to come out here and do all these things! when I realized I took for granted that my husband not only willingly goes out and does all of these chores daily, he does so happily and with no complaint, unlike me, who complains at least a million times a day about the mud and the laundry! I think at most, there have been maybe two times that Erik has complained about a chore and that was when he needed to cut more firewood for the furnace after having already been awake and plowing snow for 16 hours. But he fired up the skid loader, trekked through a foot of snow and cut wood for the furnace because it was VITAL to our survival.
So, I'll end my little tale by admitting that I have been significantly chastised and have let go of my martyrdom. I've turned my complaints to prayers of gratitude for a husband that keeps all the outside chores running so smoothly and for never grumbling about having to do them.
I am grateful for the luxury of living on a farm where the separation of house and barn is an option and that should I ever find the desire to participate in the barn world, I can, but in the meantime, I'll continue to plow through the mountain of laundry that constantly lies in wait, even though I'm 30 weeks pregnant. And I'll try not to think about how much MORE laundry I'm going to have in 10 weeks time.
Random Conversations with my Children
I know that this post will have no real appeal to anyone outside of my family, but since the main goal of this blog is for me to have a record of the things my family does, I thought that it was time to put together a post of Random Conversations with my children.
Momma: Maggie? Why did you spread your curtain that fell down all across the floor last night?
Walker recently went to the dentist and came home with a goody bag filled with a new toothbrush, toothpaste and floss. He left it in his Dad's truck but then asked Maggie to carry it to the house for him.
Maggie: Because a BIG cwocodile and a wittle cwocadile was gonna get me.
Momma: What were you more afraid of, the big one or the little one?
Maggie: Well, I sure wasn't afraid of the wittle one!
The children have been expressing a great deal of interest in what is going to happen to me as I get closer to my due date. Unfortunately/fortunately, they are pretty aware of the actual birthing process having watched a wide variety of animals give birth on the farm. Walker has expressed some anxiety over all the doctor appointments so we recently had him come with us. It was a busy day - I had to do a one hour glucose test where I drank a sugary orange drink (I found out that this drink contains 3x more sugar than a Mountain Dew soft drink!) and then after waiting for one hour, I have blood drawn. In the one hour wait time, we took Walker to the maternity ward, showed him the rooms and the nursery. He wasn't too impressed. Then we headed back to the lab to get the blood work. He wanted to come in and see what happened and was sitting in a chair across from me. He was a little scared but I just explained that the phlebotomist would stick a needle in my arm kind of like a shot and blood would come out through a tube and fill a little vase. He watched with a little horror as she inserted the needle, but the we could see him straining to see. The phlebotomist told him he could come over closer to see. So he watched me fill up to vials of blood.
Phlebotomist: Here's one vial of blood - all filled up. Touch it, it's very warm.
Walker: Momma! I didn't know your blood was so hot!
Phlebotomist: Ok. We got two tubes so we're all done.
Walker with great disappointment: Aw. Can't we just do another one?
I admit with some shame that occasionally we are those parents that threaten the kids with a wooden spoon. We've never actually had to use it really, just the threat scares them pretty good because I have told them stories of my mom hitting me with a wooden spoon or the 'pank turner (pancake turner/spatula) and I make it sound so gruesome that they know it will really hurt. The other night, Walker and Maggie were whining a great deal about cleaning up the toys they had gotten out.
Erik said threatening: Where is that wooden spoon?
Will, running into the kitchen: I get it for you, Daddy!
Walker picking his teeth with his fingernails: Momma. What did Maggie do with my gloss?
Momma: Gloss? I don't think you have any lip gloss, buddy.
Walker: No - my GLOSS! For my teeth!
Momma: Oh - your dental floss. Yeah, it's in the cupboard with the toothbrushes.
It has been a beautiful and sunny week here at Goodness Grows Farm. Yesterday, the children spent hours outside. Rather than come in the house and ask for one, they kids decided they would just get in the car and raid the stash of lollipops I keep in there for emergency bribe moments. So yesterday afternoon, Will comes in the house with a lollipop and says:
Will (with a big smile on his face and laughter in his voice: Momma. Chloe like me pop. So funny.
Momma (a little stricken, but complacent in only the way a farm mom can be when her children tell her about sharing their food with the pets): Oh yeah? Chloe likes lime lollipops, huh?
Will: Yeah. Her say 'Yummy in my tummy'! Then makes a big slurping noise.
It has been a beautiful and sunny week here at Goodness Grows Farm. Yesterday, the children spent hours outside. Rather than come in the house and ask for one, they kids decided they would just get in the car and raid the stash of lollipops I keep in there for emergency bribe moments. So yesterday afternoon, Will comes in the house with a lollipop and says:
Will (with a big smile on his face and laughter in his voice: Momma. Chloe like me pop. So funny.
Momma (a little stricken, but complacent in only the way a farm mom can be when her children tell her about sharing their food with the pets): Oh yeah? Chloe likes lime lollipops, huh?
Will: Yeah. Her say 'Yummy in my tummy'! Then makes a big slurping noise.
Will (after eating lunch) sticking his belly out and lifting up his shirt: Dere's a baby in mys tummy.
Momma: Really? What kind of baby?
Will: A pink one.
Momma: So that must mean it is a girl baby.
Will (in his most indignant voice): NO! It is a pink one!
Will leaves kitchen in disgust.
Momma: Really? What kind of baby?
Will: A pink one.
Momma: So that must mean it is a girl baby.
Will (in his most indignant voice): NO! It is a pink one!
Will leaves kitchen in disgust.