In this house...Barbie always dumps Ken for GI Joe

Our lives have been incredibly insane lately.  The kids returned to school, we have had activity after activity after activity....blah blah blah.....and sometimes you just need a change of pace.

So, we started a new tradition at our house today.  The kids "drew names" among themselves and then we took them shopping to buy gifts for the person who they picked.  We all had a great day and they really took the time to find a great gift for their person. 

We also went to lunch today WITHOUT a diaper bag (first time in many, many years), did not have to ask for a high chair, and only had one drink spilled at the table.  They were all so incredibly well-behaved.  This Santa stuff really works.

"Santa" also did a little shopping today, and we were looking at Barbies, which are often paired with Ken in the packages these days.  Well, at our house, Ken never makes it out of the toy box and GI Joe always takes his place.  Love it.  And love these kids...sometimes I need days like today to remind me just how much. 

Pay it Forward

Treat people the way that you want to be treated.  I wish I knew how many times that I had said this over the last 10 years during this time that we have been parents.  I have been following Harvest Moon Farm on FB and when I saw the tragic event that occurred with their goats; I knew that we had the ability to fill a need and help them out by offering one of our goats.  The kids are excited that we are able to help another farm. 

I haven't blogged since July...just couldn't find the motivation.  I don't know why.  But I think it is back. 

We have made some changes since the last time that I blogged.  The biggest change; the kids returned to "regular" school.  I think that there are both positives and negatives to this decision, and I will probably blog on my many, many feelings about this subject at another time. 

Pay it forward!!

Chchchanges

Because of my lack of patience, I often get frustrated and feel that we should be further along in this process....both Tammy and I are ready to make goat cheese, make lotion and soap and get the ball rolling.  But when I take a deep breath and look around at all of the changes that we have made already, not only in regard to the farm; but homesteading and becoming more "green"and it really is significant.  Little changes really do add up....we haven't used a dryer since March and line-dry all of our clothes, haven't used a dishwasher in over a year, use cloth napkins, we are re-sealing our baseboards to save energy, we don't use our central air conditioner, we can a lot of our own food, we only use eggs off of our farm, make our own noodles, bake a lot of our bread, have given up cable (since March 2011), and spent a great majority of our time in the great outdoors.  However, two things that I will never give up are highlights and the internet. :)

Here is a photo of Sawyer on his 4th birthday; just because I like it.  He is always so serious and it is nice to him being silly. 

Organization

This used to be my strong-point...I write everything down...color-coded...etc.  I always had a calendar or 2 and a multitude of lists, etc; and I was always so very productive.  What has happened to me?  In the time that I need it most as we are building a farm and attempting to build a small business, I seem to have lost my ability to organize.  Maybe it is because all of these children "suck up" my brain cells?  Maybe it is because I feel torn in 20 directions all of the time?  I am not sure.  I am really trying to get back on track and it is certainly more of a "need" than a "want." 

I am researching programs for farms and small businesses...ideas??

Taking the Plunge

I had truly fallen off of the wagon....no, I am not a drinker, but I had lost my motivation for our farming adventure and home-based business...I felt like we were spinning in circles and I was getting so very frustrated with everything.  So...I decided to contact the County Extension office and see if we could get a "farm visit" to determine if we could do what we are doing on our farm.  I got a pleasant response from the extension office, also with an invitation for the "goat expert from the state" to accompany him to our farm.

So, the 2 of them came to visit us today.  I was able to take the day off of work to be here when they came so that we could both take in all of the information and ask all of the questions that we had.  I am thrilled to report that it went better than we could have ever imagined.  Yes, we can do what we want to do on our farm; goat cheese, goat soap, goat lotion, etc.  We can run a herd of the size that we want (15-20 does) and all of it is very feasible.  It is going to take a great deal of hard work, but neither Tammy or I are afraid of hard work; in fact I think that we both function at our best when we have too much to do. 

We also obtained a lot of important contacts in regard to visiting other farms, alfalfa hay, etc.  We have learned that there is a vastly growing market in this area of the country for the products that we want to sell.  We were also told that we are on the right track.  We have only been here for 18 months and they told us that we are "right where we should be" in regard to building our herd and making plans for our future.  It is time to start trying out recipes and firming some of our plans.  We are going to a new farmers training on July 7th that is being held on the only goat cheese creamery (Bleugrass Chevre-Susan Miller) in our state and have already started making contacts through just registering. 

Tammy always worries that she is "too old" to start a new career.  However, she goes non-stop and that is certainly not the case.  The men who were here today told us about a sheep dairy in Bath County (Owingsville) which was just established and is the only one in the state; it is run by Sanford and Colleen Dotson and is named Good Shepherd Farm.  They are a retired couple and just starting out.  We found it to be a "sign" when we were at Kroger this afternoon and picked up a Kentucky Monthly magazine and Tammy opened up the magazine right to an article about this couple and their 2 year old farm. 

So...there you have it....we are going to do this...... at a pace that we can handle financially and with a house FULL of children. 

My patriotic kids

I have to Tammy all of the credit on this stuff.  All of my kids, including the 2 years old, throw their hands on their hearts and stand up when the Star Spangled Banner is being played..or when the Pledge of Allegiance is being said.  It kind of shocked me one Saturday when we were out running around and the Pledge came on the  radio in the car at noon and I looked in the back seats and they all had their little hands on their hearts...too sweet.  Tammy and I have a lot of veterans in our families; my dad,  my brother-in-law, our grandfathers, and our boy is going to be a Marine soon; so I am glad, on many levels that she has included this in the homeschooling of our children.  

Our first doe

Our first doe was born this afternoon; "Harman."  After 4 boys...we finally have a baby girl.  She is so sweet; and has a very "laid back" personality.  The boys were mouthy from the minute they delivered, but not her.  She has made her share of noise, but not as obnoxious as the bucks.  Nina will always be queen bee around her, but Harman is our princess.

You know you don't realize how much kids pay attention to things, but our 2 little girls were thrilled that we finally had a girl.  Kind of like last week...I am generally fairly dressed up for work, but on Wednesday night, Sawyer decided to stay up until 3:00a.m. and when my alarm went off at 5:30a.m., I was not happy.  So, I reset my alarm, went back to sleep, and went to work in khaki's, a polo, loafers, and a ponytail.  When I got home from work that night, my 16 year old says "so, was it casual Thursday at work?"  It really through me off guard, because I would have dreamed that he would notice.  But he did, and he knows how I generally dress in my professional world, and it just reminded me that they "watch what you do, they don't do what you say."

Back to my original subject....it's about time!  We were beginning to wonder if we were cursed for all boys...