I've Got Issues

Ourcrazyfarm has issues. That's what Blogger told me tonight when I finally took the time to visit my own blog and try to muster up some creative energy to post something worthwhile. Thanks blogger! As if I didn't already know that. It's been a crazy week around here that started with the flu and has ended up again with the flu. Last week it was me and it kept me down for a few days. Now today Cole is on the couch. In between there Micah had a fever and an ear ache one day and was complaining of his ear hurting again today. Rob and Alexis are finally over their sore throats. 'Tis the Season' I guess. Other than that I had another four day stretch of work at the hospital, mostly in the emergency room where there were lots of fresh new germs to share. This should be my last weekend for awhile now since the new gal is more than trained and is ready to work on her own. My casual position means that it is either feast or famine when I do work and this month it has been more on the feasting end. The extra hours are nice, especially since I am still considering which camera to buy. The new gal was also very nice and friendly (and bought 15 bars of soap!) and has a sincere desire to learn lots of farm girl stuff.

I missed my family and my critters and my little farm:) Of course everybody did just fine without me, but it does put everything into perspective a little when Mom is gone and it makes us all appreciate each other a little bit more. Distance makes the heart grow fonder they say.

Everybody is trying to get back into the school schedule after the holidays. These cold, short days make it hard to get excited about paper and pencil learning and make me want to just get out the quilting instead. We have settled for a little more chapter book time together and keep plugging away on the rest. I gave myself permission to finally switch some of our curriculum this late into the year without feeling guilty about wasting 3 months on a curriculum that wasn't working. Aaaahhh! That felt good! We went back to the McRuffy Phonics/Spelling/Writing/Reading program that we had used the last couple of years for the younger ones to everyone's relief. Micah was working on "b" sounds today~ baby, boy, bean, belly button, butt, you've got a bean in your belly button~ I think we all need some {warm} fresh air.

I did threaten Trent that he wouldn't get to go ice fishing until his English section was finished which has made my life a little bit easier. There's nothing like incentives in life. I think he has completed 20 pages in the last week alone and I have been reminded why I never did like prepositional phrases. High school is going well the second time around. Alexis is pretty independent this year, other than the occasional algebra question. Whoever thought I would be an algebra teacher? Grace is reading chapter books!! Yes, all you mothers of young homeschooled children, the day does actually come when all your little dumplings learn how to read and actually want to read chapter books. We have enjoyed several mornings of reading about Popcorn the horse snuggled on the recliner together.

On the farm front everything is pretty quiet. Round bales of hay and automatic waterers make winter chores pretty simple for right now. I am still hauling 2 pails of grain down from the garage until the feed room is finished in the barn (it's not even started at this point) for the calves and the goats, but it beats hauling 6 pails at each feeding like this summer when we had the big steers and the pigs. Chores can be done in 10 minutes or less if I'm in a hurry but usually I have to spend some time just gazing at the animals and pondering farm life. Find joy where you can, and alot of my joy comes from just having these critters to take care of.

I have been bringing the yearling horses into the barn on cold nights and enjoy just seeing them in there. Tonight I even brought all three at the same time by myself with only 2 pieces of twine string and 2 halters between them. For some reason the dozen lead ropes I bought last winter have nearly all disappeared. Nika walked right up to me to tie the string onto her halter~ quite a different horse than the one from this summer. I have been itching to ride but just can't justify the time yet. There are few things that top riding a horse bare back in the fresh snow.

The chickens are gone. I finally made up my mind and listed them on Craigslist. Within 12 hours or so we had half a dozen responses and were in the middle of negotiating a pick up time. The fancy new coop is now sitting empty. When he gets time Rob is going to get the wiring run to it (after he finishes wiring the goat barn) so that Cole can put his silkies out there (the silkies that are in my basement and growing bigger everyday). Cole and I are going through all the chicken magazines and online adds to decide when and where and what kind of chickens we are going to get next. I am partial to the Light Brahmas and rather than getting a hodge-podge of breeds this time I am thinking about going with one breed. We are also excited to raise some chickens for meat next spring. Last fall we butchered some of our old hens and some roosters and were quite proud of our new found farm skills...... until it was time to eat them. They were so tough and stringy that we pretty much decided we were done butchering chickens. That was until we tried the real deal of meat birds. Mmmmm-mmmm! 7 weeks of genetically engineered chicken is on the list for spring.

The puppy is growing so fast! Her little eyes are open and she is getting so big and fat! We did settle on the name Trouble. Nothing else seemed to fit. She is just a "Trouble" I guess. She still doesn't do much except eat, sleep and potty. In another week or so I am sure she will learn how to get out of her box and decide that it is fun to play. Who ever thought we would be a 3 dog family? I am beginning to wonder how I am ever going to get her to stay in the barn when she gets bigger. But somehow I'll have to draw the line if I ever want a spot on the couch again.