Farm Life

As Thanksgiving nears, my heart continually swells with gratitude for this country spot we now get to call home. 

When we first looked at the hobby farm last spring, everything felt right: built on a hill, perfect number of acres for us (12), peaceful view, no close neighbors, and a parcel of woods in the back for hiking, hunting, camping, and fort-building.

After looking at several other properties and realizing nothing else "clicked" like this one, we made our offer. October 1st we had the keys in hand!

We moved during harvest time, and the kids stood by the windows for hours, watching combines and grain trucks zig-zag back and forth across the vast fields. The first day's tractor-to-car ratio on the little road in front of our house was 13:1, much to our delight.

The sky seems bigger here. The stars crisper. Many nights we stand on the back deck and gaze up at them. No car horns or neighbors' radios punctuate the stillness. Nothing but a soft breeze rustling the trees.

The neighborhood feels old-fashioned in its friendliness.

"Use the trails in our woods anytime. There's a trampoline back there...jump on it if you want."

"Here's a jar of syrup for you. Mind if we tap your three trees that border the fence line?"

"On behalf of the church, feel free to use our playground anytime."

"Do you have a helmet, little guy? Next time I come around on my four-wheeler I'll take you for a ride."

This is how things used to be--how neighborhoods are supposed to be. We feel so privileged to call it home.

A few Saturdays ago Mike and I sat down with our coffee and a notebook. Pages soon filled with diagrams and dreams...chicken coop, swingset, garden, clothesline, pole shed, sheep fence. With a lifetime of farm ideas ahead of us, the hardest part is knowing where to start.

We're so excited to raise our children in a place where they will know the hopefulness of a sunrise, the roughness of a calf's tongue, the satisfying soreness of a full-day's woodpile. Where they can fill a knapsack with books and peanut butter sandwiches, say good-bye to Mom, and go on daring adventures in the woods. Where they can learn to appreciate the beauty of tender corn shoots poking through soft spring dirt, deer grazing on the fence line in that blurry time between day and dusk, and blustery snow blowing unhindered across an open field. 

And most importantly--we're excited to have plenty of room to host family and friends. Let us know when you're coming, and we'll throw and extra burger on the grill!

Here's to a lifetime of happiness in Beldenville--we hope to live on this little plot of land until we're old and gray! 

Summer Garden

One of my favorite parts of summer was watching how much the kids enjoyed our little garden. 

They filled their gator with lettuce

Showered the Zinnias with affection

Dug in the dirt to their hearts' delight

Picked a wagonful of onions (When I only needed one!)

Helped Daddy pick beans for supper 

Learned to identify that pesky "Creaking Charlie!"

Hoed some flowers (and a couple weeds)

Chowed down on all the red tomatoes before we could even get them into the house

And begged to water whenever possible

If there's a happier place than a garden, I don't know what it is!

Inseparable

My hands-down favorite part of parenting has been watching how much fun our kids have together. They are only fifteen months apart, and that gap seems smaller and smaller the older they get. 

Yesterday Gray was tackling Rain, and I reminded him, "Be careful!" He replied, "It's okay, Mommy, she has a ton of giggles in her mouth." I have been trying really hard to teach him to listen to what she is "telling" him during their roughhousing and apparently the lesson is starting to sink in. :-)

Here are some things they've been up to lately (the greater the "mischief factor" the greater the giggling!):

 Digging around for a snack

 Pushing a "ferry boat"

 Wearing coordinating Mickey/Minnie pjs. (Cue major sadness when they're in the wash!)

 Pulling their pull toys from Auntie Kayla

 Going on wild fire truck rides

 Making major messes

 Pulling Sister to the park (all his idea!)

 Motoring around the backyard

 Lounging around reading Berenstain Bear books 

(the current fave!)

 Zooming around the house at breakneck speeds 

(Notice how there's usually a vehicle involved with these two?)

 Celebrating balmy temps with a backyard picnic

Helping Mommy with laundry

Sharing an umbrella

Gray and Rain definitely have their share of squabbles, but for the most part they operate as a unit. I know they will eventually go through stages of greater conflict, so I am enjoying the current harmony while it lasts!

I would love to hear your thoughts on sibling relationships. Are you close to your brothers and sisters? Do you wish you felt closer? What did your parents do that helped or hindered your sibling relationships? What are you doing differently with your own kids?

I've heard amazing things about the book Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish (the same authors who wrote How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk), but I have yet to read it. Anyone a fan? 

Off to see what the latest giggle and crash is all about! 

Winter Sanity Savers for Moms

As one of my friends recently stated, "I think our household has upgraded from 'cabin fever' to 'winter psychosis.'

Personally, I was feeling fine until last week's string of events: an insomniac teething baby, multiple subzero days, a resident mouse who resisted all catching attempts, and a husband gone to Japan for the entire week.

Here are a few of my tried-and-true suggestions for staying sane when the walls are closing in. (I revisited several of these last week, and they carried me through until Mike's return!)

• Visit the Caribou drive-through (or whatever overpriced-but-delicious coffee shop is near you). My darling husband gave me a Caribou gift card for Valentine's Day, so now I have no guilt about spending $4 on a mocha. :-)  If I'm not up for tackling naptime at home, I've been known to bundle up the kids, grab a coffee on my way out of town, and explore the scenic country roads surrounding Red Wing. Once the kids are asleep, I park next to the river (insert van by the river joke here) to read or work on paperwork while the kids nap. They rarely nap at the same time at home, so this is a huge treat! I'm tempted to use this trick more often, but I try to limit myself to once every few weeks. 
• Cue Pandora and throw a dance party in the kitchen. (This often solves that 5:00 "Mommy's ignoring us and making dinner" crankiness that every kid seems predisposed to!) My kids love the Raffi station. (Okay, confession: I love Raffi too.)
• Blend up a tropical smoothie.  

• Diffuse something happy. I blended Wild Orange and Lime a few days ago and felt a sudden surge of energy.
• Treat yourself to some flowers. Trader Joe's has the best bouquets, and for a decent price, too. (Don't forget to pick up a carton of dark chocolate peanut butter cups while you're there!)

• Work on something you love. Editing pictures is one of my favorite quick pick-me-ups.
• Call your mom. Or sister. Or best girlfriend. Sometimes just hearing a loved one's voice turns our day around. 
• Rearrange a room. Throw a bunch of stuff in a bag for Goodwill--you will feel so much lighter! 
• Just. Get. Outside. Even if it's only for ten minutes. You won't regret it.

• Check out your local gym. We purchased a family YMCA membership this winter, and it was a lot more affordable than we expected. Some days it's hard to get there (kids + winter = GEAR!), but I never regret putting forth the effort. Gray and Rain love playing in the Y childcare, and I have been hitting the track while listening to a book on my iPod. So revitalizing! 
• Pull out a new toy. (Think outside the box!) I retrieved our wading pool and plastic balls from a garage corner, and voila, indoor ball pit! It's currently hogging most of our living room, but I don't really mind since it's provided hours of entertainment.

• Host a playdate. My friend recently invited us to an indoor picnic in her living room. The kids were too distracted by the surrounding toys to eat much, but that just meant more meat and cheese for the mamas. :-) 
• Talk your husband into watching the kids for an hour some evening. Fill the tub with steamy water, add a couple drops of lavender, and grab a book you don't mind getting a little water-rippled. So relaxing. Warning: it takes huge amounts of motivation to make yourself get out of the tub!
• Hit up the local library for a stack of new books.

There you have it--a few ideas for saving your sanity this winter. You can thank me with chocolate. :-) And let me know in the comments what's been getting you by until Spring.

P.S. I just checked the extended forecast, and there are several days in the 50s in the foreseeable future! So this post might be rather useless soon. In that case, replace subzero temps with rain, mud, or a sweltering heat index!

A Tale of Two Sheepies

Gray's favorite stuffed animal is, hands down, his Sheepie. Problematically, Rain recently decided Sheepie is her favorite too. Since learning to walk, Sheepie has been her constant companion. She toddles through the house, Sheepie's body tucked into the crook of her elbow and his soft ear against her cheek. 

"Do you want Piggie?" I asked, handing her the adorable corduroy pig some friends of ours gave her for a baby gift. "How about this nice soft doll?' But no, if it wasn't Sheepie, she flung it to the floor in a demonstration of absolute rejection.

Evenings posed the biggest challenge. Despite sharing his beloved lamb with his sister during the day, Gray was by no means going to accept his bedtime fate without his fleecy companion tucked in beside him. After surrendering Sheepie to the rightful owner, Rain would collapse to the floor in a fit of tears.

One evening I sat down to eBay, and on the eighth-or-so page of "stuffed sheep" results, I found him. An exact twin. $10. Free shipping. I've never hit "submit order" with so much certainty. 

Sheepie #2 arrived one Tuesday afternoon while Gray was running errands with Daddy. Rain smiled when I pulled him out of the package. "Beepie!" When Gray returned home and saw two sheep on the living room floor, he laughed and laughed. 

Since then, there has been a fair amount of peace. Sometimes the kids want two Sheepies at once, one in each arm, but for the most part they are content to each own one. The funniest part: they know whose is whose. New Sheepie is so white and fluffy compared to his older counterpart. I'm curious to see how long it takes before his fleece is dingy and matted like Veteran Sheepie's. (Why, oh why, did my kids both choose a pure white stuffed animal as their favorite lovey?)

"Maybe the mailman will bring us another Sheepie!" Gray predicted as he saw the postal truck making its rounds the next day. 

"Hmmm...probably not," I replied. "Two sheep makes a perfect flock!" (Yes, you can read into that however much you'd like. :-) )

Reflecting on Fall

We Midwesterners were thoroughly spoiled by a long and lingering fall. Here's a glimpse into some of our favorite moments:

Fresh Butterfinger doughnuts. How did we ever survive before owning a doughnut pan?

 Cool mornings call for warm kitchens and an eager Cook's Helper. 

Can you tell which buns are his?

 So pleased with his creations! He put them in his own kitchen to cool. 

Sharing kombucha by the back porch.

 Evening hikes on my sister's farm. 

Watching the harvest.

Introducing the kids to my favorite children's musician, Jack Pearson, at our local book festival. 

Enjoying family time at our annual church convention.

These two make me smile every day! 

Lots of hikes in the refreshing fall temps.

 Gray and his straw hat are inseparable these days! 

Gray fashioned a "bow" from a strip of plastic off the saran wrap box and turned his guitar into a violin! 

 Introducing Rain to her Auntie Kayla.

Canning applesauce.

Discovering a yummy organic orchard not far from home. 

Harvesting our garden.

Special treats to celebrate Kayla's visit home. (These chocolate-filled croissants from Trader Joe's were AWESOME!)

 Family time at Frontenac State Park.

Enjoying my parents' new puppy--the sweetest Great Pyrenees / Anatolian Shepherd.

Frolicking through the leaves.

Trick-or-treating with two little giraffes.

Strolling around our little town on crisp nights.

And just like that, frosty turned to frigid, and brisk to blustering. Oh well, we enjoyed fall while it lasted!