tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388427009579071152024-03-09T20:46:34.672-06:00A Little Bit of LifeRunaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.comBlogger636125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-68684165305991334152012-01-18T13:15:00.001-06:002012-01-19T13:53:50.737-06:00TransparencyYesterday, I came across this written by one of my all time favorite bloggers, Karen Russell:<br />
<em><span style="color: #cc0000;">At church on Sunday, our pastor talked about the fact that in order to really 'love' people, you have to be transparent - even at the risk of being hurt or having the things you share used against you later. And though I don't think I've ever really had much of a problem with being transparent on this blog, please bare with me while I make all of us a little uncomfortable...</span></em><br />
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She proceeded to disclose some things about her life that blog readers may or may not know about her. Basically it was her way of showing she is not perfect and does not share things on her blog to "show off" or make others feel her life is better than hers.<br />
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I love this so much. I love the pastor talked about really 'loving' others. Remember <em><span style="color: #cc0000;">love</span></em> is my word for the year. I strive to be a transparent person. I don't try to hide the real me. Take or leave it. I do write this blog to share with others little bits of our life (I don't think I have very many readers especially since I haven't kept up on it in the last year and half). But really I write this blog for my kids. I need to publish what I have so far into a book for them. I want them to be able to look back and see into our day-to-day life and into my thoughts about them, our family, our lives, and myself. I have never wrote this blog to pretend I am anyone I'm not or that I am better than anyone else. We all have great points and imperfections and things to work on. <br />
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It also reminds me that there are little messages all around us. You just have to notice them. It seems lately I keep noticing little messages everywhere about truth and honesty. It makes me want to go back to church. We had just started going a few months before my dad passed away and then we spent so many weekends working on the farm, we didn't get to go. We tried to go back a few times but found it hard since we were out of the habit. I really want to go back, hopefully I can hear some good messages like the one above (although it is hard to hear them over the craziness of my children). <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I think transparency is why Aaron and I have the relationship that we do. We lay everything out here (and in stores and the car and at restaurants and even in the yard). We tell it like it is to each other even though at times in public it can be embarrassing. We know where we stand on pretty much everything and yes, there is yelling and cursing and tears at times. But we are completely honest with each other. We seldom go to bed angry because we say what needs to be said when it comes up. We don't bottle up anything, there is no silent treatment here! I know some people would rather keep it their feelings bottled up rather than risk an arguement but how does that solve anything? I think most times just makes it worse in the end. Transparency is not always easy but being true to yourself and others is worth it. It can be hard for people to understand especially if they don't live their life this way. I hope to teach my kids that being open and honest is one of the most important things in life and the key to great relationships. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFOoIJylrwMo40ki6iZo_jf4T_9-N9DTPug8QP_D4cCqt8yVyXzULELTjN5bXFbFxriiS24H_1jlu5Mspjk_KnHISowL5RpKNk9kGVaTOl43T45lgnZ_lCWevNuZjeCfjr74jqd_sGd8/s1600/transparent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFOoIJylrwMo40ki6iZo_jf4T_9-N9DTPug8QP_D4cCqt8yVyXzULELTjN5bXFbFxriiS24H_1jlu5Mspjk_KnHISowL5RpKNk9kGVaTOl43T45lgnZ_lCWevNuZjeCfjr74jqd_sGd8/s320/transparent.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-70834333330767073262012-01-04T18:25:00.001-06:002012-01-04T18:31:15.097-06:00Better than I used to be<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rxaxvZUPlEs" width="560"></iframe><br />
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This song would be the perfect accompaniment to my life at this moment. The new year didn't start out on the positive note that I was hoping. It's a good thing I have broad shoulders and good outlook, or I may have ended up in a pile in the corner crying. I am not perfect and will never pretend to be. I am a good person, I never intentionally hurt people especially ones I am close to despite what others think. I am what I am and I've never hid it here or to anyone else. This year will get better, even if it that "uphill climb" is going to be a lot harder than I could have ever predicted, but no matter what I will remain true to myself.Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-46708350750708394492012-01-02T20:23:00.001-06:002012-01-02T20:24:25.182-06:00Happiness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKERBKL-9873HseQDMVroPcNxWBulpnKL6oQMIwCysVsTzYMgid8xm7TwQpG8Kzlo8Gg9K2ixzcd08OP6obf7LNRAJen3QzUjtjfSG2LNe9hoR3WgrZUaoUq9ObNvPczWreWjzljbnhQQ/s1600/Happiness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKERBKL-9873HseQDMVroPcNxWBulpnKL6oQMIwCysVsTzYMgid8xm7TwQpG8Kzlo8Gg9K2ixzcd08OP6obf7LNRAJen3QzUjtjfSG2LNe9hoR3WgrZUaoUq9ObNvPczWreWjzljbnhQQ/s400/Happiness.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The last few days have me thinking about my life .... we don't have a lot of money or a fabulous home (rather 1 good home and 1 work-in-progress home). We don't drive nice vehicles or travel to exotic places or really any places at all other than the grocery store and Goodwill. We wear used clothes, the hubby and I could each stand to lose 20 pounds, I'm lucky if I manage to get my haircut twice a year and shower every 2 days. Most days I wear sweats and am up to armpits in kids and questions and projects and homework and bills and a giant mess at our house and days can go by where I don't talk to any other adults except my hubby. But ..... and it's a big <br />
<em><span style="font-size: x-large;"> BUT ..... </span></em><br />
<em>I am happy. </em>Happy with things just the way they are, counting my blessings and <em>loving</em> myself and the life we have created.Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-48265714277244520262012-01-01T00:01:00.002-06:002012-01-01T00:20:18.355-06:00love!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdDtd0_Jwj1v4I0oaOtDTo7FLxRIeEZjDnxnQcyRRv8nPV8JtkYIf6ljAy4ZvrzYlY2EJqrYCZqoz3fPy4gp9-_AJyjVt8FKU13llX7eK8JLbZilfwf1XU8JBdEWgwOdWvTyvkhoavaQ/s1600/OLW+love.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdDtd0_Jwj1v4I0oaOtDTo7FLxRIeEZjDnxnQcyRRv8nPV8JtkYIf6ljAy4ZvrzYlY2EJqrYCZqoz3fPy4gp9-_AJyjVt8FKU13llX7eK8JLbZilfwf1XU8JBdEWgwOdWvTyvkhoavaQ/s400/OLW+love.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I always choose a word for the year. It's my way of doing resolutions. The word is my theme (oh, how I love a theme)for the year. I incorporate that word into my day to day life to help me grow as a person in as many ways as possible. This year "<em><span style="color: #cc0000;">love"</span></em> sort of picked me so we'll see where it takes me but I have some ideas in mind already. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2011's word was <em>strength</em>. I can't think of a more perfect word for me for the past year. I kept hold of that word all through the year .... so much so that I may just have it tattooed on my body. There were some big rough patches last year but I stayed strong through them. I know that I am even a stronger person now than a year ago, I am so proud of myself for staying strong. I wrote on facebook today that I was blindsided a few times this year but hope my vision in 2012 is better. That vision is going to be filled with love.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5lDmcXBbRw2gxJn0GPLuUp3F8Oq0HAQbZrwpGXVR6Gjb8Py0K4ftVxaKZaEp8MhbaLPagaDsavi4nVQblzghgAuGdUyBBbiHBrTxtUxeyEthJyN1d9wkbl9NU3Wh_98uspEF58NLl0U/s1600/loveSIGN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5lDmcXBbRw2gxJn0GPLuUp3F8Oq0HAQbZrwpGXVR6Gjb8Py0K4ftVxaKZaEp8MhbaLPagaDsavi4nVQblzghgAuGdUyBBbiHBrTxtUxeyEthJyN1d9wkbl9NU3Wh_98uspEF58NLl0U/s400/loveSIGN.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hope the year to come is the best possible for all of us!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Happy 2012!</div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-66986255422861519352011-12-09T14:28:00.000-06:002011-12-09T14:28:05.786-06:00Christmas time .... An Early Gift<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7QvpP_oWu9P_Krtp3u76LFzFwoXGeSsScKqEdDmhF_xHITXBRV_GOKmnpZ8Tfi_XiHOoMOaoiLtI_jPbYew7XleSoVD7JzTutVtqpfqXNhhma-N8AAmlrFD5I12AQsX8sr2jihW_XgU/s1600/SantaKids.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7QvpP_oWu9P_Krtp3u76LFzFwoXGeSsScKqEdDmhF_xHITXBRV_GOKmnpZ8Tfi_XiHOoMOaoiLtI_jPbYew7XleSoVD7JzTutVtqpfqXNhhma-N8AAmlrFD5I12AQsX8sr2jihW_XgU/s640/SantaKids.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Christmas is here in full swing at our house. We've seen Santa twice ..... I think we are going to get to visit with him again tomorrow. Some people are very definite with their lists here and repeat it like lines in a play. Others {Addison} like to say a new item each and every time they are asked what they are hoping for, might be forgetfulness or might be a strategy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HJyZ8zEYcRedf_ph97TE0qhcBqswczKaprL3RhFUgfcoPt81zHPxaUdiA-53gK2p5dhIP1hYrjI5_oyNIfbZCd4aj1IYSbPDWG67r9rbISmyYjugb7eZF3T66vbcCF1_gFbvoZjiXNk/s1600/IMG_6851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HJyZ8zEYcRedf_ph97TE0qhcBqswczKaprL3RhFUgfcoPt81zHPxaUdiA-53gK2p5dhIP1hYrjI5_oyNIfbZCd4aj1IYSbPDWG67r9rbISmyYjugb7eZF3T66vbcCF1_gFbvoZjiXNk/s640/IMG_6851.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Elfie is being "bad" according to the kids this year. He has been doing all sorts of crazy things around the house like wrestling Woody with lots of on-lookers, a snowball fight with legos, building a snowman out of marshmallows, and today he's driving a tractor full of dolls around on the dining room table.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One day he drew on one of family photos. I love the mohawk Aaron has here:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpFrHBot-voQq8HZ0bbHtUreT58RMhA1gEQa4V0mFrXN_yNOkLUf9YuYmyMFk3yzQFhSWjyOhSfVaKhOSmgN9YjByb-UVcimWvAlO2DYIu22MaGJVoXMqwsnk8JakeFNEaghFlnNTgQY/s1600/IMG_6878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpFrHBot-voQq8HZ0bbHtUreT58RMhA1gEQa4V0mFrXN_yNOkLUf9YuYmyMFk3yzQFhSWjyOhSfVaKhOSmgN9YjByb-UVcimWvAlO2DYIu22MaGJVoXMqwsnk8JakeFNEaghFlnNTgQY/s640/IMG_6878.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrAJTWCGGeXCGg_91HuJmU6mO8p1Ca9EFuobvryCMZqJLxBu_r_JnJND9P4US0x-R-oakJZYvWxdaNt2Of9h3zoZuPrIoxT1FPLgjEEPHj9-qGTToB3sZ68fRvgluMRirXmTBF-R_lMsE/s1600/IMG_6900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrAJTWCGGeXCGg_91HuJmU6mO8p1Ca9EFuobvryCMZqJLxBu_r_JnJND9P4US0x-R-oakJZYvWxdaNt2Of9h3zoZuPrIoxT1FPLgjEEPHj9-qGTToB3sZ68fRvgluMRirXmTBF-R_lMsE/s640/IMG_6900.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>The girls and I made Christmas cookies. I have been invited to my first cookie exchange and I wanted to try out a new recipe. I am so excited about the cookie exchange. I think it's such a fun thing, I almost didn't do it because I was afraid I was over-committing myself (like I always do) but I think it's going to be fine.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnY2XeP5LS69lH6dB5gVWBnKhklUZ_f-AZU6dHj2YQ-Qt7fvzR7A4qkJEiCx4vkRnTB0kO5fVlM66J4ord0uCYBj-wGbL1_fZodZdW9biuf2M9XMA6aXfyFuCkYIJJ3xa2oH7l5gqiyc/s1600/IMG_6895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnY2XeP5LS69lH6dB5gVWBnKhklUZ_f-AZU6dHj2YQ-Qt7fvzR7A4qkJEiCx4vkRnTB0kO5fVlM66J4ord0uCYBj-wGbL1_fZodZdW9biuf2M9XMA6aXfyFuCkYIJJ3xa2oH7l5gqiyc/s640/IMG_6895.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>It snowed twice this week. The first time was just a little bit but the kids were so excited so we went outside and played for a while. We made snowballs and even a pint sized snowman that Reese smashed before I got a photo. Today there was about an inch or so of snow .... snowboots were needed as well as snowpants ..... we had to make a trip over to the big house to dig out one pair of boots and all the snowpants .... I found them all. But Ethan took a pair of 3T snowpants to school when he really needs a 5 or 6 so I don't know what happened when he tried to put them on. Tomorrow snowpants for Ethan are on the shopping list.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThWoSSsUYqqgKDwJpXfA6ECN-j7fH5ItnEgBHHI95ARUlWVme8xYy8CdCw3gXCzU_HvfRx1MLzumAQotsWlBI35Matq2pb97NP-kOuNoslsD8faswyQkE-jThwEEmsIWOGU3fl1TItyg/s1600/treeskirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThWoSSsUYqqgKDwJpXfA6ECN-j7fH5ItnEgBHHI95ARUlWVme8xYy8CdCw3gXCzU_HvfRx1MLzumAQotsWlBI35Matq2pb97NP-kOuNoslsD8faswyQkE-jThwEEmsIWOGU3fl1TItyg/s640/treeskirt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>I usually sew quite a bit for Christmas for gifts but this year with most of my sewing supplies over at the other house the list is quite limited. But I did make this new tree skirt for us. I have a few more things to make but time is running out.<br />
I've have 75% of my shopping done and most of that I did on the internet. The only part of Christmas that I dislike is the shopping .... ugghhh. I like everything else: the decorating, the food, the events, the celebrating, the excitement, .... the gifts of what to buy, where to find it, how much we've spent, the limited time I have to shop and my hate for shopping in general is the yucky part for me. Of course without the gift what's the point of the tree with a big space underneath it or why would the kids be super excited? Enough of my Grinching!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4iei6jltdBsjpfEZcYbqa1qb_BSHFHLTQvvA5GdHKbMUQJlA5X6wdx1gSwbA1WSON75iPo1myh9jwBAILkEqao3Eh1Ibw7BjL1M9TYQItWDcX9kOPpyDcGgQpyJNdmfvXNW_m6h2Gao/s1600/IMG_6771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4iei6jltdBsjpfEZcYbqa1qb_BSHFHLTQvvA5GdHKbMUQJlA5X6wdx1gSwbA1WSON75iPo1myh9jwBAILkEqao3Eh1Ibw7BjL1M9TYQItWDcX9kOPpyDcGgQpyJNdmfvXNW_m6h2Gao/s640/IMG_6771.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>And then today I got an early gift. It was a note from Ethan's special education teacher, Mrs. Collins. She was reporting that Ethan had made significant gains in the areas they were working on. Several weeks ago I had a report come home from school that wasn't so great and it looked like he was going backwards rather then maintaining or moving forward. Today when I read the note, I cried. He struggles so much, it's hard for him repeating kindergarten when his siblings are in 1st grade. He has to work so much harder than the other students and still it's not always good. He fights us at home to do work. But today shows that slowly but surely he will make gains. So the grinch is right:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>"Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a bit more."</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I thanked Mrs. Collins for the early Christmas gift ..... Christmas comes once a year but we receive "gifts" all the time ... we just have to look for them.Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-41443568800940978092011-11-24T22:32:00.000-06:002011-11-24T22:32:00.166-06:00A Thanksgiving Surprise!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">HAPPY THANKSGIVING!</span></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSKnoXfMDhTO8BWvbVZYQl4-OoucHi_yy2dSV1unjjdA62LcOmBaRuVchbSxRUp9U2TM0caMnPYpnbSBrRCMM0GMF_JiBWLguZTQ4GKVlaUA9lP_muxsRY4D37lDRe4hcAkUrMs-L0xA/s1600/IMG_6486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSKnoXfMDhTO8BWvbVZYQl4-OoucHi_yy2dSV1unjjdA62LcOmBaRuVchbSxRUp9U2TM0caMnPYpnbSBrRCMM0GMF_JiBWLguZTQ4GKVlaUA9lP_muxsRY4D37lDRe4hcAkUrMs-L0xA/s640/IMG_6486.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">From our house to yours, I hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as ours was. The food was yummy and I am glad everything turned out. I always have turkey issues normally it's not done on time. Well this year it was done 2 hours <em>early</em> according to the button that popped out but I didn't trust it and kept on cooking it and it was just fine. Aaron's parents joined us this year so it was a small gathering but very fun. We wrote what we were thankful for and did some art leaf pictures -- all 8 of us. We ate pie and ice cream and cookies even though we thought we couldn't eat anymore. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTrNE4O21Lkn3KzN-7lWJ26jXj_ih7rOv1uu-JXlFPbFp9biMTL1zNbzBO_bUF39N66l2ApsicRnzpd-n3DtpGyrodXnPNAlkErpEMfijRD0Fzgh2NJ_I0eyRKUzDxhCMEBhP6VcEcDA/s1600/IMG_6434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTrNE4O21Lkn3KzN-7lWJ26jXj_ih7rOv1uu-JXlFPbFp9biMTL1zNbzBO_bUF39N66l2ApsicRnzpd-n3DtpGyrodXnPNAlkErpEMfijRD0Fzgh2NJ_I0eyRKUzDxhCMEBhP6VcEcDA/s320/IMG_6434.JPG" width="320" /></a>Addison took this photo of me pulling out my pumpkin pie yesterday. I've spent this entire week cooking our meal little by little and thinking about how this could be our last Thanksgiving in this house. Although I am ready to move to our other house, it makes me so sad to think of leaving this one. It has been our home since we were married and served us well, seen us through our struggles with infertility and bringing home triplets and then Reesey. As I look around, we finally have this house decorated the way we like it and now we are starting over. Don't get me wrong I know that many more exciting memories will be made in our new home and we can spread out a bit there too but good-byes are hard even with houses.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KiqP4xGJxkJNl9n1_oP6IIAFeQ2pwT5N6qeVP58azyigcnmh5PMQG10xEoPRbHplCtArd0dDcFhdETANOHtaBcWHf39dSD_P01l_fVlrx2XW9XjblfQn2DZU86xlqKNkrLpjqSYAPqg/s1600/IMG_6442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KiqP4xGJxkJNl9n1_oP6IIAFeQ2pwT5N6qeVP58azyigcnmh5PMQG10xEoPRbHplCtArd0dDcFhdETANOHtaBcWHf39dSD_P01l_fVlrx2XW9XjblfQn2DZU86xlqKNkrLpjqSYAPqg/s320/IMG_6442.JPG" width="320" /></a>The girls and I made these cute napkin rings yesterday for our Thanksgiving table. They turned out so cute for using toilet paper rings and scraps of paper that I hoard (that my sister always makes fun of me for saving so much of that kind of stuff). I love doing stuff like that with the kids. It's so much fun now that they can help do little things like this with me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHx-_SFEsxAJQ9jmSQXH-2_VIIE-F5TZlIDwQNbK2iNxaA3T-PGhrogvX2T4X13Fug7PCydIh2XArQR2z5DSznWZ-tMA8ayGMt04StlmTRl3npxnjrJskoBXwina65rQjxUqMVE1Yl6g/s1600/IMG_6346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHx-_SFEsxAJQ9jmSQXH-2_VIIE-F5TZlIDwQNbK2iNxaA3T-PGhrogvX2T4X13Fug7PCydIh2XArQR2z5DSznWZ-tMA8ayGMt04StlmTRl3npxnjrJskoBXwina65rQjxUqMVE1Yl6g/s640/IMG_6346.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The kids dressed up this week as Indians for a Thanksgiving feast at school. They look so cute! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-IKdzDg0wK_mwTeflxzNRCw_DvfPiN-NUa7xU3qiCmvm-Aa2A2esinwBv5rv2CKBHzBp4BC9bIH9aDKngAkmbpUk8Z1HK6xDRMRh7dQtGuGvF2TE-TuEhdmzgUtOFpll9VlefO4us2U/s1600/IMG_6445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-IKdzDg0wK_mwTeflxzNRCw_DvfPiN-NUa7xU3qiCmvm-Aa2A2esinwBv5rv2CKBHzBp4BC9bIH9aDKngAkmbpUk8Z1HK6xDRMRh7dQtGuGvF2TE-TuEhdmzgUtOFpll9VlefO4us2U/s320/IMG_6445.JPG" width="212" /></a>I made the same paper bag turkey that I did last year. Aaron "carved" it. Ethan said "I hope it's cheese inside". But it was the same as last time: popcorn.<img border="0" hda="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC987f678sOKOaUALEgrZ2G2RSV_0M_e4Jfyn2qsdWihxZA3d-leJY5WYlSv2er3n2Al6w9djzIg5kEzo3N6VP39xiS_BjrKSsw7pkduzqtRoFrGmVMb-A0EdyFy4lYqY3TtJCvMute_I/s400/IMG_6459.JPG" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgFL2t1n0OOZADQO1IDg0SCpdj9_UvKsj5JXEO6EC0yx1SLuJEmliqEBsDZhqM_Oz2nbqGnep7WZnVhv4vqSbbHjfO-Qmqcm43AzrZlBOabB3DMvWKtEXbf2E5XxlxS6lXUDVtTDDB_A/s1600/IMG_6480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgFL2t1n0OOZADQO1IDg0SCpdj9_UvKsj5JXEO6EC0yx1SLuJEmliqEBsDZhqM_Oz2nbqGnep7WZnVhv4vqSbbHjfO-Qmqcm43AzrZlBOabB3DMvWKtEXbf2E5XxlxS6lXUDVtTDDB_A/s320/IMG_6480.JPG" width="320" /></a>The yummy food, the togetherness, and the memories made for a great day. But I think the best part of the day happened by chance. Aaron left to have a drink with a friend for a bit and I decided it would be fun to put in the video of the triplets when they were babies. We've never watched it. It's very long and mostly a camera in front of a babies face for like 5 straight minutes with me talking in high pitched/annoying baby talk then moving on to the next baby. And then suddenly there it was: a couple of times I recorded the kids while my dad was here. And I got to see him and hear him talk, just briefly, but he was there just like he was every Thanksgiving. Then I remembered this photo taken on Thanksgiving 7 years ago when we only had 2 babies home and Ethan was still in the hospital:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMzkYbPLpMZV6x2_bMK0mtMr19HZcbRCe4ZzsVlWVqR9pwtBe52gLsCFKXzYM_Lb2MaZ_5c_5TdwDDXA3pmy8iWWL20OxeQ6yAYg-Uc5OW5d54v2jf1Q_gBbIIdS7YIZseVVGS-f2dP8/s1600/PDR_0143_0138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMzkYbPLpMZV6x2_bMK0mtMr19HZcbRCe4ZzsVlWVqR9pwtBe52gLsCFKXzYM_Lb2MaZ_5c_5TdwDDXA3pmy8iWWL20OxeQ6yAYg-Uc5OW5d54v2jf1Q_gBbIIdS7YIZseVVGS-f2dP8/s640/PDR_0143_0138.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm counting all my blessings this year, even my dad's "surprise" visit! Thanks, Dad!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-55666421181201746812011-11-17T14:32:00.000-06:002011-11-17T14:32:25.260-06:00Off to See the Wizard!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I almost deleted my blog. I never ever update it. Seems like another obligation rather than a memory keeper. But I think I'll give it another go and try to get back on track. We just celebrated all the kids' birthday with one big Wizard of Oz bash. That's what our family costume theme was this year too: The Wizard of Oz! The kids were so cute!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JIUU-P6bos7abZx1GKNmKNTuP2pIkl_gLSPDLFlJbyR4nfaVIBec9rMqJoriBW2LoyWfaOWpJ5OlFJAixBrycZ5oNvHnjPIgwU927CvD3i21TBzQewzjBvFlWliyC3wg8wNxzywCZyI/s1600/IMG_5491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JIUU-P6bos7abZx1GKNmKNTuP2pIkl_gLSPDLFlJbyR4nfaVIBec9rMqJoriBW2LoyWfaOWpJ5OlFJAixBrycZ5oNvHnjPIgwU927CvD3i21TBzQewzjBvFlWliyC3wg8wNxzywCZyI/s640/IMG_5491.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We had 15 kids at their party and we played a lot of games/activities. It was fun (at least to me). But I didn't think ahead and get very many party pictures.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyIkLs0gtd7xAXfphQ52_VggSk3QokCwHTNiQAY6CIhx1M9uAm0Lc6K1bLy-YObxbDfhaXunvx34sMcLDNusaqUJvcfTRlP7JPGq1Joz4W3St18jNnBTnPk-SaLKtnKH4Ct1ilHEW8048/s1600/IMG_6043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyIkLs0gtd7xAXfphQ52_VggSk3QokCwHTNiQAY6CIhx1M9uAm0Lc6K1bLy-YObxbDfhaXunvx34sMcLDNusaqUJvcfTRlP7JPGq1Joz4W3St18jNnBTnPk-SaLKtnKH4Ct1ilHEW8048/s640/IMG_6043.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> I made our pinata again and this time EVERYONE got a turn at bat. It was hard to break this time around.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvc4Oy9UDgHp5DKKCP_jerp0Gn601gfy4pAPYtgzZ2H4NHVshJrU_i6dGpDS5oOP5L08NXGuREIpcHEqtnIcp_fuTRLlByRk2xBbE5SRLd2lTBlJR1cOBXdbb5Oxm_PRoNc-wQfwW9-wQ/s1600/IMG_5986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvc4Oy9UDgHp5DKKCP_jerp0Gn601gfy4pAPYtgzZ2H4NHVshJrU_i6dGpDS5oOP5L08NXGuREIpcHEqtnIcp_fuTRLlByRk2xBbE5SRLd2lTBlJR1cOBXdbb5Oxm_PRoNc-wQfwW9-wQ/s640/IMG_5986.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYRXXERII82fVs9f8qaqWI6c8FkATyLEaro61D15pV_c2RF0jcsPTGV3f5VB5cfRIsDInIkP_-95OTtF1EF86IjHl_Ggfctco4YH0vB2Oe3ET99IrL1Q63RQJ_rQe9iXfmPQ5zN8Cf14/s1600/IMG_5974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYRXXERII82fVs9f8qaqWI6c8FkATyLEaro61D15pV_c2RF0jcsPTGV3f5VB5cfRIsDInIkP_-95OTtF1EF86IjHl_Ggfctco4YH0vB2Oe3ET99IrL1Q63RQJ_rQe9iXfmPQ5zN8Cf14/s640/IMG_5974.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> This is Caden running in the witch relay race ... it looks more Harry Potterish to me but still cute!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswcpc9fiWrwKDY8Yq4kobkTqQ-3a5OCe6Kr8unFjr1cNDuA_JJ2IDqfdOHCORnB7XmPZxJQ-PKX8w_Y26qpFsaJc46_SfzjpQZALGALmQCCjE5PzTrEKHigkgL5y-Q4x-QWb1EBeEJWI/s1600/IMG_5913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswcpc9fiWrwKDY8Yq4kobkTqQ-3a5OCe6Kr8unFjr1cNDuA_JJ2IDqfdOHCORnB7XmPZxJQ-PKX8w_Y26qpFsaJc46_SfzjpQZALGALmQCCjE5PzTrEKHigkgL5y-Q4x-QWb1EBeEJWI/s640/IMG_5913.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>Reese was the only one that wanted to wear her costume at the party. She has loved the Wizard of Oz for a couple years. She was so excited for Halloween and their party .... she still hasn't had her birthday yet .... couple more weeks and she'll be FOUR (how can that be?).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGF8qrMyDgWW4EXZM8B-BbEtG6jGKs9_dh5nlfEtcFg51P-Au7ENL0Lbcx-oHGYfrSVIjqKVeNt3kNx-3rnKHwebABTmjEO21k_Hfq_63efc4gYPz75oFF4urjw7khI11igua-nOw7Z0Y/s1600/BirthdayWiz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGF8qrMyDgWW4EXZM8B-BbEtG6jGKs9_dh5nlfEtcFg51P-Au7ENL0Lbcx-oHGYfrSVIjqKVeNt3kNx-3rnKHwebABTmjEO21k_Hfq_63efc4gYPz75oFF4urjw7khI11igua-nOw7Z0Y/s640/BirthdayWiz.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi53twLXYVo2tau23WPS9C-O2qGzZ1maGqJgMtNCysjjKGfM7TT0uzkQ9L7R040u9hBdsOUmo7pdN41dR901El_LZxUcGkdL83j5sXp7iiHnDHvx40WUotQ5Gn1ccnb_NGbxpCg1uk3LA/s1600/IMG_5922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi53twLXYVo2tau23WPS9C-O2qGzZ1maGqJgMtNCysjjKGfM7TT0uzkQ9L7R040u9hBdsOUmo7pdN41dR901El_LZxUcGkdL83j5sXp7iiHnDHvx40WUotQ5Gn1ccnb_NGbxpCg1uk3LA/s320/IMG_5922.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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I worked on the party for weeks (as usual). Seriously I do love doing it. I love to think of ways to make things without buying them. The favor bags this year were made out of grocery sacks .... yes, I weaved 15 baskets from grocery sacks. I know, people are rolling their eyes, it didn't really take that long and it was free. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijx5XoPBw4mnWfcb7Z0AZGKW0yw33w1wwp1FivB11YAxornG62ziFthLImQC8_LcRivK0F11Vyk_LXqoQ8a9RwgpwxXMjd-GOX5aOFfsD4UX-0m-hTawo1yQ7XDfS4LiA0NsESMpCYcjM/s1600/BirthdayWiz1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijx5XoPBw4mnWfcb7Z0AZGKW0yw33w1wwp1FivB11YAxornG62ziFthLImQC8_LcRivK0F11Vyk_LXqoQ8a9RwgpwxXMjd-GOX5aOFfsD4UX-0m-hTawo1yQ7XDfS4LiA0NsESMpCYcjM/s640/BirthdayWiz1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The rainbow cake turned out at 11:30 the night before it didn't seem like it was going to work. Each layer wasn't coming out the pan so nicely. I sure thought it would fall apart when I cut into it but it didn't and kids liked it and it tasted good.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1MFRGWO2-sJjz0edNKGdgrdb2r-9386M0QogkX5G8sTGxgBMF_-bEHrNG-GrkFvsFCq-mM-phGwepcpFK2SGxiw54Hzr53NFFpOfFVFtgdUWyX8fPHUBYJirPWVvrXRhHd502CnIZsY/s1600/IMG_6048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1MFRGWO2-sJjz0edNKGdgrdb2r-9386M0QogkX5G8sTGxgBMF_-bEHrNG-GrkFvsFCq-mM-phGwepcpFK2SGxiw54Hzr53NFFpOfFVFtgdUWyX8fPHUBYJirPWVvrXRhHd502CnIZsY/s640/IMG_6048.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVtzndiWI0vYAs-Dnx6aDIUYiIXkSog4fPpt9hPhtjZHpXGsxkoG6Sl7wWt8iCd_8-sr7pq9Su1KFhpup6KnzgrYFg76kcDzWe7YbzxUcA6BNOwNB7vB69DyQ0d061xPnYXURH-rXs_Q/s1600/IMG_5495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVtzndiWI0vYAs-Dnx6aDIUYiIXkSog4fPpt9hPhtjZHpXGsxkoG6Sl7wWt8iCd_8-sr7pq9Su1KFhpup6KnzgrYFg76kcDzWe7YbzxUcA6BNOwNB7vB69DyQ0d061xPnYXURH-rXs_Q/s640/IMG_5495.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>I really love doing these parties and I hope the kids remember them but even if they don't, I know I will.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OQXnKodbI9LTRX4Gjjz9VSZDJ_lwBCL2kezEPRecfDTCSHNrBZ4ENelSXS7DTF3-iNG7TomHbtHBd1kcZ_SD2nGFWW7xZGXKkRJj_-QsIoYO8Dv0r1GrUK2kKoWdjrk38QQtrVFlA-k/s1600/IMG_5664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OQXnKodbI9LTRX4Gjjz9VSZDJ_lwBCL2kezEPRecfDTCSHNrBZ4ENelSXS7DTF3-iNG7TomHbtHBd1kcZ_SD2nGFWW7xZGXKkRJj_-QsIoYO8Dv0r1GrUK2kKoWdjrk38QQtrVFlA-k/s640/IMG_5664.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-38150588551248813972011-08-29T17:54:00.000-05:002011-08-29T17:54:34.375-05:00Back to School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuZwQCoGt7V3wfRh33JiHOWRosB84aXb67lsZ95915KiLHgtjE6J8ovUKpJWegajCe1tQ4Z0zjWkrvcQ2N2Qx3vt3nTG3oMZlOtf-izKzvT-wg2LwyWR9blcQT0gArAHBEaM6jUXzCMQ/s1600/ACE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuZwQCoGt7V3wfRh33JiHOWRosB84aXb67lsZ95915KiLHgtjE6J8ovUKpJWegajCe1tQ4Z0zjWkrvcQ2N2Qx3vt3nTG3oMZlOtf-izKzvT-wg2LwyWR9blcQT0gArAHBEaM6jUXzCMQ/s640/ACE.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>The summer flew by and so did the last week. The kids are back to school. I felt like we weren't quite ready but in just in the nick of time, I packed up all the backpacks and remarkably we had the correct supplies and Grammy took the kids shoe shopping about 4 days before school started. Good thing every one's foot grew lots and no one could squeeze into their old tennies. They are all in different classrooms this year. We've never had that happen yet. Before it was always 2 in one and 1 in another or all three in the same. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvJ7nsvZER8viwqoNhD0a9GgEQIuh1TZ2Xqc1Q71zVwbRNldmrJhCurXHrI_bDbtXlAAaxdl0WmJbw4afUipRGU4SGd91g1_KElg2UVIxkXji-bx7T4a6S8TwAfx6Ue_CMVkMGn9hGUU/s1600/Addison.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvJ7nsvZER8viwqoNhD0a9GgEQIuh1TZ2Xqc1Q71zVwbRNldmrJhCurXHrI_bDbtXlAAaxdl0WmJbw4afUipRGU4SGd91g1_KElg2UVIxkXji-bx7T4a6S8TwAfx6Ue_CMVkMGn9hGUU/s400/Addison.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">Addison is in Mrs. Wallace's 1st grade class. Addison loves school. She loves to stay busy, quite like her mama. She is so enthusiastic about 1st grade. She has been coming with lots of completed work and I had to talk to her about slowing down and making silly mistakes but the next few days I could tell she listened to me and her work was much better. She has been quite emotional this week in the evenings but I think she is just tired from the routine. I think she will have a great year.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKHk8Oxlmcf5zfzlw_tFX4JozfXR2BAFmtMahidEXLFGWucyZsDnwG2ZI2W8jjQWHH7iuIkNpIDnnorKiW4nJGIjLREjBXWHTV0zqUfU-dza-pRTJV9eT6t-wiSmERLj9W6sLjgmGmQUY/s1600/Caden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKHk8Oxlmcf5zfzlw_tFX4JozfXR2BAFmtMahidEXLFGWucyZsDnwG2ZI2W8jjQWHH7iuIkNpIDnnorKiW4nJGIjLREjBXWHTV0zqUfU-dza-pRTJV9eT6t-wiSmERLj9W6sLjgmGmQUY/s400/Caden.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"> Caden is in Miss Patterson's 1st grade room. Miss Patterson is a new teacher to our district. She is not new to me, she was in my 3rd grade class when I was teaching. Caden is super shy at school. I asked him on Friday after 5 days of school if he had talked to Miss Patterson yet and he said he hadn't. So we are going to work on that a bit and remember to raise our hand to answer questions and such. Caden is enjoying 1st grade so far and I think he will do well and hopefully talk to his teacher soon too!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5u-o0EqU0-7jT8x8yXmP9rGvjB7tyGtM4vMNUEZMfJ9CIpTgre2GfM0QPRLjOwaUWb1WbOriE6qM2kkC8sRI6nabC8HigXtcXoM7gsIyrmTn4wAgc4q_Nb2R-4eglWku-jWEVjJUEtFc/s1600/Ethan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5u-o0EqU0-7jT8x8yXmP9rGvjB7tyGtM4vMNUEZMfJ9CIpTgre2GfM0QPRLjOwaUWb1WbOriE6qM2kkC8sRI6nabC8HigXtcXoM7gsIyrmTn4wAgc4q_Nb2R-4eglWku-jWEVjJUEtFc/s400/Ethan.JPG" width="266" /></a>Ethan is repeating Kindergarten this year. We have known since last January that he would need to go through kindergarten again. I was not surprised, but it is still hard. I taught for 10+ years and I've been on the other side of the table telling parents that their child needs to repeat a grade. It's hard no matter what position you are in this case. I don't think I would have gave it a second thought if Ethan was not a triplet. It's hard for everyone to see his brother and sister move on when he isn't. But it was evident he was ready for 1st grade at all. We couldn't just move him on just because he's a triplet just as we couldn't hold Caden and Addison back for a year because they are triplets and their brother isn't ready. Even though they came as a "group" they are individuals with different needs. It's been hard for him too. When we first told him that he would be redoing kindergarten at the beginning of the summer, he cried saying that he wanted to go to 1st grade with Caden and Addison. It was hard but he got used to the idea. He had a hard time getting used to the idea that he switched teachers too. We loved Mr. Sanberg and he did a great job with Ethan, and we love Mrs. Ray too so we know that this year will be good for him. He did really well the first week of school, no fits and getting going on his work right away is what Mrs. Ray reported. But he's still having a hard time understanding the whole situation. It broke my heart, a few days ago when I said it was time for school and he asked if he was going to 1st grade now and I told him no he'd been doing kindergarten all year. He said "But Mom, I <em>already</em> did kindergarten." He wants a puppy in the worst way and a puppy would be good for him so I told him <em>if</em> he worked really hard in kindergarten doing his work and listening and not throwing fits and we get our BIG house to a decent state, he could get a puppy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I think it will be a good year overall not without challenges but I think there will be a puppy waiting for us several months down the road.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-74453634837823546152011-07-08T08:39:00.000-05:002011-07-08T08:39:13.761-05:00The Line<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sometimes ......</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlEY_SQnSRPDvel2sKIFOUED8tCT-0WnIrJgG7Ckyoq2yqV5UlP9NC12jIAi0h4kuyZZJO6wSL625n1nIekzwCAs4CNUFqaLVHwB19TQI3coRK3nloSibWN6e9nU_Vyg9vsjX5f30jOA/s1600/NotOK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlEY_SQnSRPDvel2sKIFOUED8tCT-0WnIrJgG7Ckyoq2yqV5UlP9NC12jIAi0h4kuyZZJO6wSL625n1nIekzwCAs4CNUFqaLVHwB19TQI3coRK3nloSibWN6e9nU_Vyg9vsjX5f30jOA/s400/NotOK.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>you have to draw that line even if it means you are all alone on the other side. Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-39894003796751905772011-06-18T07:50:00.004-05:002011-06-18T07:50:00.317-05:00My Team<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrbfrmYfb8guqyoylGSoWxPxXnvFLHz0nOhVOoe2gqbZi6NQhP3ujBsZREXpmXL-7v-gWQAhWJWyLWZwm21766jRbAOIFMz8vXa3IYSvQCu5J0SNTNh-dRE9uJoBWbJm1pIrcmezfVBI/s1600/Tball2011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrbfrmYfb8guqyoylGSoWxPxXnvFLHz0nOhVOoe2gqbZi6NQhP3ujBsZREXpmXL-7v-gWQAhWJWyLWZwm21766jRbAOIFMz8vXa3IYSvQCu5J0SNTNh-dRE9uJoBWbJm1pIrcmezfVBI/s640/Tball2011.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">T-ball is wrapping up at the end of this month. I can really tell a major improvement in all 3 kids' skills and attitudes toward the sport this year compared to last year. Aaron is a coach this time, which I was not thrilled about because I was not about to be a "coach" when he couldn't come due to work conflicts and I absolutely did not want to sit in the dugout with impatient pre-k kids and kindergarteners. I'm a teacher .... I only do stuff like that when I get paid!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_6w-bJ4e5z3yRf-BOu33yxtsO4wlN6gyJQDj3mG01x5C2v_fBN7YkBxdlSdmMrubWzrA18ycQDhu8MQWkxIRIE0nsfY8uMTnFlGLmyyWCkYHxTWOuSZ1ZhVR79G9JOZKQb33i-Vhqg0/s1600/Tball2011+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_6w-bJ4e5z3yRf-BOu33yxtsO4wlN6gyJQDj3mG01x5C2v_fBN7YkBxdlSdmMrubWzrA18ycQDhu8MQWkxIRIE0nsfY8uMTnFlGLmyyWCkYHxTWOuSZ1ZhVR79G9JOZKQb33i-Vhqg0/s640/Tball2011+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> Addison is pretty good at the sport. She is only one of three girls on the team. Most girls play softball on a separate team in North Henderson. We've been asked a lot why we didn't sign her up with the girls' team. It's simple: I don't want to go to twice as many games. We have 3 games a week as it is .... that is a lot for us. I think playing with the boys makes her better anyway. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv7QMYf6poyVpOZZDgPLExHPnRXvlfq-ktzuSgWqGbSZ3dc70PdUTkoN7dC8Q_d1LzU6hJ2Var5LF38I9dF2frgNU0jCrpv1j8kdUAvgLWl-XQ-L3Pd9OW8qpDyUmC10inZU5i3xaLkk/s1600/Tball2011+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv7QMYf6poyVpOZZDgPLExHPnRXvlfq-ktzuSgWqGbSZ3dc70PdUTkoN7dC8Q_d1LzU6hJ2Var5LF38I9dF2frgNU0jCrpv1j8kdUAvgLWl-XQ-L3Pd9OW8qpDyUmC10inZU5i3xaLkk/s640/Tball2011+%25283%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Last year I had to drag Ethan out of the van, onto the field, bribe him, yell at him .... just to get him somewhat involved in the game. This year he has declared several times, "I quit baseball" when he realizes that we have a game. But he has gotten out there every game. He has even hit the ball off a pitch a couple times. He gets so excited when that happens. One game when he was on third base, the ball rolled his way and he picked it up and handed to the third baseman before he ran home. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7KoZ97E5CkCnoRDaCvJEhgp7842rc09GNggMqu4UpMAvgsGHgVJz5NcIi9fP12WkZ8gqWc115TFsZEiGrMjfY2W5k88asASV2Gl4GwlcINdVIAJKU2Hs66n-4Nv7bga7hRdKuEwQGAQ/s1600/Tball.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7KoZ97E5CkCnoRDaCvJEhgp7842rc09GNggMqu4UpMAvgsGHgVJz5NcIi9fP12WkZ8gqWc115TFsZEiGrMjfY2W5k88asASV2Gl4GwlcINdVIAJKU2Hs66n-4Nv7bga7hRdKuEwQGAQ/s640/Tball.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He does sit in the outfield and play in the dirt <em>which drives his dad crazy.</em> He takes dirt showers, tasted the dirt once, and even lays down making dirt angels (which did stop a ball once). He did try to slide home at the last game. Big progress for him.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3PLXC81xmBvzeCwHDOD5Enhd-Ib2NMEY5oqtlVNlzv5l2veSoMjuqg_j8cIzyh4ne8Y5K2H-2UjYVd90R59Qze3G9i3HOHSoVqYWFmjuVAk9H6NEAkm8q7bNPBVVTXXkL8gXCFyfWds/s1600/Tball2011+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3PLXC81xmBvzeCwHDOD5Enhd-Ib2NMEY5oqtlVNlzv5l2veSoMjuqg_j8cIzyh4ne8Y5K2H-2UjYVd90R59Qze3G9i3HOHSoVqYWFmjuVAk9H6NEAkm8q7bNPBVVTXXkL8gXCFyfWds/s640/Tball2011+%25284%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> Caden is very serious about baseball. He has quite the batting stance and runs very fast to the bases.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7DjeLU9stXAruZ2JwvQa_3Lg7a5imgdYfUIozsER_JJ2LOdpPwNGUxc9Bl_g0G_bVVU-NOXlKvNHuv0u_d1muw9R39WZL8UcWiNWxzztaYCrnAgpbYYB_jl7eUI_5wBP9Ho79s2oywk/s1600/Tball2011+%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7DjeLU9stXAruZ2JwvQa_3Lg7a5imgdYfUIozsER_JJ2LOdpPwNGUxc9Bl_g0G_bVVU-NOXlKvNHuv0u_d1muw9R39WZL8UcWiNWxzztaYCrnAgpbYYB_jl7eUI_5wBP9Ho79s2oywk/s640/Tball2011+%25285%2529.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div align="left">He is a pro slider. He is quite brave to do that in my opinion. He always has the dirt stains on his pants to show it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20TC09wLnBYA93xDjN_T4wAgNd_WL9Kbvy2PhTqc6KynEec526YXvXP7754HRYsBccbk6tv6NTzloS9_z7MFe-aqP5eJLueeKpAFl9WxvfNkd0-qkN9X6seAzEgnQunBapy4Y9lgeLuM/s1600/MyTeam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20TC09wLnBYA93xDjN_T4wAgNd_WL9Kbvy2PhTqc6KynEec526YXvXP7754HRYsBccbk6tv6NTzloS9_z7MFe-aqP5eJLueeKpAFl9WxvfNkd0-qkN9X6seAzEgnQunBapy4Y9lgeLuM/s640/MyTeam.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm very proud of our little team. I can't believe that next year, we'll be moving on to a new chapter of regular baseball with more than 2 innings, pitching only where they count the fouls and strikes, and keep score. Yikes, I don't think I'm ready for any of that but I'm sure my team will be!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-3897436751367971012011-06-17T08:15:00.000-05:002011-06-17T08:15:11.979-05:00She<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">She is cRaZY. She is 3 and a half. She can go from 0 to 60 in one second. She says funny things. She won't let me come her hair. She doesn't really listen to me and does what she wants. She is cute. She fell asleep on the porch as we were getting ready for a t-ball game a couple days ago.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHDncLgwftOqQ_EIHm0kqVI33Iz0cOTKDAOwb_LugS7MVQNp1mqSZh4AXsZXABz14EZztqy6p85RTE_DeeOM3E-_jMPkw9nMVbPwjkSn0CvajZm4weu8l7-E-RFwBCyKTKmiKqvz_W2Y/s1600/PorchSleeper+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHDncLgwftOqQ_EIHm0kqVI33Iz0cOTKDAOwb_LugS7MVQNp1mqSZh4AXsZXABz14EZztqy6p85RTE_DeeOM3E-_jMPkw9nMVbPwjkSn0CvajZm4weu8l7-E-RFwBCyKTKmiKqvz_W2Y/s640/PorchSleeper+%25282%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="426" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I really wanted to leave her there and stay home from the ballgame but I was afraid she roll down the stairs. She did look so sweet and peaceful for a few minutes of her life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpDBtt6O2cBNrXM1J2Ruj8i-8EcJjwl11PGDj7FBbi48ejntm7FiHy__sUs5gvBFxidSRbtnRdn3OwU1HBQ4q_nsdcqiVdfZjF5XVUIAEdkjzKeFNY93G33oeXwP9t-Mcdr4hUa5s8QI/s1600/PorchSleeper.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpDBtt6O2cBNrXM1J2Ruj8i-8EcJjwl11PGDj7FBbi48ejntm7FiHy__sUs5gvBFxidSRbtnRdn3OwU1HBQ4q_nsdcqiVdfZjF5XVUIAEdkjzKeFNY93G33oeXwP9t-Mcdr4hUa5s8QI/s640/PorchSleeper.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then today, as we were riding bikes to the post office she fell head first into a mud puddle. I told her not to ride through the puddle (I told you she doesn't listen.).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhCmqnA1D_8Ouo_HJ87KnirCMxAQi4qVGfgxNJT0glqFs-UV1eEnrSbzYIZOpmpUbr0knweBlNIt3-KyqT2G78qQHvo8zKBes52WUshZDSzuljajZqO9Rh7khxKmCs6lwnDrw9ADDm8I/s1600/MudReese+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhCmqnA1D_8Ouo_HJ87KnirCMxAQi4qVGfgxNJT0glqFs-UV1eEnrSbzYIZOpmpUbr0knweBlNIt3-KyqT2G78qQHvo8zKBes52WUshZDSzuljajZqO9Rh7khxKmCs6lwnDrw9ADDm8I/s640/MudReese+%25282%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="426" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Doesn't she look so pitiful? In the end she was happy because she got to take a bath <em>all by herself </em>in the middle of the day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHS5G-zt4fqyInzbi5zFTit2SLYu3EwSsH9QvuvRFeU-ERd7NvBrhIodVwM3n12okTyV9xuOP5uEShM4RSayRgSqyVaGUzMUcMKqvP3bZYzD0m-3cJOcXufZGlHnrXh-oR9catWXzEPKk/s1600/MudReese+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHS5G-zt4fqyInzbi5zFTit2SLYu3EwSsH9QvuvRFeU-ERd7NvBrhIodVwM3n12okTyV9xuOP5uEShM4RSayRgSqyVaGUzMUcMKqvP3bZYzD0m-3cJOcXufZGlHnrXh-oR9catWXzEPKk/s640/MudReese+%25283%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">She drives me crazy but I love her and that crazy personality.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_TaENKVo0KcYG5idehNl7vKBWtYgpiKoQD7ntgxy8jVYPGVO0z01fRwpxfkOKAjn2aPywu9yCOP77kbs4a4X2L0ElgDbhlwx4OxqhhGjfCqi6Lh2q_7mXfqHXMKm17dNwW19I1zvMr8/s1600/ReeseJune11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_TaENKVo0KcYG5idehNl7vKBWtYgpiKoQD7ntgxy8jVYPGVO0z01fRwpxfkOKAjn2aPywu9yCOP77kbs4a4X2L0ElgDbhlwx4OxqhhGjfCqi6Lh2q_7mXfqHXMKm17dNwW19I1zvMr8/s640/ReeseJune11.JPG" t8="true" width="426" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-90263244756024493992011-06-16T14:33:00.002-05:002011-06-16T16:16:40.104-05:00Crack houseThings sometimes get worse before they get better. Our new house is no exception. My mother-in-law and I took all the wallpaper off the living room walls on Tuesday.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXksA2_Aw2XrgX24R_LqlmWrMNTld9NFwignS5eCOSjNBx0I9w4O_CevChLy9zDzb-Y9WySZ61EWxm4sokwDUMrLqIIm-wNpKPEbLVd71-m-CnTwGpp06vRjDMp2CRgfbxJxg2fLVM6do/s1600/CrackHouse.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXksA2_Aw2XrgX24R_LqlmWrMNTld9NFwignS5eCOSjNBx0I9w4O_CevChLy9zDzb-Y9WySZ61EWxm4sokwDUMrLqIIm-wNpKPEbLVd71-m-CnTwGpp06vRjDMp2CRgfbxJxg2fLVM6do/s640/CrackHouse.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sort of looks like a "crack house". I have to say the 1992 peach wallpaper was doing a lot for this giant room (indcluding holding some of the walls together!). 4 garbage bags of peach wallpaper decorated this room.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6SRmCu7ih8dYr4Ncw8mQRz-6zOowafEhNT128HTv6-ibaJN5Xu5JnCsr5uvsHmPwxUIqhDIMofjXUPucCMTE3YflY9tzuWpjkZejN2y2WRZi2AyULOqEpCTu7QeYRllHlb-2DFnQoYE/s1600/CrackHouse+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6SRmCu7ih8dYr4Ncw8mQRz-6zOowafEhNT128HTv6-ibaJN5Xu5JnCsr5uvsHmPwxUIqhDIMofjXUPucCMTE3YflY9tzuWpjkZejN2y2WRZi2AyULOqEpCTu7QeYRllHlb-2DFnQoYE/s640/CrackHouse+%25282%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div>All we are really missing is some homeless people. It's getting really hard to picture my Christmas tree in that window now. And the scary part is ... it's going to get a lot worse than this. Deep breath. After talking to a previous owner, I am realizing that this poor house hasn't had much, if really anything of major importance (other than paint, wallpaper, carpet, a counter top) done to it in 25 years or more. Isn't that sad? Everyone calls this house the Van Fleet house because the prominent Van Fleet family lived here at one point and anyone who had been in it said it was quite a house in its day. It's just like a person, if you neglected your health, body, and appearance for 25+ years, what kind of shape would you be in? I'm going to think of it that way, like a person, it needs some TLC ..... maybe we'll even give it a name<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkDS77cP6PWbkST2l1Sum6471G2owhgTPBgUVwfVK76sD-mHxDVj9Hb1Lg0OjK4tZ3xGK4fyzAGZU0BGtBU9godtWTov7S8phlEONZYzpGxKSe0UzWpOtyYtHznEDzvEbmTGDTrUoSMI/s1600/CrackHouse+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkDS77cP6PWbkST2l1Sum6471G2owhgTPBgUVwfVK76sD-mHxDVj9Hb1Lg0OjK4tZ3xGK4fyzAGZU0BGtBU9godtWTov7S8phlEONZYzpGxKSe0UzWpOtyYtHznEDzvEbmTGDTrUoSMI/s640/CrackHouse+%25283%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We could go with the more Au natural, and give the house the Tuscan look: leave some exposed walls, paint some green and browns .... old Italy. Second thought, no, but the Tuscan look is at least a few steps above the crack house look, don't you think?</div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-50442008215790947842011-06-08T13:41:00.000-05:002011-06-16T13:43:34.640-05:00I would ratherscrapbook, go shopping, swim, go out to eat, plan a party, have a clean house ...... anything other than what needs to be accomplished. Of course, isn't that how it always is, if someone said I had to scrapbook right now, I'd probably find some other endeavor I'd rather do. <br />
<br />
2 houses and things to do at each is very overwhelming. Aaron was laid-off on Friday so now we will have some time but he's helping out some people right now .... so I'm still on my own. We made a smaller list of "to-dos" at the current house, it didn't even fill up a piece of construction paper. I'm scheduling 2 weeks! Then we MUST get this house on the market and get to working on the BIG house. I'm coming to terms with things at the BIG house. After scraping some paint on the stairs I will be living with mostly white woodwork, which is very trendy right now .... I'm even tempted to rip up carpeting upstairs and have painted pine floors for a while until we can afford new hardwood. We'll see .... It's going to be a work-in-progress for a loooooonnnnngggg time! It will be okay. I'm try to pack up "extra" clutter and stuff here and take it to the BIG house but that is also a slow process for me. I'm just slow! I seem to be more motivated when my hubby is here. I also am not sure where to put things so they are out of the way and I don't have to move them several times. Speaking of which, I have moved these banana boxes no less than 30 times. They've been on my porch in several places, in the house, in the yard, on the sidewalk, in the backyard, depending on what project I'm working on and where they have to go for a while. They did come in hand when I painted the porch .....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJBMJ4Gay936RdvNX7zkAThpLZQOEcygYnePaPZLU5PzWimSCEPSJH_KwOzuzPiSMxskTQWydpSw6ZpJOw7xgcJPDRW1bE5xhqJQa_auSSYhJ7O1SPh50EtpCsjDrqSWXp33zuyvr2ds/s1600/Boxes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJBMJ4Gay936RdvNX7zkAThpLZQOEcygYnePaPZLU5PzWimSCEPSJH_KwOzuzPiSMxskTQWydpSw6ZpJOw7xgcJPDRW1bE5xhqJQa_auSSYhJ7O1SPh50EtpCsjDrqSWXp33zuyvr2ds/s640/Boxes.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
paint drying baracade! Of course, I'd rather build things out of banana boxes than do what needs to be done!Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-41530896822853345652011-05-31T00:03:00.000-05:002011-05-31T00:03:35.847-05:00TomorrowIt was a long day. I was woke up at 4:45 am by my husband, who after he went to the bathroom and drank loudly from a water bottle said, "I'm wide awake", then he promptly crawled back in bed and fell asleep in about 2 minutes. Then I was wide awake. Both sisters and families spent the night and I didn't want to get up too early so I watched TV in bed until 6 then started my day. My day involved: a Memorial Day Parade with complaining kids about being hot and thirsty, craziness at Lowe's while trying to decide what flooring we will be using that included a child knocking over a cart onto himself and spilling a shake, leaving Galesburg with no groceries because we were too mad to take them into another store, lots of yelling at home about what the heck we are doing with that house and at children who are not helping matters when we are trying to talk, painting around windows, power washing the porch, and cutting tile for the laundry room (that would be all stuff at the OLD house not the new). In all the commotion and yelling and discussing what did we figure out: we don't know what we are doing. No plan .... I don't work without a plan ... it drives me crazy. It stresses me out and makes me feel overwhelmed. After the kids were in bed at 9:15, I had to go buy groceries. I had to weigh it out: going to the grocery store at night when I'm tired or taking 4 kids there tomorrow. I think I made the right choice.<br />
<br />
So we in trying to do something "right" today, I read bedtime stories (on our summer list). I'll admit I don't normally do it because by the time bedtime rolls around I am D.O.N.E. with kids, not the right attitude at all. In <u>Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse</u> it was right there: <br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>"Today was a difficult day;</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>tomorrow will be better."</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">That sums it up doesn't it? It will all work out, we'll figure out what flooring to get and how to pay for it. I'll decide if I am stripping the stairway railing and steps, we'll get out current house ready and it will sell. We'll come up with a plan when Aaron isn't completely exhausted from working these long hours and someday soon I'll get a few hours to myself where I can think clearly without people talking non stop. I'm off to bed .... tomorrow is almost here.</div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-38356903156046466552011-05-28T18:44:00.000-05:002011-05-28T18:44:53.934-05:00Lists!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm REALLY into lists. In February when we decided we needed to get serious about buying a different house (we've only talked about it for 5 years), I sat down and made this huge list of all things we need to do to sell this house. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_20rQFIyS_S-gMSXTlrWSt1CqR3Ecf2F19ZNj8EVDjuoqcu_AGdRqXaOMiFCQZswrT5nq0s5Cay1OE-IRTX02tgte6FEqAiXC0oVKmJck4VlkBULTBjQP7H70l9jB-rqIimd9pnuDCM/s1600/list+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_20rQFIyS_S-gMSXTlrWSt1CqR3Ecf2F19ZNj8EVDjuoqcu_AGdRqXaOMiFCQZswrT5nq0s5Cay1OE-IRTX02tgte6FEqAiXC0oVKmJck4VlkBULTBjQP7H70l9jB-rqIimd9pnuDCM/s640/list+%25283%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aaron made fun of me for making a GIANT list but I said if we wrote on a small paper we'd lose it and if we don't have a list we will forget what needs to be done. We've accomplished a lot on the list and as soon as he is finished with this temporary job, I think we will be able to finish this up in a reasonable amount of time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYO_A6DH0XiBBPgV8NMTO369WXF9XwzIL8j0z7wgvlVm4pSiGnP8nR4WWmpuMu2SpF0BKxLnfCjztstPg1effZPpdmp4HBvv-CkJK6DVSKdxwfD5g3MZqb0CXD1Cg1cYssCJK4_n1xHY/s1600/list+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYO_A6DH0XiBBPgV8NMTO369WXF9XwzIL8j0z7wgvlVm4pSiGnP8nR4WWmpuMu2SpF0BKxLnfCjztstPg1effZPpdmp4HBvv-CkJK6DVSKdxwfD5g3MZqb0CXD1Cg1cYssCJK4_n1xHY/s640/list+%25282%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="425" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The kids and I brainstormed for our summer list. This is all the things that Aaron and I (or just me) want to do with the kids. It makes us keep "fun" in our summer. With so much still to do at the farm and all the work on the new house, I didn't want the summer to slip by and realize we hadn't done much family stuff. The kids are excited (and so am I).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I so overwhelmed by the BIG house that I want to make a list but where to begin is the question. And truthfully I can't make a list by myself; it's something that Aaron and I need to be on the same page. If I ever see him again, maybe we can make a list. Here's my start:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvF7Ym26u_ki4V4m3oiLRIdou1m8MXWwnsPj480cued7rbPvmD29njRsdmZgmJfu2hxMUD1aVlKcR7RlqgMl6WhwK4XSxGnaWjWxYoQV-cWhcf0kkGgsZVOLRiD-L5WCHKjl3Mz3H-onI/s1600/list.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvF7Ym26u_ki4V4m3oiLRIdou1m8MXWwnsPj480cued7rbPvmD29njRsdmZgmJfu2hxMUD1aVlKcR7RlqgMl6WhwK4XSxGnaWjWxYoQV-cWhcf0kkGgsZVOLRiD-L5WCHKjl3Mz3H-onI/s640/list.JPG" t8="true" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Seriously that says it all, if I wrote down everything it would be a novel. I think we need to think first things first. If we could get some electricians over to look at our wiring that would be a good start. It's so overwhelming. I need a foreman over there to boss me .... that will where my hubby steps in next week, I hope.</div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-38922199483488691512011-05-25T09:29:00.001-05:002011-05-25T09:33:24.417-05:00The Last DayThis is the kids last day of school. As usual I feel like I should spend that very last day doing something just for me, like have a spa day. But I don't see that happening on any last days of school around my house. It's so busy with programs and trips going on at school. Then add to the fact that I have sick one here. Ethan has an ear infection and bronchitis. I am referring him to as Neb Man. <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganWbyhVDM-GSKClTYp5Fnu-2lEjonQXljm9YTyzabZOerKoWQwc1UThJstZ-ts_E_ZRv7MxduSMMqVpTBj6hV9u2FyFBT8XbHFl7X4JWWJ7hH81CQWtJSeN2vh9MkKb5BQ296MDHvvqc/s1600/NebMan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganWbyhVDM-GSKClTYp5Fnu-2lEjonQXljm9YTyzabZOerKoWQwc1UThJstZ-ts_E_ZRv7MxduSMMqVpTBj6hV9u2FyFBT8XbHFl7X4JWWJ7hH81CQWtJSeN2vh9MkKb5BQ296MDHvvqc/s320/NebMan.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We've never done nebulizers at our house, much to my doctor's surprise. The nurse warned that most kids don't like the mask and they never put the mask on just hold it up to their face. Not Ethan, he's all about wearing the mask and even wants to have it on his person at all times by carrying it around in a bag. He's missed the entire last week of school. All the fun stuff happens then, I feel bad that he missed it but he doesn't know and doesn't feel like doing anything either.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I was able to sneak away yesterday to see Caden and Addison in their Mother Goose Plays:</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Caden was Old King Cole.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVc0-Kbiw20AuDrz0HgXsDlSR-xK76dPYMIg-6whKcb08f5L8aQRpss1Ktq6w8HU7_nhfWAkON7J4vVc06F_NTP_Kffqzc-0WE4sPqeffiIGVQ7kZyX3npkcHzMoRu8ZUXK9ITqLEqQFw/s1600/KindergartenMGplays+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVc0-Kbiw20AuDrz0HgXsDlSR-xK76dPYMIg-6whKcb08f5L8aQRpss1Ktq6w8HU7_nhfWAkON7J4vVc06F_NTP_Kffqzc-0WE4sPqeffiIGVQ7kZyX3npkcHzMoRu8ZUXK9ITqLEqQFw/s400/KindergartenMGplays+%25282%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sjaW4vdWaQHVbSASy6Cca4uDN1r0ZssiPMos4vlr2-0jmSTlu-w7GCdpziFGX53ZJ1P5WP2xibQ6sWHlwoRrsSzsmdedlD3oVWATLTiy5-TzPiiiPRUHtiPmcC1I6BD-RpFHoPfUjrg/s1600/KindergartenMGplays.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sjaW4vdWaQHVbSASy6Cca4uDN1r0ZssiPMos4vlr2-0jmSTlu-w7GCdpziFGX53ZJ1P5WP2xibQ6sWHlwoRrsSzsmdedlD3oVWATLTiy5-TzPiiiPRUHtiPmcC1I6BD-RpFHoPfUjrg/s320/KindergartenMGplays.JPG" t8="true" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Addison was Jill from Jack & Jill:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wPh2JPyvx7zldgsVmns5Kw_rpdIAcT8TKgau7mr3qQE0WZOufnA7J7NCIMMonyR51mrPEq7zoIFGx9x8PX1o4VYQsl3iUTeApv6aRVu2AsNOYdUlNEJNCyzGhNPfEMl74gNjsBCTut8/s1600/KindergartenMGplays+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wPh2JPyvx7zldgsVmns5Kw_rpdIAcT8TKgau7mr3qQE0WZOufnA7J7NCIMMonyR51mrPEq7zoIFGx9x8PX1o4VYQsl3iUTeApv6aRVu2AsNOYdUlNEJNCyzGhNPfEMl74gNjsBCTut8/s400/KindergartenMGplays+%25283%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="266" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-xSVTjAHYR7EvGNEAD4bwJouknw7Y-3mZ-mTzcYP60t1RLC4H3sq7g7-QLgsSp0juOKOcxQIXzxiRFE1BeDytutVzg6V2XhPaZLjxi16vsV2tZlTGVcWubKZOO4Z4xJ7y4GyL2UpDaM/s1600/KindergartenMGplays+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-xSVTjAHYR7EvGNEAD4bwJouknw7Y-3mZ-mTzcYP60t1RLC4H3sq7g7-QLgsSp0juOKOcxQIXzxiRFE1BeDytutVzg6V2XhPaZLjxi16vsV2tZlTGVcWubKZOO4Z4xJ7y4GyL2UpDaM/s400/KindergartenMGplays+%25284%2529.JPG" t8="true" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There were so cute.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So no spa day for me today. On the agenda instead is:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*Giving the Neb Man his treatments every 4 hours.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*Cleaning up our house. Every since I had to give up the cleaning lady in January when Aaron got laid off, my house hasn't been completely cleaned. When I had my cleaning lady, I picked up everything every 2 weeks, now it's so out-of -control plus doing home improvement projects makes it impossible for us to keep things in order. I have to get it cleaned up today because these children of mine are going to help keep it clean this summer and we should start with a clean slate. (I cringe to think we own 2 houses right now and once we begin moving stuff we will have 2 messy houses)!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*Take a shower .... I don't think I've had time yet this week!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*Clean out my purse, I think someone put a cookie or two in there and they are crumbled to pieces.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*Think about teacher gifts ..... we go back to get our report cards on Friday. I sure do think all the teachers my children had were fabulous and I want to thank them for all their patience and hard work!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*Laundry .... there's always laundry here.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*Work on my summer school program. Yes, we are doing school work here this summer almost every single weekday. We have to, so skills aren't lost. I'm including fun snacks and art projects, games and computer time so it won't be that bad. My kids are also going to have jobs and I'm implementing a rewards program for their schoolwork, jobs, and behavior. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Looks like I better get going on my day, summer will be here in 4.5 hours!</div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-31365089529032272042011-05-23T14:22:00.000-05:002011-05-23T14:22:23.200-05:00Yesterday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ5LtUWtk-9jW-4UxpKwWIZFbMVVV-94bTpx1iNBJv-xlJlnoSGUZXCn0zAR5-iAOh0BNjd4mdJmqvug_iW5Wnh6GqhTld2wMKF7Xq4SPc0x-HmsoZ_gyJWYfalUQn1JJNU7rlIaehJU/s1600/Day3+Wallpaper+%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ5LtUWtk-9jW-4UxpKwWIZFbMVVV-94bTpx1iNBJv-xlJlnoSGUZXCn0zAR5-iAOh0BNjd4mdJmqvug_iW5Wnh6GqhTld2wMKF7Xq4SPc0x-HmsoZ_gyJWYfalUQn1JJNU7rlIaehJU/s640/Day3+Wallpaper+%25285%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yesterday we went to the BIG house (as the kids call it) to receive a delivery .... which made us both question each other why are receiving a big delivery when we aren't in any sort of position to do so ... in remodel world. Of course we both said it was the other person's fault, thus began the first fight about the BIG house, more to follow I'm sure. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilE1gn4vdlOLx3aX6YKbggeE3jIPPPnQo_WPCG5KcpP4bu76a4ef0odE0hlVGgu8-uuLxQSEuPy182uLDI9faRmVA6iGB5nkm3SPc-dw9LgXg9OAqNQDEHCRGylnxDFkC4J0PMTc_FD0w/s1600/Day3+Wallpaper+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilE1gn4vdlOLx3aX6YKbggeE3jIPPPnQo_WPCG5KcpP4bu76a4ef0odE0hlVGgu8-uuLxQSEuPy182uLDI9faRmVA6iGB5nkm3SPc-dw9LgXg9OAqNQDEHCRGylnxDFkC4J0PMTc_FD0w/s640/Day3+Wallpaper+%25284%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>While waiting for our delivery to be completed we worked on the endless removal of nails in the subfloor and started to peel off wallpaper which so far has revealed some nicer wallboard not crazy plaster problems (YET!). The kids even helped with this for quite a while. Previous dwellers of the house have written on the walls ... lots of names but some funny things too like: Let's watch T.V. and My brother loves Bonanza!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjWhn1EBDFB_ZfTmBLINXjbqtyqRSFqrh7zomPAE9Chkv8gmFtwkLMnSuJpA9y8w6ePd2wd18gCOHSYVUTiYKvG33OeIwsbAokcPU2bh-aZ-nGMBy9wN29xzxuJsGi8Ci9K6FLQ9hkCk/s1600/IMG_3004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjWhn1EBDFB_ZfTmBLINXjbqtyqRSFqrh7zomPAE9Chkv8gmFtwkLMnSuJpA9y8w6ePd2wd18gCOHSYVUTiYKvG33OeIwsbAokcPU2bh-aZ-nGMBy9wN29xzxuJsGi8Ci9K6FLQ9hkCk/s640/IMG_3004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>These two decided to do some of their own work. Holding a nail for your sister to hammer is very brave .... it reminds of me of Lucy and Charlie Brown. I can't remember if this is before or after he punched her in the face; thank goodness he didn't use a hammer to hit her. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0SIkHXmOq3eT88JLL9ulo7F7ziKI029wK1q8GxhyphenhyphenYOyGlY2jzdSrHsvsgGAJ8JY_rXyTyZ2UaxHcZ0z1UnBSCFGBH5y5BIHv1Nux0STwCFbs7tSZ1uUvs1xtTTknbWuTesyxXWfWTEk/s1600/IMG_3008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0SIkHXmOq3eT88JLL9ulo7F7ziKI029wK1q8GxhyphenhyphenYOyGlY2jzdSrHsvsgGAJ8JY_rXyTyZ2UaxHcZ0z1UnBSCFGBH5y5BIHv1Nux0STwCFbs7tSZ1uUvs1xtTTknbWuTesyxXWfWTEk/s640/IMG_3008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> We found another resident at our house .... I'm hoping this is the only other "critter" we find. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IJwhfNZ65QwRaNqlgXQwwIQJlVMwcUoEc9zA8_A-Ofe4UXahYV-SslwWbe8bKgj5JIk1bb6D-EgvLsKBKmZXbvjBQ2uz8Pn1CVcAxv4cqF_Fi84F0LY_0a5hwK9oE_MRAFKBxbhma3M/s1600/IMG_3012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IJwhfNZ65QwRaNqlgXQwwIQJlVMwcUoEc9zA8_A-Ofe4UXahYV-SslwWbe8bKgj5JIk1bb6D-EgvLsKBKmZXbvjBQ2uz8Pn1CVcAxv4cqF_Fi84F0LY_0a5hwK9oE_MRAFKBxbhma3M/s640/IMG_3012.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Our first family portrait in front of the house. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKhbZzkluqdYylbOZkcNRVl48H8phCTyyrPQbQj2IkEjITrWFjEUGn3UaV4WlqxB4uRcUT0OexM8QD-Z2CcrwKwhv73gFNsEkpWiQ50m0LymVmQMBBzzjOyKIqitEfZbINjuYYauPU2Y/s1600/IMG_3023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKhbZzkluqdYylbOZkcNRVl48H8phCTyyrPQbQj2IkEjITrWFjEUGn3UaV4WlqxB4uRcUT0OexM8QD-Z2CcrwKwhv73gFNsEkpWiQ50m0LymVmQMBBzzjOyKIqitEfZbINjuYYauPU2Y/s640/IMG_3023.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>This photo is for my sisters ..... I know they will find it ironic and funny!Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-32484234190008174072011-05-21T20:58:00.000-05:002011-05-21T20:58:59.741-05:00Code WordPotential is a good, positive word. However it really is code for WORK! We bought a large old house with potential. This is how I spent about 3 hours the first day, crouched down like this: <div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqAHBXru-Nrc4Dd4SGtK8zDr4MAajxZEQ-9dW1vPm_9IW4k6OpQsqh0iC1hxIwoV_LPHXxuBwdBZGOlRgBITvgQFXAhyphenhyphenn3gT7MRk_kB2tlMqc2gZc8F0kIafdGRSKStbefOFCH4Du4L2Y/s1600/closing+day+%252811%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqAHBXru-Nrc4Dd4SGtK8zDr4MAajxZEQ-9dW1vPm_9IW4k6OpQsqh0iC1hxIwoV_LPHXxuBwdBZGOlRgBITvgQFXAhyphenhyphenn3gT7MRk_kB2tlMqc2gZc8F0kIafdGRSKStbefOFCH4Du4L2Y/s400/closing+day+%252811%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Doing this about 1 million times:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEKOAB4Ps-4qy5aIxvffh8Lri6jL899fIiCK3_PUspl05AUInmTZsi-7-RSbtrp9j0gG5iK1SScOmt1tMOM1lGdAV39HxvRK9YREBwZp-IAydIwOZ95HsBFRFQyDqQxj73vUs2wZOWUGk/s1600/closing+day+%252830%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEKOAB4Ps-4qy5aIxvffh8Lri6jL899fIiCK3_PUspl05AUInmTZsi-7-RSbtrp9j0gG5iK1SScOmt1tMOM1lGdAV39HxvRK9YREBwZp-IAydIwOZ95HsBFRFQyDqQxj73vUs2wZOWUGk/s400/closing+day+%252830%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I should have counted how many 3 inch nails I pulled out of a 4x6 piece of subfloor. After about 3 hours I got one piece done .... only about 11 more or so to go in this room. I'm trying not to the think about the other rooms the carpet continues in. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNG0hnh5_LS-Yw-s_I7zdvXNkVXMgSa1b9gCJnKY_V_PbKB7oo7of32yociC31YVkVSxFYsbV_R0yppVmvP9HdmVGHscXKOEf8UuHqIU6C1q66MIIUynd6sv0kVf4sWg8z96w7KrsbjLk/s1600/closing+day.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNG0hnh5_LS-Yw-s_I7zdvXNkVXMgSa1b9gCJnKY_V_PbKB7oo7of32yociC31YVkVSxFYsbV_R0yppVmvP9HdmVGHscXKOEf8UuHqIU6C1q66MIIUynd6sv0kVf4sWg8z96w7KrsbjLk/s400/closing+day.JPG" width="266" /></a></div> Aaron ripped up the 1980-something carpet to find someone let their dog/s pee on every possible inch of carpeting. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8o9JPKKGA4Bd3sBxWlmrkjNL9AFS5YUwxU_tgXtx21pns1eMPLDb0i9k5EE1rtAdV0el5PBlBvc281RBMozg6Yyh-z-XTce_I7EmpXXrRZW4WUV5ceGs9JzOMXumRBFmAbcuoBqzoVg/s1600/closing+day+%252835%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8o9JPKKGA4Bd3sBxWlmrkjNL9AFS5YUwxU_tgXtx21pns1eMPLDb0i9k5EE1rtAdV0el5PBlBvc281RBMozg6Yyh-z-XTce_I7EmpXXrRZW4WUV5ceGs9JzOMXumRBFmAbcuoBqzoVg/s320/closing+day+%252835%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's what we found ... we think it's 5" pine plank floors. I worked solo today to find some not so pretty spots .... that we think the room was once 2 rooms and they tore out a wall and patched the floors with whatever was in easy reach. Not sure what to do about that. I'm going to let it soak in and of course keep removing the subfloor hoping that there are no more surprises. I search the internet for inspiration photos hoping that with some good patching, sanding, and some stain we can have nice wood floors. It's really overwhelming, when you don't know what you are doing, working without your sidekick (he was at work) to at least talk about it, and listening to my children scream and fight every 5 seconds. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">There is potential .... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfcRef9L3JIxvw30dMY_43jClGIkh0DNOAQ5CqOFgK5SbXLxntSj31YblVMsbCiII-zqxNhha_0vft0NxllGSR5REvOrkNJ4P0QzzZK4j6W8RXZooVXFlKF2Rz3NOj3XeqSZKOdyQ5bQ/s1600/closing+day+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfcRef9L3JIxvw30dMY_43jClGIkh0DNOAQ5CqOFgK5SbXLxntSj31YblVMsbCiII-zqxNhha_0vft0NxllGSR5REvOrkNJ4P0QzzZK4j6W8RXZooVXFlKF2Rz3NOj3XeqSZKOdyQ5bQ/s400/closing+day+%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Wouldn't a Christmas tree look great right there in the middle of those windows?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNX284hlqwd6FyMItaXNnqDXteVjR0cA-HA-ZYEeMWy2WS6v2UpR70rPM4DQrbtF2luMbBw7nFyy8kk0n4AhY2nPnU2dggD1tPOnrlIKEUeYYNKRjdHTAFj0Y6zl7vTe2gliFx7AKXuu4/s1600/closing+day+%25287%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNX284hlqwd6FyMItaXNnqDXteVjR0cA-HA-ZYEeMWy2WS6v2UpR70rPM4DQrbtF2luMbBw7nFyy8kk0n4AhY2nPnU2dggD1tPOnrlIKEUeYYNKRjdHTAFj0Y6zl7vTe2gliFx7AKXuu4/s400/closing+day+%25287%2529.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>Won't my dining room look pretty painted a creamy yellow color? Gasp, I think these paneled walls are the only nice walls in the entire house.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHf4lGSDEPoOUA1cyy0QsAdWemBSskcEdn907Fgt-L9WtrYcI3c6CTfjxuDWV7o_3REs8leczUohCE6EOd8c9azHNMR5shFYI4IpmwZWe3VJLUXCBNtVmcO3xeJCjBBNd8j7IBqrIyhx0/s1600/closing+day+%25289%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHf4lGSDEPoOUA1cyy0QsAdWemBSskcEdn907Fgt-L9WtrYcI3c6CTfjxuDWV7o_3REs8leczUohCE6EOd8c9azHNMR5shFYI4IpmwZWe3VJLUXCBNtVmcO3xeJCjBBNd8j7IBqrIyhx0/s400/closing+day+%25289%2529.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Some "nice" kitchen cabinets would be beautiful looking peeking through the doorways.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88pdU6O4mOvnLAH6XCikkrZn7X-PzfTQkJ5B4Pf6ncjD9RBP26oKWYbcvT2Lb3O9eaD1yUrqYQem3s21GdIdDOxv2pEw9LnaFARTwBhGMDd8ZV_d4vCFoizHGlfb0-MwB4K7giY3hz7M/s1600/closing+day+%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88pdU6O4mOvnLAH6XCikkrZn7X-PzfTQkJ5B4Pf6ncjD9RBP26oKWYbcvT2Lb3O9eaD1yUrqYQem3s21GdIdDOxv2pEw9LnaFARTwBhGMDd8ZV_d4vCFoizHGlfb0-MwB4K7giY3hz7M/s400/closing+day+%25288%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It takes every ounce of resistance not to start ripping out all these old mismatched,some homemade cabinets.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLA9sDl09sWsHhLF5z9un7j0Toy9vGj5nfRwj-AFdXC2ZPpYXf1fUlHRnX5kiESk8TRnYttrTLQu2BD5hta5n4CMqQRC07G8y2suxbDg172xFAQtMG_u0UoVSAfI4iYz7zgls7EypXPI/s1600/closing+day+%252818%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLA9sDl09sWsHhLF5z9un7j0Toy9vGj5nfRwj-AFdXC2ZPpYXf1fUlHRnX5kiESk8TRnYttrTLQu2BD5hta5n4CMqQRC07G8y2suxbDg172xFAQtMG_u0UoVSAfI4iYz7zgls7EypXPI/s400/closing+day+%252818%2529.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Or to tear out the bathroom cabinets ... who needs this much storage in a bathroom????? What do need besides towels, soap, shampoo, and a few medical supplies. I guess I could become a member of Sam's Club again and buy the biggest toilet paper pack they have.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugwCGIzT8p4UdBQ0TQ8NGp5GyOJxBgu2woFJRGfUVxVaofVSm7BTMljsBjUg0flDG48pAQetzhdEqR1gZDaHrfopHztOPSQP6xVCXNlkNJAqxJIieioeFcxmarPo9Xx0h93QJw2qzqCE/s1600/closing+day+%252814%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugwCGIzT8p4UdBQ0TQ8NGp5GyOJxBgu2woFJRGfUVxVaofVSm7BTMljsBjUg0flDG48pAQetzhdEqR1gZDaHrfopHztOPSQP6xVCXNlkNJAqxJIieioeFcxmarPo9Xx0h93QJw2qzqCE/s400/closing+day+%252814%2529.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I'd love to go buy some paint remover and see what this banister looks like au natural. There are chips that peak into it's old beauty. But once again I get ahead of myself. We promised ourselves we would not start a bunch of projects at once on this house. We would make a plan and finish projects/rooms before we begin another. Still it's hard not to start more than once thing. Oh the potential! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-72159000449770017242011-05-10T07:09:00.000-05:002011-05-10T07:09:29.922-05:00Yes, I'm 3!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWk2JiwHXuKVVbbkAKrBrmrp5MeGzBala_MwvayMmg4A3e7vnR6q_adt9GCIOpZ1_2tBE-WX8v6EUJjrZELJQPBGrB91kEXMjUIYScMniJZa-lIQKlFjIdRpgPPnEhDzIJ5AjJ5QCtvR8/s1600/IMG_9721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWk2JiwHXuKVVbbkAKrBrmrp5MeGzBala_MwvayMmg4A3e7vnR6q_adt9GCIOpZ1_2tBE-WX8v6EUJjrZELJQPBGrB91kEXMjUIYScMniJZa-lIQKlFjIdRpgPPnEhDzIJ5AjJ5QCtvR8/s640/IMG_9721.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a regular quote from my 3 year old: <strong>“I CAN do it MYSELF!” </strong>I, too, feel like I need to scream that announcement at this time. I <em>can</em> do almost anything on my own and I <em>want </em>to do it myself. I don’t usually need people to help me. I love doing things on our own and prefer it that way. I am not looking for problem solvers or decorators or social events planners or financial managers or nannies (or so maybe now and then I need a babysitter) or life coaches or decision makers or therapists or personal shoppers…. I’m not trying to be superwoman or supermom or super anything. I’m just being me. I am a very independent person (just ask my husband). I like to do things on my own at my last minute pace which is how I work best. I very seldom jump into anything, big or small, without a long thought process to weigh everything out, and I can say that I hardly ever regret anything. I’ve run across people who find my independence a fault or view it in a negative way. What can I do about that? <em>Nothing</em> ….. I’m just going to keep on truckin’. And I do understand that people are just trying to be nice by offering, but they should not be offended when their offer is declined: <em>"Thanks, but no thanks!"</em> So at this moment in my life when I feel our plate is very FULL … well maybe it has overfilled at this point and it's making one big giant mess on the floor ….. I still want to keep being me and doing it on our own. The ending accomplishment makes us happy! When we need help, we will ask. Until then you will keep hearing me say or possibly yell, <strong>“I CAN do it MYSELF!”</strong></div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-77935049669731563512011-05-05T14:44:00.000-05:002011-05-05T14:44:17.092-05:00Missing Him<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9zzOc-BxLrqTDM0fXhgC78L5HyZwHlj_2jYumRXh-tAhMNRkLzmYh2iAPrXd3Lnxtu1McMwIrCowlmruVPXG76en8hWnsoWtLHVBPeTSdrEu582l-ijRVh72b04kdiytPqg5qQEKf2g/s1600/IMG_2800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9zzOc-BxLrqTDM0fXhgC78L5HyZwHlj_2jYumRXh-tAhMNRkLzmYh2iAPrXd3Lnxtu1McMwIrCowlmruVPXG76en8hWnsoWtLHVBPeTSdrEu582l-ijRVh72b04kdiytPqg5qQEKf2g/s640/IMG_2800.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>One year … that's how long it's been since my dad so surprisingly passed away. It seems so long ago and yet it seems like just yesterday. He wasn’t sick, he wasn’t unhappy, he was busy, he was farming, he was taking care of his dog, Daisy, he was going to dances, he was involved with all 3 of his daughters and their families …. He was here one moment and gone the next.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJDCJen-qjZGA1C5CEmzmZByfXGp-ON_Dz-zKJGxfNrT-TXQodOyy7wRb8Dd7qlHu0C4drVgZENo12QOKtv0gJqrPvXg4Ni8bYSE2vAWwQpuw-xMYL812hDsZbIliDHh51aR0l6VSEbA/s1600/kids+7-2005+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJDCJen-qjZGA1C5CEmzmZByfXGp-ON_Dz-zKJGxfNrT-TXQodOyy7wRb8Dd7qlHu0C4drVgZENo12QOKtv0gJqrPvXg4Ni8bYSE2vAWwQpuw-xMYL812hDsZbIliDHh51aR0l6VSEbA/s640/kids+7-2005+006.jpg" width="426" /></a></div> I saw him a lot …. He was here at my house at least every 2 weeks if not more. He almost always showed up unexpectedly {which drove me crazy} bringing us soda and treats for the kids and sometimes dinner. I think about him alot ... more than every day .... more like several times an hour. I am a lot like my dad … I’m a loner, I can be very quiet/shy at times and very loud and obnoxious at others. I’m a rule follower. I love old things and reusing things …. I can be a saver and a hoarder. I’m a procrastinator and not the best housekeeper. These are all things I would say were qualities my father had. I think family is pretty important just like he did. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnvWDXERhjFZDb-boOcfgHsdYK2Kq2IGJRcmUuJMqPjTHT6nkBkUNV-u3ZS1z_Ilcz45iB9p0lRv_9OxJ1F7Gy3Kimfg-52RpeabfBmB_WXAdzhCuwtzw-429PAhXZAwzNoRnXWUswgYY/s1600/IMG_4539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnvWDXERhjFZDb-boOcfgHsdYK2Kq2IGJRcmUuJMqPjTHT6nkBkUNV-u3ZS1z_Ilcz45iB9p0lRv_9OxJ1F7Gy3Kimfg-52RpeabfBmB_WXAdzhCuwtzw-429PAhXZAwzNoRnXWUswgYY/s640/IMG_4539.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>I’ve noticed over the past year how much Caden is like my Dad. He has the same beautiful blue eyes as my dad. The way he smiles and after seeing some of my dad’s childhood photos, they looked almost alike at this age. Even the way Dad was standing in old photos is Caden to a tee. Caden will suddenly say something out of character that remind me of things my dad would say from time to time. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9zzOc-BxLrqTDM0fXhgC78L5HyZwHlj_2jYumRXh-tAhMNRkLzmYh2iAPrXd3Lnxtu1McMwIrCowlmruVPXG76en8hWnsoWtLHVBPeTSdrEu582l-ijRVh72b04kdiytPqg5qQEKf2g/s1600/IMG_2800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9zzOc-BxLrqTDM0fXhgC78L5HyZwHlj_2jYumRXh-tAhMNRkLzmYh2iAPrXd3Lnxtu1McMwIrCowlmruVPXG76en8hWnsoWtLHVBPeTSdrEu582l-ijRVh72b04kdiytPqg5qQEKf2g/s640/IMG_2800.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>At Christmas time, I was digging through my cookie jar in the kitchen and I found a Christmas card from my Dad. It wasn’t dated and he had handwritten all our names in it and it said something about remembering the blessings at this time of the year and then he signed it Love, Dad Grandpa Spike. It was like he was here and I think it was his way of showing it and a reminder that I need to be present in the moment. All through the past year, I see signs of him everywhere …. He really has carried me through this deep dark time. There were many many weeks when all I wanted to do was sit in my bedroom and watch mindless TV hour after hour, it was hard to do anything else. I know he was right there with me. I needed that time to grieve and be alone and figure out things. I know now that he was my strength when he was here even though I didn’t realize it and he continues to be my strength after he’s gone. <br />
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Being out on the farm is hard work but it’s a way to be close to him and his land and our family. We all seem to pull together out there. It’s been a rough road for us sisters too, we are close, but I know for me I’ve had some not so glamorous moments. Everything is different and I felt like we all had our little place in life but with my Dad’s passing it was like someone put us all in a can and shook us up and dumped us out and now it’s all different and for me I’m just trying to find my new place in our relationships, our family. It’s still good to get out there and work together …. It’s are own special therapy. After a day or two on the farm, I’m much too tired to be overly concerned with the unimportant minutia that sometimes overcomes me. I just ordered a quote for my wall that says “Happiness is a Journey” which is very true … this part of life’s journey is not happy but the memories of my dad and closeness that I share with my sisters and their families is part of the happy part. So one year down the road, I am wiser, I am appreciative of my dad, I am missing him more with every passing day. I think it was my sister who said she read somewhere that when you lose a loved one you never get over it, you just get used to it. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1DpJ7b0e7fRDOTvHPeWIV4w8wNFa5t_QqmzHvLxznlnpDd9f1UbrEKX86mrFi9EiXaay4sJ_KbNi9htwa4wWMFI1TunfB4bGuXxin-q_4i620S726Ku-N0anzd0XXAinbd8UWA7gXfs/s1600/PDR_0014%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1DpJ7b0e7fRDOTvHPeWIV4w8wNFa5t_QqmzHvLxznlnpDd9f1UbrEKX86mrFi9EiXaay4sJ_KbNi9htwa4wWMFI1TunfB4bGuXxin-q_4i620S726Ku-N0anzd0XXAinbd8UWA7gXfs/s640/PDR_0014%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Miss and love you, Dad!Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-90886078406049659302011-04-17T19:21:00.002-05:002011-04-17T19:44:23.838-05:00Hanging in there!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I know it's shocking that I am going to post on my blog. I wanted to about a million times but it just never happened. I'm sure everyone was sitting on pins and needles to see what exciting things we were up to. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06DDnrGZQHHw0XeLNOoMosmFCtDuq1rfKJ1xLRCcoBF3U81ToVjKruBCWOpNO_lgJKiX4RXKMcESeIT0x5N4TvTgRoXlk9SXDtvVxy9kWpjczNpZHI6IqCO_TNJBQ6lSfsnu_8OXVNhw/s1600/IMG_2346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06DDnrGZQHHw0XeLNOoMosmFCtDuq1rfKJ1xLRCcoBF3U81ToVjKruBCWOpNO_lgJKiX4RXKMcESeIT0x5N4TvTgRoXlk9SXDtvVxy9kWpjczNpZHI6IqCO_TNJBQ6lSfsnu_8OXVNhw/s400/IMG_2346.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I turned 40 and am still happy about it, so far it's been really good. I'm definitely getting better with age!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOK1UtDMmDM1JTE0B9YUfJchMGWtCxG2Kp8Dv7hynevVwMr0dlMBr-0hms0gTOYzy8D2GIiGFMd4vmSbBhvpl2YT8lhjwXyf32E3aSfF5i06C24wcu8tdhMpMQLVA8jyAs_ZMOsDThwP0/s1600/IMG_1869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOK1UtDMmDM1JTE0B9YUfJchMGWtCxG2Kp8Dv7hynevVwMr0dlMBr-0hms0gTOYzy8D2GIiGFMd4vmSbBhvpl2YT8lhjwXyf32E3aSfF5i06C24wcu8tdhMpMQLVA8jyAs_ZMOsDThwP0/s400/IMG_1869.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>It's been a year with a lot of changes for my family and for me. I've definitely had some not so great moments in dealing with my dad's death and if you happen to be one of the unfortunate ones on the wrong end of my emotional/mental breakdowns, I apologize. However, through all the tough stuff some really great things have happened too and I <strong>think</strong> I am becoming a better person. Enormous things put it all into perspective, although some days I have a clearer perspective than others. Definitely, life goes on ...... lots of changes here at our house and on the horizon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQeegX0BZv6sX0II4TFMiT1l9IQk0-es0bHLmW55PwlWQ3IL-whfDSkIlTcVhdPhI8hxXGwMOC8LQTJ5KeoevHlcdjh8bAouTFqU5EnfhPdUukYnDoGAjBNW5afp0YBIKio_5ox_LvdOM/s1600/IMG_1749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQeegX0BZv6sX0II4TFMiT1l9IQk0-es0bHLmW55PwlWQ3IL-whfDSkIlTcVhdPhI8hxXGwMOC8LQTJ5KeoevHlcdjh8bAouTFqU5EnfhPdUukYnDoGAjBNW5afp0YBIKio_5ox_LvdOM/s400/IMG_1749.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We had a bump in the road with Aaron being laid off for 3 months, but he's headed back tomorrow. We've gotten a lot done while he was home and even though it through a huge wrench into my regular day-to-day, it was nice to have him here and the kids enjoyed it a lot. Plus I think he's almost mastered the Wii game Lego Star Wars (yay).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8knmIKlde-0KN5SKABdCIRreCNz4LgU2rx3CzaKtoB2x3ulkTshyzGSFZpyQxpQ_wHLP6RvUqGiOuJeSw7MQATbZe6xbHda6tjNCtyV5oU27uEKtUNQRJXXbda2mLQEGU8IhpelAYXM/s1600/IMG_2332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8knmIKlde-0KN5SKABdCIRreCNz4LgU2rx3CzaKtoB2x3ulkTshyzGSFZpyQxpQ_wHLP6RvUqGiOuJeSw7MQATbZe6xbHda6tjNCtyV5oU27uEKtUNQRJXXbda2mLQEGU8IhpelAYXM/s400/IMG_2332.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The kids are learning to read. I taught school for over 10 years (1st grade the majority of those years). I remember lots of people asking me "How do you teach them to read?" Everytime I was asked that I never had an answer, because there's no formula or certain things you do, it's tons of things and exposure and continuously talking about letters and sounds and words and rhyming and the other million things you do. I remember that I used to tell those people, "That it was like magic." And it was ..... I was always amazed by it because there would be kids I would think I don't know if I'm going to be to teach that child to read but they always did to some degree. And when my own kids starting reading a bit a few weeks ago, the magic was there again. I am amazed again.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBV2cEg6FUHXUK3C_2AOGX-HpeXxqy2X_W8Jr9mYX3yCGatMpxzbXsgg1rgyGp6-W_z6tjlN67jexzfjLRoBfWiGs-fFTLMSRTvQviB62MQxl5iG9gnMd-qteNtDMBYabKIk7-e_rEwE/s1600/IMG_2305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBV2cEg6FUHXUK3C_2AOGX-HpeXxqy2X_W8Jr9mYX3yCGatMpxzbXsgg1rgyGp6-W_z6tjlN67jexzfjLRoBfWiGs-fFTLMSRTvQviB62MQxl5iG9gnMd-qteNtDMBYabKIk7-e_rEwE/s400/IMG_2305.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>And this guy, has made huge strides in his learning, behavior, and development this year. We still have a ways to go. But overall we are so proud of him and the teachers and staff at the school that he has worked with. Born at 2.6 lbs and hooked up to every machine, I sat my his hospital incubator wondering what would be in store for him and what possibilites he would have. I would say the sky's the limit at this point.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkxkGnfCEmd34Ybv6j5G3dJ1r56yWY5VhGqgdleL_9WBEPwhF-VTKJLmhsVfNdqB76RBvWJtKFT4CyX1o97RiONI3yYINtSdrAX4v2udCcjRm4Ogyjuu5s_AiZNGFAuvRVwW2ZkqN6a4/s1600/IMG_2313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkxkGnfCEmd34Ybv6j5G3dJ1r56yWY5VhGqgdleL_9WBEPwhF-VTKJLmhsVfNdqB76RBvWJtKFT4CyX1o97RiONI3yYINtSdrAX4v2udCcjRm4Ogyjuu5s_AiZNGFAuvRVwW2ZkqN6a4/s400/IMG_2313.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>So yes, I'm still hanging in there, sometimes barely and other times I have a good grip. I'm looking forward to the future and whatever it brings!Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-15010842252072067652011-01-23T14:35:00.000-06:002011-01-23T14:35:36.625-06:00My scrap spaceI'm on an organizing spree. Seriously ..... one of my goals for this month was to touch EVERYTHING in my bedroom. I know that sounds weird but our bedroom is the place where many things go when I don't know what to do with them or don't want the kids to mess with them. Our bedroom is a decent size but not so much when it's stuffed full of clutter. So I wanted to go through EVERYTHING in there. I don't have a long attention span for big projects so one area a day: one drawer, one surface, one whatever. I've kept up. I've gottten rid of a lot of things. My scrap space is in our bedroom. I know .... people are gasping but I actually like it there. <div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXs8LK3wKjghsNuWL9StZnZ2pQ_67iUPB8K4BDFO5KPih4igCdRfGQu5EJd5ry4a15bb_zKf-WiOUM0zi8UZQLvDu99jrwGwq5KXOm3Gg5N5CDWSN9JkXYEB2Rlswn9Go8vaUCGTVqRM/s1600/scrapSpace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXs8LK3wKjghsNuWL9StZnZ2pQ_67iUPB8K4BDFO5KPih4igCdRfGQu5EJd5ry4a15bb_zKf-WiOUM0zi8UZQLvDu99jrwGwq5KXOm3Gg5N5CDWSN9JkXYEB2Rlswn9Go8vaUCGTVqRM/s640/scrapSpace.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We have a little spot with a window ... it was big enough for Reese's crib and when she moved out, I moved in. It's 4 feet long and 5 feet wide, yes, very small. It's tight I have a table that we discovered in Dad's attic a stool to sit on.</div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vkTPry9KB3H4fG9sVC743GFtADlKxIBSI-KQYZiZAT7vYU8QaDWcPgIMCbw9r570K8RDwjx_nP2rxfTO3OX1MxUwf3tdmi-V9kU4jZPlY62XLaC4K5S4jyND7mygJQaLSEsgfIizlys/s1600/IMG_1292.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vkTPry9KB3H4fG9sVC743GFtADlKxIBSI-KQYZiZAT7vYU8QaDWcPgIMCbw9r570K8RDwjx_nP2rxfTO3OX1MxUwf3tdmi-V9kU4jZPlY62XLaC4K5S4jyND7mygJQaLSEsgfIizlys/s640/IMG_1292.JPG" width="427" /></a> </div>This is a little piano bench across from where I'm sitting that holds some items waiting to be put away or used.<br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-wDzZApoGusfVmG_YunBfCzB0C8JndXZCE6NeHJ9ezIdtIzYma285iYRqUejMbSYGBd1EbQIQN5Xp7ggqmMYAo9qpXQ149gGHVqlzm2uu0yjKJWvmcYPofG_hMPnF54xbix4ubW0ah4/s1600/IMG_1294.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-wDzZApoGusfVmG_YunBfCzB0C8JndXZCE6NeHJ9ezIdtIzYma285iYRqUejMbSYGBd1EbQIQN5Xp7ggqmMYAo9qpXQ149gGHVqlzm2uu0yjKJWvmcYPofG_hMPnF54xbix4ubW0ah4/s640/IMG_1294.JPG" width="427" /></a> </div>Underneath that piano bench is this paper rack. I made this from <a href="http://www.thescrapreview.com/2009/03/make-your-ownwhite-grid-paper-storage.html">this idea.</a> I like it.<br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjSYpOVM2CPuwXGEJ9l5eNLqkFV2DjvQwfsX1RWTuDBEPAyUDpZv9eO4omMOk42TIC9d73sbEDW4MEVJ166PCIZ_ly6PHgI957XIiNSRd6PB82sRiH87xkCuZF6ngwjpSEZw1EPlb4hw/s1600/IMG_1298.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjSYpOVM2CPuwXGEJ9l5eNLqkFV2DjvQwfsX1RWTuDBEPAyUDpZv9eO4omMOk42TIC9d73sbEDW4MEVJ166PCIZ_ly6PHgI957XIiNSRd6PB82sRiH87xkCuZF6ngwjpSEZw1EPlb4hw/s640/IMG_1298.JPG" width="427" /></a> </div>I bought these stacked drawers for my embelllishments at Target. It's not pretty but it does the job. It sits right next to my stool and I keep my most used tools and things I would take to a crop (if I ever went to one) in that bag.<br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWyeWF885C0sXOGbscryOV1cV8SrjSOT8p4EwsAXs7NyvSSmn73FzqiV1QlQ_tc6XnV5yljItdzc6etiLah6KwRyrsWXOhJe8entzN_VCvllEpvtCTOQJINGkQQ1oJ0-hpbyBvDDHlb-Q/s1600/IMG_1299.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWyeWF885C0sXOGbscryOV1cV8SrjSOT8p4EwsAXs7NyvSSmn73FzqiV1QlQ_tc6XnV5yljItdzc6etiLah6KwRyrsWXOhJe8entzN_VCvllEpvtCTOQJINGkQQ1oJ0-hpbyBvDDHlb-Q/s640/IMG_1299.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
This is the drawer in the table. Some fun stuff in here.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSjQz8LgkJHnTWLFI5HZquXImZDO5uqBX7ikFNHU3PNAkU0GW4f6f7mfuI3KmvNDGyKyeNrkQmvEtLf4BYOAW55pr0tyOl57l0UzX9q4UsARCae-b6Bqw4v_rG0GQDppiclbzhhffw4c/s1600/IMG_1306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSjQz8LgkJHnTWLFI5HZquXImZDO5uqBX7ikFNHU3PNAkU0GW4f6f7mfuI3KmvNDGyKyeNrkQmvEtLf4BYOAW55pr0tyOl57l0UzX9q4UsARCae-b6Bqw4v_rG0GQDppiclbzhhffw4c/s640/IMG_1306.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>A lot of stuff stored under the table including another paper rack and a set of 3 plastic drawers. Keeping things labeled helps me find it easier.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLVH5aKpaJphhvLQRQwM0aoAvMya7nC7tp-9fv0Jxv79eE8MwGVhwLXBgLxHdHiKLft74hjz_omoTZoBYsRbZaqo7jero8EmwCv36zDKjVNudEM-MFGEglZqAbv4uvhHfflRxyD9Hj0E/s1600/IMG_1309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLVH5aKpaJphhvLQRQwM0aoAvMya7nC7tp-9fv0Jxv79eE8MwGVhwLXBgLxHdHiKLft74hjz_omoTZoBYsRbZaqo7jero8EmwCv36zDKjVNudEM-MFGEglZqAbv4uvhHfflRxyD9Hj0E/s640/IMG_1309.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>I have another stack of the Target drawers for embellishments under my sewing table. Keeping my sewing machine out all the time has been life changing for me in sewing and scrapbooking ..... I probably use my sewing machine every single day .... before when I had to drag it out I wouldn't I hate doing that. My sewing table is around the corner from my scrap desk. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_eX2R8c2PwdZJOPXWkfAZUEhsxyf1f09_mZbhXNV6ZxSTrAYGzaVAF9RiApClIF4dYazUZiZWZyCCeUy8AHA86PzCFi2K0A5kAp5zC8APhEQzteEV52zVCIVMau2k6A_dyHbDY1xDa4/s1600/IMG_1300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_eX2R8c2PwdZJOPXWkfAZUEhsxyf1f09_mZbhXNV6ZxSTrAYGzaVAF9RiApClIF4dYazUZiZWZyCCeUy8AHA86PzCFi2K0A5kAp5zC8APhEQzteEV52zVCIVMau2k6A_dyHbDY1xDa4/s640/IMG_1300.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>This is part of the top of the table. Seeing this reminds me that I have to go through some more stuff. That's an old drawer I bought and turned on it's side. I love my frame inspiration board although it needs to get cleaned off too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vhaeIWhe3TgaO5n68bVk7LOkuEm9e-_p4og3qh_Git4DgKhD8v2ntDMGI4KaezDjmLIpMtftW_dtzCsP-YsNIHVWnWE2ZEeQu9T1rOOfzvStB18aCE2JrX5J6n95kn7vrczY7TgmpxM/s1600/IMG_1302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vhaeIWhe3TgaO5n68bVk7LOkuEm9e-_p4og3qh_Git4DgKhD8v2ntDMGI4KaezDjmLIpMtftW_dtzCsP-YsNIHVWnWE2ZEeQu9T1rOOfzvStB18aCE2JrX5J6n95kn7vrczY7TgmpxM/s640/IMG_1302.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>I love old jars and other containers to keep some stuff handy. I think it's true that you will use more of your stuff if you see it rather than in a drawer. But since my space is limited I just have to rotate or limit what can be out.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ni-em2zXNI5Kvq7ArPsHDigiMhTjGJSPEhbZxbrklwqUkGUsgT1HfZhCLqaGfoFGQYLzBCtUBbegPj1H_SRR0WCgqb8ANihpiILJbZPsMY1ubNlDlnJutVZTN97giUNdv2iHfJeQ8n0/s1600/IMG_1303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ni-em2zXNI5Kvq7ArPsHDigiMhTjGJSPEhbZxbrklwqUkGUsgT1HfZhCLqaGfoFGQYLzBCtUBbegPj1H_SRR0WCgqb8ANihpiILJbZPsMY1ubNlDlnJutVZTN97giUNdv2iHfJeQ8n0/s640/IMG_1303.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>More stuff out on the table. I have photos in that blue breadbox.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V464YBgZRmSq8JduAgt3q1LlkOA0CtzE2HDnw1cSU7J54VuDp4e2qEPu6NaBl8l47C22Id4U55ODZBWPHnuYWhJ6CG3AsnQRic39KGW0O6TxcIyYNgrBMYZbdSJW8EWNeEDjDtB9YaY/s1600/IMG_1310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V464YBgZRmSq8JduAgt3q1LlkOA0CtzE2HDnw1cSU7J54VuDp4e2qEPu6NaBl8l47C22Id4U55ODZBWPHnuYWhJ6CG3AsnQRic39KGW0O6TxcIyYNgrBMYZbdSJW8EWNeEDjDtB9YaY/s320/IMG_1310.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>When we drywalled our bedroom a few years ago, we discovered this empty space so we put shelves in. They are perfect for some canvas bins and hold thickers, paint, chipboard pieces in bags, and my punches. <br />
Someday I would love to have a little more space to spread out and more vintage looking containers but until then it works for me and my goal of scrapping 10 minutes a day has been productive.</div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I<br />
<a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: 0% 50%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-3416725793674679962011-01-09T08:04:00.000-06:002011-01-09T08:04:33.561-06:00Another One<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqCC-PM06Ez7vk-tHv1Ncw21gxgYOwB35xg5i6Ic3kPVj1uVGuSUAx-MSlCFKheuiv4qea0JYFf5f6PXdu-sw6ZDFi0AEUTeBK0GO-hLTvxu2gpsQWHoNii12l9GiO2wJodcc6ZhS6cs/s1600/EverydayPlaytitleLO.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqCC-PM06Ez7vk-tHv1Ncw21gxgYOwB35xg5i6Ic3kPVj1uVGuSUAx-MSlCFKheuiv4qea0JYFf5f6PXdu-sw6ZDFi0AEUTeBK0GO-hLTvxu2gpsQWHoNii12l9GiO2wJodcc6ZhS6cs/s400/EverydayPlaytitleLO.jpg" /></a> </div>This 10 minutes a day this is really getting me back into scrapbooking, in a whole new way: I'm faster and using supplies I was previously hoarding (why I don't know). This is <a href="http://amillionmemoriesblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/january-design-team-challenge.html">a sketch from A Million Memories</a>. This is for my 2009 photo of the day album again. I have scrapped 14 photos for that album this week, I'll be done in no time at this rate, <em>ha ha</em>!<br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-dIi5MoxwNy8QXKZYhN8W80LrZc15prgbTihISLu-qatW2Otw4Q61J3oeEiJIiiTwZh7a21BBRjt_iEgzcR9IkBRmVvFLo4SHceBnSALq4jO0_gWj-DPoiLUOtx5Y0oDB6VM4nWWZP4/s1600/EverydayPlayLO.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-dIi5MoxwNy8QXKZYhN8W80LrZc15prgbTihISLu-qatW2Otw4Q61J3oeEiJIiiTwZh7a21BBRjt_iEgzcR9IkBRmVvFLo4SHceBnSALq4jO0_gWj-DPoiLUOtx5Y0oDB6VM4nWWZP4/s400/EverydayPlayLO.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: 0% 50%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-59961335956223519362011-01-07T10:35:00.000-06:002011-01-07T10:35:33.699-06:00Having Strength in 2011<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIA-TLvaIKe-knxJ4GfmduytPPo4piiGJ3KaWLBsw5uloqlGOWylfFZZkjnvSWIwen8minvivOiQkeyPwn5SQzxFEfFdW9qakhLZOAZBcCxnSe8pvEVFHZLTEgHvrOweIjljW7hk83Om8/s1600/IMG_0799.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIA-TLvaIKe-knxJ4GfmduytPPo4piiGJ3KaWLBsw5uloqlGOWylfFZZkjnvSWIwen8minvivOiQkeyPwn5SQzxFEfFdW9qakhLZOAZBcCxnSe8pvEVFHZLTEgHvrOweIjljW7hk83Om8/s640/IMG_0799.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
Here's how I plan to incorporate my word for the year into my life in 2011.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMwHbBnAdprtUFO7zBR-JvGtnnu4kL5ewi_0fERoo0EhA-uKxTpFXy_-Hhd9anea3VsJRUN_plepo30RStRmIYeL2t2ZINF1qg88aq00Q6FrWM2Ww_zlHZuvIQFEAPv6U9zcXz2yz1g0/s1600/Strength11lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="638" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMwHbBnAdprtUFO7zBR-JvGtnnu4kL5ewi_0fERoo0EhA-uKxTpFXy_-Hhd9anea3VsJRUN_plepo30RStRmIYeL2t2ZINF1qg88aq00Q6FrWM2Ww_zlHZuvIQFEAPv6U9zcXz2yz1g0/s640/Strength11lo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am so glad that I made a layout about it. I can't even remember last year's word. I am going to hang this up front and center in our bedroom when it can be a daily reminder of what I want to achieve!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjTtmF59b8n5ITEf111f0oguwkoj8pWa2SN_mPBKvzugAAtTOhHLNGA7mVhCs1YAdflSP_7BVpjBjDT-X_9dSYmurE-E6-0Jod3e8x2d3NR5IUc4S58uNZO6TgbkytLnNGYXT4swdLtg/s1600/IMG_0816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjTtmF59b8n5ITEf111f0oguwkoj8pWa2SN_mPBKvzugAAtTOhHLNGA7mVhCs1YAdflSP_7BVpjBjDT-X_9dSYmurE-E6-0Jod3e8x2d3NR5IUc4S58uNZO6TgbkytLnNGYXT4swdLtg/s640/IMG_0816.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>These little embellishments were a last minute thought but I think I love those labels the most as they seem to have great meaning to what I hope this year brings!</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWl6qmtMu7r5gJT5IIZXRlHq1SDFkVh-HlF5CfnFW7XN5ms4YkvxeDAv-QAgpanlCKpZe_BHp9n3sadT09QPRE41qELNUbx1rb5svPHhj4ukTWdkG4Ne9oEAatQnHDL8E1yhtTMwjNQDk/s1600/IMG_0787.JPG"></a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: 0% 50%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1238842700957907115.post-26408042957309228412011-01-04T15:04:00.001-06:002011-01-04T15:05:30.799-06:00Creative Strength<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>One of the ways I plan to use my word for the year, "Strength", is to flex and strength my creative muscles. I really haven't done much in the past 8 months, just a handful of layouts, mostly ones that were for gifts. I love to make stuff even when it doesn't turn out. I plan on working creatively at least 10 minutes <em>every single day, </em><strong>NO MATTER WHAT!</strong> So far I've done it, so 4 days into it and I have 4 layouts completely done too. I have been working way more than 10 minutes a day, but I know that won't always happen. I've also decided I <em>have to</em> finish my 2009 picture of the day album ... no, that's not a typo ... 2009 is right. I did take all the photos and 90% of the photos are printed. I also am trying to get back to challenges and sketches. I saw <a href="http://stucksketches.blogspot.com/">this challenge sketch</a> at the <a href="http://stucksketches.blogspot.com/">Stuck blog</a> so here's my layout.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCzWXwFFPr05hCQfjYg0xAmLAUO1eLTmWtAMjAEr9x-xj-tZeaPpPKHIvIlCQKAtDhX6N9pALEzQIol2FNhHqI_KNpZT1zK6L54GACkFSkLgGuNP6wkIvebsCYlElrcbAW9zdJJtijqY/s1600/toothlessLO.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="617" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCzWXwFFPr05hCQfjYg0xAmLAUO1eLTmWtAMjAEr9x-xj-tZeaPpPKHIvIlCQKAtDhX6N9pALEzQIol2FNhHqI_KNpZT1zK6L54GACkFSkLgGuNP6wkIvebsCYlElrcbAW9zdJJtijqY/s640/toothlessLO.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>I only have 199 photos left to scrap for my 2009 photo of the day album ...Runaway Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16412839228113459946noreply@blogger.com1