Change

Ever since Finley was born (or really conceived) I have been a nanny.  I always told people that I don't have a real job, I just babysit.  In actuality, it was a very real job that involved the most patience and love I have ever had to give.  I loved it, but it was also very draining.

So when I was hit (more like knocked out) with pneumonia, I decided I was in need for a change.  So I am happy to say that TODAY is my very first day of truely being a stay at home mom!

Gotta admit though... I'm scared.  Now I really have to be accountable for all the housework and I suddenly no longer have the excuse that I was tired from work.  Thinking about fitting in all the housework and entertaining a 2 year old had my head spinning last night.  So much so it kept me up for hours as I googled "stay at home mom schedules" on my phone.  Also, am I going to be good at this?  I don't want to be the depressed, always screaming at their child, drinking a glass of wine at 10 in the morning type of mom.  Only time will tell.

I think change is important and necessary in life.  So that makes me excited to see how this change affects my life and family.  I hope Finley will one day be proud of the way I raised her, forgoing my degree and professional career to take care of family.  Why?  Because this is what I really really want and family and my children are the most important.

Care to follow along on my journey?  First step,  find a housewives guide while I hang up the laundry and feed the little one breakfast.

July Garden (in a drought)

It finally (finally!) rained last night.  It feels like it has been weeks or near a month since we last got a decent rain.  This summer weather has been awful.  Hot and dry, I'd almost think I was living in a desert.  The grass is burnt and the only way to keep my garden alive is to water... a lot.

We have a 250 gallon rain catcher in the back and another 55 gallon rain barrel in the front.  Both have been bone dry for quite some time now.  Here I was thinking I'd have plenty of rain water to water my garden this summer.  Silly me.  I don't even want to see my water bill.

Curious to see how my garden is looking here in the peak of summer?  A hot, drought ridden summer... ugh, it's not pretty.

Front of the house.  Plus side to a drought: I haven't had to mow the lawn once this summer.

Bed of peppers and roma tomatoes.  Peppers are starting to grow and they are beautiful.  The romas; however, have succumbed to blossom end rot.

Bed of broccoli and cabbage.  The cabbage is coming along.  The broccoli refuses to flower.  We have only harvested one head of broccoli so far.

Entire bed of heirloom, beefsteak, and cherry tomatoes.  They are full of fruit.  I can't wait till I see that first glimpse of pink on them!

Blue corn seems to be doing quite well. 

weak, dying zucchini plants are what you get when you decide to go camping and think that 1 day of not watering can't do much harm.

Potatoes that we have neglected and failed to add more dirt to.  Also, the arrow points to a very curious hole some animal has dug.  Perhaps a rabbit?

Blackberries and strawberries are surviving and should give us a strong crop next year (fingers crossed).

We have been harvesting blueberries for the last week or so.  They are heaven in a harvestless garden.

The garlic is all yellow and dying which means they are ready.  We'll be picking these and drying them this weekend.  The onions had a different fate though... they died.

Raspberries have been quite an eyesore.  The canes are dying off that gave us a harvest this year.  I am fighting the urge to cut them off.  I need to wait till fall, but it's hard to fight the urge.

The only reason I haven't thrown my hands up and called defeat... the sweet corn.  Growing well and hoping for a good harvest come September.

Don't even talk to me about my carrots, I only get angry.  You can clearly see they are pathetic along with the also pathetic broccoli.

Lettuce had bolted so we pulled it all out and are now trying to grow some more swiss chard and kale.

Thanks to the rain last night, this beaut is finally full.

So there you have it.  In all it's glory, a July garden in middle of a drought.

Healthy Living

As some of you may recall, at the end of June I was quite sick during my visit to Chicago.  And I will be using this as an excuse for my absence as of late on here... just so you know.  Well, what started off as a lost voice and a nasty cough, spiraled into pure misery.  I started feeling sick on a Sunday (June 24th) and finally my husband dragged Finley and myself to the doctor on Friday (June 29th).  Those five days prior were filled with the following symptoms:

• Persistent cough
• Lost voice
• Sore throat
• chills
• hot spells
• high fevers (103+... at one point Finley was at 104.5)
• headaches

5 days this went on and Finley and I could just not kick it.  Diagnosis: Pneumonia.  Are you kidding me??? Finley and I both had to go on antibiotics.  Today we are finally feeling better and freed ourselves from this illness.

In my entire life, I have never been this sick.  Personally, I was upset that my body (nor Finleys) was unable to kick whatever virus or bacteria that was invading me.  I would normally consider myself a very healthy person.  I have had no major illnesses, surgeries, and even my pregnancy was smooth sailing.  So what was it that allowed us to get so sick??  So now I am more conscious than ever about healthy living.

It's clear that for too long I have ignored myself.  It's also clear that it's time for me to nourish myself back to health.  Just where to start...

Any suggestions?

Summer Harvest

In June we were able to harvest our strawberries and raspberries.  Now that July is here, we are seeing lots of growth, lots of failures, and finally the beginning of the summer harvest.

Here is what I harvested today: 1 Broccoli, 2 zucchini, and a handful of blueberries.

The harvest may be small, but it's a miracle in my eyes.  With the battle of pests and all, I was really expecting nothing.  Last year we had beginners luck with such a great harvest, but this year we really got the lesson that, well, gardening is just plain hard.  We've lost 30+ tomatoes to blossom end rot already, a bunny (I suspect) ate off my only growing cucumber, we lost all our swiss chard to earwigs, and our strawberry/raspberry harvest was very minimal. 

Despite my garden woes, I'm going to feel blessed today with the harvest I did get.  And I guarantee you that I will savor every bite of that broccoli and zucchini.

Hello Chicago

On Monday the family hauled in the car and headed down to Chicago.  A blog friend of mine, Rachel, was going to be in Chicago with her family and we just knew we had to meet up and hang out.  It isn't every day that you meet such a wonderful family.  We clicked right away, but unfortuntely, I had lost my voice the previous day and it was showing no signs of returning.  Me with no voice made it sooooo hard to talk like I really wanted to.  So I tried to talk as much as I was physically able and spent the rest of time adoring her little boy, Bennett.  That little dude is so sweet, so smart, so funny and he's not even 2 yet!  He and Finley hit it off instantly too.  He seemed to be quite enamored while Finley played hard to get.  It was great to watch.

So what did we do with our day together in Chicago??

Ally had her very first ride on the subway.

We went to our very first Cubs game at Wrigley Field.  (We opted to leave the Brewer attire at home)

Finley looked... bored.

We took in the breathtaking view from our hotel room.

 We did a silly photo shoot.  If it wasn't for the glare or the half smile, wouldn't you believe she's really falling???

Realizing I had no pictures with Rachel, we took this one as we were on our way to our cars to say Goodbye.  Note to self: remember to take more pictures, especially for important events such as this!

My hair is frizzy, I look frumpy and sweaty and gross, BUT if you look past all that you will see that Rachel and I have something in common- she has an awesome set of dreads.  I admired them pretty much the whole trip.

It was a short day and I wasn't feeling 100%, but I'm so glad we got to meet up.  Rachel is a wonderful person as well as her husband and son.  I had so much fun getting to know them and enjoying Chicago as the backdrop.  Now I have an excuse to go to Portland sometime.

Grandpa's House

This past Sunday the whole family (my family, my brother and his wife, my mom and her boyfriend, and my aunt) decided to head up to Grandpa's house.  He's been recovering magnificently and thought it would be a nice day to chat, eat some good food and hang outside and enjoy the weather and land.

It wouldn't be a family event if Ally, Finley and I didn't wear matching shirts we created a couple days before.  Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute... got it??

Ally lazily and with pure hippie style lounged on the pond.

We went fishing.  I must admit that I internally struggled with this considering our vegetarian ways.  We sent them all back into the pond, but still.  Who wants to get hooked in the face.  I certainly don't.

If you can believe it, Ally caught the biggest fish of the day.  She was a natural!

I caught a small one- very small one.  I had no luck.  Except I did catch two Bullhead fish (who apparantly sting) and one swallowed the hook too deep and died.  My heart broke a bit.  It died for no good reason. :(

My mom caught the smallest fish of all.  It's really quite amazing that you can even catch a fish that small!

Finley just explored.  But for some odd reason every time I saw her she was wearing one less article of clothing.

Until she decided being free and naked was the way to go.  Btw, score on pictures I can use to embarrass Finley in the future!

The two kiddos fast asleep moments from leaving Grandpa's house.  Woodstock quickly joined them.

Chicken Coop Inspiration

I finally did it!  I finally convinced Andy to let us have chickens on our little humble homestead!  He's certainly not gun ho on building one though, but I pretty much want to start building a coop... like yesterday.  Ally is pretty excited too.  Today she drew up a chicken coop that we could build and she has been asking if we can build it while she is here for the summer.  It's wonderful to see her want to take part in family homesteading activities.  So I'm afraid Andy has no choice, majority rules, we WILL be building a chicken coop this summer.

And what better way to get some chicken coop inspiration?  Pinterest, of course.

What could be better than a 60's/70's inspired camper chicken coop??  I'm in love.

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 This coop seems simple enough, but I love the garden beds cornering the chicken run.

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This looks like a general store... kinda cute!

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 The run would be much bigger, but I like the cottage look.

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 I like the flower box under the window, might have to do that with my coop.  See? Inspiration!

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This one is super cute.  Chickens, I'm sure, would appreciate the white picket fence.

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I must admit that all these coops are a bit aggressive considering our mediocre (or less than mediocre) carpentry skills.  But inspiration can bring you a long way, right?

What coop do you guys like best?