Category Archives: family

Little Bit of This and That

Posted on by
image

My country girl homeschooler

My late night blogging sessions have abruptly ended, due to school. Yes school. I dread school.  Like, really dread it. The free spirit in me loves the lazy days of summer, whit no schedules, no homework, late nights and late mornings. But alas, the children must be schooled and so like a million other families we are slaves to the time constraints set up by the all mighty school district. I have a high schooler now, which means my days start at the horrible hour of 5:30 am, this will be my reality for the next 20 years as each of my children march through the system, I pray for my sanity and the health of my family, as I do not do mornings well.

I’m really not as put out by it all as I sound.  There is something nice and familiar about the rhythms of the fall and winter with children off to school it means family breakfast and dinners, cool evenings, harvest time. I’ve found a harpy medium in regards to my need for structor and the longing of my free spirit.  The teenagers go to public school and my little ones stay home to be educated with my guidance. For our family this works best, I like the opportunities afforded my older children by the school system, things that I cannot provide. I also enjoy the freedoms I have with and for my younger children who are not strapped with seven hour days and hours of homework at night, I feel like I am giving them the gift of childhood. I know this set up doesn’t work for every family and I am so thankful for the choices we have in education and the freedom to exercise those choices.

Dadzoo Learns a Lesson, Perhaps?

Posted on by

IMG_4023

I don’t have any pictures for this post.  Sadly Dadzoo didn’t want me to take any pictures, I don’t really understand why, they would have been awesome. Let me tell you why….

You know how sometimes it can be really easy to get so comfortable doing something that you don’t take the necessary precautions? For example, let’s say you keep bees. Let’s say for the past two summers you’ve kept those bees you’ve never been stung, and slowly you stop wearing your protective gear, and even then the bees don’t sting you. Let’s say that one evening you need to put a new box on the hive, a quick job, takes less than ten minutes. Because it is such a quick job and because you’ve never been stung, once again the protective clothing stays in it’s box and for the first time you don’t get the smoker going and you don’t smoke the bees to make them docile. Because, well, you’ve never been stung before and this is a quick job, surely you won’t need the smoke or your hat and drape, surely.

I’m  betting you can guess where this is going….

Despite all your (ahem) preparation you do end up with a sting squarely above your eye brow. But no biggy, sure it hurt, but you’ve never had a reaction to a bee sting before.

And everything looks good….until about 24 hours later, your fore head feels funny, right about the spot the bee got you, and you look in the mirror and it’s starting to swell ever so slightly. No biggy, bee sting will do that, right? Well, then through the evening it swells even more and more, you take Benadryl, still swells, you go to bed, certine it will be fine in the morning.

At five am the alarm goes off, you open your eyes…wait…..your eyes won’t open, well if you try hard enough, just maybe a crack……  You wake up your wife, she laughs, one eye is swollen shut the other about half way. After a call into work, you arrange a work from home day while your lovely, smart, talented wife spends the day applying ice, herbal salves, oils, zone therapy and infusions, by night you can open both eyes, but the swelling is still very much there.  How will things be the next day you wonder? And where did I put my veil and smoker for next time.

A Bit of This and That

Posted on by

This past weekend was very busy for our little zoo, we didn’t spend much time on the farm, instead we enjoyed visiting our family.

Saturday we awoke early and headed off to the Ogden Temple open house. We toured it with my parents and sibling, my sister and her family even traveled from South Dakota, it was so good to see them. We then spent the rest of the day visiting while the zoolings played with the cousins.

Sunday we went to my uncle’s ward (the name of an LDS congregation determined by geographical location) to hear my cousin speak. She just returned from an eighteen month long mission in Atlanta, Georgia. It was so good to see her again. We then went to their house for dinner. Most of my family were there, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. It was great to see everyone, I love my family so much.

After dinner and a good long visit we had a little birthday party for Dadzoo’s mother, who turned 29 this year…..

Monday, the kids and I went on our usually Monday swimming outing with the family, for almost 25 years we have met Monday afternoon to swim with the kids.My aunts, cousins and their children are all there. Everyone has such a great time, swimming in the summer it very much looked forward to.

The very best of all our weekend activities: a visit to my midwife, where it was determined our little guy is growing big, strong, and healthy.  I love midwifery care  all of my concerns were addressed fully and “natural” or “crunchy” solutions given. I’m starting to feel as if I can relax, like this baby is really going to come. Its a good feeling.

This weekend was packed with fun and family, but now I must turn my attentions back to the farm and get things tied up before school starts in a week and I lose my helpers!

A summer thunder cloud rolling across our valley.

A summer thunder cloud rolling across our valley.

Those Little Turkeys!

Posted on by

imageWe have had a lot of fun raising different types of fowl on the farm, they all come with unique traits and challenges. Recently we added turkeys to the flock, they are funny little things and they can be pretty absent minded at times. About two weeks ago the graduated from the brooder to their new digs in a newly remodeled shed.  After about a week of being cooped up we allowed them to free range, figuring they had homed to the shed.

I need to stop doing that, figuring on birds and their tiny brains.

Those turkeys love to range, they go all over and forage like champs, I love watching them.  But something happens at dusk, those turkeys forget where “home” is and bed down wherever they feel like it, the potato patch is a favorite, a cozy corner by some fences, under an old sage brush. So about dusk Dadzoo and I take a stroll down to the turkey shed and look for our lost birdies.  Dadzoo has become quite the expert at herding turkey with two long bamboo poles, I think it comes from his years if experience being a dad to a whole bunch of kids.  Have you ever herded 7 children down a crowded church hall after services? Dadzoo has! Dadzoo, he’s a man of many trades, and turkey herder has been added to the list.

imageFun fact: did you know that turkeys make the sweetest chirping sound and they will call until every last bird from the flock is safely together.

Christmas is a Craft

Posted on by

I’ve talked a lot in past years about simplifying Christmas and focasing on the true meaning and all that. I truly believe it, as a family we’ve done different things and over the years I have scaled back, somewhat. I have a confession though I love to spoil my kids at Christmas time. We dont buy them toys, or clothes, unless needed, at other times of the year, and I like to shower them with gifts once a year. I enjoy it so much.

"Little Man's" afghan, he wanted dark red.

“Little Man’s” afghan, he wanted dark red.

However,

this year, Christmas is going to have to be a craft. I’m cutting back like I never have before. Finances aren’t shaking out like we would like or had planned on for various reasons that I don’t want to go into right now, and things are a bit…tight. I’m a crafty girl, I totally got this. Last month I mentioned in passing I was thinking of crocheting all the big kids a blanket, and what colors would they like, if that’s what I did. I was shocked at the responce. You would think I had given them the moon!  Since then I’ve been asked several times if I would PLEASE make blankets. So here I am, in August rushing to finish five afghans before December. I think I’m as excited as they are!