Conservation Area Pics...

Cute pic huh? If it weren't for the huge contusion on my boys head, I might have ordered it to be developed (and check out the elfen child behind her brother...what a stinker) . We went to the Conservation Area the other day and it was truly one of the most beautiful days we've experienced, in these parts, all year. The Hubs and I sipped our coffees whilst the children played about in the endless piles of leaves, and investigated the nearby stream. It didn't take long before Gabe and his 'shuffle gait' found a huge tree root and took a fall, only to bonk his forehead upon the next tree root, a perfect 2 feet above the other. It put a damper on the walking portion of the excursion, which, you know, is most of the time at a conservation area. But daddy was a willing horse, and put Gabe on his shoulders.

Here I am trying to convince the unwilling hooligans to look into the lens...

And this one just kills me... It makes my heart a little dizzy. I can't handle that sly grin playing on her lips...she was about to laugh at how the leaves felt on her cheek while she was riding the Daddy horse. Those bright leaves just make those dark eyes pop out.....ahhh sweetheart. (Nevermind the chocolate donut on her chin :) )

Thar' She Blows! well .. almost. 27 weeks along now, and feeling like I should be more like 37. The babe is kicking lots and everything seems to be healthy (haven't heard whether the placenta has moved yet).

I was talking on the phone and snapping the photo (you know, like any typical mom...multitasking) sorry you can't see my gorgeous face...I didn't do it on purpose...ahem.

Attic Reno Cont'd....

I purchased the bedding set for our new 'love nest' and I decided on browns and blues... the walls match the blue colour you can see in the duvet colour ( bottom of photo) and the polka dotted fabric you see is the curtain. We have walnut stained oak furniture and I think it'll look alright once it's all put together.

The carpet will be arriving on November 6th... and then I guess it's up to us when we'd like to move in! Whoop, whoop, I can't wait!

The Mother Load.

Tee hee.

Please excuse the titter. I'm in one of those moods. Thus...I'm writing this post.

When I first became a farmers wife, I knew very little of the goings on of the agricultural sector. Very little. I think the Hubs may have been a little surprised that his new bride was so ....ahem.. daft in the world he knew so very much about.

It must have been hard for him to explain the details he took for granted, but, he did and with loads of patience and a very few eye rolls.

As we were married in October, (harvest time...I'm sure his family thought I was completely nuts requesting a gala during this, the busiest time of the year....) one of the first 'events' I was exposed to was the 'Emptying of the Burm'.

Let me learn all ye city folk.

The 'Emptying of the Burm' could also be called the 'Stinkiest Event of the Year' or 'The Draining and Spreading of the Manure Pit' or 'The Time in Which You'll Not be Able to Stand the Scent Emanating From Your New Husbands Clothing'.

It's sure something I look forward to. Let me tell you.

This year, I decided to share the special moment, with you, my people. I'm certain you'll find the fun in it all...(at least you didn't have to stand 10 feet down wind of the 'Burm' whilst the manure was being stirred up ... my nostril hairs are still burning.)

There are 3 different spreaders here on the farm. One is for the liquid or 'Slurry' as they call it. (Mmmm. Slurry. ..oh wait, I mean Slurpee.) The other two are for the ..ummm...more solid variety, you know, the intact manure. They are known to my 3 year old son as, The Flingers. 'Cause they ...well... fling.

Here is an action shot of the skid steer loading the spreader that has been backed down into the burm. The Hubs does the loading and his father or uncle typically drive the tractors.

If you maximize the shot, you might even see some corn kernels floating around in there. ...Sorry.

Ahh, there she is in all her loaded glory. It looks as though her cup runneth over....that'll be on my van tires as I bring the hubs his next coffee. Have I told you my van is white?.....you'd never know it, it's always sporting a lovely shade of beige.

Here we go off to the open 'fifty' (the fifty acres down the road that needed some 'fertilizer')...

And here we are. You can understand my standing so far back...I was afraid of needing a toothpick to get the corn kernels out of my teeth, if I stood any closer.

Thank heavens my camera has zoom.

Now how's that for a screen saver. Almost pretty in a dirty sort of way, isn't it.

Possibly titled ... 'The Ballet of the Paddies' or 'Who Flung Dung?' perhaps even ' Manure Mania'.

Whichever, I hope you feel a sense of honour now that you've 'Emptied the Burm' with me. I know I feel a lot lighter having shared my ...(ahem).. 'load' with you.

Tee Hee.

Falling .... leaves and parts.

Fall has fallen here on the farm. We're blessed with a multitude of very tall, very old maple trees that provide incredible shade in the summer, and a beautiful back drop come fall. The kids have been enjoying running through the crunchy heaps and picking up all the colours. With every gust and breeze comes a shower of yellow, red and brown...it's absolutely my favourite time of year, and thus we'll be celebrating our anniversary next week. The weather now is like it was on our special day, sunny and cool, filled with colours and lady bugs.

The cooler weather has also helped with the pregnancy woes. In that last heat wave, my fingers were becoming sausages and my ankles could be likened to oranges. But that fluid retention has now passed (ahem...literally...)and I'm back to my old, perpetually swollen, self.

As the anniversary approaches, it brings a reminder of my younger days (albeit only 6 years ago...) These years with children can be likened to dog years....1 equal to seven years for every child....that would be putting me in the 21 year bracket. And, really, it would seem more plausible that the bodily changes that have occured in this body of mine, should have occured over a period of 21 years....rather than 6. It's a downright shame that things can go south (ahem ...again with the literal) so quickly.

I can only hold onto my last hopes that things can be reversed just as quickly..... until I've exhausted every last weight-loss, body tightening, part lifting, tooth whitening, head hair-beautifying, body hair removing, cellulite toning and skin conditioning product there is on the market.... I will hold out hopes.

(whistle) Milking Time!!

It's time girls, Milking Time. C'mon l'il Doggies!!!

These old 'Country Roads' lead 'em home.....

Here they come... Clip Clop. They know the path well.

Sadie the farm dog know her place when the cows are coming. Behind the fence. She's even part cattle dog....still haven't figured her out.

There they go...tails a'swishing. Thems happy cows. (or the flies were biting..)

Oh. ummm. thanks girls. (They're a little camera shy...makes 'em nervous....a little irritable bowel when they see the lens.)

We're Having Twins!!!

Or perhaps I should clarify, seeing as I'm pregnant and all....Ahem...what I meant to say is, We Had Twins!! ...here on the farm.

This is Bess and her new brood. Another soon-to-be-momma stepped in to help Bess get her little ones up and running, but they are both hers.

I gotta tell ya, it was a sight to behold...the birth of course, and the big fat pregnant woman sneaking under the electric fencing to get a few shots of the new family. There was grunting and groaning in both events.

She's happily resting in the pasture with her babes, and will until tomorrow, when they'll all be moved into the barn.

Hope you enjoy the pics....it was laborious (heh) just getting them.

Peek -a - boo.... I see you too little one.

We have so much to be thankful for, hope you enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Perhaps you'd like Fluffy stuffed while you peruse the shelves of cheddar and jalapeno havarti. Or maybe you're just looking for some authentic head cheese..whichever the case, be sure to stop by Mapletons Taxidermy and Cheese Store.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention the 'Hats for Hides Depot' ..... (I was going to get quippy about this one...but I just really don't get it. )

Lemme know what your best guess might be...

The 2nd birthday of the 2nd Child....

A cake fit for any Dora fanatic

She just couldn't blow out those candles, ...big brother had to step in..

'Oh daddy, just give it here, I can do it...'

'And if I throttle her like this, will she stop crying?'

'My turn....lots please Aunt Paula...'

'No, no, Aunt Paula...squeeze it like this..'

'I said come here! I have a strawberry kiss for you...'

'Happy Birthday Sis'

Fluff...

Silence.

That seems to be the theme in my brain since I became pregnant. Oh sure, there's that odd cricket chirping, and perhaps a breeze that blows from one ear to the other...but for the most part..it's just quiet.

It's not that peaceful sort of quiet either. It's rather unsettling, a void of sorts. I can no longer put together many coherent sentences.

Thus ... the blog has suffered. I mean, how can you keep an written audience entertained ..without writing?

'Cause I mean really, those posts about re-calls and window boxes are so very stimulating...and I'm sure you're hanging onto your seats for more of that fluff,... but I'm aching for some real meaty subject matter.

It's hard to believe this is my 294th post. It's true. I was a writing machine for a while there, a daily blogger, and on a good day..sometimes 2.

But now. Alas. *sigh* I must regress to photo posts and things others are reporting...like recalls. If perchance my brain decides to kick back into high gear, I'll be sure to let you know.

Recalls...

Just an FYI....

I found out that Thomas the Train toys have been under a recall since June...and I had NO CLUE! so I thought I would post the website for the recall for any other concerned parents that might not have heard about this specific recall...

http://recalls.rc2.com/

We own several of these toys, and will be returning them promptly!

Window Boxes..

It's been bugging me for over a year now, and I knew it had to be done, but was putting it off...

The window boxes over my livingroom windows were drab...just a plain ol' brown and I knew they needed a little extra something, so this weekend I grabbed momma and we went to Winter Wheat. It's a inspirational little spot nestled in a forest...a folk decorators dream come true.

Here are some pics....

Well it was a beautiful day, and I was wonderfully inspired ...so here's a before and after for you. My goal was to create a warm and cozy look that I can enjoy year round...and particularly in the evenings once the children have gone to bed...

(I do still have to fix the cord and fiddle with it a bit .... but you get the idea) ah...one more thing to cross off my list...slowly but surely this is really becoming my dream home. I am thankful for everything we have, and as a woman I enjoy making this space something I can be proud of..it makes it easier to for me to follow through with what I know is expected of me as a stay at home mom. When my house is put together properly and prettily, I feel good about having people over and I feel that I'm providing my family with a nice space to enjoy.

Anyway...hope you're all enjoying your spaces too... Have a wonderful day!

Placentas and pastries...

Today I had my doctors appointment following my 20 week ultrasound, and it looks as though I'll be having to go for another ultrasound as I have a low-lying placenta. It's approximately 1 cm from the cervix opening and will pose a bit of a problem come delivery. BUT the good news is that it should move up just enough before the big birthday arrives, the doctor seemed pretty confident that everything would work itself out by then.

The other good news is that I now have a better chance of finding out the gender of the baby. At the other ultrasound the baby had its legs tight together and was being quite modest (which makes me think girl!!) and enough so that the tech couldn't decipher the gender. So we'll keep our fingers crossed that the legs WONT be crossed at this next ultrasound which will take place in one months time.

After gaining 5 whole friggin' pounds at this app't (since my last app't one month ago) I've decided to swear off pop for the remainder of the pregnancy ... (that was, after I went to the local bakery and purchased a fresh supply of pastries...ahem.)

So I may be slightly less caffeinated next time I post to you, and a lot less sugary...so the posts may become slightly brazen, and candid.

Consider that a fair warning... ;-)

Sugar...

Little Sugar. He's been having a rough go with a respiratory infection, and his litter mates are far too spunky for him...so as luck would have it, he found my front porch just in time for me to take him in and we're currently working together to make him feel better. He holds his little mouth open, and I pour in the drops of medicine... he curls up on me, and I keep him warm.

Hopefully, before long he'll be bouncing around and annoying the heck out of us, but for now, he's a sad little soul needing some real loving.

Please Don't Judge...

WEllllllll you asked for it. So...you can't complain about how nasty it looks in the photo... I posted this just to give you an idea of how short I cut it, not to show you how I style it.

Officially this is one of thee worst pics I will ever post of hair, but I have to guarantee you that it actually looks quite fabulous when I've freshly washed it and I'm not 2 minutes from going to bed after a long day of trying to pull my hair out from the daily frustrations of trying to raise two little ones .... please folks...I emplore you to have some compassion.

I may re-think this and remove it shortly...so yay to those of you that have seen it.

EDIT - sorry. I couldn't take it any longer. Particularly when I blew the picture up and noticed the skin condition amplified by 3000. It was just not good for my self esteem. I'll try to post a worthy pic in the next few days.

the Attic...

Here's what we've been up to as of late, which has been the reason for the lack of blogging.... We've been renovating the attic....well two of them actually. They were both chalk full of things from past and present. The Hubs Grandparents had stored many a box away in these attics and it was fun to go through and see their past. Once all the boxes and clutter had been sorted and donated, or stored...we had two large rooms that were ready for whatever we could throw at them....or in them. The upstairs attic (for the record, neither of these rooms are officially 'THE' attic, but rather large triangular rooms that have been used as attics would be) has a lower ceiling and allows for standing only in the center of the room....so we chose to use this room as a storage room...or a very large closet.

The second 'attic' room had much higher ceilings and is now officially going to be our bedroom.....or 'love nest' as I like to refer to it as. Here it is pictured above in it's previous state...

Here it is all cleared out....ready for some TLC...

Here it is as the Hubs was working on it....

And here it is in it's current condition...waiting for it's new window, a fireplace insert (on the wall ) some paint, carpeting and furniture!

Can't wait to post pics of the completed project :)

Amy Wilhoite

Please pray for him. And thank the Lord for saving her.

http://wilhoite.blogspot.com/

Hairless..

The Farming wife's 20 minute makeover

The kids were glued to the television and I saw my golden opportunity arrive. It was now or never. I briskly walked to the shower and undressed in a flash.

Lathered, rinsed....no time to repeat.

After running a brush through my sad hair-do, I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. Renovating an attic is no small expense, and hair styling is the first "unnecessary cost" to go, as voted by the Hubs....just wait 'til he sees what I can do with a pair of scissors....Hair styling may promptly return to the top of the necessary list.

Once I had the shiny pair of scissors in my hot little hand...there was no looking back....there were clumps folks. Clumps and piles.

Anyone with curly hair knows there isn't much damage you can do .... until you finally get around to straightening your hair...and then ...well... I haven't got that much time on my hands so, I kept cutting.

The entire bottom layer came off so easily, I decided to tackle some layers of my own...I would have to say the back of the head is certainly most difficult....but heck ...I can't see back there anyway.

I threw some gel into the mop and I'd have to say it turned out fantastically....it's still wet mind you, and there is a good chance I'll be kicking myself once it dries and curls up like a poodle on a humid summers day....but so far.. things are looking good.

Next, came the removal of raccoon eyes from last nights mascara...it never comes off in the shower....so I treated myself to a cold cream application...and even styled those shaggy eyebrows.

I ran upstairs to find some clothing to cover the ever growing belly...the choices are few and far between these days...and while I was going through the drawers, I stumbled upon an old nail polish bottle and decided to sit on the bed and give myself a pedicure...it had to be quick as I shook the polish hoping it would congeal into something usable.....I could hear running water on the floor below, and knew that the TV was no longer babysitting the hooligans.

Beside the nail polish was a rusty hair clip and a blingy watch (with several stones missing) ....so I threw them on, and by golly...I was starting to look dy-no-mite!

I came downstairs and realized I had forgotten to shave the armpits....they needed a haircut worse than my head hair .... so off I went to find the razor. There was no soap left in the pump...so I stole the little bit that was residing on the dispenser, and Ta-daa there was just enough for a lather.

Within 20 minutes I had unveiled a whole new me....it was fabulous. It was a good thing I had done all this dolling up as I had a hot date with the rice box that had been dragged into the living room and been dumped.

Bliss I tell you...