Keeping Clean

As a stay-at-home mom, my entire job is loving and caring for my kiddos (one of whom is in school, but also high energy, and the other who hopefully starts preschool next year, assuming she can be potty trained this year), and keeping the house clean. Now, of course, all day is a long time to keep a house clean, and by myself I'm not very messy, but between a toddler that adores scattering books and toys everywhere, a boy who can't be bothered to put things in their place, and a husband that seems to have no concept of the idea of not using every dish in the house when he cooks, or where the hamper is, or putting things back where he got them, it's often a lot of work. A couple of years ago, I just had the worst time trying to figure out how to get myself in order and have the house in such a state that it wasn't a messy, overwhelming shock all the time. I didn't like doing giant cleaning days; they were too much. But I couldn't figure out a system of my own, so naturally, I went on Pinterest to find a cleaning schedule, and I came across this weekly schedule, and this monthly schedule, also pictured below. (I know in the second link, she has a daily schedule there too, and by all means, try that if you like it better.)

So on Fridays and Saturdays, depending on what's going on and what the rest of my month looks like, I might pick a couple of tasks from the monthly cleaning schedule to accomplish. I've added a few other personal needs, such as bleaching my toddler's sippy cups and the kitchen scrub brushes, cleaning up the basement, and a few other assorted tasks. There was a time when I had both schedules printed and posted on my bulletin board, but ended up not being able to keep with it; I need the satisfaction of actually checking an item off. So I ended up moving them, the whole schedule, to my bullet journal, which of course will be another topic in this blog for another day.

The thing I like best about these schedules is that they've become reliable and they're still quite easy to manage. I know on Mondays that I am going to be cleaning the kitchen. I know that means that my fridge will get cleaned out, and my appliances will be wiped down, my floors will be vacuumed and mopped. I know on Tuesdays my bathroom will be cleaned, which means the two rooms in the house that use towels will now be cleaned and I can run a load of towels without worrying that I'm running a towel load too soon. On Wednesdays I clean all 3 bedrooms, which is one of my favorite days; E's books are all put away and her kitchen is back in order, and therefore her floor gets vacuumed and the whole room looks like an adorable girly wonderland. J's room is cleaned up and vacuumed, deodorized (he is a boy, after all) and freshened up. And my favorite place of all to clean, my room. Normally it's the easiest because I never let it become a sty, but my room is my zen. It's full of my hobbies and comforts, it's fun to occasionally (or frequently) rearrange and organize. I love the look and feeling of a clean bedroom, where everything is as it should be. The hallways outside the bedrooms get vacuumed as well. And then on Thursdays I attack the living room, just in time to have it clean (at the beginning, at least) for the the weekend. Everything is put into it's place, vacuumed, dusted, and it looks like civilized people live here....until J gets home from school at least. And because I focus on a room a day, that means when some things get out of order during the other days of the week, it's not a huge effort to clean. It means when I'm sick, or caring for a sickie, or we have a party, it's not a huge issue to get done what needs to get done. It's easy to catch up when everyone's healthy, and it's easy to focus on finer details and polishing when we're expecting company. It's easier to care for my family when I'm not stressing out over things that constantly. Keep your house functional, folks!

If you need a reminder, watch Hoarders. OKAY I'M JOKING. Kinda. I do watch Hoarders and the purge the heck outta my house.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand we're back

What a doozy of a hiatus, yeah? I'm kinda back. We'll see. I'm going to try to commit to this. HA! What have I been up to? Well, it's been so long since I was on here, I had to look back at my last post to see what's been going on since then! Yikes. So here's the life update.

My last post was in November of 2016. 

E is now 3 years old. SAY WHA?!?! She's usually a happy little thing, full of live and "I WUV YOU"s and vim and vigor....with a dash of spice and sass. She does NOT take J's crap lying down, no sir. J is now in 1st grade, scaring all his teachers with his energy. G is in 6th grade and I THINK she's kicking butt. We shall see, I suppose. Husband has had a wretched, awful couple of years in farming and is currently one of the taller employees of a local pig farm. He's had several injuries from that, it's all fun. Concussions all around! 

In 2018 my FIL passed away, which was obviously and understandably a major shock to our family. My MIL ended up restarting her relationship with her high school sweetheart and moved to WV just about a month ago, and now my SIL and her fiance are moving into MIL's old house. We're still plugging away at our little fixer upper; E is about to move into a big girl bed and J is getting a Daddy-made loft bed. We're about to take in two kittens, Jamie and Morgan. 

I've been working on purging, redecorating and organizing my home and life, and have recently started two hobbies to that end: bullet journaling and listening to podcasts, specifically cleaning and minimalist decor-focused podcasts. I really, truly hope to keep up these blog posts and maybe come up with some cleaning tips for those who find themselves overwhelmed by stuff. Maybe in finding my own way, I could help someone else find theirs! So, after my zillionth reintroduction and own life overhaul....here we go!

Week 2: Pumpkin Spice Protein Shake

I've grown tired of being fat, of not finding clothes I like in my size, and as such, I have changed a few ways of doing things, specifically the way I eat. I've begun making a protein shake for breakfast, for two reasons: 1) I'm super lazy when I wake up and generally have no interest in cooking food for breakfast and 2) I snack less throughout the day when I've had a protein shake first thing. Generally speaking, my favorite way to prepare one is with a scoop of my favorite protein mix (I'm currently using ProFit vanilla), some version of milk (I live with a disbeliever so this is standard cow's milk for me, but it would be almond milk if he was less stubborn), and then a healthy spoonful of peanut butter and a healthy spoonful of strawberry jelly, followed by ice and whatever liquid and/or powder supplements I like to add (this includes It Works Greens and often elderberry syrup concentrate, to boost my immunity). All this goes in a blender, and makes a yummy icy shake. But lately, with my pumpkin pie challenge, I'd been wondering what a pumpkin spice protein shake would taste like, so I went in search of some basic recipes and found this one from Love Grows Wild. I only altered it to be cow's milk, and then since I didn't have nutmeg to make my own pumpkin spice, it's missing that...and I added some stevia for sweetening. I usually use stevia for individual sweetenings because it doesn't raise my glycemic index as much as other alternatives.

It's pretty good. I think the nutmeg would have helped, and I think I personally overdid it on the cloves, but otherwise, with a slightly tweaked amount in my blender, I think it could be a welcome fall treat for breakfast, so long as I choose to do a protein shake for breakfast.

Out of 5 stars, I give this one a 3.5.

Basic White Girl

There's this stigma in society that "basic white girls" love pumpkin spice things, and while I think the whole stereotyping thing is a bit high school, I do happen to be a fan of pumpkin spiced things. So I thought, you know what....there's a LOT of pumpkin flavored things that like to appear on the market around October; maybe I should try them all and do a couple of reviews. Heck, why not add recipes? And so that's what I'm going to do. Every week through November I'm going to try a new pumpkin recipe, post it, and then share my thoughts on it. As I've just decided this, I don't have the ingredients to start this week, so I'll start by listing the things that you can just buy and eat/drink, such as pumpkin pie spice coffee creamer. But next week, let the baking extravaganza begin.

This week: Creamer, Cheerios, oatmeal.

International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice coffee creamer: As a SAHM with a fairly new baby and a super active 4 year old, I depend on coffee. Some days it's my reason for getting up, it's the blood that flows through my veins, it's the thing that keeps my head on my shoulders. And when fall comes around, warm drinks are even better....add in that pumpkin pie spice and you've made a very happy mommy. I'm a personal fan of International Delight because I like their variety of flavors, especially Irish Creme Cafe, Cinnabon, and White Chocolate Mocha during the rest of the year, but of course when fall and winter come, they come out with these other flavors that are just....amazing. No, I'm not being paid for this blog. ANYWAYS. It's got a warm, rich flavor without being overwhelming. There's also a sugar-free version for those who....like sugar free? I guess that's important to some people.

Pumpkin Spice Cheerios: Okay, I confess, I was a bit bemused when I saw these. It was a normal shopping trip and I was looking for off-brand Honey Nut Cheerios for my son when I saw this box, and decided I wanted to try them. I tried a bowl the next day. They do have an essence of pumpkin, but it definitely seems like they just took regular Cheerios and added on the pumpkin as an afterthought, instead of tampering with the original recipe. I'm sure there's some patent reason for that. They're alright; I always have Cheerios in any flavor with honey, and I tasted more honey than pumpkin. Nothing to write home about or spring for especially, not in my book.

Quaker Pumpkin Spice Instant Oatmeal: I don't actually have a microwave, so instant oatmeal is something of a oddness in my home. But I do know how to make it without a microwave, so when I saw this box I grabbed it. It's pretty good; not an overwhelming flavor, but pleasant nonetheless. I have to make 2 packets to make any appreciable amount for breakfast, and I prefer it with milk so I have to babysit my stove pretty closely, which can (and often does) get complicated when my son is on the run from the moment he wakes up. Still, that's my fault, not Quaker's, and all in all, I'd say it's pretty good stuff, if oatmeal is a thing you like for breakfast.

I'm POSITIVE there are more instant pumpkin flavored things out there, and if you have tried one and want to give a review in the comments, I say have at it. As a joke when I mentioned on Facebook that pumpkin spice coffee is my spirit animal (you know, if it was an animal), my pastor posted a picture of pumpkin spiced toilet paper, to which I replied that he pulled that out of his butt. Hahah, so funny. The only one of the above products that I say I can't live without is the creamer, and that is, apparently, because I'm a basic white girl. And yes, I wear fashion boots, leggings and a tunic. No scarves for me, though, so maybe I'm not a trendy basic white girl.

Makeover!

I'm coming to realize that, with life's twists and turns, this blog hasn't been a "homesteading" blog in a hot minute. We don't live in a self-sufficient home on the farm. We haven't given up that dream, but with a new baby came the need for a home and FAST, and so we bought a run-of-the-mill house, complete with bills. SO....it's time for blog makeover! The thing is, I'm most likely to blog what's on my mind, what I'm into, what my family is up to. I'm also trying to boot Facebook out as being such a prominent part of my life. It's not productive except for keeping up with family and friends, but it ends up being a mindless scroll and reload process. And yet I, and many others I know, can't stay off of it for long. So I'm making a conscious effort to restrict its grip on my life. I've also been reading some blogs such as Modern Mrs Darcy, and A Bowl Full of Lemons, and so I'm sort of...unsatisfied with the way all this is going.

Therefore, here's the update on this blog of mine: The name will stay the same, because my life is still one in a million, but what it promises to document will change. If, someday, we get back to our homesteading plan, I will document that, but for now comes the fun of getting to know J and E and their quirks, and goofy stories about Husband and myself, and our family adventures. And then, of course, when G is here, she'll be added into the adventures too. Books, organization, house-overhaul goals, all sorts of all things us. If you have any suggestions about things you'd like to see, I'd love to hear them!

Little Ways to Say 'I Love You'

I've been married for about 5 and a half years, a little over, I guess, and in that time, Husband and I have been through quite a few experiences that most couples will hopefully NEVER have to deal with. When a couple goes through stress and problems, it can either serve to strengthen their connection, or sever it. We're fortunate to not be severed. We've been together long enough that we know several of each others "idiosyncrasies" and little preferences, such as the fact that Husband doesn't like ice in his fountain drinks, and how when I'm having a bad day, he can perk me up by grabbing me Reese's, Snyder's Honey Mustard pretzels and a Pepsi. You learn these things about each other, because when you spend so many hours and days and weeks and months and years with the person you dedicated your life and commitment to, you're supposed to learn these things.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that love is not always presented in some big effort designed to drop jaws and cue music...sometimes it's just the little things that let the other person know that you remember, you think of them, you listen, you care. Husband stopping on his way home from work or school to grab something for me if he knows I've had a hard day with the kids, me baking him something because I know how he loves dessert, getting his food and drinks just the way I know he likes them and feeling bad when they're not up to standard...these are a few things. What are some ways, little things, you can show that may not exert a huge ton of energy or effort, but clearly show your significant other that you love them, you're thinking of them, you appreciate them?

1) Send them little notes and texts.

Nothing gets me more smiley than to get a text from Husband while he's gone that isn't asking for something, or about something...he's just texting to tell me he loves me. Likewise, I like to let him know that he's important to me, that I enjoy spending time with him. Today on my way home from the doctor's, he passed by my parked van at a gas station, because I needed to use the restroom and get a drink. As he drove by he texted me, "I c u." To which I responded, "Creeper." These are the sorts of jokes that we heartily enjoy.

2) Small, cheap efforts can go a long way.

About 2 years ago, Husband was deployed to Africa to deal with the ebola scare in Monrovia, Liberia. So before that, we had a date. Our dear friends watched the kiddo and we took off on Husband's motorcycle to drive over the mountain, grab some food from the dollar menu at McDonald's, and then enjoy the sunset at the top of the mountain. To date, that's still our favorite date, and it cost less than $5.

3) You know his preferences; use them!

Husband doesn't like ice in his fountain drinks. He likes my chocolate chip cookies, and dessert in general, so I try to light a fire under my butt and provide that occasionally. He's fond of Mountain Dew, he doesn't like pretzels unless they're flavored. He likes mustard or sriracha on his dippy eggs. His favorite beer is Shiner Bock, but he will settle for Bud Light if he must. He branches outside the beer box often though. He loves to try new chips, and hates beans and peas because of their consistency. He likes longer ankle socks with jeans, but insists on anklet socks with shorts, and NEVER jorts. He's a fan of sneakers on both himself and me, but doesn't push the issue. He likes a high fade haircut and likes even more that I'm capable of giving him one, because it saves money. You know what my knowledge of these things means? I can make him happy almost all the time.

It's so easy to love someone, simply by paying attention.

The Importance of Routine and Organization

As a SAHM of two young children, and when the 3rd, school-age child doesn't live with me, my days tend to be very fluid, and oftentimes boring. We stay home most of the time, not doing much of anything, and J ends up a bit on the troublesome side when he doesn't have a productive way to burn energy. I also find that when I am just waking up and winging it all day, every day...I lose track of things.

Husband is fond of a very popular blog called The Art of Manliness. It's an awesome site, honestly. It bugs me that there's no female version of it; Husband and I tried searching for one once and were led to a blog that described PERFECTLY why there isn't. If you're interested, you could read it here, I suppose. Incidentally, I ended up subscribing to that blog anyways; they've got some awesome stuff, including the list of books, and free reading journal that I've recently become fascinated with. ANYWAYS. On AoM, they list sites, ideas, products, etc that a classic man should involve in his life. Husband scrolled through one evening and found an article by which I was intrigued. And so both Husband and I embarked on employing our own routines.

The night we read that article, I also decided the time had arrived for me to start keeping a planner. You know, like a real control freak.

I got this binder for 3.88 at Walmart.

I'd looked for "real" daytimer starters, but those run around $40. That's a lot of money, and we like to be frugal around here. So I grabbed this binder, a package of filler paper in the appropriate size, and took my stuff home to work on personalizing it. My mom, years ago, kept a planner/organizer of sorts, but she hasn't used it in years, so she offered up the remnants of hers for my scavenging. The most fun about this has been making the Amy model. You will not find a planner like this anywhere in the world, and I love it. I can keep personalizing and messing with it and it'll never compromise the goal, because it's all basically original, if a bit odd looking. But hey, I'm odd, so we fit together.

The very first page boasts my need for coffee, and then my zip-loc pouch of stickers, hole re-enforcers, and postage stamps. I'm usually the one that makes out the checks and mails them for our bills, so I'm also the Stamp Guardian.

 

 

This is just one example of the personalizations I made; on each tab divider I have a different quote/meme/whatever that I just happen to like. This is a good reminder to me; I tend to react emotionally, and then pay the penalty for that reaction later. 



 

This is just an example of my weekly planner sheets. For confidentiality's sake I'm showing you a week I haven't done anything on. Normally my weekly stuff contains Husband's school schedule, any appointments, and even Blog Tuesdays that never seem to fall on a Tuesday because I'm a lazy slacker.





 

Yeah, this. Because this is also why Blog Tuesday never happens on a Tuesday. J is a busy boy. Even today is not one of our best days, but this particular entry and its distraction are keeping me sane, and keeping him alive.

 

Again, for confidentiality's sake, I'm showing you a month in the future that doesn't have appointments and such on it. For each month I wrote the name and then some symbol of it. For September, I did a book. October has a pumpkin, November has a cornucopia, and then December, my other favorite month, has this pretty snowflake and a sticker Christmas wreath. Stickers make me happy and I'm not ashamed to confess that I raided G's unused sticker collection for these.

 

We started collecting coins; it's something we can do as a family that will have value for future generations, and is fun to do now. We're doing states and national parks, as well as antique coins when the history is fascinating to us. For instance, Husband and I share a love of Nazi Germany history. Don't ask why; we're quirky. Husband found a deutschmark with Hitler's face on it and we snatched it up for pretty cheap. And now we have Nazi money in our safe. Aren't we fun?

 

This is what I was talking about when I mentioned my free reading journal. Love this thing. It has space for a bunch of things, but since it's a PDF you can print what you want of it. I have the cover and intro pages, and then 4 pages for lists of books I want to read, 2 for abandoned books, 11 for detailed descriptions of books I've read, with ratings and other such info, and then 4 pages of recommended reading, based on award-winning books. I LOVE IT. That cardboard divider on the left has Post-Its superglued on the front, with labels as to what each is to be used, but since it uses our real names I'm not showing that.

 

 

I stole my mom's business card pages, but I'm using the second one for pictures, so I don't have to make my checkbook fat anymore. Plus it lets me display them ALL, instead of just a select few.

 

 

 

And now, my dear friends, I shall detail my morning and evening routines for you. The article Husband and I read talked about how it gave structure and order to the day, that no matter what chaos happens in the middle, you can always count on settling everything down when you stick to your routines. Now, timing is much easier for men to settle if they determine to wake up at the same time every day, and have a schedule by which to organize their day. But mommies to sporadically sleeping 2-month-olds can't stick to timing, because who knows when the crap we'll be up for the day? Once E is older, I might set a wake up time a bit earlier than E or J wakes up, for some Mommy Time in the morning (something I deeply enjoyed before I got pregnant with E), but for now, timing is in the wind.

 

 

Once E is settled (diaper changed, dressed, fed, content to sit for a bit on her own, or possibly even snoozing again), I do my hygiene necessities, such as brushing my teeth, doing my hair, destinking myself with deodorant and body spray. Then I get dressed in workout clothes and put on a few essential oils that will help me start my day with J well (Stress Away and Joy are two of my norms). J's breakfast and drink come next, because he expects those almost as soon as he gets up for the day. When he's done with that, I put E in the Tula, J in the stroller, and we go for a 2 mile walk. As soon as we get home, we go potty, and then I take J and E outside to play for a bit on the swingset. J is an active type and I find that if he is allowed a chance to get some energy out, he is a better behaved boy for the rest of the day, so I let him go monkey, and I put E in the disk swing we have and push her around. Sometimes she falls asleep in that, sometimes she needs to eat again. We stay outside for as close to an hour as I can finagle, depending on J's behavior and E's needs. When we come inside, I change into my clothes for the day, make sure everyone's settled doing something or napping, and do whatever I have on my to-do list. I try to keep a running to-do list because as long as there's something written down with an empty box to check next to it, I have motivation to get it done. Between to-do list items and the kids' needs, I can easily tick the day away. At night, after E's had her bath around 7:35 and been fed, I put her down for bed. J goes to bed around 8:30, after he's cleaned his room starting at 8. Once both kids are down, I shower, brush my teeth and reapply destinkifier. I set out my workout clothes for the next day, and then review my to-do list and schedule for the following day. My goal is to add devotions to that, and then I go to sleep.

 

The day I started employing routines, I found myself feeling more accomplished, and actually being more productive from the get-go. It feels good to get myself into the mindframe of "ok, let's get this and this and this and this done" and then to actually do it. I've been limiting myself to 30 minutes of FB time a day, to cut down on mindless screen time, but I do want to start enforcing Blog Tuesdays again, and even planning out my entries. We'll see how that goes; I've stuck to this daytimer far longer than I've ever done one before. My birthday is in just over 2 months, and I'll be 30; I think this will be my decade. I feel better about myself. I can't wait to drag you along with my better decade. <3

Defying Reality

Social networks, specifically one I won't name (rhymes with shmaceshmook) are sucking my soul out. But, as Husband says, it's an addiction, one I have good reason not to shake off yet. Still, breaks from it are healthy, so today I'm on break. And I'm happy to report, I have not been on Shmaceshmook since I said I was taking a couple-day break. I've been tempted, but I have resisted. HOORAH FOR AMY! In its lieu, I have cleaned up, cared for E (of course) and raided both Sims and Pinterest (I'm not socializing on Pinterest, chill!).

Sims is a longtime interest for me. When I was in high school, I believe, I found Sims 2 and became interested in it, and so bought expansion packs and engaged in living lives I'll never actually get to live. When Sims 3 with its infinitely improved graphics arrived on the scene, I immediately switched, and stocked up on expansion packs again. To this day, that's my game of choice, and I have most of the expansion packs, along with several stuff packs. It's a struggle to resist buying Sims 4, but I've invested a lot of money in Sims 3. I've tried explaining my love of this game to people who love me and don't understand why I love it, so I'll explain it here too.

Sims 3 allows for you to choose your looks. You get to choose if you're going to be skinny or fat, or a witch or fairy or werewolf. You get to choose your hair color and change your style on a whim, no waiting for money or hair to grow. You can travel. You can CHEAT your way to a lot of money. You can stay up all night and work on increasing your skills. You are guaranteed success most of the time. So, suffice it to say: Sims allows me to escape reality for awhile. Reality blows, admit it. And so I sit and drown myself in the world of Sims that speak Simlish and spend Simoleans, etc. Sounds enjoyable, huh?

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaack

So, I'm really bad at this, but I'm trying to rearrange a few things in my life to allow for more structure, and blogging is hopefully going to be part of that.

E is now about 6 weeks old, and while I don't get her weighed for a couple more weeks, she was 9lbs 8 oz 2 weeks ago. She's a fussy little princess (we call her Princess Prissy Pants) but we love her. Her sleeping schedule is evening out, although Mommy is still only getting about 4 hours of sleep a night, and depending on coffee to survive the day, because most days I still don't get a nap. Grammy got her a swing a couple days ago and she loves it; if all her needs are met, she'll sit in it for hours, sometimes, which allows me to get things done. No, not nap. E sitting peacefully in a swing does not resolve J running around making messes and needing supervision.

Her first smile on camera. And no, I wasn't the camerawoman. My grama had this honor.

This wide-eyed ghost spotter look is pretty much her norm.

Husband is back in school for a whopping 18 credit hours, so he's gone M-Thurs, from about 7 am until a bit after 5, and then on Friday for a half day, which means the kids and I are on our own all week. You better believe that Friday afternoon is a relief, and a joy. He's doing well in his classes though. Harvest is in another month or so; I expect we won't see much of him then, but it's the family's livelihood, so it is what it is.

 

J is normal. Chaotic, bouncy, intelligent. His cognitive skills are improving; you can almost have a conversation with him now. He's not jealous of E, so I don't worry that he's going to hurt her, although his exuberance to love her can be problematic at times. Shortly after she was born, he got it in his head that he wanted to hold her, so while she was sitting in her bouncer, and Husband and I were in the kitchen doing dishes, J sat next to her and slowly pulled her off the bouncer and onto his lap. He had her halfway off before I saw what he was doing and gasped so loudly, he thought he was going to be in trouble, poor boy. So I had him sit on the couch and put her in his lap, which is where you get pictures like these...

He loves his sister; he's good to her. Let's just hope it continues, yes?

G is back in school as well. She tested into advanced math because she's smart as a whip, and she seems to not only enjoy her new school and teacher, but also her new friends. She's about to grow her bangs out. She's back in the Girl Scouts, making a difference in the world, and she's a big sister at her dad's house too because her stepmom had her baby 2 weeks after E was born! Congrats, M2! But as her baby is not mine, I'll show you a picture of G holding E just an hour or two after E was born. G left 4 days after E was born, so I don't have many recent pictures of G with E.

A very satisfied big sister.

 

And then there's me. What's new with me? Hmm. Well, I bounced back to pre-pregnancy weight immediately after E came out, thank the Lord. Husband fixed my hip problem, so I walk normal again. I'm back to working out, and I have a Fitbit now so I'm tracking all this fun stuff. It's enlightening to see how much sleep I get. (Or sad, possibly.) I'm also changing how I function on Facebook; trying to simplify my life. We'll see how that goes too.

She's Here!

Yeah, so maybe I'm a bit late in posting this: little girl is here! We'll call her E. She arrived on 7/14 at 11:40am in a rush of activity. I'll tell you her birth story and show you just what a gorgeous little girl she is.

On 7/13 in the morning, I'd given up. I wasn't wanting to have an induction, but G was leaving on the 18th and I was running out of time, and frankly, I was in a lot of hip and back pain. I posted on FB that I gave up, she was never coming out and I'd be pregnant forever. That night, I went to the bathroom and discovered bloody show, which is usually a pretty good sign that labor and delivery is right around the corner, so I was excited. I had 2 contractions in the night that woke me up, but once I realized what was going on, I just went back to sleep. At about 4 am, I couldn't just go back to sleep anymore, so I went to the living room to ride out the contractions until a more decent hour. I had an appointment that morning, on the 14th, for thyroid testing, and it was pretty early so I didn't anticipate problems with that. I figured afterwards I'd come home and wait for when my body told me it was time to go to the hospital. At 7 am no one in my house had woken up yet, which is unusual because J is an early riser and usually wakes Husband and I up. I couldn't wait anymore; I could tell things were progressing, so my plan was to get dressed, pack everyone up and gauge the situation to see if grandmas needed to be called to watch G and J. Every movement sped up AND intensified my contractions. I woke Husband by saying, "Good morning, love! It's baby day!" He was ready to hop out of bed and drive me to the hospital, but when I realized I didn't have any clean shorts for J, I did a load of laundry and finished packing G. We were splitting the kids up, so that no one grandma would have to deal with the chaos of having both G and J together, and we called Husband's mom to come watch them for my appointment so that Husband could drive me.

I progressed VERY quickly and told my doctor and the nurse that I was in labor, and when they heard how many contractions I'd had in the 14 minutes I'd been there, advised me to get to the hospital ASAP. My mom picked up G and took her, and Husband's mom stayed with J. Husband drove us home to grab the diaper bag and then drove about 30 mph over the speed limit to get me to the hospital; the contractions were about every 2 minutes by then and I couldn't talk through them. We arrived at the hospital at about 10 am, after being told by my OB's nurse to go to the office to be checked. Doc checked me and said, "You didn't want an epidural, right? Because you don't have time for one anyways." I was 7cm dilated by that point. They wheeled me to L&D and got me checked into bed, started asking questions, and helped me ride out my contractions. I've always considered myself sorta weak in the hands, but Husband tells me I squeezed his hand pretty hard. I did well breathing through, and was fine and dandy until I felt the urge to push. The nurses couldn't agree about how dilated I was, and decided I was 8 and told me it wasn't time yet, but the more I fought pushing, the more painful it was. Eventually I couldn't fight it anymore. The nurse called on her shoulder walkie talkie that I wasn't able to quit pushing, while both she and Husband told me to breathe through it. My body didn't listen, and in a warm rush of fluids, out came E. No one noticed at first; they were still telling me to breathe and not push. Husband says he doesn't know what made him look down, but when he did, there lay E, purple and crying. And so he vocally reacted like he did when J was born: "Uhh, uhh....she's out." Nurse looked down and lo and behold I'd gotten her all the way out; my water broke as she came out. Nurses flooded in the room to deal with her, getting her suctioned out, tying off and cutting her cord, and getting her to the infant table. My doc came in and was MAD; he slammed a cabinet door. Then he put on his mask and helped me deliver the placenta before giving me a single stitch because I'd torn a tiny bit.

E was beautiful, and of course she still is. She was born at 8 lbs 1 oz, 20.5" long. I was basically pain free as soon as she came out and still am. My nurses were shocked that I never needed pain meds, but hey, if you're not in pain, why take meds? G and J both came to see us, although it took a full 30 minutes before J even realized there was a baby in the duck blanket he'd been looking at. G was smitten and brought me pretty flowers. We went home on Saturday the 16th.

 

 

Various details: While in the waiting room at the office, right after my pee test, I had a contraction before I could sit down. I leaned against the wall to brace myself, and Husband stood right there, ready to meet any need I asked of him. A woman in the room noticed me, and offered me a chair so I could sit down. Later, after I was checked and put in a wheelchair to go to L&D, she happened to be waiting for the elevator when they wheeled me to it, and I thanked her for the chair, because I was raised to be thankful for any effort of help someone gave me, even if I didn't actually need it. She said, "No problem. I was wondering why this tall guy was just standing there." Gratitude over. Husband and I are in tune; he knew to be there, ready to help me if I needed it, but as I'd said nothing and only needed a brace to stand firm for me, he just stood there waiting. As he needed to.

At one point I had to use the restroom, so Husband and the nurse stood waiting to help me. I had a contraction while sitting, and muttered out, "I wish she'd just get out already." The nurse, bless her heart, thought I was talking about her, so she said, "Oh, ok," and turned around to leave. Enter extreme guilt. I told her I was talking about the baby, not her, and that I was so sorry, that it was rude. Husband laughed; he thought it was hilarious, but I was so embarrassed that she thought I'd say such a thing to her. Poor girl.

The Countdown Passed Me

Today is 7/11/2016. My due date was 7/9/2016. In the scheme of things, that's really not that late, but it feels late because I'm in THAT much pain.

Pregnancy is hard on the body. It drains you of your nutrients, vitamins, mobility, dignity, and a whole bunch of other stuff, I'm sure.

With G and J, my teeth died. I had such pretty, resilient teeth in my first 20 years, but with G, my wisdom teeth decided to make an appearance and immediately cause problems, so those were removed when she was still tiny. I'm sure there were other problems but those were not discovered or addressed. It only got worse with J, and the dental work needed to recover from what he drained from my mouth has yet to be fully addressed. I was remiss, I should have scheduled all the dental work while Husband was still in the Army, but I didn't, and now, while Baby (to be retitled after birth) is not actually having much effect on my teeth, she is a bit of an obstacle to me getting them fixed.

Additionally, with each subsequent pregnancy the battery of physical woes has worsened. G wasn't so agonizing; I maintained a retail job very far into the pregnancy, but with J I had crippling sciatica and awful late-pregnancy Charlie horse cramps in my legs that once actually had Husband jumping up in the middle of the night, ready to assist me to the car for labor. And now, with Baby, I've had sciatica (resolved early and quickly thanks to chiropractic care), round ligament pain (resolved the same way), and most recently, and severely, massive hip pain. It's so bad I walk around like a zombie. I skipped church yesterday because I couldn't walk, and that is something I HATE doing. I got a chiropractic adjustment on 7/8, but on 7/9 we went to Denny's for breakfast because I can't stand to cook lately, (and we like Denny's) and while there, I needed to use the restroom. J came with me because he's almost completely potty-trained and needed to go too. We went, washed hands, and just as I was side-stepping to grab the door handle, my flip flop (when will I learn to quit wearing them?) caught a seam in the floor. I started to fall (for a 3rd time; I have a habit of falling this time around), so I caught myself...at the expense of all the work the chiropractor had done the day before. It was so discouraging, my hormones jumped up and made me choke up. I don't like crying in public, so when Husband asked what was wrong, why I looked like someone hit my puppy, I couldn't answer. Enter in Papa Bear, who immediately wondered if someone in the bathroom had violated me, verbally or otherwise, and he was ready to go to war. He and J went to the car, and I stayed to pay (compared to wrestling J into the van, standing in line to pay the bill is a snap, so don't judge him for lack of chivalry), and got distracted. The minute I finished and returned to my place, Husband said, "What happened?" I told him about almost falling and he was immediately relieved he didn't have to march back inside to lay a crackdown on someone.

So, today, and yesterday, we are stuck. I can barely get up to go to the bathroom, yet we have occasionally left the house. And so I lean all over the shopping cart to get anywhere. But for now, until I have to scoot to the hospital, my green recliner is my go-to spot for resting...until J acts up in the bathroom, or his room, or the kitchen, or inevitably any room that is NOT the living room. It's time for this baby to come out, so my hip can return to normal and the only thing that keeps me in my chair is a tiny person, not physical, personal pain. LET'S GO, GIRL CHILD.

Long-Awaited Update

Here we are, the days before week 28 of this third, and possibly last, pregnancy. A LOT has changed since the last time I blogged, and a lot more changes are coming.

Husband is still in the midst of his first semester of college, first out of 4 years of them. He only has about 3.5 weeks to go yet for this semester, though, and he's doing REALLY well (he generally gets close to 100, if not over, for every single test and assignment). He has a high standard of perfection for himself. These are just the pre-reqs though, so we shall see how it goes in the future. The best part of his attending school is that he is getting paid to go, so he's not having to work another job around farming and school to support us. Add that to IL's support of school-going veterans, and we're doing well.

G has hopped on her bike WITHOUT training wheels, so hopefully that will continue to develop. For the most part she's doing well in school, but she does have a few struggle issues that she'll be working through with a tutor this summer.

J is almost potty trained! We've been hoping we would make this breakthrough before the baby comes, so we wouldn't have two in diapers, and while he's not COMPLETELY there, he's close. Pants and outings seem to be our stumbling blocks, but yesterday he hustled me out of over 10 Oreos just for pooping on the potty. And I'm happy to give them if it shows him that the potty, and not his underwear, is where poop belongs.

Tiny is a girl! We found out around 22 weeks, but then it was verified further about 10 days ago in another ultrasound they wanted to do to make sure that a fibroid in my uterus wasn't going to hinder her growth. She's growing big and strong, kicking like crazy. Meanwhile, while she grows, I'm actually LOSING weight. Go figure. I'll take it though, since I'm far more prepared and determined to nurse this baby, I'll likely lose a lot more with a quickness when she's out!

And finally, one of our newest developments: we bought a house. I know, I know, we were gonna build and turn it into an off-the-grid wonder that would make normal people today wonder what was wrong with us...but due to some timing issues, between family and a new baby, we found a well-priced house that just needs a little love, and then we will have a lovely home that we OWN, that we can move into before Tiny gets here, and even before G comes for her summer visit. We're very excited; this month before closing has been the longest month in the history of forever. My parents, ever the blessing, are gifting us with paint, and hard labor, so that we can get it looking more like ours before any of our stuff gets in there. I'll try to post progress pictures once some of the work is done. :D

I think that's all for now. Farming season is about to kick in gear, and we FINALLY have a decent week of weather, so hopefully we'll be shrooming soon too, along with moving and having some outside time for poor, cooped up J!

Yet Another Hilarious Pinterest Fail

It's time, folks! Time for another adventure with Camper Boy! In today's episode, we will explore why living in a camper is not the opportune time to take it upon oneself to be crafty and creative.

Some months ago, I got the idea that a lot of Camper Boy's aggravation was the lack of ability to work on calming himself down, and, ever the DIYer, I decided Pinterest must, in all its infinite wisdom, have the answer. Lo and behold, I was not disappointed, and soon came upon the concept of Calm Down Jars. If you are a Pinterest fiend with children, you may have seen these clever devices. They are sparkly and colorful and sometimes filled with small floaty items. The idea is that when a child is upset due to overstimulation or what have you, you shake the jar, sit them down in a quiet space and let them watch the glitter and swirls settle, and by that time they're redirected and calm enough to continue on with their day without hassle. Or at least for the next 30 seconds. I thought, really, what could it hurt? And so I acquired a mason jar, some glitter, and light colored spikey balls to put in it, thinking I wanted a few more items in Camper Boy's jar, and then when he goes bonkers from boredom, we'll dig it out and let him watch and all will be well. But the project sat. And sat. I was missing ingredients and didn't want to start until I had everything I felt I needed.

This morning, Husband went to school, as is customary for Tuesdays and Thursdays, and so as is normal for us EVERY morning, I started Camper Boy's movie, got him some juice and cereal, and made sure he was comfortable and happy. And then I slipped down the hall for another few minutes of peace before forcing myself to get dressed, break down his bed and make the camper normal for the day. The next time I peeked to check on Camper Boy, the bottle of glitter that I had stashed in the catch-all shelf above the kitchen sink was no longer in said shelf. It was open, and its contents were ALL OVER THE BED/COUCH.

As you might expect, my gut reaction was NOT, "Aww, how cute, he wanted to play with glitter!" No. No, my initial reaction was more akin to a dropped jaw, and "Are you freaking serious?" Things of this nature have happened enough times now that I have a routine, and as long as I manage to keep my mouth shut, it's not scary. Camper Boy's sparkly little heiny was plopped in time out and my wheels of methodology in figuring out the least painful way to clean it up started turning. The blankets and sheets were all shaken onto the floor, and then when I was satisfied that they were generally free of craft herpes, I tossed them down the hall and onto my bed. The vacuum is stored in the bench right under that back window there, with the yellow, so I had to shake, fold and strip EVERYTHING down before I could suck any of that shiny awfulness up. Camper Boy remained in time out. Finally, with a camper covered in silver glitter, the bed was stripped, and I was free to get out the vacuum. And so began 30 solid minutes of sucking it up.....and it's still not all gone, because after all, this is glitter we're talking about. I took a picture of it, as you can see above, and sent it to my mother, and when she heard what it had been destined for, she asked if I was calm. I found it hilarious and began laughing, and that moment of levity is, folks, why Camper Boy will live to see another day, and in all likelhood, will live to give you all another chapter in the the Adventures of Camper Boy. For now, though, this one is over, because it's lunch time and I need to replenish the energy I purged cleaning up the unicorn after party.

A Temporary Chapter

If you've been following any of my updates, you know that we moved home in October and are currently living in a camper until our house is built and livable, hopefully by July. Our camper is an adorable little place, but it is small, which means less storage for the mama that loves storage and crap all over the place, less play space for a toddler...and less child-proofing, simply because there are only so many places to stash tempting things from the curious toddler. J's most troublesome time is in the morning, when I'm still dragging myself from the depths of sleep and he's bored silly. For the past I-don't-know-how-long, I've awoken every morning to some new lovely mess. It's gotten to the point of being hilarious now, in a very sad way, and I think I'm going to make a thing out of it. So, ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you: The Amazing, Messy Adventures of Camper Boy.

Every week I will post pictures of J's new messes that I come out to, and explain how these things get there. I will take pictures of Camper Boy in all his wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights glory of pseudo-innocence. And maybe, throughout the day, other pictures will be taken of a standard day for Camper Boy. Oh fun. For now, here's an intro to Camper Boy's days.

After the inevitable disaster clean up, we fold up all his blankets, put them in a specific spot under the bench by the door, pull a few toys out, and make up the benches for my somewhat-sectional. I put a movie on for him, get him some breakfast and juice, and let him watch. The movie varies but usually it's either Cars, Toy Story or one of his Preschool Prep videos. Frozen has scratches from being watched so often so I tend to avoid that one. If it's an at home day, that's basically it. Climbing about, playing with cars, movies. It's too cold to play outdoors yet, and if it warms up it's crazy muddy, so I'm impatiently waiting for a warmer, dryer time to convince Husband to buy a playground thing so J can play outside. He does so much better if he can get energy out. About noon or later he has lunch, and then it's naptime. Hallelujah, Mommy gets a break. After nap is likely another movie, followed by dinner and horseplay with Daddy, and then bed. Errands are our salvation because they get us out of the house, doing something. Naturally, such boring days lead to...antics. Which is where his messy adventures come in. And most of the time, while they stress me out, they are picture worthy, and should be saved for future date blackmail....I mean, for memories.

Cars. Always. Or Toy Story. I hear the word "Woody" waaaaaaaaaaay too often.

When he knows you're taking a picture, he walks really close and says, "CHEEEEEESE."

So there you have it, a preview of the joys and delights known as J, who will be Camper Boy when he's up to something. Tomorrow morning, I'll take a pic of whatever mess he comes up with. 

Family Update

I've been sucking at this Blog Tuesday, ya'll, and I'll tell you why. Tuesday is Husband's first school day of the week, which means this mama gets in the sweats and parks it on the couch. I was SOOOOOOOO lazy today. But, let's continue with an update.

Husband is in school, with what is considered full-time credit hours, for a major called agricultural production and management. It's obviously useful for what he's about to do, so it makes sense that he would do this, but right now he's working on his pre-requisites, so his classes are speech, communication (he thinks these might as well be the same class, because they overlap so well), national government and psychology. He's got no interest in any of them, but they're still managing to stress him out because he's not one to slack off on something whether he cares about it or not.

J is in the beginning stages of potty-training....again. We had slacked off on it because it was cold and I hesitated so much to let him run around in just skivvies, socks and a shirt, that I let it go and just put him back in diapers. But now there's a new development coming to our family that mandates this child be potty-trained.

G is back with her dad after having spent Christmas with us. She scored big this Christmas, and is now in the midst of doing well in school and selling Girl Scout cookies, and looking forward to some big family changes.

We're having another baby! This little angel is due in early July. The timing is odd, but we'll make do with it all. The house building is obviously more imperative than ever, and since we already have house plans, we're ready to go when it stops freezing. We've already staked and twined the rough layout of our bottom floor, and figured out where we want to put most of the outside stuff. Now it's just a matter of...doing. We may be spending a couple weeks in the camper with the new baby, but really, that's tolerable. He/She will still be super tiny.

I really need to get back into my normal rhythm of blogging, along with everything else I know needs to be done for the good of my family. The pregnancy has put a serious crimp in my mood, routine and motivation. But I'll get there.

The Other Half

Rarely, if ever, do I fit in the same thought stream as most of society. Obviously, someone, somewhere, is bound to have similar opinions as me, even if it's hit or miss. Anyways, today I've been pondering about something that mainstream society doesn't generally approve of or promote, something I can't get off my mind, and I'd like to share it. I'm also well aware that most people aren't going to read this.

I love my mom. My dad. My son, my daughter. I love them dearly. There is one thing these 4 people have in common with me, and that is that they were given to me. God gave me my beloved parents. He gave me my children. But my husband....God put us in each others' path, and he knew what my decision would be, but in the end, He did give us free will, and I DID choose him.

He's goofy. He's very tall. Sometimes he's a butthead. But he's MY tall, goofy butthead. Let me tell you about my best friend.

Husband is younger than me, by a year and 8 months. He gets really irritated when I call myself a cradle robber though. He's got a sarcastic sense of humor. He likes Rush, but his taste in music, while not exactly a "wide " variety, includes the music of many bands, so much so that he had to get a bigger iPod just to fit it all. He's a drummer; he's been drumming in some way, shape or form since he was 4. He's been in several bands, but quit earlier in the same year that he joined the Army. He joined the Army to help. He's very much like his dad; they have similar interests and behaviors, but then there are times when he's the polar opposite of either of his parents. He's kid #3 of 4, and the tallest of everyone in his immediate family. Fiercely protective of those he loves, but he also wants us all to be able to take care of ourselves. He is very fond of a simplistic, rustic, and maybe at times antiquated way of life. He hates social media, He's what you'd call the opposite of a conspiracy theorist. He's more likely to believe that nothing is going to happen, than that anything could. He's the picture of hard work and self-reliance. When you look up "building a house by myself" it gives you advice to call contractors, and that frustrates him because he ACTUALLY wants to be the one building it himself. He loves his kiddos; he's the one that gets down on the floor to play with them, tease them, wrestle with them. His favorite color is orange.

This is the man I chose. The one that listened with compassion as I told him my worst fears, things that made me cry, things that interested me. This is the man that listened last night when I told him I was scared, and hugged me until I calmed down, that let me cry on his chest even though it makes him uncomfortable. This is the man that God dropped on my lap, and that I chose to keep. 

On one of our few date nights. We rode the bike up the mountain and watched the sun go down.

Shortly after another date, before we were married. The only reason I'm that close in height is because he was sitting on a bike and I stood next to him...

Holding a newborn J in the hospital.

Halloween night, 2012, he sat and talked to a still-new J.

He played a game and J sat with him, watching.

Our very first family walk up the canyon. It was my victory, and he was super proud of me. J was grumpy.

Reading one of G's favorite books to her at bedtime.

G loves giving him hugs. She was 4 here.

Here's the controversial part. I believe, biblically, that God instructs women to put their husbands above their children. I mean, by all means, don't neglect the kids because Hubby wants a sammich, because that's just plain ridiculous, but the man is meant to be the head of the household, he's meant to be the spiritual leader of the family, and while a Godly, responsible man will most definitely take what his wife says into account, and for the good of his family, he is the one responsible for making the decisions. We are a traditional family. It has always been our intent that I be the one to stay home and care for our children and home, I do the cooking and the cleaning, and he earns the money that our family needs to keep going. We've made it work this way since summer of 2011, and we were married in early spring 2011. We've made sacrifices, we have scrimped and saved, and been budget smart, and we have not come across a crisis that demanded I get a job yet. We have paid for court battles, new vehicles, new gadgets. Under his direction, I have learned my way through basic car care, anger management, cooking...he's taught me so much, he's learned from me too. 

Someday my kids will grow. They will leave, and they will form families of their own. And when all my kids move out and onto their own lives, I will wake up, and the only other person in my home will be him. God gave me my children, but He will guide them onto their own lives. My future is him, and I chose that future. 

The Nature of a Farm

For several years now, I've looked forward to getting my farm life started. We'd decided we were going to be farmers, we started planning...I'd made my decision and I wanted to start living it. Nevermind that I'd never lived on a farm before, that my max amount of plant experience was helping in a garden or flowers in a tiny pot that I forgot about. Nevermind that I really had no practice with animals (although I wasn't so un-knowledgeable that I didn't know where beef, steak, pork, bacon, ham, eggs and chicken come from....I know there's no magic "Meat Conjurer" machine in the back of every grocery store). I wanted my farm life. I had this image in my head of a quaint farm in the middle of a prairie, and me washing and hanging clothes to dry, as I stare out onto the prairie, with my munchkins running about catching bugs and digging in the dirt....yeah, no. When you move to the farm at the end of October, that's not what happens.

We came home to bizarre weather. I took over the chicken chores in the evening, which includes feeding the dogs (dog now; the older dog went over the rainbow bridge earlier this week and all that's left is our demon dog, Apollo), collecting and then sorting the eggs. Husband is now cutting wood and hunting for small game to relieve the grocery bill. A daily chore of emptying the "water" is not out of the ordinary. We now live 16 miles from the nearest decent sized town, so running to the store "real quick" isn't possible. But you know what? I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

I love this camper. I love my itty bitty bed that my warm son still fits in with us. I love my itty bitty fridge that forces us to be prudent about what we're shoving in there. I love my couch that triples as our dining room and J's bed. I love my makeshift spice rack. I love my coffee cabinet. I love my tiny closet and my tiny bathroom. It's not what I dreamt of, but that's okay. I'm learning to love my current stage, and keep dreaming for the future. And that's the nature of a farm. It doesn't always go with your plans, so you have to learn to roll with the punches, be creative and keep your chin up.

 Apollo sniffing around our eventual driveway, last year.

Me on a tractor, a couple years ago. I just recently drove one again.

Self-Motivation

I've noticed that out here in the boonies, without a schedule to make demands on our time, without accountability for certain actions...it takes your own decision, own self-driven accountability to do certain things. Today is Sunday. In most circumstances our family would be at church. But we are aware of what most of the churches around here are like. Not that they're bad, per se, but because of the nature of the area, most are far more traditional than we are okay with. There's nothing wrong with traditional, but we are just more casual than would be okay in a traditional church. And thanks to the blessings of the internet, our church in TX has podcasts of sermons, going all the way back to before we were regular attenders. But this is important to me, that we have some sort of spiritual nourishment. And so here we sit, listening to the sermon that convinced us that our church in TX was the church for us. And what timing; a sermon on worry. We remember listening to this sermon all those years ago; we knew God was speaking to us because at the time, we were worried about court over G. In later years, Husband and I both were involved in the worship team. We made friends in that church that we still have. That church brought us through some of the toughest moments in our life. They watched J grow up, because he was born shortly after we started attending regularly. They gave us a baby shower and even a farewell party. Without that church, and people to ask after us, ask why we're not there, it can be very hard to make oneself devote to something like that. "I must do this, not because someone else is expecting me to do this, but because it's good for me, because God desires this of me, and because He demanded it of me." Will someone confront me for not spending time with Him every week? It's possible, of course, but in the end, it's not those people that say something to me that are suffering if I don't. It's me. God doesn't need me. But I need Him, and so for my sake it's important that I take time out of every DAY for Him.

Spiritual needs are easier, physically, to neglect than chores, or personal needs. If I don't clean the camper, Husband will eventually be exasperated and get after me to clean it. J won't have room to play. If I don't cook, how does my family eat? But if I don't sit and spend time with God, Husband doesn't necessarily suffer for that, not immediately. Over time, if I don't exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, my son will suffer, my husband will suffer. Everyone who has to deal with me will suffer. It is the grace and mercy of God that makes me bearable to deal with, and trust me, there's a LOT of work to be done.

Closing One Chapter, Starting Another

When I first started this blog, my goal was to "journal," so to speak, about my adventures as a homesteading woman...and the time has arrived. A week ago we were on the road from Husband's base in TX to our final destination in IL. The Army chapter has ended, although it's a bit surreal for us right now. Husband is going crazy because his hair is too long (insert eyeroll here, because it's still ridiculously short) and he is growing a beard, although that part is on purpose. We purchased a camper back in the summer, to give us a space of our own, and while we still don't have everything we need, it actually feels like home. It's TINY. I'll post some pictures and give you a tour. (I only slightly cleaned up for you to see it, promise.)

This is the view from the foot of the bed, so obviously, our bed. We each get a night stand, and 2 walls are lined with cupboards to put things in. 

 Here's the view from the side (so in the last pic I was standing by the ugly blinds on the left), so you can see more cupboards, laundry hamper, and the shelf we put the computer on so we can watch movies.

 These are our closets, for lack of a better term. We each have one. On the right side is my oil cabinet, and on the left, that white inset thing is my fridge and freezer.

 Our itty bitty bathroom. Husband can't stand up straight in the shower. 

 There's that fridge again, along with our TV and tech set up, and the front door we use the most (there's another in the "bedroom.")

 The occursed Asian beetles that NEVER leave us alone.

 The dining set up, with the table down. If we're not eating I fold the table legs and prop it against the window on the left, there, and it's like we have an odd sectional. Otherwise the table props between the benches, and the cushions get rearranged to make J's bed. It's very cozy for a toddler.

My kitchen layout. I have a gas range, a microwave that doubles as an oven (no, really!) and on the right side of the sink is the hot water switch. We leave it off if I'm not doing dishes and no one is showering, and because J likes buttons and switches, we have to pull the fuse too.

It's small. Honestly, had things not taken the turn they did in court, we wouldn't have this place, because there's no way it would work to have G in here, but they did, and we mostly make it work with J in it. He's small and has a ton of room on his "bed."

We're learning how to juggle our time when it comes to cooking, we're learning how to come up with an efficient schedule and routine for bedtime, although naptime may become a dream of the past as we can't isolate J enough for him to be destimulated. We are needing to be prudent about the heat, since that sucks up propane, and we want to be prudent with electricity and water, so combat showers, as Husband calls them, and lights off will be a very important thing to us.

We have a local bank account now. But we're still trying to convince ourselves that when his "leave" is over, we won't be heading back to TX. Still, we've jokingly been calling ourselves "homeowners." I still have no plates or cups, I have all of 2 mugs in here because Husband retrieved some for me this morning when I realized we had no way to drink the coffee I was brewing so excitedly, but I have the TV and Xbox set up and running, I have the popcorn popper, the toaster, and all the pots and pans I pans I plan to use this year....but I just now found the plates and a couple glasses for Husband and I. My "spice rack" needs to be hung, but you better believe my oils cabinet is up and loaded. J doesn't have all his clothes but my coffee cabinet is loaded and ready for use. Ah, the prioritizing. JUST KIDDING. J's clothes are maybe 100 yards away, about half of them. The other half are in the cabinets above my side of the bed.

Husband has been tinkering and going on jobs and trips with his dad, getting ready to get into the farming lifestyle. There's still some homemaking to be done, but he asked for a week, and except for the part where he keeps running away to do other things, he's been using it. Stay tuned for more adventures!