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oxB

Farm Life

This is how we roll:

• Planting seeds:  its easy if you're two.  Rip open seed packet, dump out wherever you're standing, reach for another seed packet, repeat.  Our garden should be interesting.
• Fifty chickens . . . it sounds intimidating, but with the perfect balance of clean, fresh wood chips, a handy dandy compost pile, weekly trips to Ace for organic feed and lots of love, anyone can raise happy chickens.  Coming soon, How to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock, Chickens 101.
• Irrigation: the heart and soul of any farm.  A neighbor recently pointed out, "Whiskey's for drinkin' and water's for fightin'.  Just about every farmer I've talked to lately is talking about irrigation.
• Outbuildings: We can't have enough of them.  Coming soon:  our newest outbuilding/future school house.  I guess farms can never have enough outbuildings.  Not including the doghouse converted into a small chicken coop, this brings our outbuilding count up to four.  
• Children: With this much fun in one place, why do we ever leave?  
• Homeschooling: We're learning all the time and loving each other more every day.  The bond that the children have is strong because there is no line between older child and younger child, no competition, just family.  One writes books, one draws pictures and writes letters, one scribbles and tells us what it says . . . we're all authors of our own biographies.
• Did I mention irrigation?  Just when you think you have a day to start erecting fencing, the irrigation needs our attention.  Andy moved dirt for about four hours on Saturday.  Who needs the gym if you have a shovel?
• Eggs:  We sold seven dozen eggs today and gave away two dozen.  Pondering our chicken egg anthem, "Happy Chicken Eggs, Selling edible joy since 2009."  Because you are what you eat, you know. 
• Little House on the Prairie books: When you're seven and three and two, it pretty much doesn't get any cooler than Laura, Mary, Almonzo and  Royal.  And yes, we rock bonnets.

Christmas Preparations and Pony Riding

Its hard for me to get good pictures of the girls on the ponies because I'm usually busy brushing them, picking out their feet or leading them around, but here are a couple from a three mile ride we did this week.

Also, here is the 1st wreath that Francesca and I made out of woodbine growing on our house, pinecones from our Christmas tree of long, long years ago and clippings from this year's Christmas tree. I'm in love with making these felt flowers. I think they're really beautiful. Francesca went a little crazy with the pinecones because glue guns are such fun, but I think it turned out okay anyhow.

Packing in all the Fall Fun

The day after the violin concert, Monday, we went for a morning walk, went for a post lunch bike ride, picnicked on the side of the road in someone's orchard then came home and rode ponies. My bet is that Francesca was the only child doing all of this on a Monday, in her fancy concert dress. The fall weather has been so nice. 'Four Seasons' in Palisade rules.

The Sweet Tantrum

Julian is really a gem 99.9% of the time. Lately though, he's been trying his hand at tantrums and its just so stink in' cute! He JUST turned 2 and he is such a perfect specimen of being a sponge. He's soaked up every ounce of girlish drama that he sees from his sisters and lays it on. Here he is having one outside the door, where he wanted me to nurse him outside, instead of inside:

And here he is just after having a tantrum in the straw outside the barn, probably for the same reason, "Ninny Time!"

And here is Julian, his sweet little self, all smiles and sunshine. He's also figured out that he can easily get what he wants simply by flashing that smile and saying, "Please mama. Peese?"

Violin Concerto #2

Francesca and Cecilia had their fall violin concert on Sunday evening. It was so adorable. The kids were amazing. I was a little taken aback by their bold, fearlessness on stage, Francesca didn't seem in the least nervous up there. She played her solo beautifully and Cecilia did a great job playing two of the five variations of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Start that she knows.

And now, for mommy to get serious about practice? We are really crappy at practicing our violins. My excuse has in the past been that they're young . . . but now . . . well . . . now I have the excuse of Princess and Snowflake, whom we are now excited to get outside and see every morning so . . . maybe a bit of practice BEFORE we run out the door to the ponies and chickens every morning, hmmm?

Cecilia is Five

We had a birthday party with 14 children and I'm sure that Cecilia, the middle child people pleaser, was mostly concerned with whether or not everyone else had a good time. She gave me a report afterwards on who she didn't play with and her regrets about that.

All she wanted was a party at Riverbend and at the last minute, we changed it to a party here because it was a bit chilly. Tomorrow, I'm taking that kid to the park! Didn't I used to take Francesca ALL THE TIME when she was little and now . . . its once in a blue moon. Granted, our house is a park, but still. Kids love a good park. Turning five, Cecilia seems to have shot upwards and all of a sudden, her face looks different, too. We're homeschooling and she dives into any kindergarden stuff we do, songs, dancing, baking, whatever, she loves it. Hopefully Steiner's "Season of the soul" will bring mama's soul some improved organization and planning.

Cecilia is the only one who can catch the rooster, Ben. She leads the "stubborn" horse, Princess around like they were born together. She knows! Cecilia naps sometimes. She loves her sister and her brother but be there no mistaking, Cecilia runs the roost. We love our Cecilia.

Birthday Season

I can't believe Julian is already 2!

He's such a divinely sweet boy. The girls love to play this game with him where they ask him if he's going to be this type of boy or that type of boy and he repeats whatever they say lastly. For example: "Julian, are you going to be a mean boy or a sweet boy?" Julian, "Sweet boy!" This game gets out of hand occasionally, when they offer up ornery things, but his top two choices are "Star Boy," and "Sweet Boy." He's talking and singing all the time (unless you're here, then he will clam up and want to nurse the whole time, but I assure you, he is really, really chatty and friendly. Really!)

Happy Birthday Star Boy!

Ponyland

When confronted with the question, "What will we do, since our daughter is planning to ask Santa for a horse for Christmas," we did what any sensible parent would do. We beat Santa to the punch and bought ourselves some ponies.

The girls and Julian were so awesome as we prepared for the ponies. They played in the back of the trailer and out in the field while Julian played either with them or in the driver's seat while Andrew pounded posts and I sighted the posts and strung the line of the electric wire. They were also awesome while Andrew and I bucked hay and sang, "Goin' on a hayride, we're goin' on a hay ride, the cows are in the corn and the pigs have gone to Dover."

Holidays and Roosters and Ponies, Oh My!

• Julian turned 2 today! I'm so thankful that he was able to get his breath into his lungs on that dramatic entrance in to this world. Now that I've been sleeping next to Julian for the past 2 years, he has a bit of sleep apnea, like his mama and breaths much easier on his side, like his mama. Maybe he took awhile to get going due to apnea? Who knows. Maybe babies having a hard time getting going should be held on their side to breath? I don't know. We're so glad he chose us to be his family and we love him more every day. I really love him more today, now that he's sleeping in his own bed. Its so nice not to have a skull, elbow or heel pressing into my spine all night.
• The air is thick with frenzied madness of costume preparation. Gone are the days of dressing up for Halloween night, not we must dress up every day, for a week ahead of time. We're each preparing three costumes . . . wings to be made, boots to be found, wings to be repaired and hats to be re-fitted. Francesca made a kangaroo baby to go in her pouch and dressed in her kangaroo costume all day. Bouncing on the furniture abounds.
• Thankful that Eve, the Halloween fairy will kindly visit and take all the candy, leaving a gift. My dental insurance will be thankful, too.
• Our new rooster seems nice, but I'm still weary. He's begun attempting to hump the hens and falls off of them, they turn around and give him a good pecking and he runs away. I feel like I'm watching a little teenager out there and wishing that he's gay and friendly as opposed to horny and aggressive like our last rooster.
• Our pair of ponies should arrive Friday. I'm secretly hoping that this will suffice as my insurance to never have to take my children to Disneyland/world/whatever. I know that sounds so Mr. Burns, but Disney drives me crazy. Thank goodness my children don't have a clue what Disney or any of that crap is. Pony rides galore in two days and counting. Francesca is pretty certain that she is going to just get on and ride away, all the live long day. We shall see. If her confidence during her last two riding lessons is any indication, we will probably have to keep the ponies under lock and key.