tough day

for those who don't know, we own a dog... and she is a very good dog. her name is Lucky. she acquired it from my father-in-law. He was on his death bed, and somehow this dog came into their yard, and was allowed to stay... being very Lucky... when he died, dad wanted James to have her. i was very close to my father-in-law... and this dog means a lot to me. well, we also have a neighbor. an easily upset neighbor... this neighbor has a dog... a very nice dog, whom Lucky loves, and wants nothing more than to play with. neighbor is very nervous around dogs, and think that all dogs fight... (not the case...)so, if neighbor and dog are outside, we try really hard to not let lucky out... all of us except the small children taking residence in my house... today, was a tough day... i went downstairs to grab a pair of clean pants out of the dryer, and when i came up, the front door was open, and the two youngest of my clan were outside... all i could hear was our neighbor yelling "NO LUCKY, GO HOME..." oh, great... i called to her, never leaving my yard, and she came right to me... (not something a dog who is a threat would do...) i don't like living in a situation that i am fearful of how people are going to react to me and my family members... even the k-9 influences... lucky would ( i am certain) never hurt this other dog, she wants to play... but this situation makes me feel like if she happens to get out... then i am going to have to pay an enormous price... i got very angry at my children, and i definately lost my cool... i have never experienced that before, and i am chosing to never go through that again. i love my kids, and i love my dog, and i love my neighbor, so what am i supposed to do?? this all hurts so much. i am completely emotionally spent, and could soon find myself in bed for the night... sorry kids, it looks like dry cheerios for dinner. i just don't think that i can pull it together after this afternoon. i have never lived in a situation (as an adult) where i am uncomfortable in my neighborhood... until now. i don't really blame my children... after all the ones involved are 2 and 3... (come on, they are babies!) really, this neighbor needs to overcome his fears of our dog, and learn that lucky wants nothing more than a friend. we have offered to have the dogs get together to meet each other, and get to know each other better, but he is too nervous... i am sooo at a lost for what to do next... does this become a situation where i have to get rid of our dog, because she is sooo longing to play with his dog? yes, she leaves our yard when the other dog is out... yes, she barks when she sees the other dog outside... (eager barking!!) i am growning weary... sorry for this bleck blog... but that is life... and it IS dirty...

i am terribly sorry

for those who are trying to follow this sad excuse for a blog, i am sorry. i have not been on this blog for two weeks... and A LOT has happened. i can say that i am going to make an effort to catch you all up... but unfortunately not right now... i have to run off to work... hmm, this is how it all began...be patient with me, i am not a very good juggler... love to you all. and please don't give up on me...

we have a big boy now

I cut owen's hair today, and he sure looks big. this is the first time in a long time that he really strikes me as a big boy. i have to admit that i miss my 7lb 13oz mush pot... but i guess i have to be happy with my 38 lb big boy... this is all going to take a little getting used to . adelyn has had a four straight day potty success. she is doing well. i am really looking forward to that hurdle. although it opens the door to big girl... augh. it is a tricky balance between keeping them little, and encouraging them to grow up.

we are looking forward to our special mommy time this week as daddy travels for the farm job. it is a little scary, but also, i am looking forward to not working, and not worrying about having to spend time with the kids and having to go to work... i am going to enjoy the time for just us.

...and the world continues to rotate

we are a busy people. all of us. but amidst this busy get-there-fast, don't-be-late, always-saying-"yes", life style i managed to squeeze a few minutes in to actually sit and enjoy my children at play. Adelyn and Owen were playing "house". in this game Owen had to rush off to work, leaving Adelyn at "home" to "deal" with the babies. by the way there were three babies! This childhood depliction of everyday adult life was a little rude, and quite frankly eye-opening. so, in this new year, (can i still call it that?) i am planning on slowing down. i am going to try to make sure that my kids FEEL the love that i have for them, and i want them to FEEL like they are number one. afterall, when they were infants in my arms, they were my world... now they are actual members of society. i want to make sure that i am able to take time (from what? i don't know) and give it all to them. i wonder if there is someone (maybe yourself), or something, that needs a little more of you. i encourage you to find the time, it may only take a moment, to reconnect with the lost people of your world. who knows, you may be on someone else's "lost person" list, and you may find yourself invested in!!! what a joy!

p.s. mike, where is the cable for the camera? i NEED to post more pics! (yes, this is how mike and i find our time to communicate!!! a little scary huh?!)

Dumpster Ghetto!

Yes, I am a t.v. junkie... i do miss a good show now and then... and tonight i watched a good show... these wackos made an entire, functional (minus true electrical and plumbing) recycled house... in San Francisco, up to building codes... completely out of junk, free junk... the only thing money was spent on was nails and screws... THIS should be the American dream people... forget the picket white fence... how about a fence made out of fire hose, or maybe dented street signs... come on people... In America we build NEW homes each year, and tear down old ones... and there is perfectly good resources out there to not buy new!!! i love this, and i am looking forward to figuring out a way to build a tree house for the kids out of FREE recycled items... jump on board... let's see what we can do this summer... (don't have kids, come help us out!!!) (or find a neighborhood kid to help out!!!) this would be such a cool, and powerful movement!!! recycled structures!!! (from the dump!!!) way to go!

this, mike, is dumpster-ghetto!!!! oh yeah!

spring cleaning!!!

so i have caught the bug.... the cleaning bug... James is away for the weekend, and i am taking every second i can, to clean out his toys, and clothes, and other miscellaneous childhood items. i am feeling overwhelmed, but refreshed. i am enjoying the freeing feeling of knowing that we don't NEED these items to be happy, or to even enjoy ourselves, and i am convinced that my kids are not even going to miss these items... this is a time of year i always look forward to. we live such cluttered lives, and it is wonderful to be able to release some of that stress back to the chaos gods... (i believe that i personally have about 25 chaos gods... living and breathing, and most likely breeding all around me)! today i am holding those chaos gods at bay... i am freecycling an entire garbage bag full of "useful in someone else's home" items!!! so be encouraged, you too can have the power to slay a few useless chaos warriors!!! be at peace friend, and no, you don't actually need to keep that ugly sweater that your aunt Jo sent you... she'll forget it, and you can too!!!

another day of a million priorities!!!

So i woke up this morning over an hour late... i haven't had to use an alarm clock in months... so after a fast shower, and a bunch of hugs and kisses i ran out the door on my way to my

out-of-the-house job... once at work, i found myself amidst a huge amount of "projects" that i was expected to have done by the time our regional manager came for a "visit" (not that she was actually invited!). Well, i juggled a bunch of things around, and got everything done. i rushed home to wake up the little ones, and to rush them around getting ready for a mall play date, and a dinner date, with two different people!!! i was trying to plan a play date (for a different date) for james (and myself!) when i realized that i am a very busy person... we chose to not use a daycare for the kids, but we are not financially stable enough to only live on one income... alas, enter crazy busy lifestyle... i hope that this is something that we can overcome with the garden job. Mike will hopefully be home more, or at least, he will be home in the evenings. i guess that i am going to need some encouragement on the use of the word, "no." there are things that i want to be part of, but there are so many other things going on... is there rest for the restless?

So, on the happier side of the dirt, i have completed my first cable knitted washcloth... i love to cable!! it actually came out well, there are no mistakes!!! as soon as i locate the batteries for my camera, i will take a picture... (this is another problem... clutter and chaos...)

On this note, i am really enjoying blogging, and i hope to be able to connect with many fantastic people. For those of you in Maine, enjoy the warm day tomorrow!!! (my plans include, laundry, and finding the living room floor!!!)

In the Begining... there was dirt, and dirt was good.

Everything has a beginning... some are good, some are not... this is what you get to decide. I am going to attempt to blog the happenings in our life, in hopes to keep people connected, and to possibly give encouragement to those who can relate to our life!!(do those people actually exist?)

Our beginning happened almost nine years ago... Met, and married, my best friend. We now have three kids, whom we homeschool... (or at least that is what we try to do!!)

Our family goal is to live in a manner that is not harmful to our environment. We are trying to teach our children, through basic trial and error, the joys of the land. This is not always easy, but generally quite messy!

We are farmers, and we love to be dirty. (dirty hippies dare I say!?) I hope you enjoy visiting my blog, and I also hope to learn from you, and your learn from me. Enjoy!