Jumping for Joy

Yippee!! We're going to Disneyland tomorrow!!!

While I was out...

My husband took great delight in taking pictures of the extremely rickety scaffolding structure he built for finishing the eave boards.




I am glad I wasn't home for this.

Strawberries

While at the local home improvement center a few mornings ago I happened upon a rack of discount plants. I picked up 6 bundles of strawberries for $1 each. WOW!

I was planning on ordering some strawberries from the seed catalog anyway, so this was my kind of deal. I realize I am planting them a little late, but who can resist discounted strawberry plants? Even if they are a little leggy and wilted.

I built three 4x4 frames from scrap 2x8 lumber and placed them in the one and only spot that my husband didn't object to. Or I should say the spot about which he objected the least.



Then my husband took the tractor with the bucket on the front and filled my boxes with dirt. The first 2 boxes have just regular field dirt with compost dirt on the top, and the 3rd (a hydraulic hose broke and we had to finish later) has dirt from the pig pen. You know, pig "dirt". Heh.

I planted the pathetic little strawberry plants and said a quick blessing over them.



Then I had to go to a soccer game. I left, knowing that the chickens had been eyeing my dirt boxes, so I was a little worried.

I didn't see anything amiss right away when I got back, but then I saw the hole in the middle of the box.



So we constructed some covers for the beds. Makes it a little harder to water, but that is part of having some of the chickens run free, I guess.



Those pesky chickens aren't going to get away with this.

Tuesday Ten

Ten things various people said to me this week

1. "Is it my birthday today?" Said by my 3 year old daughter. My response: No.

2. "Is it my birthday today?"Said by my 3 year old daughter. My response: No.

3. "Is it my birthday today?" Said by my 4 year old daughter. My response: Yes.

4. "But why can't I be three anymore?" Again, said by my 4 year old daughter. In her whiniest voice. I. Cannot. Win. She can always find a way to be contrary.

5. "Ma'am" Said by a waiter at a restaurant. The absolute and utter nerve of that boy. Young man. Whatever. In any case, I am not old enough to be a "Ma'am."

6. "J. threw up in his bed." Said by my 10 year old son about his little brother. Ugh.

7. "But I was just..." Said by almost all of my children at one time or another. ...sitting here ...trying to help ...putting this in here ...being the most annoying person on the face of the earth. The last one is what I wish they would say because at least they would be being honest.

8. "So what have you been up to?" Said by a person I went to high school with and hadn't seen for a long time. My response? "Not much, just life." ??? I can't come up with ONE thing I have been doing in the last 20 years? Not one? I am such a dork.

9. Mom. Said by all my kids. A billion times. Mom, mommy, ma-ma, MO-OM! I don't mind, I am used to it. Don't tell anyone, but I kind of like it.

10. "I need some shampoo." Said by my 11 year old daughter. Did I ask why? Noooo. It seemed innocent enough. Turns out she was getting it for her dad who was washing the dog. With my shampoo. All of it.

The Big Day-A Story in Pictures

Planning

I plan everything. No, really, EVERYTHING. I make lists, and more lists. I also write everything down. On a list.

The garden:




My poultry business:



Isn't that lovely? Now you know how I set the prices for my chickens and turkeys.

And our California trip:


There are some things you just can't plan for though. For instance, the fact that Legoland is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday in the off season. Okay, bad example since I should have checked before planning to visit there on a Wednesday and Thursday and making hotel plans to accomodate the fact that it is an hour drive from Disneyland. Oh well, we are going to adjust our days and do a little extra driving.

But what about this? My daughter's last gymnastics meet of the season was supposed to be on April 28. This is the biggest meet of the Spring season--Sectionals. All the gyms in the southern section of Oregon come together for a competition. So I planned that we would leave the day after the meet. Sunday. Meet on Saturday, leave on Sunday. Then we find out that the level 6 gymnasts are competing on Sunday. Sigh. Oh well, guess she misses her last meet.

Then my husband got a jury duty notice in the mail. He was to report to jury duty on May 4. We will be in California on May 4. Thankfully he got a deferral until June.

Bring. It. On.

Last night my 6 year old threw up. (Why do they always choose night time to puke?) In my family this usually means that almost every other child will do the exact same thing over the course of the next few weeks. WE DON'T HAVE A FEW WEEKS. We are leaving in ONE week.

I have a lot to do.

Chickens

My chickens are penned up. This is necessary because if they aren't penned up they go into the barns and roost, leaving piles of chicken doo in inconvenient places. They go scratch in my garden spot (which won't be a problem until I actually plant something there) and they scratch through the compost pile, spreading it all over the place and making a terrible mess. They lay their eggs in, around, and under inaccessible objects. I would like to build a fence across the pasture and set them free in the green grass, really I would.

The chickens would like this too. I know this because they frequently escape from their pen. I have to tempt them with food and chase them around until they go back into the chicken coop. At least I did. Now I have someone to do it for me.






My husband took these pictures, by the way. That is not MY hairy leg in that picture.



We love our chickens around here.

Tuesday Ten: Oh, I'll do it later...

I don't usually put off doing my Tuesday Ten, but often when I am doing it I am putting off doing something else. Oh well.

Ten Things I Keep Putting Off

1. Cleaning the refrigerator. I wipe it down and take out the stuff that has been in there for a while, but I need to give it a good washing. Maybe after we get back from vacation.

2. Mending. Anything that needs mending goes in the mending pile. And disappears for months. Any kid things in the mending pile are usually grown out of before I get them fixed. So I don't like pulling my sewing machine out for just one or two things. Want to make something of it?

3. Calling the hotel to let them know we will be arriving late. We are driving 14 hours to California in one day. I need to call the hotel and let them know we will be getting there late in the evening or else we will lose our reservation. I have another week or two, I'll do it later.

4. Any other phone calls. I don't like using the phone. I need to call the dentist and set up some appointments. I need to call my son's school and tell them he will be gone for a week. I need to call Megan and tell her to come visit us before she leaves for Canada. It is getting late today, I will do it tomorrow. Actually, Megan, if you read this, why don't you come over and visit before you leave. Thanks.

5. History. It isn't that I don't like history, I just am busy and it takes a while. We are supposed to do history 3 times a week. It usually gets done once. Oh well, maybe next year I'll do better.

6. Baking bread. If I don't start the bread in the morning when I get up then forget it. It throws off my whole schedule and I have to wait until tomorrow. Really, I do.

7. Working on my cross stitch project. I worked on it a little, I really did. But then I put it away again. Stitching in the car is awkward. The word awkward is awkward. Awkward. Isn't it funny how some words just fit? Awkward looks awkward, it is awkward to type, and it is spelled awkwardly. Hmm, oh look, I have run out of time to work on my cross stitch again. I'll do it later.

8. Garage sale/free cycle/Goodwill. I don't care which one anymore. I just want to get rid of some stuff. Tomorrow, when I have more time. Heh.

9. What to make for dinner. Of course I have to mention dinner. I will take every opportunity to complain about it. I usually put off thinking about dinner until at least 3pm. If I could get away with it I would wait until later than 3, but with gymnastics and soccer and picking up my oldest son I have to start dinner early or NOT AT ALL. That would be my choice. Kids don't need to eat do they? At least not every night. Maybe things would go better if we only had dinner every other night. I thought ahead today and put a pork roast in the crock pot. Yay me!

10. Looking for lost stuff. I don't look for it, I just say I can't find it. Where are my keys? I don't know, I can't find them. (Now if I was one of my kids the next question would be Did you look for it?, but I'm not, so I can get away with not looking.) The problem is that once I start looking for something I CAN'T STOP. I get obsessed with finding it. I will look in places that it couldn't possibly be, like in the plant on top of the tv cabinet. I will try to stop looking and then find myself looking again. So I just put it off. Several months ago 4 of our memory cards for the Playstation came up missing. Gone. I tore the house apart, looking in all the unlikely places. No memory cards. New memory cards for Christmas. Turns out I should have looked in my oldest daughter's riding boot(1), in the drawer under the stove(1), and under the mattress in the playpen(2). Maybe next time.

Eaves

Well, we are almost ready for our framing inspection. Too many months have gone by, but I am trying not to complain. The stairs are mostly finished, the eaves are done, and all that is left is part of the upstairs wall and the doorways.

I don't want to give the impression that nothing else has been done around here. Lots of mowing, barn cleaning, chicken fence fixing, and driveway maintenance has been done as well. And that is just the outside stuff.

The stairs were not an easy project and we had to call in reinforcements. My husband's grandpa is 94 years old and has built many houses. His eyesight is a little bad and he can't hear very well, but he is great at figuring out stair treads.



So we finally got the stairs all the way up.




Please note that I am using the term "we" loosely. My husband does most of the work. I find something else to do and go help when he needs it. He would rather I stay and watch him and gaze adoringly at his rippling muscles but that gets boring after a while. He gets a little crabby when I try to chat with him because then he forgets his measurements so it is best for both of us if I go and weed the flowerbeds or something.

Anyway, after the stairs were finished we moved on to the eaves. This got a little tricky because of the height of the roof. My husband moved one of his big trucks over in front of the garage to take care of the highest part. It also helps that we have a forklift. And a 16 year old son.








Can you read his mind? I can. "Put down the danged camera and hand me the nail gun!" I know my husband pretty well, I think.

Tuesday Ten: Ten things I never thought I'd...

...say.

Not only things I thought I wouldn't say, but also things that after I said them I went "Huh?" Or "I can't believe I said that!"

Ten Things I Never Thought I Would Say

1. "That looks like a footprint up there on the wall." Kids old enough to leave home alone do funny things sometimes. I prefer to remain blind to some of it. So long as they remain somewhat decorous, and don't destroy things or hurt people then I don't mind. Or rather, I like the alternative even less, which is staying at home all the time.

2. "Please don't use the egg washing sponge to wash the dishes." Yeah. Moving on.

3. " How old are you? How old is he/she?" So help me God, I vowed that I would never say this as long as I had a breath left in my body. Somehow I became possessed by my mother briefly and it slipped out. Never again.

4. "I have blood all over my glasses." Chickens flap around quit a bit after I, well, you know. I got pretty good at getting out of the way after a while.

5. "Heeeey-ay! Not 'posed to shirt peo-PUL!" OK, this wasn't me, but my now 8 year old used to say this in many variations when he was much littler and someone was bothering him. (In this case someone was hitting him with a shirt) We say it all the time now just to tease him. Feel sorry for him, would you? Because we don't.

6. I had to tell my mom when my grandma (her mom) passed away. My mom was visiting us from Minnesota but out with some friends when my aunt called with the very unexpected news. When my mom got back, I had to tell her. That was hard.

7. "Sure, go ahead and leave for 2 1/2 weeks. No problem." He took the oldest 2 kids with him for part of that time. We survived; that's about all I can say about that.

8. "No more babies!" I really, really never thought I would say this. Why say no to babies? What did they ever do to me? I'll take as many as I can! Fast forward 7 or 8 years...I'm TIRED. No more. If I turn up pregnant, trust me it wasn't planned.

Note: Unfortunately, I never had anyone ask me if any of my pregnancies was an accident. I have always wanted to say "YES! I was just laying there on the bed and my husband came in from the shower and he just tripped and fell on me! I hate it when that happens!"

9. "Your sandwich is not a weapon." I have 5 boys. Everything can be turned into some kind of weapon.

10. "Please stop sleeping with your socks." My youngest daughter keeps taking all of her socks out of the drawer and sleeping with them. And stuffing them in her hats and purses and putting them in the toy box. Stop! She has toys but she wants to play with her socks. Stop it, I say!

To me, this sums up my weekend. Relaxing, decadent, wonderful.

Bad weather couldn't even spoil it.

Thanks Mom.

Dandelions

Normally I don't like Dandelions. Especially the ones that are getting ready to blow their seeds all over my yard. But then the sun is going down and they are all puffy and pretty and I like them for a little while. Just long enough to take a few pictures of their pretty puffiness.

Horse Show, Part 2

Anyone who knows my little 3 (almost 4!) year old daughter knows that she has a mind of her own. She gets an idea and won't let go. She has plans and she is going to carry them out, no matter what.

Well, take her...last weekend at the horse show...and multiply times two.



My daughter now has another friend. Carrie's four year old daughter. After some initial shyness, the girls hit it off and got along famously. These two little girls are so much alike it is scary. In fact, after hearing so much about the antics of Carrie's little daughter, I wasn't so sure I wanted them to meet. One is hard enough, but two? Yikes.

Now, last time I talked about the horse show, I mentioned that there are over 120 different classes that a person can enter. One of those classes is a leadline class. Basically, a child gets led around the ring on a horse.

My youngest daughter's second fondest wish (the first one being a pink bear from B-A-B, you know) came true last Sunday and she got to participate in the horse show. Not only that, but her new friend got to ride too.


The horse she was to ride was late so we had to just toss her up on his back right before going into the ring.



Big sister led the horse while Daddy walked along side. This was completely unnecessary, but we did it just for this first time. Isn't that the cutest saddle ever?




She talked to the judge. She told her the horse's name and she told her how old she is.



Of course, all the little ones got a blue ribbon.





There is nothing like building a little confidence on a Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday Ten

This week: obsessions.

I was having a little trouble coming up with one last item on my Tuesday Ten list (actually I had thought of ten but forgot them all so I was writing them down this time) so I asked my husband, "What do I obsess about?"

Him (looking at me like I have lost my marbles): You are kidding, right?

Me: No, what things do I obsess over?

Him: Cleaning.

Me: No, I got that one.

Him: Well, there are so many. You are a pretty obsessive person so whatever your little mind gets a hold of you obsess about.

He really said that. So many. My little mind. Anything. Obsess. I can't stop thinking about it. What could it mean? Do other people notice? Is it bad to obsess over things? I mean, it isn't like I am showering 50 times a day or going back in the house 10 times to make sure I turned the iron off. I am going to try not to be offended about his comment. Really.

So, even though there is apparently an endless list of things I obsess over, here is what I came up with.

Ten Things I Can't Seem To Get Off My Mind

1. My weight. Do I look fat? Do I look as fat or thin as that person? Are these pants too tight? Is my butt getting bigger? I know the scale says 112, but I don't feel 112. I feel 150. I try to believe my husband when he says I look perfect, but I can't help wondering if he would say that if I weighed more than I do. I look at pictures and wonder if I really look like that or is it the camera adds ten pounds factor. Unfortunately all this wondering takes up a lot of my thinking time.

2. Food. This goes along with number 1. What can I eat? When can I eat? If I eat this now, that means I can't have anything later. No eating in the evening unless I skip lunch. I have breakfast in the morning (cereal with milk), and lunch in the afternoon after the kids have eaten lunch and little ones are down for their nap. Then I have my bagel and whatever else. I am very careful with how much I eat so I won't gain any weight, but I am not careful about what I eat. So I don't eat very healthy most of the time. I love to eat, but if I eat too much I will get fat. This also consumes a lot of thinking time.

Note: I am starting to wonder if this was a good idea to pick this for a TT. Are the people I know that read this going to be shocked? Look at me funny the next time I see them? Even worse, not be surprised at all about what a basket case I am? I am trying not to worry about it. Love me.

3. Cooking dinner. Or rather, I obsess over how much I HATE cooking dinner. And how much I hate THINKING about what to cook for dinner. It doesn't help that I have to cook for a small army and if I cook anything that doesn't involve noodles or pizza they threaten to stage a mutiny. Fine by me, I say. YOU cook dinner. They don't. They used to not be picky. I have NO IDEA what happened. Actually, they still aren't picky, they are just opinionated. And they aren't shy about it either.

4. Housekeeping. I know, but I have a really good reason for obsessing over my housekeeping. Specifically, what my house looks like when guests come to visit. Without going into minute details, about 9 years ago someone told some really bad lies about my dirty, trashy house and my dirty, trashy children. Completely untrue. Insecure me flipped out and refused to let anyone come to my house unless it was spotless. I cried when I found out that my husband had let some scuzzy guy from work (who wouldn't know a clean house if it whacked him on the patootie) come in when I wasn't home, that's how bad it was. I'm better now, but I still hate clutter and make my kids clean up their toys about 5 times a day. I still rant around the house picking up the little tiny things they leave behind. But I don't mind visitors. Most of the time. If my house is messy, don't tell me. Thanks.

5. Crooked, wrinkly rugs. If someone messes up a rug in my house, I have to fix it. If I can't fix it I can't take my eyes off of it. Would it be rude to say "Excuse me, the rug is messy. Didn't you notice? Dumb ox." Would it? Let's all say a prayer of thanksgiving that I no longer have a house with wood floors and area rugs.

6. Reality TV. I admit it. I watch Survivor. And The Amazing Race. And The Apprentice. I watched Big Brother and Biggest Loser when they were on. Last night I watched Dancing With the Stars AND The Bachelor. The only ones I MUST watch are Survivor and Amazing Race. If I miss them, I call up my sister and beg her to tape them for me. I am so pathetic.

7. My camera. I like taking pictures, so sue me. So I researched and obsessed about it for weeks before and after I bought it. Big deal. By the way, my first photography class is next Wednesday. I can't wait.

8. Lists. I blame my mother for this one. It is totally and completely HER FAULT. Whenever I say "Darn it, I forgot my list." I want to rip my tongue out. IT IS HER FAULT. I make lists for everything. Grocery, chores, things I need to do, Tuesday Tens, the list (heh heh) goes on. Then I promptly loose them. One thing I will not do is make a list of chores and make my kids pick from the list. I hated that. Nothing like racing in the house after school to beat my sister to the job list.

9. Schedules. And being on time. Beware the wrath of Mom if anyone messes up my schedule or makes us late.

10. What other people think of me. I hate it, but I can't help it. I am shy and insecure and I worry about whether people like me. Not family members, by the way, you HAVE TO like me. It takes me forever to make blog entries because I worry about wording things properly and whether I sound smart. I am not good at writing so I go over it again and again and change things. I don't want people to think I am stupid. So why am I writing this? People will think I am stupid.

Bonus: Oh, goody. Look! I have another one!

11. Finishing the garage. My husband is not an obsessive person. Just the opposite. If he wasn't given a "gentle nudge" (by me) every so often (daily), he would do absolutely nothing. That's probably not quite true, but he certainly wouldn't do anything in the proper time frame. That is what it is all about. Proper timing. Or, get this, he would spend all of his free time doing inconsequential things. Anyhow, is it so bad that I want the 18 month old baby OUT OF MY ROOM? Is it so bad that I NEED a place for all these Legos? I don't think so.

Horse Show

Horse shows are so much more relaxed than gymnastics competitions. There are the fancy clothes and show hair to work up, but the atmosphere is completely different. Ages of the competitors range from 3 years to--well, I don't know how old. My oldest daughter got the chance to compete this weekend on a horse that her riding instructor brought to the show.

I am not very knowledgeable about the inner workings of horse shows (something I am rather happy about since that means that I have no idea whatsoever about the hows, whys, and wherefores of the judging and there is therefore NO reason to get nervous over whether my daughter is performing properly--I LIKE it that way) but throughout the weekend they will have over 120 classes in which to show the horses. Western, English, showmanship in both styles, mountain trail (they set up rocks, trees, water, etc), show trail, gaming, and the list goes on. If a person enters enough classes (and places), they are eligible for the "high point" award, which is the top award at a horse show. That is the extent of my horse show knowledge.

My daughter was in 4 classes altogether. Her first two classes were "Western Pleasure--walk, trot", one for ages 13 and under and the other an open class. The third class was a walk, trot, and canter class. The horse she was riding is a beautiful Arabian named Guardian. He is quite old but he loves, loves, loves to show.



I do know enough about showing to know that when trotting, one must not bounce.



And when cantering, one must make sure that the old horse picks up his feet and doesn't stumble (a problem with this horse, but he did fine this time).






In the first three classes, my daughter placed 2nd, 5th, 2nd. The 5th place was in an open class with 10 or 12 other people of all ages.

Her fourth class was a show trail class. This is quite different from the mountain trail class. First of all, the rider must steer the horse (love my horse terms) with only one hand.

She opens the gate, maneuvers through, and closes the gate.




Next she trots the horse in a figure 8 pattern over a triangle of logs.





Then she canters the horse to another set of logs and trots across. I believe she is supposed to canter across for full points, but she isn't ready for that since this is her first time ever doing this kind of class.



Now the tricky part. She has to position the horse so his front feet are on one side of a log and his back feet are on the other side. Then she has to side step him to the end, turn, and side step to the end. Then she has to back him down between the log and the bridge, around the corner to the end.






Then across the bridge to the finish. She did a wonderful job for her first time. Not only that but she got first place!!





This show lasted all day Saturday and part of Sunday, so we didn't get much done on the garage this weekend. I mowed the yard and hacked at the weeds in the someday flowerbed. I think I would prefer to go relax at the coast.