Driving

Cole has been doing more and more on the farm as he has gotten older.  He is wiser than his 10 years in all things farm and equipment.  He started small, driving the lawn mower, the Gator, and his four-wheeler.

He eventually progressed to small tractors, bigger tractors, and skid loaders.

Last week?  He started driving trucks.

I love seeing him evolve into one of the guys on the farm.  As they were doing wheat last week, he became a valuable member of the operation.  He was able to drive the trucks through the fields as the bales were loaded onto the wagons.  He was ecstatic and oh so very proud of himself. 

Seeing him sitting in the truck made me flash forward to six years...SIX SHORT years...when he'll be driving for real.  And that?  I'm not ready for. 

At all.

So for now, he'll stick to the fields where everyone, including my sanity, will be safer.

Summer Break, Week 2

This is our second week of summer break.  It's finally starting to feel like summer outside, and we can't wait to hit the pool later this week!

Claire had basketball camp all last week.  She loved every minute of it and even won a free throw shooting contest.  She walked away at the end of the week with two t-shirts, two jersey shirts, and one medal.  She misses it this week, so hopefully she'll want to continue with basketball in some way once the school year begins.

We also worked on Cole's room.  In a word, it was a disaster.  He had a cattle feeding trough as a toy bin.  It was a great idea on paper, but only resulted in hundreds of toys being buried and made it too easy to just pile more on top.  He had a toy car/track carpet that had seen better days.  We took EVERYTHING out of his room, including the carpet and started from scratch.  He surprisingly got rid of many old, broken toys.  (He can be a bit of a hoarder.)  We reorganized everything.  We bought 2 new rolling cabinets which he filled with Legos.  We transferred his clothes from a huge wardrobe to a dresser and then moved most of his toys to the wardrobe shelves.  We also bought a 9 cube storage shelf, which he put together on his own in 30 minutes!  I'd still be reading the directions!  We added new curtains and called it done.  It's so nice to be able to walk into his room knowing I won't be stepping on anything trying to make it through to his bed.

We also spent some quality time with my sister and nieces.  We spent some time at a local state park.  The kids played on the playground and had the opportunity to take pony rides.  Cole loved it and wants to go back to do a horse trail ride.  Claire was a little too apprehensive, but I'm sure she'll try it next time.

We've done some programs at the library, read several books, and today we are heading to the movie theater for free movie Wednesday.  We have nothing on the calendar for next week and that's an amazing feeling. 

Bringing an Old Cabinet Back to Life

I bought this dresser yesterday for $30.  It had certainly seen better days.  The paint was a dark cream  color, which just resulted in it looking dirty.  The drawer pulls were old and falling off.

I bought 2 bottles of white acrylic paint and a can of polyurethane and got to work.

Little Miss sanded the drawers, then wiped them down with a wet cloth.

I used two coats of paint, followed by two coats of polyurethane.

We then found new drawer pulls and decided to put artificial flower petals behind the pulls, as inspired by Pinterest.

The end result?  Super cuteness.

This is now storing arts and crafts in Claire's room.  It's totally adorable and only took a day to complete!

If I were to do it again, I think I'd spray the flowers with starch to give them a little more sturdiness.  But until the floppiness bothers her, I'm not taking them off.  That was the most tedious part of the redo.

One last look at the before and after! 

Have you recently re-purposed or salvaged an old piece of furniture?  Leave the link to your post in the comments! 

The Goings On

10 months ago, I said I planned to blog again on a weekly basis.  Heh.  Then last night my sister told me some of her friends, who read my blog, asked about me.  Then I felt guilty for not writing.  I'm Catholic, so that guilt comes pretty easily.  So here I am. Writing for them.  And you.  Are you still out there?

We are beginning week 2 of our 2 week fall break.  It is the absolute best time of year.   I can't tell you we've been too busy because we haven't.  But that's why it's so awesome....time to just stop and breathe.

I'm teaching 6th grade.  Those cute little farm kids I've been writing about for years are now 8 and almost 10.  What?  When?  How?  Little Miss just started guitar lessons.  How cute is she?!



I just dyed my hair dark brown.  Dare I say almost black?  It's definitely not like me to make drastic changes-change is bad, scary, and uncomfortable.  But I needed a change-I was in a rut of sorts.  And I love it.



I'm watching The Amazing Race and loving it.  My favorite team is the football playing duo.  I also love the ER doctors and the shaggy, homeless looking men.  I'm also watching the Colts and Broncos defeat their opponents week after week.  We went to our first Colts game in ages last week.  I would LOVE to be in Indy next week when Peyton comes home.  I fully expect a standing ovation and a stadium full of tears when he returns to Lucas Oil.  Sigh.


I've been reading some great books.  The Homecoming of Samuel Lake was good...and terrible...and so difficult to read.  But it was great.  Me Before You was amazing and ripped my heart out.  I do love a good cry at the end of a book and this one certainly delivered.  I just started We Need to Talk
About Kevin.    Phew.  This is going to be like The Lovely Bones, in which it gets in your head and sits and stews for weeks.  I'm anxious to be finished with it and don't want it to end at the same time.

 

I just made this chili for dinner tonight.  It truly is the best chili recipe ever and even though it's been unseasonably warm...I was craving a big bowl of chili.  That's what October is all about, right?

 

Things are all kinds of busy on the farm.  Busy like, "Hi honey.  Bye honey."  I haven't seen the two boys in my life for much more than an hour total over the past week.  But they are loving life and super happy to be back in the combine, harvesting the beans and corn.  The little miss and I are enjoying having control of the remote (Hello, Say Yes to the Dress) and plenty of time to shop.

I walked in my first 5K a couple weeks ago.  My very pregnant sister and I did it together.  It was fun and exciting and I hope to do more...maybe even a mini marathon at some point in the future.

The Little Miss and I made gak when we were babysitting my nieces last night.  Glue, water and borax turned into a whole lot of fun.  If you haven't tried it, here's the recipe we used.

 

How's that for a blog post?  Good, no?  Maybe you won't have to wait so long for the next one.  I've missed this. 

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Five Years

I started this blog exactly five years ago, on January 1, 2008.  My kids were 4 and 2.  WAHHH!  Babies!  They were just babies! 

In the last five years, I've posted 575 times.  I've made new friends and followers.  I've hosted blog giveaways and done book reviews.  I've posted countless pictures of my kids and of life on the farm.  My kids are now 9 and 7 and have gone from these very first pictures I ever posted

to this.

Le sigh.

Time?  It doesn't stand still.  It marches on, faster and faster with each passing year.  The days may drag on forever...but the years?  They fly by. 

I haven't been posting very regularly lately.  And the time I spend visiting my favorite blogs?  Nonexistent. 

But I want that to change.  I never make New Year's Resolutions.  Well, except this one that I do every year.

But this year, I'm getting back to this blog.  I want to post at least once a week.  And I want to get out there and visit you, my fellow blogger friends.  I've neglected you for too long.

And that changes right now.  Happy New Year!

Two Weeks

For as long as I've been teaching, we've had a two day fall break in mid-October.  This year, we've done things a bit differently.  We started school earlier in the summer which was...difficult.  But today I feel completely fine with that decision as we have just started our first day of a two week fall break!  Two weeks off smack dab in the middle of my favorite time of year. 

It's so nice having time off when it's beautiful outside...when it's cool enough to enjoy it.  When it's so beautiful that just being outside and enjoying all the colors of fall is activity enough. 

Today we're going to get pumpkins and gourds.  I hope to try my hand at a little Pinterest-pumpkin decorating with glitter and spray paint.  Tomorrow will be a day spent with my sister and her babies.  Wednesday is a kid-free day with a hair appointment, Ikea, Jungle Jim's and Charming Charlie's.  Thursday will bring us to an indoor water park.  Friday will be a day to rest and stay in jammies.  Ahhh.

And the fact that after all that we still have another whole week off?  Amazing.

Back at It

Let's count how many blog posts I wrote over summer break, shall we?

That's right.  Zero.

And guess what?  I go back to school tomorrow.

Le sigh.

We had a fantastic, albeit, short summer. 

We went to Chicago,

had lots of play dates with my sister and her two babes,

went to Holiday World,

visited the Indianapolis Zoo,

went to our first baseball game,

 and spent lots of time in the pool trying to beat the heat!

And while I am not looking forward to getting up at 5 AM, grading papers, packing lunches, managing evening homework, or wearing a bra every day....I am kinda-sorta looking forward to going back. 

I am looking forward to getting back into a routine with a schedule.  I am excited about a quiet drive by myself to and from school.  And...well, that's all I can think of right now.  Heh.

The kids started school last week.  Here are the 3rd and 1st graders, respectively.  I know she's taller than him.  He knows it too.  But we don't talk about it. ;)

That's what's going on around here.  Are your kids back to school yet?  Do you wish they were?  Do you want to go back to school for me?  Please?

Spring Break, Days 3 &4

Day 3 of Spring Break was another beautiful 85 degrees and sunny! Cole had spent the night with grandma and grandpa so it was just the Little Miss and I for the morning. We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel (apple cider-YUM!) We also went to Target and Starbucks.


Then we went to grandma and grandpa's house to watch Cole do a little fishing.


The Little Miss even caught a fish (with a lot of help!)


Day 4 of Spring Break...you got it! 83 degrees and sunny! A girl could definitely get used to this beautiful weather.


We spent the day with my sister and her babes at a children's science museum. The kids had a blast playing together.



On the way home, we stopped and played on the playground at my school for awhile.


Cole got to spend the evening chisel plowing late into the night. His favorite thing to do!


I can't believe Spring Break is almost over! It's definitely been an awesome week off! Let the countdown to summer begin!

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Spring Break, Days 1 & 2

I'm on Spring Break,baby! Those are quite possibly 2 of the most wonderful words a teacher can hear. You think your kids are happy to be out of school for a week? I guarantee your teacher is 10X that excited. Or maybe it's just me. Heh.


We are breaking all kinds of records with the heat this week and it has been downright a.m.a.z.i.n.g. I just looked through my Spring Break posts from the past 2 years. Last year's first day of break was 33 degrees. 2 years ago, the average temperature was 55 degrees. This year? 80s!! Unheard of! All those midwestern folks who went to Florida don't know what they're missing up here. It was warmer here than in Orlando on Monday! HA!


On Monday, the kids and I drove to the Children's Museum with my mom, where we met my sister and her 2 babes. We spent the day there watching the kids have a wonderful time. Cole loved the new Lego exhibit and the Little Miss was super excited to see the Barbie exhibit was still there. And apparently the beautiful weather kept everyone outside because we practically had the place to ourselves! It was awesome!


Yesterday, the kids and I drove with my mom to a local state park, where we met my sister and the babes again! We had lunch at the lodge and then spent the afternoon in the indoor water park. The kids loved it! They had a huge twisty water slide, a large pool area, and a lazy river. They also had a shallow play area for the little kids. So fun. We were exhausted when we got home. We will definitely be going back!


Cole spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's last night for the first time! The Little Miss thought she was going to stay. We packed for her to stay. But when she was in the guest bed, trying it out, and I went to the bathroom, she lost her mind thinking I had left. She was already crying, calling for me, and wishing she had gotten a hug before I left. Um, I was in the bathroom!!! Jeesh. Needless to say, she did not stay. Heh. Maybe this summer.


On today's agenda? Enjoying a quiet breakfast with just me and the Little Miss. Soaking up more of this beautiful 84 degree sunshine. Watching other people fish while I sit on a lawn chair sipping on a cold beverage.


Ahhh. Spring Break. This is the life.