I used to be a farmer

** I wrote most of this post in the early summer- sorry for the delay.  More recent updates are coming soon- promise!**

Through my adult life I have worn many different hats.  My first real job and career was as a farmer.  At 18 I started working for an organic vegetable farm in Massachusetts and fell in love- mostly I loved the feeling of being so connected to my survival.  It was a crucial point in my development for sure and it left a lasting impression in addition to introducing me to some amazing people.  Eventually I worked at a farm that also had animals and learned the basics of husbandry.  This left an impression as well.

Yup, that's me on the tractor

I went to college and eventually decided to attain my degree in Family & Consumer Science  with a focus on secondary education.  I taught high school for 3 years and LOVED it.  When we moved to MN and I left my job behind I wasn't prepared for how much I would miss it.  For months after we moved and people would ask me what I did I would say, "I used to teach."  I couldn't think of myself as a stay at home mom.  I still identified as a working mother and it took months to make the switch internally.  I underestimated how difficult it would be not to be earning a paycheck (the first real time since I was a teenager), and honestly it's difficult not to get any accolades for your hard work.  No one cares if you took initiative to unload the dishes for the 4th time in a day, or sweep, or keep the kids happy all day with no yelling.  I know how taxing all of these seemingly simple tasks are. But alas if you work hard there is no short term payoff, no promotion, no raise, no public recognition.  Of course the long term payoff is what we're all in it for... time will tell.  All the same, I do miss my job teaching high school.

This spring Ada and I went and picked up some pullets: one barred rock, one Rhode Island red, and one gold star.  They started off living in the garage as it's very well protected from the elements and predators.  This is a little act of me regaining a sense of identity that feels like me.  As I have mentioned before, the move to MN has been tough on me and after clawing through the first year I feel happier here than I thought I would.  I feel hopeful and look at this new place as an adventure rather than something to tolerate for the next several years.  I see the benefits of being at home with the kids, and I see value in what I do.  The chicks represent my feeling of a fresh start in this place.  That there is vibrancy and opportunity for things that would have been difficult if not impossible in our former life situation.  This has been a crucial transformation of thought.  And the rest of the family is a fan of these little ladies too.

Now I didn't specifically write anything about Father's day on here but in case you didn't know, I am married to the best dad around.  He is adored by the girls and makes an effort to be present when he's home even though he works long hours.  Perhaps the best thing though is that he sets a good example for the girls on being a good husband.  I am so lucky to have him on my team and love that he gets me and loves me all the same.  AND... he does amazing things for me like when we were away in New England he built me a chicken coop!  He even used the scraps in the garage so it didn't cost much- LOVE IT!  I know I may not be a typical woman but this was a tremendously romantic gesture and I simply love it.  To me, it shows that Tony is making an effort to fulfill a little dream/goal I have had and embrace all of my crazy.  I would be lying if I said the idea of being responsible for three little chicks in our relatively small yard with predators around, and winters in our future didn't scare me a little.  But he believes in me/us and that kind of support has been a huge reason why this transition year has landed me in a positive head space.

Just love this man.

My reality is certainly different than I would have imagined it when I was 20 and driving around a field on a tractor or hoeing some lettuce but now that I'm where I am I feel so lucky that life has brought me here.

Ada is awesome

There are a gazillion reasons why that is true.  The girl rocks.  I am reminded of this fact on a regular basis and this morning it came in the form of laundry.  I was doing chores and the girls were playing in the yard.  She asked if she could have a long piece of rope.  I clarified what she meant by "long" and we decided that rope could not be used on people then I gave her a piece from our camping supplies (which are still living on our porch btw).  She agreed and went off with her rope.  I saw her working hard trying to put the rope all over the climber but just let her go.  After a while she asked for help.  She told me she was trying to put up a clothes line.  I showed her how to tie a not and she did with a little help.  Next she wanted to hang up some clothes.  She went inside and got the clothes for her babies and began hanging them up.  I asked if she wanted to wash them first.  "Ooooh, yes mama."

Enter the land of awesomeness.  I had seen a post on Chasing Cheerios a while back and have been wanting to put together a clothes washing station for the girls but as usual just haven't gotten to it.  Ada beat me to it.  Again it wasn't what was in my mind's eye or nearly as beautiful as the party set up in the Chasing Cheerios post, but she (and Emma) enjoyed it.

I think this is the sort of "proof" that Montessori style education has legs.  I'm not going to say I think it's the be all end all, but kids really do like to have purpose.  I see it every day.  Especially Ada wants to do things that have greater purpose- even though she might call it "play" she is most engaged and happy when she knows she is contributing or when she is learning a skill that is applicable to her becoming more independent.  The other morning she asked if she could wash the floor in her room all by herself.  I'm not going to discourage that type of desire however messy it might be so I gave her a tupperware full of water and soap and a little sponge.  Emma was interested in doing what big sister was doing so I let her wash the floor in the kitchen with me.  

These shots were taken after a while of playing (about 30 min.) so she added in the car- not exactly sure why.  I love love love that she initiated this activity and while the photo shoot might have looked nicer if I had set it up, this is way better.  I got some real laundry soap so she felt quite important.

Emma did help hang a few things and I was impressed that Ada let her work with her and not just yell and tell her it was her work and she wanted to do it all by herself.  I wonder if me taking more of a backseat let her be more the teacher and she was trying to show Em how to do it.  Pretty cute.

Emma taking in her challenge.

Success.

We went out and came back around lunch time.  Ada asked if she could go to take in her laundry while I made lunch and I agreed of course.  She carefully took off each clothespin and put all the clothes in a basket and brought them in.  She told me it was going to rain and she needed to bring them in.  I got her some kid hangers and she folded some and hung some up.  Again, love it!

I love you Miss Ada boo!

A little hike with the girls

We went for a little hike near our house.  I told Ada that I had the camera with me and if there was anything she wanted to take a photo of she could use it and take one.  The inspiration for this was a post I read on Tea For Monkeys.  I think I happened on it through Pinterest, but it wasn't something I pinned, just soaked into my brain..

We had an awesome time and Ada was keen to take some photos.  She took her responsibility of handling the camera very seriously- classic Ada.

The following photos are all taken by Ada.

Painted turtles basking.

Emma snuck her hand in on this shot of some beetles chomping a leaf.  

At some point we found a great little insect- I think it was a beetle of some sort- on the trail on it's back flailing around.  Ada of course picked it up and was trying to check it out.  Emma wanted a turn holding it and I happened to get this little nugget on film.  Enjoy.

Magical Fairies

Ada has been talking about fairies lately.  Not sure what sparked the interest, but I think it's awesome.  Since we don't have Waldorf school here the girls don't go to one (although I think they would love it, as would I) so they don't get the exposure to the magical world that is so beautifully fostered in the Waldorf world.

One night I was putting Emma to sleep and asked Ada to do some quiet work drawing or doing artwork while I read to Em.  She agreed and for about 20 minutes was diligently working.  I came out to find her having taken some lined paper, carefully colored each line a different color, cut each line out then clipped each strip into a bunch of pieces.  She added some glitter glue and stirred it up in a small cup.  I asked her to tell me about what she had made (of course!).  She told me it was"magical".  That "it will grow into a fairy in 5 days!"  I was excited with her and suggested we transfer it into an egg cup and put it on the table to dry.  She agreed.

Next night she made another.  We left them on the kitchen table and occasionally I would see her adding a little water.  She told me they needed the water to grow, "just like plants".  I nodded and suggested we put a towel under them.  At some point in all this I remembered those little Safari tubes and I knew I had seen a fairy edition.  When I had a minute without the girls I went to a local toy shop and picked them up.

After Ada had tended to her magical pods for a few days I put one fairy in each pod and put another egg cup on top so it looked like a closed egg.  I just left them on the table for her to find in the morning.  It didn't take long for her to notice them and she yelled out to me with excitement.  "Mama the fairies came!!!"  "It was magical!"

She's been playing with them a bunch.  Emma has had a few moments with them and mostly will just do her scrunched up "look at how cute" face then make them kiss accompanied by the adorable kiss sound she makes.  Then puts them down.  At some point Ada decided they needed a bed and we made one with a box from the recycling.  She did the decorations.  I suggested she make it more cozy and asked if she wanted to make a quilt for them.  Yes, yes she did.

After nailing down all the materials we stole a moment when Emma was still napping and she made this little gem.

Deliberating placement in the bed...

Tucking them in...

So proud...

All tucked in for a nap...

I plan to make a little outdoor fairy world for them to find some day.  I still have a bunch of fairies from the tube to use for that- super excited to make it now,  just need to find a time to put it together.

Camping

Since we have limited options on when we can do things like this we just went the day we could.  It rained in the morning and we went into it knowing we had a 50% chance of it raining again.  After naps we got in the car and went to a lovely little campground (20 min. from home).  We set up tents and started to cook just as the rain started.  The kids were unfazed by the rain and having a blast.  Tony and I had fun too until we really looked ahead to what our night would look like given some water was already sneaking in to the tent.  We decided to pack it up and go home.  We stayed 4 hours.  It was basically a glorified picnic.  It was awesome.

Overview of the campsite.  This is all I have for pictures of our adventure, but I'm so glad to have documented that we got this far.

Ada is feeling the warm fire as Tony cooks some yummy steaks on the campfire.

Our little kitchen area as we're getting ready to eat.

And then were the days of drying...

I deem it a success because we all still have a positive outlook on camping as a family and I think we'll try next week on Tony's day off.  And frankly, there are no three people on Earth I would rather "camp" for 4 hours in the rain with.

"Our" Hawks

For about a week the whole family were buzzing around the neighborhood squawking and hunting and eating and just being wicked cool.  I was amazed and impressed every time I saw them.  The girls grew a little tired of me making them look at the hawk every 5 minutes;)

They were loving the telephone wire above our play yard and here are the 2 babies.  I don't know how to properly focus my camera when I zoom.  Sorry for the fuzz.

In the past few days I've hardly seen or heard them and I'm thinking they have moved on.  Hope we get to see them again, but if not I'll be able to put up a bird feeder without feeling like I'm just setting up a feeder for these guys.

Some summer fun

We've been enjoying our time around here these days.  The chicks are getting huge and the girls are amazing.  Testing their parents at every turn.  But amazing.

The Chickens
The chicks are enormous and loving life outside during the day.  The coop is nearly done and I am certainly looking forward to them having a permanent home outside of the porch.  I bring them in at night and out in the morning in the cat carrier- just too nervous about them being in this PVC structure at night.  It's nice to have them with us during the day when we putter and play in the yard.  Emma has learned to say "fly" and "wing" since we have moved them out :) We all love the chicks.  The only one with a name so far is the one in the carrier in this pic.  She's a gold star and a beautiful honey color.  She is now known as "Goldilocks".

Painting outdoors
I've been wanting to set up large scale painting area outside for months.  I had envisioned it as a huge line of butcher paper attached to the chain link fence and tubs of paint and brushes set up along it for them to just go nuts with.  Alas, my grand plan turned into a quick grab and I taped up some paper on this climber and gave them each a yogurt container a brush, a roller and a color.  Ada chose blue and told me, "Emma would like to have yellow."  This activity was a smashing success and we all had fun taking a shower to clean off/ cool down afterward.  I was able to do some painting of the coop at the same time too- yay!

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcanos
On occasion I am able to get Emma to sleep and have some sort of special thing together to do with Ada that I think she would like.  This night was inspired by a conversation Ada and Tony had one morning while making pancakes.  Somehow the subject of volcanos came up and Ada was asking about them.  I realized we needed to bring out the baking soda and vinegar and do the experiment in a bottle.  I taped an empty water bottle inside a plastic dish from the recycling bin.  We talked about volcanos, lava, and eruptions.

Then she used the funnel and a metal chopstick to get the powder into the bottle.

She was super excited that I let her put in the food coloring.  She put in HUGE squirt:)

Then the careful pouring.

LOOK MAMA!!

We did this a ton of times until we ran out of vinegar.  At some point we decided to try some different colors.  Ada chose blue.

The Mud Kitchen
The outdoor mud kitchen has been a little neglected lately so I wanted to bring some new life to it.  I didn't want to spend any money or a ton of time and the girls loved a little impromptu cozy coop washing we did the other day, so I set up a wash station during their nap.  They came outside to find a basin, soap (squirt bottle with a tiny bit of soap and a ton of water just to make some bubbles), 2 dish rags and clothespins, and 2 sponges and all the mud kitchen dishes in a big dirty stack.  When they woke up and I told Ada I had set up the mud kitchen as a wash station she literally was cheering about the idea of washing everything.

Eventually they started washing everything.  Each other, the tables, the chairs- it was awesome.  Ada even told me "this was a good idea mama".

Trains
Then there are trains.  Sometimes you just need to build a track and play.  Note the fabulous coloring pages and colages related to the olympics taped to the door :)