OMG! It never ends!!!

Those who feed on rumors are small, suspicious souls.

CHARLES R. SWINDOLL, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life

 

 

I had to stop today when I heard the newest rumor and remind myself how old I really was.  I guess I had thought that by the age of 41 local people would've found some other poor victim to attack with this sort of crap, but apparently not.  Over the years I have been the target many times and well, I've got broad shoulders, and I am WAY STRONGER than most would realize so for the most part I shrugged it off and will continue my daily routines as always.

 

However, I was still ticked at the same time that there are so many people in this community and in the world in general who are walking newspapers and can't wait to get the newest misinformation in their head so they can then constrew it how they feel needed and pass it on to the next loser walking by.  This is high school crap!  Middle school crap!  Plain out bullshit really.  Too many people who have a lack of self confidence themselves who make themselves feel better by trying to make others feel bad.  Nice, heh?  Grow up!

 

So, for the record, in case anybody heard this latest rumor about me.....I AM NOT ANOREXIC!!! 

 

Facts - 1)  Yes, I have lost a large amount of weight since working at the farm.

 

2)  I eat just like I always did.  And that's not good.  Chips, soda, candy, coffee with tons of cream and sugar, red meat, potatoes, bread, pasta (love my carbs), ice cream (2 bowls a day sometimes), donuts, etc.  I don't usually skip meals either. 

 

3)  I do a shitload more physical work than I did at my office job at Times obviously.  I also work 7 days a week, on average 1o hours a day, getting up at 3:45 am and a lot of days going all day until 9:00 pm.  Because as soon as I get home from the farm I am then taking care of a 4 1/2 year old with a TON of energy until I go back and do more work.

 

Plain and simple, I would throw it out there to anybody who is willing to try it, that if you followed me around for two to three weeks and came and did my job at the farm, at the same pace I do it, and then watch Luke, and manage a household that contains 3 kids, a husband, a dog, a hamster and parakeet, you would likely lose weight too.  Almost a guarantee.

 

I didn't try to lose the weight.  Other than at my annual doctor appointment in April, I rarely step on a scale and weigh myself.  My only indication that I lost the weight was that my clothes weren't fitting so I bought new ones.  And to be perfectly honest, I don't necessarily like the way I look now.  I would prefer to have my more curvy and heavier body back. 

 

So anyhoo, I'm done venting.  I'm still a bit angry though.  Seriously, I was dealing with this crap back in high school when upperclassmen girls would label me with all sorts of names.  Daisy Duke rings a bell (thanks to the class of 1989).  I dealt with it shortly after high school for various reasons and many times since.  If it weren't for my husband's love of his cowies I would've moved far away from this crap already.  Seriously, I'm considering being a hermit.  People, not all of them of course, but a lot of them plain and simple just SUCK. 

Happy Girls :)

Finally!   Finally, finally, finally!  A few days in a row with the sun shining and feeling warmth in my face and on my skin!  I cannot even begin to tell you how much that means to me and how much it has lifted my spirits.  For me, this time of the year is the greatest.  It's like a rebirth of everything surrounding me.  Nature is blooming all around me, around you, and I can't hide my excitement.  I'm happy!  My kids are happy!!!  And the big girls at the farm are happy!  I can see it in their eyes.

 

 They absolutely love it outside!  Going out to their pasture is like going for a walk to the local playground.  Some run around and leap about like crazy little kids and them some of them are more laid back and content to take in all the fresh air, the sounds all around them and just chillax a little bit.  Either way, I guarantee you they are counting their blessings right now for not being stuck in that darn old barn any longer.

 Here are some of our beauties who were nice enough to give me close up shots of them and say a few words about their day.  Wisdom from cows, who would've thought?

 

 

 

"Hi, my name is Terri.  I can be a little bit stubborn in the barn at times, heck, even outside of the barn at times.  My boss, Dana, gets a little frustrated with me, but she deals with it because she thinks I'm pretty.  If there was one thing I could share with you it would be this, every time we remember to say "thank you", we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.  I hear Dana thank me a lot when she gets done milking me.  Thank you for not kicking me she says."

 

 

 

"Hello there!  My name is Kristy.  I love being outside and having the freedom to roam in the pasture.  Dana asked me to share some wise words with you so here goes.  There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.  I am always grateful for the hay and food they provide me, and a good old massage on my head and neck area from her every day doesn't hurt either."

 

 

"Hola Senioritas (practicing my Spanish today)!"  My name is Amanda and I LOVE this gorgeous weather we are having and just LOVE to be outside with all of my friends.  When I am having one of my bad days, and Lord knows we all have those, I just remind myself of the following - Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.  So, so true!  I don't ever envy those guys across the road over there, I just appreciate what I have over here.  That's enough for me.  Have a nice day!"

 

And so you have it!

 

Smart girls I must say.  I think they've taught me a few things over the last year and a half.  And I know I'm a different person than I was before they came into my life.  Without  a doubt farming puts life into a totally different perspective.  You couldn't possibly understand without having lived it yourself, trust me.

When Dad's Away, Luke and Mom MUST Play!

 

Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own.

 

So, Jeff left us today for a much needed break from the farm and is enjoying the Brewer game with the best man from our wedding.  Perfect day for it I would say.  And I won't deny that when Jeff goes on his merry way I get a little antsy to do something other than the norm that day as well.  So as we were finishing up chores today I pulled Luke to the side and let him know that first we were gonna do some resale store shopping for some summer clothes for him and that he could also pick out a toy at the resale store, he was more than thrilled about the new toy thing.  And then, the best surprise of all for him, a trip to a park that he had never been before.  I can't even explain his reaction to such a simple thing.  On a beautiful day like today, apparently the park idea was a huge hit.  So on we went.

If there is anything I have learned about my little Luke in the last 4 1/2 years, he is ALL BOY!!!  Give him a truck, tractor or anything with four wheels on it and he can keep himself happy for a very long time.  So while I sat in the shade on a park bench nearby, he played and played and played.  Loading wood chip after wood chip into his dump truck and driving them through the grass and park. 

 

While he was playing so contently I was in awe of God's handy work around me.  Man, what a gorgeous day to be thankful for and a much needed pick-me-up from the long winter we had experienced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Luke finally got sick of the trucks and moving objects he took time to explore this new playground we had never been to before.  Oh to be a kid again with no cares in the world.

 

 

 

 

We even had our own little photo session by a tall tree before leaving.  Luke is a great photographer isn't he?  After snapping both pics of me he said, "Nice!"

 

And my favorite photo of the day.  I love this little man so much!!!

 

 

 

Have a great week!!!
 

Catching Up

Patience is a virtue, Possess it if you can, Seldom found in woman, Never found in man.

 

So it's been a while since my last post....sorry, sorry, sorry.  I'm a busy lady what can I say?

 

I seriously feel like I am being pulled in so many directions all the time that I'm never quite sure what task to complete first.  Unfortunately my blog is usually one of the things that gets put to the back burner when other crap is keeping my plate full.

 

But I have a lot of catching up to do so I figured now would be a good time to fill you all in on my happenings as of late.

 

2 weekends ago I attended my annual state bowling tournaments in Milwaukee.  I didn't bowl worth a darn but I did have a nice time with my Mom and my friends and got to sleep in on Sunday morning.  Hurray!!!

 

My Mom was crowned a Grand Duchess for being 70 years old and bowling in the tournament (see her crown pin she is wearing?).  She also received a plaque for bowling in at least 25 state tournaments in her life.  We were bowing down to her all weekend because of her Duchess status.  Duchess Muriel.  She looks like a Duchess, heh?

 

 

 

 

In addition to being able to hang out with "The Duchess" all weekend we also had a lot of fun playing Sour Apples to Apples in our hotel room while consuming alcoholic beverages of our choice.  Some consumed more than others.  Not sure what is going on in some of these pics?

 

 

 

 

 

I was a good girl.  I wasn't tackling anybody or wrestling, just sitting back and taking it all in.  Our motto for the weekend ended up being the following...

 

"If nobody else claims it, it's yours!"  I know that doesn't mean much to you guys, but for all of us there, it's pretty darn funny.  I can't wait to see what our motto ends up being next year.  LOL!!!

 

 

 

 

 

So, then...last weekend Jeff decided to attend the men's state bowling tournaments, and I was left with the kids by myself most of the weekend.  No big deal there.  However, the kids love when Dad is gone for a bit because he isn't always the most adventurous with his food/restaurants so they couldn't wait to do lunch somewhere different with Mom.

 

We decided on Beanies.  Love that place!!!

 

 

 

 

Zach and Luke were in Heaven with their Strawberry Smoothies.

 

 

 

 

As was I with my Strawberry Daquiri.  Yummy!!!

 

 

 

 

And of course, our family tradition of sticking a french fry into the burger came into play when somebody wasn't paying attention.

 

 

 

 

And Luke even managed to behave for the most part.  He only beat his big brother up once...or twice while there.

 

 

 

 

This past week we also celebrated Samantha's 15th birthday with some ice cream cake and candles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sam was even nice to her brothers and after she blew the candles out initially, we relit them and let them blow them out the second time.

 

 

 

 

In-between the birthday celebration, bowling tournaments, working at the farm and everything else I managed to teach Zach's Sunday school class on Palm Sunday and later the boys were part of our Palm parade at church.

 

 

 

 

 

I also had flowers on the altar at church on Palm Sunday in memory of their brother, Adam, who passed away 6 years ago.

 

 

 

 

 And if you aren't tired yet (I am), we commenced Sam's birthday today by assembling the new futon she received as a birthday present. 

 

 

Her bed before.

 

 

 

 

 

And thanks to the large box it came in the boys have now decided to create a hideout/fort type thing on my living room floor.  Yippe, more crap to walk around and trip over.  You gotta love that!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so are the days of my life.  I require a lot of patience and a lot of energy.  Being a Mom is extremely trying and tiring and I hate to say it but Spring Break has been anything but a "break" for me.

 

I wish all of you a Happy Easter holiday.  I'll check in again next week.

 

Dedicated

 

 

A daughter is a mother's gender partner, her closest ally in the family confederacy, an extension of her self. ~Author Unknown

So, today is a very special day at our house, a certain daughter of mine is celebrating her 15th birthday.  It's crazy to think she is that old already?  I mean, seriously, I don't feel old enough to have a child that age and it seems like just yesterday when I became a mother for the first time.

 

So, because she has turned into such a beautiful person (inside and out), I decided today's post needed to be dedicated to her and everything she has accomplished so far, and to reflect on some memories from her past.

 

 

I do know that when she was under a year old, as you can see from the above pic and the next one, that she didn't have a ton of hair and earned the nickname "baldy butch" from some family members.

 

 

 

Bald or not, she was the sweetest little person I ever laid eyes on and I didn't care.  To me she was perfect just the way she was.

 

I think on her 1 year pictures she was finally starting to grow some real hair that was gonna stick around for a while.  Hurray!

 

 

 

 

And, from little on, she was very inquisitive and always advanced with many things.  She started walking at 10 months, talking super early and was potty trained at 2 weeks before her second birthday.  Jeff of course will say that she got all her intelligence from him but I would like to take some credit as I did spend a lot of one on one time with her when she was small.  I wish I had all that time now :(

 

In addition to spending a lot of one on one time with her, another thing I instilled in her from very little on was the following:

 

"Don't let anybody make you think they are any better than you are!  You are just as special as the next person and deserve the best just like anybody else."

I think she really took that to heart and has developed into her own unique, genuine person who does what she wants, and dresses like she wants, is friends with who she wants and isn't the least bit fake.  LOVE THAT!!!

 

Sometimes I think at the ripe old age of 15 she is way more mature than a lot of adults when it comes to fairness and not judging others.

 

Honestly, she is my best friend.  I confide in her a lot and she does in me.  I can tell instantly when something isn't "quite right" with her, and I don't know what I'm going to do without her in a few years when she goes off to college and conquers the world head on.

 

Some cute pics to make you smile.  My how she has grown..........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you're reading Mom's post baby girl, I love you more than you can ever know and always, always will.  I love that we think alike and finish each others sentences at times.  I love that we can act completely goofy and insane at times together but that you still "get" that I am the Mom.  I love how much you care for your brothers and help out with them so much and well, I LOVE YOU!!!!  Mwaaahhhh!   XOXOXOXOXOXO!!!