VACATION!!!!!

Chittenango tomorrow!!!

Some like it HOT

It's hot! REALLY hot! Freaking hot! It's kissing the 90's here and guess what...no air! I know I'm supposed to be all "green" and eventually I will own a home positioned on my land to take advantage of the natural air flow and plant trees to help shield my home...but for now - I am in a badly placed brick home with crap circulation and no air. UGH - We're dying here...everyone is miserable and sweaty. The kids hair is lined with wet sweaty hair. I don't feel like moving. After a crazy weekend at the WPAFB Tattoo (from 2 until midnight) and then yesterday at the West Carrollton Summer Fest from 9 until nearly 5 PM...I was hoping for a day of relaxation - chill in the air for a bit, then go clean up the garden, then back to the air...but NO! I feel like being a slug today.
I wish this feeling of anxiety would go away. I have that jitterbug feeling - like I forgot something...I think it's because of the move (or non-move as it stands at this moment) - but it is a frustrating, annoying feeling.

Bursting

...Tick...Tock being back at the apartment makes me hear the clock tick tocking even louder. I feel a little like a broken record but it is so close... I spoke to my boss today and it sounds like there is a potential of greater things in store for him - does that mean growth for me too? Perhaps.
We've completely outgrown this place - we are bursting at the seams. So, we've started packing. That's right! We've started the process of sorting, purging and packing our items that aren't regularly used. That feels good. Although the house seems strangely messier while we are in this process...but soon freeing and refreshing.

Father's Day

Have I mentioned that I am married to a great man? Don't get me wrong - we've had our issues in the past (we certainly aren't perfect) but we are perfect for each other. Two peas in a pod...very opposite but complimentary peas. :-) Today, I got to celebrate the man that I am able to learn with, share the joy with, share the (at times) frustration with, share the laughter with and love. I am lucky to have found such a wonderful man who puts up with all my BS and still loves me through it all...lucky to have a man that, although at one time he thought he was done having children, opened his heart to having not just one but three more children. We have this huge family with wonderful children and a crazy life and I couldn't imagine growing old with anyone else.

On a garden side of things - we were able to celebrate the first bite of fresh blueberry. Drake picked our very first "harvest" (read: single berry) of blueberries :-) We let the three little ones share our bounty...and it was "good, not great, but good" - Ok...after waiting and waiting I will take "good" for our very first berry off the bush (considering that our sad little bushes weren't sure last season if they could live another year). With lots of tender touches, fresh dirt and compost mix with a little bit of organic 3-3-3- fertilizer from Marvin's Organic Gardens we were able to perk those bad boys back up and they paid us back with the most beautiful blueberry I've ever seen. There are a ton more still on the bush - just not ready for picking...

The trees recently purchased were not digging the containers that they were in - we replanted them in pots about twice the size of the ones they were in and added some sand, soil and peat...we watered them and talked to them a little bit and they immediately seemed perkier.
Our beans are reaching out to grab and climb - one of my favorite plants to have in the garden for the reason. It makes me laugh to see those silly little climbers twisting (hog tying) around another plant or sometimes even themselves...

We went to Aullwood Farm yesterday (http://aullwood.center.audubon.org) - what a great place! We saw goats, cows, pigs, sweet baby lambs and sheep - the barn swallows were super cool too...there were a ton of nests with little baby faces peeking out the top.

Ah! Farm life.

...a New Beginning

The time is here. My children and I were able to stand tall and celebrate the accomplishment of my husband. On Saturday, June 12th, Mark walked for his graduation. His degree made it through 5 children, a crazy wife (that's me!), a move to Florida, a move back to Ohio, and switching of the degree from high grades to lower ones. During this time, we've experienced Cora being born into our family, Gage's tonsils being removed, Drake getting his first set of stitches, Tiffany moving on to adulthood, and Kait moving to be with her mother and choosing to come back to us. We've had struggles in our marriage, just as any other couple does...but we've made it. Today, Mark and I are both college graduates. Through all the struggles - we have taught our children and hopefully others around us that if something is important enough, you will work hard enough, focus well enough, find those little pockets of time to relax and rejuvenate enough to prepare for the next wave, and claw your way through until you reach that goal. I spent most of Saturday morning with tears in my eyes and running down my cheeks...filled with emotion, filled with pride for my husband, honored to be a part of this accomplishment for Mark, excited to applaud him, wondering what the future now holds for us, knowing that fate is watching this step in Mark's life and hoping that our next door will soon be opening.
Someone once asked Mark if he was "walking" for graduation and my response to that was "Fuck YES he's walking"!!!

We've Added to Our Orchard!

Yesterday the Home Depot had a bunch of their fruit trees at 50% (or more) off!!! So we took advantage and bought two yellow delicious apple trees and one each of peach, pear and tangerine.
I can't wait to make pies and fresh fruit salad and can for the winter and make applesauce, peach sauce, pear sauce and...Oh! Let's just say "I can't wait!"
The kids picked some OH SO YUMMY raspberries today. I still haven't tried any raspberries yet this year - but I hear that ours are DELICIOUS...

There's no place like home...but where is that?

Being away from our apartment makes us all realize how that is truly NOT our home...just simply a place where we lay our heads while our land waits for us to be ready. It's all up to money now...we've readied the family members that might have have issues with us potentially moving away - we all feel like where we are isn't where we are meant to be. Maybe we are wrong - but it just doesn't feel like us anymore in Ohio. I feel like work will be coming with an opportunity for us. Perhaps this is just wishful thinking...but we feel that there is a better place for us. One where we can utilize the Earth, sun, water, air and land to best the needs of our family. Mark and I sat down today with the plan that we have developed for our barn home. We compared room sizes to those in my parents' home to see if we are being realistic and...we are. We know that we want space for our family as it stands now - but we also want space to fit our family in the future and guests for the near future - but we also don't want to be overwhelmed when our family is grown and has left the farm. We want to be smart about how we position the home, how we run the electricity (and making sure our home is conducive to being "off grid"), take advantage of the rain water run off, and utilize our gray water.
I got my motorcycle permit this weekend. Kait got a scooter and in Ohio you need to have your motorcycle endorsement in order to ride on the street. So since Mark and Kait will both be able to ride - I figured that I would just try it out and take the test and I passed. Now I just have to work to do the "road test" and I'll be road worthy...FEAR ME PEOPLE! Just kidding! I mean, it's a scooter...how bad can it be?!
I'm feeling the need to be creative - since the garden is growing (for now) and I don't need to get my hands dirty there - I feel like creating something with yarn and a hook! I want to try a sweater - crocheting a sweater. I don't know when I'll start or how it will go or how much cursing there will be - but I'm feeling like it is soon.

Summa Cum Laude Cords

11 more days! Mark will be walking down the aisle in his cap and gown, grabbing his diploma with his Summa Cum Laude Cords draped around his shoulders. Yup - that's right...I married me a smarty! I'm so excited about what this means for our lives.