A Look at 44

Warning, this is my transparent post of the year. My birthday was yesterday so I spent some time reviewing my year all that I have learned.
What good is life if you are not constantly evolving and learning?

It was quite a year, and now I am 44 years old or young...it depends on how much sleep I get, really.

Here is my year of wisdom and transparency:

1. Relationships matter.

The relationships in your life can be good ones or bad ones. Both types will affect your life in some way, either positively or negatively. Get rid of the negative ones. Life is short and it is your decision whether to live life positively or negatively.

Remove the negative and foster the positive. This includes family and friends.

When you purge the bad relationships, make sure you keep the good ones fostered, especially with your own children and your spouse.

2. Farming can be tough, but it can also be very rewarding.

I have learned more in my farming years than at any other time in my life. The only exception would be raising children, which has taught me tons too, especially about my own personality.

I still get negative comments regarding farming, but by far a majority of the comments are positive. Nobody will ever totally discourage me (see #1 above), and I have gracefully learned that any life in agriculture is a life with unexpected results at times.

I absolutely know that farming has impacted my life and the lives of my children in a positive way, and that I will always be grateful for the little voice in my head that encouraged me to get this life started.

I am also immensely grateful for my friends and mentors who farm, as they have been great encouragement to me many times in the last several years. I strive to be the same encouraging voice for others who contact me with ideas and dreams of their own farm.

3. Kids are the greatest blessing.

When I told people I was pregnant again, I had several people openly tell me how crazy I was for having another. Again see #1 above.

It is not my fault if people are too narrow sighted to see a baby as anything but a blessing. I cannot control their thinking or even change their minds. Instead I have learned to focus on the ones who feel as I do about babies and to keep my circle tight with like minded individuals who will love me and my children.

One only needs to be in my house a short time before they see how wonderful and uplifting it is to be here, in a home with loving kids who admire and love their new sibling to the ends of the earth. I honestly could not ask for more in my life than to have this very family and this very life.

Always know that children are an immense blessing and they should never be viewed with disdain.

4. Life is hard.

There will always be days when life is just hard and you wonder how on earth you will ever recover.
You will sometimes want to try and take charge of everything yourself, in despair and desperation.

When you get to that point, just stop.

Sometimes doing nothing is the best solution. Sometimes laying awake in bed at night worrying is the worst solution.

I have learned that things usually work themselves out. Do what you can and try not to worry too much. Yeah, that is too simplistic, I know. I also know that just worrying yourself into a panic does nothing for the situation.

Have faith.

5. I am beautiful and my body is amazing.

How's that for being overly self confidant?

This last year I was pregnant, again, and I was also amazed at everything my body can do, again.

In fact, I think my body looks the best when I am pregnant and when I am just postpartum. It is a miraculous thing to grow a baby and then to nourish that baby.

My lack of sleep shows on my face, my belly sticks out and wiggles like jelly. My boobs are sore and leaking milk, but I always think of myself as a miracle. Every post partum aspect of myself is proof that I can do miraculous things. I embrace it, as all women should. A woman's body is truly a masterpiece, no matter how it looks.

My mantra for this next year is to be the best I can be, to love and be kind, and to embrace the ups and the downs of life.

Year 44 will be my best year yet!

Happy Tuesday Ya'll!

Ask the Crazy Woman

So I have gotten a few emails with some questions an thought, "What? You are asking me? A crazy woman?"
Then I laughed out loud and didn't answer the emails. Until now. Maybe someone really does want to know how crazy I am. Let's start the weekend off with my take on a few things, then we can all laugh and realize that I am indeed crazy. I am kidding. But really I'm not.

1. You had 5 daughters first then boys. Were you and your husband "trying" for a boy? Now that you have 2 boys are you done?


After the third daughter was born we resigned to only having girls and actually I would say that the girls were far easier as toddlers than my oldest boy is now at 2 years old. He's a mess and always "into" something. In fact I rarely take him out because he is just plain difficult. We were shocked when we had a boy because we just "knew" we would only have girls and we had even grown used to strangers making the typical comments about having all girls. No, we never tried for a boy. We just hope that we have a boy or girl and not a puppy, because I tell you that even with 7 kids at home...another dog would be terrible. We have 4 now and they are a handful. So babies, yes. Puppies, no.

2. What time do your kids go to bed? Does everyone take a nap during the day?

In a perfect world I would blissfully go about my day and then right after lunch I would make everyone lay down for naps whilst I tend to a quiet hobby or nap myself. Honey, I have NEVER had a perfect day. :-)
Currently the 2 year old takes a 2 hour nap everyday after lunch. While he naps I threaten my children to stay quiet or play outside so as to not wake him up. Usually I must hush and threaten every child about 3 times during the two hour relief from toddler take over. The baby sleeps when ever he wants and I am the WORST about baby routines. I nurse constantly on demand and cross my fingers that he will take a cat nap while I am cooking meals. Otherwise, he sits in a sling and watches everything going on in his crazy fun filled world.
At night, however, I make the little ones go to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 (depending on how exhausted I am) and the older ones go to their rooms at the same time and read until 9:00. I do believe that an early bedtime is the BEST managing tool to having kids.

3. I have considered keeping bees too. Is it hard and do you ever get stung?

Bees are NOT hard. Never mind that I have lost almost ALL of my hives this winter, it is NOT hard. Beekeeping IS about working with many factors that are out of a beekeepers control such as weather, pests, genetics, nectar flow, drought. It is sometimes frustrating, but easy. It is fun, but you cannot be the type who gets easily discouraged, especially when you lose almost all of your hives over the winter. I am NOT discouraged. I am NOT discouraged, etc.

As for stings? I have been stung many times. In fact the VERY first package of bees I got stung me about 12 times. You see, I read up on all of the beekeeping books and saw these bee keepers with no veil or protection just happily looking at frames of bees. Naturally I figured I could do the same with a new package. My reasoning was "they are homeless, confused, and docile."
I wen tout to my bee yard with my 3 packages in a t-shirt and shorts..nothing else. Actually the first 2 packages WERE pretty docile and I put them in the hives with no issues. The third package, however, were so mad that as soon as I opened the package they came out and stung me and my husband about a dozen times each! We had to run out through the pasture waving our hand and arms wildly, trying to get the bees out of our hair and clothes. I now gear up in protective clothing while installing a package of bees. Some lessons are learned the hard way.

Thanks for asking and for waiting while I pulled my self together and organized my day enough to answer. Have a great weekend and tune in next week to find out about my new sewing machines that are arriving today via the brown truck. Yep, machineS...plural! I am so excited I could squeal....but I won't.