Friday, April 29, 2011

Just a few moments ago...

We returned home with the first batch of chickens for the season... 100 Cornish and 20 turkeys... they will be housing communally for the first few weeks and then they will be separated at night. They are so flipping cute!

The only time in there lives that these turkeys will ever be cute i am sure...

Later today we head to Regina to pick up our layers.... Easter egg chickens and wynadottes... they will be a great addition to the group...

Here they are......








Monday, April 25, 2011

Monday....

It has been a fun filled week with Mr. Rigger at home but today he heads back to work.Our week was full. It always flies by so quickly that its hard to remember what we got done, however we will both admit that the day after Mr. Rigger goes to work... Nothing gets done.... Mama goes to bed at 7pm with the kids and catches up on all that missed sleep....

Tuesday.... Picked up Mr. Rigger and headed to a friends to pull down the remainder of the demo project we had undertaken earlier in the week. Got home, bathed kids... watched a movie together... passed out

Wednesday... DATE DAY... Dropped off some kids to a friend, left some with Gramma and headed out.... To town for gas and mail then the city for lunch, then Swift Current to pick up OUR NEW VAN!!!! Picked up the kids in that next Van and they were soooo excited!

Thursday... Mr. Rigger hauled water,played with babies, and cleaned the yard. Went to town and got birthday presents, Easter supplies... etc...

Friday... Picked up a kid from Lisas... Released BOB ( the turtle) into the slough in our yard (he LOVES IT), Cleaned the barn, played with Sheep, Cleaned, cleaned.... cleaned

Saturday... Picked up some kids from Lisa and decorated eggs, watched Mr. Rigger clean the barn, cleaned out a granary for the chicks coming THIS WEEK!!! Cleaned.... Cleaned oh and we cleaned

Sunday... Easter!! Chinese dinner and egg hunt at Lisas... It was awesome... We are pretty good cooks! Ginger Beef, Pineapple Pork, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Chicken Balls, Spring Rolls, Rice, Stir Fry and Noodles.... It was like take out! mmmmmm.....

And today.... we have to hook up the heat lamps in the chicken barn..... haul more water, laundry... lots of laundry!... go buy some new fish.... a bit of groceries and drop Mr. Rigger at the airport....

It will be a long day... oooo... french toast for breakfast.... yum yum.....


This is Big Dog with his very swollen face a day after getting his top braces... He is super sore but getting used to them...


Lots of Basil .... Yum yum yum...


Our tractor and head driver.... with assistant driver.....
This machine is going to make my gardening soooooo much easier.... Mr. Rigger also informed me that the next time he is home he will pick up a cultivator (plow)... its not a rototiller but it will be awesome.


That is one FABULOUS sweater and scarf set right there!!!! I CANT WAIT!!!


That is a whole lot of room for a whole lot more kids.... seven more to be exact..... Ohhh the kids are so happy not to be smooshed into the back of the truck... all but big dog have booster seats or car seats, they all have window seats... they love it..


Ain't she perdy?????


Tomato..... amongst many dead plants....


Mama... doing some surgery on Big Dog... at home dentistry is what we call that!! He had a wire come loose and it was cutting the inside of his mouth.... rather than a two hour run to the city... a pair of wire cutters and tweezers work just dandy!!
(blurry huh?)


SOON TO BE FULL OF 150 chickens AND 20 turkeys!!!!!

Have a good week....
Hopefully i get inspired and get a moment to blog again soon... ITS ALMOST MAY.... when did that happen!! 

Friday, April 22, 2011

GUNS......

Over the past four weeks Big Dog and I have been attending a Saskatchewan Hunting Safety Course. It was two nights a week for 2 1/2 hours and last night we had our exams....


Big Dog...
Practical 88%
Fire Arm Safety 88%
HUNTERS EDUCATION 93%

Myself
Practical 96%
Firearm safety 92%
Hunters education 91%

Congrats to Big Dog... He will be receiving a BB Gun for his birthday in July if he doesn't save up and buy himself one by then. In the camp he attends this summer he will be able to participate in Rifflery. He is super excited!

I am glad we had the opportunity to learn something together. He did very well... We had stopped y to see Gramma just before our test and while there he pet the cat... He managed to do both exams with his eyes half swollen shut and having a hard time breathing, sneezing, watery eyes.... hives on his forehead... he was a mess.... but i am very proud of him.

We have to wait for our certificates to come back which we are told takes a few weeks, then I am able to apply for a PAL and he will apply for a minors license and then to the firearm store we will go.

I am thinking for myself, i will purchase a pump action shotgun. In theory if i ever was in need of using it to protect our family (God forbid) then the scary kshh kshhh it would make as i merrily asked the person to leave would be helpful i think.....

Good times.....

Monday, April 18, 2011

Just checking in...

What full days these are.

We have been doing.....
..... I'm not even sure what..

WE BOUGHT A VAN!!! going to pick it up this week...

We have prepped for the 150 chickens and 20 turkeys that are coming next week.

Received a letter confirming the 500 tree seedlings that are coming in 2 weeks.

Received a letter confirming the surgery (finally!!!) for my schlerotherapy... (varicose vein surgery).... also in two weeks....

WE BOUGHT A VAN!!!! I'm a little excited...

I have been trying to confirm my spot in a course that starts in September that in a year and a half will employ me as the coolest thing ever... okay maybe not the coolest but best suited to me....

Mr. Rigger comes home tomorrow and we are going ON A DATE THIS WEEK... which by the way i was so excited about... so excited to buy a dress for... to plan to be sooooo perfect.... i managed....

TO FORGET HIS BIRTHDAY!!!

I forgot my husbands birthday.... I am the worst wife ever.... i thought it was next week...

hmmm.... I wonder what day it is today....

Oh and I am one short class away from having a license to own a firearm. I CANT WAIT TO GET A GUN....

SUPER FUN!!!

Will write more with pictures soon....

Monday, April 11, 2011

Managers of their chores....

In our opinion all children need chores. That being said it is quite difficult to make sure all chores are being done when all these children are running in different directions. We were in need of a system...

I found on this glorious Internet a book called MANAGERS OF THEIR CHORES. I bought it about six months ago. i read it in one night and spent the next six days putting together highly detailed chore packs...

The kids had set times everyday were they were to do their chores and it was awful..


I FAILED. I made chore packs that contained chores they had never done(like dusting).. (I have never dusted) I made the chore packs UN manageable.There was no way i could keep up with the training and the inspection process and still manage to get food on the table.

I QUIT.

While i was cleaning the bookcase the other day i found the book again and i thought i would give it another try. however i would go about it differently. I will make it work for is. I was so excited to have a immaculate house with many hands to help that i totally overlooked our lifestyle and i overlooked our children.


We have a new chore chart with the cards from the chore packs. It is in a main area of the house so no one can "lose" there chores. 



The chores are do-able this time. Make your bed, put your pjs under your pillow, get dressed, brush your teeth, etc...


We flip them when they are complete and no one forgets if they have done them or not.

Each chore has a minute value. At the end of the week all minutes are added together and those minutes can be "spent" on media time on Saturday. They can play the Wii, DS, or computer.

This system did not work in week one... they got to Saturday and most had only accumulated a few minutes.So they were only able to play on the computer for that time. Getting them all booted up and ready to play and then having the alarm clock ring 10 minutes later and me cheerfully telling them that their time was up worked like a charm, i explained as they balked that they had earned every minute of the time they had and that if they were unhappy with that time then they had an opportunity to work a little harder this week.

WELL HMMMM....

This week we have had kids up and dressed with teeth done and a bathroom that still looks like a bathroom when mom gets up. The girls are brushing their hair everyday without tears. Monkey boy is getting dressed (always been a fight for us) It has worked like a charm and for now and until it stops working I am delighted. I'm also happy that their was no need to yell or harrass them... Thats the way it should be!

Thank you Managers of their chores.....

Still building....

So the kids have been outside which has given me a little time to play catch up.

In our family, we go through a lot of clothes. Kids grow, fall and rip knees out of pants, find stray threads and pull apart sweaters, put holes in socks....they WEAR their clothes...

So Mrs. Birdie has had no hand me downs lately. (J Bear never has much left when hes done with his clothes) so i decided she needed a few pair of pants that actually covered her enormous cloth diapers, and some tops that covered her kidneys and belly in the spring winds.


I finished this tunic type top....



While Birdie was doing this.......



I think she likes it.......



Its a bit big, but that's how we like our clothes around here. These kids are like weeds.... Every time we do laundry we have to evaluate sizes and change wardrobes...

Too big is a good thing....

More building...

If you have wood floors they are bound over time to get gouges. Around our dining room table it is common for fidgetting children to bounce there chairs all over the place and gouge the floors on a daily basis. It was driving me crazy. So we decided that benches would work well for us. We went to antique shops and found beautiful vintage benches for about 300.00 a piece... Not likely... So we went to furniture stores and found okay benches for around 200.00 a piece... Again not likely... So one day while i was looking through a 2X4 design book I found a pattern for a picnic table and benches made out of 2X10s ! 


 We made these benches....


2x10S were about $10 a piece and two benches requires 3 2X10s... we bought stain and pre-stain and some sanding pads and in total spend about $60.00 for two benches!



So no more retro chairs digging into the floors in the dining room



I think this looks much better. I only have one stained and completely finished, I am still sanding the other one but i couldn't wait to bring it in.....



Another huge bonus is where we could only seat 3 on each side with our over sized retro chairs five can sit comfortably on each bench ... we have seating for twelve! We wont have to up size for quite a while. I am considering making short benches for the ends but i was also thinking i could find some vintage captain chairs and stain them to match...

I think this may be the beginning of a trend for me... furniture that.....


 MATCHES!!!

How very foreign...

I have never had any style of theme in our home... But i like how clean and tidy it looks... And we (Mr. Rigger measuring, cutting and putting together) and (me sanding and staining and keeping children off it while it dried) make a pretty darn good team, yet again.


Building things....

The children and I (with Mr. Riggers help) have been building things....


They have spent the last week outside! It is wonderful. Before they eat breakfast, they beg to go outside. After dinner, its "PLEASE MOM, just five more minutes" How wonderful. It empties the house and gives me time to spring clean and create a little on my own.

So what have they been doing outside???



THIS.....



Cheese burger island.....


With tunneled roadways....


WITH...
Signage...... and rest stops...


My children are amazing they have creativity i could never possess and they also have a trait I ENVY....

The ability to FIND the TOOLS they are looking for!!!!!

Sledge hammer..... PIK- A - STIK....



Saw.....



Shovel....
AMAZING!


As you can see there is still quite a bit of snow but slowly it is melting. The kids are outside for now and things are getting done!


Friday, April 8, 2011

When you are tired...

In my many years of parenthood a decade or so I have learned to let the little things go. I use to keep a really clean house. It always smelled of bleach or pine sol and I could have eaten off my floors. It was lovely.

Since moving on to the farm and having a few more children my idea of a clean house has changed. It is unlikely that it will ever be CLEAN for more than a few minutes at a time and this is something that I have learned to deal with...

That said....

I think I may hide behind my children slightly... When we go out with all six, people are caught up in the number of kids we have or that we even manage to get them all out in public, they don't even look at how the kids are dressed or how clean they are...

Recently while I dropped off Mr. Rigger off at the airport with only Birdie Gail I had an embarrassing moment.  We walked into the Robins donuts and people were staring.... Now i'm used to this... but i didn't have six kids today.... What were they looking at? I go to the bathroom to see if I have anything on my face...and I'm perplexed. I put down Birdie, do my business and as i sit on the thrown i catch a glimpse of my darling child....

She is sporting two socks.... one she grew out of months ago... but it was all i could find, the other a grey slouch sock pulled up over her pants... her neon green pants.... her onesie, untucked and covered in cheesy crumbs... Her face, hair, ear cavities, also full of Cheetos goodness...

Now she is appropriately dressed.. per say.... in that she is warm, dry, obviously well fed... and also sporting a smile so who cares right?

When I returned home I started to look around and i noticed a few things.....



From left to right we have:
Mrs. Proper wearing an okay outfit... However.. its the SAME OUTFIT she has worn for the past four days and perhaps we are in need of a change.
Monkey boy yup that's his church shirt with muddy jeans, and he hasn't been outside today. You will notice the devious smirk and the hands behind the back... eating cookies in the living room, that i told him he couldn't have....moving on....
Ms. Prim.... mini skirt and school girl shirt.... no tights...but hopefully undies.....
J-Bear..... PJ shirt, okay pants .... no undies....




Here we have a very organized boot closet... with SNOW boots, RUNNING shoes, WINTER jackets, and COWBOY boots all caked with mud.... lovely...


Perhaps its just my children's funky style that is a little off... But as I investigated further I began to thing that maybe we have changed priorities... At least they are dressed... and they were obviously wearing footwear and jackets when they were last outside.... that's something.... right?

We are a large family but not that large....

Moving on....


I noticed that i don't think I even remember what the bottom of this basket looks like.... Our laundry never ends.... Thankfully my mother loves laundry.... (and its good to have a hobby)



Come to think of it I haven't seen the bottom of the TO FOLD basket lately either... hmm... (another hobby right!)



I also realized that maybe the entry way is not the best place to dry the diapers. If anyone ever comes over (unlikely.. but you never know) this is what they would see as we open the front door... "Oh hello sir, yes please come in... don't mind the nappies.." (But at least they would know we are earth conscious)


This constitutes a tidy bookcase. ( Hey on the upside, we are literate...)


Ahhh... yes... this is my favorite... Coffee on a coaster .... a nice white...... hey wait a minute... that's not a coaster, i was wondering where my other breast pad disappeared too!!

Yes in our home we multi purpose, breast pads can become coasters, or used to wipe up spills when there isn't a towel handy...


Ahhhh ... motherhood....

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Camera located!

 Amazing that with all the toys they have they choose to play in the laundry basket! It never fails.....

And it appears they never grow out of it... As Ms. Prim is demonstrating here...

Mrs. Proper wanting to take pictures. It has been so nice here the past few days that the kids including the babies have been able to play outside. We put a gate up on the deck stairs and leave the door open and little ones can come in and out as they please. Birdie is developing Independence in leaps and bounds these days.. Just a month ago she couldn't be 5 ft from my chest without screaming but now she wanders the house and more often than not i end up looking for her, not the other way around. She has been enjoying bird watching on the deck. She squeaks in delight every time she spots one.

But there are times when she needs her mama. Mama of course takes full advantage of the opportunity to put her feet up and grab a nap. Naps with babes are delightful.

We have started planting for April. In March we planted herbs and started some tomatoes for containers, strawberries from seed and flowers but April is the bulk of it. Getting things started for our outdoor garden. Tomatoes, Broccoli, cauliflower, lettuces (container) and a whole bunch more i cant remember. We are not at the point where we are able to build a greenhouse so I am using our south facing windows to full advantage.

The young ones are very eager to help and I am far past discouraging this for the sake of tidiness. I will take all the help I can get! Birdie and J bear are wonderful tray fillers.


As I said South facing windows are being used to full advantage. Hence the $0 shelving we made out of old bookcase pieces and 1x2s. The sink is a little crowded now and i'm feeling a little claustrophobic but it will only be for a little while.


Its nice to have my camera back. It was behind papers on the movie shelf. At least it wasn't at the bottom of a toy box or something.

The kids and I are sort of at a crossroads right now. the little ones have finished the bulk of there school work and are just finishing up some math. Big Dog is still working through the last 4 weeks of his but his math is done for the year. Its getting warmer out but its still not WARM. The kids go out to play but its melting out there, so they come in cold and wet, they go through 3-4 pairs of pants, dozens of socks and all there shoes on a daily basis. There is only so much outside they can take. I am having a really hard time finding the creativity to craft with them. Everyday I think okay we are going to do something together today, which usually ends in colouring. But again you can only colour so much. Big Dog has started to bake, which is wonderful but its usually cookies and lemon tarts and sweets and I have gained four lbs so there is only so much baking you can do (MOMS FIGURE IS AT STAKE HERE!) So the kids want to watch Netflix. Now i don't mind TV(I say this gritting my teeth), I just think its sort of a last resort. Some of my children however have begun to mistake it for oxygen. They talk about it, watch it, whine about not watching it, wake up asking to watch, go to bed angry because they didn't have enough. The world seems to revolve around it. Its not a habit i want to encourage so i try to limit the amount they watch. But that time is replaced with anger and woes from the hard-done-by. They need some more stimulation, guided structured stimulation, and so it comes back to me. I need the creative juices to flow.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Dear God,

God I'm not sure you read blogs but I'm sure this note will find its way to you. Lord I hate to ask for things that may seem UN needed but Lord I need them.

First, Thank you for everything. My husband, our children, my mother, our home and health. The abundance of love that we see in our home everyday. Thank you for our senses and our ability to learn, to grow. Thank you for the opportunity to teach my children at home.

Lord thank you for making me the way I am. I balk most of the time, but if I weren't me I wouldn't home school, I wouldn't have all these kids, I wouldn't live in this prairie and I would walk a different path. I like this path, Thank you.

Thank you for my children, they are all different but they are all your children, they love you Lord and they love me, what more could we need.

Well Lord now we are at the needing part. Lord I long for a ridiculously large family. I dream of filling a 15 passenger van. If there is a catalog somewhere of children for sale please send it to us. If there are hopes of adoption in our future, please send us a sign or open those doors for us. If there are people out there that are unable to care for there children and want help for them, send them to us Lord. We want to help. Yes "WE" want to help. The children want more brothers and sisters, they want friends to play with, they want to share there rooms and toys. Lord we have room, in our home, and our hearts. Bless us.

Lord thank you, help us to wait patiently and prepare our selves for the blessings that you give us, to cope with the trials and to love one another the way you love us.

Amen.

To those of you that don't understand. That's okay. He gets me, and I'm good with that.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Follow ME!?!?!

Hey I hope I have readers here... So why not follow me? If you click the follow me button in the right hand column  it will take you there....

Sometimes its okay to be followed you know!

Rebirth... amazing what a little eyeliner can do!

So I mentioned before that I had a great day out Friday with mum. We went to ladies CLOTHING stores. Not Value Village, not kids clothing stores, not Sears outlet. But a WOMEN'S CLOTHING STORE. I bought an out of season sweater from the clearance rack.. but that's not the point. I haven't gone to a grown up store since I bought my jeans... in 2007... Yes I had two less children the last time i bought anything but maternity shirts.... scary huh!!

So since we were all about splurging we bought MAKEUP!!!! i got a concealer, a foundation, blush, mascara, and two eyeliners (brown and BLUE... =0 )

It feels so good to get all dolled up... Even when you have boogers on your shirt you can still try to be sexy!

I can be a Good lookin' human napkin instead of "Just" a napkin...

It feels good. So good in fact I started thinking about photography...

I love pictures, taking them, editing, looking at them ....love pictures

but hate dragging my camera around and by the time i usually get it focused the "moment" is gone. However I was thinking about breaking it out again for the beauty that seems to be "springing" up.

Progress is being made on the Cupar Farmers Market, which is helpful for my esteem right now.

We have a few booths rented and things will start up in May... I am glad its still a little ways away, i have a lot of stuff to make before then.

I'm excited for it though...

My small camera is missing in action right now. I moved somethings around and haven't been able to find which pile its under currently but as soon as i do i will upload some pictures. i find blog posts without pictures a bit drab....

More to come

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Ask and you recieve... you might even get change.....

Change...

I love change.

Whether its the colour of a wall, a season, or a habit, even loss is change. But change always has its benefits.

I have been riding an emotional roller coaster the past few months. I have been hating everything and have lost all the joy that I had once experienced.

Things seemed to turn around this week.

Last week was a dark one, I was at a loss for all things. I was really angry.

I woke up Friday morning early... No one was up, but I sat on the stairs and prayed for God to guide me.

I was feeling very unhappy to serve others and I felt as though I was being walked on.

Hello... MY NAME IS DOOR MAT... whats yours??

So I prayed and as if the Lord himself put his hand out to comfort me. I felt this overwhelming feeling...

"You cant change who they are. But you can change you."

I went back to bed thinking hmm.. I know I cant change anyone... of course you cant change others. They are who they are and I know that..

But then when I woke up in the morning, I suppose my mind had time to process and It began..

A while back I decided to fill my place as the "traditional"mother and let Mr. Rigger make all the decisions in our home. Even I thought I was crazy...

But things have started to change around here. He wakes up and decides what he is going to do for the day and .. he does it... and its awesome... his quality is great and he is happy.

I cant change the kids... So I have stopped being involved with their bickering... I always intervened and helped them to solve there issues. Unfortunately they have become so dependant on that, they are unable to make Any decision on their own... times six kids... it takes up a lot of time during the day. So when they start, I say "Go talk to him/her" or "what are you going to do?" That's it! No more help from mommy, no undermining, no playing favorites, no bickering in my presence.

I can change me! ( With Gods help of course)

I am worth while. I am a child of God too....

And so it seems like there is less to be angry at, less to bog down the day.

As a mother I am happy to have a moment to sit and read to my babes, to talk to them, play cards, or grab a hug.

I can change me....

Friday, April 1, 2011

WORDS HURT...

Why do words hurt so much?

In my few years of experience I have seen words hurt. Personally I have a horrible memory, blame it on MS, youth drug use, desire, or whatever I can actually forget complete human beings. I have been reintroduced to people who say "Oh, we've met.." and I'm like..... yeah.... (no idea who you are... but if you say so....)

I digress...

But despite forgetting complete persons... I always remember the bad things people have said to me..... ALWAYS... WORD FOR WORD!!!

Why is that??

Why if I do this, do I insist on saying awful things to the people i love?

I pray every morning I will watch my mouth but without fail I always say something I shouldn't....

My self control sucks! Never would I insult a stranger... on purpose.. though come to think of it.. that's one reason I don't keep friends for long is my rather blunt personality...

Somehow though I have no problem saying hurtful things to my husband and children...

WHY!?!

I just said something very hurtful to my husband and I feel like crap... The worst thing about it.... He didn't even flinch.. He is so used to it!

An apology is in order, and a whole lot of guilt to add to the pile I'm sure...
Oh look J bear is taking the keys off the laptop again.... and it continues....