I was informed that if you have a blog your supposed to put something on it more often than every few months....So here I am......you can thank insomnia for this one... Please accept my apology in advance for typos/spelling errors....... I'm typing on my phone at 2:00AM so cut me some slack.
Guess it's a lil' late to be posting a "New Year" blog entry, but it's my blog and I can do what I want. Shall we call this post "fashionably late"? Or perhaps, just late due to the blogger's affinity for procrastination?
Anywho....
No new years resolutions for me, I never keep them... but I am happy to say I'm steadily moving closer to my goals in life even if it's slow going at times. At 26 years old I've finally reached a point in my life to do what I want and just be me rather than play the part that's expected of me.
When we lost our home in '07 I learned what TRUE friendship is and since then I'll not settle for false friends and superficial acquaintances. I've expanded on this over the years and have really dissected my life....I'm not perfect, but I know my value....I know what makes me happy and I will no longer waste my time with people who bring me down, with those I can't be myself around or with those who will not invest the time and effort into caring about what matters to me. Sounds harsh, perhaps even selfish, but I must say, overall I've been a much happier person. Leaving behind the nasty bitterness of bridges burned is something I still struggle with from time to time, but I'm getting better. I've learned to appreciate my life so much more.... I have a wonderful husband who is truly my best friend. Sure... in our 10 years together, we've hit some rough patches....At times I thought I'd be better off strangling the man...but those bumps along the way have made us more honest with each other. He is my best friend....the one person who truly knows me and the one who can make me laugh in the most bazaar situations. He drives me crazy, but would move the world to make me happy. Me & Hubby:
In March Clayton turned 8 & it breaks my heart that he's growing up so fast. He is worried about what college to attend and wants to be a Marine Biologist and a Palentologist. He is so smart, analyzes everything with such amazing logic and and takes everything literally..... He is the funniest, most brilliant child I've ever met and every day I thank God for him. He's a little artist to boot... I'll come back and post some of his art. My biggest worry with him is he's his own worst critic.....everything he does has to be perfect or he beats himself up over it..... I think his drive will push him to high places and great things, but there is plenty of time for that later on in life. I love this picture of Clayton....love to watch him sleep because time freezes when he's sleeping and he's just my baby boy:
My beautiful Shayla will be 6 in April....My baby girl....seems like she was a chubby, curly haired baby just yesterday and today she's this leggy, clumsy lil' person. She has always been so easy going... Slept through the night her first night home from the hospital. Never fussy and always full of smiles. She even potty trained herself....Walked right up to hubby at 16 months old and said "Daddy, potty?" from there she went from diapers to big girl panties....never an accident, no pull ups, just instantly potty trained in one night with no help or work from us. In academics she's not like Clayton.....but she has her own strengths that make her such an amazing blessing in my life. She is the most compassionate human I have ever encountered. She has such empathy for all things....Her 1st day of pre-k she was so brave, not nervous at all....saw a classmate crying for mommy....She looks at me and says "I'm okay mommy, you can go, I'm going to make that girl feel better". She told the lil' girl not to worry, she would be her friend and stay with her so she wouldn't miss her mommy & then gave her her new bracelet to help make her feel better.. All this from a 4 year old child in a totally new situation! She has my love for animals.....loves all critters big and small and wants to be a vet. She is also very stubborn.....she holds to what she thinks is right and if she wants to learn something new, she is absolutely fierce in her persistence to achieve her goals...no matter how hard it is, how long it takes, or how many bumps and bruises she gets along the way. She is a social butterfly, the most caring friend & has the best sense of humor and not a day goes by that she doesn't make me laugh... That lil' girl wraps everyone she meets around her lil' finger and I couldn't ask for a more perfect daughter. Silly Shayla....always cracks me up the facial expressions I get when I try to get a picture:
First day of school for the munchkins last year:
This year I'm am getting a little bit closer to a more self sufficient life style. Moving away from overly processed foods and eventually will have most of our food produced right here at home. A small little farm is my goal. I grew up with this for part of my childhood, it was some of my best memories and I want that for my kids.
I want steroid, chemical free food for them...I want them to know that food comes from the land, not wrapped in plastic wrap on a shelf. I want them to appreciate what goes into the food they consume.....to know eggs aren't from a carton and milk isn't just in a red capped jug. Society is so detached from where it's food comes from...perhaps if more people raised their own livestock for meat, milk, eggs there would be less taken for granted and less wasted.
I want my kids to value things that matter....not superficial crap like the latest reality show or video game. Sure my kiddos watch TV and play the Wii or PS3 but their life doesn't revolve around those things and I allow them these things because they limit themselves....Even if I tried to entertain them with video games or TV, the most I could force on them is maybe an hour...after that they want to be outside playing, building things or doing crafts.... I LOVE that they seek out stimulating entertainment all on their own and aren't satisfied by mindless activities! Have I mentioned how proud I am of them??
So far we have dairy goats....Alpines and Miniature Alpines....they are a lot of fun and the kids really enjoy them. They've witnessed birth, cared for them, helped with chores and have learned to appreciate them.
Goats are very dog like...they bond to their humans, love attention, like to play and are highly intelligent. When I can I'll come back and post more about them with some pictures.... if I don't post it separate, this blog entry will turn into all goat talk.
Hopefully, this year we will be able to fence in our entire property and clear or everyone's junk that has been stored here for years.... I understand Noodle is remote, we don't have zoning laws and can do whatever we want....BUT, that is not an excuse for everyone to be inconsiderate and store their crap here indefinately!
You need long term storage??? Get a storage building!
The way I see it, we pay for this land, pay the taxes & have to deal with the clutter...So little by little I'm clearing it all out and whoever doesn't like it better come get the crap they've parked out here or kiss it goodbye! Hauled off furniture that's been stored here for 3 years and am slowly getting the rest of the crap out little by little. The progress I've made has me exited! I'm going to have so much storeage space and tons of extra grazing for the goats. If we can get it all done this year and fence in everything, then we will be adding free range chickens and a garden...
Wish I could get the chicks now, but with my idiot neighbor who breeds those wretched "chi-weenies", "puggles" & "malti-poos" and doesn't contain them, it limits what I can do on my land (ridiculous right?!). Her new blue heeler already tried to kill my baby goats and one of her stupid mutts got the kid's bunny and shredded his poor ears...Didn't think he'd make it, but we worked really hard on him and he's much better...
Side rant- I loathe the whole designer dog thing! THEY ARE MUTTS! Not a special breed just because you think your a genious to put a boy and girl dog together of different breeds and get puppies....You can get these same MUTTS from the shelter for a fraction of what some charge and you SAVE A LIFE IN THE PROCESS! But, fools like my neighbor think they are oh so clever by creating a "designer dog"......Worst one I heard is the "Shih-Poo".....Seriously? You bred an animal you are now going to give a name that sounds like FECES?! *Gag* Anywho, on top of thinking the whoe designer dog fad is nonsense, I have to deal with hoards of them coming over to harass my livestock, make messes in my property and bark constantly..
So yea...that goal of property make over and new fence is my to priority this year. Anywho, dear Emily, there is your recent blog post, courtesy of my insomnia. Now be a dear & quit harassing me about being a terrible blogger! lol As of today I will *try* to be a bit better about maintaining my blog, but I make no promises.
Hope everyone is having a great start to their New Year!
