the farm wife post: 2013

Monday, December 16, 2013

29 weeks

How far along? 29 weeks!

Total weight gain: 20 pounds and counting

Maternity clothes? I have a lot of maternity pants that I don't know what I would do without, and I have bought a few tops just a size up so they cover the bump. Sundays are tragic in the getting dressed department. So are most maternity clothes. Unless you want to pay an arm and a leg. Maybe next pregnancy I will feel like investing in more maternity things?

Stretch marks? no... KNOCK ON WOOD... rub oil all over belly...ect... my mom never did but who knows, I only have half of her blessed genetics!!!!

Sleep: Most nights I sleep like a big pregnant rock. But some nights it will be 3 am and I will lay there wide awake and have my most genius thoughts and feel my babe wiggle around. She is nocturnal, you know.

Miss Anything? I miss things like being able to wrestle my hubs with reckless abandon. And sleeping on my tummy. And eh...eating sushi with reckless abandon.....giant diet cokes.... And not worrying that something is going to food poison me or give me something with a tragic name like listeria. But I am more than happy to sacrifice 4o ish weeks of doing without a few things for this baby. I already love her.

Movement: She is getting a lot bigger and her movements are really starting to make waves! I woke up the other morning to about a half inch of foot sticking out under my ribs. It was the most incredible thing. She spends most her time in the transverse position, laying across my tummy like it's some kind of hammock. When she gets up in my ribs it feels like the wind gets knocked out of me a little bit! I feel her moving almost constantly. She is big enough to where she can't do much without it being apparent.

Food cravings: MILK!!!! I essentially drank a gallon in less than four days. Husband was in town and I asked him to pick up another gallon... and he said " but we have a full one in the fridge, don't we?"... false. Babes needs it though, she is growing bunches and needs the fat and calcium.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No! Hallelujah!! I left my queasies behind by 19 weeks.

Labor Signs: I don't think so. I had some ligament stretching pain a few weeks ago, and in Hawaii I had some cramping but I think it was from the absence of my fantastic mattress at home.

Belly Button in or out or pig snout: pig snout. serious, that is what it looks like. Hubs thinks it looks "ruined". I think that is a little dramatic.

Pregnant paddle boating in Hawaii ! I felt like I was a kindred spirit to all of the pregnant women at the resort. We would stop and chat about how pregnant we were and congratulate each other.

So lucky to have my pal Becka Lefoll do some maternity pictures for me. She is so wonderful! More to come.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

week 23

I always get excited to check what fruit size my baby is this week. Even if the fruit sizes are entirely illogical and out of order. What kind of grapefruit is larger than a papaya?

Here is the revised version of week 23 by yours truly.

You baby is a giant beautiful grapefruit. As are your boobs which have tripled in size over the last 4 months. Congratulations. Baby is compromising your lung capacity and making it difficult to bend over to put your shoes on. Baby is stretching your heart capacity. You didn't know you could love your little belly kicker so much. You can now SEE your baby kicking, and watch her body shift in your stomach in large waves. You might think that if your belly grows one more half inch, it might just break open. It won't. I hope. You will probably start to get ligament stretching pain and think that you are dying for one minute spurts at a time when you change positions like from sitting to standing. You will survive that, too. You are probably also obsessing over baby things like cribs and ruffled sleep and play's from Osh Kosh that are covered in kitties, balloons, and all manner of adorable. You may also find yourself craving only lemon flavored things and find yourself pondering the side effects of eating caesar salad dressing plain. DON'T DO IT!! Put that on a salad girl!

Ultimately I don't know where this is going but I need to go do my school work.

-farmwife

ps.. here is a sunday belly shot. it was a rough morning with my dress zipper away on business in the DRC, but somehow we managed.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

what you won't expect when you're expecting part 1

1) To grow a two inch mini lion mane all along your hairline. I knew they said my hair might get thicker, but there was no mention of the awesomeness that becomes my hair in a pony tail when the mini mane that can't be pulled back gets a chance to shine. RAR!

2) To believe in pregnancy brain. What an excuse! Wait until you put 1/4 cup of sugar into your waffle batter instead of a table spoon, and sprinkle chili powder on your casserole instead of paprika in the same day. You will become a believer.

3) To be able to spend unlimited amounts of time with your hands on your belly in complete awe of this tiny person kicking back. You know, just this tiny person you made. Just the biggest miracle right there in your very tummy!

4) Your leg hair growth gets stunted. Compensation for the mini mane, possibly. This is actually very convenient because I am already starting to wonder how I will be able to bend over in a few weeks. Or put on shoes. Or get out of a vehicle without a lot of sputtering and dramatics.

5) To have that panic moment when you look beyond the cuddly new born stage and realize that your baby girl will someday become a teenager and has half of your genetics. I don't recommend dwelling on the topic. Focus on the newborn snuggles.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

fake o chip

I had the 3rd graders vote two weeks ago on the sex of the baby. 21 kids voted in favor of a girl, and 9 thought baby would be a boy! I told them whatever the outcome I would bring them in cupcakes, blue for boy, pink for a girl.

I only had one box of rainbow chip cake mix. And I tried to stretch that one box meant for 24 cupcakes to 27. But I fundamentally don't believe in cupcakes that don't rise above their lil liner! So I improvised. I dumped sprinkles into a yellow cake mix so that the third graders wouldn't do the whole, " But HE got rainbow chip!!" ordeal. So all the cupcakes appeared as though they were rainbow chip. Fake o chip.

I whipped together buttercream frosting and tinted it baby pink. It was delicious.

I came in this morning and set a cupcake on each desk, and put a powerpoint up on the starboard that said, "IT'S A GIRL!" with a little ultrasound picture. The kids ran in all excited yelling " I knew it, I knew it!" There was much rejoicing. And then it came to the eating of the cupcakes. Most children ate them without question. There were a few however, who were confused about "what was on top". These were no safeway cupcakes. I told them " KID THAT IS REAL FROSTING! It's not straight crisco! It's fantastic! You eat that or I will!" Man. Kiddos not appreciating homemade butter cream. What in the world.

I gave the kids their math test today. They all bombed it. It was horrible. Here was a highlight. " I know that 57 and 18 = 75 and I think it means about math that's what I think it means. " The correct answer sprang from that logic.That is 3rd grade. I think the problem lies within the fact that I didn't go over every single question and tell them exactly what to do. If there are more than 5 words it may as well be Japanese to these kiddos.

I watched my geese pick on my Melly dog today and I was filled with protective rage. Mel was such a good dog, and just stood there with her tail between her legs as they gathered around and honked at her because she knows it would be a bad thing to kill a goose pet. So I did the heroic and ran out and chased them away. I'm on your side Melly dog.

-farmwife

Monday, October 14, 2013

and everything nice

It's girl!!!!! I should be more surprised by this, but I had my suspicions! I have possibly been referring to her as a she for a while. At first I was convinced it was a boy. And then I became convinced otherwise. According to old wives tales, heart beats per minute, sickies, carrying high or low, this babe was definitely a girl! I don't have anything to compare it to of course so who knows, and watch me have the same symptoms next time around and have it be a boy. Either way, we are thrilled!

My instructions for the ultrasound had me drink 32 oz of water and hour before my appointment. Which I felt was akin to the gallon challenge for a preggers. Either I was going to barf it up or I would pee my pants and there was no way around it. I fell asleep in the car and Hubs woke me up 40 min before we got there. " Babe drink your water!!". I started sipping. " No you have to really drink it!" I drank faster. I got to feeling very uncomfortable. " Husband I am going to puke." This was actually really convenient however because we were in the midst of a traffic jam. I opened the door to the car, leaned over, and the water got to splash all over the freeway for the onlookers. Just what they wanted on a monday drive to work I am sure of it. It happened 4 times. So everyone got a free ticket to the barf show. I do what I can for traffic jam entertainment, you know?

I was so happy to have Hubs with me at the appointment! He asked a lot of great questions that I wouldn't have thought to ask. When we got there I finally relaxed and got excited. I had been waiting for this day for AGES it seems like! Right off the bat we were told that we were having a girl!! It took a long time to sink in. It still is sinking in. And, she's adorable. I'm in love with my little wiggle girl! I can't believe we are halfway there already!

Friday, October 11, 2013

sensitive souls

Today during math, I decided to include a game to try out the kid's addition strategies I had taught them. So we split the class boys vs. girls, and I got them all pumped up because the winning team would get to line up first for the rest of the whole day. YESSS!! Apparently the stakes were too high. The first crier through me off guard. " It's ok bud! It's just a game, and we've just started!" So we continued on, the girls slaughtering the boys in the competition. More boys in tears. Soon, at least half of boys. Crying over our math game. Real tears. Heads buried in arms on desks. " I will never talk to a girl again!" Direct quote. I didn't know if it was because they felt comfortable enough in class to show their raw kiddo emotions or because they were really just that devastated!In my day you would have just been called a sore looser, I am pretty sure. I did not tell them that obviously, but we had a heart to heart about being good sports and having a can-do attitude, etc. Sensitive souls.

I am already half way through student teaching! It is crazy to think that I have worked so hard for so long to be at this moment. Instead of freaking out about the new WA state assessment and everything I have to do, I have just been trying to remember, you earned this! Criers and all.

-farmwife

Thursday, October 10, 2013

the bumpkin

Giant pumpkins!! I drove by our orchard where they were planted under the trees today, and panicked because they were all gone! Did someone rob my giant lovelies? Only someone truly passionate about their pumpkins would have thoughts like that. Nope, husband had loaded them up in the truck! With super strength obviously because those things are MASSIVE. I chose some for my porch ( just 11, you know?) and I am pretty sure he drove around like santa and delivered them to people to spread autumn cheer.

It should be mentioned that I feel like my belly button is going to rip open, and we are only halfway to having a baby in my arms! The bump is having a major growth spurt.

Above is bump at 16 weeks.

Here at 19 weeks.

4 more days until we find out if our little is a boy or girl, and the suspense is killing me!!! At first I was positive that it would be a little boy, and then the more I looked at baby girl things the more convinced I became that I had to have a reason to buy things with bows and lace and pink with kitties on the bum.

The baby will be kicking and will stop right when I try to get hubs to see if he can feel them! So babes is like mom in that way, is happy to do something until asked.

enjoy your bladders with normal capacities.

-farmwife

Sunday, October 6, 2013

on growing a person

It's a hard thing to stay focused on school work when my tiny tummy buddy is having a dance party. At 19 weeks, I have felt the baby pretty consistently for a while now. I love to lay down on the couch and wait for the tiny little kicks that I can feel, mostly on the inside still, but sometimes the babe really wants to say hello and I can feel it on the outside, too. I tell myself, ok, you can lay here and try to feel the baby for 5 minutes. And 5 turns to 10. And ten to 15. It never really gets old, the fact that I planned, hoped & prayed for this little baby, and it is in there, getting bigger everyday!

Sometimes it baffles my mind to think that when hubs was 22 he was foot loose and fancy free at BYU - going around being all brash and good looking and Elliott-like, and I at 22 have been married for two years and am expecting a child. I have been pondering that for maturity's sake. And then I cut myself a break majorly.

The elementary school jog-a-thon was earlier this week and whenever their is a fun run I feel the need to run my heart out, and win whatever cardboard medal is available regardless of training or lack thereof. I couldn't do it!! I jogged at a comfortable pace for most of the hour, but my potty breaks knocked me out of the race, and I was really trying to make sure I didn't over-do it, with plenty of water breaks & slowing down if I needed to.

FALL IS HERE and I can't shun my cooking/baking urges. Before I knew how to cook, I always hoped that I would like it, and had this idea of me enjoying cooking and making things and as it turns out, I have a domestic bone or two in this bod!! I just want to feed everybody stuff. Like the oatmeal fudge bars I made today. I didn't even want them. I just wanted to feed them to people and feel the gratification of making something people enjoy. Maybe those are pre-motherly feelings coming to life.

Ultimately this is just turning into a directionless rant which I should end because I am pretty positive I have a load of school work to do!

-farmwife

Saturday, October 5, 2013

#ldsconf

Today I am so grateful for general conference. I dragged my laptop room to room as I cleaned house, and sat down for second session in front of a giant pile of laundry. Here's to you full time working women, you are magic. It is hard to do it all. After a few talks that hit me like a ton of bricks personalized for Kayla Goodrich I just laid my head down on the table and sobbed. Because the talks spoke to me so poignantly- because I had been needing to hear some of those things for a long time. I felt so aware of my Heavenly Father's love for me and could feel it tangibly through the words of his servants. He is aware of our struggles and shortcomings and today I was reminded that I have not been alone for a single second of them. My heart is filled with gratitude today for my membership in the church, and for the comfort and rock it has always been for me in my life.

-farmwife

Friday, September 27, 2013

huckleberry pie

This is THE BEST pie I have ever made. In the last 2 and a half years of my life that I have discovered how to cook, I have made A LOT of pies. So that is saying something. A slice of this steamy goodness with a scoop of tillamook vanilla bean ice cream on top was almost too much to handle. Just ridiculous. I think I may have a new favorite pie. This is not a recipe blog, however, here is how it is done:

Preheat your dirty oven to 425. If you have a clean oven you probably need to be making more pies. Or just come over and clean mine, too.

Mix this up in a bowl:
4-5 cups of berries ( I only had 4 since we munched some for breakfast but normally I like to get heavy with the berries)
2/3 ish cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
A couple shakes of cinnamon
a tsp of vanilla

Make your pie crust. Whatever is your fave. Yell at it for being flimsy and tearing and then roll it out again. 2nd step optional. Unless you are me. I don't like to be overwhelmed by crust so I do a lattice instead of the full top crust. Plus it looks dang fancy. I cut mine out with a pizza cutter.

Dump your berry mixture into the unbaked crust, put on your top crust, and pinch your edges all adorable like .

BAKE FOR 35 AGONIZING MINUTES but be prepared to embrace the best smell of your life.

Let it cool for a little bit, equally as agonizing as bake time. But then. Cut it. Serve it with ice cream, and prepare for your mind to be blown and to be tempted to even use profanity because you feel as though it is the only way to form an apt description of how you feel about this dessert. But don't do it, because ladies aren't supposed to be profane and whatnot.

Enjoy.

Loves,
Farmwife

Monday, September 23, 2013

17 weeks

17 Weeks Pregnant. Let me tell you some facts.

It is like being perma bloated. Only you can't suck it in or diet coke your way out of it.

Your bladder is a joke. Just take my word for it.

It is technically a little early for me to be feeling the baby as strongly as I do, but since this is about facts, I do. A lot. He or she likes to kick around mid morning and right before I go to sleep, and if there is any tightness around my midsection like non maternity pants or tights the little babe will try to kick it away. It is just like tiny little nudges that make me so happy every time I feel them! Just my little buddy saying hello.

I don't know if it is the pregnancy or the lack aforementioned diet coke, but my sugar cravings are GONE. I used to be able to live off of chocolate and diet soda. It was basically all I ever wanted. No longer. I will still eat a piece of pie or have a brownie for dessert once in a while, but it is not the crazed must have urge that I used to have. Which is a welcome surprise!!

I still get sick once and a while. Thanks to my first trimester sickies I now have the gag reflex of a seasoned bulimic, and if I see something that grosses me out, fool you had better run.

You don't really recognize your body. Obviously my tummy will likely quadruple in size, but even this early you look in the mirror and see this front heavy roundy version of yourself, and it is slightly startling. Even for hubs. He still does a double take sometimes.

IT IS SO EXCITING. I am the type to read every article there is, research every type of carseat, and look at what fruit size my baby is religiously every week. I have been waiting for this forever!!

Also a bit about teaching. This is what happened during my science lesson last week. They were to put together the skeleton to the best of their knowledge before being given the resources to do it correctly and fix any errors.

5 Seperate groups turned in different variations of this. There was no laughing, smirking, or mischievousness about it!! They just plopped them on my desk. "Here, I am finished."

WHATTT!!!!! I didn't want to get them in trouble if they didn't have bad intentions and were just doing their best, so I calmly told them that their skeleton is missing a neck (knee bones, etc.) and to solve that problem.

We all had a good laugh over it in the staff room for sure.

off to bed!
-farmwife

Monday, September 2, 2013

hey 3rd grade

Student teaching began for me last week, if my sniffles/kleenex abuse aren't a complete indication that it is back to school! When your all grown up and such you forget what 8&9 year olds are even about. Basically they are just adorable. They can kind of write. And kind of read ok. And they are very affecionate and eager to please. And very amusing at spelling. Monkey or munky, you know? We are just diving in and establishing routines, you have to remember to explain everything everything and what to do before everything, what to do after everything, and how quiet to be. And then repeat it the next day. We'll get it down soon!

Mainly you just have to dig deep and find your inner educational clown. They like to laugh those 3rd graders! They wanted to know all about farm life, what types of animals we had, why we had them, and exactly how many different brightly colored pairs of slack I own. Not enough children, never enough.

On a random note I have really started to take pride in packing well rounded lunches for myself all divided up into their individualized tupperwares and busting them out in the staff room. I probably get as excited about lunch as the kiddos being the ravenous preggers that I am.

Speaking of, this post was going to take a different turn and be called barf chronicles, but I realize that nobody really wants to read about each episode of the preggers pukies regardless of how novel I find this experience to be. Part 1- Safeway Spewing, a parking lot special, part 2- Macaroni at Midnight, it's all in my hands. You get the idea.

Mainly I procrastinated my homework and every internet page in the world will load except the one I need. Hard lessons.

-farmwife

Monday, August 26, 2013

engulfed in powerful winds and also rain

Before I became the farmwife, I used to really enjoy storms! When I was little we would lay out on the trampoline with my dad and count until the lightning would strike and try to predict the next loud bang of lightning. Storms were exciting and entertaining. Now it's chaos!! AHHH harvest that! Get the geese, get the chicken off the grill, runnnnn!

The sirs went to harvest what they could of the sugar beet seed before it hit, and I got to chauffeur them around- taking them to different trucks since it is Sunday and we didn't have any extra hands. It is nice to be needed in that way sometimes (i.e. twice a year maybe).

Doesn't look like we were about to be engulfed in powerful winds and rains does it!! Anywhoo the power went off and hubs and I played the farming game (we just can't escape it can we) and ate cake by candlelight. It ended too soon. I just loved it.

In other news, we have a new kitty. Hubs and I don't have tons in common besides our mutual love and devotion to one another and also macaroni and cheese , but we both have a major soft spot in our hearts for our animal friends. This meow was crying from under a car in the church parking lot, so we obvs coaxed it out and took it to it's grand new home on the farm! It was so hungry. Poor thing. You may get eaten by a coyote but you will not be hungry!

And lets face it there is going to be a lot of bump watch going on here. Give me a B! For bloated? I don't know but we have got something going on people. A lot of blogs post week by week pregnancy pictures, and I finally see one that looks similar to mine, and guess what they are having twins. I am not. Errybody's different! I am just ready for some elastic waistbands. I am talking full panel. Lets make that happen.

-farmwife

Friday, August 23, 2013

pep talk

Since I have found out about our little baby, I have had this panic realization that "MOTHERS HAVE THEIR LIVES TOGETHER" and crap I have months to attain this martha stewart homemade cinnamon rolls in the morning never any laundry waiting to be folded on the couch perfection. The mother that I imagined myself being is not the semi chaotic 22 year old that stands before you today. I have always thought that in order to have more control over the cleanliness of my house, organization of my personal life ect, that I needed more structure, more self discipline, more checklists. While all those things are important, what has been entirely more effective for me is realizing, hey guess what you are a human being. Just because thursday is deep clean bathrooms and that didn't happen it is not the end of the world, and you shouldn't throw your whole cleaning plan to the birds. Before babies need a perfect momma mainly they just need love. And I have plenty of that. Love excess over here. Be gentle with your human self. You're trying.

Plus, martha stewart was once a convict or something. So you've already got one up on her. Good job, general law obeyer you. You don't want to be martha. Just you, making baby steps towards being a little better today than you were yesterday, alright?

-farmwife

Thursday, August 22, 2013

pregnant

The cat is out of the bag and the beans have been spilled people!! I am a human incubator!!!! Anyone that knows me personally is aware that I have been baby hungry FOREVER. I have always wanted to be a mother more than anything, and was so excited when the time came where we could give it a go without interfering with finishing school,(which after you've tossed in as much moola as we have into the deal, is important).

First of all I was pretty positive it was going to take me forever to get pregnant. My grandmother took a few years, and so did my mother. They all had success, but it took time. After month two of trying I was pretty positive that I was in the same boat as my favorite blogger Nat the Fat Rat, and the lovely women who came before me. I felt for these women. But I did not give up! The month of our anniversary rolled around, and I just had this good feeling. I just decided, this month, would be THE month. I picked out my doctor, prayed A LOT and obviously eh you know on exactly the right days. And may or may not have spent extensive time with my hips in the air thinking positive thoughts. Is that tmi? Yes. Moving on.

After month one I wised up and started buying the cheapy tests, because that can get pricey! So I have these questionable tests, and here it is the month of June. I test. 2 days earlier than recommended. Because that is how patient I am. I see the negative line start to appear and trash the thing. What garbage! What nonsense. This was supposed to be my month. The next morning I peek in that very scented garbage bag. You know, just to reaffirm. And to my freaking utter and complete surprise that stick had two lines on it. WHICH MEANS POSITIVE. Which means success. Which means PREGNANT. Mind blown & life changed. I could keep going. (and obvs I tested again for good measure. and then had my blood drawn for even greater measure)

I told hubs in possibly the dumbest way ever, insomuch that we aren't even going to discuss it right now.

Anywhoo, pregnancy is so many things all rolled into one. Some of them contradictions. I've never felt so happy, or more sensitive- more beautiful, or more bloated- more excited or more nervous. Days where I could hardly keep anything down were tough, but so were days when I felt great, thinking " are you ok in there little bub!?" I learned to just knock that off though, and just enjoy the days where I could look food in the face and eat while I could, and the sickies would always make their way back.

My first ultrasound was nothing short of magical. Elliott had to bail last minute for a farm emergency caused by the storm, so I drove up all by myself and sat there and waited. My doctor was gone, they pulled me in late, and being alone had made me nervous. That tiny human being popped up on the screen moving his or her tiny legs like it was the happiest ever, just content, just relaxing in my tummy. My tiny baby.

I am so excited for this new chapter in my life! Goodbye job, goodbye pants properly fitting! Hello student teaching and preparing to be a mother!!

the toilet and I became best puke time friends

-farmwife

Monday, July 8, 2013

june bug thug

From skipping down mountain trails, to maiming countless fish in the name of catch and release ( sorry fish, we love you) and building epic campfires, an blast was had by all this weekend! We love family camping trips. And the food. No food is better than camping food.

Also we had the misfortune of looking at this bug that flew into my dad. Antlers? A tail? Stripes? Oh bug. Out of nowhere in my mind I said, "IT'S A JUNE BUG!!", which, upon some uncomfortable bug googling turned out to be right! It is a ten stripe june beetle. Random fact power!

The more I stare at this bug the more I just want to cry.

-farmwife

Sunday, June 30, 2013

cherries

Yesterday Elliott & I drove to Royal City to visit my grandparents! It was good to see them and as you can see we filled our trunk up with enough cherries to make hubs sick for a week. He has no self control when it comes to cherries. To each their own. I love to pit & freeze pie cherries for pies so we can have them ALL YEAR LONG.... I don't remember it being so painful last year, but this year I pitted cherries into the wee hours of the night until my hands felt like they were going to cramp up and fall off while watching downton abbey reruns on hulu. Do we really have to wait until January for season 4? Why do you torture us so Masterpiece Classic?

I have always thought this shot is so beautiful, and someday I will do more than stick my iphone out the window and snap a picture as we cross the dam, but here the potholes are in all their sagebrushy glory.

Husband spoke in church today. I was so proud of the man! I have never actually seen him speak in public and it was one of those times where you see your spouse in a new light and think " I bagged a good one." Bagged him good. What a hottie.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

orphan buggers

You wouldn't guess that wet this kitty resembled more of a frog than anything. Unfortunately i don't have a picture of that. She got a bath today because she got adopted!!! I sifted through my craigslist responses and found a sweet email from a couple who needed in a new indoor cat as theirs had passed away. Elliott had been wanting to keep his poofy siamese, but knowing that it wouldn't be a good indoor cat because I am allergic, and a white fluffer cat would basically look like a fantastic marshmallow treat to a coyote as an outdoor cat, he offered his sweet poofy to them. The woman cried she was so happy. Meeting random sweet strangers restores my faith in a kind and loving humanity. As opposed to Wal-Mart, in which I leave with quite different feelings. But nevermind that now.

-farmwife

Monday, June 24, 2013

the irony of the farm wife

I rarely touch on the irony that I am this girl living this life. When I was in 4th grade, we moved into a rental home, and my bedroom had farm wallpaper. Little smiling pigs, big red barns and picket fences adorned my walls that year. I was a very conscientious child,and I was so mortified by that farm scene staring back at me from my childhood walls that I did not have one friend over the entire school year.

My sweet grandpa was a school teacher and a farmer. We would go to their house as children, eat strawberries until we couldn't anymore, catch tadpoles in the large irrigation ditch and try to catch wild kittens loose in the cinderblock pile.

Soon we moved from Spokane to the columbia basin. I refused to learn the names of crops growing besides the roads the we drove past, and I was very skeptical of this way of life, the stereotype of the uneducated farmer in overalls & a straw hat somehow still so ignorantly carved into my mind. My future was skyscrapers & the hustle and bustle of a large city, fancy dinners and a husband with a briefcase, suit & tie.

Fast forward to 19, the girl falling in love with the quick witted UW student with deep blue eyes and a refreshingly brash way of going about things. My future husband who would come home to the family farm on weekends simply because he loved it, and that is what he wanted to to. Our first date we went to the laser light show and wished on a shooting star. My wish? Happily ever after, which I would wish on every shooting star, and his- a million dollars. A farmer and ambitious? Spending time with him and his family quickly dissolved my thoughts and feelings on the topic. They are and were lovely and a constant example to me.

For the majority of our engagement I lived in Kiev, Ukraine. I was head teacher for a group of girls teaching english through ILP. Skyscrapers and smog, strong women in heels and fur, the silence on the subway and the brisk pace excited me. I may or may not have said aloud at my sisters graduation a few weeks back that if people were to walk this slow in Ukraine they would get stabbed. Probably not. Probably just accosted verbally (which happened a lot regardless of what I was doing it seemed). It enthralled me, and then it confined me. I couldn't see out.

for the credit of kiev, it is beautiful in the springtime

So I marry the farmer. We get pigs. We get geese. We raise a massive garden and keep chickens. We work hard. There is a deeper understanding of life watching things grow by your own hand and die if you are not careful. A sense of self efficacy at a job well done. I am soothed by the simplicity of things, and by the smell of freshly tilled dirt in the garden. If I look out my window on a clear day I can see Mt. Rainier from here. I open the windows during summer nights and hear the crickets and frogs, in a little country symphony, and drift off to sleep surrounded by a living farm wall paper.

I can't wait to have family garden nights with our future babies and their mini garden tools.

first world problems

Today was one of those days where you open up your purse to pay for lunch and all you've got in there is a bunch of jelly beans. Completely useless.

I got basemented at work with the sniffles- all I wanted to do is dump a garbage bag of shredded paper on the floor and curl up in it like an oversized hamster and take a nap for two hours. But mainly I just shredded old charts.

I got a bowl of cookie dough ice cream after dinner, only for hubs to tell me that we were going over to his parent's house for dessert in 15 min. So obviously I had to eat dessert twice ( it was coconut cake duh). It was so hard. Not. But it is disturbing how much it feels like I have ruptured my stomach. Yet also worth it. Disturbing how worth it it was.

It should be said that I have nothing of importance to say at this point.

-farmwife

Friday, June 21, 2013

interior design fever for the broke

looks like a lot of pinning, a lot of plotting, and a lot of working my rear end off so that one day I can buy one of my afghan rugs that I am impossibly in love with. Grateful for hubs and his financial smarts rubbing off on me so I am no longer blowing paychecks as they come to me. Kayla of old worked part time jobs before marriage, and then spent the other part of the time in nordy's.....She also enjoyed a considerably lower tax rate. But don't get me started on taxes. Adulthood. Sigh.

I just want to roll all over this rug and maybe kiss it and then opt for a good teeth brushing afterwards.

abandonment and some laundry

Sometimes during special times in my life I get choked up over things easily, usually love stories or people trying really hard and accomplishing things... Hubby loves it (??) So obviously when they gave an old hurricane sandy couple their fantasic date I was all pathetic and sob faced. I never claimed to like the bachelorette, but I have just started saving decent piles of laundry to fold for the occasion- so you aren't completely wasting your life watching it you know? I'm not wasting time I will never get back, I am folding laundry. And drinking a diet dr. p.

This week I have been walking the fine line between love and hate with this yellow deals!Also known as geese. Lucky for them with a lot of patience and more patience it has morphed into somewhat of a fondness for the little things. They way they toddle everywhere and eat all the weeds is pretty endearing. Meanwhile in cat land, the babies have been abandoned by their mother at 6 weeks. That was all the mothering she can handle apparently. She probably saw the first one eating dry food and thought, "sweet i am outta here!". It is akin to leaving a 10 year old child at home. Maybe ok but also maybe a horrible idea. She wasn't our cat anyway, just kind of showed up to have some children or something I suppose.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

fried

2 Nights ago I was sitting at our kitchen table working on my Zaner-Bloser handwriting course for school, so I could have full view of the storm going on out of our big front window. All was well until I see a huge flash of light, a loud reverberating noise that made my insides tingle, and BANG, the telephone pole across the street in gets pulverized by lightning. And by pulverized, I mean some of the wires fell off but it is otherwise alright looking. Anyway I sat there in shock, when it happens again, at which point I respond properly (i.e screamed and ran and huddled in the bathroom where husband was taking a bath, because water is so safe when mixed with electricity and stuff). So Hubby jumps out to evaluate and do manly responsible things like call the PUD so that they can fix the wires and whatnot. The storm rages on, blah blah this is taking too long so I will skip to the good part, when the lineman is up there fixing things, and BAM!!! Lightning hits the tree 30 ft away from him. How uncanny, right! And how devastating to two things 1) our water pump and 2) the internet. Fried. Do you have any idea how many things you cannot do in the absence of water and the world wide web? Well. It is about 90% of the stuff I do turns out. There are SO MANY wonderful hours in the day that I have discovered, when you aren't working hard at procrastinating homework.

The first ripe raspberry in the garden!

Wiggled these out of the ground and we had them with dinner boiled with a little butter and brown sugar over them. mmmm

Peek a boo with Rachey

and chocolate chip cookies for another rainy day!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

2 yrs & a day for dads

Happy anniversary to Elliott & I! We have unintentionally created a tacos el ray tradition. Unintentional in that Elliott forgot that we came here last year. We sat at the same table and whatnot all cute. It was a fun little celebration, and fun to think back to how much we have learned about each other/life/ourselves since we sealed the deal two years ago.

I think it is safe to say that we had no idea what we were signing up for (few do), but we are happy that we did- it's been an adventure since day 1 and it keeps getting better.

ALSO IT IS FATHERS DAY!

Here is a cutie little shot of my dad with me and baby chelsi. So grateful for him. So here's so my dad and dad's everywhere, keep doing dad stuff!! Having jobs and being fun and teaching life lessons and whatnot! You're important.

-farmwife

Saturday, June 15, 2013

insta dump

In the litter of 9 kittens, we have two little runts. I have been supplementing whatever they get from their cat momma with kitten formula in a tiny little bottle. In the process I have created monster baby cats, When you walk into the shop, they run out to greet you with ferocious little meows and climb up your pant leg like the tiny poofy spiders that they are., while their fatty siblings just are mastering the waddle. The formula should come with a warning label: may cause severe kitten entitlement.

It seems like forever ago that we ordered this pilgrim geese. They are supposed to be excellent weeders. They arrived in the mail this week, and they think that my husband is their large goose leader. They toddle after him as fast as they can! They are living in our empty pig barn until they are big enough to not be cat food or mel food. Melly dog gets all possessed and starts shaking when she sees them, we have to keep an eye on her.

Jamie and I ran another 5k this last weekend as well! It was a super small race, but an eventful one for both of us. I may or may not have vomited all over the finish line in my aim at a medal, and Jamie missed the turn around and ran an extra mile. I was so worried, asking finishers if they had run past my pregnant friend. We both had a good laugh and I ended up winning my age bracket and getting second for women overall.

off to bed for this lady.

happy saturday!