Halloween and Meaning

On this day, three years ago, I found out that I was pregnant with Barrett. It's one of those memories that will live as if it were yesterday FOREVER. I had a cold, and my period was late. I went to Walgreens and bought cold medicine, and a pregnancy test. The checker was a friendly woman, who was dressed as Elvis. I will never forget our conversation.
Elvis lady: I will always remember when I first found out I was pregnant. My breasts were sore, and I thought I had the flu. You know how your breasts get sore when you have the flu?
Me: NOD +SMILE....."my boobs have NEVER been sore with the flu. BUT,my boobs sure are sore now" I think to myself.
Elvis lady: Then I took a pregnacy test and found that I was pregnant.
Me: Well.....this is not exactly planned, but...
Elvis lady: (interrupting me) Oh. Well, you can never plan for it, honey.
Me: It would be okay......but.....

The Elvis lady finishes checking me out.

Elvis Lady: Good luck to you
Me: Thank you.

I sit in my car, and I know that I am pregnant. The test is not is only verification when I get home and it ptactically screams "PREGNANT" moments later. The tears roll from shock, then the tears roll from joy. I am so thankful for my beautiful boy.

Punkins

We went to a local pumpkin farm yesterday. It had just rained, the field was muddy, the wind was cold, but we had fun. We were the only ones there. An older gentleman with "PAPA" emblazoned on his sweatshirt emerged from his warm house to greet us. "It's a muddy mess out there, but you are welcome to go out. Pick whatever you like, and take as many pictures as you want." So...we did just that.

Gunther was very happy about his pumpkin.

Later my mother in law, or Nana as the kids call her, came over and we carved pumpkins. This is a crummy picture of our end result. Jason took off all week. At the beginning of the week he picked up a spray gun to finish painting our house....as you can see he did not use it. He was too busy watching horror movies that earned a whopping one star, such as "Eaten Alive" made in 1977......boy am I ready for him to go back to work.

Oh, and these are the fancy cows that live at the pumpkin farm. I just liked them. I think Dammit Farms could use a longhorn cow. I don't know what for......but they are cool. No?

Wyatt is a Wild Man

The Accused


The Crime



Remember that sweet baby goat that was born here in July? That sweet little baby ? Well, Wyatt, our first Dammit Farms birth, has turned into an adorable hellion. Every time I am dumb enough to let him out of his pen, I regret it. I'll look outside to see him standing on the roof of our truck, or eating the cable that connects the satellite to our house. I've talked to Patty, his mama, about getting him under control. She chides him "meh ahhhh ah meccccchhhh ah", and he ignores her. I know how she feels. Barrett ignores me too.

Wyatt's escapades outside of his pen have been stopped for now. He is grounded. He broke the hood to our lawn mower. Jason is not happy. Wyatt was not seen actually breaking the hood to the lawnmower, so I say he is innocent until proven guilty. However, there are no other suspects and he doesn't have an alibi. I think he will not be leaving his confines any time soon.

Gunther is One!

My sweet little guy is one today. I can't imagine my life without Gunther/Bobo/Gravy/ Wide Glide/ Fat Boy. Yes, he has more nicknames than anyone else in our house. He is a delightful child, and I am lucky to be his mama.

The pictures go in reverse oreder from most recent to oldest. The last one is when he still lived in my belly.

Hobby Farm Reality

I often read Hobby Farm Home, which is like the rural version of "Home and Garden". It's a beautiful magazine, with lovely pictures of produce and fancy chickens. It would make anyone want to give up their McMansion in the suburbs for a quaint farmhouse in ruralia. It actually holds a lot of information that is pertinent to me and the function of our little acreage. I strive for my home to be like the pictures of opulent country living. However, I/we miss the mark. Our dart is totally off the Hobby Farm Home dart board actually.

There is a major difference in vision versus the reality. They fail to mention several things:

• Hobby farms and death go hand in hand. Chickens will be massacred by predators, goats and sheep will fall to mysterious illness.


• Renovating a farmhouse is a lifelong project. You will be victim to previous renovators and the wood paneling, and shag carpet that they left behind. There is no way to prepare for all of the house issues you may encounter.


• Once you have decided to take on a hobby farm, you are likely stuck there. It's hard to find someone to take on your gazillion chores and do them right. I have attempted to write out instructions for chores, and I think the result was about three typed pages, single spaced. If you hire some hapless teenager to do the job, you know they will stop reading after the third sentence and "wing it".


• Finding a snake in your laundry room will be a uninteresting occurrence. Barely worth mentioning to friends and family. This happened last week and my thought was "No biggie. It's not poisonous."


• Every insect for miles will see the light on in your kitchen and fling themselves against the window repeatedly.


• Field mice will trade the field in a heartbeat for a little nest in the coat closet. Expect to battle a rodent infiltration at least twice a year.

Of course there are a lot of great things about a hobby farm like fresh eggs, and a bunch of animal compainions. It's just a life that lacks glamour.

On another...totally unrelated note: I got my first pair of cowboy boots! I have needed a pair for some time. Jason bought them for me as a sort of early birthday present. Looky!!! Aren't they cute?

Two Babies in A Little Car

Barrett demands that Gunther rides with him in his Gator. It's about the cutest thing I think that I have ever seen.

Excuse the appearance of our house....it is under construction.

Meteorology School

What do they do there? Really...I'm asking. Does anybody know? They must just get smashed for years, because they don't have to learn anything. Well, they have to learn how to look like they know what they are doing in front of a green screen. I don't imagine that lesson takes more than a few hours. That leaves many years to master one's "keg stand form".

This is my summary of a forecast from our local news last week:
There is a sixty percent chance of rain on Thursday. This could go up or down. It could be just a scattered shower, or it could rain all day.

What?That doesn't mean anything. I means that: A. It could rain all day long B. It could be totally sunny, and not rain. C. There could be a random storm at any time.
I think that covers everything, except for snow. I'm surprised they didn't throw a 2% chance of snow in there just to be sure they had covered every possible weather incident.

Here is my weekly forecast. It applies to everyone, no matter where you live. Don't waste your time watching the weather.

This week the temps will be between -30 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit. It will be partly cloudy, or mostly sunny. There is a 5% chance of snow, which will increase to 100% if you see white stuff falling from the sky. Hail and sleet are possible, but not guaranteed. There is a 30% chance of rain, but that could go up or down. uhhh....keep your eyes peeled for tornadoes....there is a 1.5% chance your house will be torn from it's foundation and dumped atop the local Wal-mart.

I think KFOR should just put me on their payroll. I can do the weather. I just proved it.

Fall Days

The weather has been pretty mild lately, and we have been enjoying some outside time. I have been loading the boys in the wagon and walking to the mailbox. Our mailbox is a little less than a mile from our house, so it's a bit of a hike. Dragging two tots is quite a workout in itself. My forearms have been sore this week. Pain is a sign of progress, right?

The kids enjoy the wagon rides, but they can't seem to decide on who gets "shotgun". So, they just whine and climb over one another. I had to tell Gunther "sit on your bottom" about eighteen times during our walk yesterday. I'm lucky that neither of them ended up falling head-first onto the concrete.

I tried to get a shot of the Wichita Mountains, which you can see quite clearly on our walk, but they did not come out at all. I'll have to try again at some other time. It's more impressive in person, anyway.