day 12..... baby you can drive my car... NOT!

So, we were trying to leave to go run errands this morning, and as it was a nice day, I was going to take my car. I LOVE to drive my car with the top down. Well, the 6 year old beat me out to my car and hopped in the front seat. Her sister was trying to get her to move to the back. After a little discussion, she agreed to move to the back and get in her booster so I could drive. This little girl is one of MANY reasons that we NEVER leave the keys in any of our vehicles.

day 11..... his first haircut

So after several failed attempts, we finally got his hair cut. She did a wonderful job with it. He did an awesome job sitting there. I think it only took about 15 minutes to cut it. He sat so nicely in the booster and let her cut and do what she needed to do. I think it took an hour and a half to cut Trevin's hair the first time, and we were in the chair, on the floor, standing up, back in the chair. But not Hazen, I only had to use one package of gummy snacks. He got a bright green squishy ball with rubber spikes on it that lights up different colors for his prize after he was finished. I did good too. Only a few tears, but I didn't let him see. He is an adorable little boy with tons of personality, and cutting his hair didn't change any of that. Maybe next time we will go shorter, maybe not. Either way, Hazen and I both took a big step today. We survived his first hair cut.

day 10.....those wascally wabbits

This is one of our 4 raised garden beds that we are productively gardening in this year. We plan to add 8 more this fall to have ready for next spring. The kids are going to team garden them and share plots and be in charge of planning, prepping, planting, and maintaining. Not that there is a lot of maintenance with the raised beds... the weeds are minimal, normal watering, but those darn rabbits.... That brings us to today's picture. Today we made an addition to our existing garden... a big pot of marigolds to divide up in the bed tomorrow. We have a bunny problem. Somewhere nearby, some bunny had her babies. I love baby bunnies. They are adorable. But, this year I have declared this a no bunny zone. They are destroying my garden. I have pea plants 3 inches tall where the rest are 18 inches. I have lettuce being plucked at like an all you can eat buffet. And they are snapping green bean plants off at the ground. Short of hiring Elmer Fudd to guard it, I am at my wit's end. I have tied plastic bags to the trellis to act as mini scarecrows, the kids go running and flapping their arms and yelling to beat anything I have ever seen, and no matter what we try..... they. keep. coming. back. I have read in several places that rabbits hate marigolds. We are going to test the theory. We had marigolds around our old garden... never saw any bunnies, but then again it was the crappiest garden there was. I mean nothing would grow. So yeah.. let's hope this works. Otherwise, does anyone know the number for Warner Bros.

day 9..... a day in the sun

Well, another day gone by. Once again we completed our lists. Supper is cooked ahead of time for tomorrow when I will be gone for the day, housework and laundry, some lesson plans ready to go for little ones, still need to work on the older ones, and lots of yard work. Got half the yard trimmed... all of the yard is mowed thanks to 3 very busy people here. It took work on one mower, trying with another, and lots of work with the one that got it. Thought I was going to have to pick up a mower tomorrow, but we are going to be able to limp this one along until they mark them down for the season. Today's picture is our future fire pit. Our yard is basically divided into 4 areas.... the patio/grilling area, the backyard which is for raised garden beds now, the side yard which is the playspace for the kids. Cedar playset, sandbox, swimming pool, their "space", and then there is the front. That is my getaway. Surrounded by lilac shrubs on one side, unknown shrubs on the other, various trees including Pine, Ash, Willow, Ornamental Cherry, Choke Cherry, and Apricot. It has a fantastic woodland, forest feel to it. We have a garden bench, a rocker glider, a lovely lounger, and a rock garden that is a work in progress. In the midst of it all, we are building a rustic fire pit. Someplace to snuggle on a cool evening around a fire, somewhere to keep mosquito bugs away on warm evenings, and I am really looking forward to huddling around it during chilly fall evenings. The kids are most looking forward to roasting hot dogs and toasting marshmallows more than 1 or 2 camping trips a year. So yes, hopefully by this holiday weekend, it will be completed. Will definitely post pictures.

day 8..... WE DID IT!!!

One week ago today, I started this blog and have made an entry each day, no matter how tired I have been, or how much we have had going on. We also completed everything on our to-do list for the day that we said we were going to do and then some. The 2 pictures are proof of two completely emptied, sorted, and inventoried deep freezers. A large one with all meat in it, and the smaller one has no meat, but all the veggies, fruits, and miscellaneous. It is a wonderful feeling to have completed. The task took us several hours, but now we know what we have and where it is. Funny thing... for weeks I have heard, "We don't have any turkey burger down there." We have 37 pounds of it. Same with ground beef... 25- three pound packages. We also got some precooking started today, and ended up having a wonderful pot of chili in the cast iron dutch oven for supper. The other things on the list got done as well, laundry, the girls got gone to the rodeo, just hope the weather holds for them, and an unexpected trip to the library for summer reading program...  as we will be gone Monday morning to Fargo.  Now with that inventory done, I can get busy with July menus. I am really thinking we need to add a dessert menu, especially with my husband bringing home new cooking magazines with lots of yummy temptations.

day 7..... a movie to end it

After a very long, busy week around here, the 6 at home kids are happily watching a movie on Disney channel that they have been waiting for all week. Today was a day of baking, gardening (those weed fairies won't stay away) and running errands with the top down on my car. The next 4 days will be quite chaotic, between freezer inventories, laundry, and the 2 teenagers going to a rodeo and street dance out of town tomorrow, some housework, meal precooking, and lesson plans on Sunday, a trip to Fargo for an MRI and some grocery shopping on Monday, and Tuesday brings Hazen's first haircut, horseshoes, and visit from my husband's best friend that we haven't seen in quite some time. Beyond that it is time to get ready for the 4th of July. It is my favorite warm weather event, not really for the fireworks as much as for the cooking. I wish we had a larger crowd coming over, but that's ok. The garden is growing great. Just having a time keeping the rabbits out. Well, I am closing for now as I have a kitchen that has a problem of always needing to be straightened, no matter how often we do it.

Day 6..... and then there were nine

This is the baby of the family. A 2 year old, 30 pound bundle of anything you can imagine. From squishy hugs and big, wet kisses, to mischief you would never dream of.... to date he has scratched a computer monitor with a pebble, almost/may have nuked a Wii console, crayons drawn on things you would never imagine, and kitty cats that are surprisingly still safely in one piece and love him to bits. Today was a potato head day for him. Every time he turned around, he was dragging out the tub of them. They don't just have A potato head... they have a entire crop of them, complete with a better stocked wardrobe than my 17 year old daughter. As the youngest of nine, it is safe to say that he requires a LOT of attention. But when he gets out that tub of taters, he will play happily for quite some time, until some of the others come and bug him. This one was quite sick when he was a baby, for his first 3 months to be exact. As a result, he nursed... a LOT. Fast forward 2 years and several bouts of severe pneumonia and asthma later, he is still nursing. And he loves those "tatoes" so much, that when it was time for bed last night, I asked if he was ready to nurse, I got temporarily turned down while he supervised the putting away of said potatoes. Now that lasted all of about 15 seconds tops... he went from, "Not et" to "Me nurse now" faster than he turned it down. Pooper Nanen is quite something else around here. I'll write more about this one very soon, but we have 8 more to go, and everyday life around here besides...

day 5..... I swear I fed them

Today was a day of bike rides and gardening and little ones taking naps when they were supposed to with no fits and teenage drama and watermelons and cantaloupes from the outdoor produce sale. It was snuggly hugs from a 2 year old, Tylenol for the teenage drama induced headache, spelling and math, pattern blocks and legos, coloring books and hangman, and unplanned supper that had to unexpectedly be planned at the last minute, which bring me to the picture of the day.

I am a planner by nature. Let's get real here.... I have 9 children... 8 of them at home. We plan chores, computer time, schoolwork, meals, and I mean all of the meals, we used to even plan where they got to sit at the supper table. We are going to have to start that one again as there is way too much arguing about who sat where last time. Anyways, for some reason, when June came around, I didn't have the menu planned for the month. Not breakfast, lunch, or supper. Our meal planning is a meticulous thing... we have certain days for cereal, certain days for casseroles, crockpots, and pizza, certain days for lunches either planned leftovers or something new. I live for planning the menus. Everyone pitches in and requests at least one thing each month. We went camping early in the month for 5 days so I didn't worry about it then. Next thing you know it is halfway through the month and I kept saying I would get it done. Well, here we are with 7 days left in the month and it still sits empty... all 3 of them, breakfast, lunch, and supper. We have been winging it, and I HATE it. Breakfast is late and that starts us all out late for the rest of the morning. Lunches are thrown together without much thought so we can get little ones down for naps. And supper is haphazardly thrown together to get them fed. I don't feel in control of things without the planning. Please believe me, when we plan menus I am not a control freak about it. If we don't feel like having what is on the menu for the night, fine... we choose something else. It isn't that I NEED to know what we are having ahead of time. It's the knowing that I don't have to decide at the last minute when everyone is tired and hungry. It's the pre-planning and having things prepped for the coming week that lets me enjoy my cooking experience as much as possible and helps me enjoy my evening with a lower amount of stress. It also helps on the budget as we can plan from what we have in our freezers and pantry instead of impulse shopping and paying higher prices. Now in all honesty, I am not going to plan out a 1 week menu this late in the game. I may toy with a few ideas, but for the most part, I think I will start planning for July with the knowledge that I NEED my menu. I LIKE my menu. Maybe when I finish the menu for July I will post it. Maybe I should add a dessert menu as well..... just maybe.

Day 4..... and they love to read

Was a nice, normal, nobody got hurt or sick kinda day. While waiting for their lunch, our 8 year son decided to read the 2 year old's favorite book to him. We fought with him for quite some time about learning how to read. He thought books would be boring.... now, he devours them. He has plowed through most of the "How to Train Your Dragon" series, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, all 8 "Spiderwick Chronicles", and the kid just can't get enough. He is loving the summer reading program through the local library. Every Monday morning at precisely 9:00 a.m. you can find him waiting for the library to open the doors so he can take his reading log in and get his prize and choose a new book or two. And of the 8 kids that are at home still, all of the ones old enough to read are that way. They stay up too late reading. They carry a book with them every time we get into the van. They sneak one with them to put away laundry, watering cats, changing clothes, you name it. For Christmas, each of them always get a large box of books. Our local library has a wonderful book fair that falls in November, just perfect timing for holiday shopping. I can always find something for them that they have asked for, and even more surprise reads that they always end up loving. A road trip to Fargo usually ends with someone finishing the book they got earlier in the day and asking when we are going back to Fargo, before we are even home. Please don't get me wrong, I am proud and lovin' it that we have raised a houseful of devoted readers. Children are a product of their environment, and around here that means reading. We have more books than you could imagine, covering any and every topic that any of us could ever wish for. And if we find ourselves wanting something more??? Barnes Noble is just a road trip away. Two things we never seem to buy enough of to make my husband cringe... groceries and books. He may tease me about my shoe fetish... and yes, I have one. But food and reading material are fair game.  And believe me, with 8 kids in the house to feed and homeschool, those are 2 very good things to have around.

Day 3..... helping himself

So... story with this little guy. We have several bird feeders. Some days I think the birds eat better than we do. The new bird feed my husband bought for them at the locally owned hardware store has an amazing mix. And, it has peanuts in it. The birds aren't too keen on the peanuts, but the squirrels.... they love them. They come and gather up all of the peanuts as fast as the birds discard them to the ground. And this particular squirrel decided we didn't bother him near as much as he wanted those peanuts. We got within 2 feet of him as the day went on. Yes there was more gardening going on today. A lot of. 2 more raised beds planted. But I thought we had enough garden pics for today and really this little guy was cute. He provided quite a bit of entertainment throughout the day. We knew as soon as he was back because the Grackles would start cackling at him. Time to go fill those bird feeders again... had to feed the kids first though.

day 2..... Father's Day!!!

We had a wonderful day!!! Breakfast made for my husband. The kids must have told him Happy Father's Day a million times. The one day he can claim rest and not work around the house, what's he want to do??? Weeding and mowing and putting in the air conditioners and building more raised garden beds. And that brings us to this picture. That little girl is the house princess, and she will tell you that in no uncertain terms. She weighs in at 41 pounds soaking wet... she insisted that she was going to carry that bag of soil which weighs 40 pounds itself. And she sure did it too... all by herself. From clear over by my car to where we were. She didn't offer to carry another one though. In the background is the 2 year old little boy... he wanted to help, but he didn't get very far :) He helped rake instead. They sure do love to help in the gardens. Our soil stinks here, so we opted to use raised beds this year. So far it is going great with everything coming up well better than I expected. Well, until tomorrow.

day 1..... the very first one

This is exactly what it looks like... a brand new blog with its first entry, and a baby tomato. The first one we have growing this year. Which in the south is no major feat, but here in North Dakota, it is a BIG thing. A HUGE thing. For one thing, it means that we have managed to keep some of the little kids from picking the "flowers" off of them to bring to me. Secondly, it is a true sign of Summer.You have to remember that there are some years when we have snow on the ground, and on everything else, for a constant 7 months at a time. You learn to savor every moment of every other season when you have winters lasting that long. I remember growing up in Texas, it seemed like we had fresh tomatoes year round, slight exaggeration, but we had them most of the year. Then moving to Missouri as a young adult, I always had them BY the 4th of July. Now, way up here, I am happy and content with knowing that we have baby ones started by the 4th. After we found this one, we found another one of the plants has 2 more little ones. Yep, summer is just around the corner.