Welcome

Lets cut to the chase.  Here's my story...
     Every night my husband and I spend our time together having a drink and reflecting on the day.  Really, we bitch and complain, smile and laugh about things said or done.  He is my best friend.  That being said, he really pissed me off one night.  He looked at me seriously and said, "You are crazy!"  What?  I am what? There was no, life-of-the-party, crazy fun to be around, kind of crazy. Nope, he meant the koo-koo crazy.  No, I am a normal woman, a bit eccentric, a little dramatic, very passionate, but NOT crazy...
  
    Of course, I had to over-analyze it.(That's what I do) and I stewed and pouted and I have reflected: 
Yes, I may yell at my children when they repeatedly do what I have simply asked them to stop.  Yes, I may have tossed a toy across the room when it was the used to hurt a sibling.  Yes, I may have taken a full meal and thrown it in the garbage when the majority of my house has whined, "I don't like that." Yes, I may have even had a child yell and run away after they have said, "I hate you." That may have lead to a punishment or a week of punishments. 
    
    Now before you only hear the negatives, please understand.  I have read a TON of blogs and books on parenting.  I try my hardest to keep a positive disposition in the face of adversity.  I try to preach love, bringing joy,  and Christian principals.  But lets face it- I am a full time teacher of eighteen 7 and 8-year-olds.  I have two children 17 months apart who are polar opposites. My son is ADHD to a T.  My oldest is super gifted and a mini-me (which can drive me insane.) On top of that mess, I have twin girls, who are currently teething and have yet to sleep through the night.  My husband works 80+ hours a week for the family business.  I am a tired!  This is not a "I need a nap" kind of tired but a "my bones ache and my eyes have grown bags" kind of tired. 

  So they more that I have thrown this around in my mind, the more I realize, I don't want to wake up one morning and greet my grandchildren and have one of them call me the "crazy grandma."  Nope, I want to be fun, loving, caring, cool, whatever, but not crazy.  

 Follow along as I try to make myself and our lives less CRAZY!

EGGS!

Super Week!

We have had such an amazing week around here I just had to share…

WE GOT OUR FIRST EGG!!!!!

(Can I get a woop woop?)

 

Sis with our first egg!

I convinced The Handyman to get chickens in June.  We have been learning A LOT and have had a few fatalities, trials, and tribulations in the process, but it was all worth it when I opened their coop on Thursday and found our very first egg. Sis and I both looked at each other and laughed because it was definitely lacking in size. She said, “Well, I guess we won’t have an egg feast anytime soon.”  It was awesome to see the process and finally have a tiny sign of success.

         Last night I boiled up our (now 3) free range homegrown chicken eggs and 2 store bought eggs.  The whole family was seriously excited.  I never really believed that fresh, homegrown eggs were better, but you know what? I believe it now. It’s something I had to find out for myself.  It is true, the yolks are darker, prettier and the egg tastes richer. I’m in love!

I LOVE THIS LIFE!

Shared on the barn hop

We Can Do It- Double Blessings

We can do it!

Recently, the handyman and I decided to enlarge our brood.  I’m not talking livestock, either.  We discussed, time and time again, then decided that our two babies are wonderful, and honestly, we want another.  Now to most people, two is enough.  I am the only child and want a big family.  I was told very early on that I will never have children.  But I guess God knows no limits!  The handyman decided we could totally handle three little ones. 

After a positive test and much excited anticipation, we went to the doctor.  To our surprise, we are super excited to announce it’s not one baby, but TWO! 

Double Blessings

For the first time in my life, I can honestly say that I was speechless.  I am truly overjoyed! Fraternal twins run in both my mom and my dad’s families, and it seems that we will carry on the tradition.  I’m so thrilled, I cannot begin to describe it.

Then it hit me: what started out just adding one kid to our home to share the already cramped kids’ room will now be two.  OH. MY!!!

What’s the problem, you might ask? Well we have an itty-bitty 900 sq foot home.  It’s not our “ever after” home, but it is the house that we brought both kids home to.  We spent long and tedious hours renovating it when we found mold in the hallway and kitchen.  We did not hire or ask anyone to help (other than our parents’ labor or babysitting, of course).  We enlarged our kids’ room, put in new counters and an island in the kitchen, moved the laundry room onto the back deck that we enclosed.  Then we added a front porch.  It’s been a labor of love and honestly, it’s almost paid off and will be hard to leave once it is.  We try to live within our means and not have a ton of debt. So building a new home is out of the question.

So how will we make the space work? So many friends have asked that same question recently. While trying to stay positive and not allow the negativity into this pregnancy, we have concocted a plan.  We are going to use the rest of the back porch (which is currently where the handyman and I have our nightly talks and recaps) to furnish a larger, separate bathroom.  Meanwhile demolishing the bathroom in the house, ripping out the wall into the kids room, and making one super duper large kids room.  Our kids only use their room to sleep and occasionally play because we are mostly outside or in the living room.

This is my inspiration for the kids’ room.  We currently have one set of bunk beds and eventually will have to add more. 

Source

I honestly can’t wait.  I feel great- ridiculously exhausted with school, the Princess' dance and everything else starting out at full-steam.  But I am so excited.  Did I mention how excited I am? I believe kids are a blessing. I believe we can make this tiny home a place to educate, encourage, create bonds, inspire creativity, and nourish love and the young lives we are molding and shaping.  On top of it all, I can’t imagine another person who I’d rather tackle it with then my soul mate.  J 

Please subscribe and come back often as I will have a ton to write about in the coming months.

So what about you?  Ever have any real blessings that others view as challenges?  

Shared on the BarnHop