that is the motto of the group i will be representing this saturday at my first post-baby race.  i am really excited to run the Bentonville Running Festival’s 1/2 marathon.  and i am super crazy excited to be wearing a…

traveling skirt. (think sisterhood of the traveling pants but a running skirt)

this was my crazy-to-think-i-would-be-ready-to-run-it-get-back-to-running motivation race.  and sure enough, no training and very little running happened to get ready.  but I can’t wait to get out there and run!  even if i am running and walking and running and “wogging” to get to the finish line.  how many people can say they have even walked a 1/2 marathon?  plus there is nothing more fun than a race.  i love the energy, crowded start, people watching and cheering you on, sunshine, and to be running outdoors enjoying God’s handy work.

going to be around downtown bentonville saturday keep an eye out for this runnin’ momma in her turquoise sparkle skirt!

boy: “momma, you need you boots so we go to afca.”

mom: “i have my sneakers on.”

boy: “you need you boots!”

mom: “why do i need my boots?”

boy: “cause them lions poop all over afca.”

(well, i guess boots would be a good idea then)

boy: (crawls up in my lap) “i you baby.”

mom: “oh, my sweet baby. rock my baby.”

boy: “babies go to work with pawpaw?”

mom: “oh, no.  babies are too little.  they have to stay home with     their mommas.”

boy: “mom, i not a baby. i a big boy. big boys work with pawpaws cause that’s their job.”

(yep, no one wants to have to hang out with mom when pawpaws let boys steer the truck in the pasture, run the controls for the hay spike, and celebrate a job well done with an orange soda)

boy: “momma, when i be a big man you not drive you car no more. i drive you car and you sit in back. i drive you car cause i have to go to afca. that’s my job.  i be big man nex year and i drive you car.”

(glad we got that settled)

i have been spending as much time as possible avoiding the “real world” and instead have been trying to enjoy every moment of my time as a temporary SAHM.  i have soaked up every minute possible with these little tootsies and the sweet kiddos attached to them.

who wouldn’t deny reality to spend their days with those sweet (dirty) little toes?

our newest set belongs to little bit, born December 22nd.

my mission to love and serve the men in my life has now expanded to include loving and raising a daughter (something that scares me if i am totally honest with myself).

so as i prepare to return to reality i am wondering how long I can keep up all that needs to be, well, kept up.

back to working 6 days a week…

on a mad-tight budget (using dave ramsey’s envelope system) which means no convenience food or picking up something to eat because I am too tired to cook (and mainly don’t want to decide WHAT to fix for dinner cause that’s the worst part!)…

back to running.  my first post-baby race is a half marathon april 2nd.  when do i train?  and how do i keep from feeling guilty about taking this time for me?…

laundry and… laundry, sweeping, mopping, chickens and the garden… pack lunches, kiddos bags, pump, laundry, dishes, all that fun housework…

PLAYING WITH MY KIDDOS! this one is important folks… and really probably needs to read, RAISING MY KIDDOS! i want to have a quality relationship with them, to teach them to live life and seek God… and this takes investing time…

LOVING AND RESPECTING MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND to the absolute best of my ability.  this one is really even more important! also takes investing time…

working on a business venture with sister, to one day hopefully eventually work for myself, earn a living in a way that allows me to be creative…

so though i have neglected this little blog quite a bit, i plan to use it to hold myself accountable to what needs to happen to meet these goals.  to document life for my kiddos, to share my creativity and hopefully my growth as a simple silly girl trying to make her dreams come true.

stay tuned…

like so much of the nation we have had our share of snow…

the first fall was about 10 inches of snow after 2 niches of freezing rain and sleet. the second snow, three days later, was suppose to be a dusting to an inch and we got another 8.  most of this melted off.  the current snow, three days later, was suppose to be 2 to 5 inches and we got, well, we got just a bit more.

6 am this morning…

7 am … it stopped about noon.

boy and i got out of the house and shoveled some snow. he is standing at ground level behind this pile.

we dug a path from the porch to the wood pile about 200 feet away, and branched off to make a path to daddy’s truck and the garage so that he doesn’t have to wade through over two feet of snow every time he has to get out to feed animals or bring up more wood.  he is a really hard worker.  i really appreciate all he does.  when farming is your livelihood you don’t get to take a vacation, the boss doesn’t call to say stay home when the weather is bad.  so while i am snug as a bug at home he is out working hard in hard conditions.  shoveling a little snow was the least we could do!

no better way to reward yourself for a job well done in the snow than with a great big cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows.

my honey’s granny is a very crafty woman.  she sewed, painted, ran a ceramic shop, made dolls… she did it all and has passed on to me many of her crafty goodies.

this week she sent a bag of sewing “stuff” she thought i might be able to use.  i open the bag and what do i find?  a sewing Christmas come early!  

ohhh, pretty…

five different sewing machine feet, a few of which i will have to google to know what they are for.

this little beauty i am really excited about.  i have had a blindstitch foot on my wants list for a while now. 

granny also sent these really cool sewing books that take it back to when women really did know how to sew.  they understood garment construction, pattern making, and alterations.

  paper mache dress form anyone?

this book has it all…

from decorative stitching like these smocking instructions…

to children’s clothing designs…

to how to properly set a sleeve…

and even this children’s sizing guide…

then digging in the bottom of the bag, what did i find?

these little guys!

do you know what they are?  i have wanted some for years but would not pay that much for them.  (i know $12 is a lot of money to part with,lol)

i love all things artistic.  on occasion i pretend to have some artistic ability.  i was so excited the first time boy drew something on paper and identified it.  it was on the plane ride home from visiting family at the beach.  he drew tiny little circles with little lines going through them and proudly proclaimed them to be ants… “ats bite”.  which i am sure is a sign of the deep emotional scaring as a result of his first encounter with fire ants.  (we don’t have those nasty little things at home!)

then we hit an artistic dry spell and there was nothing but circles and scribbles for so very long.

then… boy was playing with sidewalk chalk and brought me over to see his picture. 

“what’s that, boy?”

“tar”

“and what’s that?”

“me!”

“wow, you did a really good job.  i see your head and your eyes… what’s this one?”

silence… boy had moved on and left me to ponder his UDO (unidentified drawn object). 

may he always love to draw, paint, sculpt, build, sing, make music, imagine, create…

sister has been trying to get me to try this recipe for what she called THE BEST chicken enchiladas in the world.  i’ve put it off because, well, i’ve never found an enchilada recipe i liked and had given up on the idea.

but we’ve been in a major food rut so i decided to live on the wild side and try these out.

ONE WORD:  YUUUUMMMM!

of course, i was not prepared when i set out to make them and soon found that i was out of my world famous (okay only in my little world) homemade taco seasoning.  thus inspiring me to share my thrifty secrets to wonderful tacos with you!

simply gather the following seasonings:

1/4 cup of chili powder, ground cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder

2T cayenne and 3T salt

mix together and put in an air-tight container.  i reuse a bulk spice container.  and there you have it.  use about 2T in place of one of those packets of seasoning.  it is tasty and only about 25 cents instead of the $1.25 for the packet.

meet our newest resident here on the farm… yes, i think we can definitely use the term farm now, what with the cattle and horses and the garden and chickens and now her.

this is piggy.  boy said her name was oink oink, which i thought was pretty good considering the names two year olds can come up with.  daddy said her name was subway, cause well, she will end up gracing our table, cause we have gotten that countryfied.

she lives in our garden.  if God created an animal that can naturally till and fertilize my garden with very minimal work from me… i am all in!  (and i never thought i would be advocating for a pig… i have pork issues from my childhood…tragic!)

this just in from the front lines of momma-hood…

DO NOT put a pull up in the washing machine!

i repeat, DO NOT put a pull up in the washing machine!

if you find yourself quickly throwing a load of your sweet little one’s laundry into the wash… the laundry that said sweet little one has been putting in the hamper all by himself like a good boy… be warned this could happen to you. 

all the clothes will be covered, inside and out, in a nice coating of water absorbent gel.

DO NOT pull the clothes out and shake them out onto the tile floor in a desperate attempt to rid them of their slim!

IT WILL DO NO GOOD and it DOES NOT just sweep up.

if you find yourself in this situation use the following protocol…

1. rinse all clothing out by hand one piece at a time, both inside and out

2. clean all gel out of washing machine

3.  rewash all clothing again and find something else to put on your sweet little one for church

4. try desperately to sweep up the gel you tried to shake out of the clothing… then get a towel and get on your hands and knees and wipe it up… then when what still did not clean up has dried sweep again

IT IS BEST TO AVOID THIS SITUATION ALL TOGETHER!