In other words, BUSY. And not much downtime for blogging :(
Going here, going there, packing and unpacking, cleaning as much as possible (but never catching up), cooking meals, and paying bills. Sleeping has been an afterthought, and work, though exciting and interesting, has been a source of mental drainage as well.
We are smack dab in the middle of starting a new life for our little fam… Yes, we are moving to the country. With the wheat fields and moo cows...
Do I hear "Green Acres" playing in the background? Hmm... yep.
A small town life, and definitely outside “a stone’s throw” distance from a Wal-Mart.
I honestly don't know how I’m going to manage this… I am already having nightmares. And not that I like Wal-Mart, because I DON’T. I can’t stand the place. But it was there, not if, but WHEN, I need it. Because I am ALWAYS forgetting or running out of SOMETHING. Like it or not, it has been my safety-net. Now it will be 20 minutes away.
God Help Me!
I will have to adapt to stocking up on the essentials and a few other key items to get by from now on. Or we'll have to resolve to eating "whatever's in the pantry" which means tortilla chips and canned peaches for dinner (as Riley says, "Mmm!")
But, this is Ryan's dream. His happy place. Country living and farming. I am happy where he's happy. As long as I am not required to have a perfectly stocked pantry, clean house, and can start making large orders from Soap.com... which is amazing, in case you didn't know.
The "new" farm house (and by new- I mean, "new to us") needs a little bit of updating. It's a 1960's home, and though in very good condition, has been updated very little over the years. Since the bank account is going to be redicuously small until we win the lottery (I wish!) we will only be able to redo maybe the floors (I don't think I'll miss the rust-colored shag carpet!) and painting the walls. Thank goodness the ceiling isn't popcorn textured. And only one wall of wood paneling. Thank goodness. I think I can ignore the rest.
We have been trying to sell our current house (that is, if I could keep it clean for more than 5 minutes, and if Ryan could work in mowing the yard every other week). I honestly cannot remember the last time I vacuumed, there is 3" of dust on the countertops, and the grass outside is taller than Riley. Buy Me, Buy Me!
This has been my weak point. Trying to keep up with Riley and work and my own sanity (especially after going through the whole e. coli ordeal with Riley and no daycare for a month) has been challenging to say the least. Ryan is stretched pretty thin at this point also. Work, farming, raising cattle, and being a husband/dad is a overflowing plate too.
This is where I will say thank you (again and again and again) to all of my family and friends who were there for us when we needed you. I truly felt lucky and so thankful for all who went out of their way to help. I was honestly to a point where I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the week… something’s gotta give, right? And you all were the answer. So thank you!
Riley has been a joy, but is always going through something new. Once the e.coli was out of her system, and we breathed a huge sigh of relief, then immediately began a new bedtime routine. No more rocking to sleep, it was time Riley learned how to fall asleep on her own. Once that was mastered after a few nights, then it was time to say “bye-bye” to the bottle and standardize the sippy cups in the cabinets. So far, so good! I have yet to overcome the paci. I think I'm going to wait at least until 18 months before I get brave enough to take it away!
She is getting so big (I can't believe she's 15 Months already!), and so smart!
Riley "spinning" - She puts her arm out and turns in a circle! So cute!
She knows her body parts- nose, bellybutton, feet!
Even ones she can't see- ears, eyes, head, teeth, tongue! She proficiently says (and waves) "bye- bye," and I can make out "Uh Oh," "Hi," and of course, "Mama" and "Dada." The rest is jabber, jabber, jabber... or rolling her tongue in crazy combinations!
She regularly points at things she wants, and is running... EVERYWHERE! This little girl has scraped up knees (I've recently bought $20 of neosporin, just so I had one of the "Neo to Go" in every possible place I could think of)
She is extremely determined, is climbing on EVERYTHING. I swear, I turn away for .0285 seconds and she's on top of the kitchen table. All of the chairs are pushed in, and I never heard a thing. How? Maybe she had Scotty beam her up, I still don't know! Sure scares me to death though!
She loves to feed herself...
She regularly points at things she wants, and is running... EVERYWHERE! This little girl has scraped up knees (I've recently bought $20 of neosporin, just so I had one of the "Neo to Go" in every possible place I could think of)
She is extremely determined, is climbing on EVERYTHING. I swear, I turn away for .0285 seconds and she's on top of the kitchen table. All of the chairs are pushed in, and I never heard a thing. How? Maybe she had Scotty beam her up, I still don't know! Sure scares me to death though!
She loves to feed herself...
And no longer makes the colossal mess that she used to... and in turn, I am finally able to sleep at night... and not have to worry that a giant avacado was going to explode in my house.
She loves the lake, loves being outside, and being independent, a good mix of her daddy and me in her!
She loves the lake, loves being outside, and being independent, a good mix of her daddy and me in her!
At this point, I think that if we can get through this, and I mean fixing up the house at the farm, sell our house, and move; I'll bet our little family can handle just about anything.
So bring it on! We're ready for a challenge!
Well... ready or not, we're in for another crazy, hectic, relentless whirlwhind of a year!
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