Deadline met, WHEW!!

Today was the last day the kids had to finish their assignment of painting the front farm fence.

At 3:15pm the task was complete, and they were very relieved. The past two weeks of rain sure put a crunch on their completion plans, so it was sweet success.

But I sure will miss seeing them coming home after a long day of painting looking like this...

It IS funny TY!! Seriously, mommy wouldn't laugh so hard if it weren't! Honest!!

Poor guy, doesn't appreciate his mom laughing at him. But he refuses to go look in the mirror! Then he could laugh with me.

Christian is a little better at keeping the head area free of paint....

Not so particular about the neck down though, and these are his pants. I'm surprised they don't stand on their own.

My ever smiling gal, exhausted, sweaty, covered in paint... and still happy, gotta love a happy gal!


Now they can throw their paint clothes on the burn pile. I've told them to enjoy the painting hiatus until next spring... our back pasture fence will be ready to paint by then (cruel chuckle!)

Practicing Contentment

Contentment
is not the fulfillment
of what you want,
but the realization
of how much
you already have.

Anonymous

So I have had to give myself a reality check. This November will be the two year anniversary of moving into our new home. While knocking out several projects the past 2 years, we have mostly tried to 'sit tight' and just let some dust settle and contemplate our next major project(s).

Several months ago I called a Landscape Designer and had him formalize my landscaping dreams on paper. Very exciting to work with someone that can visualize what it is you hope to create and then also add to it things you would never even know were possible. I really want a natural look to our property. If anything, I tend to simplify others' suggestions concerning our land, etc. After weeks of tweaking and getting everything just so, so... we tried to move forward with some financing for the project.

Screeeeeeeeeech!!!!

Halt! STOP EVERYTHING....

Seems we would have to be crazy to try and finance such a project, which also included finishing and opening the B&B, at this time. I tried to convince Shawn that we WERE a tad looney, maybe an itsy bit wacky... but in the end, he was right! We aren't THAT crazy, darn. Since my husband was able to remind me kindly that we were not reckless, I shed a few tears, then told myself to be a big girl, and come up with a Plan B.

So 2009 nor 2010 will be the year of the Callahan B&B and fabulous landscaping, no time for tears... we will just cinch our budget and get other, SMALLER, projects knocked out in the meantime.

Hang in there with me as I document our smaller scale projects. Actually the Carriage House Loft will be structurally completed, but the B&B will probably not come to fruition till 2011. Lots of fun things to keep us busy until then. We should probably start with furnishing some of those still empty rooms in our house, grin.

And in the end, I can honestly say that I am enjoying the whole process of slowly conquering our acreage and decorating our dream home. Not too shabby, even if Plan A was a total bust, not shabby at all!!

09-10 School Year

Last week was our first full week back to homeschooling. It went smoothly, no grumbling yet... typical of the first week giddiness, yep ;)

Savannah and Christian do their school work mostly on the computer and in our future classroom. Our classroom has no furniture yet, whimper... all in due time.

Savannah set herself up an efficient work space; with table, book/supplies storage, cardboard box trashcan, and a padded chair. Bravo.

Christian's workspace? Well, ummmm, very Christian! He sprawls out in the floor with blankets and pillows. Seems when we finally get this room furnished a rug would be very appreciated by our oldest son.

Ty and I do school at the kitchen table. We can be giggly and disruptive... or so the formally filed complaints from Savannah and Christian state!

Ty's favorite class is science and art.

Last week Ty was studying the Solar System. When we finished on Tuesday, I asked him to draw some pictures for Art of space and the planets, etc. He quickly asked if they had to be serious drawings?! Nope, no need to be to scale, just be creative.

So here we have the classics... Sun, Milky Way, stars, planets....

I just KNEW a blackhole was going to be somewhere in this project....

Seems this is where reality completely leaves the project. It appears that aliens have conquered Mars.

Ummmm, bad news... now they are envading Earth. Just trying to give all earthlings the heads up!

House rules

We have a house rule that there is to be no food taken outside of the kitchen. So when I saw Ty standing in this rather odd location... seemingly just paused there for no reason...

It took but a mommy moment to realize that Ty had figured out a way to technically not break the house rules but still get a glance at a favorite show playing in the TV room.

And to be fair, he is, afterall, still IN the kitchen... the little booger!!

From joy to splat!

I was beginning to think I had managed to buy a whole batch of sterile hens... But we are finally getting eggs. So far just a few a day, but we are thrilled.

And here is a snapshot of a lonely egg, because my oldest son promptly dropped the other egg immediately after the above photo! At least we know where to get more, whimper.

Destin 2009

I love toesies in the sand...


We just spent the last week in Destin, FL. We rented an adorable beach cottage and enjoyed tons of family time at the beach, water park, and golfing. I repeatedly forgot the camera, so the photos are sparse, but the week was an absolute joy.

There were sand artists next to us on the beach. This octopus made us all smile.

Ty, Christian, and Savannah did the usual treasure collecting.

Savannah will only collect shells in absolute pristine condition... takes a lot to make it inside her bucket.

Christian loves to collect anything unusual. If it is a tad gross... all the better.

Ty collects a little bit of everything. Bits and pieces, no rhyme or reason... just lots and lots of stuff cause his object is to have a fuller bucket than his older siblings :)

On prior vacations to the beach, Shawn and the two older kids have gone on Deep Sea Fishing Excursions.

This year was Ty's turn. Thankfully, Shawn remembered the camera and captured this wonderful memory!




The boat ride was very rough. Didn't phase Ty in the least... he loved every second of it.







When Shawn and Ty returned home, Shawn let me in on a little secret.

Seems halfway into their little voyage... Ty stated that he missed me. Ahhhhhh! This kid knows how to melt his mom's heart!

Destin 2009 was a huge success. Can't wait til next year.

Can't deny the wonderful thing it was to pull back into the gravel drive of the farm though!

A few of his favorite things...

Ty is our best 'bed maker'... hands down. It is one of his daily chores and he is very good at it.

Granted, I've had to let go of many of my control issues, and let a few wrinkles and ripples pass the OK test.

I've always felt a child's bed tells a lot about them. Which toys or stuffed animals get the prestigious placement on the pillow is very interesting... and ever changing.

Currently Ty's pillow is a ratty old green one that he won't let me replace. It is super soft and has been his favorite for many years. Snoopy and the dalmation have been around for years too.

I think the green guy is a Pokemon character. And the magician Mickey Ears were brought home from DisneyWorld as a gift for Ty from Savannah. They have made the 'cut' ever since.

Have I mentioned before that the youngest member of our family has the absolute BEST view in the whole house. Ty may actually use this window seat for something besides 'display' in the future to kick back and daydream... of course that would mean that he would have to stay in one location for more than 1 minute... on second thought that will never happen.

But this view is amazing nonetheless, and at least I enjoy pausing here to take it all in.