to pet or not

We promised the girls when we moved to the farm that they could get a dog or two—eventually. It was just too much to take on right now with a new baby, so we told them they would have to wait.

Actually, we have plenty of dogs around already.

The dog on the left is Polly. She belongs to my Mom and Dad. Polly came from a litter that belonged to Tom's parent's old black lab and golden retriever, and Tom and I surprised my parents by bringing her up one Easter weekend when we were newly married.

The dog on the right is Sammy and he lives at my Uncle Bob's a mile down the road. Whenever they leave home he comes over to visit. I don't mind seeing him come around once in awhile as I am very entertained by how smart he seems to be.

And finally, this is Belle. (Coincidentally being led around by Sarah dressed as Belle). She belongs to my Uncle Darrel, who brings her out with him when he comes to work. You may know her as the sandwich thief suspect.

At least now we know Sarah loves dogs!

Oliver

Now that we live closer we have enjoyed some visits with my nephew Ollie (and his parents, of course).

whooo whooo

The other night we had a visit from this owl outside our living room window. We were pretty sure he was watching us through the window.

As a funny coincidence, we had this book sitting on our coffee table:

You don't get to see wildlife like this in the city. So far on the farm we have seen lots of antelope, foxes, a badger, rattlesnakes (ew!), a grizzly bear (well, our neighbor saw it), a coyote, a garter snake, a toad, an eagle, deer, porcupine, cows... (O.K., now I'm running out of wild animals)...

Sweet sisters

The girls adore their little sister. Abby has learned how to change her diaper and loves to be the first to rescue her and pick her up when she starts to fuss.

Sarah loves to make her smile. There are times, though, when she misses being Mommy's baby. The other night she asked "Can you put Eva away and come cuddle with me"? Me: sad face. How do you keep up with 3 (or more, heaven forbid) kids and give each one the attention they deserve? I know this baby stage won't last and things will get easier soon, but I definitely feel like my older two are getting the short end of the stick at the moment.

Oh happy and glorious day!

Yes, you are seeing this right. Eva is taking a pacifier!

She suddenly decided she liked it one day last week and has been taking one ever since. If you've never had a baby that used you as her only means of pacifying, you might not get my excitement. But believe me, this is huge.

diaper update

Eva's new diapers arrived on Monday, so we have been trying them out for a couple of days.

I settled on these Bum Genius Elemental diapers. One-size (so we don't have to keep buying them as she grows), all-in-one (because you all advised that this was the handiest option—thanks!), and organic (not the reason I bought them, but a nice bonus.) For the most part, I like them. They are easy to use, and they clean well in my washing machine. I even like using the cloth wipes. Easy peasy.

They come in a lovely array of colors. (They look pretty cute all strung out on the line!) I'm afraid I'll need a few more than 12, however, if I go for this long term.

And, they are pretty stinkin' cute on my chubby baby, I have to say.

But, I have one (not-so-minor) complaint. I'm not sure Eva likes them. The last two nights she has woken up every 2-3 hours, which is no picnic after she has been consistently sleeping for 5-7 hours straight a night. She isn't napping as well during the day either. I'm thinking these don't whisk the moisture away as well as disposables and she might find them a little bulky/uncomfortable. Anyone else have this problem? I am going to try disposables tonight and see if it makes a difference. If it does, I'll trade off a few more times just to make sure that is what is causing her to wake up.

In any case, the jury is still out on whether or not this is the solution for us. I'll keep you posted.

school days

Abby started second grade yesterday! She had seemingly no fear considering it was her first day in a new school (new state!). We offered to take her on her first day, but no, she wanted to ride the bus. And she did great!

She has the same teacher I had in Kindergarten—same desks, same classroom . . . It was a blast from the past to take her in to back to school night and see many familiar faces. Here she is showing off her new backpack.

Sarah starts preschool in a couple of weeks. This move has been the hardest on her, so we will see how she does. I can't believe how big she is getting!

supper at home

We also had many harvest dinners in our house, since it is conveniently located to many of the fields we were cutting. My new dining table got a great initiation, and I think we stretched it to hold 14 the other night.

Here it is, set for dinner.

A special friend gave me this vase as a gift a while back, and I found just the perfect thing for it to showcase. :)

Harvest supper

We sometimes bring harvest supper right out to the field so the guys don't have to shut down too long to eat. It takes a little extra effort to bring chairs, tables, hand-washing supplies, and all the food out, but it is always fun and festive.

This year, I shared cooking responsibilities with my mom and my aunt Ruth. We took turns providing the entire meal each night, which meant the other nights we had the night off. I really enjoyed doing it this way.

My dad always comes in for dinner and steals the baby. Sarah always gets after him about it because she thinks he is too dirty to hold the baby. :) He washes his hands of course...

And Eva doesn't mind, obviously.

It's a great opportunity to catch a quick cat nap. They always go back out after dinner and work until the wee hours of the morning.

Yummy deserts follow every meal. We certainly can't keep up this habit. It isn't so good for the waist line. Sarah wanted a fork for her brownie and a spoon for her ice cream. You use both at once, right?

Abby enjoys her brownies and ice cream while listening to her tunes. Hmmm.

The evening light is a perfect time for photo ops, so we try not to forget the camera.

Harvest time

I've had fun showing you our house over the last few days, and I'll be back next week with more photos.

But for now, I thought I'd dedicate this week to catching you up on our busy life around here. Harvest is almost wrapped up. It is a festive time and takes everyone's time and energy and long hard days to complete.

The bins are full of pure gold—golden wheat that is, and our overflow quonset is full clear to the front. Trust me, this is one huge pile of wheat.

^ This is the quonset from the outside, but this picture doesn't really do it justice.

^ Unloading the combine out in the field.

^ The girls enjoy the occasional ride in the combine after we bring supper out to the field. More about harvest dinners in another post.

^ Here they are after a trip around the field with Grandpa.

Happy 13th Anniversary, Farmer Tom!

Hello, my favorite farmer! (Never thought you'd be called that, did you?) Thirteen years has brought us full circle back to Montana, and I couldn't be happier.

Thank you so much for taking this leap of faith to move home to the farm, to a place we believe will be so great for raising our precious family. I know it isn't your home, but I hope it will feel like it eventually.

Thank you for taking on a brand new career you know nothing about and diving right in.

Thank you for working these long, hard, harvest days and still coming home and pitching in around the house.

Thank you for being such a great daddy to your little girls.

Thank you for not getting angry when I wake you up and tell you to roll over so your snoring won't wake the baby.

Thank you for being understanding about how little I have been able to accomplish during the days when you are out working so hard.

And thank you for always cracking jokes at the dinner table and making everyone laugh. I love you so much for that.

Thank you for 13 amazing years, and may there be many more!

County Fair

We ventured out this afternoon to check out the County Fair.

I must admit, however, we were a bit disappointed. No carnival, not many vendors, and even no cotton candy! It certainly wasn't what I remembered as a kid, but then I could have been seeing it through candy coated eyes at that time. Tom was hoping to get Abby excited about the possibility of joining 4-H and we were all hoping to experience a bit more small town spirit. Maybe next year we can get our kicks at the state fair!

Atomic Ranch

A friend told me about this magazine that specializes in mid century homes in rural areas. How perfect is that? (Thanks, Tanya!)

The description reads:
Atomic Ranch celebrates midcentury houses—from 1940s ranch tracts to 1960s architect-designed modernist homes. With an emphasis on affordable solutions and homeowner renovations, our quarterly magazine shows you how to make your house cool, both inside and out.

So, of course I subscribed.

eat. sleep. poop.

Farmhouse Tour Part VIII—the basement bedrooms & bathroom

(Note: These photos were taken before we moved in as the house was with my Grandpa's furniture still in it.)

^ This is the first of the two bedrooms in the basement. It's hard to tell scale in these photos, but both bedrooms are large.

^ This room has a cool brick wall because it is on the back side of the fireplace.

^ The second bedroom.

^ I bought this sectional in the family auction also. Not sure what I was thinking, but maybe there is some potential here? They need some work.

^ The carpet in this room takes the cake, but its in competition with the upstairs bathroom orange shag.

^ And last, but not least, is the basement bathroom.

^ The shower is large enough to fit our whole family. In case we ever needed it to...

So there is the tour! I hope if my extended family (or Grandpa!) ever reads my blog that they won't be offended by the fact that we plan to make some changes to update it for our family. It really is a great house. Our tastes have just changed from the styles 40 years ago! :) This will be a fun journey to share with you as we remodel, and we hope you'll stick around to give your suggestions and tell us what you like/dislike.

Thanks for stopping by!

Farmhouse Tour Part VII—the basement

(Note: These photos were taken before we moved in as the house was with my Grandpa's furniture still in it.)

^ This is the stairway landing, and on the wall are memorabilia from my Grandparents visits to Korea.

^ And on down into the basement. I remember the shelf at the bottom of the stairs being full of my Grandpa's Louis L'Amour westerns.

^ The basement fireplace. Notice the duck tape on the last staircase rung? That's because all the grandkids would fly down the stairs, grab onto the rail, and swing around to the floor. 'i guess it gave in eventually.

^ Check out this wallpaper!

^ The paneling in the basement is no more. My dad tore it off along with all the ceiling sheetrock so duct work could be added for the new heating system.

^ It's a daylight basement so this door leads out into the front yard. My parents held a family auction when they cleaned out the house so everyone in our large family would get a chance to keep things they liked from the house. I was able to acquire this houndstooth sofa. Sweet!

^ Many a ping-pong match were played in this room. I wish there were just a few more windows along the left wall to take advantage of the daylight basement, but its still nicely lit for a basement.

^ This back room is large but unfinished. It has no windows, but we are thinking it would make a great media/family room.

And finally, to finish the tour, I will show you the basement bedrooms and bathroom. Last stop! See you tomorrow.

Farmhouse Tour Part VI—the upstairs bedrooms

(Note: These photos were taken before we moved in as the house was with my Grandpa's furniture still in it.)

^ This bedroom now belongs to Abby and Sarah. It's nice and bright and has room for 2 twin beds.

^ Lots of good storage, too.

^ When my girls are teenagers they will be able to fully appreciate having a sink in their room. Right now it's just an unusual novelty (and a bathtub for Sarah's Polly Pockets.

^ This room will eventually be Eva's room. It is pretty large too, as you can see by the twin beds in here.

^ Again, tons of built-in storage.

And that's it for the upstairs! Next up, the basement. I know you can't wait!

Farmhouse Tour Part V—Bathroom & Laundry

(Note: These photos were taken before we moved in as the house was with my Grandpa's furniture still in it.)

^ Here is the main bathroom. You got it—that is classic orange shag carpeting.

^ And the laundry room. I like this room. There is a door leading out to the backyard where there is a clothesline. I've never had a clothesline before. Turns out I like to line dry clothes. Simple pleasure.

^ On the other side my Grandma used to have a sewing area here. A couple of these drawers are full of old fabric.

What is your favorite room so far? Tomorrow I will show you the upstairs bedrooms which are now the girls' rooms.

Farmhouse Tour Part IV—Living Room

(Note: These photos were taken before we moved in as the house was with my Grandpa's furniture still in it.)

^ This is looking into the living room from the dining area.

^ Looking from the living room into the hallway back into the bedrooms. My grandma always had a fish tank on this shelf, which was made by my uncle Raymond. Pretty cool—except we are took it out to open up the room and make the layout work better with our furniture. (We kept it, R & K, if you are interested in having it!)

^ The painting on the wall was done by my Grandma. She painted quite a bit, along with her photography and other hobbies. I remember her working on this one.

^ The carpet in this room is pretty cool. My Great-Grandma had the exact same carpet in her house. I'm told that was an accident! Anyway, it's lasted for years and is probably in the best shape of any of the carpet in the house.

^ Pretty sweet furniture, yeah?

Tomorrow—wait for it—the bathroom and laundry room! I bet you can't wait! :)

cloth diapers

I am very seriously contemplating going the cloth diaper route. I've been inspired by various friends and family, and this blog post. The diapers I'm considering are these by Bum Genius.

They are adjustable and should last until she is potty trained. I would buy the ones with the snaps, however, because I've heard they last longer than the velcro. This particular kind has an insert that goes inside. They also have an organic cotton variety that is all-in-one. It is more expensive but seems convenient, too.

My mom thinks its pretty funny that I'm considering going that route on my third (and probably last) baby. She did cloth diapers on her first two, and thought it was a luxury when she could do disposables with her third baby.

The reasons I think I might like cloth this time are:

1. I am staying at home with this baby.
2. My little Eva has a sensitive little bum, and I'm hoping cloth will minimize her rashes.
3. It is a bit of an initial investment, but I will quickly make up the cost of what we are spending on disposables (as in just a few months). Eva goes through a LOT of diapers a day right now.
4. We burn our garbage here on the farm to reduce what ends up in our little landfill, and the disposables don't burn very well.
5. I have a new high-efficiency, front load washer, so I should be able to keep the diapers washed with a reasonable amount of water/energy.
6. The company I linked to above will give you a 30 day period to try them and return them if you don't like them.

BUT, I am also skeptical for a few reasons.

1. Its not just the diapers you need. The diaper shower (which attaches to your toilet) comes highly recommended. Also, you need a pail and liner. Of course I can just use any old garbage can while I'm trying them out, but it's a lot of money to spend if I don't end up liking it. (But, I can send them back if I don't like them, apparently!)
2. I can't decide. Will I like the insert? Or is it better to go with an all-in-one?
3. I've heard line drying them keeps them stain-free, but with the Montana weather, that might not be possible many months out of the year.
4. I'd like to get by with 12, but as frequently as little miss Eva needs changed, I might need to get 18.
5. I've noticed cloth diapers can add a lot of bulk, especially the pre-fold variety. I'm not sure how these will be. I don't want them to restrict her movement.

I need to make the decision fairly quickly because I'm running out of diapers. I have taken to buying my diapers online in bigger boxes, and having them delivered right to my door, so I can't leave myself too short! :) Can any of you cloth diaper users out there offer any advice?