Staying with my Roots

I mentioned in a blog recently that I have a "project" I am about to start.  As if I don't have enough project in the "Farm House Project" but I am having a chicken coop built for out backyard and about to purchase some chickens to brood for the kids.  I want them for eggs but I also want them for the kids to have an interest, something to help keep us in the backyard.  Since I grew up on a farm I LOATHE the television on during sunshine hours.  I am sure that Alese would attest that she LOATHES that I loathe that, lol.  Anyway, I just don't believe in sitting in front of a t.v.  I allow a little television but I definitely limit it!! So I have been at the beach reading my GRIT magazine, which  I LOVE.  This magazine has been around since the 1800's and it actually use to be a newspaper and my Pappy use to drive my daddy and some of his siblings around to sell it.  I love that I subscribe to a magazine that my grandparents use to read and my daddy use to sell to make a little money.  I am also reading up on chicken breeds, diseases, vaccines and all that goes with raising a few chickens.  I can't wait.  Stay tuned.....

Recharging

I am almost feeling jealous about blogging this but I am going to anyway.  I am blogging on the beach.  I brought Patrick's laptop down here so I could relax and do a little blogging.  The kids are at the farm.  I truly believe in recharging your brain, your energy etc...It helps me give my best to my kids when I am able to get a "breather".  I know that not all mothers are fortunate enough to live close to family or have family willing to help but I am and no one will EVER know how much I appreciate that.  My little cousin Joy has two young children and expecting her third and lives in Yelm, Washington.  She truly has no one, I often wonder how she does it, her husband is great help when he isn't on base but I mean she can't just run over to her parents and leave her kids.  I know I am blessed.  I know that are not many IF ANY grandparents that will take ALL of their grandkids for nights at a time.  My parents will take all 7 grandkids at once and not think a thing of it.  WOW, it amazes me that they are that brave!  So all this leads me to my next question; "Does it take a Village"?  Now I am no Hillary fan and I am certainly no democrat but I have pondered that question recently after reading a devotion one morning that triggered that question in my mind.  The first time I heard it I wasn't a mother and I thought it was ridiculous.  Now I am a mother and well, it doesn't seem so ridiculous at all.  Here are my thoughts on that question.  Why hell yes it takes a village!! I would loose my mind without my village!! My village being my family.  Being a mother is a hard, "thankless" job.   I love it but some days I want a break and I can always count on either of my parents and both of my brothers.  Mother's day for some reason both of my children decided to not behave in church.  We were at Providence and there is no nursery for Cash and Arden likes to go in with us.  Whew, it was very hard for me to worship while loosing my mind with the monkeys.  Uncle Jason quickly intervened and told Cash he was going to take him out and spank him if he didn't settle down and mind his mama.  "It takes a village" was my first thought.  For some folks, that may not like another family member jumping in like that but that is the really great thing about my family.  We aren't like that.  We help each other when needed, we are all smart enough to know when to step in and when to stay out.  Cash loves and admires my daddy so much that he can talk to him about something and it sticks with him.  I appreciate that my daddy will do that when he needs to, without me asking him.  When we are on the farm you never know whose kids are going with who, John may have one or two, Jason may have a few, they just scatter and so because of that we all have to love and discipline each others kids.  It is what we do.  I think it is what our God would want us to to.  He tells us to love on each other, that is what I strive to do everyday, LOVE people and I think my family helping me with my kids is them loving me!!  So maybe it doesn't take a village but  in my case it sure takes a FARM!!!

Beach Blogging

Newest Season

It has been a while and I have been sooo busy.  I feel like me and the kids live on the road between Hattiesburg and Jayess, we have been spending a lot of time on the farm.  It has been great, don't get me wrong but it does tend to get routines out of whack. But it is worth it to see the family, help daddy with our agritourism business and see my kids LOVING the country life.  Cash asked me last week if we could build us a house on the farm and just come to town to visit daddy, lol! Poor daddy!!  For mothers day I am always pondering what to get the mothers.  This year my mama called with a request, I was thrilled, that was going to make my search so easy.  Then she told me her request.  She wanted her flower bed  tilled, fertilized and planted.  Well okay then, I knew how I would spend my mothers day weekend :).  I didn't mind at all though.  I love getting outside and getting my hands dirty being productive.  I ran the chainsaw, the weed eater and got her bed looking good.  My poor legs proved my hard work the next day, bruises from head to toe! Happy Mothers Day Bonnie Jean, it was my pleasure, you are after all the best mama and especially the best grandmother ever, hands down.


So Miss Arden has been busy as usual keeping me running in circles and constantly looking over my shoulder for her next stunt.  If her latest wasn't a sign of what she was ready for then nothing is a sign.  She was climbing out of her crib, taking off her pajamas and her diaper and putting panties on and laying in the floor.  She would sometimes go back to sleep or sometimes play in her closet or sometimes just model 6 different pairs of panties on, all at once.  I knew it was time to move her crib out and potty train her so last weekend I went and bought her a twin bed.  The beautiful Bratt Decor crib that has been part of our home since late 2006 is officially moved out of the house.  I will post some pictures when I finish making her bed skirt.  I have to actually start it first :).  Stay tuned.....


The kids humor:  Last week Arden came in the house and asked, "where is Noah"?  Noah is a little boy in her Sunday school class at church.  I may add here that he "attacked"her a few months ago, clawing her face and neck and leaving a scar on her cheek so I thought it was funny that she was asking about him.  Anyway before I could get a word in Cash loudly declares, "Arden, Noah built the Ark, he is in Heaven with Jesus".    Love my babies.

Meltdowns, PMS, and all that it means...

Wow, talk about blowing it before 9 a.m.  I have succeeded at yelling at my children, sighing to myself that they were sucking the life out of me and thanking God that they had school today.  Supermom, huh?  I didn't even feed them breakfast.  :( Of course on the way to school I told them how much I loved them before quickly dumping them in car line and having a meltdown all the way home because I am such a horrible mother!!  I blog about these kinds of things because they are real, this is the season of my life with young children and I KNOW that other mothers are feeling these same things, the overflow of love, guilt etc... all the things that come with the daunting task of being a mother.  Who knew it would be so challenging?  Have I mentioned that before? ha!  


I WISH I had a dollar for all the times I have been told "enjoy this, it will be over before you know it".  What I really want to say to those people that tell me that is "Really? God I hope so". :)  (insert laugh here).  Okay in all seriousness I thoroughly enjoy my babies, my days with them, their contagious smiles and laughs, the way that for the most part they love each other so much, the way they really do NEED me for everything, the way they sing with me, the way they usually take every step I take even if it means that sometimes they trip me.  I LOVE them, adore them miss them when they are not around, they are the reason for my existence but some days like today, I don't get off to a good start. These are also the days that I don't start my day with quiet time to pray for them (and for me).  Cash had a meltdown (which  I would swear by  now he is getting to old for, lol) because he wanted to watch Bob but he didn't want to bring me the remote, he wanted me to come in there.  I am trying to stop doing EVERYTHING when I know that he is capable of doing some things and I am trying to teach him a little bit about motivation (like actually looking for something instead of crying to me that he can't find it) and responsiblity. Trust me, I know how R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S this seems. :)  I am laughing at my own self, what 4 year old CARES  if what he is looking for is in eye sight, he just wants YOU to come get it.  
I really don't want these days to pass me by to fast, I want to embrace them and for the most part I have been very good about that.  However sometimes when the P(rincess)M(ust)S(cream) syndrome hits, I have a hard time with balance and let's face it, with sanity.  It is a stupid, stupid misconception that we must do it all alone, that we must be supermama's, that we must must must must......STUPID!!!  Our kids are going to grow up with or without us, once it is over it is over and I do not want to wake up with regrets.  I will not remember that one of my couches was covered in folded laundry(hey at least I got it washed) or that their bedrooms look like a war zone or that i fed them spagetti o's for supper, fortunatley they won't either.  What we will remember is that we laid on the couch and watched Bearanstain Bears and did not think of it as wasted time, that I stopped what I was doing and pushed them on the swing.  I will never have this day with my children again, it is a gift  I want to enjoy this day.  Thankfully since they are at school :)  I have been able to come home, breathe, speak to the Lord about my ignorance and ask him to fill me up so that I can be as gracious to these brain cell sucking little people as HE has been to  me.   Whew, thank you sweet Jesus that our children are SO forgiving, that they don't hold it against us when we act like yelling idiots.  Thank you for do over's!!! :)  

Agritourism: Getting Back to the Roots on Small Farms

Agritourism: Getting Back to the Roots on Small Farms

I guess it is long past time for me to blog about the happenings of the farm. Several months ago Daddy and I decided to step in the agritourism business with the family farm. I have been asked so many times "what is agritourism"? I am sharing a link that gives a great article on exactly what it is. To say I am excited is an understatement. I am so passionate about this journey for so many reasons!! The older I get the more I love the fact that i grew up on a dairy and that my children have this awesome, beautiful, grounded place to grow up and learn about hard work. I have often wondered over the years, "what will happen to the farm when daddy just can't do it anymore'? I honestly never thought that I would be part of the solution or answer to that question but this just may be a way for me to be just that. I am ecstatic! I graduated from USM with a degree in Hospitality Management/Tourism, how could this not be meant to be. There is SO much to do but we have already had 3 field trips and we have a birthday party planned in a few weeks. We take it for granted that everyone just knows about milk, milking cows etc, planting crops....but they don't. These are country kids coming to the dairy that have never had an experience like this, it is amazing! This is a way for me to get back to my roots, to contribute to this farm that I love dearly, to spend time with my family and for my children to grow up OUTSIDE!!! I am so passionate, my wheels will not stop turning and I can't wait to share with all of you the amazing things we are going to be doing!! In fact, I am leaving Friday headed to North Mississippi to attend the spring farm tours for the Mississippi Agritourism Association. I can not wait to meet some other farmers and see what they are doing. Agritourism is big in other areas of the country such as Vermont but has just made a wave through Mississippi recently and I am 95% sure that we are the ONLY dairy doing this and we are for sure the ONLY farm that will offer a farm stay. I am so excited about that!! I should be finishing up the work at the farmhouse as we are calling it, by the end of May. We will have a precious little 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house that sits on the farm under some beautiful oak trees that we will offer for rent to anyone that wants to escape the city life. Guests will be allowed to hike in nature, fish, have a bonfire, interact with as much or as little of the farm operations as they wish. It is seclusion, it is escape from reality, it is about slowing down and breathing fresh air, reconnecting with your soul. I LOVE this place and I can not wait to share all the before and after pictures of this almost finished house.

Gardens, hose pipes and mud pies..that's how we roll

Some of our findings this morning

about to get started

he is so ready to dig!

I should wear gloves but my hands are a wreck already anyway

spraying his naked sister, he got naked right after this picture. 

Today was a fabulous day with Cash and Arden.  I decided that we HAD to get our garden planted, STAT!! I had waited long enough.  Most of you know that we live slap dab in the middle of Hattiesburg!!!  Centrally located to anything and everything you could want or need.  It is so accessible, I have lived in this exact same house for 15 years.  I love my little house but I loathe living in town.  I will never get use to it, it will never not drive me crazy the way your house is almost bumping into your neighbors house and our neighborhood is nothing like all these new ones that are getting thrown up. If we lived in some of them, Cash could take a leak off the back porch and wash the neighbors dishes.  Argh....no thanks!!  I am spoiled I know, I go to the farm and it is nothing but 1500 acres of wide open, beautiful, hardwood spaces!! LOVE IT!!!!  Being "forced" to live in the city only makes me want to do country things that much more, it doesn't bother me at all that Cash will "whip it out" and relieve himself in the front yard, should this bother me?  I won't lie, I have a new project up my sleeve right now that the kids are gonna love and Master P is gonna croak!!! Woo Hoo!! Can't wait to see the expressions on all their faces when Lil Mama gets this one going...stay tuned!  A couple of years ago I was sick to death of planting a garden in buckets, that goes back to that wide open spaces I mentioned earlier.  So I dug up a lot of flowers and plants, tilled up the dirt and planted me a garden right in the middle of my flower bed, in my lil house in the middle of the city.  I even spread some cow dung in it!  Even I can't handle the smell of chicken dung, blach!!  Cash was very excited about planting, mostly about digging but either way I was happy he wanted to help. We spread our dung around, mixed the dirt up and he dug up every last hole in that garden.  We had to keep it small so we only planted basil, mint, rosemary, bells, jumbo jalapeños, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and regular tomatoes. Oh and marigolds just because they are pretty and keep the mosquitoes away!  I will get all my fresh corn, peas and squash from the farm.  Last year I canned about 28 jars of snap beans, this year, that ain't happening.  Unless of course someone wants to help me snap them!! :)  The weather was beautiful and our Lord was gracious enough to hold off the rain until we finished.  By the time the garden was planted, Cash and Arden were both naked as jaybirds playing in the water hose!! :)  I love those kids. They were filling up the dirt under the shade tree and making mud pies.  As I was picking up all the gardening mess, I realized how i was just smiling and laughing at them and how thankful and blessed I am for my two little terrors! :)  Later in the day we walked across the street to our neighbors.  There is a "creek" behind our house, now mind you this is NOT a creek that you will find in Jayess on Ard hill.  This is a rinky dinky, rock embedded small body of flowing water.  I would NEVER let my kids stick their big toe in it! ha.  Drew and Nancy (our neighbors) actually have fish on their side, I am not sure we do on our side but we went to feed them bread and I couldn't believe how they attacked it as soon as it hit the water, probably because they are sick of eating all the litter that trashy people throw in!


Funny for the day:  when it was time to go pick Alese up from school Arden would not come on.  I told her if she didn't come on I was going to leave her.  She replied as she LAUGHED at me "you ain't gonna leave me".  I love her so but I won't lie, I am fearful of raising her.  She is DETERMINED!!!!!!  I only thought I was, she makes me give up daily.  Lawd have mercy on this mama's heart!!

Get yourself some girlfriends....You are gonna need em

Many years ago when I was first married, I was 
relaxing under a magnolia tree on a humid Louisiana summer day, drinking iced tea and getting to know my new sister-in-law, Estelle. I had moved to my husband's hometown and she was the only family member close to my age. Not much older than me, but already the mother of three, Estelle seemed to me experienced and wise. Her face suddenly took on a very serious expression and in the most charming of Southern drawls she said to me,"Get yourself some girlfriends," clinking the ice cubes in her glass. "You're gonna need girlfriends to go places with and do things with." 
What a funny piece of advice, I thought. Hadn't I just gotten married? Hadn't I just joined the "couple-world?" I was a married woman, for goodness sake! Not a young girl who needed girlfriends anymore. I had girlfriends when I was 
living at home and in high school! 

But I listened to this new sister-in-law and I got myself some girlfriends. As the years tumbled by, one after another, gradually I came to understand that Estelle knew what she was talking about. And I remembered that she had said the word "girlfriends" with a lot of emphasis. And year after year I discovered the subtle difference between friends and girlfriends. 
You go to work with friends, go to dinner with friends, go to church with friends, belong to clubs with friends. You send friends greeting cards. You need friends in your life. After all, all girlfriends were once only friends. And all Southern women have friends and they also have girlfriends. But a girlfriend is different. 

First of all, a girlfriend is NOT "just like a sister." 
Sisters have a distinct bond, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Sisters flow from family love and attachments. Girlfriends choose each other. Over the years girlfriends have blessed my life. And here is what I have learned about them: 

Girlfriends don't compete. 

Girlfriends will bring casseroles and also scrub your bathroom or all floors when you are sick. 

Girlfriends will keep your children, and they will keep your secrets. 

Girlfriends give advice when you ask for it. 
Sometimes you take it, sometimes you don't. 
And it makes no difference..either way. 

Girlfriends don't always tell you that you are right. 

Girlfriends might send you a birthday card, but they might not. And if they don't it does not matter in the least. 

Girlfriends laugh with you and you sometimes need absolutely nothing to start the laughter. 

Girlfriends don't talk about you behind your back. 

Girlfriends help you out of jams, the dumps, and the blues. 

Girlfriends don't keep a calendar that lets them know whose turn it is to do what. 

Girlfriends will give a party for your son or daughter when they get married or have a baby in whichever order that comes! 

And girlfriends are there for you in an instant, and truly... when the hard times come. 

Girlfriends listen when you lose a job, a husband, or anyone dear to you. 

Girlfriends will listen when your children break your heart, and will hold you when you cry. 

Girlfriends will listen when your parents' minds and bodies fail, and cry with you. 

When girlfriends are young, they have no idea of the incredible joys or the incredible sorrows that lay ahead of them. Nor do they know how much they will need each other. 
Young women today should take my sister-in-law's advice. "Get yourself some girlfriends." 
You're gonna need them. 

the two best Julie's

two of my three favorite girls, Julie and Jessi

Love this girl!!!

WHAT WHAT????

Yes that is Southern Comfort, and yes we drank it. Not to much though, relax!

Love!

Julie did you spill something on your purse?

I have no idea but something was funny

I love Anna, she cracks me up. Can you tell?

doubled over laughing is the best laughing!!!

I have an idea of what I am telling her!

Anna was going to polish her toes but somehow she never managed too..

the trunk of Anna's car has looked like this since she was 15, I swear!!!

beach time

love the hat Julie

hello Mr. Sunshine!!

self portraits!

good thing she is skinny

WHat?What?

One day I will be skinny again too. lol

don't ask, don't tell

Julie and Anna

My girls!! Jessi, Anna, Julie and Julie

Have loved her since 6th grade!

I think that is more southern comfort. Pretty sure it is. :)

Swyping!

LOL

Julie had never been to FloraBama!!! :)

Anna and Julie

The Julie's

At Lulu's with one of my favorite girls, at my favorite place!!

I read this many years ago and have loved it at first read!!  Back in December I got to thinking about friends and time spent with them, or lack there of.  I realized that I have a lot of acquaintances and a lot of friends.  I have a handful of super close friends and I decided that I wanted to start planning something with my three closest friends that, for the most part I grew up with.  The girls that have known me through it all and luckily still love me! :) I would love to plan something with all of my girlfriends but there is just no way, and to many girls in one place never ends well! Ha!! So I called up Anna, Jessi and Julie and told them we would be starting our first annual girls spring fling this year!!!  I am happy to report that they were all as excited as me and we spent the second weekend in April together in Orange Beach.  I can not tell you how MUCH we laughed and talked and stayed up WAY to late and had the best time ever! It was so needed and I am already looking forward to next year!!!! :)  LOVE LOVE LOVE MY GIRLS!!!!!