**My Life** (Recently)

Recently, there's been a lot going on in my life.  My mother-in-law has been fighting a very rare cancer for about a year (but it's looking up!!), my sister-in-law is getting married in April, and my father-in-law...well, let's let that settle a little while longer.

Oh yeah, did I mention that my chickens, rabbit and some of my cats were murdered???  No?  Huh, well I meant to ~ but that's the least of my worries right now.  Let's just say a few weeks ago Nick went out to the coop and found nothing but feathers and evidence of an intruder :-(  We're thinking it was a fox, but who knows.  We've also decided to wait until Spring to get more chickens and a guard dog :-{

Needless to say, there's been quite a bit of stress around here.  Things have been tense BUT we're muddling through it and now things are looking up.  Especially since harvest has wrapped-up here at York Farms and I no longer have to be a single parent.

<:AtomicElement>Oh, and my oldest son turned 3!!!  LOVE HIM!

<:AtomicElement> 

(This is Ruly's version of "3")

Anyway, like I said, things are looking up.  (Hopefully!)  Like they say, the Lord doesn't give you more than you can handle :-)

**Stress**

Lately, I've been a little stressed-out about everything!!!  Life, children, wedding planning, etc.  I've decided to focus on myself and my boys.  I'll make that my 1st priority and the rest will fall into place. 

Honestly, I feel better :-)

**Wedding Planning**

Well, it's official!!!  My sister-in-law (Nick's sister) got engaged Labor Day weekend.  Since that time, my other sister-in-law and myself have been hard at work playing wedding planners.  I must say, WE LOVE IT!!!  We have so much accomplished already: church, venue, florist, photographer, invitations, transportation and the dress.  We don't mess around folks, we mean business ;-) 

With the big day a little less than 7 months away - we feel pretty good about where we stand.  We're still trying to tie down bridesmaids dress (11 attendants by the way).  But, that's what we hope to accomplish tomorrow.

Between the wedding, livestock (i.e. chickens, rabbits, cats and dogs) and little boys; we're staying pretty busy around here!!!  Gotta LOVE it :-)

**Chickens**

Well, my chicken coop is complete!!!  I received my chickens last Tuesday and they are soooooo cute.  I kept them in the garage in a tote the first week since I have moved them out to the coop!!  They make me smile :-)  I would love to post pictures but my computer won't let me at this time.  Hopefully, I can post sometime in the future and show you my little farm!!!  Happy pecking.



**Celebration**

This weekend, my sisters-in-law and I are throwing an outdoor family gathering to celebrate a special occassion.  We have a lot of great ideas, but trying to put them together has us a bit overwhelmed!!  We're talking 80-100 people, and yes~that's all family.  Holy Cow!!!  Anyway, some of our ideas include:

blue mason jars as centerpieces...

burlap as runners...

hydrangeas...

paper lanterns in the trees...



Now if we can just get all of our ideas to come together for us, we'll be in great shape!!!  Wish us luck :-)

**My Sanity**

Well, I gave in...I had to!!

For the sake of my sanity and the sanity of the household.  Don't worry, I didn't give it back totally; just during naps and at bedtime.  If I wouldn't, there would be no naps and no sleeping done by my almost 3 year old.  Let me tell ya, the minute I gave it back, he went right to sleep and slept for 2 hours.  Thank goodness!!  Sometimes, it pays to compromise.

On another note, I ordered my chickens yesterday.  They'll be here the week of August 15th!!  What about my sanity??

**No Naps and The Terrible 2-3's**

Well, my almost 3 year old has decided that he no longer needs a nap :-(  Where did my baby go?!?  It all began when we took the pacifier away a week and a half ago; since then, no naps.  He doesn't understand that he can't take the pacifier to school with him so we decided to get rid of it all together.  We told him that there was a new baby in the hospital that needed the pacifier, so it went to be with the new baby.  The story works for now!  However, the days are very long and tiring when we don't have that 2-3 hour reprieve in the afternoon.  I know it's all worth it in the end, it's just very difficult. 

Not to mention the fact that he doesn't listen, he screams and he tells me no. 

*Sigh*  Lord help me!!!

**Rain, Chickens and Ruger**

Well, it finally rained!!!!  Not very much on a tenth of an inch but still, every little bit helps.  The radar shows some more coming, so hopefully we'll get that too.

Every since I posted the picture of my dream garden a couple days ago, I haven't been able to get the thought of that chicken coop out of my mind.  (Although this one is cute too.)  What does this mean, you ask??  I want chickens!!!  I'm going to do some research on the Internet today and see how much work they are.  We have the perfect spot for them and since I'm growing my own fruits and veggies, why not have some chickens to produce some eggs?  I know that I'll have no problem finding people to share them with either (i.e. Adam and Maggie)!!

On a different note, my baby boy turns 4 months old tomorrow!!  I can't believe how the time has flown by.  This is crazy!  Jake Sorrill of If Only...Photography (check out his blog) came out Friday and took some pics for me.  Check out those blue eyes!!



**Laundry**

Cleaning, laundry and taking care of 2 little boys...this is my life!!  I LOVE IT :-)  I recently decided that there's no reason why I can't clean my own house, so I've let my housekeeper go and I've taken it on.  I cleaned this morning, not too bad ~ I can do this.  I've always had a speacial place in my heart for laundry, I get it from my grandma!  I can't explain it, I just enjoy it.  However, I just wish my laundry room looked like this one...

or this one...

I think it would be amazing to have 2 washers and dryers!!  One set for your everyday clothes and towels.  The other for my husbands work clothes and rugs.  GENIOUS!!!

As I type this, Ruly is watching Toy Story 2 and Ruger is sleeping.  I'm trying to figure out what to cook for supper.  I'm feeling chicken, potatoes and asparagus.  Happy Saturday!!!

**The Heat**

Well, with a heat index of well over 100 degrees this week, irrigator season is well under way!!! 

What does this mean you ask??  Not only is it hotter than Hates outside, I also do not get to enjoy my weekends with my husband.  It's always something while "babysitting" those things!! Whether they get stuck, wheels come off or they just won't run; this makes for a hot and sweaty mess when he gets home.  Hello laundry!!

Not only are we irrigating the fields, we've also been irrigating our garden and orchard.  This year we started to garden seriously; not letting the weeds overtake everything!!  I've planted quite the array of veggies, along with an asparagus and strawberry patch.  Our orchard is underway, as well, with apple, peach and cherry trees.  This is all very exciting to me and I'm hoping to inherit the green thumb that runs in my family!!

This is a Kentucky garden that I'm in LOVE with that was in the March issue of Martha Stewart Living.  She has fruits, flowers, vegetables.  The white building you ask??  A hen house!!!  SO JEALOUS!!! 

**Updating**

I haven't blogged in like 4 months because I've been busy welcoming and situating our newest member into our family!!! 

Ruger James was born March 25, 2011 at 11:40 a.m.  He weighed 8 lb 7 oz and was 21 in long.  He is the most laid back and easy going baby!!!  However, that's easy to say when comparing him to an almost 3 yr old.  It's official, the terrible 3's are 10x worse than the terrible 2's!!!!  Mark my words.  

I'm going to become more devoted to my blog.  I'm a SAHM 99% of the time and the other 1% I work at our local YMCA paying the bills, doing payroll and the books.  I truely enjoy it and the people I work with.  A year ago, I worked at a job I HATED!!  My husband and I agreed that I would be a stay at home mom and work a little on the side to keep my brain engaged ;-)  Now, I work at a job I love, get to work-out 45-90 minutes a day and take care of my babies!!! 

Follow me and my posts to see how life is out on the farm.

Pregnancy ~ T-10 Days and Spring

It's the first day of Spring and I'm still waiting on my little guy to make his appearance.  A week and a half left (at the most) until I get to meet my little man!!!

38 weeks 3 days

 On the bright side, Ruly has had a blast playing outside the past few days, it's a great way for him to blow off some of that extra energy.  I'm cherishing these days with only him because his little brother will be here soon and I'll have to share my time.  Bittersweet.

Pregnancy ~ T-13 Days And Counting

I'm in the home stretch!!!  We have less than 2 weeks left until we get to meet our newest addition to the family.  Did anyone ever tell you that the last month of pregnancy is the worst?!?  I'm seriously driving myself CRAZY!  I've cleaned everything (minus the fridge), organized all closets and cabinets, read books and finished all craft projects that I started.  I just want to meet my new little bundle of joy :-)  Stay tuned....

37 Weeks