Momma Hen

Our Momma Hen... She has been laying on her eggs for a while now.  She gets very upset with you if you come around her to feed her and give water.  Ryan was trying to put food next to her.  Hoping we get some chicks out of the deal, that would be awesome!

Rob's New Work Truck

Well with his truck being more than we want to throw into it again, he was luck enough to a) find a truck that seems to be maintained pretty good from a neighbor b) have a good friend who was willing to loan us the money till somethings settle themselves.... Anyway, he picked it up yesterday and is busy getting road worthy for tuesday when he goes to work.  He will eventually pull the box off the back and have a flatbed system but for now this is perfect.

Recipes for Butternut Squash

I figured since I have a garden full of different stuff I would start making post with links to recipes I wanna try.  First up Butternut Squash

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/butternut-squash-risotto-2/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=butternut%20squash&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe

Donkey!!!!!!

While at the Cemetery today we came across a Donkey that we just loved and apparently he was pretty friendly too.  He chased Ethan and Alex down the fence line and cried when they left him… LOL!!! So cute!

Donkey!!! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Happy Memorial Day

The boys and I went to a few local Cemeteries with the Boy Scout Troop, American Legion and a few other local Dunnellon officials.  I think the boys in a weird sorta of way enjoyed it.  Paying there respects to the servicemen and women, as well as seeing some of the very old headstones.  Here are some photos of the boys.

		Memorial Day Flags VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

A little update

Happy New Year!!! Well things here are moving along at a fast pace, isn't that what happens in life?  I have looked at pictures recently and I am so shocked over how much my kids are growing.  Especially my oldest who is definately a teenager.  He is now as tall as me (shhhhh.... I am telling him I am a half inch taller, I know I can't pull that off much longer.... LOL), he has a deep voice like a young man and is starting to test his boundaries instead of being so easy going.  I still can't complain often, he is a good kid. This month we will be looking at a few high schools, yes I said it HIGH SCHOOLS for Ryan to choose from. Ethan well I love him to pieces but he is just a different child, he is much more hmmmh how do you say.... laid back? (trying to avoid the word that I would like to use) Just praying we can guide him to being the young man I know he can be.  Then again its the first year of middle school for him and we all know how that transition is.  He is busy with Scouts, Soccer and Band (Ry is doing all but soccer since he fell out of a tree in August) Anyhow, Miss Megan aka my Diva.... she is blossoming and going through all the lovely hormonal things that girls go through.  She can be such a delight when she wants to :) I love them all dearly.  My poor hubby is still traveling down to our old stomping grounds in PSL.  We miss our buddies down there tremendously, but we are trying very hard to make new roots up here.  Business has not been good but I am going to try very hard to grow our business this way.  We really need Daddy home more often, but for now we are thankful and blessed to have the work down south.  Me I am just trying to keep up with these kids and the house.  Not to much to report, have applied for a few jobs with no success.  Times are so hard and with Rob traveling I still have a certain schedule I can do to get the kids to and from school.  We have also increased our fur, feather and fin population.  We now have 11 hens and 6 roosters.  We have been getting eggs, which is pretty cool! We also have 3 pigs of which 2 are the boys FFA Pigs that they are showing next month  (Houdini and Mack Truck) and 1 was actually given to us (her name is Babe).  We have 4 dogs Roxy (14 months) & Moxy (8 months) are sisters and are German Shepards.  We also have Sadie (3 yrs) a jack russell and one of her puppies Abby (4 months) who is a jack russell/ Cairn Terrier Mix.  We still have our Sushi kitty and have added Scooter (9 months).  I know we are crazy but we really enjoy our babies! Well that is about all for now, my eyelids to shut so I can sleep which has been difficult lately.  Hope to come in and make more updates.  Thanks for reading and pls leave me a comment if you stopped by, even if its just HI!!

Been a LONG time

since I have been on our blog.  Is there anyone out there still?  If so reply... Wondering if its worth keeping this up.  Things here have progressed a bunch both good and bad.  The kids are doing well and finally adjusting to school and the area.  We are finally in our new home and have slowly made some changes.  Unfortantely the business has become pretty scarce which means money is also very little, so the changes around here will have to be of what has already been paid for.  I have been contemplating going back to work but will likely table it until school starts back for now.  We have added 2 dogs and lost 1 dog and 1 kitty (in October) since my previous blogging.  All in all we have a roof over our head and food on our plates so life is manageable.

The modular has been moved...

Even though it was set up on the property from 6/15 yesterday we did the final move on to the foundation and new piers.  Wouldn't you know after weeks of no rain yesterday we had a 50% chance.  They only got on and off sprinkles until around 5 and then it just started raining.  For the most part the 3 pieces of the  modular were together.  The contractor is coming back thursday to finish up the earth anchors and strapping the buildings together.  The WONDERFUL thing about this is this weekend Rob can really start working inside and getting it ready.  We have been fortunate to have my Dad (Niel) coming every weekend for the past 4 to help Rob with the foundation prep and then with filling the piers with concrete.  Just praying we can get through the basics enough to make the County happy and us get in there.  Our final move out date of the rat hole aka the rental is 1/17/11.  Its sneaking up pretty quickly on us too.  I will post a few pics a little later of the modular moving. 

Calling for our first inspection

Well yesterday I called for our first inspection for today. When I called I found out that we needed a Notice of Commencement on record at the Courthouse.  So after running to get the form, taking it the courthouse and back to the building department (approx 3 hours worth of running) we are able to do our inspection today.  Just praying that everything passes.  Also found out our closing for our house down south is this week.  Its sort of a happy/sad ending to the home my babies grew for 8 years in.  I know we will make more memories here, but sooooo hard being here with no support system.  Just lots of "blue" moments.  Well back to the housework and laundry... daily stuff ;o)

Ok, guess its been a while since I have been here.  I will try to backdate some post to make a progression of time.  First off let me just say this weather is glorious.  My only complaint is it puts me in a daze and its hard to keep myself motivated. LOL!! Not a bad complaint, huh.  Things are moving along with the modular, 2 weeks ago we FINALLY got our building permit.  Since the county is now requesting a permenant foundation to go under the three buildings, my hard working man decided to save some money and hired a neighbor to come help him dig where the ribbons of foundation will go UNDER the existing set up building.  If we were to move it and do it the easier way it would have cost us around 3k.  This way we are hoping it will be more like 1500.  But time will tell.  This weekend he is putting rebar in and hopefully we will get with the contractor after that to work on getting the concrete and the buildings on rails to shift them backwords onto their new foundations.  I will be thrilled when we are done with this part and starting to work on the interior.  Which is a LOT also, but if we can just get what the county needs done we can work on the rest while we are living there.  The problems in the rental have been many and I unfortantely just am continually sick.  So that is my lil update... Not even sure anyone is reading at this point, but I guess it gives me a space to vent and also keep track of timing on stuff.

Back to School

Well the kids started school yesterday. I was sad to see the summer come to an end but so very excited to see them start making new friends. It has been hard to move in the middle of the summer and them not have buddies up here. Anyway, they all got off with a hitch. Ethan and Megan seemed good with their first day, Ryan is having a tough time blending in at middle school. I think in time they will all do well. Ethan's second day he has decided he is not thrilled with his teacher, but he was told this teacher was mean by a neighbor at our new place. Megan seems happy go lucky, but homework last night was a battle we shall see about today. Ryan will be home in just over an hour so we shall see if day 2 was better. He has block scheduling at his school. So Day 1 he has Homeroom (everyday), Band, Language Art, & PE and Day 2 he has Homeroom, Geography, Math and Science. Its been very rainy the past few days which is also putting a damper on things. More to tell....... And above are a few pics...

Baby Steps

Well it seems the Rob FINALLY made some headway with the building department. Hoping and praying that by the time he is up there monday he can have it all squared away. Unfortantely we will still need to find a temporary rental. Hoping that he is able to secure that monday too, so that when we come with the big moving truck we won't have to move the stuff twice. I am looking forward to my bff coming with her girls tomorrow. We are off to the beach with the kids, which is exciting!!! Haven't been yet this summer and would like to get a trip or two in before the move.

Well that is our update for now.... Off to get some rest!

Ok, so I have been slacking...So much going on. LOTS of packing and many moving trips for Rob's garage/business/outside stuff/kids playset. We are so tired and haven't even yet begun. LOL! We have had a lot of set backs with the new property. We did safely get the modular on the property after meeting some neighbors and the local sheriff (ended up being ok). But now the County is giving us problems with the final permiting so we can move forward with power, the new plumbing, a/c, reconfiguring it and doing the interior work. We have figured out that we will need to rent a place. We thought we had the perfect set up just up the road but its not going to work out due to the fact that its a 2 bedroom and the realtor can't rent it to us because I have 2 boys and a girl and they need seperate rooms. Have you ever heard of such a thing??? So Rob stopped and got numbers today on the way out of town and I have made some calls. Also going to speak to a realtor tomorrow some more. We shall see how this all comes together. Also found out last night that the closing has been moved from 7/14 to 7/23, which is a blessing. More time to pack and spend with our friends... YAH!!!! So that is my update for now...

~*~ Happy 4th of July! ~*~

While we weren't in our normal place, Alabama we had a nice time bbq and swimming with friends. We came home and in the mist of packing shot off some fireworks in the rain.

Girls Night Out!!!

OMG!! My girls definately gave me a send off! It was so great going to all the bars/clubs we went to. We made it fun where ever we were. They even got me the non drinker to take a few shots!! I sure am going to miss my girls, hope we can stay true to our promises to stay in touch and visit each other. Here are some of the photos.

Tomorrow we are going up to the property...

I am getting ready to start packing. We are leaving with another load of Rob's garage stuff tommorrow. We are hoping that the Health Inspector can find the property this time and do the testing while we are up there (so we can guide him in), that will help get us along further in the permitting process. Hoping to go swimming in the springs in the afternoon and clean up there. Then take Ethan for dinner somewhere up there for his birthday (its Tuesday). Then tuesday we'll get to see our new home be delivered to the property and watch it get set into place. I am sure I will have pictures and video to show when I get back. Very exciting. We also have a few other folks lined up to get things moving on the modular so its a home and closer to the final inspection. Lots still to do... a/c, water heater, walls up, bathrooms modified, kitchen installed (small kichenette for now), some electrical redirecting for switches and possibly more plugs, electric run from pole to the modular, septic, well... Hmmmh thats all I can think of for now.

Things are moving along up north. Rob got a call from the guy clearing and he needs another day to finish the job... More money, just hoping we can cover it all in the end. We are still pending the county to approve the floor plan. Crossing my fingers. Also we have a hiccup with the closing the second mortgage is playing hardball. The realtor is working a different angel and Rob has to call the second tonight. OY!!!

More Updates

Rob just called me and looks like he has been a busy boy up north. The land clearer is going to finish what we need tomorrow. The guy that is putting our modular on the property next tuesday. So it looks like things are moving along nicely. He is pulling permits tomorrow as well a permit for the septic tank and arranging for the soil sample to be done. So I am happy to report things are progressing and I can't tell you how good that is.

Now off to finish some cleaning, laundry and start some packing.

This morning I took the kids to a free bowl from 9 -11 am with the Cub Scout pack that Ethan just "graduated" from. It was nice to see some of the pack families and to watch the kids bowl. I am currently attempting to get the kids to get their rooms in order. We have decided to try to sell the boys bunk bed set as well as our bedroom set. Looking for a change and dragging it up in the move is not appealing, LOL!! It looks like closing is July 14th for this house. We are hoping that our timelines and money all come together for the property up north. Started sorting my room today and still have lots to do around here as well as keep up with the normal routine. I need some of the energy these kids seem to have and waste an uproductive things. OY!!!! Rob took his old work truck up today that stopped working to the property. We are planning to use it for storage up there for the time being.

Not much else to report, next week is the last week of school. Good and bad all rolled into one... LOL!!