2012 coming to an end

I can't believe it.  I started the year working at my old job and I'm ending the year in my new job as a stay-at-home mom.  Things sure can change.  Thank goodness! 

We had a big year.  In January we went to CA to visit Tom's grandpa.  Then not long later we went back for his funeral.  So glad we made the trip in January so the kids could meet their great-grandpa. Then we spent the spring and late winter having Tom in school and finishing is last semester of his graduate work.  He graduated in May with his Masters in Applied Linguistics.  He then spent the summer session working at a language institute while applying for jobs across the country.  In late May/early June he went to Nebraska for an interview.  June 3rd my company had another plane go down.  About mid-June Tom accepted the job in Nebraska.  So, by August we had traded places and Tom became the bread winner and we were living in a new state.

In the midst of moving and adjusting to our new life I finally got rid of a house in Oregon that I had inherited.  That was a headache and a half but it is done and out of our hair.  We hope someday our Montana house will sell but we have renters/housesitters there now so we aren't quite as desperate to sell as we might be.

At the end of August Bear started school.  Pre-school but school none the less.  He has been thrilled with being in school and making friends.  Mia is adjusting to being at home with me.  She would still love to be going to school but it sure cuts costs to have her home.

Mostly our year has been one of change.  Changing jobs, changing states, changing school status, and hopefully soon changing houses again.  We've been house hunting.  It hasn't gone well.  So be it.  Overall though we've had a good year.  Our family is together more than ever which has been very nice.  I'm getting to see my kids more than ever before which I'm loving.

We got to visit with family lots this year despite moving further away from everyone.  I got to surprise Tom for his graduation with a visit from most of our family.  Despite it being for a funeral the trip to San Diego and getting to meet lots of family was a good trip.  The kids and I stopped at my mom's house for about a week in between Montana and Nebraska.  My mom visited us in October here in Nebraska.  And now we are supposed to be getting more visitors soon! 

And a highlight of the year:  My sister-in-law had babies!!  Twin boys.  We can't wait to meet them but with the distance between us all it will be a bit before we get over there.  Maybe during spring break?  We shall see how finances, housing situations, and school schedules work out for that.

All-in-all it has been a good year that we are all thankful for.  Let's hope next year is a good one too.  We are hoping for a house to buy (my little farm) and some travel during the summer vacation.  Happy New Year!

Good morning

We got snow yesterday!  So much prettier and more festive with a few inches of snow on the ground.  I also broke down and got a Christmas tree yesterday.  We haven't had one because we've been planning on moving and didn't want to try to move a tree.  This is a little potted tree that is all of maybe 12 inches tall.  Bear has colored some ornaments and we have it decorated.  It is too little for lights but it has sparkles that catch the light.

All in all it is feeling more Christmas-like around here.  We had been so focused on finding a house to buy we'd been ignoring the season a bit.  Well, that and the fact the boys have been sick.  I decided we needed to change that.  I'm finally getting excited for the season.  I can't wait to see the kids open presents Christmas morning.  Mia is at an age she is starting to understand what Christmas is all about and Bear certainly is.  They are both excited about Santa. :)  I've been talking to Santa and I can't wait until the kids see the decorations he did for their stockings.

Since the wind is blowing the new snow around I'm glad we don't need to go anywhere today.  Well, there might be a doctor trip but otherwise we can hole up and enjoy each other's company.  We can make the final preparations for Christmas and get a little laundry and baking done.  I suppose I should at least throw my load of laundry in.  I'm hoping that Bear can make it to his last day of school today.  Poor kid has missed 3 days already.

Knitting

Just a small short rant tonight.  I just figured out why when you are knitting "in the round" on circular needles and you are making your join all the instructions say "don't twist."  I got about an inch knitted and realized things weren't looking right.  Argh!  So it is ripped out and I'll need to start over.  I'm hoping it will be a hat for Bear out of yarn I spun that he picked out the color.  I actually bought the wool for him to spin and he's done some but then he wanted a hat.  So I spun it up and now I'm attempting a hat.

At least this knitting gives me something to do while I sit with sick kiddos and husband.  I think Mia is coming down with it now.  Poor kiddos.  I think Tom and Bear are on the down hill slide.  I sure hope so any way.  Tom is so tired of being sick.  I'm sure Bear is too.  He so wanted to go play in the snow today.  It was the first time he'd really made a stink about being sick.  He is the nicest, most polite sick kid ever.  Everything is "yes please" or "no thank you" when he is sick.  Or when I ask how he's doing it is, "Not well."  Today with the snow it was just tears because he wanted to go play in it.  I just didn't dare let him do it with his fever.

I'm hoping they'll all get better soon, that I'll avoid this thing, and hopefully Bear will get a hat out of the whole thing.  For now it is off to bed to keep up on my rest and I'll start on the hat again tomorrow.

Sick, bad news, and Great news

Everyone being sick stinks.  Both of my boys are down with high fever and coughs.  Bear is on day number five.  At this point we are just letting it run its course and hoping us girls get to skip out on this one.  We keep pumping the immune boosters and are resting lots.  We are eating plenty of chicken soup too.  I'm just hoping we are all done with this before our Christmas travels.

We just had our 3rd house offer fall apart.  We thought we had a house to move into right after the first of the year.  We were so excited and ready to be moving.  Now we are not moving and there is really nothing on the market that we are interested in.  Sure makes us frustrated.  I guess at this point we'll sit tight until that perfect little farm shows up. 

I know things like this happen for a reason but man!  Really!? 3 times we have to get so close and then have things fall apart.  The first time we had a buy/sell agreement and it was the financing that came apart.  Then the next guy decided he wanted to wait to sell his place (we'll maybe still get a shot at this one), and now this gal tells her realtor (after verbally accepting our offer) that she isn't offering both lots with the house and she'd really like more money still.  Argh!  I feel for her realtor though.  Even she thought she was offering both lots.  That was the whole reason we were even willing to offer on it was that it was almost an acre in town with both lots.  Only one lot was absolutely no deal for us.

So, we've gotten sick, had house deals fall apart and best of all?  Tom and I became aunt and uncle!!  Tom's sister and husband had twin boys yesterday!  Woohoo.  So excited to be a real aunt finally.  I'm so glad we aren't there right now because we wouldn't dare go see anyone with our sick bugs but I will be so happy to see the adorable little boys later.  And I have to say kudos to my SIL.  She not only carried them to what is full term but they are huge for twins.  She had 14 pounds of baby.  Whew!  Talk about super-mom.  I thought I was uncomfortable with 8 pounds of baby in there.  I had nothing to complain about.

So happy they have their family now.  Congratulations!

Argh!!

It is official, I hate house hunting and trying to buy.  The ups and downs of it stink.  That is all on that.

We should have new babies in the family any minute now!  Twins! We don't know the sex yet but can't wait to welcome baby A and B to the world.  My kiddos are very excited to have baby cousins too.

Christmas is right around the corner and we have all gotten sick.  Isn't that just how it goes?  Today will be the second day Bear has missed school.  He is so bummed about not getting to see a friend of his.  Hopefully the fever will be gone tomorrow and Thursday so he can finish up the last of this semester.  Tom has a fever too today and is desperately trying to ignore that fact so he can finish up and get grades done for his students.  As soon as all that is done I'm sure he'll come home and collapse.  Mia and I are doing okay for the time being.  We are keeping up on fluids and echinacae so hopefully if we get hit too it isn't hard.

Let's just hope all this is done for Christmas travels.

Farm country

I think time is in some sort of warp.  Here it is almost Christmas and it feels like we just barely moved.  Maybe that's because I haven't unpacked?  Then again maybe it is just because we've been busy.  Tom is on his last week of school.  He only has two days after today.  Bear has all next week of school.  I'm pretty sure we have another Christmas get together next week and we had one last weekend.  Then it will be Christmas.  Holy cow!  I still have some shipping to do but I think I have all the presents done.  I've got to double check.

The trains sure are busy this morning.  I've been hearing a couple go by for the last several minutes as I write this and drink coffee.  Luckily we aren't right next to the tracks.  I don't mind trains but there is so much train traffic here it could get old in a hurry.  It is not uncommon to get stuck waiting at a crossing around here.  Luckily there are lots of train crossing so when you get stuck with one when the train parks at the crossing people usually just turn around and go a different way.  There is even one section where the road goes over the tracks with an overpass as opposed to actually crossing at the track level.  It sure helps with traffic flow.

I'm impressed by the number of semi-trucks and trains.  You can tell that feed lots and farms are the main industry here.  My kids now know the difference between cattle trucks, corn trucks, and sugar beet trucks.  Right by us we don't get too many of the bean trucks but the beanery is about 30 miles away so that explains that.  We have the sugar factory here.  We also have at least 2 large feed lots within 10-15 miles that I know of and probably there are more.  Prevailing winds are a consideration when looking for a house around here. :)

I'm actually surprised how little we smell the sugar factory.  Once in awhile the wind shifts and it stinks up all of town but usually you only smell it when you are actually by the factory.  Gotta watch out for the beet pulp on one road too.  And all the trucks hauling sugar beets.  I think this year they harvested somewhere around 20 million tons of sugar beets.  I can't remember exact numbers.  I'm not so sure that was total or if that was just what was at our factory.  There is another factory for the same company only 30 miles away.  And there used to be two here in town.  Now the old one is just the lab. 

I find it all fascinating.  I love that on Sunday our newspaper puts out a Farm and Ranch section where I can catch up on how the beet, bean, and corn harvest is going.  What the drought is looking like.  And all sorts of other interesting tid-bits.  They usually list the auctions in that section too.  Our local NPR station has a whole harvest radio too.  Market reports around here are what corn futures are doing, butcher hogs, and soybean prices are doing.  I've yet to figure these out and how the pricing really works but it is interesting to listen to.

To say the least I'm happy to be back in farm country.  I like the mountains and all but farm country is what I know and love.  There tends to be a wonderful sense of community in farm country.  I'm not saying there isn't in the mountains but it seems the more open the country gets the more open the people get.  I'm not sure why.  I am enjoying the fact that when we meet someone though it is isn't, "Why did you move here?" it is "Welcome! We love it here because of ________."  There is always something different for each person but we don't hear about why they don't like it here we hear about why the do like it here.  It is nice.

Just things to think about.

Waiting and waiting and waiting.  It seems to go on forever.  At first we were waiting to hear about a job in Nebraska.  Then we were waiting for it to be later in the year so we could move to said job.  Then we were waiting to hear about a rental.  Then we were waiting for a house to sell.  And another house.  - One sold one is still on the market.- Then we made an offer on a place and we had to wait to hear on that.  Then once we had finally agreed on a bunch of stuff then things fell apart at the last minute.  So it was back to waiting and looking.  Then we made another offer on another house.  And we were back to waiting on news from someone else.  And then they came back with information that just wouldn't work for us.  And now we are waiting again.  It seems it will never end.  I'm so impatient that I'm going a little crazy.  Maybe this is just my patience test for the year?  Month? Week?  Day?  I hope year.

So besides waiting I've been re-reading the Little House on the Prairie books.  I'm enjoying them a lot but I keep thinking that there is no way Ma is as happy as Laura writes her to be.  Don't get me wrong, I think she was an incredible woman that did things to raise her family that most modern women would never one, want to do, or two wouldn't have the knowledge to do.  At the same time though as a parent I see things differently than a child does and I'm realizing there are things that the kids never see.  At least as a parent you hope they never see. 

I can only imagine the stress Ma was under to provide a safe, comfortable home for the girls when they were living in a tent, a wagon, a dugout, or a shanty.  Not to mention wondering where their next meal would come from.  And to top it all off there were seldom any other people around to talk to or work with.  It explains why it was such a treat to have visitors.

In reading these books at this time of year I'm paying more attention to their Christmas stories too.  It is amazing to me how Christmas has changed over the years.  It has become so commercial and such a competition.  And how do you compete when kids have so much all through the year?  It seems to have lost some of the special feeling that used to come from not having things during the year.  Things like a bit of candy or that special orange in your stocking used to truly be a special thing.  Now, it seems like a why bother?  It sure makes you stop and think that a piece of candy and maybe one present really was super exciting because it was the only time of the year that you got it.  At times I wish it were still that way.

I don't envy the hardships of that life though.  Our modern lives are so much more comfortable.  I complain about waiting to see about a house and yet I live in a house that between my kitchen and dining room is bigger than a lot of the Ingall's living conditions were.  And to think that there is so much more to this house than the kitchen and dining room.  I picture trying to squeeze 4 kids and 2 adults into one tiny room.  Ugh!  I know how cramped we were in MT in our little house with only 4 people total and one dog.

Snippets of goings on

Only a little ways off until Christmas now.  I think I have all the presents taken care of except 3.  That isn't so bad.  Especially for me.  I'm terrible about Christmas shopping.  I'm one of those wait until the 24th types.  I try not to be, but it has never really worked out well.  Every year I get a little better though.

I just decided to measure Bear the other day. 44 inches tall and somewhere between 50-55 pounds.  I thought that seemed tall so I compared him to the CDC growth charts.  He is off the charts for a four year old.  When I compare him to the 5 year olds he is still off the charts although without such a gap.  And yet if you compare his sister she is mid-range and high but not off the charts.  Funny how different two kids can be.  Bear has been growing so much that I swear I've been able to hear it happening.  At least his eating has slowed down so I think the growth spurt is at least slowing.  We aren't totally out of apples that I bought 2 days ago so we must be on the down hill slide of that.  Thank goodness!  My pocketbook can't take much more eating like that.

Let's see, besides kids growing out of everything and Christmas almost here we are still in housing limbo.  We might move, we might not move.  It seems like we've been in limbo for a long time.  It will all settle out in the end but for now it is tiresome.  We are making the best of it we can and keep working toward a resolution to it all.

Off to round up the monsters...

Home

Funny thing about the Christmas season.  It gets you thinking about going home.  Wherever home is.  Maybe it is where you hang your hat.  Maybe it is where your mom is.  Maybe it is where your babies are.  Maybe it is all of those.  Mixed up or not.  I think that is the way it is for me.  Home is two things for me.  Home is the house I grew up in where my mom still lives.  Thank goodness for small miracles.  They tried to sell the house a couple years back and couldn't.  I love that I can bring my children to Grammy's house and we can stay in my old bedroom.  At the same time though the town I grew up in is no longer my home town.  It has changed so much that it just isn't the place where I grew up.  Now that portion of my feelings are more inclined to feel like my home town is where my husband and children are. 

At this point though our new town has not come to feel completely like home yet.  For me that is still Montana.  I know this will change over the years.  It took several years to feel like our home in Montana was that, home.  I'm finding myself missing odd things from our Montana home.  Besides my garden that is. :)  My yellow kitchen, our post mistress, the neighbor lady that walked by our house everyday, my kitchen window that looked out on the backyard so I could watch the kids play and I could see the garden, and the strangest one?  I miss all the hippy/crunchy/organic stores.  Even our tiny town had a thrift store that was part second hand store part bulk herb store.  Our little grocery store carried lots of organic food.  If you went to Missoula there were all sorts of organic food and clothing stores.

Here we have one health food store.  At least there is one.  None of the grocery stores carry much in the way of organic food.  There seem to be no baby stores that carry cloth diapers or organic cotton clothes and natural wood toys.  Everything comes in Styrofoam containers here!  And wrapped in plastic wrap!  And store clerks just have no idea what to do with your canvas grocery bags.  Coffee stands (the couple there are) serve your coffee in Styrofoam cups.  What happened to cardboard?!  What happened to recycling?  What happened to all the green movement?

I find it funny that I miss all this stuff that kind of bugged me about the Missoula area.  I didn't disagree with it but I didn't care for the holier-than-thou attitudes of many of the people around town and in those types of stores.  But here, there is very little of the attitude that one should even think about this stuff.  There is a farmers market and there are a couple of CSAs.  Thank goodness for that.

All of it has me thinking about what ways I could bring some of this stuff to this town.  I'm tossing around ideas of some sort of store/farmers market stall.  My problem is trying to decide on a product.  Herbs and flowers?  Hand spun yarn?  Natural baby products?  Cloth bags from upcycled clothing?  Rag rugs?  Knitted or crocheted items?  Maybe a little of all of it?  How do you display it then?  What do you call it?  How do you include books in that?  If only my interests weren't so varied.

I so far lean heaviest toward herbs, flowers, and hand spun yarn.  All things I've been interested in for some time now.  I do need a place to grow said herbs and flowers though so... 

These are all just random ideas for now that all tie into the idea of making this area my home.  Maybe there is some way I can help improve the community and make my little corner here too?