a (reluctant) farm mom

When I recently came across this photo, I thought I really should have named my blog,

"Tales from a Reluctant Farm Mom." 

As much as I am still--and always will be--under construction in this vocation, the FARM part of my title has probably been the hardest part to swallow over the past 12 years.

You see, being on a farm has never been my dream.  I signed onto it and I am proud of my husband and what our family does in agriculture, but it's no secret between the two of us or anyone else that I don't love it.  My tolerance of farming has grown to "like" over the years. 

My job most often as a farm wife and mom is COOK and I am happy to do that.  I stay as far away from cattle as possible and I am terrible at book work. Unless my husband needs a spell or grammar checker, I don't have many marketable skills when it comes to farming.   

Farming isn't neat and clean and predictable.  It's tough.  It's hard work.  It's patience.  Just as it takes many weeks for a crop to go from planting to harvest, it can take years for farmers and their wives to see the fruits of their labor. 

Yes, it's patience.  Lots of patience.

 

Still, I don't have to love farming to defend our way of life.  If you think farmers aren't intelligent and can't manage huge businesses, well, you don't know a farmer.  If you think all there is to farming is planting some seeds and watching them grow (as I did about 13 years ago), you really don't know a farmer. 

What has mostly shifted my tolerance to "like" is watching our boys find their place on the farm.  They are now old enough to help and they love it.  It is fun for me to watch them grow and I can't believe that those loooong days of having two toddlers at home are over as I watch them proudly help their dad where they can.  I don't know if our boys--or girls--will be farmers, too, but I hope so. 

And, if they have spouses, I hope they love the farm.

Or at least I hope they learn to like it.

 

It really is a good life.

 

Mystery solved

Oh, little girl. 

This is not mommy's first go-round.  I wasn't born yesterday, it ain't my first rodeo . . . you get the picture. 

Besides, Elementary is my favorite show and I have been learning the art of deduction from the fictional Sherlock Holmes himself.

SO, if you don't want to get caught after taking all of the tissues out of the box,

 

you really shouldn't leave sippy cup evidence behind.

 

Hog barns and bar bathrooms

Here's the promised Part 2 of today's previous post . . . .

 

I may not know a whole lot about how to build or remodel a house, but a do know how to decorate one.  (Thanks to getting ideas from other people who have already done it.)

If you follow me on Pinterest, you might have seen an influx of ideas for kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry spaces on my boards lately. 

As soon as I found out this project was a "GO," I started to think about paint colors and decor.  I am practical enough to know that this will be the kids' bathroom after we are through living downstairs.  Also, this isn't going to be a laundry room for just kinda-dirty city clothes.  It will still clean the same muddy and cow manured clothes it always has. 

Knowing that, I'm not planning on anything too dainty, but I do think a fun shade of green paint would be nice.  Maybe not one of these shades, but A shade of green.  I also have a few ideas for a counter top, laundry sorting, and baskets that I haven't had before. 

 

Relating to that topic, here's a little story you might like . . . .

Back up to Saturday as we cleaning up the last of the cement chunks from the basement.  David was looking at the smaller room which will have the shower and toilet and was expressing concern about moisture over the years (a valid concern, since we will have to remodel our upstairs bathroom before this is over, too.) 

Then he said, "We should get some of that panel to put in the bathroom (look of panic from me---I HATE paneling!!!) . . . well, you see it in hog barns." 



After nearly 12 years, I know enough not to freak out and just let things be.  So, I took a shower and gathered my thoughts.
As we were sitting around the table having a snack with the boys, I told him, "You know, if you want me to consider your ideas for the house, you cannot tell me that 'you see it in hog barns.'"
"Well," he answered, "you know what I mean.  You see it in bar bathrooms."
WOW.  Big upgrade there.  We have now gone from smelly hog urine to drunk male urine.  It is true that our boys are not the neatest in their bathroom habits sometimes, but I do not anticipate needing a pressure washer to hose the walls down! 
Again, I kept my mouth shut and that's how it will stay.  I know what battles are important and that one is not worth it.  I will be the one handling the painting, decorating, and LACK of paneling that will be put up.  All necessary steps and the right kind of sheet rock/paint will be chosen for a high-moisture environment--something we were too young to consider 12 years ago when we remodeled the upstairs. 
Yes, he is still Super Husband, my hero with a backhoe and knowledge of all-things construction, but there are some things just better left up to the woman of the house.  :o)

Super Husband (or . . . She's Thinks my Backhoe's Sexy)



Our project took an unexpected turn yesterday when our plumber showed up a day early (prayers answered!) and told us that the sewer pipe was broken too far under the house. We would have to dig down to it outside. 
Again . . . I was ready to throw up.

But, what was that?  A bird?  A plane?  No, it was Super Husband swooping in to save the day!  Dig down to it, you say?  Call someone to do it?  HA!  That's what the backhoe attachment on the Skidsteer is for!  By this morning, it was all ready to go.  Whew! 
Crisis averted and now we will have all new pipes to the septic tank, so there will be no surprise clay pipe collapse in our future. 

Gotta run and pick up some pipe fittings.
There will be one more bathroom project post, and then I promise I will move onto other topics!

Step One

Step one is done.  I have to admit when we first started at about 9pm Friday evening, I was so nervous I could have thrown up.  Did we know anything about sawing and jackhammering concrete?  No.  But, just as we did when we built the living room addition, we plowed ahead and took it one thing at a time. 

The girls stayed at grandma and grandpa's for the night, so the rest of us had all of Saturday to work.  David's dad and uncle Doyle came to help, too, which was huge.  We were all done by 4pm Saturday. 

 This shows the east side of the house where the new bathroom and laundry room will be.  We had remodeled this shortly after we were married to be an office. 

This is the present utility room.  The old toilet pictured here is now gone. 

This room will be used for our freezers and storage. 

The only snag we encountered was hitting the sewer pipe in a few places.  Thankfully we never went all the way through or we wouldn't have plumbing now!   We have it covered, so it doesn't smell and hopefully won't before the plumber can get here on Wednesday to put the new plumbing in.  The kids thought it was pretty neat to flush the toilet and run downstairs to watch it go through the pipes! :o)

David and I both agreed that it really wasn't all that bad doing that part ourselves.

Now . . . we wait on the professionals to come and do their part.