Category: family

bookkeeping / books / budgeting / family / homeschooling / Kent / Montessori / works for me wednesday

Budgeting for Children: Learning Materials and Beyond

I’m not sure why but I feel led to write about this right now.  We’ll see if Kent sleep schedule agrees.  😉 In my post about our Montessori Inspired Kitchen Setup I shared some of the products we’ve purchased for Kent to use.  We are on a tight budget around here so it is important to pull together nice materials for him without spending a fortune. You can read more about our financial situation by clicking on “Our Money Story” up above.  We follow Dave Ramsey’s teachings and operate on a zero based budget by utilizing the envelope system. We have a line in our budget for “Kent”.  This line will eventually changed to “Children”.  As is stands right now the amount will not increase with the number of children.  Right now it is $60/month and we put that amount, in cash, in an envelope for him every month.  If he needs something, or there is something I feel we should have to aid his learning, I go to his envelope first.  Here are some examples of what I have purchased from his envelope: sunglasses sensory materials (water beads, etc.) puzzles story books books to aid me in teaching him

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family / Git 'Er Done 2009 / sheep

The Ewes Have A Date…

Today we took our flock of 7 ewes and ewe lambs to meet their new boyfriends. We split them up over 3 different rams based on who would best compliment each one’s physical features. The stocky, big ewes went in with stylish, finer boned rams and vice versa. It made for a long day since the handsome bachelors live almost 2 hours away. We made a lot of stops on the way back too. We ordered a new back door for the house so that when the builder comes back to install the new front door he can do them both at once. That will be soooo nice. It is hard to juggle paying off our debt with cash flowing the farm and fixing up the house all at the same time. I’m glad we can still fit in some improvements here and there.We had a gift card for Cracker Barrel so we had dinner there – we even got my Mom and sister to come with us so that was nice. I’m tired, off to bed. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

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baby / family / farming / green / hay / milk / vacation

Vacation: Days 2 and 3

After the tractor pull on Friday night we followed my cousin and her husband in to Indiana. We had enjoyed the pull with them and had made plans to visit some friends together for the weekend. Our friends in Indiana moved there a couple years ago to join their family business, McCoy Dairy Farm. Brian and my cousin’s husband had fun talking to the guys, touring the farm, and helping out where they could. Since my cousin is due to deliver her first baby in October and our friend recently had her 4th child us girls had plenty to talk about too. It was really refreshing to see a dedicated Mom in action who manages to balance work on the farm with parenting. She’s my new role model! 🙂 I was really interested in the farm too. That barn in the picture is new – can you believe how wide it is!? Here’s the very best part…those of you who have read about my desire for a milk cow will understand. They. have. a. miniature. jersey. cow. Her name is Elaine and I’m in love. First I got to pet her – and then I got to milk her!!! I

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family / farming / sheep / tractors / vacation

Vacation: Rough Start

We worked and worked and stayed up late on Thursday so we could get out of here Friday morning. We planned to leave by “10 or 11” and pulled out of the driveway at 11:05. Typical! We left separately, me with the horse trailer and a ewe we were going to drop off at the breeder’s and Brian with the pickup we were dropping off to be worked on while we were gone. I went to the bank, he made a few stops, and we met up at his uncle’s (he is our mechanic). I parked on the road and got out to check the ewe. I opened the side door on the trailer and was surprised that the ewe didn’t startle and jump up. It took me a few seconds to realize why. She must have put her front feet up on the manger (4ft tall) and got her left front foot stuck in a big gap where the manger had rusted out. To make it worse, she tried to get down and ended up in an almost sitting position, essentially hanging from her foot with it way above her head and her toe pointing at the ground, thus

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family / farming / marriage

Thoughts on Marriage after One Year

Can you believe it has been a year already!? That’s what Brian said to me this morning and he is right, this year just flew by. Lately, I’ve had a chance to take part in a lot of conversations with my friends about marriage. We all agree that we get so tired of everyone acting like things are perfect or, at the other end of the spectrum, of people getting divorced after only a few months or years. A lot of us younger couples never get to hear much about those who have struggled through things and managed to stay together. Of course, people say “marriage is so hard” but that doesn’t help much. Without going in to a lot of detail, I’d like to share a few of the things Brian and I have learned in our first year of marriage. Dealing with the hard times…-Don’t just think you’ll never get divorced, you’ll live happily ever after, and that’s that. If you had asked me last year if divorce would ever cross my mind I would have said absolutely not unless there was cheating or abuse involved. Let me tell you, I had serious doubts this year that I

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family

Busy Day, We’re tired

So I may not have mentioned it yet but both Brian and I’s moms are moving or planning to move. Brian’s Mom has to be out of her house by the end of August. It isn’t as bad as it could be since she moved out of there and in with her husband quite a few years ago. It has been really tough for her though because Brian’s Dad and brother have both passed away and a lot of there stuff was in the house and had to be sorted through. We also had a lot of stuff left in the house from when we lived there before moving to the farm. If you haven’t heard, Michigan’s economy bites and almost no houses are selling. Someone actually came to Brian’s Mom and made her a really good offer on the house – it wasn’t even for sale. I think this is meant to be and I’ll be so glad when it is done. My Mom is planning to move closer to us next spring. Right now her and my little sister live about 45-60 minutes away from us. My sister will be graduating from high school next year. So far

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apples / cattle / fair / family / sheep

County Fair Fun!

These pictures aren’t the greatest but I wanted to share all the fun things that happened last week at our county fair! Our niece bracing her lamb.Our other neice, Jill. Her sheep was being very stubborn and holding up the class but Jill handled it like a champ.Jill setting her lamb’s feet in the proper place. She ended up winning her class!Our nephew showing in the Cloverbud class. The little ones are supervised by an older helper and no ribbons are awarded. It is a great way for them to learn.The best part: my caramel apple!!It is hard to tell in this picture but this steer weighs 1800 pounds!Aren’t the sheep cute in their pajamas!We went up on Sunday night to see the animals and exhibits. Then we went back on Tuesday to watch our nieces show their sheep. They did great and I learned a lot from watching. Do you attend your county’s fair? What’s your favorite thing to see or do?

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family / garden / Git 'Er Done 2009 / sewing

Sewing with Mom

My Mom was nice enough to drive out for a visit on Sunday. We spent the day sewing a new scrub top for me. I bought the pattern and the fabric a while ago but wasn’t sure how to cut out the pieces. I have made curtains and even pajamas but this top was by far the hardest thing yet. My Mom is an excellent seamstress. She even made my bridesmaids’ dresses for the wedding so I knew this top would be a breeze for her. It turned out pretty good. Thanks Mom! Today is the start of my new work schedule. I only have to work Tuesday – Friday this summer. Yay! That means more free time for all the projects around here. I wanted to spend this first day off out in the garden finishing the planting (expect an update soon). However, Mother Nature decided rain/storms sounded good today. I actually planned ahead and went to Jo-Ann Fabrics yesterday to stock up on supplies for today. On the agenda: cut out a second scrub top and work on curtains for the living room. Those who follow the Git ‘Er Done posts will appreciate that once curtains are done

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