A Two and a Half Year Old!

I know, I know I was promising some awesome farmie posts, but pregnancy hormones have been demanding nesting and reflection. I think every Mom has a little spell when they are getting ready for their second child that they really take a look at their first born. I will be honest that I am having a hard time not seeing him as my baby, but every day he amazes me with how big and grown up he really is! I think it is also hard for me to get my brain wrapped around two kids. How will I love another baby as much as my first, what will he be sacrificing with my attention on a newborn, how is there enough time for two kids! I know it's doable, and I know it will come naturally, just having a hard time getting my brain to wrap around the idea.

Also can't believe I have a 2 1/2 year old! Where does the time go! Seems like just yesterday he was born and trying out those lungs of his, something he still does on the daily! To say my Little Farmer has been a challenge would be an understatement, he still manages to test and push the limits every day. Two has definitely been a hard age for him and seems like this week especially he has really been struggling (I think we are going through another growth spurt!) It's times like these that really make me take a deep breath and try to remember all the things I love about my two year old as he screams "No Mommy!" for the hundredth time in the last minute!

Mommy fail; as I feel there are lots of memories I am kicking myself for not writing down or getting a picture of. So I thought I would start a list for every 6 months or so of what Mason is like in this moment!

True Mason Style: I take pictures and only get one out of 100 where he's somewhat looking and smiling!

• Full blown boy! 
• Is totally into his animals right now. He's always loved animals, but now he is all about them. He'd play with his animals all day if he could. Toy tigers, horses, farm animals are always his first go to.
• Wears size 3T clothes! 
• Eats more then me most days. Seriously I am worried about how much food he'll be able to consume when he's a teenager!
• Says "I love you SO much!" and truly really means it. And says it in the best voice. Heart melt! 
• Still LOVES fruit, especially Apples. Kid would eat 5 apples a day every day and not bat an eye! 
• Calls me Mommy now instead of Mama. I think this change came with his stopping nursing-mamamilk-a couple of months ago. I will admit that I miss being called Mama, but kind of nice to not be identified as a food source. But I also dearly miss nursing him!
• Wears size 10 shoes! He ridiculously went from a size 7/8 to 10 overnight, not even joking!
• Still talks up a storm and can carry on a full blown conversation that is mostly understandable with anyone. Isn't shy in the least bit in that respect! 
• Would watch movies and nature shows all day if I let him. But currently isn't stuck on one movie, thank goodness! 
• Is convinced there is a baby girl in my belly and that he only wants a Sister! 

So incredibly blessed with my son. He's way more then I ever imagined a child to be, and way more then I ever imagined parenting to be. I know it might be a bit of a rough road with the new arrival on the way, but he also loves to helpful and I think will fill big brother shoes perfectly!  
Mommy Loves You Mason!

        

Nesting, Nesting, Nesting

Well crazy to think I am only 8 weeks away from our second babe's due date! This pregnancy has flown by faster then the speed of light! And looking at our  calendar at the start of October I realized a large portion of those last two months will be taken up with Holiday festivities, so I made a push to try to get the ball rolling on some of the projects I wanted to get done before baby.

Number one on the list was moving Little Farmer to his own Big Boy Room! That meant clearing out our "Guest Room" and transforming it into a little boys paradise! I really wanted to get it right and have him start feeling like it was his own so he could have his own space and maybe not feel as displaced when baby arrives! It isn't finished yet, but his reaction has been amazing and totally heart warming to me. He wants to show everyone who comes into our home his new room! So cute and so grown up! And definitely making this Mama proud!

In another life I would love to be an interior designer, and even played in architecture for a while. So projects like this make me happy! My little guy is totally into animals from all around the world right now, so I decided on a global animal theme. The perfect orange color was already an accent wall, so I kept that and worked in some more boy colors of navy blue, green and brown. An Ikea run will furnish the rest of the room in bright white! Lots of fun decorating ideas flowing around in my head too, but for now the goal is to get it organized and finished!  

So here's a little look at what's been accomplished so far!

Finished painting. The one orange wall I carried over across the closet and door and make it flow a bit better. Feel like it invites into the room, without being completely overpowering, it's definitely bright orange!

I've always hated our closets doors....so I think I am going to forgo them all in all our rooms! They are always open anyways. His were the first to go and I thought it would be fun to do some stripes in his closet since it would be open. I used the same orange, and the other wall color in the room-beige and white. Math is not my thing, but I knew I needed to measure and map out a game plan on what I wanted.

Yes, I am a plan maker and visual, had to draw this out to even begin to figure it out!
Don't Laugh!

I ended up doing it a bit different then my original plan, mostly cause I hate taping! I used a laser level to assist in the line making. Definitely something you want if your attempting stripes! I used painters tape and saw a handy hint on Pinterest about sealing the edges with a light coat of Modpodge. I thought it definitely couldn't hurt and my track record with painters tape is not good, so I was definitely wanting help in that area!

A good helper dog is essential to every project!

I made my farmer take off the painters tape after two coats of each color of paint, I was too nervous to do it myself! It turned out great!! Not perfect and few spots should have touch ups, but I think I'll wait till we get our organization in to bother with that! I am really happy with how the stripes turned out!

We already had a Queen sized bed, so we just took the frame off and set the box and mattress on the floor. My idea is to create a toddler friendly space that can  also grow with him!

Found the perfect rug with all the right colors at Target on clearance, also scored a body pillow cover in the perfect green, also clearence! Brown, black out curtains, as this room faces east and gets lots of sun, really early. Navy blue sheets, after finding the brown and green I wanted I knew I wanted navy blue sheets, they were not an easy find! Haha. The yellow reading pillow we found at Target clearence, best $7.50 I think I've ever spent, he loves that pillow and immediately wanted it in his new room.(Notice a trend, I frequent the Target clearance sections!) It mostly stays on the floor with the other throw pillows, left over from the guest room, as a reading area.

His Auntie made him this adorable quilt for his first birthday, while the animals are more cartoony then I want to go with the whole theme of his big boy room, the colors and idea tie in perfectly!

So excited about how it's coming together. And totally melts my heart to see his excitement over it as well!

Now to finish the rest of the plans!! :-)

Mid-Week Meal

Bacon-Broccoli Alfredo

Hmm wasn't sure what to call this one as it's kind of a throw together meal. Lots of my meals are like that, cause well ain't nobody got time for otherwise round here and it helps keep me sane! Not sure I've mentioned before, but I am big on cooking extra meat on one day so that the leftovers can be quickly used in another dish. Super time saver, and gets dinner on the table faster!

Left over cooked Chicken breast/tenders or even pieces of chicken from a whole chicken would work for this!
Bacon-the more the merrier, I probably use about 6 slices
Broccoli -all my family happens to love Broccoli, so I probably use more then 2 cups, adjust to your liking
1 Jar Alfredo sauce
Whole Wheat Pasta- I usually use spaghetti, but any would work, are you noticing a trend here? ;-)
Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese


In case you don't have leftover chicken, pan saute' enough chicken for your family. I usually throw in some garlic. Or cut your leftover chicken into pieces.
 
Cook the bacon until crisp

Boil your pasta according to directions. Add the Broccoli pieces to the last 5 minutes of boiling. Drain and return to pot. Make sure your using a large enough one to mix in.

Crumble in your bacon and add your chicken pieces.

Add as much alfredo sauce for how saucey you like your pasta. I usually don't use a whole jar, but I'm only cooking for 3 and my husband isn't a big sauce person.

Mix together and melt in some parmesan cheese!

Just a side note, this is one of those meals I wait to mix together till my farmers at the table. Sometimes I never know when he'll be in from the barn and the sauce tends to make the bacon and broccoli a little soggy if it has to sit!

Enjoy! This Meal is Little Farmer Approved!

Proof that house cleaning is Bad!

Most people Spring clean their homes......I Fall clean my home! Sad to admit, but it's just the lifestyle we live: from about June to September, we don't really live in our house. It's mainly a dumping ground for the 5 seconds your inside in between jobs outside. Ok we also shower, sleep and eat there on occassion, but really don't inhabit our house. Working sun up to sun down doesn't leave much time in the way of real house cleaning, so it's sits and waits until the waether turns and we are back to living in our house.

At this point I usually look around in horror, because you can't continue to ignore a 4 month mess that includes a mountain of laundry this time (our washer broke down) along with the usual 6" of dust from having the windows open and cobwebs in every corner!

Usually I begrudge the Fall cleaning and only really do it because at some point other people like to see us and that means inviting them into your home. Yep, I am a shame cleaner, I can get way more one in ten minutes before somebody shows up then I want to on a regular basis all week! But this year, I think it's pregnancy hormones and nesting kicking in, I really wanted to get it done and organize a little better!

So I went at it full force this week, seriously digging in and getting sh*t done! Pretty darn proud of myself, until I got sick last night! Apparently overdid and now I have a nice cold. Complete and total proof that house cleaning is bad!

So instead of putting off my blogging to clean my house, I will now dig in and get some posts done about awesome farmie stuff! 

Your welcome for the tip and warning! ;-)
~The Farmer's Daughter   

Family Time

Somewhere in the craziness of this summer, we found some time to celebrate our son turning 2 with a photo shoot. The amazingly talented and super friendly Heidi Helser took these awesome pictures for us. Highly recommend her if you are in the area and in need of a phtographer, she rocks!! 

 To actually get pictures of my little man smiling melts my heart!

 Getting to be such a big boy!

And lastly, I've been keeping a little secret....we'll be welcoming a new 

Little Farmer!