more spring photos!!

Horray for Spring and all it brings! Even muddy dogs, lots of laundry and dirty floors. That can wait, I have sun and warmth to enjoy! After you check out our pictures, head to my farm website It is finally up and running. I have been handing out my 'business' card with as much confidence as possible and also putting up posters everywhere. I am not good at marketing but I am forcing myself to be, so that I can continue the farming part of a farm, which I do like. No customers, no farm.


Our chickens enjoying their freedom.

Our backyard, deck, trenches, laundry, toys, greenhouse and all.

Like father......

like son.

Maetia and her worm friends. She was so sweet and gentle with the worms!

Spring is here!

It is April and we are outside!! We love it so much. The last few days have been so amazing and so fun with the kids. Eli loves the dirt (to play in and eat) and Maetia is getting so good at playing and exploring. She recently discovered worms and thinks they are wonderful friends. Michael has been working for his old boss in the interim of being laid off from his regular work (due to the economic recession). We have been very thankful for this amount of work and having the opportunity to use his time for creating some art as well. One benefit to his current job is that they are renovating for some very wealthy people. I now fully understand and believe that 'one man's junk is another man's treasure'. We have been given: almost new kids hockey skates and helmet, mens winter coat, very nice kids toys and books, and cupboards to install in our house. We might even get the rest of the kitchen that they are renovating and not have to buy or build to renovate our own kitchen. This will save so much money!! The best 'treasure' was a new (to us) 8x10 deck. I have been wanting a deck so much but didn't want to ask Michael because we can't afford a luxury like this. We had just decided we would make a sitting area outside under some trees when along comes Michael home from work with a trailer loaded down with a deck. Not only are we going to stick this on the back of our house, but we are going to install a door so we can use the deck from inside the house and have a safe railing on it, for muddy days with the kids. I am so excited about all the great improvements on our home. We also borrowed a small backhoe/excavator from friends and dug 3 trenches to lay pipes so that the water will run more away from our house rather than inside our basement.
The very best thing about the nice weather besides letting my kids go crazy in the mud and grass, is that we let our chickens go free range in the backyard and they had a blast eating up the worms and bugs that we dug up when excavating. The kids had so much fun interacting with them and Drake was really good with them too. Here are some photos to enjoy (a few posts at a time) of our life in April.

Eli trying to get out when Michael is rototilling the garden.

Eli playing in the muddy garden, note large cheeks full of mud.

Maetia and Eli gardening

Michael, Maetia, Eli and Drake, balancing on our not yet stable deck.

This is Eli's latest feat, climbing the chair onto the stove!

Thank you !!!

Thank you GG for my fun musical octopus, love Eli



Thank you Grandma for making my beautiful quilt, love Maetia

Maetia is 3!!

Maetia had a birthday on April 7 and turned three years old. This is a big deal to us as she is growing up so quickly and no longer a baby but definitely a big girl. We still have our temper tantrums but we are all learning how to deal appropriately with our emotions! Maetia has become such a big helper in the past few months. She used to try and be a helper but wasn't really very helpful but lately she has really taken on the big sister role. She loves to get me things, put things away, wash, clean and 'take care of herself'. She is so social that each morning she begs me to go somewhere where there are other people. She has started going to daycare twice a week which she loves and packs her bag herself each morning. The best thing about daycare besides the crafts, songs and toys is that her best friend (and cousin), Janna is there. This past weekend we were able to go to PEI to celebrate Easter with my sister and her family. Maetia chanted the names of her other cousins the whole way there because she was so excited. The trip back is another story, another blog post....
Here are some photos of Maetia decorating her cake, riding her new bike, getting some dress up clothes from Oma and Opa and some of her faces. Part of being a big girl is loosing the soother at night and naptime but I haven't had the heart to take it completely away yet. She tells me she just loves it so much and loves to put her blankies to her nose with her soother and smell them and it is so nice!!!
One of these faces is her with her fingers in her mouth, a new habit that is taking over the soother (we think) and the other face is how quickly she can change her mood (when we tell her to take the fingers out).








Maetia is so sweet. The day after her birthday we had a party planned. Eli was up early throwing up and when he threw up into my ear, then down my shirt, I told her to get the phone. I thought I would call my mum to see if I should cancel the party. Maetia listened to our conversation and when I was done I realized that I had a towel in my hand and was wiping myself, Eli and the phone off. When I asked her where it came from she said, "I got it for you mummy because you are all yucky and you need to get cleaned up". She is so sweet and cuddly, we love you Maetia!!

Renovations

Michael has been busy in the kitchen.....renovating. Not that it would be so out of the ordinary for him to be cleaning, baking, or cooking either but renovating is his favourite. We originally had a small built in cupboard within the wall that was built beside the chimney but kind of took a chunk out of the dining room. The whole house shape and additions are a mystery so we try not to think about it too much. We had originally been planning to put a large built in cupboard on the dining room side but the studs didn't allow it so we changed our plans and made room for a small shelf on one side and a flat surface to work with on the kitchen side for when we (not really me) build our cabinets. The teal cupboards were rough, smelled of peperoni and had to go. What was once a quaint part of an old house, soon became no longer as attractive.

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." Maya Angelou


Eli helping and finding the dog's water dish


Kitchen before


Dining room before


Dining room after


Kitchen after

Business pressure

I need someone to tell me that I should be myself and run my business the way I want to and at the size I want to. I need someone to tell me that it is okay that I am not competitive and career focused. I love my farm. I love getting to know my customers and making my own rules. I love that I can farm and have the flexible hours to be with my children and stay home so much. I really love being outside in the earth and dreaming about lush plants and feeding so many people. I do not like when I am at the market and people look at my produce and walk by and purchase the other vendors' (very similar) produce. I do not like the feeling I get in my stomach when I hear that 4 other large CSA's are starting in this area this year. Three of them are starting with money, infrastructure, and business experience. Last week I met with two small business development agents to help me figure out the next steps to my business. Tomorrow I am meeting with a woman from Women in Business Inc. to help me find grants and develop a good business plan. All of these things excite me and are helpful but every time I hear about what one of the other CSA's is doing, see their websites or advertisements I feel sick. See, I like a lot of other things in life as well as growing a market garden. Part of me wants to do this while the kids are young and then later get a job that stimulates brain while not being something I take home at night and analyze (make that over analyze).
Michael is calming and he tells me that I can run the business I want and I will attract a different but good kind of customer. I also find that the more I go out and meet people and get involved, I hear of other opportunities and I make connections that could, in the future lead to something else. Sometimes I think I am too much of a dreamer and always looking at the big picture, the future. But I am realizing that I should be a little more content with now and allowing that to work for us.
Here are some recent photos of us. We are so happy that the snow is finally going and that we can smell spring. Everyone was getting antsy and we are so happy for +10 degrees!!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for Eli's gifts!!


Maetia (as Mary) holding baby Jesus

We are not as excited about this snowfall on March 24 as we were last December



Playing outside!! Look at Eli standing and shoveling!!