Short Weekend

We didn't get very much done this weekend since Chris had to work Sunday, and now we go into a week of long days as well! Chris won't get off until 6 each night, which is usually dinner time. He got a good night of sleep last night though, so that's awesome! He said it was his best sleep in weeks, thanks to a sample of Zzzquil. I got it through a free sample program called Influenster for testing purposes, but I have multiple samples from PinchMe as well. It's just a sleep aid, no pain medicine, and is supposed to give you 7-8 hours of restful sleep, so make sure you have enough time to get that much or you'll be groggy. Chris took it at 9:30 and woke up when his 6:30 alarm went off, and he said he had a little trouble waking up even though it was nine hours later. Next time he tries it, he wants to take it earlier in the night.
Three of my zucchini are finally ready! I have been excited to pick them and there are so many growing on the plants, but I was worried they would all be ready at the same time and I would be overrun with zucchini! Luckily I have a couple full grown, and the rest still going, so today I'm making "salad bread", which is what one of our friends called zucchini bread. lol Its a great recipe with cocoa and chocolate chips to make it a little more decadent, and applesauce instead of oil to make it healthier.
The plan for the long week is to get as much of the garage cleaned/organized as I can without Chris, so that he can get his projects done in a clean garage over the next weekend. He has a bike hanger planned, as well as hanging the rest of his storage buckets. He also got a burn barrel, so we should be able to try that out too. We have tons of boxes and packing paper in one corner of the garage still. Mostly from amazon orders, but some left from moving.
I still haven't finished Totoro, but the kids have been playing with him already, without his ears or face! I want to get that done today, but I also have a couple loads of laundry to fold, which are both "nap time" activities. If I crochet during nap, I usually don't get the laundry done, so its one or the other.

New Home, New Start

I am not very good at keeping up with blogging! Years have passed, and I realized I enjoy looking back at what was going on in my family's life back then, no matter how trivial it seemed at the time. I think with our new journey in Michigan, and so many new adventures with these four busy children, memories of this time will be important to write down and not forget!

Today we are having a large part of our wooded land cleared. Probably half of our 1.8 acres is brush and trees. We are planning an orchard in the back half, and chickens in the side yard. Maybe in a few years we will upgrade our small garden; Chris wants to plant a mushroom garden as well. The yard already feels huge with so much brush cleared out! There are large rocks, almost boulders, all over the property, which we are planning to move into a row the separate the yard and the orchard area. There's a lot of water accumulation in the spring when the snow melts, so we are also planning on digging a big hole to let the water settle there into a makeshift pond. We're going to make the most out of every square foot of the land! :) 

Chris and I cut the back and sides of August's hair last night. Its so curly, it was getting matted and messy, and Gus doesn't like his hair brushed at all. We left the top curls long because they're so cute. He looks older! He's potty training and learning to sleep in a big boy bed right now, which goes better some nights than others.

Addison turned seven July 8th, and is participating in the library's summer reading program. She keeps track of the books she reads, and then tells the library what book she read and how many pages it is. They write it in her list, and when she reads 5 books, she gets a raffle ticket to put into the prize box she chooses. At the end of the summer, they have a carnival and prize drawing to see who gets the prizes! Addie wants to win the Legos or the kindle. 

Asher is almost 6 and needs new shoes! He thinks that on his birthday, all of his size 5 clothing will be too small and will be passed down right away to AJ. He loves playing Minecraft on the iPad, swing on the swings, and is learning to read slower than his older sister. 

AJ is busy all the time, and always has something to talk about. We just got a new trampoline, and he loves jumping on it with his big sister. He sometimes sleeps with our dog Bridget, and does not like cleaning his room. 

Chris is doing Air Traffic Control as a civilian at the tower here. I think he likes the rural airport, and the small tower. It's so different than Travis. His schedule is predictable and easy, so we both have caught up on sleep and love him not having night shifts. The brown trout are in the rivers right now, and Chris loves to go fishing under the bridges in town. He caught a smallmouth bass the other night, and had lots of fun figuring out how to fillet it. Gus watched the whole time. He took Addie and Asher fishing with him, but didn't catch anything that day. 

I love having a big kitchen to cook and bake in, and Chris' boss and coworker love eating the sweets I make! It's so fun to experiment with new recipes and have willing recipients. The physique obsessed Air Force people at Travis were not as happy with my baking gifts! Tim, Chris' boss, says there's no baking embargo here! I am crocheting a big Totoro for the kids, and also working on some socks for Chris. I don't have a lot of time for complicated crafting, but easy projects I can work on with kids talking to me, or watching a movie, are quicker to get done. I am also trying to learn more about sewing, and want to get good at making project bags for my knitting and crocheting. I just made an orange striped stocking cap and stuffed blue whale for my nephew Obadiah that I need to get in the mail! 

That's all for now, I need to get off here! 

-mrs. egg, egg mama