If you’re looking for perfection, you’ve come to the wrong place

When my friend Nicole showed up this afternoon to pick up the centerpieces I built for her wedding, I will still waxing crates for her to use in her cupcake display.

“I wasn’t going to wax them, but then I was waiting for you and decided to try it to see what it looked like, and I think I like it.  But I’m not sure what they’ll look like in a month…I’ve never waxed old crates before.  And I’m actually not waxing them, now.  I started out waxing them, but I couldn’t get the wax down into all the crevices, so I’m oiling them.  My homemade furniture wax was made with beeswax and oil and so I figure, if I can mix oil with beeswax, can’t I just pour it on to this super soft wood? So, that’s what I’m doing. Pouring vegetable oil onto the wood and spreading it around.  What do you think?”
“It looks good.  Are you going to do the other two?”
“Well, I don’t know.  I mean, this is all a big experiment.  I don’t know what the oil’s going to look like in a month, either. But hey, if you’re looking for perfection, you’ve come to the wrong place.”
“Let’s oil them.”

And so, 3 weeks before the wedding, on a Thursday afternoon, we sat down on my kitchen floor and poured vegetable oil on the other two crates.  I still don’t know what they’ll look like on the wedding day, but no matter what, I think it will be okay.
Because, like one of my favorite bloggers always says, “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”
Same goes for these antique-trim-branch-holder-thingies that I built.

They are far from perfect.

But they are beautiful.

Like the lilac branches I filled them with, each one is different, but gorgeous.

Shared at Inspire me Monday

Winner of the Living History Farms Giveaway and Life in Iowa in 1900–The rest of the story

 

I LOVE the 1900 farm at Living History Farms.  In many ways, it doesn’t seem so different from our own farm or those around us.  The house is actually quite similar to mine, as mine was built in 1907, and the barn is like those that dot the countryside where I live.

 

But there’s no way I’d want to live (or farm) in 1900.  Besides the obvious amenities we enjoy now, like electricity, indoor plumbing and central heat, there are many other things that keep me from really wanting to turn back the clock.

For example, in 1900, 1 in 10 infants died before age 1. Epidemics threatened the lives of early Iowa settlers. Highly contagious diseases like cholera, smallpox, diphtheria and typhoid fever spread quickly from person to person. The average life expectancy of a pioneer man, woman or child ranged from 30 to 40 years, if they were fortunate enough to survive childhood.

Farming wasn’t much better.  Much of the work was done by hand, or with the help of horses.  Tractors had not yet been invented, although the iron plow was used.  (This plow, coincidentally, contributed to a loss of 50% of Iowa’s topsoil before the DustBowl in the 1930s.  Many farmers today use conservation tilling to reduce erosion of our fertile topsoil.)

However, things were improving.  Scientists were doing “extensive experimental work to breed disease-resistant varieties of plants, to improve plant yield and quality, and to increase the productivity of farm animal strains”. Hybridized corn was produced in 1881 and a hog cholera serum was developed in 1903.  Farmers were becoming business-men, and had begun making the improvements we benefit from today.

It’s romantic to imagine what 1900 was like in Iowa.  But we often look at the past through rose colored glasses.  The reality was much more bleak.  Life was hard without the many modern conveniences we enjoy.  And farming was even harder – harder on the farmers, and in some ways, harder on the land and the animals.

Farming and life have changed over the past 100 years, but one thing has remained the same – farmers are still trying to do things better than before.  New equipment, new discoveries in animal health, new conservation and animal care practices…farmers realize the global impact they have and are doing their best to make that impact a positive one.

 

Now, who’s ready for a rose-colored view of Iowa’s history? Wendy Tse is the lucky winner of 4 tickets to Living History Farms!  I’ll be emailing you, Wendy! Congrats!

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Dear Mommies,

 

I’m not an expert mommy, nor am I an incredible experienced mommy.  But this I know:

It’s okay to not love parenting.

It’s okay if your kids make you want to pull your hair out.  It’s okay if you’re exhausted and frustrated at the end of the day.  It’s okay if you hide in the bathroom to get a few minutes alone.

Because parenting is HARD WORK. 

 

My True Parenting Confessions

I tried being a stay at home mom and didn’t like it. I have trouble giving my kids my full attention. I carry guilt and anxiety over my kids’ picky eating habits.   I choose “mommy time” instead of playing a game, doing an art activity, or playing with my kids, a lot.  I cannot put the boys to bed by myself without losing it.  I only work part time, but my kids go to daycare full time.

I don’t LOVE parenting.

But that’s okay.

It’s okay to not love parenting.

It doesn’t mean you don’t love your kids.  It doesn’t mean you are a bad parent.

It doesn’t mean you are a bad parent.

 

Figuring out how to discipline a 5 year old, fighting a 2 year old to get his hair washed, trying to sleep with a baby laying cross-ways in your bed, settling sibling disputes, sitting through 2-hour-long school concerts, running your kids back and forth to a million activities after school, changing a blow-out diaper in the Target bathroom, helping a stubborn, unmotivated kid with homework…the list goes on and on.  Parenting is hard.  And often, unenjoyable.

There is no shame in not loving parenting. 

 

Happy Mother’s Day from Katie, an imperfect mom who doesn’t love parenting, and her two little boys who love her (and feel loved) anyway.

Giveaway! Because I love Living History Farms

 

 

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but I really wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder growing up.  So it only made sense that Living History Farms was by far my FAVORITE field trip.

As a 3rd grader, we visited the farms after learning about how our small, midwestern town was settled.

As a 5th grader, we took it a bit further.  We dressed in traditional pioneer attire, spent half the day in the one room schoolhouse, ate the lunch we packed in a pail, and then toured the rest of the farm.  (That’s me, with the navy bonnet, blonde braids and  red apron.)

 

 

When my brother was in 5th grade (and I was a college student) I eagerly volunteered to chaperone his trip, dressed in my pioneer clothes again, and probably had more fun than any of the kids there.

When I was nannying in college, I took the kiddos to Living History Farms for a little field trip, too.

Finally, my own son is big enough to appreciate the farms, and when we visited last Saturday, he loved it!

“Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa, tells the amazing story of how Iowans transformed the fertile prairies of the Midwest into the most productive farmland in the world. While at the 500-acre open-air museum, visitors travel at their own pace through historical time periods spanning 300 years. On-site interpreters provide a unique learning environment of seasonal activities and demonstrations.”

 

I wish I had checked out the website before hand…they have a great visitor’s guide for children under 5 (and another for grades 4-6) as well as a blog for children!  But we still had a great time and Adam learned a lot.

Here are a few pictures from our trip…

Adam was so busy exploring, he wouldn’t stop for pictures.

We only had time to tour the 1900 farm and 1875 town, and this was the look on Adam’s face when I told him we didn’t have time to see the 1700 Native American village or 1850 farm.

We are, however, planning to go back, and thanks to the generous folks at Living History Farms, you can go, too! 

Follow the directions to win a 4 pack of tickets to visit the farms this summer!

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Baha Black Sheep

 

It’s hard to believe that our Little Orphan Lambie is almost 6 weeks old!

It’s really  hard to believe that we’ve kept her alive this long.  Sheep are known to just fall over and die. Luckily, that hasn’t happened to us.

In those six weeks, Lambie has undergone a name change, from Bailey to Baha.  She drinks 4 times as much milk as she did when she was born, and she’s at least 3 times her birth weight. 

People keep asking me what kind of sheep she is, and I keep telling them, “The kind with four legs.”  I think they’re looking for a more specific answer, but right now, I don’t know what that answer is!

Baha has had a couple of vaccinations, and had her tail docked. (Apparently, tail docking keeps sheep healthy.  Bart used an elastrator and she didn’t even cry when he did it.)  The tail fell off last week and it’s sitting on a hay bale near her pen.  Grosses me out every time I see it.

We are no longer feeding her in the middle of the night, thank goodness.  Going out to the shed in the cold, dark night was a little too much for me.  I mean, I like her and all, but not that much.  Most of the time, Bart did the midnight feedings, but whenever I did it, I made sure to make a big stink.

Now, she gets three bottles during the day.  The lamb milk replacer we use smells a lot like the vanilla protein powder I put in my smoothies.  I’m wondering if they’re interchangeable.

The plan is for Adam to “show” her at the county fair.  That means, he has to keep records, do an interview with judges, and then walk her around the ring.  Should be interesting, since he likes to purse his lips and look away when adults ask him questions, and she doesn’t exactly like her leash.  (I think it’s called a lead rope? or halter? Or something more technical like that.)

In order to participate in the fair, we have to attend four meetings to learn how to care for the animals.  We’ve been through three of the meetings.  The fourth is sort of a dress rehearsal.  We take Baha with us, and she gets checked out by the vet to make sure she doesn’t have any contagious illnesses, which will happen again at fair time.  Just another example of biosecurity.

We never really wrote down any goals for this adventure, but I think Bart would agree…the general idea is to teach Adam to care for something other than himself; to willingly be inconvenienced by another being’s needs.  It’s a good thing he’s only 5, because it might take a few more sheep before he really gets the hang of it.

Although, he’s pretty cute playing with her!

Alleluia! He is risen!

 

Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. John 16:22

Happy Easter.

Isaac, the Threenager

My sweet Isaac turned 3 a couple of weeks ago.

This kid keeps us on our toes. 

At his first birthday, he was going through a period of time where he just didn’t sleep from 2am to 4am.  He had chronic constipation that made his poor little tummy hurt. 

When he turned two, we started speech therapy, because he just didn’t talk.  At all. Throughout the last year, he learned to talk, but he also learned to beat up his (bigger) brother.

And now? Now he’s three.  And refuses to give up his pacifier or wear underwear or stay in his bed or eat anything but pancakes and Chex.

But through all the little battles and challenges that Isaac has brought us, he has also brought us JOY.

For a long time, I couldn’t figure out what Isaac’s strengths were.  He didn’t seem to have any.  But I finally realized, Isaac’s strength is joy.

Isaac can find the joy in any situation. He is never simply happy – he is over-the-moon excited about nearly everything.  Of course, he has his grumpy moments, but for the most part, he approaches life with a happy-go-lucky, sunshine-y attitude that rubs off on anyone around him.

Sometimes, Isaac’s joy is a bit misplaced.  Like when he delights in hitting Adam.  Or giggles like crazy when he sneaks out of bed for the tenth time.  Yes, Isaac is a little ornery.  But he more than makes up for it with his sweet hugs and infectious smile.

Happy Birthday, sweet Isaac!