Hello there! Where've you been? (Haha...)

Well, hello there! It's been a while. Much too much of a while.

(Note to self—never post New Years Resolutions about how much blogging you are going to get done during a given year. Someone might actually remember what you said. Ouch!)

Well, let's see. It's been a few months since my last post and I should have something interesting to report, but...well, I guess things are pretty normal. I do have a few updates and some pictures to share, though, so I'll go ahead and do that. :)

Our chickens have become escape artists. It is IRRITATING! I love the fresh eggs every day and letting my two year old grow up with animals around, but...at some point...we are going to have to purchase better fencing!! They keep squeezing through holes or pushing up the wire so they can crawl under it and escape. Why do they keep trying to escape? Because they want to eat, eat, eat, all day, and they are never satisfied with perfectly sensibly-rationed proportions! They have this powerful urge to snack endlessly...they are a bit like hobbits in that regard. Breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, supper, and a few snacks thrown in—they'll take it!

Sigh...in other words, they are behaving like perfectly normal chickens that want to chase bugs all day with lots of space to run around in…

That's enough about those ornery chickens. ;)

In other news...life continues as normal. Andrew works his market and real estate jobs; I look after Dean and take care of things at home. No brothers or sisters on the way yet, though we hope there will be soon.

And next year, I simply must find a more efficient way to garden. Breaking up a large patch of soil and keeping it weeded has proven more than I can handle during hot summer weather, especially with an exuberant two-year-old thrown into the mix. By the time I have one area weeded, another part has become overgrown; after I conquer that overgrowth, another patch of dirt breaks forth into illustrious vegetation. The cycle never ends.

But, thanks to Pinterest (and a tiny bit of actual research), I have a plan for next year. I'm going to try growing some vegetables in pots and others vertically, on a trellis or something like it. (If you search for “container gardening” and “vertical gardening” on Pinterest, you can find some pretty fantastic examples of what I'm talking about.) I like this method because it takes up a lot less space and therefore requires less weeding. And, if you do it right, it's gorgeous. :)

Container and vertical gardening do require certain materials that I don't have, but I'm hoping to find some of that at thrift stores or on Craigslist—it doesn't look like it costs too much or pose too much of a problem, though potting soil would be an additional cost. Anyway, I'm excited about the prospect. :)

Other news? Well….hmm...I'm tentatively thinking about opening a shop on eBay and/or Etsy. I need to do some more thinking on it, but I find the idea appealing. It would be nice to make a few extra dollars to help out with expenses. I don't have any experience with marketing, so that's a drawback, but...we'll see. My idea is to create a variety of handmade soaps and sell them online. More on that later, if it comes to anything!

Not much else to tell...we have been looking at houses recently, and we'd love, love, love to buy our own home, but everything is kind of up in the air at this point. Guess we'll see.

The other day we took Dean to the Muddy Run Park and had a picnic dinner there. Dean had a blast--he chatted with squirrels, battled trees, rode on Daddy's back, tried out the slides and swings, and had a great time exploring with Mommy and Daddy. Here are a few pictures:

Mommy's two favorite people <3

His hair.... :P

I love that face... :)

"Tree fall down! Whack! Whack!"

This isn't from the park, but it's recent and I couldn't help including it.... He just couldn't wait until dinner. He had to have some watermelon...right then!