A Look Into Our Homesteading Adventure

Still hoping to sell the house soon

We've had some good and bad things happening lately regarding selling the house.  We've had a lot of traffic and I am glad about that......at least one or two people each week for the 6 weeks its been on the market.  I talked to the realtor the other day and he said that everyone has had nothing but good things to say about it.  He said it just hasn't been the right fit for anyone  yet but he said he didn't think we needed to make any changes in anything to help it sell better and that the house was great the way it is. 

We are now scheduled to have an Open House on Sunday so looking forward to seeing how that goes. 

We still desperately want the acreage but have also resigned ourselves to the fact that we may be "stuck" here for awhile longer.  With gas prices going up so high again, it would probably make more sense for us to stay here in town for now anyway.  We have decided to not take much less than what we are asking for our home and we also want the owner of the acreage to go down a bit in order to make this all possible, so a lot still needs to happen but I am still hopefull!

Well today is a down day for me.  I'm exhausted......I spent yesterday with 150 8th graders from dd's school.  We went on a field trip to state capitol building and also to the science center.  I had a nice time but it about did me in........LOL

Hope this entry finds everyone well and happy :-)

Life around here lately

Things have been going well!  Today is my first official day of being jobless!!  WOOHOO :-)   I'm trying not to get too excited about it but it sure is nice being able to get things done without all the daycare children around to "help" me.....LOL 

I woke up early with dh and made some chicken salad so he could take a sandwich to lunch.  It was raining so I could even take the kids to school so they didn't have to wait at the bus stop.  I also have gotten all the bed linens washed up already today and several phone calls made.  The house was pretty clean as we had a showing on it yesterday so today I just had to tidy up.  It feels so good to make some progress on some things around here and to be here for my family when they need me.

Well nothing too exciting to report so I think I will go for now and hope to report soon on whether we have a buyer for the house or not!

Some new recipes!

I had some time this weekend to do some baking and cooking.  I made one of our family favorites, beef stroganoff, and then yesterday I tried a new cookie recipe.  They were heavenly!  Tasted like a peanut butter cup only in cookie form.  They were quite a bit of work but worth it and the whole family loved them.  I got the recipe from my Cottage Living magazine.

Here is the stroganoff recipe:

Put the following in a casserole dish or roaster that has a lid:

2 lbs beef stew meat

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 package onion soup mix

1 can mushrooms (have not tried it before using fresh ones)

1 cup 7-UP

Put in pan and put on lid.  Put in 275 oven for 4 hours.  DO NOT OPEN OVEN!  When done take out and let sit another 30 min.  We serve this on egg noodles.  Sometimes I add some sour cream to taste right before serving as well.

Here is the cookie recipe I made called Magic in the Middles:

Makes 26 cookies

1.5 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more for dipping)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375.  Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.  In seperate bowl, beat together granulated and brown sugars, butter, and 1/4 cup peanut butter until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg, beating to combine.  Stir in dry ingredients blending well.  Set dough aside. 

Stir together remaining peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth.  With floured hands roll mixture into 26, 1 inch balls.  Break off about 1 TB cookie dough and make an indentation in center with thumb and press 1 peanut butter ball into indentation.  Wrap dough up and over filling, pressing to seal.  Roll cookie into ball to smooth it out.  Repeat for each cookie.

Dip top of each cookie in granulated sugar and place 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.  Use greased bottom of drinking glass to flatten each cookie to about 1/2 inch thick.  Bake cookies at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes or until set.  Let cool (but we loved the still warm.....lol)

ENJOY!

Still moving towards our dream

I haven't checked in here for awhile!  Been very busy!  We have been showing our house at least once or twice a week now for the most part.  I just hope someone buys it soon!  Keeping it all perfect to show is getting to be a real chore.  I usually keep the house very clean anyway but perfect is another story......LOL

We are still reading up on everything that we want to do if and when we finally get to move.  I ordered the Encyclopedia of Country Living this week and have really enjoyed reading the wealth of knowledge it provides. 

This next week is my last official week of doing daycare!!  I am so excited to finally get the chance to be "just" a stay at home mom and not have to worry about working as well.  I feel like I will be in better spirits for my family and more available to do things for US!

Well I think I will make up some pancakes for breakfast while everyone else is still sleeping :-)

Lovely Saturday

Yesterday was so beautiful here.  Not as warm as Friday was but still in the 50's and spring was in the air!!

Chuck and I cleaned out the yard a little bit.  Put some leaves and things in the mulch pile and cleaned out a couple of beds around the house.  Then we went for a drive over to "our" acreage.  It is sort of in between about 4 towns and a couple of them, we weren't too familiar with.  We wanted to see what businesses etc were in them and what was closest.  The one town that we though was closer than it was, ended up being about as far as where we live now will be from it.  It was a much smaller town though so probably not worth driving into too often.  There was a thrift store there and a grocery so that is good to know.

We came home and cleaned out the garage.  We have someone coming to look at our house with a realtor on Monday so trying to clean up the outside while it was nice.

Afterwards we went over by the river and went on a 40 min. walk.  It was so beautiful and we saw two different groups of dear plus we had seen a group earlier on our drive so we saw at least 20 deer yesterday.  I love the wildlife and nature! 

We came home and grilled hamburgers and I spent the evening reading through the Storey's book of Country skills again while Chuck watched some basket ball on tv.

We had a nice relaxing day.  Now today I need to get in gear and get some things done.  I want to get all the housework done so that it is done before tomorrow as I have to work and the people are coming to look at the house at 1:30.

Back to the grind........

Why I try to stay so busy

I thought I'd take some time today to reflect on why I feel the need to stay so busy with my days.  First let me say this.......I've been in a bad marriage before, now I'm in a good one.  I've been dirt poor before, somewhat wealthy before, and am now middle of the road but more on the poorer side (by choice!).  I've been in positions where I had to work outside the home, where I didn't have to work at all, and where I worked from home.  I am currently just leaving my stay at home job to be an AT home wife and mother only.

My life has taken on many different aspects over my 34 years.  Everything I've done has always made me think even harder about how I wanted things done in the future.  If you don't learn from your mistakes then you don't learn much at all.

With my first husband (and the father of all 3 of my children), we had bouts of no money up to being somewhat well off.  Of course it was borrowed money.  I didn't work then and we had about everything we could want.  My husband then was very disrespectful to me and drank a lot plus was a workaholic.  I tried to start out my life being a great housekeeper and wife but after awhile of no appreciation and his drunken spells, I had enough and started to not care so much about my house, my self or him.  I let my wifely duties and housekeeping duties slide and just focused on the kids and getting out of my marriage.

He and I divorced about 8 years ago and now are pretty good friends at least.  He is a better dad now also then he was then.  I met my current husband 4 years ago and since then I have a new lease on life!  I am in a supportive marriage with my best friend and couldn't be happier.

I WANT to do all I can for our home, family, and him.  We have just finally made it to a point where I don't need to work (at least for the time being) and I want to accomplish as much as I possibly can to help in providing for my family in ways other than monetary ways. 

I have always kept busy.  After being a single mother, you sort of get forced into it and then the habit was hard for me to break :-) 

When I was doing daycare I worked 10 hours a day with extra kids here and still managed to keep the house spotless and everything taken care of so I figure now it should be even easier BUT I should also be able to accomplish even more......LOL

That said.......I best get busy around here!  It is so much fun doing all of these things for a family and husband that appreciates me!! 

Today's Happenings

Today is finally a pretty quiet one.  I have one daycare baby here until 2:30 so it has had some peaceful moments (even though he has been very crabby teething lately). 

Yesterday I worked on making up a new schedule for myself since I am working less now and have time for other things.  I want to keep busy and not get lazy!  I also started a new housekeeping journal so that I can keep a  journal of our acreage happenings as well.

On today's agenda:

do up daycare paperwork from February

sweep and mop kitchen and bathrooms

dust whole house

look at new grocery ads and make list for grocery stores

water plants inside

take garbage out to the curb for pick up

help son study for a test tomorrow

deliver some products to a friend

send in a rebate

walk on the treadmill

get dinner going early

I better get busy!

The acreage we are hoping for....

Dh and I are getting quite nervous about not actually having a bid on our dream acreage and just waiting till this house we are in now sells.  We are going about things like the realtor recommended (and we do trust him completely as he is very skilled and a friend as well).  We just worry that it will get sold out from under us.  That would crush us at this moment.  We have looked so hard for this place and not many come up around here. 

I realized I hadn't even talked about it much on here.......I suppose as I am trying to not get TOO excited in case it doesn't happen.  Well today I figured I'd go into some details about this place we are wanting so badly :-)

This "dream" place I have been talking about is:

3.5 acres down in a small hollow between some gently rolling hills, 1/4 mile from the river so there are trees and beautiful views, no neighbor within site but some close enough for emergencies, only 12 miles from dh's work and the kids schools ( we will move out of district but I will open enroll them......we have excellent schools here and the kids love it so don't want to move them), there is a 1930's home on it that has newer siding, windows, roof, ac, and furnace as well as all new flooring.  The inside needs some cosmetic things done but otherwise is in good shape.  There is a kitchen that is on the small side but has lots of cabinet space just no eating area, a dining room, a living room that L's off for an office/craft/ sewing area as well.

There is a basement that is in great condition and will be laundry, storage, and we'll make a family room down there as well.  The upstairs has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom.  We will be going down from 5 beds, 2 baths that we have now but it will be worth it to get out in the country.

The property also has a 3-4 car garage with a heated woodshop in one end, an above ground swimming pool (which we aren't thrilled with but the kids are.....lol), a large deck out the back, huge windbreak to block the gravel road that goes by, several mature apple trees, nice landscaping around the house, new well pump and sewere lines are run as well as new electrical.  Lots of room for a large garden.  There is a 2500 square foot barn that is all redone as well as newly redone loft area to use as a tack room.  Lots of fenced in areas.....about 4-5 with a split rail and electric fence all around them.  A 3 stall open ended hay shed that is newly built as well for extra storage. 

That is it in a nutshell.  We will give up some bedrooms, a bath, space inside and dishwasher but we will be gaining permanent siding, peace and quite, no neighbors, room for a garden some animals, and our dreams :-)

I really hope we hear something good from the realtor this week........

Thanks for the encouragment!

Thanks for the nice supportive comments.  It is so nice having a place to write where others can read it and respond and I know that many have been through similar things. 

I feel better about things now today........as usual......time usually works everything out.  Sometimes I need to have more faith. 

My husband called my in laws and answered some of their concerns and assured them that we really had put a lot of thought and energy into this.  His mom is actually somewhat excited for us now I think.  His dad is getting there but worried about us being too far from town (only 12 miles.....lol).  Anyway, his dad also knows all the farmers around the area so is now on a mission to find us a place closer to town.  We are not opposed to looking at them BUT he knows that we already fell in love with the place we are hoping to get.  At least it will give us a few more options and it never hurts to have more options!

Well better get back to doing something around here.  I've been a bit lazy today.  This morning I made cinnamon rolls and got my menus made up for the week.  I also sorted through my spring clothing to see what all I had.  If I lose some weight I'll have lots......LOL 

Dh and I and the boys watched the public tv show Alone in the Wilderness about the man who lived in Alaska on his own being self sufficient etc.  It was fascinating.  Then I read some of the book I've been reading and also have been helping my 8 year old son make some coasters to give to his aunt for her high school graduation.  He came up with the idea on his own and he loves to sew so I couldn't say no!

Thanks again.......now I'm off to read some of all the other blogs :-)

Some people just don't get it!

I got a disturbing phone call from my in laws.  I love them dearly but they really bothered me yesterday.  They had finally gotten a chance to drive out past where our "hopefully new acreage" is. They had NOTHING nice to say. 

They thought there were too many hills, it was too far from town, and on and on and on about everything they didn't like.  I just tried to come back with an optimistic outlook to everything they said and then just said that I'd have Chuck call them when he got home from work.

Part of the problem is that I am not like my husband in many regards.  I discuss everything openly with my parents.  They never judge and are alwasy supportive.  My parents have known of our desires to move to the country for the last couple of years and know all the thought we've put into it. 

My dh on the other hand, is close to his parents but only tells them things when they come up.  So to his parents it is like we are just jumping into this without considering everything!  My dh is NOT one to jump into anything though and they should know this........he is 46 years old after all!

My in laws are quite wealthy......materialistic........animal haters.......nothing like my dh and I.  They have also never lived out in the country (except in childhood) and like their keeping up with the Joneses life.  They retired to a large 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom home on the golf course.  They just don't see our thinking.

Dh did talk to them both yesterday and we feel a little better about it. 

Boy....they are really going to think I'm crazy when they find out all the other homesteading stuff I want to do once we move........LOL

Hopefully another day closer!

I am hoping that today is another day closer to us making our acreage dream come true!  We have a couple looking at our current house for the SECOND time today!  I  hope they still like the house and make an offer :-)  I am trying not to be too optimistic but it is so hard not to be.  Dh and I are already picking out what kinds of chickens we want and looking into things we want for a garden (though it may be too late to put one in this year by the time we move).

I have been keeping busy here.....keeping the house perfect for potential buyers to see and still working some.  I ended up with extra daycare children here most of this week so it has been busy!  Today is Dr. Suess's birthday so we are doing lots of fun activities!

Now that our house is on the market everyone is asking us where we are moving.  I think most people don't understand why we would want to live out in the middle of nowhere, or why we want a smaller house that needs more work when we have a nice home now.  They can't fathom only having one bathroom instead of numerous ones......or giving up their dishwasher.  Oh well, I guess they just are too caught up in keeping up with everyone else and they must LIKE being busy with things like sitting in traffic, working 10 hours a day, never having a home cooked meal, etc.  I think dh's parents think we are the craziest......LOL  Oh well.....c'est la vie!

I suppose I'd better get busy around here.  Today I am trying to do some checking on homeowners insurance on the acreage just to see what we'd be getting into.  I also need to get the house ready yet again for the people to see it later. 

Later.....

Off to a busy week!

Well I ended up with a busy day today!  I have been trying to phase out my daycare business for the last 6 weeks now but somehow I am always ending up with extra kids here STILL!......LOL  Oh well........I guess it is in my blood!  This week I will have an infant here all week plus a 3 year old for 2 days and 6 year old for two full days the end of the week.  Oh well.....just have to remember that the money will be nice :-)

Sunday I had a productive day.  I  was able to do a lot of homestead/animal raising/ and gardening research on the net.  DH also surprised me and bought a copy of the book "Storey's Basic Country Skills". 

I made up some of my automatic dishwashing detergent (1 cup Borax and 1 cup baking soda using 2 TB for each load).  If we end up with the acreage, I won't be needing anymore of that as it will be back to

DD and I had fun yesterday.  We picked up several sweaters for .25 a piece on clearance at the local thrift store.  We came home and turned several of them into purses/tote bags.  They were fun.  Here is the link for them : 

 http://www.womansday.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=9818 

I hope to stick some away for Christmas presents for this next year.

Yesterday was also my bread baking day.  It was a nice relaxing day yet I felt I got some productive things done as well.

Well.....baby is up ......better go!  Somehow I get the feeling that today won't be so productive!

Here are some pictures of the sweater purses we made :-)

Another day of waiting

I am a little discouraged as our house had its first listing in the paper on Friday and we haven't gotten any new calls on it :-(  I just hope someone makes an offer on it soon before "our" acreage is gone.  It has only been a week and already it is getting hard to keep the house "perfect" just in case someone needs to come look at it. 

Here is a little more background on me and my family.

I am 34 and have 3 children ages 14, 11, and 8.  I have been divorced from my children's father for 7.5 years now and been with my husband for 4 years (as of today :-)  Our actual wedding anniversary was 2 years together back in Sept. 

I grew up on a farm in Iowa.  My father had a cow/calf operation mostly but we had pigs also when I was  young.  He also grew corn and soyboeans.  Over the years we had various animals.  Since leaving the farm after high school graduation, I have missed it very much.  I want my children to have the same experiences that I did and be raised to view hard work, determination, and responsibility as important characteristics in a person. 

After my divorce 7.5 years ago from a spendthrift of a husband, living in  gorgeous new homes and having all the material things in life, I decided to start living a more frugal lifestyle and get back to a simpler life.  Since meeting dh 4 years ago, he and I have had the same dreams.  We have been working very hard to get rid of any and all debt and be able to afford an acreage. I will admit, living totally off grid will probably not happen for us ever, we do like a few of the modern conveniences :-)  We do however want to be mostly self sufficient when it comes to food and also continue to do everything we can for ourselves. 

Well I suppose this is enough from me today.  I am going to make some bread yet this morning and boil up some potatoes for a potato casserole I am making later. 

Until next time........

Hello and Welcome to my blog

Hello,

I have wanted to do this for some time and I thought now may be the perfect time.  Chuck and I are getting close to having our dreams come true.  We found an acreage that we LOVE and now just have to hope that this house sells before someone else buys the acreage we want! 

It seems to be the perfect set up for us.......3.5 acres, newly redone barn, open ended hay shed, and a house in good condition.  There is also a fully grown windbreak, some apple trees, and the river is just down the road.  The house is smaller than the one we have now but I think it will be worth it :-)

I wanted to start this blog to journal our experiences as we go through this journey.  If this acreage doesn't work out then we will continue our search and not give up until we find one! 

I also wanted a place to share different things that I do each day.  I love to do the "homey" kinds of things, cook from scratch, make things when I can, and be with my family.

Hope you all will enjoy reading!