Update on just about everything...

I'm sorry for the impromptu break! I am, just like everyone else, preoccupied with the start of school. We got several new curriculums this year and I am really enjoying how the first days of 'not back to school' is going for my kids. (I will review curriculums on my homeschool blog.)

I have also been sick for weeks. The cold I wrote about two weeks ago has still hung on (with teeth). It was bad until this last weekend where it switched from a nasty cough that wracked my whole body to a mild chest cold. That, I can handle. Being sick has effected everything though. I haven't been able to plant my fall crops (hoping to get that done this afternoon, but it may be too late to get any yield from it). I haven't been able to get my house ready for school. We just jumped in and hoped for the best (which is working out fine, but not quite what I wanted). And I haven't really been able to go out and do anything lately. We missed the Elk Rut at NW Trek, and the opening of the new Wolf Exhibit at the zoo. We also had to cancel many playdates and even a couple school classes due to being sick. Now that things are almost back to normal, I have been trying hard to catch up. But it isn't always possible to do everything later.

Belly bean is growing well. I now don't fit into any of my clothes although I am not big enough for maternity yet. I am in that wonderful inbetween phase. Just in the last couple weeks, the babe has really become active. Nothing you can tell from the outside yet. It's little jumps and kicks are like a well kept secret that makes me smile at random moments as a reminder that Bean is well and growing. 19 wks now... almost half way there.

I have never been so grateful to have a helpful family. They can not, of course, cover everything I do, but they have really tried to keep up on housework and even started the frame for the winter chicken coop (pictures to come later). Our bitties will be warm and dry come winter and I am excited about a permanent place for them to roost as well as nice new nesting boxes. We have also started letting them free range in the yard a bit and they have LOVED that! We are only weeks away from our first 'farm fresh' eggs and I couldn't be happier with the way our girls are growing!

The garden is growing well, although the abrupt change in the seasons has taken it's toll. Many of my squash have rotted right on their stems due to being damp and wet for too long and the rain has caused many tomatoes to split where many more have not even taken on the hint of pink. I fear that the frost will come long before they are ripe enough for sauce.

My menu binder has been a God send. Really, it's fantastic! I love not having to go to the store and not having to guess about dinner. It has made the world so much simpler to have all of that done in advance, although it seemed to take forever in the planning. But I have 8 full weeks of recipes, set up with grocery lists and suggested sides. It has been wonderful and I can't recommend making one enough.

Ok, that is the update for now. Pictures to come...