Morning Chores and Pink Boots!

Yesterday I thought I would bundle up the youngest two littles and take them out with me for chores.  It wasn't a typical, snot freezing cold January day, and I figured the fresh air would do them some good.  Besides, my sister gave Squeakers this adorable pair of pink cowgirl boots, and I was looking for an excuse for her to wear them.  Outside.

Then I had the bright idea to take both dogs with me.  I figured they needed to go out anyway, and I didn't want to make two trips to the house.  Bad idea.  

While the kids followed me to every chore station, the dogs did not.  I called and called, and the dogs didn't come back.  I already had hay out for the horses, and they weren't going to wait while I rounded up the dogs, so I went about the chores like I normally would.

Squeakers LOVED the horses!  She squealed and pointed.

Her older brother was so cute in holding her hand and saying, "C'mon, we have to go feed the chickens now." He walked her along behind me, telling her what we were doing, all the while she was hanging on to her Minnie Mouse sippy cup, emitting squeals of delight and talking in her baby gibberish.  

 

They followed me into the chicken pen, squealing and laughing as the chickens gobbled up their breakfast while I collected the eggs.

The dogs, on the other hand, were another story.

 Zoe had run down into the woods...and found, of all things, a deer carcass.  Where it came from, I've no clue, but it was fairly decomposed and she pulled it up into my yard. Best I could determine, someone didn't find their kill during deer season. Josie then decided to "help" Zoe and ran over, grabbed a leg, and trotted back to me all proud.

"Drop it!"  I yelled.  She dropped it, looked at me like I had six heads, and walked away. 

I decided it would have been better if I had left either the dogs or the kids in the house, or even both.  I couldn't leave the Littles in the yard, unsupervised, while I chased down the unruly pup who hadn't learned farm rules yet.   I scooped up Squeakers, grabbed my basket of eggs, and to my son said, "Let's go watch Mickey Mouse."  He bounded to the house in glee. I set the eggs on the counter and then settled my son to watch t.v. and put Squeakers down for a nap. 

I hurried back outside to round up Josie and get her in the house. Zoe knew she'd "done a bad thing" and was waiting at the back door.  Josie, on the other hand, darted for the fence that marks where our property ends and the neighbors begin. This means tripping through tall grasses and tree roots.  She must have realized I meant business, because at this point she lays down, rolls to her back, and acts completely submissive.  I grabbed her collar and said "Let's go."  Go she did!  She went to the right, when I went left, around a tree, and down I went.

Josie sat infront of me, mocking me. 

Thankfully, I think she got the picture that I was not amused, and she walked nicely to the house without further incident.

Squeakers was sound asleep at this point, exhausted after her morning adventure of "assisting" with the chores and my son was engrossed in Mickey Mouse, so I hurriedly went back out, fed the last two pens, and cleaned up the deer carcass.

The lesson is, toddlers and dogs and chores are not a good combination. At least, not all at the same time.

Employment Status?

Apparantly some special kind of germ jumped in my body.  It's been over a week, and I'm still sick. Oh the cold chills, cold to the bone, achy feeling is all gone....but for the last several days, almost a week now, it's been a sore throat, with swelling on the left side.

Yesterday I called in for an appointment to our family doc, so they scheduled me for 9 am today.  Except last night I felt like the swelling was getting worse, and I felt like my airway was closing off.  So my DH's friend K came up to sit with the kids while DH rushed me to the ER.  Before we left, K asked if he could pray for me, and I was more than happy to have prayers!

We weren't that long in the ER, a swab that came back negative and one prescription later, and we were on our way home.  My BP was slightly elevated, and the nurse was a little freaked out by it, but the ER doc told her it was most likely my anxiety making it high, due to my fear of suffocating on my own swollen neck.  I was advised to keep my morning appointment, which  I did.

Normally I don't look forward to going to the doctor's office, but today's visit, well, I wouldn't have cared if it had taken up 2 hours!!   Today, I had to fill out "new patient" paperwork, even though I wasn't "technically" a new patient.  I never go to our Family Practictioner unless something is wrong.  Which translates to "tried home remedies for a week, nothing worked".   So, it had been so long since my last visit, that they'd put away my file.  Filed in - who knows where - so a new file was created.  All the filling out of name, birthday, spouse, contact in case of emergency, medical history...and Employer. 

Employer.  I always write in self employed, and hope no one asks what I do.  Today, I wasn't so lucky.  She asked me.  Almost right away, and then she validated me.  When she asked me what I do,  I replied, "I raise chickens and goats and bees" and I was cringing,  because here I am telling a professional, who works a "real job" that I'm just a "farmer".  I followed with "we don't make alot of money, but it's enough to get by on, and it feeds us."   I waited for her to give me the "you need to get a job" speech that I get from some people, the ones who think we need more money than we have, because we have six kids...the ones who think we are just sitting here, sucking up welfare, and not doing anything. (To those people, and I think you know who you are, I say come help shovel out the manure piling up in the barn.  Come sling the axe to chop some wood, help repair fence, etc. Please, come spend a week here...I'll show you what sitting around and doing nothing is...)

She replied, "I have goats, chickens, and bees, too. I think you're doing things right." 

*thud* 

She followed that up with, "Don't ever let anyone make you think you're lazy. Farming is not lazy."

I told her I chose to do the farm thing, because I was selfish and wanted to be with my kids. She replied that she didn't think that was selfish at all.

Who would ever have thought that a trip to the doctor for a swollen throat would turn into 45 minutes of farm discussion, sharing of ideas, and passing of farm related information?  She didn't bat an eye, or even lecture me, when I said I was raising LaMancha's for milk.  Raw milk, I told her.  She nodded her head in agreement and said "I have nigi dwarves."

She also has bees, and a flock of buff orpingtons!  

We had a short conversation on how awesome your own raw, fresh honey is.  She also told me about beek'ing classes that will be starting up soon.  She gave me a few FB links to look up, and told me about some meetings that will be starting up soon for local farmers. 

Then she finally gets around to checking out my throat, asking what the ER doc prescribed, decided she didn't like what he had prescribed, and changed my meds and dosage.  THANK YOU!  12 hours, 2 dosages, 2 ibuprofen, 2 showers, and a soak in the tub, later and I am already feeling TONS better!

As I was leaving with my new prescription clutched in my hand, she said to me, "Don't worry about those people who only think of money.  We'll see how they are when that money isn't worth anything, and eggs are the new currency!"  

My follow up appointment is on Monday.  I cannot wait!