Wednesday, September 3, 2008

I have some explaining to do.

I feel as though I have some explaining to do.

Did you ever hear that phrase as a child? Maybe you put the cat in the dryer, or a toad under your sister's sheets. And even though it was out of pure curiosity with no harm meant, you still had some explaining to do.

Now, I never put any of our cats in the dryer, and I didn't even have a sister to scare with a toad, and quite honestly I believe I was a pretty even keel kind-of-child and a wonderfully well-behaved firstborn. So when I say I have some explaining to do, I only mean clarifying. I've done nothing wrong, except lacked in the specifics of my posts. And thanks for keeping me on my toes, I wouldn't want to leave anyone wondering if we've welcomed a goat into our residential neighborhood. More on that...keep reading.

To start, you all are getting good. The picture--a couple of posts down--of our towel wrapped twin is Norah. While Hazel has a more round face, Norah has the more full face. Norah is the big sister by 2 minutes. She always measured about a full pound heavier in utero, and was born at 6lb 10 oz while little Hazel was 5lb 10 oz. (Yes, if you do the math, that's over 12 lbs of babies induced exactly 3 weeks early.) Now their weight split is about 1 1/2 lbs. Norah still weighing more. And a sure fire way to tell them apart is their forehead. Hazel has a more pronounced line that runs from the bridge of her nose to her hair line. When they were born, we didn't have to tag them, or paint ones toenails to tell them apart. We could always tell by the shape of their face.

And, you met Molly the Milking Goat in my last post. Have you ever milked a goat? What a good goat she is. But not ours! Oh, no. I have a hard enough time keeping the few flowers we have around our house alive. I'd not be a good candidate for taking care of any kind of animal. But my hippie friend does a great job. Her, her husband, and their 3-year-old are our home-away-from-home, along with their horses, goats, cats, and sheep. They have 2 goats, one of which they milk, and hope to get 3 or 4 more. She no longer has to buy her raw goats milk, and soon she'll be making her own butter, cheese, and ice cream. She's striving to be self sufficient. She's on her way. She's.on.her.way.

And finally.

Julia is a Preschooler!

Phew!!! I'm glad her first morning is over. For my own sake. We had a special Preschool breakfast of runny eggs, frosted and sprinkled donuts and pulpy orange juice. She couldn't stand it she was so excited, so we loaded up and headed out early. And thanks to the sunglasses that I remembered to grab, I'm pretty sure I hid any inklings of a teary eyed, first time, preschool mom. I racked my brain as to how I could distract myself for the next 2 1/2 hours. Do you know what we did? Remember when I "Twittered" about that decorating itch that I had? Well I still have it. So after dropping Julia off, I decided we'd swing through Home Depot for a gallon of paint. If paint doesn't sidetrack a person.... Soon Julia's dresser will have a face lift. As well as her walls. I'll keep you updated on that.

As for now....I'll leave you with this. Can you imagine her begging for "No more pictures, please. Let's go, Mom."

13 comments:

Brittany said...

Actually... I have milked a goat, and a cow, and a golden retriever... long story...

I've lived on a farm my entire life and there probably ins't any farm situation that I havent been involved in... I have a cousin who has a 5 year plan to becoming self sufficient - wheat growing, pig raising and everything - If I had the time, I would SO do it myself... but for now I will have to stick to making a strawberry cake from scratch to feel self sufficient!

Lisa H said...

Thanks for all of the clarification! :)

Julia looks like such a big girl in that picture. How many days a week will she go to preschool?

Can't wait to see what you are doing to the dresser! How fun!

nancygrayce said...

Ah, how cute she is going to preschool!

Kristin said...

What an adorable back-to-school pic! So sweet! Sorry I missed the picture party, but that was a clever idea. :)

Amanda said...

Oh, I can relate to having a little girl bubbling with excitement about going to preschool! Ella officially starts school next Monday, but today we had conferences and it gave her a chance to meet the teacher and play with some of the other kids from other class. I swear she's been losing sleep she's so excited about going back (it's her second year)!

I LOVE the picture of Julia! She is so unbelievably cute!

Kristi said...

Oh, Tiff - I feel your pain! I hope that Julia's first day of preschool went well! What a complete DOLL she is!!

Love all of the goat-milking pictures too...what an adventure! :-)

mrs boo radley said...

Julia is so sweet! I love her little jacket and how she is striking a pose with that backpack.

Come to my house and give my walls a facelift. Please. And bring a goat.

Lakeville Vertical said...

I also had tears while dropping my girls at school this week. My oldest is a fourth grader and I still had that same feeling as when she was 5. Being a mom is such a blessing but so heart breaking at times. Hope she enjoys her special year. :)

Angela said...

Look at that little beautiful sweetheart with her backpack and bow in her hair. She is just adorable. Make sure to let us know how it went!!

Lori said...

Honestly, Tiff, I've got tears running down my face right now. She's so precious. My oldest started second grade this year and I wrote her a note (to give her "someday") the night before the first day -- after she's in bed. I tell her how she's grown, how proud I am of who she is and who she's becoming. I tell her she's so special and before I had her I was just a woman. But now, SHE was the one who made me a mom. I've done this the past few yrs and cry the entire time I'm writing it. Julia's face is so telling and so honest. I'm proud of you for having made it through the first day. Every first day is hard but the FIRST first day is the toughest. Did she enjoy school? At least the first day? What did she have to say about it?

Lori said...

BTW, I forgot to tell you... my daughter wore "julia's flower" in her hair for the first day of school. Not that it matched anything, but she HAD to wear it!!

The Jessie James Gang said...

I'm glad you didn't put a cat in the dryer; that never went over big at our house...
Have fun decorating! I'm really itching to try some ideas involving wallpaper (but not on the wall).

gina said...

Fresh goat's cheese? Yummy!

What a doll! Yes, I can imagine her saying it just like it was my kids- oh wait, it WAS my kids' too. lol. Can't wait to see your deco updates!! I love DIY.