Daydreaming while waiting impatiently!

I've been catching up with your adventures of the past few weeks and all i can say is dang girl! so glad the new baby is finally here and is doing fine. sounds like between the children, the sheep, the chickens and the garden you have been keeping yourself busy. when my ram decided to tilt that head and bow up at me i ate 'em. of course i have hair sheep and was told it was ok to eat an 18 month old ram and they were right. he's good. much better in the freezer than in the pen, lol. sounds like you have it under control.

A good bumper sticker for people like us:

SHE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST CANNING JARS... WINS

I've been having major meltdowns in the last couple days. I'm maxxed out on sleep deprivation, caffeine isn't even putting a dent in it. DS8 has been particularly bad this week, I'm so out of patience with him!

Baby has been having spells of not breathing while sleeping. I check with our nurse practitioner this morning and apparently it's a big deal. We're driving halfway across the state tomorrow morning for a cardiac workup.

DH trapped another raccoon.

Our meatie chicks are already starting to have leg problems. They're like 3 - 4 weeks old and we have been food restricting. :/

We've stopped picking green beans. I'm estimating there are 15 gallons out there to be picked. We canned 28 pints and have 2 gallons washed and not yet cut. But now the raspberries are getting away from us. Whose idea was this big garden thing?? oh yeah.... mine.

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Do you have a good horse lead? We had a ram that used to try to get me on a regular basis. The last time he went after me I went at him with the business end (metal) end of the lead rope. I open that gate now, and he moves to the other side of the pen. If he even looks at me I start swinging it. Haven't had to touch him with it again, and that was two months ago. I never go into the sheep pasture without a lead line over my shoulder though.

I like that idea Tressa! I've been caught by the business end of a leash and it sure does sting! It's much less obtrusive than a big stick. Plus I should be having a lead on me at all times to start conditioning the others for lead training.

After long day, Baby is OK. He has a minor heart murmur with no sign of heart disease. His breathing is a more dramatic version of normal "periodic breathing".

I discovered a book in DS8's bed, which explains a string of bad behavior and oddly late waking for the last week or so.
Blueberries are ripening! I picked 3/4 gallon from 5 bushes. (only 375 bushes to go! )

DH had some really nice hay delivered. So he buys a tractor and still doesn't make hay! LOL I think he's waiting to find some decent implements at auction.

I need to cut this update short and get some canning going. Long cut green beans and carrot sticks - both for Baby's first finger foods. I despise spoon feeding puree, so we do baby-led solids when baby is able to self-feed (typically, that's about 6 months old). It calls for soft stick-shaped foods.

Don't know how I missed this. Glad Baby is OK. Is this something he'll outgrow, or will it affect him all his life?

Deb - He should outgrow it! and soon!

DH trapped another raccoon - that count is up to 5 now! We started letting the teenage chicks and 4 remaining hens out of the coop now. Still keeping the traps out too.

Cucumbers have started! The first pick was 7 gallons. I made a batch of no-heat pickles! I don't like pickles, so DH tasted and suggested tweaks to the recipe. Plenty more cukes to try again! I'm pleased because one of my long-standing SS goals was to learn to make pickles. And I'm also happy because it's so much easier than canning green beans!

Speaking of green beans, a friend picked one row over the weekend and took home a 5 gallon pail full. DH couldn't help himself and picked more yesterday, so I have 3 more gallon buckets to can.

We have a bumper crop of cabbages. Not sure what I'll do with that. Saurkraut is not an option. eew!

Baby is growing up way too fast. He's ahead on developmental milestones by at least a month. So bittersweet. I'm happy he's growing well, but I just do not want him to grow up so fast! He found his feet and uses them for toys He still loves his door jumper, but rather than jump up and down, he "walks" in circles! He discovered books He tries to sit, but his lower back muscles are a good long way away from being developed enough for him to sit unassisted. Thankfully he's still cuddly and snuggly I will be so sad when he can walk. :'(

DS8 is doing better. Still challenging ADHD-er, but better. He is all excited about his virtual school curricula which has arrived in the mail! I gave up keeping him out of it until the semester starts in September. I did that last year and it was too stressful for both of us. Just not worth it. Now knowing about the ADHD, I was able to pick better curriculum matches for him. I spent months researching and planning. I'm enjoying watching him working with the materials and seeing how much better it is. I've completely ditched any prepared writing curriculum and am working on that one with customized homemade instruction. His most significant deficit is planning and prioritization, so the pre-writing steps are very difficult for him. All of his other writing skills are excellent, but he's unable to show it due to his difficulty with prewriting.

Could you can cabbage rolls?

I sometimes really miss having a little one around. I miss the hugs and snuggles.