ReluctantFarmChick.com

. . . . Make Me Crazy

Probably because I want to be one too

And I just can’t get it together.

You know who you are.  Your Christmas shopping is all done, and everything was wrapped and ready before December even hit.  AND your Christmas cards are handmade and mailed with perfectly matching holiday postage stamps.  Arggghhhh.   My Christmas list isn’t even complete.  I mean, I went shopping last week, and spent one month’s salary stipend in an alarmingly short period of time.  And while I suffered some amount of "AAaahhhhhh" over the bill that will be coming, I felt some satisfaction in being pretty much done.  A few online orders to place, and I thought I was SET.  But as the days have gone by, I’ve realized this small detail:

My LIST isn’t even done

Meaning, I didn’t have a complete list, so my shopping is not complete.

Unfortunately, all the money I’ve set aside for Christmas is long spent.  So, I’ll just have to THINK about the things I would want to give to the people who didn’t yet make it onto my list.  Because it’s the thought that counts, right!?  RIGHT?!

And you KNOW those people aren’t going to be getting any truffles!!

Scrolling down my recent blog entries has been a bit . . . telling.  There has been no farming.  (I’m not complaining here – I’m just stating what is).  There has been crazy busy-ness. (I know I’m not alone).  Blog entries have flown through my head at an alarming rate, but I’ve not had time (or energy) (or clarity of thought) to even jot them down.  And now I have BWD.  Because I have a quiet time (right before the next storm) and thought you might want to hear about what I was avoiding or, (truthfully) procrastinating on.  My mind has been operating in "list mode" for quite a while now, so that is all I have.  And it’s not pretty.  I’m going to spare you the details.  You must have lists of your own that can run circles around mine.

Some neighbors decorate our mailbox while we were gone one weekend

My next list involves a Barn Party.  I mean, we live on a farm, and it’s fall.  Surely a Barn Party is in order.  Actually, we’re hosting the Church Barn Party on Sunday.  It used to be on a neighboring farm, but some property was sold and the venue was rearranged, and it just didn’t work out there anymore.  Last year was the first year with no Barn Party.  The kids nearly mutinied.  So this year, what  – with a new barn (read "no cow poop" yet) we have a great opportunity to initiate it. 

Problem is:  I’ve never hosted a barn party before (this is Year 1 on a farm for me).  I know it can be free-flowing and fun. But people will want stuff to do.  And things to see.  And food to eat.  And a fire to burn.  And . . . . what else?  Oh.  A hay ride.  And a pony ride.  So I can figure that out.  But what about the behind-the-scenes stuff.  A PA system at the barn requires power.  We have a generator but it is LOUD.    Prince Farming very kindly made a  L O N G  heavy duty extension chord so we could put the generator on the front side of the old barn between hay bales (for sound insulation).  Must borrow the PA system from the hospital.  Trash cans?  Money box? (Pathfinders are selling food for fundraiser, as are 8th graders with desserts and baked goods).  Who will "man" the jail? (you know – where you pay two tickets for someone to be thrown into jail, who then has to stay there for 15 minutes or do something embarrassing (drawn from a bag) to get out right away?).  And the games?  What games?

I have less than 3 days to pull this planning off. With no clue how many people will be here (we’ve invited neighbors and other community people, and the high school & college kids will be home on home-leave, but lots of local church people are traveling because of Fall Break). 

Today my daughter and I are traveling to the big city to do shopping,  We’ll add to/modify/clarify the list while we drive.  Hopefully there won’t be any glaring omissions.  Tomorrow Prince Farming gets to have "free labor" in cleaning up stuff that I think lends itself to the character of a barn (I’m not talking about manure here – that would need to be cleaned up.  There is old lumber and things I’m sure I haven’t even noticed yet that Prince Farming would like to have dealt with).  But that was part of the deal.   Luckily the kids are on Fall Break, so they get to participate in the Thursday drill.

My outrageous 3 weeks are almost over.  I’ll be able to report with sanity (at least the usual level) starting next week. 

Happy Wednesday ya’ll!

 Mad Madge has inspired this post. . . thanks for your venting and sharing!  Shopping for school supplies and clothes is a huge excitement for my kids.  They get their lists, circle what they need and cross out what they have left over from last year – except not altogether.  They always need pens and pencils.  We have enough pens and pencils in this house to supply the continent of Africa for 2.65 years, but we still need pens.  This year I put my foot down.  NO MORE PENS.  But there is a freshness to new school supplies.  And it warms my heart to see my kids’ valiant attempts at organization (goodness knows it’s a lifelong endeavor for me).  They borrowed my label-maker and stickered the heck out of every possible thing.  Except the pens.  They can’t wait to lose those so we can go buy more (mid-year when they aren’t lining every W*lMart isle).  

For my daughter, shopping is the bomb.  My son thinks it’s cool too – but I can negotiate with him.  See – it’s hard enough to school shop.  But to school shop with two kids in tow is pure agony.  So we set the school shopping date.  We printed off the lists.  We got all geared up and ready to go.  Then some friends from town called to see if my son wanted to spend the day with them and go swimming.  So I had to pitch this idea to the boy.  It goes something like this (with creative editorial freedom on my part):

Me:  We’re going school shopping today.  It’s going to be a  l o n g day, and there are 4 other errands I need to do in addition to buying your supplies

Him:  Yeah – I have my money so I can do some errands too

Me:  No – actually you have your money so you can buy your school supplies.  And I won’t complain about your stops if you won’t complain about mine.  OR if you want, the _________’s invited you over for the day to go swimming.  I’d be happy to go get the supplies you circle on your list if you want to spend the day there.  Whatever you’d like to do is fine.  Just let me know in the next 30 minutes.

Him: (like 2 minutes later):  Will you pay for my school stuff?  I think I want to go swimming

Me:  Sure – I’d be happy to.  Explain your list to your sister.

<<<< mad writing, explaining, convincing of colors, conspiring >>>>>

Him:  I’m going to go swimming, and I’d like you to buy me a soft-ball mitt.

Me:  (in my head)  It’s a DEAL buddy.  

And my daughter had her first day’s school clothes laying out a month ago.  She had to think really hard on that one – let’s see….hmmm…. school uniform.  Khaki pants (check); Navy polo (check); clean underwear (check); new white socks (check, check – has to be TWO socks); and new shoes (check, check).  Oh – and something for the hair.  Now don’t get the impression that she’s excited or anything.  Going in to 7th grade requires the appropriate amount of school-dread.  She has that in good measure.  Besides, when school starts, she’ll have to start getting up 3 hours earlier than her summer schedule – huge dent in the princess’s sleep pattern.  But when that dreaded day DOES arrive, she’ll be ready.  And she’ll have her lunch packed the night before.  And she’ll have her brother fully briefed on what to expect in the class room (he’s moving into the upper grade room with her this year).  

So we have the rest of this week to relax (yeah – right!) and enjoy the dog days of summer.