My sun, my moon, and all of my stars

Just in the last month, so much has changed. Some of it has been for the better, and some of it is just adding to every day stress. That being said, we are in full summer mode now, and I am loving the long days, abundance of activities, and getting to finally see people again!!

Just after my last post, Pete and I decided it was time to start looking for another dog. I know some may think this is a little soon after Turtle's passing, but the thought had been on my mind for nights on end. The house felt sad to me; it needed the presence of a dog...the sound of toenails on the floor...cuddling on the couch.

For the last several years of Turtle's life, she wasn't as much of a family dog as she had been when she was younger. Her history of health problems and injuries made her apprehensive to even be touched, much less cuddled, even by me. In thinking about adopting a new dog, we had an idea of what our ideal would be, but we were open to the time it make take to find the right fit. Sure enough, we found our new family member in no time at all.

Meet Penny Pickles.

Penny is a mix but is mostly Papillon. She's just over 2 years old and is an incredible little beast! Pete likes to compare her to a puppy that never grows up, minus the annoyances of a puppy. She doesn't get into stuff or tear things up. She was house trained in under a month. She LOVES being on your lap and being cuddled to the max. She likes to run and play with Bootes and Silas and thoroughly enjoys going on daily walks with us down the lane. Most importantly, she ADORES baby Khai probably more than anyone else in the house and spends most of her time making sure she's close by him.

We've now had her since the weekend before Mother's day. At first, it felt weird to have a dog in a way that seemed to replace Turtle. I was thrilled to have her, but it felt strange to not hear Turtle anymore or see her laying in her usual spots. I'd wondered if I should feel guilty not waiting longer to get a new dog. Over the weeks, however, seeing Penny mesh into the flow that is our family made me happy. Seeing Silas get excited when he gets home from school, because she's doing zoomies for him all over the house is amazing. Hearing Silas say he wants to cuddle with "Penny Tickles" every night in bed warms my heart. Watching her curl up against Khai when he's being fed or crying is a beautiful sight. And feeling her balled up in my lap when I'm resting on the couch makes me feel fortunate that we found a dog that clearly loves us as much as we love her.

While adding a new dog into the mix of having a new baby around may make us seem like crazy people, she's actually adjusted quite well. She gets up with Pete at the start of every day and then finds her way back into bed before Silas leaves for school. Every morning, Khai's been waking up between 4:45-5:30am but refuses to go back to sleep in his own bed. Silas was similar when he was a baby, but I'd just let him stay awake. With Khai, however, I bring him into bed with me and nurse/cuddle him back to sleep, all with Penny right beside him.

Throughout the rest of the day, she can be found lounging on the front porch with Bootes or sleeping buried under pillows on the couch. By the evening, she's found patiently waiting for handouts from Silas under the kitchen table, following him upstairs for his bath, and cuddling with him in bed while we tuck him in. I can't lie though...Silas does torment her just as you'd expect a toddler to, but she doesn't ever seem to mind.

Silas LOVES animals, and the older he becomes, the more he likes to interact with them. While Bootes is an incredible dog and soooooo patient and gentle with kids, he's still absolutely enormous. It's unrealistic for us to have him inside, much less curl up on the couch or bed with us...even though he'd be elated! 😃

I'm happy that Khai will grow up with this companion by his side from an early age and can only hope that he will adore animals as much as his older brother does. Honestly...I can't imagine anything else seeing as how many animals we have and spend time with every day!

Mother's day this year was spent inside due to super shitty weather. Pete made me breakfast and watched Silas while I had some girl time in the morning with a close friend. I needed the break and the time to just sit on the couch and chat for a bit. Later, he organized some family painting time, which lasted all of 30 minutes, due the the attention level of our 2-year-old. 😆 We also attempted "family yoga" which again didn't last, but we ended it all on a good note by ordering take out and spending time together.

We were bummed we couldn't get out to do anything fun, but I wasn't too upset about it, because we've just been out and about so much lately. Since Pete and I both got our vaccines done right after Khai was born, we've been more comfortable getting out and seeing people or having people over in general. Weekly, we try to get the boys out for errands and play dates. It's a real relief to feel like our weekly options have opened back up, and thankfully, this has all happened right in time for summer!

While we are definitely getting out of the house more, we are still spending most of our time at home. Each day before or after dinner time, we like to take the boys on a walk down the lane with Penny. Sometimes Pete holds the baby, and sometimes I do. Silas like to play "green light/red light" up and down the lane, and he gets tickled when he sees a neighbor outside or driving by. We talk about plants and the animals that we hear, and sometimes, Silas just wants to play in the dirt at the bottom of the hill with one of his trucks. It's honestly become my favorite time of any day, and we don't even have to leave our home.

When we do get out, we are re-exploring some of our favorite spots. So far, I'd say we've frequented the zoo about every other weekend. Silas is enamored with the animals and quite literally begs us every day just to go back. We tend to go first thing in the morning right when they open, as it's proven to be the least busy time of the day. Silas gets front row spots for viewing all his favorite animals and never has to wait in lines for other attractions.

Our zoo has a train ride for kids, and we've usually just walked past it hoping Silas would fail to notice it, but lately it's been unavoidable. With our early entrance time one morning, we discovered no line at all and said ok why not when Silas begged us to ride on the train. As we waited to board, his anticipation of the moment where he actually got to ride on the train just bubbled over, and the next time I knew he was crying with excitement!

It's definitely moments like these of pure joy and innocence where I'm so happy to feel comfortable to bring him back out to do so many things. We've worried about him missing out on these experiences this last year, but I do think the lack of exposure made all the things we are now doing just that much more awesome for him.

Heck, going to the hardware or grocery store is seen as a treat to Silas! He acts like you're taking him on some new adventure, and he is perfectly content riding around in the cart and saying hello to nearly everyone he passes. 😆

On the days we all get out as a family, I think we all feel better. Last year, we either spent our nights running errands after putting Silas to bed, or I'd get everything done while Silas was in school. We made everything work for how we felt most comfortable. But it feels good to have Saturdays and Sundays back to running errands and simply getting out of the house. And when we can, we try to sprinkle in as many good experiences into one day as possible for Silas.

Lately, it does seem that we've had more time to get things done. I blame the longer daylight hours, and I am in no way complaining! Pete and I are the type to have an ever-evolving list of chores to get done around the property. It seems as soon as we check 5 items off the list, another 3 pop up. Some days are spent not leaving the farm at all. Instead, we just trade off kids and nap/meal times while we get stuff done. Again, the older Silas gets, the more fun it's been to get him involved.

While our property may not be anything enormous (although we'd certainly love to acquire more surrounding land) it is A LOT to tend to, especially with two kids to chase after. I simply cannot wait for both boys to be a little older, so we can enjoy our property in new ways we have yet to discover or explore.

I know a lot of you are wondering how things have been going with Khai lately, and to be honest, he is an AWESOME baby.

I was afraid we were dealing with a sad baby there for a bit. The first 7/8 weeks were really, really, really tough. But the last month has really brought out hints of Khai's growing personality and spunk. In summary, I'd say he's a VERY happy, laid back baby who loves being cuddled, tickled, held, and seeing familiar faces (especially his brother).

The older Khai gets, the most interested Silas becomes. Silas likes that the baby now looks right at him, smiles, and even laughs. Sometimes, I'll leave the boys in the den while I'm cleaning up, and I'll peak around the corner to see how they are interacting. Silas often brings over his toy cars and stacks them on top of Khai's belly or tries to shove them into his tiny hands.

When Khai cries, Silas searches for the closest pacifier or one of his toys. If that fails, he will even go as far as to bring out a diaper and will tell me the baby has a tummy ache and needs a new diaper. 😊

In terms of similarities and differences, both kids are definitely their own person. Khai is a cuddler and liked to be swaddled up until recently, whereas Silas NEVER wanted to be swaddled, much less cuddled. Heck, he still won't cuddle. In fact, he's never even slept in our bed. Khai takes a paci, and Silas never did. Khai is in the 93rd percentile for height, whereas Silas has always been in the below 3rd percentile.

Both boys love music, hate the sound of me getting angry, enjoy animals, and like feeling the elements of being outside. So far, I'd say both are also momma's boys, but I realize I'm a little biased. 😊

Many people have asked me what I plan on doing in the coming year, seeing as how I took this whole last year off from work. Not only am I SO GLAD I dipped out this year, but I am truly eager to jump back into the swing of things. I knew before I had Khai that I'd want to go back to work in the fall, but I did worry if I'd have hesitations after his birth. With school going back in August, that will allow me to have stayed home with Khai for nearly 5 whole months...2 months longer than I had with Silas. Am I going to miss him and probably cry for the first few days? Yea...of course. Am I going to struggle re-finding my groove? Duh. But am I going to love having structure back in my life? Absolutely.

I love my kids more than anything, but I do genuinely love what I do for a living, and I have missed it this past year (again, not regretting taking off though). I decided that while I'm already in a world of change, I should go ahead and pursue something new for the next school year as well, so I've accepted a position teaching next door at the high school. I am THRILLED to jump next door and to be surrounded by all the kiddos I taught as 8th graders.

No change is ever easy, but I'm always very open for something new. I do have some nerves over how the change will play out, but I think the thing I'm most worried about is adjusting to not having my baby cuddles every morning anymore. 😢

JUST LOOK AT THAT SWEET FACE!!!!

As for Khai, he will be joining his brother at the daycare next school year, so they will both be just up the road from me. I think the hardest thing for me will be not being around Khai and wondering what he's thinking and how he's doing with me not being there beside him. His teachers are incredible, and I do not doubt the love they will give him, but it really is the hardest part of going back to work. Each weekend will come, and I know I'll be smothering the boys in so much love and soaking up their warm smiles.

As far as the animals go, we finally bit the bullet and got most of our birds processed! Pre-pandemic, I used to be able to call our processing facility a week in advance for slaughter. Nowadays, the place is booked from now until the winter! 😳 Apparently last year's meat shortage made everyone start planning way ahead of time in terms of production. When we found this out, we were a little panicked, as we'd finally decided we wanted to just be done with birds for a while. It's been 5 or 6 years straight with chickens. I don't mind taking a year off.

After some compromising with the facility, they agreed to process most of younger birds but could only do them whole. Normally, we process most into chicken sausage and chorizo, as it is what sells the fastest for us. It's also best for birds older than a year.

We'd been hanging on the the birds for fear of the invading cicadas that were supposed to emerge this year as well as the abundance of ticks already existing on the property. With the help of our guineas though, we figured we'd be fine on that front. As it stands now, we probably have about 10 birds, half of which are our "OG" birds that we've had for years, because we like them so much. The rest are our most recent baby birds that hatched this spring.

With the warmer days, you know there is one animal that is NOT happy about things....and that's Bootes.

At the end of the school year, we took him to get pampered for a day at the high school's dog grooming facility. Aside from him being in heaven with all the attention, they were able to brush out most of his winter coat. While Bootes is still actively working every night on the property, he prefers to slide through the tiny dog door in our laundry room to hide out on top of one of the cool vents during the day. Any opportunity for him to sneak inside for some quick love is often seized.

And yes, Bootes seems to enjoy Penny! Often times, they can be found lounging together on the front porch or patrolling the hawks on the property. Their contrast in size is amusing, but neither of them seem to mind.

Willow and Pixie are still tromping around as always. Their white line disease is still something we are battling, but it is to be expected in the wet weather and without us restricting their graze. I will say they've become more and more destructive to the structures surrounding our barn area. They've chewed off pieces of all three of our chicken coops...one so much that we actually had to replace the door altogether. I'm not sure if it's an attention things or something to do with their diet. Either way, they are still the sweetest, so we love them all the same.

The pigs are all doing fine, although we haven't helped them out much this year with their mud pit. Last year, we planted our weeping willow out near where we normally have the mud pit. Obviously, those trees need a lot of water, and since it always tend to pool up back there, we figured it would be a perfect fit while also providing some shade for the animals. Unfortunately, the tree absorbs so much water, it often drains the pit within hours of us filling it. 😑 So we will likely need to find a new place for the pigs to cool off this summer!

It's been nice not being pregnant in the middle of these hot days, and it's an added bonus that Pete gets to be home too. With Khai getting older, his naps have been more predictable, leaving me with various chunks of time throughout the day where I can get up and get stuff done. One of the things I've always enjoyed doing is mowing, but so does Pete. With Silas being in school part time during the summer months, it's allowed just just enough time for me to hop out and mow a portion while Khai sleeps. Other chores like weeding, cleaning, laundry, and meal prepping gets peppered throughout these chunks as well.

The downside has just been battling this year's allergies and bugs. Since I'm exclusively breastfeeding Khai, I have to watch carefully what it is I put on my skin and in my system. I can't take anything for my allergies, because those medications dry up a woman's milk supply. For most of the spring, I battling burning eyes and a phlegmy cough. I don't feel comfortable applying certain types of sunscreen, so I wear SPF protective clothing for extended periods outside. And I certainly don't want to coat myself in bug spray, so I just try to avoid high grass and wooded areas right now. The result? An occasional spider bite. 😳

While we are often hesitant to go to doctor offices unless absolutely necessary, this bite went from the size of my thumbnail to literally the size of my entire hand in 24 hours. The vein underneath started to bulge out, and the pain was so extreme, I could hardly sleep when I had the chance. After a trip to the clinic, I was handed antibiotics and steroids, which I really wanted to avoid while breastfeeding. After speaking with several people in the medical field, all felt it was best to take the medicine as to avoid something harsher on my body if things continued to get worse, so I did. Within another 24 hours, symptoms has amazingly improved. Now, about 4 weeks later, there is still a scar from the blistering, which I will gladly take over a trip to a hospital!

The last thing we got into lately was a trip out west to visit Pete's family outside of Knoxville. We haven't left the house but once in the last year to see family, so none of them aside from Pete's mom had even met baby Khai yet. While the trip encompassed just a short weekend, we packed in so much during our visit, including a trip to the Knoxville zoo for Silas! It felt good to just get away, even with the craziness that is traveling with a family of four. 😆

As always, I'll leave you with one last photo. I adore these types of comparisons. Below is a side by side of Silas and Khai. To the left, you'll see Silas at about 4.5 months old...just itty bitty and happy to be with his dad. To the right, you'll see Khai at almost 3 months old...already SOOOO much bigger than his brother but just as content with life.

I know I shouldn't compare, but it makes me nostalgic when I take a step back and see how similar they are, and I am humbled when this reminds me that Khai won't be "baby Khai" forever, He, too, will grow to crawl and then walk and then run beside his brother. There will come a day where we won't want to cuddle beside me in bed every morning and will be talking instead of making baby squeaks. But having them side by side, whether in photos or in real life reminds me to not take any of this time for granted. ❤️