Moving To The Country

Billy and I have a dream to buy a farm or mini-ranch. We are very interested in sustainable living and getting off "the grid" with the use of solar and wind. We want to grow our own chickens for eggs and meat. And possibly bringing in some goats, sheep and maybe a cow. We would love to have a big garden too. The less we have to buy at the store, the better!
Since this won't be able to become a reality for a few more years; we have decided to look for a place to rent in the country to see if this is even feasible for us. A test drive if you will. We found one!
It is on a fully fenced 1/2 acre, 2 bed and 2 bath with a barn, chicken coop and 2 gated areas. we are going to use the one off Finnigans room as his own private play yard. The other is a courtyard surrounded by morning glory with an arbor to put our hot tub under. This will be my "Secret Garden".

The Entrance to the Secret Garden

The front part of the house with a wall of morning glory to the secret garden.

Finnigan inspecting the gate to the chicken yard.

The barn and the plot of land where the garden is going.

We are very excited to start our new lives as farmers. I think I will do another blog for "Finnigans Farms".



Feeling a bit homey...

We started the day off with some frozen pancakes we had leftover from yesterday. Then we started on dinner. Yes, dinner. It takes all day for a roast.

Since Finn did so well with the pancake mix, I decided to let him help with some homemade bread. This was way more messy!! But oh so fun!

 Time to get cleaned up and off to daycare.

Pictures cannot come close to the wonderful aroma it exudes!!

Think I'll have a glass of wine!!

A Productive Day

We had a great day yesterday!! We started the day off with Mickey Mouse Pancakes. Our neighbor went to Disneyland which had inspired the Mickey Mouse themed day. I had brought in one of my Finnigans Finds coffee tables that is the perfect height for Finnigan. Gave him the bowl and a spoon, added the ingredients and let him go to town! He very much enjoyed himself.

We then went for our daily walk with Ruby to the old HS track. Finni loves to climb the bleachers and chase Booba (thats what he calls Ruby) around the field. He likes to check out the dugouts too.

Then back home to feed the fish, do the dishes and laundry. He loves to help, especially with making the bed. He loves to climb under the covers while I pull up the sheets.

Now for lunch, since he had Mickey Mouse on the brain, we made PB&J's shaped into... you guessed it.... Mickey Mouse!

After a nice afternoon nap, we then decided since it was fall, and I had run out of ideas for Mickey, we would make something festive for dinner. We came up with Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.

This was a pretty easy recipe, except next time I think I will peel the squash before I cook it. It is a bitch trying to get the pulp off the skin once its cooked.

After I cooked all my veggies together, I was suppose to put it in a food processor or a blender to puree. What a mess that would make!!! I have one of those hand blenders that my husband bought before I even met him (16 years ago) that did the trick without the mess or having to transfer from pot to blender to bowl. If you don't have one already, I highly recommend one.

With indoor blanket forts, motorcycles and trampolines, I would say, all in all it was a good day!!

Finn-ish

I love the time of childhood when kids are learning to talk.  The sounds they come up with for certain words are quite cute and comical. I call Finnigans language Finn-ish. Here are a few of them.

Finni = MeeMee (my little narcissist)
Motorcycle = Moco Michael
Mommy = momia
Ruby (our dog) = Booba
Chocolate Milk = Mighty Milk
Trick or Treat = Rick or Reat (this was the first year he comprehended the idea, but got a bit upset that he couldn't do it every night)
Gregorio = YoYo (this is our neighbor)
RV = moto-ome
I will keep adding the more I can remember and the more he says

On a more personal note....

I started the Finnigans Finds blog to show of my furniture art and have decided that I have more to offer than just that. My son Finnigan and I go on many adventures. Be it at home, on our morning walks or even just to the store. He keeps my life exciting and most importantly, keeps me off my butt. He is a very busy and curious fellow. He loves to climb, run, jump and play. He gets bigger and smarter everyday. And this is my way of cronicling his childhood and th many adventures we get into.  So, without further ado.... I give you Finnigan!!