First Day of School

This being the beginning of September we have just passed the important hallmark of the first day of school. Lucy started preschool (Tue and Thurs mornings for 3hrs) and Riley started Kindergarten (8am-2:30pm everyday!). I must add a little 'whoa' to that sentence, I mean Kindergarten?? Really?? that sweet boy I love so fiercely is already 5 yrs old and off to school all... day... long!!! Really?? (It may take me awhile to get used to that)

Lucy started preschool at Little Feet Co-op Preschool (Riley's alma mater) on Tue Sept 8th. We packed her snack in her new snack "purse" and all of us (including Riley as his school did a staggered start so he didn't start until Wed) escorted her to school. This being a place she spent a lot of time as a toddler when Riley was in preschool there, it was a very familiar environment and she proudly took ownership of Little Feet as "her school". We all gave her a hug, she lined up to go inside and then without looking back she was gone...just like that, off to school!

Riley's turn was the next morning on Wed. He helped make his lunch (PB&J of course... comfort food for the first day) and packed it in his Dino lunch box with his new blue Kleen Kanteen water bottle. He put on his back-pack with his new folders and binder (really they actually had 3-ring binders on the supply list for kindergarten) tucked inside. We all walked him to his classroom, gave hugs and as we watched from the doorway he started to make his name tag and there he was in KINDERGARTEN!! (Riley is actually enrolled in a Spanish immersion class which is even extra cool and he was excited to try out some of the phrases we had been practicing at home) Now I had been getting choked up all week just thinking about this moment, and was counseled by Todd that I was not allowed to cry in front of Riley. In the reality of parenthood we ended up carrying our screaming preschooler out the door as quickly as possible (she wanted to stay and "play" at Riley's school), so there was no time to cry. Todd and I shared a smile and my chin quivered just for a moment as we employed "active ignoring" of our second child's tantrum. He had a great first day and by the end of the week was taking the bus home with the big kids.

So the next day was our first day with both children in school. And you may ask what we did with our first kid-free hours. What every backyard homesteader does....we worked on building our new chicken coop!! We gotta get it done before the rains so our ladies have a cozy roost for the winter!

Welcome

Well, we have decided to enter the world of blogs. I have been wanting and intending to do this for a long time, but never got around to the doing part of my intention until now. Generally speaking I like blogs, they are like little peeks into someone's thoughts, home, vacation, etc. On a more practical level for us it is a way to share with you our current selves. Long gone are the days when we sent out mass mailings of photos, which we haven't manged to do since Lucy was born (she's nearly 3!!). Our hope is that for those who we don't get to see often this will provide a way to check in with us. So if you are so inclined, put this address in your Google reader, and "follow" the blog. Or just pop in from time to time and see what we are up to!

So the whole naming the blog thing was really hard!! I have several friends who have started blogs and many of them write about naming it in the first post, now I get it! It it very daunting to try to capture the essence of a blog much less a life in a few words or a phrase. After a long process (I won't bore you), I came up with (or really borrowed a title from a book I have by my bedside) The Backyard Homestead. Todd in typical fashion put a personal twist on it as we live in Hood River, OR. This title seemed to speak to our lives. We live in a 1910 farmhouse which may or may not have been a homestead of sorts 100yrs ago but presumably involved acres of land. Over the years the land has been parceled off and the house now sits on 1/3 acre (plenty). We have 5 cherries trees, a raspberry patch, strawberry patch, large vegetable garden and 13 chickens (which came with the house). Inside the house are two small beautiful children and two cats. We have neighbors and a neighborhood, but the road in front of our house is the county line so we are technically in the country not the city. The title seemed to fit our city/country lives. Thus we welcome you to Homestead in the Hood.