It's been too long.

Yes, I am still around! Forgive me for being so bad about blogging? Please?

The kids visited grandparents in the southwest US for the past couple of weeks. It was bittersweet-- B and I enjoyed some amazing time together. He is truly my best friend in the whole world. : ) We had so much fun, and wish the time had gone on forever.

However, we missed the kids terribly. I know they were having a great time, so that part was easy. But we missed them not being around. So it was difficult not to wish the time away.

Of course, we picked them up at the airport, and the bickering started all over again. Then I remembered those words, "Be careful what you wish for!" But all is back to normal at our house, and that's a good thing!

One of the things we did at home while the kids were gone, was to re-do their rooms. We tore out the gold carpeting to reveal some really cool (albeit scratched) hardwood floors in L's room. He told me yesterday he hated the floors because they weren't nice and finished like the downstairs. I reminded him that each of those scratches were from a boy or girl playing with toys, or a dog settling down to lie by his boy's bed, or a mom stepping on a lego when she tucked her kiddo in. He decided he liked his storytelling floors.

M's floor has a "Congoleum Art-Rug" on it. ( 1, 2, 3 ) It doesn't quite match the pastel pink walls and sheer drapes, but it doesn't look all that bad. We have a little more work to do-- scrubbing the carpet padding off of some areas, pulling staples, etc. I will definitely take photos when it's all done. And Mike, I haven't forgotten about the photos of the house I promise to post! I will do it...

I haven't ridden in quite a while. Our pasture grass is long, and Major is spooky-- which makes me spooky even before I get on. When I'm spooky, he's spooky, and then he's doubly spooky from the grass and from me. So I need to just get over it and get on his back. : )

It has rained so much here! Our crops are not doing well. K was supposed to put soybeans in our hayfield, but first he baled the hay and was going to put roundup on the field. He hasn't yet put the roundup on-- it's been so rainy. I don't know if it's too late or not for the beans. We may have to wait for next year.

And we will be having our other hayfield baled in square bales this year. We will pay for it, but it's worth it. We can store the bales inside (making much more of the hay usable), and small bales are so much easier to handle. Even paying to have it baled we will save so much money. The only hitch is that the man baling it just had back surgery-- he will drive the tractor, and that is all. We will do the rest of the work. Can you say big, big pain in store? I think we will be totally exhausted after stacking 200 bales (and that is a small field!!). We'll stack them on the rack, then unload them and restack them in the barn. I'll have biceps of steel next week! (or mush)

Happy Monday. Mine's manic-- hope yours isn't!