Brace Yourselves...Thirty is Coming.

Life is pretty sweet right now.

School has ended for me for the year, and I have until August 20th to recharge with my family.  I did really well in all of my classes and I feel pretty darn good.  I have one more semester left at community college, then onto the big girl state university to finish up my fine arts degree.

We have been working hard on our garden, and basically all the outside.  It is starting to look pretty good around here, but I have big dreams.  I love being outside, and I love our backyard/garden area so much.  I want to add some artistic touches and more seating areas so it becomes a true little sanctuary. We also have a big pile of river rocks, and are trying to figure out the best way to use them. A rock river? Borders? A path?

This picture I took on my phone makes me laugh.  They don't have to even do anything to be hilarious, they just are. Silly Monkeys. Also, you can see the garden and part of the yard in the back.  We need some more grass in this yard, stat!  

But, what is really on my mind is my 30th birthday party...which is on Saturday.  I have a twin brother, and we are having a joint birthday party that we are calling our "Twintacular Old Timey 30th Birthday Celebration."  If you want to see a lot of my inspiration, check out the board I have been making on Pinterest for the party. We told guests to think, "mustaches, monocles, top hats, corsets and bicycles with a giant front wheel."

I am super excited about the party, and I have a fairly... intense outfit planned.  I can't wait to share the pictures and let you know how it went.  We asked all of our guests to come in costume and in character, so it should be a silly and fun night!  I have an awesome menu planned, and I will probably be in the kitchen all Friday,but it will be worth it!

As for that "30 before 30" thingy on my menu bar?  Well, I have been avoiding that list for the last nine months or so, but, I have three days left. Sorry, I kind of suck at blogging. ::shrugs and hangs head::  I'll do my best and report back to you on Monday, after my official birthday has passed.

How do I feel about turning thirty?  I'm pretty happy about it.  I feel thirty.  I feel young, but like I have experienced something, at least.  I have energy and excitement for the future and I still feel like anything and everything is possible.

Sometimes, I am shocked that I am somehow still not 22 or even 19.  Where did that time go?  When did I cross the line from young person, over to only young in some circumstances?  I'm not sad to see those ages go, but just a little in awe of how fast time really does start to go by.

Overall, I love getting older.  I love seeing the gray hairs pop up on Mark's head, I love seeing my children experience new things and grow up, I love becoming more comfortable in my own skin and making decisions that are best for me and my family. I am pretty excited to see what my thirties will bring me, as my twenties were pretty incredible.

Like I said, life is pretty sweet.

Finals Week (in Pictures)

It's finals week for me. I just took my math final and I am so worried about the outcome. 

I'm just freakin' stressed.

My other finals have gone really, really well.

That is awesome.

I have been loving Instagram, and have been taking a lot of pictures with my phone.  If you want to connect with me on there, my name is ThatKindofMom (surprised?)  I would love to see all of your pictures!

Here's some of my favorites from the last week:

My sweet teacher brought breakfast and (good!) coffee to our 8AM final

Some of drawings from this semester, laid out at my drawing final

Eclipse!

Study time.

My sweet ones.

Blueberry, raspberry and Greek yogurt muffins that Maggie and I made

Happy after getting a great critique in Figure Drawing.

I am so glad that summer is almost here!

 I have just one critique left in Painting and then I am free.

Thank God.

Meet The Chickens

We're now officially "urban homesteaders".  Okay, not officially.  Probably not even unofficially.  Really, I just wanted to say "urban homesteaders."

A month ago, we bought six chicks that were a few days old.

Maggie and Liam absolutely loved watching them grow as they lived in the kitchen, in their brooder.

And grow they did!

 They grew so much that we started letting them outside in the 90 degree weather to get used to life outside of their box.

I already showed this picture to you guys...oh, well!

Like babies of all species tend to do, they kept on growing.  So, we built them a new house.  They're still a little young, so we rigged up their light to keep them warm at night.  I love this chicken coop so much, and we built it from a kit. It was kind of pricey, but for us, this was a worthwhile splurge. I love the way it looks, it is so functional and easy, and the chickens love it.  It only took an hour or so to build. The kit is available here.

Three of these gals will be heading over to join my mom's flock soon, and three will be staying with us. I am so happy we decided to raise chickens, it has already been such a great experience for the entire family.  I can't wait for the free organic brown eggs (from happy chickens)!

Have you ever considered raising your own chickens?

Update

As summer approaches, I see a light at the end of the school-induced tunnel of being extremely busy and stressed. I really do struggle for balance, and this semester has been especially challenging.  Taking three art classes as well as a math class has required so much time, in and outside of school. I draw and paint all the time. I think about art all the time. I have filled 300 pages of sketchbook pages in the last four months.  My teachers have been so kind, enthusiastic and supportive of my work and it has been a great experience this semester.

Yet, I long to just be with my children.  I am so extremely grateful for the summer break and I plan to appreciate and enjoy my time with them. I have big plans for this summer. We planted a garden about three weeks ago, and we have heirloom tomatoes, peas, beans, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, radishes, beans, strawberries and corn growing bigger every day in our garden.

  We also have been raising six chickens in a huge box in our kitchen for the past month.  Three of the six will join my mom's flock, and three will become our backyard chickens.  We love them already and are so happy to have them and the future, free-range organic brown eggs that they'll provide!  We also have a few grapes vines which produce table grapes, and three fruit trees.  It has been such a gift to live here and see my children enjoying all the outside space.

We still have a lot of work to do on the house, and this summer we will be painting the exterior of the house and getting a new roof and windows.  I am excited to really give this place a makeover on the outside, it really needs it!
Magdalena will be five in August and is finishing up her preschool year.  She is enrolled in a great charter school next year for kindergarten, and she is so excited to start school.  She is just so much fun to be around!  her preschool had a day to pamper moms this week and it was so much fun!

Liam is doing amazing, too.  He is potty-trained completely when we're at home, and we're trying to get him used to using other potties, too.  He is such a sweetie, and still loves to cuddle all the time.  I am just so in love with this little man.

I know I have been absent for a while, but thanks for being here and reading this.  I really do love blogging and I can't wait to share our summer.

Almost

I am still learning how transfer my artwork into digital form, but here's a pen and ink drawing I did recently.  It's called "Scout and Jeb" and is a scene from To Kill A Mockingbird, which is my favorite book.

I entered this into the student art show, and it didn't get selected....which hurt.  The judge wrote "almost" on my entry form, which kind of made it worse. 

It can be tough to be in such a subjective field.  I could love everything I do, my friends and family could love everything I do, but my work may never be seen by anyone else.  It is interesting for sure. I do love this drawing, though. I think I might make it into a t-shirt!

School is almost over for the year.  We are busy every day with fixing up the house, finishing the semester and being a family. Magdalena's preschool year is almost over, which is mind boggling.  Liam is growing up more and more every day   I hope to start posting more soon!