Not enough time in a day.....

Doesn't it sometimes feel like you just don't have enough time in a day?  I have been feeling like that lately.  In fact, I have been feeling very overwhelmed lately, that is certainly reflecting in my lack of blogging.  We have had a lot going on, a lot of decisions to make.  I am happy to say that the overwhelmed feeling is going away and I feel very confident and happy with the decisions we have come to.

Before Maggie was born we decided we were going to homeschool her.  I have never wavered on that decision.  Ever.  The county we lived in when that decision was made had a lot of resources for homeschoolers and a lot of great places for learning, and if there wasn't something in that immediate area, we were close enough to San Fransisco and other places that made homeschooling adventures fun.  About 3 years ago we moved to another county.  It's much more remote.  We moved here because it's quieter, more rural and the people are by far friendlier.  We didn't want Maggie in the "hustle and bustle".  While we love the environment we are in. we are sadly disappointed with the lack of things for kids to do here. 

When Chris started working at his new job he told me how the local charter school is directly across the street.  He sees the kids outside gardening, walking down to the creek, and playing in the play area.  He sounded really happy when he was talking about it, so I decided to do some research.  Even though we have the best elementary school directly behind our home I have never once wanted to send Maggie to it.  I get this unexplainable pit in my tummy when I think of it.  But the Charter school, what Chris saw, what I read and the few conversations I had with different people at the school made me feel good.  We sent in our enrollment papers and are hoping that there will be enough room for her in Kindergarten in the new school year.  We are waiting to hear back.

Maggie has been BEGGING to GO to school.  So I figure I will let her try it, and if it doesn't work then homeschooling it is. 

I feel at ease and peaceful, even excited about this decision.

We have finally started our front yard.  I am so excited about this I can't hardly stand it!  We wanted to put in lawn, but the water is so expensive  we decided to look into "lawn alternatives."  We found Strawberry Clover.  I am so excited to see how this turns out.  We have visited Real Goods many times and always comment on how nice their "lawn" is.  It's always so green and lush.  They use Strawberry Clover.  Chris' boss loaned us his rototiller and he started doing it yesterday.  He will work on it some more today.  Once he gets the dirt worked up I will rake it and spread the seed. 
We decided on Strawberry Clover for several different reasons, not just the water factor.  Although that was huge.  Here are some other great benefits to using Strawberry Clover:

• Naturally prevents erosion
• Possesses nitrogen-rich legumes
• Great for a variety of soil conditions
• Prefers sun to partial shade
• Produces fragrant red and white flowers
• One ounce covers 125 sq. ft.
• Can grow as tall as 6" - 18" at a mature height
• Does not require fertilizer if clippings are mulched
• Drought tolerant
• Pest resistant
• Weed resistant
• Does not discolor with liquid animal waste

So, you can see why we love the idea of Strawberry Clover!  What a PERFECT alternative!  I can't wait to get the front done so we can do the backyard! 

Here are a few pictures I took yesterday, you can see how terrible it looks!  The house will be getting painted also, so hopefully everything will look so much better in the next few months!

The boys pulling out the UGLY bushes on the side of the yard

As you can see, we have a lot of work ahead of us!

I was going to talk about the cats and kittens today, but I think I will leave that for a post for tomorrow! 

Hope everyone has a great day!

-Bobbi