I have always been an organized person. My mother loves to tell stories on me. Like how from the time I was 7 I always packed my own bags (I am sure with some checking for her) for trips and often a week or so in advance. While in school it served me well as I was able to accomplish my assignments in a timely manner with little stress. My sister laughed at me when I confided to her that if I accomplish something not on my “to do” list I write it on my list just so I can have the pleasure of crossing it off. Now before I loose you completely I totally understand that organization is not something all people thrive at and truly being spontaneous is a great character trait (I just don’t happen to possess it). Luckily my husband does possess this trait and is helping me learn to relax a bit more.

But with 5 children, a homeschool plus a farm and writing business organization does help and honestly this summer I have kind of let it go a bit. But now this week as school is set to begin I am trying to figure out what method works best for me where I am. I used Franklin Covey for awhile and credit it for helping me launch into the world of planners. I loved them but as my shelf built up with binders from years past and each year I had to pay for the expense of a new one plus I used one of the smaller versions and didn’t have a place to store my full size papers.

Then I read a blog post which I can’t find now about using the Five Star Flex Binder and using or making your own calendar pages. I did this for the past year and made sections for calendar, personal development, homeschool, household and farm. I really wasn’t sure how I wanted to set it up and kind of fumbled along.

Then this year I found this planner and eagerly purchased it. I like that it had places to write down goals for the month, semester and year, places to separate out children’s school assignments and menu plan. Plus it had some great and insightful articles to read along the way. But I found I was missing some of my favorite elements of my planner, the own I made to fit my life. For instance we do mostly unit studies so it didn’t make sense for me to divide the day by subject and child. Plus some things like dog training don’t fit well into one subject but I wanted to record that we worked on it because it is an important part of education.

So this year I think I will be using my homemade planner again but with some great additions from planners I have know and loved. I have a better idea of how to use my planner, how to organize it and what to do with extra pages.

So my point is that there are ways to organize that will work for you. I have tried many and it has taken me awhile to figure out a method that will work well with my life, but in the end it is totally worth it to have an idea of what you need to do when and even more importantly a place to record the things you have accomplished.

I really really love this time of year (though I do hope that this winter will be a bit more mild then last). But I love the cool crisp mornings, the expectation for school and a new rhythm to the day and I love that the days are still warm enough to really enjoy that last bit of summer. This month has been really good to us as our weekend schedules and family duties cleared up a bit so we could spend even more time where we really love being.

The crab apple tree has been a center of family life this month. The children, especially the youngest 2, really love being able to easily pick their own fruit and enjoy the taste–a bit like nature’s sourpatch! Proeun was telling me that yesterday when I was away from the farm and he was playing with the children Effie (4) and Pray (2) walked over to the tree and picked some apples then sat under the tree talking and playing. Later they went to a clear spot in the yard and lay down eating apples and watching the clouds. I wish I could have captured that moment on film but it is a picture I love to imagine and hope they will remember. That is exactly why we moved here.

I love flowers but don’t have time to garden them so I love it when they surprise us. Like these flowers from our Asian pea tips.

Recently a neighbor stopped by and asked if we wanted turkeys. One of their females had hatched these out plus more and they were getting overrun. We got 2 males and 2 females. Right now we are enclosing them so they get used to their new home but soon they will be able to enjoy the great outdoors. Not sure what breed they are but they were free, and they are pretty fun. I love the noise they make.

Our pigs are growing nicely. This is a the feeder we bought this spring. They are really funny too. We are hoping to make animals a bigger part of our farm as I really love caring for them. Though sometimes they outsmart me like this last week when they grabbed the door to their pen with their mouth and lifted it off the hinges while I was grocery shopping. The children had to help me track them down and herd them in. They are becoming expert trackers and herders. So that is some of the fun stuff happening around here this month.

I remember reading the Laura Ingall’s Wilder series and other books about Pioneer life and reading about “chores” and not really knowing what that meant–now I do, believe me. All the animals need water, some need grain and some need hay, some need both. There are stalls and pens to clean, in the spring and early summer there is the greenhouse to water and manage, all fun mind you, but still chores. And each season has its necessary uniform. In winter I would love to get a pair of insulated overalls but for the most part it is long johns, an old pair of army pants and work jacket. Then in the spring and fall the pants without the long johns and a work sweater. But now it is warm enough that none of those options are comfortable and I am getting tired of washing all my clothes everytime I do chores (twice a day).

So I had a piece of linen that wasn’t really my color and a cool apron pattern from Heather Ross that I wanted to try. I did have to lengthen the sides a bit but it was a quick sew and now I can do chores in my best farm girl style without getting “stuff” on my clothes every times.

So much better.

Wow, it seems like forever since I have written. I am discovering though that summer is so fleeting and while as vegetable farmers most of our work is in the summer so is most of our fun so our days have been full with much joy and work. At times it has been hard to keep a balance with the slower pace I often prefer but I know that sooner rather then later we will return to the home days of fall and winter so for now fun in the sun. So what exactly have we been doing–well there were swim lessons and basketball camp. Mavis joined her 2 older siblings for both of these and feels like one of the big kids now. And for the last swim lesson session of the year next week Effie will join as she is definitely our water baby.

Then there was the county fair. This has become one of our favorite times of the year. The children enjoy 4H and preparing for the fair throughout the year, then getting to see their hard work appreciated is such a reward. Here are some pictures from the fair.

Avril’s dream of horses was revived likely crazy.

Just playing around on kid’s day.

Checking out some of the creative art in the open class. I was inspired by the children and didn’t even know adults could enter projects in the open class, I might just have to join next year.

This last weekend was the 4H dog show. Jack and Proeun II have been working so hard and they got a trophy in obedience and showmanship plus 2 ribbons and a trip to the state dog show. He is very excited. And it is so nice to see the change in Jack as he learns the commands. He really follows Proeun II around “like a little puppy,” waiting anxiously for the next command.

In addition to fun we did get a bit of work in. We are diversifying our farm and adding Berkshire hogs to the mix. So last week we drove to Cass Lake to pick up Anna and Elsa our first 2 breeding females.

They are just babies right now and loving all the special attention the girls love to give them. Soon they will grow though.

So we had a great July. Hope you did too.

I was watching “My Fair Lady” last night. It has been ages since I have seen it. I was taken with the part where Eliza leaves and Henry Higgins finds her at his mother’s house. Eliza says that she felt that she has always been treated like a lady by Mr. Pickering and that subsequently she felt like Henry had not treated her like a lady. But Higgins countered that he felt it was more important to treat all people the same. I think there is some truth in that. Of course I believe we should treat all people well and with respect (Henry Higgins admitted he was grouchy with everyone).

Over the years I have been in many positions to learn about the stories of people from other countries and places. For the past 12 years I have been a writer for Hmong Times. The Hmong people are an ethnic group from Southeast Asia that had there traditional way of life uprooted by the Vietnam war. Their story is not so different from my in-laws.

Many Hmong people have settled in St. Paul and are setting up new traditions. For the past 34 years the J4 Freedom Celebration and Soccer tournament has been the event of the summer but for many years I didn’t go, mostly because crowds are not really my thing. But this year I went and was really impressed.  Here are some pictures of the event.

Bee brought three generations of his family to enjoy the event that brings literally 10s of the thousands of people from all over the country. So this summer I encourage you to get out, meet new people, hear their stories and have fun all at the same time.