EGADS! What happened to April & May?

Whew! Two months have come and gone with no blogging whatsoever? What in the world could keep me quiet for that long, you ask? Must be something catastrophic at the very least.

Not exactly. We've been quite busy, actually, contemplating, setting up and now preparing for a move cross-state. We've had many family discussions about all the pros and cons of moving, done several reconnaissance missions, bought a house, sold a house, ushered through many an inspector and are now, somewhat anxiously, awaiting the closing date and the physical move, though we've pretty much mentally moved already.

We'll be moving to 5.24 acres in Northern Maryland where we can spread out and begin living some of our dreams. I've been wanting to homestead for quite some time, well, homestead-lite, really, and the kids are looking forward to getting more animals than we've had space for in our present home. There's a barn with three 12 x 12 stalls, which will make a great temporary home for our chickens until we build them their own digs, and which will make a great home for Julia's Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats in the spring. Emily hopes to get a horse in a couple of years, so I imagine she and I will be taking riding lessons together next year. Sam's looking forward to getting a puppy this fall and some roosters in the spring--I think his plan is to build up the male population of our little homestead.

Currently, we're having discussions back and forth about what bedrooms will look like, who will sleep where and with whom, that kind of thing. I'm planning my new kitchen, which will have double ovens and a five-burner cooktop by the time I'm through with it. We'll be laying aside some money to put in a pool next spring, which will be fun for everyone, and once we finish off the basement this winter, there'll be lots more room for us all to spread out a bit--a big rec room, a combo office/ guest room, and a stylin' exercise room with a climbing wall, dh's bike, yoga/ pilates mats, meditation cushions and maybe even a sauna. Fun for all, we hope. It helps to be handy and do as much of the work ourselves as possible, short of digging out the pool by hand, that is. I gotta draw the line somewhere.