BACK TO SCHOOL...ready or not!

We knew it was coming....summer went WAY TOO FAST! And now my little ones are:

A second grader,

A fifth grader (in middle school!!!!), 

 And a ninth grader (in high school!!!!!)

 So, I HAD to change our mantel in our coffee room to mark the occasion:

And my oldest little one? Well, we are moving her to college life in the morning....I'm fighting back my tendency for freaking out anxiety on a daily basis! I AM excited for her to start this stage of her life, and am so proud of her.....but at the same time, I am VERY SAD for me....(I will be having a pity party for probably the next couple weeks, so please deal with me!:) 

Have I mentioned that I DO NOT LIKE CHANGE??

~Kim

Dark clouds are INEVITABLE...

"be sure of this- that I am with you always, even to the end of the world" 

Mathew 28:20

It was a bright, beautiful, sunny day....and while we were not looking, a huge storm cloud came our way.

It was eery, looming, yet somehow fascinating.  My boys called it "the black magic coming, like in Disney movies". I thought of biblical times instead.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

We are human...tough times WILL come...dark clouds are inevitable. This is when our Faith in knowing Who is in control comforts us. 

I don't like change....but change is constant. 

I look to my Father for guidance, comfort, and knowledge in His gift to us. 

Hoping that, even though some times are tough.....we all see the rainbow waiting at the end.

~Kim

Our Famous IOWA STATE FAIR

The Iowa State Fair is probably the BIGGEST highlight of every summer in our family. 

This year, the weather was finally cooperative and the Fair had it's 2nd largest amount of visitors in history!

Some people come for the amazingly weird and original food options: 

think deep-fried ANYTHING, and put it on a stick!

Some love to look at all the horticulture...one of my personal favorites.

Some come for the animals..and there are dozens of species...from farm animals to exotic.

This poor mama was in labor.....totally feel her pain:

Ok, this one is not real....but what fun that the kids get to "milk a cow!" :)

There is a Conservation Building that the D.N.R. has displays. Wyatt was interested in the Project AWARE. This uses junk found in Iowa's rivers and recycles them.

She wishes:

There are TONS of concerts that are on several stages.... we didn't make it to any this year:(

But I DID get to spend my birthday with my family, on the last day of the Fair.

Amazing, creative artists show off their talents all over the fair. This is a piece of art made with a CHAINSAW! 

A chocolate mouse....YUM!

The famous Clydesdale horses were leaving when we walked by, but we did get to pet one of them:

Some of the Miniature Herefords, these were from the breeder that Ken came from: 

Security, the Cowboy Way: 

We spent two days walking around, about 6 hours each., and STILL did not get to see and taste everything that the Iowa State Fair offers!

This is a fun week...so sad it's over. School started before the fair was over again this year (BOO, HISS)

Next year I hope it will be different...we are getting signed up to show our Miniature Herefords, so I guess my children will have to miss the first couple days of school if that happens :)

One last picture..this is what my family agreed to give me for my birthday:

~Kim

Trying to find H.O.M.E.

I am a fan of letters....have always displayed my kids' names in their rooms.

But lately I've been looking for H.O.M.E. My plan is to display it here:

This space above our front door is in desperate need of attention. Although, I have been wanting to stick to a  simpler look in our entry....I think my letters will fit in perfectly.

And this is what I have found so far:

The "O" I purchased at an antique store called The Majestic Lion. What a great shopping experience that was! So sad that I didn't get pictures of the store.

The "E", the kids and I found at the West End Architectural Salvage store that I have blogged about recently.

Now, the H and M are getting a little more difficult to find....

so I am thinking that I may have to make my own! Or purchase ones from Pottery Barn:

My inspiration for this project came from this amazing new magazine:

If you haven't heard of it.....I HIGHLY recommend it. Heather Bullard has put together a book-worthy magazine that she will put out 4 times a year. It is well worth the investment, and has 0 (ZERO) advertisements!!! How cool is that?

But I couldn't find a digital copy of the picture I saw in the mag, without snapping a pic with my camera of my favorite page. So I "googled" the homeowner's name and came to her blog:  Amy Hanna, she is a jewelry designer, who happens to have a knack for design! And here is her living room:

See the word NEST on the mantle? Love, LoVe, LOVE it!! 

I'm in love with her whole home actually.

Anyways...the search continues....once I have something in mind that I want to do to my home, it is hard to focus on anything else until it is DONE.....ugh!

Over the weekend, my kids have helped me come up with a plan for the 2 missing letters....
I HOPE and PRAY we can pull it off. Stay tuned for the results......
:)   ~Kim

...and there was only ONE...

Our peacocks have been one of the surprising joys that I have gotten to experience as a newby to this farming thing! When we inherited our first peacock and his two ladies (peahens), other than thinking that they were the most beautiful birds I had ever seen, I didn't know that they would officially become one of my favorite animals we have here at Irishman Acres.

Paco- when he was "forced" to live with the chickens :)

After living here for 2 years, our peahens began nesting and baby making....which might be due to the fact that we built them their own enclosure and coup, and removed them from the chickens' living quarters!

 And last year they hatched 6 peachicks...which are now 5 peacocks and 1 peahen....not a good ratio when we were wanting to sell them. Customers want a pair of them, and we are not willing to give up the only female that has hatched here.

The peachicks last year-2011

The peachicks now-2012

Which comes to the reason of my post today......

All 3 of our peahens laid eggs in 4 different nests!? And we knew that the not- quite-one-year-old peahen was not laying fertilized eggs, but didn't know which ones they were. One peahen began sitting, and at that same time, we loaded all the other eggs into our incubator.

Sadly....none of the eggs in the nest hatched, the poor mama sat there for over 30 days....how pathetic is that?? We examined the eggs and found that some were not fertile, and some looked to have died a week before they were due to hatch.

And the 20 eggs in the incubator??

Our ONLY 2012 baby

This is the ONLY guy (or girl) that hatched!!!!! He (or she) is so precious...and really confused, because his new bunk-mates are these little ones....(turkeys we rescued)

I just don't think we were meant to sell any peacocks....we hope that next year we have better luck....and it looks like I am going to have more than a few peacocks strutting around my yard next spring....we have to seperate the males during breeding season and we are running out of enclosures!! :)

 They will probably join the guineas that roost in our barn at night....shhhhh....don't tell the coyotes and owls where they are!

~Kim

Home Show Expo-Part 2: A little GLAM

Well, here is "Part 2" of my posts on the Home Show Expo 2012. Along with the country elements

that I posted in Part 1...the other popular design choice was clearly a little GLAM.

That tub....and the chandelier! All in its own little nook! Breathtakingly beautiful....close those curtains, light some candles, play soft music, yep.....HEAVEN!

I love mixing textures...and these homes had lots of it!

Having brought my daughters, they definitively appreciated the floral and zebra mix!

Lots of attention was put on the baths and half-baths this year.....

This room below, although it sounds weird, was my FAVORITE!! I really think that a woman must have designed the layout of this home. This is NOT the laundry room, it is across the hall, in it's own room (behind closed doors!!!) This is more like a MOM's play room...and it's right off the kitchen. 

I would call this the Family Scheduling Center. With it's built in desk and cabinets...this could easily moonlight as a scrapbook or crafting station, party supply room, gift wrapping room, off season table linens and decor storage, the "dog room", photographer's workroom and printing dock, maybe a space for blogging? ....oh the possibilities are endless! 

Painted white woodwork was really popular..which is a great backdrop for country style AND glam! Or a mixture of both:

Freestanding tubs are a STANDOUT...although this one looks a little "Cold" to me. Please add rugs and some fun accessories...I could see an old wooden ladder leaning against the stone wall for towels!

Just HAD to showcase these hardworking birds...

if my purse had been bigger, they would have come with me! :) (just kidding)

Um, hello! I would be a PRUNE if I had this awesome tub and shower WITH THIS TV!!!

And my children would probably forget what I looked like!

Although, I am not usually a fan of Formal Dining...

I could make an exception if I had a space like this:

The Homebuilder's Association put on a great show this year. Some of my favorite builders were not here this time, but I think the ones that were show a lot of promise as being my new favorites! Homes are getting more practical for the everyday families, even if these are for the extremely wealthy ones...it gives us all inspiration to bring home. Can't wait until next year's tour!!
~Kim