Get out of the mire!

April 26 2010 If the blasted Ox would just get out of the mire we might be able to clean this mess up!!!!

Yes septic problems continue to rule the roost. While nothing has entered into the house again we have been searching for our septic tanks…note the plural form of the word tank. Jon spent much time digging and yelling for me to run around and flush everything so as to perhaps hear the elusive tank. We borrowed a little bobcat backhoe from our neighbor and finally found a pipe line. Jon and our neighbor Mike dug and dug and dug. Finally after much toil and questionable language emitting from the mouth of the EQP not to mention Rain, Jon found the tank. And in doing so Ripped a good size hole out of it…and broke the pipe to the drain field…oops. Guess where the elusive tank was buried….Right under a HUGE pine tree. What idiot planted a tree directly on top of the tank!?!?! The weight of the huge tree…any guesses as to why it was so huge and healthy?… Was crushing the tank. So now in order to fix.. Ahem… replace the smashed tank requires a chainsaw before the project can continue. I have been band from using my Bathroom and am now required to descend to the basement for all bathroom activities. (I refuse to use the bathroom on the main floor. While we are thankful for Hunter’s potty training success he is still a very poor aim) When the huge tree is cut down and removed we shall have a very big bonfire and you are all invited to bring your own hotdogs and roasting sticks…and a shovel. Then we will be able to finish digging out the crushed like a tin can tank… and then somehow we plan on dragging it out of the hole and putting a new tank in the said hole, next we will have to replace the drain field pipe which was ripped in half courtesy of Jon and then we will fill in the hole with some “roughed up dirt” It was earth day this last week I feel a need to plant a tree. I have a good idea where I will NOT plant one. However, some grass seed is now on my shopping list for this next week.
In other news Wyatt has sprouted two new teeth. Pictures on my blog show his smile with just the two opposite teeth. I called him my Hillbilly baby for two weeks but now his Tennessee Teeth are beginning to even out and he looks less and less like he in two tacos short of a combination plate. Wyatt is also a bit of a inch worm and is moving around the floor little bits at a time he is also developed a great love for tearing up paper and has got to a few books and magazines that now are a bit rumpled and chewed on. I do not have much longer before I am truly in trouble with the messes Wyatt will make.
Erica has NOT been doing well in school since Spring break. After three weeks of falling test scores her teacher called me in and we met with the principal and discussed her grades and behaviors. The end result is we are going to have her repeat Kindergarten this next school year. This will put her in the same class as Elena and Caleb, but Lyndsay, Wesley, Andrew and Mckay will be ahead of her. Which is fine. I think if I tried to push her forward into first grade I would be setting her up to fail.
This week we added 28 laying hens to our menagerie of pets at the Woodin Nickel. The birds were up in Howe Idaho and the boy who had them wanted to start some new chicks. His dad told him he had to sell some of his full grown birds to make room for the new chicks. He Sold us the birds for $2.50 a bird! There were many many people who wanted to buy the birds for that price but nobody wanted to drive clear out to Howe Idaho to get them. Kind of like no one wants to drive clear out to Kimama. But Jon woke the boys up early on Saturday and they Borrowed Fred’s truck with the camper shell and drove the two hours out there and picked up the birds and brought them home… Anybody want to buy some farm fresh eggs. I’ll make you a deal!
Speaking of deals If anyone wants a few Tomato, Pepper, or Cucumber plants from my green house Let me know and I’ll make you a deal on those as well. I might sell some flowers too but I am not sure how many of those I’m willing to let go. And Fred has got A LOT of Cabbage starts in the green house as well. If you talk to him I’m sure that he might let you get a few or half a dozen from him.
I have continued to Lose Marbles but I am getting better at keeping them in my marble jar and My children are getting a bit better at keep a hold of their Marbles as well. In the end if the Marble jars work I may not Lose my marbles.
Hunters speech evaluation was: HE qualifies for any and all Speech therapy. The question now is what program do we try to get him into. OF late though he is adding about a word a day and really trying to make the sounds. HE came running into the house the other day and very clearly said “Will on Road!” And sure enough William had escaped and was out on the road AGAIN!!! Just hanging out on the road AGAIN!!! That Boy of late will hang out by the door waiting for an opportunity to escape OUT to the great outdoors. He reminds me of how the Cat waits on the other side of the door waiting for a chance to come IN!
I don’t Know if I mentioned in Past letters that Stiles Achieved and was awarded he WOLF in the scouting program. HE was also awarded 3 arrow points. Most of which he earned courtesy of living here on the Woodin Nickel. This home has been such a blessing to us in so many ways. The biggest is that it is given us many opportunities to teach our children about hard work and responsibility. I hope Marcus can start “LEARNING” those lessons soon. HE likes to hide when it is time to work. Reminds me a bit of Crystal. Anyway… I think that for the most part you are up to date on the majority of the goings on of the Woodin Nickel. I am thankful for all that I have been blessed with even if it feels like the OX is ALWAYS in the Mire. One day all of my Little OX’s will grow up and move away and take their mire with them but then I have this funny feeling that they will bring their own little bits of mire back home with them. But I’ll just try to clean it up…like always…hey were is a washcloth and about a gallon of disinfectant?

Love Monica and the “HERD” Wallowing at the Woodin Nickel.