Welcome!

Hey there! I'm starting a new blogging venture here. For those of you who aren't familiar with my current blog, Stamped Silly, it's basically my paper crafting blog, and generally Stampin' Up! products. This blog tho, will be more about my life on the farm in Iowa. I will focus more on raising kids on the farm, a lot more recipes, some gardening, and sometimes an occasional rant!

I live in West Central Iowa. I am married to a typically great guy - he can have his days. And I'm sure if you asked him, I've certainly got mine! We have three children - two boys ages 5 and 3, and a girl age 1. Life is interesting here in Iowa, regardless of public opinion. While some may think that we like to watch the corn grow (and there actually are days I bet you could actually see it grow), we do have much more of a life than that.

I grew up in Iowa - about an hour north of where we currently live. My husband grew up about 7 miles from our house. His dad was born in the house we live in, and they currently own our home. This house has been in the family for many years - probably about 75 years??? Not sure. We live off the beaten path, and I wouldn't have it any other way. We can run naked in the yard if we wanted to. And my kids, well, there are days that they do!

I left my job as an insurance agent a couple of years ago to stay home with our kids. Our very dependable, very loving day care provider moved to another town, and I tried really hard to find a new sitter. But in the long run, it was best to stay home. I was thrilled. I wanted to give my Stampin' Up! business a really good shot, and my boys were getting easier to manage. Two weeks after I left my job, I became pregnant. I had very mixed feelings about it. We'd had some issues before at staying pregnant. I had miscarried several times at about 7 weeks. When I was pregnant with Will (our oldest), my doctor put me on progesterone. It worked. I took progesterone with Alex too (our middle one). I decided NOT to take progesterone with the last pregnancy, leaving it in God's hands. That's how many mixed feelings I had. I was content with two children. A third might distupt my system! And it did. I was tired for 12 weeks. VERY tired. And then, at 13 weeks I had an ultrasound. It was all smooth sailing (for the most part) from there. When Aubrie came into our world, we knew she was definately God's will! She fit in so perfectly with the rest of us.

So, now, here I am. Living the life in Iowa. It's not always easy, it's not always fun. But I can guarantee you that I look back on each day with a smile.

With this blog, I want to share some of the stories with you about the life of This Iowa Farm Girl. Some of the recipes that I create. FYI - I do like to cook. However, with a very limited budget, and the simple fact that I'm here in Iowa, I don't cook with high end products. I don't cook with anything that you can't find at your local grocery store. (I typically shop at Fareway - and if you aren't in the midwest, you probably haven't ever heard of them, but it's a great store! We also have Hy-Vee, and a No-Frills - aka No-thrills!) I don't use bizarre items in my cooking. I do try and cook almost all our meals. I'm not a huge fan of pre-packaged or frozen meals. I don't want to be called a hypocrit, so will admit that we do have chicken nuggets, chicken patties and some Hot Pockets in our deep freeze!

Now, let me state this - I may not be here every day to blog. I would like to be. I'm hoping that this blog will at least help me get some of my stories written down. Hope you won't mind the occassional rant on my hubby, my kids, or any other family members. I do have an opinion about things. And I'm afraid, I will share. Part of the reason for the blog. Like it or not. Don't expect political correctness here either. I'm not. I consider that a freedom of speech.

So, for now, that's all I've got, a brief introduction, some ideas about what's to come. I've got work to do while the kids are napping. And cookies to bake. Which will be the first recipe I think I'll share with you.....