Balancing Act

This week is one of those weeks where I feel like my whole life is one great big balancing act and I really hope I don’t lean too far one way and totally mess everything up.  My oldest son came down with a pretty bad ear infection that spiked a considerable fever by Sunday evening.  We had been planning to get the last of the cows and calves processed first thing this week.  I am farm mom first to my two awesome and understanding boys, but I am also a second mom to all of those adorable calves in the pastures.  Those adorable calves are due for their vaccinations so they won’t get sick and die.  I thank God for the awesome grandparents that we have and that we decided to live close to.  My parents knew that we were trying to get the cattle work finished and volunteered whole heartedly to care for my ailing child on Monday.  That was a tough decision, considering he needed a trip to the doctor, but I guess they raised me and I am still here, so I let them care for my poor sick kid for the day.  My wonderful parents took him to the doctor, got his prescriptions filled, and forced him to drink as many fluids as they possibly could during the day.  To me, some days are really difficult in finding that balance of who needs the most assistance at the moment.  I guess I don’t know how moms do it that don’t have the great support team that we have at our fingertips.  If you have some good, work/family balancing tips, please share them with me.

The good news is that the fever has went away, the ear doesn’t seem to be bothering him and he is back to pestering his baby brother and asking me what is for supper.  Since he was feeling better and he couldn’t go back to school, because he had a fever last night, we took off this afternoon and got a couple of lambs to show in 4-H.  This also comes back to the balancing act, because the list of things that will occur this week is absolutely unbelievable.  I won’t even try to cover it all, but I have found that I must make use of every single free moment which is why we took off this afternoon.  The Farmer was where he could spray close to home and did not need water hauled to him. 

Tomorrow, I am very excited that my best friend from college is coming to visit.  She lives in California and we don’t get to see each other very often.  She and her husband farm in California which is very different than the farming in Kansas.  We plan to show them some of Kansas agriculture just like they did the same for us when we visited California.  Our boys are close in age and are so excited to get to play together.

Another place I have a hard time balancing my time is with my volunteer activities.  I have learned in the last two years how to say “NO”, and boy was that hard to learn.  I am also learning to delegate more to others.  Thursday is the PTO Book Fair that I help co-chair.  My co-chair may be ready to get rid of me after this fair.  I have been so busy with the farm that I haven’t been a whole lot of help to her, but she assures me that it is OK as long as I take care of getting people checked out and the financial reports which she loathes.   We are looking forward to an exciting Luau theme and.  We are known for dressing up for the book fair, but no I won’t be in a coconut bra and grass skirt.  In fair’s past, we have had poodle skirts, a clown costume, a tuxedo and Clifford the Big Red Dog.  Balancing all of my activities this week along with keeping The Farmer going may get a little hectic, but boy I will have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the week.  Maybe we can take off the weekend?  LOL

The Farmer’s extended family cam for Easter dinner.  After lunch, we took them all for a tour of a piece of the farm.  I was asked how we get the cattle to the pens that we usually work at.  Here are a few pictures of the cows headed back to the green grass in the pasture after everyone received their vaccinations.  The dogs do a great job keeping the cattle moving and usually don’t bite a cow unless she attacks them first. 

And yes we are still waiting on the boy’s heifer to calve.  Here she is:

If you have any questions, about anything I have said or want to know more about something in agriculture, please let me know.  A Kansas Farm Mom