March is here and we are nearly into month 5 of this RV living thing. Our little shop home is coming along, you can follow the progress on our Instagram account: @rustlinghollow, and we are slowly making this new place more “ours”.

Most recently, we have tackled the overwhelming job of clearing brush and junk left over from the previous owner. We are trying to get as much cleared before the real warm-up begins, which will inevitably bring about all kinds of nasty little bugs and slithery creatures. Also, clearing the brush and debris of the land will: 1.)Most importantly, keep my poor husband from contracting “the rash” again and again…he has had a perpetual poison ivy rash since we moved out here. 2.) Most, most importantly – I get my space for my chicken coop/run. Ya’ll knew it wouldn’t be that long before I would find a way to get at least a few chickens. Even the kids are missing them.

Here is a “before” picture of one of the area we worked on…

Here is the “after” picture of the same area…

Life in every other sense of the word is moving along, as life tends to do with or without said permission.  I was watching the kids play a few days ago and I couldn’t help but feel that little tug that sometimes grabs my heart and pulls until I feel a little lump in my throat. The growth, I see it unfolding before me – They are growing up and they are growing to be such great friends. While the growing up piece of it is something I sometimes struggle feeling happy about, the growth in the relationship I see happening amongst them absolutely warms this mother’s heart.

Just as their little selves are growing, so also are the minds. I have one who wants to read everything his little eyes can take in, another who loves to sit and study the pictures of book after book, and one who enjoys sitting all cuddled up by someone while enjoying being read to…especially if it happens to be a dinosaur book. The weather has been particularly lovely, which has been perfect for my little nature explorers/scientists. They can spend hours and hours outside studying, discovering, and constructing various experiments and projects.

Of course, all the outside playing/working has resulted in an extra trip to the laundromat every week. So a once a week chore, has now become a twice a week chore. However, with the weather warming up, I find myself hopeful. There is talk happening between my husband (you know, the guy who is trying to renovate a metal shop into livable space for his family) and myself —- I do believe I have convinced him to build me a clothesline. The washer is an easy hook-up; so having a clothesline available and the weather being nice, my bi-weekly trips to the laundromat with three kids may soon be a thing of the past.

Well, that is all the happenings I have time for sharing this go around… my little crew is starting to getting the tummy grumbles, which means dinner time is right around the corner. So, off I go to figure out what I will be making…since it is 5:00 and all. I need to get back to my weekly menu planning…