East Coast F'Lakers

Just a Day like any other

2012-01-31T09:10:00.001-05:00

Many mothers say "There is nothing typical in my day" with a house full of kids. I have a few routines but typical is not a word I'd use describing any busy family home. Typical is just too ridiculous. It assumes a routine, similarity, unchanging. I think to myself 'That is not representative of my home' but it is. We have our typical just like you have your typical. My typical varies as does yours. We have crazy days, we have busy days, and we have just days.

Dad is the first to wake leaving to face the dread of traffic by 6:40am. The big girls wake up at different times to prepare themselves for school. Leah our 6th grader has to depart the house by 7:30am to catch her bus. She wakes when the day is dark and the house is quiet, usually a little before her father walks out the door. Together they share quiet conversation paired with some banging around in the kitchen. Laughter and soft conversations filter their way upstairs. I often make my way downstairs shortly after Leah's alarm clock goes off and certainly after that laughter has gotten too loud. In my typical librarian fashion I greet them with a "shhh! the baby still sleeps" while they look at me innocently as if they we quiet as church mice all along. The kitty, Lincoln is always awake in the early morning hours. He is hopeful that someone else will be duped into feeding him a second or third breakfast. Unfortunately for him we are on to his greedy tummy and he is often ignored until he is shooed outside. Variation comes in the form of the sleeping baby. Some days she is up at 6:30am to see her Daddy off. Other days she wakes in time to see her biggest sister walk out the door. And very infrequently she wakes only to see Olivia off. Olivia being a 4th grader who walks to school has the most time to prepare for her day. The short walk to school gives her plenty of time to be ready to arrive at school by 9am. She rises at varied times too. Our resident night owl she will sometimes sleep in until 8am.

Through this all I buzz around the kitchen and living room doing various household tasks. Helping pack lunches, breakfast cooking, baby distracting, laundry folding, and general tidying up. All around me the people I love are moving around doing this or doing that filling me in on their day. Conversations of new games they invented, tasks that need to be done, meetings to attend, friends they want to visit, books they recently read, birds they see outside, and everything in between spill from them. The whirlwind of my mornings seeing them off is replaced by silence.

With the quiet house to ourselves the baby and I get on with our together time. She scoots around looking for little things that lurk under the tables. Taking advantage of her distraction I work diligently through my chores. I could have 10 minutes or 20 minutes to complete something on my daily list. Once she become upset we will sit together on the floor and play cars or draw. As the minutes tick away we find new distractions to pass the time. I steal away every so often to squeeze in another task hoping that she won't miss me much. Lunch comes around and then nap time. While she slumbers I take on the bigger chores working quickly so that I may have 10 minutes to knit a few rows of her little sweater. Lesson plans and bills, laundry and mopping they rotate through the week until they are complete. Oh, we can't forget a little morning snuggle time with Lincoln.

As the afternoon arrives the littlest one wakes ready for a snack. She munches away as I consult the pantry getting the final ingredients set aside for supper. If the sun is shining and the wind is not fierce we will take a short walk around outside. The fresh air and prospect of seeing dogs makes Adelynn happy. Refreshed from our walk we will go about more playing. Maybe kicking the soccer ball, pushing our wooden cars around, or mixing up a bowl of beans and pom-pons. As the late afternoon sun shines in through the front door Adelynn will play in there waiting for her girls to come home. I take advantage of those minutes to knit while she plays in on that rug. Eagerly she sits watching all the kids walk past our home searching for those happy faces she loves so very much. Squeals of delight clue me in that Leah is home. A burst of loud "hellos" and baby giggles tell me yes, yes she is home. Minutes later another big "hello" and another round of laughter tell me that all my girls are home. Chatter fills the house. Everyone is talking the baby is eager to babble about her day too. Smiles on those bright faces bring the cheerfulness home.

The evening hours bring with us homework, play, and practice. Homework is done while Adelynn seeks their attention. Curious she searches through their papers eager to work on her own assignments. Mama in the kitchen I begin to prepare our supper. As each school girl completes her lessons the first done will take Adelynn to the basement playroom. Supper simmers or bakes I continue to finish any incomplete chores. We take our meal together talking of our day and things to come. We clear the table and clean up finally shutting off the kitchen light. Leah will make her way to the sitting room to practice her viola. Olivia and Adelynn will romp around the basement making up games. I rest a moment listening to Leah's music knitting a little more. Soon Dad will be home eager for a late supper and many kisses from all his girls.

The bedtime round up begins with more laughter and general loud noise. Chasing the kids around the house cause quite a commotion. Baths are rotated and pajamas put on. Teeth to brush and kisses to give. Tucked in bed they giggle a little bit longer sharing the details of their day to Dad. I am rocking a tired baby to sleep knowing that my time holding this little girl in my arms is growing short. Soon she will be chased around to bed telling her Dad her stories being tucked in with his big strong arms. The house is quiet we are all in bed the soft purr of the cat at my feet can be heard. To sleep we go eager for another day just like any other to begin tomorrow.

Lessons

2012-01-27T18:49:00.001-05:00

This week I have learned that......

If a game does not involve some sort of physical injury then it's just not a fun one.

Practicing your viola often is worth it come concert day.

Gymnastics mats are never going to not fun.

It seems like snow is going to pass us by this year.

Still sleeving

2012-01-25T12:34:00.000-05:00

Sleeving, I think that's a great verb to describe knitting sleeves. Because that's what I am doing; still furnishing this sweater with its sleeves. I have completed the left sleeve. What a triumph it is to have it done. It was the tricky side of the kimono and I was worried that it would end up looking wonky. Wonky it is not. The sleeve knitted up nicely. I am pleased with the color sequence too. I do love this yarn's color spectrum. There is just one partial sleeve to complete and this sweater is finished. Finished! Oh what joy that will be to have a new sweater for little Adelynn. I began it nearly a year ago and am so determined to complete it under a year's time. That's saying a lot. If you would peek into my various working baskets you would see several projects years and years old. I promised myself I would make a serious effort to close out all those unfinished things. Scarves, leg warmers, mittens, hats, doll sweaters, toys, everything lurking in the bottom of those baskets.

My problem is I just keep finding such great NEW projects to distract me. I will prevail in spite of myself. I must make a significant effort to liberate those hostage needles and yarn from their unfinished prison. More needles and yarn mean more new things to try. That said I need to finish this sleeving. Then I can move on to figuring out how this sweater is going to fit my petite baby girl. The pattern calls for adding two ties to the front. Simple ties that would be fantastic if my girls were not so slight in body size. My solution is I need to treat this kimono like a kimono and secure the sides in robe like fashion. Ties just won't work very well. Maybe a belt? No. That just sounds unfitting. Buttons I think. Lots of pretty buttons. For those buttons I'll need to cleverly think of placement in relation to function. All good thinks to consider while I continue sleeving.

Lessons

2012-01-20T19:30:00.000-05:00

This week I have learned that......

Sixteen month old girls are such a lovely blessing.

Toddler chatter is hilarious to listen to while you are knitting.

Race cars and my Adelynn are quite a pair.

I do love that little bum scooting she does, oh so cute.

I love hearing the viola after supper.

Knitting updates

2012-01-16T20:53:00.000-05:00

To keep my mind off of the wisdom tooth pain I have been knitting like mad on Adelynn's kimono sweater. I am bound AND determined to get this sweater finished by the end of the month. I will not allow this sweater to end up like that failed pink nightmare I was making for Olivia. That poorly sized wrong yarn for the pattern sweater was a hopeless project from the start. I have learned from my mistakes and will make my Olivia a sweater that will be a success. I just need to find a pattern for her. I'm for cardigans. They are much less work!

While I ponder that I am already looking to the next baby sweater to knit. Tiny Tea Leaves is my next project for Adelynn. I am going to cast on in a size 4 so that I have the time to work on it while I work on something for Olivia. I'm thinking that maybe a shrug is more for Olivia but I should consult her opinion. I'd hate to get started on something only to discover that she wants something quite simple and easy.

Leah has been quite pleased with her Hermoine hat. She loves it to death. Although it is not the warmest of hats on blustery days it is the perfect hat to wear on a cold day. I think that I'll make myself one that pattern is quite pretty. I still need to get a hat made for the littlest one. Correction knit a hat that she will wear. Last winter she wore any hat no problem. Now that she is a toddler and well aware of her head and being able to take control what is placed on it those hats just don't last long. I may not find a hat that's right for her. She has made it very clear that she prefers to be hat free. There is always next year.

Lessons

2012-01-13T12:10:00.000-05:00

This week I have learned that......

An unexpected snow sure makes your week brighter, especially if you love snow.

In Virginia we get one day snow. There one day and melted before lunch the next day.

Kitty is not quite sure what to do when it snows.

Birds will tell you when the snow is on its way. They will cluster around your feeders filling up on food as frantically as possible.

15 month old girls are absolutely wonderful.

Be You!

2012-01-11T13:44:00.000-05:00

I found this sign at a local discount store. $10.00 spent and it was mine. I could not resist snatching it up. After months of being stashed under our couch to be hung later I decided to get it out. It now hangs in our family room. The absolute best place for such a sign. We welcome our family, friends, and guests with a plain statement that sums up our outlook. It's the perfect family motto. In times of distress I have looked upon it and felt how significant that simple sentence is for a growing family.

Being judged daily is difficult. Am I a good mother? Did I remember to be considerate of others? Have I respected my family and friends? Do I love enough? All things to consider just by reading this one sentence every day.

The other night we girls were sitting on the rug in the family room each doing something different. Olivia sitting to my right staring up towards the ceiling asked about that sign. Where did I find it, why did I hang it up, and why is it in the family room. Before answering her list of questions I had one for myself. I asked her how does that sign make her feel. I asked that she think about that a moment while I answered her questions.

She told me she likes it and just can't figure out why. Reading it out loud she finished by saying she was not quite sure what it meant. She knew it was good that it was something important but it just was not completely clear. That Dr. Seuss can be a bit tricky with his word play. So to make it easier I broke it down for her.

My explanation of this sentence ended up becoming a conversation about the beauty of confidently being yourself. The comfort of being secure in your quirks and opinions knowing that when you come home you will always be wrapped in love. We girls talked of how as you grow in age that more people will begin to see you in a judgmental way. How that judging can become difficult in the hands of rude people. So difficult at times that it will make you feel terrible about the you you have become. I wanted my girls to know that no matter how strange, weird, odd, etc, people say they are that when they walk in our door all Mom and Dad have to offer is absolute adoration and love. We love our girls for the beautiful gals they are and for the spectacular women they will become.

It's just that simple. One sentence. One significant sentence.

Thank you Dr. Seuss.

Reflecting on Christmas with a 15 month old

2012-01-07T19:15:00.000-05:00

I have forgotten what Christmas was like with a little one in the house. Those things we see and do are much different with a baby around. Adelynn reminded us of the wonder, the importance, the comfort of traditions. We enjoy decorating the house as do most families. There is just something spectacular about a festive home during Christmas that makes me smile. Each year we bring out those boxes and love placing those things around the house. Whereas our placement of those decorations vary every year the same things are there to remind us of our Christmas.

I wonder what Adelynn will remember. Next Christmas she will be 2 and I wonder what will be the thing that becomes close to her heart. What will speak to her? Will she remember how she loved to play with those ornaments? How fascinated she was with removing an ornament to replace it a branch lower on the tree. How those ornaments sounded when put inside a bucket and rattled around. Will she love to jingle the bells dangling from ribbon next year? I expect each year to bring new discoveries.

I am thinking of the things she might enjoy seeing again but I should be thinking of the what she did. Of the what she will do. I will fondly remember how she would scoot behind the Christmas tree settle into that corner and play. I'll laugh to think of the way pine needles were stuck to her clothes from being in her nook all morning. Her wooden toy bus with the little peg people being pushing under those low branches. A bell jingling as she moves around in her corner brushing against numerous branches. Piles of ornaments scattered around the tree. Some knocked off as she moved around playing others removed with the intention of being hung on a different branch only to be forgotten for some other fun thing to do.

I'll remember how she would wrap herself in those soft white lace curtains playing peek-a-boo with anyone within eyesight. Letting those curtains run through her fingers as she watches them float around. Hiding behind the curtains being invisible for a moment. The moment when she would just sit there, quiet, silently enjoying her little nook all to herself perfectly happy.

I'll never forget those adorable little grins as I caught her trying to peek in a present or two. She knew she was up to something. With tiny fingers delicately pulling back at the wrapping paper knowing that something fantastic was hidden beneath. And me being constantly impressed with her patience when she was told "Not now dear, these are for later" as she watch me mend those torn packages.

I'll remember that after breakfast it was time to put the Wise Men from the Little People nativity set in the school bus so that she could scoot them all over the house. I'll note seeing several stacking dolls being lined up on the edge of the coffee table. There will be a half eaten cookie laying on the floor next to her and both hands full of crayons as she is diligently scribbling in her drawing book.

After lunch she will remind me that she would like a bite of a peppermint patty knowing how wonderful they are to eat. And me waiting for her to exhale shortly after finishing that bite to release that pepperminty kick. Both of us giggling because we just shared a treat together.

As the sun has set and the end of supper closes in we'll all remember how Adelynn loved to blow out the Advent candles. From her high chair she would blow as hard as she could to get those candles snuffed out. As the days turned into weeks we simply allowed her to have a turn just like the big girls. I'll remember how in her tiny hand she was able to hold the candle snuffer with such control that we would pause and remark about how amazing this little baby is. She will clap her little hands pleased with her success knowing that she did a good job just like the big girls.

When the house is quiet the after supper time of relaxing sets in Adelynn will want to dance. She will want to sit next to the dancing Santa watching him jiggle around. She will remind me how cute and wonderful it was to join in by pumping her chubby arms up and down to the beat of Jingle Bell Rock. I will never tire of that song because it made that baby so happy to watch that silly Santa dance.

The little things she found amusing those are the decorations of Christmas.

Lessons

2012-01-06T12:10:00.000-05:00

This week I have learned that......

Having surgery is the only way Mama can get some decent sleep.

My baby is a Mama's girl. Oh how she missed her Mama Tuesday.

Kitty cannot sleep without being loved by the baby. He has learned to accept the tough love.

I'm glad only 2 wisdom teeth were taken, 4 at once must be terrible!

2012 Randomosity

2012-01-04T20:21:00.001-05:00

We welcomed in the new year very mildly. I managed to stay up until 10:30pm on New Year's Eve enjoying some bubbly watching Much Ado About Nothing with the Mister. I know, what a part pooper I am! It's just too much for me to stay up that late knowing I was going to get up to nurse my Adelynn 3 times during the night. I figure what was the point to ring in the New Year watching the ball drop on TV when all I wanted to do was sleep. Interestingly our neighborhood was very quiet. Considering years of crazy parties and fireworks I was very surprised with the quiet entrance of the new year. Suspicious almost.

I actually prefer it quiet and gentle. We have the whole year to be rowdy. Letting the year begin quietly makes for a more delightful start. Our day at home was spent playing with Legos, movie watching, and taking down the live tree, which wasn't much alive any more. We have kept the artificial tree in our front room up to last the duration of the 12 days of Christmas. The cat finds nap time refuge under its boughs. Adelynn still enjoys decorating and un-decorating the lower branches. I need to stack up our Advent books labeling them with the dates for the next Advent season. This year I mean it! I will wrap those books before I pack them away for the year.

I spent Monday afternoon with Leah working on her family history project. We talked about traditions that have been a part of our families. While she read and I prepared a HUGE pan of lasagna I answered questions she had about my family. There were plenty of things to discuss and we could have talked for days just pondering on the past. She still needs a few more gaps to fill in this week but I think so far she is doing quite well with information. She needs to write a paper, fill out a genealogy chart, and map showing the migration of the family. We will then gather up some extras to put together a fab display for her presentation. This is going to be a great project and she will get a dynamite grade.

Olivia will begin Spring soccer pre-season training this weekend. She has been missing her teammates so much. I'm thankful that she enjoys spending time with all those gals. They really are a great bunch of girls which is why I think that this is such a strong team. We'll see how this season goes for those hard working girls. When she is not thinking about soccer she has been playing with her American Girl doll. She has been thoroughly interested in the historical side of her doll. Wonderful! We need to get that history fire lit inside that girl. Olivia has been full of all sorts of stories about her doll, Kit. Kit is from the 1930s in Cincinnati, Ohio. Olivia watch the movie at a friend's house and has been fully obsessed with the doll. I think we need to get her the books so that she can do some more reading.

Adelynn's leg has healed 100%! She is growing her boned straight and strong. We will return to double check that leg in April. I hope she keeps ups the good straight bone growth. She was given the all clear for working on walking. That is certainly the goal. Get her going. She is in need of mobility that will allow her to keep up with those big sisters outside. She has been fascinated with her little soccer ball. She scoots around the floor kicking that ball all over. I wonder what she will be like once she is walking. If she keeps up her soccer fixation she may be the family ringer. I know Olivia will be working with Adelynn to get her into soccer stardom! We shall see.

I had to have 2 wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday. They were causing too many problems for my upper jaw. One tooth was slightly decayed. Not my fault. It was poorly located in the very back in such a way that no matter how well I brush my teeth that tooth was not going to be a long term tooth. I just decided to allow them to remain until they had to go. Go they went. My right side must have been an easy tooth to remove because I have no pain on that side of my face. It's tender of course but I would not have known anything was done if that unmistakable gap wasn't there. Now with a puffy left side of my face I'm just waiting to get back to normal. The left tooth must have been a sassy one. It is giving me the most pain. I've been icing it and keeping hydrated. I'm trying not to have to use the BIG drugs relying on just Tylenol or Advil but tonight I might need to take a stronger medication. I just hate taking anything knowing that Adelynn is still nursing. I wasn't given anything different from what I had after the c-section but still....I prefer to keep what I can out of her system. Perhaps a milkshake is in my future for tomorrow.

We got a dusting of snow last night. Always exciting to see we hoped for more than that hardly noticeable amount of snow. It's not very promising for us to get much XC skiing in this season. We are hoping for a decent late season storm to dump a ton of snow in West Virginia. Just one big snow wold make a world of difference to this snow loving family. I'd love to see Adelynn in her snow pants and puffy coat, what adorableness that would be! Me I love me some snowmaggedon. Nothing better than being home with a pot of soup simmering on the stove and plentiful snow falling all around. Love, love, love, it. Maybe we will have some when we visit our family in the mountains.

Lessons

2011-12-30T10:30:00.000-05:00

This week I have learned that......

15 month olds want to do things for themselves.

I need to embrace my little baby girl's desire to be more independent.

Having play dates with dear friends makes my big girls so very happy.

We have made it around the Sun one more time! Wow a year has past already.

I don't pause enough to enjoy these moments when my girls are little. They go by so quickly.

This morning

2011-12-29T09:30:00.000-05:00

The neighborhood dogs are barking with such excitement that I know it is the result of my ridiculous kitten Lincoln prancing about in front of them. That cat is quite the trouble maker around those dogs. Our neighbors use one of those invisible fence products to keep their dogs in their yard. It's a fantastic product. If we had a dog we would likely use it too. It certainly keeps your yard open and allows for easier mowing. The downside are cats. Little trouble making cats who know that those dogs are being retained by an invisible border. Well at the very least Lincoln is keeping busy and the neighbor's dogs are feeling important!

While Lincoln is busy keeping the dogs occupied our neighbors from some where behind us is doing something very noisy. Building something I suppose. Or perhaps it's just making noise for the sake of making noise. We have plenty of those kind of guys in this area. I think it might be some Daddies trying out new toys, err, I mean power tools. So long as it's not that one guy who likes to get the leaf blower out for hours on end I'm fine with the noise. Who leaf blows their yard at 8pm at night? Who would do that? What kind of person thinks that is the best time to get yard work done? The kind of person who has too many flood lights on the backside of their house and crazy routines that's who.

The big girls have been mostly quiet this morning. That is until the races began. The annual sleeping bag stairs race has begun. Every morning there have been what I am calling the qualifications. Those girls have been fine tuning their speed and endurance down the basement steps. It just makes my body hurt watching them. Not the morning activity I was hoping to hear at 7am but at least they are busy.

Adelynn is cooing to herself in her crib. It's a comforting noise to hear. She has been having some difficulties sleeping at night. Instead of getting teeth in a few at a time, say starting 6 months ago, she is getting them all caught up now. 5 teeth at once. Yes. That is 5, one, two, three, four, five. FIVE. Four on her lower jaw and one on the upper jaw. Even with a little meds she has been waking up too often. Often equivalent to newborn sleep patterns. Not that Adelynn has been the very best sleeper of all. No. She is not. That award is still around the neck of our reigning champion, Olivia, who was by far the very best sleeper of the three. At Adelynn's age (15 months) Olivia would reach for her crib at bedtime. No fussing not one complaint. She was serious about her sleep. Adelynn is a nice mixture of her sisters sleep patterns. When she's out she sound asleep. If she is the least bit awake there is a long road ahead of convincing her to go back to sleep. I digress....So she had a rough night again. It's going on three weeks of rough nights. I'm feeling like a truck has run me down this week. Her teeth with my teeth ugh. I'm sick of teeth that's what. While hers are coming in two of mine are coming out.

I need to get 2 wisdom teeth removed. They are causing all sorts of problems and it's time to get 'em outta there. My eviction notice will be implemented on Tuesday. Those teeth get to live it up for a few more days. I'm glad because one of them has been a little sassy. So sassy it's painful. I hope that troublesome tooth gets yanked out first. Once the surgery is complete I need to set up an orthodontist appointment for Leah and me. We both have to get our underbite issues fixed. Hers is less disastrous compared to mine. Nonetheless it will not be the best fun ever. Although it will be a long process in the end we will both have some good looking teeth.

Now I hear Adelynn making her frustrated noises. That means she is ready to get going for the day. Time to get her dressed and fed so that she can kick that soccer ball around the house.

Nourish the baby

2011-12-27T10:25:00.002-05:00

I have been breastfeeding Adelynn for 15 months strong. These past 3 months we have been slowing down. It's the natural progression of weaning her from my milk. She loves nursing. I love it too. We get to spend a few minutes just the two of us snuggling together in quiet calm. Even though in regards to her nourishment she is relying on food more than my milk she still requires that emotional connection of the breastfeeding. When she's having a lousy mood I know it's time for her and I to get an attitude adjustment. A re-set as we call it. It's amazing to see how a fussy dare I say angry toddler can completely change her attitude after 10 minutes of nursing. Where she was once grouchy and crying she becomes cheerful and giggly, even charming. That is the amazingness of that bond you create with your baby. Those few minutes convey to your baby that there is love and tenderness just for her. You are taking that time just for her to comfort that need of hunger for security.

Because our nursing frequency has diminished I have been faced with the pains associated with that change. I have been experiencing severe pain in my breast and was wondering what may have caused it to be so pronounced. Completely sore all over which makes those times when I nurse Adelynn painful. That is never good. At first I thought it was from her biting me. Darn those teeth! But when the pain lasted more than a day I was suspicious that it had to be something other than a nibbling nursing baby. Especially when the pain was not isolated to the point of contact. The pain is concentrated in the line of the milk duct for sure. I think that if I didn't know otherwise I'd say someone punched me in the boob. I continued to push through the pain next thinking it was a result of her sucking causing some blistering. It's happened before, only that was when she was a newborn. My pain has not been the result of an abrasion blister, but I was close in my assessment. It's a milk blister. Ouch! And possibly a blocked milk duct. Double ouch! I just feel bruised and very sore. After I figured out the problem I'm feeling better. It has been a painful 4 days though. I didn't know what was wrong other than I had major discomfort when Adelynn nursed. Good news: after following the treatment suggestions I'm feeling better. The pain is less (yay!) and I'm feeling more willing to nurse without dread. Good thing I kept nursing her even though that pain was terrible. Despite that pain that was exactly the thing to do to help dislodge that blocked duct. That's the problem with blocked milk ducts you don't want to nurse but you have to so that the duct can get cleared out and back to normal. I never had these problems with my other babies, so I guess it was about time to experience some problems.

Now that I have determined the solution I'm going to be able to look forward to nursing her more. Another suggestion of the treatment is to nurse more frequently to keep the milk duct flowing. I'll have to dig out my pump to get that breast emptied so that the blister won't return. If only I could remember what I did with it.....hmmmm...haven't seen that pump in months.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T13:58:00.000-05:00

Morning from behind the tree

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Lessons

2011-12-23T16:30:00.000-05:00

This week I have learned that......

One more day is not enough to get SO much done.

Looking at a lit Christmas tree in my living room at night is peaceful.

Babies love to seek little spots hidden behind a beautiful Christmas tree.

Even the kitten has been enjoying the loveliness of sleeping under a Christmas tree.

Giving away countless cookies from our kitchen to our neighbors is a tradition I love.

Christmas corners of my home

2011-12-21T13:11:00.000-05:00

The Stockings are hung....

2011-12-17T13:14:00.000-05:00

Lessons

2011-12-17T12:02:00.000-05:00

This week I have learned that....

There is no such thing as too many cookies in our house.

Unfortunately my waistline disagrees with that statement above.

Getting packages of delicious home made goodies is such a wonderful treat!

One more week to prepare for Christmas hardly seems long enough.

Tiny shoes

2011-12-15T09:30:00.000-05:00

I love that her feet are so tiny. That her shoes are still small enough to fit inside mine. That her little toes wiggle to the beat of music. Simple things are the memories we keep.

10 days of knitting to go

2011-12-14T13:40:00.002-05:00

In 10 days I need to have about 100 things done. I'm not the only one. I share this insanity with several people all over the planet. Most of my things to do will be left undone. And, I'm ok with that. Really I am. I have come to realize that for an over achiever like me even I can't do EVERYTHING. So I have to ask myself what are the things I must do. Those I will make the time to finish. The next category is want to do things. That group is jam packed full of all kinds of knitted lovelies that will mostly be left half way complete.

At this point I have to get one knitted project done. Leah's Hermoine hat has been on my must give it to her by Christmas priority list. I should have been done with it weeks and weeks ago but my free time has been not as I expected. At any rate that hat will be done and it will be beautifully wrapped and under the tree by Christmas Eve. I wanted to complete Leah's yellow lace scarf too. It's 2/3 complete and unlikely to make it under the tree. I have been putting this project off for years. It's one of those fab projects where I chose the wrong yarn. The color is perfect. The yarn itself not so much. It's texture makes for a slower knitting process and it really annoys me for some reason. Despite that annoyance I have told myself that I met get that scarf complete for the current winter season. Perhaps by New Year's day. There is another scarf for her too. A more practical one made from acrylic meant to be a perfect ski scarf. That one is half done and was never an exciting project. Getting it done is just something I need to do so that I can get those needles out of my project basket. Besides with XC skiing just weeks away she's going to need a nice cosy scarf to wrap around her face. The mindlessness of that scarf has prevented me from working on it. I do like a knitting challenge. I just have to dig it out and set it by the TV so I can get a few rows done every day. Better yet I could just show Leah how to knit again and she can finish it. That would be an awesome solution.

Not to leave Olivia out of the knitty fun I planned to make her a purple cabled hat. Purple being her new favorite color I thought it would be fun to make her something different. She loves my knitted hats and by now she has several to choose from. I doubt this hat will be under the tree by Christmas but perhaps before the end of the XC ski season.

Adelynn needs more hats. Hats she won't wear. Hats she needs to wear. For her I have 3 partially knitted. All different and all experiments in new patterns. I just need to make a commitment and get one finished so that she will have one to wear by Christmas. My problem with her hats has been sizing misjudgments. The few I have made were too small. I think the reason for my misjudgment has to do with making so many infant sized hats for her last season. Now that she is in toddler land I need to adjust my mind around the growing girl she is now. Her hats take a day to make so those sizing mistakes just end of being my gift hats for new mothers.

Instead of fussing about what I need to do I need to get to it! Here goes my needles clickity-clack clickity-clack.

Being clean is too expensive

2011-12-12T19:37:00.000-05:00

The girls asked me what I wanted for Christmas the other day. I hardly think about things I want so I had a hard time coming up with ideas. I knew that they were looking for hints for Keith too, although he is pretty excellent at coming up with great ideas.

I thought a moment and told them I wanted girls who will clean up after themselves and be willing to do tasks without being told repeatedly to do them.

Both responded "Awwww, Mom. We can't give you that!"

I pointed out that what I want is free.

Olivia summed up the answer: "Yeah, but that's too hard for us to do EVERY day."

And I thought I what I requested would be easy for them to afford!

Lessons

2011-12-09T19:43:00.000-05:00

This week I have learned that.....

A week can get away from you before you realize it.

Little Lady A CANNOT eat and roam. She must eat at the table. What a messy mess she is with food.

Wisdom teeth have a short lifespan. Mine get a 17 year run before needing to get yanked out.

2 new teeth will make such a nice baby turn into a really unfriendly person.

Peppermint patties are a family favorite.

This and That and Something Else

2011-12-08T10:43:00.000-05:00

Between the busy tasks of my day I am bossed around by the smallest dictator living in our home. I kid, I kid, she's not so much of a dictator as she is a persuasive taskmaster. Adelynn paired with her strong arm guy, Lincoln, keep me busy all day. I think it's difficult now. I know that once she begins walking there will be far more chaos than I can handle. Toddler-hood has become the new lifestyle. While I feel that she is quite the demanding gal I know that she is just having fun exploring the house. We've been having some issues though. It seems that this delightful little girl really enjoys picking at little things. She likes to pull the pin out of the storm door piston. That makes for a fantastic game of "Did the baby eat the door pin" which so far has been a negative. Good thing she just tosses that pin aside to find something else to pull apart. This past week she has become fond of tasting the Christmas ornaments and decorations. Very strange. The Advent book tree has been a challenge. Adelynn just likes to help herself to opening up books. I think she will be a pro at opening presents by Christmas. Candy canes are a hit with her. She discovered them by accident and has become very addicted to the candy. I can expect her to work hard at trying to reach those candy canes up high on the tree. Busy, busy, busy that's what I'll be keeping this baby from getting into those treats.

We have more cookie dough to make this weekend. I hope to get it finished up by next week but knowing how my weeks have been getting away from me....well I'll just hope for the best. The big girls have been enjoying friends and the last reasonable days of warm weather. Soccer training has been taken indoors keeping Olivia busy on the weekends. Leah has been studying geography to prepare for the next level of the school geography bee. We hope that she can keep up the good work.

Fall afternoon

2011-12-05T16:56:00.001-05:00

A few shots taken before Thanksgiving.

Lessons

2011-12-02T11:35:00.001-05:00

This week I have learned that......

Baby bones grow super fast.

Having a cast removed makes such a difference to a little baby girl. And her family!

Lunch with a little boy is fascinating especially when he is excited to play with Adelynn.

Long division is a hurdle that we are slowly getting over.

Peg a peg

2011-12-01T20:30:00.000-05:00

Mischief has returned to our house and it's name is Adelynn. The cast gone from her leg has given her mobility back. No longer cautious with a bound up leg she has been taking full advantage of the ability to use both of her legs to scoot around. Still scooting she is getting around fine, almost too fine, downright speedy I'd say.

A full day later and you would never have known she was injured. Moving around the house with such speed she is making up for all that lost time. She has been exploring every corner she had been unable to visit during her cast confinement. This self entertainment has been helpful for me. I've been able to toss a load of laundry in the washer, grab a bite to eat or even use the restroom without her panicking about my location. And, that, that my dears is a world of difference for me and the household. While Adelynn is getting herself reacquainted with the corners of our home I've been frantically catching up on all that housework I've been putting off. There is loads to do but I don't expect it all to be complete tomorrow. That's an impossible expectation. I just need to get back into the routine of buzzing around the house cleaning while she is motoring around the living room. Those weeks off entertaining a baby has put me in all sorts of wonky.

Earlier today I was cleaning the kitchen as Adelynn was playing with her nativity set. In the afternoon I like to leave our front door open to take advantage of the sunshine to warm the living up. That sun is just the perfect angle to blast the front of our house with some free heat. In addition I just like having the door open for when the big girls come home from school. It just seems more welcoming to them to have that door open especially on sunny days. Adelynn enjoys looking out the door too. She likes to watch the birds and trees and sometimes that kitty who likes to sleep on the porch. While I was busy cleaning I kept hearing this strange noise. Something metallic. Very weird. I set my sponge down to peek around the corner towards the living room. Adelynn had abandoned her nativity set and was sitting in front of the door. Her little legs folded up in front of her toes wiggling. That is her concentration position. She was fingering something on the lower part of the door. I approached the door and heard a loud "plink" noise. Clapping her hands she turned towards me to show me her victory. She had pulled the pin/peg out of the storm door closer.

And then it all made sense. I noticed yesterday that the door seemed to open and close easier when I went to get the mail. I discovered that pin/peg was missing. I assumed it came out from use since it was laying in the door sill. I put it back together and went about my day. But today. Today yes, yes, today it makes perfect sense how that pin/peg came out. Adelynn has been working hard to remove it from the closer. She is fascinated with little things. Picking at bits and pieces. I am going to have to keep good watch of her as this fascination may very well be a problem. I can't think of anything else small and needing bits removed from it but that's what is giving me pause. Never did I expect a baby to feel the need to remove that pin/peg from a storm door closer. Of all the other things she can wreck all over the house at the moment she chose the door closer. Hmmm. I'm glad I put those outlet covers in, what do you suppose she like to cram into them? The only other thing that I can expect some problems with are the furnace vents. I think that we'll be finding all kinds of stuff being shoved into them.

Ahhh mischief, we are so glad you have returned.

Cast-less

2011-11-30T11:30:00.000-05:00

Today is a good day. Despite the rainy gloom outside there is a happy baby back to our home. The visit with the orthopedic doctor was good. No, great. Her cast was removed. What a blessing that is for us. Results of the x-ray indicated that indeed she did have a broken leg. I assumed that despite what that Doctor man told me about her not screaming when he pushed on her leg. She's a tough girl and was likely frightened so being her typically inquisitive self she remained quiet. So that's the bad news. An actual broken leg.

Good news is that her bone had healed up super fast. Which means no more cast required. But...there's a catch. She is healed enough to use her leg and go about her life as normal. But she is still compromised. If she were to fall or do anything to bang up that leg it could re-break. So common sense is we need to handle with care. She needs to be careful with that leg. We need to be gentle and aware that it is still sensitive. Not a problem. If that means no cast we can do that!

We go back in two months for a follow up to check on how the bone is growing. Mostly to make sure her bone is growing straight. After that I think we will be totally good to go. I love the speedy super grow power of baby bodies. If not for that she would be stuck in that cast for several more weeks.

With all this freedom I wonder how she will o? She is already looking at her leg suspiciously. I think we'll know by tomorrow how having her leg back is making her feel. I know I'm looking forward to bathing a baby without all that keeping a leg dry while holding a busy baby in the tub. Simple things. I do love the simple things.

One more day

2011-11-29T14:19:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow Adelynn goes for a follow up appointment to check on the status of her tibia. Oh hope of hopes do I hope that she can take that splint off her leg. Her confinement has been wearing me out. Mostly emotionally. Now at two weeks into this splint gig she has grown accustomed to sleeping with a straight leg. So the sleeping part has improved for us both which is BIG big I tell you but still she struggles to fall asleep. Getting past the nighttime routine was a tremendous hurdle. She and I were just beat that first week. Comfort is such a priority for babies, or at least for our littlest princess it is imperative. It goes back to the mobility topic. She was having a time getting that leg to rest in her crib. With all her moving about in her sleep I can see why it had been so difficult for her to figure out some nighttime mojo. If anything that leg has kept her more still at night. I tell you what these F'Laker babies can not be still even in sleep. Every one of my girls wiggle all around that crib during the night. The strangest thing.

Being a busy body has made this leg injury a challenge for little Adelynn. Always on the move she has been taking a new perspective as observer and less as a do-er. Of course now that her time with this splint has increased she has figured out how to scoot efficiently. Good thing because she was going bonkers not being able to get going. This Mama just has no idea what a little girl like her wants to do when she is on the task of play. My reading her noises have been disappointing to her. When I think she wanted to be near the doll house it really was the tractor she wanted. Oh the scowls she has given me. She has been seriously doubting my abilities, I can see it in her expressions. Hilarious I tell you. Sometimes I wonder if she thinks this Mama is too silly. I have been finding it difficult watching her try to stand with her bum leg. She is at the point where she wants to get up. She wants to walk. Watching her observe fellow little people is hard. I can see in her eyes the longing to get up and move around. She tries so hard to pull up on the couch but she can't manage to get past that knee level. Joints, they are a necessity after all. So we have been waiting and hoping that this little leg of hers is healed up and ready for some action. Well, gentle action. We will be taking things very carefully around here for a good while. Just hoping for good news tomorrow.

Besides a bum leg there has been issues with division in this house. Olivia seems to be missing the connections with multiplication and division. I'm not certain where the confusion lies or where she missed the understanding but it's there and it needs to be corrected. Me, the forgetful mother was not on top of things yesterday. That holiday really put me out of the loop. That or I just assumed at this point in the school year the girls will just do their homework and seek help as needed. I did not expect Olivia to casually bring up the need for help at 8:45pm. A packet full of math. At 8:45pm. Hours and hours of her doing "homework" must have been something else. Not that math at 8:45pm is terrible, well it is, because that is just the time when Adelynn is getting bedtime grouchy. So much for good timing. At first it seemed like Olivia was having difficulty with some of the larger division problems. No big deal. We talked them over and I thought she got it. Then I noticed that she was taking far too long to do a problem, a problem that was relatively easy to do.

Ahhh math. You lousy little beast. I curse you and the schools for trying to teach kids your methods in a "new" and "improved" way. Olivia was clearly frustrated, I was frustrated. She is and always has been TEH AWESOME at math. (yes misspelling intended) I just could not figure out how this math girl was baffled by long division. I'm still not certain. I mean, give me a break here, she did hand me a 4 page packet at nearly 9pm with a screaming baby on my lap. After a little break for me to put Addie to sleep I sat with her in her room to finish this packet. Eyes shutting closed due to exhaustion she tried to work out those problems. Yes. Yes I did make her stay up until 10:45pm to finish that homework. We talked through each problem one by one until she was finished. 2 lessons were learned last night. One: don't ask your Mom to help you with your homework at 9pm thinking she will do it for you and Two: Mama will make you finish it all before you get to go to sleep no matter how long it takes.

After a brief discussion about pride and knowing when a good time to ask for help is she went to bed. I'm still pondering where her problem lies. She has a decent grip on her multiplication tables so it's not there. I can only conclude her confusion has to be in the method by which division has been taught to her. Even Leah mentioned this morning how she tried to assist Olivia only to have Olivia tell Leah that was the wrong way to work the problem. Oh bother. I know what we'll be doing this week and all of December. MATH. I'm going to make sure this girl is going to be the math whiz she once was and give her some understanding back.

While Olivia works on math Leah has been studying geography. She won her classroom Geo-Bee and is super excited to win her 6th grade team's level Geo-bee. I was so proud of her. She was so proud of herself. And for good reason; She did wonderfully. She has been quite the talker about this geo-bee. Everyone in her class did not expect quiet Leah to win with 100% correct answers. Apparently there is another little boy in her class who is known to be a super smart kid. Everyone expected him to win with ease. She showed him! This makes her father quite proud. He has taken a big lead in getting Leah properly enlightened. Her goal is to win the school's whole 6th grade Geo-bee. I think she can do it. She just has to learn some crazy stuff, or well if she learns everything her father wants her to learn then it will be crazy. I mean crazy as in OCD geography crazy information. Keith is some what of a map nerd so she is in excellent hands for training. Me my part is to keep track of the geo-bee dates and keep her on task. So long as I don't need to learn all the rivers located in Columbia I'm good.

loving....

2011-11-26T20:30:00.000-05:00

I am loving.....

Happy baby leg kicks when I hold Adelynn close.

Baby leg wiggles when she is happy to see her sisters come home from school.

Adelynn's ability to work my cell phone better than me.

The sisterly giggles the big girls share.

Lessons

2011-11-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

This week I have learned that....

Adelynn loves garlic bread.

Cassano's pizza is a hit with all the girls.

Adelynn loves Thanksgiving food. Dressing, turkey, pie.....all of it.

Cousins and being together is fantastic.

Seeing family is always wonderful.

Hop Along

2011-11-23T06:30:00.000-05:00

We have managed to get through week one with the splinted leg. It has been a very long week. Now that Adelynn has accepted her injury she is far more cheerful than she was just days ago. Just in time too. I was beginning to wonder how her demeanor would be with this confinement. Although she is doing better she is still battling moments of frustration. She has been trying hard to be on the move despite that leg. Some days are better than others. I know that she prefers to scoot around on the wood floors to take advantage of the smoothness of the floor. Carpeting prevents her from moving as fast as she would like so she will often get upset with her needing to put forth more effort to move.

I've been busy getting done with pre-Thanksgiving things AND keeping a little baby busy. She may seem back to normal but I know she has become more clingy. Her independence has been put into question ever since that accident last week. Prior to the injury she was getting more bold and taking on the world with confidence. Now she still wants to be independent BUT she is far more aware of my location. If I step out of eyesight she starts to panic. She screams for me. It's heartbreaking. I hate to see that piece of her confidence being smothered by her fear. Little by little we will be working on getting her back that confidence.

We have a several hour drive ahead of us today. I hope for a good drive. I know that Adelynn is going to be testing her patience in that carseat as we head to Ohio to visit some family. I'm looking forward to familiar faces and familiar foods. We won't be there long these little holidays always go by so quickly. I know a Grandma who can't wait to see this little baby and smother her with hugs and kisses.

Lessons

2011-11-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

This week I have learned......

Accidents will happen.

Unexpected injuries are a blessing in disguise.

The kindness of dear friends will make a world of difference for a tired Mama.

A splinted leg will pose an interesting change in mobility.

Swing and peppers

2011-11-17T20:28:00.000-05:00

Broken

2011-11-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

Never did I imagine that my littlest girl would be hurt so terribly. That's the thing with accidents they are so darn unpredictable. What I thought was going to be a simple Monday enjoying fellowship with some of my Mom friends discussing a book ended up being a lousy beginning to the week. Adelynn was in such a fantastic mood Monday morning. It gave me such hope that she would enjoy her time in the nursery with some fellow babies. That she did. She was having a great time as was I until.....she was hurt. When I put her on the floor at the Mom's group nursery I told the caregivers that she was a crawler still not ready for walking. I filled them in about how she was just fed and should be ready to play with some friends. Not long later I heard Adelynn screaming terribly. Nothing new I just assumed that she was getting upset realizing that Mama was no longer around, or even a toy was taken away from her by an older child. Nothing to make me think that she was in serious need for me.

I was wrong. I should have known that scream was significant. Too bad it took 10 hours for me to put it together. A very upset Adelynn was brought to me very upset and crying loud. I tried many things to help her calm down but nothing worked. We walked the halls trying to soothe her. She did stop crying constantly but would release a loud wail time to time. It wasn't until I went to retrieve her piggy that I was told she fell. I must have had a look of "What do you mean she fell" because the caregiver continued by saying they forgot that Adelynn could not walk. I was speechless. I wanted to ask how they could forget when I specifically told them that she was still crawling. I was very confused how that important detail was forgotten. With a screaming baby still clearly upset I just didn't have the desire to interrogate them. I just wanted to calm her down. I tried to nurse her but Adelynn was not interested. She just kept screaming. Finally I just packed her stroller up and we went to the car. Going home would have been the best thing to do but I still had to drop off Keith's cell phone to his office 15 miles away. He was leaving for a trip later that afternoon so having his phone was a must. I sat with Adelynn in the van and tried once more to nurse. She was calm enough to try and we were able to sit 5 minutes to relax. Still she whimpered. I know she was tired too so I just figured that her fall was just very scary. Maybe she hit her head. After a thorough look over I could not find any spot on her head that looked like it was injured. She didn't grab or rub or anything. She just cried. Eventually she just fell asleep. We arrived to Keith's office and still she was crying. No matter what she just could not stop feeling so sad. She ate some lunch which we hoped would cheer her up. Nope. She was so upset that she didn't want anyone but Mama. Cutting our lunch short on account of her loud crying disrupting the office we headed home. She slept some more and I hoped it would make her feel better.

Once home she didn't want to be anywhere but on me. In my arms or on my lap. She sat sadly in my arms only giving a smile when the girls came home. Thankfully we had plenty of leftovers to eat which made supper a cinch for heating up. Adelynn ate but with less eagerness. After supper was when I figured out the problem. While changing her diaper I was positioning her legs when she wailed. I thought it very strange. By this point she had been calming down. Still sad but she was not crying. With a fresh diaper on I began to touch her legs to see where the problem was hidden. When my hand brushed her left ankle she wailed. After putting gentle pressure on both legs in all spots I narrowed it down to the left leg. Because just a minor touch to the skin was setting her off I suspected that something my be sprained or worst broken. I compared her legs to see if the left leg looked swollen or bruised or different in any way. Nothing to make it apparent that her leg was injured. Then the doubt set in. Maybe I'm being overly concerned. Maybe it's just a bump. I put her on the floor and tried again to see if that left leg was the culprit to her sadness. Same reactions as before. Although at this point I figured out the injury was just above the outside left ankle. By this point it was 9pm. Adelynn was tired, we were all so very tired, bedtime for all was right in front of us. I debated going to the ER but decided that would do no one any good to sit all night in a hospital. Plus there was still that doubt lingering.

The next morning we went to the family doctor to rule out ear infections, head injury, really anything else I may have missed. At the conclusion of her visit the doctor agreed that it would be best to have her leg examined further. We were sent to the hospital for an outpatient x-ray. Of course when I got to the hospital I went in the ER entrance. It was a terrible night's sleep for both of us. Even with pain medicine Adelynn had difficulty sleeping without being in my arms. So that made my mental sharpness not so sharp. Lack of sleep and worry will do that to any Mama. Thankfully a nurse was filling in for the clerk. I explained what happened and it was at that point when I realized I was in the wrong place. The nurse was very clearly concerned about Addie. Adelynn was still looking very sad. We made our way to the x-ray office where we waited surrounded by adults angered by my baby's cries. If only they knew how awful she felt. The x-ray went quickly. I was hopeful that we would get an answer immediately but that was not the case. I was told to go home and wait for my doctor to call with the results.

Baffled. Confused by the idiocy of it all I didn't know how to respond. Go home. Go home with a baby who is clearly in pain. It was crazy. Go home. Home? Why? She is hurt fix it.

I had no other option but to do what they instructed. I was too tired to fight the stupidity of it all. The ER was on the other side of the building so Adelynn and I began to walk outside back to the van. As I approached the van a tall female doctor was coming towards the ER entrance. She heard Adelynn screaming and called out to us. She asked me if I was the lady with the baby who ma have a broken leg. I confirmed her assumption. She asked what I was doing. Confused I just responded with what I was told: going home to wait.

Wait for what?

I explained that I was told to go home and wait to be told the results of the x-ray. She didn't like that answer either. She ordered me back into the ER. As we walked back to the building she told me that she'd look up the results for me. She did not see any point for me to stuff Adelynn, clearly in pain, back in her carseat to wait at home to be told to come back here to get treatment.

Thank goodness someone had a brain.

After five minutes the Doctor returned. She told me to come into her office to see the x-ray. She explained that first she's not an orthopedic expert but that in her opinion there appeared to be a teeny tiny crack in Adelynn's left lower tibia. Although it is possible that it was not broken too, since the crack was in a location that made it very difficult to confirm but considering her pain the doctor thought it best to treat her as if it were broken. They admitted us to the ER and proceeded to put a splint on Addie's leg. The doctor said "Because babies and drunks are non-compliant a full leg splint will be put on to stabilize the bone." I love that doctor. She had such a great sense of humor making a lousy situation fell less so. An intense upsetting 25 minutes later Adelynn was fixed. She was so terrified for those 20 minutes with all those people doing so many things to her. Once that splint was wrapped she stopped crying. The bone being stabilized stopped the crying. Her pain was over. Moments later she was fast asleep. I was so very thankful for that nurse. It was the nurse who told the doctor on duty about us. Both the doctor and nurse were worried for us. Bottom line is we got good care because of two people who do their jobs well. Two people who know what it means to be go getters. And for that I was thankful.

The visit to the orthopedic specialist resulted in less significant answers. That doctor is of the belief that Adelynn did not break her leg. Only because when he pressed on her leg she did not scream. Still just to be safe she has to wear a splint for 2 weeks. We'll come back get another x-ray and see if her bone shows evidence of re-growth. No evidence means no broken bone and she is free to be her normal self. If there is evidence of growth then she will need another splint for a few more weeks.

At this point we are hoping for nothing broken so that this will be all over in 2 weeks. In the meantime we are taking it day by day.

Fall 2011 mantel

2011-11-15T11:30:00.000-05:00

This is sort of a tradition with me. Often I don't share on my blog how I decorate my seasonal mantel. I don't often think much about it other than taking a picture. The picture taking is more for me to keep track of how my years of arrangement have been. Now looking back, usually I just upload my pictures to Flickr, I can see in these varied mantels representations of my feelings. I can see how my thoughts are being focused where my heart is leading me.

One thing, er, well two is that I just can't move my "holiday" cactus. Thanksgiving, Christmas, what have you cactus. The name is based on when they choose to bloom. Mine, well they bloom Thanksgiving through Christmas and again in Easter. How's that for a set of happy plants? They always remain because that is the place where they are happiest. So there they stay.

When I started to decorate the mantel I always begin with a focus item. The first piece I began with was the picture of my Granny. It's such a wonderful picture of her. A profile but so expressive. In it she is clearly happy interacting with my baby uncle. Her cheerfulness and motherly love is so clear in that picture. It reminds me every day to take those impromptu moments to enjoy my children. The other pieces were added to fill in the space. Candles, leaves, gourds, vases. All pieces of me that have been used in different ways around the house.

Advent calenders

2011-11-09T11:23:00.002-05:00

It's getting close to that time of year that makes everyone feel cheerful. Advent is soon approaching and we have plenty to do to get ready. Children are thinking thinks of twinkling lights and Santa Claus. I am thinking of books. Those wonderful stories that are tucked away in our basement.

This year I promise to be on top of the Advent calenders for the children. We try to do something Lego based every year. Besides the Lego calender I bring out the Christmas books. My big task for the upcoming week is to find my box of Christmas books for my Advent Book calender. I put the books away in a different box every year so that makes my quest tricky. Good thing testing the weight is an easy way to figure out which box those books are inside. I want to get the books out next week so that I can have plenty of time to sort them out. I like to have them organized to coordinate the book's theme for specific dates during the Advent season. This year a new little person will be able to take part in our tradition. Last year she wasn't much able to understand why those crazy wrapped things were under a Christmas tree. I'm looking forward to seeing Adelynn take part in our family book tradition. This year I'll be adding in some books for Adelynn to enjoy. Already a book lover this is just the tradition to nestle deep within her heart of memories. She loves books through and through and I love, love, love that she is so fond of them.

Every year I always think that I'd like to try a new Advent calender, but lack of time seems to prevent me from getting too far. Still it does not mean I don't enjoy looking for other options. If you are looking for something new to try there are many great ideas at the Crafty Crow site. The Advent Calenders entry will certainly give you plenty of inspiration.

Walk and Swing

2011-11-07T20:15:00.001-05:00

Today Adelynn and I took a walk around the neighborhood. She brought along her wand waving it at the world.

We stopped to swing for a bit. It was a little different from the one at home.

I hope she had fun in that swing. Maybe it was a little uncomfortable.

There's a little smile....yay fun!

We explored some leaves and their textures.She liked to show me her favorites.

And an oak leaf came along with us for a while.

Lessons

2011-11-04T11:06:00.004-04:00

This week I have learned that......

Sunny Fall days are so wonderful!

Carving pumpkins is so fun!

You will find that beloved daiper bag if you just wait patiently.

It's hard to bum scoot in the grass, it's a lot more work to get around.

A willingness to stand is a postive sign that Lady A is considering walking.

The kitty will also bring me birds as treats. And, no, no I don't want to eat it. Crazy kitty.

Diaper bag returns!

2011-11-03T11:01:00.000-04:00

This is the diaper bag that duped some punk kids in our neighborhood. It is safely back in our home being used to tote daipers for little Adelynn. This Petunia Pickle Bottom clutch diaper bag has been my favorite grab and go bag. It is the perfect size to take into the grocery store or stuff under the umbrella stroller. The compact size was the reason I bought it, well, that and it was on sale! Sale!

Before it was "misplaced" I just kept it in the van so I'd always have a stash of diapers on hand. In hindsight that was not such a great idea. I should have made a better effort to keep the diaper bag tucked under the seat or some other out of sight location. Alas the life of a busy mother.

About that "misplaced" part. The week this diaper bag went missing I noticed its absence on Thursday evening. I knew it was in the van on Tuesday morning and night since I used it for Adelynn's music class and during Olivia's soccer practice. I didn't drive the car on Wednesday so it may have been there or not. I noticed it was gone on Thursday night during Olivia's soccer practice when I wanted to take it along to the soccer field. That's when I knew something was a little odd because the diaper bag AND my pink coupon file folder was missing. Keith just thought I misplaced the diaper bag some where in the house. I knew differently. It's one thing to misplace a diaper bag, but a diaper bag and a coupon folder? Now that is strange. Too strange for me. For a few days I was starting to think I was a little crazy. Maybe I left the diaper bag and coupon folder in a shopping cart at the supermarket. There for a moment that seemed to be the only reasonable answer. I would have gone on thinking that was the answer if I had not remembered that I didn't use my coupon book that Monday. I knew I didn't use it because I had left all my coupons on the counter at home, so I didn't even need the coupon book that week. After I checked the house and garage to confirm it was not lurking in some corner under a pile of junk I knew the bags had to have been swiped.

There have been some neighbor kids cutting through our yard these past few weeks. I would not be surprised if one of them decided to seek some easy cash. I just assumed that it was some of those kids. A year or two ago several of our neighbors had their cars broken into for random things like hunting gear and cds. Considering the timing of our missing diaper bag was before Halloween it just seemed like a rerun of a few years ago. My suspicion was confirmed when Olivia found the diaper bag and coupon book. She was out playing around with some friends when she noticed the diaper bag and its contents scattered in the woods by her friend's house. Diapers and coupons were all over. A few days of drying out and the diaper bag was back in use. Sadly my coupon book needed almost a week to dry out properly. The coupons were lost and that was a big bummer.

At first I was upset with the punks who took the diaper bag and coupon book. Once I thought about it I couldn't help but laugh. All I have to do is imagine the faces of the persons who took our things. Oh they must have been so proud to score something so easily. 2 handbags! Right there in a van in plain sight. Oh what luck. Except that luck was to run out quickly. Once they opened that PPB clutch thinking it was a cute looking purse only to discover DIAPERS! Even after carefully searching every inch of that bag to find nothing but diapers, wipes and diaper cream. Oh yes, the failure was evident. I can't even imagine what they were thinking the coupon folder was. That must have been a real bummer opening up that one. Pockets and pockets of coupons. The confusion and disappointment would have been quite embarassing.

Sure the thieves took my things and tossed them into the woods but I get the last laugh knowing that only amatuers would swipe a diaper bag and coupon folder. I'm just glad my diaper bag is back because I really like that PPB clutch. Now, about my coupons, I'm still peeved about that big loss. I had some good coupons in there. Silly thieves. Maybe they should just stick to swiping cash from Mom and Dad's pocketbooks.....oh wait who carries cash these days? I have a better idea why don't they get a job like I did when I wanted some spending money. Sounds like a great idea for some punks with a lot of time on their hands to be scouting out neighborhood cars to break into. Just a thought.

baby cat

2011-10-31T20:11:00.000-04:00

Jack-O-lantern results

2011-10-30T19:34:00.000-04:00

Lessons

2011-10-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

This week I have learned that......

Getting ready for trick or treat is getting exciting around here.

If you forget to lock your car someone will steal your diaper bag and coupon folder.

The kitty will bring me snakes as a treat.

Teething babies are far grumpier than I remembered.

We love pumpkins!

The second strange cat

2011-10-26T11:45:00.001-04:00

Lincoln is one strange cat. I am convinced that there will never ever be a typical cat permitted to live in the F'Laker home. For some reason oddballs are meant for us. I suspect that is in line with our wacky ways.

Gaea was a guard cat who played fetch and never jumped up on counters. She despised all guests and all other animals. She chattered when stalking critters making a squirrel like sound. She would not eat fresh fish, only raw shrimp or canned tuna.

Lincoln is a really friendly kitty. He loves to be around his family and take in our attention. If we are in a room together he will plop right down in the center of our activity. Even if that means crashing the supper table. He has a habit of tackling people while they are sitting down reading or some other quiet activity. That can be annoying because you just don't expect a cat in your face. Especially when that cat was 20 feet on the opposite side of the room.

The other odd thing is he does not like the litter box. His NEW spiffy nice litter box sits hardly used in a private spot in the basement. Nope. He does not like that litter box much at all. He will use it if he has to but he prefers outside. He sits at the backdoor like a dog meowing to be let out. After breakfast he has to go out and take care of business. Often he remains outside until after the big girls have gone off to school. He will return and finish up his food, smother Adelynn, bite my feet then finally curl up for a little before lunch nap. He does this all day. I used to worry about letting him out just before sunset but no more. At 9pm if he has yet to return I open the door call his name "Here Linky, Linky, time to come home" and he'll respond with a meow or two letting me know that he's coming along.

Strange cat. I think he's a cat. He really does many dog-like things. Of course the going outside thing is not so bad. Makes less litter box clean up which is great for me. His other dog traits involve his night time habit of sleeping at the top of our stairs in hallway between our rooms. Another guard kitty, with a more pleasant attitude. He has a problem with food. He loves to eat Cheerios and ANY of Adelynn's leftover food. No matter what she may have been eating he wants what's remaining. That can be a problem if I happen to step away a moment leaving Adelynn to nibble on her meal only to hear her screaming at the cat. And there he is on her high chair chowing down on as much as he can before I get my hands on him. Silly. Absolutely silly. Now I'm better at getting everything to the table so that he can't swoop in and steal Adelynn's food. Soon it won't mater because she will be able to toss him aside. As soon as she realizes she can pick him up he's toast. Right now the big food issue is his problem of not leaving the pantry door alone. He will sit there staring at the door pawing at it and even in extreme circumstances wrestling with it to pry the door open. I have to keep Lincoln in line otherwise he will become Garfield fat. Crazy food loving cat.

Given all the nutty things he does he really is a good cat. Sure we had some disagreements on decorating choices, such as my silk curtains in the dining room. I thought that they looked great and he, well he, shredded them up to pass on the hint I needed a new look. So, you see, we are communicating and things are becoming better. If he tries to mess with my kitchen then he's got another thing coming.

Lessons

2011-10-22T12:27:00.000-04:00

This week I have learned that......

Big boys love to go to the dump.

Clearing out your storage room does make you feel better.

A pumpkin patch is a fun place to visit.

Getting ready for trick-or-treat is great fun.

Daily Smile

2011-10-20T19:30:00.000-04:00

Joy of Toast!

2011-10-19T12:25:00.000-04:00

Toast is something I never put much thought into. I mean, it's toast, a side dish to some folks. Second fiddle to the eggs or soup. I've always enjoyed toast with my eggs at breakfast. Over the years those eggs and toast breakfasts have been replaced with others. I go for cereal, oatmeal even an egg sandwich. I just forgot about that toast.

But toast, toast was patient with me. It was there waiting for me. Waiting for the perfect moment for me to come back and embrace its crusty deliciousness. That moment came in the form of a little baby. I credit Adelynn for reminding me about the simple joy in a piece of toast. Her love of bread has been the motivator for me to incorporate more whole grains into our day and mostly into her body.

We have been fortunate to have a very great CSA farmer. Love them! This season there was an option to add a loaf of bread from Great Harvest Bread Co. to our weekly share. I'm so glad that I took advantage of this well made bread option. Each week we had been getting a different bread which was really fun for us to be surprised with the fantastic loaf varieties. Then one week I chatted with the owner and gushed about how much my kids loved the Honey Whole wheat bread. They loved the cinnamon bread too but that one is more of a treat, although he did remind me that even that loaf is 100% whole wheat. Anyhow, so now he makes sure that we get the honey whole wheat. We have been using that loaf to go along with supper, soup nights make it disappear, and breakfast.

Slicing the bread was difficult at first. Now I'm getting better at making smaller slices. Yet I kinda prefer those chunky pieces. They make the best toast. The quality bread makes a difference. I mean, wow, have you had some good hand made bread toasted up lately? It's just so wonderful. That hearty bread makes toast become more than just that little pile of crunchy bread sitting next to your eggs. It becomes a belly filling wrap your arms and hug yourself fantastic simple meal.

Adelynn wakes up early every day. Usually she is ready for the day at 6:30am. It's perfect for our family since our middle schooler needs to be up too. As we go about the morning routine I often toss 2 slices of our CSA bread into the toaster. My coffee brews and the baby explores the living room. Sometimes I put peach spice jam one one slice and butter on the other. I try to mix it up a little so that we can eat all that jam I made. If given a choice Adelynn much prefers to eat her toast with peach spice jam. She will eat the buttery slices but she always makes sure that she can take the peach bites first. 1 year old and already has it figured out. I love that she loves the jam. Munch and play a fine start to the cooler mornings we have been getting in these parts. Sadly our bread supply will be coming to an end as the CSA is wrapping up for the season. Perhaps that means I need to begin my own bread making so that me and my girl can have our morning toast together.

To the pumpkin patch

2011-10-15T19:47:00.000-04:00

Lessons

2011-10-15T12:29:00.000-04:00

This week I have learned that.....

A little knitting is good for me.

It's soup season.

Pumpkin pie is so very good when made straight from the pumpkin.

Woman Wondering

2011-10-13T12:28:00.000-04:00

It has been a Wonder Woman sort of week. We have the DVDs of season 2 of the New Adventures of Wonder Woman TV series from back in the day. Season 2 is by far the best one to watch. There are some good episodes in this block. This DVD set has found itself on constant play. The girls love Wonder Woman and have ever since their first exposure to her 5 years ago. For me it's a hilarious circle of life. When I was little I was an avid fan, maybe even a slightly obsessive fan. I remember eagerly watching each episode weekly. I loved pretending to have super powers saving those in need from danger.Wonder Woman was my heroine. My 8 year old self hoped to grow up to be a superhero.

I'd love to have some of Wonder Woman's powers. I know some of you are thinking and chuckling to yourself. No, I don't want her lasso or other fun crime fighting accessories. What I'd love to have is her unending endurance. I sure could use that when dealing with a determined baby. That spinning to change would be nice too. Think of how awesome that would be as a Mom to be able to transform out of your pajamas into a put together lady. As I consider Wonder Woman's accessories a moment, that lasso would be very handy to have when dealing with bickering daughters or cheating auto-mechanics.

So, why did I stop thinking Wonder Woman was awesome again? I think it's time for me to go old school and revive that little girl in me and make her my favorite superhero once more.

Beginning Leah's Hermione hat

2011-10-12T12:40:00.000-04:00

I found a pattern for Hermione's awesome hat in the Harry Potter Half-Blood Prince movie. When I saw that hat I knew it was the perfect hat for Leah. I found a pattern for it at the JL Yarnworks blog. The pattern Hermione's cable and eyelet hat is great. Easy and pretty. It would make any gal a great looking hat even if she is not a HP fan.

I'm making slow progress only because I have several other knitty gifts to get done before the end of October. In all likelyhood this hat for Leah may end up being a stocking stuffer for Christmas. My plan is to have it complete to surprise her on Christmas. I know she has been desperate to wear so it will be such a treat to see her excitement in a few months. You can see the detail work on the hat showing the cables. The eyelets are hidden with the purled sections of the hat giving it a really beautiful look. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I may make one for myself.

corn pit

2011-10-09T18:25:00.000-04:00

Lessons

2011-10-07T12:38:00.000-04:00

This week I have learned that.......

You can't please everyone.

Hoping that adults will act like adults with regard to their child's sports team is a disappointing expectation.

Roasting tomatoes makes for a better tomato soup.

I love seeing pumpkins adorn porches in the neighborhood.

Baby Motion

2011-10-04T12:04:00.000-04:00

Adelynn's mobility has been keeping me very busy. She is still doing the bum scoot across the floor to get around. For as uncomfortable as that looks for her to do she is very fast. More importantly she is getting into things. Many things. Things I don't want her to be getting into, you know, like the diaper bag or backpacks or cat food.

So while she is making her way around the floors I am running around between my chores and locating her next discovery. Such as that kitty tape on the furniture. She loves that tape. I have to "re-set" her to the living room rug where her toys happen to be scattered about. Often she will find interest in those little somethings around her keeping busy for 5 minutes. The biggest problem I have is that darn baby curiosity. She is quite clever and always looking to investigate new things. For the time being she is unable to climb very well but that is only a matter of time. Her fascination with stairs has me on edge. I'm sure she will figure those stairs out soon and get into all sorts of mischief.

The days of busy toddler-hood are ahead. I better rest while I can!

Pumpkin Pie Season

2011-10-03T12:09:00.000-04:00

The air has changed in these parts. The balmy heat has been replaced with the cool days Fall brings. We will have a few more warm Southern days before our winter really sets in but those constantly hot humid days are behind us. It's at this point that I really begin to feel the settling back into my kitchen deep within me. I am ready to cook longer with pleasure. Those hot Summer days often found me fleeing from the kitchen to avoid the heat. I'm glad to come back to the heart of my home. To fill up my days with roasting, simmering, braising, and baking. The baking is of course the family favorite.

Once October arrives so do the pumpkin pies. I have been a tad behind schedule with the official opening of Fall Pie Season. As you know, pie season is year round in our home, but we do bake certain pies during certain seasons. I bring out our savory pies, hearty pies, filling pies. Long have the days of fresh picked fruit passed us leaving behind memories of those fun warm days spent on the farm. I look forward to the cold weather pies my oven will bake. Our tried and true pumpkin pie will grace our table for weeks and weeks. Our champion pumpkin pie eater, Keith, will gently and often not so gently ask for some of that pie. Whereas making a pumpkin pie is easy considering the wonder of canned pumpkin I prefer pie straight from the pumpkin. Those pies made from a fresh picked pie pumpkin are hands down, face in your plate, pie eating contest good pie.

As the cool days of October slide in and settle into our Virginia I'll begin to seek out a decent stash of pie pumpkins. My week will be filled with collecting pumpkins. Thankfully our area farmers are great at providing the best local pie pumpkins. I almost look insane with my desire to buy pumpkins, but they just do not know the obsession of pumpkin pie in our home. As I gather pumpkin after pumpkin I am eagerly thinking about how they will soon be roasting in my oven to become the golden puree of our favorite Fall pie. Now, don't think that pie is the only place where those little sugars will go. No, sir, no, no, no, not just pie. I do fancy a pumpkin stew and shhhh, take a breath, a pumpkin jelly roll. That latter dessert is almost rivaling my pie. I need to make several of those jellyrolls to freeze away in the depths of our freezer while I can so that come Easter our tummies will be enjoying the deliciousness of those pumpkins. Roasting, pureeing, freezing, thawing and baking will be my activities this month. I usually make a large batch of pie filling to freeze. The frozen filling makes a quick pumpkin pie on days where we REALLY need some pie in our lives.

Warming our home with baked wonders makes me happy. I love the feel of pie dough being squished between my hands. The gentle rolling required to shape the dough for my pie pans. Providing a little something sweet for the people I love from whole basic ingredients is so fulfilling. I can't wait to get started!

2011-09-30T15:29:00.001-04:00

This week I have learned that....

Kittens love to pee in potted plants.

Kittens love to eat cereal especially if that cereal belongs to a toddler.

Our kitten does not like to be an indoor cat.

Babies love to pull protective tape off of your couch. That tape is supposed to keep the kitten from scratching up said couch.

Having wads of tape stuck to your backside while you are out shopping makes you look like a nut.

Downhill all the way

2011-09-28T17:54:00.003-04:00

Olivia drew a great downhill skiing poster. I love the when and where part on the bottom. I think we have another ski obsessed person in the house. We have to save this to hang up this winter. It will be quite the motivator for us.

Birthday

2011-09-17T20:30:00.000-04:00

Adelynn's birthday began in the early hours of sunrise. She does love to wake before 6am every day even if it is her birthday. With a Saturday morning of big waffles to make and a house full of hungry people Daddy got the morning started off right. He filled up some celebratory balloons to cheer up the place. We had fun watching her play with balloons all morning long. A day of fun was for certain.

Some family and friends joined us to celebrate Adelynn's big ONE today. The cake was a big hit. Never one to figure my kids for being good cake eaters we were all pleased to see Adelynn didn't waste time enjoying her cake. We even had to keep her hands off of it during the birthday song. She was ready to devour it right away. That's my girl. I can't help but laugh about that face she made after she had eaten so much cake. She looked positively stuffed!

.
Adelynn was treated with so many wonderful birthday goodies. The highlight was her new scooter of course. It had all sorts of bits and pieces perfect for a girl her age. She is so fond of that little cell phone. I'm sure this scooter will keep her busy for a long time. Maybe just maybe this scooter will help her get that walking underway!

Kitty petting

2011-09-14T15:52:00.001-04:00

This girl loves her kitties.

Lessons

2011-09-09T12:37:00.000-04:00

This week I have learned that......

A rainy first day of school is still a good day.

Middle school is off to a good start.

Starting the soccer season injured is a bummer.

You can bum scoot pretty fast when you're nearly 12 months old.

Almost 1

2011-09-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

At almost 1 Adelynn is slowly moving her way into toddler-hood. She has been working on crawling but has yet to master the movement. She prefers to bum scoot. Using her feet she just scoots across the floor in a sitting position. If she is on carpet this proves to be a little less efficient. In that circumstance she will just pick her bottom up and scoot it to the side. Mobility her way.

Even though this unique form of movement is not quite as efficient as crawling it is still fast. The wood floors provide speed in scooting. Because she likes to get around now we have been shifting our behaviors. Whereas before she was able to move so quickly the need to keep constant watch on her was not required. Now. Well now we must have a visual of that little girl. She loves to get into new things. Particularly the kitty food. Although there has yet to be a sampling of the food it won't take long before she decides to eat it. I'm trying to think of a new place for the kitty food and water. Haven't any ideas yet but I'm still looking. I anticipate a high location because anything low will be found by my little seeker.

Gates. Yes gates will be making a comeback in our home. With two sets of stairs to explore there is great need to ensure that Adelynn won't find herself in a dangerous place. We'll need to get our safety proofing underway. A learning process each time. Not one of our girls were the same. One walked at 10 months (Ahem Leah) the other crawled early and became a fearless climber (Ahem Olivia) and now with Adelynn we're waiting to see where she will go. Likely something to give us a run around.

Besides being eager to move about Adelynn has been nothing short of an exceptionally happy baby. (All our girls have been happy babies!) She's the charmer though. Don't let that adorable grin and big blue eyes fool you. She is going to be a handful I just know it. She by far has been the most observant of our girls. She is all eyes. I have a feeling that the car keys will need to be up high if not hidden from this one!

As far as communication goes we have been hearing a few words coming from her mouth. Mostly it is babble. Her inflections with the babble tell me she will be talking very soon. Especially considering when that naughty kitty takes a toy away from her. Oh man she will tell him a thing or two with her cute little furrowed brow and shame-shame finger point. So funny! She says "THAT!" plenty and often is referring to the kitty. She calls for Leah, Olivia and Mama by name. Although Leah and Olivia sounds very similar when she says it. There is a teeny difference between the names she speaks so often it just sounds like "leah" each time. We're working on Dada but she hasn't gotten the "d" sound out. She loves to point to his picture in the hallway and smile at him. Pointing to things she wants has become her new thing this past week. Finally she sees us responding to her actions. Pointing to the rocking chair when she wants to nurse, pointing to the kitty when she wants to pet him, pointing to the swing when she wants to go outside. When she wants Mama she will point to me. When she sees me coming she will point again and clap. I love being cheered on when I come to pick up a little baby. How great is that? Sure is better than having a crying baby stare at you. About the clapping; That is her happy response. When she plays on the floor and is having a good time she will spin around on her bottom and clap. It is the cutest one bit.

Other things she notices are supper time prayers. She understands that we "sing" before we eat our meal. This of course is exciting to her. She loves to "sing" along with us getting even more excited as we all say the prayer together. She has been very fond of the Wii. She has to hold her own controller while her big sisters play games. It won't be long until Adelynn will be playing along with them. She's bound to be the best gamer yet. Animals are a big hit with Adelynn. Loves dogs. Loves cats. Loves critters. She has such a great time watching Lincoln buzz around the house. Plus with the neighbor's dog Scrappy outside often Adelynn gets to watch him cruise around the yard while she eats. I love seeing her get excited when she watches Scrappy play ball. Very cute to see her being happy that he's playing.

Eating has been still going well. She loves to eat most things which has been such a relief. She will try anything. Now, there are some things she does not like but she'll still eat it. Mashed potatoes are not a favorite but if that's all Daddy will give her then that's what she will eat. Silly Daddy. We have her try as much as we can to help her develop a taste for many things. Her appetite is decent. She eats three meals and 2 snacks a day. In addition she is still nursing every 3 hours. I'm still beat every day from her 2-4 wakings a night to eat. Yikes! That must be some metabolism! Growth spurt I think. Hope. I suppose all those hours scooting around really make a baby hungry.

Now as we approach 1 year old I wonder what our next year together will bring. What will Adelynn be doing at 2? We can't wait to see but we are very happy to enjoy her every day.

Baby Kimono

2011-09-06T20:59:00.000-04:00

This is the sweater I'm working on for Adelynn. I began way back in March. I got the purple seed stitch done and then had to set this aside. I didn't have much time to knit an involved project. After adding the Noro yarn I had 3 balls of yarn working which made for a complicated process. It's not easy to set down a project with three balls of yarn. That yarn can get tangled up so quickly. Here and there I've had time to knit a row or two. Just something to to get going on the length. I have plenty more to knit but am looking forward to getting this sweater finished.

Little ones....

2011-08-31T07:42:00.000-04:00

Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Raspberry patch

2011-08-30T09:42:00.028-04:00

These are just some of the memories of our day at the pick your own farm near our home. We have been visiting this farm quite often this summer. I love taking advantage of a beautiful for picking fruit. Our quest 2 weeks ago was to pick raspberries and peaches. Although we were right on time for the raspberries we darn near missed the peaches. Usually we pick several pecks but this year we opted for a more reasonable 2 peck limit of peaches. Believe me that is plenty. When it comes to peaches I see jam. Lots of beautiful jars of jam. We enjoyed a few of those peaches sliced up alongside supper. I was hoping to make a peach trifle.....but we just have not had the fridge space for that dessert. Maybe another time.

This was the first time Leah and Olivia picked raspberries. They were glad Mama remembered to bring some gloves and small buckets. I like to wear my rose pruning glove on my left hand so that I am able to push back some of the raspberry canes to reach deep into those branches. A decent stick will do the trick too but I prefer a gloved hand. Having a gloved hand will increase your picking time. Leah was amazed at how much faster she could pick when I showed her my tip. We could have picked for hours. The sun was out a gentle breeze and low 80s made it a perfect day for picking. Once we had a full flat of berries we called it a day. New this year is going to be our raspberry jam. Leah was murmuring about tarts as she collected berries. Olivia just wanted to eat as many as she could. While Adelynn is far too young to pick or even understand how crazy her mother and big sisters are she too had fun. Her wagon was full of toys and books. Although those were great for entertainment she was much more excited to play with leaves and dandelions.

These berries and peaches indicate the end of summer fruit. Soon we will return for apples. Oh how I can't wait for those apples. Olivia and Leah have been craving more applesauce and pie. I can't help but think about what a treat apple crisp is for breakfast. Mmmm apples. One thing at a time, one season at a time. While we dream about those apples and what they may become I will be pondering raspberries. Jam, jam, jam, love the jam.

Natural Disasters, check

2011-08-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

So. Natural disasters, heard of 'em? Yep anyone who watched 5 minutes of the Weather Channel knows what I'm talking about. What a week we had last week. A big week of firsts for the little baby. Her first earthquake her first hurricane. Good thing we don't live near volcanoes.

The earthquake last Tuesday was such an unexpected event. Never have I felt one that significantly. There have been many in Ohio all those years I lived there but not once did I feel one. Admittedly those were small, less than 4.0. Our Virginia quake was something. We girls had just buckled into our seats ready to vote in the primary when the quake rumbled. The girls blamed me for messing up the van, thinking I was causing the problem. For a while there I did think it was just the van. Hey, when you've had years of car trouble a 5.8 quake does feel like a bad engine problem. For as much rumbling as it made our home was fine. There is one window with damage to the trim; easily fixed. I expected to come home to find numerous things on the floor or altered. Nothing. Not on picture frame was crooked. Our kitten does more damage in a day than the earthquake did to our place. We were fortunate. We have friends who have experienced all levels of damage. From broken vases to flooded homes. Apparently hot water heaters are not installed with high earthquake standards in these parts. Other places in our area suffered plenty of damage. Larger buildings were certainly affected the most. Many area schools have been closed to make certain that there are no hidden structural problems. I'm sure there will be minor things found for weeks.

The hurricane was more of a problem. Nothing like a hurricane to cause panic along the East coast. For days the area just obsessed about how Irene was going to level cities along the coast. Way to go newscasters. As with any strong storm the biggest concern are the trees. Trees just don't manage well in high winds; Especially those old growth trees in the older neighborhoods. Every big storm to pass through our area has downed trees. For the past 10 years, no 11, that we have lived in DC not one Spring has gone by where there were not some sort of thunderstorm caused tree disaster. Yet people are constantly shocked (those living with tall, old, untrimmed trees close to homes) that a tree smashed their car, busted a window, or blocked the street. It's not unbelievable that a scraggly old half rotted tree along the street lost branches which fell on homes, cars or power lines. While there were high winds and plenty of rain we living in the far, far burbs of DC had little damage. Our yard had many branches and leaf litter all over. If anything the hurricane topped some trees and tossed the debris around. Flooding was worst near the coast or along rivers and the Bay. I think compared to Vermont our area came through quite well.

The unfortunate aspect of the hurricane is the media's desire for major devastation. The endless talk of how terrible the storm would be turned many people into devastation junkies. I say this because I know there are people who evacuated only to return to see very little damage. Sadly it seems they were hoping for more. To me that means they were blessed. You were blessed to have a category 1 hurricane which spared your home. If that is not comforting think of Katrina. Think of the damage those people are STILL trying to overcome. So, yeah, you in Jersey or NY, it wasn't a big deal. So you had to change your weekend plans. No big deal. That's a good thing because whereas everything else in your life has to be a big deal when it comes to disasters you don't want it to be big.

Lessons

2011-08-26T15:36:00.001-04:00

This week I have learned that......

Babies have allergies too.

Some parents need to just relax and let their kids enjoy playing the sport they love.

Weed pulling is a task I need to get done every week.

Earthquakes make your van rumble not engine problems.

Earthquakes are wild and makes kitties go crazy.

The cable company is getting on my nerves.

A school nurse should not criticize you for the poor penmanship of your Doctor.

11 month old babies who don't crawl or walk get real crabby when they can't get places right away.

Corners of my house: coffee table

2011-08-24T15:26:00.000-04:00

This coffee table has been around for quite some time. It was given to me by a college friend eager to split town after graduation. The table survived 2 toddlers, several moves and one cat. Where it once served as the perfect place to rest a beverage, weary feet or a plate of food it now holds books. Lots of them. I consider this clean in comparison to what it often looks like on an average day. I took this picture to remind me of the great treasures we found at our local thrift store. All of those children's books were found tucked away between many other children's titles. Ok so the atlases are not thrift store finds, they are Keith's books which often find themselves migrating around the house. The man does love maps. Typically the adult books can be found buried under heaps of children's books. I think at the moment those atlases have several dozen four leaf clovers inside being pressed flat. Just about any substantial weighted book will have four leaf clovers tucked inside. In our home reading a book will bring you luck.

Lessons

2011-08-19T15:28:00.006-04:00

This week I learned.......

How to just let go of those tomato plants.

Picking raspberries was a great way to spend the afternoon with my girls.

Making jam all week was easier than expected with a baby. Thanks to the big sister help.

Parents need to be positive and supportive of their kids during tournaments.

Mama's Purple Lemonade

2011-08-17T10:02:00.000-04:00

Cool Summer beverages are an amazing way to beat the heat. There is nothing better than a glass of lemonade on a hot day. Well, maybe there is something: Lavender Lemonade. We began to first make this fab drink last summer. I think now it has become an expectation. When the girls ask for Mama's Purple lemonade I know just what they are seeking.

To begin you need to make the beautiful purple syrup that makes this lemonade the hit of your fridge. In a small saucepan combine 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup water. Turn the heat to medium-high and stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat add 3 Tablespoons of dried culinary lavender to the syrup and allow to steep 15 minutes. Strain out the lavender buds from the syrup. Discard used buds. Place the hot syrup in an airtight container and allow to chill in the fridge for an hour or two. I strain the syrup into a canning jar. The pint sized jar is the perfect size to hold the syrup and that way you can admire that beautiful color. Once the syrup is nice and cold you can make some of this fantastic lemonade.

Lavender Lemonade

Zest from one lemon
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 5 lemons, or 3 very large lemons)
1 cup lavender syrup
4 cups water

Find a beautiful pitcher. I suggest glass or some other clear container so that you can show off this lovely lemonade. Zest your lemon over the pitcher allowing the zest to sprinkle inside. Add your lemon juice and lavender syrup. Give the mixture a stir and then add your water. See the beautiful color! This is such a show stopper that it is the perfect pot-luck item. Not only will people be intrigued by the unusual color, many will think it's just a pink lemonade. Imagine their surprise as they try this old fashioned favorite. It will be quite a hit. Of course this is speculation, because once you make your own, you may become quite fond of this lemonade. And, you know, once you become fond of things somehow there just doesn't seem to be much leftover for others.

I find that my lemonade tastes even better when put into a pretty glass. Notice that color, that is summer right there in your glass ladies. Pull out your fans, kick up your skirts, let those ankles show just a bit and enjoy a glass of lemonade under the shade of a tree.

11

2011-08-15T15:54:00.004-04:00

To the Beach

2011-08-14T15:28:00.001-04:00

We took our yearly visit to the coast to celebrate Leah's birthday. She has been looking forward to going to the beach for weeks. It's the one thing she always wants to do for her birthday. She loves the ocean, the sand, the salty air. Loves it all. She was so eager to get her feet in the water that she worked hard to help unload the van. My favorite picture is of her in the water looking out to sea. That peaceful memory of a freshly turned 11 year old girl.

Lessons

2011-08-12T12:02:00.003-04:00

This week I have learned that......

Kittens will make sure you get up shortly after that alarm clock sounds.

Kitty Lincoln does not miss a meal.

Our babies (Adelynn and Lincoln) like to play with the same toys.

Adelynn is going to love the heck out of that cat.

Summer birthdays are near.

Summer goings

2011-08-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

The second week of soccer camp is nearly over. Olivia has been training for 3 hours a day for 10 days. 30 hours! If I count all the extra kicking around in the yard then that number is even higher. Season practice begins next week which means less hectic mornings. The morning camps will be replaced with evening time on the pitch. Next weekend her team has their first tournament. It will not be easy. A weekend of tough competition will be expected. That is fine. I am happy she is excited to play in a tourney. She loves them. Of course she wants her team to win but she ultimately wants her team to play hard.

In a few days Leah will turn 11. Becoming a middle schooler. When did that happen? She has been reading the Harry Potter series all over. After seeing the last movie recently she has found an interest in learning more about the beginning. I love it. I love that she has read the first 2 books in 3 days. She is ready to keep on going. Reading hasn't been the only thing keeping her busy. Writing has been a big demand in her day. She spends time in her room creating all sorts of stories. I'm eager to read some of these stories she tells me so much about. Olivia has also influenced Leah to gain a re-interest in soccer. Leah has been the ever willing keeper to give Olivia a challenge at targeting that net. Leah's reflexes are incredible. The way she blocks those power kicks is amazing. Perhaps she may make a return to the pitch herself.

Adelynn will be 11 months old in a few days. Hmm, 11 is a big number this month. Her first teeth are cresting. It's giving her an added edge at eating, which she loves, helping her bite food. Still no mobility. She has the strength but that motion is still on pause. She does a little rear end scooting. Often she will scoot turning herself around to reach things. In the mean time the house is still safe from destruction. Once Adelynn gets moving she will be so happy to learn the joy of discovery. Right now I'm loving how her little chubby legs curl around my hip as I tote her around the house. We've been good pals she and I. Although her assistance at cooking has stopped due to those strong grabby hands. Everything is so interesting to her. Food is always a draw. She wants to sample everything. I love her eagerness to try. Not everything has been tasty. For the life of me I can't figure out why mashed potatoes are not a favorite. She will pass them up for a bite of that meatloaf.

Lincoln our kitten has settled in comfortably. He sleeps all over. At night he tends to sit guard at the top of the staircase outside of our bedroom door. He has been making those middle of the night nursing visits with Adelynn tricky. Nevertheless he is full of love. Constantly purring he has quite the personality. He and Adelynn have been building a nice relationship. He sees her as a snack machine. Her cereal, cheese, yogurt and other food is up for grabs when she isn't looking. I've caught on to him though so he tries hard to be sneaky. When they are not eating they can be found on the living room floor playing with toys. Lincoln loves the Little People as much as Adelynn. She loves to chew on them and so does he. Partners in mischief. He loves being near her but is very aware that she tends to be very grabby. He has learned not to be too close or he might get a little rough baby petting. Both are learning to be gentle with each other.

Keith has been working on cutting alphabet letters in the garage. He is experimenting with some fonts. So far so good. He may work on creating each of the girls' names. With this drought we have been watching our garden slip away. Dormancy is setting in. The trees are withering and dropping leaves. The vegetables are being watered but even then only limited amounts. My tomatoes are done. The heat and lack of water has made them die back. I enjoyed those 5 tomatoes I got. I was hoping for more. I was thinking of working a 3 harvest crop of veg but I'm thinking about taking a break this time. I'm lacking the energy to set my lettuces out this time. With the dryness too I'm not sure now is a good time to get some seed in the ground. The birds have been poaching our garden enough. I'm wanting to focus more on some knitting. I've set it aside a while and it's time for me to get some things made.

Corners of my home: girls' hallway

2011-08-09T15:00:00.003-04:00

Lessons

2011-08-05T13:59:00.006-04:00

This week I have learned that......

It never fails that our tomato plants are done for by August. :::Sigh::::

Baby teeth will finally push their way to the surface.

Teething babies will wake up 5 times during the night to nurse because of those darn teeth.

Ice cream does make it better.

We are so very glad to have kitty Lincoln join our family.

Pie Spotter

2011-08-04T21:35:00.001-04:00

Summer in our house is a season of many names: pool, vacation, camp, garden and the best PIE. We eat plenty of pie around here during the summer. Taking advantage of all that fresh fruit just makes it such an easy dessert. Our family is full of different opinions when it comes to which is the best pie. The best pie is the pie worthy of a fight for the last piece, no bite. Keith is a pumpkin pie man. Olivia follows her spring favor and devours strawberry rhubarb. Leah loves a good jumble-berry pie. I enjoy a peach blueberry pie.

There is one pie that supersedes all pies in this house. This summer pie causes riots. It is the pie that has the shortest lifespan in our home. It is the pie that would be stolen if left unattended.

Sour Cherry Pie.

This pie motivates us to pick 30 pounds of cherries on a blistering hot June day. This pie is so special that we hardly share our cherry bounty with just any person. No, no, we don't share such splendid deliciousness with just anyone. I mean, if we ourselves are trying to be the first person in the house to wake-up just to eat cherry pie for breakfast you know this is something. This pie causes our family to make a slice count every time we pass by it on the counter. I make this pie only a few times a year. We always eat it the day after we pick our cherries. The other pies will come randomly through the year. Depending on our harvest we may only see this pie 3 times. My cherry pie is mood altering. So I tend to make it when our family needs a lift. There is nothing better than a comfort pie.

It just so happens that we were able to secure a decent harvest this year so we can enjoy more than our usual 3 pies. I refuse to put a number on the pies I could make. It's just better to keep my stash a surprise. Nevertheless cherry pie is still and always going to be a treat for us. That's why when I made this pie last (way back in June) there was no wasting of the precious pie. Not a speck.

On that pie's last night in our home I dished out every one's slice. Keith, Leah, Olivia and then mine. Keith, the professional pie eater he is, took 3 seconds to eat his generous slice. Leah and Olivia unwilling to allow Keith to sneak a bite gobbled their up seconds after his was gone. All that was left was my piece. I too wanted to gobble my precious piece. With 3 sets of eyes on me it was a dangerous room. Respecting their mother the girls watched me sit down eager to savour my pie. I pulled my chair close to the table, fork in hand, the other resting on the edge of my plate. I took my first two bites enjoying the bliss of summer cherries. I could feel Keith crowding me in. He knelt next to me his right arm on the back of my chair his left arm inches from my hand which was now clutching my plate. He stared at me as I ate my next bite. He inched closer to me. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that when I took a bite his mouth opened up. It was so very strange.

Finally I stopped. I turned to him. He broke out in a very mischievous grin. I asked him what he was doing.

He replied: "I'm your pie spotter."

He wanted to make sure that I would not miss a bite of that cherry pie. That is some pie folks. Let me know if you need a pie spotter because I know of a good one that could use some work.

Cool Lavender

2011-08-01T16:38:00.003-04:00

Lavender, lavender, lavender, oh lavender what splendid flavor you bring to the kitchen. What fun we are having with our lavender this summer! We have been on such a lavender kick. I think we have truly fallen in love with this herb. Our lemonade obsession has been as strong as that heat wave hitting us in these parts. For as much as I can't get enough of that lovely drink we have been in need of a new form of lavender love. We sampled something new earlier this summer. Something I have never tasted; Lavender ice cream. Sounds delightful. It was delightful.

After our visit to the lavender farm we had lunch at the Manor House at the Poplar Springs Inn. Being lavender season they featured several items on the menu with lavender. Lunch was wonderful. That Manor House is a beautiful place. I foresee another girls day out in my future. The desserts were tops for us to try, just reading the menu was enough to get us excited for the treats. (My lavender creme brulee was divine.) The girls devoured their little lavender ice cream sandwiches leaving little for me to sample. I thought the ice cream was nice, nothing significant, but I was slurping up leftovers. I can only imagine my impression if I had been able to take a good sample. That little visit lingered in the back of my mind. It was a very enjoyable place to dine. Quiet, relaxing, delectable food. Everything a nice luncheon should be.

As the lavender season has come to a close I have been working on collecting our lavender buds from the garden. With baskets of lavender drying all over it is difficult to not think about lavender. It has been on our minds every time we catch a breath of its fragrance. Sampling those fantastic lavender foods made such an impression on us all. Leah has been raving about that ice cream. It must be something for Leah to describe it so often. With her constantly reminding me about how fantastic that ice cream was I decided it was time to make our own.

Something is one way to describe that ice cream. I prefer to liken it to an indulgence that is phenomenal. I hoped it would be good. I did not expect it to be so delectable. I daresay that this batch of ice cream has no hope of lasting but a day in this house. The pleasant perfume of lavender just complements the creamy flavor of milk so magically. Really it is something you must try. Thank goodness for our ice cream machine. Ok, ok, ok, I'll quit with the carrying on about the wonderful flavor of this ice cream. I'm sure you are already thinking about getting some of your own. Believe me one bite will convince you indeed. Oh, I do wish you could just sample this treat.

I began our experiment with a standard small batch of a custard based ice cream in the quantity of 1 quart. Our machine can make up to 5 quarts but I hardly make that much at one time. Our machine works better in 1-2 quart batches. The ice cream firms up faster and is less messy. After our initial experimental batch I have tweaked and perfected our recipe.

Garden Lavender Ice Cream

4 cups milk

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

3 Tablespoons dried culinary lavender buds*

6 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Place the egg yolks into a medium sized mixing bowl.

Beat the egg yolks until thick and smooth.

Gradually add the sugar to the eggs.

Whisk the eggs and sugar until the mixture becomes thick like a cake batter, set aside.

Pour the milk and cream into a medium sized saucepan. Add your lavender and stir. Cook the lavender mixture on medium-high heat until the cream becomes frothy. Remove cream from heat.

Place a strainer over a large bowl and strain the lavender buds out of the cream. Discard the used lavender.

Reserve 1 cup of the hot lavender cream, set aside the remaining portion.

To temper the eggs you will slowly add a small amount of the reserved hot lavender cream to the mixing bowl. Quickly whisk until the egg mixture thins. Gently add more hot lavender cream keeping the mixture moving (to prevent scrambling the yolks) around the bowl. If your yolks begin to scramble don't panic this happens to everyone. It is easy to fix. Stop. Get that strainer out and strain the egg mixture. All of the scrambled yolk bits will be removed by the strainer and you can finish tempering the mixture. See, no problem.

Once you have tempered the egg mixture combine it with the remaining hot lavender cream. Whisk to combine. Pour the lavender ice cream mixture into an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Pour the chilled ice cream mixture into your ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer's instructions. This recipe will make 2 quarts of ice cream. We have been enjoying this fantastic ice cream. The flavor is wonderful; A perfect blend of casual and elegant. Serving this would certainly be a crowd pleaser. A lovely bit of summer for dessert.

*Use French (culinary) lavenders only. Non-French lavenders have too much camphor and will render an intense and bitter flavor.

Lessons

2011-07-29T16:52:00.001-04:00

This week I have learned that........

Vine borers will get my pupmkins AGAIN!

Planting extra LARGE pumpkin varities mean that the pumpkins are larger and more pumpkin like by the time those pests destroy the vines.

Sweet potatoes are crazy. Crazy ground cover. Crazy plants.

The Goldfinches will gleefully dine on our sunflowers.

Acadia Maine Day 3: Ocean and mountains

2011-07-27T11:15:00.000-04:00

Lavender Harvest

2011-07-26T07:48:00.000-04:00

I have been fond of lavender for only a few years of my long gardening life. It may have to do with all those years of shade to deep shade gardens that prevented me from noticing the beauty and simplicity of this fantastic plant. I never grew it I never had my hands on it, only its final forms of oils, waters, perfumes, herbs. Once I moved to a home that had ample sunshine lavender was just to me another plant to serve a purpose: Grow in a dry hot spot. That it did as well as made me love it for its hardiness. Growing aromatics have become my favorite in the garden. It all started with Rosemary and now well lavender has become my love.

Those first lavender plants I introduced to myself and this home grew with such energy that it was difficult to ignore. They welcomed our guests with their scent and gentle tickles from stray stems as people came to the front door. Then the bees. Oh the bees. 100s of bees became our newest friends. Dawn to dusk those bees went to work outside our front door. Constantly working on those blossoms the bees I know came from far away to harvest that pollen. I have always loved bees. The lavender only increased my appreciation of those integral insects. In the mornings I would sit on our steps between the rows of lavender watching the bees work. They would fly all around me frantic to get more pollen. There for a while I could almost identify each bee by their behavior it was so fascinating to be that connected with them. They became my pollinator pals. I loved my bees but many other people do not have my same affection. Spring through early summer the front walk became a scary place for kids and sensitive (to bees) adults.

That first year my lavender came and went. I picked some stems for the house but was not particular about reserving those precious buds. The following year the plants grew even larger. The bees returned in greater number. I remember sitting outside in early spring once it had gotten warm enough for bees to wake seeing them. They were investigating my lavender. Each bee, honey and bumble came periodically to keep an eye on those flowers. They were scouting out my garden. I felt flattered. I know that's what they do but I've never experienced that sort of relationship with bees. They came back because I had flowers they wanted to visit. The second year I let the lavender grow and the bees enjoy. I cut some stems here and there but waited for them to be of little interest to the bees before trimming them down. I bound up bouquets which I hung in my dining room to dry. Some I gave as gifts but most just remained in the dining room.

The third year the lavender came back but with less eagerness. By Spring they had just not produced. They were dying. One managed to hang on but I lost 4 plants that year. Heartbreaking. I missed my bees. To cheer me up Keith came up with a way to give me my lavender and bees. He constructed a small circle flower bed in the back yard. There we planted a crape myrtle with a ring of lavender and a ring of box wood. From that point on my lavender has been taking over that part of the yard. Growing eagerly without worry they have been doing so much better in the new spot. Although I miss sitting on the front steps with the bees it is far better for the bees and kids that there is space for each to go about their activities without interference. The lavender I grow is a hybrid and is commonly available at most garden centers. The Grosso variety is used by many for making oils and cosmetics. This lavender grows large and has a strong camphor. It is the perfect choice for using around the house in dried arrangements or potpourri.

Knowing your lavender is important only if you have plans for harvesting the buds. Growing lavender for harvest requires knowing the use you have in mind prior to choosing your plants. If you prefer to cook (eat) with your lavender then you will want to choose a culinary friendly lavender. The difference between a culinary lavender and a cosmetic lavender is very clear by the strength of the lavender's aroma. A culinary lavender will have a less intense aroma; the scent won't be overwhelming. A good culinary choice would be French lavenders which bloom earlier in the season. They make a great start to the lavender season. The camphor concentration in culinary lavender is less strong making them pleasant to use in your teas and dishes. Mistakenly using a hybrid lavender in place of a culinary version will result in an overpowering flavor borderline bitter in taste.

For the past few years I have exclusively grown the Grosso variety. It does well in our Southern environment taking the heat and humidity in stride. My Grosso lavender has been really easy to care for requiring little effort on my part. I make a point to keep them watered during dry spells and am sure to prune them back after the growing season. In return they have grown fast and large. Each year I collect the stems and dry them for small bouquets. This year I am collecting the buds only. In our first harvest of half the plants we collected a quart and a half of dried buds. We still have the other half of our harvest drying in a basket in the dining room. I have plans for using those buds to make sachets, essential oils, and linen water. Because I have a steady supply of my cosmetic lavender I want to move in the direction of culinary lavender. I admit my recent visit to a lavender farm (who charges 10 cents a stem) made me realize what a cost savings I could reap if I focus on growing more than one type of lavender.

We have become very fond of lavender lemonade. It just is such a wonderful drink that once you try it you will prefer that lemonade to all others. This beverage is a good motivator for finding space in the garden for new plants. Last summer I grew a few French lavenders. I had just enough to gather a few buds. Nothing on the level of my Grosso plants. The plan in my head is to set aside another location around our yard for the French lavenders. I like to put my lavender by type all together so that I can harvest them easier. With an already full garden finding a new location will be tricky to determine. Once I have a spot set I'll move those other plants so that I can have a little culinary lavender garden. See, it's just one step closer to having my own urban lavender farm. Can't you just imagine a whole yard filled with lavender. Oh wouldn't that be wonderful.

While I dream about fields of lavender I'll get to thinking about how to carve out a spot for my new lavender additions.

Saturday goings

2011-07-23T12:53:00.003-04:00

Another day of solid hot steamy temperatures outside has been limiting our energy. You can only stand so much of that heat before it makes even the most pleasant person feel the grumpies coming. While this heat decides to take hold and linger we have decided to take advantage of the early and later parts of our day.

There have been the pre-breakfast garden duties paired with some good long swings on the swing set. Olivia has even found a way to work on her foot skills moving the soccer ball around the sprinklers on the lawn. Although she misses her typical hard drives up the lawn those moves have been replaced by slower more precise ball handling. I think that she is benefiting from the slower pace.

My typical weeding has been cut down. Boy howdy once that sun gets going that humidity sure makes the task less desirable. Little by little is my goal. We have some garden clearing to do so as to make room for our late season crop of veg. Sweet potatoes. Hrrmmph. Those guys are really making themselves welcome in that portion of the garden. And limiting my spare space. Nevertheless I'll press on. Cleverness is going to win out in the end.

Due to the heat our meals have been simple. Like corn on the cob for dinner. With a side of cool cantaloupe. Although we can go on for days eating that, well we girls, that is not going to help us charge through our CSA box. That's why tonight we're thinking like the French and having ratatouille. I'm getting everything ready to make my Easy Spiral Ratatouille tonight. I'll add a little egg noodle pasta and we're done. The plan is to eat a quick supper and then hit the pool. We'll follow that up with some ice cream for dessert.

Lessons

2011-07-22T08:29:00.001-04:00

This week I have learned that.......

Baby food is not of interest to my baby. She wants YOUR food.

The cat still thinks he lives here.

The van does not fit in the garage.

A new haircut is just what a 9 year old needs to clean up that messy hair.

Tomatoes. T-OM-A-T-O-E-S are here in the garden. Joy!

Acadia Maine Day 2: Explore

2011-07-20T20:09:00.000-04:00

Acadia Maine Day 1: arrival

2011-07-19T22:00:00.001-04:00

Garden days

2011-07-18T12:13:00.001-04:00

After a week away the garden took a turn for the crazy. Most of our veg did fine without my daily touch. The grape tomato is the worst of the bunch. It's holding on barely, it could be touch or go with that powerhouse. I hate to see that 'lil guy fold up for the season since the girls prefer to nibble on the tiny tomatoes. I'll see what I can do to help motivate 'em to hang on for us. The other two tomatoes are doing well. I had several ripe tomatoes ready for picking. Unfortunately I had to toss 4 into the woods. FOUR! What a sad thing to see is a tomato being devoured by eager bugs. They won't get a chance to take any more now that I'm back to keep those pests away.

This is the bounty I collected this morning. Quite a feast of tomatoes! There are 3 large white cucumbers and several Reisen onions. I have some bell pepper and jalapenos tucked under all those onions. It looks like we're having a batch of pico de gallo this week.

I'm learning much about the gardening. For example sweet potatoes are viney. I never knew that about them. They have taken over a good portion of the garden. It's good and bad. Good for the green beans because they need the protection but bad because it makes getting around difficult. Also tomatillos are crazy. They grow very wacky. Tomatillos take up as much room as they can get really bushing out, almost horizontally. I caged up a few but they seem to prefer creeping along the ground. So long as they produce fruit it's all good. The bonus with them is not many bugs find them interesting. I am liking them a whole lot.

The heirloom sunflowers are looking good. I just love this dark red color. The bees have been so excited to visit. These flowers are a big deal in the garden attracting all sorts of bugs. In the morning it is quite the happening place.

When we left our pumpkins were just little balls but now boy have they grown. These are the Big Max variety. They are supposed to get super large. I just want ONE to make it to fall so that we can make a jack-o-lantern from it. So far so good. This year has turned out to be the best year ever for our pumpkins. Every year we lose them to vine borers and stink bugs. Although those stink bugs are going to be here soon so I could be telling a different story next month.

This year I tried a new cucumber, a white one. It has been fun to see them so pale poking out from under the vines but for some reason they only get really FAT. I've been watching a couple now for a few days. They are starting out normal but there just seems to be a point at which they go from a standard cucumber shape to FAT. So strange. I think they will not make a return next year. I'm thinking next year some Israeli cucumbers. I find the smaller size makes a better portion for my needs

I had the girls wash our veg in the washtub before giving them a good scrub down. They cut off the onion tops and picked off the skins. For them it was fun to splash in the tub. I'll be doing this most certainly once those crazy sweet potatoes are ready.

Making Fregula

2011-07-13T14:19:00.003-04:00

Making my own pasta has always been something I wanted to try. Fresh pasta. Sounds wonderful eh? I made fregula with my girls. Fregula is a pasta from Sardinia Italy. Fregula is little pasta pearls. It's an easy type of pasta to make. You do not need any special equipment. All you will need are: a bowl of water, some semolina flour, a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, well actually three of those, and 2 different mesh-sized strainers. Your strainers should have different mesh-sized holes in them to allow for a finer level of pasta sifting. Select a baking sheet from the three you prepared to be the fregula making station. Pour 2-3 cups of semolina on to the pan. Shake the pan to evenly distribute the flour.

Once you have your area ready to go all you need are some hands. I have several pairs in this house to help me. You dip your fingers in the bowl of water and flick the water off your fingers forming droplets in the semolina.

After a good amount of water droplets have been distributed on the flour you begun to gently move the palm of your hand over the baking sheet in a circular motion. This movement creates little balls of dough. I like to rotate between running my hand over the flour and shaking the pan. I discovered that yielded the best result. When it looks like you have a good amount of fregula formed in your flour it's time to sift. Grab your second prepared baking sheet and place your finest mesh strainer on the sheet. On top of that set your larger mesh strainer. This is where having an extra set of hands helps, or if alone set those strainers over a large bowl. Take your flour pan and gently pour the fregula and flour into your large mesh strainer. Sift the flour over the finer mesh strainer making sure to catch any smaller fregula in the strainer below. In your large mesh strainer you should have the large fregula. Ours did not look all like little pearls, some were oddly shaped. Not a problem. Set those large fregula aside on your third baking sheet. Continue sifting the fine mesh strainer to separate out the flour. Put your flour back into your first baking sheet. The remaining fregula in the fine mesh strainer will be a mix of small and medium. To get those divided pour the fregula in your fine mesh strainer into the large mesh strainer. This should help remove the small pieces. Pour your fregula on the third baking sheet keeping them divided according to size. Repeat this process until all of your flour is gone or when you think you have made enough.

Leah really had fun working the pasta magic. She was the big droplet factory for our batch of fregula.

Here you can see the water droplets in the flour. We had all sorts of sizes of fregula. Some were so big from those oops moments of too much drippy fingers. Don't worry about that lumpy clumpy bits. We just set those bigger portions aside and pinched off smaller sized bits once we were done.

Olivia had the important job of keeping Adelynn busy as Leah and I finished the pasta.

By using the different mesh strainers you are sifting out the varied sizes of pasta. You will end up with larger fregula toward the left corner and finest fregula middle right of the picture. The fregula on the back of the sheet is the size that you want for the supper recipe. Really, using it all, save the finer fregula for soups, is not a problem. Once you have completed the fregula making it is time to toast the pasta. This is where separating the sizes is important. Heat your oven to 325 and place your large, medium and small fregula on three different baking sheets. Bake the small to medium sizes about 10 minutes. You will want to check on them after 5 minutes and give the pan a shake to help evenly toast them. The larger fregula will take about 20 minutes. Allow them to cool and you can store them in a glass jar or in a sealed bag in the freezer. I put my smallest fregula in the freezer for later. I went ahead and made supper with the remaining fregula. You boil fregula as you would dried pasta in water for about 8 minutes.

I made a pretty typical summer pasta sauce to go with this fregula.I chopped an onion and sauteed it with about 3 ounces of chopped bacon. Once the onion was soft and the bacon cooked I added half a cup of water. I added some salt, pepper and a dried bay leaf. I gave the mixture a good stir and added a pint of cherry tomatoes. I turned the heat down covered my pan and let the sauce cook until the tomatoes popped. At this point I began to cook the fregula. By the time the fregula was done my sauce was ready. About 10 minutes. I drained my fregula, turned off the heat for the sauce and combined the two together. I sprinkled a mixture of grated Parmesan cheese and fine bread crumbs seasoned with Italian seasoning over the top of the pasta. I placed the entire pan in the 400 degree oven (uncovered) to bake 20 minutes. Allow the pasta to cool before serving.

If you would like to make this dish but do not have the time to make fregula substitute Israeli couscous. For as much as I'd love to make this EVERY week there is no way I can do that with a busy house like ours. One day I'd like to get a pasta press for my mixer so that I can really go pasta crazy. Until then we'll stick to the every once in a while fregula making.The girls were so excited to try supper that they could hardly wait to eat. They were also so proud of their hard work which contributed to such a delicious meal.

Corners of my house: book corner

2011-07-11T15:02:00.001-04:00

Drive to Maine

2011-07-09T21:02:00.005-04:00

Some of the sites we got to see along the way.

Kids' Bike Parade

2011-07-04T11:26:00.000-04:00

Lavender farm

2011-07-02T16:05:00.039-04:00

On Friday we girls went to a small local lavender farm to pick. The girls were the pickers gathering up a small number of stems to take home with us. Adelynn took her usual spot in the wagon and worked on chewing things. Olivia was all about getting the best lavender. She pointed out several times that the lavender wasn't the best. Even at 9 she knows what a good stem is supposed to look like, she is learning! I had to remind her that comparing our lavender to a farm's lavender is different. Ours was just as spent as the farm's lavender because the season is over. It blooms in early summer and if you're lucky maybe again in the fall. I told her not to worry about a pretty fresh stem. I just wanted the dried buds anyhow so she sought out the best looking spent stems.

Leah was also helping pick but she had her eyes on another activity. Leah was so excited to meet the new baby goats. She didn't waste a moment to hop in their pen to snuggle with them. They were so sweet at just 5 weeks old they were the perfect size to pick up and pet. The Mama was pleased to get a break allowing all the kids a moment to visit with the humans. Olivia took time to explore the little play cottage with Adelynn. Nestled under a large oak tree is was the perfect place for kids to play and keep cool.

The morning started out cool but that heat kicked up once that sun got going. By 10am that humid air was building. After all that lavender picking we needed to take a moment to rest in the shade. A pitcher of lavender mint tea was available for quenching your thirst as well as a cooler of water. Because we gathered up our lavender so fast we really needed something else to do to pass the afternoon away. A quick stop in the small farm store we picked out a few things. I picked up some more culinary lavender. I'm nearly out of my supply at home.

Once we finished looking around lunch time was approaching. That's when we agreed that perhaps lunch was in order. We decided to forgo the packed lunch and try out the Inn recommend by the farm. It was a great idea. Sure it was pretty fancy according to the girls but as we looked around the grand dining room almost everyone there was at the farm. While they picked at the plate of cheese and crackers they tried hard to find those varied cheeses and cured meats to be appealing. I was pleased with my choice of lavender honey basted salmon with couscous. It was fantastic! Thank goodness dessert was not a disappointment for the girls. They enjoyed lavender ice cream sandwiches resting in chocolate sauce. Judith and I enjoyed the lavender creme brulee. I had a great time exploring the culinary treats of lavender. It was so interesting to see the farm's lavender be used in several of the featured dishes on the menu. I for one was hoping for some lavender lemonade. It was available at the Inn but by the time we arrived it was all gone! Ahh what luck. That was okay, not that big of a deal. I'll just have to make my own this week.

Lessons

2011-07-01T17:24:00.000-04:00

This week I have learned that......

Babies like the pool when they can ease in to it.

Jam is good.

Lavender picking is fun with friends.

Old country roads are so fun to explore.

Jamalicious

2011-06-30T14:03:00.005-04:00

Jam, jam,jam, jam. Jam, jam,jam, jam. Jam, jam,jam, jam. Jam! Jam!

It is jam season. Our first batch of jam for the season is complete. I put off the task long enough. The fresh picked fruit will last only so long before it has to be used or frozen. I wanted to make some black raspberry jam but since I ate about a pint of those berries I picked I was short some fruit. Improvisation! That's the answer to many kitchen problems. Instead of plain black raspberry jam I decided to make:

Blueberry black raspberry ginger lime jam.

It's going to need a better name than that long super descriptive one. I think summerberry jam is a better name. It tastes wonderful but the batch could have used another 2 cups of sugar to help set it up better. Which I know has to do with the pectin I used. Every time I use Sure-jell I need to use at least another 1-2 cups more sugar. (Blast you kraft) I am not a fan of that brand. I prefer Ball brand as it has NEVER failed me in any of my improvisational recipes. Let that be a lesson to you jam making fans; know your pectin. I had to make due with the Kraft brand because apparently all those other crazy jam makers out there in my town have bought up all the Ball brand. See, that's what I get for being slow on getting my supplies in order for the season. Don't worry I'm ordering the MEGA size of Ball pectin to prevent any mishaps.

The summerberry jam's consistency at room temperature is like that of a fruit sauce, glace-like. That's fine with me as the taste is not affected. I think this jam goes will over some soft cheese and crackers. I know it would be great basted over some chicken, fish or pork. Or ice cream. It would be very good over ice cream.

First I tossed the washed black berries into my pot. Using a potato masher I mashed up the berries. Next I tossed in the blueberries and mashed them up a little more. I zested a lime and then I added the acid ingredients, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and the juice from half a lime. I gave the mixture a good stir.

I grated 2 tablespoons fresh ginger tossing that into the pot stirring again. I poured the full measure of sugar into the pot and placed it on the stove. Turned on the heat to high and began to stir the jam until the sugar melted and began to boil hard. I added my pectin allowed the jam to return to a hard boil stirring the entire time. After about 2 minutes I turned off the heat and let the mixture cool a moment. At that point I knew it was a bit runny and should have added more sugar but, 6 cups is a LOT of sugar and really does a jam need 8 cups? 8CUPS?! I think not. So I pressed on. I was able to get 10 and a half pints of jam from this recipe. I will give this a try again next year and by then I should have the proper pectin.

I'll be shipping this lot out to some lucky people out there. Although you will need to wait until I get my other round of jam making complete as several of my people requested a sampling of my jam adventures. And what are those adventures you ask? Well, there's that standard peach I make EVERY year because that stuff is so darn good that you crave it nightly after the first bite. Then there will be the return of the Plumeach jam equally addictive in it's own sinister way. I think I crave that jam more than any I have ever craved in my entire life. The next new one is actually not a jam at all, rather a jelly, lavender jelly. I'm going to give this a try since I was so fond of that lavender lemonade last summer. Besides if Queen Elizabeth I couldn't live without lavender jelly then that must be some good jelly. If I can fit in more jam making into my summer I'd like to venture into pepper jams. I have a decent pepper patch in the garden that will provide the stock I need to give that a try. The jamalicious summer is off to a good start.

Silent blueberries

2011-06-27T09:17:00.003-04:00

What busy days summer has for us. I thought relaxing was the point of summer. Alas summer is more about doing as much as possible with the long daylight hours. In the week the big girls have been vacationing in Colorado Adelynn and I have had much time together. The first days while the girls were gone the Mister was away on business. Those were some very quiet days. She and I tried to make noise so it would seem like there were more people around. At times I think we did very well at the noise. At the moment Adelynn is very fond of banging things together. It is likely to be a new activity for her. I was eager for noise for more life in this house. With everyone gone I could feel the silence far more. Getting out to do things with others was what we needed to keep us busy.

On Friday we went blueberry picking with our friends. I have been looking forward to this since the first week we brought Adelynn home. Imagining a beautiful sunny day and a little baby in a wagon full of berries. That image came to life as we settled into our picking. It turned out to be the perfect day to pick with little humidity, overcast at times skies and plenty of breezy winds. It was just the weather for a day on the farm. I was surprised with Adelynn's ability to keep busy in the wagon. We picked for a few hours and she was generally pleasant for the duration. So long as she has her books she is a happy girl. Towards the end of blueberry picking hunger got the best of her. She was not going to sit in that wagon with a hungry belly. So up she went where she became my little helper on my hip. I was trying to fill up my 7th pint of blueberries. There was no way we were going to call it quits with a half filled pint. No sir. Not with blueberries.

She helped by trying to grab some berries. She was so fascinated with them. Her palm full of unripe berries she clutched them tightly. When I removed them, because I was thinking she may just shove them in her mouth while I was not looking, she became upset. Instead of fighting her on that I traded her unripe green berries with plump blue ones just in case she decided to sample them. At least she would be able to mash up the ripe berries easier than those green ones. In the end she didn't want to eat them. All she wanted was to hold them, explore their texture, rolling them in her fingers. Babies love to experience new things. And Adelynn, that girl, she is very much taking advantage of the features of this world. Once our pint was full she and I joined our friends on the blanket for lunch. We munched on food discussing the wonders of all those blueberries we were taking home with us. Oh the things we could make. JAM! PIE! TARTS! Oh the fantastic yummy blueberries. Our little friend has been reading Blueberries for Sal with his Mama. It was so great to hear about the story from him as we lunched. He was so very excited to be blueberry picking. Three year olds are great companions.

While my berry picking companions had to head back home to check on their Papa Adelynn and I remained behind to investigate those ripe black raspberries. I pulled the wagon over to the berry hillside as Adelynn wobbled around inside. At first I was not sure if we'd be able to pick much. That was some steep hillside. With a wagon and baby. A few minutes into picking and my baby was fussing. A nap was coming on and she just wasn't able to get comfort sitting in a wagon braced by my leg. With a baby snuggled up to my chest I began to pick more berries. I knew she was so tired looking for some Mama cuddles to help her fall asleep. It wasn't long until her little head was limp with sleep. It came at a great time since getting to those berries was getting tricky while balancing a baby and berry bucket. I settled her into the wagon all snuggled up with her quilt. She got comfortable instantly turning on to her side. I was glad this was the same moment the sun decided to hide behind some clouds. I had no idea what I was going to use to cover her up to shield her from that hot sunshine. The sun remained hidden long enough for me to fill 3 pints of berries. As I picked I could hear my fellow fruit lovers carry on conversations with their companions. There were parents with kids, grandparents and grandchildren and girlfriends. An assorted demographic too. Those were some interesting discussions. I was silent in my work, unnoticed in a row all to myself and the baby. She slept as gentle farm breezes rolled down the mountains. I would have picked for more hours if not for the lack of green in my wallet. See, I knew better than to bring too much cash so that I'd keep my harvesting to a reasonable amount. I think Adelynn and I did very well berry picking. Although I forgot the camera I did take a few shots with my phone. Not the same quality as my camera but still it's something.

When we got home I was not up to the usual sorting and washing and making of the first blueberry tart. Instead I poured all the blueberries into a giant bowl and put it in the fridge. With Leah away I knew those berries would be safe. She is quite the berry eater that girl is. I decided to save the usual work for Saturday when I'd have an extra hand with Adelynn. Keith came home late Friday night. When Adelynn and I spend time out all day she gets to be in need of Mama time. That need is closeness. She just wants to be held and carried around. After the berries were put in the fridge she sat on the floor with me. There she played with toys while I read some recipes getting ideas for jam. I want to make something with those black raspberries. Something good, no divine. I need to ponder some more on that.

Lessons

2011-06-24T21:33:00.000-04:00

This week I have learned that....

Our summer is off to a busy start with trips for all.

Seeing beloved neighbors move away is sad.

Taking a trip to Colorado all by yourselves on a plane is both exciting and scary.

A mosquito bite on your ear is NOT cool. What a bad Mama I am for missing that one.

It's so lonely when all your family goes away for the week.

Berry picking with my best Mom pal and her little dude was so much fun.

Baby toes

2011-06-20T14:07:00.000-04:00

Is there anything more precious than tiny little toes? I think not.

Lessons

2011-06-17T09:25:00.000-04:00

This week I have learned that....

Fevers and earaches are terrible for little ones.

It's beetle season again. They really love my roses. Boo!

I'm going to enjoy having the big girls home this summer.

11 years of marriage to my favorite nerd has been wonderful.

5th Grade Marine Animal project

2011-06-16T14:57:00.002-04:00

A big project is expect for fifth grade. The marine animal project was just that: BIG. It was fun but involved. We had a month to prepare for this extensive project. There was class time carved out each week for the students to work on research. Because Leah is generally an on top of it kind of gal I figured that she was keeping up with her research. Unfortunately that was not the case. We learned almost too late that she was not quite organized. The weekend before this project was due she left all of her notes at school. Which meant we had to start all over. Not something that we wanted to hear. Nevertheless we got it all done.

Leah chose the green sea turtle for this project. She needed to do a very diverse list of mini-projects that compiled together make the whole project. There were 5 categories to choose from and each category had several options. Each category had a level of difficulty and required a certain number from each to be done. I think it was great to have so many options. It gave students the choice to do things that appealed to them. The negative was that for some kids it was overwhelming. I think that is what happened to Leah. She became side tracked and distracted which led to her changing her mind often. Those choices attributed to her not getting as much done as she would have if the project was more narrow.

For as much as a hassle this project was to complete this is the one Leah loved the most. She had such a wonderful time reading about the turtle. She often became so interested that she had to be told to put those books down. Terrible! Telling a child to stop learning because of needing to finish a project. If we had kept a better time table there would have been no need to stop Leah from enjoying those books. Trying to narrow her choices in product was hard. She wanted to do some more involved options but time was not on our side. She had to compromise on some so she could have time to finish her project. She chose to make a Facebook page which was so fun. I had her look at my page to see an example. She was very excited about creating all the friends and their messages. We saved this portion for last as that was the most fun to do.

In art the students were to create a 3-D model of their animal. Leah's turtle was made from paper mache and painted green. It was a rushed job which was unfortunate. (Why must art class always be rushed?) So it pretty much looked like a green oval. The paint caused the arms and legs to get affixed to the body which is why the turtle turned out to be more of an oval. I would have taken a picture but there is not much to see and Leah was pretty upset about how the paint ruined the arms and legs.

Corners of my home: Leah's room

2011-06-15T14:36:00.024-04:00

A child's room is full of personality. I try to allow the girls to enjoy their mess to a point. As with Olivia's room Leah too has quite a delightful mess on her floor. With that in mind we will venture high in her room. I want to focus on her desk area. I am doing this not to highlight the mess but rather to remember the careless lifestyle of a 5th grade girl. This fall she enters middle school and things (Oh the things) will change. Her taking steps toward adulthood will slowly make an appearance in the way she uses her room. She will no longer be able to stack up toys and other items on her desk because she will need it free and clear for homework. I love her quirky posting of important info on her pushpin bar. Notes from friends, photographs, things. All important to her. The beaver print is from John W. Golden. I love his work and this was such a great print from his Woodland Critters series. It sits on her desk until we can find a place to hang it in her room. That shelf of horses may no longer there this time next year. Those horses may be replaced with books or pictures of her friends. Her bulletin board will change too. Instead of having pictures of her and family it will be filled with cool things teens like. The kitty calendar will disappear too. I am pausing today to remember. This disorganized space is that of a 10 year old girl with broad interests and dreams. This is a reminder of the little girl she is now but will soon be the snapshot of the little girl she was.

Oh my ears!

2011-06-14T07:02:00.000-04:00

It happened. I was waiting and wondering when it would hit us. We've been doing quite well for some time. I didn't expect it to arrive in the middle of the night.

An earache.

In the baby's ear.

Oh what awfulness this has been for the little Lady A. She woke at 4am Monday burning up. It has been warm here for many days so at first in my sleepy head state I thought she was just hot. Perhaps I was also hoping it was nothing but being hot. Fever is not what a mother wants to discover in the dark hours of the night. A visit to the doctor confirmed the earache. We are waiting to see if the infection will go away or require antibiotics. It's likely a viral infection considering the high fever. A long wait for a little person to endure such pain. She has been as pleasant as possible. She wants Mama all the time and many snuggles. She is still eating which is a good sign. She also is VERY thirsty. Her nursing constantly is going to increase my supply. (Hello tight shirts) I am predicting a night of every 3 hours waking to nurse. A long night for me but what ever it takes to make her feel better. Perhaps that milk will cure her. It's a wonder maker that breast milk.

We still have a busy week ahead. I'm thankful that the weather has been normal and not blasting hot. Having to take a feverish baby around town in the HOT HOT day is not my idea of fun. Although I must say that Lady A sure is a trooper for enduring a 2 hour soccer tryout yesterday. I hope it was worth it those hours on the pitch. Olivia really wants to be on a travel soccer team again. I know she's good but so are all those other girls out there. We should know by Sunday. It will be a very long week for Olivia but we'll handle the news good or bad as it comes.We have a 5th grade graduation tomorrow. That is a big deal for Leah. I'm excited for her too. Apparently there will be songs and performances. She's so ready to be done with school. I'm not sure I'm ready for a middle schooler. Maybe next school year will be the one she shines in.

In the mean time I'm going to take a breath. Pause. Proceed with gentle kisses and long moments of quiet. A slower day today will likely be good for the sick one. She needs some rest today so that fever will break. Plus I need a break from all the running around. I'm eager to get my hands on some yarn to finish up a few projects for the girls and some for a dear friend.

Lessons

2011-06-10T12:00:00.003-04:00

This week I have learned that......

Sometimes Moms can make fancy a breakfast.

A little pool is a lot of fun for a baby.

A heat wave sure reminds us of the summer ahead.

Tissue boxes are a bunch of fun.