brighter than sunshine

Hey!

2011-12-26T16:03:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this?

Sense and Sensibility is having a sale on their patterns from now through December 31.

I love their patterns. I've made several versions of a couple little girl dresses for my daughter, in addition to a couple pinafores. The pantaloon pattern is my go-to pattern for pants for both my children, though my little girl does have several pairs of actual pantaloons in her leggings and tights drawer. I also have made up a muslin in my size of the 1914 afternoon dress, though I haven't had the time to actually sew the real thing yet.

Anyway, it's awesome!

2011-12-25T13:52:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!!! We hope your Christmas is filled with love, peace, and joy.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), 1867)

Windfall Dolls

2011-11-29T08:38:00.000-05:00

Oh my.

Oh my oh my oh my.

My little girl has been asking for a baby doll for Christmas. Because the four she has aren't enough. :) My mom bought her a beautiful doll, 18" and poseable with long hair my daughter can style (the other gift she's been asking for are "beauty parlor tools") but I've been thinking about the baby doll request...

I love Waldorf dolls. They are pricey but beautiful. And I've been searching all kinds of sites for dolls: etsy, high-end natural toy stores, make-your-own supply stores, but I haven't made a commitment to any of them.

Then today, via another blog, I discovered Windfall Dolls. And how convenient, they're hosting a giveaway today!

So I entered. And everyone who has been looking for a beautiful doll ought to, as well.

I know, right? Lovely.

So I entered. And everyone who has been looking for a beautiful doll ought to, as well.

It's that time of year again!

2011-10-31T16:11:00.000-04:00

Christmas cards!

Shutterfly is again doing their promotion for 25 free Christmas cards for bloggers.

And, of course, if it's free it's for me.

Plus, they have supercute holiday photo cards. We loved ours last year. My dad snapped a cute family photo outside our home, we were matchy-matchy (my daughter and I even had our dress/skirt made from the same fabric), and everyone we knew got an awesome card of family awesomeness for Christmas.

(btw: matchy isn't a word according to my spell check, but awesomeness is. huh.)

This year, though, we are going for the real deal and we hired a real photographer to take some family photos. A first, since my dad usually does it. And he takes wonderful photos, but I kind of thought it'd be fun to have 'real' photos done and not in JC Penney's studio. Plus, all her profits go towards her family's adoption of a little boy in China, waiting to come home.

And I do everything I can to support adoption!

So.

Wanna see some of my choices for cards, maybe?

There's this one, which I think is cute with the birdies and the wreaths.

And then there's this one. I love it for it's simplicity and, heh, joyfulness.

I love this one, and it would look really good with the setting of our photos.

This is so vintagey 50s, I just love it!

And the simplicity in this one grabs me, too. Plus, I love her dress.

So, yeah. Lots of choices!!

How will I ever choose?

Past My Bedtime Daybook

2011-08-29T22:47:00.001-04:00

I should be asleep, but we just watched half of The King's Speech and now my brain is thinking too much to fall asleep quickly. I envy my husband because he is out like a light.

Here we go!

Outside my window...it's night. Obviously. :) Hot, humid, thunder-y night.

I am thinking...about children's church and whether I have too high expectations. And about speech therapy and what I liked about it. And about the Suzuki school I signed my kids up for tonight.

I am thankful for...the Suzuki school giving me a break on tuition for my kiddos because I can help teach classes as needed.

From the learning rooms...math! After a week, Isabel is STILL excited about math, which makes ME excited about math, so we're all excited! This week is learning about ones values (1, 11, 21, 2, 12, 22, etc.), tens values (10s, 20s, 30s, etc.), and using a hundred chart. Also, reading. And Suzuki practice! And possibly going to the library to get books on autumn, Labor Day, and other seasonal interests.

From the kitchen...Yogurt was supposed to be made tonight, but I forgot all about it so I will have to make it tomorrow. Also, bread. The rest, I'm not sure! I usually do meal planning Sunday or Monday morning and got out of sorts somehow this week. We have lots of things I need to figure out how to cook. Like bok choy! And mung and adzuki beans! And some other stuff I've forgotten. I do have some grapefruit that needs to be eaten, though. Anyone know any fabulous recipes for using up grapefruit? I'm the only one who likes them and I can't eat a whole grapefruit by myself.

I am wearing...my nightgown. It is bedtime.

I am creating...oh bah...the same stuff as last week. I didn't get any sewing done last week besides the bias binding for the neckline of the Sorbetto. I also need to make shoulder rests to fit my kiddos' violins, but I need to get some foam first.

I am going...to bed soon, I hope.

I am reading...Finished Snowdrops, Prophecy, and Gregor the Overlander. Now I'm out of new-to-me books to read and don't know what to pick up. Hopefully tomorrow brings a quick trip to the library for me.

I am hoping...So far this entry has been filled with hope. :) I am hoping this week is productive. And $1000 magically lands in my lap so we can buy the iron sleigh bed I so, so, so want. Because it's pretty. I like our bed now, it was the closest thing I could find to what I really wanted, but this sleigh bed is exactly what I've wanted. And it's on sale. But still $1000. And I think $500 is pricey for a bed, so it's not happening. But I can hope. :)

I am hearing...me typing. It's bedtime!

Around the house....it's quiet. And tidy. And those home maintenance projects still need to be completed. How does one go about washing the eaves of their roof? Soap and water? Pressure washing? Ours are all grimy from the rain and leaves and things and I'm afraid it's going to get all moldy and icky if we don't do something about it soon.

One of my favorite things...oh, that bed. And this movie! My parents recommended it to us nearly a year ago and it just now came up on our Netflix queue. I'm sorry we didn't put it at the top right away because it is really very good.

A few plans for the rest of the week: schoolwork, a parent meeting for the public school strings program I help teach, organization, a trip (or two) to the library, and maybe joining the local homeschool group at the park for a 'back to school' party. Maybe. It's still hot. :)

Here is picture for thought I am sharing: the 1/16 size violin I ordered for my son (for cheap, cheap, cheap at shar in their clearance or trade-in section)....he could not contain his joy when he saw what was in the box!!

First Day of School Daybook

2011-08-22T14:15:00.000-04:00

Outside my window...sun sun sunny. It is August and it is hot and steamy. I expect it to rain this afternoon or evening, because that is what happens in Florida in the summer. A tropical storm (or hurricane?) is in the Atlantic and is predicted to head for the east coast as a category 2, which means we'll get lots and lots of rain this week. Lots and lots.

I am thinking...how much I really want to take a nap right now. :)

I am thankful for...oh, everything. Pretty weather. Happy morning. Opportunity to nap.

From the learning rooms...school!! My daughter wanted desperately to start school when all the public school kiddos started today, so start we did! Simple, simple stuff: a few pages of Miquon math, reading from a BOB book, Suzuki practice and CD listening, and writing a birthday card for a friend. More of the same throughout the week. She is so excited! :) I am, too!

From the kitchen...Well, I wanted to make some cupcakes for the birthdaying friend, but only just realized we are out of eggs. And I already went to the store this morning. So we'll have to make them later this week and bring them to her. Also, yogurt will be made this week. I'm not sure what else!

I am wearing...white cotton peasant-y top from Target with turquoise embroidery along the neckline and knit tiered skirt. Barefeet and pony tail completes the look. :)

I am creating...another Sorbetto top! I uploaded the last one to Flickr and will try to remember to upload this one, too. It's blue-and-white striped shirting with exposed bias trim and maybe some decorative buttons. Not sure. Finishing cutting out the quilt blocks (because I am s l o w) and I haven't even started on the fall birdie dress for my daughter. That didn't stop me from buying seven new patterns from Jo-Ann's the other day during their $1sale.

I am going...to a birthday dinner tonight! All in a Bible study (though I don't actually attend the Bible study....I never seem to be able to get to it! But I do read the books.) and all women I've known since high school. And my mom! :)

I am reading...I just finished The Distant Hours late last night (far, far too late) and will begin a book called Snowdrops this afternoon.

I am hoping...the weird, gargantuan flying ants I've been finding here and there in our house don't mean something terrible and we can figure out how to get rid of them for good.

I am hearing...me typing. It's naptime!

Around the house....it's quiet. I need to finish recording what we did this morning and wash the lunch dishes. Some home maintenance projects need to be completed and I need to figure out order of priority and when they can be done.

One of my favorite things...how quickly the grass seed my husband planted in July sprang up! Hopefully this week he can begin seeding the rest of the front yard and then our yard will be less weedy and more pretty.

A few plans for the rest of the week: completing our first week of school, reading, teaching, organizing, and having a rather quiet week at home. I look forward to it.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing: two! one from this morning, our first day of school.....she was to excited to get started in her math book to stop and take a picture :) the other is from our trip to the beach last week. it was a wonderful trip, lots of waves and digging and dolphins!!! and ice cream and kite flying and hunting for shells and showing Isabel the house we lived in when she was born. Where she was born! :)

It's August!

2011-08-01T13:47:00.000-04:00

After an unexpected break, we return to

the Daybook.

Daybook #10

Outside my window...it is rainy and thundery, though neither has actually happened yet. So I guess I should say gray and cloudy.

I am thinking...about what I want most for our family in the future and how to best obtain that.

I am thankful for...a good report from the dentist last week!

From the learning rooms...phonics, I've not been very good with teaching them lately, and reading BOB books. We'll probably start winding up some of the summer art activities I've been wanting to try, like homemade chalk and sun prints and things. If it ever gets sunny again.

From the kitchen...stir fry with bok choy! Never had it before it came in our co-op bag this week. Bean soup might also make an appearance on the list, as well as the usual yogurt and breads and things.

I am wearing...a Sorbetto top made out of a Prince Charming print. The pleat was annoying me so I un-pleated at the hem. Ankle-grazing knit tiered skirt in a color that would probably best be described as putty. Cascading navy cardigan. Hair half up-half down in messy bun. Bare feet.

I am creating...a quilt. Shoulder rests (that really ought to be finished by now). A fall dress for my daughter. Maybe some more of these Sorbetto tops because I've been so inspired by what I've seen around the online sewing world.

I am going...to meet with some of my fellow violin teachers, the library, my exercise class.

I am reading...Swamplandia! (the ! is not an indication of excitement but part of the title. and someone i know read this but i can't remember who)

I am hoping...I nail down what it is exactly I want to do in our homeschool and then how to execute that.

I am hearing...my children coloring, thunder rumbling.

Around the house....laundry needs to be put away, surfaces need to be dusted, and bathrooms need to be clean. We were given a nice dresser for Isabel and I'm looking forward to painting it and moving it into her room and giving her current dresser away to a friend who has the rest of the bedroom set to match.

One of my favorite things...the co-op we joined! For an annual fee of $25 and weekly cost of $24, we get a huge bag of organic and locally grown produce. It's been wonderful. And delicious.

A few plans for the rest of the week: updating the baby blog, entering a bunch of stuff to the huge seasonal children's consignment sale at the fairgrounds this week. And attending the sale! I usually find wonderful wardrobe staples for my children for very cheap at this sale and I'm looking forward to it.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing: not really a thought. just sweetness.

Since I'm blogging stupid stuff today

2011-07-22T17:48:00.000-04:00

Wanna see my Pinterest?

Chances are, if you read this, and only about four people do, you're already on Pinterest with me. But! In case you're not...

I love Pinterest. It's my favorite place to go online right now.

You know what's sad?

2011-07-22T13:27:00.001-04:00

When you're updating your Facebook profile and, just for fun, click the link to your blog and discover you completely forgot you changed the whole look of it.

Not so good at the blogging, eh?

Christ is Risen!!!

2011-04-24T05:20:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter!

We serve a risen Savior! Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! He's alive! He did what he promised he'd do!

We hope your Easter is wonderful and filled with the glory of the Risen Savior. Happy Easter!

The scene from our living room: Table is set and ready for Easter morning. I know Easter baskets (those baskets belonged to my brother and me as kids!) don't have much to do with Jesus. But note the empty 'tomb' on the far right of the table! Note the 'stone' rolled away and the women gathered at the entrance! We're obviously not those cool parents that have beautiful wooden sets of the Easter scene, we make do with what we have and what we have are Little People figures, a red pail, and a ball. It works.

The Ninth Daybook

2011-04-11T10:18:00.000-04:00

Outside my window...sunshine! It is bright and sunny and warm. Hot. Soon it will be warm enough to go swimming and my children cannot wait for that! The garden is growing, flowers are blooming, and my husband is mowing our weedy front yard.

I am thinking...about this whole budget crisis with the government.... It's far from over.

I am thankful for...the government putting my husband's job under 'emergency personnel' so we would still get work and pay even if it shuts down.

From the learning rooms...this week is a light week because it is a birthday week! So, birthday cards will be made and presents created and BOB books will be read, but otherwise we're taking it easy.

From the kitchen...bread, yogurt, zucchini boats, birthday cake! Homemade Funfetti birthday cake, to be exact, for a very fun little boy!

I am wearing...turquoise knit dress. I don't know what they're called, these type of dresses. I call them house dresses, but I don't think that's really accurate. All the women-of-a-certain-age wear them over their bathing suits around the pool. I guess, at 28, I'm one of those women. But they're so comfortable! I'll have to find a picture somewhere....Never mind. All I can find are pictures of either muumuus or nightgowns and the Bealls website, where this dress was bought, isn't working. My dress is a cross between a muumuu and a nightgown. I could wear it in public and people wouldn't think anything of it. At least, in Florida they wouldn't and particularly here, where the population is mostly retirees. Who are typically the demographic for this type of dress. And who, apparently, I resemble.

I am creating...Easter dress is done! So I'm working on a sleeveless shirt and some shorts for my little boy. I'm also knitting a little hat for my daughter at her request, even though it is only going to get hotter outside and wearing a knit hat in the summer here is like asking for heatstroke.

I am going...to ballet this afternoon with my daughter. One of her costumes is in and they get to try it on!! Also, the grocery store to get all the supplies necessary for the birthday this weekend. I am also going to sit and cry over how sweet my little babies are and how I can't believe they're growing so quickly. My baby boy can't be two!! My baby girl can't be on the very edge of four!!

I am reading...Fadeaway Girl. It's...cute.

I am hoping...oh so many things. That the budget is passed with minimal debt added, balanced and secure. That the week goes by smoothly and I don't forget anything. That my son's birthday present arrives before the expected date of April 19 (four days late!). That my children obey. That the weather is nice on Saturday. That my friends hear from Rwanda. That my father-in-law finds a good job. That I can remember to book the hotel for a wedding we are attending in May. I should do that right now while I'm thinking of it.

I am hearing...my children playing, my husband mowing, and "If The Stars Were Mine" sung by Melody Gardot. It just came on Pandora.

Around the house....it is not at all tidy. :) Coffee and blog break almost over and time to get moving. This week's spring cleaning projects are the front and back porches and the living room.

One of my favorite things...the Mama cardinal and the Daddy cardinal who seem to have taken up residence somewhere near our house. I see them both hopping around our front yard often, picking up grass and things and pecking at the dirt. Birdie birdie birdie birdie!

A few plans for the rest of the week: birthday planning! Buying ingredients for salsa and lemonade, baking the cupcakes, hanging the Happy Birthday banner my daughter made last year, setting up tables and tablecloths and things, cleaning cleaning cleaning, picking up eggs, hopefully getting together with Isabel's little friend Olivia, knitting, sewing, reading, cooking, read-alouds, and fun.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing: Isabel, my mom, and I went to see Fancy Nancy at the performing arts center near us this weekend. The picture is a little blurry, because it was pretty dark in there even before the show started, but I love it.

The sky is falling

2011-03-31T09:21:00.000-04:00

So, that whole idea of March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb?

Bogus.

We are on our fourth day of drenching rain, waking up to crazy thunderstorms. It's fun and cozy! But also a little boring....we wanted to go to the library this week!!

Maybe it'll be sunny tomorrow...

Daybook 8

2011-03-28T10:58:00.000-04:00

Outside my window...rain, thunder, and lightning! Well, the thunder and lightning is receding, and the rain has slowed to a drizzle. But oh how I love Florida thunderstorms! Especially waking up to them, with the rain beating on the windows and the thunder crashing. And we desperately need the rain. I'm tired of hand watering.

I am thinking...how to hang up these wonderful maps my in-laws gave the kids for Christmas. They are big, laminated maps of the world and of the U.S. but I don't have enough wall space anywhere to hang them and they're wider than they are long so I don't know if I could do one of those cool pull-down tricks I see in so many homeschooling rooms.

I am thankful for...an afternoon with extended family. We were able to visit with some of my aunts and uncles and little tiny second-cousin (or is it first cousin once removed?) yesterday afternoon and it was such fun. I am also thankful for the 27 baptisms our church had last night! 27! We tried to make it, they were held at the local beach, but the parking lot was so crowded we couldn't find any place to park.

From the learning rooms...reading, lambs (we have calmer, milder weather forecasted for later this week, to compliment our lion-like weather earlier this month), nature study and gardening, violin learning, and a trip to the library! Busy week. :)

From the kitchen...green smoothies and pancakes scheduled for breakfast, in addition to our usual oatmeal and eggs. We will also look forward to coconut flour pizza, tuna stir-fry, chicken and rice soup this week. I have some holes in the menu and need to figure out what to make the other days!

I am wearing...brown knit knee-length skirt and a ruffly purple tank top with a purpley bluey cardigan. Rainy today and the only outing scheduled is ballet this afternoon, so simple, comfortable, and casual clothes. I haven't put in my earrings or my watch on yet.

I am creating...my Easter dress, if I can force it into submission. Why do I always choose dresses that require facings even though I KNOW it takes me about sixteen tries to just get the facings to go the right way?

I am going...to take my daughter to ballet this afternoon, and possibly to the library by myself for my own book choosing. It's a treat to go to the library alone. :)

I am reading...sadly, nothing at the moment. I have a book to read, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, but I can't get into it. A shame.

I am hoping...and praying for a friend to receive news, finally finally, of their adoption of a little girl in Rwanda. It's been a long long time of waiting and nothing.

I am hearing...rain, rain, rain. And my daughter telling me how her bedroom is an exaster (disaster) because she and her brother and her daddy have spent all morning camped out on the trundle bed reading books.

Around the house....books are strewn, breakfast dishes are in the sink, lamps are brightening the gray of outside. Time to get busy. :)

One of my favorite things...sewing plans. I am overwhelmed in new, good fabric and fun-looking patterns and motivated to get some things accomplished once this Easter dress is out of the way!

A few plans for the rest of the week: sewing, spring cleaning the kitchen and dining room, dinner with my parents, anticipation of the arrival of shoes I bought on Amazon last week, weeding, harvesting, cooking, baking, going, coming, sleeping, dreaming, reading, playing.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...my son, making soup in the little kitchen. Chicken, vegetables....looks like a yummy soup!

The Seventh Daybook

2011-03-07T19:48:00.000-05:00

Outside my window...sunset! I love love love the in-between time of twilight and dusk, both sunrise and sunset. I love the purpley gray and the aqua and yellowing turquoise. Gorgeous. Especially in these winter(ish) months when it's clear and crisp and cool.

I am thinking...of newly engaged and soon-to-be married and newly pregnant and recently born. So much newness and excitement of anticipation and glow-y sweetness!

I am thankful for...a morning of sewing and an afternoon of grocery shopping. Alone. Oh bliss for this introvert and solitude-seeker.

From the learning rooms...we will be continuing our reading and phonics practice (adding new Bob books to our reading!) and more nature study and gardening. Our peach tree has the beginning fuzzies of new peaches and our blueberry bush is popping out new berries! We're praying they survive the birds. :) We also will be adding Lenten studies to our learning this week and some St. Patrick's Day activities. Also, a trip to the library is in order.

From the kitchen...we had freshly baked bread and pancakes with home-canned peach preserves. For supper was a new recipe: Coconut Flour Mini-Pizzas. Yum! Though a little greasy for my taste...next time I'll try baking instead. Green smoothies, egg salad, oatmeal, spaghetti, gluten-free cinnamon buns, homegrown salad, garden vegetable soup, and homemade macaroni cheese are some of the features of our menu this week.

I am wearing...a denim skirt, white t-shirt, and green zip-up hoodie with friend-made pearl and gold earrings. Simple day, simple clothes.

I am creating...my daughter's Easter dress. I just traced and cut out the pattern and hopefully tonight I can get it pinned onto the fabric and cut. Should be an easy dress, but pretty. I hope! :) Tomorrow should bring the fabric I ordered from fabric.com's $5 and under sale, which will include the fabric for my dress. I had ordered a very pretty print voile but after I placed the order they said they didn't have enough material. Bummer. So I took it off the order and will make do with another bundle of fabric in the order.

I am going...to the store tonight, for the last leg of my grocery shopping. Four stores, one farm, and one egg lady...shopping can get a little spread out.

I am reading...the same book I was reading last week. I need to hurry up because it's due this week! It's really good, I just haven't had as much time to read lately as I'd like.

I am hoping...to see a friend this Thursday and her little ones.

I am hearing...David and Isabel washing the dinner dishes and Hugh Kelly singing to himself. I love any time I don't have to wash the dishes! :)

Around the house...spring cleaning starts this week! I try to take a room a week and focus on deep cleaning. Usually I start with the master bedroom and work my way around the house (split-plan home) but I'm thinking this year I might start from the kitchen or the kids' bedroom and work my way from there. Always, always the sewing room is last. Because I never get to it.

One of my favorite things...is my son singing to himself. He's just running in circles singing, "Up and down! Up and down!" then he'll mumble something unintelligible, then "In my heart! In my heart!" grinning ear to ear and waving his arms around. So happy! So adorable!

A few plans for the rest of the week: spring cleaning and Lenten devotionals! More yellow! And some spring green in there. Sewing sewing sewing!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...March came in like a lion last week, so we made lions! The kids painted white construction paper orange and then glued yellow paper for the face. Then eyes and noses were glued down and a mouth was drawn. One was done with much grown-up help, the other with hardly any help at all!

Daybook #6

2011-02-28T20:58:00.000-05:00

Outside my window...it is the last day of February and it was a glorious one! Beautiful, beautiful weather today.

I am thinking...how not anxious I am for mosquitoes to come back.

I am thankful for...a night to zone out and watch a movie with my husband.

From the learning rooms...reading, tracing, violin, ballet, nature study - butterflies and things popping up in the garden!! and gathering things to send to our Compassion little girl.

From the kitchen...black beans and mango salsa, fresh bread, fresh yogurt, blueberry pancakes, vegetable fried rice, grilled steak and sweet potatoes, garden vegetable soup, and more surprises

I am wearing...a cotton housedress thing. Not like the zip-up polyester kind little old ladies wear to pick up the newspaper but like a dress only more nightgown-y than is appropriate for, say, going to the grocery store.

I am creating...the muslin for my winter coat. Because a winter coat is so useful when tomorrow is March 1.

I am going...to sell things at the semi-annual community-wide children's consignment sale this weekend. I hope people buy my stuff!

I am reading...a book of short stories called Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman. I love short stories.

I am hoping...to get started on my spring cleaning this week, but it will probably be next week before I get around to doing it.

I am hearing...the dehumidifier running, again. Gotta draw out that humidity somehow. Also, David started the movie so the previews are going on in the background.

Around the house...things are not tidied up yet. Unless this is a really spectacular movie, I'm probably going to be getting up a couple times to put some things away. Unsurprisingly, it's mostly my stuff that's lying about.

One of my favorite things...the things my children say. Isabel told me she's "sufficiently dirty" today and Hugh Kelly's most common phrase is "I fell." He does, often. It can be worrying.

A few plans for the rest of the week: reading, creating yellow things, making lists, teaching, consignment selling (and buying), making a present for my mother-in-law's birthday this Saturday, attending one of Isabel's little ballet friend's birthday party on Saturday...busy busy busy!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...garden bounty!

the simple woman's daybook

Daybook #5

2011-02-22T21:48:00.000-05:00

Outside my window...nighttime. I am a little late in posting this.

I am thinking...about the week ahead and how to get through the next couple days with David gone all day at work and school.

I am thankful for...flowers.

From the learning rooms...yesterday ended the Backyard Bird Count we participated in over the weekend and today the kids went on the bird trail near our home with my husband. Tomorrow and the rest of the week will be reading and counting and writing, maybe. And music. Music is a daily thing around here. :)

From the kitchen...homemade sloppy joes with gluten-free cornbread and steamed broccoli, garam marsala lentil soup, spaghetti, black bean and mango burritos are some of our dinners. Yogurt will be made tomorrow morning, along with bread. And the rest will be a surprise!

I am wearing...a nightgown. Because it's night.

I am creating...well, I'm contemplating Isabel's Easter dress. And creating a sewing space for me. And going through my massive stack of magazines to create more housing and clutter-free space for us.

I am going...to try to get together with a friend this week!

I am reading...magazines, trying to determine whether they're save-worthy.

I am hoping...the next two days go by quickly. I hate it when David is away for so long, even though I do have the privilege of having him home at night.

I am hearing...the dehumidifier running. Love the warmer weather, not crazy about the humidity that comes with it.

Around the house...things are tidied up to begin our week tomorrow! I love having a tidy home at night.

One of my favorite things...yellow. I love yellow. I don't have enough yellow.

A few plans for the rest of the week: oh I don't know...I'm too tired for plans. Let's see. I teach this week, but one of my students cancelled so my night tomorrow won't be as hairy as it usually is. Thursday we're hopefully getting together with a friend and her little boys. Friday will be mopping because that's what I do on Fridays. I have the most exciting Fridays ever. I need to gather more things for the community consignment sale next month. That's exciting!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

I couldn't find a decent one. Isn't that sad? Maybe that will be one of my goals this week, to take some decent pictures!

the simple woman's daybook

Daybook the Fourth

2011-02-15T10:04:00.000-05:00

Outside my window...the sun is bright and sparkling, the air is warming up. We'll reach the upper 70s by the end of the week!

I am thinking...about how to organize the sewing room best so I can get in there and use it and stop sewing on the dining room table.

I am thankful for...sweet valentines from my family, birthday gifts that come in the mail, pink sparkly nail polish, and cinnamon raisin bread.

From the learning rooms...not much going on this week outside the basics: reading, memory work, writing practice, some counting and nature study.

From the kitchen...crockpot Italian chicken tonight! It was supposed to be our dinner last night but the chicken hadn't defrosted completely. Also, fresh bread, fresh yogurt, fresh salad greens from the garden.

I am wearing...a white embroidered tank top, pink button-up shirt left un-buttoned, denim skirt.

I am creating...I found some vintage strawberry printed material in my fabric stash and washed it. There isn't enough to make anything substantial from it, but it matches another piece of fabric I have that is red and I'm thinking of making Isabel a little dress or smock with that and using the strawberry print for pockets and binding.

I am going...to the library to pay my fines. Terrible, isn't it?

I am reading...The Disappearing Spoon.

I am hoping...my energy levels start normalizing soon.

I am hearing...My daughter reciting her memory verses to David and my son wandering around singing nonsense syllables.

Around the house...there is laundry that needs to be folded and a kitchen that needs to be cleaned up. The day has begun!

One of my favorite things...this chocolate coffee banana almond milk smoothie my husband made for me. Yummy.

A few plans for the rest of the week: begin planning spring cleaning, violin group practice this Saturday morning with a handful of my and my mom's students, Isabel attending her first peer birthday party Saturday afternoon...I'm a little nervous about the party and Isabel's new gluten-free existence, but the mom and the little girl are very sweet so I think it will be a good time.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...Valentine's dinner and rose. The rose my husband brought home for my daughter for Valentine's Day.

the simple woman's daybook

Daybook 3

2011-01-31T21:46:00.000-05:00

Outside my window...dark and it has been dark for a while. The kiddos took longer to fall asleep tonight than usual. Warm, sunshiny day today and more in the forecast. Last year it was so so cold for so so long, I'm grateful for the warmth and milder temperatures this year.

I am thinking...how much more difficult it seems to be to make friends than when I was a little girl.

I am thankful for...hot tea.

From the learning rooms...reading, Scripture memorization, and nature study are pretty much the only things in my plans this week. We have birthday presents to make. :)

From the kitchen...fresh bread, thick and creamy yogurt, sweet and sour chicken in the crockpot, roasted red pepper soup, pancakes and baked apples.....it's going to be a tasty week!

I am wearing...a button-up purple pinstripe shirt with ruffles along the placket, green cable knit cardigan, and a denim skirt I made out of a pair of jeans too small for David and the legs of a pair of jeans too big for my brother.

I am creating...birthday presents, Valentine's Day cards, finally finishing up a lap quilt for the living room I started over a year ago...

I am going...to the car repair shop. Again. I went in for a routine oil change and tire rotation last Wednesday and they came out with a list of fourteen different things that needed to be done. Sheesh. One of the things they didn't have the part for, so I scheduled to come back to fix that thing this week. Something to do with gaskets and valves and oil. I don't know.

I am reading...One Thousand Gifts (came last week and I've been savoring it) and My Name is Memory, though I'm almost done with the latter.

I am hoping...our taxes are done soon.

I am hearing...my bones crack as I stretch.

Around the house...it's quiet, tidied, cozy, happy.

One of my favorite things...Isabel's Valentine's Day decorations. Last week we experimented with REAL (that's important!) watercolors, what happens when we use only a little bit of water and what happens when we use more water. After painting a couple pages using reds and yellows and oranges and white (to make pink, of course) we traced a heart cookie cutter to cover the pages with little hearts, cut them out, glued them to red thread, and hung them from our dining room ceiling fan. It's pretty and Isabel is proud. :)

A few plans for the rest of the week: preparing for Grampa's birthday on Sunday and mine on Tuesday, going outside lots, gardening, and that. is. it. I'm looking forward to a low-key week.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

the simple woman's daybook

Week 2 of Daybooking

2011-01-24T20:11:00.000-05:00

January 24, 2011

Outside my window...again it is night time. While I have computer time during the day, it is sporadic and the bulk of my time is after the kids are in their pjs and under their comforters fast asleep. It was warm and bright and sunny for most of today, but turned cooler and grayer this evening. Rain is coming and cooler temperatures.

I am thinking...how to organize myself and our home. Does everything have to be organized down to the last detail or can things run smoothly in a less ordered home? The thought of planning down to the minute makes me feel claustrophobic.

I am thankful for...the day coming to an end. It wasn't a bad day, but if you read my Facebook status this evening you'd know what a haphazard day it's been. This, by the way, has nothing to do with my organization or lack thereof and everything to do with my klutziness.

From the learning rooms...more math, tracing, BOB, and Valentine's day. Isabel didn't want to trace last week, though, so I had her copy a Get Well Soon note to a little faraway friend and she LOVED that. "Mama! I can write in English!" So, more copying this week. I bought a little set of watercolors, the kind in the tubes, today and we're going to try them out. I've never used them before so I'm super stoked!

From the kitchen...bread is scheduled for tomorrow, though I should have done it today. Chicken soup was on the menu tonight, with fresh homemade broth, and we'll see more of that in the next few days. Runny noses have struck our house and it is sad. I've also got planned an attempt at gluten-free blackberry cream muffins (which are loosely based on raspberry cream muffins from some site I've forgotten now) and I'm looking for more recipes. I've been craving Mexican food, but even though Isabel doesn't usually eat the tortilla, I would feel very sad if everyone had a tortilla but her.

I am wearing...sweatpants from my brother's undergrad and an old youth group t-shirt. PJs, lest you think I wear this out to the store. I wrote that last week and it's true again today, except I have an old Hanes long-sleeve shirt instead. I did wash it. I'm not that disorganized I forget to do laundry. What I forget to do is put it away. Really, I "forget"...some days it's just easier to pull a clean shirt out of the laundry basket of clean, folded clothes than try to make an attempt to put the clothes away. I know in about 20 minutes I'm going to need another clean shirt, anyway, so why bother?

I am creating...the same things. The dress for Isabel was almost done until I realized I had sewn the bodice to the dress without finishing the bodice for the sleeves. So I had to take it aaallll apart. I'm also knitting up a little Yoda sweater for my egg lady. I'm almost done! I've been finding great comfort in knitting lately, though I do prefer sewing. (the link goes to the ravelry page for my project, but i haven't put any pictures up yet)

I am going...to try very hard to not be jealous of my aunt, who just bought chickens. We have been trying to convince the county chickens aren't any worse than dogs and to puhleeeze let us have a few to no avail when my aunt ups and buys some herself. There are supposed to be commas in that sentence but for the life of me I can't figure out where.

I am reading...a book called Skippy Dies. I just got it from the library today and haven't gotten too far into it. (my goodreads)

I am hoping...I can get Isabel's dress done tonight without sewing myself to something.

I am hearing...my husband reading The Trumpet of the Swan to the kiddos as they settle into bed.

Around the house...it's kind of a mess. Don't look.

One of my favorite things...clean hair. I always think I can go just one more day before anyone notices just how dirty it is and then I wash it and think why did I put this off it's so nice! Does that make me gross? Eh. My showers are usually limited to 2 minutes or less, which does not leave a lot of time for hair-washing.

A few plans for the rest of the week: getting David's phone fixed or exchanged, a new violin student this Wednesday, possibly attending the concert of a folk artist at the church of two of my students, the anticipated arrival of a book on order from Amazon, finally getting my bathroom fixed and useable! That SHOULD happen tomorrow. I'm praying it does.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

the simple woman's daybook

A new thing

2011-01-17T21:23:00.004-05:00

Over the weekend I decided it was time for a change around here and so my happy little blog got a whole new look. I'm hoping with the new look comes renewed zeal. (does anyone else have john 2:17 immediately pop into their head when they hear the word zeal? probably just me...)

It hasn't worked as much as I'd hoped. However, I've been wanting to get into the Daybook thing for a while and with a new year and new look I decided now was the time to try it out. Here goes!

FOR TODAY
January 17, 2011

Outside my window...it is dark. Night time. Bed time. We had a ton of rain this morning, but it lightened up by the afternoon and with the glorious sun came glorious warmth. Flip-flops and t-shirts, hooray!

I am thinking...how tired I am and how neverending it seems. Will I ever be rested?

I am thankful for...so much. Rain. Quiet nights. Sales at the fabric store.

From the learning rooms...discussions about math, tracing, the last few books in the first set of BOB books, discussions about birdies and France (Isabel's tap class is dancing to Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast), discussions about the new year and Valentine's Day and birthdays coming up.

From the kitchen...just took fresh bread out of the oven for this week's sandwiches. Anxious to try some gluten-free sandwich bread for Isabel.

I am wearing...sweatpants from my brother's undergrad and an old youth group t-shirt. PJs, lest you think I wear this out to the store.

I am creating...a muslin of my Lady Grey coat and a corduroy black and white polka dot jumper for Isabel

I am going...to bed in about 15 minutes.

I am reading...a silly mystery and about six different gluten-free cookbooks

I am hoping...this gluten-free idea is what does the trick.

I am hearing...my husband talking, the oven settling down, the hum of various electronics.

Around the house...things are quiet, tidied up, ready for tomorrow.

One of my favorite things...today when Isabel exclaimed on the way to ballet class, "I'm an exquisite girl!"

A few plans for the rest of the week: violin lessons, nature studies, sewing, baking, a trip to the big city to look around their Whole Foods, visits with friends.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

the simple woman's daybook

Old Goals, New Goals

2011-01-02T20:27:00.003-05:00

A new year, a new blog post...

Isabel is three and a half and I think it's time to begin a more structured homeschooling endeavor with her. I am hoping with that comes more blogging. At least, I have grand ideas to blog our homeschooling as I need some way to record and organize things. I am still in planning mode, trying to decide if I want to do things thematically or categorically or unit-ly (huh?) or what. Two days a week we will be including the little boy of a family friend, he's just turned two, so there is that to plan for as well.

Right now, however, I am just reviewing goals. Last year I outlined quite a few goals I had for our family and for Isabel's learning. I thought I failed miserably at everything, but apparently we didn't do too bad.

2010 Family and Personal Goals:
*Plant a larger garden with more variety (I say this every year and then I don't do anything about it except complain that we didn't plant more whatever)we actually did plan a little more this year, but the weather was again weird. also, we learned we are completely off with our planting schedule and should be planting to harvest in late spring and late fall, NOT during the summer. in fact, our garden should be barren during the summer.
*Plant a small garden for the childrenisabel grew a little garden of beautiful flowers and sweet peas!
*Finish painting our kitchen ~~walls, cabinets,~~ and counters. Once and for all.
*Memorize Scripture as a family
*Implement and encourage chores
*Go somewhere fun and new for our fifth anniversarywe kind of did this....went to northwest Georgia for a long weekend with my parents...it was wonderful!
*Study and practice for the state (and maybe, hopefully national) interpreting exam so my license doesn't expirepassed the national written exam! onwards to the performance exam...
*Keep up with correspondence. Including blogging. HA

2010 Homeschooling Goals:
*Learn to hold violin and bow properly (these, obviously, are goals for Isabel. I wouldn't be a very good teacher if I didn't know how to do this already)
*Play all Twinkle rhythms correctly and sing fingerings (amazingly, she's already met the second half of this goal. I just discovered this Wednesday!) this may have been too big of a goal for her...she's still learning to clap the rhythms appropriately
*Read and write her own name and family namesshe can write her own name legibly without tracing but still needs to trace family names
*Learn address, phone number, ~~and how to use 911~~
*Swim lessons in June for both children
*Ballet/dance lessons for Isabel. If I can find any that aren't at a studio and upwards of $75/month
*Increase ASL vocabulary
*Increase exposure to arts, poetry, and nature
*Memorize Scripture verses

Encouraging!

So, where are we headed as a family in 2011?

I haven't the faintest idea.

For whatever reason, though I've been praying and thinking and weighing and considering all sorts of things and talking them all over with David, I have no idea what to do with 2011.

Absolutely no clue.

We will continue ballet, violin, reading lessons and writing practice. Hugh Kelly will begin his ABC learning and music rhythms. We hope to get a season pass to the aquarium or another local museum. The Civil War reenactment is coming up and we'd like to attend that, as well as Pioneer Day next fall. Swimming lessons will probably not occur this year as the children's teacher has left the program. We haven't really decided on that yet, though. With new garden knowledge, we hope to expand, or at least produce a garden this year. I will be studying for the interpreting performance exam, though I have five years to take it and will probably need all five years to prepare. We are looking forward to two weddings of great friends this year, as well as our sixth anniversary and Hugh Kelly's second birthday and Isabel's fourth. Also, Isabel's first real dance recital will be this summer and we are already psyched for that. Hugh Kelly will start picking up chores around the house, probably taking over what Isabel does as we graduate her on to something more suited to her capabilities. We are looking forward to finishing up our bathroom half-remodel (what started as a sink/vanity replacement has turned into new floors and a new toilet as well) and our kitchen cabinet/counter remodel and the tax credit we'll receive from replacing our A/C unit this winter. We're heading into a gluten-free journey as we try to get our daughter off the medicine she's been on since she was 17 months old. Maybe I'll learn how to use the carpet cleaner thing to get the rugs looking as beautiful as they were when they were given to us and we'll get Hugh Kelly to stop coming in at 430 in the morning and hitting us on the head.

Sounds like a thrilling year, eh? Aren't you excited for us? ;)

For right now, I'm going to straighten the house. Then I have lots of things to do tomorrow. However, I'm hoping tomorrow afternoon I can steal away for a little while and get some focused alone time to really think about this new year. And maybe get some energy going to jump in and look forward with a bright, if not entirely planned out, outlook.

How is your new year looking to you? Are you excited? Have great plans?

Free holiday cards? I'll blog for that...

2010-11-02T20:05:00.002-04:00

So.

Guess how many days are left until Christmas.

I have no idea, but I think it's somewhere around like 53 or something. That doesn't seem like a lot, does it? If you are the organized type you probably have your Christmas lists all shopped for, or at least planned out, and your card list is stacked neatly in alphabetical order with current addresses and mailing labels and cute cards you got last January in the 75% off section of Target. Or, if you send photo cards, your family has already sat for the photographer, in coordinating Christmas colors, and the cards are already ordered and arrived with their personalized greeting.

I wish I were that person. I'm so not.

And that's where Shutterfly comes in.

They've recently begun advertising for their 2010 holiday cards and oh my are they so cute. So dang cute! And by blogging about Shutterfly's 2010 cards, I get to pick out one of their ohsocute designs to go on 50 cards, with my absolutely adorable family's photo (the one we haven't taken yet), for FREE!

Who wants to be on my mailing list? Y'know, if I had one?

You could receive a cute card like this. Or this. Or this, this, or this.

Or maybe you don't send out Christmas cards. Like I don't, most of the time. Because I forget. They have cute gift ideas, too. Like the calendar posters, which could be a wonderful gift for grandparents. Or other people who like looking at pictures of your family.

Or, if you're one of my several friends who is due this holiday season, they have adorable holiday birth announcements. If I were pregnant, which I'm not, and if I sent out birth announcements, which I don't, I'd pick this one. Or this. Or this! Or even this one.

I'm gonna have a hard time picking a design...

But I'm serious about adding you to my mailing list! Leave me a comment, send me an email...I'd love to exchange cards.

And if you'd like to get in on Shutterfly's promotion, and of course you would, click here to get your 50 free cards. And tell me which one you picked!

'Tis mercy all, immense and free; For, O my God, it found out me!

2010-09-05T11:42:00.003-04:00

And can it be, that I should gain
An interest in the Saviour's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shoulds't die for me?

He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace,
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race:
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

-Charles Wesley

photo credit

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T06:32:00.002-04:00

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor

art

Down the road and down the road and down the road he went

2010-03-10T19:54:00.004-05:00

"Spring, Spring, Spring!"
sang the frog.
"Spring!"
said the groundhog.
"Spring, Spring, Spring!"
sang the robin.
It was Spring.
The leaves burst out.
The flowers burst out.
And robins burst out of their eggs.
It was Spring.

-taken from A Home For a Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

I really didn't intend to leave this place vacant for over two months.

But, folks, it's SPRING. Real, true spring. After such a long, long, looonnng winter I can't tell you how glad I am for spring to come.

And I say this without irony or sarcasm. We've had weeks and weeks, months, of colder-than-usual temperatures, and while we might not have gotten the insane snow and freezing weather other places saw this winter, it was cold enough to drive me batty. And to think, we once contemplated the idea of moving to someplace freaky like Maine.

(no offense to any Mainers who happen to be reading this, as unlikely as that may be)

The arrival of spring has definitely been making my world a little brighter than sunshine lately. I hope spring has made its arrival at your house, even if only by humbly poking it's green little head up through the garden or through a new, warm wind.

Spring, spring, spring!

foto credit

And the word of the month is...

2010-01-09T10:00:00.003-05:00

Organization!

I'm not an organizer by nature. No wait, I am. Just not in the traditional sense. I like things to be in a sort of order, but there is often no discernible method to it. I'm a big fan of piles, evidently. I don't want to be, but that's how it happens: my to-sew pile, my to-read pile, my to-fold pile and to-wash pile (which look rather like one another and can get confused). And then there's the random collection of stuff by the calendar in the kitchen, the random collection of stuff next to the diaper bag on the shelf by the front door, the random collection of stuff in the outgoing box in the mail holder thing.

It seems several places I've been reading lately have been bitten by the organizational bug. Kitchens, laundry rooms, memorabilia, clothing...nothing is safe. While I always wish I had less stuff (while simultaneously wishing I had more of different stuff) and I wish I could not just put things away but actually find a place to put them, I'm not unhappy with my system, haphazard though it may be.

What's I'm facing right now (ignoring the gigantic mess called the kitchen. and the other one called the sewing room) is organization of children's clothing. Not the actual storing of it. With two kids, I've got the hows of storing pretty okay. One tall dresser they share for the now clothes: top two drawers go to the baby's socks, pjs, pants, shirts; middle drawer goes to blankets; bottom two drawers go to Isabel's socks, pjs, undies, and miscellaneous clothing. Then there's the closet where their hanging-up clothes go: dresses, skirts, coats, sweaters, nice pants and shirts. Also in the closet is a long dresser where next-size-up clothing and shoes are stored, along with miscellaneous paraphernalia given to us I'm SURE I'm going to want someday and dress-up clothes.

And I'm pretty happy with the too-small clothing storage, too. Every time Wal-Mart has a sale on clear plastic storage bins, I buy two. I then collect all the too-small clothing, organize them into sizes, and put them into the bins, labeled with size and gender. Because my kids are two years apart and different genders, there isn't much confusion with who is wearing what and what's too small for who. Whom. Whatever.

So here's the problem:

I HAVE SIX BINS OVERFLOWING WITH CLOTHING SIZES 0-2T

That seems like too much. Especially since our seasonal clothing is pretty much the same year round, with a few sweatshirts and hats and fleecy things thrown in.

How do people get rid of baby clothes? I've pared down and pared down, gone through everything and given away whatever I think I couldn't use again. But there's so much I think I might use, or is too cute not to keep, even if I only use it once per baby, or whatever. Plus, I wash the children's clothing once a week and I like having a wide variety of clothing to pull from so I don't have to do laundry every 2-3 days.

I know abundance is a good problem to have, and I am grateful for it. That's another reason I have a hard time going through everything and passing on what we don't need. I feel guilty.

So, how do I do this?

It's 2010!

2010-01-01T21:44:00.002-05:00

It's a new year.

Happy New Year!

2010

Twenty-ten? Or are we still doing the two-thousand-ten?

2009 was hard for so many people. It was hard for us, too, in some ways. Mostly, though, it evened itself out over the months.

Gas prices rose, fell, rose. Grocery prices rose. And rose. House value fell. Property taxes went up. Cars broke. God provided. Birthdays came. Milestones passed. Somewhere I read 74 books. Gardens grew and then got washed out by the surprisingly rainy summer. Our tomatoes are STILL growing.

Aside from some personal things, 2009 was a pretty good year for us. The biggest stressor, I think, was whether we'd be able to have a homebirth with our second child.

That birth, of course, was our greatest joy and celebration in 2009. My personal, biggest accomplishment. God's best gift.

I don't think there are any sweeter babies than my two. :)

It's popular to make resolutions for the new year. I don't tend to do that. Probably because resolutions are pretty much a joke; everyone knows they fail three days into January. Plus, I really don't get the hype over the new year. The calendar year changes, and that's fun. But every day is a new day and the first day of the next year. And, my brain works in school years. I don't know why, maybe from sixteen years of public school and university. Years always begin in August, in my head.

However, I decided to surprise myself by thinking out and writing down the family/personal/homeschooling goals I have swimming in my head for this bright new year. Want to know? Great! Because I want to share :)

Family and Personal Goals:
*Plant a larger garden with more variety (I say this every year and then I don't do anything about it except complain that we didn't plant more whatever)
*Plant a small garden for the children
*Finish painting our kitchen walls, cabinets, and counters. Once and for all.
*Memorize Scripture as a family
*Implement and encourage chores
*Go somewhere fun and new for our fifth anniversary
*Study and practice for the state (and maybe, hopefully national) interpreting exam so my license doesn't expire
*Keep up with correspondence. Including blogging.

Homeschooling Goals:
*Learn to hold violin and bow properly (these, obviously, are goals for Isabel. I wouldn't be a very good teacher if I didn't know how to do this already)
*Play all Twinkle rhythms correctly and sing fingerings (amazingly, she's already met the second half of this goal. I just discovered this Wednesday!)
*Read and write her own name and family names
*Learn address, phone number, and how to use 911
*Swim lessons in June for both children
*Ballet/dance lessons for Isabel. If I can find any that aren't at a studio and upwards of $75/month
*Increase ASL vocabulary
*Increase exposure to arts, poetry, and nature
*Memorize Scripture verses

What do you think? I don't think that's too bad. Those are goals for a whole year! That time span seems vast and promising! I think it can all be done.

Happy new year!

Fall 2009

2009-12-17T21:29:00.001-05:00

Fall 2009

1. i love peach tree anniversaries, 2. i love swing sets, 3. i love homegrown peppers, 4. i love new lamps, 5. i love yellow and brown, 6. i love children's furniture, 7. i love "sewing", 8. i love gratitude, 9. i love little girls dancing, 10. i love kite flying, 11. i love "punkin patches", 12. i love popcorn, 13. i love homemade play-dough, 14. i love seasons tables, 15. i love first foods, 16. i love pioneer day

yeah, i know fall is pretty much over. i mean, christmas is a week away. also, i have no idea why it's so small this time. click on the links to see the pictures

Father, We Thank Thee

2009-11-25T22:10:00.002-05:00

We have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. So, so much....God is good, my friends.

Isabel created a "Thankful Tree". Included among the branches are varous family names, tree branches, and stickers. Her prayers at night are long and adorable and sometimes surprising as she names everything she is thankful for. (i know it's blurry...i like it anyway)

From today's thankfulness of my ever-overflowing gifts, bringing more deep-rooted joy into my life:

281. rain, rain, rain
282. early Thanksgivings
283. the first violin lesson with a sweet family
284. umbrellas and raincoats and little girls who run in the rain with them
285. zucchini bread baking in the oven
286. trees, branches glistening with dripping rain
287. fresh, clean, crisp sheets
288. bookcases, heavy with books and baskets
289. sticker charts
290. husbands who not only carve the turkey, but clean and baste them, too

Happy Thanksgiving! We pray your thanksgiving is bright and cheerful and full of good food and many thanks.

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
Psalm 30:11-12

Oh Glorious Day!

2009-11-16T13:42:00.002-05:00

This morning was my usual Monday Morning Madness, trying to get all my grocery shopping for the week done before lunch, which is sometimes a stupid idea because I go to three different stores and when it's Social Security pay-out week - attack of the crowds!

Anyway, I was driving along in the car, finished with one store and heading to the next two, when I switched on the radio, interrupting the strains of a violin virtuoso playing Twinkle Suzuki Variation C (even someone who was brought up on the Suzuki Method and continues to teach it herself can grow a little weary of the constant Kitty-shh!-Cat Kitty-shh!-Cat), and heard this:

Living He loved me
Dying He saved me
Buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified
Freely forever
One day He's coming
Oh glorious day

Indeed!

Oh glorious day!

Doesn't that just fill you, overwhelm you, humble you?

Oh glorious day!

I caught the song in the middle, don't know whose it is...I suppose I could Google it...

I meant to post this this morning

2009-10-19T14:03:00.004-04:00

but got too busy playing and baking and reading. Oh well.

Something to do...

FOR TODAY
October 19,2009...

Outside my window...sunny, bright, chilly, inviting

I am thinking...I should spend more time outdoors today

I am thankful for...sweet, simple life

From the learning rooms...we are learning about the letter Q this week. I need to
find some fun Q activities!

From the kitchen...apples and pumpkins and quiches and soups

I am wearing...long denim skirt, long-sleeved white button-up shirt, grey cardigan, pink and purple argyle socks (!! i almost never wear socks), and pink and purple and faux marcasite flower dangly earrings

I am creating...always creating. Dress. Quilt. Soup. Garden. Sweaters. Soon I will begin creating a visual/inspiration journal. I need one.

I am going...to pick up eggs from our egg lady at 415p this afternoon

I am reading...Stargirl (again)

I am hoping...the weather warms just slightly and stays that way for several weeks (but i know it won't. we're expected to reach a high of mid-80s tomorrow again)

I am hearing...my daughter's sweet voice making up songs mixed with songs she already knows

Around the house...we are spending lots of time cozied up and reading books, out loud and to ourselves quietly

One of my favorite things...to do the last couple days is knit by the open, sunny window

A few plans for the rest of the week: this week, surprisingly, is fairly open. A rarity, indeed. We will be going to the library as usual on Wednesday, possibly meeting a friend on Thursday, hitting up a local children's consignment shop's $1 Sidewalk Sale on Saturday and maybe a harvest fair held at a local vineyard later that day. Otherwise, our days are free and breezy for playing outside and playing our musical instruments and baking yummy things and coloring and reading and knitting and sewing.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...our new peach tree! Planted last week, my husband and I "gave" it to each other for our anniversary last Thursday :)

P is for Pumpkin

2009-10-15T13:37:00.005-04:00

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.

I John 4:16-21
NIV

Hosanna

2009-09-26T21:32:00.003-04:00

I see the King of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes

I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna in the highest

Hillsong United

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

2009-09-08T09:52:00.006-04:00

Our son was born in April, two weeks early.

Very quickly I learned my work had quadrupled, available time had halved, my days began at 430a and by 9p my eyes were closing.

Oh but it's been a fun summer!

In June our sweet daughter turned two. What a wonderful age, two is! So much happens in just a half hour and I can barely catch glimpses on paper to look back on and remember when I get a chance to catch my breath. Her language has skyrocketed, her understanding has doubled, her interests have broadened, her world has grown wider and newer and brighter. She's begun to take an interest in letters and words, so in July we began working through the alphabet, one letter a week. This week we are on K, though we haven't begun yet. I'm keeping it VERY simple, just practicing recognizing it and signing it, completing an activity or two that incorporate the letter, and (if I can think of something) preparing a food that uses the letter. I don't know what I'm going to do with K, but J was jello we made from scratch using the Nourishing Gourmet's recipe. We also go to the library and get books that feature the letter of the week. Isabel can already recognize each letter written and signed, but we're still working on recognizing the sounds of the letters.

In July, she was potty trained. We began introducing the concept waay back in January and kind of half-heartedly encouraged her to use it. One week I decided enough was enough and in three days she was fully potty trained. Not overnight, yet, but naptimes and outings have so far been accident-free. Hooray!

I sewed three dresses for her, including a party dress that is not yet hemmed (though she insists on wearing it out anyway, to such exclusive events as grocery shopping). I also made a doll sling out of a leftover strip of an old sheet. She loves it and it's quite adorable.

And I actually made curtains that look pretty okay and not too sloppy (if you didn't know, curtains are the bane of my existence. without getting too dramatic). It took me two hours to do one window. None of them are hemmed.

And I began a quilt. That's about all I've done with it. It's sitting in my sewing basket with my other projects, basted but not yet quilted.

We painted our kitchen navy blue. Well, truthfully, I asked my husband every weekend if our kitchen was finally going to be painted or what. Sweet guy, he did it and didn't grumble.

I discovered I'm much more governmentally paranoid than I originally thought. More libertarian than I thought. I am all for personal responsibility and individual rights.

And more left-wing than I thought, when it comes to guns. I fully support the second amendment in theory. In reality, guns terrify me. I've been repeating "guns don't kill people, people do" over and over but it hasn't done much to lessen my fears. How do people get over that? How do mothers allow guns in the house with their children? I can envision an accident happening plainly.

I'm not sure my gun fear is irrational, like my spider fear. That's totally and completely irrational. I'm not afraid of what spiders can do. I'm afraid of what they look like. Stupid, isn't it? I also learned I'm afraid of snakes. This wasn't a fear until there were three different articles in the paper in a four-week span of dangerous (and humongous) snakes escaping their cages and killing babies or slinking through the water system in counties near ours. I shudder just thinking about it. Ugh.

One of the verses I've been working to weave through the fabric of my thinking, since I was 30 weeks pregnant, is II Timothy 1:7: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

After our pastor was transferred to another church in June (Methodist), we began attending a new church. So far, I love it. I know being "fed" depends on me and whether I get something out of attending a church service is my responsibility, but when I'm doing all the grasping and nothing is meeting me halfway, I grow tired. And oh, how I've missed deep, real, authentic (buzz word of the millennium) worship. It's like water to the seeds He's sown throughout the week in my own, private worship of my King.

We missed nearly all of the summer fruit picking. It has rained so much this summer. That's good for the plants, but not so much for the pickers. I'm rather disappointed, since I was really hoping to begin canning and stocking and such this year. Maybe next year.......

I've tried, and failed, twice at making yogurt. I've made it once, last year, successfully, but can't seem to do it again and I'm not willing to potentially waste another quart of milk in further attempts. Frustrating, but with yogurt at $2 a quart at the store, I'm okay with it. For now. Maybe I'll look into a yogurt maker.

The month of August was spent beneath a blanket of humidity. And I lamented the fall (literally) of my yeast breads. How do I combat humidity when baking? I've had to give up and buy (ugh) store bread. I'll be happier when drier weather returns. Last weekend, after dinner, we took a walk up to the park near us. For the first time since April our shirts didn't stick to our backs before leaving the front stoop. It was actually pleasant.

I've lost 10 pounds of baby weight. Only 20 more to go.......

Speaking of baby...This summer was spent marvelling at how quickly he's grown! Hugh Kelly is the size of a seven month old. He's four months. He's so long and has such big hands and feet! While I'm sad the babyhood is so quickly passing by, I'm excited to think of the boy and man he's becoming. Watching Isabel grow into herself and the astounding, wonderful things she does has only made me look forward even more to Hugh Kelly's growing, rather than wanting to hold onto the babyhood. Though I do want that, at times. Such kissable baby cheeks!

With my reduced free time and early nights, my time online has become severely limited. I'm finding I'm not actually missing it. With all the trips to the library, I've been getting books for myself, too (you can see what I'm reading in the link at the top of my blog). I'm not sure that's been healthy, though, because I'm the type of reader who is all-consumed by what she's reading and frequently reads to finish her book as quickly as possible, often within a day. Even if I've got three different books going at once. Who needs to vacuum when there's a book to finish? I've been evaluating this and while I know me reading is the greatest example I can set for my children to encourage them to be readers, too (though I hardly need to do anything to encourage Isabel....she sits for 30 minutes at a time looking through her books on her own several times a day), I also want my children to have the example of a productive and busy daily life. Much of our day is spent in "downtime", where I'm reading and Isabel is reading or fiddling with a toy or jumping through the living room or running back and forth across our house in various shoes and outfits. I want to get back into knitting. Anyone know of a fabulous pattern for 3oz of bright pink hand-woven hand-dyed 100% merino wool? How about a simple and easy sock pattern for a first time sock knitter? Do I have to use DPNs for socks, or can I magic loop it with my circulars?

And that brings me to today. It's the day after Labor Day. My in-laws have gone home after their weekend trip to see us. The house is (slowly) getting cleaned up from an enjoyable visit. It's time for a new season to begin. I'll miss summer but I'm looking forward to fall. I wonder what we'll do this season. What are you doing this fall?

2009-08-14T19:02:00.002-04:00

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:11

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31

Great is Thy Faithfulness

2009-08-02T08:54:00.002-04:00

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Thomas Chisholm, William Runyan
1923

photo credit

The grocery store always produces the oddest moments

2009-07-30T08:13:00.002-04:00

I got a strange comment last night.

I was walking through the grocery store, picking up last-day-of-sale items (grassfed butter for less than $2/lb! i have three pounds in my freezer).

As I passed through the produce aisle, a middle aged lady was standing near the cherries staring quizzically into space. She caught sight of me and hurried after me.

She said she was terribly sorry to bother me, but I looked like I would know. Can you freeze cherries?

I was surprised. What do you mean I look like I would know? What does knowing whether you can freeze cherries look like? Evidently a slopppy ponytail and long denim skirt and spit-up stained t-shirt and Birkenstocks. Huh.

I told her I imagined so, since they sell frozen cherries in the frozen fruit department, and if I were her I'd pit them and try it. Of course, there's always Google.

Ah-ha! She says. Of course! The internet!

I am glad she asked, and in a weird way it felt like a compliment. But it still leaves me confused. I suppose I'd rather look like someone who'd know how to freeze something (and really, how much knowledge does that require? just put it in the freezer and see what happens) than not.

What do you think?

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T21:57:00.007-04:00

Finally, at last, our family was able to pick some fruit this summer. We've so far missed nearly every seasonal fruit due to weather (it's been wacky this year and throwing everybody off. and our garden), but we rejoiced when the blackberry farm said they'd be open this morning at 8am for picking.

so humid at 8am my camera lens was fogging!

People seriously lined up in front of the gate to the farm at 7am.

Because of the wacky weather (and over-anxious pickers), their yield was low this year and we only managed a pound and a half of blackberries. I am grateful, though, because we at least got some and our daughter has been asking to 'pick bewwies' since we tried to go blueberry picking in April.

After she devoured at least a cup's worth of berries, I...dun da da daaah....made a pie!

For real, folks.

I got impatient with the crust and wanted to hurry and get the darn thing in the oven so we could enjoy it after our dinner, so it kind of got all wonky while it was baking and pulled apart a bit in some places.

Tastes the same, though!

We are lame Independence Day people and just grilled our dinner and ate our pie and went to bed. Well, everyone else is in bed. I'm still awake blogging. But I'll be there soon.

Happy Independence Day! I hope everyone (americans, anyway) had a grand time celebrating the freedom which was hard won and which we continue to fight for daily.

Mommy Life has an interesting post describing the sacrifices the signers of the Declaration of Independence made in order to secure the freedom of future generations.

God is good. In all things.

that's my quilt top! not quilted yet - can't find a quilting foot for my machine

Summer 2009

2009-07-01T21:56:00.004-04:00

things i love.....

1. i love fabric, 2. i love handyman husbands, 3. i love bloomers, 4. i love quilts, 5. i love raspberries, 6. i love cuddly babies, 7. i love madras, 8. i love wading, 9. i love bunting, 10. i love swim lessons, 11. i love grocery shopping, 12. i love birthdays, 13. i love patchwork, 14. i love siblings, 15. i love watermelon, 16. i love baby dedications. and oak

if you click the link 'my favorite' up at the top of my blog posts, you'll see more things i love. well, one. i was originally planning to do one of these every month or so. oh well.

so sorry about the lack of substance in my writing lately. life, y'know? i'll get back here one of these days.

Random Acts of Happiness

2009-06-26T21:06:00.001-04:00

The world needs more of this

And I want to be in it. When are rehearsals?

I want a copy of every episode ever made. Ever.

2009-06-25T22:10:00.000-04:00

So, one Saturday morning my parents were scrolling through the upper registers of their television channels and came across what I think might be the very reason television was ever invented in the first place:

Dr. Wonder's Workshop.

This, my friends, is amazing. It's brilliant. It's wonderful.

And I'm really not even exaggerating that much. Isabel and I watched the half of the episode they recorded twice and I would have said yes many times more if she asked for subsequent viewings. If she hadn't been so adamant about going swimming, I probably would have just kept pressing 'play' over and over regardless of whether she asked for it.

Until I can figure out how to get my hands on videos or DVDs of the shows, my parents have their DVR set to record every episode that airs on TBN each Saturday.

(i can't seem to get the clip i want to embed, so go here to see it. it took me a second viewing to figure out what the whole abc thing was about. what a bad interpreter i am! or badly out of practice. or both.)

Only she says it better

2009-06-23T09:25:00.004-04:00

I was totally thinking about this topic last night and was planning to blog about it sometime today, if I got the chance.

She beat me to it. Which is GREAT, because a)I don't have the time; b)she explores it much further than I would have; and c)she's so much more gracious than I am. I would never have thought of the phrase malnourished gifts.

Anyway, it's a good read.

And the bit about practicing musicians....Yeah. I feel just a little hypocritical teaching violin lessons and admonishing my students to practice practice practice. I seriously doubt in the ten years I took violin lessons I logged anywhere close to 5,000 hours. Or 3,000. Or even 1,000. Long faithfulness I have not.

Daddy'll fix that!

2009-06-21T01:23:00.001-04:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

*the title is isabel's newest favorite phrase. whenever something happens, she responds with, "oh gosh. daddy'll fix that!" :) variations include: daddy'll get that and daddy'll clean that. the latter is a not-so-subtle ploy to get daddy to clean up her toys. :) daddy is absolutely her number one hero!

Happy Birthday, Precious Daughter

2009-06-07T08:28:00.004-04:00

helping make the frosting for her birthday cupcakes

She's the best!

On to year three....:)

Sew, a needle pulling thread

2009-05-19T21:42:00.007-04:00

In the months before our son was born (he's five weeks old already! can you believe it??), I had a rather ambitious to-do list.

Paint the kitchen and the cabinets. Turn the Florida room into an actual, usable, pretty room. Plant the garden. Take out all the screens and wash them and the windows.

Those were just the big projects. They mostly got done. Sort of.

Then there was my sewing list: Make dresses for Isabel. Make dresses for me. Actually quilt her bedspread I made her for Christmas. Make curtains for the kitchen. Fix the curtains I haphazardly and hurriedly and crookedly sewed and hung last summer. Fix our Fuzzi Bunz. Cover pillows for the living room and our daughter's bedroom. Make bloomers for Isabel. Fix the scrubs I made for my husband in October. (notice how there's a lot of fixing with my sewing?) And some others I've forgotten.

Much to my amazement, I actually accomplished some of these! Even before Hugh was born two weeks early, which really surprises me. Nothing like lack of self-confidence to inspire pride in a project begun and completed. :)

During one of JoAnn's 5/$5 Simplicity sales, I picked up Simplicity 5118. I don't like Simplicity patterns, and yet I'm unable to help myself when those 5/$5 deals come around. I get like four or five patterns I know I'll most likely never make, or I'll begin to make and get frustrated and shove the pattern and fabric in a hidden spot of my sewing room somewhere (if you've seen my sewing room you'd know how many hiding spots there are - infinite, actually). But, I do it anyway.

This one wasn't so bad. In fact, even though the sleeve pieces didn't quite match up to the shoulders of the bodice and the elastic measurement for the neck was humongous (sorry, no off-shoulder dresses for my daughter), I think this might be a favorite of mine. And it is SO supercute on her. The fabric I bought on a whim, because it was in the discount section for $3/yard with an additional 50% off that. I bought a yard of it, without knowing what I'd use it for. Cream cotton with pink polka dots? Not really practical. Unless you have a daughter! It's light and thin and vaguely sheer, so I lined it with plain pink cotton. And I didn't pay attention to matching up the fabric when I cut the bodice and the skirt, so I added a pink band around the empire line so you can't tell they don't match up (don't tell anyone!). I think it's pretty. Isabel sure likes it.

(note the purse - and excuse the cracker - we seriously cannot go anywhere without her purse. she has four. always, as we're heading out the door, it's, "Purse? Where's purse? Ah! There it is! I got it!")

Her bedroom is a kind of random collection of colors and themes. The walls are yellow, the curtains white (the same curtains that were sloppily sewn and hung and yet to be fixed), the bedspread yellow, white, and turquoise (same that has yet to be quilted), green throw on the rocking chair...and a hippo Ikea circular rug in primary colors in the middle of the floor. I don't go for matchy-matchy, but something needed to be done. I re-covered a pillow with dark brown heavy cotton and appliqued a sailboat made of various remnant fabrics that coordinated with the room. I love it. I want one in every room now. I love sailboats. And appliques. And easy, quick projects.

Speaking of quick and easy and appliques....I've been looking for something to go over our bed for a long time. For a while I thought a wreath. Then maybe one of those stick-on-the-wall saying things that have gotten so trendy. I saw this cool looking monogram wall-sticky-thing in a Pottery Barn catalogue last year and have been looking for something similar ever since, but nothing caught my eye. Sara at Walk Slowly, Live Wildly, always an inspiration for me, gave a tour of her fun home and one of her walls is decorated with circles of fabric fitted into various embroidery hoops and hung at varying heights. Ah-ha! I found some fabric in my box of remnants I liked, appliqued an h, and hung it in a thrifted hoop (30 cents!) above our bed. I love it. It doesn't match our room, but I don't care. It's not technically a sewing project, but I count it.

So, these weren't technically finished before Hugh was born. I include them, though, because all that needed to be done was the waistband, which was finished in 10 minutes and they were worn immediately. I made these bloomers from Sense and Sensibility's Pinafores and Pantaloons pattern, which was easy enough to follow. The rise is a little off, though....a little too short, so the waist hits just under her belly button. I think this may be because she's a little longer waisted than most standard measurements. I'll have to remember that to adjust for further attempts. I have another pair in the works. We like bloomers with our dresses! (and you can see our half-finished pretty back room! it used to be ugly with concrete floors and bad 1970s panelling on the walls.....the guy who owned the house before us had hideous brown shag carpet remnants covering the concrete in large and awkward pieces. there was lots of awkward in the house when we bought it)

I still have half the diapers to fix and, yes, all the curtains. I dislike curtains. Haven't quilted the Christmas bedspread. Or fixed the scrubs. Or made anything for myself. But I did get a pillow for the living room done, and I have two more dresses half-cut for Isabel, one of the Simplicity pattern and one that's a McCalls pattern (I think). And plans for twirly, patchwork, tiered skirts for my daughter and me (anyone know of a good, decent pattern where i can just get the basic math idea?) And, because I'm insane, I've decided to join Old Red Barn's quilt-a-long. It might be December (or, more likely, next May) before it's finished, but I'm anxious to try. And not just for the prizes. I really want to make a quilt and experiment with putting fabric together to make something grand, or at least useful. While I was buying fabric for that, I figured I may as well buy some more fabric for another Simplicity dress. And some for a couple pairs of pants for Hugh (a la Soule Mama, although from a pattern of my own making). Hey, why not? I need more fabric and more projects, right?

Aren't those fabulous? Imagine them all funkily joined together in quilt form. The top fabric is also what will be Isabel's dress, and the red stripe and blue stripe will also be pants for Hugh. Not only do I match my children to myself, I match them to bedding.

2009-05-10T07:34:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Isabel and I, Easter Sunday, a mere three days before young master Hugh was to join us, in our fabulous Mother-Daughter dresses

Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens,
praise him in the heights above.

Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars.

Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.

He set them in place for ever and ever;
he gave a decree that will never pass away.

Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,

you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,

wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,

kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,

young men and maidens,
old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

He has raised up for his people a horn, [b]
the praise of all his saints,
of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the LORD.

Psalm 148
NIV

The P-Word

2009-05-08T22:09:00.003-04:00

Oh the potty.

That potty.

Isabel is one month shy of her second birthday.

Since before her first birthday she could sign potty. She learned to say potty just after her first birthday. She can point out potties, not just in our home but in stores and new locations. She knows what a potty is, what it's for, and how to use it.

In the last four months, Isabel has demonstrated an understanding of using the potty and uses it successfully every evening before she takes a bath. She knows when she needs a diaper change. She knows how to change her diaper. She changes her dolly's diaper frequently throughout the day, telling me it is 'dirty' or 'wet' or 'all clean'. She knows when she needs to use the potty. She knows how to hold it and wait. She knows how to get undressed and redressed. She knows what 'big girl pants' are. She knows why we want her to wear them. She even will occasionally choose to put them on herself and wear them until she needs to use the potty.

So WHY won't she actually use the potty???

All of this was accomplished with little to no help from us. We just provided lots and lots of encouragement and opportunities. She loves the encouragement. She flatly refuses the opportunities.

If she is wearing regular pants, not a diaper, she will go to the potty, sit down, stand up, ask to be changed into a diaper, and then go.

She just plain won't do it. Unless, like I said, it's bathtime. Then she has no problem.

Argh.

It's become a dirty word in our house.

I'm patient, and I'm never frustrated with this, but man does it seem like this potty training learning thing should have just happened already.

Happy Two Week Birthday

2009-04-29T21:51:00.004-04:00

I had my two week postpartum check-up with the midwife today and she reminded me my due date is still three days away. If things had gone the way I wanted, we would still be a week away from holding our wee gentleman. Instead, he's had two extra weeks of the three people closest to him loving, kissing, and cuddling him all day, every day.

God is so good.

There was absolutely nothing anticipated about this birth. I never thought I'd be early. I never thought it'd be a boy. I certainly never thought this birth could be the absolute opposite of our daughter's birth.

God is so good.

*if you're curious to know details, feel free to email me

Two whole weeks early!

2009-04-15T22:56:00.000-04:00

Introducing....

Hugh Kelly

born:
April 15, 2009
3:20pm
8lbs 4oz
21 1/2 inches
at home

Isabel's response upon learning of her new baby brother, the baby who was in Mama and is now out, while she was out with Grampa doing fun and occupying things: "Cooool!"

Can we grow coconuts in Florida?

2009-04-04T22:19:00.004-04:00

How much of a procrastinator am I?

It's been fourteen days since I last wrote anything on here. Though my weekly to-do list has BLOG!! written on it very obviously, and even includes the topics about which I'd like to write, somehow I manage to get to 10pm each night without once even beginning a blog draft. So, tonight I made a new to-do list for the evening with BLOG!! to immediately follow checking my email and Google Reader.

I made it to the Blogger Dashboard.........and then spent an hour reading through archived posts. How lame is that?

However, it is very important I share this with you, even though I wasted an hour and it is now past my bedtime.

I made homemade "Mounds" Candy Bars yesterday.

I'm not sure why, but this throughout pregnancy the most prevalent overall craving I've had has been for coconut. With my daughter, it was avocados. I guess there's something in the oils and fats of those foods my body needs more of during pregnancy. It's not really even a craving. I'm just drawn to or prefer foods that have those ingredients in them (avocado or coconut). Though, while I've always liked avocados, I've never been a huge fan of coconut. In fact, I never liked Mounds or Almond Joy candy bars. Until now, that is.

And these are so so SO much better than the candy bar. They are a little less sweet than the HFCS factory produced chemically manufactured stuff, but that really just makes them yummier rather than blander. The only alteration I'd make for our family maybe, would be to slightly reduce the coconut oil amounts. I'm not sure that would produce the same wonderful candy, but we found them to be rather oily as they started to melt (and they start to melt somewhere between the time you pop one out of the tin and bring it to your mouth). Also, it seems my family is rather sensitive to large amounts of coconut oil - and 1 1/2 cups is a lot! - so reducing those effects would be a good idea. Somewhere in the comments someone mentioned using mini-muffin tins and I think that's a brilliant suggestion, since these were HUGE and really did leave you feeling overfull. Which, in my case, is a good thing because if there's any room left over in my stomach after eating something sweet, my body immediately wants to fill it with more sweet things. Eating one of these satisfied my sweet craving all. day. long. Quite a feat!

Of course, I don't have a picture. But, squeezed among the six containers of chicken stock and after-baby meals and leftover meat and bagels and fryer chickens, is a very cold muffin tin not exactly full of coconutty chocolatey treats. And I just bought some more local raw honey, so pretty soon all those things will be squeezed in among the candy. Priorities, right?

Babies want to get borned!

2009-03-21T10:51:00.003-04:00

In January, my husband and I caved to peer pressure and set up a Netflix account. We loved the library's selection in the town where we used to live, but the library here just doesn't have the ability to offer a wide selection or even an updated selection. Not their fault, our county just doesn't consider the library a priority. That's not a good thing, by the way. Libraries are important and I believe wholeheartedly in supporting them.

Anyway, most of the movies we've been watching have been of the manly sort, typical guy movies my husband hadn't had the opportunity to see (and by guy movies, i mean stuff like braveheart or last of the mohicans - which, i'm sorry to say, was incredibly dull - not the star wars stuff. i like star wars). Wanting a little break from the war/manhood/you killed my father prepare to die (i also love that movie; i was identifying a theme rather than singling out a movie), I added a couple movies to the queue that went in another direction entirely. The most recent to arrive in our mailbox was The Business of Being Born.

I am so glad we watched it. I needed to see this movie.

Our daughter was born at home and we are currently planning for a homebirth with this (soon to come!) babe, so I didn't need the convincing or education on homebirth vs hospital birth. I've done my research, I've watched similar movies, I've witnessed several hospital births (live, not on tv), I've experienced homebirth myself. I know what's what and I know what's right for our family.

I have a confession to make.

I am scared to deliver this baby.

I love being pregnant. I love the anticipation. I love taking care of my body and baby. I love the soft, fuzzy, cuddly warmth of newborns. I love the euphoria that follows seconds after delivery. I look forward to it all.

But when I think of actually giving birth, actually experiencing labor, my mind immediately freezes and my heart stops and I'm afraid. I remember the pain, the despair, the trauma. And I don't want it.

A few weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night sick to my stomach. I don't mind the getting sick part; it's those seconds before I get sick I don't like. I just don't want to. I can't. I say, "No no no no no!" and resist with determination until I can't help it anymore. I don't want the pain and discomfort and change to my body, even if it is ten times better afterwards. Even though I know not one second after the act I will be on the other side of fear and pain, the change within my body will be finished and I will be better for it, I can't accept it. I succumb to fear.

Those seconds before a stomach revolt feel so much like those seconds, minutes, hours of labor.

Of course, labor is far worse. And when remembering how much worse it is, the dread sets in and I don't want it. I can't do it. I've been physically sick twice during this pregnancy and both times left me with the desire to give up, give in, just go to the dang hospital already and request the epidural. Or better yet, schedule a C-section. Nothing could be worse than this pain and despair*.

Before my daughter was born, I read everything I had available to me on natural childbirth. I borrowed a book on The Bradley Method from the library. I flipped through as much of Ina May Gaskin's books as I could whenever I happened to find myself at the bookstore (i say that like i wouldn't be at the bookstore every day if i could). My midwife loaned us a movie on homebirth, with clips from actual homebirths, interviews with midwives and obstetricians, statistics from around the nation and the world. I looked up articles online, read experiences from other natural-birthing mamas, learned different techniques and methods, bathed my upcoming delivery in prayer with my husband, and both of us memorized Scripture to help encourage me and speak truth and the power of God over me, the baby, and the birth process.

Then....

when my midwife broke my water at my request, under her advice, because contractions were infrequent, irregular, unproductive; when I was delirious from fatigue because I hadn't slept in close to 24 hours and from hunger because I was too afraid I'd get sick if I ate and didn't want any further pain; when I couldn't sit up or stand up or lie down or do anything except twist my hips in an attempt to escape the pain shooting through my pelvis; when I was angry at my midwife who kept telling me I had to go through just one more contraction and then I could start pushing....and then another contraction.....and then another.....for hours; when even up to the moment I began to push the contractions were irregular and my daughter refused to turn her head so she could fully engage in the pelvis........

I gave in. I allowed fear to consume me. I told my midwife something was wrong. I told my husband I couldn't do it. I asked my mom to take it away from me. I begged and pleaded and cried for it all to just stop, someone needs to step in here and get this baby out and it's not going to be me. My midwife assured me there was nothing wrong, everything was going beautifully and normally. My husband gripped my hand and gave counter-pressure against my back and hips, whispering Scripture and prayers in my ear, while lying for hours in a position that cut off circulation to his feet and twisted his back and neck. My mom squeezed my other hand and cried with me and made me repeat after her, again and again and as loud as I could, God is good all the time.

Because he is. And I knew it. And my body remembered it can't go back once it's started and my daughter turned her head and in a split second, after minutes and hours, I had that tiny person in my arms and watching me and I was eight hundred million and two times better than I was.

But that didn't take away the pain or fear or the memory of both. I still remember it, vividly, and when I take the time to actually think about what I have to do to reach that euphoric otherworld, I'm consumed with fear again.

This is turning into a much longer post than I intended. Evidently I had a lot to say and think about on the subject. I do have a point and it does all connect somehow. Stay with me.

Because I remember what it was like to give birth, I've done even more reading this time. Not just on delivery, but on pregnancy and how to prepare for delivery. Somehow, I skipped that the first time around. I guess I thought since the pregnancy was so easy, so beautiful, so comfortable, and because I was reading these 'empowering' books that talked only of the feel-good Mother Nature power of birth and described contractions as 'rushes' or 'ocean waves' instead of as 'painful pressure that feels like a vise is trying to close your hips while some other sharp and tortuous device is trying to open them', I assumed labor and birth wouldn't be so bad. There'd be some pain, but I'd just close my eyes and visualize the ocean (which i could hear through an open window) and my husband would gently massage my back while speaking calming and healing verses over me. Maybe that does work for some women. For me, I think I was already scared before I could remember not to be.

So, I've been doing various exercises, drinking as much pregnancy herbal tea as I can, taking better prenatal vitamins, adding evening primrose oil and 5-W (similar to dr. christopher's) to my regimen, sitting on the birthing ball more often, whatever I can do that's different than what I did before. Except, that is, actually confronting this fear. Whenever it comes to mind, I change the subject. I focus on something else and ignore what it is I'm going to be doing in roughly six weeks, because if I think about it I'll become afraid and grow tense and tell my husband we better have a back-up plan.

Watching this movie made me confront it. Even though it's similar to the video my previous midwife lent us when I was pregnant with Isabel, I needed it. I needed to see that beautiful births are births in which the mother and baby are successful, healthy, and happy when it's all said and done. I needed to see that I'm not the only homebirthing mama to say she's given up, there's something wrong, we need to go, I can't do it. In fact, that seems to be common. I needed to know that. I needed to see a midwife give birth and watch her despair, cry out for intervention, be convinced there's something wrong. And I needed to see all those slippery, tiny, helpless, hungry, gorgeous babies and the instant change they bring to their mamas.

I'm still scared, but it's a little different. Because I know I'm not the only one to feel something other than the 'rush of positive, feminine energy', I know I can get through the pain and discomfort and despair and get to the other side without giving in to the fear. I know I can surrender to the Lord and he will drive out that demonic darkness. I knew that before, but I know it solidly, tangibly now.

Next up on our Netflix queue is more escapism.

*You may wonder why it's so important to me to birth naturally and why I don't agree with modern intervention for me or my baby (or family, for that matter, unless it's absolutely necessary). Gambojav Tribe has written a few articles that nicely sum up our family's decision to birth naturally for medical, religious, and cultural reasons. This may not fit all families, and that's okay. It fits my family and that's the only family I'm concerned about.

Fresh air and sunshine

2009-03-20T11:34:00.000-04:00

Happy first day of spring!

I've had an acceptance speech of one kind or another practiced since I was ten

2009-03-04T21:48:00.004-05:00

Oh, well, my....

Several weeks ago I received an award from the kind Ellajac

Truly very lovely of her, and I am humbled by the gesture and the company I keep.

Especially since I have been woefully remiss in keeping this blog fresh and updated. It seems as the days slip by, so do my energy and brain function levels. It feels as though I have blog burn out. I am a writer by nature and could not stop writing if I tried. I have kept some sort of journal or record or odd bits of thoughts and drawings since I was seven and I have a wonderful jumble of blog ideas scribbled in my paper journal and on various sheets of paper around the house now. But those jumbles and random half-thought out sentences are almost more satisfying than sitting down to pull them all together into some coherent order that not only makes sense but has a point at the end of the mazes of rabbit trails.

Anyhow, I am glad my blog is lovely and that its loveliness is defined by expecting a sweet newborn addition in the next nine weeks and living in a climate that encourages March planting. :)

And so, by accepting, I must pass this along to other lovely blogs. I'm unclear whether it's three or five, so I'm going to go with three (simply because that means fewer times of copying and pasting urls). Hopefully you will find these blogs as lovely as I do and maybe some will be new finds for you to enjoy. Though, like Ellajac, I'm not expecting any to notice, nor am I notifying them. Is that breaking the rules? Oh well.

Journey Mama Rae: I LOVE her blog. I could read it all day long. I don't have any idea where I found her, but I'm so glad I did. She lives in India with her husband and children and her blog is just beautiful. Plus, she has dreads. :) She's currently blogging Grace in Small Things. At this season in my life, when big things like soon greeting our new baby are looming up before me and changes are quickly happening and life seems to pass by in the minutes I forgot to notice, I'm thinking I might join in, too.

tinyhappy: This is kind of funny...the whole reason I even know about this blog is because Google Reader had it on its list of 'blogs you may like'. Like it I did. I'm not entirely sure where she lives, Scandinavia or thereabouts, but her blog and creativity is simple and lovely and tiny and happy.

Heavenly Homemakers Laura: Oh, I love her blog! I became a regular when following her sourdough starter instructions (which is another post entirely) and have really enjoyed keeping up with her cute kitchen and cute boys and cute life. And her pantry! Lovely, indeed!

I hope your day is a little bit lovelier today than it was yesterday. :) God is good, all the time.

T-H-I-R-T-Y

2009-02-20T21:29:00.005-05:00

That means there are only about ten weeks left of pregnancy number two. Ten! Which means it could be actually only eight weeks until we greet this new life face-to-face. Or twelve. But probably more likely around ten. Which is crazy. Where did this pregnancy go?

Even though I gained weight more quickly with this pregnancy, I feel smaller than I was at this point with my daughter. I think that mostly has to do with my persistent problem of forgetting I'm actually pregnant until I try to do something like squeeze past a small space or bend down to pick something up. Or see my stomach lurching and rolling in weird directions. I read a book recently that described the feeling of fetal acrobatics as heavy, clear bubbles popping. It was put together more elegantly, but that's pretty much the gist and it's right on target, I think.

Our last visit with the midwife was two weeks ago. It was very encouraging, because not only is everything going beautifully but she said she will try to work it out with the other midwife at the birth center so we can have a homebirth. Oh please, Lord! This was the first time we met with this particular midwife and we were so excited. In a strange bit of coincidence, she is the former student of our previous midwife and we absolutely love her (the previous midwife - though we love this midwife, too!). We were so sad we couldn't figure out a way to have her deliver this baby (what, she can't drive across the state and be on call for us who live two and a half hours and 150 miles away?), but this new midwife reminded us so much of her that it almost feels the same. And she had dreadlocks, which I'm so in love with. If I could work up the courage, I'd have them.

Anyway, it was a wonderful visit. She recommended pure, unprocessed, raw shea butter for itchy, stretchy skin and papaya enzymes for heartburn. When my belly gets itchy, nothing seems to help it. My last pregnancy I tried every kind of lotion i could find and nothing seemed to work. And the Palmer's Cocoa Butter does NOT work for itchiness OR stretch marks. I'd just like to announce that here and now. This pregnancy I got desperate and used this awesome foot lotion we have called Miracle Foot Repair. It's really thick and has lots of aloe and peppermint in it (and lots of other not-so-good ingredients, so if you watch out for that kind of thing you might not want to use it). It seemed to help better than anything else. It really is awesome foot lotion. Anyway, I wanted something more natural than that but I haven't been able to find raw shea butter anywhere. Hooray for coconut oil! My five gallons has become my new favorite lotion and I've even portioned out a recycled sour cream tub or two to give to my mom and mother-in-law to spread the wealth. It's really quite amazing. I love the scent, but I love even more that after it dries there is no scent, since I'm pretty sensitive to that kind of stuff. As for heartburn, I never heard of papaya enzymes before and I'm pretty eager to try them. I haven't given in and actually bought them yet, because my heartburn right now seems to be quickly tamed just by drinking more water. I think I'm drinking about two or three quarts a day, especially if I have heartburn, and it is so good. I really notice it when I haven't had much water to drink. I'm pretty sure water, coconut oil, and avocados are all people need to survive in life.

With all of that, though, this has not been the healthiest pregnancy. My basic diet has been really good, but I keep forgetting I'm pregnant and I lose track of how quickly the days have gone by and so have consumed way more candy and sugar than usual. I keep thinking it was a couple weeks ago when I last had a piece of cake or a Slurpee when really it was closer to four days ago. I crave the salt and sugar in equal amounts - I'll go a week desperate for a soda and then all I want is just one small bag of potato chips, the saltier and greasier the better. I've been trying to fight these crazy swings back and forth with daily cups of pregnancy tea with honey and air-popped popcorn drizzled with coconut oil and sprinkled with a little sea salt. It seems to help. Especially since this pregnancy I can't get enough coconut! I could have it every day, in every food, and still want more. Last pregnancy it was avocados I couldn't grow weary of. I wonder if it's something to do with the good fats those fruits (nuts? what are they?) are so full of. (that's two sentences ending with of. i hate that)

Also, my exercise has been terribly lacking this time around. When I was pregnant with Isabel we lived quite literally two blocks from the beach - almost across the street - and I walked there every day. I also walked to church and the library (until i was too big and afraid i might go into labor crossing the intercoastal). This time...ehhh. My daughter and I do a lot of dancing around the house and we go out in the garden and backyard a lot, but I'm not getting the walking and other good stretching in like I need to. I hope it's not too late to redeem myself and use these last ten weeks to really work my hips and back and abdomen. Bellydancing has been recommended to me, but I can't find any classes around here and none of the videos I found online on YouTube were much help for a complete beginner, much less a pregnant beginner.

So, that's my current status in a (very big) nutshell. In case anyone was wondering, because I know some people out there are sitting around asking themselves, "Gee, I really must know how annie's pregnancy is going and the details of what's going on right now." I'm the topic of the day, I'm sure. :) But this is also a sort of record for me, too, since I'm not really writing this down anywhere else. Except occasionally my journal, but I generally go off into other tangents there. And detail things that aren't really blog-worthy.

It's almost 1030 and I definitely feel pregnant. Pregnant and the mama of a 20 month old. Maybe I should go scrub the kitchen floor before I head off to bed. If I get that done tonight I only have three more rooms to do, and it must be done before the baby arrives. Must!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T08:12:00.000-05:00

And Can it Be That I Should Gain

2009-02-10T21:11:00.001-05:00

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

-Charles Wesley

Oh the joy!

2009-02-07T13:14:00.004-05:00

I spent all day yesterday obsessively checking the FedEx delivery status site. ALL DAY. I got paranoid around 6 when the site kept saying 'Delivered' and there was no delivery. Repeatedly I asked my husband how late FedEx delivers items and don't they leave a note on the door if they came and you missed them? But of course it was impossible for me to have missed them because I was home all day anxiously listening for the long-awaited knock.

Finally, at 730pm, while I was tidying up the sewing room.....IT CAME. I raced my husband to the door and insisted on being the one to receive it and carry it into the house. I received it. I couldn't lift it off the ground.

Five gallons of coconut oil from Mountain Rose Herbs. And I couldn't have been more excited. Actually, I ordered and paid for only one gallon, so I need to call them up and figure out what happened. I would love five gallons (i think.....i've never actually used coconut oil before), but I didn't pay for five gallons.

Anyhow, my husband was laughing at me and my daughter was running in circles saying, "Oooh! Wow!" and I opened up the valve thingy (before i realized it was four gallons more than i ordered) and made them all smell that wonderful, nutty scent.

Of course, I can't get the coconut oil out of the bucket because it needs to sit at a temperature of 76-degrees or higher for it to become liquidy. And of course we're experiencing the coldest temperatures ever and even with our heater on it doesn't go above 65 in our home.

That doesn't quell my happiness, though! Coconut oil!

Challenging myself

2009-02-06T21:33:00.000-05:00

(yes this image is clickable)

God has been using this challenge to not only strengthen and build my memory, what precious little there is left, but to also daily remind me of who he is, where I am, and where I need to be. Trials? Perseverance? Mature and complete faith? Wisdom? Oh yeah.

And God is so amazing. It is absolutely just awesome to see how he's brought to life those first six verses in the last seven days. First came the trial, then the perseverance, then the wisdom, then the belief and God's provision and love and strength. It makes me look forward to what he will teach me in my physical life as I work through making James an integral part of my spiritual life.

I can do this. I was Suzuki-trained.

(and if you haven't yet begun to read sara's blog, please do. frequently. she's one of my absolute favorites and inspired me to make my own things i currently love collage. i'll have to blog more about that later. it's really quite fun)

Ooh art!

2009-02-01T09:51:00.003-05:00

I love art. I'm horrible at it and know next to nothing about it, but I love it. I have great desires to draw and paint and color, but I can't seem to get those desires to come across on paper.

I'm hoping for different with my children. Because my husband, mother, and brother are all art-happy people, I think the genes may win out in my child's favor. And for my part, I do all I can to encourage scribbling and gluing and cutting and glittering and coloring and looking and talking and seeing.

Sadly, our art supplies are of the dollar store or Crayola variety. Sometimes that's a good thing. Sometimes something better would be more beneficial.

I love Stubby Pencil Studio! At least, I do now that I've heard of them. I'm glad I Never Grew Up is hosting this. I hope I win. Or you win. :)

(thanks to serena for blogging about this so i knew to enter! :)

Update on the CPSIA Law

2009-02-01T09:19:00.005-05:00

A Save Handmade update:

The CPSC grants a one year stay of testing and certification requirements for certain products.

This means creators and sellers of children's products have a year to continue as they are. That's good. Taken from from the site:

The stay does not apply to:

Four requirements for third-party testing and certification of certain
children’s products subject to:

The ban on lead in paint and other surface
coatings effective for products made after December 21, 2008;
The standards for full-size and non full-size cribs and pacifiers effective for products made after January 20, 2009;
The ban on small parts effective for products made after February 15, 2009; and
The limits on lead content of metal components of
children’s jewelry effective for products made after March 23, 2009.

Certification requirements applicable to ATV’s manufactured after April
13, 2009.

Pre-CPSIA testing and certification requirements, including for: automatic residential garage door openers, bike helmets, candles with metal core wicks, lawnmowers, lighters, mattresses, and swimming pool slides; and

Pool drain cover requirements of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act.

That's good news.

Tandem, not like the bicycle

2009-01-28T22:05:00.005-05:00

Like most crunchy, natural-parenting mamas I am pro-breastfeeding. When we found out I was pregnant with my daughter, nursing her wasn't even a question. Of course she'd be breastfed. Hundreds of studies have shown how wonderful breast milk is for babies, and not just for newborns. Study after study has shown how beneficial it is for older babies, past six months, and even toddlers to continue regularly nursing. The WHO even recommends children to be breastfed for at least two years, though the APA says one year is enough to get most of the benefits of nursing.

(i'd link to all those studies and facts, but my computer keeps telling me my internet is down - it's not - or that my computer is not responding - it is.)

My daughter is nearly 20 months old and we continue to enjoy a happy nursing relationship. There was a period, around November-December, when I thought she may be trying to wean herself and I was kind of hoping she would by the end of January, since it was getting uncomfortable as she and I grew. However, it seems the more pregnant I become, the more often she wants to nurse (recent illnesses seem to contribute to that, too).

Oddly, the more often she nurses, the less discomfort I experience. It's amazing! I'm back to the enjoyable stage of nursing her and feel a little twinge whenever I think of her someday soon weaning.

I have no idea what it would be like to tandem nurse, and I'm kind of hesitant to try, but I talked to the pediatrician about it and she said she actually doesn't recommend weaning a toddler before a new sibling arrives. Evidently, not only is it a positive experience for the mom, but in every tandem relationship she's seen there was less confusion and/or jealousy with the older child and the bonding experience between the two siblings was instant and positive, as well. I don't think you must tandem nurse for that to happen, but it made tandem nursing seem less scary, draining, and logistically confusing. :)

Because I am who I am, I believe in practicing child-led weaning. I know not every situation makes that possible, just like not every mother is able to breastfeed, but I feel strongly about not only offering your baby the best food available to him but continuing the practice until nursing reaches a point when both the mother and the child no longer depend on the benefits of breastfeeding and weaning is a calm and natural occurrence. I thought for us that would be around now. But, since Isabel is still obviously needing the time, attention, and nourishment nursing provides her, I am happy to continue along as we have been. I think abruptly ending now would not only be a disruption to her routine and a refusal to acknowledge her needs, but it would also be uncomfortable and possibly painful for me. I have no desire to go through the engorgement and let-down and hormonal imbalance as my body tries to regulate itself again to pre-nursing normalcy, only to confuse it further as I near my due date and asking it to prepare itself again for another nursing season. Ow. And I really don't need further hormonal imbalances.

Today was La Leche League day, though our group is technically no longer a LLL chapter. Our leaders moved away! We continue to meet regularly, since we enjoy the support and conversation. Our kids are all within two years of each other, so we're going through the same stuff and the kiddies have fun throwing balls at each other and taking graham crackers that don't belong to them.

Of the group, two of us are still nursing (18 mo old and my 20 mo old) and the other four's children weaned themselves (one at 29 mos, one at 12, one at 17, and one at 19), so child-led weaning is an interesting topic for us to discuss. There is one mom whose son is two and a half (weaned at 29 mos), has two older children, and nearly completed her LLL leader certification. We kind of look to her for answers and experience and she gladly tells us what she knows or has learned. Too bad she's moving to Texas this weekend!

Today, as we were talking about weaning and when to wean and whether you should allow your child a say in the decision, our experienced mama brought up an interesting observation. Mothers who wean their babies when they feel is best, though the child may still be nursing just as often as ever, seem to experience the engorgement and let-down and out of whack hormones. The weaning may be gradual, but it's still a rather painful process for both mama and baby. On the other hand, mamas who wait until the child has begun to wean herself, or the child suddenly stopped nursing altogether, seldom seem to experience any of the downsides to weaning (other than that bittersweet sense of loss). Not only is there no crazy adjustment with their body, but their children have no kind of 'separation anxiety' and barely even seem to notice the change. It's as though the mother's body and the child are in sync and the nursing relationship ended at exactly the right, natural time.

Of course, this is merely observation and no kind of scientific study in any way was conducted by anyone at the group, so no absolutes of any kind can be made (and really, even in actual studies, absolutes are very difficult to establish). But, I would much rather a happy, natural, normal, unhurried weaning experience than one that could be painful, sad, or uncomfortable for both of us.

So, maybe I will tandem nurse after all. I've only got 13 weeks left!

Jesus loves even me

2009-01-26T23:20:00.003-05:00

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

I love how 'immeasurably more' comes in such unexpected ways, truly more than we could imagine. Like when it's 830pm and you're working on your sourdough starter (which you should have been working on much earlier in the day) and you think you've run out of flour just as you're getting ready to add the 4-8 cups needed to make it into bread for tomorrow and then you open up your refrigerator on little more than a passing hope you didn't use up all the flour yesterday, although you probably did, and holy cow! praise the Lord! there's a bag of flour sitting on the bottom shelf with just enough to make the dough for tomorrow.

There are the huge things and there are the little things and all of it comes from a God who is Good.

Tag Eins

2009-01-21T09:11:00.001-05:00

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Psalm 20:7

Someone's in the kitchen........

2009-01-20T09:03:00.001-05:00

I so very seldom write about the things that go on in my kitchen. Sometimes that's because it's really not very interesting, just your typical daily cooking and cleaning and preparing. Sometimes it's because what happened in the kitchen was a disaster with a capital D and I'd really rather forget. Sometimes it's because I forget.

Not today! And another reason is most of my tips and tricks and fool-proof recipes come from someone else, who has spent many more hours than I have trying and testing and blogging. But today's trick came from my own brain and used by my own hands! It may not be original, but at least I thought of it myself. :)

I love to bake, and bake often. I bake bread at least twice a week, desserts throughout the week to pair with our dinners, muffins and pancakes and other breakfast goodies to fill our growling bellies....I'm frequently in the kitchen and frequently use up a lot of flour, eggs, milk, butter, and yeast.

Often in my baking recipes (which, really, I should share some of these kitchen wonders because the are just so danged good) I'm asked to mix butter with something, usually flour or other dry mix. I don't know if you noticed, but butter is generally hard and difficult to mix, even when softened. Stirring or cutting in butter is a pain in the neck. At least, I think so.

Enter.....my saucepan! (here's where i should have a picture)

If I'm making cookies or something else where the butter only needs to be softened, I put the amount of butter in the pan and let it heat up until just before it starts to melt. This is tricky because you have to watch it, but when it gets to that point and you let it cool a bit and add it to your mix, hooray! It's a whole lot easier to stir or blend!

If I'm making something like muffins where the butter has to be cut into the flour mixture or cut in to make a streusel topping, I let the butter melt completely, careful not to let it get too hot or it will start to burn off. Then, once it's a little cool, I can add it to the dry mix, mix it all up with a fork and yay! My mix is wonderfully crumbly as it should be, without having to stand there with my knives criss-crossing over and over and over and over again, trying to get the butter to mix in.

I suppose if you have a microwave you could use that instead. Either way, heating up the butter before using it in the recipe has made baking much easier. I have tried it again and again and it always works perfectly.

This tip is part of Kitchen Tip Tuesdays! Maybe next week I'll think of something else to share. Or maybe I'll just talk about someone else's recipe. :) I made the Nourishing Gourmet's homemade fruit juice gelatin last night and am on Day Two of the Heavenly Homemaker's sourdough starter, so I should have something to talk about.

How many weeks, again?

2009-01-19T11:55:00.001-05:00

Surprisingly, I've lost count of how many weeks pregnant I am. Who would have thought! I actually have to look at the ticker on the blog to remember if I'm 24 or 25 weeks along. Part of this is complicated by the ultrasound we had, which put my due date a week early. I still don't believe the ultrasound is right, but it always makes me forget....Am I 24 weeks and the ultrasound makes it 25? Or am I 25 weeks and the ultrasound makes it 26?

But, also, I just forget. I'm amazed at how infrequently I think of this pregnancy. It's always there, in the back of my mind with each little kick and heartburn flare-up, but the time I spent last time researching and thinking and writing and talking about being pregnant is now absorbed into other things. Mostly Isabel. :) Instead of anxiously taking photos every month or week to document each development towards receiving our new baby in our arms, I anxiously take photos of Isabel, hoping I capture each sweet, funny, new action she develops as she grows into herself.

So, sadly, I have very few pictures of just me and my belly, though there are some here and there of me and Isabel or me and the family and you can kind of get an idea of how big I am. It is sad, because I want to remember every bit of this child as I do with Isabel and I feel like I'm already behind. We decided to remedy that this weekend. I have roughly 15 weeks left to capture every thought, feeling, change, and expanding waistline before we greet our sweet babe.

Of course, Isabel couldn't stand for the camera to be out and she not included in the picture! Apologies for the blurriness.....the batteries were dying. And I'm really not sure what Isabel is doing with her hand. Maybe signing eat? Maybe laughing and covering her mouth, like she sometimes does? Who knows!

One thing I love about this pregnancy is that it's not just David and I who get to share in the delight and joy of expecting a new baby, feeling the kicks, and singing songs or speaking words of love over this baby. Isabel a very present figure in this child's development, always wanting to 'pat the baby' (she tries to rub or gently tap my belly, but sometimes it's a little too hard...we're still learning) or blow raspberries on my belly or talk to the baby. She'll even say I Love You, but since it's in ASL and not in speech, we have to tell the baby what Isabel said. :)

Other funny things with toddlers and a pregnant mama: Isabel finds it comfortable to walk around the house with her hands on her belly, or she'll stand in the living room with her hands on her back and her tummy sticking out, as though she's trying to take the weight off her back. She also sometimes gets confused and will point to her own belly when we ask where the baby is, instead of pointing to mine. And, sometimes when she's nursing she'll feel the baby kick and giggle. Which makes me giggle.

Oh the fun of two!

How do people in colder climates do it?

2009-01-15T08:59:00.003-05:00

It's 9am and 31 degrees outside.

It's 9am and the sun has yet to peak from behind the 'snow clouds' (what i call the dense, gray-blue, low-hanging clouds covering our skies).

It's 9am and all I've accomplished is breakfast. Usually by 9am we've gotten dressed, breakfast was eaten long ago, chores have been completed, and we are ready to head outside and begin our day.

It's 9am and I'm still in my nightgown. Isabel is passably dressed, warmly if not adorably, but only because her diaper just leaked and got her pajamas wet.

It's 9am and, while today's laundry has already been washed and dried, yesterday's laundry is still sitting in the living room half-folded.

Our house is warm (i actually turned on the heater!) but I can't find the motivation or courage to get up and start our day, knowing if I move from the warm, cuddly spot on the couch I'm sharing with my daughter a drift of cool air will hit my ankles and weaken my resolve.

It's probably wise my husband and I didn't buy the property we were looking at in Maine.

my daughter is learning to dress herself and her favorite things to practice with are her jackets and cardigans. so what if they're backward? they're on!

Well, it's a start

2009-01-09T07:50:00.001-05:00

Lawmakers exempt second-hand and thrift stores from the new CPSIA law.

Maybe, hopefully, they'll come around to exempting handmade.

Holy! Holy! Holy!

2009-01-05T08:15:00.002-05:00

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity.

Holy, holy, holy! All saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the sinful human eye thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity.

Words: Reginald Heber (1783-1826), 1827

image source

Save handmade!

2009-01-04T21:23:00.001-05:00

Don't know if y'all have heard, but there's new legislation that's been passed that will affect everyone who makes or buys handmade toys, clothing, accessories, and other miscellaneous items created for children. Evidently, it affects buying second-hand children's items, too.

Frankly, I think the law is not only a confusing mess, but what I do understand of it makes me think it's a senseless law, sounding like it was created to push Big Business profits with only a flimsy facade of 'but it's for the children!' Maybe that's cynical conspiracy theory, but I am suspicious. Obviously, the economy is not spiraling upward and Corporate America has put out all sorts of financial reports describing the huge drop in profits throughout last year, a slower than usual Black Friday, and a sluggish Christmas season.

I'm not saying the government or major corporations have convened to conspire against individual artisans in an effort to take over the world (they already have taken over the world....how much further can they go?). But, how many children have gotten hurt from a stuffed whale bought from a conscientious etsy seller who uses all-natural materials and who supervised production with her own two eyes (aka made it herself), versus how many have become ill from lead-poisoning attributed to a mass-produced train toy made in China in a sweatshop and sold at Wal-Mart? The point of this legislation should be to regulate those mass corporations that primarily outsource their production of children's items.

The rest of it belongs in that little-observed category of

C O N S U M E R
R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y

Of course, consumer responsibility is required when shopping at major retailers. But, there's a sense of trust purchasing from a Big Box Store. They have gobs of money, they have factories and thousands (millions?) of employees, they have the government stamp of approval. Why shouldn't it be safe? Whereas buying from a local woodworker or seamstress or even Goodwill, the risks are taken into account, weighed and measured.

This type of legislation means I will no longer be able to buy fun, one-of-a-kind whimsy for my daughter, craft fairs selling handknit baby sweaters and booties will be shut down, work-at-home cloth diaper making mamas will be banned from selling on ebay, I will no longer in good conscious be able to sell even locally baby slings or nursing necklaces or baby leggings.

The various sites I linked to in the first paragraph (including the image) all give advice on what to do, where to direct letters and phone calls and such. I haven't done anything like that, I don't know if I will. I very rarely do. But, there's a chance it could help.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love

2009-01-01T21:45:00.003-05:00

O LORD, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.
Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.

The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.

So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.

I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.

I spread out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Selah

Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD,
for I hide myself in you.

Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.

For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life;
in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.

Psalm 143
NIV

Still praying for that homebirth

2008-12-25T19:38:00.003-05:00

"Some healthcare trivia: In the United States, what is the No. 1 reason people are admitted to the hospital? Not diabetes, not heart attack, not stroke. The answer is something that isn't even a disease: childbirth.

Not only is childbirth the most common reason for a hospital stay -- more than 4 million American women give birth each year -- it costs the country far more than any other health condition. Six of the 15 most frequent hospital procedures billed to private insurers and Medicaid are maternity-related. The nation's maternity bill totaled $86 billion in 2006, nearly half of which was picked up by taxpayers."

and

"The problem is not access to care; it is the care itself. As a new joint report by the Milbank Memorial Fund, the Reforming States Group and Childbirth Connection makes clear, American maternity wards are not following evidence-based best practices. They are inducing and speeding up far too many labors and reaching too quickly for the scalpel: Nearly one-third of births are now by caesarean section, more than twice what the World Health Organization has documented is a safe rate. In fact, the report found that the most common billable maternity procedures -- continuous electronic fetal monitoring, for instance -- have no clear benefit when used routinely.

The most cost-effective, health-promoting maternity care for normal, healthy women is midwife led and out of hospital. Hospitals charge from $7,000 to $16,000, depending on the type and complexity of the birth. The average birth-center fee is only $1,600 because high-tech medical intervention is rarely applied and stays are shorter. This model of care is not just cheaper; decades of medical research show that it's better. Mother and baby are more likely to have a normal, vaginal birth; less likely to experience trauma, such as a bad vaginal tear or a surgical delivery; and more likely to breast feed. In other words, less is actually more."

read the full article.

Ron Paul was a birth-friendly candidate, among other qualities, which is one of the reasons I liked him. I hope Obama proves himself to be a birth-friendly president, though I'm not holding my breath.

I know for some women a hospital is the best choice for a safe and healthy delivery. But healthcare institutions and insurances need to wake up and realize a hospital birth is not even often the best choice for a safe, low-risk delivery.

Many people think I'm nuts for even considering a homebirth. I think people are nuts for NOT considering it. Not for ruling it out, but for not really researching.

Anyway, interesting article.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T21:35:00.001-05:00

(many) Notes of a Sew-er

2008-12-17T22:23:00.008-05:00

Or. Um. Yeah.

I'm not a seamstress (yet). And I'm NOT a sewer. The hyphen stands.

My little band of girlies I've known since seventh grade exchanges gifts every Christmas. I'm an economical gift-giver who procrastinates and appreciates efficiency (that should be an oxymoron). So, I make everyone the same thing but varied to fit each personality. One year was knit facecloths with organic homemade (bought from an etsy shop) soaps, scents selected to fit the recipient, placed in a little make-up type bag I sewed with fabric that reminded me of each friend. Last year everyone got half-aprons appliqued with a design to match individual interests and likes. This year....well, I'm not telling. Not yet, anyway.

Not only am I the world's slowest knitter, I'm evidently the world's slowest sew-er.

According to the various sites where I got the idea for this year's gift (i made my own pattern and was so proud), the project shouldn't have taken more than a couple hours, start to finish, to produce several variations of the item. It took me a couple hours to trace the pattern, cut it out, and pin. Then it took me another couple hours to assemble and sew. They are actually all finished now, but I could have taken another hour or several to make them tip-top perfect. I probably should have.

I cannot sew quickly.

I did discover a bit of encouragement a few weeks ago, when rooting through my overwhelming stash of fabric and remnants and scraps and old t-shirts I'm sure I could use for something. I came across a skirt I began to make nearly three years ago. It remains unfinished because a)I didn't have an appropriate zipper*; and b)the sizing was off and it is two inches too small. At the time, I was rather impressed with myself because, despite points a and b, I had successfully cut, assembled, and sewn together an article of clothing without any help whatsoever.

The skirt, in a nutshell, is awful. It's an off-white linen with embroidered flowers in blues and purples. For reasons currently unknown, I used lavender thread. All stitching is visible and there is NO straight line anywhere. It looks more like I was practicing free-motion stitching rather than trying to create a hemline. The yoke is completely off-center. All raw edges are visible because I didn't turn them under or line the fabric (why, i don't know. it's practically transparent). It's really an example of what not to do.

I am still very much a beginner and my sewing is far from perfect, but that skirt is encouraging because I can see what I've learned since then. I fret over my not-so-straight lines, but now I see just how much straighter they've become in the last three years. Topstitching, reading a pattern, ironing, pinning, lining, turning under, asking for help, measuring and matching thread (well, those sometimes) are all things I've learned really do make a difference in skill, durability, and appearance. They seem like no-brainers, but I tend to jump first and then look. I am still very much a by-the-seat-of-my-pants sew-er, and I like that and want to keep that part of me, but I see how much better my sewing has become once I started paying attention to the rules and common traditions. Improvement really does depend on hours sacrificed. Much like anything else in life.

In case you were were staying up at night wondering, twin-sized quilts do NOT fit through mini-sewing machines. I'm not sure they fit through regular sized sewing machines, but I've been reassured they do. My daughter's quilt is done, minus the quilting. Maybe I'll have it done by the time the new baby arrives. :) I'm fairly impressed with myself: not only is it finished, but it's relatively even and rectangular. The front is about right. The fabric I used for the back is one of those 100% cotton Indian-print dyed tapestries and those are never dyed exactly centered, so it's a little off. I'm not unhappy. I used an old sheet of my mom's for the lining, since a normal quilt is usually too hot for everyday use. I'm excited to quilt it and put it on her bed!

Also in quilt-making: A queen-sized sheet is the perfect size for a twin-sized quilt. The (vacuumed) living room floor is the perfect size for laying your fabric layers down to pin them all together. Clear packing tape is the perfect tool for keeping your bottom layer straight and wrinkle-free as you pin each layer to it. This, of course, works only if your floor is not carpeted.

Am I the only one who gets the most random songs through her head as she sews? The other night I had Paul Simon in my head, mixed with Jingle Bells and Brenda White's The Gift (evidently a hard to find song, i just google-searched and got this site, and this year's hippo song judging by how often it is played on the radio. by the way, the gift is not a favorite of mine. why don't they play Casting Crowns more often?). Tonight was an interesting mix of Donovan and German Christmas carols.

Watching my husband make Christmas presents for our daughter and me, I observed woodworking and sewing are not dissimilar. Woodworking is just more exacting, more permanent. I can always take my stitches out (if i haven't cut it too closely), but you can't really go back and re-turn a block of wood when you've made a mistake.

I'm almost done with all my Christmas sewing. I have five more items to do that are extremely quick and easy (even for me), three of which don't actually need to be finished for Christmas. I've really rather enjoyed sewing this year. I usually enjoy sewing, but I feel like I am more accomplished this year. I don't know why, but it's a good feeling. Because I don't have ten projects already lined up for after Christmas, I decided the other day I must make my daughter a little bathrobe. I picked out fabric today. It's waay more girly than I would have liked, but it's a print I know she would like and it's fuzzy. Fuzzy bathrobes are great.

*(even if i had the appropriate zipper, i didn't know how to put one in. and even if i did, i didn't have a zipper foot. i still don't, actually. do you know how difficult it is to find a zipper foot in stores?)

image source

Romans 14:19

2008-12-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

NKJV

image source

Pregnancy is Weird

2008-12-12T21:48:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow I will be officially 20 weeks. Twenty weeks already! Halfway there!

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I heard over and over how slow the first pregnancy seems to be. I guess because all the experiences are new and funky and you are anxious and it seems like the due date will never arrive. I felt the complete opposite. I loved being pregnant and it seemed like it was flying past me before I could fully experience it. I desperately wanted my baby to be born on her due date, but I also hoped and prayed for time to slow down those last few weeks and days. I just loved the feelings and experiences and kicks and even exhaustion.

This pregnancy is going even faster, something I didn't think possible. Looking back, it seems like I was pregnant a long time before I reached the 20 week mark. This time it seems like I just took the pregnancy test a couple weeks ago. I don't know if it's because we found out I was pregnant just two or three weeks into the pregnancy or because we waited several weeks before telling anyone, shortening the time the secret has been out. Whatever it is, this pregnancy feels like a speeding train barreling down the tracks and if I blink twice, May 2 will be here.

I think because time is passing so quickly I've entered the nesting stage super early. I don't remember going through this with my daughter, but the last two months of that pregnancy were taken up with buying a house and packing up our little cottage by the sea and packing up all the stuff left by the previous owner of the house we were moving into. I guess that was my nesting, but frankly, I really didn't care one way or the other about all the details. I felt free and easy, just wanted a house to live in. At 20 weeks now, I'm staying up until 11 or later to get sewing done or reorganize my daughter's closet or write out recipes that sound interesting but we'll probably never try or write out lists of things that MUST be done before the baby comes (and then hand the lists to my husband because half of it I won't be able to do two or three weeks from now, if my belly keeps growing at the rate it has been...it's kind of hard to scrub the floor on your hands and knees when your belly is on your knees).

It's been very productive. Planning-wise, that is. I haven't actually done anything yet, though my crossed-off to-do lists are impressive. That happens when you include things like breakfast, shower, go to the grocery store. I've re-planned our entire house organization, written lists of everything that needs to be replaced, fixed, painted, moved, hung, or built. I've completely overhauled my entire idea for our home and have a brand new idea of how our home would look its coziest and prettiest. It looks very nice in my head!

During my first pregnancy, I didn't have much in the way of the usual pregnant mama cravings. Nothing really past the typical sweet-tooth desires or, "Oh, Chik-fil-A waffle fries with polynesian sauce sounds sooo good right now." This pregnancy, however, I've had the strangest ideas about what I want. On top of my usual sugar demands, the first couple months were spent craving salt like crazy. It's weird because I NEVER crave salty foods. Ever. I enjoy them, but for those first several weeks all I wanted was popcorn, pretzels, crackers and cheese. It was insatiable!

Then I suddenly switched to wanting 'party foods', hors d'oeurve-y stuff like chips and dip, croissants with those little hot dogs (also weird because I haven't liked hot dogs since fourth grade), mini-subs on a platter, your typical football party fare. I kept telling my husband someone from his work needed to host a party and invite me so I could eat all their food. :) The cravings have subsided a bit since then and I'm back to my usual wanting something sweet occasionally. I've taken to drinking Earl Grey tea with honey and that helps. So does peppermint stick ice cream, which was on sale last week and you know I bought some, drizzled with chocolate sauce.

For all my talk of eating sugar-laden treats, I've actually been surprised by how well I eat in reality. The birthing clinic we're going to requires its patients to keep a food log for a week sometime during the first trimester. I was kind of nervous of writing down everything I ate because I was afraid it was going to show just how awful my eating habits are. Surprise, surprise, they're not too bad! With the exception of one or two examples, I actually ate better than I thought. Not exactly Nourishing Traditions healthy, but healthier than the norm. I'm glad.

Especially since tomorrow is cooking-making day at our house! My mom is coming over and she and my daughter and I are going to make and decorate sugar cookies. What better Christmas activity is there with a toddler? :)

Bah. Humbug!

2008-12-05T22:42:00.002-05:00

Unless I'm getting groceries, I don't want to step foot in a store from now until February 8 (which, coincidentally, happens to be my birthday). I don't care about the pre-Christmas rush or the post-Christmas sales. I want peace and harmony and low blood pressure.

I went to Target today and began feeling cranky before I got Isabel situated in the buggy. Within 15 minutes I was so annoyed I was ready to knock over a few of the placed-too-close-together racks because I was so crowded by people and just wanted O U T. Where did they all come from?! Used to be I could walk around any store before noon and enjoy relative solitude. Except Wal-mart, of course, but I don't make it a habit to shop there.

Today, I pulled a cart out of the near-empty cart station and started to put Isabel in and people were actually lining up behind me, as if I were blocking their access to the carts, and getting all impatient. There wasn't a cart in front of me or behind me or next to me.

And of course it's 1030 so the line for Starbucks is winding around the little cafe thing so getting my first peppermint mocha spice (decaf) latte of the season (and probably only) is near-impossible. And then I try to navigate through the clothing racks but of course all the racks and free-standing walls are placed exactly one and a half feet apart, so a person can walk through them but the buggies refuse to fit, making it inevitable at least one rack per row gets displaced just trying to maneuver down an aisle. And of course today is All the Target Employees Get to Price Check Items Day, so every other row has a red shirt with two carts full of scanners and stickers which makes it impossible to get anywhere in a straight line. And of course I have to go to the bathroom and I'm pregnant so as soon as the thought hits my brain I have to go now. And of course the only way out of the children's section is a labyrinthine path that has you trying to double-back and turn around in a space too small for a mouse. And of course someone is in the only bathroom in Target that I can bring the buggy in with me (i'm not putting my child down on that floor!) and taking their sweet time getting out, not even answering my knock with a pleasant, "Just a minute!" but a short, "What?!".

Is it just me or has Target gotten overloaded with stuff? It's like there's so much stuff it's overwhelming; it's impossible to know what you're even looking at let alone see half of it.

On the other hand, this is the first year since, oh, childhood, I'm actually not annoyed by Christmas stuff and even want to decorate and get into the season and listen to Christmas music. Sure, time has gone by so quickly it feels like it should be August, not December, but each season has come and gone so logically and, since everything has been celebrated individually for once, it feels good and right to be ready for Christmas this year.

I think it's because we've become so home-oriented and generally have stayed away from stores and other mass-populated locations. I don't feel like I've been forced to consume halloween since June and Christmas since September. I really can't tell you when the last time was we went to Target before today, or to the mall, any mall. I go to the grocery store once a week, Jo-Ann's once or twice a month, church weekly, school weekly, women's group monthly, La Leche League monthly, farmer's market bi-weekly....that's generally it, other than the frequent trips to and from my parents'. I feel like I've totally skipped the societal herd rush, living completely in my own little fast-forwarded family time.

I love it. I'd rather the weeks fly by with my attention focused on what art activity we're going to do today or whether we should take a walk to the park or spend the morning at the library and catch those super-speedy moments with my family, than be going half a dozen places in one day every day and wonder where my time has gone and why I can't keep track of everything or remember what I ate for breakfast.

Being ready for Christmas does NOT equal being ready to give Christmas gifts. I am so danged far behind.

Not all milk does a body good

2008-12-02T10:18:00.003-05:00

While searching for organic milk coupons to take with me to the grocery store, I came across some research done on major organic dairy farms. Cornucopia Institute, a farm advocacy group and sort of watchdog for organic farming, researched and reported on dairy farms labeling their milk, yogurt, cheese, and butter as 'organic'.

Their findings are really interesting.....I never gave much thought to which companies are best and which are downright unethical. I generally buy Organic Valley because it's ubiquitous and I can find the most coupons for them (also, they send me stuff in the mail!). Occasionally I'll get Stonyfield Farms, but not often. Seldom do I buy Horizon and now I'm glad I don't. I never buy the store brands because they're always more expensive than the others when I have coupons.

I'm still looking into raw milk sources. I found a couple raw goat's milk farms that I can buy from, but no cow's milk. Yet. Now that I'm pregnant I'm a little concerned about raw milk and whether it's okay to take. According to my midwife (who seems to be very pro-organic and raw/whole foods), raw milk is not good for pregnant women. To me, that makes sense, but my knowledge in this area is extremely limited. I've heard if it's not raw to not drink it, but I really don't know. I kind of do the best I can and trust God's provision.

Anyway, the report was an interesting find.

Happy Advent!

2008-11-30T21:55:00.001-05:00

Advent season is once again upon us! Last year we read parts of Matthew, in addition to our regular chapter a day, and sang Away in the Manger and O Come O Come Emmanuel during our Family Worship. We really wanted to incorporate the whole story of Jesus, from the promise and prophecy of his coming to his ultimate sacrifice on the cross, but weren't sure how to go about it. Shortly after Christmas I discovered an Advent daily devotional: Jesse Tree. We decided to try it out this year.

The link goes to a particular resource that is family-inclusive, with a topic question for discussion at the end. There are apparently many other resources out there, including a book I've seen heralded recently. I don't know, I only just learned about it last week. Anyway, each day a couple verses are read with the devotional and an ornament symbolizing that day's reading is placed on the Jesse Tree. I guess some people buy the ornaments, most sites I've seen have making the ornaments as a craft activity for kids and parents.

We don't have a tree yet, and we wouldn't use a separate tree anyway, so our ornaments are going to be strung on some thread to make a garland. When we get our Christmas tree we'll wrap the garland around the tree and continue adding ornaments to the line. Since Isabel is just a tad on the too little side, I'm making the ornaments out of fabric this year. I could cut out shapes on paper and have her color them and put glitter on them. I didn't think of that.....I may have to alter my plans for the rest of Advent! So far I only have the tree made for today's reading.

We are modifying the devotionals a little bit, eliminating the topic question discussion and including our usual Psalm reading and hymns. Again this year we chose to sing two songs during Advent. I like O Come O Come Emmanuel a lot for the season (for all the time!), so we're singing that along with Good Christian Men Rejoice.

It's become cliche to say how commericialized Christmas has become over the years, but it's true. We really want to avoid that with our children, to take an active role in teaching them why and how we celebrate Christmas rather than just taking them to church on Christmas Eve. We want to take the focus off presents and shopping and overloaded schedules and insanity. Our activities are limited and family-oriented (as much as they can be with David working weekends). Our shopping is limited. Our gifts for each other and for others are simple, handmade, and useful. And our discussions are about the love of Christ, not the must-have toy of the season.

For Isabel's gifts this year we are each making her something, like we did last year. We'd like to keep all gifts homemade or close to it as much as possible. I came across a couple ideas in Wondertime magazine that would be kind of cool to incorporate, or keep in the back of our minds when thinking about Christmas gifts for our children. One was four gifts for each child: something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read. The other was three gifts for each child: a 'gold' gift (something they've been wanting), a 'myrhh' gift (something for their body), and a 'frankincense' gift (something for their spiritual growth). I really like how both ideas are simple and useful but incorporate the child's wants and interests, too.

I hope we can get our camera straightened out soon so I can share photos of our Advent garland and Christmas elf as she helps us prepare for the season!

Happy Advent :)

Ezekiel 37:1-14

2008-11-29T20:19:00.003-05:00

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"

I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "

NIV

art source

Happiest of Thanksgivings

2008-11-27T07:53:00.001-05:00

Oh Jesus, thank you so much for*

my Lord, God, my Savior
my beloved, my husband
our practically-perfect-in-every-way daughter
our coming baby (who is coming much more quickly than I can keep up with-I'm almost 18 weeks already!)
dear, precious family: immediate, extended, married-into, adopted, and anticipated
sweet friends
God's amazing, abounding, never-ending grace
safe travel
my husband's job
God's peace and security
food
and plenty of it
clean water
and the ability to get it even cleaner
music
a good book. or ten.
my daughter's voice calling "mama!"
her grin when she sees me turn to her
the library
naps
hot tea
the ability to give
art
especially created by my one-and-a-half year old
cool, brisk days
chilly, snuggly nights
warm days
flip-flops
m&ms
bare feet
wedding pictures
especially free orders from snapfish to fill up real wedding photo albums and not just the ones on my computer
usps delivering quicker than normal
my sewing machine
and the ability to use it
guacamole
and chips
homemade hot chocolate
homemade gifts
earrings
bones (the tv show, not the anatomy)
my daughter going to sleep on time so my husband and i can snuggle up on our chilly night and sip homemade hot chocolate while watching bones and organizing the free copies of pictures from our wedding that arrived in the mail
good health and the ability to receive good healthcare
knitting
crayons
wonderful people who give us and others items they're no longer using
our garden
faith
hope
love
and tangerines

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
I Chronicles 16:34
NLT

despite all the despair and wrongs and worries and concerns, be thankful.

give thanks.

i hope you do.

art source

*this list is by no means exhaustive

Babies are meant to be worn

2008-11-23T15:44:00.002-05:00

So, I know International Babywearing Week was last week,

buuuuuuuuuut............

Along for the Ride is giving away a free organic, embroidered Ergo!

I love my ring slings and mei tai, but I have always wanted an Ergo. Especially since I would love it if the grandparents could get in on the babywearing action. Ring slings can be a little tricky when you're a 6'3" grampa.

If it's not going to be me who wins this, I want it to be someone I know! :)

Today I'm Thankful for Soap and Water

2008-11-14T09:14:00.000-05:00

While I was baking muffins this morning, Isabel was engrossed in her art activity for today.

Evidently, we were both a little too engrossed.

I know it's growing more and more popular in homeschooling, especially in the more 'natural' and 'simple living' homes, to adopt the Montessori method of using only real life tools and supplies, instead of the plastic, Crayola variety. Ordinarily I'm fully on board for such practice, the real stuff is always much more appealing to children than the play stuff. Today, however, I am so glad it was the Crayola Original Washable Markers, in all its plasticity, she was playing with and not the Van Gogh Oils left over from David's art days.

Silly Sammy Slick Sipped Six Sodas and Got Sick Sick Sick

2008-11-11T21:04:00.002-05:00

Just a few weeks ago I was thinking how healthy my family is. My husband and I rarely get sick and, when we do, it's so mild it's hardly more than some sniffles and sneezes. I thought surely that must be because I cook with chicken stock often and we don't consume a ton of sugar (ha i wish...the only one who doesn't get sugar is my daughter and even she gets it a couple times a week, more often than i'd like).

Evidently I forgot about my annual crud: three days of bleary eyes, sneezy nose, and a fever.

So I've been taking looots of vitamin c, orange juice, water, and chicken broth. It's funny how amazing water tastes, when everything else tastes like....water.

When I found out I had a fever I called my midwife and she said to just wait it out. I don't like waiting, but my husband has been fantastic and has played with our daughter for hours and hours and gardened with her and put her down for her naps and did basically everything while I lazed about in bed. This is taking longer to go away, probably because I'm pregnant. But did I tell you how amazing water tastes? It's like a healing sweet nectar sent straight from heaven.

It's incredible Isabel hasn't ever gotten sick in her entire 17 months of life. Hooray for happy, healthy breastfed babies. If water is heavenly nectar, then mother's milk is like an immuno-superpower elixir.

Get out your gloves and shovels!

2008-11-06T07:39:00.002-05:00

Stephanie of Keeper of the Home is hosting an Organic Gardening Carnival. She's providing the space for those who have gardened this year to share the tips and tricks and experiences they've had this year with organic gardening.

Well.

This was our first year gardening anything, much less organically. And, admittedly, not everything we've grown has organic sources, though our gardening tactics have been completely organic. January saw the ripening of our compost. Februrary and March brought dug and fertilized (compost) beds. March and April began our planting, either with seeds or by sprouting. Living in Florida as we do offered us a chance to get a head start on planting in our four little 5x5 beds. We began with cilantro, a lettuce mix (mesclun, i think...it was bitter), tomatoes, pole beans, and onions.

The cilantro, lettuce, and tomatoes thrived. The onions, not so much. The pole bean verdict is still out because, while they ripened, they tasted terrible. We aren't sure if it was because of the beans themselves or how we gardened them or because we picked them too early or too late or what.

The next round of planting brought sweet potatoes, strawberries, carrots, another try at onions, and more cilantro, and a surprise: a pumpkin! Somehow pumpkin seeds got buried in our compost and it started to sprout and grow in the fertile mix. When my husband spread the compost out he found a vine starting to grow and produce leaves. We also had a surprise avocado plant growing. Unfortunately, neither of those survived. Fortunately, our strawberries and potatoes and tomatoes continue to be doing well.

Later in the summer we had another vegetable surprise as David was tending to the cantaloupe/watermelon bed. We had tried to unsuccessfully start a green pepper plant in a container and transfer it to outside. Somehow a seed got loose and wedged itself in the cantaloupe bed and began to sprout. We had no idea what it was until one day my husband found a teeny tiny green pepper beginning to grow. Thank goodness he didn't count it as weed and throw it out!

Just last week we pulled up our sweet potato vines, heavy with the yummy root veggies. We also pulled the cilantro, even though we could have continued to grow it. After summer, I just don't have many recipes that use cilantro. We planted sugar snap peas, broccoli, spinach, and more onions and carrots. We left the tomatoes alone, since they suddenly began growing late fruit and for the first time there is a bunch of them at once. We also left the cantaloupes, though they don't seem to be growing any larger. The original carrots and onions are staying, too. We planted them what seems like ages ago, but every week they seem to be getting bigger so we'll wait to pull them. Of course, we're leaving the strawberries! I'm looking forward to some plump and juicy berries mid-February!

So, we are happily watching our few little plants here and there take root and grow. We have big plans for next spring! Including adding blueberries to our berry patch.

What have we learned this near-yearlong trial of gardening?

1. Start waaaay before you think you'll need to. We began working a patch of our property for our garden before changing our mind at the last minute and digging our four little plot a mere month before planting. Also, we started our compost less than six months before we needed to use it. It really is best to wait six months to a year to really cultivate it.

2. Plant more than you think you need to. We started small, with only four or five tomato plants and a few sweet potato plants and a handful of seeds for each vegetable. The only exception was our strawberry plants, of which my husband ordered 25 (and we have way more than that now....they're vines!). Start big! Plant lots! You have more to choose from if some don't survive. And, if most do survive, you'll have a greater crop to feed your family. I can always find something to do with excess of tomatoes. I do not enjoy going out to the garden and finding only one tomato growing three weeks after the last solitary tomato ripened.

3. Read. A lot. My husband got an organic gardening book for Christmas last year (Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically) that has been our go-to reference book. We also heavily rely on UF's agricultural resources, since their information is primarialy focused on growing in our zone. My husband belongs to a Yahoo group (I'm not sure which one, but there are several in the Yahoo group directory) which he will email if he has a question that isn't textbook. I read many blogs that either have organic gardening as their focus or I know the author organically gardens for her family. Even though the blogs usually aren't in Florida, I can get an idea of how others do it in the real world.

4. Gardening, especially organically, is both not as and way more difficult than I anticipated. I don't have to spend hours on my knees every day, pulling weeds and cultivating fledgling plants. Often, just laying down compost, digging a hole, planting the seeds, and watering it as needed is enough to produce something beautiful and yummy. On the other hand, if something doesn't seem to be going right, it takes quite a bit of sluething and trial and error and hoping and praying to not only figure out how to fix it, but to also encourage the little seed to sprout, bloom, and produce. Like our cantaloupes and carrots and strawberries, we are doing everything we can and superficially we seem successful, but at the same time the size of the fruits and vegetables ar disappointingly small. We've figured out it was a nitrogen problem and we're still working at adjusting the levels in the soil. So far it's working with the strawberries. I'm afraid nothing will help the carrots or cantaloupe until we pull them and dig the beds and re-treat the soil.

5. No matter the age, involve children. My daughter was about seven or eight months old when we started gardening and she loves it. Really, she loves any excuse to go outside and point at everything that catches her attention, but she does enjoy sitting with us and pointing at the dirt and helping me dig up various things and pat the dirt over the seed. It's just play for her right now, but soon it will turn into experience and learning and I think it is so important to not only cultivate a love for the outdoors and nature in young children but also for the beauty of creation and the wonder of our God.

Armed with this past year's experience and loads of information, we're really looking forward to our next year gardening. We hope to not just successfully grow what we've already started, but to expand and try new things in the spring. Maybe even flowers! :) I'd love some flowers....mine all seem to die. Anyone have any organic flower gardening tips?

As if I didn't have enough projects on my to-do list

2008-11-05T20:24:00.005-05:00

I love to sew. Truly, even though I only get a few minutes each day to do it and I'm not as amazing as I'd like to be. I'm actually still pretty beginner. But I love it. L O V E it.

I also love history and costumes. I'm sure my classmates at my high school reunion are going to expect to see me dressed up in some get-up not in tune with the latest style, but more in vogue with the styles of half a century ago. Or more. For prom I wore a dress remniscent of a medival court dress, with a fuller skirt. I was not known for my willingness for trendy. Or matching.

If I could fill my closet with fabulous, gorgeous dress-up dresses and spend all my time stitching little pintucks and puffed sleeves, I would. Totally.

Instead, I spend my time filling (or wanting to fill) my daughter's closet with such garments. One of the beautiful things about having a little girl is dressing her up in pretty things and exclaiming how adorable and sweet she looks.

I don't have many patterns, though, for such clothing and keep my eye out for sales at Joann's and online. While I haven't had the opportunity to try their patterns, Sense and Sensibility Patterns is one site I continually go back to and envision my sweet little auburn haired girl in lacy pantaloons and pintucked aprons.

Now that they're offering epatterns I just might have to download one or two. Or five. Eliminating shipping and waiting....oh yeah. I think for Christmas I'm going to add bloomers and aprons to my list for my little girl and use the Regency Pinfores and Pantaloons pattern.

My fingers are leading me to the sewing machine already.

Lessons learned in the aisles of Publix

2008-10-29T12:51:00.005-04:00

Despite the near-freezing overnight temperatures and almost-as-cold morning temperature, I bundled up my daughter and me for a mid-week shopping trip. I had some grocery money left over for the week and as tempted as I was to spend it all on sale-priced day-after-halloween candy (we don't recognize halloween, but walking down the candy aisle at the store almost makes me want to grab a pillowcase and go fill it up with candy...i really need to do something about this sweets craving), I decided the money would be better spent on some extra produce or meat or something much more practical.

So, we braved the cold (42 degrees when we left!) and headed out to our nearest Publix. Now, I happen to think my daughter is adorable. Quite possibly the cutest baby girl that ever existed. She has chubby cheeks and fine red-gold hair and blue-gray eyes with long eyelashes. She has a perfect rosebud mouth and the sweetest tiny nose. I mean, a beautiful baby. :) It seems (and I'm just going by experience here) everyone else thinks so, too. We never cease to have at least two or three people (usually elderly) come up and cluck and coo and try to get a smile out of her and go on and on about how sweet she is. See? It's not just us who think so. :)

Today was no exception. While we were standing in front of the chicken case, trying to decide whether we wanted not-really-sale-priced chicken or if I wanted to wait for next week's sale to get a whole organic (small) turkey, an older lady came up and commented on how cute my daughter is in her little pink fleece jacket and pink striped hat (we're a little overrun in the pink department today).

But then she made a comment that kind of bothered me. Immediately after she said to enjoy my daughter's childhood she said, "Just wait until she's a teenager - then you'll be sorry." She gave a chuckle and walked away, but I wanted to say, "Stop, wait, does it have to be so terrible? Does it have to be turmoil and strife and hardship? Can't it be wonderful and fun and growing and stretching and good?"

It always bugs me when I get comments like that. At least this lady was gracious enough to allow me a few extra years to enjoy before telling me motherhood will start going downhill. Usually it's "wait until she's two...", or three, or five, or ten. It's like many parents just want to get their feet wet with parenting: they do enough to be considered difficult or sacrificial (giving birth, waking up six times at night, disciplining - if they do it, potty training) and then they give up. They expect a fully obedient, fully reasonable and rational human being by age two and, since that doesn't happen, they bury their heads, get frazzled and overwhelmed and desperate, and believe it's their duty to warn mothers what lies ahead - a snarling, biting, pinching, grouchy, rebellious spawn with whom you wish you could sever ties. That is, until they do reach the stage of adulthood (if they do) and all reason, rationale, and balance in the universe has been restored.

Don't misunderstand me. I do not expect motherhood and parenting and child training and growing up to be one happy skip through Disney World. I do know there are hormones and difficulties and independent spirits and days when all you want to do is shut the bedroom door and close your eyes for five minutes. I do remember what I was like as a teenager, and I remember all the reasons I was like that. Some I still think are valid, most were not. I know there will be times, hours, days, weeks where all I can do is lie facedown on the floor and beg for wisdom and mercy and grace and forgiveness, for me, for my children. I have those times now and my daughter is not quite seventeen months old.

However, I don't think that means I should give up while I'm still ahead. I don't think that means I should paint the future with a big, thick black mark and count the days until motherhood has lost its sweet, rosy glow. I don't believe it ever will. Why borrow trouble? Why can't I expect and believe and pray for good growing up years with my children?

While I was standing there, thinking all that and kissing my sweet girl on her cheeks and nose and hands, another older lady approached me. She didn't say the usual phrases of admiration, or chime in with her own horror stories of raising her children. Instead, she said, "You know, I wish people would stop saying such things. It's almost speaking a curse over your baby. They aren't thinking through what they're saying." Then she went on to tell me her mother-in-law told her the same thing when she was new, young mother. She could expect trouble when her son was a teenager because "that's what motherhood is.". Then her son was hit by a car when he was in his late teens. He's in his 40s now and brain damaged and she and her husband have been the sole caretakers of their precious son. She'd give anything to have the teenage years back, when he was happy and healthy and had a promising future ahead of him. Turmoil and hormones and all.

I made a quilt!

2008-10-27T22:13:00.007-04:00

For reals!

(my brother hates it when i talk like that. sorry bro)

Some sweet friends of ours are expecting a baby in December and we were invited to their shower, even though they live in Illinois (or maybe indiana....i mailed it to illinois). Since we couldn't possibly attend, I wanted to be sure to send them something better than just a gift card in the mail.

I don't recommend trying out new ideas on items that are supposed to be gifts. However, I'm not displeased with the results. There are quite a few (many) mistakes, but that's the beauty of quilts: they allow for them. They don't have to be perfect to be useful, or beautiful (though i wouldn't go so far as to call my own beautiful....appropriate, maybe, since they're expecting a boy). Also, the very thing that makes quilts quilts hide and enhance those mistakes so they fit in with the overall look. Like the two or three puckers of fabric I have here and there.

Quilting was actually very, very easy to do. And rather therapeutic, until it got to be 10pm and I was trying to get it done. Attaching a binding under pressure is not a good situation. I picked out four colors, cut them all up (i even did all the math myself - until i found a site that had pretty much the same quilt pattern i was attempting and then i felt silly. the math is all figured out for you for just about any pattern if you just google a bit...oh well, it was good to exercise my brain a bit), and stitched them all together. All you really need to quilt successfully, I learned, is the ability to cut straight and sew straight. Unfortunately, I can do neither at the same time. Fortunately, as long as I can do one or the other it all works out in the end. There are a few spots here and there where the squares don't exactly line up, but it's really not as difficult or bad-looking as I was expecting.

Neither was the actual quilting part. I sewed all the squares together without really knowing how I was going to quilt the layers so I looked at a bunch of quilting sites to get some ideas. Evidently, you're supposed to know how you want to quilt it before you start quilting. Oh well. I came across a few quilts for baby boys that had star designs for the quilt pattern and liked them, so I started with that. They're done completely freehand, no pattern or tracing used, so they're not uniform or perfect stars. But I liked how they turned out, so I didn't think it was too much of an issue. I quilted stars on all the blue denim and plaid squares before realizing I might have a problem. I was using blue thread for the quilting, so it would blend in with the squares and match the back fabric, which is blue flannel. It was looking pretty okay, but I realized I probably wouldn't want to use blue thread to quilt stars on the white or green squares because that would make the stars stand out and it seems you don't want the quilting design to stand out over the quilt itself. But, if I used green and white thread, the stars would stand out on the back fabric and not match the flannel. Dilemma. Eventually I decided to 'stitch in the ditch' around the green squares, so you can't see the stitching on the top and on the back are neat, blue rows of squares alternating with the stars. I didn't do the white squares because by this point I was running out of time and tired of shoving the quilt around my machine to get all the squares done. If I'm going to be doing lots of quilting, even baby blanket sized, I'm going to need to use a full sized machine, and not my little workhorse Kenmore Kendra (my name for her, not the model name). I hand stitched a little heart from a scrap of leftover denim in one of the back, lower corners. Not traditionally boyish, but I think it's ok for a baby.

Anyhow, it all came together pretty easily and nicely except for the binding. Truly, the binding was the worst part of the whole thing. I'm really not used to using binding at all and it was a major trick to keep it all lined up and where it was supposed to be. I couldn't use my regular pins so I had to use safety pins, but when I pulled them out to sew over the binding, everything moved out of place. So it's not exact and a little wonky in the back, but it's done and it looks pretty okay, in my opinion, and it's not like this is the quilt he's going to be taking with him to college. It's a quilt for a newborn, which means it will get spit up on and messy diaper-ed on and thrown on the floor and shoved to the bottom of the diaper bag and possibly run over with the stroller and even maybe lost. My goal was to make something useful and pleasing and warm for their new, teeny son. I think it was accomplished!

I also made a sling to send along, because we have loved using our slings and I can't imagine not having one on hand. So so much easier than carrying around a carseat or stroller all the time and it's even been wonderfully useful now that she's bigger and walking. The sling is made of brown twill that has a slight stretch with a lining of blue and white striped flannel, since he'll be born during the cold, snowy, blustery winter of the Midwest. The flannel makes it slightly more difficult to pull through the rings to loosen or tighten, but my husband didn't have too much of a problem with it, so I hope they don't either.

my husband was laughing at me standing on the bed...he's too tall for me to take a whole picture without standing on something or standing far away

The sling was made last night, after I finished up the quilt, so it was after 10pm, past my bedtime, and I was delusional in my confidence and had the guts (insanity?) to use pink thread as contrast stitching for the pocket (which is lined in flannel) and at the top where the fabric is folded over the rings. Amazingly, it turned out pretty ok! The stitching is relatively straight, the pink provides a fun, feminine touch to the brown and blue, the sling is sturdy and warm, altogether a success!

I hope they like the quilt and sling. As I've said again and again, they are both far from perfect. I hope they don't examine my workmanship too closely. What I make is usually strong, secure, technically right. The presentation and precision is what I need to work on. However, I always, always love to receive handmade gifts no matter what the skill level or appearance of perfection may be, so I tend to believe everyone else is the same way. I may be silly in that belief, though, because there have been times when I've given a heartfelt gift I've put much thought and time and stress of perfection into and the recipient seems to appreciate it, but I never see the item worn or used or whatever. Eh.

I'm taking a sewing break for the next couple of days and then I'll attack the baby shower gift I need to make for next week (no biggie....flannel wipes to go with the giant bottle of olive oil instead of the traditional baby wipes. we love our olive oil and flannel!) and the altering I need to do for my husband's scrubs (he might have a job in his field! we're praying!) and the boatload of Christmas presents to contemplate, plan, cut, assemble, and sew.

In other domestic news, I love it when my floors are so clean my feet squeak when I walk. Too bad it lasts for all of ten minutes.

Also, tonight is going to be the coldest night of the season! The county seat, ten miles northeast of us, is projected to reach the upper 30s tonight! Whoo! Down comforter, cuddly pjs, hot tea, and a hot breakfast in the morning. Yay!

Wit's End

2008-10-21T22:41:00.004-04:00

My wit's end. Not the Odyssey Whit's End. That's spelled with an h, anyway.

I try to keep my home fairly toxin-free, for health and safety reasons. The most toxic thing in my home is the borax and washing soda I use for making laundry soap and cleaning the sink. And dish soap, since I haven't gotten the courage to figure out how to make my own. And we have a Magic Eraser or two I haven't thrown out yet.

Anyway, vinegar, baking soda, Basic H, and Dr. Bronner's are my top cleaners and what I use for everything from mopping the floors to scrubbing the toilet to washing diapers. I have really been amazed at how awesome these simple (and cheap!) and basic household supplies are at keeping things clean and bad-germ-free. (there are some good germs, you know)

However, I've come up against a pretty stubborn problem. I live in a (very) high humidity area. A low humidity day means it's at less than 71% and my bread doesn't take as long to rise. I have no vents in my bathrooms, just a window. Welcome, mildew.

I can scrub and scrub and scrub with my vinegar-and-baking soda cleaning toothbrush and use every single other thing I can come up with to fend off the icky stuff, but nothing works longer than a day or two. The guest bathtub was getting to be bad enough that I finally gave my husband a bottle of Tilex and an old rag and asked him to get rid of it all for me. I couldn't stand the thought of my daughter taking a bath in there and none of my natural solutions were working.

I don't want to break out the Tilex again. But, I have no idea how to fight the problem without scrubbing every day. Any ideas?

And there was much rejoicing

2008-10-20T21:51:00.002-04:00

On Friday I filled up my gas tank at $2.94 per gallon.

Today the cheapest I saw in the area was $2.84.

Ten cent drop in three days?

yessssss

We went to see the midwife today and got to hear the heartbeat. There's a baby! Oh how I love hearing that racing sound! Isabel thought the heartbeat sounded like a dog (fetal heartrates are pretty fast and you don't hear the usual lub-dub on the doppler, sounds more like a train clicking down the tracks) and kept signing doggie (quite possibly one of her cutest signs EVER) and saying woof woof. Except it's more like oof oof. It was a mama moment of adorableness and sentimentality.

Currently, we cannot have a homebirth because we live too far from the birth center (and the choices for a private practicing midwife are extremely limited....like, there's one. and we didn't jibe). They serve a very large area with only two midwives and don't feel they can devote one midwife to a homebirth delivery so far away from the birth center (it's about a 45 minute drive). However, they are looking to add on a third midwife, and if that happens before I'm due, we will be able to deliver at home. Naturally, we are praying very hard we will be able to deliver our second child at home, as we did for our first.

I'm 12 weeks and 3 days along. I thought my first pregnancy went by quickly, but this one seems to be speeding! I hope it slows down some so I can enjoy it.

Food is good for you. Who knew?

2008-10-17T20:49:00.001-04:00

I got this in an email from my former midwife (i miss her!). Pretty interesting, I thought. Of course, I like anything with food. :) It's a compilation of what foods give clues to which part of the body they're designed to help. Most of it I know just from reading news and health reports, but it's kind of cool to see how the food itself tells you what it's good for.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges , Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

artwork source

The Leather Year

2008-10-15T07:16:00.003-04:00

Happy three years of being married to my wonderful, wonderful husband (and four years as of yesterday of knowing him)...

...the man who wakes up at 230 every morning and drives an hour away to work long 10-hour shifts so I can stay home with our children and take care of the home he saved for and works to provide for us. And then, after dealing with irate, stubborn, condescending, and ungrateful people all day, he fights traffic through the hour back home where he smilingly, willingly, joyfully takes the baby so I can take a quick nap or get a bit of sewing done. The man who gladly fixes dinner when I don't have the energy to even stand up, even if it means interrupting something he's concentrating on or has been looking forward to completing. The man who allows me my little idiosyncrasies, like not using shampoo or not allowing anything corn syrup in the house or making the Anne of Green Gables series required reading for anyone living in our home, including him, and doesn't groan or complain or laugh when I come up with a new idea. The man who, nightly, gathers us all together to sit down and read the Bible as a family and sing so our family might further be rooted in the Word and guidance of the Lord. The man who not just washes the dishes, but cleans and polishes the kitchen sink until it shines like new while I'm at school teaching violin. The man who catches all bugs, lizards, and flying things that accidentally mistake our home for theirs and humanely escorts them outside (except for those eight-legged heathen creatures). The man who sweetly plays with, cares for, tends to, rocks, teaches, encourages, and loves our daughter, which makes me love him even more.

I love being married and I love being married to this man God has so perfectly given me. On to year four!

(We decided we'd try to do the traditional anniversary gifts, but I gave him something leather for our first year and something paper for our second so this year we've switched them and we're doing cotton. Except we're kind of taking it loosely. The scrubs set I've been working on will be his gift [though they aren't completely done yet - dang button holes and sleeves...I'm always late with gifts, anyway] and I'm not sure what my gift is, just that it will be 'sewing related.')

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

2008-10-14T21:09:00.002-04:00

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

ESV

image from flickr

My kitchen smells so good

2008-10-08T21:01:00.003-04:00

Well, the last couple days it has.

For the past two months (hm....) I've been seriously wanting chocolate cake. Good, rich, fudgy chocolate cake with thick frosting. The topping with the frosting has varied, nuts or coconut or strawberries, but always delectable.

Finally, I gave in and Monday I dug out my Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader because I knew if there was a chocolate cake that would meet my needs it would be in there. Oh, it was. Sour cream, double strength coffee, unsweetened chocolate, everything to make it the yummiest chocolate cake ever. I took a picture so you all could be jealous of my gorgeous cake, but of course my camera batteries died before I could upload them and I haven't been able to get to the store. So, make your own!

Unfortunately, I don't feel comfortable copying the recipe down here, since that would be illegal. I will, however, tell you that for the frosting I used the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa powder because the Mitford recipe called for heavy cream and I didn't have any on hand. I decided on coconut flakes and borrowed a handful of the organic unsweetened stuff I keep on hand for making granola.

Oh but then! Last night I made pretty much the best soup ever. This recipe I got from Publix, so I have no issues with sharing it here. We had it for dinner tonight and I'm going to put it on my regular meal-planning rotation. So. Darn. Good.

Creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

2/3 c shredded carrots
1/3 c finely chopped green onions (didn't have any so used regular onions instead)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 c chicken broth
1/3 c wild rice, rinsed and drained
3 c sliced fresh mushrooms
2 T butter, softened
2 T flour (i only have whole wheat on hand so it didn't thicken as much as it should)
1/4 t salt
1/8 t black pepper
2 c plain soymilk (i used organic cow's milk and only had about 3/4 c but it still worked)

1. Lightly coat a large saucepan with cooking spray (i just poured in some olive oil). In the saucepan cook carrots, green onions, and garlic over medium until tender (i also added celery since i had some i need to use up).

2. Add broth and wild rice. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 40 minutes. Add mushrooms; simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until rice is tender.

3. In a small bowl stir together butter, flour, salt, and pepper to make a paste (i skipped this step). Stir the flour mix into the rice mix in saucepan. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for one minute. Add milk. Cook and stir over medium until heated through (do not boil).

SO so good. Because whole wheat flour doesn't seem to thicken soups as well as regular flour does, it was a little too buttery or milky tasting. But, still. It was delicious. We ate it with warm homemade bread.

Go forth and cook.

Psalm 37:1-6

2008-10-04T23:14:00.003-04:00

Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.

NASB

photo found on flickr

Will I be watching the debate tonight?

2008-10-02T19:33:00.003-04:00

Nope.

My husband will, though. He's one of those types who likes to stay on top of things like politics and what's going on around us. Which isn't to say I don't. I'll catch the highlights tomorrow and read the fact-checking articles and the lefty Biden won with his superior verbal skills! blogs and the righty Palin bit his head off and ate it for breakfast! blogs.

I didn't watch the Presidential debate last week, either. Frankly, I can't stand them. After about eight minutes it's just jabber jabber jabber I'm right no I'm right no you're out of touch no your head's in the clouds blah blah blah fuzzy math. That doesn't interest me and when it gets to that point I lose sight of what the question was and what they're supposed to be talking about. Drama.

So, instead I'll be sewing and working on my husband's scrubs so I can get them done finally (which will probably actually happen sometime two weeks from now) and cut out the quilt for my daughter. Although, we just got an invitation to a baby shower for the sweet wife of a good friend of ours, so I might just cut out the quilt and piece together the scrubs and procrastinate further on Christmas presents so I can cobble together some shower gifts for them and get it all in the mail (they live in Indiana). I like making things. If only I would get up and actually make them. Like I said to a friend, I have lots of stupendous ideas, I just can't seem to get past the prototype stage. It's like I get that far and then my energy is spent.

Also, instead of the debate, I think I'll play around with the Celebrity Baby Name Generator, which I found on Catherine's blog Home Girl. Maybe we'll get some good ideas for our little pea-in-the-pod.

So far the winner for a girl is Julep Mystery, with runners up Seashell Apple, November Portobella, and Guiliani Chocolate.

For a boy the winner is Picasso Conundrum, with runners up Cheetah Volvo, Busy Gaucho, and Asparagus Filter.

I know this makes me RIDICULOUS but I kind of like the names Julep, Seashell, Apple, November, and Conundrum. I once knew an interpreter named November. She went by Nova, which I thought was pretty cool. When I was in eighth grade I told my Integrated Math class I was going to name my firstborn Hypotenuse Trapezoid, regardless of gender. I liked how the words felt in my mouth.

There's a quilt in my sewing machine and it wants to come out

2008-09-29T09:28:00.001-04:00

A while ago I decided I needed to learn how to make quilts. It's a scary endeavor because it's so precise (and i am not a precise cutter or sewer) and there are so many little pieces of fabric to keep track of and so many parts of a pattern to follow. At least that's what it seems like to me, so I haven't yet worked up the courage to attempt. What if I totally ruin it? Cut entirely the wrong size or shape and can't change it or alter the plan? Run out of fabric and can't get more? Start and then a quarter of the way through lose the gumption to keep going and bury my project in the bottom of my sewing basket never to see the light of day until four years from now when my daughter finds it and turns it into a cape with magical super powers?

My Google reader recommends blogs to me, and because I'm a weak-minded Google follower, I often add the blogs it recommends. One of those blogs is Crazy Mom Quilts. I LOVE this blog. If only I had half her energy and capability....I wouldn't have sixteen different half-completed projects laying about my sewing room in various places and stages of wrinkling. There are so many of her quilts I'd love to try (like this one and this one and this) along with other sewing projects (like this and this). I love that her sewing, though precise, looks actually pretty simple. It all looks like something I could actually accomplish given the time and energy.

I would dearly love to make a quilt for my daughter for Christmas. I realize it's almost October and that probably isn't enough time. It's been nearly two years and I still haven't finished the baby blanket I started knitting for her before she was born. And there are the projects I keep brilliantly coming up with and then forgetting completely before brilliantly coming up with again I need to make for my friends with whom I exchange Christmas gifts. Knowing me, three months is not a lot of time.

But, I think this quilt, Summer Sunrise, is completely doable. It's totally uncomplicated, only uses four colors - three in very large blocks - plus a backing and a binding, and I already have two of the colors I want to use. I say it's possible! If I start soon. It's already taken me three weeks just to cut out the pattern pieces for the scrubs set I'm making my husband.

Two concerns: neither of the two fabrics I have and want to use are 100% cotton....they're some kind of silky-feeling something or other. And they aren't the same kind of something or other. Will this totally screw me up?

Also, if I want it to be twin sized, how big should it be? Can I just lay down the quilt that's currently on the twin bed and measure that, adding in an inch or two for seams? It seems it should be more complicated than that.

Never say I'm not ambitious!

A-berryin'

2008-09-27T23:12:00.003-04:00

There is no sweeter strawberry than the one plucked from your own garden.

Seriously, I have not tasted a strawberry so sweet and so juicy as the four I picked on Friday from our own little strawberry patch. I ate one and gave the other three to my daughter to have with her dinner. They're still growing teenytiny, so I didn't have to cut them up at all for her to grab, chomp, and swallow. I'm hoping the compost tea my husband made a few weeks ago encourages some bigger berries by spring. I'm actually surprised we have any growing so late. Florida has two strawberry growing seasons: early spring (way early - February) and mid-summer (July/August). Since June we've consistently had berries, though they've been too small and pecked by birds to be of any use. We need a net.

We're planning to add blueberries to our garden for next spring. I LOVE berries! Yum yum...my mouth is watering already. I can't think of any good fall fruits, other than apples and pears. I'm glad I live in the climate I do, because I don't think I'd be very satisfied growing only root veggies and spinach for the next few months (though, guess what's growing in our garden right now? root veggies and spinach. and cantaloupe and tomatoes) before heavy snow covers the ground and makes growing impossible and forces me to eat the hardy harvest I've stored in my basement. I guess I would can things in the spring and summer. This past spring revealed my weakness for eating all the fruit before it could make it into any long-term canning.

Seven (or is it six?) Things

2008-09-24T22:01:00.002-04:00

Madame Ellajac of Aspiring to Simplicity tagged me for this meme, for which I must divulge seven things about me. Well, the rules say six. She did seven. If I can come up with seven, I'll do it. To keep my male readers (hi adam and jim), I'll try not to make these all about pregnancy. That is making it doubly difficult on me because I could very easily fill this up with seven truths about me and pregnancy, so be appreciative.

The rules:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

1. I have a weakness for historical fiction, any era. But I enjoy fiction that takes place in the present day, as well as the future. I also have a weakness for young adult fiction. And fiction that takes place in locations I probably won't ever have the chance to visit. And fiction that takes place in Florida. Okay, so I have a weakness for fiction, plain and simple. If it's printed, I'll read it. Even if it's bad. I have the ability to determine good fiction from not so good, but I don't choose to exercise it. There have been only a few books I was unable to finish. Otherwise, I just plug along to the end. And probably pick up the sequel, too.

2. The only French fries I actually like are the waffle fries from Chik-Fil-A. If I could have those once a week, with a little Polynesian sauce (ok, a lot of Polynesian sauce), I'd dance a jig every time I ate them. Actually, I do that anyway.

3. I like crossword puzzles. A lot. My daily routine in high school was take a shower, get dressed, eat an apple or bagel, sit down and work on the newspaper crossword until the absolute last possible second before I had to go to school. My roommates in college bought me a book of crosswords for Christmas. And I'm no crossword pansy. They must be done in pen, never pencil. It runs in the family.

4. I love being outside (when it's not so hot it feels like my skin is melting) and can't spend enough time outside the house. When I was a kid, I hated being outside. I thought it was boring and buggy and dirty and really just boring. I don't know where the change was. Probably around when I moved to the beach. Who can resist the beach?

5. I can't JUST blog or JUST reply to an email. I have to be replying to an email, writing a blog post, checking livejournal, catching up on my Google reader....Which is why it can take me hours to get one thing done. Not the most efficient, but my brain needs variety in its technological activities. Otherwise it will take me days to complete something.

6. In addition to computer variety, I need variety in music. I have a hard time listening to a whole cd through and get bored with hearing the same voice and sounds. The multiple disc cd player has to be on random or it's the radio. There are only a few groups that create enough variety in their albums for me to listen all the way through without switching cds or turning on the radio.

7. (ok, so i have to throw in one pregnancy thing. i tried.) I don't get morning sickness. I get the distinct pleasure of gaining 10lbs in the first 8-10 weeks. This is especially enjoyable because no one else knows I'm pregnant and just thinks I got really fat really quickly. At least, this is what I assume they think. I can't actually mind-read.

So that's that. Now you know seven things about me that (hopefully) you didn't previously know. They're pretty random and not very deep, but oh well.

It says I must tag someone, but I don't know who. It seems like everyone that I've seen has pretty much already done this meme. So....if you haven't, and would like to, I tag YOU.

Further musings of a September

2008-09-20T20:53:00.002-04:00

About five weeks ago we discovered some pretty sweet news concerning our family.....

This week I'll be about seven weeks along, making early May the season of expectation.

We're stoked.

Labels aren't just the scratchy things in your shirt collar

2008-09-16T22:38:00.005-04:00

The amazingness (it's a word) of my daughter's brain astounds me. I show her the sign for a word two, maybe three times, and she not only retains it but independently produces it. Without being directed, she knows what a napkin is for and uses it. When looking at her books, she doesn't just glance at the picture and flip the page, she runs her finger under the words and babbles, imitating me reading to her. She's 15 months but I'm finding her capacity for not just mimicking and memorizing but also learning and understanding to be fascinating. And slightly scary - there's so much potential! Am I meeting her needs appropriately and in a way that encourages and challenges her vortex of cerebral activity?

The last few weeks I've been thinking about education and learning environments and labels. I've discovered I feel being labeled as a 'gifted' child may do more harm than good. I was a gifted kid. I loved my gifted classes and teachers. Before I got into the program there was nothing I wanted more from my scholastic education than to be in that classroom. The gifted kids took fun field trips. They had fun projects and read interesting books. They were given freedom and the space and materials to be creative. I loved it and thrived on assignments like write your own Greek tragedy (and perform it) or build a replica of Paris set in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Complete with guillotine. I gave up band and advanced biology for gifted. Even when I was in the throes of teenage rebellion-don't-label-me-i'm-unique I refused to give up two: Christian and gifted.

For all of that, I am now uncertain of the benefits of the label, or even of gifted testing in general. I don't think I'm any more or less intelligent than the rest of the general population; or, to take a cynical view (favored by some because of my beliefs and views), no more or less stupid than everyone else. I don't complain I'm not realizing my full, brilliant potential because I wasn't given enough opportunities as a young child. The gifted classroom provided me with lots and lots of opportunities. But, the label also added to my already neurotic psyche.

Like the fear of pressure, and the fear of failure.

Not all kids who are labeled find the labels meaningful. My less neurotic classmates have, mostly, done extremely well and are intelligent and creative and normal grown-ups. Labels aren't everything, I know. But sometimes they mean a lot more than they should. My fellow neurotics-in-arms get scared. We discover that sometimes we fail and are wrong. And that freaks us out because that means we have the potential to not just be smart, but also dumb. And since we're already insecure, we are afraid someone might find out how stupid we really are and, therefore, be disappointed. We crack under pressure.

So, I get scared to achieve. I get scared to send the thoughts swirling around my head into the public forum because someone might point out something wrong or flawed or just generally disagree, so I don't do it. I don't want someone to think I'm less than anyone else, so I don't achieve. If I aim lower, I can't fail, right? And if I don't fail, then I retain my status.

Being labeled as gifted means there are assumptions made about my abilities, my way of thinking, my habits and strengths. That's a lot of pressure, a lot of living up to other people's ideas and presumptions. Fortunately, I have found a lot of freedom with Jesus and I care (slightly) less about what people think than I used to. Some people have absolutely zero struggle with this. I am not one of them and I don't think many labeled kids are. We're taught to perform, to work for praise.

I think labeling a child according to intelligence and categorizing him or her does a lot to encourage, but also discourage; what is intended to create an advantage places a child at a disadvantage. I don't want my daughter to go through that. I want to encourage learning, develop her curiosity, invoke her sense of wonder and creativity. The gifted classroom certainly provides the opportunities for those to happen and nurtures them as they grow, but I don't think that's the only place. And I don't think the label is a requirement for optimal learning.

Learning is fun! And there is so much to learn and gain and understand and see and do. Failure is a good thing. And something which, I think, should be approached without fear and understood without pain or humiliation.