James and the Giant Moose

2012

2012-01-01T13:21:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year!

My resolution is to not let myself get stressed out during the holidays in 2012. I did NOT do a good job with that this year. I don't really worry about resolutions...I figure you should just try to make whatever changes you want to make, whenever you can make it. But a new year is a good time to think about what you want to accomplish...and I want to accomplish a zen-like level of letting go, as opposed to trying so hard and stressing out so much.

Thus, if you haven't gotten anything from us this year for Christmas...that's because I can't do everything. AND...I probably won't get around to it next year either. Someday. Some day.

Anyway. I hope your holidays were unstressful and you have a great year!

I have the best family ever.

Funnies

2011-12-11T21:17:00.003-06:00

I wish I had a more coherent way of keeping track of the wonderful things the boys say. I know there are better ways out there, but so far I am only organized enough to collect them all....well, okay, not ALL...as facebook status updates, and occasionally blog some.

For example, I posted on facebook the other day when James said, "Mom, I wish I was God, because...he doesn't have to go shopping!" a sentiment with which I can heartily concur (the second part, that is, not the first). Note that he said this just as we were heading out to do errands. Poor guy!

And then today, Ben finished the bed frame that he actually built. I am so proud! My carpenter husband. And about 5 seconds later, Nathan drew all over it with a green marker...and said very clearly, "ME! YAY!" Which was about the only thing that made it okay. He is just too cute for us to get very upset. Ever.

I hope I always remember how when he wants milk he says "Mago Mago!" and we joke that it's a country, like Bora Bora or something. I hope I can keep track of how right now he says "eye" for eyes but "ow" for brows...or how he thinks a blanket is a HAT! where you go to EEP! (insert snoring noises here).

I hope I can remember the funny jokes that James tells too. A lot of the time he tells jokes that go like this: "Why did the mustard get into the potatoes? BECAUSE IT FELL INTO THE POTATOES, HAHAHAHAHA!" But today he had an actual funny. I was naming off Christmas carols, and then made a comment to Ben about making sure Nathan didn't put fork marks into our table again. It went something like this: "Silent Night; O Holy Night; O Little Town of Bethlehem; Away in a Manger; You have to watch him with that fork!"

And James immediately said, "Oh, I don't really like that song, You Have to Watch Him With That Fork!"

I think he fits in well here after all, don't you? What a wit!

Gotta love 'em. And I do. My great hope is that they always DO know how much.

I Believe I Can Fly

2011-12-03T22:11:00.001-06:00

...even on the kitchen table.

In fact, that's probably a great jumping-off point. What a goose!

Still puttering along

2011-12-02T20:57:00.003-06:00

Every day that I can, I try to get the boys outside and run around. Lately I've been raking leaves like crazy. I don't actually get that much done in the grand scheme of things, but I just assume it's good exercise, for me, and for the boys!

Today, however, was an errands day. And I must say, I really dislike having to go shopping during the Christmas season. It was a zoo out there. And now I am exhausted. But, no surprise there. I did get a few more present ideas, and thought I'd share...
1. James really really wants some footie pajamas! He's got footie envy. That would be either size 5 or 6, not really sure on that but both would probably work, and I always err on the large side.
2. Nathan needs a magna doodle! I don't know any better way to get through a car ride, and our old one finally bit the dust.
3. Big present...James would love his own camera.

By the way...no one's told me what YOU want for Christmas yet!

Good night!

Best Thanksgiving Picture!

2011-12-01T21:36:00.003-06:00

There are those who say that my sister and I are somewhat alike.

To you I say, of course! We both have husbands with awkward arm poses, older sons with cheesy fake grins perfected, and baby boys who have no idea that they should EVER look at the camera unless said camera is within 3 inches of their faces.

No? That's not it?

Oh. Okay. If you say so!

SO photogenic!

2011-11-30T21:37:00.005-06:00

It's the last day of NaBloPoMo, isn't it? I just realized! Wow. Time flies, just like always. No real surprise there, I guess.

I still have Thanksgiving and fall-ish pictures to share with you, but today I wanted to show you the funny pictures I got recently in the course of a regular day. The boys apparently make a lot of silly faces. Note: I was *not* trying to get crazyface pictures! I would in fact like it if they would look as beautiful on camera as they do in real life. And they often do...but not today!

On a side note, I will be so relieved to not be complaining about all the crap on a regular basis anymore! Life here is good but sometimes challenging. We have a lot of days where my energy level is very low, usually a combination of crazy blood sugars, lack of sleep, and life events...but I usually don't dwell on it because I have the two sweetest, most beautiful, fun, and precious children in the world, and there are so many perfect moments in my life that I can easily forget the crappy ones. So that's what I wanted to tell you on the last day of the month where I blogged a bunch of depressing stuff about not getting any sleep! I thought maybe I could do it eloquently, but again life has other ideas and I completely lost track of time.

Therefore, without further ado, I give you Mr. Suspicious:

(You really expect me to believe that kids my age actually LIKE to have their teeth brushed? HA! What do you think I am, a BABY?)

And his brother, I Do Not Like Your Answer*.

(Aw, MAN! But I really REALLY want to show the dog how to use the toilet!)

Aliases include Carrots-Are-Disgusting-Boy:

(Oh, GROSS, Mom! Not the carrots AGAIN!)

SuperImpressed:

(You've, like, already told me to pick up my Legos like 50 times today, lady. Geez. Chill! I'm totally on it. Tomorrow.)

And Mighty Morphin' MegaLips:

(Git Deez Hur Cameras Outta Mah Faish, Leddy!)

And that is why my days are awesome.

The End.

(*In this house we call that a Poo Face. I can't even think of what else to call it. Help! My vocabulary's gone missing!)

Is it Wordless Wednesday yet?

2011-11-29T21:29:00.002-06:00

Dads. They're just SO FUNNY!

I love that this is what goes on at our dinner table many, many evenings.

I also love it when I finally manage to upload pictures from the camera! Thanksgiving-y, and also some hilarious, photos to follow. Stay tuned!

P.S. Had a pretty good night's sleep last night. YAY! My blood sugar was pretty insane today, and I made a slow cooker meal this morning but, for the first time EVER, forgot to check and make sure it was heating up, and also forgot to plug it in.

BUT when you get a decent night's sleep, it's much easier to deal with setbacks...and when your husband picks up emergency dinner on the way home, it's all good! =) Good night, everyone!

I still haven't uploaded the latest photos, so you might just want to skip this one.

2011-11-28T23:09:00.002-06:00

SEriously.

If I have pictures, I can post about the happiness of the day. If not, all I have left is to tell you about things like the crazy intense headaches I've been getting. They only last for about a minute but they are awful. Luckily, if you want to look at it that way, Ben's been getting them too so we're assuming it might be allergies? Either way, not fun.

Today was good but really exhausting. I know I say that a lot! But we were in town ALL day today, and I was on my feet ALL day today, so--zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Wait, what was I saying?

Oh, yeah. In other news, J got some tiny ornaments and a tiny star to put on his very own miniature Christmas tree, and he is superduper excited! So there's another idea, teeny ornaments/teeny Christmas tree accoutrements would be a great little gift for him that he would get very excited about!

And I'm going to bed. This will be the fifth night since the dairy exposure, and we've yet to have a good night's sleep...wish me luck! See you tomorrow~

Definitely a case of the BLAHS

2011-11-27T21:12:00.002-06:00

Why is it that at the end of every day I just feel a big question mark come up when I think of what interesting things I might have to blog about? I *know* that I lead an interesting and varied life, and we discuss some deep ideas around here (for example, today James listened to Charlotte's Web, so we of course discussed the circle of life etc), and we have lots of adventures...but I just don't feel like writing about them at the end of the day. Maybe someday I'll get it together and post in the mornings instead!

But not for now. Today was an errands day, and the last few days have been full of housecleaning, organizing, travel, planning for Christmas, etc, and I really just feel wiped out. Ben and I have been having lots of political discussions, as it's hard to tell what really should be done but it's hard not to feel that SOMETHING MUST BE DONE. James and I are talking about a lot of history and science topics that I find fascinating. (Why are bones white? Why does the honey sink below the maple syrup in the measuring cup? Why does somebody get to be king? Is (insert famous person's name here) a good person? Why would they do that? etc etc etc.) We have a lot of do-it-yourself projects going on and we try to get the chance to enjoy a decent bit of art around here. Tonight we played Uno and this afternoon we made homemade granola that smelled sooooooo good!

I know there's a more coherent, or at least a more interesting and witty, way to present any or all of these topics. I just don't have it in me tonight. Or really any night. I just need to go to bed.

Good night!

It's that time again...time for a crazy Christmas wish list.

2011-11-26T22:07:00.004-06:00

Obviously I was a little bitter last night. Hopefully it was obvious that it's all the crazy people who act like complete nutjobs that seriously dishearten me. I always get a touch of the blues during the "holiday shopping season" because I worry about consumerism. But that stuff that was in the news, the bad ways people treat each other on Black Friday...awful. Yet I know there are also courteous people and normal people. I just get seriously depressed by people being so violent and insane and grabby and acquisitive during a time that is meant to be all about joy and love and peace.

But to prove that I'm an American consumer, I now present you with our Christmas list! Ha ha ha. No, really, people ask me and I never can figure out what everyone wants. So I think about it and post a big long explanation of everything that might be good, and then that helps me know how to answer those questions and also figure out what *we* should get the boys! So here it is.

1. books, books, books! We love Usborne books, any title really, although you can find some suggestions on my Amazon wish list. Also of note, Nathan loves horses and J would love to get audio CDs of any of the ones we've loved from the library so far: The Magician's Elephant, Odd and the Frost Giants, Nurk, The Cricket in Times Square, Charlotte's Web....
Nathan could use a few more Sandra Boynton board books, and I'm sure there are a million other awesome books we've yet to discover with him. He's also a big music kid, so some cool music cds might be great for him. (True story: tonight he was singing MMMbop. No, this is not a common song in our house. I was singing it earlier, thanks to some other high school song I heard, and he just picked it up. Hilarious.)
We can always use more farm resource books, and we could use a general homeschool resource book (also on the list already, I think).

2. Legos: J is allowed to get Lego "Kingdom" legos only--or generic, non-branded legos. We can't deal with a million different Lego "sets" to collect, we just don't have room in our house, so we've allowed him one set. Nathan would also love to get some Legos for kids his age or slightly older--he always wants to be like brother!

3. Experience gifts. J would ADORE a magazine subscription, for example, NatGeoKids, because not only would he have an awesome magazine to read once a month (or however often), he would GET HIS OWN MAIL every month!
He also love love LOVED going to the movies for the first time ever this summer. And Ben and I never get to go to the movies...so maybe a movie pass or movie tickets or however that would work out?

4. J needs his own cd/tape player, as he is always having to borrow ours for the above-mentioned audio CDs. They are truly great because he doesn't always have to wait for us to be available for the looooooooong books he wants to read! Also, Ben could use one of those little travel alarm clocks or something, that could fit by where he sleeps and also not take up too much space, and we could permanently relocate our other one.

5. Nathan would love to get his own kiddie desk. I'm ambivalent about the space it would take up--I guess it would depend on the desk. He's also really hoping for a fancy kid chair or couch, but a bean bag chair or foldout couch would also rock his world. (Okay, he just wants kid-sized stuff, he doesn't really care about quality...but I sure don't want everything branded! Shocker.)
Nay also would really get into a set of playsilks (link included here in case you don't know what that is).

6. We'd love a family globe! I'm guessing that would be James' gift. He is pretty fascinated by the globe at the library...but I can't promise the rest of us won't use it as well! (Wait...multipurpose...Best Kind of Gift!)

7. J would love his own cookbook. We found this one by Nicola Graimes that he loves and maybe that would help cut down on the fussing at dinner time. Probably not but it's a nice thought, and a seriously useful gift.

8. You guys, don't forget art supplies! These boys are so in love with drawing and coloring. I have never seen a 1-year-old love to color as much as Nathan does right now. We have plenty of coloring books, but we'd love sketch pads, or cool and interesting crayons/colored pencils/markers (there are some interesting textures out there, for example), or different kinds of paints, (we definitely need new paintbrushes! and new playdoh!), or those colorsafe coloring kit things are cool...the sky's the limit. They would love it all.

9. Both boys love dress-up, so this set of safe and natural face pencils would be awesome, as would any dress-up outfits that do not involve sports or branded superheroes (you know, a fireman outfit, a wizard outfit, a cool knight's helmet, etc.).

10. Video-wise, we've found that Backyardigans and Magic School Bus are pretty awesome. We also don't have Toy Story 1 or 2 on dvd and wish we did. For the grown-ups, we still don't own Harry Potter #5, 6, or 7 v. 1 and 2.

11. Grown-up ideas include a big cooler, good bookends, a hot glue gun, a shoe rack, and dish towels. Clothes-wise, we all need everything! But really...belts, shirts, sweaters, pants, shoes, socks...the kids both will need new boots at some point (Nathan has J's old wintery boots but not boots that are good with The Wetness, aka rainboots or muck boots). Board games or group games are always popular. A few we don't have but would like are: Clue, Fjords, Scattergories, MadLibs books, Sorry!, Scrabble, Jenga.

12. And if you knew how much crap we're going to have to buy, you'd know how much we'd love a gift card. In the fairly near future we'll need a new vacuum, new washer and dryer most likely, at least one more large stainless steel cooking pot or some other kind of cooking STUFF for our family with rapidly-growing appetites, all the aforementioned clothes...and of course the infamously expensive heating and cooling unit we'll have to buy next spring so we can make it through the summer, although we pray next summer won't be as record-breaking as this past summer...

That is all. Thanks again for being here and know that we love you no matter what you do or do not get us! Good night~

Black Friday

2011-11-25T22:05:00.002-06:00

It's depressing. I hate it. I can't stand the way people act absolutely insane over a few things, some random crap! I don't CARE if it's a $2 waffle maker or the awesomest TV or what the heck ever. Yeah. Great deal. NOT great enough to pepper spray someone. And no matter how cheap or awesome those pants are? They're still PANTS and therefore not worth punching someone over.

I just...can't get it. I do understand that the weekend after Thanksgiving is likely to be the first time a lot of people seriously consider their Christmas shopping...but until we all put a halt to the CRAZY consumerism and remember our humanity....I will be depressed on this day.

Not to mention, the baby got dairy, somehow, AND has a cold. Unless the dairy is just making him congested, which is totally possible. Probably I shouldn't think too hard about anything with all that going on.

But seriously, folks. It might be fun to go shopping...but have a little human decency. Put people first. And then consider whether you want there to be ANYTHING left for your grandkids.

That is all.

Turkey Day Review

2011-11-24T20:25:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I am truly thankful every day. I am so blessed. And one of the things I love about Thanksgiving is getting to spend it with a large family group and do fun holiday things. In our family, this usually involves some kind of word games. Today was no exception, as we got to play MadLibs AND Scattergories. I love this family tradition...although we don't own these games ourselves...hint, hint for future holidays...And the game-playing tends to show how those who are related often think alike, with hilarious results. There were several moments today where my sister and I had pretty much the exact same thought simultaneously. Classic.

Yes, we got to go to my sister's for Thanksgiving, which, personally, I think is an AWESOME tradition because I really enjoyed getting to just make one dish, and then NOT having to stress about any house details. Everything was delicious except for our dish (oh well...it had to have too many adjustments, I think) and we got to take home an amount of leftovers that was satisfying even to my husband, for whom Thanksgiving is a shining day of stuffing yourself, following by several days of leftovers, or else it was done all wrong!

The cousins had a great time playing today, and the only issue we had at all today was that Nathan got locked into the playroom by himself. It turned out to be very difficult to get him out of there, although my sister's father-in-law eventually managed it, but luckily, it was the playroom and not, say, the bathroom, so I was pretty relaxed about it since it was highly unlikely he would get hurt. He was a little scared but I could talk to him and keep him calm. So no big deal in the grand scheme of things. A good day.

And man, am I tired now! Nothing like a day of travel and tryptophan to knock you out! Good night, sweet dreams to you! See you tomorrow~

Worn out already, and I still haven't done much.

2011-11-23T22:18:00.002-06:00

You know how it goes...during the day, I get all kinds of ideas of what I might want to or get to post on. But then the day goes flying by. You make a trip into town, you take a walk with the dog, you play with the kids and you make a delicious-smelling stuffing that you can't eat yet...and then after you wrestle everyone into bed, because that's the kind of a day it is, you sort of sit on the couch going....Hm....what can I write about? My brain....empty....zzzzzzzzz. So here's a random assortment of what comes up when I try to think of what I was thinking about writing earlier.

1. I made the stuffing without onions, even though I LOVE onions, because my sister and her baby can't have them. Then I realized that I had put almonds in them and I'm not sure my other nephew can eat them, although I *think* he can. And I'm making the stuffing in the first place because if anyone else made it, it'd be sure to have dairy, and then we couldn't have it. I hate food allergies! Stupid GMOs and pollutants and toxic crap and x factors.

2. I don't have to host tomorrow and still my list of crap to do is a mile long. I didn't ever clean out my car, so that's going on to the "Would've Been Nice" list, but I still have to pack us a bag with enough food for the whole day for at least me and Nathan, change of clothes for the boys and diapers for Nay, pump change set because I'll also have to change my pump tomorrow, camera and cell phone which need to be charged, house which needs to be dog-proofed, laundry needs to be done because J and I are running out of pants, insurance still needs to get called because they forget that they have proof that I'm covered (lovely, and I can't do that tomorrow anyway), I need to pick out clothes for us all to wear tomorrow and it'd be awesome if they didn't clash so we could take a picture...I still haven't even brushed my teeth for bed tonight...

3. Why are so many books about Robin Hood weird/depressing? One book we got was a graphic novel, and it wasn't too bad, James really liked having all the pictures, but then either the text and captions say the same basic thing but I *have* to read them both, or the pictures have too much violence or a weird-looking Maid Marian or something. One book we got had a ton of pictures but they were actually creepy. The people looked unhuman, more like goblins or something weird, and everyone had a deranged look on their faces, and there was a lot of violence and the ending was awful. Weird.

4. I'm reading a biography of Stephen Colbert. I *heart* Stephen Colbert. Brilliant.

5. I realized that what I said about Life is Beautiful might not have made it clear that I know it centers on all the really sad horribly WWII stuff. I actually thought it might be really awful, because we all know that sometimes when something wins lots of awards, it's because it's awful, but I was and still am hoping that it turns out worth it. I don't know. We'll see.

6. Ben wants to show me some cool fun chess thing so I'm off because otherwise I'll never manage to make it to bed. Love to all!

Long Week!

2011-11-22T22:35:00.002-06:00

So. It's Tuesday, right? It feels like the Friday of a very, very long week. I don't know why this is but I am exhausted!

I've been doing a lot of projects online lately. Don't really see how that would make me exhausted, although of course that's not the only thing I've been doing, but I've been working on gifts for others for Christmas in various areas, and working on Pinterest especially to create a good list of crafts we want to do, and working with Snapfish for my newest tradition: every New Year's Eve, starting this year, I want my family to create a yearly photo album, or to create however much STUFF we need to memorialize the year in pictures and then be done with it and be able to enjoy it.

Anyway. All of this is just to say that if you happen to want to know what we want for Christmas, I've also been playing around with Amazon's wishlist stuff. This is not a formal wish list at all, because I've just been sticking things on my wish list that I like and maybe think would somehow translate well into a REAL wish list...maybe in a few more days. But it's good for ideas. For example, I need some shirts; both boys would enjoy Legos; J would love a magazine subscription. We love board games, would love some "experience" gifts like movie tickets, etc...But here's the Amazon list I've made, just be aware that it is not edited for public consumption, it's just me thinking out loud! I don't really expect anyone to get us a vacuum, for example, but maybe we could get one for ourselves? However, if you WANT to get us a vacuum, go for it! And soon enough I'll publish a list of our polite requests for things we love that would be useful to us. Although we always like to make the caveat that we'd much rather just spend time with our loved ones!

Wish list

And now I better get to sleep. Love to all, see you again soon!

Pintrouble

2011-11-21T22:18:00.002-06:00

I joined Pinterest today. It is SO addicting!

But seriously, it's pretty much the coolest idea ever. I've always wanted to be able to have just a folder of cool art depicting trees...or of recipes I'm dying to make...or of books I absolutely adore...or of things that are random and make me laugh...and now I can have all of those and not take up any space in my house! Perfect!

Therefore, I shall not spend much time blogging tonight because I must go Pin things. Also of note, we're watching Life is Beautiful, and loving it. I know that movie is famous but I've never actually heard a real person I know say anything about it. I'm here to tell you that so far the first half is hilarious and the second half looks like it will be very interesting. I expect it will get two thumbs up in this household.

Love to all, and goodnight!

Update

2011-11-20T21:34:00.002-06:00

That was pretty much the fastest I've ever seen power restored out here. Usually we are the very last people to get power restored, as far as I can tell, since when we lose power it's a grand total of maybe 6 houses.

That was awesome. But I admit, I sorta wish the power wouldn't have come back on until I had already fallen asleep. That way I would've gone to bed really early. But I just can't make myself go back to bed right now, because there's so much to do. I just realized today that I NEED to go shopping tomorrow for foodstuffs so I don't HAVE to go anytime after Thanksgiving. I hate Black Friday. And the weekend won't be any better.

I'm feeling so cheerful! I think I really will try to haul myself off to bed. It'll probably still take me 30 minutes, but at least I won't be staying up *late* at that rate.

Good night, if anyone's reading this...it's hard to tell sometimes.

Power's out...

2011-11-20T21:06:00.001-06:00

Lightning strike, so blogging on Ben's IPhone.

Just another busy day

2011-11-19T20:42:00.002-06:00

Today we went to our parent meeting/kiddie playdate that we do once a month. Then we went out to lunch. Then we went and shopped for mattresses (go to the mattresses?), which the kids LOVED because we were the only people in the store and we just let them run around and play peekaboo and otherwise be a nuisance, except of course they weren't being a nuisance, they were being KIDS, and they weren't bothering anyone, as our salespeople were somewhat comatose...I'm thinking business has not been that good lately? Or maybe they had a very heavy lunch.

Anyway. Then we came home and Nathan had a nap while James and Ben played chess and Connect 4, and I dealt with a low and also felt awful for a while there. Very sleepy, and also a huge headache and my back and neck are all out of whack. I haven't done T-Tapp for 2 days. I need me some T-Tapp!

While brings me to a subject on my mind--weight loss. I started losing weight at the beginning of this year, and it really slowed to a halt around June or so, and lately with all the hormone crazies and the blood sugar swings and my least favorite thing, HAVING to eat when I'm not hungry, I think at least a small portion, if not a large portion, of that weight has come back.

Reflecting back on the last year, I've realized that the only time that I was really easily losing the weight is when I was cleaning house. So, every two weeks, I need a 3-hour exercise session, that I get paid to do, while my husband happily watches the kids (or some other free childcare arrangement).

AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Yeah. So I need another plan. It felt really good to lose that weight, and *I* felt really good, more energetic and able and less achy and sleepy. (Okay. I was still sleepy. But only when I didn't get to sleep because of the baby!)

But I have yet to feel able to make myself exercise, in the middle of all else I have to do, for a significant amount of time, because I'm trying to conserve energy and also trying not to crash and have a huge low.

So I don't have energy because I can't exercise and I can't exercise because I don't have energy. Sigh. Sometimes it really stinks being a diabetic.

Okay. It stinks a LOT to be diabetic. But this is one incarnation of that that I'm dealing with right now.

And I'm very sleepy after our busy day, so I'm off to veg for awhile until I can drag myself to bed. Good night!

Self-Portrait

2011-11-18T21:01:00.002-06:00

This guy. He is just perfect.

That will be all today, you guys. I've really focused this week on living in the moment, and remembering that it's really important for my kids to know that I love them RIGHT NOW, and not after they've cleaned the mess, or waited patiently for me to finish whatever I'm doing, or quit fighting, or fussing, or having any inconvenient feelings, or taking up space--no, I love them,right now, just as they are, warts and all, because they are two of the most fabulous, fun, funny, sweet, caring, beautiful, imaginative, perfect beings on this planet.

So I'm gonna go get ready for bed so I have a little more energy for them this weekend. They deserve all I can give them!

See you tomorrow. Good night!

Not terribly lucid.

2011-11-17T22:00:00.004-06:00

I just realized that I was confusing Boy George with George Michael.

WOW.

Not the same person AT ALL.

I'm still laughing from that one.

Moving on...today has been a looooooooooong day. I have learned that you should never post on the internet that there's a possibility you might bake a pie the next day, because that just gives life the chance to say OH REALLY? I DON'T THINK SO.

It's not that it was a bad day. In fact, it wasn't. The boys and I had a pretty good day, not a lot of fuss, not a lot of trouble, not a lot of stuff that had to get done. But I was Just. So. Tired. I could barely keep my eyes open through all the things we did do, and I was very lucky that there really wasn't much that needed to be done, and that I could spend my day just reading books and playing games with the boys while trying to stabilize and recover from a wild roller coaster ride of crazy blood sugars.

Hopefully that's done for now, although my blood sugar is still a bit low. This is why I'm still awake even though, again, as I might have mentioned, my eyelids are seriously drooping and I can't hardly keep my eyezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

What was I saying? Here, have a cute picture from two or three days ago, before the onset of WINTER:

Notice how he's wearing a t-shirt that says "turtley cool" or something like that? This is awesome because that was the same day that we found these two guys crossing the road and got to save their lives:

That big guy there was HEAVY.

Turtles are cool.

My brain is off. Good night.

Quotes and such, part 1

2011-11-16T20:51:00.005-06:00

Today was the Day of Funny Quotes. Let me see if I can remember them all...

1. There's a game that Daddy and Jamesy play where one of them will spell something funny and then do it--the favorite is "Jamesy, what does P-O-K-E spell?" and then J says "POKE!" and pokes Daddy. So today, both boys were sitting on the potty at the same time (big kid, regular potty, little kid, baby potty), and having a chat, which was cute in itself. But then J said, "Nathan, what does P-O-K-E spell?" And Nathan said, "POKE!" and poked James. It was so hilarious! We all had a huge laugh at that one. And...bonus! we're teaching N how to spell at age one. Awesome.

2. This brings me to feeding time. J usually measures out the scoops of dog food for Denali, and then N takes the food over to the spot, and then both boys tell the dog when he can go over and get it. But J always counts out loud, "One...two....three...four!" so yesterday they were doing their thing and J went, "One..." and then Nathan went, "Two...three..." And...he can count too! Genius.

3. But then we have baking. A few days ago N and I baked some sweet potato and pearsauce bread (which, oddly enough, tasted a lot like gingerbread) (not that that's a bad thing, as it was delicious!) and when I added the sweet potato puree N said, "POOP, Mama!" I won't make any other comments about that but you can draw your own conclusions about how that puree looked. So then N kept asking for POOP when he wanted to eat the bread, which we all thought was pretty funny. Then TODAY we baked peanut butter cookies, and discovered Nathan's word for cookie is "Doodie!" So James, especially, really enjoyed all the poo references.

4. Here are some sentences that N has said recently, by the way. He seems to be one of those all-or-nothing kids, who had very few words and then BAM! paragraphs. He told me "Mama! Go poop!" when he, in fact, needed to go poop (and let's not talk about how awesome it is that he's practically potty-training himself). He will say "Me! Up! Now!" and "More eat (apple) (banana) (avocado) (doodie) (etc)." He will tell me "Doggie bite!" when Denali is rolling around on the floor.

Okay, honestly, he's been saying way WAAAAAAAAAY more than that but I gotta go! We've been having a really good but really busy week this week and there is just so much to do. I admit, when I get into a cooking groove, it's really a lot of work to make so much stuff, but MAN, it is nice to have such deliciousness! Tonight we had homemade chicken noodle soup, last night we had a new jambalaya recipe I found that was wonderful, and the night before that we had roast chicken...and of course there's all the baking. Tomorrow, vegetable barley medley for dinner and pumpkin pie for dessert if I get the chance!

Good night all!

Blah blah blah picture picture

2011-11-15T14:16:00.003-06:00

Today I offer proof of the craftiness I discussed the other day, aka "knight's helmets":

And next we have some "before" pictures, so you can see the haircut "after" pictures...right after I TAKE some haircut pictures...maybe tomorrow...

Also, I'd like to say that I loved, nay, adored the boys' hair before the cuts. There is something about boys with nature-given hairdos that pulls at my heartstrings, and they are just so beautiful. But...I thought they might appreciate a little break from having bangs in their eyes all the time.

Even though it's beautiful. See?

And this next picture, showcasing Nathan's natural bang eyesight issue, I'm quite proud of, because James wanted me to take a self-portrait of everybody and this was my very first, two-seconds-to-prepare attempt, and we're all actually in the picture! Because I am awesome.

And finally, just a fun photo from the 200-some pictures we took just in the last couple of days. These guys are hilarious!

See you tomorrow!

A Surprisingly Good Day

2011-11-14T22:14:00.002-06:00

So, last night in the night, Nathan definitely was feeling some intestinal discomfort. He was tossing and turning and groaning a good bit...BUT it definitely was not nearly as bad as his reactions have been in the past. No throwing up, no crying, no full-on waking up, and it ended around 4:15 this morning. So I'm going to say that gives me hope! Maybe in a few more months I might get to have CHEESE again!

I'm still exhausted, naturally, but I had a pretty productive day. I raked leaves, swept both my porches, ran the dog and kids and goats around outside, did two loads of laundry and folded and put them away, cleaned the kitchen and swept and mopped the floor with the kids, got a short nap and then did T-Tapp to help with my back pain, perfectly timed dinner to be ready right at 6:00....

Who cares if I never got around to brushing my hair today, right?

Also, must post pictures of 1. kids' crafts from the other day and 2. kids' haircuts from yesterday but first I must download them! And...I'm still too lazy to do that. No, scratch that, I'm too tired!

Good night, everyone. I'm trying not to feel like I'll be worn out tomorrow. It worked for me yesterday...;)

I hate Mondays

2011-11-13T21:43:00.002-06:00

I really, really do.

I might even hate Sunday nights MORE...because I know Monday is coming. It's so hard not to stress out, not to think of all the sleep I'm missing, all the tasks I have to accomplish, all the swimming-upstream feelings I might have, all the things I won't be ABLE to accomplish even though they need doing (or, like exercise, are very important but can be put off indefinitely)...

This weekend was pretty good. Except! for the part where Nathan, at the grocery store, in about 3 milliseconds, grabbed a Rolo off the shelf by the cash register and bit into it. As in, he got an entire chunk in his mouth, gulped, and tried to bite my finger when I tried to swipe it out.

Let me repeat that in case you didn't catch it: MY DAIRY-ALLERGIC CHILD ATE MILK CHOCOLATE TODAY.*

Probably not the best way to have a good weekend.

It would've probably been funny and cute if I hadn't been trying not to cry. My husband was much better at this than I was--he could still enjoy the cuteness. And that helped, it really did. It reminded me to take a deep breath and realize that nothing bad is actually happening now. The baby did not throw up right away--nor has he yet. There was some definite fussiness but so far he has seemed fairly normal. Nighttime is usually when the damaged intestines show themselves with constant thrashing, tossing, turning, comfort nursing, and general all-nighter behaviors...but we are not there. Nothing good will come from stressing out about it. I cannot change it. I can only live right now, and right now, nothing bad is happening. Even if I am awake all night long tonight, I can only be present in that moment and it will pass, oh-so-quickly, even though it may feel like an eternity.

These are the things I tell myself. But still, we tend to get angry at each other on Sunday nights, because the stress of the work week is upon us. And that's WITHOUT the dairy incident.

And that's why I hate Mondays. And also, why I'm trying very hard not to.

Wish me luck while I attempt to enjoy the present...

(*I tried to get a list of the ingredients in a Rolo from the Hershey's website, but it was all messed up. Suffice it to say that the first ingredient was milk chocolate, which includes such joys as nonfat milk, milk fat (why do they do that anyway? Isn't that dumb?), lactose (milk) and so on and so forth. Not to mention the crazy chemicals like whatever "PGPR" is.)

Mama, I'm BIG!

2011-11-12T21:24:00.002-06:00

I'm just gonna tell you right now that I really have nothing to say.

I have a HUGE headache today. The last few days, my back has been really sore, and there is some misalignment going on there. Plus, my gums hurt, so I know some of that is hormones adding to my head troubles...And then there's the wind. There's always a wind here, but today it was FIERCE, and I'm pretty sure the allergen level must've been high because, in addition to the headache, I've got some itchy scratchy eyes, nose, and throat. And I had to get up early with the baby today...and a good portion of my headache can probably be attributed to stress from the time change. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the time change? Maybe once or twice? Every year?

So. The creativity or the cuteness or the energy to come up with anything coherent to say? Not so much.

But I can try to post a random fun picture I've never posted before...I think. Here's Nathan doing something he frequently does, and being as proud of it as he should be:

I don't know if that boy will EVER figure out that he has his OWN shoes. In fact, he probably already knows but just doesn't care. It is WAY more fun to put on brother's. Because, of course, we want to be just like brother. RIGHT NOW!

I love my life.

I could stand to get rid of this headache, though.

Good night! See you tomorrow~

Crafting in the Real World

2011-11-11T20:44:00.002-06:00

So, I see a lot of beautiful craftwork on the internet. I even see a lot of it that my in-real-life friends have made. They do collages, they scrapbook, they make amazing pictures out of button collages and do interesting things with chalk or paint or fabric strips....you name it.

Meanwhile, over here in Not That Talented Land...Today we were super-crafty! We did TWO five-minute crafts IN ONE DAY! I am amazed at myself.

First, we took some water jugs (because, hello, it says you need milk jugs, but that would make Nathan sick!) and cut them so they (loosely) resemble helmets for knights. The boys wore them around all morning and it was really fun. And funny. And cute. And I took pictures but I'm too lazy to post them right now. Sorry!

Then, we traced their hands and feet and did a bunch of cutting (good practice for James on fine motor skills!) and gluing (Nathan's favorite part!) and ended up with two cute kid-sized turkeys. FUN! (Also no pictures...yet. Sorry!)

I really love doing arts and crafts stuff with my boys. But I just for the life of me do not understand how people make it all shiny and pretty and how they come up with half the stuff they do.

We have fun, though!

And now I feel like a kick-butt kind of a mom for doing two crafts in a day. Onward and upward!

Good night.

Le Tired

2011-11-10T20:25:00.003-06:00

Today was a very busy day. We went on a nature hike this morning (I was a bad blogger and did not take ANY pictures), then had lunch and played at the park, then went to my book club, then picked out a jillion books at the library, then came home and ran the dog and goats around again, then cooked dinner, cleaned up, played Uno, got the kids ready for bed...MAN, this was a long day! So now I feel like this:

even though the kids were cool as cucumbers all day long.

Thus, my post will not be any more substantial than me throwing out a bunch of pictures from the last 6 months and stringing together a vaguely comprehensive narrative about them and about my exhausting day. It was a good day, but also hard, because I was low a lot and just felt like I was swimming upstream the whole day. AND there wasn't a bathroom at the nature trail! That was probably the most stressful part of my day. Seriously. Not cool.

So, hopefully I'll head off to bed soon, and hopefully I'll be able to let go of my stress from the day, and not sleep with my arms crossed like I'm mad at my Daddy for not reading me a longer bedtime story...

Good night!

Wordless Wednesday: Lipstick Jungle

2011-11-09T21:45:00.001-06:00

Just Another Day

2011-11-08T22:49:00.002-06:00

Today was one of those days that I try to soak up and hold close. I got to just play with my kiddos, spend some time outside in the nice weather, let the goats and dog-who-wishes-he-was-a-goat run around outside and let the kids burn off some energy and get dirty. I got to clean my house with help from the kiddos. I got a few things done and felt good about crossing them off my list. I got to play kitchen with Nathan over and over again. ("Hot! Mama! Hot hot hot!") (Nathan's other favorite game, I must tell you, is "Work." He comes over, gives you a kiss, says "Bye bye!" and waves, and then goes and gets on his scooter and drives off. Then he drives back and says, "Home!" Repeat, repeat, repeat. Gotta love a one-year-old's imagination!) I also got to read to James, and listen to one of our new favorite stories (The Magician's Elephant) with him. I got to just relax and BE with my two lovely, funny, sweet, adorable, perfect kiddos. I even had a nap!

And then to top it all off, my husband came home from work and took over as I ran out the door to have dinner with one of my oldest and best friends (who lives several hours away but happened to be in town). That's right, I got to have dinner, out at a restaurant, without children, AND talk with a good friend. All by myself. It was all unbelievably awesome.

I have so much to be thankful for. What a perfect day. Good night!

Oh, and if you're interested in all the NaBloPoMo stuff, I should add that my friends Patricia and Jessie are also participating this year! Check them out!

Bumpity bumpity bump

2011-11-07T22:00:00.002-06:00

Apparently we had another earthquake tonight. This is the first one I haven't felt. I'm starting to really wonder about this fracking business. I'm no expert. But it reminds me of the global warming issue...and the precautionary principle...where, you know, if it seems logically reasonable/possible/likely that one thing humans do causes damage to Mother Earth, we should knock it off! Because even if that cannot be proven as The Cause of all harm, it's better to quit things that seem likely to be harmful than to wait until you've done so much harm you can't take it back.

I'm not cool with this earthquake business.

I'm also not good at remembering to post before bedtime, apparently, so that will be all tonight.

Okay, I lied. I will also add that I'm secretly addicted to watching Once Upon a Time right now. It is so, so cheesy. But we all need a little cheese in our lives....and I can't eat any dairy! So there.

Good night!

Siblings

2011-11-06T12:52:00.006-06:00

I have an amazing family. My husband is wonderful, my two kids are the sweetest, smartest, cutest, fun-nest kids I can imagine. We have a great place to live, and we get to be near quite a bit of our family and still have our little farm, our handsome dog, our dumb but useful and fun chickens, our smart but silly goats....

(Darn picnic-table-loving goats! But they're hilarious...hours of entertainment!)

But today I want to write mostly about my sister. Why? Probably because I got to see her yesterday, as we're trying out this great new thing called Getting Together Every Month So Help Me God. Or, you know, "sistafriend dates." Whatever. Anyway. I'm thinking of her a lot today.

Sometimes, I wish we (Ben and I) could have a larger family. I worry about the future, because I have two siblings, and if I didn't have my baby sister, I don't know where I'd be but I know it would be a huge void in my life. I wish I didn't have diabetes (well, DUH!) or at least that it wasn't so hard to be diabetic and pregnant/nursing/having tiny kids. I wish the world wasn't so overpopulated that it feels kinda indulgent and selfish to even have two kids. I wish there weren't so many natural and man-made disasters that make it feel so scary to have tiny kids sometimes. I wish my kids could have lots of strong, close-knit sibling relationships to help see them through life, and especially whenever I can't be there for them. I wish I didn't require sleep. (That last one? THAT'S the superpower I'd ask for. Just in case you're wondering what to get me for Christmas.)

But anyway...then I remember I have that baby sister. And therefore, my boys actually have two cousins named Charlie and Andy who can be those extra "siblings" for them, should they need that. And....maybe someday...said sister could even have ANOTHER baby for us to all snuggle and love on....

Having a baby sister who's grown up into a wonderful friend, mother to her children, and allo-mother (aka AUNT) to my kids? It's pretty awesome.

(My mother? Also pretty awesome. But that's a whole 'nother post...or, you know, book.)

Having a sister who lets you come to the birth party when your second nephew is born? Also awesome. Here's me getting to hold my hours-old nephew while my two boys and my other nephew surround us with love...and chaos...as usual. It was amazing and perfect to get to be there:

And, unfortunately, I don't seem to have a picture of my sister with Nathan in the Ergo. She has always been my kids' personal Baby Whisperer, getting them to sleep by the sheer force of her presence. (And, apparently, Phil Collins songs. So she tells me.) Another reason it's awesome to have an Uncle Sandra.

And just in case you're curious...no, I do not need any special favors from my sister. I did not do anything for which I need to beg her abject forgiveness. We did not fight. We are just awesome sisters and I thought I'd share with you how thankful I am that she is. That is all.

I hope my boys have that same feeling of thankfulness and care for each other as they grow. So far, so good!

("I got your back, bro. Nobody can defeat us with this awesome snow-proof armor we just found in the hall closet.")

("I'll scratch your back if you....act as my primary locomotion?")

(Zombie Apocalypse Togetherness, check. )

(Okay, I never let Nathan watch TV but this was too cute not to take a picture of before I broke up the party.)

(No words for this level of sweetness.)

Have a great rest of the weekend! See you tomorrow~

Still quaking

2011-11-05T23:23:00.003-05:00

About 30 minutes ago there was an earthquake. One that actually shook the whole house, one where you can feel the ground move beneath your feet.

Last night at about 2:15 a.m. there was also one.

A few months ago there was one. I was taking a nap for that one and I thought a helicopter had landed on my roof. I was angry because it woke me up.

I have lived in this state almost my whole life and can't remember ever feeling one before this last year.

I'm pretty sure Mother Earth is mad at us. Or at the very least, looking to balance the out-of-balance of humanity.

Just sayin'.

Also? I was just about to head to bed when I realized that I didn't post today. Does this mean my priorities are weird? I dunno. But it's true. NaBloPoMo has hooked me.

Good night. Sleep tight. Here's hoping everything stays put tonight.

Out of town!

2011-11-04T16:47:00.002-05:00

Oh my goodness-we actually TRAVELED somewhere! It's amazing!

Granted, we haven't even gone an hour away from home....and we're heading back home tomorrow...and Ben and Denali stayed at home...but it's nice to take a short trip every now and again, even though it's also SOOOOOOOOOOOO much work! Man, I thought it was hard to travel as a diabetic because of all the extra supplies....then I had kids...and then I had a kid with a milk allergy! Now I have to bring TONS of food as well as all the kid supplies and all the medical supplies AND all the regular stuff you need like toothbrushes!

And now I am exhausted. I gotta go, too, because James wants me to read him a book--or five or six. Some things never change! =)

See you tomorrow, if I can remember while traveling!

Word Explosion

2011-11-03T16:16:00.005-05:00

I have a little bit of Mommy Guilt. Who doesn't? But mine is, particularly, at this moment, Second Child Syndrome guilt. Not only the part where Nathan gets to do things that James never did, because, you know, they're not very safe...but also the part where I tried really hard to write down as many special moments with James as I possibly could. Every tooth that came in, every new step that he took, every funny sentence he's uttered, all the signs he knew...

And with Nathan, I really just sort of hope that James can help him fill in the blanks. Because James' memory is much, much better than ours! And I honestly have no idea when which tooth came in for this baby. I only know that he's got a heckuva lotta teeth. Well, that, and a few weeks ago he cut FOUR teeth in the same 24-hour period. For now, that fact is burned into my brain due to lack of sleep, but I know I'll forget. Unless! I manage to start blogging all this stuff.

Thus, here I am. About 2 to 3 weeks ago, Nathan had a word explosion. Before that, he was signing a few words, saying a few words, and making sound effects and gestures to make himself perfectly well understood, and he was happy with that. He would say "mup" for "milk," "mo!" for "more," and Da-Da, and of course his first word was "goat." He'd sign for milk, or more, or all done, or potty.

But then one day he just woke up and knew probably 100 new words. It was really that many. Right now he's saying "ga-goo, ga-goo!" which means "tractor, tractor!" and looking at the tractor in one of his baby books. And of course, when I looked down and said, "Oh, tractor?" he went, "Yeah...." but his favorite word is NO! Some of the others I particularly enjoyed are: peachies, mulk, grackle, doggy, bubba, poop, potty, socks, kitty--

I could've gone on forever there, but I in fact finished writing this post and then realized that I wasn't logged in and lost it all. Therefore, The End. Stupid internet chaos crapola.

On a happy note, we had a babysitter today! A real live true babysitter!

On the other hand...James is a superfuss because of the Halloween candy. I hate candy. The End. For Real.

So long, see you tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday: Cooperation

2011-11-02T17:52:00.000-05:00

It's kinda awesome. That is all.

NaBloPoMo--AGAIN!

2011-11-01T21:01:00.007-05:00

*Disclaimer--I don't know why my text is messed up and I don't have time to fix it tonight. Promise it won't be all schizophrenic tomorrow! Sorry.*

A few years ago I blogged every day for the month of November. This is called NaBloPoMo (here's a link to this month's participants), and it couldn’t have come at a better time for me then—I was still adjusting to a very new and different version of my life than I had been used to and expected. I was learning how to be a parent. Yes, this is an unapologetic “mommyblog,” and many times lately I’ve found just barely enough energy to slap up a cute pic of the kiddos and call it a day, but back in 2007, I was so thankful for this month of writing, because it connected me to who I had been while helping me explore who I was becoming, and it was awesome.

But. Then stuff happened, again, and again, and again, and I am continually shocked at the fact that life moves so quickly. We moved across the country, bought a mini-farm, had another kid, had dog drama (“Wow, I didn’t know dog surgery could BE that expensive!”) and all kinds of other drama, including many sleepless nights for many different reasons. We also lived without home internet for over 2 years. Along the way, this blog was sadly neglected. For example, it'd be nice if I updated my link list, right? Or maybe I should add a new NaBloPoMo badge....Yeah!...maybe....someday....*cough*

So anyway, here we are again, just another November where so far the baby’s sleep pattern is dismal and I’m drowning in sleeplessness. And I’m going to try it again, this whole blog business. Last time, which, by the way, I can never believe was FOUR YEARS AGO, I found some really amazing online friends who made me feel less alone, and that was priceless too.

If you’re here because you’re family, you’ll be excited because I’ll post lots of pictures this month! If you’re here because of NaBloPoMo, welcome! My theme this month is chaos—and thankfulness. In other words, I’m blogging off-the-cuff because my life still doesn’t really allow for much else.

I am so thankful to be here. I am so glad you’re reading! Now, look at my cute kids.

Welcome to November, everybody!

P.S. James was a "pirate skeleton ninja," and he also wanted to be a ghost but we couldn't figure out how to easily incorporate that. His bag actually says "The Dread Pirate James" but we decided it should've been The Dead Pirate James. Ha ha! Oh, and Nathan was a spider, although I couldn't get ANY good pics with all his little spider legs out on the sides of the costume. AND he picked out the pretty pink purse for trick-or-treating, which we loved. But then everyone thought he was a girl. Whatev. ;)

Such is life

2011-10-24T14:28:00.004-05:00

A long time ago I used to actually, you know, WRITE things on this blog.

A long, long time ago.

I miss that.

But since then, I've moved across the country (again), bought a mini-farm and learned how to take care of reluctant goats and chickens, started using an insulin pump, had a second kid, gone 2 years without a home internet connection, and just generally led a chaos-filled life.

The chaos? Totally still here. But I'm thinking I'll try to do the "blog for a month" thing this November again, because way back in 2007, I really really LOVED it. And I met some awesome people (well, cyber-met) who made me feel less alone in my mess. And that was worth every second of the husband and progeny thinking I was internet/blog-addicted and giving me a hard time about it.

This time, the goats will probably complain as well. And as loud as they are....well...maybe I'll have to get them their own blog or something to shut them up. Mmmm....delicious, tasty blog...

Anyway. Here's a promise. I will definitely, maybe, try to post every day for the month of November.

Therefore, I doubt I'll get around to posting again until then.

Such is life.

Family trip in August

2011-10-08T21:08:00.003-05:00

Waaaaaay back in August, we got to go visit Grandma Jane and Grandpa Clint, and it was extra-special because Nana, aka Grandpa's Mommy, was down for a visit. She had never gotten to meet Nathan before, so it was really special to get them together:

I love how it looks like they're making the same face in that picture!

It was great to spend time with family, and also great because we rented a van to take our whole family, con doggie, up there, and there was so much ROOM! That was also when we first discovered our love of the story Nurk by Ursula Vernon--we all listened to it on CD on the drive up there. That was awesome!

Here's a picture of the reason we had to take the dog, aka, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!!!

(It's also proof of why we had to get a van to fit everyone, in case you didn't notice...)

Here's one of a long series of pictures in which we attempted to get everyone to sit still for a group picture. File that attempt under "completely unsuccessful, but entertaining!"

I'm sure there are many more things I could say tonight, but it's almost my bedtime, so I gotta run. Here's my two beautifuls--aren't they perfect?

Yes, of course they are.

Pictures of our walk in the woods...and a blurb.

2011-09-28T21:57:00.004-05:00

I've been having a bit of a tough time lately. I've been so tired out, and run down, and all the regular stuff you'd expect from a mom of a 5-year-old and 18-month-old who has diabetes and a crazy but very normal happy life and etc etc. And now we all have colds, and my throat hurts a lot so I can't even talk much, and the baby's fussy, and all that. BUT....today was just incandescently beautiful, full of glowingly perfect moments I just want to capture and keep forever, full of reminders of why it's great to be me. Full of moments of love and joy and laughter amid all the normal chaos of life...like the boys running around outside, chasing each other around the tractor...and around and around and around! And squealing with laughter. Or inside, in the late afternoon, putting on music and pulling up a chair for each boy and making banana bread together and everyone dancing around and being silly. Or the boys dumping out all the Legos on the kitchen table (hello, huge mess!) and then playing sweetly together for however long it took me to sweep the floor and unload the dishwasher. And then cleaning up without a fuss! Or just the feeling of accomplishment I got from getting to do dishes, laundry, sweep and vacuum, play outside, play fetch with the dog, make banana bread, and have dinner timed perfectly so it was all done at the same exact moment, about one minute after Ben walked through the door. And since I got to take a nap for the first time in forever (the key to our beautiful day, in case you hadn't guessed), I didn't feel TOO exhausted at the end of it!

So. A good day. Not very different from all the other days. But these are the moments I want to remember. I want to hold on to all this blessedness after the sleeplessness is a distant memory. I have so, so many reasons to be thankful. Here are just a couple from the other day, when we went on a "nature walk" in our own woods:

I find this picture funny because here we are out in our back woods, going on a hike, looking at nature, finding cool things like bunny skeletons and funnel web spiders and monarchs...and yet Nathan is pretending to chat on his "phone." It's also funny because that is so not who Ben and I are! But Nathan loves to make everything into a phone. That kid also loves water more than I ever thought one could love water. He gets more excited about a drink of water than most kids do when they see a cool construction vehicle. Sound effects included!

This guy was quite glad he got to come along. I wish everyone was this easy to please!

Possibly the cutest picture ever! Love those boys' energy...wish I could get some of it...glad we all got to get out and run around in the woods the other day!

More pictures to come soon, if I get the chance. Also, if the "chasing around the tractor" pictures turned out well. It's hard to capture a good picture when everyone's moving around so crazily!

Thank you, world, for such a beautiful day!

BOOZE is Nathan for cows.

2011-09-23T22:12:00.003-05:00

Today, the kids and I had a good day. Those have been somewhat few and far between lately, and I'm really glad we got to go out and play at the playground, get errands done, etc. While we were at the playground, I got a call from an old friend, a friend I made when I was James' age and who I haven't seen since James was about Nathan's age. This friend was coming through town and wanted to stop quick and see us, so we met at the library. We were discussing how we hadn't seen each other since J was N's age, blah blah blah, and my friend told James, "The last time I saw you, you were as little as your brother, you couldn't even talk! Just like he can't talk now." And James immediately corrected him: "Well, actually, he CAN say UH-OH!"

The kid tells it like it is. Although Nathan can also now say a host of other words. His first word was goat! And now there are things like "boop" (potty business of any kind) "mup" (milk) "up" (...up) "more" (more) "bite" (bite) and especially "more bite." But it was pretty funny, as Nathan's go-to word for any kind of excitement is UH-OH!

Also....at the playground, he told one of my mommy friends that he wasn't sure he could go down the tube slide because "it scares me out of the bejeezus."

Gotta love him. There are so many moments like these that I just want to document somewhere! But I have neither the time nor the memory, so I wrote this down as quickly as I could tonight, disorganized and un-pithy as it is. You're welcome, boys. I love you!

And....zzzzzzzzzzzzz......

Flashbackin'

2011-07-26T14:03:00.003-05:00

We have been SOOOO busy around here. Seems like I'm always saying that. Hm. Maybe I should just get used to it? Easier said than done.

Anyway. We had J's birthday, and one set of grandparents visiting, two book clubs, a baby shower, babysitting, two--no, THREE dentist appointments if you count the one tomorrow, another set of grandparents visiting, my mom coming down I think twice (outside of parties), taking care of neighbors' animals and such due to vacation AND medical emergency, dog to the vet, new windows put on our house yesterday....I can't think of anything else right this minute that's happened in the last 2 weeks but yeah. Busy-ness.

And it seems during all of this that I've either not taken pictures, or at the very least, not uploaded them to the computer. Hence the lack of posting.

I still don't have any relevant pictures. But Nathan has been growing and changing so quickly lately, and I've been trying to remember what it was like when James was this age...you know, ALMOST FOUR YEARS AGO. I feel really sad that I haven't been keeping as much of a blog or even journaling for N nearly as much as I did back then, because it's really neat to go back and read some of that stuff. But for today, and for this blog, I thought I'd go look back at some of our pictures...which remind me how much N actually does and doesn't look like J. Wow.

For example, here's Ben and James at Chad and Jessie's wedding in 2007...he was actually about a month younger than Nathan is right now.

The mind boggles at what our life was like then versus now--not in a good or bad way, just WOW. Very Different.

So then I started looking at what it was like when Nathan was a teensy baby. Again, it's incredible but also incredibly common to marvel how the time has flown. Still:

Where did it all go? My first baby is now five and speaking in stereo and very LOUD! and very into Legos and Robin Hood and Chicken and Cat and The Hobbit and Kenny and the Dragon and all these other things like Doing It Myself and Needing Mom To Do It For Me But Throwing A Fit About It. It's hard to remember exactly what it was like when he was so small as Nathan--and then it's hard to realize how grown-up and independent of a one-year-old he has become. And it's equally hard to realize that everything I just described can be true for a one-year-old just as much as it can be for a fiver! =)

Nathan...I'm sorry I haven't been able to create as much of a record of your babyhood as I could do for your brother. Hopefully, he can fill you in on whatever I've missed/forgotten about with his own memories of you as a baby!

For now, I'm just trying to keep up with everything. SO lucky to have it all! Peace and love till next time~

Cuteness attack

2011-07-14T11:18:00.002-05:00

I have barely enough time for a post--things, as usual, being somewhere between "busy" and "frantic" around here. I wanted to show you a picture from May, though, that I never got around to showing you but which is super-DOOPER cute. I call it "From whence cometh the swashbuckle:"

The original pirate picture, when Grandpa gave us our pirate hat and sword.

Then there's Nathan being a-DOOR-able. First he dragged a kid-sized rocking chair over by me, then he put a baby in a stroller and rolled it over, then he took the baby out, sat in the chair, and rocked it and kissed its head. With no prompting whatsoever. And he let me get proof! Because he is THE CUTEST BABY EVER:

And then of course there's Brother Love. Those two kind of like each other. At least most of the time. It's enough to make my toes tingle with happiness when they play happily together, and especially when they cuddle. Here's a quick sample of both, aka a snuggle/play/tumble game that they love:

I love those boys. Every day, even through the amazing levels of fuss we've had lately, they remind me how lucky I am to be their mama.

And that's all for today, folks. You're lucky you got this much from me, as I'm feeling somewhat nauseous from lack of sleep. Peace be with you all, and see you soon~

Quick self-portrait

2011-07-06T14:12:00.002-05:00

It's hard sometimes to get pictures of myself with the boys. Or of me and Ben. Or of any grownups, really. It's so easy to point the camera at my two beautiful babies, but it's hard to do anything else besides snap shots of them and then run frantically after them to contain the next disaster! (Okay, that was a little more negative than usual. I'm pretty exhausted today. It's not all disasters. But it's a very high-energy job, this parenting gig.)

Anyway. Here's a recent (pre-haircut) self-portrait of me and the boys, that I love:

And because I only have a few seconds because Nathan FINALLY fell asleep just now and James has been begging for his They Might Be Giants movie (just now, he said, "I'm just DYING to watch it")...I will quit the commentary and leave you with Nay's self-portrait, in all its oogley smooshy delicious baby glory:

Gosh, even on the toughest days....these are the most amazing and wonderful creatures I could ever have imagined.

Now give me a nap with a high-powered dose of caffeine at the end of it to keep me on my feet! =)

Swashbuckling

2011-07-04T14:18:00.005-05:00

We've been pretty busy around here lately.

Why do I even say "lately?" I should just make that ALWAYS.

Anyway. I would try to spend a long time updating you on all our escapades, but then it wouldn't actually get finished until October, and then all the news would be different anyway! So I present an update in my usual picture format, which anyone still reading this blog probably prefers anyway. =)

The boys love to pretend to cook. Sometimes this is in the form of playing with their kiddie kitchen and wooden "foods." Sometimes....it's a little more messy:

Another popular activity around here these days? Swashbuckling.

Usually I have to be "Captain James Frint," and James is "Captain John SilvAH." He told me recently that Nathan's pirate name could be NayNay Poopypants. Brotherly love at its finest! Oh, and in case you're wondering, James's superhero name is Thorin Oakenshield.

I had a birthday recently, and among other festivities, James made me a birthday cake:

Which is awesome and the best cake I think I've EVER gotten. Although, with the dairy-free life we live now, I'm fondly remembering that one year I got an ice cream cake. But the Play-doh cake? Pretty darn special. What a sweet kid. Oh, and he's blowing out the candles on it in the picture, if you can't tell. Here's a picture he took of me, and although it's not on my birthday, it's as close as I got:

See? Swashbuckling.

Nathan got a haircut recently, although I don't seem to have a great picture of that. It was his first haircut ever, and it made me sad because he just looks so darn grown up. My BABY! and moan and sigh and sob about the time flying by, et cetera et cetera. Oh, wait, here's one:

Now pause for a poo change.

Anyway. My time is running out for this post, the boys are about to come in from working out in the goat barn to build a new feeding station, which job is necessitated by the unfortunate death of one of our chickens when a goat jumped through the old one and somehow broke the chicky's neck. So. On that cheerful note....WE GOT A NEW DOG!

His name is Denali and he's about 2 and he's very tolerant. We all love him already and we are very very happy with the whole deal. Nathan thinks he's a big snuggly pillow. It's awesome.

Sorry for an incredibly unfocused post. We just got internet at our house a few days ago (on my birthday, actually), so I wanted to seize the chance to post more than one picture at once!

And now it's time for more chores. Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Happy Belated Father's Day to Ben

2011-06-21T14:48:00.002-05:00

Around here, we love us our daddy...He is such a hero, a hard worker, a creative and fun playmate and we all love him oodles and oodles of noodles! Not that any of you had any doubts about any of that, but I have some great Daddy and kiddo pics that I've never gotten around to posting, and I probably also don't tell you how awesome Ben is often enough either!

So, done and done. He's the best. See you soon!

Garden

2011-06-09T16:35:00.004-05:00

I never have enough time to post all my garden pictures. In fact, I loaded two of them just now, intending to show our amazing harvest of the rye Ben grew, but the second one got erased and since it takes about five minutes to load and one second to make disappear....you'll have to wait till next time for that one.

Also, you shall have to wait for the picture I took this morning of the boys playing "baking" in the kitchen. This included me giving them a bowl and some measuring paraphernalia and some flour and salt...and then, in a distracted moment, allowing "just a tiny bit" of water. And thus, a HUGE mess, but also a very fun morning.

Anyway, this one is the boys HELPING! in the garden, which they love to do. James does it a lot more successfully, but Nathan of course MUST try to do whatever it is that brother can do, always and forever amen. Love these two, and especially J's patience with his little brother's antics:

Till next time~

Content

2011-05-25T21:59:00.002-05:00

I've been pondering my internet life lately. After we moved out to the farm, we didn't have internet at all. It was kinda hard going cold turkey because before that I was *very* internet-active. I was about halfway to a book review business or something, too, but with no way to get cheap and reliable (or even cheap OR reliable) internet out here, we just kinda quit. It was very different, only being able to check my email whenever we made it to the library. Seems like I hadn't had that little internet access since high school! ;)

Anyway. The last couple of months we've had temporary internet, and next month we're supposed to finally get a somewhat cheap and hopefully mostly reliable connection. But I've been struggling with what to post about. I went from lots of blogging to none and now I don't know where to pick up.

I used to love it, I used to get a real feeling of connection from finding internet friends going through some of the same things as me...and I loved getting to tell faraway friends and family how things were going for us...and I loved just getting to WRITE.

So here's hoping that I can pick up where I left off, except maybe learn to temper my web surfing so I have more free time. Those months in there where we had no internet, I went to bed early and I read even more books than usual and I even watched a couple of movies!

The times, they are a-changing. Again.

P.S. Happy Towel Day!

Wordless Monday because I don't have time for Wednesdays =)

2011-05-16T09:22:00.001-05:00

Two brothers--sweet as ever! =)

Short 'n' sweet

2011-05-06T21:54:00.002-05:00

I really am still here.

It's just that life has been so, so crazy. I feel like every second, there are about ten million things to do and I can only get to one, or if I'm lucky, maybe two, or if I'm not lucky, maybe none of them.

One of James' friends came over and played with us yesterday morning...and then called me today to let me know they now have strep throat. Send us good healthy vibes!

Everyone is doing pretty well...if only Mommy could get more sleep. And with that, I'm off to bed!

TGIF!!!

Eye of the Beholder

2011-04-18T21:37:00.004-05:00

I'm sure you are all familiar with how beautiful my children are. Most of you know that James has had long hair for quite some time now, and he is sooooo beautiful. And I love it. And, most importantly, he loves it. Here he is looking lovely with long hair:

But what he does not love is washing and brushing it. I'm pretty sure this trait was inherited from his father, as Ben is also not a big fan of washing in general. (Love you, honey!) So every summer we get a summertime haircut which allows us to be relatively clean and also to check for ticks without a comb. Here he is now:

Now, I want to show you another picture. But first I want to tell you a story and 2 facts. The first fact is that I love my husband and think he is fantastic and wonderful, a great father, and an all-around awesome human being. The second is that sometimes, we do not see eye-to-eye or quite understand each other's point of view. We *almost* communicate.

And thus the story. See, when I was a kid, and I would get a haircut, we would always take pictures of how beautiful my long hair was before the big cut happened. We would brush it out and take pictures of me with my gloriously long hair in the sunshine, and so on and so forth. So, because I have this history and because I have a beautiful boy who looks amazing with long hair, I wanted to take pictures before we cut it.

I told Ben this--well, only the part about wanting to take pictures before cutting, so we could remember how beautiful it was--which, by the way, we have done all of this before.

So, the day before the cut was scheduled, we washed James' hair with extra loving care, and in my mind I was anticipating the pictures, hoping they would capture his amazing beauty.

Ben, however, had a more....factual? evidentiary? less nostalgic? viewpoint. Apparently he thought I just wanted proof that the boy's hair was in fact long, regardless of its condition.

So the morning of the cut, while I slept in because it was one of those rare golden moments when I get to sleep in....the boys went out in the garden. It was a hot, sweaty day, and soon my son was covered in dirt and sweat. He was also a little tired out by the time he came in. This is all normal and natural and as it should be.

However.

When two people haven't communicated quite as clearly as they thought they had....sometimes you get pictures like this:

Not quite what I had in mind.

Good for a laugh, though, right?

Right.

(Also of note: another time, while I was sleeping in, Ben went ahead and cut James' hair with no warning whatsoever. I have no objection to the cutting, but it makes him look so much older when it's cut, I want a little time to adjust! So really, this is all just a plot to get me not to sleep in, right? That's what I thought.)

(Okay, not really. I still love you, honey!)

Update

2011-04-07T11:32:00.002-05:00

Last night I wrote a post, and included this picture. That post has disappeared into the ether. I have no idea how this happened. Maybe after almost 2 years with no home internet, I'm missing something technological?
Anyway. It really just said that we've been crazy-busy and therefore crazy for a long while now. And that, while the crazy hasn't slowed down, I'm getting used to it: crazy is the new normal. Thus, I'll try to post more, and especially include pictures of my rapidly growing little men for the family who *used* to read this blog, anyway. I need to write more, as well. I've had a lot of frustration and anger lately and I know the blog used to help! So...I'll be back...as I always say, but now that I have internet, it's much more likely! Here's to a good day with good naps and good eats!

LOVE this kid!

2011-04-01T21:38:00.002-05:00

This morning, I was driving James and his friend G to our house, and they were talking quietly in the backseat. I overheard this snippet:
G: So what are you gonna be when you grow up?
J: I don't know yet. What are you gonna be?
G: I wanna do something really cool, like maybe be an astronaut. That's special, not very many people get to do that.
J: Yeah, but in the spaceship you have to hang upside down and stuff, and I don't think I'd like that. I think probably I'll be a gardener.
LOVE IT!!!

Also, I had a conversation with him yesterday morning that went something like this:
Me: James, I'm sorry I got so cranky. I've just been feeling like a big fussbudget lately.
J: HA HA HA, that was funny when you said fussBUDGET...you're a fussWIDGET!! Ha ha!
But it's ok Mommy because you just keep making me laugh.
Sweet kid.

A few gems I want to remember

2011-03-24T20:29:00.001-05:00

James has been so hilarious lately. Today he told me that he "kept saying something was not nice and (his friend) Lillian kept saying it was, and well, Mom...it's complicated."(!)

They were working out their differences and James said, "If you keep telling me that, then I won't ever play with you again," so Lily said, "Then I'll miss you every day!" and then James said, "Oh, that's very sad! Let's pretend to be scorpions then!" and then of course it turns out Lily was afraid of scorpions. They eventually worked it out though. Ah, kids! =) (Sid e note: Lily's mom also said that the other day Lily told her she was ruining her life because she couldn't have a piece of chocolate. Amen, sister!

Oh, yeah, and I also enjoyed it immensely when we were playing Candyland and he said, "Wow, Mom, you keep drawing the Prince of Frosting!" (a much better character than Princess Frostine, in my opinion!)

Sorry for no pictures. I'm not on my own computer. Some day very soon, I promise! It has been a very crazy couple of months, and I'm very glad to have easy internet access again...now I just have to start posting pictures again for whatever readers I have left to enjoy! =)

This strikes me as slightly menacing.

2011-03-09T12:32:00.002-06:00

I don't know...I just hear a Russian voice saying this while pointedly ushering you into Family Video....and if you choose to use any Other Services....we have machete. Just sayin'.*

* Yes, yes, yes, I'm sure there's some movie out that's called Machete. Still. It's funny, people. Let go of the literalism and go with it! ;)

Family Photo Shoot

2011-02-08T12:58:00.002-06:00

I think every family with kids has a series of photos when the kids were young where you just cannot physically get everyone to look good all at the same time. Here I respectfully submit just a couple from our series of photos from this past November, which I would've posted long ago but we were saving them as a Christmas surprise for relatives and then of course our lives have been insane since Christmas.

Here's the one we framed for the grandparents:

Because it's pretty much representative of our family life. =) Here's one that I loved:

--except for that face on J-man! Whew. And I love this one:

because it shows how funny the whole thing was, and captures that feeling of This Is Our Family, Here We Are, which I'm still a little in awe of. How did I get so blessed?

The End, with maybe another post coming someday, I swear! ;)

And, um...

2010-12-06T14:34:00.003-06:00

I forgot that I'd love some good housecleaning gear--some microfiber cleaning cloths; a lambswool duster; one of those vacuums that's not really a vacuum...I can't look it up right now, but you know, the kind you run over your floor but you don't plug in, it doesn't need batteries or anything, it just sort of acts like a carpet-broom?

Also, it's been a tough couple of days, so for the family, how about a bottle of wine from one of our lovely local wineries? Just don't get me any cheese. I really, really miss cheese. Sigh.

Oh, and the kids could use some kind of neat container system for holding some of the aforementioned load of toys. And James would LOVE to have his very own laundry basket. =)

Thanks guys. It's really tough today. Some days are just really, really, really much better than others, and this is not one of those days. Peace~

Quick, and Disorganized, Christmas Thoughts

2010-11-29T11:12:00.011-06:00

Note: This has taken forever for me to get posted. Sorry. If you want the quick version, skip down to where the **** are, but if anything's unclear, I'm sure I've explained it ad nauseum above the ***. Cheers!

Okay, I don't (ever) have a lot of time, especially not today, but I know I've been getting LOTS of Christmas presents questions, so I'll try to make this short and sweet and give some ideas and also let you know what we're thinking this year. As always, we appreciate anyone thinking of us and wanting to get us gifts. That is the most precious thing.

But this year there are a few things I’d like to say first about how we think about both Christmas and toys. We really don't want to add to our toy load very much. So please try to think outside the box: we'd love a gift certificate to a restaurant so we could all go out to eat (I know Jason's Deli is safe for Nathan's allergies, just off the top of my head), or a membership to the Y or the natural history museum, for example. Also, we'd love some fun CDs (thanks, Grandma Jane, for our awesome They Might Be Giants collection!) and right now we're wishing we had Laurie Berkner's CD called Buzz Buzz.

Books are always well-loved at our house, and we wish we had some Sandra Boynton board books for Nathan, since all our old ones were too well-loved throughout James' babyhood to be readable now (mostly, they're missing too many pages). James is already getting How The Grinch Stole Christmas, I know, but books that we'd love to have would be either an encyclopedia-type book of, say, the ocean or space or an atlas of the human body, or more grown-up books that the whole family could use, like Unplugged Play or a group games book, I think the one my mom used to have might've been called Games People Play? but I don't have time to look it up. Fun family game books that don't require game boards, for active outside play and such, and especially for cooperative play, would be great.

Actually, there's a board game called Pandemic that Ben and I love that we don't have...here it is. The other things on the grown-up list are mostly pretty expensive, but maybe there could be some collaboration? Actually, we'd ALL love some really nice, fancy, lasting socks. You know, wool or organic cotton something or other, knitted socks, SOMETHING that won't get holes in it in five minutes. James really needs size 4T pants too.

For the grown-ups/whole family, we could use a couple of houseplants, and I'd prefer ones that 1) aren't poisonous if ingested (see: Nathan Chews Everything) and 2) it would be awesome if they'd also be great at reducing household pollution. Again, I could Google that if I had the time, but....not today! We really would ADORE a stainless steel pressure canner set, but that's probably pretty expensive. Same with a steam vac, and a hand grain grinder, and maybe even a shotgun. Also, perhaps less expensive but definitely harder to find the perfect one, if anyone likes antiques or garage sale shopping, we really need a sturdy old desk with several drawers that's not too big. We're trying to replace the one in the office because it's too long for that room to be functional, but I don't want a prefab thing that's wasteful and gonna break in a couple of years. I want a real, old, antique desk. So that probably won't be good for Christmas but if anyone sees one at a reasonable price, let me know! Oh, and Ben and I could use a gift certificate to a shoe store. The shoe situation is pretty sad around here. ;)

For Nathan what we really need, AND what is cute and fun to shop for, I hope, is larger cloth diapers. He doesn't fit any of the mediums anymore. This is my favorite of all the ones we have, although it's an "all-in-one" and I usually prefer what's called "prefolds." He also could use some kind of musical instrument set, but I do NOT want, and would probably just return, anything with batteries. Frankly, any toy we get with batteries this year will probably have to be donated or returned, because 1) we are saturated with toys and need to be very selective in which we keep, 2) those toys are less flexible and therefore not as fun to play with or as good for the kids in the long-term and 3) they have a more harmful environmental impact. Plus, hey, Nathan really needs a baby swing so he can play outside on the swingset with Big Brother! That and time in the sandbox are so, so much more fun than a battery-operated anything, you know?

That being said, I know they are fun to see and to play with in the beginning because they're flashy, and occasionally we've gotten a really good battery toy, and we've appreciated what we've gotten, so please don't be offended. It just has to stop somewhere and now is a good time. James is getting so sensitive to these kinds of issues that we have to put our foot down. I don't want a toy that doesn't even do what he wants to do with it, because that upsets him, or a toy that I have to help him play with, because that's just weird. I also don't want the world filled up with cheap plastic baby toys for my kids and their kids and so on to have to deal with and be poisoned by. So. There's my big issue soapbox. I'm sure there's a more politic way to say those things but I am superpressed for time, so please remember that we're just trying to do what we think is best for our kids, and part of that is helping them not be big consumers so that they don't have a broken world when they grow up.

**************************************************************************************
Just to recap, then, we don't want a lot of gifts; we don't want to overconsume, and we're happy with what we have. We'd like our gifts to be useful and durable; otherwise we feel wasteful. We want gifts that will allow kids to play with them freely, that are not restrictive and limited in their scope, but toys that allow imagination, toys made of natural materials, toys that, again, will last for many years and will be fun to play with for many years because they don't have a limited age range.

Here are the basic lists for anyone who isn't interested in hearing me up on my soapbox:

Nathan: cloth diapers (prefolds and/or all-in-ones preferred), a baby swing, maybe musical instruments?, board books, and that's it! He won't even remember this Christmas and he sure doesn't need a lot of toys.

James: boots (in fact, please let us know if you'll get him some, because if no one else does, we probably will), pajamas (but not the ones that are labeled as PJs, because they've been treated with scary chemicals to make them fireproof), toys that will last and grow with him, or really cool sheets, pictures for his walls, CDs, science kits, etc. The list for him includes a lot of Not This and Not That, so please respect that and if you're not sure about something, don't get it. Thank you.

Ben: jeans, shoes, or a gift certificate; a hand grain grinder; a family board game; chocolate; a restaurant gift certificate

Susan: pjs, jeans, or a gift certificate; a family games book; a terry pratchett book; a YMCA family membership

So there's just a couple of ideas. Please feel absolutely free to take any, all, or none of my suggestions and requests. We'd really appreciate some useful gifts this year, but truly and honestly, we're just glad you're part of our lives and we appreciate you. Love till next time~

Happy Late Halloween!

2010-11-04T11:22:00.002-05:00

You didn't really think I'd manage to post Halloween pictures in a timely manner, did you?

Well, thanks for that but no, my life is not that cooperative. But here you go, only a few days late:

Chicken and Knight, in case you couldn't tell.

Fierce but friendly. With a friendly dragon too.

I have a lot more to say, James has been saying some real humdingers lately, but the natives are restless so that's it for today. More soon, I hope. Love to all~

Logical Thinking

2010-10-26T12:03:00.003-05:00

Grandparent to James: James, do you think Clover the Goat might have a baby?

James: No, she can't be pregnant. We got BJ fixed, and you have to have a broken boy goat to make a baby.

Mommy, to a very sad and hungry and tired James: James, please only eat one grape at a time. You might choke otherwise.

James: No, Mom, I promise I won't.

Mommy: James, you don't know what might happen, it would just be an accident.

James (very sad voice): But MOOOOOOOMM.....I know EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!

True. Very true.

Also probably good practice for the teen years.

Another Quick Library Trip

2010-10-11T14:52:00.002-05:00

Not much time for words, so here's a sweet baby face instead:

And here's a big kid, just in case you've been missing your Jamesy fix:

Yes, he is wearing his PJs at the pumpkin patch. Thus it goes in the life of a 4-year-old. It's better than the day he wanted to wear short overalls over a sweater and jeans with two unmatching socks. I Dressed MYSELF!

Peace and love~

Speaking of Goats....

2010-10-04T09:47:00.002-05:00

I love mine because they make me laugh. They do many silly goat things. For example, when I was eating cranberries and almonds and sitting on my outdoor park bench the other day and they all came up and laid their heads on my lap. No joke. They're like dogs who can't come in the house but really really want to. For instance, see: They All Lie Down Right Outside My Door....except when one of them rolls off the porch accidentally:

Also see This Picnic Table is Not For You, Silly Human:

Also I Am Not Scared of Your Puny Little Camera, I am a Man Goat (formerly known as Man Goat, now officially snipped Boy Goat, aka BJ if you can't tell):

Also, Actually, That Looks Delicious (also known as I am Clover and I am Perpetually Starving):

And this blog wouldn't exist if it weren't for cute pictures of my kids that I want to share with the world, so here you go:

Sorry, Rachel, if he doesn't look as beautiful on camera if he does in real life. But he still looks beautiful on camera, even when he looks goofy! ;)

Lots of pics of James to share but most aren't downloaded to my computer yet. Also, my life just doesn't permit that much computer time all at once.

Love till next post~

Oh my gosh! Two posts in two days! Holy goat!

2010-09-22T10:58:00.003-05:00

I don't remember if I've mentioned that for a little while there we were seeing a lot of Cousin Charlie...but we were. And let me just say that there was a lot, a LOT, of good fun and creative play. For example, on any given day you could have a Superhero Cousin:

Or a Pirate Cousin:

It also helps to have a Pirate Grandpa sometimes.

And while I could spend a lot of time telling you about all the fun we had with Charlie, I have a very limited time here, and I know that some of the readers of this blog might appreciate seeing one more picture, known around here as Silly Brother:

As usual, you're very welcome. Please note the tractor outfit. We like to farm it up around here.

Until next time~

Guess what I did?

2010-09-21T12:31:00.002-05:00

I milked a goat!

That's right, a couple of days ago, I milked our girl goat for the first time! We were so proud, or at least I was proud that I figured it out. Thank you to my two children and to La Leche League and kellymom for teaching me a WHOLE lot about the whole process, although of course goats are a little bit different. But it was quite satisfying to be able to figure it out and know that hey, we can get goat milk!

Of course, right now that milk would taste like weeds since we let them graze all over the place, but the actual drinking of the milk will come at a later date, like the next time she actually has a baby.

Oh, and naturally, last night when I milked her again I squirted Ben. It was totally an accident.

I swear!

Do You Think His Eyes Will Stay Blue?

2010-07-23T15:20:00.002-05:00

People always ask this question about my babies, and I always sort of say, uh, YEAH, considering that Ben and I both have blue eyes. Evidence shot #1 of our genetic material:

I was trying to get a good picture of Nathan's natural mohawk, which is of course adorable, but instead I got these pictures of his blazingly blue eyes. And then James wanted me to take an up-close picture of him too...and lo and behold...I noticed something strange.

Green eyes! James used to have eyes just as blue as that shot of Nathan's...but apparently my boys did NOT get just Ben's genetic material when it comes to eye color, although for the rest they look like clones to me...because as far as I know, my mom is the only one in the whole family with green eyes. It's weird that it took them so long to change, though, because I went back and looked at a bunch of old pictures because, sadly, we hadn't really noticed this before, and a year ago? They were still at least mostly blue. My eyes sort of are greenish-blue, as opposed to my husband's ice blue, but this is so interesting. I can't wait to see what happens to the boys' hair as they grow up (will it go Ben-crazy? Will it be blonde or black or green or what?) as well as every other part of their grown-up selves. One of the many, many amazing and fun things about being a parent.

Love to all, until next time~

Guess what James got for his birthday?

2010-07-19T16:19:00.002-05:00

Okay, maybe that was really for Daddy...but you just try to tell that to James!

I can't believe my baby boy is four years old. Wow.

Also of note? The first thing he and Daddy did with the tractor...was to get it stuck in the mud. Nothing but good times ahead! Gotta run, love to all~

Yet another quick and unedited update

2010-06-22T11:25:00.005-05:00

Some updates...hm...

First, Nathan had his two-month appointment yesterday and he weighs FOURTEEN AND A HALF POUNDS. That is a Big Strong Baby right there. He's already outgrown his size small cloth diapers AND Size 1 disposables. And then we had to go and see a 2-WEEK-old yesterday and holy cow, that was a tiny baby. Wow.

Second, I'm sitting at the library and there's a sign in front of me for a special storytime on Tuesday, June 22. And I was thinking, okay, well, that seems like a long time from now, but I guess it's a couple of weeks, it makes sense for them to go ahead and put up the notices...and I just realized that NO, DUMMY, THAT'S TODAY. This is just a small sample of how time is completely getting away from me. I'm pretty sure I'm just getting used to the idea of it being June, so why is June almost over now?

Third, my house is driving me nuts, so if anyone wants to come over and hold the baby I will clean like a madwoman and then sleep for like 2 days....or maybe sleep and then clean? It's always hard to choose.

Fourth, OHMYGOODGRIEF, James is almost 4. My house REALLY needs to get cleaned so we can party! Hard to believe how the time has flown...also hard to imagine how it will fly between now and then, when I have like 80 million things to do to get ready. But if the house is dirty? I'm pretty sure the party will still be fun! ;)

Fifth, and finally, Father's Day has passed so now I don't have to keep the "secret photo shoot" that I took of James and Nathan a secret anymore. Thus, I can share with you lucky, lucky luckies one of my favorite shots--not the best shot but the one that makes me giggle:

The boys were so great when I kept asking them over and over to smile and to stand/sit/lie in different positions (okay, Nathan wouldn't stand for me, but hey, you can only ask for so much).

Okay, I can't resist posting one more picture. It takes forever here at the library to upload a picture, but I have suffered through it just to bring you these two sweet precious boys:

You're welcome.

Nothing Better

2010-06-07T15:42:00.002-05:00

There's not much in the world that feels better than digging your own dinner up in your garden, like this picture, which shows our yield from one day of sugar snap pea picking and one potato plant dug up....

But I do know of at least ONE thing that is an even better feeling. This:

First smiles!

Smooshy

2010-05-12T14:47:00.002-05:00

No time for anything else. Babies are so cuddly! It's awesome. =) Hope everyone's doing well and I'll catch you later, like when the baby's not sleeping on my legs at the library while the computer balances precariously on the arm of the chair and Big Brother pulls random and sometimes scary books off the shelves!

Two tired boys...and who did the work here, exactly?

2010-04-20T13:31:00.002-05:00

Nathan Clark was born Monday at 9:09 p.m., weighing 9 pounds and 6 and a half ounces, almost 22 inches long. We are tired but wonderful. Sorry we didn't manage to get a pic of the whole family up...coming soon!

Things I have done in the past week or so

2010-04-13T13:51:00.004-05:00

Found evidence that strawberries, asparagus, broccoli, and peas are in our near future. Hooray! Gardening not a total failure this year. =)
Discovered we had at least two functioning peach trees.
Let the goats range on our lawn and eat vetch; enjoyed herding goats. How often do you get to say that?
Gotten a couple dozen eggs from our new chickens, who are fun if stupid. We have five and so far one is named Baldy because she was getting pecked at in her old place and one is Chunky because she's so fat she keeps getting stuck when she tries to follow the rest of the girls around the yard. I'm thinking maybe Aimless, Feckless, and Graceless for the other three?
Watched our original chicken take her place as leader of the pack even though she's about a third the size of the new girls. She crowed, people. She crowed.
Swept the floor about a million times, not that it seems to do any good...
Done 80 piles of laundry (see above).
Gone to the doctor three times. I'm tired of the doctor. Also tired of driving an hour up there to see them. Sigh.
Listened nightly to the coyote pack right outside my window; hoped they wouldn't get a craving for fresh goat or chicken; chatted with the neighbor and discovered that the coyotes actually live in my forest; wished for turkeys or deer instead; still thought the coyotes were pretty fascinating.
Woken up from more than one nap because of the frog that lives in my windowsill. He is LOUD!!!
Enjoyed the lovely weather and the return of interesting wildlife while still sort of wishing they would shut the heck up.
Felt excessively cranky an excessive number of times.
Missed a few opportunities for napping. I'm sure this contributed greatly to the above point, as I'm feeling pretty tired out these days. Not cool.
Baked a large number of pastry-like items, because it seemed useful at the time.
Randomly burst into tears once or twice because my hormones are roller-coaster-y right now.
Lost sleep in the night because I get contractions and then they go away.
Lost sleep in the night thinking of all the things I need to do.
Did I mention the crankiness yet?
Woken up every morning just a little bit sad that we didn't have the baby in the night.
Dilated to a 3, effaced 80%, and had the baby drop to zero station (which, if you don't know, is about half of the total distance he has to drop before he, ya know, drops OUT)....but not had a baby. Yet.
Used my new camera to finally take a few pictures of our family BEFORE Baby Brother comes...

Please, send whatever thoughts and prayers you might feel are appropriate...I'm feeling good except for being cranky but now that I'm officially past my due date the doctor situation is going to be highly encouraging of an induction....which we could just totally avoid if Baby Brother would be BORN!

Please, please, please be born. Like, now. Thank you.

Serious about being a chef

2010-03-17T15:39:00.001-05:00

Three-year-olds are the best, the most helpful and interested little critters! He seriously chopped up all our mushrooms for our omelets the other day. And he was so proud of himself! As he should be.

God, I love being his mama.

2010-03-08T13:06:00.002-06:00

This is the poochie-poo that we have to find a new home for. This is the poochie-poo that we have known for what, three weeks? a month? that we have to find a new home for, but who is still living with us. And THAT, my friends, is even harder than the giving-him-away part. I really, really hope we can find him a good home....NOW, because it is breaking my heart to have him still with us, and to have to keep talking with James about how he has to have a new home but NOT HAVE IT HAPPEN! Ugh.

Also, it's rainy and yucky and that always makes me tired. It was SO NICE this weekend. I need a little sun. Or maybe a lot of sun.

Oh, James has to go pee and we're at the library so see ya!

Work, Explained At Long Last

2010-03-01T13:57:00.001-06:00

I can't believe I posted all that last time and forgot to tell you what James said a meteorologist does. The other day he told me he wanted to play Work, so he got his "work clothes" on, which consisted of every piece of jewelry he could find in the whole house, a very pimp-like meteorologist if you ask me, and then he pretended I was already in the office and came in and said good morning to me. I said hello back, and then said, "So what's your job? What do you do?" and he said, "I'm a meteorologist. I give chocolate to children and I go to meetings. About training."

Too, too right, kid. It was hilarious.

Boring Update

2010-02-23T17:45:00.002-06:00

Had a wonderful day today, including 2 hours to myself to work on filing paperwork, calling stupid insurance and billing people (no, we do not owe you $700, thankyouverymuch), and general organization-related things that usually get passed on so I can have a nap instead. Thanks very much to my amazing new mother's helper for playing with James for those two hours. And then thanks also to my wonderful friend Elise, mother of said mother's helper and three other girls, who then came over, had lunch with us, helped do my dishes, and then played with us outside for like 3 hours! Hooray for sunshine.

Now I am enjoying a few moments at the library by myself. Excellent. Except I missed my nap. I am le tired.

Still sad about Gromit, but just giving it up to whatever happens. Thanks everyone for the kind words and lol Megan about calm and gentle feelings and their likely receptacles.

Hobo Mama, I think I'm going with my goat. Touring a birth facility? Birth registry? Meh. And I do in fact mean for that to sound like my goat bleating. She does that a lot. Hungry lactating mama! Meanwhile, crap! I forgot about all those ever-so-important things to do. My midwife actually just told me that "the only thing yoyu have to worry about right now is what you're going to do about birth control after the baby's born." I just laughed and laughed.

Oh, side note, ultrasound the other day was fun. James hates the doctor appointments but liked the U/S because he gets to see the baby "on the hospital's TV." And Baby Brother is something like 5 pounds right now! Wow, time flies. That's why I gotta run. Wait, I can't run. I meant waddle.

Fin.

Thoughts

2010-02-16T14:57:00.002-06:00

We've taken to calling the baby goat B. J., short for Baby Jesus, until we can think of something that goes a little better with Clover.

I have so much to do before Baby Brother arrives. Slightly panicky but oh well.

I feel like a bad dog mommy. I've never posted a picture of Gromit up here, I think, and we have several but almost none loaded onto the computer. So I'll add one and just say that was at Thanksgiving, and now he's six months old and he weighs about 80 pounds. And he would be a really good dog, except he's not right now and we don't know what to do about that because we've tried everything and we only have a few more weeks until Baby Brother's birth and we can't risk aggressive dogness around our new little precious. But seriously. Don't suggest that we didn't try everything. That would be hurtful and also a lie. Just pray for him or something so we can figure out what's wrong.

Everything besides the dog problem (which, btw, came up just about 2 weeks after his neuter, and if you know anything about THAT then yeah, let me know) has been blasted out of my brain. I HATE feeling like a dog failure. I HATE the idea of giving away my son's "sweet little poochie-poochie-poo."

But he's not sweet and he's not little and yeah. I guess by putting this up here I'm inviting criticism in a way but seriously. It's just because we've tried everything and I'm so frustrated and strung-out about this dog problem. Which really did seem to come out of nowhere. Except for the neuter.

Is he mad at us for rendering him infertile or what?

The Miracle of Life

2010-01-24T19:20:00.003-06:00

So this morning we had a kid.

Quick, easy, all-natural labor.

In fact, we didn't even find the kid until about 10:30, and we figure the birth was around 7:00 this morning.

Surprise! Surprise to you and to us, that is. We didn't even know our girl goat was pregnant.

Go ahead and laugh. But then ask yourselves, what the heck? She was in heat for three months in a row, I swear. Except apparently she wasn't, because she was busy growing this kid.

Clover stole my thunder. She beat me to the punch. Our baby girl goat is a mommy! I can't believe it.

No, really. Ben asked me if I believed in the Baby Jesus Goat, since it was almost a case of immaculate conception. She had to have got pregnant like the day before we got her. Anyway.

Soooooooooooooooo tired. Such a cute baby. Must go sleep. Adios!

No time for reflections

2010-01-15T15:14:00.002-06:00

It feels sad to me that it's been almost a month since I got on the internet. I used to have a great support network here, and really get to express myself and feel less alone with whatever thing I was going through...but lately, first since we bought a farm (where we can't really get internet access) in June and then especially since I got pregnant in July and couldn't get up off the couch for 4 or 5 months...I just haven't been getting out much.

Our holidays were half awesome, half sad. Sad because we couldn't get together with any extended family because of the blizzard. Also because our dog ate a knob off of a dresser and had to have emergency surgery. Thus no Christmas presents for Ben and me. Ben says we bought ourselves a (very expensive) healthy dog for Christmas. That was not very fun.

But awesome because we had TONS of snow and we had uninterrupted days upon days with Daddy. It was actually a little bit of a tough adjustment when he had to go back to work. And since then I've had umpteen-zillion doctor appointments, as it's less than three months till Baby Brother gets here.

And no, we do not have a name for him yet. Besides Gardenyarter Bijeeto. Which James is *still* convinced is his name. Sometimes we call him Thumper because he loves to thump around in there, but pretty sure that's not going on the birth certificate either. We promise we'll let you know...when he's born! ;)

Gotta run. But, for the record, I still miss you, internets. Maybe someday we'll get home access and be friends again?

2009-12-23T10:58:00.002-06:00

It's supposed to be like this tonight. And for many days to come in the future. Thus, I can make no promises for when I might make it to a computer again. Hence, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays in case you're celebrating anything else. Of course, we didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards this year...yet. We might send something out in, say, February. But I really wanted to take a family picture this Christmas and then print it out and send it to everyone, but you know, we still haven't even taken that family picture yet, much less been able to get it printed out. So yeah. We love you all. We're grateful for all the wonderful friends and family we have. We're sorry we stink at this. But we're thinking of you!

That's all for now.

Time flies, as usual

2009-12-13T15:30:00.002-06:00

So the other day I realized that this new baby will be here in LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS. Oh my holy. How did that happen?

I am so excited and happy, but the practical side of me, or maybe that's just the crazy-hormonal side of me, is a little freaked out at the thought of all the junk in my house I need to get rid of and all the other miscellany that needs doing before then. Oy vey.

Also, Christmas, it's here, and how the heck did THAT happen? I don't know. It just seems impossible to be prepared for these things lately.

Additionally, we finally got around to pruning our blackberries today, which is awful because it should've been done in, say, August, but ya know. That whole morning sickness thing. Anyway, it was actually fun to do but WOW, how did people do it when they had thorn-ful blackberry bushes? Ouch.

Okay. Ramble over. Here's the only good picture we took of our family this year, in the last year it will be just the three of us. And yes, that makes me sad just a little bit, because I love this family so much as it is. But I can't wait to see how awesome our family gets with the new little guy in April too. Just...sigh. SO MUCH TO DO!!!

It's over? Already?

2009-11-30T17:10:00.001-06:00

Well, our Thanksgiving was great...I got to take naps whenever I wanted! I'm actually, for the first time I can remember, having some serious post-holiday letdown...or stress...or whatever you want to call it where I feel cranky and edgy because I'm the only one taking care of things at home BY MYSELF ALL DAY LONG AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Christmas, and grandparents, can't get here soon enough. Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone!

Another Day, Another...Wait, What Was I Saying?

2009-11-20T10:58:00.003-06:00

I don't really have much to say today, except that I didn't win the Moby wrap, and I am so tired. Just. So. TIRED! What is the deal with that? I remember having pregnancy fatigue with James, but this is like 3-naps-a-day, can't-make-myself-get-off-the-couch, guilty-because-James-really-wants-me-to-get-up-but-I-can't exhaustion.

Oh well. I guess that's just called pregnancy while parenting a 3.5-year-old. And being diabetic. And having a puppy. And maybe, sometimes, staying up waaaay too late to watch the horrible but also horribly addictive The Tudors series from Showtime. It's awful, people, but that doesn't mean I don't want to watch more! ;)

Also...I have REALLY been feeling baby kicks lately, which is awesome, because with all the fatigue and puking and time flying and such, the whole baby-on-the-way thing was feeling a bit surreal. I am LOVING the kicks. Keep it up, Baby B! (Or, as my friend Rachel called him the other day...Cletus the Fetus. I'm sure someone somewhere has even considered that as a potential name for their child. Oh, the horror.)

Okay, off to take my first nap! ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............

Also

2009-11-15T09:53:00.004-06:00

I completely forgot that this is NaBloPoMo, and thus, haven't posted a single other time this month. Oh well. There goes my three years in a row.

In other news, I decided today to enter a bunch of giveaways because, hey! we're having another baby! we need more stuff!

But no, seriously, I NEED more babywearing options. So here are the contests I've entered. And yes, I'm blogging about this so that I don't forget which contests I entered and when they're due. That's right. Laziest Blogger Ever? Totally me. But come on! I don't even have internet access at home! What else am I supposed to do?

Anyway.

I got the idea for entering a lot of these contests from a blogger I always enjoy reading, Hobo Mama, so thanks, and congrats on the blogiversary, Hobo Mama! Also, she's having a giveaway, and I'd love to win her homemade mei tai, because you can never have enough fleece! I made my own fleece wrap for James but a mei tai is much handier when the kiddo gets bigger. The giveaway ends November 20.

At J. leigh designz, you can enter to win an awesome airport set from Plan Toys. Also, if you want to get my children any presents, at any time, Plan Toys? Always a safe bet. They have awesome stuff. I love them. It also happens to be nontoxic and environmentally friendly and all that. Just so you know. This giveaway ends November 25.

From Just for Me...and You, I've entered to win a Moby Wrap, the only absolute necessity for a new tiny newborn besides, you know, a mommy. Or maybe it's that it's a necessity for said mommy. Either way, I gotta have one, and The Baby's Bundle might let me have one if I win this contest! I'll have to remember to check back on November 18 to see if I won, or if I have to beg someone to buy me one instead.

At Familylicious reviews, I get the chance to win a fabulous ring sling from Sleeping Baby Productions. I borrowed one of these slings for a couple months when James was a tiny toot and I looooooooooooooooved it. I had a hard time giving it back. Another excellent baby shower gift, for me or anyone else, really, in case anyone's interested. The winner of this contest will be posted on December 14.

Okay, that's all I can do because I only get so much time on the internet these days. Sigh. You know what I want for Christmas? Internet access. Is that really so hard?

Crap. I thought so. Okay, well, ta-ta for now, and we'll meet again someday soon. I think.

Time flies and such

2009-11-15T07:38:00.002-06:00

So, here I am, 19 weeks along, and I'm really just flabbergasted. How the heck did I get halfway through this pregnancy already? And why do I still have morning sickness?

The answers to these questions remain elusive. But there is one answer I do have now, thanks to a crack-of-dawn-Thursday-morning ultrasound: BOY!

And no, we do not have any names picked out. But give us a break...we have half the pregnancy left to come up with something! And it can't possibly go as quickly as the first half....right? RIGHT?

Along the Way

2009-10-16T16:24:00.003-05:00

Well, luckily we made it home safe and sound...UNluckily, it turns out I really *am* allergic to Oklahoma and have been feeling awful since we got back. Thus, no post until now.

Luckily, we haven't had anything terribly pressing to do besides laundry. But again, UNluckily, we also have no heat at home (long story) so there's been a lot of woodstove-fire-building at our house lately. But that's not what I'm here to talk about today! I wanted to share some of the best/worst/just plain funniest things we encountered on our trip. Here they are in no particular order:

1. In Missouri, there are signs all along the highways that say:

HIT A WORKER
$10,000 fine

or something like that. In case you can't tell, this is funny because you could just take out the word "fine" and replace it with "points" and you'd be good to go. At the very least, they should've added "IF YOU...." or maybe "DON'T," but alas, they didn't. It seems risky to me. I'm glad I'm not a construction worker in Missouri.

2. A disgrunted young person had written in a bathroom stall in Valparaiso, IN:
"Studip hicks, you'll never leave this town."
Oh, the irony.

3. Written in the dust on the back of a semi was this brilliant thought: "Vikings sucks." It actually looked like someone had written "Viking sucks," which is at least gramatically correct if nonsensical, but then realized they needed to add an "s" and yet neglected to also delete one. Le sigh.

4. And finally, there was the doggie beauty parlor sign that was just...Well. It said "Victoria's Fabulous Doggie Doo's." I'm not making this up, people. Seriously.

THE END!

Homeward Bound

2009-10-10T08:13:00.004-05:00

Well, I meant to check in a few more times on this trip--let you know how much fun James had with Grandpa Dave's trains, or how he discovered a ladder at Grandpa Lin's and spent hours "fixing the frigerator," or how beautiful the wedding we came to last night was, but I was so busy grabbing up time on the internet, doing important things like catching up on CakeWrecks...

Anyway. We're good. We've had a great trip. And now our friend Kevin is cooking us some pancakes and bacon, and then we're gonna hit the road. We hope our house hasn't had any freezing problems, and we can't wait to see our Gromit! Oh, and yes, we are planning the trip back strategically so we can eat lunch at Taco John's.

Bon voyage to us!

Checking In

2009-10-03T22:00:00.002-05:00

We got to Grandma and Grandpa's yesterday. James was ecstatic when he got to see all of Grandpa's trains. It was better than Christmas.

Also...the nausea relief was definitely related to sitting still. Today, not so nausea-less. Especially since I made the mistake of ingesting lettuce. Why, why, WHY did I make that mistake AGAIN?

Note to those who have not yet been pregnant: lettuce is the most disgusting food I can think of AFTER you eat it, if you know what I mean. It is bitter and awful. Ew ew ew. I still taste the stupid lettuce. Gag me.

No, really, if I throw up I'll probably feel better.

Oh well. At least we got to go out to dinner with friends and Grandma and Grandpa had a great night with James!

Travel Observations

2009-10-02T07:17:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a very, very, VERY long day. We picked Ben up from work at noon and then we drove for eight hours.

Ugh.

However, James is an amazing car traveler. A-MAZE-ING. He read himself books for at least an hour. He played with his firetruck and his computer ("compeedwer") and his cars, and he colored 6 or 7 pictures. We all listened to music and sometimes James sang along. Well, except that he wasn't singing to the songs that were playing. He always sings one of a handful of songs but he likes it when the radio is on...so we could've been listening to "Back in Black" or "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" or "La Bamba" but James would sing "ABC" or "Puff the Magic Dragon" or "Twinkle Twinkle."

My nausea was actually better yesterday. But I'm wondering, was that real? Or was it just because I was sitting still for 8 hours? Hm. Either way, I'm grateful.

Today we have to drive 6 more hours. Luckily, Nana (Ben's dad's mom) is on the way, so we'll have a nice long stop there and a visit with her, and then for dinner we'll be with Grandma Robin and Grandpa Dave.

Wake me up when we get to Nana's.

Our Ever-Expanding Family

2009-09-21T14:13:00.003-05:00

And no, I'm not just talking about my waistline.

There's also my milk-makers. Is it normal for me to already not feel like sleeping on them because they feel like rocks? Just curious.

Okay, but really, I meant to have this post be about GROMIT! And in case you don't know, that's our new dog. You see, I really meant to post more now that I've told everyone we're expecting...BUT...first there was the morning, I mean, ALL DAY EVERY DAY sickness, and then we got this puppy! So yes, Gromit is our new puppy, and yes, James did insist upon that name.

And yes, I really did want to post pictures but that is just not in the cards for today.

We got him a little over a week ago, when he was 6 weeks old, so he's still pretty tiny, but he won't be for long. He's half English mastiff and half Great Pyrenees, so he is technically a "Giant" dog. He looks all mastiff so far, and we're sort of hoping that part will stick. Pyrenees are great dogs too but more prone to wandering. Either way, we're superexcited about him and he's smart and fun and cute and, in case anyone's curious, GREAT practice for having a baby. He weighed 7.5 pounds when we got him, and I had to carry him a lot that first day, and then my arms were tired....he wakes us up at night a little bit to go potty, although not NEARLY as much as a human baby....and there are definitely a few sibling rivalry issues we can work through now. =)

Okay, gotta run. Just wanted to check in and say WOOF!

Gardenyarter Bijeeto

2009-08-31T14:55:00.002-05:00

So, I know it's been approximately forever since my last post. What can I say? We have no internet and we're too unmotivated to work on finding another source for getting it. (Which is to say, we're too lazy to talk to AT&T and find out if we can get that cell phone internet thing.)

Also, every post I've thought about posting has just not been as fun and exciting as I would want. But, at the same time, I didn't want to explain to anyone about Gardenyarter just yet. But now I can!

What the heck is Gardenyarter, you ask? Well, this is how it goes around here:

James: Mommy, what's my baby's name?

Mommy: Well, we don't know yet, honey.

James: Yes, you do! What is it?

Mommy: Um, I don't know. Is it...Ethan? Is it...Elena?

James: No, no, no! I know what it is! It's Gardenyarter Bijeeto.

And that right there is how sibling rivalry begins.

The baby will be here in April, by the way! And probably not be named any of the above. But no promises.

No Internet Forever?

2009-08-11T09:32:00.002-05:00

We found out this weekend that it is going to be much, much harder to get the internet than we originally thought. In fact, we might not really be able to get it at all.

NIGHTMARE!

Over the past few years, I've relied on this place to connect with other people, especially with moms going through similar ups and downs of new-mommyhood with me, and diabetics going through similar I-hate-this moments with me. I'm really not sure what the heck to do without the internet. The library is just not cutting it.

I miss you guys!

The Good, The Bad, and The Bountiful

2009-07-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

Well, we still don't have internet. And I have to say it's actually kinda tough. If I'm wondering something (for example, what's that bug on my tomato plant?), I can't just run to the computer and look it up. If I want to know what's going on with my friends, I can't just check facebook and get a general idea of what's going on. I can't check my email and communicate with people! It's much tougher than I would've imagined.

At the same time, I have been tearing through books like crazy, and in a way it is definitely more restful to be "disconnected." I've been very productive and made a lot of progress unpacking and settling in, weeding, chicken-tending, etc. etc.

AND...there is NOTHING to compare with the awesome amazingness of making your own blackberry fill-in-the-blank (cobbler, pancakes, jelly, etc etc ad inifinitum) because you're getting a bowlful of berries every day. Or making your own salsa with fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes and peppers and onions. Or frying up some homegrown squash and onions and green beans with some backyard eggs and 'tatos. (Although, granted, most of that is from our neighbor. But how great is it that our neighbor gives us all this extra produce anyway?) Or going over to play with the neighbor kid, bringing a bottle of wine from grapes grown just down the road (literally, on our road), and having a great conversation about pregnancy, birth, and parenting with your new next door neighbors.

In other words, we've never eaten better in our lives. We love living on the farm, although there is a lot of upkeep involved. (Heck, that probably makes us healthier too!) Life is good. But I miss the internet.

2009-07-12T16:31:00.001-05:00

I can't believe James is three.

I wish I had the darn internet already.

I wish it wasn't so darn hot in Oklahoma.

I really like it when grandparents come to visit.

Fin.

Still here

2009-07-08T15:48:00.000-05:00

Still no internet.

Things have been so crazy around here. We finally got out of the old rental house completely, and thank goodness because I was pretty much ready to burn it to the ground. I got a pump. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And then we went out of town and got very sick very quickly.

Also, now Ben's mom and stepdad are here visiting. Oh, and James is having a big THREE birthday party this weekend. Apparently, the craziness never ends?

I've had so many posts running through my mind lately, but they will all be gone by the time I have deent internet access, so here's what's on my mind right now: two of the big differences between me and Ben that I learned lately:

1. If your child stops puking, do you a) stick your hands out to catch it or b) run like heck to get away from it?

2. If you notice cows loose on the road by your house, is this a) a common occurrence from your childhood or b) a novelty of your first time living in the country and thus A Big Deal?

I'll leave you to figure out which answer goes with who. I bet it's not very difficult!

I miss the internet. Someday I SWEAR we will be back. Until then~

out of the loop

2009-06-21T15:50:00.001-05:00

but still here, typing one-handed as james is asleep on other arn, ben cleaning old house around us.

hope to get internet in a week or two. until then....no posting, no email. call me!

2009-06-17T09:47:00.002-05:00

Still here. Still no internet out on the farm. Still having a blast.

I have never cooked so many large meals for such crowds in such a short time before. It's fun! And the neighbor kid and James are friends now, and they like to play in the pool, or run around the yard, or ride their little bikes/vehicles/etc.

We're still loving it, of course, trees and all, but I'm getting SO tired of not being done with the old house (where we are now), and of not having internet out there! So here's hoping both of those things get done so we can get back into a good routine without the stress.

Love to all, more later~

Into Each Life a Little Rain Must Fall

2009-06-08T08:54:00.004-05:00

Or, at least, 10 days after moving into your new house, straight-line winds of 70 m.p.h. might just knock a couple of enormous tree limbs onto your house.

I can't get too worked up about it, though, due to the fact that, as the old saying above goes, this might be expected. Also, I can't count the number of times someone has told me that as soon as you move into a new house, something happens. Hopefully this one will prove to be not too too expensive. Luckily, no one was hurt, although it was sort of painful to me that, after I slept through the entire process of the tree crashing down on our house, Ben ran into the bedroom and said, 'SUSAN ARE YOU OKAY?!?" while I was in a very deep sleep.

But I'm glad he cares.

And I'm also glad that the deductible on our homeowners' insurance is an amount we can afford, if need be.

And I'm still very glad to be in this new place, trees and all.

Still waiting on the internet, though.

The Good Life

2009-06-06T14:41:00.002-05:00

Today, Ben and a couple of his friends did a lot of work with the wood chipper.

James and I sat in the driveway and played with his new dump truck and grader, and then the swings. The chickens ran around and ate bugs and seeds while we did this. We also decided to trim the hedge.

Then our neighbor brought over some fresh-from-the-garden onions and new potatoes. It was shady and breezy in our yard, and darn near perfect.

We are LOVING it! Now if only we could get the internet....

Oh, and my pump arrived! Now I have to wait for someone to call and tell me how to use it. =)

Still no internet

2009-06-04T11:40:00.002-05:00

However, we're also still not moved out of the old house completely, so here I am again.

When I got to the old house today, I noticed there was a sign on the door from UPS. Apparently, they tried to deliver my insulin pump (WOO HOO!!) yesterday. But obviously we weren't here (BOO) because we don't live here anymore, and ya know, I distinctly remember telling SEVERAL different people about this issue and making sure the pump company knew where to send the pump, yet, obviously, they don't. WTF, Medtronic?

Oh well. I'M GETTING A PUMP! WHEEE!!!

We got another egg yesterday morning. But comparatively, I think I'm a little more excited about the pump.

Assuming they ever get it to me, that is.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Productive

2009-06-02T09:07:00.003-05:00

Typing with one hand: it doesn't end with the end of babyhood. Sometimes your toddler requires SEVERAL hands to remain calm.

In other news...we got our first egg yesterday! Chicken had not been laying any eggs for a few weeks, but yesterday evening when I went to "put Turkey and Chicken to sleep in their bedroom," which is James-y talk for "lock 'em in the coop," sure enough, there was an egg! And I was surprised how big it was, since they're just bantams.

Awesome!

Unfortunately, now we still have to finish moving our stuff out of the old house and clean it. Ugh. Did I ever mention to you how much I hate moving? I thought I might've.

Now I'm at the stage where I'm happy to be in the new place but frustrated because we're not all the way done getting there yet. Off to pack up more stuff and lug it HOME! =)

P.S.

2009-06-01T11:30:00.003-05:00

My son no longer believes in playing indoors. Yesterday morning, as we were sitting down to breakfast, he was like, "Can I take mine with me outside?" He went outside and ate breakfast while playing with his new dump truck (from our realtor) and grader (from the previous owner of the house)...while Ben and I sat at the kitchen table and ate. It was awesome!

I have a small hunch that James is really, really, really going to like growing up here.