MommyCoddle

five (and four days)

Happy Birthday.

chickens, guineas and being a turkey (about dpns)

I have a feeling this will be my last post until after Thanksgiving. (And I also have a feeling that's one of the dumbest titles I've ever given one of my posts.)

But anyway....I have apple pies to make, bread to bake and a house to clean. My sister and I will essentially be trading spaces--Dan, the girls and I will be traveling to my mom's for Thanksgiving, my sister will be coming here--staying at our house, taking care of our chickens, keeping the fire burning--and spending Thanksgiving with our dad and grandmother.

In the meantime, a few odds and ends:

Last night, after several attempts, I conquered my fear of the dpn. I have some serious mental-block, motor-skill issues when it comes to dpns. I cast on several times yesterday afternoon, got twisted, frustrated and gave up. Then last night, I decided to give it one more try. With a lot of jaw-clenching and concentration I finally mastered them and I'm feeling pretty much like dpn hot-stuff. All I want is a pair of Leslie's Toast-for my too-long-arms, too-short-sleeves, freezing cold farmhouse. And I'm ignoring the fact that Ms. Urchin can whip up a pair in two hours. Maybe I should have started this in July.

Emma and I did a little classic pinecone turkey craft for the babycenter blogs. Then we got a little carried away and started making them with all natural materials. It was sticky, sappy business. Emma decided she needed hair extensions au naturel. I think we need to get out more.

And can I just say how much I love having these chickens and guineas? They are so much fun--my favorite part being able to go outside and call: "HEEEERE guinea, guinea, guineas!" or "Heeeere chick, chick, chickies!" And they come running--heads down, feathers spread just a little, waddling as fast as their little yellow legs will carry them, hoping I'll have a big scoop of grain to toss them.

I also love watching Emma, carrying her bright green bucket out to the coop with the whole entourage skittering behind her. I can only imagine how much I'll love these girls when they start giving us eggs. (I do mind however, that two of the girls have become quite fascinated with the road. I have to admit that I hold my breath every time I walk outside, checking the yellow line for "feathers". yikes.)

And last of all, just a few words to say how thankful I am for all of you. I can honestly say that I am touched daily by your emails full of kind words, encouragement, understanding, humor. Thanks for making this documenting of life so enjoyable and fulfilling.

Happy Thanksgiving.
xo.

eight years

Late Monday evening, I left two notes on the bathroom mirror for Dan, hoping he'd find them Tuesday morning. One was a gushy love note, since it was going to be our eight anniversary that day, the other said, "Don't forget it's trash day." When I saw them again Tuesday morning, I thought that's kinda what married life is like right now--the practical mixed in with the sweet. There's the madhouse of tag-team parenting, farmhouse remodeling and long days, mixed in with sweet moments that remind you why it is you love that person so much.

We exchanged a few gifts--for Dan a wool "working man's" vest and a CD of B-sides for one of our (mostly, his) favorite artists. And he arrived home from work with a huge tree to plant in the yard. Perfection.

And now, for the FOURTH time, this post I've been trying to get off my mind and on to the blog is interrupted. This time by an early nap waker...

more later, friends.

good things to come home to...

I think I might have to go away more often. Although maybe it's a bit like childbirth--you quickly forget about the contractions and the pushing and the pain...or in this case the laundry and the packing and the whining and fighting in the back seat of the car.

But in reality, it was good for me to get away for a few days. I came home itching to get back to our routine, to laundry (yes, to laundry), to cooking in my kitchen, to picking tomatoes and watering flowers, to good naps and normal wake-up times for my children.

I also think I need to start leaving my husband home alone more often. I returned to find many projects that he completed while we were away. I knew he was up to something because when we would talk on the phone and I'd ask him what things he was working on, he'd always answer: "Oh, just a bunch of different stuff..."

So I came home to a simple, tall, painted headboard that he built for our bed. Very nice. I love it. A new mantle for our dining room fire place the design of which he copied directly from the mantle in the back living room at my grandmother's house, a desk/sewing/work space set up for me in the guest room, hooks finally hung in our bathroom for towels, and a great new laundry system for dirty clothes--much better than a big pile on the floor in the corner.

He's a good man. When all the projects have their final coats of paint and I clean the twelve inch pile of stuff off my desk, I'll take a few pictures...

I also came home to exciting mail--some I'll share in the next few days, but the other is something I've been dying to share with all of you.

I am in the September issue of Wondertime magazine!!

Thanks to the help of a dear friend, I've been able to submit a few things that will be showing up here and there in the magazine. Though there's no byline to circle and show to all my friends :) the recipe for "Power Balls" is one from our Balint family kitchen that I wrote up for this issue. It was fun to go through the process, hear about the recipe being tried out in the Wondertime test kitchen and passed around to staff for a taste test. Everyone I've worked with at Wondertime has been easy-going, encouraging and sometimes downright funny.

I feel privileged to have a tiny spot in this wonderful magazine.

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Thank you to everyone for your well wishes, shared experiences, and good advice for our dog. He still doesn't seem quite himself the past two days. But your encouraging, understanding words have really meant a lot to me.
xo.
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32

Saturday was my 32nd birthday. I thought about giving you a list of "32 things on my 32nd birthday". But I did that two years ago. So instead, I used a little quiet time that my husband gave me on my birthday to finally finish my About Page and give this blog a little makeover for the final weeks of summer.

There are new books in the sidebar for me and the girls, and a link to take you directly to my Bushel and Peck posts on Momformation. And thank you to Cassi for featuring my "watercolor blobs" on The Crafty Crow last week. I feel honored to see that little badge in my sidebar because goodness knows I really wanted one! I took away the "good things" links, for now. I'll freshen them up a bit and bring them back shortly.

The About Page is inspired by a post where I asked you all to ask me anything. And boy did you ever! Obviously I couldn't (and didn't want to) answer all the questions, but I picked a few of my favorites and answered them as best I could. If my blog traffic takes a downward turn I'll know that I've either completely turned you off with my answers or I've told you everything and there's nothing new you could possibly learn from me at this point. Ha! Ha?

Sweet little Mary drew me this picture on my birthday. We sat together out in the yard, me reading a magazine, her drawing beside me. I'd say things to her like, "You forgot eyeballs!" Or "where are everyone's arms?" and she'd quickly add them in. Apparently this picture is all of us marching through the farmers' market.

It's funny when I look at this picture because I could probably pull an almost exact replica out of my stash of Emma's early work. And I have to confess, poor second child that she is, I haven't been saving much of Mary's work. I feel like I've had this pathetic (internal) "yeah, yeah, I've seen those kind of drawing before. I'll start saving them when they get better, kid!" kind of horrible attitude in my head.

But no more. I'm cherishing these sweet little drawings. Let the collection begin.

I have two things that I want to buy myself for my birthday. The first I got this morning--two sets of Moleskine journals--one set of thin notebook sized, the other a small pack of pocket-sized journals. In my old age, I find that I'm forgetting lots of things. I've always been a list-maker, a genetic trait I inherited from my mother. And I've been kind of ADD with my list notebook this year. I have about three going at the same time, I can usually only find one of them, which is the one I'm NOT looking for at the time. So I decided to consolidate into these moleskines, one-at-a-time.

The small journals are to stash in my back pocket. I've gotten in the habit of jotting down writing ideas or stories on scrap pieces of paper--a receipt, a piece of the girls' (probably Mary's) artwork that been tossed aside. And then, I lose them. Of course.

Or horror of horrors, send them down the library book return shoot. I had written a kind of personal, introspective note on a receipt, which I then tucked in the book I was reading and literally had to dive in after it up to my shoulder, as I saw the little tail of it slipping down the library book return. Phew.

So I think keeping my thoughts in my back pocket is a bit safer.

She's one

The pregnancy with Elizabeth was quite a roller coaster. Blood clots, painful shots, a single umbilical artery, potential birth defects, high risk doctors, multiple ultrasounds, multiple doctors, abnormal test results. It was a lesson in faith and Elizabeth a lesson in miracles--as she emerged into this world with a knotted umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. A little miracle.

With her in our arms, we thought all was good, the "issues" behind us until abnormal test results came again and again. More doctors, more tests. And more news--all tests were false. We were in the clear. One year later and you'd never know the road we traveled to get here had so many bumps, which in reality are dimples compared to the potholes that so many go through. God is good and faithful.

And here I sit, one year later, and I can hardly believe it's possible. One year?

In keeping with my birthday post traditions, a little list of what I love--and little Elizabeth Paige, gets an extra column--the things that make me crazy! (in the best way.)

What I love:

*we have a song. and it's the only one you want to hear me sing at bedtime
*you love to have your head rubbed, hair tucked behind your ears, cheeks stroked
*you stretch, hands over your head, legs stick-straight every morning when I lay you down on the changing table
*when the wind is blowing in your face, or the sun in your eyes, you snuggle your head into my chest
*you laugh like an owl hoots--a deep, happy laugh in your belly.
*when you see people you love, you get so excited a shiver runs through your body
*you call me, "mum-mum"

What drives me crazy (but I still kinda love) or You'd think by now I'd learn that:

*You pull off my glasses every time I sit you on my lap.
*You suck on the charred pieces of wood around the wood burning stove. It's organic, right? (I should probably clarify--the wood isn't hot. what kind of mother do you think I am??)
*You eat the soil out of the flower pots. also organic??
*You're obsessed with the toilet and darn if the girls don't forget to close the door when they leave the bathroom, let alone put down the lid.
*Every time I lay you down for a diaper change you flip over onto your tummy faster than lightning. You find it quite comical.
*Every morning, every morning, you know to go into the girls' room and pull down their glasses of water that are on the table between their beds--onto the floor, onto yourself.
*When I put a pile of Cheerios in front of you, you scatter them all around the floor and table with a few sweeps of your hands.
*You stand up on your tippy-toes, reach over your head and pull down all the neat, organized stacks of paper on my desk.
*You also sit quietly under my desk and empty the trash can onto the floor, piece by piece.
*I put your hat on, you take it off. I put your hat on, you take it off.

You have a sweet, gentle, content spirit that brings peace and joy to our home. I can't imagine our family without you.

four

Yesterday someone in our house turned four. It was a very big deal. I'm not sure I've seen her so tickled with life as she was yesterday. Did the smile ever leave her face? I don't think so.

I always get all weak in the knees on these birthdays. I want to stop time, forbid getting any older. And yet, I love seeing how they've changed and grown in just one more year's passing. I'm proud, sentimental, sad, full of joy and full of satisfaction.

So you're four miss mary and what can I say about you?

*you love cows. even though I know that you secretly love horses. but since your sister loves horses, you decided to start loving cows. Just to be different.

*every odd sound and gesture that Elizabeth makes--I owe all to you. And you're the reason that Elizabeth knows how to snap her fingers. Because every morning when the first coos come over the monitor, you race into her room, climb into her crib and entertain her for another fifteen minutes before I come in. She lights up for you.

*you are a snuggler. big time. i love that.

*two nights ago, when I put you to bed and told you I'd love you forever...you told me you wanted to die at the same time. so we could be in heaven together.

*you're tender. you still tell me that you have a broken heart over "spring", your kitten that was lost almost two years ago.

*you tell me that you love me at random moments in the day. I hope you never stop.

Happy birthday sweet little mary.

"those hearts are nasty,

They taste like chalk!" My children weren't big fans of the little message heart candy that they dribbled all over the "valentine's cake". I gave them free reign with the decorating of the cake. I frost it and set it down on the kitchen table and walk away. It's great. So when they started biting in to the hard little candies, they weren't so excited about their decorating choices. Now we have a valentine's cake covered in potholes where little fingers have gone around removing the 'nasty' candies.

Another valentine gift that didn't go over so well was the gift I made for Dan. After seeing Blair's post, it was the push I needed to finally sit down and sew some of these rice bags that I've been meaning to make for quite some time.

I told Jennifer that I'd given up sewing for awhile, until life slowed down, but with some of her cute fabric staring at me, a little more time on my hands and some inspiration from Blair, I broke out (my friend's) sewing machine. (my machine is still out of commission...those darn knits!)

 

I think the rice bags would have been a hit, had I not gone the extra mile and put a little handful of dried lavender inside each bag.  That was the spoiler. I was simply trying to avoid that cooked rice smell. But now, the lavender smell was overpowering to Dan, enough that it sent him to bed clutching his stomach. We slept with a window open, if that tells you anything about how strong he thought the smell was. And I swear, the smell wasn't that strong, it's just that I also made a bag for each of the girls, myself and a friend. So I guess that adds up to a lot of lavender. And a whole heck of a lot of rice.

But nevertheless, my girls came through. They love them. We heat them up every night before bed--3 minutes each in the microwave. And they head off to slumberland with toasty warm toes.

(I altered Blair's pattern a little bit--I made the bag out of muslin and then sewed a separate cover with ties at one end. I figured there would mostly likely be a need to wash them in the future, knowing my children...)

And now that I have my sewing machine out, the requests are flying in from my children. The latest (and one that's sounds do-able) is a sleep bonnet/cap like Mary and Laura Ingalls wear in Little House on the Prairie. I can't really find any kind of pattern anywhere. Have any of you made one? I'm thinking just a circle with some elastic sewn in? Is that right? Help?? Anyone?

happy weekend everyone....see you on monday.

whoooo will be my valentine?

The girls and I sat at the kitchen table this morning and made these valentine owls. I did all the cutting earlier from a pattern I sketched out a few days ago. See their heart shape faces? I'm hoping people will get that part of it. And their bodies are black--not very valentine-ish. But who knew my brand new pack of construction paper would have no brown?? If I'd thought of it before this very second, we would have done them on some brown craft paper instead.

So we delivered them door to door to a few special valentines in our valley--along with a few shy kisses and hugs.

Mary painstakingly signed her name on a small square of paper that I cut out and glued to the back of each one. It was fascinating to watch her write out each letter--any direction, any place on the little small square of paper. I have to give it to her, she stuck it out for five whole valentines.

We also got two lovely valentine gifts through the mail. Steph sent me (and the girls) this awesome print of her stitched art. Can you guess which person in our house claimed it as hers? Thank you so much Steph. I love having a little piece of your work to look at. You know I'm a big fan. (and check out what her husband did for valentine's day...)

And yesterday our miniswap package arrived in the mail. Wow, were we spoiled. I'll show pictures as soon as I gather it all up again from every corner of the house. Jesica, my girls are walking around with some pretty little felt bead bracelets today. They worked on them quietly and with such determination first thing this morning.

Happy Valentine's day everyone. Have something sweet. Do something sweet.

a place to lay your head

We're packing up the car this morning and heading to my mom's house for a little birthday visit. Emma hemmed and hawed yesterday afternoon trying to "think of a special project to make for NeeNee". I decided not to give her any direction, to see what she came up with. She finally settled on the idea of a special pillow, which I simplified to a decorated pillowcase. (mostly because it was after 4pm, all children were up from naps, and dinner was far from ready)

You had to know there would be some horsey theme to her gift--a "rider girl" walking her pony over to the mounting block. I love the way it turned out. A quick and easy project that only required a little ironing of a pillowcase and a sharpie marker.

I have a feeling Emma's gift will out shine the less-than-thrilling, practical one I got for her. Oh well. That's how it should be.

3 + 2 + 1 =

six. Emma is six today.

These are a few of my favorite things:
--when I get mad, you get mad. But if my feelings get hurt, it really upsets you.
--you take your field guides and journal on every walk.
--everything has "horse" potential and all topics eventually wind their way back to horses.
--for your special birthday activity, you chose having lunch with your daddy
--you still suck your thumb and rub your toes against your heel--it's why you won't wear sleepers with feet.
--you know more about what's going on around the farm than I do and I always ask you for the details
--you sit and read a chapter book for an hour, even though you can't read them. You even put in a bookmark in the place you left off and come back to it later. You meticulously read through Charlotte's Web for two weeks. Now you're reading Misty of Chincoteague.
--you are a fool-proof mood-lifter for Elizabeth. You can pull her out of any crying  fit. And you watch out for her--taking paper out of her hands, dragging her away from the bowl of cat food, wiping unmentionables from her nose. It doesn't even gross you out.
--you still get in bed with me every morning and ask to slip in to the warm spot where I have been sleeping.
--you are as tough as nails and as fragile as a baby bird, all on the same day.

happy six years sweet love of mine. you were my first baby love. you changed my world.

peace at home

It is a quiet afternoon here at home. Dan's first day back to work after Christmas, Mary and Elizabeth are napping and Emma is sitting beside me working on thank you cards to send out to family. Dan and I worked hard yesterday afternoon to clean up and organize after the tornado of Christmas swept through our home. It included some packing up of older toys, some giving away and some finding homes for the new things that found their way into our house this Christmas.

I went to bed last night feeling content and blessed--a warm home, lovely gifts, and wonderful husband, caring family, and three sweet little girls to wrap my arms around each day. 

Soon, I will do a little gift re-hashing on here--once I recharge the batteries on my camera. We had some real hits this year--and as is always the case, the ones that cost the least, were the most loved.

The pictures are from our pre-Christmas trip to the BrandyWine River Museum. The museum is known for its collection of 3 generations of Wyeth artwork--some of my favorite artists. At this time of year, the museum puts up a two-story Christmas tree full of ornaments created solely from natural materials collected from the museum gardens. Seriously, I will never look at leaves and twigs and seedpods the same way again. You can see the whole set here and get inspired. I wish I could have photographed every one to show you.

Hope your holiday was full of warmth and contentment.
More soon.

december 19

"I can't hold back my tears any longer..."

That would be a quote from my five year old daughter as she lay prostrate on her bed, hugging the neck of her rocking horse that was pushed up alongside her.

"I just know I'm never going to get a real pony."
"Cricket(the pony) is the only thing I love in the whole world!"

Me: But don't you love mommy, and daddy, and mary and elizabeth, too?

"Yessss. I love you all, but Cricket is just the only thing that love. I can't hold back anymore."

I have to admit, my dear Emma feels deeply. It literally broke her heart last week when she had to put a big, doe-eyed stuffed fawn (a companion to this book) back on the shelf at Barnes and Noble.

"It just needs me. I can't bear to put it back on the shelf."

And it broke her heart even more this afternoon when she accidentally found it stashed away under my bed, waiting to be wrapped. But it was sweet. Her heart was broken for me, because...

"...we can't afford to get many presents. And now you won't have many special surprises for me."

(I hope you're reading all these quotes with lots of dramatic inflection and phrasing.)

She's just one big, soft, pulsing heart. She feels deeply and responds to everything deeply. Dan and I always remark that she's a lot like the classic nursery rhyme:

   

There was a little girl,
    Who had a little curl,
    In the middle of her forehead.
    And when she was good, she was very good.
    And when she was bad, she was horrid.

Well, at this point, I can't even remember what I came her to post about. Something about gingerbread houses or how absolutely edible this one is.
After I erected the structure of the gingerbread house today, I gave Emma full reign. I was going to try to make it something Martha-Stewart quality, but in the end decided to just let go and let her make her own fun. It was wonderful to watch.

Happy Wednesday.
Six days until Christmas....
Here's a song for you that we're singing along to today...

december 17

Hi Everyone! I've really disappeared from here for awhile now, haven't I? I have to admit, it's been kind of nice to go through our days without my "bloggles" (blogging + goggles) on. I have hardly taken any pictures or thought about whether or not I should be blogging something from our day. I think I needed a little break and now I'm feeling much more fresh and content.

We finally brought in the Christmas tree last night. In our little living space it took a lot of rearranging and removing to find the perfect spot for it. Emma and I were the tree purchasers this year. We got it on whim Saturday night while we were running to the yarn store and out for groceries. Can I just say how hard it is to pick out a Christmas tree with a five year old? She tried her hardest to hold the big old prickly tree steady while I assessed uniformity of shape and gaping holes in each specimen. In the end it was a toss-up and we both just said, "let's go with the first one." I don't think we did too bad in the end.

I sat down last night, after the kids had gone to sleep to string some popcorn and I quickly realized that I desperately need to upgrade to a better pop. My kernels are very seed-y and don't have much fluff to them, making it near impossible to string. Last night it was eat ten, find one that was string-able, eat ten....I might have to throw in some cranberries for good measure. Have you all been letting your kids string berries and popcorn? How do they handle the needle? I'd really like to get the girls involved in this process...

As always, I'm still blogging my heart out every day over at babycenter...and they've asked me to do a weekly "craftyblog round-up". So if you've seen something that must be shared or you're doing something that must be shared, please send me an email, so I can give it due credit. Babycenter is really digging the crafty blog world. And I'd love to share some love over there....And here's a recent post that I think many of you would "get".

I've declared this the week of the cookie. I plan to bake a batch or two each day with the girls to give out as gifts. Although I'm quickly running out of time today since everyone in the house is napping--even the dog by the fire, and the cat in a mountain of pillows on the sofa. Today it will be the classic peanut butter kiss cookies and maybe some russian teacakes if there's time.

Off to get my kitchen set up cooking-show style (makes it easier with my children) and upgrade my popcorn stash. More soon, I hope!!!

sharing the handmade love for the holidays

I'm starting to write a regular feature on the babycenter site about buying handmade for the holidays. I am going to feature two etsy shops at a time in each post--one shop with gifts for big people, and one with gifts for little people. I wrote my first post today and featured two  shops--Industrious Lily and Kinichi.

I'd love to hear who/what are some of your favorite etsy shops and sellers. (or you can even tell me about your own shop!) I think this is a great chance to get the word out to support crafters and push for a handmade vs. commercial-crazy holiday.

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I'm trying to keep a link in my sidebar of my most recent posts on the momformation blog. I'd love to have you visit me over on the babycenter site. I'm feeling a bit lonely. I'm so used to your lovely comments!