do you like my short hair?

no he didn't fall off the bed...

So here I am...at my melting point.  After a long weekend flying solo and many sleepless nights I am tired.  Emotionally and physically just plain tired and the patience tank is empty.  These are not pretty moments around here...but they are moments...and it would be dishonest to pretend like everything is beautiful and harmonious around here always (that would be a very far stretch from the truth).

So today...Owen was getting tired and I wanted to lay down with him...just sleep for five minutes.  About three minutes into my doze I heard a crash from Isabelle's room - I could tell a part of her tea set busted...I didn't care...I wasn't going to let it get to me...what ever.  I wasn't able to fall back asleep, but it was quiet so I laid there for a while just day dreaming about the sleep I could have been having.  Well...you guessed it ....quiet is never a good sign.  After getting up and checking on Isabelle she asked me if I liked her short hair.  DAMMIT...she cut her hair.  This day was unavoidable...every kid does it...and in retrospect there were many signs leading to this day (last week she decided to trim my sheep skin...).  At first my response was... seriously today...I'm so tired I can't stand to deal with this...  And then... a moment later...I was thankful for being so tired that I couldn't get upset or angry...too tired to care that she now has some weird side bang happening.  So what...it is summer...and maybe it could look hip.  Either way I just don't care....just another thing to add to the list of "things I did when I was 3".

Oh Isabelle you really are making the most of being 3.  I love you oh so very much.  And no...there are no pictures of her new hair cut...A mama can only take so much for one day.

a little bit of this and that

Well, Aaron was out of the house this weekend...which meant a whole lot of state of the art kid entertainment (fairy garden building of course), a sore left arm from carrying a certain little man, crafting (lots of last minute birthday details), and lots of messes (including one big one with a lot of smelly sheep wool).  Thankfully daddy returned to a somewhat clean house, kids that were partially clothed and most certainly fed.  Here are a few pictures of all the trouble we got into over the weekend.

fermenting raspberry rhubarb soda

fairy garden building

a big bag of stinky potential....make it 2 bags...

savoring the last few days of 3

big smiles

a little welcome gift...

a birthday dress....started for her 3rd...finished and ready for her 4th...

the beginning of a litter of kittens... one of four to be sure

a birthday banner...oh how i love banners...

::

There were also a lot of exciting things happening in our clan over the past few days...  A new baby- welcome Noah!, a wedding - congrats love birds, and a wedding announcement...so much love is in the air!

Pool party!

 Last Saturday we were invited to a friend of Isabelle's birthday - and what fun it was - a pool party!  Even Owen got in on the action!  Needless to say the party got Isabelle's noggin ticking..."my birthday is soon mama!...I want cupcakes with angels, fairies, sprinkles, gumdrops and raspberries on top."  Hmph...yup I guess that might beat my hopeful toad stool inspired cupcakes I was going to make.  In the mean time blogging is at a lull - with a special 4th birthday around the corner this mama has a whole lot of craftiness up her tired sleeves...and a whole lot of brainstorming on how to get all those things on top of a cupcake....

Hope you all enjoy your holiday weekend!  

supply and demand

I started this post on Sunday...I deleted most of it because it was a rant on how and why on earth I thought I wasn't producing enough milk last week.  Alas...the milk is flowing well again and so I don't want to bore you all with complaints.  Last week was a tough week...with the return of my period (sorry dad...i said the P word...i promise i won't say it again...) I felt like my supply was not meeting demand.  Which, according to the books, the P word isn't supposed to start until weaning or something...but no...lucky me...it returned when Owen was 4 months.  I don't know for sure if my dip in production is because of the hormones or not...what I do know is I was not ready to be worried about milk production - of course I just thought everything would be just hunky dory.

All last week I chugged water, took ridiculous amounts of fenugreek, pumped after each feeding...and nothing...no increase.  But I suppose on a positive note I smelt like maple syrup (they use fenugreek in imitation syrups...).  It was a tough week and with a little gentle pressure from Aaron (meant to be helpful) I caved and Owen had a bottle of stored milk and some oatmeal cereal.  I didn't even take a picture of his goofy face covered in cereal (i don't think he ate much of it)...instead I was sort of mopey about it....thinking to myself that I had wanted to wait for him to sit up un-supported for his first meal.  But it happened and in reality I think it was good for everyone.  In retrospect i have been pretty selfish in the child feeding department - not intentionally - but up until now only I have fed bubs.  Aaron hasn't had the opportunity to feed Owen and connect in that way with him - so it's good...a bottle and a little cereal is okay.

owen's second food experience...of course with a little help from sis

enjoying the moment...

Anyways...on a postive note the P word is almost over and the juice is flowing...so all is right with the world.  Ahhhh the breast feeding saga.  Also in Owen news he is starting more babble sounds... of course da da da ba ba ba...which Aaron takes as a sign of Owen thanking him for the bottle and cereal...sure daddy.

just lovely

Wow, what a beautiful weekend.  Both days in the 80's...and dare I say I complained a bit about the heat. Goodness.  As I am sitting here typing I can smell the lilacs as their scent wafts through the air and I can hear all sorts of frogs out back signing a chorus of spring songs.  Seriously...just lovely.  We discovered all sorts of fun friends this weekend, started some new projects, and started planning that big old garden of ours (which was just filled up with a huge dump truck of rich soil...compliments our landlord!).  We even took a drive through our new town and few towns north of us...I have always known I would like to live in Vermont...but seriously...I am in love.  Covered bridges, green pastures, rolling hills, mountains, farms, rivers...and so much more - let me tell you...it is easy on the eye up here!

waking up mama

waking up sister

red eft

one of my fermentation projects

female polyphemus moth

elliot the bottle fed pygmy goat

so hot...so she ditched her clothes and went for the hose...

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Inspired by Soulemama.

chicken down...lesson learned

Today has been a tough day.  Isabelle's favorite chicken was knocked off by the dog downstairs (a very sweet golden retriever...who just wanted to play...).  In true farm girl fashion she wiped away the tears and said that it would be okay..."now her other (dead) chick has a friend."  Still a bit wiped out from the morning massacre of the coop we decided that even though it was sunny and lovely outside...that making some chocolate chip cookies and cuddling up to read a few favorite books on the couch was a good idea.  Isabelle is a pretty sensitive gal...and todays events were pretty tiring.

Aside from todays unfortunate event things have been going well...and I think we are starting to re-establish that normal rhythm that we all need so badly.  Here are a few moments captured this week..

morning chores in the rain

goodbye kisses from isabelle & adele

snuggles after a morning at the museum

chocolate chip cookies and snuggles cures all

quiet play

tired dog

goofy boy

frog friends

almost...

5 months!

Wow...could it be?  Five months already...seems crazy!  Anyways, yes, it is true...Mr. Owen (bubba, bubs, spit master, owzie bowzie, cheese maker, emcee stink pants) is five months.  He is full of expressions these days....the usual is the OMG look of concern mixed with lots of smiles and crocodile tears.  He still hates the car seat most of the time (just experienced it first hand), still has a pretty runny/goopy right eye, and yes!! is still spitting up...but not as much ...thank goodness.  Owen's newest thing is a shriek/scream to get our attention...he is becoming a bit more demanding and knows how to get his point across.  In the last week he has also been extremely fussy and not sleeping well...which leads me to think that teething is beginning...but no confirmation on that yet.  He is still enjoying most of his time on his belly and can spin himself around in a circle on the hard wood floor to get the best view of sister.  His arms, belly, and neck are getting stronger and those little legs are always kicking...I just tell him to slow down...crawling can wait right?!  My arm tends to be more sore at the end of the day so I suppose that means he may have put on a half a pound or more and this past month he also had his first cold...which he was a champ through I must say.  Owen is also more interested in toys and grabbing his sophie giraffe or wooden ring and bringing it up to his mouth to gnaw on...he has even managed to grab a fist full of Isabelle's hair...which she still thinks is just funny (i promise that will fade soon...).  Since moving to Vermont, Owen has also had his crib set up and has been napping in it and taking his first 2-3 hour nightly stint in the crib...which means mama is reclaiming a small and replenishing part of her life (whoopeee!!!)...night time crafts/movies with dad/or a child-free clean up!  He is still pretty inconsistent at night...and at best sleeps 2-3 hours at a time...I don't look at a clock anymore...it is just too depressing.  Anyways...Owen is wonderful, growing, and melts my heart every day.

weekending

Finishing, almost finishing and starting new projects was the weekend theme.  So close to finalizing the chicken coop and just beginning to harvest the rock crop.  The pig pen...soon to be garden... is filled with upturned rocks and a few of those ice berg rocks....you know the ones where you start digging around them and with each stab...you just hear more rock.  More boxes were unpacked and we are beginning to brainstorm what will go where and what we need to start scoping out craigslist for....All in all a good weekend with a lot of sun...and even some sun kissed noses.

a sneaky snake

fist full of grass

daddy working

...and taking a break

the chicken coop/play space and some new friends

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Inspired by Soulemama.

flower art

Still raining.  Gathering a little inspiration from a local blogging mama Isabelle and I made some flower art yesterday...in the original they used a small plastic soda bottle as a stamp for the flowers...we didn't have that on hand...but I managed to improvise with some little paint sponges.  

we also managed to reconstruct our nature table at the new house...it still is lacking somethings (not sure where they are...but they will be found eventually!)

And today it is raining again...and probably tomorrow too.  Thanks for the welcome home new england...it is nice to be back.

rainy days

Well we had our first of the predicted three days of rain today and it was slightly challenging.  Isabelle and Owen seemed to be a little emotional...likely because we are all aren't getting enough sleep!  This cold is a doozy!  I was able to scratch off the last of the things on my list from yesterday...so I count that as a big success.  Here are a few pictures from our day:

varialand wooden pieces...the perfect rainy day project

blowing bubbles and lots of smiles

a tea party

a bored dog

a lunch flower

an ambitious baker...with an extraordinary helper

banana bread & Seven grain honey bread from the Bread Bible

cinnamon popcorn

Rainy days are perfect for cinnamon popcorn...here is my version:

pop 1/3 cup of popcorn on stovetop

mix together one egg white, 1/4 cup sugar, tsp salt & 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

drizzle over popped popcorn and mix until well incorporated

bake for 20 minutes at 300 degrees

*i also added some nutritional yeast this time for a little nutrient boost...

double it if you want leftovers....!