eating eggs

Lots of eggs that is...we have been blowing eggs left and right- and not just chicken eggs.. duck eggs too! And let me tell you...duck eggs require lungs of steel.  All of course for the sake of decorating!  So far we have decorated our eggs with bits of tissue paper and watered down glue...with a little fairy dust (glitter) too.  Below you can see them nestled in our grass easter basket we made a week ago.  Which was also super easy...just soak some wheat berries in water over night and then plant in a basket...presto...a super sweet easter basket (sans plastic grass)!

aaron attempting to blow a duck egg

let's be clear...I am the one with steel lungs...(even with few embarrassing & stupid years of tobacco use)

Isabelle and I have started to go to a new waldorf inspired home school group once a week (maybe more on that later) and this week I led....so I blew duck eggs for the masses and the tissue paper decorating was a great success for a group with small fingers.  And don't worry...we didn't waste one egg...they were all eaten in frittata, baked goods, and in every which way I could think.  Just getting us ready for in a few months when our ladies will be producing way more eggs than we can possibly eat I suppose.  And speaking of ladies...a few glamour shots of the girls:

Isabelle has named them "all" cinderella... which amazes me because we loaned a version of cinderella from the library months ago and she has never once talked about cinderella until now...

Isabelle is really into having her face painted lately (notice the enhanced eye brows...)

(we use the Lyra face pencils)

we believe we have a mix of barred rock, araucana, ri red and maybe a maran...
they came from a friend who got 25 "rainbow layers"
*we were also able to replace the one we lost...fingers crossed the rest will live!

and then there is sid...waiting ever so patiently for us to let him have "his snacks"...

the ladies have arrived

Many, many, more pictures to come...we are letting the ladies relax for the first few days before we get too camera happy with them.  Unfortunately we lost one overnight but we may be getting it replaced today.  This is all very exciting.  Slowly but surely...with one foot in front of another...it is happening and will happen.  Someday I will have my big red barn....

defying the odds

Yesterday I did, I defied the odds- and crafted.  I finished two pairs of reversible trousers that I started...oh I don't know....maybe a month ago.  Anyways they are done...which means I can pack...yes PACK...my sewing stuff.  The word pack sort of makes me vomit a little in my mouth but at least I have a few cute pairs of pants to look at in the mean time.  Seriously...thinking about packing...ugh.

One pair is headed to cousin and the other is shown off by Mr. Owen.  Other exciting news in the works...we are getting our chicks today!  Yes...lets just add something else to the laundry list of things to do...why not...we love chaos!  Anyways, all that means is that there will be plenty of cute chick photos to follow!

mama brain

 

 I think it is normal - this condition known as mama brain - but it wasn't quite as severe until Owen was added to the bunch.  I am finding myself struggling to interact in public - never 100% in a conversation with anyone...my brain instead is flashing glimpses of spit up, diapers, laundry, ideas for isabelle, nursing, the sleep I really could have used the night before...and so on.  I find myself trying to repeat over and over a fraction of what someone is trying to tell me in my head in hopes to remember to interject with something rational or related to the conversation.  Sometimes I find myself in the middle of a conversation and have no clue what I am talking about.  I know mama brain won't last forever and someday I will regain partial control over thoughts and conversational skills...but until then...bare with me...I'm only 50% there.

keeping isabelle preoccupied...dress up and coloring...a regular combo

(new tutu made by grammy!)

trying hard to avoid this...

and keep the peace...

(as much as it may appear so...Sid is just pressed firmly against Owen...not on top of him)

~

50% in a conversation and 100% into my kids that is...

~

Oh and for all you who know my fat cat dilemma (never have I EVER had a fat cat...)...I reluctantly and shamefully brought my fat duo to the vet yesterday and Furio weighed in at 13 lbs (2 lbs over weight) and Sid came in at a WHOPPING 17.6 lbs...yes he is a big cat but now he is just a big fat monster cat....can't wait for them to go outside!

weekending

This weekend was full of crafting, planting, and baking.  We have been working hard here to get our seasonal table going again...something that seemed to get lost over the holidays and baby action.  Our seasonal space is hands on - I know some keep their space for eyes only or gentle play...but ours needs to be user friendly.  Isabelle loves to play with her wooden animals, fairies, and gnomes in this space as much as I like to look at it.  This weekend we made some tissue paper fairies together and I made my first ever felted doll, mother earth of course... I am so pleased with the results!

our spring space

Owen also got his weekly bath, aaron baked several loaves of sour dough bread, and we even started our seedlings!  Even though the weather was less than ideal it sure felt like spring....inside anyways!

clean baby

sparkle skirt... a gardening must have...

rolling

Owen has a new job: rolling....and via rolling he gets to where he needs to be...right in the action.  Is it possible that these baby days are passing us by ... it seemed like it took you forever to get here owen...slow down bub!

rolling towards sister to get a good look at that book

oh yes the view is much better from here...

owen started where the block is...and two rolls later...

...he is right next to mama

As much as it might be lovely to sleep all night or not carry a baby all day I really wish I could pause and stay here...right here.  And then there is my Isabelle...who wants to get big so she can cut with sharp knives....?....no getting big allowed.

chariot ride for two

Many, many months ago we bought the chariot - the bike trailer for two that doubles as a stroller - because growing inside me was baby Owen and we knew that come spring of the following year we would need a contraption to fit two babes at once.  And well here we are: spring, chariot, and two babes. My my how time flies.

At first Owen was not a huge fan, but sister sang him songs and held his hand until he dozed off...and she soon followed suit.

a walk with a fairy

Yesterday we took full advantage of the unseasonably warm spring weather and left our packed bags, sink full of dishes, and loads of laundry behind.  We splurged on a big plastic ball, ate lunch outside, let our toes feel the saturated spongy grass, and went on a walk in the woods.

   

we followed a moss covered path that was shaded by hemlocks and hugged a stream....it was lovely

"silver" the fairy stretching her wings

mama & owen

beaver den

the making of a beaver den/dam

*hope you are all enjoying the weather - and that even means you Idaho...and all your snow!

3 months

Owen turned 3 months last week and I have officially given up saying his age in weeks...because yes...saying 13 weeks sounds foolish.  Anyways he is the same little man; spitting up after every feeding, crying his heart out every time he is put in his car seat, sleeping with mama, nursing every 1-3 hours and always has that same look of concern that comes along with those big eyes.  He loves chatting and gooing with his sister and his newest trick is rolling over from his back to belly...and then belly to back...each time rolling onto his belly triggering a little spit up and goofy grin of course.

We all just arrived home last night and are recouping from our travels and soaking up all this lovely sun!

Aaron had a blast in Utah (managed to work in some skiing of course) and we had a wonderful time in RI (as usual)!

rhody spring cleaning

Well it seems RI never really got winter this year...unless you count the one or two snow storms that never amounted to much... and well I know that my mom and many others aren't really complaining about the mild winter...they are most definitely not complaining about the glimpse into spring we are experiencing at the moment!  Mid 60's and flowers blooming...can't complain about that!

mattie aka "cone dog"

giving the plants a hair cut

the subarus...first kevin...now ryan...my brothers totally want to be like me 

Owen & friends

Here are a few pictures of Owen and his friends taken recently...

Raeleigh, Owen, & Nivi (all born within i think 2 weeks)

Elias & Owen

and of course his best bud sissy...(such a sad face when moments before he was smiling away)

~

We are in RI for a while visiting so posts will likely lack...  we are soaking up the sun and enjoying family & friends!

longer days

It's happening, slowly, but it is happening.  The days are getting longer, ice fishing shacks are being hauled off the lake, grass is poking through the snow, and mud is being tracked through the house.  Soon enough spring will be upon us but for now (or at least yesterday anyways) we enjoyed the winter scenes.

aaron found a surprise set of hand me down kids sized skis by his desk a few days ago

Owen bundled up and tucked into the carrier

a few more sled rides

signs of spring

~

I don't want to jinx us...it is only March and we are in New England...so more snow could be on the way (actually it is snowing right now).  But with this so far "winter" I am not so convinced that we will be sledding again this year.

crafty genes

While organizing and reorganizing my craft space (which is a tupperware bin, a sewing box and three card board boxes.....oh yes i dream and some day i will have a "real space") I came across my stash of collectables - a few items that were among the piles of crafting tools that were my grandmothers and likely her mothers.  I love to dream of what they made with them, where they crafted, what they thought about while they crafted - mostly who were these women who used these tools?  Don't get me wrong, I knew my grandmother, but she had a brick wall around her - a hardy New England type - that chose carefully what she shared about herself and seldom gave up an ounce of real emotion.  I wonder if these women itched for their free time to sit alone and use their hands to knit, crochet or make a rug or did they use these tools to merely pass time.  I don't know for sure but I can only imagine that making a lace doily or a hook rug wasn't just to pass the time.

For me, crafting is a time where I can be in my head - it might be brainstorming my next grocery list, brooding over a disagreement, or relishing in a fond memory - but it is important time for me to connect with myself and reflect.  And in some ways working with my hands helps me feel connected with these women and that maybe I know them better than I think - and that I still have so much to learn from them.

my latest cast off - a sweater for Owen

pattern can be found Here

thanks again Jess for the yarn- a perfect baby/mama gift!

moving to the wicked country

That's right, we are crossing the border and moving to Vermont in two months!  Thank goodness this move will be for at least a year- I am tired of the packing and unpacking... but I think this place will be a much better fit for us...Aaron knew the search (which never really amounted to a search as this was the first house we looked at) was all over when we pulled into the driveway and in the back there was a barn with a horse in a paddock...and a landlord that said "this is wicked country out here, you'll love it" five times.   We will have the luxury of a large garden space, the thumbs up on chickens and a dog, and a dead end road surrounded by forest.  Yes this is all very exciting and we are starting to research our plans for a chicken coop, how many chickens to get, should we get a thanksgiving turkey too?, what veggies we will grow and all the fun we will have this summer.

By now you might just be thinking...(like my husband)...so what about the house?  I suppose it could have been a teepee and I would have been ok with it...but not so much Aaron.  The house has been newly renovated with two bedrooms, one which has a loft play space, kitchen (with a gas stove!), full bath, living, dining room and a sunroom.  The sunroom is large enough and heated so will double as a guest room for when you all come to visit us!  So while we had started to entertain the idea of buying a house in order to have a garden, dog and chickens...this will do just fine until we are really ready to buy..... whenever that might be.

sooo excited for the move...and chickens!

______
side note:
do not run out of butter when making granola bars and substitute with vegetable oil.  but if you do...like i did...mix with vanilla yogurt for a delish treat!

sunday morning

I love these babes of mine... here are a few snapshots from Sunday morning.

can't quite keep that tongue in her mouth

the stare off...

gnomy

eating his hands