Coming up for Air

Ian is one month old. Time has both whizzed by, and seemed to stretch on forever.

 

I thought that I would have a better handle on things by now...but sheesh, 4 kids is really kicking my butt! It is all good, really, really, good. Just a lot.  A LOT!

 

I don't have a very high level of tolerance for chaos, so the postpartum period for me is always an exercise in chilling out. I am thankful to that I always bounce back from pregnancy and birth so quickly, however, this makes it hard to sit still. I wish I was better at sitting still. Nursing is a good remedy for that! I have to choose/make myself go easy. The messy bedrooms, dishes piled high, sticky floors, and heaps of laundry-- they just have to wait. I have to be okay with that.

Ian is okay with that too.

Other random thoughts:

*For anyone who is considering cloth diapering a newborn, x-small Fuzzi Bunz is where it's at! I am also using prefolds with this cover and this one too.

*It was a nice thought, but Ian doesn't really like his SpaBaby tub yet.  He prefers the kitchen sink (which is a great motivator for me to keep the dirty dishes out of it).

*The Moby has literally saved my life at least 103 times since Ian has been born. He loves it!

*Scouting out good deals on one of these BOB strollers.  Slightly obsessed with procuring one.

*No more babies for us. Carl had a vasectomy last week-- a completely hilarious process. For me at least. Frozen peas, lots of ibuprofen, and a great BIG baby! Good thing I'm the one who did all the childbearing! He's back to his old self now, thankfully.

*Ian looks identical to his older sister Laurel.  Carl and I have both caught ourselves calling him a "her" or "she". Gotta get that worked out right away!

*The weather has been drizzly, windy, cold and cloudy.  Perfect for snuggling a new babe. The girls have been so great at entertaining themselves inside.  Hooray for fun/educational iphone apps, good books, puzzles, UNO, and quick trips to the library.

*I love this blanket, Ian LOVES this blanket.  You should all love this blanket.  Ian is used to sleeping right next to me in bed at night...so during the day for naps it helps keep him safely snuggled up tight.

Okay, that is all I can think of for now, I'd love to be back soon.  Bare with me!

Oh, hello there.

Yes, I have been away.  Yes, summer has been good to us.  Yes, we are enjoying every last drop.  I am however, missing all of you.  If you are still reading and visiting this lonely little space...well then bless you!  It is my intention to get back to writing in a more regular way- starting today.

The garden is in full bloom and the veggies are rolling in. It hasn't exactly been a bumper crop year in our back yard, but none the less, we are taking what we can get.  We have been fighting a little bit of blossom-end rot, some VERY bitter cucumbers, and those nasty squash bugs.  

Yesterday I caught the neighbor kids plucking cherry tomatoes in secret.  I had to laugh, not only is there more than enough to go around, but let them steal VEGETABLES...and eat them!!!

The sunflowers made their debut last week.  Oooohing and Ahhhhing ensued as we remembered just how magnificent they are.

The above ground boxes have worked well.  Next year, I plan to really try and amend the soil better.  We brought in topsoil for the boxes this year and I have the feeling it just wasn't very nutrient rich.

The other improvement that simply (or not so simply says my husband) must happen next year is: irrigation.  Watering with a hose day and night is a big task and one that doesn't lend itself very well to summer getaways and travel.  Some of my plants have indeed suffered because I haven't been the most consistent water girl.

I love the squash and corn patch. The girls call it "the jungle" and it is a favorite hiding place for Sophie The Cat. 

I never regret all the hard work that goes into our summer gardens.  It always turns out to be more than just a patch of dirt where food grows. 

    

It is a place where we invest ourselves, of sowing and reaping.  I love the way it fosters anticipation and helps us to find joy in simple things. Our garden is a shady little oasis of green that has kept our hands busy and our mouths happy all summer long.

Vegan 'till 6pm

Mary Beth of Salt and Chocolate posted a link to a great podcast that I wanted to pass on.  Mark Bittman talks about his book Food Matters, and how he has Incorporated a vegan way of eating into his normally carnivorous life.  I listened to it and thought he had a refreshingly balanced approached to the subject.  I'm usually turned off a little bit by people with "loud soapboxes" so his personality appealed to me. He talks about eating less meat and other animal products to benefit both health and environment.  Anyways, Mary Beth is inviting others to join her in becoming vegan 'till 6pm.  Guess what?  I'm in!  My husband is a meat eater and as hard as I've tried, I just can't convince him to give it up. That is why this approach would work for us. It is more or less just a way of cutting back- way back- on animal products in our diet.

I'll share more as I get going, but I envision grains for breakfast, salads for lunch and then a normal dinner. Not too hard right? Just more plants! The hardest part for me will be giving up milk, cheese, yogurt and eggs.  I've long suspected that I have an intolerance or sensitivity to dairy but have never attempted to cut it out of my diet. (I take that back. Once I bought some goat's milk but when I tried to drink it, it smelled like a really stinky goat that I saw on my field trip to a farm in grade school.  I poured a $7 quart of it down the drain.)

 

**I also watched this last night.  I know, weird right?  A documentary on Saturday night!  If you enjoy that kind of thing, I thought it was very insightful.

Okay, this whole deal starts tomorrow for me-  Join in if you like!