Must Haves

So my friends from high school have been posting their "10 must haves" and I decided that I too would share mine.  It turned out to be harder for me that I thought it would be.  I mean c'mon, if I were making a real list it would have things like: my family, my health, food/water, a house, a car, a dishwasher, air conditioning, and toilet paper. Those are the things I really can't live without, however, they are not very fun to read about or look at.  So I give you the "10 Can't- Live- Without Must- Haves (if my other basic needs are met)" List.  Enjoy.

Number 1:

 

I cut out caffeine during my first pregnancy and after the withdrawal symptoms subsided I swore I would never go back.  For the most part (minus a few 36 hours w/o sleep stretches) I haven't.  However, I do really, really, really love my decaf.  I make it with a stove-top espresso maker and foamy milk.  No latte stand, no Starbucks can rival what I whip up at home.  I love it!

Number 2:

 

Ninety-Five percent of what I cook/bake comes out of this little magazine-- helps me so much.

Number 3:

 

Just recently we have started using a Fertility Awareness Method over other forms of birth control.  I feel so much better being free of synthetic hormones.  This thermometer and chart are vital tools.  See my sidebar to the right for the book I have been reading.

Number 4:

   

Mary Kay Microdermabrasion.  I know what your thinking.  Mary Kay?  I used to think that Mary Kay was for middle aged women in the south who wore tacky jewelry and preferred pink eye shadow (please don't take offense). Recently, my point of view was altered.  I now have a friend who plugs in my hair/skin/eye color to her computer, prints out the appropriate color schemes, assembles them in beautiful compacts, and delivers them to my door!!! Plus, I have the peace-of-mind knowing that my money is supporting a friend's business and not a department store.  It works for me.  Microdermabrasion is a must when you are flaky and old like me.

Number 5:

 

Totally addicted.  Most recently watched this. Excellent.

Number 6:

 

Beco Baby Carrier. Use it all the time.  See it action here. I made dinner with Laurel in it tonight.

Number 7:

 

My bathtub.  I make a beeline towards it every night after tucking the girls in bed. Always a nice little get-away.

Number 8:

 

(Its driving me nuts that the sheets are wrinkly in this picture.  Apparently, I didn't hear the buzzer on the dryer and they sat all afternoon- too lazy to iron them.)

Somewhere along the line I have developed really expensive taste in bed linens.  Why not?  You spend half your life there (well, maybe a little less if you are me).  Oddly enough, my favorite set came from Cotsco.  500+ threadcount required!

Number 9:

 

My rice pack.  Instructions for making your own here.  I have terribly cold feet. All. The. Time.  Not sure that there is even blood flowing to that part of my body.  Carl barricades himself with pillows at night so as to protect himself from them.  A few minutes in the microwave and a couple drops of lavender essential oil makes this pack heavenly!

Number 10:

 

You guessed it.  My camera.

Fruit and Friends

The benefits of living in orchard country: fresh fruit right off the tree! Our friends invited us to come and pick cherries with them yesterday morning. 

It was already scorching outside and it felt wonderfully cool under the shade of the well endowed branches.  Hannah's headband (her creation) reminds me of my Uncle Denny who is an expert in VW van repair and only ever wears flip-flops. Every time I looked at her I had to smile.

Ultimate concentration was required by Laurel who was learning how to spit out the pits.  I hovered nearby until she got the hang of it.

Fruit picking with kids means two things- the adults do most of the picking...

and the kids do most of the playing (and eating)!

But we did end up with lots of lovely cherries to enjoy now. Share your favorite recipes please!!

Prelude

Ahhhh!  A completely, totally, wonderfully relaxing weekend.  It was lovely.  Three whole days of just hanging out.  We did catch the fireworks from our neighborhood perch. Half-way through the show the girls started turning into pumpkins before our very eyes!  No one was feeling very patriotic at that point. The nights just keep getting later and later around here. Yesterday morning Emma and Hannah made Carl and I breakfast in bed.  They served us toast that was buttered then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and topped with peanut-butter.  A very interesting combination I must say.  Also on our plates were some "circle meats" as we like to call them, microwaved to perfection! It was all very comical as Carl and I used our worst manners and complained about everything in effort to show them how hurtful it can be when the people you lovingly serve are ungrateful.  We had them running back and forth from the bedroom to the kitchen fetching more of this, and fixing that. Lesson learned- maybe.

So I know that I have been a pretty lame/slackerish/lazy blogger for the last few weeks.  I have been pre-occupied with making a fairly big decision- to homeschool the girls this fall.  I would love to tell you all about this new venture and how I got to this point...but I am not feeling super articulate right now.  I am still very much sorting it all out, doing LOTS of reading.  The little free time I have had has been spent doing research. Once I get my ducks all in a row I promise to fill you in.  I also plan to show you around my garden (it is finally growing) and share with you my secret fertilizer recipe.  Exciting I know.  Little snippets of crafting are starting to emerge.  I am re-organizing the family room downstairs making way for a classroom of sorts, also getting a new sewing table.  Pictures of all that to come.  Then, because it just will not go away, I will share my thoughts on being 30 (almost- 5 more days to go).  See, there is lots to talk about and show you.  I promise to get back in the saddle this week!