a little inspiration

Soy seems to have been okay, though I will admit to not eating as much of it as maybe I should have.  I had one serving a day plus tamari on anything I could think of... Today is the first day of corn and already I feel bloated and a little gross.  I did have corn three times today so maybe that was overkill for any day... But I couldn't resist.  Corn is such a big substitute for all things gluten and snack like. Anyway, I'll give it a couple more days to judge.  Yesterday my lovely mother in law got married and I spent the whole day running around with her and eating nothing but fruit and cheese(when we ate at all.)  It was a wonderful day and everyone had a splendid time.  I wore the Hawthorn dress I made from Colette Patterns.  I even got pictures for you!  I'll share later this week.  Can you believe how many things I've made the last few months?  I don't think I've been this productive since Emerson was born. Speaking of t...

Oh, my!  The weather, people, the weather!  Schools here are starting Saturday make up days now.  You know it has been crazy. Yesterday we were able to go outside and enjoy the not-so-freezing and not-much-snow-left super dirty muddiness.  Where it is actually pleasant to feel the things around you with your hands and with a few extra layers even a little little can crawl around without needing bread bags taped over her legs.  (I kid you not.) Emerson dug around a little and you could see under the leaves and dirt the plants are almost ready to start growing.  You could see the moss starting to fuzz up.  I am trying not to rush through, but you know, Spring is so much more alluring than the mud and snow.  And with a baby on the cusp of toddler-hood I know she'll be so excited to be down on the ground more. She is at the very-nearly-walking phase where you often turn around to find them taking a few steps surreptitiously.   An...

A visit was all we needed to brighten everyone's day.  And it was already pretty splendiferous.

Our days aren't all drama.  :)  Many days are as graceful as can happen with a new four year old and a new four month old.  The counselor that we went to see a couple times tells me that Emerson is just super bright and right in line with his age.  This makes me feel better.  Happy that he is where he needs to be, happy that, even in my regular failure, this is the "normal" challenge.  I am adopting Anne of Green Gables idea: Tomorrow is always new, with no mistakes in it. Also happy for the support of family and friends.  Happy that there is family so close and friends that understand the place we are at right now.  Near and far, the calls and emails after my last post about him were so wonderful, so needed, and so full of kindness. We also found a pre-school co-op that I think we'll be joining this Fall.  I can hardly wait.  We met the other day and played with them most of the morning.  The teacher is so graceful, so gent...

Hectic- things here are hectic.  The last few weeks I have felt like I am running from one (small) parenting crisis to another.  Losing your kid twice on one week makes for not feeling stellar about yourself.  (At least I didn't misplace the baby too, right?  Right!?)  These days E keeps us dancing.  Each time we feel like progress has been made he pulls the rug out from under us. People said that kids will keep you on your toes but, whew, I had no idea. Every day we evolve new strategies.  Many days feel "by the skin of the teeth."  Thank goodness this baby is a piece of cake.  Here's hoping she follows his pattern and doesn't start making me nuts until after he starts school! As for her- have a I mentioned she has an upper lip tie ?  And maybe a posterior tongue tie?  This basically means that nursing has been difficult and uncomfortable since day one.  We have been extremely lucky that it hasn't ef...

Some days it seems like it is raining even inside.  This was Papa's version of escapism on one of the more turbulent days in the first week.  Luckily, as routine begins again I think things are calming down.  The babymoon is over but I think it was more than anyone could really take.  (Except for the laying in bed part for me.:) Here she is wearing the shirt E colored for her.  Probably for the only time.  We went to the doctor today and she has grown 2 inches and is up 5 oz from her birth weight.  I've already taken out the first round of clothes because she is out of the tinier newborn items.  So amazing how fast she is growing.  I feel like we may have also just hit that first growth spurt that means they eat around the clock for a day or two or three.  She has been so easy so far, just like E was, I remember being totally caught off guard when he decided that if he wasn't eating he was fussing around two weeks.  And then j...

When I found out I was pregnant I knew that I wanted something special and handmade from my father.  Something I couldn't make myself and I didn't want to buy.  A new family heirloom. I searched the internet for designs and came across a website that had plans for cradles.  I chose a simple, old fashioned style and sent the plans to my father asking if he thought it was doable.  He said yes and I was thrilled. He went through a lot to get the wood.  It is cherry from a place near his home.  He borrowed and improvised tools.  He learned new techniques and asked for help from all over.  He researched stains and coatings to find the best and safest thing.  He had quite a following on facebook of people checking in on the project and his progress. I love how he put the boards together.  How it almost looks like eyes watching over her.  How the wood began to shine as Emerson and I rubbed the beeswax and oil coating on it. ...

Our transition to a family of 4 (or really 5- because Morai cannot be left out) has been better in some ways than expected and harder too. I have been feeling great, and except for my midwife telling me to stay in bed over the weekend, have been surprised at my bodies ability to recover so quickly from such a fast birth.  (or any birth for that matter!)  I've been in love from the first second and I think the hormonal cocktail of the first little while makes me a much kinder and gentler version of myself and I think that works well for everyone. :)  Unless I don't get fed- then all bets are off. Anjali has been a sleepy baby like her brother was so we aren't so sleep deprived most days.  And with all the help around the house we are even keeping up with the mountains of laundry!   Emerson has been so sweet and loving toward his "baby Sissie", always worried about the noises she is making and singing to her during diaper changes.  Offering...

On her first day she met all of her grandmas.  One by one they came.  Morai, of course, was here from the beginning, then Nana and finally Oma.  How lucky could a girl be?  Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Justin came too.  Emerson brought everyone in and sang  happy birthday.  Sara came back in the evening just to reconfirm that a baby had been born.  It had all happened so fast!   On her second day she visited the doctor and got the diagnosis of, "She looks beautiful and healthy!"  Then we stopped by Whole Foods and caused many sighs and gasps.   On day three we went and got her blood work done.  She cried and screamed while they were squeezing her foot and then passed out as soon as they wrapped her foot up in gauze.  She shows a distinct preference for having her feet covered at all times.  Socks are best, footed sleepers are okay.  Bare is unacceptable.   She sleeps and sleeps, through noise a...

Last weekend, John was sick.  I even let him nap on Sunday afternoon, which means you know he looked really bad.  Pregnant mama's always have things for the papa to do right at the end... Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday E had a fever.  Friday I got it but E seemed better.  This morning E's turned into a horrible cough and by this evening his fever was back.  Luckily, I only had the fever for a few hours on Friday. My mother in law came by Friday and brought soup and this stuff  which seems to have worked a miracle for me.  I am trying to get it into E too, but he is refusing everything but Hyland's Cough and Cold .  And now that he is wheezing we are using his inhaler too. My friend wrote up this great blog for expectant mamas.  She has other great recipes all over her site, too. We have to get rid of this.  I need to have a baby soon.

I've been hooking a whole bunch for this baby.  I love making baby things because they are so small and you feel truly accomplished in a short time.  Also, I don't have to follow much of a pattern with these things anymore.  I'm not all that keen on directions... I'd like to let you know that all the pink was chosen by E.  He loves it and hopes for Sissie to come out everyday now.  The sweetness is killing me and between the gluten thing and my hormones I am totally in love with him all over again right now.  Sometimes I just want to snuggle kiss him until he can't stand it any  more. Last night he fell asleep on Papa and me while Papa was reading in front of the fireplace.  I could have eaten him. {this is still waiting for buttons} See?  I am supposed to be writing about the things I crocheted for Sissie, but I can't stop thinking of Emerson!  He just told me she should be out in time for dinner.  When Papa gets home....

Over here we have a house full of preparations.  Gathering birthing and newborn supplies, lanolizing diaper covers, and now just starting to think of storing some food away.  John and I are each at our "assigned" reading each night and Emerson has his own "work." We have three particular books that have been a lot of fun and spark great discussions and pride in his new coming role.  It is interesting to hear his thoughts and questions.  I always love the ones that start out, "Well, you, know, when I was a baby....." I'll start at the bottom of the stack.  My midwife gave us "Welcome with Love" to read.  The pictures are sweet, the one telling the story is a boy about E's age.  It is calm and full of little bits about how it will really be.  Mom makes a lot of noise, people cry when the baby is born, there is a picture of the placenta.  All things he may see and hear.  I like that it also is a birth that takes place in the winter an...

  I can't believe it is New Year's Eve.  Life is so different than it has been before that I can't quite keep up with the time.  So here are some thoughts that have crossed my mind today. 1- I am so thankful.  Thankful for friends and family and even some kind strangers.  I am thankful for you for reading and checking in even when I display a complete lack of "having it together."  Thank you! 2- I can hardly believe the things that started this year as ideas and have come to fruition.  At the beginning of the year we were just plotting on how to get to Asheville.   Now we live here.  At the beginning of this year I was pregnant and then miscarried.   Now I am exactly one month from my due date.  Both of these things are so big I am surely missing the point, but I am living them each day and trying to enjoy each moment. 3- My son is changing so much.  He makes me crazier than crazy but he also is kind, tells fantastic st...

We have spent the last week without Papa.  Finally, yesterday he arrived and we are all together again.  E did so well, but he really is a Papa's boy.  Others have a place in his heart, but not THE place. When Papa got home E was glued to his side.  Even though we were getting back in the car to go to visit family for Thanksgiving and Papa had to get ready.  E helped Papa shave most of his week long beard off. They are so sweet.  I am so glad to see them back together again. I think he likes his Sissie, too. Hope your day was full of love!

Moving is overwhelming.  Not always in a negative way, sometimes it feels just plain good to be stepping into this big change.  But always, it is sooo much, packing, cleaning, visiting, calling, scheduling, running... I look forward to spending the weeks after the move in some kind of suspended animation.  Getting all the important things unpacked and putting away the other tasks for the ever indefinite "later."  Renting for a little bit allows us to ignore things like painting or hanging pictures or any renovating we might have thought we could do (ha!) The internet will allow us to put in orders for things and watch them show up in a truck driven by someone else.  All the important things will be there already.  Us.  By Thanksgiving we should all be home together there and have a week before John starts his job where we can just be together and explore our new world. And life will turn into something so different as the year closes out.  Bef...

I am a storm of crochet.  I made tiny baby bonnet in a day.  And I tore half of it out to start over once.  I have been washing diapers to prep them so I can pack them away and not think of them again until she is here. She.  This is taking some getting used too.  I said "it" all the way through my pregnancy with Emerson.  I said "it" for 9 weeks before I miscarried.  I said "it" for the last 14 weeks or so.  "It" is hard habit to break. So in addition to she, until we are really settled on a name, and even afterwards, her nick name will be Sissie.  This is what my grandmother went by most of her life.  In this pregnancy I have felt Grandma Sissie by my side many times, even though she dies when I was 15.  Her husband, Jerry, died the year Emerson was born and I know he too would have been elated to know I was having a little girl.  He would have known she was nearby too. So, Sissie she will be.  I pulled out the gold...

It seemed like as good a day as any other to learn to fly.  We were at Yorktown on this day.  We enjoyed the water and the walking and the ice cream.  We had such a nice time exploring and playing together all week.  Every time the Bug has been with his Aunt Carolyn they make such a magical connection.  It is really amazing to watch. We visited Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown last week.  One night John and I even went out to see a show and drink an ale at the tavern.  We actually got to play together every night thanks to Nana, Pappy and Carolyn.  Since we were staying in two attaching apartments on a little resort kind of place it was pretty easy.  John and I brushed up on our putt-putt skills and had conversations without any competition to finish a sentence. The Bug is so funny with his talking non-stop now.  Interrupting every second to say, "Mama, what are you talkin' about?"  Which mostly makes me giggle insi...

This past weekend we did something I've wanted to do for a long, long time.  We took the Bug and drove down to a DC Metro stop, bought tickets and rode into the heart of the city.  All last year I wanted to do this with him but was afraid to do it alone.  The time finally came when we were ready. And Papa could come too! It was pure magic watching the Bug see the metro train come into the station, getting on and picking seats, watching and talking about all the things that were speeding past.  And then we went into the tunnel!  How exciting to be traveling underground.  He wanted to know where the grass was down there in the dark.  Why didn't the dirt come in?  What kind of lights are underground?   He has recently been more and more interested in dinosaurs.  I wanted to take him so he could see how big they really were.  I wanted to watch him run on the Mall and go visit the National Sculpture Garden with him.   It...