Our Garden

Happy Valentines day!

2012-02-15T13:26:00.001-06:00

Yes I'm a day late, but I took this picture yesterday morning with the full intention of posting it. Sadly I didn't sit down once yesterday. I've been trying to play catch up since last week. The entire family came down with some miserable virus that left us all bedridden for a week. Thankfully we were all on the road to recovery in time for Valentines day!

Baking

2012-02-11T22:00:00.000-06:00

Always excited to bake!

Elsie knows whats good for her

2012-02-10T19:19:00.000-06:00

While Annie lies on the sofa sick, Elsie walks around chewing on Garlic. She is so my little girl.

Way to stay healthy little Elsie!

Project #2

2012-02-10T18:20:00.003-06:00

This is how I make it through winter without getting depressed or loosing my mind. I start planting seeds, and planning what will go where in the spring. This is my favorite part of winter. Christmas and Thanksgiving are great, but they can't hold a candle to planting and planning the garden. Especially since this will be our first real planting since moving here. Last year was a disaster of moving, having a baby, transplanting from the old house and then weeding, digging and laying out the garden. Grunt work aside, this year will be awesome!

We've already had our first signs of life emerge from the soil. Annie and I check almost hourly anticipating the first signs of a sprout. The soil pushing up from the pressure of the sprout. To us it is insanely exciting (we really don't get out much).

Our modified cold frames are set up and ready for the cold hardy plants we have sprouting in the basement. Right now they have kale, parsley, Swiss chard, and spinach going. Unfortunately Winter decided to hit and temps. are dropping down to 14 degrees tonight. Hopefully the plants already going will not suffer too much.

Treasures

2012-02-10T17:36:00.002-06:00

Over the last couple of weeks I've been trying to get ahead of the game at home. Project #1 Make Bar Soap. Soap for Annie's super sensitive dry winter skin and my husbands, stink. Yes stink, which he insists on buying antibacterial soap for. I don't know what camp you buy into in regards to anti-bacterial, but I am against it, firmly. So I made no stink soap for Texas and Soft soap for Annie. This morning when I pulled out a bar of soap for Annie I got so excited to know I had what I needed and it's in it's own cute box stored away in it's own special place. Worth every minute.

Cuteness

2012-02-04T23:01:00.000-06:00

Getting the girls clean and out the door in time for anything is a challenge. On this rare morning I had enough time to take a picture before heading out the door. Please note the cross eyed doll in Elsie's lap. It only has eye lashes on one eye and yes it totally creeps me out, but Elsie likes to carry it everywhere.

When mom tries to fix things

2012-02-01T17:31:00.001-06:00

Texas and I have this table from my mom, that I love and he thinks is junk. The rustic look is not his style. The fact that the table came with three matching legs and one scrap piece of lumber making up the forth might be another reason to think it's junk. Still I LOVE this table. So when the leg started to give way and pull apart the table, I couldn't let it go. What Texas saw as his opportunity to replace my table I saw as a chance to show off my wood working skills. Armed with nothing but a hammer, a few cheap nails and Tex's hysterical laughing I got to work. I did get the table fixed, but I ended up using a few pieces of Annie's Jenga set to do it. I am obviously not the handy one in the family, but I am resourceful and capable. Plus I still have my table, which Elsie keeps trying to flip over to play on.

Elsie likes boxes

2012-01-22T17:04:00.001-06:00

This Box is Great!

If I set it up like this,

then just move over here,

it's perfect for climbing up on!

Uncle Charlie and Aunt Jen

2012-01-18T21:30:00.000-06:00

My brother Charlie is the adventurer in the family. He's travels, something people in my family don't really do. He's even left the United States, of America (it's crazy I know). Well Annie is fascinated by my brother and his wife Jen. She wants to call Jen, Aunt Jenny, and climb rocks like Uncle Charlie. Annie got to go wall climbing while Charlie and Jen were here for Christmas. She came home talking none stop about how cool it is, and how she's go to go climb rocks every time they visit. She was quite the natural climbing and I'm so glad she got to go. Thank you Charlie and Jen the coolest Aunt and Uncle a kid could have. No pressure, but Annie wants to know when your coming back.

needing spring already?

2011-12-14T18:18:00.001-06:00

Today's unseasonably warm weather had me looking outside wanting to dig in the dirt. Unfortunately I had way to much to do to play outside. But all I can think about now is starting the seeds in the basement. If only it wouldn't drive my husband over the edge. He is still getting used to my crazy ways. Growing plants in the basement will be hard to ease him into, and with how crazy things have been around here lately I am barely able to get up a blog post. So perhaps seeds will have to wait for another month.

Sisters, slips and sleep.

2011-12-06T22:01:00.000-06:00

These two kiddos have stolen my heart. They love each other so intensely I can't believe it. When Annie walks in the room Elsie lights up, starts hitting whatever is in reach, grunting with anticipation and excitement. At some point I may have to address the grunting with Elsie, but for now I think it's cute. Annie loves being her favorite. Loves knowing that with little less than a smile she can make Elsie laugh hysterically.

Annie has embraced the new dress up clothes I found for her. Mostly modified old dresses and slips of mine, but they cover her completely, and I love that she's learning to feel pretty with more instead of less.

Yes in this photo she is asleep. The problem is she just went to sleep and this photo was taken at 7am. After tag teaming through the night with Elsie, I got the morning shift with Annie and Jon got to sleep. I'm so tired my eye is twitching and I can't think straight. If these teeth don't come through soon I'm contemplating dropping her off at my moms for the night.

Elsie Steps!

2011-12-01T22:43:00.002-06:00

I almost forgot to post that Elsie took her first step yesterday. I don't think she even realized she did it. She was trying to hit the baby sitting next to us at bible study. She let go of my hand, took a step, hit the baby and then sat down. I haven't gotten her to repeat the step, but it might take more baby bait to lure her.

food

2011-12-01T22:39:00.001-06:00

It's 6:30 at night. I'm driving to the parking lot of an abandoned strip mall. All that's left is a run down Kmart and a Taco Bell. I didn't even know we still had a Kmart around here. I pull up to see the usual crowd parked waiting in their cars for the semi to pull in. We are a small group of people who are committed to organic natural foods, but not so keen on Wholefoods and their over the top prices. I love seeing what everyone else is buying, learning how they store it and what else they do to cut corners. There are lot of corners you can cut to feed your family well, but it is a commitment that many people don't understand, even criticize. My husband being one of them. He does not understand my need to make sure our children don't consume chemically laden juices and snacks. He only see's the big price tags at Wholefoods eating away at his hard earned money. I am not a huge fan of Wholefoods, it's convenient, but not for feeding my family. My solution is to cut back every where I can and get quality food at the lowest price possible. So once a month I place my order, wait a week and then when I get the call, drive out to this sad lot to pull my food off the back of the truck.

Christmas!

2011-11-30T20:13:00.001-06:00

Yes It's the day after Thanksgiving and Annie is outside in a T-shirt. We are having some seriously unseasonal weather, but at least we're taking advantage of it. Annie spent the day singing and swinging on her play set, while Texas and I decorated the outside of the house for Christmas.

Annie's angel is not in our outdoor decor, but Annie wanted to bring her outside to see the lights.

Have I told you I love my insanely talented Husband? I love that her spent his day off work Hanging lights on the gutters and rigging all our outside decorations to turn on with the flip of a single switch!

Elsie hung out on the porch in her high chair eating various toys.

My mom even came over and blessed us with her insane creativity. I can't wait to show you all pictures of what she;s done inside. But that will have to wait. I'm tired and have to work early in the morning. Goodnight.

Happy Turkey

2011-11-22T22:19:00.002-06:00

Meet Jake, he died just a few minutes after this photo was taken. He is now in my Fridge waiting to be cooked.

We had a fun weekend of fires, turkey slaughtering and friends (notice the mountain sized fire going on in the background).

Jake is all clean, and 5 more people now know how to kill, clean and gut a turkey. I love Thanksgiving. It's sole purpose is to eat and give Thanks, not just for food, but for the people who grow it and share their knowledge with us all. I was happy to teach my new friend Carol the joys of slaughter. Congrats on your new farm and good luck!

Found

2011-11-18T21:24:00.001-06:00

The last two bars of soap were found today when I was going through a bin of clothes in the storage room. He hid them at the bottom. So he didn't eat any bars of soap. Just wish I knew why he hid them. Strange dog...

Moving on up

2011-11-17T21:10:00.001-06:00

Their life in squaller has officially ended.

They were all to happy to get out of there,

and mysteriously seemed to know exactly where to go.

Texas, tossing food in the new run might have tipped them off.

Scratching around the new homestead, they looked happy.

*They moved in Monday and strangely we haven't seen a single egg yet, but they do seem happy. Perhaps they are just letting me know we took way to long to get this done. Sorry girls, but it's been a rough year.

Getting a little help

2011-11-17T20:55:00.001-06:00

Elsie was nice enough to help me empty the dishwasher today.

Work day

2011-11-13T11:46:00.002-06:00

Step one:

Prepare for work

Step two:

Situate baby

Step three:

Fuel up with pancakes

Step four:

Get to work! haul those bricks to daddy.

Step five:

Hand delivery is always best.

Step six:

Get in there and help!

Final step:

Milk break.

Annie put herself in charge of our work day yesterday, and helped us get a lot done.
Believe it or not the chicken coop is in it's final stage of completion. All we have to do is hang the door to the run and they can move in. Unfortunately the cowboys have a game today, so that door might have to wait till next weekend. Sorry again girls.

Bad Banjo Soap Dog

2011-11-13T08:27:00.001-06:00

Banjo, has obviously been feeling left out lately from the blog, so last night he did something so terrible, so insane, I can't not blog about it. Texas and I came home with the girls from dinner to find Banjo huddled by the back door, looking guilty, and somewhat ill. I let him out, turn around and see all my soap gone! the piece of paper I set the soap on laying on the floor, empty and torn. The amount of anger that went through me was intense. No wonder he wanted outside before I noticed. I made him stay outside the rest of the night, to freeze his bad little butt off. Plus, I imagine him being rather ill after eating a pound of lye soap. Come bedtime, I'm climbing into bed and I there under my pillow is a bar of soap. I check Annie's bed, same thing, a bar of soap under her pillow. Come to find out, he didn't eat the soap; he hid it all over the house. Under couch cushions, bathmats, chairs, were my bars of soap. So Annie and I had a soap hunt this morning and found all but 2 bars. Banjo is still looking rather guilty this morning, but all I do is laugh when I see him.

Monster baby

2011-11-10T08:35:00.001-06:00

As Elsie gets closer and closer to walking I have become more and more fearful. I don't want a walking baby. I want a lazy lumpy baby who just sits. Who is content to stare at the wall and play with her toes. For some strange reason my babies don't do that. They roll over on their first day of life, crawl before I've even had a chance to feel adjusted and then walk right when I'm starting to think I can handle this whole mom thing.

Elsie is going everywhere. Cruising along the kitchen, crawling through the dust bunnies (eating a few on the way), standing on her own in the living room.

Her and Annie have become a daring duo of trouble already. They set up obstacles for an overtired, oblivious mom to stumble into.

The only time I'm not worried about what she's getting into is when she's tucked in her swing. So why won't my loving husband understand my desperate cry for a swing inside the house? He simply says no and walks off to do something on his own, with no babies attacking him or conspiring with tricky 5 year olds to set a daddy trap. My new plan is to leave him with the children more often. Alone, two against one, lets see how he does...

(please note, if he does fine and has no problem I will most likely cry for days on end at the unfairness of life.)

apalogies to the girls

2011-11-10T08:03:00.002-06:00

First off, I'm so sorry our chickens had to cram into this shack of a coop. I made it from scraps and never thought it would become thier actual home for 10 months. I feel embarrassed to have the chickens go from this shack to the coop Texas built them. I have been put to shame by Texas and his idea of a comfortable coop.

So the coop is built onto the modified boat trailer we picked up from craigslist. In all honestly it will probably only move a few feet before the axle breaks and gets stuck, but it started out as a great idea.

The storage bin might be the most ingenious part. No more going into the garage for feed or

chicken related stuff.

Yes this deluxe coop is complete with custom ladder and 4 nesting boxes. What Hen wouldn't swoon for these luxury accommodations?

The front porch has a lovely view of the vegetable garden

and will soon have a custom ramp installed.

And since Texas built it, he got to pick the color. I will miss my soft green, but who doesn't love a barn red coop?

Where's Elsie been these last few weeks while we've been working our butts off? No we did not sell her to the gypsies. Texas put up a swing off the back shed, and she's spent her days swinging

amongst the chaos.

Here we go...

2011-11-09T21:12:00.003-06:00

Why am I too busy to blog these last few weeks? Well aside from the kids, one of which is turning into a monster (I'll be posting about her soon), working, trying to keep said kids in relatively clean clothing, and remembering to feed my family on a somewhat regular schedule I've been busy doing this:

Expanding the garden for next season and attempting to right the terrible wrongs in garden order that I committed in a desperate attempt to get my plants in the ground four weeks after giving birth to Elsie.

Harvesting whats left in the garden before it freezes.

Jarring what we can, and freezing a lot. I'm pretty sure we have enough frozen bell peppers to last us through two winters.

Texas begged me for pickled jalapeno peppers this year, so as a thank you for the amazing chicken house sitting outside I made him 12 jars of Jalapenos and 3 larges jars of banana peppers.

Pumpkins were carved and seeds were saved for next year. I have been trying really hard to find a project for Annie to help her learn the value of work and earning her own. This year she's been working with me to harvest all our seeds for next year. In the spring she'll be selling her seeds to anyone who is interested and donating 1/2 the money to a charity.

Annie has really enjoyed here slimy new occupation.

I have black walnuts everywhere. They are a pain to clean, hard to open and very messy, yet I keep getting more and more. I am addicted and in love with these very messy nuts. The best part, they are a FREE yummy source of protein and Omega-3 for my family.

And then there is the soap. I have no pictures of this messy endeavor, but I'm making soap in order to save more money at home. We switched to me making our own laundry soap about 7 months ago and after saving on average $15 a month on laundry detergent, I'm taking things a step further. Thankfully my friend Anne was nice enough to talk me down from my fear of Lye (it's seriously scary stuff), and our soap is slowly curing in the kitchen cabinet.

And of course there is the house, it's like trying to tame a wild beast. Toys, clothes, dishes, books, you'd think 12 people lived in our tiny little house, but no it's just the four of us. We're just all really committed to making it look lived in.

update

2011-11-07T21:52:00.000-06:00

Progress

Pie

Family

Sorry but for now this is it. I promise to get back soon, but Winter is coming faster than I can be ready for. Cleaning walnuts, harvesting seeds and plants for the winter, and trying to work extra before the holidays has us all pretty busy.

Renderings

2011-10-28T21:55:00.000-05:00

This is my tallow rendering set up in the backyard. While Texas is sweating it out with the cardinals on TV I figured I could get a few things done. So I'm rendering Tallow and hulling the black walnuts our incredibly awesome mailman/neighbor brought over. He is the coolest mailman I have ever met, and I look forward to when he gets his first baby chicks for his yard.

My Walnut hulling set up

Ripe and ready

So our back yard smells like a rotting corpse and the living room smells like "swamp mud" as Texas would put it. Never smelled a swamp, but if it smells like decomposing walnut hulls I'll pass on any future trips to the swamp lands. I'm glad to be getting these things done, but I really wish I was asleep right now. Unfortunately, we all have to stay up and see who wins. I am excited to see who wins, but it is so bad to wait until the morning to find out?

Elsie's new love...

2011-10-25T10:14:00.000-05:00

STAIRS!

Strange day

2011-10-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

This morning started off with finding my neighbors dog up on their roof (seriously, see above). Then continued with my daughter falling in love with two of the strangest foods.

There are some things you just never think to feed your kids. Convinced they would NEVER eat it. Well today for dinner my daughter just devoured a plate of chicken livers with mashed potatoes and gravy. When she asked for more "fried chicken" I thought best not to correct her, and counted my lucky stars when Texas thought better before finishing his sentence of, "actually Ann these are..."
For dessert Annie begged me for a piece of "purple bread." The "purple bread" is purple because I made the starter with purple grapes. I'm delving into the world of naturally yeasted bread, and today I made my first loaf from Rye and Grape starter. The bread is dense, but incredibly yummy. It's sour flavor goes great with apple butter, or a piece of raw goat cheese. The best part is, no sugar, no dried yeast and the grains are soaked for 24 hours, so every piece is loaded full of 100% goodness.

A day in the life...

2011-10-09T22:16:00.001-05:00

of my husband is no picnic. He spent his entire weekend building our chickens a new house, and it is turning out to be pretty amazing. I will always miss my first chicken house, but moving it was a little more difficult than could be expected. So, it was taken apart piece by piece and Texas is using all the pieces to make a new house on our modified boat trailer we picked up from craigslist months ago. So the neighbors can rejoice that we no longer have a dilapidated trailer parked in our back yard. And only two neighbors seemed less than pleased with the giant chicken trailer taking shape. I keep promising it will be cute when it's done, but at this point there's not much I can do to convince them.

The outdoor workshop:

The pile of pieces:

Framing starts:

Yes that is a door sawed in half.

With the roof on and the windows in, its the perfect play house. We had half the neighborhood in our back yard this evening after Texas put his tools away. The girls will be sad to see the chickens moved in, but I won't. They need to move fast. With the days getting so short they've already stopped laying but for one lone egg every few days, and I hate buying eggs.

Texas and Annie, Adventures in Garage sales

2011-10-03T20:38:00.001-05:00

All that you see above was purchased for less than $20, by Annie and Texas. While Elsie and I made beautiful flower arrangements with Gigi, they hit the streets of Webster, Richmond Heights and Maplewood.

Elsie came home to a whole new world. She couldn't stop smiling at all the things she had to climb on. Annie walked her through all the new toys.

And after a small Demo...

Elsie was pushing Annie on the new truck.

She now walks all over the house with her little truck.

Off to work we go...

2011-10-03T20:23:00.000-05:00

My mother and I did Flowers for a wedding this past weekend. Elsie got to tag along with me while Texas took care of Annie.

Elsie had a blast with the church steps. She climbed right up the steps like she'd been doing it for years. Then she just sat herself down on the bottom step. Sitting all by herself on a step watching her Grandma was pretty fun. She couldn't stop laughing about sitting on the step.

It was so cute.

It was a long morning, but she did great.

"IT'S FRIDAY"

2011-10-03T20:09:00.001-05:00

Annie woke up extra early on the morning in question; saddled up to the computer and then asked, "it is Friday isn't it?" The second I say yes the computer is buzzing to life and before I know it PBS kids is blasting an episode of Aurthur into my living room. Annie slowly eats her oats while watching, glued to the screen. I have relished our no TV during the week rule. It has changed our home life tremendously. Annie plays, paints, dances and sings 100% more than she did 4 months ago (when I first instituted the no TV Monday-Thursday). Friday mornings are so exciting for her now. She wakes up thrilled to watch an episode of TV before school. The TV no longer stays on all day, with it's constant stream of noise. She watches a show and then it goes off. Annie looks forward to the time when she gets TV and is perfectly content when it's not TV time. Sometimes I forget how our kids need us to set the boundaries for them, even in the most simple of things.

SLEEPy BABY

2011-09-29T22:02:00.005-05:00

This is Elsie refusing to take a nap.

She doesn't need naps.

She's seven months old and has two teeth.

She's far too big for naps.

Tilly Doll vs. Elsie

2011-09-29T20:38:00.001-05:00

"Hey there Tilly, I'm Annie's baby sister."

" I bet if you move over a little we can both fit up here. "

"Maybe not. Lets rethink this plan."

"If you just move over here..."

"and let me squeeze in here..."

"That's better."

TWO TEETH

2011-09-27T09:43:00.001-05:00

Elsie has been rather MONSTER like these past few weeks. On the 17th she got her first tooth, then today I found another one. It seems to be happening a little fast. I don't want her to get teeth. That means biting, and biting is bad.

The illusive full nights sleep

2011-09-26T21:01:00.001-05:00

It was so cute the first time I found Elsie standing up in her crib. I yelled down to Texas to grab the camera. That was last week. Now I'm in a loosing battle with my 7 month old. Every time you lay her down she stands up. EVERY TIME. It's insane. Crying and crying until you pick her up. The biggest issue? She doesn't know how to get down. Dear Lord, this is NOT cute. My sleep is constantly interrupted because of her compulsive climbing. I'm not even sure that she's awake when she starts climbing. Is it possible to sleep climb? Could I have the only baby who climbs in her sleep?

Garden Friends

2011-09-25T20:28:00.003-05:00

A snake took up residence in the garden over the last week and I have found him several times perched up in the veggies. This is not my preference, but he seems happy and Annie loves to say hi.

Peace left the vegetable garden and was found checking out the chickens run. We wouldn't have known except for the insane squawking and flapping of wings. Strange. Annie had to take him out and put him back in the veggie garden.

So we have peace once more in the garden.

My little fashion bug

2011-09-25T20:19:00.004-05:00

How long can you hide your child from the world of skimpy inappropriate clothing? Not long enough. My five year old wants to dress like she's 21. She's insisting that she should be able to wear clothes that show her belly, and tight skirts. Wanting to wear tiny undershirts even if it's freezing outside. I blame the Bratz Ice cream, and all the other insanely inappropriate cartoon figures for girls. Why can't Barbie dress like Ann of Green Gables? Obviously I have very little control of what my daughter sees. I ponder locking her in the house with no access to TV, magazines, movies, newspaper adds or internet, but then realize I could get locked up for that, so my solution...

Encourage her to feel stylish and comfortable in clothes that cover. We talk about what colors are "in fashion" and the art of layering. I have her convinced that pants under skirts is the "sassy" way to dress. Oh how I will mourn the day she realizes I am not cool. I've started letting her pick out her outfits again and I'm glad to report they are getting better. She's stopped putting on dresses she digs out of storage from when she was 2.

And yes, the vest is my favorite thing she owns right now, and I make her put in on every morning hot or cold.

Gone fishing

2011-09-20T10:47:00.002-05:00

Texas and I tool the girls fishing. Elsie did very little fishing, but the rest of us caught a ton of fish. I don't think I've ever caught this many fish.

Annie's first fish.

My first fish.

I think Texas was on fish 18 by the time I got the camera out to his picture.

How my husband made me cry today...

2011-09-13T21:44:00.003-05:00

I am a nester. I need pretty little spaces to focus on so the big ugly world doesn't consume all my joy. In lies the struggle of living in a house while rehabbing it. I know it's temporary, or at least that is what I tell myself, but most the time I feel like this house is trying to make me cry. In an effort to overcome the yuck that is my house I fixed up the living room. My loving husband was keeping the TV on the fireplace mantle and it finally downed on me to move it before one of two things happened, it falls on one of our kids or I smash it. Hours of furniture moving later I ended up with what you see in the picture above. It wasn't perfect but it felt pretty. I could sit and not look at a TV precariously balanced on the edge of my mantle with cords draping everywhere. Unfortunately my husband hated it. The TV was to high for him to watch his shows. So he did this:

Now I can't stop crying every time I look at my living room, and he can't understand why I'm upset. Marriage is hard.

Child Labor

2011-09-11T20:58:00.000-05:00

Annie's favorite thing to do at home is follow Texas around. We call her his shadow. Since Texas has been working in the basement tuck pointing I've not been letting her go down with him and she has been miserable. Finally, Texas convinced me to let her go down for a few minutes. 15 minutes later I go down to see whats going on and he has her tuck pointing the walls with him.

She's actually quite good at it.

By the time I got down there, she was telling Texas how to do it.

Thankfully she didn't fight me when I told it was time to come upstairs,

but she did tell Texas she'd be back to check on his work.

My brain broke

2011-09-08T19:57:00.000-05:00

So I've been having a really hard time with my brain lately. It's just not working. I'm either late or early (by hours) for everything. I forget to bring diapers or I forget to show up completely. I was taking some stuff back to TJ Maxx the other day, only I went to Homegoods. I started laundry today, but I forgot to put the clothes in. Texas is beginning to wonder if my brain expired. Although he's been caught a few times taking advantage of my strange brain lapses. Mysteriously Tuesday went by without him changing a single diaper or participating in bedtime. Then tonight he tried it again. My brain hurts just trying to keep up with what day it is.

Ready, set BASEBALL!!!

2011-09-06T16:51:00.001-05:00

Texas and I took the kids to the baseball game on Friday with Tex's parents. Baseball is way more fun for Annie with Tex's parents. She got to go to Build a Bear, get cotton candy and eat unlimited quantities of nachos.

My favorite part of the day was when my husband went into semi panic mode while I was getting the kids ready. I couldn't find Annie's pink Cardinals shirt, which somehow meant that Elsie couldn't wear her pink Cardinals shirt. I had to scramble to find Elsie's red Cardinals shirt, and no I could not wear my blue Cardinals shirt unless Tex was going to wear his. Tex did not want to wear his blue shirt. So we all went in red. Is this normal?

Yes, Build a bear is ridiculous, but Annie spent hours playing with her fake cell phone Grandpa T got her to go with her bear.

The morning after.

Maybe unlimited nachos and cotton candy isn't such a good idea.

Thankfully it only happens once a year.

We made it!

2011-09-04T16:01:00.003-05:00

So Today marks our first full year of being married. Just to recap, we got married, bought a house, had a baby and now live in said house with Elsie the baby, Annie the 5 year old, Banjo the dog, 7 chickens and 8 ladders. We have yet to fully complete one room in our rehab, but we do have several rooms at various stages of renovation. This year brought a lot of changes for the whole family, but most of all to my incredible husband. He took on me and Annie with every once of heart that he has. We were not easily conquered, yet somehow he has managed to calm my soul and reign in Annie's insecurities. Through the last year I have written down a few things he's been known to say and a couple that will never be forgotten.

Tex's most common sayings:
"no"
"Stop"
"don't do that"
"Why are you touching me?"

His most memorable:
" Please don't talk to me."
"I've done what I'm willing to do today."
"You're past your prime dear."
"This baby isn't very good at sitting still." (she was 6 months old)
While searching for a house, " I will never live in Maplewood." We now live in Maplewood, and we love it.
Before we were even married,"I will never wear a pink shirt." He just bought his first pink shirt last week.

Dear Texas, WE LOVE YOU!

Inappropriate ice cream

2011-08-31T16:35:00.001-05:00

I am not a big fan of ice cream trucks. They were forbidden in my childhood. Not because of the sugar, but because of my mothers hysterical fear of kidnappers. So I never ate ice cream off the ice cream truck. I remember it feeling like torture, but in the long run I'm grateful I didn't eat the ice cream.   When Annie and I were living in the city the ice cream trucks sold drugs and played the, Young Jibbs, song "does your chain hang low." Not something I wanted my daughter partaking in. Thankfully at the time she didn't know what an ice cream truck was and they didn't usually hit the streets till after bedtime.
Then last night I'm upstairs with the baby and I hear an ice cream truck drive by. I'm thinking to myself I'm so glad Annie doesn't hear them and ask for ice cream. My husband though, takes off for the truck with his little shadow following close behind. 5 minutes later Annie runs upstairs and says, "Daddy let me buy inappropriate ice cream!"   All I can think of is the drug trucks, and wondering what inappropriate ice cream is, and why my husband would let her buy it.
I'm slightly paralyzed as Annie drags me downstairs to show me her ice cream that's in the freezer till after dinner. She pulls out her inappropriate ice cream and I start laughing.   BRATZ doll ice cream with bubble gum eyes. Annie's telling me how their shorts are too short and they are showing their bellies, but that daddy let her buy it anyways. It looked disgusting, but I'm just glad it wasn't something worse.

Public apology

2011-08-31T16:18:00.000-05:00

To all of my neighbors, I'm terribly sorry it took us 8 months to replace the glass on our front door. Yes, our house is an eyesore, but we are working on it. Next step, we're planning to paint the porch some time in the future. Don't hold your breath.

Photo update

2011-08-28T20:34:00.000-05:00

Dinner Fail

2011-08-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

So I set fire to dinner tonight. Sadly I couldn't find my camera. Set the macaroni and cheese under the broiler to brown the bread crumbs a little. Came back to flames pouring out the oven. Not my best moment.

Turtle

2011-08-25T17:44:00.001-05:00

On our bike ride yesterday we found this:

And we decided to put him here:

He ran off in the Asparagus bed, and now:

Our garden has peace.

Darn it.

2011-08-25T17:29:00.001-05:00

Last night, after a long series of unfortunate face plants Elsie started crawling. My heart leaped and then immediately sank very low. How exciting my baby can crawl! How much harder did my life just get? In a state of complex emotions I clapped and cheered her on, while simultaneously figuring out a way to stop her. A non-mobile baby is an easy baby. I want an easy baby.

9:02 P.M.

2011-08-24T21:25:00.003-05:00

Elsie started crawling.

Dear Volvo Makers

2011-08-23T13:52:00.000-05:00

I loved my wagon. It was just the right size, with all the right amenities. It was perfect, except for the braking down every time I tried to drive it. I have worked my butt off to pay off the loan and keep up with the endless repairs, and now when I am just a couple thousand away from being loan free, you slam me with the biggest brake down ever. Why does your car hate me? Did I not give it enough oil changes? Was it the lack of car washes? Am I being punished for not putting a cushion under the car seats?

Mommy's not ready.

2011-08-17T21:55:00.001-05:00

Thankfully she hasn't gotten it all together yet, but it's just a matter of time...

Banjo vs. The Giant Raccoon

2011-08-17T21:26:00.000-05:00

Banjo just tackled a huge Raccoon in the backyard. As a big as he is. Not sure who really won. The raccoon got away, but only because I made Banjo back down. So the chickens get to live another night and Texas gets to buy a 22 rifle. Banjo got a deep cut on his lip, but otherwise he's good.

Tomorrow, we go for shots...

Home

2011-08-17T08:24:00.000-05:00

My baby is home where she belongs. Sleeping soundly well into the morning. It was so hard not to cry when I saw her. Trying to be excited about her trip was even harder. Then having her say that she wanted to come home and doesn't want to go again, was near impossible to bare. I'm now feeling incredibly guilty for letting her go.

Day 5

2011-08-16T16:20:00.000-05:00

I want my baby back.

Torture

2011-08-13T21:52:00.000-05:00

I got my first tear filled phone call from Annie tonight. She's just crying over the phone wanting to come home. Tearing my heart out. The worst part is not saying yes, come home now. Mommy misses you, get your little butt home where it belongs. I restrained. Tried to talk about the beach and how pretty it must be. I miss my baby. That's all I can say.

This mamma might not make it

2011-08-12T11:44:00.002-05:00

Annie just left for her first ever trip without me. I am so proud of my little girl and how brave she is, but I think she is trying to brake my heart. In a flurry of badly laid out plans that kept changing on me. We had to get a lot of things done before her trip, in very little time. If any of you reading this have to deal ex's taking your babies on trips, are they all this bad at making a plan, and communicating it clearly? I'm not going to go into details, but it really pissed me off.

So Annie wanted me to make her a case for her Dry erase board and the creative tools that are needed to use it. She spent days picking out what fabrics she wanted me to use. So last night (due to terrible planning) I was up until 2 am getting everything done. The sewing, the packing, the talking with Annie. Who knew a little girl could have so many questions about taking a trip.

So here is the dry erase board:

Marker side

Crayon side

top side

special little buttons

Sea shell pieces

And where Annie tries to break my heart. She's starts drawing a heart and then says "It's a heart. I'm going to draw a wall in it cause we'll be apart."

My baby is packed up and out the door before she even finishes breakfast.

Have a great time Annie. We'll all be here waiting when you get home.

making more suaerkraut

2011-08-12T10:03:00.001-05:00

I am addicted to homemade sauerkraut. Yes, I'm a little nuts, but it's super healthy and fun to make.

The happy hen

2011-08-11T09:51:00.000-05:00

Elsie's favorite food is butter. Yep, home made from grass fed cows butter. My husband looks at me like I'm insane, but look it up. Kids need fat and butter is a great first food. So now when ever Elsie sees me pull out her little hen full of butter she gets ecstatic!

Making Vanilla Extract

2011-08-09T14:36:00.000-05:00

We go through vanilla extract like no body's business, and good quality vanilla is expensive. So thanks to some left over booze from our wedding I'm making our own. No Texas, this is not a way to hide a drinking problem from you, I really am making vanilla with a giant bottle of Vodka.

Annie vs. Elsie

2011-08-09T14:28:00.000-05:00

So as Elsie gets bigger, and I look through Annie's baby photos I'm having a hard time telling which is which. This could just be my mommy brain in exhaustion mode.

Can you tell which is which?

creative surge

2011-08-05T18:50:00.002-05:00

Not sure what got into me today. After the kids went home, I was faced with a mess. All morning and last night I followed them from room to room picking up after them trying to keep the chaos at bay. And still, they managed to make a mess. At least I know they had a great time making it.
So instead of going straight to cleaning, I got out my sewing machine. I made a slip cover for Elsie's highchair.

I'm feeling pretty happy with my chair cover, but I still don't feel like cleaning. Maybe I'll save the mess for tomorrow...

Quote of the night

2011-08-05T18:32:00.001-05:00

"In the morning, do we have to help pick the eggs on your farm?" Ruby I love you, and your amazingly adorable mind.

And no the girls did not go to sleep when I put them to bed. Two hours later I came down to check on them and found them all in the bathroom giggling in secret.

Girls Girls Girls!!!

2011-08-04T20:52:00.000-05:00

The girls are all having a sleepover tonight! Texas was less then thrilled about three little girls running around crazy, but I told him to enjoy it while it lasts. Soon enough they'll be teenagers and WAY worse.

All in all they've been awesome. Captivated by their movie and about to go to bed. Here's hoping they go to sleep.

We have ICE!

2011-08-03T14:14:00.000-05:00

Kitchen fix up day 5:

It's been ridiculously hot outside, but I now feel better equipped to handle the heat since we now have ICE!!!! and yes we all sat in the kitchen for a full 10 minutes waiting to hear the first ice cubes hit the tray.

Growing

2011-08-02T17:14:00.000-05:00

The garden is growing and growing and growing, but we aren't getting very much from it yet. This leaves me incredibly frustrated. The tomatoes are all over the place, but green. The green bean vines are covering the trellis, but no beans, just lots and lots of flowers.

Annie found the one and only green bean on the vine, but ate it before anyone else got a bite.
In another month we'll probably have more than we can eat, I hope.

Stuck.

2011-07-31T20:54:00.001-05:00

Texas and I worked our butts off this weekend. Only to hit a wall today after a much anticipated trip to the hardware store. We were so excited to buy our new pantry cabinets, bring them home and put them in. Then we got them into our kitchen and I realized they didn't work. It made the kitchen feel half it's size. Texas took a lot longer to come around. But after enough time had passed and he felt secure in bringing it up as though it was his idea, he's taking the pantries back and getting regular cabinets and counter top.

So here's where we are:

Water line is in for ice maker. Floor is kinda clean.

Fridge moved over and ready to make ice!

cabinet installed above fridge. Pantry's are going back.

KOMBUCHA!!!!

2011-07-30T15:56:00.002-05:00

I'm getting a little crazy about Kombucha. I got a mushroom a couple weeks ago and this is my second batch. First batch turned out pretty good, but it could have been better. Now I'm planing to bottle it for a month to allow for more fizzyness and next batch I plan to add a little ginger and some juice.

In the midst of our kitchen rehab today I've been bottling my batch of Kombucha. I snagged two bottles from brother that have pressure release tops. (sorry Charlie, but you're in Costa Rica and I tried calling). Otherwise you can end up having a bottle burst on you, and I'm thinking that would be bad. I'll let you know in a month how this batch turns out.

Lockdown Day 2

2011-07-30T15:46:00.000-05:00

Last night Texas finished off the drywall mud for the kitchen wall. Today's task: Sand and paint!

We tented off the wall for the sanding.

After the major cleanup we took down the plastic and primed.

Then using the left over paint from our bedroom, the walls are now drying. Sadly I'm not wild about our bedroom wall color. It's a little too light, but at this point I'm just so grateful it's done.

Tonight we move the Fridge and hook up the ice maker!!!

Tomorrow we'll put in the pantry Texas got from the hardware store.

Back to the trenches...

2011-07-28T17:12:00.000-05:00

We've started and stopped our kitchen a few times over the last month, and I'm officially going nuts over the disruption it's causing my life. Which means this weekend we are on family lock down and getting this wall finished! I don't care what I'm missing out on. We're not leaving this house until I have my kitchen wall back. Texas thinks its funny when I get this frustrated, but he won't think it's funny when I lock him in the kitchen with no contact with the outside world for a couple days.

She EATS!

2011-07-28T16:58:00.000-05:00

We have been on a tireless struggle to get Elsie to start enjoying solid foods. She has repeatedly puked, vomited, spit up and projectiled various foods at me over the last few weeks. It has not been an enjoyable experience and often times I have been reduced to tears. Alas! Brown rice was he answer! Thanks to my new favorite kitchen tool (which I've kind of had for a while, but been too scared to try) I can mill the rice to floor and cook it up super fast for little miss Elsie.

Don't be fooled by her perplexed/mad/frustrated little face, she loves it. She has to, mommy's tired of being the only food source.

The bike!

2011-07-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

Annie has a new bike and it's spawned a new tradition of going for a walk after dinner. I'm hoping we will continue to do this for years to come, because I love it. With Annie on a bike we can walk a lot further.

Another cake

2011-07-26T17:38:00.000-05:00

My brother in laws birthday comes right after Annie's. You'd think this would help us all remember, but sadly poor Sam has been left in the dust several times. But not this year. My mother and I were determined to remember and celebrate the brave soul who married my overly talented sister.
So I found myself making yet another cake today. Scrounging up ingredients left over from Annie's cake I made one for Sam. Sorry Sam, these totally aren't your colors.

Not my best work with icing, but it fits the occasion.

the overboard mama and a big thank you

2011-07-24T09:01:00.002-05:00

The cake was probably the only thing I had enough of for this party. Some how in my head I figured if I went to Costco and bought big things we would just magically have enough. The numbers would work out, and everything would be great. Well I was way off. We had 25 kids and 24 adults. It was mass insanity. I didn't think of how on earth one gets 25 kid to sit down and eat. I was lucky that all my friends pitched in and helped me get the food served. Not to mention our friend Tim ran to the grocery store for more hot dogs for us.

The cake was a hit.

We even got some decorations up before people got there.

But then mom forgot the pinata. After feeding all those people and finally getting the cake served I assumed we were done. Completely blocking out the 6 hours I spent the previous night gluing wads of streamer paper to cardboard.

All the kids got to give it a few hits.

But finally when every one had a few turns, we realized it wasn't going to open. Thankfully one of the dads had the foresight to just tear it open and dump out the candy.

The kids went wild over organic fruit snacks and plastic toy jewelry. And mom learned a lesson, don't use packaging tape to make a pinata. That stuff really is strong.

The kids all had a great time. There were a few times I thought people were going to grab there kids and run for safety. But I'm super thankful to everyone who came. It was exciting to see my little baby turn five and celebrate it with all the people who helped us over the last five years get to this point. We couldn't have gotten to where we are now without all the love and support of so many wonderful friends and family. THANK YOU.

Perhaps I went a little overboard

2011-07-23T13:34:00.001-05:00

This is the first year Annie is letting me make her cake. I was SO excited. She asked for a princess cake, and a wedding cake. Thank goodness Aunt Heather was here to help because the cake just kept getting bigger and bigger in my head.

So we have a three tired Princess wedding cake. Chocolate with whip cream and fresh raspberry filling for the bottom and very top. Then lemon cake with home made lemon curd in the center. The kids might not like it, but the adults sure will. Up next... the transportation. Please be praying we make it. It's incredibly hot out and we have to drive pretty far.

Can I look in your bag?

2011-07-22T21:34:00.002-05:00

Annie got into Aunt Heathers bag of Yarnage and started trying on her one of a kind hats. It was an adventure in yarn land that lasted for hours. Annie even had own creative way of wearing them.

123 Pinata!

2011-07-22T09:33:00.001-05:00

Annie's birthday party is this Saturday. Her one request? A pinata. When out shopping I check out the prices. $15-20 a piece?!?!?!?! That's was way to ridiculous for cardboard and paper. Solution: make one at home. For just under $5 I got what we needed and headed home. Oddly the glue was the most expensive part, it ate up $3.47 of my budget.

We picked the easiest shape I could think of.

Using a cardboard box I found in the basement.

And recruiting the help of my friend Heather who is staying with us for a two whole days!

We made the fabulous pinata you see here.

It was actually really fun and I can't wait till her next birthday to do it again. Only I might insist on different colors. The pink and blue make me think it's for a baby shower instead of a birthday party.

House mess vs. people

2011-07-21T15:38:00.000-05:00

I miss people. I miss my friends and getting to just hang out. I think that would be my number one struggle since Texas and I took on this whole "Let's buy a house" thing. What were we thinking? I do love my house. It's great when I get the chance to be here not scraping paint or figuring out what to do with too much stuff in a too small house. Correction: how to get rid of my giant pile of stuff I don't need, so we fit in our perfectly sized house. See? It's a daily struggle. Honestly I think I had this fantasy that when I got married I would have more time for friends and play dates with the kids. Instead I work more, play a lot less, and need be way more intentional with my friends.
So last night I put my plan into action. We invited a family from our church to dinner at our house. Wow, was our house not ready, but thankfully my friend Amy and her super awesome husband and two kids could care less. The girls ran around and played and we all had a great time. I survived, the bathroom which I will post a picture of didn't completely offend them.

Up next: our first house guest!

Honey, I think that tree has to come down.

2011-07-15T09:26:00.001-05:00

Texas had been fighting me on cutting down a very unfortunately placed tree. A few weeks ago he did it. So here's the garden just before cutting it down:

And here it is now:

Yes, the garden was starving for sunshine. It has triple in size and is now breaking out it's brick boarder and giving the wild violets a run for their money.

Harold is checking out my violet killing system. I set them in the wheelbarrow and leave them to bake in the sun for a few days before composting. Otherwise I would have a compost bin full a violets. They are wicked hard to get rid of. Aside from pulling each one out by hand you have to resort to chemicals (and you know I won't do that). If anyone knows an easier way, please let me know.

Buying in bulk

2011-07-10T10:38:00.002-05:00

My latest fixation lately has been cutting out the grocery store, and so far I've been pretty happy with the results. We got our first order from Azure Standard. I might have gone a little over board, but it's my first time. The beans are a huge improvement from what I was buying at whole foods. They absorb the water so much faster ( a sign they are not old), and taste better. The spices are not only organic, but super fresh. These have not been sitting on a store shelf for months. I'm already working on our next order. I'll probably be posting all bean recipes I'll be trying over the next few months. I have a lot of beans. Our meat order gets here at the end of the month and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Wow, where have we been...

2011-07-10T10:31:00.000-05:00

There was fourth of July cuteness.

Late spring peas harvested for eating and seeds to plant next year.

A little extra sister snuggle time/ sleeping in.

We went from this.

To this:

To This:

It appears Annie has let go of all fear when it comes to water and yes, she can swim across the pool by HERSELF!

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!

2011-06-28T21:55:00.000-05:00

Goodbye dear pint sized fridge that gave up on us, causing us to lose gallons of milk and countless fruits and veggies.

Hello! new fridge that we've waited oh so long for. Your a little big for the space, but we're working on fixing that. I'm just SO GLAD your here.

To celebrate the new fridge we had mini pizza night.

Update

2011-06-26T22:54:00.000-05:00

So a while back I posted about the terrible refrigerator set back, and my plan to try and pull in enough money to stay on track. Well I did it! I made enough money to cover the unexpected and still get our bulk foods order and meat for the family. I am so excited that I didn't completely crumble under the smell of rotten food and lack of functioning appliances. If there was a refrigerator God, he must be really mad at me. We are still living without a regular fridge (the new one gets here next week), and instead have two mini fridge's. One is too warm and the other freezes everything. I can't tell you how excited we are for the new fridge. It's going to be like living in the lap of luxury compared to what we have now.

Annie's new hair clip

2011-06-26T22:46:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure what happened Saturday, but Texas and I sort of called it quits for the day. We worked in the yard Friday cutting down yet another tree (and hopefully the last one for a while). The plan was to cut up the tree Saturday and get it bundled and out of the yard, but when we woke up we just couldn't do it. We don't get a lot of down time here, and Saturday we were both just too tired to move. So we sat on the sofa almost all day. Reading, watching movies, and I did a little sewing.
I haven't touched a needle since we got the house (almost 6 months now). It was so much fun to just sit and not worry about the house, the mess, the dishes, the laundry, the yard. I'm not sure what made me think to sew something, but now all I want to do is make more hair pieces for Annie, and ignore the long list of things still to be done.

Baking

2011-06-22T07:58:00.001-05:00

Stress baking took on a whole new meaning last night. In a furry of disaster I ended up baking a double batch of brownies from scratch while simultaneously cooking that nights dinner and lunch for tomorrow. The good that came out of last night was my daughters ingenious idea to give the brownies away. We wrapped them up two by two and took brownies to all our neighbors for dessert. Then Annie played in the street with all the neighborhood kids till bed time. What started out as a rough night turned out pretty amazing. It was awesome to see Annie running around with all these kids having a great time. There are around 12 little girls ranging in age from 0-8. I feel a little sorry for the two lonely boys.

First foods

2011-06-21T14:57:00.000-05:00

Elsie is ready for food. I must have lost track of time, or I didn't feed Annie till much later because it seems so early. We are starting her on cooked egg yolk thinned out with breast milk. So far all she does is stare at it and then make funny faces.

The best part was her outfit matched her food.

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T08:15:00.000-05:00

DADDY! DADDY!!! A tree fell in our yard!!

This is how we stirred the Daddy from bed this morning and lured him outside. Once outside he found his two girls sitting inside his fathers day present. I felt bad for putting him through all that, but it was worth it to see the look on his face when he walked around the house and found his girls sitting inside his dream wheel barrel. Yes, my husband has a dream wheel barrel, which he now owns.

I love you Texas. Thank you for being my husband and the most amazing dad to our girls. You're amazing.

When the good news brings bad news

2011-06-14T21:37:00.000-05:00

So our fridge died, and yes a big part of me was SO EXCITED. I wanted the darn thing to break for purely selfish reasons. It's so freaking small, and feeding a family of four out of that tiny little box is near impossible when you cook the way I do. Everything from bread dough to Kefir is communing a little to closely, which is probably why the box isn't working. The milk is souring, the kefir is digesting and the bread dough is fermenting a little to fast for me to keep up with it. So what does this mean for my precious family? The things I planned on buying this month for our food will have to put on hold until the next shipment / butcher date which come around every 1-3 months depending on the company. Unless I can bust my butt and pull in an extra $300 this month (which you can bet I'm gonna try and do). You see, I have this master plan for my family that I have been painstakingly working on for MONTHS. We're cutting out the middle man. Saving money by buying directly from Bulk distributors and small local farms. Say goodbye to Whole Paycheck, Trader Joes, Schnucks and Shop n' Save. Everything from Dried goods and Beef to Milk and eggs will be purchased without the local grocery stores insane prices, and be of better quality.
Unfortunately all my research might have to wait another couple of months to bear any fruit. The money I was stashing away now belongs to Home Depot. The sucky part is? We don't even get the fridge for another two-three weeks. And the massive amount of work that has to be done before it gets here, seriously cuts into my money making opportunities. We have to move a floor vent, take down a partial wall, strip wallpaper, float a wall and paint all before the fridge can get put in. Thus I'm officially going into hyper drive and most likely won't be posting anything for a while. Unless I decide to cut out sleep. Fear not, I will take pictures and post when I get the chance. Wish me luck!

Gidget goes under!

2011-06-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

Annie made a major leap in the water today. Not sure what happened but all the sudden, she was under water swimming around. I was ready to start crying I couldn't believe it. No bubble, no water wings, no raft. Just Annie and her goggles under the water. Now, the tricky part is she can't hold her head above water on her own, so I need to be right there, but we are so close to having an independent swimmer!

After the pool, she wanted to go straight into the bath tub to "practice."

Back to work

2011-06-12T20:37:00.000-05:00

Our Girls a still crammed into my little quarantine coop. Try as we might, we just haven't made much progress.

Texas got to work this weekend breaking down the old coop to start the reconfiguration process.

This is going to take a while.

In other news, our Refrigerator has decided to quit on us so guess what? I GET A NEW FRIDGE!!! We're still trying to find the best deal, but if I can find just one more coupon for Lowes we'll have ourselves a full size fridge! I can't tell you how exciting this is. Living out of our mini fridge has definitely been eye open and we've learned some great lessons, but I am so ready for a normal refrigerator.

Goodbye mini fridge.

The awesomeness of Annie

2011-06-09T18:04:00.000-05:00

The girls

2011-06-06T17:34:00.000-05:00

Annie and her cousins Sadie and Ruby are extremely close.

Annie and Sadie play barbie, wrestle and run together.

Then there's Ruby who loves to play house and be a fashion model.

Together they are a tangled mess of giggles, screams and shrills.

Happy Baby

2011-06-02T21:59:00.002-05:00

Over the last few weeks, Elsie has cheered up quite a bit. She only screams when out in public, in the car or at home every other third hour. This is improvement. This is monumental improvement. I am slowly introducing green foods into my diet and I can't tell you how amazing a piece of broccoli tastes after three months of no green foods. I eventually hope to have a baby that doesn't feel the need the test out her vocal range while enclosed in a small space operated by a rather tired stressed mom. Till then I will enjoy each moment of silence and every smile.

Looking like a mom

2011-06-02T08:01:00.002-05:00

I have been slowly squirreling away money over the last few months to buy a new outfit for me and some shorts for Annie. All Excited I took off early in the morning to go shopping. It was not a pleasant shopping experience. Elsie cried the whole time, trying on clothes was traumatic and nine times out of ten whatever I tried on didn't fit or looked terrible on me. But somehow I managed to find one good outfit for me and a few shorts Annie. I was so excited to wear my new clothes and show Texas. An outfit that hadn't been spit up on or stained during any sort of home renovation project. I wasn't squeezing myself into a pre-baby weight pair of pants or drowning in maternity clothes. I felt so good. Then, kid free I go meet Texas. His response? "You look like a nice mom today." ??? I wanted to cry. I love Texas, but when it comes to complimenting me he falls terribly short. He tried to fix it by saying I looked like a really nice soccer mom and I got confused do I cry or laugh? I didn't want to look like a mom. Thank goodness he's able to make me laugh no matter what the situation, or I'm not sure my incredibly hormonal self would have made it through the night.

Gidget goes wild

2011-05-31T22:00:00.001-05:00

The POOL is OPEN!!!

Annie has been waiting all winter long for the pool to open back up and for swimming fun to begin. To start off the summer right she spent 5 hours on Monday swimming in ice cold water, with blue lips and chattering teeth. We finally had to force her out and drag her home. She then past out on the sofa before she even ate dinner. Thankfully she ate a huge lunch.

My little Gidget she meets Moondoggie and trades in her snorkel and flippers for a surf board.

Elsie just napped and hung out in the stroller. She does not like the icy cold water, and the sun is not going to be her friend.

The terrible tumble

2011-05-31T17:37:00.000-05:00

Annie had her first real fall this weekend. It seems strange that at four and a half she's just now had her first real fall, with real injuries. She broke her two front teeth, scraped her nose and bit her lip. I was so not prepared for this. I guess I assumed she'd just never get hurt. How awesome would that be? Thanks to the Holiday weekend we had wait until today to go see a dentist about her teeth. So glad I took her in. She had cracked her tooth all the way to the nerve. After a long day of driving to dentists, talking to dentists on the phone, calling the insurance broker, the insurance company and the dentists financial office my fully charge cell phone died before 1pm today, and my head was spinning with post tumble stress syndrome. I had no idea that dental insurance does not cover accidents, or that if you don't file the accident with the health insurance within 72 hours of the accident they don't cover it either. I hate phones, health insurance and financial offices, but I still love our dentist (who was nice enough to call and see how Annie was Sunday morning).

Uh oh...

2011-05-28T22:03:00.000-05:00

You can call me a bad mom, but at this point it won't matter because Elsie is rolling over despite my best efforts. I did everything I could to prevent this tragedy of a milestone. Limiting tummy time, buckling her into anything and everything instead of putting her on the floor, but no it didn't work. She rolls over and she gets her knees under her like she's about to crawl away. Please Lord, don't let me have another early crawling/walking kid. I need to set her down and know she will stay put, my sanity depends upon it.

A day at Gigi's

2011-05-24T09:08:00.000-05:00

My brother is getting married if a few weeks in our mom's back yard. The girls have been getting really excited as the house gets ready. We put up a trellis in her back yard for the where the ceremony is to take place. The girls spent an entire day playing under the trellis. Singing, dancing, and in the end playing wedding. I am so grateful that they get to spend time together at Gigi's. My mothers house has nearly no toys, yet it is their favorite place to play? It makes me wonder why I bother buying toys at all. All they need is to be outside and all is well.

A day with the girls

2011-05-22T21:50:00.000-05:00

Friday Annie had two of her cousins over for the day. It was a jam packed day of craziness.

Ruby and Annie worked on painting a bird house from Tex's dad.

While Poppy painted a can? Yeah, it was a kinda strange, but she really wanted to, and if I've learned anything about Poppy it's, "just it's go with it."

The girls made pizza dough. They played with the dough so long it was like a rubber band by the time I stopped them.

After running around and playing house outside they finally settled down to read a story. They made a little spot at the stairs. I guess should make a seat cushion for over there.

What I learned from my day? Girls are exhausting, and it's a miracle my sister is still breathing and still has all her hair.

Pie post

2011-05-18T22:11:00.001-05:00

So the pie season has officially started at our house. Every Spring the first pie of the year is Strawberry Rhubarb, and every spring I swear it's my favorite pie, until peach season starts and I fall in love with Blueberry Peach pie. I have made pies for as long as I can remember. My mother used to have the most amazing cook book with the best pie recipes in it. I say used to because years back I borrowed it and never returned it. (Sorry mom, I promise I'll bring you a slice of pie in the morning to make up for my thievery). It is old and tattered with the binding broken away. The cover is long lost, but I still remember the sadly outdated picnic scene with fresh bread and a pie laid out under an apple tree.

If this makes it through the night, it will be a miracle.