I'm Baaaaack!

And you all thought this blog was going to be forgotten forever... SURPRISE! (The real surprise will be if anyone is still out there... LOL!)

The truth is that the "homesteading" bit got to be a bit too much for The Husband, so for the sake of marital harmony I kind of scaled back my efforts for the past year or so. It definitely helped my state of mind that I had a new baby last spring. That made it much easier to allow the garden to go, run to the grocery store for pre-packaged tripe rather than spend the summer canning the produce that was never grown, and generally let things run amock. I won't say it hasn't taken its toll on me, but I dealt with it. Now I feel that things are back to a somewhat more stable state of equilibrium. I have come to a better understanding of The Husband's needs, and he has come to a better understanding of mine. Oh, the difference a year makes...

Now is the time to get back into the swing of things. Most things will be shifting ever so slowly, with baby steps here and there, but there are some very big changes coming as well.

For one thing, we've finally come to an agreement on the matter of homeschooling. This is HUGE, people. Just huge, because The Husband was adamantly opposed to homeschooling for, well, always. I'll be writing more about this later for certain.

Also, I'm right at the beginning stages of some major house renovation. Can you believe that we've lived in our home for nearly five years now and have yet to hang a picture or paint a room? Yes, it's true! There have been changes to the house, but most of these were a matter of "we need something to function right now" rather than making this house our home. Again, upcoming posts will talk a bit more about these changes.

Anyway, I do indeed have some things to share, so stay tuned!

Rabbitnip

My poor, poor catnip.

Apparently, cats aren't the only critters who love catnip. I walked out to the garden a few days ago and noticed that my catnip, which has flourished unscathed for the past three years, was nearly gone! My immediate thought was to heap the blame on the neighborhood felines who frequently climb our privacy fence to hunt in our yard, but later that day I was standing at the backdoor and noticed a little ball of fur by the devastated catnip patch. Long ears, twitching nose, cute little cottontail... It was a rabbit! I've rarely seen them in our garden, but we always find bunny prints in the backyard snow during our winter nature walks. They've never bothered the catnip before though. It must have been a particularly lovely crop this year.

Buns love catnip. Who knew.

More Neighbor Troubles

All winter I was researching and drooling at the prospects come this spring when the white mulberry tree on our property burst into all its fruited gloriousness. Alas! There shall be no white mulberries for me this year and probably not for several years to come.

Why, you ask?

Because the neighbors on the other side of me (not the neighbors with the foul kennel) decided to chop down half of the humongous white mulberry tree at the back of our property before mysteriously vanishing from their home. Here's what it looks like now:



Why they cut down only the top half of the tree is beyond me. It is already beginning to put out some new branchlets (no, I don't know the technical term), so it will need to be cut again someday. Um, over my dead body.

Goin' to the Dogs

Last summer's garden

Believe it or not, I AM putting things in the ground this year. I didn't really know how much I'd actually get to with such a new babe around the homestead, but I decided to take it in slow, small increments and see how I fared. I'm trying to get one bed planted a day, and it's been going well (not counting the rain... oh! the rain!). I am truly the sort of dame that revels in having her hands (and feet and knees and face) dirty, so it's been blissful tying the baby to my back and setting about my work in the garden. Unfortunately, there's one thing ruining it all for me.

Dog poop.

And I don't even have a dog.

For whatever reason my neighbors, whose yard is actually smaller than my teeny yard (you can see their house in the picture above), decided to get not one, not two, not three, but FOUR dogs. Whaaa? They got a puppy last year shortly after they moved into the house, and the poor pup spent all his time outdoors in the kennel come rain, shine, snow, hail or whatever. No dog house. It was dreadful. Now they have all four of the dogs in the kennel! Everytime I go out to do my garden chores, I am beset by the foul fecal smell of those animals. Now, I love dogs. I may be a cat person, but I love dogs too. But come on! Four medium-sized dogs in a kennel meant for one? And no poo cleanup!?

In a neighborhood as closely packed as this one, there has to be a little consideration for your fellow human beings, don't you think? I mean, I asked them before I decided to bring bees onto the homestead, and I nixed the idea because my canine-lovin' neighbor is allergic. Where's the love?

On The Fence

Annie climbing our privacy fence on the first warmish day of the year in February.

I'm on the fence about this blog. I love having a place to come to to talk about... whatever, but I also feel a little bit silly putting my stuff out there sometimes. There may be no reason for it, but it's the truth. Should I also mention that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by life in general since the addition of baby #4? Oh yes, I am. The Husband was home for only one week before he had to return to work after the baby was born, so I've been flying quite solo with this one. Sure, I'm an old pro by this point. I swaddle without thought, breastfeed in marathon fashion, and know exactly how well I function on less sleep than you can imagine (the twins took care of that my first time around). Still, it's been quite an adjustment, this wee little babe. Did I mention here on the blog that I was diagnosed with Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction during the pregnancy? No. Fun. At. All. Unfortunately, it hasn't completely disappeared either. I still get a moderate amount of pain on a regular basis, and laundry day KILLS me.

All that said (and, sorry, but I needed to say it), there is a good reason for all of this pain and adjustment:



That's her! My beautiful new daughter, Bea (not her full name). And no, though I love the name Beatrice, that's not her name either. :) I didn't get the birth I wanted (still trying to come to terms with that too!), but she's here, and she's healthy. Oh, and I can't stop kissing her. And smelling her. And rubbing my cheek along hers. I'm totally in love.

Welcome to the world, baby girl. We're so glad you're here!

In Case You Haven't Noticed...

I'm taking an extended blogging vacation. Maybe I'll be back, maybe I won't. The combination of being nine months pregnant and the month of March (always the most depressing month for me) has just got me... down. Nothing big, but I have absolutely nothing to write about. Time for me to hunker down, force myself to prepare those last bits for the baby, and just keep moving forward.

Thanks to all of you who have read this blog. I will miss you.

Those Elusive Snow Faeries!

I've been trying all morning, quite unsuccessfully, to get a picture of the dazzling snow effect taking place in front of our house this morning. There is no new snow falling, but the wind has taken to blowing about a very fine dusting of the snow that has until now been blanketing our roof. I think the sun was a bit jealous of the play taking place between wind and snow, and so he decided to add his own element, causing every single snowflake being blown about to sparkle in the most ethereal way. As soon as I opened the shades this morning, I gasped and ran to get the children thinking that this phenomenon might be short lived. It's been going on for hours, though, and we've all been pressing our faces unflatteringly against the windows to absorb the beauty of the day. When the bus comes to pick up Annie girl, the two of us will swirl about and pretend we're snowflakes too.

I apologize for the pause in posting here. As usual, life intercedes. Airius has contracted strep throat and an ear infection, so I've been busy playing nursemaid. This is the first ear ache any of my kids have ever had, and I'm glad that I caught it right away. I had chronic ear aches as an infant/child, as did my brother, and I remember the agony that such a thing can cause. One of my most comforting memories involves laying my aching ear against my aunt's very pregnant belly (at her bidding, of course) and just absorbing all that life-giving heat. I think I fell asleep there. Airius has been partaking in the same luxury here, but his unborn sister isn't quite as accomodating as my cousin was. She squirms and kicks all day long, so there are only very short windows of time where it's comfortable enough for him to rest on my belly. We have other warming, comforting things for his ear of course, but what could be better than skin-to-skin contact with Mama?

Snow Day

The snow is piling up yet again. On top of the previous big drop we got, we are expected to have up to 11 more inches of accumulation by tomorrow. This is the perfect situation for spotting the tracks of wild (and not so wild) critters out of doors. They're all out there gathering the last bits of what they can scrounge from the cold, frozen earth. It's amazing how they always seem to sense the changes in weather, isn't it? We spotted the tracks of birds (probably sparrows), squirrels, and even a rabbit. I'm hoping we get very lucky with some raccoon tracks tomorrow, but we never seem to find them, even when I spots the raccoons in our neighbor's garbage the night before. Tricksy, tricksy beings they are!

Other snow day antics:


Playing round after round of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Go Fish.


Drinking more hot chocolate than is probably good for us.


Keeping our hats on indoors to stay warm.


Cuddling Papa (aka The Furnace) to stay warm.


Making watercolor art for the kids' rooms, thanks to Amy's inspiring post. We didn't have any contact paper, so I just used clear tape to make the initials.

I Love...

Neighborhood kids who will shovel a pregnant woman's walkway for free. A blessing indeed!

Out in the Cold

Snow on Echinacea seed heads

There are only 69 days between now and my due date. I'm hard at work during the day feathering my nest and shouting out frustration at how slowly things are going. Why can't I decide on curtains for the bedroom? We need double doors on our closet for real efficiency! How am I ever going to fit two girls into one room, let alone three!?

My nights, on the other hand, are spent in fierce debate with The Husband over where, when, and how to have this baby. Not exactly what I'd planned to be doing at this point, but it needs to be done. I'm doing my best to keep a positive attitude and an open heart, knowing that regardless of the details, this baby will be born and will be loved. And I will recover. Slowly or quickly, I will recover.

Message Beans

Sometimes you come across something that is so... different that you just have to share it. Has anyone else seen the SMP Bloom in a Can Message Bean? I'm not really sure how I feel about this one. I certainly wouldn't spend $14 on a single bean plant or a greeting card, but it's still kinda cute. Maybe. Something about a laser carving into a seed makes me cry a little inside. Yep. I'm weird like that. At least it's organic. Not sure about the cans. It looks like the lids may be plastic?

What do all of you think?

A (Nearly) Happy Ending

Today was back-to-school day for the twins. At 2:30pm or so, I got a phone call from the school asking if I could come pick up Airius because he was running a temp of 102 degrees Farenheit.

I pulled into the parking lot and waddled my way through (yeah, that's part of being firmly planted in the third trimester of pregnancy) only to be greeted at the sidewalk by an eager little kitten. In the busy Head Start parking lot. You know, where the buses that couldn't possibly see a kitten drive and park. Yikes. But I was on a mission to retrieve my ailing son, so I sidestepped the kitty with an apology and headed into the building.

A few moments later, I was towing two children by their hands towards the front door and was contemplating whether or not to mention my feline run-in with them when, both at the same time, Annie and Airius began the tale of their morning entrance into the school... complete with how their was a "cute little kitty" (Annie) or "scary, poisonous cat" (Airius) running around the parking lot that their teachers warned them not to approach because it might bite or scratch. Just as I lay my hand on the knob to enter once again the sea of asphalt, a Head Start administrator poked her head around the corner and said that if I like cats, I could do them a favor and take the parking lot kitten home. Apparently, she'd called the Humane Society but was told that they do not do pickups. I smiled and told her I probably wasn't her woman, but, well...

Back out to the parking lot we went, and the scary, poisonous, cute, little kitty trotted up to us once more. It was then that I noticed he wasn't walking perfectly on his hind legs. He looked a little shaky all over, in fact. Oy. If I wasn't in love with the little guy before, I certainly was once I knew that he really needed help. I'd noticed him sniffing at the rainbow pools scattered about the pavement. Maybe he drank some antifreeze? Perhaps someone hit him but not hard enough to kill him? I got the kids into the car, all the while trailed by our little buddy. I couldn't help it. I had to call The Husband and do a little groveling. He was so friendly that he must belong to someone. I'll just put out a found ad for him, I assured The Husband. No go. We can keep him just a few days in a comfy bed out of doors until I find someone willing and worthy to take him. Still an emphatic no from my other half. I could at least transport him to the Humane Society. No no no. "There are hundreds of stray cats out there. If you bring one home, you'll want to bring them all home. NO!"

Sigh. By this time, the kitten had taken a couple of tries at crawling into my minivan, despite its shaky, uncooperative limbs. On its third try it succeeded, at which point Airius let out a pealing scream and begged me not to take it home. That smart little cat scrambled from the van at the racket but waited just outside, staring woefully at me. Sorry kitty. Not today.

Kitty and I weren't the only ones upset. Annie was rather peeved that Daddy hadn't given into my pleas and was very worried that the kitten would be hit in the parking lot, or would freeze to death, or would starve because he hadn't had any food. I promised that none of those things would happen. I would find someone to go pick the cat up. And if I couldn't manage that, I'd use all my womanly nagging powers to whittle down The Husband's resolve. Muahahahaha!

Back at the homestead, I tucked Airius onto the couch with a new book to read, and Annie and I headed next door to our neighbor's house. It was probably a long shot, but E. and J. had brought home a couple of kittens right around Halloween, so I thought it might not be too late to add another. And, hell, what's one little kitten to a woman who cares for herself, a boyfriend, six kids, a dog, two kittens, a few hermit crabs and an unknown number of fish, right? I was in luck! They were looking for another kitten for J's oldest son, and J's as much of a sucker for a sob story as I am. She was without transportation though, so I straightened my spine and told The Husband I'd be driving J. and two of her kids back to the Head Start building to pick up the cat. J. had a carrier and some canned food as a bribe, but I assured her there would be no trouble from the little guy. He was eager for a human (or 8) to call his own, I knew.

And so unfolded the easiest cat catch ever (uh, approach cat, pick up cat, point cat towards carrier and watch as he walked in of his own accord and greedily gobbled the canned food). All that was left was to name the little fellow, and J. gave the honor to Annie. "Sunny" it was to be. And off to the vet he will go, it was promised, on Wednesday. Let's hope for a promising prognosis and that he gets along with the other kitties already in residence next door.

I love a happy ending.

I Can Almost Breathe Again

I have been ill since November 1st. It's getting old. It hasn't been the same illness continually, but one thing right after the other. Has it really been weeks since I've posted here!? Yikes.

As much as I've tried just muddling through, getting things done, it hasn't really happened. For example, our Yule/Christmas tree has been up for a week, sans ornaments. All of the decorations are still in the attic. I could go on an on about the frustrations that have come up and the number of things of my to-do list that haven't been done, but today is the first day that I can actually move without feeling like I'm pulling taffy, so I'm just going to keep moving forward. One step at a time. Things will get done or they won't. I may be kicking myself later, but right now, through bouts of hacking and shivering, I'm just doing what I can.

At this moment I can do laundry, so I'm going to. Joy!

Civic Duty--Done!

I've purposely kept this blog free of my political leanings as much as possible, which I hope you all appreciate. I'm not at all afraid of entering into political discourse, but this election has been so LONG and drawn out that I figure we all need a place where we can take a break. So, never fear, today's post is not about who I voted for or why, simply that I voted at all.

We voted quickly and easily today. Oh, how I love small towns! I had to wait about 5 minutes (maybe less) for a machine to open up, but that was it. The machine gave me no problems, and I checked the paper print to make sure that everything was cast correctly. Airius voted with me because he liked my candidate best, but Annie and Callie voted with their Daddy. We're all proudly sporting out stickers. I'd love to show you some adorable pictures of the kids taking part in democracy, but my camera battery died just as we were done voting. *sigh* I definitely need to pay closer attention to that.

The kids are both home from school today because their bellies aren't feeling completely well yet. I had to pick Annie up from school yesterday because she spent all but 15 minutes out of an hour and a half in the bathroom, so they won't let her come back until she's symptom free for at least 24 hours. The Husband's home too because, well, he has a flexible schedule and really wants to watch every. second. of. political. coverage.

Soooooo... that's what I'll be doing for the rest of the day. Cleaning up bodily explosions from my children and listening to non-stop, blaringly loud election coverage. Did I mention that The Husband is an old man? :)

Back Soon

I promise. While I'd like to say that I've been hard at work on some incredible homesteading project, the truth is much less glamorous. We've all been hit with a deplorable stomach bug, and I just haven't had time to post between moments of cleaning up the various bodily explosions of one husband, two children (Airius somehow managed to escape this completely so far...), and my pregnant self. Did you know that pregnant women are insanely sensitive to pungent odors? Pity me, people. :)

And happy Samhain, Halloween, or whatever it is you're celebrating today!

Blogging Break

It seems like I just took one, I know, but I'm going out of town this weekend to attend my best friend's wedding so I will not be blogging for a spell. West Virginia, here I come!

Have a good weekend, y'all (how's my drawl? :-)

Today's Harvest

The past 24 hours have been a little hectic, so we spent today digging potatoes in the garden, ripping up our sunflowers, corn, and tomato plants, and wondering what in the world to do with the bed still overflowing with prickly borage.

Last night wasn't nearly so much fun. I spent a couple of hours in the ER after not feeling the baby move for 48 hours and waking up at 7am with mild cramping. I'm not the type to run to a doctor, but The Husband was worried enough to come home early from work, so off I went. Before I left, The Husband pressed his cheek to my tummy and told the baby that he loved it and he knew it'd be all right. "Behave for your Mommy, okay?" One last kiss to my stomach. "I'd feel better if the baby had a name," I said without knowing why.

It took the nurse nearly 20 minutes to find the baby's heartbeat. I was sweating bullets, even though I know that ER nurses aren't nearly as adept at this sort of thing as a nurse or doc at an OB/GYN office. Finally, we heard the heartbeat, and at that exact moment, my little one let out an enormous kick and bounced that doppler right off of my stomach. I know, little one. I should never have disturbed you.

I was ready to go home at that point, but the doctor had different ideas, of course. I had a full battery of blood work drawn, gave a urine sample, and was wheeled in for an ultrasound, grumbling all the way. Once I heard baby's heart beating, I knew things were fine. It was glorious to see that baby moving on the ultrasound screen though! The first question from the woman doing the ultrasound was whether or not I wanted to know the sex. Daniel had made a point of telling me before I left for the hospital that I'd better find out the sex of the baby if given the chance. He knows all too well that I'd rather be surprised, but this pregnancy has been all about compromise, so I agreed. As soon as the image shifted to that secret spot between the baby's legs, I knew it was a girl. Though I'd been getting boy vibes for the whole pregnancy, I wasn't surprised. The one name we had agreed on had been for a girl. The baby had had her name all along.

Armed with new ultrasound photos to show the kids, a handful of Vicodin (what? Doesn't your doctor prescribe Vicodin for adominal pain that you've described as mild and a 2 on a scale of 1-10?), and a "diagnosis" connecting my normally low blood pressure with a lethargic but undistressed baby (yeah, right), I finally got in the car and rambled on home. The Husband was relieved, as was I. I still couldn't get her to move today until I decided to put some pressure on my uterus. Then she poked delicately at my hand.

Airius had some trouble adjusting to the idea of a baby sister this morning. After all, the boy had flipped a coin and been told our baby was a boy! He's coming around though. I told him we may still keep the baby in his room for awhile, which is what he really wants. He's jealous that his sisters always have each other for company. Maybe we'll move the twins back in together and let The Bean share a room with the baby. I don't know. Anyone have any suggestions?



Today's harvest, artfully arranged by garden girl Annie in a basket received from a Freecycle offer. I'll talk more about the results of the garden in another post, but for now I'm resting with my children, those in the here and now and those whose faces I have yet to see. Love, love, love.

My Not So Big Reveal

I'll admit that it hurt a little, temporarily giving up on the idea of a metal roof. We've been contemplating this decision for awhile now, and we really thought we could make it work. The man who came to give us our estimate was extremely cooperative on the pricing in return for having our blossoming homestead as a tour opportunity for eco-minded potential customers. Still, with the economy in the condition it's in, we were just sick at the thought of making such a big ticket purchase. We don't immediately need a roof (famous last words, right?), so it seemed most reasonable to postpone this project.

I'm a little disappointed, but there is plenty to keep me occupied. The gaps in our cold weather preparations are becoming glaring as our thermostat sits firmly at 65 degrees Farenheit. Time to channel the Spirit of Squirrel!

Blogging Break

I've come down with a dreadful sore throat and congestion, so I'm going to take some time off of blogging to heal. Hope you're all spinning through the change of seasons with health and happiness.

Realization

One of the things that has always stuck with me throughout life: the night my mom told me that, if everyone was like me, nothing revolutionary would ever happen in this world. I've always played it safe. Followed the rules. Compromised.

I really felt that homesteading fell into that category. You know, don't depend on others, take care of yourself. Do what's right for the earth. Isn't it trendy to be "green"? And then yesterday, as I showed a complete stranger around our "homestead" and told him my hopes and dreams for what it one day will be, a strange thing happened. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "This is really rather revolutionary."

Really?

Yeah, it is.

We don't have much. Our path to sustainability or evironmentally-friendly living or the simple life or whatever you want to call it has only just begun. It was apparent though, in my conversation with this gentleman, that he hadn't seen a vegetable garden in somebody's backyard since he was a little boy (and he was much older than I am, I might add!). I mentioned our rain barrel project for next year, and his eyes grew wide. "Rain barrels!? I haven't seen anyone set up rain barrels in... well, more than 20 years! What made you think of doing that? Why would you need to in Ohio?" And so, the meeting that should have lasted no more than 40 minutes took about 3 hours, and I realized that maybe-- just maybe-- I have a little of mom's revolutionary spirit in me after all.