I have been steadily blogging along on this blog since November of 2004. After a lot of look at my blogging style and where I want to go with the blog, I decided it was best to move it over to another blogging service that can help me meet some more of my goals.
Come on over to our new blog Oregon Natural Foods and see what we are blogging about. We will be talking about our photography ventures, our animals, our small plot of land, our children, our cooking and many, many other things.
Please change your feeds to now follow www.OregonNaturalFoods.com sorry about the inconvenience.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Saturday, May 09, 2009
My Life
I read in a book that it is best to refrain from complaining when pregnant. It helps have a healthy outlook on life and it also can really help with the delivery going easier. I totally agree with this, but I am a complainer, and there really is no two ways about it. Today seems to have been a particularly awful day in many regards, and I just thought I'd share for fun.
Everything started out really well. Daphne, Jared and I all went out into the garden and pulled up weeds and dug for carrots. Jared helped harvest 13 pounds of green onion tops and bulbs. The potatoes were in the same bed, so when the soil was turned, they came up. Daphne had a really, really good time finding the potatoes and putting them in the bucket to bring inside to eat!
I spent some time going around the back yard digging up the weeds that had started to take over. Once I could see the herbs in the herb garden I started to see how lovely they looked. They really took the winter well, and my Greek Oregano is already producing. It might be time to take the tops off it already! I have some marjoram that I was unsure if it was going to make it. It turns out that it flourished through the winter and should be a strong plant for this year. My chocolate mint has taken off, but it is mint, so what can I say? It makes a really, really great tea. I still have some dried herbs from last year that I'm brewing with some raspberry leaf for tea. I planted a sage plant also at the end of last season and it turns out that it is doing really, really well. I am excited to see how they progress through the summer. I had also planted Italian parsley at the END of the season last year. It made it through the winter beautifully, and the plant is really starting to flourish. I think it is time to cut it out and dry it (or put it in our fresh food).
I managed to plant some artichokes a few weeks ago, and they are outside looking incredibly happy. They are a long term future investment because they take about a year to produce a crop, but I'm trying to grow some veggies this year that I'm not going to be getting from the CSA. I am excited to see how the artichokes do.
The other plants I planted at the same time as the artichokes are not doing so well. There are some peppers, some eggplants and a few melons. I really didn't get the melons to germinate well, and the ones that did seemed to not grow well. I did put some healthy ones in the ground, but I think that a bit of cold got to them and what damage that didn't do, the slugs did do. There are a LOT of slugs out there, and I'm trying to find a solution. I hope that the plants really start to enjoy the weather that we are having and grow big and tall.
I exposed my grapes from the weeds that were trying to hide them. They have produced some wonderful leaves. I am hoping to be able to go out and harvest a few of them to use to make dolomathes (Greek stuffed grape leaves). Yum.
I really need to get out now and turn the soil in the remaining beds so that I can get some seeds int he ground. Perhaps I will feel like doing that tomorrow, perhaps not.
The Gestational Diabetes thing has had me all over the charts. I was completely devastated at first, but then I made an appointment with a Naturopath/Nutritionist. She really helped me figure out what I could eat. I felt like I had even more options available to me than I had before the news that I had Diabetes. The problem is that I am hopelessly addicted to sugar in all of its lovely forms, so the cold turkey quitting method has been difficult. I don't really mind eating foods that are a little more "healthly" "hippie" or "earthy" than normal, but I do miss my ice cream and many of the other indulgences. I still have an unopened box of ice cream popsciles in the freezer that I am having a hard time not going and eating right now!
I've got some good food ideas. I make a mash for breakfast that is a mixture of crushed wheat, oats, corn, kamut, quinoa and any other grain I could come up with. It actually doesn't taste to bad with a little agave nectar and some lactose free milk, but I feel like a total hippie eating it. It's not something I want to spend the rest of my life eating, but I do appreciate it for now. I also managed to make some granola for myself that doesn't have any sugar or maple syrup in it. It's not as good as the granola I usually make, but I don't feel like I'm missing out a lot either.
I actually discovered that I could eat frittatas and quiches. The main concern with the illness is the ability to eat enough foods of enough variety with enough protein. If I can't eat well enough I am at great risk of developing pre-eclampsia, which would pretty much guarantee that I need another c-section. I'm determined to keep this situation from becoming scary, life threatneing or to let it change my birthing plans. Being able to eat eggs in SOME form has helped a lot with me being able to get enough protein. I also got some hemp protein powder from the store that is pretty palatable with mixed with almond milk.
All that said, I really miss my sugar. There is some lemonaide in the fridge that has been tempting me a lot lately because it as almost 80 degrees today! I also had just made a batch of chai ice cream before I got the news, so I've been pawning it off onto anyone willing to eat it!
I DID take the liberty of making my own sugar free-dairy free totally diabetically OK ice cream the other day. I made it with coconut milk, almond milk, vanilla extract and agave nectar. The texture isn't quite like ice cream yet, but I'm going to try a few different variations to see what I can do to fix that. I actually had the idea of mixing in a banana at some point to see if I can get a flavor other than just plain cocount. The good news is that I have something satisfying for the time being, so I don't feel totally left out, but I'm still having total withdrawls from sugar.
My doctor said that watermelon is totally OK to eat so I bought two personal watermelons the other day and have been scarfing them down. I love, love, love watermelon right now, so it is working. The good news is that it does nothing to the blood sugar and is pretty much nutritionally invaluable as a food, so I do no harm by indulging!
After all the gardening got done this morning, we came in to discover that the dishwasher is leaking. Jared was working on fixing it, but he had a meeting in Portland all afternoon so he had to take it apart and dash off. My kitchen has been spotless recently, so it is hard to take the fact that there are dirty dishes everywhere and that the dishwasher may not be up and running for a while. It is REALLY gross under the sink and the dishwasher, and I really just wish the problem would go away. I'm hoping it can be fixed soon.
While I was doing some other outside errands, I put my little chicken outside to be with the bigger chicken. I did buy one more laying hen this year to replace one of the ones that I had lost from last year. She has been kind of the odd one out everywhere. She grew at the same time as the chukar, but then she got too big and decided when she was hungry that she was going to start pecking at them. After finding 2 bloody chukar one morning, I removed her. I tried putting her with the meat chickens, who were born the same day she was, but they are about 3 times bigger than her, and they really would kill her. I then tried putting her with my big laying hens. God knows that introducing a new chicken is a problem when done at any time, but it turns out that she is just small enough to get herself caught in odd places. After waiting a few more weeks, I put her outside with the hens and kind of forgot about her.
When I went back out to feed the meat birds, the neighbor next door said he had something to say, and yelled over the fence that he had some problems with the chickens that I needed to handle immediately. I have no problem being told something is not working, but the dude didn't even have the balls to come over and knock on the door. He had to do it through the fence, and I didn't even know he was talking to me for the first minute or two. Our neighbors use to love our chickens, so I don't know what the deal is, but I already had plans to revamp the chicken space this summer, so hopefully, I'll work on that and they can mind their own business. I was upset though because he was swearing at me over some really dumb points and he didn't have the guts to come and actually try to have a conversation with me.
Moving on, when I finally got Daphne down for a nap, I was totally exhausted so I sat around for a while feeling totally bored and totally overwhelmed at the same time. I know that I have a list of things to do, but none of the things on the list were really dire. I just felt bored and sad and lonely while getting nothing done at all. It is also REALLY uncomfortable to sit in a chair for longer than 5 or 10 mintues, so I have to kind of keep moving all day, which makes me totally exhausted by the end of the day.
Oh... we still have ants crawling all over our house no matter how clean I keep it. They are boring holes through the caulking and getting in. I've got them MASSES under control, but they still are really proving to be annoying little creatures. I'm not sure that I'm beyond digging up where I know one hive is and pouring posion down it.
I took a bike ride over to the spinning wheel store in town (I know, how cool is it that we have a spinning store in town?). I needed to get something to be able to process some wool to spin, but it turns out that they were out of stock on what I need, so I have to wait to have it special ordered. Grrr. How annoying. Daphne also was into running around and touching everything, which can wear down on the nerves quickly.
I tried to clean the car today but the sun was beating down on me. I feel like the outside could use a really good scrub. The last few times I've gone through the car wash it has done a really, really bad job, so its time to do it myself, I'd just really appreciate a nice shiny car.
Jared came back from California, and the car was totally trashed, so I tried to clean it up a little bit, but there is stuff everywhere, so it is going to take a few rounds to get everything handled. Then I'll be able to clean the interior and feel like a better car owner. The car is one of my favorite posessions, so I feel so much happier when it is clean and taken care of.
I took Daphne to town to run some errands. I needed to get some basic car parts, air filters, windshield wiper blades, etc. They had everything I needed, except they only had one wiper blade for our other car. I tried driving the car in the rain and the dark when Jared and Daphne were in California, and I was afraid for my life. I have to call them and have them special order the wiper blades for the car on Monday, which means another trip back to the store. How udderly annoying. They were nice enough to put the new blades on the Matrix for me, so that makes my life a lot easier.
I stopped to get some presents for Mother's Day. Daphne decided she was hungry and thirsty and really lost her manners. The rest of the shopping was hell. When I got home, I was so happy to be able to take her out of the car because she was screaming and being grumpy about simple little things. I managed to get a quiche in the oven and get outside to take care of some animals.
I re-bred all my rabbits, and it is time for them to kindle again. My angora bun, Daisy should have her litter on Monday and I have a meat rabbit that should have her litter on Tuesday. I am excited for both litters because I think that I have enough experience at this point to really make this a successful endeavor. The angora buns are a bit of an experiment. I have been trying to breed her off and on for a while now, so having a real litter to deal with should be great. I checked and she is pregnant, so now I just have to wait. I love her fiber, but I'm not very happy about the fiber on the buck. I'm hoping that her fiber will dominate the litter, and then I will have some nice buns to keep, but I doubt it. I found out that she is 99.25% German Angora recently. It makes sense, she has a lovely coat, and she really does exhibit the German characteristics, I was just not sure because there was no data on her pedigree. I'd love to breed her to a 100% German buck and keep some of the kits that we get. She used to be the biggest problem rabbit, but she has started to come into her own recently, and she is my favorite sweetheart. I'm very surprised. It would be nice to have some German buns out that are quality stock. I'm hoping to make this happen soon.
I realized that I probably should be clipping my other angora rabbit (my mature buck) Poe soon, so that's another project I have to tacle. His fiber is just not as fine as I am seeing from any of my other Angoras, so I am a bit worried about what I am going to end up with to spin. Only the clipping will tell. He has a great disposition, I'm just not sure that I want to see his wool quality in my stock. I'm still learning a lot though.
So, I put nesting boxes out for my rabbits, and I feel like stalking them until I see some baby rabbits to play with!
I had a hard time feeding Daphne tonight because she was just running around and not really interested. I did get enough bites into her. However, as I sat down to do something else for a minute, I heard her over on the floor pouring water onto the floor and sucking it up with her lips. She then poured a full litre of water all over the floor while she was trying to fill up a little ounce cup. She's been doing these kinds of things all day, and all I can say is that I was happy to put her in her cradle and walk away for the night.
I still have a bunch of things to get done tonight, but it really is looking like I'll probably spend the time watching a movie and being totally lazy. These are the days of a woman in her third trimester, what else can I say.
I've got lots planned for tomorrow with some other really big ideas, so stay tuned.
Thanks for listening to 3000 works from a complaining woman.
Everything started out really well. Daphne, Jared and I all went out into the garden and pulled up weeds and dug for carrots. Jared helped harvest 13 pounds of green onion tops and bulbs. The potatoes were in the same bed, so when the soil was turned, they came up. Daphne had a really, really good time finding the potatoes and putting them in the bucket to bring inside to eat!
I spent some time going around the back yard digging up the weeds that had started to take over. Once I could see the herbs in the herb garden I started to see how lovely they looked. They really took the winter well, and my Greek Oregano is already producing. It might be time to take the tops off it already! I have some marjoram that I was unsure if it was going to make it. It turns out that it flourished through the winter and should be a strong plant for this year. My chocolate mint has taken off, but it is mint, so what can I say? It makes a really, really great tea. I still have some dried herbs from last year that I'm brewing with some raspberry leaf for tea. I planted a sage plant also at the end of last season and it turns out that it is doing really, really well. I am excited to see how they progress through the summer. I had also planted Italian parsley at the END of the season last year. It made it through the winter beautifully, and the plant is really starting to flourish. I think it is time to cut it out and dry it (or put it in our fresh food).
I managed to plant some artichokes a few weeks ago, and they are outside looking incredibly happy. They are a long term future investment because they take about a year to produce a crop, but I'm trying to grow some veggies this year that I'm not going to be getting from the CSA. I am excited to see how the artichokes do.
The other plants I planted at the same time as the artichokes are not doing so well. There are some peppers, some eggplants and a few melons. I really didn't get the melons to germinate well, and the ones that did seemed to not grow well. I did put some healthy ones in the ground, but I think that a bit of cold got to them and what damage that didn't do, the slugs did do. There are a LOT of slugs out there, and I'm trying to find a solution. I hope that the plants really start to enjoy the weather that we are having and grow big and tall.
I exposed my grapes from the weeds that were trying to hide them. They have produced some wonderful leaves. I am hoping to be able to go out and harvest a few of them to use to make dolomathes (Greek stuffed grape leaves). Yum.
I really need to get out now and turn the soil in the remaining beds so that I can get some seeds int he ground. Perhaps I will feel like doing that tomorrow, perhaps not.
The Gestational Diabetes thing has had me all over the charts. I was completely devastated at first, but then I made an appointment with a Naturopath/Nutritionist. She really helped me figure out what I could eat. I felt like I had even more options available to me than I had before the news that I had Diabetes. The problem is that I am hopelessly addicted to sugar in all of its lovely forms, so the cold turkey quitting method has been difficult. I don't really mind eating foods that are a little more "healthly" "hippie" or "earthy" than normal, but I do miss my ice cream and many of the other indulgences. I still have an unopened box of ice cream popsciles in the freezer that I am having a hard time not going and eating right now!
I've got some good food ideas. I make a mash for breakfast that is a mixture of crushed wheat, oats, corn, kamut, quinoa and any other grain I could come up with. It actually doesn't taste to bad with a little agave nectar and some lactose free milk, but I feel like a total hippie eating it. It's not something I want to spend the rest of my life eating, but I do appreciate it for now. I also managed to make some granola for myself that doesn't have any sugar or maple syrup in it. It's not as good as the granola I usually make, but I don't feel like I'm missing out a lot either.
I actually discovered that I could eat frittatas and quiches. The main concern with the illness is the ability to eat enough foods of enough variety with enough protein. If I can't eat well enough I am at great risk of developing pre-eclampsia, which would pretty much guarantee that I need another c-section. I'm determined to keep this situation from becoming scary, life threatneing or to let it change my birthing plans. Being able to eat eggs in SOME form has helped a lot with me being able to get enough protein. I also got some hemp protein powder from the store that is pretty palatable with mixed with almond milk.
All that said, I really miss my sugar. There is some lemonaide in the fridge that has been tempting me a lot lately because it as almost 80 degrees today! I also had just made a batch of chai ice cream before I got the news, so I've been pawning it off onto anyone willing to eat it!
I DID take the liberty of making my own sugar free-dairy free totally diabetically OK ice cream the other day. I made it with coconut milk, almond milk, vanilla extract and agave nectar. The texture isn't quite like ice cream yet, but I'm going to try a few different variations to see what I can do to fix that. I actually had the idea of mixing in a banana at some point to see if I can get a flavor other than just plain cocount. The good news is that I have something satisfying for the time being, so I don't feel totally left out, but I'm still having total withdrawls from sugar.
My doctor said that watermelon is totally OK to eat so I bought two personal watermelons the other day and have been scarfing them down. I love, love, love watermelon right now, so it is working. The good news is that it does nothing to the blood sugar and is pretty much nutritionally invaluable as a food, so I do no harm by indulging!
After all the gardening got done this morning, we came in to discover that the dishwasher is leaking. Jared was working on fixing it, but he had a meeting in Portland all afternoon so he had to take it apart and dash off. My kitchen has been spotless recently, so it is hard to take the fact that there are dirty dishes everywhere and that the dishwasher may not be up and running for a while. It is REALLY gross under the sink and the dishwasher, and I really just wish the problem would go away. I'm hoping it can be fixed soon.
While I was doing some other outside errands, I put my little chicken outside to be with the bigger chicken. I did buy one more laying hen this year to replace one of the ones that I had lost from last year. She has been kind of the odd one out everywhere. She grew at the same time as the chukar, but then she got too big and decided when she was hungry that she was going to start pecking at them. After finding 2 bloody chukar one morning, I removed her. I tried putting her with the meat chickens, who were born the same day she was, but they are about 3 times bigger than her, and they really would kill her. I then tried putting her with my big laying hens. God knows that introducing a new chicken is a problem when done at any time, but it turns out that she is just small enough to get herself caught in odd places. After waiting a few more weeks, I put her outside with the hens and kind of forgot about her.
When I went back out to feed the meat birds, the neighbor next door said he had something to say, and yelled over the fence that he had some problems with the chickens that I needed to handle immediately. I have no problem being told something is not working, but the dude didn't even have the balls to come over and knock on the door. He had to do it through the fence, and I didn't even know he was talking to me for the first minute or two. Our neighbors use to love our chickens, so I don't know what the deal is, but I already had plans to revamp the chicken space this summer, so hopefully, I'll work on that and they can mind their own business. I was upset though because he was swearing at me over some really dumb points and he didn't have the guts to come and actually try to have a conversation with me.
Moving on, when I finally got Daphne down for a nap, I was totally exhausted so I sat around for a while feeling totally bored and totally overwhelmed at the same time. I know that I have a list of things to do, but none of the things on the list were really dire. I just felt bored and sad and lonely while getting nothing done at all. It is also REALLY uncomfortable to sit in a chair for longer than 5 or 10 mintues, so I have to kind of keep moving all day, which makes me totally exhausted by the end of the day.
Oh... we still have ants crawling all over our house no matter how clean I keep it. They are boring holes through the caulking and getting in. I've got them MASSES under control, but they still are really proving to be annoying little creatures. I'm not sure that I'm beyond digging up where I know one hive is and pouring posion down it.
I took a bike ride over to the spinning wheel store in town (I know, how cool is it that we have a spinning store in town?). I needed to get something to be able to process some wool to spin, but it turns out that they were out of stock on what I need, so I have to wait to have it special ordered. Grrr. How annoying. Daphne also was into running around and touching everything, which can wear down on the nerves quickly.
I tried to clean the car today but the sun was beating down on me. I feel like the outside could use a really good scrub. The last few times I've gone through the car wash it has done a really, really bad job, so its time to do it myself, I'd just really appreciate a nice shiny car.
Jared came back from California, and the car was totally trashed, so I tried to clean it up a little bit, but there is stuff everywhere, so it is going to take a few rounds to get everything handled. Then I'll be able to clean the interior and feel like a better car owner. The car is one of my favorite posessions, so I feel so much happier when it is clean and taken care of.
I took Daphne to town to run some errands. I needed to get some basic car parts, air filters, windshield wiper blades, etc. They had everything I needed, except they only had one wiper blade for our other car. I tried driving the car in the rain and the dark when Jared and Daphne were in California, and I was afraid for my life. I have to call them and have them special order the wiper blades for the car on Monday, which means another trip back to the store. How udderly annoying. They were nice enough to put the new blades on the Matrix for me, so that makes my life a lot easier.
I stopped to get some presents for Mother's Day. Daphne decided she was hungry and thirsty and really lost her manners. The rest of the shopping was hell. When I got home, I was so happy to be able to take her out of the car because she was screaming and being grumpy about simple little things. I managed to get a quiche in the oven and get outside to take care of some animals.
I re-bred all my rabbits, and it is time for them to kindle again. My angora bun, Daisy should have her litter on Monday and I have a meat rabbit that should have her litter on Tuesday. I am excited for both litters because I think that I have enough experience at this point to really make this a successful endeavor. The angora buns are a bit of an experiment. I have been trying to breed her off and on for a while now, so having a real litter to deal with should be great. I checked and she is pregnant, so now I just have to wait. I love her fiber, but I'm not very happy about the fiber on the buck. I'm hoping that her fiber will dominate the litter, and then I will have some nice buns to keep, but I doubt it. I found out that she is 99.25% German Angora recently. It makes sense, she has a lovely coat, and she really does exhibit the German characteristics, I was just not sure because there was no data on her pedigree. I'd love to breed her to a 100% German buck and keep some of the kits that we get. She used to be the biggest problem rabbit, but she has started to come into her own recently, and she is my favorite sweetheart. I'm very surprised. It would be nice to have some German buns out that are quality stock. I'm hoping to make this happen soon.
I realized that I probably should be clipping my other angora rabbit (my mature buck) Poe soon, so that's another project I have to tacle. His fiber is just not as fine as I am seeing from any of my other Angoras, so I am a bit worried about what I am going to end up with to spin. Only the clipping will tell. He has a great disposition, I'm just not sure that I want to see his wool quality in my stock. I'm still learning a lot though.
So, I put nesting boxes out for my rabbits, and I feel like stalking them until I see some baby rabbits to play with!
I had a hard time feeding Daphne tonight because she was just running around and not really interested. I did get enough bites into her. However, as I sat down to do something else for a minute, I heard her over on the floor pouring water onto the floor and sucking it up with her lips. She then poured a full litre of water all over the floor while she was trying to fill up a little ounce cup. She's been doing these kinds of things all day, and all I can say is that I was happy to put her in her cradle and walk away for the night.
I still have a bunch of things to get done tonight, but it really is looking like I'll probably spend the time watching a movie and being totally lazy. These are the days of a woman in her third trimester, what else can I say.
I've got lots planned for tomorrow with some other really big ideas, so stay tuned.
Thanks for listening to 3000 works from a complaining woman.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
There's The Wall
I worked really hard while Jared and Daphne were gone. I had almost forgotten what it was like to not have things move around mysteriously in the house. I was also able to follow a train of thought and do things one after another without interruption. It really was different than the way I do things these days.
After working hard from 6 am to 10 pm every day, it became clear that I was really running out of steam. I even took one evening off and went to a friend's birthday party.
On Sunday, I really started to feel the stress of all the work I had been doing. I was feeling a lot of pain and pressure in my pelvic floor, and I was actually considering taking a nap for the first time in a long time.
I laid down to take a nap, and still wasn't feeling better when I woke up. Things got progressively worse, and by bedtime I was feeling very dizzy and unwell.
Monday didn't go much better, so a phone call to my midwife ended in the fact that I needed to come and see her.
I drove over to her house (we live close) last night and she checked everything out. On the plus side, things were looking really, really good. The baby is growing and lively, and is even vertex at this point (wahoo)!
The bad news is that I failed a glucose test, which means that I have gestational diabetes. Oh boy. That means that in addition to the food aversions I already have, I've got a lot of new food restrictions I get to deal with over the next couple of months. I'm not really looking forward to this at all.
After working hard from 6 am to 10 pm every day, it became clear that I was really running out of steam. I even took one evening off and went to a friend's birthday party.
On Sunday, I really started to feel the stress of all the work I had been doing. I was feeling a lot of pain and pressure in my pelvic floor, and I was actually considering taking a nap for the first time in a long time.
I laid down to take a nap, and still wasn't feeling better when I woke up. Things got progressively worse, and by bedtime I was feeling very dizzy and unwell.
Monday didn't go much better, so a phone call to my midwife ended in the fact that I needed to come and see her.
I drove over to her house (we live close) last night and she checked everything out. On the plus side, things were looking really, really good. The baby is growing and lively, and is even vertex at this point (wahoo)!
The bad news is that I failed a glucose test, which means that I have gestational diabetes. Oh boy. That means that in addition to the food aversions I already have, I've got a lot of new food restrictions I get to deal with over the next couple of months. I'm not really looking forward to this at all.
Moma, You're Smart
I was teaching Daphne to spell her name this morning in bed. She has it mostly down except for the first two letters.
As I was repeating over and over D-A-P-H-N-E, she stopped me and said, "Mama, you're really smart."
I think she's right!
As I was repeating over and over D-A-P-H-N-E, she stopped me and said, "Mama, you're really smart."
I think she's right!
My Portfolio
I left Greece when I was 7 months pregnant with Daphne, and I never really managed to get all the photos in my portfolio matted and put together professionally. They have been sitting for over a year in half matted piles. It is a project that takes a lot of focus and concentration, and it is also something that can't be done with kids around. Daphne is not allowed around because she could totally destroy the photos of she decided to touch or rearrange them.
While Jared and Daphne were gone, I set up all my matting supplies and spent hours on end matting my photos.
The good news is that my portfolio has been completely matted and put together. It feels so good to take care of the art treasures that I spent over a year to create!
I even took the time to mat some photos that had been taken of me modeling. Many of the photos mean a lot of me because they document the time I spent in Greece. I was also at my thinnest point just before I got pregnant with Daphne. It reminds me of what to make my way back to as soon as I have this baby in a few weeks (its not too far away).
I also managed to set aside some photos to hang up in the house on display. As soon as I work funds into the budget and get the gumption to drive to IKEA, I can go and get the frames to hang the photos up. it will be nice to have something more than blank walls for a change.
I must say that I am really proud of myself for this.
While Jared and Daphne were gone, I set up all my matting supplies and spent hours on end matting my photos.
The good news is that my portfolio has been completely matted and put together. It feels so good to take care of the art treasures that I spent over a year to create!
I even took the time to mat some photos that had been taken of me modeling. Many of the photos mean a lot of me because they document the time I spent in Greece. I was also at my thinnest point just before I got pregnant with Daphne. It reminds me of what to make my way back to as soon as I have this baby in a few weeks (its not too far away).
I also managed to set aside some photos to hang up in the house on display. As soon as I work funds into the budget and get the gumption to drive to IKEA, I can go and get the frames to hang the photos up. it will be nice to have something more than blank walls for a change.
I must say that I am really proud of myself for this.
1 Month Late
It seems that Spring seems to be taking its sweet time getting here. I know that rain is a component of the whole spring thing, but it seems that we have only had a few nice days spread out here and there in which going outside is even possible!!!
Yesterday, I had to drive for a bit, and there was a point that it was raining so hard I considered pulling over and waiting it out. There was so much water on the road I was hydroplaning, and the windshield wipers on the fastest setting did nothing to improve visibility. I am glad I made it home safely.
Sadly, the forecast says rain all day every day until Friday. I guess it is a sign that I had better get some sewing done eh?
March is supposed to be "in like a lion out like a lamb." April started with roaring wind and cold showers. April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but we're already 5 days into May, and I see no sign of flowers, only showers.
Dear God,
Please stop the rain.
Yesterday, I had to drive for a bit, and there was a point that it was raining so hard I considered pulling over and waiting it out. There was so much water on the road I was hydroplaning, and the windshield wipers on the fastest setting did nothing to improve visibility. I am glad I made it home safely.
Sadly, the forecast says rain all day every day until Friday. I guess it is a sign that I had better get some sewing done eh?
March is supposed to be "in like a lion out like a lamb." April started with roaring wind and cold showers. April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but we're already 5 days into May, and I see no sign of flowers, only showers.
Dear God,
Please stop the rain.
Shiny New Floors
As I have been going around room to room, I would steam clean the floor as the last action. It is hard to schedule because it is best if the floors don't get walked on for 12 or so hours while they are wet.
While Jared and Daphne went to California this weekend, I took the opportunity to finish cleaning all the rest of the rooms and get to the floors.
In Jared's office, I actually had to take his desk apart piece by piece and clean under it. The desk then got cleaned and put back together. It looked GREAT when I was done, but it sure was a lot of work.
The day they came home, I got up early and managed to finish cleaning the rest of the floors in the house. The carpets in the whole house now look brand new!
While Jared and Daphne went to California this weekend, I took the opportunity to finish cleaning all the rest of the rooms and get to the floors.
In Jared's office, I actually had to take his desk apart piece by piece and clean under it. The desk then got cleaned and put back together. It looked GREAT when I was done, but it sure was a lot of work.
The day they came home, I got up early and managed to finish cleaning the rest of the floors in the house. The carpets in the whole house now look brand new!
Friday, May 01, 2009
The Kitchen--Die Ants Die
Since Jared and Daphne were going to California this weekend, I have been working hard to get a lot of things done before they go and while they are gone. I do have a long list of things that need to happen before the house is "clean and organized". My plan is to get the list done and then be able to relax and hang with Daphne as the weather gets much nicer.
The other day I decided it was time to clean the kitchen. We have been having a huge ant problem that has been driving Jared and I crazy. The caulking is really bad in our house, so the ants come and go freely through the holes they can find. They are all over any food they can find.
The kitchen needed to be cleaned badly and it needed a bit of reorganization. I am having a hard time doing things that involve bending over. Since a lot of the stuff I use is on the bottom shelf, I decided to remedy that so that I didn't have to be in pain while working in the kitchen.
I spent 19 hours in the kitchen cleaning behind this and that, laying down new shelf liners and scrubbing everything I could find, and it looks great. I've actually been able to cook and clean in there with very little problems.
I do still have a few shelves that I need to clean off and rearrange, but I don't think that is going to take long. The most important thing is that it's yet another room in the house that is in a state of cleanliness that I no longer have to worry about!
The other day I decided it was time to clean the kitchen. We have been having a huge ant problem that has been driving Jared and I crazy. The caulking is really bad in our house, so the ants come and go freely through the holes they can find. They are all over any food they can find.
The kitchen needed to be cleaned badly and it needed a bit of reorganization. I am having a hard time doing things that involve bending over. Since a lot of the stuff I use is on the bottom shelf, I decided to remedy that so that I didn't have to be in pain while working in the kitchen.
I spent 19 hours in the kitchen cleaning behind this and that, laying down new shelf liners and scrubbing everything I could find, and it looks great. I've actually been able to cook and clean in there with very little problems.
I do still have a few shelves that I need to clean off and rearrange, but I don't think that is going to take long. The most important thing is that it's yet another room in the house that is in a state of cleanliness that I no longer have to worry about!
Windows are CLEAN!
My to-do list has included cleaning the windows, both inside and out, for a very long time. I thought that this was going to be one of those "nice to do" things that never really got done, or that got done sloppily.
While Nico was here, she did go around with a squeegee and cleaned all the windows. However, the squeegee left marks, and the windows behind the screens didn't get cleaned.
I explained last week that I had gotten very gung-ho about getting the windows cleaned in the front of the house, and they looked really good, but I was not excited about the remaining windows. Two of them are behind Jared's desk, and I actually had to disassemble to desk to get to them.
After feeling really ambitious yesterday, I managed to finish the rest of the windows. I bleached out the mildew in the tracks of the windows. I scrubbed the fly specks off the windows. I took the curtains down and washed them. I even figured out how to take the blinds down and clean them thoroughly. The windows look GREAT, and I am so happy to have that done. I can't wait to find the to-do list under all the junk and actually get it crossed off.
While Nico was here, she did go around with a squeegee and cleaned all the windows. However, the squeegee left marks, and the windows behind the screens didn't get cleaned.
I explained last week that I had gotten very gung-ho about getting the windows cleaned in the front of the house, and they looked really good, but I was not excited about the remaining windows. Two of them are behind Jared's desk, and I actually had to disassemble to desk to get to them.
After feeling really ambitious yesterday, I managed to finish the rest of the windows. I bleached out the mildew in the tracks of the windows. I scrubbed the fly specks off the windows. I took the curtains down and washed them. I even figured out how to take the blinds down and clean them thoroughly. The windows look GREAT, and I am so happy to have that done. I can't wait to find the to-do list under all the junk and actually get it crossed off.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Pregnancy
A lot of people I know are very open about their pregnancies, and I'm finding that this isn't the kind of person that I generally am. I'm not willing to disclose an exact due date because I don't really believe in them. I'm not sharing the sex of the baby or even any possible name choices. I just feel like a lot of these are personal decisions. Due dates change, sex can be inaccurate, and how is it possible to know you have the right name until after you've met the baby.
The due date of this baby has changed at least 3 times for different reasons. I feel comfortable choosing the latest possible date and sticking with it, but I wonder if I will have the same high spirits about it as some of the earlier due dates start to fly by.
I've now passed the third trimester landmark, and I'm still going strong. The second trimester is supposed to be the easiest, and it WAS much easier than the first for me, but I'm still having issues. The vomiting really hasn't let up a whole lot, and at this point, I don't think that it's going to go away until after I had the baby. When I was pregnant with Daphne, I was able to stop taking medication to handle the vomiting around week 16. This time, I'm absolutely miserable without it well into the third trimester, how discouraging.
However, as I head into the 8th month, I can't help but think that I am feeling really good. I believe that the baby has turned head down, which has made a lot of additional room for breathing and my vital organs. I think that my belly has actually shrank a little since the baby decided to turn. I was gaining weight steadily for a while, but that has kind of dipped off a lot recently, mainly because I'm still having a hard time eating, and I had some extra weight to begin with. I'm told it would be totally safe for me not to gain any more weight, so I'm not looking to balloon up or anything.
I was having some steady contractions at 25 weeks that had me worried about preterm labor. I eased up a lot on what I was doing, and that seems to have been useful. I'm not having any more contractions that are cause for preterm labor at this point.
It is also comforting to know that I've passed the viability mark as well as the mark that makes me statistically sane. Even if I had the baby tomorrow, it would have an 80% chance of surviving and having no lasting lifetime problems. That said, I've no interest in leaving my baby in the hospital for 12 weeks to grow up to be strong enough to come home. I'm happy carrying the baby with me everywhere that I go now.
I am starting to feel limited in my actions because of my belly. Squatting and getting up and down from sitting aren't great, neither is rolling over in bed. I'm also finding that my usually sewing stuff done on the floor is a little difficult to do as well.
At this point, I'm thankful that I'm not too tired that I have to go to bed with my 2 year old at 7pm anymore. I'm rushing to get my household and organization stuff done before I do get any bigger. There will be a time when most of my time and energy will be occupied simply by being pregnant.
Despite the bumps, I really am enjoying growing a baby and making space in our family for another life. How exciting is that?
The due date of this baby has changed at least 3 times for different reasons. I feel comfortable choosing the latest possible date and sticking with it, but I wonder if I will have the same high spirits about it as some of the earlier due dates start to fly by.
I've now passed the third trimester landmark, and I'm still going strong. The second trimester is supposed to be the easiest, and it WAS much easier than the first for me, but I'm still having issues. The vomiting really hasn't let up a whole lot, and at this point, I don't think that it's going to go away until after I had the baby. When I was pregnant with Daphne, I was able to stop taking medication to handle the vomiting around week 16. This time, I'm absolutely miserable without it well into the third trimester, how discouraging.
However, as I head into the 8th month, I can't help but think that I am feeling really good. I believe that the baby has turned head down, which has made a lot of additional room for breathing and my vital organs. I think that my belly has actually shrank a little since the baby decided to turn. I was gaining weight steadily for a while, but that has kind of dipped off a lot recently, mainly because I'm still having a hard time eating, and I had some extra weight to begin with. I'm told it would be totally safe for me not to gain any more weight, so I'm not looking to balloon up or anything.
I was having some steady contractions at 25 weeks that had me worried about preterm labor. I eased up a lot on what I was doing, and that seems to have been useful. I'm not having any more contractions that are cause for preterm labor at this point.
It is also comforting to know that I've passed the viability mark as well as the mark that makes me statistically sane. Even if I had the baby tomorrow, it would have an 80% chance of surviving and having no lasting lifetime problems. That said, I've no interest in leaving my baby in the hospital for 12 weeks to grow up to be strong enough to come home. I'm happy carrying the baby with me everywhere that I go now.
I am starting to feel limited in my actions because of my belly. Squatting and getting up and down from sitting aren't great, neither is rolling over in bed. I'm also finding that my usually sewing stuff done on the floor is a little difficult to do as well.
At this point, I'm thankful that I'm not too tired that I have to go to bed with my 2 year old at 7pm anymore. I'm rushing to get my household and organization stuff done before I do get any bigger. There will be a time when most of my time and energy will be occupied simply by being pregnant.
Despite the bumps, I really am enjoying growing a baby and making space in our family for another life. How exciting is that?
Home Improvement Week
I keep declaring that it is Home Improvement Day (or week or month) around here. I keep making lists of things that need to be done and then demanding that they get done. The most notable thing that got done was staining the deck, and I must say that I am proud how spiffed up our house got simply from having a pressure washer for a few days.
Despite that, the list making has continued, and if anything, it's growing even longer. Yesterday, Jared was kind enough to humor me and get some simple things done around the house that I've been nagging him about for weeks. We set up the bed so that the box spring isn't ugly and showing (you'd have to see our bed to understand). He got the cords sorted out on the DVD player and TV in the bedroom so that it doesn't look like technology is going to suddenly come alive and take over planet Earth. Jared even went way out of his way to put the closet doors back on their tracks and repair the tracks so that they won't fall off and kill me or a child. There are many other small tasks that got done, but I'm really starting to feel like progress is being made.
It feels like someone lives in our house again. In fact, I should have done all this stuff when I moved in. Organization seriously is a wonderful thing. When everything has a place and everything is in the place that it has, it starts to become easy to keep the house clean. I've always had random piles of stuff around waiting for a home to be found for them.
I spent yesterday scrubbing the dust, dirt, fingerprints and fly specks off of walls and doors. All the doors in the house (except the front door) are super clean and spotless. You know I am a crazy pregnant lady looking for spotlessness. When was the last time you put cleaning the doors in your house on the to-do list?
Today, we went to a birthday party for a friend's little girl. When we got back I declared that I was very tired and that I didn't feel like making any progress on the house. Jared told me to take it easy.
The next time he saw me, the living room and dining room was completely torn apart. I decided it was time to handle the windows. Nico did help clean the windows while she was here, but the entire effort was eradicated when the porch got pressure washed. The windows got super wet and the residue from the deck got stuck to the windows (and the sides of the house).
I got the broom out and cleaned off the sides of the house and then went into a deep clean of the windows. I cleaned the sills of the windows as well as the tracks. I cleaned the blinds of all the windows as well. I even took all the screens off and brushed them off and washed them down.
Once every surface around the windows was clean, I managed to clean all the windows on the inside and the outside. What a crazy woman. I also decided the curtains weren't clean enough either so I took them all down and washed them. It was not my favorite project at all, and I've only done about 2/3 of the windows in the house. All the hard and tall windows are left. I was planning on hiring someone to help me do the tasks that I thought HAD to be done but that I still found unbearable. Unfortunately, since we did the deck on a whim, it's not in the budget, so I'll buck up and get it all done myself. There can't be THAT much more on the list can there?
Jared's last project is a pretty big one. Whoever caulked our house did an incredibly TERRIBLE job at it, and the caulking around 90% of the house is completely coming apart or messed up. After 2 attempts, Jared decided to try to find another way to get it done. I just can't wait until all the surfaces of my house stay together. We've got an ant problem that would be solved if someone could properly caulk a baseboard.
That's my whining for now. I hope to get a lot more done over the next week, but God knows the list goes on and on.
Despite that, the list making has continued, and if anything, it's growing even longer. Yesterday, Jared was kind enough to humor me and get some simple things done around the house that I've been nagging him about for weeks. We set up the bed so that the box spring isn't ugly and showing (you'd have to see our bed to understand). He got the cords sorted out on the DVD player and TV in the bedroom so that it doesn't look like technology is going to suddenly come alive and take over planet Earth. Jared even went way out of his way to put the closet doors back on their tracks and repair the tracks so that they won't fall off and kill me or a child. There are many other small tasks that got done, but I'm really starting to feel like progress is being made.
It feels like someone lives in our house again. In fact, I should have done all this stuff when I moved in. Organization seriously is a wonderful thing. When everything has a place and everything is in the place that it has, it starts to become easy to keep the house clean. I've always had random piles of stuff around waiting for a home to be found for them.
I spent yesterday scrubbing the dust, dirt, fingerprints and fly specks off of walls and doors. All the doors in the house (except the front door) are super clean and spotless. You know I am a crazy pregnant lady looking for spotlessness. When was the last time you put cleaning the doors in your house on the to-do list?
Today, we went to a birthday party for a friend's little girl. When we got back I declared that I was very tired and that I didn't feel like making any progress on the house. Jared told me to take it easy.
The next time he saw me, the living room and dining room was completely torn apart. I decided it was time to handle the windows. Nico did help clean the windows while she was here, but the entire effort was eradicated when the porch got pressure washed. The windows got super wet and the residue from the deck got stuck to the windows (and the sides of the house).
I got the broom out and cleaned off the sides of the house and then went into a deep clean of the windows. I cleaned the sills of the windows as well as the tracks. I cleaned the blinds of all the windows as well. I even took all the screens off and brushed them off and washed them down.
Once every surface around the windows was clean, I managed to clean all the windows on the inside and the outside. What a crazy woman. I also decided the curtains weren't clean enough either so I took them all down and washed them. It was not my favorite project at all, and I've only done about 2/3 of the windows in the house. All the hard and tall windows are left. I was planning on hiring someone to help me do the tasks that I thought HAD to be done but that I still found unbearable. Unfortunately, since we did the deck on a whim, it's not in the budget, so I'll buck up and get it all done myself. There can't be THAT much more on the list can there?
Jared's last project is a pretty big one. Whoever caulked our house did an incredibly TERRIBLE job at it, and the caulking around 90% of the house is completely coming apart or messed up. After 2 attempts, Jared decided to try to find another way to get it done. I just can't wait until all the surfaces of my house stay together. We've got an ant problem that would be solved if someone could properly caulk a baseboard.
That's my whining for now. I hope to get a lot more done over the next week, but God knows the list goes on and on.
Oven Repair
I have been having a lot of trouble recently with cooking, and it was starting to make me doubt my own skills as a chef.
Most notably, I made a cheesecake a few weeks ago. It was supposed to be done in 25 minutes of cooking and well over 2 hours later, it was still raw in the middle. I was starting to wonder what was different about what I was doing, and why was my food taking longer to cook.
As I think about this, it has been happening to me for about the last year at least, and let me tell you, it is terribly frustrating.
Last Sunday was Iron Chef. I had a ham that I really wanted to cook. I preheated the oven, and I started to realize something was TERRIBLY wrong when the oven spent 3 hours preheating. I put the ham in it and let it start cooking. I had gotten an oven thermometer earlier in the day. When I put it in with the ham set to 400 degrees, I found the oven was only 200 degrees. Ouch, that's really not good. I did eventually get the ham cooked through after some persistence.
However, it was clear the oven was a goner. Jared did some research and found that we just needed to replace the element. A quick search and 24 dollars had the element on its way to us, and Jared got it installed this week.
I decided to bake some chicken for dinner tonight. I put it in, thought it would take about 25 minutes to cook and went away. Not only did the oven perform, but the food was ready in the exact amount of time that I had guessed. This is great news.
Bottom line, buy an oven thermometer, you need one, trust me! I can't tell you how many times dinner has not been ready when it was supposed to be lately simply because I never bothered to check the temperature I was baking at.
Most notably, I made a cheesecake a few weeks ago. It was supposed to be done in 25 minutes of cooking and well over 2 hours later, it was still raw in the middle. I was starting to wonder what was different about what I was doing, and why was my food taking longer to cook.
As I think about this, it has been happening to me for about the last year at least, and let me tell you, it is terribly frustrating.
Last Sunday was Iron Chef. I had a ham that I really wanted to cook. I preheated the oven, and I started to realize something was TERRIBLY wrong when the oven spent 3 hours preheating. I put the ham in it and let it start cooking. I had gotten an oven thermometer earlier in the day. When I put it in with the ham set to 400 degrees, I found the oven was only 200 degrees. Ouch, that's really not good. I did eventually get the ham cooked through after some persistence.
However, it was clear the oven was a goner. Jared did some research and found that we just needed to replace the element. A quick search and 24 dollars had the element on its way to us, and Jared got it installed this week.
I decided to bake some chicken for dinner tonight. I put it in, thought it would take about 25 minutes to cook and went away. Not only did the oven perform, but the food was ready in the exact amount of time that I had guessed. This is great news.
Bottom line, buy an oven thermometer, you need one, trust me! I can't tell you how many times dinner has not been ready when it was supposed to be lately simply because I never bothered to check the temperature I was baking at.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Seedlings Transplanted
Last year, I didn't bother to start any plants inside, and I really did regret the decision. Though the garden produced a LOT of food, some of the things were started much to late. My spinish just went to seed and was not useful. HOWEVER, the seed did drop in the bed, and I've now got a whole beautiful bed of spinach that overwintered nicely. I'm going to cut it all as soon as I am done with this post.
I decided to start some seedlings inside this time around so that they would have a longer growing season. It turned out that this really didn't work very well either. The only space I have available is the window sills, and since they only get afternoon sun, it really wasn't enough light to get them to germinate. Many of the plants that did germinate really didn't like the low light situation they encountered.
I managed to get a few beds prepared despite the plants not being very happy and I've transplanted many of the seedlings. I have an entire bed of artichokes. They take over a year to produce, so that will be a LONG experiment. I've also got another bed that has peppers, eggplant and melons in it. That is 2 beds down and three more left to plant. I've got to get the spinach out of one of the beds first, so that's the project of the afternoon!
I hope to post some photos soon because things are really starting to look good.
I decided to start some seedlings inside this time around so that they would have a longer growing season. It turned out that this really didn't work very well either. The only space I have available is the window sills, and since they only get afternoon sun, it really wasn't enough light to get them to germinate. Many of the plants that did germinate really didn't like the low light situation they encountered.
I managed to get a few beds prepared despite the plants not being very happy and I've transplanted many of the seedlings. I have an entire bed of artichokes. They take over a year to produce, so that will be a LONG experiment. I've also got another bed that has peppers, eggplant and melons in it. That is 2 beds down and three more left to plant. I've got to get the spinach out of one of the beds first, so that's the project of the afternoon!
I hope to post some photos soon because things are really starting to look good.
Earth Day
Yesterday was Earth Day, and I must say that I wasn't that inspired. For being someone really naturally minded, it really doesn't get me excited. There seems to be a lot of hype going around trying to get people to be more "green". Though I do like that focus, the intention doesn't really work if attention is only paid during one day out of the year.
I know there is a lot of volunteer work available to clean up roads and parks and to do other beautification. I think that is fantastic and wonderful, it just seemed like a whole lot of superficial hype to me.
However, I did take the opportunity to look at what it was that we were doing around here so that I could do an even better job being "green". I've got a few more ideas that will show up in my life in the near future.
Until then, really this whole cleaning and organization project is a greening up project. I am passing on the things that I don't want and fixing up the things I have that I do want. It's a whole new level of recycling.
I am enjoying the time that I am spending outside SO much. The backyard is really starting to look decent, and things are coming together. I actually enjoy spending time in the garage and the backyard now that I don't feel like it's just one huge junk pile that needs to be sorted out.
Jared and Daphne are going away for the weekend next weekend and leaving me behind. I think I am going to take that opportunity to really get some projects finished that would otherwise be difficult to do with "help". I'm putting together a to-do list, that I'm hoping to share with you soon.
I know there is a lot of volunteer work available to clean up roads and parks and to do other beautification. I think that is fantastic and wonderful, it just seemed like a whole lot of superficial hype to me.
However, I did take the opportunity to look at what it was that we were doing around here so that I could do an even better job being "green". I've got a few more ideas that will show up in my life in the near future.
Until then, really this whole cleaning and organization project is a greening up project. I am passing on the things that I don't want and fixing up the things I have that I do want. It's a whole new level of recycling.
I am enjoying the time that I am spending outside SO much. The backyard is really starting to look decent, and things are coming together. I actually enjoy spending time in the garage and the backyard now that I don't feel like it's just one huge junk pile that needs to be sorted out.
Jared and Daphne are going away for the weekend next weekend and leaving me behind. I think I am going to take that opportunity to really get some projects finished that would otherwise be difficult to do with "help". I'm putting together a to-do list, that I'm hoping to share with you soon.
Can I Keep You
I was working on a test today for school, and when i finished, I picked Daphne up to snuggle her.
I asked her if she was mine and if I could keep her. She said, "Yes."
I then asked if I could keep her and play with her and take care of her like a pet. I said I needed a good pet. To that, she started to pet me all over.
Wrong definition. Oops.
I asked her if she was mine and if I could keep her. She said, "Yes."
I then asked if I could keep her and play with her and take care of her like a pet. I said I needed a good pet. To that, she started to pet me all over.
Wrong definition. Oops.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Miller Woods
My friend recently told me about a local place that is maintained by the Yamhill County Soil and Conservation District. It is called Miller Woods. It's a little place not too far outside of the city of Mcminnville that you can go out and go hiking through. There is a day use fee of $3, but they opened the place to the public today considering that it is Earth Day.
Julie and I went out with the kids and did a nice long hike. I'd say we probably hiked a few miles up and around the trails. I know I am tired, and Daphne is for sure tired. It is just nice to have a local place to go and hang out and enjoy nature without having to drive hours away.
I plan to return more. I'm hoping to stay more fit as these last weeks of this pregnancy roll by. All I can say is that the hike really and truly was a challenge.
Check it out if you are in the area. What a cool local resource. I wish someone had told me about it before last week.
Julie and I went out with the kids and did a nice long hike. I'd say we probably hiked a few miles up and around the trails. I know I am tired, and Daphne is for sure tired. It is just nice to have a local place to go and hang out and enjoy nature without having to drive hours away.
I plan to return more. I'm hoping to stay more fit as these last weeks of this pregnancy roll by. All I can say is that the hike really and truly was a challenge.
Check it out if you are in the area. What a cool local resource. I wish someone had told me about it before last week.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Can't Get Enough
After all of that complaining about school, I just can't stay away. Although I have my degree now, I have decided to take on another educational opportunity for my own benefits, and for nothing else.
I enrolled in an online class devoted to helping people get much more knowledge about preserving food. My sister and I looked at the class together a few weeks ago and decided to invest in doing it so that we can be better at preserving this year.
This is something that I am doing strictly for myself--for my own good and happiness, and I am excited. I started the class tonight. So, for the next 6 weeks, I'm back in school, but its different this time. I KNOW I will LOVE this class!
I enrolled in an online class devoted to helping people get much more knowledge about preserving food. My sister and I looked at the class together a few weeks ago and decided to invest in doing it so that we can be better at preserving this year.
This is something that I am doing strictly for myself--for my own good and happiness, and I am excited. I started the class tonight. So, for the next 6 weeks, I'm back in school, but its different this time. I KNOW I will LOVE this class!
All Paid For
When we found out we were going to have another baby, we started slowly saving money so that we would be able to pay off the birth in advance. Many midwives give a discount if paid in full by 36 weeks. Honestly that's not too far away for us at all!
I called the birth center today and paid in full for the prenatal care and the birth of the baby! What an amazing thing! I am glad that this is one less thing that we have to worry about, and we can start to focus our money on paying off the rest of our debt.
I went into labor with Daphne the day that I made the last payment for her birth, and though I'm definitely not wishing to have this baby early, I'm happy to know that I'm not going to have any more medical bills to deal with after the birth.
I called the birth center today and paid in full for the prenatal care and the birth of the baby! What an amazing thing! I am glad that this is one less thing that we have to worry about, and we can start to focus our money on paying off the rest of our debt.
I went into labor with Daphne the day that I made the last payment for her birth, and though I'm definitely not wishing to have this baby early, I'm happy to know that I'm not going to have any more medical bills to deal with after the birth.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Fickle Weather
I feel like I've been in a race against time. I was hoping to get all the household things done before the weather started to get nice so that I could move on to doing fun outdoor things.
I was reading facebook statuses last week about snow, and now everyone is complaining about the heat. It's supposed to get over 80 here today, so I totally understand! I've gotten started on a LOT of outdoor projects, but I still have some indoor projects to complete.
With the nice weather, I have been outside all day getting things done, and it sure seems to be working.
I finished shearing my 4th rabbit today. It is always a big project to get the angora rabbits all sheared because they are on the same shearing schedule. I did one every day for 4 days. It was a lot more simple with my new clippers because I was able to just get the shearing done without a problem at all It used to take me hours and hours to do each rabbit (an entire afternoon really), but I was able to get the rabbits done in good time in between everything else I had going on. I need to take some photos because I feel like they always look super funny with no hair.
The meat chickens have moved outside (from the bathtub and then the garage). They are happy to be outside, and they've been moving around the yard slowly working on destroying it as quickly as possible. Our lawn in the back has always been really crummy. After the chickens were on it last year, it seems to have improved a lot. This is the ONLY batch of meat chickens that I am going to do this year. I've got an appointment to butcher them on June 13th. They are going to be BIG suckers, but it is totally worth it. I love having wonderful chicken in the house available to eat at any time. I love knowing that I grew it myself. So, they are happy to be out in the grass with lots of food and water.
I put up a piece of fabric to keep the laying hens from getting out in the yard. I am about to plant some seedlings, and it is going to be a HUGE problem if they get out and eat the seedlings I've been working for 6 weeks to grow. That would not make a happy mama at all. The gate has been a work in progress for almost a year, and I think the solution I came up with is fantastically brilliant. The good news is that it is doing a VERY good job at this point, and I anticipate that it will continue in that fashion.
I've got more on the list to be pressure washed, but that will have to happen tomorrow after the deck is all the way painted and dry. I don't need dust and water and god knows what else settling on it while it is trying to fully dry.
Nico is working on the deck today, and it should be completely done by tomorrow. I am excited that we have actually done some home improvement. I feel like a responsible homeowner. Additionally, though I would rather live on a farm, the neater it gets around here, and the more organized, the more I realize that I am incredibly lucky and that the things I have going on here are wonderful.
I've got to get enough gumption up to be able to finish the garage because a wonderfully organized the garage is enough to boost anyone's mood!
I was reading facebook statuses last week about snow, and now everyone is complaining about the heat. It's supposed to get over 80 here today, so I totally understand! I've gotten started on a LOT of outdoor projects, but I still have some indoor projects to complete.
With the nice weather, I have been outside all day getting things done, and it sure seems to be working.
I finished shearing my 4th rabbit today. It is always a big project to get the angora rabbits all sheared because they are on the same shearing schedule. I did one every day for 4 days. It was a lot more simple with my new clippers because I was able to just get the shearing done without a problem at all It used to take me hours and hours to do each rabbit (an entire afternoon really), but I was able to get the rabbits done in good time in between everything else I had going on. I need to take some photos because I feel like they always look super funny with no hair.
The meat chickens have moved outside (from the bathtub and then the garage). They are happy to be outside, and they've been moving around the yard slowly working on destroying it as quickly as possible. Our lawn in the back has always been really crummy. After the chickens were on it last year, it seems to have improved a lot. This is the ONLY batch of meat chickens that I am going to do this year. I've got an appointment to butcher them on June 13th. They are going to be BIG suckers, but it is totally worth it. I love having wonderful chicken in the house available to eat at any time. I love knowing that I grew it myself. So, they are happy to be out in the grass with lots of food and water.
I put up a piece of fabric to keep the laying hens from getting out in the yard. I am about to plant some seedlings, and it is going to be a HUGE problem if they get out and eat the seedlings I've been working for 6 weeks to grow. That would not make a happy mama at all. The gate has been a work in progress for almost a year, and I think the solution I came up with is fantastically brilliant. The good news is that it is doing a VERY good job at this point, and I anticipate that it will continue in that fashion.
I've got more on the list to be pressure washed, but that will have to happen tomorrow after the deck is all the way painted and dry. I don't need dust and water and god knows what else settling on it while it is trying to fully dry.
Nico is working on the deck today, and it should be completely done by tomorrow. I am excited that we have actually done some home improvement. I feel like a responsible homeowner. Additionally, though I would rather live on a farm, the neater it gets around here, and the more organized, the more I realize that I am incredibly lucky and that the things I have going on here are wonderful.
I've got to get enough gumption up to be able to finish the garage because a wonderfully organized the garage is enough to boost anyone's mood!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Off the Deep End
The neurotic cleaning side of me really started on January 1. I remember going around the house pulling things off shelves and decided if I really needed it. I got rid of all my clothes that no longer fit and many other items that were just kicking around the house just in case. I decided that everything in my life was going to have a storage space, it was going to be useful and I was going to like it.
As soon as I hit the 3rd trimester, it became abundantly clear that I was running out of time to get my house sorted out. My belly is getting bigger by the day, and I still would like to neurotically clean a whole lot. Enter Nico. Nico is a friend from high school that I haven't connected up with in several years. She just finished her degree, and she is traveling around connecting up with old friends. She came on Tuesday and has been a huge help. I committed to spending time getting things in order with her help so that I can start to relax a little bit. My goal in nesting and organizing is to get my house in such good order that it will be easy to maintain when I have a 2 year old and a newborn that need lots of attention from me.
I got up this morning and resolved to get a bunch of things done. I started by going out to the garden and prepping the soil in 2 of the beds so that I could transplant some veggies into them soon (the veggies are getting very big to stay inside). Turning the soil was a lot of work because I had added in some sheep fleeces, some shredded paper and some rabbit manure that was mostly composted. I mixed it in really well. Things look great, and I am excited to plant, I just need to figure out a way to secure the chickens in their run so they don't escape out and eat the seedlings.
I then moved on to shear a rabbit. I got some new clippers recently to help me get the rabbit shearing to be easier. They have been working wonders. I got one rabbit done yesterday, and I got another rabbit done today. This used to take me hours and hours to do, so the fact that I got it done in under 3 hours was fantastic.
I even then was able to take the bottom off one of the rabbit cages and replace it. I was worried about losing a rabbit through the bottom. It's repaired now, and in better shape than ever, which makes an incredible bonus! No more rabbit related work, other than shearing, for some time.
I then managed to get back inside and helped Nico do a little work on cleaning the inside and outsides of the windows. She did the window work, and I took the screens out and cleaned them up really well. I can see out the windows of the house, and it is SO nice!
Jared then returned with the pressure washer we are borrowing and things went into a completely different gear. We cleaned out the garage and moved the freezers out. We pressure washed out the part of the garage that has been stained with chicken poop, blueberries and other things over the past few years.
Nico then moved on and pressure washed part of the driveway. We had moss growing on part of it, and it looked really bad. The pressure washer really made a huge difference. It is so nice to have a clean driveway again.
Nico is now out pressure washing the deck so that it can be stained. I wasn't sure that it was going to make much of a difference, but I really do see the difference now. The deck looks amazing, and it will be really well taken care of with a coat or two of varnish on it. The bonus is that we have about 4 gallons of varnish that we got with the house when we moved in, so this project isn't costing a ton, and it is really improving the house.
I even managed to get back out in the garage and sweep the floor and move somethings to new locations. We are hoping to park the car in the garage this summer with a new baby to deal with. We are very, very close to being able to do it at this point. I've just got a bit of photography stuff that needs to be gone through first.
I remembered amongst all of this that the ham for Iron Chef needed to be brined, so I got it in a brine now. I'm excited to cook it tomorrow.
The garbage man needs to come so that I can throw some other things out (our can is full), but I can manage doing other projects until Tuesday.
Tomorrow the stain will go on the deck, the rest of the driveway can be pressure washed, another rabbit or two will be sheared and the house will be cleaned. Iron Chef starts at 6, and it's going to be hopping around here until then!
So you judge, has this pregnant woman neurotically gone off the deep end of the nesting and cleaning? I think so.
As soon as I hit the 3rd trimester, it became abundantly clear that I was running out of time to get my house sorted out. My belly is getting bigger by the day, and I still would like to neurotically clean a whole lot. Enter Nico. Nico is a friend from high school that I haven't connected up with in several years. She just finished her degree, and she is traveling around connecting up with old friends. She came on Tuesday and has been a huge help. I committed to spending time getting things in order with her help so that I can start to relax a little bit. My goal in nesting and organizing is to get my house in such good order that it will be easy to maintain when I have a 2 year old and a newborn that need lots of attention from me.
I got up this morning and resolved to get a bunch of things done. I started by going out to the garden and prepping the soil in 2 of the beds so that I could transplant some veggies into them soon (the veggies are getting very big to stay inside). Turning the soil was a lot of work because I had added in some sheep fleeces, some shredded paper and some rabbit manure that was mostly composted. I mixed it in really well. Things look great, and I am excited to plant, I just need to figure out a way to secure the chickens in their run so they don't escape out and eat the seedlings.
I then moved on to shear a rabbit. I got some new clippers recently to help me get the rabbit shearing to be easier. They have been working wonders. I got one rabbit done yesterday, and I got another rabbit done today. This used to take me hours and hours to do, so the fact that I got it done in under 3 hours was fantastic.
I even then was able to take the bottom off one of the rabbit cages and replace it. I was worried about losing a rabbit through the bottom. It's repaired now, and in better shape than ever, which makes an incredible bonus! No more rabbit related work, other than shearing, for some time.
I then managed to get back inside and helped Nico do a little work on cleaning the inside and outsides of the windows. She did the window work, and I took the screens out and cleaned them up really well. I can see out the windows of the house, and it is SO nice!
Jared then returned with the pressure washer we are borrowing and things went into a completely different gear. We cleaned out the garage and moved the freezers out. We pressure washed out the part of the garage that has been stained with chicken poop, blueberries and other things over the past few years.
Nico then moved on and pressure washed part of the driveway. We had moss growing on part of it, and it looked really bad. The pressure washer really made a huge difference. It is so nice to have a clean driveway again.
Nico is now out pressure washing the deck so that it can be stained. I wasn't sure that it was going to make much of a difference, but I really do see the difference now. The deck looks amazing, and it will be really well taken care of with a coat or two of varnish on it. The bonus is that we have about 4 gallons of varnish that we got with the house when we moved in, so this project isn't costing a ton, and it is really improving the house.
I even managed to get back out in the garage and sweep the floor and move somethings to new locations. We are hoping to park the car in the garage this summer with a new baby to deal with. We are very, very close to being able to do it at this point. I've just got a bit of photography stuff that needs to be gone through first.
I remembered amongst all of this that the ham for Iron Chef needed to be brined, so I got it in a brine now. I'm excited to cook it tomorrow.
The garbage man needs to come so that I can throw some other things out (our can is full), but I can manage doing other projects until Tuesday.
Tomorrow the stain will go on the deck, the rest of the driveway can be pressure washed, another rabbit or two will be sheared and the house will be cleaned. Iron Chef starts at 6, and it's going to be hopping around here until then!
So you judge, has this pregnant woman neurotically gone off the deep end of the nesting and cleaning? I think so.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Cleaning Update
When was the last time that you were bothered by the dust and muck on your baseboards? That's something that's been driving me nuts lately.
I finished my own room and made it to Daphne's room for cleaning. This involved organizing and going through all our clothes from newborn clothes through the clothes that don't yet fit. I sorted through the clothes that I am going to keep and I washed and tagged the others and got them off to a consignment sale for the weekend. I still have 7 smallish tubs full of clothes and diapers for a baby, but it is more than enough wonderful clothes to fit any sex of baby that comes into our life in the future!
I then went through all the toys she has. I rotated some toys out and put them in the closet. I organized everything in the closet and put toys and other things in plastic bins. The only thing that is not yet really cleaned or set up is the car seat and the baby swing. With at least 3 months left to go, I've still got plenty of time to worry about that. Until, it is snug in the top of the closet.
I washed and bleached the sheets and the comforter, so everything is actually white again. White is not a good color to have around kids, that's for sure!
I made it to the floor and scrubbed the baseboards and steam cleaned the floor. It looks wonderful, and I'm so proud of it. I am excited that yet another room is ACTUALLY organized.
I got it all done in time for my friend Nico to stay.
I finished my own room and made it to Daphne's room for cleaning. This involved organizing and going through all our clothes from newborn clothes through the clothes that don't yet fit. I sorted through the clothes that I am going to keep and I washed and tagged the others and got them off to a consignment sale for the weekend. I still have 7 smallish tubs full of clothes and diapers for a baby, but it is more than enough wonderful clothes to fit any sex of baby that comes into our life in the future!
I then went through all the toys she has. I rotated some toys out and put them in the closet. I organized everything in the closet and put toys and other things in plastic bins. The only thing that is not yet really cleaned or set up is the car seat and the baby swing. With at least 3 months left to go, I've still got plenty of time to worry about that. Until, it is snug in the top of the closet.
I washed and bleached the sheets and the comforter, so everything is actually white again. White is not a good color to have around kids, that's for sure!
I made it to the floor and scrubbed the baseboards and steam cleaned the floor. It looks wonderful, and I'm so proud of it. I am excited that yet another room is ACTUALLY organized.
I got it all done in time for my friend Nico to stay.
Abstractions
Yesterday I was rifling through some bills that needed to be paid. We pay our garbage every 3rd month, so the bill only shows up once in a while.
Daphne saw the logo at the top of the garbage bill and said enthusiastically, "GARGABGE MAN!"
I am so impressed at her ability to take something like a garbage tuck and relate that to an abstract logo on a bill.
No wonder it's possible to teach kids to read early in life!
Daphne saw the logo at the top of the garbage bill and said enthusiastically, "GARGABGE MAN!"
I am so impressed at her ability to take something like a garbage tuck and relate that to an abstract logo on a bill.
No wonder it's possible to teach kids to read early in life!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Daphne's Skirts
I've been putting together these skirts for Daphne for quite a while now, but I just completed them all and managed to get photos on them. I developed the pattern for these skirts based on a wrap around skirt from another blog I read. Each of the skirts are reversible, and most of them have the "bubble" look to them. I developed that technique by simple putting elastic along the bottom of the skirt before I turned it right side out for the last time.
I get compliments about them ALL THE TIME when we are out. I love when people ask me where I bought it from. I take pride in saying casually "oh, I made it!".
I purposely made the skirts VERY big. They wrap around Daphne 2 times now, and they almost fit me. With a snap closure, the skirts will grow with her and will only disappear when they have been worn out beyond use. It's a brilliant, frugal, darling way to clothe a baby girl.
There are lots of fun flower prints.
This is a good view of the "bubble" effect.
This skirt is a shorter version than many of the others.
Another shorter skirt.
One of the few non-bubble skirts.
This is the first one I made. It is a wrap around skirt that is double sided, and it ties closed. It won a blue ribbon at the fair this year.
This is Daphne's Easter skirt! She got it in her Easter basket. I love the colors on it. It is made out of a lightweight jersey, so it is not as poofy as some of the other skirts, and I really love that about it.
Everyone needs a farm print skirt.
I got this fabric from my grandma. I think it will be a definite fair entry this year.
A 1998 Joe Boxer print. Cows playing golf. Classic!
I get compliments about them ALL THE TIME when we are out. I love when people ask me where I bought it from. I take pride in saying casually "oh, I made it!".
I purposely made the skirts VERY big. They wrap around Daphne 2 times now, and they almost fit me. With a snap closure, the skirts will grow with her and will only disappear when they have been worn out beyond use. It's a brilliant, frugal, darling way to clothe a baby girl.
There are lots of fun flower prints.
This is a good view of the "bubble" effect.
This skirt is a shorter version than many of the others.
Another shorter skirt.
One of the few non-bubble skirts.
This is the first one I made. It is a wrap around skirt that is double sided, and it ties closed. It won a blue ribbon at the fair this year.
This is Daphne's Easter skirt! She got it in her Easter basket. I love the colors on it. It is made out of a lightweight jersey, so it is not as poofy as some of the other skirts, and I really love that about it.
Everyone needs a farm print skirt.
I got this fabric from my grandma. I think it will be a definite fair entry this year.
A 1998 Joe Boxer print. Cows playing golf. Classic!
Crescent Bum Pants
After plenty of worry and tears, I figured out the pattern for these pants and managed to make a good stock of them in relatively short order.
These are the pants that you sad Daphne modeling in yesterday's post. I plan to make more of these in the future if they are needed. They only take about 5 minutes to make if you read the instructions correctly, and they look darn cute.
The colored fleece pants were all made in 3 different sizes: small, medium and large. The large fit Daphne now, but the small and medium will fit the baby when the weather is cold next fall.
I love the color of these pants, it's called Aegean Blue.
A nice little green.
This is the back of the pants. You can see the crescent in the bum. This allows of diaper space.
This is the front of the pants.
I am making a lot of things brown for the baby, so this was just another brown item to add to the collection. Additionally, the pair Daphne wears get taken outside in the mud all the time, and you can hardly see the dirt all over them!
The pair Daphne was modeling. They look so much better ON a baby.
Some cute woolies made out of a recycled sweater.
These are made out of 20% rabbit hair, and they sure are soft!
These are the pants that you sad Daphne modeling in yesterday's post. I plan to make more of these in the future if they are needed. They only take about 5 minutes to make if you read the instructions correctly, and they look darn cute.
The colored fleece pants were all made in 3 different sizes: small, medium and large. The large fit Daphne now, but the small and medium will fit the baby when the weather is cold next fall.
I love the color of these pants, it's called Aegean Blue.
A nice little green.
This is the back of the pants. You can see the crescent in the bum. This allows of diaper space.
This is the front of the pants.
I am making a lot of things brown for the baby, so this was just another brown item to add to the collection. Additionally, the pair Daphne wears get taken outside in the mud all the time, and you can hardly see the dirt all over them!
The pair Daphne was modeling. They look so much better ON a baby.
Some cute woolies made out of a recycled sweater.
These are made out of 20% rabbit hair, and they sure are soft!
TuTu
I made Daphne these tutu's for her birthday. Of course she totally loves them. One is light green and the other is pink. The pink ones were featured in the photo shoot from a week or two ago.
They were pretty simple to make. Just tulle cut into strips that were then tied onto a ribbon. brilliant!
It looks so well done around the waist.
There is no lack of poof here.
Pretty in green!
They were pretty simple to make. Just tulle cut into strips that were then tied onto a ribbon. brilliant!
It looks so well done around the waist.
There is no lack of poof here.
Pretty in green!
Meat Rabbits and Thing 2
I have two meat rabbits that I have raised since they were 8 weeks old. My intention is to breed them and use them as a household meat project. Rabbits are very easy to keep, and you can feed them without giving them corn and soy, which is a big problem with raising chickens for meat. Corn and soy are genetically modified, it costs a lot, and it tends to not be the natural feed for chickens. Rabbits can be raised on rabbit feed, oats and alfalfa pellets. They are much cheaper, and you can easily get it without corn or soy in it.
Additionally, the rabbits are raised by their mothers, so no brooding lights or anything. They finish as fryers in about the same time as chickens, and it seems to be a smoother project.
I bred my rabbits last month hoping that they would kindle in time for me to take both the rabbits and the chickens to the butcher at the same time (when I am 36 weeks pregnant). I was being incredibly optimistic thinking that they would kindle large litters just fine. I forgot that it is very common for rabbits to lose their first 1-2 litters before they get the hang of being successful mothers.
The meat rabbits are both Californians. I named them Thing 1 and Thing 2 because they do cause as much trouble as is found in the Cat and the Hat. Califonians are not generally known for their good temperaments.
Thing 2 had her first litter last night, and big surprise, none of them made it. I had noticed that she had been off feed for 2 days. That is common when they are about to kindle, but 2 days is a bit long. I went out with a syringe last night to feed her some pineapple juice to make sure that any GI stuff got handled and she actually kindled the first baby right there. I'm not sure that either of us noticed (it was pretty dark at that point). The first 5 kits she had were extremely premature and underdeveloped. The rest of them would have had a pretty good chance if she had bothered to put them in the nesting box, but even though they were inside, it was too cold to not be protected. I put her out with the buck this morning, so we will see what her second litter looks like in about 30 days. I'm thinking positive.
Thing 1 should have her litter any second now. I'm hoping the kindling gods are looking favorably on me after this last week.
First time rabbit moms can be a pain, but they should be worth it in the next breeding.
Additionally, the rabbits are raised by their mothers, so no brooding lights or anything. They finish as fryers in about the same time as chickens, and it seems to be a smoother project.
I bred my rabbits last month hoping that they would kindle in time for me to take both the rabbits and the chickens to the butcher at the same time (when I am 36 weeks pregnant). I was being incredibly optimistic thinking that they would kindle large litters just fine. I forgot that it is very common for rabbits to lose their first 1-2 litters before they get the hang of being successful mothers.
The meat rabbits are both Californians. I named them Thing 1 and Thing 2 because they do cause as much trouble as is found in the Cat and the Hat. Califonians are not generally known for their good temperaments.
Thing 2 had her first litter last night, and big surprise, none of them made it. I had noticed that she had been off feed for 2 days. That is common when they are about to kindle, but 2 days is a bit long. I went out with a syringe last night to feed her some pineapple juice to make sure that any GI stuff got handled and she actually kindled the first baby right there. I'm not sure that either of us noticed (it was pretty dark at that point). The first 5 kits she had were extremely premature and underdeveloped. The rest of them would have had a pretty good chance if she had bothered to put them in the nesting box, but even though they were inside, it was too cold to not be protected. I put her out with the buck this morning, so we will see what her second litter looks like in about 30 days. I'm thinking positive.
Thing 1 should have her litter any second now. I'm hoping the kindling gods are looking favorably on me after this last week.
First time rabbit moms can be a pain, but they should be worth it in the next breeding.
Tiny Little Baby
I have been working to get the idea through Daphne's head that there is going to be a newborn baby around soon to take care of.
The "word movie" (Your Baby Can Read) has an intro with some small babies in it. Every time it comes on Daphne yells, "Tiny little baby."
Apparently, babies are incredibly exciting. I'm glad.
The "word movie" (Your Baby Can Read) has an intro with some small babies in it. Every time it comes on Daphne yells, "Tiny little baby."
Apparently, babies are incredibly exciting. I'm glad.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
My Model
I couldn't resist posting the entire series of these photos. I have been teaching Daphne how to model in front of the camera lately, and I think she is really getting the hang of it. It helps to show off clothes and things I have made when I have a good model. I like using a model rather than the black background I have been using. The black background gets old.
This is the pair of pants that I made and posted about before. I had a great deal of trouble with the pattern, but after a bit of perseverance, I found what I was doing wrong and I cut them up and started over. It worked out wonderfully. They are the favorite pair of pants that I have ever seen on anyone, and I love when Daphne wears them. They are made out of 100% wool interlock! They make lovely diaper covers for the younger baby.
Check out the way Daphne models the pants.
A bit of a blooper!
Her tiger face (a useful modeling tool).
I really do think I've got a model on my hands, at least for my own personal exploitation.
This is the pair of pants that I made and posted about before. I had a great deal of trouble with the pattern, but after a bit of perseverance, I found what I was doing wrong and I cut them up and started over. It worked out wonderfully. They are the favorite pair of pants that I have ever seen on anyone, and I love when Daphne wears them. They are made out of 100% wool interlock! They make lovely diaper covers for the younger baby.
Check out the way Daphne models the pants.
A bit of a blooper!
Her tiger face (a useful modeling tool).
I really do think I've got a model on my hands, at least for my own personal exploitation.
Tie Nappies
I have spent a lot of time recently getting all the loose ends up with sewing. I had a bunch of extra knitted fabric in my closet that I had no real use for, so I decided to make something called tie nappies. This pattern has been around for at least 100 years. It is a one-size fits all kind of diaper that you can tie on. They are especially great when used at nighttime because you can put them over another fitted or prefold. I made a few with the fabric that I had available. I LOVE them.
They just look like square blobs in the photos, but you can at least get the idea of the fabrics and the ties.
They just look like square blobs in the photos, but you can at least get the idea of the fabrics and the ties.
The Beach
I took Daphne to the beach two weeks ago. I took my big professional camera, so these photos got "lost" on the CF card until I got around to processing the stuff on it.
She loves playing at the beach. She thinks writing in the sand is an awful lot of fun, but her favorite thing is to throw rocks at the ocean. There weren't many rock on the beach we went to, so she decided to take up throwing sand!
Doesn't she look like she is having fun?
Writing in the sand.
The Olympic sand toss.
Super smiles.
My favorite!
She loves playing at the beach. She thinks writing in the sand is an awful lot of fun, but her favorite thing is to throw rocks at the ocean. There weren't many rock on the beach we went to, so she decided to take up throwing sand!
Doesn't she look like she is having fun?
Writing in the sand.
The Olympic sand toss.
Super smiles.
My favorite!
Bubble Blowing
While Papa was here visiting last, we spent some time blowing bubbles with Daphne.
I love the Gymboree bubble wand because Daphne can make the bubbles herself.
We even played with a St. Patrick's Day hat!
Mama helps with the bubble blowing.
I love the Gymboree bubble wand because Daphne can make the bubbles herself.
We even played with a St. Patrick's Day hat!
Mama helps with the bubble blowing.
Chronicles of a Crazy Cleaning Frenzy
When was the last time that you thought that the bathroom door needed a good scrub? You see, this whole pregnant nesting/spring cleaning thing has gotten out of hand lately, and my commitment to clean and organize our house thoroughly has been taken WAY farther than I thought it ever would go.
Jared and I have different philosophies about cleaning. I tend to believe that things need to be cleaned and set up and then everything get organized, but not before it is cleaned. Jared believes that things should go kind of where they belong and then get organized at some point in the future. HIS viewpoint makes me feel nuts. The problem is that my method of cleaning has every other area except the clean areas trashed until they too get to be cleaned and organized. MY viewpoint drives him nuts. Isn't that what being married is all about?
Today I finally got around to getting the bathroom handled. Of course that meant scrubbing the bathtub and the walls. I even got down on my hands and knees and got the floor scrubbed (they say it's good to do that while pregnant).
I managed to go through all our cupboards and medicine cabinets in the bathrooms and get everything nice and clean.
When I looked at the door of the bathroom, I couldn't help but see yet another thing that had to be done. It was covered in fly specs and other weird yellow stuff. It took a good 10 minutes of scrubbing time, which in the 3rd trimester adds up to about a half day of hard work for a normal person.
All this was done so that I could get the bathroom floor mats off the floor of the baby's room, which was my next real target. Jeez. Where will this neurosis take me to next?
Jared and I have different philosophies about cleaning. I tend to believe that things need to be cleaned and set up and then everything get organized, but not before it is cleaned. Jared believes that things should go kind of where they belong and then get organized at some point in the future. HIS viewpoint makes me feel nuts. The problem is that my method of cleaning has every other area except the clean areas trashed until they too get to be cleaned and organized. MY viewpoint drives him nuts. Isn't that what being married is all about?
Today I finally got around to getting the bathroom handled. Of course that meant scrubbing the bathtub and the walls. I even got down on my hands and knees and got the floor scrubbed (they say it's good to do that while pregnant).
I managed to go through all our cupboards and medicine cabinets in the bathrooms and get everything nice and clean.
When I looked at the door of the bathroom, I couldn't help but see yet another thing that had to be done. It was covered in fly specs and other weird yellow stuff. It took a good 10 minutes of scrubbing time, which in the 3rd trimester adds up to about a half day of hard work for a normal person.
All this was done so that I could get the bathroom floor mats off the floor of the baby's room, which was my next real target. Jeez. Where will this neurosis take me to next?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Fawn's New Life
When I sold the goats I begged the new owners for an update with some photos. I was curious to see what the kids would look like and how the kidding went. I got an email this morning that she had her kids on Friday morning! That's less than 24 hours after I sold her. I am told that she had a fairly easy time kidding and that she had two beautiful babies, a boy and a girl who are now being bottle fed by the human kids of the family.
I was sent this photo. The goats look just like their mama. How wonderful!
I am excited to get an update at the end of the month to see how Milky does.
I was sent this photo. The goats look just like their mama. How wonderful!
I am excited to get an update at the end of the month to see how Milky does.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
End of the Goat Project
Last March all the stars were aligned right and I finally sorted everything out so that I would be able to have a goat to milk and take care of. I had been looking to do the project for a very long time, but getting all the circumstances right really was difficult. I finally found the perfect partner where we were of equal use to each other. I boarded my goats at his house and helped out with things here and there. It was the perfect mutual relationship, especially considering that his wife was pregnant. I was able to take up any slack in a baby being born in the middle of the milking season.
I didn't update about the project as much as I should have, but I definitely loved doing the project. I spent the spring, summer and fall making cheese and yogurt and putting goat milk in almost everything that I could. Daphne and I got to drive up to the farm every day and hang out with the goats, and it was the perfect situation.
The more I started doing with the goats this year, the more clear it became that this was going to be a tough project to manage being pregnant. The drive seemed longer the more I did it on dirt roads with a 7 month pregnant belly. Hauling grain and hay around is getting tougher and tougher. Even getting down to clip the udders of the goats was a challenge after they kidded.
I decided that I was going to sell my 2 goats, Milky and Fawn and see how it went. I was contacted by a very lovely lady who had sold her herd in another state and was helping start up locally. She thought the goats sound fantastic and wanted to come look at them. It all happened in such a whirlwind.
I met her today up at the farm and we went over everything with the goats. They absolutely LOVED them and were happy to take them. Fawn was looking INCREDIBLY close to kidding, so it's a good thing we didn't wait any longer to transport her. They decided to take the goats on the spot. It turned out fabulously. I'm happy to see them go to a new home, and I'm excited to see photos of what the kids will look like.
I have mixed feelings about ending the project. It was the joy of my summer last year, but I keep telling myself that at 25, these will not be the only goats I will own, that's for sure. More goats are in my future. So I look froward a little sad but happy that I had the sanity to do the right thing.
I didn't update about the project as much as I should have, but I definitely loved doing the project. I spent the spring, summer and fall making cheese and yogurt and putting goat milk in almost everything that I could. Daphne and I got to drive up to the farm every day and hang out with the goats, and it was the perfect situation.
The more I started doing with the goats this year, the more clear it became that this was going to be a tough project to manage being pregnant. The drive seemed longer the more I did it on dirt roads with a 7 month pregnant belly. Hauling grain and hay around is getting tougher and tougher. Even getting down to clip the udders of the goats was a challenge after they kidded.
I decided that I was going to sell my 2 goats, Milky and Fawn and see how it went. I was contacted by a very lovely lady who had sold her herd in another state and was helping start up locally. She thought the goats sound fantastic and wanted to come look at them. It all happened in such a whirlwind.
I met her today up at the farm and we went over everything with the goats. They absolutely LOVED them and were happy to take them. Fawn was looking INCREDIBLY close to kidding, so it's a good thing we didn't wait any longer to transport her. They decided to take the goats on the spot. It turned out fabulously. I'm happy to see them go to a new home, and I'm excited to see photos of what the kids will look like.
I have mixed feelings about ending the project. It was the joy of my summer last year, but I keep telling myself that at 25, these will not be the only goats I will own, that's for sure. More goats are in my future. So I look froward a little sad but happy that I had the sanity to do the right thing.
Rabbit Learning Curve
Though I've had a fair bit of experience with larger animals over the span of my life, I've got quite a learning curve with the chickens and the rabbits around here.
I've never really raised either of them, and there aren't a lot of resources available, especially on rabbits, ANGORA rabbits at that. I must say that I've had my fair share of losses. I lost a few meat chickens last year, 2 of my laying hens and 3 rabbits so far (all within 2 weeks of each other). The losses seem high and devastating, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I've learned from every one of them, and I'm a better mama because of it.
Sometimes I go out to feed and check on animals and come back in with a big sigh. Jared always knows these days by the comment I make when I walk in the door. Yesterday was such a day. You see, I bred my rabbit, Daisy to a new buck that I got last month. The gestation of a rabbit is 28-35 days, with the VAST majority of bunnies kindling on the 30th day. I put a nesting box in for Daisy on the 28th day and as she tore it apart, I realized she must not be bred. I left it in for her until day 37 when I took it out. That's pretty normal and standard.
So I was completely taken by surprise when I walked out to feed again last night and saw that she had in fact kindled. The problem is that there was only one kit, and the kit had a serious deformation, and it clearly deceased.
The problem is that the medium breed rabbits usually have around 8 kits, so where were the rest of them? She was happily eating and drinking showing no signs that anything negative had happened.
I tried palpating her belly to see if I could feel anything else, but it didn't seem like there was anything else in there, and she was happy.
After a LOT of research, I decided to bring her inside to watch over her. If there were any fetuses stuck inside, the could be expelled by rebreeding, so I took her out and put her with the buck last night and this morning. She still hasn't had any more kits, but she seems happy.
I also gave her a very high dose of calcium to help. It's a fantastic rabbit remedy to use.
I feel like I'm walking on pins and needles. If there are any stuck babies, they will surely kill my very favorite prized rabbit. At least I was able to act quickly and try to sort out the problem. I've done all I can do, and as many farmers will tell you sh#@ happens.
Until then, she looks lovely and happy, and I've marked the date for another kindling in 29 days.
I've never really raised either of them, and there aren't a lot of resources available, especially on rabbits, ANGORA rabbits at that. I must say that I've had my fair share of losses. I lost a few meat chickens last year, 2 of my laying hens and 3 rabbits so far (all within 2 weeks of each other). The losses seem high and devastating, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I've learned from every one of them, and I'm a better mama because of it.
Sometimes I go out to feed and check on animals and come back in with a big sigh. Jared always knows these days by the comment I make when I walk in the door. Yesterday was such a day. You see, I bred my rabbit, Daisy to a new buck that I got last month. The gestation of a rabbit is 28-35 days, with the VAST majority of bunnies kindling on the 30th day. I put a nesting box in for Daisy on the 28th day and as she tore it apart, I realized she must not be bred. I left it in for her until day 37 when I took it out. That's pretty normal and standard.
So I was completely taken by surprise when I walked out to feed again last night and saw that she had in fact kindled. The problem is that there was only one kit, and the kit had a serious deformation, and it clearly deceased.
The problem is that the medium breed rabbits usually have around 8 kits, so where were the rest of them? She was happily eating and drinking showing no signs that anything negative had happened.
I tried palpating her belly to see if I could feel anything else, but it didn't seem like there was anything else in there, and she was happy.
After a LOT of research, I decided to bring her inside to watch over her. If there were any fetuses stuck inside, the could be expelled by rebreeding, so I took her out and put her with the buck last night and this morning. She still hasn't had any more kits, but she seems happy.
I also gave her a very high dose of calcium to help. It's a fantastic rabbit remedy to use.
I feel like I'm walking on pins and needles. If there are any stuck babies, they will surely kill my very favorite prized rabbit. At least I was able to act quickly and try to sort out the problem. I've done all I can do, and as many farmers will tell you sh#@ happens.
Until then, she looks lovely and happy, and I've marked the date for another kindling in 29 days.
I want this hair back
I cut my hair when Daphne was born, and I've been growing it out ever since. It's still only at my shoulders. I'd love to have this hair back. it was long and lovely in so many ways. If I can ever get it back to that length, I may never cut it.
Always Photographing
This is a lesson we were doing while in Florence. We are evaluating the church and the feeling it has. Of course, I couldn't help but sneak off some photos. The wondrous thing is that I know exactly what photo I was taking.
Trevi Fountain
I was taking a bit of a walk down memory lane today, and I thought of this photo.
It's a photo of me tossing a coin over my shoulder at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
Legend says that if you do this, you will return to Rome, and I hope that legend is right.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Midwife Birth Plan
If transferring is necessary, I would like to transfer to OHSU, and only in the case of emergency. Please discourage me from transferring if it is not an emergency.
I plan to have a doula for support who will also act as a photographer for the birth.
I would like my 2 year old daughter to experience the birth. She will be taken care of completely by my doula and my husband.
I feel that I will get enough support from the Andaluz midwives, so I desire that no family or guests attend the birth. If anyone shows up at the birth center they should be told to return home and wait for communication from my husband or myself.
We desire silence during contractions and the delivery for religious reasons.
If it is available, I prefer the Tierra room. If it is not available, the Solona room is my second choice.
I am eager to stay at home as long as possible during the labor. I am hoping to drive to the birth center when the contractions have become very intense, hopefully around 5-6 centimeters dilated.
I plan to have a water birth, however, if I need assistance in pushing, I am open to other positions on dry land.
I would like silence maintained during the delivery of the baby if this is possible, however gentle encouragement is also important to me.
I would like to try to catch the baby with the help and guidance of the midwife.
I would like the lighting as low as possible when the baby is born.
When my baby is born, please pass him or her straight to me unless there is an emergency. The first few moments of bonding are important to me without logistical interruption.
When the baby is born, I would prefer that the room stay silent and calm. It is especially important do that there are no comments made about the sex or the state of health of the baby.
I plan to have a natural third stage, allow the placenta to turn up in its own time. I would like the cord to stop pulsing before it is cut.
I would like to freeze the placenta and take it home with me.
If there is tearing, I am more inclined to have stitches than to not.
Please do not administer a Vitamin K injection to the baby. We plan to use the non-synthetic oral Vitamin K.
Please do not administer eye prophylaxis to my baby after birth.
We would like to do the newborn screening tests as two tests, the first occurring before we leave the birth center.
I have a separate plan should a transfer or a c-section be needed. It should be in my file accompanying this one.
I desire that a midwife accompany me until the baby has been born and we are both found to be OK. I understand that midwives do not have hospital privileges, but it does not stop her from advocating on my behalf as a “family friend.”
Hospital Birth Plan
I desire that no family or guests attend the birth. If anyone shows up at the hospital they should be told to return home and wait for communication from my husband or myself.
All parties should note that we want silence during contractions and the delivery because of our religious beliefs.
Do not offer pain medication. I know my own pain threshold, and I will request it if I feel it is necessary.
When the baby is born, I would prefer that the room stay silent and calm. It is especially important do not want any comments about the sex or the state of health of the baby announced.
If there is a vaginal birth, please do not cut the cord until it has stopped pulsing.
I desire to keep the placenta. Please do not send it off as medical waste.
Under no circumstances do I want any drug administered to my baby or I without my express permission. Permission should be asked before EACH drug is administered.
I do not wish to have any drug in the benzodiazepine class even in a life saving emergency.
Please do not administer a Vitamin K injection to the baby.
Please do not administer eye prophylaxis to my baby after birth.
We would like to do the newborn screening tests as two tests, the first occurring before we leave the hospital.
A male baby will not be circumcised.
I desire a labor and delivery that is as free from medication and other interventions as possible. Please discuss any suggested interventions or procedures with me and obtain my consent for proceeding.
If there are strong indications of fetal distress or infection, I would like this fully examined before there is a decision to cut.
If the baby is found to be a surprise breech, I do not consider this to be an indication for caesarean.
In the event of a C-Section I do not want to be put to sleep, I want the surgery to be done with an epidural if possible.
I would like my husband to be in the room at all times during the surgery. If it is an emergency, I respect that the surgeons will need their space, but I still prefer that my husband be allowed at least to stay in the room, even if only in a corner that is out of the way.
I would like my wishes regarding silence (including music) to be respected during surgery. I know that some coordination is necessary between the surgeons, but this should be as succinct as possible.
When the baby is born, I would like it to be handed to my husband for care.
I would like to breastfeed the baby in the recovery room if possible.
Please do not admit my baby to special care simply for observation, but only if there is an emergent medical concern.
Please do not give my baby supplements of glucose water or formula milk without my permission.
Please do not give my baby a pacifier for any reason.
If I have trouble breastfeeding, I would greatly appreciate the help of a midwife who is fully supportive of breastfeeding, and would not like other interventions or solutions until it is clear that breastfeeding will be impossible.
I would like to go home as soon after the birth or surgery as possible, unless I, or my baby, have health problems that require hospital treatment.
Birth Plan Revisited
I was thinking about the length of my birth plan recently, and I was still unsure that I liked it. I was glad that I focused on things relating to a c-section last time because the staff did comply with some requests (i.e. no eye ointment). However, I felt that the birth plan was very heavily focused on what to do if there was a problem and not really focused very well on affirming a successful and beautiful VBAC. I decided to split the birth plan up. I made a plan for the midwives and a plan for the hospital should I need to transfer. That way, the midwives can look at what I am actually looking for in a birth and not have to wade through all of the things I don't desire about a hospital transfer. I think this focuses more positively on the birth that I DO want and making that happen.
I got a lot of birth plan help online, so I am posting this online as well so that anyone else can read it and get some use out of it. I am going to post them in separate posts so that they can be easily found and referred to if necessary.
I got a lot of birth plan help online, so I am posting this online as well so that anyone else can read it and get some use out of it. I am going to post them in separate posts so that they can be easily found and referred to if necessary.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Baby Goats
We have 5 baby goats born so far up at the co-op, which is fantastic! Daphne can talk and communicate this year, which has led to a lot of excitement about the goats. I have been doing some help milking (none of the goats are my goats), and Daphne really enjoys playing with the babies.
She yells "BABY GOATS" as loud as she can when she sees them and spends her time excitedly playing with them. It is so nice to see her get to interact with the animals she loves so much.
She yells "BABY GOATS" as loud as she can when she sees them and spends her time excitedly playing with them. It is so nice to see her get to interact with the animals she loves so much.
Classic
I was in the grocery store today shopping. I was trying to do it very quickly so that I could get home in time to get Daphne to bed at a decent hour.
I was walking down the cereal aisle, when she chose to say, "HOLY CRAP" as loud as she could over and over again.
Needless to say, I got strange looks from everyone else in the aisle. What a great mom I am.
I was walking down the cereal aisle, when she chose to say, "HOLY CRAP" as loud as she could over and over again.
Needless to say, I got strange looks from everyone else in the aisle. What a great mom I am.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Recipes Organized
I am always printing out recipes that I want to cook or that I think would be interesting. I started putting them in a binder, but they were super unorganized, and the more they grew, the harder it was to find what I waned to cook.
I finally got a nice big binder and some plastic sheets, and Jared helped me put the recipes in the clear plastic so they don't get ruined, but they were still unorganized, and of course that bothered me.
I sat down yesterday and pulled all the recipes out and organized them by type. I put them back in two different binders and put them away. I doubt the recipes have been where they belong in over 6 months--likely much longer than that.
I guess it's just one more step on the way to a perfectly organized house.
I finally got a nice big binder and some plastic sheets, and Jared helped me put the recipes in the clear plastic so they don't get ruined, but they were still unorganized, and of course that bothered me.
I sat down yesterday and pulled all the recipes out and organized them by type. I put them back in two different binders and put them away. I doubt the recipes have been where they belong in over 6 months--likely much longer than that.
I guess it's just one more step on the way to a perfectly organized house.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Mothers Write Letters
We took Daphne to an Easter Egg hunt today sponsored by the Aviation Museum in Mcminnville. We had a lovely time at the event last year and really was looking forward to having a good time.
It turned out that it was not as much fun this year. The egg hunt areas were small and crowded by a MUCH bigger crowd than there was last year. Daphne only got a few eggs in a hunt that lasted less than a minute and a half.
I decided that I was going to write a letter, since that's what mothers do right? I wrote the following letter hoping to call attention to some areas that could be improved. I guess I am that kind of person.
Hi,
I wanted to write about the Easter Celebration that we attended today.
I must say that I was very disappointed with the event. We took our 1 year old girl last year and had an incredible time despite the fact that the weather was very cold and she was only 1 year 1 month old, so had little understanding of what the egg hunt thing was all about. We were in an appropriate age group, and we spent a good 5-10 minutes collecting eggs with other kids her age. It really was a good time.
It seems that there was poor planning for the event this year. Many people showed up, many more people than attended last year, and the egg areas were much smaller this time. Our now 2 year old daughter was in a 3 and under crowd. When the line was cut the adults formed a circle and the kids in the middle of the circle collected all the eggs with the kids on the outside trailing behind with nothing. Our daughter was able to collect 4 eggs during the entire hunt while many of the older kids or the kids in the middle got many. I had two friends with other kids that were unable to collect any eggs at all. I was disappointed that an event that cost $6 was so poorly planned that my daughter was only able to collect 4 eggs, which she then had to share with the friends around her.
I think that more consideration should have been given to the age groups for the egg hunt. There should have been a 1-2 group a 3-4 group a 5-6 group and a 7 and up group. There were many kids that were 2 and under (some even under 1) that would have had a good time taking their time getting to the eggs without having to rush with older kids or crowding parents. They should be a bigger area for the egg collection that if you have a large turnout again that all the kids would be able to participate equally and walk away with a satisfying prize.
Additionally, I'm not sure why the event started at 9:30 in the morning on a day early in April. The weather was eventually nice today (after a cold start), but an 11:00 start time would have done well to make it a more pleasant experience for everyone involved.
These are just a few suggestions from a parent that you might consider. I enjoy the Evergreen works to put on community events such as this one. I looked forward to this event for months after the pleasant experience that we had last time, but I can't say that I would be as excited to attend it in the future.
Best,
Christine
It turned out that it was not as much fun this year. The egg hunt areas were small and crowded by a MUCH bigger crowd than there was last year. Daphne only got a few eggs in a hunt that lasted less than a minute and a half.
I decided that I was going to write a letter, since that's what mothers do right? I wrote the following letter hoping to call attention to some areas that could be improved. I guess I am that kind of person.
Hi,
I wanted to write about the Easter Celebration that we attended today.
I must say that I was very disappointed with the event. We took our 1 year old girl last year and had an incredible time despite the fact that the weather was very cold and she was only 1 year 1 month old, so had little understanding of what the egg hunt thing was all about. We were in an appropriate age group, and we spent a good 5-10 minutes collecting eggs with other kids her age. It really was a good time.
It seems that there was poor planning for the event this year. Many people showed up, many more people than attended last year, and the egg areas were much smaller this time. Our now 2 year old daughter was in a 3 and under crowd. When the line was cut the adults formed a circle and the kids in the middle of the circle collected all the eggs with the kids on the outside trailing behind with nothing. Our daughter was able to collect 4 eggs during the entire hunt while many of the older kids or the kids in the middle got many. I had two friends with other kids that were unable to collect any eggs at all. I was disappointed that an event that cost $6 was so poorly planned that my daughter was only able to collect 4 eggs, which she then had to share with the friends around her.
I think that more consideration should have been given to the age groups for the egg hunt. There should have been a 1-2 group a 3-4 group a 5-6 group and a 7 and up group. There were many kids that were 2 and under (some even under 1) that would have had a good time taking their time getting to the eggs without having to rush with older kids or crowding parents. They should be a bigger area for the egg collection that if you have a large turnout again that all the kids would be able to participate equally and walk away with a satisfying prize.
Additionally, I'm not sure why the event started at 9:30 in the morning on a day early in April. The weather was eventually nice today (after a cold start), but an 11:00 start time would have done well to make it a more pleasant experience for everyone involved.
These are just a few suggestions from a parent that you might consider. I enjoy the Evergreen works to put on community events such as this one. I looked forward to this event for months after the pleasant experience that we had last time, but I can't say that I would be as excited to attend it in the future.
Best,
Christine
Friday, April 03, 2009
More Crazy Cleaning
Daphne has been taking a long nap this afternoon. Rather than spend the time sitting around, like I first felt like doing, I decided to do some boring household stuff that Daphne would drive me nuts helping with. I went into our back bathroom that was already almost spotless and pulled everything out and decided it was time to steam clean it. I managed to get it vacuumed down and steam cleaned before Daphne woke up.
Then, I got into her toy box that she uses for bath toys and decided it was time to cull. I pulled out a toy she doesn't ever play with as well as picked up toys that were broken or missing arms. I sanitized them all. The rubber ducks that I have a soft spot for have long had algae growing in them, so I added them to the sanitation bath and got them all cleaned out. I put them away with some other baby toys for baby #2. I have NEVER worried about sanitizing things for Daphne, not even when she was a tiny baby. I'm not quite sure why I am neurotic about making everything spotless and germ free at this point, but I guess I can go along with it. Its not like super cleaning the house is going to bring harm to anyone right?
Then, I got into her toy box that she uses for bath toys and decided it was time to cull. I pulled out a toy she doesn't ever play with as well as picked up toys that were broken or missing arms. I sanitized them all. The rubber ducks that I have a soft spot for have long had algae growing in them, so I added them to the sanitation bath and got them all cleaned out. I put them away with some other baby toys for baby #2. I have NEVER worried about sanitizing things for Daphne, not even when she was a tiny baby. I'm not quite sure why I am neurotic about making everything spotless and germ free at this point, but I guess I can go along with it. Its not like super cleaning the house is going to bring harm to anyone right?
Feed the Girl
I decided to head out to Scotty's (our playplace of choice) today so that Daphne could run out some energy and so that I could get some much needed knitting done.
She ran around with friends for an hour before we decided to take off to the fabric sale to take advantage of the big sale they are having. I needed to get just a bit more fabric to finish all my sewing projects. I now have no fabric I need to buy (at least knowingly).
I ran into a friend at the fabric store with some good information for me about where to get some diaper fabric I'm trying to get for a friend.
By the time, I made it through the store, it was time to go swimming. We rushed over to the swimming pool and got in just in time. The problem was that Daphne went from 9:30 to 1:00 without eating. This is a HUGE disaster, and I learned quickly that despite the fact that swimming is incredibly fun, nothing can calm a hungry baby. We only got to swim for about 40 minutes because she was so grumpy and hungry.
The moral of the story, feed the baby, even when there are other fun things going on. I know, I know, it takes a lot of time making this mistake before it becomes a laid in law, and it even gets broken then.
She ran around with friends for an hour before we decided to take off to the fabric sale to take advantage of the big sale they are having. I needed to get just a bit more fabric to finish all my sewing projects. I now have no fabric I need to buy (at least knowingly).
I ran into a friend at the fabric store with some good information for me about where to get some diaper fabric I'm trying to get for a friend.
By the time, I made it through the store, it was time to go swimming. We rushed over to the swimming pool and got in just in time. The problem was that Daphne went from 9:30 to 1:00 without eating. This is a HUGE disaster, and I learned quickly that despite the fact that swimming is incredibly fun, nothing can calm a hungry baby. We only got to swim for about 40 minutes because she was so grumpy and hungry.
The moral of the story, feed the baby, even when there are other fun things going on. I know, I know, it takes a lot of time making this mistake before it becomes a laid in law, and it even gets broken then.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
It's Me
While I was out taking photos of Daphne, I caught this photo. The second I saw it in my preview screen I smiled.
It's a perfect timeless photo. People are always asking me who she looks like. I don't see either of us in her, but I think that's just because I'm too close to the scene (I see other people in their kids all the time).
The reason this photo made me smile is that it could have been a photo taken of me when I was a 2 year old girl. In fact, I see more me in it than I do her. I almost don't recognize that it is Daphne at all.
It's a perfect timeless photo. People are always asking me who she looks like. I don't see either of us in her, but I think that's just because I'm too close to the scene (I see other people in their kids all the time).
The reason this photo made me smile is that it could have been a photo taken of me when I was a 2 year old girl. In fact, I see more me in it than I do her. I almost don't recognize that it is Daphne at all.
My Ballerina Model
On Monday Daphne and I went for a bike ride and then a hike. I have been meaning to take some photos of her in her tutus since I made them for her birthday a month ago.
The weather was just perfect (nice and overcast). I got on my bike and rode down the old railroad tracks. We then hiked through blackberry bushes and over a stream to get to the perfect spot to do the photos.
I got some cool new tools recently to work with photos, so though many of these photos are a little "over processed" I was trying to figure out what limits I had with the tools I was using.
Truthfully, I am happy with the tools and happy with the photos. I accomplished documenting a lot of the things I have been wanting to document. I had a hard time narrowing the photos down to these ones.
Daphne loves this hat, and I can't blame her. I encourage her to wear it as often as possible. It looks stunning with her necklace. I'm scared these beautiful curls are going to disappear soon, so pay special attention to how beautiful her hair is.
My photography mentor once told me that photography skills are valuable in life no matter what you end up doing with them. If they are used for the sake of documenting your life, you have been successful. I believe this to be true. If I never made another penny from a photography job, I thank goodness that I can take my daughter on a bike ride and return home with images that look like this.
Pink and black, what more can I say. This is the perfect picture.
This did an excellent job catching the curls I've been so desperate to document and save forever.
I've been teaching her to model a lot recently, and I must say she is doing a great job these days.
Another really good modeling shot. Really, doesn't get much better than that.
A classic laughing photo.
More curls. I love the mood of the day in this photo. I love the part of spring that comes with warmer temperatures but cloudy and windy skies.
The weather was just perfect (nice and overcast). I got on my bike and rode down the old railroad tracks. We then hiked through blackberry bushes and over a stream to get to the perfect spot to do the photos.
I got some cool new tools recently to work with photos, so though many of these photos are a little "over processed" I was trying to figure out what limits I had with the tools I was using.
Truthfully, I am happy with the tools and happy with the photos. I accomplished documenting a lot of the things I have been wanting to document. I had a hard time narrowing the photos down to these ones.
Daphne loves this hat, and I can't blame her. I encourage her to wear it as often as possible. It looks stunning with her necklace. I'm scared these beautiful curls are going to disappear soon, so pay special attention to how beautiful her hair is.
My photography mentor once told me that photography skills are valuable in life no matter what you end up doing with them. If they are used for the sake of documenting your life, you have been successful. I believe this to be true. If I never made another penny from a photography job, I thank goodness that I can take my daughter on a bike ride and return home with images that look like this.
Pink and black, what more can I say. This is the perfect picture.
This did an excellent job catching the curls I've been so desperate to document and save forever.
I've been teaching her to model a lot recently, and I must say she is doing a great job these days.
Another really good modeling shot. Really, doesn't get much better than that.
A classic laughing photo.
More curls. I love the mood of the day in this photo. I love the part of spring that comes with warmer temperatures but cloudy and windy skies.
Spring Cleaning
Being 6 months pregnant has really put me on a big cleaning kick. Some call it "nesting" I personally hate that word. I'm just taking the idea of spring cleaning to an entire new level.
I've decided to go through everything we own and decide if it is something that we really need or if it can be turned into something that we really need.
Last weekend we wasted away going through the file cabinets, the computer equipment and Jared's office. I must say that I'm very proud of what we came up with in the end. It really is nice in there.
I've been sewing my way through the winter claiming all the way that I was really cleaning. You see, the idea is that if I sew everything up then there is no fabric or scrap stuff laying around my house, and isn't that useful after all? This has only proven out recently when it really shows that I have no more fabric to sew. I've had a few skirts on my sewing table, but I sat down this morning and whipped out the last part on all of them, so they are ready to put snaps on and then put in the drawers to be used.
I went through Daphne's clothes and took everything too small for her and either set it aside for a new baby or decided to consign it. Some things needed a little refashioning. For example, since she is potty trained, onesies are very difficult to deal with, especially in public. I cut the bottoms off all the onesies she has and turned them into shirts. They look so much better!
I also took all the winter clothes and put them away for the summer. Out came the spring and summer outfits.
While I was on that roll, I got all the Newborn baby clothes out and washed them. The baby now has a drawer full of clothes waiting for him/her/it to make his/hers/its appearance. It feels good to know that there isn't really anything else I would have to do if I ended up having a baby this very second.
I cleared the space on my beside table to use for baby stuff. We have little cubbies for beside tables, so I put baby blankets in one cubby and burp cloths in another, etc. It looks really good, and I don't mind sharing the space with the baby considering that it really was empty space anyway.
Additionally, I got out all the diapers for the baby and put away any anything that needed to be put away. They are washed and ready to go. I also took a set of them and put them in a diaper bag with an outfit and a pair of pj's to take with us if/when we go anywhere to have the baby. It's nice to think that that's not something that needs to be worried about.
I even went through 6 huge tubs of clothes and decided what to keep permanently and what to consign. There is a sale going on in two weeks that I'm going to take it all to. It is a good place to get baby things, but the truth is that it is also a great place to sell anything also.
In the midst of all this I found a stain on the floor so of course the steam cleaner came out, and with it the decision that I might as well steam clean the entire house while I'm at it. It's not going to get any easier to do over the next several weeks.
And it may sound crazy that I'm doing all this stuff so early, but not really when you consider the fact that I'm going to be too hot and tired to do any of this stuff once late spring/early summer rolls around. I'll be free and clear to cook and relax with my baby.
Besides, yesterday was incredibly cold and blustery, and though we are having more and more spring days, it really is having a difficult time actually rolling around to spring.
This is where I have been, lest you feel I've been neglecting you.
I've decided to go through everything we own and decide if it is something that we really need or if it can be turned into something that we really need.
Last weekend we wasted away going through the file cabinets, the computer equipment and Jared's office. I must say that I'm very proud of what we came up with in the end. It really is nice in there.
I've been sewing my way through the winter claiming all the way that I was really cleaning. You see, the idea is that if I sew everything up then there is no fabric or scrap stuff laying around my house, and isn't that useful after all? This has only proven out recently when it really shows that I have no more fabric to sew. I've had a few skirts on my sewing table, but I sat down this morning and whipped out the last part on all of them, so they are ready to put snaps on and then put in the drawers to be used.
I went through Daphne's clothes and took everything too small for her and either set it aside for a new baby or decided to consign it. Some things needed a little refashioning. For example, since she is potty trained, onesies are very difficult to deal with, especially in public. I cut the bottoms off all the onesies she has and turned them into shirts. They look so much better!
I also took all the winter clothes and put them away for the summer. Out came the spring and summer outfits.
While I was on that roll, I got all the Newborn baby clothes out and washed them. The baby now has a drawer full of clothes waiting for him/her/it to make his/hers/its appearance. It feels good to know that there isn't really anything else I would have to do if I ended up having a baby this very second.
I cleared the space on my beside table to use for baby stuff. We have little cubbies for beside tables, so I put baby blankets in one cubby and burp cloths in another, etc. It looks really good, and I don't mind sharing the space with the baby considering that it really was empty space anyway.
Additionally, I got out all the diapers for the baby and put away any anything that needed to be put away. They are washed and ready to go. I also took a set of them and put them in a diaper bag with an outfit and a pair of pj's to take with us if/when we go anywhere to have the baby. It's nice to think that that's not something that needs to be worried about.
I even went through 6 huge tubs of clothes and decided what to keep permanently and what to consign. There is a sale going on in two weeks that I'm going to take it all to. It is a good place to get baby things, but the truth is that it is also a great place to sell anything also.
In the midst of all this I found a stain on the floor so of course the steam cleaner came out, and with it the decision that I might as well steam clean the entire house while I'm at it. It's not going to get any easier to do over the next several weeks.
And it may sound crazy that I'm doing all this stuff so early, but not really when you consider the fact that I'm going to be too hot and tired to do any of this stuff once late spring/early summer rolls around. I'll be free and clear to cook and relax with my baby.
Besides, yesterday was incredibly cold and blustery, and though we are having more and more spring days, it really is having a difficult time actually rolling around to spring.
This is where I have been, lest you feel I've been neglecting you.
Gymnastics
A while ago I taught Daphne how to do somersaults. She loved doing them but always needed help to do them.
She recently figured out that she was able to do them on her own, and she's taken to getting down from the table to show Jared and I how good she is at the "roll". Every time she does one we are obligated to say "Again, AGAIN!" to make her happy. Apparently, asking for something over and over is a compliment.
She recently figured out that she was able to do them on her own, and she's taken to getting down from the table to show Jared and I how good she is at the "roll". Every time she does one we are obligated to say "Again, AGAIN!" to make her happy. Apparently, asking for something over and over is a compliment.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Nanny
When Daphne really likes something, she is inclined to ask that you do it "again" "again". In fact, "again" is one of her favorite things to say.
I've taken up telling her that if she wants someone to mindlessly do what she wants over and over again that she needs to find a nanny.
She has a funny way of saying nanny. It's pronounced NAN-EE in an inquisitive tone. Very hilarious.
I've taken up telling her that if she wants someone to mindlessly do what she wants over and over again that she needs to find a nanny.
She has a funny way of saying nanny. It's pronounced NAN-EE in an inquisitive tone. Very hilarious.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
I Like You
Daphne woke up last night as I was getting into bed, so she came to snuggle with me. After a few mintues of sitting there she turned to me and said,
"I liiikkkke you mama."
"I liiikkkke you mama."
Baby Poop
Yesterday while we were going through paperwork, I ran into some of the papers that I was given at the hospital when Daphne was born.
There was a sheet of paper that we got with photos of baby poop on it in the different stages after birth. It was supposed to be a guide to help make sure the baby was eating enough.
I gave it to Daphne and told her that it was photos of baby poop. She took the page and went and sat on Jared's chair and looked at it for a good 20 minutes.
Apparently, it was a good source of entrainment for a 2 year old. Who would have known?
There was a sheet of paper that we got with photos of baby poop on it in the different stages after birth. It was supposed to be a guide to help make sure the baby was eating enough.
I gave it to Daphne and told her that it was photos of baby poop. She took the page and went and sat on Jared's chair and looked at it for a good 20 minutes.
Apparently, it was a good source of entrainment for a 2 year old. Who would have known?
Paperwork
Yesterday Jared mentioned that he had some filing to do. As he was sorting through it, he asked me to put a few things away here and there.
Being pregnant, and on a serious organizational kick I started to look at what was in the files, and I got a serious urge to clean things out and organize them. We ended up spending the majority of the day going through files, cleaning out old junk and reorganizing everything. We moved on to Jared's desk after that and got everything sorted out and put away.
We threw away 4 bags full of shredded stuff and several trips to the recycling of other random papers.
We also had a really great time going through all of our random "cords and computer crap" that we had stuffed in a box. I needed something from the box this week, and it literally exploded as I opened it. After going through it all, we got it to an organized sanity.
It seems so nice to have everything so well organized. I don't think that Jared was expecting that much cleaning and organizing to come from a simple filing project.
Being pregnant, and on a serious organizational kick I started to look at what was in the files, and I got a serious urge to clean things out and organize them. We ended up spending the majority of the day going through files, cleaning out old junk and reorganizing everything. We moved on to Jared's desk after that and got everything sorted out and put away.
We threw away 4 bags full of shredded stuff and several trips to the recycling of other random papers.
We also had a really great time going through all of our random "cords and computer crap" that we had stuffed in a box. I needed something from the box this week, and it literally exploded as I opened it. After going through it all, we got it to an organized sanity.
It seems so nice to have everything so well organized. I don't think that Jared was expecting that much cleaning and organizing to come from a simple filing project.
Swimming with Daddy
We finally convinced Jared that this weekend was a good time to head out to the pool. He has been swimming with Daphne before, but the last time was mid July of 2008, so it's been about 9 months. Way back then, Daphne would scream bloody murder if any part above her neck got even a drop of water on it, and she was not willing to swim on her own in any capacity.
Now that she is swimming the pool back and forth with wings and no assistance, Jared was very impressed. Daphne even spent some time going under the water, and was happy as can be to do it.
I think Jared is impressed about the progress Daphne has made in her swimming.
Now that she is swimming the pool back and forth with wings and no assistance, Jared was very impressed. Daphne even spent some time going under the water, and was happy as can be to do it.
I think Jared is impressed about the progress Daphne has made in her swimming.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Rabbit Laid an Egg
I had a very strange thing happen to me this week.
I walked out to feed the rabbits one day, and under one of the rabbit cages was an egg. This led me to the only possible conclusion, that the rabbit laid the egg right?
Oh. and it was a male rabbit!
After further investigation, one of the chickens had escaped and decided that the best place to roost was under the rabbit cages. But it made for a funny story right?
I walked out to feed the rabbits one day, and under one of the rabbit cages was an egg. This led me to the only possible conclusion, that the rabbit laid the egg right?
Oh. and it was a male rabbit!
After further investigation, one of the chickens had escaped and decided that the best place to roost was under the rabbit cages. But it made for a funny story right?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Photo Backup Complete
I finally completed the back up of my photos. I committed to making a complete online, off site backup of all of my photos that I have taken that are in the digital format. This represents almost 200 gigabytes of space. Slowly, after weeks and weeks of constant uploading, I now have a complete backup on my yellowcowphoto.smugmug.com page. I feel more organized and safe already.
Your Baby Can Read
Papa Bob got Daphne the Your Baby Can Read series for her birthday. It is a set of flashcards, DVD's and books that are supposed to be used to teach early reading to your baby.
I have read some good things about it and some bad things about it. I agree with the good things. The critics say that it is just a TV show you put your kid in front of to watch and that they are simply memorizing the words. However, if you read all the literature and really get involved, you start to understand that that is not the case. You are coming up with many, many ways to get your kid involved in understanding the written language. It takes a lot of repetition and a lot of work. The people who are just showing DVD's to their kids are doing it wrong, not wonder it seems so mundane. It is supposed to be set up so that you read the books with the baby and do flash card and come up with as many opportunities as possible for the baby to discover the world around them.
That said, you are supposed to watch the 20 minute DVD 1-2 times per day. I have been doing it for about 2 weeks with Daphne.
I was so impressed to see that Daphne can read the word "dog" and "arm". She still can't recognize them in every setting, but she definitely knows the words because she can see the word and say it without any additional help. It's kind of a miracle to see my just turned 2 year old start to read words. I am excited about what her future holds. She loves books so much, and it's such a gift to teach her how to read at such a young age.
I have read some good things about it and some bad things about it. I agree with the good things. The critics say that it is just a TV show you put your kid in front of to watch and that they are simply memorizing the words. However, if you read all the literature and really get involved, you start to understand that that is not the case. You are coming up with many, many ways to get your kid involved in understanding the written language. It takes a lot of repetition and a lot of work. The people who are just showing DVD's to their kids are doing it wrong, not wonder it seems so mundane. It is supposed to be set up so that you read the books with the baby and do flash card and come up with as many opportunities as possible for the baby to discover the world around them.
That said, you are supposed to watch the 20 minute DVD 1-2 times per day. I have been doing it for about 2 weeks with Daphne.
I was so impressed to see that Daphne can read the word "dog" and "arm". She still can't recognize them in every setting, but she definitely knows the words because she can see the word and say it without any additional help. It's kind of a miracle to see my just turned 2 year old start to read words. I am excited about what her future holds. She loves books so much, and it's such a gift to teach her how to read at such a young age.
Chicken Stock
I've been working on a batch of chicken stock for a while. It was clear that it was time to make some because I still had some necks and organs in the freezer from when I butchered chickens a while back. Also, we had chicken legs for dinner a few nights in a row, and I had a carcass left in the freezer from a while back.
Additionally, we were getting more vegetables from our CSA than I was able to eat so it was time to morph all this food into something that would be useful to me at a later date.
My favorite thing about having learned to can last summer was the fact that I have no reservations on canning my own foods. It makes it so wonderful to know that I can make 2 gallons of chicken stock and preserve it without having to think about using it all up. The trick is that you have to pressure can it, and that gets me a little bit nervous sometimes.
I got my pressure canner from a yard sale for 20 bucks, and I adore it. It is huge--20 quart capacity, so I can can about 2 gallons of things in one go. Pressure canners that were made recently are incredibly safe, but in the old days these things used to explode and cause all sorts of trouble.
I feel like I sit on pins and needles while I wait for the 25 mintues to be up. I've only got 5 more mintues to go on the batch I'm working on.
The positive side is that I will have freshly canned chicken stock to use at my will that can sit in my pantry waiting for me to come up with something to use it in!
Additionally, we were getting more vegetables from our CSA than I was able to eat so it was time to morph all this food into something that would be useful to me at a later date.
My favorite thing about having learned to can last summer was the fact that I have no reservations on canning my own foods. It makes it so wonderful to know that I can make 2 gallons of chicken stock and preserve it without having to think about using it all up. The trick is that you have to pressure can it, and that gets me a little bit nervous sometimes.
I got my pressure canner from a yard sale for 20 bucks, and I adore it. It is huge--20 quart capacity, so I can can about 2 gallons of things in one go. Pressure canners that were made recently are incredibly safe, but in the old days these things used to explode and cause all sorts of trouble.
I feel like I sit on pins and needles while I wait for the 25 mintues to be up. I've only got 5 more mintues to go on the batch I'm working on.
The positive side is that I will have freshly canned chicken stock to use at my will that can sit in my pantry waiting for me to come up with something to use it in!
Out Chickens--Out!
I am surprised with how quickly I got tired of having chickens in the house, and they have officially been kicked out today.
The Cornish Cross breed is a breed of chicken that has been bred to mature super quickly. I am surprised that these chicks are only a week old, and they already seem so incredibly big to me. Additionally, the Chukar (a type of quailish bird) grow very quickly as well (full size in about 6 weeks). You can tell how fast the other birds are growing when you compare them to my laying hen that I bought. She is a week old, but she is SOOOOO much smaller than the Cornish Cross.
I had all 16 of the birds in the bathtub under a heat lamp, but when I got back from the store today there was a definite chicken smell in the house. Rather than continue to deal with it, I decided to kick them out.
I split up the chukar and the laying hen from the cornish cross, and I put them all out in the garage. The Cornish Cross are happily eating away pretending that nothing has happen, yet the Chukar are cold and sad to be away from their friends. The Chukar have a light on them, but they seem to feel that it's necessary to all bunch up and act cold. If the light were any closer to them it would burn them, so I think we're going to have to call it good enough for now.
As soon as I kicked them out I cleaned and sterilized the bathtub with bleach and then scrubbed the floor of the bathroom. You'd be hard pressed to see that I was running a chicken farm in it just a few hours ago.
The Cornish Cross breed is a breed of chicken that has been bred to mature super quickly. I am surprised that these chicks are only a week old, and they already seem so incredibly big to me. Additionally, the Chukar (a type of quailish bird) grow very quickly as well (full size in about 6 weeks). You can tell how fast the other birds are growing when you compare them to my laying hen that I bought. She is a week old, but she is SOOOOO much smaller than the Cornish Cross.
I had all 16 of the birds in the bathtub under a heat lamp, but when I got back from the store today there was a definite chicken smell in the house. Rather than continue to deal with it, I decided to kick them out.
I split up the chukar and the laying hen from the cornish cross, and I put them all out in the garage. The Cornish Cross are happily eating away pretending that nothing has happen, yet the Chukar are cold and sad to be away from their friends. The Chukar have a light on them, but they seem to feel that it's necessary to all bunch up and act cold. If the light were any closer to them it would burn them, so I think we're going to have to call it good enough for now.
As soon as I kicked them out I cleaned and sterilized the bathtub with bleach and then scrubbed the floor of the bathroom. You'd be hard pressed to see that I was running a chicken farm in it just a few hours ago.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thank You Iron Chef
We had the March Iron Chef on Monday. It was a total blast. A few people were not feeling well, so the numbers were down a bit, but that doesn't cause a problem. There was still good company and good food--that's a win-win.
The best part of the night was that my friend Corey made a lovely salad with lettuce, kiwi, pears, avocado, nuts, etc. I ate two whole bowl fulls.
I actually came home totally inspired by the salad and made one of my own. I've had 8 salads in the past 24 hours--now that's a lot of lettuce and spinach!
The best part of the night was that my friend Corey made a lovely salad with lettuce, kiwi, pears, avocado, nuts, etc. I ate two whole bowl fulls.
I actually came home totally inspired by the salad and made one of my own. I've had 8 salads in the past 24 hours--now that's a lot of lettuce and spinach!
Eating All the Food
I spent the majority of the summer storing up healthy, local foods of all kinds for us to eat through the winter.
At one point, we had 20 chickens, 2 goats, 2 lambs and a bunch of beef in the freezer. We are slowly chipping that down. The chickens are almost gone and the goat is nearly gone also.
The pantry was crammed full of salsa and tomato sauce, green beans and applesauce. We really have been making progress on eating it all. I feel pressure to eat it before it's time to can food again, problem is that it doesn't appeal to me, so Jared is on his own.
The truth is that I'm doing a really good job being efficient about eating the food and making it incredibly delicious.
At one point, we had 20 chickens, 2 goats, 2 lambs and a bunch of beef in the freezer. We are slowly chipping that down. The chickens are almost gone and the goat is nearly gone also.
The pantry was crammed full of salsa and tomato sauce, green beans and applesauce. We really have been making progress on eating it all. I feel pressure to eat it before it's time to can food again, problem is that it doesn't appeal to me, so Jared is on his own.
The truth is that I'm doing a really good job being efficient about eating the food and making it incredibly delicious.
More Swimming
We went swimming again today, only this time we took Julie and Audrey and Copper.
As soon as Daphne saw Copper put on the water wings, she followed suit. The second Daphne got in the water, I wasn't able to touch her again. She giggled and laughed the whole time while she moved her own body around the pool. It was very fun to watch her being so independent.
She came home after swimming and took a 3 hour nap. I guess swimming on your own for the first time can really be tiring.
I'm such a proud mama. I spent so much time teaching her to swim and now she is really doing it!
As soon as Daphne saw Copper put on the water wings, she followed suit. The second Daphne got in the water, I wasn't able to touch her again. She giggled and laughed the whole time while she moved her own body around the pool. It was very fun to watch her being so independent.
She came home after swimming and took a 3 hour nap. I guess swimming on your own for the first time can really be tiring.
I'm such a proud mama. I spent so much time teaching her to swim and now she is really doing it!
Chicken Time!
Jared, Daphne and I headed out to the feed store on Saturday to get some new chickens. Yes, it's that time of the year again.
Every year Wilco gives away free meat chickens with each bag of feed that they sell. I ended up getting 10 chickens for free, which is the number of chickens I was planning on raising for the year. We end up eating about 1 chicken per month--we're not big chicken eaters around here.
I got 10 meat chickens, 5 chukar and another laying hen. They just happened to have the same breed of hen that I had lost last year. She was my favorite hen, and I am happy to replace her.
I'm hoping to take some photos soon to post. They are already at least twice as big as they were when I got them.
Every year Wilco gives away free meat chickens with each bag of feed that they sell. I ended up getting 10 chickens for free, which is the number of chickens I was planning on raising for the year. We end up eating about 1 chicken per month--we're not big chicken eaters around here.
I got 10 meat chickens, 5 chukar and another laying hen. They just happened to have the same breed of hen that I had lost last year. She was my favorite hen, and I am happy to replace her.
I'm hoping to take some photos soon to post. They are already at least twice as big as they were when I got them.
Final Grades
The final grades for the semester were released today. Though I knew that I did not have anything to worry about in terms of passing the class, I was eager to discover what my final grades would be.
I was relieved to see that I got two A's and a B. That confirms that I do in fact graduate Magna Cum Laude.
After I saw my grades, I ran a report through the school's system to confirm that I had met all the requirements for the degree. No surprise, the report came back that I had in fact met all the requirements for the degree.
I'm still waiting for a letter from the school, but I've got nothing to worry about at this point!
I was relieved to see that I got two A's and a B. That confirms that I do in fact graduate Magna Cum Laude.
After I saw my grades, I ran a report through the school's system to confirm that I had met all the requirements for the degree. No surprise, the report came back that I had in fact met all the requirements for the degree.
I'm still waiting for a letter from the school, but I've got nothing to worry about at this point!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Birth Plan
I've been mulling around a birth plan for this upcoming birth. It is difficult for me to go back and make changes to the birth plan that I made for Daphne. I just happened to spend a lot of time writing up desires about the birth if I were to transfer and need a c-section. It was a good thing that I was prepared, but it was still a little tough for me to confront writing out what I would want to happen if it were necessary for another C-Section.
I think that I have hammered out enough of the birth plan to call this a great 1st draft. Things can change in pregnancy, but this reflects what I am looking for in birth. I am posting it here because I shared my first birth plan with a lot of friends who found it to be immensely helpful in planning their own births.
I think that I have hammered out enough of the birth plan to call this a great 1st draft. Things can change in pregnancy, but this reflects what I am looking for in birth. I am posting it here because I shared my first birth plan with a lot of friends who found it to be immensely helpful in planning their own births.
Christine Anderson
Birth Plan
General:
I plan to have a water birth at the Portland Andaluz birth center. This is going to be a VBAC. If transferring is necessary, I would like to transfer to OHSU, and only in the case of emergency.
I desire a pretty standard natural birth, but I have been specific in the birth plan to be clear to anyone attending the birth.
Guests
I plan to have a doula for support who will also act as a photographer for the birth.
I really would like my 2 year old daughter to experience the birth. She will be taken care of by my doula and by my husband Jared.
I feel that I will get enough support from the Andaluz midwives, so I desire that no family or guests attend the birth. If anyone shows up at the birth center they should be told to return home and wait for communication from my husband or myself.
Anyone who is allowed in the room needs to be reminded that we want silence during contractions and the delivery because of our religious beliefs.
Room
If it is available, I prefer the Tierra room. If it is not available, the Solona room is my second choice.
Labor
I am eager to stay at home as long as possible during the labor. I am hoping to drive to the birth center when I am around 6 centimeters dilated.
I do not want any music to be playing during labor or delivery. I do have some music on my Ipod that I will listen to if the music strikes me.
I plan to be mobile during labor and to eat and drink at will.
We are eager to maintain silence during contractions for religious reasons.
Birth
I plan to have a water birth, however, if I need assistance in pushing, I would like to try squatting on dry land.
I would like silence maintained during the delivery of the baby if this is possible. Gentle encouragement is also important to me.
I would like Jared to catch the baby with the help and guidance of the midwife, but with minimal intervention unless it is an emergency.
I would like the lighting as low as possible when my baby is born.
When my baby is born, please pass him or her straight to me unless there is an emergency. The first few moments of bonding are important to me without logistical interruption.
When the baby is born, I would prefer that the room stay silent and calm for a while. It is especially important do not want any comments about the sex or the state of health of the baby announced. If there is any concern, it should be directed to me personally.
Third Stage
I plan to have a natural third stage, and to allow the placenta to turn up in its own time. I would like the cord to stop pulsing before it is cut.
Drugs/Pain Relief
Under no circumstances do I want any drug administered to my baby or I without my express permission. Permission should be asked before EACH drug is administered. I feel very strongly that no drugs should be used for any reason unless in an absolute emergency.
Care of the baby
I do not want the baby to be taken away from me after the birth. Weighing, cleaning and other logistics can be done at a convenient time after bonding and breastfeeding have been established.
Please do not administer a Vitamin K injection to the baby. We plan to use the non-synthetic oral Vitamin K.
Please do not administer eye prophylaxis to my baby after birth.
We would like to do the newborn screening tests as two tests, the first occurring before we leave the birth center.
If the baby is a male we do not plan to circumcise.
Care of the mom
I am concerned about tearing. I would like the degree of any tear to be discussed with me so that we can decide the best solution. At this time, I think that I would desire stitches with any significant tearing.
In case of transfer to hospital or for C-Section
I desire a labor and delivery that is as free from medication and other interventions as possible. Please discuss any suggested interventions or procedures with me and obtain my consent for proceeding.
I am very keen to avoid another caesarean section if it is at all possible. I feel strongly that I can have a successful VBAC.
If there are strong indications of fetal distress or infection, I would like this fully examined before there is a decision to transfer or cut.
If the baby is found to be a surprise breech, I do not consider this to be an indication for a caesarean.
I do understand there are true emergencies such as a prolapsed cord that are automatic indications for a caesarean.
I would like a midwife to stay with me during the transfer to help advocate for me. I understand that midwives do not have hospital privileges and are thus acting as personal advisors and not medical professionals in the hospital.
I want to ensure that no drugs are administered to my baby or I without my express permission beforehand, even if they are standardly administered drugs.
I do not wish to have any drug in the benzodiazepine class even in a life saving emergency.
In the event of a C-Section I do not want to be put to sleep, I want the surgery to be done with an epidural only if possible.
I would like my husband to be in the room at all times during the surgery. If it is an emergency, I respect that the surgeons will need their space, but I still prefer that my husband be allowed at least to stay in the room, even if only in a corner that is out of the way.
I would like my wishes regarding silence (including music) to be respected during surgery. I know that some coordination is necessary between the surgeons, but this should be as succinct as possible.
When the baby is born, I would like for no announcements to be made about the state of health or the sex. If there is an emergency, the baby should be attended to in silence (except for the communications necessary to administer medical attention).
When the baby is born, I would like it to be handed to my husband for care.
I would like to breastfeed the baby in the recovery room if possible.
Please do not admit my baby to special care simply for observation, but only if there is an emergent medical concern.
Please do not give my baby supplements of glucose water or formula milk without my permission.
Please do not give my baby a pacifier for any reason.
If I have trouble breastfeeding, I would greatly appreciate the help of a midwife who is fully supportive of breastfeeding, and would not like other interventions or solutions until it is clear that breastfeeding will be impossible.
Going Home
I would like to go home as soon after the birth or surgery as possible, unless I, or my baby, have health problems that require hospital treatment.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Chasing Rainbows
Papa Bob came up to visit us last weekend and we had a lot of fun. The weather was really being fickle. It was raining one moment and then sunny the next. That combined with the wind really made for a lot of indoor activities.
One late afternoon we were driving after the rain and there was a large rainbow overhead. We were admiring it and showing it to Daphne. Bob commented about how close the rainbow looked and we started joking about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and how it is impossible to catch the end. However, the rainbow was so strong and so close we could see the place where the rainbow met the earth. We were driving, and at every turn or bend the rainbow would follow us and surely with each turn it's end would change.
I have never experienced being able to see the end of a rainbow before, so it was a lot of fun. Daphne now knows what a rainbow looks like, and she's excited to point it out in her book from the library this week.
One late afternoon we were driving after the rain and there was a large rainbow overhead. We were admiring it and showing it to Daphne. Bob commented about how close the rainbow looked and we started joking about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and how it is impossible to catch the end. However, the rainbow was so strong and so close we could see the place where the rainbow met the earth. We were driving, and at every turn or bend the rainbow would follow us and surely with each turn it's end would change.
I have never experienced being able to see the end of a rainbow before, so it was a lot of fun. Daphne now knows what a rainbow looks like, and she's excited to point it out in her book from the library this week.
True Pregnancy Cravings
I was telling my husband how luscious it would be if I could only eat Inari and cookie dough for lunch. After I said it, I realized how stereotypical it sounded of a pregnant woman, so I submit it for your enjoyment!
Swimming Breakthrough
When I was not feeling very well at the beginning of the pregnancy, I decided that I was going to get out more and do more activities. I committed to taking Daphne swimming 2-3 times a week. It seemed to be something that she really enjoyed.
One of the lifeguards was enamored of Daphne and every time I went, she would give me tips on how to get Daphne to start practicing swimming on her own. She used to be really fussy about not wanting to go under the water or not wanting any water to get on her face or ears. Over the past 4 months, she seems to be making great strides in being able to swim. She is anxious and willing to go under the water for brief periods of time. She LOVES to slash and get her hair and face wet an she's learned a very strong kick. Despite all that, she still was trying to hang on to me all the time even when she had something else to support her.
When we went swimming on Wednesday, Daphne put the wings on her arms and rather than really hating them (like usual), she started laughing so hard that she let go of me. When she realized what she had done, she decided to go with it and start kicking. She ended up swimming the width of the pool without any assistance. She giggled the whole time.
When I took her swimming today, I put the wings on her again and started to swim with her. She was out of control. I could hardly keep my hands on her when she was not wearing the wings because she was so excited about her new independence. Her legs are getting really, really strong from all this swimming.
Good job Daphne, not many 2 year olds are willing to swim unassisted in the pool!
One of the lifeguards was enamored of Daphne and every time I went, she would give me tips on how to get Daphne to start practicing swimming on her own. She used to be really fussy about not wanting to go under the water or not wanting any water to get on her face or ears. Over the past 4 months, she seems to be making great strides in being able to swim. She is anxious and willing to go under the water for brief periods of time. She LOVES to slash and get her hair and face wet an she's learned a very strong kick. Despite all that, she still was trying to hang on to me all the time even when she had something else to support her.
When we went swimming on Wednesday, Daphne put the wings on her arms and rather than really hating them (like usual), she started laughing so hard that she let go of me. When she realized what she had done, she decided to go with it and start kicking. She ended up swimming the width of the pool without any assistance. She giggled the whole time.
When I took her swimming today, I put the wings on her again and started to swim with her. She was out of control. I could hardly keep my hands on her when she was not wearing the wings because she was so excited about her new independence. Her legs are getting really, really strong from all this swimming.
Good job Daphne, not many 2 year olds are willing to swim unassisted in the pool!
Bone Man
We have yet another superhero to add to the collection. My hip has been bothering me during this pregnancy, and it's been hard for me to deal with sometimes. I decided to go to the chiropractor to get it fixed. The trip to the chiropractor became much more exciting today when her daddy pointed out that the chiropractor is really BONEMAN!
Yay for Originality
As Daphne becomes more and more adept at talking, she has been starting to originate things on her own. I still have to answer when people ask her her name, and I often put the idea in her head to go tell her daddy that she loves him.
She was sitting on my lap the other day while i was doing some boring work and she gave me a giant kiss and started playing with my hair. She looked at me and said, "You're gorgeous mama, just gorgeous." It's been a while since I recall saying that to her (I used to say it all the time), and it hit me completely from left field, but it made me smile.
Today, she was saying bye to her daddy so we could go swimming, she ran up and gave him a hug and a kiss and was running away. She took a pause in her run and said, "I love you daddy," before racing out the door.
She was sitting on my lap the other day while i was doing some boring work and she gave me a giant kiss and started playing with my hair. She looked at me and said, "You're gorgeous mama, just gorgeous." It's been a while since I recall saying that to her (I used to say it all the time), and it hit me completely from left field, but it made me smile.
Today, she was saying bye to her daddy so we could go swimming, she ran up and gave him a hug and a kiss and was running away. She took a pause in her run and said, "I love you daddy," before racing out the door.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Light Man
The electrician came last week and spent several hours at our house crawling in and around reinstalling circuits and generally making sure that we were not going to burn down the house. I know that plumbers make about 100 per hour. The Light Man was here for a good 4 hours, and Jared and I were cringing about what our bill would look like. It turns out that it was less than $200 for the work that was done. He did a fantastic job and we couldn't have been happier. What a relief to have that all sorted out.
By the way, we used Simpson Electic out of Mcminnville if you were in the market for a Light Man.
By the way, we used Simpson Electic out of Mcminnville if you were in the market for a Light Man.
Ugly Pants
I have been waiting for months and months to get done with some other sewing projects so that I could make some wool pants for my babies. I finally got the pattern this week, and I sat down to sew a pair of pants.
Needless to say, I must be out of practice on sewing clothing because I had a lot of difficulty. In the end, I got a pretty ugly pair of pants that I'm not sure what to do with. Of course I used my most expensive fabric to make the first pair of pants. I'm going to rip them out and try to start again somehow, but for now, I'm just too darn frustrated.
The point of buying the pattern was to allow for extra room in the bum for a cloth diaper. The photos of the pants online are really cute. I must have done something terribly wrong.
Though they look Ok from the front
They are just downright baggy in the back.
There is such a thing as too much room in the booty! I'm actually more concerned about the wrinkly, wavy pattern I'm getting in the fabric more than anything else. Time to save for another month or two before I get some more fabric to start again.
Needless to say, I must be out of practice on sewing clothing because I had a lot of difficulty. In the end, I got a pretty ugly pair of pants that I'm not sure what to do with. Of course I used my most expensive fabric to make the first pair of pants. I'm going to rip them out and try to start again somehow, but for now, I'm just too darn frustrated.
The point of buying the pattern was to allow for extra room in the bum for a cloth diaper. The photos of the pants online are really cute. I must have done something terribly wrong.
Though they look Ok from the front
They are just downright baggy in the back.
There is such a thing as too much room in the booty! I'm actually more concerned about the wrinkly, wavy pattern I'm getting in the fabric more than anything else. Time to save for another month or two before I get some more fabric to start again.
Daphne's Song
I got Jared a keyboard for Christmas so that he would be able to work on a lifelong dream of being able to play the piano. This has been a big hit with Daphne, and when she sees the keyboard she tries to play. It has an unfortunate side effect that when Jared tries to practice that he has a little girl in his lap wanting to learn also.
On her birthday, they were sitting together playing music, and Jared made up a song that he called Daphne's song. It goes:
Daphne's Song
Daphne's Song
Daphne is... (enter random things here, i.e two years old today, etc.)
Today, Daphne was singing to herself while she was playing and this was the song.
Daphne's Song
Daphne's Song
Daphne is so cool...yeah!
On her birthday, they were sitting together playing music, and Jared made up a song that he called Daphne's song. It goes:
Daphne's Song
Daphne's Song
Daphne is... (enter random things here, i.e two years old today, etc.)
Today, Daphne was singing to herself while she was playing and this was the song.
Daphne's Song
Daphne's Song
Daphne is so cool...yeah!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Where Were We?
I've been working on posting a lot more recently. Yesterday, however, I just totally missed out. Every time I sat down to write I was back up on my feet being taken somewhere interesting by a 2 year old just learning to discover life.
We spent a huge part of the getting the house clean. I've been on this organizing kick recently, and the house was getting a little out of control, so I spent a lot of time organizing the house. Hopefully, the result is that everything should now have a place where it belongs. If something is taken out, it should be able to be put back where it belongs without much fuss. That was a lot of the problem.
I have had a box that my mother-in-law brought up for me this Christmas from her mom's house. It was a set of bone china that was being passed on to us. I finally got it out of the box and got it cleaned up and put away. It is a beautiful complete set of 8 settings. I am so happy to own it.
The sun finally showed his face yesterday, so during the warmest part of the day (it got up to 57 degrees), I took Daphne and Flaff to the park. We spent a good hour and a half on the swings and going down the slide. I even got a phone call in to my grandma. It was so lovely to have nice weather outside and to be doing something fun with the baby and the dog.
In my own personal organizing kick, I got my inbox empty of random things. I had an hour of video of Daphne to process and put on DVD, so I managed to do that, which is lovely. I am now fully caught up on DVD/photo processing.
I even got a chance last night to transfer some music off my computer that has been waiting to be put on my MP3 player for over a year. Now all my music is where it belongs and it has been backed up!
I started to go through some old photos, and I realized that I have a lot of photos that have not been backed up, so I'm going to be spending a lot of time uploading old photos to my backup site. This might take longer than I was thinking it would. However, I will be so much more comfortable when everything is safely backed up and in a system that I can use.
When I got back home from the walk, Daphne and I made some mashed veggies and chicken rolls. After all that work, neither Jared or Daphne were hungry, and poultry is difficult for me to eat right now. No one was going to eat dinner, so I sat down and ate half a chicken roll myself just for good measure. Also, home made ice cream came up on a Facebook conversation, so I whipped up a batch of egg nog ice cream for fun. Ice cream has been a nice little treat for me before going to be recently (I know I'm bad).
It was a domestically boring day, with plenty of little exciting parts. It surely is becoming spring because I hear the bird migrating. Daphne dragged me out onto the porch yesterday when she heard a migration of Canadian Geese. She said, "mama, mama, I see birds." I had to go out and look for where the bird were with her. What a sweet little end to the day.
We spent a huge part of the getting the house clean. I've been on this organizing kick recently, and the house was getting a little out of control, so I spent a lot of time organizing the house. Hopefully, the result is that everything should now have a place where it belongs. If something is taken out, it should be able to be put back where it belongs without much fuss. That was a lot of the problem.
I have had a box that my mother-in-law brought up for me this Christmas from her mom's house. It was a set of bone china that was being passed on to us. I finally got it out of the box and got it cleaned up and put away. It is a beautiful complete set of 8 settings. I am so happy to own it.
The sun finally showed his face yesterday, so during the warmest part of the day (it got up to 57 degrees), I took Daphne and Flaff to the park. We spent a good hour and a half on the swings and going down the slide. I even got a phone call in to my grandma. It was so lovely to have nice weather outside and to be doing something fun with the baby and the dog.
In my own personal organizing kick, I got my inbox empty of random things. I had an hour of video of Daphne to process and put on DVD, so I managed to do that, which is lovely. I am now fully caught up on DVD/photo processing.
I even got a chance last night to transfer some music off my computer that has been waiting to be put on my MP3 player for over a year. Now all my music is where it belongs and it has been backed up!
I started to go through some old photos, and I realized that I have a lot of photos that have not been backed up, so I'm going to be spending a lot of time uploading old photos to my backup site. This might take longer than I was thinking it would. However, I will be so much more comfortable when everything is safely backed up and in a system that I can use.
When I got back home from the walk, Daphne and I made some mashed veggies and chicken rolls. After all that work, neither Jared or Daphne were hungry, and poultry is difficult for me to eat right now. No one was going to eat dinner, so I sat down and ate half a chicken roll myself just for good measure. Also, home made ice cream came up on a Facebook conversation, so I whipped up a batch of egg nog ice cream for fun. Ice cream has been a nice little treat for me before going to be recently (I know I'm bad).
It was a domestically boring day, with plenty of little exciting parts. It surely is becoming spring because I hear the bird migrating. Daphne dragged me out onto the porch yesterday when she heard a migration of Canadian Geese. She said, "mama, mama, I see birds." I had to go out and look for where the bird were with her. What a sweet little end to the day.
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