Simple Woman's Daybook

For today Monday, September 13, 2010

Outside my window...autumn is slowing creeping into the neighborhood with it's cooler weather revitalizing both plants and their caretakers.

From the garden...tiny seedlings our sprouting in out debut fall garden. And I am praying I don't kill them. Nearby three watermelons linger from the summer and I hope the will be able to ripen this late.

One of my favorite things...is family. I love family reunions, casual get togethers, sister shopping days, mother-daughter-granddaughter time, family dinners, and any other excuse you can think of to see each other. No matter where we are when we all get together we are home.

From the kitchen...red beans are soaking on the counter in preparation of Jamaican Beans and Rice for tomorrow's dinner. This recipe becomes a favorite of anyone who makes it. The coconut milk sets it apart from all other bean and rice dishes. Man is it awesome. Beside the beans freshly ground flour is soaking in homemade kefir for making banana bread tomorrow. A bowl of pecans and another bowl of almonds are both soaking in salt water and will be dried tomorrow. And 2 one gallon containers of kombucha are fermenting away on the counter. Basically I am fermenting everything in the house but the cats! Tomorrow is my cooking day. Can you tell?

I am thankful for...this wonderful life I have been given. It's as if I woke up one day and suddenly had been given everything I have ever dreamed of. When did all this happen?

Around the house... things are picked up and tidy with the exception of a basket of folded clothes in need of a home. One baby lies sleeping and one little girl chatters endlessly in the next room with her dad.

I am creating...my first ever quilt! I'm starting small with a baby quilt for Archer's room. The pieces have all been cut and I am blessed to have my grandmother heading this way sometime this week to help me put it all together. She can quilt by hand in her sleep. No machine has ever touched on of her creations. My creation may have to touch a machine ;)
I have also made a candlelit chandelier out of a lamp shade to hang over our dining table in the back yard. I think all it needs are a couple of finishing touches and then I will post a pic.

I am reading...more Beverly Lewis. For some reason I crave christian Amish fiction in the fall(not that it's actually fall yet). Anybody else a fan of hers? I cannot get enough. Her books make we want to bake someone bread, help them plant a garden, and then host a canning party (and keep having babies but don't tell Mark that part or he will start hiding my books from me!). They are full of beautiful imagery of friends sipping tea together on crisp fall days while toddlers sweetly play at their feet. Just for the record I have a lot of friends with kids and this is not what our days look like as stay at home mom's! Maybe they should.

Here is a picture I am sharing with you...




It's just about the time of night that I adjourn to my favorite spot with a cup of tea and a book.

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It takes a village

I'm starting to realize that it really does take a village to raise children. Not so much because of what other's can contribute to my children's lives - although wonderful people have had positive influences on them - but more because in a village you can always find someone sane and of sound mind. And today, it was not my turn to play the part of the sane mom.

Archer woke up at 5:21 am this morning ready to nurse. It was not his usual 5:30 or 5:45 but that's okay. I was willing to roll with it. Mark brought him to me in bed to nurse (isn't he an awesome husband?) but Archer had other plans. And fyi, if your child is going to have trouble nursing, you do not want it to happen at 5:21am.

Arch and I give up the battle and headed down the hallway to the kitchen where we discovered there was not enough coffee to brew a pot. Great. And it's not like I can just pop in anywhere and grap a cup of jo. I buy organic decaf and it has to be decaffeinated with the swiss water method so that no chemicals are used. Not something you can find at Mc Donalds. And no one wants to see me on caffeine. The harmony of our marriage depends on me staying off caffeine.

We get Savannah off to school and Arch begins his school work (sitting in the exersaucer so I can take a shower). He starts to fuss before I can wash all the suds off. He is out right crying by the time I am drying off.

In frustration I decided to explain things to Archer while standing in my bathroom wrapped in a towel. "Listen little guy," I told him, "If I picked you up every time you fussed I would never get to put my clothes on, brush my teeth, cook dinner, or do anything else. So if it were up to you I would be naked, starving, with smelly breath. And I don't want to be naked and starving with smelly breath. So you are going to have to fuss today." This conversation was one of many indicators that I would not be playing the part of "sane mom" today.

This made him scream louder.

I put on my clothes and then picked him in hopes of redirecting his short attention span. All the while I was wondering how my hair was going to look now that it has dried unbrushed and wrapped in a towel.

Finally I was able to lay him down for a nap and then put on make-up and salvage my hair. As I stood in my closet I decided I could not put on shorts, a stained t-shirt and worn out flip flops one more time. Just for today, I want to look pretty. After I scoured my closet for something decent I began to pick out accessories. And in the holes of my pierced ears I placed beautiful large copper earrings that I knew Archer will try to yank from my ears leaving me in need of reconstructive surgery. But I did not care. They matched my outfit perfectly.

We left the house for a playdate with friends fussy baby in tow. And as you probably guessed, the playdate was for me as Archer is too young to play with other kids. But I needed friends.

When we arrived our village was there to greet us with a fresh pot of coffee and homemade banana bread. I threw caution to the wind and being the wild child that I am ;) I had a cup of that non-organic caffeinated coffee. I listened to encouraging stories from other moms who had challenging babies. I looked them over and they all seemed to come out the other side of this baby phase looking like normal humans adorned with cute earrings and such. And like me other moms walked in the door sharing their stories of chaos from the morning. And the stories of frustrationwe rehashed suddenly sounded funny. Maybe even hilarious, laugh-out-loud-from-down-in-your-belly-funny.

My village made me laugh and feel sane again. I could have soaked up more time and fellowship but Archer began to fuss for a nap and so we left. Now, I can't stand to leave a party early. After all, I might miss out on something. But I had giggled, talked, listened, and sipped coffee with good friends. Some of us sane and some of us with hopes of being sane next time but all in the village. What more could a morning hold?

Showing my age

You know you were a teenager in the 90's when years later (more than a decade to be exact) you are shopping for baby supplies and when you scan the brands you spot the company Even Flow. Do you pick up the Even Flow baby product and examine it for safety? Usability? Quality? No. You instantly start rocking out in your head to the Pearl Jam song, Evenflow. I honestly cannot even glance at an Even Flow baby product without getting that song in my head!
That my friend is showing your age (okay, my age).
Forever dated by the 90's, now go search your ipod for a little Maria Carey and you've got yourself a time machine.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight...

...at least in the song anyway. The little lion that inhabits this room is a bit more unpredictable.

We finally have decorating plans underway for Archer's nursery. With any luck I will have it complete before he heads off to college!









This is a close-up the material used in the bed skirt of his crib. The pattern is repeated in the artwork over his crib.



I have started my first ever quilt, a baby quilt with the jungle theme for Archer's room. Perhaps I will have that done by the time he is 2 or 3 and in a toddler bed! I am definately the tortus these days.

Eight Months

Here are just a few pics of my loud, opinionated, demanding, yet cuddley momma's boy. He may have strong personality traits that can be difficult at times, but he is so darn sweet and he loves to giggle. Mark and I just have to stay on our toes with our little lump of clay and mold him into an adult who will use his powers for good instead of evil :).






Man, I could just eat up those squishy cheeks with kisses!



And yes, I know he looks just like Mark!