First Day of School 2014 - 2015

First day of School 

First Day of Second Grade for Guthrie 

and 

First Day of Preschool for Laithe (his second year) 

Getting pictures this year was somehow more difficult. Weird light, everyone constantly in motion and more interested in talking to each other than looking at the camera. I feel like that will be the case for several more years - - until the embarrassment years start up. 

I always feel like the outtakes are so much better at portraying our family and everyone's personalities. And poor Tegra dog does not like her photo taken!

A good day was had by all. I kept having to remind myself that we are easing in. It is better for everyone that way. Today will include some morning work, a trip to the library (with a certain young lady getting her first library card!!) and chiropractor and an afternoon at the park with homeschool friends. 

And away we go!!

Earthside

She has arrived!

Juniper Leigh arrived earthside July 11th at 10:55 in the morning.

Weighing 7 lbs 4 oz and measuring 20 inches long. 

With dark brown hair and blue, blue eyes. 

Much to everyone's absolute delight. We are all just smitten.

Juniper, 

Oh my heart, how you've arrived and firmly planted yourself in this family in such short order! I think it's safe to say the four of us are pretty in awe of you and there is no shortage of arms available to hold you. 

Your brother and sister! It has been such a privilege to watch them become your older siblings.

It's possible we had some concerns about how that blond headed boy would react to you, but you're pretty much magical and he asks to hold you frequently. And every time he holds you he is sure to count your fingers and toes. Yesterday he got to 12, but he got it under control.

Your birth was peaceful if intense; several people worked pretty hard to get you into this world. And though intense, it was also very low key, quietly sacred, and full of joy.Your dad announced that you were a girl and I think though we didn't know if you were a boy or girl we weren't surprised one bit that you were our Juniper. We marveled that you cried, briefly, so differently than both your brother and sister. 

After you were born your temperature dropped a little more than anyone likes so you spent some one on one time with daddy in the nursery under the warmer and then a bit later you spent a lot of time laying skin to skin with mama. By the next morning you were warm as could be and nursing like a champ. That extended period of chilliness meant we didn't have to give you a bath right away and that was the longest amount of time we've had to smell that truly new baby smell with any of our kids. Mama loved it. 

We are taking the next few weeks to settle in as a family of five and as much as I like a routine my heart keeps reminding me that these days will never come again with you and to enjoy them. Just breathing your newness in and savoring these early days. Allowing Guthrie and Laithe space to explore this as well with little or no outside activities. By the third baby we surely know how fast these days go and we will have plenty of time for regular bedtimes and the busyness of everyday life so for now we're just setting everything aside to honor our newest little addition.

We are so very glad you are here Juniper Leigh!

the state of things

We have been busy, busy, busy these past several weeks. And everyone knows how I feel about busy. More than 1-2 things to do outside our home in a day? Not up for it. I'm just not that girl - at least at this stage in my life. And I haven't been for several years, so maybe it's just a personality trait. Several days of 3-4 outside things to do and I can get pretty crabby. Even if it is all fun, chosen, and welcome stuff. So, coming off several weeks of this, I'm attempting to gain some footing and quiet(ish) before this next big transition, which could be in a couple days or a few weeks. My second favorite thing besides busy is transition. Even when it is welcome and so exciting!

We've had a lot of conversations at home about how everyone needs different things during times of transition. How we can go from needing lots of space to needing lots of hugs in the span of a few minutes. How we can be super cheerful and then uhh, not, also in the span of a few minutes. And that all of it's normal and we can choose to be extra patient and kind to each other.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

It's possible it depends on the humidity.

Which has been quite high these past couple weeks.

I'm hoping to post shortly about our home improvement projects, but I want to upload some photos too and that's not happening tonight.

Know that we've been crazy in that department though. At least crazy for someone in her third trimester and the need to do All The Things before the baby comes. Not so much out of nesting, but because I know how the year or two after a new baby is. I know that we won't have the wherewithal to get stuff done, especially gracefully.

We also spent the month of May participating in a newly formed homeschool coop. This fall we'll do it again for a longer session. Guthrie loved it, Laithe not so much, but he'll come around.

We finished up school for the year the week after Memorial Day knowing that the kids will have a very long summer break this year and that we're all just fine with that. Though I am already excited for what 2nd grade and 2nd year of preschool will hold for us. Guthrie met all the goals her and I had set and we're really proud of her. Both kids are exactly where I expect them to be at 7 and 4 years old. That's a really good feeling.

The last weekend in May we took a couple days out of town, the 4 of us, for a last little trip just us. We learned, again, that our family thrives with unstructured time largely void of other people. Meaning, the most successful part of the trip was our night at a cabin with no one else around where the kids got to be really independent and all of us got to read, play catch, hike a bit and be in our own space together away from home. The rest of the trip was good too, just maybe with more whining and tears and parental frustration.

Guthrie spent the entire month of June (tomorrow is her last day) in swimming lessons at the pool down the street. She is so thrilled about it this year that I know next week will be kind of a let down. She passed levels 2 and 3 with flying colors and while she is technically ready for level 4 I think it's good that she's done for the summer as level 4 is all about the deep end and diving board and she's still a little fearful. This afternoon she said, "but mom I think if I jump off the diving board I'll drown." If I've learned anything this year in parenting her it's to be supportive and encouraging and to back off. (see bike riding: so frustrating last summer, learned in 10 minutes this year with no parents present, among other examples. i.e. reading) So, I'm good with fostering her excitement for swimming and letting her gain confidence before she decides she's ready to tackle that.

Laithe and I spent the entire month of June (from 10-11 am) hunting shade, avoiding sudden downpours, eating snacks, reading books, hunting roly polys and waiting for Guthrie to be done. Surrounded by super weird parents & nannies. Seriously. So weird. It was a good time for us though as we don't often get much just the two of us. Even if 10 - 11 is the longest hour of our lives.

We've filled the rest of our time catching fireflies, tending the garden, making weekly prenatal visits an hour away (so over that), celebrating father's day, my birthday (where i advanced to a higher level of advanced maternal age, I could write several posts dedicated to that phrase and how often it's been said to me over the past 9 months) and trying to savor these every day moments that seem fleeting when you know everything is about to change. I've no doubt that our family is ready for a new member and that Baby Poke Poke (the kids' name for baby) will be the perfect addition. I've also no doubt that Baby Poke Poke will shake things up!

And me? I'm 38 weeks pregnant and am finally feeling well enough to enjoy this pregnancy. Once I hit 7 months or so things immediately got easier physically. Looking back I don't know if I was just sick over and over for 7 months or if my immune system was so out of whack from this pregnancy or what. It was difficult (understatement) and I am still a little sad about that. But late pregnancy? I'm good. Even if I can barely use the kitchen anymore because it's like my arms have shrunk and I cannot control the waddling. But, both baby and I are healthy and thriving and that's really almost more than anyone can ask for.

Happy Summering!

winter wonderland

A whole day of snow! The third snow of the season, but it's different when all the leaves are gone and  you're unpacking bins of Christmas decorations. 

We made the trek to get a tree a on Friday. John cut down his first Christmas tree- he was quite proud and I was a little smug that I've held tightly to this real tree tradition. 

If you follow me on facebook/instagram, you'll know that our trek was full of tears on the kids' end. In their defense it was pretty darn cold, like -1 windchill. But still. They were supposed to be joyful! 

Anyways, it's a nice tree. And I honestly don't know if they remember their own fussiness because the awesomeness of the tree outweighed everything else. 

Gigantic though and bigger than any piece of furniture we own. Times a thousand. We let the kids decorate until they were done and then I decorated a bit and made sure our stockings were hung. 

Today has been quiet. In that two kid, pre-Christmas, first snow in awhile kind of way. I got some wrapping done and split pea soup is bubbling on the stove (not for dinner but for my lunches this week - I'm the only one who will eat it! Tonight is cheesy risotto because it's the mother of all comfort food). The house is full of kids who are tired of snow and have filled the entryway with their massive amounts of winter accoutrement. I made them popcorn and they spilled nail polish remover all over. And had lots of fun. 

Laithe and I had some quiet fun inside reading near the heater vent and doing puzzles. He's good in the snow for about 15 minutes. If I remember correctly Guthrie was around 5 before she really loved the snow, so for now I have a buddy and I'm ok with that.

And the dog - oh she is joyful in this snow! Her hip seems to have healed well and she bounds and races around in her puppy kind of way. It's very sweet. 

I'm trying to not get overwhelmed by this season this year. Some days that works. Someone else mentioned that their days are full, but not frantic and I think that's where we're at. We've got something scheduled every day this week, but next week there's very little on the calendar except John's birthday. And then he has the whole week of Christmas off and we're all very excited. My goal is that by the time he starts his vacation I'll be completely ready for the holidays and we'll just get to play and have fun. Although last minute wrapping can be kind of fun too- but you know what I mean! 

This week will be our last week of school until the new year and I think we're all good with a bit of a break. It's not that it's overly structured, or that they're getting pushed too hard, but it seems that they're just learning by leaps and bounds and breaks are always good to let that newfound knowledge happily settle in. And mama's good with a break too. We're starting January with a math unit and I need to make sure it's solid because Guthrie loves math and I think it will be kind of intense. 

I just tasted the soup and lunch will be yummy this week. 

Apple Orchard

Our Seventh Annual trip to the Apple Orchard as a family! 

The first was just a couple weeks before Guthrie was born and it's become one of our most looked forward to fall activities. 

Both kids were excited for the tractor/hay ride, though Guthrie was much more brave. I got Laithe tucked onto a hay bale next to me and then felt his hand creep into mine. It was sweet. 

We picked almost 50 lbs of apples - and would you believe we're already almost out of apple sauce? Next year I probably better budget for 100 lbs, you know? 

Similar to when we picked blueberries this year, both kids were actually helpful and we were surprised when our wagon was full so quickly. Any parent will tell you that it's an amazing rite of passage when the kids are able to help rather than, well, hinder. It's just a different experience. 

Stone's Apple Barn has a few animals that are always up for some apple snacks 

and loves from the kids. 

The best part though was probably working with Guthrie in the kitchen the following weekend. She's getting so capable. I can give her a job and unless there's a major mishap she's pretty confident. Her big job this year was peeling all the apples for applesauce and apple butter. 

I would bet she easily did 35 lbs. 

And she's pretty proud too - just ask her and she'll tell you about how she's a way 

better peeler than even mom. 

I love these little traditions we've cultivated. They're such a highlight of the seasons.

10 days of autumn

I have a whole memory card full of pictures I keep meaning to share on here. We've been busy, busy with so much fun stuff that I just haven't been able to keep up.

The snow today is making me feel like winter will be upon us at any moment - and with it the holidays and well, there's still so much autumn to share!

So, tomorrow I'm starting 10 Days of Autumn  - a way to catch up a bit and catalog these past couple of months.

See you tomorrow!

beach camping

We spent the last week of our vacation camping at Indiana Dunes State Park with John's dad, Mike, or Pop Pop as he's mostly known these days. So, so much fun. I knew the kids would love the beach and I knew I needed to hear some waves -- it's become apparent as I approach a decade in the midwest that either mountains or waves once a year go a long ways to save my sanity.

The first full day we were there we hiked about a mile over the dunes to the beach. It made for a super dramatic first real view of Lake Michigan, especially for the kids. Neither have been to the ocean, at least that they can remember, and both had that overwhelmed and awe-stricken moment. I think the adults were pretty impressed too. Sandy beaches, big dunes, blue cloudless sky, good sized waves thanks to a riptide.


Laithe took awhile to warm up to the water as we knew it would. It also took him awhile to stop crying once we arrived at the beach (every time we went to the beach). He has a low sand tolerance.





He worked through it and eventually even stomped in the waves by himself a bit. And then he discovered he was both wet and sandy. And you can imagine how that ended. However, he talks about it like it was all completely awesome so, I guess it was :)

He does love camping though.

 I think it might be his favorite thing. I've been reflecting on why that might be and aside from being out in nature I wonder if it's just that he has so much space and time to be independent. We have relatively few rules when we camp, which is also one of my favorite things!

Guthrie was in pure heaven. One of the days we went to the beach her and John spent probably 2 hours  swimming. The waves were low and it was shallow a good ways out. She only came out when John begged for a break. And then they went back in! The third day her and I went to the beach by ourselves and though we couldn't swim swim because the breakers were high again we did wade quite deep and she discovered kind of the beginnings of body surfing. 

That was maybe the best part of the vacation, aside from spending the week with Pop Pop, the additional adult meant that it was easier for John and I to spend more one on one time with the kids. And what a difference a year makes as far as the kids being independent and able to keep busy on their own. I usually find vacation to be kind of intense with little kids - it's just kind of a lot of work and the kids are in need of more direction than at home. This time, though, it was less intense and I even found time to do some reading and knitting.



A great time was had by all and it was the perfect last week of summer vacation!

shooting stars and boats

Our weekend was a busy one. I say that like it's an anomaly! Ha! Filled with little special events that John and I wanted to enjoy and that we hoped the kids would also enjoy.  An art show, touring replicas of Columbus' Nina and Pinta, the Perseid meteor shower. 

I'll be honest it was a fairly unpleasant weekend. The kids were just not into what we were doing (at the time) and excelling at the art of whining, being an obnoxious little brother, and a bossy older sister. Oh the arguing and eventual tears. So irritating. Growing pains or something? Need for getting back to a school routine? I don't know. Exhausting is what it is. 

The thing is though that 2 days later I've overheard both kids talk about how awesome the weekend was. Even the parts they cried through. So, I guess we're doing something right by keeping on keeping on. No matter how painful for us?

There were a few sweet spots though.

Late on Saturday night we packed up the kids, the dog, a blanket, some hot chocolate and drove up to the local county park to find some shooting stars. Last year we had camped and it was so cloudy that we couldn't see any stars. This year it was perfect - we could even see the Milky Way. Laithe slept through most of it which meant Guthrie got some one on one time and once she settled in (which took about 30 minutes of transition (which is FOREVER in a dark field hiding from park rangers)) it was pretty great. We saw some incredible meteors. Some with long tails, some that moved slow enough across the sky that when one person spotted it other two had time to find it before it disappeared. It was easily the best I've seen in 15 years (since that one year on River Rd). And then we couldn't get out of the park. Seriously, they padlock the gates. John and I found it kind of humorous, Guthrie was really nervous. She is so like her mom!

Before we went to tour the ships I told the kids a brief and G- rated story of Columbus hoping to impress on them why these boats were something interesting to see. I love telling stories to Laithe. He sits so sweet and intently. I have no idea what all he gets out of it, but my dad was a great storyteller (still is) and having had that in my life I know that Laithe is getting a rich foundation for an awesome imagination --- which I think we are already witnessing. 

Sunday afternoon, after the boats and a ridiculous quiet time - that was not quiet - we decided to each take a kid for a couple of hours. Guthrie and I went to the pool for a few hours and John took Laithe to a movie. The pool was good for my soul, soothing, and at one point Guthrie sat on the chair with me and said, "mom, this is really fun, just you and me." And it was. We'd tried to come swimming on Friday with Laithe and he was full of fury and angst. It was unpleasant. And then it rained. This was so much better. Eventually I kind of crapped out because it was really cold and can I tell you how enjoyable it was to sit on the lawn chair and watch Guthrie happily splash around with the other kids? 

Sometimes these days are so just continuously challenging with these kids of ours. I know it's the season, both end of summer and the ages of the kids, but it's hard to stay above all the crap you know and not cave to the lowest common denominator. 

Because after all that they had an "awesome weekend." Apparently. 

Tegra!

So, in mid May Guthrie expressed that "Nothing ever happens these days. Ugh!"

And it was true, we were in between a visit from Pop Pop and going to see friends for a few days. There wasn't much going on.

Two days later we got a dog.



Not that the two were related or anything!

Tegra came to us via a friend who adopted/fostered her via a shelter in Maquoketa, via Miami, Florida. She's about 2 years old and a corgi mixed with something. Her coloring is really cool - mostly black, with some white and brindled markings.

And she was a total surprise. Not entirely a whim, just not something we were timing for right now.



We told the kids we were going to have a trial run for a month - to see if she fit with our family. Namely the cats and the kids. We gave my birthday as the timeline for making a decision and so on Sunday let them know that Tegra will indeed stay in our family.



My primary concerns were if Lt. O'Riley (our 13 year old male cat) would be able to handle this. He's been unable to handle things before. Laithe's birth caused him to go on prozac for 6 months! But though he is kind of an asshole to the dog when she surprises him we've found them laying on the bed within a few feet of each other. Riley is really aggressively dominant - over everybody - and Tegra seems ok with that. The other concern was Laithe. He's also fairly aggressively dominant. Or just 3. The dog is really really patient with him and does this kind of exhausted growl when Laithe gets all up in her grill for the 85th time in an hour. Laithe is either not so good at reading her cues or just doesn't give a shit. He'll grow out of it.

She has a lot of energy when she feels like it, but man she loves to nap. Two walks a day seems to keep her from making poor choices in the house.

Still, we've lost a few toys, a couple knitting needles, mini blinds and phone chargers. She likes to chew. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it. Soonish.



But, no potty accidents and really, it's not like we haven't baby-proofed a house before. And she was very clearly well taken care of and well trained. We need to work with her but it won't be like newly training a dog.

She's a really, really sweet dog. Full of wiggly excitement when one of us comes home. Full of cuddles and playing. So very well behaved at the park with other kids and dogs. And she's keeping the squirrels out of my garden. Her and John have really bonded. I found them spooning in bed last night when I came upstairs. Her head was on my pillow. She doesn't sleep with us very often, but when she does she's like a magnet for everyone. I woke up one day last week with Guthrie, myself, Laithe, Riley, and John all in a row with Tegra at our feet. Zoe was in the closet. She likes the closet. I bet it's roomier. It's possible I will need to join her.

Really I think we couldn't have asked for a better match for our family.

And holy crap the kids are thrilled.

spring break 2013

We took a 2 week Spring Break this year. With little to no plans other than a list of stuff we might like to do and see it could have been a grumpy disaster, but it was pretty great. One of the less great things though was that I pulled a couple tendons in my right hand --- and I'm right-handed. Which has been rough. Who knew how often one uses their dominant wrist?

FYI, really often.

So, in lieu of a detailed report, a list and some photos. Alright?

- Cameron Timber Preserve. No trails, just stomping around in the woods. Plenty of thorns but also cool mushrooms and an antler.

- White Sox vs Mariners game. My mom treated us to a game. Took the train from Joliet directly to the stadium. Super easy and the kids loved it.

{kids on the train}

Chicago is just far enough away that we don't get there too often. The kids are at a nice age now though. We don't have to haul as much crap with us!

- yard work! campfires! everything is getting green finally. though it snowed a bit on Friday, and even today in Iowa City. i'm sure you know how I feel about this. but I have asparagus, so I feel better.

{asparagus}

- Scott County Park. Did you know state and county parks in Iowa don't charge entrance fees? Love it.

{puddle jumping}

- internet struck by lightning. it was loud. and it took an inordinately long time to get it fixed. the guy that came out though was awesome. and totally on it. finally, a good experience with mediacom. it did hamper our few days that we'd dedicated to hanging out and watching movies though. i'm embarrassed at how much we complained about it, but it's not something we often get to do!


- Wildcat Den State Park

{wildcat den waterfall}

-- may have been the grown ups' favorite. A drippy cold gray day meant gorgeous green moss and lots of puddles. And we had the place all to ourselves. It looked like something that could have been in the PNW rainforest. Did my heart good!

{fiddlehead fern}

{walk softly and carry a big stick. bigger than you are.}

{she's just so animated these days}

{hey let's freak mom out and stand in a totally unsteady cave-like structure}

{tracing graffiti letters}

- kite flying! it was the most successful kite flying I think I've ever done - except at the beach when I was a kid. The kids had fun!

{kite flying}

- three nights at a cabin at Lacey-Keosauqua State Park.

{the cabins}

This was by far Laithe's favorite thing. It was really nice and the little one room cabins work pretty well for us. This one had a bathroom and a tiny kitchen and that was super nice. It poured down rain almost the entire time we were there. Like, I think this would be an ok time to break out the word deluge and really mean it. We chanced a 2.5 mile hike on our 1st morning and got about 2 miles into it before the rain started. And then the thunder and lightning. Luckily we made it to a campground and hid out in the bathroom while John got a ride back to our car with the park ranger. It scared the shit out of the kids. I was pretty nervous too. Especially after the internet pole getting hit - there's just been a lot of 'cloud to ground' lightning for this early in the season. And then it hailed. But we were good, cozy

{hail}

and I'd had the foresight to bring my laptop - which I swore I would never do, but the kids watched Bambi a couple times over the 3 days and it was all good. Copious amounts of hot chocolate were consumed. Board games. Reading. Not a lot of campfires. A fair amount of flash flooding. Fun nonetheless. Laithe is still thankful for the 'cavin' every night at the dinner table. 


- checking out the flooding Mississippi. Not the worst we've seen since we've moved here, but still pretty bad. The weather here in Iowa. Sheesh. I thought I heard the river was going to crest at 22 feet above flood stage, but then I thought I heard 28? I don't know. Lots of water.








Though I think we were all ready to get back to a routine, I know we could have easily had another week or two of fun and been just fine!