memory

Guthrie and I were playing a hand game tonight - she instigated it as she always does.

It's that one where you and your opponent stack your hands on top of each others and then the hand on the bottom comes up to the top. I know you've played it. She loves it, but it's not often that she doesn't get a little misty eyed during the play.

Her great grandma Rose (my grandma) taught it to her when she was 3 years old. She has a pretty vivid, and accurate, memory of that day. So do I, both because it was the when Grandma and Grandpa met newly born Laithe and because it was the last time we were able to see her before she passed away.

I have noticed that John and I talk often of our extended family to the kids. Just little snippets usually and I don't think it's really something we do intentionally, but I love it. Frequently it's about people we have strong memories of but the kids don't either because of distance or age. My hope is that they will have these threads of stories as they grow and be able laugh as they're loading the dishwasher about how Grandpa Bill and Grandma Masil put dish soap in their brand new dishwasher because they didn't have dishwasher detergent and they certainly weren't going to town to get some! Or how Mamaw drove John to the midnight showing of Star Wars when he was young. I haven't shared the one about Grandma Vera & the snakes in the toilet on the farm just yet. I feel like I'd have to accompany them to the bathroom for the next 10 years!

Guthrie is going through that all important period of realizing she is separate from us. That though she's a member of our family, she as a person is not the same as me as a person. I have to be honest, it's been a rough one - both to witness and experience. Our little empath. Feeling everything so very strongly. Unconditional love has been the phrase of the year.

One of my hopes is that these stories will give her a firm net as she takes these leaps into personhood. A solid, generations-old place to land where she firmly belongs and cannot easily slip through. I feel like this is a gift we can give our children - knowing where and from whom they come. It's also a gift John and I give to ourselves though too. Sometimes it is pretty nice to remember that we're not the first parents on this journey!

one month, two month, three months old

This baby girl of ours! She is just the sweetest. Three months have passed since she made her entrance. And, if it's possible, we love her even more than when she arrived.

That first month, it really was full of sweetness. The five of us learned how to function with a newborn and spent so much time together. 

The second month, well, that one was a bit rougher, if I'm honest. You had a lot of tears that month and I got a little nervous you were taking after your sister a bit with the rough adjustment to the world, or you know colic. 

Life got back to normal with school and work and everyday life. No less sweet, but this mom got 

a bit of a rude awakening, or something. 

And now sweetness you are three months old and the days are just slipping by with you growing and changing every day. Your smiles are the best and your laughs and squeals, oh my goodness! Your brother and sister take such good care of you. They love to make you giggle. You are a flexible baby thankfully with easily dissuaded tears. As Guthrie says, I just love your little personality that's coming out every day!

Happy Three Month Birthday Juniper Leigh! 

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!

ends & beginnings

My 5th grade self is just in shock that tomorrow it's going to be 2014. 

My 5th grade self is probably in shock about some other things in my life too, but whatever. 

I do like this New Year thing, though it doesn't ever feel like the real beginning of the year -- that's always the start of the school year. Instead I always think it's kind of a halfway point beginning, or like a do-over beginning. Kind of silly probably. 

2013 was a pretty good year. Full of the ups and downs that I'm beginning to equate with just being human. Here's what I think I'll remember:

• Lots of vacation time - 5 weeks I think.  Lots of time in the woods, so good for the soul.
• Finding out we're expecting a new member of the family!
• Lots of exterior home improvement, largely thanks to family members who surprised us with helping to fund it. Not as much interior home improvement as I wanted, but there's always next year. 
• Finding the weird balance and rhythm of both staying at home and homeschooling. It looks like this: overwhelm, exhaustion, peace, frustration, this is so easy, overwhelm, are we doing enough?, oh my gosh this is my favorite, overwhelm. . . repeat, sometimes several times per day. I believe I'm finding my footing. Apparently enough to throw it all out the window with another baby this summer!
• I'll remember the spring and summer as a really stressful time of Guthrie getting over her HSP -- we think and hope it's gone for good and we are so thankful. 
• Tegra, oh Tegra. You've been a good addition to our family and we love you to bits. If you could stop with the barking and toilet paper eating you would have my total loyalty.
• Our neighborhood becoming more of a community. Maybe we are becoming our own Noisy Village.
• Kids going to the beach for the 1st time - even if it was a Great Lake instead of the ocean I think it still kind of counts.
• My mom getting really sick and then getting well, but still having problems, but different problems. Hoping 2014 is awesome for her.
• The kids finding new friends and strengthening their friendship with each other. 
• Me finding some new friends too. Not an easy task, but a good investment.
• A really good year for John and I. Also not an easy task, but an excellent investment. Maybe after almost 12 years we're kind of getting the hang of this?

I think that what I will remember most about this year is just the simple meditative daily grind. The endless work of trying to do my best and then letting myself off the hook because sometimes good enough is actually truly good enough. Learning, again, that self care needs to take a priority over housework (which will never actually be done as long as people live in this house) and that being content is cultivated, not just something that happens to you. 

I'm looking forward to 2014. For what it holds for our family and how the kids will grow and change this next year. I am also looking forward to this cozy in-breath time of winter. Though it has been too cold for my preference. Too cold being any temperature where my kids can get hypothermia after 20 minutes outside. It could be a long few months, but maybe not, maybe we'll get into a rhythm and it will be fine. Either way my knitting needles are ready. 

Happy New Year Friends! I hope this finds you in a lovely place. 

Merry Christmas!

You'll have to forgive me for not posting closer to Christmas - we've been soaking up the days with John home from work for the week and all the post-holiday fun that happens with kiddos.

A lovely Christmas was had by all - I'll share the handmades and favorites later on.

But for now I'll just say we hope your holidays are full of wonder and brightness. And that this week of in-between finds you with a couple blissfully slow days before the work of the New Year begins.



My mom snapped this picture on Christmas Eve and I posted it on Facebook - hopefully you didn't miss it!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the 5 of us!

(details soon, I promise)

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!

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.

weekend sweetness

• watching the Bix 7 race on Saturday morning. so glad we got up early. hit the coffee hound before hand and made it down the road in time to see the runners as they finished the brady st hill. the Kenyan runners were SO impressive. truthfully though, everyone was impressive - especially the under 12 and over 70 crowd. 
• some Olympics watching - I don't know, I wasn't too impressed with the opening ceremony, though the company was good.
• naps mostly all around
• solo kid time - john took Guthrie to a movie and Laithe and I enjoyed some alone time for the 2nd time this week. it was really nice, and probably good for both my parenting and our relationship
• cross-stitch samplering and handmade Christmas gift planning. i have an app for that.
• painting the front door - pics to come

• planning and scheming, two camping trips - one, a short sort of dry run for a much bigger one in september. who wants to take bets on how mom and dad do sleeping on the ground for more than a couple nights?! 
• peeking back over my purchases at the teacher supply store. surprised at how happy they made me. starting to feel confident again - and excited.
• listening to brother and sister, play, argue, sing, plot against their parents, cajole each other into games the other doesn't want to play. their relationship is new territory for me. the rightness of more than one child for our family never ceases to amaze me.
• pinterest!
• enjoying the windows being open for more than a couple hours in the morning. oh the breeze! possibly a thunderstorm.
• homemade pizza and blueberry peach cobbler are on the menu for tonight. 

hope your weekend has been full of goodness!

countdown: on!

So, we've been doing some planning. Some planning and working and saving and simplifying and this summer it's all falling into place.

Last Monday I gave my notice at my job!

Mid-July I'll begin a new gig as a Stay at Home Mom.

This fall we'll begin a new chapter as a Homeschooling family.



Whew!

I'm happy and nervous to put that out there into the universe. Because as if telling my boss about our plan wasn't final enough, telling the internets really puts a nail in it.

We've been working towards this for the better part of a year. Early on, not sure that it would work. Our marital roles were solidified as John was all - why wait until the summer, let's do this now, and I was significantly more cautious. Knowing though that once we made the decision I would be severely disappointed if it didn't come to pass.

It's really happening though.

Telling Guthrie's teacher and then her school was probably the hardest part. In fact I completely wimped out and told them over email. Largely because I knew I couldn't get through it without tearing up. Having such a strong connection to her preschool was not something I saw happening. She's been there for three years though, and in her current class for two. As I told them, I always pictured us making this decision - if we did have to make this decision - within a negative space. Like that things were just not working at her school, she was having a hard time in her class etc. instead it's from a positive space. Her school is so good we would rather she stay there through 8th grade than go to public school, her brother and any future siblings too. Thing is though it would take my entire paycheck to put more than 1 kid through school there. It's a phenomenal school and worth every penny.

Other thing is, though, that I miss my kids. That I've always wanted to homeschool. That my paycheck is not worth missing this time with them. I am not the main breadwinner in our family and on my current track I never will be. Which is not to say that this won't be a difficult transition to a one paycheck family! And we are incredibly fortunate to be able to even try this. I am not for one bit taking it for granted.

And so the countdown begins to our new chapter.

13 more days of work
6 more nights on call (only one of those a weekend day!)
3.5 more weeks to New.


I'm guessing there won't be a lot going on on the blog until then. Although, there hasn't been a lot going  on for awhile - it is garden season after all. See you soon!

Five.

Happy Happy Birthday my dear Guthrie!

You are five years old today.

That seems impossible in both directions - it seems like just yesterday I found out we were expecting you, but I cannot, for the life of me, seem to remember life without you. In many ways you have defined this family, your brother is certainly also doing the same, but I think there's something about a firstborn. About how the three of us worked hard to create our family.

I keep typing and deleting and retyping and I'm just going to leave it with this:

I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone. You've completely cracked my heart open and because of that I can love the other people in my life so much more deeply. Thank you.

I am so very, very proud of the person you are and the person I think you're becoming.

You will change this world, I am certain of it.

Happy Birthday Guthrie

vacation: all done

Is it just me or does it seem impossible that summer is (or already has for half our city) winding down?

This went really fast. It probably didn't help that we went from nice "leisurely" summer to - hey let's totally renovate everything a month ago.

A couple of months ago we both put in for this past week off from work and I'm so glad we did. It was perfect timing. And then the week before that we decided that John and I could benefit from a weekend together - just us. So, it kind of felt like we had two vacations back to back. The weekend with together we didn't do a whole lot of exciting stuff. We stayed home - not a hotel room to be found in a 100 mile radius because of the Bix and RAGBRAI and the music festival all happening in the same weekend here. So we stayed home. We watched a lot of tv that didn't involve cartoons or crappy music. We went floor shopping. We ate out. I cleaned house in record time - I forgot how quickly that goes when you don't have someone undoing everything behind you! And we spent time together. And it was good. And we reconnected and laughed a lot.

Then the week leading up to vacation and the actual week of it we, well we did a lot and nothing all at once. Here's a recap

Summer Vacation 2011

• one Mississippi Valley fair
• 30 quarts of peaches canned
• one trip to the zoo
• one bathroom remodeled
• 90% of the kitchen wallpaper torn down
• one night in a hotel with a pool
• the full series of Avatar
• one trip to world market
• several evening walks
• a ride on the ferris wheel with Guthrie, I was so proud of her!
• one bad fall for Laithe and John at West Lake (but only after a splendid picnic)
• two top incisors for Laithe
• hundreds of books read and crafts done
• 10 lbs of paste tomatoes harvested
• a lot of trips to Lowes a lot
  
• one identity thefted (mine!)
• 4 lemon cucumbers picked
• 2 flower beds weeded
• a few trips to our closing Borders bookstore
• and lots of late bedtimes and later breakfasts the next morning

It was a nice and always busy break. Not nearly as much driving this year which was good for us. Lots more hanging out at home - and our house shows it. It's a totally bomb-went-of-and-we-ignored-it disaster. Oh well. I mean, why mop when you're going to rip out your floor soon anyways?? That's just a waste of my precious time.

And pictures? There are precious few. I spent much more time enjoying my kids than taking pictures of them. I think that's ok.

Guthrie starts school next week, so this week is a time of rebuilding schedules and last hurrahs. I think we're in for some really wonderful weather too. Thank goodness! It was a bit too sweaty there for me for awhile.

what restful looks like

The parental half of the family is recovering from bronchitis.

Z packs and steroids all around.

Funny thing is that with John you totally know he's sick. Guy cannot stop coughing and sounds like crap and (i mean this in a supportive, hope you get better, kind of way) looks like crap and says, I feel like crap.
Me? I was about 2 seconds away from quitting my job, could not stop screaming at my family, crying at the drop of a hat - burned dinner or ants in the dining room because it was just all too much. Coughing? Like every few hours. Finally when I had some lengthy chest pain I made an appointment. And she was all, well for sure bronchitis, but maybe something more, those are some good crackles you have going on. Gotta start paying attention when I get suddenly unhappy.

So, we're taking it easy this weekend.

We cleaned the house yesterday - it's already a shambles again, but there's a lot less dirt. I did some sewing, puttered around the yard. We made a stab at the attic - sorting baby clothes and the like. Movie watching. Knitting - the gusset in my hand warmers is giving me fits --- why are there holes?? Doing laundry, and googling a new washer and dryer.

There is nothing wrong with our washer and dryer. They're just smaller. When I see Kelly Ripa on the TV bragging about her 50 outfits in one load I want to stab her. We have stackable front loaders which are really nice. And it was just about a month ago when it occurred to me that I could do not one load of laundry a day- but like 3 solely because of the cubic feet issue in the washer. I feel very 'rich white lady' whining about this. I mean, I have a washer and dryer - that should be enough. But the z - pack hasn't completely taken effect so, you know, woe is me.

And really, if I were in the place to be appliance shopping, which I'm not, I'd totally get a new dishwasher. I think ours is from the first generation of dishwashers. Ever.


Tonight we have more laundry (obviously.) and Guthrie needs to clean her room as Auntie Teresa is coming this week! And I'm not remotely ashamed to use that as leverage for her to get her rear in gear and pick up. And hopefully some mindless tv - although John won't let me watch 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' in front of Guthrie. Which I get, but still, it's SO awesome.


Also any tips for the biter? He's actually been grounded from nursing because he will bite after about 30 seconds. I fed a bottle of formula for the first time today- not his first, but my first, and it was weird. And then I let down. I think my body was rebelling. And then I tried nursing him again and he bit me so that was the end of that. It's so obnoxious -- and painful. If I may describe without offending you: nurse nurse nurse, clamp down with all 8 front teeth and pull away. And laugh. I didn't laugh. He laughed. Heartily. I don't know. I don't want to be weaning out of anger, you know? At the same time I feel like I've done everything I feel comfortable doing as a discipline.


Hope you are having a lovely weekend too!

87 degrees

Last Monday the heat was on - in fact I turned it up because I was freezing.

Yesterday it was 93 and today it was 87.

Uh, hi Spring?


Last night dinner was on the back porch and box fans were set up in the windows. Chicken salad sandwiches and popsicles all around. And sweaty kids. I forgot what summer-sweaty toddler is like.

This afternoon was sprinklers in the backyard with the neighborhood kids and books on the back porch. And then I caved and turned on the air conditioning.


And then I cursed because we still haven't gotten ourselves together enough to fix the ducts that would mean air conditioning in our bedroom. And then I had a rhubarb cocktail*.


good night all - there's a box fan calling my name!




*just follow this recipe, i use a little less sugar - -- and add vodka!
excellent celebration of spring!

this evening I love

- sun dried sheets on everyone's beds

- bathtime after a mudpie day and spaghetti evening

- getting caught up on my dishes. we've been on a break. possibly since easter. kind of.

- a girl who slept over 12 hours last night without waking up once. possibly a first in 4.5 years.

- sore shoulders from good garden work

- first batch of sun tea for the year

- a full day of not much with both my kids

simply ten good things

inspiration this evening from SouleMama






a girl who is almost becoming lanky
lettuce planted - radishes sprouting
6 bags of mulch spread
a boy who was a newborn last easter holding his own in the egg hunt this easter
an extended family who cherishes our children as much as we do
the snooze button hit at least 4 times this morning - it was so cozy
beans earned by a 4 year old for a no-tear morning
new rainboots
bird, bunny, and squirrel watching while pancakes cook
a solid supply of chocolate


simply ten good things to carry us through the week

hope yours is wonderful

we came home

Our lovely vacation is over. Upon her first night back in her bed Guthrie said, "I don't like home so much, I want to go back to the cabin." I agree.

We made the "7" hour trip up to Door County, Wisconsin to stay in a cabin on Lake Michigan. I need to take a moment to brag- they did awesome in the car. Guthrie asked age-appropriately "are we there yet? is this Wisconsin? where is Wisconsin? are we home? are we home not at our home in Davenport, but our home in Wisconsin?" about 10,000 times. We were also treated to about 8,000 renditions of "Grand Old Flag" from backseat. Thanks Nana Loree & Dietah. We owe you one.

But they did so well that while, yes, it was a long day in the car, it wasn't entirely unpleasant - or maybe unpleasant at all.

So just to clarify: yes, we went North on Spring Break. Yes there was snow. And yes, we planned it that way. A guy at work told me he thinks our family is 'so refreshing' for taking this trip. I just wanted some quiet. John wanted time to read and rest. And we wanted to be able to be ourselves on our own schedule. And we didn't want to spend a lot of money. Goals accomplished! We stayed in the cabin below in Gills Rock. At the very top of the 'thumb'. We were about 20 minutes from a town of any size - with anything open during the cold season. It took a bit of planning, but what doesn't these days? Staying some place with a full kitchen is so the way to go for our little family. It made everything so much easier.It was almost kind of desolate - it was so empty of people. We could see the harbor from the living room, but we weren't right on the water. There was a nice front porch and yard. Up the road they were tapping the trees for syrup and down the road were cherry orchards. It's pretty beautiful country. Mornings were spent leisurely breakfasting, reading, napping, knitting, watching movies and making popcorn. Popcorn at 9:30 am? sure! we're on vacation! And enjoying the novelty of --- get this --- a sliding glass door. Yeah, they were completely enamored with it.
Afternoons were more adventurous. We went to town for lunch one day then searched for a beach, played on a snowy playground, made it to a State Park and took a hike. Hike is probably too strenuous a word. We walked down a paved road that was still blocked off for the season even though there was no snow on the road. We went in search of a lighthouse. With two kids - neither of whom wanted to walk. So maybe strenuous was the right word. Thank goodness we had grabbed two slings. We both enjoy wearing our kiddos, but don't find much opportunity to these days. It was nice to be able to for the afternoon. And yeah, they definitely got bigger over the winter. With 22 lbs of Laithe on my front for the walk there and 42 lbs of Guthrie on my back for the return trip, I feel like I earned my dinner.The lighthouse wasn't quite what we expected but it was a fun adventure. And the views were spectacular.
Guthrie and I slipped away from the boys for a shopping trip one afternoon. Diapers, yarn, and coffee. Yeah, well, there's my life in a nutshell now isn't it? We had a nice time exploring. I love it when I can pretty much say yes to all her requests in one afternoon. Can I have juice? Can I pick out some yarn? Will you make me something? Can I have a surprise? Yes, yes, and yes. You are delightful my little one! I enjoy you so much on days like these.
And Laithe, well, I think he mostly enjoyed feeling good (more about that later) and getting all kinds of freedom.
We let him play in the snow until his hands were about frozen and wander slowly all over our neighborhood - we literally saw about 10 cars.
He is getting so big so quickly. He enjoys this life tremendously. We were treated to so many of his deep belly laughs. Not that there weren't some squally bouts - molars coming in and all, but overall he enjoyed himself I think. I was worried about having a woodstove in the cabin, but as his signing has really blossomed in the past few weeks we told him and signed that it was hot twice and he spent the rest of the week telling us it was hot every time he passed by. Smart kid that one.

Vacationing with two kids though? Two ambulatory and ahem, mouthy? kids? We should call these educational trips instead of vacations maybe. We were so excited to get crappy road trip food for the adults that we were 30 minutes down the road before we remembered we're not about to give our toddler beef jerky for dinner and had to stop again and buy a $6 box of graham crackers. Cranky kids? Oh well, then obviously we'll force them into a snow suit and snow boots to go for a walk because we want to go explore. Because that'll totally change the vibe. Change it enough that we discuss never wanting to vacation with kids again. Ever. Diapers? Wipes? I was supposed to bring them for the afternoon out? Ehh.

We all survived and even said we would do it again.