new

 We're so enjoying setting into our new home!  The piles of boxes are slowly shrinking, the missing items are surfacing one by one (still AWOL: sewing machine foot and preschool workbook!) and we're loving having more space and more time together as a family!

Nathan and Miriam have their own rooms for the first time, which they are really enjoying.  It gives them more room to spread out and play, and also means fewer of the toys end up in other parts of the house, which is nice for cleanup.

We've made a couple of Lowes trips, for a mailbox and other necessities, (and more are in our future!) but it's mostly just cosmetic things that need repaired, which is nice after dealing with more major renovations. :)

We still need to replace a shower, paint a few rooms, install a ceiling fan and ceiling light in the living room and office (done!), and finish the rest of the porch (Micah already did the railings, the fresh white is so crisp and looks great!) among other things, but we're taking one thing at a time and enjoying the smaller, bite sized projects.

Being closer to town has been great too.  The kids and I have had some fun visits with other moms and kids, and we've gotten a wonderful routine of going to the weekly library storytime.  We've been able to get together for dinner during the week several times for dinner with other families, and we even went out on a date and spent more time shopping and enjoying dinner than driving!  Grocery shopping is more manageable with the 20 minute round trip instead of an hour and a half.  And if I drive just a little farther, I can go to Aldi instead, which I love.  Seems like usually my grocery money goes quite a bit further there. :)

Having Micah home an hour earlier most nights is especially good right now...since I came down with my fourth case of the Egyptian flu* and spending time in the kitchen cooking...intensified my symptoms.

Let's just say that a small child eating their breakfast and watching me trying to get myself a bowl of cereal six weeks ago asked, rather logically, if the baby was going to come out my mouth when it was done growing! ;)  

I am 18 weeks now, still having a little morning sickness but its definitely improved!  So far, this has been the pregnancy of midnight salads, green apples & green apple gummy candy, sprite, and cereal.  Oh, and lots of ice cream.  And this is the first pregnancy that pickles have sounded good!  (But no...not with the ice cream!) ;)

 

* (you're sick for nine months and then you become a Mummy.  I know! So cheesy.  Can I plead pregnancy brain making me find that funny...?)

moving

I haven't posted about it here until now because I didn't want to say anything until it was officially happening, but we've been hoping to move for several months now and is actually, finally, really happening!

We are so excited and can't wait to move.

We love this house so much.

We've been here since the day we got married and had five very happy years and three babies here.

Three baptismal feasts.

One hospital stay.

Three babies learning how to walk.

Car accidents and mistakes and frustrations and joys and laughter and Christmas and birthdays.

LIFE.

It's been good.

But.

Micah's daily commute and the price of gas and the higher price of him spending hours daily on the road just don't make this spot add up for us any more.

Also, we have been feeling more and more that especially in this season of our life with small children that rural life just isn't the best fit for us.

None of them can milk a cow or round up loose chickens yet, or anytime soon, and gas is so expensive that it is a little lonely during the week as well for me and the kids.  

We're looking forward to being closer to our church family as well as other friends, and having Micah home more!

  I have to keep reminding myself moving doesn't mean leaving the memories.

We have a lot of wonderful memories here and we'll take those with us.

We'll always have those, and we'll make new ones in a different space and that's ok.

I have been very calm and rational and excited about the move and all the benefits...

(larger house! more space! more than one closet in the house! Micah home so much more!)

...until last weekend, when I broke down and sobbed all over Micah's shoulder about how we had our babies here! our picket fence! etc. etc.

Having grieved a bit, I'm feeling much cheerier about everything and have been packing like mad, especially since our moving date moved up two weeks.  Cue panic!

Micah's been taking a load every day on his way to work, so that has really helped, but there is still a lot of packing and cleaning and organizing and 'Oh my goodness we are never having a junk drawer again this is ridiculous!' in addition to all the normal crazy.

I keep reminding myself this too shall pass! and eating chocolate chips out of the bag conveniently hidden in the door of the freezer.  Hopefully lugging boxes everywhere evens out the chocolate consumption...! ;)

Cloth Diaper Update

Quite awhile ago I posted about cloth diapering and what was working for us then.  I've changed our wash routine, got Nathan and Miriam out of diapers, and cloth diapered Levi since birth...so I think its time for an update!


I do cloth diaper at night and out and about now.  The occasional box of diapers comes in, like on a recent week long trip, but now that I'm down to diapering one again, it isn't too hard in comparison to stick to almost exclusive cloth.  And I found that I don't have the self control to use them only for outings/weekends/overnight so it's best for me just to use cloth almost always.


A very sweet friend passed on her cloth diaper stash to me, which included some super cute WAHM diapers...those are some of my favorites right now!  Most of those I can't identify, so no links, sorry.  I also love the medium Fuzzi Bunz I have.



I also use fitted diapers, or prefolds with a Snappi.  I started my cloth diapering journey using pins and plastic pants, and honestly I don't like either.  Thirsties are much easier for a dirty diapers, since plastic pants have to be pulled off over the legs, also, plastic pants are not adjustable. As well, Thirsties covers have leg gussets, which REALLY cut down on leaks! I have the medium size.  They are a lot cheaper than Fuzzi Bunz, for sure, and if I had known how easy to use they were, especially with the Snappi or with fitted diapers, I might have just purchased them instead right from the start.

As far as washing, it is really simple.  I'll shake dirty toddler diapers out into the toilet, but baby diapers and wet diapers go straight into a dry pail.  When I'm ready to wash, I shake the liners out of the diapers, and fold the velcro over on the Thirsties.  Then I run a cold rinse and a warm or hot wash, then another cold rinse. When I wrote my last post, I was using soap nuts, however I realized that with our extremely hard water, they were causing buildup on the PUL fabric on some of my diapers.  I bought a box of Ecos from Amazon and have been very happy with it both for diapers and for the rest of our laundry.

So... that's my update! Any questions?  If you cloth diaper, what are your favorite diapers?  

 

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Reader

We kind of had a big event happen last week.  Nathan read his first book!

We've been having a lot of fun doing more preschool stuff lately.  The back to school sale aisle is always so tempting to me, and finally I felt justified in purchasing some school supplies!  I also picked up a few workbooks that have really been a big hit (like, "can we do another page?!"type success), and have been doing some of Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  We've made it to lesson 6, so far.  Initially, I was very enthusiastic about it, just because it was so simple and he enjoyed it so much.  The "say it fast" game really was fun for him, and I could see how it really helped him gear up for sounding out and then saying words.  

But as we progressed past the first few lessons, I was troubled by a few things.  The approach of having lines over vowels to indicate the long vowel sound confused him right off the bat - he knows all his letter sounds already from The Letter Factory, and so telling him that ē says 'eeee' when he gleefully shouted 'eh!' felt a little advanced for beginning reading.  I talked to another mom who said that her daughter was frustrated in later lessons as those symbols began to be phased out.  I really want to avoid frustration and confusion, so I started skipping the long vowel sections in each lesson.  That seemed a little ridiculous, so we ended up skipping it more and more days and playing with letter puzzle pieces and sounding out words I wrote out on paper instead.  I will say that the "say it fast" practice did seem to be helpful as he transitioned from making each sound individually to saying the word.  I'm not sure if I'll end up doing more with it or not, at this point.  I may do more of it with my next kiddo, but for now we may not need to keep on with it especially with my doubts about some of the approach.

I made some cards (I love index cards so much!)  with simple words that stuck to basic vowel sounds.  He loved arranging them in sentences and this week made the leap into sounding it out and then saying it independently, not just being led through it.  I had SO much fun watching him gleefully master word after word, and not want to stop.  

Since he was doing so well with those, I dug out Pan and the Mad Man, one of the readers from the boxed kindergarten set from Veritas Press.  It's a great set but seems really involved to me, better suited for a classroom, or maybe just not suited well to me with having three little ones right now.  It seems like it takes a lot of planning and prep work, which is a drawback for me right now.  My mom used it for three of my brothers and handed it down, so I have the luxury of picking and choosing from it without feeling like I invested in it and have to use it all.

The other drawback is that I don't like the script it teaches, which is italicized and intended to transition better to cursive.  I would prefer to have them master a solid, neat printing hand before cursive and not start out with the curved tails and slanted letters.  But there are things I love about it - the readers are nicely illustrated and imaginative, the puzzle pieces with letters on them (that can be combined into words) are genius, and the CD with catchy songs about phonics rules is great.  I think that I'll be dipping into the Veritas Press Phonics Museum box more and more as we get into more complicated words, since I love their emphasis on the "rules" of why words sound the way they do.  

However we end up proceeding, I'm just so excited that Nathan read his very first book.  It feels like a huge milestone to this bookworm mama, and I'm so thankful to be able to help him learn and watch his face light up with that feeling of accomplishment.

What methods have you tried, if you've taught your kids to read? And...any beginning reader recommendations? :)  

July

How is July almost over?!  Summer always seems to go so quickly, no matter how much we try to just slow it down and savor every moment; it's like running a tongue over an empty popsicle stick.

It's been pretty hot this month, so the grass is crunchy and dry and the fields aren't as green as we'd like.  Any whiff of smoke from a neighbor's bonfire that comes in our bedroom window has me paranoid we're all going up in flames.  Of course, that always seems to happen on the nights Micah isn't home.  Bad timing!  

Guitars and ukeleles are summer staples.  

Pico de Gallo is a non- negotiable for summer.  I would eat it all day long for months if I could.  I took the liberty of adding beans to it last night and calling it dinner.  I think it needed avocado too, but the local discount grocery had them priced at 2/$3, which did not strike me as a good deal, so no avocado this week. They did have some amazing sweet local cantaloupe, though!  So good!

I'm sitting here writing this at naptime...and it just started raining!  So glad!  Hope it keeps up for awhile.  Guess I'll celebrate with some sweet tea. :)  

Hope your July has been wonderful, friends!

The prize for silliest child is awarded to...

... nah, too close to call! ;)

snapshots

little moments to treasure...

 

Summer

Summer!  Ah, summer...it's here!  Time to put the chocolate chips in the freezer so they don't melt in the cupboard.  Time for popsicles!  Of all flavors.  Including chocolate.

Time for blueberry picking!

...and blueberry lemonade!

With the heat spiking rapidly, we also needed more inside activities.  I never would have guessed these letter worksheets would have been such a big hit!

We have been doing pretty well at keeping a few tomato plants alive this year. We decided not to try again at a big garden this year, and just have some tomatoes, basil, and pepper plants.  Much more manageable!  Since we have so few they all fit in the flower beds in front of the house, so it's so easy to take care of them!  I realized that previous gardens suffered from the "out of sight, out of mind" location that we put them in...oops!

I hope you are all having a wonderful summertime full of watermelon, sprinkler play, popsicles... and maybe some firefly catching? :)
 

atmosphere

"The way to test which books have a good flavor, Lewis says, is to ask which books you reread. Having read a book once, you know the plot, so you know what's going to happen.  Then why bother to read it again? You bother to read it again if you enjoy the atmosphere. You like being part of that imagined world. You can't be surprised by the events of the story, but you can be enthralled by its taste. In that sense, the atmosphere is much more important than the plot."
— Michael Ward, in The Narnia Code: C.S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens 

So powerful.  

 

 I see how this is true for places as well... I don't just love the comfyness of the hammock, I love the essence of what a hammock is.  I swing in the hammock and feel like I'm on the beach.  I like shopping at Target over Walmart (although due to price and convenience I rarely get to indulge that preference), but it's because of the atmosphere.  Marketers of course use that knowledge to their advantage.  It makes me think about the atmosphere of the home.  Obviously we should have an atmosphere of love and joy.  But what physical things can we do to create an atmosphere that is welcoming and aesthetically comforting and homelike? Obviously the first place my mind goes is decor.  But most of the beautiful pictures I see are not really welcoming to real life.  They embody it in a condensed form, sometimes...lots of beautiful foods and plates on a staged table, or a couch so full of beautiful pillows there isn't room for a toddler.  So it isn't just a beautiful home that I'm thinking of.  It's a relaxing one.  One you want to be in. 

We've been working on some renovations and decluttering (mainly that means we've demolished the downstairs bathroom and office...) and I'm really excited about intentionally quieting and simplifying and unifying our home this summer.

And painting it all a relaxing, peaceful color. Like this one...? :)

Source: postcardfromparis.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Can We Just Live Outside?

(I don't mean that seriously, but only because of ticks & mosquitoes & tornadoes & thunderstorms.  Everything else about outside is great.)

Changing Seasons

Rejoice with me, for the grand sorting and switching and trying on and packing away of clothing in preparation for the warmer weather is DONE.  Thank goodness.  Except for hauling seven rubbermaid tubs (ALL the tubs needed sorted, since I hadn't thoroughly since Levi was born) back up the stairs and stowing them away in storage, that is, and I can't do that until tomorrow since it would wake up all the sleeping children!  Oh, and I still have to check to see if I have any summer sandals in the box of kid's shoes in storage, but THAT sounds manageable.  That sounds like a breeze comparatively.

Miriam has been in heaven - she loves switching outfits four times a day, so having an entire box of summer clothing to try on made her SO happy.  Between having her loving all the bright summer dresses, and sorting through all the adorable little rompers for Levi, I'm getting excited for summer!  Although... it is rather rainy out this week.  It looks more like rubber boot and umbrella weather.  I'm ignoring that for the moment, though!

( Note to self: you will think that sorting out and switching out the clothes is the task of a day, but it is NOT. It is the task of a week, with helpful small children asking questions and trying things on (or declining to try things on when needful), and needing bottoms wiped and breakfast/lunch/dinner made.  Next time, prepare your mind accordingly, and pick up a few frozen pizzas and new DVDs from the library.  Trust me on this! )

Avett Brothers Concert

So, the Avett Brothers came to town.  My sweet husband ordered tickets at the soonest possible moment and looked forward to it like it was Christmas morning.  Or better.

We dropped off the big kids with Grandma and Grandpa and headed into town.  Dates for us always involve a LOT of driving - usually at least 2 hours - which is kind of nice in a way because it's good talk time, but kind of not nice when it's late and you're ready to be home and you still need to pick up kids and take them home.  But we were super blessed because one of their aunts brought them home and put them to bed for us, since we weren't going to make it back until at least midnight, with a 8pm show, so that did make things a lot easier!


We planned on having dinner at a little pub that specializes in local foods, since we had a gift certificate, but sadly they had too long of a wait for that to work out.  So we walked around the corner and found a fun little Asian restaurant.  Levi chowed down on the stir fried broccoli off my plate, and I really enjoyed my sweet and sour chicken - very good!  I love Asian food and it's not something I'm good at recreating at home, sadly...we also enjoy Mexican food, but I've had better luck at making that at home.

Anyway, after we ate we headed over to the show, where the doors had just opened.  We ran into a friend and chatted for a while before heading inside and finding our seats.  Levi was just along for the ride in the ring sling, and very much enjoying all the new things to look at.  He is usually a pretty regular baby as far as sleep time, so I was unsure how he'd do at a super loud concert at bedtime. As it turned out, with the aid of a pair of junior earmuffs, he did GREAT.  He had a little trouble going to sleep in the seats, since he was watching the lights and enjoying them, but I knew he had to be exhausted so I took him out and fed him and he was out like a light snuggled up to me in the ring sling.  And he stayed asleep... even through the super loud songs, even through the teenagers behind us screaming for an encore, even through ME singing along and whooping.  I was so thrilled!  The reviews had me hoping that these would be the ticket to protecting his ears and keeping him happy and able to sleep, and they certainly delivered. :)

Plus now that we have them, I am sure we'll be using them again.  Maybe for taking in a movie?  Or another concert?  Or for fireworks that might scare a small one?

(Note: I am truly this weirdly enthusiastic about these.  This is not a paid review, nor was I given these by the company.  No, as strange as it may seem, especially to those of you who are not yet parents, I genuinely just am tickled pink to own a pair of baby ear muffs.  True story.  Although, yes, that is an affiliate link.  But beyond that, I am not profiting by extolling the virtues of these things.  They're just that awesome.)

Shelving the topic of the ear muffs, it was a truly fantastic show.  The Avett Brothers gave it their all and really put on a wonderful performance.  They are one of our favorites, and we frequently listen to their music, so I loved recognizing their songs and enjoying the extra dimension that a live performance gives. It was absolutely great being able to see them live and hear them do our favorites.  They even came out and did a very generous encore, even though they must have been absolutely exhausted from doing such a high energy show already.

On a funny note, the crowd was a really interesting mix.  Hipsters, college students, teens, older folks, parents with kids (we were definitely not the only people with a child there, although I think Levi may have been the youngest!) - it was a fun and varied crowd.  Although I'm not sure when I've seen more plaid shirts and Tom's shoes in one place before! ;)

We hit the drive through for some coffee on the way home, and finally fell into bed at 1.30am.  Unfortunately, this all happened to be the weekend of the time change. Hahahahaha. So we lost an hour the next morning.  All I can say is the next day involved a whole lotta coffee.

But it was worth it!