Sweet September

After we returned from our end of the summer vacation, September seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.  My brother Joe and his fiancé Beth came to town and we had a vacation reprise while we joined them on their Michigan fall tour of the zoo...

…the apple orchard...

…and even the local art festival near our house.  We also felt right at home at our cousin's chicken themed birthday party...

…and met my parents at the local cider mill for a fall hike and Apple Fritter Friday.  We enjoyed our third annual Cemetery Walk, where local residents from the past are featured by community actors and actresses.  This year's theme was all about women who shaped our city and the most memorable story depicted was of two sisters named Lucy and Anna who owned a dress shop on Main Street.

Our sunflowers were in full bloom this past month, despite our late planting of them earlier this year.  They were not only beautiful but attracted monarchs, bumble bees and of course my honey bees.  Now we are drying their heads so that we can save some of the seeds for next year and eat the rest.  

Interestingly enough, our sunflowers captured all of our affection with lots of water and care, whereas the rest of our garden was mostly neglected.  Our two apple trees produced the best tasting apples we have ever eaten - one tree boasted Honeycrisp and the other tree had beautiful Empire apples.  It is so fun to pick a snack right from your own backyard and enjoy it right down to the core, and then toss the core to our chickens.  We made applesauce from buckets of apples from a tree at Will's work, zucchini muffins by the dozen and I perfected one of my favorite soups from a local restaurant - crushed lentil.  And best of all, everyone in the family likes it!  This is huge for me and honestly, I am so excited about this economical, healthy, high in protein, tasty soup that it may be on my top ten list of accomplishments.

There is definitely not enough time in the day to accomplish all that I want.  Between my kids education, feeding them nourishing foods, playing with them, exercising and finding time to spend individually with each member of my family, including myself is not easy.  Oh, and keep the house clean, the social calendar intact, everyone's health in order, and of course our side businesses humming along - there hasn't been a day yet where I accomplish all of my priorities.  BUT, I'm pretty certain that God gave everyone the same amount of time for a reason, and I just have to be intentional about what I do each day.  Sometimes that means rolling with the craziness as it unfolds, and other days it means saying no to things that don't align with my priorities.  Either way, I feel like I do not have the balance figured out yet and I am starting to wonder if that is just life.

In the above picture the girls are playing outside, a top priority on my list of intentional living.  Sometimes my hopelessness at achieving balance is given a boost of faith when after an especially harried day one of the kids tells me as I tuck them in at night that, "This was the best day of my life mom!"  Not only does this shift my perspective and remind me that sometimes the little moments are the biggest moments, that maybe I'm not failing hopelessly after all.  I just sincerely hope that my kids childhoods move at a slower pace than I feel like the world is trying to push us.

A wonderful milestone was achieved just days before the last day of summer, which makes me smile at a summer well done.  Both Lucy and Emma learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels, and it was an amazing experience to watch how each day they accomplished big steps until a week later they were riding their bikes like they've been doing it all of their life.

One of my dreams is to build a business with my kids so that they can learn first hand the ins and outs of entrepreneurship in a fun and hands on way.  I don't need the business to make millions, I just want it to stay out of the red and be something that we can strengthen our family's relationships with while learning an important skill set.  Lucy and Emma are very happy to help with my honey business, from stamping shopping bags with my logo, to labeling product, to assisting me with my honey bee classes.

 

We had our friends and families with kids come to a class this past month and had a blast.  In the above picture, our Uncle Fred (a kid at heart) didn't let a little mud stop him from getting his hands dirty while making seed bombs at the class.  Lucy and Emma had fun selling various products after the class, although I caught Emma saying, "I'll take your money!" before our friends and family had even contemplated buying something.  

So far we have been very fortunate with beautiful weather on the days I've had my bee classes.  Of course the day our friends and family were coming it was supposed to rain all day.  After watching the weather like a nervous bride planning an outdoor wedding I decided that there was nothing more to do, but to go clean the garage.  Let's just say by the time I was finished, my dust pan had every color and variety of bird feather you can imagine, plus the tails of several squirrels, chipmunks and a rabbit.  It seems our cat is a really good hunter.  And I don't know if I am now aware of it more or he is preparing for winter, but he has been eating about an animal or bird a day and it's kind of depressing.  I know it is what he was designed to eat, but I can't help but feel sorry for his prey.  There is a gray dove that sits alone now on the telephone wires next to our house that used to always cuddle next to its partner.

Violet and Charlie have a strange relationship.  I think Violet is jealously fascinated by Charlie and Charlie is cautiously jealous of Violet.  Violet can't handle Charlie playing with any toys and will yank them from him, which Charlie thinks is just a part of the play.  It usually ends with Violet screaming and crying and Charlie running confusedly away.  

We have found our groove for the time being with school work.  Violet is starting to be more compliant during school time, and we've found setting a timer helps Lucy to focus and get things done in a timely fashion.  Emma is just happy to do school like her big sister, and is holding her birth order spot as middle daughter in a very stereotypical way.  I have to make a point to go over and above for Emma, for if not, her more boisterous sisters will steal the show.

 We have had quite a run of sister fighting.  This fall we started back up with their yoga class and they are the only two kids in the class right now.   I was disappointed at first, as part of the point of taking extracurricular activities, especially for homeschooled kids, is for the socialization and Lucy and Emma need a break from each other, not more alone time together.  Until Will pointed out that I should ask the teacher if she could focus her classes on sister love, or in other words, to use it as a sister therapy session.  Our wonderful yoga teacher took that idea and ran with it and I am not kidding when I say that it has made a HUGE improvement in them!  They haven't stopped fighting, but I feel like the tone of the fighting has changed.  I can see more love than anger now and it is such a relief.  Here they are below at yoga class and the library.

 We have had a great month at our house, and mostly because of the harmony between the sisters.  I realize this could just be another phase, but I will bask in it's peacefulness for as long as it lasts.

Although now that I think about it, I did try one other tactic to create solidarity and love between the sisters...

 …matching outfits!  It occurred to me that schools have uniforms for a reason, so why not try out a sister uniform?  Success!  They love matching and I can't tell you how happy I am to spend my days with such adorable and SWEET girls.  The leaves are changing and so are we.  And we will continue to evolve, as we learn side by side the secrets to an intentional, peaceful and joy-filled life.

Our End of Summer Vacation

As the summer winded down for us and Will headed back to work, I started panicking and regretting our decision to stay home this summer.  I crave time up north, and without at least a couple of days each summer spent in the aura of Michigan beach and pine tree, I can't fathom getting through another Michigan winter.  After several weeks of searching, I finally found a little cottage an hour away from Will's work that was available for Labor Day weekend.  We found a loop hole in our one hour radius with Violet (we can only handle her car screaming for an hour), by picking up dinner and taking it to Will's work.  After we ate dinner, we left Will's car in the parking lot of his school and headed together as a family to the cottage on the lake.  We arrived in the pouring rain, well after the kids bed times but we were able to handle Violet's crying.  Here we are below in clockwise order from the top left: waiting for our carryout at our favorite restaurant before bringing it to Will at his work, our rented cottage, the girls riding in the car listening to a wonderful audio book entitled "The Penderwicks" about four sisters time spent at a summer cottage, and finally, a picture Lucy took of the sunrise on the first morning of our vacation.  Bless her that she used my phone to document it and let us sleep instead!

Still scarred by our up north vacation last summer, I took every precaution I could think of in planning this last minute trip.  It was still extremely stressful packing for the trip by myself as Will had to work up until the very last moment, but I was able to cut a lot of corners since this cottage wasn't in the middle of nowhere like the one we rented last year.  Even still, I'd pack a box of items and Violet would unpack it just as fast.  Lucy and Emma couldn't stop fighting and the clock was ticking for us to get to the cottage before check-in time was over.  We pulled it together though, after I had a melt down around lunch time and told the girls we weren't going as it wasn't worth the trouble.  After my melt down, Lucy and Emma did an amazing job helping me pack the car and clean up the house and I have to say, the rest of the trip went off without a hitch once I was able to get our luggage arranged in such a manner that all four doors and the trunk of our car could close.  I stand by my theory of there being no free ride in life though, as the amount of stress I felt the day packing for the trip was probably equal to four regular days of parenting.

Lake Huron was a flight of stairs away from our cottage and it was perfect in every way.  The beach was private, and all ours for the next four days.

The beach was very rocky, but we had planned ahead and brought water shoes for everyone.  Violet was not a fan of the feel of sand between her toes despite having water shoes on or the fact that the waves kept moving back and forth along the shoreline.  We timed our beach play for the mornings and late afternoons to avoid the hottest part of the day for Violet's sake, but she still spent the majority of her time on a blanket under the beach umbrella or in mine or Will's arms.  She did take a nap one afternoon under the beach umbrella, and the rest of us had a memorable time in the water while she slept.

We found lots of sea glass and fossils along the beach, and even found a pocket of clay near the water that we made pinch pots with.

We visited a nearby lighthouse and I climbed to the top with Lucy and Emma while Will and Violet took our picture from below.

We also crossed a super long suspension bridge at a local park, walked the pier, ate frozen custard, and explored a near by playground.

 We enjoyed campfire meals every day, and marveled at the view from our cottage out across the lake.

It was good for us to get out of our element.  I had contemplated packing my tea pot since the cottage owner mentioned there wasn't one but at the last minute I decided it wasn't worth taking up space in our already packed car with a tea pot.  I changed my mind once we were at the cottage as it was so chilly and damp at night.  So we picked up some tea at the local grocery store and I fashioned a double boiler out of an aluminum pot and a glass measuring cup and never did I appreciate and savor a cup of tea as I did each morning and evening on our vacation!  This was just a small example of why the trip was good for us.  I also felt so much love and appreciation for our house when we returned, especially my own shower and my own bed.  It was a restful and memorable little trip, and I can welcome fall with no regrets from the summer of 2015!

Violet Plays at 17 Months

 

This girl has a grin that can brighten any day.  Which is a good thing, because the days are long and the sleep is short with this one!  We are still trying to find the perfect recipe for sleep with Violet.  This month we are trying out a big girl bed of her own, under a ceiling fan with a gate on her bedroom door.

This has helped her sleep a tiny bit better but we are now trying to figure out our next challenge - how to keep her dry for the entire night.  Because she doesn't sweat she drinks more fluids to maintain her body temperature and as a result, we have yet to find a diaper to hold it all.  Here she is below, enjoying a plastic ice cream cone while she tries out the potty chair.  They say that when kids start to enjoy potty humor that they are ready for potty training.  Violet officially thinks farts are funny, and will go out of her way to pass gas for a laugh, and will also point her finger accusingly at one of us and laugh when she hears anything resembling a toot.  Potty training makes life more difficult, not easier, for a good stretch of time so I am officially over potty humor, meaning I am not ready to potty train.  So we shall continue our quest for a diaper that holds it all.

The biggest change this past month is Violet has evolved from destroying the house in her free time, to playing.  Don't get me wrong, she still destroys the house, but now she is actually playing while she makes a mess.  She loves feeding and changing her baby dolls diapers as well as pushing them in a stroller and snuggling them too.  There is no shame in taking a sip from the baby doll's bottle either.

She also seems to have a passion for shoes.  She loves walking around in different family member's shoes, and she has become quite good at walking around in Lucy and Emma's dress up heels.  In the bottom right hand picture Violet surprised me one morning by making a pretend cup of tea, complete with pretend honey and a play tea bag.  She handed it to me and proudly said, "TEA!"

Violet spends her entire day either playing with me, or practically yanking my finger off as she tries to drag me away from whatever I am doing so that we can play.  She is very determined and usually will not be convinced to play with Lucy or Emma, despite their trying to please her.  Fortunately if Will is home, he is a suitable playmate in her eyes.  She loves to get us to play with her by saying, "Roll?" for roll the ball, "Ride" for go for a basket ride, "Book" for read a book, and "Bo-Boat" for playing Motor Boat, which is similar to Ring Around the Rosie.  Once she has recruited myself or Will for "Bo-Boat" she will then search out every other member of the family and drag them over to join in "Bo-Boat" with us. 

It is just amazing to me the changes this past month in her play.  As long as I am sitting on the ground near her, she will do some play by herself.  The other day I slyly watched as she pushed a stuffed dog around on the floor while she kept saying "Ruff!  Ruff!"  She steals my heart when she plays a game that I have entitled Mama Polo.  Think Marco Polo but replace the words with Violet chanting my name in a sweet voice and me responding to each chant of Mama with Violet's name.  This usually takes place on car rides or stroller walks.  "Mama."  "Violet."  "Mama."  "Violet."  And on and on and on.

She still is up to her usual trouble, which she times nicely for when I am preoccupied with Lucy and Emma doing schoolwork.  The other day I caught her trying to climb on top of the stove.  Her efforts were foiled when the oven door handle she was using to prop herself up slowly opened the oven door instead causing her to hit her mouth on the door as she fell backwards.  Fortunately, the oven was not on, however it did make me wonder why our newish oven did not come with an oven door lock.  Our old oven had one, and at least now I know she can't be left in the kitchen alone if the oven is on.  Here she is below caught chewing on a stolen plastic eye dropper from a science kit in the left hand picture.  In the right hand picture you can see the results of chewing and swallowing a piece of green chalk.

Based on the above pictures, Violet is definitely teething!  She popped her sixth tooth this past month which was met with much celebrating.  We have been told to expect just a few teeth in Violet's mouth, so each tooth, no matter how it's shaped, is cause for rejoicing.  It is much easier to cap a misshapen tooth than it is to put an implant in.  Around two and a half years old we will begin the process of getting her fitted for partial dentures, and they will use her existing teeth to anchor it in.  Her teeth don't hold her back too much when it comes to eating, however she does prefer softer foods and is my number one fan of the soups I love making.  I can't tell you how great it is to have one of my children appreciate my cooking!  Just having a couple of front teeth has not held her back from corn on the cob or apples though, and she is always so proud to eat food like her big sisters.  New words this past month include "apple" and "cheese stick".

Since receiving Violet's diagnosis, Will and I have come up with canned responses for when people make comments about Violet's appearance.  We have decided that the responses aren't really for the people asking, but more for confirming to Violet that she is loved, beautiful, and made exactly how she is supposed to be.  This past month I thought I was facing my first real challenge.  It was the girls first yoga class of the year, and I was dropping Lucy and Emma off while Violet sat in her stroller and ate her lunch.  Our beloved yoga teacher was excited to see the girls after a summer off but when she looked at Violet she immediately exclaimed, "What is wrong with her mouth???"  I took a deep breath and I launched into my speech.  After saying far too much, our sweet yoga teacher looked up at me with the most confused look on her face and asked, "But why would that make her mouth BLEED???"  Shocked, I leaned down to look at Violet's mouth and saw red, dripping all over her face.  It took me a second to realize that it was raspberry juice and not blood, at which point I started nervously laughing and turned the color of a raspberry myself.  After explaining to their teacher that Violet just finished eating a bowl of raspberries you could have cut the awkwardness with a knife.  When I returned to pick up the girls after their class was over, their teacher had recovered from her shock and had lots of loving questions and affirmations for us.  I regret that I wasn't recovered enough to apologize for the information overload.  Most importantly, I realized that I need to shorten my canned response and to always assume less is more when it comes to information!  I just hope Violet knows that I am learning as I go, but am oh so proud of her and her beautiful smile.