Finding Balance in October

We had a busy and memorable October, celebrating fall, Will's birthday and Halloween.  We also continued the tradition of a pumpkin photo shoot with our newest member of the family.  I love that I can compare and see all four of my girls at the same age (about 6 months) together!  Below in clockwise order from top left: Lucy, Emma, Opal and Violet.

Here is some of our fall decor pictured below - Lucy arranged the table centerpiece on the left below, and I bought the arrangement on the right at the Farmer's Market.

The color of the leaves this past month were spectacular.  There is something about the yellows, oranges and reds against a blue, October sky that is gorgeous beyond words.  We enjoyed as many fall walks as we could in October, knowing all too well what kind of weather comes after the glory of October!  Here we are below on various walks, most of which were enjoyed in the local cemetery as the fall colors there are top notch.

Emma decided to make a maze in our backyard out of leaves which was fun to run through, and in clockwise order from top left: the leaf maze, Emma hanging upside on the swing set, Emma using Will as her ladder to pick an apple from our neighbor's apple tree, and the kids on top of a hill near our house, ready to run down at full speed.

The girls and I went apple picking for the second time this fall when my brother Joe and his family came to town.

It wasn't the best weather, but we still had fun.  The highlight was watching Opal and my niece Hayden enjoy apples fresh from a tree for the very first time.  They both loved them!  

Here are the cousins all reunited below.  The last time they were all together was when my brother and his wife came to town with my niece for her double baptism with Opal in June.

 The energy levels are hard to describe when all nine cousins are together, but it is one of the best feelings in the world to see my kids playing with my siblings kids!  I hope that they will all be lifelong friends.

We celebrated Will's birthday with a hike and really enjoyed his weekend birthday with him.  Lucy told me several days prior to his birthday that she believed that, "Dad was just itching to scratch off some lotto tickets" and so I took her and her sisters to the corner store with cash in hand and let them buy Will some scratch offs.  I felt a little judged as they fed their money into the lotto ticket vending machine but hey, it was for their daddy!

We celebrated Will's birthday with his parents the night before Will's birthday and enjoyed watching a newly mobile Opal try to open his presents.

We went pumpkin picking at a garden center close to home this year, and a short hayride brought us to the pumpkin field, as well as a corn maze.  I hadn't been in a corn maze in years and I realized that I actually don't like them when we were lost in the maze and about ready to miss the tractor that would take us back to our cars.  We found the way out, and Will helped lighten my anxiety by sticking pieces of yellow corn in his teeth and talking with a silly accent. 

We went trick or treating at our Farmer's Market this year with friends, and again, the weather wasn't great but we made the best of it.  Opal was obsessed with trying to eat the umbrella handle and I kept worrying that she was going to get her tongue stuck to it as it was freezing outside.

The girls drew the design they wanted on their pumpkins with black marker, and then Will did the honors of carving them up.  They made a great team!

 Lucy was a fashion designer, Emma a leopard (or Cheetah depending on her mood), Violet was Anna from Frozen, and Opal was a cabbage patch doll.  We came up with the costumes just about a week before Halloween which is the latest we have ever pulled it off.  This caused anxiety on my part, but it all worked out in the end.  Will never feels anxiety about creative endeavors and I need to take it from him and realize that sometimes creativity thrives under pressure.  In the bottom, right hand picture below, I caught Violet breathing into her opened Halloween candy bag.  I asked her what she was doing and she told me, "Mom, doesn't this just smell sooooo good?"  I breathed it in as well, and let me tell you, that one sniff brought back so many memories of my childhood and as much as Halloween candy doesn't really agree with me these days, that smell will always be one of such pleasant memories!

 Below are the kids at dance...

 ...and the kids "at" school.  Opal is a tough distraction for them as they would much rather play with her than do schoolwork.  Any little peep Opal makes, and they scoop her up.  This is a good problem to have, but not good for school work efficiency!

We are accomplishing quite a bit this school year, and one of the things I am the most excited about is our weekly Poetry Tea Time.  We read poetry, make up poetry (our favorite being limericks), and eat cookies and drink tea and hot chocolate.  We are doing school on a four day week, leaving the fifth day for Poetry Tea Time, field trips and house cleaning.  It has helped us to stay on track and the goal will be for us not to still be trying to complete the school year in July.  That extra grace day each week also will help us not fall behind when we take a day off for each of the girl's birthdays, holidays and even snow days.  I think this is our seventh year of homeschooling, and we have started a Morning Time for the first time this year where I read from various books on subjects like history, geography, science and art.  I also read a morning devotion, we say the Pledge of Allegiance and we sing hymns and songs to learn by heart, and sometimes I even read aloud a chapter book - we just finished The One and Only Ivan which I highly recommend!

 As much as I am happy with how our school year is going, I do feel like other areas of our family life are not going as well.  For instance, getting enough outdoor play, free play and house cleaning as well as making more homemade meals.  I realize you can't have it all and priorities are important, but I guess it's to say that I have yet to achieve the perfect balance and I'm starting to wonder if that is a lifelong process.  Plus, I feel like out of all four of my kids, Violet is getting the brunt of the balance issue, and I really want to enjoy this time with her, as it is her last year of preschool.  I keep reminding myself that she is learning independence, but it is sad when her older sisters' schoolwork and her baby sister's high needs keep me from getting all of the stories and couch snuggles I want with Violet, and I would love to not feel rushed when she is telling me a story or showing me something she is proud of.  So, right now, that is my goal - to make Violet more of an equal with her sisters in our hierarchy of needs.

 It has been amazing to me to see all four of my girls playing together this past month, even if it is just Opal playing nearby while her sisters' play.  I do think with the birth of each of my kids that it takes a full year to feel like our lives are in equilibrium, and perhaps it is a one year learning curve from adding a new member to our family, or it also is the fact that it takes about a year for the newest member to become less demanding.  Either way, I wish there were more hours in the day for me to spend quality, one on one time with my babies.  The beauty of time constraints though, is that it does force you to prioritize and realize what is important and what is not.  The below picture shows what is important to me!

The kids have enjoyed putting on shows for us in the basement now that colder weather has set in, and Opal is a happy audience member.

 The shorter days are making us crave comfort foods and I am missing the free time to bake.  There is a delicious donut shop near us that has been filling in for my lack of baking, and Will has taken on some more cooking as well.  Keep in mind, if we are both home, Will is the one who usually makes dinner.  He has gone onto Pinterest though and made queso dip and even humored a craving of mine and tried to make dairy-free and bean-free white chicken chili.  He followed the recipe to the T, and it turned out disgusting.  Mindful of the sacrifice that animals make to feed us, we strained the chicken out of the soup and saved it for enchiladas.  It was still painful to throw out the rest, but at least the meat did not go to waste.  You know the food is gross if Will and I cannot even bring ourselves to eat it.  The girls watched us gag on the meal with complete fascination, as they saw for the time what they look like at most meals.  Lucy was probably the most entertained, and said in a sarcastic voice at the table while pretending to be on the phone, "Hello, yes, I'd like to place a carryout please."

A friend of mine rescued three kittens this past month and brought them by for a playdate with my three girls.  It was such a fun afternoon - made all the happier by the fact that the sisters did not have to share, and the kittens went home with my friend at the end.  Charlie is feeling neglected these days, and fortunately did not witness the kittens in our house receiving snuggles.  The top, right hand picture below is Charlie forcing his way into my hand for snuggles.  

It's difficult to get out these days with four kids, and I'd like to say that because of that we stay home more, but with the kids in art class, piano lessons, yoga, dance two days a week, catechism and doctor appointments that we are out at least once every day.  While the kids are at various classes, I squeeze in any errands I have.  Below in clockwise order from top left - Lucy and I in a fitting room while shopping for fall clothes when we noticed a peeping baby, Violet having me take a picture of toys she found while running errands with me when Lucy and Emma were in a class - the picture was for Violet to show her sisters so they wouldn't be sad they missed seeing them, all four girls at Will's work raiding his coworker's candy closet, Violet at the local cider mill with me while Lucy and Emma were at art class, and finally, Violet in a play fort she made during our bi-weekly chiropractor appointment.

Finally, Lucy, Opal and I met a friend of mine at a local craft show one Sunday this past month and had a great time.  Opal slept almost the entire time, and Lucy got to have special time with my friend and I while we enjoyed a bond we all share - handmade items and small, locally owned entrepreneurs.  Emma and Violet were welcome to come as well, but they opted for staying home with Will to enjoy games, a football game on TV and Dad endorsed snack foods.  Needless to say, we were all happy with our decisions.

Here's to the never-ending journey of finding balance in life, and staying present in the moment so I can enjoy each of my girls to the fullest!

Opal's 8th Month

Our little lady is 8 months old already!  She has four teeth total and still does not prefer to eat anything besides milk and apples.  

She loves her mama, daddy and her sisters in that order and will push your face away if she is needing space.

 Her first word was officially mama, and she can also say "Hi" while waving.  When she sees me she will start whine/crying "mamma maammmaaa" and when she sees Will, she bounces up and down and waves.  I am her comfort, and Will is her fun.

 Her sisters are great entertainment and still fight over who gets to help me with her.

Opal will be one tough little lady, as inevitably bumps and bruises and head bops happen when the sisters play with her.  They feel terrible when Opal gets hurt on their watch, but I do know that their love for her is fierce.  I overheard Violet tell Opal, "I love your kisses!  I'm never washing this slobber off of my face!"

Opal loves playing outside, but hates her pink snowsuit.  I'm not sure what the alternative is for her, but I am hoping that she can resign herself to wearing it or it is going to be a long winter for all of us.

Opal officially outgrew her little bassinet called a Rock and Play this past month by falling head first out of it.  Fortunately, she landed on a pile of dirty laundry that one of her family members had left on the floor.  It scared us more than it scared or hurt her, but now we have no place to put her where she will stay besides her jumper and her crib upstairs.

Opal plays well on her own for the most part, and loves to play with items that aren't toys - she is obsessed with books not meant for chewing babies, pencils, remote controls and cell phones, as well as paper and tags.

 Opal, you are the source of most of our smiles, laughs and giggles and we love you so much!

Up North in September

We took one last trip up north in September and had a great mini-vacation.  I'm so glad that every member of our family loves this trip as much as I do.  I know that someday my kids will no longer want to go up north with us, but until then, I will do my best to instill in them the love that I have for the natural beauty of our great state.  Here we are on our favorite hike with breath taking views of Lake Michigan and a great climbing tree on the trail as well.

We had high hopes of hiking all four days that we were up north, but the mosquitoes had other plans.  We braved one more hike and got eaten alive, but were happy that we were able to try a new trail and two hikes is better than none at all.

We also had big dreams of a campfire every night complete with s'mores and I even brought our pie irons to make campfire pies with but again, the mosquitoes had other plans.  I realized on the second evening that the mosquitoes were making us all so grumpy that it wasn't even worth it so on the third night we made the campfire pies in the oven in the cottage.

Fortunately, there were no mosquitoes at the beach!  When we were at the cottage this past May there were no bugs at the campfire or on the hiking trails but they were infesting the beaches and so we had limited time on the beach.  It was nice to go to the beach each day and spend several peaceful hours in the serene and uncrowded beauty that makes our favorite beach there so wonderful.

 I spent most of my time on the beach as the Oldest Available (and dry) Timmerman watching Will and the older three girls play as Opal couldn't go swimming.  Opal was quite a handful as she wanted to play in the sand so badly, but each time I set her down she would eat a handful of sand.  She did love splashing her feet in the water but also was intent on eating rocks.  Not thinking it completely through, I found a large enough rock that she could chew on without choking only to be given chills when her teeth chomped on the rock.  Much to Opal's disappointment, I had to take the rock away or risk her chipping her teeth!  I'm so glad she loves the beach so much though - at this age all of her sisters hated the feel of sand and refused to let me set them down!  Look at those little chubby baby legs and adorable baby toes in the sand!

It is moments like this where it occurs to me that I have all of my favorite people in the world and there is no place I would rather be, and no one I would rather be with.  Parenting four little ladies is a lot of work, and I am grateful for these moments of peace, love and beauty.

This was our fourth trip to this cottage over the past two years and we still discovered new places to explore.  We found a farm stand that sells delicious donuts and pizza bread that will from here on out be on our bucket list each time we return.  We also finally explored the lighthouse nearby and were so excited to see that Violet met the height requirement to climb the lighthouse tower!  I took one for the team and stayed below with Opal, but I am planning on returning to that lighthouse in a few years when Opal is tall enough to climb it with me!

We had a very simple bucket list for our trip and it included our favorite hike overlooking Lake Michigan, s'mores and campfire pies, time at the beach, having a picnic lunch at a lookout point called Picnic Mountain, and finally, climbing the biggest sand dune.

It was a great trip despite the mosquitoes and a nice way to end our summer.  Here we are below enjoying some down time at the cottage.

 Until next year sweet cottage, we will be back!

September in a Nutshell (Puke, Stinky Clothes and Rabid Squirrels)

We are finally free of Hand Foot and Mouth Disease from last month, and just in time to start school, harvest our honey, take a final trip up north for the season and spend time with my sister  and my college roommate while they were in town.   

There was a small hiccup in our wellness when Emma puked in her sleep one night and not only covered herself, the top bunk where she sleeps, but also projectiled the vomit onto her sister's bed below her, and her other sister's bed below and beside her.  You know you live in a small house when... you puke and it covers three people.  When Will and I went to bed we smelled the unmistakable scent and when we went to investigate, the horror could hardly be put into words.  How do you remove a child from the top bunk without making a trail of disgustingness?  It's moments like this that I am so very grateful to have a partner on this parenting journey!  Two hours later, in which Will and I cleaned with three adult arms (the fourth arm was holding Opal who woke up in the commotion and refused to be set down without screaming) we were all finally tucked back in - one kid on an air mattress in our room as her mattress looked to be bound for the trash, another kid in our bed, and the last two kids on makeshift beds with afghans and couch pillows.   Fortunately the next day was Sunday, as we spent the entire day doing laundry, cleaning the carpet, and - salvaging Emma's mattress - turns out the entire mattress cover could come off of the mattress, leaving exposed latex foam, but a completely machine washable outer cover and in the end, it was IKEA mattress for the win!

There are only three things that could have made the great Puke Fest of '18 worse in retrospect - first, if the ceiling fan inches from Emma's bed had been on, second if anyone else had caught the bug Emma had, and third, if we hadn't figured out just a week before the stomach bug hit Emma that the laundry detergent that we had bought in a pinch (ours is usually delivered by Amazon and so we've never actually had to search it out in a store) was in fact fabric whitener, and not soap of any kind.  For weeks prior to this discovery, Will and I kept getting wiffs of dank laundry and after so many instances of wondering where that funky smell was coming from, we were beginning to realize that it may in fact, be coming from us.  Of course this realization came slowly, and in the most awkward scenarios - at work, or talking about honey bees at a bee event.  Multiple times we asked one another to sniff various parts on our clothes to verify if that smell was coming from us.  Then one day as I was filling up the washer, I noticed that there were no soap suds in the drum.  I put the soap in again, thinking that I had maybe forgotten to put the soap in the first time and then I realized that the box I was holding was not laundry detergent but laundry whitener.  What a relief that this was figured out before all of the puke almost hit the fan!

Life is never dull here, and I suppose if it was dull, I would worry that I was missing something!  Below are the girls on their first day of school with our traditional "all of your school books for the year on the couch" photo.  All three of the older girls are in dance this year, and Violet is really enjoying it.  What a difference a year can make as last year Violet had a hard time in class and we ended up taking a break with her for the rest of the year.  Opal has plans to keep her sisters distracted from schoolwork by being cute, noisy and demanding.  Lucy and Emma would much prefer playing with Opal over doing schoolwork, and sometimes I need them to help with Opal so it is a constant balance between each member of the family getting what they need done while passing Opal between us.  Most school days I end up strapping Opal to me in a carrier so no sister is tempted to play with her, and so that Opal can take a nap.

I've implemented several new things for our school year this year which brought some resistance at first but as I type this, we are already in our eighth week of school and I can say with great relief that we have all adjusted.  I am very pleased with the new goals I have created for each child, and I think this year will result in all three of the older girls growing and learning by leaps and bounds.  Photos below in clockwise order from top left: the girls putting on a show complete with lighting, Violet having "special time" with me doing one of her favorite things - making designs with math manipulatives, our red ride on donkey caught trampling Violet's baby doll named Bonnie Bee late one night when I was up with Opal (I knew that red donkey was no good!), Will with his four little ladies, Violet showing me a drawing she made - she has been doing so much art this past month!, and Violet playing Alphabet Go Fish with me.

My sister and her boyfriend came to town for her annual end of summer visit and great memories were made by all.  We taught them to watercolor with us, and they taught us a card game or two. 

We went apple picking with my family...

 ...and had fun using human ladders to reach the best apples.

I really like the below humans in front of some real ladders.  Sisters and sisters!  Two different generations!

Which seems to lead nicely into the below photos of me and my middle sister in the left hand photo below and my daughters in the right hand photo below in the exact same gazebo about twenty-five years apart.

 We had a very small honey harvest this past month.  The weather was not ideal this past season for honey, and it was also a learning curve for Will managing the bees completely on his own now that I am officially allergic to honey bees.  I ordered way too many honey jars, and Will is about done with the work involved now that he has gone from enthusiastic supporter of something I love, to doing it all.  Some decisions will have to be made on how to move forward with (or without) honey bees for next year as things are just not the same and it has become hard for me to not be afraid of the insects that I love so much.  This is very emotional for me as I feel like I have been forced into something that I would have never chosen myself.  *me shaking my fist at my honey bee allergy* However, I have to believe that when one door closes, another one will surely open and so I am trying to keep an open mind while grieving this change.

 Besides some honey, our little suburban farm produced some great Michigan Famous Pastie Pies which we made in bulk and froze, some delicious bruschetta with basil and tomatoes from our own garden, and Lucy who helped me to make a giant tray of jello for Will who had a kidney procedure and mistakenly thought he couldn't eat the entire day prior.  Let's just say we had a lot of extra jello when he found out the day before his procedure that he could eat regular food until midnight!

 And finally, our suburban farm seemed to specialize in State Prize winning spiders - one that Will and the girls caught in our garden (and released back into the wild) and one that I found after my hand brushed across it's web when I reached my hand into my old mail box and it's new home.

 This past month we also enjoyed time playing in the local creek by our house, time at the playground for a picnic with Will's parents, and a weekend with my college roommate where we enjoyed catching up on life, touring our farmer's market and another picnic park afternoon.  I am bummed that I didn't get any photos of my roommate in town, but I can promise you that the image of her and I standing on top of a park bench while a rabid behaving squirrel tried to jump from the ground to the bench to bite us is forever engrained in both of our minds!  It didn't help my fears when my friend told me in no uncertain terms how terrible rabies shots are and how they are administered straight into your stomach!  We ended up calling the non emergency police number after calling animal control and the park office only to hear a recording that they were each closed for the weekend.  When the officer who got the call showed up, I thought for sure Will was going to be arrested when he told the officer that the perpetrator had brown eyes and was about 8 inches long.  Fortunately the crazy squirrel showed it's true colors, distracting the highly annoyed officer from Will's poorly timed joke, but in the end, the officer ended up telling us to just get away from the squirrel as he couldn't do anything unless it actually bit someone.  What is the world coming to I ask you!?

I think the important thing to remember here is that you must maintain a sense of humor, no matter what!  Through puke, stinky clothes and rabid squirrels, I wouldn't trade this life in for any other and despite Will's brush with the law, I'm so glad my life mate is there to laugh right along with me.  Stay tuned for our up north trip in the following blog post!

Opal's Seventh Month

Opal grew so much this past month!  While I don't as of yet have her "official" seventh month photo, I did get her sixth month picture taken before she turned seven months!  As you can see below she is now able to sit up on her own!

 She has so much fun with her sisters, and her sisters have so much fun with her.  They still fight over her, which I thought would have worn off by now, but I guess at the end of the day, I am just glad they love being with her so much.  One of the best perks of being a big sister I've noticed, is getting to pick out what Opal wears for the day.  I do miss having this privilege myself, but I happily step aside so that they can have pride in their sister too.  Of course they find a way to fight over this, and if they are the first one up for the day, they usually win at dressing their baby sister.  In the bottom, right hand picture below, Lucy decided to have her and Opal match that day, and imagine my joy when I saw that Lucy dressed Opal in a dress that used to be Lucy's!  If I had a glimpse of what the future would hold over nine years ago, I may not have believed it!

 Opal loves her daddy, and loves relaxing with him too.  In the bottom, right hand picture below, the girls and I found a pet couch at a local store and had to do a photo op with Opal on it to send to Will.  What a riot, and the looks on Opal's face as she just relaxed were hilarious.

 Opal loves her mama too, and I am happy to say that I am still her favorite.

 This past month Opal started eating solid foods!  She didn't care for them at first but now will sometimes tolerate them.  She's eaten squash, sweet potatoes, rice cereal, prunes and applesauce.

Opal gives the best hugs now too, and I just love this stage that she is in.  I predict next month will bring even more changes and so I hope to savor every moment of this sweet little girl!