October Sweetness

It's a bit strange to write about October as we are more than half way into December.  The main thing that occurred to me while collaging my photos from October was just how gorgeous the fall colors were, and how much life we lived that glorious fall month!  Here we are below, living October to the fullest.  I think the key to our full and happy October was the fact that we had the impending COVID winter looming ahead and so we knew that these glorious fall days weren't here to stay, and hence we appreciated them all the more.

Here's Charlie below, who stayed close to home in October, thus giving my anxiety about his safety some rest.  In clockwise order from top left below: Charlie peering in the window while Opal's favorite stuffed animal Meow Meow peered out at him.  Charlie snuggling me on a towel, to save me from some allergies, Charlie being menacing to our next door neighbor's cat who just wants to be friends with Charlie, Charlie visiting another neighbor's grandchild who she was babysitting, and Charlie taking a snooze in a random location - against the garage door.

The girls and I haven't had haircuts since January, and our hair has never been so long.  We decided to get Will's cousin (who's been cutting our hair for years at our house) over before the weather got too much colder, so we could at least have hair cuts outside to make it safer for everyone.  We had a random colder day of course the day she came, so Will busted out the space heater to make it more doable.  He also provided a lovely spread of snacks and we made a little party out of it.  Thanks COVID, for making even haircuts seem like a good time.  Granted, we always enjoy it when Will's cousin comes over but adding in snacks and a space heater made it positively festive.

We have been inspired by an aunt of ours to stay connected with her during COVID by giving each other art projects to do.  This month it was our turn to come up with an art project to share, and so we all collected leaves and then sent each other photos of our creations.

I was surprised one school morning when I came downstairs and found a love note from Lucy for Teacher Appreciation Day.  I can't tell you how much that meant to me, as being a mom is mostly a thankless job.  This is our eighth year homeschooling, and who knew that it would be so handy this year during COVID.  I feel like this is the first year that the outside world doesn't view this part of my life as crazy.  Homeschooling is a lifestyle for us and fits pretty seamlessly into how we just live our life.  It is a very different experience to homeschool based on desire and ability with planning than it is to be forced into it.  My heart goes out to all of the parents juggling their own work and school for their kids in this unforeseen year.

We had lots of indoor playtime this past month.  I'm really enjoying not having to rush here and there with the kids, and the fact that COVID has taken away any guilt I would normally have for just staying home more.  I really do think, despite my kids missing their extracurricular classes and their friends, that they will look back on this slow and undisturbed time at home with fond memories.  In clockwise order from top left below: Violet and Emma playing a game of Monopoly Junior, some rock candy we tried to make (it failed), the three youngest twirling in old dance costumes, Opal with a dance costume for her Meow Meow too, more dress up with the three youngest, Violet with a drawing she made with REAL hair she saved from her haircut (this could be COVID inspiration at it's finest), and finally, Emma doing my hair.

Lucy got inspired with some succulents I brought home that were on clearance for the season at our local hardware store.  I was going to make a little indoor fall planter with them, but Lucy took it over and based on the happy, creative zone that she went into with it, I realized that this project was meant for her all along.  She ended up begging me to go back to the hardware store and buy out the plants (which I did) and she sold a few of her creations to friends and family.  The money she made ended up covering all of the supplies, so she was very happy as it allowed her to arrange to her hearts content while still allowing room in our house for people, and not just plants, as she found good homes for her creations to go to.  She has loved arranging plants from a very young age.  She was a toddler at a great grandparent's funeral when we found her at a table rearranging the bouquets that people had sent.  And she's been like that ever since.  She amazes me with this gift of hers.

We were able to be safely social this past month and kept our visits to the great outdoors.  In clockwise order from top left below: We met my parents at the local cider mill for some treats and a hike, we ran into a friend of the girls from dance on an evening walk and chatted for a while, and we stopped by another friend's house for an impromptu outdoor playdate on one of the last 70 degree days of the season.  In the bottom, left hand photo below I treated the girls to a Friday breakfast picnic with cider mill goodies at a local park.  Sweet dreams are made of times like these.

We enjoyed many gorgeous walks and hikes in October.  Looking at these photos, I can't help but feel so very grateful for the town that we live in, and the natural beauty that is all around us.

In October I got to go on a trip all by myself up north to visit with my college roommate and her sister who were in town from Ohio.  I hadn't seen my friend in over a year, and so this was a treat for me on many levels - my first trip away from my kids and Will since I was pregnant with Violet seven years ago, getting to be up north (my favorite place to be when not at home), and getting to spend uninterrupted time with friends who are like family to me.

We had glorious weather, and a glorious time.  My only complaint is that my motel room door flew in when I was sleeping on my first night there and about gave me a heart attack when I woke up in the middle of the night with the wind blowing in my room.  It freaked me out so badly that I really couldn't get back to sleep.  So much for being able to catch up on sleep on my mini getaway!  The next (and final) night I was there, when I went to bed for the night I had my friend try opening my door from the outside to be sure I was locked in tight this time.  I slept a little better, but still not great.

The highlight of this trip though, besides spending time with my friends, was witnessing giant fish come up out of Lake Huron and swim up river.  It was an amazing experience, and one I will never forget.  My friend, her sister and I watched in awe as meaty, giant fish, almost three feet in length, struggled with all their might and jumped their way up the river.  I wished that Will and the girls were with me to see it.  We are going to try and plan it next fall, and hopefully all of our significant others can join us.  The yellow leaf below was peaking out at us on our last hike before I had to head home, and it looked just like a little yellow smiley face.  

Lucy put in my backpack a little fairy and a little mermaid to remind me of them on my hikes and requested that we photograph them in cute little places.  I thought it was an excellent idea, and I was so happy when my friend and her sister embraced this idea even more than me and helped to stage the photos.

We got some great shots.  The kids got a huge kick out of it too, and when I came home, we started taking the little figurines on our hikes together.  Maybe there will be an Instagram account someday for the fairy and mermaid's travels.

While I was up north, Will had fun with the kids.  They played with three old-school LiteBrites that his mom had found in her basement, and also enjoyed a pizza picnic at the park and several long walks and hikes.

As much I was sad to leave my friends and the great up north, I was so happy to be reunited with my kiddos and Will when I got back.  I need to take time away for myself more often, as reuniting is so sweet.  Missing them helped me appreciate all of their quirks and gave me more patience for the weeks ahead.

We harvested honey this past month, and sadly, both of my hives perished.  We had a very strong wind storm this past month and that did them in.  We did replant a pine tree that had died in our backyard, and we baked lots of pies and treats as well.

Will tackled a fairly big project as he connected electricity to our garage underground, instead of how it has been for the past probably sixty years - strung in the air from our house to the garage.  Now it is up to code, but we had to laugh on the evening he completed the project we lost power.  As soon as our power went out we all shouted Will/Dad and I could tell he was a little concerned too.  Then our neighbor FaceTimed us with her daughter, and all of the kids were relieved to know that on our side it wasn't faulty wiring on Will's part and on their side, it wasn't a ghost!

Violet accidentally dropped her appliance this past month and a piece broke off.  Violet's appliance is one of a kind and took MONTHS to make.  We were sick to our stomachs about it but fortunately, the dentist was able to fix it in house, no charge.  We had twenty-four hours in between dropping it off to be repaired and picking it up where we didn't know if it was fixable or not, so we were so excited when they called to say it was all set.  Thank GOD!!!  Here Violet is below getting her appliance fixed, and showing it off when we got home to her sisters.  Good as new!  Now, when she takes it out to brush it at bedtime, she plugs the sink and fills it with a bit of water to cushion the appliance if it were to slip out of her hands again.  This was a tip from another person with Ectodermal Dysplasia.  When we shared Violet's story of how her appliance broke when it slipped out of her hand as she was brushing it, so many others shared stories of their own.  It made Violet smile and feel not alone in her mishap.   Our favorite story someone told was when he was little, he had the stomach flu and his appliance landed in the toilet.  His mom decided to leave it there until his dad came home from work and let him fish it out.  In the meantime, grandma came over and flushed the toilet, as any good grandma would do.  They heard the appliance banging through the pipes all the way through the house.  

Will turned 40 in October, and in true Will style, didn't want to do anything major to mark the occasion.  He read somewhere that the weight you are at 40 is pretty much the weight you will be for life (not sure on how valid this is!).  If this is his mid-life crisis, I'll take it.  He is working with a coworker who used to be a personal trainer, and is taking his workouts and eating more serious than I have ever seen him.  To sum it up with a real-life example: he has replaced the pasta (his favorite food next to the marinara or bolognese sauce you pour over it) with spaghetti squash.  And eats it almost every day for lunch at work.  I never thought I'd see this day.  Never.  He turned 40 on a work day, and his coworkers spoiled him well.  He put in a half day, and came home to more spoiling.  

We met him on his way home from work for a birthday lunch and hike.  I picked up pizza from our favorite place, and we enjoyed a warm lunch despite the chilly weather that day.  We had a wonderful hike together, and then headed home to open presents and for me to make him a birthday dinner and dessert.

We had a couple of mishaps on his birthday - the first being that the shovel he casually mentioned to me this summer that he wanted (and I slyly took a photo of so I wouldn't forget) was the shovel on the left and not the right.  Of course I bought the wrong one.  It's hard to mess up a gift where the person specifically points out what he wants, but I did!  I also made him two desserts, as he couldn't decide which one he wanted and since Will never wants to be a burden, I took this as my rare chance to spoil him.  Thank goodness I made two desserts, as the one we put candles in ended up melting from the bottom up (???) and made the dessert almost inedible.  Will spent a good amount of time picking out the wax, but there was not much of the dessert left after the wax was mostly gone.  

We celebrated Will's birthday with his parents a few days later, and were grateful that COVID numbers were low enough to be able to celebrate indoors with them.

After Will's birthday, the next celebration is Halloween, and we enjoyed pumpkin carving and getting the girls Halloween costumes ready to go.  

Lucy was a suffragette, which was perfect as this year marked the 100 year anniversary of women getting the right to vote, Emma was a construction worker, inspired by the road work that happened this year in front of our house, Violet was a scientist and Opal was a black cat, inspired by her beloved Meow Meow stuffed kitty.

We only went trick or treating at the neighbors that we knew, and enjoyed the fact that our next door neighbor and her mom came with us.  We masked up, and put the candy on a three day quarantine before we let the kids dig in.  Our neighbor two doors down text me on Halloween morning, and told me that she had made up treat bags for all the neighbor kids, and that she had put them on quarantine for three days already so that our kids could have something to eat on Halloween night.  I teared up when I got her text, as that was so super thoughtful, and that simple deed really made our night.  My kids favorite part of Halloween is sorting their candy after trick or treating, and the fact that this woman thought of a way to safely let that still happen, meant more to me than I can say.  Our kids also lucked out in the fact that although we didn't go to many houses, all of the neighbors dumped crazy amounts of candy into my kids bags.  When we got home and quarantined most of the candy, we had a late dinner and a Halloween movie night with the kids.  It was a great evening, despite COVID revising our plans this year.  Plus, while we were out trick or treating we had the good fortune of watching the full moon rise over our neighborhood.  Memories were made, for sure!

I am still working on the launch of my new business, and spent October finalizing fabric, my logo, jewelry designs and testing out tea recipes.  The manufacturer that I am working with for my tea told me this past month that the main ingredient I chose for my first tea flavor is a no-go as it jammed up his machine too much.  He agreed to stick to our business agreement and run this first batch, but swore on his life that he would never run it again.  I decided to go back to the drawing board, and have since (two months later) found a way to get the ingredient that I want processed in a better way.  My manufacturer is also on board, but the ingredient is on backorder (thanks COVID) so we will hopefully be able to get started in the new year.  It is interesting the different delays and challenges that have been presenting themselves while I try to roll out this business.  I have to say though, that I am trying to keep an open mind, and I have a new mantra that I have been repeating to myself: One step at a time, there is no deadline.  Which is so true - as much as I am so excited to launch this business, there is no deadline.  This is coming from my heart and no one is forcing me to do anything.  So why rush it?  I am really trying to enjoy the process, and to see how the details always get worked out on their own, perfect timeline.

I was hoping for a fall launch to this business to be able to take advantage of the holiday shopping season, but now I am hoping for a spring launch.  It's great to have goals, but it is also great to be the one in charge at the end of the day so that when things go wrong or take a sudden plot twist, I have no one breathing down my neck and can repeat to myself, "One step at a time, there is no deadline!"  

Opal and Problematic Pants at 31 Months

If I had to sum up September with Opal, it would be entitled "Problematic Pants".  Opal absolutely hates pants we found out this past month.  It seems she got used to the easy, breezy days of summer where her legs were free from the restrictions of material.  Once the thermometer dipped below 60 degrees, as any good parent, I wanted my toddler to not catch a cold while playing outside.

Thank God for our quarantine type schedule as we power through this "Problematic Pants" phase, as mostly I do not have the energy to leave the house if it means I need to fight the battle for pants.  We have even made up a song about how much Opal hates pants, to the tune of BINGO, in an effort to help Opal work through her strong feelings about pants.  And, in case you are wondering, for the most part I let her go outside sans pants, despite cold temperatures, in the hopes that she would get chilled and ask for the warmth that pants would provide.  Nope.  Nope.  And nope.  She could be shivering with blue lips, but NO PANTS!!!

So we spent a lot of time indoors, while I felt like a bad parent for not having the energy to deal with the pants drama, and then had guilt iced on top of that because I knew that despite the weather now requiring pants, that this weather was still good weather and that soon enough it would be winter and I was missing the best fall days of the year.

I know her extreme feelings about pants is hard to believe, based on the cuteness she presents below.

I think it's only fair to mention what Opal loves right now, to balance out all of the hate she has for pants.  She loves cutting paper with scissors, she loves playing with her sisters, and she loves taking showers.

She also loves chocolate and making banana bread with me.  She is stellar at greasing the baking pan and mushing the bananas.  

She also loves eating anything that Will or I are eating.  I am still on a careful, low histamine diet, and so a lot of times I am eating a previously prepared meal from my freezer while she and the rest of the family enjoy something that is high in histamine.  My food is always more appealing to her though, and I still haven't learned to freeze my food into bigger portions as inevitably, I will have to share what I thought would be a single serving with my toddler.  The good news is, I feel like she is a true foodie, as she is not afraid to try new foods (my first kid with no fear about trying new food) and she takes a moment as she chews back and forth to decide whether she likes it or not, like a judge in a top chef contest.  She has no problem spitting it out and taking a drink of water if she doesn't like the food, but when she does like the food, she is so very excited!  It is adorable to watch.  

This girl knows what she wants, knows what she likes, and knows what she will not tolerate.  I know this will serve her well in the future, but in the meantime, send prayers my way.  At least she is cute and I love my feisty, spirited and confident girl!

The Funny and Sweet of September

For some reason, it seems like the summer went extra fast this year.  Fortunately, we still had a lot of summer days left, despite the turning of the calendar.  Will's brother rented a house at the lake on Labor Day Weekend, and so we made a day trip to see him.

This was a perfect way to catch up with family that we hadn't seen since before the lockdown and to create memories to get us through until the next time we can see each other again.

Will's brother's partner brought tie dye for us all to do, and in true pandemic style, we even tie dyed face masks.

One of the most memorable parts of this lovely day trip, was the spider that hitched a ride for the ride home.  I was driving and we were almost home.  It was dark and all of a sudden all four girls started screaming at the top of their lungs.  Will started yelling to pull over, and it took way too long before I safely could.  Come to find out, there was a giant spider on the ceiling of the car, and as Will reached back to kill the spider, it fell to the floor right by Violet's feet.  We drove home with the lights on, and no one, I mean no one, could forget that there was a giant spider MIA in our car.  To this day, we have not found the spider.  I don't dare bring it up to the kids, but every once in a while, one of them will ask me if I think it is living on all of the food crumbs rolling around on the floor of our car.

 

Lucy took the below photo of a tall and beautiful tree along the shore of the lake.  I took a photo of Lucy taking the photo of the tree.  I love how her eye catches artistic shots everywhere she goes.  Sometimes she is even lucky enough to have her camera with her!  When she doesn't have her camera, she is often heard saying, "Darn, I wish I had my camera with me!  Look at that great shot!"

Some portraits by Lucy below...

And some scenery and landscape photos below by Lucy...

I love that I am no longer the only one documenting the family and our memories together.  Below are even more photos by Lucy...

I also love that Lucy has found a way to enhance an activity that we have been doing for years - walking, hiking, and appreciating the beauty of nature.  Now she is documenting it, which makes the nature that we discover even more miraculous.  Here are more of her photos below...

The day after our time at the lake, we got the girls ready for an outdoor dance recital.  This was the reschedule from their usual June recital but due to COVID, this is how the studio made it work.  It was parents and siblings only for the audience, and we all positioned our lawn chairs six feet apart.  It was so good to catch up with the other families, as we hadn't seen each other since the lockdown in March.  It was bittersweet, as due to COVID, Will and I have decided to take a break from any indoor activities until the pandemic is past.  It felt strange to start September without dance classes, but we are hoping to be back in the studio next year sometime.  

Will had a stressful August and beginning of September as he readied his high school to be safe for kids to learn in person.  He also had to enroll students in an online school as well, and the logistics were mind-blowing.  Add to that, his school was under major renovations this past summer, and were running behind schedule.  They ended up getting special approval from the school board to start school a week late, but leading up to that point, Will was under a lot of pressure.  I'd like to say, typing this now (a few months later) that all of his and his staff's hard work paid off, because once in-person learning began, it ran quite smoothly.  Fortunately, once everything was in place, we were able to sneak up north for one last hurrah in our favorite place.  Here we are below, decompressing.

This is our eighth trip to this particular spot up north, and we are still discovering new adventures.  Here we are below on a new to us hike, that is now in our top three for this area.

We also discovered a boardwalk trail through marshland that was a wonderful experience as well.

The day that we arrived up north, we hit the beach as soon as we were unpacked.  It's a good thing we did, because every day after that the waves were too high, the current too strong and the weather too cold for swimming.  The swimming was borderline all of the above "too" even still, so Emma and I opted to enjoy the view from the beach and watch the rest of our family freeze. 

The weather was not great when we were up north, and it felt like our favorite place was helping us let go of summer and finally accept that winter was coming.

The kids found a new playground on this trip, and Opal had to be bribed to leave when it started to rain, as precipitation was not enough to change her level of love for this place...

The kids watched a lot of movies, and Will and I wondered several times if we should head home early because the rain and cold made doing most of the things we love up north impossible and the kids in the small space of the cottage were driving us crazy.  

I am glad that we soldiered through, and our final day there we grabbed umbrellas and didn't let the rain or the cold stop us from being outside.

We arrived home, more mentally prepared for the end of summer and ready to embrace all things fall, including homeschool for the girls.  In the photos above, from top left in clockwise order: Lucy reading me a weather report she made for geography, Emma showing me what she is learning in Geography, Lucy's vocab word of the week with an adorable little guy that she drew to illustrate it, Violet giving Opal a back massage on a world map, all four girls standing by the lovely flowers at our library, and finally, the girls sitting outside the library.  In September, we were able to go into the library, and the girls absolutely loved having this freedom.  

We started up the fall baking and harvesting from our garden - both vegetable and flower.  The top, right hand photo above is not a haul from our garden, but the generous sharing of a coworker of Will's abundant farm co-op she is a part of.  In the bottom, left hand photo above, I am holding seeds from our pollinator garden. We have so many native plant seeds from our flower garden, more than our little strip of mini-meadow could ever sustain, so I want to come up with a way to help get these seeds into the hands of other local gardeners.  Here my girls are below, playing in the backyard.  They made an adorable little fort on the side of our house, and even convinced us to eat dinner out in it one night.

A dear friend of mine got married this past month, and due to COVID, ended up moving her wedding from a planned golf course to her backyard.  It was absolutely lovely and so personal as well.  It felt so sad to not be able to hug her though, as we all maintained our social distancing.

Other COVID friendly outings included a fairytale themed garden tour with our favorite flower arrangement being a magic carpet made entirely out of flowers, takeout pizza at the park before a hike, and meeting my brother at the farmer's market.  The sisters played as the best of friends and the worst of friends, but I only ever take photos of the best of friends - unless their fighting makes me laugh, which it rarely does.  So here they are below, being sweet together.  We also noticed this past month who baby Emma looks like.  See bottom, right hand picture below to see if you can see the resemblance as well.  And don't worry, Emma gave me her reluctant blessing to post this.  Like I said, funny or sweet, those are the requirements.

September was a busy month as we soaked up all the outdoor times we could. I couldn't help but feel a  creeping dread for the coming winter though.  With the sun out, and mild temperatures, COVID safety wasn't bad at all.  I enjoyed how COVID has caused us to be outside more, and to find creative ways to safely socialize with our friends and family.  I know that things are never as bad as I fear them to be, so I am hoping that this winter we find ways to stay connected and healthy despite the cooling temperatures and lack of sun.

Opal at 30 Months

Opal is growing up so fast.  She is officially potty trained and proudly donated her left over diapers to our local diaper bank, to be sent families in need.  She also has mastered the art of cutting with scissors all on her own, and enjoys swinging in a big kid swing.

She goes up and down her slide all by herself, and tells us long stories, both made up and real.  She loves to make us laugh, and does not play on her own without completely destroying the house.  The other night I was brushing my teeth while reading something on my phone when I received a FaceTime request from Opal.  See bottom, middle photo below.  She loves playing with her sisters, and her mood decides which sister she wants to play with.

Opal enjoys drinking tea with Lucy, Violet and I.  Emma is not a big tea fan, but she is a big fan of Opal and is the sister that is constantly oohing and ahhhing over Opal's cuteness.  Emma is known for saying, "I love Opal's chubby cheeks and her little noodle toes!"  At which point Opal will tell her, "Space please Emma!"  Which is an improvement over Opal just smacking Emma when Emma is overcome by Opal's cuteness.

Opal is adjusting to Will being back at work.  The other day she woke up and as usual, the first thing out of her mouth was, "Where is daddy?"

Opal: Daddy workin' today?

Me: Yes, he's working.

Opal: I like it when Daddy's workin'.

Me: You do?

Opal: Yes.  I like when Daddy is workin' because I like it when he comes back!

Here Opal is below, after she fell off of a stool in the kitchen when I was on the phone with a friend.  Would you believe that the blood smeared on the wall, my legs and the floor was not from her fall, but from a mosquito bite scab she had picked open BEFORE she fell off of the stool?  That would have been nice to know when I ran into the kitchen and saw blood everywhere with her crying on the floor!  I think I about gave my friend a heart attack too, especially when after my friend heard my freak out about the blood everywhere and heard Opal's screaming, and then she heard me laughing hysterically.  What a relief when I discovered the source of the blood was not from a head wound but a mosquito bite!  

Opal, there is no doubt that you are a full time job.  You keep us on our toes constantly, and reward us with your hugs, kisses, and humor.  We love you Opal!