Feeling very Martha Stewart

in that homemaker kinda way, not the jailbird kinda way.

While Q napped away the afternoon hours, I decided to take the time to do a few things around the kitchen.  I made an amazing smelling loaf of banana bread for some friends who just had a baby.  It's all I can do not to tear into it!  I'm really hoping it cools quick so I can take it over before I have to abort the mission.  I also picked several carrots and some kohlrabi from the garden, cooked it up with some potatoes and pureed it with chicken for Q.  I think I made enough servings to last him until Kingdom come.  I had a couple baby food jars from the weekend my parents came to visit and decided to see if I could actually re-jar them with food.  It actually worked!
With all of that done, any takers on cleaning my kitchen?  Thought not...

I wanted to share a few pictures of Q's first visit to the pumpkin patch at the beginning of October.  It was a nice weekend and my parents were in town to enjoy the festivities.

 Yup, she's a beaut!

 Stud Muffin

 Howdy Pahd'nah

 Sooo big!

What a cute kid! (Ha ha!)

A few weeks after, still feeling the pumpkin love, we decided to carve our first family pumpkin.  By "we" I mean "I" carved the family pumpkin while Bobby tried to keep the little guy entertained :)

 Yay!  Paper to crumple!

*Notice his pumpkin carving clothes.  Man I'm a genius!

 Holy pumpkin, Batman!

(Get it, cuz there's a hole...)

 Training wheel for cruisin' babies.

For the first family Halloween we went to hang out with the cousins.  The little guy wore his get-up long enough to get a few pictures taken.  Maybe next year we'll actually go out and trick-or-treat.  This year we figured none of us really needed all that candy cuz let's be honest, it's the parents that do all the eating!

I already have more pictures to share!  I can't believe it's already the middle of Fall...or Christmas season if you're in the retail world :)

"Time's fun when you're having flies" --A Frog

So yeah, it's been so long that I had to think about my login for the blog.  I suppose if I had any secret followers, they're long gone by now (wink).

Where do I even begin?  There's been so much going on around here since the school year started!  Here are a few pictures to catch you up:

I got to babysit a couple days the two children of some church friends.  

Here's their son talking to Q.

Q got to eat frog legs for the first time.  Thanks, Diane!!  

(I've never had them, but I hear they taste like chicken.)

Baby Bear got to take a sweet walk with Papa Bear.  

Aren't they the cutest boys you've ever seen?

Q learned how to fold laundry.  And by "fold" I mean eat.

Q got a "new" toy (in the background) and he turned 8 months!!  He's holding his 8mo sign :)

(And...he's turning 9 mo here pretty soon.  Holy Cow!)

Thanks to the new toy, he's learning how to pull himself up onto his knees.  He's quite desperate to stand on his own.  I'm not sure if I'm ready for that juuuust yet!  Lately he's been a roly poly in more ways than one.  My little squishy pudge loves to get a move on.  In the last couple weeks he's been on the verge of crawling!  I know he wants to be mobile...but don't I get a say in it?? 

Granddad taught Q how to spit.  Of course, this lesson can only be taught on the tailgate of a pickup...and barefoot.  Not long after that his first tooth starting coming in (Q's, not Granddad's).  Coincidence??

And Q got some luvin' from Granny D.  I think he likes her best :)

So as you can see it's been a busy time.  I have a mild fascination with people who are able to keep their houses spic and span.  I was always interested in how they could do that before I had Q.  Now, I'm even more intrigued!!  I am most definitely treading water when it comes to housekeeping...which is a fitting  analogy because I can't tread water.  I have decided that when I look back on my life, housekeeping will be the last thing on my list I wish I was better at!

I've enjoyed rockin' along these last few months.  I can't believe fall is here!!  We still have a few stragglers in our garden.  I've picked some ginormous carrots (yup, got real busy and forgot they were out there!) and some kohlrabi.  I'm hoping today to make some juice out of them.  Store bought carrot juice ain't got nothin' on mine!

Somebody's up from their nap...guess I'm off to play!

Don't sweat the petty things...

And don't pet the sweaty things -George Carlin

I've been really busy since I last blogged...doing this and that.  Don't worry, I'll catch you up (with some pics) on what I've been doing.  I really wanted to write today about grace and forgiveness - something that's been on my mind for a while.  Recently I've been allowing myself a considerable amount of misery over something petty.  For some reason, the more I try not to think about it the bigger it gets.  The bigger it gets, the more miserable I get.  I realize what I'm upset about in the whole scheme of things shouldn't be a big deal.  There are people in this world dealing with much bigger monsters than mine.  Yet this imaginary monster under the bed is just that - more in my head than a reality, I'm sure.

I just checked out "Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt" by Beth Hoffman from the library.  (Definitely a recommended read!  It's her first novel and a very cute story so far.) I ran across a passage yesterday that stopped me in my tracks...firstly from the humor and secondly because of the message. It's funny how when you have something on your mind, you run into things like this.  (Or maybe that's God saying, "Hey, wake up!!")
         Mrs. Odell once told me that forgiveness had a whole lot more to do with the 
         person doing the forgiving than it did with the person in need of forgiveness.  
         She said holding on to hurt and anger made about as much sense as hitting your
         head with a hammer and expecting the other person to get a headache.


So here I am with the headache and mush in the pit of my stomach.  I always told my students they were in control of their emotions.  How easily said :)  I believe when we ask God for certain things, then we are given opportunities to work towards those things.  I don't believe the God as Santa theory.  So when I ask God to help me be more forgiving, I'm given chances to practice forgiveness...even for petty things.

Marco...

Polo!

Is this for real?!?!  Since I’m not a strong swimmer I was looking up activities I could do with my son in the pool in the hopes that he will continue his love of the water. (Bathtime is hilarious in our house! When he gets going, he gets a “kick” out of splashing water from the toddler tub across the bathroom.)  I also wanted to see what safety rules I needed to be following.  In my research online, I came across this picture:  

All I have to say is, “Really?!”. 

http://hubpages.com/hub/Tips-for-Swimming-with-Your-Baby

There’s even a YouTube video of a baby in one of these things.  (Listen to the music in the background!  The whole thing is super creepy to me.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uSVji0cHyo&feature=player_embedded#!

(I must say I do think the nekedy baby bottoms are waaaay too cute!)

While I will NOT be going anywhere near one of these things, Q and I have had fun in the water.  In the few times I’ve taken him to the pool, I’m amazed at the progress.  Today he was really interested in some older boys playing and was doing really well turning himself around to see them.  So far we’re working on kicking (super cute!), floating on his back and immersion (scary for Momma!!). 

Taking him to the pool is a fabulous way to get both of us ready for a nap :) 

crunchy granola

When Q was maybe a day old, a nurse at the hospital called my husband and me "crunchy granola."  I figured out what she meant since it was in the same conversation as us using cloth diapers.  I'd never heard that term before and wasn't sure if it was derogatory.  It's recently been implied again that I'm crunchy.  Hmmm...okay!  I never thought of myself that way as I can list off 20 other people who are more natural than me and 100 more ways that I should be a better steward of the environment and our resources (as I sip my Sonic coke).  But you know, I will definitely stand a little taller if you call me crunchy :)

I promised info on the cloth...so here goes!!

I use Fuzzibunz's one size- this is the type that you can change the sizes as the baby grows and you don't have to keep buying new diapers. Their website is fuzzibunz.com. I bought my diapers from the website, but use Happybottomus in downtown LS for supplies. These diapers have an insert that fits in between the cloth part that is next to the baby and the outer "plastic" part. It's a little different than Bumgenius - which is also a very popular diaper carried at Happybottomus. With the BG, you can reuse the outside and replace the insert (but I've heard from friends that the baby poo gets on the sides by the legs and they have to get another diaper anyway). Using FB, you have to get a new diaper at each changing.  I just feel Q gets cleaner this way...but that's just me. We also decided on FB because of the snap closure. Once Q gets older, he won't be able to unvelcro it and run around nekedy :)

For washing: 1) Cold rinse cycle (if you use FB, you have to take the cloth insert out of the diaper); 2) Wash in hot water with one scoop of BumGenius detergent (Happybottomus has several other detergents. This just happened to be what they had when we went to buy some.  I've heard Charlie's soap is fabulous); 3) Extra rinse in cold; 4) Dry on low heat (I tend to lay them out to dry).  Laying them out in the sun takes care of any poo staining you might be worried about.

We use the cloth overnight although I know some people choose to use disposable overnight. We stuff two inserts in and he's good to go!  As a diaper rash preventative, at night we the MagicStick by GroBaby as a diaper rash preventer and we also powder with corn starch.  (Yup, good 'ol corn starch from the kitchen is what's recommended instead of talcum powder!)

If you go cloth, make sure you DON'T use regular diaper rash cream! It will create a layer on the cloth that makes the cloth nonabsorbent. You end up having to strip the diapers.  When Q was a newborn, he got a little diaper rash a couple of times and I totally attribute it to me not washing the diapers correctly.  We've have ZERO problems with diaper rash once I got the cleaning down right.

When thinking about going cloth, I went to a diaper class at Happybottomus.  They hold one almost every Saturday and noon.  I also had some church friends invite my husband and me over for dinner and a diaper demo :)  They're who we give credit to for our use of Fuzzibunz.

Don't wake the baby

There's nothing like having a baby fall asleep in your arms.  As sleep overcomes them and they release wakefulness, they release control.  There's so much we can learn from that.  They tell you that they trust you and feel safe in your arms.  They know you're going to protect them.  They want nothing more but to feel your heartbeat as you feel theirs.  All is right in the world.  Why do we as adults forget the importance of trust and replace it with the false importance of control?  Why do we value the individual while diminishing each other...diminishing community?  Why do we obsess about the next best thing when the only best thing is right here and now?
Today for Q's nap I went through our normal routine.  Instead of immediately drifting off as he so loves to do, he lay in my arms and gazed into my eyes.  Even though I can't express it yet, I have much to learn from him.  And even though he can't say it yet, I know he loves me.    
  

homemaker attempt #1

After making the decision to stay home, I've done some research on making...well...homemade things.  One of my first attempts was to make our own detergent.  I've been using it now for a few weeks and you couldn't smell the difference, could you? (sarcasm included) It's actually worked wonderfully.  I used to teach science so you'd think I was REALLY good at reading recipes and following them to a T.  I would make a big deal about how lab procedures were like recipes and you wouldn't want to eat something made by someone who didn't follow the directions. (Here's where I insert that we NEVER eat during a lab unless it's a food lab and you've been given the go-ahead.)  Well so far it's been okay for me as the recipes aren't too in depth.  I used TipNut's recipe #4 (notice it's the easiest of them all) for my detergent.  All I needed to do was mix 1 cup of washing soda, 1 cup of borax, and two cups of grated soap.  I chose to use Fels Naptha. (Believe it or not you can find it at HyVee and Price Chopper! Nature's Pantry doesn't carry it!!) The Fels is quite odorific for about a week -- enough to knock you off your feet if you're not careful.  But it doesn't transfer to your clothes when you wash them.

I've also been making my son's baby food using this website and a book a friend lent to me, "So Easy Baby Food" (would I have it any other way?).  My most recent attempt at a healthy meal was green beans from our garden.  I'm including a picture of Q for you to see how he felt about it :) So far I've made avocado (by far the easiest), sweet potato, squash, banana and mango. The magic bullet has been an amazing tool in getting the food "Q ready."

Last night I started the process for making almond milk.  With a quick skim (get it? like "skim" milk) of the recipe, I figured it'd be easy to make.  I soaked the almonds through the night and this morning did the blending and straining through cheese cloth. (Okay another aside, but have you noticed how much cheese cloth looks like gauze?  Are they the same thing or just cousins?)  The soaking and blending were really easy, but it took me forever to strain the mix to "milk" it. I probably would've benefited from a wider mouthed pitcher.  I used the recipe from Instructables.  I will tell you that the time taken vs. amount produced almost makes me feel guilty for drinking it!  Of course I am a newbie to this and am sure I've managed to miss something.  If you find a recipe that yields more than what I did, let me know!!

I've also had several people ask me lately about the cloth diapers we're using for our son.  I will post more about that later!  I have found some neat websites on making your own "almost all-in-one" nappies.  I have yet to try them though :)

From small beginnings come great things

Having a desire to blog and knowing where to focus are two separate things.  I'm a dabbler.  I'm interested in a wide range of things but am no where near expert at any of them. I'm the type of person that gets an idea and wants to move ahead right now before I lose steam.  If I lose steam, I've lost the desire.  I'm learning to focus on the journey -- something I've always wanted to focus on -- instead of the outcome.  I always hated the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" because I'm interested in so many things and because that was so far away.  It still is. How can I possibly choose ONE thing to do for the rest of my life?  How can I limit myself like that? I recall long road trips as a child and asking, like most children do, if we were there yet and how much longer.  I didn't realize the joys of being here and now.  It's a lesson I'm still learning :)  What I want to be right now is a great mom who is interested in learning to live frugally;  who makes mistakes and learns to forgive herself; who lives for others; and who can recognize God's still small voice in the bustle of the day. 

So...here we go!