Her Room

We had a family afternoon of rearranging this little girl's room last week and I have to say I'm most proud of her for keeping it tidy!  I just love her room and would have had a ton of fun playing in it as a kid. 








Soon.

"Mama, I have been waiting very patiently for my baby sister to be here. When is she coming?"

Audra certainly has been waiting. This pic of her playing big sister is from 2 1/2 years ago!

"Soon" isn't the answer a 4 1/2 year old wants to hear.  "Soon" feels like an eternity to her...and to be honest...with the way I feel today...feels like an eternity to me too.

Only 5 1/2 weeks to go. Just a bit longer, Audra. We can do this!




Randoms

Of the last 24 hours:

Con: I feel like I've been hit by a truck.

Pro: I have PLENTY of company...these four.

Con: While all the pets sleep, I certainly have not done much sleeping!

Pro: We had a reinterview to continue our status as Fresh Air Volunteers...so that means my house is much cleaner today than it was yesterday. I wouldn't have cleaned had we not had company, so having a cleaner house feels like a win.

Con: Muddy footprints keep coming in the house.

Pro: The goats looked so cheerful out there enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. The kids were running around without coats. We opened our windows. Felt like spring!

Con: Our sunporch got SO hot that it was unbearable!

Pro: Early to bed for kids tonight might mean I'll have a little steam left to iron the quilt that needs pressing.

Con: We're back to playing the 'we ate all the food, but I don't want to go to the grocery store' game.

Pro: Freezer to the rescue tonight with spinach dip with frozen cream cheese from when I was milking the cow, loaded smashed homegrown potatoes with homegrown fresh scallions, hot dogs and homemade brownie pudding. It felt like a summer treat meal!

Con: I'm thinking whatever illness I have will be lingering.

Pro: Tomorrow is one of 2 days off a month my husband and I have together.  I think I'll send him off with the kids so I can get a little R&R.

Be well, folks!

Thrifted.

Two twin sized wool blankets, wooden tray, three baby girl nightgowns (squee!!).  $7.85.  Plus, the kids each picked a pencil from the nickel pencil jar....they wanted their pencils in the picture too! Given most wool blankets are $100-$200 a piece, it's a definite score!

February Thaw, Mud and Goats

Maine throws just about any weather at us, apparently.  Another thaw. Still plenty of snow though!




Paperwork

She's got her baby and she's playing office in the perfect sunny place.

 Paperwork never looked so good.

Winter in Maine

I was going through my pics from the last couple of weeks. My!  What an assortment of days we have had!

From the beginning of a thaw, no coats required....
 To so frigid and windy, but hardly any snow...

 To a fresh few inches...
 To another foot and a half....
 To the calm between the storms...and a little snowshoeing in between....
 To adding so much more snow that our snowbanks are ginormous.
And now we're getting more of a thaw and my littles reportedly had a great time snowshoeing with their dad while I was at work today.

This winter certainly has had it all!

Bag Challenge: #4


My reusable bags are a mismatch medley, which I'm working on replacing with ones that "spark joy". Inspired by The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and how she talks about keeping things that spark joy.

My goal before the baby is born is to replace as many random reusable bags as possible with some handmade ones. The baby is due April 7th and I'm hoping to make a bag a week.  Perhaps by the time my little ones is born, I can pass on my random re-usable bags and have quite a collection of handmade re-usable bags.   

Bag 1 here.


Bag 4:
(And who is with me this week?  Make a bag along with me! Post yours and I'll share.)

Nothing to eat ---> Yum

I'm queen of playing the 'pantry/freezer game'.  You know, the bare bones, nothing to eat, must get to the grocery store, but (insert whine) "I don't want to go" game.  The game that sounds more fun than it is. 

While I never approach these challenges with enthusiasm, sometimes the results are better than expected!  I frequently will make dry beans or pasta in bulk and then toss the cooked versions in the freezer for times like these (white beans and elbows this time).  I almost always have an onion, stalk of celery, and a carrot or two in the fridge. I have a never ending stash of kale and herbs that I dried.  I have an equally never ending stash of green beans that I froze, plus lots of homemade broth.  Plus I found a package of bacon buried in the freezer.

And with that, I made a soup that my kids claim is the "Best Soup Ever". 

 In my freezer digging, I also found some Maine cranberries I froze and frozen homemade butter. Plus we always have eggs.  Cranberry bread to go with the soup.  It felt like feasting. And to think, I thought there was 'Nothing to eat'.
    Who else plays games like these? I can't be alone! 

(More) Snow

These pics are from the last storm, but they weren't posted yesterday as planned because the storm wiped out our internet.  We didn't lose power though, so all is well. We got something like 3-4 feet of snow in 9 days... or something crazy like that. It's mighty beautiful out there.






 Country roads...


Mama Made: Oven Mitts

When you have oven mitts that are ready to be retired and you strike out when looking for ones that "spark joy", you make a set.

I know, I've been posting a TON of sewing lately, trying to squeeze in as much sewing as possible before the baby!

A bit of thrifted vintage fabric, cost is next to nothing, the project hardly took anytime at all and I'm *much* happier with these than any I saw at the stores.  Win!




Bag Challenge #3

My reusable bags are a mismatch medley, which I'm working on replacing with ones that "spark joy". Inspired by The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and how she talks about keeping things that spark joy.

My goal before the baby is born is to replace as many random reusable bags as possible with some handmade ones. The baby is due April 7th and I'm hoping to make a bag a week.  Perhaps by the time my little ones is born, I can pass on my random re-usable bags and have quite a collection of handmade re-usable bags.   

Bag 1 here.

And here is Bag #3

Vintage thrifted fabric. The hand stitched piece I bought for next to nothing at the thrift store a while back. I bought two, so another bag with a little girl will be coming up.  I'm loving this project and having reusable bags that are more "me". 

Blizzard

I spent waaaay too much of my energy shoveling this morning, I just didn't have the umph to go out there and take more pictures. But we have a lot of snow. Feet of snow. Over 3 feet total probably, with drifts taller than me. 

 I can usually walk out and see our swingset. Or I can see it from my kitchen window.  Not anymore. Can you spy it below?
 My kids have been enjoying saucering down the snowbanks...and waving at the plow guy....who beeps his horn back.
 A bit more than a dusting, more snow predicted to come this week.  Fine time for the snowblower to be broken. Oh well, we manage (thanks for shoveling Justin!).
 Next up, Valentine's day.  My tradition: a book or two, a chocolate and a love note are all waiting at the table for my crew. Happy Valentines to you too, friends!

Mama Made: Pajama Pants

"Mama, you know what stinks? Audra always has more mama made pajamas than me because she always gets my hand me downs. I only have one choice of homemades and she always has her new ones and my old ones to choose from."

The next morning he awoke to a fresh pair of flannel pajama pants hanging from his dresser. Made his day.

Cherishing these days when the best give ever is something I made for him.



Yum.

Our newest obsession:

 I think this is our all time fave jam. I froze our rhubarb from last summer and used the store bought triple berry frozen berries(raspberries, blueberries and black raspberries) to make jam. The before and after...on the woodstove, nevertheless!  Never made jam on the woodstove before! It seriously is the best jam I've ever tasted.
 This one loved it so much that she decided to write the recipe down.  Now, if I could just read her 'shorthand'...

"Missing"

When someone goes missing and I realize that a certain someone is missing, my mind goes into panic mode.  Not my first circus. 

But this time, when I found her, all my worries washed away. 

Little Miss set the table, complete with water in my "I Love Mom" mug, some water in a wine glass for her dad and milk for the kids.

Phew!  Loving this new and improved outcome of going "missing'. Hope it sticks!
 

Nor' Easter

Good old foot of snow coming down as I type.  My windowsill looks like spring, but I can hardly see the swingset through the window  (it's in between the scallions and daffodils) because it's definitely winter out there. Kids are loving it.  No matter how hard they try, they won't be convincing me to do snow angels with them.  Might not get back up! For those who have to travel, stay safe and my prayers are with you!





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