homestead update

life around here has been pretty wet lately. i've been kicking myself over not having our rain water collection system in place. our summers are very dry...argh!!! because of our backyard chickens our backyard has been plucked of all grass and has created a giant mud pit. which has been lots of fun for the kids. they have been out there daily taking mud baths and loving life! our shower is never going to be the same!

our dry days have been lovely and full of outdoor work. john has built our raised beds. we made them extra long and skinny this time, but we are still able to practice the square foot method (the beds are 2 ft x 10 ft). i have planted tomatoes (6 seedlings from the farm and 4 varieties from seed), 4 varieties of eggplant, 2 varieties of bush beans (elvie and ozark razorback) with carrots around the perimeters. we have scheduled to build our bean pole teepee soon for the kids out of some bamboo we harvested from a nearby lot. that was an adventure- 1 mama, 2 kids, 5 poles of bamboo = a recipe for success!


in this pic you can see our 2 raised beds, the bed on the outside of the fence is planted in texas natives. we are adding as we find good deals on plants, or find plants we can take cuttings from to root. these will extend to the mailbox. on the opposite side of the fence i'm putting in an annuals flower bed to attract pollinators. up under the tree i have my herb bed planted with oregano, basil, calendula, bee balm, poppies, chamomile and across the path, lavender. in front of the house we have some low water flowering bushes and nasturtium coming up on screens. the large bed on the right is our strawberry patch. i think we've done 'ok' for our first year. i hear they're better every year, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

here is the amazing living area john built for us a few weekends ago out of reclaimed deck wood! i love it! he built the screen to grow my cucumbers up. buddy is crazy about pickles so we are planting 2 varieties of pickling cucumbers this year. this will also cover the attractive phone box in the front yard. when we moved here this whole area was covered in giant bushes. not pretty...

the chickens are as ridiculous as ever. they are roosting in the tree, in obvious need of a wing clipping.

however they are laying lovely, colorful eggs, about 6 a day.

there is also lots of baby wearing going on around here.

baby wearing...

and baby licking...

it's all how you look at it

what an adventure we had today! we were set to leave the house to go buy new mud boots for moonpie. we have been having massive rains of late and the flip-flops in the puddles don't mix well for us (we seem to lose them mid-puddle and mama has to step in to save the day, err, the flip-flop). so we were on the porch, i had locked the door from the inside and left it open so i could see to the cat and then grab my keys. uh-huh, not the best plan when your fellow adventures are 2 and 5. so, you guessed it, buddy shut the door and we were officially locked out. i made a quick attempt to find a neighbor but all were out. and then it hits me, we can walk to the church to find john. not too far of a walk and PLENTY of puddles in between. i love the world after a good rain. everything glistens and the same things we see everyday are transformed into small ponds and rivers! we stomped through puddles and found new flowers. we watched the birds skitter about and sailed leaf boats down the street. it was lovely and other worldly, until we had to cross the street. with buddy in my arms and moonpie at my hip we set across one of the busiest intersections in town (i should add that our town is sorely lacking in appropriate pedestrian aids- no lights, hardly a crosswalk, and NOBODY slows down for a walker-even with kids). we reached the corner and then SPLASH- were soaked by a SUV barreling down the road. remembering that i set the tone, i squealed with the kids and we laughed and laughed. and then, the rain started. and you would think that rain + mom + young kids = cars stopping to let you cross. ha! we stood on the corner waiting for cars to pass in pouring rain. and again, we attempted joy at this situation. because i mean really, what else are you going to do? let it ruin the day?
we arrived at john's office wet, really wet! but laughing. buddy said "let's tell daddy the whole story". turns out his favorite part was getting splashed by the car- big surprise!
when we got home, we found that the panty fairy had visited! the kids had a box of new undies on the porch sent from my step-mom- perfect seeing as we had to strip down on the porch!
that's how life is, right? setting out to do something and when it doesn't work out, being able to roll with the everyday adventures.

favorite book friday

for the mama:

Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching Heather Ross

this book has been receiving lots of praise on various blogs so i was eager to check it out for myself. picture with me if you will one hour alone with your husband, climbing the steps of the largest independent bookstore in texas, a stack of books tucked under your arm. weekend sewing was just one amongst many in that stack. but truly, it was the only one that had enough interesting projects in it to make me want to buy it. i am notoriously cheap and therefore have never bought a sewing pattern book. but this one is worth it! it is the next step i needed in my sewing. i am for sure at a point where i need some instruction and this book has it. everything from knowing how to choose the right fabrics for a project to how to 'true' the fabric once you go to use it. the small tips on each project are hugely helpful to me.

i am eager to start my first project- a shirt for my little buddy. and then on to something for myself- a dress? perhaps a shirt? let's be honest- it's gonna be those pajama pants!

for the kids:

we checked this little book out from the library based on the cover alone. i am always on the search for good books with a boy as the lead character. and this one is great. the focus is really on the boat and its adventures, but you learn on the first page of the cleverness of the boy- he has built the boat himself out of found materials (a favorite theme around here!) and loves his little creation. after the boat is accidently set free the boy waits for him on the shore until his eventual return. sweet book- or as buddy says 'petty tool' (that's 'pretty cool' for those of you that don't speak buddy).

why d.i.y.?

my husband and i are definitely do-it-yourselfers. if we see something we want we first think about how we can create it ourselves. if it is out of the question we move on to how we can maybe get it used.


i love that we are raising up little d.i.y.ers too! the other day moonpie and i were admiring an item in a friends house and her response was 'let's make one just like it!'. you better believe that my heart jumped a just a little at those words!


sometimes (ok, most of the time) i can get introspective. i look at the things i do and enjoy and examine why i do them. what my motives are. and yesterday i was thinking on this, d.i.y. projects. what it comes down to for me is the idea of connection. grinding my own wheat to make my bread, knitting a little hat for a new baby in my life, making a dress for my moonpie...all about connecting with the people i love, people from my past, connecting with my present. doing things myself helps me stay focused on my present, and i like that. i need that. and of course there are other reasons we d.i.y. we really enjoy hard work. we enjoy learning. we enjoy working with our hands. we enjoy the feeling of accomplishment.



sometimes, when crafting for others, you have to really be comfortable in the accomplishment factor. because sometimes, the recipient isn't too impressed. enter- moonpie's blue bird dress:





moonpie: oh it's really pretty! thank you momma!

me: great! go put it on for church.

moonpie: umm...i was thinking of wearing something a little fancier for church.

me: but it IS fancy! look at the ribbon!

moonpie: i love it! but i was thinking of something a little fancier. you know, with puffy sleeves.

me: right, i don't know how to make sleeves. look at the knots! and the fabric! and look- i put a ruffle on the bottom and a little layer of rick-rack!

moonpie: oh yeah! it's really pretty! but, i was thinking of something fancier...

me: go put the dress on...now...

and she comes back 5 minutes later, dress on, accessorized with mardi-gras beads.

moonpie: now THIS is fancy!


if you'd like to make one like, you can find the very easy to use tutorial here. trust me- if i can do it, than you can too!

love letters

when moonpie was a newborn i was so full of emotion and love. i remember when she was a few days old i wept because i knew that one day, someone would hurt her feelings. and she was so tiny and mushy, and i knew that she couldn't really understand the depths of my feelings for her. i mean, to be honest, i didn't really understand them either. so when she was 6 days old i started a journal for her. in the early days it was full of poetry inspired by her fluffy skin and feather like hair. the way her entirety could fit across my chest. and as she grew the love letters continued but were accompanied by her milestones, things she would do that would make us laugh and smile. when buddy was born i started on his journal immediately. with two children two and under, it was hard for me to take the time i wanted to take and just bask in his loveliness. his journal was such a gift to me- a time when i could sit and really think on what he meant to me and our family.

as each child has grown i have continued to write in their journals. some days it's just a 'quote of the day' type entry, but other days it's a full on love letter. i find myself jotting down pieces of parental advice as well, in hopes that they can turn to it when they are parents. not real specifics or 'how to', but more about the driving force behind decisions. the fierce love that leads a parent to do what they do. what i do.

i have been reading some older entries to moonpie lately. she loves to hear about the funny stories of her baby days- those stories that all add up to make her who she is. and i hope that she keeps turning back to her journal. that they both will. maybe when they are confused about who they are. maybe when they feel lonely. or maybe when they just miss their mama. whatever their reasoning, i hope that one thing comes across every time they turn through the pages of their history-

that they are deeply

deeply

loved.

favorite book friday

i am so excited to share with you my most favorite book of all time (or at least it has been for the past couple of months- there are too many great ones to choose just one ). pelle's new suit written by the amazing elsa beskow, is the pinnacle of books for spring. it tells of a little boy named pelle (pronounced like bella) that is in need of a new suit. the story follows him as he sheers his sheep and goes through the process of making his new suit. as in all beskow books, i love how gentle this story is and how empowering it is for the child reader. pelle is imaginative. he is a hard worker. he is respectful. he sets his mind to a task and accomplishes it (with the help of some loving adults).

this book is a treasure!

need

we have been loving this mild weather. we are out the door in the morning, in to make lunch, back out to eat lunch, and there we stay until i notice that it's getting little dark. of course, i'm in and out to do laundry, clean up dishes, sweep, but for the most part we are outside together- and i love that.

i see in my children their absolute need to be in the outdoors. when they are in for too long they get cranky. their little feet were created to walk through grass, their little hands to create from the earth.

my wind 'charm', made by moonpie

i am in the process of putting together a field basket for our family. in it i will place sketch pads, pencils, binoculars, jars (for collecting), field guides (birds and trees) and probably some sting ointment (buddy loves ants). i have all the stuff, just looking for a small picnic basket to keep it in. i have the spot ready by the front door, just waiting to be filled. i cannot wait to take our journals out and fill them with the beauty we see all around us.

the one with all the pictures

oh man...i'm behind in blogging...where to begin? oh- i know- just jam all the info into one mega-post!


day out with thomas



he's the cheeky one











a couple of weeks ago we headed up to grapevine, tx to spend a day out with thomas. and i know, with all the anti-consumerism i spew out around here, it may be a surprise that we'd fork out the funds to hang out with thomas and his friends- but- confession time- i love thomas! i love the open ended play my children experience with their tracks and engines. we had a wonderful day together!



day out with jack













the only thing that could trump our day out with thomas was the next day when we got to spend the day with our nephew jack. is he not the most precious? this baby is so special to me. i had the honor of being there when he was born and watching (via the internet) him grow over the last couple of months. this was the first time john and the kids got to meet him. don't you just love that shot with jack and his buddy? oh man, it melts my heart...




easter

this is the first time i have been really proud of something that i've made for moonpie. that little dress was pretty simple and the fabric is too cute! she of course deemed it 'not fancy enough' and added her bead necklaces. ah yes, now that's the fanciness we were looking for!

every year we celebrate easter with our good friends the deerings. they throw an all out easter extravaganza! there's egg decorating, egg toss, sack races, easter hat contest, egg baseball, major egg hunt, and worship. it is so much fun, and we all look forward to it!

with all this action, we've also had plenty of time to just hang out in the beauty of spring. i mean we are outside. all. day. i can't get enough of it. or of this girl:

doll play

moonpie has never been very interested in dolls. as a matter of fact, the last time i tried to get her to play 'house' with me, she left the baby with me to babysit and went to a ball (dressed like a princess-surprise!). i believe that doll play is beneficial for children, both boys and girls. it gives kids a chance to care for something, to mimic the kind of parent love they see at home. buddy has a little doll that he likes to push in his dump truck, and moonpie prefers to care for her stuffed animals (or even better, her REAL chickens). so the other day when moonpie asked for a baby doll, i was shocked. she has been earning money lately and asked if she could use her money to buy a baby doll. be still my heart- she wants to pretend like she's a momma! so the search begins.

my idea:

a beautiful handmade doll from joy's waldorf dolls .


moonpie's idea:

bitty baby by american girl. don't get me wrong, i like the books and think the company offers a wholesome product. but we're aiming for petroleum free toys around here.

hmmm...here's our compromise:

Keptin-Jr. Baby Doll

here's what the company has to say about suzie pink: Suzie Pink is made of phthalate-free vinyl. The vinyl has a pleasant baby powder scent. Suzie's torso is covered with organic cotton and stuffed with Ingeo™ fiber, a man-made biodegradable fiber derived from corn, not petroleum. So you get the best of both worlds: her hands, head and legs are easy to wipe clean, and the soft trunk makes her huggable. The doll's hooded dress is made of organic cotton. Suzie Pink comes with her own doudou / towel doll (made of organic cotton of course!). Made in Europe.

so she's not handmade. she's not one of a kind. she has a baby powder scent (gross). but she's pthalate -free and according to moonpie 'looks real' (and comes with her own 'doudou'- hahaha!!!).

anyone out there have any experience with this doll?

favorite book friday

in honor of the beautiful spring weather we are having around here, i have chosen miss rumphius by barbara cooney for today's favorite book friday.

as a little girl, alice rumphius is instructed that whatever she chooses to do in life, she should really only aim for one goal- to make the world a more beautiful place. there is much wondering about what makes a person successful, and this is the message i want my children to hear. that a successful person makes the world more beautiful. period. what a lovely, open ended charge to give someone. making the world more beautiful is up for much personal interpretation...and i like that. around here we talk about how we can make the world more beautiful on a daily basis, the little ways- showing kindness, respecting someone's wishes (siblings, ahem), working in the garden, making bread for a friend, picking up trash...every day is a new opportunity to make the world more beautiful.