Galon and Maggie's blog

working on it

2012-01-23T15:41:00.001-05:00

Well, once again I have been tempted to believe that I too can join the hoards of people able to successfully bake homemade bread.
The problem with this is clear, Galon would tell you, due to the at least half a dozen failed attempts in the past.
But nevertheless, here it goes.
After beginning to re-read Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day I've decided at this point in my life, I have plenty of the time they say it will take for me to put some decent, wholesome goodness on our table and in the lunchboxes.
So, for now, here are the things I plan on purchasing to make it happen:

a pizza peel (large wooden or metal slab to transfer dough and loaves.)
a storage container (for the dough, which apparently gets tastier the closer it gets to the end of its two -week long shelf life.)
some fresh yeast (cause after all this excitement, it would be a bummer to start with some dud bacteria.)

that's all I need (other items, flour, water, baking stone and knife, we already have at the house. score.)

In other home warming updates, I also am planning to mix up some homemade dish washing and clothes washing detergent (two separate recipes, don't be concerned...) this weekend. Will post details on how it goes and if it works next week.
Borax, here I come!

outside

2012-01-22T11:50:00.000-05:00

Jolie waving her precious strand of grass high and proud.

A persistant visitor from next door.

Sister stare down.

See the top of her head? That receeding hairline/frizzle thing? Folks have been known to call it a mohawk. She likes it blowing in the breeze, as you can see.

Goofy 4-year-old wearing my hat, again. She insists the braided tie things are her "hair" and even wears it around inside, at the grocery store and sometimes to church. Yay.

Since the swings were wet, we decided to get out the Jeep and here you can see her driving skills being displayed.

Heavy focus, white knuckled turns and lots of reversing.

Jump for joy!

Trying to decide if the swing really is wet enough to not sit on or not.

crafty

2012-01-21T11:28:00.003-05:00

We recently spent one of the colder mornings making these suncatchers, courtesy of Family Fun magazine. It was a hit, mainly because it involved food coloring (= messy) but it was also fun for Susannah to keep checking the melting progress as the day warmed up.
Bonus: do a whole tray of colored ice cubes, hide them in the yard and get the kids to find them all before they melt. This can seriously occupy a whole half neighborhood of kids of a variety of ages for at least as long as it takes for them to begin losing feeling in their toes and fingers!

Other crafts we're slated to complete soon include a pretty doily stenciled tee and salt dough ornaments.

Here's hoping I'm brave enough to send those for her preschool classmates instead of the typical, paper/wasteful cards of nothingness. Heaven forbid I become "that mom" who makes gluten free carrot cakes and recycled crafts but yeesh, I get tired of just buying stuff to throw away later.
Recently, I realized how much plastic just goes in the garbage. I mean, yogurt containers, juice baggies, even the tupperware containers the lunch meat comes in sometimes. Usually, it goes in the trash. And I read recently that only about 5 percent of all these sorts of plastic even get recyled. To quote this lady: "single use plastic bags are used on average of 20 minutes, but they can take hundreds of years to degrade ..."
I am toying with her suggestion of phasing out all our plastic storage and serving ware, but sometimes having little ones around means having non-breakable stuff too.

As a side note, I did save all the small and medium glass jars and lids from when Susannah was eating baby food to create something with. So far we've used some for painted luminaries and I have plans to use some others to make a storage shelf for either kitchen or garage spaces.

anxiety

2012-01-09T20:48:00.001-05:00

Our beloved baby sitter's husband had to be hospitalized around New Year's Day with pneumonia. This means that while we have been worried about him and her we've also been cautiously asking when or if they'd chose to watch kids in their cozy home anytime soon.
We had a sweet family friend fill the void already by watching Jolie but the time had come to find another person, a plan B, for our dear baby girl to hang out with while we're both at work.
That's a small amount of time (barely more than 10 percent of the entire week, including the seven or eight hours of us all sleeping each night.)
We had several friends recommend folks' who keep their babies (big and little) and talked it over- found a sweet girl (20 something) with two kids of her own who watches little ones in our neighborhood.
Today was day one of dropping Jolie off there and I blabbered on about the weather and shoes and working at the paper procrastinating leaving. The woman likely thinks I'm bonkers and one of "those moms" who will call or text every five minutes.
Haven't. Yet.
And she did say she'd contact me if there were any issues or emergencies (like bleeding or something?!? what exactly is an emergency for a 10 month old baby girl who likes chewing on electrical cords and pulling up on ceramic tubs?)
Oi vey.
And, in case folks ( or I) forget, I am becoming excited about these things coming up in 2012:
1. the beginning of another college football season (sooner than later, Geaux Tigers!)
2. a presidential election? that hasn't happpened yet? I feel like we've talked about this forever.
3. Summer Olympics! In London- yay!
4. more new episodes of Parenthood. Finally...
5. getting together with friends, new and old:)

Hope your years are off to a good start with plenty of things to look forward to!

evidence

2012-01-04T18:33:00.004-05:00

Mom and Susannah at the beach.

Jolie trying hard to stand. She is doing some serious push ups

and downward facing dog sort of movements in the meantime...

One of several sandcastles of the week.

Examining Christmas stash at Uncle Evan and Aunt Katherine's home.

Says it all about how she felt finally getting to rip up all that wrapping paper-
presents were just an added bonus.

In motion at home opening more gifts.

happiness is

2012-01-02T11:38:00.004-05:00

Finally getting to open the presents that you've been getting in trouble for ripping into over the past month or so.
Spending several days in a row with extended family while at the beach and eating lots of Christmas cookies.
Being back in our cozy home and familiar beds after spending several days in a row in a variety of sleeping arrangements:)
Building sand castles in December and getting washed over by a rogue wave.
Solving the world's problems while getting some sun and relaxation on the side.
Getting caught up on all sorts of game play, Rummicub, Bananagrams and Buck Buck Moose among others.
Having homemade bread, rolls and cinnamon buns while on vacation nearly every day!
Looking forward to getting back to the gym and possibly signing up for the area annual 10K after all that good food.
Seeing our team play and beat one of our neighborhood's local schools. War Eagle!
Getting seed catalogues in the mail and dreaming of what to plant where and when (after turning the compost piles one more time before the really cold weather sets in.)
Being gifted a new pair of fancy riding gloves- and making myself get brave enough to break them in.
Looking forward to a year of travel, reunions and new adventures with friends and family!

christmastown

2011-12-23T14:08:00.002-05:00

This week we took the girls to Busch Gardens' Christmastown for the first time and had a blast. We picked up Grammy on the way after settling into Susannah's new booster seat in the car and managed to get to the park right before it opened (along with about 300 other folks.)
I'd highly recommend it for anyone within a reasonable distance- such a beautiful and fun way to really get in the Christmas mood. And while it seems pricey, you're getting a lot for the money (kiddie rides, live entertainment with or without wait times, various unique and healthyish food venues and lots and lots of decorations.)
Susannah's favorites included watching the ballerinas and seeing "the real Santa" wave to her. And she was happy to get to ride on the only pink horse on the carousel (she raced a 12 year old girl to get to it first!)
My favorites were walking through quaint "new France" and seeing the sweet Clydesdales. And the moments "real snow" was wafting through the night air, surrounded by TONS of Christmas lights. Oh, and the Starbucks and roasted nuts were great too:)
And Jolie's favorite might have been the train ride. Or the penguins. Or the mashed potatoes she ate up while watching yet another live show.

cookies

2011-12-21T15:40:00.000-05:00

Susannah helped me mix and cut white chocolate pistachio cranberry bark (mouthful!). It's not too sweet and looks great with the green and red and white touches.

I had a blast last week braving downtown historic Richmond to attend a cooking class at the sweet little Mise En Place in Shockoe Bottom. I was a bit nervous about being quizzed about my skills or tested on my techniques and I didn't know how many or who would be there.
But it was a blast.
Nearly four hours of glorious, interruption free baking with fancy tools, ovens, recipes and someone else doing the dishes! The chef (Christine) even treated us to a cup of butternut bisque and a fennel salad and plenty of wine and cider.
PLUS we got to divvy up all the stash at the end to bring home and share with loved ones. Needless to say, our stash is almost gone- happily.
I'd highly recommend hanging out there any time of the year and learning more about her tricks of the trade and recommendations.
Here is one of the two recipes that my "team" was responsible for that night.
It's lovely, but takes a bit longer to cook than the recipe says (we added an extra five minutes.)

White Chocolate coconut cookies
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup shredded coconut flakes
For garnish:
8 ounces white chocolate, melted
3/4 cup toasted, shredded coconut flakes
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, flour and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy with a hand held electric mixer. Beat in the egg. Add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Fold in the oats, vanilla extract and shredded coconut flakes.
Form walnut-sized balls of the mixture and drop 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined sheet pans. Bake in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.
When the cookies are cool, dip them halfway into the melted white chocolate and then into the toasted shredded coconut flakes. Set them down onto parchment paper-lined sheet pans to dry completely.

this made about two dozen for us, but you could shape them a bit smaller and get more out of them. so yummy and buttery!

the most wonderful time of the year

2011-12-19T18:05:00.004-05:00

hard to get a moving baby in low light with the background lights in bokeh. but she was a cutie, especially when not ripping off bows or ornaments!

I am happy to report that I have no more shopping to do for Christmas!
After getting the last things needed yesterday at WallyWorld, I feel like I may not spend another dime or stand in another line until Valentine's Day.
But it is oh so exciting this year to sneak around and hide things from Susannah (and Galon:) He poo poos most of my family's Christmas enthusiasm, with some reason (we try not to focus on stuff, most of the time...) but I couldn't help myself with some of the surprises from Santa.
And it will be a struggle for me to contain my excitement about seeing everyone enjoy and unwrap all these gifts and a battle for my excitement not to boil over to consent every time Susannah asks again if she can open "just one present" tonight.
Poor Galon is staying the course for all of our sakes.

In short order, here are my favorite things about this wonderful time:

the mail. Comes every day (nearly) and almost always has something hand written or hand photographed with it. Packages are just a bonus!

the cookies. I mean come on, what other snack can you sit down and enjoy with a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate while watching another episode of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation?

the clothes. At least for the girls. I've resorted to the occasional red top or silvery hand me down sweater, but for them there is somehow an entire month's worth of holidayish wardrobes. This has required a bit of coordination to be one of those families where the "matching" sweaters don't happen too often. And the tights. Oh, the tights. Nothing much cuter than Nordic tights with a ruffle bum on sweet baby thighs.

the smells. We do have a real tree this year, which has contributed much to our usual home aroma of ode-de-dog. And the candles we light along with the occasional hot wood stove and wafting woodsmoke really add a lot too!

the travels. This is really a love hate kind of thing since having kids. I mean, I can totally see how people are still driving Suburbans. Start with clothes and toiletries for four (adding in extra for the vomititious ones) and then add presents for four additional people, home baked (carefully packaged) goods, a pack n play, baby food and cereal and yogurt and corresponding sippy cups and spoons and finally, a black lab and her bowls/food/leash and you've got us. The Clampets without the chair in the back.
But it is so worth it once we all get together and start having fun, eating, drinking and being merry. We will get some serious catching up done this year on an additional trip to the Virginia Beach area to see our Minnesota family and friends!

the reason. Susannah got to participate in the children's choir this year at church and we've all been humming one of their tunes. It's a reggae ditty about baby Jesus and has been running in my head this whole time. Each night, Galon and Susannah have been reading another name for Christ (morning star, living water, lion, vine, etc.) and hanging a corresponding ornament on our tree. And she loves rearranging the characters in our nativity set, which is displayed on the dining room table.
But the best part was when we visited a live nativity down the road one cold night. They had bonfires burning and even a camel, and we had tried to explain beforehand that it was just pretend to remind us about what it might have been like when Jesus was born.
But Susannah kept wanting to get closer and closer to the creche and finally she asked us, "but where IS baby Jesus?"
It's something we are careful to keep asking ourselves as we continue in this season of love and life.

Here's hoping you enjoy a lovely Christmas later this week and are able to enjoy some of your favorite things about this wonderful time of the year.

by request

2011-12-14T20:05:00.005-05:00

Here's the recipe for the super easy, quick and yummy chocolate cobbler. It's courtesy of Tasty Kitchen (link in the title of this post) which has a lot of good ones and the picture is theirs too. I did tweak the recipe a teeny bit but the original was all them.
I have a lot of details to share from my wonderful experience at the cooking school this week- will have to wait until another day, though.

My Granny's Chocolate Cobbler
prep: 15 minutes cook: 40 minutes serves 10

1 C all purpose flour
2 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
7 T cocoa powder, divided
1 1/4 C sugar, divided
1/2 C milk
1/3 C melted BUTTER
1 1/2 t vanilla
1/2 C light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 C hot tap water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 T of cocoa and 3/4 C of the white sugar. Save remaining cocoa and sugar.
Stir in the milk, melted butter and vanilla to flour mixture- mix til smooth.
Pour this all into an ungreased 8 inch baking dish.
In a separate bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (1/2 C, if you're keeping track) the brown sugar and the remaining cocoa (4T) Sprinkle this powdery stuff over the batter in the pan.
Then (this is the freaky part, but don't freak! waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, freak out!)
Pour the hot tap water over it all but do not stir.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until center seems set.
Let stand for a few minutes and serve with ice cream, spooning the gooey fudge sauce that bubbles to the top over it all.

I've also served this with cool whip or just a tall glass of milk. So good and great for work parties/potlucks since it involves stuff you probably already have in the cupboard.
Enjoy!

Coming soon: pics of Susannah making white chocolate cranberry and pistachio bark, battle of the bubbles and more recipes! So far I've made five of my six cookie batches for this year: Double chocolate crunchies, rum balls, sugar cookie cutouts, gingerbread cutouts and the white chocolate bark. Still to come: spritz cookies from the cookie press- should be either really fun or very disastrous. We shall see...

julia and me

2011-12-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

excited to be attending a cookie making class at Mise En Place tonite.
Kind of nervous too - will post details later this week ...

traveling through

2011-12-11T07:46:00.002-05:00

One of the things I miss about LAK (life after kids) is our ability to pick up and take a trip. For the weekend, camping, to Europe or Florida- really, any trip, without some serious prior planning and saving.
So, in my efforts to remember goals for my future LWGK (life with grownup kids) scenario, here's a list of top ten places not to miss (again, in some cases.)These are in no particular order cause I just couldn't imagine picking one over the other!

1. Liechtenstein This would be kind of like visiting three in one since it's tiny and sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria. I fell in love with the look of this place on last year's season of The Amazing Race.

2. Malawi Did you imagine a massive fresh water lake in the middle of Africa? Why did I imagine it'd all be dry and brown? This is another Amazing Race destination and I have to say it looks like a blast to explore thanks to the cultures, food and transportation.

3. Vancouver, British Columbia This is actually multipurpose. See, my best buddy Kerry is getting hitched about two hours east of Vancouver in about a year. Can't wait to be there for that! We're planning on making a vaca out of it by taking a week or two before or after the Big Day to explore the area. I'd love to be able to fit a bit of the bays and coves West of Vancouver into that trip, but even if it's the pretty valleys and mountains (a la Banff ish) we'd be good with that too. Heck, even if it's a justice of the peace in a crummy brown little office, I wouldn't miss the chance to be there in support- but the fact that it's given us a reason to visit number three on my list is super duper:)

4. Norway/Denmark This is thanks to a former gig I had at a church with a Norwegian organist. I know, sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. But anyways, he convinced me through many venues that we had to see his homeland before we sign off and it's on my list. While it's renown for the cool boat-like church architecture, fjords, ponies and furniture design, I've heard the seafood is pretty good too.

5. Ireland OR Wales When I was in between sophomore and junior year at Auburn, Galon took the summer to go play soccer with kids in Wales. He said it was beautiful and serene all at once and I'm fascinated with the history, ruins and language there. And really, once you're that close, how hard could it be to jet across a channel to the green wonderland that is Ireland? I'm not sure if that's where Brigadoon took place or it was Scotland, but either way I'm romanced by the idea of a visit to these British (?) Isles.

6. Talkeetna, Alaska OR Roslyn, Washington, mainly due to it's apparent likeness to the town of Roslyn from Northern Exposure and a hint of my childhood hometown in Ontario.

7. Portland, Oregon Tons of stuff to do with kids, lots to see and eat and plenty of weird, rain forest like outdoor adventuring. And it'd be good to visit some old friends (we've been friends a while, we're not necessarily old...ish...) who call Portland home now.

8. Auburn, Alabama The home of my Alma mater, where winters never get too cold, old neighborhoods are a welcome spot for joggers and the girls always seem to be tan. Actually, I'd love to get back here before the two trees on Toomers Corner actually die but I don't imagine I will.

9. Virgin Gorda, the British Virgin Islands As a family, my parents and brother and I visited these islands a couple times and had a blast. Our favorite things were visiting the Baths, the beer drinking donkey at The Last Resort and flying by tiny airplane into the local airports (they'd give you flower necklaces not to be confused with leis upon arrival!)

10. Longlac, Ontario has no fancy urls or images on google. But trust me when I say, especially in mid-summer or mid-winter, it's worth a swerve off the beaten path. Located in isolated northern Ontario, it's mainly accessible (or was) by a graveled mill road which weaves past glacier lakes and abandoned mill sites. My memories are staying in a "mill house" that smelled like woodsmoke and had really warm baseboard heaters.

So that's my list. Not in a nutshell by any stretch but at least saved here in case I get hit by a bus and my sweet daughters want to know someday the places that their mother was struck with wanderlust for.
Hoping you have some travel plans of your own- no better way to see the world than in person!

sore

2011-12-07T09:36:00.000-05:00

It had been six years since I rode a horse when my parents got me riding lessons for my birthday. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to fall into equestrian sports from a beginning in figure skating. We had moved from Ontario to Alabama- it was a natural enough change. Tight pants, check. Non-team oriented, check. Complicated tests and figures and patterns, check. Speed, accuracy and on occasion, music, check.
I started on lesson horses, then leasing lesson horses. Then we purchased an off-track thoroughbred that was, understandably, terrified of large crowds and starting gate appearing devices. Pony club, Wisconsin winters and a bought with 4-H ensued before he developed bad enough arthritis in his hocks to have to be retired to a lovely couple who already had an orphaned Holstein calf at their place and a mean old goat. I managed to get lucky and have a lady at the barn let me use her dear horse while she was expecting and, later, a new mom. I later took that horse to college with me and boarded him at a place right next to some train tracks. But that too, was shortlived, as I neared graduation and another transition.
Then I grew up. My parents weren’t footing the bill anymore (or so I thought, until this most recent present) and I had gotten married, moved to the west and lived in a mobile home. Not exactly dressage material. But even there I managed to find a barn with an old school master that needed exercise to stay fresh so they let me go out about once or twice a week for free. They had the tack and the barn and the horse- didn’t get much better than that. It was the perfect way to stay in shape and keep some dirt under my nails (that smell of hay and sweat and clay combined with the crunching and munching and muffling sounds of a barn are my idea of heaven.)
Since moving to Virginia, what many would consider a “horsey” state, we settled in an area where barns are mostly individually owned. About an hour in many directions there are larger, professional operations with options for leasing and regular training. But I had long since given up finding a barn to “hang my hat” and settle in, mainly due to financial and time constraints. Let’s face it, with a home, a cat, a dog, many vegetable and flower gardens, a part time job, a membership at the gym, a marriage to an irresistibly good-looking man and two sweet and high energy children, most days are booked.
But I was pleased when Mom told me recently that this year for my birthday (29 again!) she had arranged a few lessons at a barn she knew about through one of their customers at the marina. It was a newish place with a growing menagerie and clientele. All that mattered to me was getting to halter, groom, saddle, ride, untack, groom and halter a horse. And I did! It was lots of fun, great weather and such a challenge physically. I’m not sure if it’s cause it’d been so long since I had ridden or the two natural births my body have sustained but I’m still walking funny. The horse I rode was definitely a schoolmaster but I think if I can get my body parts to respond again to my brain, I’ll be in good shape. Or at least have fun trying! The place is about an hour away, but right down the road from my folks’ home- so it could be perfect as far as babysitting goes. I hate spending “me” time on the weekends, especially ‘cause I work every other weekend, but I’m hoping to make this a semi-regular kind of thing.
So apparently you can’t teach an old horse a new trick, but you can still trick an old(er) rider into thinking it’ll be just like riding a bike!
Thanks for a great birthday present, Mom and Dad, and giving me the chance to revisit something I love doing.

catch up

2011-12-05T15:45:00.004-05:00

It's been a busy week. I'll break it down:

- Took Jolie to her final feeding experiment appointment at W&M in beautiful, historic Williamsburg. Last time they focused on her diet and my diet with about a bajillion surveys. They also had me masked and feeding her spinach and potatoes. She wolfed it down because I think she was distracted by the two way mirror.
This time we did the feeding again but included about six little tests to determine her "personality" according to the sweet grad students. They seriously seemed to be 12 to me- but so smart and good with babies!
One of the tests involved a black posterboard and a bright orange parosol. It was for the "startle test"- who knew babies would be scared of such a thing? They also did something called the activity test, which involved a large velour blanket. They positioned her on the blanket facing the camera and she had to lay there for three minutes on her back. She didn't move a muscle. We couldn't speak or move while they were doing this and I swear she was looking from one of us to the other with serious questions in her eye. It was like the bit in Jurassic Park where they "say if you don't move they won't eat you."
The students couldn't tell us their thesis because they said it could influence the study, but they will send us a copy once it's finished in the next few months. I'm pretty sure it'll be easy to pick Jolie out- she'll be the one with high enthusiasm for food and very little activity levels.

- Made gingerbread houses at church while trying to convince the kids not to eat the decorations. Later that same day, Galon took Susannah to see the Christmas parade where Jolie and I met with them later and went to "see" Santa. It ended up being a drive by santa sighting due to Susannah's trepidation, but we did get a book out of the deal as it was being sponsored by the friendly local library (my fellow bookies!)
The highlight of that whole endeavor was seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales. It was a serious operation with lovely tack, trailers and tail bobbing.
After all that, we went to across the street to choose a tree from the United Methodist Men's booth and ended up with a sweet little Fraiser Fir strapped to my roof before long. It has since been lit, decorated and partially climbed by a crawling baby and one of our pets.

- Christmas cards! As you all know (at least those who have been slugging through this since last holiday season) I struggle with what cards to send and to whom. This year I didn't struggle, just went whole hog. Ordered photo cards and lots of them. Bought stamps and lots of them. Updated all my holes in the address list and whammo presto, cards are in the mail! If you don't normally get one from us and would like to (or if you haven't sent us anything since my computer ate all our files in March) email me at maggieghall@yahoo.com with your details.

- Shopping. I only have two things left to get for anybody and one of those is for my dad, one of those perpetually difficult gift recipients. I did try to sticker his car on the sly recently with an environmentally friendly logo and that didn't go over well towards the whole holiday spirit. I'll try again, this time with the Sierra Club sticker I've been saving for that special someone. Anybody with good ideas for a middle aged marina owner let me know. I've already tapped into the Starbucks/Barnes and Noble giftcards-

- Football- o football. Honestly, I don't even watch real football. But college games, or particuarlly the SEC teams, I can watch. I can root for. I can scream at the TV about. Let's not mention the Iron Bowl- but I am keeping my fingers crossed for someone to roll that Tide before they get another (?) championship. Love all my Bama fan folks, but honestly. The whole poison the tree thing should send some kind of karma their way... I am going to be stressed out watching this game with LSU and AL. As one former boss would say (or wear a tie saying actually) Geaux Tigers!

Here are some pics of the little ones. It's been a while since I put some up-

Jolie's sporting her Alpaca love hat from a local farmer's market.
I love that it has not one, but four pom poms!

Here, smiling big and showing off all two teeth so far.

Susannah with her soccer ball- she still enjoys playing
around in the yard even though the season is over.

Practicing writing her name and other letters.

happy weekend!

2011-11-28T20:03:00.003-05:00

The girls and I returned home Saturday expecting to find a tired hunter and while that was true, it was for a variety of reasons.
Look what he did!

New cabinets installed above the washer and dryer (the room was redone about four years ago) and a whole bunch of shelves as well. The plan is to put a tension rod and some neutral curtain fabric over the metal shelf area so it can be as messy as need be.
We've got so much room to stash stuff that had previously been occupying the tops of closets, bottoms of closets and other corners that were hard to reach.
Oh, and although we are planning to get a real tree sometime soon to decorate, we went ahead and put some Christmas out.

Also, a local radio station is already playing holiday tunes- let's hope they aren't the same 12 songs over and over.
And we won't even mention (the unmentionable) the disaster of a game for the Iron Bowl but let me say our money is on Virginia Tech if it comes down to that.

thanksgiving

2011-11-22T19:48:00.005-05:00

From us to you, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! And to all our Canadian readers, sorry we're about a month late:)

Susannah's preschool did a little diddy and although she looks like Florence Nightingale, that's supposed to be a pilgrim's bonnet.

Third from the left, that's our girl! Highlights included the song:
I'm a little turkey, short and round.
I fluff my feathers and strut around.
I have a sharp beak and a little red wattle.
I open my beak and gobble, gobble, gobble!

And here she is with dear friend L who was also at in-home daycare setting with her all last year. Having him at preschool has made for a much easier transition for us all I believe. It's a sad day when she comes home and the report is that he wasn't present for some reason.

On another, slightly related note, I'm seeking understanding and balance regarding Susannah's recurrence of sickness since enrolling in preschool. She's been sick pretty much all of October, first with colds, then strep throat, most recently conjunctivitis (PINKEYE) and a related ear infection. It's not a nasty place and we've been working on hand washing but for some reason (maybe cause she's only part time?) she seems to be on the precipice of whatever is going around which means by the time her antibiotics of choice start to kick in, she's about to catch something else.
Part of the problem is her inability or refusal to take naps while there so I'm sure her little system just gets worn down. It's hard for me to feel like it's not worth it and want to just pull her out when it's late at night while listening to her cough herself to sleep or early in the morning when her eyes are goopy. Again.
Advice? Agreements?

we interupt this blog...

2011-11-21T21:26:00.000-05:00

For some evidence of what Galon does each fall. Every fall. And thankful hearts for a bountiful harvest. Warning: dead animals forthcoming. Not for the faint of heart of people who grew up where trucks didn't roam the roads with tailgates overflowing.
See how good his season has been already? (for the hunter, that is. Not the deer.)
I've actually had mixed feelings about hunting all along and it was one of the most tender arguments Galon and I had as acquaintances way back when (12 years ago?)
Since then, I've realized that when done in a respectful, skilled manner, hunting is simply another method of gathering food. We hardly ever purchase meat and when we do it's a white meat like fish, chicken or pork.
So whether you're for Bambi or against, I'm proud that my husband can provide in this way and has the ability to sneak up on these particularly sneaky animals.

This one will probably become his Christmas present. On the wall. Any wall. Oh boy!

And this one was the first of the season, after he'd passed on several smaller ones.

Add in a little doe taken in Hanover County and we have a filling up freezer and lots of fodder for dinner. Our favorite recipes include bacon and lots of Dales Seasoning on the grill, but we also like a good chili or spaghetti with ground venison.
And we're still eating the elk from October!

quoteable

2011-11-13T17:00:00.000-05:00

Recently, Susannah has been using her inquisitive mind to our exhaustion.
Last week on the way to church she asked out of the blue where Jolie came from.
We had maybe five minutes of the trip left and both grimaced before we simmered down that truth to "God gave her to us because Mommy and Daddy love each other."
Then she wanted to know if God actually dropped her to earth or what. We just said that Jolie was very tiny when God first gave her to us in Mommy's tummy.
And just last week in the library she chose a book with some harmless title like, "Our Bodies, Ourselves" only for us to discover at home it had scary (for us) concepts and illustrations. We were going to try to read it and just skip some of the most graphic parts (then Daddy and Mommy gets very happy, etc, etc.) but never got around to it. Somehow.
In other deep subjects for four year old discussions, I got the pleasure of explaining the universe.
On the way to preschool in like 10 minutes.
Here's how it went:

Susannah: Where is the earth?
Me: It's one of many planets in our great big solar system.
Susannah: is it like a ball?
Me: Yup, a great big one. And it spins around so slowly we can't even tell when we're walking around.
Susannah: So we're stuck on the earth?
Me: Kind of-
Susannah: Oh look, a puppy!
Me: whew.

It later developed into a quick question at bedtime about how we can get off the planet. And my one word response was "a rocket."
Galon later took that to the whole explanation of gravity level. Scientists. So much for imagination:)

couldn't have said it better

2011-11-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

I like what this mom of five has to say about her youngest and it is so close to how we feel about Jolie these days.
Although we don't sing Rudolph in the car to her yet, we may give it a try during those fussy trips.
We're also big fans of Mrs. Soule's books,The Creative Family and Handmade Home.
I'm thinking of using The Creative Family as our new baby shower go-to gift. It offers lots of insight, no matter the parents' level of craftiness, about entertaining and growing independent and well balanced kids in a time of tech stuffiness.
Just last week, Susannah began using her play phones to take pictures and "play games." The odd thing is, our antiquated phones neither text, send photos or connect to anything worth playing. Our only guess is she's seeing the twenty something helpers at preschool checking messages or sending texts and just parroting. Doesn't make me thrilled, but then again, I can't expect to raise her in a tech-free bubble just because we have chosen to not partake in the latest, greatest gadgets.
She did receive a Leap Frog Tag book reader for one of her birthday presents and is loving that- even though neither of her parents can quite figure out how it works. No doubt before long, our preschooler will be more tech savvy than we are.
Another thing she's recently picked up at preschool is noon time prayers. Last night while partaking in some chocholate cobbler and vanilla ice cream, she started singing what sounded at first like her ABC's. Then it went:
ABCDEFG, Thank you God for blessing me, amen, dig in!
She followed that up with some rendition of the Johnny Appleseed prayer which I don't recall now but was oh so sweet sounding in her munchkin voice.

scholarship?

2011-11-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago we hit the local fall harvest festival. Highlights included the bouncy houses, a mechanical bull, the parade and having one of Susannah's sweet friends and her grandma (one of our sweet friends!) join us for most of the day.

This is certainly not dressage, but I gotta say, Susannah wasn't scared a bit of whirling around on this thing. Maybe not our finest hour of parenting but she had a blast.

And Jolie and Galon were working on some fancy moves of their own while we awaiting the parade.

timing

2011-11-07T21:21:00.001-05:00

Gramma protecting the young one, who's impression of the event is displayed in her facial expression.

That's Galon's Dad on the left getting close to the action.

Yesterday we took Galon's parents and the girls to a Civil War Reenactment. Outside. With cannons (I type that word so infrequently that I had no idea how to spell it.)
Turns out, Susannah's crummy mood since Saturday night and during the outing yesterday was due to having strep throat. Second confirmed case of it from her preschool, so the doctor called her a trendsetter. Yay.
Although we were late enough that we had to actually drive through the battle zone, it was interesting and made for some rare photo shoots. I felt bad for the dudes who had been scripted to be "shot" and had to lay lifeless on the field for the better part of the 30 minute escapade.
We got there a bit late (loading everyone and all accessories, getting gas, cash and burgers on the way...) and we ended up leaving earlier than expected due to the fact that the reenactor folks were a bit worn out and ready to pack up.
The other funny part was that the reenactors, many of whom came from out of state bearing major firearms and in some cases horses, referred to each other by their assumed names. As in, "General Lee, I need you closer to the flash to get a good photo." or even better was when we, or my father in law, was talking to one of the guys and they'd refer to themselves in that name but in the past tense, because of course, they are dead.

November 7, 2011

As in, "When I died by a peach orchard, my wife came back years later and took my remains by wagon home. My dog stayed at the orchard and howled for weeks."
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Jolie handled the booms and bangs and massive amounts of gunpowder smoke with style. She held very still and we covered her ears for all except the final, surprise attack. During that recovery, she stuck her lip out a mile and did the slow cry before sniffing it off.
How did we get to be in charge of these little people anyways?

multitasking

2011-11-02T21:00:00.000-04:00

So, I know it's early yet, but we've got Christmas on the mind.
I've been searching all along for meaningful, unique gifts for our loved ones and love the idea of something keepsake worthy for at least every person (in addition to something mass marketed and or made in China, of course.:)
Some of the things we've already stashed away for people are things created for or in part by Susannah. There are other things that are store bought with a little bit of us inserted one way or another.
Personally, I love the surprise of Christmas and while I appreciate a good gift certificate also enjoy seeing what others think I'd enjoy (usually it's something perfect in that I'd never have thought of it, but use it all the time.)
This year we've also purchased a few gift certificates for others, but they are from places I know the recipients frequent and would enjoy spending money with.
Here's a link to some good crafted ideas (which may or may not be a spoiler for family readers! SPOIL ALERT?)
This weekend, I'm taking Jolie to Williamsburg to participate in part on of an eating study at W&M. Should be interesting as it involves taping her while she's being fed pureed spinach from a grad student wearing a SARS mask.
I'm looking foward to being downtown in the shops pre-Thanksgiving craziness to see if they have any of what I'm looking for for others. Sometimes I find myself buying something without any recipient in mind but simply because I love it. This was the case last year at Trader Joe's with some really cute gingerbread chalet kits they had on sale. I mean, who wouldn't love those? We ended up giving some to our Sunday School teachers and others to my exercise teacher (irony, oh how I love thee.)
In the meantime, there have been some gifty projects that I've come across but am not persuing, this year. May make for good idea fodder for you.
I'll try to post some links to those soon.
As an aside: would you rather have a paintball gun or a skeet shooter thing?

four years ago

2011-10-31T16:10:00.005-04:00

We were in the shock and awe that follows a firstborn. I had just been offered a promotion while on maternity leave and Galon would soon leave a state job for a federal job with a commute.
Since then, Susannah has grown into a lovely, funny little girl. She's strong and only wimpy and crabby on days there is no time or dedication for a nap. She befriends nearly everyone who isn't too intimidating and in particular those who may not have many other friends (the smelly kid, for one.)
Her favorite things these days have become making things like bracelets or necklaces, collecting things like birds nests and acorns and most things related to coloring or baby dolls.
She likes going to the dump with her daddy in the pickup on Saturdays and mowing the lawn with him on Sundays.
She likes coming grocery shopping with me, but especially when her baby sister is left at home with Daddy.
Her shortcomings include long (or sometimes) short road trips and understanding the concept of time and days and seasons. She also doesn't understand why she couldn't invite everyone she talked to about it to her birthday party.
The event was a success with fun and chaos for all. Although I did create and stick to a fairly secure schedule, much to the humor of family members, there was some lag time for the kids just to be kids.
Highlights include the floating paper lanterns, opening presents from family and the rainbow cake and sherbet.
We all enjoyed spending time with loved ones and friends and appreciate everyone making the effort to appear (surprise guest included (the Great and Rev.) Aunt Susie, who's knee has recently put her out of our expected commissions...but she drove three hours to be with us!)
Hard to believe our girl is halfway to being eight and in just another couple of years will be a real live schoolkid.

susannah birthday party

weekend update

2011-10-24T19:49:00.005-04:00

(in fits and starts due to time constraints)

Since we last posted we got sick, got better, started sewing a Halloween costume, someone else got sick, wet the bed, changed the sheets, did 18 loads of laundry, vacuumed the dog hair, lost the dog, found the dog, rode a fake bull, enjoyed the bus most of all on the field trip, selected a pumpkin on said field trip, planned to but haven't yet carved said pumpkin, went to a birthday party, planned a birthday party, planned three weeks worth of meals, went grocery shopping for three weeks worth of meals, nearly completed sewing a Halloween costume, broke at least one tooth (Jolie), scored our first soccer goal (guess who that was - could apply to at least three of the Hall folks':) and did some more laundry.

Whew.
Here's the photo digest:

Guess who's teething?

Susannah's sweet soccer team, sans coach Katie (who's kind of a celebrity in our house:)

This is how Susannah looks about 33 percent of the time she's playing soccer during a game, which is entirely different than how she performs during "practice."

And there's the other 66 percent of the time. Observant, but about 4 minutes behind the action.

And the enthusiasm of the bus ride field trip- this was even after she realized again that Mommy wasn't attending. Clearly unaffected.

Galon's folks arrived this week for a three week visit (in their RV at a neighboring campground) and we're preparing for Susannah's birthday party, a church harvest festival, preschool trick or treating and possibly a trip to the local corn maize- all to occur this weekend. If we can make it to actual Halloween, it will be a cake walk.

By the way, has anyone else been disturbed by what passes for youth/kids costumes these days? Holy sleeze Batman. Here's to hoping there'll be less material girls and boys out there this candy round.

whatcha talkin about willis?!

2011-10-13T10:00:00.001-04:00

Me: hi sweet Jolie.
Jolie: lady! nice lady! shiny camera!

Me: you look hungry. Are you hungry?
Jolie: yay! food! milk or food or toys or clothing. I can put them in my mouth!

me: No- it's not quite time to really eat yet.
Jolie: WHAT? NO FOOD? talk about international crisis.

Jolie: Now I will eat my dress. nummmnumnum. drool. slobber.
Me: Jolie dear- you don't have to eat your dress.

Jolie: Ok then- how about hand?

Jolie: Or this toy. Ew. What is this made of?

Jolie: I've resorted to gumming this burp rag. That's what it's come to. I'm calling Gramma!

field trippin

2011-10-12T20:32:00.000-04:00

Conflicted feelings this week over Susannah's first preschool field trip. I know, you're thinking, what's the big deal? That's what I was thinking, at least.
Turns out, nearly all of the parents of the 30+ kids are going along. On the bus. For the whole day.
I opted not to at the last minute and am still feeling mopey about it.
Honestly, I said no thanks due to having Jolie along (still nursing every 5 hours or so) and even if I left her at the sitters I'd have to find somewhere along the way to pump.
Now, pumping is a nursing mom's worst enemy but imagine having to negoiate it during a day filled with busy 2-5 year olds, finding a private corner on an empty bus or even ducking into the public restroom to lock myself in a stall with a battery pack. Not my idea of a field trip.
Plus, I feel like part of the reason kids take field trips with their "schools" is to find some independence and behavioral skills away from the parental units. Right?
Biggest worry is that the other parents attending (nearly all but me! doesn't anybody work? darn unemployment...) and the teachers along for the ride will think Susannah's folks don't care enough to be there.
Hopefully they already know that's not true thanks to the playground stalking. Just kidding! (kind of.)
I am and was looking forward to taking "my turn" as a chaperone, either now with the preschool or later with band camp/ski trips/zoo outings. But to have some unwritten expectation that we're supposed to attend these trips alongside our own kids as individual participants is kind of a stretch. Who knows- maybe all the other 'rents are nervous since this is the first trip of the school year?
Are there some rules out there about this sort of thing that I'm not savvy to? Fill me in folks- I can always use the help:)
My fondest childhood excursion memories are of field trips to ice cream (yay Bluebell in Sylacauga!) factories (go figure) and I don't recall either of my parents being along for the ride.
And I have several friends who homeschool and take their kids on free tours of local venues adults may not be excited about but thrill the sippy cup crowd (sheriff's office, fire houses, newspapers.) Seems valueable as well as the more chaotic yet highly organized group outings.
Anyways, Susannah's crew is going to a local pumpkin farm. It's a place she has been to several times with me and at least three of her four grandparents. So I think she'll be secure and able to enjoy herself without a problem.
I can't wait to pick her up and get the full report.

cha cha changes

2011-10-03T20:56:00.002-04:00

My discovery during evening cleanup in the den one night. Stuffed horse, diapered and put to sleep on a blanket in the princess tent.

Why can't we remain this happy and content as naked people? Sweet baby Jolie after her bath (and if this crosses some blogosphere line, somebody let me know. clearly I'm not savvy.)

Little girl is working hard to "pull up" on the sides of crib and playpen from a sitting position- so down those matteresses will go for safety's sake!

The change in weather has brought about the need (again) for footie jammies. We're all very happy about this- aren't you?

And on an outing to one of the local wildlife refuges, Jolie got a chance to sport her cozy hand-me-down hat.

list

2011-10-02T15:51:00.001-04:00

Several random things happened this week. I want to record them here.

1. Saw a man in a parking lot. His Mercedes was bent a bit and he was having it loaded onto a flat bed truck. He took his baby daughter out of the backseat in the infant seat and loaded her into the cap of the tow truck and I felt instantly sorry for him. Said baby was sleeping away and didn't seem phased but I realized how much anxiety I would have had in that situation and realized daddies just roll with things like that so much better than (some-this) mommies.

2. A patron at the library asked me if I ride horses. I said I have and I like to but haven't in a while. He said he could tell I was "horsey" and this brought me immense pleasure that after five years of riding abstinence, I still got the vibe. I still definitely have the desire but not the time, money or childcare although I plan on that changing sooner than later. I scored a size 6 pair of breeches at the consignment store for my little partner and will eventually be scheduling some lessons for her (yes, I plan to project that bit of me onto her. Heck, she's already been on several dove hunts, it's only fair she gets a bit from me too:)

3. Halloween already? yeesh. I feel apprehension about sewing up a Rapunzel costume for Susannah because a) it's something I get everything out for and spread around and then struggle to finish and b) she keeps changing her mind about what she will be. If and when I finish this costume, she will definitely be the most original Rapunzel on the block.

4. Soccer is turning out to be the biggest thing that wasn't. So far, we've had the skills assessment day and the first game cancelled due to weather. Game one redo is set for Saturday and of course I'm working- here's to hoping they actually get to play before Thanksgiving! As an aside, her team name is Fire and Susannah is constantly yelling "bring the fire" while practicing in the yard or playing rough inside so if nothing else, she'll be great on the sidelines.

sweet jolie

2011-09-30T09:55:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I get frustrated by a jump in sleeplessness while baby Jolie is dealing with an ear infection, pain from shots or teething. I struggle with the idea of letting her "cry it out" and if she doesn't drift back to sleep easily, lay in my bed thinking she could be drowning in her snot, saddened by cold toes, stuck on her belly by the bumper pad or just lonely. More often than not, I get up, put in a ponytail holder and pad to her room to check on her. Now Galon is that person padding around in the dark as we've discovered our daughter's ability to comfort herself with food from mommy in the middle of the night.
But when it is me, Jolie and I snuggle up in the soft chair in there, padded with pillows and footy jammies. Then she wiggles in close and nurses happily back to sleep.
I struggle with feeling sometimes like a human pacifier, but really, when you think of it, she's used to being with, on me or in me 24/7. When I consider the time during the day we're "apart" either for me working or at Bible study or making dinner or playing with Susannah or weeding the gardens, a little extra snuggle time isn't too much to ask.
I can hardly stay upset with her for long and lapse into thinking about how quickly our baby of the family is growing up.
Already wearing sizes for a year old kid, she's got a funny little personality in a more subdued manner than her big sister's silliness. She smiles easily, snuggles readily and loves to play in water. She has moments of stillness when she holds a hand out in front of her face and turns it over and back, over and back, discovering motor skills for the first time. She can easily pick up and transfer items (much to Susannah's shagrin, a few princess playing cards were recently eaten by her little sister and we're preparing to hide or shelf legos, rings and other small toys.)
I feel like a cliche who always thinks about or talks about her kids while away from them, but now that Susannah is in a stage of needing specifically me less, Jolie seems to be growing away too. That's the tough thing about babies: they don't stay babies for long.
I hope when Jolie gets bigger and old enough to understand she realizes that even as a little thing, she brought something to our family back that we didn't realize we needed or was missing before she was born. We can't imagine life without her (or Susannah of course) and I find myself sometimes still surprised at how well she's acclimated to life with us already.

bad girl

2011-09-28T20:38:00.001-04:00

I know I’m not the first or the only parent who’s dealt with insubordination from their kid in a school setting, but oi vey, it’s a part of my day job I didn’t see coming.
Since beginning preschool this month, Susannah has glowed with reports of new friends, learning and adventures each day. However, in the daily note sent home, reports of naptime have grown increasingly dismal.
The form reads something like this:
Today Susannah was: Happy.
Today Susannah ate: half a sandwich, a cheese stick and some peaches.
Today Susannah’s favorite activity was: dramatic play (shocker!)
Today at naptime, Susannah was not sleeping/talking/in trouble.
Apparently, the schedule includes a rest from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Seems like a vacation to me, but apparently preschoolers don’t dig it. They are all supposed to go into a room filled with cots and layered with their blankets, pillows and snuggies from home. They are all supposed to lie their quietly and eventually drift off to a restful sleep only to be awakened later refreshed and not grumpy.
What really happens is that my kid, along with a few others probably, starts tapping the wall, humming, fiddling with their blankets, talking and then all out leading others away from sleep. It’s like a naptime mutiny and as a lady with a 6 month old and nearly 4 year old to get to bed at least twice each day, I understand the preschool staffers’ pain.
Over the weekend we stayed over at my brother and sister-in-law’s new mountain home and the girls and Galon and I were happily bunking together. At bedtime, we got them both ready and I naively thought Susannah would just lie on her pallet and drift off while I nursed the baby to sleep and put her in the pack-n-play. I might as well have expected rainbow unicorns to fly by the window. It was an epic fail but with a little flexibility both kids eventually fell asleep (may or may not have been in their own beds.)
At home, Susannah does tend to resist naptime about half of the time. But even then, she eventually gives in and sleeps for an hour minimum, only to stagger downstairs later with sweaty hair and groggy eyes. I’m not sure if it’s the idea of having an accident at school or the fact that the room is packed with potential playmates and distractions that keeps us from success.
I certainly don’t want to become “that mom” who makes a big deal out of a small issue, but I also don’t want my girl labeled as a troublemaker or terror. I may or may not have already stalked the playground to check on her and “forgotten” things in order to drop in halfway through the day. Each time this happens, Susannah seems happy, well balanced and attentive. She’s not clingy when I leave and in fact seems to resent my presence (flash forward to teenage years…)
I’m sure she’ll adjust and if nothing else, we’ll just wait for kindergarten in a couple of years when God-willing naps go away. But until then, we’ll keep focusing on the good and talented aspects of our sweet daughter’s development and only notice the stubborn independent streak when necessary.
All of this does make me conscious of how easy it is to see a kid heading for a then making the wrong decision. Whether it is telling a lie, hiding evidence of a mistake or being a little too rough with a baby sister, we constantly give Susannah just enough rope and then pray she will (this time) choose to do right. About 66 percent of the time, she does. So now I'm trying to be more deliberate with praise when that happpens and less vocal about the stuff that takes place the other 33 percent of the time.
We'll keep you posted.
And you know that thing about, "when you have kids of your own..." that our parents used to say all the time? I'm really feeling that now.

preschool

2011-09-12T20:00:00.006-04:00

Susannah seems to have adjusted well to attending a local preschool after three years of an inhome daycare. The first day when I came to pick her up (early, I was counting down!) she wanted me to come back later:)
She has been struggling as there is a boy she knew from the previous sitter's in her class and together they have been dubbed "double trouble." Just general craziness and out of control excitement ensues... and each day on the little slip of paper there have been records of "during nap time Susannah was... not napping."
I think part of that may be due to the apprehension about no having an accident away from home... or just the excitement of a new place and people.
So far, her favorite "areas" of each day have included dramatic play and art. Shocker!
Here are some recent photos, including preschool first day, before and after.

And Jolie's accomplishments include serious sitting, rolling and reaching. She's very proud of herself, especially now that she can make a mess by splashing and grabbing in the tub.

stuffed

2011-09-12T19:49:00.005-04:00

Over the weekend, we managed to stuff ourselves with all sorts of yummyness.
It began Friday night with a dinner of elk meatloaf, sweet potatoes and cheesy broccoli and cauliflower. That was followed by a strawberry rhubarb pie (recipe from the back of the tapioca container!) It kind of tasted like eating jelly between crusts...
Saturday morning, after dual haircuts for me and Susannah, we headed to the farmer's market and purchased a massive bag of freshly popped kettle corn, a loaf of Russian bread with Salomi and cheddar (brioche, kind of like a croissant only in loaf form...) and some fresh local peaches.
We went home and feasted! Top that off with the remnants of a watermelon that we harvested from one of our recent evening walks, we were set.
Needless to say, I needed the butt kicking that was dolled out today in the morning class at the Y- kick boxing indeed, more like coordinated flailing.
Saturday after Galon successfully mud-bog style cut the grass (thanks to all the rain and flooding) we headed to my folks' house for a break.
While we were there, Susannah, Galon and I took their kayaks for a trip on the creek and saw some seagulls, osprey, a blue heron and collected several snails and a stick bug. Woot woot.
Here are some pics:

soft week

2011-09-06T10:25:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling like a softy this week.
Jolie's sitting up, scooting (backwards...) and eating the heck out of just about anything we give her, including a possible chick-fil-a waffle fry.
And Susannah's first day of preschool is TOMORROW! She's very excited and keeps asking every morning if today is the first day or not.
Her teacher is named Jenny, which Susannah has been practicing as "Miss Aunt Jenny" since we have a dear Aunt Jenny too:) Should make it fun-
We enjoyed a very relaxing holiday weekend:
I worked Saturday longer than expected, which was ok to make up for lost Hurricane Irene hours:)
And yesterday, Galon took Susannah on a dove hunt along with a friend and his little girl. They had a great time, came back at bedtime after a dinner and playground time at McDonald's.
Soccer skill's assessment day (hahaha) is Saturday- I'll try to post photos of that and preschool soon.
And, by the way, Holy War Eagle batman- that game made me about as thrilled as this Old Navy ad has. Argh.

rumble

2011-08-25T17:32:00.005-04:00

Sister time in the sunroom with varying degrees of participation from Jolie and toys.

what happens to a hotblooded kid playing outside in the kiddie pool in mosquito land backyard.

sleeping baby conked out before church.

Holy smokes- the county fair, an earthquake and hurricane all in one week. Can things get any more apocalyptic around here? (ok- the county fair doesn't scream "the end of the world" but those porta potties do...)

I was actually on the phone Tuesday with my mom while feeding Jolie a mix of carrots, cereal and peaches. I thought I was having a serious heart murmur or something when the light over the dining table began swinging back and forth and the plate rack on the wall was sliding side to side. It lasted about a minute and I mentioned it to my mom, "that was weird. the house is kinda shaking it seems."
She thought it could have been a gas explosion somewhere in the neighborhood or a major car accident (we live near a two lane country highway on the peninsula.) The other option was the government base in Dahlgren that routinely tests airfare, missiles and goodness knows what else.
Turns out, it was none of those things but was truly a 5.9 earthquake based in Mineral, about an hour and half west of us. Galon was at a conference/training in Charlottesville near the "epicenter" and said he was the first out of the building (hee hee.)
Luckily, our sweet old house showed no damage to the bricks, tile or plaster walls (no new damage at least...)
Susannah was upstairs in her bed for her afternoon nap and came down shortly after asking what the big rumble was. My knees were shakey for most of the rest of the afternoon.
In other news, we are preparing to receive the unwelcome weekend visitor of Irene the hurricane. It's projected path takes it about 50 miles off shore from Virginia Beach, which is about an hour and a half south of us. We are off the water a while as the crow flies, but will receive the 10 plus inches of rain and heavy wind expected. My parents' marina is on a protected creek but they are expecting trouble from the rain, wind and major storm surge (no fun when the boats go over the docks.)
So I'll keep folks updated, but here's to hoping damage is limited if any and we are all OK without power for a while.
We did enjoy visiting our county fair this week and Susannah was so exciting to be big enough to ride many of the attractions "all by myself." The food was messy, the fingers sticky and the heifer show a success- we even stayed until 9 p.m. (which in mommy land is a late night with a 20 pound six month old strapped on your chest.)
Here's some photos:

Jolie loves loves loves the cat and dog and squeals with joy whenever they are around (which is surprisingly often considering her tendancy to pull their hair out.)

2 whole dollars richer after last weekend's lemonade stand! And already for football season, as you can see from her tee shirt. The yard sale was a success too: removed all our extra stuff, made about $100 to put towards my vacation shopping debt from Galon:)

dishing it out

2011-08-22T18:02:00.004-04:00

(details about the dentist, yard sale and subsequent, unrelated, car repairs will be forthcoming...)

If not for the sake of our faithful reader(s?) then for my own browsing sanity, I thought I'd post some of my go to recipes that I've forgotten to save printed out versions of in the process of kitchen cleanup. (wow- that sentence was just a hot mess. but hopefully you get it.)
Here goes:

Chicken tortilla soup, via The Pioneer Woman
So easy and flavorful and also a good use of extra chicken you may need to use before you lose.

Duke's Mayo mac n cheese
Makes a wonderfully gooey, cheesy, old-fashioned type of mac and cheese with relatively few ingredients and NO WHITE SAUCE~ yay!

Southern butternut squash casserole
This is called "southern" because it uses a ton of butter and sugar and, score, sweetened condensed milk! It's not very aesthetically pleasing but is oh so good and when we make it, I cut the sugar called for in half.

Cookies and milk bars
These I've made several times with different, but equally yummy, results each time. I've found it's easier if you use parchment or aluminum foil under the pressed bars when it comes time to cut and remove. Also, we didn't have granola cereal but used our own mix of brown sugar, oats and pecans one time with success. They are very good but the recipe had said they made good road trip snacks- not for our messy toddler! Hello chocolate coated mouth and fingers (and those crumbs that will stick to the seat until they chose to come unglued onto someones rear end, unbeknown st to them...)

That's all I got for now- hope your weeks are starting well. The local fair is in town, which at one time meant free poop but now only means hyped up kids and sticky food.

this week

2011-08-15T21:35:00.000-04:00

It's Galon's birthday. 29. Again.
We celebrated early by eating at one of our favorite places in the Northern Neck. Fried flounder for the birthday boy, shrimp for Susannah and a bowl of lump crab complete with liquid butter for me. And the sides make the meals here too: corn pudding, stewed tomatoes, acorn squash and twice baked potatoes.
Tomorrow Susannah and I have a little surprise in line for him, as well as his requested birthday treat (icing laden cinnamon buns) and a cake to boot.
Later this week, Susannnah will go to this dentist for her first time. I know we're way past the suggested "take them when the first tooth comes or they're a year old, whichever comes first" guideline- but better late than never, right? We're hoping she doesn't have any problem spots or cavities and learns something positive from the experience.
We'll update faithful readers with a full report and hopefully zero photos of screaming bloody murder toddlers.
Finally, on Saturday we're officially having our "clean the house" yard sale. We went by and placed the classified today so it's official: folks seeking bargains, show up at our place beginning at (but much later than if you prefer) 6:30 a.m. on August 20!
We'll be selling a variety of jewels, including my 16th birthday present: a stereo with massive box speakers and a super turn table for records of all sizes. The display doesn't work anymore and one speaker is iffy, I just couldn't justify the space it takes up in this day and age of mp3s and ipods.
There will also be plenty of kid stuff, like the shopping cart seat liner (really, who can tote that, a diaper bag, a toddler and a baby into the store and then add on groceries on the way out?) and the inflatable ducky bath (sad! Jolie's way too big for it..)
Some clothes from everyone, shoes, winter clothes and jackets plus household stuff like dishes, baskets, candles and wicker planters.
We're hoping to clear it all out at the sale with a 50 cent table, $1 table and "make an offer" table. Anything left will go to a local thrift store, which we don't want to have to deal with.
Besides preparing signage for the big day, I'm not sure what else to do to pull off a yard sale with two little kids. Suggestions welcome- we had one friend report major success by combining a lemonade stand with snacks for sale, so depending on the free time this week that may be tagged on.

almost famous

2011-08-08T21:01:00.001-04:00

(photo courtesy of NRCS news service)

As an update about our favorite "wild biologist", I found this link to an article his agency produced featuring our favorite man.
Gives some perspective into his day-to-day duties, joys and tasks. Now I know why he's always encouraging us to consider some warm season grasses for most of our humble acre!
Enjoy!

standing and swimming

2011-08-07T21:19:00.000-04:00

Hair growing in, drool coming down. Not sure if she's teething or not but nearly everything goes in her mouth now. And she's been doing good with oatmeal cereal each evening. She prefers some bananas mashed in and we've been trying peach and plum purees as well without luck (a little sour for her taste so far!)

See the hand motion? She loves this thing and it buys me enough time to get breakfast served and everybody dressed for the day. (which hadn't happened yet on this day for Jolie.)

Jolie's been enjoying "playing" in her little bouncer seat. Her athletic legs really help the cause. Nearly 19 pounds of glory and barely fitting in 6-9 month clothes makes it interesting fitting her into Susannah's hand me downs (note: think about the seasons when planning for subsequent babies. October 6 pounder doesn't translate well for a March 7 pounder!)

Susannah's done really well with second week of swimming lessons. Here she's practicing swimming on her back and floating by herself. She made it almost all the way across the pool on her own like this!

In the deep end taking turns jumping in. She really enjoyed the second go around and was always practicing even when it wasn't her turn with the teacher.

Jump! We kept trying to get her to go a little farther out but this is actually a diving pool so it's really deep and I think that is a bit freaky to her. She also went off the diving board with Galon handing her down, which had the effect of turning her into a torpedo and sent her deep.

organized sports

2011-08-04T19:23:00.004-04:00

We're trying to decide if Susannah would enjoy playing soccer with some other area 3-5 year olds this fall. There are several things to consider:

time: practices are once a week, our luck they will be one of the two evenings I am at work, leaving Galon to supervise with a hungry, tired baby and a possibly nervous three-year-old (4 in October!) Plus, games are every Saturday from September 24- November 12. That's like a month's worth of Saturdays people.

efficiency: Does she even want to play soccer? Sure, if you ask her, she says yes. In fact, if you ask her just about anything but what she's supposed to want to do (such as go to bed, eat dinner or get dressed) the answer is yes. Funny trick if you have speaking kids (aka toddlers:) ask them three things, placing the once you want them to say yes or agree to third. Such as, "Susannah, would you rather eat chocolate, candy or brussel sprouts tonight?" and the answer will always be the third one. It's this weird thing with their development where they always repeat the most recently suggested thing back to the suggester. Parents: 1, kids: 0. Score!
But I digress. Susannah's athletic ability, if any, comes from her father. She can run and kick. But running and kicking at once? Maybe not. Running and kicking at once in a flock of other similarly sized people? Most assuredly not.

cost: of course, the joy of spending Saturdays and an evening each week watching the kids huddle back and forth across a field isn't all for free. Because there are uniforms and coaches and paperwork, there is a (fair) price for all this. So it's not like there's nothing to lose. And it's not like quitting halfway through would be an option either.

Lately we are seeming more and more the committment phobia type family. Will we go to the fair? Maybe- let's wait and see how nap goes.
Will we do another week of swimming lessons? Maybe- let's wait and see how interested and excited Susannah is and how tired we are by the time that week starts. (she did actually do the second week of lessons and is planning to surprise her Daddy on the final day with a big jump off the diving board! We may or may not have bribed her with a trip to Mickie D's complete with her choice of milkshakes...)

And now it's hard to decide about this soccer thing.
I never got into team sports, perhaps due to the climate where we were living at the time. Figure skating, skiing, horses and dressage- not really a lot of team meetings, uniforms or crazy coaches (save the sequined stuff for skating. oi vey!)
But Galon and his sister did lots of sports growing up- he did baseball and football and she did cheerleading, all with the uniforms, weekly games, regular practices and crazy cheering sections.
I don't mind Susannah getting into something that requires the whole family get involved, I just want to make sure she really wants to do it and it's going to be fun.
Her level of athletisicim is more like mine than Galon's so I have some concerns about her getting picked on or left out due to that. The other day we were at the playground at a restaurant and there were several siblings playing hide and seek/tag and kept making Susannah "it." Then they would run around and squeal and she could never get to them (they were a little wild so I think she was a little scared of them actually.) Here's the kicker: she was wearing a little polka dot romper thing and they started calling her "Pokey". I was having a hard time not intervening and ended up taking Jolie aside to feed her. Galon wasn't that concerned, but sometimes it's hard to supress those mamma bear kind of feelings about our little ones.

So what do you think? Team sports for preschoolers? Worth it? Pros and cons?
In the end, I kind of hope we do it just to see how it goes. But with starting preschool in September and birthdays/grandparents/holidays coming up, it might be easier on everyone to have one less thing to get to.

blowout

2011-08-01T16:18:00.004-04:00

(disclaimer: poo may or may not be a major plot point in this entry. consider yourself warned.)
I'm struck by how often in life with kids things change on a dime.
This morning I thought we were sitting pretty. All set. Like the boyscouts, prepared.
We were changed, fed and packed (which these days feels like everything but the kitchen sink).
Jolie had awakened at 5:30, which without my glasses I thought was 6:30, so I had fed her and was playing with her when I realized it was barely dawn. I got her back to sleep and in the crib, laid down in my bed when I heard Susannah's door open. She was ready to get up for real, not appeased with reading in mommmy's bed.
So we went downstairs, watched Milo and Otis and by that time Jolie was waking up again.
We ate, got dressed, brushed teeth, and packed our stuff in preparation for our regular outing to the YMCA for a morning class for me and playtime for the girls.
Susannah was putting her shoes on and the dog was outside doing her business when I picked Jolie up from the bumbo seat to get her into the car seat. She was happy, smiling, content watching her sister up to this point.
I had no reason to suspect that there had been an explosion in her pants.
But that it was. Darn cereal introduction makes for a mess- I couldn't lay her down because it had already gotten all up her back (to the nap of her neck) and on both of my forarms.
I was balancing her in the crib, which for our purposes is the changing table upstairs, asking Susannah to get the wipes (which will no longer be on top of the tallest piece of furniture in Jolie's room.)
Fighting gags and the desire to just put the whole kid and kaboodle in the bath like that, we got her stripped down and in the bath. Then we redressed her, cleaned up the collateral damage and got us all back in shoe getting on mode when I remembered the dog.
By this time, Shiloh had taken the extra time and invested it in a good old fashioned unidentified substance rollover. We opened the door to get into the car and get the dog inside and we could smell her before we saw her.
At this point, I failed to consider shelving the morning exercise in exchange for a dose of peace and quiet. Not sure why.
Barging on, we put the dog in the kennel and got the the gym in time for my class.
Needless to say, when Jolie and I got home later (Susannah was dropped off at daycare) I took the briefest opportunity afforded by Jolie's carseat nap to give the dog a bath in the kiddie pool in the backyard.
Going inside with a wet dog and hungry, tired baby to face a mountain of seriously nasty laundry I thought my day had been pretty productive already compared to my life sans kids before 11 a.m.
Which used to consist of sleeping in if I was lucky:)
What's that you say? Still not considering expanding the family? Aww- there are pros and cons to every dirty diaper, no doubt about that.
I will add as a word to the wise:
If for some reason your kid outgrows the diapers quicker than you use them up, know there are serious reprocussions to using a very tight size two Pampers on a clearly robust and growing size three kinda baby girl.

nannies

2011-07-28T21:04:00.000-04:00

(nod to my buddy Mandy for the nugget that started this rant.)

So here's the thing. Galon and I know that our kids are a lot for folks without kids. I mean, they aren't hellions but they aren't driving miss daisy either.
And it's not unusual for us to have fantasies about some time without them occasionally. So I certainly don't expect other folks, especially those without kids, to grow fond of spending free time around my kids. In fact, I don't like when strangers are seemingly too fond of my kids when we're out in public.
But I've become increasingly irritated by a segment of folks out there who think that because a kid is upset or a baby is crying they should be removed from society.
There's apparently a new slew of restaurants and hotels banking on the "brat ban" as it's been dubbed.
So does that mean the parents will find another place to frequent or will they ditch their kids in favor of the trendy eatery or bed and breakfast?
It seems to me there are plenty of adults ditching their kids already in lots of ways without any additional encouragement.
How about if people with kids respect those without them (and a polite distance between them) and those without kids don't get too judgemental about those slipped sippy cups or banging crayons at the next table.
If you wanted peace and quiet you should have stayed home or gone out after 8 p.m.
I mean, what happened to "it takes a village?"
Now there are theatre chains who had a special kid free screening recently. Ok- I can see that (although why parents are silly enough to pay big bucks to take little kids to movies they'll squirm through beats me.)
But here's the kicker- the movie was Harry Potter and the blahdidee blah. Last I checked that was sort of marketed towards the younger set, right? It's no Winnie the Pooh, but yeesh- flying broomsticks and wizardly wardens? Not adult entertainment, if you ask me.
The line between "bringing kids along" and "leaving them home" is tricky depending on the setting, I'll admit.

Road trip?
Leave if under the age of 6.

Water parks?
Ok for most since there's plenty of distractions and ways to stay cool and happy. Plus, if they say no kids they should say no speedos or string bikinis cause let's be honest, those things are pretty annoying as well.

Church?
Sadly tricky- if you end up manning the nursery with your kids, stay home and save a shower. If your kids can behave for other adults or manage to sit through the service without cooing/crying/shuffling too much, go for it.

Hospital visits?
Split decision. We were recently visiting Galon's grandmother in a hospital that had posted signs banning kids under 6 (I think.) He told them we lived out of town and we wanted our kids to get to see their great grandma again and they caved- now neither of the girls showed any signs of illness nor touched anything and we only stayed about 10 minutes each time. I guess it depends on the health of all involved and the strictness of the hospital staff.

Weddings?
I used to think this was a no brainer. Lots of entertainment, snacks and dancing seems like a slam dunk for kid zones. But there are more of our friends hosting fancy shin digs that are more nanny friendly than before. So I guess it's like wardrobes, depends on the time of day, location and age of the mother of the bride?

As you can see, it gets complicated for families to still be involved with their couple-single folks if there are so many rules and limits.
I will say that some of the most fun we have is with a couple of empty nesters who relish each time they get to hang out with our kids now that theirs are grown.
Guess that says a lot against pushing kids to the fringes of society during their formative years...

What do you think?

observations

2011-07-22T15:31:00.001-04:00

Here's what I'm wondering these days. None is meant to offend, only perpetuate knowledge and understanding amongst ourselves.

1. Who buys t-shirts from the Brew Thru? I mean, do they sell those at the window? Are they chilled when purchased? And must they always be worn with camo colored crocs?

2. If someone asks you about your baby and you respond "she doing fine" and then they ask how she's growing and you say "a lot" and then they say "must be that fancy simulac formula" is it appropriate to correct them? Like, "nope, actually she's only been fed breastmilk so far." And if I did say that, would they immediately stare at you know what? This happened today actually and I just smiled and nodded and then felt like a traitor to the lactivist cause. This is similar to my confusion when someone asks about Jolie's refusal of the bottle by saying, "but aren't you pumping?" Well, I had been but since she won't drink any of the expressed milk, it kinda begs the point. Luckily, we have had a bit of success offering a cup recently so that might pan out before we begin offering her solid food.

3. Fudge creme oreos are my new favorite thing ever. I haven't bought any, of course, but had some recently at an event and just want to confess that if and when I do buy some I will probably consume massive amounts in one sitting.

4. Is it bad that I haven't watched TV news in about five months and haven't actually noticed? I do read local and regional news online but since we've been getting only DC stations since upgrading the TV channels we actually have no idea what roads are potholed, which politicians have been unfaithful or how many bagajillions our nation is in debt to China.

5. In addition to our TV viewing not including news, it has been replaced with Swamp People and American Pickers. How come the history channel has all these great shows that seem to have little to do with history? I can kinda see the stretch for American Pickers, but Swamp People? Maybe since you have to study the La Purchase to understand the way some of those folks talk...

6. On Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (non cartoon watchers feel free to stop reading here) why is Pluto depicted as a dog walking on all fours with a tail and Goofy has hands and no tail? Isn't Goofy a dog?

Finally, 7. What is a sports wagon? Is it like a compact SUV? Seems kinda like an oxymoron to me.We read a consumer reports edition about 2011 car ratings and it was mind boggling. Remember the days when there were two door or four door and hatchback or pickup bed. And sometimes you could pick roll up or power windows. It seems cars today come with an android enabled optional running system. Yet another reason I get so excited when I see older model station wagons (perhaps with wooden trim) for sale on street corners.

visiting sisters

2011-07-18T21:11:00.000-04:00

Real quickly...

Just to prove we're still alive and kicking up here:

Here's Mom and Susannah at the marina pool enjoying a snack (after Susannah slathered her eyes with spf 70 sunscreen...)

Mom recently hosted her middle sister, Nancy, from Minnesota who came bearing gifts for the girls, which included this lovely little hat. I tried to convince Galon it's basically camouflage for the garden party set. He wasn't convinced. She also brought a super fun game/book combo called Buck Buck Goose which I'd recommend to parents of toddlers seeking entertainment beyond the typical "princess/knight in shining armor" variety.

And we've also been enjoying hosting Galon's little sister, Jenny, this week. I'd just like to point out that the fat-roll bearing shirt Jolie is wearing (which was generously provided by my most stylish friend Liv) is a six month old size. We've begun referring to many of Jolie's onsies as wife beater boobie shirts, in the best way possible. Oh, and her neck isn't broken, she's just really relaxed.
Jenny flew back with us (albeit from a few rows away, to buffer the insanity:) and has been helping entertain/hold/rock the kids while we cross our fingers that even after all this, Susannah will eventually have another cousin on that side.:)

More details on our visit to Florida soon, there were plenty of shenanigans to update about. It's nice to be getting back in the swing of things at home, like grocery shopping, cooking, laundry and weeding. No, seriously. I missed the monotony of those sort of simple tasks. Also, we take Jolie to the pediatrician tomorrow for her 4-month old well baby checkup. Should be interesting as we'll have Jenny and Susannah in tow- not sure who will tackle the shot-bearing nurses first.

time flying

2011-06-20T21:51:00.001-04:00

We're heading to Florida soon on vacation- first time flying with two little ones. Should be interesting and I can't say which child will be harder to "entertain" during the trip up and back.
Meanwhile, Susannah is officially growing up. She's having real-er phone conversations and even gets a bit put off when we try to ad lib for her (I'll tell him that in a second mommy, first I want to talk about our day more...)
She's being more gentle with Jolie and seems to really enjoy spending time with her- really likes it when the baby smile or laughs at her, of course. There was an incident a few weeks ago when Susannah squeezed Jolie's arm suddenly and very hard and Jolie gave a surprised cry with crumpled brow and protruding bottom lip. Galon and I said, "what in the world? why did you do that?" and before she could respond, Susannah was crying too. It was clear she was upset that Jolie was upset- and we had to do a double reassure for the moment.
She was doing well in the nighttime potty training department, but that has slacked off a lot and we're not sure why. She wakes up when she has to go, but then lays there and pees in her pullup. I vote go cold turkey to panties and just do a lot of laundry for a while, but Galon reminds me that we already do a lot of laundry and she may transition back to the "dry pullup in the morning" phase and then we can do cold turkey. as it were.
I'm kind of bittersweet about vacation bible school because this year she really pays attention to lessons and stories and is excited about the "school" aspect of it all- eating with other kids, group assembly, crafts. She's officially preschool bound and I think she will do great with all that will entail- I just wish it didn't happen so fast!
And Jolie seems right behind her in the speed department. She flipped out of the swing last week (sign me up for worst mom of the year) but luckily a blanket padded her 12-inch fall onto the hardwood floor. She went from being a blob on a blanket to a flipping, inching, stretching girl. She will roll from back to front, but not the other way around, and is starting to grasp things, liteerally.
She's smiling a lot and talking a lot but instead of the cute coos now she's progressed to baby yelling. It's kind of like the Austin Powers movie character where "she can't control the sound of my voice" and except for volume, the tones remain the same. It's cute when it's not 5 a.m.
Speaking of midnight, she's sleeping from about 9 to 4 or 5 and then again til 7 or 8So we're getting more sleep and she's seeming more rested. I believe we could cut out that middle nursing and she has a few times in a row, but then out of the blue she'll wake up again- so we're on a few days on and a few days off schedule for sleeping through the night.
She's wearing 6-9 month sized clothing and nearly bald as a fritter, but has the Friar Tuck ring around the head with her reddish hair still. I can tell that what's growing back in is defintly blond.
In other news, I'm trying to save some money a la Kathy Spencer, serious coupon lady. So far, I haven't done much besides match my list up with manufacturer's coupons and my store's sale flyer. Will let you know how it goes- I went by one of the grocery stores I use and asked for a copy of their coupon policy to see what they allow as far as multiple or internet coupons and the manager looked at me like I had grown a third head. One thing's for sure, I won't be doing my first run with the bambino's in tow.
Here are some recent pics of everyone. Hope summer is treating folks well! Don't forget to spend some time at your local library this summer for the summer reading programs- we're signed up for three different ones and it's been a blast so far.

In the car seat pondering life.

Smiling with rosy cheeks.

Sister time practicing sitting up- Susannah needed a refresher course apparently.

One of Jolie's first swimming adventures with her great aunt Glori. Baby seems to love the water.

cutie patooties

2011-06-06T21:53:00.000-04:00

This is how I feel some days- sponge/soap holder on my windowsill. In case you can't see it, it says, "A Mother's Work is Never Done."
Between laundry, trying to contain some of the billowing black dog and gray cat hair, nursing, cooking, grocery shopping, and occasionally, working, these longer days of summer aren't really feeling quite long enough to me. Galon's been out of town and sick and we're all hoping not to pass that around for any lenght of time.
Coming up on our schedules are morning swimming lessons, afternoon Vacation Bible School and a big trip south to visit family and friends. Oh, and I'm also debating the merits of listing our house for sale. Again. While we have a three month old and a very busy three year old. Mwa. Maybe not... but the yard and garden look great. And the drive/time spent on commuting is looking less great.
But I digress...
And here are some recent pics of the girls.

Who looks more excited here?

Jolie is working hard at being mobile. She scoots from one end to the other in her crib and play area and seems to be more serious at attempting a rollover.

And that's what happens when you fall asleep in the stroller next to your big sister who may or may not have been adamant about bringing Piggy along. It's kind of like what happens when you're the first to fall asleep at a sleepover, only different. I've been loving this stroller though and so thankful we got it. Today after dropping the first child off at daycare (the stubborn baby can't go til 20 minutes before I have to be at work...) Jolie and I took some time to walk around a vacant neighborhood near an old millpond. It was lovely and she only screamed for the second half. The thing weighs near 40 pounds empty though, so I'm gonna get some serious calf muscles pushing it up and down hills. The downhills are the scariest because if I let go for just a second, it's off. There is a wrist strap for safety, but I can imagine all that does is drag the parent behind the stroller until the gravel and dirt combine with their bloody knees and wrists enough to slow the thing down.

Finally, we're entering the territory of matching dresses. Mostly navigated by Grammy's provisions, Susannah loves "matching" Jolie and Jolie seems unaffected thus far. These sort of outfits have only been used for church and I hope to maintain their individuality enough to keep it that way or less.

word to the wise

2011-06-06T09:12:00.000-04:00

It has amazed me how much marketing is put into making clothing "nursing" or "maternity" genres. Apparently anything that has spaghetti straps and lots of Lycra can be considered nursing friendly- and empire waisted items automatically can become maternity clothes. And pricier than a similarly styled piece billed for regular, non-lactating folks.
Case(s) in point:

here a nursing nightie is sold for $60. It's basically a sleep shirt with a placard full of buttons in stretchy fabric. Save the money- borrow one of your hubby's older shirts to sleep in or just use one of your regular nighties that has elastic straps.

Here's a day dress that's labeled maternity.

Here's another that's not. Can you tell the difference? Looks to me like both have plenty of growing room, and the second one you could continue to use after baby as an easy access nursing dress.

Shirts are the same way. I've found lots to pick from at our local goodwill. Buttons are our friends, nursing mamas. As are deep v-necks to wear over a cami enabling you to nurse without baring your entire midriff (cause who wants to do that after having a baby anyways?) And don't overlook anything with an elastic or tie around the neck, ala shirring or embroidery. Here are some examples of normal shirts that double for maternity and nursing duties.

For only $18.

Here is a cute tunic, but as a rule you want the placard/buttons to go a little farther down to be able to nurse easier. But this would be so comfy over a baby bump and maybe you could just nurse underneath it if your baby tolerates it.

And a pretty peasant top with room to grow.

Of course, bottoms are a bit more difficult when it comes to pregger land. One of my buddies enlightened me to the beauty of hair elastics pulled through button holes- enabling me to make it to month five or so before resorting to the dreaded elastic waist numbers. But again, some normal pants or skirts with drawstrings or shirring or rollover waists can get you far and actually be useful later as well. More examples:

Remember to buy a rollover like this, which may be more fitted, a size up from your normal size. If it's got Lycra, you'll be good to go.

In short, if you are expecting or expect to be, don't feel worried about what to wear. And even the "maternity" clothing that I did purchase over the past 4 years I still cycle in- so many is stretchy, forgiving and not at all "maternity" looking that you can get your money's worth if need be. The only exception to that are things like these:

Avoid belly bands at all costs. Feels like a girdle and if you're preggers anytime other than December 31, be prepared to sweat it out in something like this.

And really anything plaid and belted is probably a bad idea. In fact, I was expecting Jolie over Christmas and was amazed at the number of outfits for pregnant ladies that tried to make the massive belly appear like a present by wrapping various gift-styled bows and ribbons and sparkley things around the widest part.

What sort of experiences did you all have with maternity wear? Style in general? I have heard from ladies at church and in our family that even 30 years ago, clothing for pregnant folks was limited to tent-like mumus and if women "in the family way" must be flounting about in public, the more discreet the better. Aren't we all glad those days are gone? But don't forget, some things are better left to the imagination, no matter how cute your baby bump may be:)

outside

2011-06-04T11:08:00.000-04:00

We've been enjoying a lot of time outdoors as the weather turns sunny, hot and sticky. Susannah's new hangout is a kiddie pool where she likes to take Barbies in with her when we're not using it to give Shiloh the dog a bath.
We also got a new sprinkler that shoots balls from it which has been a hit, but not as exciting as I thought it would be thanks to low water pressure.
And we also scored a new double stroller thanks to Galon's generous co-workers and parents who chipped in. We took it for it's inaugural walk this week after a leisurely breakfast at a local coffee spot. Although the guy running the coffee shop was compelled to help me get the thing out of the back of the car and figure out how to unfold it without removing fingers, once we got rolling it was a hit all around. Jolie was asleep by the time we made our destination and Susannah was nearly there by the time we made it back to the car.
Jury's still out about bringing the behemoth to Florida with us via AirTran. May put the plane over the weight limit.
Other news is that our garden is growing! Maybe despite of or because of all the heat- I'm not savvy enough to know.
Here's what we've already picked: enough lettuce for several gallon sized zip bags, about six cups of green peas, less than a cup of blackberries (darn birds always beat me to it!) and we already have a few grape tomatoes nearing ripeness.

Of course, there are plenty of flowers added to the mix that have come back better than ever. Hollyhocks, santolina (which bombed last year but is doing great now) cornflowers, Queen Anne's Lace (a weed here but I have no heart to rip it out before it blossoms and reseeds for next year) and a bit of Veronica. And tons of lavender which I apparently planted way to close together! Who knew it got soooo bushy? But it smells so good each time we brush past it.

Here's the littlest garden helper, being sweet and amazed by leaves fluttering in the breeze. Those dear chubby legs and arms may be a hardship in sweaty Florida and even hot Virginia- thank goodness for baby powder with cornstarch!

And look at this big girl- putting on her own shoes and all dressed for church at the beach with Grammy and Poppa. Size really is relative I suppose.

dollhouse

2011-05-23T18:21:00.004-04:00

My dad likes to frequent old, musty hardware stores regularly. Can't say that I blame him, mainly for the chance to find a diamond in the rough each time.
He also likes to attend government surplus auctions, but that's another story.
He recently found a hardware store around Ashland that was moving locations and liquidating a bunch of necessities.
Among them was a circa 1950's aluminum (?) or maybe tin dollhouse, complete with window awnings, indoor and outdoor furniture and a family of four rather raggedy but well-loved looking inhabitants.
I actually think Mom was as excited as Susannah to play with it once the big surprise was unveiled.
It will be living at Grammy's which is good and bad and Susannah is convinced it belongs to her although we explained that it's Poppa's toy and he is just letting Grammy and her play with it.
When we visited last week, she asked Grammy if any other children had been by to play with it while she was carefully arranging and rearranging all the tiny furniture (which includes a clothes press.)
Although it may be laden with lead paint, sharp edges and choke able items- we love this unique toy and are kind of wishing they still made things as charming as this for kids to play with.
Dad said the man at the store said the dollhouse and accessories were a gift to his kid sister at one point- and the set included the original paperwork, albeit mouse-chomped.
Can't imagine having to put this sucker together one Christmas or Birthday eve without making a lot of racket or strings of expletives.

grandparents

2011-05-21T19:14:00.000-04:00

We were so blessed to have Galon's folks here to help out for about a month. They took the time to travel from Florida and stayed in their RV in some of the area's nicest and not so nice campgrounds to be able to spend time with their granddaughters and our family.
It was a blast.

We got to eat out, cook together, visit the Children's Museum, pick strawberries, swing, play in the sandbox, watch lots of movies, spend the night and more.

Susannah especially had a great time with a lot more undivided attention than she has been used to getting lately.
We went down to my folks' one day while the Halls were here and enjoyed some lawnbowling (for real) and a yummy meal.

And the ladies posed on the porch, while Susannah insisted on holding poor baby Sarah upside down and naked.

faces

2011-05-19T20:58:00.000-04:00

smile

O lips

hidden lips

neurotic to the bone

2011-05-17T19:53:00.001-04:00

This is the document I printed out and attached with the stuff to leave with Jolie at the sitter's this week. For the first time. For only three hours- but yeesh. I missed her so much- and it was so much harder than with Susannah for some reason.
How neurotic is this?
And I promise to post some new photos of our dears soon- we've got a cute summer haircut for the older one and full fledged smiling for the younger one (actually caught on camera.)
No updates on the bottlehate, but I appreciate the support and hope to try again this next week- not sure it will make a difference.

Jolie Hall, two months old

Likes:
Being held over your shoulder- especially if gassy.
Being laid on her belly, either on your legs while seated or on a blanket on the floor with another blanket rolled and under her armpits.
Looking at bright lights and toys while alert.
Being outside or in a sunny spot- sometimes this makes her sleepy.
Being rocked to sleep.

Dislikes:
Pacifiers
Bottles
Too much playtime or stimulation- she’ll start to fuss and look away.
Having arms tucked into blankets while sleeping or in the car seat.

She generally eats about 3 or 4 ounces of milk every 2.5 to three hours but can go for 5 or 6 hours at nights. If you need to offer a bottle, thaw out frozen bag of breastmilk in a cup of warm water and add to bottle. Test on wrist to see if it’s a bit warmer than body temperature and if need be, set bottle in warm water to heat- do not microwave.
Sometimes she takes the bottle best if she’s very sleepy/asleep or while being walked around.
If she gets fussy or upset, don’t keep offering the bottle as this will only make it worse. The thawed milk can be kept in the fridge and used for 24 hours- otherwise, pour it out.

Questions or concerns-
call Maggie at work xxx-xxxx or on her cell phone xxx-xxxx.

determination

2011-05-15T16:34:00.001-04:00

We've tried this:

which were the bottles Susannah preferred until she switched to solids at 6 months.
We've tried this:

which someone recommended and seemed like it would be lovely to eat from.
But Jolie is officially not taking these bottles. She won't get near a pacifier.
In fact, she seems to be personally insulted if anything rubber or plastic is even offered at this point- maybe because we've been frantically attempting success in this department for a week or so.
Monday evening, after holding out for six hours, Galon brought her up to my work so we could meet in the parking lot for mommy time. Mind you, it's so much more pleasant than pumping, but yeesh girl. What happens if I get hit by a bus? What happens if Galon gets a flat tire or for whatever reason can't bring her up after the first three hours at daycare?
Thank goodness my work schedule these days is perfect for this (work three hours, G brings her up after he gets off work, then I head home three hours later...) And praise the Lord for sweet in laws that have been trying to be patient with this and understand what to do-
I know what you're thinking- Maggie, didn't you guys get her on a bottle a while ago so she'd be used to it?
The answer is yes. Yes, she took a couple bottles from Galon when she was about a month old with little fuss. And she had taken some from grandparents- but with increasing fussiness. Then we kinda got swept up in life, company, toddler land and forgot to keep practicing this new skill for baby Jolie.
She wouldn't have any of it earlier this week. Some persuasion with sugar water with one of the local midwives seemed to be working until happily sucking on a sweetened finger turned into an attempt at bottle and then frustrated screaming.
We're not sure how to proceed.
The pediatrician says :"When she gets hungry enough she'll take a bottle."
The midwife says:"Some babies never take a bottle."
Meanwhile, we've got lots of stored milk in the freezer and the pump is at the bottom of the drawer. It's not all bad...
And a friend from work, also a nursing momma, is going to let us borrow this

and this

to try.
Wish us luck with one of the most sweet, stubborn little dears I know.

emmylou, gillian, paul and judy

2011-05-05T19:46:00.000-04:00

There are a few musicians who I've found myself repeatedly drawn to, no matter what. Sometimes they've come into my life at various times- others have played in the background or in my mind with few interruptions over the years.
When I was working at the paper, I had many of these artists and their conglomerate works playing over and over on the little Mac, usually listening for hours while on deadline.
In life after the paper, those hours in front of the screen have nearly disappeared, replaced by hours behind a stroller, stove or paperback novel.
But there are still times when my husband is with the kids or one of them is spending the night with grandparents that I find myself in the car with the windows down, catching up with these musicians and singing lyrics that have been neatly tucked away waiting to be uttered again.
I checked out some of these CD's from the library last week (some of the previously mentioned recordings may or may or may not have been bootlegged...ahem.)
One was Paul Simon's Graceland. O goodness, something about that title track makes me so glad we went with Grace for Jolie's middle name. Nothing but a song about a road trip with an estranged son, "following the river down the highway through the cradle of the Civil War..."
And I had great joy teaching Susannah some of the words to You Can Call Me All and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes- she especially liked that last one.
I also got Emmylou Harris' Red Dirt Girl and gotta say that song is really making me focus my thoughts on the hurt folks of the south in the wake of all those storms.
Other old-friend-finds were Gillian Welch : Revival and Judy Garland's greatest hits. Finally, 10,000 Maniacs' Our Time in Eden, especially These are the Days, probably goes through my mind at least once a week. Strange combinations, I know, but so familiar and wonderful to listen to uninterrupted for a few stolen 15 minute stretches.
It'll be a long while before we spend time or money on live music again, but when we do, I hope it's to an outdoor venue featuring any artist with songs, new or old, that I know all the words to.

I interrupt this post...

2011-05-02T21:39:00.000-04:00

To remind myself that there is one 3 and a half year old waiting for me to play in the sandbox/water plants/read stories or play with her in the bathtub.
And there is another girl, much smaller, who's idea of quality time includes milk, snuggles and occasionally a coo or giggle to return.
If you're a parent, new or old, this article has some good ideas and reasons to continue spending real, unplugged, focused time with your kids. One on one, or as a group.
I found it refreshing that for certain toddlers, picking an activity that the parent enjoys too is okay- whew.
So, instead of writing about our family more today, I'm going to figure out when and stick to a time when I can really spend time with the smallest members of that family.
Thanks to Williamsburg Mothering for the link- one of many provocative ones she posts for thoughtful parenting and commonsense care.

May days and easter time

2011-04-27T10:20:00.001-04:00

We managed to sneak in several Easter egg hunts this year. Turns out Susannah really likes manning her own, especially if after she carefully hides each one she can actually lead the hunters to the prize.
At one point during the event at a local state park, our dear child was wandering around way past the boundaries of where the folks hid the eggs. Would have been something if she had found some there:) But she had a blast and we are overun with candy of all kinds, which may or may not be slowly stolen by her parents.

Here are some of the best photos.

Jolie was clearly overcome with excitment. And she actually had a cute matching little sister dress to Susannah's Easter dress, pictured above, but being a baby and the second child, none of us managed to get a photo of her in it looking content.

Raising funds

2011-04-25T21:11:00.001-04:00

During my time at home these days, I've been trying to perfect my "miserly" ways. This doesn't mean cutting coupons or shopping for a whole day at a time, but rather paying attention to what we need and don't need.
Last time I went to the store (April 15) I shopped with a menu for the whole month. There were nine meals planned, with about four filler items (like spaghetti.) The bill was whopping, but divided by four not so much. However, being that I had two little kids in tow, one in the sling and one throwing fits on the floor, I got distracted and forgot a few items.
Funny thing is when I send Galon or others to the store to get those items, I find myself adding to those lists too- like if we run out of milk for even a day the world will stop spinning.
I'm trying to curb the instinct to keep every cupboard full all the time, but it is taking some discipline.
I have realized how expensive cold cereal is and Susannah and I have begun eating either cream of wheat or oatmeal most mornings. I have hopes to make a bunch of pancakes and freeze em in batches, but haven't caught up enough in the mornings yet to do that with any amount of sanity.
The other things we're doing now include only running a full load of laundry and only using the cold wash. I used to use hot for things that were white or especially dirty, but not any more. We happen to have a high efficiency washer so I'm not sure the full load mentality makes a difference, but it keeps me from folding laundry six days a week, so score.
I've been recycling more, especially for Susannah's craft stuff, and buying more at the Dollar Stores than I had in the past.
Any ideas for how to save some bucks out there from the grocery shoppers in your family?
One thing I've discovered we shouldn't skimp on so far is toilet paper- nuff said.

As an aside, does anyone know why for the past few days I've heard soundclips of our president via his fundraising campaign? Are we paying him actually to do that? Seems ironic somehow.

9-5

2011-04-22T17:51:00.001-04:00

This week I went back to work. It's hardly that at only one day a week for six hours at a go for a while- but still nice to be in the land of the adults.
A land where no one screams and gets away with it. No one poops in their pants and admits it. And no one looks as cute as this:

In preparation for returning, I've been reading a lot. Mostly historical fiction kind of stuff, but also one non fiction called A Best Friend's Guide to Maternity Leave.
Kind of funny to read it beginning on week five of a six week leave, but it had lots of helpful information and especially revealing statistics about the sorry state of family leave in our country.
I've included some exerpts below that puts into words (better than I could on little sleep) some points about maternity leave and balance in general as a (working) mom. Take them for what they are, but in general, add this book to your list if you're planning on having babies while pursuing a career of any kind.

Statistics show that you’re likely to be getting back to work only eight to twelve weeks after giving birth… and by the time you arrive at work on the first day, you’ve already put in overtime on the family front. You’ve risen early, gotten the baby ready, made breakfast (maybe), not had time to eat it, loaded the baby into the car seat, taken the baby out of the car seat, delivered her into someone else’s care, loaded yourself back in the car and drive the rest of the way to your job. Emotionally and physically exhausted, you arrive at work only to fine everyone else speaking in tongues. Pg. 221-222

What does it mean to “help” and what does it mean to “share” and how will that difference change your marriage?... If you stay at home and take a pay cut, your salary will begin to fall behind his, even if the two of you had been earning about the same before. If you decide to go part time, that situation will only be amplified. As the disparity in your paycheck grows, you, not your husband, will be expected to take the hits at work when there are conflicts between work commitments and your child’s needs. Pg. 130

Getting greener

2011-04-20T17:13:00.001-04:00

Around here, we've planted some things...

There's marigolds on the kitchen windowsill.

Lilacs by the back steps.

And tulips on the front steps. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for easy spring displays. I re potted those firs in October, dropped half a dozen bulbs in the bottom before I topped them off and forgot about them. Really looks nice until the foliage fades at least...
We've been working lots on the veggie garden too with peas, lettuce outside and baby zucchini and yellow squash inside. Transplanted peonies and day lilies and planted all kinds of perennials including delphinium and globe thistle as experiments.
Hope you're growing something around your house too- now's the time to be outside before it gets sticky and hot.

Spring's fury

2011-04-18T17:00:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend, we had some fierce weather move up the east coast. There was damage done near Raleigh-Durham all the way up our way, but one of the local towns worst hit was the tiny fishing hamlet of Deltaville.
It's where my folks' business is based and where their church is.
Or where their church was.

Dad took that photo sometime after having to walk through town due to the downed power lines and scattered debris. Electricity and phone lines are expected to be down most of this week and more than 40 homes were seriously damaged or destroyed. I was surprised to find out here are even 40 homes in Deltaville due to it's quaint street appeal.
Not sure if anything formal has been organized to help folks here- no one was seriously injured, but across a river in Gloucester, three people were killed by the same weather system.
Like Dad said, hard to believe this isn't a huge hint that it's time to build a new sanctuary.
To the right of the photo above is the newest part of the building, a kitchen and contemporary worship area. Luckily there wasn't as much damage there since it's only a few years old.
In the meantime, the congregation may meet at Stingray Point's beachside, where they normally hold an extra summer service, for regular worship.
Makes it easy to be very thankful and worrisome- so please keep this in your thoughts and remember to listen for those sirens this time of year.

sister time

2011-04-11T16:04:00.003-04:00

We're counting down the days left in maternity leave for Mommy with lots of errands and outings and naps.
With a bout of warm weather, we spent the weekend weeding, planting and mulching in the yard- Galon spent some time harvesting spring turkeys.
Both the bottle and pacifier have been tried with varied degrees of success- anyone have any suggestions or getting a breastfed baby with a short fernum (tongue tied) to take a binky?
I think it might make leaving her next week a bit easier for everyone.
Jolie weighed in at 10 lbs, 11 oz at her month old checkup, so no one's worried about her ability to eat well or gain weight.
Galon's folks are coming this weekend for a month-long stay at a nearby campground and to help with both girls while I get my wits about me at work.
Although it's only parttime and for shifts of six hours at a time with a very supportive and understanding staff, I'm worried about her being upset while I'm gone and not being much for consoling. Guess that's egocentric to think she'll be a basket case without me- but unlike Susannah as a baby, Jolie is not uber easy going in general.
We went to the Y about two weeks ago to try to get back in the routine of my morning class- but five minutes into it they had to come get me cause our little dear was quite upset for no apparent reason.
Nighttimes have regulated quite a bit so that's a huge blessing- she sleeps for three hour shifts beginning at around 10 or 11 p.m.- so by the time Galon leaves for work at 4 or 5 a.m., he puts her in bed with me for some morning nursing snuggling time.

Jolie Grace

2011-04-06T15:51:00.004-04:00

Disclaimer: Following is my account of our experience bringing Jolie into the world. If you don't like details (there aren't any gory ones) or just read this blog for the photos, skip this part.

Since Jolie is nearing the month old mark, I figured it was about time to get this recorded before the sleepless nights and busy days blend together and further erase our memory.
For those of you squeamish readers, I posted this as a separate window so folks who didn’t wanna know wouldn’t have to- but there really isn’t much blood and guts, so read on if you haven’t heard too many birth stories that involve our local center.
The long version begins in December 2010 when we learned from my doctor in Richmond that the placenta was “marginal” which turned out to mean nothing but in the meantime meant more ultrasounds and some false threats of c-section delivery.
At that point, it had become clear that my doctor, whom I had never had a bad experience with, may or may not be delivering our baby (again). In Susannah’s case, she was out of town and we got a lovely German-accented stand in but had to fight for our rights along the way (at St. Mary’s in Richmond- but great food!)
It also was getting to be a drag to drive to Richmond each month so we had arranged every other visits with a Kilmarnock based ob-gyn which was pleasant as it was closer and everyone at that office was so friendly and supportive. Until I mentioned to the doctor there at around the 32 week mark that I was considering touring the local birthing center.
That doctor suddenly wanted to “talk it out” and even subtly mentioned that should something go wrong, “which no one ever knows if it will or not,” patients at the center could face death (of course) due to the distance from a major hospital.
Her enthusiasm against the center just made me more curious. Unfortunately, I hadn’t made the decision to explore having Jolie at the birthing center before this point because a) the placenta issue would have disqualified me and b) I just procrastinate and hated to think switching might hurt my regular doctor’s feelings.
Turns out, my regular doctor was thrilled and not at all worried about the safety of the center. We went for the tour, faxed some records and checked on insurance and after the graciousness of the folks at the center, we were in.
The visits there were at that point weekly so I got to know folks there quickly and was happy with the laid-back but informative attitudes they all possessed.
There were no pelvic exams until the final week and that was at my request just to have an idea of where we were as far as dilation and effacement.
Both midwives we met were super supportive of whatever our desires for the birth might be- which turned out to be good because Jolie’s arrival was much different that Susannah’s and I imagine if I had been fighting it out in a hospital again things would have had a much different ending as far as pain meds.
We had all been waiting with little patience at that point for the baby to come when on Sunday we had my folks up for dinner at a local restaurant. I ordered and ate nearly all of the steamed seafood platter, much to folks’ horror as butter and Old Bay spattered over my massive belly.
That was followed up by a stop at the local Dairy Freeze for a cookies and cream milkshake. Guess we should have known my body was up to something…
At around 2 a.m. that night (March 7) I was feeling contractions which had been ongoing for a week or so- nothing major. But I noticed some dribbling and got out of bed to get a towel- good thing ‘cause a little later, my water broke and we were on our way to the center.
My folks met us there, not looking at all groggy eyed, to take Susannah. She had been very alert on the 30 minute trip and even asked if we needed to pack scissors so the doctors could get her baby sister out.
The midwife met us there and got us settled into one of the two rooms. She was resting down the hall (as it was 3 a.m. or so) and told us to get her if we needed anything and she’d check on us in a little while.
So we hung out until about 7 or 8 a.m. when I was having issues with the contractions. I had tried a lot of the bells and whistles, I think just for the sake of trying them. We had done the shower, Jacuzzi, birth ball, walking, swaying. I was still struggling and sure things had progressed more than they had. After I had them check me and things had NOT progressed much, we didn’t check anymore.
At that point we had a midwife, a nurse midwife and a doula in the room- all were being very helpful but removed still in a way. Galon was the biggest help, helping me stay calm and find relief from each contraction, even as they started to smear into each other. Instead of coming to an end every few minutes, suddenly they were just getting longer and way more intense. It had been about 7 hours at that point and I was sweating lots but too tired to take off the heavy robe I was wearing.
The ladies knew that I was getting ready to push I guess just by watching us and my coping- they suggested I get on the bed with the birthing ball under my hips, laying forward over it. It was lovely and really helped me feel better. Little did I know that’s also a great way to push and that’s what happened!
About halfway into pushing, the midwife said to slow down because the baby’s cord was around her neck. It was very tight and it took a second or so, eventually they cut it because it wouldn’t slip over her head. Then she was here!
They had a little oxygen tube to hold near her head while I got to hold her for the first hour or so and they worked on the placenta and my repairs.
She immediately began suckling and was so wrinkly and cute- in a very googely eyed way! She was so purple from the lack of air as she came through the birth canal and it took a while to get her pink- but she was alert and just fine.
We all took naps and Galon went to the local Subway to get a sandwich for us to munch.
The doctor who keeps an office at the center came by to shake hands and meet the baby- there had been another birth just a few hours after Jolie came!
A couple hours later, my folks came with Susannah to help them measure the baby and get her dressed. Susannah really liked watching them take the footprints. She was concerned about the belly button (Susannah uses her belly button as her comfort when she’s tired or upset, she rubs or pulls at it) but Poppa explained it was like an apple stem and would fall off when it was all dried and ready to.
By then, we had decided to head home later that evening and recover there. The center encourages folks to leave when they’re ready, allowing stays between 6 and 24 hours.
They helped inspect the carseat, gave hugs of encouragement and we were on our way.
The next day, they came to the house to take care of some other business and check on us. Even then, they were so calm and supportive that it was a relaxing visit.
Overall, we were so pleased with our experience and are very thankful the center is in our neck of the woods so we could have such a time with Jolie and our little family.
I’d also say that no one should assume two births or two babies will be similar- everyone had said that because Susannah’s birth took just a few hours (about 3) that this baby would be quick and easy. Although it was totally worth it, I wouldn’t call it quick or easy. And after a month with dear Jolie, she’s definitely got her own personality and methods separate from those her older sister had.
We know not everyone thinks they can handle natural birth, but really, our bodies are designed for it and with the right support and preparation, I think it’s actually the least harmful way to bring a new life into this world.

unplugged

2011-03-26T13:20:00.003-04:00

Since bringing Jolie home on her birthday, our computer has been DOA. It's given me a real lesson about my reliance and dependence on gadgets, high speed and updates.
In the process of trying to resurrect the machine, the computer geek guys wiped our hardrive before transferring anything to the slave drive- meaning things that had been worked on since March 2010 were lost. This included about a third of our photos of Susannnah, all my stuff for Habitat work and our address file- which I rely on in Excel form instead of my old black box in order to mail merge.
Needless to say, I will be backing things up. For once. After this.
So after realizing the world would not spin off it's axis if I didn't check FB or the blog world or even post updated photos from our sweet little life, I kind of liked being disconnected.
Of course, other folks don't always understand why it takes you a week to reply to their messages instead of a few hours. Or how come I haven't commented on their exciting news. But overall, it's been kind of freeing.
All that said, it's nice to be able to post something for public consumption again (no matter how small that public may be:)
On the family front, we're faring well. Jolie still isn't really on a schedule, but since she's still so little and apparently nursing well (up to 9 pounds at dr checkup) I'm not too worried yet.
We've started saving some milk for my return to society and on Friday I even ventured out with both girls (fun to say!) for lunch with a pal. It wasn't nearly as much of a trainwreck as I was afraid it'd be, although I did have to whip it out I think it was good practice trying to do it discreetly. Again.
Just the other night I was burping Jolie in the rocking chair and it took me a full few minutes to figure out the smell I was detecting was me from where I'd been spit up on earlier. And I caught myself putting the dishwashing detergent in the fridge.
Poor Galon actually has been back at work for this full week and hasn't collapsed yet- but there are some benefits for carpooling. I think he can sleep on the way in when he's not driving:)
That's all the news from around here- big girl up from nap, little girl not taking one.
More later!

more pics

2011-03-17T12:00:00.003-04:00

Here's some pics of us after Jolie's birth- which was such a good experience, by the way. Susannah got to meet her just two hours after she arrived and then we all headed home about five hours later. (Susannah went to Grammy and Poppa's for a few nights til we got a "schedule".)
The first two pics are of the girls playing together in the sunroom.
Thanks for all the congrats and prayers- I'm feeling back to normal, just sleep deprived- but cautious about the work of getting prepared for real life after maternity leave as well.
More details soon- our computer is still at the doctor's!

welcome

2011-03-11T11:12:00.003-05:00

We're pleased to announce the birth of Jolie Grace Hall!
She arrived at 10:05 a.m. on March 7, 2011 at the Family Maternity Center of the Northern Neck in Lancaster, Virginia. She weighed seven pounds, five ounces and was 20 inches long- a little larger than Susannah when she arrived. We'll post the "birth story" here subsequently- upon arrival home later on the day she arrived, we discovered our computer has fried. So we're currently using the local library for internet access- be patient!
We are all doing ok- she's got her days and nights a bit confused but is nursing great and big sister Susannah is being a big help!

archive: nursing adventures

2011-03-01T18:53:00.001-05:00

NOTICE: This post is from when Susannah was a few months old and I had entered into the fray known as working motherhood accompanied by a rabid breast pump. Upon reading it again recently, I realized there were still pointers for those of us a few years removed from that scene. Enjoy.

Spilled Milk, May 23, 2007.Although it's much to the amusement of the receptionist at my dentist's office, we continue a successful nursing relationship in the Hall household. But along the way, there have been some funny moments that I thought worthwhile to share with other folks out there who may someday consider nursing their young. And even though I know it probably will cause a blush on the cheeks of my former boss and father in law, here are some hints:

Don't cry over spilled milk: about two months ago, I was still having to pump each morning at work. This was long after our stash of frozen milk had dried up, as it were, so there was a bit of urgency to deliver the product to the babysitter each afternoon. On one particular day, which happened to be a deadline day at the publication where I work, I had finished pumping and realized that one of the parts of the bottle lid was missing from the bag I would pack each morning before leaving my home. So, I rigged a bit of aluminum foil and a rubber band to seal the bottle and set it in my purse for discretion's sake. I didn't think much when later, while getting up to get something off the printer, I knocked my purse over with my foot. I did think much when minutes later I walked in my office to discover a pool of milk under my chair. It was confusing for a second until I realized what happened and freaked. In the end, Susannah didn't starve and the milk was easy to clean up. So, the lesson here is don't leave the house without all the tiny parts that make up motherhood, including but not limited to: cap to bottles, bibs, spare pacifier and various and sundry toys and books for baby.

Pumps suck: Since I was lucky enough to have nearly two months of maternity leave, I had some time sans the hated breast pump. Upon returning to work, however, I had to buckle down and plug in. It was loud, awkward and very embarrassing since after a promotion my new office was next to my male boss's. The worst part, though, has been the uncanny ability of the pump to go from operational to broken overnight. This has happened twice. On Mondays. So, after a flurried trip to our local drugstore to buy a replacement (which happens to be the same crappy brand as the broken one, in both cases) I have to rip open the package in my car and pack the parts in my purse to sneak it into the office to use for the morning. Amid a hectic deadline day. Needless to say, I've had some heated conversations with the Evenflo people. During one of those calls, I was asked to plug in the broken machine and hold the receiver up to the “horn.” It was by far one of the more bizarre moments in my life when the lady on the other end of the phone line said, “Yup. It's just not sucking.”

Warm milk is only good with cookies: Over the course of the last six months, I've been carefully planning my evening work hours around Susannah's feeding schedule. The addition of solid food to her diet has greatly helped this balancing act. I do remember several instances of sitting in the back seat of my GMC with a battery powered pump frantically looking around to make sure no government official or state press member walked by my suspiciously parked car. The worst part of this duty is that the heat of an early Virginia spring doesn't always mix well with, well, milk. So, among the lip balm and hair elastics in your car's glove box, nursing moms should also keep a spare set of AA batteries, wet wipes, hand sanitizer and bottled water. (even hot water is better than none to a parched lady sitting in the back of a hot car.)

until further notice

2011-02-28T18:01:00.004-05:00

We're getting more excitement from folks as the baby's due date draws near (Thursday.)
Since both Galon and I are now nursing the head cold version of the sinus infection Susannah had last week, sleeping is loud and intermittent. And we're less focused on belly movements or contractions than we are trying to breathe without sniffing and sleep without coughing.
We have nothing left to do in the nursery to be "ready" (like anyone is every really ready. hee hee.)

Close up of the handiwork provided by baby's great aunt Susie (circa 1968.)

Tall person changing table atop dresser that belonged to my grandmother and namesake. Notice the samplers which I've had floating around frame less for a while. I decided to use some old wallpaper I had from a yard sale find to "mat" them in these frames, which are holding record covers from a former life (and may return to that use as our littlest girl develops a taste for Billy Joel and Jim Croce:)

Cute baby clothes and pegboard, all provided by Grammy Grimm. (seriously- she painted the pegboard thing during a watercolor stint that took place in the '90s.)

Notice the lovely quilt from library coworkers which features bright, cheerful colors on both sides. Also notice the rug, which I'm pretty sure will only stay white for a limited time. Also, cool hanging lamp from my brother and sister in law a while ago seems to go just fine with everything and make it a little less vintage overall. Too much?
Also, you can see I have gone with the one curtain, pulled to the side look. I tried the twofer and it was an awful lot of fabric up there and pooling on the dust bunny prone floor. I do appreciate the feedback though- as always- and have found myself reevaluating window coverings in many other rooms and even when we're watching reruns of "designed to sell" or Ax Men on TV.
Just kidding about the Ax Men thing- although we do watch regularly and I really can't wait to see the swamp dude playing with that big Beach Barbie looking four wheeler thing.
But I digress.
Next midwife apt is Wednesday so may not have another update until after that. Until then, we're considering changing our voicemail message and posting in felt letters across my belly, "still in there."

nesting

2011-02-24T13:23:00.002-05:00

Well, with no news to report on the baby front, I've found myself filling the days with cooking and cleaning. The baby's room is complete, I took some pics but of course left my camera at home in the land of dial up. Will add them here in the coming days.
I'm still on the schedule at work until baby comes but this week was light since I'm working Saturday. So Tuesday we did laundry, sheets and towels. I went through Susannah's clothes to send the too-small stuff to a friend. Wednesday we did bathrooms and steam cleaned the floors and threw a bunch of stuffed animals (including two of the dog toys) into the washer for a clean up. We also went through all of Susannah's toys to organize- she seems to stash hair barrettes, chap stick and baby accessories all over the place. And you know those sets of ABC magnets? Well, she had stored each of them in about 26 different hidey holes.
And since last week when we had some friends have a baby girl, I've been cooking for many and freezing for some. I've found myself relying nearly completely on Galon's stash from the recent hunting season- which has been nicely processed and vacuum sealed thanks to some great Christmas presents. It's really saved a lot on our groceries when prices seem to be rising so much at the store, and there is hardly a case when we have a problem with the texture or taste of the finished product. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's better for us than feed yard raised beef or poultry.

Recent recipes include:

Rachael Ray's special sausage and kale soup this was really good with hearty, whole grain rolls.
venison and elk burgers with seasoning salt we served these on the extra whole grain rolls which turned out to be the perfect size.
chewy brownies 'nuff said.
wild turkey pot pie (details below.)

That last one didn't have a recipe but I kinda threw some things together and it turned out really good. You can make it with store bought ground turkey and I think the results will be similar.

Ingredients:
1 med can vegall
1 can cream of celery soup
three celery stalks, diced
three carrots, diced
2 T dried onions
1 C whipping cream
1 C water
1 lb ground turkey
salt and pepper
2 T butter
1 "can" of refrigerated buttermilk rolls, 8 count
Uncle Ben's brown rice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and cook the turkey in a skillet over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain if needed (ours had no fat added, so it was just water that needed to be drained.)
Put cooked meat into a medium to large mixing bowl, set aside.
In same skillet, melt butter and cook veggies with onion at medium to high for about 10 minutes, or until soft and browning. Add to mixing bowl.
Add soup and vegall to mixing bowl.
Add whipping cream and water and stir until combined.
Pour into one 4 quart baking dish OR two smaller dishes. Top with biscuits. (I cut them into little strips and laid them on top in a neat design, allotting space for expansion. It looked way better than just plopping down whole circles on top.)
Bake for 30 minutes or until rolls are browning on top.
Meanwhile, make the rice according to package directions.
To serve, spoon the "pot pie" over the rice in some shallow bowls.
Serves 6.

good girl

2011-02-17T09:03:00.005-05:00

(image via)

We've been having a busy week and it seems I can't wait for the weekend to get here. Along with the belly shots, we're planning some gym time with a free lunch, seed planting for the windowsills and final touches in the baby's room.
Susannah has been on a roll with good behavior and even on board with night time potty training- today her pull up was completely dry and she really had held it all night! She's still enjoying weekly tumbling classes at our Y and is wanting to practice more and more at home- although this nice weather has us outside in the sandbox a lot as well.
We enjoyed a laid back V-day, complete with hand delivered candy and yo-yo from Susannah to Daddy and pizza and chocolates from Susannah to me. And although I may have made and consumed an entire batch of tapioca last week, midwife says I lost four pounds so WHEW.

As an aside, I'm working on some things I'd like feedback about:

1)Do you support non-profits? Why or why not? What is it that makes you or your family buy tickets to say, an annual dinner auction for Habitat? This year's big event for our branch is nearing and I'm trying to think of ways to make it more entertaining and yet still profitable. If you're interested in supporting us, check this out.

2)When you hang drapes over a narrow window, do you always hang two or sometimes one and just pull it to the side? My mother mentioned this to me and argues the single look appears "towel like" while I think having two long draperies on either side of a rather narrow single window looks a bit crowded AND makes them hard to pull together each night and spread apart each morning. Not super serious, I know, but just wondering.

3)For those of you unfamiliar with SEC football and the great traditions it garners, this may be worth skipping. For the rest: what the heck is up with someone thinking it is a decent decision to POUR HERBICIDE ONTO TREE ROOTS in a public space? Not only does this represent overall environmental unfriendliness and a waste of resources but potential chemical poisoning and just plain meanness. For more on this story and what punishment people are proposing for the potential perpetrators, read this. (Everyone is assuming the guilty party is an Alabama fan, but I seriously hope that doesn't turn out to be the case- would just add fuel to a longtime simmering fire.)

what I miss about...

2011-02-10T14:07:00.003-05:00

Today I had a busy morning with several obligations. There was showering (ugh), dressing, waking little girl, dressing little girl (seriously, how many times can you pick socks out before happiness is attained?) feeding us both poorly (marshmallow maties!) and heading out the door on time.
After checking in at work, two colleagues and I made a presentation to the local governing body about our goals and struggles at Habitat for Humanity. Of course, I ran into lots of folks I used to see more often due to my work at the newspaper.

What my morning made me miss was:

The variety working in news brings, both behind the desk and on the "beat."
The ability to remember minute details about total strangers, like their maiden names, to be able to draw from in case of drama later.
My old waistline (my replacement from the paper told me I looked like I was smuggling watermelons. really, very funny.)
Any chance of getting toddlers, pets and my own weak bladder to cooperate and get out of the door ON TIME.

But there were some things that I remembered aboutmy former life that I don't miss so much after all:

The necessity to catch every detail about high impact negotiations or conversations.
How normal, grandmother kind of people who know you're a reporter edit their comments and tend to worry about what exactly you're writing down or remembering.
Feeling like certain days of the months and those meetings were the beginning of very long weekends working for me.
Missing my baby girl and realizing I wouldn't see her again for eight hours!
And really, what value is there in being able to see your own feet anyways?

Speaking of feet, at this point, midwives tell me we're 36.5 weeks along and baby girl two is head down, hunched over below my belly button. She's like a torpedo apparently. We have actually narrowed down the search for a first name, but for the sake of indecision aren't telling folks till she arrives.
Middle names- not so much. Again, what value is there in a third initial? It'll be like she's always in trouble cause we won't have to save her middle name for trouble times only... oi ey.
So far, I've gained about the same amount of weight as I had with Susannah but don't have cankles- yet. We're feeling fine and finally excited to meet this girl child. But I haven't made time to pack a bag of clothes or snacks for the birthing center nor have we hung the blackout curtains or bookshelves in baby's room.
Ready schmeady. We still have a few weeks, right?

belly shots

2011-02-02T18:41:00.007-05:00

So- here's the thing. When we were pregnant with Susannah, I was in like, three photos. We don't really have any record of that time- however clueless we all may have been to what was coming down the pike:)
This time, at 35 weeks, we decided to book a local photog for a package: maternity now, new baby soon and sisters later.
The maternity shoot is scheduled for two weeks from Saturday and I honestly can't imagine how a camera will be able to capture anything but belly by then... so far, weight gain is about 25 pounds and I gained a total of about 33 with Susannah. So it's going to be a busy month folks.
But I digress.
My question to you all, in the blogoworld, is how you feel about fatties in photos? I mean, already the photographer has put the ball in our court by asking us to bring a list of some shots we would like to have for sure and, get this, some PROPS. She said that and I'm thinking, like fake moustaches?

Turns out she means things like block letters to place on the belly, a la:

Or an ultrasound photo, a la:

And there's plenty of other props, come to find out, including a bow, scarves, stuffed animals (?) and the ever famous heart-hands on the belly (my fave of these is the booties mainly because then when we get newborn shots maybe the baby can be wearing them-)

Historically, as our family photographer, I don't like being in photos- so it's going to take some distraction for me to relax completely. I've told the photographer that I would like at least a few outside, if the weather cooperates, because I think natural light always yields the most informal results.
Anywho- what's your take? Did you or did you not have belly shots taken in some form or fashion and why or why not? Regrets? Advice?
And can I just say a resounding NO to any nekkid preggers photos for us- while browsing the Web for options I was a little shocked by what folks would be comfortable not only the photographer seeing, but also whoever developed the film and apparently whomever they chose to display said pricey, yet under dressed pics, to.
The closest I get to liking "barely there" belly shots is what someone has dubbed "the goddess" shot:

Also, once baby two arrives (yes, we've narrowed down first name but are still debating over middle names...) I'm looking forward to a real family portrait to save a stitch in time before all the insanity of two kids takes over our lives!

things I don't do

2011-01-29T10:47:00.003-05:00

** Disclaimer: lengthy and not at all funny post. If you're not feeling introspective today, skip this and instead check this out.

A friend lent me her copy of the Shauna Niequist book "Bittersweet" about a month ago and I've been trudging through it until now. Unlike the young mom's first account of essays on a variety of subjects (called "Cold Tangerines") this one is much more an account of loss, grief and recovery.
The chapter I read recently had the most impact of the book so far. It's called "things I don't do" and includes the author's confession about her use of lists to get through tasks and daily achievements.

In college and even pre-baby I found myself often making lists that looked something like this:
-grocery store (V-day cards and soap for G)'
-take dog and cat to vet for annual exams
-write thank yous for xy and z
-order seeds for garden

Now, if I had time for a list or even a calendar it would probably look like this:
-daycare,work,Habitat meeting on Thursday
-paperwork for preschool registration asap
-kitty litter and TP OUT
-renew books and movies at three local library branches (eek!)

Niequist elaborates about how much better it would be for folks who hold themselves too accountable, too busy and too scheduled to just make a more broad list of "things I don't do." She refers to a friend's counsel that led her to remember to figure out what you are willing to give up on in order to focus on what you really want to do with your life.
Niequist talks about how she realized things were out of hand for her when her to do list included "DO EVERYTHING BETTER"- sort of like a failure before even trying.
So she decides to actually list things she doesn't or won't try to do from that point on in order to focus on what she thinks she's supposed to be doing or is actually already good at.
On her list of giving up are things like baking and gardening- which wouldn't be on my list of not to do but at least she's letting herself off the hook on those accounts before she even struggles to keep up with them. She also said she doesn't change her clothes every time she leaves the house and often is donning her beloved yoga pants.
Her list of things she does includes putting her relationship with Christ first and seeking discipleship, focusing on her husband and son and trying to become a better writer.
All this got me thinking about what I do and don't do- now and later.

Here's my take of "things I do":
-Spend time learning about what God would have me do. This includes listening to and digesting words from our pastor, the Bible and ladies I believe already have some skill at this.
-Enjoy hanging out with my daughter and getting to know her better- like the other day when we were trying to practice drinking from a water fountain and we both ended up soaking wet and giggling.
-Try to value and love on my sweet husband and remember what he does for me and our family on a daily basis. This includes but is not limited to 2+ hour commuting, diaper pail changing and black lab entertaining.
-Seek improvement for the lives of others- this is through Habitat efforts, inviting folks to join the Y, praying for those I know are hurting or struggling and sometimes just giving back in new ways that still require real sacrifice.
- And just for fun, I like to dig in the dirt, eat green veggies, see or talk to my family often and try new recipes. I also enjoy exercising and may even occasionally run even when people or bears aren't chasing me. And of course, cheer on my NATIONAL CHAMPION Auburn Tigers every chance I get:)

And here's my list of "things I don't do":
-I don't care about jewelry anymore or even trends on the fashion scene or really even buying new to decorate my old house. Although I am susceptible to a good sale, I don't focus on material things as much as I once did.
-Don't try to convince friends with young families about the benefits of nursing, natural birth and low-chemical/preservative diets. If they are interested, they will ask:)
-I don't worry anymore about instantly making new best friends when I meet someone. I know that I have a reservoir of good and trusted companions from my past that have seen me into the present and plan on relying on them in the future- so when I meet a new mom at a playgroup and realize she's not like me or won't like me, I don't stress. Anymore.
-I don't make grand plans for vacations and adventures that at this season in my life, we can't have. This doesn't mean I don't have a short list available for when travel is more of an option, logistically and financially, but it does mean I don't feel envy as much as I once did every time one of my single/kidless friends relay their adventures.
-Unlike my mom, I don't decorate for every holiday. No stash of plastic pumpkins or shiny red hearts to hang or store- just a few Christmas and fall decorations boxed up and ready to remind us what those seasons are about (Christ and Thankfulness.)
-I don't think heavily about passive aggressive people and their actions - this includes folks in my work, play and family worlds. If they want to express their feelings to me in clear and uncertain terms, great. If not, I'm really good at being oblivious. Really.

That's all I can add for now- but will continue to think about how having these lists on paper and in my head might free up some time and energy I might waste on things on the "don't do" list.
Here's a link to the excerpt from the book: Things I don't Do.
Here's some more discussion about this: Joy in the Journey

yumo

2011-01-27T15:10:00.005-05:00

photo from Becky Bakes

I made these last night with Susannah. Messy, but oh so worth it. Of course, we ate a lot of the dough off our sticky fingers during the process and the cookies turned out to be GINORMOUS so we ended up actually splitting one of the baked versions before bed...
Here's a recipe link if you want to know how. The hand cupping method worked best for us.
Also, we've been enjoying the wintry weather by checking out tons of movies from local libraries. Hits with the little one so far include The Wizard of Oz, the Secret Garden (circa 1990 version, sooo good.) and Ponyo (ugh. I didn't care for this as much, but she did of course:)
And last weekend we trekked to the "big city" to spend a day with Grammy. We visited C-MOR on Broad Street, ate at Karen's City Diner (yummy breakfast all day!) and even shopped our way through Cary Street.

Digging for dinos in the "sand" pit.

Driving the ambulance- she also liked just sitting in the back listening to the pretend radio calls coming in.

After climbing around the "tree house" - they also had turtles, frogs and mice in little display cases which were a huge hit.

We did come across a lovely store with "chemical free" kid and baby stuff- they actually originated online so they have lots for sale here.
Course, nothing is really chemical free- even a tree in the forest is made up of molecules and chemicals finely tuned to make it a tree. So I think what the store means to say is "harmful and not needed chemical free..." or something.
But they have tons of tools to make cloth diapering, nursing and even plain old playing more fun and a lot safer for everyone.
Plus, it's well decorated, has a clean potty and even a NURSING ROOM for folks out and about!

stars

2011-01-24T19:55:00.004-05:00

I'm sad today after attending a funeral of a friend from a previous job. She was a young woman who fought long and hard before sucumbing to cancer and leaves many loved ones in her wake, including a 6-year-old daughter.
At the funeral the pastor was telling how the woman's husband had taken his daughter into the yard the night before and pointed out a particularly bright star. He told the little girl that bright light represented her momma looking down on her forever now.
Along with news of another friend who's battling cancer via double masectomy, I'm taking things more seriously than normal.
Here's some images recently taken that make me remember what I really do have to be thankful for and also remind me to cherish each day - no matter how chaotic it may seem while we're living it.

bambi

2011-01-18T17:37:00.001-05:00

Forgot to mention- the night before leaving for the weekend, Susannah and I were en route from gymnastics to Bible Study via home when I apparently tried to kill Bambi.
I was coming up a hill in the dark when a herd of seven or so deer approached from the left shoulder. I was going pretty slow (maybe 45 or 50 mph?) so I managed to avoid most.
One though delivered a good dinking to the front of my Jimmy and I saw the animal roll off into the opposite ditch.
After stopping to survey the damage, I picked pieces of my grill from the front of the radiator, got the ok from Galon to drive on and headed home.
Neither of us could figure out why the damage was so minimal, but were thankful to be lucky. We filed an incident report but since our deductible is $1,000 didn't need that after all. Galon was able to order a replacement part online for about $200 and will install it himself.
Today on the way past, I saw why the damage was so site specific. The poor thing was just a baby!
So sad...
It's the second time that my car has escaped by the skin of it's sheet metal though.
When Susannah was born, Galon had to head home from the hospital to let the dog out and get some things.
He had gone maybe 30 miles when he swiped a deer and thought for sure the rear quarter panel had suffered damage. All that happened was a little smear on the corner of the back window.
Granted, it's not the shiniest car in the lot, but our little GMC has carried the torch well. It was purchased in 2002 just before our wedding by my folks to replace my sweet ride from the last years of high school and early college (BMW 325i convertible.) Since "Betsy" couldn't haul a trailer and we'd be moving to Texas after marriage, we needed something with more heft and room.
The Jimmy it was and although there are days I wish I could rev up beside someone, it's provided all we have needed in the family car realm. Now, come March, we may find a toddler, infant, black lab plus G and I and all our crap may be a stretch- but something tells me it will be more than sufficient.

the more things change...

2011-01-17T17:17:00.003-05:00

the more they stay the same.
Alot of folks have been saying that these days in reference to our political climate, but I was thinking it most of Sunday evening on a drive home from a friend's home.
Beginning Friday, I joined two of my good college buddies (WAR EAGLE!!!) in the great metropolis of Durham, North Carolina for some long overdue catching up. We stayed up 'til 4 a.m. talking, ate lots of healthy (no, really!) food and even toured the Sarah P. Duke gardens.
Lots has changed since we met while freshmen at Auburn. Our financial statuses. Our responsibilities at home and at work. Our eyesight, wheels and places of residence are not what they used to be. (for better and worse!) And most certainly the state of our beloved Foy student union on campus has changed drastically:) (there isn't even an eagle aviary on the central campus anymore!)
But there is still, a decade later, plenty that hasn't changed. We still laugh at how crazy folks around us seem to become. We still wonder about fashion trends and the stars of reality TV. And we are still able to pick up where we left off. I have only a few other friends like these in this life and am grateful for their consistency, honesty and reliability.
And while I missed my dear husband and little girl, I thoroughly enjoyed just being responsible for myself for once and relaxing with some good friends.

As an aside: while I was gone, Galon spent more than 13 hours making venison jerky first in the basement and later in my oven. The smokehouse smell is now dissipating! And Susannah may or may not have developed an ear ache- jury is still out on that one.

hurt brain

2011-01-13T11:26:00.003-05:00

I put toothpaste on Galon's toothbrush.
Opened up and promptly sealed our new movie to return to Netflix before even watching (luckily G peeled it back apart.)
Was off by a whole week on a recent doctor's appt- but didn't realize til after I woke Susannah up, packed lunch, loaded the car and got 10 miles toward the destination.
Double booked an important presentation for the branch of Habitat I'm involved in- with local government officials.
Left my breakfast and cup of OJ in the porch and had to back up and get the keys out of the car to retrieve them before the cat did.
Apparently, I've got pregnant brain. At least, that's what I'm blaming it on. Can't remember if this happened with Susannah's go around or not- oddly enough:)

In other news, we have requested my records be transferred to the local maternity center after meeting with the midwives. Unfortunately, it works best from the beginning of pregnancy- but since this isn't our first rodeo, no one is worried about the late development.
My regular ob/gyn is cool with it and very supportive, which is a relief. And it's a lot closer to our home and way of thinking when it comes to baby delivery without any health complications.
Oh, and by the way, my team one the national championships! I've been trying to be humble, but it was SO hard to go to bed calmly after the late game Monday without celebrating in some public way.
Got a girls trip this weekend with some fellow AU alumni so looking forward to a chance to gloat freely sometime then:)

catching up

2011-01-03T15:56:00.005-05:00

Family sitting down for Christmas Day dinner- elk steak and turkey breast. Photo courtesy of Dad G.

Susannah playing in the first of December snows the week before Christmas. Sledding picture in previous post was from the snow that began Christmas Day and lasted 24 hours- we got about six or seven inches.

Tiny kid in a box. I was doing dishes or something and heard this little- "mommy, come here for one second." so I popped my head in and found her like this. She was holding the photo of Aunt Jenny and Uncle Matt (with their dog Bella) and our dog Shiloh must have felt unsure about her safety because she wouldn't leave her side. Had some trouble removing herself from the box...

Playing with Grammy and the floor mat from Aunt Susie- complete with a bag full of matchbox cars and little houses to set up.

Enjoying shopping with a cart via Aunt Nancy. Susannah's favorite game with this so far includes packing up all her baby dolls to stay with Galon or I while she goes to the store. Oddly enough, the cart is packed even before her trip begins.

And if you made it through all those pictures, here's the rest of the story to reward faithful readers with probably way too many details.

So since I've been on Christmas vacation, my access to real live Internet has been limited. Figured I'd catch folks up on highlights:

1. My brother and sister in law gave Susannah a mini trampoline that she has been wearing out. It wears me out to watch her.

2. We enjoyed spending New Year's together visiting the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond to see lots of pretty light displays and play on their super duper kid's garden features (even in winter!) Then, in true high class fashion, we enjoyed a dinner out at Cracker Barrel complete with greens and beans and lots of vinegar:)

3. I'm torn between having baby girl at the local maternity center (read: midwifery model of medicine) or staying loyal to my OB who has cared for me pre-during and after Susannah but was actually out of town when she was born. Dilemma... we go to tour the center tomorrow night.

4. We have officially taken our house off the market- although our realtor seems to have relocated cause after having shown it NONE in nine months, she still hasn't come to pick up the sign. Argh. Plan to relist with someone else after baby arrives. Has anyone else seen any evidence of the stimulus or recovery? Cause out here in the boonies, folks are still pretty much unemployed, businesses are closing and houses are all over the place in foreclosure.

5. My parents (Mom) got on a theme and got us each an inspirational gift. I thought that would be something by Joel Osteen or something- but turns out it's gifts that inspire the recipient to grow or develop in some way. My sis in law got painting classes in C-ville- Galon got a whole set of butchery spices and paraphernalia. Evan got the Frank Lloyd Wright "falling water" Lego kit and I was given a voucher to attend a real live chef-in-training program at a downtown Richmond school- along with my own copy of Julia Childs "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Score! Only problem is that I'm incredibly indecisive so looking at the school's schedule and class offerings, I really can't commit. Plus, is it good etiquette to attend a cooking class seven months pregnant? Guess I'd get to lick all the bowls or something... might make a good handicap excuse. Details will be forthcoming, I'm sure.

white Christmas!

2010-12-26T15:54:00.004-05:00

We just barely enjoyed an official white Christmas here- the first in the region since the '60s I believe the news reported.
Santa visited our house and delivered all kinds of goodies via Susannah's stocking- the most appreciated of which were a whoopie cushion and a set of pretend diapers for her baby doll. Her Gramma and Poppa had mysteriously delivered (via Florida) a Hotwheels Jeep to surprise her with and she got to practice driving that in circles in her jammies in the yard well before the first snowflake fell.
We had my parents up for dinner and enjoyed opening the last of the presents with them. Because of some oven difficulties (long story- get a new washer and dryer and see what appliances break kind of thing...) we did a turkey breast in the crock pot and some elk steak au poive (with pepper?) that was so yummy. Also on the menu were mango salad, Mrs. Hall's squash casserole, mashed potatoes, tossed salad and fruit tart for dessert. The tart got tarted due to concerns from my parents about being able to navigate the hour to their home- which was good because we were all stuffed anyways:)
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Galon doesn't have to go work tomorrow so we can go to the local sledding hill and initate Susannah with two new plastic sleds!

ho ho ho

2010-12-20T16:11:00.004-05:00

Susannah was in the church pageant last night as the world's littlest angel. Although at one point I was pretty sure she was gonna walk up to Mary and snatch baby Jesus from her arms (it's the doll baby usually in the nursery and she was pretty entranced by it) things went well. She told Grammy afterwards that she didn't sing because "I was really really scared."
Looks like that's how it went with Santa too, although she was brave enough eventually to snatch the candy cane out of his hand and whisper "thank you."

temper temper

2010-12-18T11:07:00.004-05:00

We've been worn out this week by Susannah's sudden experimentation with fit throwing. Generally, this will be accompanied by somewhat schizophrenic behavior (ie: "I want milk with dinner." one minute later: "waaaa! I want juice with dinner" etc.) The worse manifestation of this trend happens during nap time and sometimes at bedtime.
Since she has been a year or so, we've stuck to the same routine because that's what I read is important to kids. Brush teeth, potty, snuggle with stories (three from me, one if it's Daddy "night nighting" her) and a few songs before getting tucked in. Then it's lights out, sleep tight. These days, the routine then includes "Mommy, I want you to lay down with me. I want some water. I want another song. I want another story..." culminating with her screaming from her room "I want to go in time out! I want a spanking!"
It's clear something isn't working.
So beginning Thursday, we went back to bare bones night-night routine. No stories or songs. Just get ready, get in and go to sleep. We explained this was because of her unacceptable behavior and once she starts going to sleep like a good girl, we can start rewarding her with some of the big girl things we normally do.
Top this off with a Christmas get together at my folks' house this weekend and we have been apprehensive.
On the one-hour drive down to my folks, she was struggling with a bad attitude and at one point a tiny porcelain teapot flew into the front seat, ricocheted of the side of my arm and fell in my lap. I looked at her, explained that it is not ok for us to throw things in the car and asked if she had anything to say. She said, "that's mine. give it back!"
So then I rolled down the window and threw the tiny teapot out onto the asphalt where it smashed to bits. Her eyes got big and she said, "was that my teapot?" and I said, "yup. you got anything else you want to throw in the car that Mommy can throw out the window too?" We didn't have any other problems on the drive or since we'd been at Mom and Dad's.
I admit it felt good and I struggle to treat my three year old with the patience and understanding due her, especially when it becomes clear she knows the difference between what is acceptable and was is not. It just becomes a constant testing and there are times I just feel like caving- of course knowing if I do, things will get even worse.
We never experienced a real trying time with her during her "twos" so maybe this is holdover- but as much as I try to encourage her independent spirit and sense of right and wrong, it's lovely when a whole few hours go by that there isn't a challenge over something mundane.
On a lighter note, here's some pics from a few weeks ago when she was not testing the waters of disobedience and instead was checking on some crabbies with Pops. We all visited Deltaville's Maritime Museum and Holly Point Nature Park for their recent farmer's market and really enjoyed it. They have a great children's garden and a variety of boats to check out with the kids- in all seasons of weather!

eight years

2010-12-16T08:55:00.004-05:00

Here we are looking all young and innocent on our wedding day, December 14, 2002. A lot has changed since then but many things remain the same in a wonderful way.
We celebrated Tuesday night with a dinner out while a good friend watched Susie Q- it was nice to have a real whole conversation(s!) without being interrupted or worrying about spilling or pottying or politeness. And having gone to my doctor's appt that day and only having gained 3 pounds, I ordered and ate a lot of "the godfather" pasta plate.
Last night, we had a Christmas party to attend and Susannah stayed with Grammy and Pops happily- so I'm looking forward to a nice, cozy dinner together tonight. With snow expected in our area, the whole region is closing schools and cancelling events. I say good excuse to huddle up around our cozy, inefficient heaters and enjoy some relaxation.
Hope you're staying warm!

borrowed time

2010-12-13T16:24:00.004-05:00

Lately, I've been dropping Susannah off at day care after we hit the Y and hours before I go to work. It gives me a lot of time to do stuff around the house- which lately, mainly because of the holidays, has come in handy.
Today, I worked on these:

Chocolate covered coconut barsI kind of think the finished product looks like it may be from the family feline, but they taste wonderful and were really simple to make. In fact, kids can help- although mine did not and I still got chocolate all over the kitchen.

I also got halfway through a batch of chocolate truffles and finished a really cool project for the grandmother's Christmas that involved oval photo mats and black and white paper.
Yesterday, I made cutout cookies with store bought (gasp!) gingerbread and sugar cookie dough while Susannah took her nap. She helped me decorate a few but finked out when it became monotonous. We've got angels, wreaths, santas, stars, Christmas trees and ornaments. Somehow I misplaced the leftover miringue powder so I used this recipe for Royal icing that called for egg whites (egads!) So far, no casualties...
Oh yea- I also ran the vacuum, made lunch and dinner for myself (from leftovers and salad fixings) and packaged up the last of the out-of-town Christmas gifts to take to the Post Office.
So, hopefully my dear husband will understand why I ran out of time to put away the dishes in the dishwasher and wash any of the cookie-making stuff in the sink:)

perspective

2010-12-09T10:06:00.004-05:00

Most parents will have that fleeting panic of having lost a child even for a second. I'm worried about keeping two in my sights in the near future, especially as Susannah gets more bold about strangers and strange places.
The title of this post links to some perspective especially during this busy time of year about what is truly important in life: family, compassion and thankfulness.

Sunday Magazine
Motherlode: A Child Wanders, Neighbors Whisper
By By LISA BELKIN
Published: December 7, 2010
When a little boy goes missing, his mother learns an unexpected lesson.

21

2010-12-06T15:38:00.004-05:00

I wish.
Somehow time has flown and I'm in my thirties. As my brother put it, even if I live to be 90- I'm a third of the way through.
Already the big 3-0 is proving to be entertaining.
My sweet hubby gave me a kiss this morning when he left for work at 4:45 a.m. So he beat folks to the chase-
But my dad was a close second at 8:30 or so- to both cell and home. Then he got determined and called the Y where I was working out in a packed class. The receptionist came in to make an announcement: "Maggie Hall's father wants everyone to know today is her birthday!" and it was like- oi vey. It truly doesn't matter how old we get, Dads can still do that.
Since I work tonight, we celebrated yesterday after church and a gloriously cozy nap with the cat.
Galon wouldn't tell me where we were going- but about an hour and half west we landed in Goochland to participate in something he had heard about on the radio. It's called Bethlehem Walk and although the wait was long and the temperatures were low we had a great time. It's basically a walk through what would have been Bethlehem during the time of Jesus' birth. There were oil lamps, centurions on horseback, singing angels and baby bunnies.
Afterwards, we went to Red Robin for the first time and really enjoyed it. Susannah was a champ because it was about 8 p.m. by the time we ate (her bedtime!). They had bottomless lemonade AND root beer floats, as well as yummy ranch dip for french fries. Needless to say- the sundae with sprinkles they brought while singing happy birthday had to be mostly enjoyed by Galon and Susannah as I had consumed not one, but two large floats by that point.
Here's to holiday weight gain for pregnant ladies!
The cherry on top, if you will, was a lovely surprise Galon had made for me while in Wyoming. It's called an elk ivory and it's a neat, antique looking pendant. Apparently it's a big deal to get jewelry made of these certain two teeth from an elk when you harvest one- and I love this piece! It looks kind of like this, but features a cool bear footprint stamp on the back from the artisan who crafted ours:

Definitely a heirloom for our little family and something that will always remind me of this eventful year.

swinging

2010-12-02T10:42:00.004-05:00

Here's part of how we enjoyed spending Thanksgiving at my folks' house:

Not really a hanging, as my brother suspected it may appear, but more a serious swing over the creek bank.
Plenty of the adults tried it out before we sent Susannah careening over the leaves and water, much to her delight.
The tricky thing turned out to be the pushing due to the loamy soil and decomposing leaves on the ground. At least three of the four adults pushing landed on their tuckus' at some point- but that only added to the entertainment value.
Of course, we also consumed plenty of our family's favorite foods: cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole and homemade bread!
Another note-
When Susannah was newborn, Galon's parents ferried two or three trash bags full of handmedowns from our niece, Anna. At the time, we washed each item and carefully folded it to be stored until needed. I have a strong memory of folding up a few of the 3T pants that were kind of velvety soft and in sweet, bolder versions of typical girl colors.
Now those pants are nearly too small for Susannah! Scary how that seems like a blip in time and now we're beginning the process all over again.

old fashioned

2010-11-23T09:16:00.003-05:00

Call me old fashioned but each year around this time I begin to look forward to receiving and giving Christmas cards. I know it's expensive and less trendy than an e-card or a facebook link to the blogospheres. I know some of the families we send cards to we don't always hear back from. But there's something about the pen-to-paper habit of writing a short note, inserting a picture or two and sticking a stamp on each one that makes me whistle.
But each year, I wrestle with a count. Should I cut off folks we haven't heard from? What if they were mid-move or mid-new baby transition? What if we keep up with each other online? Does that mean they default to no real Christmas card?
This year, thanks to some serious discounts from Snapfish, I broke down and ordered some photo cards. But I only ordered 40- our mailing list usually tops out around 120 (thanks to living in three towns over a five year period and my desire to keep in touch with our dear long distance friends and family.)
So now I need to decide who gets a photo card and who gets a regular old fashioned card. Oi vey.
The sad thing is, once you fall out of rotation with a family's addresses and updates for a year or two, it's hard to pick them back up for some reason- even with all the connectivity we have online.
A few years ago, Mom decided not to send any holiday cards early on in the season. As her mailbox began filling with updates from family in New York, friends from Ontario and reunited college friends of hers, she regretted it. But by then it was too late and those folks didn't hear from her until almost a year later when the next Christmas season rolled around.
So, this year- if you usually receive a card from us and you don't want to, let me know. If you would like to receive a card from us and vice verse, let me know. Chances are good that if we have a working address for you and your family, you'll probably get one anyways.
Fellow frugal moms, lemme know your opinions- is it frivolous to spend the printing and postage for a tradition that may or may not mean as much as it once did?
The neat thing for our family is that a few Christmases ago, my mother in law gave us a little snowman card holder. He sits by our table and remains stocked with last year's cards. Throughout the season, we discuss the photos, updates and prayers each family relays. So this year, I'm going through them and remembering how folks have moved, grown, traveled and celebrated over the year. We also recycle the old cards into gift tags, decorations and general craft fodder- so if in doubt, we'd love to receive if you're sending any out!

yummies

2010-11-18T11:25:00.004-05:00

So at one point I have debated adding at least one home crafted gift to each of our loved one's Christmas stash. Nothing horrendous, like this:

just something more personal than a sharper image gadget or yet another flannel shirt for the dads.
So I decided we'll make some yummy treats for folks. We began this week with these:

Peppermint patties from scratch. They turned out super tasty and pretty fun for us to make. Susannah got to knead the filling which was like a stiff playdoh consistency and then helped me sprinkle on the peppermint bits after we had dipped them in the chocolate. My kitchen was a wreck but it was a lot of fun. Only weird thing on this recipe is the treats have to be refrigerated- so needless to say the recipient is going to be receiving them on Thanksgiving so she can munch her way through the holidays.
Other treats in the line up are PB cups, mounds bars, truffles and my family's signature cinnamon candy. We're also making this healthier looking granola for a few families on our list.
Do any of you have gifts to make on your list? I tend to get discouraged easily by large projects, like quilts or embroidered place mats- these candy and goodies recipes are easier on my schedule and will be a hit with my three-foot-tall kitchen assistant.

score

2010-11-11T18:05:00.001-05:00

Turns out, when I was expecting Susannah my belly growing corresponded to the days getting warmer and ended when it started getting chilly.
This time around, my belly is now starting to get bigger and the days are really getting chillier.
Enter score-o-the-day: local goodwill find of maternity clothes and maternity friendly clothes, mixed amidst the regular stuff. Three tops and three dresses all for $25. (including one pretty blue/red Hanna Anderson women's dress which isn't maternity but does have an empire waist.)
Then I stopped by a consignment shop in a historic downtown nearby that normally has tons of cute kids stuff but not much else. Surprise: they now carry maternity stuff and happened to be having a HALF OFF sale due to impending Christmas open house. Double score! I found a cool old navy red sweater, winter white cords and some cute stuff for Susannah- all for around $22.
So although I may have blown this month's budget in regards to Black Friday stuff, I guess it just feels like the deals came earlier this year for me!
My next challenge: finding a not-skeezy baby swing on Craigslist for under $20. Wish me luck!

moving around

2010-11-08T17:03:00.007-05:00

This kind of reminds me of the ET scene where he's amidst all the stuffed animals. The only thing different is here Billings clearly sticks out but isn't the least bit shy about it.
The tent is part of Susannah's birthday present from me and Galon and was in the den until last weekend when we moved things around between the nursery and Susannah's bedroom. Now, the tent has taken the place of the rocking chair in Susannah's room and we've decked it out as a reading corner. Clearly, Billings is going to catch up on his reading. Or zzzz's.
And, any ideas for how to make this a bit more girly?

I'm thinking yellow or multicolored rug, like this:

A few brightly colored prints, like these:

And maybe a new hanging light, like this:

Happy halloweenie!

2010-11-02T10:00:00.002-04:00

Amidst the company and weekend trip Susannah still managed to snag a Cinderella costume for the big trick or treat event. Although we had practiced the routine, she was so pooped out from the big trip and hour long drive from the train station that these pictures about do her attitude justice. She was shuttled by Galon and chaperoned by Gramma Hall, who didn't facilitate the "one piece for you, one piece for me" rule that I usually employ as the trick or treat wingman.
The first photo above was snapped after she had a chance to have a snack and relax a bit, thus the smile. I was amazed at how much candy she snagged at just a few houses and relieved that she remembered to give hugs and say thank you to our dear friends and neighbors.

And those are the pumpkins we carved while Galon was still away- they're from our own garden! It was kind of bittersweet to sacrifice them in this way. There were five or six that had seasoned, but only these two made it all the way to late October without succumbing to whatever weird looking fungus you can see in this picture (it was on the inside..)
Susannah drew on the shapes and I cut them out so we enjoyed it even if the little guys didn't last too long. Hope you all got all the smarties and kit-kats your hearts' desire!

Third birthday extravaganza

2010-11-01T16:07:00.007-04:00

Instead of doing a party this year, we decided to celebrate Susannah's third birthday with a weekend excursion to DC. Galon's folks came up from Florida and my folks drove up from Deltaville and we all took the train in on Friday afternoon.

The train ride was in itself a hit with Susannah and she even developed a "chugga" dance to go along with the entertainment. It certainly was a lovely way to travel with a toddler as there is plenty to do and see and they don't have to stay strapped in anything.
We stayed in a great hotel Galon found online that featured plushly redecorated spaces and comfy beds, along with a surprise feature: the Miss Adams Morgan Pageant. If you wanna know more, click the link- but the summary is the private event at our hotel is apparently the largest drag queen party in the area. Aside from our amazement at the costumes and support we saw, the Washington Hilton was lovely.
I had prepared an itinerary of sorts and of our dinner options, we ended up at the yummy Zorba's Cafe near Dupont Circle station. Galon's sister was in town so it was good to meet up with her for a bit then too. The food was great but dinner ended up being later than we expected, so I was happy when we made it back to the hotel without a meltdown.

Saturday was spent at the National Zoo and the weather was perfect. My brother and sister in law braved the Restore Sanity rally traffic to join us along with her sister and three-year-old boy. We actually busted out a set of kiddie binocs and those were a hit for viewing the farther away animals, like the elephants. My brother actually helped with the design of the Asia Trail exhibit details so that was neat to have his guided tour.
The kids had a blast running laps together along the exhibits and thanks to our C-ville travelers, we even had chocolate cake complete with glitter icing and multicolored sprinkles (Susannah had Galon put extra sprinkles on hers even after all that- guess a girl can never have to many?)
I think Susannah's highlights at the zoo were the gorillas and the elephants. She was a little amazed at how close we felt to the animals and even though we only caught a glimpse of one's hindquarters, she picked a cozy plush panda for her treat from Gramma and Poppa.
That night we went to a Chinese place down the hill from the hotel which turned out to be a hit and planned the plan of attack for Sunday. Unfortunately, we ended up doing a lot of walking both via the trains/metro stations and at the zoo, so Galon's dad's recently operated back and knee were giving him trouble. So Mr. Hall camped out at Union Station Sunday morning and the rest of us toured the National Museum of Natural History and some of the outdoor sculpture garden by the National Gallery of Art.

Although she was due for a nap and a snack, Susannah really enjoyed having Galon explain things about the dinosaur and mammal exhibits at the museum and I think he enjoyed that part especially too. We've always teased my dad for being Mr. Science and taking the simplest questions and turning the answers into lessons, but I think Galon may be along the same vein of fatherhood.
The train was just a little late leaving for Fredericksburg, so we hardly got home in time to trick or treat- but the entire weekend was a blast and I think Susannah enjoyed spending time with so many folks who love her all at once. I can't believe she's three!

sister sally

2010-10-27T15:04:00.003-04:00

So, what Susannah has been insisting for the past several months is accurate: we'll soon be the parents of another baby girl!
We are both adjusting well and considering the complexities of the average female, a little nervous.
I know several lovely families that have two or more girls and the kids definitely seem to bond well. My mom is one of three girls as is my sister in law, so I guess we can always ask for help.
Either way, here's to hoping none of our girls will turn out to be entirely too feminine. Somehow with a dad who enjoys hunting and fishing and a mom who enjoys mucking stalls and riding horses, I don't think they will.
Oh, and she is convinced that we will name the kid Sally. Oi vey.

shopping

2010-10-23T14:08:00.004-04:00

Ok, I know it sounds a bit loony, but I am excited to report the Hall household has officially begun it's Christmas gift purchasing. And I'm loving the head start.
It's given rise to some unique (and more costly, since I can save a bit over the next two months) ideas.
I often find myself in the bad habit of buying something for someone not only because I think they'll love it, but because frankly, I do too. For instance, a set of team spirited items (the RIGHT team: War Eagle:) or a cozy sweater I'd love to wear if my belly wasn't ballooning.
My mother is often experimenting with "theme" gifts. Like one year, she suggested we all give each other one thing we'd made ourselves. For me, that narrows it down to cat furballs or a measly photo album. Of Susannah pics. Meh.
This year, I would like to include something personal and small along with something I really know the person would like to have but probably wouldn't get themselves. For my dearly loved father-in-law (and sister and bro in law, too, for that matter) that item could end up looking like this:

Alright- so I'm still at the drawing board for some gifts. But suggestions for meaningful, useful items you've received or purchased for others are welcome!

shoelace?

2010-10-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

Amidst hearing my husband had nearly avoided a bear attack (inaccurate), Susannah and I were cleaning up from dinner when I bent down to retrieve what appeared to be part of a leather shoelace from the fringe on the area rug.
I rolled it between my fingers trying to remember who's boots have a lighter colored leather cording and noticed there were little hairs on the cord.
Then I noticed one end was clearly tapered and the other was blunt, including a bit of red looking membrane emerging.
It didn't take long for me to realize what I was holding was all that remained of a rodent that must have encountered our trusty cat, Billings. In my kitchen.
Checking the cat's feet confirmed what I suspected, but no further evidence of said rodent has been recovered (yet.)
Now, in our neck of the woods, this is not unusual this time of year. When Susannah had just been born (late October) we had a similar, more personal encounter.
I was cuddling with the baby in the bed after nursing for a bit. Galon was hunting. It was early morning and not quite dawn yet and I didn't have my glasses on.
Billings jumped on the bed and walked towards where we were laying- something in his mouth. I thought it was a baby sock at the time. Then he dropped it and it moved. A little. It scurried haphazardly across the duvet and I tried to get myself and the sleeping infant out of the bed without squealing or distracting the cat from his course of action.
I went in the bathroom with the baby only to hear Billings thud to the ground and take chase before he turned the corner following a gray thing into the TINY bathroom. I was then trapped with the cat and mouse between us and the door.
Later, Galon came home to me begging for him to put poison in the basement and a badly injured mouse trapped under the bathroom trash can.
So, all things considered, finding the tail was better than the alternative, which would be somehow being witness to one of Billings' greatest skills.

rumors

2010-10-20T10:09:00.003-04:00

"The report of my death was an exaggeration"- Mark Twain, 1897.

Earlier this week, we had a some excitement. I was at my folks' over the weekend and thus wasn't at church Sunday morning- so I had called a friend to get her to add Galon and Russell to the prayer list re: bears in the area of the hunt.
I think I made a joke out of it, saying I either wanted the bears to go hungry or else never become hungry enough...
Just to show how a small town works, the next day I received two messages at home and on the cell from some of Galon's co-workers in Richmond concerned upon learning that a person in his group had "been attacked by a bear."
Now- the part of Wyoming near Cody has experienced some encounters between man and beast recently. But nothing directly related to Galon or the other three hunters in his camp, although he called via satellite phone recently to let me know that they had a bear in camp one night and another crossed their path during the daytime. Neither animal did he actually get to lay his eyes on.
Anywho, considering the concerned phone calls came out of the blue and I couldn't figure out how a report of a bear attack from his camp made it to Richmond before making it to me or Russell's wife, we have chalked it up to the old telephone game.
So what began as "pray that Galon and Russell are safe because there are bears in the area and have been bear attacks there" became "someone from Galon and Russell's party has been hurt by a bear."

UPDATE: After hearing from Galon, I can confirm no one in his party has been harmed. In fact, only two of the four hunters have bagged an elk - so far.

happiness is

2010-10-15T10:30:00.002-04:00

A good book and a pair of shoes... among other things.
Here is the book:

Nice little paperback everyone from my former summer missionary buddies to my high school crush's mom has been raving about. So I figured, give it a read. Even ordered it from Amazon (the last time that happened was back in '99 when I had to get a book for AP English...:)
So far, it's been scattered with sections I can breeze through in wholehearted agreement bookended by portions I have to read and reread again and again.
If you are a believer or think you know what being one is all about, read this book. So far this is one of my fave passages, not because it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy but because it actually smacks of accuracy and unapologetic honesty.

"Note the contrast, however, when you diagnose the problem biblically The modern-day gospel says, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Therefore, follow these steps and you can be saved." Meanwhile, the biblical gospel says, "You are an enemy of God, dead in your sin, and in your present state of rebellion, you are not even able to see that you need life, much less to cause yourself to come to life. Therefore, you are radically dependent on God to do something in your life that you could never do." -- page 32, David Platt.

It's like, hello? What's this? Mankind not taking credit for everything and acting like we have a chance at fixing ourselves without the grace of God? You gotta read the grafs before and after to get this more, but so far, I'd recommend it 100 percent.

And, because I don't claim to have yet attained Platt's level of non-materialism, here are the shoes:

Gotta love mustard cord shoes that feel like slippers and benefit a good cause. Hugs to my lovely mom who snagged these for me in Annapolis last weekend. They are perfect for fall and the potentially chubby growing feet and cankles of an expectant mom. Oh, and they're the number two selling brand for women right now so I can plan to be above the curve here in little ole' rural Virginia.

why wyoming?

2010-10-14T09:22:00.002-04:00

Here are some dispatches from Galon and Russell's grand western adventure. No reports of bedbugs but instead of pronghorn antelope and lots of horse trailers.
More details will be forthcoming...

Apparently this is the Wildcat Mountains in western Nebraska. Who knew the corn husker state had that kinda stone?

This lovely and hospitable site is known for hundreds of bison deaths. According to G (and the sign) arrowheads and buffalo bones have been found in the canyons from when native Americans hunted in that most efficient and speedy way. G said it's in central Wyoming and "appears out of nowhere." Guess we should be glad they're not in a covered wagon cause it would a doozy to get stuck in.

state fair

2010-10-07T09:25:00.001-04:00

With the many piglets and one large momma pig in the petting zoo area.

Last weekend we took time to visit the State Fair at it's Caroline County location. It's a lovely site that I hadn't visited before (it used to be held at the racetrack in Richmond- odd but true.)

Checking out baby pigs. Later eating ham she asked where it came from and we told her from pigs and she said, "thank you for the ham piggies!"

Anyhow, it was a good, chilly evening. We saw plenty of dairy and meat cows, sheep, pigs and smaller animals like bunnies, chickens and even pigeons. It brought back fond days of participating as an ag student in the Auburn Block and Bridle Club- even getting a dairy heifer of my own for a semester to train and later show. I named her Cleo and wasn't fully aware that after producing milk and calves for most of her life, she'd most likely turn into a hamburger patty.

Up close with the chicken hatching area.

But I digress. The fair was fun- Susannah actually was quite taken by a live show we caught featuring jungle creatures and a goofy host. She also liked the midway with all the sights and sounds. She was kinda bummed that we didn't budget for cotton candy or fried oreos (wait- I was bummed about that:) but we enjoyed some serious eats of corndogs and cheeseburgers.

Galon and Susannah on the midway.

There was a slightly unsettling display in the petting zoo area that featured laboring animals. That's right- on the night we went it was a dairy cow who was moaning in pain when we arrived. Nearly four hours later, we went back and it had given birth to a little calf which it was licking like crazy. Know I think this is all beautiful and wonderful- but consider the environment. All day long cooped up in a stall on display under bright lights in a huge tent full of screaming kids and noisy adults. Finally the animal has the baby and still doesn't get any peace and quiet. I felt rather sorry for poor Bessie while Susannah asked about the "red stuff" coming from her behind. It was a disconcerning moment, probably even more so since I am with child.

Funny sheep in blankets after being washed and clipped for showing. Susannah liked their "outfits."

Other than that, a good time had by all and highly recommended fun. Parking seemed crazy (it was the final Friday night of the two week running) but we lucked out and had a special pass to help get closer to the action and beat the traffic.

fall days

2010-10-07T09:22:00.001-04:00

Here we are at the local produce stand. We haven't picked a pumpkin to carve yet but I needed some things for a squash soup I make and Susannah liked playing in the piles of mums and pumpkins. They also have a couple slides for kids to play on which are always a hit.

sick, sick, sick

2010-09-29T19:33:00.001-04:00

One of our favorite Dr. Seuss books says "silly sammy slick sipped six sodas and got sick, sick, sick." It hasn't been quite that bad, but early this week things were sick.
Susannah had a head cold progress into a sinus and ear infection. She would say, "I still don't feel very good, Mommy" regularly like we had forgotten. Saturday night she woke up around 4 a.m. with a 102+ fever and while Galon and I gave her Tylenol, ice water and lay chilled washrags on her forehead, she grew accustomed to the midnight visit. "I want ya'll to stay in here a whole bunch tonite. Then we can go downstairs?" It was a relief to see her endearing social side hadn't been sweated out.
Then Tuesday the washing machine decided to stall two minutes into a cycle. Upon further investigation of the smell of burning rubber and Galon's ingenious dismantling and reassembly, it has been resurrected. Temporarily. But after four years with us in the house and many more before we moved in, the stacked (think dryer over washer college variety) machine gave us enough of a scare to look around and replacements.
And then will it to keep on working.
Meanwhile, Galon's been researching prices for replacing our hot water heater. It's had some corrosion from the inside and although it's still fine, we've had a home inspector and now at least one friend/handy man tell us it's borderline.
There's something so not glamorous or fun about considering replacement washer/dryers and/or hot water heaters.
Although they cost about the same as it would to replace our living room furniture (which I've been using since sophomore year in college) or even carpeting the upstairs- they are not equally warm and fuzzy purchases, in my book.

UPDATE: Susannah is reportedly feeling better- she was well enough to bite a boy at daycare today. Score.
The washer is still working. Wait... yup, still working.
And Galon's leaning towards replacing the water heater and re-venting/plumbing it himself.