Wednesday, November 11, 2009
yesterday rainy day
the rains came and we had to get creative....jack wanted to make crowns....and then play "jump in the box"
then we made guns out of cardboard and played cowboys.....
then he wanted to dress up in boxes and play train...
we destroyed the house =)
i think there is paint in places i'll never even find it..
but it was fun...=)
then we made guns out of cardboard and played cowboys.....
then he wanted to dress up in boxes and play train...
we destroyed the house =)
i think there is paint in places i'll never even find it..
but it was fun...=)
after the rain
is one of my favorite favorite times to walk in the woods...
we have lots of could be streams and when it does rain so much like last night, they are trickling happily by
and for jack who is used to playing in the gullies as dry paths, he just loves how they are alive with water...
i have few photos of him up close bc he was just like a deer racing here and there and sliding and scampering...
he is such a mt goat. =)
he did slow down long enough to take a photo of ez and i...not too bad!
it is like the woods are polyurethaned =)
coated with a shine...
i love it!
we have lots of could be streams and when it does rain so much like last night, they are trickling happily by
and for jack who is used to playing in the gullies as dry paths, he just loves how they are alive with water...
i have few photos of him up close bc he was just like a deer racing here and there and sliding and scampering...
he is such a mt goat. =)
he did slow down long enough to take a photo of ez and i...not too bad!
it is like the woods are polyurethaned =)
coated with a shine...
i love it!
siphoning off some water
wow, last night was windy and rainy...quite amazing.
i haven't been too worried about the foundation of the cob until i noticed this last rain filled up the hole and is softening the clay around the foundation....so i found some old hose and ran it downhill and sucked until the water started to flow....
it was amazing to watch how it shot out and nearly drained the pond!!!
i should have taken an after photo...
this hydrophilic, vaccum tendancy of water has always made me in awe...that the water keeps flowing...
i haven't been too worried about the foundation of the cob until i noticed this last rain filled up the hole and is softening the clay around the foundation....so i found some old hose and ran it downhill and sucked until the water started to flow....
it was amazing to watch how it shot out and nearly drained the pond!!!
i should have taken an after photo...
this hydrophilic, vaccum tendancy of water has always made me in awe...that the water keeps flowing...
a beautiful nap
the kids don't really nap anymore...and i have made the transition and love it! we can play all day and not rush home...we get into more...ie..longer bike rides with picnics...more exploring =)
but esme usually naps for about 30 minutes around lunchtime in the car....and on days like today..when we've just been in the woods....there is not a car ride.
so i've been reading a well-trained mind (thank you alina!!) and love it! and it mentioned reading to your kids...big stuff...so i pulled out my copy of the wind in the willows...more an adult book than a children's book as far as language goes....and we made a pallet on the floor and snuggled up to read....and they listened!!!! i was amazed!!!!! i mean, they were sleepy, yes. but they listened for about 15 minutes and then nodded off to sleep!
i feel like this is such a neat and wonderful new place for us....i have classical music playing and i am reading in my corner adn they are napping in a pile on the floor....it is so beautiful....so wonderful.
this might sounds silly...but they become more and more "human" as they remove themselves from the baby phases....where they have to have everything just right to lay in the crib and fall asleep....everyday they become more real and i can't explain why it brings my heart to utter tears and joy!!! i feel so blessed to have them and to hang out with them all day...it is my joy.....!!!!!
but esme usually naps for about 30 minutes around lunchtime in the car....and on days like today..when we've just been in the woods....there is not a car ride.
so i've been reading a well-trained mind (thank you alina!!) and love it! and it mentioned reading to your kids...big stuff...so i pulled out my copy of the wind in the willows...more an adult book than a children's book as far as language goes....and we made a pallet on the floor and snuggled up to read....and they listened!!!! i was amazed!!!!! i mean, they were sleepy, yes. but they listened for about 15 minutes and then nodded off to sleep!
i feel like this is such a neat and wonderful new place for us....i have classical music playing and i am reading in my corner adn they are napping in a pile on the floor....it is so beautiful....so wonderful.
this might sounds silly...but they become more and more "human" as they remove themselves from the baby phases....where they have to have everything just right to lay in the crib and fall asleep....everyday they become more real and i can't explain why it brings my heart to utter tears and joy!!! i feel so blessed to have them and to hang out with them all day...it is my joy.....!!!!!
Monday, November 09, 2009
the jealous friend
so we have 2 ladies who are now laying eggs and quite fluffy company...so are NOT going to be thanksgiving and Christmas dinners =)
the one really does have a relationship with us...especially esme.
her head is right at hand height as you walk by and she loves a good head scratch...
but the other....well, she flares up and gobbles like crazy when her buddie is getting attention....
and when they gobble, it riles up the chickens....it is noisy and downright hilarious...
esme is certainly one who loves a good cacauphony...and to know she started it makes her even more happy with herself =)
the one really does have a relationship with us...especially esme.
her head is right at hand height as you walk by and she loves a good head scratch...
but the other....well, she flares up and gobbles like crazy when her buddie is getting attention....
and when they gobble, it riles up the chickens....it is noisy and downright hilarious...
esme is certainly one who loves a good cacauphony...and to know she started it makes her even more happy with herself =)
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Thursday, November 05, 2009
a need
mollie and josh (parents of griffin with leukemia) have been borrowing a car since griffin became ill this past may. prior to that, they had only 1 car...which wasn't a problem until they needed to make trips to and from atlanta while still having josh to work here in watkinsville. anyway, recently the on loan car needed to be returned and they are in quite a predicament. they are trying to borrow cars here and there but they realistically just need another car....so we are trying to raise money for them....between $3000-$4000. if you'd like to give, please contact me at claredms@yahoo.com or by phone 706-201-4983 or if you have a car sitting there saying "give me to mollie and josh", definitely let me know that too =)
thank you...so so much...
thank you...so so much...
gaping hole
so, the itty bitty hole i dug in search of a just a little clay until i could buy another load...has turned into quite a hole...
it is most of the front yard actually...
not sure what it will become...
hillary has some neat ideas....so we'll see one day what we do with it...
right now it is prime playing area for the munchkins and one happy lamb.
it is most of the front yard actually...
not sure what it will become...
hillary has some neat ideas....so we'll see one day what we do with it...
right now it is prime playing area for the munchkins and one happy lamb.
latest on the cob
i haven't ever actually liked the little arch door that was going to be under the counter....it just never felt right...
so i knocked out the top bit today and will cob in the bottom soon...
i've been able to cob in the heated bench with the kids....they both love to mix in their boots and put it on the wall....for a time anyway...then we swing or build something else....but it has been perfect weather for playing in the sand and clay...
i have been running the stove a bit to help dry out the cob so i can plaster next week...and it runs so well!!!!!
the barrel gets hot fast....i can't wait to have a dry place to sit and to test how well it heats up or not...
so i knocked out the top bit today and will cob in the bottom soon...
i've been able to cob in the heated bench with the kids....they both love to mix in their boots and put it on the wall....for a time anyway...then we swing or build something else....but it has been perfect weather for playing in the sand and clay...
i have been running the stove a bit to help dry out the cob so i can plaster next week...and it runs so well!!!!!
the barrel gets hot fast....i can't wait to have a dry place to sit and to test how well it heats up or not...
bikes bikes bikes
today we went to this east side park 2x =)
my friend rachel called and esme and i met her with her 3 beautiful kids there for just a bit...
really it was so i could catch up some with rachel....she now has a darling little girl named laura!!!
anywho...
after we picked up jack from school, we headed out here again and esme rode in the trailer which she likes to refer to with her eyes and manner as her chariot =)...and jack attached to his "motorcycle"
after riding a while, we put up jack's bike and they both hopped into the chariot and we shot off through the woods on a trail that leads to the wow park just around the corner...
i say "shot" what i mean is mamma-hustle ...
that is a workout!!!
which is exciting on another note....i miss excersicing a lot....i have certainly never been a gym girl..i'd get tangled in all those things in a heartbeat....but i love to use my body...to get out of breath...to feel strong....(strong for me =))
so maybe i can start pulling them around on a regular basis!
my friend rachel called and esme and i met her with her 3 beautiful kids there for just a bit...
really it was so i could catch up some with rachel....she now has a darling little girl named laura!!!
anywho...
after we picked up jack from school, we headed out here again and esme rode in the trailer which she likes to refer to with her eyes and manner as her chariot =)...and jack attached to his "motorcycle"
after riding a while, we put up jack's bike and they both hopped into the chariot and we shot off through the woods on a trail that leads to the wow park just around the corner...
i say "shot" what i mean is mamma-hustle ...
that is a workout!!!
which is exciting on another note....i miss excersicing a lot....i have certainly never been a gym girl..i'd get tangled in all those things in a heartbeat....but i love to use my body...to get out of breath...to feel strong....(strong for me =))
so maybe i can start pulling them around on a regular basis!
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
getting excited
i have been working on the cob to get it ready for the carol night...and i am getting so excited that i think it will be at a great place by then!!! yay!!!! will plaster next couple weeks so it will be a warm off white color ....and the stove is cobbed in so there will be a big heated bench....and we'll fill it with greenery and red berries and warming things to eat and drink......ooooooooo....yay!
splendid splendid day!!!
my grandad used to say "splendid!!" often....he was truly the quintessential jovial english gentleman....
always hunting or drinking a cuppa (tea), reading the newspaper (he used to be the editor of the hereford times), or watching cricket....
i remember my mum saying that in all the years she'd known him (he died at 83) she had never heard him utter a cross word....he was just an easygoing happy sort of person...and hence very easy to love.
he died when i was in college...my freshman year...and i can remember feeling a distinct sadness for the joy that had left us...bc honestly, there are very very few people like him. the truly content, the truly happy person... and i am not saying he was the only right way to be....my grandma surely would have disagreed with that! ha! she was fiesty and full of ideas and projects and used her words like a prodding bar to get him to do this or that...or to even try to rile him up i think! and yet she ADORED him, loved him enormously...she just wasn't a mouse by any stretch =)
anyway...i am not sure why i was musing about him today other than as the day came to a close, the word i felt was "splendid" and he is the only person i know..or knew who used that word on a regular basis =)
i took the kids to get the H1M1 vaccine this morning (nose for jack, shot for ez) and they did GREAT!!!! it wasn't at all the trauma i thought it might be...and then on my friend christine's advice, took them for doughnuts....and their introduction to them as only started a lifelong affection me thinks =) then we went to the intermural fields with a picnic and rode around on our bikes....until esme fell asleep in the trailer and jack said his legs weren't working anymore =) they both were asleep before i started the engine to head home...
i feel like i am nearing that stage that i did with jack just before esme was born, and that makes sense...they are the same age almost....where it is all of a sudden so much easier and i feel less like a caretaker and more like a orchestrator of the day, a mentor, a guide, a teacher....jack and i used to get up and eat our breakfast and then head straight out for a walk in the woods...often i'd just follow him wherever and we'd chat as we could about this or that....and we are getting there with esme....and it is SOOOOOOO fun....
ok....but this easy street still leaves me exhausted by 7 pm =) so i am off to beddybies....
always hunting or drinking a cuppa (tea), reading the newspaper (he used to be the editor of the hereford times), or watching cricket....
i remember my mum saying that in all the years she'd known him (he died at 83) she had never heard him utter a cross word....he was just an easygoing happy sort of person...and hence very easy to love.
he died when i was in college...my freshman year...and i can remember feeling a distinct sadness for the joy that had left us...bc honestly, there are very very few people like him. the truly content, the truly happy person... and i am not saying he was the only right way to be....my grandma surely would have disagreed with that! ha! she was fiesty and full of ideas and projects and used her words like a prodding bar to get him to do this or that...or to even try to rile him up i think! and yet she ADORED him, loved him enormously...she just wasn't a mouse by any stretch =)
anyway...i am not sure why i was musing about him today other than as the day came to a close, the word i felt was "splendid" and he is the only person i know..or knew who used that word on a regular basis =)
i took the kids to get the H1M1 vaccine this morning (nose for jack, shot for ez) and they did GREAT!!!! it wasn't at all the trauma i thought it might be...and then on my friend christine's advice, took them for doughnuts....and their introduction to them as only started a lifelong affection me thinks =) then we went to the intermural fields with a picnic and rode around on our bikes....until esme fell asleep in the trailer and jack said his legs weren't working anymore =) they both were asleep before i started the engine to head home...
i feel like i am nearing that stage that i did with jack just before esme was born, and that makes sense...they are the same age almost....where it is all of a sudden so much easier and i feel less like a caretaker and more like a orchestrator of the day, a mentor, a guide, a teacher....jack and i used to get up and eat our breakfast and then head straight out for a walk in the woods...often i'd just follow him wherever and we'd chat as we could about this or that....and we are getting there with esme....and it is SOOOOOOO fun....
ok....but this easy street still leaves me exhausted by 7 pm =) so i am off to beddybies....
For tea and salad....
so, i let the rosehips shrivel a bit...then cut them in half and dug out all the seeds....and now they are in the dehydrator so i can use them for tea...hope it tastes nice....my friend holly told me about a basil, mint tea that i want to try too....
mmmm....
and this salad is my new favorite meal....
the dressing is the key...
at least for me and my sweet tooth =)
mixed greens, feta, cranberries or raisins, and pecans or walnuts....
then i pour on balsamic vinegar and pure maple syrup...
i have been using just the syrup which i think i mentioned but with the vinegar it is soooooo good.
the other night i woke up at 4 am....and went downstairs and made a salad...
slightly crazy, yes...
but a good meal is good anytime...right?
mmmm....
and this salad is my new favorite meal....
the dressing is the key...
at least for me and my sweet tooth =)
mixed greens, feta, cranberries or raisins, and pecans or walnuts....
then i pour on balsamic vinegar and pure maple syrup...
i have been using just the syrup which i think i mentioned but with the vinegar it is soooooo good.
the other night i woke up at 4 am....and went downstairs and made a salad...
slightly crazy, yes...
but a good meal is good anytime...right?
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
I'm still here!!
so i haven't been such a consistent blogger lately!
i know!
it seems this last month has been quite a transition....the kids stopped napping, we've been fighting this or that cold or virus and we as a planet, turn away from the sun an hour earlier and my body just starts falling asleep with the darkness that sets down bc of it!
but the past few days as the kids are better and i am getting more used to the nighttime coming sooner, i feel like we are getting into a new pattern....and it will be good.
i've started to hire my neighbor kayla to come for an hour a day a few times a week and it is just shy of magical. the late afternoon is my sleepy hour...where the kids need a change of scenery and i am spent on ideas....and then enters kayla! i have a craft set up for them to do and popscicles to lick....and they have a ball being entertained by someone new and fresh for an hour....while i scurry off to cob or build something...which is my sherlock holmes (this is what i tell josh....he reads sherlock or watches the jeremy britt series to calm down....one could say, it is their chocolate or mashed potatoes....well, whatever it is, it relaxes me to work unattended with my hands....) when i return, they are soooo excited to see me as if i'd been away for weeks....and i am just as excited to see them! even though only a wall and a few trees has been separating us all the while.
we then eat and read together and get ready for bed....
the only problem, if you can call it that...is that once they are settled and the gaggle of chickens and lone sheep and few turkeys have been fed and put up....and harry has been talked to and cuddled a bit and nestled with his blanket on the couch...and the door have been locked and the proverbial shades drawn,,,,,i am ready to be entertained myself! so i have started the habit of watching trash tv....desperate housewives to be exact! now, i am not desperate for much of anything...so i am not cleaving to the title or anything....but that show is just plain funny....not neccessarily always uplifting but i laugh outloud watching it....which then in my mind justifies me watching it instead of reading some good book or writing cards or sleeping!!! all of which i know would be far more beneficial....but those laughs feel so good =)
sooooo, i am at the crash and go to bed stage right now.....(after trying for 2 hours to post our truck on ebay!!!!) so, until the morrow! God be with you and sleep tight!
i know!
it seems this last month has been quite a transition....the kids stopped napping, we've been fighting this or that cold or virus and we as a planet, turn away from the sun an hour earlier and my body just starts falling asleep with the darkness that sets down bc of it!
but the past few days as the kids are better and i am getting more used to the nighttime coming sooner, i feel like we are getting into a new pattern....and it will be good.
i've started to hire my neighbor kayla to come for an hour a day a few times a week and it is just shy of magical. the late afternoon is my sleepy hour...where the kids need a change of scenery and i am spent on ideas....and then enters kayla! i have a craft set up for them to do and popscicles to lick....and they have a ball being entertained by someone new and fresh for an hour....while i scurry off to cob or build something...which is my sherlock holmes (this is what i tell josh....he reads sherlock or watches the jeremy britt series to calm down....one could say, it is their chocolate or mashed potatoes....well, whatever it is, it relaxes me to work unattended with my hands....) when i return, they are soooo excited to see me as if i'd been away for weeks....and i am just as excited to see them! even though only a wall and a few trees has been separating us all the while.
we then eat and read together and get ready for bed....
the only problem, if you can call it that...is that once they are settled and the gaggle of chickens and lone sheep and few turkeys have been fed and put up....and harry has been talked to and cuddled a bit and nestled with his blanket on the couch...and the door have been locked and the proverbial shades drawn,,,,,i am ready to be entertained myself! so i have started the habit of watching trash tv....desperate housewives to be exact! now, i am not desperate for much of anything...so i am not cleaving to the title or anything....but that show is just plain funny....not neccessarily always uplifting but i laugh outloud watching it....which then in my mind justifies me watching it instead of reading some good book or writing cards or sleeping!!! all of which i know would be far more beneficial....but those laughs feel so good =)
sooooo, i am at the crash and go to bed stage right now.....(after trying for 2 hours to post our truck on ebay!!!!) so, until the morrow! God be with you and sleep tight!
snuggling and laying eggs together
it is just like us really.... acouple girls getting together to watch their kids and talk about raising them...
only, these are chickens....2 hens chattering away...(one a bantam so much smaller) and laying their eggs and keeping warm =)
only, these are chickens....2 hens chattering away...(one a bantam so much smaller) and laying their eggs and keeping warm =)
dehydrating lately
i've been drying a lot of apples lately...
until they are crunchy...yum
and strawberries and kiwi...both until crispy...
and these are banana's covered with ground flax seed, cocoa powder and a little maple syrup...the dehydrated...quite chewy and scrumptious....
and the last thing are rose hips...i just collected a bunch and think i will dry them for tea.
until they are crunchy...yum
and strawberries and kiwi...both until crispy...
and these are banana's covered with ground flax seed, cocoa powder and a little maple syrup...the dehydrated...quite chewy and scrumptious....
and the last thing are rose hips...i just collected a bunch and think i will dry them for tea.
for the love of mushrooms
it is kinda funny though bc as much as i am enamored with these little trinkets of the decaying world, i have never been a huge eater of them.....
something that grows out of dead stuff just doesn't sound appetizing to me.
it sort of makes me think of eating a parasite or something...
anyway, i'll stick to taking their pictures =)
josh took these for me...aren' they wonderful!
something that grows out of dead stuff just doesn't sound appetizing to me.
it sort of makes me think of eating a parasite or something...
anyway, i'll stick to taking their pictures =)
josh took these for me...aren' they wonderful!
weekend walk in the woods
the colors on the trees and falling to the ground have been so lovely...
we all took a walk this past weekend through the property...
such a fun time of year...
we all took a walk this past weekend through the property...
such a fun time of year...
our ladybug and flower
we went to our friend's mike and savanna's house for halloween...
and i was so happy to find costumes in the car...not even sure whey they were there....
bc jack is always a firefighter any chance he gets and esme the bear...anywho...
we didn't stay too long bc the kids are going to bed earlier and earlier and bc esme was afraid of dodd in his kiss outfit!!!!
haha!
and i was so happy to find costumes in the car...not even sure whey they were there....
bc jack is always a firefighter any chance he gets and esme the bear...anywho...
we didn't stay too long bc the kids are going to bed earlier and earlier and bc esme was afraid of dodd in his kiss outfit!!!!
haha!
my new favorite thing
i found this bike trailer ages ago at a thrift shop...in great condition and proceeded to let it sit under our porch!!!
so last night i brought in my old bike and the trailer and cleaned and cleaned...of course will vinegar and then lubed it up with olive oil =)
and the kids just love it!!!
jack is of course riding along side and esme just riding happily in her rickshaw...
we went to the park today with cameron and pop and bliss...and the boys took off while the girls rode along leisurely in the trailer...it was so fun!!!
so last night i brought in my old bike and the trailer and cleaned and cleaned...of course will vinegar and then lubed it up with olive oil =)
and the kids just love it!!!
jack is of course riding along side and esme just riding happily in her rickshaw...
we went to the park today with cameron and pop and bliss...and the boys took off while the girls rode along leisurely in the trailer...it was so fun!!!
Writing his name!!!
this is one of the first times jack has sounded out his name and written it out!!!
i know this doesn't seem like a lot...but he is often pointing to things and saying "that says, jack the firefighter mom"
when it really says, "turn here for chickfila.." or something like that =)
i am just starting to see that he recognizes letters and sounds...only just....but it is so wonderful to watch him learn...
i know this doesn't seem like a lot...but he is often pointing to things and saying "that says, jack the firefighter mom"
when it really says, "turn here for chickfila.." or something like that =)
i am just starting to see that he recognizes letters and sounds...only just....but it is so wonderful to watch him learn...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Christmas Service Date Change to DEcember 12 at 5pm
we have had to change the date to dec 12 for the carol and nativity night....so hope you can all make it!!1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
