Building the Basics

Trouble with a Capital T

2012-02-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

After our trip to Costco this weekend we came home and dumped all of our goods in the living room. You know the lovely piles of boxes and oversized food on the kitchen table and floor that you then have to find homes for. Well, Scout decided that Costco toilet paper was just perfect for learning new tricks.We are in trouble. This girl is busy! Needless to say, the package of toilet paper is still sitting on the floor in our living room so that Scout can keep practicing her new trick whenever she pleases.

P.S. I love the little butt in the air at the end as she gives the plastic a little lick!

Today

2012-02-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

We had a delightful weekend, pleasantly under scheduled. A few friends came by for causal visiting, nice and low-key. Andrew bottled a batch of beer, even though he can't drink it as he is currently eating gluten-free. We juiced the last of the apples from our apple trees and started another gallon of apple wine. We had sunshine on Saturday, not in the forecast, and enjoyed a brief hour of working outside in the yard. We took a family mall walk in which we stared at people (something all 3 of us love to do) and ate Ivar's for a special treat. Yes, there is an Ivar's in our mall. We did some cleaning and organizing in our garage and Andrew got brave enough to go on a hunt for the wasp/hornet/something scary nest from last fall. In case you didn't know this detail about our life, there was a wasp/hornet/something scary nest in the wall/ceiling spot where Scout's bedroom, the garage, and outside all meet up. We could see the spot where the wasps/hornets/somethings scary went in and out and made a big gross mess on the outside wall. Andrew went up in the attic crawl space and couldn't see a nest. But the wasps/hornets/somethings scary would end up in the garage frequently. No fun. We googled around for ideas and liked the suggestion about waiting to see if it died out over the winter. Well the wasps/hornets/somethings scary went away and seemed to have died, so Andrew went up in the attic and pulled up boards until he found the nest so he could destroy it. And patch the hole so they won't come back.

While he was being brave and tackling the big scary nest, Scout and I sorted through some of the stuff in the garage that needs to find a new home not with us. She was very helpful and we now have some fun barters happening this week.

We also went to Costco, after which Scout learned a new and exciting trick that I will tell you all about tomorrow. Because this post is getting entirely too long and she deserves a post to herself. Finally, and the downside of the weekend. I got sick. Like leaky faucet hit by a truck sort of sick. Andrew seems to be getting it too, send your best wishes that it will pass quickly and that Scout will get missed.

A Few Things I loved Reading This Week:
This post about parenting, just because it made me think about what my priorities are.
This post and this post about composting and soil. Because it's time to get excited about gardening.
This page, because I want one pretty bad.
This recipe, which we tried and is tasty and easy. Trying to learn more about probiotics and healthy bacteria for the guts.

Photo Shoot with Grandma

2012-02-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

Grandma Bybee took these adorable photos of Scout (after making her the headband to match her tights) when we were visiting over Thanksgiving, so they aren't current at all. I posted my favorite on this post already, so you've basically seen them. But when I was looking through all of my recently acquired photos I kept coming back to these ones - just loving them. She looks happy and cheerful and sweet. I love the various expressions of happiness that are caught in these photos. She looks so different already, I am glad that we have photos to capture all the unique phases. I would never be able to remember the subtleties.

Fresh

2012-02-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

Lynne got a little bit of editing done on this photo and I love it. There was a distracting photo frame, hung crookedly on the background wall behind Scout and Andrew. Took the focus away from the sweet babe. I love, love, love this photo. It's one of my favorites from that first week at home. She is so fresh and new I love how tiny she looks, with the newborn diaper swamping her. Snuggled up in her daddy's hands you can see how she might actually, maybe, possibly have fit inside of me, curled up exactly the same way. That fresh stage is over so quickly, and we were so engrossed in coping and functioning and healing and adjusting that I feel like I didn't soak it up quite enough. I thought I was savoring it, I just didn't have any perspective to know how quickly it would be over. Thank goodness photos exist to throw me back to that phase, even just a for minute.

Happy 7 Months Baby!

2012-02-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

Check out my sweet, impish little girl! She turned 7 months on Friday - mom is a little bit late with the monthly post. Dad, however, came through with a nice photo shoot, taken on her 7th month birthday. Getting a mobile 7 month old to make cute faces, in the right light, with no shadows, and to get her to sit still enough that the pictures are in focus? That's a feat. The pictures on this post aren't necessarily the best pictures in terms of focus, lighting, and framing...they are the ones that best captured Scout's many expresssions.
Scout at 7 months:

She is scooting all over, doing a little bit of classic crawling, and is starting to be able to climb some easy obstacles, like pillows. She likes to turn and look over her shoulder and flash you a big smile. She's a flirt.
Scout sits up really well now, we just aren't quite confident that she won't lose her balance and plop on her head so we spot her.
She likes for you to help her stand - either spotting her while she hangs on furniture or holding her hands.
She loves books and is always pulling hers off the shelf to play with (meaning eat).
She is not liking her jumper as much anymore, only for very short periods of time, once or sometimes twice a day. It's going to be retired soon.
She still has just the two bottom front teeth, I keep waiting for more to pop through. They are getting quite large though, very visible in some of the pictures below.
She finds the smallest pieces of nothing on the floor to eat. Frequent pick-ups and vacuums are now a necessity. Nothing is safe around her anymore, our house is definitely in baby proof mode.
She loves to eat. She likes purees and will tolerate us feeding her, but she really is happiest when she gets to feed herself. She eats carrots, acorn squash, pumpkin, rice cereal, cream of wheat, green beans, peas, blueberries, avocado, banana, applesauce, chicken, and those little rice puff things. Don't you dare try and eat in front of her without giving her something too!
She has been making this awful cackling coughing sound that she uses like a laugh. She has also figured out how to whisper and how to yell, which she thinks is pretty hysterical. In general, she has really been expanding her sound repertoire and seems to enjoy all the different noises that come out of her mouth.
She loves the smiley girl in the mirror.
She watches people with a little smirky smile, until they look at her and smile and then she really grins. Did I mention that she is a flirt?
She is taking swimming lessons with Andrew and he says she likes all of the splashing and kicking. I'm going to try and go once so I can see too!
She is still a good sleeper, with decent naps and getting up two-ish times in her 13 hour night. She's not perfect, but she's consistently nice and average that way!
Loves her Lucy and is always trying to get her attention. Scout laughs hysterically when Lucy nuzzles her and gives her lots of licks. When Lucy is snoozing, Scout will frequently scoot over and crawl on her.
Loves her stuffed animals, especially a little purple monkey and her Cat in the Hat.
A week ago or so we found an old binky. She never liked her binky, but we've been giving it to her while we change her diaper and she thinks is pretty funny. She will suck frantically like Maggie Simpson and then pull it out and turn it over and over in her hands to examine it. Then repeat until the diaper change is over.
She has been using her little potty chair still and occasionally pees in there. The best is when she giggles while she goes, like she knows whats coming and thinks its pretty funny.
She is ridiculously funny and happy and loves to get us laughing with her, so much fun! Enjoy the many pictures of all of her facial expressions!

Lovey

2012-02-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

Scout has a lovey, a soft little blanky with a lamb head. When we put her in her crib for a nap or for bed we hand it to her and she clutches it to her chest before rolling to her belly. When we peak in on her while she's sleeping, she is often grabbing her little lamby to her chest.

While on a trip to Yellowstone (I think), Wade and Lynne found this stuffed wolf. They bought it for Scout since we were always howling at her and trying to teach her how to howl back. She thinks animal noises are incredibly funny. Scout likes the stuffed wolf, but Lucy LOVES it.

From the very first day she saw it, Lucy wanted it. If you hold it up for her to see, she gets very excited. For the most part, she leaves it alone while she is in our presence, but occasionally she sneaks a good snuffle. Once she stole it, took it to her crate, and I found her rolling around "talking" with it. Lucy is typically very, very good at leaving Scout's toys alone; this is one of the few exceptions. Andrew found her like this the other day, curled up for a nap with what she wishes was her lovey. Everyone needs something to snuggle with!

Family Photo Shoot

2012-02-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

I'm a sucker for a good family photo. I love having a picture that you can hang on the wall and see all of your closest loved ones smiling together. Especially after having Josh die, and feeling him missing so obviously from our current photos, I'm grateful for the pictures we have of all of us, together as a group. I wish we had more, and my mom was always on the hunt for the perfect family photo! I'm not really overly excited about the super posed, matchy mathy, studio shots. Sorry if that's your thing. I prefer something where everyone looks good, in clothes that suite them and don't clash, and seems to be in a somewhat natural setting. I love a lot of the photos I see from this company. Many of the photo shoots seem just perfect to me. But I'm also cheap, or thrifty, whatever. I hate the idea of spending ridiculous amounts of money on a single hour of picture taking. Especially when I have a talented photographer husband. Only problem is that it is fairly difficult to take a family photo when you are in it. Don't worry, superhero Andrew somehow managed to pull it off. One evening at sunset, back in October, he set up the tripod and gave us a little photo shoot. This first image is the one we chose as our favorite, our designated family photo. In a few more months we will need to take another one, Scout looks so different!

Lest you think we are overly photogenic and that this came easy to us, I included all of the outtakes below. They make me laugh, each one has something slightly funny about it.

A Little bit of Balance

2012-02-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

This picture is about a month old now, but this little girl is practicing and perfecting this move all of the time. She loves sitting up. Especially when you are plopping little rice puffs in her mouth! She can't get their on her own yet, but it seems to make her quite happy when you plop her down in the upright position and will stay like that as long as you are willing to let her. She is to the point now where she tries to move from sitting into scooting mode...and typically ends up doing a faceplant. Only once or twice has she done the hard fall backwards to flat on her back; usually she can catch herself and make a correction. We are still mostly spotting, or putting a boppy pillow behind her for extra safety, but it's getting mighty tempting to move away and leave her sitting completely solo.

Time Freeze

2012-01-31T07:30:00.001-08:00

Back when time froze, in the midst of our big snowstorm, the world seemed to stand still. Our days weren't scheduled full to the brim. Meetings, work, lessons, and fun all got canceled. We had snugly mornings with special breakfast, tv watching naps, toasty fires, luxurious meals, a glass at wine at 5pm, and plenty of time to lounge.We soaked each other up in a way that hardly ever happens. No obligations. No to-do lists. No guilt because, hey, the whole world was standing still. It made me feel like I had all of the time in the world. I didn't feel this need to write and sort my thoughts because my thoughts were calm, happy, and completely present in the moment. I'm grateful for a taste of what that feels like, a chance to experience that so I have an idea of what I am trying to achieve.
Then, 10 days ago, the world snapped back into living (even though we still had snow drifts in places a couple of days ago!) and time seemed to go faster then ever. Every moment feels scheduled and planned, my calendar is dictating my life. When I get home I try to put all of the craziness aside and spend a few hours pretending that time is still frozen, trying to capture that just a little bit of that feeling from the week that time stood still. Pretending that I don't have a to-do list with deadlines that seem impossible to meet and that I don't have people who are counting on me and that I'm responsible to and for. I try to spend at least some time being completely present in the moment and enjoy what I've got around me. Because what I've got is pretty amazing and I don't want to miss it.

Today

2012-01-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

We are snowed in. I mean, I guess we could leave. But it would have to be an emergency for us to venture out. We still have 6 plus inches of snow outside, the temperatures have dropped to the low teens (if not lower here), and we have a VERY strong wind blowing. It's hard to tell if it's snowing or not, there is so much snow blowing around. It's bitterly cold, with ice forming on the edges of windows and creeping along the inside of the garage wall. And there's a good layer of ice on the roads, despite the snow plow coming along fairly frequently. But don't worry we are hibernating well. We still haven't left the house and aren't planning on it anytime soon. We have plenty of firewood if the power goes out, lanterns and flashlights, and lots of food left.

This is the view from our sliding glass door. Taken from the inside.

Lucy hurt her hip a little playing in the snow yesterday (or the day before...I lost track). Doesn't seem to be hurting her any, but she is gimping around pretty good. A 100lb dog who doesn't like to put weight on her back leg looks pretty goofy. We are trying to make her rest up, but she isn't too interested. Not really sure what the best course of action is to help her heal properly.

We've been drinking delicious coffee, wassail, making tasty food, knitting, reading, getting work done, playing with Scout, and watching netflix streaming. Feels like second Christmas.

My sister posted this hilarious video (it's at the end of the post), you have to watch it to the very end. I feel mean that I still laugh hysterically. In my defense, we all did.

Scout is perfecting a speedy little scoot.

Stumbled across this post from a special education teacher, loved it.

When we can get to our dirt again (it will happen right?) we want to try these in our yard. An awesome use of all of our pruned branches! I'm excited to build our gardens up.

A friend of Josh's wrote this song in his honor. I'm surprised and touched that so many people, outside of our family, still think about him regularly. I'm glad he hasn't been forgotten.

Not only does this website have delicious recipes, I love her style of writing. And I loved this post, the first on her page right now. I need these reminders that all of life does not need to be documented, that it's ok to leave things out. I struggle to explain this when people ask why I don't use Twitter and Pintrest. This is my outlet where I document what I am willing to share, the things I am reading, the events we photograph, and the projects we are working on. Facebook and blogreading is the extent of my social networking. And even those are too much at times. It's good to step away and live in the real life connections, in the real life moments, in the quiet and stillness of life. This New York Times Article was excellent, but I especially loved this quote from Marshall McLuhan, “When things come at you very fast, naturally you lose touch with yourself.” Another reminder to live slow, to enjoy each moment and each connection.

Snow!

2012-01-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

We have had a snow filled weekend. It started with a little snow on Saturday, a little more on Sunday, a little more on Monday, and we have somewhere around 6 inches hanging around with more snow in the forecast. My school was canceled for today! Doesn't bother us one little bit!

We've left our snug little house a few times - Andrew went skiing on Saturday and we ran out to the grocery store on Sunday- and we've had a few visitors, but other than that we've enjoyed bunkering down and aren't planning on going anywhere. The fire is keeping the house toasty warm, the wassail simmering on the fireplace makes our house smell amazing, we signed up for netflix streaming, and we've enjoyed watching the on again/off again snow flurries and Lucy's crazy snow antics out of our living room windows. On Sunday we had a break in the snow falling and brought Scout outside in the sunshine. She thought it was quite entertaining, love these photos!

Scout & Levi

2012-01-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

See some commonalities? Their hair is identical...both in coloring and in the funky, mohawk growing in pattern!

P.S. These photos were taken over Thanksgiving weekend. Everyone is right, babies grow way to fast. Scout looks so different now!

Milk Cookies

2012-01-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

Nursing is amazing in so many ways, don't even get me started. One of things that I learned, that surprised me, was how much food and herbs can affect milk supply. Galactagogues are things that boost your milk supply, do a google search and you'd be surprised at how many there are. Most of them are easy to add to your diet without thinking too much, good for you in many other ways, and tasty! Even if my milk supply isn't having a hard time keeping up, I figure that anything I can do to help my body out is a positive.

Here is one link that I've looked at, there are many, many out there. A few of the galactagogues that have been easiest for me to add in here and there:
Fenugreek, in many teas
Nuts and nut butters, excellent for snacking and filling you up!
Flaxseed, ground and added to muffins or cookies, even good in yogurt (but I always forget that one!)
Oats, bowl of oatmeal, oatmeals cookies
Brewer's yeast, added to breads or cookies, sprinkled over popcorn
Garlic, love cooking with garlic, we add it to everything

There are also food that can inhibit milk supply. I don't cut them completely out of my diet, but I try not to eat excessive amounts of them. The three that I have found that surprised me the most where:
Parsley
Thyme
Celery

Back when I wrote about breastfeeding (split into pt.1, pt. 2, and pt. 3) and on this post about bartering, I mentioned milk cookies. Contrary to what the name might suggest, these cookies are NOT made with breastmilk. Such cookies might be very healthy for you (hehe) but we haven't gone there and aren't planning on it. Milk cookies are simply a delicious oatmeal cookie with some tasty additions and substitutions, specially formulated to help boost your milk supply. And if you aren't a nursing mother, they won't hurt you! Any good excuse to make an oatmeal cookie! Oatmeal cookies are a tasty way to hide a bunch of galactagogues in a tasty treat. You could make tons of different substitutions and additions and I bet they would turn out fine. When we have made these, we have baked one or two cookie sheets full and then froze the rest of the dough in little balls. The intention was to pull them out of the freezer and bake a sheet full now and again. They never made it that long, I always ate the frozen dough balls as tasty little snacks when I needed something sweet.

Oatmeal Milk Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons linseed (flaxseed) meal (we have whole flaxseed around and I grind it in the little coffee grinder we have, super easy!)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (whole wheat is best, but regular is ok)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats, thick cut if you can get them
1 cup or more chocolate chips (I like a whole bag of mini semi-sweet)
2 tablespoons of brewers yeast -be generous! (note: This must be brewer's yeast, bakers yeast will NOT do - it must be brewer's yeast. It might be labeled nutritional yeast, that will work too!)

Directions:

Preheat oven at 375 degrees F, 180c.
Mix together 2 tablespoons of linseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes.
Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time, mix well.
Stir linseed mixture and add with vanilla to the butter mix.
Beat until blended.
Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and chips.
Add to butter mixture.
Stir in oats & chips.
Scoop onto baking sheet greased or lined with baking paper.
Bake 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies and how crispy you want them
Serves: 6 dozen cookies (a huge batch)
Preparation time: 15 minutes

November & December Birthdays

2012-01-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

In my family there are a few times of the year when there are several people who have birthdays within a month of each other. End of November & early December is one those times. Rachelle, Granny, Emma, & Andrew all have birthdays within two weeks of each other. It's a busy, crazy time of year so instead of trying to get together to celebrate each person's birthday individually, we typically get together once, around Thanskgiving and have a combined birthday celebration. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this years celebration!

Granny & Poppy looking at some of Granny's presents. She got lots of photos and photo books this year!

Me laughing at Scout and her total confusion at the chaos.

Poppy, poised and ready to take photos.

Granny & Emma

Emma didn't get many presents, as she was collecting birthday money to buy an Ipad...she was pretty pleased with her new volleyball though.

Rachelle opening presents.

Andrew & Alec

Scout & Harper

2012-01-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

Cousins are awesome. Both Andrew and I are fortunate to have cousins that are also friends. I hope that these two grow up to be great friends. I'm afraid that they won't really have a choice :) These photos are from one of the first interactions where they actually seem to care about the other's existence. Also, despite many, many, many efforts (I won't bore you with the pictures) we have yet to get ONE photo where they are both smiling. But these are pretty dang cute.P.S. As I am collecting, sorting, and loving pictures from our holiday break, I am noticing that Scout has her tongue out while smiling in 90% of them. She's not doing that anymore. I miss that phase already.

Getting a Christmas Tree

2012-01-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

Andrew & I didn't get a Christmas Tree this year. Well, that's not really true. We got a little potted, indoor evergreen tree and decorated it. It worked for us right now and we really don't have room for a full size tree. I have hopes that we will have room in the main room, once we finish the garage and move Lucy's crate out there, but that's a ways off.

We did however get to go with my family when they went to pick out a tree. When I was little, we would drive up to the mountains where there was snow and tromp around in the woods until we found the perfect tree. Then my dad would cut it down and haul it back to the car. The kids would play in the snow and ride on the sled behind our Alaskan Malamute, Koyak. It was a cold, wet, fun, experience. My family quit doing that as it got to be fairly expensive, very time consuming, and they found a Tree Farm that they like. This tree farm has tons of trees a nice little walk, and free cocca and cider. Fairly standard, but we like it. It was fun to go as a whole crowd - my parents, Rachelle, Taylor, Levi, Alec, Emma, Granny, & Poppy. We picked out a tree in record time, with no arguing and very little decision making, we were trying to work around naps and the oncoming darkness!

Getting Scout in the Ergo for the adventure

Me, Scout, and Emma.

Cheeseball Emma

Rachelle, Taylor, and Levi

Andrew, Emma, and I as holiday elves

Goofballs

Everyone tromping through the trees.

My mom, Granny, Scout, & I in our first 4 generation picture

Scout, Me, & Emma all amazingly looking at the camera

Poppy, Rachelle, & Levi

Dad next to the perfect tree

Today

2012-01-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

What I'm loving:

This post about pregnancy weight gain, loving your body, and being healthy. I want to be fit and active during my next pregnancy, even more so than with Scout. I guess I should get a move on the here and now first huh?

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. And the Girl Who Played With Fire. And I am dying to start The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I just like a good book that sucks you in and is hard to put down. I wish all of life could be reading, playing with friends and family, and working outside.

This website about raising ducks. I miss our ducks. Maybe we will be slightly impractical and get a duck pen set up before chickens, they are so much more fun, sociable creatures. And they lay eggs right? I'm a good rationalizer.

This family photo shoot. Family photos are hard to get looking fun and cute. I would love to have these displayed around the house. Speaking of...I need to post about OUR family photos!

This reminder to pause, and mindfully enjoy the moment you are in. To soak it up, even in it's imperfections, because you will never get it back.

Books. Just looking at a real live book, even if I don't have time to read it. Makes me happy. Sorry ereader fans.

Happy 6 months baby!

2012-01-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

This is a little overdue, since Scout was actually 6 months on the 3rd, but I don't want to miss taking a minute to reflect on who she is at this moment. She changes so much from month to month and I don't want to miss a thing.

Scout had her 6 month check up yesterday. All was well and good. She weighs 16lbs 3.5 oz (66%) and is 26.5 inches tall (77%). We have a tallish baby? Weird!
She has started laughing more regularly. Sometimes a cute giggle and sometimes an out-of-control, hysterical giggle that makes Andrew use words like disconcerting and troublesome.
She is babbling all of the time, lots of dadas and interesting vowel/consonant combinations, lots of different tones, like she is singing. She still doesn't shriek or squeal, but sometimes I think she whines just because she likes to hear the noise. The laugh after gives her away. She still gets really quiet when other people are around or we go out. Too busy watching!
She gets a few scoots in at a time, a little bit of army crawling, or a bear-walk step in but mostly there is still just lots of rocking back and forth, rolling around, and spinning in circles. Somehow she does manage to make it some distance if you leave her long enough.
Scout takes two naps, one around 9 and one around 12 every day. Each one is between 45 min and 2 hours. Then occasionally she naps on-the-go in the afternoon before bed at 6. She wakes once or twice during the night for a quick feeding before shes up between 6 and 7 in the morning. And she talks and sings herself to sleep. It's adorable.
She sits up some, and can actually hold it for a while, but she is unreliable and needs a spotter at all times.
She is a regular piglet eating a ton of both mama's milk and pureed food. She loves to eat and wants to try anything you have. She loves bananas and green beans. Her diet also includes cream of wheat, pumpkin, pureed chicken, avacado, carrot sticks, and celery sticks. Introducing her to new foods is fun!
Her bottom teeth are in good now and they hurt when she bites. Which she does when you stick anything in her mouth. Luckily, and for some unknown reason, she has only once bitten me while nursing.
Scout loves to ride her ergo and stare at people. Then, when they smile at her, she gives them a big cheesy grin.
She loves her sippy cup. She gets a little bit of water here and there out of it, but mostly she likes playing with it and trying to get it to her mouth.
She loves Lucy. She loves watching her, loves when Lucy snuffles her, and loves to grab her (and try and eat her). Lucy is infinitely patient. They are going to be great friends.
Scout is getting better around people other than Andrew and I. She especially likes when people smile and talk nice to her before they try and take her. She loves to be entertained.
She is already starting to get into things. She found the edges of the ribbons that hold her bumpers up and rubbed them between her fingers until they frayed. Then she rolled around until she got all wrapped up in the threads. After that happened twice in one night we took the bumpers out...her crib looks so bare now. She also has been finding fuzzies on the floor that Lucy brings out from her bed, regular vacuuming is definitely a new part of the routine. And if she sees shoes on the ground, she wants to eat them and somehow makes her way over to them. We are definitely in baby proofing mode!

We love you Scout baby!

Hello Again

2012-01-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

Hello new year and trying to get used to writing 2012.

Hello again middle schoolers and nice to meet you college kids.

Hello again to early mornings and saying goodbye to Andrew and Scout.

Hello again to that same resolve to eat healthy, attempt an exercise routine, stay more

organized, take more pictures, read more, write more, live more, and love more.

Hello again to the dreaded pump and worrying about milk supply.

Hello again routine and busy life, I think I'm ready now.

Hello again blog, I've missed you.

Alive

2012-01-03T07:17:00.000-08:00

I'm not dead I promise. I just haven't felt much like writing in the past week and half. So I haven't. Because you get to do that with hobbies. What you've been reading are the posts that I had finished, or partly finished, and saved in draft form. And then they ran out and I've been taking a little break. But with all of the craziness that is starting up this week, I'm guessing I won't last long before I need the mental calm that writing brings.

P.S. Scout is 6 months old today! I can't believe it, 6 months is a changing point in my mind. And in the past two weeks, she has really changed. More mobile, more interactive, trying to communicate more, her personality is developing more and more everyday. I love her.

Breaking Bread

2011-12-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

I love Andrew's bread baking. I like how methodical he is about it and I like watching him kneed and shape the dough. He pays careful attention to what went well and what he wants to do differently next time. And it tastes delicious. While visiting with my parents over Thanksgiving, Alec asked Andrew to teach him how to bake bread. I'm not sure what initiated that request, but it was fun to see them work together on a project. And we liked eating it.

Movin' & Groovin'

2011-12-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

We love watching Scout learn something new. You can almost see her thinking and figuring something out. So much concentration and effort involved in each new skill. Right now, she is learning to crawl. She can pop up on all fours, rock back and forth, get in a bear crawl position, and sometimes push herself forward. She also sometimes pushes herself backwards. We took these videos over three days, the week before Christmas. She has already improved since then. Everyday, she gets a little bit better. I'm torn between excited and proud...and dreading the constant chasing that I know is coming!

Today

2011-12-28T07:30:00.000-08:00

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with anything I wrote about. I just think she is pretty adorable.

Picture from November 25, 2011-Taken by Grandma Bybee

We are home from our travels (as of Monday) and as delightful as they were, we are enjoying the daily routine of being home together as our little family. We get in a good rhythm, the four of us, of lounging, playing, and working together. I really think we could be happy forever, in our little routine. Our time always goes to fast.

Christmas was wonderful. We played for a little over two days with both mine and Andrew's family. We ate too much, watched babies and cousins interact, played a good game of Risk, reenacted the Nativity (Scout was baby Jesus, Andrew was a shepherd, and I was the angel, like always), brought food to and visited with folks in downtown Seattle, listened to Christmas music, opened tons of presents, made and ate pizzas, pies, and bread, fit in some last minute shopping, got our teeth cleaned, and watched Scout practice crawling. It was busy and crazy and fun. Many memories were made and I really should take more pictures and write more about holiday celebrations.

Scout has two teeth (bottom) that are quite visible and is working on some top teeth, making her a little bit more irritable than usual. She's still really pleasant most of the time, we just aren't used to any whining from her at all. She is popping up on all fours all of the time now, rocking back and forth and occasionally moving a little bit. It's amazing how she gets around just by spinning and rolling. We are going to have a full-on crawler any day now.

I've got lots of work to do to get ready for my WWU classes and to go back to work next week.

Andrew is getting ready to do an elimination diet and we need to get on track with exercising. Rain and darkness go away.

We have lots of home depot gift cards are busy planning projects. Closet organization and chicken coop being high on our priority list.

I have so many things that I want to do over break that I can never get them all done. I have many things I want to write about: our cloth diaper adventures, bread baking, recipes to share, our baby proofing attempts, pictures from family, how our wines have turned out (and been consumed), the list goes on. I want to get some scrapbooking done and pictures and videos sorted from last year so we can start clean next week. I have a few thank you cards to write and few last stacks of paper to sort through and file in our newly organized filing cabinet. We need to rack wines and if the weather would cooperate, we need to rake some leaves and do some light weeding. We are in the process of trying to sell our HE front loader washer and dryer and by a basic top loader set (long story). Too many things to do, never enough time.

I have been productive in cleaning out my closet, organizing my clothes, doing a little bit of clothes shopping, and creating some outfits. My wardrobe was in a bad state after 9 months of pregnancy and 6 months of post-baby. Thanks to some help from Andrew, things are looking a bit better. A few more purchases and I will be happy.

We also cleaned out and reorganized our kitchen. As in pulled everything out of the shelves and put it all away again, where it actually makes sense. Tackling this project was a necessity with all of the fun new kitchen gadgets we got. But after living here for 7 or 8 months, we had a better feel for how things fit, or didn't fit. A little reorganizing and cleaning out makes the kitchen feel much better.

Hungry?

2011-12-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

This girl always is. She is nursing just as much as always, eating an ice cube of puree everyday, and has started munching on banana in this nifty little fresh food feeder from munchkin. The other morning while I was trying to keep her occupied, she ate almost a half a banana before Andrew made me quit feeding her. I wouldn't recommend letting her eat while you are though, not unless you aren't grossed out by baby slobber banana goo. It is so fun to introduce different tastes and textures to Scout, she is completely enthralled by food. We just got a tray for her bumbo seat and I'm excited to start giving her pieces of food for her to explore at her own rate.

Bybee Apple Pie

2011-12-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

Loving this apple pie is an essential part of being a Bybee. This apple pie is a classic part of birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas...Carina even had it at her wedding. I know the recipe came from Wade's mom - Grandma Bybee - but I don't know where she got it from. It is so good that once make this, you will never want to have the old, traditional apple pie again.

Pie filling

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 to 7 apples peeled and sliced thin

Mix together sugar, cinnamon, and apples. Let it sit while you make the pie crust and topping, then pile it high in the pie shell. Tip: Cut apples with an apple slicer or be very meticulous when cutting. Thin even slices really do make a difference. Also, if you are buying apples, get Granny Smiths. They are excellent in this pie.

Pie Dough

1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup Crisco
3 T water

Cut together Crisco, salt, and flour until crumbly and then add cold water until it holds together. Roll out for the bottom of the pie. Put in ungreased pie dish and make the edges pretty. Tip: Use a pastry cutter.

Pie Topping

1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown suger

Start with soft but not melted butter. Cut together until crumbly. Heap over the top of the apples. Tip: Again, use a pastry cutter, it really makes a difference.

Bake pie at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then another 45 minutes at 350 degrees. It's delicious hot out of the oven or if you need to make it ahead of time. It's also great for breakfast the next morning.

Family & Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! As this post is going up, we will mostly likely be opening presents in the living room with my family. It is Scout's first Christmas! I am sure she is going to love the paper way more than she does the presents...but I'm excited just the same. These pictures are from Thanksgiving weekend (that I stole from my mom because I didn't take any!). I am so grateful to have family - mine and Andrew's - that we love, that love us, and that are so wonderful to spend time with.

Here's to holidays and time with those you love!

Granny, Emma, Rachelle, Levi, Scout, and Me

4 Generations: Mom, Granny, Scout, and Me

Granny & Emma

What Christmas Means to Me

2011-12-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

It's complicated. But we are going to celebrate and I'm not going to stress about trying to get it all figured out, just right, today. Christmas can mean different things to different people and our family's meaning can evolve as we create our own traditions. However, in all of the conversations, emails, and comments that were shared (thank you, thank you!) a few thoughts have formulated that I want to put to "paper" so that I have a starting point for next year, and the year after, and the year after.

Celebrating together as a family is important to create a sense of family unity and togetherness, traditions bring us together and are something that we can all share. Celebrating and having family traditions help create memories and strong family ties.

Christmas, and the whole month of December, is generally a time when people in the community come together to help others, give to those around them, and are generally cheery and happy. I can get behind that.

I like lights and cheery, happy things to make us smile in the dark, gloomy time of the year. Christmas lights, snowmen and snowflakes, evergreen trees, bright red bows, all of those beautiful symbols that remind of us of light and life are very welcome during the dark, hibernating season.

I want to focus on giving meaningful, handmade gifts to those in our lives. To really try and stay away from the buying frenzy of always needing to spend more and give bigger, more expensive gifts.

Traditions (big and small) that I like:

Having books, about many different holiday traditions and stories. Christmas, Hanukkah, religious, traditional, Solstice, all of it. We love reading books in our house. Lots of books fits us well.
Having a countdown calendar for the whole month of December, with a new activity to do on everyday. Visits to Santa, delivering goodies to the neighbors, buying a gift for a toy drive, making gifts for family, looking at Christmas lights, something to celebrate everyday.
Writing a letter - even if it only ever stays on this blog! - to sum up the year and all that is happening in our lives.
Baking :) It's terrible for you, but it's so much fun to bake traditional goodies and share them with everyone around you.
Holiday music and holiday movies, to be gotten out with the holiday books. There is something fun about books, movies, and music that is only available during a certain time of the year. Especially when all of it is so happy and focused on the good in life. We have a lot of good.
Creating a sense of magic around anonymous gift giving for my children. Santa is really about the magic of a surprise and getting a gift from someone you don't know...I like the tradition that other magical creatures can leave gifts too. Maybe elves? The Grinch? A nutcracker? Rudolph? I think it would be fun to help Scout play the role of the "anonymous gift giver", both at our house by leaving gifts from magical people under the tree, and by anonymously giving to our neighbors and families in our community. Giving without expecting thanks is magic itself.
Wrapping presents in brown paper bags and brown wrapping paper leftover from packaging and decorating it ourselves. I hate the amount of money that is spent on paper and wrappings that just goes in the garbage. I think this will be especially fun with little kids who might like to help color and decorate packages!

I'm sure this list will grow and change over the years, but I'm excited to celebrate with our little family and create traditions that fit with us and our values!

I Miss You

2011-12-23T07:30:00.001-08:00

I miss you. I miss you all of the time, but these happy times when family and friends gather make me think about you even more and make your absence feel even larger.

I miss you when I look at Scout (and Levi) and am reminded of you when you were a little babe. I think of how you would have teased Emma & Alec that both Scout & Levi look like you. You would have loved being an uncle, I'm so sorry you never got to meet them.

I miss you when I'm making lists of what to give people for Christmas and I don't get to think of something that will make you smile.

I missed you when we got a white elephant gift that you would have loved.

This will be our first Christmas, where all of us will be celebrating together, at Mom and Dad's, without you. The first Christmas without you, we ran away to Mexico. Last Christmas, we were at the Bybee's. Even though we are a large crowd when we all get together, we still feel like someone is missing.

I miss you when I read Mom's Christmas letter and there is no update on what you did this year.

I miss you when I hear about your friend's going off to college, coming home for their first Christmas as adults, and I think about all of the things that aren't experiencing.

I miss you when I see Spiderman stuff and remember how much you loved it. It made you act like a little kid...we couldn't get enough of giving you Spiderman gadgets.

I miss you when I look at Alec & Emma and see how much they have changed. But you are just staying the same in my head.

I miss you when I look at our family picture hanging above the fireplace. And it feels wrong to replace it with a current one, that includes Levi & Scout and lets Alec & Emma grow up a little...but I know that someday it will happen.

I wish that you could come for a visit. Just to say hi, catch up, and make a few new, fresh memories.

Dark Days

2011-12-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

Today is the darkest day of the year. The day when we get the least amount of sunshine. Tomorrow we will start to see the return of the daylight.

A sunrise in September

I have been especially cognizant of the loss of daylight in the past month. We discuss this frequently among staff at school. We see the sun rising during first period, and it is completely dark by the time I am nursing Scout before bed at 530pm.

A sunrise in October

I miss the sun. My body tries to adjust to the extended hours of darkness, wanting more sleep and hibernation. I have a hard time getting going in the morning darkness, feeling sluggish and lethargic. 6pm feels late, like I should be getting ready for bed. By the time 9pm rolls around, I feel as if I have pushed myself to stay up for a late night party. I am looking forward to the return of daylight. To waking up with the sunrise. I am looking forward to evening walks and working in the yard. I am looking forward to more energy in the evenings and the morning, to feeling that pull to get outside and soak up the daylight. The change from light to dark and back to light is gradual, but the difference between today and June 21 is drastic. I am looking forward to the return of the sun.

Today

2011-12-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

Today I'm writing this post while laying in the sunshine on my living room floor, watching Scout wiggle around and flash me smiles and listening to Andrew play Beatles songs on the guitar. Vacation is wonderful.

The past week has been jam packed with excitement and holiday cheer. I've been taking pictures, but I'm too lazy to organize them right now, so you just get the teaser update for today.

We took Scout to a holiday party that was past her bedtime - scary right? This girl was a rockstar, smiling and socializing, then taking a little nap in her pea pod until we were ready to go home. Despite us messing up her sleep schedule she went right to sleep when we got home and slept great all night. We very much appreciated the chance to visit with friends, devour tons of delicious food, and the always exciting white elephant exchange.

We baked all of our favorite goodies and delivered plates to our neighbors and friends. Baking is delightful. It makes the house smell amazing and I love the excuse to pop over and say hello to people.

We used the online class that I will be teaching next quarter as an excuse to get a faster internet connection (we had been stealing from our phones) and we love it! Videos and music are enjoyable now!

We've been browsing Christmas music on Spotify. My favorites are the She and Him Christmas album and a Motown Christmas channel that Andrew found.

Andrew's napsack arrived. It's lovely.

Scout and I went shopping at the mall for 3 hours and she did amazing. Hanging out in her ergo, nursing in a fitting room, snoozing a little, flirting with strangers, I am loving this age - she is so much fun.

Scout's on an great nap schedule. Two naps a day, one around 9 and one around 12, both for an hour or more. Then we can go visiting in the evening or run errands until bedtime at 6. Sometimes she snoozes a little while we are out and about in the evening, but we try not to make it a big deal.

Time to feed this girl and get her down for her second nap! Enjoy the Holidays!

Happy Holidays

2011-12-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Environmentally friendly? Cheap? Lazy? Efficient? Call it what you want, here is your Christmas card for the year!

This year has been an eventful one for us, with many exciting changes.

Here is the short list, in time order:
We bought our first house
Andrew finished his student teaching and graduated with a Music Performance and Music Education degree.
Isla Scout joins our family!
Lauriel finishes her Master's in Education
Lauriel starting teaching two classes at Western Washington University

We are busy, every day, living a life that seems too good to be true. We have been lucky enough to have Andrew stay home with Scout during the day while Lauriel continues to teach middle school special education. One evening a week she teaches up at WWU, with an additional online class that she works on from home. Two evenings a week, Andrew teaches private trumpet lessons, his studio is growing almost weekly! In spite of our crazy schedules, we find time to soak up each others company and indulge in a ridiculous amount of fun projects. We are enjoying owning our own home, watching Lucy romp around our acre lot, and admiring the beautiful view our of our windows. Scout is growing and changing on a daily basis, today she is smiling big smiles with her two front teeth (bottom), rocking back and forth on all fours, and buzzing her lips to make us laugh. This may be out of date by the time you are reading this post! We are thoroughly enjoying our happy, funny baby!

We hope you are doing well this holiday season and would love to hear from you!

(That means if you are reading this blog post, leave us a comment or a link to your blog, send us an email, let me know how we can catch up with you!)

Holiday Q & A

2011-12-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

Still working on that whole idea of what Christmas means for us and putting into words exactly what we are celebrating. I've been collecting ideas for holiday traditions that I like and I came across this Q & A that was fun to think about.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate-with egg nog. And maybe a little bit of something extra.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrap them! But I heard of a fun idea that I would love to try out in the future. Not only does Santa bring presents, so does the Easter Bunny, Christmas Elves, the Grinch, and many other wonderful magical people.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Andrew and I were just discussing this, either all white or white and one other color, like white and red. Haven't decided for sure yet.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but I think we should!

5. When do you put your decorations up? I think the lights should be put up on Thanksgiving weekend, starting on Friday or Saturday. Helps get rid of the post-Thanksgiving blues. We can get down the boxes with the rest of the stuff at that time. Then we can spend all of December creating and decorating.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? It's not one specific thing..it's the overall decadence of all of the special dishes combined.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? acting out the nativity story, until we were way too old. That's the benefit of having younger siblings. I was always the angel...probably because I was a brat about it. I have always loved how we open gifts in our family, one a time and who ever opened the last gift goes and picks one out to give to someone else. It's fun to get a gift but it's also fun to go pick one out to hand to someone else and see their excitement.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly don't know when or how. But, when I was older, I always loved when my mom and dad would let me help play Santa for the little kids.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes. Mom always got to help decide what it was, so that it would be something you could actually enjoy and that it wasn't your "big" present. I like the idea of getting new jammies on Christmas Eve. You can always use a new pair of jammies.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I like having a mismatch of ornaments, all of them meaningful. Get a new ornament every year? It makes decorating the tree a good conversation about memories and where each ornament came from.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I love it. Probably because it never lasts long around here.

12. Can you ice skate? Haven't tried in over 10 years. And I wasn't very good at it then. So probably not.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No. Sorry to everyone who has given me amazing gifts, one isn't standing out for me right now.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Spending time with family, taking those moments to sit and just enjoy life and how wonderful it is.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Fudge, Hello Dollies, chocolate crinkles, caramels, almond roca.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Hmm, that's a hard one. I like making goodie plates and bringing them to friends. It's a good excuse to bake lots of deliciousness and it's fun to drop by and make people smile.

17. What tops your tree? We have a light up glittery star. But our tree is too scrawny to hold it up. Maybe next year our tree will be a little bit stronger.

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Definitely the giving, although it's way more stressful. I never feel like I can think of a good enough present for those amazing people in my life. The more important they are to me, the harder it gets. I'm the worse at buying presents for Andrew.

19. Candy canes: yuck or yum? Delicious. Especially the cinnamon ones.

20. Favorite Christmas show? Classic Rudolph and Frosty...although Andrew has got me liking A Christmas Story and Charlie Brown's Christmas as well.

21. Saddest Christmas song? Why would you want a sad Christmas song?

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? We love the Vince Guaraldi Christmas cd at our house. The whole thing is classic. But I also love playing the Christmas Mix cds that Wade used to make every year. I wish he still did that (hint, hint). It's like getting a best of playlist.

The Spout

2011-12-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

This girl's hair is pretty amazing (as are her bright blue eyes!). Since birth, she seems to have lost some around the sides and back. She's not bald, but it is definitely just short peach fuzz. On top though, she has that original "thick" mop of hair, it never fell out and just keeps growing - getting longer and thicker. The uneven growth creates a lovely comb over look. It's so long on top now that I've been tempted to put it up more and more often. It's almost hanging in her eyes. Problem is that it is so thin that even small rubber bands don't stay in great. And clips just seem hard and hurty when she is rubbing her head on the ground while rolling around. I need to get creative with hair accessories that are actually functional.

Anyways....this post is dedicated to Scout's spout. I'm sure there will be many more to come.

Split Pea Soup

2011-12-17T07:30:00.001-08:00

We got this recipe at the suggestion from Brittany who originally found it here. I adjusted a few things, just because I have a hard time following directions. I always like to add more veggies where I can. I love getting recipe suggestions that are cheap, easy, and tasty. If you've got a good one, send it our way!

Vegan Split Pea Soup
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups dried split peas
1/2 cup barley
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
7 1/2 cups water (can replace some of this with chicken broth if you don't care about the vegan aspect)
5 carrots, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
5 potatoes, diced
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Throw everything into the crockpot first thing in the morning if you want to eat it around 6pm. Stir occasionally and add extra water (or broth) if it is getting thicker than you want. You can't really over cook it. If you don't want to, or don't have time to cook it in the crockpot, it takes about 2 hours on the stove top at a low simmer. Stir it fairly frequently or it will start to stick to the bottom. Delicious with a thick slice of homemade bread. We eat about half of a batch at a time and freeze the other half for quick, no-food-in-the-house meals.

Thanks Brittany! Send me any other favorites you have, we love this one!

Last Day

2011-12-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

It's the last day before the holiday break, we've made it! My brain is definitely in crazy random mode, trying to finish some things up before I leave today. Looking forward to 17 days straight of time with my little family, nursing on demand (goodbye pump!), visiting friends & family, wrapping gifts, baking goodies, and working on projects.

Life at middle school is very festive today with a holiday music assembly, plates of treats to share throughout the building, Santa hats, reindeer antlers, caroling from the Spanish students, and gifts being exchanged. I've received several thoughtful gifts from students and staff, both for me and for Scout. I am so supported by my peers in this building, I feel very lucky. Teachers in our building pooled our cash to buy gifts for several of our students, sweatshirts and books and gloves, things they might really be needing. Lucky me got to be part of the giving, the best part. It was definitely worth my money to see the huge smiles, teary eyes, and wonder at getting something that was all their own. Middle schoolers in general are pretty amazing, the resiliency of some our students astounds me.

Lucy playing in the snow at Hovander-November 2010

Think we can get a little snow around here for the holidays?

I am tempted to try this recipe, something I've never had before, but I love those chocolate oranges!

Today

2011-12-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all of the wonderful feedback about celebrating Christmas and what it means to you. It's creating great conversation, really getting my brain thinking. Which was my intent in posting it. Thank you to everyone who has been willing to discuss and share on a very personal level, that can always be a little bit scary!

I'm not ready to write or commit to my thoughts yet because I feel like they are still forming. But in 1 sentence (ish), here where I'm at today:
Celebrating holidays is important to create tradition and shared family memories; something that you can get excited about with your kids and use as a tool to teach them your family values. What that might look like is still forming in my mind :)

Me, at this time last year. I was 10 weeks pregnant with Scout. Crazy what has changed...and what is still the same

Very briefly, what else has been happening in our lives:
My parents visited this weekend while they were on a little get-a-way with just the two of them. We fed them lunch and visited Saturday afternoon. On Sunday we met up again and they attended at holiday performance that Andrew was a part of with the Whatcom Chorale. It was wonderful to get a chance to spend time with my parents, just Andrew and I, in a quiet, calm setting. No big rush, not a lot going on, not having to share them with everyone else (I love you my wonderful siblings!) just quiet visiting as adults. That doesn't happen very often!

Scout is loving eating. She has added bananas to her repertoire (just today!) and Andrew reports that she loves them, much to his disappointment.

I am counting down the days until break, two more wake-ups! There are so many things that I want to do over break! Kicking off the holiday with a massage - I have a free voucher - on Wednesday. Woohoo!

Andrew ordered his napsack...and it shipped today. Such a fun splurge, I'm excited myself!

Reading that I've loved this week:
This made me laugh: Good Day Pregnancy Scale
I want to try this: Homemade Chai
My goal for our next pregnancy...I supposed that means I should start now right? Running While Pregnant

Christmas?

2011-12-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted a single peep about Christmas. Well, except for the Birthankmas post, does that count? As a daily blogger, has that absence become obvious yet? To put it bluntly, it's because we are having a little bit of a dilemma around here. Maybe it's just me having the dilemma, I don't think Andrew is too overly stressed about it. But if you've got input, help me out (really, throw your opinions this way).

Andrew and I aren't Christian. We were raised that way, and we definitely believe in the good qualities that Christianity promotes, but that's not the same as really being Christian. We don't attend church, and we aren't people who believe in going once a year (or twice if you go at Easter). Both of us (strongly) feel that if you believe something is true at Christmas you should practice it all year long. No halfway commitments or doing it just when it's fun and easy.

Before Scout, we half-halfheartedly decorated for Christmas. We gave presents to our friends and family because we care about them and giving is fun. I could usually convince Andrew to drive around and look at lights once or twice. We got a tree a few times. Last year, we didn't do anything on our own for Christmas. We celebrated with our families, but I was way too sick and we were both too busy that it just seemed like extra work.

We talked about how once Scout was here, we wouldn't celebrate Christmas. Well, we would celebrate with our families, but then we would do something different with our own little family. Celebrate Winter Solstice or the start of the New Year or something like that. Because what are you celebrating at Christmas if you aren't Christian? We see too many people get caught up in all of the buying and wanting and spending ridiculous amounts of money and we definitely don't want that. We had a plan.

Plan fail. On my part. I realized that it made me sad to think of not celebrating with Scout. Not having a sparkly tree in our house for a month. Not having cheery lights on the darkest days of the year. Not listening to Christmas songs (who can be cranky with those on?). Not having special Christmas books and movies that you only watch once a year, but you do it ever year, so you get excited for them. Not making tons of goodies and homemade gifts. Not taking that time to think about the people that you love and what you could get them that would make them happy (although we still do that !). Not having something cheery and happy and all about giving during the dreariest time of the year.

Photo from here

This year, we got a tree. A little Norfolk pine, an indoor evergreen tree, that we decorated. After Christmas, the decorations will go back in the box and the tree will keep on living in it's pot in our living room. It's cute, but not the same. We put up a few nutcrackers and simple decorations that we had. And it's nice, but not quite the same. We are listening to Christmas music, but I'm hesitant to buy any more Christmas CDs. She's not going to know for this year, but we have no plan for the future. What are we celebrating? What are our traditions? How will we explain what Christmas is to our kids? We've got no plan; right now we are halfway celebrating, not committing one way or the other. Which is unusual for us.

And that, people, is why you have seen no posts about Christmas. Because we (or maybe just I) haven't quite come to terms with where we are on this issue. We know we don't feel comfortable with treating Christmas as a Christian holiday, but really, that's what it is. And without that, I don't want it to evolve into a massive spending/wanting/greedy/corporate thing...because that is just the opposite of everything that is good and worthwhile about Christmas. Sigh. I've got a few posts planned, but not many.

I do know that I want to buy lights after Christmas so that next year, when it gets dark so early and stays dark so late, there are bright twinkly lights on my house.

Nothing Much

2011-12-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

Absolutely nothing happens in these videos. But this is how Scout and I spend some of our evening time - lying around watching each other. Just soaking up my time at home and each other. I have to remember to do this more. Taking time to enjoy the calm moments where nothing is "getting done" does not come naturally to me...but I'm always glad when I do.

Balancing Act

2011-12-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

Scout & Andrew are working on a new trick. She loves it I promise. This video was taken on the first or second day of trying this; the other night they were demonstrating their improvement and she was smiling and giggling while doing it. She thought she was pretty hot stuff.

Scout Eating

2011-12-10T07:30:00.001-08:00

This is an incredibly long post for such a little bit of food. But I find feeding Scout fascinating and entertaining.

We are making her baby food at home, mostly because we are cheap, and why not? It's been really easy. We cooked up a sugar pumpkin a few weeks ago and froze it in ice cube trays. Last week I did the same with an acorn squash. And we have a ton of applesauce from our trees that we can mix in with her food or feed her plain. We plan on trying to make a batch of something big once a week to store in the freezer, pull out the frozen cubes as we need them, and mix that up with fresh things like avacado and bananas.

Now on to the fun part, Scout's first meals - her eating over the first week.

First day-obsessed with the bib

Why'd you get the camera out Dad? You know I can't focus with that thing looking at me.

Pumpkin Puree in action

Day two of pumpkin puree...we ditched the bib, it was too distracting for now.

Day Two of Pumpkin Puree

Trying to figure out celery...it's supposed to help with teething?

Ahh!! That's how it goes!

Avacado yum!

Trying new foods requires concentration

Hey! What are you doing?

What's that?

I'll eat it!!!!

Avocado in actionAnd again

This American Life: Middle School

2011-12-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

A month ago (? maybe more) a good friend and fellow middle school teacher sent me the link to an episode of This American Life that was all about Middle School. Andrew listens to This American Life regularly and had mentioned this episode, so with a second recommendation, and the subject matter, I knew I would have to make time to catch this episode.

And I'm glad I did (even if it took me a month before I found time to listen to it and 2 more weeks before I found time to write about it). It was perfect. It was moving and funny and insightful. I saw so many of my students in the students interviewed and followed in the episode. If you come in contact with middle schoolers in anyway, you should have a listen.

Listen below or download the original podcast.

Amazing Sweet Potato Recipe

2011-12-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe here, last Thanksgiving. After some time searching and digging, I found it again. We shared them at our Birthanksmas celebration and they completely reaffirmed the wonderful memories I had from last year. This recipe is probably awful for you (I don't want to check), but it is absolutely amazing and ridiculously easy. You will never want to eat Sweet Potatoes any other way, ever again. By the way, what's the difference between Sweet Potatoes and Yams...I'm totally confused.

Picture also borrowed from Little Birdie Secrets

Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes
4 c. mashed sweet potatoes (about 4-5 large sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and boiled until tender)
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg

Put ingredients in a large bowl. Blend together with a mixer or beaters and put in a greased casserole dish (approx. 9" x 13").

Topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Mix and drop spoonfuls on top of sweet potatoes. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Time for Today

2011-12-07T08:57:00.001-08:00

Don't worry...this doesn't happen often. That glow on Scout's face scares me too much to let it.

Life is busy, but good.

Scout's eating a little bit of pureed food once a day. She loved pumpkin, especially by the third day. She's on day two of applesauce and Andrew reports that she doesn't seem to like it as much as pumpkin. Post started about baby feeding!

Andrew spent some time at home depot and pieced together a sprayer that attaches to our toilet so we can rinse our cloth diapers. Also have a post started about cloth diapers :)

Hopefully everything I think of to share about life right now doesn't end in "I have a post started about this."

Thinking about Christmas presents and trying to find just the right present for all of those special people in our lives. Thinking about baking and cooking and all of the wonderful holiday food. Lots of recipes lined up to share. Dang it...did it again!

Looking forward to seeing my parents this weekend and going to a holiday performance that Andrew is playing in.

Andrew got the last two Harry Potter movies for his birthday and we had a little marathon to finish them all. It was amazing. I'm always left wanting more Harry Potter. Such a nerd.

Life is busy, but busy good. Lots of time spent with our little girl and each other. We both have work that we love, more of it than we can handle but we are very lucky to have work. Our life is good.

A few of my favorite reads from this week:
All about gender neutral clothes for baby, my thoughts exactly. Read it here.
Pumping everyday is filled with so many emotions, why is that? Love this post.
Check out this splurge that Andrew wants. He's debating spending his birthday money on it.

Quick Takes With The Kimballs

2011-12-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

I love when I check my google reader account and I see that my sister has posted something on her family's blog, Quick Takes With The Kimballs. Aren't they the cutest little family? I love seeing the pictures that she posts and reading about what they are doing. Even though, chances are, we've already talked about it! I just wished we lived closer and got to spend more time together!

Favorite post - because it made me laugh even though I was completely grossed out. And I could totally see it happening: True

Birthanksmas

2011-12-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we gathered with old friends for a Birthanksmas celebration, where we feasted in honor of Zach's & Andrew's special days of birth, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

We had a delicious, traditional Thanksgiving feast (potluck style) with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, butter rolls, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, corn salad, cranberry sauce, and apple pie. Recipes from our portions coming soon.

It was a delicious spread...truly amazing! We even took an after feast walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the sunshine. It really did feel like a holiday - makes the reality of coming back to work today especially difficult!

These celebrations used to be more common and for some reason we quit doing them. Definitely time to bring them back to our holiday traditions!

Our family

The Kenagy-Katz family

The Scherrs

The Smighs

The Boys

The girls

A bad self timer photo

Thanks for convincing us to indulge you in your photo taking Laura...I'm glad to have a few photos of a wonderful afternoon!

Bean Salad

2011-12-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

Right now, Costco carries this bag of sprouted bean trio, from TruRoots. We bought it not really knowing what we would use it for. We tried the recipe on the back of the bag and have loved it. We haven't used the beans for anything else and the bag is almost gone. Our version has morphed slightly according to our tastes, and I'm writing the recipe down here so that when Costco inevitably stops carrying the product we won't lose one of our favorite salads.
Bean Salad
1 cup sprouted bean trio
2/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/2 cup or more peeled diced cucumber (we don't always peel it)
1/4 cup fresh chopped sweet onions
dash of olive oil
dash of lemon juice
sprinkle of cumin
sprinkle of salt

Cook sprouted bean trio according to package direction
Drain and cool to room temperature
Combine the beans, parsley, cucumber, and onions
Toss with olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, and salt

5 Months Old!

2011-12-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

Can you believe she's been around that long already? I can't, and yet, she is such a part of our lives I can't imagine her not being here. She is growing and changing so much.
She spends a great deal of time on her tummy, pulling her legs up under her or "swimming" on her belly. I wouldn't be surprised if she is moving around some by Christmas.

She's "learned" that if she starts jabbering at me as I'm getting her ready for bed she can stay up longer, because really, who can resist a jabbering baby?

She does jabber and has a variety of sounds. But it's pretty rare and we always stop to listen and smile. Typically. she only jabbers when it's just me and Andrew around, at home, and when she is more tired. Oh and in her bed, alone, as she is putting herself to sleep. Her sounds are expanding and becoming more frequent, but they are definitely a special treat.

She likes playing with her toys now. Of course, they always go straight to her mouth to get thoroughly explored.

She went through a crazy jumping in the jumper phase which now seems to be subsiding and evolving into spinning around to look at all of the different toys.

Scout has a great smile. It lights up her eyes and her whole body wiggles. It's hard not to smile back at her.

Her night sleeping varies greatly. She always goes to bed around 6 pm. But she can wake up anywhere between 1 and 4 times - at least she always goes back to sleep well. And she wakes up anywhere from 6:30-9. She is getting better about naps, but they are pretty inconsistent too - anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. No real time schedule, just depends on how long her last nap was and how tired she is looking. Usually she sleeps great at night or she naps great during the day, but not both. Variety is great right?

Scout has cut a real tooth! Her bottom right front tooth is through, visible and sharp! She also has a funny white nubin', that must be some sort of a tooth. It's on the bottom right, where her canine teeth might be. We are just watching it to see what will happen there!

Today, in celebration of her 5 month birthday, she will be trying her first puree on a spoon (we have given her a few tastes on our fingers, which she loves). Homemade pumpkin, we can't wait to see how she likes it, she has been so interested in food for the past month and a half.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

2011-12-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Hope you have a wonderful day, we love you!

Want to read about how amazing Andrew is? Click here.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting

2011-12-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

Got this recipe from here and she found it from here. Who knows where it originally started. But let me tell you, they are delicious. Andrew has made them twice now, and stashed some of the second batch in the freezer so we have been able to enjoy a little treat here and there. He says that they are easy...but who knows. After watching him bake so many different types of breads in the last few months, and have all of them turn out amazing, I think his judgement of what is easy may be a little bit warped.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
2 cups bread flour (you can use regular all purpose flour but bread flour makes them lighter)
1/2 cup brown sugar
packed2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter

In small saucepan, heat milk and 2 tablespoons butter just until warm and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly.
In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
Add milk mixture and beat with electric mixer until well mixed.
Beat in egg and yeast.
Add half of the flour to pumpkin mixture.
Beat mixture on low speed 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently.
Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft).
Turn into lightly greased bowl, then grease surface of dough lightly.
Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down.
Spray a surface with cooking spray or turn onto floured surface.
Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy enough to handle.
Roll dough into 12x10 inch rectangle.
In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Brush surface of dough with melted butter.
Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture.
Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jellyroll style.
Pinch seam to seal.
With sharp knife, cut roll into twelve 1- inch slices.
Place rolls, cut side up, in greased 11x17 inch baking pan.
Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
Bake rolls at 350 degrees about 15-20 minutes or until golden.
Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack.
Cool 10 to 15 minutes.
Drizzle with Caramel frosting.
Makes 12 rolls.

Caramel Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar,
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 dash salt
3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

In small saucepan, heat butter until melted.
Stir in brown sugar and milk.
Stir in brown sugar and milk.
Cook over medium low heat 1 minute.
Transfer to small mixer bowl and cool mixture.
Stir in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and confectioners' sugar.
Beat with electric mixer until well blended.
If necessary, add more confectioners' sugar for desired consistency.

Today

2011-11-30T07:30:00.001-08:00

I was looking at the pictures on my laptops photo booth file and found this gem from way back when. Wasn't this pup adorable?
We are all getting over colds, including Scout. It was her first of many I'm sure. It came on quick Sunday night and luckily she seems to be getting better already. She (and us!) survived a night of really bad sleep where she could only sleep propped up on our chests; if you laid her down she got pretty upset. Understandably so as she sounded like she was drowning in our own crud. Luckily, Andrew got really good at using saline drops and the terrible bulb to clean her out and she seems to be doing better. Through it all, even with very little sleep, she has been pretty sweet. Lots of snuggles, little sad noises, and still some big happy smiles. All while dripping snot and sounding like Darth Vader :)

I might be teaching another class up at Western, which would make 8 credits next quarter. This one would be an online one, which makes it even more appealing. The extra money is exciting; we are both looking forward to having our debt paid off and being able to save for the home improvement projects we want to get started on.

We have 12 more days until Winter Break. Enough said.

Our Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

Pretty sure we had an awesome Thanksgiving. We ate way too much and enjoyed relaxing with our families. We didn't break out our cameras once (we were on vacation!) but the grandmas did and I will be sure to share pictures when I get them.

This little one brought smiles to everyone's faces. She is doing much better with other people as long as they greet her properly. She insists on meeting people from our arms, that they talk sweetly and smile at her, and then after (and only after) she has smiled back at them will she allow them to hold her. Don't rush it or you get on the black list! Once she has given you her stamp of approval though, she will reward you with huge, happy, full body smiles and wiggles. She can get people to do some crazy antics to get those smiles!

I hear people talk all of the time about how stressful holidays can be, trying to coordinate spending time with families. Not to brag, but we have it pretty much perfect. Our families are both very understanding and accommodating, no pressure or guilt trips, and we've worked out a good system. This year we spent Thanksgiving with Andrew's family and then saw my family later that weekend. We will spend Christmas with my family and then see his family later over the holiday. Next year we will switch. Our siblings were so accommodating as to get on the same schedule as us so when we have our holidays with our families, everyone is there. It works great for us right now, because we really get to settle in and visit with people without worrying about coordinating times. Someday though, we may want to have a holiday at our own house...here is your fair warning parents!

Redheaded Babies

2011-11-28T07:30:00.001-08:00

Odd that my sister and I, who look nothing alike, have matching redheads. These goofy babies have hair that not only matches in color, it also grows in matching comb-overs. Short on the sides and back, long on top. We have a couple of miniature Conan O'Briens runnning around. And, as you can tell, Levi knew exactly how to win Scout's heart: put things in her mouth.

How to Walk a Baby in Freezing Weather

2011-11-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

Step one: Leave baby in jumper or somewhere safe from the crazy beast that lives in your house while you put on your shoes and a warm fleece or sweater.

Step two: Remove baby from jumper and ensure that they have a clean diaper and are dressed in their typical clothing for your cool house: a long sleeve onsie and footie jammies.

Step three: Over these clothes, dress baby in a thick fuzzy baby bunting (all one piece with feet and a hood).

Step four: Get out the Ergo and starting putting baby in. Warning: About this time 100 plus pound beast will start going crazy and running around trying to make sure she gets included in the walk.

Step five: Steal your husband's huge warm coat to wear, zipped up over you and baby of course.

Step six: Add the finishing touches to the ensemble: beanies for both you and baby and gloves for mom - baby will dig her little hands in the folds of your sweatshirt to keep warm. Oh, and don't forget the sunglasses.

Step seven: Enlist your husband to put the harness on the beast and come walk with you.

Chicken Cacciatore

2011-11-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

Another tasty recipe, this time found here. It's nothing fancy, definitely not worth photographing, but it was easy and delicious. We've been eating it plain, but I think it would be delicious on top of noodles (which happens to be how the recommended serving suggestion!)

Chicken Cacciatore
2 pounds of chicken, cut into chunks
2-16 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1-6 oz can of tomato paste
1 package mushrooms cut in large chunks
1 onion cut into thin slices
1 green pepper cut into slices
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
3-4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil

Add olive oil to hot pan
Brown chicken on all sides.
Add onion, pepper, mushrooms, and garlic and saute until onions are starting to look clear.
Add tomatoes and rest of seasonings.
Cover and let simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. It can simmer longer if you like. About 15 minutes before you are going to serve the sauce, uncover and let some of the water simmer off.

The Grape Wine pt. 1

2011-11-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

Remember how I mentioned a few days ago that we had bartered some grapes for the use of our wine making gear? Here's a little bit more on the story, although it is far from complete.

Our first trade once joining the Bellingham Barter group was with a couple that we knew from our birthing class. They had grapes, but no gear to make wine. We have wine making gear and are always looking for ways to get fruit at a good deal. So we combined our forces, with them supplying the grapes and us supplying the gear and the experience. Well, some experience. We have never made wine from grapes before!

They brought 90lbs of grapes! I wish I had remembered to take a picture, it was two laundry baskets full of grapes! Always in the past we have made wine in 1 gallon batches, so it wasn't a big deal to wash and press the fruit by hand. Well, washing and pressing 90lbs of grapes took way longer than expected. In retrospect, we should have used a press or a juicer. Sorry guys!

The boys hand pressing the washed and de-stemmed graped

After pressing all of the grapes, we were able to start 11-12 gallons of wine. Half of it was with the fresh pressed juice, and the other half was with the pulp in a mesh bag (called seconds), water, and some grape juice concentrate. We let both batches sit, with the yeast doing it's job, for a few days to ferment and then Andrew and I racked it into carboys.

Both batches of fermenting wine, ready to be racked (aren't you impressed with how we use the space where our dishwasher used to be?)

The batch of wine started from the pure grape juice, 6.5 gallons. Look at all the crud on the bottom!

Empty one gallon carboys line up ready to be filled

The mad scientist sanitizing and prepping airlocks

Andrew siphoning out the wine into a carboy

5 1-gallon carboys filled with the second batch of wine, made from the pulp of the pressed grapes

All of the left over grape pulp, ready to feed to our compost pile

This last weekend, we racked the wine - or moved it from one container to another. As the sediment in the wine settles to the bottom, racking it helps give you a nice clear wine.

The large carboy, ready to transfer the wine into a bucket so that the carboy can be cleaned and then refilled with the wine.

Bucket full of booze

What is left behind - sludge

Racking some of the smaller carboys

Pretty wines. We will go through this process of racking the wines several more times before bottling. Each time the wine gets a little clearer. Currently, we have the large carboy - 6.5 gallons - plus 4 one gallon carboys full of wine.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

This post was written by Lauriel without permission from any of the other mentioned parties. So they may or may not really be thankful for these things :)

Andrew is thankful:

Books that Lauriel finds for me that are so good that I have a hard time putting them down
My trumpet students that keep multiplying
Weekends and evenings that Lauriel gets to be home and is happy instead of being stressed out and grumpy
Getting to/having to maintain our own home

Lauriel is thankful:

Andrew's amazing bread making talent, especially the pumpkin cinnamon rolls
Weekends and home time when I get to see my amazingly, supportive husband, my happy baby girl, and our overly loving dog
That we own our home-kind of, I mean, I guess the bank really does - even if we are broke
Two good jobs that pay well enough that Andrew can stay home and take care of Scout

Scout is thankful:

Getting to spend all my time with either Mom or Dad...no being dropped off with scary strangers!
Jump, jump, jumping in my jumper
Boobs! Although, the bottle is pretty great too.
The ergo-it's a snugly, safe place to see the world from

Lucy is thankful:

Windows to stare out of and a big yard to run around in
That my humans let me snuggle on the couch with them, sometimes
My best neighbor friends, Teddy & Tasha
When my humans have eggs and toast they sometimes throw me a piece

John, Paul, & Abbey are thankful:

That we get to climb up in the attic of the garage, it's like our own special fort
For the motion sensor light that comes on when mice run across the driveway
That our humans have decided to let us in to hang out in the house on special occasions - one at a time
That we get a cat door to let us come and go as we please

Happy Birthday Emma!

2011-11-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Emma!

Today

2011-11-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

Less than 4 hours and I will be on Thanksgiving vacation! Woohoo! 4.5 uninterrupted days with Scout & Andrew and nursing on demand - goodbye pump! I'm excited to have time to visit with family, eat good food, and catch my breath. Between Monday being "work both jobs day" and Tuesday being "stay late for parent conference day" my brain is fried and my body is tired. I was a mess last night - so thankful that we aren't trying to keep that up all of the time!

No, I am not growing out my bangs. I am just not cutting them. Tomorrow is another day, but for today, my bangs are too long and I don't feel like cutting them. My students are all convinced that I cut my hair and can't be convinced that it is exactly the opposite.

My brain is so tired that I'm not entirely sure what we have done in the last week, let alone being able to write about it all. I think we:

had impromptu dinner and visiting with friends in town
juiced apples to make apple wine (3 gallons!)
went on walks in the bitter but sunny cold
raked leaves to put our compost piles to bed for the winter
racked grape wine (is that redundant?)
reorganized our living room to start preparing for a mobile baby
went to Time in Play to get out of the house
had crazy blustery weather with strong winds and heavy rains

But I could be wrong - feels like so long ago that I could possibly be dreaming all of that!

I'm thankful for my coffee this morning! Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Barter-to trade goods or services without the exchange of money

2011-11-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

Just like everyone else around us, we are trying to save money. We don't feel broke...but we definitely don't have tons of extra money to throw around. I mean come on, we both just finished school (and had to pay for two quarters of tuition completely out of our bank account...ouch), we bought a house, and we had a baby that came with more hospital bills than we were planning on. None of these have been completely devastating, but considering they all happened within 6 months, we are having to budget pretty carefully.

We've done some of the usual, boring things: cutting out eating out, being careful with our entertainment budget, not making purchases until we determine that they are really necessary, finding coupons for some of our purchases, actually making a plan for how much we get to spend in each area, and planning for future money needs.

We've also been discovering some fun, creative ways to save money. Today's focus, bartering. I first read about bartering on Sustainable Eats, in the context of people bartering home-grown or prepared food. I started looking around a little at what bartering was happening here in Bellingham and found a few different systems. We chose the free option (saving money, remember?) that is hosted on Facebook. Coincidentally, we knew one of the people who run the system, another couple from our birthing class.

How it works is simple. It's a closed Facebook group, called Bellingham Barter. You have have to be added by someone already in the group and you can be deleted if you don't follow the rules. There is no talk of money or gift cards allowed. If you want to trade then you write a post, with a picture if possible, about what you have and what you might be looking for. Maybe like this: We have two garbage bags full of girls 0-6 months clothes. Looking for living room lamps, glass carboys, home cooked dinners, canning jars, or ??? You can also make the focus of your post something you are really looking for. People comment back and forth, making offers, until both parties are pleased with the trade, then they set up a time to meet and swap. Simple. And everybody wins. It's addicting, really.

I've been loving it not only because it helps us get things that we actually can use, without spending any money, but because it has helped us clean out our house. And I have plans for more cleaning out and purging. Andrew & I hate to throw anything away that may still be useful. But we have a small house and a lot of hobbies. So we are trying really hard to evaluate if it is something we will actually use, and if it's not, then find a way to pass it on. Otherwise our house will fill up and someone will need to sign us up for Hoarders.

So far our trades have been pretty awesome:
We gave: Two bags full of 0-6 month girls clothes (passed to us for free and that Scout didn't need) and a batch of lactation cookie dough. We got: Two living rooms lamps.

We shared: The use of our wine making gear in exchange for 90 lbs of grapes. We made wine with the other couple and are splitting the final product.

We gave: The composter that came with the house, that we weren't able to sell on craigslist, and no longer needed since Andrew built our fancy composting system. We got: A juicer!

We gave: Two old duvet covers and 5 old T-shirts of Andrew's that didn't fit anymore. We got: A baby bjorn potty chair for Scout.

We gave: A car seat that was passed on to us and some coupons for formula. We got: Some 18-24 month girls clothes and a few canning jars.

We gave: Some dishes that didn't fit in our cupboards and were boxed away up in the attic...meaning we will never use them. We got: 6 babysitting hours from our friends!

We gave: 5 wine glasses that we never use because I knock wine glasses over. We got: Board books and picture books for Scout and 2 new toys for her (that happen to be her now favorite toys).

Can you see why it's addicting?

Cousins

2011-11-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

A couple of weekends ago - on November 5th I think - Matthew, Carina, & Harper came up to spend the day with us. We ate delicious pumpkin cinnamon rolls (thank you Andrew), watched babies play on the floor...and in jumpers...and under playmats, tried mostly unsuccessfully to give naps, went for a walk at the park, and ate some more food. It was a very uneventful day, but it was fun to enjoy our babies together. Can you just imagine what trouble these cousins will be causing in about 6 months?

Book Mania

2011-11-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Picture of a Home Library from Book Mania

I love books. I love reading, but I also love owning the books and seeing them on the shelf and thinking about reading them. I love holding a book in my hand. I love ratty, torn up well loved paperback and I love fancy leather-bound hardbacks with gilded edges. I love books with crisp new pages and I love the books that were my grandpa's when he was little. When I was little, I used to love watching the part in Beauty and the Beast where the Beast gives Belle the library. I always wanted a library like that. Now I'm content with our system of finding places all over the house to store and display books. But I still like to look at libraries and shelves of books. Andrew sent me the link to Book Mania, an awesome website devoted to "cultivating love and passion for reading". I especially love the sections on libraries, shelves, and bookshops. So many amazing pictures.

Happy Birthday Rachelle!

2011-11-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Rachelle!

Hanging Out With Scout

2011-11-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

Hanging out with Scout is pretty fun. It's getting to be a good mix of her entertaining us and then us entertaining her; it's a nice reciprocal relationship. Very relaxing with lots of laughing and communicating back and forth. Want a peek at what we like to do?After watching her do this for hours on end (slight exaggeration, don't worry) I'm not surprised that she needs to nap every hour and half. That would wear me out too. Did you like the guard dog on alert? Lucy is ever present...just in case you might want to pet her.Scout has been watching and listening to Andrew play the trumpet just a little too much. She's got the lip buzzing thing down. Supposedly, all she has to do is learn to tongue instead of breath attack and Andrew is going to bring her to lessons to demonstrate proper embouchure to his students. I probably said that all wrong. It's cute.

Buttons and Favicons

2011-11-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

I tried something new to go with the new domain name. That's right, did you notice the website is now www.buildingthebasics.com, no more blogspot. In honor of this monumental change, I decided to create my own button and customize my favicon. It was really easy, you should try it!

To make my button, I followed these instructions. If you want to add my button to your website, here is the html code. It's also over on the sidebar.

<a border="0" href="http://buildingthebasics.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="6152043864_26514a46fb_b" height="146" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6042/6328075750_c35af47cbd_m.jpg" width="150" /></a>

It looks like this:

Next, I took the same picture and made it into a favicon by following these directions. Don't know what a favicon is? Don't worry, I didn't either. It's that little thingy up next to the web address in the browser. Yeah, that's really what I searched for. "Customizing thingy next to web address in browser"; I'm that cool. But I got directions, they were easy, and it worked!

Today

2011-11-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

It's definitely getting to be beanie weather around here....

And generally, that makes us smile!

Yesterday evening Scout and I went for a little walk around the block. I plopped her in the Ergo, put a beanie on her, threw on one of Andrew's jackets, and zipped it up over both of us. It was very cute to see just her little eyes poking out of the coat as we strolled down the street.

I'm in the mood to write again. I just wish I had time. For some reason, I always feel like writing when I am a little bit stressed. I think the practice of putting my thoughts on paper helps keep them from slamming around inside my head and making me feel dizzy.We have some crazy scheduling at school up until Spring break. Lots of half days and conference days...lots of weird times and places to be. Maybe that's why my head feels all crammed up.

Andrew and I have been fighting colds, nothing life threatening, totally debilitating, or even bad enough to call in sick. Just enough to be miserable enough that, when combined with the ongoing sleep deprivation and over-busy schedule, it feels like we are in some weird torture program.

Scout's adorable and hilarious. And she really is an easy, fun baby. We got lucky.

We are getting excited about the holidays. Planning gift giving, ways to celebrate, get togethers, and when it is acceptable to start listening to holiday music and watch the classic movies. Well at least I am...Andrew can be kind of a holiday Scrooge. He, he sorry to out you Andrew.

Levi's First Birthday

2011-11-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

A few very old pictures from Levi's first birthday (at the end of September!). We sure love that kid; he is a happy, social boy. It is so fun to see him walking around and communicating with everyone. I loved what Rachelle & Taylor did to celebrate his birthday; I am totally going to copy for Scout's first birthday.

On the day of Levi's birthday they took him to do something that was fun just for him. They let him run around the church gym with a ton of balls and toys. Nothing fancy, no decorations, just the three of them. And no baby gates or things to tell him to stay out of. Just fun for him.

Then on Sunday, we gathered as a family and had dinner, dessert, and let him open his presents. Of course these things never go as planned, but everyone was a good sport and enjoyed the celebration even though the power was out and Levi skipped his afternoon nap. He was still a happy boy and loved everyone clapping when he opened his presents!

50th Wedding Anniversary (The Scrapbook Edition)

2011-11-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

Remember my mom's parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary Party that we went to back when Scout was less than a month old? I wrote about it here and here. Well, I made the scrapbook pages for both our family scrapbook and for Scout's Scrapbook. Similar but with a slightly different focus.

For Scout's Book:
For our family's book:

Spinach & Feta Pasta

2011-11-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

Andrew and I have a new go-to favorite for a quick and easy dinner that tastes amazing. It comes from this website, that I guess everyone in the world knew about before us. You should look around, but not too much because it will make you hungry/want to cook. I really want to make these, and this, and this...nevermind.

Spinach & Feta Pasta
(quick, easy, cheap, & good enough to serve to company)

I even stole their picture because 1) I keep forgetting to take a picture when we make it and 2) I really stink at taking pictures of food.

8 oz. penne pasta
2 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
I bunch of fresh spinach, washed but no need to chop
1 onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
A handful of fresh mushrooms, chopped
Feta cheese, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add pasta. Cook according to package directions. In the meantime, heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms and cook until tender. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add tomatoes, heat through, and then add drained pasta. Heat through and serve. Add salt and pepper and crumbled feta to taste.

Let's Get It StartedI

2011-11-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

I shared this video on facebook a couple of days ago, so many of you will have already seen it. But it made me smile so I'm going to share it again here.
I love that they are both still having fun and that she is feeling well enough to move around like that. 40 plus weeks pregnant with twins....I can't even imagine. And she looks amazing. In case your wondering, the husband stated that she had a natural, unmedicated labor two days later, so all is well.

P.S. I originally saw this video posted on a Mom's group on facebook, that mom got it from another blog, and I'm sharing it here. After I posted it on facebook, I saw that many other people were sharing it as well. Crazy how fast media spreads on the internet!

My husband is amazing

2011-11-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

Andrew celebrating his graduation-June 2011

And he is probably going to groan when he sees this post, because we are really not sappy and mushy...especially not in public. But he is amazing and I don't thank him enough. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I usually act like I take him for granted and that I'm annoyed with him, and he definitely doesn't deserve it. But he forgives me (I think). I wouldn't be who am I without him; he really is my best friend.

Want to hear why he is so amazing? You'll be jealous.

He makes me coffee EVERY morning.

Andrew with Lucy at Rough Around the Edges Class-June 2011

He makes dinner, cleans the house, chops wood, bakes bread, works in the yard, knits, and still has time to be an amazing dad. Well-rounded and an amazing stay at home parent.

Andrew & I riding our scooter-May 2011

He lets me snuggle up to him when I am cold. And put my cold feet on him to warm up.

Andrew & my dad at Potholes-June 2009

No matter the shape or size of my body, or what weird baby related thing is happening to it, he finds me attractive and is always tells me so.

Andrew tracing the Sneetches on Scout's wall

He offers to get up with Scout in the night. And when I say no, he usually thanks for me being such a good mom when I get back in bed. Hearing thanks is nice. I mean, I know Scout appreciates it, but hearing it is different.

Andrew doing handstands in Anacortes-July 2009

He loves my family and treats them like his own. We don't have any of the drama around in-laws. It's awesome.

Andrew & Chris on their 100 mile bike ride-June 2009

He always asks me what I want him to get done during the day. Who else do you know that gets to make to-do lists and have someone else work on them during the day?

Andrew & I on a backpacking trip August 2009

He is creative. He can sew, bake, cross stitch, play music, paint, draw...you name it and he can probably do it. He can teach himself how to do just about anything.

Andrew at Priest Lake-August 2009

He is constantly making me laugh. He is always doing something quirky, like coming up with amazing dance moves. I'm not funny. He is.

Andrew, Lucy, & I-January 2011

He get's up with me every morning at 5 am so that I don't feel so alone and grumpy getting up that early. He gets the fire going and offers to make me breakfast.

Andrew & I at the zoo-June 2005

He is a naturally amazing father. He is patient, calm, consistent, and entertaining. He jumped in with both feet from the very moment she was born. He has been at least an equal partner in parenting; I'm pretty sure that he does more than me. I know I'm lucky on this one.

Andrew & I-Fall 2007

He is athletic and active and pushes me to be, even when I'm lazy.

Andrew & Scout-July 2011

He has been very supportive of breastfeeding and always trying to find ways he can help make what we are doing easier on me.

Family Picture 2008

He is supportive. I mean really supportive. He hears all of my crazy ideas and actually seems to think they are good ideas and helps me make them happen.

Andrew & I a little too early at the tulip fields-April 2007

We have fun when we are together. Just being home and doing normal everyday things are awesome as long as we are together.

Andrew & I at homecoming-I'm thinking it was fall of 2000

He knows me. All the quirks and flaws, better than anyone else. And he loves me despite all of my imperfections.

We really are a team and I can't imagine being me without him.

Hovander Park 2011

2011-11-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

Today

2011-11-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

Guess what arrived in the mail on Monday? They are a little bit big, but so dang cute. I had to put them on her, even if was only for 30 minutes before bed. The pictures have nothing to do with what I'm writing about, so don't worry about trying to make a connection :) Connections? What I am talking about....this post is just the random list of goings on that never make it to their own post.

We met my parents, Rachelle, Taylor, & Levi at Cristiano's in Marysville on Saturday. It had been way too long since we had seen them. So we hung out in a book store for an hour and ate delicious food. I wished we lived closer. You should stop at Cristiano's if you ever drive through Marysville. It's amazing.

Despite the good intentions I had and my wonderful plan for exercising with Scout, it just hasn't been happening. Life got too busy and tiring with the day job, teaching one night a week, Andrew teaching two nights a week, Scout waking a little more frequently at night, the rain,it getting dark early. I have tons of excuses, they are all pretty lame...should I keep going? So we pulled out the fail safe, get in shape program and registered for the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon in June. My parents "sponsored" us which made it way more affordable, and they are both going to be running too! My mom is going to run the half with Andrew and I and my dad is going to run the full marathon. Carina & Matthew say they are going to register too! It should be fun.....Or maybe just good motivation to get in shape.

Andrew and I have been trying to be more conscious about money and figuring out ways to be creative. Let's face it, we are never going to be rich. That doesn't happen to teachers. But we can be comfortable, debt free, and prepared for emergencies. If we are careful. I was reading this post, it reminded me that I want to start a bank account for Scout.

Matthew, Carina, & Harper came up and we hung out on Sunday. It was so nice to see them, it made for a relaxing baby filled day. Perfect for me. This might actually make it's own post.

Scout had her 4 month shots yesterday. We are staggering her shots so she doesn't get so many all at once, but we only get to see the pediatrician every other time. And by we, I mean Andrew and Scout. Andrew reports that he still likes our pediatrician, which is pretty fortunate since she just happened to be the first one that I called that had an opening. Andrew also reports that they discussed starting solids next month, ways to curb the recent trend of waking up every three hours, when to start fluoride drops (6 months), the dry patch on Scout's arm (eczema), if her sneezing and congestion is a problem (it's not, but a humidifier would help), and that she is pretty early with the rolling over.

We are still going crazy with apples. We have them sorted into keepers, eaters, and applesaucers. Just finished canning a batch of apple butter last night. It was amazing. I wish we had a cider press. This too might make it's own post someday.

So looking forward to the three day weekend and time to curl up at home with my family.

P.S. I'm getting rid of the long list of links to family & friend blogs. I will still be sharing some links to other blogs, I just haven't quite figured out how I want to to it. So if you use my page to access other people's blog...here is your one week notice. Should be plenty of warning for you to bookmark the blogs you read, find an RSS reader, or write down the link. Right?

Downtown

2011-11-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

Andrew and I have been trying to get out and go downtown every once and again. Just to get some time together as a family doing something fun, out of the house, and exposing Scout to new things. A few weeks ago, around the middle of October, we met a group of friends for lunch at Boundary Bay, walked around town, and picked up some coffee. Scout was great at Boundary Bay, a little bit shocked and overwhelmed at the chaos and new people, but she just stared and stared. She enjoyed being toted around in the moby wrap and even took a quick nap! Here are a few pictures from our outing! Go figure that we only took pictures of Scout and forgot all about our friends that we rarely see! Sorry guys!

Scout lounging on a couch outside of a salon downtown-the perfect place for a little snack break while Mary got her hair cut!

Little snooze

All snugged up!

Lucy Snuggles

2011-11-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about our other baby. She still gets her snuggles!

Pictures taken October 14, 2011

A text from a friend

2011-11-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

Blurry cell phone picture number one. October 18, 2011

Andrew and I are somewhat obsessed with Scout and how amazing she is, but it makes me smile how obvious it is that she is loved by our family and friends as well. The other morning, Andrew shared this texting conversation from a friend.

Friend: "I had a dream that Scout could talk--it was like she already knew everything but just had to be reminded. She even picked up on a little Spanish."

When asked what Scout said, the friend replied: "Simple gracious responses to my awed questions. She behaved how I imagine Buddha would."

Even I don't give Scout that much credit, although she does look very similar to a little Buddha (the chubby one, not the skinny one!)

Blurry cell phone picture number two. October 18, 2011

2009 Scrapbook Slideshow

2011-11-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Once I finally finished all of the scrapbooking from 2009, I was able to order my finished photobook. I ordered it from Shutterfly because I had a coupon; definitely worth waiting to order it until a coupon came along because it still ended up costing 70ish dollars by the time I paid for shipping and taxes and all of the extra pages. I was really nervous to see how it would turn out, all of the time and money invested....but it turned out exactly like I hoped it would! It is so nice to have a durable finished product to share all of our pictures and memories with people. A nice feature of My Memories Suite (the program I use for digital scrapbooking) is that you can turn your finished pages into a slideshow and add music. I can't quite picture the circumstances where we would want to watch the slideshow...but maybe something will come along. It's easy enough to do that it's worth having and putting in with our home movies. For those of you who have 10 minutes to spare and just love seeing all aspects of our lives...I thought I'd post it here.Goodbye 2009!

Alec

2011-11-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

Check out my handsome brother...can you believe he's only 15?

By the way, I went ahead and ordered some of these. They are a complete want and not a need, which we are trying to stick to only purchasing needs....but you all convinced me it was worth it :) I got two pairs because shipping was the same price for two pairs as it was for one. I ended up picking the Pumpkin/Butterscotch/Radish/Bean ones and the Pumpkin/Radish ones because they were the two colors that came in the right size for Scout. Can't wait until they get here!

4 months!

2011-11-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

I know it's cliche, but part of me can't believe she is already 4 months old...and part of me feels like she has been a part of our lives forever. Andrew took these pensive - meaning slightly cranky and uncooperative - photos of Scout on Monday, so they are very recent.
When I look at her, I think she has blue eyes, but her eyes look slightly greenish to me in these pictures. Do you see it? Her personality is changing and developing quickly. She is definitely becoming her own person and learning to communicate more and more everyday.
Some tidbits about Scout:

She is starting to jabber more and more. Frequently in the morning when she wakes up while I am getting ready for work, she just lays in bed and talks to herself. Sometimes she will talk to herself when we put her to bed too.
She tries to mimic the sounds we make, sometimes she gets pretty close and it is really fun to hear. Just in the last few days, she has started blowing raspberries at us. Cute, but slobbery.
She has been waking up 2-3 times a night, meaning between 6pm and 8am. Which isn't terrible...it's good actually. It's just that it's at 12am 330am and then around 6am. And I'm supposed to be sleeping from 9pm to 5am. No more sleeping 14 hours straight for her.
She rolls easily back and forth now. She doesn't get near as frustrated when she is on her stomach and actually seems to enjoy looking around from that perspective.
She sleeps on her stomach. Usually, she inches her way up to a corner of the crib and shoves her face up in the bumpers so she can suck on the fabric. It's really hygenic.
Speaking of sucking, she does not like binkies...but she loves sucking on her hands or anything cloth. I'm telling you, she's got her own personality.
She loves her jumper, her playmat, and sitting in her bumbo watching what's going on around her. She is becoming much more independent and able to entertain herself.
She likes you to sing to her. She gets sung to before taking a nap or going to bed at night.
She is starting to get interested in food. We aren't "feeding" her yet, but we have given her a few tastes on our fingers, and she starts sucking frantically at the new flavor. It's pretty cute.
She still hates people "swooping" in and wanting to hold her. If people will schmooze up to her while she is in the safety of our arms, and if she can watch them for a while first, she will usually warm up to them and let them hold her. Usually :)

We love our goofy girl!

Today

2011-11-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Photo retrieved from Dad's phone-September 4, 2011

We've been incorporating some tasty fall eating into our diet, not all of it healthy. We cooked up two sugar pumpkins and froze half the puree in ice cube trays for future baby food for Scout and the other half we turned into pumpkin butter which we froze. Oh my goodness, the pumpkin butter was amazing. I could have just eaten it by the spoonful; I think Andrew actually caught me doing that a few times. I want to make another batch before pumpkins go out of season. And Scout got a few finger tastes of the straight pumpkin puree and loved it, she is fairly interested in real people food!

We had friends over for a little birthday party on Saturday. Andrew made some delicious pumpkin cinnamon rolls with a caramel glaze, they disappeared way too fast. Definitely going to have him make them again, take some photos, and share the recipe.

We got out and enjoyed the Farmer's Market in downtown Bellingham on Saturday. I love the Farmer's Market. I don't find it's the cheapest place to buy things, but I love browsing and people watching and smelling all of the delicious food. Scout was in awe :) We did pick up a few of the best deals at the market: a $1 cup of delicious tea, a $2.50 pumpkin scone with maple pecan glaze, and $7 dozen pack of Erin Baker breakfast cookies. Totally worth the money.

I french braided my own hair one day this weekend. First time I have done that in years. I like the way a neat french braid looks, but mine never stay neat very long. I can't figure out if it is because of the texture of my hair, or because of the way that I'm braiding it. Anybody else have this problem?

I got asked to host my first review and giveaway! It will probably be a little while by the time I get the products, review them, and get the giveaway set up. But it sounds fun and I'm excited to try something new!

Andrew got another new student...I feel like I've been saying this every week! Which is awesome, but I think he is about near his maximum level before he needs to start a wait list.

I really want to order these for Scout...I just can't decide what color. Or why she needs them, but they are just too dang cute! I don't think I will be able to resist!

I Heart This

2011-11-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Andrew designed and created this for a friend that we are missing. I hope it makes her smile!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

We have no Halloween plans this year. We were lazy and didn't feel like taking Scout downtown over the weekend to the kids trick or treating or the rumpus at Time In Play, and I have to work tonight, so no joining in the festivities on actual Halloween. It would have been more for us than for her this year anyway. Our Halloween fun was limited to taking her to Farmer's Market downtown on Saturday where we saw a few people dressed up, and dressing her in various costumes and blaming it on Halloween. You vote: A)Pirate, B) Teddy Bear, C) Polar Bear, D) It's impossible to choose because she's pretty dang cute in all of them.

P.S. The Teddy Bear and the Polar Bear costumes will be used all winter long. And I wouldn't be surprised if the pirate continues to make an appearance on occasion as well :)

Bellewood Acres

2011-10-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, on a sunny Saturday, Andrew, Scout, & I took a little excursion to Bellewood Acres. Bellewood Acres is a delightful place where for absolutely no cost you can take a tractor-train tour of their expansive apple orchards; sample apples, apple cider, apple pie, honey roasted peanut butter, fancy cheese; look at homemade gifts; or ride wooden rocking horses. If you are willing to spend a little money you can try their apple cider donuts, apple flowers (sliced apple with carmel drizzled over the top), pick pumpkins, or buy all manner of apple products. Because the weather was so nice, it was quite crowded and hard to try the samples (sad, they're my favorite part!). We did enjoy a nice ride around the orchard and picked out a few sugar pumpkins to make into baby food and pumpkin butter. Oh and Scout got to try out another one of her possible Halloween costumes. What do you think of our little polar bear?

Donning the fuzzy, wuzzy polar bear suit!

Checking out the pumpkins!

Look at those beautiful apple trees!

That's very serious polar bear :)

Then last weekend when Wade & Lynne were up visiting, we went back to Bellewood Acres again to meet up with Dirk & Lisa. The weather was miserable, so no farm tour this time, but the samples were much more accessible! We also bought some apple cider donuts, Dirk & Lisa bought an apple pie, Wade & Lynne bought some apples, and Scout & I rode the wooden rocking horse. She also tried out her third and final option of Halloween costumes. Doesn't she make a cute teddy bear?

Fuzzy wuzzy teddy bear

Riding the wooden goat!

Quinoa Cilantro Salad

2011-10-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

I found this tasty recipe here. I added the corn like she suggested and I loved it. Her picture is way better, I need to work on my food photography. Notice that the bowl is half eaten before I remembered to take a photo? It was a hit.

Quinoa Cilantro Salad
1 cup quinoa
1 cup water
½ cup cilantro
2 large carrots
1/2 can of corn

Dressing
3 T. olive oil
a few squeezes of lemon
2 large cloves garlic
1 to 2 T. minced red onion
½ tsp. salt, or more to taste

Bring 1 cup of salted water to a boil and add drained quinoa. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer 15-20 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. While quinoa is cooling, chop cilantro and carrot, combine dressing ingredients in a small jar and whisk or shake to combine. Once quinoa is cooled, add carrots, cilantro, and corn. Toss with dressing.Serve chilled or room temperature.

Ahoy

2011-10-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

Scout's considering being a pirate for Halloween. What do you think?

Chalkboard

2011-10-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

I like to be organized. And make lists. All the time. My brain is too crazy busy all over the place to manage any other way. I don't function without lists to keep track of things and prioritize. Somehow, I've made Andrew come to rely on them too. It wouldn't have been unusual to find a few pads of paper lying around with ongoing lists that we would add to throughout the day. You know: the to-do list, the grocery list, the Costco list, that kind of thing. Well the pads of paper everywhere were starting to add to the clutter of our small home. So we decided to make our lists a decorating statement. With a little bit of chalkboard paint (4 coats or so actually), some fancy trim, and a little bit of our leftover red from the living room; we were able to make one good looking to do list. And trust me, it gets put to use.

Today

2011-10-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

Notice that I switched my Today post from Tuesday mornings to Wednesday mornings? My hope is that I will be a little bit more happy and cheerful (meaning awake) when I'm writing. This morning looks like this:

Thinking about this past week:

On Saturday Wade & Lynne came up to see Scout. And us...and I suppose Lynne wanted her birthday presents. But I think Scout was the main attraction. We spent the morning eating Andrew's homemade cinnamon rolls and the afternoon visiting Bellewood Acres and eating apple pie at Dirk & Lisa's. Delightful. Andrew and I even got to sit in Dirk & Lisa's hot tub. It was like a mini-vacation, someday we will have one of our own!

Scout has been eating like the milk's going to disappear. As in drinking 3 or more ounces after her evening nursings before bed. She even stooped so low as to take a bottle from me after I nursed her yesterday evening (Andrew was gone). If I think too much about it I can get all stressed out, worrying if I will be able to keep up with her or if we will have to start supplementing. But then I remind myself that all I can do is do the best I can and what will happen will happen.

I signed my contract for teaching at Western next quarter and Andrew got another trumpet student. Woohoo for more income!

We are still gathering apples, setting aside the good ones for eating and storing, and making applesauce with all of the others. 6 more pints of applesauce processed last night, it was tasty!

We joined a barter group on facebook, and "traded" with the friends who invited us! They had 80 plus lbs of wine grapes, but no equipment or experience. We had the equipment and some experience. So we shared and there are now about 10 gallons of wine fermenting in the kitchen. That is the biggest batch we have ever done! More pictures and updates on this later, but it was a lot of fun!

It's been cold and clear here and Andrew's been starting a fire every morning to warm the house up. I love the smell of the woodburning stove. I'm not so sure that Andrew loves fussing with the fire or chopping wood, but as we have the wood already, it's cheaper than turning on our heater.

Speaking of fun things that Andrew gets to deal with...our kitchen sink keeps clogging up. Even after repeated uses of chemicals and "the snake". He will get the clog cleared up, it will run great for a few hours, and then it starts backing up again. Right now it's been good for about 48 hours, so we are crossing our fingers it stays that way, calling a plumber is no fun.

BREASTfeeding pt. 3

2011-10-25T07:30:00.001-07:00

The third and final installment of my thoughts on breastfeeding, at least for now. You can read part one here and part two here. Maybe I will need to revisit the topic in 6 months or so :) And I am so sorry if I offend you, I just like to organize and write my thoughts so that I am forced to think through my own opinions. I'd rather have you argue with me than be offended, I know breastfeeding is such a very personal thing. I love that I have the ability to do what I think is best for us, you definitely should be able to do what you think is best for you!

Like I said, way back when this rambling thought first started, breastfeeding isn't for everyone. And that's fine, it's your decision. But it is for us, as long as there is any possible way that we can make it work. And when it's time to quit, I will be sad. Because I LIKE nursing my baby. I like how cheap it is, I like the health benefits for her, I like the feeling of being able to provide for her, I like the closeness of being together, I like how natural, comfortable and easy it feels now. It didn't feel that way at first, but I'm glad we stuck it out. So I like nursing, we got that covered right? As much as I like nursing (did you count the number of "likes" in this paragraph) and know that it is exactly right for us, I hate using a nursing cover. Hate it with a passion.

I hate the logistics of it. I can't get my hands in the right places to hold Scout and adjust my clothes. I end up having my clothes in all of the wrong places because I'm not coordinated enough to handle the nursing cover and stay covered. I can't get nursing pads in and out good or grab a burp cloth if I need one. I end up making a mess on me and on her and flashing everyone in the process.

I hate feeling like I am trying to hide something. I know that you'll say I'm trying to hide my breasts, which I have nothing against (I'm not an exhibitionist!), but I also feel like I'm trying to disguise what I'm doing. Everyone knows whats going on, I feel like the nursing cover makes it an elephant in the room that we don't acknowledge. I think nursing can and should be acknowledged and talked about, how else are women supposed to learn about it? How else are men supposed to know what women are going through so that they can be supportive? That's a whole other conversation, ask me if you want to get another earful. But just know that I hate, hate, hate that feeling of having to hide something that I am not embarrassed of. Something that I am in fact proud of and enjoy doing.

I hate the fact that I can't see Scout and that she can't see me. Eating time is bonding time with babies, whether they are bottlefed or breastfed. I want Scout bonding with me not with a nursing cover.

Most importantly, SHE hates the nursing cover. And can you blame her? She can't see me. It's really hot and suffocating under there. We both always end up sweating. I can't help her adjust as well as I normally do. And I end up manhandling her in my awkwardness. Would you prefer that?

The only reason I ever used a cover was because I was worried about embarrassing those around me. Especially male friends and family members. But you know what? Anyone who is embarrassed about breastfeeding probably needs some exposure so that they can be supportive to their wives, sisters, or friends that are working so hard to make breastfeeding work.

You will probably tell me that using a nursing cover will get better the more I practice. Well I'm not going to find out. I have so little time to actually enjoy nursing, that I'm not going to spend a good portion of it "practicing" something I hate.

And no, I will not bottle feed my baby in public. That stupid pump comes between us so frequently that there is no way I am giving up a chance to nurse her. Besides, if she needs to eat then I need to pump. And you will see way more if I try to pump in public.

And no, I will not go somewhere private to feed her. I can't schedule when she is hungry, no matter how hard I try. So sometimes, I will be in public and she will need to eat. And I refuse to feel like a social outcast who has to be quarantined where no one can see me because my baby is hungry. You go hide in a room by yourself while you eat.

I will however, be as subtle as I can, cover up as quickly as I can, and expose as little of myself as possible. Because like I said earlier, I'm not an exhibitionist and I have no desire to show you all my private parts. But honestly? I think you might actually see less when I nurse uncovered, because I can be pretty slick without that blasted sheet in the way. I can't, however, promise that you won't hear anything ;) Those nursing babies are loud, with or without the cover!

So essentially, what I'm saying, is if you see me with a nursing cover I am so worried about what you will think that I can't be myself around you. So if you are really my friend, tell me you're ok with it and that I can bag the cover.

Josh-The Last of 2009

2011-10-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

These are the last of the 2009 scrapbook pages that I have to share. They took me forever to do because I just couldn't decide how I wanted to do them. I couldn't make myself sit down and really think about that time period. Finally I just decided to go for pictures, and leave out the words so that I can move on. Woohoo, done with 2009's scrapbook, and I got a coupon last week and ordered the real book! It should be here any day, I can't wait!

Meeting Great Grandma Bybee

2011-10-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

Andrew's Grandma Bybee lives in Pocatello, Idaho and is one of the sweetest people that I know. And she is an amazing cook; her apple pie recipe is the best I've ever had. She came to visit for a few weeks in September and we were able to see her twice. Once we all gathered at Uncle Dirk's in Lynden for a BBQ; a few of us actually remembered to take pictures and I thought I would share.

Carina & Harper

Great Grandma Bybee trying to be entertaining enough that Scout won't scream at her

No smiles from the Scout, silly grump

Scout taking a little nap with Grandpa Bybee

Happy Birthday Taylor!

2011-10-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Lucy likes Marshmallows

2011-10-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

Lucy loves going to Hovander park. It's basically a big open field where dogs can be off leash with a trail around the edge for their humans to walk. Sometimes the grass is mowed short, sometimes it grows really long. A few weeks back we were there and they had mowed all the grass and wrapped it up into big marshmallows. Lucy liked it!

BREASTfeeding pt. 2

2011-10-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

When I mentioned that I had a lot of thoughts about nursing floating around, I wasn't joking. I started putting those thoughts on "paper" here and I'm going to try and wrap them up, for now, this time around. I think this topic must have been a long time coming.

In the Y.B.S. (that's Years Before Scout, if you were wondering), I was very much in favor of breastfeeding. But I never thought about it. I noticed when people were breastfeeding and it didn't bother me. Most people I knew used a nursing cover, so I hadn't really ever SEEN someone nurse their baby (with the exception of my mom and sister on occasion). Despite my ignorance, I paid attention and read enough to know that breastfeeding is both amazingly natural and an incredible amount of work.

Don't believe me?

Amazingly natural:

Your body adjusts your milk supply to what your baby needs. They consume all of your milk? Your body starts to make more.
Your body makes more for the periods when your baby eats more. My body makes more in the morning because Scout eats like she is a bear waking up from hibernation in the morning. And well, after sleeping for 12 hours without food, she probably feels like one.
The make-up of your breastmilk changes as your baby grows and needs different nutrients.
Immunities in my body go right to Scout. Which means I can help keep her healthier.
I'm not going to keep going on, although there are way more crazy things, because that's not what I want to talk about. And I'm the one writing this.

Incredible amount of work:

Every two hours? From start time to start time? And it can take 45 minutes at first? That means you nurse from 2 to 245, get a break until 4, nurse until 445, get a break until 6, repeat incessantly. That alone is an incredible commitment.
Newborn babies don't do anything very well. Except look cute. They can't find the nipple, they can get it in their mouth good, they fall asleep, they get frustrated and jerk their head around and won't focus. Long story short, it's work to keep your boob in their mouth with them sucking and getting food.
You actually have to think about relaxing and letting your milk down. Isn't that crazy?

I committed to the work. And we made it through the rough time where we were both figuring out how to make our bodily processes function. We were lucky because it was easier than I expected. I talked a lot to my husband, my mom, my sister, my sister in-law, anyone I could find that would help me process what was happening, think of solutions, and encourage me. Andrew would sit by me and talk to me, bring me food, water, whatever I forgot before I sat down. Despite the encouragement, it was still work. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make nursing smoother and less frustrating for both of us. I spent a lot of time worrying about my milk supply, the noises she made, all of it. And she was an easier nurser...I can't imagine what some moms are going through with some of the stories I hear.

After a few weeks, Scout and I settled into a routine where nursing didn't feel like as much work, more of an annoyance to me that I would have to stop and sit for so long. I'm kind of an "on-the-go" person. I tried to just enjoy the time to relax and be with my Scout, but it was a mind game that I had to constantly play.

In the past two weeks though, I've noticed that I really ENJOY nursing. It might be because I'm at work most of the day, so I really appreciate when I get the chance to have that moment with Scout. I don't even care when I nurse 3 times between 330 and 600. Or when she wants to eat and play and eat and play and can't settle down to either. Just recently she has started to want to hang on to my shirt or hold my hand while she is eating. She does like to stare at me still while she is eating, VERY intently I might add. Whatever the reason, nursing doesn't feel like work anymore. It's comfortable and neither of us have to think about it, we can just enjoy being together. And I'm glad.

Guess what? It's time for bed and I'm STILL not done with all of my thoughts. I guess I have a lot of thoughts on the topic since it consumes such a large part of my life? So someday soon you will get to read BREASTfeeding pt. 3. Aren't you excited?

Quick Proof

2011-10-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

Here's the proof that we have a rolling baby...it happens quick so pay attention!

P.S. We have better video clips, but I can't get them to upload to youtube from our computer. Super frustrating and I don't have time to mess with that kind of craziness right now. So you will have to make-do with phone footage until the internet/computer/youtube gods decide to work for me!

Today

2011-10-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday mornings kill me; they are me at my worst. The lack of sleep from the night before does not bring out anything remotely cheery. I should really change the day that I attempt to write about the here and now. But here goes:

Andrew got on the sub list for Whatcom Symphony Orchestra. Woohoo!

We've been busy trying to preserve the fruit off of our (4?) apple trees and (1) pear tree. We are eating and storing as many apples as we can, but due to lack of care, there were a lot of apples that weren't good eating apples. They have cracks or blemishes, but underneath there is lots of good apple. So we've made pear butter, applesauce, apple butter....we even added apple chunks to our coffee cake, delicious! I really like the system we have developed to be processing efficiently, I've been meaning to post about it. Sigh. Someday.

We took Scout to Bellewood Acres on Saturday. We got a lovely wagon ride tour of the apple orchard (we are envious of their beautiful trees!) and picked out a couple of sugar pie pumpkins for making pumpkin butter and pumpkin baby food. Even after the warning by this lovely lady, my camera battery died (I charged it right before we left, I swear!). We were able to get 3 or 4 pictures, which was probably plenty considering that Scout isn't really doing anything but staring back at all of the people oohing and aahing over her. Really, it was a gorgeous day and it was nice to get out, but it was a little too crowded and the lines were too long to get to enjoy all of the treats.

I woke up Saturday with a cold. Nothing terribly nasty, just the sniffles and a sore throat. Still made me feel like crying because it was just not what I needed on a beautiful weekend. I could be just a tad bit emotional.

Andrew and I met up with a friend for lunch on Sunday and took a nice walk around downtown. No pictures, but the weather here has been perfect, classic fall. Crisp and cold with beautiful sunshine. We stopped by Time in Play to check it out, we will definitely be going back in a few months when Scout can enjoy it more. I'll tell you more about it then, but feel free to check out the link! What a fun place to have in town!

Both my parent's and Andrew's parents wedding anniversaries are this week...Happy Anniversary! We are so lucky to have such good examples of happy healthy marriages in our lives. We love you all and appreciate all of your support! Do something fun for yourselves to celebrate!

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf

2011-10-17T07:30:00.001-07:00

Andrew and I have been eating meat again, mostly turkey and chicken and in fairly small doses. Adding meat back to our diet opens a whole new world of recipes that we can try. Someone posted the link to this recipe on facebook and it sounded delicious, so we tried it, even though it is more straight meat than we have been eating. We've made it twice now, both times for company, and both times with a delicious potato recipe that I swear I will post in a few days. It was a hit! Such a hit that there were hardly any left overs and I only got to try one meatloaf sandwhich! Here is the link the original recipe, with a picture.

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf

1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 20 ounce package ground turkey
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon water

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.
Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet. Combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Rub the paste over the top of the meatloaf.
Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

ABC's of me

2011-10-16T07:30:00.001-07:00

A. Age: 28, but I always have to stop and think
B. Bed size: King, and I love it. We have a super comfy bed and it's one of the best big purchases we have made in the past few years. Every time we leave home, Andrew and I talk about how excited we are to get back to our bed.
C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning bathtubs. Hate them.
D. Dogs: Lucy, except she is half pony

E. Essential start to your day: Cup of coffee, I know it's bad. Right now, add pump or nursing upon first awakening to that list

F. Favorite Color: Blue, with green as a close second
G. Gold or silver: Silver
H. Height: 5'2", well just under 5'2"
I. Instruments you play(ed):piano, I can still kind of play but I'm not very good.
J. Job title: Intervention specialist, special education resource room teacher, IEP case manager, I don't know...I get called lots of different things depending on who I'm talking to.
K. Kids: Scout!

L. Live: Ferndale, just north of Bellingham
M. Mom’s name: Laure
N. Nicknames: My siblings sometimes call me Yell...nothing else really
O. Overnight hospital stays: Never. Well I guess we checked in at 1130 or so on Saturday night and left on Sunday when I had Scout. So I guess that counts as overnight.
P. Pet peeves: Annoyingly inconsistent. Lots of things bug me, but I wouldn't call them pet peeves because sometimes I don't even notice or I do it myself. Mostly little things left undone, or almost finished but not quite all the way.
Q. Quote from a movie: I'm terrible at remembering quotes from movies, lyrics from songs, any of that kind of thing. Just never been important to me.
R. Righty or lefty: righty
S. Siblings: Rachelle, Josh, Alec, and Emma

T. Time you wake up: 5 am on workdays, whenever we can sleep until on the weekends
U. Underwear: Gap lowrise cotton hipsters, love them
V. Vegetables you don’t like: Hmm, I can't think of any. Some I don't love, but I can tolerate most of them.
W. What makes you run late: People stopping to talk to me. At least that makes me late at work. I'm not usually late. I'm an annoying 5 minute early person.
X. X-rays you’ve had: I don't know that I have had any. Mom if you are reading this, feel free to correct me. I don't know of any.
Y. Yummy food you make: That I make? I'm pretty good at throwing together a tasty salad or soup, but Andrew bakes the really good stuff.
Z. Zoo animal you like:monkeys. I've always had a thing for them. Once, when we were in France, I got to feed a monkey not in a cage. I liked that.

Happy Birthday Lynne!

2011-10-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Pan Pan 2009

2011-10-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

Almost done posting my 2009 work!

We interrupt our regularly scheduling posting to announce...

2011-10-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

...that Miss Scout learned to roll over yesterday! She has been occasionally flopping from stomach to back during tummy time since she was a couple of weeks old. But this was different, it was intentional (somewhat) from back to front and back again. And she did it during our few hours in the evening so I didn't feel like I missed it! Andrew's got the job of catching it on video today, so the proof is coming soon!

Here's how it happened:
I put her in bed for the 4ish nap attempt that rarely happens but we try any way because she otherwise she get a little bit edgy by bedtime. I laid her on her back, told I loved her, and walked out the door. After our allotted "work it out" time, I went back in to soothe her....and she was lying face down yelling at the mattress! I scooped her up and went to tell dad.

After she was all calm and snuggly and happy again, we tried the nap again. Same thing, this time I didn't make her wait the entire "work it out" time though. After scooping her up from her self imposed face plant and soothing her once again, I put her back in bed to try that nap one more time. This time Andrew and I watched from the edge of her room where she couldn't see us and we could see she was using her feet to flip her over, but she was only getting to her side while we were watching.

Nap time obviously wasn't happening, so I got her back up, laid her on her back in the middle of the living room and told her to roll over. Nothing, not even an attempt. We hung out like for about an hour. She was happy, chatty, and eventually got really really close a few times. Then she started to get her very tired face on and the whining appeared. Andrew said I was torturing her by making her stay up until she rolled over.

So I conceded that I might not be there the first time we saw her roll over and went to get her ready for bed. Diaper change cheered her up, like always, and she was wiggling and smiling and flipping all over the changing pad. Instead of zipping her up into her woombie right away, I brought her back to the living room and told her to give it one last try before she had to go to bed so that I could see it. In less than 5 minutes, she had flipped from her back to her stomach, fussed there for a minute, and then went back again! I don't think she loved it, but we cheered for her and then she was happily rewarded by nursing herself to sleep, her favorite time of the day.

Thank you Scout for saving that milestone to share while both of us could be there! Andrew might have an interesting time with naps today!

BREASTfeeding pt. 1

2011-10-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

That's right, I said breast in the title of this blog post. And I'm not embarrassed. A few days ago I mentioned that I had millions of thoughts about nursing floating around in my head. Well it's time to get them down on "paper" so they won't keep taking up brain space. If you don't want to think about boobs and breastfeeding, don't read this. Or part two of BREASTfeeding, which will probably be finished next week. I won't be offended.

I knew that I wanted to breastfeed before I ever got pregnant. I know it's not for everyone, and that's fine with me. But I was committed to making it work. I wanted that relationship with my baby, I wanted the health benefits for her, and let's admit it...I'm cheap. I couldn't see the benefit of paying for formula if there was anyway that I could get my body to make the nutrients my baby would need. I also knew that it was a lot of work and that struggles were common. Once I was pregnant and I knew that baby was on the way, I read about latch problems, supply problems, let-down problems, problems positioning the baby, anything I could get my hands on. I was prepared to have a hard time and I had solutions ready to try.

Scout made her debut and we were fortunate that nursing came easy to both of us. So, so, so very fortunate. I think that a good part of it is luck and I know that I got lucky. Granted, I was very paranoid and went out of my way to do everything I could to keep it working well. I drank millions of ounces of water a day (and nothing else) for the first three weeks because I knew that being dehydrated can cause supply issues. I slept as much as possible because I had read that your body produces the hormone that stimulates milk production while you are sleeping so the better rested you are the better your milk supply is. You may not believe this, but Andrew was supportive and we went to bed every night at 9 and slept until we couldn't physically go back to sleep, usually 9 or 10 in the morning. Granted, I had to get up every 2 hours and nurse, but the 12 hours a day, dedicated to sleeping did wonders for my body's physical state (and my mental well being). We did this for the first 3 or 4 weeks. Even now we make sure to get 8 hours of sleep. Awesome right? I let Scout nurse as often and suck as long as she wanted, even if I was just a human pacifier because hey...it's soothing to her and it's helping my milk supply. Keeps us both happy. For the first three weeks, I made sure I offered my boob every two hours, except at night, just so that I could make sure and keep my production up. And let me tell you, my production was up. I felt like I was drowning, literally. But I was happy and she was very well fed.

Even with how well things were going, I was worried because I was going back to work, full-time, when Scout was only 8 weeks old. And I wanted to feed her with breastmilk only until she was a year old. To prepare for this enormous challenge, we started giving her a bottle of breastmilk a day. I started by pumping every morning after I fed her, because that's when I had the most milk. After we had a little stored, we started replacing one nursing session with a bottle of breastmilk, every day. I would pump while Andrew fed her. And we did it VERY diligently. Like even when on vacation. It sucked. But it was worth it. I don't know if it's just another piece of luck, or if it's because of our persistence, but Scout switches from boob to bottle and back like a champ. I am so grateful because I really can't imagine what my mental state would be if she didn't.

Right now, I feel like I'm doing more pumping that nursing, but I am still so grateful that I can feed Scout purely breastmilk (because I'm cheap remember?) and I am really appreciating the times that the milk goes from me to her without that blasted pump acting as the middle man. For posterity's sake, here is our weekday routine: I pump at 5am, 8am, 11am, and 130pm. I feed her myself, no pump as the middle man, when I get home at 330, before she goes to bed at 530 and then if she wakes up in the middle of the night (which only happens occasionally). Weekends, we get to put the pump away and I just feed her to her heart's (and mine!) content. Even though things are going well right now, I'm still paranoid about not keeping my production enough. I'm constantly checking ounces produced vs ounces consumed and I am on hand with milk cookie recipes, mother's milk, and herbal supplements if I need them. I am really going to try and make it a full year. I'm crazy right?

Now that we've got the technical details down, stay tuned for part 2...where you get to hear all about how my thoughts on nursing have evolved.