almost a year...

hello again!  we have been busy here and blogging as has been on my mind lately so i thought i would try to get back to it.  i miss writing and this is one way for me to write on a (somewhat) regular basis.

oliver almost 1!  this year has flown by.  it seems like with each little one, time goes faster and faster.  he just got 6 teeth all at once, 4 of which were molars, so he has been a bit cranky lately but the last of them pushed through today so hopefully he will get some relief (and we will too!).

we participated in screen free week last week.  we made it the whole week, which i think was harder for me than for the kids.  i got a lot of reading done, and more sleeping.  it was surprisingly liberating that i didn't know what was happening with the housewives.  i cared at first, but it wore off.  it's funny how it can feel like something is such a big deal, but then when some distance it put between me and it, it becomes not so important after all.  i only watch tv a couple nights a week, which wasn't too hard to give up, but keeping social networking/blog sites to a minimum was harder.  it was nice to have a little reset and realize that i don't always need to know what all my friends had for dinner or that they worked out at the gym.

hopefully i'll be back here soon!

hello.

has it really been 6 months since i was here last?!?

we have been busy with a newly remodeled house and new family member.  it has been a crazy half year but things are settling down a bit and hopefully i will be back here on a somewhat regular basis.  i miss it and i have lots of bloggy ideas popcorning around in my head (along with a million other non-related, but important ideas) that always seem to come to the forefront of my mind during a middle of the night nursing session.

happy 4th!

giving thanks

this holiday season is not quite going the way i had envisioned.  our house is still not done and won't be done until january.  all of our decorations are deep in storage, which means that many of the traditions we continue each year will have to be put on hold this year.

i had a good cry about it and now, well, now i am coming to accept it and try to mindfully be here, now.  enjoy this moment for what it is, instead of for what i hoped it would be.  

we have a beautiful tree, completely decorated with homemade ornaments (mostly made from stuff we had around the house or yard).  we are fully enjoying our advent activities.  the kids don't seem to notice the homemade advent calendar i made last year is not here with us, when they find the little slip of paper in a special jar each morning.

i am trying not to let the lack of decorations that i look forward seeing to each year stop me from getting into the holiday spirit.  i have christmas music on and christmas cards displayed, and that will have to do this year. 

i have two singing, dancing healthy children (and one on the way!) who remind me everyday what is most important.  it is not a house, or decorations, or traditions.  it is us. together. enjoying each day as it is... and maybe just a little bit of dreaming of next year.

snow and baking and halloween

it snowed here the saturday before halloween.  which was kind of unexpected, although my phone said it would snow, i didn't believe it since it has done me wrong before and it just seemed way too early to snow.  we just returned from southern california and 70-80 degree weather the day before, so it just didn't seem like it would really snow.  but snow it did, as you can see.  we went on a little winter... uh... autumn walk on sunday morning.

snow means winter and baking, right?  so i just had to use the last of our garden zucchini for zucchini bread using my friend mary's recipe (which is my all time favorite!).  i added some frozen  blueberries and it was delicious!  we may have been listening to christmas music while we made them...

we went to a halloween art class and made haunted castles.  the castle is make from a tissue box, toilet paper and paper towel roll and shaved ice cone all painted gray.  both kids loved decorating their castles and they looked super cute as halloween decorations at  home.

this year we were princess leia and yoda.  this was the first year i did not make their costumes, which was sad and a relief.  with the multiple funerals all across the country it just wasn't in the cards this year, but next year we will hopefully go back to homemade.  but it may depend on what they want to be...

happy autumn!

late harvest

we just harvested a lot more from our garden!  do you see all those habanero peppers?!?  they are super spicy!  sam is going to make some hot sauce with them for a 'spice' party he is having with some other guys where they all bring something insanely hot to try.  not for me.

sorry i have been absent for awhile, my grandma passed away and it sort of threw us (me) for a loop.  we went out to arizona for her beautiful funeral mass that my aunts worked hard to plan, in the middle of their mourning.  they did an amazing job!  it was perfectly my grandma and i am so glad i got to go with my kids to take comfort in family, reminisce about her amazing life and take time to say goodbye.

eggplants and tomatoes

made this recipe a few times this season with the eggplants and tomatoes from our garden.  the sauce freezes well and because it is a puree i throw in anything else that is also ripe (bell peppers, zucchini).  it uses a whole lot of tomatoes so it is perfect when a ton of tomatoes are ripe all at the same time.  we still have a few eggplants and tomatoes to be picked, so i'm sure this will be on the menu again.  maybe i'll try canning the sauce.  hmmmm... eggplant and tomatoes in winter could be soooo welcome.

{this moment}

inspired by soulemama.