Westward, HO!

"Where did you go," you might be wondering. A lot of nowhere, a lot of busy beeing around the house. But not all nowhere. A few very big somewheres starting with California.

We have lovely friends in California, stationed there through the Air Force. When they began making plans to see each other, they invited us along. With the Ellis clan, we boasted 9 children {the oldest was 5 yo} and 6 excited, tired parents for a week of hiking, playing, biking, and touristing:

Wandering down the Monterrey Wharf in borrowed clothes

Beautiful girls searching for sea lions and otters

Sunset on the bay

What?! An Ellis family photo - only because we were reminded to take one

The redwoods at Big Sur

The best part - these wonderful ladies

Bubba on the beach

 

I might have taught this warrior girl to shoot at seagulls. She shot one!

Expectant faces watch for the wave to fall at the Monterrey Aquarium

Ecstasy with every wave

Our trip to California was one of the most rejuvenating experiences of my life, right up there with our honeymoon. We got away from daily pressures without any true agenda other than to spend time with people we love.

The trip out was a comedy of airline errors to be certain: cancelled flights, long delays with restless children in overcrowded airports with no gluten free food, lost bags, stomach virus (appropriately discharged on the airline kiosk). 24 hours round trip. If so many people didn’t experience the same thing every time they flew, I might think we were special. I haven’t sworn off flying, but I’m not jumping to get on another plane either.

But once we were there, seeing Emily and Keith and Mollie and Jeff and all their sweet little ones that I love like nieces and nephews... What a blessing! Even now, I can close my eyes and find myself standing in that open white kitchen with the windows and door flung wide to allow the cool breeze to flow through the house, taking my tension and frustrations with it. The yard with its rusty sand and spiny plants, all harboring their precious water against the long dry season. The living room couch covered with bare legs and open picture books and plastic dinosaurs.

The trip to Big Sur, driving along the sharp coast with breakers spraying above the rocks, the wind whipping hair and clothes. Red woods towering impossibly tall overhead, imposing and sheltering. Kids circling around us like a pack, excited, whining, bounding, all looking for lunch and bugs and the one perfect stick or rock or pinecone. All crouched down at the water’s edge, staring into the stream life below them. All filing over the fallen log bridge, holding momma’s hand and shuffling tiny tennis shoes to jump proudly at the end and stand tall while momma heads back across to help the next one in line. 

The hike with my besties. Getting to be free, strong mommas, skipping up the trail without the added weight of a child or two wrapped on and dragging against our hands. That conversation started the long, tearful talk over delicious food two nights later. The talk where we bore our souls and our fears and our frustrations with two of the only people alive that could hear all those deep ugly things we hate admitting to ourselves. They are those friends. Who know how angry I get, how messy my house is, how much I love and struggle with my husband, my God, my position, my life. And they are those friends who don’t let me wallow in the struggle, but pray for me, encourage me, and point me back to the will of God. Any plane ticket, any long day of flying, any hauling sick children across country was worth that conversation.

Afton thanks God for our trip to California and the plane ride and all of our friends every day still. What a blessing!

Sneak peak at the 'bunk house'

We're halfway through my first solo flight. Daddy is on a work trip, and we're no longer three lone girls. The little man of the house is holding down the fort with both nap time and late night vigils {I can't fall asleep at 8:30 or sew until midnight. hmph. But I do get to cuddle with my son!}

Brother doesn't seem to mind princess night yet, so the tradition can continue for now. But it might not have to. DH set me up for this trip, working well into dusk before he left to finish his backyard build. Oh yes, it's not quite ready for the big reveal {I think he has a few decorative touches left}, but our landscaping has changed drastically to give the kids a wonderful, imaginative play area.

A sneak peak at the 'bunk house' {not sure where G came up with this moniker}:

 Several blogs suggest making your own odd size/shape blocks instead of buying them. I remember wondering if I was supposed to buy 2x4's and cut up random blocks. These pieces of splintery imagination are a lovely byproduct.

A pinhole peak, to be sure, but I really want to honor T's wishes to keep it hidden from the public until he's satisfied.

And what do the girls think??

They spent at least a couple minutes this morning making 'footprintses' in the sand {anyone else hear Gollum, 'filthy hobbitses'} and building a 'snow family' out of blocks before they found a bucket of water and some foam brushes. They abandoned the brand new, totally awesome fort to paint the patio with water {idea courtesy of Mr. Putter and Tabby}. As usual, they prefer 'the box to the toy.'

For right now.

We have years of play ahead of us. And they really do love their bunk house. We're just ill-tempered and quick to fight this morning. As if to make my point, Gwennan just yelled through many tears and sniffles, "Afton just bited me. She thought I was an apple, but I was really a little girl. Now I really will hit her."

I can't wait to show you the finished project. It's fabulous! I'm so impressed by my sweet hubby's handiwork. He's a keeper.

A brief guide to surviving childhood, part 1

Something is in the water. All of my friends are pregnant {if you're a non-pregnant friend, you're still my friend, but the hyperbole doesn't work if I say 'about half'}.

As I watch them nest and prepare and count down, especially the first timers, I keep thinking of things that I wish had been included in prenatal classes. So I'm passing one along:

Make Poison Control a favorite contact.

I seem to call poison control as often as some of my family members {more often than some}. We should be on a first name basis. My children eat any and every thing that grows in the yard, which leads me to my second point:

Do not buy the adorable, printed on 100% post-consumer recycled cardboard gardening book that teaches colors and features the catch phrase: I pick it and eat it.

Thanks to this book, the girls pick and eat everything. They stripped our tomatoes, blueberries and strawberries this spring, all while the fruit was still green. They've collected buckets of berries from the monkey grass and buds from the crepe myrtle {both non-toxic, I checked, but I imagine that if they were yummy, grown ups would eat them too}. They've sampled random mushrooms out of the yard {somewhat toxic, I checked, but not the kill you kind}. The other day I looked out the kitchen window and saw small one gnawing on the end of an eggplant still attached to the vine. She picks it and eats it.

Before you reach for a paper bag, only once have I needed to take them to the hospital. Which brings me to my final point, a carryover from vet school:

The solution to pollution is dilution.

When your kid eats something mildly poisonous {real life example - Borax} or simply disgusting {real life example - poop}, give them water, lots and lots of water. Water solves almost every oops, shouldn't have eaten that moment.

Alright, I'm done scaring the soon-to-be moms. This will be fun. Promise.

                                                                                                                                                              

Curious babies put stuff in their mouths. They are blessed with good immune systems and gag reflexes and great ER's when the other two fail. I find the PC staff comforting and supportive - not once have they criticized me for not hovering over my children. A terrific resource.

The computer won't cooperate

Opened my shopping list at the grocery store:

Now I understand what small one was trying to say when she stormed into the kitchen, yelling, Doggie! Puppy!

She was really saying, I've punched every key on that stupid computer, and it still won't play the dog show!

Which explains why she walked out in a frustrated huff when her clueless momma bent over and coo'ed Hey baby, did you see a puppy outside? 

Poor kid. Her grasp on the english language failed her again.

Why I love Summer {no words necessary}

 Ok, I said no words, but does anyone get the Lil Critter reference?

Yep, that pretty much says it all. About 10,000 words worth of pictures.

Hope you're enjoying the unfolding this summer!

What we're up to...

Wow. Why did I think I'd have time to blog this year? I was telling my mom the other day that I get good time with the girls every day, but I don't remember it. Life is a bit of a blur right now. In order to craft, I give up blogging. Sorry.

Today isn't even a crafty post. By request, I'm offering an update.

Afton

At her last check up, she weighed 11 lbs. 10 oz. (10th percentile) and measured 24.5" (50th percentile). She's right on track with Gwenny's growth curve. Also, she has periodic reflux issues which have contributed to some late nights and lots of cuddling on bad days. Part of my shortage of posts.

Milestones: Afton now giggles at Gwenny, babbles to us, plays with her feet all the time, rolls over from front to back and can sit up in the boppy for short periods. So far, no interest in table food, so we haven't bothered yet. She's still a delightful, low maintenance girl with a brilliant smile and very kissable cheeks.

Gwennan

I'm not sure how tall she is, but she's up to 23 lbs. of bulldozer-like muscle. Six teeth have popped through with 2 molars threatening. 

Milestones: She literally runs laps around our house. Her vocabulary is growing steadily at this point. You can tell her favorite subjects by the words she learns. So far, her focus is on: sister!, food, animals and gardening. We dance everyday to Silly Songs with Larry and spend at least 45 minutes watching the "fishies" and birds. Oh yeah, and Gwenny lavishes "sissy" with hugs and kisses and most recently pulls Afton into her lap for cuddles. They are adorable together.

Tim and I

We're looking for a house of our own! We love the house we're in now, and our landlords are fantastic. But we also need a permanent place on the peninsula. Right now, we still feel itinerant which is not a good quality in ministry.

House hunting is time consuming, especially when you're budget is limited. That's really the excuse for my lack of posting. Every spare afternoon is spend house hunting, as is my computer time. So far, we've seen lots of "no ways" and a couple "hmm... this has potential." When we find a place, I'll post pics.

Also, last week Tim's brother visited. We had a wonderful time with Uncle Will, fishing, visiting Bluebird Gap Farm, touring Langley AFB and building countless block towers for Gwennan to destroy. The week went by so fast which is always a good sign when family comes to town.

That's what we're up to. How about you?

An apology

Mom,

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for bleeding, peeing, urping or otherwise soiling your clothes on your way to church.

I'm sorry for scraping my arm along craft store displays, scattering buttons across the floor.

I'm sorry for going limp when you were carrying me, Emily, your purse and two bags of groceries.

I'm sorry for screaming so loudly when you put on my shoes that you feared someone would call DCS.

Love, your-oldest-daughter-whose-now-a-mom-and-feels-really-bad-about-what-I-did-to-you.

We've had one of those days, the kind when I feel the need to apologize to my mom for being a child.

Even more so, I feel the need to apologize to God. The other day Gwennan pitched a full-on, out-of-her-mind fit when I took a muffin out of her hand so I could put on her jacket. At first her total distrust of me hurt my feelings. I've done nothing to deserve such scrutiny. A few minutes later, it occurred to me that Baby G is just doing what comes naturally. I do the same thing but to God, which is so much worse. I yell at Him for the way He's taking care of me when He is doing so perfectly. Parenting is so humbling.

Baby Update

I left you hanging in my 2nd trimester - all that whining and then no baby pics. Sorry. At least I didn't post the last month of whining. It was bad - partial bed rest for 3 weeks, lots of tylenol. On the bright side, I knitted... alot.

The highlights:
August - September - blah. You didn't miss much - lots of monitoring Baby A for possible complications that never materialized (Hallelujah!).

The three of us in the hospital parking lot - thought this might be our last 3 member family photo, but A fooled us

October - We moved! And our house in Knoxville sold! We've had a very eventful Fall. In regards to our new house, let me quote P.D. Eastman: 

"I love my house. 

 I love my nest.

In all the world, my nest is best!"

I sobbed with relief when I found out we were finally going to be settled in Virginia with our own furniture in a long term rental. To top it off, this house is perfect for us. Because we moved shortly before A was born, I unpacked the necessities and threw the rest in storage without any organization at all. This week, I started digging through boxes, throwing out more stuff thanks to a kick in the pants from Real Simple.

October 31st - G celebrated her 1st birthday with her adopted gp's, a big piece of chocolate cake and a line of trick or treaters singing "Happy Birthday" (her name was butchered all night long).

November 25th - awesome Thanksgiving. We watched the Macy's Parade and the Dog Show with G, my family drove all morning to have dinner with us, and we spent the evening with our best friends. I loved it! Did I mention no cooking or cleaning?!

November 26th - Tim navigated Black Friday traffic on our way to the hospital at 7. Afton Grey Ellis was born at 9:26 am, weighing 7 lbs. 10 oz and stretching 19 1/2". I liked this birth - so much calmer. Baby did great; I felt good; we went home a day early. The experience fits Afton. She's a relaxed baby. Gwennan didn't fuss much, but she was intense from the start, just ask anyone she's stared down in the grocery store.

The following 5 weeks, various parts of our families stayed with us to care for G while I recovered from surgery (A big shout out to Mom and Mom - you were life savers!).

We spent 6 days as a 4 member family, then a trip to K'town for a belated Christmas.

Nieces with their Aunties!! 

Now, we're back to normal, well "new normal." Everyone warned me that two babies was going to be more than twice as much work, and it is. But I don't feel particularly hectic or worn out. In other words, God is being incredibly gracious to us, and I'm enjoying our Irish twins. Just don't call during arsenic hour.

Playing in the backyard with Sissy. 

I remember visiting a friend with four little ones whose house felt remarkably peaceful. Her kids had an established routine, and she was quiet, even when they were not. I pray that our house feels like that. 

Quirky Pillows

I love pillows that resemble stuffed animals. Hence my desire to make the plush owl pillows that I mention on My Craft Ideas page. I know that sounds very specific, but check out the examples:

Top Right: I can't wait to make these from the pattern available from Blissfully Domestic. I'm thinking the crazier the fabric, the more interesting these owls will look. While Tim doesn't care for my other bird project idea, I think he likes these.

Bottom Left: Stuffed monster pillow from A Little Gray blog - BTW that fabric looks hand dyed. She sells them through her etsy shop.

For those of you looking for a more simple pillow idea, I'd try embellishing as seen here. Ottobre Design has great patterns.