backyard sugarin'

*disclaimer, is that i absolutely adore this man, and think that he looks just so sweet all reveling in his new hobby.....

BUT
here's the deal. my dear sweet hubs is newly obsessed with tapping the trees in the yard and making his own maple syrup. that being said, i will tell you, the man spent 18 hours yesterday. yes, EIGHTEEN HOURS. making his first batch. an ordeal that began around 7 am, and lasted well past 1. AM. Being the understanding wifey that i am, i was cool till, oh say 8pm, at which point i started to get a little bit agitated, given the fact that multi-tasking is not his strong suit, and he really just MADE SYRUP for eighteen hours. he shrugged of my complaints assuring me that his new hobby is the same as me going to the gym. hmmmm. let's discuss.
i have to go to the gym, if i ever want to have any hope of reclaiming my body, fitting into a reasonable size of jeans and breathing at the same time, oh yeah, and to maintain my sanity.

the routine is such that i bundle the children,
pack snacks for after,
diapers and wipes for during,
load all three into the car seats, T having some crisis, as she always is,
drive to the gym,
hope all the way there that nobody poops, either before we get here or while were there,
because then i have to come change them in the kiddie bathroom and my chances of heading back out to exercise without benji having a massive meltdown are slim to NONE.
exercise,
collect children,
hose them down with anti-bacterial lovin',
drive home muttering about germs - all sweaty and gross and hoping that the little man won't fall asleep in the car so i have a chance to shower before dinner rolls around.

sounds equally as fun as standing by a bonfire all afternoon, while drinking coffee. doesn't it?














now y'all must be picturing a fridge all filled up with syrup. not the case. there is ONE, yes, read ONE lonely mason jar just about topped off with golden goodness. something to do with a boiling down process, blah, blah. blah.

unreal. so this morning, i spoke with the hubs while he was at work and was expecting a realization about leaving the syrup making to the pros, but alas, he is planing on doing it again next weekend, but this time starting at MIDNIGHT. really, it would take me less time to load up the troops, drive to VT. have lunch with the adams crew, pick up a case of syrup, drive home, make dinner and put said troops to bed. just saying.
again NOTHING like going to the gym. at all.













but don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful day, full of kidlets in snow suits and sledding and friends and family stopping by to check out the madness. we roasted marshmallows, and enjoyed the hell out of the day. but really....













i can't wait till it's garden time, because i got eighteen hours in my garden sans kidlets- if you see hubs, let him know....

vacation....says who.

things have been mighty crazed here, but in all the very best ways. the biggest bean is on vacation, and i thought, what will we do all week. and now it is thursday night....i have so much to do, and alas, so little time....

so a recap.













we had a busy week, and yesterday brought a bunch o' my fave peeps in for a visit, lots of mama chat, reconnecting time, kiddo play time, hummus that makes you feel amazing, hot tea, and centering. so needed, so perfect in every way.






























today i was an errand hoar, running place to place, popping by my local paint store to tell him the last color we tested, which made me feel like i was sitting in skippy peanut butter was absolutely a no go, and then having him mix me a custom color, that is absolutely going to rock my world....

then to the bridal store to get sized for the wedding of the century, and let me just tell you, if you speak to me at all in the next several months, and i am not running on the treadmill while conversing with you, kill me.


at any rate, there were NG store errands, and grocery stores, and and and. this mama is pooped and i have no idea who is making dinner tonight. maybe if i just leave the pantry door open, they will rummage around and whip something up. right.

























oh, and no, we didn't forget.

opinions.

this is how the biggest bean woke up. it is time for a haircut. we will work this in to the schedule this week. it is a mess.





some business.

now, i have a thing for color - the beans playroom is orange, the bathroom - red, the kitchen a chocolate brown, the mudroom is a delightful martini olive, and now, as my man builds the mantle, he gives me the opportunity to repaint the living room, which we painted two years ago, but i really find the color to be off. i was going for a coffee color brown, that in theory was great, but turned out to be flesh. and i hate it. so, now a color choice, and i have naturally gravitated towards a green much to hubs and others dismay, but was totally over-ruled on the first one i picked, and these are the second and third. not sure my feelings... i would love some feedback, ideas, etc. would also be open to other colors, just not sure.....

click on pics to see close up of colors....keeping in mind, trim is white, couches and rug, green....maybe i am going in the wrong direction here....some insight please....






























any thoughts?

lovely.....

so here's where we are at. the child toddles over, nurses while i type, knit, etc. then goes to continue playing.


the beans are doing fabulous, these days have been long, stressful, wonderful, exhausting, and precious all at the same time...

while i blog,
the big little man is in the other room practicing his LLL sounds,( if you know him, than you know he turns the L sound into Y like it is nobody's business. for example, yellow - in M speak is Yeyyow.) So, overheard moments ago:

No T, listen and try it again, say "LINDSEY LOHAN, LLLLLOHAN. "

really? sometimes i just have to wonder where the hell i am.


and thank you bry, because when i said he needed to work on his L's to pick some words with him, i meant USEFUL words like lollipop, lovely, and lion. not lindsey freakin' lohan.

but, just in case you were wondering...he is rockin' those L's.

anyhow. it is raining here, so we are indoors, though i must say the windows are all cracked, and i am busy admiring the cool breeze. my girlfriend came over with her three little lovelies today, and it was a houseful of kidlets playing and being busy. now everyone has gone, and we are settling down watching a movie, and trying to decide if going to the grocery store is in our future....




i have been busily working on projects for the store

including a 3 foot by 4 foot cork board, and a larger than life decoupaged grocery bag....which is kicking my arse....

but come evening when i am ready for down time, i have been all about the knitting needles....


so, an update...











the project....














the outcome...













still a newbie, but i will get the hang of it....


what goes on in your worlds?

rainy day bliss

hey all, it's nasty out there. it's cozy and lovely in here....wanna come over? i will warn you, the house is NOT picked up. it's clean here, but far from neat. the kidlets are all about making messes here there and everywhere. but the fire is kickin', the coffee is hot, the cookies are about to be baked, the smiles are plenty and the love is all around.

there is napping going on, crafting like crazy, there are valentine's surprises being planned, there is cuddling, and cooking, some coughing too, and a few runny noses here and there.

we talked of venturing out, then made a group decision to keep our slippers on and our cozy clothes too. there are fuzzy socks, projects, PBS programs, and hoods kept up as well.

later there will be more of the same....

and you?

on parenting

(downward facing dog x3 - unprompted. hubs in background doing dishes - also unpromted)

i have slept for 3 hours in a row - and i am feeling more healthy mentally than i have this past week or so, so please accept my apologies for the previous whine session, but honestly, when your children don't sleep, and mine do not, you reach a breaking point. this week was mine.

i am not making excuses, well, maybe i am, but sleeplessness really makes everything in this little world of ours over here seem like a HUGE disaster. unfortunately hubs and the beans usually get the brunt of my crankiness, but yesterday a man at the grocery store also received his share - it is debatable that he deserved it, or something, but perhaps i could have handled it better on more sleep. i am not proud - just sleep deprived. SO, after losing my cool on this man, driving home and cursing him out at the top of my lungs - (children at home with hubs, not in the car )- i realized in fact, i may be overtired. really overtired. and while he was a jack ass for sure, it was not worth it. i mean really. i lost my cool on a stranger. unreal. but it felt good, to speak my mind, to not let him say such rude things, and to tell him off - to say the things that you just think in your head. but it was the wrong thing to do. i felt crazy. what was happening to me.

that being said, i came home, laughed with hubs about the unfortunate grocery store happenings, made the fam a tasty nourishing meal, put the children to bed, did NOT pick up the house, the laundry, the dishes, in fact did nothing. sat my butt down on the couch, drank tea, knitted for hours, and watched a thoughtless movie that made me laugh lots and think less. it was exactly what i needed. it was time to reflect on what's been going on.

while i sat and neglected the house, and the things that needed doing, i realized that i am happy. i am lucky. so lucky. i am in love. in love with my children. in love with my husband. in love with my family. i am blessed. i am loved. i am content. and all this nonsense, this chaos, my behavior, this overwhelming frustration - was all sheerly based on the fact that i have not slept. not for 5 years really.

so, not willing to let a little lack of sleep take over my world. i went to bed, and made a vow to start fresh in the am. and to my delight, the children slept. t got up at 6:00 this morning. M got up at 6:30. Benji woke only 2 times to nurse in the night, not 5.

it is all relative. my bad energy was throwing my children out of whack. we all woke refreshed. i came downstairs and picked up, did the dishes, swept the floor put away the toys, did all the things that needed doing. we ate breakfast, we laughed, we talked, M practiced his L sounds by running in and yelling,
"MOMMY - I am LLLLLLLucky to have all theses toys."
I smiled, and thought, your right baby, you are lucky, but so am I, so lucky.

so in the spirit of starting fresh, there will be no more taking for granted. we have smiled and hugged and loved each other all more this morning than we have all week. there has been only talking and no yelling. there have been no time outs, only cuddles and proud little faces. i know it is not going to be all shiny and happy all day, but it is going to work. we are going to be fine, and good in fact. things are falling back into their places.

the important thing that i have focused on and will be mindful of from this point on, is that our children are a reflection of us. they are like little sponges, absorbing all the good, and all the bad. when i am a mess, my children are a mess. how utterly unfair to those little beans. we will remedy this little guys, we will beat this. i promise you. to my children : NAMASTE - the spirit in me honors and respects the spirit within you.

double stink.

so. i am going to whine. be prepared.

really trying to keep things in perspective here. the last several days have been a real treat. though the children are just head cold sick - 4 of the children in the biggest beans class are sick. 2 of whom threw up IN SCHOOL. LOVELY. AND to boot, I am the helping parent tomorrow. and I know you all know, that i live in fear of this virus. it is ridiculous. utterly ridiculous. so, as we sit here crossing fingers and toes and hoping those nasty germies don't come our way, other loveliness ensues.

we are having this magnificent propane issue, which has proven to be the culprit behind the super bowl disaster of 2008. when i turn on the gas range to cook, the whole house smells like gas. it is really fabulous. you start to get a headache, before the water even boils. SO, i called the propane folks, who just last week delivered a load of propane our way, and they send out a creepy gentleman, who not only wouldn't leave, but who was CONVINCED that our problem, was in fact that we got a load of propane with "double stink." (in his very professional opinion.) really.
which to my delight, should go away after i cook on the stove for 3-4 weeks. really.
*apparently propane does not smell, so they add an odor to make you aware of a gas leak if there is one.*

so, after getting him OUT of the house 45 minutes later, and calling back the company, and explaining his explanation of our unfortunate "Double STINK," which they were totally baffled by - we had the tanks promptly switched out. OVER? NO. After a brief period of no smell - we are back to double stink just in time to make dinner. they are coming back tomorrow. fabulous.

The beans have been stuck in the house, and therefore very difficult. This evening at dinner, i asked M why he has been being so TERRIBLE today - to which he responded

"mommy....i am really uncomfortable talking about this."

un - stinkin' believable....really. un-stinkin' believable.

Also the neighbor keeps dropping his old dog off here, and LEAVING him for hours on end. the dog has a bad case of gas ALL THE TIME - and some weird bleeding things on his face that ooze. WTF. I have tried avoiding said neighbor, but M lets the dog in when he barks at our door, which is always, and without fail, the guy will call two minutes later to ask if we could hang onto the dog for several hours. unbelievable.


Seriously people. If those germies get us now, it is going to be the equivalent of a BAD week.


At least we haven't had any ransom notes involving weiner poopy. Head over to Nina's to check it out. Really worth your while. Really.

corkin'

hey all,

as many of you know, the store is well under way, but i have run into a slight shortage of corks for the handmade cork board. SOOOO, here is my request, if any of you happen to save, have, collect corks....can you pass 'em my way? i have a dear friend whom is a bartender that is going to start saving, but i need them FAST...so i thought i would put the request out there and see....

thanks.



in others news, benji's b-day ended up being a slight disaster, as the annual super bowl crowd couldn't come, due to the fact that hubs and i both got sick....lovely. so hopefully that has passed, and things are on the upswing here.
we were able however, before we got sick to have a little birthday brunch over at mimi and pa's honoring the little guy...so that was sweet. head over to mimi's page to check that out...


but at any rate, he still turned one, and is rockin' it out, like a crazy little one year old man. thanks to everyone who called and sent benji birthday wishes, he is certainly a loved little man.




hubs has taken on a new hobby of tapping the trees as he has big plans to make syrup with uncle eric, (who will not hesitate to eat maple syrup with a spoon - regardless of there being food in the equation or not.), so....in case my neighbors didn't think we were hick-ish enough previously, they for sure do now.






kidlets are doing the head cold thing, so we are in for the day, watching movies, popping corn, and crafting away.

cheers!

the little bean....

the littlest bean turned one this morning. I woke up to M singing happy birthday to the man in his crib....

it was by far one of the best wake-ups ever....

ever.



happy birthday little benji-bean...


hope your day is filled full of wonderful things....

i know ours will be.