Frying Pans and Snow Boots

Update

2012-02-08T21:54:00.001-09:00

Molly came out of the bathroom after being in there for way, way too long. I noticed her lengthy stay, but I just didn't want to know or deal with it. She told me, don't worry Mom, the sink will drain I promise.

I went to see an old friend the other day, and we were catching up on my kids. I told him that Porter was in kindergarten and Molly was in preschool now. He said, "so you're just staying home with the baby?"

And I feel like that pretty much sums up life right now. Constant needs from all corners, and no outside evidence that any progress is being made.

But! There is also a lot of fun. I having started skiing again, with Porter and taking women only lessons on the weekends. It is great to do something for myself, and I'm actually finding that I'm enjoying it even more than I used to. No longer being concerned with my skills or my ability to keep up with buddies has its benefits I guess.

Molly loves her ballet class. And it turns out (not surprisingly) that preschool ballet is the home of absolutely unbearable cuteness. I really can't get enough.

Cedar is almost 10 months old, and still does not crawl, let alone walk. I thought that being the third child would give her a leg up on physical milestones, but what do I know. She is content to sit and smile and have us bring her all the entertainment. She really is a delightful, easy baby that charms us every day.

And Porter and Bryce are on a boys-only road trip to the big city of Alaska. They have traveled in search of a vehicle that will end my constant cursing of a back seat expertly not designed to hold three car seats. And they have succeeded! I am grateful for my chance to be totally functional and very uncool.

Finally, if you want to impress your kids, check this out. A candle from a Clementine! It works! My kids were amazed at my skills. Porter asked me reverently if I learned that in high school.

Mac had a bag.

2012-01-22T15:54:00.000-09:00

Last summer, I began to work on reading with Porter. He was so close, but all our sessions ended in frustration, and I eventually decided he just wasn't ready. We put his beginning reading books aside, and honestly, I've been lazy and haven't taken the time to pick them back up. He has been working hard in school, but everything I saw him "read" was mostly memorization and interpreting from pictures. Which is fine, the first step, but not quite reading. I kept telling myself that he was right on the edge.

And then on Thursday he came home from school, pulled out one of his books, and read this out loud:

It was a book we hadn't worked with before. He sounded out each word. Bryce and I weren't even paying a lot of attention, until holy crap he can read. He read the whole book. He was so proud! We were so excited! And then he read another book. And another. Woo-hoo. It was one of those really amazing parenting moments. A huge world just opened up for Porter in the blink of an eye, and it was so neat to see.

Meanwhile, not being involved in the fun, Molly had been playing with my phone over in the corner. Apparently quietly watching YouTube videos, unknown to us all, she announced that the girls were dancing with the penis! Holy crap you definitely don't have to read to get into a whole new world of trouble.

There will be no more YouTube on my phone.

Also! Check out this couch Bryce made for the corner of our living room. It is seriously awesome.

Another First

2012-01-17T14:50:00.001-09:00

After much, much, much (really it was grossing me out) wiggling, Porter finally lost his first tooth. It made me laugh how small it looked on the outside of his mouth. And he was proud. And excited. The tooth fairy made her obligatory visit, although I suspect he already knows that she isn't real and that this is all a game made up by us. It's a fun game though, and he seems willing to play along.

Unfortunately all the excitement has been a little bit diminished by the fact that Porter has some dental issues. He has what is called a shark tooth. It's where the adult tooth came in behind the baby one before it even fell out (hence two rows of teeth). You can see in his proud picture that other tooth back there. (They get a special sticker at school for a lost tooth, and I had to tell Porter he might have some explaining to do) According to our dentist it isn't uncommon, but it presents, in Porter's case at least, a crowding situation. Boring details, but it means that in the spring they are going to have to knock him out and pull out the other three of his bottom front baby teeth. I know it'll be fine, but geez. Poor guy. It's going to be dang hard to eat an apple.

In other news, Molly came running to tell me this morning that "the pink sunshine was falling on the mountains." And indeed it was. It's all in the little things.

Seventeen More Years To Go

2012-01-12T16:28:00.000-09:00

Last summer, when I was mostly on my own with three kids to entertain all day, I looked forward to the start of the school year with a passion. I dreamed of the day when a big chunk of it would be filled with two children, and sometimes only one. I thought this was going to make things sooooooo much easier. And it did. Sort of.

I was very surprised to find that when winter break came around, it was a wonderful, delicious relief to be at home all day with the kids. Part of that had to do with Bryce being around a lot, but also it was most definitely the NOT WAKING UP AT 6:30.

I mean, I've had three babies. I haven't really had a good night's sleep in six years. I have no real problem waking up early. I actually kind of like the mornings. So I figured this to be no big deal. But dragging Porter out of bed every morning at this time is truly awful. No matter how early he goes to bed, he is tired and hates me, and sometimes he even cries when I go to wake him up. He loves school, his teacher, his friends, and even riding the bus. But it is all for nothing if he has to get up that early. He does snap out of it eventually, but our mornings are often colored not so rosy by his tiredness, and it starts our whole day off badly. Plus Molly and Cedar usually wake up then too when they hear the noise, which, you know, makes everything even more awesome. I think that it's really the only reason Molly still naps.

So I am torn. I am happy with how school is going for Porter. And I know they have reasons for starting when they do. But ugh! I wish they could just start two hours later. The other day at dinner, Porter told us he maybe was done going to school. I'm sorry buddy. You've got twelve more years to go.

That makes it seventeen more years that I get to drag kids out of bed. Oy.

As a side note, here is a link to the Chocolate Pie I made on Christmas. It was absolutely lovely, and really very easy to make. I did it with a graham cracker crust, which made it even easier. Just do it. You won't regret it.

Maximum Activity

2012-01-06T10:07:00.000-09:00

I've written a lot about how different Porter and Molly were as babies and toddlers. And now that Molly is getting a bit older and out in the world, the differences are even more striking.

Porter has always been the kid (much like me) who doesn't raise his hand, who looks at the ground when a stranger asks him a question (still, even now), who is a little shy and does best in small groups. Molly, on the other hand, happily volunteers personal information to the grocery checker and the guy walking by on the street, and is that kid who is raising their hand before the teacher is even done asking the question because she just wants to talk, about anything.

Porter does love to get out and do things, but he has always needed a lot of down time at home too. It has been easy not to over schedule him, because he lets me know when he's had enough, and when he just doesn't want to participate anymore. When you ask him if he wants to go somewhere, he thinks hard, and the answer is often no. But with Molly, she is the happiest on the go. If you ask her if she wants to go fishing or to Home Depot or to the doctor to get a shot, the answer is always YES. She enthusiastically begs to participate in everything she's seen Porter do and more. So all of a sudden I found her enrolled in preschool, skiing lessons, swimming lessons and ballet class. All at the same time. She's only three and that seems like a lot! I've always said I wouldn't over schedule my kids, and it seems like I've already done it. Sigh. But she loves it. All of it. So I guess we will just see where it goes.

At least I don't have to cart Cedar around to anything yet. I see my days as a chauffeur approaching quickly.

2012

2012-01-01T13:12:00.001-09:00

I know I am counting my blessings here today. Happy New Year to you and yours!

But seriously folks, my car seat smells like champagne and campfire.

A Merry Christmas To All

2011-12-26T15:30:00.001-09:00

On Christmas Eve, the kids and I made cookies. We left some for Santa, and Porter begged to go to bed, scared that he would be up too late and the big guy would skip our family.

Clearly, Santa also needs a beer by the time he gets to our house.

Bryce and I stayed up in the wee hours assembling a trampoline and a marble run. Also possibly playing Mario Kart tournaments with each other. The kids actually slept the next morning until 8:30, and we all had a lovely Christmas day, just relaxing at home, enjoying new toys and the bit of sunshine that made its way to the Far North.

Cedar was very happy with her gifts of wrapping paper.

We ended the day with a venison pot roast, and a completely over-indulgent chocolate pie.

Life is truly wonderful. Merry Christmas.

Six!

2011-12-23T08:13:00.000-09:00

My baby boy, my first born, turned six yesterday. Just one more example of time flying by I guess. Looking back at pictures of his first five birthdays, I realized that:

1. I never, ever get a decent picture of Porter on his special day.

2. It is really fun now that he has moved past the tantrum/nap/butt wiping stage. We can actually have a real conversation and do new things and relate on somewhat equal level. It is really very amazing to be with someone who is in so many ways just like you, but then also just enough of their own person to keep it interesting.

Happy Birthday P-Man. I love you!

Ghosts of Christmas Past

2011-12-21T16:09:00.001-09:00

In light of Cedar's reaction to Santa, I found myself revisiting the horror I have inflicted on my other children in much the same manner. I still find it very funny. I also find it amazing how big Porter is compared to that picture of him screaming on Santa's lap. This year, he still didn't really want to go near the big guy, but he really wanted to let him know that he wanted a marble run for Christmas. He knew he had to break through the apprehension in order to do so, and he did. He's come a long way!

This time of year, I also often find myself busy and stressed and tired and not enjoying what really is a very fun time of year (Santa notwithstanding). I realized today, with the kids young like this, with their belief in Santa still holding, that this Christmas and the next few will probably be the best ones of my entire life. There really isn't anything better than seeing this season through their eyes. So I'm going to try to chill out and have fun with my family. I am so lucky to have them.

So Long Baby

2011-12-17T22:30:00.000-09:00

Having a baby these days seems to require the retention of many, many pieces of large, plastic containment devices. They do serve a purpose (mainly of letting me shower and sleep), and so we've dutifully stored these items for six years, also acquiring additional plastic pieces every time we acquired a new baby. But now that we are done (DONE) having babies, we get to pass on or otherwise get rid of this mountain of stuff. It's exciting! I am not a stuff person, and I've been waiting for this since Porter was little. Bassinets! Bouncy seats! Swings! Exersaucers! You know. These things are big and awkwardly shaped and ugly. And they end up in your living room and really, really dusty in your garage.

So I put some ads on craigslist and freecycle, and found some old user manuals. And I was happy. And then a really nice pregnant lady came and took the Fisher Price Baby Papasan (3 C batteries, I mean really). And she left. I watched out the window as she put it in her car. And I was sad, I didn't expect it. There goes my last baby.

Did I mention she is eight months old?

Damn you, forward progression of time. I like to get rid of stuff. But I also really like my sweet, sweet baby. And I'm not quite ready yet to give her up.

It's That Time of Year

2011-12-11T13:44:00.001-09:00

The Annual Christmas Torture:

Pigs Don't Smoke

2011-12-09T13:41:00.001-09:00

1. Porter comes home every day from school with a folder containing papers and art work. A couple of weeks ago there was a book mark in there. It had a picture of comic book characters on it, with the slogan "super heroes don't use drugs or alcohol." Porter asked me what it said, and after a few seconds I told him "super heroes love to read!" I felt bad about lying instantly, but it was a total gut reaction. And I was a little annoyed with his teacher for putting me in that situation in the first place.

2. Porter came home from school another day, and I asked him what they learned. He said that the counselor taught them about poisons. Sounded okay to me. In Porter's rendition, one of the lessons involved looking at pictures of pigs' stomachs. He said one was pink and healthy and one was black from all the smoke. I asked him, really, the pig? How did the pig get smoke in its stomach? He looked uncertain.  From cigarettes, I questioned? Yes, he said. Hmmm. Clearly, lesson well learned.

These two things, while really no big deal to Porter, have lingered obnoxiously in the back of my head.  I have no big issue with the anti-drug message in general. Of course I don't want my kids to use drugs and smoke. And I do plan on talking to them about these things. When it makes one lick of sense. Which just isn't now, in kindergarten. While we have talked about smoking, he really doesn't get it. And he wouldn't understand at all about drugs. And, we have alcohol in the house. And we "use" it in front of the kids. And I'm totally okay with that. But it's a confusing message to send to a five year old. One that's hard to explain, and one I don't feel needs explaining right now.

I worry about my kids a lot, and I'm sure I'll worry about them a lot more in a few years. But right now, I'm glad this is one thing we haven't reached yet. And I wish the school would stop making it come all too soon.

A Week In Review

2011-12-01T10:31:00.001-09:00

Wow. It has been crazy around here. And fun. And crazy.

Bryce's sister and her wonderful family came to visit. Porter and Molly were so happy to hang out with "baby Q."

Molly had a birthday party. There was much princess action.

And ladybug cupcakes.

Then it snowed. And snowed. And snowed. And Allison and I ran a 5K on Thanksgiving morning in two feet of the stuff.

Then we came home and ate. And it was good.

We went sledding, and tried to take a Christmas card picture. But someone (who will not be named) was scowling in every one.

Porter went on his first successful deer hunt. Dawson was happy.

And! Today, Molly had her first day of preschool. She's in the big leagues now, and true to her independent nature, did not need me in the least. Get out of here now mom, really, it's embarrassing.

We really did have a great time with Allison, Dan and Hugh. And a great holiday.

Cedar has decided that teething sucks, and sleeping in overrated, but she's happy too.

Looking forward to December and possibly more frequent blogging.

Happy belated Thanksgiving all!

Three!

2011-11-23T16:31:00.001-09:00

May your heart always be joyful

And may your song always be sung

May you stay forever young

Happy Third Birthday to my Molly Joyce.

Still

2011-11-14T14:50:00.003-09:00

Again, life has gotten in the way of me writing anything intelligent or thought out. But!

Cedar is also allergic to the new antibiotics as evidenced by another horrible rash over the weekend. There was more crying and less sleeping and ohmygod this just needs to be over. She is looking much better today, and I'm taking her back in to the doctor to see if she can kick this ear infection.

We woke up today to a blizzard with a foot of snow already on the ground. Unexpected. They closed all the schools, which is a rare occurrence around these parts. SNOW DAY. Porter cried when he woke up, because he wanted to go. He clearly does not get the importance and joy of a snow day yet. But there is still time for that.

I had to rescue Molly twice from being stuck in the snow, once upside down. It must be hard when it comes up to your thighs.

I made a Venison Stew last night. Everyone liked it. I added potatoes and used my own seasoning. Very good on a winter evening.

None the Wiser

2011-11-10T10:23:00.005-09:00

So I had this big, long post in my head about life lessons and babies, but really, I'm just too tired. Instead, the facts:

Bryce went out of town on a hunting trip.
Cedar got very sick.
I took all three kids to the ER on Saturday night.
I got many looks of pity and some of horror.
Molly actually licked that tray they keep the instruments on.
Porter got reprimanded by a doctor for kung fu fighting.
Cedar cried a lot and did not sleep.
Cedar got antibiotics for an ear infection.
Cedar cried some more.
Bryce came home with a deer! Nobody was enthusiastic.
Cedar got a rash all over her body.
Cedar is allergic to penicillin.
Cedar got different antibiotics.

The End. More Soon.

Haunted

2011-11-03T16:08:00.004-08:00

Last weekend, in anticipation of Halloween, we took the kids to the mall (such as it is here) to see the Haunted House. Porter had been asking to go, and we really didn't think about it all that much. I figured it would be a small town, low budget sort of operation that wasn't all that scary. Or long. The kids would love it! Right.

We lined up, and I could tell Porter was a little nervous. He kept dancing around and asking questions. Molly was oblivious though, really having to idea what we were about to do. When our turn came, we walked into the dark (really, pitch black) hallway, where there proceeded to be fake, bloody severed heads and spiders and creepy monsters. It was indeed small town and low budget, but that didn't matter because Molly totally lost it. By the time Bryce picked her up and was trying to talk her down, there was a group of screaming preteen girls behind us, and there was no way to turn around. Molly was truly terrified, and kept screaming things like Papa pleeeeeaaaase I don't want to go in there, noooooooooo. It was awful. He was trying to get her to close her eyes, and she just kept crying and screaming. I felt terrible. We figured the only thing to do was to hurry through it as fast as we could, but the dang thing was like an endless maze of dark corners that felt way longer than the small space it occupied. It took us forever to make it through, with the girls behind us screaming bloody murder at every little thing, which was not helping Molly at all. When we finally made it out into the light of the mall, Molly was red faced and sobbing on Bryce's shoulder. PARENTING FAIL. Have fun everyone waiting in line!

Afterwards, I felt bad for not thinking of Molly and the fact that she is still only two years old. She is so brave and confident physically and socially that I often forget that she has a big imagination and that those kinds of bravery are very different from being scared of the dark. Molly will go down the giant slide and walk up to a group of strangers and start talking. But she is also scared of the monsters under her bed and strange toilets and bugs. She actually peed her pants the other day when Bryce acted like he was going to hand her a moth. I generally think of Porter as my cautious one and Molly as the brave child, but it isn't always true. And it is good to remember.

By the way, Porter loved the haunted house. He did hold my hand, but he loved it.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T09:14:00.004-08:00

Happy Halloween! Love, Indiana Jones and his friends Cat and Frog

Four Down

2011-10-27T16:14:00.003-08:00

It has been another week since my last post. That cold we were passing around has really taken me out. It isn't that the illness itself was that bad, just a nasty cold. But all three of the kids and I got it at the exact same time, more or less. Cedar decided that sleeping while sick was entirely overrated. And if I did manage to get her to sleep for a few hours, one of the other kids was sure to be up with a stuffy nose or a dire need for a glass of water or a peed in bed or some other issue that probably involved bodily functions. And then Cedar cut two teeth. And had to go in for her six month vaccines. So the sleeplessness continues unabated. Last night Bryce even tried to get her to sleep, and at midnight declared it "impossible." And then of course whichever child actually slept well the previous night was up at 6am chipper as hell. Gah. This has been a busy week, but I have spent most of my free time nodding off on the sofa while nursing the baby. After three kids, I know by now that the old adage is true, that this too shall pass. Powers that be, please, please, please let it pass tonight.

Also, in much better news: My dear, beautiful friend Karen had a baby boy yesterday afternoon. Welcome to the world Carter Samuel! As soon as I am not a hotbed of contagion, I absolutely can not wait to snuggle your newborn cuteness. Congratulations all around.

A Pardon

2011-10-20T15:50:00.003-08:00

Postings have been slim this week. The kids and I have been passing around a cold, which has turned into sleepless nights and crusted-shut eyes and one grumpy mom. Winter is hard on those in possession of young children.

But! Our chicken saga continues. Our original goal of only having egg-laying hens took another turn when the Little One (Big White's friend) declared himself most assuredly a rooster. He is a little guy, the outsider, picked on by the other four chickens. Slept by himself in a corner of the coop. And then one morning at a most annoying and dark hour, he starting crowing. And then he just never shut up. Bryce knew what had to be done, but he was putting it off. There wasn't much meat on the bird, and the whole plucking and butchering process didn't quite seem worth it. But it also seemed like a waste to just kill him and throw him away.

Bryce mentioned this dilemma at work, and a coworker of his offered to take the rooster, do the business himself and eat it for dinner. Great! Bryce put the Little One in a box and carted him off the next day. He gave it to this guy (who runs the asphalt plant), and happily went about his day. The next day he asked to see how it went, and it turns out the Little One endeared himself to the guy, and he just couldn't do it. And now, a couple of days later, he has become the asphalt plant pet, wandering free, apparently running up to anyone that comes around, fed all kinds of treats and staying warm next to the equipment. The Little One has found a new home, and is likely happier without those hens pestering him all day. Plus he can crow to his heart's content, and he won't bother anyone. It's kind of a happy story, although I'm not sure he can avoid eagles and truck tires forever. There has been talk of him moving to a horse barn to live out the winter there. So we will see how the Little One manages his last minute pardon.

Also! For those of my fellow Alaskans with salmon in the freezer, I made these homemade salmon fish sticks the other night. They were crispy and easy and my kids loved them. A great way to use up frozen salmon if you're a little sick of it already. I made them a bit thicker and bigger than called for so they wouldn't overcook in the oven. Yum.

Six Months!

2011-10-12T16:21:00.003-08:00

Cedar is half a year old today. This inspired me to look back on photos of Molly and Porter when they were six months old, and the differences were amazing. There is one of Porter where he appears to be sitting up unassisted, and it seems impossible, but I can't figure out how he is propped unseen. In my pictures of Molly, she appears to be crawling, or at least trying very hard. Cedar is nothing like either one of them! She can roll over, but seldom does, she seems happy in one place, with no real desire to move. She is content and happy to just snuggle and watch everything that goes on around her. If you look at her at all, she gives you the biggest smile, every single time. I am grateful that my third baby is turning out to be my easiest, most laid back one of all. At least so far. Happy half birthday babe! We are so happy you're here.

And just for fun, Porter and Molly at the same age. All in hats.

On another note, I made this Potato and Carrot Soup last night. Comfort food, perfect for fall. All ingredients you are likely to have on hand. Delish!

Cousins...

2011-10-10T13:44:00.002-08:00

Giggle in bed. And jump on the couch. And chase chickens. And dance in the kitchen.

They also fight to the death over every last toy in the house.

And get really annoyed when you try to take their picture.

But we had a great week! Thanks to Caitlin and Ava for making the trek to the Far North and sharing good food and big laughs.

Lemon Pound Cake

2011-09-30T16:53:00.003-08:00

My generous neighbor recently traveled to California, and upon her return gifted me with several home grown Meyer lemons. After some consideration, I made Lemon Pound Cake. The lemons (I also used twice the amount of juice and zest) really made a difference. I also baked it in loaf pans for ease, and it came out moist and lemony and delicious. I would have taken a picture, but we ate it all up. Yum.

In other news, my sister and niece arrive here from down south tomorrow afternoon. We are really looking forward to a (somewhat) relaxing visit! I figure the ratio of kids to adults is better at 4:2 than 3:1 any day. I can't wait.

Laundry & Challah

2011-09-26T14:41:00.004-08:00

I know that this likely is the most boring post in this history of ever, but here it is. Laundry. This is one thing I just seem to totally suck at. I mean, I do it. All the time. But all of the kids' clothes seem to be covered in stains two weeks after I buy them, and my whites get dingy and colors fade and it never seems to smell that good. Gah. Bryce has a sensitive skin issue, so I don't like buying anything scented. Plus I figure babies and kids don't need lavender fresh mountain breeze artificial smells on them either. So I usually end up buying organic, awesome free and clear stuff, but honestly, it doesn't work that well. And it's expensive.

I've been meaning to try making my own laundry detergent forever, and always thought it would be a pain in the neck. But? It actually is embarrassingly easy. There are a million recipes out there on the web, but they're all pretty similar. I made a small batch this first time, but I'll probably make a huge tub soon. I used:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 bar Fels Naptha laundry soap, grated

I found all this stuff at the grocery store. You can really use lots of different kinds of soap too, I think I'll use Ivory next time. Upon inspection of old detergent bottles, these things seem to be the basic ingredients in commercial laundry soap, along with a few other mystery items. You mix it together and use a heaping tablespoon per wash. Super, super cheap. And so far, so good. My clothes smell fresh from the dryer, and although I haven't had any epic diaper blow-outs or grass stains yet, it seems to be working well.

I made this batch plain to try it out. But the best part for me is that you can add a few drops of essential oil to the mix to get a fragrance. I am guessing that this will be okay for Bryce and the kids, and then I will actually get good smelling laundry for the first time in years. So, for me, it's really not about being green or saving money (although that is a bonus), but just getting what I want instead of a lot of what I don't.

Also! I made bread this weekend. It had been a long time. I used this recipe for Challah as I am always trying to use more eggs these days, and it turned out delicious. I need to work on my braiding technique, but this link has some very nice instructions for the six stranded braid. Really, really awesome toast.

The Cuteness

2011-09-19T10:08:00.005-08:00

Not Enough Arms

2011-09-15T21:38:00.004-08:00

When I was pregnant with Cedar, I knew that having three kids was going to be harder than having just two. I knew that Bryce and I would be outnumbered, and that I was not going to get much time to spend alone with anyone. Someone always has to come first. Which means someone else is coming last. This week I have found it very difficult to find the right balance, and I feel like Porter is really getting the short end of the stick. Parenting guilt is high.

Porter had his last soccer game of the season on Saturday, and his team was having a party at the local pizza joint afterwards. But Bryce is out of town, and by the time the game was over, it was nap time, the girls were losing it, I forgot the Ergo, and I just didn't see how we could do it without 1500 major meltdowns. So I told him I thought the party was just for coaches, and we went home. Then on Tuesday he had his first martial arts class, something he was excited about. I really wanted to stay and watch, but Molly peed her pants while sitting on one of their super clean no shoes allowed mats, then threw a tantrum when I tried to remove her, so we had to sit in the car. Porter had a great time, but I missed it. Then on Thursday we had back to school night (again, no Bryce), and I was so distracted by Molly running off into giant crowds that it was hard to focus on everything Porter wanted to show me. And that day he told me that he "felt left out of our family." Awesome.

I know he just needs a little more attention. And that he's tired and grumpy from being in school. And that it's extra hard when Bryce isn't here to share any of this evening stuff. But still. I feel so bad for him. He really just wants to hang out with me, but it's always a poopy diaper or a two year old tantrum that comes before drinking hot chocolate and talking about Legos.

So today when I picked him up from school I left the girls in the car (happy and amused at the time), and spent a few minutes talking to his teacher and letting him show me a few things in his classroom. It was nice. And then we got out to the car, and Cedar was red faced and screaming with big, fat tears rolling down her face. And Molly had started in with the sympathy crying. And they all cried the whole way home. Sigh.

A friend of mine who has three kids herself (slightly older than mine) told me it only gets worse. That I will feel really guilty about short changing the middle one later on. So I suppose this is all just life. Good moments and bad. And that the gift of siblings will make up for it all in the end. And that Porter won't end up in therapy just because we didn't eat pizza one day when he was five. At least I sure hope so.

Breakfast of Champions

2011-09-12T12:41:00.003-08:00

Roasted peppers stuffed with fresh eggs, cheese and tomatoes.

Also, my kids ate frozen waffles.
But at least I was happy.

One Season Down

2011-09-10T14:01:00.004-08:00

Today was Porter's last soccer game of the season. It was a beautiful fall day, full of blue sky and energy. Porter had a great coach, and a lot of nice kids on his team. This was our first foray into team sports, and we all had fun figuring things out (note to self: juice boxes seem mandatory as part of the post game snack). But I have to say I'm pretty relieved that it's all over. Chasing Molly around the soccer field twice a week was getting stale, and it's hard for me to even watch Porter while making sure she doesn't run into traffic or make an appearance in the game (sorry about that today). I also can't exactly tell how Porter feels about the whole experience. He gladly attended all events, seemed to have fun out there, and even asked to play again next year. But he also didn't seem that into it, you know? He doesn't really have an aggressive bone in his body, and tends to be the kid doing cartwheels while the ball rolls right past him. He told me one day that it was really fun when you got to kick the ball, but that he hardly ever got to do it. And it's true. It is certainly not surprising, given who his parents are, that team sports (or sports in general) may not exactly be Porter's forte. But it is also true that he is five years old. And the verdict is probably still out on his athletic ability. So, I am one season down in my career as a soccer mom. We'll see how many more I last.

Weekend

2011-09-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

We had a fun and busy weekend here with Grandma Allison! The kids got spoiled by all the attention and stickers, and we managed to get outside a little despite the less than stellar weather.

We also finally said goodbye to Big White. She was a nice chicken, but far, far too large for her own good. In fact, it really was amazing just how big that chicken was. We had friends over on Saturday and roasted her up. Then the next day we had chicken pot pie, and the next day chicken soup. Both with enough leftovers for lunches. For everyone. That is five meals from one chicken. That's a lot of meat. It made us think harder about raising meat birds, but that will have to wait until next year. We are also suspecting that the Little One, the bantam, may be a rooster. So he may not have a flock of his own for long.

Kindergarten!

2011-08-30T11:53:00.005-08:00

I feel like Porter and I have been waiting for kindergarten to start for years now, and here it is, finally upon us. He has been watching the school bus drive past our house for years too, and insisted that he ride it the first day, even though I tried to convince him to let me drive. So we all walked down to the bus stop and waited with the big kids. He looked pretty nervous looking around at all these kids we didn't know. And then the bus came and I saw him get on. The bus driver asked him his name, and I saw that he couldn't understand Porter's mumbling. Then I saw him creep down the aisle of a very crowded bus, trying to find a seat in a sea of unfamiliar faces. There he was, my first baby, reliving that uncomfortable moment from my childhood. All alone. Gulp.

Luckily, that was by far the hardest part of the day for all of us. The girls and I followed the school bus in my car (I know, I know). And by the time we parked and found Porter in his classroom, all was right with his world. He had found some friends, and was beyond thrilled with his new teacher, the school and all the new big kid stuff that was now his to know. I could barely get him to talk to me. So I lingered, unneeded, for a few minutes, and then left to go back to my quiet house.

He was just as excited when I picked him up (kindergartners can't ride the bus home), and although he was exhausted, he was ready for another day at school. Molly and I baked cookies and watched Strawberry Shortcake this morning. And we are looking forward to hearing all about the second day.

and a big yellow bus took my baby away

2011-08-29T09:08:00.002-08:00

more later.

Rain

2011-08-25T15:08:00.003-08:00

We've had a lot of rain here lately. A lot, even for our neck of the woods. The kind of rain that cancels soccer games and keeps everyone inside for days on end.

Today we got what felt like one last reprieve before school starts, and we spent the morning in the sun. It felt good.

Moving On

2011-08-22T13:04:00.002-08:00

Porter starts kindergarten a week from today. We are all very excited, a little bit nervous, and so ready to be moving on to the next phase of life for him. We survived the summer, and it has actually gone a lot faster and smoother than I thought it would.

Molly has potty trained herself, which seems to me a miracle. Porter required sticker charts and M&Ms and months of accidents, and yuck, I didn't want to relive that. We had a couple of false starts with her, and I had pretty much given up out of laziness. And then one day she told me she wanted to wear underwear, and that was it. She's had a few accidents, but nothing horrible. And she does everything herself. Big sigh of relief. She will go to nursery school again this fall, and probably preschool after she turns three in November. Moving on!

Last night for dinner we had Zucchini Chicken Lasagna. I didn't have high hopes for this other than using up our garden bounty, but everyone loved it. Porter did pick out the zucchini, but he ate the rest, and Molly and Bryce had seconds. It also comes together quickly.

Zucchini Chicken Lasagna
adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe

8 ounces Neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese), room temperature
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 medium zucchini (or more)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
12 no boil lasagna noodles
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken (I baked 2 chicken breasts)
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish.

In a small bowl, stir together the Neufchatel and ricotta, and season with salt and pepper. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise, then thinly crosswise. In another bowl, combine zucchini, garlic, and oregano, and season with salt and pepper.

Spread 1/3 zucchini mixture in baking dish, top with 4 lasagna noodles, then 1/3 ricotta mixture, some mozzarella, then half the chicken. Repeat layers once. Then top with zucchini, noodles, ricotta and cover nicely with mozzarella.

Cover baking dish with foil and bake until bubbly and noodles are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove foil, bake until golden brown, 10-15 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

When I Am Big

2011-08-17T15:19:00.004-08:00

I was talking to Molly the other night, and she had something important to tell me:

When I get big, I am going to drink beers and have a baby in my belly.

Lord help me, let this not come true for at least 20 years. And preferably more. And let these two things not happen together. Thank you.

Eggs!

2011-08-16T09:22:00.004-08:00

I keep forgetting to mention that our chickens finally started laying eggs. What a treat! As long as I keep them shut in the coop for the first part of the day, they lay in their nest boxes where they should, and they are so noisy afterwards that I can sort of tell when to go out and gather. The eggs are absolutely delicious, and we are averaging about 3 a day right now. We've even gotten a bunch of double yolked eggs, which is a trend that I'm hoping continues. Although we are eating a lot of fried eggs right now, I'm seeing how we will quickly get overwhelmed, so I've been on the look out for recipes that use up a bounty. I've got this Coconut Cream Pound Cake in the oven right now, and it smells heavenly. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I also got around to picking our raspberries and making a batch of jam. Raspberry jam is the preferred PB&J ingredient around here, and I got about 5 jars out of this batch. I'm hoping it lasts us through the winter, although I sort of suspect it will not. In either case, Molly and I ate a bowl of it with a spoon, warm out of the pot. Life is sweet.

Halibut & Sausage

2011-08-13T13:55:00.002-08:00

We've been knee deep in fish lately. The boys have been pretty happy about it. But if you are looking for some land based comfort food, you've really gotta try this Potato Spinach Sausage Casserole. I almost licked the pan clean. You can mess around with the ingredients quite a bit, but the vinegar and the greens in the mashed potatoes are vital. I used Dubliner cheese, left the peels on my Yukon Gold potatoes and used a whole lot of chard from my garden, and it turned out great.

Have a great weeekend.

Smoked Salmon

2011-08-10T09:17:00.004-08:00

Bryce has been a busy fisherman this summer (with what time he has anyway), and the salmon have been jumping into our boat. I've been smoking a lot of the catch, and experimenting with different recipes. I think my favorite smoked salmon is still pretty basic, brining in brown sugar, salt and soy sauce. It is beautiful.

And last night, I think I found my favorite smoked salmon pasta recipe yet. I fooled around with it a bit, adding broccoli and increasing the amounts of just about everything. I thought it came out just right, with a hint of creaminess, but not an overpowering sauce. My kids loved it, and so did we.

And finally, to pander to my audience a bit as well...

And we will kill the old red rooster when she comes

2011-08-03T14:28:00.004-08:00

My parents came to visit last weekend. It was short, but we packed a lot into a few days.

Along with the usual child wrangling and scenery viewing, there was a lot of fishing and seafood to be had.

And their time here just happened to coincide with the end of patience for our break of dawn crowing rooster. Bryce took matters into his own hands, and the whole process proved to be less dramatic, noisy and difficult than we had imagined. The kids watched the whole thing, and didn't seem upset, although Porter did tell me afterwards that he felt a little sad about the chicken. I told him I did too, and that was okay.

We cleaned him up, and made a fantastic rooster stew that very night. Despite rumors to the contrary, we found rooster meat to be delicious. I think the hens might be wondering what happened to their leader, but the vibe in the coop is decidedly more mellow.

We are trying to catch up on rest, cleaning and other vital chores now, but we all had a great time. And no one even had to sleep with grandma or wear red pajamas.

And That Is Why I Never Get Anything Done

2011-07-28T13:41:00.003-08:00

Yesterday I had washed some sheets and was attempting to make a bed. Cedar was quietly sitting in the bouncy seat watching. Porter walked in, tripped over the seat and scared the baby, who started screaming. More screaming, and she decided the only way to calm down was by nursing. So I put down the sheets and took her out into the living room to feed her. This took about 15 minutes, and when we finished, I realized Molly had been in the bathroom for too long. Too long for it to be anything but trouble. I took the baby upstairs, set her on the hallway floor, and opened the bathroom door. I found that Molly had used my entire bottle of expensive face lotion to "wash" her hair, her clothes (that were still on her body), and pretty much the entire bathroom. Good Lord. So I put Molly in the shower, cleaned up the bathroom, and got kind of mad. By that time, the baby was not happy to be on the floor and was screaming again. I picked her up, and Porter informed me that he was hungry. Looking at the clock, I confirmed, yes, it was time to make lunch. Baby in the Ergo, sandwiches made. And the baby is hungry again. As I went back to the couch to nurse her, I walked past the bed. Still unmade two hours later.

But at least Molly's hair is really, really shiny.

Birds of a Feather

2011-07-26T14:47:00.003-08:00

When we ordered our first batch of chickens, we did some research and selected the breeds so that they would be good egg layers, friendly to children and tolerant to cold. But then we ended up with these two extra chicks from a school classroom that had hatched eggs and couldn't raise the chickens afterwards. No one knew what breed of chickens they were, and we are certainly no experts. As they grew, we laughed at the fact that one of them was so small and one so big, compared to our other selected chickens. When the big white one started having trouble walking and didn't seem motivated to forage in the yard with the others, we started googling chicken breeds and came to the conclusion that this was a Cornish Cross. These are the typical chickens that are raised on big farms, the kind of meat you buy at the grocery store. They were bred to get big way too fast and to have less feathers for plucking. So they end up with lots of health problems and really aren't meant to live long or lay eggs. So our first chicken slaughter is coming up sooner than we expected. This chicken should make for a tasty meal, but I am feeling sorry for its little partner (which we think is a Bantam, a mini-chicken). When the newcomers were introduced to the coop, the other, older chickens shunned them. They sleep in a corner and don't socialize at all with the original hens. It's okay now, because they have each other, but I'm just hoping that once Big White is gone, the Little One will find her place. I know it's kind of silly to feel so sentimental for a chicken, but I can't help it. I'm rather fond of them.

On the same note, our formerly suspected rooster is now most definitely so. A couple of days ago, we heard his first crow, and this morning he hollered all through our breakfast. So he's got to go as well. Looks like we have more than one chicken dinner in our future.

We've also been harvesting from the garden. I noticed our spinach trying to go to seed last week, so Porter and I picked the lot of it. Four pounds! We just now managed to polish it off, I'm lucky that the kids will eat it too.

Sour Cherries

2011-07-21T14:14:00.003-08:00

I have always been a big fan of sweet cherries, there is nothing that says summer more than a big bowl of beautiful cherries in my opinion. But only in the past couple of years have I come to appreciate sour cherries and the awesome summer-ness that they hold. We have a sour cherry tree in our yard that is doing quite well again this year, and we picked our first bunch of fruit yesterday. I don't have much time for baking these days, but I made a Sour Cherry Coffee Cake. Wow! Yum. You get a bit of that cherry pie taste, but with one third of the effort. I didn't have quite enough cherries, and next time I might even add more than the recipe calls for. Because they are the definite star of the show. I'm really the only one here in my house that likes this sort of thing, and it's already half gone.

I'm excited to see what else we can cook up with the rest of the harvest.

Who Wants to Read a Bunch of Words Anyway

2011-07-20T15:06:00.005-08:00

I have this big, long post about discipline festering in my head, and had a goal of finally writing it out today. But after a morning of very disappointing behavior and equally disappointing parenting, I've given up. Instead, I've decided to pretend that everyone is happy and post pictures from our weekend.

There were fish caught, whales seen bubble feeding, many boat rides, rainbows, and very tired kids.

I do not have the right kind of camera lens for whale watching, but this was actually really amazing to see. A big pod of humpback whales gets together and creates a round wall of bubbles that traps all the small fish inside, which they can then easily gobble up. You get a great show, even from the surface, of whales coming up again and again in this perfect circle. Porter, however, was unimpressed. Whales? Seen 'em before. I hate to think that my kids are going to become immune to this sort of display. I'm hoping that when they get a little older and really understand what is going on, that the whole thing will be more spectacular. I think it will.

Books

2011-07-15T15:41:00.003-08:00

Porter is very fond of making books. They have been evolving over the past year. But now that he can operate a stapler reliably, he can do almost the whole thing himself. Sometimes he draws the pictures, then tells me the story and has me write in the words. Sometimes he asks me how to spell it and writes it himself. And sometimes he copies words from books that he is familiar with. Like this one I found yesterday. It took me awhile.

Smash it. Of course. He was very proud that I wanted to take a picture of his construction book. Meanwhile, Molly once again uses up all of my tape.

Have a good weekend!

The Heat

2011-07-13T15:29:00.004-08:00

We've had a nice weather streak here in the Far North. My thermometer read 83 yesterday, and that's about as hot as it ever gets here. It's funny because I know that 83 degrees really isn't that hot, but here it is. I went out to water the garden (which is not a strenuous activity), and came back beet faced and drenched in sweat. We are all sunburned and tired, but when it is sunny and warm here you just feel like you have to go, go, GO frolic outside NOW before the sun sets forever.

We've spent the past four days at various beaches, and it has been wonderful. The kids love it, and they swam in the ocean and investigated tide pools and built sand castles with friends. Cedar mostly slept, which made things easy for me. But we're a little beat now, and I have a mountain of damp, sandy laundry on the bathroom floor along with another mountain of sand and granola bar wrappers in my car. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain, and I'll be just a little relieved to catch up.

I'm Cooking: I am! I am cooking! I keep meaning to blog about it too. Our garden has been producing this summer, and we've been eating well. We had a simple and tasty chicken and chard stir fry the other night. And oven roasted kohlrabi, which might be the only way I will cook it from now on. And lots and lots of salad. We are days away from the zucchini glut, and the peas and broccoli are well on their way too. Bryce hasn't had a lot of time to fish so far, but did come home with a couple of pink salmon last weekend which I smoked, and made Smoked Salmon Lasagna with. Good stuff. We are almost in berry season too, so I hope to be talking much more about food very soon.

Three Months Down

2011-07-12T14:43:00.003-08:00

Cedar is three months old today. I knew this would go fast. I knew that the third time around, there would be no anxious anticipation of milestones or long days spent holding a sleeping baby. I knew that I wouldn't have time to meticulously fill out a baby book or scour the internet for the perfect swaddling blanket. I knew life would go on pretty much as it had been, just with one more person involved. But seriously? This kid is going to be off to college before I catch my breath. Happy three months baby girl! I did at least manage to take a picture.

The Fourth

2011-07-08T15:09:00.003-08:00

Our fun weekend of visitors also included the local Fourth of July celebration, which turned out to be fun for everyone. The fireworks display here in the Far North has to be held at midnight on the third of July in order to achieve the needed level of darkness, so I declined to tell my children that it was even happening. They would have loved it, and I felt a little bad. But there is just no way I personally wanted to stay up that late, and really no way that anyone would have made it in any kind of a decent mood. The next day though we made it to the parade, about which Bryce's uncle said that he'd never seen such an enthusiastic parade anywhere else before. We may not be fancy, but we sure are into it up here I guess. The kids had a great time. We ate hot dogs and drank lemonade, and Porter got to enter his first ever soap box car derby. It was hilarious. He borrowed a car this year, but this kind of project is right up Bryce's alley, and I think we'll have a contender in 2012.

Visitors

2011-07-06T13:50:00.004-08:00

We live in an out of the way sort of place. There are no roads that take you anywhere (other than the end), and we are definitely not on the way to anything. That said, we had some family arrive this weekend that were actually visiting us on the way to somewhere else. They are passing through on a massive road trip around Canada and Alaska, and came in on the ferry. We had a lot of fun checking out the tourist scene and hanging out. The weather wasn't the best, but we managed to get out on the boat and play outside anyway.

24 Hours in Blurry iPhone Photos

2011-06-29T12:31:00.003-08:00

Molly meets a rusty nail. Don't worry, she is fine.

A porcupine visits the treehouse. But does not go down the zip line.

Chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Declared the goodest cookies in the universe.

Baby falls asleep in my arms.

The end.

First With Five

2011-06-27T12:49:00.003-08:00

This weekend we ventured out of our comfort zone and had a couple of firsts as a family of five. On Saturday we went out to eat for the first time since Cedar was born, where kids outnumbered adults. It wasn't exactly relaxing or fun, but it wasn't horrible either. We even had a nice 15 minutes or so at the beginning with all the kids behaving nicely and being quiet, where we could chat and think highly of ourselves for handling it all so well. And then I had to go on a 10 minute walk with the baby to keep her from crying. And Molly lost her ability to sit in her seat or even be a human being, so Bryce had to exit the scene early and let her run around outside. But we all got to eat, albeit quickly. And we are lucky that Porter is old enough to just sit and color and not be difficult at restaurants anymore for the most part. I don't really think it was worth the money, but I also don't think we drove anyone else crazy. So I'd call it a success.

On Sunday I left Bryce at home with all three kids for several hours, right at Cedar's fussy time of day. I wouldn't exactly call that one a success as the report is she wouldn't take the bottle and cried pretty much the whole time. To his credit though, I received no phone calls or texts, and had a fabulous time getting out of the house unencumbered. And nobody starved or needs therapy. Yet.

Because It Is Easier

2011-06-24T06:45:00.003-08:00

To post pictures than type one handed.

Sunday Dinner

2011-06-21T16:01:00.003-08:00

Grilled King Salmon marinated in spruce tip syrup and soy sauce (thanks Jennifer for the inspiration), green salad straight from the garden, and buttermilk biscuits.

Also Porter's personal favorite, chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter chocolate frosting.

Happy belated Father's Day to my two favorite dads!

Pasta

2011-06-16T14:13:00.006-08:00

Last night I made a new dish, Lemon Penne with Arugula. Wow, it was great! A nice, filling meatless dish. It's very lemony and you have to be a fan of arugula, but Bryce and I loved it. I can't say as much for the kids, but they picked the pasta out from between the vegetables anyway. I took a few short cuts to make for less dirty dishes, but followed the recipe closely. Yum. It felt good to try something new.

Later that evening, I was sitting on the couch. Nursing the baby and trying to clip Porter's toenails at the same time. And then Molly climbed on my shoulders, and I thought, yes, this is my life. New recipes notwithstanding.

Lazy Rainy Day

2011-06-14T16:02:00.003-08:00

It is really pouring here today, as opposed to the usual drizzly wetness. So despite having plans to get outside, we stayed in and hung out in pajamas until a very late hour. We also made thumbprint cookies. Very easy, although my kids don't actually like to eat them very much, they just like to make them. Looks like I will be eating way too many cookies!

I also tried a new recipe the other day, Risi e Bisi. Really simple rice dish with ham and peas. Super kid friendly, mine loved it. I used a lot of ham and peas. Thanks Deb for the link!

One and the Same

2011-06-09T15:16:00.004-08:00

Cedar is about eight weeks old now. I think she's starting to come into her "look"- less like a newborn and more like a baby. People keep asking me and making guesses as to who she most resembles, Molly or Porter. I'm really not sure. I think they all look an awful lot alike at this stage. What do you think? That's Cedar first, then Porter, then Molly, all at about the same age.

Time will tell!

June

2011-06-08T14:23:00.004-08:00

June. This is definitely summer and we are in the thick of it. I have to admit that I haven't really been looking forward to this time like I usually do, sort of thinking that I will just have to survive by myself with three kids and no husband and no school. But it really hasn't been so bad. I'm tired and I wish that I had a little time to myself, but really, I'm pretty sure I felt like that last summer too. Cedar is fairly good at putting up with a daily routine of being shuttled from car seat to front carrier to boob and back again. I feel a little bad that I don't get a whole lot of time to just hang out with her (or put her down for any kind of stationary nap), but I think that is probably the lot of third children in general. The weather has been good so far, and friends have been plentiful.

Porter is in an art day camp this week, which has been great for him. And me too. This is the first time I've ever really left him with complete strangers for hours at a time. Preschool was different, with this camp I really have no clue what he does while I'm gone or if the teachers are nice or if he participates at all. Porter is a shy kid at first and has a hard time warming up to new situations, but he's handled this well. It's a good warm up for kindergarten in the fall. Plus it gives me time to go to Costco with only two.

We also finally managed to pick some spruce tips before they all grew too big.

I made spruce tip syrup this time. It was easy. It turned out a bit thin for pancakes, but I've been using it to sweeten my tea in the morning, and it is perfect for that. I put sugar in my tea anyway, and now it just has a little zing and vitamin C.

I'm looking forward to more good weather, the berry season, and maybe, just maybe, a little more sleep.

Hi Baby

2011-06-04T10:53:00.002-08:00

My smallest baby, the one born with the skinny legs and delicate features, is really starting to chunk up. She's officially well over 11 pounds now, and pretty happy about it.

Homemade Slip and Slide

2011-06-02T14:40:00.004-08:00

Apparently not a concept easily grasped...

Rooster in the Hen House

2011-05-27T15:12:00.003-08:00

I am becoming suspicious that one of our "hens" is actually a rooster. They are still young though, and I am a novice chicken raiser. So we are waiting to hear a crow, and then there will be four.

But! We procured two more baby chicks from a kindergarten classroom last week. I don't know what breed they are, but it will be fun to add a couple more to the flock.

Fear

2011-05-26T14:07:00.004-08:00

I think I've written posts before about my cautious first born. He's always been hesitant to try new things, to go too fast or too high or too far. But he's also a little boy. A couple of days ago, I heard him yelling and talking to himself outside, and I thought I should see what he was up to. And I found him here:

I don't know if you can tell, but that's a pretty tall tree! Now that he's figured out he's capable, I can't keep him on the ground. He will try to climb just about any tree he can reach, and get as far up as possible. It scares me a little bit, but I'm not about to tell him he can't climb trees. And he's having a grand old time. I'm proud of him.

On the other hand, my second born has never been hesitant about going too high or too fast or too far. She scares me half to death all the time. The other night Bryce was working on his motorcycle in the garage, and Molly fell in love. The sight of her manic eyes as she screamed in glee (with no pants nonetheless) gave me an even scarier vision of my future. Maybe we'll just keep her away from motorcycles.

Hanging Out

2011-05-23T16:23:00.001-08:00

Into the Swing of Summer

2011-05-19T15:11:00.006-08:00

Bryce is back to work seven days a week and long into the evening now. School is over for us, and although summer is a great time here to lounge on the beach and walk in the woods, we also need a schedule of sorts or we all go crazy. I will admit it's been hard so far with Cedar in tow. Everything seems to take five times as long. Getting in and out of the car really tests my patience. And after a month long hiatus (thanks to my mom and lovely, lovely friends) I've had to start cooking again. I hate to say it like that because I love cooking. But Cedar would prefer to just sit on the couch and nurse constantly from the hours of about five until ten at night. Which I wouldn't mind doing if I didn't have two other kids and we didn't have to eat (or bathe or get to bed). So I've been doing a lot of easy meals, and meals that I can do most of the prep for in the afternoon. It hasn't been horrible, but I'm always looking for new ideas. I did try a new coleslaw recipe the other day that was pretty good, something a little different. And on Bryce's birthday I made another North Douglas Chocolate Cake. It turned out just as good as the first time! Yum.

And speaking of lovely friends, I received this from my wonderfully talented friend Amy after Cedar was born. This picture doesn't do it justice at all, but it is my new favorite thing. The kids love it too, an egg for each of them. I get compliments every time I wear it. Thanks Amy!

The First Harvest of Spring

2011-05-16T14:42:00.004-08:00

The spring plants are late in coming out of hiding this year, despite some recently gorgeous weather. However, one day in the pouring rain, Molly and I picked a bucket full of fiddleheads. These are just the curled up buds of newly emerging ferns that grow plentiful here in the Far North (and lots of other places too). There are several different varieties of ferns here, and you can eat all but one (of which I'm fairly certain there are none around our house).

Fiddleheads are easy, you just rub off the brown coating that coats some of the ferns. Then I blanched them in boiling water for a couple of minutes and sauteed them in butter and garlic and a little lemon juice. They taste earthy and a lot like asparagus - fantastic. Even Porter ate some. A very tasty little Alaskan side dish, even if we did have them next to sloppy joes.

I can't take credit for this photo, but ours looked quite similar...

We all enjoyed our sun filled weekend here too. Cedar went on her first boat ride, which she promptly slept, nursed and pooped through, rather unimpressed. The kids also got to visit our small town Alaskan version of a farm, with goats, chickens and horses. Which they even got to ride. I think Porter was a little more unsure than Molly.

Our weather streak continues today, which also happens to be Porter's last day of preschool EVER. Although I will certainly be back there for many years to come, it was sad to see Porter moving on. He has grown up so much in the past two years with two of the best teachers in the world, and we have so many great memories. So even though Porter really didn't seem to see it as a sad thing, I got a little teary as we left to get in our car. So long preschool and welcome summer time.

One Month

2011-05-13T09:46:00.004-08:00

Cedar turned one month old yesterday. The time really is going by even faster the third go around. Despite some bad parenting moments in the past couple of days (only involving the older two and lots of yelling), I'm kind of feeling like we are going to survive.

Molly and I tried to weigh Cedar with my kitchen scale, and after much dissatisfaction, discovered that the scale doesn't work with items that heavy. But I think she's around nine or ten pounds. After a slow start, she's growing quickly now that she's into the groove.

And I just had to include these, because they made me laugh. Even though it sometimes feels like it, life isn't all yelling around here.

Two

2011-05-09T14:52:00.002-08:00

Happy Mother's Day! We had a lovely weekend here full of good weather. The kids even put on swim suits and ran in the sprinkler (well, we don't have a sprinkler, that's Bryce with the hose, but still). I'm not saying it was really warm enough out for that, but they had a blast anyway.

I am still adjusting to life with three. Some days are good and I bask in my ability to cope. And then some days are so awful I feel like I spent the whole time sending the kids to their rooms and trying desperately to get the baby to sleep. I'm having an especially hard time with Molly, and I'm not sure if it's just worse since I have far less patience and time to deal with her. Or if she is acting out more from all the changes around here. Sometimes I feel like life is just one big tantrum and the total lack of listening is enough to drive me nuts. She also has no fear of consequences of any kind, and is therefore also very tough to discipline. Her latest antic, which is not only misbehavior but also dangerous, is waiting until I start nursing the baby and then running outside by herself. She is usually barefoot, and I suspect won't get far. But it's just a matter of time before she runs out in the road or tries to go down the zip line, and she just can not be trusted out there. Plus Bryce found her picking up one of the chickens by the head yesterday. We've had so many battles and time outs over this issue, but it has made zero difference. So I'm going to move on to child proof locks. I know that she's two, and that this is just a phase (made extra fun by her willful personality), but I really, really hope that this time is fairly short lived.

Life Continues

2011-05-04T14:35:00.004-08:00

The chickens are now living outside full time. They were entertaining in the living room, but they seem to enjoy having more space, eating table scraps and getting harassed by Molly on a daily basis. Boating season is upon us once again, and we've enjoyed some fresh Dungeness crab in the past few weeks. Cedar is waking up more, especially at night (sigh). But she's awfully cute, and is stealing the heart of even Porter, who swore he wanted a brother. Molly has always had a thing for babies though, and today she tried to comfort ours by picking her up when she was crying (while I turned around to help Porter for one minute). I knew it would happen, and she actually did a passable job. But it still scared me half to death. Three of them. Keeps me on my toes.

April 12, 2011

2011-05-02T14:12:00.003-08:00

I was 39 weeks pregnant, and my midwife was coming to the house for a regularly scheduled appointment. I was huge and uncomfortable and sick of being pregnant (like everyone at this stage), and she said she could try and start my labor if I wanted. I didn't want to get my hopes up too much yet, as I had gone to bed every night for the past three weeks thinking this could be it. And then I'd wake up in the morning, still huge and uncomfortable.

So she came and she worked her magic, involving a membrane stripping and some herbs. She stayed a little while, but nothing was happening. Almost immediately after she left though, the contractions started. And I have to admit that my first thought was oh crap, this again, I remember this. There is some kind of crazy labor and childbirth amnesia that makes you willing to go through it all more than once, but the (not so) fond memories sure came rushing back.

My mom and the kids were here, but I hesitated on calling the midwife back and having Bryce come home from work. I didn't want to raise false alarms. And honestly, I didn't really want anyone sitting around staring at me. The contractions weren't horrible yet, but I was having to go into another (quiet, dark) room to deal with them. When the contractions were about 5 minutes apart, my mom told me that I really should start calling people. And I'm glad she did!

Things seemed to happen quickly from that point on. Debbie and Abbey and Bryce showed up. We moved up to the bedroom and they started getting things ready. The contractions were getting very painful and intense, and I was beginning to feel desperate. In reality, only about an hour had gone by since I made the phone calls, but to me it felt like an eternity. Childbirth, no matter where and how you do it, is hard work. Painful work. I knew everything was okay, but man, did I ever want it to be over. Abbey checked me and said I was almost fully dilated. Standing and walking around was feeling much better to me than anything else, and somehow I ended up then standing over the one section of my bedroom floor that hadn't been protected with plastic and sheets. And then my water broke. The next contraction came, and I could tell this was it. The baby was coming, but I was too much beyond words to let anyone know. I just knew that I most definitely did not want to do this anymore, so I pushed as hard as I could. No one expected the baby to come so fast, but luckily Debbie was there to catch. She came out all at once while I was standing next to the bed. Her birth was of the baby just fell right out variety. Bryce was expecting to hear something like oh there's the head, so he wasn't even looking. He told me later that all of a sudden there was a baby in the room, and it didn't even seem real. I heard her cry one little cry, and I knew that it was over and that it was all going to be okay after all. The relief is hard to describe, but it was enormous.

After that moment, it was all very peaceful. People were cleaning, kids and dogs were running around, my mom was cooking a meatloaf, but I didn't notice any of that. I got to hold our baby girl in my own bed, surrounded by friends and family. I had my bath and my food just when I wanted them. All the mess of the delivery was gone by the time I even thought to look. It was as if the new baby just slipped into our lives, instead of being an event that occurred somewhere else and required introduction. Everything had gone so smoothly and quickly and really just like I thought it would. I wouldn't say it was easy, but it was perfect.

Happy

2011-04-27T14:21:00.004-08:00

I have been slowly entering into the state of new mom sleep deprived zombie. Despite Cedar's best efforts, she is in fact a newborn and does not necessarily respect the rules about sleeping at night. Bryce asked me this morning (as I nursed the baby in bed at 4am) if I was going psycho yet. I had to think about it. But even though my mom leaves tomorrow and I'm sort of in denial, we are happy. Happy to be together. And not psycho quite yet.

Three Kids, No Time

2011-04-20T14:09:00.003-08:00

I keep thinking I am going to sit down and write about Cedar's birth before I forget all the details. And I will. But it has been hard to find the time between three kids that all need my attention more than ever these days. I've been really wondering how we will manage to get through the day after my mom has left, and even she admitted that this whole thing seemed like a two person job.

Despite that, we are doing well! I actually got five hours of uninterrupted sleep last night (knocking on all kinds of wood surfaces). And now the baby needs to be fed, and I'll have to leave this for later. Thanks so much for all the kind wishes, they have been wonderful to read.

And then there were five

2011-04-15T13:28:00.003-08:00

We are settling into life here as a larger family. It really helps that my mom is here, allowing me to spend much of my day resting and nursing. Cedar has been a very mellow baby so far, and pretty much looks like this picture all day long. I know she is going to wake up at some point soon, and I'm trying to enjoy this stage as much as I can.

I don't have time for a whole birth story yet, but being at home has been such a blessing this time. We have eased into life with a new baby in such a smooth and peaceful way. And Cedar seems to appreciate being surrounded by familiar people and sounds, she seems soothed by it all, even the craziness.

I am infinitely glad to not be pregnant any more, to sleep on my back and to enjoy a beer. I still am amazed by this new life in front of me, and knowing she is my last, I find myself wishing she would stay this tiny forever. Her newborn baby smell and little gassy smiles even make me a little teary (I'm sure the hormones don't help either).

And to answer many a question, Bryce actually came up with the name Cedar. It really fits him and our family and I love it. Her middle name is after a friend of ours, although I also love the meaning. It's different than our other kids' names, less traditional I guess, we'll have to see if she goes by a less traditional route in life as well.

And finally a HUGE thank you to my wonderful midwife Debbie and her assistant Abbey. And thanks to my mom and Jennifer for taking so many pictures!

Cedar Luna

2011-04-13T18:29:00.003-08:00

Cedar Luna.
Born April 12, 2011 at 2:37 pm.
7 pounds 10 ounces and 20.5 inches long.

Her birth at home could not have gone any better. We are all doing well and are all completely enamored of our new baby girl. She is perfect in every way.

More details soon.

No, actually

2011-04-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

No. Baby. Yet.

Chocolate

2011-04-04T15:35:00.007-08:00

I have a friend who is pregnant right now as well, and she told me the other day that she'd been craving eggplant and spinach. And I've been thinking that her baby is really, really lucky since all I've been craving is chocolate and Haagen Dazs Blueberry Crumble ice cream. This weekend, we had a severe lack of chocolate (in any decent eatable form) in the house, so I tried a couple of new recipes from this website.

The first was homemade chocolate peanut butter cups. These were incredibly easy and so, so good. I only made a half batch, which I instantly regretted as the three other members of my household gobbled them up. I used butter instead of shortening in the chocolate mixture, and they turned out perfect.

The second was oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I really like this recipe, it is super full of oats, and would be good with raisins and nuts as well.

We're still working on these, but I don't think they'll last all that long. This weekend Bryce also started building Molly a new, big girl bed. No time like the last minute to build furniture! She is really excited about it, and it's going to look very nice once we move the crib out of her room.

Done

2011-03-31T17:13:00.002-08:00

This morning it took me a solid 10 minutes to put on my socks. Also, my ankles look like softballs. Baby girl, I am ready.

Updates

2011-03-28T14:27:00.005-08:00

I completely jinxed myself with that dang 5 year streak, and we had to take Porter to the ER this weekend. Ear infection and bronchitis, but it couldn't wait until Monday. He has always been one of those kids that gets a lot of ear infections, and is prone to asthma wheezing if a cold gets really bad. Twelve hours later with some antibiotics and an inhaler and he was good as new.

The chickens are doing well, although we lost one early on. I'm not totally sure what happened, but it got weak and probably wasn't getting much water or food and just lost the battle. The chicks are cute, but they are not exactly nice to each other. They sense weakness, and there is no mercy. They are already starting to get real feathers, and it'll be fun to see what their actual coloring will be.

I'm still pregnant, about two and a half weeks away from my due date. People keep telling me I look small, but I don't feel it. Everything hurts. I'm starting to be very, very ready to meet this baby. It could be any day now.

I'm Cooking: I made a new dish this weekend when we had some people over, and it was a hit. Summery and easy and really tasty. Brown Rice Salad with a Citrus Basil Vinaigrette. I cooked my rice with chicken stock and had more than 2 cups. There was still plenty of dressing. It was good the next day too!

One Day Old

2011-03-23T14:51:00.005-08:00

No, I haven't had the baby yet. But because we like to have plenty of newborns to take care of, we got these guys in the mail yesterday...

They currently reside in our living room, but will eventually be outside in a coop. The kids are thrilled. And I have to admit, they are pretty dang cute.

I'm Cooking: I made Baked Salmon with Rice and Mangoes last night. I messed around with the rice quite a bit to make it tastier (and markedly less healthy) by adding butter, lime juice and brown sugar, but the idea is good. And mangoes go so well with salmon, it was delicious. I am sad to say that it was the last package of salmon in our freezer, but I made sure to enjoy it.

Free Range

2011-03-22T13:23:00.003-08:00

Porter is five years old. I allow him to play outside of our house unsupervised, which he does all the time. We have a fairly big yard, which he roams freely. One of his jobs is also to get our mail. Our mailbox is not right in front of our house. You have to cross a street and walk up a hill to get to it. It is just barely outside of yelling range, but not at all far away. So he is also allowed to play up by the mailbox, which he does on occasion. We have had all the talks about looking for cars and staying close by, and honestly I don't worry about it much at all. Porter is a rule following kind of kid, and I've never once not been able to find him. He also tends to check in often. And obviously I check if I haven't heard from him in awhile.

So this morning Porter is playing outside, and I get a knock on the door. It's a woman I have never seen before, and she asks if Porter is here. I'm pretty confused, and I say yes. She said, well he's actually way up the street and points to our mailbox area. I told her that he gets the mail for us and sometimes plays up there, and she says oh I know all about that. She says she lives in a house up there and watches out for him when he's outside. She's faking nice, but clearly insinuating that I don't keep a close enough eye on him. I didn't really know what to say. The naked toddler and the barking dog were nice touches too I'm sure. She said she just wanted me to know where he was and walked off.

I should have introduced myself and explained where he is allowed to play, but I was taken aback and couldn't think. I'm glad that we have considerate neighbors that look out for kids. I would do the same if kids were playing outside of my window I suppose. But now I also feel weird letting Porter go up there, like I'm being judged and watched. I feel confident that Porter can take care of himself, and I know our neighborhood and his skills, and I'm just okay with it. I know bad things can happen, but I feel like letting him go a little is good for him. And I'm glad he likes to play outside by himself. It's better than watching TV or driving me crazy.

I told Porter that he had to ask me first now if he wanted to play up there. And he cried because he thought he was in trouble. He said his favorite tree is up there. Sigh. Parenting is hard enough without worrying about what other people think.

Spring Break

2011-03-21T14:05:00.002-08:00

Spring break is here, and I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the weather is crazy fantastic and it feels so good to get out in the sunshine. It's nice not to have to rush around to preschool and nursery and swimming lessons and all that stuff that interferes with lounging in bed with Molly in the morning. On the other hand, I am really tired, uncomfortable and sort of done being pregnant. Which makes me a little grouchy. And having both kids at home all week to entertain a little hard.

I decided to embrace the nothing going on attitude this week, and promptly forgot to take Porter to his scheduled 5 year physical (yes, I know, he's been 5 for awhile). It's very unlike me to forget appointments, and I feel bad. But we did go to the beach instead. And even though we still had to bundle up a bit, it definitely felt like we were leaving winter behind.

Porter & Molly

2011-03-16T21:01:00.003-08:00

Porter drew this picture today of himself and Molly. You might think that the one with shorter hair, holding the sword (actually it's a light saber) is Porter. But. You would be wrong.

Finally Among the Living

2011-03-14T21:25:00.003-08:00

So in that last post, when I said Molly was on the mend, what I really meant was that she was spiraling down into the stubborn toddler virus from hell. She flat out refused to eat really anything. And barely drank any water either. I mean, we eventually acquired everything that normally works in this situation (thanks Karen). But if I came near her with a Popsicle or a Sprite, she started screaming and turning away. We couldn't go anywhere that required her to get out of the car, so for 5 days straight we watched TV and Molly mostly just stayed on the couch in her pathetic way while I tried to get her to ingest something with actual calories. And 5 days is a long time! Especially for someone who weighs 25 pounds.

Finally on Sunday night I called the on-call doctor emergency number and got one of our pediatricians. I thought he would reassure me, but he kind of freaked me out. Telling me what I needed to do, and when I should take her to the hospital (like really soon). I got her to drink a little water, put her to bed, and then stared at the ceiling in my bedroom all night worried. I took her to the doctor's office first thing Monday morning, and she actually was in a decent mood. But still not eating or drinking. Our pediatrician told me I had until 1pm that afternoon to get her going or I had to take her to the emergency room for intravenous fluids. She told me what I had to do, and it sucked. But spending the day with Molly hooked up to an IV sounded even worse. So Molly and I spent the morning on the couch watching Care Bears while I held her down every few minutes and squirted Pedialyte in her throat while she screamed. Awesome. Things still weren't looking too good, but then right down to the wire at one she had a wet diaper. I put her down for a nap.

About an hour later, she woke up and declared "I need sandwich." Which she did. Along with a bunch of juice and water and bacon (I'm catering to whims at this point). And just like that, she was totally back to normal. Fighting with Porter, screaming I'll do it about everything and being her usual self.

When I was getting her ready for bed tonight, I did notice that her poor little ribs are sticking out from her chest like they never have before. But I'm pretty sure that's nothing a little ice cream won't fix. She really had me worried there for a bit (along with my mom), but I'm glad she's back. And I'm glad I can still keep my zero ER visits in 5 years of parenting record for just a little while longer.

Marked

2011-03-11T15:06:00.004-09:00

It has been a long week around here. We already had a lot on our plate, and then Molly got the stomach flu of death. I've never seen her so sick. She is on the mend now, but still isn't eating and is pretty pathetic. Porter seems healthy as a horse though, albeit really, really bored. We watched an entire season of Phineas and Ferb, along with many other stimulating activities that involved sitting next to Molly on the couch and trying not to get vomited on.

When we left the house this morning for preschool, I noticed this...

Porter says it's for keeping out the bad guys, but to me it looks more like the mark of contagion. I think I'll leave it on for just a little while longer.

Home Alone and Downloading

2011-03-07T13:57:00.004-09:00

Bryce left last night on an eleven day business trip. So of course there are preschool work days and evening swim lessons and doctor's appointments and board meetings, all things made SO MUCH easier by not having both kids with me all the time. But hey, at least I don't have three kids with me yet. I also have a long list of baby related things to get done in his absence, but instead I decided to download the pictures from my phone. Not great quality, but much more fun.

On the Home Front

2011-03-02T14:09:00.005-09:00

Tomorrow I will be 34 weeks pregnant. Which means that I could have a full term birth in as little as THREE WEEKS. Eek. I did buy a pack of newborn diapers the other day, but that is really, seriously all I have done to prepare for a new baby. I know that they don't need much for awhile, but we have a few pressing matters of a new bed for Molly and I'm not sure if three car seats will actually fit in the back of my car and where are all those tiny clothes again and just sheesh. How did time creep up on me like this? And why am I on the computer when I really should be doing something productive?

I also decided yesterday that dang it, I am going to potty train Molly for good, right now, before the baby gets here! Motivation! And then there was some success and a lot of fighting and peeing in pants. And a poop disaster that required me to throw away some clothes instead of washing them. And this morning when she threw a tantrum instead of sitting on the potty, I put a diaper on her and gave up. I feel bad, because I really didn't even try, and sometimes she is so good and clearly is showing many signs of being ready. But it is so much easier to have her in diapers at this point. And I'm lazy. And I just want to wait until it's easy. Or at least when I'm not pregnant.

Porter starts a new round of swimming lessons tonight, the "big kid" kind, where I'm hoping he'll learn to swim actual strokes. He can move across the water at this point and not drown. But I wouldn't really call it swimming. We will see.

I'm Cooking: Last night we had Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms, Steamed Broccoli and Rice Pilaf. The chicken recipe was a new one, and it was okay. The idea is good, it just needs some tweaking I think. The kids ate it up though, which makes it a win for me.

And there it was

2011-02-28T13:26:00.003-09:00

We arrived home today from being out of the house all morning. There was a half eaten corn on the cob sitting all by itself in the middle of the living room floor that most definitely was not there when we left. We haven't had corn on the cob for dinner in months and months. I looked at Dawson and he just looked away. And I'm sort of glad that dogs can't talk, because really, I just don't want to know.

On a more appetizing note...

I'm Cooking: Last night we had Shrimp Scampi with Fresh Basil, Pasta with Spinach and Feta, and a Green Salad. I used a different pasta shape and fresh spinach for that recipe, but the whole dinner was a huge hit with my kids (and husband). And pretty healthy too. Yum.

Honestly...

2011-02-24T13:22:00.003-09:00

This baby is making me feel a little bit like the movie Alien. I remember when I was pregnant with Porter, I loved feeling the little kicks and hiccups and movement. It all seemed so sweet and perfect and motherly to sit around and marvel at the miracle of a baby inside of me. But this time, the kicks seem so strong. Like this baby is going to come out kicking and screaming and with fully developed muscles. I mean, sometimes it hurts. A lot. And I can feel (what I think are) little hands and feet digging into my belly and it seems like she's trying to get the hell out of there. I'm grateful for feeling all this movement in some ways, because it means the baby is alive and healthy and doing her normal thing. But it just creeps me out a little bit too. I don't remember feeling this way with Porter or Molly, and it makes me feel kind of guilty and awful and like a bad mother. I read somewhere that your uterus thins out with each pregnancy, and that it is common for movement to feel much stronger the third time around. But wow. I really hope I am growing a baby girl and not a linebacker.

Also, congrats to my good friend Andrea who had a baby girl herself today. Welcome to the world Macy!

Weekend

2011-02-22T13:17:00.004-09:00

We had a pretty good weekend here, a bit of the stomach flu notwithstanding. We got to see fireworks up at the ski hill and hang out with friends. We also took the guinea pigs from Porter's preschool home for the three days, and Molly was ecstatic. She doesn't look it here, but I promise you she was. Even Dawson seemed to like them, and although it didn't make me reconsider my no rodents policy, it was really fun to have them here.

We also got a good chunk of snow, and Bryce and Porter built an igloo in the backyard. It's impressive, and I think is going to be a fixture for some time to come.

The snowy weather on Saturday seemed to call for some fresh baked cookies, so I tried a new recipe, Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. Wow. I used less chocolate than this recipe calls for, and they were still super rich and tasty. Definitely a keeper.

So far, Porter is the only one of us to be stricken with the stomach sickness, and he seems better already. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

The Afternoon Slump

2011-02-18T15:30:00.003-09:00

Molly still naps reliably every afternoon for at least several hours. This is a vital part of everyone's sanity around here. It's also when I clean the house, have some down time with Porter, blog, and get pretty much everything else done. Lately though, no matter how much sleep I get, right around 2pm I feel like someone has slipped an Ambien in my drink. The heavy eyelids, the arms and legs that weigh 50 pounds, the feeling like my nice soft bed is heaven on earth. And if I sit down on the couch, it's all over. Part of me wants to give in. But the other part knows that it certainly isn't going to get any easier to get anything done once the baby gets here. Nor am I going to be any less tired.

I can do this, right?

Traveling With Children

2011-02-15T15:15:00.004-09:00

Our recent trip down south really made me think about traveling with the kids and the way I handle it. We live up here in the Far North, far away from family and friends, so once or twice a year we get on an airplane and try to see as many of those people as we can. I really look forward to catching up with everyone, showing how my family has grown, and letting the kids experience the big city stuff they don't get up here. And I think that Porter and Molly enjoy it too.

Except that every single time we travel, the kids (of course) get tired. They don't sleep as well in strange beds, they wake up early, naps get cut short in order to do everything we want, and bedtimes get pushed back because who wants to be on a strict schedule on vacation? So they get progressively more over tired as the trip goes on. And then there are strangers (to them) to meet, new houses to go to, and routines that are totally thrown off. I know this is hard on Porter with his reluctance to all things unfamiliar, and even Molly has her moments.

On this past trip, we really tried. But it happened. Molly put on her particularly intense, drawn out version of two year old tantrums every single dang place we went. She's prone to being particular anyway, but every day we walked on egg shells around her to avoid the mommy do it or I'll do it screaming fests. She was a lot more difficult than usual. A lot. Almost every house we stayed at also had children, so it was okay overall, I think people understood. But I felt bad. Hi! So good to see you! Here are my lovely (I mean, totally obnoxious) children. Sigh. Porter mostly held up, but had his own set of behavior issues too. So we really did have a good time, but it was exhausting trying to keep everyone happy and not be embarrassed by my poor parenting skills.

One of our last nights in town, the whole thing came to a head. We had gone to the zoo that day and walked around for about 4 hours. I was tired enough that I fell asleep on the couch while Molly napped that afternoon. Porter built a volcano with my mom, which was great fun, but I should have known that he would be way tired. That evening, we took the kids to a friend's house for pizza. No one else there had kids, but they are very good friends of mine from childhood, and I really wanted them to see Porter and Molly so I just didn't think. Total disaster. Porter was about as rude and disrespectful as he has ever been. He was so tired that he couldn't even eat (even though I knew he was hungry). He complained and acted up the entire time, even to people who were completely trying to pander to him. I couldn't snap him out of it with anger or coddling or anything. Plus Molly was her usual self, prone to terrorizing breakable items. I felt like they monopolized the discussion, which is so boring to people that don't have kids, I know. Bryce told me afterwards that he kept trying to change the subject, but it was so hard with kids in your face all the time not to talk about them. Ugh. So mostly, I was just embarrassed and really, really wished we had left them home with my parents and an early bedtime. This situation was quite easily preventable, but I just wasn't in the sleep crazy mindset.

So I guess I'm not sure what the best course of action is. Do you force a sleeping schedule (that might not happen anyway) and just say no to long road trips with no naps? Or do you just say screw it and deal with your kids being cranky? Because it's only a short time and you want to see everyone and do everything. It truly is difficult (and inconvenient to others) to stay on a routine sometimes, but it also doesn't seem fair to kids to burden them with no sleep and then get mad when they react.

The few days that we've been home have been like a sigh of relief. My kids! They are normal again! They actually aren't monsters! I just wish that everyone else I miss so much could see them like this, the way they are supposed to be. It's a lot more fun.

Zipping Right Along

2011-02-14T13:10:00.004-09:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I really can't believe we are already halfway through February. For a long time, April seemed very far off, but now it feels like it's coming too quickly. In any case, we had a nice weekend here at home. Bryce installed the zip line on the tree house, and much fun was had by Porter, Bryce and our neighbors. Molly and I were resigned to watching, although I'm not sure how long I can convince Molly of the logic in that.

We also made Valentine's Day cards for Porter's preschool class. I admit to stealing this idea off another blog, but they were a big hit. And pretty easy to make.

We just got home from the party at preschool, and Porter is eating Fun Dip for the first time ever. He can't believe his luck.

I'm Cooking: Last night I made Lentil Soup. I added some ham and red wine vinegar at the end, but this is a great basic recipe. Good the next day too!

Home Sweet Home

2011-02-11T16:03:00.002-09:00

We made it home yesterday, and when I put Porter to bed, he rested his head on his pillow, sighed, and said "ooooooooh yeah." I think that's about how we all felt. We had a fantastic time with so many people, but there is just nothing on earth like your own bed.

However, I will definitely miss nice weather in January, Indian food and free babysitters! And also all the fun things we got to enjoy in the big city. Thanks to everyone so much for all the generous hospitality (even when our kids were tired and not well behaved), we had a great trip.

Off The Road

2011-02-06T12:40:00.002-09:00

We are back in the Big City, safe from our week long road trip with two small children (otherwise known as the Scenic Rest Area Tour of 1-90). We discovered an hour into our drive that Porter is still very much in the throes of car sickness and can not watch the DVD player unless closely supervised on a very straight stretch of highway. This kid has been throwing up in cars (and planes) his entire life, but he just doesn't get much of a chance to get sick in a town with 40 miles of road. I'm just thankful that he can now tell us what's coming at least a few seconds in advance.

We had a very good time seeing family and friends alike, and we got to show Porter the house we lived in when he was born. He didn't remember anything, and didn't really seem to believe that we once lived in Montana. Although the drive was long, it was worth it for sure. We are spending a few more days here with my parents, then we'll head back to the Far North, back to school and Dawson and getting ready for the new baby (10 weeks to go).

Back in the Big City

2011-01-25T12:55:00.003-09:00

We've taken the kids and made the pilgrimage to see family and friends down south in the big city. We survived the plane trip without any vomiting or major melt downs. Even though the DVD player ran out of batteries about 45 seconds into plane ride #1. My bad. I actually had a thought about how now that Molly was two this whole traveling thing was actually getting easier. And then I remembered. Easier, right. Just wait.

Now we are staying at my parents' house, enjoying good food and strewing toys and jars of worms in every possible nook and cranny. They are very good sports about it.

Bryce is currently way, way down south on a business trip, but will return soon. At which point we will head out on a 1600 mile road trip across the western United States to see far flung family and friends. Wish us luck.

At Home

2011-01-19T15:17:00.003-09:00

Porter and Molly were both born in a hospital. Two different hospitals, but my experiences were similar. Everything turned out great in the end (which is all that really matters), but there were a lot of little things that I just didn't like. My doctors and nurses have all been competent and courteous, but for this baby we decided we wanted something a bit different. So we found a midwife, and we are having the birth at home. Provided everything goes well, of course.

I haven't written about this yet, and honestly don't talk about it much in my daily life. Everyone has their opinion on home birth, which is completely understandable, but I just don't want to hear it. It's not the right thing for everyone, nor is it the holy grail of birthing experiences. But I think it's the right thing for me, and for my family, and I am truly very excited as the date approaches.

I remember how I felt after Molly was born. I was starving. And I wanted a shower. And a nap. In that order. After loving on my new baby of course. I had to wait for the 7am breakfast time in order to eat anything substantial, I showered in that lovely hospital bathroom, and then I didn't get a nap because nurses kept coming in to check on me and the baby. All of these things were well intentioned, but I can't wait to have something to eat right away, and to shower in my own bathroom, and to be able to take a nap when I'm tired because I know my mom and my husband will be here taking good care of the kids.

I am also very aware (after two births) that nothing ever goes exactly to plan where having babies is concerned. But I'm not too worried. This is a new adventure for us, but one that promises to be memorable.

The Perfect Storm

2011-01-17T13:39:00.005-09:00

So you know when you're trying to get cook dinner and the kids are hanging off your legs and you just want them to give you a second and do something else? And then you just make it worse? Yeah.

This was going on the other night with Molly, and I thought I'd let her play in the garage. Bryce was in there working on our chicken coop (yay!), and she loves to hang around when he's working, so I got her shoes on and sent her out there. Pretty much so she could hang on his legs instead of mine. Nice, I know. My car was in the garage, and playing inside of it is another favorite past time of hers, one which I generally discourage, but whatever. I thought she'd want to work with Bryce. He thought otherwise, and let her into the car. Not realizing that I had both sets of keys inside. This isn't normal, but she'd lost one pair playing in there the other day, and I'd opted to grab the spare set instead of searching through old goldfish and fruit leather wrappers in the back seat. So after awhile, he figures out that she has, of course, locked herself inside. And asks me for the spare keys. We sort of laughed about it, because eventually she'd figure out how to unlock it and she was safe and we weren't in a hurry. And then she turned on the windshield wipers, on high speed. Porter innocently grabbed one and managed to jam it up. So this wiper is fighting itself and can't move and is likely breaking and we can't fix it from the outside. We ask Molly to pleeeeeaaaase push that little button on the door, no not that one, no farther down, no the other way, pleeeeaaaase. And she tries and misses and gets kind of annoyed and just gives up and shakes her head. Won't open the door. Doesn't really get it. We try getting angry with her. That works even better. At this point Porter's in his room and everyone is getting mad at everyone else. For this thing that's a little bit everyone's fault and really nobody's fault. And after much time, I manage to break into the car (only because I had to call a locksmith once and I saw how he did it), and the wipers are off. And Molly is out. And everything is okay. And dinner is burning and we are all mad at each other.

FAIL.

Luckily, we all realized soon enough that it actually was kind of funny and not a big deal. And that maybe I should clean out my car and find those missing keys.

I'm Cooking: Parsnip Risotto, with Grilled Salmon and Salad. The risotto was a nice, unusual side dish. I used dried rosemary and scaled the recipe down and still had more the enough for us. I really like parsnips, and this was a good way to use them up. Bryce and a friend of his from work liked it too, although the verdict is still out with the five and under crowd.

27 Weeks

2011-01-13T14:22:00.002-09:00

Just thought I'd post this since I realized yesterday that I didn't have a single picture of myself looking pregnant yet. Ah, the third child, already sadly undocumented.

Also, acid reflux. Hello, old friend. We meet again.

Questions

2011-01-12T14:03:00.004-09:00

Porter is getting to that age where his questions are getting harder to answer. How do trees grow and why is the sky blue may not be completely simple questions, but they are unemotional and fun. Lately, I've had more of these kind...

How can people die if they have lots of people that love them?

If it's not okay to kill people, how come they shoot the bad guys?

How are they going to get the baby out of your belly?

There is a certain level of honesty without too much information that is required here, and sometimes it is hard to draw the line or even know where to start. I find that I tend to over think it too much, and really what he wants is a short explanation. He's curious about death, but he's not scared or sad about it yet like I am. It has taken me awhile to realize that taking away my emotions (and embarrassments) is the way to make these conversations better. I had been putting off the baby delivery discussion forever, and it turned out to be no big deal at all to Porter. I am pretty sure that as he gets older, the questions are going to get even more difficult. And I hope that I'm ready.

I'm Cooking: We have a lot of venison in our freezer, which is great. But I find that I can't use it exactly as I would beef, it has more flavor that can be off putting in the wrong dish. I threw something together the other night from fridge leftovers, and it turned out really tasty. Even the kids ate it (mostly). You could also use almost any vegetable here.

Venison Curry

1 pound venison steaks, cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-2 cups crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 cups chopped bell pepper, carrots & broccoli
3/4 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
salt and pepper to taste

Toss venison with the soy sauce and marinate for an hour or more (you can skip this if you want). Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat, and brown the meat quickly in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Set aside.

Add remaining butter to pan, and saute the onion, garlic and ginger until soft. Add spices and a little salt, and cook until fragrant. Add tomatoes, cilantro and vegetables, and simmer covered until the vegetables are almost done but still crisp. You may want to add them at slightly different intervals if you have veggies with vastly different cooking times. Add sour cream (or yogurt) and venison with any juices, and simmer lightly until the meat and veggies are both cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.

Sunday...

2011-01-10T11:20:00.002-09:00

breakfast with darth vader and the cow

chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

the tree house bridge

perfect

The Difference

2011-01-05T21:08:00.002-09:00

Tonight I put Porter to bed. We brushed teeth, I asked him if he had to pee (response - no), we had kisses and hugs and tucking in and all the usual stuff. And then he stalled. One more kiss. A glass of water. I have to pee. Um, Mom, can I ask you something? I ended up getting really annoyed and yelling and I hate it when I do that. It just ends the day on a sour note. But he pretty much always stalls and drives me insane when I put him to bed.

But when Bryce does it? He can be in and out in under a minute. No requests. No calling out from the bedroom. Just sleep. I don't understand it. We have similar methods. The routine is the same. Anyone else have this problem? Am I just that easy to manipulate and he knows it? Argh.

Not a New Year's Resolution

2011-01-02T14:32:00.002-09:00

Yesterday I made this Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Pie. Oh my goodness, deliciousness. It's awful for you, but so worth it.

New Year

2011-01-01T13:30:00.003-09:00

Porter has always been quite fond of freezer experiments. I often find little cups full of dubious ingredients, nicely frozen and forgotten about. Usually of the milk and chili powder variety. I tend to get annoyed with this. It is a mess and a waste of food and sometimes smells bad, etc. The other day though, I found a water balloon in the freezer, quite frozen. And when we took off the rubber, it was really a very cool looking ice sculpture. The whole family stood around to admire it and we put it outside on the deck where it still sits, awaiting warmer weather.

This very minor part of our day made me think. About how I am very much that mom who shuns things messy or inconvenient, for honestly no good reason. Obviously there are limits, but a lot of times, I don't want help in the kitchen because something will turn out not perfect or a little spilled. Or instead of taking the time to show Porter how the sewing machine works, I just ask him to find something else to do, because it's easier. Or I get annoyed because there's a little milk in my freezer that wasn't there before. It really wasn't hurting anyone.

So that is my New Year's Resolution. To be a little less controlling and worried about order and a little better at fostering imagination and interest. And maybe having a little more fun.

Cheers.

Food & Pictures

2010-12-27T13:17:00.005-09:00

I have just a few more photos to share from our holiday celebrations. These are the kids with some good friends at our Christmas Eve dinner. Posing nicely of course.

Santa brought Porter a skateboard for Christmas, and Bryce took the kids to the skate park the next day to try it out. He is acting the part, but discovered that standing up on a skateboard is not as easy as it looks.

Molly thought the skate park was a fantastic playground too.

And here we are, decorating Christmas cookies for Santa. And us. And maybe eating a little frosting along the way.

Along with all the celebrating, I have actually been cooking a lot! Just not posting about it. So here goes:

Christmas Day we had Cinnamon Rolls and boiled eggs for breakfast. Yum. For dinner, we had a Venison Pot Roast (I modified this recipe a bit as my roast was small) with Potatoes, Buttered Cabbage (oh how I love cabbage, cooking it this way leaves a little crunch and is so, so good), and Cooked Apples. It was lovely.

We've also been working on our freezer supply of seafood lately, and I have to admit to getting a little tired of salmon fillets. Poor me, right? Anyway, we've had a couple of new salmon meals that have been good for changing things up. Grandma Allison made a Salmon Risotto while she was here that was absolutely delicious. I don't have an exact recipe, but it involved white wine, chicken stock, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and stirring in the cooked salmon at the end. I'll have to experiment with that one again. And last night I made Southwestern Style Salmon Cakes. They were great for dinner, and tasty again today as a lunch time sandwich.

Southwestern Salmon Cakes

adapted from a Cook's Illustrated recipe

4 cups flaked cooked salmon

1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped fine

1 cup frozen (and thawed) or fresh corn

1 4 oz can chopped green chiles

1/4 cup onion, minced

3 tablespoons minced cilantro

3/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup panko (or more breadcrumbs)

vegetable oil for frying

Mix all ingredients (except oil and panko) together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. You can add more (or spicier) chiles if you like, this is very mild. Amounts are approximate, depending on the fish, you don't want the mixture too wet. Form the mixture into patties, and carefully coat with the panko or extra breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat, and fry the patties on both sides until browned and crispy. Drain on paper towels and serve hot, with lemon wedges if desired.

And as a final note regarding the guitar cake. I got this awesome tutorial for it here. I make my own cake and frosting, but otherwise just follow the directions. I have made three of these cakes, and they always turn out. I have no skills in cake decorating without some serious help, and this site has been great.