...is that when it's someone's birthday, you can expect a bunch of calls from people reminding you to call the birthday celebrant, resulting in fun calls for everyone. In the last six weeks we've had three birthdays and I've gotten to catch up with just about all of my brothers.
In less cheerful news, I had another miscarriage last week. This time it was only eight weeks into the pregnancy, so it wasn't the horribly physical ordeal of June's miscarriage. I actually feel really good, to tell the truth, and feel that next time I get pregnant we should have some answers as to the cause, God willing. At least I know now that conceiving is not an issue for me; keeping the pregnancy viable might be, but there are several possibly causes that we can look for while I recover. Pray for us that we are able to have a healthy baby at some point soon.
Our new house is a very cheerful place. The Florida weather is finally at a point where I can keep the window open and the AC off, which is delighting our two cats, who are enjoying spending the days on windowsills, watching the neighborhood goings-on. We've decorated the front and side entrances with pumpkins, and will be seeding flats for more winter vegetables this afternoon. Collards, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, and heaps of greens- lettuce, mustard, chard, kale, arugula- what are you planting or eating lately?
I've been doing lots of sewing and knitting, making clothes for the little Mr. and some toys and things for friends' children. I've gotten lots of neat sewing, knitting & crochet notions at estate sales recently and am having fun going through them & using them. Add those activities to the garden care, trying new recipes, writing letters and cards to loved ones, caring for the house, teaching and training our son, exploring the new neighborhood and making new friends, and reading heaps of library books, and I have lots of happiness on my plate to keep me cheerfully occupied.
How are your days occupied during this lovely fall season?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
A Happy Post
Funny that I haven't posted in so long. Far from being in the rut of mourning and fretfulness, I've been incredibly busy, occupying myself by visiting ad being visited by family & friends, arranging and organizing our new (rented) house, sewing some simple clothes for the little Mr, taking him to playgroups and other local kid-friendly activities, tending our garden plot, reading all kinds of books, and learning to knit.
Our little guy potty-trained over the summer as well- what a relief it has been to not deal with diapers since! He self-trained at night first- he was happy to use the toilet whenever he woke up to get in bed with us and first thing in the morning. Next he was dry, then he used the "big potty" all the time, and finally he got over his discomfort with pooping while sitting down. Now he's using the regular toilet all the time! What a little champ! We both worked on building him up whenever he used the toilet, lavish praise, and it really made him happy to receive it. He loves his underpants, too. Cloth diapers are cute, but the sight of undergarments that I don't have to deal with is sweet indeed.
Our little guy potty-trained over the summer as well- what a relief it has been to not deal with diapers since! He self-trained at night first- he was happy to use the toilet whenever he woke up to get in bed with us and first thing in the morning. Next he was dry, then he used the "big potty" all the time, and finally he got over his discomfort with pooping while sitting down. Now he's using the regular toilet all the time! What a little champ! We both worked on building him up whenever he used the toilet, lavish praise, and it really made him happy to receive it. He loves his underpants, too. Cloth diapers are cute, but the sight of undergarments that I don't have to deal with is sweet indeed.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Two Thoughts on Loss
We lost our baby a couple of weeks ago; we knew weeks beforehand that the pregnancy wasn't viable, so had time to begin grieving before the miscarriage happened. It was sad, yes, very, with no redeeming features, honestly- I'm no closer to God than I was before, I didn't learn any terribly valuable lessons from the experience, and I would have happily lived the rest of my life unable to fully empathize with those who have experienced the same loss.
Two quick thoughts:
This baby's life was bound to be short from its conception; it had only a few short weeks with us, and it was my privilege to host and love him or her for the tiny amount of time that we had together. I look forward to our reunification.
This baby, and my relationship with it, was unique and irreplaceable, as all of God's creatures are indeed unique and irreplaceable. It has reminded me of the treasure that is God's Creation and His people who are so honored to live in Creation and serve Him. We're none of us substitutes for another, and amy part of Creation once destroyed or killed is gone forever. Let's be good stewards, and faithful companions.
Two quick thoughts:
This baby's life was bound to be short from its conception; it had only a few short weeks with us, and it was my privilege to host and love him or her for the tiny amount of time that we had together. I look forward to our reunification.
This baby, and my relationship with it, was unique and irreplaceable, as all of God's creatures are indeed unique and irreplaceable. It has reminded me of the treasure that is God's Creation and His people who are so honored to live in Creation and serve Him. We're none of us substitutes for another, and amy part of Creation once destroyed or killed is gone forever. Let's be good stewards, and faithful companions.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Spring Growth, Summer Changes
The weather is warm, the garden is bursting with blossoms and fruits, and new life is everywhere I look- sea turtles have begun hiding their caches of soft round eggs in the dunes at our beach, and I've noticed the freshwater turtle mamas doing the same on the banks of the drainage canal that border our community garden. The Little Mr. and I had the good fortune to pass a spring afternoon watching the animal life in the garden, watching a little bee dig a nest in the sandy soil, spotting a toad under the mulch in our plot, watching the season's first ladybugs hunt through the tomato vines, and marveling at the abundant life in our local corner of Creation.
God has blessed us as well, and within me, hidden deep under my still-flat tummy, new life is growing. We broke the news to our families as a special Mothers Day surprise. The little Mr. responded to the news with a typical toddler's demand- "I want that baby!" He is going to be a wonderful big brother; he's shaping up into a sweet little gentleman in his interactions with little girls, helping them up when they fall on the playground, sharing toys and treats with them, asking gently, "You O.K? Need hand up? Want share water?" With the other little boys, somehow, the gloves come off and it's all rough & tumble, who can jump highest, climb fastest, throw stones and sand at one another with greatest accuracy. How he knows who's who is my guess, as he's mastered the concept of childhood gender only recently.
My next-youngest brother and his wife welcomed their first child into the world last month, a precious girl who looks so much like her daddy that it reminded me of seeing him born- the first baby I ever held and loved. I am so happy for him and my sweet sister-in-law.
We will also be moving again next month, this time within town, to a place with more room, a garage, long hoped-for hardwood floors, single-story, just right for our small growing family and a new baby. The Mr. has some new work responsibilities that we pray will have positive financial consequences as well, he is happy in his work, though pulling incredibly long hours. We've had the pleasure of hosting visiting family and friends each month since the beginning of the year, and enjoyed our first trip overseas together last month, visiting my Mr.'s family in India, where I was so blessed to meet and love them, stories for another post. God is so infinitely good.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Spring Garden
I really need to get my summer garden planned. Here in Northern Florida, the winter garden season is just coming to a close and the weather is really warming up- the Little Mr. is back in shorts and my summer skirts are back in rotation.
I harvested my first wonderful heads of broccoli this weekend. We've been munching on turnips & turnip greens, spinach, carrots and radishes for a month or two now & I'm ready to get the fruiting plants into the ground. A kind man donated several flats of hearty heirloom tomato seedlings to the community garden plotholders, and I put four into the ground last weekend with another to go in soon. As I dug each hole, I added composted manure and a handful of powdered eggshell (for calcium), then buried the tomatoes deeply, up to their top two sets of leaves. Copia, Traveler, Paul Robson, Purple Smudge and White Queen are the varieties in my plot so far. We also had our landlord take out the dead pine tree in the backyard & that yielded bags and bags of wonderful needles, bark and sawdust for mulch- I've already dumped a load on our plot and put some into the compost to decompose.
In our garden plot, I'll be doing eggplant, garlic, scallions, okra, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, bitter melon, bell peppers, hot peppers & some flowers. I have a few flats of seedlings coming along & am eager to get them into the ground. It's been wonderful to see things grow- we've been eating lettuce thinnings, broccoli, carrots & cabbage this weekend. I've been fertilizing with fish emulsion, composted manure & coffee grounds and it really brings things to life.
At home, we have pots and pots of new herbs coming up. Several varieties of basil have been added to the mix, along with sage, lavender and dill, three new ones for me. We'll see how the rest does. Little Mr. still loves to munch on the basil.
We've been holding toddler playdates at the community garden and they now have their own special plot, complete with a bamboo teepee hiding place (soon it will be covered by the pea plants). In the toddlers' plot we've already planted peas, snow peas, green beans, short carrots, sunflowers & some heirloom cherry tomatoes (donated by the same man). They *love* to pull up the carrots! There's also a covered sand & water table for them to play with water, dig and scoop.
I adore the climate here- I never have to worry about water, only pests like southern army worms, thrips and fire ants. I sprinkled my entire plot with diatomaceous earth today, so hopefully that will stop the fire ants in their tracks for awhile- I loathe them. They are definitely not toddler-friendly, either, so I need to treat the kids' plot too :( I was told that soapy water will do the trick as well, but will make them move rather than kill them outright, while DE will actually kill them on contact by piercing their exoskeleton and drying them out. Did I mention my vengeance mission to eradicate them from our garden plot and yard? Yes, after our little guy and myself had been stung several times each, I declared war. It seems that the many local spiders and geckos are out to help me do the job.
Ahh, food gardening. I can't get enough of it!
I harvested my first wonderful heads of broccoli this weekend. We've been munching on turnips & turnip greens, spinach, carrots and radishes for a month or two now & I'm ready to get the fruiting plants into the ground. A kind man donated several flats of hearty heirloom tomato seedlings to the community garden plotholders, and I put four into the ground last weekend with another to go in soon. As I dug each hole, I added composted manure and a handful of powdered eggshell (for calcium), then buried the tomatoes deeply, up to their top two sets of leaves. Copia, Traveler, Paul Robson, Purple Smudge and White Queen are the varieties in my plot so far. We also had our landlord take out the dead pine tree in the backyard & that yielded bags and bags of wonderful needles, bark and sawdust for mulch- I've already dumped a load on our plot and put some into the compost to decompose.
In our garden plot, I'll be doing eggplant, garlic, scallions, okra, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, bitter melon, bell peppers, hot peppers & some flowers. I have a few flats of seedlings coming along & am eager to get them into the ground. It's been wonderful to see things grow- we've been eating lettuce thinnings, broccoli, carrots & cabbage this weekend. I've been fertilizing with fish emulsion, composted manure & coffee grounds and it really brings things to life.
At home, we have pots and pots of new herbs coming up. Several varieties of basil have been added to the mix, along with sage, lavender and dill, three new ones for me. We'll see how the rest does. Little Mr. still loves to munch on the basil.
We've been holding toddler playdates at the community garden and they now have their own special plot, complete with a bamboo teepee hiding place (soon it will be covered by the pea plants). In the toddlers' plot we've already planted peas, snow peas, green beans, short carrots, sunflowers & some heirloom cherry tomatoes (donated by the same man). They *love* to pull up the carrots! There's also a covered sand & water table for them to play with water, dig and scoop.
I adore the climate here- I never have to worry about water, only pests like southern army worms, thrips and fire ants. I sprinkled my entire plot with diatomaceous earth today, so hopefully that will stop the fire ants in their tracks for awhile- I loathe them. They are definitely not toddler-friendly, either, so I need to treat the kids' plot too :( I was told that soapy water will do the trick as well, but will make them move rather than kill them outright, while DE will actually kill them on contact by piercing their exoskeleton and drying them out. Did I mention my vengeance mission to eradicate them from our garden plot and yard? Yes, after our little guy and myself had been stung several times each, I declared war. It seems that the many local spiders and geckos are out to help me do the job.
Ahh, food gardening. I can't get enough of it!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
To make his life easier
February is firmly upon us and life is, as always, a wonderful whirlwind of duties and blessings. I had a consulting project that took up about ten hours a week for the last couple of months, but that's done now and suddenly I feel as though I have all kinds of free time. Isn't it funny how, when one schedules one's days out in an orderly manner, the opening or closing of even a small block of time can seem so significant?
Being at home for the past two years has been so eye-opening. It really provides me with so many opportunities to make life easier for my hard-working Mr. He works long, long hours at his job, doing whatever it takes to get things done properly, just as I did when I worked. Until I actually stayed home, I was not fully convinced of the benefits of leaving the workforce and transitioning to a single-income lifestyle. Interestingly, there have been many benefits that I didn't consider, as well as resolutions to my previous concerns. A few details:
The loss of income and time spent together: before we were laid off and moved across the country, both the Mr. and I worked for a company where we made good steady incomes and had considerable flexibility in our work schedules. We carpooled with a friend or two, had lunch together nearly every day, and worked long, long hours. My worst season was the legal & tax season, from the end of December through April, during which I might be pulling 12-14 hour days and going in on weekends. His was more stable during the week, but if he had special projects he might be working just as much and bringing work home on top of that.
Well, at his new job, the Mr. has been getting paid quite well and rewarded with bonuses and overtime pay on top of that. With the bit of money I've made this year, we're not much below where we were when I was working, we've paid off the moving costs debt and are working hard toward paying off the debt acquired by necessary repairs to our house. While our time together during the weekdays is more limited, the plus side is that once my Mr. arrives home, it's all together time. There are no chores waiting when he gets home- I do that during the day. Dinner is ready (or waiting to be reheated for him), our son is dressed and ready to play (or to be tucked in), the animals are fed, the grass mown, the garden tended, the laundry clean and put away. Our time together at home is not burdened by housework and chores as it was when we were both stumbling in the door after our long workdays- it's now relaxing and spontaneous.
An unexpected benefit: He never has to worry about appointments or errands other than his own health checkups and the occasional cat food run on the way home: I take the cars in for servicing, our son to the doctor, and can meet deliveries and repairmen at home. I can take packages to the post office, pick up groceries, pay bills, etc. He is free to focus on his work and our family, with the little things taken care of already. While I realize that this isn't necessarily how it works for all couples, our work/home specialization has worked out very well for us.
Being at home for the past two years has been so eye-opening. It really provides me with so many opportunities to make life easier for my hard-working Mr. He works long, long hours at his job, doing whatever it takes to get things done properly, just as I did when I worked. Until I actually stayed home, I was not fully convinced of the benefits of leaving the workforce and transitioning to a single-income lifestyle. Interestingly, there have been many benefits that I didn't consider, as well as resolutions to my previous concerns. A few details:
The loss of income and time spent together: before we were laid off and moved across the country, both the Mr. and I worked for a company where we made good steady incomes and had considerable flexibility in our work schedules. We carpooled with a friend or two, had lunch together nearly every day, and worked long, long hours. My worst season was the legal & tax season, from the end of December through April, during which I might be pulling 12-14 hour days and going in on weekends. His was more stable during the week, but if he had special projects he might be working just as much and bringing work home on top of that.
Well, at his new job, the Mr. has been getting paid quite well and rewarded with bonuses and overtime pay on top of that. With the bit of money I've made this year, we're not much below where we were when I was working, we've paid off the moving costs debt and are working hard toward paying off the debt acquired by necessary repairs to our house. While our time together during the weekdays is more limited, the plus side is that once my Mr. arrives home, it's all together time. There are no chores waiting when he gets home- I do that during the day. Dinner is ready (or waiting to be reheated for him), our son is dressed and ready to play (or to be tucked in), the animals are fed, the grass mown, the garden tended, the laundry clean and put away. Our time together at home is not burdened by housework and chores as it was when we were both stumbling in the door after our long workdays- it's now relaxing and spontaneous.
An unexpected benefit: He never has to worry about appointments or errands other than his own health checkups and the occasional cat food run on the way home: I take the cars in for servicing, our son to the doctor, and can meet deliveries and repairmen at home. I can take packages to the post office, pick up groceries, pay bills, etc. He is free to focus on his work and our family, with the little things taken care of already. While I realize that this isn't necessarily how it works for all couples, our work/home specialization has worked out very well for us.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Freecycling the would-be clutter
What a busy day. I dropped my friend off at the airport, came home and immediately got back into the swing of things, washing all of her bedding and towels and then doing a load of cloth diapers. Tomorrow I plan to do some gardening and tidy up the backyard. I got my first seed potatoes this weekend and will set those out to sprout, plant garlic, and re-sow the green beans that succumbed to our unusual frost last week. Besides that, I need to fertilize the community garden plot and do a bit of weeding.
At home today, I made up some bags of candle-end wax to drop off at the soap & candle booth at our weekly greenmarket, then posted several things on our local Freecycle: our empty small bookcases, a still-in-the-box metal sports bench, a box of books, and a heap of bags of ladies' things that I got for free and will never use. Next up: all of the junker plastic toys that our son hasn't even seen since he has so many already, more books, and our weeded-out clothing.
It's amazing how quickly people respond and pick up to what I've posted since we moved here. Last week I unloaded a two dozen boxes to a moving student, some baby food and some bathroom items, all on the same day. I suppose it works out well for both parties: the recipient gets something that they can use, and I don't have to haul anything down to the donation office. Three cheers to the founders and supporters of this wonderful online community!
At home today, I made up some bags of candle-end wax to drop off at the soap & candle booth at our weekly greenmarket, then posted several things on our local Freecycle: our empty small bookcases, a still-in-the-box metal sports bench, a box of books, and a heap of bags of ladies' things that I got for free and will never use. Next up: all of the junker plastic toys that our son hasn't even seen since he has so many already, more books, and our weeded-out clothing.
It's amazing how quickly people respond and pick up to what I've posted since we moved here. Last week I unloaded a two dozen boxes to a moving student, some baby food and some bathroom items, all on the same day. I suppose it works out well for both parties: the recipient gets something that they can use, and I don't have to haul anything down to the donation office. Three cheers to the founders and supporters of this wonderful online community!
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