Motherhood Monday

Recent Mondays have been filled with trips to the grocery store, the park and home baked bread. Today; nothing so adventurous. Instead I am happy to still be pregnant with a healthy baby, but frustrated that I will be on bed rest for the next 10 weeks or so. I still have 12 weeks left until due date on April 12th, but will be very happy to make it to 36 or 37 weeks. My twins were born at 37 1/2 weeks, were very healthy and went home 2 days after their birth.
Now, pregnant with one, I have been put on bed rest for a mild placental abruption. The risks involved with placental abruption include premature birth, fetal death, hemorrhaging and increased c-section rate among other things I would rather not think about. Unfortunately I have plenty of time to think about these and other things. Like the fact that I can't take care of the twins on a day to day basis. Although I will be at home for the next 10 weeks, the boys will be going to day care. This breaks my heart. They haven't been to day care, or even had many babysitters. A little time with Nana or an Auntie here and there, but nothing like 8 hours of day care!
I know that I will be doing what is best for my littlest one, and for my own health, but it doesn't mean it will be easy! I keep thinking about what my sister said... In a few months I'll hardly be able to remember what I was so worried about, and all I'll want is some quiet time to rest. I pray that is the case!

Santa and Snuffins

The boys know that Santa's real name is Saint Nicholas! Yes! But they still think he is a big guy who dresses in red and has a big white beard. I guess we will work on the true story of Christmas bit by bit. At least they know Christmas is Baby Jesus's Birthday! They love playing with their Manger set, and give Baby Jesus rides on their Thomas Train.... it is very cute. Joseph likes to sing "Baby Jesus! Baby Jesus!" to the tune of Away in a Manger.... very cute!

Leo in green, Joseph in Red and of course Mr. & Mrs. Clause... Candy cane envy!

Leo with Santa (above)
and then enjoying his candy cane... sticky goodness!

Joseph with Santa (above)

and then enjoying his candy cand (below)

Merry Christmas!

Outdoor Fun

What could be more fun then two little boys and an orchard full of fallen leaves?

A morning full of looking for stray walnuts, kicking leaves and finding sticks to give the dog to chew on.

Finding Time

There are a lot of excuses for not getting things done, not just the day to day tasks of dishes and washing cloth diapers, but the big things like re-painting the kitchen, bathroom, dining room etc... But the new curtains are mostly up in the dinning room, and the bathroom has its first coat of paint, and even a second on 3 walls. I've begun to realize that it really isn't about having enough time. There is plenty of time. What I have been lacking is enough energy and motivation. These things come from good nutrition, exercise and a good nights sleep. I know, not a revelation for the ages! Not a new concept. Just something that so many of us have a hard time putting into practice.

I get so caught up in taking care of my boys (husband and kids) that I forget to take care of myself! This might sound impossible to some people, or very familiar.... I didn't even realize it was happening! The other day my Dr. told me she thought I looked great, and I laughed, hard. She gave me a funny look and I responded "Its amazing what a bath and some new clothes will do for a girl!"

So recently it has been about finding the time for myself, for prayer, for exercise. The time spent on these simple things makes it seem like there is more time for the day-to-day.

Frugal Friday

There is nothing better then homemade bread; unless its homemade cookies! I've always loved homemade bread. My dad attempted it a time or two during his running, health food, raw veggies for dinner phase. I loved the running, and the homemade bread, the fact that my dad had a weakness for hot dogs and that there was a great hot dog stand not to far away. Then in college I had a roommate who was also a running health food fanatic. She at least made stir fry with her veggies. She also made wonderful bread. I have just never had the patience. It isn't the labor involved in kneading the dough. I hand mixed clay in my ceramics class; great stress reliever. Bread just never worked for me. Until bread makers became widely available and reasonably priced. I just never thought I'd be able to buy one for $7.10. Yup! That's right. The cost of two good bakery loaves of wheat bread and I can now make my own at home!



Happiness is homemade bread! Especially at this price! Did I mention that it is an expensive brand that would have retailed for more then $200? Yup! I NEVER would have spent that much for a bread machine! Used machines of this brand sell for $150 or more on Amazon! So I saved $200 and get home made goodness! I think that is a pretty frugal find don't you!?

WIP

Welcome to Work In Progress Wednesday! I finally attempted socks this past week! I had a child free day to wander through a few yarn stores, a book store or two, as well as a fabric store. I found a lot of inspiration for WIP posts! Aprons from some lovely fabric are sure to follow. But for now, its socks.

Yeah for my little green sock! It wasn't very hard at all! I would definitely recommend the book Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I also found another book at one of those wonderful stores I visited last week, that does two socks at one time on circular needles. The instructions in the Sensational Knitted Socks book are for 4 dpn (double pointed needles), 5 dpn, or two circular needles (one sock at a time). Looking forward to knitting several socks in both of my new sock books!

Mission Monday

I've had this idea for a while now, but have not had the time to act on it. I want to do a few post a week, Mission Monday, Work in progress Wednesday and Frugal or Feasting Friday. Instead of waiting until I have time, I am going to make time for these posts, and for the effort that goes into them. They are not a waste of time, but a source of inspiration and support for the work that I am attempting in my home. Its like the saying goes "a person needs at least 10 minutes of prayer each day, a busy person 20". Hopefully the effort I put into these post will help me in my Mission.

In my Mission Monday posts I would like to share experiences that gave me insight, inspiration and/or the strength necessary to continue my Mission.

"A third similarity between sacred and domestic liturgies is that it takes time to learn to perform them with familiarity and ease. The British author C.S. Lewis occasionally complained about the tendency of prayer book editors constantly to 'update' the words of the liturgy. He didn't care what particular form the liturgy took, he said; all he wanted was that they choose a form and then leave it alone. His point was not that liturgy should never change. His point was that if he was constantly unsure what to do and say next, it made it very difficult to enter into prayer with concentration and serenity and an openess to grace.
The routines of housekeeping have the potential to be similarly disorienting. If we are unfamiliar with the myriad tasks and subtasks involved in planning menus and cooking meals or in picking up and cleaning house, we may feel just as confused as the Baptist who has stumbled into an Anglican church and is frantically searching for the right page in the prayer book while trying - and failing - to sit, stand, and kneel at the right times."

Keeping House : The Litany of Everyday Life
By Margaret Kim Peterson