Saying Yes

With a neighbor taking care of the animals, we are off to northeastern Connecticut for a family get-together this weekend.  Excited to see family that we so seldom see as we chose to move way up here to northern Vermont without any family around.  We are thankful that both my mother and father choose to visit us fairly often but we haven't always been so good about getting down south to see them.  

Enjoy your weekend and thanks so much for the kind birthday wishes.

Turning 44

 (Nolan created this masterpiece for me.)

I feel like the most blessed person on the planet to have such an amazing family to love.

That is what I focused on yesterday, on my 44th birthday.  

I thanked God over and over again for giving me each of our children and also for my husband as we grow and change and experience this journey of life together.

Over the last year I felt a shift in myself, something like restlessness (not discontent as I do love my love), but more of a wondering about making even more of it and thinking about using the full of my gifts for the remaining years I have here on earth.

But just focusing on this coming year, my goal is to have more fun, even in the struggles, to be sillier, laugh more and say yes more.

My new favorite song is Can't Complain  from Reliant K's new album, Collapsible Lung  (is album still the right word?) that my sons introduced me to.

I love the words - 

But I can't complain
I can't complain
Every days too short to let it go to waste

Now I can't complain
I can't complain
You gotta treat every day like a holiday

Crocheting and Planning

Crocheting granny squares with Peace Fleece DK weight yarn.  Two of the colors I hand dyed - the sage with a low impact dye, and the tan with ferns.

My brain has been filled with homeschool plans and I am working to get most of it down on paper.  So mostly my reading has been on supplementing the various main lesson blocks we will be doing.

We are following a waldorf inspired curriculum this year which I am hopeful will allow for focused learning without the traditional segmented method of cramming in 5 subjects each day.  I think it will also give me enough to present to the state at the end of the year while still allowing plenty of time for the children to develop and work on their own projects and interests.  

Joining in with Ginny.

A Note About Breastfeeding

(our very own corn! - a first for us)

This morning, out of the blue, our fifteen year old son asked, "Mom, do you know the one and only one thing to eat  that could sustain a person?" - I thought for some time, trying to think of what food contains a lot of water, protein, etc... and didn't come up with anything.

the answer:  breast milk

Wow!  To imagine that is is so rich in nutrients that an adult human could live on it.  (It did get me worrying a little, though, if there was ever a food crisis where we lived and I was still lactating... a selfish thought I know.)

This little fact reassured me as well as a bit of a better night's sleep (I think she nursed "just" three times last night) that Emmy is getting both physical and emotional benefits from breastfeeding for now.

She Is Sucking Me Dry

My sweet, happy, joyful, almost 2 year old Emmy is actually a very needy child and really has been since birth.  Her wonderful bright personality often overshadows her intense need for attention and physical contact.

I wasn't going to write about this but this is exactly what is preventing me from blogging, being as productive during the day as I like to be, feeling a bit down, and what is causing me to be so tired. 

I also wasn't going to blog about this because I know that if I wanted to, I could do something about it so I shouldn't be complaining.

But then I read this.

For the past five days, Emmy has been nursing almost as much as a newborn during the day and maybe even more often during the night.  

My mothering instinct tells me that because she is especially needy, this would not be the right time to start weaning.  Also, if I tell her "no",  then a power struggle would follow and I am not ready to go down that road.

So one deep breath at a time as I continually remind myself that she really does need this for right now.

Around the Homestead

Each year our gardens produce more than the previous year and not just because we increase the size of them a bit each year, but because we improve the soil by adding compost from our animals.

I started over four years ago just with a hand shovel,digging one shovel full at a time, turning over the soil (if that is what you want to call the clay we have), shaking out the soil from the grass or weed clump to feed to the chickens or goats, throwing out the rocks - over and over again.  Then after planting, when the plant is fairly mature I fill around the plant and the walking rows with compost.  

This year our two new things to grow were garlic and corn.  The garlic turned out amazing with really large heads and we were happy with our first go of corn.  There are about 50 ears out there with the first batch just about ready to be picked.  Some of the ears are on the smaller side but I grew the corn in the most neglected garden and will plan to fill that same area with all corn next year with squash growing in between.  

I did plant some of our winter squash in between the corn rows this year (as well as some in each of the other two gardens just in case) and the squash seems to be doing just fine, although sooooo slow.  I am just hoping that it will have time to mature before the first frost because I love butternut squash and it provides for us for at least a couple of months after harvesting.

The onions did amazing this year.  I am just finishing the harvesting of those and should have enough to last through January I am hoping, so will have to plant even more next year.  We use onions and garlic in nearly every meal.

Our new buck, Dante, is doing just fine in his new surroundings.  He is our free-range goat as we let him wander around whenever we are outside.  He prefers the weeds in the gardens, which is great.

The older does, though, are definitely envious.

Knitting Mittens

Knitting mittens while the tomatoes ripen.

The grey and peach are knit from Peace Fleece yarn and are for Emmy.

The green one on the needles, are for Abraham, the color is green at his request.

Joining in with Ginny today.