Picture Day!

J and Little Bird

 So last weekend we got to steal Darek away for a little while. Most of the time when we get to have Darek, we like to take a lot of pictures! And if it isn't pictures it is crafts. For all of you lucky readers though, we decided on a few hours of soccer and an "old time" photo shoot in our modest garden out back.

I'm currently trying to use Photoshop. For anyone out there who has gone into this program as blind as I am- you'll understand why none of these images have been enhanced. I have no idea what I'm doing in there. I just click on random things until the picture is nearly unrecognizable.















Every person on earth that has learned how to master this is incredibly impressive in my book!

Someday in the near future, more pictures will be taken. More pictures that perhaps will be edited. But in the meantime, you can enjoy my novice attempts :)

Please note Harvey's look of terror in the picture above. He did NOT like mommy jumping. It may have been the worst 30 seconds of his life as I attempted to take a picture of the four of us all together.

Note to self- wishing you had grace and the leg power to jump more than an inch of the ground does not actually give you either of those things.



Just another thought that has come in more clearly as of late. I know that I've talked before about the benefits of our family now being substantially less fortunate when it comes to money, and how many wonderful things have come from that. I just want to share a few more things. I've been walking to most every store that I need to go to.  Do you know why? To save on gas, especially now that it is almost 4 dollars a gallon. But, since I have started doing this, I weigh less than I did when I got pregnant with Harvey.

On a related note, I make dinner, lunch and breakfast every day. I do NOT go out anywhere any more to get an entire meal. ( We did splurge a little last night and go to a local cupcakery that has a date night special on Friday and Saturday. Six dollars for two coffees and two cupcakes!!) Making dinner every night leaves us both with left overs for lunch the next day.

We also can't afford to buy much outside of the fruit and vegetable department, which means we aren't eating a lot of processed anything anymore! Less money = more FRUITful life.

We are so much happier now that we don't eat garbage, we can not afford to be lazy and have a pizza night. It is glorious. I no longer have to wake up the morning after a "lazy" day and continue to feel terrible because I ate my weight in processed and grease covered food.

Here's to poverty. It's treating us well!

More of what I've learned...

Peas explosion

It seems to me that the farther into this journey I get the more knowledge I am unknowingly acquiring. Such is the case with most journeys right?

What I've learned about my six month old in the past two weeks alone is enough to blow my mind. He's starting to crawl, crawl. How did we go from a little tiny blob of love to a moving and shaking infant? In only 6 months? He's learning to walk and I can't even convince myself to go on a run...

He is so vocal, there is a lot of babbling happening these days. When he discovers a new sound he can make, he uses it all day! Today, he realized he too could sound like donald duck and has been quacking every other breathe!

He's realized how fun his bath can be, and is quickly outgrowing his little tub and now reaching for the sides of the big tub his little one is resting in. I was just bathing him and realized that some day in the not so far future he's going to be an adult himself. Can  I confess that just the thought brought me to tears? I love him so much and the thought of him being an adult tears my little heart out. I'm sure this will ease with time, but I'm not eager to let any minute slip away!

I've also realized that I have NO modesty when it comes to feeding my precious little chunk in public. I was a little weary about breastfeeding in public, but it has since become second nature. Whats it to ya if I pop out my milk maker?

He's gotta eat right?

Speaking of....I better run! He's ready to munch!

New Discoveries

Enjoying a late lunch

As we start venturing out a little more with our little bundle of joy I've noticed something that has bothered me quite a bit. Nine times out of ten there isn't a changing station in mens restrooms.
What the heck society??? Fortunately for Jason I'm almost always with him. But what about the unfortunate fellow that has wandered out to give his wonderful partner a rest and is now faced with a baby that needs a serious diaper change and has no where to go?!?!
Yes, he could go out to the car and do it in there, but why should he have to do that when women can just waltz on into the bathroom, quickly change their baby and be on with their shopping?
The only place that had a satisfactory bathroom situation was IKEA. (Of course they did, they suck you in with everything) IKEA had an entire family ROOM. So both mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, granny and pappy could come in!
All I'm saying is to toss another fold down station into the men's room. They need it just as badly as the women do.

Another new discovery? Feeding Harvey real food. WHAT?!?! How is he already 6 months old? I thought that by the time he got to this point I would feel like he was old enough to not survive on breast milk alone. I WAS WRONG! He is very preferential to his breast milk, and only occasionally will tolerate eating something that isn't that.  We've had a successful run with bananas, apples and frozen strawberries that he can suck on. Outside of that he mostly just likes to rub it all over his face. 

Who am I to keep him from utter happiness? He obviously loves to wear it! We'll see what the next 6 months brings on the food front. 

The perfect toast

I'm sitting here at 6:47 this morning feeling incredibly accomplished. I peed alone this morning- that in itself is a serious treat! I did all of the dishes in the sink that have been screaming at me for well over a week. I made a pot of coffee and poured all of its dark deliciousness into my favorite mug.

Side note on my mug- I recently purchased this mug on our trip across America. If you've read my previous blog you will note that I visited a little diner in Fort Collins by the name of Silver Grill. Again I will remind you of how much you are missing out on by not eating their cinnamon rolls- spend the 1,000 dollars it takes to get out there just to eat one. You will not be disappointed. You may never come back home. You may decide that that is the only cinnamon roll you'll ever eat again. And you know what? Not one person would blame you. You're family may throw you a giant party because of it!

Okay- back to the mug. Have you ever been to one of these "older" diners and had a mug that just keeps and keeps your coffee warm? It's this perfect thickness, it's a solid mug. Much unlike the free, yard sale, or clearance mugs that currently inhabit my cabinets. It's a dream come true mug. It's a mug that makes me think I'm living a real life novel. I am sitting at my kitchen table, though I should be showering,  and I'm drinking this amazing coffee out of a mug that will keep it warm until next tuesday!

Before I got to drinking my delicious coffee this morning I had to eat. I'm not one of those people that can just nurse a beverage in the morning and "feel full". I need food. I need food as soon as I wake up. I try and tell myself that it is because I'm still nursing and requiring the extra 500 calories a day. Who am I kidding? As long as I can remember I have always been all about food. My day is planned around when my next meal is. I have long been in love with food. So I make toast this morning.

Sunday morning at The Coffee Pot

For 24 years, I've been doing it wrong. A few months ago- with the help of our great friends AJ and Sam, we found The Coffee Pot. It is another local place that makes me feel like I'm living the dream. The place is tiny. I mean tiny. It's run by a mother and daughter and a cook. Period. That's it. No more, no less. The dining area consists of a little bar butted up against the coffee station, four tables, and three booths. The walls are a Thomas Kincaid green and everything looks lived in. You feel at home when you walk in. We go there mostly for the home fries because they sprinkle magic into them. MAGIC. I don't know what it is they do that make them crispy and soft at the same time. I don't know what kind of onion they use that gives it this amazing flavor.  But they do it, and they do it all with finesse. We occasionally order toast, and thanks to Jason I now know the secret.

How many of you just toss that toast in on a medium setting, eagerly await that terrible pop that sends you through the roof, spread on your solid of choice and go on with your day? All of you? I thought so. I too used to be a one pop kind of girl. And then I ate toast at The Coffee Pot. You'll smack yourself for not knowing this. Crank that toaster to a lower setting- let's say a two or light depending on your toaster. Push that lever down and let her rip, but when it pops- TURN THE TOAST AND DO IT AGAIN!

That's it?!?!?! That is the BIG secret that all of these diners have been doing to make their toast better than mine??! You better believe it.

Now- go forth and make toast. I've got a trip to IKEA calling my name.

What America Taught Us

The Rockies and My Family

I'm alive!! Believe it or not! And two teeth later I'm finding the few precious moments in the day to write a post. We recently got back from our trip across america- Yes thats right. Trip across America. We drove our little selves from Cleveland to Denver. Six days total of driving.

I think we all learned a little something about ourselves this trip. 

Harvey learned that he reaches his breaking point at 12 hours in a vehicle. He also learned that no matter what mommy and daddy are trying to do- he always wins. We thought that going to visit the wildlife park would be an excellent idea. A one mile walkway with nothing on it- you just get to enjoy the animals from above. I don't think Harvey enjoyed much of it at all. We made it about 100 ft in when he started whimpering. Around the half mile mark we had gone from soft screams to a full on breakdown. You'd have thought Jason and myself were escaping from one of the animals. Our legs moved so quickly that I'm almost positive they were a blur beneath our feet. We bobbed and weaved through the crowds with such fluidity- I felt like a super hero. Here we are, zooming past these animals at light speed- and do you know what? Jason still has the where with all to snap some pictures! JOB WELL DONE!

Jason learned about the glories of IKEA. I'm not sure how great or terrible this is. It's opened up our wallets to another one of those "but it's so fairly priced" splurges. We spent a total of four glorious hours roaming the gargantuan building. As my aunt says "I"m almost positive their parking garage is bigger than the airports". Harvey was in baby heaven, I wore him in the moby and he slept blissfully for almost the entirety. We filled our cart to the max almost as soon as we walked in- of course we did? Have you been to an IKEA? Have you had your eyeballs just overloaded and you automatically think you need everything you see???? WE SURE DID! Thank goodness we always re-evaluate our cart before we head to the checkout. What was I going to do with a decorative salad bowl? How many dinner parties do I really have? Do I really need 5 tea light lanterns? In the first three hours you need everything, the fourth hour you try and convince yourself whether or not these are things you NEED or things you just WANT SO BADLY YOU COULD DIE?

It was tough- but we even left under budget. We're going to the one in Pittsburgh sometime this week to get more things.

Silver Grill Cafe in Fort Collins, CO

And lastly- myself. What did I learn while on vacation? I learned that I love to feel at home wherever I am. I'm not one of those people that like to go to all of the swanky restaurants while vacationing. I like to find the diner that has been rocking out since the 1930's and sit down with the locals. Stick me where no one else thinks to go. That is where I'm happiest. I want to talk to people. I met so many people, heard so many stories. I also got to hear stories from Jason. We spent nearly 90 hours on the road the past week- and the majority of that time we got to talk to one another. When was the last time you sat down with your spouse and just enjoyed one another? Not the television, not the radio, just one another. It was glorious. I got to fall in love with him all over again. Lucky lucky me.  

I'm normally not one to boast- but I will be boastful about my boys. I have such beautiful men in my life! How did I ever get this lucky? 

So all in all- I learned I love to feel like I've always been someplace. Harvey learned that his parents love him more than anything they ever thought they'd do. Jason learned that IKEA really is what it's all about.








PS: One thing we all learned- Silver Grill has the most amazing cinnamon rolls on earth.

You will never find another one like it.

Living the Dream or Dreaming to live?

24 years old.
One child.
One soon to be husband.
One rental home.
Four animals.
No job.

At his point in my life I'm not exactly where I thought I would be. But I'm not dissatisfied either. We all dream of different accomplishments we will have reached by the time we are in our 20's. Of course, at the age of 15, 25 seems lifetimes away! I thought by now I would have finished college, bought my own home, been married and all sorts of other age appropriate goals. I've done a little of this whole plan backwards. I had my child before I got married and truth be told I wouldn't have it any other way. Jay and myself have done a lot of things backwards, but it seems to be how we work. We work best going against the grain, bucking trends and following our hearts.

Lately I've been  feeling sorry for myself- I keep putting time limits on my dreams. I should have done this by now, or jesus why haven't I accomplished this or that. How is it that so many other people my age have done a certain thing and I can't seem to get the where with all to do it myself?

Society dictates that to be a successful adult you should have a college degee, own your own home, own your own car, and make the big bucks! What if you still don't know what you want to do as a "career" though? Then what? I really enjoy being a mother, it fills every need I have excluding bringing in a pay check. So how do I remedy this?

If there is one thing I've learned in life so far it is to dream big, and not to give up! What good does it do me to feel sorry for myself and compare my accomplishments to others? NONE! I'm being financially responsible and that means that we don't go on vacation, that we don't go out to eat, that our wedding will have foil wedding bands and handmade flowers from recycled products! And there isn't anything wrong with that! Why? Because I'm happy and I'm giving my family all of myself. I'm lucky enough to be able to do that. I'm dedicating myself to engaging with Harvey all day, by taking walks with my younger brother, by cleaning my house so that when Jay comes home we can enjoy one another.

If I'm to make my mark in this world- what better way to do it then to make a human being with excellent morals and a fantastic inner compass! I'm helping to shape a new human being for the human race! Score one for momma!

And at the end of the day, my BIG dreams don't even require that I have a college degree. College is going to teach me how be the best mother I can be. A degree isn't going to get up every morning and tend to the garden that will feed my family. A degree won't give the alpaca farm I hope to have the love it needs to thrive. A degree won't spin the wool to make the yarn that I will sell. A degree won't wake up at 6 AM to make breakfast for the guests at my bed and breakfast. A degree won't give my children the memories that our farm will.  A degree won't teach my children the taste of a warm tomato from the garden. A degree won't give them the glee of a summer day with mom and dad at the zoo.

I am the best gift I could give to Harvey. My dreams are the gift I will some day give myself.

We made it!

Okay, so one of the hardest days of my life are over. I championed watching Darek graduate. It seemed like a movie. There was no way that at the end of this my little baby brother was going to be done with high school, but alas- here he is. A graduate.

And now that he is a graduate, he gets to hang out at the house with me and Harvey every day. It has been amazing. I'm so thankful that his heart is so big. All Harvey has to do is whine and Darek is on it. Scoops him right up and runs for me- "Nae, I think he wants you!"

Harvey has recently discovered his tongue, making handing him to strangers a gamble. Is he going to lick their face? Is he going to suck their shoulder? Some people aren't as clean as a parent may like them to be when handing over their new baby. It's been an adventure so far.

Another new discovery is that he can indeed make sound outside of crying. He has mastered these short Huh Huh Huh sounds- one right after the other, at four in the morning, when he really wants mommy to just pay attention. I'm in love. So many amazing new things that he can do, and that now Darek gets to experience daily!

Stay tuned for a more updated post...I'm writing this during a quick diaper change while daddy is here! Early bedtime= more posts :)