Yesterday:

After a morning that started at 5:30 and looked like this times 10:

(because my son is going through a super-needy-lots-of-screaming phase) I was feeling pretty bad. My children are really relentless right now. Both of them want me all the time, and I'm not getting any peace most days. I mean really not a single break until they go to bed, so I'm making sure that happens very early. I am only 23 weeks along, but I feel HUGE, and this time I have horrible back pain, so my ability to deal is somewhat limited.

So while the boy is napping I try to make sure that Ray gets some special constructive mama-time. We made bread. We spoke in very quiet voices the whole time to try and "reset" the volume that was going on in the house. It was really nice, and I felt like peace was somewhat restored.

Then after Zev woke up we went to the library where I got to knit about 2 rounds on my latest project in between getting up to keep the baby out of trouble. He is very different than my daughter was in that he not only requires constant supervision, but also constant intervention. He is SO active, and a terrible climber. There is a catastrophe about every 15 seconds if you're not right on him all the time.

By the way my latest project is this:

Same as the last one, but in the "Chickie Masla" colorway (Peace Fleece). It is getting its sleeves right now. I am outgrowing these sweaters more quickly than I can knit them, so getting the fit right is a guessing game. -But on and on I knit, because I have to. It's all I've got. At the festival I saw a bumper sticker that said: "I knit, so no one has to die." Perhaps a bit harsh, but there's something to that. I am also trying to find time in the evenings for a rather ambitious Christmas project for Rayona -as usual, so pe-natal yoga time is pretty much out the window for now. I really need to be doing it, but there's only so much energy to go around, and most nights I'm too tired, and spent to even think about it. I realize the aparent stupidity in avoiding the one thing which could possibly help me physically, but I'm just soooooo tired, and Christmas presents are a big deal when you're three and a half. Especially ones made by your mom. She knows I'm up to something, so it had better be good.

Well, we're back:

We went to Rhinebeck again for the festival, and it was great as usual.

Everything was so pretty, and we had awesome weather.

I ate everything I intended to, and apparently have gained another NINE pounds this month, but that's pretty on-track for me. I also bought some really beautiful wool for a few projects. All in all it was splendid. Thank you sweet husband for providing your family with such a lovely weekend that was more meaningful than you can ever know. The Sheep and Wool Festival is something I anticipate every year, and it never disappoints!

Another Autumn Post:

Yay Fall is here! My favorite, and in my opinion this almost the best place to be for it. The Hudson Valley is a little better, but the Adirondacks will do. This year the warm weather drastically shortened our leaf season. It was cold today, though.

I am very sad that farmer's market season is coming to a close, and I feel that I should have bothered to buy more bushels of things to put up. Now I will have to go back to supermarket shopping very soon. Yuck, but I was busy with not feeling so great up until recently, and my sense of planning went out the window.

Next year maybe my garden will have better luck as well.

Well, I've found out that I'm having another little boy. I was pretty surprised, because I was so sure it was a girl this time. So this is really exciting, and I'm struggling with names again, and trying to decide what color to paint their room. The room where my son currently sleeps is pretty empty and plain, so some boyish decoration is in order. I love that we're going to have a room for "the boys". That's so fun. Ray is happy, although she had requested a sister. When I told her she just said: "Oh! There will be two Baby Zevs!". I said: "Sort-of".

This is the best I could do:

In the time allowed to me by my children to take a photo. Which was none. I look a bit grim. Oh, well.

I finally have a sweater for me which I actually wear! This one is awesome, and so soft and really warm. The pattern is "#22 Garter Yoke Cardigan" available on Ravelry. The yarn is Peace Fleece, Kalinka Malinka Blue. Nice yarn, and very reasonably priced, though not for people who are sensitive about wool. It feels like wool for sure, and smells like the Dutchess County Fairgrounds During the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival, so it's A-OK with me. I will be knitting another one ASAP, because I am wearing this one every day. It's perfect for this climate, because it's really thick and dense. I love Autumn, and a couple new handknits for me are definitely called for this year. I do seem to be outgrowing this sweater rapidly though, at 18 weeks along (and 15 pounds), and I fear that it will actually be a bit big after the baby weight goes, but better than too small.

Speaking of the Sheep and Wool Festival -I am so looking forward to it as always. It's my favorite weekend of the whole entire year. I can smell the garlicky goodness of the fried artichoke stand, and the hot cider and hot chocolate with cinnamon, and the cups of coffee between freezing cold hands. We had wind and drizzle the last two years, but my spirits cannot be dampened on the third weekend of October. All the better to bundle up in wooly hats, and scarves and mittens and sweaters. Oh, if you're not a knitter you won't get it too well. My husband is not a knitter, but he is a trooper, and he likes food. My kids love the animals, so it's a win all around, and if it's not that's too bad, 'cause we're going.

ONE!!!!

My boy is one:

It's hard to believe this is the same baby -he was SO dark when he was born. Now he is practically blonde, and tan like a surfer.

Obligatory baby-eating-cake-shot:

The cake was for Zev and Daddy who have their birthdays three days apart. The theme was "bugs" -mostly for Rayona's benefit. She was so excited. She really likes bugs.

She also got a "new" sleeping bag in which she spent the first few days camping in the living room. She now sleeps in it every night. SO great how a little thing like that is such fun when you're three.

She amazes me. Kids at this age are so able to absorb and retain information. She can identify many MANY species of animals in her children's reference books, and also local wildflowers and garden flowers. I love hearing her say: "Birdsfoot Trefoil". I never get tired of that.

In other baby news, I am beginning to feel like a human being again (most days). I still feel pretty yucky, but at almost fifteen weeks (already?) I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am now beginning to obsess over the gender of my child. You would think it wouldn't matter after already having a girl and a boy, and I have no preference, but I am SO ANXIOUS to find out what we're having. Now that I know how different they can be, and how much the family dynamic will be affected either way. If I end up with another boy I have no name for him. I agonized over the choosing of Zev's name, and we are all very happy with it (even though everyone still calls him "brother"). -But that took ages to sort out. If it's a girl I have a name which has been there since just after Rayona's birth. I feel like I'm supposed to have a little girl with that name some day, so if this one's a boy I may have to have another baby.

So anyway...

I guess I decided to take a long break from blogging a while back. I just wasn't into it, and my readers had dropped off anyway. -But now I'm back -sort of.

We've been doing good summer stuff generally, and have just returned from our yearly trip to Cape Cod...which could have gone better in some ways. I have also been having a bit of gardening depression owing to a few different factors involving deer and other things. Oh well. We have some nice stuff to look at, but not much to eat.

The real reason I haven't felt like chatting much is that I have been struggling with some stomach issues...because I am pregnant again already (!!). Yay! So although I have been almost completely sidelined with "morning" sickness for many weeks somewhere deep down inside I am really very very happy. I have to keep reminding myself of this, because I can barely care for the children I already have right now. It's beginning to get better, but it has been SO rough. I didn't feel like this with my son, but I did with my daughter. I remember saying that I don't know how anyone could do this with other kids in the house. I just feel so nauseous and tired. It should be over soon if the past is any indication, and once it's gone -it's gone. I need this to be gone soon. YUCK. -But again...YAY!!

Not a lot of time for the ol' blog lately:

Oh, well. It's amazing how much time even a little job like mine consumes. I only work four hours a day, but the whole rest of the day is devoted to getting us all there and then home and fed.

-But we had Mothers' Day.


This holiday seems to mean more to me with each passing year. I had a good one. The gift essentially was time enough to make myself a present:

I like it.

Ah, flowers. I love you so.

Also some gardening going on:

And this:

Ray is THREE!!! Yay sweet birthday girl. I love you "as much as the moon loves the stars, and the trees love the rain, and the flowers love the bees."

This week:

Spring appears to be here, although in this place you never can tell. Last year it snowed on May 31st.

-But look:

He-he...YAY!!

We had Easter and Passover celebrations both.

We also had HOT weather. So lots of yard work and such with sundresses and bare-legged babies. Good stuff.

"Cry-Babies":

Well, I haven't done much in the way of blogging -which is usual for this time of year. I have been super busy with work, and the very mundane at home. Speaking of which I thought I would write an ode to "cry-babies" which is what we call my favorite breakfast item around here. That name comes from the fact that whenever I make the weekly batch my son seems to be screaming at the top of his lungs for one of his various reasons. Anyhow, they are sweet potato-buckwheat biscuits:

The recipe came to me in a newsletter from the Waldorf school where I work right before Thanksgiving, but it was a "Joy of Cooking" type thing (all-purpose flour and added sugar), and not a whole-food type thing, so my mom and I tweaked it until we came up with something we liked better. I have had them almost every morning since with a cup of coffee -YUM. They are the only thing I want first thing in the day, and I always look forward to them. Plus, biscuits are such an old-fashioned, homey thing to make -aren't they? I bake them in two cast iron skillets and an old aluminum cookie sheet. They always come out perfect, and just the way I like them. I just can't say enough about these little things.

Again, YUM. That is all.

Not too much to report:

Indoor play:

-A pair of little red mittens shipped off to a friend:

The days are so much noticeably longer, and that helps, but until we get to be outside a lot again things are tough. My daughter seems to have forgotten how to play independently while at home, and my son cries ALL THE TIME. I think he is teething. He chews, and chews, and chews everything, and drools more than I would have ever thought possible. He does not sleep more than an hour at a time ever, and the rest of the time chews and drools and fusses. He has red cheeks frequently, and red ears, and if you give him your knuckle he will crunch down on it with enough force to crush cars. He wants to nurse constantly. Well...babies, right?

Not too much to say:

It's February...trying to make the best of it.

Winter:

It is SO COLD right now. It's barely passing zero during the days this week.


-So I have created my own winter sun. It's hard to capture just how much bright yellow light it casts. The school had a workshop this morning for Scandinavian window stars. It was fun -I went alone, and got some good socializing done with a few of my co-workers. I brought a giant latte, and talked way too much. I think I really like my new job.

I am enjoying decorating my dining room this year. This is the only space in our home where we are all together at once usually, so that's where I concentrate my efforts, and it really feels special -at least to me.

What else...oh yeah, Baby Zev has some new pants and a new hat which exactly match his unusual dark blue-grey eyes:

-And I have been growing the most delicious sprouts in my kitchen. They taste just like springtime.

Oh gosh:

Big boys:

-And big girls who have their own school bags:

*Sigh*

Finding Time:

I am almost two weeks into my new job here , and so far I like it pretty well. It is totally exhausting, but otherwise it fits pretty well into our lives. I am having to find ways to fit all of my home responsibilities into my day as well, and that is a tough one. Thank goodness for my borrowed crock-pot. I have to avoid the temptation to rush us all around, and allow time for my kids to do things in their way when they need to. This is helping everyone stay happy about all the changes.



Ray likes school. It's very cute to see her lining up with all the bigger kids to come in from recess, and to wash their hands, and to join hands around the table for our lunch blessing. I think we are fitting in pretty well. I miss having time to knit. I have so much other stuff to cram into the morning and evening, that my projects have fallen to the wayside. I have dishes in my sink more often than I'd like as well -and unfolded laundry. For a neat person this is distressing, but there are only so many hours in a day. I think this will work for us until spring, and then I will try to find a way to have the summer mostly off to spend with my kids.

At this point it looks like financially we've come back around to the idea of renting out our house, and moving into the little apartment over our garage. That will be a challenge spacially, but I don't really care about that part of it. When our tenant's lease is up next fall our house will have been on the market for FOUR years. It's time to realize that it's just not going to sell. So strange considering that there's nothing wrong with it, and it's priced a lot lower than what we paid. People have said the bedrooms are too small, and there's no "master" bathroom. Yikes -whatever. It's been a great house for us and several other families over the last hundred or so years. These days people want more. Feh!

So as long as we can somehow add a washer and dryer to the apartment we can survive out there. It needs other things as well, but it'll do. I'm ok with stuffing us into two rooms. It's actually a pretty nice space -a converted barn, really. It can be cold, so we'll have to upgrade the heating a bit, and insulate better. The problem of course is finding cash to do all of this, and getting it all done before next winter. Additionally, we need a reliable tenant for our house. Sigh. It'll all work out somehow. It always does.