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.