While life continues at the aforementioned hectic pace, here's a little something to tide all my readers over: I've got a guest post up over at Catholic Mothers Online today. Go on over and read about 4-H: is it 4-U?
I should of course mention that I could have written so much more about 4-H. We're supposed to keep it under 900 words, so I did, but I had to trim like crazy to even meet that. How do you sum up something that shaped your life so dramatically? Something that has given you a substantial number of the skills you are proud of, many of the friends you hold dear, and the lion's share of memories from your childhood? We, of course, were probably a more-than-typically involved 4-H family. We didn't "do" team sports, and 4-H was our substitute. The year turned according to the 4-H calendar: monthly meetings, Sheep Camp, Addison Field Days, VT State Fair, Eastern States Exposition... events that I attended nearly every year for almost 20 years, and that now, several years later, I still miss, and yet can picture with incredible clarity in my mind.
Anyway, check out the post. Yes, the photos are vintage shots of me, circa... 1998, from actual sheep show events (reason enough to check it out!). But seriously, if you have 4-H-age children, or even if you don't (it's never too early to start planning ahead!), I encourage you to think about whether this is a program that might fit into your family's life. We loved it, and I bet you would, too.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Things and Stuff
Wow. I know I've been really quiet lately, but I promise, I've got a good reason! Life has been so very busy this month. All the usual chaos has been present, plus - drum roll please - it looks like, Lord willing, we're probably going to be purchasing and moving into a house early next month!
That, of course, is a story in and of itself. Nothing is for certain yet, so I won't tell the whole story until it is, but suffice it to say that we're cautiously optimistic, and as long as the various inspections and appraisals and legal stuff goes according to plan, we'll soon be homeowners. It's been a long time coming. We're pretty excited about it all; of course, with the state of the world these days, and the economy and all that, no home purchase (unless you're quite well off, which we are not) comes without compromise, and this is no exception. We had to give up or put on hold some dreams in order to move forward with others, but all in all, I think we'll be happy with it. And, there is a neighbor across the road with a daughter only two weeks older than LW, and who is expecting another baby girl in July, so I'm hopeful that we'll even be able to make some new friends in the neighborhood.
Incidentally, I've decided that the process of home searching, home buying, and moving is far, far more complicated than the process of planning a wedding and getting married was. And that is saying something, because I really thought that was the biggest "planning" ordeal I'd ever have to go through. Maybe it's just because it all happens in a much shorter time frame, though.
In other news, LW turns *two* in just a couple of weeks, as well. I can't believe how the time has flown. It seems like the first year of her life went by so much slower. I think in the first year I was so focused on her: her needs, her growth and development, that I didn't have any time or energy (or truth be told, any interest) in my pre-baby activities or interests. This year, that interest and energy returned, even if time remained limited, and at the same time, she grew more a tiny bit more independent, and more able to be a part of activities. Thus, this year it feels like our family is back to "normal" - but a new normal, of which she is a crucial part, if that makes any sense! I can't wait to see what this year of her life will bring, as she becomes more verbal, and even more capable. It's hard to remember what life was like before her...
As a complication of life being so up in the air (in that we don't actually 100% know where we'll be a month from now), I haven't been able to start a garden yet this year, and I really miss it. I'm hoping to at least get tomatoes and such in; if we manage to move by early June it should be possible, since I think I didn't put them in until at least Memorial Day last year. My green thumb is positively itching though, especially last week when it was lovely and warm out. This week promises to make me happy to stay inside, unfortunately, with rain and cooler temps.
It seems like it's a year of big transitions and changes for almost everyone I know. Friends are getting married, friends are having babies, friends are moving and buying houses, friends are making important and far-reaching decisions about their lives; on the one hand, I'm glad to be a part of the general, dynamic, changing process, but on the other hand, the part of me that resists change is saying, "But we were happy here, we were comfortable, why oh why does it all have to change." Even though I was desperately desiring the change, it is still oh so hard to have to actually go through it. Upheaval is never easy, even when it is positive upheaval!
Anyway, that's the general explanation for my blog silence. I'm hoping to get back into posting more regularly as the weeks go by, and after (if?) we move, life will settle down a good bit. I've got a huge stash of yarn sitting and waiting for me to have a bit more time to knit (although I've been plugging away on projects even with the busyness; the great thing about knitting is I can bring it with me, and knit while my husband drives), and I also have quite a few things I'd love to write and share about. In the meantime, please don't go away just because it's quiet here! I promise I'll be back, more regularly, before too much longer, and if you've got any tips on moving, especially moving with a little one in tow, I'd absolutely love to hear them. Please pray that the remaining hurdles are overcome, and that our move goes smoothly!
That, of course, is a story in and of itself. Nothing is for certain yet, so I won't tell the whole story until it is, but suffice it to say that we're cautiously optimistic, and as long as the various inspections and appraisals and legal stuff goes according to plan, we'll soon be homeowners. It's been a long time coming. We're pretty excited about it all; of course, with the state of the world these days, and the economy and all that, no home purchase (unless you're quite well off, which we are not) comes without compromise, and this is no exception. We had to give up or put on hold some dreams in order to move forward with others, but all in all, I think we'll be happy with it. And, there is a neighbor across the road with a daughter only two weeks older than LW, and who is expecting another baby girl in July, so I'm hopeful that we'll even be able to make some new friends in the neighborhood.
Incidentally, I've decided that the process of home searching, home buying, and moving is far, far more complicated than the process of planning a wedding and getting married was. And that is saying something, because I really thought that was the biggest "planning" ordeal I'd ever have to go through. Maybe it's just because it all happens in a much shorter time frame, though.
In other news, LW turns *two* in just a couple of weeks, as well. I can't believe how the time has flown. It seems like the first year of her life went by so much slower. I think in the first year I was so focused on her: her needs, her growth and development, that I didn't have any time or energy (or truth be told, any interest) in my pre-baby activities or interests. This year, that interest and energy returned, even if time remained limited, and at the same time, she grew more a tiny bit more independent, and more able to be a part of activities. Thus, this year it feels like our family is back to "normal" - but a new normal, of which she is a crucial part, if that makes any sense! I can't wait to see what this year of her life will bring, as she becomes more verbal, and even more capable. It's hard to remember what life was like before her...
As a complication of life being so up in the air (in that we don't actually 100% know where we'll be a month from now), I haven't been able to start a garden yet this year, and I really miss it. I'm hoping to at least get tomatoes and such in; if we manage to move by early June it should be possible, since I think I didn't put them in until at least Memorial Day last year. My green thumb is positively itching though, especially last week when it was lovely and warm out. This week promises to make me happy to stay inside, unfortunately, with rain and cooler temps.
It seems like it's a year of big transitions and changes for almost everyone I know. Friends are getting married, friends are having babies, friends are moving and buying houses, friends are making important and far-reaching decisions about their lives; on the one hand, I'm glad to be a part of the general, dynamic, changing process, but on the other hand, the part of me that resists change is saying, "But we were happy here, we were comfortable, why oh why does it all have to change." Even though I was desperately desiring the change, it is still oh so hard to have to actually go through it. Upheaval is never easy, even when it is positive upheaval!
Anyway, that's the general explanation for my blog silence. I'm hoping to get back into posting more regularly as the weeks go by, and after (if?) we move, life will settle down a good bit. I've got a huge stash of yarn sitting and waiting for me to have a bit more time to knit (although I've been plugging away on projects even with the busyness; the great thing about knitting is I can bring it with me, and knit while my husband drives), and I also have quite a few things I'd love to write and share about. In the meantime, please don't go away just because it's quiet here! I promise I'll be back, more regularly, before too much longer, and if you've got any tips on moving, especially moving with a little one in tow, I'd absolutely love to hear them. Please pray that the remaining hurdles are overcome, and that our move goes smoothly!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Fun for a Monday
I've recently altered my work schedule so that I do the bulk of my workload (about 12 of the 15 hours) on Monday and Tuesday, in order to have a four day weekend. This is great, once I hit Wednesday or Thursday, but it does make starting the week back up a little bit rough. I have to work mostly when LW is napping, or Jim is home, which means mostly in the afternoon, evening, and after she goes to bed at night (9-11 pm - ugh!). This week, though, I decided to try to make the mornings as fun as possible: I did most of the housework on the weekend, so I'm telling myself to let things slide as much as possible, and just have a good time playing with LW.
At this time of year, mostly she just keeps saying "Awk, Awk," i.e. she wants to go for a walk. But, unlike yesterday's balmy temperatures in the 70's, today is a brisk 55, warm enough for her to want to stay out all day, but cold enough to have me shivering in a few minutes (for some reason, she's always warmer than me; the "dress your baby one layer warmer than you would be comfortable in" was always backwards for her). Thus, I needed a good indoors activity. Fortunately, I intentionally got some alum at the grocery store yesterday: the last ingredient I needed to make some homemade playdough! I found a good recipe at Skip to my Lou. I expected this to be a lot more difficult than it was; all I had to do was boil and stir. I added some food coloring and orange essence for scent, and voila! playdough, minus the scary chemicals and "don't let your child eat" warning.
Although she only ended up playing with it for a few minutes (so far), there's something really cathartic about molding dough. It's a great stress-reliever, which is exactly what I needed today (we're supposed to hear about an offer we made on a house today; hence, I'm a little more stressed even than usual!).
How would you conquer a case of "The Mondays"?
At this time of year, mostly she just keeps saying "Awk, Awk," i.e. she wants to go for a walk. But, unlike yesterday's balmy temperatures in the 70's, today is a brisk 55, warm enough for her to want to stay out all day, but cold enough to have me shivering in a few minutes (for some reason, she's always warmer than me; the "dress your baby one layer warmer than you would be comfortable in" was always backwards for her). Thus, I needed a good indoors activity. Fortunately, I intentionally got some alum at the grocery store yesterday: the last ingredient I needed to make some homemade playdough! I found a good recipe at Skip to my Lou. I expected this to be a lot more difficult than it was; all I had to do was boil and stir. I added some food coloring and orange essence for scent, and voila! playdough, minus the scary chemicals and "don't let your child eat" warning.
Although she only ended up playing with it for a few minutes (so far), there's something really cathartic about molding dough. It's a great stress-reliever, which is exactly what I needed today (we're supposed to hear about an offer we made on a house today; hence, I'm a little more stressed even than usual!).
How would you conquer a case of "The Mondays"?
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