Our St. Patrick's Day: A Photo Journey

Audrey is finally getting to the age where she can really 'get' the holidays that are upon us. Or at least that we should wear green and talk about shamrocks and all that rot. It's fun to be able to actually celebrate holidays with Audrey and not go through the motions for her, post pictures and then act like we all had a grand time

Speaking of grand times...this kid knows how to get a party started.
...or a zombie riot
I never underestimate the potential curve balls she could lob at me.


Please note the green Mickey Mouse jammies and that the purple sauce is actually blueberry juice--not zombie brains.

This is Audrey's preschool gang; it was fun seeing them get into the spirit of things

As always, Audrey's favorite part of preschool is playing outside.

When we got home, Audrey helped Mama make some bread for dinner

And she even sorted the clean silverware for me. Hallelujah!

I know you were noting the conspicuous lack of Bailey in this post and here's why: She's too busy dancing, running away naked, and climbing on top of chairs, laundry baskets, tables and couches to get a clear picture of her. Here she is strapped to my back--it's about the only way to get her to stay in one place long enough to snap a photo.

There would've been a picture here of the awesome corned beef and cabbage we had for dinner, but I scarfed it down before there was even time for photographic evidence. Happy St. Patrick's Day, folks!

...and for good measure, here's a video of my girls dancing to an Irish Jig:

It's getting a bit obsessive

I'm feeling incredibly conflicted. And for those of you who know me--it is not normal. I tend to pride myself on my decision making skills: assess all possible options, pick one, move on. I don't like wallowing in indecision.

I've recently come upon a book; Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists. And all I can say is: Wow. Mind blown. This book is basically a compilation of interviews the author did across the country of organic farmers, cooks and activists...hippies...tree huggers--my folk. I have a feeling this book isn't nearly as revolutionary as I think it is, but in reading these interviews I've found myself longing to have the life these people do. A simple, nearly self-sustaining life where you know where your food comes from or know who grew/raised it. I want that. Maybe my baby-fever-longing-for-a-dairy-cow psychosis is really just a longing to return to the earth--for a simpler life. Now don't get me wrong; I know the term 'simple life' implies there is little work to be done when the opposite is true, but it is what my heart is aching for.

And now for the indecision: I do not live on farm land. We live in the county, thank God, which means we can get away with quite a lot, but this is where God put me. He did not send me to live on 40 acres with a herd of dairy cows and chickens underfoot, and short of digging up every available space in the back yard and turning it into pasture, I don't think Bessy the milking cow will ever take up residence on West Yellowstone Ave. So where does that leave me? With a passion for organic agriculture, relatively little knowledge in any one aspect of it and little land to use as an outlet. My solutions? Learn. Learn by reading, by doing and by seeking out others who do what I want to do. In the mean time I really hope I don't run off what friends and family I do have with my incessant thoughts and words on this topic. If you're not a tree hugging, cow-lovin' wanna-be farmer, then please forgive me. I can't help myself.

In my life

As many of you have been able to tell, I've recently joined the cult of iPhone users. And it's life-changing...it really is. Even though I live in constant fear of being that person--the one who is constantly plugged in--I'm grateful that it gives me the chance to keep up correspondence, take pictures and share things like never before. As always, technology and I have a love/hate relationship. But it makes my heart happy that I can catalog what we've been up to and share it with you.

To begin with, the weather here has been taking a turn towards gorgeous. I'm drinking it in, because I know in less than two weeks, I'll be in Chi-Town freezing my booty off and this will all be a distant memory.

Bailey has recently discovered that sidewalk chalk does not taste good, but it's worth the fun of grossing Mom out.

John is taking a graduate level class that the Lab is paying for. Here, Audrey was helping him write a paper.

We recently hosted preschool at our house. As you can tell, with Gillian as a teacher it takes a turn from 'let's deliberately learn things' to 'why don't we play and eat popcorn'. I see nothing wrong with this.

Kap and Jeff and Ollie D came into town for the weekend. It's always awesome to see my nephew and we put up with his parents because they're his designated drivers for the next 15-ish years.

We celebrated both John and Jeff's birthdays last night--John got this fantastic pipe from his In-Laws. They must know the guy pretty well.

Around the house, things continue as always: Audrey loves to help me in the kitchen...

Bailey runs away from me whenever possible, in various stages of undress...

Audrey remains one of the silliest kids I know...

and Bailey is working on some competition for Audrey's bedhead.

This is my life. Does it get any better than this?

New Additions

As many of you know, I suffer from the genetic disorder of over-ambition; it runs rampant in the females on my side of the family. And while I used to be of the mind that a whole litter of babies was in the cards for me, I have surprisingly turned my heart towards a smaller nuclear family. However, this does not mean that I no longer have the urge to care for small, defenseless creatures...I just prefer them to sleep through the night and generally take care of their own bodily functions. Enter: our newest family members--the chickens!

By name: Bea, Blanche, Sophia, Rose and Dorothy

These ladies are fantastic: they keep down the weeds, rototill the soil, eat our kitchen scraps, provide the girls with hours of entertainment and pop out farm fresh eggs like nobody's business. These are happy hens, folks. I love them. And some day I will most likely kill and eat them and/or their offspring. I have no problem with that--they're the world's best pets.

And speaking of pets, (whom we do not plan to eat) we've added another, more domestic, beast to our family: A furball named Luther! Luther was formerly the Moore family's cockapoo puppy; he and Granny formed an attachment while she was in Vancouver staying with the kids and after a trial period to see if Caba would eat him or not, we've decided that he would make a wonderful addition to the family. And most importantly, the girls loooooove him. Audrey is infatuated with him in a mother-hen sort of way, but I think Bailey has some serious designs on him as best friend material. I'll make sure to post a picture of him soon.

Sadly, I think the lack of baby-fever and the installation of these new critters in our home has brought about a rather alarming (for John) state of being in me: I have Mad Cow Disease. Er...Cow Fever?? This is not coming out right: I want a dairy cow...so badly that I mention it to everyone I speak to and probably bring it up to John about 836 times a day. I get ridiculously crabby any time I have to go to the store to buy milk and am constantly planning how I can eek out enough pasture land from the yard to merit a very small and totally manageable Jersey cow. I keep telling myself that by pure force of will I can make this come about. I want a cow like I wanted a baby. It's that bad. Maybe you could say a prayer or two for me. I'm off to go commune with the chickens and drown my sorrows in some grass-fed happy cow milk.

Grounded

In general we tend to spend our mornings out and about, whether it be at Bethel to work out, grocery shopping, story time, preschool, play dates, you name it. Our mornings are busy. Nothing can put all that on hold like a pathetically sick and snotty kid. Bailey woke up two mornings ago oozing green snot. It's lovely. Especially caked all over her face right after she wakes up. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that we have been grounded for the last two days, which is pretty unusual for this lot.

While I am definitely used to the chaos of running two crazy kids around town, I love the freedom of spending time at home with no responsibilities. (other than caring for two small children and doing dishes and laundry) The girls and I spent a lot of time playing, cleaning and making more messes and Audrey spent a lot of time working on her letters, writing notes to people (keep a weather eye on your mailboxes) and doing activities in a book her Granny brought back home for her. One of the pages included had lots of blanks to fill in for her favorite things. I got a kick out of some of her answers:

Favorite Book: 'Cinderella one' (Granny just brought back a stack of books for the girls and Audrey has been carting them and her fuzzy pillow around the house. She'll perch herself atop her pillow and just 'read'. Be still my heart!)
Favorite Movie: Snow White (a.k.a. the first movie title that came to mind. her favorite is definitely The Lion King)
Favorite Song: 'Cinderella night and day' (although the songs she most frequently sings are 'sixteen going on seventeen' and the 'Do Re Mi' song from The Sound of Music)
Favorite Food: 'um...probably spaghetti" (pronounced: puhscetti)
Favorite Toy: Basketball! (what?!)
Favorite Activity: Coloring (this could easily be tied with dancing or being high maintenance)
Favorite Friends: Papa, Alivia and Jessica (yes--you, Richard!)
Pets: Caba and Luther (more on this later)
Teacher: Aunt Biz! (yelled enthusiastically with a snarky grin)

I love that kid.

In Bailey news, aside from being sicky, she's a heck of a lot of fun. She thinks pretty much everything is hilarious and her favorite activities are: standing in the rocking chair, getting into trouble, chasing her sister, climbing in the dishwasher, playing in the dog dish, eating toilet paper, giving awesome high fives, kicking off her shoes in the car, peeing on the floor as her Mama is getting out the potty seat, getting into more trouble, attempting to drop items in the toilet, and smiling so sweetly her Mama can't possibly get mad at her. What a conundrum.

In other completely random news, I recently got my hair cut. When I put it in a pony tail I kind of end up looking like Sorsha from the movie Willow. I hope the girls in my work out class appreciate that one.

In an effort to simplify my life I'm also attempting to not wear shoes as much as possible. I've decided that since I'm not the type to lounge in my jammies for too long, making it through a day without having to don footwear is a pretty good indicator of a day well spent.

That's all I've got. I'm off to go work in my garden...and I will be wearing shoes since it's only 30-something degrees out there. Oh, and if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and watch Willow this weekend--look out for Daikinis!

Unplugged

I've been avoiding my blog for a long time. It is not Thanksgiving...or Christmas...or even New Year's. Needless to say, putting something out into the internet void was not on my list of resolutions. I have no resolutions. It's liberating.

I feel the overwhelming need to be unplugged at this stage of my life; my children and family encompass so much of my identity that they are almost all consuming...and that's how it should be. I should not be habitually checking my email or texting or religiously following people's facebook status updates; my life is the here and now. It is beautiful.

I know it's important to keep this blog functioning, to serve as a connection to the people who are casualties of my unplugged lifestyle, but I find myself wanting to relate in detail how magnificently brilliant my two-and-a half year old is and how stunningly clever that one-year-old girl is. I want you to know how many teeth are in their heads, the way their hair has identical cow-licks in the back and the exact smirk both of them make when they know they're about to get in trouble.

I want everyone to know how magical and exhaustingly revitalizing our Christmas vacation was and how our ordinary, every day life looks.

I am not up to the task.

So there is forever destined to be a void in this little documentation of my girls' existence. Let it be known that the void came about as a result of hours spent twirling in the living room, eating peanut butter sandwiches and mac 'n cheese, snuggling in Mama and Papa's bed and stories read and reread until they were ingrained in our brains. Life is good.

...I'll at least try to keep you updated on the impending arrival of our newest family members...four laying hens and a home-made chicken tractor! Feel free to remain on the edge of your seats.

It's Never Too Late to be Thankful

I've been living a lot more in the moment lately; trying to stop time and just spend moments with my girls. There's a lot that can be said for a conversation over tea...or mac n cheese...or even mumbled in bed.

Thanksgiving at the Schweighardt house came and went in a beautiful blur of memories. I don't know how many of you know, but lately I've been dealing with a more severe form of Hypoglycemia than I have been used to for the past few years and John has recently been battling issues with his gallbladder. Both of these tend to limit our eating habits and it was a new experience for Thanksgiving not to be completely centered around the joy of gorging ourselves on food.

Our first snow of the year came the week of Thanksgiving and we were blessed to have many cousins at the house to take the girls out to romp in the snow while Mama made pies. (I might not be able to eat them, but I sure as heck was going to make them!)

Audrey became best buddies with Trevor's fiance, Kirsten; she made short work of forging a bond with my little skeptic and I think that went a long way to earn Trevor some much-deserved Audrey affection. My Dragon keeps the demand for her love high, lest it should be underestimated.

And although she is considerably more snuggly than she was as a baby, I still can't help but sigh every time that little girl shows me affection.



Thanksgiving Day, I had the rare opportunity to take a nap while the girls were awake. It was getting late in the afternoon and I was woken up by Audrey requesting to come sleep with me; she climbed into bed, commandeered one of my pillows and burrowed under the covers while jabbing me with her feet. (This is pretty standard fare as far as snuggling with Audrey goes.) She squirmed and rolled around and played with my hair and then whispered:
"Hey Mama?"
"hmmm?" I answered.
"I ask you a question." she replied.
"What?" I mumbled.
"What you thankful for?"
"Well, I'm thankful for you and Bailey and your Papa. I love you, you know."
Then she wrapped her arm around my head like she was cradling a child and said: "I love you too, Mama. I love you too."

As long as I live I will be thankful for that moment. And I'll be trying to make even more that are just as sweet to me. I am thankful to be a Mama and a Wife, a sister and a daughter and that someday soon I will also be an Aunt!

Happy Holidays!