There are so many things I want to talk about.  How it feels like we’re moving slowly and that feels good.  How pork chops breaded with corn flake crumbs and baked are amazing.  How I love the Pepperidge Farms whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread toasted with some whipped cream cheese. How both of my kids decided to completely stop napping which means double the messes, none of the recovery time and killed my 2ish hours in the afternoon to be productive or relax(depending on the day) and also happens to be my most common time to sit and blog(hence the lack of post s lately.)  How moving my kids into the bigger of our two bedrooms is revolutionizing my world and theirs. How I’ve been focusing a lot on getting our new little bedrooms to come together now with a teensy budget and a few cheap DIY projects. How I turned on my digital camera and realized that I hadn’t even used it in two weeks. How shooting film lately and barely editing and not staring at a computer screen makes me so happy that I could sing and if you’ve even remotely considered the same, get this book to go along with your journey! How I watched an episode of Downton Abbey accidentally on Saturday night when I should have been going to bed and now I can’t get enough. How little girl braids make me so very happy. How it feels good when everything feels chaotic and I can’t keep up with cleaning my house to just bag up the excess and keep sending it to Salvation Army – I still can’t get over all of the stuff we have, even after we’ve gotten rid of tons and tons in the past months. How I got to visit preschool for the day last week and I cannot believe how much girl dynamics are already apparent, even at 4 years old and a bunch who are all immensely smart and bright and kind.

But I just can’t seem to get my footing , so hang on please, ok? We’ll figure out a new normal soon enough.  I always go back and forth when it feels like this with blogging. Whether to just skip posting and do massive posts once a week or to just pop in a bit with a picture or two here and there and a few bits of words. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer, but I do need to figure out and stumble around a bit with getting into a new routine all around.

p.s. Any favorite Etsy stores for wall art? I have a few pieces in mind and I have lots favorited(is that a word?), but while I’m hunting I’d love any suggestions and I promise to share in an upcoming post!

“It sounds simple: go outside, step into the quiet, if just for a few minutes, and see what rises to the surface. But we can’t do that! It’s almost Christmas! We must do that. It’s almost Christmas. ” -Emily at Chatting at the Sky

It was all there. The ubiquitous family dynamics annoying everyone. Kids fighting over toys and overwhelmed. Bickering as we got ready for people to come over and not-so-kind looks shot like daggers. Stress and energy zap from the endless stream of events and prep. But the best parts -the bits I want to hold closer to me amongst the things that will never change and that I cannot control:
The quiet in the church as I sat alone in the pew saving seats early
The little boy closest to the microphone belting out Silent Night in off-key perfection that had me grinning
The beautiful manger and the altar covered in a tower of poinsettias
My little one’s excitement to wear a fancy dress
The creamiest Blue Cheese and yummy Smoked Gouda and Linzer Torte cookies
Slow present opening that thankfully didn’t feel at all like a shark feeding frenzy
A nap in the afternoon
Knit mittens lined in fleece that my dad picked perfectly for me
A little guy in his new tool belt and pajamas, hammer in hand all day long
Snuggling under the covers with her long after she fell asleep on my way to bed

It was good, but I’m also glad that it’s over – I always am, it’s all just too much.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -Amanda Blake Soule

Congrats Calmly Chaotic, Jenn and Felicia! Look for an email in your inbox from me soon:)

]]> http://domesticsimplicity.com/2011/10/31/happy-halloween/feed/ 0 Lillian http://domesticsimplicity.com/2011/09/30/a-bursting-heart/ http://domesticsimplicity.com/2011/09/30/a-bursting-heart/#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2011 03:03:41 +0000 Lillian http://domesticsimplicity.com/?p=2960 ]]> Some days, it just feels good. For all of the squabble and difficulties, I’ve been finding my eyes filling with tears lately. I am so very thankful to watch these sweet little souls as they grow.

I’m not away for long stretches of time often, but yesterday I was gone from 6:30am until 9:30pm.  I got home exhausted and went upstairs to go straight to bed.  I quietly went into their room to give kisses to sweaty, sleeping heads and as soon as I opened the door he popped up and squeaked out, “Mama,” and started sobbing. I rushed over and picked him up asking him what was wrong.  He tried to tell me, but he was choking back tears and burying his face in my shoulder.  I asked if he had a scary dream and he shook his head.  I asked if his belly hurt and he shook his head.  Then he gulped it out between sobs: “Missed you Mama,” and cried harder into my shoulder.  He missed me. He was just glad I was home.

I love them so much my heart could just burst.

For the most part we have done that, but we did have to squeak in some excitement and it happened in the form of an Amusement Park about 2 hours away via my husband’s company picnic.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect, except that I know tons of people who remembered going to this place as a kid and that it was supposed to basically be the same now as it was when we were kids.  There’s no admission fee, you still just pay for tickets for rides and it has a big old campground attached. There was stuff you would never find in a million years now at a larger amusement park – a ball pit, those crazy swings attached to the big long chains,a pretty old carousel,  a great mix of options for the very little and everyone bigger.

To say that I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement.  We had such a wonderful time.  It was hot, but not humid and the park is built through tons of trees so  it was entirely bearable in the shade.  The kids were happy and behaved without any major meltdowns. My husband and I didn’t bicker about anything the whole day(not even driving!). We just had a really great time. Plus? We all got matching company t-shirts with our names embroidered and the kids thought that it was just about the best thing ever.

For anyone following along on my film journey  these are all shot on Fuji Pro 400h and Kodak Portra 400 with a Minolta srt-101. While not perfect in any way(I’m still majorly working on exposing for shadows – anyone have any great advice there?), they did actually turn out using the crazy meter in the camera, unlike last week, so I’m making progress! I could have edited them more, but I just didn’t feel it today. Progress and learning is a beautiful thing:)

p.s. Hi to everyone new coming over from the WordPress page! It completely made my day to “see” you all here:)

This weekend: We saw The Little Mermaid as a play and had a breakfast date to accompany.  TWO dates with just grownups – heaven, especially the one after me working and him working like crazy to finish the patio – exhausted and hungry and sitting outside late at night, the only ones left on the restaurant patio, with the kids having a sleepover with grandparents.  Lazy afternoon family naps.  Cornstarch sidewalk paint(more details in another post – this was so fun!) Friends over for a BBQ and just relaxing on the finally-finished new patio.  Steak on the grill and roasted beets and potatoes and Heartland Wedges, blueberries and watermelon for dessert.  More BBQ with family. Gardening and watering and cleaning up the masses of tomato plants and corn almost as tall as a grown man and pumpkins attacking everything in sight.

I’m heading back to/sticking with May’s loose break style of posting for a bit. A photo or two and a few words for the day to keep posting rather than just stop like I (seemingly) came close to doing in June. Maybe a few normal posts throw in for good measure, but not the norm. Anyone else with me on that for the summer? A mini  summertime daily photo challenge of just one photo a day for a month(ish) straight?

Hot donuts freshly dipped in the toppings you choose – aaaaamazing.  I didn’t entirely even know what it was when we went, so next time I might not let the kids pick marshmallow and chocolate chips on top of a hot donut to melt all over their hands, faces and clothes…

I’m not saying that any of the above are right or wrong. I kind of just shop depending on my mood and available time that week, but almost always I tell myself that when I go to the farmer’s markets I spend way more than I need to. So last week, I decided to pay a bit more attention just to get an awareness of just how much I might be wasting and I was surprised to actually realize how much I got.

Last Week, $24 Bought:

• 1 basil plant
• 1 lemonade
• 1 bagel
• 1 loaf of rye bread
• 6 limes
• 5 apricots
• 1 pint organic strawberries
• 1 big-ish organic tomato
• 3 organic apples
• 2 peppers
• 4 lemons
• 1/2 lb bacon ends
• 2 organic zucchini
• 5 bananas
• 1 quart mixed baby potatoes

This week at a different market, I didn’t do as great of a job keeping track of money, but I spent about $35-ish on this list, including $2 parking:

• a few lbs of red and white new potatoes
• 1 pint red raspberries
• 1 pint black raspberries
• 1 cup or coffee
• 1 quart strawberry milk
• 1 soft pretzel
• somewhere between a pint and quart of sun gold tomatoes
• 1 organic purple pepper
• 1 head organic deer tongue lettuce
• 1 head purple garlic
•  1 small container of shredded tomme goat cheese
• 1 organic yellow tomato
• 1 big bunch of organic kale
• 1 bunch onions
• 3 fun white cucumbers

This is (obviously) not all of my grocery shopping. We eat what feels like gallons of fruit every week, so we’ve also gone through a lot more lettuce from the garden, 3 pints of blueberries, many lbs of cherries, endless apples and carrots(they’re the snacks in our house that anyone is allowed to grab and eat anytime without asking), oranges and more bananas.  But, all things considered, I was surprised by how much more I was actually getting for the money than I realized – especially since we actually ate/eat all of it. Plus — LOOK at all of that goodness!

Dinner tonight: PW’s Pork Loin with Cranberry Sauce, roasted potatoes and onions, a big green salad and maybe some peas from the garden if there are enough left after the kids pick them. Dessert: Raspberry crisp! Coming up this weekend: kale chips, zucchini ribbons, tomato + basil + oil + vinegar + a sprinkle of cheese + bread.

How about you? Are you starting to find tons of goodness at your markets? Do you find that you spend more or less than elsewhere when you go? DO you go to/have farmer’s markets?