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We are thankful, and grateful, for so much. For our families, for our friends, for our food, for our faith, and for the wonderful ability to share with our journey of familyhood with you all. Yesterday I roasted & pureed 4 butternut squash for soup & some of our “pumpkin” pies–which actually are a great paring with real pumpkin. Somehow SuperBoy and I made the dough for 10 pies–we’re serious about pie for Thanksgiving. I brined the turkey. I cleaned up the junk around the kitchen, and I finished the order email for a new retail spot for the Sig Items. (!!!!!!) Oh, and we had homemade pizza for dinner. Because after all that flour and water in the bowls, on the counter top, and…
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Life is a roller coaster, right? The high highs, the low lows. Children punctuate those highs and lows, lending a deeper height and depth. Whole Parenting is all about familyhood, developing the whole person of your child, and living the challenges and joys of parenthood. So how do I achieve this? Some days it’s just about survival. I’ve swapped lawyering for home life, etsy, & blogging. Here’s a little sample day in our lives. 6am: AA up & out the door. Nursing SweetPea in our bed. Morning: SuperBoy up and at ’em. Attempt to nurse SweetPea back down in bed, and hoping she doesn’t awaken just yet. Try to convince him to sleep more. Try to convince him to go potty on the toilet. Change out…
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My sister Bridget is a fan of home canning. If you can seal it into a glass container with a lid, she’ll do it. I photo blogged our latest raspberry jam exploits. Two ladies, good music, delicious snacks, and an afternoon jamming. Her supplies: a Ball canning recipe, lemons, apples, raspberries, and lots of patience and sugar. She doesn’t use commercial pectin because it’s the devil, well, almost. It’s really bitter, so you have to use a lot more sugar in the jam. If you use a high pectin fruit as the base, you can use less sugar. If you start with homemade apple sauce as the base, you won’t have such a problem for it to “set.” The speediest ingredient is commercial pectin, though it’s…
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Any parent will tell you what any moderately with-it person knows: don’t borrow trouble. And when you’re living and parenting a child around, or slightly over, the age of 2, we know it doubly. Little people are prone to suggestions, quick to assert their rights of issuing a “no,” and generally should be given two options, both of which are agreeable to the parent. Like, do you want to bring your baseball bat or your elephant with you to cheer for you while you try to go potty on the toilet? Instead of “do you want to try to go potty on the toilet?” 1) Pick your battles. Certain battles are worth it with a 2+ year old: trying one bite of food, not saying…
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We lost our big Great Dane, Nina, to old age a few months back. I hadn’t written about it in part because we missed her so much it hurt to say aloud, and in part because other things kept arising. She was 9 years old, old for a Dane, and had to be put to sleep based on her old age and pain levels. One morning she was just continuously yelping while laying on the patio out back. When we took her in, the docs knew she was in great pain and couldn’t (shouldn’t) keep going. SuperBoy misses her and asks about her frequently. “Is she in Heaven with St. George? Is she fighting the dragon with him?” Yes, of course she is, buddy. She…
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This is part 19 in our Birth & Parenting Series where mamas & papas share either about their birthing experience or parenting perspective. Please let us know if you’d like to join in the conversation. All our series can be found on the sidebar, or at this link, here. This incredibly brave family endured a horrifically difficult entry into the world of their second daughter, but with grace and amazing heart, their sweet little girl makes it. Thank God for great doctors and nurses and miracles. ————— I had dreamed about Harper’s birth story since the day I found out she existed. After all, my firstborn, Elle, came into this world with a vengeance at 36 weeks. (I’ll spare the details but the story of…
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