Life With The Crew

Blustery Beach Love - Wallis Sands

Please allow me a bit of beach sharing.  This Pennsylvania girl gets really excited when she sees some pretty beach views!

On our way back from New Hampshire we made a quick stop at the beach.  Our route dropped us right at Portsmouth, so we intended on finding a beach there, just to get our shoes on the sand a bit.  (Too cold for dipping toes in the water!)  We ended up at Wallis Sands, which is where my family rented a house for our summer vacation many years ago.  The only memory that I have of the place (from the 1980's) is that it was a big old beach house and I drank a Five Alive juice box.  

On this day it was about 50 degrees and the wind was blowing, but the sun was shining SO bright!  It was just fantastic.  Blue sky, blue water, flat white sand which was just perfect for the little babe to run on.  And a big rock jetty for the big boy to climb on.  My husband and little babe collected some sand for our memory sand collection.  We then jumped back into the car with rosy wind blown cheeks and sand in our shoes.  A great way to start the day!

I read a blog post the other day that talked about joy.  The author asked the reader when they last felt true joy.  Luckily, I didn't have to think too hard about it.  That same day I had run a half marathon on a beautiful course with family cheering me on.  My body was in tune and I felt GOOD.  Then the next day when we stepped onto this beach and saw the view - true JOY.  I was with the two most important people in my life, the little babe was happily picking up sand, my husband was content beside the ocean, and it was just perfect.  A big smile moment definitely!  

I hope your weekend has a moment of joy in it!

Good Old Fashioned Farm Fun

After spending two days in Maine, we headed over the border to western New Hampshire for the weekend.  We stayed in a great little house with my husband's parents, the same one as last year.  It was a perfect weekend.  Since it was almost Halloween, there were a lot of seasonal festivities going on.  A lot of them were not very toddler friendly, but one of the local farms, Sherman Farms, had a corn maze and activities for children.  My husband and I normally steer clear of children's events like this, but I have always wanted to do a corn maze, so we went more for me than the little babe!   

My husband, thinking technology is going to help us get out of a corn maze!

I was a bit obsessed with the cutest little butts that you ever did see!  Kune-kune pigs, which were from a local farm, Grazing Hill Farm.  Kune-kunes are originally from New Zealand and are grazing pigs, meaning they will graze instead of root if kept in the right environment.  Yes, I want one!

The little babe was a bit obsessed with the Moo Express.  Being the good mother that I am, I climbed into the barrel and went along with her.  I actually think I enjoyed it more than her though.  It was her first time on something like that.  Can you spot me - the biggest "kid" in the back?

And of course, because it is Autumn in New England, the day wouldn't have been complete without apple cider donuts and apple cider (eaten too quickly to be photographed)!

 

Reconnecting With Nature - 10.29.14

I am joining Chrisy at Living A Good North Coast Life for her "Reconnecting With Nature" series.  As we bloggers sit around connected to our computers, it is a great way to force us to step outside and maybe notice something new in the natural world or just appreciate something that we see every day.  Read more about the Reconnect with Nature - one photograph at a time idea here.

Over the weekend when we were in New Hampshire, we awoke to a beautiful sunny day.  I stepped outside for a little nature walk with the little babe and my mother-in-law.  We didn't find anything extra special, but it was beautiful all the same.  The little babe was just delighted with all of the acorns, which were much larger than the ones we find at home.  

 I loved the bark on this tree.  I am 90% sure it is a paper birch, also called a white birch.  It looks really similar to these pictures.  There is a yellow birch, which is also found in New Hampshire, but I think the bark is darker than this.

While searching for information about the birches, I found this webpage on the Appalachian Mountain Club's website.  It has some fun and easy ways to help children (and adults!) identify common North American trees.  I learned these tricks when I was studying Natural History in college and I still use them to identify trees.

Thankful Tuesday - A Rainy Trip to Maine

Today I am thankful for...

a little getaway.  It was really nice to have a break from reality, without fighting dogs, messy cats, and construction mess.

Over the weekend we took a trip to New England so that I could run in a half marathon in New Hampshire and so my husband could attend an informational meeting for a potential internship in Maine.  We started our trip in Maine with lots of rain, apparently the tail end of a hurricane that had hit the Caribbean and finally made its way up the coast.  Despite the rain, we had a wonderful time, as we always do in Maine.  Farm animals, apple cider, apple cider donuts (even better!), squawking seagulls, old farmhouses, good flatbread pizza, local beer.  Farmstands with raw organic milk, pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere, and beautiful Fall foliage.  I think that the somewhat dreary weather made it feel even more like Autumn.  We really appreciated that hot pizza!  (Which by the way, was awesome - butternut squash puree, caramelized onions, a balsamic reduction, scallions, goat cheese, portabello mushrooms - all local ingredients.  I want to try and recreate it at home.)  For the first night, we stayed at the same farmhouse that we have visited before - this is our third time there.  It is just perfect for us.  

After my husband's meeeting, we drove around to explore the area and discovered this wonderful little cove, which had a great deserted, Autumn end-of-season feeling.  In Summer, there might have been kids jumping off the dock or people kayaking around, but we had it all to ourselves - perfect for a photo shoot!

No matter what the season or weather, we always enjoy our trips to Maine.  Though we haven't been there in February yet...

I invite other bloggers to leave a link to their Thankful Tuesday Post and I encourage everyone to share what they are thankful for.

 

The Land of "No"

 

I have officially entered the land of toddlerhood.  

-Almost every word the little babe says is, "No".  

    "Do you want your shoes on or off?" - "No."

    "Did you poop?"  - "No."  (This is said when it is very obvious to my sense of smell that she has.)

    "Am I your Mom?" - "N..Yes."

    It is the automatic response even if I don't ask a question!  Just stating an obvious fact will elicit the two letter response.  "The sky is very blue today." - "No."

-I have found acorns in my pockets and a piece of wooden birthday cake in my purse.

-Our cabinets, windowsills, and walls have officially been graffitied with pencil and pen.  Granted it is a bit confusing when her Father hands her a carpenter's pencil and a piece of wood, then I tell her to not draw on anything except paper.  Or just the piece of wood that your Dad gave you, but not the wooden windowsill.

-If I am missing one of my kitchen utensils, I have to go looking in one of her "bah-bahs" - her bags.  She is half packrat, half bag lady, carrying a collection of miscellaneous household items and toys around the house with great purpose.  She then tells me "bye-bye" - who knows where she is going!  A recent examination revealed the following (this is not a complete list):  one dog bone, one tape measure, one pacifier, one dog chewed book, one issue of Outside magazine, one large piece of coal (weighing about 2 pounds), small pieces from her new wooden birthday cake set, a hole punch, and some change.

-Pardon the mention of bodily functions here, but I changed a diaper this week that had bits of crayon in it.  It took me several minutes to figure out what it was!

-Gone is the baby with the adventurous palate who ate quinoa, avocados, and mashed sweet potato.  Now her diet consists of chocolate chips, tortilla chips, pita chips (at least those are homemade), and cheese.  On a good day she'll consume multiple bowls of yogurt and applesauce.  At least red raspberries are always a go.

She drives me crazy, but she is my one and only cheesy little babe!

(this is not my normal smile - we were both being "cheesy")

 

Recipe for the Weekend - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

For the little babe's birthday I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I made the recipe again this week, but used mashed sweet potato instead of the pumpkin and they turned out just as good.  I did not alter the recipe (except for the sweet potato substitution and I did not use vanilla extract), so I am going to just link to it here:  

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I like to think that the health benefits of the veggie puree balances out the sweetness of the chocolate chips!  

Warts, Bumps, and Pretty Colors

The arboretum recently had a pumpkin festival, which we did not attend because we went to another Autumn festival on the same day.  However, when the little babe and I visited later in the week, there were squash and gourds displayed all around the arboretum.  There were amazing varieties, not just Plain Jane orange pumpkins.  I loved all of the textures and colors.  The little babe loved carting them around.

I wondered what was the difference between squash, gourds, and pumpkins.  This website has a great answer!  Basically there are edible squash, either a summer or winter variety, and there are gourds, which are hard shelled and mainly decorative.  A pumpkin is just a generic term for a round orange squash used for pie or jack-o-lanterns.

This is the "Mom, I don't really want my picture taken right now" look.  However, she did then hand me the gourd to take a picture of it. My little photographer's assistant.

A Felted Feel Good Sweater Project

In my fabric stash, I had two wool sweaters.  A red turtleneck that was too big for me and a really nice green cardigan with a Fair Isle design from LL Bean.  Unfortunately, the green one shrank a bit and was too small.  I have been holding onto them because I knew they would make a great project one day.  This week I washed and dried them so they felted.  It was a tough decision about whether to felt the Fair Isle.  I kept debating if it was better to give it to Goodwill so that someone else could wear it or to repurpose it myself.  I decided on the latter.  

I made them into several items for the little babe.  She really likes what I made and they will keep her nice and warm this winter.

First project - a pair of simple mittens.  I used one of her current mittens as a pattern.  Figuring out the angle of the thumb was the hardest part.

I then cut the neck off of the red turtleneck sweater to use as a cowl for the little babe.  That was all I had to do - just one cut!  No sewing required.  Doesn't get much easier than that and she has been wearing it everyday since I made it.

Almost as simple were the leg warmers I made from the sleeves of the Fair Isle.  I cut them to a length that reached the little babe's thighs, then I folded the top over a piece of elastic and sewed it down.  You can't see it in the pictures, but the Fair Isle design is around the ankles - they are really pretty!

Then for the project that required a bit more head scratching and sewing.  I have not really made a good usable pair of pants for her.  All my ones in the past have been a bit restrictive.  So I am finally happy to announce that I sewed a pair that fits!  The pants will not win any prizes for aesthectics or sewing skill, but they will keep my little babe's buns warm this winter.  Using a pair of her pants as a pattern, I placed the legs on either side of the buttons on the cardigan, using the bottom ribbed edge of the sweater as the bottom of the pants.  I then cut up as far as I could to the neck of the sweater.  It wasn't going to be enough to cover her butt, so I then cut two pieces from the body of the red sweater to extend the top of the pants.  I added a piece of elastic at the top.

All warm and toasty!  And she just happened to be wearing her new red and green pajama top, so that is why she is ready for Christmas.  We weren't taking early holiday card photos!

I shared this post on The Self-Sufficient HomeAcre for the HomeAcre Hop.

Reconnecting With Nature - 10.21.14

I am joining Chrisy at Living A Good North Coast Life for her "Reconnecting With Nature" series.  As we bloggers sit around connected to our computers, it is a great way to force us to step outside and maybe notice something new in the natural world or just appreciate something that we see every day.  Read more about the Reconnect with Nature - one photograph at a time idea here.

One of the local nature centers, Shaver's Creek, held a Fall Harvest Festival this past weekend.  We were there in Spring for a Maple Harvest Festival and the little babe really enjoyed seeing the birds of prey that they care for.  We woke up to the pitter-patter of rain on Saturday, but it cleared up by the time we got to the nature center, though it was still overcast and cloudy.  A good Fall day for having hot apple cider and pumpkin cake next to a fireplace, which is what we had in their outdoor pavilion.

We parked across the lake and walked on a trail through the woods.  Along the way my Dad spotted a teeny tiny garter snake.

The woods were mostly shades of brown by this point, with most of the leaves already on the ground.

We looked for salamanders in the pond, 

posed for a photo with the giant pumpkin,

and also tried throwing ping-pong balls into "witches brew" and played pumpkin bowling.  We had a bite to eat in front of the fire to warm up, then visited the birds of prey.

A Black Vulture.

A Short-Eared Owl.  Interesting fact:  They nest on the ground.

A Barn Owl.  Interesting fact:  In most owl species, the female is larger than the male.  The nature center has both a male and a female, so they know that this one is a male.

It was a great day - time with family, enjoying nature and celebrating the Autumn season.

Thankful Tuesday - 10.21.14

Today I am thankful for...

-The last lawn mowing of the year, done under a vivid blue sky filled with white puffy clouds, in the first really cool temperatures of the season.  The little babe was running around the yard in her fleece bunting, her face and hands covered in red raspberry juice (we have not had a frost yet, but I know it is soon).  The Corgis were lying in the green grass amidst yellow swirling leaves.  The chickens were clucking, birds were singing, I heard another lawn mower in the distance.  I also heard my husband working hard upstairs, in our demolished bedroom, which is down to the studs with the carpet torn up, a dumpster half full in the driveway.  It was a glorious Autumn day.

In the afternoon we made the decision as a family to do the "cutting of the cord".  My prized pumpkin, which has been steadily growing over the past 3 months, was still growing, but still dark green.  I wasn't sure what to do.  What is the goal?  To let it grow as large as possible, cutting it after the first frost, or to cut it now and enjoy viewing it out in front of the house.  I asked the little babe and she made the decision to cut it, along with a smaller one that something had already started to gnaw on.  

"OMG - it is SO heavy!"

My husband made the cut while I documented and the little babe watched intently.  I wish we had a way to weigh it.  I bought a pumpkin that weighed 28 pounds and this one looks to be the same size.  I am very happy!  Though considering that I planted 6 pumpkin seeds and only got two good pumpkins, those not even reaching full maturity, it is not a very good gardening record.  However, the blessing of gardening is that we can try again next year!

The little babe then carefully placed the pumpkins where she wanted them.  The large and small green pumpkins and yellow gourds are from our garden.  The orange one in this photo is not the 28 pounder that I measured ours against.

What are you thankful for today?  

I invite other bloggers to leave a link to their Thankful Tuesday post and I encourage everyone to share what they are thankful for.