less dependent

I'm on a mission and I'm taking the whole family with me.

Trying to become less dependent, more self sufficient, trying to leave less of a footprint.

So, we've picked back up with the cloth diapers. When Charlie was potty training, the cloth seemed to help him know when he was wet, so now Jackson is the victim. He hates them, exactly the intention.

We go through so much bread in this house, we finally bought a bread machine. There is nothing like fresh bread and knowing the ingredients that made it. Dinner rolls, cinnamon buns, pizza dough, love this machine.

Avery and I planted flower and vegetable seeds awhile back. Everything is sprouting but still in their little biodegradable seed cups. We are still too close to frost at night to plant them. But I hope our Mother's Day weekend is nice enough to build our small garden walls and finally put the cucumbers and watermelon in the ground. Hoping to add tomatoes, peppers and maybe a pumpkin.

We also have a local farm that allows people to buy shares. Kind of a farming co-op. Since we don't have a huge yard, I will happily let someone else garden and enjoy the fruits of their labors.

I am making curtains for Charlie's room using the navy blue curtains that have been passed between three families now (thanks Tracy and Jenny!). I have cream curtains from our old house, which of course fit no window in this house, so he is getting some awesome nautical navy/cream striped window treatments.

Stephen has decided he is riding his bike to any account he has during bike to work week. Nice that we live close enough to a train for him to use as well.

We are also hoping to get our act together to make a rain barrel. The previous owners had one, so we have the perfect spot for it.

It is fun doing our daily routine, trying to think of ways to do things with less waste, or with our own hands. The kids are picking up on it and always have good ideas to throw in.

Dolphin Show

 

 

We went to Baltimore to pick up our third car, a whole other post for another time.
So we used our aquarium memberships to stop in and see the dolphin show as well as the Australian exhibit.

Now Avery and Charlie pretend they are dolphins and have their own dolphin show. It is very amusing to see their flips and spins.

11 years

Last night we hired a babysitter and went out to eat to celebrate. I really wanted to try a place in town called Magnolia's because I have heard so much about it and because they really try to serve food from local farmers.

The restaurant is in a restored building that used to be a working mill. Left with many remnants of the mill, it is rustic, but new.

"Great food, wine and beer are our focus. Hospitality is our passion.
A Premier American restaurant located in the heart of P...., Virginia.
Come Visit Magnolias. Come Feel the Passion."

Every word of that Mission Statement we found to be true. The beer and wine list is crazy long. And the menu had a great variety.

Speaking of menu, we were so surprised to see this on the menu! Down to the details, very charming. (When I made a reservation online this week it asked why we were dining there, so I put our anniversary...)



I was determined to try everything local, try something new. We had a great salad with local greens/strawberries/goat cheese. And then I had the trout served over grits with gouda and asparagus. BEST MEAL I HAVE EVER HAD. And I have never even tried trout in my life, but I am so glad I did.

The hostess made sure we left with a copy of our own menu. Between the food, the atmosphere and the staff, we will be back many times I am sure!

The third pillow

Three standard pillows fit across our bed when we sleep. Usually the middle pillow is taken by a younger member of the family.

Sometimes it is Avery. Who sneaks in quietly, stares at my face from the side of the bed and whispers "mommy!" When I finally wake, she tells me she had a bad dream and wants to get in bed with us. Sometimes I take her back to her bed, but other times I am too lazy and she climbs in. She then kicks and flails all night.

Sometimes it is Charlie. Who runs from his room, bursts through our door and yells "mommy!" loudly. I am usually woken by his footsteps and already sitting up in bed by the time he gets to the bed. He tells me he had a bad dream and wants to get in bed with us. Sometimes I take him back to bed, but other times I am too lazy and he climbs in. He then spends the night making slurping sounds while sucking his thumb.

And sometimes it is Jackson. Who doesn't yet get out of his crib on his own, but definitely lets us know he is awake and needs attention. "Mama" and "Dada" can be heard through the wall along with kicks from his feet. Or just all out screaming. Sometimes we soothe him and put him back in his crib, but sometimes we are just too lazy and put him in bed with us. Sometimes he goes back to sleep quickly and other times he talks to us until he is tired.

The third pillow gets a lot of use. And while we are very tired after nights of little intruders, I wouldn't trade that snuggle time for anything. They aren't going to do this much longer and I am glad they have a safe haven that helps keep the boogey men away.

Charlie's motivation

Last summer we played a lot of soccer at mom and dad's house. The kids loved it and looked like they would be fairly good at the sport. So this spring we signed Charlie up, Avery said she preferred dance:)

Last Saturday, Charlie's first practice. The league we joined doesn't have games when kids are this young, they prefer to teach the kids drills and skills.

All excited, we get everyone over to the field, bring snacks for the team, meet his coaches, get Charlie his soccer t-shirt and then Charlie flips a switch and wants nothing to do with playing soccer.

Charlie is in a heightened emotional state right now. If he is tired, doesn't get his way, is in a new environment, he doesn't know how to tell us how he feels or deal with those emotions, so he just shuts down.



If you were to look at just this picture, it would seem Charlie is participating, about to start a drill with the coaches and team.



Then you pan out to this view and realize all the other kids are playing and Charlie is just standing. Frown on the face, tears in the eyes, not wanting anything to do with joining in.

Stephen, Avery, the coaches and I tried all kinds of tactics to get him to participate. Went out on the field with him, kept cheering for him, practiced the drills ourselves. Nothing.

Stephen and I started to get a little frustrated and angry. He LOVES playing soccer. He was missing out on lots of fun.

Finally I go out there and say "I bet you CAN'T do this drill."



Well, fire ignited. Next thing we know he is kicking the 'aliens' off of the cones. He knocks the top disk off, we put it back on and he does it again. Stephen and I take these huge sighs of relief and Avery is heard cheering for him from the sidelines.

He has so much fun the next half hour. The coaches make it a lot of fun and Charlie finally sees what he was missing. At one point coach Travis tells the kids to find their soccer balls, hold it over their heads and hop back to him...we look and Charlie is hopping backwards to him. And Charlie was so cute running off the field every few minutes to high-five Stephen.



In this drill, the coaches threw the balls across the field and the kids had to find them and dribble them back to the goal and try and score. Charlie is first to his ball, and that is him right near the goal about to take on Coach Travis. Totally determined on getting that ball in the net.



Charlie kicking a winning goal with his teammates. So proud of him for breaking through his fears and giving it a try. Lesson learned in what motivates this kid.

the first tooth to go

Big girl losing her first tooth.
She was upset all morning because her tooth hurt and felt weird. I kept asking if I could help pull it to make her feel better. Tears. And a resounding 'no'.

Couple minutes later I see her wiggling it and when she turned her head, the tooth was out. So proud of her.