A new play place

I don't know about you guys but every Spring and Fall I systematically go through everything in my house. Clothes and cobwebs are usually first and then the yard and garden work. Once I'm comfortably clothed and the planting is done, I look around the house and try to find a way to be more comfortable indoors once the heat (or cold) sets in. Can we avoid the hottest room of the house in the late afternoon? Where can we hide during that time? This year, I've re-purposed my dining room.

I've been wanting to do this ever since moving our full-sized bed into Emagene's room and noticed how uninviting playtime in there became. She's getting bigger and more complicated play is happening. She needs more space to be creative than her crowded, closet-less room with one too few bookshelves allowed. So I rearranged and created space for dramatic play in a well lit room that also houses the AC unit! Those concrete floors are going to feel so great on bare feet come July! And when this pregnant mama needs a break, the grown-up table is right behind me perfectly situated for painting and Play-Doh time!

Now to make some darker curtains for that south facing window before things really heat up!

Springtime Fun

These are a bit late. But since this happened between our equinox celebration and Easter, I don't feel too guilty. We attended two egg hunt parties this year which meant we had to spend a day hiding and re-hiding eggs for each other in the front lawn. This girl of mine likes finding lost things. Time to start scavenger hunts around the house, perhaps?

I didn't get a great photo of Emagene's turn hiding the eggs. It was pretty priceless though. They were stored in color matching pairs in a circle about 12 inches from the basket. One group did make it under a tree. I did my best to 'search' for all 12 eggs :)

We had a blast and at the end of the day met Oreo, the neighbor's dwarf rabbit. Seemed fitting to me, even though it was a Friday.

the inner workings of my mind, part3

A long time ago Pete and I decided that we didn't want to, and never were going to care about, dieting. We love to eat. We love to listen to our cravings and honor them. We believe in moderation and in the moderation of moderation itself. Sometimes overindulgence is a fabulous idea! Probably why Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday and we always insist on cooking even if we are eating at someone else's on the day. We may have some unknown strain of Italian in our blood for we live as though no one can be having a good time without food or drink in their hand. We eat dishes whose recipes originated all over the world. A few favorites are Pho Tai, Pho Ga, Greek Orzo Salad, Lasagna, Pad Thai, Ginger Green Beans, Bratwursts, BBQ chicken legs, Curried Lentil Soup, Dal, Lemingtons, Scones, Fish n Chips, Popcorn and Kale Chips.

We spend the majority of our money (after rent, utilities and Sallie Mae) on food. Entertainment is really at the bottom of our budget list. We get our rental books and videos from the library and maybe RedBox if we're desperate to catch up on something.

With this love of food comes our theory that Food is Fuel. The higher grade fuel you put into your body, the longer it will run.Why spend a fortune on medical bills when we can avoid them just by eating well? So our family plan of attack: Make as much of what we can from scratch, using organic ingredients whenever possible, avoiding GMOs and High Fructose Corn Syrup. We aim to consume edibles that are as close as is safe to when taken off the plant or away from the animal. We do buy packaged food. We live in a first world nation. Its incredibly hard to avoid all packaged food while living on a tiny budget. We pick and choose which condiments we are going to make, whether we have time this week to make granola or bread, do we feel confident in our hot sauce brewing abilities (the answer: not yet). When we do buy packaged, we aim for the products with the shortest ingredients list, involving words we can pronounce and/or identify their origins. If in doubt, throw it out! (or in this case, don't buy it in the first place). We go back and forth between being able to afford a co-op produce bag and being able to cope with a less then ideal food source. We aim to avoid companies we know have a partnership with Monsanto (which is most major brands, organic and not).

I know food sourcing and waste and all this hippie talk can be a touchy subject for some, so I would like to take a second a clarify that we are not perfect. We have been known to have a box of Oreos in the house, or indulge in some Ben and Jerry's or get take out that is most definitely loaded with MSG. But for 87.26% of the time, we spend a little extra money to get higher quality ingredients and hope to keep our doctor's visits limited to prenatal exams and well-child check ups. We are constantly learning how to combat early cold signals with teas and essential oils. We eat soup weekly and are extremely adamant about spending extra, for what Pete calls The Good Stuff, when it comes to our animal based consumption.

So there it is. My philosophy on food. Food is Fuel. Spend your money on healthy Body Fuel, stay out of the hospital, off meds and live a long, happy life eating!

Anybody want a beer? or tea? or this vegan galette I just made?

Some News

I've been internally drafting this post for a while. Still not sure I have it quite right.

I woke up crying the other night due to the sadness and stress that surround us right now. Multiple friends and family are suffering with the tragic loss of children. My heart breaks for them. I hesitate to share my news because I want to honor this moment in their lives. Honor their grief. Allow them the energy and emotional support of those closest to us and not "steal their thunder" with our new business.

However it is the awareness of their horrible changes that cause me stress. Am I to follow in those footsteps? Any mother will tell you that hearing birth stories that only fit under the title "horror" keep them awake at night. I try to put the fear to sleep but as we are currently uninsured, the fear only grows in the wee hours of the morning. But I cannot keep this secret any longer. I need the positive support of my circle as we add another member to our family.

Baby Dalton #2 will make an appearance mid-August, hopefully without any complications, interventions or fear.

So far things are normal. I have no logical reason to fear.

The majority of these pregnancy struggles I mentioned were unknown until later in the pregnancy. Without insurance, we may not be able to afford the ultrasound to settle my nerves. An older coworker of mine was telling me this week that when his babies were born it was $200 a birth (extra $50 to circumcise the boys.) His insurance covered all of it but the phone and tv which totaled ten dollars. Ten Dollars! Can you imagine having an overnight stay at the hospital and only paying $10?!?! How this country has changed in 60 years!

We have not exhausted every option. Peter has just received a raise and hopefully insurance. Thankfully the affordable health care act makes it illegal for insurance companies to refuse coverage for preexisting conditions. We still have ways to calm the financial stress of perinatal care. Thank you, Obama. (We make too much for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance, requiring one of our employers to provide an avenue for this in our lives. *Keeping fingers crossed*)

I see a midwife this week and know I will find some level of peace during that appointment. Midwives are good at bringing peace.

My current job is proving supportive, unlike last time, so at least the fear of discrimination and loss of funds is lifted.

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afterthoughts: I wrote this about 2 weeks ago and have since visited the birth center and told our parents of the coming bundle. Stress level immediately went down after committing my thoughts to print. Everything seems normal so far and I look forward to updating you all with our progress and hopefully the joy of acquiring insurance! Oh the Joys of First World Problems!

Another day at home

Since its the season, we dyed eggs.

She was so excited it was hard to keep her in focus!

The recent backyard cleaning saw the return of the hot tub, which caused a small fire when turned on and melted the wet connector. Since we are having company next week, it was imperative that this plug be replaced. I do think it could have waited until tomorrow when the storm had passed, but apparently he won't have time tomorrow since I'll be at work and he'll be on kid duty. Now to give a chicken a bath...

Spring Cleaning

After a windy weekend in the 80s, it was definitely time to get the starter plants in the ground, clean out the shed the chickens have been sleeping in and basically get our backyard ready for summer! Now if our chickens would let some of the grass grow our yard of frozen, sunburnt greens will start to look like the overgrown jungles of our neighbors...

Next up: cleaning and filling the hot tub!

Party time!

It was a good day. (I tried to load this last week and just now realized it got stuck in the interwebs and never went anywhere. Trying again.)