Who Needs A Rooster When You've Got...

small children
up with slightest hint
of morning's waxing light

don't leave me
winter darkness
or i shall trade you in
for the darkness
of more

coffee

It's Just That Age...

I've been posting a lot of videos of Joe lately. I was feeling a little guilty that I hadn't done many of Finley lately... until I realized it's just that Joe is in that phase where he has a good grip on language, but his pronunciation and voice are still, well, really cute. So, with apologies to Finley, here are two more featuring Joe:

Joe the Giant

and

Joe Feeds Zivah

And for those of you with dial-up, click here and here

Settling In

I am resigning myself to the fact that we will probably still be here for a while. We are starting (again) to make decisions regarding our property, not based on what will cause it to sell, but on what we want it to be while we are here.


This weekend, Chris put the finishing touches on a white oak countertop in the basement near the washer and dryer. I folded laundry on it this morning. Chris got a good deal on some raw lumber, and we are incredibly fortunate to have a fine craftsman in the family that builds stuff for us (thanks, Louie). He is currently working on building a stand out of the oak for the 55 gallon fish tank we bought off craigslist. My two goldfish will be thrilled to finally have a larger home.

We have decided to fence in a section of the yard. With stray dogs roaming the neighborhood, pooping in my garden, and terrorizing my children, it will be nice to have a bit more peace of mind. And I won't have to worry about Zivah wandering off when she starts toddling around. Chris is going to pick up some chain link fencing he found on craigslist this afternoon. We are going to put up a picket fence next to the house facing the street, so our yard won't look so ghetto will look nice from the street.

There is even talk of building a chicken coop. That's right. Raising poultry is legal inside the city limits here. I don't think we'll get a rooster, though. I don't want the neighbors to hate us entirely.

This weekend, I also built a little raised bed in the garden out of some old clay block we had stacked on the backside of the garage. I figured I could plants carrots in it. We might use the rest of the brick and block odds and ends to build a raised bed on the back of the garage... It might look a little crazy, but it would be nice to do something with the material to get it out of the way and have something useful at the same time.

I started some seeds on Friday, and was surprised last night to see the broccoli sprouting already. I had no idea they came up that fast.

Is It Here Already?

A week and a half ago, I spied some daffodils poking up through the earth. I would have been excited about it, but I felt like it was too early to see them. Yesterday, I saw a bunch of daffs in full bloom. Today, mine are almost ready to show. It is the sort of day where the clouds race through the sky. One minute, I am warmed by the sun, the next, a breeze deepens the chill of a cloud. There are moments full of fat raindrops falling.

As I suck down a warming bowl of split pea and ham soup, I don't feel ready for spring. (Am I crazy?) Perhaps it is because it always seems to happen so fast. My baby is growing, and before I know it, she will be crawling around in the grass while we sweat in the southern heat of summer. Slow down, I say. Let me cozy up with my baby for a few more months, her body helping to stave off the chill. Give me a few more months before the heat will take away the need to snuggle.

Oh well.

I had been trying my hand at sourdough bread-making. Something about a thick slice of homemade bread with cheese toasted on top... The first batch was wonderful, but apparently, I am not so good at keeping my starter alive. Somehow, even with regular feedings, it lost its bubble and quit rising on me. I may have to resort to making a fresh batch of starter before every baking, but that feels like I'm cheating.

Nobody's Fault But Mine

Seven months old, and she still wakes up two or three times a night. Then I end up nursing her back to sleep. Ugh. (She is a loud cryer when she wants something.) She is a hefty 17+ pounds, so there is no reason for it, other than the fact that I'm too tired (I won't admit laziness) to train her to go back to sleep on her own. A friend of mine said that with her third, she left the house and let her husband deal with it for a few nights. Sounds like a good plan to me. Now I just need to get Chris on board.

Zivah's got the sitting thing down, now. She's nowhere near crawling, yet, though, as I haven't made her spend much time on her belly. She'll probably say 'dada' before 'mama', since she likes making the 'd' sounds quite a lot. She hasn't figure out how to control her direction in the walker yet, though she moves around. Mostly pushes herself backwards.

Fed her green beans the other night. So far she has eaten squash, carrots, peas, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, and green beans.