thankful challenge, day 15...

today i am thankful...

1.  that shawn gave me "permission" to not preserve food anymore.  i've been preserving food since august and i'm soooo tired of it!  we had an abundance of produce from our garden and i've been able to scavenge up some more free goods.  i thought i was almost done with processing it all but, unfortunately, our laundry room isn't quite cold enough and so all the apples that i had carefully separated and boxed to eat throughout the winter have now gone soft and something needs to be done with them.  also, my last batch of tomatoes are ready to be processed and i've got a lot of squash and pumpkins in the laundry room that will *hopefully* keep until we eat it all.  i really would just like to kick back and enjoy my last month of having just one child.  argh!  last night i was trying to figure out what to do with it all and when to do it.  shawn spoke up and said that the apples would have gone to the deer if we hadn't picked them all, so we could put them outside for the deer.  i decided that today i'm going to process food like crazy and everything that i don't get done we'll either compost or feed the deer with.  i was feeling quite overwhelmed with it all and it was nice to have "permission" to let some of it go. 
the pictures below are the tomatoes that came from my garden.  the ones on the counter i turned into salsa, 2/3's of the ones in the pantry i turned into crushed tomatoes and the final 1/3 is finally ripe and i think i'm just going to make them into tomato sauce, as that's the easiest. 

some of the things that i've processed and preserved this fall are: basil, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, beets, cherries, apples, peaches, pumpkins, squash, chillies, fennel...

2.  that i'm now seeing my midwifes every week.  that means i'm 37 weeks along.  only 3 more to go!!!  yay!!!!!

thankful challenge, day 14...

today i am thankful...

1.  that i finally got to take a bath in our tub.  yay!  last night after remi and shawn went to bed i decided that i should probably test the tub out.  it was wonderful!  i started out reading a book but then just decided to enjoy being in the warm water and i fell asleep.  mmmm!!!  i love that warm peaceful bliss of napping in a tub.  it's been too long! 

2.  when the primary kids get excited about my singing time lessons.  at church i'm the music leader for the kids (ages 4-11) in our congregation.  i quickly learned that it's a bit of a gamble whether the kids will get excited about the lesson.  some things that i've thought would be incredibly fun bomb big time.  other things that i thought would be boring turn out to be wonderfully fun.  and just because i've put a lot of time into preparing some sort of game doesn't mean anything - it could end up being lame or fun.  who knows!  with me having a hard time figuring out what will work and what won't, i get really excited when something turns out and the kids really participate and sing heartily.  i'm getting better at it, but it doesn't happen every week.  someday...!

3.  for the internet.  we live out in the country and live in a bit of a neighborhood (7 houses) but we are by far the youngest family.  there's one other family that has kids, but they're late elementary school age.  we're also quite a bit younger in age from the rest of the adults (most are my parents age or older) and i'm the only one who's home during the day.  good thing i have so many projects lined up because it can get lonely out here.  it'd be really nice to have a friend nearby, but i suppose that's the price i have to pay for the great place we live.  the internet is one way that i still feel connected to the world.  that's how i get a bit of "social" time in every day and i need it!  i can stay connected to friends and family and find out what's going on in the world.  i can download audio books from the library, i can pay my bills, i can listen to music, i can share bits and pieces of my life with others (thank you, blogger!), i can look up reference on the many questions that bounce around in my head, i can watch how-to videos to help me with our many projects...  the internet is wonderful!  it's hard to imagine life before it existed.  on a side note, there are also many not-great things that have progressed because of the internet that i'm not thankful for, but for the things that i use it for, it's great!

thankful challenge, day 13...

today i am thankful for...

1.  my life.  two nights ago i was laying in bed thinking about all the things that i'm really thankful for and with my due date coming right up (december 16th) i've been thinking a lot about the last time i gave birth.  remi is the center of my life now and i wonder what life would be like if things had turned out differently during his birth.  i was in labor for 3 days before he was born and because of that trauma my body crashed majorly after the birth.  i was convulsing and white lipped.  my blood pressure dropped to 27/30.  my mom said an army of nurses rushed in when she ran for help and got me back.  if i hadn't had modern medicine available and wasn't in the hospital, would i have died?  i really think that might have.  i'm doubtful that my body could've recovered on it's own.  so yes, i am grateful for my life.  i'm grateful for the chance that i have to be a mother to my darling little boy whom i love so much.  i'm grateful for all the little things that i get to teach him and being able to see his eyes light up when he understands.  i'm grateful for my little kitchen helper that loves to push the blender button for me and loves to watch the mixer as it turns things around and around and around.  i'm grateful for being able to teach him my love for the world.  i'm grateful for being able to snuggle with him, to make him laugh, to just be with him.  so yes, i'm thankful for my life and the time i've been given to be a mother.

thankful challenge, day 12...

today i am thankful for...

1.  our bathtub.  since we moved into our house (sept 2010) i have only used the bathtub once and it leaked.  i was luxuriating in the deep, extra long claw foot tub and heard a drip, drip drip.  i quickly exited the tub and let the water out to find out there were two leaks.  sooo sad!  when we started redoing our bathroom this summer we moved the tub outside.  it's been sitting out there since.  i did have remi take one bath in it while it was in the yard.  i was thinking that i could get some great pictures of him taking a bath outside but i forgot to take into account that i probably shouldn't be more than an arm's length away from the tub and not hiding behind a camera since remi was slipping and slidding all over the place.  two weeks ago, i had shawn bring the tub inside and i got it all hooked up yesterday.  sooo exciting!  i did end up over-tightening a piece that snapped off (drat!) but mcgyvered a temporary solution until i can get that taken care of.  remi took a bath last night and it was awesome!  i can't wait for my turn!  :)

2.  chapstick.  yes, i am one of the many that are addicted.  in fact, just thinking about it makes my lip scream out for some moisturizer.  (and i really looooove burt's bees brand - the best!)

thankful challenge, day 11...

*if you really don't want to read about poopy diapers, skip this post.  :)

today i am thankful...

1.  for the versatility of a jacket.  remi has had diarrhea since yesterday - not fun!  i kind of forgot about it this morning and didn't think to bring an extra change of clothes with us this morning as we left the house.  he was fine for the morning, then lunch came around.  we ate in the car in the home depot parking lot and as i unbuckled remi to bring him to the front seat his pants were soaked and reeked.  ugh!  i can't believe i had forgotten!  unfortunately, i had dressed him in a onsie and overalls, both of which were... ahem... unsalvageable without a clothes washer.  he was wearing a sweater, so i changed him and we ate our lunch with him in a diaper and sweater.  while he was eating he decided to finish the business that he had started earlier and i was extremely grateful that he was standing up so that it didn't get all over the front passenger seat.  i changed him one more time and had pretty much given up hope of going into the store and getting some things we needed to work on the bathroom tonight.  i then came up with a brilliant plant of putting on his jacket, pants style.  so yeah, he had the little hood dragging on the ground underneath him, but it worked!  he was contained enough that i felt semi-safe running inside to grab a few quick things.  and since it was cold outside, i felt that he was sufficiently dressed for a mad dash through the parking lot and avoided any accusatory looks.

2.  for cloth daipers.  continuing the same story as above, we got home and i decided that i was sick of the nasty blow-outs so i stuck remi in cloth diapers.  we stopped using his cloth diapers in march, when i became too sick from morning sickness to actually deal with poopy diapers and i've been too lazy to return to them since.  i also really thought that he had outgrown the covers that we had.  good news - they still fit him!  this evening, remi did not have one blow-out.  his diarrhea was completely contained!  yay!!!!  maybe this'll be the motivation i needed to get him back into regular use of the cloth.  and since our new baby girl will be in cloth diapers, it won't be that much more work to have them both in them.

thankful challenge, day 11...

(to make up for yesterday)

today i am thankful for...

1.  nap time.  i know, i know, i already did this one on monday, but it's sooo true!  i am grateful for nap time.  remi took a nap for nearly 3 hours yesterday!  i'm pretty sure he was just making up for lost sleep but just imagine the possibilities if this became a habit.  :)

thankful challenge, day 10...

today i am thankful...

1.  for nap time!  remi didn't really sleep great last night.  combine that with my hormonal issues right now (pregnancy) and i think i only got 3 hours of sleep.  i'm exhausted!  remi's been cranky most of the day and i tried several times to get him to take a nap.  i figure it'll probably take a week or two to get him back into the swing of things after being gone for so long.  while i was working on organizing the pantry, i had put remi in his high chair to eat a snack and i looked over and he had fallen asleep.  yahoo!  i immediately ran over to the couch, threw a blanket over myself and slept 20 minutes until remi woke up.  i sooo needed that nap!  :)

2.  for being able to spend time with my baby.  he's been cranky most of the day but we did have some great moments.  my favorite was smelling all the spices i use to cook with.  everytime i open the spice cupboard remi gets really excited to smell what i'm going to use.  he starts energetically sniffing while pointing over and over to the cupboard in a hint to get those spices out for him to smell.  i love our game!  today we smelled cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, garlic and vanilla.  we made almond milk, dinner in a pumpkin and pumpkin pie. 

3.  for christmas music.  ahhh, the wonderful sounds of christmas!  i have to admit that i really don't go for all the new christmas songs that pop stars are constantly producing.  they just don't really have the right feel to them.  the classics are what i absolutely love and i listened to them today all day long.  i used to start listening to christmas music in september but quickly realized that i got burnt out before christmas ever rolled around.  this year i waited until this week to start listening and i am so charged up and excited about it.  they immediately bring a christmas feeling to my house.  i love it!

thankful challenge, day 9...

today i am thankful...

1.  that shawn and remi arrived home safely!  after i drove in the slush last night i was quite worried about shawn driving home with rain/snow forecast almost the entire way.  shawn said that the roads were fine and they both got home safely and before i had even gotten home from church.  yay!!

2.  for my little baby remi.  he's not really a baby anymore but i'm sure he'll always be my baby.  it took him a little while to warm up to me after being away for 9 days, but he did warm up and i was so happy and content to snuggle with him a bit tonight.  it was a great and wonderful break while he was gone, but i was definitely ready for him to come home.  i missed him soooooooo much!  he's so beautiful!!!!!!  if possible, he's even more beautiful than when i saw him last.

thankful challenge, day 8...

today i am thankful...

1.  for the snow!  beautiful white fluffiness has finally arrived!  i am thankful that i live in a place that has four seasons.  i don't know if i could handle every day being almost the exact same.  i think i'd most likely go nuts.  i need change and it seems that whenever i'm getting tired of the season, it changes.  with the arrival of snow comes smiles, laughter, great holidays, the feeling of "cozy" becomes more of a reality rather than a memory, sledding, rejuvenation...  ahhh!  i love it!

2.  that sandbags really do make a difference when put in the back of a truck.  i went down to town this evening to get a better dog house for ozzie and i kept sliding.  when i turned onto the main road i realized that i actually had much better control than a lot of other people on the road.  even though i was doing good, i stopped at the local hardware store and got a bunch of sandbags for the truck.  the drive home was amazing!  i didn't slide once and i felt so much more confident and secure on the road.

3.  for the opportunity to serve.  i hate driving past cars that are stuck.  if they're on flat ground, i'll stop and help, but if i'm on the way up a hill, i won't stop or i won't make it either and there will be two of us in the same situation.  on the drive home this evening i drove past a van that had it's lights flashing and was turned on an uphill.  i felt soooo guilty driving past them when i could see that they were stuck but i realized that there wasn't really too much i could do.  unless they had chains, they were not going anywhere.  that valley is steep going in and steep going out.  as i got to the top of the hill i saw a man running on the side of the road.  i figured that the angle of the road had lessened enough that i could offer him help.  i was able to give him a ride to his house, about a mile away, and i learned that he had two daughters (5 and 9) that were still in the van, scared to death.  he figured he could run a lot faster by himself so he left them there to run home and get what he needed.  i would have been terrified if i was 5!  i didn't do much except drop him off at his house, but i'm grateful that i got to help his two daughters be rescued that much quicker. 

on a side note, while i was at the store checking out i got a few things that we needed for our winter car kits and a plug for the block heater in the car.  while i was checking out the cashier said "it looks like you're ready for a power outage."  i guess that's because of the flashlights, blanket, tow straps (??)...  she motioned to the extension cord.  i told her that was for plugging the car in.  she was very confused and had no idea what i meant.  i explained to her about how extreme cold makes them hard to start in the winter, so sometimes you have to warm up the engine with the installed block heater to get it to start.  she wondered if i drove an antique or something.  haha!  life is going to be rough when she doesn't have a cozy garage to keep her car warm for her.  and then when she saw the dog house, she said that "it looks like someone is getting booted out to the garage."  i told her that no, the dog was an outside dog and slept outside.  she looked at me really oddly at that point.  that reaction is something that i regularly encounter when i say that ozzie is an outside dog.  i really didn't think it was that rare of a thing, but i guess it is.

thankful challenge, day 7...

today i am thankful...

 1.  for all the veteran's in my life and all they have done to serve our country.  first and foremost is my husband, Shawn.  he's served in the U.S. Air Force since 2005.  then my father, Eldon DeKay, who served in the U.S. Army for 17 years.  and both grandfathers, Gene Robert Larson and Robert Eugene DeKay, who served in the Korean War.  thank you all for serving our country!
below are a couple pictures of Shawn in the spring of 2010.

 

2.  for gardening!  this is something that people don't really think of in the pre-winter stages but today i have planted my garlic for next year.  yay!   i thought that i had missed the boat with this one and was a bit sad that i had waited too late.  i researched on the internet a little and read that garlic was traditionally planted on the shortest day of the year in europe.  i decided that i might as well plant today and see what happens.  granted, the ground was frozen and i had to use a garden fork to dig and chop up the frozen dirt, but i did it!  i'll, hopefully, have garlic next year!  i've had a blast growing so much of our own food this year.  all those little plants that i started in the windowsill in march did wonderfully and yielded more food than i had thought i would get.  there were some that didn't do as well as i had hoped, but i'm still learning and i hope to make this next year more fruitful.

3.  for the fresh autumn air.  i know i've already written about this one on a previous post but it's something that i'm regularly grateful for.  i was not extremely motivated today and didn't feel all that great.  (i think all this sleeping in is getting to me, but never fear for shawn and remi will be back at home on sunday and i'll have my regular remi alarm clock to wake me up in the morning).  i slowly worked this morning and by afternoon, i had to lay down for a bit.  trying to get my body moving, i then decided that i really needed to get that garlic planted.  i put on my coat and, complaining in my head, walked out into the cold.  it was all i needed to wake up to the day!  it was so invigorating to be outside, enough that i didn't want to come back inside.  i worked a bit more outside, played with the dog, took a walk, and brought several loads of wood inside.  that cool, refreshing air does wonders!

thankful challenge, day 6...

today i am thankful...

1.  that my husband has a job that enables me to stay home with my baby (soon to be plural).  while growing up i took for granted that my mom was home, taking care of us instead of at work, taking care of other people.  she was always able to help out with whatever project we were working on, she went on all our field trips, if we were sick and had to stay home it didn't throw the world into chaos...  i now get to be the person that gets to be at home, constantly teaching remi and my future children, all day, every day.  i would not be able to do this without the support from shawn.  i'm grateful that he has a steady job, that we are debt free (except for the house), and that he earns enough that we can manage on a single income at this time in our lives.  thank you, shawn, for being supportive of me being at home and for realizing that it's not always a picnic.  sometimes having a job would be easier and i'd get a lot more adult time and mental stimulation, but for now, i feel that this is more important and i'm glad that our circumstances have allowed it to happen.

2.  for my toothbrush.  as i sit here this morning, typing away, it's taking all my self control to not run to the bathroom and start brushing away.  i haven't yet brushed my teeth this morning and the nasty taste in my mouth is killing me!  i love that clean, plaque-free feeling that comes from brushing my teeth.  speaking of which, i'm going to cut this short and go brush away.  oh, thank you, toothbrush!

thankful challenge, day 5...

today i am thankful for...

1.  the library.  i love, love, love books.  while growing up, my parents always took the time to read to us and to make sure there were lots of books around.  all of us grown-up kids now have a great appreciation and addiction to books.  i want to make sure my kids catch the book bug, as well.  i read to remi several times a day.  every time i sit on the couch he runs and grabs a book for me to read to him, then another, and another, and another...  now that he's finally old enough we go to the library once a week for story time and check out books for him.  that's also my opportunity to check out a new book for me every week.  i love it!  i used to spend lots and lots of money on books but have since realized that i don't want to keep and reread every book i've ever bought.  thank you, library!  three cheers for the public library system!!  hip, hip, hooray!

2.  for the birth of my new nephew, christian michael deKay.  jonathon's wife, lauren, delivered a healthy baby boy yesterday morning.  lauren was a champ during the whole experience, no complications, and they now have a happy boy to welcome into their family.  welcome to the world, christian!

thankful challenge, day 4...

today i am thankful for:

1.  food.  i absolutely looooove food!  i love eating it, thinking about it, dreaming about it...  i'm pretty much addicted.  i love the taste, the texture, the melding of flavors, the colors...  i am grateful for the wonderful sandwich i had last night for dinner.  yummmm!!!

2.  my wood stove.  i love being warm and it's great that i can have the temperature in my house be cozy and comfortable rather than frigid.  that means that i don't have to wear wool socks, thick pants and a jacket inside like i've had to do in our previous homes.  in addition, the warm glow from the fire always adds to the mood in the room.  last week shawn started the fire before he went to work at 6 a.m.  remi happened to wake up at that time, so when we came into the living room it was just like christmas.  the room was quiet and dark but permeated with the warm orange glow from the stove.

halloween...

trick or treat!  i was sooo excited for halloween to come around because remi's now old enough that we could really go trick or treating.  since it's not really okay for a 30 year old to go by herself for the fun of it all, it was nice to have remi along as my little decoy - and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly! 

remi was a cute, cuddly lion.  i got him to say "rarrrr!" when we were at home getting ready, but when he was in the moment all that went out the window.  so rather than a ferocious lion, he was cute and cuddly.  which, honestly, is how i prefer it.

shawn dressed up on friday for his work party as a green monster but didn't want to paint his face again.  that stuff can be pretty thick and uncomfortable.  he was toying with not dressing up at all, but it's halloween!  you only get to do this once a year!  so i came up with this dall sheep costume - complete with paper towel rolls for the horns, remi's white onsie for the hat, and a sheep fur that we got in poland.  tadahhh!  looks great, doesn't it?!!

i had a really hard time coming up with something for me so i was just going to go as a vampire, since i have  fantastic vampire teeth that an orthodontic lab tech made for me several years ago.  i started getting ready (check out my face) and then realized that none of my vampire clothes fit.  pregnancy was not really cooperating!  instead, i decided for my belly to go as a pumpkin and thus i became a vampire pumpkin!  for anyone who's in my shoes next year (meaning very pregnant) go as wilson, the volleyball and your spouse as tom hanks from cast away.  i stole the idea from a book but wasn't able to use it.

we went trick or treating with some friends - 4 families total.  it was great!  we were out there for quite a while and remi walked almost the whole time, i was so impressed.  he was pretty excited to be given all these random things and put them in his bag and was as happy as a clam ...until... shawn decided to share a tootsie roll with remi and then remi realized what all those random things were that he was getting.  sugar!  oh, yummy!!!  after that remi was very possessive about anything that was given to him and would throw a small fit after every house we went to.  he didn't walk much after that.  ignorance is bliss... at least for the parents!  haha!

 we even got to trick or treat to a cop car!

the stash!  again, good thing remi doesn't quite realize and remember that all that candy is his, because i polished it off for him.  i felt like a little kid again - you come home, sort your candy, hide the candy (more so that remi isn't throwing a fit because he wants some), eat the candy, feel sick.  yep, i did all that.  i never let myself buy candy except during halloween, christmas and easter so i became an uncontrollable garbage disposal.  ugh!  and don't worry, i did share - remi loved the m&ms and skittles (he made quite a mess while eating them - a testimonial to their goodness).

thankful challenge, day 3...

today i am thankful for...

1.  for cold, crisp air in the morning - soooo invigorating!  i love being warm but i also love the changes in seasons and am ready for winter to be here.  no snow yet, although i'm okay with that - just the presence of snow outside lowers the visual temperature by 20 degrees.  every morning i definitely don't want to go outside to get wood for the wood stove and i put it off as long as possible, but as soon as i do i absolutely love it!  it wakes me up and jump starts my mind and body.  (it also makes me appreciate a warm house even more!)

2.  social time.  being home with a toddler all day (and this week it's just me) makes me yearn to have adult conversation.  on typical days, shawn comes home from work and he doesn't want to talk because he's had to do that all day.  our needs are the exact opposite and it's a bit of a struggle for me.   whenever i get a chance to really talk i'm in heaven and it seems like a lot of built-up stress just melts away.  sooo therapeutic!

thankful challenge, day 2...

today i am thankful...

1.  that my baby boy loves to talk on the phone.  it's a bit hard being away from my baby but i am rather enjoying myself.  one thing that is making it easier is that he called several times yesterday and just jabbered away on the phone.  i don't know if he gets so excited because it's me or because it's he just likes phones but i like to think that it's the former. 

2. for feeling good.  lately i have been horrible about eating dairy.  when i do, i feel miserable, bloated, tons of abdominal gas pressure which pushes out my ribs and hurts.  it's not fun at all.   shawn commented to me the other day that i really am not doing a good job in my avoidance of dairy.  yeah, yeah, i know, i know...  i do great when i'm at home and have control over what's in my kitchen and pantry - i'm good at restricting myself at the store.  i don't have great self control when things are put in front of me.  monday was halloween and remi got lots of chocolate, fruitie tootsie rolls, caramel popcorn, etc...  good thing he doesn't realize that that candy was his because i've eaten it all and have paid the price by feeling miserable.  yuck!  and then i got a slice of chocolate cream pie and, rather than throw it away, i brought it home for shawn.  he didn't eat it and didn't eat it and didn't eat it... so i had to!  it was screaming my name!  remi and i shared it and it was good.  and then i felt miserable again.  you'd think i'd learn.  the good news is i've eaten everything that shouldn't be in my home and don't have to worry anymore.  i now feel good.  no pressure, no bloating, no sick-to-my-stomach.  just good.

thanksgiving challenge...

i know it's a bit late but i decided that i wanted to participate in the november 30-day thankful challenge that many of my friends are participating in on facebook.  after reading what everyone was thankful for everyday i thought to myself that i want to be thankful, too, so i'm jumping on the band wagon - and what a perfect way to celebrate the thankgiving holiday and perhaps put things a bit more in perspective. 
i've just finished reading The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs, "One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bilble as Literally as Possible."  this is a great and funny book about A.J., an agnostic, who decided to live the bible.  after A.J.'s experimental year and the transition back to "normal" life, he said that "I'll keep on saying prayers of thanksgiving.  I'm not sure whom I'm thanking, but I've become addicted to the act of thanking..."  so here goes!

1.  i'm thankful for being able to sleep in 'til 8:30!!!  shawn and remi took off last night to idaho for a week and left me at home to work on projects (i really don't want to drive in a car that long - this pregnancy thing isn't all that comfortable).  remi was waking up at 7:30, but has now transitioned to a 6 or 6:30 waking time.  i'm not a great morning person so it has been difficult to drag myself out of bed every morning and be ready to be a happy, energetic, involved parent.  i've usually been the one who gets up, doesn't look at anyone, doesn't talk, moves slowly... and if you do try and talk with me you'll only get either a mumble or a short one-word answer.  it takes me about an hour or so to really wake up.  but this morning - awesome!!!  i woke up energetic, excited and motivated to get things done today (which is good because i've got to change a tire on my car and tile a shower).

2.  i'm grateful for parents who have always been very encouraging to learn new things and to think outside of the box.  a year ago we bought our home that is full of never-ending projects and even though i've never done much of this before, i know that i can do it because i can do anything!  i know, that sounds like i have a very high opinion of myself, but that's not it.  anyone can learn how to do anything as long as they have attention to detail, they know how to ask the right questions, and are willing to put in the time and research to make sure it gets done correctly.  all i need is a library, youtube videos, or the advice of parents who have done a lot. 

3.  last night i pressure canned salsa for the first time and all my jars sealed.  yay!  we've had an overabundance of tomatoes from our garden and i'm so glad to have a chance to make delicious things with them and to have them work out.