Nesting.

Ever so slowly -- between schooling and naptimes, between appointments and gallavanting all over God's green Earth, between being awake for half the night because either my brain won't turn off, or my restless legs won't stop running a marathon....and - as of late, between some pretty heavy duty Braxton Hicks contractions... I am slowly, slowly getting myself organized and beginning the nesting process that is always so comfortingly familiar during these last few weeks of pregnancy.

All my bitty baby girl hats.  So cute.

I am a "nester" by nature, anyway.
I hate clutter, I like to be organized, and I really really love throwing things away.

But pregnancy nesting is just a little bit different for me, and I love it.  I can feel my body telling me that time is getting close...the weeks are winding down...and like pregnant Mamas all the world over - both human and beast...we get that sense of urgency that our home needs to be in order before the big day arrives.

It's not pretty.  But every tub is age appropriately sorted.
Twas the day I thought I might bring about pre-term labor.

 Fourth time around, mind you, I am not nearly as OCD as I once was.  For one thing, I have more Hoolies, and I have way more "stuff."  I'm also older, and bigger, and just plain slower.  But, we are plodding along - only this time, it's looking a little more piece-meal.  A little bit here, a little bit there...and a little bit of "maybe I'll get to that another day..."

....Also unlike with my firstborn, I now have three small wrecking balls who have the potential to go right along behind me in a whirling dervish fashion of amazement and completely un-do all that I previously just gone went and did in a shockingly short amount of time.  But, I'm relaxing and "it is what it is".....and as long as I feel more organized today than I did yesterday, well that's a major battle won, in my book.

booties and socks...which the boys find particularly adorable for some reason.

Why, just last week, we went through the big boy's bedroom and threw away two entire trash bags of clothing and set aside five entire trash bags for yard sale millions to be made.  We used to have two yard sales a year back in the day, but I'm kind of over all of that work now.  I'd much rather just hand it off to our local thrift store and be done with it.  However, the lure of being able to pocket whatever money they made was the incentive needed for these wee boys to do some majorly significant culling of all of their cra-- "stuff."  So, we made a a win-win deal for everyone, I guess.  I'm cool with an all toy yard sale in the spring if it makes me able to see their bedroom floor.

See?  All toys...and some 0-3 month baby boy things.
If anyone feels the urge to Christmas shop for their kids, come see us in June.

And although I am somewhat chomping at the bit to get all three of the boys moved upstairs into our bedroom loft and get London situated into a room of her own...I still think it's best to wait until we learn exactly what kind of personality and how well of a sleeper we have on our hands before we decide to put her on the same level of the house as the rest of us.  If the calisthenics in my womb are any indication of her temperament, I do believe we have a Xena Warrior Princess on our hands...with perhaps a will that is just as strong as her internal abuse to her Mama...So, methinks a sleeping nook in the space above the rest of us just might be what the doctor orders for sanity to reign supreme in our home.  Here's hoping I'm wrong....but I have been correct three times, thus far.

And so, we nest and we wait.
We rest and we grow.
We waddle and we work.
And we are ever thankful for this gift...

Showers of Blessing.

I've heard tell of the "proper etiquette" in certain places being that a first time Mama is given the typical baby "shower" where she is bestowed with all of the basic necessities that she both registered for and and didn't - and after this, she should be set for the majority of her successive pregnancies.  When baby #2 comes along, she may or may not receive a baby "sprinkle."  And this sort of event often includes gently used clothing - and mostly things of a completely practical nature - you know, diapers, wipes, etc.

And for baby three?  Well, I guess that depends on the Mama's friends and family...and how generous they are feeling with either their "showering" or their "sprinkling."  I was blessed to be abundantly showered with number three, as well.  I have been one blessed woman.

But, when my Mama told me that "we haven't had a baby girl in our family for 13 years, so yes indeed you are having yourself a baby shower up here in the County for baby #4," suffice it to say that I am well aware of "etiquette" or "tradition" - or what have you....and I was just a wee bit mortified.

At the very most - my Mama and my sweet little church that I grew up in should have given me a "drip."

Fourth baby?
How much can one person expect out of their wee little church who not only gave them their bridal shower but their very first baby shower as well?

Let's just say it was the farthest thing from being a drip that I have ever seen for a fourth baby...

Instead, there was a cake made (by the same lady who made my wedding cake almost fourteen years ago) that could have fed about one hundred people...

There was food that we ate on for about three days....and that we are still eating on today, in fact...

And there were dear, sweet friends and family who came and "showered" me with so much love...and with so much pink....that I almost had to leave one of the boys up North with Grampy and Grammy because we weren't sure where we were going to fit everything on the drive home.

Sweet cousins...and aunties...and baby girls of delish.

 It was quite honestly, amazing.

My Mom has been saving my dolls - and waaaaaiting - for the day when I might have a little girl of my own to play with them.  To be honest, I don't remember playing too much with them - unless I had a girlfriend over who had a waaay better imagination than I.  I would try to play "house" with them and be bored to death after about ten minutes.  But, I had some girlfriends who were amazing "baby Mamas."  The one doll that I did used to get a ginormous charge out of was my "Baby Alive" who I could feed...and then who would poop whatever food I had just fed her straight into her diaper.

My brothers and I always found this to be highly entertaining....
We shall see what the next generation brings us...

This was my guest page.  Courtesy of Pinterest, I had everyone stamp their thumbprint all over a (poorly) sketched tree that I had drawn, and then signed their names beside it.  This will go into her baby book, and perhaps be just a wee bit more interesting to look at than a plain old page with name after name written down the side.

 My sweet little Marmie read a couple of poems that made her all weepy.  Twas very sweet...
And part of her decor was vintage dresses that she wore along with little dresses that I wore as a baby, as well.

My friend, Katie, made me the most adorable table centerpiece.  She filled a little sleeper up with diapers, stuck some more in a little hat, and then put a little binky in her "mouth."  It looked just like a little baby laying on her belly with her bum stuck up in the air.  SO cute.

 

And my cousin Jodi and Aunty Sylvia (my dear family members who were Mom's co-horts in crime for the big day) had us play a game that this preggo brain found to be extremely difficult!  I think I maybe got six out of the eighteen questions.  You had to list baby body parts with these little clues given.  

Here's a couple of examples:
A school child = pupil
A place to worship = temple
Edge of a saw = tooth
A name for garbage = waist

Clever, eh?

So - it was just lovely.  Everything about it.
I was made to feel loved, and I was over the top blessed.
I was surrounded by family and friends, and I was so very abundantly "showered" when I really should have only ever been "dripped" upon...

And my boys?

Well, I can't even begin to tell you the utter hoot they got out of seeing "ALL of the pink girly stuff!"
Especially the pink tutu and the sparkly converse sneaks....
Suffice it to say - they have been highly entertained with my sorting and nesting today...

Pregnancy, and My Middle Child.

Well, we are officially on the downward slope of this here pregnancy.  And while, on the one hand, I can honestly say that the time has flown by and I can hardly believe that I have only about nine weeks left...on the other hand, I have definitely felt my age this time around - right along with my body begging for mercy and scolding me almost on a daily basis saying:  "Seriously?!  You're making me do this again?!"  I'm not really sure how some of my friends have done this six, seven, eight, and nine times...

Kudos to you, girls.
This old grey mare...well, she surely ain't what she used to be.
But, we are plodding along.

Large and in charge, I am these days...

In this particular shirt, I am "affectionately" called BARNEY all the live long day.

And my middle child, especially, several times a day likes to remind me of this...with a wide selection of comments and names - both completely endearing and downright offensive, if I was of the delicate breed of women who took her loved one's comments deeply to heart.  But I'm not...for the most part - and this kid's heart is so tender, and his love is so wild, that most times I just throw my head back and laugh -- which obviously completely and totally just adds fuel to his fire.

Many an interesting conversation has taken place in our home these days as the boys are just that much older this time around and a wee bit more "worldly wise," as well, shall we say.  So.... as questions arise, we are doing our best to answer them as fully and honestly - but as age appropriately - as they need to be answered.

And then comes the fun game of explaining to them (read:  Jesse) that the whole rest of the world does not need this explanation reiterated back to them - and we can leave that up to everyone's each and individual family to cover those basics on their own.  Neither does the world need to see Mama's naked belly - as aforementioned child seemed to desire to show everyone at a wedding reception last weekend...  I must admit - I wasn't quite ready for that one, and I do believe that half of the room got just a wee bit of a show that day.....to which Daddy promptly took Jesse aside for a "man to man" discussion of what is appropriate and what is indeed.....not.....while I hightailed it to the bathroom until my face turned back to normal from its eight shades of red that my wee Hoolie had  just caused me...

I also have a rather amazing "out-y" of a belly button that tends to look like it's going to explode out of my gut long about this time in my pregnancies.  For my first two pregnancies, I was so embarrassed by it, that I actually taped it down every day.  But, this stage in my life, I am far more concerned about band-aid burns and being comfortable than I am about my looks.  It just is what it is, and most days I don't really even give it a thought.

However, this "protrusion," as of late, has also brought about a somewhat comical discussion with my middle child, that "No, this is not where Baby London will get her milk.  Although it doesn't look like it now...this is actually Mama's belly button -- much like the one you yourself have..."  He's still trying to decide if I'm telling the truth on that one or not.

And finally....

Yesterday, during a quiet conversation between Jesse and Ransom in the living room - I overheard him explaining to his baby brother exactly how the cycles and stages of life go.  I believe it went a little something like this:  "Well, okay.  It goes like this:  First, they are somewhere in Mama's huge tummy, then they turn to a baby, then to a little kid like you, and then a bigger kid like me,.....to a human, to a Grammy, and then to a grown up."

And it was in that moment that I realized the full and complete raging success that both my mothering and this school year has brought to all of us in this here household of Crazy.

My work here is done.

Oatmeal Blender Pancakes!

Okay.
Just one more recipe, and then I shall move on to other topics, I promise.
But this one is SO worth sharing - believe me!
In my book, it is the perfect pancake:  heavy, dense, moist, and healthy.
Just right for breakfast, lunch, OR supper....in my humble opinion.

And!
They are SO easy to make with hardly any cleanup whatsoever.
Oh, how I love recipes like this!
And!
If you have wee Littles in your kitchen who love to help...and if they can follow any semblance of instructions, they can make these all by themselves.  Easily.

Want the recipe?
Okay, here you go:

Look!  No flour!  I LOVE this...

My only additions and changes were upping the cinnamon amount to a full teaspoon, because I LOVE cinnamon and believe one can never have enough.  And I also threw in a goodsized fistful of ground flaxseed and blueberries to add some extra oomph.  Next time - and believe me, there WILL be a next time, like probably for supper tonight "next time" - I'm also going to a add a few tablespoons of pumpkin puree.

Deee-lish.

Heavens to Betsy....I can hardly contain myself.
These babies won a rousing "thumbs up" from all three boys as their new favorites.
And we have tried MANY a homemade pancake recipe in our day...

Twas a most jolly lunchtime yesterday.
And it just might be a most jolly suppertime tonight...

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." ~ Luciano Pavarotti

Well said, Mr. Pavarotti.
Well said, Indeed.

Dinner, Dessert, and DANCE!

Welp.  The time has come to share a couple more delish recipes that I have stumbled across in my travels, as of late.  There have been a couple of awesome websites I have found ranging from just a completely clean eating lifestyle to an all out raw, vegan, more of a Paleo-ish sort of lifestyle.  I am finding that with Kev's belly issues and with my need for serious protein during the tail end of my pregnancies -- along with three little Hoolies who all fall into various degrees on the "fussy" scale of eating....what's working best for us right now, is just a good ole' trial and error kind of lifestyle.

Aaaand whatever Mama happens to be craving at the moment.
Just keeping it real.

So, for supper last night we had ourselves a wee venison taco pie, and Kev and I found it to be quite delicious.  Instead of a typical flour crust, I made it out of mashed potato, thus making it completely gluten free.  My wee hoolies would have much prefered a "real" crust or "real" corn taco shells...but this was different for a change...and I found the mashed potatoes to be rather soothing to my soul.

 So, here's what you do:

Cook up a bunch of potatoes, and then smash them all up with 2 Tablespoons of taco seasoning, and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch pan.  (The recipe originally called for this:  melt 1/4 cup butter, add 2/3 cup milk, and 2 tablespoons taco seasoning.  Remove from heat and add 2 1/2 cups of mashed potato flakes until incorporated.)  I never have mashed potato flakes.  This step would obviously be much easier....

Bake this in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until the potato starts to turn golden brown.  (This will also give it all little "crisp" making it feel more like a true crust...and less like mushy, mashed potatoes...if your kids aren't so much of a mashed potato kind of a fan...as a couple of mine are NOT...hypocritical Mainer's that they are....)

Meanwhile, in a skillet cook up 1 pound of ground beef..(or chicken, or turkey, or venison or buffalo...or whatever kind of burger you have on hand, I guess) along with 1/2 cup of chopped onion.  Drain.  Add 1/2 cup salsa and remaining taco seasoning, if you used a packet.  If you made your own seasoning...add about 2 Tablespoons to your meat mixture.  Reheat until bubbly.

Pour into crust.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until crust is nice and golden brown.
Let cool for 5 minutes.  Top with cheese, plain Greek yogurt, avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes.....or whatever.

My boys prefer just a nice salad on the side instead of mixing everything all together.  And some fresh cut pineapple is always delish served along with just about anything...so says Baby London.

Voila!  A healthy, high protein, no gluten, and if you use lots and lots of veggies - well, rounded supper.

Just to keep it real -- my eldest is neither a potato fan, nor a cheese fan...so this was not one of his "rise up and call Mama blessed" kind of a meal.  My other two love cheese and are okay with potatoes...so the meal was no issue.  My dear hubby would thank me if I served him oatmeal every night for supper....and that's why I love him.

Okay.  Moving onto dessert.
Oh.  My.  Goodness.
These cookies rock.  Hardcore.

I found the recipe in one of my runners magazines.  Sandra Bulluck's sister is a chef, and she always includes high energy healthy desserts - specifically designed for athletes in her column. And so far, I have tried and loved everything that she has offered.

So, here is a recipe for Soft Ginger Cookies.
And I would highly recommend making yourselves a double batch.  Post haste.
But, I shall just include below the recipe for a regular, single batch.

Combine 3/4 cup hot coffee, 1 cup of chopped pitted dates (which, if any of you out there hate dates, I promise you will not taste them), and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda...and let sit for 10 minutes.

Put this mixture into a food processor, and process until nearly smooth.
In a bowl, whisk 2 room temp eggs and 1/4 cup blackstrap (or regular) molasses.
Continue whisking and add the date puree to this mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk 1 1/2 cups spelt, or rice, or whatever flour you so desire to whisk (although if you use rice like we did - you will need to add more than 1 1/2 cups.  I think I added closer to 2 or 2 1/2), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper if you want some extra zip.

Stir into the date mixture.
Mix in 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger - (SO good!)

And freeze until very firm, but scoopable - 30+ minutes.

Drop dough onto cookie sheets - and if you want some extra crunch and sweetness, dip the tops in turbinado or natural sugar - and bake for 10 minutes or until they feel spongy yet firm, and spring back when gently poked.

Ah-mazing.
Thank you Sandra Bullock's sister....my new BFF.

Best served hot and piping with a ginormous glass of milk...with your Love...once your Hoolies are abed.
Or - if you feel like being nice, you can share.

And Then!

Disregard the trash lying on the floor...

We dance!
During kitchen clean-up...post supper and pre-bedtime...
Crank the tunes!
Let the Hoolies run wild!
Get crazy!

And then, put 'em to bed....

It works well in this family, anyway...

And it makes the deafening silence after they are all in bed - THAT much sweeter...

Tapping Treeees!

 Buckets on my floor, tubing and spiles on my counter...
Chilly, chilly nights and warm, drippy days...
And reminders on the outside signs of all of our local Hardware Stores to "Get Your Supplies Here!"
That's how I knew it was time!

 (SnooooooW!  I'm so sick of snoooooooow.....)

But mostly, it was our neighbor Mr. Lew traipsing over for a game of Cribbage this past weekend who put my brain all in a flurry of remembrance of what March really means!!!  Over a black cup of coffee and him trash talking me for being just a few points behind, he casually asked:  "You guys going to do any tapping again this year?  It's just about time, you know..."

And that's all it took!

I think if we hadn't had that conversation, and if I hadn't stumbled across a couple of people just mentioning in passing that "it's about that time," I would have completely missed our tree tapping window this year.  It's so short up here, anyway -- not much more than three weeks, at best.

 And, OH how we love it!

Our operation is tiny, and our experience is pretty minimal.
I grew up with my Dad and brothers tapping every year...but I was mostly just an onlooker.
And a "tea-stealer" during the days when they would boil the sap down, down, down...

My favorite was to sit out in the garage where all of the guys were with a little teacup full of the goodness - sipping it while it was hot and thin - and just barely sweet; long before it boiled down into that beautiful liquid gold.

As I recall, my bros weren't the biggest fans of their kid sis doing all of that tea stealing, either; and now I understand why.  It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.  And I liked to try and drink my weight in "tea."  But they were gracious....as my preggo, foggy brain tries to recall, anyway..

 Catching the drips!

We don't have too many trees to work with on our land.
We only have about 4 clusters of maybe 10 maple trees that are on our property, but we tap them all!
So far this year, we have nine buckets hooked up, and Kev just brought back a few more last night, so we'll tap a few more in the next couple of days.

 We use a variety of methods depending on the trees and how well each of them run.  Also, depending upon how many buckets, how much tubing, and what types of spiles we have available.  I have just a bit of my Grampy's old equipment which is such a treasure to me.  It's hard to find anything like that these days - most places just sell the black and blue plastic stuff.  I love my Grampy's old weathered stuff so much better.  But, mostly just because it reminds me so much of my own childhood.  Really, anything will work.  We've even put some duct tape to good use on one of our trees and tubing....

True, redneck Maine-ah's that we are...

And now that the trees are tapped, the boys' "job" is to run outside about ten times each day and tell me how full the buckets are getting.  They like to give the play by play for each and every one.

My favorite thing is to listen for the "plink. plink. plink" of the drips into each of the buckets.
Childhood memories right there...

And so, we'll collect until the "experts" tell us that collecting time is over.  And then, we'll set up a big old camp stove at the mouth of our garage with a big old propane tank hooked up to it, and we ourselves will begin the process of boiling our precious sap down, down, down into the few little pints of goodness that all of our gatherings will have yielded.

But, there won't be as much as there could have been - I know that much for sure, right now.
Because there is still "maple tea" that will need to be sipped and savored...and stolen at just the right moment when backs are turned.

Til Death do us Part.

And of what it really means to say, "I do."

Yesterday, we went to a wedding - my family and I.  We were witnesses to the marriage of a beautiful young woman whom we have known and loved since girlhood to her boy-man prince whom she has waited for - for all these years.

And it was a beautiful day.

I love weddings, because they remind me of my own day thirteen years ago when I wore white and when he cried.   I love them because they put today in perspective when life gets crazy and when the future at times seems uncertain.  I love them because I want my boys to witness and to experience this love - to ask questions and to watch in innocent awe...  And I love weddings because I want to be reminded  - again - of the words of our own forever vows...and of what it really means to say, "I do."

Washing each other's feet.....A beautiful picture of mutual serving.

Yesterday was the brand new start - it was Chapter One - of Katie and Todd's book of Forever...

And all day long, as I looked back and forth between this fresh, new love of this brand new couple, and then all around me at the seasoned, weathered love of the many many witnesses who came to share in their day...the seriousness of the moment, and the depths of their vows that they pledged before all of us rang ever truer...

Because some of those couples - and most of that love - in our audience yesterday have weathered some pretty heavy battles through the years...

~ Some have battled strokes and sickness...
~ Some have had some oh so sick babies....and babies who didn't make it after all...
~ Many have weathered several job changes and countless moves...
~ Some have had personal and very public attacks on character and on the very core of "who" they are...
~ Many have kids who have grown up and walked away from everything that they were taught and modeled at home...
~ Probably countless have experienced seasons of dryness in life and in love...
~ Chapters of heartache - caused maybe by themselves...or by others...
~ Seasons of messy and seasons of mundane.
~ Chapters of babies and toddlers....and chapters of caring for aging parents.
~ And I am sure that all have witnessed headaches and heartaches of which no one else is even aware...

And...maybe none of us fully realized the magnitude of what exactly we were signing up for on the day that we all took our vows.  Maybe we didn't know that cancer might one day join our party...or that babies might never be a part of the picture when that was something that we most desperately wanted.  Maybe we never imagined that infidelity could ever come knocking on our door...but it did....or that depression...or fear...or going bankrupt...or ~ you fill in the blank ~ would ever in a million years come to visit our safe and happy little homes in the chapters and seasons down the roads of our lives...

Heavy, heavy pain that nobody ever volunteered to sign up for on the day when they pledged their forever vows before their friends and their loved ones...

And yet.
And yet.....

They did volunteer.  We all did.

This is all a part of two messy people making a holy forever vow before God and man to join their messes together.
This is the sad reality of living life in a fallen, messed up world ~ and of being fallen, messed up people.

But the crazy beauty of it all, is that even if we make a royal mess of things at some point in our marriages...and even if, at some point, God requires some extensive heart and soul surgery from some or all of us.....and even if there are seasons of drought and chapters of deep, crushing pain...

God is a God of redemption and of second chances.  He is a Specialist in bringing beauty out of the ashes of our lives...and His desire is for our own messy marriages to - in spite of it all - be the earthly picture of our Heavenly Bridegroom and of His marriage to us....His Bride.

And we were reminded again yesterday that this love and this life is indeed:  "In sickness and in health.  For better or for worse.  For richer and for poorer.  And for as long as we both shall live...."

When we signed up for Forever...we all signed up for "whatever crap life throws at us."

We entered into a covenant of "us against the world," of "you and me no matter what," and of "Yes, we know that life, at some point, will probably get messy....it might not always look as crystal clear as it does today...but that's kind of the point of why we celebrate today in the first place."

It will always and forever serve as a signpost - a reminder - of the covenant that we pledged to each other.
And, weddings serve that purpose well in reminding all of us...

And there will be chapters of the good with the bad and the sick with the healthy.  There will be seasons of good right along with the seasons of the really bad.  And if we are lucky to have years of plenty - there will also probably be quite of few that land more on the side of poverty.  Times when one of us will be doing okay, so we might need to breathe for the other for just a while.  And times where the other will know it's time for them to step in and do the breathing...

And that's what forever love is.
That's commitment.
That's what makes the unknown, scary future become an adventure, and that's what makes life worth living.

We weren't intended to walk life alone.
We were never meant to do it by ourselves.

And for Katie and Todd - just like for all of us.....
Junk will come - because that's what life does.
And they'll make mistakes - because that's what people do.
And they'll have to choose to forgive, and to trust, and to move forward without fear.
They'll have to let go, and to move past...
They'll have to be willing to serve.....and to be served....to let go of pride and to eat a lot of crow....
They'll have to be willing to allow God to write the story of their lives...
And be ready to close their eyes and dive in deep.  Together.  No matter what.
Because that is what life is.

So, when the newness of today turns into the lifetime of tomorrows....
When the proverbial "you know what"  hits the proverbial fan of "what was it again that I said yes to?!?"...
Might they be reminded...might they remember....as we all were reminded yesterday....

....of what it really means to say, "I do."

And as we danced in the midst of all of the brides and the grooms ~ the very brand new ones who were wearing white....and the ones who were many years old....him and me, with my impossibly huge purple belly between us....

We were reminded once again of all that we signed up for.
And once again, we said "I do."
Always and Forever.
No matter what.