Just Keep Swimming...

The water was high this year.

And quite cold at the beginning of the week.
But, ten days in - with that massive, muggy heat wave that we had - it really became quite love-o-ly.

So, my boys basically lived in their swim gear.

I packed an entire suitcase of clothing...but really all it was used for was to serve as swim gear back-up. Ransom is my only non-water child.  He prefers to just "dip his piggy toeths" in the water.

My other boys are fish.

And my Biggest Boy and I like to spice things up a little bit.

We asked the Hoolies if they wanted to feel like they were flying...
I asked them if they wanted to experience a part of my childhood where my own Dad and brothers would throw me up in the air and chuck me just as far as they could.

They said:  "Sure."
One time each...

I think Daddy struck the fear of the good Lord into them after that...
Not intentionally, mind you.

After that, I tried to bribe them so I could have more photo ops.
Jesse took me up on the offer one time.  His fee?  Two marshmallows.

After that...I even went as high as two bucks and THREE more marshmallows.
But he said:  "No way..."

I think it was the going in head first that did it for him....

After that, they opted for a slower version of excitement:

Whoaaaaa!  Slow down, Kaden...

You guys are crazy!
What daredevils....

How We Do It.

Whilst I surely would not label myself a "girly girl" ~

...this is what my feet look like - perpetually - in living with these boys....

...I do love me my comforts of home...namely, hot showers, real toilets, a blow dryer, a curling iron, makeup, and some hairspray.  But...there is something to be said for having to jump in the lake for your baths, and for shaving your legs off the side of the dock.  There's something to be said for sunkissed skin as opposed to blush and lipstick...and for letting your hair be wildly dried in the breeze as opposed to being cooped up in a steamy bathroom with a blow dryer.

Life jacket, round 2.  The first one she hated with a passion.  This one she loves...

   And there is surely something to be said for not spending the first half hour or so of your day in the bathroom primping up for the day.  I think I could be a crunchy granola if I wasn't so vain.  Rangeley is one of those small towns where the Appalachian Trail is close enough for hikers to hitch rides into town to restock their supplies and stop for a pizza and a pit stop...so, we see ourselves a plethora of hippie crunchy types.

It kind of appeals to me...

In fact, Kev and I are talking about hiking the "100 Mile Wilderness" for our 15 year Anniversary next year. We shall see.  I'm not quite sure if I'm hippie crunchy enough for that one or not yet.  But I think it could make for a pretty fun adventure some day.

Speaking of adventures....

My friend Rachael and her family spend their family vacations at this same camp.  Rachael is my Father-in-Law's granddaughter....so that makes Kev her uncle by marriage.  Awww.  Uncle Kevy....  Anyway, for the past two summers, we have tried to overlap our stay just a bit.  My three older boys and her three older girls love hanging out...and we love hanging out...so it's delightful.  Last year, we overlapped a couple of days and a night.  This year, I have a two month old baby girl, and she has one year old toddler twin boys...so it makes for a "hairy-er" vacation for both of our families.  So, this time we just overlapped a few hours.  Maybe next year, we can make it happen for a little bit longer.

Anyway, we were chitchatting about what our family's week (that is comprised mostly of boys) looks like as opposed to what their family's week (that is comprised mostly of girls) looks like while here at camp.  We were swapping notes, so to speak.  When her family goes to town, her Lovelies enjoy walking the entire strip of stores, peeking into each one, and finding fun little treasures to purchase as souvenirs of their time in Rangeley. When our family goes to town, the boys like to hit:  the candy shop, the pizza shop, and the ice cream store...and not necessarily in that order.  And the only store that they even remotely care to shop at is the tackle shop...and that's only if they've lost a lure on a fishing trip.

My boys wake up talking about fishing, and they go to sleep with plans the next morning to go fishing.  And if we decide to go on any sort of adventure...the major question at play is:  "Can we do any fishing there?"  They are also quite enthused if there are any cliffs or huge rocks that they can jump off....or any locations where lots of people have not fished before.  And whilst I do love me my adventures, as well...when I am "on vacation," I really don't want to do anything that even remotely looks like work.  I like to think of myself as a "dock sitter."  Nothing makes me happier than to slow roast on the dock with a fantastic book in hand, enjoying the sights and the silence around me, when I get hot I'll jump in for a little dip, and then I'll come back out...wash, rinse, repeat for all the live long day.

Kevy can sit still for approximately 30 minutes.  If I am lucky.  And that's why he's the favorite parent.
Mama is boring.

And so our days were a mix of vegging and fishing, boating and fishing, hanging at camp and fishing, boating to town and fishing, swimming and fishing.  Exploring and fishing. And going on adventures.  And fishing.

And we also did a little fishing.

Wee little London, I fear, is a bit more like her Daddy than her Mama, and so our best days at camp were actually the ones where we were out and about.  That baby took more naps on the boat, and on a hike, and in my Snugli, and on some cliff somewhere then she ever did in her bed back at camp.  And I nursed that wee baby in more precarious positions this week than I ever have all three baby boys combined.  Such is going to be her life, methinks.  But she didn't complain.

I may or may not have once or twice...

See my boys?  Waaaaay down there.  London ate her lunch at the top of this ledge.  glory be.

There were a couple of mornings where I slept in...and awoke to the smells of coffee and pancakes.  I came downstairs surprised that they weren't off fishing somewhere, and when I asked why, Kev's response was this:  "I feared for my life...."  ha.  Dear man.

So we balanced our fun to meet the needs of all six of us the best that we could.  Some of the boys are as hard-core as Daddy, and some are not so much.  There were days when Jesse looked over at me in the boat and said wryly:  "Fishing is so boring, isn't it Mama?"  So, those were the times that we threw him off the side of the boat and let him boogie board on back to relieve said boredom.  And there were nights when Kevy took all three Hoolies along with him so that Mama could have some semblance of silence back at the camp for just a couple of hours.  There were days when I willingly hiked in the drizzle and nursed London on top of some ledge somewhere so that someone could hook their prize trout in a deep hole somewhere.  And there were days when we went to town for the sole purpose of getting an icecream.  Just because I wanted one.  There were naps where Ransom sprawled on me in the boat, and there were fishing expeditions where whoever was bored was allowed to eat a boatload of candy for appeasement.

Whatever worked, was kind of my motto.

Final count:  2 big salmon and 4 trout.  Not too shabby.

And so, now we are back to the real world of:
No, you may not have candy right after breakfast. (to Jesse & Ransom)
No, you may not sleep every single nap on my chest. (to London)
No, we are not going fishing tonight when Daddy gets home from work. (to Kaden)
And no, we are not having ice cream four times this week. (to all of us)

Coming back to reality is such a bummer....

What We've Been Doing.

Behold, my sanity!

Otherwise known as:
Heaven on Earth...

There's this little tiny A-frame camp on this little tiny island in Rangeley, Maine where we spend one glorious week or more every single summer.  It is my most favorite week out of my whole entire year, and now it has come and gone for another season....but oh, it was amazing.

I am so happy that Kev's Mom married my father-in-law.  For many reasons, really.  He is a wonderful man.  But, this here camp came with the man, and for that I shall love him forever.  His father bought this little island and the one next to it for something like $200 for one and $300 for the other way back in the day.  Then, he built this little camp with a boathouse and an outhouse...and that's pretty much all that fits...

And, it is a little boy's paradise.
And a Daddy's and a Mama's as well.

This is where we came for the second week of our Honeymoon fourteen years ago...after having spent a week in Cancun, Mexico - which was amazing...but I tell you what ~ I would have been disappointed if we had stopped our honeymoon, there.  It was here in Rangeley where we went deeper and where we slowed down -- in this tiny spot with no electricity, and miles of lake to canoe...this haven where the sounds of loons crying with the waves slap slapping the dock lulling us to sleep every night...this place that holds so very many special memories for me...and this place where we have kept on coming back to year, after year, after year.

My boys live to come to Rangeley - where there is never once a thought of watching t.v. or of playing video games.  They are up at the crack of dawn fishing and swimming, canoeing and catching crayfish and they fall asleep hours and hours after they normally would at home.  On this tiny space of an island - that you can walk around in under two minutes flat - they are never once bored, they are wild and free, and they are at peace...

And...oh my goodness.
So am I.

And while, this summer ~ coming back to this place with a newborn ~ wasn't nearly as "restful" or as "relaxing" as it has been in past years...it was still amazing.  Every summer comes with a different flavor:  A Honeymoon summer, a summer with a six-week old, a summer with a little boy and a wild child, a summer with two little boys and a baby, a summer with three little boys, and now this, a summer with three crazy Hoolies and a wee eight week old baby...

Each summer is special and unique.  Each comes with its own set of challenges:  be it watching like a hawk for a toddler to not fall of the wharf, or helping a baby fall asleep for a nap with no place to help them to really get away from the noise.  It is what it is...and each summer I take it for whatever it is...

I find myself.
I "check out" from the madness of reality for awhile.
I reconnect with nature and life...and disconnect from technology and all of the whirling and the spinning.
And so then...when I come back to reality...I am more centered.
And I am more at peace...

Our Happy Place.

 When the Realtor calls and says a family would like to come back and see your house for a second showing...well, then you feel all celebratory...so you say:  "Hey!  Let's kick it to our favorite place for the afternoon while we await an awesome offer."

 And so we did.

Camden, Maine.
A sweet little seaside town with super yummy coffee shops and lots of fun little places for wee ones to explore.
It's pretty much our favorite.

Plus, London had to have her first experience at Boynton-McKay.
One of the workers said:  "Hey!  The last time you were in here, you were pregnant!"
We've pretty much gone there ever since Kaden was a wee one, so they kind of know us.

A funky old coffee shop that used to be an apothecary.
Tons of coffees and teas to choose from, yummy homemade desserts, and just a handful of dishes to choose from...but all of them amazing.

Below is my fave:
Thai chicken with soba noodles.
Pretty much Heaven on a plate.

 And so we ate our food and we drank our coffee...we poked around town a bit... and we found some water.  And then we kicked it toward the town of Belfast and spent some time at one of our favorite parks that sits right by the ocean.

And Kevy royally kicked my butt in a game of tetherball.
I was never ever good at that game.
What I was good at, was getting my head konked a kajillion times with that dumb ball on a string.

After icecream for all...we kicked it for home.
And upon arriving there, we discovered that our showing was actually, in fact, a no-show.
Major bummer.
Ah well.  Such is life.  It was still a good day.

Happy Holiday-ing, friends!
Take time to smell the roses...

CH-ch-ch-Chia...

I bought myself a wee little package of chia seeds at the grocery store the other day...wanting to stretch myself and use something new (to me, anyway...I know that the rest of the world and their neighbor have been using these little seeds of wonder for many a moon now.  But, me - I like my rut).

And so, this past week, I used them in two of my recipes...and I must say, I am pretty pleased with the results.  The first thing I used them for was to replace my wheat gluten in my homemade bread.  A friend told me that she had tried it with virtually no difference in texture results, so I figured I would give it a whirl.

First time around, the bread fluffed up higher like it usually does - making a nice tall loaf.  The second time around, it was not as fluffy and a bit more dense.  However, it was scuzzy outside, and for whatever reason, I find that when I am working with yeast on rainy days, my bread never rises as high.  Call me crazy, but I swear it's true.

And now Kevy can eat my bread.  For some reason, his belly can handle my breads that don't have any gluten in them, but not so much the ones that do.  So, here's my all-time favorite, make once and sometimes twice every single week of my life, and have it for breakfast and/or lunch almost every day of life recipe for my bread.  I put it in my bread maker for the mixing and first rise cycle, so my  hands-on work is virtually the amount of time it takes me to make my morning cup of coffee.  You just have to be home for three hours - because that's how long everything takes from start to finish.

Throw all of this into your machine:
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
2 cups of unbleached white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
(** or four cups of any flour, any combination you would like.  I often use all spelt, as well).
2 heaping tablespoons yeast
2 heaping tablespoons chia seeds (or wheat gluten)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup ground flax seed (optional)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds and poppy seeds (optional.  Just yummy)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup honey or molasses - or a combination of both
1 2/3 cups water.

Place in dough setting and go conquer the rest of your world for 1 1/2 hours.
When the kneading and first rise are over, place in greased loaf pan and let rise again.
Bake at 350 degrees for 32 minutes exactly in my oven.

Dee-lish.
And serve with my second chia recipe trial of the week:
Crock Pot Sugar-Free Strawberry Chia Freezer Jam.

I stumbled across this recipe somewhere on-line and thought I would give it a whirl.  I normally make my strawberry freezer jam using the "pink sure-jell" and following the "less sugar" recipe on the back of the box. But, the less sugar recipe still takes quite a bit of sugar per batch, so I just wanted to try one batch with stevia...and chia seeds as a thickener instead of the sure jell.

I kind of muddled my way through the recipe, because I didn't quite have the full three pounds (which equals about 3 3/4 cups whole berries) of strawberries thawed.  I had just a little less.  So, I used a bit less Stevia and chia seeds both than what was called for.  Thus, my jam is a bit tart and more on the "soft set" side...but still pretty yummy.  The boys love it, anyway.  I am not a huge fan of the taste of stevia, myself.  But, I think it could grow on me.

So, here you have recipe #2:
1. Lightly grease a crock pot.
2. Combine 3 pounds strawberries, 1/4 cup lemon juice, & 2-3 teaspoons stevia.  Stir to coat.
3. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.
4. Uncover and mash berries using a potato masher.
5. Cover and cook for 1 more hour.
6. Mash berries again.
7. Cover and cook 2 more final hours with a spoon propped under the lid to let moisture escape.
8. Stir in chia seeds.
9. Ladle mixture into clean mason jars and cool slightly.
10. Store in freezer for longer periods of time.  The chia seeds will work their magic as the jam cools.

I found that I didn't notice the chia seeds at all...because strawberries have seeds, so everything just kind of blended together.  I was worried I would feel all of the seeds in my teeth, and I didn't.  And I'm also not sure I would do it in my crock pot again, just because I'm a get'er done kind of girl, and the whole procedure took about 4 hours.  Although, again, the hands-on time was pretty minimal.  Just a stir here and there.  The lady who posted the recipe said that her main reason for "crockin'" her jam was because she has a tendency to burn things.  Ha!  If you were to cook your berries on the stove, the whole idea is to just simmer them until they start to thicken a bit on their own...and that whole process would just take mere minutes.  Whatever floats your boat, I guess...

So, there you have it.
Some rainy day recipes.

Now I must go clean my house for a showing.
Joy unspeakable and full of glory...

The Scourge.

Life as of late has been just a wee bit interesting, to say the least.
It's been busy.
In a whirling dervish sort of way.

Not only have I been trying to keep the house "show ready" for whenever the Realtor calls, but London has taken it upon herself to just want to cat nap in little thirty minute spurts during the day.  That's not so much my favorite.  But, the crowning joy of life right now is the fact that we are in the thick of the worst poison ivy episode that we have ever had.  To date.

And that's saying a lot.

When Dad and Mom were here earlier last week, Dad took it upon himself to do a little bit of research on various poison ivy remedies that are out there.  We have done the Aveeno oatmeal bath, the washing with dish detergent to remove the oils, the soaking it in bleach water and in salt water, the rubbing of alcohol, the applying of cortizone cream and calamine lotion yadda yadda yadda.

We. have. done. it. all.
Or maybe we haven't.

Dad found a bunch on remedies online involving Jewel Weed, and since my neighbor Lew has a plethora of it growing wild in his backyard, I figured what do we have to lose?

Last week, Kaden's face was plastered with it so badly, and his face was so swollen that he didn't even look like himself.  Seriously, people.  His face?  What in the world?!!!

And this week, Jesse's entire bottom leg down to his foot is plastered and swollen up to almost twice the size of his other leg.  And with each successive day...the blisters....they grow.

Praise the Lord and pass the biscuits.  We are a leprous generation.  Unclean!  Unclean!

And so, this week, I took it upon myself to become the hippie Mama that I saw in all of these YouTube videos that Dad and I watched about various Jewel Weed remedies and figured that we have absolutely nothing to lose in trying some out.

The first one involves cutting up a whole whack of the stuff and cooking it on the stove for twenty minutes in a quart or so of hot, boiling water.  It actually smelled really fresh and nice.

We cooked it down, down, down, and then ladled it all - "broth" and plant - into mason jars, and we store it in the fridge to keep it nice and cold.  I also put some of the "broth" in ice cube trays, and whenever the itching makes the boys crazy, they can take a paper towel and dab the mixture in the mason jars on their wounds, or they can take an ice cube and rub that all over them - both soothing and numbing the itch all at the same time.  So far, they have said that this is their "remedy of choice."  Instant soothing.

One of the really uber crunchy Mamas also said that you can drink the liquid.  She calls it "Cortizone Tea."  I figure that we aren't that desperate just yet.  Soon maybe.  But, not yet.

And then I also found this little topical remedy, as well:

In case you don't know what fresh plantain is....because I know that I surely didn't....it's the stuff that grows all over people's lawns:

Here's a picture up close:

We pureed up a batch of that stuff this afternoon in my handy dandy food processor.
Dee-lish.

And then, I slathered a whole whack of it all over Jesse's leg.
I must say, that he was highly unimpressed with the entire procedure, but he did say that it soothed him.

It just looks gross.
But then again, the poison ivy and the swelling and the oozing blisters are no picnic to look at, either.

Cheers!
I'm off to check into the Funny Farm....