Storm cleanup

A massive but quick storm blew through our area on Monday morning, causing major damage. Trees were lifted from the roots, some fell on homes and cars, 800,000 people were without power (some still don't have it back on) we were without power for 3 days. Thankfully the only casualties were half of our willow tree, and some perishables from our fridge. The first night was so hot in our house, it tipped 90 degrees with the sun down and was sweltering with high humidity, so we had a family sleepover in the basement.

 The damaged branches had to come down, Tadd was more than happy to oblige..

 Like a kid in a candy shop, Tadd loves to cut down trees- maybe he's in the wrong profession?

 This is a curly willow tree, it's constantly dropping these curly branches when the wind blows, it's no wonder this was the tree to break in the storm.

 The kids were such great helpers, they dragged all the branches to the curb, they're still there, waiting for the chipper to come around and turn them to mulch.

 Henry called this branch his "space ship" and nestled himself in the branches for a good part of the cleanup effort.

Yes, this is Harrison with a saw and Henry with a lobber. Harrison sawed through quite a few branches and really helped Tadd out with the cleanup. This storm was such an eye opener for me, I realized I need to be better prepared in case of an emergency, I also realized just how many electrical appliances I can live without (and exactly which ones I cannot live without *ahem, my blowdryer*). It's good to have a wake up call every once in a while, just to make me realize how blessed our family really is...

Faces....

 In recent months Henry's sweet,  easy going nature has given way to a tantrum throwing, bull headed, demanding little three year old. I thought two was supposed to be rough, but two doesn't hold a candle to three!

Also? The only foods he'll eat are: chicken nuggets (from a fast food restaurant), hash browns, pizza (from Little Caesars,  chips (from anywhere) and maybe cucumbers if ranch dip is available. Oh and of course candy. Seriously folks, that's all he'll eat. Let's just say he goes hungry sometimes...

He can be a charmer when he wants to be, he's very outgoing, he'll have a conversation with anyone. I took the kids to the pool the other day and Henry spent the day chatting up the life guard instead of swimming in the pool.  He's also very sensitive and always wants reassurance that we still love him when he gets in trouble.

We love this bull headed little three year old!

I Made it!!

A few weeks ago I came across a pattern on MADE for a beach robe, since we go to the pool nearly every week day, I thought it would be perfect to make a few of these robes for my kids. I've really been excited as I shop for materials and study the pattern. The first robe off the machine is for my adorable god-daughter Sophia, who is turning 4 today!! Here is the finished product, I hope to get a few pictures of her wearing it at her birthday party this afternoon. I admit that I unpicked more than I sewed, made a huge mess of my loft (terrycloth isn't the easiest to work with), but despite a few little flaws, I'm happy to say it turned out adorable. but I'm excited to try my hand at 3 more of these babies in the next week or so...

First of the season...

My dear boy Harrison shares my love of garden fresh cucumbers. We've been eagerly anticipating our first cucumber since... well since our cucumber plants froze last November. We planted our garden in mid May and have been carefully tending it ever since. Harrison ran inside a few days ago and excitedly pulled me to the garden to show me this beauty, it wasn't quite big enough so we've been patiently waiting for just the right time to pick. Today it was finally big enough and boy was Harrison thrilled, he brought it in the house, washed it, peeled it, retrieved the cutting board and knife, sliced it perfectly and sprinkled it with salt... I was sure he would sit at the table and devour it, but to my surprise he got down one of my crystal bowls, arranged the slices and proudly presented it to me. "Here mom, this is for you"

My heart just melted- what a gentleman!

I think I may just love Harrison a billion times more than the first garden fresh cucumber of the season.

(and that's saying A LOT)

ps I did share it with him!

Learning a new skill...

Yesterday afternoon I took the kids to the farmers market to find some vegetables for dinner, instead I walked away with 6 quarts of organic strawberries and a few pounds of rhubarb. On the way  home we stopped and got some pectin and canning jars. I had a mission! In years past I've made lots of freezer jam because I was just plain intimidated by cooked and processed jam. While we love freezer jam, it just doesn't go well in packed lunch peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, it's great on toast, crepes, pancakes and drizzled on cheesecake, but I needed something that could stand up to a packed lunch. I knew I was going to have to try processed jam sooner of later. Well, at 7pm last night I took the challenge, after 4 hours on my feet and more sugar (and dishes) than I like to think about, here are the results.

2 Batches of cooked jam, 2 batches of freezer jam (already in the freezer) and one batch of rhubarb jam.

 

I was afraid that one batch wasn't going to set, it was still runny when I went to bed, but this morning it was perfect!

Not pictured are the 4 jars of freezer jam that I did make, you know, for the pancakes and cheesecake! Harrison proclaims the results delicious, he was spreading the jam on his toast and said "my mouth keeps watering!" Now that's what I like to hear...

Quiet time

These long summer days are hard for a mom that is accustom to some structure! We're still figuring out the summer routine here and though fun, the days tend to drag now that I don't have a napper to break the day up. I feel like I need to provide entertainment/activities for 12 hours a day, no easy feat with a limited budget and kids that get bored easily. So I'm instituting a mandatory 1 hour quiet time every afternoon, the kids can choose reading, a video (remember we have no cable!) worksheets or a quiet game.  This bit of peace is essential if I want to keep my sanity around here! So far... it's been working out just fine, and it seems like the kids are enjoying some quiet time together.

The Visit

My sweet parents just left after an amazing 4 day visit. We were enjoying some rare 100 degree days in June it was HOT and humid!! So we spent lots of time eating popsicles and watermelon, squirting people with hoses and splashing at the lake. When we were inside, the kids enjoyed a suitcase full of arts and crafts that Nana Cindy graciously lugged all the way from Utah! We played games and talked and talked and talked. We all had such a fun time and cried when it was time to put them on the train to the airport. Harrison took it especially hard when they left, when we got home from the train station he ran to his room, grabbed the photo of himself and Grandpa and cried and cried. He kept saying "I just didn't want them to go!" I think he really enjoyed all the time with with my kind and loving parents. He said tonight "Mom, every time I look at that picture of me and grandpa, I start to cry." He fell asleep clutching the picture. It was enough for a mom to throw caution to the wind and pack the kids up for a road trip (well..... maybe not) But still! It was fun to see the kids play and interact with loving grandparents and we all hope they come back soon!