A Last Day

Today was....

The last day of April.

Our last day of homeschool co-op for the school year.

The last day of work before our week-long "staycation" begins.

It was also a good day to go to a tiny little "zoo" we'd never visited before and catch a shot of all three kids sitting still.

Butterfly Nets

We are back home again after a lovely visit with my family. The kids were so happy to see Tom when we arrived home (me too!). Isaac especially has been a daddy's boy ever since we got back. Last night he even woke up in the night crying for daddy, which I'm pretty sure is a first!

We all had so much fun last week, and I loved that the kids spent most of their days running around outside with their cousins. One big hit from the week was that my mom got butterfly nets for all the kids. Millie has always been one to try to catch butterflies anyway, so with that tool in hand there was no stopping her. The nets kept the kids really busy, even though there weren't so many butterflies to be found, mostly just moths. But still, it was a great way to get the kids running and interacting with nature.

And if you have the right technique, catching a butterfly is pretty easy. You just wait for the butterfly to land, then quickly put the net over the butterfly. Then just hold up the mesh part, and allow the butterfly to fly up into it.

Here Silas has caught a moth, though it's hard to tell in the photo.

The kids put some of their finds into jars, but even just observing the butterfly or moth in the net is a great way to get an up-close look. I'm sure we have plenty more butterfly-catching days ahead this summer.

Out of the Burbs

The kids and I are out of town for the week. We're in my hometown visiting family while Tom is away on a work trip. It's quite the breath of fresh air for me to get away from the suburbs and have lots of open space for the kids to run and play. I've been thinking more about children and nature over the past year or so, as the kids get bigger, and especially as Silas has so much energy to expend. I think of how kids need more than an hour at the park, how they need to feel, experience, soak in the outdoors. How the benefits go beyond sunlight and vitamin D, that somehow the trees, dirt and green spaces are able to reach inside and provide some calming, settling balance. And it's not just about the kids, it's good for me too.

We talk about someday moving our family back here. I have hopes for a big garden and fruit trees. There's the appeal of space for the children to play and explore, rather than being fenced in. I try hard to examine the possibility objectively, and not fall into the trap of thinking the grass is a deeper shade of green. But I can't deny that my roots draw me, that a piece of me will always wish for home. Maybe someday.

Ultrasounds and Belly Buttons

We wavered a bit on whether or not we would find out the gender of this baby before the birth. There were various reasons for our indecision, but over this past weekend we decided to go ahead and schedule an ultrasound. I called on Saturday and was able to make an appointment for Tuesday. So yesterday we got to peek at the newest member of our family, and among the siblings the outcome was that one child was extremely happy, one child was disappointed, and one child was simply freaked out by the whole experience.

I've seen other moms take these pictures looking down at their pregnant bellies. Here's me, 24 weeks.
Somehow my picture doesn't look quite right. And my feet actually didn't show up unless I leaned forward a bit. So this is my belly with me leaning forward slightly to get a look at my painted toenails. (If you want some natural, non-toxic nail polish, this stuff is great.) Oh, and I also took this picture with our camera, not my phone, though we didn't have to get a new lens! My friend Heather told me she'd had the same type of damage with her camera lens, and it just took some extra force to get the lens pulled out. So I told Tom to give that a try, and it worked!

Okay, one more thing about this picture. My belly button. It's ridiculously out there. Funny, at my recent appointment with my midwife, her daughter made the comment that now there's a product to cover up pregnant belly buttons. I guess for women in the workplace it's not very professional to be walking around with one's belly button sticking out. Good thing I'm not a professional.

So, the ultrasound. It was so fun to see baby, and she was sucking her thumb right when we first took a peek. Yes, we're expecting a "she". Millie has said for some time now that she wants a sister, though we have repeatedly told her that we don't have control over that. So when the ultrasound technician told us we could expect a girl, Millie was just beside herself with joy, even crying happy tears. And even though Silas was initially disappointed, he's definitely come around, and has talked a lot today about the baby, and how we got to see her yesterday. As for me, I'm very thankful Millie will get her long-awaited sister, and I'm looking forward to dressing a baby girl again.

Ultimate Blog Party

5 Minutes for Mom is once again hosting the Ultimate Blog Party. There are lots of wonderful bloggers to meet and great prizes involved, so be sure to check it out!

For those who are new here...

My name is Hannah. I'm a wife and mom, and I feel honored to spend my days nurturing my three children, even if it is pretty chaotic most days.

Around here we eat a lot of healthy snacks

fruit nut snacks

Do a lot of reading

my latest book list is here

Grow some yummy veggies


And do a bit of crafting from time to time.

I really enjoy blogging in order to share about some of these aspects of my life. I hope you enjoyed your visit! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Index!

So, I have a LONG blogging list...ideas for posts and site improvements and whatnot. Most of it never gets done, and that's okay. I'm a wife and mom first and foremost, so that's where I devote the vast majority of my time and attention. Blogging is a good outlet for me, and sometimes others might find something helpful here, which is just an added bonus. So, in the spirit of making the recipes here easier to find, I put together a recipe index. It's been sitting in my drafts for a couple of months, and now I've finally got it posted. The link to it is at the top of the page, just under the header. If you're looking for some recipe ideas, that's the place to go!

Lazy Gardening

We've gotten off to a slow start with gardening this year. Not sure why. I do have seedlings growing indoors (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers), but started them several weeks later than usual. And I should have direct-seeded some lettuce and spinach outside weeks ago, but that didn't happen. We just finished clearing out our raised beds last night, though, so hopefully I will get some things planted this week.

I am thankful to report, however, that there are times when the do-nothing approach pays off in gardening. Last fall we didn't pull up anything in the garden box just outside the kitchen. And now look:
I have a full row of kale that came back, ready to go into smoothies! This makes my heart happy. Next to the kale you can see the oregano that wants to take over the whole box.

Last fall I planted garlic, and it's doing really well. This is just one spot where I have garlic.
Here's my little monkey that likes to climb trees and play with all the earthworms she finds in the garden. And there are plenty of them, I'm glad to report!
In addition to the kale and garlic, our strawberries are also showing signs of life. And if only I was in the mood to wash and prepare dandelion greens, I would have quite the harvest at hand. Maybe I'll tackle that next year.

Easter Weekend

It was a bit of a whirlwind, but such a lovely weekend. Thanks, in part, to plenty of nice weather and warm sunshine.

On Good Friday we used natural dyes to color Easter eggs.

We tried a variety of things, but had the best luck using:

cooked beets - pink

cooked cabbage - blue

turmeric - yellow

chili powder - orange

blueberries & grape juice - purple

We also made a couple of visits to the park, one of which included hard-boiled eggs for a snack.
And we ate hot cross buns for dessert that night. (These were so good. The amazing recipe is here.)

On Saturday we made the 5-hour drive to visit family.

Easter morning couldn't have been more beautiful, with the sun shining and signs of spring in bloom. Unfortunately, Tom wasn't feeling well, so I wrangled the kids to church while he rested. I didn't have much luck getting pictures. Millie and Silas were happy to oblige, but Isaac was uncooperative and a little grumpy.
Then he got his hands on a peep, and he was all smiles.
That afternoon we spent at my Grandma's house for a big meal and of course an Easter egg hunt for all the kids. Isaac surprised me by being highly determined NOT to hunt for eggs. He just wanted to stand back and watch.
But all the other kids had fun, and spent most of the afternoon out running and playing.

A good weekend, indeed.