It’s been a while since I posted a Recap – which means there’s a lot to share, but it also means I’m going a little less detailed and just hitting the highlights (in the interest of time :-P).
In the living room:
- My little brother is in Nebraska for about a month between military postings, so Daniel and I and Tirzah Mae made another quick trip up to Lincoln to spend time with him (we haven’t seen him since another little brother’s wedding almost 2 years ago.) That was pretty great.
- Tirzah Mae has started “helping” with laundry, pulling the laundry out of the basket and either mouthing it or putting it on the floor. After a few days worth of frustration at having to refold my laundry multiple times, I arrived at a solution. Tirzah Mae stands at the basket of unfolded laundry and hands me one article at a time (“Thank you, Tirzah Mae”). I fold the item and then place it somewhere out of reach (often on the other side of a barricade of my body and the basket.) She hands me another article and we continue until the laundry is done. Then I try to keep her occupied until I can get all the folded laundry gathered and put away!
In the kitchen:
- I just took Melissa D’Arabian’s Ten Dollar Dinners back to the library, but not before we ate her yummy recipes for a couple of weeks straight (well, apart from some standard household staples). You should check out my review, linked above, if you haven’t already.
- We picked up our half a pig when we took our vacation at the beginning of last month, which means we’ve been enjoying pork chops and ground pork and BACON!
- I am so excited that it’s fall and I can start making crockpot soup for every meal. And soon, I’ll be able to put a casserole in the oven without feeling like I’m in an inferno. Which reminds me. It totally belongs in the “on-the-land” section, but we just purchased and picked up a double convection wall oven today. I’m dreaming of having EVERYONE over for turkey dinner. Thanksgiving at my house next year, peoples.
In the nursery:
- Tirzah Mae is standing now, generally for 5 second intervals but occasionally for as long as 30 seconds or a minute
- Tirzah Mae is sleeping now. From 8 or 9 at night to 5 or 6 in the morning. Her mother feels like she’s been granted a second chance at life.
- I had been worried about Tirzah Mae’s language development because she wasn’t babbling as of her nine month appointment, but I’m not worried anymore. Our daughter clearly has no problem hearing and replicating all sorts of consonants. If we called Daniel “dad”, she’d have said her first word; but since he’s papa, she’s still just babbling :-)
- For years, I’ve been telling moms about the “picky phase” children enter from one year to eighteen months. It’s ’cause nutrient needs decrease quite a bit, making children able to be more selective. And now, I’ve had a chance to see it firsthand. Tirzah Mae went from eating three or four cups worth of watermelon at a sitting to eating maybe a tablespoon or two worth of food. It’s a good thing I know better, ’cause if I didn’t, I’m sure that would freak me out.
In the craft room:
- I’ve made up an autumn smelly blend for use in a candle-lit simmer pot – and I like it quite a lot. It’s 2 drops cedarwood essential oil, 1 drop clove bud essential oil, 1 drop cinnamon bark essential oil, and 2 drops of tangerine essential oil. Mix with water in your simmer pot and light that candle. Yummy!
- I also have a Christmas craft book just about due to return to the library, so I had to get started on the project I wanted to do with it – a Nativity scene with a stable and manger made from twigs. I selected appropriate twigs from our more-than-ample pile of brush and have cut them to size, but haven’t yet assembled them into said stable and manger. But since the book has to go back this next week, I’m gonna have to get cracking!
In the garden:
- Tomatoes keep trickling in – just slow enough that I can use them before they go bad.
- I’m subbing homegrown hot peppers for all sorts of things, since my hots went crazy while my bells…not so much
- Everything else is torn out – and plans are simmering for next year’s garden
On the land:
- We have framing!
- We have that fancy upstairs school room!
- We have a roof!
- We have windows and doors!
- We have plumbing!
- We have electrical! (Although it isn’t live yet.)
- I just bought kitchen appliances!
So glad to hear Tirzah Mae is sleeping better – so much better for both of you. :-) Timothy has been “helping” in various ways, too. I think it is so good for them to learn that, even though it might not be much actual help at first. The progress on your house is exciting!