lima bean home

Wage a war against discouragement

2012-01-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

Six hours into this work day and I'm feeling like I chose the wrong career. This feeling is not new--evidenced by the pages of frustrations recorded over the years in my journal, this feeling is a frequent visitor. Potty training failures, trying to dry laundry with a dryer held together by duct tape, hearing my name spoken a minimum of 100 times just this morning, and rushing the three littles into their clothes and to the school to cheer on the oldest in a battle of books competition, only to hear "why did you even come, mom?" are just a few of the items contributing to this today.

I know that discouragement is a strategy of He who wishes to see us fail, and sadly, it is effective in accomplishing what He desires: that is, to make us feel angry, depressed, selfish and irritable and like our lives are horrible.

I also know that this is just not true. My life is wonderful, and I am thrilled and blessed each day with the family and things that surround me. So, today and in the days to come, in my moments of selfishness, when all I want to do is lace up my Sauconys, turn up my ipod and run away, I will remember that I did not choose this job to bask in my selfishness and wish for more moments to do only what I want. I chose it, though I didn't know it at the time, to learn about that essential attribute of godliness: UN-selfishness.

Today and everyday I will wage a war on discouragement. I will choose to believe the words and feelings poured into my soul during my moments of scripture reading and meditation that this work is so important, that I am loved, that I am forgiven, and that my failures will be made strengths. I will choose to believe the words of living prophets when they tell me to "be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. . .these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him."

I will accept that many more days like this are up ahead, but I will dig deep, pray hard and win.

Spending Freeze

2012-01-13T16:01:00.000-08:00

Perhaps like some of you, we overspent a little this Christmas, and decided to put ourselves on a spending freeze for the final two weeks of our fiscal month. For us, spending freeze=staying out of all stores, restaurants, and buying nothing that wasn't absolutely essential, so we didn't stop buying milk or gas.

We are now two days away from being able to spend money again, and, although, at the beginning of this, I was so sick of stores because of all the shopping done at Christmas, I'm at the point where I could use a good trip to Target. I think having a shopping fast was good for me in several different ways. I have never been so resourceful in my meal making as I have these past two weeks. We don't eat out a lot, but we definitely do a trip to Costco or Taco Bell for lunch or dinner here and there, and I am missing the convenience of that. I love to cook, but 16 days in a row with no help can make you dream of a gut-buster Costco food court hot dog merely for the fact that someone else cooked it and we can throw away the mess when we're done.

In other news, I am more than a little obsessed with this caramel corn/moose munch recipe. I made at least 4 batches to give away to neighbors at Christmas, but since then it has been made about 4 more times just to eat. I have made it with and without chocolate and can shamelessly sit and eat almost the whole batch all myself. The difference with this and other caramel corns that I have made is the honey. It adds a whole new layer of flavor that is unique and addicting.

This little guy

2012-01-05T22:44:00.000-08:00

is officially 6, almost 7 months old. His cute little mug hasn't been seen a lot on this blog, since his arrival has made my life so much more full and busy than even I imagined, but he has been growing and is loved on every single day by all of his big brothers in their own special ways.

Around here, he is mostly just called baby, as Thomas just seems like a big name for such a little person. He'll eventually grow into his name, but for now, we like baby.

I'm discovering the joy of having older children and young children growing up in the same house, and the love and concern the older ones have for the little ones. It brings me so much happiness to watch their interactions and expressions of love and adoration.

Handmade Christmas

2012-01-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

During the month of December, our boys turned into little elves for each other, as we followed the tradition found last year here. This is such a fun tradition, and one that I can see us doing for years to come because the planning, the making and the giving is so much fun for Jeff and me and the kids. I love the one-on-one time and the secrets we keep as we come up with ideas and go about making them together. The kids open these gifts from each other on Christmas Eve, and they are just thrilled to see what the other one has made for them. I look forward to when the two littles are older, and can participate as well.

James's handmade gifts:
For Owen: decoupaged a box, where he stores all his special "stuff" (pokemon cards, lego sets, gum, silly bands, you get the idea),
For Henry: made an elmo bank from a peanut butter bottle.
For Thomas: sewed this cute little snowman stuffed animal.

Owen's handmade gifts:
For James: freezer-paper stenciled him an Oregon Ducks t-shirt
For Henry: Using this fun technique, made him a bag to take to the library

Henry, being a little craft challenged at age 2, picked out new toothbrushes for his older brothers and was thrilled about it.

I also love to wrap a handmade item for the boys and put it under the tree. This year, James got a new bag for his piano books, and Owen got a bag to hold the loose legos that usually end up all over the floor anytime they get used. This is a pretty great tutorial, if you have legos or any small toys that need a home. Next year I hope to make the little boys something as well. I just ran out of time.

I also did a little post-Christmas sewing for some things that Santa brought. My boys love to do lego sets, and they love to keep them together, but ziploc bags and boxes just haven't been working. So I made a few of these bags for the sets and the instructions, and a padded bag for their new ipods.

We stayed home for Christmas this year, and had my oldest sister, Alisa, to visit. Although we missed all the family we normally see, it was very relaxing and pleasant to be on our own schedule and not have to make that LONG drive to Utah.

Happy New Year!

Every so often

2011-12-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

The older boys are home from school today. Every so often, we have a day where they are all home together and they actually play, use their imaginations, and get along like I always hoped my kids would and should.

Today, while eating lunch, they were playing the "quiet game". Apparently their bus driver has them play this often on the bus ride home and rewards them with starburst and suckers. I can see why. The loser in this particular game had to be the student, and winner would be the teacher in a future game of school, to be played once lunch was finished. In between bites I overheard, "pause the game! you can talk to mom only", "pause the game! it doesn't count against you if you laugh at bubba", "pause the game, gotta go to the bathroom!" Until one final statement from the big brother himself, "Okay, NO more pause the games, laughs, or this doesn't counts--next one to make a noise really loses". To which middle brother burst into giggles and thus, became the student.

Immediately following lunch, the game of school proceeded, which included teacher making flash cards for student, and helping him learn his addition facts. Just a fun memory that I hope will be etched in my mind forever.

New Book

2011-10-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

If you, like me, are raising boys and want them to be honest, courageous, well-rounded and kind, this is a helpful, inspirational read.

Two things I loved about this book:

It is well organized and concise, beginning with the identification of troubles that face our boys today, and finishing with helpful suggestions on how to combat these troubles in our homes
The author, Meg Meeker, writes with a Christian perspective that is refreshing and empowering

A few things I learned from this book:

I gleaned a fresh perspective on the complex and wonderful relationship between a mother and her son. Meeker explains how a mother is a "dispenser of grace" and an "emotional connector" "Grace is love that is undeserved. Because a mother can see through a gnarled physique, a low IQ, a beast-like temper, or a chronic disease right to the soul of her son, she can spot the beauty within him, which allows her to love him. She can forgive him, excuse him, accept him, and love him when no one else will. Because her eyes pierce through the layers of this ugliness and finds the lost part of his self, she can extend him grace when no one else can. When a mother extends outstretched arms to a son who has failed in sports, or school, or socially, or been deemed not smart enough, 'manly enough', or just plain not good enough, he begins to understand what love is all about. (pg. 122)
"The reality of a mother's love is that it sometimes comes out sideways. Mothers are often tired, manipulated, and they make mistakes. They scream when they mean to apologize. . .They worry about all the things that can go wrong. But there's an easy way to take some of the pressure off--and that is to allow both you and your son more time to relax. Some of the most important moments of being a parent consist of just being there for your kids and sharing the most mundane aspects of life with them." (pg. 125)
The chapter titled, "The Difference a Dad Makes" made me realize even more why my boys love and idolize their dad so much. I'm so grateful my boys have a dad who realizes how important this relationship is. "In a son's eyes, his father is the source of all correct answers. He knows what's going to happen next. He is smarter, stronger and tougher than the rest. A boy's world is shaped by how his father responds to those around him. Fathers are the authorities. They set rules, because they know the rules." (pg. 147)
I learned that my boys need more time with me, with their dad, and less time with all electronics. Their innocence needs to be preserved and they need to be taught how to progress from boyhood to manhood. Meeker offers helpful, encouraging suggestions on how to implement these things on a daily basis.

I feel empowered by this book, and would recommend it to all.

Garden 2011: part 4

2011-09-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to do a little garden update. Here is what I picked just the other day. I am finally swimming in grape tomatoes, and I couldn't be more thrilled about it. We were super proud of that long carrot, as we have had many misshapen, stubby, and forked ones--this one is skinny, but so long and beautiful.

There is just nothing so delicious as home-grown vegetables. Now I'm trying to grow my second round of cabbage, snap peas and broccoli, although the broccoli plants have been eaten alive by something, and I'm hoping they come back.

Right now I am

2011-08-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

Loving the Oregon summer that finally decided to arrive. 80 degrees during the day and a pleasant 60s at night. This is why we live here.

Contemplating for the millionth time the purchase of a new camera to replace our old Kodak 6.1 megapixel. How embarrassing to admit that we are still using that old dinosaur, but I'm really not a person who loves to take pictures, so it's never very high on my priority list.

Eating less than I have been or want to, not because I don't still have the voracious nursing appetite, but because I really want to fit into some of my pre-pregnancy pants sometime soon.

Hoping that the garden veggies that I'm picking and eating everyday will help with the goal above.

Looking forward to TWO weddings in the next two months of our littlest sister and our awesome cousin. Attending these weddings in Salt Lake City and Sacramento and the driving it will require is giving me a little bit of anxiety, but every minute spent on the road and every ,"are we there yet?" shouted from the back seat will be worth it to see these awesome kids be married for eternity.

Speed-Reading The Oracle of Stamboul, an interesting piece of historical fiction. Trying to finish it in two days because I can't renew it at the library.

Changing a lot of diapers. Grateful for gdiapers and the cloth inserts that fill them so that I am filling my washing machine instead of my garbage can every week.

Excited to be sewing for my Etsy shop again, after a couple month hiatus. Here's to hoping the orders will be just enough to fulfill my sewing desire, but not too many to add to the overwhelmingness that is life with four kids.

Trying to be happy for two dear friends who are selling their houses and moving their families to different states in the next few weeks. Happy for their new adventures, but sad for us who are being left behind.

inspiration for this post and future posts like this come from soulemama

Busy Summer

2011-08-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

In the 7 weeks since Thomas joined our family, we have been busy.

James was baptized, Thomas was blessed, and lots of family came from all over the country for most of July to be a part of these special family events. We celebrated Jeff's birthday #33 and had a Fuller family reunion at the Oregon coast where we had not-so great weather, fun matching shirts and 14 adults & 18 children all sleeping in the same house. We also discovered an awesome new beach on the way home in Pacific City, Cape Kiwanda, where we met up with some great college friends who we haven't seen for 10 years. Our 4 kids became fast friends with their 4 kids for the afternoon on this beach where they searched for baby crabs and we all climbed a ginormous sand dune that we will definitely be visiting again.

Now it is August, all the visitors have gone home, Jeff is back to work, and I am learning what life is really like with four kids. Trying to balance all their needs and get anything done is no joke and I'm just trying to figure it all out and enjoy this last month of summer before school begins.

June baby

2011-07-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Having a baby in June is great for so many reasons. Warm weather (well, warm-ish weather in Oregon so far this summer) makes it okay for baby's wardrobe to consist solely of onesies and bare feet. Baby doesn't have to be quarantined in the house for fear of catching terrible viruses that are all around in the winter months, and I daresay sunshine and summer can definitely chase away any post-baby blues that might creep up here and there.

But one reason that it might not be so great? When older brothers come to mom wanting her to ride bikes, play basketball, and jump on the new trampoline they just earned after saving up since January and her postpartum body causes her, sadly, to say no over and over and over again.

These older brothers think that baby is pretty great, but also just think all their mom ever does anymore is sit on the couch and nurse him. And they're mostly right.

Garden 2011: part 3

2011-06-25T22:48:00.001-07:00

So the good news is, the spot outside my kitchen window is a perfect location for a garden. I originally thought it wouldn't be hot enough for tomatoes, but I think I was wrong. It gets plenty of southern exposure sun, which is the best and warmest kind.

The snap peas which were planted right up against my house took forever to sprout, but now are finally big enough to be covered in blossoms and producing little peas. I picked 5 the other day, which was just enough to make me want more. They might be one of my most favorite vegetables of all time.
You can see the tomato plants in the second picture down, in the left bed to the right of the blue hula hoops. I am pruning and staking my tomato plants again, with the hope that they will produce early and well. So far they are thriving and have lots of blossoms and even one small green tomato.
My dad was here a couple of weeks ago when Thomas was born and he generously agreed to help me install drip irrigation for my beds. I am thrilled to finally have a watering system that isn't just me standing outside with a watering can, or wasting water with an ineffective sprinkler. Here you can see the little tubing nestled into the carrot bed. Incidentally, we picked our first carrot yesterday and it was sweet and delicious. It was a part of the first planting, which was done in March, and the others should be ready any minute now.
I picked the broccoli a bit too late--lesson learned that it should be picked when the buds are tight and not flowering--but it is still delicious, and I feel proud of my very first four heads of broccoli. I look forward to another fall planting of broccoli.
And lastly, I am also very proud of my cabbage heads. Although the outside leaves have been nibbled on by snails, once you peel those away, the cabbage is like a work of art and the texture is soft and tender. Cabbage, like snap peas, is one vegetable I can never get enough of, so I am thrilled to finally harvest and eat my very own.

Baby

2011-06-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here I sit, a little over one week postpartum feeling happy, content & peaceful, and unbelievably thrilled that finally this pregnancy is over.

Thomas Waldemar joined our family on Sunday night, June 12 at 8:29 p.m. Of the four boys, he was our shortest and most medium-sized baby, weighing in at 7 lbs. 9 ounce and almost 20 inches long.

Thomas's birth ended up being very similar to Henry's, and I feel thankful that there were no complications, and that the experience was another intensely spiritual, painful & peaceful one.

My goal at the beginning of the pregnancy was to let my body go into labor naturally--no induction, but when I found out my doctor was going to Europe on June 14, four days after my due date, I had to decide if it was worth it to sacrifice him being there for the delivery just to fulfill this desire. As it turns out, just like with all my other pregnancies, my body was dilating and showing signs of being ready to deliver even two weeks before the due date, but didn't want to make the final jump into active labor. So we decided that having doctor there was more important, and went to the hospital on Sunday evening, two days after the due date, for him to break my water. I was certain that my body would do the rest, without any other induction methods, namely pitocin, which I really didn't want. Dr. Cooper delivered Owen and Henry, and his calm, relaxed and encouraging presence in the delivery room is just amazing and I really wanted him and not a stranger there for my final birth.

So, we arrived at the hospital at 4 p.m., dr. broke my water at 5:25, regular contractions were happening about 20-30 mins later, and painful ones about 1 hour after that. My body did cooperate, and I really think my desire and my will to not have pitocin was strong enough to make those contractions strong and regular. I was able to labor in the jacuzzi tub, on the ball, walking around, and only had to get in the bed twice, once at about 7:15 where the nurse checked and found I was about 6 cm, and then once again around 8:00 when dr. checked and I was 8-9 cm. He stayed and talked me through the final contractions, which were amazingly painful but also very cool. Since I was able to labor these last contractions while standing up, I could really feel gravity helping baby's head drop little by little into the birth canal. When I had a final, unbelievably painful, intense one, I and the nurses and dr. knew that it was time to get back in bed and push. The 15 minutes of pushing was crazy intense, but thrilling and fulfilling. I feel thankful that it was so quick, and I never, ever want to do it again.

We were so fortunate to have nurses that supported my desire for a natural birth. They were patient, calm, encouraging, and facilitated every desire we had. While pushing, when I had several moments of "I cannot do this", the nurse who was holding my left leg kept saying to me, "but you are doing it" and that helped so much. She was also the one who, when the painful contractions really kicked in, said to me, "you do whatever your body tells you to do and whatever feels good. If you want to be in the bath during one contraction and on the ball the very next one, you do that." I really appreciated that suggestion, and found that in the last hour when the contractions were intense and close together and very painful, I really did just what she said. Sometimes I was using the handheld shower head to relieve the pain, sometimes I was leaning on the bed, sometimes I was bouncing on the ball. It was a relief to know that being fickle and changing positions every 5 minutes or less was okay with everyone, and they all supported whatever helped me to get through the pain.

Jeff was a champion coach and partner through the whole thing. He was also calm, patient and encouraging and found a massage technique for my lower back that really, really helped the pain.

When Thomas was finally born, when that final push was done, I have never felt such relief and joy and elation. They put him on my chest, skin-to-skin, and the lights were low and it was pouring rain outside and it was just peaceful and emotional and wonderful. He was a bit fussy and pooped all over me, but just to know he was out of my body, and healthy and completing our family filled me with such joy.

And now, being home, watching the three big brothers with their new little brother has been such fun. I love that school is out, that we have no schedule to follow and we can get to know Thomas and love him all together. My parents were here for a week and did so much to help and support us, and now friends have taken over, bringing food and love and more joy into our home.

Babies are so special and I feel so blessed to have this little guy to snuggle and feed and smell and hold. He is a very important part of our family, and we couldn't be more happy to have him here with us.

***If you're interested, you can see some better pictures than we were able to take of Thomas's first days in the hospital here. The password is 504801361282318, last four of my name is Full.

The final countdown

2011-05-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

Two weeks(ish) to go before this Fuller baby arrives and today I'm feeling the feeling to fill up the freezer with food for later. I'm starting small, with some whole wheat bagels, bran muffins and chicken to shred for later meals. But I'm hoping my energy will keep me going to have a few casseroles and some chicken chimichangas to add by the end of the week.

End-of-the-year teacher gifts

2011-05-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Like many, I always like to give a small gift of appreciation to my children's teachers at the end of the school year. I prefer a handmade gift, and bookmarked this tutorial last year as an idea for something to give. I loved it for two reasons:

1) It can be made up entirely of fabric scraps

2) The embroidered name written in the student's handwriting includes the child in this gift in a special way

Just wanted to share in case someone else is looking for something simple, handmade and special for a teacher gift this year.

Parenting is always a learning process

2011-05-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

Just had to give a little shout-out to this book, which I'm currently reading. I've read a lot of parenting books in my eight short years as a parent, but have found that many of them give these systems that are too difficult to implement, or that the books themselves are simply too overwhelming to read after the first 30 pages or so. This one is clear, to the point and exactly what I have been needing.

It is no surprise to anyone who knows my oldest boy that the bold red words "STRONG-WILLED CHILD" on the front cover were the only encouragement I needed to check it out at the library in the first place. Second was the promise to eliminate conflict. Lately I have felt like all I have with this soon-to-be 8-year-old is conflict, contention, arguing and frustration. Our home was not a peaceful place, and I honestly felt like I really did not know how to change it.

The suggestions given in this book have helped me realize more than anything, that I had just become lax in my setting of limits. I think this happened in the natural process of this oldest child growing up, combined with my inability to reconcile how to give him some deserved independence while still commanding respect and making myself the in-charge parent. It felt like a loss of control, and in fact, it was.

The author doesn't give any new or earth-shattering suggestions, in fact, just the opposite, which is why the book is so readable and easy-to-implement. His ideas are basic and simple and stated with clear, real-life examples of children and their parents. I just needed to remind myself how to be in charge, but, like it also says on the cover, by establishing CLEAR, firm and RESPECTFUL boundaries.

I think that all children are strong-willed in their own right, but he has another version of the book, simply called: Setting Limits: How to Raise Responsible, Independent Children by Providing Clear Boundaries, which I would guess presents similar ideas but perhaps without all the comparisons made between extremely strong-willed children vs. compliant children. My second child is definitely compliant, so those comparisons were not lost on me.

Garden 2011: part 3

2011-05-08T21:01:00.001-07:00

1) This year I discovered garden cloth. I think and hope this will change my gardening yield forever more. I made a little greenhouse with a hula hoop and covered the broccoli and cabbage plants and they have been soaking up the sun and warmth the cloth provides and growing like crazy. I also covered my carrot and snap pea seeds while waiting for them to sprout and am certain it made the process several days quicker.

2)This picture gives a little peek into what's underneath the cloth. We have had some warmer days and nights, and even since this picture was taken 5 days ago, the plants are larger and more healthy. I am in love with this cloth and can't wait to use it on my warm weather crops in the next couple of weeks--tomatoes, cucumbers and bush beans.

3) Italian parsley in the front, snap peas in the back.

4) Spinach in the front, romaine in the back. I am already eating the spinach and it is so perfect. Some of the larger lettuce heads should be ready in the next week or so. I can't wait!

It seemed like May was so far away, but now it is here and everything can be planted and these cold weather crops can be enjoyed while waiting for the warm weather crops to grow and produce.

***POST EDIT: I called this garden cloth, but now I just went back and checked and the official name for what I'm using is plant and seed blanket. Here is the link to the one I have. It is a little pricey, at $13-14/roll but I would say worth every penny. I plan to use it to speed up the growth of my tomatoes & cucumbers by creating a little hothouse until it is hot enough outside to remove it and let the sun do its job. Here in Oregon that doesn't usually happen until late June/early July which makes for a late tomato harvest. I'm an impatient tomato gardener. I want them sooner than that!***

Six week countdown

2011-05-01T19:21:00.001-07:00

Just checking in for my once-a-month blog post. I just can't believe how much pregnancy takes the wind out of my sails. How's that for a corny cliche? The six-week countdown has begun, and although that isn't a long time in the whole forty-week scheme of things, it still seems long being that the final weeks are filled with so much acid reflux, sleeplessness and general discomfort. It has to be this way or no one would ever willingly give birth, right?

One thing pregnancy hasn't taken from me is my desire to garden, and the little beds outside my kitchen window are doing very well full of little sprouts and such. I plan to document that with some pictures this week, if only just for me to remember each year the stages of my garden in the different months of the growing season.

And now I'm off to chew some more ice, just another strange thing that my body craves during these last weeks of gestation.

Custom order love

2011-03-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

After a three-month hiatus from sewing, I reopened my shop at the beginning of February, and the orders coming in, along with my regular sewing for classichound, have kept me very busy these last six weeks.

I wanted to share a few of the custom orders I have made, as I always appreciate the challenge it is to meet the specific needs of a customer who has something special in mind.

A customer sent me this fun fabric, some of which were cloth napkins, and requested sandwich wraps with muslin as the lining instead of nylon. It is actually a great idea, as muslin is very breathable and it is something I will probably add to the shop at a later date.

This is a diaper bag made for my SIL's cousin, and I am mostly thrilled with how the adjustable strap turned out. I am thinking of making one for Jeff in this messenger style, with more manly colors and fabrics.

These brown canvas lunch bags, (which were actually originally added to the shop as a result of a custom order), have been a top seller at limabeanhome these last six weeks. A couple of teenage sisters in Canada wanted to change the closure of the lunch bag from a velcro to snaps, which was a fun challenge.

And the newest permanent addition is this cherry oilcloth lunchbag. Oilcloth is something I have been eyeing as a medium for many months and I was thrilled to see it arrive in my local fabric store so that I didn't have to pay for shipping.

Happy Sewing days!

Garden 2011: part 2

2011-02-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

My last post was about the warm weather gift we'd been given. One month later we're being given a different kind of weather gift. This is more a gift to my children and all children who get to stay home and play in the snow due to school being cancelled. Ah, the joys of living in a place where snow is a novelty and everything shuts down for two inches and then it melts in two days. Love.

My raised beds are built and ready to go after a weed excavation extravaganza, but I'm just glad I didn't follow through on my inkling to plant peas and parsley last week. My favorite thing about these new garden beds is that I can see them through my kitchen window.

Thankfully, the only thing that has been planted are these four little broccoli plants and two cabbage plants and they are growing well in the blaring south sun of said window. In fact, the growth of these little guys is giving me high hopes for future plants in the beds, as my garden plots in previous houses have not had this kind of southern sun exposure, and this has so far even been filtered through the window.

Garden 2011: part 1

2011-01-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

The past few days we have been given a little weather gift here in Springfield. Three straight days of 50+ degree, sunny days and more in the forecast. I have been staring out the window at my overgrown, leaf-strewn yard for three months feeling depressed that I would never again have the energy to rake or trim or plan a space for a garden. But fortunately, the gardening bug bit me thanks to this weather gift, and I have been inspired in all sorts of ways.

The best news is that I figured out a place in the new yard I think will be sunny enough to put raised beds for growing my vegetables. Originally I thought it was going to take some major excavation and taking out trees to do this, but I think this spot which is right outside the kitchen window should work. It probably won't be sunny or hot enough for tomatoes, so I'll have to figure out something else for those if I actually want them to yield any fruit. But since I have a goal to plant peas in February like I did last year, there is still much work to be done, as you can see by these pictures:

So far I have excavated the weeds out of the bottom layer, and moved over these raised bed frames that were left behind from the previous owners. Next up is to do the same thing with the second layer, build two more raised beds, fill them with all sorts of good soil and additives, lay down pea gravel all around the outsides (thanks for the tip, Shannan!) and install drip irrigation.

With more sunny weather in store, I'm hoping to have a good update next Tuesday to share.

Linking up:

Thoughts on becoming a MOB

2011-01-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

***MOB=mother of boys. I just learned this acronym, and quite like it.

Most of you probably already read the news on Facebook, that come June, the Fullers will officially be that family, you know the one that when out in public all together, strangers feel the need to comment, "wow--four boys? are you going to try for one more, just to see if you can get a girl?" No. The answer to that is no. We are done, we will be a family of all boys, I will be a MOB and lead the mob of boys and I will enjoy it.

Just so you know, there is only a 1/16 chance of having your children be all the same sex, born four in a row like this. That figures out to be about 6ish percent. We seem to be on a lucky streak of beating the odds--we're heading to Vegas.

No, but honestly, I am feeling lucky and actually thrilled. I did have that moment, a similar disappointed moment to this one, and I took some time to mourn the buying of dolls, baby strollers, the sewing of cute dresses and meeting of a son-in-law. But the moment was less disappointing than I expected it to be. And the joy and excitement I've felt since that moment passed is actually quite amazing to me. This is a special baby boy--the child that completes our family, the child that almost wasn't, the child that helped effect amazing, big changes in our life so we could welcome him with peace of mind.

I am more thrilled than ever to know that being past the awful sickie , now I can just experience those fun milestones--the kicks that make your stomach look like aliens have invaded, thinking of a name (well, actually only medium fun), and those last weeks when you just can't wait to see the little babe in person and hold him in your arms.

Halfway there!

Coming back to life

2011-01-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

Now that I have passed the blessed 17-week milestone in this pregnancy, I am trying to catch up on life in general. I finally just unloaded my camera with pictures from Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. On that note, maybe I'll share a few.

This is a boy who is happy to play with any ball, even a dirty old one left behind by the previous owners discovered under a mess of ivy.

We did have some costumes this year for Halloween--none of them made by me, but cute nonetheless.

This year our family of 5 traveled to the Oregon coast for Thanksgiving and ate our meal at a funny little restaurant in Reedsport surrounded by old people. It was the only restaurant open for miles around, so we were lucky to even find it, but it was some really delicious turkey.

And finally, my three boys in their Sunday Christmas outfits provided by Grandma.

An inspiring performance

2010-12-01T20:57:00.001-08:00

I recently watched a re-broadcast of the 2008 Christmas concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. During the concert, the story was told of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
"The great American poet [who] is revered for his classic literary works. His poem “Christmas Bells” has become one of our most well-known and beloved Christmas carols, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” What is less known, though, is the story behind the poem.

Reeling from the tragic death of his wife and the war wounds of his son, Longfellow penned the words to “Christmas Bells” during one of the darkest times in American history. And while the words of the poem reflect his obvious despair and grief, it is the triumphant message of “peace on earth, good will to men” for which this song — and Longfellow's personal story — is remembered." (quoted from here)

If you're so inclined, you might take a minute to watch this performance. It is so well narrated by Ed Herrman, and this story of the Longfellow family has been on my mind since I watched. The performance left me with the feeling that Christmas is truly a time for healing and finding peace, and that message is like balm to my soul right now.

**Here is the link to original clip on youtube, as I can see that the full screen isn't showing up on the blog.

Thankful

2010-12-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for all your nice comments and for all your excitement. In the middle of vomiting or wishing I could vomit, it is difficult to feel excitement but of course this is a very happy and joyous event and I couldn't be more grateful that my body is able to house and provide a body for one of Heavenly Father's choice spirits.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving was like a turning point for me. All of a sudden I had an inkling of a desire to cook dinner (nothing fancy) and we even sat at the dinner table as a family for the first time in weeks. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but the past few days I have been less exhausted and more able to deal with the nausea.

I have amazing friends and family who have offered so many prayers, and some dear, dear friends who brought over freezer meals for us to eat the next few weeks. I am sitting here feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for the love and support that so many people have shown to me and our family and that is the first true miracle of Christmas. I am so thankful.

The first post of November

2010-11-22T09:56:00.000-08:00

First of all, go and read this list. Except for #11, I pretty much could have written every single one of these. But since she wrote it so well first, I second everything she says, and I'll add a few more of my own:

1) Watching the food network, food commercials, and looking at food in magazines makes me immediately sick to my stomach

2) My super smeller pregnant nose can smell a poop the minute it enters the diaper even on the opposite side of a big room. Then I start crying thinking about how I have to change it. P.S. Super smeller nose is a CURSE.

3) For weeks and weeks I have to abandon, with no guilt, my usual green practices of recycling, composting and cloth diapering simply because the smell of each makes me dry heave.

4) All I ever want to do all day long is lay on the couch and watch tv or lay in my bed and sleep. Because anyone who has experienced this kind of nausea knows that sleeping or tuning out real life is the only real escape.

5) Whenever I feel that dreaded hunger pain in my stomach I start to panic because I know that 95% of the food in my house is inedible and disgusting.

6) Whenever my children say they're hungry or a mealtime is approaching, the panic increases ten-fold because the thought of standing in the stinky kitchen preparing food often overwhelms me to tears. In short,

I. HATE. MEALTIMES.

And that, my friends, is the most mysterious and crazy thing about these pregnancy hormones that invade and hijack every single system of my body. Because in my non-pregnant life,

I. LOVE. MEALTIMES.

and I actually look forward to them.

So bizarre.

We are excited and overwhelmed to welcome the fourth and final Fuller child into our family. And we will be even more excited if this dreaded nausea ever goes away.

Fall never feels like fall without. . .

2010-10-22T15:56:00.000-07:00

. . . a day of apple picking, a hayride and a trip to the pumpkin patch.

Done, done and done. And the whole experience is made even better when caramel apples are involved.

Decorator Extraordinaire

2010-10-21T15:31:00.001-07:00

Thanks to this favorite auntie and her understanding of Feng Shui and ability to improve the Qi in my house, I now have a home with things on the walls and furniture in the right places to make the flow inviting, peaceful and relaxing.

What a difference. Here is a glimpse of the magic she arranged in the four days she was here.

Pardon the wrinkled curtains, blurry photos and bad lighting.
The small grey chair with a funny yellow pillow is just a place holder until we find the perfect thrift store chair replacement and make a new cushion to go on top.
Sewing projects now include: sheers for window with yellow curtains, drapes for large window behind dark brown couch, and pillows in interesting fabrics for said brown couch

And since a request was made (Liz) for "a picture of Henry in the kitchen" (lol), I had to oblige. Can you say oak, oak and more oak? It's growing on me. Again, pardon all the junk on the counter in the distance and the mismatched towels hung so beautifully on the oven door. Add to the sewing list some roman shades or something for these awesome windows that are not so awesome right now covered in dirty mini-blinds. They bring in a lot of light, which I love, so I have to find just the right fabric that won't block the light and also won't be too loud on such a large window.

And now I am officially done posting pictures of the house, with the exception that I will hopefully have some of those sewing projects complete and ready to share in the next few months. Thanks for all your nice comments and interest!

Closet love

2010-10-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

Another favorite thing about this house is definitely this closet

Which is just off the kitchen a bit, but can be 100 percent dedicated to all my food storage and canning--which, let's be honest, is the best kind of food storage. And I'm happy to say that we moved and were mostly unpacked just in time to pick lots of produce for canning and the new kitchen was just right for the job.

For the first time in all my life as a gardener I finally grew almost enough tomatoes for my salsa this year. I'll say about 40 percent mine and 60 percent picked from local farms.

Reservoirs

2010-10-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

Occasionally I find myself in moments of fear and panic about the world my children are growing up in. It's hard to imagine how any child can wade through the garbage that surrounds them and eventually turn into faithful, respectful, responsible, honest adults.

Equal to these moments of fear and panic are little moments where I glimpse how important my role as their mother is. I recognize that I have the opportunity every single day, in small ways, to teach them to work hard, to be honest, and to respect others and themselves.

The book I'm reading right now, Faith Precedes the Miracle, written by Spencer W. Kimball (one of the past prophets of our church) offers an interesting perspective on how we can be truly effective in this daily teaching. He suggests that within our homes we focus on building "reservoirs of righteousness & truth" that will carry our children through the dark days of temptation and desire, of drought and skepticism. He offers some great insight on how to do this:

Some years ago we visited a country where strange ideologies were taught and"pernicious doctrines" were promulgated every day in the schools and in the captive press. Every day the children listened to the doctrines, philosophies, and ideals their teachers related.

Someone said that "constant dripping will wear away the hardest stone." This I knew, so I asked about the children. "Do they retain their faith? Are they not overcome by the constant pressure of their teachers? How can you be sure they will not leave the simple faith in God?"

The answer amounted to saying, "We mend the damaged reservoir each night. We teach our children positive righteousness so that the false philosophies do not take hold. Our children are growing up in faith and righteousness in spite of the almost overwhelming pressures from outside.

Even cracked dams can be mended and saved, and sandbags can hold back the flood. And reiterated truth, renewed prayer, gospel teachings, expression of love, and parental interest, can save the child and keep him on the right path.

A few pics

2010-09-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken just moments after we received the keys and were the official owners of the new house. The whole process was so long and stressful, I just had to capture the moment when we were allowed to actually go inside of the house without a realtor accompanying us. It was so great.

These last few were taken yesterday. Because I just can't bring myself to photograph the individual rooms of the house in this undecorated state with nothing on the windows or the walls, I'm "taking pictures of my kids" and all that have requested pictures can see the living room and dining room in the background. Somehow, for me, this makes the balloons all over the floor, the diet pepsi on the half-wall and boxes and un-hung pictures leaning up against the wall okay for y'all to see.

Notice the white carpet. Yep, it's all through the house including the dining area. Not my first choice, but it's fine. Also, the mini-blinds on every single window. Also not my first choice, but super expensive to replace all at once, so that will be an ongoing project.

More pictures to come, little by little, I promise.

Farewell to my garden

2010-09-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

Leaving my garden behind in the middle of harvest season was sad, and there were plenty of green tomatoes left on the vines for the renters to eat. The garden space in the old house was large and the soil was just getting to be rich and gorgeous after four years of tending, compost-adding, and tilling. Granted, the spot was shaded for more of the day than I preferred, and had some occasional rodent difficulties, but it is still sad to say goodbye, only to start over here at the new place.

The previous owners of the new house were not gardeners, as the yard is overgrown with ivy and other ground cover, and sucker trees have been allowed to grow up all over the place. The yard is sloped, and we definitely have our work cut out for us trying to get it ready for raised beds next spring. But we are up for the challenge, and look forward to pruning and tree removal to start fresh and plant what we want to plant. Well, maybe we're not super excited about the removal, but the planting will be fun. (and Shannan I might just take you up on your offer next spring!)

Here is a little peek of two corners of the overgrown yard. Just imagine that most of the yard looks like this--front and back. There are two very old little raised beds at very odd places that will most likely just get removed.

Project diaper bag: complete

2010-09-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me that I never did report back about making myself a new diaper bag.

Now that it is made and I've been carrying it for some months now, I would definitely change a few things, but mostly I like it and it has some fun and useful features.

These pictures are not great, but bags are difficult to photograph, I've found.

My favorite things include:

handle is made of seat belt fabric and is my first attempt at an adjustable strap. Turns out adjustable straps aren't difficult at all, and this one makes this bag able to be a shoulder bag or crossed over my body
also my first attempt at doing the zipper pocket on the back, which i love to stow books away from the main pocket of the bag
cup holders--didn't have them in my other diaper bag and one for me and one for henry are used everyday
cell phone pocket sewn into the side--because i finally entered the 20th century and got my first cell phone. and i'm kind of loving it

Things I would do differently next time:

i made a special pocket just for a diaper/wipe clutch, which I like, but next time i would put it on the opposite side of the bag from the back zipper pocket, as it makes that side heavier and very unbalanced.
the plum quilted fabric was a spontaneous purchase and coordinating fabrics were purchased (floral) and repurposed (green) to match. But I'm losing the love for the plum.

Probably too much analysis of a bag for many of you readers, but I like to document these things for my own sake.

And finally, here is the bag in action at the roundhouse at the Train Museum in NC on a very hot day.

Almost unpacked

2010-09-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, moving is crazy. It has been awesome and overwhelming to try and get everything organized and all the utilities and cable and internet transferred and set up again. I still haven't hung any curtains or a single picture on the walls, so at times it feels like we're living in a vacation home, but eventually we'll get there. Mostly I just need my big sis, the decorating expert, to make a visit here stat and help me hang all the pictures in one crazy, fun weekend.

Things I LOVE LOVE LOVE about this new house are things that many of you probably have but I wanted to share so that I don't ever forget how lucky I feel to finally have them:

garage
bar in the kitchen so we don't have to eat every meal at the table
bonus room at the top of the stairs for toys, sewing machine, and art station (picture to come if it is ever clean enough to show to the world)
garage
built-in dishwasher
garage
James gets to ride the bus to school! Which means my children's nap routines aren't forever at the mercy of a drop-off or a pick-up

And just one thing that I am loathing a little that came with the new digs:

ants

We feel blessed and lucky to be here, and my shop is back open again and we are feeling like this is home now.

Summer happenings

2010-08-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

This summer has been a happy mixture of fun and crazy. We have been lucky to spend a lot of time with our extended family visiting the Oregon coast, riding horses at the Carefree Ranch in North Carolina, swimming in the Atlantic Ocean for the very first time, and hiking up the gorgeous Black Butte summit.

We have also been in the process of buying a new house which has taken since the beginning of June and has been both a huge blessing and a huge challenge. We are hoping to move this weekend, and are super anxious and excited to have a little more space for our growing boys.

Garden 2010: part 4

2010-08-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

Turns out pruning my tomatoes was the right thing to do, especially because my yard is situated in a not great way for the tomatoes to get all the sun they need to grow, grow, grow. I have been frustrated for years at the shade my house casts on my garden plot during the early morning hours. If I was going to live in this house forever, I would definitely change things, but in fact, we're moving in one week, so I'm about to start over in a new yard anyway. But for now, the tomatoes are as big as I have ever had, and hopefully the people who end up renting my house will let me come and harvest.

I need some advice from some fellow Tuesday Garden Party visitors about my squash. Every year, although my vines seem healthy, the actual squash just seem to wilt away before they have a chance to get large. This applies to winter squash as well as summer squash. Suggestions?

Linking up:

Garden 2010: part 3

2010-07-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

Last year I was introduced to the concept of pruning tomato plants. The suggestion came from a fellow gardener when we were having dinner at her house and I expressed my awe at her amazing tomato yield. She suggested I prune the plants, which was something I had never considered. This news was received too late in the season for those tomato plants (which, you might remember, were ravaged by a large rodent anyway), but I resolved to try in 2010.

Before

If you look at your tomato plants, you'll see many green shoots that don't have blossoms attached, and those are the ones that can be safely plucked off. By removing this greenery the plant has more energy to give to the blossoms, and eventually the fruit, which should, in theory, produce a higher yield.

I'm no expert. Like I said this is the first year I'm trying it, so I'll report back my findings. I'm also staking some tomato plants for the first time instead of caging them all.

After

In other garden news:

we have been in snap pea heaven for over a month now and there are still many, many more to be picked and eaten
being first-time potato farmers this year has made us anxious to know what's going on underneath all those leaves, so we plucked one and found two little new potatoes, which were roasted and eaten. yum.
for the first time ever we are having success growing carrots. hooray!

Linking up:

Little jugglers

2010-07-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Watching a local juggler and reading library books about juggling makes the Fuller boys want to learn how to juggle.

So a request was made for some juggling balls.

I always love a project that doesn't require a trip to the store for any supplies. This one used old socks and white rice. Just don't look too closely at the hand stitching.

Little chalkers

2010-07-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

While we were gone to D.C. I thought it would be fun for the boys to have something new to do while Gma and Opa were here. Inspired by this post we decided to make big outdoor chalkboards for our little artists.

We bought a large--8' x 4'--piece of hardboard and had it cut it in half. We chose hardboard because it is smoother and cheaper than plywood ($11 compared to $35). One can of chalkboard paint, two coats of paint, and one day of drying later, they each had a 4'x4' board of their very own.

I've never met a kid who doesn't love chalk and a chalkboard--including me--and these will be used and used during these gorgeous, dry, Oregon summer months.

Project diaper bag

2010-06-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

I am in desperate need of a new diaper bag/purse. Mine is dingy, too small, and I've been carrying it for 13 months now--Henry's whole life. His life seems to be going by very quickly, as babies' lives do. The bag on the other hand?--should have been laid to rest a long time ago.

After searching around this internet trying to get ideas and inspiration for what to make, this bag just blew me away. And it is only $44. I mean, for the amount of work it takes to craft this bag, she is practically giving it away, I swear.

I'm going to try and make my own version--it won't have those amazing snap pockets on the front because those are very difficult to make look good. And I'm only going to include one handle. But of all the bags I found, this one was the most inspiring. And man, are there a lot of ugly ones out there.

I found some fabric today but now I'm not sure if I can pull it off. It is dark purple and not something I would normally choose. I want this bag to be done before I leave in two weeks for North Carolina, so I'll report back.

If you need a bag, you should check out her shop. The bags are made in and shipped from Thailand, so shipping is a little pricey, but the bag prices are so reasonable it seems worth it.

What took so long?

2010-06-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I just returned from our first trip without children in our almost 10 years of marriage. For the past four years now, he has taken a group of eighth graders to Washington D.C. for a 5-day whirlwind tour of the all the historical sites there, in Gettysburg, and Philadelphia. It has taken him this long to convince me to come, and now, as the title says, I really wish I wouldn't have waited so long.

I've visited many of these sites before, but this time around, being at historical sites such as Mount Vernon, Gettysburg, The Capitol and Independence Hall had a very spiritual effect on me. Because I had no children to worry about, I was able to wander the museums and soak in the history at my own pace and it was awesome.

My parents came and stayed with our boys and I will never be able to convey how grateful I am for the peace of mind that provided me, which only aided in the enjoyment factor of this trip.

Being with all those eighth graders and watching awkward flirting had an interesting effect on me. I kept feeling like I was, like them, fourteen again, and trying to impress and flirt with Jeff. I kept having to remind myself that, oh yeah, he already likes me. Ha.

Berry Season is Here. . .

2010-06-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

. . .and we are super excited. I wish I had a bigger freezer for all the berries we want to pick and freeze, but it just makes for more creative arranging and re-arranging in our tiny one.

First ripe are always the strawberries. Gma and Opa joined us at Harry's Berries when they came into town last week and we were delighted with our spoils.

Father's Day dessert, indeed. This pie served with locally made bratwurst, spinach strawberry salad (thx 4 the recipe, Chelsea), and this artisan bread made the two celebrated fathers in our house full and happy.

I love free stuff especially when it is useful

2010-06-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Just another couple of great freecycle items to share:

These were notebooks from a U of Oregon student. He had used a little paper from every section, and there was plenty left. In our house I can't keep up with all the requests for new drawing notebooks because theirs are full, so I think this guy's free item was meant just for me. It was a happy day in the Fuller house when these came home.

Also, I was the happy recipient of a bag full of free zippers and other sewing notions. Some of them are vintage zippers with funny packaging and price tags of 25 cents and such. Love.

If you don't know about freecycle, you can remind yourself what it is here.

Addendum

2010-06-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

Just a few more thoughts about the pomodoro technique:

**In my last post I listed playing with my kids as one of my pomodoros, and it seemed like it got lumped in with all the other annoying/mundane tasks. Sad. So I just wanted to say that I do enjoy playing with them and don't consider it an annoying/mundane task, but sadly, sometimes I actually have to schedule a chunk of time just for them where I promise not to be interrupted or get distracted. That's why I think making it a pomodoro and doing it at least once, and hopefully several times throughout the day will be better for all of us.

**If you read the actual technique, you know that it is recommended that once the timer goes off, the task should be abandoned completely for a 5 minute break. This, to me, is why this technique is the opposite of overwhelming. It makes things so manageable.

"When the Pomodoro rings, this signals that the current activity is peremptorily (though temporarily) finished. You’re not allowed to keep on working “just for a few more minutes”,even if you’re convinced that in those few minutes you could complete the task at hand.The 3-5 minute break gives you the time you need to “disconnect” from your work.This allows the mind to assimilate what’s been learned in the last 25 minutes, and also provides you with the chance to do something good for your health, which will help you to do your best during the next Pomodoro."

**It will definitely take some creative application to make this work in a home setting, as all the suggestions and examples given seem to be geared toward making employees more productive in their full-time jobs. It is not unrealistic to expect someone who is at work, getting paid for doing their job to be more productive and try to minimize interruptions. It is a bit unrealistic to expect a mother with small children to work hard on tasks all day long, ignoring the interruptions, i mean children, who need her attention at random times throughout the day.

**What I'm going to try and do each day is make a list of tasks I want done. Then, instead of doing them here and there and half-heartedly all day long, which is what I have been doing, I will make each one a pomodoro to get them done efficiently and quickly. This will hopefully eliminate the guilt and feelings of unproductivity that I feel most days, because I will see things getting accomplished, and all the other time can be focused on taking care of the needs of the children, and my own needs, you know, like blogging & reading blogs, sewing, reading books, napping, cooking.

**This might not be the last post about this whole concept. Can you tell I'm really excited about it?

The Pomodoro Technique

2010-06-16T21:15:00.001-07:00

Having just read this blog post today, I am now so interested in this idea of measuring time in "pomodoros" to become more efficient and productive. What is a pomodoro? In a nutshell, it is a 25 minute block of time, marked by an actual timer, in which you commit to do one specific task without interruption until said timer rings. Then you abandon that task, take a five minute break and move on to the next pomodoro.

I have previously confessed what a terrible housekeeper I am, and have been searching for a system of daily organizing and tidying that doesn't overwhelm me after one day. I have tried several and abandoned them all, mostly because I just don't like to become a slave to a specific schedule of cleaning.

But at the same time, I know that when my house is tidy, I feel more calm, content, and am less likely to lose my temper with my children and husband. They certainly deserve that on a daily basis.

That's why I went out today and bought myself a portable timer. I first began using the timer on my microwave, but couldn't hear it beep at the other end of my small house, go figure. Just today alone I finished 5 different planned pomodoros including 25 minutes each of laundry, kitchen detail, playing with my kids, and general tidying up and removing household clutter.

After just one day, I already feel more productive. I think even the most mundane and annoying tasks are better handled when there is a visible end. I look forward to implementing this even more in the coming weeks.

Check out the whole program here. It is a free download, and very helpful.

Dear America

2010-06-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

I am just loving this Dear America book series. Each book is written in the form of a diary of a young woman's life during an important event or time period in American history (wikipedia)

When I look for books to read, historical fiction is always my genre of choice. This particular series in this genre appeals to me because each book gives interesting details about daily life during the span of one year in these young womens' lives. They are written like diaries, but are works of fiction. However, they are always based on true events and circumstances and often about people who really lived during these these periods of time.

These are three that I have read so far, but I hope to work my way through the whole series.

Because this is a series written for young adults, they are generally quick reads, and so far it has been my experience that I just can't put them down. Each one has a different author, but I have been impressed with all the writing.

More than anything, these kinds of books make me realize how difficult and not always pleasant were womens' lives in previous generations. The daily tasks and responsibility of feeding large families, sewing and washing clothing, growing and preserving food for winter months, birthing children, and trying to keep warm and healthy required constant attention and left little time for pleasure.

When I get little glimpses into the lives and situations of women and men who blazed trails and settled America; suffering through flu epidemics, Indian attacks, arranged and often abusive marriages, and extreme poverty, I am amazed and thankful for the comfort and ease of our contemporary lives.

Rows and rows of big dark clouds

2010-06-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

In May we had an unbelievable amount of rain, even for here--almost 4 inches--and now it's continuing into June. At first it didn't seem that bad because we had such a dry, mild winter. But now, it's just too much. You can sense all over town that people are just sick of it and on the verge of insanity.

My house seems messier when the weather is like this, and I feel lazy and sluggish; therefore I eat too much, have no patience with my children, and want to crawl in my bed and take a nap all day long until the sun comes back.

Oh, Oregon.

Garden 2010: part 2

2010-05-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

Lettuce, Lettuce and more lettuce. That is what is growing like crazy in my garden due to unseasonably cold temperatures and rainy weather here in Oregon the past two weeks.

Not that I'm complaining. Well, about the large amounts of lettuce, that is. The lack of sunshine is a different story.

Our potatoes are also doing very well--lots of greenery and the boys and I can't wait to see flowers on the greens to let us know that new potatoes are indeed growing below.

Thanks to Shannan for sharing the Tuesday Garden party found here each Tuesday. I love to see other people's gardens, especially the ones that are growing here in my own state and climate.

Double birthday week

2010-05-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

Last year when Henry was born two days before James's 6th birthday, I knew that, forever more, this week in May would be one long birthday celebration in our house.

We've just been through the first double birthday extravaganza, and we survived. And it was a lot of fun. Since I've never been one to make a huge deal out of the first birthday, Henry's was relatively low key. A piece of carrot cake in the high chair and a few presents from grandma and some aunties.

For James, however, we made a little bigger deal. I'm not a party planner, and have avoided throwing him a friend party for this many years, but this year his begging won me over and we threw together a little something with a few friends.

Since James is my little artist, we made it an art-themed party and had the boys paint on shirts using freezer paper stencils, make their own pizzas, and decorate their own cupcakes. We had originally planned for all the activities to be outside, but the pouring rain changed the plans a bit. Actually, even with six little boys in our small house, they were all very well-behaved and it was fun.

More Scrabble

2010-04-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

This is just a shout-out to my scrabble sistas in Vegas, you know who you are.

According to my calculations, we have had at least one game in play for about 18 weeks now. They are all as crazy about Scrabble as I am, and every game is an awesome challenge. I think it's safe to say that we're a little addicted, and perhaps wondering how or if it will ever end? I kind of hope it won't.

This is somewhat unrelated, but I posted this screen shot of our current game because it was the first time I was seeing this ad our church has on facebook right now. It is difficult to see here, but clicking on it links you to this website, where you can ask any questions you've ever had about the LDS church via live chat. There is a lot of false information out there and sometimes it is difficult to determine if what you're reading is true, so if you really do have questions, but don't necessarily want to talk face-to-face with members of the church or missionaries, this is a place to get the truth somewhat anonymously.

Garden 2010: part 1

2010-04-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

The 2010 garden is coming along nicely so far. This is the earliest I've ever had things actually growing. Usually at this time of year I'm barely planting cold-weather veggies and making my plan for May when the other things can finally be put into the ground.

Romaine and mixed greens are sprouting like crazy and in desperate need of thinning.

Also, this is my second planting of carrots, as my first planting sprouted and were quickly devoured by snails in one night. I had to learn the hard way that snails & slugs like carrot seedlings. At first I didn't blame snails, as the lettuce seedlings planted inches away were completely untouched. Apparently they prefer carrots over lettuce--kind of like my children.

There are many pea plants in all levels of maturity due to successive plantings. Hopefully this will allow for a longer pea-picking season. That is the idea, anyway.

Also, no picture yet, but Owen and I found some potatoes in the pantry that were filled with eyes, so we put them into the ground and are hoping for some beginners luck as potato farmers.

I decided to try my hand at planting a few seeds indoors this year. I've got honeydew and zucchini seeds planted and hopefully growing in time for a mid-May transplant.

And last, the grass and the baby are growing like weeds, and the former will just continue to look like a crazy jungle due to a broken mower. In addition to a broken microwave and a dryer that seems to be losing heat everyday, we're having an appliance catastrophe in our house. Love it.

Shop Update: Reusable Sandwich & Snack Bags

2010-04-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

These snack & sandwich bags have been in the works for a little while now, but I have been looking for a good, sustainable fabric to use and wanted them to be just the right size.

So this hemp, which comes in a light khaki, and a dark brown, might just be my favorite fabric I've sewn with ever. It is soft, sturdy, and unlike anything you can find in your local Joann's. Hemp fabric is sustainable because it grows quickly, therefore can be harvested and re-planted many times in a year. Also, it is naturally disease- and pest-resistant, and so requires no pesticides.

I chose to do a fold-over flap closure, which isn't being done a lot on Etsy, in an attempt to keep the velcro far away from where the crumbs tend to collect.

Limabeanhome is celebrating Earth Day with a month-long promotion: Spend $15 on reusable items during the month of April and receive free shipping AND one reusable produce bag.

Fill the Freezer

2010-04-13T19:54:00.001-07:00

Inspired by a couple of blogs I frequent, mostly this one, I decided to make a bunch of food this afternoon to fill up my freezer with meals and add-ons for the next few weeks.

Here's how it went:

Round 1: roast & shred chicken breasts for chicken noodle soup & lentil barley soup, make honey whole wheat bread dough & let it rise

Round 2: pinto beans for Henry into the pressure cooker, batter for whole wheat waffles (had a little helper to crack the eggs), brown meat for sweet & sour pork (recipe below) & latin american pork stew

Round 3: cook waffles, saute veggies & make sauce for sweet & sour pork, form bread into loaves and let it rise again, make & bake whole wheat banana muffins (recipe below),

Round 4: chop veggies & finish chicken noodle soup (dinner tonight), bake bread, package all food into bags and containers for freezing.

In between the rounds there were boys to feed, diapers to change, boy to pick up from school, naps to give, and loads of dishes to wash, but to have that much food in the freezer at the end of the afternoon was very fulfilling and also exhausting. I would definitely recommend it.

**I prefer to make my whole wheat bread into mini loaves, as opposed to large ones because I can just pull out one loaf from the freezer, slice it, and it is just the amount our family eats for one meal.

**And in case you're interested, here are the recipes as promised. I added asparagus into my sweet & sour pork instead of peppers, because it was on sale at the grocery store today.

Banana Whole Wheat Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar (could substitute sucanat)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup mashed banana

1/2 cup applesauce

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup oats

Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients, bake 350 degrees--mini-muffins, 13 minutes, large muffins, 15 mins. Yield: about 28 mini-muffins or 14 large muffins

Sweet & Sour Chicken or Pork

2-3 boneless chicken breasts or pork loin chops, cut into small pieces, seasoned well with salt and pepper

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 red or green pepper, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small can pineapple chunks

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2/3 cup water

1 1/2 Tbsp. oil

1/3 cup vinegar

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

Brown seasoned meat in oil, remove from pan. Saute carrots, onions, peppers in oil with salt and pepper until barely soft, add garlic and cook one minute. Add meat back into pan and turn off heat.

In another sauce pan, combine sugar and cornstarch and whisk in water. Add oil, vinegar & soy sauce. Turn on heat and cook until thick and clear (about 3 mins), stirring continuously.

Pour sauce over veggie/meat mixture, add pineapple.

Eat right away over rice, or put into freezer container and freeze for up to 2 months.

Defrost in fridge, heat until bubbly.

Recipe Linkage

2010-04-08T16:44:00.001-07:00

Here are a few recipes I've made over the past weeks that should be shared.

**I'm trying to incorporate more fish into our weekly menus for the non-fish-loving residents of my house very gradually so as not to make them hate it more. I thought this recipe was a good way to do it. Henry and I both loved it, and everyone else ate it, but didn't love it, except Owen, who wouldn't even taste it, but that's okay with me. I used the trader joe's boneless canned salmon, added a little bit of dill, and mixed up a little tartar sauce with mayo, zucchini relish, lemon pepper and onion powder to serve on top.

**Also, made these whole wheat waffles for a weekend breakfast. I added ground up flax seed for some omega-3s, which made it nuttier and I doubled it and froze the rest to put in the toaster oven for future breakfasts--much better than an eggo, I would say.

**Tried my hand at whole wheat hamburger buns. The recipe is a little involved, but worth it and next time I will also double it and freeze the rest.

**This quick macaroni and cheese recipe will make you re-think ever buying a boxed mac-n-cheese again. It is unbelievably simple and relatively cheap and contains no processed anything. I made it with whole wheat spirals and extra sharp cheddar, but next time might try it with a mix of different stinky cheeses--asiago, parmesan and cheddar perhaps to give it even a little more bite. My boys loved this. It doesn't replace a good, homemade mac-n-cheese with a roux and some add-ins, but is a great option to make instead of the boxed variety for a quick dinner.

These last three recipes came from this recently discovered website. If you have any interest in using less refined sugar and more whole wheat flour in your baking, this woman has figured it out and has an unbelievable recipe archive. Most of her recipes call for 100 percent whole wheat flour, and she offers suggestions on ways to prepare it to make it easier to digest, and less dense.

I've only just begun to incorporate these ideas into my own baking and cooking, but hope that eventually for me it will be second nature to use all whole grains all the time.

New Fireplace

2010-03-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

We have lived in our house for almost four years now, and every single day I have loathed the hideous brass edges on this fireplace. Alisa made the suggestion to simply use this paint for a quick, very inexpensive fix.

Seven dollars and a few hours later, here it is:

This is one home improvement project that should have been done a long time ago. Sigh.

A family project

2010-03-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

After the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, we were asked by our church leaders to pray for those affected; for peace in their hearts, that their suffering would be easier to bear, and that they would have patience in their trials. I'm absolutely certain the members of our church were not unique in offering these prayers; I imagine people all over the world were pleading with heaven for spiritual and temporal relief for these people.

I appreciated the reminder to make our prayers more about others and less about ourselves, and especially to teach our boys to think of others, even strangers suffering in faraway lands.

I wanted our family to participate not only in the spiritual relief through our prayers but also the temporal relief.

After reading several articles about how, immediately following the earthquakes, the LDS Church Humanitarian Services had sent thousands of hygiene kits to both Haiti and Chile, we decided that this is how we would participate. The website says that in a typical year they give out approximately 1 million of these kits each year.

Throughout the month of March, the boys completed many extra jobs around our house to earn money to pay for the supplies for one hygiene kit each. We purchased items little by little and then last week we assembled four kits and got them ready to ship.

I love this project, because these are items that we use everyday, so the boys can see the benefit of sending them to people in an emergency. It is a simple, relatively inexpensive way to provide service to those in need. Anyone can participate--Humanitarian Services is always accepting more kits and there is no minimum. You can ship them to the address given here, or take them to a local Bishops Storehouse.

Now the prayers offered around our house include pleas like this: "please bless the people in Haiti and Chile, and make sure our hygiene kits get there."

Back to the grind

2010-03-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

Spring break has come and gone. It was full of crafting, camping at the Oregon coast, a little bit of sunshine and a lot of rain.

I didn't join the Fuller boys' camping adventure because a crawling baby + dirty ground + rainy forecast didn't seem like that much fun. So Henry and I had our own adventures at home for those two days they were gone. This included a lot of sewing for me, and for him, a lot of playing on the floor while listening to the hum of the sewing machine.

I will say I'm really sad to get back to making lunches, finding library books and backpacks, and being a slave to the dropping off and picking up from school. Usually I'm ready for the routine to start up again after a long break, but this one just went too fast.

Reuse what you have: wax paper

2010-03-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share this tip that was in our local newspaper the other day. This tip is good for people who eat cereal and use wax paper.

Save empty cereal bags and use them instead of buying a new roll of wax paper. This is only good for things that don't require the wax paper to be baked or heated up in any way.

I used it for drying no-bake cookies the other day and it worked great.

It pleases my green self and my frugal self all at the same time.

Update on the battle of the bulge

2010-03-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

About three months after I posted this, four other friends and I formed a biggest loser support group to motivate each other to get moving and lose weight.

Now, seven months later, I will say this has been quite the experience. For me, it has been a very educational, eye-opening journey of health and exercise and what it takes to really stay healthy and feeling well for a lifetime.

It's a little embarrassing, but much of what I learned over these months has come from Jillian Michaels, who has become a personal trainer of sorts in my living room. She's a little over the top sometimes, but I tell you, she knows her stuff, shares it freely, and gets results.

Every one of the women in our group who started doing her workouts on a regular basis lost weight and toned up. No joke. By the end of December, we had been meeting together for weigh-ins and motivation on a weekly basis and between the five of us, we had lost 90+ pounds. It was hard work, but so much fun to do it together.

Here are a few things that helped me along in this journey:

You will get better, faster results working out as hard as you can, with a combination of strength training and cardio for 20-30 minutes a day. I heard it for years but never really understood how to do it effectively.
Eating a large salad (for me, at lunch) full of cruciferous veggies--broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower--and other items--tomatoes, spinach, cottage cheese, beans, raisins, avocado-- is a great way to get all these metabolism-boosting, important foods into your body all at once every single day.
Focusing on eating whole grains whenever I can and try to avoid buying items that contain "partially-hydrogenated" and "enriched" ingredients. When I eat whole foods, I feel better. period.

There are several other things I am trying to do in my family, being the one in charge of buying the groceries and preparing most of the meals, I feel like I really have a responsibility to make good choices and teach my kids also how to make good food choices. I don't want to cram it down their throats, pardon the pun, instead I would just rather my boys develop a taste for certain foods by cooking and offering them regularly and then allowing them to try it when they're ready.

It can seem a little overwhelming, but I'm finding that taking baby steps is helping me along.

Best money I ever spent was on these three workout dvds:

Okay, enough about Jillian Michaels, already.

New salad to share

2010-03-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

My mom has been telling me to eat quinoa for a couple of years, but for some reason I haven't had much interest until now. If you're not familiar with it, quinoa is a grain that is unusually high in protein (16ish percent, as compared to rice which is about 7ish percent). It is very tiny, but expands to four times its original size after cooking. It has a nutty taste and a texture slightly more gummy than rice.

The reason I became interested lately is because I have been looking for high-protein foods to feed Henry, and quinoa is really a perfect baby food, as it is small, chewy and easily digested. For him, I have been mixing it with mashed up veggies or applesauce. So far he loves it.

My interest in quinoa also peaked recently due to a salad that I tried from the deli at our local Whole Foods-type store, Market of Choice, which was made of quinoa, feta cheese, tomatoes, red onion, and chopped up fresh spinach. I really wanted to figure out the dressing so I could make it at home.

So here is my best guess. It tasted very similar and was delicious.

Quinoa Salad

3/4 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup feta cheese

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

2 Tbsp. canola oil

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper

1) Rinse quinoa well before cooking, or it could taste bitter. Bring water and quinoa to boil, add a pinch of salt and lower heat. Simmer with lid on for 20 minutes.

2) Whisk oils, rice vinegar, & lemon juice in small bowl. Mix warm quinoa, spinach, red onion, feta and tomatoes in medium bowl and toss with dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate to allow flavors to marinate and serve cold.

***this makes a lot of dressing--you may want to save a little to moisten the salad when serving, as the warm quinoa tends to absorb much of the liquid.

From the trenches

2010-03-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

Every so often, when I find myself deep in the trenches of parenting, I get a gentle, amazing reminder that all the teaching, reminding, and attempts to be firm & consistent really are paying off and producing boys who are worthy of, and listening to, the influence of "that spirit which leadeth to do good--yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously." (Doctrine & Covenants 11:12)

Teaching them how to recognize, listen to, and obey that spirit is what I consider to be my most important responsibility as their mother. Heaven knows they need it in the tumultuous, crazy world in which we live--a world that starts, even in 2nd grade, to bombard our children with things we would never choose for them to hear or see.

My gentle, amazing reminder came this morning, and it went like this:

James: "Mom, the book we're reading in reading group already had four bad words in it. Two d words, one h word and. . .(dramatic pause) even the f word."

Me: (horrified, ready to call the school immediately) "What kind of book is this?!!"

James: "It's called Shilo. It's a western, mom, those guys didn't have any churches back then"

Not sure what to do, but ready to call someone and complain, I found out that James had already done the work for me.

James: "Don't worry, mom. I told my teacher we couldn't keep reading this book. There were just too many bad words. Three kids agreed with me, two kids wanted to keep reading."

Come to find out, after a little hesitation on the reading group teacher's part (her initial reaction? "oh, just keep reading") James kept insisting, and finally, "James you're right."

They were six chapters in, and there were nine more to go, but they stopped right away and are now reading a different book.

James: "Mom, it felt so good."

It was a small yet extremely significant moment in his and my life and I am grateful he shared it with me.

From the stash

2010-03-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

If you sew, chances are you have a fabric stash. Oh, how I love my stash.

However, when you live in a very small house, as I do, the stash tends to take up too much of the already precious square footage. I often wonder why I keep certain pieces that don't seem like they're the right size or pattern for anything good.

And then one day, a project like this comes along:

and instead of rushing off to the fabric store and go crazy trying to find just the perfect thing, we raid the stash to find whatever needs to be used up.

This project was inspired by my friend Amy, who doesn't have a blog, but should, just to show off her creativity and the fun things she has made for her little daughter, Ahna, like these book holders that hang off her bunk bed. Because she's too humble to post about her things on the internet, I made something just like what we saw at her house the other day and will brag on her behalf.

Add in a couple of clip-on lights that were collecting dust in the closet, and each boy has his own cozy reading nook, like every boy, and girl, should.

All out of a bunch of fabric scraps that seemed like they were good for nothing.

**and Owen really isn't picking his nose in that picture, it just looks like it =)

Shop Update: brown bag lunch

2010-03-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

The past month has been full of sewing for limabeanhome, keeping me busier than I've been in months and I love it.

A recent customer had a great suggestion to make the reusable canvas lunch bag out of brown canvas, so that it resembles a brown lunch sack. I thought it was a pretty fab idea.

It has been made, listed and is available now:

Shop Update

2010-02-20T13:47:00.001-08:00

Lots of new fabrics for sandwich wraps in the shop, including a listing for a custom wrap using fabric of your own choosing or from your stash. Check it all out here.

Scenes from my yard

2010-02-17T15:41:00.000-08:00

**I thought it was time to pick up the compost bin and move it to another place in the garden. I do this every six months or so, and the pile of compost that is already inside can just continue to decompose until May when the whole garden will be uncovered and it can be tilled into the ground.

It's quite remarkable to see the layers stacked like that in all stages of decomposition. Really amazing that it's simply vegetable, fruit and other kitchen discards, leaves and grass clippings. And the bottom layer? A rich, nutrient-filled soil additive. And it's free.

If you want to make a compost bin like this, you'll find the tutorial here.

**A couple of weeks ago, the boys were playing in the backyard and called me outside to see this double rainbow. I'm pretty glad they did. After studying the story of Noah in our sunday school class last week, it made me consider this rainbow in a different way.

**The picture doesn't really give justice to how dainty these little daffodils are. I don't remember planting baby daffodils, but am just delighted that they came up this year. They are right by the front door, so it's a welcome reminder every time we come and go that spring might really come.

Just real quick

2010-02-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

For all my word-loving friends: here is another fun way to challenge your mind during the kids' naptime or whenever you have some time to waste. haha. Just try to ignore the occasionally disturbing advertising on the side bar. I just discovered it, and so far my high score has only been 14. So I'm on a mission to increase it a bit.

Boggle=another game James and I love to play together.

A special girl

2010-02-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, it's been one of those days. Being a parent of young children is emotionally, physically, and mentally demanding and draining. And worth every minute, of course.

In addition to being hard, however, today has also been special. It is a day where we get to join our dear friends, Bill and Mindi, in celebrating the birthday of their sweet angel, Addison.

Five years ago Addi was born and spent two weeks with Bill and Mindi before she passed away peacefully. She has made me appreciate life, realize that heaven is closer than we know, and feel more love and admiration for her mom and dad, who have, over the years, handled this devastating loss with strength and grace.

I try to think of Addi often, not just on her birthday. I love the celebrations her family has each year, like this one, last year, and this one, two years ago.

Such a sweet angel, and a sweet reminder of the beautiful plan of happiness that will allow Addi's family to see her and kiss that sweet face again someday.

Linkage

2010-02-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

Just a few links to share that struck my fancy and might strike yours:

We celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary this week on Feb. 2nd. That is groundhog day. It makes that "holiday", if you will, more fun and eventful than just the usual wondering if that pesky rodent will see his shadow. This post about groundhog day made me laugh because, yes, I am also living that life and also wouldn't trade it for the world. Except mine has now expanded to include a few daily drop-offs and pick-ups and "hurry up and get your shoes on and your backpack ready and brush your teeth and comb your hair or you'll be late for school"s.

I read angry chicken because I really like Amy Karol's approach to sewing, cooking and her life. She is honest, hilarious and very candid in her writing. This recent post I loved because I also think I have it in me to make cough syrup out of the elder flowers that are growing in my backyard. I'm not there yet, but I have the desire. So I'll keep reading and getting ideas from her. Plus, she lives in Portland and I kind of love that.

And last, this helpful chart tells me that I can go ahead and plant peas now that it is February. Since I've been buying and consuming large amounts of snap peas lately, I think it is much better if I just grow and consume large amounts of my own from my backyard. I've never planted this early, so hopefully it will work out.

A reveal of sorts

2010-01-31T22:11:00.000-08:00

The new couch.

. . .with the tag still on. It's a bit more retro than we thought was our style, but we love it. And I've officially become that mom who is always yelling at her kids to get their grubby hands and feet off the new couch. lovely.

The other half of the room where the loveseat once was is still a bit of a work in progress. It includes a chair found on Craigslist (credit goes to Alisa for that) that needed sanding, staining, and reupholstering. All have been done except the last coat of stain, which is again at the mercy of the blasted Oregon rain.

So really this is only half of a living room update/reveal.

On keeping the house full of food for hungry mouths

2010-01-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

bring your own canvas tote--medium, found here

On Saturday I went to the grocery store and brought home more food than I have in a long time. With no children, except non-running-through-the-aisles, non-begging-for-everything in sight Henry in tow, I took my time, browsed the aisles and bought whatever looked good.

Lately I've fallen into the bad habit of avoiding the large grocery trip in favor of small, $25-$30 trips every few days. This really isn't my style, and if you're familiar with these trips, a few things always end up in the cart that are too expensive and not really needed. Those things just eat up my grocery budget, until I find myself with too much month at the end of the money, if you know what I mean.

So I decided to do a major stock-up on everything we always run out of. I even bought things that we weren't out of yet, but would be soon, which is very unlike me. When I got home and unpacked, I told Jeff that I was done grocery shopping for a--while, and felt great relief in saying so.

The next morning, I opened the bread box and discovered there were only four pieces of bread left. I got out the egg carton to find three eggs left, and two were going into my cupcakes for dessert. And when breakfast was over, I found the last milk bottle in the house less than half full.

Geez. Here I was on my high horse about being such a great grocery shopper, coming home with seven large bags stuffed full of food, and I neglected to buy the staples of all staples, milk, bread and eggs--the very things that are usually the catalyst for those $25 grocery trips.

So, this very morning, I had to make another trip to the grocery store--and luckily I got out of there only a few dollars later.

And now, I'm really, really not going to the grocery store for at least two weeks. In fact, I'm going to try to go this entire week without even stepping foot into any store. Being the homebody that I am, this sounds like a dream.

One entire week without spending any money in any stores. Lofty goal? Perhaps. But I really want to do it.

Shop Update: Reusable Sandwich Wraps

2010-01-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

New to the shop this week are reusable sandwich wraps. These will be made out of many different fabrics, but so far these four are available:

These are an item that can help to reduce lunchtime waste. I did a test run of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, where I left it in the wrapper for 8 hours. The bread stayed soft and the sandwich tasted fresh.

I have been researching what fabrics are food-safe to use as a lining and decided to use ripstop nylon, as it is waterproof, lightweight and washable. I think being able to throw it into the washing machine is an important benefit.

New totes

2010-01-21T21:27:00.001-08:00

The first of several new listings to my shop:

seen here

and seen here

Hopefully tomorrow I will have reusable sandwich wraps to show off. I'm doing a test run to make sure they really do keep sandwiches fresh.

Various and sundry

2010-01-19T09:44:00.000-08:00

**I am officially the proud owner of this beauty, except in a red/grey color scheme. It retails for around 300 bucks; I found it on craigslist for $75. I emailed the seller of this stroller one hour after she listed it, and then three other times in three days and never heard back. I was super sad because I wanted it so bad, but just gave up because what are you going to do if peeps never respond? Then yesterday, six days after the original posting, it was still listed, so Jeff emailed her and she responded within an hour. Maybe my emails went to her spam filter? Who knows. But we went to take a look yesterday evening and it was practically brand-new looking.

The third child gets a new stroller because the mama is sick of pushing around the old $15 graco variety bought at a garage sale. Lucky Henry? I think lucky me. I can't wait to go everywhere with this smooth, awesome piece of baby equipment.

**In other news, our new couch finally arrived last week, and I'm waiting for a sunny day to clean up and take a good picture of the new living room. As you know, in Oregon that might take some time, but it is on my to-do list. Who am I kidding--the cleaning up might take longer than waiting for a non-rainy day.

**Reason #500 why i love living here: on Saturday this local non-profit had their annual fabric sale where they sell all pieces of donated fabric from people and businesses for 50 cents a pound. There was some great stuff, and I filled this giant red shopping bag for $4.50.

Soon much of it will be made into totes for the shop, as I am leaning that direction for limabeanhome right now. I'm going to ditch making diaper bags & purses for a little while and go back to basic shopping totes, and hope soon to add reusable sandwich wraps in a new style.

Heaven knows my shop needs a little love and attention right now.

**And one more thing: Ellen and I have been working on a new bag for Classichound and it is very exciting. Soon it will be for sale in both her shops, and we hope it will be a big hit.

And that's all.

Buddies

2010-01-13T09:53:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I had one of those parenting moments I'm not proud of. Soon after it happened, I tweeted my sisters: sometimes I get so mad at my kids I scare myself.

I am aware that every parent is allowed a few of these without totally screwing up their kids. In fact, often they prompt a powerful teaching moment about how sometimes mommies are wrong, sometimes they do things they shouldn't, and can you please forgive.

I sometimes wonder what kind of legacy I'm leaving for my boys. And by legacy I mean what am I doing, cooking, wearing, and saying that is sticking with them for more than their few-minutes-long attention spans. Will they remember me as a grumpy, yelling nag? Will they remember that we had any fun together? I will. But will they?

Later on, a bit after my not-so-proud-moment which included a tearful apology, I said to James, "can we always be best buddies?"

"Sure," he said.

"Because pretty soon it's not going to be the cool thing for you to be best buddies with your mom."

But he reassured me that he still would.

Now it has been documented. I just need to remember to quit yelling and do what it takes to deserve it.

Christmas presents

2010-01-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus knows that the Fuller boys spend a lot of time lying on the ground drawing. So the Crayola Floor Pads and True to Life Crayons he left under the tree and the aunts and uncles who gifted new colored pencils and whatnot are being used and used and used again.

Tonight we finished off this busy day on the floor together, drawing stars and Super Mario characters and shapes and tigers. James was a little more talkative about his school day than usual, and my little Owen was in good spirits, super proud of the stars he was learning to draw.

Pleasant time spent together, creating.

A magical moment.

Nativity Tunic/Costume Tutorial

2009-12-23T23:05:00.000-08:00

Occasionally, being able to sew is a very useful skill.

I love all the free sewing tutorials that are all over the internet. People are so generous with their instructions and pictures and I have benefited many times.

So last week when I was looking for a tutorial for a basic Mary & Joseph nativity costume, I was surprised to find that there wasn't much available. The only thing I found were some very basic instructions on blurtit.com. The woman that posted those proved to be my lifesaver, though, as I was trying to put something together to help out a friend desperate for a costume for our church christmas program the next night.

Her instructions said this:

This is the method I used:

2- 2/3 yards (8 feet) x 2 ½ feet (30) inches for gown. Cut a 8 inch circle in center.

22 inches x 22 inches square for sleeve. Fold in half.

Cut a slit down front and bind edges. Hem around neck

pin center of sleeve to gown length center. Sew side and sleeve seams.

In hoping to give back a little to all who have shared a tutorial with me, I wanted to expand those basic instructions with some pictures, and perhaps someone else will be able to make a very simple tunic-style gown that is useful for many costumes.

Woman size: uses about 3 yards of fabric (I used 45" wide muslin)

Man size: uses about 4 yds fabric

1) For a woman's size tunic, cut fabric 28" x 3 yards (108") For a man's size tunic cut fabric 30" x 3 yds. 14 inches (122") Fold in half and cut out a half circle on the fold for the neck hole. 6" diameter circle for a woman 7" diameter circle for a man

2) Cut a 3-4" slit starting at the center of the circle you just cut

3) Hem the slit

4) With the remaining scraps of fabric, first cut two pieces for sleeves.

16" x 22" for women,

22" x 22" for men.

Set these two sleeve pieces aside.

5) With what is left, cut bias strips 3" wide and stitch together to make a bias strip about 30-35" long. Press this bias strip in half and then each half to the inside to make bias tape, pressing one raw end also to the inside.

6) Sew the bias tape around the neck, starting with the finished end of the bias tape.When you get to the other side of the neck you will need to trim the excess tape and turn under the end before you finish sewing.

7) Fold the two sleeves in half. For the woman sleeve, fold along the 16" side. Pin the center of the sleeve to the gown length center. Serge (or sew and then zigzag) around this sleeve seam.

8) Match and pin the insides of the sleeve right at the armpit, then serge (or sew and then zigzag) along the inside of the sleeve continuing all the way down to the bottom of the tunic.

9) Press all seams, then hem sleeves and bottom to desired length.

It is a very, very basic gown/tunic, but I was able to quickly sew four of them--two for my friends who played Mary and Joseph and two for me and Jeff. I also made a couple of vests for the men to wear over their tunics using the same basic pattern, by cutting and hemming the neck slit all the way down the bottom of the tunic, and leaving off the sleeves.

At one point in the evening, Jeff had to remove his brown vest and be the Angel Gabriel for someone who didn't show up.

I hope this tutorial is helpful--If you use it and find it confusing, please comment with any questions or suggestions and I'll try to help.

The biggest word you've ever heard and this is how it goes, oh

2009-12-22T21:11:00.001-08:00

My obsession with Facebook Scrabble is rubbing off on my boys. The scrabble tiles are currently the toy-of-the-week in our house.

One of my favorite things about James is how much he loves words. This morning we sat together and did the newspaper crossword puzzle and he loved it just as much as I did. I'm a bit of a word junkie myself.

I predict, in the not-so-far-distant future, some very serious games of scrabble with him, and I can't wait.

Two cuties

2009-12-19T21:54:00.000-08:00

James, 7 months old, 2003

Henry, 7 months old, 2009

Two look-alike boys, six years apart, learned first to scoot only backwards and got stuck underneath the same bed. Is it embarrassing that we've been using the same flannel sheets for six years? At least we finally got a bed skirt.

A New Obsession

2009-12-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading three really great books. If you're my friend on goodreads, you would know that I gave each one 5 stars, which for me is rare. I am very picky with the books I choose to read.

These three books were all written by midwives, who tell, in their own words, the different stories of many, many births. These women take you into their lives and into the lives of their patients' homes, where most of the babies are delivered. For some reason, I never tire of reading birth stories, especially when they are written with such detail that you feel like you are there witnessing the actual event, as these are.

Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent

This book was recommended to me by my high school friend, Paige, who said, "it made me want to change professions", and I might have to agree. Peggy Vincent is a great writer. Each chapter tells the story of another unique birth, mostly happy and healthy, though sometimes quite frantic and even sad. Her stories take place mostly in the 1980s and '90s in Berkeley, California, where she was a nurse-midwife practicing home births. I laughed and cried through this book and learned much that I didn't know about the whole process of birth.

A Midwife's Story, by Penny Armstrong & Sheryl Feldman

I enjoyed this book not only because of the amazing birth stories it told, but also because it taught me many things about the Amish culture/society that I did not know. They are an interesting people, and Penny Armstrong lived among them and delivered many of their babies.

The Midwife by Jennifer Worth

Jennifer Worth, though not a nun herself, lived with and trained to be a midwife in a convent with a group of nuns. Worth, along with these Sisters, delivered the babies of the poor, working-class women living in the slums of London in post-war 1950s. The living conditions of these people with which she worked are described in disturbing detail.

The countless birth stories she tells are fascinating and well-written, and occasionally we step away from her day-to-day midwife responsibilties to learn a bit of the history of her patients.

If you have any interest in this topic, these books come highly recommended by yours truly. Let me know if you read any of them.

This one is for Donnie

2009-12-15T16:17:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty proud of the word I just played in Scrabble, and, well, I just had to brag. Donnie, this one was worth only 65 points, compared to your 89 for DEADBEAT , but I also used all 7 tiles, a first for me.

I'm also loving this Facebook Scrabble--I have been playing with my sisters and sis-in-law for the past few weeks. That is the best thing about it--you open a game and play whenever you get around to it. So a game can be as short or long as you want it to be.

G&G Troxler would be so proud of the way we're exercising our minds. We'll see if Alisa and Emilee can compete with AVIATION. woot.

Ode to the couches

2009-12-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I decided to buy each other a couch for Christmas this year, since we've had the same couch and loveseat the entire eight years we've been married. We very gratefully acquired these free couches one month before our wedding. They were very comfortable and in great shape, but originally made of a cream-colored shiny brocade fabric which was impossible to keep clean.

In 2003, after owning the couches for two years and apologizing too many times for the stained, ripped cushions, I decided to try my hand at some custom slipcovers. Turns out they were much harder than Hildi made them look every Saturday night on Trading Spaces, but after all was said and done, I was proud of how they turned out.

Today, a nice couple came and bought the couches. It was inevitable, we only have one living room and our new one will be delivered soon.

But still, it was sad. The couches have followed us to three apartments and one house, and have countless memories of nursing babies, reading stories, taking naps, and watching football.

Stay tuned for a reveal of our new living room.

Hometown Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

This year, since moving to Eugene four years ago, we didn't leave town for Thanksgiving.

In fact, we had a lot of firsts:

We went to cheer on Jeff running in the 5K Turkey Stuffer
Which ended up at the local indoor pool and let all the families of race participants swim for free
Finally used my china
Cooked my first turkey--stuffed the skin with yummy sage butter.
Finished off the day eating a fabulous dinner with great friends

What's for dinner?

2009-11-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

I checked out this book from the library to get some new dinner ideas and the first one I made was delicious. The book is full of all kinds of stews and casserole-type meals which is just what I always want to eat at this time of year.

This one is a Latin American Pork Stew and what made it so good was the combination of pork, sweet potatoes and cilantro. Even Jeff who hates cilantro loved it in this stew. I think it's because cooked cilantro has a more subtle flavor than fresh.

We ate it with corn tortillas steamed for one minute in wet paper towels in the microwave. I also ate it with raw cabbage, but that won't surprise anyone that knows me. I eat cabbage with everything.

Latin American Pork Stew

4 servings

olive oil

2 large pork loin chops (or whatever pork you want), cut into small pieces

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

3/4 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup chicken broth

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1) Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil and brown seasoned pork pieces. Transfer to baking dish with a lid.

2) Cook onion in pan drippings for about 5 minutes then add garlic and cook for one minute longer.

3) Add tomatoes, cilantro, cumin, salt, coriander, cayenne and chicken broth. Heat to boiling, then add to baking dish with pork. Cover and bake 15 minutes.

4) Stir in sweet potatoes; cover and bake 30 minutes longer. Stir in black beans, cover and bake an additional 15 minutes.

I'm sure you could also do this in the slow cooker and add potatoes and beans at the end.

Confession

2009-11-18T14:02:00.001-08:00

Notice the clutter covering the kitchen counters. ugh

My mom is an organized, orderly person. She keeps a clean, generally clutter-free house and although it drove me crazy as a child trying to meet her standards, I now greatly admire her ability to do so.

So during her visit last month, when she was admiring my creativity and various sewing projects and said to me, "grandma and I just wonder where you find time to do it all," I laughed and told her the way I "do it all" is by being a terrible housekeeper.

"I will walk past piles of toys and clutter on my way to the sewing table," I said.

And she responded with something like, "but that's okay. I think it's better to be making things and creating than cleaning up all the time. I wish I was more like that--able to ignore the messes and be creative. You can always clean, but you can't always sew."

Here is where I pause so that all my siblings can shut their dropped jaws. I know, right? Who knew our mother favored creativity over cleanliness. Who knew?

Up until that conversation I have always thought of this as a major weakness for me. I love to make things and hate to clean up afterward. I will step over toys and piles of laundry and full of dirty dishes and (heaven help me), I will even clear off a little spot on the kitchen counter just big enough for cooking dinner. I am not one of those who can't cook a meal until the kitchen is clean. No way.

More than I care to admit, I've been mortified when someone stops by unexpectedly and they get a glimpse into my cluttered life.

But, hey, mom says its okay. So, at least today I feel a little less pressure to make a major overhaul of my housekeeping skills. Like that will ever happen.

A new thrifting treasure

2009-11-09T13:16:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we had a very lucky thrifting day. We found ourselves a copy of this book for 65 cents. It actually turned out to be an even better deal than we knew at the time, because it is currently out of print.

We love Ed Emberley's drawing books. He uses basic shapes drawn out step-by-step that turn into unique animals and faces and other everyday objects. His method is easy enough to make anyone more confident in their drawing skills.

In fact, recently 4-year-old Owen has taken to drawing more than just scribbles and random shapes. I think it is because he discovered that he could follow the few steps given in this book

to draw animals and he and I and Jeff and James were amazed at the final product. It gave him the confidence to draw more.

For quiet time today I surprised him with a new notebook just for his drawings and I can't wait to watch the pages fill up and a new little artist finding his own style in our house.

What a difference a year makes

2009-11-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

My parents were recently here for their annual Halloween visit. They've been coming to Oregon for Halloween the past few years, as our G&G Troxler did when we were little. Halloween is definitely a holiday better spent with children, and we love visitors.

Last week, while waiting for them to arrive, I couldn't help but think about last year's visit. Mom came alone to rescue me from weeks of pregnancy-induced sickness and serious neglect of my children and my home. Also, Jeff was out of town and the thought of making three meals a day for children in my current state overwhelmed me to tears.

She came and stayed longer than her usual three days (because she lives by the adage that guests and fish stink after 3 days), cooked delicious bland meals that soothed this pregnant lady's sick stomach, sewed a vampire cape, cleaned my house every single day, did all our laundry, let me sleep in, transported James to and from school, and listened to me complain about feeling crummy and how I would never, ever have any more children.

I cried after she left. However, I also found within myself a renewed energy to face the difficult weeks full of nausea that were still ahead.

This year Mom and Dad came together once again, and we had great food, watched some great football (go Ducks!) and baseball, and even enjoyed a rare sunny Oregon fall day.

Needless to say, I am so, so happy to be here in 2009 with Henry making me smile and fall more in love with him everyday as opposed to there in 2008 when he mostly just made me run to the toilet.

To all you nursing mamas

2009-10-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading The Birth House, by Ami Mckay (thanks Ilene for the recommendation), which was a good read except for the fact that I think it diverged a bit too much from the birth stories that it promised to tell. The few birth stories it shared were fascinating and I love, loved all the references to the natural remedies used in the older days.

In the story, Miss B is the resident midwife and healer of sorts in the small Nova Scotia village who has a vast knowledge of herbal tinctures for use by women in every stage of their "courses". Her willow book is an encyclopedia of remedies like:

rubbing dill seed oil on a colicky child's belly
sage to help with afterbirth pains, but careful! it dries up milk. brew sage tea when weaning a babe
brew mother's heart with babyberry bark to make a tea to stop excessive bleeding

Being a nursing mama myself right now, I was most interested with the references to the galactagogues: natural agents which promote the secretion and flow of breast milk. I discovered this tea which includes a combination of three galactagogues--fennel, anise and coriander, and have been drinking it daily. It is surprisingly delicious, soothing and promoting healthy lactation for this little chubster:

H1N1?

2009-10-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Whether the actual h1n1 virus really did invade our house is yet to be known; I'm assuming it did on the basis of the high fevers, bad coughs, and congestion that have manifest themselves in my boys for going on 4 days now. This thing is really quite bad.

I did what the CDC requested and kept them home from school, and it has been an interesting week to say the least. James, who has a pretty great immune system and didn't miss a single day last year has now missed three in a row and might even miss the whole week. Jeff mentioned today that the school district attendance numbers have been so wonky that they can't even use them to calculate statistics like they normally do.

I'll say I have never administered so much ibuprofen, tylenol and squirts of anti-bacterial gel in my years as a parent. But surprisingly, having three boys quarantined at home has been calmer, and less stressful than I expected at the beginning of the week when I realized the normal schedule was going to be thrown out the window. I'm sure it is just because they have very little energy to fight with me or each other.

Even stranger than how calm I've been is how the littlest Fuller appears, so far, to be immune to this thing. He's been a bit grumpier and more whiny than usual, but the things that appear to make him grumpy and sleeping bad are not the things that are making the other two grumpy and sleeping bad.

Here's to hoping that this is our one and only rendezvous with the swine and that the youngest and oldests in the family never get it.

Three things. . .

2009-10-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

. . .that completely overwhelm me:

1) the constant clutter of daily living, including, but not limited to: cooking, eating, getting the mail, wearing clothes and sleeping in beds

2) switching out my children's summer and winter clothes and trying to keep all the sizes organized for next year's use

3)the lack of freedom to buy on a whim that comes along with living on a tight budget

. . .that I really love:

1) cooking more soup and comfort food for dinner on cool fall nights

2) college football games every Saturday

3) the peace-of-mind that comes along with making that tight budget really work each month

What are you making?

2009-10-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

When I find myself at the cutting counter, the employees will often ask, "what are you making?" I want to work at a fabric store just so I can ask that very question. I would love to hear what projects people are creating in their heads and piecing together in their sewing rooms.

Sometimes I think I hear creative juices bubbling as women read the pattern books or browse and handle the prints and textures on the fabric aisles. I get a litle giddy when I'm among seamstresses; I always just want to glean a tidbit or two about their technique.

If you ever want to make my day, just ask me what I'm working on--but then again, I might talk too long about it. So as long as you're willing to tell me what project you have in your head or on the cutting table, we could sit and talk about it all day.

It is also for this reason that I want to work at a grocery store. It is, in my opinion, another place where creative juices bubble in the minds of the aisle browsers. If I was a grocery checker I would pose the same question over and over to my customers, "what are you making with all these ingredients?" I also know that 75 percent of them would stare at me blankly with nary an answer to that, because they know that they will be asking themselves that question at dinnertime tomorrow when they realize that nothing they bought will actually make a meal.

So, in case you were wondering, at the moment I am working on a meatball gnocchi for dinner and a diaper bag for my sis-in-law. Thanks for asking.

Little Artists

2009-10-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

So I have discovered that encouraging the budding artists in my house can be a messy endeavor.

If I had a nickel for each time I almost stepped or sat on this:

I would be a very rich woman by now. (I promise I didn't stage that photo)

But I've also discovered that these are the kind of messes I don't mind cleaning up, stepping over or pushing to the side because of the creations and creativity that result.

Garden 2009: part 4

2009-09-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

So it turns out I'm not the worst gardener in the world. Apparently the vegetable varieties I planted this year were just late bloomers. The green beans finally blossomed, as did the yellow squash and one very large butternut squash is now growing on that vine.

It has been a delicious September with this late harvest and the unseasonably warm Oregon weather.

***Oh, and to all who asked, zucchini relish is a delicious condiment introduced to me by a lady in my ward last year. I found the recipe she uses and I used this year here. It's easy to make, a great way to use up all your zucchini, and is delicious on hot dogs and mixed into tuna.

Handmade birthday

2009-09-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my sweet little Owen turned four.

I really wanted to make a something special birthday gift to give him, inspired, as usual, by soulemama, whose little girl also turned four this month and received a handmade quilt from her mama. Since a quilt was a bit ambitious for my skills and the little time I had to sew, I settled for something quicker and smaller.

I actually give the credit for this idea to Jeff, who thought it up during an evening brainstorming session with me four nights before the actual birthday.

You see, our Owen is a lover of all things Thomas the Train, which, at first I hated, and now I love because during the past two years of his collecting, I have seen the genius in this wooden train set that began in 1945 as a series of stories written by Rev. Awdry for his grandson, Christopher.

Anyone familiar with Thomas will know that all the useful engines rest at night in a sort of roundhouse called Tidmouth Shed. Jeff's idea was to construct a version of Tidmouth shed in which Owen's engines could rest for the night.

Here is the plastic version that is for sale:

And here is my version:

The best thing about sewing this little project is that Owen helped me choose the fabric and then promptly forgot about it, which made the opening of the birthday gift that much more fun when he saw his fabric choice sewn into something which hopefully will turn out to be, as Sir Topham Hatt would say"very useful indeed."

wah, wah, wah, wah, wah

2009-09-18T15:41:00.001-07:00

To all those people who told me that third children are more calm, sleep through the night quicker, lay there and entertain themselves amidst the chaos of the household more than the first two did: thanks for the warning, but Henry didn't get the memo.

My first two children were pretty fussy. Especially Owen. One of the memories I have of him as a baby is a 2-year-old James yelling in his face, "STOP CRYING!!"and me not even reprimanding the yelling because I felt the same way. The poor kid cried all the time and we just learned to deal with it.

The other night I heard Jeff say to Henry in the middle of a major crying meltdown, "you sure aren't a very easy third baby", and I would have to agree. Luckily, we are 3-for-3 on fussy babies so we sort of know how to deal with it. It's exhausting, but we'll look back on it soon enough and realize what a short time it really was. And the smiles we get in between the crying are precious and sweet, so we can't really complain too much.

**the picture above is of Henry with his cousin, Bradley, only two weeks older, and thankfully for his parents, my brother and sis-in-law, NOT such a fussy baby.

A new item

2009-09-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

Last week a faithful customer asked me to make her a couple of lunch bags out of plain canvas with a velcro top. I added a piece of vinyl to the bottom inside to catch any spills and after they were done, I thought they would be a great addition to my shop.

And so, here is the official unveiling of a new permanent item to limabeanhome.

Harvest Time

2009-09-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

Harvest time has been good to us this year. Many people have been very generous in the sharing of their produce, and the free blackberries all over town and the neighbor's plum tree hanging over my fence in the backyard have kept me busy. Every year I want to do something with all the plums, and this year I have finally been able to turn them into fruit leather and prunes thanks to the dehydrator.

Next on the list is salsa, zucchini relish, peaches and applesauce. The canner will be tired by weeks's end.

Oh, and that's not my picture by the way. I found it and was just intrigued by what kind of weird junk these people are putting in their jars and canning.

Just FYI

2009-08-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

The nasty rodent was shot and disposed of. We don't have a gun, but luckily we have some friends that do and were happy to use it.

We also discovered how the little fellers were getting in--a fencepost that looked just fine but actually was loose at the bottom. Jeff nailed it back together and the dead nutria's buddy hasn't been back since.

The trap worked. . .

2009-08-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

. . . .but now what do we do with this nasty little tomato thief?

About 11:30 last night I thought I heard the trap snap shut, but I was too scared to go out and look. Then at 3:30 I was up feeding and thought I heard Owen crying. I went into his room but the boys were sound asleep, and that's when I realized it was actually the nutria crying.

Jeff woke up and put on his head lamp to check it out, and ran back inside when he realized these dudes travel in pairs. He put his shoes on and got a shovel to scare the other one away, but couldn't ever find it again.

Imagine the excitement this morning when I told the boys to go check the trap. I sent James outside with the camera to prove that it was really there because I couldn't bring myself to go out and look it in the face. When I think about that disgusting animal sitting in that trap out there I get sick to my stomach. I get even more sick when I think about how we're going to get rid of it. I suppose we could just leave it to starve in that cage, except if we're going to catch his buddy we need it to be empty before tonight.

Luckily, Jeff has been volunteered to deal with it. I don't see myself even going into the backyard today. Poor husband--he doesn't even like tomatoes.

Tomato thief

2009-08-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the saddest thing that happened in my garden was not actually the premature picking of the butternut squash. In fact it is what happened to my tomato plants.

See for yourself the carnage:

I feel a little bit like I've been punched in the stomach--by a nutria. Somehow a tomato-loving nutria has found its way into our yard multiple nights in a row and ransacked my tomato plants. After these several months of caring for them so carefully, gently, waiting so patiently for the blossoms to turn into fruit, this disgusting rodent comes and nullifies all my work AT HARVEST TIME, no less, with his rotten little chewer. Ew. I am so angry.

This was one plant before nutria:

And after:

So we borrowed a live trap from Tom and Tara and Jeff set it up tonight. I am scared to death to think it actually might catch this little nasty and it will be thrashing around in that cage tomorrow morning. We'll see if it works.

My parents have deer at their house eating their flowers, fruit and veggies and are constantly frustrated by the situation. My dad told me he wants to throw rocks at any deer he sees. At first I thought he was just mean. Now I get it.