Hmmmm: It's been a while!

I've been meaning to update this for quite a while now, but we've been waiting and waiting for some news regarding Blake's job and potential career changes, etc., and we're sort of still in limbo. So I'm going to update briefly anyway, and when we know more about Blake, I'll post again!
What have we been up to lately?

Well, we went and visited Blake's grandparents in Coolidge a couple weekends ago, which was fun and relaxing. Rory loves to see them, and they adore her to pieces. I have pictures, but can't find my camera cord, so they'll come later too.

Last night (this isn't going in order, apparently), we heard Tom Woods speak at NAU on nullification, which was really awesome. I've learned so much about government and politics since marrying Blake, so I was really excited about hearing him speak!

Rory and I were both sick for a week, which was a drag. But it's nice to be healthy again and to have a healthy little baby. We rested and snuggled a lot, and came out fine!

We've been enjoying the sunshine by going on pleasant walks through our hilly neighborhood, which makes both babies (Aurora and her cousin) very content.

Today is Rory's 10 month birthday! I'm starting to plan her first birthday party and marveling at where the time went. She's pretty and smart and sweet and goofy and just a little delight. It's so fun watching her grow into a little person!

Coming up: My brother's wedding over Easter weekend in Logan, Ut (with a mini-shower for my sister and her due-in-June baby girl), camping in our ambulance (more on that another day), baby showers for friends, the end of the scholastic year (which means the end of mops and babysitting), Blake's birthday, and a full month in June.

We've been busy, but we're having such fun!

Things

Things That Make Me Shudder:
1. Radish root-tails
2. The canned-meat section of the grocery store
3. Carpeted bathrooms
4. Obnoxious church signs
5. Parenting Magazine

Things That Make Me Delighted:
1. Clean snuggly babies
2. Tullys Kona Blend
3. Clean snuggly spousey
4. Composting*
5. My chronological Bible

*It's possible to take composing too far: yesterday, after discovering bellybutton lint from an anonymous source, I exclaimed: "We should compost it!"

St. Patrick's Day stresses me out. Do I wear green just to conform? How much green? Too much makes it look like I care too much, and not enough means I still might get pinched. Or do I just not wear green at all to show my indifference? But I don't want to get pinched. And I like green. St. Patrick's Day stresses me out.

My Irish mother in law makes corn beef and cabbage every St. Paddy's. And each time, I thank God this day only comes once a year. I was complaining to Blake last night: "Does anyone actually like that stuff? Haven't the Irish contributed something of greater culinary superiority than corn beef and cabbage?" Blake paused. "I like it." Go figure. My picky, particular husband likes corn beef and cabbage. At least it's almost always followed by something chocolate-mint, which happens to be my favorite flavor combination in the world. And Irish music.

It's St. Patrick's Day. I wish I could hide inside all day and eat Andes mints.

A Girl and her Dad and Some Cookies

Maybe it's just me being a paranoid first time mom, but I have very little confidence in Rory's chewing ability. Sure, she's got a couple pearly whites, but I still think of anything that's not A. the consistency of applesauce or B. rapidly dissolveable  as off-limits for her. This is the flawed mindset that is the root cause behind "The Cookie Incedent."

Blake, a man after my own heart, has a profound fondness for Thin Mint girl scouts cookies. Knowing this, and delighting in delighting him, I bought a couple boxes from two surprisingly cute little scouts outside of Safeway. We were on our way to the Flag airport to pick up a rental car, and had been out running errands for about an hour. By the time we had acquired the car and were on the freeway heading for Satchmos BBQ for dinner, dear little Rory's patience was running out. Rory enjoys boxes, so I deftly sealed up a (open, of course) box of Thin Mints and reached back to hand it to her. Blake was instantly alarmed: "You gave her the Thin Mints?!?!" "It's fine," I assured him. "The box is closed, and she wouldn't know what to do with them anyway." Blake glanced worriedly in the rear view window, but trusted my judgment. All was well. For about a mile. Until we heard an awful sound:

"Mmmmmm. Mmmmmmm."

Panic. "I can't pull over! Is she- she can't be! The Thin Mints!"

"But she can't even chew them!" I protested desperately.

I strained my arm back to pull from her grasp a half eaten Thin Mint. I held it up for Blake's mournful eyes to see. Peering at the backseat, my heart sank when I saw the whole package spread across her lap, each cookie out of my reach. The rest of the trip consisted of me reaching back every minute or so to take the current soggy, bitten cookie from my baby's hands. With each loss she'd wail, then comfort herself with more mint chocolatey deliciousness. When we reached our destination, she was a sticky brown mess. As he paper-toweled off Rory's face, my husband graciously did not criticize my poor decision. In fact, I believe he was rather proud of his offspring's fine taste in cookies.

But I notice he hasn't offered to share the rest.

Crazy Life

The last week or so has been a whirlwind. We left for Palm Springs on Sunday, Grandma's service was Monday, and we were on the way home Tuesday. Rory was a trooper in the car, and was such a good little baby the whole time there. It was great to see family and to see Grandma so honored by a lovely service.

As soon as we got back, Rory had her 9 month checkup. She's still long and lean, healthy and smart and sweet. The next day, though, she came down with a nasty cold and has been sick and sad the last few days, and we've been laying low at home. The weather here in Flag is gorgeous, and I've got gardening on the brain! Since it's spring break this week and I don't have to babysit, I'm going to start preparing the garden for planting! I'm also ordering a few fruit trees tomorrow, which I'm super excited about! Time to find out if I have a green thumb...

We celebrated my birthday by hosting a cookies and milk tasting party for a bunch of friends. We had 6 different kinds of cookies (Lemon-raspberry sandwiches, chocolate-mint dipped oreos, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, peanut butter monster, and funfetti) and lots of organic milk with chocolate, strawberry, and caramel syrup for mixing in. It was a lot of fun- we have such good friends!

Since we had to stay home from church today due to Rory's ailment, and Blake had to work, I spent the morning turning 6 pounds of organic apples into freezer applesauce- it turned out really delicious! Then, it was time to tackle the 9 fresh organic pineapples we got from Bountiful Baskets yesterday- they were the perfect ripeness and needed dealing with today. I filled my dehydrator up, then flash froze a bunch for smoothies, and the rest is chunked fresh in the fridge for snacking. My mouth already hurts from eating it, but it's so good I can't stop!

I have a to-do list a mile long for this week, and am praying for disciple and great productivity!

Rory and me on my birthday

At Cafe Ole for a birthday lunch

Snickerdoodles

Monster and funfetti

Milk bar

At Grandma's service

Aurora with Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Matt and her unborn cousin!

Today

Today- I began composting.
Today- I lovingly steamed and pureed fresh organic snap peas, only to have them unceremoniously spewed out by my unimpressed baby (even mixing in applesauce would not convince her).
Tomorrow- we'll stick to applesauce.
Today- I made my husband beef jerky.
Today- I designed a logo for said husband's new business.
Today- I shopped for houseplants.
Tomorrow- I'll pot said plants.
Today- I cooked three meals, finished a book, made phone calls, worked on plans for the garden, took care of two babies, showered, boxed up fall decorations (don't ask), made two separate to-do lists (and a packing list), played with Rory, added six things to the get-rid-of pile, took out the recycling, made the bed, drank a cup of coffee, did the dishes three times, earned a few swagbucks, and updated this blog.
Tomorrow- Repeat. With a few variations.

But really, I love love love being a housewife and mom. I think I get more satisfaction from these duties than the most prestigious job in the world could offer me. Even though I'm tired, sore, and annoyed that Rory doesn't like peas, I'll chalk it all up to another good day!

Reflections on Good-byes

There are times when we turn our backs in the kitchen and someone whisks the soup to the dining room before we can finish seasoning it; we’re left dumbfounded, gripping the spices in our hands and knowing the soup is good but could have been better. These are the moments when our intentions cease to matter and become “what-could-have-beens.” There is a temporary end to every relationship this side of Heaven, and so often these ends are frayed and dangling- “But I never…” “But we didn’t…..”. God said, “Done.” And it was. Left to mull over the “if onlys,” it is too easy to question the goodness of God- because it’s either that or questioning our own. How many times was brusqueness offered instead of kindness? Disinterest instead of care?

My grandma left this world on Sunday. It was a day I’d been expecting for years, the death of my first grandparent. She had been ill, but it happened much sooner than we all expected. She lived in another state, but was always such a presence in the lives of all her grandchildren. I am so grateful     looking back at the quarter century we spent together with precious few regrets. I intended to call her Saturday but bumped it to Sunday’s to-do list, and though I lost that one chance to say “I love you,” I made it a point to call often. We never did go to Paris together (something she had spoken of to me many times), but I was always more interested in Spain anyway, though I never had the heart to tell her that. No, there are very few regrets, and quite a few lovely memories. Grandma saw me married (she thought Blake was quite cute, and openly (if not tactfully) hoped that our baby would get his hair genes). She held my first child. Was I ready for this day? Not at all.  But our Lord is as sovereign as he is good, and anything I would have told Grandma that last almost-phone call can surely wait the short sweet time until I see her again.

An Aussie Shower

Marti F. and I planned an awesome Outback themed shower for our friend Samantha and her new baby Hannah! Sam lived Down Under for five years, so we determined an Australia theme was the way to go; it had its challenges, but we were up to it! I think the Outback would make an adorable nursery theme too, by the way... Here are some pictures!

We served breakfast "joey pouches"

Also on the menu: "curried cuckaburra salad"

Some guests, along with koala balloons and kangaroo paper chains

Koala "bear claw" pastries

We put kiwis in the punch to make it Australian, although I think really it's more of a New Zealand thing.

Sam's sister holding Hannah, and Sam in her "G'day" shirt!

My mother in law made this little platypus!

My Funny Valentine...

I love Valentine's Day. I love any excuse to celebrate my hubbycakes and our mutual commitment and affection. Generally we go all out, meaning the day will include some sort of special meal (probably take out BBQ from Satchmos this year) and of course, gifts! I'm super excited to give him his awesome present, but I can't say what it is here since he periodically checks this blog. So, here are a couple ideas for really cool Valentine's gifts for those of you who are (wealthy) procrastinators:

Personalized Tree Stump Cookies! 
I saw these on Etsy, and since I've always loved the initials-carved-into-a-tree-trunk romanticalness, I think they're just super!

 

And from the same seller, mustache cookies! Even men who do not themselves sport facial hair seem to have an innate fascination with it, so these mustache cookies would cry "I understand and appreciate your manly heart!" to your guy:

And since I'm on a browsing Etsy kick this morning, what guy wouldn't love these:

A gift that nods at a passion for sailing and books? I think yes!

And, just in case he surprises you with a fancy dinner out, you can present him with one of these nautical-inspired ties:

I think travel mugs are generally pretty girly, so how about sending him out the door with his morning coffee in one of these masculine receptacles ? They're hand carved out of ash and maple, and the seller offers other varieties!

Perhaps you've found some inspiration here today! Or maybe you've had Valentine's Day taken care of for weeks. How are you going to celebrate (or not) this year?

A Coffee Caper

A strange and amusing thing happened today. It began at Christmas when my husband gifted me a lime green Keurig one cup coffee maker, which I adored from the moment I set eyes on (and continue to adore every morning when I drink from its goodness). I love having a cup or two in the morning, but it seems so silly to go through the effort of brewing a pot when I'm the only one home, and then the leftovers sit there for days and days and get gross- I always hold out for someone to drink them, and nobody ever does; the mini Keurig has been perfect. The only downside to my darling machine is that (until Blake bought it a mini filter for ground coffee) it takes little coffee pod things, called "K-Cups," which could "roast" our budget if we were to consume too many a day (while not exactly "grounds" for divorce, it could cause Blake to regret his thoughtful gift).We found them for the best price at Amazon, and I ordered enough to last a couple months. I waited all day last Friday for the delivery, to no avail. By Saturday I was frustrated, so I checked the order status and found that they had indeed been delivered, and "left at the front desk." There's no way on earth dropping a package on our porch could be considered "left at the front desk," so I emailed the mix up to Amazon and they replied that my K-Cups were likely gone forever and they would send some more right away. End of story.
Until this morning.... the doorbell rang and to my shock, a uniformed police officer stood there, patrol car in the driveway. She peered at me: "Are you Brittany Bowen?" Gulp. I confessed that I was, and she smiled and presented me with a cardboard box. "This was delivered to the station last Friday. By the time we had investigated it for explosives and contaminants it was too late to bring it to you. So here you are!" I guess if you want your lost mail returned to you, better pray it ends up at the police station, by one means or another!