Wednesday, this little guy came to live with us for a while.
Cute, yes?
He was born on Monday, and is the sweetest little thing! He eats like a horse and everyone loves him.
Even big foster brother loves him a little bit.
So we're feeling pretty blessed around here. And sleep-deprived. And a bit anxious about getting on the foster care emotional roller coaster again. But it will all work out.
The last few weeks have been died-and-gone-to-heaven time for Aiden, at least where tractors are concerned.
First, we had the fair:
Then at the peach orchard:
And finally, at John and Karen's, where his dreams came true and he drove a tractor.
How can we possibly top this experience? Maybe if we let him drive a train. . .
We met up with all our favorite Fodors on Saturday at Scenic Ridge Fruit Farm.
AND they had tractors.
And then we had a picnic.
It was peachy perfect.
Cute, huh?
This is a neighbor's cat. He showed up one day to play with Aiden, and has since come over to hang out every single time we've gone outside.
They play very well together.
We like Kitty very much. He is affectionate, friendly, unafraid of the dog, fun, and companionable. There is only one problem with Kitty.
Kitty thinks he lives here. In our house.
Aiden was in the other room yesterday, while I was doing something else, and he said, "Mommy, Kitty is in our house!" I said, "Oh, no he isn't, honey." And Aiden said, "Yeeahhh!"
So I go back there, and Kitty is, indeed, in our house. Hanging onto the INSIDE of the screen door for dear life. There used to be a SMALL hole in the screen, and since we are planning to replace the entire door soon, we haven't patched it.
Needless to say, replacing the door has jumped to the top of our list of things to do this weekend.
Soooo, I haven't really been around much lately.
We HAVE been doing things. I HAVE been taking pictures.
I have photos from two shoots, including a wedding, to edit. I am dragging my feet. And until they're done, I don't feel like I am allowed to edit and post my OWN pictures. And this is all really stupid, because Editing is No Big Deal, usually. Right now, though, it feels insurmountable. My eyes get twitchy, the boy wants to talk to me JUST AS photoshop finally opens, there is something REALLY important to watch on Shark Week, and I just don't do it.
I am also thinking about why I blog. It used to be fun, a way to celebrate my days and share with my friends. Lately, most the blogs I read are following the trend to Be Useful. To show readers how to do things, be inspiring, make stuff, and be awesome. The voyeur inside misses the days when reading blogs was like reading a real journal or a letter. I don't always want to know how to sew my kid's clothes, grow organic tomatoes, be a super-fun-awesome artist, or how to win friends and influence people. I just want to know how people are doing, what their lives are like. Are all of these bloggers' lives really as lovely and uncomplicated and creative and full-of-wonder as they seem? Because if so, I am seriously missing out on something. My life is a constant balancing act of trying to be a good enough mother, housekeeper, wife, friend, creative person while not losing my temper and my mind.
I guess I'm feeling the pressure to have one of those really cool blogs. My blog is just my web journal. It won't teach anyone how to cook, sew aprons, or take great photos. I'm not disparaging the blogs that do teach those things. I just don't know where I fit in anymore.
Anyone feeling this?
He is surrendered, and now we just have to get the adoption paperwork going and a court date set.
It seems like we've been waiting forever for this! And in a way, we have. I feel relief, great, overwhelming relief. And now I want to sleep for days and I think I'm getting sick. All the anxiety I've gotten used to carrying is suddenly gone, and now I can just. . .collapse.
What a great weekend! Started on Friday, ended this morning, and despite the crazy heat and miserable humidity, my heart is singing! It hasn't felt this July in a long, long time. We have been having big adventures every day, collapsing exhausted in our beds every night, waking up hungry and cheerful. We've been pretty dirty most of the time, sweaty, wet, covered in melted ice cream. The tomatoes are quickly ripening, the Japanese beetles are devouring my roses (we learned to flick them off into a bucket of water. drown beetle, drown!), and soon corn will be appearing at road side stands.
Friends at Dan's Dogs:
Cooling off at the Splash Pad:
Canoeing on the Mohican river
Picnicking and playing:
(photo taken just before epic fall and face plant. the child flipped and flew. it was amazing that he didn't kill himself.)
Then we had ANOTHER picnic. You can't have too many. It's the law.
And you can't be too silly with your friends.
Waiting for the parade to start. Someone was crabby and didn't want to have his picture taken.
This helped:
Then we did yard work. Yay yard work!
And we got really dirty.
Happy Independence Day!
The pick-your-own adventures around here never cease! Yesterday, Heidi and I packed up the boy and some buckets and headed southwest to Moreland Farm to pick what we could pick. This turned out to be black raspberries and red currants, though they also had blueberries ready. We just didn't have time for those yet. It was a lovely drive through the last perfect day of June, and we made it there safely with little incident. This is what awaited us:
He kept running off to play in that tall grass you see behind him. We'd hear him singing and talking and occasionally screaming, because he likes to scream when he's happy.
We learned two important things:
First, a small boy who is just out of diapers must occasionally be allowed to pee outside. It made him so deliriously happy.
Second, when picking berries in a new place, check for POISON IVY. It was everywhere! I think we did enough scrubbing and stuff to get rid of it, but someone (small boy) couldn't keep his hands off his shoes in the car. Fingers crossed.
After we'd picked enough, we went for the prettiest drive in Ohio, on State Rt 95 west towards our next destination, Buckeye Express Diner. The road was winding and quiet, and we passed at least three farms that meet all my criteria for being perfect. We were quite pleased with ourselves and our day at this point. Berries in the back seat, a new adventure, a fun lunch ahead of us. And then, suddenly, we were completely and absolutely LOST. Google maps led us straight to the middle of a cornfield down a trailer park lane, with no 71 or train restaurant in sight! My cell phone had a little red X where the reception bars were supposed to be, and I was too hungry for rational thought. So we ate the cookies that Heidi had thoughtfully brought along and drove around for HOURS (or maybe 45 minutes) until we found the highway and called Chad and asked a clueless lady in the gas station, and then, finally, we found the place.
Boy had pretty much lost his mind by this point. Add a train to that scenario, and I'm surprised we all survived the ordeal.
(No small children were harmed in the creation of this blog post)
We managed to get ourselves home (barely) and then I made a black raspberry crumble and it was fantastic.
The End
The days, that is. Except they are also FLYING by!
Too many pictures? I have MANY more! June is always a surfeit of riches. .
That is what it's been like around here lately!
First of all, that sweet little baby went to live with his grandparents on Thursday. SIGH. We knew it was going to happen, but I am still feeling the loss. He was ours for three very intense weeks, and he has left a void in our lives. Having him made me realize how precious and sweet and all-encompassing newborn babies are, and I really cherish the experience we had with him. On a brighter note, it is looking more and more likely that Little A will be staying with us for good. Just waiting on some things before we'll know for sure.
Here he is, all adorable in the crown he made at the ice cream social at the square.
We've been keeping busy picking berries. And freezing berries. And making jam. And ice cream.
This photo is from last Saturday, but it also represents what we did this morning. I think I could go berry picking every Saturday for the rest of my life if I could. we just can't seem to stay away from berry fields!
I'm falling in love with this baby. Which feels risky and dangerous and rather foolish. After all, I will probably have to give him back. But somebody needs to be in love with him, and I guess that somebody is me. It's been a lot of fun, actually, and not as hard as I thought it would be. The most difficult part has been dividing my time between baby and Little A, who doesn't understand the new deal around here. Although it may be for just a few weeks, I'm grateful for this experience, to kiss his soft skin, smell his sweet little head, hold his little bag-of-flour body, and spend surreal hours with him in the dead of night. It's an honor.
I could also post the shots of him running around in his big boy undies with his pants on his head, but I'll refrain. It was really, really funny.
Strawberry time!
We offered fresh berries in exchange for babysitting to Heidi, and packed up big brother and some baskets and headed out to the berry patch. I love picking berries.
yummmmmmmmmmm
So, since the bebe has arrived at our house, I've missed seeing my other children. The ones who have filled my heart and been my loves for the past four+ years. This was the last time I had with them. Breakfast at Goldie's on a Friday morning, a kindergarten concert, and fun times getting the patio ready for summer. I miss them like crazy.
These twins! Oh, they melt my heart! I love who they've been, who they are now, and who they are becoming.
Little A loved the concert. Clapping and singing!
I love this one too. So tall and lovely and mysterious.
I love it when they think cleaning is a fun game.
It's been almost two weeks since this day–the longest I've been away from them since I went to New Zealand in 2007. And I miss them.
