Finding Balance.

Again, time passes and it seems as if there's no tangible record of all that has happened during this first month of January. My thoughts have been like a pool of water in a state of unrest, hitting one side, causing ripples until the wake hits the other. Back and forth, back and forth.

This month has proven to be quite a balancing act between meeting the needs of our home, my relationship with HD, being mom to Zea, easing back into work and squeezing in personal time. Each area seems to have its unique challenges in keeping the peace, propelling it forward, or making sure it gets accomplished. Just when I feel things have been figured out, out of nowhere something comes to upset the routine and turn it all upside down.

For example, this month Zea has started a Parent/Child class in the Waldorf Method (our preferred educational philosophy). Once a week, HD and I, attend the class with Zea to see the method in practice and chat with other parents to get a better understanding of how to implement the theories at home. This has been our darling girl's first regular interaction with other children outside of Sabbath School. After attending three classes, Zea got sick replacing our perfect Thursday harmony with dissonance.

Another example is getting back to work. I love, Love, LOVE my line of work. Although my original plan, prior to coming into motherhood, was to abandon my job and embrace my "new path", I missed supporting mothers and thought I would gently ease into working. Well I eased in as gently as a whale rolling into a swimming pool this month.

In addition to giving prenatal tours of Labor and Delivery I was able to witness three mothers as they experienced the rite of passage of becoming a mother. This is INCREDIBLY exciting for me, when I'm with them, but it can become a logistical nightmare before I get there. I am soooooo blessed that HD's schedule is currently flexible enough to stay most of the time with Zea, and even more so to have my mother and mother-in-love nearby to step in when we are both unable.

So, here's to an even more unpredictable 2nd month of 2010.

Although you are short, February may you be absolutely unforgettable.

Brief Thanksgiving Re-cap. . .

. . . Now that Christmas is almost here.


This is where we went. . .


This is what we ate. . .


This is how good it was!


And of course there was pie!!!

The Happy Homemakers Have a Ball

So what does one do with all those apples? Well the Happy Homemakers were on it.

If you told me five years ago that I would take pleasure in spending my Saturday night over steaming apples and getting sticky fingers, I would have thought you were out of your mind. But that's exactly what we did. And we were excited about it. There was even brainstorming about how this could become a cottage industry.











After washing and quartering about half the apples we set them to steam for a bit. Next, we put the through this glorious machine, a Victorio strainer and turned the crank. Almost like magic we had perfectly delicious hot applesauce!



This magnificent contraption separates the cores and skin of the apples leaving behind the yummiest substances yet to be purchased in a store.

Needless to say, I am very covetous and would LOVE one for my upcoming birthday. Not only does it make perfect applesauce but also, tomato sauce, peach sauce and baby food, among other things.

We also added other yummy things to our applesauce such as raspberries and peaches to make delicious blends.


When we were all done, clean up was a breeze with the help of Happy Homemaker Husband, Jason, who graciously replaced our broken dishwasher after living without one for two years.


We ended up with a ton of applesauce that I thought may just last forever.

Now, a mere four weeks later we've already downed more bags that I can count, it's just THAT good.

Apple Princesses!!!!

We had the pleasure of having the Musgrave family come for a visit a couple weeks back. We had a blast!! On the Thursday of their visit, while Sydney and her dad went on a date, the mommies took the babies to pick apples.



We also picked raspberries (berry field pictured above.)

Well, what do you get when a one year old and almost one year old go picking? Lot's of baby bites in apples. (Baby Bites, a possible name for our future business.)


They were expert apple tasters. And we enede up with more than a few apples that had little nibbles taken out of them. But these ladies were generous in their apple eating.

They enjoyed riding together, although it was short lived.

It ended when Zealand stood up and tipped the wheel barrow over and the two of them fell out. We ended up picking about 115 lbs of apples, I was just a little over enthusiastic about picking apples. Stay tuned to read about how the Happy Homemakers Had a Ball!