Fall Traditions

The snow flies November 1.  Our Halloween tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day, and then the forecast looks like Winter.  (It could warm up just for a little while though, I suppose.  I hope.)

Why must Fall be so short?  It is the best season of the year, after all.

So far, we have enjoyed the season though...starting school, apple picking, canning & freezing Summer produce, jumping in the leaves (not at our house though...we have no trees), raising baby chicks, visiting the pumpkin patch, and more.  There are still things left to enjoy, such as celebrating Halloween, All Saints, All Souls, and Thanksgiving.  And of course, Fall is the season for babies.

Papa Murphy's Jack-o-Lantern Pizza - a must have every year!

Apple cider on pumpkin carving night!

Pumpkin carving - the kids think they're doing something exciting...but really Charlie and I do all the work!  haha

 These last waning days of Autumn, we are going to stay busy and enjoy the season.  All too soon my little one will be in arms, the Advent wreath will make it's appearance, and we'll all be donning our snow boots!

Hey!  My wood burning stove is almost done!  We need to add some decorative touches to the pad, and install the piping, and then we'll have a nice toasty winter!

Tonight's pumpkin bread - it was SO hard to put 3/4 of it in the freezer for post-baby days!  My recipe came from friends of Charlie's family, it's in a sweet cookbook that my dear Aunt C made for me when I first got married.  I LOVE it - it's full of the recipes that the women in my life treasure.  (Also, can I just say that the Goldtouch loaf pans from Williams-Sonoma are the BOMB?!)

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

 ~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~The "Getting Ready for Baby" Edition  {Pretty}

I always think that clean and organized cloth diapers are pretty.  Baby Joe's diapers are all washed and ready for him!  I realized, though, that I'm going to need to purchase a few more.

{Happy}

 

It made me really happy to see all these sweet baby boy clothes, clean and folded, ready to go to his dresser.  These are the fun parts about preparing for a new little one!

{Funny} 

 

I should be posting pictures that fit in to our current season - things like our trip to the pumpkin patch, hot chocolate for the first snow, and all of our outdoor projects.  Funny enough, though, I'm also doing things like wrapping Christmas presents, boxing them up to be shipped, and addressing holiday cards.  I'm done for now, until the next batch of gifts arrive next week, then all I'll have left is shopping for my own children.

  

{Real}

A corner of my bedroom is currently holding clean and prepared items for the homebirth...sheets and towels, clothes for the baby, blankets, and the medical supplies that came in my birth kit.  This is real, and happening soon.  (What a different prep than for a hospital birth!!!)

 {BONUS: Super Cute!}

I just liked this picture of my sweet Fina.  She's enjoying her last days as the "baby," but I think she's going to love being a big sister!

*Disclaimer: All these photos were taken on my iPhone...please forgive their poorer quality!!

 

Christmas Stocking Fun

It's a cold and dreary day here.  I can't even see the mountains out my front window, due to the fog and cloud cover.  Days like this make me crave hot chocolate and Christmas music (unless it's Springtime, then days like this just put me in a bad mood).
There's a lot on my mind these days, not the least of which is Christmas preparation.  Really, it's one of the things I must be on top of, due to this baby coming any time now.  I can't go out shopping, or I might not feel like doing a ton of wrapping, and Christmas cards will be last on my list of priorities when there are fleeting moments of newborn-ness to enjoy.  So, on my massive list of things to do before this baby is born is as much Christmas prep as possible.
Almost all my shopping is done, except for my own children and husband (which is easy compared to the rest).  Tonight I plan on wrapping gifts for extended family/friends and preparing the boxes, so all that I have to do come December 1 is look at my husband sweetly and ask him to drop them at the Post Office.  Advent activities are planned and prepped.  Everything else will go by the KISS rule: Keep It Simple, Stupid. 

One of my big purchases this year has been matching, embroidered, classic stockings for the family from Pottery Barn.  (Maybe next year, the tree skirt?  Eeek, that's a painful number, but isn't it lovely?) As time goes on, and more little people join our family, I would like to have something that we don't have a problem adding on to - and cute embroidered and decorated stockings are hard to match.

I love stockings.

Have I written about this before?  I almost enjoy preparing the stockings MORE than I enjoy preparing the "big" gifts for my family.  There's something so thrilling to me about finding fun little surprises to fill them up.  In our family, we celebrate St. Nicholas day on December 6th, and I know that many families use that day for stockings.  We don't do that, for St. Nicholas day, I fill up shoes with candies, chocolate coins, and clementines, and give the girls a book.  And even though we don't play "Santa" at our house, I still can't resist the beauty of the stockings.

What do you like to fill your stockings with?

Charlie's family would get fun travel sized toiletries, and in my family we got mostly candy as I recall.  One thing I am always sure to do, though, is wrap everything.  Except the orange in the toe.  Kids love unwrapping on Christmas, and so I love making the effort to wrap everything up for that tiny bit of joy.

Here are some of my favorite stocking stuffer ideas:

• an orange in the toe (I might use clementines too - my kiddos love them, or for more advanced tastes, a pomegranate)
• nuts in the shell (I got a specific request for pistachios from my 7-year-old this year!)
• large chocolate bars wrapped in white paper and decorated to look like a snow man
• drawing supplies: pens, pencils (smencils were a hit last year), crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc.
• Christmas ornament - this way they have a good collection of their "own" ornaments when they (sniff!) go off on their own some day
• Candy and snacks I would never otherwise allow: bubble tape, individual boxes of sugar cereal, fruit snacks, Little Debbies, etc
• Accessories and hygiene products: hair bows, headbands, rubber bands, cute bobby pins & barrettes, tooth brushes, chap stick (I always regret this!), soaps, bath loofas (another huge hit last year), fun bandaids
• Food stuff for Charlie: I always put in a big bottle of hot sauce, either  Cholula, or Tobasco, or this year maybe his favorite, Chipotle Tobasco & bubbly water
• Treats from the bulk section of the grocery store: yogurt covered pretzels, gourmet coffees, fun/unique candies (my favorite are the dates rolled in coconut! and real anise licorice bits! - but only I like those...)
• Books on CD & Glory Stories (I download these on MP3 and put them on CD) as well as movies on DVD (these can be had CHEAP on Amazon anymore, due to Netflix and the like I suppose)
• Nature items: nature guides (rocks, trees, animals, flowers, etc), audubon birds (Gab my nature lover will get one of these for sure), magnifying glass
• Small toys: Toobs, doll house and play kitchen accessories, card games (UNO, for example), Manhattan Groovy Girls dolls (we like the mermaids and princesses, they get every day play here- but avoid the ones who might have questionable clothing) - obviously I'm missing a huge demographic here - the boys!  I don't have any yet, so I'll need some tips for next year.  ;-)

I like to put a few things my own stocking too.  My mom and I trade stockings some years, but when we don't, I will put some little things in that I need or want such as nicer quality makeup, dark chocolate, or nail polish. 

When I have a baby, I put in pacifiers, sippy cups, biter biscuits, or other things along those lines.  If I don't include everyone (babies and myself, mostly), my girls make comments!

Homemade items often make their way in as well - cookies, embroidered Saint dolls, knotted rosaries, etc.

This isn't an exhaustive list, and of course I don't put ALL of this in each year, but they are some ideas I have floating in my head right now for a family of small girls, a baby boy, and some parents. 

And hey!  No pressure!  Only 60 days until Christmas!! ;-)

Home Improvement

Charlie and I seem to be suffering from a severe form of couples nesting.  This goes way beyond cleaning.

Here are some home improvements we've been working on:

• installing a gas cook top and double oven in the kitchen (rather than the lame electric range)
• creating a brick fire pad in the living room and installing a wood burning stove 
• new curtains, rug, and some new decor for the living room
• hopefully some new living room furniture, we'd like leather (this depends on a big sale this weekend- but it looks promising)
• painted the girls bedroom, Charlie built them (yes!  from scratch!  by hand!  he's the man!) new bunk beds, in the process of getting some new decor and redoing their bathroom too - oh and we need 2 more twin mattresses  (Charlie building the beds saved us over $100 just from having to buy the cheapest sets of bunk beds at Ikea.  Amazing.  And his are WAY more sturdy.)
• hopefully new bedroom furniture for our room - we have found a set we are just in love with on Craig's List, and as long as things go as planned, we pick up next weekend 
• a complete redo of Joe's room - I'm sewing curtains and a crib skirt, we got a double bed and bedding, and plan to move our current dresser in as well (and convince Fina that she WANTS to sleep in the big girl room now!)
• The Garage
• chicken coop

It's a lot!  But we are making a lot of progress!  This weekend, Charlie's friend N came up to help him with a bunch of stuff.  They've specifically been working on the garage (getting close to finished, finally!), and the new fire place.  We've also had some awesome help from the guys around here, too.  Last night, I cooked a huge turkey dinner (had to get that turkey out of my freezer!) and then they spent over and hour perfecting measurements, followed by cutting into my wood floors (that was nerve-racking), and getting started.  We all stayed up late while the men worked on building the fire place, and enjoyed fun music, a glass of wine, and at the end of the night some low key fireworks just for kicks.

I feel so blessed that we can tackle these things before the baby gets here.  Once he's here...life should slow down.  We'll take a break from school, and enjoy the new baby, Thanksgiving, and Advent at a slow pace.

In the mean time, I'm pulling my weight in weird-pregnant-lady-nesting and cleaning all the time.  I had to force myself to sit down just now...it is Sunday after all!

Three weeks until he's due!  And only a matter of weeks until the snow flies, too.  Time to wrap all this up!

Mothering Hens

"We'll catch that hen, " said Betsy, "and keep him in a box.  And whenever we get hungry, he can lay us an egg."

So Betsy called, "Here chickabiddie, chickabiddie!  Here chickabiddie, chickabiddie!" just as she had heard her Uncle Edward do. -Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

We spent our day today out in the beautiful Fall weather, watching Charlie and crew work on the garage, herding the chicken flock around the front yard, and doing math work out on the porch.  It's days like these that I am ever so grateful to be homeschooling.  What little girls wouldn't rather be mothering hens (haha), hanging out with their daddy, and doing school work in the sunshine than sitting in a classroom?  What joy.  

And, as you can imagine, we're loving our current read-aloud, Betsy-Tacy, the above passages had all of us in stitches!  (Betsy & Tacy, in chapter 4, refer to both hens and cows who produce milk as "he.")

The chicks are huge now, no?  Each of the girls have a different preferred hen; Colette is cradling her favorite, an Aracauna, named "Puffy Cheeks," in the photo above.

I hope this lovely season is going just as beautifully for you as well, dear readers.

V. 13 - 7 Quick Takes

1. No!!!!!
It snowed last night.  I am sitting here, drinking my coffee, and gazing out the window at a light dusting of snow.  I am not happy about this.
It seems like just yesterday was Memorial Day and we were practically having a blizzard!!!  Snow in the Winter is delightful, but I do not welcome it in the Fall and Spring.  Go away snow, we still want to play outside.

2. Baking Fun
Maybe I brought this weather on, with all my inspired Fall cooking. ha  Last night we had a roasted chicken with rosemary potatoes (you really must try this recipe, the potatoes, after shaking them in the pan and covering them with olive oil and kosher salt, followed by baking in the oven next to the chicken - are just heavenly).  And I made a pumpkin pie.  Maybe that's why it's snowing. 
Recently, I've also made these lovely Pear and Ginger Bran muffins.  I really like bran muffins, but my crew didn't get too excited about them.  I'll have to try another version - maybe with banana to make them more moist.
Also, in the oven right now is this Apple Strudel bread, made with apples and cheddar, using the Healthy Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day master recipe.  I can't wait to share it with my family for breakfast with a (second) cup of coffee on this cold morning!

3. 35
I'm 35 weeks today!  Woohoo!  I am so looking forward to this pregnancy being over, and meeting my little guy.  However, I must admit that I am also enjoying the routine of our days lately, which I know will disappear for a while with a newborn.

4. It's Friday!
Friday is such a great day around here, a lighter school load, and of course the weekend on the horizon.  Charlie was traveling all week and just got home yesterday.  I can't wait to have him here all weekend.  Also, I'm looking forward to tackling some more home projects.  Charlie built the girls bunk beds last weekend, so we need to paint those.  We'll hopefully also paint their bathroom, work on a chicken coop, and get started on installing our new wood burning stove.  Now that it's snowing, we're going to need it.  And sewing...I'll be sewing for the baby, which is so good for my heart!

5. Speaking of Chickens...
Our chickens are getting huge!  The chicken coop is a top priority for this weekend, because we've had some brave ladies roosting on top of their waterer and then jumping out of the brooder.  Gabrielle is our resident chicken lady - she feeds and waters them, entertains them, brings them bugs to eat, and captures any escapees.  She also made a sign for their area that says, "Hens, No Roostrs."  Imagine that with backward s's and how cute it is, I love her enthusiasm about animals and her tender heart.  She also does some hilarious chicken impressions and acts out whole stories for me about what she's observed the chickens doing.

6. School Days
I keep meaning to write a post about school these days.  We are already a week into our 2nd quarter of the year, and I'm pretty pleased with how things are going.  Our school room/ play room set up in the upstairs loft has been perfect, because the littler girls can play while we work on school.  The girls are doing great in all their subjects, but I am a little concerned still about Felicity's reading level.  Her comprehension is amazing, and she's acing other related subjects (spelling, handwriting, etc), and for some reason the reading is not easily following.  I may have to switch routes for her, again, starting in January.  She CAN read, she's just not really moving forward with it at the pace I would expect.  Other than that, everything is going great, in fact, I might start Colette with Kindergarten next semester too.  She's ready to participate - but am I ready to be schooling 3 kids?? 

7. Books
Is anyone reading anything wonderful right now?  I have a huge stack of books I'm reading at the moment including The Power and the Glory (for book club), A Light in the Window (for thoughtless reading during soccer practice, I can't concentrate on anything deeper than this while simultaneously protecting the 2-year-old on the monkey bars), Ina May's Guide to Childbirth (yay!), The Wonder of Girls: Understanding the Hidden nature of Our Daughters, The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary, and Great Expectations, via Daily Lit (if you've never seen Daily Lit, you have to check it out!).  Whew.  I can't wait for nap time to pick up on all this reading.

For more Quick Takes, check out Jen at Conversion Diary.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

{Pretty}

Here's my copy of this lovely candle set-up from Pinterest.  It smells amazing and adds so much warmth.

{Happy}

My Felicity loves hot tea, and we often have a cup together in the afternoon...

...it's an inexpensive little treat for her tea, that makes her very Happy!

{Funny}

Charlie is always so sweet and involves the girls in his work.  Here Fina gets to "paint," it was so cute!  (Do not fear, the dried paint color looks MUCH prettier!  I can't wait to post about the girls' bedroom/bathroom makeover!)

 {Real}

This is as close as we'll ever get to a picture of me while pregnant.  The moment was just too sweet to pass up...  Almost time to meet him, little one....

On Homebirth

It's made some people in my life more comfortable with my decision to plan a home birth that I don't really have much of a choice.  My local hospital system (meaning, in my town and in the only other nearby town) will not allow a VBAC under any circumstances; even I, who have had 3 successful VBAC's would be volunteering to get cut if I went the traditional OB route.

But, I would have gone for the home birth no matter what.

Planning this birth continues to strengthen me in so many ways, not the least of which being the remaining hurt from betrayal from my unnecessary cesarean, and all the intrusive medical interventions I've endured as well.  I praise God, and am SO thankful that I have four, healthy and wonderful children.  (Not that their worth is determined by their health, because I would want them and love them no matter what.  But I am thankful that each baby arrived with no issue for them.)  The fact remains though, that two people are involved in delivery - the baby AND the mother.  I matter too.  (Another disclaimer - of course I would give my life or anything necessary to help or save my child, but the fact of the matter is that there are WAY too many "medical emergencies" than there are actual emergencies, if you catch my drift.  It's all about CYA - if you'll forgive the term.)

A sweet friend asked me if I have started to prepare yet, and finally I can excitedly say, YES!

The kit of medical supplies that my midwife requires is on order.

I'm gathering all the wonderful things I'll need before, during, and after the birth.

Nesting is kicking in - I've been cleaning a lot, and tackling a lot of home projects.  It feels like a black hole after the baby, so now's my chance to do some of these things!

I'm starting a list of things to store up in the pantry and freezer for after baby times.

Ina May's wonderful book is on my bedside table, where birth stories, coping strategies, and general enthusiasm about birth envelop me in optimism and strength.

And I pray.  I pray that this will be a peaceful birth, with a side of freedom and happiness.

I trust my midwife and my husband.  I trust my baby.  I trust myself.

Sunrise, Sunrise

Good morning!
I'm watching the sun come up, blogging from my warm cozy bed, and enjoying a cup of coffee.  It's relatively early, at least for my family. (Well, maybe not by the time this actually gets posted!)

I love the quiet of morning, and how dramatic the sunrise is here - watching the darkened hills and mountains turn from blue, to purple, to pink, and then green.  The small handful of birds who have stuck around for Autumn in Wyoming are singing outside my window, and the chickens are so loud that I can hear them out there too.  Other than that, this place is quiet.  When we traveled to Colorado recently, I realized how loud the world around us was, even in a little suburban neighborhood.  The peacefulness here lends itself well to my temperament.  I like quiet.

For years, Charlie worked in ministry and missionary work, which meant late nights.  We all went to bed late, including the children, and got up late.  It was fine for the early days of family life, but I feel so blessed to have this more regular and "typical" schedule where I can finally train myself to be the morning person that I've always wanted to be. 

Charlie needs more sleep than anyone I've ever met.  My girls are all pretty good sleepers too, nobody rises at 4am or anything crazy like that, praise God (I do mean that too, I am so thankful that God gave me children who sleep!).  And, I've been known to send curious girls back to their room with the instructions to not come out until 8AM.  With their bedroom re-do, I'm going to put a nice wall clock in for them!

This affords me the luxury of an early morning alone.

I am an introvert.  And a busy mother, wife, house cleaner, teacher of 1st and 2nd grades, guardian of toddlers, almost-due-pregnant lady, shopper for a household, interior decorator, and office manager of the home - my life is busy.  Blessedly busy.  And loud.

I need time alone.

My maternal grandmother used to get up at 3 and 4 in the morning.  I can remember visiting at her house and hearing her quiet stirrings so very early in the morning.  She was a true domestic diva and an amazing hostess, she was always up to something.  (How I wish that I could call her up now and chat with her about our mutual interests...)  But early in the morning, she enjoyed some needed time alone.  I don't know what she did during that time, other than crossword puzzles - the evidence of which remained by the time all of us finally arose.  What I do know, now that I'm no longer a child, is that her early mornings were not a quirk of her personality but a necessary part of her day and her ability to love and serve her family.

A few weeks ago, I was asked in my comments:

Seriously. How do you deep clean (on a weekly basis) and home school..and cook...and pray...and be sane? I would love to know...as I am trying to figure out this balance every day.

Here is my answer: I don't.  I don't think anybody really does, even though blogland makes it appear that way.  Something has to give every day, especially when all you have are small children and no help.  I've seen a lot of blog posts floating around lately about at-home motherhood and the expectations that we (mothers) and society place on it.  Just because I'm here all day does not mean that I can accomplish everything - but I give it a good shot.

To answer the question, I can't deep clean on a weekly basis.  It's just not possible.  I work very hard to keep the house thoroughly picked up, the kitchen and floors very clean, and the laundry done.  Everything else either gets done when I have a spare moment, when it desperately needs to be done, or with the help of my little girls.  They can't perfectly clean a bathroom, or mop the floors, or scrub the baseboards & doors, but if I let them try they feel important (because they are!) and things are cleaner than they would have been if nobody was doing it.

Homeschooling is a huge priority in our life now that we have school age children and the reality is that with that comes some lower expectations in other areas of life...  Cooking has to just be simple & healthy on a regular basis, and well planned...  Prayer is one of my favorite reasons to wake up early.  I grab a cup of coffee (placed on a timer the night before, I have to plan...), my Bible, my Handbook of Prayers, and my favorite - In Conversation with God.
Honestly, this time for prayer falls by the wayside sometimes.  Being in certain phases of life can do that - end of the pregnancy, new baby, and other transitions are the hardest for me.
Thank goodness, several years ago I picked up The Way, and ever since then St. Josemaria Escriva has been teaching me how to pray through my days, to offer good and thorough work as a prayer, and to love better.  Realistically, in this vocation, I can't always go to every daily Mass, or spend hours in quiet prayer.  My life is not my own.  When I'm a little old lady, I will be there!  But for now, toddlers need naps, children need educating, my husband needs a soft place to fall, and people need to eat and have clean clothes.

  There is time to make a realistic to-do list for the day, to sufficiently caffeinate myself (ha!), and to get dressed before a small army descends upon me to make demands.

Speaking of demands...the first of my little ones is rubbing the sleep from her eyes and has come to snuggle with me.  Time for round 2 of coffee and a full day!

By the time I finished typing, all these little ones arrived to snuggle!  Thank goodness for the webcam on my laptop, or this would be a boring post with no pictures!

The Blessing of Abundance

Recently, I have started participating in a local produce co-op that has been such a blessing to our health and our budget.  As a child, my mom was in a produce co-op and I remember going with her to pick up all the fruits and vegetables - it was so much fun!  I loved being surprised by what she'd bring home each week.  As soon as I found out about the opportunity here, I jumped, despite the fact that I have to drive to the next town over to pick up, which takes about half an hour.  Half an hour never seemed like a big deal before, but when there's nothing between here and there it feels like an eternity!
Anyway, check out what I got this week!

We got: bananas, cantaloupe, kiwi fruit, lemons, pears, concord grapes, lettuce, celery, red & green bell peppers, corn, tomatoes, and 5 loaves of 9-grain bread.

Some interesting things I've got before are mangoes, figs, baby cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and really beautiful plumbs and nectarines, in addition to more typical fare.

(The photo I took this week is of two baskets, and the bread is extra.  I was finding that we were finishing one basket of fruit and vegetables by the end of the week, and the co-op is every other week - it wasn't lasting for us!  So this week I got 2 and ended up with a LOT of certain things to process.)

I chopped the bell peppers and celery to store in the fridge to just make little crudite platters for snacks.  In fact, the girls and I just had lunch and I made a big plate of veggies as a side (I added some sugar snap peas from the store too).  Curiously, the turkey sandwiches and vegetables disappeared long before the small handfuls of potato chips!  So, if I chop it - they will come.  (The good thing, also, is that I often keep bell peppers sliced in the freezer ready for cooking, so if we haven't eaten all of them in the next couple of days, I'll just toss them in the deep freeze!)  I could use some healthy dip suggestions though - anyone?  Anyone?!?  Hummus is always good, but only a few of us like it.  And of course, they love peanut butter with their celery.

I ended up with 4 bunches of celery, in addition to the one I already had; and other than snacks, I wasn't sure what to do with ALL 5 bunches.  In a typical 2 week span, I will make 1-2 dishes that might require celery at most.  So, I went to the Bountiful Baskets Facebook page, asked my question, and got tons of great ideas!  I might make a couple of dishes for the freezer too, while I'm at it, you know with that baby coming and all... ha ha ha

After all that washing and chopping, we moved on to the next thing, which was all the corn.  I ended up just blanching and freezing, as we did a few weeks ago when I had a large batch.  The girls like to help with the shucking, which I find very helpful!

{Even my littlest one likes to help in the kitchen!  In fact, if I'm cooking, you'll often find her sitting on the counter chit-chatting with me.  I love this, and it's proof of how I've relaxed as a parent too.  There was a time in the past when all children were blocked out of my kitchen via baby gates, at all times.  I couldn't handle all the sharp, hot stuff, breakable things, and the flurry of activity in addition to my toddlers.  Thankfully, I've learned how to manage all that and and enjoy the company of my daughters in the kitchen.  There's ALWAYS something every little girl can help with on her own level.}

Obviously, we'll be eating lots of salads (ohhh if you want salad ideas, check out Pinterest! my friends have been posting some great sounding salads that I've been re-pinning like crazy lately!) and fresh fruit, which is pretty normal around here and enjoyed by everyone.  I do have a couple of things that are stumping me though.  Dear readers, do you have suggestions???

First, I have a load of tomatoes.  I don't really like tomatoes, but I can tolerate them in a salad (this is new) if there is balsamic vinegar involved.  I also don't mind them so much if they're cooked, a la sauces, salsas, bruschetta, etc.  I was thinking of making more salsa, because at the rate we're eating it, there won't be any left come Winter!  But if a better idea comes my way, I'll probably run with it!

Second, I have a ton of lemons.  In the last 24 hours, I have had more water to drink than usual, by a lot, because I have lemons.  However, there are so many that I know I can't just use them in my water glass.  I'll probably make some lemon chicken dish, but again, I'd love any other tasty ideas.  A friend of mine here makes some killer lemon curd from the Joy of Cooking, which I do have, but I get sort of scared! Maybe I should just go for it.

Lastly, I have about a dozen pears that are on the verge of going bad.  We can eat them fresh today.  After today, I'm not sure they'll last unless I DO something with them.  My preference would be to freeze in some form or fashion - cooked into a dessert or something for post-baby times, or I guess worse comes to worse, I'll freeze them plain for smoothies.  Either way, I plan to have them in my salad for dinner tonight!



OH, and PS - friends in Texas and Colorado, they have Bountiful Baskets there too!  Check out their website!  www.bountifulbaskets.org  (Readers in other states should look too, there's something like 22 states that have this co-op!)