Just a quick pop-in post! Major appleing going on over here today. Peeling, slicing, cider-ing, lemon water dipping, and flash freezing since 7:45 this morning. My house smells like Christmas, you guys. Come over!! Also, very importantly, we are putting together a Mickey puzzle. Over and over. Some of my favorite moments of being here with Hadley are when I get to watch her work so quietly and intent on something. She's so focused when she's building a tower, or making a "soup", or balancing a wooden chocolate chip cookie on a play spatula. I broke out this Mickey puzzle earlier today when we (I) needed to just sit down for a little while. I'm loving this age so much! And I'm so wiped today! In a happy way. Keeping up with Hadley and doing kitchen projects... I can't imagine a better day.

By the way... HAPPY FALL! It's really, truly here! I'm off to go enjoy it now. Be back soon (tomorrow) with lots more fall-y posts and recipes to tell you about, including my first ever baked oatmeal, chicken chili re-visited, homemade apple cider in a crockpot, how to freeze apples, and Grandma Marian's apple crisp.. now made with a gluten and dairy free variation. :)

From Anonymous:

Summer, would you do a post about how you take care of a baby, go to the gym, make healthy meals, keep your house clean, spend time with your husband and God, get reasonable amounts of sleep, and work on orders every day? My life is pretty simple, but I struggle to accomplish half those things (and my baby won't take a nap by himself so I can't get anything done then). I would LOVE your advice! -Anonymous

Dear Anonymous, The simplest answer is that I don't get all of those things done everyday. And whatever I do accomplish is by the grace of God, because I don't multi-task well and I am not a fast worker. Getting anything done with a baby in the house is a big deal. A super big deal. I know how you feel! Even though my baby is 20 months old, I still feel a surprised success every time Hadley and I are both clean, dressed, and fed.

After I thought about your question and the logistics of my day, here are a few things that came to mind. Some of them may not be useful to you, but will help you understand my day. Keep in mind that this is all just spilling out of my head- the head of a humble, sinful, young mom who has a lot to learn yet. I hope you come away from this post feeling encouraged, and comforted by the knowledge that I don't have it all together, because I don't. :)

1. Taking care of a baby. This is a full-time job. You cannot imagine or remember just how full-time it is until you are in it, but thinking about it any other way is just too hard on yourself. But I can tell you that each new phase will bring more (teeny) windows of time that you will discover without even realizing it. Some days, holding, nursing, and soothing your baby will be your whole day. It's terribly easy to think, All I did today was ___. But seriously, "all" you did today was an amazing task. Don't let the lie sink in that your day was not a success if that was all you did. I fought that lie constantly when Hadley was a newborn, and still do sometimes. I had to ask the Lord for courage and patience to be able to just sit (contentedly, not bitterly) on the couch and nurse or sit on a ball and bounce my baby instead of freaking out about the to-do list I was longing to tackle. When it's time to get into the kitchen, I tend to do a lot of things one-handed while I hold Hadley, and since she was a tiny newborn I've used the iPad to read my bible and other devotional books, make lists, and write emails while we nurse. Also, here's a practical suggestion from Hadley: we bought a season of Little Bear from iTunes and she loves it. I turn on a favorite video when she needs a distraction from teething or if I need to put something in the oven, etc. The iPad and appleTV are a huge help at this house.
2. Gym/Shop Orders. The biggest headway in my day is made in the afternoon, when my husband comes home. I rely on him. His homecoming changes the tone of everything in the house- having both parents around is the best design ever. Grant is a teacher, so he'll get home from work between 3:30 and 4. I love his job for so many reasons, this being one of the big ones. This pre-dinner time is when we are able to process orders, prepare things that need to be shipped, and go to the post office/bank/store. This is also when I go to the gym. A few times a week, all 3 of us will pile into the car and while Grant and Hadley run errands, I run on the treadmill. (My gym membership/insurance agreement requires me to make at least 12 visits to the gym each month, so this is another reason going to the gym actually gets done.) Note: I did not renew my gym membership until after Hadley's first birthday, because I simply didn't have the time or energy for working out during her first year.
3. Making healthy meals. After years of making changes to our groceries, we are at the point where we really have no choice but to make something good to eat. We also don't have a lot of options that are ready in a minute, so I have to plan ahead. Knowing that if I want to eat, I have to plan has made it a part of life that I just roll with. And if all else fails, there's always fried eggs. When the time comes for me to actually be at the stove making dinner, Hadley either plays in the kitchen drawers, watches a video, plays with Daddy, or plays a game on the iPad.
4. Cleaning/Quality Time/Sleep. I do quick cleaning tasks throughout the day with Hadley tagging along (picking up toys, switching laundry, vacuuming, sweeping), but the most efficient cleaning is done after dinner while she is busy playing-- it never fails that when Daddy is home, she becomes much more independent. It's a phenomenon I've heard other moms testify to as well. Hadley goes to bed shortly after dinner and then Grant and I like to fall into the middle of the couch together and either watch an episode of one of our shows or listen to a sermon together. Sometimes we'll just work on our computers though, or I will have some cleaning to do. There's usually a snack at some point and general hanging out/talking. Our house is tiny, so we're very much together all the time and that's the way we love it. We go to bed pretty early, because we can. (And because we've made a habit of it. Grant coaches basketball and has to get up wicked early for practices.)

My advice? It sounds like you are like me, and you really enjoy feeling useful and efficient. Every day you are probably feeling unsure about how successful your day was and feeling burdened by what was left undone. It won't always be like this. And if you are worrying about what you are not accomplishing- stop. Don't worry about anything! :) Try to enjoy this short phase as freely as you can. At the same time, I realize that certain things need to be done for a family to function. My best advice is to let your husband know what things you really wish you could get done and ask him if he could help you. So many of the things I accomplish daily are things that I have shared with Grant and he knows how important they are for me (doing the dishes right away after dinner), so he helps make them happen. This was something I had to learn over and over in Hadley's first year. I thought that since I was a stay-at-home mom I should be able to fulfill every responsibility I could think of that was household-related, and that was impossible. I was so humbled by this. Before I even realized what I needed, Grant was there, offering to help me. He wanted so much to come to my aid and for me to not feel burdened. Now if I could just learn to let him know what I needed! :)

Today is such a blustery Wednesday. It makes me grateful for walls.
I really like it blustery. I love to hear the wind sound angry.
Today the leaves are attacking our house.
Today Hadley woke up extra early and got to hang out with Daddy before he left for work.
Today I took a shower while Hadley watched Little Bear.
Today we ate eggs and bananas.
Today I have navy nails!
Today I sent my twin sister some encouraging words (borrowed from Spurgeon) about life.. and labor.
She's due in one month!!
Today I'm listening to the Harry Potter soundtrack, of course. Because it's fall.
Today the neighbor's tree is the perfect mustard yellow, and it looks great from our front window.
Today I took some quick photos of Hadley's room, to show you.
Today someone was giving away squash in the teachers' lounge, so Grant picked out some for us.
Today Grant will send me emails from school, which are the best.
Today Hadley "helped" me vacuum.
Today I will finish reading Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery.
Today at naptime I raced to the kitchen to wash dishes (as I do everyday) and wipe counters and restock our paper towel holder and make chai and get myself over to the desk to work on things.
Today I'm excited to make some prints to sell.
Today we will play, color, clean, nurse, dance, sing, golf, point to our noses and eyelashes, watch a Pomplamoose music video, read, and hopefully put away some clean laundry.
Today I will email my mom. She just made my banana bread.
Today after school I'm going to the gym. Ellen will probably be on.
And Grant is taking me to a neighbor's garden to pick some free kale!
Tonight I will make a chicken dinner.
Tonight we'll talk about last night's Presidential Debate some more. And watch some news.
Tonight Grant will take tickets at the high school football game. I'm not sure why there's a game on a Wednesday.
Tonight Hadley will be ready for bed around 7:00- which was last month's new development. We still marvel at this.
Tonight we'll make plans for the wedding we're going to this weekend.
All day today I will keep thinking about what a sweet day it is. My husband is coming home right after work, my baby likes to play and sleep, my house is safe. My dishes are done. 
Today there aren't many hard things, but there are some, as always.
But today I'm glad about our ordinary things, both hard and sweet.

are my favorite, I think. We thought about making a quick trip to a city somewhere on President's Day, but both of us have declared that we're really glad we stayed here today.





Today has been one of the days where we stay in and enjoy. We focus on good food and getting chores done. We make smoothies. We have "dinner" at the noon meal. We enjoy the giant snowflakes that fell all day long. We eat soup for breakfast (me. I did that.) We turn on the Harry Potter soundtrack. We make venison stir fry. We fold laundry and run the dishwasher. We bake sunflower seed cookies. We call direct tv about our bill, again (Grant). We take two 2-hour naps (Hadley). We put some chili on for tomorrow. We wonder at how the day passes so quickly when we're all home together all day.

Pretty nice for a Monday in February.

hello, hello, hello!
sorry i've been gone so long.
there has been lots of stuff.
enough said. right? because i've got recipes to share with you and life to update on!

so awhile back someone sent me a formspring asking about the challenges of being a new mom. one challenge i ran into is the concept of "normal." the first few months i had to realize- things are not going to get back to normal. there is a new normal. normal now includes a baby! how awesome is that? and now that we're almost 5 months into it i have reached the point where i've stopped waiting for and wondering what our "regular days" will be like and just started living my day. are you wondering what it's like? okay good, because i want to write it down. someday i will be glad i did.

wake up
somewhere between 5:30 and 7:30 am ish. 
(depending on if Hadley hears daddy leave for early morning basketball practice.)
we bring her upstairs to our room to nurse and sing the good morning song.
while she's eating, i use the iPad for my devotions and a bit of Spurgeon. 
we like to watch dad get ready for school, check facebook, play words with friends.
we'll usually find a good youtube video to watch while mom gets dressed. 
if she woke up on the early side she might go back to her crib for some "finishing" sleep. 
(rare and awesome!)

daytime
we head downstairs for the day.
Hadley hangs out pretty happy on the floor or in her exersaucer for a few minutes while i scamper around the house opening shades, taking probiotics, putting dishes away, washing my face, etc.
i hold her on my hip while scrambling eggs. 
we go to her room to get her changed and outfitted and usually play on the floor a little bit.
we pray about the day, sing our favorite songs.
we walk around and visit all the mirrors in the house, because that is cool.

we spend the rest of the day before daddy comes home singing songs (lots and lots), walking around the house while mommy tries to do one-handed things, nursing, bouncing, blowing bubbles, watching mom eat with much fascination, talking about silly things, looking in mirrors, smiling and sucking on fists, rolling over, getting new diapers, napping in mommy's lap, sitting in the bumbo or 'saucer if mom needs both hands in the kitchen, more nursing, iPad playing, dancing to a pandora station... and then daddy comes home! yay! 

evening
most days daddy has errands to run around town, so Hadley gets to ride along with him. (yay! carseat!) and while they are out and about mommy gets to have both hands to work! 
i put on some jazzy music, clean up the kitchen and make dinner. 
chopping carrots to bing crosby is a fave.
Hadley and Grant get home and the little girl may be taking a cat nap, if the drive was long enough.
we catch a bit of the evening news, talk about our days, eat dinner- most of the time Hadley will sit pretty happily in her bumbo seat on the table with us now, just watching us stuff our faces.


between 7 and 8 pm the little girl gets ready for bed: cleaned up, changed, and pajama-ed in her room. such a happy girl! she loves this time of day. mom and dad do, too. she's super "talkative" and smiley. we sing "goodnight ladies," mommy reads goodnight moon, make ridiculous noises, and play "1, 2, 3, yay!" (daddy makes up fun games.)

nighttime
we head over to the couch. Hadley gets swaddled and nestled into mommy's arms for one last nurse before bed. mom and dad might watch parks & rec while she is drifting off... and then daddy carries her to her crib. she is usually in bed, monitor turned on, by 9 o'clock ish. and she will sleep all night long. praise the Lord!


i head to the kitchen to clean up dinner, wipe the counters, prep stuff for tomorrow, put meat in the fridge to thaw or a pot of broth on the stove to simmer overnight, eat a snack, get a load of laundry started or do some folding and putting away. sometimes grant and i have business to take care of like making Christmas lists and shopping on amazon and talking about Thanksgiving (yay!), so after Hadley is in bed we meet on the couch for things like that. 
then we grab our water glasses, phones, iPad, pump, laundry, (some nights we have to make two trips) and head upstairs to brush teeth and sleep so we can start all over! 

and that is a normal day.
it's pretty lovely.
i am thankful for every minute of it.

sound: the heat kicking on.
sight: hadley's new closed mouth smile. or her rolling over all by herself.
smell: woodsmoke. i don't love our neighbor's junky backyard, but i will take the smoke smell gladly.
taste: raw apple cider vinegar. proof that grant has taught me something.
feeling: clean sheets and a heavy bedspread in a cold bedroom.*
*disclaimer. must be accompanied by a tall, handsome, warm husband.
blog: family dressed in tweed. monster cookies. 

ps. this post was created entirely by my left hand! while nursing!

you guys. in the past few days, it has really settled in. i feel pregnant.
some friends told me that week 34 could be the point where i feel this, and sure enough, they were right. but let me begin by saying this: i'm learning that there are whole new levels to the with child state. i might be glad that some are just temporary, but i'm happy and amazed that they are happening. (this is not a whining session.) i now know the feeling of being tired from walking over to the sink. i know the feeling of "this is the last time i try to lift this laundry by myself." i know losing my thoughts and forgetting what i was going to say. i know blood pumping from just standing around. i know sore feet and weak arms. i know laying in bed, not being able to get a deep breath. i know heartburn. i know waking up. a lot. i know having to take it easy.

and then there are other hours of the day.
when i'm me. i don't feel a thing other than myself. i'm just a girl making granola or cleaning her bathroom sink (both things i finally did today!) or sitting cross-legged on the couch watching news about the royal wedding, and feeling the same way i do every end-of-april. i'm ready to wear flip-flops and am counting down the days left at school...

oh, and realizing that a baby will be here in a matter of weeks. 5, 6, 7 weeks? it doesn't really matter, because they are sure to be busy, and gone before i know it. that's partly why this week has taken a path of its own, and why it didn't include much computer time. i've been spending it figuring out my changing body and life, and trying to keep up. i haven't even been here to wish you all a happy easter or say thank you for the birthday love! (i am so behind on my thank yous- it's embarrassing. but thank you!!) i am also behind on taking tummy photos. i am also behind on reading a stack of library books, which will now need to be renewed. because lately, being diligent in the daily things takes all of me.

but i am thankful for each little thing that gets done, all the way down to taking a vitamin. i'm thankful that i have things to do, that i'm feeling the weight of expecting a child, that our living room has been re-arranged, that the computer has been ignored, that i can feel baby squirms, that it didn't rain today, that some mornings go by too fast because i've been filling up notecards with bible verses to remember during labor, that i have an awesome husband who makes sure we still hang out, and most of all, that my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. thank goodness i have Him to be my priority and to make my paths straight. even when i feel like i'm barely keeping up with what's going on today, i can use Him as my sun, my shield, and my guide.

happy friday, friends! tomorrow is my very first baby shower! i'm packing up a dress and my yoga pants and extra tissues for my bloody nose. it seems like it should be sunny and warm on the day of a party, but there are clouds and snow in the forecast.. oh well! it rained on my wedding day:) nothing can bring me down. and we're having muffins! so, all is well. 

be back on monday with an update on the babes and me. photos are a promise. 


don't forget to enter the shabby apple giveaway! 
it ends tomorrow night. i can't wait to see who wins! 

what do you do on a weekend in february, in a small town, with a snowstorm & a baby on the way?

you head to the gym. (thank goodness we have one of these in town.)
you take your book to the treadmill with you, because it's hard to put down.
you make grilled cheese and tomato soup.
you and your husband fall asleep on the couch watching a documentary on kim jong il.
it's only 8:30 pm. (but really, you liked the documentary.)
you get up, take your fish oil, and go to bed, because grown ups can do that. and they like it.
you take a shower before you do anything else on saturday, otherwise it won't get done.
you feel great that you got that out of the way!
you think showering is not what it was (or as important as it was) in high school.
you eat this granola with banana slices.... mmmmm. you need seconds.
you make a baby wish list on amazon! yaaaaaay!! best way ever to register.
{remember: you live in a small town, and places to shop are rather limited.}
you pick out a baby monitor, and hope for the best. you throw in some good diaper detergent, too.
you take your car in for an oil change.
you visit the car wash and the antique store. you love saturday errands with grant. 


you get a darling lamp for $5 and two big mirrors with potential.
you go back to the treadmill.
you come home and have a banana.
you get yourself upstairs, turn on some music, and clean out your closet!
you get rid of a garbage bag full of... garbage. sorry, old clothes.
you make room for some maternity clothes you bought online. yay for yoga pants!
you cut the back of grant's hair. he looks good.
you spend the night researching cloth diapers and car seats.
you wake up at 6:30 sunday morning and it's thundering and lightning... and snowing.
you can't fall back to sleep. neither can your husband, so it's fun.
you get blizzarded, and church gets cancelled.
you make sunday dinner anyway.
you use your cast iron pan and those organic baby carrots that taste sweet as candy.


you study the snowflakes falling. they get big and fluffy and slow, and then small, sparkly and fast. 
you eat part of the dark chocolate bar that was supposed to be for baking.
you hug grant a lot. you're happy you live with him.
you help him put the finishing touches on your vacation video. (come back tomorrow to see it!)
you thought the oscars were going to be happening.
you make popcorn anyway. 
you take your tummy photo for the baby series.
you blog while grant snowblows the driveway. 
you get the call that school is 2 hours late tomorrow!!
you had an awesome weekend. 

sometimes it's just nice to be able to look back and know exactly what was going on :)

that's what today is all about.

school was pushed back a lovely 2 hours (for sleeping-in) this morning.. thank you, Lord, for lots of snow! and i decided to make bread, because that's what i think should be done on a snowy morning in january, when you have no place to go and plenty of time to do dishes.

this recipe has always turned out so great in my kitchen, so i'm guessing it would in yours, too. the loaf gets nice and tall every time, i just love it!! it makes a girl feel like a bona fide bread baker. it also feels like i can't wait to make sandwiches.

on a different note, there's a baby post to come soon.. which leads me to wonder, how interested are you guys in my baby ramblings? hmmm. i'm sure i could talk about it everyday, but i'll hold back:)

happy monday, my friends!!

thanks so much for the feedback, everyone!! you are wonderful! and you can count on me talking:)

but i put a few things on my christmas list this weekend. whoa. we don't even have our halloween candy yet! i'm so weird. you would laugh if you knew what i wrote down.


...ok, i'll just tell you.


it was a pilates dvd, and mat, and ball. and a gift certificate for trader joe's or whole foods. and good socks and slippers. (i like to wish for practical things.) these slippers are pretty cute. but moccasins might be nice, too.


so what do you guys know/think about pilates? i'm super interested. i've heard it's an amazing workout, and i just found out that it was developed by a gymnast during world war I as a way to rehab soldiers. sounds intense. and awesome!! i could use some more strength in my body. have you tried it? i really want to, but there aren't any classes offered in my town.. hence the dvd on my list. i'd love to hear your thoughts.. and hopefully some raves.


well, i've got some granola bars to make for my guy. and white t-shirts to fold. and other fun things. happy monday to you!

this happened.
an october heat wave. 
i am blissed out. 


today i will be ditching the slippers for my flip flops.
and wearing shorts and an old high school t-shirt.
and watering my flowers.
and picking out a food dehydrator. yay! 
and i won't be making that soup after all.
maybe guacamole instead. and watermelon. 
yes, there's still fresh watermelon at our farmers market. crazy.


today i smell like the perfume my sisters left at my house. 
it's a good one. 
i'm sad the bottle only has a few drops left in it.
wish i could split the cost of a new one with my mom like i used to.


today i feel like reading the newspaper. 
and watching grant play frisbee golf. 


today i remembered those old bugs bunny cartoons we have on dvd.
i hope we pull them out some saturday mornings for our kids. 
i was close to watching them myself this morning. 


today i am thankful that God made sunshine feel so good. 


today feels like yard work and college football on the radio. 
do you know those saturdays?


today (tonight) i hope to pull the bunkbed mattresses into the living room and have a movie night. 




happy sat. 

this afternoon i found myself putting in dan in real life and typing up recipes. that's what happens when you've come to the very end of your free netflix trial and have to quick watch and return the movie before you must start paying. and you just have too many recipes on your hands.

usually we consider an afternoon movie to be a throw away movie, so we don't do them too often. (it doesn't feel as real if it's not nighttime, right?) but i don't think that's true if you are multi-tasking, with the movie as a sort of soundtrack in the background. so today it wasn't a throw away movie. in fact, it was more like a splurge. it's only october 5th once a year, after all. and october 5th is an auspicious day. my father in law proclaims it to be the most beautiful day of the year, and it also happens to be the day grant asked me to be his wife. a sort-of anniversary of ours. and my newest baby cousin was born today! and tonight we found out that the minnesota vikings might get randy moss back- the best wide receiver ever! grant was jumping up and down about it. it's a special day in history, for sure.

watching dan reminded me that it would be really fun to do a boys vs. girls crossword puzzle tournament at our family's big deer hunting get-together in november. (heidi.. what do you think?)

speaking of a splurge, haley brought me some of this when she came to visit:

                

oooh. i do love some nice hair product now and then. a splurge for my shower.

in other news, grant is writing a paper. i'm always amazed at how quickly he gets them done. aaaand.. we paid off a chunk of his student loan yesterday! yay! we splurged. on our debt. hooray for little (big) achievements. especially ones that sound like they could be on the game of life. i'm so proud of you grant, and i think it's really fun to have a loan with you. but even more fun to pay it off.

how are you splurging this week?


ps. quick note on the apple & onion tart from earlier today. don't be shy with the cheese, please. it brings it all together!

1. it was grant's first day of school- and it was a big success.
2. tomorrow is my first day back at preschool!
3. i cannot wait to meet the little cuties.
4. i am painting my nails tonight because the little girls seem to like to talk about it.
5. it was 70 degrees in our house today and i could not get warm. i have slippers on!!
6. did you all have a nice labor day weekend? we did!
7. over the weekend grant and i pulled every last piece of crabgrass out of our yard.
8. we pulled like 4,000 plants. i am not kidding you.
9. and i spray painted some drawer pulls a shiny apple red. they look pretty.
10. and i made salsa. mmm. more on that later.
11. in the mail today, we got a card for another free netflix trial. i'm pumped.
12. what should we rent? load me up with ideas!

lots of things in my thoughts today.

go outside and spray paint a bunk!