Lydia J Will

My Summer Bucket List (and Why I am Taking the Summer Off) {Mindful Mothering Mondays}

2013-06-17T08:22:00.003-04:00

A friend said it first, told me that she was taking the summer off. No driving the kids to extra activities or taking on more responsibilities. A summer off. My fellow homeschool Mama said it without apology. "This is my summer. I'm taking it off." I thought she was brave and heroic. And later, I thought yep, I'm doing the same.

As the school year wraps up and summer begins, we'd all like to think that it is an automatic break. It is, from some things like academics, but in other ways it can become more work. For those of us who homeschool, the relief from the crush of an academic day in the house with our kids can become anything but a break when faced with the demands that summer can bring with it.

Back when I was in MOPS, before I had any school aged kids or activities, or knew what it was to have to drive kids hither and yon all during the school day, the Mentor Mom of our group told me "We take the summers off. No extra activities. No sports. Nothing during the summer but family time. That's it." I honestly thought it was a bit of a killjoy, making a strident rule like that; then my kids grew and I figured it out.

Because a crazy schedule can do just that - make the Mama insane, burn the whole family down to nothing and steal each precious day. I'm determined to hold onto these breezy summer days and keep them as loose and laid back as possible, ready to jet off at a moments notice or just spend an afternoon watching the world go by. As much as we try to keep our family exempt from the rat race of modern family life during the school year, it can sneak in here and there. I want a free summer. I want a summer off. I want a summer where we stay up late and sleep in til whenever we feel like getting up, when ice cream is a viable dinner option and splashing in the kiddie pool before bed counts as a bath. I want a summer where I lay anxiety to rest and shoo away stress because there really is nothing else to do but whatever we are doing right now. Where everything else is secondary and falling asleep in your bathing suit is completely acceptable.

So, instead of signing the kids up for scheduled events, I write out a wish list of sorts - happy, summertime things that we can leisurely tick off as we go along, or maybe just scratch out altogether in pursuit of something different. We kicked off last week, heading to the strawberry fields (with most of the county, it turns out - the place was packed!). With no schedule, no rush, no other place to be, we took all the time we wanted. When the baby needed to nurse, I pulled up a chair right there at the edge of the field and watched my kids play and pick and enjoy themselves. When Peter got tired, I tucked him into his car seat and picked berries nearest the car. It felt easy because it was easy. We just went with the flow of the day and I could feel myself start to relax - perhaps for the first time in a long time. This is how it is supposed to feel. This is what I wanted. This is what I've been hoping for. A summer off of schedule, stress and system. A summer full of imagination, possibility and freedom

Here's my summer bucket list, in no particular order. If you have any more ideas for us, let me know in the comments!

1. Walk down the street for ice cream

2. Go to an outdoor concert

3. Take weekly nature walks

4. Get in the water once per week

5. Visit at least two of the Great Lakes

6. Visit at least two museums

7. Do pedicures with my girls

8. Take naps outside

9. Camp in the back yard

10. Camp at campsite

11. Make dinner over the fire pit

12. Eat dinner outside as much as possible

13. Meet up with friends once per week

14. Read to and with each kid every day.

15. Learn new words every day (daily vocab words!)

16. Walk 2 miles a day

17. Teach my bigs to cook

18. Say "yes" as much as possible

19. Date my husband

20. Go to a spray park

21. Go on a day trip

22. Spend a day in the woods

23. Go fishing

24. Make iced coffee. A lot of it.

25. Tie Dye. Everything.

26. Visit a drive-in, both dining and movies

27. Make jam

28. Pick berries!

29. Have family movie nights - and sleep on the floor.

30. Make a model with my boys

31. Start knitting Fall sweaters

32. Bake something new every week

33. Have friends over for dinner

34. Have a water fight

35. Go to a county fair

What's on your summer bucket list?

{It's Mindful Mothering Mondays, a day to take a deep breath and write out your mothering journey, whatever form it takes. A day to link up for encouragement from others who are in this same phase of life. A day of writing out the trials and triumphs and what you're learning right where you are, right now.

You might post recent struggles or thoughts. Maybe just a picture or a quote. Or maybe you'll just come here and read the links that others post. Whatever form your participation takes, this is a day for you.
We are all in this, together. Together, we can encourage and build one another up, be honest with our shortcomings and strengthened by community to keep fighting the good fight.

I chose Mondays because what Mama doesn't need a little encouragement on a Monday? As such, I'll have the link up ready to go on Sunday night for you to begin submitting your links.

I hope you'll meet with me each Monday! Here's what to do ~

Link up your post below. Remember to put the link to the exact post you want to link, and not just your blog url. Include in your post a link back here so others who want to join in can find us! And visit some other Mamas who have linked up.

Post the community graphic within your post, so people who are reading your Mindful Mothering post can come back here and find the rest of us!

Invite the writers of your favorite blogs to join in!

Share this meme with others on facebook and twitter. This community is for all moms, and the more that participate, the more we will be able to enjoy!!}

Grab the graphic here:

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Sponsor Highlight: Tiffany's Kitchen

2013-06-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

{Today I have the pleasure of sharing one of my lovely sponsors with you! I first met Tiffany at our homeschool co op. I knew I liked her from the start when I looked across a crowded room and saw her knitting! She has since moved on and settled with her family in Ohio, starting up the new business venture that I am thrilled to be sharing with you today. Take a moment to read through our little Q & A and head over to her site to check out her lovely wares! You can also catch up with Tiffany and her beautiful family at www.acuffadventures.blogspot.com.}

Q. Tell us a little bit about Tiffany's Kitchen.

A. When we lived in Michigan, I made several attempts at selling my sewn wares at local farmer's markets. While it wasn't a complete bust, it was really just an expensive hobby and not a money maker. When we moved to Ohio last year, we decided to sell produce from our garden at the local farmer's market. Just one problem. We didn't have produce to sell for the first few months, but still needed to be at the market each week to establish ourselves a midst the community. Solution? Bake delicous-ness, of course! So, I started making scones, cookies, pretzels, amazing brownies, and some gluten free goodness for some friends of mine (and others who happened to be thrilled to have it as an option). I also sold my aprons, burp cloths, and blankets. When the vegetables ripened, I tried to sell them at market, but failed. I couldn't compete with the big farmers and ended up selling most of my extra produce to friends who lived along my route home from the market each week! In the meantime, people were seeking me out each week for their baked treats, and I was selling out nearly every week. My sewn items sold slowly but surely at the market, while online, I was getting at least a new order a week. Tiffany's Kitchen took on a life of its own over the course of the market last summer. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love my late nights and early mornings sewing and baking for the enjoyment of my family and customers!

Q. How did you decide to start your own home-based business?

A. We're working our Debt Snowball (if you like Dave Ramsey, you'll get that!). While we have enough to live on, it is going to take us forever to pay off student loans. This is why I do what I do..So that we can make extra payments as often as possible and get out of debt that much faster!

Q. As a homeschooling mama to 3 little ones, how does running a work-at-home business factor in to your daily family life?

A. I do most of my sewing and baking when the kids have gone to bed. I can sew, knit, and/or bake in peace without any demands being made of me, save the 8 month old who thinks he still needs to eat on demand! Sometimes I include them in my baking adventures!

Q. Tiffany's Kitchen sells everything from baked goods (locally) to aprons, skirts, and items for home. What is your very favorite object that you sell?

A. Sewn items: Aprons with dishtowels on them. Baked good: Gluten Free brownies that are AMAZING!

Q. The handmade industry seems to be on the upswing as people turn toward family owned businesses now more than ever before. What is your vision for Tiffany's kitchen over the next few years?

A. Over the next few years, I'd love to see Tiffany's Kitchen bring in a steady and fairly predictable income, from both local and internet sales. I hope to be selling in small stores locally within the year! I do have an online shop now, which is awesome, and I'll hopefully have an official "Home Bakery" by the summer, so that I can ship my baked goods, too! I am looking forward to my son and daughter making things or participating in other ways within the company to teach them about good work ethics and Christlike business practices. God has certainly provided thus far, and I"m sure that He'll continue to provide our every need!

Stay tuned for a future giveaway from Tiffany's Kitchen, coming up soon!

{Interested in Sponsorships here at Small Town Simplicity? Email me at lydiajwill at gmail dot com for my rates and more information.)

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::This Moment::

2013-06-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Last night was the final ball game of the year. Our third and final year playing the Minors division of Little League on the awesome Tigers team that has meant so much to us.

We celebrated by eating ice cream (bonus: free with our summer reading vouchers!). I snapped a few pictures because 6 kids and ice cream and baseball uniforms - it just doesn't get any better.

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Gathering Thoughts

2013-06-12T07:34:00.001-04:00

This blog is many things, but streamlined is one thing it's not. Perhaps you've noticed that? Between Mindful Mothering Mondays and random crafting posts, a little bit of real life sometimes needs to be gathered up and put out there. The experts say you should have a clear vision for your blog, something that you can say it is about. I suppose this blog is really about what is going on in my head at any given time - the random mishmash left after 6 pregnancies have effectively stolen my brain.

So today, a little gathering of thoughts that are so random they are driving me crazy. I'm thinking of

::Preparing:: For my oldest to leave for camp next week. Yesterday we took him into the pediatrician with a case of strep throat, poor kid. Thankfully his antibiotics will render him non-contagious 24 hours after starting treatment and he will be good to get on the camp bus by next Tuesday. My husband bemoaned the tragic loss of all of his "good" gut bacteria to the army of penicillin marching into battle, but I'm feeling downright grateful for this particular bit of modern medicine at the moment. I'm finding it hard to focus on getting him packed, so I finally made a little check list and will hopefully be getting that all wrapped up by the weekend. Sending my oldest away for a week is always a little bittersweet. I love that he is making wonderful camp memories, learning our faith, making friends and enjoying the outdoors. I hate that he is away from us. At least this year, he won't be missing the arrival of a sibling...

::Saving:: Money, that is, with cloth diapering. I know there are many schools of thought on whether or not cloth diapering actually saves money but goodness, once you use diapers often enough on more than one child that you were given used to begin with, I can practically hear the money I'm not spending stacking up. Peter still wears disposables quite a bit, but it is so easy to switch our one size covers and prefolds between the two sizes that I'm finding myself putting him in them more and more. And I figure every time I don't use a disposable and instead use a gifted prefold - I'm saving. (My favorite system, after years of trying out every possible style? Flips Snap One Size covers and a plain old cotton prefold. Perfection!)

::Praying:: For Dwija and her baby. I shared her story with a friend who asked, "Now, how do you know this person?" I always struggle to explain the connection I feel with people I have "met" online. Perhaps it won't always be this way, but particularly with those who were not raised in the internet age, it seems hard to explain how one can have a kinship such as this through a screen. Still, I call them (and you!) friends. Because that's what you are. And today, I'm praying for my friend (yes! Friend!) Dwija and her beloved little one.

::Planning:: Next year's curriculum. I'm not great at being organized with such things, but I really do want to make a good attempt at it this year. With students in the fifth, third and second grades, I'm feeling a bit more pressure. Good pressure, but pressure all the same. I have most things decided on, but can someone point me to a good writing program? I'd love to hear any and all suggestions.

::Hoping:: to get the kids to a little stream area I know of at some point this week. I've been longing to toss a quilt on the ground somewhere and snuggle a baby while my kids run around, explore and maybe get a bit wet. Hopefully one of these days we will have decent weather and I'll be organized enough to get the crew out the door!

::Picking:: Berries. It's strawberry season again and the blueberries will be right along after. This year I am thinking of freezing them all and then doing a big day of canning later on (preferably on some unseasonably cool day in July. It could happen, right?). Last year, the kids really preferred the blueberry jam. It was first off the shelves, and we ran out quickly. I'm hoping we get a good haul this year so I can make enough to get us through the year.

::Ordering:: some new yarn for an upcoming out of town weekend. Since making Rosie's Rios dress, I've fallen head over heels into sock-weight yarn for sweaters. Well, at least for very tiny sweaters. Hoping to make a good start - but so much of my knitting time these days depends on the temperament of a certain little sweetie.

::Thanking:: God for some really wonderful days with Rosemary. After writing my post about colic, she has really come around. She still has a tough time around dinner time each night (really, who doesn't?), but during the day she is all smiles and charm. Ahh, such a sweet little lady.

::Reminding:: myself to smile and show my joy and love to my family each and every day. I can get so wrapped up in the to do's of life that I can come off quite a bit stressed and irritable at times. These days, it's my greatest regret. Reclaiming the joy and hoping to spread the contagion on to all I meet.

::Thinking:: I need a couple more basil plants for my garden. I only planted two, and one seems to be doing pretty poorly.

Those are my garbled thoughts these days. What's going on in your head?

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Summer Reading

2013-06-11T10:26:00.003-04:00

We signed up every year as kids. I remember skipping down the street to our library with my siblings, anxious to get started. We'd sign up with the librarian and bring home stacks of books, spend that first afternoon reading and excitedly checking off the minutes. Summer Reading programs - a yearly tradition.

While I love the slow, natural flow of these summer days when anything is possible, it's nice to have a little project like this to work on, to keep us coming together for a bit every day. Each of my three independent readers read on their own, a book of their preference, and then I read aloud to everyone. It's a bit of a challenge to come up with read alouds that keep everyone's attention, but so far, so good. We get out crayons and paper to keep hands busy, or the little ones look at picture books while I read.

At the end of our library's program, if each child gets through the 14 hours of reading, they get to pick out their very own book to keep. I just love how the reward for reading is more reading. Most libraries have free summer reading programs for children, so I urge you to check out your local library and sign up!

We're also working on our vocabulary by learning a new word every day using the SuperKids Vocabulary Builder website.

So what are we reading? Well, right now we are doing a few chapters of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Magic, something that keeps everyone entertained. I'd also like to do the Phantom Tollbooth and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs.Basil E. Frankwieler over the summer. It is so fun to revisit books I loved with my own kids - like reconnecting with old friends.

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8 Things Every Dad Needs This Father's Day (Psst: They Are All Free!) {Mindful Mothering Mondays}

2013-06-10T09:47:00.001-04:00

"Here it comes...keep your eye on it."

It's nearing the end of baseball season. I wonder if they will keep it up, those two, out back at every opportunity. Ben stands in front of the makeshift batting cage Uncle Elijah made out of an old chain link fence, his face a scowl of concentration. They are just practicing with a plastic bat and a few whiffle balls, but you wouldn't know it from the way they are acting. On an early summer evening, these two are in their own little world.

Ben will be 10 this summer and a decade of parenting has taught me a thing or two. Some things I take less seriously now than I began - and some things carry more weight than I could ever have imagined. As I watch my husband throw the pitch, and my boy whip that bat around like a tornado and hear that unmistakable "crack!" of the ball making impact, I can see it in his face - that glance toward his Dad to make sure he saw, that he noticed, that he's proud. In that moment, I feel that gratitude of undeserved grace pour right over me.

We became parents young, before either of us felt ready for it. But more and more I am realizing that no Daddy boot camp class can make a man into a father. There's simply more to it than learning how to change a diaper, swaddle, burp and hold a tiny new person. In fact, those sleepless nights at the beginning of a child's life seem like a piece of cake compared with what comes later on. If only all parenting problems could be solved with swaddling and shushing! From the first positive pregnancy test, Jason changed. His heart turned toward his family and as far as I can tell, he has never looked back. Unlike my struggles in those early years, torn between my self centered nature and my love for my kids, he has been solid since day one.

I spent a morning digging through old files and blogs for photos to make into a slideshow for him. As I choose and arrange photos and see the span of a decade in his fatherhood spread before me, it takes my breath away. That someone who was so unsure, so naive and so very young, could grow into the man and father he is to these children of ours - it's nothing short of miraculous. And I have done very little to deserve a man like him

With Father's Day fast approaching, I watch the photos scroll and think about what it takes to be a Father to a growing brood like our own. The weight of a child's trust, moral development, character building and love that a man carries on his shoulders the day he cradles his child for the first time. Being a Father is sacrifice. And while I wax on and on and on about how marginalized Motherhood is in our time, have you noticed that Fatherhood is scarcely mentioned anywhere at all? It is as if it has simply vanished from our culture, hardly worth an honorable mention. But the truth is, I could not mother my children the way I do without my husband at my side, doing his part. Men who choose to father, and father well, need support in their vocation just as us Mamas do.

But what to do for Father's Day? How can I wrap 10 years of gratitude into something that makes sense, something that conveys the depth and weight of what he has done for us? I've noticed there's nothing that fits that bill sold in a store, so I came up with a list of my own. Perhaps not just for Father's Day, but every day? In building up this man who serves tirelessly right along side me in this journey, I become not only a better wife, but a better Mother to my little ones.

8 Things Every Dad Needs ~~This Father's Day~~ Today

1) Praise your husband to your children. Build him up in their hearing, to their faces. Tell them how much you love and respect him, and why they should too.

2) Be affectionate with your spouse, verbally and physically. It's well and good to talk positively about him when he isn't around, but make sure your outward displays of affection and approval cement the message to your kids of your love and admiration for him. A hug when he takes off for work and when he returns does the trick.

3) Give them opportunities to bond. Encourage your husband to play with your children - after dinner, on the weekends, whenever you get a chance.

4) Stay united with him, even if you aren't sure he handled something correctly. Take him aside privately if you need to discuss the situation, but always show yourselves united in front of the kids.

5) Help kids treat Dad with honor and respect. Help them pick up the house before he comes home, have a plan for dinner and meet him at the door with a hug and a smile.

6) Pray for Daddy during family prayer time and get the children in the habit of including him in their nightly prayers. The job that this man has is huge - he needs prayer!

7) Ask him daily what you can do to help. I fell out of habit of doing this and need to begin again! It is a basic "treat others as you'd like to be treated" concept - ask your husband if there's anything he needs you to do, beyond your normal activities.

8) Smile. You're doing this! Together, working hard and making lots of sacrifices, you are raising little souls. A huge and lofty goal that you are taking on together. It's exciting, it's fun, it's challenging and it's worth it. So smile at him. And I bet you he smiles right back.

Grab the graphic here:

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On A Saturday

2013-06-08T11:05:00.002-04:00

Daddy took the bigger kids to Ben's baseball tournament game and left Rosie and me to get some jobs done. Which means we practice prefold folding and take pictures (she is almost too big for her mermaid pants!). And I finally get a real, rare smile caught on film.

Chores are with you always, but babies are fast vanishing. I think I've got my priorities straight. Happy Weekending!

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Colicky Babies and the Mamas Who Love Them

2013-06-07T10:09:00.001-04:00

"Yep, she's got colic-face." My friend, Mama to 11, would know. I glanced down at Rosie's face, all screwed up into a scowl as she let out a peal of anger right there in the middle of the restaurant. "It's just a look on their face that they get. It's hard to see in your own baby, but I can tell with her."

I know that look. To me, it says "Mama, help me!" It breaks my heart. I ask my husband "Why does she hate me?" and he assures me she doesn't - it's just that Mommy guilt that rears it's ugly head, even when something truly is not your fault.

I don't like the term colic. It's like the term "SIDS," a moniker assigned when there really is no other explanation why a healthy baby dies randomly. Colic means "We don't know why she cries. She just does."

So I have the same toolbox every Mama of an unexplained crier has - we try the swing, swaddling, nursing, burping, driving, wearing, walking, singing. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Some days she's happy, cooing, sleeping and laughing, happy to be held by a sibling, or to sleep on her own. Some days she cries all day, only naps in my arms and furious when I try my various techniques, hoping for a shower, or to make dinner, or just a moment holding one of my other kids.

It's enough to make a Mama crazy. To love someone so much, to want to help them and make them feel happy and secure, but to feel so inadequate in doing so. My kids ask why I walk outside during dinner time now - the answer is that I can't take another moment in a house where she is shrieking, and I need to get out, with her, to a place where we both can breathe.

I've noticed that singing helps. She loves looking into my face and almost always smiles at first when I pick her up, or talk to her. My husband laughs at my selections of songs, but when it is working, I must keep going at all costs. "Is that song from Lady and the Tramp?" he teased me last night. "Do you have any requests?" I retorted, 20 minutes into an unplanned concert for a grumpy baby. I hastily went back to singing when her little smile began to turn upside down..."...and they call it Belle Notte...."

My desperate hope to calm her fears reminds me of God - and how it must appear to Him when His beloved children become so mired down in hopelessness and anger - when just knowing Him should bring them (us!) joy. I coax a smile from her when she listens to my singing and I wonder if He feels this way when we look up for just a moment and notice that the whole world is His love song to us.

She begins to whimper and then scream and I gather her back up in my arms, assume my humming and rocking and whispering comfort and in this moment, I am the most Mama I will ever be - setting aside exhaustion and heartache in the constant pursuit of comfort for my baby.

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Kids, Bikes and One Thing I Love About Living In The City

2013-06-06T11:05:00.002-04:00

I am four years old. I'm pedaling down the street on my pink and purple big wheel, singing my heart out. I'm wearing a nightgown my Aunt made for me and the Cabbage Patch doll tucked firmly under my arm is dressed to match. On my head is last year's Easter hat. The breeze blows it nearly off my head and I stop briefly to clamp it down on my head before continuing on to my destination - the Parking Lot.

*********

Bikes are the hottest thing right now, at least from my view. My oldest told me excitedly over dinner last night that he wants to be a bike mechanic, after spending the day fixing up the multitude of bikes found in our garage. Armed with a pump and some WD-40, he's been working on bikes all day - and when he's not working on them, he's riding them. They all are. My children have morphed into a mini-version of a motorcycle gang, peeling in and out of our driveway all day. Jonah can hardly be coaxed off his, a used bike we bought him for his birthday (incidentally the best $25 I ever spent). I actually begged him to play a video game yesterday so I could momentarily not worry about him riding off into the sunset, leaving us behind. Fiona requested her training wheels be removed earlier in the day, and I took them off. I tried to help her, but after one attempt at running alongside her, realized she didn't need me. Not even a little bit. She tore off down the sidewalk at breakneck speeds and didn't look back.

After dinner, they begged me to go ride at the parking lot - across the street from my parent's house, adjacent to one of their apartment buildings. Watching them circle, shrieking and laughing, hollering at each other, bike wheels spinning - I was taken back. I was that sweaty kid most nights in the summer - astride a big wheel as a toddler and then, quickly, a bike of my own. Together with the neighbor kids, there would be nearly 20 of us, riding bikes and singing, playing "cops and robbers" or tag. I remember the year they laid new blacktop and it was so smooth, riding on it felt like flying. Not even noticing the exercise, just enjoying the cool of a summer evening, the wind in our hair, the camaraderie of friends.

Mom mentions it to me on our morning walk with Rosemary as we walk by house after house, commenting on the gardens, the paint colors, the different styles. "Oh, this one would be perfect for you! It's huge and look, right next door to a parking lot!" I laugh and think wow, most people wouldn't be thinking of that as an asset when looking at real estate - but most people might not know that a parking lot can be a most excellent playground for little people. It's the one thing country living can't hold a candle to - large swaths of smooth blacktop, perfect for riding.

I call them in for the night and one by one they come flying up the driveway, sweaty and filthy, with wild hair and shining eyes. Summer kids, the very best kind. Funny, the things you can find to be grateful for. Today, so very grateful for the parking lots in my life - and the kids who love them.

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Walks and Knitting

2013-06-05T08:35:00.000-04:00

Rosemary and I just returned from our morning walk. It's something I've been trying to make time for these past few busy weeks - time for exercise and deep breaths, thoughts about the day before and focusing on the day to come. June seemed to jump out of nowhere this year. We're wrapping up baseball season with a tournament week, packing up a kid for camp and watching as the calendar for summer fills up faster than I can write it all down. A morning walk gives me the pause I need to savor this summer, the exercise I've been neglecting and a certain clarity that can be hard to find during the mayhem of one of our marvelous days here at home. So many good things.

The weather here has been beautiful lately and is supposed to continue all week - days in the low 70's, nights in the 50's. Weather I could tolerate for quite some time. Good knitting weather. I am almost finished with a pair of shortie overalls I'm making for a customer. I just need to stitch on the pocket, reinforce the straps and find the perfect buttons. I can't wait to see them on their intended owner! I've also been knitting up a storm of little baby hats and booties whenever I can find a spare moment. Booties are perfect take along knitting - I keep the tricky part of the pattern written on a scrap of paper in my diaper bag for easy reference. Hoping to put some up on my facebook page soon for anyone looking for a handmade baby gift.

No post would be complete without an obligatory baby picture. She's growing so nicely and I must say those early morning smiles do a Mama's heart good.

Joining up with Ginny today!

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A Day of Doing Nothing {Mindful Mothering Mondays}

2013-06-03T09:13:00.002-04:00

I get nothing done. At least, that's what I think most days. I flop down on the couch after dinner with the baby and say it out loud. Today I just couldn't get anything done.

I see it on facebook, other Moms bemoaning the same thing. We can't just seem to get any momentum to these days. By the time you get it in your grasp, it's time for dinner, or baths, or you're just too dang tired from doing nothing all day to do anything about it. I think about it while waiting to go to sleep at night, frustrated with myself. With 24 hours in a day, what really is my excuse?

I start out the day by nursing two babies and changing a few diapers. I start coffee and unload the dishwasher and take breakfast requests and I get nothing done. I sip coffee and do bible and read out loud. I start laundry and sweep floors and I get nothing done.

I take littles outside and push kids on swings, more nursing and more diapers and more getting nothing done. I change kids into bathing suits and watch them in the pool, knitting a couple rounds before the baby fusses too much. I put the baby down for a nap and start lunch and get nothing done.

I answer emails and call a friend to check up on her. I make dinner and return library books and change kids out of bathing suits and throw them onto bikes. We walk around the block a few times and I still haven't gotten anything done. Someone gets hurt and I kiss their ouchie, someone gets in a fight and I break it up, someone needs a time out and I try to be stern. My bed is still unmade when I take the baby up to put her to bed. She won't sleep and I change more diapers, put the baby on my back and make sure Ben's baseball uniform is clean. I do another load of laundry, fold and put away the first and I get nothing done.

I visit with my brother and niece and we talk and bond and I serve dinner. That kitchen is a mess again, I load the dishwasher and wipe counters and I get nothing done. I find shoes for everyone, wipe faces and remind them to go to the bathroom (change more diapers, nurse more babies) and throw everyone in the car to head to the game. I get nothing done.

We get home and I wash dirty grubby feet and make kids brush their teeth and resist their begging to watch a movie and spend a half hour convincing them to go to bed. I come down stairs with the baby who still won't sleep, sit on the couch and look around. By the testimony of this messy house, I've done nothing all day. So it must be so. I fall asleep on the couch a few moments later, exhausted by my completely non-productive day.

Finally I schlep to bed and lay awake a moment, feeling guilty at my complete lack of motivation and bizarre ability to do nothing all day long. I wonder why I don't answer phone calls or emails in a timely manner, or why I can't manage to keep on top of the most basic of responsibilities. And why on earth I am so, so tired.

Grab the graphic here:

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This Week

2013-05-31T08:32:00.002-04:00

This week has been a mixture of sunshine and rain, hard and easy days, hot and cold. It's like we're dabbling in summer, dipping just a toe in to test the waters. Is it really here? Do we want it to be? We spent time in the E.R. and time with fresh new babies. Time playing sandlot baseball and time freezing in the rain, watching a Memorial Day Civil War muster.

Although last weekend was long and this work week shorter than normal, I am so looking forward to this weekend. We need to get our screens up in the bedrooms and a few window units installed. I've got gardening, grocery shopping, cleaning to do. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I still look forward to those times so much when I'm not the only adult around and can get some things done while another pair of eyes keeps up with the little people. Already I am feeling the crush of knowing that my June weekends are mostly booked - that feeling where summer is fast fleeting before it has even begun. Camp for my oldest begins in just a few weeks, and from there we really take off into full fledged summer. I just want to live each moment to the fullest and savor it all - I know it will go just as fast as it does every year.

So I'm making my list of Summer To Do's and getting down to the business of checking them off. Fully committed to packing in as much goodness as possible into these almost-summer days.

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Parenting Through Disaster

2013-05-30T09:16:00.001-04:00

When I heard the sickening "thud" of his forehead meeting the step, I knew. Everything seemed a slow motion blur after that. My brother sprinting from the backyard to the deck and scooping him up. Me, with Rosie in one arm, pulling Peter out of the swing and then my cell phone out of my back pocket, dialing my husband as my brother yelled over his shoulder "You're going to the hospital, Lyd." My little Jo, screaming "I don't want to go to the hospital!" over and over while a river of blood ran down his bare chest, soaking his shorts.

It's in those moments that I wonder if I'm cut out to be a mom. After all, I can handle the dailiness of it, the laundry and lessons, the chores and snuggles, reading books and baking pies. But when the rubber meets the road, I don't want to look. I don't want to see the inch-plus gash above my four year old's eye, flesh laid right open. I don't want to explain to a stranger how it got there, and the possible judgment that might arise. I'm...afraid. Afraid of my inadequacies spelled out right there, stitched into skin like a testimony to my failings. 8 stitches on a Wednesday night, after a simple game of timed races. A happy, laughing little guy changed in an instant to a bleeding, bawling mess.

My husband pulled in mere seconds after, tossed a still-sobbing boy into his car seat and peeled off in the direction of the hospital. Even as we stayed in touch via text, I felt that pulsing guilt. I admire his quick response and no nonsense approach and scorn my own emotional upheaval. What I miss is that we are the perfect team. What I miss is that we're doing just what we should - seamlessly slipping into the roles that fit us best. I stay home with the babies who still need me, where I can do what I can and pray pray pray. He deftly takes the matter in hand, filling out paperwork and conversing with nurses and keeping emotions at bay.

They pull in the driveway an hour or so later, and my boy marches in, telltale signs of a purple popsicle around his mouth and a bandaged forehead. He tells me it didn't hurt, that he was brave, that everyone was nice and that he's ok. My husband follows, offers a tired smile and flops down on the couch, and I realize that we're a perfect match. Just as if it was orchestrated this way before either of us were born, our natural abilities complement the other and together, we form a whole. A parenting unit that is equipped to handle what this life with 6 little one throws at us, even those disasters that occur in the twinkling of an eye.

I can feel the guilt slipping away when I see it - together, with God there at the center - we've got this.

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Rosie's Playdress

2013-05-28T09:29:00.000-04:00

Although it took me forever, I finally have a FO!

When my good friend Sara, fellow mama to 6 and knitter extraordinaire, surprised me with a beautiful dress for Rosie, I knew I wanted to try one for myself and settled on the Rio Dress pattern. These are knit with fingering weight yarn at a fine gauge, so they do take a bit longer. The benefits of this weight are twofold, for me - they cost less to make on nice yarn, because the yardage is excellent. Also, the fabric made from such fine yarn is thinner with a lovely drape that's just not as easy to find on thicker wools. (Also, let's take a moment to appreciate Rosie's rolls. I mean really. She's coming along nicely, eh?).

I knit Rosie's dress on Swish tonal from knitpicks. Just one skein, with some leftover, and I have a 6-12 month dress. I used some grey buttons I found in my button jar that seemed to go along well with the tonal purple colorway. It's a bit big on her now, but still looks just fine. I'm hoping she will be able to wear this for quite a while - first as a dress, and then later on as a tunic. I am really quite happy with how it turned out, and I will definitely be knitting more of these, perhaps with cabling in the front as she grows. I can just see a little Christmas dress, knit just for her.

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{Happy Memorial Day}

2013-05-27T07:18:00.001-04:00

No Mindful Mothering Monday today. Wishing you all a happy Memorial Day, especially those who have given all for our country. We are forever in your debt!

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Flight from Materialism

2013-05-24T10:28:00.002-04:00

Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. If you have them, you have to take care of them.

~Peace Pilgrim

I tossed the last of four full trash bags of clothes out the front door, onto the porch - this week's donation offering to local charities. Before starting the coffee, I had made my appointment for next week's donation pick up. I'm serious about it this time.

It's funny, isn't it, how materialism can sneak in where you least expect it. I can't tell you the last time I went clothes shopping for any of us, yet even I struggle with this one. It is when I look at stuffed dresser drawers and crammed closets that I realized it - we have a problem here. And, as with most problems, the clutter is just the symptom of a greater issue - a heart issue.

The generosity of friends is a beautiful thing, something I am so fortunate to have. But the human body can only wear one outfit at a time. If I do laundry daily, and each member of my family wears only one outfit a day (with a few more for toddlers and babies), how much do I really need? And what does it say about me if I hoard 5x the needs of my family, "just in case"?

"Look at the birds of the air. They neither toil nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than these?"

Matthew 6:26

I profess to believe that God will supply all of our needs - but what does my lifestyle say? The exact opposite. It says "oh, you better save this for that just in case day that God takes the day off and you have to be in charge." It says "If you don't hold onto these clothes just in case you happen to have a baby of the same gender born the exact time of year, said baby will be naked." It says "Owning a ton of stuff will make you free!" but the reality is that, when you own a houseful of stuff you don't need? You spend way too much time in the care and keeping of things. It literally steals your life. It's stealing my joy, quite frankly. Overflowing dressers and cabinets stuffed with more than we could possibly use. My peace is gone too - who can feel peaceful when every surface is a cluttered one?

Obviously we need some things. We need dishes and clothes appropriate for the weather and occasion. How much is something I'm struggling with. Do I need 3 can openers that don't work? A table cloth we haven't used since we moved here 7 years ago? I could swaddle 20 babies at once with the receiving blankets I own, yet only one lives here. Lately, I'm hoping to find that balance, the happy medium between too many senseless things and just enough to be sensible. 7 years in the same place can mean an accumulation that we can ignore - closets that house garments that haven't been worn in years. I've never considered myself to be materialistic, but there is more to it than being a shopaholic. Materialism says "I need that!" when really? You don't. Even I have things like that.

So I make a commitment to give away...and work at it a little bit each day. A drawer here, a cupboard there. I make charity donations a weekly appointment, just like taking the garbage out. In giving away something every week, I keep my own materialism in check - and find new ways to give I have never before imagined. The less I have, the more peace I feel. Tomorrow will take care of itself, and the God who has been faithful to supply all our needs will continue to be. In that, I can be sure.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Matthew 6:34

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Nests

2013-05-23T09:47:00.000-04:00

We found a nest out back, likely knocked out of a tree by a dastardly blue jay (I've seen many, we must have a large family of them nearby). The occupants of the nest did not survive the fall, and the kids buried them under the tree that their nest once resided in. Once the somber mood of the occasion passed, reassuring words spoken to calm little fears ("Why would he do that, Mama? There were babies in there!"), interest got the better of us and we all took turns examining the nest. Grown as I am, with many nest-findings under my belt, I can't help but marvel at these amazing creations. Homes built, a new one each year, by expectant parents. Fresh from my own recent nesting experience, I feel an odd sense of camaraderie with these little feathered parents. The workmanship on this tiny home is just so amazing to me - and the inbred knowledge of how and when and where to build an amazing testimony to the greatness of creation. Each twig placed with precision, the inside thickly insulated with mud, it is a snug little home, perfect for raising babies in. It must have taken weeks of full time work to create such a masterpiece.

Just a little bit of magnificence in our backyard. Every day, a new adventure - with new opportunities to learn.

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Peacefully Knitting {Yarn Along}

2013-05-22T09:13:00.001-04:00

We've been experiencing a bit of a heatwave here, strange weather for the week before Memorial Day in Michigan. As a result, we don't yet have our house summer-ized, and things are a little toasty in here. Still, I find myself knitting. Rosie is 7 weeks old and has begun smiling and cooing in earnest. She would much prefer to sit in her little chair and be chatted with when awake then held. This all results in me sitting nearby, needles in hand, indulging my littlest Miss. I'm working on a pair of shortie overalls, customs for a friend. Lately I've been thinking of getting back into the knitting-as-income game, and how that may play out. I'm hoping to list a few pre-made items on my facebook page, so if you are interested in being notified when those go up, please like my page here.

With all the knitting and planting and outdoor playing and peek-a-booing going on around here, I haven't been reading much. I still haven't finished "A Circle of Quiet," but during a recent nursing session, I reached out and grabbed whatever was handy - "Peace Pilgrim," it turns out, was just sitting in the right place at the right time. It is a very interesting book about a very interesting person, someone I had never before heard of. I find myself making mental notes and wishing I had a highlighter handy (where did those disappear to?). She has a lot of wisdom in her book. I cannot say that I agree with all of her views or ideas, but I find her to be absolutely charming. I am so enjoying this little book! (Thank you to my sister Hannah for sending it to me! You are right, it's wonderful!).

Joining up with Ginny today for her lovely yarn along!

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(Micro) Container Planting

2013-05-21T07:55:00.001-04:00

After years of fighting groundhogs, it's really amazing that I found myself back at this little farm market on the corner of two busy roads on a sunny Sunday in May. I tucked Rosemary in her carrier and Fiona skipped ahead, still in her church dress, talking nonstop.

"Can we buy these? Can I pick? Can I put everything in the cart? Oh look Mama, that one already has baby tomatoes on it!" When I mean talked nonstop, she really did. A man perusing the basil plants glanced my way with a raised eyebrow and a smile. I smiled and shrugged back - followed that babbling brook of a 6 year old girl right down those isles lined with plants.

After years of fighting groundhogs, there's still hope on a sunny day in May. A link offered by an old friend, suggesting raised container beds, sparked an idea in me. Those flower boxes on the deck just might do the trick. Sure, groundhogs can climb a bit, but maybe...maybe not? Another friend carried old hanging baskets to my car after church in response to my pleas for help on facebook. If I can't plant greens in those 12 boxes out back, then I'll hang them - salad bowls right outside the kitchen door. Micro-gardening for sure.

Fiona finds a slug on a plant and carries him like a beloved pet during our shopping trip. After ringing up spinach and bean seeds, ruffly kale, basil, lettuce, chard and a few tomato and pepper plants, the cashier gives her a dum-dum sucker that she stands on tiptoe to accept, popping it in her mouth and stopping her chatter for the first time since we arrived

The next day dawns grey but we're out there anyway. There's always optimism in spring, no matter how misguided. Always the hope that maybe, just maybe, this year will be the year we figure it all out. Or maybe not. But no matter what, we'll have a great time trying.

After all, we haven't tried coyote urine...yet.

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The Dance of Life {Mindful Mothering Mondays}

2013-05-20T08:40:00.001-04:00

{Today, a wonderful guest post from Mama, blogger, sponsor and friend, Kim Corrigan-Oliver. Her words blessed me so much during this season with a very similar baby! You can catch up with Kim at her blog, Mothering with Mindfulness.}

Pregnancy was a wonderful journey for me. Yes, there was the first trimester nausea all. day. long. but once that passed I settled into the unknown with joy, love and trust. I trusted my body throughout pregnancy and I let that same trust follow me into my homebirth. I let my body lead the way.

Holding my little man for the first time, looking into his dark eyes, feeling him against my skin, those are memories I will hold close to my heart forever.

It was during our first few months together as mother and son that I realized Reece did not fit the “normal” as far as newborns go, you know, the normal you read about in the books. The baby who feeds on schedule, sleeps on schedule, can be put down without crying, and so on. Reece nursed non-stop. He napped for 20 minutes at a time and never at the same time. He wanted to be held all the time, by me and no one else. I questioned whether I was doing something wrong. I wondered if I just wasn’t cut out for this mothering gig. I sat in darkness at night, Reece in my arms, crying.

And then it hit me one day, I had somehow lost trust in our journey. Throughout the journey of pregnancy and birth I trusted things to happen as they should. I trusted the process and I let my body lead. After his birth I focused on how Reece was not conforming to the baby books instead of trusting our journey to unfold as it should.

In that moment of realization everything shifted. We became partners in the dance of life. I let Reece take the lead, I followed, holding his hand and journeying his path with him. Yes, there were times when I took the lead, setting boundaries when necessary, but for the most part I let him lead.

This shift completely changed our journey together. We are partners, sharing his journey together. I watch as he explores and discovers the world around him. I slow down so he can really take in the world with all of his senses. I hold his hand when he needs support and I let it go when he wants to fly on his own.

This journey has not been a long one, we are only 4 years into it, but it has been a good one. I offer gratitude each and every day that he chose me to be his partner in the dance of his life. I am honoured to be his mother and so very happy I get to share in his journey.

Grab the graphic here:

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Gratitude Sunday

2013-05-19T09:00:00.000-04:00

My dear friend Amy has recently begun a link up for Gratitude Sunday, a practice that I very much need to get back into. There is so much to be thankful for in this life of ours, and joy comes from looking around and noticing how blessed we are. Please consider joining in the fun - you may just find that in counting down those many blessings you become even more blessed.

For today,

So thankful for those who read, who comment, who email and who mention these writings of mine. I know that this internet world is a big place, and I am humbled that you stumbled upon me and take the time to look around. It's no small thing that you do - it means the world to me. Thankful, then, for all of you.

I'm thankful for that messy, weed-infested yard of mine. So much work to be done, some days it makes me want to bury my face in my hands and cry. But then I hear Peter conversing with ants over there on that rock and I find myself offering up gratitude for this patch of dirt and grass. A place, all ours, for our kids to begin their conversations with nature.

I'm thankful for my Mom, ready and willing to help in all situations, helping my Dinah with her reading. It's a huge undertaking, the unlocking of a lifelong passion in a young person. I'm thrilled that when I asked, she answered with a resounding "YES!"

I'm thankful for the safe and happy arrival of my newest love, Lyriel Joy, to my dearest childhood friend. From the top of her sweet fuzzy head, past the dimple that stole my heart and right to the soles of these silk-smooth little feet, she is perfection. Sometimes I look at 19 years of friendship and the beautiful things that have come about along the way, and wonder that God should be so good to us. 10 beautiful children. What a breathtaking miracle!

I'm thankful for the friends who inspire me to step out of my comfort zone and aim for my dreams. For those who inspired and encouraged me to start daily prayers and bible readings with my little ones. For those who nudge me to throw of my discomfort and humbly learn the art of hospitality. For all those who encourage me to keep growing in all the areas I need to grow, I'm so truly thankful.

For these late Spring days, the sun and the warmth and the plentiful moments spent exploring the world with the people I love the very most, as if it were the first time we'd ever encountered it.

For this Sunday, and every day! I am exceedingly grateful.

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Outsourced Learning

2013-05-16T09:00:00.002-04:00

She skips out the kitchen door at 7:59, across the back yard and down the path Grandpa laid by hand a few years back. She stops just before reaching Grandma's back door, turns and waves at me. From my kitchen window, I wave back before she disappears inside.

It's 8 am, and she's off for her reading lesson.

It's been 3 years since we started learning to read, and from the get go there were signs that she needed something different. Something without the chaos that seems to follow me everywhere, yes even into those schooling hours. We struggled back and forth, both of us dreading the lessons, fraught with frustration. I would try this curriculum or that, different "I Can Read" books to catch her attention. I tried just reading to her, a gentle approach. I tried phonics and sight words. Toward the end of this, her 2nd grade year, I had to admit - we needed outside help.

My husband suggested she might do better in school, but from what I had seen, she needed more one on one time - not less. More time in a quiet place, working with someone to figure it all out. The few moments we could find together were almost always interrupted by people needing me in one way or another. Toddlers crying, big kids wanting this or that, babies nursing. It was plain that the issue did not lie with any learning disability, but a combination of the will to work and learn something that did not come easily, and the lack of quiet alone time to figure it all out.

I agonized about it. Prayed about it. Felt so much guilt about it all. And then, I sought help with one of the best teachers I've ever known - my own Mom.

They started this week and after each lesson, it's a miracle: My girl is smiling. She's looking forward to doing it again, tomorrow. And I smile back, knowing that she'll be just fine. Homeschooling is not about me being the teacher of every little thing. It's about finding what works, what is right for each individual child. I daresay this is the first of many times I will outsource my children's learning to people who are able to make it work better than I at any given point. And while, for a moment, I grieved my inability to be what she needs in this way at this time, I know it's not about me. For today, being a good mother and teacher to her means sending her to someone else.

At 9:01 she comes bursting through that back door, out of breath, ready to join the rest of us for bible and morning prayers, the tell tale signs of a chocolatey reward around her mouth. She surprises me with a hug and as I look down at her, I know we're going to be just fine.

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Raising Children

2013-05-15T10:46:00.000-04:00

I really need to get to those garden boxes. They need to be cleaned out and planted by this weekend. There have been a few surprises - the onions that I left in their beds last year are already thriving, and two chard plants that were gnawed down to nothing by a groundhog last year have come back to life as well. A friend gave me some tomato plants and zucchini, so I am definitely looking forward to planting - knowing full well that groundhog will most likely be back and feasting in no time.

These are my hopes anyway - not about the groundhog, but the plans for planting. The truth may very well be different. This weekend is ballet recital, and baseball practice, and celebrating my husband's birthday. Adding into that mix the general raising of children and keeping of home and, well, if anything additional happens it will be a small miracle.

My neighbors likely know me as the woman living in a shoe - kids all over the place and I scarcely know where to begin. We're loud, too - I'm hollering out the window for the big ones to mind Peter and shouting over the roar of the mower to Ben that he missed a spot. The kids shriek while running around the yard, swinging on swings, doing those kid things that they do. I admire the bouquets of dandilions brought to me, push kids higher and higher and yes, even higher on the swings, and sip water out of a mason jar in the evenings when they dash about the yard, playing ball with their Dad. The truth is, I'm raising kids here - a bumper crop, too.

It can all result in me feeling pulled in multiple directions at once. When I'm outside, my inside jobs don't get done. When I'm inside, the little ones are begging to be taken out! Striking a balance between both worlds can be a struggle. Spread so thinly, all areas are less than they could be if I had just a little more time, a little less laundry. So I zero in on what matters the very most - the raising of people. It's my main job, after all.

So my garden will pale in comparison to most everyone else's. The weeds will sprout big and tall, growing right along side those 6 kids of mine. Anything that manages to grow despite the groundhog's best efforts will be gobbled by children without seeing so much as a dinner plate. And I'll be overseeing it all in the way that I do - baby on my back, surveying the scene of a messy yard and 5 madcap little ones racing all over.

My primary job is in the raising of children. And that's precisely what I plan to do.

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Afternoons with Rosie {Mindful Mothering Monday}

2013-05-13T07:16:00.000-04:00

6 weeks ago, I woke with that sense of knowing as only a Mother can know - the time was drawing near. Less than 24 hours, Rosemary was in my arms and her name forever stamped on my heart with the other five - my precious tribe. She joined 3 brothers and 2 sisters and the madness of life in this big family.

Daddy stayed home a full week and up in my room, Rosie and I got to know each other. In the weeks since, that little bedroom under the eaves has continued to be a kind of sanctuary for us. These days, she's growing bigger and stronger, testing out smiles and spending more time awake than before.

The mornings dawn fast and furious and is filled with dishes and laundry and walks and toddlers and all that goes in the managing of this large family. But in the afternoon, while Peter takes his nap, Rosie and I retreat, too. She sleeps best in my arms and I read or watch her or nod off, myself. I take the time to notice, to marvel and to savor this person who has already changed so much.

I make that time for just the two of us, acknowledging that the helplessness of a human baby makes this much clear - my job right now is her complete care. Anything else is secondary. I can forget that sometimes, in the rush and crush of so many chores and responsibilities. Her needs are my top priority. Anything else can wait.

There is something miraculous about it all. I'm getting to know her likes and dislikes, and long before she'll speak her first word, Rosie and I begin to communicate. This person I didn't know 6 weeks ago is now in my inner circle, fiercely loved, protected and valued above relationships I've had for years. It's like magic, how this is all designed to work. Even on my 6th time around, I'm still amazed at how deep and fast a Mama can fall for a tiny, helpless little slip of a human.

At 6 weeks old, she's moving out of the newborn stage and solidly into baby mode. In the quiet of a spring afternoon, I'm treasuring it all up in my heart, a gift to keep with me forever. I inhale her and fall even more deeply in love.

Grab the graphic here:

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Free and Easy Days

2013-05-10T12:33:00.002-04:00

Our last bit of Springtime company headed home on Wednesday, and as I cleaned up the breakfast dishes on Thursday morning, everything felt so very - open, somehow. With a new baby in the house this Spring, our schooling rhythm has already changed quite a bit, before our usual end date of Memorial Day. This year I am contemplating how to continue to incorporate just a smidge of formal learning into our summer days - sneaking it in without much notice from the kids, if all goes well. I think it can be accomplished, even while keeping our Spring and Summer days free and easy.

I must say, these days do feel breezier than before. We don't do many outside activities and do spend most days at home, but just the relaxing of my daily expectations really feels great. Taking walks whenever possible. Reading books and heading down the street for a library and ice cream date. Aiming to have friends over at least once per week. Weekend hikes with Daddy and of course evenings at the ballpark or just relaxing in the back yard with family. I love the feeling of being up for anything, when a friend swings by unexpectedly in the morning and I just start that coffee maker right back up and fall in for a nice long chat. It makes sense, I think, to change pace with the seasons. It feels right for now.

Today I took a little walk around my parents yards while trying to get Rosie to fall asleep in the wrap (one of her favorite places for a quick snooze). Dad had mentioned a day or so ago that the dogwood was in bloom and I wanted to get a few pictures before she faded away. Growing up, there was a crab apple tree in this spot - I don't remember what happened to it, but Mom always wanted a white dogwood there. She finally bought the dogwood, but the nursery messed up and gave her pink instead of white, something we didn't realize until the following spring. I was secretly pleased - I like the pink ones best, anyway.

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