our week

Posted in familyness, love and happiness by ElaineMarie

small

collection

of moments

from our week…

^^^ early morning uno games ^^^

^^^ sore loser ^^^

^^^ but she won at go fish so don’t feel too bad for her ^^^

^^^ if only i had a dollar for every time this kid painted herself blue ^^^

^^^ craft time with dad ^^^

^^^ she ate most of an entire watermelon herself ^^^

i don’t have words or stories from the week to share at this point. that’s kinda what summer does to us, huh? it steals our words and demands we just live it until we head back to school in the fall and write out those “what i did this summer” essays. i look forward to that first crisp day when it will all seem so clear as to what these hazy, lazy days of summer are all about. until then we’ll take slow mornings. we’ll take these long daylight hours by the pool. we’ll take these watermelon afternoons. we’ll take all that we can get.

*wishing you a watermelon afternoon {or two} of your own this weekend*

hi all, please give us your vote for the week by clicking the vote for us icon below. thanks for your help!

25Jun2014

pregnancy eats

Posted in pregnancy, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

postpartum planning and fresh produce availability are converging at one time to make my pregnancy eats focus directed a little more towards the post-pregnancy period. the garden is starting to yield and so are the farms in central ohio. i’ve been gradually putting away freezer items and have gotten into some canning with our lovely neighbor. i still have quite a bit to put away before i will feel satisfactorily prepared but any progress is good progress, right?

so, we’ve put away some

^^^ cilantro lime rice ^^^

^^^ taco pickles ^^^

lentil tacos

salsa chicken

and

vegetable marinara

^^^ d has been doing her own preserving, making teas and drying bunches from bolted cilantro ^^^

but that’s all i’ve got so far. this is where i need help. i have some ideas like making some crockpot pulled chicken and more taco meat but i need ideas. pinterest is chock full of them but it’s hard to know if a recipe is going to be a bust or not based on the internet so, i am asking you to leave a comment with your tried and true pinterest link for your favorite freezer meals {or any recipe link will do} so i can add it to my board and get some more variety going in our freezer. healthy and cheap options are always good.

and please someone ease my guilt and tell me that i get a zero waste free pass since this is the first time i’ve bought plastic storage bags in at least 3 years? i tried to figure out a way to zero waste this process but there is only so much one mama mind can take on at one time…

thanks in advance for your help!

21Jun2014

what will this babe be like?

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

^^^ the outfit we brought darla home in, including my baby hat my parents brought me home in ^^^

i spend a good deal of time belly gazing these days, thinking and imagining what this little person is going to look like and be like. i actually sit around and change the lyrics from the sound of music to what will this babe be like, i wonder? like i’m maria von trapp.

it’s funny to know so much about a little person, yet so little at the same time. i know that this human likes to be up all night. i know that this person likes the sound of his/her sister’s voice. i know this person might just be slightly less rambunctious than miss darla marie.

but that is it at this point. i guess there isn’t much to this little one yet. this person is still part of me, an extension really. and yet he or she is going to come earthside and have a unique path very soon.

who will this little person become?

will he be like the rest of us? will this baby have dimples? will she be another strawberry blonde like miss d and me or might she get her daddy’s brown locks? will this baby like watching sound of music with me? b/c big sis has been a disappointment in that department thus far.

i think i’m getting more and more ready to find out with each day that passes. when i look at that belly up there i get the same wave of awe come over me that i feel when i look at a seed or an acorn. the potential for perpetual life on this planet is just astounding to me. the sheer multitude of possibilities encased in each egg on this earth is humbling. have you ever stopped to think about the fact that there are as many different options for life paths as there have been humans born of this earth and will always be? that makes the fact that we sit around and argue about ways of living so ridiculous. life is incredibly abundant with us. if only we could stop closing doors on ourselves…

i’m thankful to partake of this abundance. i’m humbled to perpetuate it.

“Women can change better’n a man,” Ma said soothingly. “Woman got all her life in her arms. Man got it all in his head.”
“Man, he lives in jerks-baby born an’ a man dies, an’ that’s a jerk-gets a farm and looses his farm, an’ that’s a jerk. Woman, its all one flow, like a stream, little eddies, little waterfalls, but the river, it goes right on. Woman looks at it like that. We ain’t gonna die out. People is goin’ on-changin’ a little, maybe, but goin’ right on.”
― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

19Jun2014

bump day

Posted in familyness, pregnancy by ElaineMarie

bump day this week is another homage to our baby shower when i was growing darla. i’m happy to keep this circle and tradition going with her. i asked her to draw her prediction of whether this will be a little brother or sister.

she set to work with her predictions….

and prophesized that i would be giving birth to…

Bubbles from the PowerPuff Girls.

and of course she wanted to sign her artwork.

so now we just wait and see if her predictions are correct…

17Jun2014

avoiding maternity clothes

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

from the non-maternity files this week…

you may remember this birdie top from an earlier post. yeah i got it. and i now know why big, beautiful black women wear loud prints. i know why the largest woman at church wears the biggest hat on easter sunday. i know why the caged bird sings… living large and in charge means covering your largeness in prints that say “yeah, i’m proud of alllllllll of this.”

or you can just put conway twitty on your largeness and call it a day.

13Jun2014

our week

Posted in familyness, pregnancy, Run Da House by ElaineMarie

small

collection

of moments

from our week.

i was going to label this my week again, but seeing as how this little person is days away from being considered full term i think it’s safe to say that i’m truly and definitely a We.

miss darla spent the week in indiana again. i spent the week in a nesting frenzy. y’all first i painted all the things that needed painting. and then i painted all the things that didn’t need painting. i even made a baby bunting. i don’t know why!! this girl can’t help it.

since becoming pregnant almost all of the rooms in our house have had a major overhaul. it usually takes me a long time to get the house in order but this pregnancy really helped me have the drive to get things taken care of. it’s important to me to enjoy spending time in my home space, knowing that we’re going to be spending a lot of time bunked down very soon.

but in turn, this just leaves me feeling very boring these days. i can’t really seem to focus on much besides organizing our house and just waiting for this baby to be here. i feel like i’m on pause. i can’t remember if i felt this way with darla. i feel like i can’t make any plans or even think ahead into the future until this babe comes earthside. it’s like i have no memory…but in the future…

i’m also too tired to do much. so i lay my body down early at night and then just flop around…not sleeping.

late pregnancy is a bit of a roller coaster. i am trying desperately not to wish away these last few weeks. this is more than likely my last baby. i feel like i should be focusing on how special this time of my life is. i feel like i should be journaling and wearing flower crowns or something. ok, maybe not. but i definitely feel like SOMEONE should be giving me an essential oils foot rub. i think i really want to get all my to-do’s done so i can get down to some sacred work of ENJOYING this.

is that maybe what this blog is for?

i guess i get to determine that since this is my space. i want to state that my desires are for this to be a place to put down the positive, lovely things about pregnancy that i will dearly miss in all the remaining years of my lady life. i will try to refrain from complaining here.

just let me get two last words of complaint out there. that’s all i need. and then it will be all focused on the magical happenings of these last few weeks. just two last words:

vagina lightning.

ladies, you know what i’m talking about. gents, you don’t wanna. we’ll leave it at that.

aaaaand when i wasn’t doing ridiculous crafts or freezer meals i just took poorly lit selfies of We.

you know. the usual.

*wishing you and yours a wonderful full moon friday the 13th weekend!*

hi all, please give us your vote for the week by clicking the vote for us icon below. thanks for your help!

12Jun2014

bump day

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

let’s play a little game of pregnant, not pregnant!

pregnant…

not pregnant!

pregnant…

not pregnant!

yep, pregnant.

it’s really all about perspective, huh folks?

10Jun2014

invoking the goddess

Posted in Momma Needs a minute... by ElaineMarie

true life story from my quirkiness files: i carry two of these headbands in my purse and one in my tote bag at all times. i have several more stashed in my room. these are my goddess headbands.

this practice started over a year ago with the life(dot)next desert directive retreat. i pull one out and put it on whenever i recognize that i’m just not keeping up with the demands of my day. and then i pull the second one out and hand it to darla because she will inevitably asks to don one once i do. this grown-up version of dress up helps me invoke the properties i’m not doing a good job of naturally possessing in any given moment.

my usual goddess go-to is demeter because she is the mother archetype. i find myself to not be a natural mother-woman. i will make a great girl scout troop leader; full of adventure, ideals and advice but it is the softer elements of motherhood that i frequently need to invoke. patience, understanding, sympathy and serenity are things i have to work on daily.

another favorite goddess of mine to invoke is hestia, the goddess of hearth and home. she helps me find joy and satisfaction in my daily chores and has been especially helpful to me during this nesty phase of my life. if i’m on the way to an interview i invoke artemis, the goddess of the hunt. she helps me feel confident in my capabilities to serve families.

i know this is silly, but i like silly. the ritual of this helps me focus my energy and get centered again. some people sit down to meditation. some people open up their spiritual texts. some light a candle. i put on a shiny headband.

to each her own.

{if you are interested in learning more about goddess archetypes i recommend Goddesses in Everywoman. it’s a book that has a permanent resting spot by my bed.}

10Jun2014

avoiding maternity clothes

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

all my pants are being worn urkle style these days. and by all i mean the two pairs i fit into as of now. this outfit was the only addition to my fashion rotation this week.

i want to give a shout out to this accessory above. this is a relic from my first job at the goodwill store back when goodwill used to be a true thrift store. it’s a vintage belt and i’m happy that 16 year-old me acquired this belt all those years ago to help 31 year-old me ease through the high-waisted days just a little less self-consciously.

8Jun2014

this girl and our week

Posted in familyness, love and happiness, parenting apparently? by ElaineMarie

before i jump into the goodness from this week i want to take a minute to put some words down about this girl above. these weeks have been very challenging for me. i wanted to give darla the best of me for these last few weeks of her only-child existence. i wanted to give her an amazing last summer together. i feel i’m falling way short on these expectations. i feel so stretched, in every figurative and literal way. i am not giving her the best of myself. i’m trying but we get to the middle of the day and i’m completely used up. she has so many qualities that are going to be huge assets when she is older but they thoroughly exhaust and aggravate me to the core during our everyday life. i need some reminders for myself:

stop. these are her last few weeks of onliness. put the to do list down. make your time with her count.

breathe. don’t wish away these last few weeks of pregnancy. by your designs, this is your last pregnancy. i know you’re tired and uncomfortable but very soon it will be over and you may never feel this body transformation again.

relax. in the end it will be ok. it always is.

there, i have those down there now. only future me knows if i will do a good job following my own advice.

now,

small

collection

of moments

from our week…

we joined the world in strawberry picking this week. seriously, did everyone quit their jobs and head off into the fields? last year we were amongst a handful of people in the fields and this year it was a mob scene. granted, it was the very tail end of the strawberry season when we made it out last year but i think it’s safe to say U-pick is having it’s time in the sun {pun! produce pun!} at this time and i for one, couldn’t be happier. it was nice to see so many people investing in local produce, many with their own reusable containers. zero waste wins! {ps. we used one of our leftover bulk peanut butter buckets for this year. last year i cut the top off an old milk carton. take a look around at what you have at home before heading off to U-pick this year.} we found a little slug buddy whom darla carried around for a while and had a hard time understanding why he couldn’t come home as a pet.

our local library branch had a farm pets day which made for a perfect pit stop during a rainy afternoon.

we also ventured to the rose garden for our annual park of roses visit. D had chosen to wear her rose garden dress for the outing and was pretty tickled when butterflies mistook her garments for the real thing. i really should have taken the photo of her face instead of the butterfly but it was too late. the look on her face is what i really want to remember from that moment though.

*that’s a wrap on our week. i hope you had a wonderful week and weekend as well*

hi all, please give us your vote for the week by clicking the vote for us icon below. thanks for your help!

momjeanz

Tag Archives: motherhood

our week

pregnancy eats

what will this babe be like?

bump day

avoiding maternity clothes

our week

bump day

invoking the goddess

avoiding maternity clothes

this girl and our week