Take 'Em for a Ride on My Big Green Tractor

Our garage is temporarily housing a riding lawn mower. I'm hoping "temporarily" doesn't evolve into a redefinition of the word embracing some form of permanency. Not that I've been able to park in the garage for over a year anyways. Sigh. Mike and I used to pride ourselves that we could actually park our car in the garage. Pride + Growth (Life happening) = Humbling. And so we learn that the apples really don't fall so far from the trees. 

Yesterday we bundled up the girls and Mike took each one for a spin on the "tractor". Since we're not quite up to sizeable country acreage that would actually require a riding lawn mower, we did it city-style: cutting cookies in the cul-de-sac. It cracked me up to watch Mike fire it up, sit a girl on his lap and drive off into the near-sunset... all the while never even getting close to the grass and just driving around on the street as the girls spun the wheel whichever way the chose. In retrospect I think this really helps the image we're working on with those burnt-out Christmas lights.

 

 

 

Selah, as always, spotted a plane

I'm Dreaming of a White (Trash) Christmas

My own version of Bing Crosby's big tune hummed in my head until I couldn't help belting it out at full volume, "I'm... dreaming... of a white... *trash*... Christmas..." Mike informed me that after several hours of being in the cold, dutifully stringing up Christmas lights, no matter how many bulbs he replaced or times he fiddled with it, he could not get one section of lights to work. Therefore this year we boast a classic Trash Christmas, burnt out lights and all. I decided to give him a break and fed him dinner and let him go to bed early since he was headed back in to work the next day, amused all the while knowing that at least for a few more nights we'll be exhibiting a quality break in our house's Christmas lighting.

 

 

This year, like many years past (except for the one when we scored a great tree for $5), we headed out to Hansen's Tree Farm just outside of town. Somehow we always end up having the whole place to ourselves to browse and this year was no different. The girls found two matching puddles right off the bat. Eileigh hopped in while Selah stopped at the edge and after a slight encouragement waded in. They had a blast splashing together until Mike and I decided to start the search for our tree. Eileigh ran off to join the search but Selah protested all the way out of the puddle and down the road and into the field and down the aisle, calling out her version of "Puddle!" endlessly. She was distracted only by a small plane flying overhead.

Not wanting to hold hands at first.

Watching the plane. Right after this we went to another spot with Selah trailing along behind. I had to return to get her when she kept crying and saying, "Eileigh! Puddle!" and pointing to a pile of dirt that Eileigh had walked through. She was standing with her toes right up against it and apparently had been magically frozen and unable to walk around the dirt.

We traipsed around for a time, marveling that the weather was the warmest it's ever been for tree shopping. Usually it's so cold it hurts our noses and I can't wait to get back to the truck. We've never had too much trouble agreeing on a tree (because Mike goes with the one I want, perhaps?) although this year we found ourselves desiring opposing ends of the tree-fatness scale. I kept wanting them to be wider, more full, fatter. Perfect tree? Nope. Must be fatter. We found one that was pretty good compromise-wise although admittedly a little more post-Thanksgiving meal than emaciated. Makes for good ornament holding.

We three girls incessantly hollered out "Timber!!!" while Mike made short work of cutting down our tree and then we headed back to the truck. Eileigh ran back to the puddle for one more quick dip before we were off to the farm store. By then it was lunch time (which was reheating in the oven back at home) and the girls were hungry but of course had eaten all the snack on the way to the tree farm and I now had nothing left to pass back for them to munch on. So I encouraged that if they were lucky then maybe I could pick up a treat at the farm store for them. Eileigh responded, "I'm going to be lucky, Mom." She knows.

We munched Late July Organic Vanilla Bean with Green Tea Chocolate Sandwiches which are ridiculously delicious and taste way better than Oreos and go perfectly with any need for snacking post-Christmas tree harvest. The ride home was quiet to say the least. So after arriving home, eating lunch and "naps" (quotes because Eileigh generally spends the time playing, talking and singing made-up songs at what is close to the top of her lungs) we were able to decorate the tree. Normally we'd try to get the wildlife out of it before bringing it into the house but since it was going to freeze the next day we didn't want to spray it out with water, didn't have a blower and figured that just leaving it outside wouldn't be any kind of encouragement for spiders to vacate. So we just set it up and got to work. The girls enjoyed hanging the red and gold glass balls and I made a mental note to go with not-quite-so-breakable ornaments for next year. Eileigh had the honors of topping the tree this year and I think we'll leave it exactly the way it is because every time I see the slightly crooked star it makes me smile.

This summer I scored a Nativity set at a garage sale. Always wanted a Nativity set, never had one. This one has a baby Jesus that's removable from the manger so if we wanted to we could have the manger empty until Christmas day and then place baby Jesus there in the manger that morning. I can't bring myself to pack Him up for the rest of the season and so He remains at the center of the scene- right where He is supposed to be. Jesus. He's the Reason for it all. May we be ever mindful of that every day, especially as we celebrate His birth.

22 Month Comparison

Selah, one crisp November afternoon 2011

Eileigh, one crisp November afternoon, 2009 

(I'm amazed at how much this girl looks like herself!) :)

Wordless Wednesday: A Little Light Reading

Coconut Sprinkles

Ready for one of the easiest, most phenomenal recipes? Throw these into some granola or just straight into your mouth, use as topping on pureed butternut or acorn squash or spice up your morning oatmeal. These are divine on EVERYTHING. Maybe even steak. Maybe even in a tuna sandwich. Maybe not. But you could serve them up as dessert after that steak... we like them sprinkled on top of freshly whipped cream.

Coconut Sprinkles

2 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c. maple syrup (use the real stuff here- yes, I know it's more expensive than flavored corn syrup)
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Combine ingredients until coconut is coated. Spread on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 2-3 hours until dry and crisp. Break up into small pieces with your hands and store at room temperature in airtight container. Serve with pretty much everything.

Strrrrretch!!

I'm trying to exercise my blogging muscles and finding them shriveled indeed. Therefore, I am committed to minimalizing creativity and instead focusing on simply getting something- anything- on the page on a more consistent basis. Use caution, this may get painful at some point.

Eileigh has been fairly close to begging recently in her requests to have her nails painted. I've never been one to paint my nails regularly (mostly from an unable-to-stay-within-the-lines affliction) and then once I realized that nail polish is possibly one of the most toxic ingredients to apply to our bodies I've pretty much vetoed it since. But I still love the pretties. Eileigh loves the pretties. (Selah does too but I'll tell you her actual response here in a second.)

When we were doing GAPS I had signed up for an online cooking class that has been a wealth of information. Seriously great resource. The session on detox went over a wide range of personal care products, including nail polish. In short, it's best to avoid most, if not all nail polishes due to the toxicity in the ingredients. There are a few brands that are safe although no nail polish is completely non-toxic. Suncoat kid's nail polish is the least toxic of all the brands. So over to their website did I go. You can check out the kid's nail polish here or their regular non-toxic line here.

Eileigh sat on my lap and we shopped together online. I asked her if she wanted pink or purple or red. She chose blue. Mermaid Blue! I went with Berry from their regular line and then picked up some of their mascara to try since I'm almost out. Kind of fun reading about what is NOT in their ingredients. Plastic, anyone? I digress. So night before last I slapped three coats of Berry down onto my newly shorn fingernails. I couldn't believe how fast it dried- obviously because it's water-based but by the time I was done painting one hand it was dry enough to switch to the other hand and not worry about smearing it everywhere. Not that a professional such as myself would have that problem. Ahem.

I promised I would paint Eileigh's fingers after her nap and she dutifully went to sleep, a rarity nowadays. Selah woke up before Eileigh and let me paint her left big toe Mermaid Blue before deciding she was quite unhappy about it. She went over and sat on Daddy's lap to read books, double-checking her toe every now and then to make sure she still had something to protest about.

Eileigh woke up excitedly a little after that and held remarkably still for two coats on her fingers and toes. Once again, I marveled at how fast it dried and Eileigh appreciated being able to go show Daddy and Selah her pretty fingers and toes once they were done. The Mermaid Blue actually ended up being a somewhat metallic shimmery blue and green. Certainly cute on kids- and adults of that persuasion, too. Personally I'm more of a "basic" kinda gal but can appreciate it on others. :)

So far the polish on the nails is lasting quite well- all except for Eileigh's big right toe, which got picked clean off while she was watching Raffi in Concert before bathtime last night. After a few threats of leaving it unpainted we're scheduled for a repaint this afternoon. Maybe I'll even take a swipe at a second Selah toe.

Morning Snuggles

Eileigh's almost always up for a sister snuggle- Selah on the other hand prefers it on her own terms.

This morning she flopped down on top of Eileigh willingly and contentedly let Eileigh "pet" her back while I ran for the camera. Can't think of a better way to start the morning.