Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #23: Yellow

Bright, yellow egg yolks. Egg yolks from our backyard... from Lavender... two-at-a-time. It seems quite fitting that the first egg we cracked open from our feathered friends was a twin egg. Not the one pictured - this is her second twin egg. What a beautiful sight! Maybe she was born that way... maybe our organic chicken feed rocks... maybe it's the quinoa they eat? Or the peaches, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, kale, KITCHEN SINK???? Hearty chickens, hearty eggs. 

Can you spot the twin-yolker in this picture? Yes, that would be the one that prevents the top of the egg carton from even closing. Kudos, chickens, kudos.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #22: A Room

Which room? The living room. Specifically the living room floor. It's rest time, aka "reading hour". It is also currently a Little House-a-thon... Abby is reading Little House on the Prairie; Elise is reading Little House in the Big Woods. There are few sounds more enjoyable right now than these two reading aloud. Even the dog enjoys it...

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #21: Slow

I feel like I've been waiting my whole life to meet this blender. It is taking forever to get here... Soooooo sloooooowwwwww....

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #20: Stairs

Stairs... inflatable stairs... in a bounce house. Say what???? The giant, inflatable structures within which children fling themselves about with reckless abandon until red-faced and sweaty sit in the part of my brain entitled "DO NOT ENTER", along with amusement parks, public pools, and the giant car shopping carts at the grocery store. If you partake in any of the above, please don't be offended! My quirks are no reflection on you. Now, please stop rolling your eyes at me and start shouting "I told you so!!!" because (obviously) the girls loved it. 

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #19: Lost

I think the girls got lost on their way to the closet while getting dressed. It appears they pit-stopped in the bathroom, at the dress-up box, and for an umbrella. Note: this picture was taken while on Grandpa's watch. Funny how things change - when they're younger, adults are on duty to keep the little ones entertained. I think it's the other way around now.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #18: Someone you spoke to today...

I'm pretty sure the subject for today's photo challenge should be "someone who talked to you today"... because pretty much from sun-up to sun-down, these two talk... and talk... and talk. And I know that my Mom is reading this thinking "what goes around, comes around" because sources say that, where the nonstop gabbing is concerned, the apples didn't fall far from the tree. Abby sang quite a tune in the car the other day, most of which I personally couldn't understand, but clearly it was because she was singing "looking through my windowpane" in French. Her words, not mine. Some parents say that silence is worrisome as it means the children must be up to no good. If that was true, there would never be trouble in our house because silence. doesn't. exist.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #17: Exercise

It is because of exercise that allows Charlie to sit like this: still. :) She is a wonderful dog - she is affectionate and living up to the Vizsla "velcro dog" nickname; she is making great progress in minding her manners, such as staying out of the kitchen during mealtimes, going right into her kennel upon request, and keeping her absurdly long legs in check and paws off of people/things/the cat; and she is responding to more and more commands like "lay down", "sit", "wait", "find your collar", and "don't eat the chickens". Charlie is springy and bouncy and overflowing with enthusiasm for EVERYTHING. Exercise is not optional.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #16: Cooking

Making popsicles is hardly "cooking", I know. But it took place in the kitchen today and it was edible. Sounds like cooking, right? We LOVE our Zoku popsicle maker. Great Grandma gave it to the girls for their third birthday and it is still rocking our freezer. Truth: we've had a popsicle for an afternoon snack everyday this week. I thought I'd share a few of our flavors - each time, I toss the ingredients into the blender (well, into the tiny smoothie cup attachment that goes with our blender. the glass jar is cracked and 3 or so of the speeds are broken. BUT... today I treated myself and, depending on processing and shipping, should have my new VITAMIX BLENDER at this time next week, not that I'm excited ....thank you, dear!). In far more words than you needed, toss the ingredients into your blender, mix up, and pour into the Zoku. 

Blueberry Peach

• Fresh organic blueberries
• Fresh local peach
• Spoonful organic whole-milk yogurt
• Splash of organic pear nectar

Coconut Strawberry Lime

• Fresh organic strawberries
• 3-4 frozen organic strawberries
• Juice of one organic lime
• Pure Coconut milk - unsweetened in a can, not the kind in a box with added ingredients

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #15: The Best

The best way to start the day - good food, beautiful weather, and GREAT friends! We had a special breakfast with Sydney before she heads off to kindergarten. What is incredible about these three faces is the frequency with which they've seen each other since before they were born. :) Sydney's parents were in our birthing class. Now, ironic as it is, John and Syd's dad go WAAAYYYY back to their wee-lad days in Iola. Okay, not that far and not that ironic because Iola is like Kevin Bacon - everyone is connected to Iola within 6 degrees. Anyhow, Beth and I hit it off and we probably most definitely looked forward to seeing Beth and Christian each week more than learning about having a baby. Our girls were born 2 weeks before Sydney (but they were due 6 weeks later!!) and, in November 2008, we all got together for our first social gathering, with our 3-month old babies. Here we are, ready to start kindergarten, and we still look forward to seeing this family almost weekly, sometimes more, sometimes less. Having these kinds of friends is, simply put, "the best". 

Watching the giant diggers working across the street from the parking garage was pretty cool, too. But not as cool as friends.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #14: Trash

I didn't take a picture of any trash today.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #13: Fast

Fast. They grow up too. damn. fast. My shoes, my dress... my babies???? It really happens fast. I'll be honest - on more than one occasion, I've dreaded the girls turning into 7 or 8 year olds. The thought of pre-teens has made me shudder. How do you make all right with their world when they are too old to just pull into your lap, read a book, and quickly watch the worry disappear??? What happens when a popsicle isn't a cure-all??? And for crying out loud, how do you carry on when they ask to go "swimming" instead of "schwimming"???? The moment captured in this picture, while I'm 100% not ready for it, made me feel a flutter of excitement for the relationship yet to come between the girls and me. It does happen fast, but we're doing our best to enjoy, and remember, the ride.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #12: Macro

Our first monarch caterpillar - big and fat and devouring our monstrous milkweed! Our butterfly garden expanded this year - I cleared out a sunny spot in the front yard and filled it with lantana, coneflowers, a butterfly bush, brown-eyed susan, and milkweed. This year, I put in 12 milkweed plants and have never seen such healthy, mammoth milkweed. And finally the fruits of my labor have paid off! Munch away, mister caterpillar!

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #11: I love doing this!

No explanation necessary. I love doing this. 

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #10: Drink

Coffee is a treat for me - not an everyday drink, something that I like to savor. John always makes a big batch of French press or pour-over coffee every weekend and we keep the extra in the fridge for iced coffee. I am thoroughly enjoying a drink now and then with this little concoction added:

Spiced Milk

• 1 C local milk
• 1 tsp local honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cloves
• Splash of organic vanilla
• Slowly heat milk, honey, and spices to a boil
• Remove from heat and add vanilla
• Store in fridge and use to spice up coffee!

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #9: 2:00

At 2:00 in our house on Friday, August 9th, the following were happening:

• Sleeping
• Reading
• Cooking

And that's often times par for the course at 2:00. I love to cook and I love rest time (for the girls, not myself). We continue to have a daily "quiet time", which for the past few weeks has consisted of Elise reading book after book after book... and Abby sleeping. Proof in the pictures:

Today, the recipe at hand was for a fruit and quinoa salad to be served alongside homemade pizza. We had an excellent Friday night dinner date at home with Erika and Mila - not only were they awesome company and playmates, but Erika brought her mighty Vitamix blender and concocted ah-mazing margaritas. As I type, there are four tabs open in my internet browser, comparing different models and prices because the Vitamix will soon be mine. But back to the dinner date... it is such a gift to have good friends. Consider this my shout-out to my friends. You all have a very special place in my world - each of your places are very different and meet my needs in drastically differing ways. And that is awesome. Last night was one of those evenings that was so enjoyable and easy. Thanks for the margaritas - I look forward to many more dinner dates just like that one, but with 4 adults instead of 3. 

Fruit and Quinoa Salad

courtesy of Two Peas and Their Pod

• 1 C organic red quinoa - bring quinoa to a boil in 2 cups of water; cover and simmer for 15 minutes; drain any remaining water and let quinoa cool to room temperature
• Juice of 1 large organic lime
• 3 T local honey
• 1 1/2 T finely chopped fresh mint (from our garden!)
• Organic fruit: strawberries, blueberries, mango
• Toss cooled quinoa with lime/honey/mint dressing; add 2-3 C total fruit of your choice

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #8: Peek-A-Boo

Greetings from the nesting boxes! This is the very noisy and demanding Lavender. Lavender recently starting doing a very bizarre squatting, wing-raising maneuver every time I approached her. In my mind, I thought "what have I done to make my sweet little chicken fear me???". In Lavender's mind, she was thinking "Oh hell! Here comes the rooster!". My interweb research tells me that the squatting stance is a sign of maturity in female chickens and, weird chicken behavior aside, the importance of Lavender playing peek-a-boo in the nesting boxes is...

She was laying our VERY FIRST EGG!!!!! This is exciting, people. Very, very exciting. Happy Wednesday.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #7: A Sign

This is a sign. About signs. :) My August Baby Sing and Sign sessions started tonight - this small business endeavor has proved to be more exciting and fulfilling than I ever imagined it would. And with each new class, like this evening's, I find myself gushing over the babies and oozing with happiness that parents are choosing to include me on their journey through parenthood. This class, like many, included families who are back for a second class. Not only are families stopping in for a session to see what it's all about, but they are coming back. Again. And again. I average 10-15 families per month, I'm contracting with the Baldwin city school district and the Douglas County Child Development Association, providing demo classes for Complete Doula Services at the hospital, teaching 4 sessions for Hickman Mills school district in Kansas City, offering a staff training at a local childcare center, and working on a contract with another local childcare center. This doesn't include my involvement with many other local agencies, promoting opportunities for children and families in Lawrence and making Baby Sing and Sign visible through fundraising activities and raffles. Lawrence is an amazing community to be part of as a parent and as a self-employed individual. But the bottom line: it seems like the families who take my classes are coming back for more while the truth? The families who take my classes keep me coming back for more. 

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #4, #5, #6

Day #4: "Fresh" - cucumbers and tomatoes from Gran and Grandpa's garden for Sunday dinner.

Day #5: "Early" - this may look like a stack of drums covered in shiny things... but really it was a cake that the girls had assembled and decorated. All before 7:30 in the morning... My brain used to be that active upon waking up. I seem to be slowing down...

Day #6: "This means a lot to me" - The actual fence itself, now with the additional boards on the inside, really just means that the chickens will no longer be visiting the neighbor's yard (the yard without the dog and the neighbor who kindly returns them). But this project, along with many others, went something like this: I call my Dad and say "Hey Dad! I need to do ____ ", to which he replies, 100% of the time, "Great! How can I help?". For this project, he came right over, looked at what my plan was and headed to Home Depot for supplies so that I wouldn't have to interrupt the girls' rest time. I love to build and I get so much satisfaction from doing projects. But sometimes the company along the way is just as rewarding. Thanks, Dad!

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #3: Skyline

This was our evening skyline tonight - complete with a horse ride and cowboy hats. I mean - seriously... who needs to battle the germs crowds at the county fair when you've got friends like ours??? The girls rallied and made it to the birthday party - thank goodness for very determined 5 year olds and friends who love us enough to risk illness. I'm really hoping none of the other horse-back riding, cake-eating, running-in-the-grass-barefoot kiddos spikes a fever but A and E wouldn't have missed this shindig for the world!

And, in case you were wondering, the incomplete barrettes were gift-wrapped and ready to go tonight! There will definitely be more of these in my future:

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #2: Incomplete

Birthday gifts for tomorrow's double b-day bash: Incomplete. But don't you worry! They will get done in time - when finished, these will be darling little barrette sets for some of our favorite sisters who are each heading off to school in the next week or two! Now I just need my set of sisters to feel better so neither one of them misses the party - Abby crashed on Thursday; Elise today. I told John this morning that I'm thankful illness between the girls always strikes on consecutive days - while it would shorten our overall household under-the-weather duration if they were sick together, I physically cannot carry, hold, rock, pat two of them simultaneously anymore. I mean, let's be honest - I've carried both of them from here to here over the past two days and it looks ridiculous. It's pretty obvious that they are going to be taller than me... But at least I can make incomplete cute barrettes.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #1: Starts with the letter N

"N" is for nesting boxes. The coop got a little renovation - the girls now have nesting boxes. I went all "Boob Villa", as John says, and built them myself. They are now shingled and caulked. Let's get to laying, ladies, okay?

This is Peep - she's a lovely Buff Orphington. My money is on her for the first egg.