The game right now is to get Michael into the pool off the first step instead of being pushed in by him. He is by far the biggest boy, but has taken on the care of the smallest boy in the midst of it all.
I was thinking earlier, as I made a mad rush to unpack the groceries and clean the house before the arrival of our company, that today's style of motherhood is quite the workout. Who cares if I won't have the chance to exercise today because I have broken out into a sweat numerous times and my arm muscles have burned already!
I haven't had much time for blogging, but while I watch the kids swim I'll work at arranging a small glimpse of our life recently:
The "Sisters" (chickens) are starting to pay for their room and board. First egg.
Olivia and I have been busy with a variety of projects. We don't know much when it comes to sewing, but we do what we can and learn along the way. (Thank you Mrs. M for teaching me a new and very handy stitch!)
The sewing machine manual is always open beside me...
Michael helped me with another sort of project. I let him prime some little metal containers which will be used for school/art supplies. When I went out a little later I noticed he had also sprayed a few fallen leaves and some chicken poop. Funny, I've never wondered what it would be like to spray paint poop before; I do wonder what kind of thought processes go on in that blond head of his.
Jacob loves to have jobs in the kitchen, especially shredding cheese or washing produce. He also enjoys measuring and mixing, but mostly if it feels like he's playing in a sand box.
Olivia bringing in a few things from the garden, a nearly nightly ritual. She has watched over the garden for months and thoroughly enjoys harvesting. OK, she is actually quite possessive of the garden and doesn't like for anything to be picked without her consent. She also has the responsibility of taking care of the chickens... they are her babies.
She makes an attentive and personally invested farm girl.
I caught Michael dancing as he stirred his pot of minestrone last night. It is my goal that my kids all learn to cook, or at least know the basics and have the confidence to follow a recipe on their own. They will only want to do it if it's fun, and if they have successful experiences. Really, what I want them to know is that they can learn anything at all.
He is a lot of fun in the kitchen when he gets into it! This one was a group effort, and the recipe was hardly followed.
The all-important taste test...
They are never lacking for creativity and goofiness.
The reflection of the sun setting in the stillness of our pool during dinner last night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It has been days since I added those pictures. I have wanted to sit down more than once and journal a bit, but it would seem that my blog lives mostly in my head! I journal in there thinking at some point I'll sit down to journal here, transferring a few thoughts into words on a screen. Sometimes I have the urge to stay up most of the night and take in the quiet, giving myself some time to remember and record.
But I'm tired, or at least I know I'll be too tired to function if I don't sleep. This occupation called motherhood is a workout on nearly all days, and rest time is to be taken just as seriously as workouts. Without rest we can't workout, train, or race optimally.
So tonight, at this late hour, I will postpone whatever it is that someday will be written here. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week or so...
~Katherine
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'd love to hear from you...