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Look what WE have been up to...
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Out my window: A beautiful day! 50-ish. Zelie and I went on a walk and she fell asleep in the stroller so I am enjoyed a rare (and brief) quiet time with both the little ones sleeping. I do wish for some cold and snow sometime soon, or really just some moisture. 

Clothing myself in: Another mom "uniform" day: jeans (which are developing a hole in the knee), brown tee and pink cardigan.

Around the house: I got all the wallpaper off the bathroom walls fairly easy, but the glue is its own layer and is going to require much more work. Being sick this week has stopped all progress. Joel and I were talking about which part of the house was "next" to be redone and we decided the hallway would be up soon (the wallpaper is peeling in multiple places care of some children). Joel half jokingly/half seriously suggested we put up new wallpaper. The look that I gave him (and the slap on the shoulder) makes me think he won't be making that suggestion again. 
I digress. We also finished up our room and it looks great! We hung up this on our last empty wall.

Baby Xavey: He's either teething or he's getting an earache. It seems like the poor little guy wants to be held or nurse constantly when he's awake. But he's still sleeping good, so I'm thankful for that. 

Zelie helping set out the turtles to cool.

Four generations of candy makers.

Happy Advent!

Great idea Erika! Xavier is sporting some of his handsome hand-me-downs. And no outfit is complete without a fun accessory.




Outfit deets:
shirt: cousins
pants: cousins
cowboy hat: uncle Rick
shoes: Target.

As I said in another post. I recently did a little DIY project. I bought some pants online on clearance, didn't like (they were way to big and had drawstring bottoms I didn't know about), and couldn't return them. So I tried out this tutorial to make some skinny pants out of this pair of lemons:

Okay not these exactly. But I swear they were that baggy and had drawstrings on the bottoms.

Ignore the classy look.

Out my window: Nighttime, lovely moon out. It actually got cold yesterday and we started a fire in the stove. 

Clothing myself in: My "uniform": jeans, plain t-shirt and cardigan. Do you have a go-to uniform?

Around the house: We have been pretty busy around here with Thanksgiving break. Joel painted some of the exterior windows, cleaned the gutters, cut some firewood, and helped his brother with his house project. I am finally, after 2 years, putting the finishing touches on our room. I think the reason I don't like house projects is because neither of us are good project finishers. Our bedroom for example: we painted it right before we found out about Xavier, moved the bed around, got new curtains and hung up one picture. That was it for over a year. Then I finally talked Joel into getting a new crucifix for the room and we hung that up. Wait another few months. Now we are getting some nightstands for the room (after 7 years of marriage I will finally have my own nightstand), another picture for a big wall and few other odds and ends and the project will be finished.
Tomorrow my folks are coming out to help with a few house maintenance things. They are also going to help remove the hanging cabinet and cabinet doors and drawers from the bathroom so I can re-stain and varnish them. It's a really big project, so if any of you (or your husbands, *cough* Erin) are skilled in this area let me know. I will promise you panicked phone calls!
Whew, that was long. Sometimes I long for those days when we rented the convent from Sacred Heart and someone else fixed our appliances, painted our walls, built our roof, and mowed our lawn. Sigh.

Baby Xavey: Lots of fun! He has finally! decided to walk (at just under 14 months). Isn't it amazing how much a new milestone can make you love them and want to squeeze them tight so they don't grow up? The walking usually ends up in a dive at the end right now, but it is really fun seeing him walk to his older brothers. I love it. And they do too. However, the clinginess has not worn off. 

Out my window: Windy and chilly. We have had a few good hard freezes over the past week so Autumn is officially here. All my potted plants are dead.

Clothing myself in: jeans, brown longsleeve shirt, sweater and jacket zipped up. I hope we can get the chimney swept out soon!

Around the farm: Butchering went well this past weekend, the final count was 87. Unfortunately the night before we needed to fill up the scalder to be ready for the morning. Neither of us thought to drain the water from the hoses afterward, so we woke up to ice-blocked hoses. We dragged all 8 of them into the family room and started a fire to thaw them out. We ended up with a few cracked ones, but that was the only delay to the whole day (which is good compared to some of the issues we've encountered).  Since we had to move it up a weekend (due to fast growing birds) we also hired a few young fellas to help out last minute. Watch out Mary and Ryan, these guys were super fast! We were all finished by 3 p.m., which is a new record.
It was so nice to be done with a bit of the day left for other things, and Joel was sweet and took me out for a birthday dinner at the Mexican restaurant in town.
I am also trying keep our hens laying this winter. After they molt the hens don't lay as many eggs in the winter because of the increased darkness and cold. I have mixed feelings about this, since I think giving them a natural winter break is probably good for them. But I don't see the benefit for us if I keep having to buy store eggs. So I set a timer to turn on a heat lamp at 6 a.m., turning off around 8:30 a.m. when it is daylight. We'll see if egg production speeds up.

Baby Xavey: He's getting pretty brave standing up. He does this really cute thing where he gets himself balanced by holding onto me, then lets go and raises his hands up in the air. He has also been better at Mass the past two Sundays. We only had to go out once! this weekend. This compared to a few months ago, when I'm pretty sure we had to take Xavier outside a number of weeks in a row for screaming before Mass had even started. Progress.
Still follows me around like a wounded puppy if I don't hold him.



The kiddos: I heard the boys downstairs being a bit noisy last night, but they settled down soon after. When they came up this morning they told me they had cleaned their room. Jude picked up the clothes, floor and dresser, and Gus had made all the beds. They can be unexpectedly sweet sometimes. Then Gus proceeded to sweep the basement hall and pick up the Lego room without me asking! I'm just trying to enjoy it.
We also started moving Xavier into Zelie's room at night. For a while we have been layying Xavier down in the port-a-crib in our room at the kids' bedtime, then move him to the family room when we were ready for bed. I know this sounds weird and kind of like bad parenting, but it works amazing since we don't wake him with our moving and we don't get woken up by his movements. I can hear him if he starts fussing and just nurse him back to sleep in the family room when needed. Since he has been sleeping so well, we decided it was time to put the two little ones together at night. Once we are ready for bed I nurse Xavey while Joel moves the crib into Zelie's room. There has been some Xavey night waking, but I think he'll get used to it soon.

Crafting: Joel was a dear and took all the kids bowling Sunday so I could finish the capes. We wanted to give them to the kids together on Jude's name day (which was Sunday, nothing like waiting until the very last minute). They loved them, I wish I had taken a video of all the sound effects and superhero moves they showed us when they first put them on. Ironically, I don't think anyone is going to be a superhero for Halloween. Oh well.
I started Xavey's hat, just in time for the cold weather.

In the kitchen and garden: Kielbasa, apple and onions over puff pancakes tonight; a roasted chicken; chicken and sweet potato pot pie; lemon butter broiled fish; chicken alfredo pizza. Spinach and lettuce is still alive, go me!  I need to get the sweet potatoes dug up, I hope its not too late.

Bringing me joy: Joel is reading Jude and Gus Charlotte's Web for story time, he's such a good daddy and they beeeegg for another chapter every night.

Thinking about: Praying more and trying again to go to daily Mass. Winter hibernation, I wish I was a bear.

Pictures to share:

Gus dug out a potato plant and took it for show and tell.

Carving pumpkins!

I don't think Joel knows I have a blog, so I'm going to use his ignorance to post this picture. This is Sir. Reginald von Housen. He is a "substitute" teacher that comes in to teach the students about proper nouns. I'm so glad I have this for future uses.

Joining Jen for my first 7 Quick Takes:

1. I have mother guilt but I threw out all of our playdough yesterday. In my defense it was getting crumbly and dry anyway, but really I just couldn't handle it right now. Zelie loves the stuff and would happily mush it around for long periods of time. Like I said, mother guilt. But the mess! makes me crazy since it gets all over the floor, crusted on clothes, and most annoyingly in Xavier's mouth. Sorry children, maybe we'll try again in a year, but for now its gone.

2. For about a month now a building within 1 mile of our house has had a "drive thru" sign painted on it. I have been happily concocting what delicious fast food will only be a mile from our house. On the way to school/adoration/the grocery store? Time for a taco/ tater tots/ sugary drink! Since we live in a small town, I have to keep my dreams realistic. I know it won't be a Chik-fil-a, or a Chipotle, but a girl can dream about a Dairy Queen or Taco Tico.  But unfortunately, no. Joel informed me its going to be a bait shop. What a let down! I will probably need sometime before I can buy bait there without resentment.

3. The boys both went on field trips to the Pumpkin Patch this week. I initially thought about driving, but could only fit one extra kid in the van and would have brought a curious toddler and a demanding nursling along. Essentially I would have been no help at all. I do feel better about this now that it is 40 degrees and wildly windy. I told Gus that "some year I will be able to drive for a school field trip." Like when he's in middle school, and doesn't want to be in my car anyway.

4. Tomorrow I will turn 29. To celebrate we are butchering 90+ chickens. Its sure to be a party.

5. In relation to #4, I thought about writing a self-pitying poem entitled "Warm Carcass Gloves," but decided some of my friends might not read my posts anymore if I did that. Okay, done with gross chicken talk.... now.

6. Halloween is less than a week away and I still haven't figured out costumes for the kids. I think coordinating costumes are really, really cute and would love to be as disciplined as my friend Elizabeth,
but the farm duties and the beginning of the school year seemed to conspire against such cuteness. I had plans to make the kids all capes so they could go as superheroes,which they were excited about.  I even had the capes cut out (including a cute little cape for Xavier), but I didn't get past the pinning and ironing stage before I got too busy to pick it back up in time. So now I'm trying to talk the Jude, Gus and Zelie into one of the costumes we already have around the house. Xavier will be the usual "Bear" that all the kids are for their first few Halloweens. I'm so glad I had the energy when Jude was a baby to make that one!

7. Halloween is a mixed emotion for me. The candy makes me crazy. I would love to be a super Catholic parent and rally behind the Halloween as "All Saints Day Eve approach". Doing fun, creative projects so that my children will say on their own, "Mom, can I dress up as St. Peter?" But, even if I can't get that holy, its such a fun day for the kids getting to dress up. Our town always has done a really fun trick-or-treat day right after school along Main Street called Trick-or-Treat street where all the business owners dress up and hand out candy to the kids. Its a really fun time for Joel and I too, since we get to see Joel's students and spend our monthly allotment of socialization in the community.

Alright, that was my first lackluster attempt at 7 Quick Takes. Be patient with me, I'm a baby blogger and need formulas to follow to post. Happy weekend!