That kind of day

I'll skip the details but it was not an especially peaceful day in the Potoshnick household. Ella's outfit is evidence. Getting the kids dressed was such an ordeal that I stopped before getting socks on her. She then proceeded to bring me a pair of MY socks and motioned that I put them on her feet. I knew that this was a battle that I didn't really care about so this is how she looked today. Mom's socks pulled up to her mid thigh, over her leggings. Awesome look, huh?

Team Hendo + Team Poto

This past weekend, our friends the Hendersons made their way up to the windy city for a visit. We met them during our first week at Duke and knew immediately that they'd become close friends. This was the first time that we have all been together since 2007. Our time was mostly spent cooking meals and playing on the floor with the kids, but we did manage to get out to Cosley to see the animals. Who would have thought four years ago that we'd spend a Saturday morning demonstrating animal sounds for our kids? We had a blast though --thanks for making the trip Team Hendo!



Ella pondering the huge pile of hay bales.

Noah so big.

Jenni and Will --he is one smiley little dude.

Checking out the very rotund sheep.

Ryan with Will, pointing to the llamas.

Attempted group shot. It is pointless to even try to get the kids looking in the same direction.

Of course, Ella tries to pick up the biggest pumpkin that she can find.

Noah telling Ella that it is pure silliness to attempt lifting a pumpkin of such heft.

And Noah demonstrating that small pumpkins are much better suited for little people .

Noah likes his new little buddy.

Tasting

As previously mentioned, we've processed quite a few apples in the past weeks. Knowing that he comes from a long line of apple butter lovers, we documented Noah's first tastes. He's hooked.

Remembering Today

I've been thinking lots of about living in the moment. Rather than rushing in to make dinner, we stayed outside during the last light to roll in the grass and enjoy the cool evening. Here are a few shots that I want to remember.

Autumn begins

In our house, autumn means apple picking. Last weekend we headed up north to a new orchard (well, new to us) and had an awesome time piking apples with the kids. We came home with nearly 4 pecks of apples, one bag of pears, 5 lbs of sour cherries and a pound of fresh honey. So far, I've made 4 crock pots full of apple sauce and one batch of apple butter. Perhaps some mini apple crostadas this weekend...we'll see.

Pish showing Noah how to get just the right apple.

Ella in Noah's cap from last winter. I'm not sure where she found it but she was sure that she wanted to wear it.

Ella's first time eating the whole apple (not sure why I have not done this before). She polished it off and we had to pry it from her tight little grasp before she ate the core and seeds.

Noah taking a cautious bite.

Enjoying...

Noah wanted to carry the bag of apples on his own.

Thoughts on waiting and delight

The concept of delight is something I've been thinking about lately. I'm learning that it is often a byproduct of waiting and letting things happen in their own time. When we moved into our house it seemed that there was no end to the things that we wanted to do. I wanted to do more than we had time for and over the two years that we've been here, I've learned to wait.

One area that has been a work over time has been the landscaping. Over grown weeds, bushes in need of removal, perennials desperate to be divided, trees growing in odd places, a non-functional lamp post, a ratty looking fence and the ground where the swing set used to live all begged for our time.

I could not do much the first year seeing as being pregnant with twins tends to limit physical activity for more than about 5 minutes. For the past two summers, Pish and I have slowly made progress (remember this?) spending hours tending to the needs of the yard: painting, weeding, composting, planting. The process of working slowly was, in some senses, an act of waiting.

And finally, after a couple of years of waiting and working, things are starting to take shape.

Vegetable and herb garden with the fabulous arbor that Matt's dad built for our wedding. The pathway was installed this year with all the stones that we found scattered around the yard. I'm especially partial to the creeping thyme that is filling in the spaces between the rocks.

In previous times, we would have had things in order in one summer. But that is not our life right now and we are taking to the idea of working slowly and when the time permits.

I was outside the other day with Noah and our new camera. I was playing around with the lens and seeing what I could come up with as I admired the products of our waiting and working.

And before I could do a thing about it, I found Noah on the path squishing mud through his toes. He's a big fan of mud --good boy.

Little boy bliss...

Savoring every last bit of the summer...

My friend Meg and I had one of those 'why have we not done this before?' moments the first time that we took the kids to the beach in August. It is not that far and it makes for the most perfect day. Everyone, mommas included, loves the beach.