through the tomatillo jungle... beyond the corn forest...

Bopping around the garden is my favorite way to end the day this time of year. The kids wiggle and play and dig, the grownups talk and unwind, we munch on whatever there is to munch on, and when we head inside for bed it's with a happy sigh. Notes from this week...

:: I want to grow these cabbages until the end of time. They are perfect, tiny little cabbages, just 1 lb each, good for a pot of soup or a batch of cole slaw without having a pesky half-head of cabbage leftover in the crisper, which you have to stare at guiltily every time you open the fridge because you just can't figure out what to do with it. Or maybe that's just me.

:: Ground cherries. GROUND CHERRIES. How have I never heard of these before?? They look like tomatillos, but smaller. The husks turn brown when they're ripe, and you can pop the fruit right into your mouth whenever the mood strikes... which is frequently. They're tart-sweet and wonderful. I'm dying to bake with some, but I only planted 3 bushes and that's turned out to be not enough just for garden munching. I read about them in Little Heathens and about jumped out of my pants when I saw them in the Baker Creek catalog. Next time, I'm thinking, like, a hedgerow.

:: We have harvested (and eaten) about half of our La Ratte potatoes. They are tiny and yummy and so so fun to dig up. Tonight we had a wonderful little vegetable soup that used up onion, garlic, thyme, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes from the garden. I love the thrill this time of year of running out to the garden with bare feet while the onions are sizzling in the pot to grab a fat onion or a handful of parsley.

:: Next time...no lawn between beds. R can't mow without hacking everything to pieces, so it's going to jungle in there. I have been loving The Vegetable Gardener's Guide to Permaculture lately and have all kinds of visions for next time, like mulched paths and keyhole beds.

The season is starting to wind down for us up north, but I am looking forward to keeping this little space going, hopefully until the ground freezes, with some more cool-weather crops.

strawberry cream cake + happy birthday to the little man.

Oh, you guys. You need this cake in your life. I hereby resolve to make this cake once every summer until I die. Simple, spongy, flavorful vanilla cake, fresh strawberry halves with more minced strawberries and stovetop-reduced juices hidden inside, and whipped cream/cream cheese/vanilla bean frosting... sigh. It's so good.

The little man is 1 today. He is pulling himself up, getting into everything (especially his sister's toys), cutting more teeth, and being true to his serious little self. I can't believe it's already been a year. How did this happen?

daddy made a swing

Richard rigged up a swing in our backyard this weekend. It's a little tricky for the girls to navigate by themselves, but they'll probably be swinging on it upside-down hanging on by their toes by the end of the summer. Lately we've been ending most days just hanging around in the yard, not doing anything in particular, just playing tag and swinging and talking. Max's favorite thing is when Daddy holds him while they chase the girls around and around and around. That baby can't wait to get movin and shakin.  

Lizzy is playing on the floor next to me right now and just thought of a solution to a problem, then said, "Wow, my mind just popped out of my head!" That girl.

hello tuesday: halloween + autumn links

Some things you should know:

* I did a quickie banner update for Halloween. Click over to have a little look-see.

* The cute spider is thanks to The Ink Nest, my new fave clip art source. So many cute drawings! I want every single one of her clip art sets, especially the jars.

* People tell me all the time that Max looks just like Maren. Lies, all lies. He looks like Lizzy! 

* This is Max's first camo. Hooah.
* I finished the first season of Once Upon a Time the other night and really liked it. Then last night I watched the first episode of the new season, and it pretty much lost me. A whole town's worth of people gets magically transported to our world, ok, I can handle that, but Emma and Mary-Margaret jumping back through a hat-spun wormhole because the grim reaper grabbed them by the ankles? Nope. Sorry Charlie. No can do. Besides, I'm getting sick of Charming boo-hooing all the time and having that single tear perpetually rolling down his cheek. WIPE IT OFF, BROTHER.
* The girls are going to be butterflies for Halloween. Their skirts are rad (pictures forthcoming). If I can manage it I really really really want Max to be Max.
* Lizzy's school doesn't allow costumes (yes, really) so I picked up some cute Halloween fabric for a couple of quick circle skirts. Seriously, try this tutorial, it will change your life.
* These pumpkin roll pancakes might be about to change my life. My sister made them, sans creamy stuff, last night & said they were awesome. I'm copying her tomorrow night.

right now: on my radar

My big sister's music. Her arrangements are getting more gorgeous all the time. Case in point.

The Honest Toddler. I don't really go for humor blogs, but this one is hee-larious.

French onion soup sandwiches, aka heaven on a plate.
Southwest-style sweaters in bright colors. This one's sold out, anyone know of something similar?
Seedfolks. A beautiful little morsel of a book. It would be amazing for a book group.
Field Study + simple strip quilt. I need to make this happen.

Safer birth in a barn. Oh yes.
Growing out a pixie cut, month by month. Rachel is my hair muse.
aaaand...
These guys.

max's birth story

The Boy was due on Monday. By Wednesday, I was getting grumpy. I spent most of Wednesday being Mamasaurus Rex, and the girls (wisely) steered clear for the better part of the day. Sad but true. 'Cause you remember how miserable this is, right? Right.

Richard got home from work really late, and we stayed up until 11:30 that night just talking. He went to sleep, but I stayed up reading for a while. Shortly before midnight, I suddenly started having strong contractions. Within a few minutes, they were strong enough that needed to get up and pace. I woke Richard and asked him to sleep on the couch downstairs so that I wouldn't have to try to get back upstairs in the middle of a contraction.

He never did go back to sleep. In another few minutes, I couldn't talk much (the sure sign for me that things are getting serious), so he called our neighbor Amie to come sleep on the couch. By 12:45, we were on the road to the hospital. At check-in, I was dilated to a 6. The nurse wanted to do the IV and monitoring thing, and all I said was, "No." Then she said, "But--" and Richard said, "She said no." Incredibly, it worked. For most of the time they used a handheld doppler device to monitor the baby's heartbeat; later on, a nurse removed the heartbeat-sensing device from the monitor belt and held it up to my belly (did you know they could do that?! neither did I).

Soon after, my friend Saralyn arrived for labor support. I labored in the hospital room for a while longer, holding onto Richard or on my hands and knees on the bed. I got in the hot shower, where I hung onto the curtain rod and rocked from side to side for a while. After I got out, I asked the nurse to check me again, and I heard the amazement in her voice as, in rising tones, she said, "eight...nine...she's complete!"

Around 2:10 or so I started pushing. The baby's heartbeat started dropping without going back up again, and after a few unsuccessful pushes, Saralyn told me authoritatively, "Amanda, it's time. You need to push this baby out now." Later she told me that a big group of hospital staff had appeared at the door and they appeared to be discussing an emergency C-section. Although I wasn't aware of that event, I did feel prompted at that time that a C-section might happen -- and that if it did, it would be ok.

At 2:32, a few more agonizing pushes later and two and a half hours from that first contraction, he was out -- the relief! -- and he did have the cord around his neck, but pinked right up and scored 9 on both Apgar tests. I realize that slimy, vernix-covered babies are not the cutest things in the world, but to me he was beautiful. I'll tell you the truth, I was nervous about having a boy. I just couldn't emotionally imagine having a boy. But I tell you what -- precious little love in this world has come more easily.

The girls came to meet him the next afternoon, and I'm telling you, they are both textbook-perfect big sisters. They love that kid. We all agreed on his name (Lizzy and Maren got a vote, too; after Clifford [as in the big red dog] was struck down, they got behind Max with little quibble), so Max it is.

I tore. I needed stitches. Hospital food is nasty (but I would have eaten twice as much of it; holy cow someone tell those people to feed the new mamas more food, please). And the afterpains after that third baby are every bit as horrible as your girlfriends told you. But I think I got the better end of the deal, after all.

max.

Meet Max.

Born Thursday morning.

9 lbs 6 oz.

Sweet + perfect in every way.

squishy cheeks

Somehow I managed to convince the kids tonight that blackberry picking in the weeds at the park counted as dessert. They were jazzed. It was worth every scratch, poke, and insect bite. This one's a vision, ain't she? I felt so blessedly content tonight to waddle along after the girls as they scampered up and down the woodline, hollering out every new blackberry patch find, reaching out with juice-stained hands to pluck more, more, more. I thought about coming back with a basket to get enough to bake something with, but you just really can't beat fresh blackberries right from the bush, now, can you?

3 important things:

* This post is taking forever to write because I keep pausing to take mind-blowing bites of these muffins. 

* NPR's list of finalists for the best YA fiction ever.

* This girl is so nonchalant about stuff. Soundlessly makes a bunch of faces for the camera, then walks away without a word. 

See, I told you. Only the important stuff around here.

indiana vacay

This is one of those picture-happy posts that's more for the grandmas than anybody else. I, of course, think my kids are outrageously cute and couldn't possibly pare it down to any less than this. We had a great time in Indiana; there were cousins, water fights, lake-swimming, board games, and tire swing rides. Our drive out (12 hours straight through) was miraculous and I only had to make one threat to the back seat crowd the whole time. The way back was a little different; somewhere in Pennsylvania I told R that I now understand why it is that some species eat their young. We also listened to some Mercy Watson stories (over. and over. and over) in the car, which convinced both girls that their new favorite food is, like Mercy's, hot toast with a great deal of butter on it. Lucky for them, Grandma was an unfalteringly willing hot-toast-with-a-great-deal-of-butter-on-it-maker. Thanks, Grandma.

thankful saturday

Feeling thankful today for...

:: the rhythm + simplicity of healing with herbs

:: thunderstorms

:: an out-of-control garden

:: a prenatal massage! heaven.

:: lots of time to relax and recharge this weekend, both with my family and alone

:: the words "mama, can we go play in the rain?"

:: the feeling of contentedness + ok-edness about having 7 weeks left to go till baby boy

:: preserves on the shelf

:: a blessed burst of energy this weekend to get some much-needed cleaning done

:: sunday tomorrow... a day of rest

:: quiet at last

:: open windows, cool evening breeze

strawberries

Strawberries! The girls and I had the best time (c'mon, how can you beat a tractor ride and limitless strawberries in your tummy?). So far I have made some strawberry-lemon preserves, strawberry frozen yogurt, and also some jam that turned out to be, uhh, dessert sauce instead. Still on the list: fruit leather and some actual jam, if I can keep enough strawberries around for the purpose. Any favorite strawberry recipes I need to know about?