Right Now...

{Saw this on another blog and thought it was a fun way to "check in". May make a habit of this post when I don't feel like taking the time for a lengthier blog session. :) }

Right now I am...

watching: nothing... Whitney didn't DVR for some reason tonight and Craig and I were totally bummed

listening to: the "Teach Me How To Dougie" song and resisting the urge to dance... I know I'm like 2 years behind, but I'm addicted to that song and every time I hear it, my body involuntarily starts to move ;-)

drinking: a small amaretto float (vanilla ice cream + espresso + amaretto + cream soda = DELICIOUS!)

eating: nothing (unless you count the float)

wearing: my fave Gap pj's, new moccasin slippers from Craig and my trusty Vic's sweatshirt robe

avoiding: preparing tomorrow night's dinner

feeling: totally content and happy... and a little sleepy

missing: normal winter weather... I want to go sledding with the kids!

thankful: for a night off from running

weather: low 40's and rain

praying: for a lot of people (my grandparents with my grandpa's knee surgery recovery; my sister and BIL and their desire for another pregnancy; my dad & Craig's relationship... as always; Craig and his career path; myself and the things I want to work on improving; my kids... as always; a friend and her path to finding happiness; etc)

needing: to go to bed to uphold my New Year's goal of getting more sleep

wanting: 4 more hours in each day

thinking: about my to-do list for tomorrow evening (ironing, packing, prepping weekend meals for Craig and the kids)

wondering: why both kids took FOREVER to fall asleep tonight

loving: all the stripes in the upcoming seasonal clothing lines

looking forward to: a weekend get-away with my mommy

Try this post... It's fun!

Canal Junction Farmstead

I'm trying to remember how I stumbled upon CJ Farm and started learning more about their local practices of producing grass fed meats and cheeses. And I think the chain that linked us was my search on Toledo Farmers Market website for weekend events last fall. The farmer's market occasionally has days where they offer activities for kids and other days where the local Slow Food chapter holds cooking demos. So after linking to Slow Food Maumee Valley (and signing up to follow their blog), I found C/J Natural Meats listed under "Friends of SFMV" and linked to them for more info (and to follow their blog). I'd already read a LOT of information on grass fed meat farming practices and philosophies and was very curious to continue learning and find out what sort of options I might have "locally".

C/J Farm is located just south of the historically rich junction of the old Miami, Erie and Wabash Canals in Defiance, Ohio, hence the name "Canal Junction". Ralph and Sheila Schlatter are 5th and 6th generation farmers and, together with three of their children, they own and operate C/J Natural Meats and Farmstead Cheese. I chatted via e-mail with their daughter, Renae, last December about some of their farming practices and about coming to visit the farm this summer so I have been looking forward to this for months! The summer weekends have been so filled with U-Picks and other fun activities, however, that it has taken me until now to get down there! (I think the 1.5 hour drive may have something to do with the delay in planning also.)

So!... Grass fed meats.

I fully believe in the philosophy of doing it, but I haven't convinced Craig (or myself, really) in the idea of eating grass fed beef yet. From everything I've heard, the taste is drastically different from grain fed beef and the cooking instructions are different as well. They actually make grass fed cookbooks! C/J meats does sell their beef in small portions though so you wouldn't have to invest in a whole side of beef to try it out. Poultry and eggs, on the other hand, are definitely something I am interested in purchasing from them. (They also offer turkey, pork and lamb.) The nutritional value of meat from animals that forage on grass and other legumes is far superior to that of factory-raised animals. Makes complete sense. They are consuming a diet that God intended them to so they are healthier for it (essentially eliminating the need for antibiotics) and the variety of greens that their guts were designed to digest produces a meat that is higher in Omega-3 fatty acid as well as many important vitamins. The gradual trend in our culture to demand more fast food than ever before and meat that is raised to be bigger, fatter and unnecessarily loaded with hormones has completely changed the politics of our food system and the basis of America's farmland. Not to mention the health of our society. (Doesn't everyone die of cancer these days?) Meat isn't what it used to be. FOOD isn't, actually! The nutritional value of a carrot, for example, can vary drastically depending on how/where it was grown. Same for animals and their byproducts. Animals are raised in factories - crammed in and fed awful things - and treated with complete lack of respect or humane practices... just so that McDonalds can supply billions upon billions of burgers to us. I'm not a member of PETA, but I tend to disagree with inhumane treatment of animals just so I can eat them without knowing about it.

Most farmers that raise grass fed animals consider themselves to be primarily "grass farmers", because their biggest job is to grow and maintain a variety of grasses and legumes in a healthy soil and just expose the animals to them... and then the animals do the rest via rotational grazing. "Rotational grazing" is utilized as a means of sanitizing and fertilizing the pastures for all the animals. Basically, that just means that animals are rotated between pastures to forage around independently and fertilize the soil beneath them. This is beneficial and environmentally friendly for every participating member of the cycle. 1) The soil is richer and requires no herbicides, pesticides or tillage (which causes erosion). 2) The grass is more nutritious for the animals. 3) The chickens take care of things (that I won't go into detail with) in sanitizing the waste produced by other grazing animals when they take their turn in the rotation. 4) The animals produce a far more nutritious meat. 5) And, of course, the omnivores that we are, benefit from all the nutrients we are increasingly lacking in with a traditional Western diet.

Some of the things that I've seen/heard/read about with regards to animal raising and processing for meat has been hard to see/hear/read. But trust me... ignorance is not bliss in this regard. Ignorant is what the current food system in our country wants us to remain. That way they can manipulate the things we are putting in our bodies to produce the biggest dollar for their companies and we can go on wondering why we are getting sicker and fatter without ever pointing a finger at them.

I'm not a political person and I don't generally like to impose my own beliefs onto others, but having kids has completely changed me in so many ways (as it does everyone) and I'm not satisfied with being completely ignorant as to what I'm putting into my children's bodies. They are small and they are trusting me to make smart decisions for them so I want to do the best that I can. I want to find and offer the very best food for them and I want to show them what real food actually tastes like. I want to raise my children to know that food comes from farms, not grocery stores, and I want to teach them an appreciation and respect for the work that goes into producing real food properly.

Moving on from that soap box...

Will and I drove down to visit C/J Farm on Saturday, July 30th. It was a very hot day and we only had about an hours time to take our own walking tour of the place and chat with Renae again. She was very kind and welcoming and told us where to walk to see all that we wanted to. She also writes the farm's blog that I have enjoyed keeping up on since last fall. This is one corner of the property where we turned onto their road. The animals do graze all the way out here.

Our first stop was to the pond so Will could watch the ducks walk right down to the water and swim along.

Next we made our way to the huge, awesome greenhouse where the laying hens spend many of their days. According to CJ's web page, they are the most challenging species because they need about 14 hours of light in a day to optimize their egg production. So summer months are really the only time that they can be out to pasture. The greenhouse is 100 ft long and allows the farmers to have lights on the hens during the months when there is not enough sunlight. They've also developed a run, which you will see further down, where the hens can come out of the green house and forage in the grassy area just outside. The wooden doors for that are visible along the left side of the green house in this picture.

In the winter, the greenhouse serves to block the wind as well as allow a little extra warmth on sunny days, as the hens spend a lot of the energy just trying maintain body heat in the cold.

When we walked up, many of the chickens came out of the greenhouse into the grassy run and up to the fence to greet us. :)

Will and I, hiking along down the stone path to see the broiler chickens next. It was HOT and Will always gets lazy in the extreme heat. So I gave him a piggy back ride.

These are the floorless, movable pens that all the baby chicks move to after their first two weeks under the brooder. The pens are moved once a day to fresh forages and the baby chicks are supplemented with a grain mixture because they need the extra protein and energy to survive. (This is all on the website.) You can see that the pens are 3/4 under roof and 1/4 available for sun exposure. Pretty much all the baby chicks preferred the shade. ;)

Aren't they so cute? Again, not to be morbid, but this is a far cry from the kind of treatment that most factory farms give to their chickens, babies included. It's just so soul-nourishing to see that animals which are raised for our own nourishment can be given a life that is respectful and humane. Yes, their purpose is to eventually be eaten. But they live a LIFE beforehand! And we should have some gratitude for them, rather than just blindly eating whatever a name brand wants to sell to us, just because we are at the top of the food chain.

THIS is what I want my child to see. Not what is actually far more common practice.

The older broiler chickens were just roaming freely around the pasture, free to forage and run as they please. They aren't overfed and confined from being mobile until they are so top heavy, their own legs cannot support them. Many of them walked right up to us. They had their own little "mobile home" that they could freely enter and leave whenever they desired shade, water or just a place to sit.

Broiler chickens are raised from May through October.

A peek inside:

Hello there!

More shade options scattered around the pasture. By the way, all of this is nearby those movable pens that the chicks were in.

Another view of the movable pens.

Walking back on the path up to the farmstead.

I'm sure there were more cows roaming elsewhere, but we just checked out the ones up closer to the barns. You can tell what a hot day it was as they are all congregating in the big rain puddle in that little valley. The beef animals are 100% grass fed from start to finish, as are the dairy cows. In the winter season they are fed dry hay out in the pasture. I'm not a cattle expert, though, so I have no idea if these are beef cows or part of the dairy herd.

I loved Renae's blog post on nurse cows from June 2010. So awesome to see the calves being allowed to nurse with their mothers for so long! And the pictures are so neat. As a mother who nursed her own children, my heart goes out to the nursing calves on factory farms that are taken from their mothers so early and the cries that can be heard from both mother and baby upon separation.

Immediately after we walked away from the cows, Will stepped right in a huge, green cow pie. He was wearing his LL Bean sandals and his toes were covered in green poo. I couldn't help be laugh, but he didn't find it funny at all. :) LOL His face was so worried and he started whining and asking me to get it off. We scraped it on the grass as best we could and I convinced him to come see the hogs quick and then we'd go back to the car and clean him up.

According to the website, "the pigs are raised outdoors where they can root, romp, forage and assimilate the sunshine into vitamin D". You can read more about them and about the little bit of grain that are offered to the pigs and turkeys for energy on their webpage. The farmers have "eliminated a lot of their grain by feeding them whey and milk excess products".

Here's a back view of the Schlatter's house and garden. It's right next door to the store where we parked and very nearby the building where they make their own artisan, raw milk cheese. Their cheeses are sold at the Erie Street Market in Toledo on Saturdays, but I've never known to look for them there!

Inside the store, I chatted with Renae about joining their "Farm Club". Haha! It's not what it sounds like. Basically, it just allows me to make unregulated direct farmer-to-consumer "trades" (purchases) of their foods. CJ Farm Club members that live in my area place weekly (or as needed) orders and a large delivery is made to a specified drop off location on Wednesdays each week. I haven't joined yet. I want to work through the logistics of schedules, meal planning and purchasing food in this way. Plus I have a list of questions that I want to go over with Renae in the near future. But it is wonderful to know that this option is available to us!

The store has upright and chest-style refridgerators with ready-for-purchase meats and cheeses along with these shelves along one wall filled with other local goodies: teas, flours, dried fruit, honey, maple syrup, etc.

I wanted to purchase some spelt and buckwheat flour but only had $5 cash on me and decided I'd rather trial their raw milk cheddar cheese instead.

Will played with some toys they had set up in the store while Renae and I talked.

I purchased 8oz of the mm Bossie Cheddar to try.

This whole topic of natural and sustainable food is so fascinating to me and I just want to learn as much as I can. A little exploring and communicating has opened up so many paths to better eating for me this year. There's still a local woman (as in really near to my house) that seems to be the guru of this stuff for my area. She is a former dietitian who actually left her career because of her disagreement with food politics in standard health care practices. Now she teaches and organizes all sorts of people in learning more about healthy eating, despite the system.

For further research topics, check out:

The Weston A. Price Foundation (also see here)

And look for these AWESOME books:

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

I'm also reading Food Rules by Michael Pollan right now.

A Birthday Letter to Sophia

Dear Sophia, my sweet baby girl,

Today you are TWO!! And I'm just wondering how I got so lucky...

This will be the first letter I've written to you and I almost don't know where to begin. My feelings for you are so, so BIG and I'm struggling for words great enough to express them. You are sleeping as I type this and so far we are having a wonderful day together. There is no where else I'd rather be than right here with you, enjoying your special day. I sat down to begin this letter after laying you down for nap and, though I would have liked to keep you up till the exact moment you turned two, your heavy eyelids requested otherwise. It's hard work playing so much! But don't think I wasn't daydreaming of you at exactly 1:21 pm. I silently blew you kisses through your bedroom door. ;)

The day you were born began much like today - a steady drizzle coming down in the morning and then overcast until the afternoon. I remember because I wanted to walk outside after we arrived at the hospital when I sensed my contractions had slowed on the drive there. But your daddy encouraged me to at least walk indoors. So I paced the lobby while the rain fell and swayed through the contractions and prayed for my body to bring you safely into this world... soon. And, oh my goodness, what a gift you were! Big and beautiful with a strong set of lungs! I love to reminisce on that day and think of how far we've come.

As I thought about what I wanted to say in this letter, I let my mind drift on all the things I love about you... the things that make you YOU! Your electric smiles, the charming tilts of your head and neck when you're being silly and sort of flirty, the way you run up to me and yell "mommy!" when we've been apart for awhile, the way you squint your left eye and scrunch your left check sometimes when you chew, the frequent higher pitch in your voice that makes you sound as sweet as can be, the way you put an empty cup on top your head in the bath tub and announce "party hat!", your musical laugh, etc. etc. Having you as part of our family is like getting to live with the sunshine inside our house!

I frequently get asked by people who don't see you that often, "Is she always this happy?" And I can proudly answer, "Yes!" Aside from a few typical, toddler tantrums when you're tired or hungry... you are always happy. And it's often contagious. Just like that book "Keep Love In Your Heart Little One" says: "You live as though life's one huge present, unwrapping a bit every day. That's just how we all should be living, my love, and look at you showing the way!" People will be drawn to you (as they already are) because of your happy smile, your sweet voice and your cheerful attitude. And I pray you use those traits to do good in this world and set an example for others.

When I was pregnant with you, I spent my days working and chasing after your brother (a toddler at the time). I was often tired, especially at the beginning and end of my pregnancy, and I worried that the time was flying by and wondered how I would manage to be a good enough mother to both of my children. After those long days in the life I already knew, I looked forward to lying down in bed at night and focusing on just you and me and all that we were experiencing together. I wanted to connect with you as I did Will, but I really had to slow down and press the pause button to make that happen the second time around. I'd put one hand on my belly and the other on my heart, and just breathe deeply and focus on you. I prayed for you and asked God to make you strong and healthy. I talked (silently) to you and shared my thoughts with you. And I let myself feel excited over the anticipation of having a girl! Even now, the idea that I have a daughter is often surreal to me!

I wonder now if all my worrying during pregnancy led to your often timid personality. You seem much more fearful than your brother at times (though not of physical challenges - there you are fearless), mostly with people and new experiences and being alone. And I often have to convince you that you are safe. Don't be afraid, Sophia! You are a strong and capable little girl and you have much to learn and a long, long while before the time will come for you to set out on your own in this great big world. Until then, I promise you I will keep you safe... and even then, I will always be looking out for you. You are never alone, Sophia. You have so many family members that love and support you, too.

Anyway, after you were born, we had some learning to do - you and me - to find our rhythm and for me to earn your trust. But seeing you blossom as you did back then was one of the proudest times of my life. And now, I look at you when you're focused on something or when you're talking sweetly to the ones you love and I just think, "Wow! That's my daughter!" And I can't believe we made you! You amaze me, baby girl, and the pride and love I have for you overwhelms me at times.

You continue to surprise me all the time with what you know and what you're capable of. Right now, you are doing so well on the big potty. You're learning shapes and colors. You have an eye for sequencing things and can count to 12 now on your own. You love puzzles and books, running and climbing, swinging and singing. Your attempted rounds of "ABC's" are getting better and better. Daddy makes you laugh when he tickles you, tosses you in the air, and airplanes you above his feet. You look up to your big brother immensely and try to mimic his every move. Together, you and I share one of our favorite times of the day: reading stories in your chair before bed and then turning lights out and rocking you with your head on my shoulder. I have a feeling I might be like that mother in the story "I'll Love You Forever"... who always sneaks in to rock her baby, no matter how grown up he is. You will always be my baby and I will always cherish the times that I can hold you close to my heart.

I've been thinking a lot about what I wish for you...

I pray you cross paths with truly good and kind people in life that will help lead you in a positive direction. People that will cherish your spirit as I do and encourage you to always let it shine. It is probably what I think about the most.

I pray that you will follow Christ and trust in His plan for you. For, certainly, He must have great intentions for as bright a star as He made you.

I pray that you are happy in life! That you feel strength and confidence from the foundation our family has built for you, and that you love and respect yourself as much as we do. You are LOVED! I want you to really know that.

And I especially want you to know that no matter where you go or what you do, I will be here for you. Not just sometimes and not just when you succeed and shine, but always. Always. When you fail, come to me. I will remind you that you can try again. When you fall down, come to me and I will pick you up. When you are hurting, come to me. I will hold you close and listen as you talk. I want to be your rock, just as my mom is for me. And I want you to always know you have someone to turn to.

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always.

As long as I'm living,

my baby you'll be.

Happy Birthday, Sophia!

Love,

Mom

Spring Cleaning & Random Thoughts

Oh, hello. {Waves hello.} :)

I feel like I just blinked and five days flew by. Is it really almost the middle of April already?

We did have a lovely weekend (baking cookies, bike rides, picnic lunch, sidewalk chalk) and I do have a handful of posts floating around in my mind, but I haven't had the time to upload pictures here or to pause long enough to collect my thoughts. Confession: it's taken me three days just to finish writing this post! My focus is just not on the ole' blog this week. But no worries... I will catch up sooner or later!

Holy wow! If ever I needed a to-do list to keep me on track, this is the month for it! {Seriously, how would I function without my lists, post-its and date book?} Between Sophie's birthday, Easter, spring cleaning/organizing, and just a million other things I need/want to do... April is going to fly by! I love when Easter is late like this, but I hope April doesn't always feel so busy... It's one of my favorite months!

I've been very productive the past few days (at the cost of my sleep, as usual), but there is still so much more to do. Sophie's party is coming together nicely and I'm really looking forward to celebrating her special day. My house is the thing that really needs some love right now and I've compiled a spring cleaning & organizing to-do list that I'll be attacking over the next few weeks. Have you ever noticed that writing to-do lists on cute paper (thanks, Amanda!) increases your interest in checking things off? Or is that just me? Awhile back, a couple of my favorite blog reads were doing a "40 bags in 40 days" project for lent. They made lists of 40 spaces in their home or areas of their life that needed reorganizing/clearing out. They allotted one bag to each space and worked on one space for each day of lent. Then they made donations or threw out the stuff that was cluttering up their lives and their minds. The idea being: this clutter is just another weight on our shoulders and burden on our mind that is taking up the focus we could be devoting to God each day. So simplifying and reorganizing our lives will give a fresh start for spring and open up more time in our days for Godly devotion. I love the idea! And I love getting rid of stuff we don't need/use. LOVE IT!! When I see a previously cluttered space in our house looking simplified and tidy, it brings a HUGE amount of satisfaction and happiness to my day and life.

My problems with this project were:

1) What a huge waste of plastic bags! Because in most cases, I would never fill an entire bag for each space.

2) I don't think I have 40 spaces in my small-ish house and life to come up with!

3) TIME! I need to find/make the time for this big project.

Nevertheless, I was interested in doing a similar version of this. I've collected some smaller (recyclable) cardboard boxes from work and made my list of areas to organize, simplify and clean. Speaking of organizing, I totally HEART this new blog I've discovered! It's called "I Heart Organizing"! :) (Sorry - you'll just have to type it in. You know how I feel about linking to blogs of people I don't know... especially when they have a million followers. Ya, I know - I'm weird.) Anyway, the girl is uber-uber-uber-obsessed with organizing... and I am totally a sucker for that topic. I love her! Check her out - she has some great ideas! I'm definitely going to do her meal planning binder... some day.

So I made my list (part of my list is just cleaning) and am currently working on one of the bigger things: my photo albums. Slowly but surely, I'm chugging along and getting caught up. But no way could I have finished in one day. Not even if I had an entire quiet day to myself. So I'm working in spurts amidst my party preparations, work and daily life.

The rest of the items on the list should be accomplished a lot quicker. Most of them are spaces (i.e. the kids' closet shelves, my freezer, the cleaning supplies storage, etc.) and I'm totally going to take before and after pics to share with you. I have a thing for before and after pics. They just make me feel a sense of accomplishment. I love looking at project pics on other peoples' blogs too so if you're doing anything around your house this spring (big or small), please share! Maybe you'll inspire someone!

Random thoughts for today ('cause that's just how my brain is working lately... on random overload):

1) I forgot to use conditioner this morning and my hair is driving me crazy with static.

2) Paper puffs (those tissue paper pom pom/flower things) are SOOOOO pretty! I'm making them for Sophie's party and I want them in every room in my house. :) These are definitely going to be a staple decoration for little holidays and birthdays around our house.

3) I loved catching up with Amanda last night and seeing her new place. We took her some cookies that Will and I made for her on Monday this week. That boy is really getting good at cracking eggs and he LOVES to bake!

4) This weekend through Easter is going to be so fun and busy! There is something going on almost every day, starting with Casey's birthday dinner this Friday. (Mon Ami - can't wait!) Our calendar is packed and it's going to be so fun!

5) I have GOT to schedule a haircut soon. I can't stand this blah, grow-out cut I've got going on.

6) I've had some really good days at my job lately. You know how working and being a wife and mom makes you feel like you are never able to do a really great job at any one of those things. Well, not never... but you know what I mean. It's hard to feel 100% everywhere when you wear so many hats. Anyway, I've just really felt good at my job lately and had some great heart-to-hearts with some of my patients where (shockingly) God's just given me the right words to say to make a difference in their outlook. Have I ever mentioned that a LOT of my job feels like social work a lot of the time? There is so much more that goes into doing a good job feeding yourself and your family - things outside of food that affect your ability to eat well and DO life well - and I frequently feel helpless about having the right words to say to someone who is struggling in life. Like I might be fully able to counsel you on proper nutrition, but maybe that's not what you really need to hear right now. I just don't have that gift of coming up with something profound to say when someone is hurting or struggling. Anyway, I've felt differently this week and I've (hopefully) brought a little optimism to the lives of some of my patients. It makes me feel happy and fulfilled in my job to be able to help people.

7) On that topic of people who are struggling, my heart goes out to the family of the four-year-old boy who drowned in his pond on Sunday. Craig and I were just beside ourselves with sadness for their loss and sick to our stomachs with thoughts on how we would ever survive the loss of a child - especially so tragically. I can't imagine the grief those parents must be feeling and my prayers are with them.

8) Hmm... I should end on a more positive note. Well, I guess I'm just grateful for my family and the blessings that I have. Oh, and the sun is shining today. :) So that's happy.

Tantrum Redirection

In the last week or two, we have entered some new (and rather scary) territory with Miss Sophia. She's almost two, as you know, and is really starting to act her age. ;)

{Read: exerting her independence and acting out when she doesn't get her way.}

The tantrums usually show up mid to late morning and in the evening when she's winding down and getting ready for nap or bedtime. They're not always consistent, but when they hit... LOOK OUT! There is no reasoning with her and she doesn't even seem to know what she wants. Usually these can be avoided just by keeping her daily routine pretty consistent and making sure she gets to bed on time, in which case, our happy, carefree girl is the norm. However, on week days when we've been apart all day long, it seems no matter how much I prepare and how fast I work, I can never get food into her belly and bath and bedtime done fast enough to meet her needs. In survival mode, I've found that simple activities that keep her hands and her brain busy are a life saver when I'm trying to get a meal on the table and get settled back into "mom mode". Puzzles, sorting games and Connect Four are great examples of these and I depend on them during that crunch time between 5:15 and 6:00 when my attention is being pulled in eight directions. Sophie's recently taken a big liking to these graduating size/color puzzles. I don't know if she recognizes the color change or the width change, but she did the green one almost exactly in order without a mistake. The blue one seemed a little trickier as far as just choosing the exact pieces in order, but I was really impressed with her method of trying each piece in the smallest space and moving one space to the right until she found the match. Very clever problem solving!

Color sorting is another favorite. When she's feeling ornery though, we find these rings in the heating vents! Thankfully, they're easy to retrieve. Stinker.

And, of course, Connect Four. There's no rhyme or reason to the way she plays. She just likes dropping the pieces in and filling the entire board before dumping them out and starting again.

Sometimes life is just so monotonous and exhausting: get up, get us all ready and out the door, work all day, come home, make it through the evening routine and hopefully squeeze in a little quality play time with my kids whom I want more time with, various housework depending on the day (pack lunches, empty dishwasher, clean this or that, work on house projects, etc.), then spend a little quality time with the hubby (whom I also want more time with) and/or have some ME-time, and go to bed. Repeat. It just feels like it's never ending and there are very few breaks.

Sometimes I day dream of a relaxing weekend away for Craig and I (which we cannot afford right now) where we sleep in and just be "us" again. Sometimes I wonder what I will do with all my free time when my children are grown. But I also think about how, when that day comes, I will day dream back to the days where every minute of my life was filled with urgent purpose and, though someone always needed me, it was rewarding to be able to fulfill that need and know that I made them feel loved. Thankfully, there are infinite rewards in the mundane works of family life and it is always possible to find and focus on the joy in the routine. I am tired. :) But I am happy and I love my life. I wouldn't trade the ability to hold my daughter in my arms for all the tantrum free days in the world.

{Or the sweet sentiments from my son who still giggles about butterfly kisses for all the non-pee-splattered-toilet-backs... courtesy of my 3-year-old's occasional poor aim. :) }

The Evolution of My Hair :)

I've been going back through old pictures a lot lately. Every so often, the mood just strikes, you know? This is why I know I'm going to appreciate all the work I put into managing our family record keeping (photos, videos, blog, albums, notebooks, etc.) It's very time consuming, but so very worth it!

Anyhow, one thing that struck me as I was browsing, was how much my hair has changed since I've know Craig and specifically since we've been married. I remember looking through my mom's photo albums of our childhood and thinking "Wow! Mom looks so different with that hair style!" And it seemed to change... A LOT! I didn't think that would be the case with me. I've always considered my hair pretty boring and same-old, same-old: long, straight, kind of blah, just hanging with no real style. I did have a year or so in there that it was shorter and had kind of a flippy thing going on. But it always happens that I get tired of doing it and prefer to just leave it long and simple. I've had several "whoa!" moments while looking at these. I don't know what I was thinking with those ridiculous blonde highlights all those years. They're horrible!

So I thought I'd share some old pictures with you!

Here you go:

The Evolution of My Hair! Haha. ;)

We'll start with summer 2004, just a few months before we were married. And just as I described: long, straight, streaky blonde, no real style. But it's just what I was used to and Craig likes my hair long. These are engagement pictures, by the way.

Honeymoon in Hawaii - October, 2004.

Christmas 2004. Craig took this. I always pose like a goof for him.

Early summer 2005. The first pic I could find of my new, short hair style. I actually like it in this picture, but it gets worse shortly. This was completely new to me: a style that required actual maintenance... and products... and a round brush. Eek! P.S. Do I look a little bit Miami Vice in my white jacket?

June 2005 - family cruise. Pretty sure I got it highlighted again just before this trip and it looks uber-blonde in some pics.

Like this one... aaah!!!

And this one!!! So jealous of Casey's naturally awesome hair color. She had a scary trip down blonde lane in college too and (no offense, Case) it was not her color either. Now she has this rich, gorgeous, completely-untreated hair color and that I wish I had. But I did not luck out with that family gene. Boo.

I included this one just because it was back in the pre-kids days when my dog was my baby. Poor Brutus. Don't know why I'm standing so weird. I look pregnant in that dress.

October 2005 - our first anniversary. Traverse City, MI.

Ha! Brutus even came to Christmas parties with us! He really was our baby. And God bless my grandma. She is not a dog person, but she allowed him to come. :)

Fast forward almost a year to November 2006 - my dad's 50th birthday. I was just about 8 weeks pregnant with Will (that's sparkling grape juice, by the way) and we were having brunch and giving him his big gift from us kids: an Alaskan Cruise! I'm way less blonde here and obviously no longer allowed to color my hair. It's also in a grow-out period where there's no real style.

Another goofy pose at Christmas 2006.

Right around my birthday 2007 - about 20 weeks pregnant with Will - and I really hate my hair here. The color is icky and full of roots and I don't know what to do with it.

Lovely. Just lovely. March 2007.

Still March 2007 - about 26-ish weeks and getting ready to put together the crib. I went to the salon to have someone actually do my hair for the shower because it just never looked good when I did it. (April 2007)

July 2007 - a little longer length, terrible roots because I haven't had time to even think about my hair - but who cares? Because look at how cute my baby is!! :) (On vacation in Grand Haven, MI)

September 2007 - Will's baptism day and 3 month birthday. Finally I made an appointment between feedings (that's tough when he was eating every two hours!) and just did it. The girl talked me into a non-permanent glaze, which is supposedly less damaging than highlights. Craig had been suggesting I go darker for a little while... so I did... with a little red. Whoa. It was a big change. But I really liked it, actually! Took a little while for me not to startle myself every time I glanced in the mirror, but... :)

Spring 2008 - still pretty dark but starting to fade and a little more length.

June 2008. Nice face, Ash. I was in a curling iron phase here.

This was July 2008 - Cora's baptism. I'm on the right in the navy dress and I actually loved my hair on this day. Still using a curling iron and I think I was still having it glazed every so often?

November 2008 - 15 weeks with Sophia. Again, no more color/treatments for 9 months. But what I like about the glazes is that the period of abstaining from coloring isn't such a drastic change.

Thanksgiving 2008 - longer length, blah look.

July 2009 - class reunion. Even longer length, still no real style or color.

Halloween 2009 - the length continues. Good grief - can you believe it wasn't until September 2010 (almost a year later) that I finally cut it? And the color? Au naturel. (Sp?)

Easter 2010 - more length.

April 2010 - Sophie's birthday party.

Finally, September 2010 and going in for the big chop. I got another subtle glaze too.

Post cut - 10" shorter.

January 2011 - my b-day. It's already grown quite a bit. Haven't been back to the salon since September and the way it was cut is not really fitting for longer hair - it's kind of longer around the front and that's really hideous sometimes. But I can't really afford to do anything about it for awhile. So I'm dealing.

So that's a look at my hair for the last six and a half years. :) I hope you enjoyed yourself! LOL Surprisingly, there were a lot of changes! I'm not a person who's big on change, so it's funny to see the progression. I wonder how much different it will look over the next six years?...