The Daily Details

I am here. I have been very, very busy taking care of the kiddos while also taking care of the new little guy. He nurses. A. LOT.
He also requires at least 23 hours of being held a day. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

Today I decided to take a break from just being a baby holder/nurser and actually tend to the house and all the details it requires.

The verdict?  I will be doing  laundry for the next 20 years. Who moved Mount Rushmore into the laundry room and covered it with dirty clothes and towels?

Well, there is no need for despair. I also have a few bright spots to share from my day.

 1. The dust is gone!...for a day, anyway. When you live on a gravel road and have a gravel drive then you also have a ton of dust in the house. I love wiping it off and admiring the clean surfaces, until it comes back the next day. I rejoice in the moment!

2. I am actually knitting something other than a dishrag! Yippee! Doesn't the yarn look beautiful and soft? (pat on the back for trying a new skill)

3. These are some of my new FAVORITE cookies. I found a nice cooking blog and you can get the simple recipe to these on the blog HERE. Note: I could not find the espresso powder so I used instant coffee. I actually could not taste the coffee at all. You gotta try them, though. WOW! :-)

4. The boy is happy to always have someone to hold him. I am happy to have someone to hold him so I can cook dinner. Speaking of which, I live in the South and therefore love fried chicken. I happen to make very yummy chicken nuggets

I promise to share all the glorious details and the recipe soon.

Love,
Sam:-)

The Home Birth of Fletcher Pike

The Home Birth of Fletcher Pike from Samantha Martin on Vimeo.

Joy and Sorrow

It has been a long 2 1/2 weeks since I was here last. Many things have changed for better and worse. That is just the thing...
Better and worse. Joy and sorrow.
I have learned that both these emotions go hand in hand. They are always tangled up together. To have one, you must also have the other.

The joy was plentiful when it came to being with my dad. He was awesome and always took time to help out. He was a bee keeper along side me and we loved talking about the bees. He was a great grandfather to 18 grand kids and 3 great-grand kids! He always made everyone feel special. This is only a glimpse into the joy he brought.
Sadly, he passed away 2 weeks ago, almost 9 months to the date of his cancer diagnosis. Sorrow.
Sorrow is felt by those who felt his joy. They are tangled up together and all I can do is try and hang on to the joy where I can. It is difficult to let the sorrow go and keep only the joy, but that is exactly what I must do.

Now, in the midst of dealing with the sorrow more joy happened upon this family when I gave birth to this little man, Fletcher.
He was born 5 days after my father's death and 1 week ago yesterday.
He was a healthy 9lbs 8oz and 23 inches long. The birth was at home with family, friends, and a loving midwife. JOY!
Joy that I will hang on to for the rest of my life.
It seems that there is plenty of joy around if you can find the strength to try and look past the sorrow. Oh, I know that deep down the sorrow will always be there, lurking.
Joy and sorrow are always intertwined and to have one, we must also have the other.
For now I will take it one day at a time, for the sorrow is great- which in my mind explains that the joy was great as well.
It has been a long 2 1/2 weeks, and a blurry 2 1/2 weeks as well. I am back.
Here's hoping that you too can untangle the two and hang on to the joy as much as possible.
Blessings,
Sam

Big Boy

Zeb now has a big boy haircut.
Here he is before......

Here he is now!.....

Okay, so some curls are now gone. I did love his curls but I am not about to keep him long haired just so I can look at curly hair. He looks like a little boy now and is very handsome.

In other news, it is dry, dry, dry outside and the bees do not like it. THe trees and flowers and grass do not like it either. In fact, the goldenrod is starting to bloom and I really am depending on it to get the hives ready for winter. I was hoping for another small extraction of honey but it is not going to happen. This weekend I will have to go through each hive and see how they look and decide if any need to be combined for stronger numbers going into the winter season.
Have I bored you with honeybee talk yet?

Pretty, pretty, pretty please....

Head over to Simply Corey Photography and vote for me!!!!

I am the first picture and it was taken 2 years ago when I was pregnant with Zeb.

While you are there, check out her other pictures and her portfolio. She is fabulous!

Schooling With Toddlers

I am often asked questions like, "How do you homeschool with little ones?"
 or
"What do you do with your baby or toddler when you school the older kids?"

This is a common question for any mom who has many kids of many ages and homeschools. This is in fact a question that at times I ask myself, especially when I am worn out and exhausted from all of the household chores that must still be accomplished while also schooling the kids.

Sometimes the answer is easy. There are days when the toddler is happy and content to just play with toys in the adjoining living room.

Everyday my living room looks likes this picture above because even if he does not play with toys he always pulls them out and throws them everywhere. That's OK. We always do a tidy up when we are finished and again at night before bedtime.

Of course there are other days when there only seems to be one thing that will keep my toddler from totally driving us crazy and when only one thing will keep him in one spot and away from electrical outlets and other potential hazards that he enjoys so much.

It is the Nintendo DS. It is a well kept secret of mine. Here is what happens if I pull it out and put a Spongebob video in it......

Yep! He sits still for a good 15 minutes! He is captivated with the sounds and color and action.

So, for all you folks who had images of my super clean house and educationally occupied toddler...here you go. Sometimes you just have to pull out all the stops to get a 15 minute reprive from the chaos that only a 2 year old can create. Just think, in a few weeks I get to add a nursing newborn to the mix:-)
Is it worth it? Yes
It all comes together with a little patience and lots of organization. In the meantime... it is time for that nightime tidy up. Have a great weekend, ya'll.
sami:-)

Beach Invasion

Well we spent a long weekend in Mississippi and loved it! The beaches were beautiful and the weather great, and it was not crowded at all. In fact we made several sand castles along the shore.

We also discovered that Indiana has a talent for catching fish with her bare hands. She's like the character in the book "Hoot" called mullet fingers.

Zeb's favorite activity was to throw sand...at everyone and everything.

The main reason we go to Mississippi is to see this wonderful lady, Aunt Inez. She is my great-aunt and she turns 96 this year! Every year we have a big birthday bash/family reunion for her. She looked great and I must say her mind is as sharp as ever! (I hope I have the same gene)

After our drive home yesterday we unpacked and prepared for the busy day today. We started our school year and it went well. My oldest two girls have heavier loads of work, but everything went smoothly and I am grateful for that fact! It can sometimes be challenging to school with small children and toddlers, but it is a lesson in patience. I will have to do a post on that soon:-)

Tomorrow? Journee goes on an orientation flight with her Civil Air Patrol. I will try and get a picture!

lol
sami:-)