On a Tuesday
Our daughter was born on december 2nd. 1:59 am. In new york, the cut off date for kindergarten is december 1st... can you believe that?! I don't know where they came up with this date- and there will alaways be a mother saying the same thing somewhere- I know. But our Hazel is ready.

After 2 years of preschool- we hate to send her to a third year of the same thing AGAIN! She started at a smaller school- where the classroom was at least 12 kids. She was a shining star, but there were many kids and with only 2 teachers- we felt that she was getting bored. Especially when there were a few kids who misbehaved on a constant basis or ones who just needed a little more care, when I would come in those specific kids were always with the teachers getting one on one while the more adjusted kids played happily (I might add). So we switched to a school with a smaller classroom kids and size, where they get a fair amount of one on one with teachers and play with kids. However, this year she was in a 4 year class and next year aside from maybe having a different teacher- she'll be learning the same things again. I suppose one can never know the alphabet well enough or their numbers, but we feel she doesn't need to revisit this again. But it isn't just us! My husband's family has 2 K-1 teachers and 1 middle school and they all feel she is ready. As does my own family of day care teachers and college adjuncts!
So we wrote to our elementary principal- we were immediately told their is no evaluation for kindergarten, because is they don't make the birth date there is no question. Um Ok thanks... so after more thought and conversation with family, we realized we are tax payers dammit! We want to explore this and it would be really helpful to our budget if we could free up money for Hazel's school towards bills. (Of course we spared the principal our financial woes)and chose to then write the superintendant. We've heard through the grapevine that the school and the disctrict really have the power to decide. We wrote the email a week ago. We were told that the superintendant would discuss it with the principal. I worry that we have created a scarlet letter situation and now we will forever have BIG RED K's on our chest- but we all have to advocate for our baby bears! So now we are in a waiting game. Honestly, what will be will be and I am all ready(and excited) to try and homeschool her for kindergarten. Between the several teachers and friends we have in education as well as some wonderful online resources, I am looking forward to this if it comes to be.

On Procrastination:
So I'm listening to Wish Fulfillment, by Sonic Youth. In high school this was one of my favorite songs and I eventually ruined the tape by playing this album so much. I like listening to music, when I can. I am much more productive when I am listening as opposed to watching something.

Sometimes it's really hard to do anymore than I do now. During the day I'm adding band-aids, cutting up snack after snack, half folding loads of laundry and rewashing the same one sometimes more than twice.... (I always add more soap), watching my littler person learn to crawl, eventually feeding the cats and *sometimes yelling at the dog to get off the couch. The day feels like I am a just trying to get from one meal to the next. Attempting to make 4 square meals 3 times a day- ACK! My husband, puts our 4 year old to sleep and I tackle the baby. For the most part he goes down easily enough. Somewhere between 6:30/7:30 everyone is asleep and I have time to do everything and nothing. I know this schedule hardly seems like something to complain about. My mother even now likes to remind me that my father didn't really pitch in on things like bedtime, baths or dinner. But I can't help of I think of the nights when I first started selling my wares for profit- we use to stay up all night, watching Law & Order marathons while my sewing machine whizzed into the wee hours. I guess it really made a difference when I could wake up whenever and wasn't woken up in the middle of the night by little babies. If I have to be woken up, there is nothing sweeter, I just wish I could find the drive in the early evening to reconnect with things I love to do. I read other blogs and these other mamas are getting sh*t done! Some have multiples and are still able to create these amazing projects.. what is their secret?

 ( if I could only harness her energy and put it in pill form!)
Could my real lack of sleep be affecting me more than I truly realize? I'm not sure. I've tried to cut out coffee and black tea and I don't drink caffeine( green tea) past 3 or 4. If I had to make some sort of hunch, my TV and procrastination is sucking the energy out of me. I've started to try and  stop watching as many shows... because- why do I need these? I am riding my exercise bike, trying to watch what I eat and have even been gluten free for several weeks...I can only hope with the spring and summery days in the near future- it will inspire me. Oh daffodils, oh crocus, oh tulips- please hurry... I need your inspiration.


* Zach and I disagree sometimes on this. I want Bella to lay with us on the couch, but she's huge and she's a dog. We had to get rid of our loveseat b/c it just smelled of dog...but I am conflicted and a hug wuss. All she has to do is flash her doggie eyebrows and I give in.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cornbread

I just managed to make 2 pots of soup for lunch and dinner. One has lots of spinach, carrots,chicken,garlic & onions and the one for Zach & Hazel has chicken, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic and orzo. The bone broth was from the other day and I sauteed the meat with tumeric,garlic, onions,parsley and ginger- then divided the pan up into two different pots of soup. Then to make things crazy and to use up all of the ingredients the day BEFORE we go shopping I decided to make a cornbread with the few chips, a dash of vanilla the last 2 eggs and almost all the milk... tomorrow morning should make for an interesting meal (mental note: put a crockpot on of oats before bed!). In more exciting news, here are some pictures of the children!

Hazel at her school's Winter Olympics

Lounging and Eating Books, of course!

On a job site for the Teamsters. Serious, look at this kids arms and that hat- I try to eat him daily.

My beautiful girl at a friend's party, she made cat ears to be in a performance of Cats!

These two keep me pretty busy. Pretty crazy too. Last night Guthrie who we sometimes call Gus, was up at 3:30- then was ready to rise & shine at 5:30. Plus we started watching Game of Thrones.. so we didn't nearly get to bed at a good hour... and I think I was shocked at just how misogynistic the show seemed. I found myself looking away a lot of the time. But itdoes have Peter Dinklage (who I love) and I like the aspect of the direwolves protecting the children (SPOILER ALERT!). Zach says it does change over the season, so I am hoping it isn't like that through the whole thing.

Well the cornbread came out of the oven, it was a bit crumbly- but yummers with a few bits of chocolate! Here it is 4pm and I am about to strap Guthrie to my back and I don't have any hustling for dinner... it's already made and simmering on the stove! 

Isn't that the best feeling?!

While Dinner Cooks

Most nights, around 5ish, Zach gets off of work ( he now works at home 4 days a week from our bedroom/home office) he comes out and practically takes over in a good way. He usually takes Hazel and our pup Bella out in the yard for some serious run around time. Meanwhile, I can get dinner on then we get to sit down
t o g e t h e r. Which really means so much to me and to Hazel
(I think). For 2 years of Hazel's life her papa hussled it down into the city and didn't get home till almost bath time... so now I feel spoiled and grateful and just plain lucky to be blessed with the job Zach has. I hope he feels that way too.
An older post- never posted, I wanted to share this because I am still so grateful..only now I have a baby boy to add to my gratefulness. I feel very lucky indeed.

1001 Uses For a Fishnet

Way back when I didn't wear random, comfy pregnant t-shirts under my regular clothes I had a very nice collection of fancy tights and such. Fishnets as wide as the eye could see- in large holes, smaller and teeny. Blue, purple, red, yellow and traditional black (if you can call a fishnet traditional). 

Today I am trying to get dinner together as I do most days at 4pm, with a baby strapped to my back and a 4 year old going through a random mismatched basket of my fishnet socks(they came out of an old suitcase we got down from the attic to put other random things in) and stockings she yells out at least 15 different games she is playing with the stockings. " Look mama, I'm tying the sock to my boot and I caught a boot!" Look mama, I caught a stuffed animal in your fishnets! or look mama, I tied my legs together with your stockings and I am walking funny, aren't I?"!  

Hilarious. Sometimes when Tuesdays really feel like Mondays and the baby will only STOP crying if you are carrying or wearing him and the dog wants to be let out 9 million times so she can bark and the neighbors again today, we have to be reminded by someone- anyone- or that special 4 year old to just breathe because material items are nothing.. everything moves so fast. One day you're wearing fancy stockings to the office or out on a date with the man you are going to marry and now your child is playing with those tights in your living room. It's all so fleeting and wonderful and silly and children just make things hysterical, don't they? xo

Since I last wrote, we've been working on all of our little house issues- but it still is an upward battle. But, we are trying to fall in love with our little place- regardless of all trouble it has given us. Adding little touches that make things feel good. A small shelf for our coffee mugs and some hooks to hold the extras. A small cabinet ( which use to hold the mugs) has now grown into a lovely little baking cabinet (much thanks to taking the Whole Food kitchen class with Heather Bruggerman). By the way if anyone from my class ( fall 2012) is reading- I wondered if they would be so kind to send me modules 5-7! I've lost them before getting a chance to print them!
Back to the house, Hazel said today, "mama I love our house" and zach replied with we're glad we do too! Sometimes when you are down or upset we forget our children can sense that and you don't want to let on too much so that their feelings of safety or anything regarding their home makes them uncomfortable... so we try not to discuss too too much. We want the kids to walk in and think ahhh... there's no place like home.
This weekend we have not a plan in site! I'm so excited to try and get things done! We decided to use a group of mismatched hardware on the top cabinets in the kitchen. The walls and cabinets are white- I'm think of painting the hardware a bright red or green to unify. I'd like to put a rug down under the rocking chir in our bedroom to cushion the squeak and maybe muffle it. The rocking chair was given to us on freecycle, by a very nice woman who had used it for 40 years and 4 children! Wow! Aside from recovering the cushions and putting a handmade padding on the tips of the rocker's landing ( what is the real word?) it is the same as when she handed it over.
Today I boiled a chicken- which may sound eewish, but I need the bone broth. I've started back on a gluten free diet. So far it has not been very difficult because I am still supplementing wit Udi's and Quinoa pasta. But the broth is to make some soup and try to transition back to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. We'll see how it goes... I might be able to give up chocolate, but I have developed a hot cocoa habit... however in the summer, who knows what will happen! Well just a quick update and hello.

A picture explanation: in 2008, when I was pregnant with Hazel and we were moving. I was making sure the tub was the right size!