Look what was in our tree yesterday!!

photo credit: Arwen

photo credit: Arwen

And while I'm on the subject of trees...

 I had Arwen snap a couple of the trees changing around our house.  I just love red leaves!

Now, off to work! My Mother-in-Law is visiting and will be here in a matter of hours! I have SO MUCH TO DO!!!! (But this was a fun little break!)

Fluffy Bunnies

 About a year ago we got our first furry friend and named him Carrot.   I discovered a wonderful breeder who raises show quality mini-Holland lop bunnies, and while we do not show our pets, they have the best temperament ever!

Legolas is crazy about BunBun (the big black and white doe) and Bean (our newest addition, in tortoiseshell).  Would you believe that these puff balls do not bite or scratch as they are squeezed and laid on by an overly loving toddler?

I have heard people say that rabbits are a lot of work.  My sister adopted a rabbit from the humane society and I am sure she would agree, but this is the big qualifying difference: her rabbit was an indoor  pet, sort of like a "class pet" is kept in a cage.  My rabbits are exclusively outdoor rabbits (I move them into the garage with a heat lamp during the coldest winter months).

Outdoor rabbits simply need to have food and water and hay, which can be stocked up in their cages for more than one day, making it a chore only every other day or so.  Since they are not indoors, their cages do not need to be as meticulously cleaned, and for the most part, the "slide out" trays that come with most outdoor hutches just need to be dumped in the woods or garden once every so often.  A "deep clean" of the hutch area can be done more sporadically, when you feel up to it, making sure their bedding is nice and fresh and deep.

One of the most fun things for the kids is to be sent out with leftover veggies to feed the bunnies with.  Our neighborhood friends will show up with a carrot in tow to get in on the fun.  Anyway, for those who have kids who would like something soft to cuddle, but who don't want dander or fur in their home, I offer you an option: outdoor, cute and cuddly, fluffy bunnies!  

[disclaimer: not all bunnies have the same disposition. Make sure you find a good breed and a good breeder if possible. That said, my nieces sure tamed that humane society rabbit well! The more a rabbit is handled, the nicer it will be.]

Oops! (I forgot) The mountains

Just because I feel like I never capture the mountains from our back porch, I thought I'd add this picture. It's not a great shot. but it proves that you can really see the Rockies from our yard (this is just to the north of the previous photo in the post below). Pretty pretty pretty. Would you believe that I often gaze upon the mountains and yearn for lands in the North and imagine the distance between this place and my home land?
I do try to acknowledge and glory in the beauty of God's creation while I am there. But there is just something about "home".
Now you see what I see when I go.  You can judge for yourself.

Breakfast

This might be a silly sort of post, but I don't think it hurts me to go ahead and remind myself what I often try to forget: cold cereal is a big waste of money!  Why? Because it isn't particularly nutritious? Because they tend to be higher in sugar and lower in protein than we aim for in a well-balanced meal to start the day for our families?  Because unless you're buying jumbo boxes at Sam's you will go through several full boxes of cereal in one morning if you have 7 hungry children eating?! Well...yes, but I'm pretty lazy and I could get over those objections if only my children would eat a bowl of, say Cheerios, and not be hungry five minutes later!!!  

Enter Auntie Leila.  Please tell me you have met her on her blog Like Mother, Like Daughter. If you haven't already discovered that she pretty much knows everything there is to know about running a big family (without being superwoman), you can just pop over there and read all she has to say about meal planning, and breakfast in particular.  She's saving me the trouble of writing that post that tells you that your kids need to eat something substantial in the morning.  What I'm here to write is that it's worth it.  

Good Old Fashioned Cream of Wheat

 It's worth it for me to drag myself away from my morning coffee and my ever failing attempts at lingering over some morning prayer or planning or journaling time and just go into that kitchen and get something hot and nourishing brewing.  Eggs are probably the best breakfast food ever.  Pancakes can be made with extra eggs. My brother-in-law makes "protein pancakes" with ten eggs and scoops of protein powder in them! I've added extra eggs, but haven't done powders yet.

Lest you think I'm actually a "good mom", let me tell you that I do let my kids put brown sugar on their oatmeal and Cream of Wheat.  Do you see the line of bowls hidden in the background? There should be seven or eight there, depending on if I plan on having any!

 Why is it worth it? Because once fed, my children will quiet down for a few minutes.  That is how I finish my morning revelry of prayer, planning, e-mailing, and coffee.  Once fed, my children will obey orders to get ready for the day.  We can then try mightily to make daily Mass on time.  If they have cold cereal, they will be hungry by the time we come home.  We might have to stop for bagels on the way home.  We might have pbj's and apples (in other words, lunch) being eaten as I begin our home schooling day around 9am.  If we've had a nice hearty meal, I actually have a chance of getting straight to work with no added mess.  We might eat lunch at a normal hour.  And that  makes me a happy lady. So, cook in the morning, easier rest of the day. 'Nuff said.

This guy was with me making breakfast this morning.  He blinked, but still...too cute!

Back Blogging

So, after months of being home, I thought you deserved a little peek at our view from this summer.  The

little bit of fence you can see is our back porch (well, my Mother-in-Law owns the house where we stay, so it's not really "ours", but it's not the house where she lives either).  Anyway, it's beautiful as you can see.  Didn't I already say I was a brat for whining about going to this beautiful land?

yes, that's four cats and a dog!

I thought I'd prove what I said when I told you I brought home 5 kittens to cheer me up...and then bought a puppy.  Here they are sharing a water bowl. The dog's eating.  I thought it was wonderful socialization for both species.

Now I'm the terror of the farm mice.  Either that or a coyote's dinner.

Super cute...suprisingly scratchy (sigh) I would have kept one...or two.

This was the little one that captured my heart.

Unfortunately, I proved allergic to her as well.  She was the runt of the litter and the only girl.

These little things brought some love into my life as I longed for home.  Amazing that a woman with seven children could still feel the need for furry friends to cuddle.  A friend of mine said it was the pregnancy (mothering) hormones.  I'm pretty sure she was right!

Morning workout

I'm getting big...reeeal big.  Pushing 9 months here, and feeling it.  So this morning I hit the basement laundry room.  I switched the loads around and lugged up a basket of laundry.  I'm feeling the burn.

Then my dear husband informs me that the baby is sleeping in his carseat (we had arrived home 2 minutes ago, and I knew this...I just sort of ran to the laundry and hoped someone else might climb into our big van and lift the baby out and carry him to his crib.  Of course, Mama is the best at moving a sleeping baby from car to crib while not waking him, so I went back to the garage.  I pulled myself into the van, lifted my little bundle of love, and carried him up our incredibly large flight of stairs (ok, it's just a normal staircase, but lend me some creative license here).  I managed to place him in his crib without dropping him.  And I turned, to face the downward climb, huffing and puffing.

Oh yeah. Still feeling it. 

A) I am in awesome shape.  B) Ha!

Overheard this morning

Mom (encouraging and enthusiastic tone of voice): I have a challenge! If you work hard and get a song crossed off at piano lessons today, I'll buy one of those bags of mini-candy bars like you get on Halloween and let you pick one!

"Someone": Just one? Can't we pick two or three? How big are those things anyway?

Nice.
Ok, another week with minimal progress.
Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled.