Summer Reading List

It's been far too long since we talked books around here. With all the busyness going on my book pile has been growing, not diminishing. I always have a to-read pile on my table next to the couch and as the summer has been progressing I've been adding to it. Now that I have a bit of downtime (the word is relative) I'm starting to make my way through them. Some are favorites that I am re-reading, but others are new ones that I'm excited to read for the first time.

Jane Austen in Scarsdale: or, Love, Death and the SATs. This is a lighthearted (so far) book. It centers around one Anne Ehrlich, a 30 something teacher that thinks maybe her one chance for true love has passed her by, until that one true love's nephew shows up at her college, and just maybe there is a chance that it's not too late to re-connect with her soulmate? This is a new book to me and I just started it.

A River Runs Through It. I love, love, love the movie adaptation of this book, but have never read the book itself (gasp). Looking forward to starting this one.

Home Is Where My People Are. Witty, real, and entertaining, this book is a memoir told in the first person. Sophie Hudson shares tales of growing up and her life experiences.

The Lifegiving Home. Inspiring all homemakers, and lovers of home, Sally Clarkson has done it again. A book to encourage you in making your dwelling place not just a house, but a home.

Welcome To The Farm.  All things homestead this is a wonderful book chockful of helpful how-tos, recipes, and tips. Also, (bonus!) beautiful photos.

The Summer Book. Susan Branch's books are the best. Like, for real, the best. Charming, easy to browse through and read. Full of stories, recipes, and delightful illustrations. She has a set of books (Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring) and this is the summertime one.

Pocketful Of Pinecones. I've read this book a few times but not in a while so I'm re-reading it again. A first person, journal-like story told through the eyes of a mother living in the 30s that has just been introduced to Charlotte Mason's teachings.

tuesday ponderings

Yesterday was The Big Day. We packed up a truck load full of things from the Wesleytown house and my dad and the three girls are on their way down to the new house today. They will however be back up in a couple weeks to celebrate Piper's big (1st!) birthday with us and take another (and final) truck load down . 

It will be quiet around here in our neck of the woods, and they will be sorely missed. I'm sure that we'll be busy taking many trips down to visit from this point out.

Today is another rainy day here. It's been raining almost every day for the past month and at this point I'm more than ready for it to end. Dreary is an understatement. Where's all our sunshine for long summer walks? 

Anyway, it's rainy here today, again. I'm going to do some house cleaning, make some tea, take care of some work, and bake cupcakes with Adri Rose. 

I've been looking through this book with Adri for the past few days (I found it in our upstairs, buried on a shelf) and she's been so intrigued with it. It really is a beautiful book though.

Other news is that I opened a page with all my Amazon favorites. I'm going to be adding to it and updating it this week and hopefully it will make it easier to find things that I recommend. If you go here you can shop the different categories and see things that I recommend but am not always able to link to.

My new-to-me hutch. I've wanted one from so long and now I finally have one! I love it and it's the perfect spot for all of our mugs.

Shenanigans with the midgets at the grocery store. Life is a lot busier with two, but definitely more fun.

A best-ever auntie.

Happiest, tiniest, busiest little walker ever. 

The house bunnies are pretty popular. It's a good things they are fairly laid back (Pepper more so than Jack) because they have a lot to put up with ;)

Breakfast art.

 

Here's to looking toward a productive week ahead. Catching up on some reading, a few new projects, planning, and doing some yard work once the weather clears. 

Happy Tuesday! 

an update

Hello, hello! Long time no talk! Things have been super (that's a huge understatement) busy around here. The reason being is that my dad and the three youngest sisters are moving back to Connecticut! Yup, how's that for keeping you in the dark? He bought a beautiful house on a dead end road a few miles out a town. The house has needed some renovating (thus all the trips that we've been making down there) but now it's move in ready and the truck is arriving sometime this week and we are packing it up and they are officially moving in. This decision will be a good one for all of them, but I'm going to really miss them! I'm sure we'll be making many, many visits down to see them often though. 

So, with all the work on the new house, and all the packing up here in New York getting them ready to move, things have been crazy. It's all nearing the end soon though and things will settle down.

Below are some photos taken last week/early this week in the yard of the new house (all the littles love the tire swing!) and at the ocean. I'll be sure to post some sneak peeks of the inside at some point too. 

This weekend we don't really have any plans. I'm going to take the girls to the library on Saturday to return some items, and that's about it. Maybe a walk at the Nature Center? We shall see.

Have a great weekend! 

Piper Mae: Eleven Months Old

Look who's officially on her way out the door to becoming a toddler! We have one month left and little Piper is going to be a one-year-old. I still can't believe it. Not only has this past month flown by, but this summer has flown by.

At eleven months old Piper has: 

+A toothy smile. She has TEN teeth now and more coming in any day!

Piper can:

+Walk everywhere. She's on the move, walking AND running all over.

+Talk. She says "Mama", "Dadda", "clap", "nurse", and "Adri". All in the same cute tiny baby voice that Adri had.

+Dance. As soon as music comes on she starts to dance all over.

+Pick things up, clap, and sing (again, in the little baby voice).

Piper loves:

+FOOD. Girl loves to eat. Chicken, puffs, strawberries, and rice are a few favorites.

+The kitties. She follows them all over the house.

+Water. We have a water baby! Piper loves the pool, the tub, the lake, and the water table. She loves playing in the water.

+Milky. She's still nursing strong, although I have a feeling that she's going to be weaning fairly soon after her first birthday.

Piper Mae has a sweet, happy little personality. Although, she also cries way more than Adri ever did and is much, much fussier. Don't worry, we're still going to keep her ;)

Cute things my three year old says and does

Okay, so hate me if you want to, I'm joining "that mom club" where I post about all the things that my child does. I really can't help it though, honestly, I just can't. Adri has always been extremely verbal and for the most part, says all her words and sentences correctly, so up until now I haven't really had any of the "cute kid sayings". Well, now we have some good ones and I never want to forget them.

"Puddie Muddles"= Mud Puddles.

"Slissers"= Scissors.

Saying "you're such a good girl Pipes!" randomly to Piper.

When making her dollhouse animals talk back and forth, she makes them call each other "Sweetheart" and it's the cutest.

Asking for a "healthy" snack. Not sure where this one came from, but she now ask for a healthy snack to eat (I didn't realize that we have "unhealthy" snacks lol).

Following the "healthy snack" comment...now that Adri can open the fridge she's always going in to find something to eat. Since the veggies and fruit are in the bottom drawers that's about all she can reach. She's totally fine with that though and is always coming into a room eating an apple or carrot (#momwin).

Just recently Adri understood the concept of Adam and I having names other than Mom and Dad. She's always asking me, "is your name Anna, and is Daddy's name Babe (what I always call Adam)? She does understand that Babe is a nickname, and Adam is Adam, yet she still says that all the time and I have a hard time not cracking up. 

still around {taking notes: august 1st, 2018}

Happy August 1st! How is it that we are already in August? This summer is flying by. In a little over a month, my baby will be ONE and I still can't believe it. 

So, this week. It was a crazy one. I had a lot of work to do, and since that work is writing, sometimes it makes the additional writing for blogging a bit too much. Anyway, blogging went on the back burner for a few days, but now I'm back, and with a Taking Notes post, no less. 

So, currently: 

Outdoors: it's early morning, and I have a few windows open. I can hear cars driving by, a few birds singing, and the sun is rising.

Around the house: the babies are sleeping (Piper woke at 4:00am and then went back to sleep, now I'm wide awake), sump pumps are running, and I'm smelling coffee and fresh cut grass (from last night) outside.

Drinking: coffee. I'm still on my first cup, and I'm sure I'm going to need at least a couple more after I'm done with this one. 4:00am is just a little too early for me these days.

Reading: I've been reading this, but I'm also reading this and this. Seems like my life is made up of juggling multiple reads. And I'm fine with that. 

Wearing: p.j's? It's way too early to be dressed right now, unless you are at work. 

Making: honestly, I haven't been in a "making" mood lately. We've been so busy it seems and I just haven't felt inspired to do anything. Does cleaning count though? Because I've been doing a LOT of that. Getting rid of stuff, sorting through books, and clothes, and basically everything in our house. 

Thinking: have you seen the giveaway that I posted on Instagram? It's for a beautiful book that I love about motherhood. It's one of my favorites and I wanted to share a copy of it with someone else. You can enter here. 

Loving: how big and adorable little Piper Mae has become! She's officially a toddler (walking everywhere) and it's the cutest. She talks a lot more now too, and plays, and actually has a personality and a sense of humor. Okay, but more on that Friday, when I post her eleven-month update. 

Wondering: if I can make it to the library this week. It's been way too long since I've gone, and I know that I have items waiting on hold for me. Plus, Adri loves going and playing with all the puzzles. I might be able to sneak and trip in this afternoon.

Planning: out the rest of my week. Today sister Julia is coming over and we have some errands to run. Then I have some packing to do because I'm taking a trip down to Connecticut for the weekend with the two girls (Adam has to work and can't go with us). We leave tomorrow and will be gone until Sunday or Monday.

Have a lovely Wednesday! 

 

Summer Bucket List: 2018

Okay, so yes, I know this is a little late, but since we are technically still in Summer I thought I'd make a little Summer Bucket List. Here's everything that we have planned for the Summer (some of it we've already done!).

Summer Bucket List 2018:

+take a trip to CT, and go to the ocean (already did this once, need to do it again).

+make clam fritters (been on my list of to-dos for a while now, and I really do want to make them!).

+go on vacations (DONE).

+takes some longs hikes.

+get Adri a swing set (just a life thing, but we finally got that done too!).

+go camping. I think we are going to try to take a little weekend camping trip this September.

+visit to the Zoo (DONE). However, we are going back again with Adam one of these weekends. He's gotta see those dinosaurs!

+read this.

+pick blueberries (DONE).

+go to Farm Day (it's this weekend and you can see what it is here).

Looking back over Spring's list I was surprised to see that we got more done than I was expecting to. There are still a few things on it, but we did manage to do most of it.

+Going to see the newest Star Wars movie in the theater with Adam at the end of the month.
+Celebrating Adriana Rose's third birthday the first weekend in June (all things dinosaur themed).
+Planting the garden (we've already started this one, but still have a ton left to plant).
+Take daily walks.
+Visit the zoo with the girls (hopefully this weekend!).
+Gather ramps and fiddleheads (already did the first, still have to do the second).
+Wait for the lilacs to bloom and then FILL the house with them {not really a bucket list thing, more like a life goal ;)}
+Clean the garage out. After being filled with crap all winter it needs a really good cleaning and clearing out.
+Visit the Farmer's Market. This is more like something we need to do a few times.
+Take a trip with the girls to New England to visit sister Julia.
+Take Adri to the aquarium (she's never gone).

Today is another rainy day and it looks like we'll be spending it in the house again. I seem to be feeling a bit better and slowly on the mend (thanks for all the well-wishes) and hopefully by the weekend am all better. 

after the weekend: in the berry patch

We've had quite a weekend! The sisters came over and had a sleepover at our place Friday night, and then Saturday I took my girls to the blueberry patch, met up with the sisters and Wesley and Claire (and their gang) and picked a bunch of berries. Since the berry place had just opened last week it was pretty picked over, but I did manage to get one full bucket. The place has not only the cheapest blueberries ($1.50 a lb) but also the best tasting.  A huge bonus that it's only two miles down the road from us.

In other news, we've (as in my whole family) been sick with some sort of bad cold since May. It seems to have gotten worse and had me crashed on the couch all day on Sunday. Adam was the best and made me good food and brought all the medicines. It seems to be affecting everyone in various ways (Claire, Wesley, Julia and I the worst) and just not going away. A cold in the summer is bad enough, but not going away? No fun.

Today we don't have a whole lot planned. I'm going to take things easy and not do too much. Trying to conquer this cold is on the top of my list, so lots of hot tea and rest it is.