eggs

Last week, our chickens finally started to lay eggs. So far, only 3 of them are laying, but we are averaging 2 eggs a day.

They are so lazy about it, though. I always thought that hens lay their eggs early in the morning. Perhaps in time for breakfast. But no. One lays around 10 am. Another sometime around 3pm. I haven't figured out the third's egg laying schedule yet.

And none of them lay in their nesting boxes, which we've been religiously lining with soft wood shavings...

No.

Instead they lay their eggs in the rabbit's house.

autumnal walk

October has been a cold and wet month here in Arkansas. So when we had sushine and 60 degrees yesterday, I took Liam on a wagon ride to collect Fall leaves.

He helped me collect all kinds of leaves, twigs, and acorns, and I was envisioning decorations for the house. But then Liam systematically dropped each and every leaf, twig, and acorn out the side of the wagon on the way home.

But it was still a beautiful afternoon.

Cake and Flowers

Friday night, my mom and I were up into the wee hours of the morning creating a wedding cake and flowers for the sister of my mom's coworker. We got the job offer Friday afternoon. And the wedding was Saturday.

Short notice + Wal-Mart flowers + true talent = a lovely wedding

The cake.

The couple's monogram

A centerpiece bouquet

The bride's bouquet

Not pictured: 3 sunflowers be-ribboned for the bridesmaids and a boutonniere for the groom.

I've been busy. Really.

This was a much longer than anticipated break. Sorry. But the good news is that the morning sickness is finally gone. Oh, the magic of the 2nd trimester...

I have been accomplishing things around here, even if this blog hasn't shown much of it:

Recently Completed projects

• 3 handknit Christmas Stockings
• a refinished rocking chair
• a new purse for me

Works in progress

• 3 more stockings
• slippers for Liam
• a birthday present for my niece Grace
• reupholstering our couch

I'm also getting back into the groove of bread baking and tapering off the "easy" dinners, now that I am feeling better.

Here's the rocking chair, before and after.

This was a Craigslist freebie. It was missing a back slat and had an ugly faux oak finish. And those wings on the side.

But it was nothing a lot of sanding couldn't fix... The wings are gone, and the back slat is replaced. The new finish is Olympic's English Walnut.

I'm hoping to be in this space more often ... I guess that remains to be seen.

San Diego-part 4

Tuesday morning, we went to a park in Mission Bay for Liam to get a chance to run around and play.

He did.

That afternoon, we made a second beach trip. Since there were only five of us going, we decided to pile into Grandma Cindy's car.

Gabe got the lucky seat.

It was breezy and a bit chilly, but they didn't seem to care. I stayed huddled under a beach towel...

That evening, we had pizza at my grandparents for one more visit before we hit the road the next morning.

And then Wednesday morning, we were on our way back to Arkansas. Forest had decided to stay in San Diego. It was bittersweet to have the extra room in the car for the drive back.

But Liam was a great traveler. Taking breaks at fast food places with playgrounds for Liam to run around in seemed to make a huge difference. We stopped in Albuquerque for the night, then it was back to the road on Thursday.

And now, here we are, back in Arkansas. Back to the present. Unfortunately, our camera broke the last night of our trip, so we have no new pictures to share. It is being repaired and I should get it back in the next week or so.

San Diego - part 3

Monday was wedding day.

I got up early and went with my mom to San Diego Wholesale to buy all of the flowers for the bouquets and the cake. We didn't plan ahead for the time we'd spend in the gigantic refrigerator to select the flowers. Our teeth were chattering, but we came out with armloads of gerbera daisies, statice, coffee berries, amaranth, and more and more flowers a greenery.

I spent the next few hours arrranging 5 bridesmaid bouquets, the bride's bouquet, and the cake toppers, while my mom and Sue Seydel decorated 60+ cupcakes with mums and greenery.

They all turned out beautiful despite the ticking clock. As soon as the flowers were complete, I loaded them up in the car and picked up Gabriel, Liam, Cindy, and Forest. After a drive through In-n-Out for burgers, we spent the next 2 hours on the road to Riverside.

The wedding was in a circus tent in the middle of a field. Everything was circus: a ticket booth, animal cages with plush lions and tigers, a life-sized elephant, antique cars and trucks, carousel ponies. It couldn't have been more perfect for Molly and Andres.

The wedding ceremony itself was simple: traditional with some circus flair. The bridal party walked in to Bach, Liam leading the way as the "popcorn boy" (rather than flowers...), but he ate the popcon down the aisle instead of throwing it.

The officiant was a circus ringmaster, and he conducted the ceremony in a seamless blend of spanish and english.

Molly and Andres' kiss was blush-worthy.

When the ceremony was over we all danced out to the Black Eyed Peas "I've got this feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night..."

The reception was filled with tasty food from El Pollo Loco, a circus performance, dancing, cake, champagne (don't worry, I had sparkling cider...)

Cindy was an amazing help with Liam. She entertained him while I was busy with pre-wedding preparations, and she kept him busy during the reception so Gabriel and I could eat and visit with my long-distance family. But best of all, Liam had lots of one-on-one time with Grandma, and he seemed to really warm up to her. It was special.

We called it a night at 9, even though the dancing was just getting started. Liam had fallen asleep in Gabe's arms, and we still had a 2 hour drive back down to San Diego.

I'll post more pictures as soon as Molly sends me a picture cd.

San Diego- Part 2

I didn't intend for it to take me so long to get these posts up... this past week has been busy with after-trip clean up and recovery. We finally had the window on our Element replaced last Monday, and I've been struggling with morning sickness and a very busy toddler. So, picking up where I left off:

Sunday morning we went to the San Diego Zoo just the three of us. Liam had a fun time looking at all of the animals, all the while with his "serious observer" face.

He still loves the flamingos.

Just for fun, you can see his reaction to the flamingos at 5 months (scroll down to zoo trip round 2)

He really liked the chimps

But I think this monkey will always be Liam's favorite.

It was great to see the new elephant exhibit: it emphasized archeology and fossils, since elephants are a kind of living history... Liam particularly liked all of the extinct creature sculptures.

Here he is with a mammoth.

Like I said, serious observer.

It was fun to see the lions up close in their new exhibit.

We were warned.

Liam wasn't sure what to think about these big cats.

His favorite part of the day was when we let him run around the children's zoo. These hanging banners were a lot of fun.

Watching ducks with Daddy.

This rock was especially enticing.

Just the right height for our little climber to go up.

And then slide back down.

Looking for otters.

There's one!

Later that afternoon, we went with Gabriel's family to Coronado beach. This was Liam's first time to really get out there and play. He had a blast.

Learning what to do with sand. Notice how his beach ensemble dwindles. Above is his original outfit: swim trunks and sun hat.

The hat didn't last long.

But that sand! He loved it. A lot.

Discovering sea weed. After touching it, he dusted off his hands and said "eew."

Lots of digging.

More digging with Hannah.

Digging with Daddy. And now he's lost his swim trunks, too.

The beach is the best in just a diaper...