(or maybe my cat has a human head.)

Originally published at Paganites :: Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

Just the other day I had scruffy but adorable baby curls and bangs that Mommy was constantly pushing out of my eyes. There was talk of girly hair bows if it got much longer.

Then my Aunty Shannon came over to visit this weekend and now…

(Ben and I at our Yule gathering over the weekend.)

I look like quite a dashing boy if I do say so myself. Mommy, Daddy and Aunty Shannon agree but they say I look way to grown up and three times more mischievous now.

Originally published at Paganites :: Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” – Elizabeth Stone

Originally published at Paganites :: Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

OMG Mommy, the world is covered in icecream!

Yay icecream!

Om nom nom nom!

What the heck?! This doesn’t taste like icecream!

Originally published at Paganites :: Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

“If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.” – Vincent van Gogh

My seasonal depression is coming on a bit strong today and it is mixed with my baby blues and the fact that Michael went back to work today. Feeling a little overwhelmed by it all but I just wanted to remind myself that no matter how long (looong) the nights are that I am truly grateful for my beautiful baby girl, wonderful son and my amazing husband. We can make it through this and we will never have these early days again.

On a seperate note Damian is currently following Aos around the house trying to hang a little bell off his tail. Who needs TV when I have this? I am grateful to have such a tolerant cat. I actually think Aos might even be enjoying the attention.

And the sun just pierced the clouds (snow is expected later today.) Who says that miracles don’t happen? Excuse me while we all go sit in a morning sunbeam together.

Originally published at Paganites :: Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

Grandma Stewart and Ivy

Since I have been getting quite a few curious and sweet texts, emails and facebook messages asking if I still inhabit the Earth, I thought I might do a quick little update since Damian is in bed and Michael and Ivy are napping for the moment as well.

We are adjusting well to our newest family member’s presence. Nighttime sleep could last a little longer and days could be a little less hectic but that was all to be expected.

Damian is adjusting well to having a little sister though he does seem to miss being the center of attention at times and we have had a handful of extra tantrums. We expected that. Aos has not eaten Ivy yet which is good. He pretty much ignores her existence in fact and is content to take long naps on Damian’s bed (whether Damian is in it or not.) Michael is doing well is somewhat sleep deprived, as am I, though I am a little emotional from time to time, but that is to be expected.

We all ventured out for the first time since Ivy’s birth today (aside from a scheduled trip to the pediatrician) and went to Costco. It wasn’t difficult, other then it being the Christmas season in a big store thing. Damian was very well behaved and Ivy slept the whole time.

Michael goes back to work Monday and we are having friends over for our yearly Yule gathering next weekend, so my posts will probably be just as sporadic as they have been for a couple more weeks while we all adjust to this new routine. I am working on Ivy’s birth story which is in point form at the moment, so that will be one of my next posts.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Yule season filled with peace, happiness and lots of love and laughter. We most certainly are.

Originally published at Paganites :: Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

In these last few days before the arrival of our second child arrives, I have been looking at the early photos of Damian and rereading his birth story. He has grown so much in these past 17 months, I’m in awe. This is one of my favorite, he is just a couple days old here, he is definitely still Daddy’s little man.

Damian is standing beside me at the moment making lion noises (rwar, rwar, RWAR!) while holding his stuffed lion, which was assisting me in the tickle attack on Damian a few minutes ago. He has been such a big help lately, his developmental milestones being closer to that of a two-year-old. He helps me unload the dishwasher, put his clothes and diapers away, sweep (okay, he TRIES to sweep, good enough for me.) Damian’s greatest help as of late though is that he seems to understand that I am tired a lot and he will just crawl in my lap and relax and nap with me. I haven’t a doubt that he will be a fantastic brother but I do anticipate a bit of confusion in the beginning, as he is so use to my undivided attention.

All the birth supplies that I can prepare are ready and in a storage bin in our bedroom, all the newborn supplies are in their proper place too, clothes in the dresser, cloth diapers rewashed and stacked in the changing table, breastfeeding supplies in a bag (Lansinoh is my breast friend.) As much as the baby companies would like you to think otherwise, newborns really don’t need much. Well, that isn’t exactly true, they need a ton, they need your attention, your joy, your deepest love… and a heck of a lot of diaper changes.

I feel as ready for this birth as I can be and I know Michael is too. People tend to downplay the role of their partners during labor but I know I could not have gotten through Damian’s natural birth without Michael’s support (and the constant pressure of his hands on my lower back.) I truly believe he worked just as hard as I did and he will again for this baby’s birth. However, as ready for her arrival as I am, I know she will not come one moment sooner then her own schedule dictates. I just wish I could peek into her day planner!

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

Yesterday the sun was out for the first time in a few days and the deck had dried enough for me to sweep up all the elm leaves. I swear that tree has dropped 80% of it’s leaves in just the days. Damian thinks falling leaves are awesome, once I had swept them all into a corner Damian planted himself right in the middle of the pile with his kettle and stuffing them in it and throwing them in the air. Elm leaf tea anyone?

With our early cold shock this year and then our neighbor’s cat’s apparent addiction to carrots and kale greens, the Winter garden has not faired well. I have decided to retired it for the season and hope to have better luck with the help of chicken wire next year. I mulched it with leaves from the deck since I figured the deck leaves are most likely to be weed free, because let’s face it, I don’t like weeding!

I am glad that I swept the leaves up yesterday, today we are having our first snow of the season. It is not sticking but our deck is quite slippery when covered with soppy leaves. This afternoon I have another appointment with my midwife and then we are going to carve our pumpkin for Halloween. In other words, stay tuned for photos of Damian playing with squishy pumpkin guts!

I’m curious, are you celebrating Halloween? What are you (or your children) dressing up as?

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

We made Halloween themed chocolate sugar cookies this evening. Damian got to use the new cookie cutters (the silhouette cat and pumpkin) that he got from Grandma Lorie this week. Mostly he ran off with them (he doesn’t quite understand the concept of the cookie cutter) but he was fascinated with the process.

He was also pretty interested in the cup I filled with flour to dust the table before I rolled out the dough. Michael noticed the theft.

An adult would not be nearly as cute getting this messy.

Pumpkins and cats and spiders oh my!

Do you make any special treats this time of year?

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

We were blessed with a rain-free morning today which we used to play catch up with yard work. Our Elm is still clinging very tightly to it’s leaves so we focused on general garbage and toy pickup, cleaning out the raised beds and cutting back the bushes in what has become the largely ignored side yard. Well, Michael did the cutting back, I was glad to watch, Whatever those bushes in that yard are, I do not like them. They aren’t very pretty at all and grow incredibly fast. Our landlord cut them all down to the ground before we moved in and they keep growing back from the stumps. Next year I think I am going to dig them all out.

We pulled out, and in one case had to sawed down, my Titan Sunflowers too. The biggest head has dried out quite well. I do not know if the other two will dry properly but I’ll give them a shot, I think they are pretty either way. I’ll put them on the deck after the snow falls for the birds I think.

Damian was intrigued by the biggest sunflower seed head, especially since he could pop out some of the seeds (and promptly attempted to eat them, husks and all.) I think it is natural for children to love sunflowers because they are so much bigger then they are, same goes with pumpkins. Damian pulled the last radishes with me too (and promptly ate those too) anything red is fair game for his grubby paws I think.

How is it that children manage to wedge themselves in the most bug infested grubby places in the blink of an eye? This window well looks so benign but he was sitting on a nest of earwigs. Gross gross gross! (I can deal with pretty much any insect but I do not like earwigs. I think Damian knows that and relishes that knowledge.)

We still need to dismantle this past Spring’s haphazardly built raised beds and trellises but I want to build the next one first so that I have a place to move all the dirt. I think we are going to buy the supplies for that this afternoon while we are out finishing the shopping in preparation for Ivy’s arrival. Her due date is coming up so fast! If we could buy it all at the same place we would have a shopping cart that might make a cashier wonder, fir 2×10s, decking screws, a mop, a humidifier, Macadamia nuts, a heating pad, sanitary napkins, a baby monitor, ricotta cheese, essential oils, and a breast pump. Maybe I am just easily amused though…

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

Rain is in the forecast for the rest of this week, but I can’t complain - at least it is not snow! Last week we had some record lows. We normally do not drop into the teens until January here and all the local grower were scrambling to get their harvests in, especially the apples. The temperatures put my new row cover to the test as it is only rated down to 24°F and we had a few nights that got down to 19°F, it seemed to hold it’s own though. Carrots, radishes and one of my kale seem to have survived, something ate my other kale though. We will see how stuff grows from here on out as this year’s Winter bed went in late and is admittedly a bit of an experiment as I’ve never had one before.

Damian demands time outside ever day and in spite of the little cough he is developing, today was no different. After bundling him up and tucking him into his raincoat, out we went. I think he was vastly impressed by the amount of slimy things he was able to locate around the yard. If it doesn’t rain through this weekend I want to finish tidying up the yard. I feel like the weather has been a little crazy this year, no Spring to speak of, sweltering and bone dry Summer, record breaking early cold and hard frosts. If anything this rain is as close to normal as we have gotten.

Halloween is coming up fast, just 15 days away. I would like to finish Damian’s costume this weekend. Once the 31st passes, there will be just a month until my due date and Ivy could come at 38 weeks like Damian too, so maybe less. Two weeks before that my friend is having a Blessingway for me, I am very much looking forward to that! Before then though we want to finish getting everything we need for the birth ready, as well as pack the emergency bag should I need to go to the hospital - back up plans are always a good thing.

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

Though Damian is 16 months old now, I think that my anticipation of Ivy’s birth coupled with this week long flu (which has been keeping me somewhere between the couch and sleeping) has mixed a large dose of nostalgia into my psyche and given me the time to make another collage. My laptop really hates me when I do these by the way, something about using massive photo files and it’s memory (I made the original so that it could be printed in 8×10 for framing.)

Anyhow, I bring you Damian’s first year!
My Mommy heart overfloweth with love.

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

I have a really nasty flu, I almost had to go the hospital yesterday because my fever spiked and Tylenol was not bringing it down. Normally 102°F isn’t doctor worthy to me but everything is different when you are pregnant isn’t it? While I do have a bun in the oven, I don’t need to burn her (or worse, deliver early!) However that fever broke shortly after Michael got home to take care of me. He took Damian to the store and bought me gingerale and chicken soup too, I love that man.

It is ironic that when you are completely congested, all you want is to be able to breath, and then when you brain is draining out your nose (seriously, it has to be brains, there is no way my body can create that much mucus, so gross) all you want is to be a bit more congested.

Today I woke feeling a bit better except for really awful nausea, now that that is gone and I feel just as gross as yesterday again, my fever is back and forth between normal and 100°F. Luckily not any higher, Tylenol is doing it’s job. I ran out of elderberry syrup though so my throat is just killing me. I can focus enough to blog though! Whether I should be typing in this state is a matter for another discussion. As is if I have H1N1 because I know someone is going to suggest it and get all freaked out. If it is oh well, the likelihood of it taking me out is very low. What is kind of amusing though is even if I wanted to get vaccinated (which I don’t) I couldn’t anyways. Even though I am in one of the highest risk groups to get the disease, pregnant and in my 20s, the first volley of the vaccine out now is the nasal spray, which is a live vaccine, which means I can’t take it - because I am pregnant! The shot probably won’t be available until Ivy is born which kind of defeats the purpose doesn’t it?

Damian is being amazingly good through all this, when I was throwing up earlier he stood beside and gently patted my back and later when I was laying down he either played quietly by himself, came and snuggled with me or sat beside me and pet my hair. A couple times he tried to bring me his sippy to make me drink and he also brought me toilet paper (I don’t have kleenex) when I was sneezing. So cute! Granted he then ran off with the toilet paper when I fell asleep again and tped the living room… Hehe.

They are calling for potential snow flurries tonight, a forecast that is unfortunately echoed in with my almanacs (early snows and a truly frigid Winter.) I wouldn’t mind if they were both wrong, I am not really for snow, much less a repeat of last year’s Winter. Besides if it keeps getting colder I am going to have to figure out how to fit Damian’s Halloween costume around a snow suit (and since my Mom said she wants to get him one in Canada, I have been holding off looking for one. Not that they are selling them here yet anyways.) For the curious, I was going to make Damian a sunflower for Halloween but some thought that that was a little too emasculating, so I am making him a bee. I might dress as a sunflower though!

I am watching PBS documentary, the original Olympians competed naked? I would love to see that in today’s Winter Olympics. Let’s see how tough those skiers really are!

Wow, I’m easily amused when I am sick…

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” — Denis Waitley

We decided to spend this past weekend at home. It was nice to disconnect from the world for a little. We caught up on some much neglected yard work and Michael replaced one side of the van’s headlights (gotta love old vehicles…)

He also put together what will be Ivy’s crib. Damian was more then eager to help.

I made a Dutch Apple Pie with apples from last weekend’s Harvest Festival and loaded up the dehydrator even more apple sliced. Half a bushel to go… I also made two baguettes and a skillet full of roasted red potatoes and meatloaf. Autumn inspires me to cook.

You know that your husband knows you well when he brings you 36lbs of organic pluots home instead of flowers (a pluot is a plum/apricot cross and my favorite stone fruit.) I’ll be making fruit butter with these, though admittedly, we ate about 9lbs of them over the weekend…

And let’s not forget, Sunday night is football night!

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

In the past month or so Damian has taken to perching on the couch to look out the window and wave at everything (dogs, cats, people, birds, trees, invisible things.)

I seem am having a bit of a strange day. I woke up with the strange sense of fear or apprehension, completely undefined and unfocused though. It was just a weird feeling, like the world was going to just explode at any moment. I think children are very sensitive to the moods of others, especially their parents, and Damian has been sticking close to me today and wants lots of cuddles. I’m cool with that, I want lots of cuddles too. Both of us are feeling under the weather too with low-grade fevers and pretty much non-existent appetites. Thirsty as heck though. My strange sense of fear has waned as the day has progressed, or at least I haven’t seen any Vogon ships yet!

One change in the routine today was, of course, caused by Damian. I accidentally left a tin of loose black tea out on the table and Damian got a hold of it (you can probably see where this is going.) He indulged in quite a bit before I noticed. I have never seen Damian so hyper. It was oddly both cute and amusing though, which makes me feel a tad bit mean. Sometimes when we are out I see parents giving small children soda and after watching Damian for the 30 minutes it took the tea to wear off, I have to wonder about these people’s mental health in making that dietary choice for their young ones…

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

Time is flying by lately and Damian seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. I feel like he is coming up with some new little thing to wow us with every day. It is so magical to witness his personality developing. Lately we have been fully appreciating the last warm days of summer in our backyard. I’ve been watching Damian’s love for flowering dandelions transition to a love of dandelions that have gone to seed. He wanders around and picks all that he can cram into his little hands and then either blows on them or makes a running b-line for one of the raised beds. While I am generally faster then him (I’ve noticed the pregnant waddle returning recently,) I do now have a few little quarantine areas in the winter bed where I am watching for explosions of dandelion sprouts among the carrot. Do you think he will be helping me plant seeds next Spring?

My website ticker says that I am 30 weeks along with just 70 days until Ivy’s due date. Seriously, time is flying by! My midwife will be drawing blood this afternoon for the usual tests, ick! Not that I have any apprehension, but I don’t think anyone enjoys being stuck. I am grateful that Beth will be doing the draw I never feel it and she gets it right the first time (in the past nurses and doctors tend to butcher my arm looking for something to tap.) I have wanted to clarify something about my midwife, recently I was asked if I have two of them as I often refer to my midwife as either Beth or Linda. The answer is yes… and no. The Spokane Midwives practice is owned by both Linda and Beth but it is only ever one of them who gives me my check ups and only one will be attending Ivy’s birth (with an assistant.) Linda was the one who helped deliver Damian but I wouldn’t have minded if it had been Beth on call. I love them both and they are both equally experienced certified nurse midwives.

Since time is zooming along, I am pulling out my Bradley Method workbook today. When I was pregnant with Damian we took Bradley classes and while I was a bit of a skeptic at the time I know now that it is definitely the right choice for my body and desire for another natural birth. So in other words, it is time to start the review.

Another question I was asked recently is if I am having the intense and spiritual dreams that I had when I was pregnant with Damian during this pregnancy too. If you followed this blog when I was carrying Damian you might remember the dreams I had involving both condors and snakes. I have had similar dreams this time around but mainly with jackals (sometimes they are coyotes) and snakes. Lately luna moths have been present in some of the dreams too. The animals have never been frightened me, completely the opposite, they all have been incredibly maternal, supportive and protective. Even the moths, which are luna moths but prehistorically large are oddly maternal. So far they have only been present in the dreams where I have just given birth and they cover Ivy like a cozy blanket.

I generally try not to make predictions (at least not publicly) with my pregnancies, after all I thought Ivy was a boy, but I also keep dreaming she will be born the day after Thanksgiving, November 27th, which was my Grandpa Mason’s birthday (and the day I broke my arm when I was 13 too but let’s not think about that.) We will see I guess!

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

I thought that recaping our trip to the Harvest Festival this weekend would be a nice post for today, the Autumn Equinox. If you would like to read more about what this day means to me and how we celebrate it as a family I posted extensively about it last year.

This past Sunday we went out to Beck’s Harvest House in Greenbluff, as is our tradition, to pick apples as well as buy fresh pressed cider and some wine. This year we threw a pumpkin into the mix, for Damian’s benefit. (It is in his blog here.)

Last year Damian was only 3 1/2 months old and slept threw most of the trip. This year he is 15 1/2 months old and is walking, running, pointing and babbling. (They grow up fast don’t they?) He did not sleep a wink for the entire trip, though he rode around in his wagon for most of the time eating apples. Of course he had to pick some too, which proved a little tricker then he initially thought. Yanking them off the tree was no hard, but keeping his balance after the yank was! He face planted into the ground right after this photo was taken:

Read the rest of this entry »

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.

This year I was the official pumpkin picker of the family, so while we were at the Harvest Festival I (gleefully) accepted my duty and set about choosing the perfect one that will grace our porch this Samhain.

Each pumpkin must be careful considered you know. Color, size, rollability and, of course, taste are all very important. I was undecided between two for the longest time but eventually I found one to be slightly easier to tip over then the other.

I promptly confirmed my choice with Daddy.

Since, you know, he is big and strong and has the wallet and stuff…

I tried to pick more pumpkins later but they were for “display only” what is the point of that!? I still enjoyed browsing their selection though!

Originally published at Michael and Jaspenelle. Please leave any comments there.