ghosts and pumpkins and things

I have had some one-on-one with both of my kiddos in the last couple days, and it has been such a treat. Ari and I built houses and baked and painted Halloween cookies and chatted and enjoyed each others company. Poor Dori is pretty miserable with a bunch of new teeth coming in, and though we had some good laughs today (bouncing on the bed is funny! Especially when mama flops down beside you!) he was pretty clingy and fussy.

Though with this one, you can pretty much always find a smile.

And though I think having time apart is good for the boys, they miss each other a lot. They were so happy to see each other today when Ari got home from "Baba Dedo day." They hugged and laughed, and Ari is even tolerating wet baby kisses now. Such sweetness to watch these brothers love each other.

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And we have decided to do a bit of Halloween this year. We adults are a bit ambivalent about it, but Ari caught wind of the costume thing and was pretty excited, though not so excited by the idea of randomly knocking on people's doors- that seemed to weird him out a bit. Plus, we don't really eat candy and are less than thrilled with hauling a bunch of it home. So we settled on going to a few houses of people we know and to invite the Switch Witch to come and trade in the candy for a few treasures (toy, book, toothbrush...) We are all good with this plan.

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And the costume part seemed a bit tricky- Ari was changing his mind constantly on what he wanted to be (a monster! a lion! a thunderstorm airplane!) and it seemed that nothing I made was going to meet the expectations in his little mind.

"I want to be a monster. Like raaaaarrrrr! Like that!" he's say. And I would try to tease out what raaaaarrrrr! looked like exactly.

"With claws?" I'd guess.

"No! Like rrrrraaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!"

Right. But in the last couple days he seems to have settled on being a ghost. I'm not sure what he imagines a ghost to be exactly, but I took out the elastic and cut some holes in an unused crib sheet and he is thrilled. Yay for that! Because thunderstorm airplane was going to take more creativity energy than I've got right now.

We'll carve out jack o'lanterns tomorrow. These little local pie pumpkins became pumpkin butter. Also known as "pumpkin pie jam" in our house. Yum. Happy Halloween to you all!

moon pajamas

At the supper table Ari looks out the window from his seat and excitedly points out the moon peeking out from the clouds.
"Did you bring the moon, Papa?" he asks.
"No. The moon comes out when she is ready," says Papa. Ari thinks about this for a minute.
"And she comes to play with us. She puts on her PJ's and comes out to play with us!"
"Oh!" we say. "Wow!"
"Ya look," he points. "Look, can you see her PJ's? They are very shiny. "
"Yes," we say. "They are."
And they were. Those moon pajamas were beautiful and wonder-ful and shiny. Just like my sweet moon-loving boy.

the week

Sorry to disappear there for a bit, we had a bit of a wacky week. Colds all round (and much crankiness- mostly from mama!) and then I got a bout of mastitis- I managed to fend it off before it got too bad, thankfully. Yarrow tea, cabbage leaves, Phytolacca 30c and heat. And a day in bed, which I think is what my body was really asking for.

Perry had Ari in the big house while I was napping with Dori and fighting the infection and Ari rode his tricycle down the stairs and bumped his mouth and teeth... He's okay. I took him to the dentist and nothing is broken or cracked. And today when I was feeding Dori a spoonful of applesauce I noticed that he has a brand new molar and another on its way! Somehow I didn't realize the poor little guy was even teething. And that certainly explains the grumpiness and lack of napping, if the cold wasn't enough of a reason.
We all seem to be recovering well now and the grumps seems to have passed. We had a mellow weekend and I sorted and cleaned like crazy. Feeling much better and ready to face another week- hoping it is a less eventful one!

farm visit

We took a trip this weekend out to our friend's new farm. They have just bought an old homestead this year, and have taken on some amazing farm and house renovation projects- such fun to see what they have been up to.

::Elsie the beautiful jersey whose milk we enjoyed in as cheese and ice cream at a delicious lunch

:: impressively large garden- mostly all harvested now,

::lots of heritage buildings on the property. This one is now the workshop, which held a tractor that was being worked on, much to Ari's delight.

:: Dori helping sort the beans drying by the cook stove,

:: beautiful inside of a home that had not been lived in for many years. The work they've done on this place is incredible!

::lunch!

::old house on the property, filled to the brim with old stuff.

:: some lovely sheepies that have been bred for fiber- I might be able to get in on some wool in the spring- so exciting!

::chickpeas drying. This is something I didn't know we could grow. Might have to give that a try next year.

We had such fun on our little adventure. Ari has been talking about the tractors and cow and hand pump and ice cream. I hope your weekend was full of adventures too!

whether the weather be cold

A bunch of random photos. Laundry on the line and leaves on the ground when the weather was lovely, a baby peeking outside at the snow when it was snowy and blizzardy and -10 (wearing some ridiculous too-short, mama made sweater-pants and baggy attempt at a hand knit vest. Sometimes I think this crafty-mama thing is as much a curse as a blessing for my children!)
It's been a mix of play-outside-in-the-leaves-and-sandbox kind of weather with lots of stay-in- the-house-knitting-and-playing-and-making-bagels sort of weather. Mostly the latter. Wood piles and cozy up by the fire sort of weather.

baking bread

We made bread at the preschool last week. It was such a fun project and the kids were so into it. I used the artisan bread method, so I mixed up the dough the night before and stuck it in the fridge and then pulled it out in the morning. The kids were so intent on shaping the loaves, and they turned out great despite all the extra flour and kneading. The bread cooked while we were outside playing and the kids each took their loaf home in a paper bag. Or at least that was the idea, but really, they all munched right into their loaves before the bread had even cooled which was rather adorable. I can't say I blame them, the bread was warm and smelled delicious. I think they shared with their parents eventually, I know my boy did, but not until he was nearly halfway through the loaf! I was a little hesitant about cooking with the kids, but this raised my confidence. I am trying for a cycle of painting, crafts and cooking, so we'll see what we cook up next time baking day comes around.

PS Gardenmama has an amazing giveaway at her blog- check it out!

brothers

These photos make my heart sing. I think I need to print them out and hang them somewhere prominent, somewhere I can look at them in those moments (you know the ones,) and remember the loveliness of these boys of mine, and how much love they have for each other.

fallish

View from the top of "picnic hill," a favorite place for our daily walks. This photo is from a few days ago- we've since had a cold snap and the colours have turned even more.

Leaf crowns- a recent preschool craft.

Ari and Lily helping put the garden to sleep. This was from a little while back when Annie and her lovely family came to visit. She took a ton of beautiful pictures, and it was wonderful to host them here.

And we are celebrating our thanksgiving weekend with some family time and yummy local food and an unfortunate couple visits to ER for Perry who got scratched on the eye by a kid fingernail. He's okay, but pretty uncomfortable. We'll lay low and let the Papa rest a bit, and maybe catch up with a few things around the house. Like laundry maybe. Or that room upstairs where I have to wade knee-deep through fabric scraps and yarn and half-chopped up sweaters to get to the other side of the room. Maybe.

play

Dorian was thrilled with his new toys. But I think his big brother liked them even more.

Luckily he seemed happy to share.

remembering

Looking through photos on Dori's first birthday, remembering his smallness and newness, marvelling at how he has grown and changed. I want to take a picture of him on the same quilt in a diaper to compare a year later- he certainly has chubbied up since then!

I think I will move into a photo-a-day format for a bit. I want to post here, but am still feeling a bit quiet. Maybe its the weather. Something about the riotous colour and golden light makes me a bit melancholic. Getting ready for hibernation I guess.

So I'll leave you with a some sweetness. He is still this sweet when he sleeps. When he's awake too, I might add.