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I know I didn’t publish my weekly journal last week so I will add it to this one.  For an explanation on each picture, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

: :  found one last kale plant tucked in among the weeds next to one of our hoses.  I could not believe it looked so happy in the middle of summer.  (Note to self: throw some kale seeds in this bed on purpose this fall)

: :  canned up a bunch of corn cob syrup for drizzling over pancakes and waffles.  Corn cob syrup tastes amazingly like honey but with a buttery twist.  This will be the last of the corn cob jellies and syrups until there is local corn available again in late fall

: :  thankful for lots of pasta meals that can be thrown together with fresh veggies and herbs to get us through these last weeks until baby comes

::  found JP dressing Livie for morning mass to help out.   I have also noticed the other kids have been doing chores and just stepping in to help without being asked.  These are the things that make this momma happy

: :  have had to visit my chiropractor every week this last month to relieve the pain from that pesky pinched nerve in my lower back.  There are many chiropractors who specialize in taking care of pregnant women through the techniques invented by Dr Webster.  I am lucky enough to know one that learned directly from Dr Webster and he is amazing.  I walk in with legs of concrete that don’t cooperate and pain in my back and walk out ready to go

: :  painted a canvas to hang above the crib with a saying from one of our favorite story books, Love you forever by Robert Munsch. I have not been able to read it to the little ones lately because I get all choked up and cry

: :  the new kitchen counters, sink and back splash were installed and I love it so much.  It finally feels like my kitchen and I promise to share the photos when I get everything back where I want it

: :  we blew up my birthing tub (aka kiddie pool) and the kids had fun playing with it.  Unfortunately, it would not stay inflated so we had to return it and luckily the second one works perfect and is waiting for the big moment

: :  we watched for an hour while the concrete truck drove up to the barn and then just like decorating a cake, they roughly spread the concrete out evenly and then beautifully smoothed it out perfectly.  I have been waiting to have a floor in the barn for the past 5 years…I guess there is nothing like a wedding reception at home to get all those projects done

: :  made some wood polish to seal our new butcher block countertops.  Some beeswax and mineral oil and the counter tops are ready to use.  If anyone knows of a better oil that will not go rancid to use in my polish please let me know : )  I keep that little pot just for melting beeswax so that is why is looks so craggy

: :  baked a little cake for my babies “birth” day

: :  silk screened a onesie with a saying I saw on Pinterest in the beginning of my pregnancy

We are now just 2 weeks away from my due date and I am beginning to feel very uncomfortable ALL the time.  By evening I just want to crawl in my bed and working on anything is getting very hard.  Luckily, the cavelry has just arrived.  My parents came in from out of town and have set up camp in the girls room.  They are so amazingly wonderful and I am looking forward to lots of Cuban food and time to talk.  They are also infamous for doing every speck of laundry and cleaning that they can find and it couldn’t come at a better time.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

For an explanation on each picture, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

This week:

finally admitted to myself and accepted the fact that I am starting to feel very uncomfortable and need to slow down.  I am figuring out ways of working on the projects I have left on my list but also realize that some may not get done and it will all be fine.  I am starting to feel the need to be closer to home as we reach my 36th week of pregnancy

I was continually surprised and amazed by the delicious meals Nick is serving us in order to keep me off my feet and help out with cooking duties.  I honestly didn’t even know he had it in him but his food creations are so delicious.  In this picture he made me a perfectly cooked tilapia on a bed of portabello mushrooms and sauteed kale

the kids have become very committed to my resting and keeping this baby in the oven for another 4 weeks.  They have been cooking, cleaning, taking care of the animals and taking care of each other in order to allow me to rest

the kids oohed and aahed at the well digging truck as I spent 5 hours in my bed crying over the new well that needed to be dug.   We spent two days with very little to no water and were hoping that we just needed to repair the well pump or tank but the whole thing had to be dug up and a new well had to be drilled.  We were initially told they would have to dig down 60 feet but in the end it was actually 126 feet which means our water table has gone down significantly.  I am usually the one who handles things like this but I was so unglued by the whole thing that Poppa kept me in bed all day and gave me permission to fall apart which I completely did, crying the entire afternoon while the rain came down outside my bedroom window

was forced out of the house that night by very dear friends who figured that getting me away from the window (seeing the earth being drilled and the well dug) and out of the house would be good for me.  We went to one of my favorite seafood restaurants right on the ocean and I had some wonderful snow crab legs and a whole lot of iced tea to drown my sorrows.  In the end it really was exactly what I needed.  The rain never let up that day but we had a great time and lots of great conversations and I came home to water in the pipes and the possibility of taking a shower

had one very energetic day in the kitchen.  I made the kids kale chips for the kids, one of their favorite snacks, made a few jars of rhubarb jam and 16 jars of corn cob jelly  (recipes to follow on Friday and Saturday and Sunday)

pulled out a pile of fabric remnants from making the rag rug for the nursery and a pile of Poppa’s old shirts I had been saving to reuse the fabric and started cutting squares for a quilt for my baby bean.  After a few minutes at the cutting table with the rotary cutter I quickly realized that I could not stand that long without starting to feel pain and took the project with me to my rocking chair where I cut all the squares the old fashioned way, with a scissor.  I hope to be working on this quilt this coming week and it makes me happy that I am using all stashed fabric which makes for a free quilt.  I am also using up those old suit shirts that remind me so much of Poppa

spent two afternoons with Alexandra and Lewis searching for their first house.  After many, many dissapointing houses we came upon the perfect one.  The next day they signed the lease.  It is a small but oh so cozy house.  I loved the airyness and all the light that comes in every window and I think it will be perfect for them until they buy their own.  I was a big girl and did not cry.  I am actually pretty excited for them and look forward to visiting and watching as they make their first little nest

let the girls go in the kitchen all by themselves as they made their first cookies without my help.  Their oatmeal raisin cookies did not turn out as pretty as they would have liked but they taste wonderful and were nice and chewy

had the priviledge of watching a beautiful child who was visiting us, fall in love with one of our chickens and her first encounter with a freshly laid chicken egg.  Our chickens are very patient with children as you can see.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)