roasted squash soup, its what's for dinner.

House Squash Soup:

Roast 2-4 squash (any kind)

Meanwhile, saute' together for several minutes: 1 onion, 2 celery stalks, salt & 1 garlic clove in coconut oil

Add curry powder (I like yellow)

Add roasted squash and chicken broth to cover

Bring to a boil

Reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes.

Blend til smooth with immersion blender or regular blender

Return to stovetop

Add 1 can of coconut milk and salt to taste

Top with sauteed kale, almonds or yogurt

Everyone in our family loves this. Except for Clairegirl. She would prefer a steak.

claire, see.

It's a good thing Claire learned to spell her name CLAIREC! because again this year there are 2 Claires in her class.

Guess whose mommy ordered a whole ton of class photos?

Answer: Not CLAIREC!'s mommy. Score!

pumpkin spice.

Sometimes when life feels chaotic, it feels good to make something that I could easily buy. I'm not sure why. On this day, after throwing my goons onto a pile of pumpkins, I made pumpkin spice creamer. Happy coffee, happy mama, happy goons.

my daddy's school bus is cooler than your daddy's school bus.

Claire's class went to the pumpkin patch this week in a school bus. My child mentions to her (confused) teacher that we have a school bus at home. And that we went on a field trip together to the coast this weekend. When she asked Claire why we had a bus, Claire said, "my daddy thought it would be fun."
And as much as I hate to admit it, he was right. It is fun.

claire c. & me.

You sign your name is way: CLAIREC!
You are a big fan of the exclamation point.
You make up songs about your sister. They mostly repeat the line, "You're so cute! You're so cute!" I have to wonder how this is going to impact her self image.
Dad skated you into school last week. It may have been the high light of your life.
I love you, Clairegirl.

is this thing on?

Fall is my favorite. I like the colors. I like visiting the pumpkin patch. I like the tractors.

Summer is so obvious about its awesomeness, but fall. Fall is fun.

This week, I'm going to share loads of pictures from our many trips to the pumpkin patch. Because when you love fall, you go to the 'patch again and again and again. And, if you're me, you may plan to go back to the farm market one more time and throw your kids onto a pie of pumpkins to get that perfect photo where no body is crying and no one is covered in pee.

sleepless in salem.

Anybody have any brilliant ideas of how to get two girls ages 5 years and 7 months to sleep soundly in the same room? Hunca Munca does beautifully when the big sister is away but if she is home, it's another story.

Poor Claire has been banished to the couch the last 2 nights while the tiny babe has slept in 12 hour stretches alone in their bedroom.

Thoughts?

another runner.

This girl ran around the track at her school 11 times on Friday morning. 11 times, folks. Without stopping. Without complaining. Without asking for a snack.

I watched as this big girl ran her heart out raising money for her school, holding hands with friends as she ran, smiling and waving. Lately, things with Claire can feel complicated. She is five and questions everything I say. She demands more than I have to give. We are still adjusting to mornings apart, to a newish baby. But this day, it was easy. She ran. I watched.
This girl has stood on the sidelines and cheered for me during races. Friday it was my turn to be her cheering section. And I loved it.

the newest normal.

The days of taking a morning nap with one tiny babe sprawled across my chest have been over for about five years.

The days of making dinner while my 2 kids nap in the afternoon have been over for about 2.

The days of grocery shopping with the little cart while Claire is at school are on hold.

Our newest normal is a napping baby and puzzles or playing with this big guy, who is happy to stay home in his spiderman slippers.

"You look at him like you've just seen your first trans am.*"

Better than a trans am, this one.

*This quote's for you, Scoobs.

my little pelican boy.

We took the kids to the aquarium this weekend.

At least we managed to keep him out of the water. I consider that a victory.

on getting it right.

A few weeks ago, Nate brought me home a new computer. Complete with fancy apps for making pictures of my favorite people even more fantastic. Knee deep in kids, I may have forgotten to say thank you. Not everyone has a shipping container in their backyard (or a school bus) or a husband who brings home the exact machine I wanted to try before I even asked.

I am the luckiest. Even if I forget sometimes.