A Quiet Weekend

Things have been pretty quiet in our little corner of the world...and that's how we like it! The weather was so nice this weekend that we turned off the TV and sat out on the back patio for hours on end. Tucker hung out with us in his bouncey seat and exersaucer.

I was able to finish the rocking chair that I got for Tucker a few weeks ago at the flea market. It started out white with little stickers all over it.

I first painted it glossy red but that looked too girly. I changed it to a darker shade in a satin finish then added a little navy blue star.

Alec worked on the garden. He weeded it then laid down some hay to help keep the weeds away. The peas, green beans and carrots are looking good but we haven't seen anything from the pumpkins yet.

We seem to be leaning toward a slower and simpler life. We work so hard and get so stressed at work. When we're home, we just want to disconnect from the world. I'm feeling this urge to purge - to just get rid of so much stuff and really get down to the basics so we can focus more on our family and a lot more time on the patio.

In My Red High Heels

We went out last night for our friend Brea's birthday. This was our 2nd time going out since Tucker's arrival and I think we held it together pretty good!

I had a whole outfit planned out in my head but when I got ready, the jeans were a little tight, the shirt a little wrinkled and my hair was not cooperating whatsoever. I finally decided I had done all I could do and was going to play the "new mom" card. I cried to Alec that I felt like an old frumpy mom and that all the other girls were so skinny and would be in cute shoes. He said "Go put on your red high heels." I said my jeans weren't long enough and I wasn't sure I could even walk in them. But I put them on. And I didn't feel frumpy. From my ankles down, I was young and sexy again. I walked in them just fine and so we were off!

We dropped Tucker off at our friends Joe and Rachel's house. They have a 6-month old so they are fully qualified to watch Tucker. Of course I cried on the way to their house (not to mention crying all the way home from work). Tucker was so sweet and good when we left which made me cry as soon as we walked out of their front door. But I pulled myself together and kept telling myself that everything would be fine.

I had decided before the night began that I wasn't going to bore everyone with my Tucker stories. I was sure everyone was assuming that I would be all about Tucker talk. But it's funny because most people started the conversations about Tucker and babies and parenthood. And when I felt myself missing Tucker (along with feeling a little lactation - yea!) and when I felt down about the other girls being so cute, Alec would grab my hand and I would look down at my red high heels and everything was ok.

We only stayed for dinner then it was time to high-tail it back to Tucker. Crying on the way there, I wondered how he did - did he get fussy? did he miss us? He was so sweet when we picked him up. He was sleeping and just so peaceful.

When we got home, I just held him and kissed him and whispered "I love you" over and over. And then I got to do my most favorite thing - I held Tucker tight and fed him one last time for the day...all the while wearing my red high heels.

It's Hard Being a Farmer!

What a week we had!

Tucker had his 4-month check up & shots on Wednesday. He cried only during the shots then was so over them by the time we left the doctor's office. He ran a little fever for the next couple of days but that was it. He's 25" long and weighed in at 13lbs and 5oz! We can't believe how big he's getting!

Then Thursday was Tucker's 4-month birthday! He's mastered rolling from his back to his belly but hasn't quite figured out belly to back. He can sit up and stand with help. Oh and he finally decided to grow hair this week!

On Friday we bought rice cereal for the first time ever! Tucker had his first taste of "solids" Saturday morning.


He ate over half of the cereal then had a little mother's milk then a long nap!

Saturday morning we went to the flea market and found Tucker a rocking chair!

I'm going to paint it red and add a couple of stars to match his bedroom.

Later Saturday, Alec pulled up our old summer crops and cleaned out the garden. It turned out to be a much bigger job than he anticipated!


Later that evening when we were relaxing on the patio he said "It's hard being a farmer." And I agreed! It's also hard being a farmer's wife - with all the canning and what not. Speaking of, when Alec pulled up the cucumber plant, I made a batch of pickles.

I've learned that canning isn't hard - when you only process using a hotbath. I'm petrified of using a pressure cooker. I admit that I'm not the culinary master that I like to think I am. Only the grace of God would keep a pressure cooker from exploding and our house burning to the ground!

Our current inventory:


Sunday Alec planted our fall garden. Hopefully we'll have as much luck as we did with our Spring garden! He planted peas, carrots, green beans and pumpkins. Our bell pepper and jalapeno plants are still looking good so we didn't pull those up yet.


All in all, a pretty busy weekend on the farm. It takes a lot of work to live so simply!

Today Tucker Turns Four!

Months old, that is! He had his check up and shots yesterday. Dr. Freed said he looks great! He weighs 13 lbs and 5 oz (25th percentile) and he's 25" long (55th percentile). AND Tucker gets to start cereal! Not the good stuff (Peanut Butter Captain Crunch), but still - I think it's kind of a big deal! He'll keep having mother's milk and we'll add 2 feedings of rice cereal each day. We're really excited to see how he'll react!

Big boy Tucker ready to see Dr. Freed.


Oh - and I finally wore non-maternity jeans today! WooHoo! Now they are stretch denim and they weren't zipped and buttoned, but they were on!

Don't Blink!

This weekend we put away Tucker's bassinet. He hasn't slept in it in a few weeks because he's just way too big now. I didn't think putting away his bassinet would be such an emotional thing to do, but it was. I can't believe how big he's getting!

Honestly, when I was pregnant I thought time was standing still. I seriously could not remember what it was like to not be pregnant! It felt like I was pregnant FOREVER! And now that we have Tucker, time is flying by!

When I was putting away some clothes that he's too big for, I didn't think how that was it - last time he'll ever wear that little sheep onesie or the one that says Beep! Beep! I just felt like I was putting them away for now and that he'd eventually wear them again.

I tear up thinking how soon he'll be too old to breastfeed or too big for Daddy to carry around. Every new milestone for him is another chapter closing for us.

I think of our friends who have babies that are getting ready for preschool or even regular school. I cannot imagine being in their shoes. I'd be a complete wreck!

Somehow if I could just keep having babies, then I could always have one picking up where the last left off. Now I just need to convince Alec that this is the most brilliant idea ever!

Hmm....

Unless these shrimp are from the gulf of Skiatook Lake, they probably should've been on some ice at some time:

Mr. Frugal Pants replinishes our stock. Thank goodness! We should be good on soy sauce for at least another month!

Tucker is Being Ferberized!

We decided this is the weekend that we'd work on letting Tucker "cry it out" for naps and bedtime. He's pretty good at falling asleep on his own at night, but nap time is a different story!

Apparently during the week, Tucker takes pretty good naps during the day. However, on the weekends, he rarely takes naps. If he does, it's when we're driving somewhere or they only last maybe an hour.

Tucker ready to take a nap!


I didn't realize "crying it out" is an actual method, but it is! http://www.sleep-baby-sleep.com/ferber-method.htm

Saturday mid-morning Alec put Tucker down in his play yard and Tucker began to cry. Ten minutes later, he was asleep! Who knew it would be that easy?!?! So later that afternoon, after we ran our errands, we tried to put Tucker down again. Well he cried and cried and cried. Then I cried and cried and cried. I gave in and so began our long afternoon. Tucker finally decided to take a nap...at 8pm! Of course by then it was bedtime so I woke him up to eat at 10 then back to bed!

Today was a little better. He took a couple small naps and luckily there wasn't much crying involved!

On another note, we've decided to revamp our garden! The tomatoes are just about finished and we already pulled up the squash and zucchini. We're hoping to plant some things that Tucker can eat in a couple of months - carrots, peas and green beans.

Just when we decided to pull up our cucumbers, they finally decided to come in!

We still have a ton of pickles left over from last year! Luckily, I found a recipe online for PF Chang's Shanghai Cucumbers. Maybe after a few batches of those, we'll have our fill of cucumbers and we'll be ready to pull them up!