The Cottage on the Hill

I finally went through my clothing and got rid of laundry-basket full. Not as much as I thought I'd get rid of, but I did get rid of a bunch of clothing a few months ago. My tastes have changed and matured. Especially now that I have a daughter, I've been yearning more for lovely garments and more feminine items. By default, I also went through and organized my magazine stash. My largest collection is Victoria, though I also have every issue of Cottage Living and a fair amount of Country Living, Colonial Homes, and Reiman publications. If gas prices don't make you wince, food prices do. I'm really going to have to work hard to work within my grocery budget. In a way I'm glad because it keeps me from buying and consuming processed foods and junk. I want to get the most nutrition for my dollar. I'm also going to peek harder into buying local and local-bulk. My to-do list is starting to add up now that life with baby girl is more adjusted. My garden is sadl...

I am very content with the house the Lord gave hubby and I, but I wish we had one thing...a guest room. I read about hospitality on other lovely blogs and they show pictures of pretty little guest rooms for missionaries, friends, and family to stay over in. We don't have that luxery in our two bedroom cottage and we've had people politely refuse our hospitality because of a lack of a guest room. Someday, should the Lord tarry, I will have a guest room, and my most frequent guests will probably and hopefully be my grandchildren.

I feel like no one is talking about this, yet it needs to be talked about, especially to our sons. There is a growing trend of young girls taking nude pictures of themselves with cell phone cameras and sharing the pictures with their boyfriends. These boyfriends are then being caught with the photos and in many cases, are being charged with possessing child pornography. This happened at a local school. The boyfriend has a criminal record and the girlfriend is labeled a victim because the picture was no longer "private" and she had to transfer to another school. As stupid girls take nude photos of themselves and pass them around via the internet or cell phones, more and more boys are coming into possession of these photos and using them for "pranks" against the girls. As stupid as these boys are, they're the ones getting into trouble, often with the law, while the girls get away with it....at least on a criminal level. On top of this, we have the sexual freed...

Ok, it's a ridiculous play on works, but I have been having fun sewing again. I thought I never would. I made 3 outfits for my son for re-enacting and an a la turque robe for me for re-enacting. I'll try to get pictures taken during an upcoming re-enactment. It's a big one. We'll all be gone for 5 days! I've been spending the last 2 weeks preparing for it, so I never did get to purge my clothing stash...I can't even get to it! It's going to be a good time. I just pray the weather won't be too hot, nor will it be stormy. Where we're going, it's known for getting really bad storms. Two years ago, it flooded out with calf-deep water. Last year, the wind knocked down many trees and blew down and damaged many tents. Thankfully, I missed both of those storms. I'm pretty proud of myself! I actually backed our enclosed utility trailer that we use for our re-enacting gear into the driveway! Baby girl's hungry. Bye!

I know, I said yesterday I probably wouldn't be blogging much, but it's funny how when we submit to God's will (in this case by cutting back computer time) He seems to provide us with what we want anyway! My sewing machine sits by the computer, so I'm multi-tasking right now. Anyhow, one of the quirks about living in a small house is the constant need to purge. Even small accumulations add up to unavoidable clutter. Today, I cleaned out my catalogs, but what I really need to purge is all my clothing! I have a lot of clothing and a good deal of it is old, immodest, not my style anymore, or just doesn't suit me or fit me well. I hesitate to purge my clothes because I'm post-preggy now, so obviously not much fits me. However, I think I really need to be honest with myself and cut back on the hordes of clothing I have. Today is sewing day, though. Tomorrow, I can sort through clothing.

I probably won't be blogging much for the next few weeks. I'm busy busy busy with so many things!

It's a good thing God granted me an easy delivery and a fast recovery. I can't wait the full 6 weeks until I start an aerobics program. Last night, I had a dizzy spell. That means I have too much inflammation in my body. I need to get the blood flowing, keep hydrated, and cut out sugars and most salt. The weather is nice, so I can start going for walks.

It bothers me when someone catches me in a difficult day of motherhood and cheekily asks, "And you want more?" Of course I do! Just because I'm having a trying day doesn't mean I suddenly hate having children and don't want any more. I know at the end of the day when my wee ones have finally fallen asleep that every ounce of stress that occured during the day will disappear as soon as I look at their sleeping, beautiful faces. I guess it is because we live in a society of negativity. Good news rarely gets noticed, millions are addicted to soap operas, reality shows feed on our desire to see others suffer, people only seem to remember the bad in our leaders, dramas outrank comedies and even out comedies are negative, AND we focus on the negatives in our own lives. The debt, the bills, the spilled milk, the cracked window, the misbehaving children, the grumpy husband.....We forget about the abundance we have, the freezer full of food, the paycheck coming in each...

My daughter only woke up once last night! However, she was awake for nearly 3 hours!! She sleeps well during the day, so I get a lot done. Bubby is really good at undoing everything, though. Sanity will return....right? :b In the meantime I've returned to my sewing machine. Bubby and I need some frocks for a re-enactment coming up. We're all going for 5 days. We have a new (used) tent that's quite large so I'm thinking of hauling up daughter's pack n play.

This is going to be a very good berry year in my state. My berry bushes are exploding with berries! Now, I really want to plant more and more berry bushes...but not until next year. :) I have an idea for an herb garden, too. It'll be squared with bush cherries and blueberries at each corner. I've already been asked about losing my baby weight. I'm not offended because those who've asked me know I love the challenge of getting back into shape after having a baby. I was quite successful after having Bubby. Not only did I get back down to my pre-baby weight of 130 lbs, I actually shaped up more and got down to 123 lbs! My goal this time around is to get down to 123 lbs again, but I would love to hover around 115-120 lbs. I have not started working on weight loss yet because it is more important for my little girl to get good milk from Mama. However, I have started efforts to tone up. I'm doing posture exercises to straighten up my preggy-slouched back and tigh...

Outside pressures took their toll on me last night. I didn't want to co-sleep with my daughter. I want to be in my own bed. I want my mom to stop worrying. I want all those nay-sayers to shut-up. So, I told my daughter, "I am not sleeping with you tonight!" After 4 hours of dealing with an over-tired baby, I caved and we both slept so well! Truth is, I don't want to co-sleep. Fact is, it's pretty much a given if mom is nursing and wants to get some sleep at night. Of course, I take every precaution, and I try to soothe her in her bassinet before finally curling up with her. She's not even 2 weeks old, yet. She needs me. Besides, while I'd rather wake up to a handsome, bearded face in the morning, it is rather nice to wake up to the tiny, beautiful features of my daughter happily snoozing in the crook of my arm. In a short time, though it seems long now, I will be back in bed with hubby. For now, I'm going to stop stressing and start enjoyin...

I am so glad baby blues are over! I hate baby blues. Now, I'm really enjoying my little girl. I can't believe how beautiful she is. She's stunning! I'm not used to having a baby who actually sleeps! Bubby had issues from being pre-term that contributed to him being a very fussy baby. So, Cora is spoiling me. Well, off I go to change a diaper or two. Lovin' it! :)

Candy tagged her readers, so here's my answers: 1. What were you doing 10 years ago? Graduating high school, working for a women's clothing store, and planning a trip to Scotland (I went twice!) 2. What are 5 things on your to-do list for today? Today's almost over, so I'll list 5 things I did: weeded the raspberries, washed the kitchen floor, made spaghetti and meatsauce, balanced my checkbook, sponge-bathed my daughter. 3. What are 3 of your favorite snacks? PBJ sandwiches A piece of fruit White Cheddar Cheez-its (rare treat) 4. What would you do if you were a billionaire? Pay off all my bills and the bills of my family. Set my parents up with a yearly income so my mom can stop working. Build our dream house. Set my older brother up with the farm of his dreams. Completely fix-up the church. Contribute to charities, missions, needs as the Lord leads. Take hubby to Scotland. Buy hubby a jacuzzi. 5. What states have you lived in? The United Socialist State of Ne...

Things are going well. Cora is a week old today. Her jaundice is going away, she's nursing very well, she's a happy baby, her brother is taking to her, her daddy is completely smitten, and things are generally together here at home. I've been getting a good amount of sleep at night, too. She's up twice to feed, sometimes 3 times. Usually after 2 am, she's pretty awake and won't settle down in her bassinet. So, I end up co-sleeping with her. I am not a co-sleeping advocate, and it doesn't help that my state is putting forth an anti-co-sleeping campaign, so some relatives are rather worried. I will co-sleep if I have to to preserve personal and household sanity, but I'd much rather curl up in bed with hubby than with a tiny infant. While I recognize the benefits of co-sleeping and many times enjoy it, I guess I'm a little greedy to get back in my own bed because I couldn't sleep comfortably in my own bed all during my pregnancy. Co-sleeping...