The Ocean is a Magnet . . .

. . . and our children are like iron filings. Seriously, we cannot keep them out of the water. Not that we try, really. Because there's little I enjoy more than watching the ocean, and watching the kids love the ocean, and living vicariously through them as they get soaked from head to toe in freezing cold, salty water.

The weather during most of our recent trip to the Cape wasn't what most people would classify as "beach weather." But we aren't most people. For us, so long as it's not raining, it's a perfect day to go to the beach. On Monday and Tuesday, it was about 60° out, windy, and rather cloudy. But that didn't stop us from spending 8+ hours a day soaking up the sea air, if not the illusive sun. We divided our time between the bay beaches, with their hermit crabs and mellow waters, and the ocean beaches, with their big waves and curious seals swimming by. And the kids seemed to understand that this was their chance to be at the beach, and they didn't complain about the ice cold water temperature or the windchill; they just took advantage of every minute they had with their beloved ocean friend.

Here they are, just after arriving at our favorite beach at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday night (it was about 60° out, and just for reference, the rest of us were wearing pants and sweatshirts, and we were building a fire to help us stay warm):


After they started to turn blue, we dried them off and cozied them up in clean, warm clothes. They stayed dry for about 5 minutes before the ocean pulled them back for more.


We knew better than to put them in clean clothes again, and just let them go naked once their clothes were too wet to stay on.

being naked at the beach = true joy

The kids continued playing with the ocean until it was so dark that I decided it was no longer safe (because I worried we would lose track of them).

Luke, Jaz and the Ocean
8:00 p.m. Tuesday

We lured them into their final set of dry clothes with the promise that we would return to the beach first thing in the morning. If only we could make such promises every night.

Luke, Jaz and the Ocean
9:00 a.m. Wednesday

Will Leo love the ocean as much as his brothers do?
I can't wait to find out!


And just in case you were wondering,
I AM planning to update the blog during early labor
to let everyone know that Leo is on his way!
Hopefully sometime in the next couple weeks!

Beach Family

Wishing we were still there,

but happy to be home safely (i.e. still pregnant)!

Not So Boring and Rational After All

As I said a week ago, we were supposed to go on our annual Cape Cod camping trip last weekend, but we ended up backing out, claiming "nestiness" and unfinished pre-baby business. We just felt a little unsure about packing up the family--and the minivan--with Lena's 37-week belly in tow. But apparently, we feel just fine about heading out to the Cape with her nearly 39-week belly! Because the bags are nearly packed, the car is half-way loaded, and we will be beach-bound first thing tomorrow morning.

I'm not sure what changed exactly--aside from Lena getting more pregnant--but I think it had something to do with our incredibly generous friends Avi and Marc inviting us to come and stay for a couple of nights in the fabulous beach house that they're renting for the week. In other words, we will not be camping, we will be sleeping in beds, or at least, under a roof. And there will be a refrigerator and running water and all of that fancy electricity-requiring stuff. We've also been watching a decent number of birth videos lately and it seems that in the birth-video world there is a theme of very pregnant women running naked through ocean waves. And I want to see my pregnant woman running naked through ocean waves, if she's brave enough to try it. Plus, Lena says that she's getting bored of hanging around here waiting to go into labor, and she thinks the beach would be a good distraction. The kids will certainly be well entertained.

I'm not at all worried about Lena going into labor while we're gone. Well, maybe just a teensy tiny bit worried. Statistically speaking, she should have at least another couple of weeks to go (since first pregnancies typically last until 41.5 weeks, which we won't hit until July), but even if she does go into labor on the Cape, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to get back home before Leo arrives. Not that I find that option--I picture us loading the kids into the minivan in the middle of the night while Lena balks at the idea of sitting still for 3.5 hours--all that appealing, but it's unlikely enough that it seems a risk worth taking.

What is more concerning to me is the fact that we are leaving our little farm behind. There will be plenty of extended family members here to look after our animals, but this will be their first time holding the reins of the operation, and I'm just a little nervous about it. I think it's hard for me to let go of the responsibility (plus my beloved sister proved herself to be a completely inadequate milker when I attempted to teach her how this morning; it was almost funny except for the part where I'm leaving her in charge of the milking for two days), and I keep thinking of more reminders to write down. All that said, it will be nice to have a little vacation from the daily barn chores, and have only our 3 sandy children to keep well fed and hydrated.

Tomorrow night we will be going to sleep feeling all salty and wind-blown after having spent the afternoon playing with the ocean and collecting beautiful beach treasures. And we'll have one last chance to get a picture of ALL THREE of our kids, sitting on a bench in P-town, to add to this series:

Luke, Zeb and Jaz in P-town
June 2007

Luke, Zeb, and Jaz in P-town
June 2008

I'm sure I'll have lots of beachy adventures to share when we return!

Birth Plans

For the past few days, Lena has been working here and there at putting together a mix of songs that she thinks she might like to listen to during labor. I am impressed by her vision and motivation (in my own very pregnant state I went as far as planning to make cookies in early labor, but didn't even make sure that we had the ingredients on hand), and we have all been enjoying the results. Last night we listened to a bit of the mix while doing the dishes and broke out into some spontaneous dancing and singing (made all the more entertaining by Lena's 38-week belly). Here's a clip:



Lena and I are both hoping that we can carry some of this energy into the upcoming labor. That the birth of our fourth son will be at least part dance party. Our midwife told us at our last prenatal visit that she anticipates our birth as being "a really fun time," and I hope that her perception is correct, at least from Lena's perspective!

I myself have never experienced labor--a fact that separates me from the majority of mothers in the world--and it is uncharted territory in mine and Lena's relationship. We have never been through a labor together before. So far everything that Lena has experienced in our process of TTC and pregnancy has been stuff that I had already experienced firsthand. I've understood how deeply tired she's felt, and how emotionally fragile. I know what morning sickness feels like and the crazy sensation of feeling a baby moving inside you for the first time. But I do not know what labor feels like, and I've never pushed a baby out of my yoni before.

What's surprised me in thinking ahead to the birth of Leo is that it really doesn't bring up any negative feelings for me about the way in which our first three children were born. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of negative feelings about my birth experiences, and I can't imagine that I'll ever fully recover from them emotionally. But contemplating Leo's birth is not a trigger for me. I'm just so glad that we're getting another chance at fulfilling our original birth plan, the one we had before getting pregnant with the twins. I'm so excited to get to be a part of this birth, to be in the midst of that birth energy, to get to witness my Love going through such an amazing transformation and to be there supporting her. And I imagine that the birth will be rather healing for us all. Healing and fun.

Staying Home

This past weekend we were supposed to go on our annual beach camping trip to Cape Cod. We started talking about it months ago, and while we knew that we might have to change our minds at the last minute if Lena was feeling too uncomfortable, we were fairly confident that we would follow through and spend some good quality time with the ocean. By Monday--a week ago--we were feeling less sure about leaving, and by Tuesday we were all together doubtful. It's not that we thought Lena might go into labor, and we actually weren't worried about any of the logistics of being at the Cape. It was just the idea of leaving our house that suddenly made going seem less ideal.

At nearly 38 weeks into the pregnancy, we are nesting hardcore these days. Curtains are being sewn. Floors are being scrubbed. Shelving is being put together so that things can be organized and put away. It was hard to imagine packing things up and abandoning this sweet little nest of a home (not to mention the list of "things to do before we have a baby"). So we decided to stay. How boring and rational of us!

The kids handled the change in plans with unprecedented grace, and managed to live out some of their beach fantasies in the backyard (with the help of a sprinkler, boogie boards and winter sleds).

Jaz, Araela and Luke, all riding the same "wave"

Hopefully we will get back to the ocean in the not-so-distant future (I feel especially desperate since learning that Zeben doesn't even remember what the ocean is), but for now we are content to stay home, finish growing a baby, and prepare ourselves as best we can for the many changes that lie just ahead.

Lena, Zeb, and the 37.5-week belly

The iDye Trials

One of my very most favorite crafty things to do is to dye. I love color and I love the process of changing something from color-less to color-full. And the only bummer about the project of dyeing is that it is a whole lot of work, generally requiring a day of attention and an exhausting mess. Not to mention my paranoia about potentially inhaling toxic fumes or accidentally dyeing something that I didn't intend to dye due to splashing or spillage. The procedure I had been using involved adding large quantities of salt and precise amounts of soda ash fixer to the dye baths, the math of which always left me feeling beyond puzzled, and often scrambling at the last minute to compute some fractions. Last spring I did two dye batches (5 colors each time), once by myself, and once with a group of friends, and when all was said and done I was so wiped out from it all that I've been kind of putting it off and dreading have to dye again, as much as I love the results (and as much as I need more dyed t-shirts to applique!).

When I first heard about the new iDye product, made by the same company that makes the dye I had previously been using, I was more than a little skeptical. The first two words on the packet are "NO MESS." Really? How could that even be possible? According to the information online, you simply toss a packet of iDye in your washing machine, add 1 cup of salt and 2-3 lbs. of dyeable fabric, and then you just go about your life as if you're simply doing a typical load of laundry, when instead you're actually dyeing! I didn't believe it would work, but I had to try it.

I decided that the newborn cloth diapers would be the perfect medium with which to test out this revolutionary dyeing technique. I understand that some people may feel like diapers are designed to catch pee and poop and that making them beautiful is nothing more than a waste of resources, but I feel differently. The first time I learned about the idea of diaper art was in a Mothering Magazine artice many, many years ago (before I ever had babies) that featured the company Fuzbaby. Fuzbaby makes some of the most gorgeous diapers I've ever seen, and was a leader in the world of beautiful cloth diapers. Since Fuzbaby diapers are sewn by hand and all of the many components are dyed by hand, it's no wonder that each diaper is incredibly expensive. I'm not sure that anyone could really afford to use a stash of these. But just the idea of them existing--of diaper art of this caliber--makes me smile.

There are many reasons why people choose to use cloth diapers, but the top three are probably enviornmental, economical and chemical. All of those reasons are very important to me, but I think one of the main reasons why I've stuck with cloth diapering (for the most part) over the years is that it's simply more fun to use cloth diapers. I've never heard of someone finding joy in using disposable diapers, while there are whole communities of people obsessed with the excitement of using cloth. And part of what can make cloth diapers so enjoyable is using really beautiful diapers. Yes, they're designed to catch baby excrement. But they also have the power to brighten your day and make you smile.

The diapers that I've bought with Leo in mind were mostly natural colored when I bought them. I appreciate the pureness of natural fiber, but it doesn't move me the way color does (and you know that before long anything natural-colored is going to be splattered with stains). So, as soon as the diapers arrived, I decided that I would have to dye them. Along with the all-natural diapers, I also had 4 diapers that were colored only on the outside (so as to have no dyed fabric next to baby's skin--very pure, but also a little boring), none of them colors that I loved, and I was excited to see what would happen to them in a dye batch.

The first colors I chose for the iDye trials were chartreuse, gold ochre, and brilliant blue. I started with the blue because I was least attached to it turning out well. The procedure was shockingly easy. I filled the washer, tossed in the dye packet (avoiding all contact with the toxic-if-inhaled powder), dumped in the diapers, and topped it off with a cup of salt. The only trick to the whole thing is to not let your washer get to the rinse cycle, but instead to switch it back to agitate for a longer period of time. I think I left the fabric agitating for about 30 minutes. After it had been rinsed, I added some synthrapol (a detergent used to keep dyed fabrics from bleeding in the future), and washed the load again. The results were wonderful! The dye was very even and the color was very rich. Next I did the chartreuse, which didn't turn out as well since I accidentally let the washer rinse itself out after only 12 minutes of agitation. A couple of the diapers came out perfectly, but the majority of them were a little too neon-yellow for my liking. Not to be discouraged, I simply planned to dye that batch over again. But first I did a batch of the gold ochre, which also worked fabulously. It was so liberating to be able to fill the washer and then just go about my normal life, wearing my normal clothes and everything!

I ended up dyeing the chartreuse/neon-yellow diapers again using a packet of olive iDye. I loved the way it turned out (much better for a newborn's potentially jaundiced coloring). Then, just when I had decided that iDye was the best invention of the century and was feeling especially pleased with my results, I made a huge error. I put all 3 colors of dyed diapers together in the washer, and washed them with our usual laundry detergent. When I went to move the clean load over to the dryer, something didn't seem quite right. I realized that all of the blue diapers were gone. They had been replaced by a new sea-foam color. And the yellowy-orange diapers were looking a bit more dull and muddy. Only the olive diapers looked exactly the same. Apparently, the olive dye had not been sufficiently rinsed with synthrapol before I put all of the dyed diapers together, and everything got mixed up with the addition of olive dye.

After feeling devastated for about 10 minutes, I decided to fall back on my usual "everything happens for a reason" pick-me-up, and concluded that I love the way the new colors look post olive-mishap even better. They are a little less bright, which I like, and a little more earthy-looking, which I think is fitting for who I imagine Leo to be (with each of our kids, I have associated them with a particular color while they were inutero. Jaz was blue, Lukas was orange, and Zeben was purple. All 3 of those boys then went on to like those colors best (really!). The color I associate with Leo is green).

Without further ado, the results of my iDye Trials:

The four Dream-eze fitteds
(I bought these as seconds, but see nothing wrong with them)

This diaper was natural colored, and took the dye very well.
I love the avocado color that resulted from the chartreuse mixed with olive.

This one was chocolate colored on the outside, and natural on the inside.
Now it is a richer brown, with green lining.

This diaper was plum-colored on the outside, natural on the inside.
Now it reminds me of the ocean.

This diaper was plum-colored on the outside too (just like the one above).
Now it's the color of the forest!

These amazing bamboo diapers by bumgenius
make up the majority of Leo's diaper stash.
They are so soft, and I love the way the colors
turned out to be less-than-typical "baby" colors.

I also dyed a handful of hand-me-down newborn prefolds
that once belonged to Ezra (though it's hard to imagine they ever fit him!).

All of the stains disappeared and there is
nothing boring about these prefolds now!

A stack of previously pale and "baby" colored reciving blankets
that jumped in the washer with the diapers.

A sampling of all of the fun results.

Will I iDye again? I certainly will! It's all I can do to keep myself from iDyeing every day! Seriously, I highly recommend this product and guarantee you that it really is easy and mess-free. I will never go back to doing things the way I used to. Add some color (and fun!) to your day, and then please send me a link so I can share in your excitement (and I'd love to know how other colors turn out)!

Make a Snake Tutorial

About a month ago, in the thick of the drama of the new baby goats (who struggled with nursing for the first couple of days), Jaz was bitten by a snake. Whenever I tell this story, Lena is quick to point out that it was just a garter snake, but that really means nothing to me, since I am definitely not a snake person. Jaz, however, takes after his Mama on this one, and is a snake-lover.

What happened is that Jaz was trying to catch the snake, just outside of the goat barn where I was squatting, trying to latch two brand-new baby goats onto the teats of their less-than-patient mother, and the next thing I knew, he was screaming an awful scream. Lena was out there with him (along with Araela, Lukas, and Zeb), so I didn't immediately jump up to see what could possibly be making my child scream like that. And I'm really glad I didn't. Because, apparently, what I would have seen was Jaz, hopping around, screaming, with a snake dangling from his arm by its teeth. Jaz had grabbed the snake too close to it's rear-end, and the snake had opened its mouth and swung its whole body around, grabbing on to the first bit of flesh that it could, which happened to be in the middle of Jasper's forearm. And it remained there, clamped into his skin, for about 15 seconds, until Jaz was finally able to shake it off.

Once I heard the words, "bitten!" and "snake!" exclaimed by some of the child witnesses, along with Jaz's continued wailing, I abandoned my post as goat lactation consultant, and ran outside to see what was going on. What I saw was Jaz, still crying, though not as desperately, with blood pouring down his arm. It was obvious that he had indeed, been bitten by a snake. Lena was--8 months pregnant--crouched over by a tree, posed to catch the snake with a plastic bucket.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed at her.

"I'm trying to catch the snake!" She responded.

"But what about JAZ?! Look at his arm!"

"He wants me to catch the snake, that's why he's upset!"

Jaz nodded, "I almost had it!"

I explained (in less than calm or understanding language) that I thought cleaning the fang-shaped wound on our child's arm was probably more important than trying to capture the evil snake that bit him. But my words fell on the deaf ears of a snake-lover, who succeeded in capturing the snake before bringing Jaz inside to seriously disenfect his snake bite. I returned to the barn, and it wasn't until that evening that I called Katie and had her google "garter snake bite" for me to make sure that we shouldn't have rushed Jaz to the hospital (note to parents: never google anything like this on your own. You need to have someone else do it for you and screen out any potentially horrifying results). Luckily, it seemed that even Dr. Google agreed with Lena's assessment that Jaz would be perfectly fine.

He proudly showed his fang-bite scabs to anyone and everyone over the coming week, but I never took a picture of them because I was trying to erase the event from my memory and certainly didn't want it preserved in my iphoto library for the rest of eternity. Zeben, however, was the most fascinated, and started trying to show anyone and everyone his imaginary snake-bite scar too (located on his arm in the same place as Jaz's). "Jaz got bitten by a snake. I got bitten by a snake too," I'd hear him say. Then, he discovered the handmade, stuffed snake in his nursery school classroom, and started carrying it around everywhere with him while he was at school. One day he was in tears about having to leave the snake behind at the end of the morning, and I told him that I would make him one just like it when we got home.

Zeben with "Snakey Rainbow." Snakey Rainbow has become his constant companion,
and has even (sadly, as far as I'm concerned), replaced his
beloved lavender-stuffed Zebra as his top non-human security object.

And that is how the "Make A Snake" factory came to be. I made Zeben's snake while Luke, Jaz, Zeb and Araela all crowded around in awe. They all insisted that I make them each a snake next. And since the whole process was quite easy (only taking about 20-30 minutes per snake), I happily obliged. I even got my sister, Jes, in on the snake-making action.

Jes sewing a snake with the exceptionally
adorable Ezra on her back.

After making a snake for each of my own kids, I decided they would make the perfect birthday gift for Jaz's best pal, and his younger siblings (since, if anyone was ever to give one of my children a gift, it would probably work out best for each of my children to get something, and because we were bringing all 3 of our kids to the party, bringing 3 gifts seemed especially fitting).

Birthday Party Snakes for Auden, Calvin and Isadora

So I made 3 more snakes, and then I thought that maybe I ought to put together a bit of a tutorial in case any of you want to make a snake (or 6). It's quite fun.

Step One: Make a pattern. I used some cardstock so that it would be a bit stiff, but anything (fabric, regular paper, cardboard, etc.) will do. Draw out a snake shape, keeping in mind that you want to leave at least 1/4" seam allowance on all sides (you can either include this 1/4" in your pattern, or leave that much space when cutting around the pattern piece).

Step Two: Pick a fabric for the top and the bottom of the snake.
I think it looks best to have them be contrasting.
Lay one fabric on top of the other, and iron them
before you pin your pattern through both layers.

Step Three: Cut out the fabric.

the top and the bottom of the snake

Step Four: Cut out a snake tongue from a piece of felt.
Lay the top-of-the-snake fabric right-side up,
and place the tongue on top of it, with the tip of the tongue facing the tail.

Step Five: Put the belly-of-the-snake fabric right-side down
on top of the tongue and pin all around.

Step Six: Straight stitch around the whole snake,
leaving a one-inch opening at the tip of the tail.

Step Seven: Zig zag stich in your 1/4" seam allowance
for extra strength and protection against leakage.

straight stitched and zig-zagged

Step Eight: Turn the snake right side out.
Appreciate how cute and deflated it looks.

Step Nine: Make a funnel out of paper and tape,
and stick it in the rear-end of your snake.
This is a good time to include your helpers, if you have any.

Jaz dumping the lentils inside the body of the snake

Step Ten: Fill the snake with whatever type of stuffing you prefer.
I like to use green lentils.

Important note: don't forget that you haven't sewn the bum of your snake shut yet, and turn the snake upside down, spilling lentils all over the floor like my sister did.

lentils spilled all over the floor!

Step Eleven: Sew the tail shut.

Step 12: Add some button eyes,
and your snake is complete!


Step 13: Appreciate your children appreciating something
that you made with your very own hands.

Enjoy!