You've created a monster!!

 Two photo filled blog posts in one day!!!  Well, as it turns out, it was simply a gorgeous day.  Sadly, Bill was at work, but otherwise, today was a near perfect day.  I had the chance to work a little on my book while Liam was at soccer practice and Finn played on the playground.  The boys and I had lunch and then took an impromptu swing by the Hancock Shaker Village - they had a sign out that read, "Baby Animal Today."  How could we resist?

Before we left for soccer, though, we hung around the yard.  I love love LOVE the previous owner for planting literally HUNDREDS of flowers and plants.  Each week something new pops up.  Those creeping purple things are my current favorite.  This whole little garden area is so cute.  There is some kind of little purple plant that is not going to survive as Finn keeps picking them.

And here's another Britt-fashioned swing.  I can't have enough, I tell ya!

 Even Finny can manage...sorta

And now we're at the Hancock Shaker Village. I didn't get to stop and read about all the neat buildings and things as I was letting the boys set the pace (which is RUN-look at something neat for 3 seconds-RUN-repeat).  The stone round barn is a MARVEL.

Here, take a closer look:

All the baby animals were housed in the round barn.  It was awesome.  Finny loves the calves.

The little lambs were pretty cute and the piglets were hilarious.  Forgot to upload a picture of them.  They ran around us in their pen like they were in the Daytona 500.  It was crazy cute.

 SoCo creamery has a little ice cream shop strategically placed in a barn near the back of the village - perfect for when you are exhausted and hot from running after little ones up and down hills after turkeys and whatnot.  (They even had dairy free sorbet for Finn!  You cannot imagine my relief and joy over this one tiny detail...honestly.  Your child having to be left out sucks.  But today, we all enjoyed a cold treat together, yay!)

This was my favorite room.  The broom making room  in the Bretheren house.  The Shakers believed that there were 'women's duties' and 'men's duties."  Women had a whole house dedicated to making dairy, cream, and all manner of woven items.  The men made the amazing brooms, shoes, and super cool oval boxes (that sell for $38 a piece for the smallest one!!! And it's small!)  I would love to go back for a broom making demonstration.  You can buy brooms in the gift shop for what I thought was a reasonable price - $28-ish, I think.  Reasonable for a handmade beautiful broom.

 OOOO, these cloaks are right out of one of my favorite movies, "The Village." Honestly, I am pretty sure their village was based almost entirely one a Shaker village...had to be!

And so...this time, I swear, I'll lay off the camera for at least a few hours....

So here's a funny story...

 Now that the camera is out on the counter, I can't seem to stop using it...

This here trampoline Bill and I assembled over at my mom's back in July - a half mile up the road from our new house.  Since the weather got nice we've been pondering over how to get it here without completely taking it apart.  And so, after dinner on Thursday, Bill unscrewed all the legs and he and I lifted the top (bouncy part) onto the roof of his Jeep.  With Finn and Bill at the wheel, Liam running ahead, and me, walking aside the car steadying the trampoline, we walk/jogged it to our house.  Two cars came down our road and the drivers laughed pretty hard at the sight of us.  In the end, we now have our trampoline in our yard. Yipee.  (The poles of the net were damaged in a storm that lifted the trampoline and tossed it about 20 yards.  We need to order a whole new kit.  Ug.  In the meantime, I lose hair every time the boys are on there.  But look how happy they are!)

 Yesterday I took the boys for haircuts - super short summer cuts.  Finn did not want to be photographed this morning.  But I think you can sort of get the gist.  Also, they both have bed head...

Liam has soccer practice today...I will try to leave the camera at home.

Ask and you shall receive...

Some peeps asked for pics and since I like those peeps, I will happily oblige. I have been wondering if my recent decision to 'live in the moment' and leave my camera behind is more an act of laziness...you'll see that I have not taken very many pictures this year...or the last few months. But, anyway, here's what I have to share. I did actually dig out my camera for Easter.
Liam is all about quantity when it comes to the egg hunt. He didn't even care that we only filled them with change. We let him have a few jelly beans, but he just loved searching for eggs. Bill suggested that we just fill them with air next year...
That was my favorite hiding spot. The tree doesn't even seem to mind...
Eggs, eggs, everywhere...
This was actually taken earlier in the morning when the boys were waiting for my family to join us for the hunt.
Look at that Liam...his whole face smiles. Love that boy.
And look at this little munchkin.
Here's how we set the table...
Cut to random pics over spring break. Below you will see Finn throwing a fit in the middle of our dirt road because he did not want to turn around and head back to our house.
Liam chose (with some suggestion from mommy) to use the $ in his Easter eggs to take mommy out to the movies. I let him have an icee (I had to ask the girl to only fill it half way - there was NO WAY I was going to let him have their version of "small".) He sure was happy.
We checked out the children's museum in Saratoga. The coolest part is this thing where you can make a bubble around your whole body. Both boys totally loved it....and I am trying to think of a way to do it at home...
My brother got this great shot of Austin. I may have put it on Facebook, but in case you missed it.
And there's Liam at soccer practice...
I think I will recharge the camera and start taking it places again. Poor Finn. His whole life will be captured on iPhone photos...and I don't have the good one, so his photo albums are going to kind of stink unless I get busy here.

Too long for Facebook

-Today I saved $0.18 using recycled grocery bags...and while it felt good, I wanted to save more like $8.00, but savings is savings, I guess. And I didn't use more plastic.

-It is absolutely GLORIOUS outside...but I want it to rain and rain and rain so I don't have to be scared to do 6 loads of laundry and run the dishwasher...and perhaps take a shower at the end of the day. (Our well dried up yesterday. We have a little now....but we have to be EXTRA conservative now.)

-I wore corduroy's this morning...I felt very foolish by noon and changed into capris. Did I mention it is GLORIOUS outside?

-I am completely in love my my new book, The Homemade Pantry, by A. Chernila. It has so many fantastic recipes and ideas for being more self sufficient and environmentally friendly. She also has a blog that I am really enjoying: http://www.eatingfromthegroundup.com/. I am making her 'beef bulgogi' tonight. Very excited. Sadly, a lot of her recipes in the book have eggs or butter or milk...but I am working on making modifications and hoping extra hard that Finn grows of the dairy allergy in the next few years.

-Being laid off might actually turn out to be okay for us. Maybe. It's a little early to say for sure.

-I am still fat. I'm not running as much as I need or want to. I want to be healthy....I really do. And there's that same old tune.

-Finn is not napping or keeping to his room as I have suggested with great enthusiasm. It is maddening. I wanted to get so many things done and now, instead, I am blogging and he is eating a jello cup he found in the vegetable crisper ( I think I tried to hide it there a few months ago....).

-I love our dog, but he is driving me crazy. The neighbors (three 20-something boys who still live with their mother and don't seem to work very often) are shooting air rifles or something like that and the dog is barking, barking, barking. This morning a neighbor's dog showed up on our porch and stayed for a couple of annoying hours. Austin barked and the two didn't really get along, so that was fun. I called the number on the dog's tag about six times. They finally showed up.

-Totally random: Finn really enjoys helping me cook.

-I will never tire of hanging laundry on the line outside and how it smells like heaven. Seriously, my heaven will smell like clean clothes drying in the sun on a breezy spring day.

-Oh, don't judge me. I have stopped brushing/combing my hair. What's the point? Really? Whether I comb it or not, whether I blow dry it or not, it ends up looking messy and in a loose bun anyway. After I shower - which, by the way, I now only use a 2-in-1 shampoo, so I'm even cutting corners there - I just tie my hair in a bun and let it dry. It looks pretty decent -even when I've slept on it for 6 hours....or maybe I am just telling myself that. Anyway, after about six days of our spring break passed I realized that I had not brushed my hair once...not even for Easter. So, I brushed it. I guess I'll brush it every now and then. And, just in case you are worried, I am not growing dreads - I 'finger' comb it to get out the knots....but...I feel very much like I am rebelling against society by going to my professional librarian job without touching my hair. No one has said anything...so I guess it's okay.

-And now I am off to bake some bread for a friend.

C'mon....

This time I WILL get published...

chugga chugga chugga

I am writing a new children's book.

I gave up on my troll story....for now. I feel really sad saying that because I worked on it - on and off - for nearly 9 years! But, this fall I ordered a troll graphic novel for my library and it was MY story! It's a retelling of a classic Norwegian tale....not very well known, but well enough, and some smarty-pants who can draw turned it into a not so awful graphic novel. I will be the first one to tell you that it's not bad. It's not better written than mine, it's just told and presented in a better way....and judging by the last few sentences, I may never get published. I need to review grammar. Boo.

So, anyway, I have a new idea. Some new characters and a story I'd like to tell. A world I'd like to create and share and turn into a cute little series...that will dazzle a publisher who will advance me and send a contract upon reading the first few paragraphs...ahhh, gotta love my imagination.

But you know when you have a really good idea....you get this feeling...sort of like that feeling, that split second, when you KNOW you are going to catch the wave and it's a little bigger than you anticipated? But you are psyched? I have that feeling.

Now I carry around a notepad and pencil everywhere I go. I try to write at least every other day for a half hour. It's hard to find time to write...but I want to get this done and sent out. I will be calling on some of my grammar-knowledgable peeps for proofreads. Yeah, you probably know who you are. I hope to send you folks a draft in a few weeks.

Wish me luck. Another adventure.

Oh...did I forget to mention that I am being laid off? Oh yeah. THAT's happening. No money in the budget for a .5 librarian. After June 21 I will be officially unemployed. (again) :(

On the upside, (cuz there's always an upside) I will have more time to write AND try to start my bread baking business (Rise and Shinealot). I'm already taking orders for Amish White, Honey Whole Wheat, and Rolls to Die for (great for sandwiches or dinner). $3.50 a loaf or bag of 12 rolls. Feel free to email. I deliver. So yeah...wish me luck on that one, too!