Somehow, a long exhale

We've had 5+ weeks of houseguests in the last 3 months. Mostly, this has been a good thing, because it is great to have people do this:





aka hold the baby.

But fyi, no more for now-- even though Eliza is a rock star and didn't mind getting up at the crack of dawn; even though Dad washed dishes and took the dogs for walks. Even though we love you all. We need at least three months of peaceful weekends and plenty of pajama time to recuperate--especially since WE'RE traveling in September and October.

We are still beginning to come together as a family of four, and sometimes-- it has been this week, anyway-- it is delightful.

Annaliese came down with a nasty chest/cough/cold bug on Sunday. We were grilling at the lake with my family, and I could see her becoming sicker and sicker until on the way home, she was pale and slumped in her car seat, snot running out of her nose.

Talk about making me feel like a lousy mother.

She has stayed home from school all week (though she is much better now and could probably go back) but we have opted to keep her out this week and the next-- when we go to VT-- which means she'll not return until the 10th.

She's glad to be home. In general, our little girl is a social butterfly, but there have been some big changes here lately and I think the adrenaline has faded for us all; now we're just ready to settle down. So I've been home all week with my two babies, wiping snotty noses and poopy bottoms and somehow managing to love it.



I was not ready to handle the two of them on my own for extended periods of time before now, but I am very proud of how I can now. Today I even trapped Caspian onto me in the Bjorn and popped Annaliese in the stroller and walked down Main Street to the drugstore, where I bought my little girl a chocolate ice cream in a cup and watched her smear it all over her snotty little face. She deserves it. The kid said table today; she's talking up a storm. I can now ask her if she's hungry or thirsty or if she wants raisins or blueberries and she will shake or nod her head and say "Pease" when I tell her to ask politely.

K. and I woke up and found ourselves out of the rocky place, which is fantastic. Always amazing to remember how much we like each other at the bottom of all the bills and the babies and the whatnots. We're even going to dinner tomorrow night; one of my Farmers' Market vendors is a very Christian teacher and one of 10; she regularly looks after her brother's 9 children; I think she'll be fine. Annaliese probably won't find her as glamorous as her old teenage babysitter, but here's to hoping she's more reliable.

Sadly, no one is sleeping more. Caspian is holding steady at 2 feedings per night but Annaliese has not slept without coughing and crying in over a week. Saturday she sobbed for about an hour in our arms, our bed, her crib; we couldn't get her to calm down. (In retrospect: too much of a big day and the illness coming on).

We have 7 chicks and 3 mama hens who are competing for the said chicks. We also basically killed one of our hens by accident. More on that later; the affair of the chickens is kind of in flux with the new arrivals and our system is currently sort of limping along. I need pics of the fuzzballs though; don't have any.

Tea and book and bed time.

Goodnight all.