Owl Creek Cottage

Weekend Happies

This weekend I got to take Addie on three little dates!  Sure, they were technically all spent running errands, but she loves to go with me, and the boys love staying home with Daddy.  On Friday, Chris' day off, Addie and I ran about a million errands that are hard to do with three kids--the cleaners, the post office, etc.  It's so much easier just helping one child out and into the car!  When we finished, I took her to one of our favorite spots--Starbucks!  I very slowly sipped a chai tea latte while she slurped down her chocolate milk, and then she played with the free Starbucks app from last week, "The Monster at the End of This Book" while I wrote in my notebook and tried to get my life together.  It was a sweet, sweet time!  Everybody else in Starbucks was on business, so it was funny to hear her little giggles at Grover's antics.  

Notice my overflowing purse--I cleaned it out compliments of Starbucks' trash can.

This is what I came home to:

We had sheetrockers fix some seams and a hole in our kitchen ceiling that I've been looking at for nearly two years.  It made a mess in multiple rooms  (the photo of our bedroom is only one of three walls worked on!), but it is sooo nice not to see cracks or holes anymore.  And yay! for checking things off the home improvement list . . .

Then on Saturday, I took my little love to a nearby farmer's market to pick up our meat order.  We somehow again found ourselves sipping treats from Starbucks--it was on the way--and wandered up and down the row of beautiful vegetables.  I wanted to take a picture of the farmer we bought these tomatoes from; he was Texas through and through!  He had on a button down, Wranglers, and a cowboy hat, and his accent was heavenly to this Southern girl's ears!  But I took one of Addie instead, so I wouldn't creep him out as a stalker :)

Oh my goodness I love that girl!  Then yesterday, after church, I started to head out to run errands for Grayson's birthday party this coming weekend.  But she spied me, knew I was headed to Target, and hopped in the car!  She loves Target.  We fought the Halloween crowds at Party City, then finished up at Target, and I came home one tired, but very accomplished, mama.  

Saturday morning, after our Farmer's Market trip, I came home to this:

I am so very thankful that my husband loves playing board games, because I love the idea of it, but games like Monopoly and Risk take forever!!  Chris is always up for a game with Caiden, and they're both fiercely competetive, so it's always funny to watch one of them triumph!  We try very hard to instill good sportsmanship in Caiden, so he always says "Good game" and shakes hands afterward, but I know deep down in his heart he's doing a happy dance when he wins.  When he loses, he immediately tries to talk Chris into a second game!

Last night Chris went to the movies with friends, so I worked on getting my week together in my head.  We have a wedding this weekend, which Chris is officiating and Grayson is participating in, and that always makes for craziness because we spend our entire weekend at church.  To top it off, my sister is flying in (yay!) Grayson is having friends over for a sleepover birthday party, and my brother's baby boy is being dedicated at their church.  Lots of coordinating needed!

So this was a happy weekend, full of fun little happies, and this week is shaping up to be full and fun, too!

Ready to Stay

This is a super-quick post from beautiful, sunny Pennsylvania.  I'm looking at red and orange leaves outside the window of my sister's wonderfully-old and charming house, and I'm fighting feelings of Serious Envy.  

I envy everything I just mentioned.  I also envy a place where people wear jeans and t-shirts and feel dressed up enough to go places (That is a phenomenon unknown to Dallas.), crisp mornings that start out foggy and 50 but warm up to sunny and 70, little old towns with beautiful old houses and wonderful old street names and amazing old history, and best of all, getting to spend every day with my sister.  Not to mention, Addie and my nephew are fast friends, with not a single spat between them.  It makes life very easy!  Between the rainbow of leaves, the charm of steaming mugs at Farmhouse Coffee, four year olds who are good friends, and burning midnight oil with my sister, I'm ready to stay.  

Oh, it's going to be hard to leave tomorrow!  Good thing I have three handsome boys to greet me when we get home.  It takes a lot to top Pennsylvania in the fall, but they're even better.  

Big Doings

We have big doings going on at the Cottage this weekend.  A birthday celebration for Grayson, a big event at church, multiple soccer games, houseguests, and then Addie and I are leaving to visit my sister for the week.  There is much to do to get ready!

Today, in between helping out at church and celebrating Grayson (which involves playing Legos as much as possible), I'm cleaning house, doing laundry, figuring out meals for my parents, who will be staying with the boys, and organizing errands in my head.  As long as I don't look too far into the future (tomorrow), I can keep my head above water and not panic.  It's all worth it, though:  Addie is elated to be flying on a plane with just me, and I'm elated to be spending a week with my sister.  Our 4 year olds will be happy company, and we plan on squeezing in as much sister time as we can.

I'll be back next Friday with pictures, a giveaway (my first!), and new items in the shop.  See you then!

Early Morning Running

I've been a runner in the past, but all the huge dogs on the properties around us have had me scared these last two years.  I finally summoned up my courage, found a running partner who's not scared of dogs, and hit the road this week.

Now, my running partner is only 8, and he's skinny as a reed, so in case an actual dog finds its way to us, we run with treats.  I hope this is only a precaution, because running with your child means you have to protect him from dogs if one attacks.  Heaven help me.  Heaven help us both, actually.

We get up on the early side and run while the sun rises, marveling at our progress in just a week, and hawks on the side of the road, and dairy goats nibbling breakfast while watching us with big eyes.  

 
 

The sun rises over the trail, round and pink and gold, and we go home sweaty, glad for the time together.

 

In the Mountains

We are home again, but oh, it was so good to be up in the mountains!  Providentially, we picked the best week to go--it was 106 degrees here, and never above 75 there.  We haven't been up in the mountains in a few years, and we'd almost forgotten how wonderful they are.

We went very high up, depending on your size and definition:
  There were streams to wade in,

 

squirrels to surprise us,

(and pigs),

walks to take, 

heights to be scaled,

     
and pools to conquer (cautiously).

  
There were many things to ponder,

  
 
 
 be amazed at,

learn,

 
and cherish.

  
 
Then we said goodbye to the beautiful mountains,

but I brought home the best part with me.

And I am happy to be home.

Heading North

We're leaving the heat, headed to the mountains.  I'll have photos when we're home! 

Getting Ready to Leave

Yesterday was wonderful, but alas, today I have to get something done.  We'll be leaving this weekend, headed to the Colorado mountains, and there's much to do between now and then.  

My parents have graciously offered to house/chicken/dog sit, with the only payment being that I stock up plenty of coffee and creamer.  That makes leaving easy, but there is that 16 hour car ride to think about and plan for.  The DVD player and CD player in my van are both broken, so we're going to improvise with the iPod and portable DVD player.  Usually we just ride with books for entertainment, but a trip this far calls for reinforcements!  I downloaded a couple of our favorite books, got a travel version of Blokus for the boys to play, and now just need to think of what will keep a four-year old little girl happy for that long.  As Father Tim says, "There's the rub."

Plenty of snacks, a bag for my knitting project, and a couple of great books, not to mention packing jeans and long-sleeves for a week in cool weather.  Swimsuits, running shoes, and a scooter or two if we can fit it in.  We haven't made a long car ride in a few years, and oddly, I'm looking forward to it.

Between now and when we leave I need to order the rest of Caiden's books for school, do laundry, make sure the house is clean, and take a dog (the bad one) to the vet, which usually ends up in my arm being wrenched from its socket.

All that'll be left for tomorrow is the weekly allergy shots, washing the sheets for my parents, and keeping three children patient while they wait to go!  And maybe me, too.

A Sunny Trip

I am in the sunny South today, enjoying a few days away with my husband. I'll be back Wednesday with pictures!

Coming Home

The children and I have, in fact, been on our own these past two weeks.  My husband has been overseas, so far away that it's winter and the next day there!  I always expect some tearful evenings when he's gone, and as the days stretch long, we have to find special things to occupy us so we don't despair.  ("We" applies chiefly to Caiden, who is my husband's shadow and mourns when he's gone.  I've heard "I miss Daddy" literally a hundred times this month.)  

This trip, we spent some of the time at my parents' lakehouse, enjoyed a tiny visit with my sister, ate a lot of ice cream, went on a few special lunch outings, read stories aloud in the evenings, had puppet shows, watched old movies, drew hundreds of pictures (mainly of dinosaurs, the boys' favorite topic), and had a late afternoon tea time on Sunday, the second weekend my husband was gone.

This adapted tea time, due to the hot weather, consisted of sweet tea in china teacups, poured from Addie's beloved Peter Rabbit teapot, and chips, salsa, and guacamole.  I read "The Bear That Heard Crying," the true story of Sarah Whitcher, who was lost in the woods and kept alive by a bear, and we savored a favorite tradition with a Southwestern twist, I guess. 

Now my husband is somewhere over the ocean, to arrive home this afternoon, and we are a flurry of activity, planning little surprises for him.  I cannot divulge, as he will likely read this from the airport during his layover.  I did let him know yesterday that I've been working on a secret project, and I think he's nearly as anxious to see it, as he is to see us.  

I just hope he likes it!  

A Busy Week

These past seven days have been especially busy, as I've been working on a top-secret project that must remain top-secret for a little while longer.  We've also managed to squeeze in a visit to see my parents and my sister and brother and their families at the lake for the 4th, and then I brought back my sister and nephew home with me for a micro-visit with them before driving her to the airport the next day.

We got drenched to the skin in a surprise rainstorm, hauled a 75 pound puppy to and from the vet, got the children's haircuts, watched Grayson turn into a champ at getting his weekly allergy shots (Caiden had already mastered the art of not flinching for his shot), sold eggs to a friend, cheered up another who's in the middle of moving, and played more than a few games of Risk.  

Nothing has been out of the ordinary, except for my project, but it has been a wholly satisfying week, and I've been going to bed each night completely worn out.  Tomorrow I'm taking the poor old minivan to the mechanic to fix everything that's wrong with her (He laughed when I listed the broken items!) and getting my hair cut.  All regular, ordinary things, but somehow they add up to a very busy, very satisfying, week.  

And yes, I'll share more about the project when I can!  

A Little Holiday

We're taking a little holiday, to go to the lake for the 4th and then spend some time with my sister and nephew.  I'll be back Tuesday!

At the Lake

We went to the lake to see my parents and brother and his family this weekend, making the drive with provisions to tide us over

and some embroidery to tide me over. 

 We spent the days playing rousing games of badminton with various family members who were all of the same limited ability, thankfully,

ate lots and lots of food, including a chocolate cake worth giving up all else for.

That is not chocolate cake. No pictures because it's all gone!

We spent inordinate amounts of time underneath the mister, 

and had an evening fishing session off the dock that was successful for most involved.  I caught my second fish ever, mostly by accident. 
The kids played in the water--only near the water for my cautious Gray. 

  We swam in the pool, drank loads of iced tea, sat beneath the crape myrtle blossoms on the swing, played speed-games of checkers,

Enjoyed each other's company,
and wore ourselves out.
   

Perfect.

 

A Visit to the Lake

This week we drove to the lake to visit my parents.  In a short overnight stay we managed to cram in buying freshly-picked peaches,

 eating freshly-made peach ice cream,

 and peach ice cream bars,

and making an afternoon's worth of peach jam and canned peaches.  We managed to get my dad to help out with the peeling, and it was with grateful hearts (and sticky hands) we all enjoyed peach cobbler late that night.

In between batches I admired/coveted the neighbors' amazing hydrangea hedge,

 

and then we rounded off the trip with a little fishing off the dock,

always a study in patience.

Now we are home again, and as nice as it is to see ones we love, it is always good to be home.