Natalie is 7 months old today. This was earlier tonight, while she was basking in the glow of our Christmas tree, her first. She seems to like it. We hung lots of soft ornaments on the bottom, and she had a great time lying under it and pulling them off.  Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of year. The decorations, the yummy treats, the parties, the glowing lights and candles warming up some of the darkest days of the year.

I also love it for the time we get to spend with friends and family, with no other agenda but to have a good time. And this year, of course, things are even more special with miss Natalie enjoying it all for the first time. So far she is a huge fan of twinkle lights. And even though we’re not so much giving her sugar, I might even sneak her a bite of one of Grandma’s famous Italian Anise Cookies. It’s all a lot more fun and special this year, kind of like back when I was a kid. And I’m a big fan of that.

Some of Natalie’s accomplishments to date:

• Tried (and liked!) green beans, broccoli, zucchini, cucumber, carrot, apple, pear, rice cereal, bread, teething biscuits, puffed spelt cakes, cheddar cheese, banana, celery and a tiny bit of garlic naan. The mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving never made it to her mouth, but she had fun playing with them, and the dogs enjoyed eating them.

• Sits on her own most of the time. When she’s tired or reaching too far she tends to topple over, with the weight of her noggin. This doesn’t really bother her, though, unless she gets stuck in a weird position or ends up on her belly, which she HATES. No crawling yet.

• Pulls up to standing and could seemingly stay there for hours or maybe even days.

• Loves walks in the woods with Daddy in the Baby Bjorn. We had to graduate to the next size of the Bjorn because she weighs over 22lbs!

• Makes her tastes in music known, and will protest loudly until we put on something she likes, whether in the car or when she’s trying to get to sleep for a nap. Her favorites include Michael Franti, Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson, Loudon Wainwright, Feist, and Robbie Schaeffer’s Songs for Kids Like Us!

• Likes to give kisses to the baby in the mirror, and to us, and to photos of us. This mostly includes leaning her head on the mirror or our heads and sometimes a little lick. Maybe she’s picking up more from the dog than we think?

• Has a special bond with JaneCat. They get along so well. Jane has never been very lovely (unless, you know, it’s her idea), but she is constantly trying to play with Natalie and puts up with lots of tail- and fur-pulling.

• and my favorite: She flails her entire body when she’s excited. Sometimes this is followed by some smacking of whoever is holding her, seemingly to say “DO YOU SEE THAT?” — mostly this response is elicited by her Grammy, but occasionally other things get her this excited, too.

• Oh, she can also say “Hi!” and wave and use the signs for “milk” and “potty”. We are all pretty shocked when she does it, but I guess that WAS the point of doing the signs for her every time she nursed or went to the potty for the last three months, right? Crazy. I am amazed at the capabilities of her little brain and body, and the potential there. I can hardly handle it.

My friend Stephanie had a baby today. And my cousin and his girlfriend are expecting their first little one any day now. A handful of other very good friends of mine have very recently had babies {I’m talking about you Heather, Allie & Sheri!}. This makes me so freaking happy!!!

Our little bean? She got her first tooth a few days ago. Things are really happening and she is GROWING UP.

"soooo big!"

But not that long ago, she was a tiny little newborn. Crazy. So with these friends and their babies in mind, I’m finally getting around to posting our birth story here for you. It is long, but I didn’t want to leave anything out. I hope you understand.

Disclaimer/warning: this is a somewhat graphic account with photos. I wrote it just a week or so after she was born and I haven’t really changed much, except taking out some names to, er, “protect” their privacy. Please be nice if you leave a comment… This is, of course, a very personal event, and I’m posting this in hopes of helping other women who are going or about to go through this life-changing event, not to gross anyone out. I think the more we talk about it, though, the more normal it will become. It is one of the most amazing and normal and healthy processes we can go through as humans.

And yes, we had a planned at-home water birth. We had a team of amazing midwives with us, as well as a few close friends in attendance. It was totally non-medicalized and intimate and amazing and I would definitely recommend a home birth as a safe and healthy option for anyone with a complication-free pregnancy. There are also ways to deal with various complications and still have a home birth. Really, it was the best way for us and I’m so happy we did it. I think I will do another post with resources I used to come to this decision, but one of the best is the movie “The Business of Being Born,” If you haven’t seen it yet, well, what are you waiting for?

So, enjoy.

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Natalie’s Birth Story

Born at 41 weeks, 6 days; 8lb 6oz, 22 inches; lots of dark brown hair, big blue-brown eyes

It all started with being patient. Then a sudden need to not be patient anymore. She was a week late and showing no signs of coming out. We were planning a home-birth and had been working with a team of four midwives, and at this point they started to push me to get going, since at 42 weeks we would end up in the hospital with a chemical induction.

41 weeks

At my appointment tuesday (pre 41-weeks) they suggested getting more acupuncture (had had some monday with my regular acupuncturist, she opened some channels but didn’t do induction points; I had been sensitive in some of my back points and my right hand point where I hadn’t been before) and scheduled a date with a bottle of castor oil for Sunday. I made an appointment with her for Friday, but the appointment ended up having to be canceled. I also made an appointment for a biophysical profile/ultrasound at the hospital for Monday. On Friday I had a craniosacral treatment with only stillpoints, which felt great but didn’t seem to do much. My craniosacral therapist set me up with an appointment to see another acupuncturist to discuss an acupuncture induction — I saw her that afternoon and we made an appointment for Sunday morning.

Saturday morning I woke up with my bloody show, like a heavy period with lots of mucus. I called the midwife on call, pretty excited. She said that was great and to still plan to do the castor oil and acupuncture on sunday, but to let her know if I had more bleeding or contractions. I had been having some low pains, but not at regular intervals.

So I headed off with John to see some family in from out of town, including lots of babies. We discussed babies, labor, induction. Everyone kept saying maybe seeing all those babies was what I needed to get things going. Later that day we headed to my mom’s to make dinner for Mother’s Day. Eggplant parmesan, which is supposed to induce labor. Well that night I started having contractions, about every 5 to 15 minutes long. I was able to eventually sleep through them but they were starting to be pretty uncomfortable.

Sunday morning I ate breakfast and made up my castor oil (1oz.) and orange juice shake with ice. I could barely get half a dose in before my 9:30 acupuncture appointment and was supposed to have had 2 doses by then. I gagged and it was just such a snotty texture, plus the orange juice first thing in the morning, just wasn’t happening. We went to acupuncturist #2’s practice up the street, and got down to business. She had me lay on my left side, and did points in my ears first for relaxation, then my back, on my hands, in my ankles and on my feet. She connected the electrical stimulation from one hand to one foot. I was pretty tense and it was a little uncomfortable, and I was still having contractions every 5-10 minutes that demanded my breath and attention a little more. The point in my right foot and my left hand really hurt, like chewing on tinfoil. It sort of felt like the longest treatment ever, and she kept saying that she’s usually very gentle but this didn’t seem like the time for gentleness. She then had me lay on my back and did some points on my legs near my knees and applied little magnet gold ball stickers to the points she had done on my hands and feet and ears for pressure points. John also got some work done on his face and ears for relaxation and for his sinuses. He wasn’t sold.

We went home and I took the rest of my castor oil dose, talked to the midwife, and she said to take the other doses a half-hour apart. If it worked, she didn’t want me to be laboring through the night. My lovely friend Sarah came over around lunchtime and hung out for the rest of the day; we watched tv on the internet, took a quick walk (I couldn’t walk too far from the house b/c at this point in my pregnancy I had to pee way too frequently), I took a hot shower, and dozed a bit but didn’t really nap. Things didn’t really progress for a while, but eventually the contractions became closer together and a little stronger. The midwife had me start taking an herbal labor tincture which did make them longer and farther apart for a little while, but didn’t seem to last long. She had me take it more frequently and it did get more intense so she decided to come over to check me. She arrived around 9:30pm after her 1.5 hour drive. She checked me, did a “stretch and sweep”; I was 1cm. She had me stop taking the labor tincutre and go to bed. She slept on the pull out-in the basement, and planned to leave at 4am to get her kids off to school, and Sarah slept on the couch in the living room till 6am and went to work. At right around 4am I was woken up with some pretty intense contractions that were harder to sleep through. I would have two or three before I could sleep. I felt like my body knew I needed to sleep. I thought about stopping the midwife from leaving, but I decided it was best to just get some sleep if I could. I honstly don’t remember what I did monday. Had contractions all day… oh right, went to Baystate for an ultrasound! She was definitely a girl and also had her hands up near her face, which is her favorite position for sure. We also got to see her little feet that I knew the shape of so well. They said everything looked great and the placenta showed no signs of age or anything, so we were safe to wait a few more days for labor to start. Contractions were anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes apart lasting from 20-40 seconds, but not super strong yet.

Tuesday went a little differently. My mom drove me the hour to my midwives’ office, to have an exam and an acupuncture session with their in-house practitioner, who specializes in fertility, birth and such. We bought more castor oil on the way in. We also got to see the one midwife who wouldn’t be at our birth, which was really great. I had the exam, another “stretch and sweep” with evening primrose oil. She said I was 3 cm which was huge progress from Sunday night and very promising. We talked about my homework to do some ritual/ceremony with John on Wednesday, when I was planning to take more castor oil. Opening the windows to signify opening everything, and making pasta and watching a movie was the plan. Never got around to it!

Acupuncturist #3 did her magic and gave me an intense acupuncture treatment with needles in similar spots to #2’s treatment; my thumb/forefinger webbing, my foot, ankles, and back. She, however, put the electrical stimulation on my back. It kind of felt good on my back. My mom just hung out during the treatment and we talked a little bit. I had contractions through it but not too bad. After the treatment (about an hour) #3 put little stickers on the points on my back, hands and feet– these stickers had little needles in them, though! Ouch. On our way out we had a talk with the midwife who was not coming to the birth — we discussed “rewriting” our family’s story, which my mom (who had four C-sections) loved. It was a nice moment.

When I first sat back in the car after stopping at dunkin’ donuts to pee, I felt the needles in my back — yowch! But as #3 said, my regular movements would stimulate them, so it was all good. On the way home my contractions became more intense and I wasn’t able to talk to my mom as much. They were kind of taking my attention and breath. They were about every 2-5 minutes, lasting anywhere from 20-40 seconds.  Mom took me home and hung out with me till my lovely friend Jaclyn showed up. Even thought I loved having her there, I was actually relieved when my mom left because I had sort of been controlling myself in front of her, not wanting her to see me in distress. I didn’t realize this at the time, but as soon as she left things got much more intense. I decided to call John around 4:30 and have him come home and skip his last class (his school is about 45 minutes away — this was a review for the final he had to take on Thursday). Jaclyn brought movies and stuff but I was pretty distracted. I called the midwife on call to tell her and she decided to send the apprentice midwife to come check me. My mom came back with our dog, who had spent the day at her house with her dog while we were at my appointment, and she saw that things were progressing. She didn’t stay long. John and Jaclyn and I tried to visit a bit and I decided we should try watching a movie. We put the Italian Job on, but I really couldn’t pay attention. The contractions were making me want to drop to my knees. I was using the balance ball and swaying back and forth on the floor with each one, trying to breathe. Midwife A (heretofore know as “A”) showed up around 9:30pm and started setting things up. She could see that it was really happening and she wanted to get things ready. I kept asking everyone why I was doing this, why I didn’t just go to the hospital and have drugs, and A reminded me it was pain now or pain later. That helped me remember why I wanted this and that it would be better in the long run, and helped me want to keep going and be proactive.

Jaclyn stayed downstairs and A brought me upstairs to our bedroom to try to help me rest. She had me sit on the ball and lean over onto the bed onto a bunch of pillows. It was nice in the breaks to lay down on them and rest, but they weren’t happening that much. The contractions were pretty close together and she was helping me breathe and stay on top of them. I started to make some sounds, and she helped me remember to keep the sounds low-pitched. I got on the bed at some point, but the pillows weren’t enough and I liked the movement of the ball. I was already totally exhausted. I had John stand behind me and I leaned back on him during each contraction, moaning a low sound and swaying back and forth on the ball. He was so solid and it was so perfect to have him close and strong, supporting me. He left at one point and I had so much more trouble dealing with that contraction.

Jaclyn had called my friend Stephanie by that point to come help, and they and John were trying to set up the tub. Sarah was going to come, too, but she ended up having to leave for a trip to Paris the next morning, and she lives many hours away. That was sad, but I was so happy to have spent the day Sunday with her, too. So… Jaclyn and Stephanie couldn’t figure out how to attach the hose to the faucet and I heard John in the tub (the floor creaking) and I went in to pee and asked what they were doing. I was in a daze but I managed to figure out that there was a gasket in the hose connector that needed to be removed and then it worked. I decided to pee while they were in the bathroom working on it, at that point I didn’t care. A had me take off my pants and tried to find a skirt for me. We used a sarong but it didn’t really stay on. I went back to my ball and leaning on John. He was giving me sips of water during each break from a blue glass and a yellow straw. I don’t know why I remember that or why it’s significant, but it kind of stuck in my mind. I guess I was pretty familiar with it by the end of the night.

Then I started to feel nauseous. I think midwives B and C were here by then but maybe just on their way (they arrived around 11:30pm). The tub was being filled. John ran to get a bucket and A said “you have approximately 3 minutes to get a bucket” — and it might have been even less than that, when he came back and I filled the bowl. I didn’t know a person could throw up that much. It was like my body was taken over and everything was contracting so my belly had to be emptied, too. I wasn’t done but the bowl was full so he had to leave to get another bowl. I hated having him gone, he was so strong and a peaceful presence, rubbing my back and giving me water, holding me up. They switched out the bowl and I filled that one. I climbed on the bed to have A check me and I was 5 cm. Ready to go in the tub! I was excited but still nauseous and tired. I filled another bowl. John held it and me and helped me into the baby’s room, and into the tub. The water felt hot at first and they asked me if it was too hot but it instantly made me feel better so I said it wasn’t too hot. It felt soooo good. I didn’t have the sari on at this point, just a tank top. I wanted to have bare skin to hold the baby in her first moments, but it felt good to keep it on, to keep my chest and shoulders covered. Jaclyn or Steph (or both?) got the job of pouring water on my back to keep me warm, as I ended up just leaning over the side of the tub during the contractions.

I also thought I might be sick again and I needed to keep the bowl close. At first I kept changing position, moving from one side of the tub to the other, kind of swimming around and leaning back in between. I was happy in between because the water felt so calming and almost pure. It was right where I needed to be.

The room was dark, with the salt lamp glowing in the background. A was sitting in the armchair coaching me through. John was kneeling by me, rubbing my back and giving me water in between. At one point, though, John was kneeling on a pair of pillows Sarah made and I told him not to because I didn’t want to get water and puke on them. That was pretty much all I said in the last 5 hours of labor. They asked if they could take pictures and I said yes. I also agreed when B asked if I was comfortable taking another tincture — to help with vomiting and make contractions longer and farther apart. It seemed to help with both, which was such a relief. I was stretching my legs out with each contraction, sort of kicking the tub walls.

Our cat and dog kept coming in to check us out, see what was going on. At one point I remember noticing amidst all the chaos and my loud noises, the cat came in and rubbed up against my hand that was hanging over the side of the tub, which I took as sort of “it’s ok, I’m here if you need me” signal. Pretty sweet.

The contractions got much more intense and I ended up staying in pretty much one place for a long time.  I think B checked the baby’s heartbeat with a doppler a few times, which was sort of uncomfortable. She needed to check through a contraction so I had to lean up on John so my belly was out of the water. The heartbeat was fine each time, which was great news. Jaclyn was holding the flashlight and turning it on during each contraction so they could see what was happening (I found out later) and Steph was taking pictures. A was coaching me to stay on top of the contractions, to breathe when I felt one coming and ride it like a wave. She said I had been letting them take over me, like a wave crashing on top of me. It was true. So each time I was able to breathe and stay on top of it, with her help, I was much more able to cope. It was still the most intense sensation I have ever felt, but I wasn’t as helpless or hopeless during them with this technique. She also said her baby was moving a lot (she was 6 months pregnant) and it almost never moved much. Around then I started wanting to push and was a little bit. I was making loud, low sounds, really guttural and in my throat. The contractions really hurt and I wasn’t sure I could keep going. I know I said “no” and “I can’t” through two or three contractions, and I know now that this was my transition. I think that was when they decided to check me and I was 10 cm (fully dilated)! They were all really excited and asked me if that was good news. Of course it was and I was happy, too, though definitely in some other world, not knowing what was going on, just wanting to get this baby out! I started pushing while still leaning over the side of the tub, but with my feet under me, sort of squatting. B had to hear the baby and that was really hard to get up enough to let her. All sounded good and I was well on my way. I pushed through a bunch of contractions and A and C kept reminding me to bare down and use the power instead of letting it out in a sound. This helped a lot and I was able to concentrate on pushing, which did feel kind of good and like a certain kind of relief. It was what my whole body needed to do.

They started telling me that when the baby came out I had to put my leg over the cord and pull her up, and not to raise my butt above the water because she could breathe air and then be back under water and breathe water. I was a little confused and worried and decided I could change my position, I said I could lean back and they were thrilled at this. I leaned back and started pushing more. They told me to reach down and feel her head — it was so squishy!! like a balloon filled with sand — with hair! I couldn’t believe she was so close and ready to come out, that I had gotten her this far, and they told me just a few more pushes and she’d be here! I was told at some point to slow down and not push as hard, to save my perineum. It seemed to work because I didn’t tear at all! C told me I had to keep my legs apart and that my instinct would be to put them together because of the pain. It was burning and I did just that. So John was holding my arms and maybe one of my legs and she held the other.

The baby’s head was born and everyone cheered. John says he thought I was reaching down to push her back in. I was doing no such thing! Someone told me now I just had to birth her body and I was so frustrated at that point, I had really thought her body would just slip out and I had done so much hard work why did I have to keep going? But I did and her body was out in just a few pushes! B caught her and she and C carried her up to my chest and she was perfect in every way! She was looking RIGHT AT ME. She was born at 1:23 am Wednesday, after four days of contractions and 7 hours of labor.

Her big beautiful eyes were so alert, but her body was quite limp and a bit blueish. C quickly rubbed her with a towel to warm her up and I had a few moments with her and John and just exclaiming and bursting with joy and relief. Someone was about to cut the cord but I said John should do it — he asked if it had stopped pulsing and it had, so he cut it. He asked if it would hurt and I and the midwives all said no. They decided to take her to warm her up which I was fine with. I was so happy and relieved. I kept exclamiing no way, oh shit, What? holy cow. WHAT? (Jaclyn said she was expecting me to exclaim “No I di’int!”) They said she was fine and asked if I wanted to stay in the tub. I wanted to be with my baby! So John helped me out of the tub, I had to hold the clamp and umbilical cord, and someone held a towel under me and over my shoulders. I got in the bed and saw the baby again, she was so beautiful. So perfect. I laid down on some pads A had set up, and she coached me through birthing the placenta. I asked Steph, who has two babies, what it was like and she said just like a big octopus. It was! I asked if the plastic was still under the sheets and it was, so I just relaxed and A had me push and there it came, like an octopus! All slimy and no bones but still a bit uncomfortable. B checked me and there was no need for any stitches, no tearing at all. Everyone was amazed because it had all been so fast. They had been ready to camp out until the next day.

Everyone cleaned up so quickly and John got to hold the baby for a while. C had held her while he was helping me from the tub and I think she was great at warming her up. She had pinked up just fine. They put her on a heating pad and measured her and checked her stats. They weighed her and she was 8lbs 6oz., 22 inches! C guessed her weight right before they weighed her and she was right spot on!

Steph and Jac left first, I think, saying they’d be back in the morning. John called my mom and I asked him if she was coming over and he said he hadn’t asked her to and I said call her back she wants to come, and I feel like she arrived instantly. It was so good to see her and we were all so happy. She was in love with the baby and was crying just a little bit. So sweet. This baby was really perfect. Gorgeous skin, lots of dark hair, long skinny legs and arms. I was able to nurse her pretty quickly and she seemed to like it and latch on pretty well.

I thought I was bleeding a lot and really had to pee but was so dizzy I couldn’t get up. I tried to pee because I knew it would help me stop bleeding. B decided to give me a shot of pitocin to help the contracting/lessen the bleeding. We discussed cytotec, too, which she left with me. I didn’t want to take it but she assured me that it was definitely safe once there was no baby stretching my uterus or any pushing or heavy contractions going on. The pitocin shot was funny because I knew I had just given birth and handled it but I was still afraid of the shot! A tiny needle and it wasn’t so bad — in my left thigh. A gave it to me and my mom held my hand. It was nothing, though. A also gave me some oxygen and I felt a lot better. I had the baby on me at this point and she felt perfect.

I asked my mom and B and C how you help from worrying that she stopped breathing, and they all said “you don’t”. ha ha. They said, you’re a mom now, you’ll worry. she’ll cry. So, as everyone was leaving my mom offered to stay. I hadn’t thought about it before that but YES I wanted her to stay. I think she slept on the couch, but just knowing she was there in case anything happened to the baby was so comforting. We slept a little bit, but not much. Too much adrenaline!

My dad came around 7am on his way to work, he brought donuts and simply said “good job, Laur.” A little later (around 10?) my Mom left, but came back for the afternoon and John’s parents came, too.  I was nursing the baby every time she was awake, and she seemed to like it, but the positioning was awkward. I tried feeding her lying down and it sort of worked but I worried about falling asleep, and my shoulders and arms hurt. Well, everything hurt. My hips and my sacrum, my bottom muscles, my upper back, my wrist. My puffiness went away in my chin and arms and feet pretty instantly. My hands felt half as big and just looser in the joints, but my wrist was killing me. My chiropractor came for a home visit on Tuesday of the week after, which was amazing.

B came back the evening of Day 1, and helped us find some other positions for breastfeeding (the football hold), and checked us all over, deeming us all healthy and good. I hadn’t bled too much but had had a few large clots and she was sure that was why I had bled so much. On the third night I had a panic attack and thought I was bleeding too much and the blood wasn’t getting to my head and I was going to die. John googled low blood pressure, gave me some orange juice for low blood sugar and made me sleep. I felt better in the morning, but for days I was still having trouble falling asleep when I’d get the chance. Again we tried new breastfeeding positions on day 3 when midwife D and A came to visit. We seemed good and healthy but they noticed some jaundice and said to put her in the sun for 20 minutes a day and that once my milk came in that would help, too. It did — came in on Saturday I think and by Friday of the next week we went to the pediatrician and she was 9lbs. 6oz.! Gained one pound! She said usually they’re happy if the baby is back to their birth weight by this time, so she was doing great.

{more notes from that same second week} This little bug likes to smile and gaze right at people, right from her very first moments. She started laughing in her sleep at about day 5. I call her a bug or a hungry caterpillar and she loves to read that book, looks right at the butterfly. She loves looking around and out the windows and loved her first car ride. The umbilical stump came off when uncle Thom was here on Monday. He was supremely grossed out.  She also pooped on uncle Brian when she met him, and slept in uncle Ed’s arms for hours. Daddy thinks her poop smells like cheesecake, but Grammy disagrees. Her little body and head smell like heaven, though, and I love just holding her and smelling her littleness. She is almost too long for newborn clothes already, but thankfully she mostly hangs out with her legs curled up. She loves sleeping on a person or in someone’s arms, but we started the rocking carrier today and she seems to love it (been asleep in it for almost 3 hours!). She has had a long stretch of 6 hours of sleep almost every day, and it has started happening in the night which mommy and daddy love! She is beyond her age in so many ways, and this has to be our favorite… though the smiles are a close second.

• learning to nap on her own (and not in the swing); success! (awesome summer-weight blanket by Aden and Anais)

• enjoying our new screen doors, and a warm summer day.

• getting back on the yoga mat! If only for 10 minutes, during afore-mentioned nap. (and,  yes, that yoga block is in rough shape. Once upon a time perhaps a doggy teething toy?)

• today’s work-station, scattered with rattles, “Goodnight Gorilla” (new board book from Aunt Pat!), teething toys, and burp cloths (gorgeous patchwork burp cloth by Nina Beana!)

• aaaannndddd………(drumroll please)…. SOMEONE is 3 months old today! 12 weeks! How did that happen?

First thing’s first.

I have gotten the question of how on earth we figured out what kind of dog our HappyGirl is, so here’s the story:

I was standing around in the lovely “Wild Birds Country Store” (where some of my calendars just so happen to have been for sale this winter) while my mom purchased something, and I spotted some little booklets by the door on how to identify birds, as well as other things like mushrooms and flowers. There was also one about dogs. I’m always on the lookout for our little girl, so I opened it up and THERE SHE WAS. A drawing of our dog. Labeled “Munsterlander” but it said they were only 24″ tall, which is about 10 inches too short, give or take. I showed it to my mom, though, and she agreed that it looked just like her. I was sure I’d remember the name, since it was so odd, but of course I forgot. The next day I googled “M Dog Breeds” because I remembered it was a long, odd name starting with M. I browsed a list of breeds and finally came across it, recognizing the german-ness of it — and two versions, large and small. Clicked for some photos of the large version and there she was again. Pretty crazy.

In other news, relating to our little menagerie here, we are sending our goats off to a bigger farm this weekend. No, not the proverbial farm, but an actual happy farm-animal farm at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary. We have been weighing this decision for a while now, but with the baby on the way we have decided that these goaty ladies are much more work and trouble than the pleasure they give us, which is not much. They wake us up with their hungry cries (thought there is no way they are actually hungry, they have lots and lots of food) almost every morning, and they are definitely not socialized enough to ever be bred and milked. {So much for our dreams of a goat-cheese empire. But maybe someday we’ll venture into that dream again, especially if we end up somewhere with more land, so the ladies don’t have to live right outside our bedroom window.}

When it comes down to it we really think they will be much happier at their new home, anyway. I am guessing we won’t even be able to contain ourselves and we’ll end up visiting them often. It’s about an hour and-a-half away, in the Hudson Valley.  {Even though they don’t let us pet them unless we have a handful of food — preferably fruit or stale rice cakes, and even then only for a second or two until they realize what’s going on.}

Things certainly are changing around here. All for the better, but I am feeling like we’re living in the middle of a construction zone. Oh wait, we are. I have lots of photos of the big basement renovation to post, but I think I’m going to wait to make it a dramatic before-and-after. Today is paint-color-deciding day, so you know we’re getting close. All the bathroom appliances/fixtures and the vanity need to be put in, the floor installed and the light fixtures put in, as well as the painting, but it’s coming together. I’ll be moving my studio down there when it’s done, and turning the room that currently houses my studio into a bedroom for the little bean. I’ve already picked out a color for that room, a soft yellow-green, and that was easy. The basement, not so much. Maybe a gold-yellow? Maybe? I keep going back to this amazing green office, though.

Of course, that said, if you are interested in taking our goats home, and live in a hundred-mile radius, let me know. They are pretty darn cute. If loud and obnoxious.

I keep comparing the situation here to the story of Gonzo finding his alien family in the movie Muppets From Space. As we all know, Gonzo was always considered a “weirdo”, with no other creatures on earth anything like him. But in the film, he finds out he’s one of a huge band of alien creatures. A whole civilization of Gonzos!

It has recently come to our attention that our dog, previously considered quite muttly, is in fact a member of the Large Munsterlander breed of dog. Can you believe it? She might not be pure-bred, but something close! Who knew!? We had always gone with the guess of part Brittany Spaniel, part Border Collie, but it never quite added up.

I just think this one's really funny. Taken with my iPhone and the Shake It app.

Apparently this breed is quite new to North America, originating as a variation of the German Longhair Pointer in, you guessed it, Germany (Munster, Germany, actually). It’s bred in Germany, the UK and Canada, and slowly making its way into the US. And aren’t we glad for that! She has always displayed tendencies for hunting and chasing, pointing and sniffing out, but little did we know these are precisely the traits she was bred for. Including hunting birds, you know, like chickens. :::::sigh::::: Guess we won’t be having that free-range farm we dream of anytime soon. Thankfully besides chickens, she REALLY likes squeaky toys.

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The above photos are of our girl, Happy. Full name “Happy Anniversary.” We tried and tried for months to come up with a new name for her after we adopted her, but it just stuck. She’s almost 4 years old now, having lived with us for the last 3. She was given up to the Berkshire Humane Society because she was a bit, shall we say, rowdy. She was very mouthy and bit us all the time and howled like we were killing her when we put her harness on for a walk. But with a bit of persistence, a very tiring obedience class and replacing the bad behaviors with new ones, she soon learned it was much more rewarding to behave herself. She’s one of the best dogs I’ve ever met. Except maybe when she jumps on our guests to greet them. I always say “she wants to give you a hug” and I think I mean it. She just gets really excited!

So these photos below are of other dogs from this breed. What do you think? See the resemblance?

Image borrowed from the Raycris Large Munsterlanders

Image borrowed from the Wild Rose Dogs' Flickr

ZOMG wasn’t she the cutest puppy ever? I mean, all puppies are cute… but can’t you just imagine this is our sweet HappyGirl? I had to include this one, mostly because I can’t stop looking at it. A few people suggested I print it out and save it and say it was her as a puppy. I mean, the resemblance is pretty amazing, wouldn’t you say?

More photos of other Large Munsterlanders here. In case you are as curious as I was.

I was recently asked: “Do you have something small, even silly perhaps, that is guaranteed to jump start your day or pull you out of a funk?” {this question is part of an exercise for this January’s session of the Mondo Beyondo e-course}

Here are my answers, in no particular order:

(feel free to add your own in the comments!)

• do a little yoga**
• go swimming**
• bake cookies**
• buy flowers
• buy plants
• garden
• meditate
• take photos — appreciating the little details and beauty everywhere
• cook a meal from fresh ingredients
• shop at a farmer’s market
• read blogs that inspire me
• write a blog post
• sew
• paint**
• draw
• design something on my computer
• write notes and letters to friends
• write in my journal
• upload and share photos
• snuggle the cat
• look through old photos/letters/e-mails/essays/blog posts
• reach out to friends and family; send presents
• take a nap
• play with dogs**
• take a walk**
• stargaze
• eat chocolate
• listen to some of my favorite music (particularly useful to me for lifting a funk: Ani DiFranco, Erin McKeown, Deb Talan/The Weepies, Modest Mouse, Postal Service, Eddie from Ohio, Ingrid Michaelson)
• read a book
• listen to an audiobook
• go for a drive (roadtrip preferable, listening to an audiobook a super-plus!)
• visit with (happy) farm animals
• play with children
• beautify: rearrange a shelf, a room, artwork on a wall. Or even just dust something.
• light candles
• read magazines
• take a hot shower
• laugh at something; call a silly friend or watch a ridiculous movie I’ve seen a million times (i.e. Office Space, Home Alone, Big Daddy), or if all else fails visit cakewrecks, oddly specific signs, cute overload, i can has cheezburger, the “blog” of unnecessary quotation marks, or autocomplete me (why DO walruses go to tupperware parties?).

**These are usually my no-fail go-to options. Proven over many trials to work wonders.

Blue Monday happens to be coming up next week, January 25th. Remember this time last year? Yeah, I’m feeling much better than I was then. Ok then. I think I should probably do one of the things on this list right now. I’m not so much in a funk, but they all sound like so much fun!

my cup runneth over. for reals.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ with 20 family members and friends, followed by some visiting with John’s family.

Then a second round on Friday with a gang of friends at our house for our “Annual Day-After Thanksgiving Leftover Feast”. Yum! Just writing about it makes me want more mashed potatoes… seriously.

A few things I am grateful for this year:

• my family
• my wonderful husband
• our growing baby bean (almost 5 months!)
• our dry basement
• craft fairs, loyal customers and awesome fellow crafters
• art, craft and doing-it-yourself
• furry friends
• my tribe of fantastic human friends
• mashed potatoes (can you tell I’ve gotten my appetite back?)

Well, the idea is that we will NOT have a moat, at least not one full of water. My dad decided this weekend was finally time to work on a project we had been talking about for years; we’ll call it “Operation Water-Out-of-the-Basement, Part 1″.

We now have a new wall! A wall to keep the water out. We are still getting used to the looks of it, because it is right outside our front door, but I think after the first rainstorm we’ll be blessing it with everything we can think of, thanking it for holding out the flood.  After this worst-rain-ever summer, and after having inches of water in our basement — we have stone foundation, well, half of one, the other half is wood and windows and lovely walk-out-basement niceness — we were about ready for drastic action. I thought about kayaking around in the basement, maybe selling tickets, but I think this is a better solution.

It was quite a weekend’s work, though. I can’t say I envied John and my dad and my brother Brian, who came in for my mom’s Birthday and was treated to some wall-building and stone-schlepping for the day. (Thanks, Bri! and Sarah — up there in the shadows!) The excavator made an appearance and all of our neighbors were stopping by to see what the heck we were doing.

My mom, the expert gardener herself, came over today to assess the situation and come up with a plan for ’softening’ the look of the wall, and to integrate the whole thing into some kind of landscape plan. I’m excited to see what she comes up with, as I’m truthfully feeling a little daunted by the whole project.

In other news, we only have two chickens now, down from three. sadness.

They have been escaping their pen lately (that they share with the goats), apparently not content to stand on goat backs for fun anymore. Sadly, this allows them to be in the yard without us knowing, and when we send Happy out for her walkabout within her electric-doggy-fence yard, she is also in perfect proximity to chase, and perhaps catch, a chicken. {You can’t blame a dog for acting on her instincts, right?}

We had an incident a week or so ago, where the chicken escaped with only some feathers missing, after we heard the commotion and managed to grab the dog and corral the chicken back into the pen. This last time, we were not so quick. The chicken lady was ok and walking after the incident, but must have sustained some kind of unseen injury, because we found her motionless the next morning. So sad. We are actively working on reinforcing the fence to keep the ladies in, and of course not letting the dog out unless we KNOW there are no chickens out. You’d think they’d learn their lesson and not want to get out again, but…. no.

So right now, though, our wall stands tall and strong against any rain coming its way, and our dog sleeps soundly on the couch while the chickens and goats graze safely in their pen. All is peaceful today. I hope it stays that way for a little while.

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I’ve been doing a little playing with my camera and image editing settings. Whatdya think? (I like ‘em! Click on each one to see it bigger — ’specially the kitty!)

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It’s hot here today. Jane is staying inside today, occasionally venturing into the cool basement. Happy has been in and out of the house and in and out of the sun all day; I think despite her black fur, she’s a sun-dog at heart. She loves the heat and hates to get wet or cold. She has taken to refusing to go for a walk in the rain, which has made things a bit difficult around here this summer, as we’ve had mostly rain all the time. But not this week! It’s nice and sunny and warm and SUMMER! I’m keeping the shades and curtains drawn to keep the house nice and cool. One advantage to living on the cold side of a mountain with limited sun each day is that we haven’t needed air conditioning. Sorry to rub it in, but it’s true. It gets pretty warm upstairs on days like this (90+ with humidity), but as long as I keep the shades down it usually stays comfortable enough, especially when we add a fan to the mix.

And that …. well… I thought it was a pretty amazing sight the other day, and I just had to share. I had seen it once before, without camera in hand, but this time I caught it! I think it has something to do with eating bugs off the goats’ backs? I really don’t know. Poor Pepper (the goat) doesn’t look too happy about it, but I really think if she wanted to get out of the situation she could just shake the chicken off, don’t you?