Snippets of my first day

Today was my first day with the children by myself. Patrick returned to work last week, my mom left yesterday, my sister-in-law just moved out this weekend. So I was the sole adult looking after them, and I think it went wonderfully.

For one, I had this little darling at my side who is still in the lovely stage of sleeping lots, nursing lots (but oh-so-well) and looking adorable in headband bows.

Yes, I know, I swore I never would put my daughter in one if I were to have a little girl.

But I did today.

And she looked so Aunt Jemima-ish and adorable that I could hardly stand it.

The boys were enchanted by their sister in a headband too!

 And we did a craft this morning. Using some rather pink tissue paper and school glue, the boys and I decorated mason jars for little lanterns to celebrate Martinmas.

Noah took this picture of our morning craft, and I thought it was charming.

This lovely appliance made its dishwashing music while I went about my day. 

Homesteading? Off-the-grid living? 

Kiss my Birkenstocks, I say.

 I took some time to play with the kids today, and realized how long it had been since I did that. For the past few weeks, I delegated that task almost entirely to my mother 

(who was more than happy to oblige) as I recovered from Anna's birth. 

Before that, I was Hurricane Jenna cooking a crazy storm and so was constantly too "busy" to play with them.

While I expect them to entertain themselves, 

it's nice to "waste time" with them like Pope Francis recently suggested.

Noah informed me he was making a well, 

and Isaiah said, "My building a HOUSE! {pause} Well, my trying!"

When I enlarge this picture, the pizza boxes in the background become more evident.

As in, I Make No Pretences About Being a Whole Foods From Scratch Super Mom.

But I do like baby-wearing. A lot.

This adorable darling amazing wonderful baby and I went to the midwife together for a checkup. Our first outing just the two of us. 

And Anna, sweet Anna, is the first of our babies to have caught on oh-so-quickly how to nurse well, and gain weight well, too. 

Praise God.

And this book came in the mail for me last week. I won it on a blog giveaway! How fun is that?

And really I can't think of a better season in life to receive a book with small, I mean bite-sized, prayers and words of inspiration for moms. 

Because this season? It shall be busy.

I'm already so grateful for the encouragement this book has given me in the one week of being a mother of three.

And we took our little lanterns on a Martinmas walk tonight.

A kind friend offered to bring us dinner when I thought I had to be all grown-up and actually cook tonight! So... I bathed the boys and put them in their pyjamas just before dinner.

And away we went down the road with our lanterns, singing "The Light of Christ." 

Coincidentally (or not) it was the same song we sang at Anna's baptism yesterday.