.....it has been several days since Stefan arrived home from traveling for 6 weeks straight......to say he crammed in his big trips before baby would be an understatement.......the last 6 weeks went something like this......Brazil for 5 days, home for 8 hours to unpack, repack and head to New Orleans for 2 days......swap out bags over breakfast with the kids before heading to the office for a full day, only to catch a red eye to Germany for bedtime......etc, etc, etc and ouch......and that was only two of the six weeks......it wasn't fun......
......the kids did not like the in and out of the house in the least.......especially Brody, who is adjusting to nursery school and the anticipation of a new baby who will soon make a grand entrance......his best buddy was scarce around here and Brody is a typical two and half year old who is very strong willed and opinionated.....this summed up to a losing combo for everyone.......I think of windows, divorced mommas, single parents and military wives all the time when I am in a phase of solo parenting.....I don't know how they do it.......
......we took full advantage of our first Sunday afternoon together and unplugged to everything and everyone.......we drove without a destination and soaked in the autumn goodness that comes with the month of October......we stopped at farms, fruit stands, pumpkin patches and chicken coops.......we found a gorgeous, remote spot for a picnic and relished in the solitude of just our family in an open field surrounded by maple trees......we missed a lot of pictures because we left our phones behind for a lot of the day.......it was lovely and we were lost in making up for lost time......
.....Brody covered his face so Stefan couldn't see him upon their reunion.......he ran away from Stefan and avoided him at all costs for the first hour of Stefan being home......but eventually, his grudge wore off and my boy was happy to be reunited with one of his favorites.....
....the girls have each other and watching their sisterhood grow has been such a gift....we would have never planned to have two children 15 months apart, but God is good and knows what is best for us.....the closeness of their age is such a blessing......
.....children are resilient and bounce back to their routines quickly......it did not take long after Stefan returned for them to fall back into the security of their happy little home and start counting the days until their Papa T's visit from Texas.....Stefan's Dad planned a trip at the end of the summer and we have been excited to show him our slice of the suburbs......
.....it is easy to understand why Brody is so impacted when Stefan isn't present in our house......over the last few months, he has loved to be around other males.....it doesn't matter if it's Papa T, a new little boy he met at the playground, or our mailman; Brody soaks in the testosterone and relishes in the attention and adoration of other males.....he is definitely bonding and associating that there is a difference between boys and girls and right now, he chooses boy......
......and over the weekend, he chose Papa T.......besides Daddy on a few occasions, there was no one else that he wanted to spend his time with......
....and that is just as much of a joy to see as watching two sisters bond over sidewalk chalk and dress up clothes.....
.....I am enjoying my three children immensely right now.....
......fall always inspires me to head back to the kitchen after a summertime break......I have signed up for the local CT farm share and we are on week two of having organic and local grown vegetables delivered to our door......we participated in a farm share in NYC and it was one of the best ideas to kick start us in to healthy eating and creative cooking for the fall......
.....the fresh beets have been amazing in my micro green salads and I blanched and froze the swiss chard to add to our kale smoothies this winter.......
....and as much as we love our vegetables, Stefan is still a Texan and our home will always been a meat and potatoes kind of home......I crave red meat, especially when pregnant; but I have been really selective on the beef I am buying to be consumed in our home.....there are so many horrific things I have read about the meat that is available for consumers to purchase and I have gotten to the point that I will only buy grass fed and hormone free meat......
.....not long ago, OBE Organic reached out to me and asked me to try their beef......they are an Australian organic meat wholesaler of free range beef and I have to tell you, it was the best burger Stefan has ever made......I sent Stefan to the store to purchase their products and he ended up coming home with several pounds of OBE Organic ground beef........it is football season after all and my man loves the game and his grill......he added a few spices that he normally does to his burgers, but these were exceptional.....
....we combined them with homemade french fries from the local potatoes we received from our CT farm share and were feeling pretty good about eating "burgers and fries" for the night.......you can follow OBE Organic on Facebook, as they post great recipes to try, too......I am looking forward to trying the slow cooker beef stew recipe next......and I am sure I can find some veggies in the house to add to it too......
.....happy fall eating.......
.....16 days and counting......