Job has gone from sitting to thinking about crawling so quickly. He’ll be on the move soon, but right now he’s surprisingly content sitting on the floor with a few toys. I’m going to a homeschooling conference this weekend, and my original plan was to leave Job with Jonny and the rest of the family, and have him brought to me for nursing sessions here and there. I think that he may be happy to sit with me while I attend some of the lectures though, so I’m going to try bringing him along.
The bookcase that I painted a month or so ago has made it’s way into the kitchen sitting on one side of the fridge, while the chicken wire painted hutch (same color) is on the other. I like this arrangement right now. I try my best to keep the top surfaces free from clutter, but as you can see from both the bookcase photo and the hutch photo earlier this week, it’s a losing battle. The aquarium is gone now though; it’s temporary snake resident was released a few days ago.
I made millet tabouleh for the first time in ages recently. I think my recipe originally came from my friend Summer: Toast some millet (go with a 1 cup increment) in the oven, and then cook it on the stove-2 parts water to 1 part millet. I started with three dry cups of millet, you might not need quite so much! I simmer it on the stove (without a lid) until all the water is absorbed, then fluff it with a fork, let it cool a bit, and then refrigerate. Meanwhile, chop veggies: tomato, cucmber, green onion, and some parsley. The dressing is simple: per dry cup of millet add the juice of one lemon along with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and some red wine vinegar to taste. And of course salt and pepper. That’s it. Looking at one of my photos above, I see a big sprig of mint on the table next to my tabouleh. I didn’t add mint to the salad, Seth was making some sort of coconut oil fresh mint concoction that day that ultimately made him sick….
After taking Keats along with Seth and the girls for their golfing date on Monday, our friend Mike commented that Seth and Keats are like oil and water. It’s true that they’ve never really gotten along, and I don’t think they would mind my saying so here. I’ll refrain from pointing my finger at the child whom I think is to blame for the relationship failure though. As they are getting older, I am finding that they do, every now and then, find something that they can do together without fighting for a few minutes. I’m always very grateful when that happens, even if I realize that one of them shouldn’t be playing because his chores or schoolwork aren’t done. I find myself tiptoeing away during their rare moments of camaraderie. I truly hope that one day these two might be great friends, and we’ll come back across this old blog post and laugh at how silly they were as kids to fight so much.
Jonny and I are still having so much fun with our bees (Although I haven’t been carrying my camera down there. I need to!) There’s lots of exciting stuff going on in our little apiary as the result of the swarm a few weeks ago. The nervousness I was feeling around the bees a couple of months ago has passed. I think it was more related to my mental state at the time, than it was the actual bees. We have a little three compartment “queen castle” set up in an effort to raise a couple of queens from extra swarm cells that we pulled from the hive that swarmed. I only filled two of the compartments though, leaving the third empty. I can hardly type the name of the insects who have taken up residence in that compartment… cockroaches. I don’t mind telling you that I have a cockroach phobia. I can hardly handle the bees in the other two compartments, knowing that there are roaches scurrying around in the other, even though I keep the lid on. Jonny opened it the other day, telling me to use the empty space to put things while I was working and I had to just walk away from the whole scene. I’m not afraid of bees with stingers, but cockroaches are TERRIFYING. Thankfully the queen castle is a very temporary thing, and those bees will be moving soon.
Speaking of bees, Wanda sent me a surprise earlier this week. “This fabric made me think of you,” she wrote. My knitting is very happy I’m sure to be residing in a honeybee themed project bag. I love it.
Jess says
Hi Ginny,
I’ve read your blog for years and I’ve never commented but I find myself compelled to today! I recall in the past that you featured the beautiful family portrait shown in the fifth picture here and I would love to re-discover who draws them…? I’ve read back through your blog but I cant seem to find it anywhere? My partner and I are expecting our first child and building our first home at the same time and I thought it would be a lovely housewarming gift for him…
I hope you’re able to help me out.
Thanks very much (and hello from South Australia!)
Jess
Ginny says
Hi Jess! Bley from Bibliosophy Handmade painted that! Here’s a link to her shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Bibliosophyhandmade. Congratulations on the new baby!!
Jess says
Hooray! Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I think I’ve just seen the rest of my afternoon disappear into her gorgeous etsy shop!!
Thanks again,
Jess 🙂
Spalva says
Regarding the boys, I wouldn’t say it has to be the fault of one or the other. I’ve mentioned that I have a daughter who is very similar to Seth. If it were up to her, the relationship she has with her 5 years younger sister would be, well, dead. Fortunately, the younger one would never have it and is completely oblivious to the fact that her sister could do without her. Over time, the huge amount of love that little child has for her sister has broken down the older girl’s barriers. Where there would never have been a hug or a kiss (very seriously), there are now several a…month. But the younger child has that ability. If Keats doesn’t, then I would imagine it would very, very difficult to break through to my daughter and, hence, to his brother Seth.
Emily says
Job is absolutely adorable! They grow so fast, don’t they?!?!
Love your new knitting bag…such fitting fabric for you. 🙂
Oh, the trials of bickering children… I myself have a few of them, but from what I have heard and seen some of the tightest friendships as adults started out with tumultuous sibling rivalry.
Love your blog. Thanks for sharing!
Kristen | The Frugal Girl says
Aww, Job is SUCH a mini-me of his daddy. 🙂
Wanda says
I wAnted to thank you publicly for mentioning me. Every time you link to me my Etsy shop goes wild! Today I am ” trending”!! Who would have thought these little bags would provide this for me? Thanks again Ginny!
Wanda says
Just wanted to publicly thank you for the link. My shop goes wild every time you link to me! I’m trending on Etsy! Who would have thought?!!
Izzy says
The millet tabouleh looks delicious. I noticed that we have that Peter Rabbit bowl, but with words from another part of the book!
Lisa G. says
Beautiful bag! Wanda’s does wonderful work.
Holly Nelson says
I love the Peter Rabbit bowl! I love Beatrix Potter. Cockroaches are horrible 🙁 I look forwards to seeing your knitting at the next yarn along!
alexa says
So many of my own hopes are couched in your writing. Hope that all my children will love each other as they grow. Hope that we too can share the beauty that is beekeeping. Hope that I can provide nutritious meals for my family daily. Hope that the work I am called to will be supported by love and patience. Hope that no roaches cross my path… I had my fill in Lebanon thank you! 🙂
tara says
Cockroaches are disgusting! *shudder*
I make a similar salad, but with quinoa! It’s so good — and yours sounds delicious.
That’s so interesting about Seth and Keats! I just assumed all your boys had similar interests and got along, aside from sibling arguments. I hope they end up finding a common interest to bond over.
Oh! I love those Peter Rabbit (is that right?) bowls! A friend of mine had some when I was younger and I loved them. That photo totally brought me back to my childhood.
Cindy says
Your baby is so adorable – what a face!!! Enjoy your blog and all your comments about the things you and family do.
Kate says
My oldest two children (a boy and a girl) fight; everyone else gets along well. Maybe it has something to do with the two eldest? I know my eldest experienced a high level of jealousy when his sister was born; something that wasn’t really a problem with the subsequent children. Also my eldest was pretty high need with some behavorial issues that absorbed a lot of our time when his sister was growing. Also, part of the problem is that my eldest daughter does not have a very good sense of humor and, as we say here, she has many “buttons” that my son likes to press. They got along better after they both went to college, but now that they’ve been back home (temporarily) and slipped into old habits, they’re at it again. I think living together irritates them and they can only take each other in small doses with other people around as buffers. I come from a large family myself and there are some siblings I definitely get along with better. One of my sisters, I try to avoid as she has dozens of chips on her shoulder and is full of hostility. Another sister, I’ve never understood and she doesn’t understand me. There’s no deep connection there. We get together because we’re family and that’s about it. Everyone else in the family gets along well, enjoys getting together and is genuinely fond of one another. It’s only these two that are the odd ones out. Another oft repeated saying in our family is that God gives you family so you can learn to get along with people you wouldn’t choose to hang out with.
Jenny says
I just LOVE your blog. I always smile when I sit down to take a break and see a new post. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Sabrina says
These comments are very encouraging to me. Two of my children bicker all the time. They simply don’t get along. I was different from two of my siblings. Mt sister and I have grown close, but my brother and I never got close. We love each other, but simply can’t relate to each others lifestyles. I believe that because love and scripture are a big part of our family, as well as being together as a homeschooling family, my children will find their bond and become dear friends. There are so many encouraging examples of sibling love in the Bible, as well as examples as to how not to be. I lean on that as my strength as well as prayer. I understand what you are going through. I also cherish those moments when they are kind, loving and playful with one another.
This Little Blue Homestead says
That millet tabouleh looks great and I love the knitting bag what a wonderful treat! Thanks for sharing!
Olivia says
My sister and I never got along. She is 22 months older than me and just couldn’t stand my presence. Fast forward 3o years. We are the best of friends. It could happen!
Nahuatl Vargas says
It is lovely fabric.
I hope they get along over the years.
Beautiful Job!
Balisha says
Hi,
This post spoke to me…so I had to comment. I’m quite elderly, but love to visit your blog to see your pictures of your wonderful family. I want to comment on the fact that Seth and Keats don’t get along well. Don’t worry about this..When my son and daughter (a year apart) were growing up, they bickered and teased so much of the time that I too was concerned. Family was so important to me. I used to tell them that sometimes family is all you have. I wanted them to be good friends as they grew older. After high school, and they were becoming young adults….they started to get close. As the years went by….they relied on each other and were close at last. Tim passed away this past summer and his sister has lost her best friend.When I think of all the time they wasted I could cry, but that’s just part of growing up for some kids. They will work it out in their own time. Being raised in a loving family will make it happen.
Balisha
meghann says
I am also not a fan of cockroaches. We took the children to the zoo on Monday & one of the indoor exhibits has a display of some sort of huge cockroach…they were fascinated by them & I just wanted to walk on by…ugh!
The bag Wanda sent is perfect for you – the bee fabric is adorable. 🙂 xo