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Today is already a busy day getting last minute things together for
#HEAVcon 2017. As if that weren't enough moving pieces, add in a
midwife appointment on my way into town and NEW FENCE INSTALLATION
today!! Crazy, but so long overdue. This house was a foreclosure we
purchased from an investor who did some quick work to put it back on
the market ... including installing a fence with (non-ground-treated)
landscaping logs as fence posts. 😕 Here are the "before" pictures.
Not sure how much of the "during" I'll be here to see, but the "after"
will have to wait until Saturday evening!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVE8ZpxghC-/

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#HEAVcon 2017, here I come! Can't attend this year? Follow me here for
live updates from workshop sessons and the exhibit hall. Maybe even
peek at the UCS with me! Live posting starts Thursday afternoon!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVBPv3NgsdP/

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10 am and most people are still in pj's. I'm dressed (if yoga pants
count) but I let the girls make breakfast. Some people are still at
the table as I type. Littles are playing dress-up and pretend in an
already-exploded playroom. A friend said this morning "I know you're
busy with a lot of little ones" and it got me thinking... What is
"busy"? With lots of kiddos and low energy from a challenging
pregnancy, we live a pretty slow life. We stay home most days. There's
very little on the calendar (except for Mama's prenatal and
chiropractic appointments). And yet, I regularly feel like what I have
in front of me takes all the energy and mental capacity I have.

So, is "busy" a measure of how much you do or accomplish? How much is
on your calendar? What proportion of your daily resources you are
using? What about you, Mama? Does your life feel "busy"? And what does
that look like for you?
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Do you ever find that you have to purposefully take days to set aside
the planned curriculum in favor of all of those opportunities for
hands-on learning that you never seem to find time for? We did this
morning, and everyone (kids and mama included) really enjoyed it.

We got out our brand new microscope (as in, it was a Christmas gift
and we haven't even unpacked it until today)! The first thing we
looked at was a worker bee leg right at the joint. Emma was impressed.
She said, "This is the bee's knees!" 🤣

When was the last time you stepped off-plan and just explored or took
time for something you're always having to say no to because there
isn't time?)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUzZtjYgKR8/

Day and Night

Me: I'm a really lucky mama. I get hugs all day long!
Hazel: And all day night!

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So fun! My nephew and niece were born almost exactly two years apart,
so they have joint Bday parties every year. This year my brother and
sister-in-law as well as all the grandparents really outdid themselves
for a 50s Soda Shoppe theme! And my brother was a real jerk (swipe to
see!). 😏
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUnb0HNgG2e/

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When you have a toddler who is so enamored with pockets that he stuffs
his hands in and bounces around the kitchen saying "I pock-pock!! I
pock-pock!!" and then you say "Hey, pocket man!" and then you and your
husband spontaneously and simultaneously burst into song, 🎶 "Pocket
Man ..." 🎶 😂😂 Not a bad way to start a Wednesday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUeUSCVgHkh/

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I feel like a regular pharmacy counter these days. Partly to help the
little guy have what he needs to grow and be healthy and partly to
help mama to have the energy to keep on being mama while he grows.
#29weekspregnant #sotired #howmuchlonger #arewethereyet
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I've been MIA on Instagram for a while. I gave myself permission to
stop documenting everything and just *be* while the kiddos were at the
grandparents. Mama-Daddy staycation/babymoon draws to a close with a
fantastic stake dinner courtesy of my amazing man. (Seriously, why
leave the house when you can have this at home?!?) Shortly we'll go to
pick up two of the kiddos and meet the other five at church tomorrow
morning. It's been blissful. So much slow time. So much uninterrupted
conversation. So much side-by-side quiet enjoyment of our own
pursuits. This is just what we needed, and now I'm ready to move back
to real life. I miss my babies! #goodfoodbettercompany
#awesomeadulting #bravewriterlifestyle #hubbydontdoselfies
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUDJzxIA1BX/

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As a dear friend suggested, I'm observing a moment of silence and
mourning for my daily dose of coffee (and Diet Coke) ... I've been
having terrible trouble with exhaustion. I mean, yes, I know that
being six months pregnant does usually involve fatigue (I have ridden
this rodeo a time or two 😉) but not the kind of fatigue where you nap
for 4-5 hours during the day and get dizzy and tingly in the face and
hands from standing and putting muffin batter into muffin cups. 😞

Thankful my midwife agreed that nutritionally and in terms of
supplements, I'm doing just what I should be doing. And when I have
another appointment in two weeks, she'll check blood sugar, iron, etc.
But in the meantime? I'm to go one week without caffeine and bedtime
at 9pm. 😣

Tired mama. No more caffeine. No more quiet alone time in the evening.
Maybe it will give you an idea of how bad the exhaustion has been that
I'm actually going to do it! If you think of it, pray for me tomorrow
morning. Or, perhaps more appropriately, pray for my children! 😯😒 😘
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTkISGaA2x4/