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WANTED: Eph Advice

This is a shameless Williams-centric post. I apologize to my non-Eph readers (do come back tomorrow! Pretty please!), and I beg of my abundant Purple Cows to please please please comment on this post. I know that many of you are out there, and I ask that for today you overcome your comment shyness, delurk, and share with me some pearls of wisdom… for the love of purple and gold.

I’m working on a super fun project with our fellow Ephs of Idiots Books, Robbi Behr ’97 and Matthew Swanson ’97, to create a lil sumfin sumfin for our incoming First Years. I promise to share the details as they develop, but I need your help first to get things rolling.

Tell me, please, if you were talking to a First Year student, what would you tell him or her s/he MUST DO before graduating? I want as many items as you’re willing to share. Everything from having breakfast at the Blue Benn diner to taking Art History 101. Send ’em my way. Comment at will!

And do look out for posts here and on the Idiots Books blog as we work our way through this project.

And I leave you with one of Robbi’s doodles of chickens, because ya know, I heart chickens AND Robbi’s illustrative style.

Thanks for your help! I can’t wait to hear from you!

Image: Courtesy of Idiots Books

Monday

This morning was a comedy of errors.

First, I discovered Courtland finger painting with feces due to a rogue diaper and a quinoa-inspired bowel movement. Her crib, her blankets, her toys, and her body were completely coated in poop. An emergency Mama/daughter shower were in order. And a gas mask.

Following this shower, my mother announced that her dog had pulled a used condom out of the trash and was running around the upstairs hallway with it. We have septic, people! And our dogs leave the trash alone. And it’s clearly time to get that IUD. No more procrastination.

Thank god I have the most awesome mother on the planet who honestly did not care. Although, when I relayed the story to James, he expressed gratitude that he had already left for work before the incident, saving face with his mother-in-law. For the time being.

Then a wasp landed on the bosom of my mother’s nightgown, and great shrieking ensued, as I, the afternoon prior, had unknowingly grabbed a waps’ nest while moving patio furniture and suffered accordingly. I was not interested in reliving yesterday’s encounter. Fortunately, a wash cloth and some pounding with a shoe remediated the possibility of additional stings.

Right before departing for work, I carried jars of paint down to the basement as my barn hex sign was finally completed (a longer post forthcoming) and one jar toppled from the stack, splattering bright yellow paint all over me and the floor.

Well fuck you too, Monday!

In all honesty, we’re leaving on a 10 day vacation by the coast on Wednesday morning, so nothing is breaking my spirit. You hear me, Monday? Nothing.

We’re headed to see my parents and sister on Cape Cod, with a wedding, a circus, a one year birthday, a concert on an island, a visit to my hometown, a tug boat ride, and lots and lots of time on the ocean on the schedule. Posting will be light, if none existent, but I’ll be sharing the adventures thanks to Instagram. I hope you’ll follow along!

Playing House

Our spirited second born will be 12 months old, one whole year, in less than 2 weeks. As we’ll be celebrating the big day on the eastern part of the state, James’ parents sent along Miss Kaki’s birthday present early. Inspired by Courtland’s absolute love affair with our cardboard coloring house (a generous gift from Auntie Dev, available here), this Little Tikes woodside cottage playhouse is already a huge hit. When the weather cooperated, she spent her time happily staggering around her little house, making her Mama ache with nostalgia.

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart

Ursa Major

It’s been awhile since I devoted a post to Ursa. She’s as beautiful and as energetic as ever. She completed her second round of chemotherapy this week, and did not slow down one bit.

Need I say it again? Rock. Star.

And our four-legged monkey butt, Hanna, continues to be an amazing companion for Urs and the rest of our family. The two of them play and rough house more than ever before. Go figure!

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart

Whaley Good Time

The Whale pool is the gift that keeps on giving. The girls adore this thing. Almost as much as I did at this time last summer.

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart

La Bamba

Just a little Saturday morning kitchen dancing to kick off our Girls Only Weekend. James is in the city for a bachelor party, and Momar’s en route.

We figured we should pre-party to La Bamba, the dancing, singing chihuahua – gifted with love from the girls’ great-grandmother. Hard to tell who loves him more.

Gated

Last week a split rail fence for Cartwheel Farm was completed. Hallelujah! Thanks to Rocky Mountain Forest Products contractors for the installations. They will carry products big box stores can’t! Like Home Depot fencing.

Now the dogs are safely contained. The kids are safely contained. And the pack of foxes and deer and various other critters that surround our little plot of land have an obstacle to overcome before they gain access to our veggie gardens and flock of hens.

I wasn’t sure how the fence was going to impact the overall look of the property, but I must say, I’m absolutely loving it.

The land where we do most of our playing, gardening and living is now defined and contained in a perfectly appropriate (read: country) way.

We have a stream that runs alongside the property, and the fence runs right along its path, keeping the kids from potential accident and the dogs from a lifetime of muddy paws.

There was an article published in The Wall Street Journal last week claiming that the “meadow” was the new lawn. Well, James and I are ahead of the trend, my friends!

Shabby, chic is our middle name, in fact.

Besides the area contained by the new fence, the rest of Cartwheel Farm is overgrown with meadows. My goal is to sow wild flower seeds this fall (yep, just like the Lupine Lady, Miss Rumphius) so that next spring and summer these shabby, chic meadows are more chic than shabby. Or at least more colorful.

Mostly we’re trying to save ourselves the six hours of mow time it takes to tend to the lawn given that we only have a push mower in our possession. James has dreams of a riding mower, but that sits pretty far down our list of needs for the place. If you find yourself constantly repairing your roof due to various issues, it may be more cost-effective in the long run to get a Roof Replacement Bendigo.

Home ownership is just one never ending TO DO list, eh?

As my mother always comments, “Man who finish house, die.”

Looks like James and I will live forever, then!

Photos: Courtesy of James Whaley Cart

Blueberries for Courtland

This kid plants herself under our blueberry bush and just waits like a hungry baby bird for Mommy, Daddy or Big Sister to plop berries in her mouth.

Granted, if she finds blueberries in the grass and dirt, she has no problem scooping them up and eating those, too. Waste not, want not. All while building a strong immune system.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s our babies!

Gravity is fun. Particularly if you are wee and your papa is completely fearless and treats you like a bean bag.

Happy Flying Babies + Happy Rough and Tumble Daddy = Happy albeit Freaked Out Mama

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart

Hanna, Bunty. Bunty, Hanna.

We decided that Bunty would be our guinea hen (HA!), given that she is the biggest, fiesty chick of the bunch, and allow Hanna some face time with the newest dependents. James refereed the encounter.

And success! That’s a bologna tongue lick right there.

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart