The Doversons

Last year around the time that Baby was born, a pair of doves took residence in a nest in the arbor behind our kitchen. We watched the two birds with casual interest for a few weeks until one day two babies appeared. After that we checked in on them regularly and observed with amazement how quickly the babies grew. I was able to see the babies being fed by their mother, and we even saw the first tentative steps out of the nest as they learned to fly. It was the Discovery Channel right outside our kitchen window. Sadly, soon after the babies began leaving the nest, the whole family disappeared and our birdwatching days were over.

Just this week the mama and daddy bird reappeared and have been rebuilding the nest together. The mother sits protectively in the nest while the father flies back and forth, bringing twigs and brush to build up their home. It's pretty amazing to watch actually. Fiance nicknamed them "the Doversons" and now I often peek out the window to see what's new. I like this little family growing in our back yard. I don't know if there are any eggs in the nest because we never get close enough to disturb them. We just take a look out the window periodically and there they are, staring back at us as if to say "mind your own business!" I hope we will again witness baby birds and there very speedy growth. I can only imagine if Baby grew that quickly. I figure by now she'd be applying to college. Luckily my own nest won't be empty so soon.

Lazy Saturday

I love the weekend. I love that it's 11:00 and I haven't even showered yet. I find it strange and wonderful that even though I no longer work outside the home on the weekdays, the weekends still hold significance. I worried that all the days would blend together once I was at home full time, but I still look forward to the weekends when life seems to slow down just a bit. Today we don't have any commitments and the sitter is coming tonight so Fiance and I can have our usual weekly date night. Tomorrow holds all the promise of a lowkey bbq with friends. I'm already wishing that we were closer to corn season but I'd settle for some good potato salad.

Baby girl is close to crawling and that often has me looking around the house with anxiety seeing as how our house is one of the least child-proof homes ever. Our saving grace... we don't have stairs. Ultimately I watch with anticipation as she climbs up on hands and knees. I can almost see the wheels turning as she tries to figure out how to get moving. I know that one day soon she will astonish us and just do it. Until then it's time to bust out all those safety latches we have and start helping our home to be a little less of an accident waiting to happen!

Blog-Hopping

Lately I've been pretty lazy about writing on my own page but have done a lot of searching through other blogs. There are some that I really like and have added to my sidebar. I've been feeling pretty crafty in the past month and this was partly inspired by sites like Portobello Pixie and U-Handblog. I busted out my sewing machine for the first time in months and made a brand new bag for spring. I found the pattern on Portobello Pixie and I'm in love. It was much easier than I thought it would be, especially since I haven't really sewed much of anything in several years. I guess sewing is sort of like riding a bike. The new bag is almost complete and I hope to post a picture as soon as the camera is back in action.

I've also been frequenting a few wedding-related sites and finding some great inspiration for my own upcoming nuptials. My favorite is Melissa's Smitten which is the blog of an invitation designer who has the same classic taste as Martha Stewart Weddings. Another really fun site is Classic Bride which is mainstream but with a little kitsch added in. Both are great for creative ideas as well as tips on budgeting, DIY, and adding personality to your wedding. I'm all about not having a wedding that speaks to who we are and not focusing on what is or isn't appropriate or traditional for a wedding.

Greener Pastures

My very first post was about resolutions and I mentioned that one of mine for 2009 is to make our home more environmentally sound. I admit that I have yet to make any really big strides- the composting machine is on its way... really... But we have made some baby steps and for those I feel like giving myself a small pat on the back.

One of the biggest changes we've made actually happened last year when Baby was born. Fiance drives about 20 minutes to work each way and I mostly drive within a few square miles for errands during the day. Due to this and safety, we swapped vehicles last summer. I now drive the gas-guzzling monster SUV (I can practically see the soccer games now) and Fiance drives the lower MPG sedan. The result is that we only fill the SUV up maybe once every two weeks and not only save money but also contribute one less energy-monster to the daily commute.

A more recent change is my efforts to use less paper towels. We have been very bad about this in particular since Baby came along and we became germaphobes. I tend to find crumpled paper towels randomly discarded on the major surfaces of the house and throw them out in bunches. So recently I purchased some packs of small kitchen towels to serve as reusable napkins, which were much cheaper than actual cloth napkins, and I've been making a concerted effort to keep clean dishcloths available for drying hands and cleaning spills instead of grabbing the usual wad of paper towels.

CFL bulbs have been installed in many fixtures that get the most use and I've switched over to more natural cleaning products in favor of the toxic bleach variety. I'm more cognizant of what can be recycled instead of haphazarding throwing items in the trash. Overall I feel like I've made some positive steps and hope to continue the pattern throughout the year. What are you doing to help greenify your home?