Have I seriously not posted a TWM since the mysterious pig incident? September is getting away from me, y'all! ( Yes, I'm southern and "you all" is too formal and my mama taught me not to say "you guys" unless you're talking exclusively to men. Sometimes I say "folks" but then I think..."too old-timey?"  Y'all is just a great word and I'm not sorry!) Where was I? Ah, September is getting away … [Read more...]

Whew. We survived the Stomach Flu of 2013 (oh my gosh, you don't even want to know) and thankfully were recovered before heading off on vacation to NC with my extended family. Benjamin asked this morning, "so.....how many days til we go back to the mountains?" Somebody really enjoyed that Daddy was off work and could go hiking with him and catch salamanders for hours! On our way up to NC we … [Read more...]

Watching these two little gals become friends just fills my heart with joy. Lucy is completely smitten with her baby sister and likes to narrate her cooking exploits to her captive audience. She's also very serious about nursing her "doll-doll," although she could use some help on the positioning. On the Homestead: I think Daniel is brewing about 10 gallons of alcohol on our counter. The … [Read more...]

Be still my heart. My little Gwen Stella is such a ray of sunshine. I have been swooning over her smiles all week. And in the midst of that joy, my heart is so heavy for the sorrows of sweet friends who have lost babies, mothers, and husbands this week. Please say a special prayer for Dwija's family and for their precious little son, Nicholas who passed away at 21 weeks gestation after 7 weeks … [Read more...]

This little gal has settled in big sisterhood so beautifully. I am just gobbling her up these days. On the Homestead: It's been rainy and muggy, but we've gotten some great produce from our garden: Prep for an Italian meal in honor of St. Maria Goretti. Tomatoes, herbs, and peppers all from our front yard! And this guy harvested our first watermelon of the summer and won an 8k for his … [Read more...]

We are falling more in love with our little Gwen Stellamaris each day. If I didn't make her mad by choking her with milk due to the overactive letdown, she would be happy all day every day. (Thanks for your breastfeeding advice, folks, I'm reclining back to nurse and block feeding for 12 hours and then switching to the other side and that seems to help somewhat. I'm hoping it will be more under … [Read more...]

On June 15th, Baby Gwen was baptized and we were thrilled to have another little Catholic under our roof. The smell of the holy oil on a newborn's head has to be the best smell in creation. Gwen and Father. And she doesn't know it yet, but Gwen has the world's sweetest most wonderful Godmother ever! On the Homestead: It's a good thing we like peppers because they're coming out of our … [Read more...]

It's been forever since I've done a This Week's Miscellany so feel free to skip this if you don't want some long-windedness! And if you haven't switched over to Bloglovin' or Feedly from Google Reader, be sure to add Carrots to your new reader so you don't miss any posts (or subscribe via email on the left sidebar). Life at the Stewart household is slowly transitioning from the chaos of adding … [Read more...]

I imagine that seeing a 40+ weeks pregnant woman chasing escaped chickens around her yard has to be one of the funnier things in life. You're welcome, neighbors! Hope you enjoyed that! Those little stinkers got out of the coop while Daniel was at work and I felt both ridiculous and slightly awesome that I managed to get everybody back inside. Pregnancy Update: 41 weeks tomorrow! Baby Gwen is … [Read more...]