Content in the Chaos

Oh, baby!

Wow! Where has the time gone? I planned to be writing all the time once the baby was born. But, oh, how did life hit me in the face. Becoming a mother has been everything I dreamed and nothing I imagined at the same time. It has been a beautiful, wonderful, humbling, and difficult experience.

My husband and I welcomed our first child, a baby girl, into this world on December 4th. I managed to do the labor and delivery with no pain medication, which was cool, but left me feeling like I got hit by a semi truck. Just recently I have started feeling like life is getting into some sort of a routine.

Before I had my daughter, I had visions of my baby sleeping sweetly next to me for most of the day, while I had time to work on blog posts, read, or nap right along with her. Instead, she spent most of the day eating, filling diapers, and crying. She wasn’t the type of baby to take long naps or sleep well at all. She always seemed hungry, like every hour or so. For a while, a long stretch of sleep for her was about 90 minutes. Needless to say, everyone in our household was exhausted and stressed.

Somewhere around the 3-4 month mark, she started taking more consistent naps throughout the day and sleeping anywhere from 11-12 hours at night. It has been one of the best gifts she could ever give me. Getting a good night’s sleep took me from barely surviving, to managing to make dinner a couple nights a week. Now, with a few more months of motherhood under my belt, I manage to keep the house fairly clean and prepare dinner almost every night. What I’m saying is, things are looking up!

We also stayed with my mother-in-law for a few months while we were trying to finish the renovation on our kitchen. She was absolutely wonderful to take us in during this time in our life, but we are so happy to be back in our home. I am sure she is happy to have a quiet house, sans baby and 6 month old puppy.

Now that we are back home I have been trying to get re-started on some of my own hobbies and interests. I didn’t have much of a garden this year, as we were living with my mother-in-law for the spring and most of the summer. I only planted a couple tomatoes, a couple green peppers, and one jalapeno plant. I did order some garlic today, which I can’t wait to get and put in the ground. This will be my first time planting garlic, fingers crossed it turns out. I ordered a little later than I would have liked, so hopefully the first frost holds off for a few more weeks.

I am hoping that I can get more consistent with writing, reading, and crafty things as well. We’ll see how it all goes. There are only so many hours in the day, and I value my sleep so much more after going without for a few months.

The Baby’s Arrival is Near

December 2nd is creeping up on me.

It is hard to believe that my due date is only 4 weeks away. Obviously, I am SO DANG EXCITED. But, I’m also feeling like I have so much to do and not enough time to do it. Everyone feels this way at some point in time, right? I sure hope it’s not just me!

I’m a little frustrated with myself because I know there were times I could have been getting more done, but I really underestimated how exhausting being pregnant would be. I try to do as much as I can, but still find that my body wears out so much quicker than normal. I have a list of things I would like to get done before we bring the baby home, but we will see how many things I am able to check off that list. Where is this nesting instinct that everyone talks about?! I need that to kick in ASAP!

I’ve gotten to the point of pregnancy where I am having a difficult time sleeping, my feet are swelling, and I am just generally uncomfortable. This tends to diminish any resolve I have to be productive and get stuff done. The silver lining is that Matt has really stepped up and been the best caretaker. He is not a romantic man by nature, but watching him do his best to take on additional chores and take care of me just melts my heart.

For example, my feet have been swelling terribly on the days that I work my office job. This week I had a couple 12 hour days away from home due to travel to a client’s location. When I got home, Matt insisted that I immediately sit down and put my feet up. He helps me put on my compression socks, which I suck at thanks to my huge belly. Then he brings out ice packs and wraps my feet to help keep the ice packs on. He lifts my fat feet up and puts pillows under them to get those babies up in the air. He will usually do the dishes and make something for dinner, too.

On top of all that, our dog has been having health issues this year and her condition has worsened in the last couple weeks. So, not only is he taking care of me, he is taking great care of our dog too! He has been doing the medication routine, getting her wet food ready to eat, and helping her get down the front steps so she can go to the bathroom.

Oh, it just makes my heart so happy that he is willing to do these little acts of service to try to make life easier on me. It has been a stark reminder of how lucky I am to have him. To say I am grateful would be an understatement.

All the extra work Matt has been tasked with means that progress on our home remodel has been moving at a snail’s pace. Many of the things we thought we would be able to accomplish before the baby arrived will still be waiting once we bring the baby home, including the nursery. My mom heart is a little sad that my first baby won’t have a room right away. I realize this is such a small bump in the grand scheme of things, so I’m trying to let go of my disappointment. The baby will be sleeping in our room the first few months anyway.

We are very close to being done with the master suite, (before and after pictures coming soon!) and I am anxious to have that checked off our remodel list. We purchased a new king-size bed a couple of months ago and I’m looking forward to finally being able to sleep on it! The queen-size bed we sleep on now is okay, but it’s time to sleep on something a few steps above okay.

After the master suite is completed, the kitchen and living room are next on the remodel list. Our current kitchen is old, outdated, and not functional at all. There is maybe 5 linear feet of counter space, no dishwasher, and not much cupboard space. We have been making-do the last two years, but are ready for an upgrade.

I’m interested/nervous to find out how much having a new baby will slow down our progress. I’m guessing it will be quite a bit. I think my mantra for 2018 and beyond will have to simply be, patience.

The End of the Season

Well, the end of the active gardening season is basically here in my neck of the woods. We have had gloomy weather and rain on and off for about two weeks now. The weather stations are telling me we may be getting our first frost in the upcoming week. For Zone 5b, this is about perfect timing. The maps and almanacs give us an average first frost of October 15th. I really can’t believe that we are already almost to the middle of October!

I am trying to embrace the changing of the season to cooler weather this year. As is usual for me, I am finding this difficult. I am a heat lover. During the height of the summer, while everyone else is sick of the heat and humidity, you can usually find me sitting outside just enjoying the sun. As long as I have something cold to drink, the heat just doesn’t bother me. What does bother me is the middle of winter. I dislike the cold temperatures and the short days.

I have lived in this area my whole life and don’t think I am moving to a warmer climate anytime soon. So, I need to find a way to get over this doom and gloom I feel whenever it starts changing from summer to fall. My plan is to start learning more about season extension techniques. I have briefly explored different ideas, but will probably spend a lot of time this fall/winter learning what options are best for me and the area I live in.

With the cool weather and the first frost looming, I took the one sunny day we had this week to focus on getting the last of the garden cleaned up. I had previously spent a day or two getting spent crops out of the garden. I had already removed sweet corn, green beans, peas, and cucumbers. Additionally, I had already harvested all of my potatoes and onions, which are now sitting nicely in bushel baskets, waiting to be eaten up.

I did one final harvest of my main garden and got a pretty good haul. I was able to get a few bell peppers, around 60 poblano peppers, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, and patty pan squash. I was pretty pleased with what I got considering I had mostly neglected my garden for the last couple of weeks.

In addition to the garden clean-up, I’ve got some baby greens and mesclun mixes growing in my greenhouse. It only took about 5 days to see green sprouting through the dirt, which made me do a little happy dance. Being able to plant things in my greenhouse later in the year has been so exciting for me.

The only other thing hanging out in my greenhouse at this point is a dwarf lemon and lime tree I purchased last year. I decided to get these as a fun experiment, not really expecting much out of them. To my surprise, they have grown exponentially since I’ve had them and I am now hopeful that I may actually get fruit from them. They haven’t been much work, other than occasional pruning and fertilizing. I am trying to keep both of them outside for a long as possible this year, as it is much more difficult to keep up with the sunlight and humidity requirements indoors.

With the gardening season wrapping up, I have been spending way too much time dreaming about next year’s garden and making plans. I’ve also been thinking about purchasing a few items for season extension and tools to make my life easier. I am someone who really likes to stick to a budget, so I am trying to think of creative ways to pay for the new things I want to buy. Luckily, I’ve got plenty of time to figure that out.

Here’s to embracing the changing of the seasons!

Becoming a Gardener

I wasn’t raised on a farm. I don’t have parents who garden. I certainly didn’t grow up with any interest in horticulture. So how did I end up growing a large garden every year, preserving produce, and spending the winter months learning more and planning for the next growing season?

It all started when I moved about an hour from my family to live with my now-husband. Initially, I didn’t have any friends in the area and I found myself with lots of free time that would have previously been spent socializing. So, when the weather started to warm up, my mother-in-law suggested I plant a small garden. I figured I had nothing to lose.

That first year, I think I had maybe 10 different things. All the standard stuff – tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, cucumbers, radishes, and carrots. I put everything in the ground, watered regularly, and like magic I had quite the little garden. It really wasn’t much work and being able to go out and pick vegetables I grew myself had me hooked.

I started trying to learn more from books, websites, and bloggers. The research really got me interested in having more control over the food I eat. With an abundance of produce it was necessary to try new recipes in order to use up the food I had grown. Additionally, the garden encouraged a healthier diet as I couldn’t bear to watch all the produce I had grown go to waste.

Of course, I haven’t always had the easy success that I saw my first year. At our old house, there was a summer where we had two heavy storms that managed to wash my garden out with each storm. That year was extremely disheartening but I was determined to keep with it. A couple of summers ago, I didn’t even plant a garden because we were working on the house we eventually purchased and live in now. This year I did plant a good-sized garden but had trouble keeping up with it as my pregnancy progressed.

Aftermath of a heavy storm. I didn’t have anything left!

Each year presents itself with its own challenges. I really like that about gardening. I am learning each and every year I get out there and plant something. Planning for the upcoming year also helps get me through the bleak winter months when I feel like it will never be warm again.

I have so many plans and ideas for the upcoming years. My big project for next spring is to get some berries planted and possibly a couple of apple trees as well. With a baby coming in December, I have been giving a lot of thought to things I can plant once and harvest a crop year after year. Right now the only perennial I have is 9 crowns of asparagus and I want to expand on that. Another fun project I have been researching is building and finding a spot for a small cold frame greenhouse. I am curious to see how far into wintertime I can keep something growing.

With the gardening season wrapping up around here, I am already looking forward to the next season of adventures!

Welcome to Content in the Chaos!

Welcome to Content in the Chaos! I’m Shannon – a Nebraska raised girl, who loves to garden, cook, bake, and a good DIY project. Oh, and I have a soft spot for animals, too. My husband and I got married in 2013. In 2015, we purchased our first home. It sits on 9 acres and our closest neighbor is a half-mile away. For an introverted-leaning person like me, this is absolute bliss. We love owning our own little piece of land.

Of course, owning a place like this comes with its own set of challenges. The house and land had been pretty neglected prior to us purchasing the property. We knew this going into it, but are still presented with surprises and challenges frequently. Our plan is to make this place our own with as little professional help as possible. We bought a diamond in the rough and hope to make it shine again!

In addition to our home projects, my husband works a demanding and physical full-time job and I work part-time. We also own a small side business. We dealt with infertility for well over 2 years. Our first child is expected to join us at the beginning of December!

All of this background brings me to why I decided to start this blog. In the midst of our infertility struggle I found myself deeply unhappy. Add in the stress of our home projects, work, and our side business and I felt like my life was out of control. I felt restless and stuck. I wanted out of my own life, but there was nowhere to go. I was unable to find joy in my life for days and weeks at a time. The rational part of my brain knew that if I made no changes, then nothing would change. Even though I knew this, I was so paralyzed by my unhappiness that I couldn’t find it within myself to make any changes.

I have thought about the idea of starting a blog for a few years. My husband knew it was something I had been interested in and encouraged me to start, especially in my darkest days. I kept putting it off and finding reasons (read: excuses) to put it off. Once I found out I was pregnant, I felt some weight and sadness lifting off my shoulders. Slowly, I started feeling like myself again. I have been feeling more motivated and my husband comments that I have joy behind my smile again.

I say all this not because I am looking for sympathy. I know that every person has their own issues and problems in life. Comparatively, mine are small. But, I never expected I would be someone who couldn’t find happiness, who didn’t want to get out of bed, who didn’t want to spend time with family and friends. The last few years have really changed my outlook on life and the future.

So, here I sit at 30 weeks pregnant. I’ve finally found the courage to jump in and start this blog that I have been dreaming about for so long. I may discuss infertility from time to time, but do not plan for that to be the focus of this blog. I want to talk about what we are doing here and now. For me that is gardening, cooking, and baking. You’ll probably see my dog sometimes, too. I really love creating things and DIY projects. I want to share the process of turning my house into something beautiful. I want this blog to help me continually find joy in a simple life and truly be “content in the chaos.”

I am so glad you’re here and hope you’ll join me on this journey!