Cider Making Days

There is a cider mill 4 miles from my house.  Literally. 4 miles!  I've known about this place for years. 

 

Have I ever visited it?  No. 

 

Why?  Just never got around to it. 

 

Sounds kinda familiar for a lot of things I'd like to do or accomplish in life.  So, at 32 years of age, I knocked this one off my bucket list and visited that cider mill. 

 

And guess what? 

I loved it.  The kids loved it.  The hubby loved it. 

 Everyone who has tasted the cider loved it.

 

I do believe we have just started a new fall tradition.

 

 

Between my friends tree that was loaded, my sister's tree and an uncle's tree, we were able to get our hands on 20 bushels of apples - all completely free and none of them treated with pesticides.  YAY!

 

You pull up to the mill and dump your apples, or watch your dad dump the apples, in the outside conveyor belt.

(nice, Jake, nice.)

 

They travel up the conveyor belt and drop onto a ramp that runs the apples thru a washer and sorter.  How it sorts out the bad apples, I have no idea.  Not even gonna pretend or guess.

 

After their washing they drop onto another conveyor belt that takes the apples up to the third story where they go through a grinder.

 

We weren't allowed to go up the third floor to see the grinder which was a bummer.  But after the apples are chopped into pieces they somehow get pushed down the blue shoot below.  The guy stands there moving the shoot and raking the apples into an even layer.

 

 Here's a video of what happens next:

(the horrible humming noise you are hearing is not your computer.  Its the generator that is used to turn the press.)

 

 

 

 

At the very end of the video you catch a small glimpse of the cider going down the tube into a big vat.

 

From there it is ready to be jugged.  Have a seat.

 

And that, my friends, is how you end up with 34 gallons of cider in 40 minutes time.

 

The best part of the whole experience?  Pressing the apples only cost $1.50 a gallon and one bushel of apples makes about 3-3.5 gallons of cider.  So if you have any friends with apples to spare, treat yourself to some awesome and cheap family time and go visit the Pettisville Cider Mill.

 

In case you're wondering why there are still apples in the van, there is a reason.  Cider made this way is not pasteurized.  It needs to be kept in a refrigerator or be frozen.  We had to go on a delivery spree with just the 10 bushels we had pressed to be sure everyone got fresh cider.  Had we pressed all 20 bushels we would have had to go buy a fridge to store it all.

Now what?

I got him up. 

 

I got him dressed.

 

I fed him

 

I took the first annual first day of school pictures.

 

 

I took him to school.

 

I hugged him goodbye.

 

NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH MY DAY??

 

I don't have to entertain anyone.  No second round of breakfast because someone wasn't up for the first round.  I'm already dressed for work.  I have no idea if there is even anything airing on any TV channels other than Disney.  Dishes are already done.  Laundry is... well laundry will always need to be folded but the point is:

 

Its boring without children at home!

 

(No offense Holly.)

The Jake

While sitting around feeding, rocking, snuggling a baby, there isn't much to do other than go through the hundreds and hundreds of pictures and videos on my computer.  Oh the multitude of blogs I should have written for you or for myself.  Here are two videos from last summer/fall that I simply could not go another day without sharing with you.

 

Without further ado, I give you the newest, hippest dance move - The Jake.

 

 

 

 

Hi ho, hi ho

Its off to school he goes.

 

The bookbag is packed.

 

 

The clothes are laid out.

 

And when he wakes, he'll no longer be my baby boy.  He'll be a preschooler.

First Day

First year of preschool:

2011 - 2012

 

 

Second year of preschool:

2012-2013

 

 

First day of Kindergarten:

2013-2014

 

In true kindergarten fashion, Bree was escorted to her classroom by the whole family.

 

 

We helped her make her lunch choice (whether she packed or was buying a school lunch), put her bookbag in her locker, and put her binder in her desk.  Then it was time for us to go and the flood gates opened.  I've never gotten a more truer, pure love, I'm gonna miss ya hug from anyone.  Definitely a moment I'll cherish.  We walked her over to her teacher, said another goodbye and left.

 

 

Then in a blink of an eye, the day was over and we all awaited her arrival at the bus stop. 

 

 

She screamed 'Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.' all the way to me....

 

...said she had fun....

 

...then kept running the rest of the way home.

 

I guess this officially makes her grown up and independent. 

How do you prepare?

Tomorrow is Bree's first day of Kindergarten.

 

Tomorrow!

 

Wow.  That came fast.

 

I'm mostly prepared to let her go.  I'm excited for all that she's going to learn and experience.  I'm excited for all the friends she's going to make and the memories she's going to cherish.

 

However.

 

I'm sad for all the time I'm going to lose with her.  Crafting.  Baking. Snuggling.  Its all going to be crammed into those precious few hours between after school and bedtime - along with dinner, homework, baths and any of life's other surprises. 

 

Its really sad for me.

 

But tomorrow is not about me.  Its about Bree.  And we're excited for her.

 

Clothes all laid out. 

 

 

Book bag packed and ready to go.

 

Wait a minute.  Whats that second book bag doing there?  Oh yeah.  That's right.  Jacob starts preschool this year too!  CRAZY!!!

 

Oh my goodness.  My heart is just aching.  Can't we slow things down just a little bit??

 

Bree came up to me one afternoon and said her mouth felt funny.  I had her open up and this is what I found:

 

TWO PERMANENT TEETH COMING IN!!!!  TWO!!!  And one very loose tooth that somehow she never even noticed was loose until that very day. And it happened to be so, so, so very loose that by breakfast the next morning my baby girl looked like this:

 

ACK!  She lost her first tooth BEFORE kindergarten even started!! 

 

So big, so fast.  And don't even get me started on Holly.  More on her later.

The Little Things

From the curliest belly button...

 

 

 to strategically placed dragons around the cats water bowl....

 

 

we're taking the days as slowly as we can - savoring the moments, making memories, trying to keep even a tiny morsel of sanity while taking care of newborn, trying to prep my homebody of a daughter for school, dealing with a boy who has more energy than I ever thought humanly possible, and pulling off a summer reading program at work that is almost double our normal amount of participants ever. 

 

Its exhausting around here but oh the stories I hope to tell one day...

Siblings

An older sister is a friend and defender - a listener, conspirator, a counselor and a sharer of delights.  And sorrows too.  ~Pam Brown

Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring - quite often the hard way.  ~Pamela Dugdale

 

 

 

She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities.  She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway.  She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark.  She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink.  Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child.  ~Barbara Alpert

 

 

Three weeks down - a whole lifetime yet to go.

Happy Fathers Day

Rebuilder of people's homes by day - 

baby baths and swaddler by night.

 

 

Happy Fathers Day to the man that I have no idea how I got so lucky to have.

Definition

Is this what "snug as a bug in a rug" look like?

 

 

One Week Already

I suppose when you don't get home from the hospital until baby is 3 full days old, the first week is bound to go fast. 

 

 

And that it did.

 

At Holly's one week check up (technically at one week and 3 days old) she was back up to her birth weight.  This was an area of concern as she had dropped 11 ounces by the time we left the hospital and had only gained back 1 ounce over 4 days time.  But now everything is looking healthy on the weight front.

 

She even measured in at 22 3/4 inches at her appointment.  She stretched herself out almost an inch in a weeks time too!

 

But the most changes we've noticed in this week has been in all her facial expressions.

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know.  Its just "gas." 

 

Gas or not, its still cute to see.

Picture this

Its a glorious day in June. 

 

The sun is shining.  Hardly a cloud in the sky. 

The temperature is in the low 70's.

 

Just perfect.

 

Perfect enough to eat dinner out on the patio.

 

Corn on the cob, grilled chicken sandwiches and sausages, chips with Sterlings dip (there is none other of course), bananas, bing cherries and chocolate milk.

 

Its a wonderful dinner, its a wonderful day, everyone is enjoying themselves.

 

Everyone except Bree.

 

My darling child is spending the entire dinnertime complaining.

 

About what you ask?

 

Well..... about how cold it is outside.

 

Coat... Hat... Scarf... In June

 

She is so weird.

Introducing...

Holly Jacquelynne Dominique

Born Tuesday May 28, 2013 at 8:46pm

 

She was 9 pounds, 13 ounces and 22 inches long

 

We are home and settling nicely into our new life.

 

 

Next week the real challenge begins when Daddy goes back to work.

 

 

I hear ya, Holly.  I hear ya.