December 31 ,2011

I see it all. 
They say hindsight is 20/20. 
I see the kids taller and more agile, I see the absence of diapers and baby things.  I see the thinking behind the eyes as they are asked questions.  The scream of last years Santa was replaced this year by a very robust  "big bike no baby... like Tia" half signed half spoken.

I wonder where the year went. Where my time was misspent and well spent.  I wonder where I will be sitting, what I will be feeling and thinking next year at this time. 
I will be turning over some new leaf's I am sure but there are many more that I hope stay unturned just a little longer.

Wishing all a wonderful and safe New Years

Cheers to 2012!

Birthday Bliss

Well we had a little 5 year old Birthday Bliss.  Sophia was so delighted I had to tether her down to keep her safe from the light fixtures. As her birthday was on a Thursday she had our family birthday and then the friend birthday.  Today is all about friends!

The gang's all here!

Beading name necklaces.

A little help from a friend.

Orion Love! (look at that cutie patootie)

Girl Bags

Gabe and the boy bag.

Aww the cake.  Kai (Kellan) in the middle visited Sophia on her first day of life in his Mommies tummy.  This is one of Phia's favorite birth stories.

If you know Sophia you have heard of Sydney.  Two peas in a pod!

The barbie palace!  Yes there are super hero's in there.

Barbie Fairies... Thanks to Mom for supplying real food on the side for the adults to eat.  This cake was swweeet!

We had a bit of a blowing out the candles fiasco  but there she is our 5 year old doing her stuff!

Special Thanks to everyone for coming. We are so lucky to have such special friends!

At the end of the night we were in Logan's room and Sophia said this was my best birthday ever but wow my room is a mess.  After Logan had his jama's on he disappeared and we talked about all the fun stuff of the day and then David came in and said why is Logan cleaning Sophia's room?  Huh... we both went into her room and sure enough he had put all the toys away and was working on making the bed.  That little two year old heard his big sister and flew into action.  She gave him a big ole hug and said wow Mom this is the best birthday ever and Logan you can pick both the books tonight for momma to read.

Ahh all the crazy does lead to bliss doesn't it!

Normal Sunday

What's a normal Sunday?? HMMM well they are never the same lets take today for example...
My day to sleep in... Wake up at 7:30
Go for a 5 mile run... come home and realize its daylight savings and it's only 7:30 could have slept another hour
Make a to do list.. Clean all three bathrooms, sew for Sophia's Birthday, work on pile of laundry
Check off bathroom number one
Wash windows and mirror's downstairs (side track number one)
Take a shower (start thinking about Phia turning 5)
Decide Phia's room needs some attention (side track number 3)
Start cleaning get a couple ideas for organizing
She asks me for a mural.....hummmm mural...  rope in David who has completed his list of three
Hit IKEA for baskets for organizing her stuff
Come home David has drawn the mural
I paint and paint and paint.... oh we missed dinner...
Paint and paint
oh wow it's almost time for the kids to go to bed    wow never completed jobs 2 and 3 oh well better finish that mural.

Happy Sunday All!  Hope yours was productive.

Failure to launch

Alright so I posted on the first and then well I just got busy!  Birthday's mine last week and Sophia's coming soon... Sick kids and a busy week at work.   I do have several pages of my children's book written and will maybe post a piece this week.  Anywhooo we are alive and well.  Hope to post more tomorrow!

Halloween Fun!

Logan I mean Luke before he breathed out and sent the belt flying.  But look at how awesome it is I just have to extend it.

Of course Mimi made the costumes and they are amazing!!!

Check out the matching bags!! AWESOMNESS ALL AROUND!

Pit stop to pet the kitty.

The candy aww the candy!  This little bugger was up until 2:30 am uurgh what a night thank goodness it's only once a year.

NaNoWriMo News...  My goals are small this year but still worthy!  I will write 2 children's books and write in my bag daily.  More to come on how I wrestled the rest of the candy from their grubby little hands!

Just Hangin' around

We were out enjoying a cold but clear sunny night.  We had just enough blood flow to build a fairy house so a few laps and of course hang around.

Wine Bag

I made this quilted wine bag for my aunt Becky and though I thought it turned out cool I am thinking it would be neat to make a purse using the same method.
You can find the patten herehttp://www.needleandspatula.com/2011/01/quilted-wine-tote-sewing-tutorial.html.

Fall

I love fall.  The smell of newly sharpened pencils, wet falling leaves, pumpkins and hot coffee.  We have this beauty near our backdoor and look at that sparkle of sun peeking through the trees.  Ahh just lovely!

Fridays with Baba

Fridays we are lucky that my mom Baba can drive down and take care of the kids while David and I work.  I have been sneaking quietly in to catch them playing "nap time"  "Store"  "house" as well as drawing and a million other things.  Here are a few shots I got before they realized I was here.

It's such a treat for me to come home and see the kids so happily engaged in play.  David and I know how truly lucky we are to have her help and even more than that we know how blessed the kids are to get her time and attention on Fridays!

We love you Baba!

Blog Break

Well it happened again.  Time ran away and I well.... I ran helplessly after it.  What have I been up to?  Well I have been following weight watchers on my phone with words of encouragement from Mom and from a couple of supporters at work.  I am now up to 4 miles in the running arena.  Still biking to work 2 times a week about 9 miles total round trip and I have been taking the hardest workout class I have ever encountered.  A guy named Junior who in our home is known as Mr. OW.  David goes once a week and I go twice.  So lots of exercise and lots of point counting and not a lot of weight loss but but but.... I did not lose my girlish figure over night I am being persistent and consistent!

I have also been doing a lot of this...

Coupon clipping!!  I got a cute coupon holder from my awesome Aunt Becky that I have been using.  You can see it in the picture pink zebra  print.  I can only say this.... It is time consuming and I have not figured out how to do it well but I am improving and last week saved a total of $40.00 yeahhh... though Monday morning I realized I had not purchased bread or more importantly apples which if you read my blog you know signals a total house meltdown.  What did I learn???  In your list include not only sale items but necessities!  So that's the happs here we are plugging away!

Low Fat Granola

I am slightly obsessed with good low fat granola.  This recipe has been modified so many times to try to get the right mix of crunchy and sweet so the kids will eat it.  Here is the best dang low fat granola ever!

4 cups oats

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 to 4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 cup nuts your choice

preheat oven 275 cook for 45 min stir every 15

If you want to add dried fruit... mix it in when the granola is cool or you will end up with fruit rocks as my daughter called them

This is super tasty and kid approved pour it over some home made yogurt.

School clothes

This was the first and then forgotten outfit for school!  Top is a free pattern by Dana Made it. Pant is Patchwork kids I believe. In all honesty she does not dig the pants.  She likes leggings or tights... pants are just not her thing.  The pattern was great though they will probably sit in her drawer until they are too small.

Singing in the Park

Here is our version of a concert in the park.

Stepping into fall

We are lucky enough to live a block away from an elementary school.  We take nightly walks over to let the kids blow off steam.  As the summer has wound into fall I find these walks almost dreamy knowing the rains will come and we will be holed up in the house enjoying the warmth of the heater instead of the sun.

Great Grandma's Hat

A stop at Baba's house always must include a quick sneak into the guest room. 

Why you ask?

Well of course to wear the hat that Great grandma wore to Baba and Pop's wedding.

and to brush the dog that momma bought Pop for christmas long ago with the brush that was Baba's when she was a baby.

... and of course to sit in the princess chair.

You see this is all very important to a girl of 4.

Day at the farm

My dear friend Christiane and her Beau Patrick invited us for a day at the farm. 

Drawing happily in the car.

The Cows

"Momma why don't the cows like me?  I want to pet them."

Our gracious hostess in Logan's cap.

You know Logan and his apple love.  I think he ate most of 4 of them while we were picking.

Patrick filling our bags.

Phia and Daddy in the tree.

Logan on the ladder doing his own form of picking.

 Pears and apples galore!



What a truly lovely day.  Clean air, fresh fruit and veges and my first BBQ beets. 

It was a beautiful day to remember all winter long while we eat our dried apples, pears, apple butter and frozen pears.  We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Niece Love

My beautiful niece came for a visit.  Sophia just adores her.

Wish we lived closer so we could see her more often!

Outfit 4

She's got her cowgirl on!

This was again the Sienna Lil Blue Pattern with a bit of stenciling on the front back and sleeves. Super simple, happily comfortable and with leggings she good all winter.