Kissing the Joy as it Flies

A Wednesday List

2012-01-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

Well, hey there 2012!

This is my first post of the year and it was going to be Ten on Tuesday but..... it's not Tuesday anymore, which makes it harder.

Time to just jump in with a Wednesday list.

1. Our Christmas and New Years were great. I still haven't blogged any of my Christmas photos (probably get to that this summer) but here are a few shots from New Years Eve.

We kept it low-key this year, just a party at home with family, but we did try out a couple new ideas that were fun and will most likely become traditions.

Thanks to this great post from Our Best Bites, I stripped our Christmas tree and turned it into a New Year tree, covered with noise-making devices for midnight.

Hats, horns, blowers, balloons to pop filled with coins and jokes and little clappers. Good stuff.

We had breakfast for dinner (easy peasy French Toast Casserole and an egg/potato bake type thing)

Because you want to make sure you are nicely inflated with carbs and bacon before you start your diet and exercise regimen on January 1, yes?

We stayed up till midnight playing games and darts, watching movies, and snacking. Then as the ball dropped in New York (or at least a previously-recorded version of it for us Pacific timezone folks) we shouted and popped balloons and made far too much noise.

And then someone popped one of Greyson's balloons on accident.

And then blamed Rowan, resulting in the first pouty lip of 2012.

And we decided the New Year's party was over.

(seriously, that lip cracks me up... I may frame this picture and hang it in his bedroom... or maybe in the corner where we do timeouts)

2. Whether I'm recording it or not, life keeps chugging along in this house. My "baby" reminds me every day that he is "...not a baby! I a big boy! I am four." (for the record, he's not four... and he's still a baby)

He has taught himself a new life skill.

The good news is that if he ever gets left in the jungle (a definite possibility with all the fits he's been throwing) and has to survive on oranges, he will be okay. The bad news is that he doesn't even like oranges that much... he just likes to peel them. Consequently, I have been getting excess amounts of Vitamin C, thank you Mr. B.

3. Instead of doing a January organizing challenge, like last year, I decided to read a couple of eBooks.

One Bite at a Time by Tsh Oxenreider is only $5 (available for download as an ebook, or for Kindle or nook) and so far it's great. Each "bite" is only one or two pages, so you can go through them at your own pace, in any order. I think what I like best about this book is that it's a compilation of all her best tips from her popular blog Simple Mom, as well as from other sources (including the book I've been trying to finish, Eat That Frog)

I've decided to start with the sections on meal planning (so far so good!) and how to make a daily to-do list that works for you.

The other e-book I started reading is FREE. It's called Maximizing Your Mornings from Kat at Inspired to Action. All you have to do to get it is follow her blog, either through a reader or by email. The link to download is at the end of each post. This little book is a great motivator to get up, get moving, and get praying before your family is awake. I'm pretty good about getting up early, but I'm challenging myself to be consistent with it this year and to really dedicate those hours in the quiet and dark of the morning to exercising, reading my Bible, and worship.

4. We packed up all our Christmas paraphernalia a couple weeks ago, but I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to my glittery gold stars, which I got last year on after-Christmas clearance.

So I snuck them into our January decor.

5. We've been having an unusually mild and dry winter, so the boys were excited to see a skiff of snow yesterday.

While the Bigs were in school, the Littles bundled up and headed outside to play.

Then they flopped down on their bellies and started spastically kicking their arms and legs.

And I realized I have failed as a mother.

Our 'snow angel' technique needs some serious work.

Happy Wednesday everyone, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Fess Up Friday~ Eating frogs and other important news

2011-12-30T14:09:00.000-08:00

So, guess what.

It's the last Friday of the year, and I can't think of a better way to send out 2011 than with an embarrassing bang of honesty.

That's right, folks, it's time for...

I am not leaving this chair until I finish this post. I will finish a post before 2011 is over.

Well, I might have to leave the chair before I'm done because I'm going to meet a lady who's buying some of my scrapbook organizers off Craigslist. The problem I have with selling stuff on Craigslist is that as soon as someone tells me they want my stuff, I suddenly have seller's remorse and want to keep it. What if they know something I don't and this thing is going to win big bucks on Antiques Roadshow? It's all very unsettling, and that's without throwing in the 'meeting a stranger for a cash transaction' thing.

I've semi been reading this book:

And doing the exact opposite of everything it suggests.

For example, five days before Christmas, most people are maximizing their productivity by tying up their loose ends. You know.... baking....

Hanging stockings by the chimney with care...

And trimming the tree.

We did all that stuff too, but we didn't stop there.

Oh no.

We also ripped out the kitchen sink and piled up dirty dishes for two days...

and tore apart the kids' bedroom to paint it.

It was all certainly productive, but I don't know about the 'stress free' part.

The good news is, for Christmas I got running water and the dings and dents in the wall fixed!

During the 'Great Sink Project' of 2011, we had to go back to Home Depot approximately seven times.

The seventh time I was sent alone to retrieve a very specific plumping part.

Do you know how many little baggies there are in the plumbing aisle that look exactly like that one?

About a million.

Pretty sure that's the equivalent of asking my husband to go to the mall and bring me home a swimsuit that is flattering.

(Side note: my dad has bought my mom clothes AND swimsuits for the last 20 years, without her being there, and they always fit. It's a freak skill.)

We continued our Elf on the Shelf tradition this year, and for the most part he was very well-behaved.

Although there were a few days in there where he didn't get moved to a new spot, and he got a little ornery.

This is Greyson.

He's seven and very sweet, but I'm never quite sure what will come out of his mouth next.

Such as when he said to Great Grandma at Christmas brunch,

"Hey GG, I've been wondering about somethin'.... how are you still alive?"

Last night while Jarrod was out having a 'guys night' I got the bright idea to simultaneously bathe the 2-year-old and give haircuts to the older boys.

Mr. B was splashing away just fine while I gave the first two cuts, but just as I was starting on Rowan I heard,

"Uh ohhhhhhh. I poop in the baff! That's super yucky. MAMA, I POOP IN DA BAFF! Oh noooo!"

So I left Rowan sitting on the stool and went to take care of the, ahem, situation.

When I came back, I really should not have been surprised that Rowan had started on the haircut without me.

I left a 4-year-old in a cape with scissors right next to him, what did I expect to happen?

Luckily, his massive cowlick in the front disguises the fact that all the hair right there is three inches shorter than the rest.

In fact, it doesn't look half bad.

I probably won't even fix it.

Because that is the art of stress-free productivity.

If it's not important, just let it go, man.

And last but not least, I'm 'fessing up that I never posted the lastest episode of Kid History even though I've thought of it about 20 times.

I am ashamed.

So in case you haven't seen it yet, here's the Kid History Christmas episode.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in 'Fess Up Friday this year. I was so pleased to have you wonderful, hilarious ladies joining in with me, and I met some real kindred spirits along the way.

Hopefully in the next couple months, when all this home improvement hoopla dies down, I will be able to get back to blogging as usual. I miss ya'll!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-12-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

Hi friends!

Long time no see.

It's been quiet on here but it has not, funnily enough, been quiet at my house.

Decorating for Christmas, making stockings, eating cookies, trying to keep presents hidden until they can be wrapped, cleaning for house showings... you name it, we're doing it.

And we're enjoying it.

I've even found time this month to actually use some of the 1000+ pins I've pinned on Pinterest. Raise your hand if you're proud of me.

We have ribbons on the cupboard doors waiting for more Christmas cards, and I *love* this idea. Every time I go to get a bowl or cup, I look at our cards and they make me smile.

Source: bluecricketdesign.net via Kira on Pinterest

I was inspired by this pin to make us all burlap stockings, and much to my surprise, I actually did it. I even took pictures as I went along just in case I ever get around to blogging about it. (Raise your hand if you don't think I will ever get around to blogging about it.)

I went to the thrift store last night and bought junky old books so I could make these adorable trees.

Source: icraftwithlove.blogspot.com via Kira on Pinterest

And thanks to this pin, our Elf has gotten a little more creative this year.

I wanted to copy this pin, but do you know how hard it is to find a tomato cage in December? Really hard. You kind of have to have them on hand already.

Source: nedesignbuild.com via Kira on Pinterest

So instead we used those leftover lights to create the only box in town with indoor lighting.

Rowan got a kick out of that. Then he asked to play Wii.

I've also been making our very favorite Christmas cookies.

Andes Mint Cookies

and NF's

And I am planning to buy new pants because mine don't fit anymore, which is weird.

Auntie J sent us a beautiful new snowglobe for our collection. This one lights up and swirls the snow automatically. What will they think of next? You don't even have to shake your own snowglobes anymore. (That's what she said.... sorry. So sorry.)

And now that Daddy is finally off work for the winter, we have been spending a lot of time like this.

Five boys lined up on the couch, watching shows.

Love that.

And I'm loving this season and the adventure we are on. We are selling our house, not because we have to, but because we felt God leading us in that direction. We are planning to rent for a while, to save money, to maybe look for a different house, to be open to wherever God leads, even if it's to the ends of the earth. I think this next year is going to be full of changes and I'm okay with it. It's a little chaotic, and a little scary, but we're in it together and I have peace in that.

Merry Christmas, friends!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

1. We always go to J's parents' house for Thanksgiving, so today I am cooking our own turkey dinner, because I want my own fridge full of leftovers so that I can eat turkey until I go into a coma.

2. I am using my mother's tried-and-true turkey-cooking method that involves putting the bird in the night before and cooking it at 170 degrees for about 12-18 hours. And that's it. Because the oven temp is so low, it is impossible to overcook the bird. Fool proof, which is just how I like my recipes.

3. I'm also making Pioneer Woman's sweet potatoes (already done and waiting to be reheated in the fridge), PW's mashed potatoes (which may single-handedly raise my cholesterol), creamed brussel sprouts (turns them into little green gumballs. I could eat the whole pan myself) and chocolate cream pie for desert.

4. I also made plans to have a friend over to make lotion bars today.

5. I'm thinking this may not have been the best scheduling of my homemaking career, but we're just going to hope for the best. And we may have to skip the pie. That's probably not a bad thing.

6. My 4-year-old is going through a 'wolf boy' phase. He is rarely in human mode, and when I went to get him from Sunday School yesterday at church his teacher told me that "Wolf Man" was very good in class although his claws hindered him a little bit during the activities.

7. I haven't read a book in over three weeks. This has to be some kind of record for me.

8. Greyson informed me yesterday that one of his children will someday be named "Alexander Missile-Torch" I asked him why, to which he replied 'Eh, good name. It's just a really good name." Silly me.

9. My husband has wrapped up the long season of work at our plant nursery, just in time for the snow to fly. Yesterday was his first official day home with us and it was amazing... at least for me. He's already talking about applying for seasonal work at Starbucks.

10. I watched two documentaries this week that got me all riled up and made every conspiracy theorist hair on my head stand up. Burzynski and Waiting for Superman. If you haven't seen them, you should.

That is all.

Or is it?

Bonus fact!

11. After much hmmm'ing and haaaaa'ing, we broke down and bought ourselves a new espresso machine for the house (when it was on super sale last week). It's arriving in the mail today and Jarrod and I have been listening for the rumble of the UPS truck as if it were Santa's sleigh. Take that Stinkybucks. Take that.

'Fess Up Friday~ Potty Mouths and Twitchy Eyes

2011-11-18T07:41:00.000-08:00

Hey, strangers.

I've been cleaning all. day. long.

The house is now spick'n'span, we are listening to Bare Naked Ladies Children's station (I'm scared to even fathom a guess at how many weirdies that phrase is going to draw in via google) and my boys are grooving to a good ol' version of "Apples and Bananas" while simultaneously singing the wrong words to "I'm in the Lord's Army"

Rowan's version goes like this, "I never marched in the givery, ride in the kill-a-ry, shoot in the tillery, I'm in the Lord's army." Then he almost pokes his eye out with a pencil while he salutes.

Ain't he cute.

I started this post yesterday and my house is no longer clean, just FYI.

My super cute 2-year-old has developed a first-rate potty mouth.

I'm blaming his older brother for the sudden burst in his vocabulary.

Can any of you seasoned mamas tell me what to do when you put a kid in time out and he says,

"I hate this.... butt.... bottom.... poopy puppy.... Mama, I say BUUUUUTT!"

He's already in time out and he's just trying to get a rise out of me, but everything about that sentence makes steam come out of my ears.

Until we get this figured out he's going to be spending a lot more time in this spot.

In case you were wondering how far you can go with a coffee cup on the roof of your car before it's roadkill, it's approximately two blocks.

I heard a little rattle on the roof and remembered telling myself "Do NOT forget to grab your cup before you get in the car!" and I pulled over.

My cup was not only still sitting there, but my coffee hadn't even spilled and was just steaming away up there.

Boo-yah.

We listed our house for sale three weeks ago.

The day the sign went in the yard, I got the first coldsore of my life and developed an eye twitch that stayed for almost a week.

Stress is not pretty.

Speaking of stress

Did you know, murphy's law loves people who are trying to selling their house?

This is the worst ink stain in existence on my freshly shampooed carpet.

And that's my husband's wallet.

For size comparison.

Thank you, 2-year-old.

Good news though!

We were able to patch it with carpet from the closet and you can't even tell there was ever ink there.

Look what we woke up to this morning!

Guess that's my cue to go get my snowtires on..... along with the other 30,000 people in this town.

I'm pretty sure next year is going to be the year I finally get this done before the snow flies.

It's just gotta be.

Just a reminder, if you wrote a 'Fess Up Friday post you want to link up so you can make friends and influence people (ha!) you can link it up in my sidebar. Happy Friday!

'Fess Up Friday

2011-11-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

So, I'm thinking this blog needs a ghost writer. It's pretty sad to have post after post of just 'fess ups with nothing in between. It's starting to make me look like an airhead.

Anyhoo.

Happy Friday!

This week has been ka-ray-zay, with housecleaning, and house showings, and Halloween, and field trips, and 8,000 timeouts for the two-year-old. Hence the no blogging.

I was going to declare an official blog hiatus, but as soon as I do that I'm going to have the overwhelming urge to write dozens of posts.

So, instead I'm just going to tease you with this underexposed photo of my bambinos on Halloween and say that it's possible I may write about it in the future.

But please don't hold your breath.

As a matter of fact, I think that's all I have to say for this 'Fess Up Friday.

My confession is that contrary to popular belief, I don't have it all together and I'm trying to find balance. Heidi from Wonderwoman Wannabe wrote a fantastic series in October all about finding balance as a homemanager (click the button in my sidebar to read it). It was chock full of really great ideas, challenging reminders, and encouraging quotes.

Part of what I came away with after reading her series was that it's okay to take a break and that blogging is only fun when I have the time to do it. So for the time being, I may not be posting every Friday, or even every week.

Please, don't cry.

Just because I may not be 'fessing up doesn't mean you can't! I've decided to put the linky tool over in my sidebar, towards the top, so that all you funny girls with confessions to share can still link up and find eachother. If you haven't read through some of the posts that have been linked up, you're missing out. You girls crack me up every single week.

Thanks for hanging in there with me and understanding if I'm a big old flake for a while. I'm about to embark on potty training and I'm going to need all hands on deck. Love you guys!

'Fess Up Friday~ Good housekeeping and slobs

2011-10-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

So, it's 7 a.m. and Greyson (who is 7) just burst out of his bedroom, clad only in his underoos, and said

"Oh no! This is bad, really bad. I had a whole bunch of homework to do last night and I didn't do any of it!"

And I said, "Grey, it's Friday. You don't have school today."

(My kids do not have school on Fridays, neiner neiner)

To which he replied, "Oh phew. I'm going back to bed."

Ummm.... for real? When did this happen?

Could it possibly be that my children are reaching the age when they WANT to sleep?

I've heard tell, but didn't believe it was true.

No more high-fives at dawn?

No more banging of the spoon against the bowl before the sun is even up?

It's bittersweet.... but mostly sweet.

So, I've been a little stressed this week.

We are putting our house up for sale and I have to have the whole thing clean... like indefinitely.

As a mother of four young boys, I'm pretty sure this will be my Everest.

I enlisted my middle boys to help and asked them to get their room cleaned.

Imagine my surprise when after just a few minutes they excitedly announced that it was done.

The little voice in my head told me not to look under the bed, but I've never been a good listener.

Ignorance is bliss.

Still, I'm taking notes just in case we have to have our house ready for a showing on short notice. It's not a bad system.

On our trip to Portland a couple weeks ago, we were quietly cruising along when Jarrod cried out, "OH NO! A COP!"

And when I looked at his speedometer I spazzed out.

That was when he chose to tell me his speedometer is kind of broken and shows 33 mph faster than you're going.

Ha ha. Very funny.

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Rowan is in danger of becoming a first-class slob.

His clothes have always been dirty at the end of the day, but he recently took it to a whole new level.

It took me a couple days to realize he was using his shirt as a napkin and it had become a roadmap of every food he'd eaten.

Color me mortified.

Where is this child's mother?!

Coming up with a plan, that's where.

Yesterday I threatened to make him wear a baby bib at lunch time and his shirt was remarkably clean at the end of the meal. (Thanks for the tip, Heather!)

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I'm supposed to be somewhere in half an hour.

I still have to feed my kids, get B dressed, put on my makeup, do my hair, strap the carseats in J's truck (the one with the broken speedometer) and drop them off at my mom's house.

Totally do-able.

Happy Friday!

'Fess Up Friday~ Angry Chickens and Money Mismanagement

2011-10-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

It's dark o'clock here in the northwest and I need coffee.

Yesterday I took my two younger boys to Costco for "just a few things," which is always a good idea.

It happened to be lunch time so, naturally, they were giving out brownie samples.

There were a LOT of people flocking around the brownie table, but I fought my way forward and wrangled out two warm and gooey brownie bites for my offspring, because I am a good provider and a health-conscious mother.

Somehow, though, as I was handing Brecken his, it got diverted to my mouth and I took a bite, thinking he wouldn't notice and/or care.

Oh, how wrong I was.

A look of righteous indignation crossed his face and he shrieked "HEY! No eat mine! It not big!" and then he slapped the brownie out of my hand and sent it flying straight into the nasty concrete floor.

For a second I was stunned, and even though I didn't look around, I'm pretty sure the rest of the brownie hoard was watching my family soap opera unfold too.

After mentally re-grouping, I calmly picked up the mushed brownie and dropped it in the trash and then pushed the cart into another aisle as quickly as possibly, all while the 2-year-old was screeching at the top of his lungs, "BAWK! I want CAKE! Don't eat my cake!"

Does your toddler squawk like a chicken when he's mad? Mine too. It's like his own personal warning system that he's about to self-destruct. At random, consistent intervals he will shout "Bawk!.... Bawk!..... Bawk!" in the most ear-piercing way imaginable.

Now, you tell me, what is the appropriate response in this situation? Do you hide in the feminine hygiene aisle and hope no one notices the angry chicken? Do you plug his nose to get his attention? Do I need to start carrying a little squirt bottle and just spritz him like a cat?

I know, I know, I should have just abandoned all and left the store, but I really really needed those diced tomatoes. It was buy one, get one free!

On the same Costco trip, I decided to make things easier on myself and purchase a pumpkin pie for small group because I didn't really have time to bake.

This is where Murphy's Law came in to play.

Would anybody like to hazard a guess how long we were in the car before one of my children stepped on the pie?

Anybody?

Yes! You are correct! It was only 15 seconds, while I was returning my cart.

The good news, though, was that he managed to step on the side and not directly in the middle, so we just cut that piece out.

And when we got home, I let him eat it.

Oh yes, I did. Germs and all, I just didn't care any more.

On the train ride, Rowan wanted to take pictures with my big camera but I persuaded him to use my phone camera instead. I now have 100+ photos on my phone that are all pretty much identical to these little gems:

I will treasure them.

Have you ever heard the expression, 'Cutting off your nose to spite your face'?

It's an odd one, for sure.

Last week, Rowan (the 4-year-old) was in an unusually helpful mood and did many jobs in order to earn himself a dollar, all in the hopes of going to the dollar store and buying 'bampire teeth.'

He's obsessed with bampire teeth.

Where this comes from, I'm not sure, but I choose to blame the Magic Schoolbus and their Halloween episode.

Anyways, he earned his dollar and was very excited, wanting to leave right that second.

I said to him, "Rowan, we are going to go, but I can't leave right this second. I have to finish my chores too."

Well, he got mad.

And he sure showed me a thing or two.

After a few minutes he plopped this down on the counter next to me.

Oh yes, he did.

He tore up his dollar because he was mad that we weren't leaving to go buy bampire teeth with that dollar.

Classic example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

And for the rest of the day, I had to remind him over and over that he chose not to get bampire teeth when he tore up his dollar.

Sometimes, parenting is both exhausting, and terrifying, and oddly entertaining all at the same time.

Side note: I don't know how much of a lesson he really learned, because later that day he found a pair of bampire teeth under his brother's bed and wore them for the following 48 hours, even while he was sleeping (until he woke up freaking out because he couldn't breath... next time I will do a mouth check)

By now, you are probably starting to think that my two younger children are excessively naughty.

While true, they are also excessively cute and sweet.

Let us not forget this.

Okay, your turn! Link 'em up, especially if your kids squawk like irate chickens or tear up money.

The Red Hat

2011-10-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, my older sister, Elli, shared this testimony with me. I asked her if she would be willing to share it with the readers of my blog, and I've been humbled and blessed by her transparency. I pray that it blesses you as well.

The Red Hat

It was a normal day in mid-August when the doorbell rang. I was watching a movie and trying to soak up a tiny bit of mid-day pleasure towards the end of a summer that had turned out to be a grueling test.

This was the summer I felt my life unraveling, falling apart at the seams and fading into disrepair. It was a summer that forced me to make choices: between life and death, between lifting myself up out of the pile of self-loathing or staying there to drown in sorrow and disappointment, between doing the hard work of staying committed to my family or choosing to serve my own selfish whims and desires, between dwelling on a past full of missed opportunities or deciding to take hold of the possibilities tomorrow has to offer and push through the manure and mud, like a flower being birthed out of the soil.

The choices were not made in one particular single moment, but after allowing myself several weeks of moments. Sometimes these moments included self-destructive behaviors and really ridiculous arguments with people I love the most. Other times I decided to walk for hours so I could have the space I needed for self-examination and an honest evaluation of who I was and who I wanted to be.

In these moments, I realized that I hadn’t prayed in a very long time.

In fact, I hadn’t gone to church for most of the summer and when I was there, I insisted that we sit up in the balcony, where we could hide from all of those presumably happy people in the congregation. The dreaded question, “How are you?” would smack painfully across our cheeks if we drew near to anybody. I filled a seat in misery, mostly tuned out and feeling lost.

I really wondered if anyone could see that in my eyes…and furthermore, I wondered where God was. Where was He as we thought our business was failing, as our bank account was being drained and we were struggling to keep our home and keep our children’s lives running normally?

Where was He as I contemplated whether I would continue being a part of this household, this marriage or this life? Fear and anxiety had quietly filled up my soul over the months and now I doubted if God could really see me, if He was invested in my life. I had begun thinking those ideas were just the product of hype, produced by a flamboyant pastor and a room full of enthusiastic people.

I believed that as part of the collective body of believers, He probably had my name written down somewhere, but was He interested in me personally? Did God truly hear my thoughts, know my dreams and sorrows, was He really even there?

Somewhere, during these life challenges (which I know that everyone faces in some form), I had abandoned hope. Like a balloon that slowly, imperceptibly loses its air through a tiny hole, my desire to believe in myself and put forth the efforts that make a family thrive and make life valuable had quietly leaked out.

So, in those weeks of moments, I made a choice. I started to pray again, however feeble my attempts were.

I asked God for a sign, proof that He really was there. If He really could see me and He really heard me, I wanted to know without a doubt that He was truly invested, and interested in my little life. This sign had to be specific, and unlikely; something that only I would think up and ask for.

I figured that nothing should be too difficult for God, so I chose the most random thing to cross my mind: I asked for the sending of a RED HAT from my Aunt in California.

After several weeks, I had all but forgotten about the “test.”

And that is when the UPS man unassumingly brought a box to my doorstep from my aunt in California.

I let it sit next to me on the couch for quite some time before I began to open it.

Slowly, I pulled out a can of Mauna Loa macadamia nuts, some gift wrapping supplies and ribbon, a package of cute cupcake papers and other miscellany.

Then finally... I opened a large plastic bag and found it.

A RED HAT! Just as I had requested.

God was real. He heard me and invested in my life. God chose me. He responded to ME!

I still fear that people will think it a coincidence or just plain silly, so I share the story with few people, but I carry the hope gained by this event within me every day.

I share it every time I smile at my children or laugh with a friend, or love on my husband and think of our future together.

I now know, that even in our times of failure, we are not alone; God is walking beside us. And I know this because God loved me enough to listen to my strange request. He greeted the prayers of a broken-down and hurting woman, with the gift of a RED HAT.

***

Thank you, Jesus, that we never, ever walk alone.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

1. Hey, there. Remember me? No, my computer did not break down. I did not get lost on the way home from Portland. I did not fall in a manhole. I did not run away and join the circus (although tempting, but I could just walk into my living room for that)~ I'm still here. I'm just.... taking a chill pill.

I didn't even 'Fess Up last Friday, just to see what would happen.

And guess what~ nothing did!

I took the day off and felt rebellious and sneaky like I was skipping a test, and I think it was a good thing. I enjoy 'fessing up much more when it comes naturally, and after two weeks, I've been marinating in ridiculousness. This Friday I'll be here with bells on.

2. Last week was busy to say the least. Jarrod and I went to Portland Monday through Wednesday, we hosted our new small group on Thursday night (small group=Bible study with folks from church), I don't remember Friday, and then Saturday... Saturday was the big day my fellas have been waiting for.

Train day!

Greyson has been asking to take a train ride since he was three years old.

He's now seven.

Better late than never, yes?

There is a little town about two hours away that does a short 90-minute autumn train ride through the mountains, over a bridge, and through a tunnel. The whole train experience condensed into a kid-friendly time slot.

I'm not gonna lie... it quickly lost it's novelty for me, but the boys were happy and we had a great day~ even when Jarrod got pulled over for speeding on the way home. He totally deserved a ticket, but he didn't get one. Thank you, Officer.

3. Today I got not one, but TWO, kids down for a nap at the same time.

Please, hold your applause.

Almost as soon as they fell asleep, I had to wake them up to go get their brothers from school.

Super. Duper. Lame.

4. Last weekend, my boys got invited to a 'crazy hat' birthday party. How fun is that for a party theme? It was all the fun of a costume party without a lot of trouble. I hope to do a post about it next week some time.

5. Just FYI, if you ever get stranded in a dressing room and you desperately need a bobby pin, a paperclip will do in a pinch. You should be prepared to lose whatever hair you pin it with, however, because that sucker ain't coming out without a fight.

6. We are kicking around the idea of selling our house, which is freaking me out.

7. Just started listening to this on tape. It's only been 30 minutes and I'm already convicted, challenged, and inspired. The man fasted and prayed for a month in the hopes that God would give him a Bible. I have four of them sitting on my coffee table in front of me, and I am ashamed.

8. My first trip to Ikea was everything I hoped it would be: Disneyland for homemakers.

Oh, Expedit System, how I covet thee.

Duvet covers for like twenty bucks!

I. want. this. hutch.

All things considered, I was very responsible: I only bought six bowls and a cheese grater. And I left feeling happy because Jarrod let me look at every single thing and only said once or twice that it was like being trapped in a rat maze and that he was hating every second of it.

What a guy.

9. When we were in Portland, we tried out several apps to help us find some good eats~ especially since the closest restaurants to our hotel were Boomers, Hooters or BJ's.

No, I did not make that up.

Thanks to the Urban Spoon app, and after reading a lot of reviews, wrong turns and running through the rain, we found this little restaurant called Shandong.

We came in 30 minutes before closing, it was Monday night, and it was raining. We were the only ones there, which could have been annoying to the servers, but they were incredibly warm and welcoming. It was... magical. By far the best date we've had in a really long time, and it was most definitely the best Chinese food we've had in as long as I can remember.

Hot & Sour (?) soup and jasmine tea

Sweet & Sour chicken, fried rice, and Moo Shu

Oh man, I'd drive back to Portland just to have that meal again.

10. I'm very excited to have my first ever guest post coming up this Thursday. It's written by someone very dear to my heart and it's a testimony, so don't miss it.

Happy Tuesday-ish :)

Multitudes on Mondays~ #234~ #247

2011-10-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

Pssst.

It's me.

Guess what?

I'm flying the coop.

Gettin' out of Dodge.

Fleeing Gomorrah, and not lookin' back.

Well, maybe not that last one.

But the point is, my husband and I are off on a "business" trip for three days to Oregon, where he is going to look at exciting things like plants, while I do really exciting things like visit my version of Graceland.

That's right, kids.

I'm going to Ikea.

And we're taking a truck.

Holla!!

Please pray for my parents, who will be tending our four mostly housebroken boys while we are gone.

Nah, my folks will be fine because my boys really are pretty great, especially if you give them cookies. (Just not after midnight... you know, that whole gremlin thing)

The other day Greyson and Rowan (ages 7 and 4) were just going at it. If they were in the same room, chaos erupted within seconds. It was driving me bonkers.

I finally said to Greyson, "Grey, you can't control your brother, but you CAN control yourself. So as far as it depends on you, try to get along."

I didn't even think he was listening, but he stopped in his tracks and he said very quietly, "Hmmm, I can't control my brother.... but I can control myself. Wow. That is really good advice, Mom. Thanks."

Moments like that are what remind me how rewarding this insane parenting carnival can be.

Which brings me to:

Father, thank you for:

Driving into the sunset

Summer planters redone for fall with kale and pretty lettuce

Fog slipping over golden wheat fields

Half gallons of homemade cultured buttermilk

Being able to cut all their hair myself

Bubbly laughter

Girl's night out

Soup night with fresh bread

Two sets of loving grandparents

Rides on Papa's 'scooter'

Picking apples in the rain

Deep breaths of cold air in the middle of the night

The opportunity to go somewhere, just the two of us, and remember what being together feels like

Dreams that wake us for a purpose and open dialogue, dialogue that brings confession, confession that brings repentance, repentance that brings healing, healing that brings restoration, restoration that brings joy.

'Fess Up Friday~ Fruit Flies and Getting Punked

2011-10-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

So, it's Thursday night.

My four-year-old is wearing a pair of shooting-range goggles and snapping his fingers like a beatnick while jumping from furniture.

The two-year-old is pretending to be a puppy. Sometimes he comes and rubs up against my leg (maybe he's a cat?) and sometimes he growls at me.

My older boys watched Karate Kid tonight and are now sporting ninja suits and practicing their flying jump kicks.

Just business as usual in this house.

Also, I made pizza for dinner.

And by 'made' I mean I drove to Papa Murphy's to pick it up and then I baked it.

That is also business as usual.

Yeesh, I just realized my 'Fess Up button is obscenely large.

I'm going to change it.

Next week, be on the lookout for a new 'Fess Up button!

But if I don't get around to it, don't be surprised.

Just pretend like I never said anything.

I pinned this amazing idea on Pinterest about six months ago, hoping that I would never actually have to use it.

Source: passionatehomemaking.com via Kira on Pinterest

Yeah, that's a fruit fly trap.

One questionable batch of bananas and POOF, they will take over your house.

So I've been using the traps, and they do indeed work wondrously.

After a couple weeks, however, I thought that I finally had them licked and I got rid of my trap.

But tonight, as I was eating my salad with a lovely dressing made from apple cider vinegar, one almost flew into my mouth.

I seriously chopped the air so fast it dropped like a rock and just lay there. I think I took one of it's wings off.

(my boys thought they wanted to be ninjas because they watched Karate Kid, but really their overwhelming desire to do flying kicks was genetically passed on from me)

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.
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On of my besties was really paying attention to last week's 'Fess Ups.

Look at the present she gave me!

These ones are not getting anywhere near a hot camping trailer.

They are going straight into cookies tomorrow and then onto my waistline, where they will be safe.

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.
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My four boys are growing up.

My baby is two.

There will be no more babies for us (unless God miraculously calls us to adopt)

So this week I decided it was finally time to give up the dream.

The pink diaper bag that I secretly bought years ago went onto Craigslist.

Isn't it pretty? If no one buys it I may be forced to turn it into my camera bag.

Dude, this week, I got punked.

Big time.

I was getting ready for my "hot date" with my man and had just finished my makeup.

A quick swipe of lipgloss and I was ready to walk out the door.

Or...

wait...

what IS that on my lip?

How the 2-year-old (who is obsessed with playing in my makeup) managed to get the lipgloss tube open and pour my liquid foundation inside without making a gigantic mess that gave him away, I will never know.

He totally and completely punked me.

What We Ate

2011-10-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

Ever since my discovery of other bloggers a couple years ago (yes, I really thought I was alone... silly me) my cookbooks have been sadly neglected.

There's just an unending supply of recipes out there that I want to try,

and lest I forget the good ones, it's time for another episode of:

These are some of the recipes we tried (and liked!) from the last couple months.

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

from Pie Birds, Buttons & Muddy Puddles

photo from Piebirds, Buttons & Muddy Puddles

No exaggeration, I made chicken with that sauce on it three times in two weeks, by just BBQ'ing some simple boneless skinless chicken thighs and basting that sauce on.

My husband declared it the best chicken I'd ever made and my children (as Taylor would put it) rose up and called me blessed. You would not believe the quantities of chicken thighs five males can eat when they are inclined to.

And the best part is the recipe lasts in the fridge for about two weeks and makes quite a bit (which is how we were able to eat it three times)

Also from Andrea at PieBirds,

was this recipe for Spicy Honey Chicken with Salad.

Photo from Piebirds, Buttons & Muddy Puddles

I'd be lying if I said everyone in the family loved it as much as me (it IS a salad, after all) but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was therefore able to tune out any naysayers.

*
This next recipe, from Sutton Grace, is one I've been making once a week for the last couple months because I love it so.

Quinoa with Black Beans

Photo from Sutton Grace

It incorporates quinoa, which is delicious and extremely nutritious (although it's name is indeed unfortunate... who enjoys saying keen-wah? Not me)
and it's very versatile. The recipe calls for diced chicken, but that is optional. You can leave it out all together or substitute with some other kind of cooked meat you have on hand. Ground beef is also yummy.

I typically make it for lunch and then eat leftovers for a couple days. If you do that, just mix the diced avocados in before you eat. They aren't so pretty after a couple days in the fridge.

*
My friends recently gave me a big bag of homegrown tomatillos, and I said "oh, thank you!" while internally thinking, "I don't know what to do with these!"

But that week my friend Selina from Creative Juices Decor serendipitously posted a recipe for

Chicken Enchiladas Verde using fresh tomatillos

from Creative Juices Decor

These really were easy to make and I felt like a rockstar blending up a real jalapeno.

Peppers in general are frightening to me, but it wasn't so bad.

Plus, they tasted deLISH. I had enough sauce leftover to make a smaller 9x9 pan for the freezer and we just pulled them out and enjoyed them last weekend. Good stuff.

*
I've also been trying out some new sweet recipes, because dessert is my favorite meal of the day.

For Jarrod's birthday I made this simple chocolate cake

using this recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything to doctor up a normal cake mix until it was dense, dark, and amazing. Then I finished it off with homemade frosting using the 'dark rich' version of this recipe.

As much as I've given up processed foods, I am still a sucker for the taste of canned frosting.

First love from childhood and all that.

So I was pleased that this recipe came remarkably close to the "real thing" and I will definitely make it again. No fondant for me, thank ya verra much.

*
Also for J's birthday, I made these

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars,
which were also from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Image via The Girl Who Ate Everything

I will not apologize for posting that picture and making you want to lick your screen.

I just won't.

The bars were indeed delicious, but the absolute crowning glory on them was the

Homemade Buttermilk Caramel Sauce

Via Our Best Bites

Oh. My. Lord.

My friend Melissa first told me about this recipe months and months ago, and I cannot believe it took me so long to make it. If I could kick my own butt, I would.

It's like.... a thousand little sugary angels pirouetting on your tongue.

Heaven on a spoon.

Your loveliest childhood memories condensed into a condiment.

It is the best thing I've ever tasted.

And the best part is, it's really easy! You don't even have to own a candy thermometer (which I don't)

I made this sauce and we had it on our apple bars, but there was enough left over that for the last week we have been ~~eating it by the spoonful~~ drizzling it on lattes, spooning it over icecream, smearing it on pancakes, using it to dip granny smith apples, and occasionally taking the jar out just to lovingly stroke it.

This stuff is like gold.

I guarantee you will never ever buy storebought caramel sauce again.

You're welcome.

*

If you have any recipes that you stumbled upon lately and really enjoyed, please tell me about them in the comments section. I'm always on the look out for a keeper.

That's it for this episode of

See ya next time!

Multitudes on mondays~ #222~ #233

2011-10-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm aware that it's Tuesday. But, that is the beauty of this blogging thing. You can do just about anything you want, even share a 'Multitudes on Monday' post on a Tuesday. The blogging police don't stop by unless you do something really out of line... like use the acronym LOL repeatedly in the same sentence when you aren't really laughing.

This past weekend my parents were camping about 30 minutes out of town and wanted the boys to come hang out for a few hours.

Yes, they are amazing.

My only mistake was in assuming they didn't want the 'baby' so I didn't take along any toddler supplies, like diapers. When we got up there to drop off the three big boys my mom was like, "Oh, aren't you leaving B?" and I was like, "DOH!"

It all worked out, though, because we got to spend some quality time with just the toddler, which is kind of hard to come by when you have three older siblings.

Toddlers seeing squirrels for the first time

Rain in the still of the night

Wounds that are healing without visiting the doctor

Unexpected date nights with good food, good coffee, and a good play

Laughing with the one I love

Family movie night

His guitar

Rowan singing a spontaneous song all about the wonder of spiders while his dad accompanies him

Someone tracking me down to tell me about something sweet and kind my child did

Listening to Corrie Ten Boom books on tape

Forgiving and being forgiven, and the reminder of how much easier it is with His help

'Fess Up Friday~ Pickin's Disease

2011-09-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

The great irony of my life is that as a mother of preschoolers I have more raw blog material to work with than anyone could possibly use, and no time at all to do anything with it.

Sometimes I feel like one of those poor donkeys with a carrot dangling just out of reach to get them to plod along.If I just cleaned faster... if I could stay on track.... if I played with them more so they would be satisfied and entertained themselves for five minutes.... if they did not delight in making eachother scream... then, then I could catch up to that carrot and get some blogging done.

But I'm also trying to remember that my blog is for fun, and I have to be careful not to just hurry up and get through my life so that I can write about it.

I heard a rumor last year that they existed, but I didn't believe it until I finally saw it for myself.

When I found them, I was so excited, I forgot that I was grocery shopping for our camping food.

I gleefully bought the baking chips and went home.

Then two weeks later, when I was cleaning out our camping trailer, guess what I found.

One green bag containing a brick of Andes mint chips that had melted together into a solid lump because they'd been sitting in the hot trailer for two weeks.

I was so close, people.

So close.

My boys showed me a neat trick with my hair clips this week.

Did you know,

they are also good for caging tiny dinosaurs?

I have Pickin's Disease.

Sad, but true.

Pickin's Disease: The inability to refrain from disturbing the body's healing process.

If I have a scab, I have to pick it. I just cannot leave it alone, which means it drags on for way longer than it should.

And the worst part, apparently this disease is genetic. Haydn has it too.

One time when I was a kid, my older sister had a scab on her ear that she just would not leave alone, no matter what my mother tried.

So you know what my mother did?

She covered my sister's ear with a cup, and tied it to her head, and then sent her to school like that.

Because everyone knows embarrassment is the way to get someone to stop picking a scab, right?

I don't know how effective this method really was, but I do know that 20 years later our family still talks about it.

And when I have a bad case of Pickin's Disease, my mother offers to tie a cup to my head.

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Slim pickins (HA, a pun!) on 'Fess Ups for me this week. What about ya'll? Anything funny and/or embarrassing happen to you this week? Link them up!

What Up Wednesday

2011-09-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

So, I missed Multitudes on Monday.

I missed Ten on Tuesday.

How 'bout something new..... say....

What Up Wednesday?

Yes.

That will do. This is me telling you 'what's up' with us because if I don't start somewhere, I may never blog again.

1. I had to cancel my membership at our beloved community center because, like I mentioned in a previous post, we are being good little squirrels and preparing for a lean winter. While I was initially sad, because now I will never achieve scary-Madonna arms by going to yoga four times a week, I've been kind of shocked by how much I accomplish when I don't go anywhere all day. I even got my bathtub cleaned! This was a very good thing, because it still had egg yolk on it from the last homemade mask I experimented with.

2.) A good friend recently asked me why I keep doing these eggs-in-the-hair type things to myself, and I had to ruminate on it for a while. Plain and simple, I unknowingly set out on a quest this year. A quest to find a homemade regimen for skincare and haircare that is both cheap and effective. I'm still working out the kinks.

I didn't intend to switch over all my beauty and personal care items to homemade, but that's the direction I've accidentally headed. I just got tired of reading labels on every bottle of shampoo, and every bar of face soap, and every stick of deodorant, and being disappointed. Disappointed that I can't trust them to leave gunk and preservatives and things that are bad for you out of their supposedly 'natural' products. It was really bummin' me out, man.

Then one day I stumbled on the Crunchy Betty blog and made myself some deodorant and saw how easy it is, and the next thing I knew I was washing my face with oil every night. I know, I know, it sounds bizarre, BUT, I'm pretty sure it's going to be awesome (and cheap!) once I figure out the right ratios and oil types for my skin. My skin still currently kind of hates me, but I'm hoping by the end of the year we will have become friends again.

3.) My husband and I spent all summer watching previews for a new sitcom starting this fall called New Girl, and our DVR was ready and waiting two weeks ago when it started.

It was worth the wait.

Let me start by saying I'm not really a sitcom lover. It takes a lot to get me hooked on one. This show, however, makes me laugh. Really hard. Please do not watch it based on my recommendation, because I don't want to be responsible for anyone else not liking it, but this may be the new Friends. Anybody remember Friends?

I'll be theeeere for youuuuuuu!

Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?

We were on a break!

Yeah, those were good times.

4.) Lord, help me, the toddler can now see over the counter without a stool or a pilfered goodwill box, and I am afraid.

Please note the clean bathroom counter. That is another bi-product of me never leaving the house this week. I'm glad I photographed it.

5.) My husband owns an excavator. Don't be jealous, but he can bring it home any time he likes and just start uprooting huge swathes of grass with no warning.

Our youngest did not know his daddy owned a tractor and he stood still as a statue for over an hour with a goofy little grin on his face while he watched him work.

6.) Look what I did with the tomatoes we grew in our first-ever garden!

It was a lot more work than I expected. They should have a tip jar in the canned tomato section at the store, because those little boogers are a pain to process.

7.) I was feeling a little bummed out because I didn't do all that much with my boys this summer. I was feeling like we didn't really "accomplish" much and a like I let them down.

Then I glanced up at the chalkboard in the kitchen and was reminded that my children are not dwelling on the past, they are looking towards the future.

Haydn got our "What to do this winter" list started, and we've been adding to it as we think of things. Rowan got a hold of the chalk at some point and drew a couple stick figures. They don't have anything to do with the list, but I like them so they can stay.

8.) Jesus loves me.

And nothing compares to the greatness of knowing the One who can do that.

InstaFriday!

2011-09-22T23:55:00.000-07:00

Howdy!

Anybody know what that means?

I'd really like to know.

Is it a weird form of cowboy slang, like if you say "how do you do" really fast it comes out as howdy?

It's a conundrum.

But that is neither here nor there.

Today, as you know, is 'Fess Up Friday; but, I'm changing it up!

I had a surprisingly low amount of brain-dead moments this week (go me!), but it was still eventful.

So, rather than 'fessing up, I'm joining in for InstaFriday over at Life Rearranged.

But never fear, my funny friends, if you are here to 'Fess Up, I'll still have the linky party at the end of this so we can all laugh at your mishaps. I do enjoy them so.

We started the week with an urpy 2-year-old. He had a cold and I think he ate a bad hot dog (which is an oxymoron... have you ever met a good-for-you hot dog?), and the combination made for midnight mayhem and lots of laundry.

The next day we had to wash his puppy, and he just stayed in the hallway for the whole hour until it was done.

Once his puppy and his blanket were dry, all was well.

Doesn't he look sweet?

Don't let him fool you. By the next day he was on the mend and once again throwing cars at my head.

I helped my dad put a flag pole on the front of his house.

Ten years ago he had a stroke and lost the use of his right arm, so when I stop by for a visit I frequently get put to work with a power tool or a ladder, whether I know how to use them or not. This time I didn't fall off the ladder or drill extraneous holes in his house, so everyone was happy.

This week was also about my second born son.

Who was having a birthday.

The boy with the dimple in his left cheek.

The boy with a belly laugh so infectious it should be bottled and sold like fizzy lifting drink.

He is small and skinny and often in a world all his own, but oh so smart.

For the last three years, he has provided more funny quotes than all of my other kids combined.

He doesn't intend to be funny, he just is.

If you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he will tell you that he wants to be a tornado survival guide. He has a whole plan involving a metal body suit, like a knight, and taking groups of people out to a field during a big storm so they can watch him get sucked into the tornado and thereby learn what 'not to do.'

Either that, or he wants to work at Target, because according to him if you work at Target you make a whole lot of money.

While I know he would be safer at Target, I kind of want him to be the Tornado Survival Guide.

He's in first grade and is learning to read, slowly but surely.

He says 'Um, excuse me' every time he speaks, whether someone else was speaking or not.

He is a confusing mixture of quiet and shy with occasional outbursts of flamboyancy that disrupt the class and land him in detention.

I can't quite peg him down.

All I know is that he melts me.

For his birthday, there was a special breakfast of Dutch oven pancakes with powdered sugar and lemon.

And I stayed up late the night before making clown cupcakes for his class, because he believed I could do it, so I had to.

I don't know if they really looked like clowns, or more like weird octopuses in little hats, but he liked them nonetheless.

In the evening, after school, we had our traditional dinner out with just the birthday boy.

We took him to restaurant in town that has a 50's theme, complete with old hot rods and juke boxes and a kid's meal served with french fries in a paper Cadillac.

He sat by his dad

And he cheered when a special dessert arrived

A butterfinger sundae, thank you very much.

And when the waiter told him to come back on his next birthday, Grey didn't hesitate before spouting off,

"September 21st, I'll be here!"

That kid cracks me up.

If you want to recap your week with cell-phone photos, pop on over to Life Rearranged for InstaFriday.

OR,

if you're up for keeping it real and laughing at life, I'd love to have you link up here for 'Fess Up Friday.

And seriously, if you know the origin of the word 'howdy' please let me know.

'Fess Up Friday~ Flying Cars and Blender Envy

2011-09-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, I admit it~ I'm a flake! I'm totally late to my own party. Again.

Although to be fair, I'm on Pacific Standard Time and all you other people get up way too early.

It's only 7:30 a.m. here.

Me being late has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I've fallen into a couple of good books over the last couple weeks and have been staying up way too late reading.

No, it definitely has nothing to do with that.

I met a new neighbor this week.
It's pretty unusual for me to get a knock on the door in the middle of the day, especially when it's not Kirby Vacuum season, so I was not prepared.
I first had to move 25 shoes from behind the door just so I could open it, and when I did there was a nice lady on my porch holding out what appeared to be a plastic bag.
I cautiously took it as she said,
"You have a bunch of little boys right?"
And I started to get nervous.
"They left these socks in my yard the other day when they were catching grasshoppers."
Wait.
What?
"My kids were in your yard?"
"Oh yes, I looked out and saw all these little blonde heads bopping around on my grass. They come down a lot. It's no problem, I just thought you would want their socks back."
I'm still trying to process the fact that I have no idea when my kids escaped my vigilant supervision long enough to run down the street and become grasshopper vandals, let alone take the time to strip down to bare feet and get comfortable.
And so it begins.....I've been making a lot of zucchini bread lately and it is delicious.
Rowan loves it the most, and calls it Kini Bread.
Or sometimes, 'BA-kini bread"
And I do not correct him, because that is funny.
....

My two-year-old is torturing me.

He vacillates between belligerence and effusive love.

When he gets mad at me, he looks for the nearest chair, stool, or high chair and pushes it over. Kaboom!

If I taught him to yell "TIMBER!" it might even be funny.

Right now, it's just... torture.

The other day he tried to lift up the coffee table so he could throw it like the Incredible Hulk. I kid you not. Luckily for me he couldn't lift it more than a couple inches.

I am trying to remember that this is a season, a short season, and he will never again be as little as he is right this moment.

But every time he chucks a car at me, I just wind up saying,

"B, please, you're torturing me."

No joke, just as I was writing that, one flew by my head.

And that is why I usually blog at night.....
I have a bad case of blender envy.

I've been stalking Costco's website, waiting for them to announce when the next Vitamix demo was coming to town, for the last three or four months.
And then the other night I found out it's going to be here in two weeks.
And I forgot that we do not have any money.
I forgot that we are trying to pay off our debt before winter so we can be responsible little squirrels, blah blah blah.
I had the American Express website open and I was filling out an online application before I knew what I was doing.
And I got down to the last line, where I just had to enter my Costco membership number, and I got the first pangs of conscience.
So I ran back and said to Jarrod like Speedy Gonzalez,
"HeyCostcoisbringingvitamixtotowninaweek, you know, thevitamixthatIwantmorethananything, so, if it's okay with you,
I'm just going to sign up for an American Express card real quick and buy this one thing but then we'll pay it off and I'll cancel the account, I swear."
And he said....

"Dream on, sister."
So, I threw a matchbox car at him and pushed over a couple stools and a highchair and pouted for the rest of the night.
But the next day, when my Blender Envy Haze had faded a bit, I realized he's a lot smarter than me and I was again grateful that he's here to be my rudder.
Okay, grateful might be too strong a word...
I was relieved that he is here to be my rudder, because we all remember the incident with the electronic pressure cooker and QVC right? No? Oh, well remind me to tell you about it some time.
I would still very much like a Vitamix blender, though.
Vitamix, can you here me?
If you send me one, I will write a review that will blow your mind. ....

For the record, I didn't really push over stools or throw a matchbox car at Jarrod's head.
I did think it though.

Multitudes on mondays~ #203~ #221

2011-09-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

Trees planted eight years ago finally strong enough to hold a boy's weight

My two little guys discovering how to be playmates when the big brothers are at school

Flowers in my garden

The first apple pie of the year, made with apples freshly picked that were also free

A 4-year-old proudly wearing stripes and plaids, whose generosity reveals to me my own selfishness

Seeing a horse from B's perspective

Friends who send home gigantic zucchinis to save me from the gumball-sized ones my garden is producing

Making fresh verde sauce from tomatillos grown by a friend

Sorting through piles and piles of clutter because we have more stuff than we need, more than can possibly use

30 pairs of mismatched shoes

matchbox cars

Superman capes on the lawn, soaked from the sprinklers

Those little faces I see in the rearview mirror

Mountains of messed up laundry... we have plenty of clothes

A child crying in the night for water, and all I have to do is turn on a faucet

Nightmares that cause us to pray together in the silence of the night

Watching those little boys jump off the dock into their daddy's arms with absolutely no fear

Laying hands on a friend, believing You for healing because I believe You are enough

Amazon Mom: Are you using it yet?

2011-09-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

I'm going to make this short and sweet:

If you're not using Amazon Mom, you should be.

I'll tell you why.

You get free two-day shipping on like.... everything.

Who doesn't LOVE free two-day shipping, I ask you.

It takes my breath away and makes me giddy.

Now here's the thing:

It's kind of a complicated and confusing process to actually sign up for it: it's somewhere on Amazon's website and you have to go on a little adventure to find it, but you know... Indiana Jones never got a treasure unless he was first chased by a gigantic cement ball.

Trust me, this annoying process is worth it.

Just for signing up you get three months of two-day shipping free, and then every time you buy $25 worth of products from their baby or kid section (diapers, clothes, shoes, food, popsicle molds etc) you get an extra month tacked onto the end.

I've already earned free shipping through April of 2012, and I wasn't even ordering baby stuff!

I was ordering weird stuff, like canning lids, and running shoes, and a Leapster for Rowan's birthday. The Leapster I can understand, but the other stuff just makes no sense.

Will I bring this to Amazon's attention?

Heck no.

I will order everything I do not need in less than 48 hours and then wait for it to arrive at my house.

Gluten-free oatmeal for making granola bars.

Good quality organic grade B Maple syrup.

Shredded coconut for making homemade coconut milk.

Did you know Amazon has food too? And if you use the subscribe & save option, it's usually at really good prices.

Pure bliss.

So, sign up for Amazon Mom, even if you're not a mom. Because it's free two-day shipping, people. A regular Amazon Prime membership (which I've been coveting for years) is $79 a year! Hehe, suckers, I would have paid for it and they're just giving it away for free!

You're welcome.

'Fess Up Friday: Eggs in my hair and the first day of school

2011-09-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

You know that part in Anne of Green Gables, when she buys some hair dye from a peddler and is all excited to have beautiful raven black hair, but when she's done, her hair is green?

That's kind of how I feel about the homemade hair mask I tried out last night.

The olive oil-honey-egg yolk mess I slathered on my head and let set for an hour did not give quite the bounce and shine I was envisioning.

In fact, I think there may still be some egg in there.

Remember in July when we went to the cabin, and my husband took all those photos of the native vegetation?

I had a similar experience at Family Camp which reminded me that you can take the boy away from the landscaping, but you can't take the landscaper out of the boy.... or something like that.

We had a 'dust bowl' in our campsite that was full of soft dirt that plumed up every time someone walked through it or played near it.

I didn't realize it was bothering Jarrod so much until he started dousing it with water and then transplanted a sapling and some grass. The grass was the most tedious, as he had to do little plugs.... it was like Hair Club for Men.

My two-year-old is reverting back to the sleeping schedule of a newborn.

We take shifts putting him back in bed throughout the night, and it has me seriously considering purchasing one of these:

Doesn't that baby look happy?

Or maybe she looks like a really ticked off monkey.

Last night I had the brilliant idea of giving him one of those little glow sticks leftover from Family Camp, as like a night light.

That kind of bit me in the behind though because he still got out of bed, but this time he was whimpering and calling out, "Where's my light saber? Mama, my light saber!"

I bought 40 pounds of peaches at the Farmer's Market and took them home to can and make jam and generally just impress people as I said "Oh, sorry, I can't play today, I have 40 pounds of peaches to work through."

Only, I waited three days to get to them.

And when I opened the boxes,

they were covered with mold.

Lots and lots of mold.

Sigh.

Life's still kickin' right along over here.

Whenever we need to leave, Brecken still only has one of each pair of shoes:

My zucchini plant still hates me.

When I fold laundry, Brecken still 'puts it away' very helpfully by dumping it all in a pile in the hallway.

The first day I start a new eating plan is still the day I decide to make an apple pie.

And the big boys are back to school.

I didn't do an official 'first day of school' post, mostly because I didn't have a lot to work with.

Our first morning was chaos.

Everyone was loaded in the car and I made them get back out so I could take the traditional 'photo by the tree'

This year I have a fourth grader, though, and he wasn't as into it as usual.

Maybe it was because he combed his own hair and it looked like Jimmy Neutron.

He should tell his mother to cut his hair.

Greyson started first grade and is loving it.

He only agreed to the above photo after first insisting I take some shots of him doing karate moves.

It was a good trade.

And it's going to be a good year.

Family Camp!

2011-09-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was our church's annual Family Camp.

What is Family Camp?

It's where every family (surprise!) at church heads to the woods and (surprise!) goes camping.

The fun of Family Camp is that we have the whole campground to ourselves, we know everyone there, and our children can cut loose and run wild like rabid raccoons.

They race around on their bikes, climb trees, hoot and holler and steal food from unsuspecting campsites.

Family Camp = Kid Heaven.

I've been going to Family Camp since I was a kid, and I remember it as the highlight of my summer.

This year felt like a milestone year for our family.

The last time we went, we literally had to bring a ~~cage~~ big baby gate to keep B contained. He ate dirt. He ate rocks. He cried a lot. He didn't sleep. Not so much fun for the parents that year.

But this year....

this year felt transitional.

He's still a busy little bee and I still have to watch him like a hawk, but he is two now.

He toodled around on his little bike and stayed relatively close to our campsite.

He chilled with his homies.

He charmed the girls.

He ate candy.

It's not really up his nose, but I find it entertaining that it appears that way.

And when he was thirsty, he just found himself a spicket.

Next year is going to be even easier with him (think diaper free!) which is exciting.

Rowan has been talking about Family Camp for weeks and weeks, anticipating how many grasshoppers he would catch.

When we pulled in, before the car had really stopped moving, he had already hopped out and was chasing one.

The boy is obsessed.

On Saturday they had a big jumpy castle thing and one of these:

He gleefully jumped in the ring

to 'fight' his buddy, Jude.

He showed no mercy, however.

Not gonna lie, I was proud. Next year I'll teach him to shout "Adreaaaaaaaaan"

There was a movie night for the kids where they set up a big projector screen in a field and everyone brought blankets and pillows.

And they handed out candy.

Lots of candy.

And some of the children, I'm not saying whose, didn't have a blanket so they just squeezed their entire body inside their pillow case.

There was also face painting.

Were we surprised when Kira's kids requested to be Darth Maul and a skeleton with a web and spider on his face?

No, we were not.

Greyson had a ridiculously wiggly tooth that did manage to fall out before the weekend was over.

We roasted s'mores galore and stayed up till midnight cackling around the fire.

We tried out new things:

Note to self: You need to soak corn before you roast it, and you are supposed to take the silk off before you cook it.

Most of us had a really great time.

And there were no pictures taken of Kira. Not one.

This is for the best.

We are home now, and there are mountains of laundry and smokey bedding to wash, but fun was had by all and the boys are already talking about next year.

We love us some family camp.

Winner of the My Memories Software!

2011-09-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hey, friends!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my giveaway for the My Memories Suite software.

We have a winner!

Congratulations to.........

Donna R!

I hope you really love the software. Please send me an email right away so that I can get your your promo code and the download information. *If I don't hear from the winner within a week, I will draw another name.

For the rest of you~ I have GOOD NEWS!

Even though you didn't win the software, My Memories has given me a rockin' promo code for you as well.

It's worth $10 off the purchase of the scrapbooking software, PLUS $10 worth of MyMemories store credit. That's a $20 value!

Here is the code: STMMMS96380

Simply use that code during the checkout process to receive your discount.

If you missed my original post and would like to read my review of the My Memories Suite software, you can do so HERE. Thanks again for entering!

***In the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you that I receive a commission if any of my readers purchase the software.***

'Fess Up Friday Monkey Toes and Shrinking Feet

2011-09-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

This is going to be the lamest 'Fess Up Friday ever. So sorry.

It cannot be helped, however, as I am in the throws of camping-packing chaos.

I got up at 5:30 this morning, fully intending to leave for the campground after Jarrod got off work tonight.

Got the boys off to school, then the ~~gremlins~~ little boys and I went to: the bank, the dollar store, the library, Costco, home for ~~an hour of putting them back in bed repeatedly~~ naps, back to pick the big boys up from school, over to Grandma's house, to Walmart, to another library because the first one didn't have the book I needed, and then back home to finish laundry and food preparations and packing.

At which point I said, "There's no way this is happening. We're leaving tomorrow."

And here I am. Boring ya'll with my whiney-hiney pity party instead of roasting a s'more.

The irony is that all the things I did today are the things I SHOULD do the day before camping, but I never do. I had to actually be planning to leave before I could put this car in drive and get anything done. Now we are just going to be leaving on time thanks to the fact that I tried to leave 12 hours early. I'm going to have to see if this can work in other areas of my life too. Like maybe we should start planning to leave for church on Saturday night....

The first time I saw them, I did a double take.
The second time I saw them, I stared for a while and then I laughed when I described them to someone later.
I thought they were the funniest thing I'd ever seen.
But then I read this book:

And the next thing I knew, I was trying to squeeze my monkey toes into these crazy things at the sporting goods store.

I cannot even describe to you how ridiculous they looked. I refused to take a picture because that was taking it too far, even for 'Fess Up Friday.

But I'm so inspired by that book I read. Aside from some evolution mumbo jumbo that I don't agree with or endorse, it was a fascinating story and it made me want to start running.

Because, baby, I was born to do it.

But, Kira, you say, aren't you the one who swore you wouldn't run to the end of the block if they paid you? Aren't you the one who said running is perhaps the worst pastime imaginable?

Yes.... yes, I am.

But I stand corrected.

Apparently, all you need is some ridiculous shoes with toes built in for it to suddenly be the funnest thing you've ever tried. (funnest is a word, because I say so, and that wasn't really the message of the book)

I do not own the shoes yet, so I cannot attest to this personally, but I'm sure it must be true. (Did I mention that I'm not allowed to watch QVC anymore because I will buy anything? Sad but true)

Until I can afford some ridiculous looking shoes, I've just been going barefoot on the sidewalks around my neighborhood. A nice easy walk-jog a few times a week.
Why barefoot?
Because I want to shrink my feet!
I've heard from several sources that running barefoot over extended periods of time can strengthen your arches and supporting muscles and ligaments (the ones that get weak and lifeless because shoes do all the work for them) and many people have experienced smaller feet as a result.
Now, I don't expect to become a foot model any time soon, or ever,
But, I just found out that having four children made my feet go up an entire shoe size.
An ENTIRE SHOE SIZE, people.
I had feet like a hobbit to begin with, I cannot afford for them to be even bigger.
Plus, I've been squeezing my feet into the same size I bought in highschool because I thought I was done growing and it never occurred to me to measure them.
No wonder I hate shoe shopping.
So rather than buy bigger shoes, I'm just going to run barefoot until it snows and then maybe buy some of these:

And I'm sure by next spring I'll be back to my old shoe size.
Right?
Right.

I'm also excited about the fact that this motivates me to start running for a reason other than weightloss.
That would be a nice side benefit, but I'm going to do it mostly because I want to strengthen the arches of my feet.
So, if you see me running down the road with no shoes on,
it's not because I'm crazy or forgetful.
It's because I'm on a feet-shrinking mission.
Oh, and also I want to be healthier and have more stamina and do something good for my heart, blah blah blah.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend, and that some of you come link up with me. I'm off to bed now so that I can head into the woods bright and early tomorrow morning for three days of dirt and grasshoppers and melted marshmallows.
Ciao!

My Memories Giveaway!

2011-08-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday!

I was recently offered the opportunity to review some digital scrapbooking software from My Memories, and I've spent some time over the last couple weeks learning how to use it.

I'm a pretty die-hard Photoshop user and I like all the bells and whistles that come with that program, but I'm also aware that Photoshop can be crazy overwhelming for new users and has a pretty steep learning curve.

My Memories can be a nice bridge between the world of paper and digi scrapping because it allows you to create lovely pages without feeling overwhelmed, but it still has some nice advanced features that you can grow into and use as you become more familiar and comfortable with the program.

I've used Shutterfly in the past, and while I really liked their album creator, I didn't like that it all had to be done online. My Memories allows you to build your book offline, on your own time, and then you can either print your book on their website (they have some gorgeous albums and their books appear to be very high quality) OR you can export your pages as JPEG images and print them wherever you want (individual pages at Costco or entire books with another web publisher.)

It has a lot of templates built right into the program that are finished with paper and embellishments, so all you have to do is plug in your photos. I really liked this one because it would be perfect to scrap an entire year in a short amount of time. The pages are completely done, and they are clean and simple. All I would have to do is choose photos and add titles and journaling.

If you're feeling creative, it also has a large selection of 'blank' templates that can be customized.

I've always been a multi-picture scrapper and I love me a nice collage, so I was pleased with how many different styles they offered.

One of my favorite features of the program is that it gives me the option to use my own digital supplies, so you are not limited to just what comes with the program. You can buy more from their website, or you can use stuff you already have on hand. I love to download stuff from free sites, such as Shabby Princess or Pixel Scrapper, so I really like that this software will allow me to use those as well.

I created this page in less than a half hour using their template and a Cosmo Cricket kit that I purchased from Jessica Sprague a while ago.

This software has some very nice features and was easy to use. I'm a Mac user so the Windows-like interface was a little confusing at first, but I watched their intro video (one of dozens they offer on their website) and then I was good to go.

Besides making digital scrapbook pages, you can also use it to create cards, calendars, videos, and interactive albums that include hyperlinks and embedded videos. There are a lot of features I haven't even touched yet.

If you would like a chance to try this software out for yourself, I have some good news. My Memories has generously offered to give one of my lucky readers their very own copy!

You can do any or all of the the following things to enter the drawing, which would potentially give you three chances to win (did that make any sense? I'm confused):

Leave me a comment telling me to enter you in the drawing ~ that's your first entry

Visit MyMemories and look around. Leave me another comment telling me either which digital kit you liked best, OR what you would most likely use the software for (second entry)

Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook, and then leave me another comment telling me you did so (that's your third entry)

Easy peasy! I'm going to announce the winner one week from today, so you have until Monday night, September 5th, to enter. Good luck!