Our camping trip to the beach was mostly successful.

It was the first time since moving back to Washington that my children were able to wear bathing suits to the beach. It's usually too cold.

It was beautiful Saturday, and then it rained Sunday. Weird. Ok not really. Just super typical of the Northwest. Jerk.

It was a major adventure to go camping with 8 of us. Always is. And I realized that I don't like dirt. Or rain, or mosquitoes.

But I like my family, and I like sitting around the fire, stuffing myself with s'mores and talking to my kids.

We didn't leave until Friday evening, so the sun was setting before we even reached our campsite.

We're smart.

Despite how it looks, we did get the tent up in time to actually sleep in it.

Nora and Anne Marie's first order of business was to pick me flowers.

Love those girls.

I've heard that smoke follows beauty. But if smoke's definition of beauty is wearing the same clothes two days in a row and having bed head hair that won't lay down, then yes, it followed me around.

Oh wait, it's trying to get to Kate. That makes more sense.

This kid is just happy to be alive.

I tried to get Charlie to do a "stare off into the distance" pose. Meh, it sort of worked.

She's sooo dang cute. And yes, she's my baby. How could you tell?

It's a funny thing, how 6 dollar kites provide hours of entertainment.

So, I had to fight for this picture of Kate. Seems that the girl is camera shy these days.

Why? Oh yeah, she's a teenager. In my experience the like NONE of the pictures they see of themselves.

I'm not sure what she was saying to me. But you're welcome for taking a picture of you with your mouth open. :)

So the highlight for me was the races. Anne Marie is 7 and Charlie is 9, but he barely beat her everytime. She's fast, and he is motivated by NOT letting his little sister beat him in a foot race.

Then of course, the whole family got into it. No one could beat Jeff. Darn Marathon runner. Plggggg! Show off.

I even raced him, but you won't see photos of that. Cuz well, deep inside I'm still a teenage girl as well.

I love being married to someone that is still really just a kid.

I don't love building sand castles, but he does. Boy did my kids win the dad jackpot!

And my dreams continue to be fulfilled with this little bug. She falls asleep in my arms still. At 3 years old! None of the other kids did that. Maybe cuz there was a newborn in my arms already. Hmm. I hadn't thought of that.

Poor babies!!! Now I just feel bad. You can all fall asleep on me whenever you want!

And the ever constant tug of the swim trunks. Boy doesn't want anyone sneaking a peak of his derriere. Good boy.

Henry looks like he just rolled around in the sand for the most part.

And danced a la Glee, by the looks of it. (Disclaimer:I have not even seen Glee, nor let my children watch it. So I'm only going off of my own perceptions of the show)

Boy has got some moves though.

I laughed and laughed when I saw this picture.

My friend/brother's wife painted this awesome picture when she was in high school of a girl dipping her toe in the water. This picture reminded me of that.

Things I love about this photo: How you can tell from Jeff's body language how content he is just standing there staring at the ocean, juxtaposed with Anne Marie's tiny little body and Julia's on the cusp of young womanhood figure, long legs and all.

And then my man, emerging from the water. Hi. Hubba hubba.

Luckily for my monkey children, there were trees to climb in our campsite.

It helps for them to be entertained as I slave away over hot dogs. Oh wait, Julia made the hotdogs. I mostly just sat by the fire.

Did you know that there are cranberry growers on the coast? Fields and fields of cranberries. Little shacks that say, "Jim Parker, Grower", and houses with the Ocean Spray sign on their front door, signifying that they grow cranberries for Ocean Spray. I love, love, love cranberry juice. And not just for urinary tract health. Did I just say that? No. I just love the juice. Especially CranGrape. Yummers.

And then the photo tied with Henry's Glee pose:

This my friends, is what camping is all about.

And then finally, we got to walk around the base of Washington's tallest lighthouse. It was closed when we were there. Which was probably a good thing. Because they wanted 5 bucks a person to walk to the top. That's 40 bones, just to walk up steep stairs and worry that someone would fall the whole time.

So it worked out pretty good. Of course the kids were a little confused as to why we were even there if we couldn't go inside.

And we got to be the good parents and say, "Ahh, too bad, it's closed, we can't go up". While secretly I was doing a little "I saved 40 dollars" dance inside.

All in all, it was short, it was sweet, and I had immense satisfaction taking a really long hot shower when we got home. Like I said, I don't like being dirty. Actually, I don't mind being dirty, but I hate going to sleep dirty. And waking up dirty, and smelling like dirt and campfire and finding all sorts of sticky things on my clothes.

But yay for camping! Seriously, I do this for my husband and children. I would much rather "camp" in a hotel. But because we have a gajillion children, it would cost a gajillion dollars. So I just suck it up and pretend to love it.

which, I don't , in case you couldn't tell.

Anyway......I do love my family. And I love spending time with them and my hot husband. Who still finds me attractive after all these years.

He is a gooood man. Of course, this is after sleeping in a tent with all our kids and not showering or even changing clothes. But still.

See ya later!

Forts, or sorts.

This weekend was bombtastic. Well, not at first. We went camping near the ocean and TOM came to visit me. If you're a girl you know what I mean, if you're a boy, ask you mom or wife:)

And it was horrid. I was horrid. Then with a mixture of painkillers and muscle relaxers, I was suddenly much better.

But this is not a post about that! Sorry.

What was so great was that Jeff had Monday and Tuesday off. Monday we celebrated the 4th with my sister and her family. And then Tuesday we used our seasons passes and went to Wild Waves water park. The sun was out, the kids were happy, I was happy, it was bomb-diggity.

But when we got home I was FREEZING! In July. I don't know why.

So I donned my pink unicorn flannel nightgown, and fuzzy moccasins (both gifts from my parents, thank you very much and both, the bomb!) and set about to make dinner.

Notice something strange in the above picture? Ever read a book or hear something talk about children playing amongst their mother's skirts? Well, Nora improved upon that a little, and was using my nightgown as a fort of sorts.

It was bombin.

It was quite funny, and she thought she was hilarious. But the fun was over when I had to move to a different spot in the kitchen.

She tried to move with me, but it just wasn't happening.

So she resigned herself to eat her mac n cheese at the table, instead of under my nightgown.

I hope your weekend was good. I will have pictures and fun from our weekend to share with you tomorrow.

And 3 points to you if you realized that I used the word bomb as many times as I could, not because I'm super cool, which I am, but because it was our nation's birthday! Silly.

Oh say can you see

To celebrate independance day, we are off to the beach. Somehow that just seems so patriotic, you know?

What plans do you have for our Nation's birthday?

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!!

Run Jeffy run

On Saturday, my dearest husband, my awesome Jeff, ran 26.2 miles. Yup folks, that there father of 6 ran his first marathon.

And to prove it, here is a photo of him crossing the Rock-n-Roll Marathon finish line.

Oh wait, you can't see him. Let me explain why.

Let's start with the back story. Jeff left at 5 am to be at the start line for his 7:30 start time.

The plan was for me and the kids to drive in later and meet/cheer for him somewhere along the way, or preferably, at the finish line.

We left Maple Valley around 9:45 and headed off to Seattle. Luckily we left earlier than planned because his start time was pushed to 7:15 instead. I knew this because we had signed up to receive text messages when he passed certain points along the course.

We finally got into Seattle at 10:45. I thought I kind of knew how to walk to Quest field from where we parked. But as it turns out, I didn't. So me and the kids started following the runners, cuz we figured they would end up near the finish, and I knew we were still ahead of Jeff so we wouldn't miss him.

But after walking about a mile, I watched as the runners went over a bridge that was closed to anyone but runners. Can you say shoot, dang it, darn gum it!? So I asked the police officers who were doing crowd control if they could point me in the right direction.

I'm thinking that they got a kick out of me and my big red double stroller and 6 children all in tow, because they smirked at me as they told me the general direction. Me no likey smirking cops.

So seeing that we now had to double back and seeing that Jeff was now at mile 24, thanks to those text messages, I knew we had to book it.

So me and the kids ran the mile back to where we finally saw the finish line. Woo hoo! We were so happy, albeit a little sweaty, but we had made it with about 5 minutes to spare, we weren't going to miss him!

I had Kate and Julia hold Henry and Nora on their shoulders so that they could see. I got my camera ready to take a picture of Jeff running to his own personal victory, and we waited.

Henry was super freaked out about being on Kate's shoulders. So I put him on my shoulders as we waited. But he continued to freak out, thinking that I was going to drop him. So I offered him the stroller, which he quickly said yes to. But when I tried to take him off my shoulders, he freaked out even more and clung tenaciously to my neck and WOULD NOT LET GO!

So I'm wrestling with him, trying to extract him from me, when I hear the kids scream and say, "Mom! Dad just ran by!"

I dropped Henry in the stroller and tried to get a parting shot as I watched the back of his head run away. The above photo was the result of that effort.

But at least Henry didn't have to sit on my shoulders anymore, little bum.

So after swallowing my deep disappointment, we headed to the family reunion area to meet up with a very tired, but very happy Jeff.

And after the torture I put Henry through, he was obviously glad to see his daddy.

Jeff finished in 4 hours 9 minutes. Not bad for a guy who only started running last summer!

Seriously, some people are just born to do it.

We're so proud of him and all he's accomplished. And we will be there next time as well, cuz even though he couldn't walk very well Saturday evening, he has assured me there will be a next time.

You rock Jeff!!!

In fashion news....

Upon the dousal of socialite Nora Jane Allen's designer blah b di blah blah jeans by some balloons of the water filled variety, she was was required to run around in just the basics.

The only anxiety this produced for the well known fashionista was where would she keep her Monkey chap stick?

Well, not to be out maneuvered by the likes of Calvin Klein or Stella McCartney, the forward thinking Nora came up with her own inventive solution.

The panty pocket:

Don't hold your breath waiting for this to hit your nearest retailer. This look is definitely one of a kind and not for the unadventurous or fashion newbie.

Eat your heart out Lady Gaga. You can wear all the meat dresses you want, but you will never top the panty pocket.

We love you darling Jeffy.

See you tomorrow!

Every day is a breeze

Every day of motherhood is perfectly perfect in every way!

Ha!

Nora's decision to dump out the entire box of cheerios.

Nora's consequence for deciding to dump out the entire box of Cheerios.

Timeout.

Hope your day starts out "perfect" as well.

From free to fab

About 3 months ago, Jeff and I were running near our house. As we rounded a corner I saw a man putting things out under the tree in his front yard.

My quick to find free and cheap things brain zeroed in on a free sign sitting next to this pile.

Included in this pile was one rough looking, in need of a makeover, wood chest. Or a hope chest as I have called them.

It was calling to me. Begging me to take it home.

I practically begged the man to let me have it AND to set it aside for me so that we could finish our run and come back with the van.

Even though it was free, he was quite chagrined at the shape it was in and kept telling me all the things wrong with it. The missing foot, the piece of laminate missing, the much damage finish.

I was like,"Buddy, it's free. I'm good with the shape it's in!"

So he cheerfully set it aside (probably so happy to be getting rid of it) and we came back later and picked it up.

Admittedly, it did not smell awesome. It smelled exactly like a piece of furniture that had been sitting in a garage for quite some years. But, it was a Lane Cedar Chest. If you don't know Lane, you should. They ARE cedar chests. So I felt I could work with it.

When I got it, it looked like this:

And this:

But the inside was perfect! Absolutely perfect. It looked like this:

My first job was to figure out how to replace the lost foot. Where do you find an extra foot for a 1960's Lane Cedar Chest?

Well, you don't. So I just knocked off the other three feet and called it good. And rather than figure out how to replace the missing piece of panel, I just left it.

I then proceeded to give the whole thing a slight sanding with my mouse sander. It didn't need much. And I loved the dings and little dents in it. It gave it a well used, which to me means loved, look.

Then I gave it 1 coat of oil based primer. Let it dry for 24 hours (just to be sure it bonded really well).

And of course I didn't take any pictures of the during process. It takes way too much time to go get the camera! How could I slow down my fevered pitch long enough? Sheesh. I have issues.

So after priming it, I lightly sanded it by hand, just to catch any drips or mistakes and to give the paint even more to cling to.

I picked a Caribbean Blue because it just spoke to me. It really did. In Home Depot. It was weird.

I slapped two coats of that lovely shade on, sanding between coats, and it came out like this:

I added a little white to some of the blue so that I could paint the section missing some wood a lighter color. Then I distressed the whole thing so that it would continue to look like the well loved piece of furniture it is.

I didn't have any antiquing gel, but I did have a little sample of brown paint. So I dabbed the paint on an old towel and rubbed it over the distressed parts.

When I was all done, I put a water based poly-urethane on it, and then stepped back to admire my work.

All in all, it may be my favorite thing I've ever done. The blue color, the distressed corners, the strip of lighter blue, and the fact that the inside was so pristine that I actually have my belongings in it.

It's the one pop of color in a pretty white room. Which I will show you when I'm all done. A hint at something else I did, those ruffly white curtains-probably my second favorite thing I've ever attempted.

Not all of my attempts work out. Or sometimes they just work out ok. And then sometimes, they work out so good that I brag about it on my blog. Can you forgive my self indulgence? With it sitting in my bedroom, the only way I can show people is by dragging them upstairs, or by putting it on my blog. So thanks for your understanding and support.

I love it, I loved doing it, and I love all of you!!!

To share

First of all, thank you for your patience as I've figured out what the heck was going on with blogger.

Thanks to a tip from a friend, I downloaded Google Chrome and amazingly(that was sarcastic) Google's own search engine works much better with blogger, which is owned by Google.

So now all my blogging and commenting issues have been resolved. Yay! And I can post more regularly, hopefully daily again.

Now on to my post! I know you were just waiting with bated breath. You were right?

As mentioned in previous posts, which I can't refer to because I'm not an organized blogger, I like to move my kids around. Switch up their bedrooms so that things work better. Whether it is toy organization or in this case Anne Marie's loneliness at being in a room by herself.

So we moved her and Nora in together and Anne Marie was so happy.

Well then Nora got too big for her toddler bed. No, I didn't cry this time like I did with moving her out of a crib. It didn't seem as bad. I don't know why.

Anyhoo, we needed to put Nora into a twin bed, but two twin beds don't fit in that little bedroom. And we only had money for a cheap twin bed, not the nice wood one I wanted.

Sooo, Kate gracefully gave up the double bed she was sleeping in, and got Anne Marie's twin bed in return.

And now Nora and Anne marie share a bed! I love it. Again, I don't know why. I never shared a bed with my sister, but we would push our twin beds together so that we could sleep by eachother.

And I've always thought that sisters sharing a bed is the sweetest thing. I get a twinge of jealousy when people tell me they shared a bed with their sisters.

I'm not jealous of my own girls, just happy for them. Now all of my children share a bedroom. Even though we have an extra one. I really don't think anyone NEEDS their own room. It may be easier sometimes, but it's definitely not a need. No matter what our teenagers may say.

So now Nora and Anne Marie can be that much closer. They share a room, they share a bed. And hopefully they will share a friendship and a love for eachother that will expand beyond just their time together under this roof.

For tomorrow, a sneak peek at one of the things I've been working on in my bedroom. Just pretend you're excited, ok?

Yummy

YUM!!!





No really, it is!

Don't tell Nora, but it's celery, spinach, almond milk and a banana and frozen strawberries.

It was quite good.

No really, it was!

And when she was all done she said,"Mmmm. Yummy in my tummy."

And then she hugged my leg and said, "Thank you Mom!"

If you don't believe me, ask Kate. She was there and witnessed the whole thing!

True story people.

And a treat for yoU!

Things my children have said this week:

Anne Marie upon seeing something in Nora's nose. "Mom! Nora has meat in her nose!!!!"

Not meat. Just a really large boogey.

Then Henry.

My sister and I had picked up a friend's little boy for a play date. We had to stop at the store so Maile could run in. While sitting in the car, the friend's little boy pointed at the flag flying above the building and said to Keaton and Henry:

"Look guys! You see that flag? Those stars stand for all of our states."

To which Henry replied,"And you see those stripes? Those stand for chicken!!!! ha ha ha ha"

Did I mention they're the same age?

It reminded me of the movie Parenthood. Steve Martin's 3 year old niece is solving some sort of math problem while his own 3 year old son puts a bucket on his head and runs into the wall repeatedly.

Yeah. It kind of felt like that.


But at least Nora will drink green smoothies. Right?


Right.

Making dreams come true?

I read an article the other day about the 5 things people say on their deathbed that they wish they had done in their life.

The first was work less. That's always number One. I don't remember most of the others, but the one that really stuck out to me was that they wished they had just gone for it and lived their dreams.

The whimsical, dreamy part of me said, "right on! We should live our dreams!" The practical side of me said, but what if our dreams would be nightmares for our spouses or children?

Do we need to find a shared dream in order to live out any dreams? And can that be so difficult sometimes that we just end up living our regular old lives?

Are regular ol lives the dreams for some people? Maybe jet setters and people who have to travel all the time would love to do nothing but sit at home.

My honest to goodness dream is to live in a big, old house. With a front porch and plantation shutters. With fruit trees and meadows and a little stream. It would be to have a huge garden that we ate from all summer and canned from in late summer. It would be to teach my children at home and have them not hate me for it, or end up hating myself. It would be to have chickens and no television and no texting. Oh, and the ocean would be the backdrop. Basically, I would be Anne of Green Gables, or really Anne of the Island when she is Anne Blythe and has 7 children running around.

I would also be happy with a little cottage, 3 to a bedroom if we had to, with all the same things listed above but in England or France. Europe in general would be acceptable to me.

I am just craving some simplicity and that feels impossible here. My life is what it is and I love it with all it's craziness. But I dream of barefoot children running through meadows who never once ask to play their DS or watch tv because there is none of that.

I wish I had been able to put my finger on what I wanted back when they were little. I also wished I knew more about eating the way I do now and had started my children on whole grains 13 years ago so that I didn't have to listen to, "I like white bread better!!!"

I just don't want dreams to turn into regrets. But I'm also pretty sure my husbands dreams would include restoring old cars and racing hot rods or something. I can't imagine that lined up with my life of being transported back to the 1890's.

But my dreams are still there, I haven't given up on them. I just have to fine tune them a little so they work with my life and family.
Oh, and I'm waiting for the ship that's coming in to bank roll my life of "simplicity".

And just for you viewing pleasure, a slide show of my dreams:

Can you imagine the jam I would make living in this place?

Imagine the sack races you could have on this lawn.

This is where I would finally learn to not be afraid of natural water.

A red farmhouse? I mean, come on! Who wouldn't want to live there?

Something similar to what Anne must have lived in. And something I could live in til I died.

Can you imagine all the food I could can?

If I woke up to this every morning, I promise I wouldn't ever be grumpy!!!

Also a place I want to live in til I die.

American camp in the San Juan Islands. Minus all the soldiers but full of ocean views and seabreezes blowing.

And if you're dreaming REALLY big, shoot for something like the Breakers in Newport, RI. It's the former home of the Vanderbilt family. We've toured it a few times, and I can honestly say I would be happy living there:)

And please don't get me wrong, I love my house, I love my life. But don't we all wish for something a little different occasionally? Something a little more dream like and a little less suburban like? Anyone?

If you could see me now

As I sat down to blog today Henry decided he needed to sit behind me on my chair and repeatedly ask me to watch PBS kids. I enjoyed the cuddling from Henry, but continued to ignore his request.

And Nora,not to be outdone, inadvertantly stood on the power strip and shut the power down while watching me blog.

In my effort to get her away from the power strip, she tripped and fell backwards. Which of course caused much wailing and the need to sit on my lap.

So I ended up with Henry behind me.




And Nora in front of me.

And actually at this moment, they are now both on my lap, play fighting with their stuffed animals. I would share a picture, but I have no appendages available to work a camera.

SO it's short and sweet today, because, well, I guess I'm needed elsewhere as is evident by their need to be permanently attached to me today.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Sea anemone mantel

So in the interim between blogger working again, I had some projects in my head that I had been wanting to get done.

One was a fun little thing I made for a minor room redo that my friend Amber and I did for another friend.

Our friend ended up not using it, so I was the lucky one who got to incorporate it into my family room.

I found a clock at walmart for 6 dollars. I then used those giant sticks from Ikea(I actually got them at a yard sale for 2 bucks). I cut them in random length and then glue gunned them to the clock. After removing the glass, I spray painted the whole thing white.

It makes me think of a sea anemone. It's all spindly and random, and under 10 bucks, which is probably the best part.

I've also been working on my bedroom. It's coming along so fantasticly, I can hardly wait to show you what I've done. I have 10 dollar curtain panels to share, and the makeover of my free Lane cedar chest.

Have a great weekend! It's going to be over 70 degrees here! The first of the year. I can't wait!

Toodles.

One field trip, two field trip, 3 field trip, more!

When your children are in elementary school, it seems that every single parent wants to go on field trips.

The competition is so fierce that if you're lucky you will volunteer time and time again and FINALLY get to go on a 2 hour walking field trip to the local library.

Or you will volunteer time and time again and FINALLY get to go to see African Cats.(super awesome by the way, highly recommend it).

But as your children get older, and head into middle school on up, suddenly you are receiving emails like this:

"Dear Parents-We do not have enough chaperones for the following field trips.....We could REALLY use your help!"

That has never happened when my kids are in elementary school. I don't know if more parents go back to work when their kids are older, or if they're just not to keen on chaperoning a bunch of 13 year olds. I however love it, and jumped at the chance. Well, 3 chances.

One of the only pictures I got from the 3 field trips I took-2 with Kate to the arboretum and water/sewer treatment plant, and from my trip with Julia to the Seattle Science center was the following:




They actually make kids do homework on their field trips nowadays. Dumb. Wait, I mean, I don't understand that at all. And I'm sure they have a reason for it. But it felt dumb.

So while my field trips with charlie and Anne Marie were short, I met my quota of going on one field trip per year per child. Because the last thing I can have is children who remember that one year where I didn't make to at least one field trip.

The horror!

What field trips were you blessed enough to go on this year?

4/4 time

No, I'm not starting my own marching band. I just have awesome in-laws who know how much my family likes to dress up.

Although I do like a good marching band. Could be that I was drum major in high school. Betcha didn't know that lil' tidbit, did ya?

Just imagine big white hat with a plume, and white go go boots.

Oh yeah, it was awesome.

Sorry, I, um, don't, um, have any pictures of myself in that get up. That's right, no clue where any are. *ahem*

Oh, and can I just say how glad I am that blogger is finally working? For a week we couldn't log out of Kate's account, so I couldn't post. And before that it was losing my posts. Hopefully everything is all worked out.

Cuz I sure missed you all!

Sore

This last weekend, I got the bright idea to ask my brother if he wanted to hike Mt. Si with me.

I've hiked little Si, which is about a 4 mile round trip and it has it's fair share of steepness and fatigue inducing trail but it has plenty of areas that are level so that you can catch your breath.

Mt. Si is 4 miles up and 4 miles back down. But the up part is literally like climbing 4 miles worth of stairs. I exaggerate not.

But I figured I could handle it. I knew it would be hard, but I've lost 30 pounds, I've been running and weight training some so I thought I was up for the challenge.

I didn't really factor in the fact that Keno climbed Mt. Rainier and is really more like a mountain goat when it comes to stamina and speed. And his two oldest boys who went with us are exactly like him.

So imagine me, huffing and puffy, legs burning, while they patiently wait up ahead and/or slow down for me.

There were several times that I gave serious thought to quitting and telling them I would wait for them in the truck. But I couldn't lose face with my brother or my nephews and everytime I would consider quitting, I'd see the mile markers that told me I was that much closer.

Eventually my breathing and my heart rate evened out, and just my legs felt like jello, but I pressed on.

And of course, my brother and his sons are super scouts so they used the, "It's just up ahead, I promise." line on me for about a mile. It worked though, and I made it.

And when I reached the top, this is what our view was.



It was pretty cloudy so it's not as breathtaking as I imagine it is on clear days. But to give you perspective, that town you see is 20 miles away.

Yeah, we were up pretty high.

It has an elevation climb of 3700 feet. And like I said, it's like being on a stair climber for 4 miles.

And for the next two days it hurt to walk down stairs or to sit or stand or pretty much exist.

But it was totally worth it. And now my goal is to increase my speed a little and not breathe so loudly on the way up.

We'll see. But for now I feel pretty good about my accomplishment. And when it did get really hard I just kept repeating over and over in my mind, "I can do hard things."

Yes I can.

Little Ears/Big Ears

Many a year ago, when my oldest two children were starting to get, well, older, I began to switch the type of music we listened to.


I had never loved country music, but as I listened to the words and lyrics I really had to think twice about what was going into my precious, innocent girls' ears.


That was about 10 years ago and I have never looked back. We are fed on a steady diet of Disney music, LDS artists and country.


But lately I have been noticing a shift even in country music. It's more subtle as it's mixed in with banjos, fiddles and words about country roads and tractors.


But it really hit home the other day when Henry was singing the following words from a song currently on the radio:


"Country girls shake it for me girls, shake it for me girls, shake it for me."


And then in the McDonald's bathroom on Saturday he was singing a Tim McGraw song, that goes something like, "I wanna go crazy, wanna go crazy with you!"


So if we think that our 4 year olds aren't internalizing and apparently memorizing the words to the songs they hear, then we are living in a fantasy world.


And then I thought of my 9 year old son, and of course my older girls (Nora is still oblivious).

Do I want Charlie thinking girls should shake it? Or do I want my older girls thinking that boys want them to shake it? NO!!!


Not to mention the amount of songs that are slowly showing up talking about one night rodeo's and such.


So if country music is slowly failing me, what is left? Bach? Mozart? I've never been much of a classical music fan. I like good beats and fun songs. Does that mean we're left only with Disney and LDS/christian artists?


I think it does.


Am I unrealistic? Yes. And I like it that way. My kids are inundated daily with bad language, bad music, skimpy clothing and immoral behavior. So they are getting their dose of reality. I can't protect them from everything (which is a big argument from parents who say that anything goes).


But I don't have to invite it into my car or home. Our kids need a place where their minds, bodies and spirits can rest from the world.


And I'm not going to forbid their personal tastes in music. That only backfires on people. But I don't want to be the one introducing it to them, you know?


So it looks like I will be setting my radio dial to Radio Disney and classical stations and what we have on our Ipod.


I think this will be good for me too. I mean, I don't want to think about country girls shaking it either, now do I?

I had a post disappear. I've never had that happen before. Blogger was acting super weird, and then my post from yesterday was just gone.

Anyone else have this happen to them before? It makes me nervous.

averted

Julia came to me yesterday with Nora in hand and said the dreaded words, "Nora cut her hair!"

I have been fretting that this day would come. It seems that all of my children are drawn to cutting their own hair.

In panic I looked her over, waiting to see the missing chunks of soft blonde hair.

But quickly Julia put me out of my misery. "I caught her right away, so she only cut her bangs a little."

Biggest sigh of relief ever!

Now I know it's just hair. But it's pretty, fluffy, blonde Nora hair. And it would make me cry.

Just as it was pretty, fluffy Kate, Julia, Anne Marie, Charlie hair. And I was so sad about them as well.

So thankfully, Nora just has a new angle to her bangs. I told Jeff I thought she was trying to give herself a mullet.

Ponytails still work, with a little help from a barrette. But luckily, we are both happy about it.

aaahhhh

When Henry was born, I called these two my bookends. They both had red hair, and they were my first and last child. Or at least I thought that until a little blondy named Nora showed up:)

They both have very similiar personalities. They are very sweet and tender, but HILARIOUS! They surprise me constantly with the funny, quirky things they say and do.

Finding them like this when Jeff and I got home from a date the other night just confirmed to me that I am the luckiest mom in the world.

I really feel that as long as my children love and adore eachother and us, that life is more full of joy than I could have ever imagined.

I'm grateful that my children bring me joy. And as I'm cleaning and scrubbing and wiping chocolate off of faces I repeat that thought over and over in my head.

What brings you joy?

In the meantime

A while back I was invited to be an instructor for a workshop being offered on a wide variety of do it yourself type stuff.

Presenters ranged from repurposing furniture(me) to photoshop, starting a business from home, refashioning your wardrobe as well as a wide variety of make and take classes.

The workshop was postponed, but not before I found this awesome 5 dollar 1950's kitchen chair at goodwill that I had planned on showcasing in my class and then giving away.

(this picture is mid take apart after I realized I should probably have a before picture.


You get the picture though. Ugly vinyl, goldish metal.

But I had a vision for it. Oh yes I did.

Part of my class was to teach people that anyone can do great things with old or outdated furniture and do it for little money and little time. Usually.

I am not a perfectionist when it comes to the things I redo. I don't have time for perfection. I have time for good enough and get it done.

So this afternoon I got the make something over bug. Since I have to wait on my bedroom, I decided to tackle the chair. Even though I now won't be teaching a class or giving the chair away. But it added some spice to my afternoon for sure.

I started by unscrewing the seat and back. I didn't bother taking the old fabric off because if the padding was questionable (which it probably was) I didn't want to spend time or money replacing it. So I just left the old vinyl on and recovered it.

I used the scraps left over from my laminated cotton table cloth which I talked about here. And I just used a staple gun to staple the edges of the fabric.

(Sorry, I don't have midway pictures)

I then spray painted the chair with Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze.

When the chair was all dry, I screwed the seat and chair back onto the chair frame.

And voila!!

It's pretty amazing what some left over paint and fabric can do. I just like looking at it. It makes me happy.

Sorry this isn't a real tutorial. Mostly cuz I just kind of made it up as I went. But that's the way I roll.

I just like to get stuff done within a relatively short amount of time from start to finish.

Mostly it works out cuz I'm not concerned with it being perfect. And it doesn't have to be to be beautiful.

Sort of successful

So Nora is well on her way to being toilet trained. Well, sort of. We have the peeing in the toilet down.

She stays dry all night.

But for some reason, we have not been that successful at the all important pooing in the toilet.

I'm trying to not stress about it. Just let her go at her own pace. But I'm also kind of super ready to have number 2 be a breeze.

But at least I did not have to buy diapers for the first time in 13 years. That's certainly something to celebrate, don't ya think?

Moving on

So I have realized finally, that the headboard and master bedroom I labored on over a year ago, just have to go.

I still think it's lovely, but it's just not me. At the time I had found some ideas for these elegant, do it yourself bedrooms that I thought I wanted.

But lets face it, I am not elegant. And I don't feel badly about it, so don't feel bad for me.

I am more eclectic, quirky, beach cottage-y and bright.

And so the headboard and curtains must go.

I already have them listed on Craigslist and I'm sure they will make someone who is elegant, very happy.

But I will be using the money from their sale to purchase a white wrought iron bed. I will be moving some things around the house and creating a bedroom that's more me.

The grey walls will be gone, and when I'm done, I will reveal it all to you.

It will be a little while because I must sell things to fund this project, but I am all in a tizzy with excitment. Brimming with ideas for the bedroom I should have created a year ago.

Yes, to answer your question, it is quite crazy in my head sometimes.

More ideas than I could ever fulfill, constantly switching things around to ease my quickly bored brain.

Luckily I am married to the most patient and supportive man on the planet.

He probably is able to be that way because he doesn't attempt to try and get inside my head to figure out what in the world I am thinking.

It's a good thing too. I think it would cause insanity in some people.

So if you're looking for a lovely blue fabric tufted headboard with 4 matching curtains, let me know. You'll be a doing a public service by helping me get passed my latest craze more quickly.

Oh, and the sun is shining today! Yippee!!!!

Ending my internet silence

I have been quiet this week. Not because I didn't have things to say or blog about, but because in the busy-ness and happiness of my life the blog kind of slipped down to the bottom of my priorities.

It happens occasionally.

But so many great things happened this week. So many wonderful moments of learning and joy in the blessings I have been given.

One of those moments was coming down the stairs and beholding this completely unposed picture. A genuine moment of love between a brother and a sister.



I actually almost cried when I saw this. Not because love and affection doesn't happen between them, because it does. But because their obvious comfort in being with eachother was almost more than my mother's heart could bear.

Another set of unbelievable moments came during a field trip that I chaperoned for Charlie's class. He was so happy that I was there. And on the bus ride, as he sat across the aisle from me with his friend, he held my hand. Across the aisle!

Which meant that everyone could see him holding his mother's hand. And he didn't care!

Granted, they're third graders, but he is a boy. And I've always worried that he would grow out of showing me affection in public before his sisters.

But as I left to go home, I asked him to give me a kiss. He hesitated for a moment because in our family my kids and I all kiss on the lips. And I knew he didn't want to do that in public, so instead he kissed me on the cheek. In front of his friends!

Holding my son's hand and him kissing me are still high up there in the blissful department.

The third thing was Time Out for Women. This is a two day event where about 2500 women gather to listen to inspirational talks, music and general uplifting.

I went with my mom and sister, which was a blast all in itself, but I came home renewed and refocused on what is most important in my life.

A few things I realized for myself:

Lately I've been feeling selfish. Thinking things like "is this all my life is meant to be? Folding clothes and doing dishes?" And I was feeling more and more discontent, as if there was something bigger and better out there for me than being "just" a stay at home mom.

Now if you know me, being at home with my kids has always been my dream, my goal, my ultimate ambition. So for me to feel out of sorts about it was weird.

But I really felt the spirit as I sat listening to some talks. The talks weren't specifically about motherhood, but they touched my soul in a way that reminded me that I am doing what I've always wanted to do, and I've always loved it. And that external forces (could it be Satan?) have been at work trying to convince me that I shouldn't be happy in my current situation.

Well, bye bye stupid thoughts. I am back in the game, and so grateful that I am a mom, and that my life revolves around serving my family. Even if that means a lot of laundry and dishes!

The other thing that really stuck with me was a quote by C.S. Lewis. It's pretty self explanatory. But after hearing it, I've had to do some real soul searching as to who I REALLY am. Especially when it comes to the way I react to my children sometimes.

Enjoy. And have fun examining your own reactions to life.



“We begin to notice, besides our particular sinful acts, our sinfulness; begin to be alarmed not only about what we do, but about what we are. This may sound rather difficult, so I will try to make it clear from my own case. When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected: I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself. Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated. On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light.”

C.S. Lewis