Tales of a Crafty Mama

my latest addiction

Thanks to Kelly, I am now hopelessly addicted to Cookie magazine's Nesting Blog and Design*Sponge and to filling little folders on my computer with photos of all of the room I love. I actually feel quite productive doing it- I now have an accessable source of home inspiration for when we finally buy our own house. Not to mention it just makes me so stinkin' happy to look at all of the lovely photos.

I thought that instead of hoarding all of the beauty for myself, I would share some of it with you every now and then on my blog. Here are some of the dining rooms I am currently in love with...

 

 

{All images via the Nesting Blog and Design*Sponge}

i love this song

we are...

staying up all night talking about everything+ nothing (especially in the early, pre-children days) :: sparkling water :: planning trips to Europe :: holding hands ::  blessed parents of the two sweetest, cutest kids in the world :: road trips :: Nickel Creek concerts :: Sunday night phone calls, 9:30pm sharp :: soft kisses and warm hugs :: laughing until the tears come :: arguing (we are both firstborns, you know) + making up :: going to school together :: a camp romance :: passionate about Jesus :: photographers of our happy little life :: Bellingham :: inheirited cars + one new mini-van :: many prayers :: being ourselves with each other :: yummy dinners + a few not so great ones :: mission trips :: letting the goofiness shine :: best friends :: PF'98 :: silly dances :: Eskimo kisses ::  a million cherished memories :: each other's biggest fan :: long walks :: one morning person and one night owl :: trampolines :: Bob Marley and Big Mountain's Young Revolutionaries :: Italy :: book lovers :: REI members :: Starbucks Coffee Company :: growing up on a steady diet of Keith Green- our parents all became Christians in the '70s (we actually had two of his songs in our wedding- communion to Rushing Wind and recessional to You Put This Love in My Heart) :: movie nights :: Ballard :: grocery shopping :: Sunset Hill :: former YWAMers :: really bad apartments :: dream sharers and protectors :: random songs :: senior prom (I really do need to show you the pictures one of these days) :: love letters :: wanting a home of our own someday :: the Pumpkin :: inside jokes :: "our park" :: Thai food :: madly in love with each other :: living a perfectly delightful life ::

Happy 8th Anniversary, sweetie! I love you and am beyond blessed to be spending my life with you!

{The photo is my very favorite from our wedding day, June 24, 2000}

and a lovely weekend was had by all

This past weekend we celebrated three very special events in our little family: my husband Erik turned 30 on Saturday, Father's Day was on Sunday, and our sweet Elliot turned one on Monday! Needless to say, we've had a very busy week. The last day or so have just been spent recovering from all the festivities and catching our breath. A post for each one of my guys will be coming soon (it is not every day that two of my favorite people celebrate such important birthdays!) along with lots of pictures. I am still in major mama reflective mode- I can't believe it has already been a year since I looked like this and was meeting Elliot for the very first time.

ten on ten :: june

9:00am- Beating an egg for a late pancake breakfast

10:00am- Unfortunately, Audrey wasn't a fan of the pancakes...

11:00am- Playing on mama and daddy's bed

12:00pm- Tackling the laundry. Doesn't it build up so fast?

1:30pm- I am so thankful that our new computer finally arrived yesterday! Prepare to be seeing more of me- both on my own little blog and saying hello on all of yours!

2:30pm- Grabbing one of my favorite mugs to make an afternoon cup of tea

3:45pm- Our art wall

4:45pm- My little love bug- actually sitting still for a second...

6:15pm- Any guesses as to what Elliot ate for dinner?

7:15pm- Time to brush teeth and go to bed!

To see more of Ten on Ten, please go here.

ten on ten :: may

Better late than never...I really did take all of these pictures on the 10th- I am just now getting around to posting them. May 10th was actually my very first day to play with our new camera!

Typepad is being a little bit funky tonight, so I am going to list what we were doing every hour before the photos this time...

7:30am- Audrey Bug washing her hands

8:30am- A brand new box of crayons

9:30am- Just admiring my new baby

10:30am- Elliot tries feeding himself oatmeal. Wasn't a fan.

11:30am- Babies are sleeping, yay! Mama settles in for a nap too...

12:30pm- Grilled cheese for lunch

1:30pm- My mother-in-law's leftovers from spring cleaning in the garden

2:30pm- Some sweet Mother's Day flowers from my man

...a little break...

4:30pm- On our way out to dinner for a girls' night out in honor of Mother's Day- me, my mother and sister-in-laws, and grandma

...another little break...

6:30pm- Our amazingly delicious dessert!

6:35pm- The remains of our dessert...

Audrey @ 2.9

So I am starting to deal with the fact that Elliot is going to be one soon, but I am not ready to deal with this beautiful girl turning three at the end of the summer. How did she get so grown up all of a sudden? Erik took these lovely pictures of Audrey last Sunday and I can't get over how beautiful and old she looks. I never got around to posting a 2 1/2 years old update on her, so here is one at 2.9:

Height: I can't remember what it was at her last doctors appointment, I'll have to look it up...

Weight: a whopping 26 pounds

Is still passionately in love with the color purple- it has been her favorite since she was 13 or 14 months- although pink is definitely a close second now.

Absolutely loves being outside, could live out there all day every day if I let her. Her outside favorites include riding her bike (I love how she calls it her "bicyle", not her bike), running as fast as she can all around the yard and up the driveway, writing and drawing with chalk, swimming in the pool, watering plants, blowing bubbles, and just general exploring.

She is quite a little negotiator. Things that she is notorious for saying around our house are, "Just two more minutes..." or "I have a great idea..." or "Here's the deal..." This afternoon she shared her plan for us this evening with me: "After Daddy gets home, we go on a walk. Elliot in the backpack with Daddy, me in the blue stroller. Then I ride my bike for two minutes. Then we come inside and get ready for bed and take a bath. And then I watch a DVD."

When she wants to read her Bible she says, "It's Jesus time!" I honestly have no idea where she got it because neither Erik or I say that!

She loves to sing and she is just starting to make up her own sweet little songs. Some of her favorites are: "The More We Sing Together", "Jesus Loves Me", "God is good", "The Moon Song", "Jingle Bells", "The ABC song (Elmo/India Arie style!), "Happy Birthday". Oh, and how could I forget? "Oh, Susanna" because of the part where it says, "A banjo on my knee". How cute is that.

She still talks about her old Bellingham friends, but she has some new friends here that she also adores: her cousins Parker and Griffin, Evie, Kelvin, and Elijah. Evie is her one and only girl friend here. They are a month apart in age and absolutely adorable together, chatting and playing about all of the important stuff in life, like babies and princesses and purple and pink. Then there are the boys who she torments probably more than they torment her- she is quite an aggressive one, my girl...

Of course, she loves her little brother Elliot. She doesn't love it when he gets into her things or hogs my attention, but she really does love playing with him and is quite protective and motherly of him.

Art projects are still a big favorite and have expanded to include cutting and gluing lately. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of using the scissors yet, but she's working on it (I can't wait for her to start scrapbooking with me). And she just got into drawing people which is pretty much the cutest thing ever. I have to remember to share some of her drawings with you soon.

She loves to pretend like she is writing, especially people's names.

She loves eating: frozen blueberries, hummus, chips, chocolate, pasta, apples, frozen peas and corn, dry cereal (pretty much any kind), peanuts and almonds, and popsicles. She hates to eat anything sticky, including candy and raisins and fruit leather.

She love to dance and is eagerly anticipating the dancing class we told her she could take when she turns three.

Her favorite music: The Lori Berkner Band, Greek music (ever since we danced to it at a pizza restaurant in Portland, OR a few months ago), Elizabeth Mitchell, and Enter the Worship Circle.

She literally changes her clothes at least five times a day; sometimes because they got dirty or wet, but mostly just because she feels like wearing something else. I would definitely say picking out clothes and shoes is one of her favorite things to do. The clothes I see the most: swimsuits, tights, flipflops, her new red Crocs, rainboots, dresses and skirts, and footy jammies.

Since Christmas she started sleeping in her big girl bed (in January) and is almost all the way potty-trained (started in February). The bed thing was crazy hard. No joke, the first three nights we put her back in bed nearly 100 times every night (I counted!), but now she sleeps great there. The potty-training thing actually just kind of happened almost completely initiated by her. There are still some struggles here and there, but overall it is pretty amazing how it just all clicked for her one day.

Current favorite books (it changes quite frequently): Lilly and the Purple Plastic Purse, The Napping House, Love you Forever, her Bible, What Happens on Wednesday, and Chrysanthemum.

Some things she is not especially fond of...taking naps (thankfully she still takes at least a few a week!), time-outs, trying new foods, going to bed at night, coming inside after playing outside, and sitting down in her chair at mealtime.

I really need to do this more often because I feel like I could go on and on! This age is so much fun because we can understand each other so much better; I love having full on heart to heart conversations with her. She is such a sweet, sweet girl and I love being her mama so much!

in serious denial

 

I am having a really hard time dealing with the fact that this sweet boy is going to be one in two weeks! He's so not a baby anymore, I mean just look at him, sporting that cute super short haircut (Daddy took the clippers out for haircut #3- it was just getting crazy long). Every day he is getting more and more brave with the walking thing- so far he has taken five steps by himself. He is a busy, busy boy, always moving and getting into things, but thankfully he still loves to cuddle with his mama. I can't believe that one year ago I was still pregnant with him, dying to hold him and get to know him. Yes, time truly does go by too fast.

happy birthday to you, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to us

 

Oh, the frustrations with not having a computer...

Erik and I got this beautiful Nikon D60 as a little happy 30th birthday (Erik's is next month, mine isn't until November) present to us almost three weeks ago and I am just now posting about it! We had been planning on buying a digital SLR for our big 3-0's this year and when a really amazing deal came up at Kit's Camera around Mother's Day and we had our little government rebate in hand, we couldn't pass it up! I am so excited to focus more on my photography and get a little better at it. Shooting with such a lovely camera has already inspired me to take so many more pictures. I am really looking forward to sharing more with you when that our computer finally arrives...

the Mother's Day post

Hello dear friends. And happy late Mother's Day to all of you mamas!  We are still waiting for our new computer to arrive, but I have posts galore written in my head (including my very late May Ten on Ten that I actually participated in but haven't gotten around to posting...) so while Miss Audrey is napping, Elliot and I have snuck upstairs to the in-laws computer to do a little blogging. We'll see how much I can get written before Audrey wakes up or Elliot gets tired of playing with his cars and blocks...

The past few weeks I have been reading selections from one of my favorite parenting books before I go to sleep: Mitten Strings For God by Katrina Kenison. I love that book so much. It doesn't seem to matter how bad of day I have had, reading a little of this sweet book of essays on being a mother always lifts my spirit and gives me strength to be a better mama. I always find myself nodding my head in agreement to Kenison's lovely writing- she so beautifully captures in words what my heart is feeling. If you are a mama and have not yet read this, please do! Don't be swayed by the cheesy title...

Anyway, last night I reread her final chapter called "Wingbeats" and I cried because again her words echoed my heart. The past few weeks have been hard as far as parenting goes- a combination of a 2 1/2 year old going on 14, my post-partum crazy hormones, and one very active little boy who is thisclose to walking. Yet as hard as the days can be, I still get weepy when I think about how very fast these days with my babies are going. I want to treasure each and every moment, but it is so easy to get caught up in getting through the day and not savor time with them. So I find myself clinging to their babyhood, willing them in my heart, in my prayers to stay young, to not grow up, while at the same time delighting in their newfound skills and growing personalities. Oh, being a mama is such an emotional thing, isn't it?

Here are Kenison's words from "Wingbeats" (I have bolded the sections I really loved):

Just when I figure out how to mother a kindergartner, it seems, I have a first-grader standing before me instead. I have just learned how to love and live with a nine-year-old when the nine-year-old vanishes, leaving a preadolescent in his place. They don't stay still long enough for me to have my fill of them ever, at any stage. "Stop!" I want to shout. "Let's just do it this way for a while, let's stay right here." But the movement is inexorable- up and out, away, into the future. I remember how I felt driving to the hospital to give birth to my first son, wishing even between the pangs of early labor that we could just continue on the way we were for while more. I had gotten good at being pregnant, had learned how to care for a baby in the womb, was not at all sure I was ready to have one in my arms. Little did I know that the yearning to seize life in a freeze-frame would never really go away, or that my desire to hold on to whatever we had and whatever we were at any given moment would always be in conflict with my sons' own natural instinct: to grow up, to live, to fulfill their own destinies on this earth. Sometimes, it seems there are discernable changes overnight. The boy who meets my gaze at the breakfast table is not the same one whose cheek I kissed the night before. And even as I marvel at the latest incarnation, I grieve for yesterday's child, already a memory. To love them is always to let them go, bit by bit, day after day.

 

The Sound of Music

A couple of weeks ago, Audrey and I had a very special night as far as mother/daughter moments are concerned. I introduced Audrey to my all-time favorite movie from childhood, The Sound of Music. I don't know how old I was when I watched it for the very first time, but I loved it so much as a kid and have always looked forward to the time when I would "pass the torch" to my girl. Yes, I know the movie is totally cheesy and slightly unrealistic, but really. What's not to love about making play clothes out of curtains and singing in the mountains and "My Favorite Things"? It really is such a lovely movie. If you are not currently a fan, you should give it another chance.

My top five favorite Sound of Music moments:

01. When the Captain and Uncle Max and the Baroness see the "local urchins" playing in the trees, completely unaware that they are their kids. Oh, and when the Captain hears the kids sing for the first time, still dripping wet from falling in the river

02. "My Favorite Things"

03. Seeing the kids in their play clothes made from Maria's curtains, skipping around in the mountains singing "Doe a Deer"

04. "So Long, Farewell"

05. The escape into the mountains. When I was a kid on hikes with my family, I remember always pretending like I was a van Trapp child, fleeing into the Alps.

{it really was too difficult to narrow it down to five, because there are so many other moments I love...}

#1 Least favorite moment from The Sound of Music:

The Reverend Mother singing "Climb Every Mountain". It still bores me to tears!

Followed closely by:

"I Must Have Done Something Good". I don't think I have ever watched this song from start to finish. I just can't stand it for some reason!

Believe it or not, Audrey absolutely loved watching The Sound of Music. Of course, we didn't make it through the entire thing, but she was mesmerized for a good 45 minutes and she asked to watch "the funny lady singing" again the next morning. The funny thing to me is that the night before we watched The Sound of Music, we watched Cars at her cousins' house and she didn't even last five minutes, she thought it was so boring! I love having a little girl.

What are your favorite Sound of Music moments/memories?

P.S. My favorite blog links will be up again soon- I am just reorganizing them...

oh the irony

I seriously can't believe this. Literally the night before we got DSL (believe it or not, it was seriously not even available where we live until a couple of weeks ago- we live that far out in the country!) our beloved laptop gave out! BUMMER. So now the in-laws have a super fast computer that can do fun things like play podcasts and reruns of Lost and our computer is dead. I am just praying that the hard drive is still rescueable (is that even a word?) because I have a few pictures that have yet to be backed up. Most have, but there are still a few pre-Elliot ones from last spring...

So, all this to say...

01. If I owe you an email (there are so many of you!) or haven't commented on your blog in ages, please don't give up on me. I will be around again soon and hopefully much more than I have been since we moved because DSL really is so much faster than dial-up!

02. As far as buying a new computer (thank goodness for that lovely tax refund!), what do you think? Laptop or desktop? We can't decide. And what brand of computer do you love? My brother is trying to get us to buy our first Mac, but I don't know...

Hope you are all doing well and having a happy week!

written in my journal on 4.19.08

Been thinking a lot about this post by a good friend of mine and the "stewardship" theme of my daily Bible study this month; they prompted the following entry in my journal this last Saturday:

I have felt so challenged/convicted lately about how I manage my time. True, I am a busy, slightly overwhelmed at times wife and mama of 2...but I use that as an excuse too often. Pretty much I just nee to be better at using my time wisely, i.e. not procrastinating, not being indecisive, and not being downright lazy at times. I complain to Erik about how I feel like I never have the time to be creative/crafty, when, truth be told, I simply don't make the time! Even though I find being creative so energizing and relaxing, I don't do it because at the end of the day I am often so tired I feel like I can barely drag myself off of the couch...

Today I was really challenged though. I went to a baby shower for a friend, given to her by another friend. Not only did her friend organize the party, but she also made her the sweetest gifts- baby clothes, burp rags, and a quilt, and (this is the clitcher...) she has a 15 month old and a 4 month old- younger kids than me! I really have no excuse.

Some could say that I am being too hard on myself, that I do have my hands full, but at this point, as much work as being a mama is, I don't feel like I can justify it anymore. In order to grow as: a Christian, a wife, a mama, a homemaker, a friend, a creative individual, I need to be more disciplined with my time! For me, today, that means: less TV, less Internet, and less reading magazines- all of which are usually done while the kids are asleep. None of these things are bad in and of themselves, they can be relaxing and that kind of mindlessness is necessary at times. But so often they keep me from actually doing things and being productive. A perfect example of this is how much time I spend reading about crafts versus how much time I spend doing them! I love being inspired but I need to stop hoarding my inspiration, my gifts, my talents and start making time for them.

I feel like every day I have just been in this survival mode- get the house in order, care for the kids, and then collapse at the end of the day, and repeat. I know that the only way to break out of this cycle is to be intentional with every moment of my day.

I know that I try to multi-task too much. Instead of giving 100% to something for x amount of time, I often squeeze as much as I can into that same amount of time. Example: Simultaneously feeding the kids breakfast while putting my makeup on while looking at blogs while packing our bags for that day's outing while grabbing bites of my own breakfast here and there. So sad. I need to live in the moment more. (Sidenote: A great book to read on living in the moment as a mama is Mitten-Strings for God. Super cheesy title-really inspiring read.)

I am not exactly sure what this is going to look like, but I am excited to see what God has in store for me. I am excited to give more attention to those things He has given me a passion for, that I feel like He wants me to prioritize in my life. What are those things?

01. The Lord- Passionately loving and serving Christ and creating an atmosphere in my home that honors Him and teaches my children about Him.

02. Erik- Being his helpmate and his love, putting his needs and desires before my own. Daily finding new and creative little ways to demonstrate my love to him.

03. Audrey and Elliot- Being their mama, meeting not just their physical needs, but their emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs as well. Daily finding new and creative little ways to demonstrate my love to them.

04. Being a homemaker- I know some people are not a fan of this term, "homemaker", but I think it perfectly describes my God-given role. I definitely feel lke the Lord has called me to make a home for my little family. Creating an atmosphere within our walls that enables people (and not just my immediate family, by the way) to feel comfortable and cozy. Like they can let down their guard and be who God has truly created them to be. Part of this is aestic: what my home looks like, and part of this is emotional: what my home feels like. I want my home to be a place where people feel embraced and loved and accepted. A place where they always sense God's grace and love.

05. Being creative- I know that God has created me to be a creative person. Besides spending time with Him and with my family, it is when I feel the most fulfilled. I do not make enough time for this and I need to. I know it will make me happier and more content. Right now I feel like this involves: scrapbooking, sewing, photography, and writing, but I am definitely open to it evolving into other things. Above all, I believe it is all about capturing the beauty in my every day little life. Capturing memories and preserving them. Leaving a legacy through my art the visably demonstrates my deep love for my family and for God.

I'll try to keep you posted on how this whole managing my time thing is going...

ten on ten :: april

{The following writing and photos were all done yesterday, on April 10}

To say that today was a hard day would be a serious understatement; it ranks right up there in the top five hardest parenting days to date. It looked a little something like this:

One beautiful, yet stubborn as a rock two and half year old who pretty much refused to listen and obey all day long + one hormonal mama (its true what they say- PMS is definitely worse after you have children!) + one extremely messy and disorganized house + one super cute little almost 10 month old with a cold + two loads of laundry + one dog (Molly, who lives upstairs) who is getting pretty needy in her old age + a pantry deeply in need of a trip to the grocery store + not very much sleep last night + no nap for Audrey today + no time alone with the Lord + and no chocolate in the house.

Not a pretty picture. Not really the "ideal" day for me to participate in the Ten on Ten photo project. Not only was it a struggle to find inspiration today, but logistically it was just really, really challenging to photograph anything in my chaotic home- everything was a mess, kids were pulling on me nonstop, etc. etc. etc. Yet as challenging as it was, I am really grateful for this little project today. One, because as crazy hard as my day was, it still gives me a snapshot of my life today, one that I know I will treasure down the road when I miss these sweet, long days home with my children. Second, because taking the time to take a picture every hour helped me find glimpses of beauty within the mess and the chaos, and that made the day, as awful as it was, seem a little bit easier to handle and it made it go by much faster.

So, here's my life, today. Thanks for taking a peek...

9:00 am- Audrey sharing her latest building project with me

10:00 am- Laundry, round one

11:00 am- Audrey's dancing feet, sitting on my lap looking at pictures on my camera

12:00 pm- Hoping for a little quiet and rest while the kids are napping, I pull out some reading and journaling things...alas, Audrey never naps, so mama never got her rest

1:00 pm- As simple as it was, lighting this candle seriously helped my mood a little

2:00 pm- I am dying to make some of these cookies; the recipe has a semi-permanent place on the side of my fridge. 01. Because they are Erik's favorite, 02. They are super yummy, and 03. Because I like how the recipe itself looks- it is from a really old vintage cookie cookbook I have

3:00 pm- Part of Audrey's afternoon snack

4:00 pm- (I couldn't decide which picture I liked the best, so I am posting them both) Mr. Crazy-Hair Elliot, chilling in his high chair eating Cheerios. Such a big boy. Miss Crazy-Hair Audrey showing off her blue markered hands

5:45 pm- Notice the difference in time? Ya, it was a tough hour and a half or so...But in this picture (my unexpected favorite of the day) we were finally on our way into town to see a family and get the Chai from Starbucks I had been looking forward to all day

6:45 pm- Elliot and his Ammah (Erik's mom) cuddling, while he chows on a french fry

P.S. Today has been 100 % better than yesterday. Part of it, I'm sure is a change in my attitude and a whole lot of prayer. The other part I know is because my sweet girl is back to her happy self and we have gotten along all day. Oh, and she actually took a nap today! Yay!

seriously yummy

So here is the recipe for the Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas I was raving about. They are one of my family's favorite things to eat for dinner and so easy to make. The recipe is my little adaptation of a recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook. I usually double the recipe so that we can have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

(Thinly slice all of the vegetables)

Toss 2 cups peeled and quartered potatoes, 1/2 cup onion, 3/4 cup red pepper, and 1 1/2 cups zucchini with 2 or so tablespoons of olive oil, 2-3 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp. oregano, and some salt and pepper. I actually never really measure any of the seasonings so I am kind of guessing on the amounts- I usually just toss them in.

Dump all the vegetables in a 9x13 inch pan and roast in the oven until the potatoes are tender. This usually takes 25 to 30 minutes. I stir the vegetables at least once during the roasting time to make sure that none are sticking to the pan- usually about 15 minutes in. After the vegetables are done roasting, turn your oven down to "warm" for later.

Heat a lightly oiled pan (I use a grill pan) over medium heat. While your pan is heating, pile about 1/2 cup of roasted vegetables on one half of a flour tortilla, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the outer edge. Top the filling with some grated Chedder cheese or crumbled feta. Fold the torilla over the filling to form a half-moon shape.

When the pan is hot, cook two of the quesadillas at a time for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove the quesadillas from the pan and keep them warm in your oven while cooking the remaining quesadillas.

* Moosewood also shares some variations on the quesadillas in the cookbook that I haven't tried yet: Adding different vegetables, such as mushrooms, eggplant, or asparagus; using different cheese; or accenting with other herbs. Let me know if you find another yummy combination to try!

Hope you enjoy them!

Happy Monday!

on my mind today

Audrey should be waking up from her nap any second. She has slept for almost three hours- super rare these days. As much as I adore my sweet girl, it has been a lovely three hours.

Elliot and I just shared some really yummy avocado toast. On the menu tonight, one of our favorites: Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas. I really should share the recipe with you sometime.

I am still feeling kind of bummed that our weekend visit to the westside to see my family got canceled at the very last minute. We were all packed and ready to go at 5am Saturday morning and woke up to 1/2 foot of snow at our house. While the weekend home with Erik completely off from work was incredibly restful and nice, I miss my family and was really looking forward to seeing them! Next trip planned for the end of April; hopefully it won't snow again...

I am halfway through my second reading of Grace-Based Parenting and I have decided that it is one of my all-time favorite parenting books. To say that it is good and challenging and encouraging would all be serious understatements.

We have taken to calling Elliot our little puppy. Exhibit A: He crawls so fast that he is seriously hard to keep up with sometimes. Exhibit B: He gets into everything! We haven't gotten around to putting safety locks on our cupboards yet, so in desperation today I kept them shut with packing tape. Exhibit C: He eats almost anything. Exhibit D: He crawls with toys in his mouth; one of the funniest things ever. Exhibit E: He loves making messes!

Audrey loves the BBC's Charlie and Lola (we got it from the library) and I do too. She is obsessed with leaving her hair down and crazy like Lola and saying, "I like my hair completely the way it is." Equally cute and annoying.

Audrey is up and has something to say: dffgnhfgvjkfdfmkl;;''..//ghdvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv. vvvvccxcmmmmippppppppppppp[pppp;. My favorite color is purple, purple, purple! My favorite thing to eat is oatmeal. My favorite thing to sing is "Together". My favorite book to read is new book. My favorite thing to do is be outside! I love R and you love 5!

I need a haircut so bad. I haven't even gotten a trim since July. Audrey needs one too- she has never had one and her hair is getting crazy long. And Mr. Elliot more than ready for his second haircut...

New addiction: American Idol. This is the first year in ages that we have had cable during it's season and I am pretty much hooked. My #1 fave by far is Brooke, but I have been impressed by David Cook lately, and of course, who doesn't love cute little David A (I am not even going to try to spell his last name)? Then there is Carly, who is also pretty cool...I used to love Jason, but lately he has kind of got on my nerves. Any other Idol fans out there?

I am finding it absolutely impossible to keep my house clean. This is a constant source of frustration for me.

I really really want to scrapbook tonight.

I really want to blog more, both posting on my own blog and commenting on all of yours. I never ever run out of things to blog about, it is more a matter of time. Time to sit down and do it and the insane amount of time that it takes for me to get online with dial-up and our incredibly slow laptop. Slow mainly because I have it bogged down with photos...Anyway, I am sorry that I have been kind of MIA lately. I would like to say that I will be around more soon, but we'll see. No more promises or unrealistic expectations...

We've been having lots of dance parties around here lately!

We had a really lovely Easter weekend full of a beautiful service at church, great food, lots of family time, and cute kids doing cute things. Hopefully I will get around to posting some pictures and details one of these days. I never did post about Christmas this last year, so we'll see...

Lots more to say, but Erik is home in an hour and I have those quesadillas to make!

Happy Monday everyone!

sweetness

Audrey did the absolute sweetest thing tonight. She and Elliot and I were cuddled up on the couch just hanging out, when I caught her stroking Elliot's face and smiling at him. "You really love your brother, don't you," I said. She smiled and then immediately started clapping and singing our Thankful Song, a song I have sung to her since she was a baby...

God our Father, God our Father

We thank You, we thank You

For our many blessings, for our many blessings

Amen, amen.

Then, without even being prompted to say what she was thankful for, she said, "Audrey and Elliot! Audrey and Elliot!"

Talk about completely melting this mama's heart. I absolutely cannot get enough of watching my babes fall in love with each other. I truly am blessed to be living this life.

{Journaled on Wednesday, March 19, 2008}

ten on ten :: march

9:30am- Scooping up oatmeal for Audrey's second breakfast/midmorning snack (she gets her first breakfast with Daddy when he gets up with her- I have the sweetest husband ever!)

10:30am- Making Soulemama's super yummy WHO Bread. Find the recipe here.

11:30am- Picking out some pre-naptime reading material

12:30pm- A quick snack for mama

1:30pm- Elliot up from his nap

2:30pm- In need of some mellow music, I put in one of my favorite cds

3:30pm- Working on this week's menu and grocery list

4:30pm- My beautiful girl, crazy hair and all! Those are marshmellows in her little bowl- we ran out of the chocolate we give her for using the potty because I couldn't stop eating it...

5:30pm- Daddy, please come home soon!

6:30pm- An after dinner coloring session

These photos were all taken on Monday, March 10- I just was not able to post them until now...For more on this fun project visit ten on ten :: photo journal.

Hope you are all having a great week!

random me

I was tagged by my sweet friend Chelle to post seven random things about myself, and you know how much I love lists, so here goes...

1. I really, really love loading the dishwasher. I love the organization of it all- trying to fit in as much as I can, yet still putting everything where it will get clean. I have a definite system for my own dishwasher; I always put things in specific places. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone other than myself loads my dishwasher. I usually end up going back through and reorganizing it before I run it. However, I really don't like unloading the dishwasher- just loading it.

2. I always, always watch dvds with the subtitles on, even when I am not watching a foreign film. I do not remember when or why I started doing this, but now I find it really hard to watch anything without being able to read along. I like it because we usually keep our volume turned down pretty low at night when the kids are sleeping, and this way I do not miss anything that was said even if I could not hear it. Using the subtitles also works really well when you are watching a film in which a lot of characters have strong accents and it is hard to understand what they are saying.

3. I am finally coming to terms with the fact that I will just never be a true morning person; I am a night person through and through. I am a grump in the morning (unless I get up after 9:00am...) and I can honestly say that I hate getting out of bed. I do get up around 7:30am most mornings and force myself to be cheerful- I really don't want my kids remembering their mama in a bad mood every morning, but it definitely does not come easily to me. Whereas, find me around 9:30-10:00pm, and I am wide awake and ready to get stuff done. In fact, Erik always tells me that I am the most productive between 10:00pm and 12:00am. It actually works out nicely, because usualy I am the only one awake in the whole house during my peak time, so I get time by myself almost every night. Of course, the downfall is that I always stay up way too late, and then that makes for a difficult morning...

4. I really, really want to have one of my layouts published in a scrapbooking magazine someday, but I am not brave enough to submit anything!

5. I have used Noxema face wash since high school. I try out other brands every now and then, but always go back to Noxema; it just seems to work the best for my skin. Plus I love the smell of it and it is super cheap.

6. I am so not gutsy when it comes to changing my hair style. In fact, I think that I have had the same exact hairstyle since the end of sixth grade when I decided to grow out my bangs because I couldn't figure out how to do those crazy early 90s curling iron tricks. Oh, wait. There was that time nine or so years ago when I cut it to my chin, but other than that, my hair has been long, curly, with no bangs for going on 18 years...that is so sad! My friends laugh at me because I always say that I wish I could be braver and do something wild and crazy like get it highlighted or something, but I never can. Maybe someday...

7. I have the worst eyesight of anyone I know. Seriously bad. I started wearing glasses when I was seven or eight and my eyes got worse every year until I was about 25. Technically, as far as blurriness goes,I am legally blind- I am both nearsighted and farsighted. But thank goodness for modern medicine- I have 20/20 vision with my contacts and almost 20/20 with my glasses. Ever since I was a little girl, I have prayed that my children do not inherit my eyesight- so far so good, but it is still kind of early to tell...

and just because it is on my mind right this very second...

8. This parenting thing is so so hard! I love being a mama so much, but it is definitely the hardest thing I have ever done in my whole life, especially now that I have an almost preschooler. Audrey is 2.5 now and to say that she has a will of her own would be a serious understatement. Discipline has been a huge issue around here of late- what to do, what not to do, what works today might not work tomorrow, on and on...One positive thing to come of it though is that it really keeps me more dependent on God because I am in constant need of His help and guidance in how to handle all the little things that come up. I am really excited because in the women's Bible study I go to, we decided to read Grace-Based Parenting next, a really great book I read last summer. I feel like the timing for this couldn't be better!

No pressure to play along, but if you're interested, I tag: Amy, Aleah, Kari, Shawn, my mama, Vale,  Mandy, Rebecca, and anyone else who wants to join in!

P.S. And a big congratulations to my sweet blogging friend Samantha, who just had her baby boy yesterday! I am so excited for you and can't wait to see pictures of the little guy!

time for an upgrade

Last Thursday afternoon the sun was shining and for the first time in months our driveway was almost clear of snow, so I decided to take the kids on a walk. Elliot is really getting too heavy to carry in the Baby Bjorn, so he rode in the backpack while Audrey sat in our jogging stroller. Thankfully my mother-in-law was also venturing out for a walk at the same time, so she pushed the stroller part of the way because my hands were very full!

Our walk was lovely, although we did pick up some friendly neighborhood dogs who refused to stop following us...Audrey and Elliot loved being outside and I really enjoyed the time to just think and pray. As the days get warmer, I really want walks like this to become a daily afternoon ritual. When Audrey was a baby we went on walks together almost every day, rain or shine, but with the snow and the cold and the crazy nap schedule, I haven't been able to go on many walks this winter. However, although pushing a 25 pound girl in a stroller and carrying an almost 18 pound little boy makes for quite a workout, I think I am definitely ready for a double stroller upgrade!

P.S. I feel the need to mention that while my post-baby pooch is still very present, it really is not nearly as large as this photo portrays! My pocket was stuffed full with all kinds of walking necessities- phone, gloves, a snack for Audrey.The vain part of me just felt like I needed to make that clear...