One Day At A Time

then and now...

2012-02-02T11:19:00.000-08:00

I like looking back on pictures and seeing how my kids grow... makes me smile....

i have a huge headache right now but i came across this pic and i remember taking one like it not long after Cooper was born... he is such a little man now!! i think this will be a regular!

right now...

2012-01-31T20:08:00.000-08:00

right now i am

..... feeling blessed.....

....feeling overwhelmed with lives little daily tasks that i let pile up to high....

...feeling the stress of a few too many days with unorganized chaos around here....

.....needing to get back on our regular routine....

.... grateful for good friends....

.... thankful for the everyday things even if they are stressful at times....

.....feeling a little lost without a daily quiet time with God.... hard to find the time now a days...

....missing getting up early before my kids to clear my head and start my day off right....(never thought i would miss getting up early!!)...

.....tired.....

......still blessed above all......

Christmas 2011 in photos....

2012-01-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

3 months.....

2012-01-30T20:12:00.000-08:00

my little guy turned 3 months this past week.....

melts my heart to see him grow! he was so tiny and perfect...i cant even remember how our days were before he came.. he just fits so perfectly into our little family.

Merry Merry...

2011-12-26T11:07:00.000-08:00

We are taking it slow around here this week... our week last week was SO crazy leading up to Christmas and i was so stressed getting last minute things done... and 'trying' to keep up with the regular things too. Aaron and I didnt go to bed until late every day last week and we are feeling it! but we are laying low this week.. no school... no plans... just relaxing and enjoying each other.. well we are going to try anyway..

The weekend was great spending time with lots of family and fun. i love the holidays. next year i just really need to plan ahead and not wait until the last minute to do everything! i have a problem with that..

finding balance...

2011-12-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

From here

I wrote about this not too long ago.. the need i have to slow down and enjoy the little things. the things i know that i will crave and miss and not remember when my kids are grown and gone. i don't know what it is but i struggle with this daily. i get so distracted with things and to do lists and messes that the next thing i know i am just counting the minutes until nap or bedtime. I hate that. I hate that i feel like a horrible Mommy even though i know i am not. Its just a really big battle inside of me to be present with my kids. i don't know why. i love them and all their little silly things they do and say. I wish i remembered more of them. It makes me sad each night when i know that i have wasted the day away or lost my temper way to many times, to think that we are not promised tomorrow. But i know that God knows my heart and he knows how much i struggle with this.

a while back i started getting up before my kids in the morning to just have that quite time to clear my head. Man did that make a huge difference in the way my day went. I am not naturally a morning person but i am out of necessity for my family. Just to be still in the house and be able to just still my heart before i take on the day was HUGE!. i miss that.. but i know that this is just a season. as i sit here and hold a snugly little baby in my arms while i type. i am trying to be thankful for this time that i can just hold him while he is just so little and still. because it will not be long and i will be chasing after him just for a snuggle. even as i sit here holding him my mind is racing with the 'to-do's i have surrounding me: a dirty kitchen from serving my kids dinner, a sink full of dishes from the day, laundry needing to be folded and put away, a table to be wiped down. I hate that i cant just be okay with things like that just for a while.

but i am working on it. i am trying to limit things during my day that distract me from my family. even though its hard. I really struggle when Aaron works his afternoon shift.. i am not a happy person when my routine is thrown off even a little bit! i have not been a happy person this week and i don't like that at all. I wish i could just go with the flow more but i am trying. trying to find a good groove for those weeks like that. Trying to find a good groove with homeschooling/baby nursing/toddler tantrums/snack time/ nap time/ me time. okay me time doesn't really happen but i will take what i can get! even if its a few minutes like this to process my feelings and to type them out. it helps!

I am struggling going into this Christmas season with all the 'to dos' i have floating in my head. i had such good intentions to get on track for December 1st and have my little countdown with daily activities with me and the kids. but you know what?? its stressful. its stressful trying to keep up with whats in my head. ( why is there so much??!!) and i know my kids wont remember most if any of the little things i do during this Christmas season this year. so I am trying to lay low and enjoy the moment.

i will still put up our Christmas countdown but it will be a few days late.. and that's okay

i will still plan little fun activities with my kids to teach them about what the true meaning is of the season.... but it wont be everyday

I will try to get on the floor and play with my kids everyday ( i am bad with this one) even if it means i miss doing a load of laundry or a load of dishes. they will get done later.

I will say yes. yes to things that i always say no to just because its messy or takes to much time or i just don't feel like it. i will try to say yes because they matter to me more than a clean floor.

I want to remember the way a little girl stops and 'feeds' her babies just like she sees mommy do so many times during the day. and she is learning how to be a mommy from watching me everyday. and that's alot of pressure!

i want to remember how a big brother takes the time to slow down and talk to his little brother like he is his best friend

and how he asks to give him Eskimo kisses before bedtime each night

I want to remember the weight of his little body as i carry him around the house. because tomorrow he will be bigger.

i want to remember the wonder in his little eyes as he soaks in this new world. his home. his family.

i came across this post the other day. it really spoke to me in the place i was at. i am struggling with 'doing it all' and when i cant (which is everyday) i feel like i didn't do my job. or at least enough of my job. then i read this:

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” ~2 Corinthians 12:9-10 {ESV}

and i got it... i know that i cant do it all. i was never made to do it all. that is His job and its my job to first and foremost trust and call on him for the strength i need each day for the challenges that i will face. and after that i need to do my best to use my time wisley and be patient with my kids. because at the end of the day that is what matters. not how clean my floors are or how much laundry i have left...

okay i hope this wasnt too rambly! but it has been pressing heavy on my heart latley.

thankful

2011-11-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

3 weeks and a menu

2011-11-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

I am not going to talk about how my little itty bitty babe is already three weeks old because all the hormones surging through my body will make me cry.... so instead i will talk about how cute and little he still is and i still just want to sit and hold him and squish and kiss his little cheeks all day long.. i have to tear myself away from him just to do something constructive like....laundry or make food for the children in my house who think they are starving...

he is just too cute for words...

He is actually a really good baby. He only really fusses if he has a dirty diaper or if he is hungry. He is a great sleeper. and only wakes me up a few times night with2-4 hour stretches.. which i cant complain. I remember with Kaiden i wasnt sleeping AT. ALL... but then after Brinley and now with Cooper i really appreciate the art of Swaddling.. yes people this is called baby magic and if i would have known that with Kaiden i think i would have actually slept in the first months. Cooper is starting to have more awake periods. i love seeing his little round eyes all open wide taking in the world around him. his home. his family. the craziness that is us. Its a time when you really start to see a little personality in him.

I also am back on the menu planning wagon.. well i was never really off ( how do people live without meal planning??!!) but i wanted to start back on posting my weekly menus. i had good plans for doing it on Monday but hey life happens.. here is what we have this week.

Monday: Salmon and Corn chowder.... Love this soup..
Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Sweet Potato Fries (the chicken i bought and roasted off myself.. i shred the meat and use or freeze it and then use the rest of the chicken to make chicken stock.. SO healthy for you its unbelievable.. make sure you buy a good chicken.. not just any old bird!) ( also i used bottled bbq sauce this time but the recipe in the link is amazing! i have made it many times and love it!)
Wednesday: Taco night... enough said
Thursday: Bowtie Lasagna.. this recipe is so fast and easy.. i make it all the time...
Friday: Pizza... yum....

p.s. he is already bored with the camera.....

going solo...

2011-11-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Aaron went back to work.. i kept teasing him about not being able to stay away from that place for two weeks...but he spent almost everyday home working on something so i think he felt busy anyway.. well i felt like he was busy!

i had mixed feelings about yesterday. i was thankful for the two weeks that he was able to be around and anxious at how it would go getting back into a routine. we THRIVE on routine at this house... i do and my kids do. i do not do well when i am thrown off that is for sure! I really struggled after Brinley was born getting back into the swing of things, finding our new groove, a new 'normal'. I had expectations that i never really knew about until i was having breakdown after breakdown and my mom would tell me to just not expect so much and to just do what i can. i didn't really think i had any expectations but i did. So this time around i wondered how it would be. would it be worse? better? i have heard from so many people with more than 3 kids that either 2 or 3 is hard.. really hard and after that it doesn't really rock your world so much ( in a bad way). so in the back of my mind i have always thought 'was 2 the hard one for us?' or will it be 3? if its 3 how can i handle that if i thought 2 was hard!

Luckily I have been so far so good. i didn't really expect to much out of my first day solo.. just getting through the day was good enough! i have been a lot more relaxed this time around though. the kids amazingly play for most of the day quite nicely..( a rarity thats for sure!) I was tied to a little boy and a chair most of the day but it was okay. we got through it. with only a few tears shed (theirs) and a few times of lost patience ( mine). I think we are finding our groove. its different but it just seems like Cooper just 'fits' its hard to describe i guess. you always think of this whole new dynamic you family will take on with each new little person but it wasn't so much a big thing this time in a good way. it was like there was just a space just for him carved out and now he just fits..

He is really a good baby. Only really fusses when he is hungry and other than that is pretty chill.. Thank goodness the Lord knew what i needed!

The kids have been so great i really couldn't have dreamed it any better. They ask to hold him ALL. THE. TIME. and they just love on him so much. Brinley is a great big sister and even a little help sometimes.. but most of all SHE. IS. TWO.. lets not forget that people... and the Lord knows that she is just discovering it.. bless her little curly haired self but man is that child a little drama queen...

I really feel great this time around (the Lord again!) and really felt back to 'normal' a day or two after he was born. when he was 6 days old we went to Appleton shopping for the day and he was great! as long as he was fed every 2-3 hours he was perfectly content.. we also went shopping the other day in Wausau with my mom and he was great also... too bad they are not that easy to travel with when they are two!

I am really and truly Blessed beyond measure right now. i just look that them and am so thankful for how God has poured into my life with these three littles and how much i don't really deserve any of it. I am thankful for all the little things and the big things too but they just really melt my heart.

mmmmmmm....love them

one week...

2011-11-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

my little baby is one week old... how can that be???! it really does go faster and faster the more kids you have.. kinda sad but the reality. i think this time i am recognizing that more and just taking so many more opportunities to just sit and hold his little body and stare at him and kiss him and smell him..mmmmmm. i know he is growing fast but i don't want to forget this time!

i took advantage of nap time and snapped a few newborn pics to see how he would do... if you remember Brinley was a fussy little babe and pretty much refused anything besides being held or sleeping! so i didn't get many of her at all. this little guy is so sleepy and compliant! its great... i just snapped a few before he started to wake up but my head is full of more ideas for today.. cant wait.... my little man

plus one....

2011-10-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

I am in baby heaven! our new little guy arrived a few days before expected on Wednesday October 26th at 350pm. weighing in at 6lbs 11oz he was just the right size! we are all doing so great and getting along better than i had dreamed. the kids are so excited about him and ask to hold him at least 50 times a day.. its so cute!

he is a great baby and only really fusses when he is hungry so far.. he is a great sleeper so i am thankful for that! i feel amazing for just having a baby. i have no pain (didn't really after the first couple of hours!) and other than a little tired now and then i am feeling good. i am trying to still take it easy though because even though i feel good my body still needs rest.

his birth was something that i was very anxious about. i was getting more and more anxious as the days would come and on Tuesday night aaron and I went out for dinner i knew by the way i was feeling that i would be in the next day or so. my water broke the next morning. i was SO nervous after that and i had to really pray and calm myself. i didn't really know what to expect as the hours ticked by and i wasn't really feeling like i was IN labor.. just a few minor contractions but nothing that i would even have to stop for. after negotiation with my doctor about waiting to put the iv in ( i don't like to labor in bed and that iv is really annoying to carry around) she told me that usually she would start pitocin already but since i was really adamant that i wanted to try to get things moving on my own without intervention, she let me have until lunch ( it was 8am then) to see what i could do on my own before she would start anything....
so after that i pretty much ran up and down the hallways for 4 hours trying to get things moving.... no luck.. i only dilated another centimeter.. so pitocin it was and i was nervous because i didn't want to have any pain meds and didn't know how my body would handle pitocin. i had an AMAZING nurse and i couldn't have asked for someone better! they started me on the lowest dose a little after 12 and by 3pm i was 5 centimeters. i asked to get in the tub and she was very hesitant but my nurse convinced her that i could just for a short while... little did anyone know what it would do! i got in the tub at 5 cm at about 315 after a contraction or two i had a very strong one and i felt the urge to push.. i was scared because i thought that was WAY to soon for that! and i thought i needed something for the pain.. the nurse was called and she said for me to get out of the tub and she would check me and see from there. i had one more very strong contraction and then got out of the tub. i told aaron i was going to go to the bathroom since i was already in there before i go to bed. i had one more contraction and then went to get up and knew right then that there was no way i could make it to the bed! luckily the nurse was in the room already and after she told me to try to get in bed i told her i felt his head... ( boy were they surprised!) she pulled the emergency cord in the bathroom and every nurse on the floor came running! it was slightly hilarious if i wasn't in the middle of having a baby:) My doctor was called but there was no time for here to make it. luckily an amazing doctor was just right down the hall and came running to deliver my little babe.. he was perfect and healthy and then i finally made it to bed just before my doctor comes running in! i looked at her and told her sorry you missed the excitement! he was born at 350 after just a couple of hours of active labor..

soooo... needless to say he has quite a story to tell about his first birthday:) but we are great and all doing well. i was getting so bored and restless sitting up at the hospital so they let me us go home on Thursday later afternoon. it was nice to be home with the kids and get back into the swing of things.

the first morning after we were home the kids came running in and we so excited about him being home!

here are just a few pictures from the first few days i wanted share for those who haven't gotten to meet him yet... he is so much more scrumptious in person!

A Month at a Glance: Our Homeschool Journey

2011-10-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

We wrapped up our first month of homeschooling at the end of September and i wanted to share our journey and some thoughts as we worked through last month.. i hope to do this every month just to keep track but we will see!

We decided to use the Mother Goose Time Pre-k Curriculum for Kaiden's pre k year for a number of reasons. it is very bright and colorful and full of great things. as a very visual person i knew that i would teach better if it was appealing to me and kids love that kind of thing too. the whole months kit is shipped to us every month with everything we need for that months theme: lesson book, craft supplies, art projects, journals..... pretty much everything besides the glue sticks are in the box. its very easy to maneuver as each day and its materials are packaged separately.

another reason i really gravitated towards this program is its ability to incorporate multiple ages and stages. Brinley does pretty much everything kaiden does just on a different level. she loves it because she thinks she needs to do every single thing anyone else is doing and i love it because i don't really have to shoo her away or find something else for her to do for the duration of time.

one of the big reasons why i choose it was the fact that i knew going into a new homeschooling year and having a newborn a few months in, i was not going to have the time or the brain power to plan everything out myself. this way i am hoping to avoid missing a ton of school after the baby comes.

The month of September was "My Amazing Body" and to be completely honest...i skimmed alot of the month over because there was a lot that he was really beyond (colors, shapes, basic letters) i had never used this curriculum so i didn't know what to expect. i will have to say that it is a pretty accurate pre k program. mostly 2 3 and 4 year olds. but i think most 4 year olds (especially most girls) would be bored with most of it. so i skimmed it and Incorporated a ton of my own finds and activities to supplement what i didn't do in the box.

Over all i think the month went good for our first month in. We had good days, great days and bad days..I am learning so much along the way and so are both of my kids. they thrive on a daily schedule and we follow a pretty good one most days.

I loved that all the materials were all included in my box for the month.. made my life so much easier and took the real 'work' out of the lesson planning part. i still spent time most nights before going over the next days lessons so i wasn't doing that along the way. made me feel a little more organized.

I didn't take many pictures like i wanted to but i do intend to document most of what we do. i will try to do that for my next post.

I love that I am seeing my kids grow and learn in so many different ways as we continue on this journey together. Its very empowering as a Mom to see the fruits of your labor right in front of you everyday..

In my next post i hope to cover a few tips and trick that have worked for me so far as far organization and lesson planning and also share my favorite links to the free resources out there for pre -k learning.

the boy...

2011-09-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

This child of mine.... the one i prayed for.... the one that made me a mother the very first time..... he is growing up he is. I always thought that it would be so weird to have my kids get 'older'. like older than the kids that i was used to working with and teaching. i love the baby toddler stage and taught preschool for a few years but i never really thought that it would come to our house so soon! Its a natural thing, them getting older. its scary if you think about the big picture and how much rests on my shoulders. but i do know one thing and one thing only.

i have to take it day by day.

i am always thinking about whats next and forgetting to be in the right now.

i am learning.

my kids are teaching me.

they only know right now... they dont know what next week holds nor do they even care.

this homeschool journey is teaching me that....big time...

This summer we signed Kaiden up for swimming lessons at the high school. i thought it would be a win win... we would get out of the house 4 days a week and he would be engaged with other kids learning something active...

it was great.. i was very skeptical at first. we went to the pool the day before lessons started and even with his life jacket on he would only get in on the stairs and maybe a foot past but he was content doing that.

fast forward 3 weeks into lessons and we went back to the same pool... that little man jumped in, and swam the length of the big pool by him self (wearing a life jacket) i cried... thats what you do when you are pregnant and your first born is growing and learning right before your eyes. it makes me so proud. he was so proud of himself too. i was perfect.

so we finished lessons right before vacation and school started. we will be signing up again next year for sure!
here he is on the way out the door for his last lesson

wearing your goggles on the way makes it way better...

After we got home....

The girl....

2011-09-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

So my kids are usually acting crazy so if i have something important to do i usually dont take them with me... hello.... Aaron was taking the siding off the house or the roof.. its all blended together for me now... and I had a senior shoot scheduled for that evening. I took Brinley with me and was fully expecting to be chasing her around the whole time.. wonderful! but to my delight she was a peach! we were there a little early so i took a few shots of her just to test out my lighting and stuff and i really wished she was dressed cuter:) i will be making a trip back out there with both my kids and aaron to get a few shots of them... love it once the leaves change. she was a bit crazy when we got there and was just running around exploring but she is so funny when she is by herself ( and her little entourage of babies/blankets).

this is at my Grandpas shop which used to be my Great Grandpas workshop. my grandpa has put so much detail and work into the little things. its so neat to see!

I said "lets sit on the bench!" and yes she had to make sure her baby was sitting nice before she even attempted to get on the bench...

did i mention she runs???

love this one..

once the girls got there she was SO MELLOW! it was actually quite humorous! They kept saying wow she is so good.. and i laughed.. she is rarely like that expect when she has a captive audience i guess! she had to make sure she sat down right where Bethany did and did the same thing.. it was cute

and 'the chair' i love this chair and she thought it was comfy too i guess!

and yes.. her baby has the same kind of hair she does... its actually quite funny:)

oh and the senior.... cant forget about her!

Brain dump

2011-09-03T05:48:00.000-07:00

My mind has been consumed with little projects/ideas/to-do lists lately. I guess you could call it nesting? I stay up so late at night browsing the internets for ideas and then get up early just to see what i can cram in in between everyday life (which isnt alot let me tell you). I haven't really gotten much done but at least i have a good idea of what needs to be done. i hope to knock some things out maybe later this afternoon or tomorrow evening.

I am starting to get stressed about all the fall things starting up. {wed night activities, Sunday school, small groups, school starting, birthday parties, anniversary, apple picking/preserving, salsa making, wedding shoot, Senior picture shoot} all of which are happening between now and when this baby will come. soooo i am going to make a list... and yes it will probably be crazy huge but its good to see it on 'paper'

{To Do}

Finish Brinleys room- we took her crib out a few weeks ago so thats done, i need to empty her closet and see if Aaron will have time to do some sort of built in something to maximize the space in their. I have a white dresser that is a little smaller than the huge one currently in her room that i need to sand and paint sitting in the garage right now...

Clean out Laundry Room/Storage.. this is pretty self explanatory

Clean/Organize front entry and closet - i want to paint but its so dark down their that i am afraid that any color will just make it darker? the closet is a mess and needs to be gone through and organized. i also want to hang a few pieces of art or make something for the bare walls down their.. and maybe the stairway? not really sure

Paint shelf in Bathroom- the bathroom is done just need to paint the shelving unit behind the door and then hang some thing on the walls...

Finish painting living/dinning room - right now i have random paint colors slapped on the wall and i need to paint over them and then hang a few things above the dinning table. the lighting/electrical also needs to be finished but thats on Aarons list :)

Boys Room - this room is pretty much undecided for right now.. i have some ideas but putting it all together on a tight budget is another thing. what does need to happen is the crib being set up and the closet emptied and organized. it also needs to have a better storage system in their. not sure what i am doing about the changing table/ dresser situation yet at this moment. this is a project that i have dedicated October to after the birthdays are over with.

Master Bedroom - i hate that my master bedroom is like the last place i want to be in or even think about adding anything cute too. we have a bed and paint on the walls and a cute little vintage chair in the corrner. I have an old window Aaron needs to hang above the bed and i want to make a cute little banner to hang on it.. their is awkward empty wall space everywhere and not sure what to put on it but its needs something and possibly some curtains??? also the lighting situation is horrible.. ideally i would like to install some swing lamps on each side of the bed and get some cute little side tables for each side.. since right now Aaron has a Rubbermaid tote :) also have to seal the walls since its in the basement and then set up the pack and play for the baby

Basement/play room - We got a couch for the basement to make it at least usable for our family a few months ago. its better but lacks alot! we also moved the train table and some of the kids toys to the one side of the basement which is nice but it really lacks good organization. ideally i am thinking about painting the wood that is down their on the walls to brighten it up and then bring in some toy organization and a hang something on the bare walls ( do you see a theme with the walls in my house???!)

oh and Aaron just happens to be re-siding the house and putting on a new roof along with installing new windows all in the next few weeks... did i mention that is fall and its busy and we have having a baby in 7 weeks??!! yeah? okay.. just making sure... so that is that..

oh and whats a post without a picture???? a boring one so here is a cute little something i snapped on our first official day of school at home

this is a very abnormal representation of how they are together just for the record.... :)

the little things

2011-08-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Some days can be just another day. going through the motions of life and not really stopping to see the sweetness that i have in my little everyday things. I have really been thinking about being present lately. Being Present with my kids, Being Present with my husband, Being present in my day to day. i can sometimes just be in coast mode and just 'do' what i need to be doing, dishes, laundry, email, clean up. but i really want to be present and recognize the special things in life. my kids will only be this way for today and tommarow brings something new. and soon it will bring a new little to this house. i dont want them to remember mommy always checking something off her list and not stopping to just sit on the floor with them and play.

I dont want to just walk by the pretty flowers we planted and watched grow by our front door. I want to stop, like they do, and notice each color, the smell and the bugs on them...

i dont want to just push them from thing to thing and miss out on the moment in between when i can get distracted with moving on

I dont want to forget how much they ask for and love waffles for breakfast

and how sweet and innocent a little boy can be. There is something so special about freshly picked flowers from your little boy. My sister in law asked if i wanted a pair of scissors to cut them down and i said no. these were perfect in his eyes.

. roots and all. and they were perfect in mine too:)

a little late...

2011-08-09T12:43:00.001-07:00

So this is only about a month and a half late but hey.. at least i am getting to it so thats a plus. i saw this cute idea somewhere and maybe if i can get on top of things i can do these every year along with my letter i try to write my kids and have them printed in a book instead of trying to do a scrapbook which is pretty much over my head. sooo we will see

success....?

2011-08-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

okay so i technically didn't have this project 'done' until yesterday...but it has been finished just sitting and waiting to be hung for almost a week so does that count?? i like it.. i like it alot.. i still have to decide what to put on the chalkboard part... i have a few things floating around in my head for quotes.. something inspiring since i will see it every minute of every day.

i am DYING with the lack of color in my living space.. all. this. brown.. is just slowly killing me..... i would love to throw some curtains like this up for a pop of color:

and a few pillows:

and acute little gallery wall:

but we are trying to pay some things off and get our finances back in order asap so our budget for little cute projects is pretty much nothing:) i will try to find a way though... really because if i see another shade of brown in my living room i might just go ahead and do this to the walls:

which really probably would be cheaper in the long run if i had the guts to do it... haha.. we will see.. i need some fresh ideas in my space before fall hits and i have no time to do anything..

keeping busy...

2011-07-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

life has been busy.. life has been hard.... life has been sweet... life has been a blessing....

i have a few things i want to share but i want to think them through a little bit first.

i have been needing to focus my attention off a few things and put it into something else.. i have decided that since i always have at LEAST 200 creative ideas floating around inside my head at any given moment, that it would be well spend to maybe cross one of two off?? crazy i know but i am learning that i am perfectionist.. which some people would laugh at but really i am.. i am so much that i don't start most things i want to do because i know that i cannot get them done the way i want or need them to be.. this sounds pretty crazy really but its true.. its a little bit of letting go of expectations also.. still learning that one...

anyway i have started a love affair with pintrest... its a great and addicting thing for people like me.. and really i could spend hours on there and have nothing to show for it! then i came across this in my blog reader today:

and knew that it was calling deep into my soul... really :)

So between now and tuesday (which is when they are all checking back with each other) i WILL complete at least one creative thing (out of hundreds) that i have 'pinned' to one of my boards. Now that will not include a recipe because that i do a couple times a week :)

here are a few that are on my short list:

some kind of frame gallery wall something like these:

i literally have everything done for this i just need to paint/stain it....

and that is just a few projects that (i think) i can get done in a pretty quick manner.. we will see though! hey and then maybe i will actually have something to blog about!!! except my kids you know... but anyway that is that and i will for sure come back and update if i actually do finish one of these.

fathers day

2011-06-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

We had a great fathers day. spent the afternoon with family and took a boat ride on the river with my grandparents. I love seeing him with the kids.. these are all of the great grandkids except for one little guy who we get to see again on the 4th :) cant wait.. i think he has room for one more on his lap!

dancing in the rain...

2011-06-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

It has been so cold and raining here lately. i dont mind the mild weather but a little sunshine would be nice! it finally came out today and looks like it might be here to stay for a while. even though it has been cooler and raining we have still been spending a bit of time cooking dinner and smores over the fire. i love the smell of campfire.. makes me long for camping! i wish we had a camper and we can just go whenever.

It was Kaidens birthday on Wednesday so we cooked over the fire. it was raining but the kids didnt mind! they put on their rain boots and had a blast in the water.. my kids love the water.

oh. my. these. curls.. and the eyelashes.. and the dirt....this is SO my Brinley!

Its Friday, Friday, Gettin down on Friday.....

2011-06-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

okay i couldn't help myself.. thanks to my brothers i have that extremely annoying song in my head on most fridays.... hope i can share the joy!

so we are in for another long day the kids and I. Aaron is working late tonight. I had a doctors appt this morn and everything looks great.. almost 21 weeks.. its flying by! {oh did i mention i am pregnant?! i guess thats what happens when you dont blog for 4 months:)} I picked up my contacts at the eye doctor and we headed home. I did learn that my Docter ( the new one) is also due the same week i am ..... wonderfull.. this is not helping ease my transition into a new doctor after having the same one for 5 years and delivering both of my kids. She is bringing on a new doctor so she will have a back up for her. All the doctors at our clinic are new so its kinda frustrating because you dont know much about them.. i had amazing natural hospital births with both my kids and thats just what i wanted and what i want this time around too. i have a few friends that work on the OB floor so i will have to pick their brains and see what they think about the new doctors.

I have Peanut butter Granola in the oven right now baking. cant wait to have it on some yogurt later. Its hot and humid today that might mean we have to break out the pool.... i also have black beans cooking on the stove.. we love beans and rice.. so cheap, easy and yummy.. and good for you too!

we are gearing up for a 4 year old birthday around these parts... that is exciting.

my living room looks like this right now..

thats all for this fridays randomness!

wanermeyon

2011-06-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

We had a picnic yesterday when the weather was so beautiful. My kids love being outside so they thought it was great. they also love to eat.. especially this one... we had "wanermeyon and samips" as brinley called them and can we talk about those curls and eyelashes???

They love watermelon or most anything for that matter.

Like REALLY love it

Yes we had to change clothes when we were done :) she actually would have ate the whole thing rind and all if i wouldn't have stopped her.

outdoors...

2011-06-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

i don't have much to say... as you can see by my lack of posting the past months.... i haven't picked up my camera much but i want to change that. i took more pictures tonight than i have in the last 3 months.. oops..

we have been enjoying the weather here and spending lots of time outside. the garden is planted and we cant wait to start harvesting! tonight the weather was beautiful. the kids are loving it. they LOVE to be outside and just roam around and explore the yard and garden i love it. they found lots of treasures tonight and its fun seeing Brinley's personality outdoors also. she is quite the little bug lover.. as you will see

she carried her little Caterpillar around with a closed fist and just swinging her little arm.. it was so cute! She sure isnt afraid of bugs this girl..

and yes... she even tried to eat it.. dont worry it didnt even last a second before she stopped that idea.. she didnt even make a face.. we need to watch this one!

we had a lot of toad in our garden last year so it was fun to see this big one in the font yard today. we are going to make some little toad houses and see if they like those.

typical...

2011-02-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

a typical day...

They always help me unload the dishwasher after breakfast.. such a sweet treat for me( i hate doing that) and they LOVE this.. double bonus for mom!

A little glimpse of 'the look'

oh the horror!

this girl.. man she is going to throw us for a loop i tell you if we arent on top of things! She is SO dramatic about everything.. and SO very aware of how she can change her look/attitude to affect the situation for her good!.. oh boy.....but shes my baby and when i look at her i just want to sweep her up and squish and kiss her all day.. which is mostly what i do all day anyway...

maintaining a little sanity..

2011-01-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

I totally laughed when i wrote that title... i mean really who am i kidding? I never go a day without thinking i have lost all sanity at least one point even for a little bit.. i don't think i am alone.. please tell me i am not alone!

so i have been thinking a lot lately about this job i have.. this role as wife, mother, homemaker and all the in between that keeps me busy all day. its something i have always craved even as a little girl but without knowing even the half of it when it comes to what it takes.

i am thankful that i am able to be on this journey that i know some people crave but for various reasons are not on. I am blessed to say the least.

the past two years or so, the Lord has really been revealing more and more of the 'steps ahead' for me in different ways when it comes to motherhood and being a wife and help meet. i am liking the way it is evolving around me and he is molding me to it. it makes me feel good knowing that i am in his will, even though i still struggle every day.

i thought i would share a few tips that i have really adapted and learned to love over the past year that has helped me get through those days when you are just waiting for daddy to get home or for bedtime.. or really any day for that matter. i have slowly come to realize that for my days to start of right and end right i need some kind of pick me ups ... here is what has helped me:

Start and end your day with a clean kitchen

In our current home the kitchen is the center of the main living space. you can see it from most everywhere. therefore if its a mess you can see it. I started this back when kaiden was born and it really has just suck because it has such an impact on me. I am pretty sure the basic concept came from flylady.net. If i am in a really good routine its natural for me to just clean up everything right after supper and before i go to bed. sometimes are harder than others but its become a rhythm for me now. a ryhthm that my whole home feels day to day. its just a great feeling waking up to start the new day off with a clean kitchen. i spend most of my day in there anyway so why not make it happy! i can really see the change when i don't do and its a burden when i wake up in the morning.

Meal planning

I really have no idea what i did before i started doing this and i have no idea how it even worked for me! I would be crazy if i did not do this. Every week ( i usually do mine on Sundays) i take a few minutes (sometimes i just leave my planner open and write as i go throughout the day) to think about our week ahead, what we have going on and such, and jot down a simple meal for each night of the week. i have a pretty large recipe stash to pull from and like i said before i love to cook so this isn't very hard for me. usually takes less than 20 minutes tops. as i write down the meal, snacks and such for the week i write my grocery list too ( i use a small spiral notebook and do each week on two joining pages, i list MTWTFSS on one side with the meals and then on the conjoining side i write my grocery list so i can see them at the same time) it really works great for me especially since i started with the spiral notebook. i am not losing sheets of paper anymore! and i can always look back at weeks past if i need supper ideas! i am a VERY visual person so this is great for me to be able to physically see each day of the week and what is for meals. i have since got a little spiral planner and have been then writing my meals on each day which is working great also for the day to day stuff. really i don't know how people survive running their households without meal planning of some sort because it was pure chaos before i implemented this! if you have another plan please share in the comments i would love to hear!

Music

I have to say.. since having kids i really have not listened to music nearly as much as i used to. before i got married i gave up listening to music in the car because of a few things god had revealed to me most of all that our life is filled with noise from everywhere no matter where we go.. so if i can eliminate some i will and it also gives me time to think! imagine that... anyway i have slowly been implementing this back into our life a little bit more.. don't get me wrong we listen to music, my kids both have music playing while they sleep but it just wasn't flowing with me for some reason.. i get bored really easily so listening to the same cd drove me crazy more than once!.. enter pandora.com.. i came across this site just before Christmas and i LOVE it.. Its a free radio station that you can customize to what you want to hear and you can make as many stations as you want. we have missed almost of month of Sunday morning church service for sick reasons so i will turn on our station with worship and will let that start our day off its great.. the kids stations are great too because its always a great variety and you rarely hear the same song twice! amazing!.. you can search genre, song name and artist. it just lift our hearts a little to let go and dance you sillies out during the day. i know my kids love it too.

Nap/Quiet Time

My kids are 3 1/2 and 16 months and they are amazing nappers! .. they both go down right after lunch for about 2-3 hours like clockwork. and yes i know how lucky i am! I think i knew how much this mommy need that time which is why i am very adamant for them to take it. Kaiden rarely refuses a nap but even still he has his own quiet time in his room for that time. a lot of people don't realize that that kids need that time too. they need that down time, that alone time to just be still and think or rest their bodies. it refuels the body and soul and makes for a happy mommy:)

A Drink of Choice

i love coffee but i rarely drink it in the morning. i don't use it as a means to get me through the day more as a lift me up for my mind and comforting measure.. I most always save my drink of choice ( which lately has been my chai latte yummm) for nap time. It just adds to that serene time and makes me feel great.

So there you have it! If any of you are out there (knock knock??) I would love to hear your little things that make your day work for you!

Mondays

2011-01-17T11:28:00.000-08:00

Its snowing like crazy here right now.. i love it! its just so cozy and warm i am soaking up the winter this year. I usually am sick of it pretty quick but not this year. not really sure why. I know everything in life seems to go by so fast latley and i dont want to miss things i guess.

I have a loaf of bread in the oven right now.. i dont have high hopes with this one only because its probably like my 50th loaf of bread that hasnt turned out.. i cannot figure this out! i narrowed the problem down to the fact that i am not producing the gluten in the bread.. how do we fix that??? good question.. i have no idea.. i am still trying though!

we moved the crib mattress down this weekend... ill give you one guess why!

yeah she is a little stinker!.. on saturday morning aaron and kaiden left pretty early to go with his dad and brother to a maple syrup conference which left me and brinley home to get ready for a baby shower later. I was up way before her and eventually heard her make some noise so i walked into her room and she is standing by the door!.. talk about freaky!!! I really have no idea how she got out of the crib without breaking her neck. seriously.. that girl will give me a heart attack sooner or later! i also turned around this week and found her standing on the kitchen table.. yeah that would be her!... oh boy

random....

2011-01-12T11:29:00.000-08:00

Aaron was just telling me this morning that we only have about a month of winter left before it starts to get a little warmer.. by warmer i mean greater degrees than 20... but that signals maple syrup time around here and the planning has already been going on for a few months now. We had some warmer weather right before Christmas in where a good portion of our snow melted. kaiden kept asking if it was 'syrup time' because we told him that when the snow starts melting its maple syrup time:)

Aaron and kaiden are outside right now sledding down a makeshift sledding hill complete with a custom made stairway and everything.. video to come soon!

I am having a sinus thing right now.. brinley is getting over a cold and so is aaron but i thought i would miss it.. i guess not.. hopefully it doesn't get worse before it gets better.

I finally got a book i have been waiting for from the library.. i cant wait to cook through it! looks so yummy!

I am feeling a little cooped up this past week with brinley being sick and keeping her home... that's normal for this time of year at our house i guess.

We have been talking alot about our house and how long we want to stay and when/what we want to buy and how soon.. we are pretty set on getting more land the more the better and because of the mold/sickness issues we have had at this house we are strongly contemplating building next time.. We found someone selling some land with a house on it that he had gutted and put in new windows but never finished. we were very interested but we also didn't want to just jump in with both fee right away without being sensitive to all the other factors. after much prayer we decided that this year we are going to focus on finishing the little things around this house but not start anything major, pay off the rest of our debt this year and by next year we will be debt free (for the second time....) and then we can focus all of our time, money and energy into a new place and we will see where God will take our little family. We are excited to see!

Just a Typical Day

2011-01-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

....around these parts..

the christmas story

2011-01-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

I had a great plan this year for kaiden to memorize luke 2 for christmas time. i knew he could do probably do it but we figured him just remembering the story itself was a win! he did pretty good telling the story at each christmas we went to. I wanted to record it then becuase he did it so well but never got the chance. i had him do it a few days ago and he did pretty good but he was a bit distracted with things going on around him so he wasnt on top of it as much but he still did great!

Untitled from Melissa Rakowski on Vimeo.

snippets from decemeber

2011-01-07T05:42:00.000-08:00

I tried to pick up my camera a lot in decmeber. It felt really good. Most of what i shot was just little parts of our day. things i want to remember. sometimes its easy to remember the big things but not so easy with the small. I want to attempt to do this every month even if i dont get everyday but most of them. Ideally i would like to at the end of the year print them in a little book. just something to look back on.

click to make bigger

cookies

2011-01-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

My mom has always had a cookie exchange party for her birthday in December but this year she did something a little different. she had the three kids over to decorate Christmas cookies....

and everything is a weapon

she gave the kids little treat buckets with some little things

each kid got a cute little cookie ornament

and kaiden may or may not have eaten more cookie dough then was baked...

Christmas, Part 2

2011-01-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

We headed up north for New Years weekend to celebrate christmas with Aarons family. we had a great time away and enjoyed spending it with family.

christmas, part 1

2011-01-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

We had a relaxing week leading up to christmas this year. i planned it that way and i didnt want to be rushed into the holiday season and miss the little moments.

i thought I would just throw up the pictures.. they are pretty self explanitory i think

This year instead of exchanging names with my siblings we decided to do something different. we had a few ideas but we decided to get together and make 3 batches of Pioneer Womans cinnamon rolls, package them up all cute and randomly deliver to people around town. So on Christmas Eve i had a full house and it smelled great!

the only picture i took christmas morning.. but it says alot...

Christmas at Mimi and Papa's

fresh ideas for a new year..

2011-01-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

I know we are a week or so into the new year but i wanted to just get some ideas out there for my minds sake. I heard on Dave Ramsey the other day about how dreaming is great but if everyone only dreamed we wouldnt get too far. So having goals is great but I want to write them down.. its a little bit more of a commitment.

a few goals for the year to come:

- Finish the few house projects we have underway (kitchen, bathroom)
- Pay off the rest of our debt including car (should be done well before next year)
- Make a habit of getting up before the kids and starting my day right ( i have been getting up before them for a while now but I want to move it a little earlier so i can fit in some quiet time and hopefully some exercise)
- Do some sort of physical activity durring each day (or lets be real.. at least 3 times a week!)
- Find a good devotional book and dive in deep ( i struggle alot with reading my bible and retaining/getting infomation to apply to my daily life.. i need to find a good devotional book out there to bridge the gap for me)
- Get into a groove with kaidens "schooling". most of the educational stuff happens in our day to day. but there is a lot more i want to incorporate for him to really help curb those times that he is often just crazy bored and drives me crazy!
and I thought I would share a few fresh ideas from my 'inspiration file' i love browsing through it to get me motivated! Not sure where each picture came from though.

Love how crisp this looks even though its a dump central!

Really love this idea for space.. Plan on adding it to our downstairs bathroom

THIS is OUR DREAM! isnt is Gorgeous?? we are working towards that!

Love this look. i want to build a collection of white things to do this someday

thats all for now!

12 months..

2011-01-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

I love looking back and seeing how my kids have grown in the past year. Its funny to see their personaliies in each picture too! Here is a picture from each month from 2010.

p.s. note someones attitude the begining and end of the year... she is not fond of smiling for the camera as you can see..

{Countdown}

2011-01-01T07:26:00.000-08:00

The past couple of years i have seen/had so many cute ideas to do/make for little advent or countdown calenders for Christmas. this year i whipped a simple one up during nap time and it was cute and practical for us. I wanted to incorporate little traditions that i want our family to have along with meaningful family activities in the day to day leading up to Christmas. I just printed off the list and cut them into strips and taped them on the back of each day.
The circles were cut out of random holiday scrapbook paper and then i just printed off a the numbers in a few different fonts and cut them out and glued them on. I just clothespined them to the garland i have around my doorway.. It worked great!

here is a few things i had on the list:

-watch a charlie brown christmas

- make hot chocolate with marshmallows

- go to a christmas concert

- drive around and look at lights

- bake something yummy with mommy

- prepare 2 baked oatmeals for the next morning. bake and deliver one to a friend
- make ornaments
- make christmas gifts
- make a paper garland
- make paper snowflakes
- hand out/mail christmas cards
- make treats for the birds outside
- make glitter christmas playdough

those are just a few..
i would say that we completed about 10% of those! it was a great idea and i will do it again next year when brinley can participate a little more.. here are a few pics from our decmember...

out of the mouth of babes...

2010-12-30T10:23:00.001-08:00

Heard at our house last night

Me: "kaiden did you pass gas?"

Kaiden: "yes"

Me: "what do you say?"

K: shakes head..."my mouth is full!"...finishes chewing..."excuse me"

a few minutes pass

M: "did you pass gas again?" "what do you say?"

K: "Thanks!"

i had to leave the room and recompose my self

later that evening

Me: "kaiden you are not the daddy, mind your business and mommy and daddy will handle Brinley"

K: "I am a big Daddy!"

M: "No, you are only a daddy after you get married and your wife has a baby"

K: "Im not married?!"

M: "nope not yet buddy"

K: still confused a little " Yes! I got married at Uncle Jeremys Wedding!"

Hillarious I tell you!

{love}

2010-12-29T08:45:00.000-08:00

We {love} this cereal....mmmmm

Right now

2010-12-21T13:13:00.001-08:00

We are waiting for Daddy to come home

My kitchen is a mess from baking all afternoon

Anticipating our weekend spent with friends and family

My heart is full hearing my son recite the christmas story

My brain is going crazy trying to think of all the things to get done

Cant wait to see my kids celebrate this season with us

My floor is a disaster(thanks to a broken vacuum!)

Am thankfull for a computer(our 'unexpected' christmas gift to each other this year)

Loving all the white stuff outside!

Really wishing i had a card reader to get and edit the pictures off my camera

Trying to balance my mommy duties and regain a little sanity.. hard to do

really wants to show my kids the meaning of this season by giving of ourselfs

wish list...

2010-12-08T13:15:00.000-08:00

Thought I would throw together a quick wishlist again this year just in case anyone would need it:) wink wink!

Books: Steady Mom, Jamie Oliver Cookbooks

Lodge Enameled Dutch Oven

Canon 50mm 1.4 Lens

white towels for bathroom

stainless steel 2 shot espresso maker

set of nice quality cookie sheets with silpat liners

"the office" on dvd

wellness spa gift card

bag from jototes.com

digital book reader (like the kindle or something similar)

good qualiy cheese grater, pastry blender

nice pot holders

kitchen aid mixer attatchments: pasta roller, grain mill

handheld vacumn (I like the dirt devil standing one)

pb & j

2010-11-30T10:52:00.000-08:00

what did you have for lunch???

Gift Giving 2010

2010-11-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post a little gift giving guide this year for those who might be looking for ideas.. this will be the kids edition.. i will try and do an adult one too:)

The longer we are parents the more "stuff" we accumulate. it was unavoidable really. but we are slowing trying to steer more towards things that we see as a more lasting investment for everyone.. we are not totally big fans of big, battery operated electronics.. yes we have some.. but mostly we try to limit them and limit their use. they also don't really do much for developing a kids imagination either.. don't get me wrong there are plenty of educational electronics out there these days and i actually like some of them..(we are thinking about getting a leapster for kaiden this year) but we will plan on using the same stragedy as we use with computer usage.. mostly parent guided and supervised and always in very small moderation..

with that said here are some great ideas for kids ranging from 1-4ish:

1. blocks..now i know this one can be pretty vague but there are some really great block sets out there.. we like the natural wood look. they look better and really with last forever and really can we say "easy diy gift??"

learning games/puzzles. We LOVE melissa & doug stuff.. they are simple but educational.. a few of our favorites are:

Melissa & Doug see and spell

Dress up dolls

stacker puzzle

lacing toys.. a great downtime activity around here.. even brinley is starting to get the concept.. here are some really cute wooden one i found on etsy:

games: we love games here.. a few that we don't own and are eyeing up:

uno
connect 4
any of the cranium preschool games (we do have hullabaloo)

Books:... we LOVE books.. i have a huge tote and we switch out from month to month so we love all kids of variety

sand toys.. we are planning on building the kids a sandbox next summer sometime so sand toys would be a plus!

also clothes are always a good thing if needed too.
and dress up clothes are always fun!

Because we are working alot on preschool stuff with kaiden.. the KUMON workbooks are a great idea also.. they are a great activity to do with preschoolers and you can get them at target in the book section

the last thing i think is an amazing gift is purchasing a gift card or certificate to someplace or activity that they can use as a family or themselves.. examples are zoo memberships, children's museum memberships, lessons of some kind, tickets to a show that kind of thing.. they are wonderful!

fall

2010-11-19T18:48:00.001-08:00

I love fall....
My mind has been full of lots of things lately.. just trying to figure out things (good things) and really wanting to be sensitive to what God has in store for us and our Family. and very excited for it.(whatever it is..)

I love my kiddos..
.. someone got an unexpected hair cut the other day... only a few hours after we took him in for one.. We got home from his hair cut (which Im glad she talked me into leaving it longer and just trimming it!) And on a bathroom trip downstairs(our main bath is under construction) he comes upstairs and proclaims "I cut my hair!" WHAT?! after further inspection sure enough.. he got ah old of Aarons beard trimmers and promptly buzzed a swipe on his right temple and a nice little strip up the middle on the top.. smack in the middle of his forehead.. wonderful.. needless to say it ended up a tad shorted than we originally planned!.. it could have been worse though.. so oh well.. it was bound to happen right?! he is still my little man though!

And this little miss.... oh boy..

she does a great job at keeping everyone around here on their toes.. Just this morning as I was fixing breakfast.. i didnt put the gate by the stairs yet but was keeping an eye on her and she usually stays away pretty good unless someone is down there then she wants to be.. i heard kaiden down there and told him to come up or she will want to be down there too.. he comes up and said that brinley was down there.. my first thought is that he carried her down there.. which is kinda scary! he said no she went all by herself.. okay freaking out now.. and expecting to see her laying at the bottom of the stairs as i walk over there.. she comes rounding the corrner with a big old cheesy smile.. HOW?!.. I proceeded to put her at the top of the stairs and sure enough she held on to the wall and WALKED down each step one at a time like she has done it her whole life..... Talk about giving this momma a heart attack!.. Needless to say the baby gate went up and has stayed!.. oh boy oh boy.. she was also a great helper this evening while i was loading the dishwasher she proceeded to take most of the dishes out of the cupboard and put them in the dishwasher.. wonderful!

Menu Plan Monday...

2010-10-25T18:38:00.001-07:00

This Week:
Monday: Pizza... lets just say because of a wonderful morning play date I skipped my weekly grocery store trip...
Tuesday: Florentine Mac and Cheese with Roasted Chicken Meatballs.. Made this AGES ago and Remember how good it was..
Wednesday: some kind of fish and potatoes
Thursday: Garlic Chicken Pasta.. yummy.quick.easy
Friday:(having company) .:Breakfast:.Baked Apple Oatmeal with Vanilla Sauce .:Lunch:. To be determined
.:Supper:. Mexican Lasagna with chips and Salsa
Saturday: (having company) .:Breakfast:. Pumpkin waffles with Maple sausage
.:Lunch:. Chicken Tortellini soup with Salad and Bread
.:Supper:. To Be Determined...

a trip..

2010-10-25T13:47:00.001-07:00

We took a trip up north last weekend.. It was wonderful, beautiful, short-lived, relaxing, warm weather filled, sawdust smelling great..

My kids love being outside

we ate lunch on our impromptu wooden chairs......

we took long walks through the beautiful, color filled woods.. I love fall.. and those boys..

played follow the leader...

took (very slow) tractor rides with Grandpa...

played on Auntie's lap...

It was all great fun until Daddy hurt his foot in the woods and Kaiden got sick.. Which both led to a very short lived trip up north and a unexpected trip home and two trips the ER.. Both boys are fine and healing great!.. but we cant wait to go back!

Happy Birthday To You...

2010-10-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turned one....
On the morning of her brithday we had pumpkin pancakes.. and yes she ate all three of those and plus another one..

she wasnt very happy when we told her not to touch the candle

a little help with the hard job...

dying inside...

2010-09-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Its killing me not to have my computer.. my old friend with whom I would spend hours editing my pictures with.. its killing me not to post pictures with my posts(even though they are few and far between). The laptop i am using doesn't have a card reader for my size memory card and I cant seem to find the cable for my camera since I have never needed it. Also its killing me that my lens.. my only one.. the precious thing that i LOVED.. is dying.. I have noticed it for a few months now but I have pretty much confirmed it with some other photographers and am pretty sure that's the case.. I am torn.. i really would like a new lens.. even if its just a replacement same lens i had before. which is a steel compared to most lenses.. but that's just another drop in the bank now that we are caught with a ton of unforseen expenses lately.. at least we have funds for those.. I will just be savoring the last leg that its on until it dies!

I am gearing up for Brinleys birthday party in a week and a half. I thought I would throw up a list on here of my goals and see if they come to flourish any faster:)

.: Finish party banner

.: Find cake recipe and make practice batch

.: Work on bathroom (its currently in the middle of demo)

.: Get Brinleys birthday outfit (mom thats yours!)

.: Order pictures

.: Decided on snacks (as you can see i am really ontop of the menu here)

.: finish little party details

.: get pumpkins

.: I am sure there are 50 more things i can add.. I better just stop right there...

we are in the middle of a few house projects that I want to share also.. dont know when that will happen..

I guess i will add a little menu planning to this post too.

menu for the week so far....

M-Spaghetti Pie with Steamed veggies and Garlic Bread
T-Grilled Salmon Sandwhiches with Dill potato salad
W-Chili with skillet cornbread
T-Lemon cream pasta

thats all i got!

dead in the water

2010-09-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have been slightly absent for a little bit. Mostly due to the fact that our computer is completely dead in the water. Well, not literally.. even though we did get a ridiculous amount of rain in the last day or so. I want to say maybe 6 inches? I'm not sure but it was alot.. like alot.. and while our computer managed to avoid water damage, our poor bedroom did not.. we have water coming in through the wall.. its not a pretty picture let me just tell you..

but anyway we have been having computer problems since spring and we were first told that it was our monitor (which stoped working) so we had to drop $150 on a new one.. only to have the printer completely stop working a few weeks later.. after a wonderful 60 minute online support session with HP i was so wonderfully told that we would just have to buy a new one of those.. which wouldn't be a horrible problem to live without a printer for a while except for the fact that i was in the dead middle of printer out a massive amount of curriculum for preschool stuff.. soooo.. Aarons brother saved the day(temporarily) with a old used printer he had sitting around his office.. its accent but it works! soooo fast forward a few weeks after that. our computer will not turn on.. like at.all.. then it would beep loudly for no apparent reason. I took that as a bad sign.. a really bad sign. I took it to my grandpa and he gave us the diagnosis: The power supply is shot.. like for good. oh and if that wasn't bad enough... there were several spots on the motherboard(? I could be totally wrong here.. i am not good with retaining technological info!) that were completely swelled up.. which he said were ready to go any minute.. now i don't know alot about computers but that does not sound good...

oh and I would like to take this time to add to the fact that this computer is less than 3 years old.. 3.Years!..for the amount of money we spent on this brand new computer less than three years ago at Best Buy it should have very well lasted us AT LEAST a few more years! am I wrong?!.. didn't think so....

soooo.. you know i can live without a computer...i mean kinda... i mean.. so i am a little adictced to my blog reader and twitter.. but you know.. God uses extreme circumstances to break you of things right?! okay...

I would have been find waiting to save up(go dave ramsey!) for a replacement computer. content actually.. its nice not having the distracting most times. even though it can be an outlet for me. but i am knee deep in photo sessions, MOPS newsletters and birthday party details that all require that one little machine..

enter my brother-in-law.. bless his soul. he lent my his laptop to use to finish up the things i have on my plate and can i say its been wonderful. Its also nice not to have to run downstairs just to use the computer!

so enough of boring talk.. I leave you with this video of my sweet girl.. doing one of her favorite/weird/quirky/human tricks?! I don't know what you want to call it but its cute.. and pretty amusing. to us anyway...

brinley blows bubbles from Melissa Rakowski on Vimeo.

too fast

2010-09-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

I love my kids.. I hate that they grow up fast.. It is SO crazy to me that starting the day after your first child is born time goes by so fast! I cant believe it! Somedays I am not complaining but I am really trying to slow down most days and just soak them all in.. crabbies and all:).. I know I am going to miss this soon and wish to be back to this day right now.

That being said.. SOMEONE is getting way to big way to fast.. and almost walking...I cant believe I just said that.. I am pretty sure this was last week...

how can she go from that to this is just a short year??

ahhhh!..

So.. I suppose we will have a little celebration on her behalf.. sometime around the october 9th weekend... details to follow..so to distract myself from that impending arrival of october 6th.. I have been creating a list of A.DOR.ABLE little treasures perfect for any little girl in your life. if you are in need of gift ideas for that little one in your life or just like to see cute stuff.. this is for you!..

here goes..

Etsy hair clips.....this is a horrible thing for people who are trying to limit themselfs in the shopping department.. i am NOT speaking from experience here...here is just a few that I LOVE...

Silent (felt) book... Kaiden was given one of these for his 2nd birthday made by his great aunt.. they are awesome.. here is a cute one..

felt play tent...seriously adorable.. this one is made out of felt and sits right over a card table.. genius! And how cute is the cupcake factory?!

all little girls need shoes! a few of my favorite brands..

see kai run.. these shoes are great!

pediped and robeez are also great ones..

baby doll.. It must be more of a girl thing but Miss Brinley LOVES babies.. she is enamored with any kind of babydoll.. This little soft version is perfect for a little girl.. this one is from pottery barn kids..

tutu.. what little girl wouldnt love a tutu?!...

a few other ideas that are equally adorable

personalized plates/bowl set...

personalized shirts.. a favorite of mine...

last but not least.. dresses! we love these and right now Target has some super cute ones...

from mini boden(LOVE!)

2010-09-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

As we embark on our new adventure of teaching Kaiden at home. I want to be able to document some of the things we are working on or doing. I am planning on starting a new blog for this exactly just so we can share what we are learning about there but until then I hopefully will be sharing a few things here.

as apart of that...I’ve been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

Reality

2010-09-08T13:45:00.001-07:00

This was the reality of my kitchen just a few days ago....

so you can imagine why folding a load of laundry this afternoon straight out of the dryer was nothing short of a miricale.

......

This is the best and most favorite place for this kids to play.... under the table..

dont let that picture fool you .. they do not get along most of the time..

I am still getting my stuff together for our school time at home.. I have went back and forth between a few different curriculums and fianlly decided on one.. we just are waiting on a printer(since mine died) so we can print our stuff, laminate and get going.. I am excided to get this fully implimented into our daily routine. I will share more later...

little loves...

2010-09-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

Love his long eyelashes.. people say he gets them from me..

he loved playing on the beach and all the sailboats!...

She Loves her Daddy...

Her Daddy Loves her...

I love iced white chocolate mochas... perfect way to start a roadtrip:)

Loved our little Door County Log home.. So did Kaiden.. Yesterday he said "Mom our house doesnt have logs on it. only the one in Door County."

Random...

2010-09-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

.:Still semi recovering from being on vacation for almost a week:.

-We are finally getting back into our 'daily routine' which we thrive on

-Didn't take many photos while we were away

-sad but at the same time very, very liberating...I need that sometimes

-I did hand the camera over though.. which I NEED to do more often...

-the result?......
somethig I will cherish forever thanks babe!

-My loves on the beach at sunset...

-What I want to remember about traveling with littles....ALL. THE. STUFF.....which is the sole reason why I didn't by the AMAZING. ADORABLE yellow chair at one of the antique shoppes on the way home... no room! unless I wanted to hold onto it out the window.. . um that's okay..

-We started "school" at home this week. Going to be an adventure for us all but knowing that God has called me for 'such a time as this' makes me feel not so overwhelmed. More on that later

-We signed Kaiden up for soccer this fall and winter. He is over the MOON!

-Woke up to a fall day today. love

-Someone is turning one in a month.. I don't want to talk about it.

-Need to get to work on a party!.. but I don't want to talk about it!

-this weather is begging me to make soup.. chicken tortellini soup and chili this weekend... Tailgating on Sunday...

and we are off...

2010-08-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

We leave early in the morning for Door County.. I will not be able to sleep tonight I am so excited.. I havent posted in a while because my computer was broken..

I will try and capture our trip and post via twitter.. if you want to follow us click on the follow me button on the right hand side.. or just click here!

how does our garden grow...part 2

2010-08-04T19:24:00.000-07:00

Todays Harvest....

Plenty of Tomatoes, Beans(that were longer than the kids heads!), and some potatoes for dinner

as were were setting up this little photo shoot, Brinley took the liberty to explore the big bowl of tomatoes we had placed in her lap. it went something like this...
Daddy Guarding the bowl so she doesn't squish or dump them everywhere
annnnd shes off....

"oooh just my size!"

"let me just have a little taste"

To which we promptly realized she had a cherry tomato shoved into her mouth.. Daddy saves the day...
it was pretty hilarious considering she kept doing it over and over again. and every time she would just pop them right out of her mouth.. I wish I had my video camera for it.. funny funny...

and here is our beauty of this year.. the biggest tomato yet!

mmm...

2010-08-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

A little something to keep my sanity today.... plus I had the second half of this recipe sitting in my fridge I had to use up....Im not complaining!

Menu Plan Monday...

2010-08-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Monday: Talapia with Citrus Banga Cauda with roasted veggies
Tuesday: Crock Pot Enchiladas with Cheesy Chili Rice
Wednesday: Marinated Grilled chicken Breasts with corn on the cob or garlicky green beans
Thursday: Tacos with Mexican rice
Friday: BBQ Chicken Pizza with garlic bread and salad

blah.

2010-08-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

That sums up the feelings around here for a few days.

so does this picture...

taken after I turned around for 2 minutes to start supper and turned back around to find her like this..

needless to say we are just hunky dorey over here.. Kadien has had a fever in the 102's since Friday afternoon and Brinely has had one since Thursday night. I don't mind fevers but with Kaiden we have to be extra careful and monitor him to make sure we stay on top of them since he had that seizure last December from his fever spiking from nothing to 106 in less than an hour. he has more of a chance to have another one because of that.

I am pretty sure Brinely's is teething but hey, who knows with my kids.. she has now, since yesterday, developed an interesting rash on her bottom and looks like its spreading.. I'm going to see about taking her in tomorrow morn.

We had Kadien in yesterday after 2 days of fevers and him finally telling us that his teeth(throat) hurt. Turns out he has tonsillitis and is now on antibiotic for that. even though I read that is viral? so we will see..

so its been very pleasant(note sarcasm) these past few days.. Aaron also is working 12 hours today so i am home alone.. oh the joys!

I miss my happy little girl....

on my mind....

2010-07-22T20:33:00.001-07:00

this morning

2010-07-21T08:32:00.001-07:00

The boys have taken off to go fishing this morning... and left us girls home....

I love her and her chubby little legs..
And she loves to pick my lettuce for me growing on the deck. Isnt that so nice?!

never without them!

Isnt her dress adorable? Her mimi made that for her.. amazing.

How does our graden grow?....and a menu

2010-07-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

How does our garden grow?

if you look close you can see our first ripening tomato of the year!

just some of the few I grabbed a picture of this week.

My menu for this week:

Monday: ...
Tuesday: BBQ grilled chicken with roasted potatoes, onions and peppers.
Wednesday: Salmon with Lemon, Capers and Rosemary with a side of rice
Thursday: Pasta with Creamy Mushroom sauce
Friday: Homemade Pizza

winner winner

2010-07-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post the winner to the plum organics giveaway. I was trying to post on Thursday morning but my computer was not working with me!

so after a random drawing..

mummyduck you are a winner!

i will send you an email!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-07-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

I am pretty good and making a meal plan every week along with my grocery list. When I forget or don't do it, It just makes my life so much more stressful! I know a ton of other blogs do menu plan Monday so I thought I would start too. I will try and link up the recipe if I have a link for it. Do you menu plan? Share your link to your blog too! I would love to see yours!

I only have through wed planed out hmmm what to do for the rest of the week.. any suggestions?

Monday: Chicken Spaghetti with lemon cream sauce

Tuesday: Tin Foil Dinners over the fire

Wednesday: chicken salad sandwiches with Stuffed portobella mushrooms

Thursday: pizza

Friday: Brats/burgers corn on the cob...yummm

Saturday: Chicken nachos with beans and cheese

Sunday: ???

Extras for the week: Bread (attempt number 345345 at making homemade bread.. I will keep you posted) Granola yumm, Roasted chicken, Chicken stock(no brainer)

9 months

2010-07-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

9 months in...

9 months out...

I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that in less than 3 months my baby will be one. I mean I am pretty sure it was just last week that we were sitting in the hospital feeling the pain and joy (yes i said joy) of labor only to meet our little girl in a few short hours..

My girl and 9 months:

-crawling like mad... we are not slow movers around these parts

- pulling up and standing..I would have gladly held this off a few more months:)

- waves bye bye

- says mama and dada.. not really knowing what it means.. I think she knows what mama means though

- very much a mamas girl which I don't mind one bit

- sleeps through the night..has been doing this for quite a few months now

- still nurses like a champ.. I am greatful for that time with her

- eats 2 - 3 meals a day and sometimes still acts like she is starving.. takes after daddy:)

-Loves her brother more than anything...

- does not like peaches

- Loves getting into her brothers toys they are way more fun then hers.

-has two bottom teeth and getting the two top ones....not fun

-still my smiley little girl!

gDiapers, Revisited

2010-07-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write about our experience with cloth diapers. Yes, I know that the majority of people.. including some of my friends, thinks I am crazy.. But you know what.. its not as weird or gross or even as pioneer-like as it sounds. You would not believe how far cloth diapers have come.. seriously..

When Kadien was born our focus shifted toward more 'greener' habits and a lifestyle that we wanted for our kids. That included changing what we ate. which meant getting rid of processed foods along with added ingredients and processed sugar. we also took a look at our spending, and what we used and produced as far as waste and garbage..

that might sound like a bunch of crazy business to some but really it wasn't all that hard.. I mean.. God gave us this earth and I think that part of our job while here is to keep it clean and beautiful for our kids and grand kids. I mean really there is enough junk/garbage floating around (not to mention leaking oil) from us just being lazy or super/hyper dependant on convenience foods and packaging to kill animals and plants like crazy.. I don't want to really add to that if I don't have to.

over the past three years we have slowly changed habits of ours that we thought were not the greatest and looked for more earth-friendly options.. some areas are: Food/diet, lawn care, garden maintenance, Shopping, cleaning, diapering, bathing, health/medicine.

a couple months after kaiden was born I was looking a little deeper into cloth diapering. I pretty much thought I was crazy at this point and so did Aaron. I mean most of the time when I get an idea in my head it doesn't really pan out the way I thought it would and it usually doesn't last that long either. So when I approached him about cloth diapering he pretty much brushed it off as another one of my crazy ideas. But, as usual, I convinced him into looking more deeply into these little diapers called gdiapers. they were So cute, which drew me in right away of course, but they were a new hybrid form of cloth diapering and looked super easy. Not anything like what I was picturing when I thought of cloth diapers.

Basically in a nutshell. you have a little g pant, which is the outside, cloth part of the diaper. its made out of a t-shirt like material. and then you have a plastic liner that snaps into the outside. into the snap in liner you put your disposable inserts.
the wet ones can be flushed, thrown away or composted.. we have done all of those. the poopy ones should be only flushed. Most people don't even know this but ALL poopy diapers should be emptied into the toilet and flushed before throwing away.. it should all be treated like adult waste. But most people just wrap it up and throw it out.. which most people dont even give a second thought to. but then I found out that they have never even really begun to estimate how long (if ever) dissposible diapers take to break down after thrown away. The last I read they were estimating around 300 years.. REALLY?! Which is ....gross.. considering there is an estimated 18-20 BILLION diapers thrown away each year.. and about 2500 of those are from one diapered baby per household.

I convinced him to let me get a starter pack. it was pretty reasonable for the pack of two diapers and the accessories. I was super excited to get them and start using them.

To make a long story short... I got them, loved them, used them and then moved on.. i don't really know why but i think it has something to do with the ADD in me and i get bored easily.. I have no idea....

so.... enter baby number 2:)

I knew I wanted to start using the gdiapers again with Brinley. I knew I had some mediums left from Kaiden but it would be months before she would fit into them.. I browsed the Internet for my options: buy new smalls and disposable inserts..., buy used smalls.....

we deiced to go with the used smalls.. much cheaper but still the same cuteness!

I also stumbled upon the new product that gdiapers had just put out: gCloth!!

This excited me. I knew I might be headed into the over the top again and bored within a few weeks stage so I held back for quite a while on those.. I wanted to see how the smalls went before I went and bought a bunch of other stuff..

So I got my cute cute pink and striped diapers in the mail and we went at it, this time lasting way longer than i did with kaiden.

I decided to look into the gcloth again.. I mean the same cuteness but with a reusable aspect! you almost cant go wrong. luckily for me we had a few gift cards laying around and I was able to buy some on walmart.com for no cost (to me anyway) and free shipping.. helloooo money saving!this is the cloth insert next to the flushable insert

Well we have long outgrown the smalls and are now on month 4 or 5 in gdiapers this time around.. to say we LOVE them we be a total understatement..and yes Aaron uses them too. we are now finishing up our first month solid of using gcloth along with the disposable.. I cannot tell you how great it feels not to buy package after package of diapers and then running out and having to run and get some more.. Its great.. and its really not that hard or more work then anything else. plus we have eliminated a TON of garbage that we throw out not to mention stinky diapers.. gross.. anyway... that is my two cents when it comes to cloth diapering.. I don't know everything but I know what works for us.. we love gdiapers they are a win win if you ask me. I just wish I would have stuck to it the first time around:)

Also I wanted to add our routine just so people know its really not much work at all

I start with pre-loaded diapers. I have them right on my changing table right next to the wipes all ready to go with whatever insert you want.

after changing I either flush a poopy or wet flushable liner or if its a cloth I put it in my wet bag I have right on my changing table. The covers rarely get wet and I have never had a cover get dirty but if they do then I put them in the wet bag also.

every three days or so.. usually when I do the kids laundry, I take my wet bag, empty the dipaers in with the other laundry and wash them.

I either hang to dry or the covers can go right in the dryer. the liners i just throw ontop of the dryer and they dry with in 20 mintues or so. if you have any stains just lay them in the sun. I LOVE that I can just wash these with regular laundry and its not a big deal.

we also use cloth wipes when we use the gcloth inserts because really its just easier to just wipe and throw in the wet bag. and plus...REUSABLE..hello.. plus the work SO much better than disposible wipes trust me.

I just bought the cheap circo washclothes from target beacuse they were cute and like 2.99 for 6 of them.. I fold them in half and have them in my wipes warmer(you could do this in a regular wipes case) and then mix a little bit of baby soap with 1 cup water and pour it over them. it works great!

Review and Giveaway!..

2010-07-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yay.. I love free stuff.. especially free stuff that is neat and really fun.. I was given the opportunity to review a sample of Plum Organics Baby Food from Eco-friendly Baby Products site - EcoMom. I was excited to try these out as I have seen them around and also some others like it.

We were able to try the baby food and also some of the toddler mashers.

Now I make all my own baby food. I have for both of my kids. I love doing it and love knowing what and where the food is that their eating. But I also am not totally naive to the fact that sometimes convenience is just necessary. In those cases I will only grab organic foods. So these had an appeal to me also.

They are great to throw in the diaper bag and not worry about them. They don't have to be refrigerated until they are opened and they fit almost anywhere and aren't heavy like glass jars. They have a great screw off cap that can be reused to seal extras when you are done and then just pop it in the fridge. also heating these little things was a breeze. Just set the pouch in some hot water for a few minutes.

When you are ready to use them you just simply open and squeeze them onto a spoon and feed or squeeze into a bowl and feed from there. My kids loved them and they have great flavors. they also have a handy dandy spoon that you can buy that screws right onto the pouch opening so it makes it even easier!

The other great thing about these foods is that they sell way more than just baby food. They have everything from baby food to these training meals to little yummy sammys for all ages..

sooo....with all that said..

Ecomom.comis giving away $20.00 worth of plum organic and Revolution Foods To one of you!.. All you have to do is simply leave a comment on this post and also leave your email address so I can contact you in case you win.. Sounds great right? .. Good Luck! I will leave this contest open for a week so you have until Wednesday July 14th to enter. Only one entry per person please. I will pick the winner at random.

Disclaimer: while this product was given to me I was not compensated for my review of this product and its my honest opinion!

since its July already...

2010-07-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Which is the most craziest thing ever.. anyway.. I thought I would share a few photos from our June.. Since I didnt blog most of them..

We enjoyed a long weekend up north..complete with a tree swing which we helped grandpa put up.. and plenty of time outside..

We went to the Dairy Breakfast..
waited in line.. we didnt wait all that long considering how long the line was..good thing with three kids under three..

watched the uncles play foot bag..

enjoyed fathers day weekend..

complete with a little fun competition..

I had fun durring a photo session right next to some very nosey cows, Someone is standing.... crazy.. and someone else turned 3...also crazy.

hmmm. pretty sure that covers the bulk of it.. how was that for a picture dump???

my days

2010-07-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

My days are spent with kids under feet.. .all. the. time. but I would have it no other way.. well sometimes it would be nice to walk across the kitchen without stepping on someones foot or hands.. or a toy or something else.. but I dont want to know how loney it would be without the chaos of my life right now.. I know that all too soon they will grow and leave and I will be longing (some days:)) for the business of today..

I try to soak it in.... This week has be hard.. harder than most.. Aaron has his pm shift where he goes in from 2pm to 10pm.. great in the mornings for him to be here and spend time with him.. but when he leaves and the kids wake up from naps.. all. heck. breaks .loose.. I dont make it very long without loosing my patience and getting grumpy and irritated.. We try to stay busy but I am a person on order..(i know my mom would laugh at that!) but I funtion the best when things are structured.. our days are very much structured.. time for little spontanious things but overall our day in and day out looks the same.. I like it that way. my kids like it that way. they thrive on it. and when it is not.. its not a pretty sight.. we are thankfull for daddy but glad when he will be back to a normal shchedule for a few weeks..

this picture makes me smile. its dark but if you look close you will see my everyday. Kaiden helping make supper and Brinley not far behind.. she is fast approaching the time when she will be standing on that stool since she can already climb up it.

p.s.. just found this. How to Really Love a Child. read it and cried.. my week has been hard but I still want to be the best for my kids. thank you Lord for second chances and the newness of a brand new day.

Gil and Melanie:::Engaged:::

2010-07-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun doing this session. I love how easy they were to photograph.. it makes it so much easier getting that relaxed feeling.. I also love the country-ness about these pictures.. I will definatley be taking my kids to get some shots now!

Fathers Day

2010-06-24T11:57:00.001-07:00

My boys on Fathers day..

love them...

I can't even put into words what an amazing Daddy (and husband) Aaron is. Its such a blessing to me as a wife and mother to have him by my side and that we get to raise these kids together bringing them up to love Jesus. I am truly blessed

out of town..

2010-06-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

Some one has a birthday comming up....

and hes is pretty excited about it. the only two things he really cares about is that we sing 'happy birthday Kadien' and eat cupcakes.. so thats a pretty reasonable order to fill..

we are heading up northing this weekend and are making a stop in green bay to see thomas the tank engine.. should be pretty exciting(if you three)considering you get to ride on the actuall train.. we will see how it goes.. then up north for a long weekend then back to the grind of things around here..

Who are you?

2010-06-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

I am conducting a little survey to determine who, if anyone, actually reads this little ol' blog... please vote pretty please?

A Day of Firsts

2010-06-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we took advantage of the beautifull weather and went to the lake for a picnic and some fishing.. it was free fishing weekend so we didnt have to get a license and it was also Kaidens first time fishing!.. To say he loved it would be a total understatement.. that kid was BORN for the outdoors whatever that entails..

Aaron thought it was so hillarious that Kaiden was already 'telling fishing stories' because you would ask him how big the fish was and of course he thought it was huge:)

he got to reel one in with daddy.. and it took a little bit of convincing for him to even touch the fish( he gets that from me) but finally he was ok with it..

awww so cute!

Untitled from Melissa Rakowski on Vimeo.

Kaiden also got to go to his first Baseball game on Sunday. We recently just got a minor league team in town and the opening day was this past sunday. it was sold out but we were able to get standing room only tickets which was far better with two kids anyway.. Brinley was chosen to go on the field for a 'baby race' after the first inning and Kaiden scored a ball from one of the player.. i think the pitcher.. he LOVED it and we will be going to more of those this summer.. it was nice since I grew up right across the street from the baseball field and I remember going to games when I was little..

a birthday and a wishlist..

2010-06-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

Someone will be turning three in a few short weeks and I told a few people I would post a little wish list on here because they were asking. Please do not feel like you have to bring a gift to the party(the invitations will be out this week)

CD player- portable with headphones.. I got him one at goodwill for a few dollars and it was the best few dollars i ever spent.. he LOVES it.. but it broke

Books on CD

Croc-like shoes size 7. Great for a little boy who MUST put his own shoes on:)

Sand toys

Bath Bubbles from California Baby(can be found at target by the baby soap) We LOVE these and they are very non toxic. and come with a cute bubble wand for the bath!

Fishing Pole

Three wheeled scooter

Mr. Potato Heads

for those who enjoy making your own...

this adorable felt fishing game.. He would love this:

FELT FISHING GAME

Little Miss Macy

2010-06-05T20:14:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of visiting with a friend who had her 2nd baby ( two under two I might add! super mom!) and got to take her little pictures! SO So cute.. It makes me kinda sad looking back at these pictures and remembering that I never got any of my little girl when she was itty bitty. We were all sick for what seemed like forever and it just was not something that I was able to do. I do have plenty of pictures of her though and We might just have to have another:) Here she is...

Missing

2010-06-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

After a frantic 10 minute search for Kaiden the other day..

We finally found him.....

Fits his personaltiy completely.

memorial weekend

2010-05-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

I headed to Green Bay with the kids to visit family today(Aaron had to work) It was hot and nice to see people I havent for a while.. The kids had a blast and we got some pictures of my Grandma and Grandpa with their Great Grandkids.. a challenge? yes.. but so much fun... and Kaiden + tire swing + rope hanging off of a tree + boards nailed to a tree as a ladder = one happy little boy...

take a little time..

2010-05-28T12:33:00.001-07:00

click on this link.... RIGHT HERE! (as many times as you want:)) and vote for Brinley.. It would be so fun to win! and out of 5000 entries so far im sure we dont have a huge chance but who knows!

itty bitty...

2010-05-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

I had a newborn session on Monday.. and boy was this little girl yummy.. little miss Macy.. only 10 days old.. makes me want to have another one...... a long time from now:)

Our garden is planted and garage sale season is started and our baby pool is on the deck filled with water so we are ready for summer! we all except Brinely who thought she was dying the minute her feet touched the water.. whatever.. Got some GREAT deals on some clothes for Brinley at a sale this morning.. not sure if I will go out later or not.. The kids and I are just getting over cold and in the midst of that Kaiden got bit by a bug on his forhead and for the three days after that his eye swelled shut so we were in Urgent care for that and he is better and now I have pink eye! really.. I mean what am i in Preschool?! SO anoying and even more anoying is that I had just put in new contacts a few weeks ago.. darn.. and my glasses are super stupid and I cant really where those so I am in great shape!

Brinley has decided not to wait and crawl like normal babies at around 9 months.. we are going from sitting to crawling in just a short month.. she started up on here hands and knees just over a week ago and boy is that girl fast.. She is totally obbsessed with anything of Kaidens which is her soal motivation for crawling. I took a video of her crawling/belly flopping this morning and I had to hold her back because she just wouldnt sit still.. baby gates here we come!...I was kinda hoping she would hold off on that little milestone.. guess not:) and a picture to hold you over....

Then and Now..

2010-05-19T10:03:00.001-07:00

I really should be doing something else besides blogging since BOTH of my kids just fell asleep.. but I had to blog this picture.. LOVE seeing them grow..

THEN:3 weeks old

NOW:7 1/2 months old

Can I just say it is SO much harder getting a picture with the both of them SITTING STILL?.. Its so nice when they get big enough to sit but not mobile yet.. But brinley went from sitting up to crawling in a short month.. Yes I said CRAWLING!.. she isnt fast yet but she is working on it.. she has someone to keep up with and a lot more to get into:)...thats all for now.. I have a newborn shoot to share something this week.. SO super cute.. love it..

impromptu lunch date...

2010-05-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

Aaron has been working late the past few days so I have been going crazy with the kids and not getting everything done that I usually do.. including getting grocries. We ran around to a few garage sales yesterday morning and by the time lunch time rolled around I realized I probally didnt have anything at home anyway.. I grabbed some babyfood from the freezer for brinley and then we stoped at the smoothie place.. yum.. and got some lunch... it was even better because I had coupons! yay.. anyway.. we parked down by the river by the ducks and sat and ate our lunch in the back of the car.. our own little picnic! the kids loved it and it was beautifull but a little windy. so much fun.. we will be doing that alot more.

Untitled from Melissa Rakowski on Vimeo.

I wanted to share my garage sale finds.. I LOVE garage sales. I would say 90% of my kids clothes comes from garage sales and consignment stores.. I rarely every pay full price for something. and if we can buy used we will.. for most things.. We are being better stewards with our money and also recycling great stuff!..I want to do this more also just cuz I love a good bargin...

Here is what I got..

Peanut Butter and Jelly card game 1.50
5 Learning/writing/cookbooks
Bag full of plasitc army men .25
bag full of bubble blower wands .50
a boutiqe dress for brinley 3.00
two hoodies one oshkosh and one baby gap for 1.00 each
baby gap pants 1.00
three summer shirts two old navy and one oshkosh each .50
I also got three baseball bats for kaiden and a pair of gap slippers for me that were brand new..yay

Over all I spent under 6.00.. STEAL!

my girl....

2010-04-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

oooohhh Do I love her... I just want to squish her cheeks!.. I do, actually, multiple times a day.. So we have been busy.. and we were without a computer monitor for a couple weeks.. so combine that with no cable which we dont have by choice.. I felt border line amish for a few weeks.. I told aaron we will just turn off all the lights and that would make the transfomation complete!.. well we have a computer back and I feel a little bit more normal.... I will be back blogging soon.. at least for you Grandma! I promise more pictures soon!

Here is one of my girl..

a recap

2010-04-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

So we were pretty much MIA in March due to Maple Syrup Season and a family wedding that both Kaiden and Aaron were in. So we are back home and getting back into the groove of things, enjoying the weather in the spurts that it comes in.

Ealier this week we put in another garden bed to add to the two that we already had from last year. We are going to be putting in another two before planting. I am excited for this years garden. We have been preparing for a while now and hoping for a great harvest.. we will see. Also its exciting to see Kaiden excited. Brinley will be excited to be enjoying the fruits of this harvest this summer.

I wanted to post a few pics from the wedding. I am lucky I even got the few that I did while wrangling two kids, one which only runs. I am happy with the couple I got and hope the family shot the photographer took turns out good and I like it..

yummmm cupcakes..

Brinley was having nothing to do with her headband... typical..
enjyoing a snack while waiting for pictures...
chessy cheesy:)
simply beautiful...
a moment of downtime.. this was rare...trust me
I had to post this one even though its SO blurry.. the kids were loving doing thier little karaoke thing on stage.. quite funny..

and THIS is what I get when I want to get a simple one of my kids... pure crazy.. I dont think any of these will be going up on a wall but they are definatley keepers since it shows their personalities.. love it anyways..

Eating Breakfast With a Cowboy

2010-03-22T10:18:00.001-07:00

My mornings are super exciting..

we are home for a bit before we head out again for a wedding this weekend. I am hoping to get some maple syrup pics posted. We came home early this past weekend due to the kids being sick.. they had horrible coughs and one we thought was pneumonia(which its not) they are getting better and hopefully we will be in the clear for the wedding this weekend.

Things I Do/Have Done With One Hand

2010-03-09T16:54:00.001-08:00

make dinner

change a diaper

put a toddler on the potty

wipe said toddlers behind after going potty

going potty myself

make guacamole

eat guacamole

blog

open and fill a water bottle

wipe table

load dishwasher

unload dishwasher

make a peanut butter sandwich

cut an apple up

put laundry in washer

put laundry in dryer

fold laundry

vacuum

to be continued....

about that time again

2010-03-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

well actually it is THAT time again... We (as in 'we' I mean Aaron) went up north and put in taps with is dad last weekend. and this weekend we will be heading up for the first round of maple syrup. we are heading out of town on wed and wont be back until Sunday night. This will be for the whole month of March..IT will be interesting alright. We will see how the kids, or my sanity, does to determine if we all will be going back every weekend. Kaiden loves to be in the woods(he is his fathers child) so we will see. Kaiden went with Aaron to put taps in yesterday for my dad. and he loved it....sooo I don't know how much I will be posting.. because I KNOW there are so many of you hanging on my every word:)

I hope to post some pictures of this years operation when we get back maybe on Monday.. we will see.

and a picture (or four) just for good measure..

by the way I TOTALLY made her little flower on her headband! I am so excited. it looks way cuter in person..I figure if I can save my self 15-20 YES 20 Dollars For a HEADBAND PEOPLE!!! Then I have accomplished something as a mother.. and plus it cost me NOTHING...considering its made from an old t-shirt.. thank you...

a bedtime prayer...

2010-03-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

"Dear Jesus,

thank you for this day
thank you for daddy working
bring him home safe
thank you for papa, mimi
papa, kyle
papa, ry ry
papa, kyron, katie, mark
Jeremy, Toria, lily, grandma, grandpa
keep them safe.......

AMEM!"

even cuter when you hear it in a little voice.. I think he missed his papa huh?
I love his little prayers at bedtime.. in the dark I hear him wisper what is really in that little heart of his.. I love how transparent they are at this age..

He was sitting on the potty a few weeks back and I was comming in to check on him.. I was sitting on the edge of the tub waiting for him to finish and he looks over at me and says "Mama, your cute!" melts my heart..

flashback..

2010-03-02T19:20:00.001-08:00

Had to post how much these two shots look alike.. of course they are the same kid just 3 years later~~

yay for friends..

2010-03-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

okay super cheesy title but oh well..

Today I hosted a play date with some other mops moms and their kids.. there were 5 boys and 1 girl.. brinely was all alone. like she cared anyway. three of the boys were all born and June and will all be three.. Let just say that my kids is a HANDFUL! I know those of you who are reading this and know me are like " really? it took you this long to realize that?!" but really I knew he is super high energy but I don't get to see him in a group setting often.. wore me out.. we will be working on that. they had fun. I had fun.. And I didn't take a single picture.. I had such great ideas of taking a group shot of all of the kids and then I just forgot. remember kaiden was a handful?? oh well we will hopefully be getting together soon!

Daddy's Girl

2010-03-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

Love this...and them.

Bliss...

2010-02-28T06:39:00.000-08:00

Simply pure bliss..even when the days are long... I read something somewhere yesterday that made me think...."the days are long but the years are short" so, so true.. Sometimes I get sad thinking that they will only be little for so long as much as sometimes it drives me crazy I wouldnt have it any other way.. So I try to slow down and enjoy it. I know I will miss it when its gone!

this last picture I find hillarious. you can see a little bit of personality in it I think!

a glimpse into my future....

2010-02-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

I remember the very first words that came out of my mothers mouth when I told her we were having a girl..."Well your going to have a lot of fighting!".. I will never forget that.. I think she knows something I didnt:) well didnt want to believe anyways.... I like to think that they love each other SO much that they just cant contain themselfs and it comes out in a form of screaming.. yeah lets go with that one.

from my love..

2010-02-19T11:09:00.000-08:00

My pretty flowers from my favorite person..

and Brinley with her valentines flower from daddy... sweet

brought tears to my eyes when he walked in with those.. not because I wasnt expecting flowers for valentines but because he is turning into someone that God is wanting him to be.. It melts my heart.. My Dad always got my sister and I flowers for our birthday or valentines day. It was something so special that he thought of us not jsut Mom.. I will never forget that.. now Brinley will share that also

Happy Heart Day!

2010-02-15T07:09:00.001-08:00

I enjoyed spending the day with my loves yesterday..

A few from home..

2010-02-10T11:06:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post a few pictures of our christmas celebration here at home.. even though its now forever after christmas.. and it was supper dark so thats why the pics are bad...

santa baby..

opening a train puzzle that makes noise when you put it together.. awesome.. totally scored this new at goodwill for 2.99.. thank you .

opening his big present.. a play kitchen.. also another amazing craigslist deal.. and yes aaron wrapped it with wrapping paper around the whole thing..

some other random shots from christmas time..

rough..

2010-02-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

you ever have those days when you have so much to do that you cant even begin to think about where to start.. so you decide okay I will do something simple like a load of laundry.. and then you have no laundry soap?..

yeah that has been me.. for the last two weeks.. well i have laundry soap but not alot.. you get the point.. its been rough.. I am feeling very overwhelmed with motherhood these past few weeks.. throw in a husband who is working crazy overtime and that just makes it crazier.. and yes I realize this post is comming just shortly after I posted on how sweet motherhood is.. well.. yeah

Today has been a good day.. I am trying to lower my expectations.. even though I dont think they are very high. I have this problem with my brain in the fact that I have so many artsy creative ideas floating around and I feel like a failure if I dont use them or at least do SOMETHING with them.. even a little.

well that doesnt happen when I have two kids at my feet. or in my arms all day.. crazy.. so here is snapshot that makes me happy.. even when my days are crazy..

gotta go.. someone woke up from their very short nap!

Belated Birthday Wishes...

2010-02-02T12:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Grandma!.. I know its a few days late.. but you will see why I didnt really want to post these once you watch them.. I had big great plans for getting a cute little video wishing you happy birthday of the kids together but apparently they had other ideas.. and then I thought.. you will want to see them anyway.. even if its horrible! So here you go.. I promise they are not that crabby all the time... well most of the time:)

take 1

Untitled from Melissa Rakowski on Vimeo.

take 2

Untitled from Melissa Rakowski on Vimeo.

Christmas.. take one..

2010-01-26T12:51:00.001-08:00

I am going to attempt to back track here... Starting with our latest celebration.. Up north with Aarons family. we had a great fun filled weekend with everyone.. I actually broke out my camera for a few shots!.. not too many though.. its hard wrangling two kids now:)
This is what kaiden tends to do when being the subject of a picture.. He is 'instructing' Brinley to look at both cameras:)

This is Brinley with her great grandpa Rakowski.. so cute!.. he will be 90 in a month or so.. I am also kicking myself for the last two pictures.. We were looking at some old slides on the tv when we turned to see Kaiden had grabbed great grandpas cane and hat.. OH. My. Gosh..is was SOOO priceless and I had to grab my camera and snap a quick pic before he realized and My settings were horrible.. so its very blury but you get the picture.. I so wish it was better!..

Big Things from a Little Mouth

2010-01-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

---While trying to put his pants on and he kept putting both feet in one leg hole..."Mama, What am I Doing?!"

---While carrying around a little lunch box looking thing " Bye Mama, I go to work"

"Really? What are you going to do at work?"

"work with trains" (which is what daddy does)

---While driving past Daddy's work " Daddy thats YOUR work"

"Yup thats Daddy's work"

"Daddy you go in there"

---"Mama, Go to grandmas house?"

"No, we arent going to grandmas house today"

"oh. Next week go grandmas house?"

---After he piled up a bunch of his train tracks on top of each other

"Mama yook(look) at me! I made a fire!"

---While doing a puzzle with construction equipment on it. "Mama, Yook. A big yoader(loader)"

Things heard on a daily basis.. multiple times:

"Mama, Yook at Me!"

"Where Daddy go?"

"Daddy at work?"

"Daddy be home in a bit"