Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Halloween 2010

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We began celebrating our infectious fall season by a visit to the Lombardi Ranch.

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the girls enjoyed picking through all the pumpkins for just the right one


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Winners were found by one and all!

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They were brought home, carved and put on display. Ada came up with the design idea for our pumpkin this year. The girls also picked out tiny pumpkins to represent Ada, Isla, and baby brother.

The girls had 3 occasions to dress up in their Laura & Carrie Ingalls costumes this year: at G4's annual Halloween party at Michael's work, once at church on Sunday to attend the fall festival, and then that evening for trick or treating. Whew! It was a busy few days...

Of course this was right when I sprained a muscle in my pelvis and was put on bedrest for 3 days. I was pretty emotional missing out on all of this fun, but Michael thankfully took some photos and I did manage to hobble down the road for trick or treating with the girls. Ada held my hand and helped me along the whole way! What a treat!

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Here's our Laura & Carrie Ingalls!

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Thank you Cookiema for the adorable dresses and bonnets!

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I was pretty excited to have finished making these matching white pinafores and treat bags just in time. This was my first time using an actual pattern and also sewing buttons and button holes with my machine- sooo scary! Thankfully they turned out!

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They just melted my heart!

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These were taken right before the girls headed to Michael's work party.

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Michael came home from work to collect his little prairie girls for the party.

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They were soooo excited!

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Here's Ada petting some sort of animal at the petting zoo set up during Mosaic's fall festival

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Hanging with their buddy Amira dressed as a cow

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Isla with her buddy Caytlin dressed as Snow White

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Later that night trick or treating in our little neighborhood. Soo fun! The girls were exhausted after such a fun packed weekend.

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Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that we celebrated Ada turning 4 on Saturday (in between all of these events). Birthday post to follow soon!

Love and hugs!

Friday, October 8, 2010

{this moment}

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Happy Friday!

Inspired by: Soule Mama {this moment}

Thursday, October 7, 2010

On Sensicalness and Interruptions

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Preparing for my little boy to arrive Dec. 2nd without being able to prepare “his” room has been challenging.

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As my very sensible, loving, stable husband pointed out (he will be in our room for at least the first 6 months of his life, therefore there is no reason to move the crib up from the garage into the shared girls room to only encroach upon what little space there is until absolutely necessary. Gosh darn him he makes such good sensicalness (this really should be a word)! Those glasses really give him some authority on the subject too, don’t you think?

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Of course, my Nesting hormone couldn’t care less about all this “rational sense” and so little ole’ Nesty was going to put me to work regardless. So naturally, I have been engaged in an all out war against clutter! organizing our tiny 900 sq. ft., 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment drawer by drawer, closet by closet, room by room…

I’ve been surprised by how much time this has taken. Sometimes, I really am thankful for our cozy corners. Granted I have not been able to devote as much time as I would like as I do have two little ones who remind me daily of my other priorities. :)

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Walking into our apartment you might not notice anything different at all. Most of my organizational energy has been spent on what is not seen by the average guest, but by what is felt by those of us who live here and function daily in this space. Those seemingly innocuous items taking up residence in our drawers, lurking in our closets, hiding under the bed, out of sight in our filing cabinet. Sure we can shun them for a while, until they start breeding like nasty little gremlins fresh back from a friendly hose down in the neighbor’s backyard.

Now that our home is feeling slightly lighter, I’ve begun purchasing the essentials for our little guy. A crib sheet here, a baby blanket there, a batman batarang teether (ok, not yet, but soon!). Little by little our son’s presence is beginning to take up physical residence in our home. The entrance of each blanket and knitted toy, each pacifier and diaper, each washcloth and boppy cover only serves to remind me that I’m one step closer to having him in my arms!

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In the midst of my organizational frenzy, I also decided to take on potty training Isla a few weeks ago. We rationalized it would be better to lay the foundational work with her before we have bring the newbie home. She has done soooo amazing with it! She is in big girl panties during the day and at nap time. In fact, there are even some nights where she wakes up to go potty and is dry in the morning. I don’t know where she came from as this was certainly not my experience with training Ada- although Ada was much younger when we started. This week Isla began regressing – having accidents on a bi-hourly basis and I have been challenged to recalibrate my expectations and show her more love and grace now than before when she was doing so amazingly well. Thankfully she seems to being doing much better today.

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In other random news, Ada has started coloring in the lines. The growth is just happening around here, without me even directing it. I watch in amazement as our first born clears the way for her siblings in our family.

Oh yes, one more thing I wanted to share with you. I was researching some knitting terminology and well one thing lead to another and I find myself on this blog, reading a post about interruptions and time management. Reading this post was such a blessing, especially as I feel like I’m facing an insurmountable to do list over the next couple weeks. I hope you’ll take a little time to check it out. May it bless you as it did me!

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And now I’m off to go knit a sock monster and a hat for my boy, sew some pinafores for my girls, finish blocking a knitted puppy toy for Ada’s 4th birthday and figure out how we are going to celebrate this in less than a month, order some more baby necessities, wipe some bottoms, make a meal plan for next week, make some dinner, brush my hair, throw on some lipgloss all before Michael can walk through the door and ask, “Soo, what did you do today?” , at which point I'll respond by blankly staring back at him trying to remember hmmm… what was it I did today?…

Ahh my plans and how things actually turn out are so often two completely different things – it is good to be reminded that sometimes interruptions are just what we need!


Thursday, September 30, 2010

Retreat (n) : a place affording peace, quiet, privacy, or security.

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Every once in a while my soul craves an escape. I felt this way last summer as we took our little show on the road and headed for the great pacific northwest for a family reunion. As we drove over the grapevine, out into the desert, beyond where our normal commutes and errands take us, I could literally begin to feel my soul breathing. The land just stretched out in front of us and we were free from our daily obligations and we had begun to experience God's beautiful creation together.

The last time we road tripped was when Michael and I drove out here from MI some 9 years ago. I didn't realize how much I missed this experience until we once again hit the road, this time with two kids in the backseat. It's not that I haven't traveled - oh my, have I traveled by plane... back and forth, forth and back, east to west, west to east, north to south, south to north almost every year since we've moved here. For some reason, there's nothing like the adventure of a road trip that my soul craves.

This past weekend our family was blessed to be able to stay at Aunt Pam & Uncle Pete's cabin in the mountains. After pizza Friday night, we changed the girls into their pjs, tucked them snuggly into their carseats with pinky, bunny, lovies, and blankies and set out on our adventure. Granted, our two hour trip to the cabin didn't quite give us the "road trip" experience, but it did afford a much needed retreat from our daily lives. Absolutely nothing was accomplished or checked off on my mounting to do list over this past weekend, but it didn't matter. In the solitude of a little rustic cabin in the woods, without internet access or cell phone reception, our family took priority.

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Good morning campers!

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It's time to start the day!

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Let's see them guns

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Ada teaching Daddy a game she made up

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Pass the Rock

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We're getting ready for our Bear Hunt!

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We're gonna catch a BIG one!

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We're not scared!

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What a beautiful day!

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Oh no! A fall gives Isla an Owie!

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We'll just have to muster through it

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after lots of hugs and smooches of course

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We're more determined than ever

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She's ready to walk (instead or running ahead) this time

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Two for the road - a safer way to travel

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Oh No! A GATE! We can't go under it, we can't go over it, we'll have to go through it!

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Counting change at the local starbucks err, I mean, watering hole we "hiked to"- we were really roughing it out there.

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Happy hikers with joe in tow

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exploring the beautiful trees

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pine cones everywhere

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a tired Isla hitchhikes on daddy's shoulders

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Evening entertainment

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making silly faces in the windows

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peek a boo!

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I see you!

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Reading from Laura in the Big Woods

Until next time!

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