Fun at the Train Park

My People

Love odd shots like this

Could he be any cuter?! How is he going to be 2 next week?!

A girl, pink boots, and a scarf = fun!

They will learn to be monkeys because of him.

Me and my snotty nosed babe.

Wrist rolls!

With hat? (Do you like my hat?- Dr. Suess)

Or without? (I do like that hat!-Dr. Suess)

Four babes in swings... thought this was kinda cool.

My people, again.

We have been battling this nasty cold around here, so we try and not go anywhere where we might expose other people to it... so we went to the train park... the kids always have fun if Tyler is around to play, so we let Tyler sleep until 11am, and then woke him up telling him we were picnic-ing at the park!
You say picnic, and the kids immediately cheer, it is quite nice.
I took little Soren to the Doc today, and she said he most likely had/has RSV, but is probably over the worst... thankfully. We have had a couple rough nights; a lot of vomiting of phlegm, a constant runny nose, a nasty cough... but I think we made it through... now the older two have colds with fevers. Go figure.
We are going to Austin this weekend, and we are going to have fun.
Seriously.

I can't believe it is Kellen's second birthday next week! Seems like I just pulled him from the water and said "It's a boy!"

Some of my favorite past Instagram photos

Tonight my little rugrat, Kellen, is trying to be a big boy and sleep on a regular bed (really, we needed the crib for Soren:) ). I can't believe how fast they grow up. It almost is like in a blink of the eye.

I must be lucky

due to MANY different reasons (my wonderful kids, my super fantastic husband.. you get the picture) But really, I have been lucky in winning some FANTASTIC thing in the last couple months!!
Back in November, I got a strange facebook message saying that for every like at this page I would get a dollar towards a gift certificate... I just didn't know what page, and frankly, I thought it was spam, so I paid it no mind.
AT the end of november, I see my name in a post from a fabulous US company called The Original Tree Swing. I thought, that is weird.
So I did a little bit of an investigation, and finally put two and two together, and walla... I was the proud winner of a $53 gift certificate. Even though I did no promoting of the page... this company is that good. I coveted many things from it, and said I will someday buy one of those swings for my children. Someday.

Well, I didn't use the $$ towards a swing (we have no trees in our yard) but I did get a wonderful castle set. Complete with knights on horses and a dragon! How cool is that?
I gave it to the boys for Valentine's day... they already had too many things for Christmas!

And Ayla got something entirely different, and COMPLETELY AWESOME!
I have been a HUGE fan of Bamboletta for a couple years it seems. I fondly remember when my parents were in Montana awaiting Kellen's birth, I was trying to get a doll for Ayla (for her birthday in September, which was 6 months away). It can take a long time to get one of these highly coveted dolls. I tried for probably 4 months, to no avail. So I ordered a special waldorf style doll from another independent maker, but I kept my eyes on Bamboletta... they are so darn cute!
I faithfully entered into the contests just to see if I could win one... I donated to the raffles available (they do a lot of wonderful fundraisers) and I dreamed.
 And then... Then there was a super giveaway. A giveaway with not just one doll, but a 15" doll, a little buddy (about half size) and 6 cute little dolls and then a couple other goodies. I entered thinking "maybe this time?" And lo and behold... I WON!!!
I saw the name BROOKE as the winner, and the facebook post said that "she" had been emailed. I knew it was me... I don't know how, but I did. I checked my email, and sure enough... there it was! Oh, Happy Day! It was kind of late at night when I saw it too, so in the morning I thought I was dreaming... silly, I know. Well, we are in love with these little dolls.
They are just the cutest. Ayla named them Rainbow and Rose, and carries them around everywhere. They go to sleep with her every night, after she dresses them in their clothes (or clothes that are entirely ill fitting, but cute non the less!) We have decided to give a couple of the little pocket dolls for gifts this coming year, and even a special cousin is getting one of the bigger dolls... I told Ayla we have to spread the love :)

Oh, I am a lucky girl... maybe I should play the lotto??

Nah, I won't test my luck. I feel I have it pretty good, as it is.

I also have won a giveaway at one of my favorite online kids stores... Imagine Childhood. It is a book on helping kids and writing. I truthfully have not had time to look through it, but totally plan on it in the near future!

Also, I received a fantastic muslin blanket from Bambinoland... love that place too!

Right now :)

Right Now I am::

:: soaking in the sun while I can! The weather here has been crazy: snowing on Sunday and in the 70's by Tuesday!

:: wearing mostly leggings and loose shirts... but I have lost some baby weight! Down to 180, woohoo! Only 30 more to go!

:: wondering if Colton will get this stomach bug that has been around since Saturday :(

:: hoping that he doesn't get that silly stomach bug!

:: laughing because that is all you can do when it there is sickness going on around your place, right?! But really laughing at all the funny things the kids are saying. Yesterday, Ayla went around saying "That is highly over-rated." To everything... it was cute.

:: enjoying our evenings at OUR park. 

:: smiling because these kids of mine crack me up. Kellen is singing Bob the Builder on a regular basis, and keeps adding more words daily. It is kind of fun to see his progression.

:: deciding whether or not I should continue to work out like I have been doing because of an ankle problem... hmmm... these ailments are annoying :)

:: feeling pretty tired most days... but entirely happy. I really enjoy my life.

:: reading LOTS! I just finished two books in three days (I guess that is what happens when you spend your day in bed sick!) Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman (good read in my opinion) and Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares (the end of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants stories; also a good read in my opinion)

:: knitting not much, but thinking of finishing up a diaper cover that has been waiting for months. Also thinking of knitting a little vest for a doll named Rainbow (and maybe one for Rose)

:: working at getting the kids into a cleaning routine (Not to mention myself included) Every day I have them pick chores and help around the house... and if they get in trouble, they get an extra chore. Sometimes we even get Kellen to lend a hand!

:: thinking about turning our house in Montana into a vacation rental in a couple years... like here and here. (our house isn't as awesome as these, but it is near there, and ... well, it is a thought for the future)

:: watching movies with my husband on the weekend. We saw Win Win the other night... very good. We also watched the Hangover II, which we both thought wasn't as good as the first, but still pretty funny!

:: remembering fun times had in the Navy with my girls! Three of the four of us (we will miss you Bryr!) will be meeting in Austin in March, and I.AM.SO.EXCITED!!!

:: itching to get out running, but ailments (ankle, knee and back) seem to be at every corner! frustrating, for sure!

:: wanting to stop buying THINGS! I look around my house and see piles of things, useful things, but things that seem to clutter and make me FULL.

:: wishing that we could live somewhere that has beautiful trees... Astoria would be nice :)

Picture a day, 365 days 32-44

32: 365, yes, those are woolies (diaper cover) on his head. It is clean, don't worry!

33: 365, Kellen loves to peek at us at the park.

34: 365, Love the hair (plus he is still in PJ's and it is more than likely in the evening time this pic was taken :))

35: 365, Odd picture, I know. These are stickers we got in Yellowstone, and I LOVE THEM! I want to get some artwork like them.

36: 365, Can't tell these kids are related!!

37: 365, being silly.

38: 365, How cute is he?!

39: 365, all tuckered out!

40: 365, Wonderful new things arrived in the mail:: more on them later!

41: 365, dominos aren't just for playing dominos!

42: 365, yummy avocado hummus sandwich :)

43: 365, a little gift made for someone special (who likes strawberries)

44: 365, kids climbing up the stairs, on the outside! Kellen is only allowed to go up two!

So are days move pretty slow around here. We have been battling some sicknesses this last weekend, and I got it last night... but seem to be on the mend :) Thank goodness. Mommies aren't meant for getting sick, especially on Valentine's Day! Hope everyone had a great holiday... we made it what we could. The kids made us cards, so that was really all we needed. Tyler got me chocolate, and amazingly, I have only eaten two pieces from it (for anyone who really knows me, you can tell by this statement that I must really not be feeling well!)

Oh, I think I have officially made it further in my documenting the year than I did the last time! I will try to keep it up :)

I am.... a closet hoarder.

I think.
I am.
I think I am a closet hoarder.
You know the type. Maybe you are one too. You get one thing that you LOVE, and then you must have more. You are not happy with just one. (This also pertains to food for me, unfortunately)
Admittedly, I am a clothes and shoes snob for my kids. I tend to buy the super cute, mostly expensive stuff when we have a little extra to spend (or for birthday's and Christmas usually). And then, when I see it on sale... I THINK I HAVE TO BUY MORE, OR IT WILL NEVER BE AVAILABLE EVER AGAIN!!!

Ayla looks adorable in anything (in my unbiased opinion), but she looks even cuter in clothes from TEA or Mini Boden, or Hanna Andersson.... you get the picture. And Google and Facebook know how to do it. They know to put those ads up for those places that taunt me with deals. Also, I "like" them on Facebook, so they themselves taunt me. Maybe I should just "unlike" them?.

I figure with the boys, it might last through two of them, right? Or if I am lucky, all three.

I look around our house and I just see a bunch of stuff though. It has been really getting to me lately, and I feel an incredible need/want to purge some stuff. But when I go to do said purging... I find that most of the stuff is GOOD stuff. You know, wooden toys that for some reason I LOVE, or toys that one of them thinks they can't live without. Or things that we may SOMEDAY need. This good stuff needs and is begging to be let go... but I find myself holding on for some unknown reason.

I think I am going to start trying to consciously make the effort to find out why I can't let go, and then try to get around it. I don't think of myself as overly sentimental. I have let go of some of the kids baby things that a bunch of people I know would not get rid of. I have decided I will keep only handmade stuff or things that I ABSOLUTELY ADORE. Maybe these rules are good to live by.

There are so many ways to accumulate stuff though, isn't there? You can buy it, or get it given to you. You can find it, or it is made. Some stuff the kids make is pretty hard to let go. What if they want to see it when they are older? What if I want to see it when they are older?
Letting go is so much harder when it is you that has to let go. Even of stuff.

The last couple of days, I have had some crazy ideas that need some extra money.... so I am going to try to save said money over the next couple years to try it. Let's see how long this lasts. We already save a decent amount of money for ourselves and the kids; we tend to live within our means (even with my buying expensive kids clothes :) ); and I think it would be a really good thing for our family.

But dreams are always nice as dreams too. Someday.

Someday, I will not be a hoarder.
Someday, I will be able to let go of the things that own me, so that I can be owned only by the things I love.
Someday.

Climbing trees

my kids claim they are monkeys on occasion... I think they're right! We found a good climbing tree on our walk the other day, and at first, they seemed unsure as to if they could climb all over it, but I encouraged them the best I could! Soon enough they were swinging off of the lower branches :)
It made me happy!

Coming up soon:: details on something I won and a coupon code for my Etsy shop!