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 :)

A couple glimpses into our living space

So in the move, we changed up a couple things. The biggest one is that we chose not to have the TV downstairs in the living room/family room area. This has been a huge positive change for us. No longer do I get stuck watching a stupid show or have the kids begging to watch something... which leads me to another change... we decided no cable for us. We did however order Netflix and get movies from the library on a weekly basis. The kids get to watch a movie after lunch, while I nap with Kellen or get a project done. This is also a huge improvement. I cannot say enough good things about it. I am such a fan.

The kids have their little corner of the area downstairs, behind the couches. We decided to put up the teepee as a reading corner and that has also worked out fabulous. Plus, it looks adorable. With their books, which was an ongoing battle with me, we decided to pack up most of them, and do a rotating library for them. Each week they pick out a couple books for upstairs and a couple for downstairs, we put them in their baskets and it makes cleanup so much easier! Plus, they really get to appreciate certain books for the whole week, and they seem to really dig it. I was so skeptical of putting the books away, but it has created a lovely amount of peace for the family.

Our downstairs really has become a favorite place to be (maybe because it is cooler?) and I really enjoy the decor we have chosen. We didn't really mean to go with the red and white and blue, but it seems to work! Plus, I guess we are pretty patriotic.

Well, I am off to nap. Maybe.

"Our" park

This is the park which is about 2 minutes walk from our house. The kids love it. Tyler and I love it. You can usually find us there most days between 8am to 10am or 8pm to 9pm depending on when the kids wake up and when we want to put them to bed.
Colt and Ayla usually bring their favorite stuffed animals and play with them. If Tyler is there, he plays monster with them. I either walk around it, or push Kellen on the swing (his favorite).
It is so nice to have a great park so close.... I just wish most of the day wasn't SO incredibly hot!!!

Oh, and hardly anyone is ever there!? Maybe the weather, I don't know. So the kids refer to it as "OUR" park... and ask when anyone else is there, why they are at OUR park!