Friday, December 3, 2010

This Moment

His first experience with snow! (this was a before our trip west)
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Happy Weekend to you and yours! ~ Soulemama blog

Thursday, December 2, 2010

I'm back!

I have missed this place! Sorry for the extended vacation. It hasn't really been a vacation for us. Well.. we drove to Oregon the weekend before Thanksgiving. Colton had a fever/cold thing with an ear infection and was some antibiotics, Ayla had a cold, and everyone was fine when we left home... by the time we got to Oregon, all the kids were sick with fevers and cold/cough. We ended up staying the night in Pasco, and in the middle of the night, Kellen was miserable, so I walked him out in the cold to try to get his breathing better and cool him down. Not fun!

We made it to Oregon, spread our disease and Tyler tried to find an elk to shoot, but did not find any legal ones.

We did get to spend the holiday week with family; Roxanne was our hostess (who we got sick and whatnot) but she baked cookies with the kids, and prepared a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for us. We also went over to the other Grandparents for actual Thanksgiving and had fun there too. We only got 2 people sick there (that we know of). And my parents and sister and her husband drove to Astoria for Friday and hung out with us.

So not a wasted trip.

But we are home and that is good. Next week I go in for reconstructive knee surgery. ACL is gone in my right knee, and my meniscus is torn in two spots and I have some arthritis like stuff on my cartilage... I will be on crutches for a bit; and in a brace for 5ish weeks. But... alas, it must be done.

I am trying to get all my Christmas stuff in order before the big day so that I don't have much to do but knit stuff after the surgery... we will see how I do.

Hopefully I will be back here before long, and keep you guys updated.

Here are a few photos from our trip (our camera battery did die right before Thanksgiving day, so only a bit are here)



Thursday, November 18, 2010

I forgot Halloween pictures!









In a Mazatlan haze, I forgot to post the adorableness that happened on Halloween. Kellen wore the same outfit Colton wore when he was a babe, Ayla was a flying pink princess pig, and Colton was a bat. All so very cute. We had arrived home on Halloween at 3pm; without the costumes ready... I would say we did pretty good!
Our wonderful neighbors invited us over for awesome potato soup and pumpkin cheesecake. Then we went trick-or-treating. The kids had a great time, and the adults did too. It really made me realize how much we will miss our friends when we leave this place next year :(

Sunday, November 14, 2010

A Family Tree

I found this tutorial a while ago, and absolutely loved it. However, I did some tweaking and came up with my own take.
Family is pretty big around here... in every sense! I have four brothers and sisters, Tyler has 3; add them all together with extended family=a big, crazy bunch! So I thought, A Family Tree! We need a family tree! So here is my rendition:Tyler and I's leaves are in the middle, our parents are in pairs above "us" (3 pairs; Tyler has two sets!), and the three kids are below to the left side of the screen. I chose boy/girl fabric to kind of distinguish between who's who.
The back is a pocket pillow, and I used a 18x18 bamboo pillow.
Absolutely LOVE! It is one of our family Christmas presents, so it is put away for now. But I may break it out early.

I am thinking of making them for special order. Let me know if you are interested:)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Kellen is 8 month's old!

Time is flying at an unbelievable speed... Kellen is 8 months old. Where has the time gone? Just yesterday he was a newbie, and now he is on his way to being a crawler! Not yet though. He loves to sit and play, while reaching for his toys; but not a fan of being on his tummy. Oh, well.
His little smile brings an immediate one to my face and his big blue eyes are so... beautiful. I have thought all my babies were the MOST ADORABLE THINGS, but this one, he is special. I think it has to do with the fact that most likely he is the last. I go back and forth on wanting a fourth. But, really, I think 3 is the magic number for this family. It feels more right every day. BUT I do have my moments of baby nostalgia, and anything could happen!

Here my boy is in his new highchair. We had recently purchased a restaurant style highchair from Costco, but despite my efforts, he constantly would slide forward and didn't really care for that much! So I went to my local consignment shop, Jack and Jill's, and found this. I adore it. And it isn't the first time I have laid eyes upon it's beauty... my mother-in-law has one EXACTLY like it that my father-in-law purchased when there baby girl in that stage - she is 19 now!! I knew I had to have it when I saw it, and ... here it is!Kellen and his kitties. This boy loves cats. Anytime he sees them roaming around the house he squeals with laughter and reaches for them. You say "Where's the kitty?" and he immediately looks around with wild eyes. He loves them! But they are smart in the fact that they only come near when he is sleeping. We find them cuddled up quite frequently.Some things I have been finding and admiring on the lovely internet, and I thought you might enjoy::

::The Rhythm of the Home blog
:: this blog and online magazine is wonderful for those of you with small children, and interest in the more natural life... the latest entry from a guest from Salt and Chocolate blog really inspired me to really try to make an effort at simplifying our weekly menu. Here is what we have come up with:: a day for each:
burritoes/tacos
pasta
pizza
soup and sandwiches
stirfry
casseroles
and Sunday dinner (like steak or meatloaf, or something of the like)

I know this may sound boring, but I think this leaves a lot of wiggle room and we will see!

::Something to consider for next Halloween :: The green pumpkin! He comes after halloween and exchanges extra candy for books. (this is from Salt and Chocolate blog too)
How cool is that, though?!

::Nicole from one of the blogs I follow, Mountaintop Tribe, recently opened up a web based business (with local Colorado ability) called Natural Family Supplies. Wonderful store with MANY items that I use and would use if I had the money! Last week was the grand opening week and she had giveaways every day. I entered into all of them and WON one of them!!! How cool is that!? I won a Bottombumpers one size diaper ... I seem to be lucky in giveaways!

::I really love the way Heather wrote this article on her blog about her marriage. It spoke to me.

::I finished the first of three of these sweaters for Colton (Ayla and Kellen are next!) and this hat. It was supposed to be for Colton, but it just fits Kellen, so I need to figure out how to make it a bit bigger!

::I used this tutorial for inspiration in some of my Christmas gifts. I am loving what I came up with SO much, I might want to make/sell them!!

Friday, November 5, 2010

This Moment

Don't forget to go check out the giveaway today at Natural Family Supplies! Today it is the Moby Wrap!


{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Wishing you a lovely weekend! - Amanda Soule