Summer

Here's a little glimpse of what we've been up to this summer. I feel like we've been going non-stop - and there are still more things on the calendar. If you haven't seen the national news recently - we're hitting record highs for heat over here in the PNW. Justin was driving through town today and saw 105 at one bank. We're thankful for our basement and the kiddie pool to cool off in the evenings.

Adia looked so cute this day, I had to take her picture.

A bug Justin and the kids found outside our living room window.

Steele reading to Adia and his animals.
(l to r: Bulldog, frogger baby, frogger, frogee, frogger II, Adia Moon, Steele)

Cooling off on the back patio.

Xochi's adoption finalization.
Somebody forgot to tell our attorney not to take pictures looking up!

Gettin' ready to go work outside.
Swim Lessons!

Steele telling his instructor he's four.

I took this girl to the doctor today... 12.9 lbs! She's gained 5 lbs in 8 weeks.
Little chubber. And sweet - she was smiling for the doctor.


The ladies at church threw a baby shower for us last night.
I am so thankful for the body that I am a part of.
As I looked at the pictures I was struck again with what wise, beautiful, Godly women
I have around me. They are homemakers, doctors, teachers, dahlia farmers, dairy farmers, professors, homeschoolers, hair stylists, hippies, vegans, young and old, single, married, engaged, widowed. They have owned nutrition stores, been gymnasts, raised large families, built log houses, lived on farms without electricity, studied theatre and music, studied with Jane Goodall, adopted children, served in the mission field, been pastor's wives and so much more... and they all love the Lord and want to serve Him. What an honor to be a part of a group such as this.


Perhaps one of these days I'll get around to taking a photography class - or even reading the manual for the decent camera I have. But for now, these pictures capture our days just how I remember them - sometimes a little blurry but always full of life!

No I Didn't. Yes You Did.

The other day I came out into the kitchen to find this little scene.


Rest assured, we work hard to address this type of behavior. But this is real life. These kinds of situations happen ten-fold throughout my day. I just had to grab my camera to capture a memory to laugh about when the kids get older. For some reason the, "Yes you did. No I didn't" conversation was cracking me up. Adia's too big for her britches.

Too bad my camera battery kept dying but you'll get the gist. Just imagine the same conversation continuing on and on (and on) while I turn my camera off and on, off and on (and off and then on).

Cheating

I have tons of posts floating around in my head but can't seem to get them out onto the 'ol blogster. So why go post-less when the last three posts on this blog can tell you what we've been up to?!

I'm sure glad Amy has some extra time on her hands. *heh, heh, snicker, snicker*

More Wardrobe 911

Did you know this???

2 sizes bigger than your normal size???

This may have been my problem all along.

And this may be, perhaps, some of the best news I have ever heard in my life.

Updates and a New Project

Yah, like I really have the time or energy for a new project.... a girl can dream, right? Just humor me for a moment.

So if you'll remember, a while back I posted about this bookcase. I ended up not getting that exact bookcase, but one very similar to it (actually, it's more cheaply made than that one but it won't help to grump about that now...). Around that time I also decided that I needed a round coffee table and not a rectangular one anymore and miraculously found just what I wanted on Craigslist. I don't feel like going out to the garage to take a picture of it - but you'll have to trust me. It's round, brown wood, pedestal leg, cool. It looks a little like this, but shorter. And it cost like $30 - not $800.

It's all part of my plan to give my living room a little face-lift. I'm thinking "lighter", less red, maybe some greens, blues, mustards... I don't know yet. I had in my mind to go sort of Martha Stewart monochromatic in there, so I bought paint just a little lighter than my wall paint and was planning on painting the coffee table and the bookshelf that color - sort of this kind of look but not as stark - but now I'm not sure. Any ideas?

Now for the new project. The other day I mentioned to Justin that I would like some wicker patio furniture. No sooner had I mentioned it - my deal-loving hubby found a set at a garage sale. I matched it with a chair I already had and voila! Cuteness. All cozy and ready for me to sit outside and read while the kids play the summer days away (remember, I said humor me...) Except it needs an update.


Next to it I have two picnic tables - a kid one and an adult one. I'm just about finished painting the kid table (vintage rick rack from Martha Stewart at Lowes) and the adult table I'm going to paint the same color as my kitchen (vintage map also from Martha). So here's my question: What color should I paint the wicker furntiure? Here are some ideas I have and I'd love to see what you think: White and then I'd recover the cushions to coordinate with the tables. Olive green and cover the cushions with this cute oilcloth. Blue, cute oilcloth. Red, cute oilcloth. Something else, cute oilcloth? What do you think?



Here they are to show you how close they are to each other. Please disregard the tent hanging to dry, the scattered toys and the morning shadows. We're dreaming here.

Costco Deals and Taco Tuesday

Sigh..... I love Costco. Organic peanut butter and quinoa for cheap, cute kids clothes, gargantuan boxes of Cheerios, Foster Farms all white meat chicken nuggets (surely you didn't think I would eat those!), extra large samples 'cause my aunt's a demo lady, and the books! I could go on and on about the books....

No joke - here is how Justin and I do Costco. It's totally a family outing - I rarely go alone unless it's in a case like today where we forgot to get peanut butter the other day while we were there. We're usually getting out of the house a little later than we'd hoped so it's surely lunch time. We head right in and the kids and Justin get hotdogs (I've been good lately and have been eating before we go).

Now, let me tell you a little something else about me. My family has lived in the same county for six generations now. Both Justin and I were involved in a couple of pretty large churches in town. Justin and I both went to college here. I used to work at Costco doing the flowers. I used to own my own Jazzercise business. Between the two of us, we know a fair number of people - many of whom will walk by while we're in the food court as Costco. And we love it! It's our social outlet.

So after about an hour of eating and socializing we head on in to shop. I almost always look at the clothes. Steele for sure likes to go down the vacuum isle, Justin - the tools, a usual silly laughing trip through the brrrzzy (the cooler) and chatting it up with the demo ladies who want to get a look at the kids since my aunt (my mom's sister) tells everybody all about them. And like I mentioned, I always take a quick cart-less detour through the books. Which brings me to the whole point of this post. (I know, finally! Good for you if you've made it this far.) I found a couple great things at Costco the other day that I wanted to share with you.

As I think ahead toward home schooling there are a couple of subjects that stick out in my mind. Namely, geography and literature. I don't know... it might be because I somehow made it through a grade 2-8 gifted learning program, honors english and like 5 years of college without EVER reading one classic novel. Or maybe because when I find myself in the middle of current events conversations (which is rarely lately) I have no freakin' idea where anything is that we're talking about? Afghanistan? That's in South America right??

These are the reasons I get so excited when I find stuff like this! The box is the Kids Guide to the United States. It includes a large laminated map of the U.S., a cool atlas sticker book and a U.S. floor puzzle. It was $9.99. While it was cool enough and Steele and I have already put the floor puzzle together - my super duper cool find were these large maps that I found. They are HUGE and get this - they were only $6.50!! Justin and I decided to only get the world map since a U.S. map was included in the kit but I'm going to get the U.S. one while I'm there today. They also had the same U.S., World, Animals of the World and Solar System maps that were illustrated with little pictures and facts. They were cool but looked a little busy for me. And they were all $6.50! As Steele would say.... Sweet!!



I also picked up a great resource book that I've been enjoying so far. It's called What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know. While it certainly is not the end all for what your child really "needs to know" and while the authors very obviously have some sort of political agenda (although I haven't quite figured out what it is yet - one minute I think it's anti-public school, the next minute they're recommending goverment funded pre-school for everyone) it definitely has some great information in it, including further resource information for every subject and a general outline of what kindergarten age children can be learning. It gives project and activity ideas for subjects and lists book recommendations at the beginning of every chapter. Also, I didn't buy them or even look at them - but Costco is also carrying the books up through higher grade levels. Since I'm pretty much obsessed with resource books in general, I couldn't pass it up.

And just for fun - a little glimpse of Taco Tuesday at our house.

*In case you're concerned, it is absolutely politically correct (no matter what the American government may tell you) to call Baby So a "Mexican"... even though it may not be accurate. (She is technically an American of Mexican descent) If you ask anyone from Mexico what they want to be called they will probably tell you "Mexican." They are, after all, from Mexico and tend to be very proud of their country and heritage. In fact, many of my Mexican friends might balk at being called "Hispanic." And for heavens sake! Don't ever, ever call them "South American" or even worse, "Spanish." They speak Spanish, they are Mexican. You know, just in case you were concerned on my behalf... ;-)

Amen Sista!

LOVED this post over at Wardrobe 911 today!! I am a huge fan of shapewear - for many reasons.

Like the author of the post, I was recently at a wedding and saw a girl wearing dark thong underwear under her summer dress. How did I know? Ahem... yah. You got it.

Here's the thing - I think that even if you are super, super skinny - proper undergarments are a must. Especially under fitted or clingy dresses. Shapewear just makes everything look better. Way better. For rounder girls like me it is essential and will make you look and feel great. I felt so much better in my new brown and white dress at the Leavenworth wedding thanks to shapewear. And even for skinny girls, I think it just gives everything a little lift and makes your clothes fit more nicely.... nobody looks good with underwear lines. *Just a side note about underwear lines: I'm not just talkin' about the ones under the cheeks. The biggest culprits seem to be the ones diggin' into the hips!

And here's the thing - I don't know about you, but I don't get the chance to get dressed up much these days. So when I do? I wanna look gooood. I wanna make my husband look at me a little longer with a cute, smirky smile on his face.

I can take all the fashion help I can get ... some of you might be feeling a bit this way too. So here are my top picks for shapewear:

While Spanx are hugely popular and I do have several pair, I'm not a fan of the Power Panties. In my opinion, the fabric they're made out of clings too much to skirts and pants.

Don't give up on Spanx though! I wore their Higher Power shapers under my bridesmaid's dress for my SIL's wedding


and they worked well for something like that. Where you want to look good but don't expect to be extremely comfortable. It was a bridesmaid's dress, after all, and I was wearing backless shoes.... I can't stand backless shoes.

I also love their Hide and Sleek Capri Smoother under pants. Really love them. And before you freak out about the price - I have one pair of these that have lasted me years and I bought them during Nordstrom's half yearly sale for half price. The best time to get them.

A little more pocketbook-friendly though, and great to wear under dresses and pants is the Hanes Go Figure, Smooth Illusions bodywear. My favorite part about this line is the waist. They don't have a band on them so they don't dig into your stomach - it just makes a nice smooth shape under your dress or shirt. I also love the fabric and feel like my clothes glide over them nicely. My favorites are these and these.

Anyways, kind of a random post from me - Happy Shaping!! Here's to lookin' good at those summer weddings!

Smiley Sunday Morning

Big Smile.
Blurry Arm.

Summer Baby and Saturday Morning

In other news, I've been feeling so blah blah blah lately - not enough sleep, gaining weight, need a haircut, etc. - that I took some advice from Wardrobe 911 and ordered almost all the shirts from their "Mom Wardrobe" post. It's part of a $1500 wardrobe challenge they've been doing. I even ordered a couple of styles that I wouldn't normally choose for myself so we'll see how it goes. Someday, I might beef up the courage (and the bank account) to buy a pair of Joe's jeans. Man, they're expensive... but I'm sure they're worth it if they make me look hot. And you all know that's my main goal in life - to look hot while I'm fixing my 10th PB&J for the day. I'm also going to head over to Downeast Basics and see what I can get for myself. They just came out with their early fall line and some of it is super cute. AND, if you'll remember from last year - I still haven't ordered myself a bathing suit from Land's End. I'm hopeful but I need some help. I might be enlisting all of you for this so stay tuned....

Have a wonderful, fun, relaxing weekend!

Today's Blog Post is Brought to You By The Letter S

Steele, Strawberries and Baby So

I guess technically it's baby Xo but the whole thing just sounded cuter with an "S."

Over the next little while you might see this blog o' mine take a bit of a turn.

I don't have a lot of time these days to think about fun and interesting things to post, or to make a bunch of beautiful crafty stuff to write about - but since I do use this as a sort of scrapbook I want to be sure and at least continue posting pictures. But I don't know.... maybe I never really posted about anything that interesting anyway. Or maybe you'll be happy to get a break from me blabbing on and on about stuff. Who knows.

Sunday afternoon, as we were hanging out in Leavenworth, Steele asked me if it was his birthday. When I told him that 'yes' it indeed was he said, "Well, where's my cake?"

Hmmm.... I hadn't really thought about a cake. But never fear, Grammy to the rescue. Monday evening we went over to my grandma's house for a party. Grammy made some cupcakes, Steele got some presents, Mee Mee snuggled with the baby - and, as usual, it was good being together.

Aren't 4 year old birthdays the best?
Steele couldn't have been more thrilled.

My grandma's been having some discouraging health problems lately,
so she was glad to have us all there.

The hit presents this year were power tools.
Steele helps Justin work out in the yard and has had pretend tools that he uses -
so he was super excited to get a new plastic lawn mower from us,
a blower from Justin's parents and a 'weed eaterer' from my parents.
So he can do some 'lawn mowering' some 'weed eatering' and some 'blowering' of course.
(Steele likes to come up with his own verbs)

Tuesday, our whole family + my mom, brother and sister went strawberry picking. I'm glad we got out as the strawberries started pretty early this year. Between the four of us (well, 5, if you count Abbey, my dreamer of a sister, who picked maybe 10 berries...) we picked about 50 lbs of strawberries. I've spent the last 2 days making freezer jam. It was so much work but I will be so glad to have it this winter. Justin also requested raspberry jam this year - so that's next on the list. And just so I have it documented somewhere - next year I will use only the Sure-Jell low sugar freezer jam recipe. On recommendation from my MIL - I used Ball liquid pectin for a few of my initial batches - half of them set up, half of them didn't. Grrrrr..... Sometime I would like to try and use Pomona's Universal Pectin - but I was too impatient to order it this year. Goodness, that would take planning.... who has time for that?

Gabe and I flashin' the Strawberry Gang sign

After Strawberry picking Uncle Gabe stayed the night with us.
Justin set the tent up in the backyard for our first overnight camp-out.

Gabe flattered me by sleeping in the hat I made him for his birthday.

And what post would be complete these days without a few pictures of this sweet girl?


This concludes the marathon picture post.

Leavenworth Wedding and Steele's Birthday

Justin's cousin Emily was married in Leavenworth over the past weekend. I really wanted to go - not only to witness the momentous occasion - but also because Emily's mom (Justin's aunt), Ilona, is one of the most talented women I know. I knew her wedding planning/decorating skills would impress again and sure enough, I was not disappointed. Among other things, Ilona has done illustrations for some of Stephen Cosgrove's books - you northwest natives will recall Stephen Cosgrove as the author of such book as Wheedle on the Needle and Serendipity.

Emily was married at Ohme Gardens in Wenatchee. I had never heard of the gardens before but man, are they beautiful! If you're traveling through I would definitely recommend stopping - especially if you enjoy gardening. The view alone was stunning. Of course, since I have three little kids now, I wasn't able to get many pictures. I also spent my time taking advantage of the delicious appetizers and open bar and laughing and visiting with Justin's sisters and cousins. It was some of the most fun I have ever had at a wedding.



The next day was Steele's 4th birthday and since Justin had to work that day and had met us in Leavenworth, I was on my own with the kids. Even though we had yet to travel the 3+ hour drive home over the pass, I wanted to be sure and do some fun stuff to celebrate. We went out to a yummy strawberry waffle breakfast with Justin's sister and her husband and their daughter Taylor.


After that the kids and I went downtown, looked around a toy store, jumped in some bouncy houses (Steele and Adia, not me and Xochi). As we were walking along I told Steele the story of his birth again- getting choked up all the while. We then headed over to the city pool. Again, I would also highly recommend a visit if you are passing through or staying in Leavenworth. The kids had a blast. Because of the way the pool is set up, I was able to put Xochi off to the side a bit and still watch Steele and Adia.

At that point, the kids were getting tired and hungry (and so was their mama) so I asked Steele what he wanted to eat for his birthday dinner. McDonald's of course! We rarely get it so it was a treat - I even splurged and got myself a fillet o' fish.

As we were pulling out of Leavenworth Steele said to me, "Thank you for my birthday Mama!" I guess the day was a hit!