freezing parenthood

TV shows are fun for a number of different reasons. One of the reasons they are fun for ME is that when I watch them online, I take screenshots of paused scenes. Then I get tons of ideas for decorating! Things to look for when I browse online, and things to think about when I climb into my own bed. Fun fun fun! 


For your viewing pleasure: 


Here is the master bedroom in this set's house. I love everything about it except the motel-looking art above the bed. Everything including: the seashell sitting on the dresser closer to us, the rug, the storage bench at the end of the bed, the headboard, the lamps, and I have her slippers! the paint color, the window treatments, and the molding. AH I want that bedroom!! And so cute that their little boy is snuggled right in the middle of them. What a cute picture (if this were a real family!)

Oops - ignore the "play" button in the middle! She is walking towards the bathroom in the left of the above picture. I love the lighting in the room, and the shelving, and the chair, and the glass lamp, the framed painting... the list continues..

And continues... hello floor mirror! I found two awesome leaning mirrors at Lowe's today for $111! I didn't buy them, but I took a picture. :) 

And one last shot of this couple's house, their living room. Here the ungle is clearing the floor so that he can teach his nephew how to DANCE! The shelves on the left wall are pottery barn, and I really like how they filled them. The paintings around the room are beautiful, and I love the house's charming windows and moldings. I love the built in shelves around the fireplace: 

meet Mike, Mark's brother

I was/am tempted to put this video up on my blog when I found it via a wife of a friend's of Mike's blog (does that make sense?) to show everyone how awesome Mark's family is. Michael is the one who is "instructing and leading" the synchronized act, and also the one that looks just like Mark. These Reeder boys are the best!

After the Air Force Academy's finals of last year (I was pregnant in all the pictures of the graduation from last June - maybe that'll ring a bell?), Mike and his four friends waited until they all were done with finals and then took the plunge together, and as Ashley pointed out, jumped in the order of completion. 

Now if we could just set Mike up with his dream girl!

Icy

A week ago the three of us were able to go on a Glacier Cruise of Prince William Sound. Though it was sunny, bright, and beautiful in Anchorage when we left, it was rainy, cloudy, and dark in Whittier. We thought it was funny since when we drove to Whittier last October, we kept saying to one another it looks like a ghost town with a haunted/druggy house on the hill - totally CREEPY. Once we left the busy but still ghost-like town and headed out into the sound and fjords, it was breathtakingly beautiful!

The cruise we took advertises that it is the cruise of 26 glaciers. I didn't count them, but I don't think it was that many.. though it was still a LOT of glaciers! It was astounding to see these historic blue beasts. Here is a picture, totally untouched just to show you how much blue the camera picked up. And in person, they are even bluer. The captain said they are blue because of REFRACTED light - refracted being the key word. It is not magnified or reflected, it is bent. And of all the colors in the spectrum, blue is the easiest to pick up, so blue is the prevalent and most easily noticed of the bent colors. I'm no scientist, but it made sense at the time.

The larger pieces that were further away from the glaciers were very ... big. Our catamaran kept shuddering as we pushed through these ICEBERGS. The captain could tell some of the people were nervous, so he explained how our boat was specially made to hit these ice-giants and keep going. Our boat was built for hitting the ice and for speed. It was more adventurous than I thought it was going to be; I wasn't really expecting to be shoving full speed through the Titanic-sinkers!

Out on the dark, teal water, these icebergs glow so brightly. They almost look like sparkling gems:

Of the possible wildlife, we saw about 30 Pacific White-sided Dolphins, which the captain claimed to be the fasted animals in the ocean. They were swimming circles around us when we were going 30 knots! There were lots of sea otters with babies (how come I'd get hypothermic but those little babies don't??), fishing bald eagle, dall sheep, and these birds... I can't remember their name, but they're smaller than seagulls and they are predators rather than scavengers like the gull. 

Mark and I were hoping for a good family portrait on this water-vessel, but the guy who offered to take our picture didn't snap a very flattering picture of us... so here's one I grabbed of my boys when we were trying to get Mont to look at me. I think Mont likes his home-land. hah!

ohhhh my funny little boy. Not only is he quite a looker, but he is so FUNNY. I am seriously laughing all day with this boy; except on the face-butting occasions when my eyes are watering.. that's not too funny, but sometimes he thinks so.

This isn't a very depicting picture of him - not a normal expression of his - but I love how soft and well mannerly his hair is being in this picture.

He's still working on those gums, and at this moment he found Mark's jacket. Mark probably is going to laugh when he sees this picture of himself - probably, because it makes ME laugh! Mark is as funny a dad as Mont is a funny boy. I love these two:

Happy glass-ee-ayes to you too! (the couple sitting across from us were from Kent, England and I loved hearing them say "glaciers" the entire time)

let me water your plants?

Aren't babies the cutest in sun hats? *iphone

This morning was another warm, sunny day, so I put back my shoulders and braved the mosquitoes and spiders, bears and moose to give this little boy some grass exposure (he only rolled onto it once, but hey, that's a start!). There was only one run in with a spider (quite a muscular one, if I might add) that ran onto my towel. But I swatted it off with my paint-swatch-book-mark. Mont enjoyed watching the kids on the street who are now FREE since school's last day was yesterday.

King Louis even got a little sun too, and I think we all avoided bites.

age

we can do it!

Tonight I am proclaiming my woman-power as I BBQ by myself!! I had Mark teach me how before he left, and as I type this... my timer is tick, tick, tickin' away.

bbzzzzzz... Better go turn the kabobs!

meet me in St. Louis

Mark's iphone picture email to me this afternoon.
Subject line: Love you.
What a kindred spirit.

PS - the last post, a happy weekend, was also my 500th!

a happy weekend

Motherhood..

Messy.

Crooked, toothless, eye crinkling, nose wrinkling smiles.

Happiness and joy. 

Sleepless, tired nights that drain us all. 

Wrestling tickle matches that I always win. For now.

Hugs and eating shoulders, kisses, slobber, wet noses, or tears.

Diapers. 

Stinky diapers. 

Missing socks that somehow he stashes for chewing on later. 

Green beans? yuck. Bananas and oatmeal? yes, please.

Tears cried by both Mont and myself, 

crocodiles tears and happy alike.

Naps; 3 hours long or 5 minutes short. 

Grabbing hair, jewelry, keyboards, cookies, and clothes.

Bath time. Rubberduckie. Washcloths. Splashes.

Protection of someone so small, sweet and 

dependent can turn any woman into a momma bear.

Overwhelming sense of pride and joy 

when Mont makes someone else happy. 

Small things become great. 

Measurements are no longer measured in years 

(at least not for now). 

They are measured in moments. 

Colors are brighter.
Joys are more joyful.
Love is more overwhelming.
Life is more vivid.
Excitement is more FUN.
Dancing has more bouncing.
Singing has more shrieking.
Laughing has more hiccups.
And smiles are more plentiful.

Happy Mother's Day to my mother. 

To my mother-in-law. 

To my Grandmothers. 

To my Grandmothers-in-law. 

To all mothers. 

To those who are trying to be mothers. 

To all who have loved like a mother.

Happy Mother's Day.

*PS - when I took this picture, Mont had; 

...rolled off the bed (bump on his forehead)

...been awake for 6.5 hours

...had just eaten

...already used this bib to try green beans

...lost a sock

...cut a tooth

...and laughed nearly all day

... .. exhausted himself, utterly.

recipe reeder

All my old recipe cards never seem to find a place other than in a messy pile behind a cupboard door. That is... until now! 

For a while now I've been compiling old, loved, and treasured new recipes into an online compilation site. I'm not sure how I found it anymore, but I finally ordered it for myself and it arrived just yesterday. 

I nearly forgot to take pictures 

(that's why the left flap is a little crinkled 

- my greedy hands wanted to tear off that paper!)

Hot off the presses. 

And here it is!

 This wasn't the original cover I had selected; the one I chose had earthen wheat loaves, topped with a homely-looking oatmeal atop wooden butcher blocks. Because I took my sweet time compiling all these recipes, it was no longer available. So I quickly selected this; I love it! 

It now sits on my buffet table in place of the Cookies book that you had seen previously. Only down side to this was I could only order 100 recipes with this book; but it says I can add more... so I may just do that. When the time comes of course. 

9 months

This little prince and myself have been quite sick this week; thankfully I think I'm joining him in the upswing of things.

I realized tonight that I never took a picture of this cute cupcake while he was awake, so I ran down and took this while he slept. On his right side. Just like his momma.

9 months! What a funny little fellow he is. Today he scooted backwards in a windy zig-zag for about 8 feet, and is finally figuring out that he can roll over and have just as much fun doing that, as he would if he had stayed on his back and power-kicked his little legs. I don't mind his slow-speed at figuring out this mobile-thing; I've got the rest of his childhood to keep him reigned in!!

Power-kicking (I just came up with it) is what Mont does when he's on his back and needs to pass some time being happy. Yes, all babies do this... but not as fast as this little one (I bet you a dollar). I'll put him on the floor at church and let him kick his little heart out. He'll get crowds of people huddling around him just oo-ing and aa-hing over his fast little legs just going and going. I think we've successfully blocked aisle traffic 3 times now.  (my little crowd-stopper)

I love, love, love this little man.

I'm married to a Famous

Mark came home from work today and told me a friend in the squadron said his picture was on facebook. The picture he was referring to was the one he had given to a friend he made while stationed in Turkey over Christmas. This new friend of his owns a carpet business from which we now proudly display two snazzy carpets in our own home. Getting back to my point. I was excited when Mark told me this because I haven't seen a picture of this "wall" of Generals' Pictures, nor have I seen the picture of him (Mark warned it me it was going to be Classic-Mark).

When he was in becoming friends with Gokay, Mark asked him if his picture could go up on the wall alongside all of these big-wigs. Gokay laughed and said something along the lines of, "Why not?" I think that sealed the deal; they'll be friends for life.

So here it is, folks:

The Mark:

(far left)