Love/Hate Relationship

I have a love/hate relationship with the mail. Hate the junk and the bills that bring more paper and clutter into my house. But I love the joy that comes from finding an unexpected treasure sent by some sweet soul! Today that soul was my dad! He sent moonstruck chocolates to decorate my thanksgiving table and an extra little treat that if you read his note closely says, "4 Immediate consumption IF-OK".  The girls were ecstatic, Lovebug was dying as she had to wait for me to take these photos.  The immediately to be consumed were cookies n cream chocolates shaped like ice cream cones. The turkeys are vanilla and raspberry truffles. Mmmm, can't wait for turkey day!!!! Thanks Dad/Papa, we love you!!!!!!!!!

 

     

 

 

 

Better Prepared

So I promised to post a few of the ideas swirling around in my head, so as promised, here's the next installment. We were busy in the month of October trying to be better prepared. A family vacation took us to the California coast where we stocked up with 60 lbs of yummy, delicious fresh picked apples from Gopher Glen Apple Farm in See Canyon. Thankyou, Robertsons for sharing that little gem. And if you are wondering what a small family of four does with 60 lbs of apples, here's a look.

We dry them..

We slice and core them to cook down to applesauce and apple butter. And of course we eat them! And by we, I mean mostly Ryan and Lovebug, seriously, I think I got four apples, you gotta be quick around those two, they love apples!!!!

So many posts in my head....

We have been so busy during the last month or so, I have had many great ideas of things I'd like to blog about but haven't found the time or made the time I guess is more appropriate to post a single one. So I am vowing to be better and this is where I start. Thought I would share a great little find my mom sent to me. Thanks mom!! It's the Christmas organizer, from OrganizedChristmas.com 

I don't know about you but since motherhood began, Christmas became a more stressful time, the whole production of Christmas became fast overwhelming. Being a Christmas participant was much more fun when someone else was the planner. Again, Thanks Mom!  Well now I'm the planner and creating traditions and memories for my family is a lot of fun, but all the extra stuff that accompanies this season, left me a little stressed out at times.  I am not naturally very organized, it takes a lot of effort for me to pull it all together. So when I saw examples of Christmas Organizers, I had to make one. It's small enough to fit in my purse, and it keeps all my lists in one place. No more ideas scribbled on the nearest pad of paper, and later hunting down that particular pad of paper.  Now I go right to the planner jot down an idea and it's back in my purse ready to be pulled out at a moments notice for those spontaneous trips to target or where ever. It was simple to make the folder, I made 2 (one for mom) in about an hour and all the inserts were printed from Organized Christmas. Gotta love that! There were many printables to chose from, so I stuck in what fit my needs. I know it's still November, and December may be different, but for now, I feel more sane with my new little friend, and sanity at any time is priceless!!!!

I've been tagged...

So, it's funny how there are people who read your blog that you don't even know about until one day they make themselves known.  I think I fall into that category.... a blog stalker, I've referred to myself as such a few times. We lurk, catching interesting glimpses into others lives, it almost feels like snooping, only not really, because the person I'm reading about put it out there in cyberspace for anyone to read. So I was tagged by cute Terra Olsen, who I didn't even know lurked in my cyberspace. Ha! So welcome Terra, thanks for the tag I hope I get it right. Fourth File, Fourth Photo, I think was the challenge. Here it is. I didn't have a 4th photo in the 4th file so here is the closest one. It was taken at the pumpkin patch just about a week after Sugarplum was born. She was a teeny little thing. And now I tag Alyssa and Janey. 

Peek-a-boo I see you too!

I'm 5!!!!

My sweet girl turned 5 today and greeted me this morning with, "Mommy I'm 5 today!" This turning 5 seems to be a huge milestone in her mind.  When I think about it, it really is a huge milestone. When I think about the amount of time she has been with our family, those 5 years have flown by.  In the context of a lifetime, how short is the amount of time we have to "raise" our kids. Estimating they will live with us for 20 or so years, I realized that at this 5 year milestone, 1/4 of that precious window has already passed.  This baby gave me the title of Mommy and for that I will always have a deep connection and gratitude to her.  I love my Kennedy! She has taught me so much in 5 short years. She is beautiful, smart, compassionate, thoughtful, pensive, strong, independent, creative, helpful, reverent, and faithful!  She has brought great joy and growth to our family. I love you my sweet Sugarplum! Happy Birthday!

(Smooch: Chocolate, Blueberry, Raspberry, Marshmallow Cake!!!!!)

I'm in Love....

So I'm sure you already knew that, but I love these pictures. I have an obsession of sorts with beautiful photography, it just makes me happy!  These pics were taken by the talented seattle photographer, Desiree Swanson, see her work here: www.desireeswansonphotography.com

She is a friend of my sister-in-laws, who consequently now has beautiful pics of her girls all the time, and came blueberry picking with us when we were in Issaquah, she brings her camera just about everywhere and paused to take these pics of my girls. LOVE IT!!!  

Augh, Augh, Augh,

Okay, So who knows how to spell it to give it the right sound, but when you read the title of this post, just picture Tim Allen from the old show Home Improvement, and you'll get what I was going for.  I have to say, I now understand that male sound, and felt like making it myself when I did this........

Yes, that is a picture of my garbage disposal. It broke and I, yes me, fixed it. I flipped the switch the other morning and there was no sound, nothing but silence, not a good sign for a machine that supposed to sound like a monster. Hmmm, visions of horrifying plumbers cracks glaring out from under my sink and a bill that could really put a dent in the monthly budget sent me to the internet, my saving grace!!! I found this link http://www.ehow.com/video_112319_fix-jammed-garbage.html where a cute woman (easier to look at than the plumber I had envisioned) demonstrated how to fix my disposal.  Feeling empowered I went downstairs found my tools and went to work. 5 minutes later.... a fixed disposal, and great satisfaction that has me saying I did it..... argh, argh, aurgh, well you get it!!!

Summer Vacation August 2008

So I'm finally getting around to posting about our summer vacation. We took a road trip to Portland, Oregon. We braved the 13 hour car ride in one long day.  Ryan and I pulled the girls out of bed at 4:30 a.m. hoping they would stay asleep and wake at a normal hour. NO SUCH LUCK! We made stops along the way and they actually did great, thank goodness for portable DVD player! Lovebug only started to cry and melt during the last hour of the trip so it really wasn't bad at all. The trip home was even better, they knew what to expect and didn't fuss once, YAY! We had a great time, loved the weather (minus the record breaking heatwave), all the fun activities and enjoyed being with my dad. I love family vacations, can't wait for the next one. Here are some fun photo highlights from our two week trip. 

Best Part of our Trip

Sugarplum and Lovebug snuggle in with Grand-pa-pa as soon as we arrive.

The Portland Temple

See that little dot in pink, that's Sugarplum.

There she is.

Love this shot, Sugarplum was goofing off for me, and the camera.

The Pearl District

Sugarplum in random chair on the sidewalk.

Jameson Square Fountains. Evidently this is Portlanders idea of swimming. 

Since the climate doesn't really justify swimming pools, when the weather uncharacteristically warms, portlanders don their swimsuits and head to the public fountains. 

There are quite a few around town, it's a strange sight to see kids 

and adults alike "swimming" around town.

Mississippi Pizza, Great Food, Great Atmosphere!!!

Weekend in Issaquah, WA visiting my brother and family.

Cousin sleepover.

Virtual meets reality. My blogger friend, Stephanie. My sister-in-law introduced me to her cute blog, and I emailed her about some sewing projects. She was so gracious and mailed me japanese pattern books to try out and sample. I couldn't believe she would do that for a stranger. Well we finally got to meet in person two years later at the Issaquah Farmers Market.

See all the gorgeous bags, blankets and burp cloths behind us with all the yummy fabrics, she makes them and many other things as well. That was a fun meeting, thanks Steph!!!

Picking Blueberries off bushes taller than all of us, crazy!

My cute bro, his two girls on the left and their friend.

Sugarplum and Lovebug in the blueberry patch.

Portland Children's Museum in Washington Park

We could have spent all day here, it was fantastic! We've been to quite a few kids museums, (we seek them out on our vacations) and this is by far the best!! We should have gone earlier in the day, it literally could have been an all day event.

Two Cutie Pies

Lovebug and Ryan racing down the waterway.

Sugarplum pumping water.

Sculpting Clay

Tree House Reading Corner

Lovebug getting ready to fly, she loved it.

Doctor Sugarplum

International Rose Test Garden

This is the oldest garden for testing different varieties of roses. 

I'm not a big fan of roses but this garden is beautiful, and has a stellar view of the city.

Sugarplum stops to smell the roses.

Liked the quote on this plaque.

Me playing with my camera, this fountain is on the side of the restrooms, 

even the restrooms here are beautiful.

Cannon Beach, Oregon

We spent one day at Cannon Beach to escape the freak Portland heat wave.

Smith Berry Barn 

Sugarplum and Mom picking Organic Raspberries. SO GOOD!

Cute little Building on the Farm

Lovebug finding Boysenberries to eat, she emptied her bucket faster than we could fill it, and if it was empty she picked them herself and straight to her mouth they went. I love organic farms!