we make a good team! (a year later)

For Christmas, Karl and I made the kiddos at wooden play kitchen. I've had my eye on a particular kitchen for years, since it is made in the US, is gender neutral, and appears to be quite sturdy (a must in this house!), but it just wasn't in the budget. So, last LAST Christmas. That's right... 2010 I drew out a plan on paper, we purchased all the supplies, and then failed to find the time to make this. This year we were determined. Karl was up until 2am on December 23rd (true to this family's procrastinating ways) sanding, drilling, and assembling this sweet kitchen. It turned out perfect! The kids love it, I love it, and so far it has already baked 137 pizzas and made 322 pots of wooden vegetable soup. LOVE! And a bonus? Since we made this ourselves, we were able to make it a pretty good height for our taller-than-average children. Hoping this will be played with for years to come.

The kitchen's current home is in our dining room. Some homes I go into I noticed that all the kids' toys are tucked away into bedrooms and the living room/dining room/kitchen all appears to be "adult" space. That's lovely for some families, but I really want to create a home atmosphere that is child friendly in every room. Though they do have toys in their rooms too, I don't want my children to feel like they have to be isolated in bedrooms to play, and my husband and I like to be involved in their play. So keeping some of the shared toys in common areas of our home is a good solution. I'm just trying to figure out how to keep it looking neat.

Oh, and that stick above it? That's where we hung the stockings. I'm not sure what to do with it now that the stockings are gone though. It's such a cool looking branch I kinda want to leave it there, but I'm not sure what to do with it. Hang a cute heart garland on it for Valentine's day? Make a cute felted bird's nest to tuck into one of the curves of it? Put it back outside where I tell Max everyday is where sticks belong? Hmmm... Any suggestions?

i'm loving...

This was actually a post of photos I put together last month, but for some reason it never got posted. What a beautiful winter afternoon it was with my boys. I'm thinking I need to move someplace where the sun is always shining. 

back to work!

sweet baby M helping mama knit.

Oh my, life sure has been busy with three babes! We are now back in school, and back at work. This is the first time I have ever worked right after having a baby. Mad was 5 months old when I went back to work at the school, but then I just worked a few months and the school year was over. after that I taught preschool for a year before having Maxi, and have stayed home up until last January. I had the summer off, then worked up until the end of October and am back to work already from my maternity leave. It's CRAZY hard to leave the kiddos everyday, but I can at least find peace in knowing I'm doing what's best for my family for now. I also find peace in knowing that the school year is over in June and I'll have the whole summer to spend with my three beautiful babes. :) Two of my children's grandmas (they have LOTS of grandmas!) spent time with the boys this first week I was back at work (THANK YOU!!), and next week is the start of going to Uncle Zach's house everyday to play with him and sweet Gavin, their one and a half year old cousin. What fun! I feel like the next six months are going to go by in a flash, which is bittersweet. I can't wait for summertime, but to think about tiny Milo being eight months old by the time I get to be at home everyday does make me a little sad, so for now I'll just concentrate on the fact that I will, in fact, get to be home with him (and the other two!) everyday in just six short months. Hopefully that will preserve my sanity. :)

playing along with SouleMama.

{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.

12 in 2012

I am playing along with That Mama Gretchen's 12 in 2012 as a way to hold myself accountable for and keep track of the goals I'd like to reach in the coming year.

1. Eat local food. This will include joining the local CSA and shopping at our farmer's market at much as possible this season so that I can preserve food to get us through next winter.

2. Buy used. My husband and I are turning to craigslist and the Goodwill in our goal to try to buy "used" as much as possible this year, everything from clothing and toys to home decor and household items. We are trying to cut down our budget as well as things like packaging and supporting companies/corporations with unfair trade practices.

3. Read Little House series. I'm not sure how I got through my entire childhood without reading this series. I suppose I got stuck in the woods and never wanted to move out to the prairie with the Ingalls family. Madelynn enjoyed Little House in the Big Woods so much, that I plan to read the rest of the series to her as well.

4. Hike! This is an old goal I am revisiting. I want to hike with the kids as much as possible this summer, and have been studying up the Washington Trails Association website, reading as much as possible about hiking with kids.

5. Run a half marathon. This is something I hope to accomplish in 2012, but if I only make it to a 10k, I'll still feel pretty good about it. Running is something I've really never done, but have no excuse not to do since I have a pretty sweet double jogging stroller and a kiddo who loves to ride in it (just need to wait until baby Milo is big enough to join him in there).

6. Become a licensed daycare provider. I have started this process twice and even though I talked myself out of finishing it both times, I still have it at the back of my mind feeling like it is something I need to do. I plan to become licensed, and then go from there, starting small to be sure it is actually a good match for my family (I think it will be).

7. Sew more. When Max was still tiny, I was pretty good about sewing clothes for the kids. To my surprise, they enjoyed wearing my creations just as much as I enjoyed making them. This will probably have to wait until the summer though, when I'm done working for the school year.

8. Spend more time unplugged. I'm specifically talking about the television (ok, computer too). We haven't had cable for about a year (minus a few months when we plugged back into just basic), but we did end up with streaming Netflix on our Wii. Though we spend considerably less time in front of the TV than we used to, I'd still like it to be less, and replace that time with time spent outside or reading or doing some sort of learning activity with the kids.

9. Finish our backyard. I have had a vision of what I wanted our backyard to be like for awhile now, but we have to first reclaim our backyard from our St. Bernard. I want it to include a tire swing, a small patio with a marshmallow roasting area, and some sort of garden space. It will first and foremost include repairing all the damage our dog did as a large puppy.

10. Visit family more often.


11. Dye fabric. I want to experiment this Summer with dyeing fabric a variety of different ways. I'd love to try out some new tie dye techniques, as well as batik.

12. Reduce. I am specifically referring to the amount of garbage my family produces. Many factors will play into this, including my above goal of thrifting, remembering my cloth grocery bags on every trip, and taking advantage of my mom's next door chickens and compost bin, as well as paying better attention to what we can recycle.

then and now.

May 2009

December 2011

I adore these kids.

:)

bah humbug

I've been struggling with the "so much to do, so little time" feeling I usually get this time of year. It adds to the hustle and bustle, the stress of not having everything just so, and the desire to BUY MORE! that I feel has taken over so much of the Christmas spirit. I noticed this year that there was Christmas decor out at many department stores before Halloween was over. What's the rush? Don't people understand the sooner Christmas comes, the sooner it's over? How can you savor the present moment, when all you ever do is plan for what's next? There have been so many years that by the time Christmas is over, I wonder where the enjoyment even was. I was so busy doing or making or buying or stressing that I didn't even enjoy it. So this year, I've decided to stop.  Stop and enjoy the "right now". Stop worrying about giving the kids the "perfect" Christmas with lots of presents. At the ages they are at now, I do not want them to get the impression that Christmas is all about toys. I want them to experience the comfort of tradition, the warmth of being together, and the love of friends and family more than anything else. Because of this we have decided to bring Christmas into our home slowly this year, adding something small whenever we feel like it. Last week we cut out and hung "tie-dyed" paper snowflakes and hung a paper-bag chain decoration. This week, the kids each were allowed to bring a tiny seedling into their room and decorate their own Christmas tree. And we'll eventually hang stockings and get our family tree sometime before Christmas, when the time feels right for us. Each time I feel the "oh no, Christmas won't be perfect!" feeling start to creep in, I'll take a deep breath and remind myself to just enjoy the present moment. I also plan to stay away from all department stores from now on. ;)

a little late.

The kiddos helped Karl get into the Movember spirit by last month by donning hand-drawn mustaches for a day (thank goodness they didn't find my Sharpies, or they may have lasted the whole month!).

Since I had no luck in my mustache growing endeavors, Karl ordered me my very first pair of TOMS!

They had special ones for Movember. Aren't the tiny embroidered mustaches great?! Toms shoes donated some money to the Movember Foundation for each pair sold, and they still sent a pair of shoes to someone in  need. Not to mention, they are super comfy and go with everything! 

:)

the boy needs blocks.

dear santa, 

please bring blocks for my boy.

this moment.

inspired by SouleMama.

{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.