Christmas 2011

We spent Christmas in Oregon this year with Andrea's family. We had a blast and it was great to see everyone. Here are some of the highlights.

Before we went to Oregon, Santa made a special early trip to our house. The kids were more interested in eating the wrapping paper than opening up.



The kids got to spend lots of quality time with the aunties and uncles.



Uncle Kevin and Aunt Tara have a chocolate shop in Oregon. The kids got their first taste of chocolate. They loved it; looks like we will have make Coastal Mist a frequent stop when we head to Oregon.



The kids' cousin got a new baby stroller and Landon was pretty interested in. Well we stood him behind it and he walks! Not very happily, but he walks!



Some more pics with family.



We had a great time! We love you grandma and grandpa!

The week from you-know-where...

Sigh...what a WEEK!!! Actually, it's been more like 3 weeks, but this one in particular was a doozy. For three weeks now the babies have been fighting off a seriously nasty cold, and this past week they ALL entered the phase of throwing up and major diaper blow outs. Now let me put this disclaimer out there: I'm not posting this looking for sympathy or to throw a pity party; I know we are not the only people to have a bundle of kiddos crawling around. But can someone please explain to me how SO MUCH goo and grossness can come out of such little noses, mouths, and bums?!?!? I mean it was like a never ending supply of gnarly!!

It all started off deceivingly slow, with the attack only centered on one baby, to which I thought "I can handle this." However by Wednesday I changed ELEVEN diaper blowouts between the hours of 9am and 1pm, and had given around 15 baths in 2 days. And don't even get me started on the number of loads of laundry...I shudder to think what our water bill will be this month... Thank goodness Tyler has a job that allows him to work from home, because I definitely needed help that day!

Friday we experienced a group throw up session. We THOUGHT the babies were on the mend so we cut up some bananas and gave them each a chunk. Within seconds, LITERALLY, of swallowing their chunk of banana they ALL threw up...twice...It was like a scene from a movie where one person throws up, causing a chain reaction of everyone else throwing up. It was so sad!

But even though we had constant chaos this week, I learned a lot. First, I discovered that humor is the best way to get through a challenge. Did I want to huddle in a corner and cry sometimes? Absolutely. But instead I decided to laugh my way through. Second, I re-discovered how wonderful my husband is. Truly he is the most patient person I know. He never once got upset at the kids or me and was there for me 100% when I needed him. And third, with the Lord's help you can get through anything. I have learned more this year than any other time that the Lord truly gives you the strength, courage, motivation, and endurance to handle your current situations, however big, or in my case, however gross, they may be. :)

So here's to a new and hopefully healthier week!! :)

Just call me the nap time crafter...

Nap time and bed time...I don't think anyone fully explained the AWESOMENESS of these two times of day!! The house is quiet...I can do whatever I want, or do nothing at all...I can actually think straight!!! Now to be honest, nap time usually consists of me running around trying to cram as many chores as I can in to a 1 or 2 hour time frame, and once 8 o'clock hits I'm in my pj's faster than you can say pajamas...but every once in awhile I get to sneak a crafting project in. Crafting, for me, is an outlet, a relaxation, a refuge in the midst of my chaotic life. I love it. So I just thought I'd post a few things that I have done in the last month or so.

*Disclaimer: I am by NO means a photographer...so to all of my super talented photography friends, please don't shudder at my improper use of lighting, color, composition or whatever else I did wrong in the pictures! :)





This frame was a labor of love...ripped book pages, twisted on the end of a pen and then hot glued in place. A bit time consuming, but fun!










These BOO blocks ended up being a bit more "Batmanish" than I had intended, but oh well!


I loved making these mummies! SO EASY! Wood blocks painted white, wrapped in strips of cheese cloth and then hot glued some googly eyes on! And the banner literally took me 15 minutes to throw together. Amazing what you can do with scrapbook paper scraps and some wire!


Put 'em all together, and this is what I ended up with! Actually the flowers got replaced with a Halloween candy bouquet...I just forgot to take a picture of it...


Happy nap time everyone! :)

Too many pictures for one post

Just some fun pictures from the last month or so. Put on your patience pants now.

Aiden is crawling everywhere now. He also loves to climb on everything.


Landon, too, gets around plenty.


The weather turned cooler for about a week. Dad, here, went for warmth, not particularly fashion.


A sleepy Bubs.


Grandma bought Emmy a new pink tutu. Never was there a happier girl.


A rare shot of "The Beast" with his prey in his mouth.


That's right... Stairs! We're pretty sure Aiden is teaching Landon how to "do it".


After stairs became off-limits, all three tried their best to get through. Yes, Emery is eating the gate...


Handsome helping Mommy with her phone.


Mister demonstrating his new climbing abilities in the crib.


Little Miss could be a baby product model for Exer-saucers.


Aiden leading Landon into trouble once more. There are three "no-nos" in this picture; did you spot them? No playing with outlets! No standing in your seat! Only one baby per seat!


Landon likes to climb on the chairs. He climbed on the swing chair, then proceeded to rock himself to sleep.


Three super-good walking companions.


Beautiful Little Miss.


Curious Aiden. Once again the fashion choice (stripes on stripes) must have been Dad.


Mister's new tooth.


Em's new do.


Aiden so happy to have Mom take his picture.

Curiosity

Our Garden

This was our first year really trying to grow a garden. So far it has gone pretty well. We planted tomatoes (cherry, cluster, and "normal" ones), onions (green and yellow), peppers (bell and jalapeno), watermelon, red potatoes, pumpkins, squash, cucumber, and carrots; all from seed.

I can quickly declare that the peppers, cucumbers, and squash were a bust. The jury is still out on the onions. They just aren't growing as big as they should. I've also learned that tomato plants need to be spaced more than I spaced them.

Watermelons are also coming in nicely. We have successfully grown two! The one below is the second, we are just waiting for it to reach peak ripeness! Delicious.

Our red potatoes were also fantastic! I will be growing a lot more of those next year.

Our pumpkins are just starting to grow; I have a feeling it is too late to get any substantial size out of them, but I think I have some better tips on getting them going better next year.

The tomatoes were the biggest success. We have more tomatoes than we can handle.

Miscellaneous

Our back fence faces a street in our neighborhood (no neighbors directly behind us). Last weekend, hoodlums (or one hoodlum) decided to tag ours and our seven neighbors' fences to make a statement in graffiti. The only thing we can't figure out, is why.




Also last week I went to check our bank account and noticed 4 pending charges for about $80 from some location in China. I quickly called the bank to cancel our card. Only one of the charges actually went through (working on fighting that). A few days later we got a package in the mail from China. You'll never believe what it was...

What the heck! Who used our card to buy a $20 dollar Pokemon card (declared value of the card on the shipping package) and then ship it from China in about 4 days (for a $60 shipping cost). This perhaps is a bigger mystery than the time I randomly started getting a Backpacker magazine subscription for free.

Also, Grandma and Grandpa are here this week to visit some babies!