11.17.2008
My Big Wide Yellow Wall
11.10.2008
Vermillion Sunset Drive
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We have the most amazing sunsets--really, almost every night. (The pic above was taken a few days ago.)
And, have I told you about our views of the stars? Wow. There's an observatory near us and so our area has a Dark Sky Ordinance AKA: No street lamps. It's very dark, and the views of the stars are wonderful!
See, so I really shouldn't have complained.
11.05.2008
Raise your Hand if you Mop
I do laundry. I do dishes. I vacuum. I'm a great vacuumer. But, mopping? Mopping kills me! Why? I swear, I'd rather lick my shoe than mop. It's not like my floors hide it well either. UGh.
Is it like this for you? I'm probably alone on this one aren't I? Oh well. Any pointers?
Is it like this for you? I'm probably alone on this one aren't I? Oh well. Any pointers?
11.04.2008
11.01.2008
Spooky
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We had a little get-together here for our neighbors. It was really fun. The weather was amazing, and we had it outside in our yard. We had just the sliver of a moon, orange Halloween lights, and jack-o-lanterns for lighting.
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We had finger food and witches brew (rootbeer with dry ice) and a little pumpkin craft for the kids. We decorated the table all spooky, but this is the only real picture I've got of it. An old wooden Coke crate painted black held the napkins, silverware and fun straws.
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One of the best parts was Grace's raffle. It was very organized. She set up a little booth and made the adorable sign in the picture below. It says, "Children please sign your name." She put all the kids names in a pumpkin jar and raffled off a vampire flashlight! So cute.
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I hope your Halloween was just as great!
10.30.2008
Quirky
So, I've been "tagged." RicAnn asked me to write about some of my quirks, so here goes:
I clean my ears when I don't want to do what I need to do...because, I mean, cleaning your ears is productive right? :) Pretty much, I do it at least once a day even though, they never really need it.
All of my recipe cards are in a big pile in my cupboard. They are not in a recipe box nor are they any sort of organized. (Maybe this is why I dread cooking?)(Is this quirky, or just lazy? Don't answer that.)
I can speak and understand "Toothbrush". You know, that language that's spoken when someone is in the middle of brushing her teeth and finds herself suddenly needing to communicate. "Toothbrush" is usually spoken with one's head tilted back so as to minimize the spillage of toothpaste drool. Anyway, I'm a fluent speaker of "Toothbrush", and I've found I'm actually pretty good at understanding it--in case you ever need a translator. :)
I like to sleep with the blinds open...We are so lucky to have the most amazing views of city lights and stars out our bedroom widow, and it seems like I'm always getting up in the night for one reason or another...I don't want to miss a chance to see them!
When I'm mad, I clean. See, if you're ever feeling like you need some help with your housework, just invite me over, and tick me off... you'll be set! :)
Ok, that's all my brain can think of ...
I clean my ears when I don't want to do what I need to do...because, I mean, cleaning your ears is productive right? :) Pretty much, I do it at least once a day even though, they never really need it.
All of my recipe cards are in a big pile in my cupboard. They are not in a recipe box nor are they any sort of organized. (Maybe this is why I dread cooking?)(Is this quirky, or just lazy? Don't answer that.)
I can speak and understand "Toothbrush". You know, that language that's spoken when someone is in the middle of brushing her teeth and finds herself suddenly needing to communicate. "Toothbrush" is usually spoken with one's head tilted back so as to minimize the spillage of toothpaste drool. Anyway, I'm a fluent speaker of "Toothbrush", and I've found I'm actually pretty good at understanding it--in case you ever need a translator. :)
I like to sleep with the blinds open...We are so lucky to have the most amazing views of city lights and stars out our bedroom widow, and it seems like I'm always getting up in the night for one reason or another...I don't want to miss a chance to see them!
When I'm mad, I clean. See, if you're ever feeling like you need some help with your housework, just invite me over, and tick me off... you'll be set! :)
Ok, that's all my brain can think of ...
10.27.2008
Walk On Mr. Gibbs
So, the sweet boy walks! And, he talks too. This clip doesn't really demonstrate it, but the boy can gibber-jabber up a storm!
10.21.2008
Rock On!
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I think these are adorable. Everytime I see one I think of my nephew Ezra. He's an adorable 2 year old who's daddy is a rocker (and a soon to be lawyer--hooray for graduation!) I was seriously tempted to splurge for his birthday...but, I just couldn't justify $78!
It's a great idea if you're handy with the sewing machine. Maybe someday I'll be so handy. (Probably just in time for Ezzy's college graduation! :) )
10.20.2008
Let's Help
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10.13.2008
i. miss. fall.
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10.11.2008
Pretty Party
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9.22.2008
Dangerous
Well. This post is about Anderson: My little boy that is becoming a "dangerous man." Last night he spelled his name for the first time. A-N-D-E-R-S-O-N! (Really he did all on his own! I have it on video.) And today he started potty training. (So far, he's done excellent!) And lately, he has been saying the most hilarious things. A few days ago he came into the room with a Tinker Toy weapon he'd created and said to me, "I'm dangerous. I'm a dangerous man." And, last night we were reading stories and he informed me that, "Some horses don't have teeth," and that, in fact, "Some cows don't have teeth." Who knew? :) When I asked him where he would like to put his gummy bear treat for the night because it was too late to eat it, he said, "Um, in my mouth." Well, duh mom.
7.29.2008
Fabric Houses
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7.17.2008
My Favorite Kindergartener
I guess some of my other worries are more "philosophical" ones, for lack of a better word. These worries are perhaps things I DON'T want Grace to learn in school. Oh, please Kindergarten teacher, don't teach her that the "right" way to color is inside the lines. Don't teach her that she can't mix up the play dough. Don't teach her (though, I know you would never do this intentionally, but it seems to happen inadvertently) that learning is something we do, and that school is somewhere we go, when we'd rather be playing. In other words, I guess I'm worried my child's love of learning and her thriving creative spirit might be unintentionally stomped out.
Maybe I'm over reacting. Maybe I've read too much about the benefits of homeschool. I mean, I made it though the public school system with a love of learning and some creativity in tact. Right?
Clearly, I'm struggling here. Advice anyone?
The picture above is classic Grace. She's watching Spirit with her swim goggles on wearing her school pride shirt! You've gotta love her!
7.15.2008
Monsoon
7.12.2008
Grill 'Em
So, we got a grill today. We went out to buy a ceiling fan, and instead, came home with a grill. We've been wanting one for a long time now. And, you know, it's really funny, (and frankly, a little lame) but while Nate was out there grilling, and I was in making a salad, I felt like we had a "arrived" so to speak, sort of like we're a "real" family now that we have a grill. So, it's like somehow in my mind we've been a "pretend" family up to this point-with our 3 kids and our station wagon?!? Who knows?! I think I would have had the same feelings if we had brought home a dog. For some reason in Kristiland those things: grills, dogs, and probably some other things not yet known to me, represent "familyhood". I'm crazy! I know!
So, Hey. Anyone got any good grill recipes?
So, Hey. Anyone got any good grill recipes?
7.11.2008
6.03.2008
Creative Juice
One of the ideas in the book is a Nature Table. It's just a little place in the home where the kids can play with nature. She likes to center hers around the seasons, but really anything goes. At our nature table right now are a couple of seed packets-in a bucket so they can be dumped and played with-, some rocks Grace found, some books about Arizona wildflowers, a star-chart (we are taking a trip to the local planetarium next week), and The Very Hungry Caterpiller by Eric Carle. We also have this butterfly kit which has really been AMAZING and I could make an entire post just about it, but I won't. Anyway you get the idea...it can be so simple.
She has some great suggestions for dress-ups. One of them was to have a mirror nearby-which makes complete sense, but I hadn't thought of it. My dress-ups were hanging up high completely out-of-reach. So, I moved them to the trunk shown above (which I painted ORANGE -a little crazy-not sure I really like it). And hung the mirror-which my sis made for me-thanks RicAnn!
Anyway, she's got a bazillion and one ideas. It's good stuff. Maybe you should check-it out.
5.19.2008
A Little Sit
I find the idea of child-sized chairs around the house so charming. I can't really put my finger on why I'm obsessed. Maybe someone told me it was cool. I'm not sure. But, I have really been wanting some little chairs for my little people to sit in. I found the small chair in this picture on craigslist. I imagine my little ones finding themselves in this corner wondering through the pages of books. (Maybe after they're finished flooding the kitchen. :) )
5.15.2008
5.07.2008
So, I did it!
So, I did it. I actually went to the modern dance class yesterday. I was a little worried I was going to chicken out. But, I didn't. And it was fun. I mean, sure, my face was literally PURPLE, before the class was half over because I'm SO out of shape. And, I had to sit down for a couple of minutes toward the end because I thought I was going to be sick. (You have to give me some credit, the combination we had been doing involved MANY cartwheels-yes, cartwheels!) Anyway, it felt good. And I'm going to do it again. The class was small and the instructor was very encouraging, and I think it will be a great fit.
Oh man, speaking of dance. My friend, Tahna, sent me this link of an AMAZING performance. Seriously, AMAZING! (I would have posted it here, but I've yet to figure out how to post a video from YouTube.) You really should check it out.
Oh man, speaking of dance. My friend, Tahna, sent me this link of an AMAZING performance. Seriously, AMAZING! (I would have posted it here, but I've yet to figure out how to post a video from YouTube.) You really should check it out.
5.01.2008
Dance Dance Crazy Pants
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For the most part, I'm pretty happy with the things I fill my time with: family, church service, design. But, I have been spending oodles of time lately on our house & yard, decorating etc...something I love, but when all is said and done I could be happy at the end of a life with house that is not picture perfect. However, I will be very sad if I don't get myself in gear and do something with this desire of mine to dance. So I have! I found a couple of classes for adults, a modern class & a ballet technique class, that are flexible and affordable and I'm totally pumped! I'm sure I'll be totally awkward at first, but who cares!?! I'm excited and going to class starting Tuesday.
As a side note: A couple of other things I really want to do in this life of mine are travel more and learn to play the guitar. (I've always thought it would be such a great thing to be a guitar-playing mommy. I have these funny visions of me playing fun songs while my kids fold laundry. I know it's a little silly, but I'm determined make it happen. :) )
This sweet pic was taken by one of Gracie's grandparents at her dance concert a couple of years ago. Can you tell which one she is?
4.30.2008
Repurposing
Man, it's been a while hu? I've been in a small nothing-terribly-inspiring-to-post-about slump, I guess. Or maybe it's because I've been thinking, and I feel like I have so MUCH to say that it's just easier to say nothing. Shrug. Who knows. All I know is I have a fun idea. (And yes, the idea does involve these seemingly random pictures.)
4.20.2008
Daddy Fest!
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4.16.2008
A Clean Spring
Cleaning is always on my mind. Mostly because my place is always a wreck. Therefore, I have been working on establishing routines for myself to help keep the house in order. This is something I learned from the FLY Lady and, from my minimal experience in the business world. In the land of business I was taught to establish systems or, again, routines.
Below is a list of rules and routines I have set up for myself that seem to be making a difference. In no fancy order here they are:
1. NEVER PUT CLOTHES IN THE WASHER IF THERE ARE CLOTHES IN THE DRYER. I know it seems a little annoying, but if something comes up (or I forget) and I don't have time to fold the clothes in the dryer and put them away, where am I going to find time to dry and fold the load I just put in the washer? I won't. They'll just sit in that washer and get stinky. And then I'll have to wash them again.
2. ALWAYS FOLD THE CLOTHES STRAIGHT FROM THE DYER. Don't let clean clothes pile up in baskets or on the bed.
3. DO ONE LOAD OF WASH EVERY DAY. This was a tip from Sink Reflections, written by our friend the Fly Lady. And when I have laundry piled up (because I don't always follow my rules) it makes the task seem less daunting and more manageable.
4. COOK SOMETHING EVERY DAY. I read this on a blog somewhere, I wish I could remember where. I haven't done it yet. But I sure have been thinking about it alot! :) And, I really think it would make a difference for me. (I sort of hate to cook. It's something I've got to get over!)
5. START THE DISHWASHER BEFORE I GO TO BED EVERY NIGHT-even if it's not totally full. I know it's not the "greenest" thing to do. But, otherwise, halfway through the next day I've got a full dishwasher and my dishes start to pile.
6. UNLOAD THE DISHWASHER 1ST THING EACH MORNING. Again if the dishwasher is full--even it's full of CLEAN dishes--the stacks of dishes appear.
So, those are my rules. They probably sound a little silly to most of you. Do any of you have "rules" you set up for yourselves? I would love to hear them.
Below is a list of rules and routines I have set up for myself that seem to be making a difference. In no fancy order here they are:
1. NEVER PUT CLOTHES IN THE WASHER IF THERE ARE CLOTHES IN THE DRYER. I know it seems a little annoying, but if something comes up (or I forget) and I don't have time to fold the clothes in the dryer and put them away, where am I going to find time to dry and fold the load I just put in the washer? I won't. They'll just sit in that washer and get stinky. And then I'll have to wash them again.
2. ALWAYS FOLD THE CLOTHES STRAIGHT FROM THE DYER. Don't let clean clothes pile up in baskets or on the bed.
3. DO ONE LOAD OF WASH EVERY DAY. This was a tip from Sink Reflections, written by our friend the Fly Lady. And when I have laundry piled up (because I don't always follow my rules) it makes the task seem less daunting and more manageable.
4. COOK SOMETHING EVERY DAY. I read this on a blog somewhere, I wish I could remember where. I haven't done it yet. But I sure have been thinking about it alot! :) And, I really think it would make a difference for me. (I sort of hate to cook. It's something I've got to get over!)
5. START THE DISHWASHER BEFORE I GO TO BED EVERY NIGHT-even if it's not totally full. I know it's not the "greenest" thing to do. But, otherwise, halfway through the next day I've got a full dishwasher and my dishes start to pile.
6. UNLOAD THE DISHWASHER 1ST THING EACH MORNING. Again if the dishwasher is full--even it's full of CLEAN dishes--the stacks of dishes appear.
So, those are my rules. They probably sound a little silly to most of you. Do any of you have "rules" you set up for yourselves? I would love to hear them.
4.14.2008
A Book Bag
4.12.2008
Type is Beautiful
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I really like the idea of using type as a decorative element like they do here at Pottery Barn. I just really love type.
4.11.2008
Toothers
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Grace has lost her first tooth! She was VERY excited. But her excitement over the tooth actually coming out only rivaled the excitement she had when she first figured out it was loose. She was SO excited. She honestly got a little teary she was so happy. It was very sweet. She has been wanting to lose a tooth for a while now.
Speaking of teeth. We also just recently took our kids to the dentist for the first time. (I know! Grace should have been in ages ago...naughty mommy!) Anyway, we went to a Pediatric Dentist, which was actually kind of fun. The office was all sorts of decked out with play areas and colorful animals. And, they were really good about making sure the kids were comfortable and knew what all the equipment was, giving the dental tools fun names. For example that funky vacuum water-sprayer was "Mr. Thirsty." Sounds a little cheesy, but the kids ate it up. I think it was especially good for Anderson. He tends to be more timid in new situations. Anyway if you got a kiddo that's had a bad dentist experience or is just more like my Anderson, a Pediatric Dentist might be the way to go. If you're interested, this will tell you more about WHY you might want to choose a Peds Dentist.
4.10.2008
Documentaries
I have a thing for documentaries. I just finished watching Mad Hot Ballroom. It's about a bunch of 5th graders who are taught to ballroom dance. Then they have this competition, and I thought it was actually pretty cute, but Nate went to bed half way through. Yeah, I think you have to be a really patient movie-watcher in order to enjoy documentaries. I mean, you can't really go into them with the same expectations as other, what some may call, "real" movies. Can you? No, because, it has been my experience that their plots (if they exist) are pretty slow and predictable. And, in the end, I admittedly feel a little dissatisfied. So, why do I keep watching them? Maybe it's because, supposedly, they deal with REAL people and REAL life. Maybe I'm hoping to learn something from those people and their experiences. Maybe it makes me feel smart and I can say, "I watch documentaries, ho ho ho, aren't I spiffy!" I just really don't know. Do any of you know of any REALLY GOOD documentaries? I would love to hear about them!
4.09.2008
That Thing About Ice Cream
So, today I paid $6.79 for a carton (1.75 quarts to be exact) of Dreyers Double Fudge Brownie ice cream. $6.79 is a small fortune for that much ice cream. But, we live in the boonies and the corner market is aparently keenly aware that they are the only carrier of such yums for many miles. When I got home, Nate actually told me that he would love me more if I bought ice cream every week. He said he was kidding, but I wonder... :)
4.08.2008
Sprouts
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Nate and I have been trying to come up with ways of teaching our little ones the value of hard work.
One thing we've done is plant a garden. I LOVE to garden. I'm not saying I'm any good at it, but it's something I grew up doing, and so it reminds me of home, and so I love it. I love going out early in the morning and watering. And, I love watching the little sprouts push up through the dirt and grow. In my opinion, gardens are just really great places. I have fond memories of picking vegetables, especially peas and tomatoes, and eating them right from the garden.
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Anyway, like I said, we want our kids to be involved in this garden, so we did a couple of things to make it more kid friendly. One thing we did, which I think was my dad's idea, was put big rocks at the top of each row. This helps the kids identify that there actually is a row there before the seeds pop up. And, the rocks act as sort of a guard rail for the hose. They keep the hose at the top of the garden and thus save our plants from destruction via garden hose.
Another thing we did also involved rocks. And that was just put some larger rocks randomly throughout the garden. We hoped this would add some fun to the garden. The rocks are there to climb on, sit on, and jump off of. There is a nice flat rock I think would be fun to have little tea parties on. You get the idea.
So far we have planted peas, carrots, zucchini, squash and radishes from seed. The tomatoes and peppers we planted from starts. The seeds have all started to sprout and it's really fun to see. Grace is especially excited. She does a great job of watering--when I let her. (Remember, I told you I really like to water in the early morning. It's supposed to be Grace's job.)
If you like the idea of gardening with your kids, check out kidsgardening.org. I thought their Parents Primer section looked especially interesting. It doesn't have to be stressful, you could just do what Cheryl Dorschner suggested here and "plant last night's dessert--watermelon seeds..."
4.07.2008
Citrus
Well, we spent this last weekend with our good friends, the Potters. Ruth's parents have citrus trees and were kind enough to let us have BUNCH fruit! So, today the kids and I squeezed a lot of oranges, some grapefruit, and 3 gigantic lemons. We had a great time!
Anderson washed the fruit. He was drenched by the end, but had a ball playing with the water--I mean cleaning the fruit. :)
I cut the fruit.
And, Grace did most of the juicing. She was having so much fun with the juicer she even forfeited her turn with the playmobile people!
And tomorrow for breakfast we'll have fresh-squeezed orange juice! Hooray! Thanks Gordons!
If you have also found yourself with and abundance of citrus, particularly lemons, maybe you should try this lemonade recipe. I think I will.
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And tomorrow for breakfast we'll have fresh-squeezed orange juice! Hooray! Thanks Gordons!
If you have also found yourself with and abundance of citrus, particularly lemons, maybe you should try this lemonade recipe. I think I will.
Fresh!
I have great hopes for this little blog. They're so great I don't want to ruin it with a stale first post. And just the fact that this is the first post is stressing me out. So, lets get on with it.
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