The holidays and the everydays.

Sometimes I tense at each single-use cup that gets tossed into the sink and each not-even-one-full-day worn shirt that makes its way into the hamper, adding to the everydays.

Thats what I call the chores that must be done everyday, imposing their need to be regularly loaded/washed/folded/put in their drawer or cabinet on me like a perpetual motion machine. Fighting the entropy monster of this house with the everydays can make me down right grouchy.

But then there's the holidays.

And suddenly the same pajamas are being worn for 48 straight hours and the fine china is brilliantly contrasted with dixie paper plates balancing leftovers on their way to a table covered with mid construction lego projects.

Ahhh the reprieve from the everydays is invigorating.

See, invigorated right? {ha!}



The kids are lounging and playing. Then playing and lounging. Working up appetites from making play-doh culinary creations and Wii bowling until our sides ache.



Either way, I'll take a big old helping of holidays with a side of everydays on my paper plate please!

And if no one sees me in these jammies, there's no proof that I've had them on for 48+ hours, right?!

I am...

...finally getting Jack's birthday mailers in the mail
...simmering steel cut oats for the fourth time in a week
...totally cool with new toys strewn everywhere
...so looking forward to having playdo and chemistry set experiments be major agenda items this week
...loving the furniture rearranging job I did in the living room, such a breathe of fresh air
...feeling tired from staying up too late watching videos of Christmas mornings past and exclaiming about one hundred times how fun it is to see the big boys as babies again
...grabbing bites of left over early birthday cake


...certain we'll renew our membership to the Children's Museum this year


...scheduling an 18 month check-up and a 5 year old check-up, and rescheduling my own dentist appointment -- hello sitting on hold!
...content to stay in pajamas all day today
...laughing when Warren asks me to feed him his breakfast so he doesn't have to set down the controller and nunchuck for a second of Zelda
...thinking I should really clean up the desktop on our PC
...happy for our little traditions, like opening one gift on Christmas Eve



...a little embarassed that we already packed up all the Christmas things including the tree
...learning just as much if not more from reading the "human body" book we got the boys for Christmas (they especially liked learning about their tongues!)




...so very happy and hopeful for 2011!

Run, Run

A few of my favorite things!

{Little britches}

{Baby bellies and big smiles}

{Gingerbread houses all in a row...}

{... with sweet little details from Grandma Caryl's house, thanks Grandma!}

Cleaning

So, I totally don't ever want to be preachy and self-righteous, in fact, my main motivation for the following is to save money and have my non-baby-proofing ways finally be legit.

That's right, I haven't ever done much of any baby-proofing. After the first time we drilled holes in all our kitchen cabinets to install little gadgets that Warren figured out in 7.2 seconds, I was done with all that. Sure, the occasional gate at the top of the stairs and making sure bathroom doors get shut after use, but really I mostly train our little ones what not to get into and they are rarely if ever left alone in a room for more than 3 seconds.

Now that we've established that, here is what I've been up to:

[my new Minky indoor clothesline makes me so happy -- so I haven't used my dryer to dry clothes in so many months I can't recall -- no more dryer sheets and significantly reduced electricity bill, house gets a humidity boost, clothes last longer!]


It offers over 40 feet of line between 4 lines and 4 pegs for things like jackets, which more than accommodates an entire load of our laundry. The whole things retracts into the wall with a touch of a button too!

[as for the actual washing, Soap Nuts!! I am a huge fan and recently bought them in bulk, enough to last up to 2 years for... $35. And in case that isn't enough wow factor in savings, you also don't use any fabric softener. And they are biodegradable/compostable and work fantastic. Our clothes are cleaner and softer than ever. I also switched to using hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach on the whites and the results were so dramatic that when I put the white washclothes in the kitchen drawer with the others that hadn't been washed with h202, the difference was astounding. The dingy bleached ones really looked sad.

Also, just added some essential oils to the mix and am in love. Lavender for bedding and Tea Tree Oil in just about every other load. Just a few drops in the fabric softener dispenser and the whole house smells amazing while the load is going and the clothes come out with just the most subtle touch of fragrance and the Tea Tree Oil acts as a natural disinfectant, super!]


So, the laundry is totally squared away but that doesn't do much for those typical toxic storage zones under the sinks, right? Enter another new favorite:

[these "No More Chemicals" microfiber clothes are outstanding. They have micro particle silver in them as a natural anti bacterial agent, so you just use water with them. Yes, you JUST use water! They go in the washing machine as often as you see fit up to 100 times, with the only stipulation being not to use fabric softener with them (not to worry, ha!) I have the general purpose one, the one specific for glass, one specific for kitchen, and one specific for bathroom -- and slowly the toxic dump under the sinks is diminishing, never to be restocked again!]


In fact, the hardest part of this is forcing myself to use the remaining detergents and chemical cleaners that I have just to use them up and not waste them. But with each empty plastic bottle of mystery chemicals I take to the recycle bin, I know I am getting there. Admittedly it is taking a bit longer than I ever imagined to make it through our stock-pile of cleaning agents, it is amazing how much stuff we had stashed in the garage and under the sinks. Now, what will I do with all the free space?!

Hmmm, and does blogging about cleaning count as cleaning?

Potpourri

{Walking to get Jack from school today, in the middle of December, oh how I love Colorado!}


{If the trees weren't naked you'd never know it is winter right now}


We are out of milk and I refuse to go to Costco alone, which is were we buy their brand of organic milk which the whole family loves.

I am baking today, which totally is not my thing. But it just seems like such a cop-out to buy cookies for the boys' school Christmas parties.

My new clothesline and kitchen faucet should be arriving maybe today, yay!

Guess who went the whole night without nursing last night?!

I love being a stay-at-home mom, or home-maker, or whatever you want to call it (I prefer Domestic Engineer or Goddess :)). I am meant to be at home with my lovelies.

Thanks hubby for providing for our family, we really appreciate it! Jack remembered today at lunch the day he recently went to Daddy's work and said "it was interesting because I got gum and candy." Everything else he saw that day was ancillary to the sugar high!

just for fun

Just for the sake of sharing/recording/reflecting or whatever, here are the things we have done to our house since we moved in, in I think May of 2008.

• vented the microwave/hood to the outside, rather than circulating the air back into the kitchen
• put crown molding on top of kitchen cabinets and put in a corner cabinet glass accent door piece
• installed three pendent light fixtures in kitchen
• installed pella storm door on front door
• put up tons of shelves and peg board in the garage
• painted the garage floor
• put up glass tile backsplash in the entire kitchen
• put hardware on all cabinets in the entire house
• redid the entire main level bathroom with tile on the floor and walls, new sink and faucet, and crown molding
• painted majority of interior walls
• got window treatments for all windows (went with levelor stringless honeycomb type that open from the top and bottom, have mixed feelings about them)
• got new beautiful Samsung washer and dryer (am not a fan of my front loader, bummer)
• lowered a crazy high breakfast bar in our kitchen and put paneling on that wall... what a project that was
• put built-ins in the officet to match the rest of our cabinetry with a granite desktop
• got stained glass inserts on three windows (office, dining room, master bath)
• got huge stamped concrete patio complete with a gas fire pit
• landscaped the remainder of the back yard
• got whole-house humidifier and electronic air filter (love these!!)
• got water softener (love this even more!!)
  several new light fixtures, but lots more to go to get rid of all the icky builder grade crap
• new faucet for kitchen sink (not installed yet but it is on it's way per Amazon!!) Here she is (with magnetite pull down sprayer and soap dispenser):

And here is what we still need to do, not in order of importance because that still has to be determined:

• get a murphy bed in the office since that will be our guestroom until we finish the basement... someday!
• paneling in the dining room
• crown molding on entire main level
• new interior solid wood architecturally interesting doors
• new kitchen sink (granite extra deep)
• paneling up the staircase (like this...)

• statement light fixture for the stair case
• deck off master with door replacing existing window
• all seasons room beneath the deck
• door on master bath
• heated tile floor in master (marble basket weave like this...)
  

• new shower pan in master bath made with little river rock tile (like this...)

• closet organizers in all closets
• cabinets in laundry room
• new counter depth taller refrigerator
• take out half the pantry, put in second wall mounted stove and move microwave. Get new hood and put in pot-filler faucet over the stove** this project is my favorite for 2011!!
• put in bigger window in dining room (maybe use the one that becomes a door for the deck off the master)
• tankless water heater (probably only if we can use our current one to replace a needed rental house one)

This will be fun to look at and see how the list(s) change and evolve! I have written this out several times and lost it, so glad to have it filed away. Hoping for "pantry project 2011"!!

The new (appropriate-sized) pantry will have this door:

Today...

Just scheduled a dentist appointment for ALL THREE boys, at the same time, on the same day, a mere month away.

Just uploaded pictures from yesterday's trip to "gymnastics" with Jack and Nolan, what fun! Except that I realized too late my camera was in manual focus for most...




Just took a shower in the a.m. That almost never happens.

Just realized both school aged kids' Christmas parties are on Friday and I get to bring treats to each.

Just thought how much I am failing at trying to include myself in pictures that go up here. Need to make an effort, or I know I'll regret it later!

Just realized our three day real estate class is THIS weekend.

Just paid a late toll bill, my cell phone bill, and put in a warranty request on our house for a plumbing issue. Those have been lingering on my to-do list for entirely too long.

Just heard the cutest little cough on the baby monitor. And now he's stirring, so better go!

5

So in awe that he is turning 5.

5 seems so big!

Working away on his birthday mailers, which are a bit more time consuming of a design this year than I would prefer. Hmmm, gonna have to put Daddy to work cutting out "5"'s after dinner (home made giant pot of organic yummy beef stew!) tonight so I can get them in the mail this week.

And it's an odd number birthday, so that means a cozy family party with his favorite dinner and an activity of his choice! Yay for new traditions!

SMILING

even though my idea to get an updated picture of all three boys together didn't go as well as I had hoped.

{...this is the best one...}


{...and Jack wouldn't even participate in most of the efforts...}

even though Nolan's first taste of icecream didn't impress him quite the way I intended.


































even though Jack flushed his underwear down the toilet and flooded the hall bathroom upstairs... a first even in this household.

even though Warren was trying to be helpful and shut the back gate on the van before Daddy had moved completely out of the way... ouch!

even though we are liquid nailing a "powder room" sign to the downstairs bathroom door to cover a hole that "just showed up."

even though I sometimes feel like we are a spectacle out in public, kids hanging off the shopping cart at Costco, eating more than our share of samples.

Smiling because this is my beautiful-crazy life, and there is much to celebrate under the glowey light of an early, already installed Christmas gift.


And when we all sit down at our big dining room table as a family, I feel lucky.

And none of those "even thoughs" ... even matter.

Life in the not so fast lane.

puffy paints on the kitchen table
a birthday haiku for a soon to be 5 year old
early bedtimes for unknowing little boys
gobbling huge grapes
practice run of Santa's cookies
swinging on ropes
hanging on bars
abandoned "to do" lists
hole in the bathroom door
a still nursing not-so-baby
meatless creativity in the kitchen
phone calls to daddy... slobbery phone receivers
blackberry stained bar stools
loving my girlfriends more than ever
helpful big brothers who amaze me
mentally decorating a soon to be big boy bedroom
headaches from garbage tv
wondering and wishing for our fourth baby
cozy fireplace
trips to the mall
furry crocs
still walking to school... in December
forgotten garbage day
soap nuts in the mail
chapped lips
impressing the music teacher!!
stars written on everything... Warren
Christmas music on Pandora
baby under the tree playing peek-a-boo
full days that fly by and don't leave time for blogging!!

LAST NIGHT

I just couldn't bare to transfer him to his crib.

So, instead I just admired all his sleeping parts and snuggled in next to him and planted at least a hundred kisses on his unknowing little lips.


Can't believe he is already 16 months. I would plead with time to stop, but I love seeing him grow too. My little angel...

Photographic Funk?

I have been in a bit of a funk with taking pictures of my own family and life. Probably because I have been doing so much photography of other people, but also probably because I have found myself dreading all the editing. The cropping, sharpening, rotating, converting to different styles of black and white, etc.

So, today I sat in the playroom with Jack and Nolan, put my camera in manual mode and even manual focus and just spent a few minutes trying to regain some enthusiasm of looking through my lens. And it occurred to me that I am not going to do a bunch of editing for a while. Expect to see lots of SOOC (straight out of the camera) shots around here for now. I am stretching and growing as a photographer, I can feel it. Trying to find my style. Feeling frustrated at times with my lack of knowledge on aspects, wanting to learn more, get a better camera, etc. It is a nice feeling to be challenged!

Here was my inspiration today:

Jack pausing to tell me about his "technique" with legos.

And then quickly demonstrating some acrobatics on the sofa.

And these two alternating making tractor noises, as Nolan soaks up every single cool thing his big brother idle has to say.

Ahhh now I feel better!

Enjoying the kind of productive afternoon that has me removing my severly chipped manicure, printing out the lunch menu for December, and playing peek-a-boo for longer than usual.

Laughing.

I

caught him

laughing so hard. And then...

...we had this moment...

...and then it was back to laughing