Guess Who?

This has quickly become a favorite activity around here, especially now that we are post-satellite tv and occasionally in need of activity suggestions by Mama.

Guess Who with friends!

So, how's it going at our house with only a handful of tv channels? 

Great!

We are watching local news, Jeopardy, PBS cooking shows that inspire, short simple kids shows that don't have crude humor...but mostly we are NOT watching tv even more than ever.  The tv is off so much more now and the kids do not miss it and haven't asked anything about it once. 

I can feel myself detoxing from reality tv on junk cable channels and mindless home improvement shows and droning on and on cable news.  Feels good!

I have no desire whatsoever to subscribe to paying for crap tv to enter my house again.  I think Bryan feels the same way ;)

Friday Phone-fare! {better late than never}

{New paint color! Kinda sad to see these stripes go that I worked so hard on, but it is time for a change!}

{Love my new pink plant!  Planting some Paperwhites today too that I bought from Warren's school fundraiser.  Those are some of my favorite flowers.}

{This is my new huge soft living room rug.  It is kinda funky and fun and everyone loves it!}

{Sleeping in most morning, as the kids always tend to do this time of year.}

{Nolan makes a super cute spectator at big brother's games in his own little camping chair.}

{#7 taking a knee, waiting to go in}

Fun Fall Craft

Disclaimer: I totally did not come up with this on my own. Got it from a crafty mom online. But I do take credit for being open to the inspiration and acting on it! It is providing a nice touch of whimsy in our living room right now, and I plan to switch out to snowflakes soon enough!

Nolan helped me, and I have a bunch of really cute pictures of him doing so on my real camera that I am too lazy to get off my camera right now.

I have a minor cold. Sucks.

I am in the middle of a decorative overhaul of our downstairs. All of the sudden I woke up the other day and decided I was so sick of the orange. Got a "new" non-orange couch and am painting and rearranging and just generally sprucing up my little abode. I am so excited about the new color I picked! It is called Gray Wisp by Benjamin Moore:

It is a great silvery blue green that is very soothing and easy on the eyes. It was a close competition between Gray Wisp and Silver Sage, but ultimately went with the darker of the two in order to provide good contrast with the white crown moulding and window moulding Bryan will be doing as soon as the painting is done. Needless to say, our house is a war zone right now with painting and extra furniture waiting to sell on Craig's List. What a happy mess!

Making another attempt to potty train Nolan (this is our third start for anyone keeping track.) How I am not an expert at this by now is beyond me, but I feel just as frustrated and helpless as anyone. He has demonstrated time and time again that he is fully capable, but he is just not wanting to do it 99% of the time. I don't want to keep giving up, but I am not good with a toddler battle of the wills. Ugh.

We have a busy weekend with two birthday parties and Warren's football game in Wheatridge.

I have FIVE picture sessions scheduled in the next few weeks. I am happy to be busy with that, but it is also just the tiniest bit nerve-wracking to find the time and energy and inspiration for my little hobby. Not complaining though...

Happy Friday!

This past few days...

...were a busy blurr.

Jack started his baseball camp.  He looks GOOD with a baseball glove.  I love these 6 weeks camps that are put on by a nearby high school retired coach.  Such a good introduction to a sport - Warren did the basketball one last year and loved it. 

We had the Outlaws pancake breakfast fundraiser at Applebees early (early!) on Saturday morning.  Watching my big boys hustle around carrying plates and saying things like "may I clear any of your plates?" and "may I seat you?" completely melted my heart and was reinvigorating after the major butt-whopping they got by the Golden team the night before.  As usual, my neighbors who showed up reinforced the fact that we have a kick-ass community who all supports each others' kids in a way that makes me swell with pride. 

Speaking of our neighborhood, we had our end of the Summer picnic/BBQ, wherein there are always many highlights like our tent nearly blowing away this year and the kids re purposing the corn hole game, shirts optional. 

By Sunday morning though, I was tired and so very crabby about keeping up the house. My {self-diagnosed OCD} was kicking in big time and all I could see was fingerprints covering the entire house. SO, we packed it up and headed out! Anywhere! Ended up in Nederland for a perfect day of awesome Wild Mountain BBQ lunch, underground thrifting :), eating blueberries right out of the clam shell, letting kids each pick out a toy (Nolan got a train, Jack got a dinosaur "fossil", and Warren picked a Newton's cradle) from a local "Science Store", riding the Carousel of Happiness, eating ice cream in a re purposed railroad car, and walking to Chipeta Park where the kids had a dirty all out blast before piling up in the car and making the trek home just in time for a big Costco haul. Whew. That had to be a run-on sentence but I am too lazy to proof read today.

{Looking leery of the Carousel of Happiness}

{Oh hello, Mama Lawson... future homesteader??... Hmmmm....}

We took highway 72 from our house to Nederland and that route offered a much more authentic peek into the mountain lifestyle. All the way there my mind was gradually letting go of the grime at home and marveling at all the rustic cabins we were passing. I couldn't help but wonder what that would be like. Having a homestead with some land. I spend so much time maintaining this house, it is exhausting at times. Wouldn't it be great to try on a different living arrangement for size?? Ahhhhh, or maybe I just need a vacation from the monotony of my suburban life ;) At any rate, I wonder if we would have still chosen this house and location had we known we would be a single income family with three (and I'm SURE we'll end up with a fourth boy someday soon, hi Roman! ;) ) rowdy rough and tumble boys. Maybe it's the third generation Alaskan that is coming out in me but sometimes I wonder if I am not more suited for a less cookie cutter existence. What would my Great Grandma, Nola, who homesteaded in gold mining camps in Talkeetna and authored Talkeetna Echos and Talkeetna Cronies think...

Anyhow, I'm definitely not done with this train of thought but the Sunday routine is calling and I've got three seriously filthy boys to feed and wash and put to bed!

Obsessed With...

Because, no, I don't just sit around pining for a baby - although I did have a dream last night that I actually had miscounted and did in fact already have four, not three, children. Presto! We were in fact done. It was funny. Funny in my dream and still funny when I woke up.

Anyhow, I am totally obsessed with our family desk calendar. I get all excited when it is a new month and I tear off the old coffee stained, scribbled, marked-off-days month and reveal the clean new potential. It usually fills up within a few days, and sometimes I get crazy with the highlighters.

Also, you may have noticed my new obsession with twitpic in my twitter feed {on the right hand side lower down on this blog}! So fun. Love it. My new favorite way to over-share my life's little things :) Enjoy...

Lastly, definitely not a new obsession, but still burning strong is thrifting. Went yesterday and found {among other things} this adorable, awesome, super functional booster seat. Was needing one for the baby I watch and this more than fits the bill. It was less than $2 and doesn't have a mark or tear on it!

Speaking of the girls I watch, I am so smitten with the whole thing - borderline obsessed. My boys LOVE the girls and are so happy on the days I tell them they are coming over. They are protective of them and play so well with them. That bond really, really gets to me. Why? Because our kids do not have cousins (and that is not going to change anytime soon). They are not growing up like Bryan and I did surrounded by oodles of cousins (my mom has four sisters and Bryan's mom has five brothers and sisters). It is sad to me, but I am doing my best to make up for it with our "neighbor cousins."

There you have it, the other things I am obsessing over lately!

YESTERDAY

I stopped in to my thrift store on the way to get Jack, just because I had some extra time and only one kiddo in tow. Turned out to be such a good move!

Bryan and I had just been wondering aloud what we should get Nolan for his birthday.

Behold...

{My most expensive purchase ever from a thrift store. But this is a classic and in perfect shape. Looks brand new!}

Is it not the coolest thing ever?! I remember having one of these too and riding it like a wild woman. Since there was no way to keep Nolan from seeing me buy it and load it up, we already gave it to him. He has been going nuts on it and probably giving himself mild brain damage... just like I remember from my childhood.

Also picked up what I'm calling my new "fall dishes":

It wasn't all fun and games though, I did spend several hours working on the high chair project. The sanding is very difficult and exhausting.

I went and got a chemical liquid deglosser sander to take off the poly coat. Everyone tells me that I just need to get the existing poly coat off but don't need to sand past the existing stain, since I am staining it much darker. But, after getting all the shiny off of it and giving most of it one coat of stain yesterday, I'm not too happy with how uneven the stain is going on and how it is so much darker on scratches etc. No wonder I read that refinishing furniture is an art form. I am not an artist, that's for sure. You can see the original stain on the bottom portion and foot rest for comparison. I don't know...

If it was something I was doing for myself I would be fine with how it's turning out. But since it is a gift I am all crazy wanting it to be perfect. Good thing Bryan will be home today to give me a dose of sanity.

Warren comes home tomorrow! I have seriously gotten so much done these last couple of weeks and it has been an awesome start to the Summer, but I so want all my ducklings back under one roof now.

I've got a feeling...

...that our new old-school desks are gonna be with us for a looooong time.

{I just love them SO much!}

I can actually envision grandchildren sitting in them coloring years and years from now, much like Nolan did while his big brother worked away at the neighboring desk.

{I swear he was so happy until that bite of crayon didn't quite meet his expectations.}

Jack was working so intently that he wasn't the least bit bothered by my shutter capturing him from all angles.

Our sunny loft with four windows is going to be an excellent homework/reading hub once I get it organized and move some things around and maybe even repaint the walls...

Jack is just too darn cute sitting in his desk!

I just love the cubby space underneath where I'll have them store their supply boxes and notebooks.

Okay, so I gotta brag on my boy... not even in Kindergarten yet and he can write pretty good I must say. What's more important I suppose is that he has the desire to learn and tremendous focus and determination for everything he does. He is going to do so well in school this year!

{Jack's report on King Cobra Snakes. Love his overly dotted i's and funky g's.. he's got his own style already!}

I've been thinking a lot lately (or maybe just having only one kid has allowed me to actually acknowledge my thoughts??) about the type of family we are. Wondering what makes us... us. What will stand out in our kids' memories. What our family dynamic/culture is.

I know my kids won't recall my cooking (we are much more of an eat to live rather than live to eat bunch and my cooking definitely reflects that) but maybe they will recall healthy small portions and lots of vegetables?? Or maybe they won't. I hope they see how hard Bryan and I work, how hands on we are, that we are constantly doing. I hope they see how affectionate we are, how we hold on tight, but also let go sometimes (like letting them go to Alaska at age 7!). I hope the little quirky traditions and saying we have are what make us unique and that is not lost on them. I don't know where this is coming from or even where I am going with it. But I'm glad I have lots more years to make an impression on them, love on them with all I have, and mold them into great men before setting them loose out into the world.

What we've been up to:

I have been so good about bringing my camera everywhere we go... but unfortunately not so good with actually using it. Alas, they are all cell phone pictures... but here is what we have been doing the last few days...

[installing new screen door on patio door- no more flies coming in while the kids are out playing!]

[bowling with neighbor buddies]

[thrift store shopping for all the school clothes... oh yes, I DO ROCK!]

[also picked up one of my favorite thrift store finds of all times. These desks are so much more spectacular in person. Gonna set up a homework zone in the loft. It is gonna be sweet!]

[oh yes, I already have their outfits for the first day of school. Cute!]

[drove to Estes Park this morning to hang out and also check out the YMCA there for our trip later this Summer. Hoping to rent one of their little cabins for a few nights.]

[Also got this fantastic high chair at my thrift store, which I'll be refinishing and gifting to my good friend for her little daughter.]

[oh and here is what Warren has been up to most recently, in addition to hitting an indoor water park, going on bike rides, and visiting the Alaska Club with Grandma.]

Well, now I'm all caught up here! Jack is going down to Grandma Caryl's house for a few days starting tomorrow so I will only have ONE child. That almost never happens. Doing Supper Solutions this week, mailing and delivering Nolan's birthday invites, and a couple other projects before Warren comes back home on Saturday morning.

Mary, Mary quite contrary...?

Well not quite a full-fledged garden but strawberries and tomatoes are all we really want anyhow, so we're keeping it pretty simple.

Having a super productive week and also taking Jack and Nolan for a fun outing each day- play dates at the park, early movie dates, swimming, and maybe even the zoo this weekend.

Just generally happy and loving our summer so far. It's shaping up to be a good one!

ANCHORAGE

It's such a fitting name for the place I was born, where my roots are, and where most of my family still resides.

And I love that at our local promenade (where we were last night on a family date night), one of the locations highlighted on a huge compass is Anchorage... my home, and the place where a huge piece of my heart is right now.

Living with less is really more.

Over the last 12 months there has been a pretty silent but prevalent movement in our family to simplify. Scale back. Waste less. Use less. Organize even more. Strip back the unnecessary.

Maybe it's because with 3 kids we hit some magic threshold wherein we really see the value of our time and the potential mountain of crap that would permeate the walls of our house if we let it. I don't know.

But the movement persists happily.

And it is so refreshing to have cleared out spaces, a few bare cupboards, a few less monthly bills such as a land phone line, lots of tv channels, expensive hair cuts, junk birthday gifts bought at the last minute (I now exclusively give $10 birthday money to any child whose party we are invited to), and so many more things I can't think of right now.

This mindset will hopefully allow us to be better stewards of our income, as we would like to own another investment property very soon.

It hasn't been the most easy transition to really regard items and ask "do I really need this?" etc, and of course we still do treat ourselves to plenty of life's luxuries. But the focus is on quality not quantity and it really has helped our quality of life improve.

Living with less really is living more...

[Finally facing "the crate situation". These are just a fraction of the kids clothes we have stored in the garage. Going to go through and pick out the best stuff for Nolan for the next 5 years and donate the rest at my trip to get all of Warren's clothes for 2nd grade. Oh and look at my cute new ruffly Roxy purse I got on clearance... LOVE! :)... okay this caption is getting out of control...]

So, if you know me in real life, now you know why I am so obsessed with our gas/electricity and water bills (which were $138 and $59 respectively this month!) and why I am meal planning to use up ALL of the groceries we buy rather than falling into the trap of buying large quantities of "sale" items and ultimately throwing half of it away. This is working for us! :)

Alphabet Soup

Isn't this print adorable?

It will soon be hanging in my hallway along with updated photo art of the boys that is on its way from Petite Lemon Prints. So fun...

It is GORGEOUS outside! As soon as Nolan wakes up, we will walk to the school to pick up Warren and hopefully play at the school playground for a bit. Nolan and I are a tiny bit sick feeling, presumably from swimming on Wednesday. Either that or maybe we just over did it this week. I crammed a lot in the past five days and am feeling especially tired and rundown today.

I hate feeling this way going into a weekend. Ugh.

I am glad that I got the boys registered for their Summer Rec Center activities, got in touch with local Meals on Wheels to volunteer with the boys, went to a LONG PTA meeting last night, took the boys to multiple fun venues this week, helped a neighbor by watching her adorable little girl yesterday for a couple hours, and took care of the boys by myself twice this past week while Bryan was away. BUT, I am seriously tired. And just a little cranky. This wouldn't be real life if I only shared all the wonderful things though, right?

Tids and Tads

Sometimes it feels like I start a lot of little side stories or plot lines on here and then don't finish them.

So, I'll attempt to tie up the loose strings (that I am aware of.)

Chapter 3 in Toilet Training is on hold, since Nolan flatly refuses to have anything to do with the potty right now. Although he does clap and say "yay" when anyone else uses it. We will revisit the whole topic in a month or so.

The kitchen project has been done for a while. I LOVE my pot filler faucet! It is so pretty and shiny like kitchen jewelry and I use it EVERY day.

There are still so many things I would like to do to our house that I sometimes feel anxious to move them along, and I have to remind myself to be happy for what we have done and enjoy it. We may move ahead with a California Closet system in our huge coat closet on the main level. That would seriously change my life... :)

Spring Break went well, although by Tuesday when they went back to school we were all thoroughly DONE spending so much time together. We did a lot of fun things and it went by fast.

I have decided for sure on the cowboy theme for Nolan's second birthday party. I already have the invites designed and most of the other details floating around in my head.

I think that's about it for now!

And now I've seen it all...

{A honey bear purchased two days ago and already halfway gone. Nolan carries it around giving it kisses. Jack takes shots straight out of the bottle. Warren is the most civilized thus far, taking a little homemade corn bread with his honey.}

{Lego and Harry Potter have collided into the most disturbing result, in my humble opinion. It takes a lot to make me gasp at anything caught standing on my counter top and this little creature did the trick!}

{Finally tested negative today. I would have been out of the first trimester by now, and instead I am rejoicing that the pregnancy hormone is now out of my system. I still feel terrible disappointment some days over it, but I am at least happy to be able to say I had a miscarriage, instead of I am having a miscarriage. Time heals all. And so does an upcoming weekend away with just my Man. Can't wait!}

On Today's Agenda:

• Setting out Easter decorations plenty early since I totally missed the Valentine's Day decorations this year on account of what a crummy month February ended up being.
• Nursing a cold with tea and honey, vitamin C, and some rest.

{Actually gonna burn this pretty egg candle this year!}

•  Running to Whole Foods with just Nolan, who proudly pushed the little cart the whole time and was so obedient with what he put in the cart and where he went, making for the perfect Project 365 moment for today!
  
  
  
  
  
  
•  Making steak fajitas for dinner tonight. Mmmmm....
•  Enjoying a snack of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin toast with lots of butter
•  Thinking I talk about food way too much :)
  
  


This or That

I don't know what's making me more happy today,

this pair of new patent leather ballet flats

paired with a comfy pair of practical jeans hemmed for flats,

or that reflection in my super-shiny counter top

 (from yesterday's spring cleaning frenzy)

of my favorite retro canisters from a thrift store in San Angelo, TX.

Or maybe I'm happy for the weekend.

Making a conscious effort to let the frustrations of the week stay behind me,

and actually hoping it does snow for once.

I actually ran!

Went to the gym today and I actually ran for 15 minutes.  Had a good laugh over the threatening/encouraging/(wtf?) sign in the locker room that read:

"What fits better into your busy schedule, exercising 1 hour per day or being dead 24 hours per day?"

Yup!  Just the motivation I needed right? :) My plan is to go at least twice per week and still do my elliptical machine at home a couple times too. When I go to the gym, I want to to 20 min of cardio and then do some weight lifting upper or lower body. Today was upper body. I am out of shape. Moving on!

Nolan went to the childcare room at the gym!  This is going to be a regular outing for us nowadays!

Project 365 is underway complete with a link under the header of this blog.  It is already providing me with motivation to take more pictures and gain practice with execution and editing.  Yay! 

I have already found myself looking at very ordinary things in my house and life and thinking "what interesting angle could I capture that with?"  Love it!

Today's inspiration happened as I was standing over a very empty sink with only a scone left from breakfast and our very outdated globe serving in the place of the normally highly cluttered sink and counter.  It needed to be captured! 

So head over and check out the final image! And maybe start your own Project 365! I am convinced that there is a hobbyist photographer in all of us.