Pictures of Old.

Apparently I don't have enough to do, so I've decided to do a "Family 2010" photo album, which means deleting, editing, saving and uploading thousands of pictures from this year. It's fun to take a stroll down memory lane, though, and also scary to see how fast my kiddos have grown in just one year. One particular set of pictures I love is when we went on a short, local hiking trip in January. Here's the two pics that caught my eye:
I'm sure I'll be posting frequently with these kind of pictures, as I am uploading them one month at a time. Looking at photos is so fun.

Pinkalicious.

Do you parents of small children ever want to throw a book away because you have read it over and over? The "Pinkalicious" books are like that with me. Juliet discovered them a few weeks ago and I thought she was just pulling the same book over and over out because it was on top of the pile. Wrong. This was the beginning of a very repetitive trend. Juliet brings us this book once a day. Which doesn't sound so bad, right? Well, she insists we read it to her about five times in a row. And the most astonishing part is that she sits through the whole thing. As soon as the book makes its appearance, Colin or I say "Bring it to Mama!". Or "Bring it to Papa! He wants to read it!" Don't judge us until you've endured the Pinkalicious curse.
I have to say that I do love that she is so into books. More so than her brothers, even. So today I will discreetly put "Goldilicious" and "Purplicious" to the front and center of the bookshelf.

I Want To Remember...

I want to remember a brief few minutes last night. It was about 7:30 and we discovered "The Grinch That Stole Christmas" was on TV. And as a family, Colin and I settled into the couch and the boys on the floor, everyone with bowls of popcorn. The room was lit only by the Christmas tree. It was just one of those moments that felt so Christmas-y.
You know your kids are growing up when you can sit and eat popcorn and watch a movie at night. What a sweet time it was.

The Visit to the Reindeer.

Yesterday, the kids and I made a trip to Seven Dees in Lake Oswego to visit their live reindeer. I am completely overwhelmed with how many things I want the kids to do for Christmas (cookies, tree decorating, present wrapping, gingerbread house making, etc.), but I knew this was a no-brainer for a kid holiday activity. Unfortunately, they were in cages and the kids couldn't ride them like Colin suggested, but it was still lots of fun. Samuel won a prize for playing a game The Fish (the radio stations was broadcasting live there) offered. The prize was a insanely noisy toy.


Call me a softie, but I felt a bit bad for these Arctic creatures to be caged in a small area. They didn't seem too chipper.


Juliet squealed in delight while looking at them.
Up next is Juliet's party tomorrow - she will be officially 2 on Monday. I can't believe how fast time has gone with her!

Breakfast Of Champions

I asked Samuel to make breakfast this morning and this is what he served. Great idea, until he brought a pair of metal tongs to me and asked if he could pull the toast out of the toaster with them. After a hasty life lesson, I helped him retrieve the toast and he and Jude ate happily. I love having an almost 6 year old - they are so helpful when you need them.

Today's to-do list is long, but I'm running on a strong cup of coffee, and good B-12 vitamin and the excitement of a very theme-y party tonight (which I purchased a special shirt for and will be making special cookies for (hint: the cookies have very red jam in the middle)).

Have a great Monday!

Today.

Today my house is a disaster. Not a dirty disaster, but a toy cluttery disaster. Which usually means my kids have been having loads of fun.

Today I went to five stores with a three 1/2 year old and a two year old. Do not judge me. We had no food and it had to be done. Yes, I was that mom that had the baby with one foot out of the cart through half of Costco.

Today, I rewarded Jude for being such a trooper with chocolate from Trader Joe's. He had to eat it outside in the cold so the baby wouldn't see it - I will congratulate myself for not feeding it to her as well. Today I rewarded myself by sitting by the fire during naptime with a pile of entertainment magazines and "Harry Potter" and read until my heart was content.

Today my baby girl insisted on wearing her brother's shirt. It looks weird. It looks completely ungirly. I took her out in public this way. But today, it makes her super happy. And I'm afraid in a flash of time that feels as if it's been just a few short moments, she will be a teen and I will not even be cool enough to talk to. So I will take these certain moments and indulge her.
Today was a chaotic day. Today was a messy day. Today was a very, very good day spent with two of the sweetest, craziest, most impulsive kids.

And I wouldn't trade today for anything in the world.

Peek- A-Boo!

I love when kids are at the age when they cover their eyes and think no one can see them. Juliet and I play this game all the time - "Where's Juliet?!" So cute.
Peek-a-boo!

Scrapbook Page - November

Here are the pages I did for November for the kiddos' albums. I did not post Jude's page because some tiny little hands got hold of it and started peeling essential items off. At any rate, here's Samuel's page:This was the bird that Samuel caught and has never forgotten. He was always asking to see pictures of Yellowtail, so I figured this was a useful page in his album.
And I think this page for Juliet pretty much sums her up. She's always into something she shouldn't be - my favorite picture is of her digging down the back of her pants. The fact that I took a picture instead of stopped her makes me giggle.

Have a great Monday!

Overnight Oatmeal [Bust]

Do you ever have those moments where you try something knowing there is a 99% possibility it will turn out terribly in the end? This was one of my moments. You see, I follow this lovely blog called "Framed" and she posts real pretty pictures of food she makes, followed by the recipe. Well, she posted a recipe called "Overnight Oatmeal" found here.

I could resist no longer. But in the back of my mind, I remembered that one time that I tried to make overnight granola in my crock pot and it was burnt to a crisp and made my eyes water just to smell it. I persevered this time, though. I not only cooked this: but I went so far as to serve it to my kids. I thought for sure the baby would eat it - my die hard oatmeal eater. She took a spoonful, looked at me like I had given her a lemon and put her spoon down. Enough said. Sorry, Framed, this recipe did NOT work for me (doesn't it look like chili? Blech.).

You know what I think? I think my crock pot burns hot and fast. But what am I to do? Stay up until midnight (and anyone that knows me, knows I'm in bed by nine) just for some oatmeal in the morning? Nope. I have yet to figure out a solution for overnight crock pot cooking. Comment if you have one.

Catch Up

It's been awhile since I posted - I blame it on the weather, the funk I've been in due to said weather, and the fact that the kids can't go play outside anymore. I'm beginning to see the beauty of wintering in Arizona or some other uber hot state. Here are some pics I'm loving of late:

Juliet's curls - where did she get them?! Juliet has become a fairly good kid in the car. Much better than the constant screaming she used to do.
Here's the boys before swimming lessons:
You have no idea how hard it is to keep this one occupied while the boys swim.


Jude always brings his blanket in the car and see how his thumb is out and ready for sucking? Sometimes I wonder when he will ever stop sucking his thumb.
Sissy decided to try out my new Hello Kitty earbuds (yes, I did actually spend money on a pair). This is what she does while I apply my makeup.

I bought her some My Little Ponies in the hopes of girling her up a bit - but the boys seem to play with them more.

My Craft Room and My Boys

Some days, when my boys choose to obey and get ready quickly, I let them watch cartoons until we are ready to leave for preschool. This morning was one of those days. They are chillin' in my new craft room that Colin painted and built organization for to my liking. I also have dedicated a small corner (seen here with those sweet vintage typewriter wall clings) to homeschooling. Hence the glue and papers strewn about. Here they are this morning, watching Elmo:And here's a picture of the closet that holds almost all of my craft stuff. Almost. Colin: "So where are you putting all your sewing stuff?"

Halloween 2010

I can't believe I haven't posted pictures of Halloween yet! I feel like I've had long droughts of internet time lately, choosing instead to read stories to the kiddos, help Samuel with reading lessons, carting Jude to and from school, or watching the kids during swim lessons. In other words, it's been crazy around here. And currently almost everyone in the house is sick, so I've been cooking, steeping tea and wiping noses all day. So while I listen to my Wednesday night Bible study on Ustream, I will cheat a bit and blog about the kiddos =). Jude was a knight and Samuel was Batman.
Jude in the middle of trick or treating.
Samuel showing me his loot. We have three huge glass containers of candy that should last us for the next three years.
Sissy was super feverish so she was not having any sort of costume. Look how sick her eyes are!

And here are the cousins together - this picture says it all - constant movement.

Pumpkin Granola Bars

Picture and recipe found here.

I have a avid love affair for all things pumpkin. All year round. So, when I stumbled upon this blog, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. And my sis-in-law said she made these bars this weekend and they were a crowd pleaser. I will be making them very, very soon.

This Looks Crazy Delicious.

Picture and recipe from here.

I just found this Chicken Vegetable Casserole recipe on the Framed blog and can't wait to try it!

The Pumpkin Patch

On Tuesday Jude and I headed to Lee Farms with his preschool to visit the pumpkin patch and all the farm animals. Jude really missed Samuel, but I think he enjoyed the trip nonetheless =).Here he is picking out his pumpkin.
Here's his class:
And food/drink ALWAYS makes Jude happy (a man after my own heart). Here he is sampling the apple cider the farm sells.
Somehow he ended up on Mrs. Susie's lap.

And he wanted to pose the next day by his pumpkins.