Wednesday, December 19, 2012

A little of everything

As this year winds up, we're just hunkering down and letting it wind.  I think in the past two weeks, I may have spent a total of two evenings at home (tonight being the 2nd).  Our lives have gone a little haywire lately and once I can get this ward Christmas party done with, I may finally be able to breath without a dark cloud hanging over my head.  I hope someone will enjoy this party because I certainly won't be!  

William has been home all week with a fever and will be home at least one more day.  Thankfully, Ryan will take the next two days off so I can finally finish our Christmas shopping kid/sick kid-free.  Rose is too observant to take shopping nowadays.  And about Christmas shopping, I'm breaking all of my Christmas gift giving rules this year.  I am not putting a single bow on any of the presents (they'll be lucky to get those stick-on gift tags), none of them are handmade, and there are several cheap plastic things purchased at Wal-Mart.  Nothing blog-worthy, for sure.

In the meantime, I'm listening to Christmas music with a vengeance, hoping it will drag us into the Christmas spirit.  We still have a few more days, so things could turn around.    

I think the two best Christmas presents of all will be having the Christmas party over, and if my neighbors would go a day without cooking a big pot of what smells like curried-onions.  The BEST present, I tell you.


Gotta love those 3M removable hooks


Fell asleep listing to Christmas music on the radio - I love the tassel between the toes. 


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Happy








We had a lovely Thanksgiving day.  Hard to believe it was already a week ago; how the days fly by.  My parents were up for a visit.  It was fun to have more people to celebrate with.  While waiting for TJ (what William named our turkey) to cook, people played games, made butter, battled with lightsabers, etc.  Overall, a lovely day.  I think the only thing that could have made it perfect would have been a nap.  Maybe next year.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

She's Four and She's Alive!!

Rose celebrated her fourth birthday a few weeks back.  Frankly, I'm amazed she made it.  This girl has been trying to kill herself since she could walk (I'm not talking suicide here people - just crazy baby antics).  She must have her own personal team of angels working around the clock.  But here she is, in all her 4-year-old glory: 

And if you know Rose, you understand this face.
Rose wanted a Doodle Bear for her birthday, which I found out AFTER I had already bought something else.  So I ended up returning her original gift, and we went out and bought this one on her birthday.  In this picture, Rose is pretending to be a Doodle Bear.  BYW, her bear's name came with the name "Rose".  Perfect.

Blowing out the candles after our root bear and pizza party.  We're cupcake people around here; and if you have seen any of my cakes, you know why.

Rose's birthday fell on Monday this year, so we had to do a family outing another day.  So the following Saturday, we went to the Butterfly House, which is right around the corner from our house.  We've been there a couple of times this past year, so while the kids liked it - it wasn't anything super new to them.

As much as I hate roaches, this exhibit really fascinates me.  It's just so gross; the pumpkins with roaches coming out the eyes and mouth was a nice touch.



Don't they look excited to be there?! 

"I'm wonderful. I'm perfect!" - Rose

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween

Happy Halloween!!


Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight 
(minus the black boots - they're hard to walk in long-distance)



Red Riding Hood

Ballerina (costume variation 3)

Trick or Treat!!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Pickle Creek


Last weekend was our church's General Conference.  On Sunday, we decided to go for a drive and listen to conference on our satellite radio in our car on BYU radio.  It worked out really well - it forced us to pay attention.  So we drove to a state park about an hour and a half away.  When we got there, we finished listening while we had a picnic lunch in the back of the car.  

Then for the two hour break, we went on a hike.  Our family loves to go on hikes and we do them quite often.  We try to find ones Rose can do too.  This one was about a mile each way alongside a creek.  It was awesomely beautiful, but involved quite a bit of climbing over rocks.  I'm sure if we went back now, the leaves would be even more incredible.  Rose did great there, but Ryan and I carried her back.  

We passed quite a few people on our way.  We got either smiles or strange looks as they went by.  I'm sure they thought we looked like novice hikers, seeing as how my girls were both wearing dresses (their choice entirely).  I'm sure people were thinking, "Oh how sweet, they have no idea what they're doing".  



But we're tougher than we look, dresses or not...we even had an encounter with a snake on the path! Pickle Creek is no match for us.
Some nice people hiking with their two dogs took this one for use.  William's got his game face on and I look pregnant, which I'm not.  I had about 3 layers on and 20 pounds worth of everyone's crap in my coat pockets.  I'm the designated pack mule for these events.


Then on the way home, we listened to the last conference session.  Perfect.  We'll be doing this again in April, and maybe in pants.  

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cozy

Just trying to make out home a little cozier as the fall weather sets in.  It's about time to buy some hot chocolate, make some pumpkin bread and make a fire (better find some firewood first...). 

I may, may, pull out my sewing machine tomorrow for the first time in almost a year.  I don't know what's wrong with me - I finally have the space to make a sewing corner and I haven't.  I've been dreaming of this for years, but now that I have the room, I haven't done a single thing with it.  I'm in a funk, for sure.


My little friend - I  have way too many silly pictures of her, but she begs me to take them, what is a girl supposed to do?



Monday, September 24, 2012

Night Time Tea

The other night, after the older kids went to bed, Rose requested that we have a tea party.  So Ryan, Rose and I had a candlelight tea (Rose - Make the fire Mom!).  We enjoyed Apple Cinnamon Herbal Tea with crackers and cookies. 



So pretty!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Reworking Part 2

Something else I have been reworking is our diet.

During the summer, we got lazy.  I was stressed about the house, stressed about the yard and in the summer, my tiny kitchen becomes an oven when I use the oven.  So our diet (what we were eating) took a hit.

So a few months ago, I started changing things.  I started slow so as to not shock anyone or cause a rebellion.  Here are some examples:

I replaced ____ - with _____

  • white pasta - whole wheat (which I usually use, but I was trying to get rid of some food storage and got lazy)
  • ALL white bread - whole wheat or another grain bread 
  • NO HFCS or MSG, etc.
  • We've almost eliminated ALL white/processed sugar from out diet entirely - which is really hard because it's in EVERYTHING!!  Instead, we use raw honey, coconut sugar, maple syrup or brown rice syrup.  But even with those, we limit our sugar intake big time.
  • LOTS of veggies everyday (new veggies for us - kale, collard greens, diakon)
  • We eat fresh fruit everyday, but limit it.
  • Dairy is gone, except for some yogurt the kids have occasionally.  We use non-dairy alternatives and rice milk.
  • Meat  - with tofu, quinoa, beans and a variety of food that contains protein
  • Desserts are now dairy/egg/processed sugar free - what's left?  Tons!!
  • No more processed flour - it's all whole (white and regular) wheat, quinoa, barely and oat flours.
Did this happen overnight?  No.  We're still phasing things out and bringing in new things.  




Why have I done this?
  • a few people in the family were developing belly fat
  • I was tired all the time with headaches to boot
  • people were stinky (gas-wise) and now we're not
  • our genetics - we saw different family members struggle with health and now we're trying to be preventative
  • Ryan and I were not sleeping well
to name a few. 

More to come - lots going on around here!




Monday, September 17, 2012

Reworking

Ever feel the need to rework things in your life?  Anything really.  I guess you could call it re-evaluating.  Anyway, I have been doing some reworking of things.  Maybe it's the move, maybe it's because of the change of seasons, a new schedule...a combo, I think. 


One thing I'm reworking is my home.  With the advice of my grandmother who has a decorator's eye, I am slowly trying change the feel of my living room.  I've only moved the couch really, though I have other plans (which require money...) but they will have to wait and happen slowly.  Anyway, work in progress.

BEFORE

AFTER - it's not a great pic of the whole thing

Anyway, more to come.  I just need to take some more/better pictures and do some more reworking.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

L is for loser and lame-o

A little humility is good, right?  

Well, the past few weeks, my new church ward (congregation) is shaking things up on our Relief Society newsletter/emails.  Apparently right as we moved into our new ward, so did a lot of other families.  And not just run-of-the-mill families (like mine), but the types of families that make you gag after reading their Christmas letters.  The type that after hearing them introduce themselves before speaking in church the last few weeks, Ryan actually told me "Susan, when we're asked to talk, don't tell anything about us.  We'll look like losers".  

So while Ryan and I are pretty aware of our loser-like status, this new ward is reminding us just how lame we are.  

Back to the R.S. emails/newsletter: they are highlighting a different sister every week - sending out a cute family photo with info on the new sister.  They sent out an email to all the new sisters, asking us to submit info on ourselves.  After reading a few, there is no way I will be doing that.  I have come to the conclusion that I will just wait for the ladies to discover just how lame I am on their own, I don't need help.  


Rose "Say cheese Mom!"
Lame.

Oh dear...

I have some ideas of things I want to share on this blog, but I don't have the right pictures.  Instead, I have the wrong ones, like this one:

It makes me laugh.  Most of my pictures of her are these type of faces.  I have lots of them that look like this (above).  And that outfit?  All Rose.


Major accomplishment of the day:  registered car in MO and got new driver's license (and registered to vote).  I'm on fire.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Adjusting

Another new part of our lives has been that Rose started preschool for the first time.  She goes three times a week for three hours each day.  So far, she's been upset every day but her first day.  Once she realizes it's a school morning, she's very apprehensive and gets upset.  But once she's there, she does fine and says she had fun.    

Rose is my youngest to go to preschool.  Claire and William were both four and only attended one year before Kindergarten.  Rose is still three and I've had some reservations about sending her.  However, as far as I can tell, this little school is going to be good for her.  She has never had many children her age that she interacted with on a regular basis and it's been good for her to have to interact with her teacher.  This girl is a handful and needs some management, so I think it will be a positive experience overall.  

Now I just have to convince her!




Monday, September 10, 2012

Goodbye and Hello

This will come as no surprise to most of you:  we moved.  We said goodbye to our home in Illinois and moved back across the Mississippi into the St. Louis area...again.  So what's with us?  Well, initially we moved to Illinois to live close to the train line (which Ryan took everyday to school), the public schools there were good (or good enough), we could afford a house, we wanted a yard, etc. etc.  You get the picture.  

But things changed, as life tends to do.  Ryan got a job out in west county St. Louis, making his commute long and stressful.  Our good public school was not working  for our family any longer, our house had become a time-consuming, money-sucking burden.  But mostly we were tired of not seeing Ryan.  Something had to change.  And to spare you the details of our home-selling fiasco, we moved.  

Moving Day - THE rainy day in August

Our new place


After the shock wore off from the move, I knew we had done the right thing.  Ryan can walk to work in under 10 minutes, the kids are in a fantastic school (and district), and we have a lot more room in our new home.  We now live in a town home, which we are renting - no more buying for us for a long time - no thank you!! We are happy here, for now.  I have a feeling this isn't very permanent.

But I have big plans for our living room, involving paint, a new cover for the couch, etc.  I'm excited to lighten things up and change styles a bit.  Since I now live away from ALL of my friends and family, I plan to be a better blogger and update regularly.  And eventually I'll include more pics.  See ya!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Blog Musings or Musings on a Blog

I had written a long post to be accompanied by these pictures, but upon reading it over before publishing, I realized that it was "too much".  Just too much.  It's better to say too little than to say too much, don't you think?  And since I otherwise have nothing worth writing tonight - here are some pics of the kids.  Enjoy.  


the race car driver

the writer

the mountain goat


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

The start of summer

When it rains, it pours.  

We have had our hands full, as of late.  I, myself, have been ill the past week with a horrible case of strep throat, which all of the kids also have, but I was able to get them tested and medicated early.  So, it never got too bad.  But despite all of this, we keep moving on with our summer schedule.

The kids are now in "summer school", doing assignments three times a week.  They're good sports about it.  We did just take several weeks off to play and visit family.  Time to get back to the books.


So just a minute ago, I spouted off on here (with the help of a few choice words) about my feelings on home ownership. But with the help of my palm pad mouse thing (which I usually turn off) I somehow erased all of it.  But it was probably a good thing.  Try to keep things positive, right?

Right.

Moving on, I went to put some clothes away in the girls' closet and I was very startled to find this:  

So keep the antibiotics pumping, the newly reseeded grass a growin' (as is our water bill from all the $#!% sprinklers we're having to use), the home inspections a comin', and the new septic tank a stirrin'.  yippee.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

What's left of my yard

A week ago, we wrote a big check to have four guys come tear up our yard.  They did a thorough job, by the way.  But no longer do I open my door to the smell of septic.  Gone.  Zilch, and it's lovely (the smell being gone, not my yard).

The back yard.  
Yes, my patio is perched four feet above the rest of my yard

My side yard when they were almost done 
(they had already dug and recovered three trenches by this point)

The after picture; all ready for the weeds that will inevitably grow.

But in my front yard, my hydrangeas finally blossomed after years of nothing.  When I planted them, the blossoms were blue and now they're pink - my favorite flower color!
                           

Now Ryan and I are busily trying to reseed the yard and do anything to make it look better.  It's going to be a long process.  At least we don't have as much mowing to do!  Count your blessings, right?

Friday, June 1, 2012

Just to sum up

We have been back from vacation for a few days now and I have been asked a couple of times how our trip went.  Well, we did a lot of things and had a lot of fun.  How do you put it all into words so that people won't lose interest?  So I just decided to post a few of my pictures, showing all who might be interested a sprinkling of what we did over nearly two weeks. 

We did a little of this: 


Archery with bows and arrows my talented Dad made


And of course some evening fishing


 And a new adventure, stand-up paddle boarding.  So, so fun.  My first time out was on a very windy day; the waves were very large, making it hard to stand up.  I didn't go down, but my mom and brother took a backwards somersault off the back on the board into the water.  There was a lot of laughing this round.

 Ryan's first attempt: took place on a much calmer lake.  It was so easy to maneuver this lake after the previous attempt.  We had three boards, so we all took turns going out together; it was awesome.

Lots of swimming and games

And some relaxing at the farm


And a mountain bike ride, complete with one injury

More swimming in the lake; this island was a hit with the kids

Cousins trying out the board.  There was room to paddle with one to two kids on board.  They took turns coming out with an adult.

More tractor fun

Uncle Dan knew endless water games for the kids to play

We had a wonderful time.  A special part was the kids getting to meet their new baby cousin (maybe pictures later, after I get mom's permission).  We spent time in East Texas, out at the farm, in Dallas at my brother's loft, seeing the sights and sounds of their new place, more time out at the farm and lastly, a long weekend camping with the whole crew in Arkansas.  Good times!!