Reality bites.

It occurred to me, just recently, that someday my kids are actually going to grow up.  Or more specifically, that they are growing up.  Right before my very eyes.

I don't think I like it.  Not one little bit.

Somebody really ought to have warned me.



Non nobis, by Kayte.

One nail at a time...

...every step ridiculously awesomer than the last.

Shopping with my girls.

I have to admit.  I kinda love this growing-up thing.  We are having so.much.fun.

Ok, this was a while ago...

...since we haven't had snow in a month :)

Sledding on Walton's Crapuchettes' Mountain.  The rope tow is a very nice touch:

Beautiful view!

 

This is one.long.hill.

 

Haha.  Me:

Super-fun day.  Wrapped up with chocolate chip cookies?  Can't beat it.

I might be a little ready for spring, but I know I'm gonna miss winter.

GRAY!

Move in date:  Less than a month.

I literally can.not think of anything else.  I do try.

Um...cute much?

24 days till this kid turns FIVE....what???

8:40 PM

Went in to kiss my little girlies goodnight.  My 10-year old daughter's face aglow.  Clicking furiously.

"Can I just finish this text?"

......and so it begins.

Happy Birthday, Will!

My little buddy turns 9 today.  My favorite things about Will are his tender heart, his growing confidence, his natural leadership ability, and his constant affection.  He has a strong desire to do the right thing.  He is a natural athlete, a curious George, and a loving brother.  He always blows me a kiss goodbye and hello, even from across a crowded lunchroom, and insists on a hug at every opportunity.  His greatest hero is his dad, and an accomplishment earned isn't real to Will, until his dad knows about it.  I'm so proud of the person he is, and the person he is growing up to be.

Love you so much, Will.  You have my heart.

Happy Birthday.

A new skill.

So Will really wanted to give crocheting a try.  This didn't strike me at all as an odd request.  He's my fine motor-skills kid, plus he likes to make gifts.  All sorts.  At the first opportunity, I went out and got him a needle and some yarn.  I knew from the good old days how to make a single crochet stitch.  I never did learn anything else, although I had a great Aunt Margaret that did her best to show me how to crochet a hot pad.  The lesson never stuck.  I've never been a crafty one.

But I promised Will, I'd teach him what I knew, he could practice that for a bit, and then he'd have to go ask his teacher, Mrs. Loyd, for some help.  She teaches all the girls how to knit or crochet at recess.  I knew she had lots of grandsons so I figured she might take a chance on my little buddy.  And she did!  He is now a good way into making a nice little blue scarf, and he seems to have a bit of a knack for it!

Of course, when his friends heard that he wanted to learn how to crochet, they all laughed!  And I suppose I knew they would.  It was a great life lesson.  You have to learn to be your own man and stand up for yourself.  And I'm super-proud of who this bud is turning out to be! 

Little Sprite.

It's Sara's first season of basketball and Joe has been coaching her team.  She is completely over the moon about it.  I think the love of the game must be simply contagious.  This girl reminds me more of Will on the court than our Kayte, although she definitely has Kayte's fight in her.  But mostly, she runs just really really fast, like her big brother.  Zip down one side of the court, than full speed down the next.  She is really dedicated to getting better at it and practices her shooting whenever she can.  She actually made a basket on a full-sized hoop the other day!  Her team plays on shorter hoops for the games and she's managed to already make a few shots!

We are so proud of our little sprite!  It's gonna be some fun years ahead!

Busy bee.

So I was dealing with this cold that was less nasty than it was just inconvenient.  I picked up Ben and he was asking me about it. 

"It's ok, Mom." says he.  "I'm gonna make you some lunch."

Sure enough.  When we get home he sets to work, gets out the peanut butter smears it on a tortilla and adds some carrots.  "You need your vegetables.  You look lousy.  I'm gonna make you some lunch and make you all better."

As you can imagine, I'm not partial to peanut butter on a tortilla, but I do have a tremendous soft spot for this little bundle of joy, and I sat down with him and did my best to eat it all up.

"SEE!" says he.  "I knew that would make you as good as new."

I'm not sure if it was the medicine or the bedside manner, but I did feel pretty warm and fuzzy.

Thanks little bud.  Seriously.  What would I do without you?

Home sweet home.

Our house is getting really super-close!!!

This week they've been installing wood floors and started the tile.  Installed the outlets.  Kitchen cabinets are supposed to be here tomorrow!  Seriously.  Pinch me, I cannot believe it is real!

I remember three and a half years ago when I found out that this little bit of land was up for sale.  The bit of land that Joe and I have wanted for just ages and ages.  I remember being terrified to call the realtor about it, simply because I was afraid she'd say it was sold.  I waited for days until my mom finally told me to pony up!  She said that we should just move forward until God closes a door on the idea.  So I did.  And while we had many many more doors to get through, He opened them all, and we are so.close. to actually living there in our little dream house on our little dream square of land.

My bedroom :)

 

There is only one person more ready than I am to finally get in here.  That would be poor little Ben.  He has spent countless hours waiting in the car for me as I've discussed trim and lighting and paint colors and plumbing.  I'm literally here three times a day and mostly with Ben in tow, but it takes great self-restraint on my part to avoid camping out here.  Finally, one day, Ben throws his hands up in the air and moans, "MOM, you can see it when it's finished!"

My new bling:

From my valentine.  LOVE IT!

Photo booth.

Oh yeah.

Email:

Dear Joe,

 

After 12 years of marriage,  you should know better than to leave your chocolate chip cookie unattended... I refuse to be responsible for my actions.

Love you.

 

Sadly, joke was on me.  Oatmeal raisin.  Blech.  Who does that?

My Tuesday Theory.

I've been avoiding my blog. 

It's been an overscheduled month, yes, but it's also February.  It might just be the doldrums.  But last month, when I was trying to track down pictures from this time last year, I had a hard time finding any.  I feel like this is the time of year that we all tuck our chins in, wrap the scarf all the way up to our eyes and just kind of get through it.  We've had a mildish sort of winter and some lovely springish days.  And we've certainly tried to take advantage of that. But I have no photo evidence to prove it.  And it's hard to remember the springy day when you wake up with frost on your nose cause you left the window open the night before.

February is like Tuesday.  January would be like Monday, and we are still kind of riding the high from the holidays (which would be the Sabbath rest of Sunday), and then we wake up and it's February (which would be Tuesday) and realize we have a bit of a ways to go before the next break (the weekend) when the warm weather comes, school's out, and we get to run around with bare feet in the grass.  I've really never liked Tuesdays for this very reason.  Plus, in my junior year of college, it rained every single Tuesday for two whole months.  (No lie.  Ask my mom.  Even if she doesn't remember, it's still true. I'm sure google could back me up here.)  Which would be all well and good if I was cozied up at home by the fire in my socks eating cookies.  Who doesn't like a rainy day in your socks?  But Tuesdays were never like that.  Tuesdays were the kind of day that I had to actually hit all three jobs, and hike across the entire length of campus 4 times cause my classes for that day were on all four corners of the 600 acres.  In the pouring rain. 

I've been frequently at the HIRC this month, as I may have mentioned :),  and sometimes I catch myself rubbernecking at the pool and thinking of all the lazy days we spend there, come August.  And I get all itchy for it.

But I straightened out my big girl pants, unloaded a few photos from the old Nikon, and put my party face on.  Things aren't really that bad.  After all, after Tuesday, comes Wednesday, and then heck, you're practically to the weekend!  I might just get out some of that face foil and get myself some much-needed vitamin D this weekend.  Surely that will help!

Happy Valentine's Day!

May you spoil your loved ones and be equally spoiled in return!

Soup for the soul...

....so, my mom was justifiably concerned for my health as evidenced by my last post and she swept in at dinner time this evening to cook up a ginormous pot of chicken noodle soup for me and the fam.  It was stewing when we got home from our latest 5 o'clock win at the old HIRC and I'll tell ya, nothing on earth can compare to mom's chicken noodle when you've had a bit of a tumble from glory.

 

I had the added benefit of getting the recipe from her, so that I too, can soothe the souls of my little people with a quick pot in a pinch.

 

And no.  There was no time for pictures.  We were hungry.

Thanks Mom.

Happy February!

Dinner tonight:

Cheetos, 3-day old donut holes, and (caffeine-free) Diet Coke. 

I could be real classy and arrange it nicely on a plate, but who am I kidding.  I earned this meal of red 40 and refined white sugar, with a side of aspartame.  This house has been beyond crazy the last couple o' weeks.  This week, with 6 scheduled kids' basketball games, two husband basketball games, and let's throw in one more basketball game, just for fun (count 'em, 9 basketball games, no lie), along with a quick trip to Spokane for some house stuff that had me hauling boxes across a three-lane one-way street with a four-year-old in tow, a dead car (again!), and my first bad cold in ages, I feel like I'm legitimately tapped out.  So, instead of getting to that load in the wash that I have now officially washed three times (the last time with white vinegar) cause I haven't had time in the last two days to fold the laundry in the dryer, I sit down to share my meal of insanity with you, and finally get a blog post up.

I should include a disclaimer that my kids had slightly more vitamins and protein for dinner, but just barely.  And I'm not throwing in the caffeine-free to be self-righteous, I just want to be able to sleep when my head hits the pillow of my unmade bed tonight.  If it makes you feel better, it's my 6th can of the day (the first five were fully loaded).

There.   That's all I have.  Full confession.