July 19, 2012

july interview

Monthly interview with Millie:

• What is something mommy always says to you? I don't know. Nothing.
• What makes you happy? Jesus. Jesus!
• What makes you sad? My pac! It was broken like this (and shows me with her fingers)
• What makes you laugh? A book
• How old are you? 1. I'm 1. And Samuel's 2.
• How old is Mommy? 1
• How old is Daddy? 1
• What is your favorite thing to do? Rice.
• Who is your best friend? Brooklyn and Sydney and Izzy and Zander and Ariana.
• What do you want to be when you grow up? I still want to be Amelia, but now I'm big.
• What are you really good at? cleaning up
• What is your favorite food? rice
• What is your favorite song? Animals
• What do you want for your birthday this year? A birthday cake
• What is your favorite animal? A kitty cat and a doggie
• What is love? Love - you
• What does mommy/daddy do for work? He eats his lunch
• Where is your favorite place to go? Kid time!

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July 18, 2012

we're on our way

We did something we never do... we had family photos taken! A friend from church did them, and they turned out darling! Want a sneak peek?

I thought you might.









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goals: organizing

Goals. We all have them, right? Some people set goals to loose weight, others to save money. Some people set travel goals or budgeting goals. Me, I set goals like, participate in, and win pie eating contest. Which I did this weekend. And came in second. Another goal I often set is to write on my blog everyday. You can see I'm not very good at reaching this goal. My most recent goal though, is to get my life a little more organized. I'm reading this book, and because it's so great I've been telling everyone about it, called "Parenting by the Spirit." I'm actually reading the second one now on infants and toddlers. Best book I've ever read on parenting, spiritual growth, and spiritual living. She recommends (and other books I've read have agreed) to have 3 things to keep an organized home: meal planning, daily schedules, and a weekly cleaning list. So, I'm trying these ideas out:
 Sorry for all the white space. I just made this in Word. She (Sally Hohnberger, author of "Parenting by the Spirit") talks about how children need to have chores, and need to be allowed to work along side parents to cultivate a happy and willing work attitude. I just want to say here that I hear SO often from mothers of small children that it's hard to keep a clean house. The more small children, the harder it is, unless you just have the personality to stay on top of it all the time. In which case, kudos to you and place come hang out with me so it might rub off a bit. I enjoy housework, but find it next to impossible some days. Kids are really messy. Especially mine. They have this uncanny ability to eat one small thing and get it all over the house at the same time. And they tag-team it too, so if I'm following one around picking up crumbs, the other give the "I'm on it" wink" and before I know it, all efforts have failed to keep clean. This is why having a schedule helps. I know I'll be vacuuming 3 days a week, so I plan for it. If I'm going to mop, I give them something extra fun and messy, cause I'm already planning on cleaning it up. Again, this is my ideal. Somedays there are things that take over. Like lack of sleep. Some days I feel extra motivated and do extra chores. It's just a guide to help me try to get everything done in a week that I need to do.
About the schedule, she says start with the basics, then fill things in as you go. For our family, this isn't the rule, rather it's the ideal. But I have kids and things happen, I don't beat myself up if things get missed some days. Like a shower. As my kids grow, our schedule will grow. We just made something to have in place to work with.

Meal planning: I don't have a photo of this because I hand-wrote it on a printable I found online. There are oodles of them out there. I just started with breakfast, and wrote in things that I can make each morning (some mornings it's cold cereal). I started with things we have, then added more, keeping a shopping list of what I would need to fill in the blanks. Then I did supper, again plugging in first meals we already had on hand, then adding to that and writing down what I needed to buy to make certain meals. Then I did lunch, planning on leftovers for certain meals, quick lunches on busy days, and portable lunches on park days for a picnic. Again, if something goes awry and meals don't go according to plan, it's not a big deal! I can swap meals if I want, or decide I'm not cooking and order a pizza if I want. The whole idea is just to be planning ahead, have what you need in your pantry, and not have to worry about, "what am I going to make for supper tonight?" I might find a recipe online I want to try, if I have the ingredients I'll make it, if not, I'll add it to the next cycle of meal plans (we try to shop for 2 weeks at a time for everything but produce which we buy once a week). This just helps you know what to buy, how much to buy, and will help cut back on things you don't really need to buy. :) In theory, at least. I still ran to the store yesterday for bread and ice cream.

Happy organizing and
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July 13, 2012

no more paci day

It is a VERY big day in our house. So big, we've declared it a holiday. It's NO MORE PACI DAY!!!






The cake said, "Big Girl Amelia!" before some crazy mother got the bright idea to take a photo of a 2-year old holding a cake. 
I mean, really. 
What did you think would happen?

Yay!!! My baby is a big girl!
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July 11, 2012

toddler adventures: mud play

Today we played in the mud at Grammy Mo's house:

Millie got to make the mud pit. 

She asked if she could get in the mud. I said yes. "Can I get IN the mud?" She didn't believe I said yes! 

Sam mostly just played with the hose. 




That is Mama's leg. 


"Painting" my legs. 

Sam has mud on his feet because I put mud on his feet. He didn't touch the mud. 

Millie and her artwork. 

I'm not sure what was more fun, the med or the cleaning up.

Thanks Grammy Mo for letting us play in your mud!
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July 10, 2012

summer fun: june update

Yes it's technically July, but let's pretend it's the end of June still. Here is what we've crossed off our list so far:

  • Make homemade ice cream
  • Plant a garden
  • Quality time with Auntie Sissy
  • Portland Zoo
  • 7 Oaks Farm
  • Kid Time
  • Make and send cards
  • Picnics
  • Make cupcakes
  • CP water park
  • Jacksonville water park
  • Stewart water park
  • Paint outside
  • VBS
  • Pick flowers
  • Wildlife Safari Park
  • Grower's Market
  • Paint rocks
  • Visit the Humane Society
  • Make a wind chime
  • Have a yard sale
  • Fly kites
  • Pick berries
  • Watch fireworks
  • Go to the wave pool
  • Make giant bubbles
  • Go to the beach
  • Hunt for heart-shaped rocks
  • Oregon Caves
  • Eat sno-cones
  • Wash the car
  • Wash the Bikes
  • Make a fort
  • Camp in the front room
  • Get ice cream from an ice cream truck
  • Get lemonade from a stand
  • Hike up Table Rock
  • Explore the railroad park
  • Have a water balloon fight
  • Make our own fruit leather
  • Have rootbeer floats
  • Play frisbee
  • Go to story time at the library
  • Visit a fire station
  • Hike up Multnomah Falls
  • See a parade
  • Play at OMSI
  • Make Jello
  • Make individual pizzas
  • Feed ducks
  • Visit a retirement home
  • Go camping
  • Roast marshmallows
  • Ride the bus around town
  • Go to the fair
  • Make and take cookies to the neighbors
  • Ride in an airplane
  • Watermelon feed
  • Make cinnamon rolls
  • Get our faces painted
  • Set up a pretend restaurant
  • Paint with pudding
  • Make a pinata - have a party!
  • Make applesause
  • Ride in a boat
  • Go to an air show with papa
  • Run through a sprinkler
  • Science Works
  • Eat something we grew
  • Make homemade granola
  • Swim outside
  • Make play dough
Plans are in the works to cross many more things off this month!
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toddler adventures: zoo

On our way home from vacation with Auntie Sissy, the kids and I met up with the cousins at the Portland Zoo. Here are some photos:

Just my kid, climbing into the bear pen.  

The girl cousins minus one. 

See, we are meant to be farm people! 


Millie's first snow cone!

The photo before the epic snow cone mess. 


They have this area where you can brush the goats.

"Hey goat! You want a brushin?"

 Frafa, looking longingly at the giraffes and wishing he could roam free. Little does he realize, these are zoo giraffes, not free giraffes.


Wondering if she could get the fence down and feed Sam to the hippos before mama would notice...
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toddler adventures: camping

We went on our first camping trip with the kids! It was a total success!
Here are some photos, things I learned and advice for camping with babies and toddlers:

Millie ALWAYS wants to help. We try to let her  unless it's unsafe. 

Sam couldn't get enough nature. Especially in his mouth. 

Little helper! 

Advice: set up the tent first, then let the kids play in it while you set up the rest of the camp. Remember a small broom and dustpan or you will, like me, be sweeping the floor with wipes. 

I brought Milllie's kitchen toys so she could "cook" on her little "fire" also. Imagination is a beautiful thing.  

Meanwhile, Sam just runs around carting toys across camp and eating things. 

Pack and play for the baby to nap in. He did great! 

An already made fort was waiting for us on the beach. Win! 

First marshmallow roasting. I started that fire, by the way. ;)

It was a huge success!  


If you haven't noticed yet, yes, my kids are matching. Happy accident in the wardrobe department.


 Fog rolled through but didn't stay.



 Here I raise my Ebenezer...





This is morning. Millie is warming by the fire. That Fire Marshal Mama made. 

Our camp menu:
Lunch: PB&J sandwiches, chips, melon
Supper: veggie hot dogs, potatoes, chips, smores
Breakfast: instant organic oatmeal, fruit, hot chocolate, and we may or may not have had a marshmallow. Or two. 

We love taking corn, but it's not allowed over the California border. To cook corn and potatoes, prep them with butter and salt and wrap in tin foil. Throw over coals to cook. Amazing. 
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