today and such

9:11 pm.

Last load of laundry in and running.  House is clean, save a few random piles and the fact that the rugs need to be vacuumed.  Jeremy is up at the church helping his parents get ready for the annual winter silent auction tomorrow night.  The kids got in bed a few minutes early, after I gave Hailey a bath and read to Shea for about 30 minutes.  I have finished the last of the dishes, washed the bathroom and kitchen rugs, swept and mopped the floor, cleaned out the chicken box and replenished their food and water and am now just waiting for some shortbread chocolate truffle bars and biscotti to finish baking (for the desert auction tomorrow night).  Phew.  I am tired, and normally in bed shortly after this time.

Today I also finished two backpacks and a scarf for my shop, worked out, helped Jeremy plant our three new fruit trees (we bought three different semi-dwarf apple trees from Costco last night - we have been talking about doing it since last year, and they were only $12 each!), and wrestled through a day with Shea. It's been a good, productive day at home, but I am tired.  My body is sore and I barely got any sleep last night, or the night before, because Hailey has had a cold and wakes up every hour because she can't breathe. We have also been working through some difficulties with Shea during the day that have been very draining.  If you think of it, please pray for us.  I am at my wits end trying to stay calm and figure out the best way to handle these situations.  I am up late in bed just praying and praying for Shea.  He is such a sweet and thoughtful child, and even Jeremy's mother comments on how special and unique he is compared to the other grandchildren.  Almost everywhere I go people notice it.  He just has this brightness and friendliness and charisma that attracts and kind of astounds people.  I'm not trying to brag here, either, there is just something me and Jeremy both feel deeply, that Shea has the capability of doing something really...amazing when he is older.  With that comes such a great burden on my heart...how do I train this boy to above all else be a man who honors and loves God?  While he is capable of being a sweet and incredibly obedient and loving boy, lately he has been so very defiant.  All I can do is turn to God and try to hand over control and ask for strength and wisdom to love Shea the way I am supposed to.

Ah well.  Anyway.

I snapped a few pictures today.  Even though there were many crabby moments (Hailey is a crank when she doesn't get sleep), there is something priceless about the every day at home with kids.

Shea got out his paints while Hailey was napping.  He said that this was a cave he was painting.

All my beans soaking/sprouting right now.  I am making a mushroom black bean soup for the dinner at the auction tomorrow night, so I had to soak a lot more black beans than usual.

Our chickens!  Every day they have more feathers.

That one is the tall scrawny one, and there is another one that is bit more runt like.

This is one of the backpacks I finished today.  I went ahead and cut out double and made two of them, since it only takes a little longer to do at a time.

Oh and the blue/red fabric is a circle scarf I made.

And, Jeremy is home and my desserts are out of the oven!  Time to relax and get in bed.  Goodnight, ladies!

Little Mr. was dedicated. :)

On Friday we drove to Moses Lake for the weekend to have Eli dedicated at the church I grew up in, also the church we were married in.  It was quite the special day.  Paul's parents even drove up to see their first grandchild dedicated then we hung out at my parents house and had an awesome burrito bar lunch. Eli slept the whole trip to and from Moses Lake, we are so spoiled with how good of a kid Eli is! 

My cousin's wife made this sweet sweater for her son when he was born (he is 18 months now) and she let us borrow it while Eli fits in it.  He looked quite dapper.  Quite the upgrade from the onesie he usually wears. :) 

Little Bear liked sitting in the snow.  Too bad the snow was so minimal, but hey, looks better for winter pictures than the green lawns we have on this side of the state. :) 

Eli peed on his onesie the morning of his dedication and we didnt quite want to put him into his church outfit so he laid in his britches in a blanket.  This kid is so warm, Paul and I are both quite warm blooded and this kid definitely is following in our footsteps, hot while laying basically naked. 

Pastor Matt did an amazing job dedicating Eli.  He started preaching at the church the very first Sunday I brought Paul to meet my parents, which was before we were even dating.  I have loved hanging out with him and his wife (they are both 30 I believe).  

We have kinda started a nightly routine.  After Paul and I eat dinner we give little man a bath then let him lay naked in our bathtub with the fire on on a fleece blanket and do a little tummy time and squiggle time to get his energy out. Then we bundle up in pajamas and head downstairs to nurse and fall asleep, then he is out for 4.5 hours before waking up again to nurse. Oh and he LOVES the bath! 

I thought my taking pictures of Eli would slow down, well maybe it has a little but lets just say a day doesn't go by that I don't take at least 5 pictures of him, phones have made it so easy! 

Look at my boys sleeping identically? Melt my heart.  

This pictures are in the most random order.  This was dedication morning. Chillin in his skivvies, hes smirk, his frown, and his stare. Love my boy. 

I tried a cloth diaper on Eli and it fit quite well.  I am going to try them on him almost all day tomorrow and see how it goes.  Until I get a good routine I dont want to do errands and stuff while he has them on, I need to make sure we have a no leak routine going.  Also since he will be doing errands with just Paul tomorrow while I swim I feel like I should make it as easy as possible. 

Speaking of swimming I swam my first mile today since having Eli.  I quit swimming at 36 weeks so it has now been two months since I have worked out.  My muscles definitely felt weak, but I am excited to go again tomorrow! 

Also, I will definitely miss having every morning with Paul.  Sweet snuggles with my two loves. At least I get to snuggle them both twice a week since I am not going back to work yet (and will only go back part time and be choosing the days I work).  

We went to the mall so I could find some boots (which I found but they didn't have my color/size-boo) and Paul wore Eli in the Ergo with a blanket wrapped around Eli instead of the infant insert we opted not to buy, it worked fantastic! I was able to fit in my jean skinny jeans and it was a good day. :)  

We tried Eli in his sleep sack sleeper last night and didn't put any blankets on him in his swing and he did fabulous.  Very soon we will be transitioning him to his own room.  Tomorrow he will be 4 weeks old, how has it already been 4 weeks, I am seriously baffled! 

At the mall I saw someone drinking bubble tea and it made me want some really bad, but the mall places aren't usually as good so we went to the great wall shopping mall in tukwila and bought rice at the grocery store and bubble tea that was AMAZING.  Cravin satisfied.  Eli laid in the shopping cart. :) 

Cuddling with my boys and watching seahawks stuff.  I have never been this into football in my life. 

My bright eyed boy today while I was busy vacuuming downstairs.  Yesterday and today (I split up the chores) I cleaned all three bathrooms and vacuumed my whole house. This is the first time I have done this since before Christmas because my awesome mama has cleaned my house the last two times! I probably could have cleaned sooner but I didn't want to overwork myself, especially with all the out of town trips we were taking.  I am soooooo glad to have a clean house again since it has been quite a few weeks since the last vacuum. 

After I swam today Paul and I went out to his store so he could get the run down about going back to work and I could do a little shopping.  Little man slept the whole time I swam while he did errands with Paul and the whole time we shopped.  

It is 9pm and my boy has been sleeping since 8pm.  I am now headed to bed because the longer I stay up the worse I feel when he wakes up to nurse.  I love my "long" stretch of sleep I get.  It's funny when long means 4.5 hours, but hey, that's way better than a lot of mamas with newborns! 

Paul goes back to work on Sunday (7am-2pm) but my parents will be here for the Superbowl.  He then works Mon-Thurs and that will be my first run of having Eli solo, I am sure we will rock it though. :) 

better!

Hi ladies!  I have had such a productive and restful past few days, I thought it was time to take a break and blog about it.  All in random order, as usual!

We were all really sick last week.  After we got home from Preschool on Wednesday, Shea threw up out of nowhere, and then continued to throw up every 30 to 60 minutes after.  Then Jeremy started to feel sick and also was up the entire night throwing up.  Thankfully, Hailey only did it once and then worked everything out the other end, but she definitely felt sick - the next day, everyone stayed in bed until 11AM (unheard of in our house!) and then laid on the couch doing nothing.  I felt sick all Wednesday night and Thursday, but didn't throw up until the evening.  I'm glad Jeremy was home from work - we basically traded off sleeping and taking care of the kids.  We all went to bed at 6:30 on Thursday night and got out of bed around 8 the following morning.  It still took a couple more days to feel totally back to normal, but oh my goodness, I am SO thankful to not be so sick!  I completely cleaned and sterilized the house - I think I did 9 loads of laundry between all the towels and sheets and blankets we went through.  Not to mention that nearly every time the kids threw up we had to change our clothes (me included).

Of course, Saturday night, Shea got a cold and so he has been sick the past two days with that.  Today he has just laid on the couch listening to Magic Treehouse on CD and took a nap.  I hate to see my kids sick, but honestly, it was a nice break today to be able to catch up on some projects I have been wanting to get to.

I finally made my winter warmer pillows!  I am happy with how they are turning out.  I need to make a few more tags and get some more thread before I can finish the rest, but here are some pictures!   These are my three options for covers: a soft white fleece, a tan muslin and a printed gray muslin.  The actual pouch with the corn kernels is a bright green muslin.  I still need to take real pictures, make tags with use/care instructions, and figure out shipping costs before listing them on my shop, and finish putting together about 20 more covers, although they will be partly made-to-order, so its not essential to have them all done before listing, it just takes much less time to do them in assembly-line type production.  It takes nearly no time at all to make these, and I am surprised that I am enjoying making something so mundane.  I also finished this small messenger bag and 3 other bags I need to take pictures of and list.  I have so many other projects in my head I want to get to, but I am making myself finish these warmer bags first.

Jeremy and I have been out in the yard nearly every day this past week - the sunshine has been wonderful!  We put Hailey down for a nap and then head out.  I have never enjoyed working in the yard so much, and it is starting to look so much nicer.  I haven't quite gotten into the vegetable garden area yet, but will be in there soon.  Here is the bed I have been working on - I wish I had taken a before picture - it was SO crowded and crazy looking.  Jeremy added in the fence (from a different part of the property where we took it down) and I did a ton of raking and pulling up plants.  This area makes me happy and encouraged to tackle more of our yard - there is SO much to do with all the area we have around us, I don't think we will ever run out of projects.

I am halfway through this book.  I think it is the best book on gardening in our area I have read so far!  I am really excited to start our garden and am trying to get through it as fast as possible so I can start with a bit more knowledge this year.

And of course, some pictures of the kids!  Hailey is always cracking me up.  I wish I had a picture of her from yesterday - before leaving for church, the kids were playing babies together.   They were walking around with the baby carseat and Hailey was pushing the stroller with babies and had her little purse on her shoulder.  When it was time to leave, she got her coat AND her purse and wore it to church, carrying it everywhere with her.  So crazy how old she is getting. 

I gave Hailey her first braid this week!  It's amazing that she stands still for it.  I ask her if she wants me to braid her hair, and she will nod her head, get the brush, and go stand by the couch.  How very different it is to have a girl :)

Our chickens are getting big, fast!  I don't know if I mentioned in my last post that we picked up 3 more?  Well, they are going through their food super fast now - one almost escaped from the box yesterday.  I am getting excited for when they can move outside.  It will be much easier to clean their coop than this box, and they can have a bigger feeder then too.

Cold but Clean

Hi Ladies!

Not gonna lie, I'm getting so sick of the cold weather we've been having!  It's the coldest winter in 9 years. Our temperatures have been around -2F and Tuesday is supposed to feel like -22F!  After I got off the train I walk 20 minutes to work, I'm grateful for the exercise, but dressing for it is not fun.  Sorry to start off complaining, it's just getting to me!

Because of the cold all I've wanted to do is huddle under a blanket, drink tea and watch TV.  Today I actually got stuff done!  I'd been wanting to give my kitchen a good clean for awhile, and today it finally happened.  I cleaned off the top of the fridge, decluttered the counters, wiped down the cabinets, cleaned out the toaster (it was really gross-embarassingly so!), I pulled out the chest of drawers and cabinet and cleaned behind there.  Finally I cleaned the garbage lid, swept and mopped the floor.  I feel like I have a new kitchen!

We had a nice quiet weekend.  Last weekend we drove up to Kingston (the city we lived in when we went to university) and had great visits with friends.  We got back late Sunday night, and starting work on Monday morning was not so fun.  I felt like I started my week tired, so by the end of the week I was so ready for Friday.  This weekend I got to sleep, go for a walk (short because of the cold, but still a walk), and do some cleaning.  We also went to a Murder Mystery dinner party last night with Justin's extended family.  It was so much fun!  We had done it last year and Justin had been the murderer, and he ended up being the murderer again this year!  

In other news, Justin had two job interviews last week.  Both of the jobs are in different cities, so it would mean big changes for us.  He already heard back from one that he didn't get it, but the other one has asked him for a second interview.  At first I really didn't like the idea of a possible move (just because we've moved so much), but the more I thought about it, the more at peace I've become.  Every move we've had, everything has worked out.  God had gone before us, and found us a place to live, a good church, and friends.  So we'll see what happens! 

I hope you ladies have a good week and enjoy your "warm" weather in Washington!

Lots of travels for little man.

Lots of random pictures and thoughts in no particular order.  I am so tired today and little man has wanted to eat all day long, and snuggle mama all day long, I cherish days like this though.  Paul was able to go hunting with a friend and I was able to hang out with my friend Kirsten who had a baby on the 12th, but had the same due date as Eli. We sat around and talked, nursed a lot, walked to starbucks and took a walk around the neighborhood and then nursed a lot more.  The life of mama's with new babies, pretty chill but tiring. 

Last Friday my friend Ciara came for a visit and got to wear Eli in the carrier.  She loves kiddos as much as I do and we both nannied during nursing school and before.  We have always talked about "when we have our own kids" and it has finally happened.  She is a nurse practitioner now and has to work a few more years for a clinic before having kids because otherwise they wont pay off her loans, so in the meantime she gets to enjoy my munchkin. :) 

Eli rooted on the Seahawks and was super excited when they won! :)  Also we made it to church again on Sunday and little man lasted half the service in the wrap and then decided he was too hot and wanted to look at the lights while laying on mama's lap. 

We went to Salem Monday through Wednesday so Eli could meet all his great grandparents and two of his Great Aunts.  On the way down to Salem we stopped at a Motorcycle Coffee shop in Portland and had the most amazing coffees.  Oh and a few days previous Paul took this picture of Eli and I napping together and man do we look alike. 

My grandparents were entranced with Eli.  I knew they would like to meet him but I didn't know the love I would see shine through their faces as they looked at him, it was precious. Pop (grandpa on the top and bottom left) kept saying, "he is squirmy" "well isn't he cute" "he is a chunky guy", and would just grin and smile at him. Melt my heart.  Both of my grandpas have dementia now and can't enjoy life as much as they used to, so these were special moments. 

On the way home we stopped in Portland again and Eli got to meet his cousin (really my cousins kid) Eamon (said A-mon).  It was so fun to see Eamon interact with Eli, at first he wanted nothing to do with him but then he started smiling and pointing at him.  Also he kept pointing to his mom and dad and saying mama, dada just to make sure they remembered they were his mama and dada even though they held a different baby. :)

The many faces of Eli during exercise time.  We have Eli lay on a blanket and wiggle for about half an hour every evening and it helps him sleep better, which we found out on accident the other night.  A beautiful accident!  Eli is a champ sleeper.  The longest he has gone is 4 hours 45 minutes (and that felt sooooo wonderful for his mama) but usually its between 3-4 hours and I am awake for an hour feeding him and then he goes another 3-4 and we do this 2-3 times a night.  

Here are some of the pictures we had taken by Dana Dent, my educator at work and who is building his profile.  He did an amazing job!  We are thrilled.  I have a few more but I will post them later after I get birth announcements out. 

We just got back from two nights in Salem yesterday and are leaving to get Eli dedicated in Moses Lake tomorrow (dedication on sunday).  We have been so busy, but we had to do all these trips while Paul was on vacation. It has been soooo wonderful having Paul home this much, we are going to miss him like crazy when he goes back to work. 

New Member?

Everyone alright if I add Heather?  Candice, I don't know if you've met her...but she's good friends of Angela and Becca and Janae and me.  She's miraculously pregnant with a baby girl, 19 weeks today!

A barrage of Eli pictures, my life has definitely changed for the better

Ladies, I can't say it enough, I love being a mom!  Waking up 3 times a night to feed my little man is tiring but oh so rewarding.  Last night Eli decided he wanted to eat every hour and a half, and man am I tired today!  So glad I have Paul at the house to help out, because otherwise who knows what we would eat, when laundry would get done, and how I would be able to blog. ;)  Ok the last one isn't that important, but this blog is really my only journal, so I enjoy keeping it up! 

I was shocked when I put these pictures on my computer, Eli has already changed so much, he doesn't even look like he does in the picture below at all anymore!  

We spend our days chilling in bed or in the couch.  I love watching Paul become a dad, snuggle our little boy, swaddle him, and change his diaper.  I feel so complete having this little man in our lives now. 

This was after Eli's first bath (I think he has had 4 now) and we had  no idea he had fuzzy hair.  We didn't bathe him for the first 5 days I think, till my milk came in and he dribbled and started smelling sour haha..  Anyway, we love his little fuzz head, his hair had always looked kinda greasy before. 

One week post partum was my first trip out of the house.  We stopped by Paul's store so Paul could show our little one off to all his coworkers and then we went to our midwife appt.  Eli gained 5oz! Oh and it was my first time putting on real clothes and getting dressed.  I usually where a cami and sweats these days, which is oh so comfy! Also I got a kindle and it makes the long nursing sessions so much more fun!  I get to read fun books and cuddle my boy, I love it! 

We are kinda in love with this little guy.

Last friday we had pictures of Eli taken by my educator at work.  He is building his portfolio and wanted to take pictures for free, how could I say no?! I still haven't gotten the pictures back yet but I can't wait!  I need to do some birth announcements!  

Little man sleeps in his swing every night, as he doesnt like being laid flat, makes him spit up...though we have co slept on accident for  two nights, I kept falling alseep while nursing, and he never spit up while laying flat then, so we shall see.  For now he sleeps in the swing instead of his adorable moses basket.  

They put a pink bandaid on Eli after he got his hep b shot, he was so embarrassed. :)  Actually he was more mad at me when I took it off, definitely not a fan of the rip off the bandaid feeling. 

I am a huge fan of snack plates these days.  I knew nursing meant you had to eat more, but man oh man after not being able to eat much at all near the end of my pregnancy and then all the sudden feeding Eli and myself,  I am starving! 

I made him that tie onesie with my silhouette, I can't wait to make more fun onesies...maybe when he starts eating a little less. :) 

Some sneak peeks from the photo session that I snapped with my iphone.  After this beginning part Eli stayed awake for 2.5 hours...so we have lots of awake pictures. 

Um, to say I take a lot of pictures is an understatement. 

We went to church for the first time on Sunday and Eli wore his Sunday best.  We came home and watched a lot of football and then drove to Moses Lake to hang out with my parents. 

Eli kept messing up his footprints when the midwives were doing them, so they sent us the birth certificate in the mail and we did our own footprints. Eli was not a fan, hence the 8 toes he has on his right foot, but we did our best!   

Our cats have finally started coming around Eli and not looking  quite as frightened.  The picture of Eric below was one of the first we got of the two of them together. 

There is no lack of love for this little man, he seriously doesn't get set down during the day. :) 

One day in Moses Lake we took two one mile walks and it felt fabulous.  Eli was in the wrap for the first one and Paul and I took a night walk together while my parents watched Eli for 20 minutes.  Felt so good! 

My dad had a ton to do at work this week but went in late tuesday and wednesday so he could see Eli in the morning.  Love seeing him with his first grandchild, he is so in love. 

Mrs. McGee is like a grandma to me, and I was so thrilled to introduce her to my baby. :)  Oh and he is such a poser, do you see those fists!?  

Yesterday at two weeks post partum (and one day) I fit into my pre-pregnancy pants.  I wasn't going to try because I was scared they wouldn't fit since I still have some weight to lose, but the only other pants I have are skinny stretchy pants from Becca and I needed to wear my danskos to go shopping at costco so my feet didn't start to hurt, and they look ridiculous with skinny jeans, so I tried my real jeans on.  I was excited they fit!

Love snuggles from my little man.  He was super snuggly last night, he doesnt usually like to be belly down on the shoulder. 

We survived costco!!!

The many faces of Eli. 

The end. My baby is crying to be fed. Must go! :)