My house is in total disarray and it is
driving me crazy! Obviously not crazy enough to do too much about it.
 Blake went to school today wearing one yellow soccer
sock and one black soccer sock both pulled up all of the way which on his
little legs comes up to the top of his leg where his underwear would
be if he were wearing any. He is not a fan of this particular under garment.
Oh and he is wearing shorts so it is super
awesome because you get the full effect of his socks!
He wanted to wear one of his game socks and one practice sock
so when he ran around and played with balls at school he would be
getting equal practice for both games and practices when the season starts
again.  I love ideas like this!  Cubby is walking around begging for
"Elmo Mobeeee"  "elmo movie" and milk.  I dont know what makes this
child think I am going to let him veg out on tv while nursing him.
TV time is seriously limited around here but he
is very persistent in thinking he is going to change my mind!
I guess that is his ultimate dream though elmo and mama milk, does it get any
better than that?  Oh, he is also pointing to Zero who is in his crate
saying"EEEEEEEWWWWWWWW, PooPoo!!!" because Zero has a dog bone that
looks like poop and he thinks he is eating it. I love how
my kids crack me up everyday.  Is there anything funnier
than the things our kids do and say say?
Jerry Seinfelds got nothing on my kids!

Our thrift store is
open today so I am excited about going to check that out and drop some
junk off.  I am really trying to thin out our possessions.  So far so good.
I am attempting to be ruthless in this project.
I get so attatched and emotional to things and I really wish I didnt.
"Aw remember when Blake played with this (plastic piece of junk toy that
is broken and he has not picked up in 2 years)
he looked so cute, that was suck a fun day.  I can't get rid of it"
"One time Cubby played with this and then that night he took his first
steps and I think he might have walked past it.  I should keep it."
I am trying to keep my self from that inner and sometimes outward dialog.
I just need to remember how good it feels to give and how great it feels to be
able to clean up in a reasonable amount of time.
Yesterday Zac and I took our first together bike ride.  Blake was playing
at a friends so we put Cubby in a seat on Zac's bike and
I went around the neighborhood.  We live in a very "hilly" area and I got a
little too confident on the way down not thinking
at all about the fact that we were eventually going to have to return to our
house at the top of the hiils.  I did not realize what a big hills they are.
I walk up these all of the time but WOW is biking up them harder!
I thought I might die, literally slide off of my bike and die right there.
I give it up to these kids zooming around here on their bikes like it is nothing.
I don't know how they do it.  This was clear a reminder that I am not a kid anymore.
Ah, to be young and able to ride your bike up a hill without thoughts of who will
raise your children when you never make it up.

Thats a big Chicken!

This is an idea that had been stewing in my head for a while and I finally got it out! I had wanted to make a barn for Cubby since I donated the annoying plastic one that he rarely played with. I wanted something he could drag around the house with out banging into everything.

I made this one that I love and so does he! He can carry it around the house and even in the car. A little set farmers are in the works. I am no working on a special take along house and some creatures for Blake.

Blake was a gosling in the play Charlotte's Web this weekend. All he had to do was walk across the stage with Mama Goose, stop and wave. How that little walk made me fill with pride, only a mom! Could a gosling be any cuter?
We are dealing with a serious case of the "Mine" around here with Cubby! I am so happy that he is talking more but that is the last word I want to hear! I am not sure where it came from but I sure wish it would go back. What do you even do about that?

There are some days......

Last weekend I went to the Swap Meet with my 3 favorite friends Michelle, Holly and Desiree. The Swap Meet is pretty close to heaven for me. How are there not huge parking lots where you can rummage through other peoples "junk" on every block? I love the hunt especially on a sunny day with girlfriends and no kids! I was proud of how I avoided temptation while we were there but afterward I felt regret creeping on about the things I didn't get such as a set of little girl and boy bells, mixing bowls, more aprons, a white owl, an awesome quilt, umbrellas for the kids and a few other things that I do not need but I sure want! I did however get these great things that I love... a brass donkey, a family of owls (I could not just get one) a bag with pears on it (behind the Owltons), 2 aprons and 5 little porcelain chickens who are camera shy. After hours of shopping we were in much need of some Thai Food. I am always in need of Thai Food by the way. It was so relaxing to shop and eat with adults especially ones that I love so much although at the end of most weeks I will take whatever adults I can get, mail lady, gas station worker, librarian, random person jogging down the road, border patrol.
Anyway, after my girly time Zach and I went and bought new bikes, our Valentine's presents to each other. We were so excited, jumping around the parking lot like little kids getting their first bikes. We have yet to ride them together and wont be able to until Cubby figures out how to ride on the handle bars or we get him a seat whichever comes first.

Michelle's pretty coconut ice cream.

I have been working on little projects here and there trying to avoid finishing my Amy Butler Messenger bag. I hate cutting and I need to re-cut the strap so it the the plague of sewing project that I am avoiding at all costs with made up projects. I made this little chirp bird for Cubby because in a puppy tragic accident his favorite little owl was decapitated and then ingested. Although he likes his bird it is not a sufficient replacement. I guess nothing can replace the love a boy can have for his owl. I have made a couple of aprons (below) for the boys which are not totally finished but what ever is when I am working on it? It was my fist embroidery idea/ attempt. I really had no idea what I doing I just drew it on and went for it. I have since checked out a book from my beloved library and ordered this pattern for some dish towels. We will see how it goes. I just like to have a project that I can work on while on the couch. My poor knitting needles are feeling neglected at the moment. I guess I could finish the scarf I am working on but finishing is not really my style when it comes to knitting, I am more of a starter.

We made the yummiest chocolate chip cookies yesterday! Mr. Larry joined me, Mr. Larry is Blake's alter ego who is very helpful. He stops by almost on a daily basis and asks if I need help cooking or cleaning. He asks a lot of questions about Blake, forgets my name a lot, talks about how hard it is being old, and tells me tales of his childhood. He is very good company and who doesn't love a guest that loves to clean things with a spray bottle? He is a good old chap.
I am not sure where I got the idea to add in sour cream and vanilla soy milk to the cookies but it was such a great idea wherever it came from! I didn't think to add a little more flour though so they came out a little more like chocolate chip cookie chips but they still taste great. Cubby perfect saying "cookie dough" but said "EEEWWW" every time I tried to get him to taste it. He like to stir though. I love cooking with the kids, oops, I mean Mr. Larry and the Cub!

Nature's "Goodies"

What lovely family day. I just love these days when we stay home and enjoy each other. After a day of riding bikes, playing out side and long naps, we took the best walk this evening before dinner. The boys brought buckets to collect their "goodies" The best kind too, nature's goodies. We found acorns Blake and I found each one cuter than the last. Cubby found sticks to fit in his buckets, he was very particular about which ones were deserving of going in his bucket.
As we were walking I was thinking about how these days of long walks and finding wonder in everything are numbered. One day Cub won't point out every tree to me with pride. Blake will not think sticks and acorns are the best things in life. How sad it will be when taking a late afternoon walk with mom dad and the dog will not be appealing in anyway. It reminds me that I need to take in everything and pray I remember the sweetness of these days when my little boys want nothing more than to hold hands and walk in the woods. Each morning they are a day older and a little bit closer to being grown up. Some nights I just lay there and try and rehash the little things that happened the things that just slip by without a second thought and are gone forever. So I will continue to harass my family with my camera and watch them with tears in my eyes. I will try to enjoy every minute, relax, watch my beautiful boys grow and love them with every bit of my soul no matter how much it hurts sometimes.

puree and paper

I have been cooking from my new favorite cook book Deceptively Delicious! This is my carrot puree for the peanut butter and jelly muffins. The kids were not too fond of them but they are crazy because they were good! So far we have tried the "fried cheese" sticks and tonight Mac & Cheese both with cauliflower puree both were awesome and new favs of the boys. Jessica Seinfeld has the right idea here. I want to slip veggies in everything they eat and drink. I wonder if they would catch on? I could inject it into their tubes of toothpaste, just a thought. Moms and non-veggie lovers, get this book, check it out from the library whatever you have to do! eat your veggies, yum.

My first snowman has a chili for a nose! I loved him, I wish he could have stayed longer but he had to make some appearances so I understand, he was a rambling man. I never knew what work snowmen were! My first attempt was all wrong as my neighbor from New York informed me. I thought I could make a huge pile of snow and kind of sculpt my new man out of it. Boy was I totally wrong! I am not sure if that was a totally stupid assumption or just a Southern Californian idea probably a little bit of both or a lot of one, you decide. After my lesson we made a super snowman who Blake was too grumpy to name.

Last night I finished this amazing book. I have never read anything like it before it is so different and hilarious. I want Oskar to come and stay at my house, I want to make him some vegan cookies and have a little chat. I am going to be bummed to return this one to the library but I have requested Everything is Illuminated. I love the movie! I need more Johnathan Safran Foer books immediately. Zach and I were surprised to learn how young he is, maybe he wants to be my friend?
I started reading The Five People you Meet in Heaven I am halfway through and loving it. I want to know who I am going to meet in heaven. It is so thought provoking book already.
Read it, read it now!

Valentine Handmades

My favorite Valentine's Day picture, it fills me with love.

Hearts for Blake's friends at school

Cake Balls, a recipe that I think was created by the devil because they are so sinfully yummy. I made mine with strawberry cake and white chocolate. They are actually white and not yellow like the picture. I should have made sure to give them all away because I had cake balls for lunch yesterday. Healthy, right?

Acorns will adorn my waist

Before the craziness that is a snow storm we made it to the local thrift store to "find some good stuff" to quote Blake and we picked up..

an acorn belt because who does not need an acorn belt?

Oh, vintage books for the kids. Right for the kids... I think I will love them as much if not more than they will. I love to touch the pages of old books. And the cups, I love my new cups! Yes those are birds! I never want to sip tea out of a cup with out birds on it again! As Zach so sweetly asked me when I brought home a thrifted owl figurine "What do you think this is a freaking aviary?"
Simply, I wish.

red coat white snow

Could Cubby's red coat be anymore perfect for snow pictures? I had that in mind when I bought it.

After some convincing and a promise of a Grover movie and a fancy Valentine's Day dinner of cereal I got the boys to come outside. Layers and layers later we made it out! Blake wanted to wear a scarf more than anything in the world so I wrapped a scarf around him nice a snug. Apparently it was a little too snug because less than a minute later he was "choking so bad from his too tight scarf" It took some tweeking but now he "loves wearing scarves." This snow is so beautiful being from Southern California snow is something of a myth to us. The highway to our house is closed so Zach is stuck in town so this is going to be as romantic of a Valentine's day as I make it for myself. Overall it has been a good day; we ate cake balls, gave flowers to some thankful teachers, taught Cubs to say "Happy Va-en-tines" danced a lot, played in the snow, visited friends, bought books, got a kite, gave lots of kisses, played in the snow and had cereal for dinner!
Happy Valentine's Day!

Burrrrr

Blake's handknit hat. (I think I forgot to sew in the top)

It was supposed to stop raining at noon! It did stop raining and start snowing! We are NOT used to snow. The first sign of flakes, screaming, jumping, jackets, hats, outside. Cubby was less than thrilled that his butt was covered in snow the first time down the slide. We lasted all of 5 minutes. 2 hours later and it is still coming down. I am itching to go out but the wind is fierce and the fire is warm.