the funny thing about blogging

sometimes it's about the three glorious moments of the day.

 i blog about them so all those other moments

(like trantrum-puke moments, fat lip and nose bleed moments, mommy yelling, 

pee bed, cheerios stuck to my feet, cleaning poop out of the little potty again moments) 

just fade into the 

oblivion (aka the fuzzy chasm in my brain).

i figure i put other stuff into oblivion, like our passports and people's birthdays,

why not put all those not-funny-bring-me-to-my-knees moments there as well.

...

sometimes i'll just put the moments i love here.

for my sake, really.

stuff i'm figuring out and more.

hair: i've just discovered my short hair totally looks better when it's a little dirty.  i'm not trying to make you laugh here.  my clean hair is fluffy and kind of boring, sans personality, if you get my drift.  i even bought some product, "dirty clean" by l'oreal.   i wish the same principle applied to my house (laugh here).  

new rule: i have a new rule for myself, organise something every day.  i think it's a good rule. the thing can be as simple as a sock drawer or as mountain-ish as the pantry.  things on my to do list include, but are not limited to, the kids dressers, under the bathroom sink, and my spice nook.  note to myself: this is not a cleaning thing; it's a function thing (sometimes i clean while i'm at it).  I organized the tupperware cupboard at 10:30 friday evening.  i'm really living over here! 

pumping down: bo's term, "pumping down" holds some mystery in my life.  he uses it on average, 2-3 times a day.  his diego bike is "pumping down"  so were his boots when they were on the wrong feet.  sometimes he uses it to describe extreme fatigue and hunger.  i try to throw it out from time to time,"mommy is feeling really pumping down right now, can you go play downstairs?" the kids look at me like i have two heads.  i asked him what "pumping down" means and he replied with, "because it's the pumper."  i think we might be looking at bo's f-word, people.

advil:  i don't imagine advil (or the off brand i buy) is an ideal permanent solution for molar discomfort.  i should probably call my dentist.  right?

boys and chips:  they are a thing, right?  it's not just mine.  bo is a lovely child in almost every situation but put a bowl of "spicy" chips on the table and the child turns stingy and mean.  he has been known to wrap his arms around a party bowl and give looks that kill.  another one of his techniques, recently used when asked to share was to take a bite of every chip before giving it to someone.  the other evening we were sharing a meal with friends, bo started with his chip routine and i started to get on him when the "mister" of the house was like, "it's ok, i'm addicted to the crunch too."  thanks, b-rad, i needed that.          

some ispiration:  thank you pinterest for fill my head with all kinds of nonsense.  i adore this photo.  it's so familiar and comfortable, i think that girl might actually be me... in the future.  i am currently and actively in the market for the perfect striped shirt, overalls and a ukulele for each of the kids and let me tell you, i would so pick up that coffee table if i found it on the side of the road.

image via

today makes 9

this afternoon i picked up the phone.

it was a guy we know -

an acquaintance, really.
(i recently heard this guy described as "busting with life").
he asked for gary.

i said he wasn't home.

he asked about the kids.

i asked about his.

the end was near.

and then he said...

"ok, go have the best day of your life."

...

it sort of took my breath away

...

so, happy "best day of my life," gary.

i love being married to you.

collections

 do you have a collection?  

collections were a big deal when i was growing up.

my mom baby brother collected pez.

another brother collected gi joe's.

one of my friends collected pigs (smile).

gary collects white hand towels with a shark-thing on it,

 i mean an orca (tee hee, g hates when i call it a shark).

i've dabbled in a few collections.

but nothing, until recently, really ever stuck

...

today, i would say my collections include:

1. rocks my kids give me.

 

these little guys are a few of my favorite.  

see the one that looks like a fish!

that's gotta be worth something.

i even have a few prize chunks of wood.

i also adore schleich animals.

my kids play with them in any and all capacities: 

dirt, mud, playdough, paint, bubble baths.

i love seeing them in their apartments, on the porch, in the sink, on the ledge in the tub, 

even on the floor.

I never get tired seeing these little guys, 

stepping on them is another story.  

and most recently, 

we've been collecting books (like they are free or something).

it has been really really fun.

we are making friends with the canpar driver

and i am watching my kids develop an excitement and appreciation for books.

the neat thing is, 

 with these books what they are really developing is a love for learning. 

 we all have our favorites and i hope to blog here and there about books we are love'n most.

right now, the whole fam is digg'n our puzzle adventure books 

(not to worry, they are not pain-in-the-behind jigsaw books).

 i love watching my kids follow the clues, investigate and put together the information they see to figure out the puzzles.  they are perfect for my kids ages and the stories seem to fuel lots of imaginative play 

it's a win win!   

oh and you got to see this,  it's really cool.

thanks, mrs. prang!

friday

can you believe that day.

it was incredible.  

and while a day at the lake would have been great,

i stayed home and loved.

every moment.

something about the sun makes it really hard to say goodbye to dad.

(right jane-z)

we stayed outside nearly all day long.  

we had lots of little friends pop in.

i may have run an errand that included six ice cream cones and six small fries.

my kids taught our guests about fries in ice cream and all that jazz.  

while the kids rode their bikes, i cleaned my beds, my flower beds.  

now that i'm not nursing an infant i think i am really going to love working in the garden.

i'm not sure what the correlation is but it is there.

oregano and thyme, anyone?

as the afternoon started to turn into start-thinking-about-dinner-time 

i may have given my children popsicles.  

and they may have been pedialyte ones cause they were all i had.  

judge all you'd like, i've done worse.

char got her hair cut recently and i think she is actually cuter.

i didn't think it was possible.

my kids were so happy all day.

we barb-b-q'd dogs for dinner.

and then

i went to a movie.

...

i'm thinking about friday because 

today

was 

different.

i may have bitten jane.

...

happy weekend.

spring has sprung

so we did what you do when the sun comes out to play.

we hung up our rain coats, 

put on our sneakers,

grabbed our bikes and 

 met friends at the park. 

monday my love

this morning something in my spirit said in a deep authoritative voice,

"when your 4 year old folds an entire basket of towels 

do not refold!"

(even if the towels don't fit or display properly).

and i was like "i wouldn't dream of it."

 because i love 

in every cell of my being.

i take it here, i take it there.

i take it everywhere.

me and my new kiondos 

we're a new pair.

(sorry, i'm in a mood).  

i love it more every day. 

i call this my band of penance.

it's from twigg and bek, aka my very talented friend, jesse.

it's just what you need if you have mocked headbands 

in front of someone wearing a headband.  

if you too, find yourself in this situation, you should probably go here.

or you can go to the bellingham farmer's market and repent and band up.

that's what i did.

for a headband, i love. 

case of mangos:

$5.98.

love.

my kids reading.

all. the. time.

love. love. love.

char figured out the hipstamatic on my iphone.

love.

bo.

love.

in peace i go

give credit, where credit is due

i think i've actually said something along these lines before:

"oh, gary can't take a decent photo to save his life."

first of all, shame on me, that is just mean-ness!
(g, thanks for always forgiving me!)

because secondly, most of the photos from my last couple of posts were all taken by g.

he can definitely save his life...
...

these photos were taken at pikes place market, downtown seattle, this weekend.

i still cannot believe the puppy's owner let my 22 month old hold this baby chiwawa.  

as you can see, she took it all very seriously.

...

i i think if i would have seen the first photo of char, i would have emptied my wallet and brought that little purse-dog home.  

it's probably a good thing i didn't.

warning: heart-break ahead

this is my nephew, tibbyus.

he is the stink'n cutest and most handsome 

one year-old on the planet.

his momma planned a world-class family day at the seattle aquarium to celebrate his birthday.

we had so much fun and the goody bags were epic - epic, i tell ya!  

thanks lekina!  

also, she's got cutie pie number two in the oven right now!

i can't wait!

i try to get as many kisses from "mr. tibbs" as possible.

i really want him to like me. 

maybe i try too hard.  the headband might have been overkill.

 i'm pretty sure he's more into his super cool cousins than hang'n out with his weird, head-bandy aunt.

he's like, "no, really, i'm good!"

 "mooom, she won't let go."

"yeah, you just stay there."

...

happy birthday sweet little man!  

i love you to the moon!