(In no particular order!)
1. Owen running around like crazy with the free ranging chickens. Especially when he was getting chased by Peepers. Hilarious!
2. Ara eating literally ANYTHING you put in front of her, notably garden tomatoes off the vine, beans, and her current favorite mandarins from Graham's Pear Shed.
3. Owen trying new foods recently, somewhat motivated by the bribe of Chris or I doing a backwards somersault. (Corn, salmon, fresh fruit!!!)
4. Meeting James Taylor. Yes. Oh yes. That happened this year. It was AMAZING!!! I kissed his cheek, talked to him, and sat next to him for 15 minutes. In case you missed out on knowing that tidbit of information. AND I've been mildly obsessed with him for 15+ years. So....
5. Traveling around California: Tahoe, Cisco Grove, Morro Bay, Bodega Bay, Escondido, San Diego, Disneyland, Glamis.
6. Owen shining through his hospital stay, making it through like a champ, and having so many family members and friends holding our hands and hearts the whole way.
7. Starting monthly dinners out with Chris and I. We have a fantastic sitter JUST for this purpose. It is quite fun to go anywhere just us!
8. This year Ara crawled and walked for the first time, and now runs and dances everywhere. Witnessing the developing child is just mind-boggling sometimes!!
9. Cousin time! Owen and Ara have had so much fun playing with their cousins Zoey, Mat, Elise, Ava, and Lily this year. Tahoe and Morro with Aubins and Disney with Mat was a magical experience for all. Hearing Zoey say A.Mae and Owen for the first time was super special!
10. All of the time spent with our close family. We have created so many memories this year with our family and we are beyond blessed to have most of them live closeby.
11. Life is good. This was really hard to actually narrow down into 10 memories.
Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind, Memories, sweetened through the ages just like wine, quiet though come floating down, and settle softly to the ground.
Like golden autumn leaves around my feet, I touched them and they burst apart with sweet memories, sweet memories.
Happy New Year, May the year ahead be light, shiny, happy, and healthy!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Homemade holidays
This This Christmas was just awesome! I've decided not to break down every last celebration as I usually do because I'm seriously pooped! 5 Christmases in 2 weeks is a lot, plus fun work parties and other family birthdays leaves the kids hungover on toys and other homes and is just hungover. I kid!! We have gotten a glimpse of decent sleep (talkin a 5 hour stretch once a week, wahoo!!) I'll take it!
This year I really attempted to make some gifts.... Last year with a new baby and limited mobility and owen on lock down I did a heck of a lot of online shopping. That happened this year as well but I also got crafty like it was my job !
Homemade sauerkraut
Mens shirt toddler frock and bow
Granola & bean soup mixes
Nanas reversible apron
Room scents to boil
Vanilla Rosemary lemon & thyme mint (from the property of course;)!
Vegan tart chewy and beautiful
This post was fun to put together but the crafts were more fun! I would like to say I met my goals but I didn't... I wanted to make a few frocks, a few sleeping bags, but the evening time was limited. So much fun to share homemade goodies!
Friday, December 26, 2014
Saturday, December 13, 2014
That Magic Moment
To quote the drifters.... there are many a magic moments these days. The magical moment last night was when Chris and I emerged from each child's bedroom with them on their way to dreamland. It's that feeling of relief, exhaustion, and happiness that comes when the beloved kiddos are asleep simultaneously. Let's face it, it is still kind of rare! And last night, they stayed asleep until 2 ish so we had some adult time! (not that we stayed awake that long, let's get REAL! We were up until a little after 1030).
I truly appreciate the teamwork on nights when Chris is home. The 3-4 nights a week that bedtime is my solo responsibility I really miss him! In all truth most nights I'm thankful that we have 2 babes and no more, ha!! They work me, challenge my energies like no other, even though I know I will look back on these nights (hopefully soon) and laugh at how busy they "were". But for now, it's a little chaotic, a little emotional (not just the kids, ha!), and not always smooth.
I really (don't) love when people tell me "She should be sleeping through the night by now" or "Why was he/she awake?" I really don't know. Believe me, I have changed the routine, changed the jammies, burned sage, eliminated foods, done my version of cry it out ("figure it out" I call it, with short timed amounts of some crying/talking yet not hysterical/escalated crying).... It gets better for a little while then gets loco again.
I'm pretty convinced that poor sleeping habits are genetic, as cousins were not good sleepers either...
The other magic moments lately...
Ara's receptive language is blowing our minds daily. She follows directions very well. It's super fun to ask her to "go grab the green toy," "follow brother into his room," "Grab your shoes please!" "Give brother a hug/kiss" Her words so far are: uh-oh, hi, bye, diaper, dad, mom, dog, pop, hot, hat, tick tick tick (tickle)... Not a lot of talking but wow it is seriously magic to watch her understand what you're saying!
Owen really enjoys the Christmas spirit, and learning about different holidays and celebrations. He is thriving at preschool, always commenting on the weather and nature. I just love his observations "Mom, it's such a beautiful morning....Mom, look at the moon. Wow, what a gorgeous sunset today." He always asks us "How was your night, mom? and Where are we going today?" He is very inquisitive... "But what would happen?"
I may complain/describe too much about the lack of sleep happening over here but as silly as it makes us it's proportionate to the love and enjoyment that these littles provide. So that's a BIG plus!!
I truly appreciate the teamwork on nights when Chris is home. The 3-4 nights a week that bedtime is my solo responsibility I really miss him! In all truth most nights I'm thankful that we have 2 babes and no more, ha!! They work me, challenge my energies like no other, even though I know I will look back on these nights (hopefully soon) and laugh at how busy they "were". But for now, it's a little chaotic, a little emotional (not just the kids, ha!), and not always smooth.
I really (don't) love when people tell me "She should be sleeping through the night by now" or "Why was he/she awake?" I really don't know. Believe me, I have changed the routine, changed the jammies, burned sage, eliminated foods, done my version of cry it out ("figure it out" I call it, with short timed amounts of some crying/talking yet not hysterical/escalated crying).... It gets better for a little while then gets loco again.
I'm pretty convinced that poor sleeping habits are genetic, as cousins were not good sleepers either...
The other magic moments lately...
Ara's receptive language is blowing our minds daily. She follows directions very well. It's super fun to ask her to "go grab the green toy," "follow brother into his room," "Grab your shoes please!" "Give brother a hug/kiss" Her words so far are: uh-oh, hi, bye, diaper, dad, mom, dog, pop, hot, hat, tick tick tick (tickle)... Not a lot of talking but wow it is seriously magic to watch her understand what you're saying!
Owen really enjoys the Christmas spirit, and learning about different holidays and celebrations. He is thriving at preschool, always commenting on the weather and nature. I just love his observations "Mom, it's such a beautiful morning....Mom, look at the moon. Wow, what a gorgeous sunset today." He always asks us "How was your night, mom? and Where are we going today?" He is very inquisitive... "But what would happen?"
I may complain/describe too much about the lack of sleep happening over here but as silly as it makes us it's proportionate to the love and enjoyment that these littles provide. So that's a BIG plus!!
A German Christmas
We had a fantastic Christmas celebration with Dad, The Heusers, Erik, and the Aubins. Minus one painful part in the day when Dave slipped and dislocated his elbow, and broke his radius!! Wynt beat feet and hustled him to the ER. NO FUN for them, but we relaxed and held down the fort. They arrived back at home with some pain meds on board and ready to eat some amazing food.
Papa and O being sillies
Uncle Erik and O on our way to the school on a nice afternoon walk
Sweet family
Gorgeous day
Seconds before Uncle Dave went to kick a ball and slipped...
Snugs with Auntie Lori
My Bro Cuz!
The kids had a relaxing technology filled afternoon
Buttery, made with love German food
The crew
Love!
Gift exchange
Our Menu was pretty amazing
Red cabbage
Homemade Sauerkraut
Brussels and shallots
Two kinds of verenix (like perogies) Apple and Potato
Schnitzel
Spaetzle
Streudel
It was the best spread yet. We always pick a theme and roll with it, we've done soups and salads, pizza, Italian, and German food. The soups and salads year was much healthier but this year was seriously grubbin'.
The good news is that Dave won't need surgery, whew! What a random injury, it was pretty bad, but grateful they still made it back to feast all together.
Our Menu was pretty amazing
Red cabbage
Homemade Sauerkraut
Brussels and shallots
Two kinds of verenix (like perogies) Apple and Potato
Schnitzel
Spaetzle
Streudel
It was the best spread yet. We always pick a theme and roll with it, we've done soups and salads, pizza, Italian, and German food. The soups and salads year was much healthier but this year was seriously grubbin'.
The good news is that Dave won't need surgery, whew! What a random injury, it was pretty bad, but grateful they still made it back to feast all together.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
We decorated our tree yesterday, and today is our first Christmas celebration of the season! This time of year always brings back so many fond memories of growing up. My parents did a fantastic job of emphasizing tradition, highlighting the nostalgia that comes a long with the holidays.
Decorating the tree growing up was quite a task. Once we had settled into the house on the hill Dad decided he wanted to get a big gianormous tree to fill up the entryway. And he did just that. I think most trees were 22-26 ft... So just getting the tree in the house and secured was quite an ordeal. It can be an ordeal even with a 6 foot tree!
After the tree had been tethered down to random points in the entry way with twine we started to decorate. With a ladder. Tinsel too. On my dad's side many ornaments were passed down, meaning many from Germany. Since his parents passed when I was very small I always felt like when we opened the many ornament boxes their spirits came out as well and helped us decorate. I would like to go through those boxes of ornaments someday and experience that again.
Our Christmases are a little more simple here. We have a 6 foot beautiful tree. We have 2 plastic tubs that house our decorations, christmas books, towels, and holiday wrap. I was thrilled last year to only have 1 tub of decor but then I wised up and packed up all the other stuff (towels, wrapping) that I didn't use throughout the year, so I am okay with having 2 tubs.
Owen really enjoyed looking at all of the ornaments, finding photo ones of himself "when he was a little baby". Ara had fun chewing on the fake fruit ornaments and putting them by the tree.
Today is the Schledewitz German Christmas at the Aubins and Erik has flown in from Texas! So excited to gather today!
Decorating the tree growing up was quite a task. Once we had settled into the house on the hill Dad decided he wanted to get a big gianormous tree to fill up the entryway. And he did just that. I think most trees were 22-26 ft... So just getting the tree in the house and secured was quite an ordeal. It can be an ordeal even with a 6 foot tree!
After the tree had been tethered down to random points in the entry way with twine we started to decorate. With a ladder. Tinsel too. On my dad's side many ornaments were passed down, meaning many from Germany. Since his parents passed when I was very small I always felt like when we opened the many ornament boxes their spirits came out as well and helped us decorate. I would like to go through those boxes of ornaments someday and experience that again.
Our Christmases are a little more simple here. We have a 6 foot beautiful tree. We have 2 plastic tubs that house our decorations, christmas books, towels, and holiday wrap. I was thrilled last year to only have 1 tub of decor but then I wised up and packed up all the other stuff (towels, wrapping) that I didn't use throughout the year, so I am okay with having 2 tubs.
Owen really enjoyed looking at all of the ornaments, finding photo ones of himself "when he was a little baby". Ara had fun chewing on the fake fruit ornaments and putting them by the tree.
Today is the Schledewitz German Christmas at the Aubins and Erik has flown in from Texas! So excited to gather today!
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Trailer time... Again!
Blogging took a backseat the last couple weeks. We were prepping for a trip to the imperial desert (glamis) 650 miles away, almost to the Mexican border.
Chris planned this trip over a year ago, when Ara was first born. I like to think that we were a little over-zealous and for sure overly confident in our parenting and coordinating abilities. As we got closer and closer to the trip I had a lot of dread and anticipation even though I knew it was something Chris has really been looking forward to.
I'm going to let the photos do the talking instead of giving a day by day play by play... Also because the days kinda blurred together! When you're living in very close quarters with 4 people and playing in the sand all day without agenda the time goes slowly.
The sunsets were just gorgeous and the lighting was really beautiful. I'm hoping for a new flash for xmas to up the photo quality.
These two rolled all over the desert.
I took a lot of photos of the children, this post is just a fraction of them.
Chris had a minor mishap with the hub/lugnuts on the rear tire, requiring a second trip into town. This was after his morning trip into town to run a diagnostic test on his truck as the check engine light came on about 60 miles into our trip. "Town" was about 40 minutes away.
My sweet boy adventuring.
Sand. Seriously. Everywhere.
Contemplating the dunes and their expanse.
One happy duning daddy.
Seriously these desert skies were to live for!
My hearts!
Britton Selfie
The ice cream truck drove by every 30 minutes starting at 8am... Chris and Amanda had these about 7 years ago, so of course I had to re-create it!
Owen had about 20 licks of this gigantic rocket pop
The more RV trips we take the more prep I do ahead of time, meal wise. Our dinner menu this trip was: zpie, turkey lettuce wraps, chili and cornbread, polenta, pizza (trader joes dough) and Baked salsa chicken. I did cook aka throw together this yummy breakfast of apples, quinoa, steel cut oats, almonds, cinnamon, coconut oil, and apple juice. It was really yummy.
These gals set up quite the outdoor kitchen for cooking up the greasy stuff you don't want hanging out in your trailer, bacon and sausage.
Goof!
Chris and O racing around a bowl.
So much fun! Owen would protest a ride for a while, shed a few tears, and then have a total blast once in the RZR. Chris converted a booster seat plus the 5 point restraint system plus an awesome helmet. The coolest thing (that I was a little grumbly about to be honest) was the intercom system. We could listen to music and then if one of us talked it cut out over the music and we could hear each other. This was KEY for communication with each other, but especially with kids. Also we used CB's that were tied into the intercom system as well. Pretty sweet even though I was resistant to the investment (ha, me frugal? go figure...)
THIS BOY! He has a history of disliking loud noises, even with things he loves like monster trucks, and racing cars. He ROCKED the Drag races on Saturday night. He was dancing around, clapping, and just having the time of his life watching the cars race down the strip.
A "duner" as Owen called it.
People lined up for at least 200 yards along side the drags.
Driving time was 11:56, travel time was about 14 hours.
Trailer kids
Chillin in the sand.
Two thumbs up!
Wood is so enticing you know.
She napped well but was up 3+ times per night.
Yet another gorgeous sky.
Tarantula home?
caged them sometimes to avoid chasing them in opposite directions.
Morning skies also quite amazing.
We camped with some old friends who seemed to know about 30 trailers around us. They are retired and have been there a month are staying 3 weeks into december.
Owen had a blast coloring outside with his friend Krista.
Crusty morning snuggle faces full of love. So glad to have so much time with my bests.
Awesome Auntie Amanda & Ara. She watched sis so we could go to the drags, so cool!
Sometimes you need a rest in the sand.
And a wrestle.
And a roll.
And an attack.
Josh and Sandy cruising nearby.
There are no hookups, you have to haul everything in and out. There are flatter areas where people park, but nowhere to dump your waste, fill up or dump water, etc. So we were pretty conservative with our water usage. I've never smelled stinky feet on a baby, but after wearing tennis shoes every day for a week, Ara's feet were ranky. We did bathe the kids a few times, and Chris and I took 2 brief and efficient showers... Yipes!
Another example of the trailers lining the desert. They kept coming in, more each day. Holiday weeks are big duning traditions in the sand toy world.
Profile pic of my handsome hus.
The dunes have a mysterious sense of beauty and calm. This may or may not be felt while on a RZR ride. Sometimes it feels like Mr. Toads wild ride.
As soon as we pulled up I immediately had a huge sense of relief. All of the preparation, anticipation, etc of the trip melted away. The kids really do well in the car, although O needs detox of the kindle after every road trip. He does well with books and a white board as well, but of course prefers technology.
The lows of the trip included Paul injuring his knee prior to the trip, having a trailer mishap on the way, our check engine light on, hub issue, extremely long truck ride, sore back for me, cooking a plastic cutting board on accident, and multiple wake ups at night.
The highs of course were many!!! Arabelle loved the sensory experience, as well as meeting new people. Owen played in the sand all day long, and slept 7-7 most nights. The campfires were relaxing and we met many new very kind people. The food was good, the company great. I finished a book I'd been working on for a few months, as well as 10+ magazines. I got a 3 mile solo run in and almost daily walks. Nana and I had some downtime with the kids. Papa and Ara had many cuddles. Chris got some dune riding in, riding the sand highway to the mexico/US border. We had some belly laughs playing hide and go seek in Nana and Papas trailer. Ara started saying Uh-oh. Owen was a quiet rider, saying "I just love you guys" many times over the intercom while riding. We would sing songs and quote the Cars and Planes movies. We were in bed most nights by 930, really feeling the effects of the time change a month ago, plus being out in the sun all day we were like chickens roosting when the sun went down. Plus the majority of the people camping around us were retired and early to bed. Owen learned what the word nutritious meant and spent a lot of the drive asking "Is ______ nutritious?" Of course that made me VERY happy. He is slowly realizing a lot of his preferences aren't in the very nutritious category...
A wonderful trip! I'm looking forward to hunkering down, enjoying the holidays and prep and family time around here, where we only drive 30-45 minutes to get to our destinations!
I'm going to let the photos do the talking instead of giving a day by day play by play... Also because the days kinda blurred together! When you're living in very close quarters with 4 people and playing in the sand all day without agenda the time goes slowly.
Another amazing sunset
The lows of the trip included Paul injuring his knee prior to the trip, having a trailer mishap on the way, our check engine light on, hub issue, extremely long truck ride, sore back for me, cooking a plastic cutting board on accident, and multiple wake ups at night.
The highs of course were many!!! Arabelle loved the sensory experience, as well as meeting new people. Owen played in the sand all day long, and slept 7-7 most nights. The campfires were relaxing and we met many new very kind people. The food was good, the company great. I finished a book I'd been working on for a few months, as well as 10+ magazines. I got a 3 mile solo run in and almost daily walks. Nana and I had some downtime with the kids. Papa and Ara had many cuddles. Chris got some dune riding in, riding the sand highway to the mexico/US border. We had some belly laughs playing hide and go seek in Nana and Papas trailer. Ara started saying Uh-oh. Owen was a quiet rider, saying "I just love you guys" many times over the intercom while riding. We would sing songs and quote the Cars and Planes movies. We were in bed most nights by 930, really feeling the effects of the time change a month ago, plus being out in the sun all day we were like chickens roosting when the sun went down. Plus the majority of the people camping around us were retired and early to bed. Owen learned what the word nutritious meant and spent a lot of the drive asking "Is ______ nutritious?" Of course that made me VERY happy. He is slowly realizing a lot of his preferences aren't in the very nutritious category...
A wonderful trip! I'm looking forward to hunkering down, enjoying the holidays and prep and family time around here, where we only drive 30-45 minutes to get to our destinations!