Wordless Wednesday

52 weeks of me and my children #6

Here is week #1, #2, #2.5 , #3, #4and #5.

Silas has discovered two things this week, his tongue and the ability to stick it out, well as far as he can because he is tongue tied, and he also discovered his reflection. He is just giddy over both of these things :)

And this would be my I just scrubbed a toilet look...btw, do boys pee with their eyes shut?) Since the haircut I have to rock a headband during the day around the house, the hair in my eyes can slowly drive me mad. I also found hair in my eyes during a photo session is not so cool either.

But Silas was being his sweet self and I had to grab the camera. I combed his hair up after his bath and it stayed like this all day!

SO...I have not been in the blogging mood, much like tang-soo-do, clarinet, tai-chi and knitting, it will probably be yet another thing I will not stick with :) I will at least do this 52 week project, but I am realizing it's not easy with my older two boys! They are hard to get to sneal a picture with! Silas is an easy target.

I also think it is because I have been so busy, playing outside mostly with my kiddos. Hanging out at the playground, new free sprinkler parks, playing in the woods etc...and I have worked a lot these last few weeks and I am waaay behind on editing photo sessions...this is causing me some stress...anyway I am sure when the cooler weather comes I will be blogging more..it just fell back on my list of priorities.
I think most people tend to be on the computer less in the summer months...

Wordless Wednesday...ok, it was supposed to be wordless....

Ok, not so wordless....My husband is the real gardener, I help him water :) But when he read an article about planting veggies right out of a bag of soil, I was a bit leary...mostly b/c of how unsightly I thought it would be...
























But it is working beautifully and you can barely see the plastic bag! We are getting a lot of cucumbers and I love how they grow up my porch :)























We get little to no sun in our back yard so my husband removed shrubs from the small front yard (I do not like shrubs!) and turned it into our veggie garden!
















There are a ton of cherry and grape tomatoes growing and teasing us by s-l-o-w-l-y turning ripe for us to eat!

Here is a photo from last month. It is funny b/c we live on a street where every house is kinda on the perfect side...perfectly edged and weedless lawns (chemicals!), perfectly trimmed hedges and shrubs, weeded flower plots, etc, and then there is our house :) We like the motto of "eat your yard", some urban, ok, suburban gardening. We like "weeds" and prefer to call them by their real names! Most weeds are wild edibles that we eat!















It's nice though b/c most neighbors complimented us on how it looks nice :) Even there there is sooo much that needs to be to the outside of the house and yard....don;t even get me started....oh my, and then there are the inside projects...

52 weeks of me and my children #5

Here is week #1, #2, #2.5 , #3 and #4....

Silent Saturday

I have lost my blogging-mojo....just not enough time or motivation these days...

Wordless Wednesday

A sunset walk in the woods...

52 weeks of me and my children #4

My youngest nephew got married on Friday! This was a photo my husband took before the wedding. I was their wedding photographer, and just before it began I traded my husband my camera for the baby so I could nurse him. Max is not in the picture b/c he had a meltdown and a sudden case of shyness, which is rare for him. He was seriously hiding behind a giant planter crying that he did not want to go in. After some bribery and allowing him to bring the gameboy into the ceremony, he was ok. But my husband had to get up and leave the sanctuary 3 minutes after it started b/c Sam then had a meltdown over something and the baby started crying...

Here is week #1, #2, #2.5 and #3....

It's been a busy busy week! Other than editing photos, I have had hardly any computer time...but this is a good thing. Although I have not blogged, I am enjoying being on here less and less and prefer to spend time in the yard, garden, at the pool, park, etc, etc.... :)

52 weeks of me and my children #3

Here is week #1, #2 and #2.5...

so I was hoping to post these each Sunday, I am behind already on week 3... this is the only new image of me and one of the kids, Sam (4) took it yesterday :) then he took 50 pictures of the cat and his cantaloupe....

Truthful Tuesdays

I like this idea :)
I am borrowing it from Little Acorn Learning's Blog.

"I challenge you to take one day a week to get real and let the perfectionism go. A photo - a confession - a truth... the not-so-perfect of your life."

"Truthful Tuesdays: a new weekly challenge. One that reflects the realness and truth of the lives we live. There are so many beautiful and inspirational blogs out there reflecting all of our beautiful moments... But there are other moments too. The moments we are all less likely to take photos of. The baby that just won't stop screaming... the messy house ... the dishes overflowing... the way too many to-do's on our lists.... the fight with our spouse... and much bigger truths that we all deal with. Just one day a week I ask you to share a Truth... a photo - a confession - ... the not-so-perfect of your life."

So here goes...
























My refrigerator is my dirty secret of the week. Hey, I am starting off small here...So maybe you cannot tell from this photo, but it really, really, really needs scrubbed down, inside and out.

I can blame my mom, who used to scrub hers twice a week with bleach...it kinda made me never want to clean mine...and boy oh boy does it need it. I use the excuse that we need to get a new fridge, but I have been using that excuse for far too long. I use that excuse for my whole kitchen, we have been planning to remodel it for years...

Currently it is packed full of veggies and I am not a fan of side-by-side doors, there is never enough room...and then my husband brought home a case of Synergy Kombucha to clog it up even more...

I shared my lovely mess before...

Summer solstice, green smoothies, three months and baltic amber...

lol....too much for one post? nah!

















Summer Solstice Blessings! It is the 1st day of Summer! We started our summer off with a morning dance party in the living room, because my boys love to dance, and what better way to start the day!

















Then we had green smoothies for breakfast... (strawberry, banana, spinach, spirulina, bee pollen)
























And now I am preparing a big salad of lettuce from our garden for lunch! I think I will add strawberries and walnuts and home made strawberry vinaigrette! I have a flat of strawberries that needs to be used asap!

I am so happy my kids love salads! And they really devour it if I make it with a sweet dressing and add some fruit :)

















Also, my sweet baby Silas is three months old! Weighing in at 16lb and 13oz! Technically he was 12 weeks last Tuesday and was born on March 23rd...

He is such a happy baby, smiling all day long. He sleeps all night, most of the time, but since we co-sleep if he does wake up I just roll over and nurse and we both fall back asleep. He likes riding in the car, loves to be worn in a sling or carrier, but also likes the stroller when I am not able to carry him.

He is already rolling from belly to back and back to belly. He has a super strong neck and enjoys his tummy time! Sadly though, we can no longer just plop him on the couch or bed for fear of him rolling away. I already gave our swing and bouncy away (he was no longer a fan and it was nice to rid ourselves of them) so when I am not carrying him he is on the floor playing under his gym thing.

I am going to post separately about our adventures in EC'ing, but I am really learning how simple it is to follow his cues and have been doing pretty good at catching his pee in the potty! His brothers think it is hilarious and my husband is getting good at following his cues too!























A couple of days ago I received his baltic amber teething necklace from here! They were offering 50% off to first time baltic amber buyers. I think they are so cute!

"Baltic amber is a natural resin, not a gem or stone. Its key ingredient, succinic acid, enables the amber to warm to the body’s natural temperature whereupon it releases it healing and pain relieving oils. Easily absorbed into the skin, the amber then continues its passage into the blood stream where it provides the child’s own immune system and provides calm and peace."

You can learn more about them here!







































We will be spending our day playing in the little pool in the yard and running through the sprinkler. I am going to make a light dinner of sauteed spinach, zucchini and mushrooms with some marinated tofu. And later we will be taking a barefoot, moonlit walk on one of our favorite trails in the woods!

A Final Homecoming...

Today I took part in the final homecoming of a fallen soldier. Robert Fike was killed 10 days ago in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber and today our small community came together and lined the streets, flags in hand, to welcome him home.

Although I did not know this man, or his family, I still wanted to show my respects and give my thanks. Robert had a 12 year old daughter, I am sure this Father's Day will forever be etched into her memory. I wanted her to see the support and love as she rode in the line of cars.

I took this photo from where I stood up on the hill...and I must say being a "photographer" at such an emotional time was not easy. I only took one photo, out of respect for the men and woman surrounding me, who stood crying. And although I did not know him, I could not hold back my tears.























Today I'd like to remember those Father's who are serving our country and remember their children and wives who await their safe return.

We Love you Daddy!

My husband and our boys.


















(My Dad who died after a hard battle with Cancer 10 years ago, this was a few months before he passed)

From 2000 to 2003, Father's Day was really hard for me, all I could think about was the death and absence of my father...I could only replay that moment in the hospital where we held his hands and told him it was ok to go...and then he did...

A few years after his death, my 1st son was born and Father's Day brought on a whole new meaning. I began remembering the good times when my Dad was alive...not focusing on his pain and death and I got to celebrate my husband and the wonderful Father he was and is....

So today, rather than writing in words all the reasons my husband is so wonderful, I will just share photos that really touch my heart. He is truly amazing and I am ever grateful for my babies Daddy :)

We have club houses!

Ok, more memories of my childhood! My family never bought new appliances, but we had neighbor's that did! And when they would unload them we always got to take the big boxes to play with. With a good imagination these boxes were houses, ships, buses, planes, puppet stages, or in my case, a TV that we would get in and act out shows :) My brother and I would play in here for hours and days until they were destroyed and we had to toss them.























Well we had a fun coincidence this morning, while I was unloading the washer in the basement to hang out the cloth diapers, my son Max was nosing around the basement and wanted to gather scraps to build a playhouse. I was sad to tell him it was not going to work and maybe we could get out the play parachute and old sheets and make a playhouse or teepee in the yard. This was not a good idea according to him. So then I said maybe we will come across a giant box to play in and his was response was an "uh-huh, sure mom...."
















Well just a few hours later when I came home from the farmers market my neighbors were getting a delivery of new furniture, and there in the street were two HUGE boxes! The power of positive thought in action!

They are big enough for them each to have their own clubhouses! So I ran up my steps and asked my husband to help me get them. The delivery guy was more than happy to not have to break them down to put into his truck. And my neighbors thought it was so wonderful for us to let the kids play with them. We chatted about how her girls, now grown, LOVED boxes :)
















First I had to tape the flaps open to make them bigger and then I cut out working doors and windows. I let the boys decide where and what shapes the windows and doors should be. They are out there now with markers decorating them and we are going to get out the paints and paint them too! Max created these security access cards (id cards he had made at a Chuck E. Cheese party :) that he passed out to those who are allowed into his secret clubhouse.
















I just love seeing their faces light up as their imaginations spark with new ideas! Between these and the pool and slip-n-slide, we should keep pretty occupied on this hot Saturday!

Wishing you all a creative and fun weekend!

New fun activity with my kids!

Please tell me you remember this show! Well today something made me think about it so I had to youtube it and show a few clips to my kids. And then my 6 yo son says, "oh, is that what Wipeout was like in the olden days!?" Very funny kid.

Well, this turned into hours of fun in our back yard creating obstacle courses! My kids were pretty creative setting them up, and my husband and I both did all of the courses :) They did not want to stop and talked about it while I tucked them in.

I forgot how much fun I had doing this as a kid! My brother and I would run the courses and time each other....wow, we spent hours making them. When he was busy I would make courses for my collie to do!

I do not have any photos because this was just one of those times where I had to leave the camera in the house. I have been making an effort to really live in the moment with my kids and not view it through a lens.

But I think Max used the Flip to tape his Dad and I doing the course, I will post that later...

Crayfish, Salamanders and Dragonflies, OH MY!

Today, after going to the grocery store for food for our picnic in the park, and after going in the $ store for cat food, [b/c I managed to forget it in the grocery store...something to do with a baby flipping out in the sling and Max running the cart into the back of my leg and Sam having to go pee twice in 15 minutes (he never went the 1st time, according to his brother who went in with him, he played in the sink instead) I managed to forget catfood]... and after the cartwheel in yet another store incident, see last post... we went to the park and I let it all go and regressed to a seven year old and taught my children the joy of wading in the "crick" (thats how we yinzers in Pittsburgh call it) aka, stream or creek. We have done this quite a few times in this same creek, but today was just different for some reason...
















It took me back to childhood when we would play in the woods and creek by my grandparents house ALL DAY!
















I taught them how to s-l-o-w-l-y turn over the large rocks and to look for crayfish and salamanders.






















We also watched some gorgeous green and blue luminescent dragonflies all around us. We also learned a bit about the bird-n-the-bees when they kept mating and an older kid kept pointing out how they were "doin-it"....thanks kid.... but I must say, it was quite interesting to me and my mom-in-law too, we found ourselves being quite the voyers into their private moment :) and if that was not bad enough I had to take pictures of it...
















(they almost form a heart when her tail end goes over his head and his tail end...ok, yeah, you get the picture :)


















My mother in law met us at the park and tended to the baby so I could really spend some time with my older boys.
















The boys got to see their first crayfish, which Max insisted were scorpions, and we also spotted salamanders, watched water spiders and their cool shadows, chased after little minnows and rescued a few caterpillars stranded on the rocks...

































It was also quite refreshing to submerge my toesies in the cold waters!

After playing in the creek we had our picnic lunch of watermelon, nectarines and BING cherries! The boys also played in the water fountain to cool off more.