Good morning Saturday

Thank you for blessing us with extra zzzzz's. All three kids slept in until 8:30am which was huge and appreciated.
Adelle and I put on our boots and ventured right out to the raspberry bushes in the backyard to pick fresh berries while the boys snuggled on the couch in front of a movie.

The berries were waiting for us! We got a few cups picked and then sat on the lawn eating our fair share before coming inside.

Once inside I went to work making fresh raspberry rhubarb jam.

How did I do it?
5 cups rhubarb + 2 cups sugar (stir in large pot over medium heat until liquified)
Once rhubarb has all broken down (about 15 minutes) add 2 cups rasberries bring to boil and stir until it starts to thicken.
Remove from heat.
Add 1 packet Knox Original unflavored gelatin
Pour into hot jars
Seal

Homemade bread from the day before + fresh, warm, scrumptious jam =

Happy breakfast devourer #1

Happy Breakfast devourer #2

my poor calves

Yesterday morning at 6:00am my cousin Wendy (visiting from Coronado, CA) and I took my sister's step aerobic class at the Bellingham YMCA. It was intense! My sister's class is tough stuff and I can barely walk today.
It's the best feeling!
Lesha! I knew you were super talented but why did you not tell me that your step class is phenomenal??
Friday morning the sun was shining when we left my house at 5:30am. It was beautiful. The workout was so invigorating and afterward I felt like an energized new woman.
I couldn't believe how I felt. I walk almost daily, I even attempt running,...and yet this was like hard-core one hour of aerobic mind saving exercise.
The class is at the Bellingham YMCA on Friday mornings at 6:00am.
It costs $7. My first thought was, "what a rip!" That thought vanished quickly and was replaced by, "I rarely ever spend money on myself, really ...I can use $7 a week just for me and be o.k with that."
So I will.
I'd love for you to join and I know it will be worth the $7. If you are already a member of the Y then even better.
You deserve it!
*special thanks to Wendy for convincing we go check it out and for also insisting we go straight to Great Harvest bread afterward for breakfast! I devoured that raspberry pound cake "sample".*

life is good

yesterday
jeff got home
we packed up the kids
went for a nice long walk
stopped by some friends
played
made another stop
ran in flipflops
ate "free for all" leftover Father's Day dinner
counted our blessings
bathed the kids
put them to bed
ate jelly bellies
layed outside
under the clouds
listened to the apples falling off the tree
cuddled
talked about or dreams
had a tickle war
hit the hay
life is good

Anyone can be a Father...

but it takes someone extra groovy to be a dad!

it takes someone extra kind...extra gentle....

extra loving and helpful....

someone extra "real" and forgiving...

it takes someone willing to sit on a rock and enjoy the simple pleasures.
I'm thankful that Jeff is my children's dad.
They are so blessed!

Can't wait!

These beautiful cousins of ours are coming to visit us next week! We can't wait! These two girls love babies and we can't wait to introduce them to Emmett. This top picture was the last time we saw them. The day after Adelle was born. From left to right Adelle, Elena, Braxton, Julia, Carson.
Elena and baby Adelle
Julia (aka mini mommy) with baby Adelle
Elena, baby Braxton and Julia.
Stay tuned for our fun visit and lots of pictures of these girls with Emmett....that is if Braxton and Adelle are willing to share:)

well put

Braxton, "mom, you've got to see this."
I stop loading the dishwasher and walk out back to see Adelle soaking wet. She looks up at me and smiles.
Braxton, "she's crazy, huh mom. She doesn't even care what you say!"

I'm convinced

Ignorance is bliss

but

knowledge is power

Can you have both at the same time? Is one "better" than another? I feel like I am both, in different areas. I even feel like I am both in the same areas!? Is that possible? In some areas I'm glad I'm ignorant (for my heart rates sake). In other areas I feel thankful for knowledge I've acquired.
That's all I've got. I've just been pondering these thoughts recently. I won't expand for lack of time, energy, more important things to do like play hide n' seek with my kids...
what are your thoughts?
Would you rather be blissful or Powerful?

sup?

interpretation: what's up?
I can't look at this picture without laughing. I was putting Adelle down for nap and left Braxton in charge of Emmett. I come out to this, "look at Emmett mom. He likes them(the sunglasses)."
"Let's take a picture of all of us mom because Emmett looks really cool."
Emmett is a bubba! He is so stinkin' chunky and yet....so were Braxton and Adelle. How soon we forget these things.
Emmett continues to be Mr. Popular around here. He is such a happy baby and so giggly when Braxton and Adelle are around. He is always entertained by them, that is for sure.
Our growing baby. Blue eyes and all!

What's your vote?

Little miss Adelle got a slip n' slide for her birthday! The weather hasn't exactly been slip n' slide accommodating but that hasn't stopped us from having fun.

Who do you think is enjoying this body bruising sport the most?

a. lay down, look cute, get pulled down the slide, repeat....


b. the wetter the better in any weather

c. my face is getting wet! my face is getting wet!

d. smooth as butter water rider

Happy Birthday Adelle

Dear Adelle
Happy 2nd Birthday
I knew the sun would shine today
You have this special little way of making everything around you shine.

After you were born I was so energized. My adrenalin was going
and I felt like a million bucks!
You came so quickly and "easily"
Today, after your 2nd birthday party and weekend of birthday festivities...
I'm pooped!
Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate this beautiful girl!

"In a minute"

Have you ever said that and really meant it? Have you ever said that and really known it would be way longer than a minute?
I will confess, I have done both!
Today however, I really meant in one minute.
The kids and I had just gotten home from Costco and I was multi-tasking (unloading the car, making lunch, eating chips & hummus, cutting vegetables, unloading the dishwasher...). Braxton asked if he and Adelle could go outside and play. A few minutes later Adelle comes in and Braxton asks me, "mom want to come watch my play baseball?" My immediate response, "yes I do, in just a minute ok." I really anticipated getting lunch done and setting up a picnic out in the yard and watching him play his game in roughly a minute.
What happened next still makes my head spin. Emmett immediately woke up in his car-seat, where he had fallen asleep on the way home from Costco, and was hungry. I got him out, nursed him and as I was holding him after he nursed he burps and then poos. Like really big poo until I can feel poo on my lap. Yesterdays poo combined with today's poo all over both of us...
So I start to change him and finally surrender to the fact that he must be bathed. Now! Into the bathroom we go. Into the tub.
Next Adelle comes in and see's Emmett in the tub and decides she wants in too! I strip her down to find she has also pooed. I change her and now she just wants to be naked without getting in the tub. So she runs off with no clothes and takes Emmett's towel with her. I get Emmett washed up and go to grab the towel which is gone. Silly Adelle comes running in with her cute little self in the towel "cape".
The three of us go into Adelle's room where I lotion them up and put diapers on them. Next time I will remember to put Emmett's diaper on before the lotion but after being pooed on it didn't really phase me when he sprayed my shirt. After Adelle gets her diaper on she decides she is ready for milk. Ok, yes, she still nurses too. Just at home, not a big deal to anyone but her and let me tell you it is a really big deal to her. I swaddle up Emmett and lay him in his cradle to nap and nurse Adelle. Then I lay her down for nap.
Phew!
This is the best part. I come out to the kitchen. Throw my dirty shirt in the laundry room. It's been at least 35 minutes since Braxton asked me to come watch him play baseball. I look out the back screen door....he was still there, playing. He notices me and says, "ready to come watch me play, mom?"
It was almost like he didn't even realize it had been more than a minute!
I told him I was ready, grabbed our lunch and went outside to picnic and play baseball. What a kind young man he is. So patient and grateful that I was playing with him. No nap for him today. Just mom and Braxton time!
The funniest part of all of this is that it is just that....funny. In the past all of that might have actually killed me but thanks to the three of them my tight rope has been loosed and things like this don't even make my head spin anymore. It was so stressless I wondered if I was even really conscious during it all.
Bring it on!
And when I checked on Emmett this is what I saw. I had to snap a shot of this cute chubby boy!

stop and think

Memorial Weekend was rainy! I know, it rains here almost yearly on Memorial Day. Why is that? I could have pouted about this, except, Memorial Day will always have a special place in my heart. Jeff asked me on our first date on this weekend 7 years ago.
You didn't ask, I know, but just because it makes me feel "hot" I will tell you briefly how this all went down.
Jeff's best friend told Jeff he was going to ask me out and asked Jeff to find a date and double with "us." What does Jeff do??? He hangs up the phone and promptly calls me first! It's a great story and it still makes me smile. What a "go-getter" my babe is! Needless to say his friend was not on our date with "us" and Jeff and I have been together ever since. So I will always really like this special weekend.
The other good news about the rainy weekend is that Jeff and I watched 2 movies together! This is huge for my husband who loves to watch movies and huge for me who rarely can stay up for a movie. I don't think we had watched a movie together since Emmett was born! That's pretty pathetic. The first night we watched Sahara. This was a trick played on me, by my sweet husband. He tells me all romantically that he got this movie that he really thinks I'll like and I totally fall for it because I am so out of touch I have no idea what Sahara is. So we watch it and it's o.k, not really my sort of movie but I like it fine. Action packed for sure. Definitely a movie he liked! So his trick worked and I was a good sport.
The second night my aunt brought over Extreme Measures. This was such a touching movie and I can honestly say it made me stop and think about my life and my marriage and my family and my goals and passions.....
This movie was heart wrenching. It was rated PG which is so hard to come by these days and it was so wholesome and inspiring. I love movies like this. Almost like maybe there are people out there who like to watch something decent. I loved the story and the dedication these men gave their families and there passions.
I cried. Jeff cried. After the movie was over we talked and thought. We went into the rooms of all three of our beautiful, healthy, happy children's rooms and for a few moments we watched them sleep. We smiled at how "out" they were and how precious and innocent they look when they are asleep. We listened to their sleepy sounds and held each other in pride and gratitude for each of them.
The reviews I read on this movie were lame. I liked it, a lot. It made me feel good inside.