Wow, can't believe almost a month has passed by since my last blog post. What can I say? It's just a normal crazy fall schedule around here. It was pretty crazy last year when I was toting around a nursing newborn, but at least he was still sleeping most of the time! This fall, we have shifted our schedule to eat most of our meals around 4:30 - 5:00 and so far it has worked better for us. We get dinner out of the way before soccer games and church stuff and when we come home, it's a little easier to manage bathing 3 kids and doing bedtime stuff if you're not trying to cook and eat dinner too. All I know is that I work 10 times harder between the hours of 2 and 10 than I ever worked at some 40 hour a week job. Which brings me to a little mini-rant. In the 15 months that I have been a true stay-at-home mom, I have learned to appreciate the other side of motherhood. The during-the-day downtime of motherhood. It's the part I never got to experience when I worked outside the home. After making this transition, it was inevitable that I would get asked how I liked being at home and how the kids liked having me around all the time. That question is fine and I love to answer it. The question I dread is this: What do you do during the day now with all of your free time? I always want to scream FREE TIME?? What FREE TIME? If you are a mom, then there truly never is any "free time". All time will cost you something, some type of sacrifice.

The real issue I have with that question though is that I can't answer it truthfully. What would be the response if I said well, I try to work out every day, then I come home and fix myself a healthy breakfast and enjoy a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper in complete silence. Then I will usually spend time playing with Nathan. Maybe we go outside, maybe we just play with some cars pushing them back and forth on the carpet. Maybe I just blow raspberries on his belly for an hour. Or maybe I spend 30 minutes trying to clip his toenails because I get distracted and play with his toes and feet instead. When he goes down for a nap, I might get crazy and do some laundry, clean a bathroom, mop some floors, whatever seems most pressing. This is also shower time for me. Yes, I realize it's noon, but hey, it's when the kid is sleeping and the only time of day I can take a shower and get completely ready for my day from start to finish with no interruptions. If there are no errands to be run, then I might even sneak in a recorded tv show to watch while I fix Nathan his lunch and start preparing things for dinner. After Nathan's nap and late lunch, it's time to pick up the girls or run errands. You see, I can't answer the question truthfully because I instantly feel guilty. I feel guilty that I may read a magazine at 1:00 in the afternoon or spend time playing online. But when 3:00 hits and the tornado that is two girls with tons of chatter and homework and activities burst onto my scene, I am so thankful that I had a little downtime in my day. Nathan gets pushed to the side so much during 3 and 8, that I am so thankful that I had an hour to spend with him in the morning. When Marty gets to play with the kids in the evening while I am cleaning the kitchen or doing baths and stuff, I am thankful that I got to have my "playtime" during the day.



Nathan is learning to "read"



and learning to find his tongue


and learning to blow a kiss.

it's your Friday dose of random

I WON I WON I WON!!!
I know it's what everyone says, but I seriously never win anything. Just for fun, I sometimes enter silly little contests like sending your kid's picture to Gap so they can be a chosen to be a Gap model and then we win a free trip to NYC. In reality, all I get is a bunch of Gap spam mail in my in-box. It's the anti-win. It's a loss. Until yesterday. Now, of course I didn't win something as big as a trip to NYC. If that was the case, you can bet the title of this blog post would have been: I WON A TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY!!!! But I did win something, which is always better than nothing. Tuesday night, I entered a little blog contest to win some clothing (a dress? top & leggings?) from Matilda Jane's new fall/winter line that is going to be launched today. And I won!! I didn't even check the blog until Thursday because, like I said already, I never win anything. It gets even better. I was supposed to send an email to a guy at the company telling him I had won and to give him my daughter's size and mailing info. Well, as you know, I have TWO daughters. How would I pick who gets the win? So I emailed him the info for Avery and I included the fact that I had 2 daughters and included Mackenzie's size. I let him know this was just in case there was more room in the box for 2 prizes. Then I included the ;) sign, because in email this always means I'm joking if you think this is too much to ask, but I'm really serious so please include 2 items. He responded back with a ;) sign as well and told me of course there is room in my box for 2 items. Woohoo! I am giddy with excitement to see what I get. Now let's hope it's actually kind of substantial and not just like a free headband or something. Not that I wouldn't love a free headband, but have you seen these dresses and leggings?

Birthday Banner How-To
Thanks for all the nice comments about the birthday banner. Go figure it was a blog about my mom that prompted my most comments ever. I guess I should write about her more often! For those who may be interested in the banner, it's actually not made with one of those fancy embroidery machines. All you need is a regular sewing machine, a computer, and some of that iron-on transfer stuff. Here is the link with the step-by-step instructions so you can make your own birthday banner. (Valerie - hint, hint.) If you do decide to make one, be sure and post some pictures for me!

Labor Day Laziness
Not much is in store for the upcoming 3 day weekend for us. Since tomorrow is our last Saturday with out a soccer game until November 21, we have big plans to sleep in and do a whole lot of nothing. Thankfully, the stars have aligned and I have a fabulous new book to read. If you have not read Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, you have missed something great. The sequel to Hunger Games, Catching Fire, just came out this week. I plan to spend a huge chunk of my Labor Day weekend reading it.

Since I try to never post without a picture, here's one of our recent trip to the lake where we took a morning to go horseback riding. We had to wait until 1:00 for our trail ride, which was pushing it as far as nap time goes with Nathan. Here is the result of a first time horse riding experience for one year old who has been denied a nap for too long. Enjoy & have a great Labor Day weekend!

My crazy talented mother

A few months ago, I put in a request to my mother. You see, my mother is crazy talented. She bought an embroidery machine several years ago and since that day she has been churning out all sorts of homemade goodies for me and my kids. I've received countless burp cloths, bibs, t-shirts, jackets, blankets, tea towels cooking aprons, and quilts. I guess one day I should collect it all together and make her a photo gallery so she could see how much progress she had made over the years. But that is an idea for another post.

Today, I am showcasing my favorite piece she has made for me. Which brings me back to my request. It was for a "happy birthday" banner. You see, I wanted a homemade banner that I could hang on my mantel and display year after year for every family member's birthday. I envision the day when Nathan will say, "Mom, it's almost my birthday, when are you putting up the banner?" It's a symbol of the upcoming festivities and everyone knows it is a special week around the house. (There are rules, of course. It can only go up one week before the birthday and it can only stay up for 1 week after the birthday. With 3 kids, much effort is put into being fair and learning to keep the peace!) I had toyed around with the idea of making one from scrapbook paper, when I thought, I bet my crazy talented mother could make me one. "Hey mom," I began sweetly one day while she was visiting. "Have you ever seen a fabric birthday banner?" Of course I had a picture at the ready. It's always best to have something visual to get the creative juices flowing. Here was the picture I showed her:

So cute, right? Sure enough, she was hooked and the next day we were off to the fabric store to pick out some fabrics. (Love, love, love those Moda fabrics by the way!) A week later, while visiting at her house, she shows me the almost completed project. After a little instructions for me and some trim additions, I had a completed birthday banner exactly like my picture only 2 weeks after I put in my request. It's great having a crazy talented mother!

In honor of Mackenzie's upcoming 9th birthday, the banner has been hung for the 2nd time. I can't wait for her to see it when she comes home from school today! Pretty close to the original, don't you think? It's funny that now when I hang it, I not only feel like I'm honoring the birthday celebration, but including my mom in the celebration too. I obviously get not only my analytical side from her, but also my creative side. She is a crazy talented scrapbooker, cook, & seamstress. Now if only I could get her to step away from Facebook's Farmtown game and finish reading Twilight.... ;) Love you Mom!



P.S. The picture on my mantel was taken by my crazy talented best friend whose photography skills can be seen on her website here. Love that picture!