there was this one time...

good stuff

first up! on friday, caleb got an award for 'respect' in his class. :) so proud of the guy!

we finally decided to get kira a phone. we surprised her by having her cool uncle call her and tell her that the phone she answered was now hers!!! clever chris.. totally his idea. yeah, we can be pretty cool parents sometimes. :) SOMETIMES. :)

and they had some bonding time yesterday.

i went to the oasis for the scrap pink event they held. my 2nd ever crop. totally fun! i like that 6 years after i got into this hobby, i am just now going to things like this. ha!

and i got to sit with a cool gal, linda.

and eat sprinkles cupcakes. yes, they were good.. but i will remain faithful to my local cupcakery, dots.  :) and cindy,  --who's totally cute adorable baby girl is the same age as els. so nice to sit and chat with you guys. and of course, i missed you, jamie.  thanks for splitting your spot with me. :) i did 6 layouts in about 6 hours. not bad! and they were all for fun! i'll post them later.

growing

her bangs out. and i am not crazy about it. i like her little bangs. i'm not a big bang person, but they are cute on her. if she would wear her hair like this more:

i could live with the bangs outgrowing. but they stay in for a good 15 seconds before they are taken out and thrown to the ground. :) and she ends up looking very 80's partridge family. LOL

her vocabulary is growing too. my current favorites: help ( said with oh so much girlie drama); mine (i know this won't be so cute in a few months but it's soooo cute now); home (whenever we are out and about and she has just had it.. i love that she knows what home IS).

overkill?

so after our do nothing day on saturday... sunday looks just as promising too.. nothing on the schedule for the day... that is until i spy a cute pic in domino magazine.  it's a small kitchen with white cabinets and a bright green wall... supposed to make the kitchen look bigger. :) i'm all for that! i show chris and expect nothing but a 'yeah, cool babe' response.  but noooooooo... a few hours later i am home with paint and we are taking the cabinet doors off. :) hm. a day later, it's almost done.

not only did we do that... but i cleaned off my desk (wow!-- only to get more stuff in the mail to clutter it back up again), clean out elsie's, cameron's and caleb's closets with mega bags to give away to goodwill. see, i got it in me... not nearly as often as i would like.. but it is in there somewhere!

how do you like them apples??! :)

rainy, lazy saturday

when it rains i feel totally at peace with our 'accomplish nothing today' attitude.
this desk is calling to me to work on it.. but then that would mean i actually have to clean it. not today, i say!

have a nice weekend. :)

them

last sunday was kick off sunday at church- where we celebrate the new school year and some of the kids "graduate" to the next grade level in sunday school. caleb had already been going up with the older kids because he likes to be with his brother cam... but he was presented with a new bible on stage anyways. i could not believe what a little ham he was being!! :)

every time they said his name, he would smile real big and wave like he was a movie star or something! ha! that is SO him. class clown but obedient rule follower at the same time. :) the kids have been quite the little dessert preparers lately too-- chopping up fruit (i'm so sad our summer fruit is nearing it's end.. it's been so eh lately!) and putting them in yogurt. did you know that kira wants to be a chef and take over food network? i totally believe she can do it! :)

and one of cam... who was looking through the blog the other day and noticing that it was very heavy on the elsie side. :) he turns 9 in almost 2 months from now. cannot believe that. my last single digit year with him! :( i'm getting old! ha!

and my girls from the last week of summer. hate that this seems SO long ago. they definitely grew closer over the summer and kira's feeling the brunt of being gone all day... she comes home and wants to kiss and snuggle els but els wants no part of it. lol. sigh. she'd much rather dump all of kira's things out of her book bag and draw with all her cool mechanical pencils. girls.

sharing

something i made for the work in progress kits.
i am not a huge mini book person so i need little kits like this to jump start me.

back to school night was tonight. even though we've heard the teacher schpeels many times before.. i can't help but get excited for the new year. being the total teacher's pet that i am... i love school! lol :)

during this little outing, els picked up a bug of some sort and has a cold. i told the other kids she had a cold and cam said, 'bout time! it's crazy! the other kids had SO MANY colds and ear infections when they were little-- els hasn't had one. she's had about 2 or 3 other colds...and one really bad stomach flu. but that's it. we've been incredibly blessed! totally amazing. hoping it passes soon. :)

so much fun

once again, i didn't take a single photo at my class at the oasis!  (there are a few on their site) kira and i had such a blast. i am so amazed, grateful, in awe ...and a bit jealous of their proximity! :)... of all the generous women who call this store their LSS. and the wonderful women who traveled to get there--- 3+ hours of driving! unbelievable. i am so thankful for your friendship and your support. to those who inquired about leftover kits- i am sorry- they are all gone! :(

seems i left the camera back home in good hands. dad went on a mega walk with the kids and had these pics waiting for me when i got home. :)

and my favorite:

have a great, great weekend!

with her

this is how i found her yesterday morning. she has a thing with blankets. not only does she like to fiddle with them, but she has to tuck herself in, too. and the orange pillow is her boppy pillow. she uses it like a chair. perfect!

ANYWAYS. i'm trying to get her back on track with our school schedule, which means naps should be between 12-3. unfortunately, school pick up time is right in the middle of that. which sucks.

but yesterday i had the most fantastic morning with her. we went to a local bookstore that i totally forgot had the most awesome kids section. she was in heaven. we read.. she played... and we talked to other moms and babies her age. (how social of me!) but i don't know what it was-- maybe that i didn't 'half-read, have one eye on her' while i read my magazines (hahaha- you know you do it, too) or maybe it was because i talked to other moms who were alone with their one child (and i could hear that lonely, 'i-need-to-connect-because-i-am-a -SAHM' tone in their voice) and it made me remember when i felt that way... or maybe because it made me think of when i used to spend my entire days reading board book after pop up book to the big kids..finding sooo many ways to entertain them and keep them busy.. when they were little. that was wordy. i'm emotional. missing those days--- when i had 3 kids age 5 and under--- the toughest stage of my life. i remember rejoicing when they started to grow.... when their clinginess started to fade.. when they would play for longer periods of time without needing me right there...and now they are gone all day. and those days when my KCC were so wittle are SO LONG AGO. how funny to crave that toughest stage...but i know why...that would be because it has been the most rewarding.

caleb- kira- cameron.... so little. :(

so now after so many years, i'm back to dealing with tantrums and clinginess and surrounding myself around other toddlers and social activities that keep her busy ...and i welcome it all. i am honored to be there with her as i was with KCC. i truly cannot imagine a better way to spend my days.

here

trying to adjust to just the girl and her pet.

instead of going places with 4 kids in tow, it's me, els and pablo. :) she's in the phase where she has to take him with her.. or 5 million books, a ball, her toothbrush, crayons, etc. :) i vote for pablo.

it hasn't really set in that the guys will be gone everyday yet, but it will. sometimes, she'll run into kira's room and call her-- sisay? sisay? and wonder where she is... but then that's it. looks like i will be joining a gymboree or something to keep her busy. and social.

and this guy. he's trying to adjust, but in his words, "it's just sooooooo long. i just want to stay home with you. all we do is work." poor dude! ha!
i thought this was SOOOO funny- taken on the first day of school.... there's dad with his camera again.

random and blurry photos

so i thought i would share some of our random and blurry photos from last weekend too. :) i love that i held the camera behind and above my head and shot this randomly to find that he stopped to smile and that i actually got him in the frame. :)

me and the crew. this is how we look walking around-- it's either this or the boys running around me in circles shooting each other or having pokemon battles as i try to push the stroller. kira, people watching.  els on dog watch. and me watching her, hoping she doesn't try and maneuver her way out of the stroller. but children.. all around me.. i'm surrounded! and yes! kira iS JUST about as tall as me! she's almost there! eeeek!

this series of pictures craaaaaaaack me up. this is elsie unsure of the birds. (glad she was unsure of those dirty birds- that's my girl!) this little mannerism of hers is sooo cute. the arms clutched to her chest and neck... then waving for someone to come save her.

sisters sharing the ipod briefly.. this was before kira got tired of listening to the backyardigans and els pitched a fit. :)

this isn't blurry, but random. :) yes- i make my kids try things on in stores so i can take a picture...or i mean, i make chris take a picture because i am embarrassed to. :)

els has major shoe fetish. the other day i was talking to a mom who had polka dotted flats on.. and she was maybe 5 words into a sentence when she realized els was totally checking out her shoes. SO funny!

this one reminds me of a photo from summer boden catalog -- just her outfit and the whole beachy thing. ha!

after all those, i have to share my fave fave from the day!
i turned around and just happened to get this. i LOVE the light. soooo very  much.

i don't know what our obsession is with A) chris throwing the kids in the air B) me photographing it even though it gives me the heebie jeebies C) me printing, enlarging and framing them all over the house. :)