Easier?

Remember when I wanted Jacob to walk? I thought life would be so much easier if I didn't have to hold him all of the time. I was going to be able to get so many more things done. Like actually folding laundry right out the dryer. Or cleaning the soap scum off the shower doors. Or even sweeping and mopping the floors. Well...those things that used to be hard holding a baby, have just gotten harder with a walker. Why did I forget these things? Jacob is my THIRD baby, why does it seem so much worse now? He's into everything. He refuses to take naps, he throws all of the laundry off our "balcony" in the living room, he cries and screams bloody murder when ever the vaccuum is on, he takes EVERY single thing out of EVERY single cupboard and drawer in the bathroom and kitchen, he then proceeds to climb those drawers ending up in the sink. This kid is crazy I tell ya! He's got so much mischeif up his sleeves. It doesn't help that he sees his older siblings doing things, he gets lots of ideas.

One day I'll have an emmaculate house. I'll be completely caught up with laundry. My pantry and fridge will always be clean and organized. The floors will always be vaccuumed, swept and mopped. AND, I'll be showered and dressed before noon. One day. My time will come. It isn't easier, but this stage of life is great. I do love it. I love being a mother and being able to stay home with these monsters...er...I mean cute kids everyday. I guess I'll just enjoy life as it comes. The laundry can wait a little longer, these kids won't be little forever.

Before and After

A long, long time ago I was looking on craigslist, like I used to do a lot. Not so much anymore for some reason. But, I found a killer deal on a headboard and footboard. Only $20. It was just what I had wanted for Macie's room. I immediately saw the potential that it had, and how perfect it would be with Macie's princess/skateboard room that she wants to have. So, we borrowed a friend's truck and were on our way. We got it. It was July. And that thing sat outside on our patio for 6 months. SIX MONTHS. Goodness. I thought about it a lot. I thought of how good it was going to look when it was done. I just had no motivation to do it. And then I did it. I started sanding the thing. But, there was a problem. It was MDF with a laminate on it. The sanding became very tedious. I had to get a new piece every foot because it would get all gunky. It wasn't very fun. But finally, it was time for the paint. It took a few coats, a little unexpected spray paint, and a lot of time. But now it's done. My strong, handsome, and nice husband carried the beast upstairs for me last night. Nice, huh? It looks good in there, and now to finish the matching footboard and finishing the duvet cover and I'll take a picture of it IN her room. But for now:

{please do not judge my messy, messy garage. Look past that. That is next on the to-do list. I will not have a house hoarders worthy. I won't.}

Bon Jovi

Erin loves Bon Jovi. His name has become quite common around here. It's like he's family or something. Today is his birthday. We're celebrating. Happy Birthday, Jon!

Baseball.

We were all in the car on the way to church on Sunday. Jacob was babbling away like he usually does. And then, out of no where, he said, "Baseball." It took me by surprise and said, "Baseball?" He nodded and repeated it. I thought it was a fluke, how could his first word be baseball? It's a two syllable word. So I kept quizzing him. Showing him his baseball, and yes, he said Baseball. He knows what a baseball is. Yeah, that's my son. He's advanced.

{he loves strawberries, just in case you were wondering what was all over his face!}

And he's off...

FINALLY! Jacob has mastered the walk. It took him a little longer than most babes, but, look at that extra weight he's carrying around! And, why walk when you know someone will come and pick you up shortly just to protect you from other littler family members that may love you a little too much sometimes? And, since he has crawled for so long...he's FAST. Very very fast. But, he's officially walking. He's been toddling around quite a bit, taking a few steps here and there for a while. But, today, he became an "official" walker in my book. I don't consider them actaully WALKING until they can squat down to pick up something along their way, and then stand back up and resume walking. And today, he did it! YAY, JACOB! I don't know how I feel about this though. My baby is walking. Let me say that again, MY BABY IS WALKING? I swear he was just born. Wasn't he?



{by the way, this is post #399. Crazy, eh?}

this one time, Noah turned five...

and his horrible mother forgot to blog about the party. And the mother of the year award goes to ME! Goodness.

So on NOVEMBER 20th, Noah wanted a Speed Racer party and has for a while. We plan parties early around here. Like at least a year in advance. I have so many good ideas, and think about them a lot, and then the party comes way to fast, and I don't get the things done that I want, but that's alright. It's just a party. This party wasn't any different. I had to simplify many things. In fact, I didn't even make the cupcakes. We were leaving for Seattle the next day, and didn't want to leave Erin with TOO big of a mess, and so it was what it was.


He invited quite a few kids, and at the last minute I panicked. I didn't know how it was going to go with a lot of screaming 5 year olds. But, only 5 were there. It worked out perfectly. We decorated wooden cars with markers when the kids were arriving.

And then it was race time. Adam put a little track together and they raced those cars. It was fun. Some fell apart, some were stolen by others, but it was fun!




And then dinner. What kid doesn't like pizza?

Followed by cupcakes. The girlfriend of a coworker made them. One less thing for me to worry about!


It was a fun 5th birthday party. Do notice the number of Speed Racer. Yeah, it's a five...how coordinated are we?

Speed Racer was supposed to make a cameo appearance. We had a full costume for him and everything. It was going to be the best thing of the party. But, he did not show up. Sad, huh? {I can tell you he's not getting an A in Seminary this year...;-)}



And up next year?? Well, either Vikings (not the football team, actual Vikings) or Astro Boy. We'll see.

Happy Birthday, Nana.

Today is Carol's birthday. (aka-Adam's mom and Nana.) The kids love their Nana. A few years ago she was able to be celebrate her birthday at our house. We liked that. You should do it again. Or we could just pretend and celebrate it when you come to our house. Which should be soon. ;-) We hope that you has an excellent birthday full of lots of fun and good cake. We love you, and can't wait to see you again.

{this post was well intentioned. But, we were sick. Very sick. And then I forgot about it. Sorry.}

6 more weeks.

Happy Groundhog Day! He saw his shadow. Which means you have 6 more weeks of winter. It was around 70 yesterday here. Just sayin'.

OstrichLand

Hidden on the Central Coast of California is OstrichLand. If you haven't even gone, well...you're missing out on the opportunity to say that you have been to OstrichLand, and you didn't just drive past it, like we did when we were trying to find it. Seriously, if you blink you will miss it. We did. Twice. What do you think OstrichLand might be? What are you envisioning in your head? To help you vision, they do charge adults 4 bucks to get in, and children under 12 are 1 dollar. Now what do you think it is? Maybe, like a little zoo, right? With a little path that you can see many many ostriches, and maybe have a few little displays. Maybe there is even someone there to talk to you about ostriches.


The kids and I went with my friend, Kristyn and her two boys Thacker and Bennett, and that is not what OstrichLand is like. First of all, you have to pay 1 dollar to feed them. There are "feeding rules" signs everywhere. The rules were pretty intense. I just figured anyone could feed them. Oh, was I wrong. You are given a metal dustpan with a pet food dish glued to the top full of food. You are supposed to set your pan on the fence and hold on with both hands. I didn't. I underestimated the strength of an ostrich. They almost took the entire thing. They are one strong bird. Holy Cow. The first time I fed them, I screamed. I did. And then I let Kristyn feed them. She screamed too. They are vicious animals, I tell ya. It was scary. I had envisioned the kids being able to feed them. They didn't. No one was there to tell us about ostriches. The path was like 50 feet long. It stunk. OstrichLand was not was I expected. Still, however, it was a neat experience. You should go sometime! Follow the rules though. They like to bite. Thacker, was indeed bit by the "oscar".

Ostriches are strange looking animals. They are the only bird with 2 toes. It's weird. They look like dinoaur toes. Or something. The emus are a heck of a lot nicer. We didn't scream when we fed them. It was fun, though. I'm glad we went to OstrichLand.



And I'm even more glad we stopped in Solvang to get these:


Abelskivers. They are delicious goodness. A warm puffish thing, topped with powdered sugar and dipped in raspberry jam, the kind that donuts are filled with. YUM. You can come visit us and we can go to OstrichLand, your reward will be these heavenly things. Enticing huh?

I wanna Manwich, please.

Jacob loves Manwich. I love Manwich. Who doesn't? We couldn't give it to him fast enough. He probably ate like half the pan of meat! He never was a good baby food eater, but he will eat whatever you give him from your plate. He did go through a choking era, and he used to choke on everything, now he has finally learned the art of chewing before swallowing, it's great. His two favorite foods are Manwich, and that pirate booty stuff {you know, those white chedder puff things...} Odd things, but he loves them. He does take after his father, however, and he too will be a messy eater. That look makes the mess well worth it!