Hoping for Magic

One of my goals in raising my children is to provide them with a childhood full of adventure.
I really, really want them to love to explore, imagine, and create.
I'm not so worried about what they "know," but if they know how to "live."

When there was an opportunity to go and see the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory, I thought it'd be pretty cool for them.  A place full of machines and ice cream?  Heck yes!
We were invited to go with a little "mommies group" from my mom's neighbor.  We showed up, and there were all these nice and well behaved girls.  My boys were basically the only males, and were basically full of boyhood adventure when we went.  It was really fun, though.  Maybe a bit overwhelming when Titus and Eli had enough.
At the end we could pick out our own ice cream. Yummy!! Blue Bell Ice Cream is really just a Southeast company, and it is FABULOUS ice cream.  Can I get an "amen!" from the crowd?  ... But I must say that Tillamok products from the Northwest will always hold a special place in my heart.

Here are some stinky pictures from my camera phone:

Isaac got a Krazy Kids flavor.  He loved it!

Eli isn't an ice cream fan, and only wanted vanilla ice cream... and only wanted to lick a bit of it. 

Tiny was all about it, though.  Cake batter, anyone? 

I also like to be outside with my boys.  It's been really hot this summer, which has limited us a bit.  Yes, there is the pool, but we can only last at the most 3 hours.  We'll come in during the hottest parts of the day but in the evening I try to take them out.

It gets dark in Bama around 8pm.  Idaho gets dark around 10pm.  Yeah, Idaho summers are awesome!  Lots of time to play in the evening.

Wednesday I decided I wasn't going to let the sun setting dictate our summer play.  I packed everyone up in the bike and went on a bike ride "downtown."  My parents live in a bitty town, FYI.
Me and the boys decided we should stop the bike and play at the Methodist Church's playground.  It was wonderful, and a bit magical... and that's all I want... for them to be able have a magical childhood.

Self "Looking Glass" Portraits

Confession: I like having pictures of myself.

But I'm pretty hard to satisfy about it, too.  Since most of the candid pictures taken of me are ones with me being a complete mess--because I'm a crazy busy mama--I like to take my own (or commission Matt too).  

Self obsessed? 

Possibly.  But you know what?  There was a long time which I was not comfortable on how I looked.  From the beginning of my pregnancy with Isaac (Jan of 2006) till about the end of last summer (August 2011), I just wasn't happy with my looks. 

- My hair falls out after I have babies.  So lots of bald spots.

- I lose my body when expecting.  So no toned butt. 

- etc, etc, etc... blah, blah, blah... 

The important thing is that everything has come back together.  Hair in place, butt lifted.  Now that I feel pretty good, I'd at least like to document it!  

............

Okay, I had to take a picture of myself for a family competition in Matt's family.  

And that's how it all started... 

I held the camera in my hand, and took a picture of my reflection in a large mirror in my parents' foyer.

I really like the two light sources, natural light from a large bay window and warm light from a desk lamp.  

My first attempt looked like this:

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

That's when I decided to put my hair up, and lipstick on:

"Phew! Much better."

I had a lot of missteps.  Working with angles and reflections is difficult!  Also my arms started to ache.  I really didn't want the camera to show, so it took a bit of work to get it right:

"That's a nice picture of the couch, but where am I?"

    

And then I'd get the lamp, or a non-correct focus:

Alright, here are the ones I like.  There are a lot... er... that's okay, right? 

This is one of my favs, mainly cause Titus is stealing the show in the left corner.

............

Okay, so that's me!  I think everyone should take a self portrait.  It makes one think outside the box!  Picture taking, at least for me, stretches my mind--and makes me pretty frustrated, to tell the truth.  Always have chocolate on hand.  

Observations in "The Projects"

During team-ups with the LDS (Mormon) sister missionaries this is what I observed in "the projects" we were visiting:

• People were very friendly
• Homes looked taken care of
• Kids, of many races, played together on bikes

During the discussion with two women who lived in "the projects," whom we were visiting and teaching, I learned this about them:

• The two women worked full time as housekeepers at a hospital
• Their children were groomed and taken care of
• They had long term relationships with their significant others, which were also the fathers of the children
• They had dreams and aspirations--one being to open a restaurant
• One woman attended business school
• This same woman offered homemade treats to the neighborhood children for a $1 per treat
• They taught their children, invested in learning tools (Your Baby Can Read), and had them attend preschools

................................


What I have been pondering, for my own self:


St. Matthew, chapter 7: 1-5

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Mk. 4.24
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Not So Ordinary Week

This last week was a busy one. Really.

Monday: Stacy and girls came to our house to swim. Fun, except lots of thunder so swim was cut short.

Tuesday: Me, the boys, and my mom went to Jack's house to swim; with lots of other little families there too.  Also, girls night out for me--Stacy and Brittney, people I was in Young Women with growing up. 

Wednesday: Mom took the boys to a dollar movie in the morning.  Me and my mom dug up some bricks out of the backyard.

Thursday: Hours spent at the pool. Isaac jumped off the diving board 3 times! I was in the pool (11 feet deep) to catch him. 

Friday: Went to Stacy's house to swim, and also meet Brittney's daughter. That evening went to see a "Safari" show at the local library.  Talked to a girl I went to school with, Miss Connie.  Isaac freaked out when the snake came out, then double freaked out when the little gator was shown.  We skipped out on the rest... ALSO my bike fell apart at the library, so we had to walk home (or me and Isaac did, while the two littles were pushed in the detached toddler trailer).

Saturday: Ward (church) Pioneer Day party, which I biked to, with Isaac and Eli.  They were dressed at Ironman and Optimus Prime. They had a lot of fun playing.

AND lots of work on my parents' home--that's another post in of it's self.

Sunday:  Church time!  This afternoon I made some bread, baked some chicken, and we all took walks. 

Honorable mentions:

-  Titus has been in a mood! Darn those molar teeth.

-  Eli threw some crazy tantrums, but also has had some A+ good moods

-  Isaac grew an enormous fear of bugs, which paralyzed him when he even stepped outside (this has been resolved)

-  These boys can wreck a home in minutes

Here are the pictures from this week.  Took on my Blackberry.  Especially enjoy the non-rotated ones!

Black grasshoppers.  They are sooooo sloooowwwwww... And pretty freaky.

Isaac's photo

Crabby Titus.  Love you, dude.

Playing in the library, grateful to be away from the fun "Safari" presentation.

He was really fun.  The boys enjoyed his humor and magic tricks; however Isaac just about lost it when he saw the real snake.  And when the gator came out Isaac literally jumped behind me.



Eli: "I Am ____"

"Spi-da-han!" [Spiderman]
"Dar Bay-der!" [Darth Vader]
"Buzz Digh-years!" [Buzz Lightyear]

When Eli dresses up, or just pretends to be, one of his favorite characters, he states: "I AM _______!" (Fill in the blank with any of the 3 mentioned above.

Currently his favorite character to be is Spiderman.  Sometimes he dresses up but usually he is just in his underwear; jumping, spinning, flipping on the couches or bunk bed (bunk bed is awesome because he can swing on it).  "I am Spi-da-han! I am Spi-da-han!"

Though it's a little tricky to figure out when he is character or not.  Sometimes he's flipping and I say, "Wow, look at you Spiderman!" He angrily replies, "No! I E-i, not Spi-da-han..." and then he starts to cry. 

But even though his is a little hard to handle (even when he's happy), we love him.  He makes life fun and intresting. 
And look at those pink lips!! There isn't anything better to this mama of a heart baby than to see the heart baby's lips/nose/mouth full of fleshy color (instead of blue/grey).

His bum cracks me up!  Remind anyone else of Nacho Libre's "stretchy pants"?

Picture Our Home: "Boise Townhome"

Okay. I never got around to finishing the "Boise Townhome" series.  We changed computers around Christmas time, and all the "townhome" pictures were left on the old computer--which is very difficult to start up and keep running (thanks Eli, for dropping it on the ground... more than one time).

I still don't have the good copies from the old computer, but I do have some copies that I put on Facebook.  I'm not sure of the quality, but at least it'll be documented once and for all! 

Things I didn't get photographed (blam it!):
- The outside
- Kitchen
- Boys' room
- Mine and Matt's bathroom
- TV area
- Hallways and staircase

Again, I'm doing this series NOT because I think I'm awesome, but because we move a lot and I'd like to remember each of our homes... for better or worse.  I do NOT believe I am that great of a decorator.  However I do enjoy design, and I try to the best of my ability to make our homes look their best. 

I tried to take a picture of these spaces when they were put together and lovely.  I'd like to think our home looked this way all the time.  That, though, is a big "NOT!!"  I also liked taking these pictures because it made me brush up on my photo/camera knowledge.  Photographing spaces and architecture is no joke, and pretty frustrating.

The living room, looking down from the stair case.  I made those curtains... love me some clearance fabric.

The living room, looking from the kitchen.  When this space was clean and calm, it was my favorite in the house.

The chair was clearance from Ashley's Furniture.  The door was a garage sale find from our Rexburg Days, and the book case from a thrift store--also during our Rexburg Days.

Downstairs half bath.
I seriously love that moose.  I found it at a thrift store in Boise (notice a trend?).  It was a very ugly with "Alaska" stamped on it.  I spray painted it gold.

Mine and Matt's bedroom.

Headboard made from a door (also from the garage sale from our Rexburg Days. Two solid doors for only 5 bucks!) Side tables from a thrift store in Boise, painted.  Lamps from Target. Bedding from Target and my friend Christi.

 The boys' bathroom. We made the measuring stick.  I got the idea to hook a laundry basket on the wall from IKEA magazine.  Curtain and rug from Target. 


That was our home for less than a year!  It was a good one, too.  I kind of think of it as my "healing" home.  The previous year was extremely frustrating, and our living situation was a big part of that.  I really tired to make this house look and seem happy.  It may look a bit childish and whimsical, but that's what I needed. 

I have ideas for our next place, and I'm so excited to begin!  That's the beauty of moving--I get to reinvent my surroundings constantly.