Everything Scrappy

Not a Short Christmas Post

2012-01-02T10:42:00.000-08:00

That's my family walking down main street at the most adorable Christmas village I've ever had the chance to stroll. This was a very special year for us. Since my parents are busy around the other side of the world, all my younger siblings headed my way. If you know me, you know I love house guests. Koryn called a few hours after I said goodbye to last of them at the airport this weekend because she knew I would be having a hard time with the 'empty' house. I would collect people if I could.

Anywho. Allison and Noah were the first to arrive. They brought some good tunes along which turned into a dance/karaoke party one night:

I think we only stopped because my dear friend, Sara, dropped off a gift for the girls. Fairy princess dress ups and toy puppies...she knows them well.

I mention this mostly because of the puppies: luckily Allison and Noah overheard the girls naming their pups. Edison Lund and Fluff Willow Folly. Names of dolls/imaginary friends/babies change pretty quick around here, so I'm glad they caught that :) They spent the rest of the evening introducing E Lund and F.W. Folly to the Nativity crew.

Then it was on to the Christmas village. There's a county park around here that moved about three dozen turn-of-the-century buildings (churches, general stores, school house, homes, stables, you name it) to create its own little village. I was amazed, it was magical. You buy tickets to go on a train that takes you past big lighted displays and Santa. For real. That dude was just hanging out in a field by his sleigh to wave to us.

They've also brought in a century old carousel and ferris wheel. This is kind-of one of those 'had to be there' stories, but I gotta write it down. We walked into the carousel and there was the worst, off tune, loud band playing Christmas music. Allison and I can be...a bit snotty about music. We could not stop laughing. Allison said, "We have to pull it together before we see this band face to face." I asked if it could be a recording then promptly said, "No. There's no way they recorded this then thought, 'Yeah! I think we got it! That's a wrap, folks.' " I was picturing a band of sweet old men playing on the other side of the carousel which made me feel awful every time a particularly bad note was played and we would crumple in laughter again.

Allison and I hopped on the ride with the girls, rounded the corner, and to our surprise, realized it wasn't a band! It was the carousel. So my best thought was that the pipes themselves are just as old and don't sound how they used to, you know? Well, by the time we realized that, we were giggling with relief that we hadn't been mercilessly laughing at sweet old people and then about peeing our pants with laughter that we seriously could not keep our equilibrium straight on this carousel! I'm not kidding you, that thing was FLYING. And if you stood in between the horses going up and down, it was all you could do to stay upright. We'd pull it together just as another sour note belted out and we would start all over again.

J took the girls out on the ferris wheel that was as delightfully terrifying as the carousel.

After singing carols with our fellow passengers on the train ride, the conductor made a point of mentioning Santa had ridden his way back to the village if we wanted to say hi. We mosied about, thinking there would be an enormous line. Something about waiting in line to see Santa takes away some of the magic to me--probably because you hurry and tell him what you want, they click an overpriced picture, then you get out of the way. So there was nothing sweeter than walking into a dimly lit, beautiful little home to find just Santa and Mrs Claus waiting to see the girls--I was half expecting to find him on a break. I don't know how it happened that we caught it with only one lady ahead of us.

Abbey has never been big on Santa and I don't tend to make a big deal about it. We'd seen him at the mall a few weeks ago so I asked her if she wanted to say hi and remind him. She just said, "No. He knows." Good enough. But Hayden ate it up. He was sweet and gave her plenty of time to chat about things other than toys. I loved this. I know some people don't like the Santa concept and I totally get that. But I'm glad we get this for a few years, there's so much goodness and innocence wrapped up in that hug.

On Christmas Eve, we picked up my two youngest siblings to complete the crowd. It was so fun to reintroduce myself to my little, tall brother, Collin. He has been on an LDS mission in North Carolina and I haven't seen him for three years. Megs kept our rears in check with some personal training all week and Collin graciously endured the kids' energy that was usually directed his way. These two have been ridiculously easy going their entire lives, they are so nice to have around and I had a few tears when they left.

We hope your Christmas season was wonderful as well. See you in 2012!

First of Many

2011-12-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

And so it begins. I imagine we'll have a recital or two in our future :) Abbey did so well at her first performance. She didn't look nervous, didn't hesitate to jump up there, {seriously} didn't rush through her song. It was so cute to see this bitty body sitting at that enormous Steinway.

The last few months have given me a little glimpse into what my mom did for me for years. I wish you could have been there, Mom. I realized that all of Abbey's grandparents are not only out of state, but are all actually out of the country right now. So I uploaded this video for you, thank you, world wide web!

I spent the rest of the recital walking the halls with a loud kid. I imagine I'll have a lot of that in my future as well :)

Why I Don't Post To My Blog Anymore

2011-10-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

Oh, that boy. I can't quite articulate what he does to my heart. It's different. With a boy.

To be fair, he has demanded so little in his six months. {Ya heard, six months!} But that little has sucked away any of the free time I had with two.

It's hard to explain my time. I've been feeling the need to be more efficient with the time that I have, but am having difficulty with the HOW. I am in my car. A lot. I am feeding mouths. A lot. I am navigating ridiculous meltdowns. A lot.

It went on like this for a while. Poor little chicken. She wants five kids in our family, Abbey wants more. (Abbey will not be winning this argument, by the way.) My mental reserves are exhausted trying to find a way to validate these sorts of feelings all the day long :)

All and all, loving this busy life of mine right now.

Off You Go, Little Lamb

2011-09-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

My gal started kindergarten. Full-day Kindergarten.

I was in serious denial through August. Then I was just down right sad the day before she started. Like, really sad. The actual day was much too chaotic to wallow. First, she was assigned to the wrong bus route, but handled it like a champ. I was following behind in my own car until Hayden just about wet her pants. We had to pull over and lost track then didn't know where she was for a while. Yikes!! The principal was on it and figured out what route she should be on, so, problem solved. Then Justin wanted to pick her up that afternoon only to call twenty minutes later when the driver wouldn't let her go to him. You see, you have to have photo ID to get a kindergartner off the bus. He didn't have any. Nor had I even put him on the list of people who were allowed to pick her up. **New Student Parent Alert** Luckily this kid has confidence to spare and kept teasing me all weekend about letting her go on the wrong bus.

Still not used to this. I don't like that so many of her memories now will be when she's not with us. And I hate the crazy rush when she gets home to squeeze in all we missed out on during the day. Trying to be more positive about this... :)

...because I am fairly certain she will rock it.

Bob It

2011-08-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

because someone got a haircut from her sister first!

It could have been worse, but luckily Sophie (Katherine's much more obedient child) came down and asked if she could have a haircut, too. Ha ha, oh man.

After surveying the damage, I thought about leaving it and just pulling it up in little ponytails until it grew back...in a year. I did love those golden locks. But I really love short haircuts and that chunk taken out of the back was the reason to do it.

Abbey had to earn the money for the haircut. But she still insists it was a good idea and she liked it. As it turns out, she cut her own bangs as well, and it does look cute. Nobody tell her that! Later that week, Hayden wanted to pretend to cut Abbey's hair. Abbey asked her how old she was and Hayden answered, eight. Then Abbey said, "Oh, sorry, you have to be nine to cut hair." I flipped around and said, "No! You have to go to school. Ok? Nobody cuts hair until you go to beauty school!"

Three Months

2011-07-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

loving the extra manliness around here

Stars and Stripes

2011-07-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

oh me, oh my, how I love the fourth of july!!!

The weekend started off at the water park with a few families from the old neighborhood. And this is where I learned that I am responsible for WAY too much skin. I applied, reapplied, and re-reapplied sunscreen to the girls but I ended up with some crazy tan lines and Bennett's cheeks got more sun than I realized. Boo, bad mommy. Then we enjoyed a quiet BBQ at Kara's house that night since everyone's kids were exhausted from the day :)

I asked the girls to turn around and smile for one picture. This one picture in the seven hours we were there. I guess Abbey talked to J later and said, "I just came here to swim and have fun and all mom wants to do is take pictures." First of all, puh-lease! Second of all, ....touché. Sometimes it is too much. After that admonishment I was timid about bringing out the lens at J's work party the next night. Which is a bummer since it is held at the most picturesque piece of property and I look forward to getting a few shots there every year.

Great food, great company. Everything was great until, dun dun dun. The fireworks started. Big fireworks. Good, illegal fireworks. The girls had just found their eggs from the chicken coop and didn't have hands to cover their ears. Hayden was cracking us up by using her arms instead.

We went inside to save the girls from imminent doom and got talking with my awesome OB who delivered Bennett while the kiddos played hide-n-seek in her basement. By the time we wandered back outside, the last of the partiers had gathered on the front lawn to watch the neighbor's firework show (who also fancies the good, illegal ones). It was perfect. We were close enough to have a good show and far enough away that the girls were not so frightened of the noise. I was so happy to see them finally enjoying fireworks, what a treat. And we were the last car to leave, as usual.

To cap off the perfect weekend, some friends invited us boating the next day. We hit up the church breakfast that morning. Well...we slept through breakfast. But made it for the flag ceremony and patriotic talk. It was nice to have a reverent moment to remember those who have fought and this wonderful country we enjoy.

We thought we'd be boating for 2-3 hours, but were able to keep the boat all day and got in a good six hours on the lake. I loved watching my kids on the tubes. They've surprised me lately with their bravery.

And this time I was not messing around when it came to the sunscreen.

We barely had time to shower and change before heading out to the last BBQ of the weekend...so we didn't. Didn't shower or change, I mean. By this point, nobody cared what anyone looked like, it was all about how much fun you could squeeze into a day.

Hayden picked up this piñata at a garage sale a few weeks ago. That girl knows how to party.

The concerned lad in the background asked, "Why are we hitting a piñata from Italy on the 4th of July?"

Yeah, what gives? They had nothing to do with this.

The adults laughed and marveled that the youngster knew Italy's colors and never really answered his question.

After the kids each got about three or four turns and their faces were turning from excitement to frustration, J stepped in to finish the job. Luckily, no one was harmed in the process.

Then off to squeeze in just a little bit more fun, really use up every minute of the weekend. We met over in an open field to watch the big boys play with their toy airplanes :) I've given them a hard time about it, but the thing is actually pretty cool.

As you can see from Abbey's face, clearly it is time for this day to come to an end. Can't wait for next year!

Road. Ro-aaad.

2011-07-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

So last night I was trying to think of the word 'nicotine'.

And for some reason, I could not, for the life of me, remember how to pronounce 'nicotine'. It just didn't sound right. Nicotine. ˈNikəˌtēn.

J told me how it was pronounced. I didn't really believe him. Sometimes he likes to mess with me about things that aren't at all important.

After sitting in bed, failing to sleep, I finally grabbed my ipod and found an old podcast about nicotine. And he was pronouncing it right. And I listened to the whole podcast. And I should have been sleeping.

And apparently I blog about things that aren't at all important.

And it still doesn't sound right.

'Happy' Birthday

2011-07-05T04:52:00.000-07:00

Abbey invited some of her girlfriends over for a water party (which turned into a 'scramble-for-new-activities' party when the forecast predicted chilly weather.) J wanted both girls to have their own party, which was a really good idea this year. Both girls needed to feel special and have the spotlight on them for a bit. Which is why it totally broke my heart when Abbey was in tears at her party. When I pulled her away for a minute to regroup, she said, "Nobody wants to do what I want. Nobody cares about me." A bit dramatic? YES! I thought, what a waste! This whole thing was a bit much for me to be doing right now and it was all for naught if she didn't feel special.

She bounced back all right. Presents and chocolate cupcakes didn't hurt.

(Abbey's signature pose these days :) I could post dozens of pictures with her in this exact pose with different items...flowers, friends, dolls, Bennett....)

Anyway, felt like that party was a bit of a bust. Her friend got her a slip-n-slide, the sun came out, and all the kids ended up out on a hill in our backyard and had a BLAST. But I felt frazzled and had another party coming soon. Yes. Another party. Abbey's dad is the fun parent, remember? I kept shooting him angry eyes at this point, I couldn't believe we were throwing another party. But he really wanted to do something with the neighbors and his work friends. So another BBQ.

And it totally rocked. Dad saved the day! And made her this awesome cake, can you believe it? She wanted 'a chocolate cake with ice cream cake and pink sprinkles and cupcakes and strawberries and chocolate vanilla and chocolates on top and pink frosting, etc, etc.' I was good with cupcakes, but he indulged.

We've never been big on getting our kids toys until this year. Until their age appropriate toys got AWESOME. We found this stomp rocket (which just sounds way too close to snot rocket...ew) and it's a party.

Happy Birthday, gorgeous. Hopefully next year there will be less tears. But in the end, mission accomplished. You were so excited that night and couldn't believe how you got to party all day.

Abbey at Four

2011-07-05T04:45:00.000-07:00

And now some pictures of Miss Abbey from June 2010 to...

(the pictures we took to announce to our families the new member coming to our fam--it didn't make sense like I hoped it would, ha ha!)

...June 2011. Not too much of a change :) But that is her at four. And now some pictures from the beautiful gardens:

My gorgeous Abbey. It's funny to look at these pictures and realize you still look very much the same. I'm glad. We are not ready for you to grow up. I asked you if you were going to like fireworks this year and you said, "I don't think so." I said, "Well, you are a year older now, maybe they will be fun now," to which you said, "Well, I'm still the same size!" Even though you haven't grown much this year, you have definitely matured.

A lot of that maturity has come from preschool. I love your school but it was hard for me to give you up every day. And you LOVED preschool. Last fall, Dad asked you what you learned that day and you said, "We don't learn anything at that school." So funny. It could seem that way, I guess, but I can tell your reasoning and problem-solving skills have really improved. And you take a lot more ownership of how you feel. You're still having growing pains but I see you recognizing when and how things upset you and then beginning to work through it or explain to me why you are mad. Sometimes I react like you are still a toddler throwing a tantrum, but you've surprised me a few times and when I sit and listen to you, you have very valid reasons why you are upset. I'm glad you forgive me so easily.

I love your drawings. You spend so much time creating these days and your pictures are so detailed and fun. You come up with great ideas and games; if I was five, I'd want to be friends with you! You know, if I was five and liked to be bossed around :) Just kidding. You are definitely a leader but your teachers have been helping you to see that other kids have good ideas and you can have fun doing their plans as well. You funny kid, you have such a big personality in that little body.

What I love most is seeing this little person emerging with exciting passions and interests. It has thrilled me to see you taking to the water this summer. We went boating yesterday and you hopped on a tube by yourself--all of a sudden I saw you five years down the road and realized how much FUN we are going to have together. The independence you will get this year tears my heart a bit, but it is exciting to watch you grow up and to get to do new things together.

Of course I love that you love pictures. You are my best little poser. And you will be entertained forever with my point & shoot camera. I snapped cute pictures of you at the gardens in about one minute then spent the next two hours trying to get anything from Hayden. Dad grabbed out this smaller camera for you and you were happy the rest of the time.

love you, gorgeous

Let's Go To The Movies

2011-06-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

I hope you all have that song from 'Annie' stuck in your head now.

Our Hayden turned three years old in May! I had yet to throw the girl her own birthday party, so this was the year. It worked out to have the party while Aunt Allison and Uncle Noah were in town (it would not have happened without them!) In fact, five minutes before people showed up, I was nursing Bennett and still needed a shower. It was my own fault, I had in my head all day the party started later and it wasn't until that moment I realized--'no, no, no, they are going to be here in five minutes!!'

So all the Pace girls were a tad disheveled; Abbey pretty much wore a princess towel for a crown the whole night. Oh man, we are awesome these days.

The invitation was a sleeve with tickets inside for each kid in the family. After walking up the red carpet outside, they handed me their ticket to get inside and later got their cash for the concession stand. I didn't make a plan for how to handle eight kids all wanting things from the table at once, but they were so polite about it and dutifully paid for each toy or treat.

Of course, every girl was dressed up in some form of pink princess or ballerina :)

An hour or so before the party, J started setting up the trampoline in the front yard and giving the girls water balloons. Why? I don't know!!! He's the fun parent. It's been established. I had my 'what in the world!?' face on, but the trampoline turned out to be the unplanned hit on the night.

Hayden at Two Years

2011-06-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

A few pictures of my Hayden from May 2010 to....

...May 2011

My baby girl. You truly are startlingly beautiful to me. Sometimes I'll catch myself just staring at you, amazed at your stunning blue eyes and golden hair. We were laughing the other night about how you sleep with your eyes half open. Nana said it is because they are too big for your eyelids to cover :)

You were so fun this year--such a pleasant two year old. Sometimes I would forget you were only two because you are just so ready to jump into Abbey's world. You love her and love to drive her crazy. It's surprising how good you are at teasing her already. The two of you can play so well together and it amuses me to see you so engulfed in your pretend play--I wonder where the two of you go in your imaginations. You also play wonderfully on your own. I like to listen to you have conversations with your dolls. It usually reflects pretty accurately how I have been acting at the time!

You are a rather aloof child. Maybe that's not the right word. I call you my quiet stubborn one. Because you rarely throw fits or scream or cry, but you do find trouble. And usually when you are being scolded, you will half close your eyes, tilt up your chin, and get the smirkiest grin on your face. Maddening! And a little endearing, you sneak. I actually hope I never forget that particular face you pull.

I took you to a peony garden last week to get some three-year birthday pictures (of which you had absolutely no interest.) So I'd slyly walk behind you with the camera and ask you every now and then about the flowers. You'd run from bed to bed, smelling each variety. Then you'd throw your head back like this and say, "Mmmm! Stwawbewwy!" or "Mmmmm! Chocolate!!"

I love you, sweet pea. You are going through something major right now with the new baby here. I wish I could dig into that little head of yours and know just what you need from me to make it better. But you still delight us every day and I hope the next year is as good as the last.

What was THAT?!

2011-06-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

So about an hour ago I'm trying to entertain the kids outside and realize I need to feed Bennett. I take Hayden inside with me because I don't trust her outside and try to get her settled with activities and food so I can nurse. Bennett's almost done, almost asleep. Hayden waddles in because she just peed her pants on the couch. I quickly lay Bennett down as gently as I can so he'll stay asleep and I can take care of the pee situation. Just then I look outside and Abbey and her friend are throwing pool toys into the road so they can run and save them. I'm uncomfortable with them being outside alone anyway, so that does it. In the thirty seconds it takes me to gather their toys and clean up some sidewalk chalk, Hayden has gone in to find Bennett. She can not be trusted around that baby. Truly, it is a threat to his life. So he is awake and crying now. I grab Hayden so fast she drops her pancake on the floor and is in tears because I scared her. Bennett's in tears and needs to be calmed back to sleep. Then Abbey is in tears because something happened with her friend and a new toy.

So what I want to know is, IS THIS MY LIFE NOW?!

My New Bag, Baby

2011-06-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

When my cousin, Allyn, mentioned on her blog she had finished up a bag for a certain V.I.P., I dared not hope it would show up in my mail box. (I hardly consider myself a vip) I got a kick out of the package that showed up last week, especially since this was exactly what I was wearing when I opened it up:

I think she nailed my style!

Thank you, Allyn!! I am completely blown away by your mad sewing skills.
(Did I mention she was on her way to the hospital to meet her SIXTH baby when she finished this up?)

Blessed Baby

2011-06-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

We took this picture about two minutes before the biggest tantrum any of my kids have ever thrown. Epic. And we won't be winning any parenting awards soon for how we dealt with it. I hope that isn't how I remember Bennett's blessing day :) Is there an emoticon to show a weak smile? Something like this-- :? Eh, that looks more like half a mustache.

I hope I remember the sweet words Justin used to bless our son. I want to remember that we made it to church on time without the typical crazy rush in the morning. And the sweet lady who took the time to write the prayer down for me even though we've never actually met. And our friends who were there to support us on the special day. And that Bennett miraculously fit into his blessing outfit, I thought it would just be too big. And, simply, Bennett at six weeks. I never want to forget how he looks and feels right now.

Since You've Been Home

2011-05-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

Our first few days home were...emotional. Luckily, by kid three, Justin and I expected the tears and laughed through each episode. It's ridiculous, really. All I'd have to say to start a crying meltdown was, "I feel like...." even if it was just to say, "I feel like nachos tonight" or "I feel like it would be faster to get on the freeway". Just starting a sentence with 'i feel' was enough. J thought it was hilarious, which would start me laughing, and we got through it.

Enough about me, how's the baby? That little man! (seriously, he kinda looks like a little old man) He makes me want to have more!! He's what my brother-in-law, Jer, would call, 'The Trick'. You know, the easy baby that tricks you into having another :)

This is the little worried face I see on Bennett so often these days. I'd look like that too if my big sister (HAYDEN!!) was silently and sneakily trying to cut off my air supply every day.

The next two pictures are from the rainy afternoon we brought Bennett home.

She figured out right away the joy of snuggling a newborn and enjoying a show. This is a whole new experience--having a baby and a sibling old enough to hold him for a time. Now if I could just get my hands on an eight year old....

Perfect! My sister, Koryn, flew out for a week with her daughter, Whitney.
This picture cracks me up: Whitney navigating the capriciousness of the two-year old and Abbey sulking in the background.

My beautiful sister is the greatest; the greatest conversationalist, the greatest cook, the greatest baby snuggler. I mentioned something on facebook about her being in town and my cousin, Jen, wrote, "You got Koryn?!" Yes. Yes, I got Koryn. :) I started feeling down days before she left, just knowing the visit was coming to an end. Thank you, thank you Koryn!! Now come back :)

Did you know it's taken me a week and a half to do this post? I kept wondering why I can't express my thoughts at all right now. I wanted to jot down what life has been like the past few weeks and I can't. Because time right now is in little chunks, small bits of time in between interruptions and satisfying demands, especially since the accident. My mind is a bit off. In fact, two of the last three shirts I've worn were inside out all day.

But some quick things I want to remember:

--Abbey giving Bennett hugs and kisses every morning and predictably saying, "Mom! Isn't he the cutest baby you ever had?"

--J showing the girls clips of the Royal Wedding and all the questions that came with it: "Is she a real princess?" "Can she talk?" "So...is there a witch?"

--Resting Bennett's head in the crook of my neck while I read or watch a show. He fits so perfectly right now.

--Him falling asleep in about two seconds if I put him in a baby sling and carry him around the house.

--Oh. That face.

--The girls clinging to me just a moment longer than usual when we hug.

--Hayden thinking I feed Bennett through my bicep and insisting she can help out and feed him with her arm as well.

--Overhearing J tell someone why we named him Bennett. According to him, we named him after a sweet old man he used to visit and play checkers with at a nursing home he went to weekly in college. What?!

--Feeling a lot of love from and for my awesome husband. You don't realize how much someone does around the house until you are frantically trying to cover their responsibilities. It's hard for me to see him in pain and it's hard for him to see me...crazy. At the end of the day, we almost simultaneously say, "I'm so sorry, that was a hard day, are you ok?" Man, I love that man.

Just When We Were Figuring It Out

2011-05-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

awesome.

When J came home before midnight on his volleyball night, I knew something was up. He plays hard and sometimes playing hard results in a high ankle sprain and an avulsion fracture of the ankle.

so awesome.

His Baby Story

2011-04-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

Even though I felt all along this boy would hold out a little longer than the girls, when it boiled down to it, I was surprised to go past my due date. My doctor scheduled an induction for the next week and assured me through my reluctance that if we waited beyond that, there would be other complications.

Tuesday night was uncomfortable. But by that point, most nights were uncomfortable. I had washed all our linens that evening, so thought I had exerted myself and that was it. But at 6:00 a.m. I got up to use the bathroom and was, uh....a little wet. Just enough to make me call triage but not enough to soak through to my bed, whew! Clean-up crisis averted. Justin was already at the hospital, so I gave him a call (and was given instructions to HUSTLE), then made the calls to arrange for the girls.

I think I was feeling about every emotion on the spectrum at that moment. Stress that my house was drowning in a sea of laundry, disappointed that I would be coming home to that, absolutely ecstatic that I got to experience this hectic morning and avoid the induction. Then as I drove myself into the hospital, all the nervous, excited, anxious feelings that come when you are in for such a big day.

The hospital was packed, delivery rooms were occupied, and after a few hours, they started preparing the triage room for the chance I might just deliver in there. Everyone was apologetic, but I was just thrilled I was getting the staff I wanted (we'd been checking out the call schedule for a few weeks!) My OB (who rarely delivers anymore, she just does prenatal and c-sections) happened to be there for a surgery and dropped in. I think she had something to do with getting me out of there and into a great room. At the time, I honestly didn't care, but it was nice to be out of that clinical triage room. Then she spent the afternoon in my room, waiting and chatting with us. It was so fun to have her there for the delivery.

As for the delivery, I'm not sure what to say and where the story crosses into too-much-info-for-a-blog-thanks! :) It was incredible, I loved it. So, sooo much work, but incredible. This hospital uses a significantly lower concentration of epidural drugs than I've had before and it made for a very cool experience. I felt present. I don't know how else to describe it. I loved experiencing delivery this way--a lot more sensation but never crossing into the realm of unbearable pain.

Then he was here. And as drained as I was after all that work.

Sadly, I don't recall my emotions at the time. I honestly think I was too tired to take note. His head had been a bit turned and the cord was wrapped and holding him back. Everyone in the room was making weight predictions of high eight or nine pounds by how long it was taking. The little seven and half pounder was just in there a little crooked :) But I do remember wanting him in my arms, wanting to look over every part of that little body. And not wanting anything to distract from those plans.

I let Justin take the lead on naming Bennett this time. I was pretty bossy about the other ones. We had some great friends in college (the Bennetts...obviously) who we just adored. It's been years since we've been able to see them, but Justin brought up the name again a few months ago. We would toss around other names, but both kept coming back to it. So Mr. Bennett it is!

Abbey fell in love right away. What a fun age for her to have a real, baby doll. She was looking at his fingers, noticed his hospital band and asked "How much did he cost?" I said, "I don't know, what does it say?" She rattled off the 15 digit code on the band--ha ha! Pretty pricey! Hayden was very curious about his toes and set to making sure all ten were accounted for.

My family circus :)

I think I'm one of the few people who never wants to leave the hospital. Time stands still and other life distractions are gone for a bit. We got home around lunch time and the kids were already a little off from having me gone for two days. Hayden spilled an entire glass of milk she insisted on having without a lid; J looked at me, my eyes started filling with tears, and I mouthed, "Take Me Back!" That's so funny to think of now that the hormones have calmed down! Maybe it is that I'm not expected to be back in the full swings of life quite yet, but things seem to be going just fine. I am loving this little boy and he is getting all the affection he can handle from this household of girls. Towards the end of the night, J will say, "OK, I'm taking my turn now, give me my son." Love this family we're starting.

Brand New

2011-04-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Bennett Justin Pace
Wednesday, April 13th
7 lbs 8 oz

We're getting deserved flak for not posting pictures and in some cases, informing loved friends and family, of our new, beautiful son. Son. That feels strange to even type.

I feel like we are just keeping our heads above water to make Bennett feel welcomed and secure in our home. Every minute not spent doing that is spent making sure his two sisters feel secure in our growing family. Let the juggling act begin!

He is a wonder to me; such a perfect, healthy, beautiful baby. And his arrival could not have been more ideal. Details to come :)

It's About That Time

2011-04-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

...thirty-nine weeks...

Despite my efforts to slow down time, life and pregnancy are racing forward; this is happening! My mind is in a power struggle with my body. I keep telling him, "It's nice in there, it's warm in there. Stay a while!" But my body likes to remind me it is time and gives me a nice strong contraction every time I exert myself. And by exertion, I mean picking up a toy, buckling a kid in a carseat, or sneezing. The kids have kicked it up a notch as if to tell me, 'you have no business bringing another human into this house.' Message received. Too late now, folks.

When I feel overwhelmed and under-excited, I go grab his sweet little layette set from my hospital bag. A real little person! A real little person is coming to our house! It's exciting to think about meeting the little guy who's going to be a big part of our family.

The bag is packed, camera batteries charged, babysitter on speed dial and two back-up plans in place :) My nesting is manifesting in two ways this time. First, I want to get rid of everything! I hope I don't regret those bags and bags headed to the Salvation Army tomorrow. Second, I'm crocheting like an addict. For some reason it has helped my worry and anxiety about this more than anything. Maybe something about the repetitive motions, or the feeling of getting something accomplished when everything else these days takes so much energy. More than anything, I think it is my way of welcoming him to our home. I don't plan to be induced but tend to go early, so ready or not, here we go!!

February Rundown

2011-03-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

Is there a worse month than February? Not in my book. But a bad month, it was not. Actually pretty great. Have you noticed how many people really, really hate Valentine's Day? I say, any reason to party. And why not enjoy a holiday that gives you a chance to say, 'Hey! You mean something to me! I love that I know you!'

My dad made Valentines a big deal growing up. Obviously my mom did the behind-the-scenes work since she made the big dinner and they were her special chocolates we got from him, but she let him take the credit. And I continued the tradition :) I just think there's something really sweet about a daddy giving a Valentine's gift to his little girls.

It also gave me the chance to make up a few friend packages and thank you gifts and use up some of the bags (and bags) of cinnamon bears I bought while I was in Utah. I didn't particularly care for them when I lived there, but now that I can't find them? Well, picture this. Three sisters, one grocery cart: Megan's birthday dessert, my nine bags of cinnamon bears and Allison's 8+ lbs of pastel licorice (what? candy is expensive in NYC! And there was a certain awesome apothecary candy jar that needed fillin'), digging through the bin of Utah Truffles, looking for the mint variety. Not one of my finer moments, and the bagger in the grocery line was appalled and not discreet.

Wow. That was a digression.

Continuing the effort to combat winter blues, Allison and Noah flew in for a visit. I had Allison to myself for a few days while Noah was finishing the work week and I celebrated by food poisoning her. Poor thing, it was awful. But she was impressed by how I knew just what a puking person needed. So, you know...I've got that going for me.

They are crazy good with my kids. And nothing wins my heart over like winning my kids.

Here's Hayden explaining her insane rules for 'duck, duck, goose'. It reminded me of that 30 Rock episode where Kenneth is explaining how to play Mafia. Something along the lines of, "Everyone closes their eyes, except the murderer. And the only one who can talk is the detective so he opens his eyes. The murderer chooses one victim and closes his eyes. Then everyone opens their eyes and looks at the detective. But HE's the murderer! Wait..."

Then it was off to a little vacation with some of our friends from Justin's program. We stayed at an indoor waterpark a few hours away and completely exhausted our kids (and me) for three days straight.

I like Abbey's drunk face in the picture above. Maybe too many knocks in the wave pool. It makes me so happy to see her in the water, the girl is fearless. She would go in so deep, way beyond any kids her size and way beyond my comfort. And much bigger kids and people in tubes were constantly knocking her down, it stressed me a little. But every time I would try to hold her up, she'd yell "Let Go! Woo hoo! Wipe OUT!!!!"

Lloyd Smith Furniss 1918-2011

2011-02-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

My vivacious, intelligent, hilarious, classic grandfather passed away last week, just after his 93rd birthday. My, how the memories have been swirling this week. When my friend, Tiffany, heard of his passing, she asked, "Is Grandpa Furniss the one who lived with you guys for a while and had a beautiful set of white hair?" Yes. Oh, that hair.

As far as funerals go, his had to be one of the most fun. The man had the best sense of humor, stories that have the makings of legends, and a life filled to the brim with fun. There were plenty, plenty of tears, but I felt like so much of the day was spent celebrating his life. A lot of stories couldn't be shared as the service was held in a chapel :) but he was one of the rare few who can get away with that little streak of wickedness and still have people just adore him. And I learned a few things! I always knew Grandpa appreciated the female form, but I didn't know he had such a thing for legs! And Grandma did have a nice set of legs :)

I had never been to a service for a veteran, but it was quite touching and reverent. The whole funeral was done so well and I'm happy there were a lot of laughs. As Melissa put it, 'We laughed and cried and laughed so hard we cried.'

Grandpa lived in our home for most of my pre-teen and teenage years. I'm so thankful I have the earlier memories with his vigor for life. And I'm thankful I got to know him so well in his later years, of him staying positive and cheerful when so much of his freedom was gone. He was incredibly intelligent and always had a book nearby. And he was so funny. He met Hayden at a dinner at my parent's home when she was about three months old. He looked over at her and said, "Hello, new citizen," then nonchalantly said, "You and I both wear diapers."

Aunt Peggy, Grandpa Furniss, and my dad, Mark--around 1953

I love thinking of him with Grandma again. I love thinking of him in his strong, healthy body now. And I love all the memories I have of a really special Grandfather.

A one, A two...

2011-02-09T06:58:00.000-08:00

There was a beautiful dvd slideshow playing at my grandpa's funeral with the most incredible pictures of him in his young adult life. The man was a looker! And on his arm was my petite Grandma, always in a perfectly classic dress or overcoat. I was hoping to snag some while I was there, along with some of his artwork for the new nursery, but no luck this time. Well, no luck as far as that goes. Pretty darn lucky with what I found, though.

Grandpa had quite the accomplished career as a photographer, from pictures being published in Life magazine, Sports Illustrated, etc to working with famous celebrities. I was able to use one of his cameras for a class in college and needed his help figuring out the meter. I remember him saying that eventually you wouldn't need a meter, you would look at the light and know how it would eat away at the film. I'm not quite there :) My aunt and uncle were very sweet to haul down album after album of my grandfather's pictures for us to go through. I don't think there was any better way to spend the day then going through his books and reliving memories through them with my extended family. The thought was running through my mind this past week that I don't recall my grandpa being intrusive about his picture taking. I don't remember him 'setting up' shots, or getting in the way of our fun, or saying, "Look here! Over here! Smile, hold it...." He captured our lives in a very real way. So since I don't have some of those gorgeous pictures of him and grandma (that I'm just itching to get my hands on), I thought I would post some I found of me as a newborn.

To say I treasure these is an understatement! I love the colors and the lighting and the people. We try to get this look in photoshop after taking the shot and somehow he got it with just his Nikon and his dark room. I had only seen the picture below before, the rest were new to me. In fact, I only found these because I went searching for this one:

The picture is dated the 4th of July, 1983, which means this is the Barlow bash in Lewiston, Utah. And that's my sweet Grandma Furniss, passing a three-month-old me to my Grandma Barlow. I love that my mom and Grandpa Barlow (who passed away shortly thereafter) are pictured as well.

My parents canoodling on a Sunday afternoon :)

A few of my Grandma Furniss and me, how I miss that sweet lady. She was about as proper as they come and I chuckled this week thinking of her scolding Grandpa for swearing in front of us. He would undoubtably say, "Ah, hell, Carol." And that would be it :) My favorite story from the funeral (and there were some good ones!) was of the two of them watching a movie with my cousins. At one part, Grandma frowned and said, "Oh, that Hollywood kissing!" to which Grandpa replied, "Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it!"

And these last two of my parents, who were so missed this weekend. I'm not sure if my mom will love me posting this, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I must have it. See, my mom is a bit of a wonderwoman. I am...not. It's not that I love this picture in any sort of spiteful way, I love it because yes, my efficient, hard working, never-stopping mother was sometimes exhausted as well with the demands of a newborn. Ahh...I feel much better :)

Also, I would really like to know where this dress of hers is hiding.

Grandpa, thank you, thank you, thank you for these treasures. I miss you. I hope Heavenly Father lets you have your roller skates in heaven.

Contraband

2011-01-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

That's the smirky face of a girl taunting me with her stolen candy. No remorse. And why would she feel bad? I rounded the corner and saw her with the goods and immediately grabbed my camera. Lucky for her I was feeling sentimental today. And her red sucker matched her outfit perfectly...so....

I love this little golden chicken. Been feeling a soft spot for her the last few days. I've been going through family videos from 2009 to crop things out, condense it down, add some music montages so that we'll actually watch them someday. The girls have been helping me put the dvd together and Abbey asked why Hayden was crying in every video. Every. Video.

"What's making her so sad?"

"Honey, Hayden cried all the time when she was a baby. She just cried."

She's making up for it now. Mostly sugar--which holds me over through the little bits of spice she throws out there to keep it interesting.

This morning she was yelling 'no' at me about something. I told her to start over with a nicer voice and under her breath, she quietly said, "No, meanie." What do you say to that? Not much cause you're trying too hard to stifle the laugh.

Why, oh, Why, oh, did I ever leave Ohio?

2011-01-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

“You know that kid Liam who wears pajama pants to school and pays for things with hundred dollar bills? Two fun parents. Mark my words.” -Claire, Modern Family

J had a three day weekend, and that man can not stay home for three days straight. His initial plan was to head back to St Louis because the girls ask every day, "Can we go back to the Magic House?" Every day. But my kids only have one fun parent. And we do not live close to St Louis. So my compromise was the children's museum in Cincinnati. And I grumbled about it the next few days anyway.

As it turns out, J was right on the money. We had a great time--my kids are lucky to have him. And he forces me to be the kind of mom that I really would like to be but so often don't have the energy to pull off on my own initiative. I always laugh with my sister about how she and J are so alike--if those two were married, there would be no end to the last minute road trips and snow forts. I like to think he and I balance each other out. You know, I make sure there are car snacks and clean underwear involved. :) (Not that my sister would forget the clean underwear. She's just kind-of the whole package!)

Goldilock's idea of vacation activities mostly included cleaning and cooking in the play kitchen.

December Baby

2010-12-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

It is nice not to travel around the holidays, but it sure puts the pressure on to make the season memorable for my little family. I'll be honest, I may have not done it justice this year. I did what I could but when I started to feel the stress, I stopped. I didn't want them to remember it as the year 'mom made me cry every night' :)

One Saturday night, I told Justin to start coming up with a tradition or two that's important to him. I was eating my words when a huge snow storm hit the next day and he insisted we all go play in it. I protested; if there isn't a mountain to ski down, I'd rather not be in the snow. Then he said, "OK. New tradition. We must go out and play in the first snow fall of the year. {pause} It's important to me."

Well played.

It was a total blast. After the driveway was shoveled, I was plenty warm to help with the building of the fort and sledding down our hill out back. Over three hours later, we came in soaked and exhausted and happy.

We had a dinner party here on Christmas Eve. How I love to have a house full! The kids did a beautiful nativity. My friend's baby made for the perfect baby Jesus; the wise men and shepherds were so entranced by her, that it made for a very sweet scene. I didn't realize until I was going through the photos, but Abbey and Hyatt (Mary and Joseph) held hands the whole time. So sweet. I thought Abbey made a beautiful Mary and was so kind to let a certain little wise girl latch on to her as long as she needed :)

The girls had no interest in seeing Santa this year. At our church Christmas party, the bishop announced Santa was on his way. Abbey kept asking and asking where he was, I thought she was actually excited! But as soon as he walked in, she dove under the table and would NOT come out. Her whole body was tense, the poor thing. But she had a plan. She wrote "HEX BUG - - ABBEY" on a note and had her dad take it up to Santa. It's been nice not to focus on the Santa thing, but I'm sure glad he came through for her this year. Maybe she'll trust him a little more next time :)

We were able to skype with my parents who are spending their first Christmas away in Korea. It was fun for the girls to open their presents from Grandma and Grandpa while they watched (especially since it was a surprise to them what they got the girls, ha ha!)

Despite my best efforts, the girls were a bit exhausted on Christmas day. So I could have done without the whining, but overall we had a lovely Christmas holiday. Hope you did as well!

The Pre-Thanksgiving Meal

2010-12-13T12:25:00.000-08:00

The first thing Kyler wanted to do when he got into town was check out a local burger place. He had seen it on the Travel Channel or Food Network or something so we dropped off his bags and went straight there for lunch. It was the funniest eating experience of my life. Think soup-nazi meets burger joint. The place was packed, so I guess people like to be emotionally assaulted while eating lunch.

A few days earlier I was driving past a KFC and wondering if they were still going with Kentucky Fresh Chicken instead of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Seems like a lot of fast food joints are trying to come off more health conscious in the past few years. I had my own mental debate over the success of this marketing on my way to preschool. (I don't usually listen to music when I drive. So this is what I do.) Anyway! My thought was that some people, and dare I say, a lot of people who frequent fast food joints, may not care. May be attracted to the grease. This burger joint proved my theory. You can get as many patties as you want. There are signs inside that say things like "If you want low-fat, we have water" or Kyler's favorite, "Gain your freshman fifteen by October!" There is no shame. And it smells delicious. And it is packed.

The restaurant couldn't be more than 500 square feet and that space is filled with a few tables and bar stools, the grill and employees, and the snaking line of people willing to wait a long time for food. About 20 minutes in, I decided it would be smart to snag a table and sit with the kids. 15 minutes later, Justin calls to me across the snaking line and says, "Get up here!"

"What?!?" I mouthed.
"Get up here! Now! Grab the kids, get up here!"
"No!"
"Seriously. We won't get our food. Come now. Hurry."

You have got to be kidding. I guess I sat down with the kids before walking past the enormous sign of 'how to order' and missed out on a few of the rules. When Justin ordered my chicken sandwich, the cook said, "You know that doesn't have beef, right?" Justin laughed and said it was for his wife, to which the cook said, "Where is Mrs. Pace? She has to be here to order her food! Get her up here now!"

He wasn't kidding. I think he was just mad I ordered chicken.

The girls had to say goodbye to their ketchup, salt, and pepper 'friends', the line parted, I grabbed all our coats.gloves.hats.bags and then we squeezed through. By the time I got up there, Kyler had already been in trouble for telling the cook what cheese to put on his burger before it was time. I really thought they wouldn't let us eat after all the ordering infractions.

But the people in line saved our table, the food was artery-cloggin' good, and I was over the embarrassment by the fifth or sixth french fry. The place is so packed that the people in line are snug up to your table, looking over your food, and chatting to you about skiing in Park City while you eat in front of them.

Good times. I totally loved it. Thanks for getting us there, Ky Guy.

We love having Kyler around. In fact, he's been there for a lot of our big family moments; the night we got engaged, our marriage ceremony, Justin's graduation, Hayden's birth (not in the room, mind you.) He and Justin made my day by putting up Christmas lights just hours before he flew back home.

Everyone on three: one, two, three...

NOBODY DIE!!

Abbey was out there cheering them on the whole time :) I love this picture, good memories all week.

The Hostess

2010-12-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was at our place this year! I decided I really love hosting Thanksgiving. Or I just really love having company. And eating.

A few essentials for a good time:

The Turkey Lurkey:

That's right.
We had FRIED turkey, y'all!!!

I was leery. I made J watch safety videos. And I sent Randy and Kyler out with strict instructions to keep anything from exploding.

Next, so, SO much food.

Too much food. I learned and there'll be adjustments :)

This was the appetizer and dessert table at the END of the night. We had eleven people eating here, and it was barely touched. Light weights.

Also fun to have cutie pie kids around:

I'll admit the kiddos were rather neglected. Alanna and I cooked and cooked and cooked then I pretty much crashed the next two days. I totally forgot I had the makings for gingerbread houses--lame. But these girls did so well together and mine had a hard time when Keira left.

And the most important: The Company!

We were so happy to have some old college buddies (Randy, Alanna, and Kyler) fly into town to spend the holiday with us. It really means a lot to me when friends make efforts to be together, and these ones are some pretty good ones we've picked up along the way.

Randy and Alanna are always good for bringing the game of Risk. They brought out the board and the quest for global domination was on. Until around 1:00 am. When Alanna and I made an alliance that we would take everyone else out then call a truce and go to bed. It took some time, but it worked.

I'm not sure if the boys minded or not. I was in bed asleep about 30 seconds after we finally took Kyler out of Europe. I have a feeling they didn't mind since they were right back to football.

2010-12-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

OK, a month and a half later, I'm finally finishing up this trip.

Our first stop was to visit our fantastic friends, the Fields. Although, at this point, they are much like family in my book. It's crazy that over the course of our friendship, the majority of the time has been living apart. But Katherine is very much a part of my day-to-day life and it was refreshing to be with them for a few days. I think both J and I feel most like ourselves around Katherine and Bobby. A mark of a good friend, I would think.

I love and miss this small, quiet town. We took the girls to 'the square' one afternoon and I had forgotten how charming it is there.

Then I wanted to show the girls the campus and building where I taught before Abbey was born. They were not impressed.

Much, much more interested in finding and smashing the acorns outside.

We finally got to meet baby Claire! Don't you think she looks like one of our babies? Where did those baby blues come from? So sweet, I wouldn't believe a baby could be so good if I didn't see her first hand.

And...let's see. I think this was banana cream pie around the camp fire, if memory serves. Why banana cream pie? We like to keep it classy!

Gateway To The West

2010-12-01T12:50:00.000-08:00

Remember that trip we took a while ago and I never mentioned anything more about it and now I just feel obligated to write some stuff down about it before moving on to Thanksgiving? Because it was a really great trip for us; time with the girls, visiting great friends, hitting up our favorite spots in St Louis, and some H&M love.

We got into town and drove straight to the zoo before dropping off any luggage.

Hayden would take off her shoes and walk in the animal tracks every time she saw them. People...there are hundreds of animal tracks in that zoo. It took us some time :)

Then she found this pamphlet and would stop every minute or two to consult her 'field journal'. Thanks, Dora. Or Diego. One of you.

Emily was sweet enough to meet us there last minute for a beautiful afternoon at the zoo and found out she and I are due within a few days of each other (as well as nine other friends...April's gonna be big!)

The few days we were in town, we went nonstop. It was exhausting. But there were a lot of places we wanted to see again with the girls. My favorite, favorite place was The Magic House, a children's museum Abbey and I would go to two or three times a week when we lived there. The girls are still asking to go back.

It was fun to see her try the things she was too small for before. This beanstalk goes up three stories and she was able to help Hayden over the larger gaps.

The girls were having so much fun that we had to take a break to grab lunch then headed straight back.

Dewey's pizza. Right up the road. Perfect.

Justin's favorite place is Grant's Farm--in fact, I think he even has a hat :) We met up with some more friends there. It was good. Can't you tell:

THAT good :)

We hit up the ward Trunk-or-Treat, ran into a friend I played violin with in high school, and tried to figure out why Hayden kept saying, 'Trick or Treat Tower!'. Any clues to that one?

Round Three

2010-11-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

we're ready to pass along some news:
it's.... a....

As I've told family and friends the last few months, it seems I'm more surprised about this than anyone! Not that it was a surprise pregnancy. More like one day I was declaring my intention to wait another year and the next day everything changed and I felt strongly that it was time. Ready or not...he will be here early April!

I took the girls out tonight to take pictures with blue balloons and as my eyes filled with tears, I just couldn't keep it secret from them anymore. Justin started teaching the girls the word 'boy', and, well, that was one very excited little girl.

And one littler girl who cared more about the balloons.

Sugar and Costumes

2010-11-08T04:35:00.000-08:00

The last stop on our trip last week was our old stomping ground, St Louis. We have great friends we met there and many friends who have moved there since. Such a shame we weren't there together. My cousin, Melissa, moved in shortly after we left, and we met up with her in St Charles so the kids could load up on ice cream and run in circles. :)

I love this area and it was fun to visit the little shops I've been missing. Goldilocks and Bella Ballerina obviously had a great time getting to know Hermione (she's so cute!) Melissa was getting some pictures and asked her to cast a spell, and Chloe paused then sweetly said something fancy, like "Wingardium Leviosa". ok, ok, i totally had to google that. i know very little about ol' potter.

I was so excited about Hayden being Goldilocks. It is her favorite story and, really, she IS Goldilocks. I wanted to get pictures of her in all her curly, goldy, locky glory. No such luck. She's hard to catch these days. And Abbey wasn't giving me much either:

For a while she wanted to be Miss Mary Mack. I've been teaching her the hand clapping and rhymes and she LOVES Miss Mary Mack. I was so excited about that idea...all dressed in black, silver buttons up her back. And Hayden would be the elephant! Then she changed and insisted on 'ballerina'. Hmph. She did look really cute though despite showing me no camera love.

But wait...then she thought about it. A chance to show off her moves? She lives to show off her moves!

Ha! She's never taken a dance class (as evidenced by the funky chicken move) in her life so when she pulled that pose, I was delighted. What a ham.

last night

2010-11-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

last night.

i was snuggling you after reading stories. actually, not reading stories because you had a tantrum when hayden counted your fairies and you lost your book time. boy, you were mad. and sad. but still wanted your snuggling time.

i caught the faint scent of chlorine still in your hair from swimming lessons today. i thought about you jumping in. without me. braving the deep end. without me. i love that you have little fear taking on this world without me. which is probably why i really love these snuggle times. i started a ten minute timer for snuggling time earlier this week but you know i won't stick to that. and dad is on the phone so he hasn't come searching for me yet. so ten minutes turns into thirty...forty. how funny that all three of us often fall asleep in one little twin bed.

hayden is still holding my hand. when i start singing the Beatle's 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand', both of you grab my hands. she still hasn't let go and is completely asleep. when i started to wiggle out of bed, you curled in even more, in a way that made me stay. but not twenty seconds later, you are snoring and i'm out of there. i need more hours in the day. or to get by on less sleep.

i walked into the office to find dad and noticed this picture on the desk, waiting to be framed. what a pretty little girl i have.

Post Halloween Daze

2010-11-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

-still working a little sugar out of our systems-

To The Fields!

2010-10-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Just relaxing, laughing, eating like kings, and enjoying being with people who totally get us. How's your week going?

Making Amends

2010-10-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

It seems to be the consensus in blog-land that everyone is in love with Fall. I think I can put my differences aside and give the season a chance. The plan:

(1) break out the hooks!

...and my delicious stash of fall colored yarn. I found some cute newborn beanie patterns but was having a hard time adapting them for bigger noggins. I started this one for Teig, and lucky me, he was here to watch conference while I was finishing so I could get it just right. Err..at least, closer :) Any crochet experts know how to make patterns work for bigger heads? Or know enough to tell me to buy a new pattern :)

(2) evening walks around the lake

Really, how can I stay sour with Autumn when we've had the most glorious weather the last few weeks. Starting to win me over...almost.

(3) smells of homemade bread

I make all our bread from scratch, of course. Ha! Ha ha! No. No I don't. In fact, it had been so long that I forgot my wheat bread recipe fails to mention to add the salt. I forgot this twice. Two bad batches, grrr. SALT!! is now written in angry red letters on my recipe.

Nevertheless...brings the happy feelings to be in the habit again. I always have rolls coming out of the oven when people come over for dinner. Only because I've had a few disasters when having company over (one in particular where I didn't cook out all the alcohol in a chicken dish). My theory is that if you have hot rolls on the table, your guests will easily forgive and forget the rest of the meal! I need that insurance.

I'm not letting Hayden help me again for a while. Top right picture, she turned to say 'cheese' and dumped the cup of flour on the ground. Which was just a small part of her overall mess. Making memories, right? Yeah. Well, I'll wait to make memories when her hand-eye coordination improves a bit :)

But do you need a fail-proof dinner plan? I give you:

(4) Butternut. Squash. Lasagna.

Allison made it last fall and in my memory her description went like this: "You layer the lasagna noodles with a layer of butternut squash pureed with crushed macaroons, then a creamy layer of whole milk, butter, flour that you blend with fresh basil and nutmeg blergie blah blah, sha na na....."

No need to continue. You had me at pureed cookies.

link to recipe or:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
3 amaretti cookies, crumbled
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.

Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Can You Hit Replay?

2010-10-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

If I could get this day to loop again and again, a la Groundhog Day, well...I'd take it.

Piling Up

2010-09-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

What I should have been doing this morning:

What I did instead:

I also may have made her watch some Jon Stewart with me...as any good mother would.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Bill O'Reilly

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

What the what?!? Is that my delightful friend, Jeffrey Stevens, serenading Bill O'Reilly in for an interview? Made my day. I may have ended up watching the entire episode, because, well, Jon Stewart can make me laugh to tears. Then back to the dollhouse. Now I'm blogging. The laundry is still sitting there. I need a push here, people!

Fine, It's Over

2010-09-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

Missing summer already.

I'm trying to fall in love with fall again, but as mentioned before, the season is strongly tied to exhaustion and morning sickness for me.

But we did have one great summer. Here are a few of my favorite pictures and memories that I never ended up blogging about. Goodbye, summer.

The New Routine

2010-09-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

on the way, on the way, on the way to the...

All sorts of excitement! Party with friends every day! Nothing could be better! Nothing could bring this girl down!

Oh wait....

Hayden can't come? Talk about your all-time bummer.

I couldn't be more thrilled about the preschool Abbey got into--except the 5 days a week thing. We're all adjusting. I might even have Hayden out of her pj's by the time we go to school by the end of the week :)

Relish

2010-08-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

Everything this girl says cracks me up. Not so much what she's saying, but the tiny little voice that says it. I'll bust up then go repeat it to Justin. He says I need to be around adults more.

You know. Refine my sense of humor or something.

That There's an RV

2010-08-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

We snuck away for a little anniversary celebration. Oh...and these two tagged along :)

I looked into surprising J with a weekend away, but didn't know what to do with the girls. So I quickly decided to scrap my ideas and go celebrate our anniversary as a family. I've met a sweet girl this year through blogging who got married the same week as us and celebrates it with her kids. I love that idea--celebrating the anniversary of your family with your family :)

We were one of the first people on the beach that morning. Mostly because we were the only ones awake at the crack of dawn. See, we decided to rough it and go camping. What we didn't know was the 'campground' was a parking lot for RV's. We died laughing when we pulled up. We went back to the actual campground to talk to the lady who set up our reservation and she said, "Yeah...I didn't want to say anything and scare you." She offered us a spot in the wooded area, but we opted for the parking lot/sand dune since it was literally right on the beach. So we set up camp among the serious RV'ers, met a lovely couple, Jim and Sallie, who offered their fire and company, and were the first ones awake since everyone else was snug in their beds.

This pensive look on Hayden's face was so curious to me, then I went in for a closer look:

She was trying to 'kiss the sand'. I don't know. Then she didn't know what to do and didn't dare open her mouth. Silly kid.

My main objective was to take a nap on the beach. I woke up to someone laughing about the 'sun bathing baby' and found Hayden completely zonked out in the sand. I'm glad they woke me up so I could put a towel under her and an umbrella over her. Silly kid.

Where was Abbey this whole time? That kid is a fish!! She finally caught our love for the water. She wanted to walk me over to see the lighthouse and it took us 15 minutes to make the three minute walk. She seriously could not stay out of the waves. She'd get out and start walking with me, notice a wave, and go right back in. {side note: she just walked in the room and said "My heart has a bad feeling. My heart is choking because I need some water with ice in it." What?!?} Anyway, we eventually got there and Abbey dared me to jump off the pier like the other teenagers loitering about. I pretended I was scared so that she would egg me on some more. Little does she know I LOVE jumping off things into water. Eventually I got a running start and dove head first into the water. Coolest Mom Ever Status: Solidified.

It's safe to say we found the best ice cream in town. The little place totally reminded me of La Beau's in Bear Lake--all the sun-kissed families enjoying a treat after a day in the water. Abbey charmed the lady into putting a cherry on top for her. That girl always gets what she wants.

One evening a lady walked by, saw our tent in the shadow of a $100,000 RV the size of our old apartment in St Louis and said, "It just doesn't seem fair does it?" Then she saw the kids and said, "You all slept in that tent together?" then just busted up laughing. So did we. It did look pretty pathetic. Even more so the next morning as we packed up in the rain at 7 am after being hit by a storm all night. But overall, it was a fantastic little getaway.

We Know How to Pick 'Em

2010-07-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Something makes me deliciously happy when we roam this little raspberry patch. I love it. Love it, love it. And how cute do those girls look with their milk gallons tied around their waists?

Ha! Caught it mid-spit. "Dats a bad bewwy!"

The blackberries were a hit this time. Did you know those blackberry bushes are vicious? We all have the battle wounds after running down the row before realizing the thorns involved. Abbey opted for higher ground:

My little Hayden. Becoming quite the drama queen. This is what I got after refusing to let her hold my camera:

Cue Charlie Brown music...

how do they even learn that stance?
But in my defense, she looked like THIS:

We went to the patch on a whim while out running errands so the girls weren't dressed for the stains.

Then we still had some shopping to do afterwards.
Looking like this.
And we lost her at the store.
Looking like this.

I'll remember this next time I see a bedraggled child at the grocery store. Maybe they just came back from some fun.

Our Summer Haps

2010-07-25T05:30:00.000-07:00

Wanna know what I love? My lawn. Ha ha! Seriously! Look at that lushness.

This is one of those summers where everything is just right. I love my kids ages, I love the fun we can go do every day. Hayden is doing well skipping naps, so we just play all day.

Melody found a children's garden online that happens to be just around the corner. Our kids found a perfect, shady spot to have lunch in the fairy corner.

Little glass beads were strewn about and the kids went bananas for them. It was like magic for them, I loved watching it. In fact, I bought my own bag at Hobby Lobby to scatter a few every time we go for other kids to find. (One time we went and the beads were all gone...it wasn't pretty.)

There are also all sorts of things scattered on the ground to build fairy houses. I took Hayden to the bathroom and when I returned, Melody had built this:

Those lucky fairies.

The girls love water balloons right now. But they DO NOT like them to pop. The things are actually their balloon babies and they walk them around, put them down for naps, love on them. As my sister overheard on the phone, it is pretty traumatic when one of them pops. A few nights ago we were outside playing with the babies in some hot, summer weather and within minutes this enormous storm came through.

One of my favorite memories as a kid was running through a summer storm with my mom, having a water fight with the water running down the gutter :) I thought of her and easily convinced Hayden to join me and Abbey ran out a few minutes later. I love warm rain storms.

My mom randomly emailed me the next day about that particular memory. She was giving a talk in Korea and told that story. She and I hadn't talked about it for years...if ever. It's fun we were both thinking of summer storm memories this week.

Party 'Till You Crash

2010-07-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

We partied HARD, starting out the weekend with a curry barbeque at the Aanderuds. I was disappointed to learn my kids were both terrified of fireworks. Fun, fun night. Got home late, woke up early for a pancake breakfast and games with the ward.

We both agreed the kids needed some naps, then woke them up early to head to another party with Justin's co-workers who have become some great friends for us here. And (yay!) the girls both gave the sparklers a shot. On our way home we found a neighborhood putting on their own firework show. We were stunned at how much they spent on fireworks and we'll be back next year. It was perfect to park our car right next to it and watch from inside so the sounds didn't frighten the girls. Maybe we'll pitch in some cash for the show next year!

The next night we were off to J's department head's home for his annual party. Such a great party in a beautiful setting with our own firework show, it makes me happy to continue this tradition.

The girls love the chicken coop and searching for the pale blue eggs, but I took the picture below of Abbey seconds after three of them flew right past her head and ruffled her curls. She was a bit wary after that. Hayden was not!

J unexpectedly had Monday off, and I always love to make poffertjes when we come across a relaxed morning.

Quite the picture overload! But it was a bit of an overloaded weekend, I think we're just now recovering :)

Oooh, edit to add: you will need a poffertjes pan! People are wanting recipes, but I should have warned you'll need some new cooking tools. http://fantes.com/aebleskiver.html (the nonstick poffertjes pan towards the bottom) We came across them in the Netherlands and I begged Koryn to keep taking us back to the market to eat. She bought me my pan for Christmas years ago and it is such a fun breakfast to do. It's a little more labor intensive than pancakes, so I only whip it out when we have some time to enjoy the meal. If you get one, let me know! I'll email you the recipe.

Theatrics

2010-07-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

My girls LOVE Goldilocks and the Three Bears right now. I didn't bring our regular books on our trip so they wanted to hear me tell them Goldilocks every night. One evening they got the idea in their heads to act out the story and lucky for them, awesome Uncle Noah and Aunt Allison are always willing to indulge. I don't think they knew what they were in for. Abbey wanted to go through the story about four or five times, each time playing different characters.

My favorite, favorite moment of the night was when Allison was playing Goldilocks and Hayden was baby bear. Hayden surprised me and really understood what was going on; when Allison fell asleep in her bed and Noah and Abbey took off to check on the porridge, Hayden went straight over to Allison and started crying, "Dats MY bed, Dats MY bed!" then tried to drag her away. I loved this night.

Pure Sugar

2010-06-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

We're hitting the terrible twos something fierce.

This one is getting very picky about what fork/cup/blanket/napkin/toothpaste/crayon she'll use. And all her clothes have to be put on by her feet, nothing can go over her head. Her insistence on independence frustrates her and me. My little love...pray for her!

Simply Life

2010-06-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh...in-laws. Not to be confused with, augh! in-laws! Not at all. I love life at the Pace house. It seems beautiful things just happen. Even just relaxing on the porch, eating a lunch...I sat and simply soaked in the beauty. Then promptly grabbed my camera. 'Cause it's what I do.

Doting

2010-06-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

I lucked out. Last week in church the primary got up and sang a Father's Day song. I looked over at Justin, eyebrows raised, mouth in a little 'o' of surprise. Then couldn't stop laughing and apologizing that I had forgot about Father's Day. The stinker let me believe it all day. We have a stake meeting today with Elder Bednar and so the primary did their program a week early, come to find out. Phew!

Gave me the chance to prepare. As Justin spent every moment that afternoon with the kids, I realized they have quite the attentive Dad and it would be fun to write down all the 'dad' stuff he did this week. So...in LESS than a week:

All in the few hours he's home from work! At first I thought he had found my list and was sort of milking it. But no, it's safe to say this is pretty par for the course. I love that guy. It is especially sweet to me that this is truly what he wants to do with his time.

Happy Father's Day!

High on a Hill

2010-06-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

The reason for our jaunt out to Utah was to see my parents before they head off to Korea for three years. A few months ago I talked my mom into scheduling some condos in Sun Valley rather than hanging around the house, the thought being we'd spend better time together if we weren't pulled by distractions at home. And better time, indeed, since it rained and we were inside together for the majority of the trip, ha ha! Fortunately, Mom planned a bunch of 'Minute To Win It' games. I've never watched the show, but holy canole, I was brought to tears from laughing several times. And listen well, all of you. If that video of me trying to get the ping pong balls out of the kleenex box ever makes it on youtube, I have revenge video of my own!!

I love, love, love Sun Valley. Wonderful memories of swimming, hiking, horseback riding, tennis, concerts. Biking everywhere but eating back every last calorie with fantastic food. And boy-howdy, how we ate. Koryn, Mom and I spent the better part of an afternoon just planning the menu before we left. My plan to do a kite-flying birthday party for the girls (and Noah...'cause what 27 year-old man doesn't want a kite-flying birthday party?) was a total flop. I tried to make up for it with tons of balloons but did not opt for the 'high float'... did you know helium balloons don't float long at high elevations?!? I had no idea. But it was great to celebrate their birthdays with the family, which hasn't happened...ever. I love this family of mine. So many intelligent, kind, interesting people in one place.

Love this last picture of my mom hauling Hayden down the mountain while she just sits there and blows bubbles. What a life.

Afternoon of Tea

2010-06-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

Grandma Furniss's dishes. Red velvet cake. The little birdie salt-and-pepper shakers peeking out from tea cups and teapots. I was so happy to see her pumpkin seed table topper, it made me feel special for some reason :) It was a feast for the eyes and then just a regular feast. Or verging on gluttony, truly, I could not stop eating! Nicole knows how to put on a party!

I had the pleasure of sitting across from this sweet face. It was obvious Bridget has sat at a tea party or two, she was perfectly lovely. I think I made her nervous taking a thousand pictures of her from across the table.

(The kids got grape juice, we got the good stuff :) )

Abbey took note and wanted to do tea parties the rest of our trip. Good thing Nana had a suitcase filled with soiree essentials.

Thanks Nicole! It was a perfect afternoon.

Quandary

2010-05-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

Do I let her believe in fairies and pixie dust?

Or do I go ahead and bust that bubble before she kills herself. Because she's sharpening her skills and getting brave. And it is quite the drop off that ledge.

Motherhood

2010-05-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

Highlights:

~(pictured above) i haven't had to use an alarm in years. i wake when my two come climb into bed with me. every single morning, flanked by my little loves, hayden sweetly demands to 'nuggle me!'

~ the bracelet the girls picked out for me at a garage sale. i might wear it forever.

~ leaving a message on my mom's answering machine. whoops, i stink. sorry, mom!

~ abbey's first time singing with the primary at church. she was...the loud one, ha ha.

~ justin asking abbey to help me clean up her playroom to which she replied, "I already told her 'Happy Mother's Day."

~ celebrating with paul, melody, and cousin dave. and not knowing who should do the dishes since it was mother's day, justin's birthday dinner, and paul and dave's actual birthday.

~feeling so much love and support in this chosen job of mine. i am so grateful to have a family and church who value the role of motherhood.

A Moving Bonus

2010-05-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

It's been mentioned that we moved. Yes. Our landlords found a great opportunity back here and, you know, wanted their house back. It was unexpected and quick. I think everything will work out (maybe even better) except two big things. I grew quite attached to my neighbors. We can always take a drive to visit but nothing like walking out my back door and having an unscheduled, great conversation with Jeannie over popcorn and limeade. Then the yard. The lovely bike path through the back, the great creek and greenery for the kids to explore. And...more selfishly, for me to run back and catch a photo of the kids when the thought struck. Was so looking forward to seeing it in spring.

So I got a little gift. I missed a turn on the way home the other day and ended up driving past this field. This gorgeous, gorgeous field. We took the girls back a few nights later and let them have a little picnic with their babies so I could get in a photo fix.

As we were loading them up to go, J asked if it was ok for them to take their butterfly nets since he had promised them they would go butterfly hunting earlier. Uh....yes! Too many times there are tears and protests and bargains and bribes to get a picture done. But this one was magical. I'm so happy with how they turned out and delighted that the night itself was just as lovely.

I would love to find more things to love about the new stomping ground. A worthy goal for Pretty Mondays, I think.

A Brief Respite

2010-04-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

Really? It's been over a month? Why the break? I usually have so much to say ;) Oh...you know. The move. The tax season. The hubby who had a break and likes to be on the go. The glorious spring weather. Just livin' the good life.

And if you prefer to not hear me gush about my kids, probably time to tune out. Because they have been making me deliriously happy lately. They make me want to have six more kids so I don't have to be out of this phase for a long time. I find myself being drawn into their world a lot more lately. Which is just fine, I'll take advantage while I feel that way. Because I don't always feel that way. So I think that has more to do with the blogging break than anything.

My heart leaps to look back and see Abbey put her arm around Hayden and snuggle her in when I walk out of their room at night. To see the kid who protests when I try to wash shampoo out of her hair all of a sudden dunk her face in the pool and swim four feet. To hear the kid who hasn't had much to say all of a sudden using 5-6 word sentences. To glance out the windows at the gym that overlook the pool to see that my sweet husband checked the kids out of daycare, changed them into swimsuits, and is playing a mean game of sharks and minnows. To find Abbey more interested in Jesus at Easter time and a little terrified and confused about the bunny. It wasn't endearing at the time when she kept us up all night. Once to see if the bunny came. Once to make sure I left a note on the door asking him to leave the candy outside. And once to ask me to call him and just cancel all together. If my daughter tells your kid there's no Easter bunny, I do apologize. J had had enough :)

This one is getting the perfect sense of humor.

She does this thing called 'two mommies' where she crosses her left eye a bit so that she sees two of me. She's doing it in the picture above, but usually her face is really serious because she knows it makes me laugh harder that way. She likes to hold my GPS while we drive and was insisting we were lost yesterday and said, "We're lost. I know it. We're lost in South Cakota."

I wouldn't say she's the most sensitive kid. But the other day she was helping with dinner and some onion juice went into a little cut on my finger. I grimaced and she thought I had cut my thumb. She grabbed it and put pressure on it with both hands and calmly said, "Oh mom, it's ok. It's ok, you're doing great." And I totally let her think I was hurt so she would pamper me for a few minutes. It felt so good.

The Haydster has taken my heart by storm. Absolutely adorable. Making up for her rotten infant years, I suppose. She is a delight and still has the softest skin. When I've been away from her for a few hours, I get little butterflies in my stomach when I see her again.

The peanut pays attention and has quite the memory. If you get a chance, ask her about Darity and the ghost. It's hilarious! She can charm me out of any mood. Whenever we start to raise our voices at her, she'll whisper, "Shhhh! The baby is sleeeeping!" Then we smile and the little enchantress goes on her way.

Aaaannnd...I'm done. These people make my life so sweet. The end.

Learning Our Senses

2010-03-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Resale Therapy

2010-03-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

I wish I could send Charyce a year ahead of me whenever we make a move. She was in town last Wednesday so we met up to visit her favorite vintage/reuse/thrift shops. She's always in the know, I love that girl.

I'm loving pearls lately. If these were real, they'd be on a nicer strand, but for 50 cents, I don't care.

Totally judged the book by the cover. Actually, just the color of the cover. Which is even worse. I've been looking for old books that match the colors in the girls' room and these places were the mother load.

This particular one was about 2,000% more expensive than the others, but I'm sure they knew some sucker would buy it anyway because she needed a pick-me-up. :)

I was nervous to buy too much that afternoon. I have commitment issues when shopping. But I kept thinking about that lace dress I left behind and came across the perfect cardigan to pair with it. I bravely took the girls with me to stop by and get it a few days ago.

Abbey LOVED the store. Granted, she doesn't get to go shopping much. But it was a feast for the eyes and she 'ooohed', and 'aaahhhed' over everything. The ladies laughed and commented on my enthusiastic shopping partner.

As we were checking out she said,

"I just love this place. I saw everything that's important to me."

I can't make this stuff up, people. That girl makes me laugh every day.

By the way, does anyone know how to safely wash a dress like that?!?

A Good Monday To You

2010-03-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

Do you ever look at your children and think, "You are a total rockstar, kid!"

A Morning Treat

2010-03-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

The bigger little one this morning: 'I know! Let's dip strawberries!'

We like to have dessert after every meal around here.

I just happened to have a few strawberries and just enough chocolate chunks to fill a little teacup.

She dipped them all herself and even taught the little, little one how.
As many of you pleasantly know, chocolate dipping is in her genes. Although, it looks like it is a generation-skipping gene in my case.

What a Relief!

2010-03-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

I can finally spill the beans!

check out the handsome couple, second one down
(Mark & Julie Furniss)

When I heard the news late one night in October, I was nothing but thrilled for my parents. My dad has always talked about wanting to serve a mission in Korea someday. In fact, in my early years, I was under the impression I had been adopted from Asia. And my mom? My mom has always encouraged my siblings and me to go explore this big world. My heart leapt at the thought of my sweet mom getting HER big adventure.

The next morning, my sister admitted to shedding a few tears when she heard the news. I was curious why I hadn't had the same reaction. The morning went on and thoughts popped in my head about probable babies being born in the next three years, possible weddings, grandparents who are currently receiving amazing love and service from my parents, does Dad just retire now? Do we go home for Christmas? Where's home? Where does Megan go when she has a week off school? What does Collin come home to next summer? And just as they are right now, the tears started flowing.

Many of my friends here are not LDS and it was interesting to hear their reactions and questions when I told them my parents were moving to Korea for three years to be 'mission presidents'. They wondered if my dad would continue his business over the internet from there (no...), if they can come back to the states to visit, (no...) if they'll get paid to do it, (no....). Then almost every single one next asked "Do they have to do it?" or "Can they say 'no'?"
They can say no. But they wouldn't. I don't think many people would.

It's been awesome to watch them go through the process of preparing for this opportunity. Whenever we asked our parents for things we couldn't have, they'd always joke about us getting in the wrong line in heaven. I don't know what I did to get in their line, but I feel pretty lucky to be their daughter.

Need a Pretty Project?

2010-02-22T06:05:00.000-08:00

My friend, Missy, did a blog post about the owl shirt and paired it with an adorable tulle skirt. I've seen these around and in boutiques and always thought it was something I could probably figure out and not pay boutique prices for it.

Turns out, pretty easy! Basically ruffle two long, 3-inch wide layers of tulle together, make a tiered skirt out of the same color, and top stitch the ruffled tulle right on the seams of the skirt. Find the much more detailed tutorial here.

I always buy more fabric than I end up needing and bought twice as much tulle as I needed. But then the girls had two birthday parties last week, so I sewed up a few more, threw in a crocheted flower clip, and we were good to go. All four skirts cost me less than $20. The tutorial calls for at least 2 yards of tulle per skirt but I only needed a little over one. Maybe I was making smaller skirts. But I say get yourself a bunch (it's cheap) and make a few extra for the little girlies in your life.

These pictures don't make it seem as frilly as they actually are. Trust me, these babies are twirl-able fun!

Oh, Love

2010-02-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

That boy is sure outnumbered, isn't he? Happy Valentines from J and all his Pace girls.

Fairness

2010-02-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

It happened. We wore right through our pajamas this week. I am a baby when I'm sick. Really, pathetic.

I've been making a conscious effort to spend better time with my kids, not just give them an activity to keep them out of my hair. I feel I've been defending my stay-at-home mom role a lot lately. Sometimes to myself. So I thought--ok, I've made the sacrifice, I've made the decision. Might as well not do it halfhearted (well, actually, I thought of a different word, but I won't put it).

Plus, I've been concerned about Abbey's sassiness lately. The problem is that the things she says are taken straight out of my mouth--it sounds so disrespectful coming from her. We're just getting in some bad cycles. So I called my old friend, Andy. I learned so much about life and parenting from him and Heather and he happens to know a thing or two about family dynamics.

He recommended 'Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child' by John Gottman. I'm not too far in, but I laughed to myself at this part:

"Behavioral psychologists have observed that preschoolers typically demand that their caretakers deal with some kind of need or desire at an average rate of three times a minute."

I think that's high for my kids, you know...they sleep sometimes. But I do know Abbey is more receptive to my discipline if her cup is full. In fact, she hardly needs much discipline if I've been filling that cup with praise and attention during the day.

So still trying to figure it out. Finding that balance of taking care of myself and doing right by my kids. Always working on balance. I hope if I err, I tend more to their side.

Not Lookin' Pretty

2010-02-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

I am so pathetic today. And frustrated. And sick. I haven't been this sick in a long time.

I need to get fingerprinted for the IRS. My local PD won't do it, the people they referred me to told me (when they finally called back five days later) the IRS insists on 'ink' ones and my police department would have to do it. Local PD said they simply don't do it anymore and referred me to the Country Sheriff whose phone lines disconnect you every time you choose an option in their endless phone menu. I'm considering committing a petty crime so I can get this done and start my tax season, I'm already feeling that April deadline and my time ticking away.

Thought I'd do a little blog post about preschool this week but when I went to pull pictures off my camera, it repeatedly told me the memory card had an error. After looking through the pictures over and over, I finally decided to just reformat the card and lose everything that was on there. Turns out...the card's not the problem. The card reader probably is.

So I'm going to go play with my kids and forget the rest of the world for today. If you need me, I'll be lost in a land of doll houses and princesses.

Pretty Paintings

2010-01-25T12:33:00.000-08:00

Abbey's big Christmas present this year was an art easel. I know you more experienced mothers feel you have a million pictures and art projects laying around, but this is so new and charming for me. She loves to draw and gets so focused on her paints. She'll dab a little, step back to look, come back and make a few more strokes until she's satisfied.

When she's done, she makes me close my eyes and stands in front of her work with both arms stretched out. Then she unveils with a 'Ta-Da!!'

This particular one is of her and her dad. When J asked why he had so many eyes, she said, "Those are your whiskers!" He can be a bit grizzly when he gets home after a 32 hour shift.

Winter Retreat

2010-01-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

All I want to do these days is practice the piano and play ping pong. I found some beautiful, challenging pieces for the former and I've been schooling J in the latter. And anyone who thinks he may be letting me win does not know him well!

Winter blues? I don't know, I don't think so. I have no desire to leave the house and that is unusual. But I'm thinking it's more of a winter-embracement. I am pretty content these days (although my sister would tell you otherwise after she had to talk me down off the proverbial ledge Saturday morning).

Throw in some hot cocoa, soup, and warm bread, and you just might not be seeing much of us until the spring thaw! I can hold out as long as the kids can :)

At The...Carwash!

2010-01-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

And now for my favorite moments and pictures of the week.

The girls found heaven:

Those of you who are lucky enough to have memories with my little sis know that her memories are strongly tied to food. I realize now she was trying to maximize our time and nail down 'favorite aunt' status with the nieces she rarely gets to see. Well done, sis.

Ice cream in Time Square

A little cookie baking time:

And incredible, mood-changing, devil's food cake cheesecake from Junior's. I ate it with my eyes closed. And every bite seriously pulled me out of the stinky mood I had that morning with my kids. We told Abbey to show Noah her treat and got this: {classic}

I wish I would have thought sooner to wrap my scarves around the girls. It was a frigid week and this definitely helped. Obviously a little too big for Hayden, so as soon as I figure out how to knit, the first thing will be baby scarves.

Again, Abbey, with the dancing. I love this girl.

Al & Noah had to head back to work on our last day, but I (wisely) scheduled a late flight so they could help me get back to the airport. Every child in that city needs their own entourage. But I was on my own for a day. I seriously considered trying the subways. But alas, I was not equipped with the gear, the courage, or the few extra hours I needed for when I inevitably got confused and lost. I was especially leery after Allison told me about the baby stroller that accidentally rolled and fell onto oncoming train tracks (baby survived, you can pull your heart out of your stomach...I know, I just about died as she was telling me).

Anyhoo, the Staten Island ferry is a short walk across the park from Al's pad, so the girls and I boarded to float past the Lady in the Harbor. This was such a sweet memory. We have a book I read to Abbey about a little girl who daydreams about sailing a boat to find her friend who moved away. She talks about sailing past Lady Liberty and out to the ocean. Abs was so excited to see her ("she's green!") and tell Hayden all about the story. So sweet.

These two, I love 'em. We all adore Noah and Allison gets me better than anyone else (for better or worse, ha ha!) They were so sweet to spend New Years, a weekend, and two of their vacation days hauling my stroller and luggage up and down stairs. Not to mention lovin' on my kids and spoiling us rotten. I lost my little point-and-shoot camera with all our New Year's pictures on it, so maybe we will have to go back next year, I don't know.

So Here We Are in NYC

2010-01-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

Get ready for a big ol' post of us just standing in front of cool stuff :)

This is the view from Allison and Noah's office, not too shabby, eh? We kept a pack-n-play there and it was so nice to hop over there when the girls needed a nap. And speaking of Allison and Noah:

The most gracious of hosts! We couldn't have done it without them. Literally. I don't think I could do that city without at least a 3 adult: 2 children ratio.

I really wanted to blend in, avoid the 'I'm A Confused Tourist' look. I was curious if I could hack it as a big city momma. As it turns out, no. When I told Katherine I was taking the girls there alone, she told me how empowering it was for her to take her girls to Chicago by herself last year. Well, I definitely did not leave there feeling empowered! How do people have kids there?!? I would need a more subway-friendly stroller, a better place than my back pocket for my metro card, and if NY could install an elevator or two in the subway, I'd be much obliged.

This mosaic was awesome and Abbey loved running by shouting the letters.

My girls totally bought into the idea that New York is the city that never sleeps. I wanted them to go harder, but I was actually impressed with how well they held up. And the second Abbey ever got a few square feet of space, the girl was shakin' it:

I wasn't too concerned about catching the touristy stuff. But when you are already roaming around FAO Schwarz, who could resist sliding around on the big Big piano?

And is the Shake Shack worth the hype, my friends? In a word: YES!!!! The burger I could take or leave but I'd say that about any burger. But the shakes at the Shake Shack? Mmm, Mmm, Mmmmmmmm.

Here's Hayden licking the last bits of the french fry carton:

Al & Nobie had to run into work for a couple hours one afternoon so the girls and I took the chance to walk next door to Rockefeller Plaza. I was really hoping to run into Tina Fey. Turns out they film in Jersey, lame-o. The tree is still up and the girls were enchanted with the ice skaters, so not a total loss :)

Detox

2010-01-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

We're home! And dealing with the aftermath of our fun and intense trip to the big city. The girls are already asking about Allison and Noah (Nobie, Owen, Ownah...Abbey had a hard time getting his name right this week, ha ha) but couldn't stop laughing and smiling when they saw their daddy last night. How I love vacations. Er...trips. I wouldn't be this exhausted if it had been a vacation :)

Celebrate

2010-01-02T15:28:00.000-08:00

Spent New Year's with some of my favorite girls and a few other million New Yorkers :)

The Haydster...hailing us a subway.

And To All, A Good Night

2009-12-23T05:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, y'all. I hope yours is full of meaning, love, good food and good company. Catch you in 2010!

Beginning To Look A Little Like Christmas

2009-12-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

The girls and I are working on some Christmas cheer around here.

Who loves helping mom?

And who's here for the sugar?

Showing off their masterpieces:

I wanted to come up with a gift for Abbey's friends that she could actually help me make. Ashley from lil blue boo came through again (I love her blog!) We made almost 40 bean bags for Abs' buddies out of fabric scraps and food storage :)

Now off to bake/wrap/snuggle/deliver/sew/assemble some more Christmas goodness. This holiday is a lot of work!

(random pictures; i just can't get enough of this mug)

A Pretty Chloe Monday

2009-12-14T06:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry, family. You get a repeat. My cousin posted this the other day, and I begged and 'pretty-pleased' her into letting me use it for Pretty Monday. I can't believe we missed living by Ms. Chloe by just a couple weeks. I have a feeling she and Abbey could rule the world together.

Fashion Tips from Chloe

Every occasion calls for a crown.
You can never have too many patterns.
Never leave the house without a scarf . . . even in the summer.
If you can't wear a boa, wear a bow.
Only buy shoes that sparkle.
Every outfit can be improved by adding a princess dress on top of it.
Don't wipe spagetti sauce off your face. It makes you seem more down-to-earth.

And you're welcome.

(Here Chloe demonstrates proper attire for taking your older brother to school.)

*thanks melissa*

It's Just Better Homemade

2009-12-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I randomly got two requests for crocheted flowers in the same week. Nicole wanted some clips for her sweet Bridget and Tristie wanted yarn ones to go on her sweet beanies. In return? Perfect matching Halloween bags from Nicole, and to-die-for handmade beanies from Tristie. Not a bad reason to bring the ol' crochet hooks out of storage.

I started this hobby last Christmas when J's mom saw me looking at crocheted flowers on etsy. {My cousin, Jen, sent me some attached to hair clips for Abbey when Hayden was born, and I was smitten; I had never seen anything like it.} My mother-in-law can figure out anything crafty and by that afternoon, she was showing me how to make them myself.

I love working with my hands on stuff like this. My New Year's goal is to learn how to knit, I know I would really enjoy that. People here think I'm odd. I stay at home, I sew, I crochet, I grind my own wheat (that one really got them!) I was finishing up a flower at my friend's house on Sunday and she said I'm the oldest 26 year old she's ever met :) But I just can't think of many things more charming than something knit with love.

Tristie wrote me a sweet note when she sent the beanies and said she loved thinking of my girls as she made them. And every time I put them on, I think of that and her. You just don't get the love feelings with an Old Navy hat.

So it's been a while since the kids have had the lens stuck in their faces. They didn't know what to do with it. Here's pretty much what I was getting this morning:

And my personal favorite:

The Paparazzi

2009-12-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

I found this on my memory card. J really likes the telephoto lens. And I wasn't aware it was being taken. And I'm glad my stalker's good lookin'. And I think Abbey totally looks like a celebrity's kid in this picture.

And I really hope I don't always look that angry and intense.

Thanks Dude

2009-11-30T07:08:00.001-08:00

I'm noticing a trend. For the last 4 out of 5 Thanksgivings, we have been miles away from family and enjoying a feast with dear friends. Turns out we have picked up some pretty awesome ones along the way.

Last week we headed down to the Lifferths, some of our favorite friends from college. We had a beautiful dinner at Alanna's mother's house who quickly made us feel part of the family. She had two of her good friends there as well. Friends that over time have most definitely become family.

Over the next year, my family will just become more spread apart. It's hard. More and more I want all my siblings to leave their adventures and move home. But it was so good for me to see the Kiel family and their loved ones. Alanna's mom's friend watched the girls so we could eat, carried on easy conversation, then kissed me goodbye as we left. It was nice to see the familiarity and love between these women.

:: other highlights ::

-the coolest (albeit dimly lit) children's museum. And the sweetest, most endearing Santa I've ever seen. Seriously, how great does he look?

-lovin' on each other's kids. If you love your friends, I suppose it's natural to love their offspring. Hayden spent more time snuggling with Alanna and I ended up with more pictures of Keira than my own girls. And no kid can resist Randy.

-keeping our kids up all day then leaving them with a babysitter to go out to eat just as they're about to lose it :) That was brutal, but I think they crashed pretty early for her.

-introducing Randy and Alanna to Modern Family--have you caught that show yet? Love it.

-and, of course, global domination! What trip with the Lifferths would be complete without it?

J always intimidates me out of Australia and I flounder around Europe. Yeah, he took me out pretty early in the game. Blast his power of persuasion! But Randall gets to have the bragging rights until we meet around the map again!

Monday, Monday

2009-11-16T15:33:00.000-08:00

I Love My Job

2009-11-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been loving this mothering gig. (Up until this morning when Abbey told me for the first time that she hated me. That stung a bit.) I love the phases they are both in right now. Abbey's mind is exploding. I think I would be amazed at her capabilities if I fostered it a little more. I've kept this drawing for weeks now:

It's true, it is the thing that nightmares are made of. And this image has haunted me, I'll admit. But I couldn't throw it away until I scanned it into the computer, I love it for some reason.

She was really sick the past week and her voice was quite raspy and high pitched. It was kind-of nice to snuggle all day with her and watch movies. That night at dinner, she was saying the prayer. In her squeaky voice, she said "Thank you, Heavenly Father, for letting us watch movies all day. You. (dramatic pause) Are. (dramatic pause) Awesome!"

Hayden is getting in on the snuggling lately as well. She wakes up around 5 am, I grab her some milk, and she falls back asleep in my bed. But she isn't content unless she is snuggled up in the crook of my arm. It makes me so happy.

She is a BULLY. She really loves to grab our faces. Hard. She almost made a grown man cry last night (I'm not naming any names...) It's completely unprovoked and random, so it's hard to stop. But she still gets in a lot of trouble.

So a few days ago, I was struggling with the squirmy thing to get her arms through her shirt. I said "Hayden! Push!" She stopped moving and looked right in my eyes. Then smiled and shoved me with both arms. This life can be confusing for a little person.

School Rules

2009-11-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

I may need help from you on Pretty Mondays. It was my turn for preschool the last two weeks and now we probably have the flu floating around (not necessarily the cause of the other). So between playing catchup and trying to keep hands washed and cups separate, there really is nothing pretty to see around here. So wanna see what preschool was about last week?

The letter was 'H'. The theme was 'Houses'. The kids are awesome, I had such a great time, thanks to my incredible mom's perfect ideas.

The welcome exercises we do every day are so cute. We recognize everyone who is there and sing a song about their name. Then they each come and open their bus window and velcro their name to the front board. We sing about the day of the week and the weather then 'dress' our Bernstein Bears for whatever the weather is that day.

They are getting close to learning the pledge and they love singing 'You're a Grand Old Flag' and marching around the house behind the flag leader.

I found this idea in the "Teach Me, Mommy" book. I made each of them a house, with five or six pages behind for each room of the house. Then I drew furniture for each room and they colored and cut which ones they wanted in their 'house'.

We built houses for snack time as well. Sometimes they surprise me with their creativity.

The best part! Have you read 'The Mitten' by Jan Brett? It's about this mitten that gets lost in the snow and all the forest animals squeeze in to keep warm. It holds for the mole, rabbit, badger, fox, bear, etc. but explodes when the last little mouse makes the bear sneeze. So I made my own, giant, spandex mitten! They LOVED it. They'd each pick what animal they wanted to be then look through the book to see who got to go in first.

I knew moving here that I wanted to find a group of moms to do a preschool rotation. I happened to talk to just the right person at church who had done this before and was interested in doing it again with her youngest. She found the other moms, got us organized, and had great ideas to keep things consistent for the kids. All the moms are as excited about it as I am and I'm so happy to be a part of it. Abbey is learning things so quickly and also learning respect and invaluable social skills. Love it. And love that I don't have to do it again for eight weeks, ha!

Sensible Splurges

2009-11-04T07:36:00.000-08:00

Do you use google reader to read blogs? There's a box on the right side that randomly shows 'recommended' blogs. I'd never paid attention before until sometime this summer I noticed my cousins' collaborative cooking blog featured. I was intrigued and wondered how a blog gets 'featured', so clicked on the next one in the list. How adorable is she? The latest post happened to be on estate sales and I fell in love with the milk glass she found. And I JUST realized that I ended up finding the exact same one, ha ha! Anyway, J has always loved garage sales and would usually just take Abbey because I wasn't that interested. Well, after seeing Leslie's post, I got interested! Plus I knew it would be something great to do together. The man seriously loves to find a deal. Let me show you a little sample of some of the pretties I found this summer:

It occurred to me that I could find framed prints, preferably in odd sizes, and have my own pictures printed to go in the frame. (found this one for $3) A few times I've been nervous as I'm taking out (and likely throwing away) prints that have certificates of authenticity on the back. I really hope I don't find out they were precious works of art some day. Although, I really doubt it. Who's Andy Warhol?

One day, my friend Melody, (who I unreservedly trust with any design decision) mentioned I should find some sea glass for my bathroom. It's so funny how once you get an idea in your head, all of a sudden, you realize a lot of garage sales have them! I found the three matching ones from a woman whose mother got them as a wedding present. I felt bad she didn't find that sentimental, but I did! Even if it's someone else's mother :) And it's the perfect place to keep my wedding ring--I was always misplacing it when I didn't have a designated spot. Then the second and fourth one I bought from a woman who blows glass herself and sells them at art festivals. She was just getting rid of inventory and I was happy to take it off her hands (along with some bright green pieces that look great in my bathroom!)

Remember the chairs? Remember how I had grand plans of fun color schemes? The man at Sherwin Williams squashed the dream. I already had a gallon of paint and thought I could split it into quarts and have them tinted different colors. The guy was quite abrasive and condescending and I can't describe the confrontation very well, but I felt really stupid and really pressured to make a decision and ended up tinting the entire gallon 'spa' blue. I used a little over a quart for the piano... So... Two little chairs are blue now. One black. Two red. They look cute together. And SO cute with my preschoolers sitting in a row (who DO fight for the red ones, Melissa! You nailed it.)

the day j found the chairs (I think all 5 for $5) was the day he found:
abbey's first mac
($10!)

J mostly keeps an eye out for toys for the kids. Then his favorite thing to do is to come home and look up the retail prices online.

I've also been keeping my eye out for fun dishes to use at parties. Found a set of these cute plates and saucers for a few dollars.

I also have plans to do an Alice in Wonderland tea party for the girls' birthdays this spring. So I've been spotting fun tea sets for that. I hope their little boy friends (boy friends, not boyfriends) don't mind the seriously girly theme.

And then I love just finding random little things like this for a quarter. Don't you think that would be cute, filled with fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies as a thank you gift?

That's just the start. I'll do a whole other post on the stuff J found for the girls' room.

Does this all make me seem cheap? Tacky? I used to hate garage sales, I felt yucky. Recently a friend told me how her husband doesn't like to buy things on sale because it makes him feel cheap. I'm so opposite now. It is a thrill for me to find a great deal on something I adore. So maybe I shouldn't be announcing my cheapness or excitingly telling someone how cheap I found my girls' clothes. It's a compulsion.

A Pretty Picnic

2009-11-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

The girls and I hit the road after church yesterday and spent the afternoon in the shadows of the Kirtland temple. It was a bit of a drive and there were a few reasons not to go, but one big reason to make sure it happened.

My little sis was visiting her in-laws for the weekend. The last few weeks have been a drastic mix of emotions for the Furniss clan and I think we all are feeling a strong need to be together. And I needed to see she was ok. This girl is incredible. I am completely amazed at her strength and maturity. Oh, it felt good to be with family. Thanks, Mom Riley, for spotting me some toll booth cash to get home :) It was a pleasure to spend the day with you guys.

Happy Pretty Monday

Something Wicked This Way Comes

2009-10-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

That's Galinda with a 'guh'!
How awesome of a mom would I be if I actually dyed Hayden green?

I promised them a little sugar if they let me take pictures of them in their costumes. As we were walking downtown to find a spot, Abbey picked this cute cupcakery. In the meantime, a lady thought the girls were adorable (and who doesn't, really?) and gave us free smoothies at her shop. But I did promise a cupcake. And one that matched her outfit. I'm ready for this diabetes-inducing week to be done :) At least the sugar part.

My cousin, Nicole, made the girls trick-or-treat bags that go perfectly with their costumes. I'll have to post about my side of the bargain later. It made me feel better about not putting much of an effort into their costumes this year.

Happy Halloween, Y'all!

My Sherwin Williams 'Spa' Piano

2009-10-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

I've met a little resistance with this project. Apparently it is blasphemous to paint over wood furniture. And when I told people I was painting my piano blue, well, I mostly got confused looks. But here's the thing. My Craigs List piano had carvings in it from the previous owner's grandkids that needed to be sanded out anyway. And one day I'll have a beautiful baby grand in my acoustically sound music room {that will be sound proof when the french doors are closed} :) For now, I have a piano that I paid less for than the paint it took to cover it.

And I LOVE it!

I haven't had a piano for nine years, so the only music I have is violin accompaniments. But I am so happy to have music playing in my house. It does good things to my heart.

Ashley's Institute of Music is now open!
I love this corner of my house.

Monday Pretties

2009-10-12T09:31:00.001-07:00

Is it Monday? Did I promise something pretty every Monday? Whoo...well. I meant to write about these pics a while ago and since they are indeed, pretty, they will work for today.

Behold the Mexico Dresses:

J haggled for these in a little flea market in Cancun on our honeymoon. Yes, our honeymoon. He told me he eventually wanted little blond haired, blue-eyed girls. I (the brunette) told him (the dark, handsome one), "Good luck!"

The man gets what he wants. And six years later, both the (blond) girls fit into them perfectly.

PS: it's your turn next week! Look for something pretty in your space! Then email me at ashpace@gmail.com

Can't Help It

2009-10-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

The applique can not be stopped! I love it.

And I'm loving that iron-on adhesive stuff. I've been sticking fabric to tags all weekend.

I know what you're thinking--another owl? I know. I think I might need every little girl in my life to have one of her own.

Today while we were driving home from church, Hayden's window shattered. (Thank heaven for tempered glass.) I don't even know how it happened, it was out of nowhere. But my theory is that it happened because I bought gas on Sunday. Dang.

Withdrawals

2009-10-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

I have a hard time when company leaves. I have never, ever felt like I was ready to have my guests go home. Even when we lived in our little condo and were climbing over each other to breathe.

J was MIA this weekend. I felt bad he didn't get to see my parents much, but it was nice for me to escape single parenthood for a few days. I definitely show and feel love through acts of service, it was great to have them here to experience both. Thanks for making the trip, I love you guys. And miss you a LOT.

{edit to add: i just noticed abbey's pulling the exact same pose in the first two pictures--it's like someone just switched out her prop}

Pretty Projects

2009-10-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

My mom was in town this week. If you know my mom, you know what that means:

...and apparently one floor that could use a swiffer...

Give A Hoot

2009-09-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not much of an internet surfer, well, I'm a lazy internet surfer. I get on to do what I want to do, get sucked into Facebook, go BACK to what I got on to do, then jump off before J's realized how long my tush has been in that computer chair. So I love when I can come across something inspiring without all the leg work.

I got onto this blog, Ucreate, to find a good pattern for an apron. And I come across this (the shirt idea, not the girls :) although, that would have been pretty cool. or creepy...) :

A pattern for little owl appliqued t-shirts?!? Yes, please.
The designer's name is Ashley and she has a business/finance background, Abbey has the same little dress her girl is wearing on her sidebar picture, and that's about where our similarities end. This chick is wicked creative, I love it. She's like Ashley Pace 2.0

I had never appliqued but heard it was easy. I did learn a few things, if you've never done it. If you have, you probably have a better method or think this is common sense. But I bought this stuff called Heat'n'Bond (an iron-on adhesive) because I didn't want the edges to fray. I wish I had ironed it to the fabric before cutting out the owl pieces. Would have made the project easier and life simpler, I'm sure. Then I just top stitched all the layers. And since I was in the mode, I made up an extra one for this adorable fairy princess:

Sam has a birthday coming up and wanted to give back to the 'Make-a-Wish Foundation' that made one of her wishes come true. Instead of gifts, she asked that people bring a gift to donate to the foundation. This little girl had me after the first time I met her and told her I loved her hairbows; she snuggled right up to me on the couch and hung out while we chatted. I thought it was such a generous thing for any little girl to donate her birthday gifts, but still wanted her to have a little something for herself.

They had this great face painter at the party and I was a little surprised Abbey was so into it. I hated face paint as a kid. I loved her look of enchantment when she looked at herself in the mirror. It was magic. Poor little Sam got so sick the night before the party and was inside most the time. When her mom brought her out in that sweet costume, looking so beautiful, to blow out candles, I think all the moms there were fighting back tears. I was.

i love sweet, little girls

Week Two

2009-09-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

Straight from Joanie: Here is my 'something pretty'. Baking with my kids. Also the fact that my baby slept in until 7:15 today AND he napped for over 3 hours. Good day!

Did you know that little guy was actually supposed to be Hayden's twin? Seriously, he is the boy version of her. But Heavenly Father knew that they were hard enough one at a time and would do in any mother who had them both, so He split them up :) Joanie, one day they should meet, don't you think?

And then from the swell life, a link to this adorable mini first-day-of-school album. This just makes my fingers ache to do some scrapbooking. I swore off it last year, but I miss it. I really do. This might pull me back in.

{from elizabethkartchner.blogspot.com/}

How was your Monday? I'm still in my pj's, so pretty good around here!

Something Pretty: Round One

2009-09-21T10:33:00.001-07:00

Someone pulled through! I got these thoughts and pictures from Jeanine late last night (who happens to be a tall glass of something pretty herself!)

And just as I was about to publish, another from one of my favorite people, Alisa! I met Alisa in high school and we played in a quartet together for years. All my guy friends begged me to set them up with the 'hottie orchestra chick' who just moved in. My fragile high-school ego could have easily resented her {as I was kind-a hoping I was the hottie orchestra chick}, but Alisa is the sweetest person I've ever met. Love that girl, can't wait to meet that little girl one day.

Thanks girls, you made my day.
Keep 'em coming!

You Get What You Get

2009-09-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just click my shutter as fast as it can go so that sometimes I can get lucky.

And sometimes I get this...

...which equals: SUPER lucky!
These made me smile the entire time I edited them.

{Hey, Al! Look at the third one down and think to yourself: "Loo-uise! Loo-uise! I took the liberty of ironing your homework."

It's An Illuuuuusion

2009-09-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

A few posts back, I shocked my family and friends when I mentioned I drive a **mini-van**!!! Ha ha, I was surprised it was so surprising! Then another comment from an old friend about how my life 'looked so much more glamorous' than hers got me thinking.

It got me a-thinkin' about this ol' blog and how I portray myself, because if it is one thing I'm not, it is glamorous. If you knock on my door unexpectedly, it will be a mess. Hayden will be down to a diaper, most likely dancing on the table. My face breaks out, I can't shower as often as I'd like to, if you see me around six in the p.m., I'm likely on the verge of tears or a tantrum. That's life. That's my life. Trust me, you don't want to see it. But I wouldn't want to, and don't mean to, pretend it is something else. Last night some friends were in the backyard and mentioned they'd never seen the inside of my house. I chuckled and said "Not today!". A few seconds later I realized that was silly, so fake, and insincere. As we walked inside my kitchen covered in the remnants of lunch and realized it was a LOT worse than the house I remembered walking out of an hour earlier, one of them said "We'd be concerned if it DID look perfect."

The little group of blogs in my reader has made me acutely aware that the hard things in my life now are oh.so.small (but not to me!). I think I would feel petty posting those things on here amidst people's life changing problems. So I don't. And I'm not sure how to reconcile the desire to present myself sincerely and keep the mundane private. But you wanna know why I love this blog? Among a few reasons, it gives me motivation to find those bits and pieces of beauty in my life. And who doesn't love to wake up to a comment or two in their inbox? I love that I can crop and blur the mess and focus my lens on something (or usually someone) pretty.

So I do declare Mondays as my 'something pretty' day. To find something beautiful along the routine. You want in?!? I want you in on this, my friends. Find it, find what makes you tick this week and email it to me for next Monday. I would love to see and post your something pretty! Something you read, something you did, something you saw, something you made. If you don't know me, all the better, I'd love to meet you.

ashpace@gmail dot com

happy hunting

In For Some Trouble

2009-09-11T05:51:00.001-07:00

Don't tell her I said so, but I have a hard time saying 'no' to this girl.

Something's in the Air

2009-09-08T05:03:00.000-07:00

How the... When did this...Where was...How is it Labor Day already?!?

We ushered in Autumn yesterday with a barbeque. I hit the neighbor jackpot when we moved in and met my next-door neighbor, Jeannie (who Abbey insists on calling 'Miss Tina'). Soon after she introduced me to these ladies who live over the little bridge across the creek in our backyards (that's a lot of prepositions...)

The men smoked a pig, the kids played HARD, we sat and talked for hours and hours; that's my kind of day.

{Hayden will sit with anyone who will give her a little sugar :) }

Summer is over and I'm feeling a bit anxious. For the last four Fall seasons straight I have either had extreme morning sickness or extreme sleep depravation from a new baby. The chill in the air, the smell of spices and baking, the feel of my sweaters and jackets--all of it takes me back to that time and my body actually feels nauseous. Isn't that weird? But there is this beauty and deliciousness to look forward to:

Please Take Your Seat

2009-08-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Bow. Bow to the Yard Sale King. I have a whole post's worth of the treasures we've found this summer. By the end of July, the King had me hooked. And this is what he brought home this week for THREE dollars. Three. Three dollars.

Five perfect chairs for the five kiddos I'll have in my home for preschool every other month. I know, hold back your excitement. But don't hold back on the creative input: what colors do I paint them? Two are a dark shade of red that I'm kinda loving since the paint is old and chipping a bit ( i love that look ). But the other three are royal blue and forest green. I don't really go for primary colors. So what would you do? Red and light blue? Browns? The girls' room is going to be robin egg blue and deep oranges, so I keep going back to that, but the chairs wouldn't be in there. So do tell, what are the trendy colors these days?

{In other news, they chopped down the weeds in my backyard that were making for some great photo taking the last few months. Pffft.}

just wanted to say...

2009-08-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

Been Farming Long?

2009-08-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

Every Barlow should know where that title comes from :) Farming. It's in their blood. But at this moment, Abbey was taunting the hens with her belly and Hayden was feeding them rocks.

I think our work here is done. Plus it started raining pretty hard.

So It's Been Six Years

2009-08-12T06:49:00.001-07:00

Six years ago today I was a blushing bride, jetting off to a beautiful honeymoon suite in paradise. Life was good. I was happy. Tonight, I'll cook up the best meal I can for my love, put the kids down early, drive out in our old minivan that sounds like a thousand crickets are at war, find a new favorite spot in this fun, new city, and talk and talk with the man I call 'J'. Life is good, and I am happy to share it with that beautiful soul.

People Who Pick Berries Are Nicer

2009-08-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

...claims the lady who owns our local raspberry patch.

I, uh...yell, er, I...was not...so nice to my kids that night.
So. Maybe we should go back.

La la, catch a few pics, then it was down to business. I'm not going to lie, I was there for the cheap produce. Hayden kept signing for 'more' until she figured out how to just pick it herself. That girl went to town. Abbey insisted on her outfit. I wouldn't wear wedges to work in the fields, but what do I know.

Ah...the bounteous supply. I also grabbed some local honey--have you heard the theory that it helps with allergies? I'll give it a shot.

I have too many plans for the two quarts of berries we picked. But the fan favorite has to be pairing it with delicious, homemade lemon ice cream. {Or for The Ville folk, Erin's Lemon Ice Cream :) }

Combine whole milk and sugar and heat over medium heat. Heat until hot but not simmering. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Slowly pour half of the heated milk into the egg mixture, rapidly stirring the eggs with a wire whisk as you pour (like you would make pudding). Add the egg mixture into the remaining milk, slowly pouring and whisking the milk as you pour. Heat and stir mixture on medium-high heat until it reaches 160°. This should only take 4-5 minutes.
Cool and pour into a metal ice-cream maker canister. Chill in the fridge. Then stir in creams, vanilla, and lemon extract.

*The secret to good homemade icecream is the ratio between salt and ice. For every 2 inches of ice, add a layer of 1/4 c. rock salt. (A ratio of about 5 cups ice to 1 cup salt.)

*It's important to heat the icecream mixture to 160° like the recipe outlines. Heating an egg mixture to 160° will kill all salmonella that might be present in the eggs. This process doesn't change the taste or texture of this delicious icecream.

I make this recipe differently. But I'm giving you Erin's directions because she's the lemon ice cream queen.

In other news, it must be noted that The Abster learned how to swim this week. Not the "I can throw you in the deep end and you'll make it safely to the edge so the lifeguards at the club will let you go off the diving board" sort of swimming, mind you. But she'll jump a few feet out, sink like a rock, and furiously kick those little legs until she gets back to the steps. It makes me so, so happy to see her trying.

Also note: I think I can open my own pumpkin patch this fall!
Also. I think if I'm not careful, it will take over my yard and eat my children.

The Summer Post

2009-08-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

The sun peeked out the last three days and we've been taking full advantage. Thursday, I was in need of a Melody-pick-me-up. A failed plan to go to the splash pad was salvaged by an impromptu playdate in the talented and welcoming, Charyce's, backyard. I have a better idea of my dream yard than my dream home, and this is it! Thanks for letting us hang out, it was great to chat.

Friday, my adorable next-door neighbor invited me to another splash pad (they're all over out here!). My kids just wanted to eat the gummy snacks she brought along. Seriously. They ate the whole time.

And today, a friend down the street treated us to a day at the zoo. Can I tell you how much I love my neighborhood?

We randomly ran into these goons there :) :

I love that we bumped into them--especially since Melody saved me from a heart attack when she noticed Abbey wander away.

Abbey and Ms. Allie Raye could have sat here all day. Abbey and Allie clicked right away. The first time they met was at Allie's birthday party where Abbey was practically opening her presents and blowing out her candles. Good friends for me, good friends for my kids. I'm a happy lady.