I miss blogging...

I really and truly miss blogging... I can't believe it's been (well) over 3 months since my last post... with good reason, it's been a slightly busy around here, and once I got out of the rhythm of blogging, it sure has been hard to get back into it.

In a very quick re-cap of the past few months; we found a house we loved, we put our house for sale, sold it, bought the new one, moved in, moved out, and here we are!  The timing was perfect, and luckily for us everything just fell into place like it was meant to be!

I keep debating whether or not I should try to catch up on all the months of pictures that I have never posted, but it seems like I may never get caught up on my personal pictures... but I do want to share this one of the kids.  I attempted a photo shoot with them, which has never left me happy - but I did manage to get one image I love:

I still can't manage to get a picture of all three of them looking AND smiling, so I will have to settle for this one - I love it because the girls had just given Evan a kiss on the cheek, and this was the reaction.  I think it's so representative of his relationship with his sisters.  I've thought it and said it out loud several times, that he is so wonderful with them.  He really puts up with a lot of grief from them (and of course, he has his limits), but he really truly loves them, and so far this summer I have really enjoyed watching him play with his sisters and including them in his games; playing make-believe, running in circles, playing duck-duck-goose, letting them watch him on the playstation... ;)

I sure hope I can get back in a routine of blogging consistently... here's hoping, right?

just a post...

No 10 on 2sday.  Just a regular post.  And just 'cause it seems like I should be posting something.  The truth is, I've been feeling rather blah about my blog.  If you visit the blog-site you'll notice I made a few changes.  It looks 'cleaner' to me.  I like clean.

So since I'm feeling blah, I'll just leave you with a few pictures...

I need a nap.......

10 on 2sday

1.  I spent the weekend in Des Moines at a photography convention... AWESOME!  It's impossible not to be inspired... even a little... when you are surrounded by so many amazing photographers!  My challenge will be prioritizing all the things I NEED to do... 'cause leaving there with so many ideas makes you feel like you NEED to do everything!!

2.  I took a nap.  The sessions ran all the way to midnight and beyond on Sunday night, and I had to get back early on Monday morning so Dan could get to work... 4 hours of sleep gave me 'permission' to take a nap on Monday.

3.  I'll give you my nap timeline:
12:48pm - laid down
1:00pm - heard the girls yelling, got up to check on them
1:38pm - heard the doorbell ring, got up to check it out
2:00pm - must have drifted off 'cause I woke up suddenly out of a bizarre dream
3:00pm - Woke up to the sound of Evan yelling... "I pooooooooooooooooooooooooooped"

4.  And that would be why I rarely bother taking naps...

5.  The cupcakes I made for Avery & Brynn's birthday were purdy darn good!  I used a Duncan Hines cake mix that had no milk ingredients in it, and a Pillsbury tub of frosting that also had no milk products... (didn't even realize that existed!)  the cake called for 3 eggs, but I substituted 2 Tbls of applesauce & 4 Tbls of soy milk... and it turned out surprisingly well!  They did fall apart a little (that where the eggs normally come in).  Then I came across this site that said you can substitute flax seed  for eggs... I haven't tried it yet, but plan to...

6.  After the girls' birthday, Dan and I spent some sentimental time looking through my old blog posts.  Makes me really glad I blog... there were so many little moments and silly things that I would have forgotten had I not written them down.  And I'm glad you read my blog, because it keeps me motivated to write all those little things here!

7.  I had a random moment over the weekend when I realized... the girls just had their golden birthday!  They turned 2 on 2/2!!!!  And I didn't even put that together until it was done and gone!  But it made me wonder... what are you supposed to do for a golden birthday?  (I'm really asking...)

8.  Evan told me his first knock knock joke today.  It went something like this:

Evan: knock-knock
Me: who's there?
Evan: Evan

I didn't even know he knew knock-knock jokes...

9.  I'm really glad my friend Katie posted pictures of her kids playing with snow... inside!  Gave me the motivation to actually do it with my kiddos!  Evan has been asking quite a bit to go play in the snow, but it's been waaaaaaaay too cold for my taste... so I brought the snow inside, and the kids LOVED it!  They mostly did a good job keeping it on the vinyl table cloth I laid out.  But really, it's just going to melt and dry eventually anyway, so I set aside my anal-everything-has-to-be-clean-and-tidy (ha!) tendencies for a little bit...

BONUS!  The snow packed onto the bottom of the girls' boots and it turned into a skating rink!!

and of course... Avery still didn't want to wear gloves...

10.  The girls have quickly realized that when I pull out the vinyl table cloth, something fun is about to happen!  And I dared go somewhere I have never gone before... paint... dun, dun, dunnnnnnnnn... lets talk about my anal tendencies again...

 

I survived... the girls had fun... even when Brynn started painting on Avery... I had the bath ready and waiting!

...on a side note... attempting to make heart shapes with thumbs dipped in paint... not simple... they don't look so much like hearts as they do red blobs...

10 on 2sday

So, I'm liking this list of 10 thing, so I think I'll keep it going with all that's going on here...


1.  Evan has graduated from nap time to "quiet time" over the past few weeks...  It's been an interesting transition - he does well with it as far as staying in his room while the girls nap, but there have been a few days I'm not sure he should go without a nap...  he gets a little cranky ~ that and the fact he gets a little bored with me, we've had a rough past few weeks.  I decided to try something new this week - in the mornings I have been asking him what he wants to do instead of me trying to come up with an activity and him not liking it (I know, it sounds so common sense) - but at least with his input the activities have been a bit more enjoyable!

2.  You probably noticed I placed an ad on my blog.  I must admit it feels a little weird.  But hopefully it's not distracting... Basically the story is like this; about a year ago I put my name on a waiting list with BlogHer, not really knowing if anything would ever come of it.  A couple weeks ago I got an email asking if I was still interested in placing an ad on my blog.  So I hemmed, and I hawed (I do that well), and decided to go for it (thanks for your input, by the way)!  They give you a lot of freedom to decide what you do and don't want to allow on your blog, which I really appreciate!

3.  We hosted 2 RAGBRAI teams last weekend...  another thing I hemmed and hawed at... I wasn't sure if I felt comfortable having people we didn't know coming in and out of our house with the kids around - but I've got to say, we had the best two groups imaginable!  They were great with the kids, totally respectful, and quite fun to be around!  I made dinner if anyone wanted to stick around, we had plenty of drinks, and stuff to make smores later ~ it was such a neat experience, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!  Actually, Dan and I have been talking about adding RAGBRAI to our "bucket list" to accomplish some day!

4.  Speaking of accomplishments, I signed up for my 2nd 5K, which is coming up this weekend!  But this time I get to run with Dan!  He might will leave me in the dust, but at least it's something we get to do together!

5.  I just did my 1st senior photo shoot last night!!

6.  Avery & Brynn have been quite a bit more affectionate lately, as you saw in one of my last posts.  It's completely adorable, until one of them doesn't want to be hugged anymore and they start biting... it's still an issue I'm not entirely sure how to address.  Before I really thought the biting had more to do with teething, but now I see it happening more out of aggression.  I guess it's just one of those things I need to be watching more closely for and break it up when I can.

7. We've been attempting time outs with the girls.  It's mostly hilarious, since they know exactly what we are talking about, and exactly where to go ~ since they see Evan there so often...   I'm sort of thinking time outs in the corner probably aren't going to be so effective with Avery & Brynn, but we'll have to see.

8.   I can't believe preschool starts in 3 weeks ~ Evan is SO excited!  I am too ~ really, it gives us a little more structure which the kids I desperately need!!!!!

9.   I get to assist my friend with photographing another wedding this weekend!  I'm finding myself much less nervous, and far more excited about it!!  I still have so much to learn, but that's the best part of photography, is you never get bored!

10.  July was a tough month with a lot of ups and downs for me.  I have really been thinking a lot about what my priorities should be, and trying to get realistic about what that means.  And that's all I have to say about that.

Question for YOU!

I have a question for you.

I see lots of blogs with ads here an there, and I've debated putting an ad on my blog.  Not that I have a huge amount of readers or hits on my blog each day - but why not earn a little side-cash, right?

Well, I have an opportunity to place an ad on my blog, and I'm wavering. 

What do you think?  Is it a dumb idea?

The UPdate of all UPdates!

So, a recent email made me realize that I update my blog without really giving much update on our lives... I think in the back of my blogging-mind I figured I could just devote entire posts on each of these topics at some point, but then it seems overwhelming and I don't ever get around to doing it (ie: all my new recipe posts that still aren't done)... so I figure I'd try this instead:

*My husband and I are celebrating our 5th anniversary this week
*Evan just turned 4
*Avery & Brynn are just shy of 15 months old
*my ears are still ringing
*I started a "couch to 5K" running program 6-ish weeks ago (and I'd consider myself the poster child of disliking running - well used to)
*I began a yoga class a few weeks ago *love*
*I've been seeing a chiropractor for a few months for the ear ringing, low back "clicking"
*I LOVE watching my children interact with each other
*I can't believe how independent Evan is becoming *sniff*
*I can't believe how the girls are becoming little people so quickly
*I am thinking/hoping to start my own vegetable garden this spring
*I am moving in the direction of calling myself a photographer for real (possibly the scariest thing I've said out loud)
*My brother just got married a couple weeks ago
*I photographed their wedding (with my very limited lighting and experience, it didn't turn out too bad!)
*We still haven't found a church here to call our family :(
*My Dad has had several surgeries on his eyes since the 1st of the year (please pray for healing)
*We have Kindermusik, storytime at the library and preschool that keeps us busy during the week
*I am getting ready for 3 garage sales in the next few weeks (not at my house, fortunately)
*I have had some great opportunities to volunteer and join various clubs over the past several months (busy, yes, but so rewarding!)
*I signed Evan up for swim lessons this summer (NOT looking forward to being in a bathing suit in public)
*I signed Evan up for a fun (I hope) week-long morning summer camp that is in the park behind our house!
*We are taking Avery to see an allergist next week to see what might be causing her eczema to flare up (we've thought anything from bananas, to peanut butter, to teething)
*Brynn had an allergic reaction to either penicillin or shell fish a few months ago
*Me and a friend are starting a bunco group next month
*We've been fortunate that Dan's company has an office in Omaha where we have been able to combine his business trips with visits to my family
*Evan loves telling stories and using his imagination (very hard still to get him to understand the difference between reality & make-believe)
*Avery loves to cuddle and be motherly
*Brynn loves books (haven't ever mentioned that, have I?)
*trying LOTS of new recipes (but still not doing a good job posting them...)
*possibly the biggest news of all is Evan's news flash that I posted about yesterday... if he really does keep it up with this new toy, I'm sure I'll post about it and reveal the new favorite toy!


I'm sure I've forgotten something in the midst of the craziness that is our life, and really, when I'm just living each day, it doesn't seem like much, but now that I look back through that list... we've had a lot going on.

Oh so happy!

Bringing a smile to my face, Why Men Can't Cry awarded my blog with its first award!  The "Happy 101!"  

The rules of this award are to list ten blogs and ten things that make you happy. 

The ten blogs:

This is Our Life - This is a friend from H.S., and really the first blog I ever read, I love to keep up to date on her family, and she really has a great perspective on parenting (and her husband posts as well - a great combination)!

The Larson Adventure - Another friend from H.S., they just had a baby recently and I am loving watching her baby grow!

Hannah in the Kitchen - Yet another friend from H.S., and her yummy sweets make my mouth water! 

Texas Size Hull - A friend of my family in AZ, I get to see pics of my extended family, and she has a lot of fun, creative ideas on her site - most recently her son's Thomas birthday party! 

Black Lung Crayola - Another friend who is on a brave mission to quit smoking after I-don't-remember-how-many-years!   It's a neat concept for a blog, and I think it has great potential to inspire others to quit smoking.


Everything That is Nice - I found this blog from a friend, and she has such *nice* projects (one of which I am attempting right now). 


Pioneer Woman - This is just a great blog, she has no idea I exist, but I love her photography, recipes, and the giveaways (I haven't won anything yet, but I'll sure keep trying) ~ and it's just a beautiful blog.   

A Year of Slow Cooking -Perhaps the most influential blog I've read - I started cooking with her recipes, and that really sparked a true love of cooking!


Knock Off Wood - This is a newly found blog (actually, I think I found the link from Everything That is Nice) - and it inspires me to want to start building things!  I haven't yet, mostly because it's too cold to go out in the garage and start working (and I'm a wimp) (and I have too many other "projects" to do), but I may try to build a simple shelf sometime this summer... we'll see!


Heaps of Laundry - Last, but certainly not least ~ this is another blog I recently found through a friend on facebook - they post projects for little kids - which is perfect, I am horrible at thinking of projects for the kids (well, just Evan right now), and this blog has some great ideas!



And the ten things that make me happy:

~Being with my family and friends
~Reading to my children 
~Warmth
~Beautiful photography
~Baking cookies
~Licking the spoon after baking cookies... totally.  after.  not during.  (that would be gross)
~Fixing a problem
~Finishing a project
~Flowers
~Unexpected kindness




Thanks for making me smile!  It really wasn't my intent to take two weeks to finish this post, but my brain has been consumed with planning Avery & Brynn's birthday party - pictures to-be posted soon eventually! 

The beginning of a... wonderful? thing!

I have been debating for quite some time about starting a blog. Do I really want my life to be so public? Well, I guess the answer is yes. I like to read a few blogs myself, and a blog is such a great way to keep friends and family posted on new and exciting things in our lives - only if they want to! Please bear with me as I get used to posting and blogging in general, I never know how much time I'll have on the computer - and my brain is on the fritz after having 3 children! All that on top of being mildly crazy to start with!! :)

So, welcome to my blog!

Get the name? The Krew - with a "K", get it?? So clever, am I!