Resolutions

I normally don't do resolutions at the New Year... they're made to be broken, yada yada yada... like my cookbook resolution (the last one I made... and broke).

For whatever reason I've decided on a few resolutions (goals) for this upcoming year...

1. I'd like to waste less food.  When I was doing my cookbook resolution, I was doing an AWESOME job with meal planning - it was flexible, well thought out, and utilized the small kitchen space we had in our old house.  When we discovered Avery's food allergies, the meal plan went out the window, and so did my resolution.  Now, almost three years later I'm just barely getting back to a meal plan (it's really spotty) - but I feel like if I can plan it out better, I won't find food spoiling before I get to it.  I just feel so wasteful when I throw out perfectly good food.

2.  Blog more - I'm sure my family agrees...  If you look at the 'blog archive' on the right side of the page, you can see how my blogging has dwindled...

3.  Read more - I have always loved reading, but as any parent knows, it's not always easy to find QUIET time to read other than the books I read to the kids - I need to make a conscious effort to read for myself!

4.  I want to spend more time working on my OWN pictures.  I feel like such a picture hoard.  Friends and family think it's great that I take so many pictures, but they NEVER see any of them because they get lost in the abyss that is my time warp... and I always feel like my pictures have to be edited and 'perfect' before I show them to anyone.  So, I either need to suck it up and not worry about them being 'perfect' when I send them out, or I need to do a better job of allocating time to edit them.  (I chose the latter)

Here is an example:  I took this picture of Evan in February 2012...  I hadn't even looked at it until last week...

5.  Print my stinkin' pictures and put them in any kind of album... I was so good at that before the girls were born... and then they were born.  Avery and I were looking through Evan's photo album from his 1st year and she kept asking which picture was of her... when my answer continued to be that's not you, that's Evan, she started to cry.  Then I started to cry.  I need to print some stinkin' pictures of the girls and put them in any kind of album.  (see #4, these work hand-in-hand)

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.......

Happy Halloween

From,
The Krew

The Pumpkin Farm... part 1

We went to Bloomsbury Farm a couple weekends ago, and as usual, took tons of pictures, but have only touched a few...

We Iowan's love our corn... and yes, the corn was found in some very strange places after the kids jumped and rolled and played in it!!

10 on 2sday

whooo boy... where to begin...

1.  It's entirely possible the girls weren't the ones who dismantled the door knob cover.  A couple days after the incident Evan made some random comment about getting stuck in the girls' room.  We asked him if he was the one who took the cover off and he answered yes.  We never really know what that means.  It could mean yes.  It could mean no.  It could mean he's just running us through the ringer.  I put the cover back on the door knob and they haven't escaped since...

2.  Yesterday was Dan's birthday.  We did a family celebration over the weekend, and yesterday I pulled off the first surprise of our marriage.  (I am terrible at keeping surprises from Dan).  I dropped the kiddos at daycare and stole Dan from work to take him to lunch.  Not a big shocker or anything, but it wasn't something we've ever had a chance to do... When he got home from work... we had our obligatory 'dance-in-the-kitchen-to-red-skies-at-night'.  The girls think he's pretty awesome.  I agree.

3.  Evan picked out Dan's birthday cake this year... 

4.  In the past few weeks I've been to my friends bridal shower (well, technically I helped host it) and another friends wedding and I didn't take a SINGLE PICTURE at either event!!  Now THAT is news.  I must admit, it was nice being able to just enjoy the time and not worry about being the photographer... there were plenty of others documenting the events, so I just got to sit back and enjoy!  


5.  The kiddos had swim lessons a couple weeks ago.  I ended up having them all in private lessons.  I had planned it that way for the girls - that way I could be in the water with their instructor and it could be one on one.  They all did great!  I can't even describe the pride I felt when Evan 'conquered his fear' and went off the diving board by himself.  By the end of the two weeks he was running and jumping off!

Seriously... this hair...

6.  This is one of the many reasons I should never try to be productive while the girls are awake:

This has happened enough times that I should know better... and yes, we have tried locking the pantry... it didn't work.

7.  Evan starts kindergarten in less than a month.  Yes I just said that.

8.  I have been working on cutting pop back out of my diet.  I knew I had a problem when I was starting to drink 2 pops a day last month.  I've been doing alright with it... and most importantly, I'm not beating myself up for having a pop once a week now.

9.  Evan was supposed to have surgery this week to remove the tubes in his ears.  They've been in there for over four years now and it's time to get them out... but he has swimmers ear right now, so the doctor postponed the surgery.  He had some drainage that cleared on its own a couple weeks ago, and the doctor couldn't see the tube in that ear... so I'm hoping there is a chance the tube in the other ear will finally plop out on its own and we can avoid the surgery all-together!!

10.  We have been having some nasty hot and humid weather around here and last week we had a storm roll in and provide a little short-term relief... with the storm were some of the craziest clouds I've ever seen...

Pumpkin.

10 on 2sday

1.  Brynn opens doors now.  We've been enjoying our time up until now just waiting until they finally figured it out.... I was hoping that nap and bed time in their big girl beds would be so routine, that by the time they figured out how to open doors it wouldn't be an issue coming out of their rooms at those times.  Not so.

2.  It's creepy.  Brynn is my stealthy child.  One day after nap she opened her door without me hearing it, so when I started walking towards the bedrooms and saw a small child standing in the hallway, I got a little creeped out...

3.  The other problem with Brynn opening doors...  she is the one that leaves the room, and she closes the door behind her leaving a screaming, upset Avery behind...  oh the life with twins...

4.  Potty training sucks.  It was miserable with Evan, and I'm not looking forward to it with the girls.  Avery asks me all the time to go sit on the toilet and go potty.  Some times I oblige, other times I try to change the subject.  She never actually does anything, she just likes to play around in the bathroom.

Until one day.

She peed.

Then she decided she no longer wanted to wear a diaper.  So we went and bought big girl panties.  I washed them.  I dried them.  I pulled a pair out of the dryer for Avery and she put them on immediately.  That lasted about 30 seconds and then she took them off, handed them back to me and said "ah done!"

5.  Speaking of being "ah done," I've been considering buying stock in bandaids these days at the rate in which Avery goes through them.  Evan has never wanted anything to do with bandaids.  Avery LOVES them.  Brynn is completely indifferent.

6.  Evan's filter is broken... or just non-existent.  He has been pointing out (literally) physical characteristics of strangers that non-5-year-olds would find rather rude and offensive.  *insert large sigh right here*

7.  Evan's last t-ball game was tonight.  Me and the girls didn't go.  Partly because his game crossed over their bedtime.  Mostly because it's too much work keeping them out of trouble...

8.  We finally got our fence fixed!! 

9.  If you need pumpkins this fall... plan to come to my house...

10.  I've been making some changes to my photography blog... slowly... I also recently did my first newborn session, and LOVED how it turned out!!

10 on 2sday

1.  This is my 3rd week in a row with a 10 on 2sday post!!  I think that's a recent record... Ya know why?  I started writing it in the to-do list section of my calendar...  I REALLY love checking things off my calendar...  even if it keeps me up past 10pm... (which is when I turn into a pumpkin...)

2.  We've had a pretty busy past week...

3.  I had a really fun family session...

4.  Evan graduated from preschool...

5.  I had the bizarre realization that we all matched what I dressed Evan in for his graduation 2 years in a row (2011 = blue, 2010 = red)  (Dan thinks I'm crazy for remembering this stuff... especially since I forget so much else...)

6.  We took a weekend trip to my parents' house in SW Missouri to celebrate my Grandpa & Grandma's 50th Anniversary...

7.  My parents actually live in Joplin, but thankfully just enough outside they weren't in the path of the tornado that hit last week.  We ended up driving through the town and witnessed some of the most unreal sights a person could see...  pictures don't do it justice...  but I will say, it is nothing short of a miracle that more people weren't hurt. 

8.  We said goodbye to Penny... she was my parents dog and part of our family for 12+ years...

9.  My Grandma E also came for a visit to my parents place, so we got another 4 generation photo... and the best part was my girls were NOT screaming while taking the picture!!!

10.  That's it.  It's 10pm and I'm turning into a pumpkin as I type...

10 on 2sday

1.  I've been trying to figure out why I've had such a hard time getting these 10 on 2sday posts up.  Part of it is just being busy, but the biggest part of it is I'm just not motivated to write anything.  I don't feel quippy and I don't feel like anything I write makes sense... but here I go... a bit of catch-up to do...

2.  We left on Easter Sunday for our trip to Hawaii, and the Wednesday before, I got sick with strep.  At that point I was feeling so overwhelmed by my to-do list, that I couldn't imagine losing an entire day to laying on the couch praying the kids wouldn't get into too much trouble while I attempted to rest.  Instead I hauled all 3 kids with me to the doctors office so I could get on some antibiotics, only to be sent over to the hospital to get blood work done to test for mono.  I almost lost it when the doctor mentioned mono.  Thankfully it was just strep.  Just.

3.  The Friday night before we left (my family was all in town for Evan's birthday), Brynn started looking awful.  So Saturday morning I took her to the doctor and she got treated for strep too. 

4.  Everyone but me and Brynn got to go to our city-wide Easter egg hunt that Saturday morning...

5.  ...then we loaded up for chuck-e-cheese for Evan's birthday party, and I *think* he had a good time...

Oh, who am I kidding... he had a blast!

6.  Saturday night after the birthday festivities... we packed, said our goodbyes, and set our alarms for 3:16am... I woke up at 2:47am.

7.  My parents graciously offered to watch the kids at our house the week we were gone, and my Mom sent me pictures of the kids from her phone every day.  (one reason I LOVE technology)

8.  We've been playing catch up ever since.  Lots of spring cleaning, attempting to get our house ready to sell, enjoying the beautiful weather while we can before it gets too hot, hoping to get our fence fixed after the 2nd time it fell over because of wind...

9.  ...started cleaning out the raised garden beds, getting ready for Evan to graduate from preschool, trying to find the line of keeping the kids active this summer and not over-scheduling them with too many activities...

10.   ...and lastly, my Mom would be happy to know that we bit the bullet and got a new dishwasher this past weekend.  After spending a week at our house, one of her first comments after we got home (aside from glad to see ya, I need a nap) was how horrible our dishwasher was... yeah, it was that bad.  Dan emailed me one day with the subject line "there is soap in my salsa".  It was time.

10 on 2sday

It's high time for a 2sday post, isn't it?  Well, I sure hope I can do the last few weeks justice with this post... Lots going on in our world these days!!

First, a few things Evan has been up to:

1.  He started zipping his jacket all by himself, and buckling his seat belt, too.  Those are pretty big 'wins' in my book, but I have to admit I teared up a bit when he ran up to me, as excited as could be, and showed me his zipped up jacket.  For some reason that just propelled him into official big kid status for me.  It makes me wonder how I will react when he learns how to tie his shoes...

2.  We have been working on very basic math skills with Evan, and I can't believe how much he is picking up!  We use our fingers to add and take away, and we use objects to do the same.

3.  Evan attended Kindergarten round up recently, and when the letter first came, his wide-eyed look as I read it to him made me a little nervous about how he would react.  But when I picked him up after his time at school, he reported that he LOVES school!  I'm glad he had a good first experience with school, and I'm sure hoping that LOVE of school continues as he goes there every day, all day!

4.  Evan has also been busy preparing for a very special day coming up on FRIDAY!  He found a toy catalog that came in the mail a while back and I'm pretty sure he circled about 85% of the toys in it!

Now for the girls... I do feel a little bad not giving each of them there own "section", but so much of what they do, they do together... it's just easier this way.  And easier is better!

5.  The girls started asking me to pour their milk from their cup onto their cereal these days.  That's a big step considering they still find using a spoon inconvenient.  Milk, cereal, hands... yuck.


6.  The potty is still a fun hang out, although when I finally started cracking down and taking them out of the bathroom when they started standing up, sitting down, standing up, sitting down... it became less fun for them, and we don't hang out in the bathroom as much anymore.  Brynn did pee in the toilet once.  When I heard what she did and got all excited for her, she really didn't have much of a reaction (like Avery did anyway), she was mostly like, yeah... it's all good!

7.  I'm really looking forward to the girls heading out of their destructive phase.  Mostly so I could turn their drawer back around and actually use it...  but also so they don't destroy Evan's things... like the sword balloon we waited in line 45 minutes to get.  The answer to my facebook post:  2 minutes.  It only took 2 minutes for the balloon to be popped after we got home. (It's odd that 2 minutes seems to be a theme around our house...)

8.  We had some really nice weather for a while, but it's turned nasty again... so seeing this picture (especially today) is making me REALLY want nice weather again...
Brynn has decided she no longer needs our help to go down the 'big girl' slide anymore.  It made me a little nervous at first, but she rides this slide like a champ...

And a few others...

9.  I decided on a head shot to add to my website... my friend, Angie of Jungling Photography took this shot.  Now I just need to figure out what to write about myself.  Oddly enough, I'm stumped.

10.  Our trip is coming up very soon.  I'm excited about it, but it's so strange to think about leaving the kids for such a long time (a week).  But I must say, it's much needed - Dan and I don't get too many opportunities to have an actual conversation, so that's probably what I'm looking forward to the most.  I guess we will have a very LOOOOONG conversation on the flight over...  Wish us luck!

So, going back through my posts to add links to this one, I realized it has been well over a month since I posted my last 10on2sday... yeesh!  It really didn't feel like it had been that long!

10 on 2sday

1.  I got a wee bit of good news a few weeks ago...

... and I wasted no time in booking our trip, lining up babysitters (thanks Mom & Dad!), and I'm sure I will come back with a ridiculous amount of pictures!!

2.  Just before the good news we had our winter birthday celebration with my side of the family... it tended to revolve around Avery & Brynn a little more than everyone else (ity bity's will tend to do that, I think?), but it was nice to get everyone together... and get a picture of the cousins where my children were NOT screaming!  (although it was a close call until my Mom rushed in with a snack for Brynn!)

3.  Speaking of birthdays, my Dad celebrated a pretty momentous one... not sure if it's ok to post his age or not, but when have I ever really let that stop me??   :)  He turned 60!  With the help of lots of his family and friends, I created a book for him (using blurb.com - and I TOTALLY recommend them!) that had pictures from baby to now including letters and notes that were written to him for the book.  I was really happy with how it turned out... and I think he was too... a kid at heart...

4.  We got a new laptop not too long ago ~ which was a much needed upgrade.  I edited a photo session in about a 1/3 of the time it took my on my old laptop... soooooooooo sloooooooooooooooooooow it was.  Anyway, it's been a bit of a headache transitioning documents, making sure programs were moved over... and I lost every font I liked for my blog and my photog biz.  Very frustrating... I need to figure out how to get those fonts loaded back on the new computer, but I just haven't yet.  phooey.

5.  Avery & Brynn have been skipping at least one nap a week lately.  And they don't just skip a nap and lay quietly and play... they fight, they scream, they pound on the door, and they tear apart the little bit that is left in their room.  They have starting pulling each others hair during their little scuffles too.  lovely.  (I guess that's what sisters do?)

6.  So in light of their occasional nap-skipping (and general fondness of destruction), we turned their drawers back around... so dang frustrating that I can't even use a chest of drawers in their room.

7.  The girls have finally started pulling their weight around here and helping with the dishes...

8.  Brynn and Avery are still far more interested in the potty than I'm ready for... but again, I'm not totally discouraging it either... I figured for now we would just work on getting clothes on and off... but Brynn has taken it to a whole new level.  We now find her with her PJ's pulled down around her ankles at night when we go check on the kids before bed.  One night, instead of trying to put them back on and risking waking her up... I just pulled them off and let her sleep in her diaper.  I felt kind of bad about it, so the next time it happened I tried re-dressing her... she was a limp noodle... didn't even phase her...
 

9.  Evan and I were looking at the February calendar, you know... back in February... and he started counting... from 1 to 28, and he says... Mommy - it's missing 29!!  Up until that moment he was still forgetting a teen number here and there while counting, and all of the sudden he's counting all of the 20's!!?!?!? 

10.  Evan asked me to take a picture of him with all his favorite toys... and I couldn't resist...

Rare...

It's not often I get a picture of all three of the kids looking at the camera, with none of them screaming...  still not smiling, but I'll take it!

10 on 2sday

1.  Sorry that I'm so generic at the end/beginning of each month... but it's not right that it's February already.  As ready as I am for spring to bring warm weather... I'm not ready for time to fly by so quickly!  Although the winter storm we are in the middle of right now is making me re-think that statement!

2.  I'm sure you are dying to know if I managed to take a nap last week... RiIIIIiiight... no.  I did not.

3.  Today is the last day I will ever have a one year old.  (well, 2 one year olds, but you get what I mean...)

4.  I SWEAR that right before I grabbed my phone to take this picture... Evan & Brynn were actually cuddling.  It was quite possibly the sweetest moment a mother can experience.  Even if it did only last for about 3 minutes. 

5.  Speaking of sweet moments.  Last week Evan and I had our lunch date, and when I told Evan about it earlier in the week he asked if we could bring along his sisters.  Melt my heart.  But.... no.

6.  We went to an indoor waterpark over the weekend with Dan's family ~ we have 7 winter birthdays from December to February ~ so we did a little celebration for everyone.  Awesome!  The kids had so much fun, and so did Dan and I for that matter ~ all three kiddos went crazy for the water slides!!

7.  I had to attempt a picture of me and the birthday girls during our weekend getaway... AAaaand... this is what we get:

(which is better than nothing... at least I show up in some pictures...)

8.  Our best attempt at a family picture:

(we had popped in a movie, which was right behind my SIL who was taking the picture... you can see where my girls' priorities fall... I'm just happy they weren't screaming!)

9.  The craziest part of our waterpark weekend was letting Evan go off on his own.  He never wandered far, but since Dan and I had to stick close to the girls (and take them down the slide 6-hundred times) he was mostly exploring by himself.  It was weird for me.  Especially as we get closer to sending him to kindergarten.

10.  Speaking of kindergarten.  I called the school last week to update the kids' information and make sure Evan is on the list to get info about kindergarten round up.  When I hung up the phone... I cried.