I had an excellent weekend with my two older babies --gem and brecken- the day and a half I got to spend with them went by in lightning speed and am still not sure where the time went. we managed to fit in a lot of activities in a short amount of time as usual.

I finally made it to one of brecken's soccer games--he is a member of the badgers and wears # 5 jersey--it is a coed team and there are 3 girls on his team. they don't play on the whole field and play 3 on 3. my little guy is about as competitive as a flea--he jauntily skips down the field just happy to be with his friends chasing after a ball. I loved every second of it.

we saw a movie, ate lunch at johnny carinos, had dinner and rented a movie...

sadie got to spend the night with grandma and papa--we met them for fun in the park and lunch today. a three hour drive home to medford and back to my life. I wish I could live in two places at once--I hate being separated from gemma and brecken---I am emotionally challenged everytime i have to say goodbye to them. more on this later...

legging obsession

leggings for sadie--not even all of them

enough said

my excuse--I have to dress her while she still lets me and she needs at least two weeks worth for school.

memo to myself--do not go to the childrens place any time soon.

love the seasonal clothing--how cute is this shirt???

I love the fall weather that has finally hit us--cool in the mornings--nice in the afternoon and cooling off in the evening. with the weather comes dresses and leggings--my favorite to dress sadie in. she is so hard on clothes, leggings, and shoes though--good thing she strips it all off immediately upon getting home:)

Laken loves his sister's hair accessories--this one in particular. He says "mommy pretty"

go go go go

I feel like I am always going--and there are endless amounts of things I still need to do. laundry, dishes, kids, dinner, bills, baths, and on and on and on.
It will never end--it just continues in a neverending cycle and you either stay ahead of the game, keep up with it, or fall behind.
I am always lagging a little behind
I give myself a little slack as I do work full-time have 4 kids--2 of them whom are in bend and are back and forth to medford every other weekend via dan and I. I am just tired and I know it won't stop until laken is 18. I guess I just need to be realistic and suck it up. this is life and it is my life and it is a good life!!

I have been mia for a few days now--life has gotten away with me and I haven't made the time to blog. It has been one of those weekends where you blink and it is monday morning already.
I worked all day friday and a little after 5 left work to pick up my friend Jen and head to Portland for new consultant training for cookie lee jewelry--also got to visit the show room there where all the jewelry is laid out in such a way it is hard to leave without spending too much money.
we spent the night at a hilton--the beds/mattress were so amazing--I don't think I moved an inch the whole night--
lunch was at a yummy mexican chain--chevys--fish tacos and guacamole
next--brenda's house to do a jewelry show--thanks to her kindness and goodwill. I was able to spend time with my zazazu friends robin and brenda which was truly phenomenal--love you guys--and also get my baby fix for the month holding brenda's beautiful little girl cassidy.
home again saturday night around 10pm. needless to say sunday was spend catching up on sleep, spending time with my babies and hubby, and all those mundane chores that follow road trips--ie unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping........
all i can say if there is no place like home...

today I left work a little early-(which never happens) and dan and I went to the gym together in the afternoon--something else that never happens...and then were able to pick sadie up from preschool and laken up from daycare together.
we picked up dinner from one of our fave restaurants--Kaleidescope--a blackened chicken caesar salad for dan and I and a small pepperoni pizza for the kids--delicious and beats the heck out of cooking after working all day--besides the fact the weather was pushing 100 degrees today--ughh
currently I continue to read The Shack by Wm Paul Young--amazing book that really digs deep into your soul and tests your faith in God.
I am going to Portland this weekend--to do a new consultant training for cookie lee jewelry and I will get to spend time with my zazazu buds brenda and robin--two amazing ladies I met online about 3 years ago when we were first pregnant with our 2 year old monsters. whoo hoo

I am going to Mapleton, Iowa the beginning of October to see my sister and all of my nieces and nephews. It has been almost 2 years since I have seen the older ones. robin and thomas came out to see me in oregon about a year ago?? wow--time flies...
It is just robin and I--we have no other siblings. It is really depressing that we live so far apart.--different sides of the country
not so long ago--actually about seven years ago--Robin and I both lived in Iowa about 10 miles apart. we spent a lot of time together--were pregnant at the same time...were both at the hospital together when our dad died.
we didn't really fathom that eventually I would move away--so we didn't spend as much time together as we should--or truly appreciate the time we did spend together.
gemma and alicia are 3 1/2 mos apart, brecken and katie are 5 1/2 mos apart, garrett and sadie are 8 1/2 mos apart, and thomas and laken are only 3 weeks apart in age.
robin is pregnant with her 8th child--a little girl
I am going around the time she is due--but robin is always a little late with her births so I am probaly going to miss the actual birth but I hope to spend time with robin--reminscing, laughing, making food, eating, playing games
I can't wait

southern oregon sunset

laken

I fear that Laken has lost all sense of identity--he spends most of his days with his sister sadie and last night as they were laying on their backs on the kitchen floor to my husbands dismay laken said "I'm a big girl" to dan and I

laken vs markers

Laken is very hands on when coloring these days. he loves to sit beside sadie at the kitchen table and color/draw with markers and crayons. Last night he looked like a very colorful easel after all was said and done.

romance

I crave romance in my life. I love my husband dearly but his idea of romance is picking up flowers when I mention I haven't gotten flowers in a while.
I admit I was spoiled in my first marriage--flowers, cards, poems, and just thinking about you gifts were a weekly occurrence.. but obviously that didn't get us through
okay given we are super busy. we have 4 kids, 2 full-time jobs, appointments, yadda yadda yadda
I used to buy dan cards now and then to tell him i love him or i was thinking about him--he really could care less--so i have given up
I know my husband loves me--that isn't even a question but I wish he would show me more--notes, gestures, glances, should these things all come naturally? are we too fargone in our marriage to start some romance?
I want him to run a bath with candles or offer to wash my hair
a massage --longer then a small back rub
a picnic to watch the sunset--you get the sitter
make my favorite dinner or a yummy dessert we can share
buy me some lingerie you think would look nice on me.....
love you honey

biking with sis

Laken loves riding in his bicycle seat--it doesn't matter who is driving....

I thought for sure gemma was going to crash--she was wobbly when she first started out--it has been a while since she rode her bike--there is too much hanna montana and high school musical to watch.

The soul is healed by being with children

--Fyodor Dostoevsky

I am so premenstrual today--
my boobs hurt, my stomach is killing me, I am moody, everything makes me cry--and I am not a crier.
Sadie turned 4 yesterday and dan and I were talking about how fast the kids grow up- I just thought about Laken and how sweet he is right now at this stage--saying "mommy watch me" or "mommy wow" or my favorite "I'm so excited" at everything. and Sadie is getting so big. she loves her clothes and jewelry and is getting so much better at sharing with laken. I started crying in bed last night thinking how the baby stage is gone--
it really is a good thing--kids do have to grow up and we do move to the next stage with more parental freedoms.
I will just miss the innocence and sweetness of my little ones.

reading

I love to read--anybody that truly knows me--knows this about me
a new book is comparable to a fine wine or a decadent piece of chocolate cake to me.
the crispness of the unread pages, the stiffness of the binding, the smell
I prefer to buy and read new books but am not choosy if they are passed onto me as my hobby can get quite expensive
I read to escape, to learn, for enjoyment, to relax
going to barnes and noble is so dangerous--I usually stay away..
give me a good book any day
my husband doesn't read--not unless it is on the internet or a magazine. it is just not his thing and probaly never will be unless he is injured to the point he has no use of his arms and legs anymore and all dirt bikes and golf clubs were exterminated from the earth.

summer is over and slowly everything beautiful and fruit bearing is dying.--until next year....

Sadie has been so gung ho on learning to write her letters--this was her very first attempt at spelling her name...

cookie lee

I am alway looking for a way to make some extra money--a good product that I could immerse myself in and feel confident about selling it to friends, family, coworkers, anybody. I would love to have my own business someday--a little coffee shop/with plenty of room for a play area for the kids. I would make soups, sandwiches, coffees, paninis, baked goods......
in the meantime I have found cookie lee jewelry--beautiful jewelry at a decent price.--I get to wear it, order it, and it's kinda like having my own enormous jewelry box--except everything is for sale.
I am going to try it out for a year or so and see how it goes. I am not a very good salesperson that is why I chose something that can almost sell itself.
here goes nothing
www.cookieleejewelry.com

junk

I need to make lists, to organize, and start fulfulling the lists that I do make.
Our house is a dumping ground for stuff...our attic is chock full of things we haven't seen, touched, or used in the three years we have lived at this address.
I just need the time. with 4 kids it is nearly impossible to take the time to organize as it takes away from time with them. I am already working 4 days a week now. and every other weekend is devoted to gemma and brecken.
I should just take one hour a day and go bit by bit. My problem is I will start one project and then find something that will lead me into another project and alas I will end up starting fourteen different project and not finishing any of them.
It is much easier to procrastinate at this point but what scares me is when we finally do sell the house and have to go through all of the STUFF in a certain amount of time.

long day

water balloon toss action photo--laken was so cute when his balloon broke--"uh oh"

sadie and her little buddy dain--they are in the same class at preschool

nosebleeds

laken has had horrendous nosebleeds the past few days. the kind that you can't stop and the blood is flowing onto everything.
I am a nurse and it still freaked me out--I knew I had to hold pressure for 5 minutes but he just wouldn't sit still . we wrestled on the bed, the floor, the bathroom--it looked like a murder scene after we were done.
I managed to get him in the bathtub and eventually the bleeding stopped.
there's something about watching your own child hurting and scared that makes you feel so helpless.

birthday girl

the birthday girl--although her actual birthday isn't until september 9th

sadie and laken love to wrestle.....

love putting rocks on the slide at the park... sadie chasing bubbles

laken also had a good time in sadie's new preschool class. he loved playing and watching the big boys.

sadie

sadie went back to preschool on tuesday. she is in a new classroom with a new teacher this year but a lot of the same children from last year. she is such a social little girl. I can't believe she will be 4 in less then a week.

more pics

crescent city was another opportunity for me to take multiple amounts of pics--my absolute fave--this was a lighthouse down the beach from us

fish

we saw fish, sting rays, sharks, a seal, and a sea lion--pretty cool

we also nearly died in the jaws on a great white shark as you can tell by our expressions.....

ocean world

we went to a small aquarium called ocean world-- sadie and laken got to try surfing for the first time:)

we got to be hands on in a tide pool with star fish, anemones, and all kinds of little creatures

crescent city, ca

dan and I took sadie and laken on a little trip to crescent city, ca this past weekend. How nice it is to travel without worrying about formula and bottles for once!!

the weather was sunny but a little windy on sunday. we went to the ocean and dug in the sand, and just breathing in the salt scented air was glorious.

the last time the kids had been to the beach was when laken was 6 weeks old. i don't know why we waited this long as the coast is only about 2 hours away from our house.

sadie wanted to wear mommy's beach hat and her bathing suit before we even walked out the door.

Sadie love looking for shells and found a couple perfect tiny silver dollars

babies

does the urge to have a baby ever completely go away? as a thirty something woman with a uterus I still have a little baby twinge here and there. at work I get to hold newborns--how sweet is a 2 day old with their little toes and sweet little cries.
dan thinks i am crazy--I have 4 healthy kids already
My sister is due with baby number 8 on October 6th. I am going to live vicariously through her for the time being..
and invest all my time and energy into the four children who are here and need all of my love and attention.

blech

I have always suffered from motion sickness--as long as I can remember. My mom would always have me suck on a lemon, take dramamine, and clutch a barf bag on our airplane flights. I've noticed the sickness seems to get worse every year to the point when I get on a swing at the park I get dizzy and nauseous.
we went to crescent city, ca for one last mini trip before school. I think the road that took us to the coast was the curviest, gruesomely nauseating road I have ever been on. usually if I put my head out the window and get some fresh air I am ok. this particular road kicked my butt --even hours after we stopped driving I was still sick