30 May 2012

a little water. a little sun.

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summer days have arrived.
the sprinkler dances across our yard
sun shines
and the pool awaits our visits
all we need is a little water and a little sun to make us happy.

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in a quick glimpse, this is our memorial day weekend. filled with family, friends and lots of laughter.
and of course, good food and wine.
i didn't capture too many photos. we spent most of the weekend at the pool, which means all hands on deck for this mother of three.
jonas and joshua love to swim, and they are good swimmers, but i still keep a constant watch over them.
in fact, i make joshua wear his smim vest when he's in the deep end.
jessica just wants to follow her brothers and jump off the side of the pool.
and, she even went off the diving board!
just once. she jumped in to her daddy.

all this pool time is wonderul, but tiring for all of us!

so, i'm officially on pinterest. i have been for awhile, but never did much. now that i have a house to decorate i can't seem to get enough of pinterest.
feel free to come follow along and see my inspiration.

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29 May 2012

little sailor girl.

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jessica.
once again my little sailor girl
she has outgrown her dress
she fills new shoes
her smile is wider and her words clearer
her blue eyes still capture
my heart
and my love.

My post from earlier was a little on the grumpy side, so I thought I would end the night with a smile. And my Jessica always makes me smile. Even in her new tantrums and her stomping feet I am always smiling on the inside. You can see her first sailor girl post here.

Linking up with Chelsey for her Photo Challenge.

kale and grapefruit salad

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Since we only have half of a kitchen these days I've been focusing on simple healthy dishes to get us by. Although we have a stove, we don't have a sink or countertops. I was using the bathroom sink to wash dishes until it backed up and Jon had to play the role of plumber. Now, the few dishes I do use I wash in the utility sink. Carry out is getting old and I can only grill veggies so many ways. I recently stumbled across Megan's blog, whole family fare, and instantly fell in love with her recipes. I know I've talked about including more food posts and I suppose this is the beginning of that adventure. In the future you'll see more of my own recipes, but I just had to try this salad. I eat kale everyday and I love this twist. Instead of blood oranges I used grapefruit since that's what I had on hand.

1 bunch of kale
1/2 of a grapefruit
lemon vinaigrette

This was for one serving at lunch, but you could easily make this as a side for dinner.
I also used Megan's recipe for lemon vinaigrette, and I can't get enough of it.
The other day I made an orange vinaigrette that was just as tasty.

As a complete side note, we've had a couple set backs on the progress of the house. Our tv and stereo were set up (I lost the battle and they are above the fireplace), the wiring was in place behind the mantle, it was painted and we were good to go. While working on the music setup the HDMI cord broke and needed replaced. Which meant that Jon had to take off the mantle (that was glued and screwed into brick)in order to get to the cord. Everything is back in place now, and most importantly the music works (with the record player) but the wall needs patched and repainted. A small set back.

Now, lets walk into the kitchen and we will find a larger set back! We are set on having the hood system filter the air outside rather than back into the house. With as much as we cook we don't want that air circulated back inside. However, we have an older home and there is no easy way to run the vent to outside. We have had several cooling and heating guys come over to help find a solution. I think we found one this morning, but we now have to tear down the soffit, take down the cupboards and run a pipe outside. Did I mention that the kitchen is already painted?? We now will have to patch the ceiling, use drywall for new soffits and repaint. I honestly thought we were two weeks away from having a finished kitchen. Clearly not the case now. I can't help but be a bit depressed. Having a home that is in complete chaos is so difficult with three children. There is stuff everywhere. I purged before we moved but we still have so much stuff! I can't get ahead of the laundry. There is constantly dirty piles waiting to be washed and don't even get me started on the piles waiting to be folded. The yard could use about two weeks of straight weeding and it looks like our cars will never get in the garage. I can't seem to find the time to finish painting Jess' room so it has sat half painted for three weeks. I thought I unpacked everything, but we are still missing so many items! Like half of Josh's solar system mobile that I want to mount on his ceiling. How am I missing half? Why didn't I pack it together? These are the questions I ask myself as I lay in bed at night.

Well, enough complaining and thank you for listening. Although we have several projects on our hands we are blessed to have a home. A beautiful home that just needs a little tender loving care. I hope to share some pictures of the house soon!

28 May 2012

peony blossoms.


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spring is here and summer is close.

peonies blossom
slowly stretching petals
towards a distant sky
unfolding each arm, each limb, each stem.

peonies blossom
weighed down by beauty
resting on ground as spring walks away
petals lost
some broken

a foot shuffles along
the sound of soles slapping brick

my peony is scattered

linking up with Just Write

Enjoy your Memorial Day Friends!

23 May 2012

growing like a weed.

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Life has been so busy around this house that I have let time slip between my fingers. My youngest is growing like a weed before my open eyes and there is nothing I can do to make the moment stop.

Eighteen months.
Nineteen months,
and now almost twenty months.

This amazing daughter of mine has blossomed from an infant into a unique child with great charisma. Her personality shines in her eyes, in the glow on her cheeks and in the heart of her laugh. She brings me joy, happiness, and the desire to be the best I can be so that I may guide her wisely down the path of life.

These days Jessica:
Is a talking machine and repeats anything and everything you say. She can clearly express what she wants and doesn't want, and she isn't afraid to use that firm "NO."

Loves to read and looks forward to library day. I can never get her to leave that weekly visit.

Just finished her music classes and will take a few workshops over the summer. We'll pick back up with the regular music schedule in the fall. We may also start "Mommy and Me" ballet in the fall.

Enjoys playing dress up, even if it's a Batman or Darth Vader costume.

Will pick up a light saber and make the appropriate sounds while swinging it in the air and wearing a pair of my heels. She can also sing the theme song to Star Wars. I have GOT to get that on video!

Still has an attachment to her bunny and wants it most hours out of the day. She also has an attachment to her binky, which drives me absolutely crazy!! I hate, can't stand, loathe the binky. My other children never used one so this is very new to me. I obviously dropped the ball and just taking it away when she was younger. Now she has a clearer understanding and asks for it. She asks for it! Any suggestions??

22 May 2012

lobster clam bake.


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This past weekend the restaurant hosted our annual lobster clam bake. It has become a tradition to take the kids down for an evening of good food and fun (you can see last year's post here). This year Jonas was feeling a little under the weather and decided to avoid the lobster, but Joshua and Jessica couldn't get enough.
Little neck clams, tossed salad, broiled lobster and Bender's fries. And to top off the night homemade blueberry pie and home to cuddle and watch a movie.

As a side note, I know I've talked about adding more food content to this blog. That is still in the plan, but I've lacked motivation on actually photographing food pictures these days. It could be the absence of a kitchen, the fact I haven't really been baking or cooking or that I am simply too tired. I used some leftover lobster meat to make lobster rolls on sunday and meant to take pictures. Instead, I sat outside with the family and enjoyed the moment :)
IF the sounds of an ocean dancing lulled in the background and IF I had a Bloody Mary in hand it would have felt like a Maine vacation.

Linking up with Mandy for Steppin' Out Saturday

20 May 2012

recently.

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Recently life has been busy. Very busy. Our days our filled with trying to get settled into our house, finishing up the school year, cub scouts, soccer, music and swimming. I can't seem to figure out how to keep up with the laundry and we still don't have a kitchen. Although, we do have a stove!! There are toys everywhere and the legos have literally taken over. Does anyone else struggle with these toy invasions?? It absolutely drives me crazy. I had a moment of weakness this weekend and told Jonas I'll take away all legos for a month if he can't learn to pick them up. While the family thinks that I am the "master picker upper" it is in fact NOT my job to pick up after everyone.

Jonas woke up this morning and immediately cleaned up all the legos and his room. I heard the soft slap of his feet running down the hall to share his excitement. And with an enormous grin, he asked if I could make cinnamon rolls. Warm cinnamon rolls with no icing. Now that, my friends, is my job.

16 May 2012

a space themed room.

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Now that we are moved in and almost unpacked it's time to start focusing on my favorite portion of the process....decorating! To be honest, I'm not very good at it and I always change my mind. I could spend a week arranging a table or mantel and then two weeks later decide I don't like it. I guess that's the fun part though, the always changing and rearranging.

Joshua was pretty set on having a space themed room so I let him help me in the decorating process. We made a road trip to Ikea this week to pick up a few accessories and new bedding. I have to say, Josh actually picked everything out himself and I couldn't have picked it better myself! I'm hoping to have all the pictures hung by next week so the room will be ready to share.

Here are some things that caught our eye:
one // two // three // four // five // six // seven // eight

Since we have so much going on with the new home, I thought I would make this a new feature. As we finish rooms I'll make a post with the inspiration boards and before and after photos.

14 May 2012

mothers day love.


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when you don't have a stove you get scrambled eggs on the grill :)
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making planters for our basil that we used as gifts for the nanas.
the kids decorated them with their fingerprints
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Mother's Day is about enjoying those long cuddles in bed with your little ones. Tucked under blankets. Toes touching. Mother's Day is about soaking in every extra kiss they give you. Smiling when you can hear their giggles and tiny feet running down the hallway to present you with the best homemade card. The card that melts your heart every time you read it. The card that you keep in your nightstand so when you're feeling down you can turn to your children's words to make you happy.

Mother's Day is about spending a little extra time with the ones you love. It's about stopping for a moment to truly see what you have created, and what you have created is amazing. Every day I am amazed by my children. Who they are and who they will become.

Thank you Jonas, Joshua and Jessica for such a wonderful day. Thank you Jon for being right there with them. Thank you for being who you are; my best friend. And, thank you for letting me sleep in! That's exactly what I needed after a late night of painting in Joshua's room. Also, a huge Thank You to my sister and brother in law for hosting mothers day. These pictures are from their gorgeous backyard.

Happy Mother's Day!
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