Those Days

Today has been one of those days. You know, the day were nothing seems to go right. I am weary and overwhelmed and I might have even shed a few tears - please don't tell. Parenthood sometimes stretches you beyond what you feel you can possibly handle. Sometimes it requires decisions that punish you as much as them - you know, taking away privileges like getting together with friends.

The boys and I leave in just a couple of days to go away for the week and I think we need that time to work on some character, to spend time together, and to start fresh when we come back. It will be good for all of us - although we will miss Andrew a TON.

I love them with all of my heart. And tomorrow is a new day.

Good Morning

One of my sweet boys woke me up this morning by rubbing my back and saying, "I love you, Mommy. You are a pwecious gwirl (translate: precious girl)." I can think of nothing sweeter. It was the best way to wake up! And then Andrew made me a latte before heading to work. I think I'm ready for the day. I feel incredibly blessed and loved this morning!

Tips, Please!

If you've been reading here for any length of time, than you know that I struggle with organization. I love it. I want it. I work towards it. I get rid of things. And yet, I never seem to achieve it. Simplicity and minimalism is what I really want - my family isn't quite on the same page. And, well, who can blame them? I have a kitchen full of things that probably wouldn't fall under the simple and minimalistic plan but they would definitely be exempt. :)

So, the point of this post? Please, PLEASE (!), I beg you, give me one or two of your most effective organizational tips - it can be pantry, laundry, kitchen, bedrooms, cleaning, clothes...whatever. Just something that works for you and helps keep your household (or a portion) of your household running well.

My current most effective organizational thing - canvas bins w/handles that hold (and hide) the toys. The boys are awesome about sorting all the blocks into one, cars into another etc. It's definitely working - in fact, I need to pick up a couple more!

Imaginations at Work

The boys came up with some creative cameras this weekend and have been enjoying them ever since. Totally made us laugh!

Patrick was taking this photo with his "camera"... (And he just saw this pictures and told me that he was taking that picture with Daddy.)

See the barn with the toilet paper stuck in it? Yep, that's one of the cameras - the one Patrick used for the photo above. :)

The boys taking pictures of Andrew taking their picture.

Humoring us and letting us take a cute one of them!

They were so funny. They lined their stuffed animals up on the steps and I heard them instructing the animals to sit still and smile. Wonder where they have heard that?! :) Whenever I hear them quoting me, it makes me all the more careful about what I say... :)

Quick One

Just a couple of quick notes today:

- There is a giveaway going on over at The Cooks Next Door - Go Enter!!! :)

- Andrew and I haven't had a decent night's sleep in about 2 weeks due to teething. It's taking it's toil - I was asleep by 9 last night not feeling very well.

- I have a new job - scheduled to start in February. It's exactly what I wanted and I'm absolutely thrilled! I will continue to work 1 day a week and it won't be Fridays!

- We decided to take a break from our annual Christmas Open House this year. I'm sad and little relieved.

- Pumpkin Cheesecake is delicious and I made some yesterday.

- The weather is awful (cold & rainy) and I only want to eat soup. :)

- I'm taking the boys on vacation by myself in a week and a half or so Andrew can get in extra time at work. We've had it scheduled for a couple of months now and a friend and her three boys are joining me. We are staying close to my sister and another friend of ours! I'm excited!

- We have two wedding the next two Friday nights, one outdoors. I'm debating what to wear...

- I'm seriously needing to de-junk again (still and always) - will it ever end?

So there you have it, things in a nutshell.

Celebration Saturday!

We had a great weekend! It was a little cold and rainy but that certainly did not dampen our celebration! :) We were originally scheduled to camp with our church from Friday to Saturday but the weather cancelled that plan. So, we took the boys to the organic csa farm were my cousin has been working. It was wonderful. The boys ran around and played with the dog and cats. They saw the chickens, the pigs, and the calves. And the bonus was seeing new baby chicks - a first on their farm. A chicken had laid eggs and sat on them and therefore they had escaped the fate of most eggs on the farm - the baby chicks were adorable!

Saturday was distribution day for the farm so people were coming to get their vegetable shares. Patrick wanted to know if we could buy some carrots - he loves them! :) Right before we left, we were so blessed to be given carrots, beets, spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, kale, garlic, green onions, okra, acorn squash, butternut squash, eggplant, and radishes. We also picked some raspberries and bought a few dozen farm eggs. It was such a great day and we loved seeing Leslie!

After we left, we went to a locally famous restaurant called Ivanhoe's. We enjoyed lunch there - although the real reason to go there is their 100 sundae and 100 milkshake choices. Yes, we had that, too. :)

Here are a few pictures from our fun weekend!

Something New...

The past 3 1/2 months, my friend Heather and I have been working on a new blog (yes, I've hinted at something new in the works!). It's a blog about all things cooking and also includes a lot of baking and some entertaining. We are thoroughly enjoying planning, writing, and cooking for it. So today we are launching our brand-new blog and we hope you enjoy!

Feel free to check out The Cooks Next Door (we will soon be .com but for now we are .wordpress). We are still working out a few kinks but we hope you find inspiration and delicious recipes. Let us know what you think! And there will definitely be an awesome giveaway over there this week! :)

Family Day - 3 Years!

Today we celebrate three years of being a family. On October 4, 2006, a judge in Kazakstan granted our petition to adopt Calvin & Patrick. We could not have been happier. It was a difficult and emotional journey that culminated in the greatest gift. We are so happy that God chose to grow our family through adoption. We are changed - our hearts, lives, perspectives, and goals.

2006

2007

2008

2009 - To Be Posted Soon :)

We've had a fun weekend celebrating our family day - a post coming about it! We love all of our sons more than words could ever, ever express. We feel amazingly, undeservingly blessed by the Lord.

Survived

We had a great afternoon and evening with friends - why, oh, why don't entertain more? It doesn't have to be fancy, the house doesn't have to be perfect, and I don't have to be rested (we will NEVER have people if we wait for that! :)). It was fun and spontaneous and I definitely needed it!

Also, I survived having my cavity filled and seven sealants cleaned out and replaced. 2 hours. 2 hours, people. I was very numb for at least 3 hours which I did not like. The last time I was numb was for my wisdom teeth and that's been at least 12 years ago and before that, it was for another oral surgery related to my orthodontics. I was awake for both of those - I guess I was destined for dentistry. :) I probably should stop chewing ice so that I won't end up with a lot more dental work...yeah, probably not going to happen. I've tried.

Anyway, if you have anything you would like me to write about or questions for me, feel free to ask. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and a lot uninspired and so you end up with posts about cavities. Wow, how did I get to this point? :) Feel free to stop reading at any time... :) No wait, I'll come up with something...eventually... :)