Rambling Rose

Mr. Blue Eyes

2009-07-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

Three Peas in a Pod

2009-04-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

A Book or Two or Three

2009-02-25T12:44:00.001-08:00

I thought I had no time to read right now, but I seem to be managing just fine. I just devoured this book, The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. If you loved Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, this is a great choice for you. The ending was sappy-er than I expected, but all in all I loved reading it. Last night, I told B that I had 20 pages left and he responded by saying, "Whew, I get my wife back." It was a quick 400 pg. read for me, because I became so absorbed in the story. Very odd and slightly eerie story about a secretive old woman's life involving twins, strange siblings, tragedy, a spooky old house, a fire, and an abandoned child.

Midnight at the Dragon Cafe was the beginning of my current reading spree. It was an impulse pick up at the library. Just thought it looked interesting, and it was. A story dealing with Chinese immigrants living in Canada, it discusses topics like family relationships, loyalty, love, and immigration.
Now, I'm reading The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting. Obviously, quite different than my other recent reads but a good change up. I'm a good way into it, and it's great and very challenging.

Crafty Babies

2009-02-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

Once a month, me and a few girlfriends of mine get together to craft. We crochet, knit, sew, play with pretty, paper, and mostly just talk and eat lots of naughty things. This last year the original group totaled six ladies, and three of them got knocked up in the same year! That's half the group. What I'm saying is, be careful about getting invited to one of these "crafty" times, because fertility must be in the air. Here are the boys of the crafty group. My little lion is in blue. All boys and all with in four weeks of each other. We had our first crafty time this last Sunday
with the newborns. It was a great time to be free from larger children and husbands, craft, nurse, laugh, and enjoy ourselves.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-04T15:41:00.000-08:00

Smiles

2009-01-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

This little guy has been smiling a bunch recently, and we can't get enough of it!! It's the sweetest thing. So if you ever are wondering what I am up to, take a look at this pic and you'll know what I do all day. He's five weeks, and we saw his first responsive smile around three weeks! He's quite the smiley little man.

The bottom pic is Bug recent accident with a chair. He's such a bruiser and it's very hard on mama! We thought he might have broken his nose on this one, and he's not even two! Thankfully he didn't.

Good Morning Sunshine

2009-01-06T11:11:00.001-08:00

Yummy omelet and toast for my honey :)

Our Newest Addition

2008-12-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

We just got the best Christmas present ever! Here he is!

He came in the biggest snow storm the Portland area has seen in 30 years on Sunday, December 21st. B and I trekked over to Alma Midwifery Birthing Center in full winter gear, mom pausing a few times on the steps outside for contractions, standing in a foot of snow. We made it there a little after 7 am and he was born at 8:41 am, weighing in at 8 lbs. 5 ounces and 21 inches long. We are so blessed, and fully in love all over again.

Lil' B was so excited to finally meet her new brother, who she lovingly calls "Moose Truck" or "Jo-Jo", and on here he will just be "moose". Bug is surprisingly accepting of his new little brother who he refers to simply as "baby".

We're snowed in for the holidays, reading lots of stories, changing many diapers, cuddling a lot, drinking plenty of tea and cocoa, and playing in the snow. Papa B built a six foot snow slide in our backyard with Lil' B. Our neighbors built snowball fighting forts at two strategic locations on our block. I love watching people skiing through our neighborhood streets, and families pulling kids in sleds to go to the grocery store.

Merry Christmas to you all!

SNOW!!!!

2008-12-16T21:21:00.001-08:00

Making A Gingerbread House

2008-12-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

We made out first gingerbread house over Thanksgiving break with Grandma Mern. It was so fun and adorable. It was just a kit, but still fun and really yummy(Trader Joe's rocks!! :).

These pics below are pictures of our Safari Hunt. It's a really fun game for the kids. You hide stuffed animals around the house, turn off all the lights, have the kids climb on Dad's back, give them each a flashlight, and you search for the animals. They had a blast, although Bug is still a little small to fit on Dad's back.

Conversations with Lil' B

2008-12-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Overheard this afternoon, conversation between Lil' B and her dearest friend Sam.

Lil'B: Don't squish my baby!

Sam: Ok, I'll squish my baby.

Lil'B: I can squish my baby.

Sam: Can I squish your baby?

Lil' B: No, my baby only likes it when I squish her.

Four year old females are are so fun.

Cell Phones vs The Bible

2008-12-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

I know it's been too long. I just can't seem to think about blogging right now, and it always seems good to take a break every now and then. We're busy getting ready for BABY, preparing for Christmas, stocking up on food, cleaning random things and areas, sorting through kids clothes, always doing laundry, and trying to remember my focus in life is always to know my Creator and become more like Him. With that in mind here's a thought I liked.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was spent in Corvallis with my wonderful mother in law, and it was so peaceful and nice. Oh, and I can't wait to have this baby!

Cell Phones vs The Bible

Cell Phones vs The Bible
Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones?
What if we carried it around in our pockets and purses?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we turned back around to go home and get it when we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages?
What if we treated it as though we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to others, to our children, as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is a post snaked from a blog I read from time to time called A Plain and Simple Life.

Wordless Wednesday: My Little Man

2008-10-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

Nesting

2008-10-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

Recently, I realized that I am going to have a baby soon. Six weeks actually. I've been a little carried away at the thought of meeting this new person, and ignoring the disorganized house in which I am living. I get so excited to have the baby, that I forget about how much work it will be and how I should get some work done around the house before he gets here. So most days I ignore our bedroom, the basement, any closet, any kitchen drawer. They are all my enemy. Oh, and organizing kid's clothes. Don't even get me started. I have a wardrobe of clothes for a boy and a girl through age 6, for only two children age 1 and 4. Seriously. It's a lot to store. But you never know who's coming next, so I'd rather keep it all in case I need it, right?

I've been hearing other pregnant women talk about how they are "nesting." I know what nesting means, but maybe someone else doesn't, so here is a beautiful definition of "nesting." The dream day of a mother!

Nesting :To create and settle into a warm and secure refuge.

Or you could think of it as meaning de-cluttering your house of all the crap you don't need and organizing. I do like the first definition, because it is so serene, I will admit that the second is very practical. Combination of both, I'd say. So, I should be nesting, but I rarely feel like nesting, although after reading that first definition, maybe I do. Creating a refuge that's warm and secure for our new little one and the months ahead which contain lots of family time, home time, and rest.

Yesterday, I let lil'b watch a movie(GASP) and Bug napped. With all that free time I thought, I should get something done. I walked into the kitchen and thought, "I'm nesting, what do I do?" Then my mind got overwhelmed with all the little projects I'd love to accomplish before baby gets here, and then...I stopped myself. One thing at a time. One project today. That's easy right? So, I open one drawer and dumped out all it's containments and organized it. It felt good, and I felt like I was nesting.

Before :(

After :)

Stellan

2008-10-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months, I have been reading this mama's blog called My Charming Kids. She is a wonderful God loving momma, who has a great husband, and until recently three kids-3,2,1 and pregnant with fourth. She has just been through the most testing/ faith-building time of her life. While pregnant with her fourth child, at her 20 week ultrasound, she was told that her baby had a horrible heart condition and would surely die, and if he made it full term, he'd be still born.

So, she has been pregnant the rest of these 20 weeks and been believing God for a MIRACLE!!! And many, many, many...I mean we're talking thousands of people, around the world have been praying for this little baby, and believing with this mama and her family that God would do a miracle. And yesterday HE DID! Stellan was born yesterday, by c-section, and at same hospital where this family was told their baby would die is the same place where he is now alive and well, and the doctors who say he should have died, can't find anything wrong with his heart at all!!!? Isn't that amazing? Our God is a God of wonders and miracles. I've been so touched by this story, and I really can't do it justice in this little post, so check out her blog. The story is amazing and in FULL detail. This mama blogs like crazy :)

Fruits of the Spirit

2008-10-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

"I Could Kick Your Butt" and other thoughts

2008-10-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

Recently, while perusing the Target aisles I found my daughter some clearance undershirts that came in a pack of three of white, pink, and lavender. I'd been wanting some ever since my mother in law bought her some when she was 2, but those undershirts are a couple inches above her belly button now. At the time, I thought they were useless, but they turned out to be extremely handy during the winter season. Anyways, she finally has some more, and wears them under her clothes almost everyday. Each time I see them sitting in the laundry basket I think, I should sew something on them, but then I feel silly because nobody will see them under her clothes. Tonight while sweeping the floor, I thought of a shirt idea for them. I was thinking about embroidering on them "I could kick your butt" and "I ain't no sissy." This gave me a good chuckle while I worked away, and then I thought, "No, that's a good idea. That really sums up Lil'b."

Someone reading this might assume that I am very modern and maybe a "little gender bending," if I may use the term, but the humorous thing is I am not. I am also known to have read and enjoyed Mary Pride's The Way Home, devour my "No Greater Joy" magazine when it comes in the mail, and frequent blogs of Christian women known as "living the grid," keepers of the home, help meets, homeschooling etc.

Still, I think that it is a great shirt idea, especially for any energetic little girl, which I happen to have. If you know Lil'B, you know what I mean. I do not think it means she won't be feminine. It's just that she CAN kick your butt and it's sometimes funny (other times not :). I also thought of a shirt for my son, who is quite the momma's boy which would say, "I am a sissy." I think these things are funny. I'm sure someone else might not, but stay tuned for her new shirts. If I ever get around to them, I'll post them on my craft blog.

Other thoughts:

I've been reading a lot about "Off the Grid Living" recently, I find it very intriguing. Could I ever live with a compost toilet or wash my clothes with a bucket and plunger or grow all my own food? I think about these things a lot recently and I have no idea what will become of these thoughts. I like aspects of off the grid living like: low environmental impact, no mortgages, less city government dependence, lots of outdoor times, simple life, more time at home for everyone. B said no compost toilet, and he likes a washing machine. We'll see if he changes his mind.

Things to Love

2008-10-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

This is definitely a fluff post. It's just a bunch of random beautiful things I like right now.

Sunday Morning with Gramma and Grandpa and Playdough Recipe!!!

2008-10-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

We had my folks over for breakfast this last Sunday morning. We all had a truly wonderful time. After munching down all the omelet and roasted red potatoes one could eat, I put Bug down for a nap and lil'b and I got working, making some playdough. Grandpa and Gramma thought this was so fun.

Grandpa really got into playdough fun and started creating a little world of creatures with lil'b. They made a snowman and our whole family with a bed to sleep on. Lil'b appropriately named the snowman Kim.

I'll share my playdoh recipe with y'all because it's the best, I think, and it was given to me by a good friend Jamie.

Playdough-

In a sauce pan mix-

1C flour
1/4 C salt
1 Tbs Cream of Tartar

Add-
1C Water
2 tps Oil

Mix

Cook on Med/High heat for 5 mins. Stir till ball forms in middle of pan. (It looks like it will never turn out, but it does, and it's wonderful to play with:)

After it's done, we put in food coloring and glitter!!!

Craving Crisp

2008-10-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

I've heard a few people talk about "craving crisp" recently which led me, extremely pregnant woman, to "crave crisp" also. Last night, in the middle of dressing the kids for bed, I decided to start making myself some crisp. B had left for worship practice a while before, and I was alone in the parenting duty. The kids busied themselves by practicing cutting on little pieces of foam at the table at 7pm while I threw together a naugthy snack for myself. I had some apples that were about to be on the bad apple side, so threw them in, a nectarine or two, and then some frozen blueberries at the last second.

Put a yummy crisp topping on top, and put it in the oven, while me and the kids had story time. The timer went off right as we finished our last book, put them to bed, and took a look at my yummy feast. It was delicious, and yes I'm that mean to not share it with the kids :) and I had some by myself! Is that even legal? I figure, the kids really don't need any sugar right before bed, and the last time they had crisp they didn't like it, and B wasn't going to be home till 930pm! Something had to be done. The crisp was hot and must be eaten. B did have some when he got home, but crisp isn't his favorite either. I enjoyed every bite, and had some after lunch today too.

I was a good mamma and didn't eat it for breakfast, although it was really hard not to.

Really funny video

2008-10-20T08:41:00.001-07:00

B and I ran into this video and laughed pretty hard. B would spend most of his time making videos like these if he had the time. Give it a watch, and tell me what you think.

Have you seen this man lately?

2008-10-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

This used to be my husband. Nice somewhat clean shaven face(when he does shave-it's once a week.) But pretty fresh faced most of the time :) Over the summer and his hair continuing to outgrow mine, he decided to grow a beard. I'm not anti beards, I just don't like them when they get soooooo burly! Can any women blame me? Anyone out there a burly beard lover? I should ask for your help. I need to learn to love the beard.

So here is my husband today! Burly beard and still growing. I LOVE this man, but the beard is hard for me. I tried to be supportive in the beginning, and that was easy because I like a little scruff, but this is way beyond the scruff. I'm starting to feel like we should move to Alaska and start a fishing business-(for anyone living in Alaska owning a fishing business, no offense). The other day at work a co-worker of his said he looked like a rabbinical student, and he took it as a huge compliment. When he returned home to tell me, I was less than pleased. I'm not a bear of a wife, seriously I'm not! But the beard! WHY! Okay, that's enough complaining. Sorry you had to listen to all that.

Beauty by PapaB

2008-10-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

Craft Blog

2008-10-13T08:56:00.001-07:00

Okay, Okay! I'll admit it. I have a craft blog. It's actually kind of embarrassing to admit this, but it's the truth and it must be said. I really spend too much time thinking of imaginary play things and reliving my childhood sewing little creations. Hence the name, Petite Rose. It's kind of like my little childhood playground. Am I getting weird on y'all? Should I really have two blogs?

Okay here it is-

For Petite Rose click here or just type www.petiterosestudio.blogspot.com.

It's pretty rough still.

Where Did We Go?

2008-10-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Lil' B!!!

2008-10-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

My little girl is 4! She's so big now. I am really loving each new stage with her. A mom recently told me that she cried when her daughter turned 4. There were no tears over here! It was party time! That might be due to the fact that she is the oldest and there are two younger than her, so we have plenty of tiny years still ahead. We had a little party which involved fairy wings, swords, a treasure hunt, and a dance party. Before the party we surprised her with bunk beds!(She's still on the bottom and Bug is still in the crib, but exciting none the less.)

Some things I love about Lil' B:
I love that she plays hard!(If anyone knows her, you know what I mean:)
I love that she loves her brothers.
I love her light brown eyes.
I love how she snuggles.
I love that she has an imaginary family of penguins living with us! Not kidding.
I love that she makes up words like "cumbers" for friends.
I love her feet.
I love watching her dance.
I love being her mommy.

Happy Birthday little one. You make my day brighter, keep me on my toes, and constantly challenge me to be a better person. I love you!

I'M BACK!!!!

2008-10-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

So, we are officially back to the internet world. Hello again. I have returned. What did I learn from my blogging internet/movie hiatus?And what happen in the last month?

-Just deprivation is not a means to holiness without purpose and fiery intent.
-I can find way too many things to do to occupy my time
-I love to craft- maybe too much
-Pink Eye sucks
-Pink Eye sucks
-Belle turned 4!!!!!
-I sold something I made!
-I want to know the Lord more
-I'm going to have a baby-hopefully I knew this already
-I'm going to start an Etsy account, and that weirds me out
-I want to focus my time more on the important things in life

I have much more to say, but it will have to wait till later. Belle needs me to play guitar with her.

40 day Blogging Hiatus

2008-08-24T21:24:00.001-07:00

Letting you know I will not be around for a while, 40 days to be exact. I will return though. Come check my page out in October, it'll back in action full swing. We're taking a media break, hoping to think on other things besides internet and movies. I did leave you with some new posts though, three posted today, enjoy! Be back soon.

Oh, yes and this is a pic of two sumo wrestlers holding babies for a crying competition.

What happened today?

2008-08-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Where did my sweet little boy go? Today was a new day. The tables have turned. Bug, my cuddly 18 month old, has taken over the territory his sister, lil' b, used to hold. Household terror, I mean, Cute Mess Maker, as we like to call it.

Today started out a little usual with lil'b fighting off some sickness, and Bug and I locked indoors to help take care of her. The day must have gotten to him, because around 11am, after sitting with lil'b and taking her temperature, I realized Bug was missing. I found him in the kitchen, with a chair up to the counter, slathering butter and jam on his arms. Not little bits, gobs of butter and jam. Until now he hasn't been prone to this level of mischief or curiosity. It was shocking and quite a mess, but things happen in the toddler years and you clean em' up and move on, or so I thought.

As the day went on, Lil'B proceeded to get more demanding and moody, taking up most of my attention. So between me running between the kitchen to cook and nursing sick daughter, Bug found his way into another round of naughtiness, dish detergent. I had loaded the dishwasher, and somehow in between my rounds of the house, Bug had found it and stuck it off to the room with his sister, while I returned to the kitchen to cook.?!! How this happened, I do not know. Our house is quite small, it's embarrassing really that he made it past me, the mama patrol. I located him sitting on our futon, pouring soap all over the futon and his sister's blanket, and rolling it with the rolling pin he had also looted. Lil'B, laying right next to him, had said nothing, even till this point!! Obviously showing how sick she was because she is usually my junior patrol. If Bug is spotted getting into anything, she always sounds the alarm. She just laid there and let her brother dump dish detergent on her!! Can this be my night? Really. I felt furious not knowing who to be mad at: he's 1, she's delirious, and I am the one in charge. Thankfully, I did act quickly and take some pictures, because even as frustrating as this moment was then, I knew I might laugh someday and want pictures. So here you see the little culprit below, fully in action.
Where has all the innocence gone? My sweet little one, we have turned a new leaf. You were more a boy today than you have ever been. Life was just getting a little quieter around the house as Lil'B started to slow down, and now you have just run right up into her spot.

I have a feeling our house will not be insanity free for quite sometime. It can be maddening, but it also is an amazing time. Childhood is a wild ride. All that crazy curiosity can be scary at times, but it also is so fun to watch their mental development, and to see that curiosity spring up. You have to enjoy it all. They are only little once, right?

Beach Fun 08

2008-08-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

This was our first time to the coast as a family. All of us have been there over the last two years, except bug, but not all together! We couldn't have picked a better day. It was fantastic!! Very warm, just a light breeze, spots of clouds, we had a blast. We also were able to save a crab being attacked by seagulls. Which was especially fun because one of our favorite books to read to Lil' B right now is Kermit the Hermit, so she felt like she had saved Kermit. It's a fanstatic kid's book, if you want to check it out.

B loves finding things and spent most of his time scouring the beach for treasure, and I love just walking along the sand, stepping in each other's footprints, and laying in the sun. The kids loved throwing rocks, running from the ocean water, and digging.

Sadly, this concludes our summer fun, because B will return to work on Monday.

Introducing Baby #3

2008-08-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm pregnant. Here's the evidence: the rounding middle(everything between my shoulders to hips keeps GROWING!!!!! make it stop! No, must grow for healthy baby, I tell myself. Glad I talked myself through that one.) We went to the beach the other day, post to follow, and lover boy took some pictures of me.

Just the pea in the pod. Six months and getting bigger!

The mama.

1st Crochet Baby Sweater Complete!!

2008-08-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

The pics didn't turn out great, but I love it and am very happy with how it all turned out.
I will definitely be making more, although due to jealous issues between prince charming and my crochet hook, probably will be a while. The hubby definitely got a little sick of the incessant crocheting. I told him I was nesting and that it brought me closer to the babe, which helped and he thinks I'm cute. Bonus. Maybe it will fit our newest for the car ride home in December!!

Keeping My Hands Busy-Crochet

2008-08-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

I have been crocheting a lot recently. I thought I had given up, thrown in my hat, and decided that I'm no good. But some strange spur of crochet deliverance has happened recently and I've just been a happy little crocheter as of late. This is a different feeling than I had before about crochet, if you were wondering. The first item was a birthday gift for my good Miss Melanie. I was shocked at how this came out. It looks pretty decent, if I do say so myself. Shocking, I know. I even lined the purse and made fabric buttons!

My latest project is a baby sweater. I nervously admit that I am trying to make a baby sweater because I really don't know how it's going to turn out. This could be my crochet demise or my crochet revolution. I'll keep you updated. Here's some pics of how it's coming along.

Summer

2008-08-16T00:50:00.000-07:00

These are some pics from a romp in our front yard one fine summer evening. The lighting was so beautiful, but kids will be kids. Tthey seemed to be uninterested in the fact that this was momma's perfect chance to take some pictures, but I fought them for a few. Lil' B was way too Mary Catherine Gallagher for me that night, as you will see if a few pics. And Bug literally ran from the camera, so he's only in two. Then the last few are random pics from a photo class were I learned "panning", which was fun! Enjoy the heat!

Soule Mama interview and Book Giveaway!

2008-07-28T22:34:00.001-07:00

On Simple Mom there is an interview with the fabulous Soule Mama and a book giveaway of her book The Creative Family!!

Check it out http://simplemom.net/the-creative-family-by-amanda-soule/

Good Luck Charm

2008-07-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

My husband is an excellent four-leafed clover finder. On numerous occasions, he sits down at a park and declares, "I'm going to find a four-leafed clover." And within ten minutes, he does. He also is an amazing "finder" in general but today we will focus on his unique clover finding abilities. I have not ever found one. Not one four-leafed clover for me. None! I can get frustrated when I am in the company of an exquisite clover finder, but recently I have decided to enjoy his talent instead.

Yesterday we went to the park, and while the kids attack the play structure, I suggested we swing together, but he, spying the lovely clover patch, decided to look for the mutant clover. This time, not joking, he found one within his first minute! I have it pressed in my wallet. I think it's really a phenomenon. Really. His skills are unparalleled. For my birthday during the first year of our marriage, he took me on a picnic and we sat on a hill in a field of clover, and there within in 30 minutes, he found me TWO clovers with the mutant gene of four leaves. I have those too. Apparently his skills have been fine tuning over the years. I didn't realize that this skill increased in ability, but it does. Here's to my good luck charm and his wonderful finding abilities.

Anyone one else good at finding four-leafed clovers?

Flower Girl

2008-07-21T20:20:00.001-07:00

An Update or Two

2008-07-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

So I continue to be on the loose and refuse to update my blog, for whatever reason, and today out of the blue I'm going to say hello again. I can't say that I'm steady and back on the blog bandwagon. I'm just here today and we'll see about tomorrow. How's that for commitment?! I know no one reads this anymore anyways so really I'm talking to myself. P you is funny!!

Littlest cutest darlingest number three is on the way. Getting more active everyday. Loving being pregnant again and anticipating another "bundle of joy" or sometimes a "bundle of tears". The newest addition to our clan is due out in December. I love this little one so much already.

Tonight I have decided that I am going to:

wash my sheets
put clean sheets on bed
wash feet
lounge in bed and love the feeling of clean feet on clean sheets

Oh, and The Chickens are gone. It's a long story, but can be summed up in the statement, "They ate their own eggs!" They are gone, and right now I might postpone getting new feathered friends for a little bit. I'm enjoying a yard free of chicken poop, and letting the kids run loose in the back yard without worrying whether they are tormenting the chickens.

I've been trying to read more recently, so today I picked up two books that have been sitting around the house from the library, Geek Love and The Poisonwood Bible. I'm biding my time till The History of Love gets in. Geek Love is one of the wierdest books I've picked up, incredibly dark and comical, and I don't think I have the stomach to finish it. Here's the premis and the beginning of the book. The premis is two carnies, as in Carnival People, get married and decide to breed their own freak show by having the woman take different drugs like cocaine and overdoses of prescription drugs while pregnant. They have a few children one called waterboy, siamese twins, albino hunchback midget, and a son called chick- they've yet to explain that one. The book start with the parents describing how they met which involves the mom killing chickens with her teeth for a carnival act. GROSS!!! It's beyond strange. I'm curious which some of you may worry about me, but I have to say no. The Poisonwood Bible I have yet to really get into and decide if I like. It seems sort of interesting.

Great Parenting Book- Read ALoud Handbook by Jim Trelease

With all that being said-
Peace

Them is a Comin'

2008-04-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, the chickens are coming and the coop is built. Thursday is the day. We have to get their wings clipped or they'll fly around the neighborhood and perch in the trees. silly chickens. I'll blog about it all after Thursday. I don't know what I'm getting myself into! I think we're getting Rhode Island Reds? Right now we're coming up with names. Any good ones out there? So far we've thought up names like Bess, Henrietta, Boss, Gus, and Blanche. There are three coming.

CHICKENS??!!!!

2008-04-22T20:26:00.001-07:00

So after a long silence and break from blogging, I have something to say. It's something I've been thinking about for a while. Chickens. I want them. Yes, them with their feathery heads, and egg laying bottoms. Them with their poop and the lovely feeling of country and dirt, brought to home in urbania! Chickens. I don't even know if I like them, but I want them. There are three chicken coops at residences within walking distance to our house and I stalk them, by stopping and staring and coveting every time I walk past them. I've created a chicken stalker out of Lil' B. She cries, "Chickens, STOP!" anytime we drive past a home with a coop. Anyways, we're sounding pretty strange now. Read on. Tell me if we're crazy.

Fears about Chickens:

1.They might peck each other to death?! Yuck!
2.They leave a lot of poop.
3.If the coop isn't structurally sound, my cat will probably kill them all with pleasure! It's really upsetting to think about.
4.Nothing. Chickens are great, I tell myself.

Pros about Chickens

1. Eggs!!!!!!!!
2. Great learning environment for my hippie children
3. I want them.
4. Fun
5. Eggs!!
6. Eggs

See that's six, which way outways the fears.

Today at work, B happened to secure us two or three chickens from the cook at school, who is giving some away. Sweet, and they are free. But the negative side is that we don't have a coop yet! Very negative. B would have to build us a coop right away. (Side note: The other night I came home and B was looking at urban chicken coops online. So cute.) Stay tune to see what happens in the Rambling Rose Chicken Saga. "Will she get chickens or not?"

Conversations with lil' b

2008-02-15T19:45:00.000-08:00

After going to OMSI, pretending to be chipmunk in full costume, and gather nuts into a tree with other "chipmunks", lil'b told me that "chipmunks eat donuts." What? Is this really what she gets out of OMSI?

Today while getting ready for bed she told me that she want another girl, just like her, and she asks if I could "grow one in my body" for her. Nice. It was extremely cute and sweet, and also made me feel like she viewed me a baby making machine.

While sitting at the breakfast table, lil'b holds out an imaginary something close to my mouth, and says, "Here's Cheep." Thinking and not thinking much about it, I pretend to eat the imaginary something, then I glance over and notice the horrified look on my daughter's face. Quickly realizing that cheep meant chick, like little chicken, and I just "ate" it, I pretend to spit out the cheep. Then I say, "Where's the cheep?" She looks at me sort of irritated and disgusted and says..."In your mouth." Me, feeling rather low at this point, show her again how I can imagine to take the "cheep" out of my mouth, and I GENTLY put it back in her hand. She sort of agrees or puts up with my adult stupidity and walks away cupping her cheep. I imagine her thinking, "Well, I'm not giving you anything again."

Tea for Two

2008-02-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

Recently , I had the pleasure of inviting a little elephant and ferocious lion over for tea.

Thanks to B's dad and step mom, we acquired a delightful tea set for Christmas, and here's it getting put to use. It's so precious, and dainty. Tea with one of lil'b's best friends, Boo.

First Loaves of Bread

2008-02-06T18:35:00.000-08:00

After being inspired by some other women's bread making abilities, I decided to make my first homemade bread. Well, how it really happened is we ran out of bread and I didn't have the car or the desire to go to the store, and I thought this would be a good time to give a try at making bread. So about 11 am I set out to give it a go. After reading the directions for making Honey Whole Wheat Bread! Yum! in my handy dandy Betty Crocker Cook Book, I realized it's a similar process to making pizza dough which I do about every week. So, it turned out to be easier than I excepted. There is truly something wonderful about making homemade bread. First, it smells wonderful even when it's just sitting on the counter rising. It feels peaceful, and made me feel that this is how life should be. I realized while kneading the dough for about 10 minutes (plenty of time to contemplate life), that bread making is cool. I hope one day I will be able to say to lil' b, "Can you go make some bread?" and she will be able to. In our day and age when everything is so processed and package, to me, it seems so precious to be able to pass something simple like bread making onto my kids. Well, first step- make your own bread.

I actually skipped a step accidentally. I was suppose to knead, rise for 60 mins, then roll out, shape, then rise again for 35 mins. Well, I read the directions wrong and skipped from kneading to shape and rise, so I just let it rise for 1 1/2 hrs. Here it is rising.

And , even with my mistake, it turned out. It was delicious. I am truly amazed how good it turned out. I will definitely completely follow the directions the next time, because it will make it even better and yummier!!Here is my egg salad sandwich I ate afterwards, with HOMEMADE BREAD. I couldn't believe it. It was euphoric. I felt like a proud puffed up mama hen. I throughly enjoyed the process and will be making lots more homemade bread, in fact I'm about to right now.

Bird Cages

2008-02-06T10:04:00.001-08:00

These are Bird Cages by Tamar Mogendorff. Aren't they beautiful? I saw them in Little Circus' shop. She has a blog I've read to pretend that I can still read French. It's very sweet and I wish I could actually come up with sentences to say to her.

Wiener poopie

2008-02-05T19:56:00.001-08:00

This is one of the funniest videos I've seen in a while. Please watch it. It'll give you a good laugh.

What Have I Been Up To?

2008-02-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

I know you all have been curious, just kidding. But here it is anyways. I feel like a spastic crafter. I can't really stick with anything for very long. After X-Mas, I got really into sewing little stuffed bird ornaments, then I went to crocheting cupcakes (finished just one and now I'm done(phew, glad I got that out of my system), then crocheting flowers(fast and fun, great combo), now to embroidering which what I've doing most lately, and loving. Oh yes, and today I made lil'b a crown. Here's some pics, which I admit showing off your crafts has to be sort of narcissistic, but when I spend so much time with this, I want to put it somewhere, so here it is.

I now have made three of these crowns. They are so fun! Anyone need a crown?

This is a drawing of Belle's I copied onto some muslin, and embroidered. I love it. The idea came from Soule Mama's blog. It's her view of Jonah and the Whale.
This little tree was unfinished, and now he has some leaves and a border.

I'm Only Human

2008-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

Today, lil' b and I went to the library to pick up some books for her, while dad stayed behind with our sick little Bug. On the drive into downtown, it started to snow, which made the event even more fun. We picked out our books at the library, and it was still snowing as we skipped down the street back to our car. While loading lil' b into the car, a grizzly elderly man, with thick dark rimmed glasses and an air of "I don't really like kids", walking towards us, stopped and commented, "These are the best years, don't miss out on them because soon they'll realize that you're only human." I was so shocked by his comment, not because I haven't heard it before, but because I never would have expected that old man to say something to me, and especially a something endearing to children. It really touched me to see this old man's emotions well up just by seeing my lil' b. Kids are amazing.

As we drove away, I couldn't stop thinking about what he had said, because it's so true. I am only a human and man, I am going to make some awful mistakes, I just know it. I'm human, so I have to. And it scares me to death. And the process of her realizing this has already begun. I've already had situations where lil' b caught me acting in a way I teach her not to act. Saying something to her in a rude tone, and she tells me I'm being rude, and I have to apologize. So humbling.

A lady at church said a really similar comment, just last Sunday. After watching me hold Bug, she came up and said, "Aren't they so wonderful?" referring to children, and I said, "Yes, they are." Then she told me how her boy was 25, getting married, and such a great man. She said it amazes her because she was a single mom and knows there were plenty of mistakes down the road. I told her that it scares me to think about what will be my parenting mistakes. My parents were good parents, but there were mistakes and shortcomings. There has to be, and sometimes it's painful to realize that. The lady and I got distracted, and she walked away, but came back 5 minutes later. She told me that the cracks in our parenting are there on purpose, because that's where God comes in. That's where He takes over and molds them and teaches them to persevere through trials. I thought this was very interesting and encouraging. All of it made me want to live more in the moment with my kids, savor this special time, and realize I'm only human.

Reading During My Childhood and Loving to Read

2008-01-30T20:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after finishing an amazing book by J.D. Salinger called Franny and Zooey, I was sitting at our mini kitchen table with my husband around nine pm eating homemade cookies and drinking tea, and I started contemplating how I wish I had read more books as a child. All those years wasted, well not wasted, but not much reading was going on. So after thinking this, B and I began discussing what we did read during our childhood years and I thought it was interesting so here it goes.

My earliest books I can remember reading on my own besides picture books is The American Girl series of books. I ate those books up. If any of you know them, they include fascinating titles like Samantha goes to town or something like that. Mostly I read Felicity and Samantha, Molly was just too modern for me. I was really into pre 1900 as a child. Then, when we moved a lot during my third grade year, I read a ton of Archie comics. In middle school, I remember reading Dealing with Dragons and a sequel, which is a mystical story about princesses and dragons, definitely an interest of mine then. In seventh grade, I read some Christian fiction like This Present Darkness, Piercing the Darkness, and some horrid romance books. Then I got really into Fear Street. Ever read those? They are awful. Basically like sitting through a horror movie, which I can't do now, big scardy cat.

What was I missing? So few books. I feel like I missed so much. I want my kids to be devouring books at that age. I could have read so many of the classics like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudiced, Lord of the Rings, or Fahrenheit 451.

Anyways, when did my love for reading and books begin? It was my junior year in high school and I signed up for an English class with Blou Carmen. There were rumors she was a witch and that she had never worn the same outfit twice and that she was incredibly hard. So I was scared before the clas had begun. Thankfully I trudged forward, because that class changed my life. She really didn't wear the same outfit twice and no she wasn't a witch, just a wonderful inspiring unique teacher. For class we read Cat's Cradle, Of Mice of Men, Catcher in the Rye, and The Great Gatsby. From then on out I was hooked on reading and it also helped me decide later to major in English.

I just wish I could have started earlier, because I barely read anything as a child and I feel like I missed out on so much free time I could have spent reading. I just pray that my kids continue loving books and become little bookworms.

My Husband Has Long Flowing Hair

2008-01-28T21:24:00.000-08:00

Recently, I've questioned whether my husband has hair longer than my own. Weird to some, new to me. I never thought I liked really long hair on a man, but maybe my views have changed. I've always been a fan of shaggy hair on men, you know, the shaggy, I-don't-give-a-rip skater boy hair, yes, I like it. But never have I thought I liked flowing hair. B's hair sometimes has tendrils, not kidding you. And sometimes ringlets. This is not thought of as manly to some but it has become it to me.

B always use to talk about wanting "warrior hair," whatever that means, and I just thought he was being silly, but he wasn't. Now, the mane, his mane, is warrior man hair proportions for sure. It bounces on his shoulders, and I can run my hands through it and when I think I'm done, I'm not, meaning his hair is really gosh darn long. He has black hair that's incredibly shiny with a subtle wave. It's really beautiful, really hair meant for a woman in my opinion, and many other women's opinions. I've had plenty of friends comment that they wish they had hair like B. Seriously.

So, to sum up this irrelevant post. I'm saying that his hair has grown on me and I like it, flowing that is. And I feel nervous about the day he cuts it. It's so exotic. Well, warrior like. Sometimes pirate like. Yes, I even like a pirate tail now. What's the world coming to? I dream about growing out little bug's hair, my 10 month old little boy, and not caring if anyone calls him a girl because I think he's manly, just like his dad, and he'll remind me of Mogley from the Jungle Book. Then there will be two men with flowing hair in our family.

Happy Thrifting

2008-01-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

I'm starting a new section of my blog called "Happy Thrifting", which basically means a place I can post some of the cool stuff I find while thrift store/second hand/garage sale shopping. This section is similar to posts like "Choice Goods Wednesdays" off of my good friend's blog "The Endless Pursuit of Life" . It targets one of the blogger's passions in a constructive way of sharing. Most people who know me, know I love second hand shopping. A large amount of our kids clothes, decorations, my clothes, and our shoes come from this passion. I am ever so thankful for living in Portland right now, because I have ample access to great second hand stores like Buffalo Exchange for me and B, and our favorite kid's shop Sweet Peas, and a handful of amazing antique/thrift stores.

While my finances are happiest with second hand instead of new, I have many other reasons for pursing this activity. It's a way to recycle. I found a pair of brand new looking pair of keen kids sandals at our Goodwill this summer for $2.99, normally around $40 I think, and they would have gone to waste without another kid using them. Instead of these shoes filling up the landfills, they find a happy useful place in our home, thus creating "Happy Thrifting". Another reason is, I love it. How awesome is it to find a pair of Sevens jeans in my size at a garage sale for $20, which happened this summer! The hunt brings excitement.

So enjoy my first posting on Happy Thrifting, my button jar. I found this great piece at an antique fair for around $10-12 and it's about 8 inches tall and 7 inches across, so rather large. Besides it's aesthetic quality, it's become incredible useful for craft projects. Recently, I've been using my button jar almost everyday. Also, I love buttons, so this was great all around. Happy Thrifting!

A Walk in Pictures

2008-01-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

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*initial under picture specifies who took the shot

A Night out with Mama M

2008-01-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

I drove down to the book club with MamaM the other night, and we completely miscalculated how long it would take to make it down to Salem. We ended up in downtown Salem after driving down from Portland in rush hour traffic in about 30-40 mins. I have know idea how that happened, it seems humanly impossible, because the last time we drove it, it took us an hour an a half!? Go figure, well there was an accident, but still.

So with some time to kill, I joked on the phone to another friend Beta that we were going to get tatoos, which caused crazy MamaM to take me seriously as she proceeded to get excited and say that we actually were. No we didn't get tattoos. But she decided to get her nose pierced which she had been wanted to do for a while and mamas just don't get out of the house enough without kiddos.

We drove around till we found a shop, which we found extremely easy. It turned out to be the most sketchiest tattoo/piercing shop I'd been too, but hey, she was just getting her nose pierced and then we were out. We decided without speaking that if one of the men we saw in there was going to do the piercing then it was a no. The burly shirtless, overweight, inked up the wahoo man said that the piercer? (I don't know what to call them) would be back from break, so we hoped for the best and waited. SHE came in a while later, thank heavens and looked relatively normal.

Besides a little decisions about ring or stud, it went very fast and she was great. She told us while giving the piercing that she had been in prison, and three years ago she didn't have any tattoos and now she has 39! Definitely a memorable night, possibly equally memorable because my kids would not go to sleep for their sitter, which caused much anxiousness and many phone calls. Maybe mamas shouldn't go out, just kidding.

Salvaged Bunny

2008-01-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

While going through lil' b clothes recently I noticed one of her favorite shirts was fraying beyond remedy and a favorite pair of tights had huge holes in the toes. One of my motto's for the New Year might be "spot keeping crap!" because I keep noticing things around the house that are in shambles but I still keep them, thus having a house bulging with too much stuff. So when I saw this, I thought, "This is crap, throw it away."(pardon the crassness) But then I had a better idea.

I realized that I love the fabric on the tights and shirt, and I should use it. So combining a worn -out pair of wool socks with the tights and shirt, I made lil' b a stuffed animal of her choice, a bunny. So here's, "Steeko" as she calls it, and she always reminds me that she's a girl bunny.

I was going to make it while she slept, but she got so mad when she heard this idea. So we spent Saturday trying to "make it together", which included a lot of frustration, love, cute moments, mess, and stuffing all over the house. Steeko's a unique and slightly ghetto new addition to our house, but made with love.

Posting Pics of Children

2008-01-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

Today, I came across a few articles about posting pictures of children on your webpage, and it made my stomach turn. I actually feel like crying. It was so disturbing to hear what perverted people might get from a picture of a child. The articles recommended removing all pictures of your children and never using real names for their protection. I don't know what I think of all this, but I'm thinking.

I feel so saddened right now and I almost wish I hadn't stumbled upon these articles. I have loved sharing pictures of my kids. It's so fun, and probably one of my favorite things about posting! I don't know if I will change anything, but here are the articles. One is very strong, and not necessaryly my opinion just something to think about.

http://millenniumhippies.blogspot.com/2005/05/otherwise-known-as.html

http://urbansemiotic.com/2005/07/13/take-your-children-offline-now/

Hey, mamas. Tell me what you think.

Coast

2008-01-07T23:09:00.001-08:00

Nikkor 50 mm 1.8 lens

2008-01-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

I just got myself a hold of one of these last night due to some wonderful people, my uncle and ma mere, who gave me xmas money!!!! B and I took a few shots around the house, and we were amazed at how brilliant the shots were. This lens is incredible. I'm so excited to get to play around with it some more.

Holiday 2007 Update

2007-12-28T21:16:00.001-08:00

Here's a ton of pics from the Holidays!
We got a box from Amazon which became a boat, obviously, which made for great brother and sister time. Here's lil'b smothering Bug, inspecting Bug, scaring Bug, and sharing box with Bug.

Here's Christmas time B.

Belle in a box.

Beam time Christmas!
Grandma Mern and Lil' B
Here's my moo making Buttermilk pancakes, and my uncle, who's awesome, and brother Max playing with the Nerf gun we bought him.

It snowed!!!!

Handsome Bug

This is the face he makes all the time now.

Here we are.

Yummy Handmade Bûche de noël

2007-12-28T09:32:00.001-08:00

I know it's after Christmas, but I just had to post this when I saw it. I love handmade things like this. It's Kayte Terry’s handmade softie Bûche de Noël. I have Christmas decorations from Anthropology that look like cupcakes and a gingerbread roll. They are so wonderful and so is this piece of art. Hope your Christmas was wonderful!

Here's Another Good One

2007-12-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

This one is so classic. I had to put it up there. If you don't know Bing Crosby, you should, especially in the field of Christmas albums. This has all the greats, with Bing's beautiful crooner voice, some slow and beautiful like Silent Night, and some extra festive like Jingle Bells. A few of the songs have the wonderful Andrew Sisters, referred to as the singing sweethearts of World War II who also sang " Mr. Sandman" and "The Boogle Woogy Buggle Boy", whose "engaging harmonies" bring energy and spunk . Here they are in all their glory. If you haven't heard this album and you enjoy Christmas music, you should give it a listen.

Saturday Mornings, Xmas Decorating

2007-12-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

Where to even start with this pic. It's me hiding from B chasing me with a camera very late at night. Kind of look like the headless horseman.
Silly lil'b

Saturday mornings we usually do a big homemade breakfast of pancakes, waffles, or french toast. This Saturday was obviously pancakes and not only pancakes, but Mickie Mouse pancakes. Anyone ever had these when you were younger? My grandma would make these when we'd come and visit her in Lake Tahoe. They were the best. I had to tell Belle who this was but when I did she just lighted up! So fun.

This is the double scarfing pic. Notice how J and B are shoving yummy pancakes simultaneously. Priceless.

Stockings I made last year.
Decorating fun!

Here's the finished tree, yes it's a really crappy pic.

Random pic from Bryson's recent show in NE Portland. Here's some of Ezra Carey and band. B is behind the violin player.

I'm thinking about combining my pages of Ginger and Pickles(my kids) and Rambling Rose and just start posting all of it here. I don't think I blog enough to have two.

Advent Stockings are finally done!

2007-12-11T10:57:00.002-08:00

I tried to get a good pic and none of these made me really happy, but here they are! i think they are really cute. I thought of a lot of ways that I could put them up like hang them all on a little tree, or post them to a board covered in cute fabric, but I really wanted them hung on a strand. So last night I crocheted the red strand then tied them and finished it off with a button.

I'm not sure if they'll get anything in them this year, but here's some ideas to fill the stockings:

chocolate! of course
marbles
kazoo
harmonica
money
love notes
bible verses
poems
pebbles
feathers
little people
little animals(fake of course, come on!)

These are so much fun.

I googled some other ideas for Advent calendars that I thought I'd share with you all.

Click here to see more Creative Advent Calendar Ideas

Christmas Crafts

2007-12-09T21:30:00.001-08:00

I have tons of tiny stockings around the house right now, twenty five to be exact. I think the actual Advent Calendar is not really twenty five which bothers me, but I decided it looked better to have 1-25. They are still in the process, and it feels like this project is taking too long. Currently, I'm working on sewing the numbers on, then they have to be strung somehow to a strand. I'm too behind for this year, but next year it'll be ready to go. I just can't seem to get into the Christmas Spirit till after Thanksgiving.

While, I was sewing the stockings, Belle came and sat next to me, and I let here cut up extra felt and yarn. She concentrated so hard, working on the floor with me for 40 minutes or so. She thought it was great. I can't wait till she can do these things with me. She really wanted to sew, but needles and three year olds? I don't think so.

I'll post a new pic once they are done and on the wall.

Last year I made us all new stockings which was really fun. Not to far from of house is the Pendleton Wool store, and they have these bins where you can buy craps of wool fabrics for somewhere around $1.25 a pound. It's awesome, so that's where a lot of the plaids in my Advent stockings came from and some of the fabric on the family stockings.

I really love Christmas crafts. I'm not sure what draws me to them, but I seem to get into them more than other holidays, maybe it's because it's too cold to go outside.

Christmas Albums

2007-12-09T20:49:00.001-08:00

Ok, so everyone I know is blogging about Christmas music and I figured I'd jump on the band wagon. One album I have yet to see on the lists is my number one fav and so dear to my heart, Sufjan Stevens' Christmas Album. It comes in a five disc package. Yep, five, you heard me right.
Vol. 1 Noel
Vol. 2 Hark
Vol. 3 Ding! Dong!
Vol. 4 Joy!
Vol. 5 Peace!

It covers all the classic and adds some great new ones like "Come on! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!", "That was the worst Christmas ever!", "We're Goin' to Country", and "Sister Winter", and the list goes one. This album was an awakening to me. I must admit that in the past I have been a little of a Christmas scrooge. I hated Christmas music. Walking down the street I was bombarded with music blaring from outdoor speakers set up by local business shops and I loathed the month of December radio. Every station thinking it's so cute to put a little bit of Christmas music in the mix, not understanding that not everyone enjoys Christmas music(double negative, excuse me). How many times can a person listen to "Hark Here The Bells" and sit through that annoyingly high screeching part? But then, last year my husband had to buy this CD. I didn't want him to at first, due to my disdain for Christmas music, but he convinced me this one would be different, and it is. It's amazing and yes you want to listen to it year round. Gets you in the Christmas spirit with just the right mix of Christmas peppiness and reverence. I'm so glad he bought it, because it's awakened a new enjoyment of Christmas music. I would recommend this to anyone.

You can buy it here. (Click here)
I've seen some places with free downloads too, but if you can, support Sufjan.

What are we doing?

2007-12-05T10:20:00.001-08:00

I saw this video a while back and it really impacted me. I'm not at all against the music or film industry. This is an example of how we spend our money. Many other expenses could have been placed instead of the music and film industry. It made me think, what am I doing with my life? I need to be more aware of the rest of the world and how my decisions impact everyone. It's good to think about.

Introducing...

2007-11-26T16:49:00.000-08:00

Mister B, Super, Biggity, Nist, Crash, my husband has a blog. Check it out. He's great, he writes a lot of words, he's blunt, real, and a funny. He's got a lot of good things to say.

http://www.2lasereyes.blogspot.com

Day of Thanks

2007-11-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

14 kids
16 adults
2- 20 lbs turkeys
lots of love
lots of thanks
lots of laughter
lots of food
lots of sweets
lots of fun

Giving ThanksPoor Diddy

The PosseSilly Boys

The Mighty Women
My Beautiful Boys- Bug just got up from a nap
Extremely Silly Men
I hope you all had a great thanksgiving holiday enjoying family and friends, and giving gratitude where it is do.

60 Years

2007-11-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

This post is an add to my previous post "Remembering Joyce Birdsall".

Over last weekend, I thought a lot about marriage, and how people stay together. Most of these thoughts were spurred on by watching B's Grandpa morn the loss of his wife of 60 years this last weekend. One scene has stuck fast in my memory, and this is my observations of the situation, because I didn't talk with Grandpa about what he was feeling. The scene is of Grandpa, this 6'2'' 80 year old man sitting hunched over in easy chair gripping a black and white photo of him and his high school sweetheart, later his wife, and Grandpa's crying. This was how he was choosing to remember her, as the sweet beautiful teenager he fell in love with, now again these are my thoughts.

While watching Grandpa that weekend, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a family member years before. The family member mentioned that Grandma and Grandpa had been bickering and pretty grouchy with each other, and it was trying being around them right then because they were kept arguing. It showed me that they were normal. They fought, and argued, and sometimes didn't like each other at all, but they stayed married. At the funeral, a grandson shared a sweet and funny story about Grandma and Grandpa. He said one time he was visiting them when the lived in Arizona, and Grandma was in the kitchen cooking and Grandpa and him were listening to a game on the radio. Grandma yelled from the kitchen, "Bill, turn down that radio", and so he did. Then a minutes later, Grandma said again, "Bill, I said turn down the radio", and Grandpa, without saying a word, turned down the radio again. The grandson turned to Grandpa and said, "Why didn't you tell her that you did already?" and Grandpa said, "That's why we've been married so long." Marriage is about compromise and making it work, not sweating the small stuff, and not making sure you are always right.

After the funeral, we went to the cemetery to have Grandma buried. I took some pictures, and watched Grandpa during the brief service at the grave. His daughters held his arms, and later his grandchildren sat with him when he wasn't ready to leave her, his beloved. When the it was time to say the final goodbye, Grandpa went over the coffin and layed his hand on the top, and with tears in his eyes, he started to bend one knee. There she was, the woman he had spent 60 plus years with, and all I could see on his face was that he loved her. In the end, it wasn't the fights or years of making it work that he thought of, but it was that he loved her and all the years together were worth it.

Marriage isn't just about two people, but it's about family, great grandchildren, friends, and all the other people in life that are watching to see if marriage can work, and if people can still can be in love after 60 years. Recently one of my brothers helped B put a new part in our car, and stayed for dinner after the work was done. While we were catching up and enjoying dinner, B mentioned that his Grandma had died, and that she and his Grandpa had been married for 60 years. Max immediately said, "You guys'll be married for 60 years" and I said "Yes Max, we will". Thinking back on B's family, partly because Grandpa and Grandma stayed together, they kept generations of their family close and tightly knit together.

B and I have a chance at being married 60 years, because we married so young. After this weekend, I am convinced that if I live that long, we are going to get there. Because in the end, it's worth it.

Remembering Joyce Birdsall

2007-11-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

B's grandmother, Joyce Birdsall, died recently after a five year battle with cancer. She and her husband Bill, B's grandpa, had been married for 60+ years and had been a couple for 65 years. This is them in the picture above, probably they're still in high school. He was a football player and she was a cheerleader. They married after she graduated and had four daughters. When she died she had 6 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

We drove down to Corvallis to go to the funeral last Thursday night. The funeral was on Saturday, so we spent Friday just hanging out with the family. The picture above is the picture that was passed out to family members, and it's the picture that Grandpa spent sometimes an hour staring at while sitting in his easy chair the days before funeral, most of the time his eyes filled with tears. Next to him was another matching easy chair which is now vacant, because his partner of 65 years is gone.

The funeral was very traditional with an elegant white casket, full service, hearse, and funeral procession of cars to the burial. It was amazing to realize, looking around the room that these people were here because of Grandma and Grandpa. This was their legacy. B and I and our children are part of their legacy too. During the service it was shared that Joyce was an amazing hostess who loved saying hello and hated saying good bye, which reminded me so much of B. She was a wonderful God fearing woman who lived a great life and left a great legacy.

After the service we drove to the burial which was on a beautiful plot out in Sweet Home, where other family members are buried. B served as one of the casket bearers. Watching the burial was so sad. As I looked at all the family members, I thought "this was momma bear, she started all this and here we are laying her in the ground." At the same time, it seemed like her time to go, and it was nice to know she wasn't in pain anymore and she was sharing eternity with her creator.

The hardest part was Grandpa. While staring at his wife's casket, Grandpa looked shocked like he didn't see it coming, even though she had been dying of cancer for years. Out at the cemetery, it was absolutely beautiful, and it was supposed to rain.

Here's some pics of the burial. Notice that this is in November and look at the scenery.

Carrying the casket
Great granddaughter and daughter

Son in law, daughter, and Grandpa Birdsall Grandpa Birdsall's last goodbye
Grandson B, and great granddaughter lil' b

Cookie Dough- I have a Problem

2007-11-13T10:36:00.001-08:00

On Sunday night B, hubby, went out with a friend for dinner so I made lil' b a queso and put the munchkins to bed. While I was cooking the quesadilla I pulled out some cookie dough from the freezer that I had made a few days earlier, and proceeded to snack on it while it de-thawed. After a while I became quite full and decided that I would have to put dinner for myself on hold.

Fast forward 2 more hours. By ten I had stopped snacking on cookie dough and decided to throw the idea of dinner out the window, because I felt pretty good and the sugar had satiated my hunger. So who needs dinner and after reading for a while I went to sleep.

Then the next morning I woke up feeling less than great. Actually a wee bit nauseas, and I thought great, I'm either pregnant or I just ate too much cookie dough. I felt pretty embarrassed to reveal to my slumbering husband that I felt too sick to get out of bed and get our eight month old. I mean, who in their right mind eats cookie dough for dinner? Maybe a 13 year old having a "crazy all nighter b-day party", but I am not one of those anymore. Yes, I am a grown woman. I think I need to remind myself of that.

We had friends coming over for brunch, so there was cleaning to do and groceries to buy. So I did my best to act not sick and get over it, but I really wasn't feeling good. So I thought, I'll go do the shopping, that'll help. So me and my 3 year old went to Trader's to get some food. Well, I made it through the store, but on the way home my stomach was acting a little bit funny. So I started driving faster, realizing that something unpleasant was about to happen, and pulling over on the side of the road is less than elegant. I made it into the driveway, turned off the car, left lil' b in the car, ran inside, yelled to B to go get lil' b out of the car, and let it loose in the kitchen sink. Just about an hour before our guests came.

I can't believe I'm telling people this. It's so embarrassing! But maybe it'll give someone a good laugh. B has been bugging me to do a sugar fast with him to get healthy, and me, the sugar maniac, so far has declined, but yesterday I told him I was ready.

Book Nerds Holla Back

2007-11-06T15:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, if you really like books and getting recommendations for new books to read I have found the site for you. I've been looking for a while at different library pages for recommendations (I know, the nerdiness is overwhelming, but read on), and occasionally I look up a book I like on Amazon.com and see if they recommend anything I would like too. Although I use these ones they have never really satisfied my desire, because what I've always wanted was a book recommendation search engine based off of books you already like. Amazon is annoying because sometimes you search a book and it just gives recommendations by what else the author wrote not the genre. But the annoyances and wasteful internet searches have stopped.

Go to www.whatshouldireadnext.com, who would have thought, it's such a tricky name, tee he.

It's awesome. You can ask for suggestions, catalog books you like which the site keeps on record, and you can even highlight certain books off your own book list and get a recommendation off of the ones you highlighted.

Check it out.

Eugene Bepo

2007-11-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

So I had a great time in Eugene catching up with Beta. We stayed up late, and chatted like girls like to do, whilst three sweet babes were slumbering. We did fun things like go to Target, gosh I'm boring, but there's not that many things one can do with two nurslings, how'd ya like that word! Then I talked Beta in a haircut, sort of. She hacked off about 12 inches of black hair, and came out looking like a superstar part aeon flux. Super exciting, then back to the ranch in P-town. B spent the day with lil' b. They did fun stuff like go out to breakfast together at Bertie Lou's, go to Napa Auto, and spend the rest of the day with the Luters.

Away

2007-11-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Eugene today to have girl time with one of my longtime best friends. I've been trying to get down there for a few weeks, because it was her birthday, my birthday, and both of our kids birthdays. But the weekend I was supposed to go our car broke down. CRAP! So we took it into the shop begrudgingly, and hoped for the best. Well, they said that we needed new spark plugs and wires, well we could fix those, but that really wasn't the problem. Then they told us that they didn't know what the problem was and we owed them fifty bucks for telling us that. Great. So I asked what we needed to do to figure it out, and they said we could leave our only car with them and they would drive it around till the car broke down again and then they Might have an idea about what was going on.

Ok, I'm really not that bitter at this situation. It's just life. But it's one of those frustrating situations like when you are really sick and you go to the doctor and they say that they can't help you, so you just return home sick and wait. I guess we have to learn to be our own doctors. So the car is driving but we can't take it out of town because it might just stop working anytime. I was so sad until me and my buddy worked out a plan.

Today I have her car from Eugene because I took her husband to the airport in their car and then I get to take it to Eugene to hang out with her then drive back, pick him up from the airport then he takes it back to Eugene. That's a mouthful. Still following? Well, it just means I get a night away, well with Bug, but that's a little break from two kids, and I get to be with Beta, my buddy.

March

2007-10-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot recently. One of the books I've been reading in the last month is a book called March by Geraldine Brooks. It's a look at the other side of the story Little Women. The book is from the view point of the father of the little women, Mr. March, who in Little Women is away serving as an army chaplain in the civil war. The book moves through war scenes to memoirs of home, to romance with Marmie, his wife, with eloquent and beautifully descriptive prose. Anyways, there's a paragraph I'd like to share with you, because I think it's profound and it rattled my thinking, in a good way. Mr. March says on page 127,

"I have come in stages to a different belief about how one should be in this life. I now felt convinced that the greater part of a man's duty consists in abstaining from much that he is in the habit of consuming. If I prolong my dark hours by the consumption of costly oil, then I waste both the life of the beast I slaughtered for the purpose, and the clarity of mind which comes from timely sleep. If I indulge in coffee then I pay to pollute myself, when instead I could have a cleansing draught of water at no charge at all. None in our household ate meat, but now we learned to do without milk and cheese also, for why should the calf be deprived of it's mother's milk? Further, we found that by limiting our own consumption to two meals a day, we were able to set aside a basket of provisions from which the girls were able to exact a pleasure far greater than sating an animal appetite. Once a week, they carried the fruits of their sacrifice as a gift to a destitute brood of German immigrants."

I am amazed by this passage, because it speaks of living by thinking of others and always viewing the consequences of one's actions, which is something missing from much of our American day. I love the idea of excluding a meal to share with another in need. That is amazing. I can't imagine the wonderful result if we all lived that way. I, in no way, can say that I live in the way this passage described but I think I should. I'm not standing on a vegan eco high horse, because I am not a vegan or vegetarian, or all green, nor do I go to bed before 11pm, but I do see the value and reason for choosing to live that way. I think the value of living in such a way that benefits your body and nature and sacrificing comfort to share with others would change so many of the problems we see today. I hope it inspires others. Our society doesn't understand limiting and abstaining consumption of anything, and I'd like to understand it better.

Library Bums

2007-10-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

We're library bums, and I'll admit it. I even thought about becoming a librarian, so ya , it's that bad. One of our favorite family hangouts is the library. Since moving to Portland, we've probably checked out books from 8-10 different library locations, but our favorite it the downtown library. It's a beautiful building with a great children's area, big selection of books, and incredible artwork. We frequent the Sellwood library almost weekly, but it's small and mostly we have books sent there. These photos were taken on my new CAMERA, while walking to the library. I'm still figuring out the camera, so excuse that the photos are out of focus and one's a little dark. But, do pay attention to the really cute dad, sporting his baby boy on his back, and playing with his little girl, with froggy rainboots.

Date Night

2007-06-07T15:44:00.001-07:00

B and I got to go out on a date the other night without any kids. We literally ran around town from 9pm to 1am in the morning. It was so invigorating to feel free from the responsibilities of family life for a night and enjoy each other.