Soccer

Jake started soccer for the first time this year. He's very enthusiastic about it! My Jake loves anything that is social. These games are tough for these little guys. They just started the full field and it sure seems like a big field for them! They are red-faced, sweaty and short of breath when the time is up. Awesome!

I finally remembered my camera for this game. Here they are warming up. Jake did pretty great! I was impressed. The photo below shows him practicing kicking the ball out of mid-air. He totally rocked it!

It was sooooo hot during the game. Jake couldn't wait to play in the water. The schools sprinklers were on for hours creating a nice little river of water for the kids to splash in. Of course, Mia was in it from the second we stepped foot at the school. At one point, I saw her leading the way of several kids splashing and playing along. Even Sammy got in on the action.

Apparently, jealousy is a good motivation.

After we were cheering for Mia for riding her bike, Jake felt that twinge of jealousy. "Why are you cheering for her for riding her bike and making me feel bad??" We explained that we were excited for her and would be even more excited for him once he figure it out. Anybody who knows me knows what a sore spot I have for Jake not riding a bike. For three years, I have encouraged, ran along side, practiced and bribed him hoping to get him to learn to ride. It just wasn't happening. I would have him ride with the training wheels, I would help him balance without training wheels and ran and ran hoping he would find his balance. It was just not happening. One day last week, he saw how Mia was practicing her two wheeler, feet not on the pedals just coasting along(something that I had been trying to explain and had even showed him before), when it seemed to make sense. He grabbed his bike and tried it himself titter and tottering all the way along...loudly. Do you know Jake? I am sure you can hear his comments. Jealousy drove him to keep at it.



Last Sunday, I let the kids "ride" their bikes to church and back. I let them practice some more during the week. That Friday night, I stopped at DI really quick after work when I found a shiny green bike just right for Jake. And it was only $10. I called Ry and went through all the details of the bike and I remember saying to Ryan that he had to learn someday and he had outgrown his little red bike. So, hoping to keep the encouragement up, I packed up the green bike and surprised it to him the next morning. He was thrilled! He immediately hopped on and fell off. Crap. Right over the rock wall, face planting into the mulch and grass! I thought it was over and done with. He would never get on that bike again. Thankfully, much to my surprise, he got back on. Phew!



He "rode" it all the way to the church for the Primary practice and showed it off to his friends. His friends thought that his bike was very cool! Awesome. Two points for Mama! I was glad that I let him ride it even though we were running late. On the way home, he did something that I thought that I would never, ever see. He pedalled his bike. Not just once or twice quickly catching his balance, he actually rode his bike! Hallelujah! It's a miracle! I was so amazed and surprised and PROUD! Just two days after Mia was seen riding, he was doing it himself. And he is thrilled to pieces himself.



Way to go Jakey-Jake! We love you and are soooooo extremely happy that you learned!!!

This little princess did what?

Guess what this little princess figured out how to do last Thursday?

Yep! She rode a two-wheeler!! She's been practicing on her little ol' Barbie bike but when her friend left her bike at our house, she couldn't help but want to try the big girl bike. I got her started and was fully prepared to help her ride when everything clicked for her and she pedalled along all by her princess self.


She rode back and forth several times before I ran in the house to find Ryan to show him the good news. "Come quick!! She's doing it!! She's riding a two wheeler all by herself! Come take pictures!!" And in my proud Mama moment, I stopped to marvel in her new found skill in which she went out of control down the driveway entry and crashed. Whoops! Sorry Mia! We are still so proud of you!!

Homework Done?

It seems that every time I go to work, I get yet another idea that I would love to do but don't realistically have time for. Believe me when I say the stack of projects to do is a little bit on the big side. Because I want to actually finish some of my other projects, I hesistated before I bought this one. I mentally made myself promise that I would finish it within a week of purchase and I am glad that I did.

A quick little project put together in less than an hour to help the kids remember their homework. So very simple but makes me happy and the kids like it too. I love the sparkly apple paper against the black and several brightly colored ribbons tie it together. At the end of the night, whoever has a yes marked on their board gets to put a sticker on the calendar and when that is filled up, they get some sort of treat. So far, so good. I have had it up and in use for a good two weeks!

Why it's good to give up.

After the kids go off to school in the morning, Sammy has become quite demanding. Nothing is right. Nothing is good enough and Mama MUST hold Sam all morning. It's quite frustrating when all I really need to do is get the dishes washed and the laundry going before sister is back from Kindergarten.

"Mama! Mama! MAMA!! Wah!"

All.

Morning.

Long.

*sigh*

So when it was another particularly frustrating morning last week, what's a Mama to do but give her baby a not-so-good-for-him-but-he-loves-the-cream cupcake and take pictures of the little monster and realize he's not so bad. Actually still pretty cute. And when did he get so big??

This little boy thinks he's a big kid and often sits himself at the table. When I am busying myself around the kitchen making something for the kids to eat, he runs to the table and climbs on the chair quickly claiming stake before the real big kids get there but this morning, I had to coax him to the table where I produced the creamy goodness.

Being the good Mama I am, I ate the frosted top and left him with the creamy goodness that he loves so much.

Which he happily ate one finger full at a time until the cream was all gone and the cupcake he smashed one fist full at a time.

And then I marvelled that even though he is so big, he is still so little.

And since I was ignoring the housework (easily done) and we were having fun taking pictures, I let him play with the salt and called it sensory play.

And loved his fat fingers and round cheeks and concentration.

And in the end, it made one happy baby, one happy mama and one sink of dishes still left undone.

An evolution of a room

For months, I have been tweaking my front room trying to get it close to something that I like. I think it's lookin' pretty spiffy and even though I am not done with it, I am starting to really like it.

First of all, the room is really centered around this print that I love. My Mom bought this print several years ago on a trip to Italy with my sister Sharmyn. It's an architectural rendering of the cathedral in Florance. Mom framed her several years ago and found that she had an extra print that she gave to me. I stored it for years while we moved around hoping to frame it someday. Finally several months ago, I took the plunge and got 'er all fixed up. I found an amazing vintage frame for a mere $3 (or was it $5?) that was perfect for it. I drug my Mom with me to the frame shop and had her pick out the mats for it. I am thrilled with the results! I love it! (It's hard to photograph - lesson learned - always request non-glare glass.) Of course, I emailed Sharmyn with the finished results where I learned that it was actually her print! They both had bought the exact same print but Sharmyn never got hers. Mom wonder why she had an extra but never thought to ask Sharm. Thankfully, she let me have it so I could forgive myself for being a thief.

Of course I bought this fantastic rug last February. It's perfect for impromptu dancing parties for a ballerina, a princess and a break dancer. I slapped some brown curtains up and added few brown pillows and called it good for a long time. It just needed something though. It was too brown.

I scored these vintage tables a few weeks ago. I had seen them at the D.I. before and loved their lines, but thought they were too short for side tables. The next week they were still there (and marked down!) when I realized that they would make a very cool, original coffee table. They work perfectly and I love them! They are sturdy and large making a perfect make-shift homework/art spot and support the weight of the wild child who thinks that they are jumping off onto the sofa tables. I may paint them someday, but for now, I am liking their original look. Now if I could just figure out how to decorate them?

While browsing last August, I am came upon these fantastic blue silk curtains that perfectly pulled the blue out of the print and rug and added the much needed brightness to the room. LOVE them!

One of my favorite blogs is This Young House . They are a super fab, home decorating on a budget duo and if you don't read them, you should. Anyway, they hung bamboo shades on their big picture window in their front room and I thought it look super-de-dooper and set out to copy them. Love the texture and it does make the windows feel taller just like they said. Fantastic idea Young House!! I even hung them myself because I am awesome like that.

The sofa got a makeover too. I would really, really love a new sofa, but that's not in the picture right now (doesn't stop me from looking however). I retired the old hardworking slipcover for this chocolate linen one, added a few warm gold throw pillows and the cute striped one from Target and ta-da! New and much improved room!

I have lots left that needs to be done and I can't wait to pull up the not so white anymore carpets to refinish the hardwood. And there is the minor detail of not having a front room closet to store all of my coats and junk. Lots of inspiration from Young House and Sharmyn was the best at helping me with this room. What's that you say? She doesn't live in Utah? Why would that stop her from helping. She was sweet and patient with me as I sent her weekly e-mails about my ideas, my finds and what do you think about this? And of course the fantastic print. So thanks Sharm! But that aside, what do you think?? Is it fab and swanky or just not your taste? (Yes, I just stole Young House terminology.)

Pretty in Pink

Elizabeth is thrilled with her new look. All dressed up with no where to go, lookin' pretty in pink and being rocked like a baby or strapped in the stroller.

Not one complaint from her.

She's a good little kitty.

I gave in.

With so many great Fall decorating ideas going on in blog land, I finally succumbed and pulled out my Fall decor. I don't have much, but I still had a good time decorating my shelf in the kitchen. Still, those hooks elude me. How do I put them to good use?? Everything I hang on them looks silly.

The grand prize

I just stumbled across this giveaway tonight and I am green with envy! I would love to win this for myself. I have recently been cleaning up my scrap area trying to organize and become more efficient. I am enjoying finding the products that have accumulated but stressing about how to organize them so they work for me. This Minibox would be perfect! Look at those perfect rows of boxes and how pretty it folds up into a nice piece of furniture. This is something that I would never be able to get myself. It's too frivolous. Remember my kitchen floor?? And sooner or later, I will be losing our spare room as the kids get older. They are going to want their own spaces leaving all my crafty stuff homeless so I wouldn't mind having this upstairs. In fact, I think that I would want it upstairs so that I would get more stuff done! Hah! A girl can dream right??

I am new to her site, but thought that she has some good ideas like childrens face painting and family fun activities. Or how about original date ideas? This isn't her first giveaway either. She's got some great stuff to give! So run on over and enter making my chances less and less of winning this fabulous organizer but would make me happy if someone that I knew won this.

School Carnival

WOW! Another week since I have blogged?? Insane how fast time is flying by. I can't keep up with anything. I feel all out of sorts with school going on. Half-day Kindergarten is perfect for Mia, but so difficult for me. For the first little bit, I ran errands with just Sam but that got expensive so I have been staying home trying to get the house cleaned up but feel that the time is just ticking away until I need to go and get her. Sam doesn't do as well when there aren't any kids to play with so I am not very productive. I do love snuggling and playing with him, but I do have things that need to be done. Mia is struggling with the sounds of the letters and Jake is not getting his homework done on time AND it's still a surprise when the alarm goes off every morning. Why has it been so hard to get into school?? Why did it take me by such surprise this year. I am starting to wonder if we will ever get into the swing of things.

This week was the school carnival. This was a much anticipated event for the kids. They had their faces painted, jumped on big inflatable slides and obstacle courses, played games and ate lots of treats. Jake and Mia got five tickets each. How they spent their tickets showed their personalities. Mia was all about treats - popcorn, two cookies and cotton candy. Jake was all about fun - with a cheap treat thrown in at the end.

Mia would of done this slide 15,000 times more if she didn't spend all her tickets on treats.

Jake loudly enjoying himself in a race against his buddies.The spider was his idea. Mia would not have anything to do with getting her face painted.Sam hung out quietly in his stroller the whole time. I feel bad because I was so busy with the kids and visiting with people that he just got forgotten. We did load him up with treats and he had his basketball. He obviously just enjoyed the people watching. He is my shy one this one. I don't know how to react to it sometimes.

We got to go with some friends and I enjoyed watching them interact. I didn't have many friends to play with growing up. They just weren't any kids close by. Well, I guess there were some, but we just weren't all that tight. I love that my kids have these friends. They are good kids and I am thankful for them even though they are playing a little too much together. Remember Jake's late homework?? We played until dark then walked home, washed up and the kids feel asleep before their heads hit the pillow. It was a good night for them and I am thrilled that they were so happy.

Elizabeth

The children had a little cat,

little cat,

little cat,

The children had a little cat

whose fur was black as coal.

She followed them to school one day,

school one day,

school one day,

She followed them to school one day

and made the children laugh.

Silly little kitty Elizabeth was set on going to school with the kids. She followed us all the way there and was very upset with me when I picked her up and took her home.

September Card Club

I made these cards for card club tonight. I really like the embossing cards that the Cuttlebug has. I used Textile for the base and Swiss Dots for the strip and flower. Rounded the corners, layered some flowers, added a vintage button and called it done. Simple and easy.

Finds

I go thrifting often. I have a list of things that I want to find and I know that I have to go often to find things. I have gotten a few of the things on my list, like the lamps and finial, and of course to many great things not on my list. Last week, while Jake was away at school, having one less child felt like a freedom so we quickly headed out shopping. Didn't find anything on my list, but found quite a few other treasures. Two flute music books (never find these) for only 75 cents each and they were good books, a cute cupcake stand, a Darth Tater, a new package of shrinky dinks, and these great vintage honeycomb lamps. (Sharm, Mom says that these would match your bedroom.) They photograph a lot more yellow than I think that they are. All they need are some cute shades.

Of course, Jake was in the room when I decided to snap this photo. Ahh, the lamps under attack! Only in Jake's little world.

They also had the best vintage green double locker that was huge and only $12 but already sold. I would of loved that in my front room or downstairs in the family room or...well, I guess I can dream.

Now if I could just find that perfect entryway table...

The First Day of Kindergarten

Mia successfully made it through her first day of kindergarten today. She was so nervous the night before, asking me if I was going to come with her to class. I enjoyed walking with the kids this morning, holding hands, Jacob talking my ear off and Mia quietly contemplating what lay before her. Quickly finding our way to her line, she nervously stood and waited giving a me a weak smile. Mommies surrounded the kindergartners smiling and hugging and wiping tears - both mommies and kids. Then they were off, headed to class to start the first day of their school careers. Murmurs were heard of how big they were and how they would be missed.

The school held a Boo-Boo Breakfast for parents right after they left for class. We were served homemade granola, yogurt, fruit and juice. Delicious and much better than I ever eat. It almost makes me want to make my sister's delish granola. Almost.

Before I knew it, the morning was over. Half-day Kindergarten is really short. Quickly walking with Sam to pick her up, she came out with the same shy smile as she had going in. No questions were answered about her day other than recess was too short. Later, I heard her telling Ryan that two kids got lost at the park (playground) but were found. I think that she likes recess. Other tidbits of info she parted with throughout the day: she got to do centers, go to the 'puter (computer) room but didn't get to use them, had story time and another girl has the same shoes as she does.

My little shy girl is growing up too quickly. I find myself trying to enjoy each moment with her and my boys. Trying to absorb the way they smile, the things they play, the quirky way they pronounce some words, their laughter, their passions and their frustrations. Sam's round cheeks, Jake's toothless grins, Mia's warm brown eyes. Trying to burn the image and sound in my head praying that I will remember this time with them.