fashion friday:: turban

thanks to my fabulous friend at The Concrete Catwalk Lillian and I sported the oh so hip turban today! let's be honest it is so adorable on Lil & Minnie looks pretty trendy too! A super fun & easy DIY! 

az vacay

after a fabulous vacay in phoenix & my parents new "lodge" in payson with the utterback clan, my kids and i have returned home to A NEW CAR (thanks husband!) & the stomach flu (thankfully not baby row). i had huge ambitions of recapping my time with a compilation video & i still hope to get around to that, but since i only have a wee bit of energy here is a taste...

 my son has the most amazing smile & he was the cutest conductor on the train at the Railroad Park

sissy loves being with all her girlie cousins & nana never passes up an opportunity to dress them 

matchy-matchy

the best for last... a star in the making! 

this could of been a post of it's own... i love my indian princess, SO!

clean up

my mama always says, "clean up one mess before you make another." in theory this is fabulous advice, but currently it is going more along the lines of clean up one mess... while/ for the sake of/ in exchange for... another. i am not complaining, but being honest with myself that although i heed my mothers advice it may not be attainable in my current state of toddler & infant plus 1400 square feet. so as they say, "pick your battles" and i am picking them wisely.... so for the sake of the dishes i let the living room go and in exchange for the bathroom, water bottles filled the office and while i made my bed, stuffed animals exploded all over the floor. AND the battle we didn't pick so wisely left our sofa chair covered in pen. 

a recent conversation with a friend left us chuckling about why we strive to make our houses look like we don't live there and especially not our kids.

"clean up. clean up. everybody every where. clean up. clean up. everybody do your share." - a favorite sung daily by Lil.

p.p.p.p

PARK

i'll bundle up and take on the crisp air any day there isn't rain.

PIZZA

one of our new years resolutions is to make pizza dinner together once a week. we are getting pretty creative & lil is quite the sue chef. we are shooting for resolutions that we can keep... along with our saturday morning chocolate croissants (yum!)

PLAY

a recent outing to the zoo was twice as fun with her two bf's Ollie & Wes!  the entertainment abounds with two year olds and my favorite is when they have their own little conversations. cutest little people!

PLEASE
manners are the matter at hand and i actually wish that i meant just please. with the resent whining and murmur of "i can't" resounding through my home, i am buckling my two year old down to PLEASE "say it with a smile"- makes it hard for her to keep the whine in her tone while cheesing up her cheeks. And really why say you can't when as a two year old all you want to do is say " I CAN!" (like the little engine that could). I love reading parenting tips and i often laugh thinking of all the strategies- redirect, encourage, be positive, patient, and really just be present cause the truth is I need to say things with a smile even if it is "Please don't sit on your brother" =)

laugh out loud

I never take for granted these days the things that truly make me laugh out loud. Yesterday I bustled my kids into the bathroom... strapped in my little man & plopped my toddler on the potty, stood back and to my surprise caught a sight that made me LOL! Does this make anyone else chuckle?

look who's talking

mr. rowen has pronounced his first word, "DADA!" and although he may not always use it in context it's adorable! lillian has an abundance to announce... "don't be naughty mama" she tells me as i take one of her goldfish crackers..."he pees like daddy does, out his penis"regarding a neighbor boy who left the door open while peeing & lil observantly watched from the other room that he was in fact a boy & stood while he peed..."i'm sweaty mama, like you because i went running like you" she tells me every time she runs down the street- you should see her run though it's impressive, but she is not sweaty..."sometimes kids do that" she tells me when i asked her WHY...

"i want my friends to come over. what's their names?" she loves her friends- all of them named or not!

video isn't much to see, but you can hear our little man say DADA!

Good-Bye 2010

After two weeks of 2011 I am finally ready to recap 2010 and move on... my top 10 of 2010 are as follows:

1. Birth- Welcomed Rowen Dean to the world, home birth style.
2. Two Year Old Lil- Potty, Panties, Toddler Bed & Tutu's
3. No Car- After selling my car in April I would equate the stroller to my current car situation
4. Turned 26
5. Vashon Vacay- quality time with my parents & sleeping to the sound of the sea (minus the 120 stairs down to our beach house it was picturesque)
6. AZ Thanksgiving- flew by myself with two kids (but first class so I'm not complaining)
7. 5th married Christmas & quite possibly our favorite
8. Moran State Park Camping trip- Rowen's first (where Lil had her first too)
9. Home- stability, ownership, projects, neighbors, friends, food (Take 5 & Barking Dog), coffee (Honore & Herkimer)
10. Family of FOUR (JKL&R)