Kaylie Bug

Woah, this is quite liberating actually!!! I have been thinking about that issue for quite some time, and because of it, I didn't feel like I could do posts like this... 

But now I can, 

So I will. 

This is my 3 year old. 

She rocks my world, every, single, day. 

She poses for a lot of pictures. 

Most of which are taken with my cell phone. 

Not all are taken by me. 

Actually, she and Wade will randomly steal my phone and snap pix. 

This one, I think was snapped by Wade, or Abby, 

but I just think it's kinda funny. 

 Her hair is wild. She gets mad when I comb it, but I can't bring myself to cut it. The wild mane defines her. It is a part of her. WILD, in every way.

 I love looking at her. Most of the time, I am just thinking about how wild she is, and how I can't believe that I survive almost every day with her.

 She CAN be super sweet. In the morning, she wakes up and usually leaves me alone until I wake up, then she informs me that she has pooped her diaper (that she wears to bed). Every morning we have the same conversation. . . "Kaylie, you should take your diaper OFF, and go poopoo in the POTTY!" "I'm SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She says! (Usually over and over and over) She can't STAND it when people are mad at her. She will often get upset, and even mad at times if you are mad or upset with her. (hmmm, doesn't sound like ANYONE I know)

 I am obsessed with her eyelashes, and her nose. Seriously. I can't handle it, and most of the time, I take a picture because I want to try to capture them at this age.

 She has the looooooooooooooooooongest legs. I am worried she will clear my height. I am not worried that she will be tall, I am worried that she will be taller than ME. I can't imagine. I hope my fears are not founded.

 She often falls asleep in this position. I think it is sooooooooooooo cute. I LOVED watching TV in this position when I was a kid. It just reminds me of . . . me.

 Her nose is bulbous and round at the bottom. I want to squeeze it all the time. And I do squeeze it A LOT. And she is patient with me, and lets me.

 She takes after her brothers, and is super aggressive. Peter says team sports is going to save her, or she may end up in jail.

 She likes to be happy, and party and it's usually more than I can handle. I am blessed to have miss sarah that takes her twice a week. THANK HEAVENS FOR MISS SARAH!!!!!

 Kaylie likes to take pictures of me eating shrimp tacos.

Did I mention she likes to fall asleep in this chair?
I am so glad that I can say that I am grateful for her. It took me three years. But now, I can... I just wouldn't have used the word "grateful" until now.

Private Eyes

Okay, so, I was serious when I said I had to take this blog private. I always HATE IT when blogs go private. However, our family is out there, A LOT. Meaning, I am constantly promoting the store, we have news articles, I have facebook friends that are really just more "associates" because of our new business, and so, comes the death of the public blog. :( It is one of the reasons I've been kinda quiet over here. I mean, I put up a blog post, and I have made it so it automatically tweets to my facebook page. Yeah, I don't know how to make it stop. :( But regardless, a quick google search would bring up my friendly little blog, and far too many people have access to our name, and we live in a CRAZY WORLD YA'LL!

So, before we blow this town up with Papa Murphy's, I think it is best to have this here "public forum" be a little less "public" if you know what I mean. NOW, I will just about invite everyone on the planet to come along if I know you! Or even sorta know you, imaginary, or non-imaginary, or blog land or real land friend, but this time it's for reals. Because I have got to get back to my blog, but this whole privacy issue is kind of nagging at me. So, either get on! Or GET OFF! :) Just kidding. I am still going to facebook when I update my blog, because what I hate more than a private blog is that your reader doesn't bring it up when you post, which means, I eventually STOP checking your blog, and heavens knows I would HATE to have that happen! So, instead of that, I will just put it on out there that it is updated and you can check it.

Anywho, those of you who know me, know that this is driving me BONKERS, but, I kinda sorta feel like I really need to... This town is just a titch too small. :) In a good way.

Message me, email me, text me, comment me your address, and in the next few days, you'll be in like flynn. LOVES!

Lindsey

Snapshot

I was reading a parenting book last night.

Shock of ages.

Reading

Reading parenting book.

I will admit, I would rather allow TV land to take me to another life, but in this case, Peter was doing something  that seemed like it may need reflection, so, I read.

It talked about keeping a notebook for your kids. Just about what they are doing, what their likes, and dislikes are etc. What they are working on, what they are succeeding in, etc.

I think she intended it to be a way to reflect upon your children. Really focus on them, and understand them. Maybe in doing so, inspiration will come. At first I was like, HA! I don't have time to even blog! And then I thought, wait, I  have done this ON my blog. Which I think is a great idea. However, if I do this on a regular basis, I may have to go to an "invited only" status.  Don't worry, I will invite anyone who WANTS to be invited, but rather than have too much information about my kids accessible, it is better to air on the side of caution.

But I liked the idea. REALLY liked the idea. Because I want to remember things. And I want to do a better job at recording them.

Blogging is still an outlet for ME, but since I have less and less time to actually do it, I figured I will have to "make" some time. Hopefully Sundays, hopefully once a week, hopefully it will include a snapshot, hopefully it will talk a little bit about my kids (I don't want to rely on facebook to remember all the funny things they do. It's not very easy to navigate or search).

So, here is my first

Snapshot:

Me: Amazingly enough I did not have any Papa Murphy's events this week. The first thing that slips when I am doing lots of events is the housework. Grocery shopping, (i.e. I only make food with what I have on hand, which makes for small, not so great meals) Laundry (which means I do it, but it remains unfolded and in a super human pile of clean laundry either in the laundry room, where everyone has to crawl over it, or in my bedroom, where I feel like I no longer have my own space) and cleaning (this one drives me the most batty because I am hating dust right now, and right now I have LOTS of it. IN ABUNDANCE). I did dust ONE room, and that felt good, but now I would like to get to the other 8. I would like to finish reading this parenting book and have decided that in my spare time (of course now that most of my TV shows are ending) that I will clean/organize some rooms/closets, read, and get my garage situated so that someone can park in it. (It's the little things, right?) Oh, and get the mail, because I don't remember the last time I picked it up.


Abby: Abby is taking some classes right now. She takes a theater class on Mondays, and an Art Class on Tuesdays and sometimes has activity days on Wednesdays. Right now, I am finding that Abby is NOT a morning person, and is less likely to like to do things in the morning. However, she is a night OWL (okay, this is not new info) But, I can get her to do more things at night because she wants to stay up. However, that makes for less of a morning person. (Bad cycle) I am having fun walking with her in the evenings, and find that she just totally spills her guts to me. I love that. I hope to make it last. She is doing a better job of helping her sibs, and actually taking on some babysitting responsibility. She does a good job with it when asked, and I think she likes it.

Jaxon: We have decided to medicate him. Yep. The past few weeks have been trying a new drug, and seeing if it helps. The good news is, it helps. The bad news is, he is MORE crazy if someone forgets to make sure he takes his medication. :( In the end, I hope we find something that works, for all of us. He also passed the first round (I had no idea there was more than one round) of gifted testing. I was surprised by this, because Abby is so crazy creative, I thought she would be my first child to do so. However, Jaxon is. I don't know if they will put him in the program, because currently, he is in special ed, and I just don't know if they would, but, I kind of hope they do, because he is a creative learner, and I think the lesson plan/curriculum would be great for him.

Wade: I'm not kidding. This kid knows how to get just about anything he wants. He is knows that if he is super sweet, he can just about get anything. A skill I am sure he plans on refining. He got super sick this week. He doesn't get sick very often, but when we does, he almost can't handle it. :(It's so sad. He just gets super sad, and hibernates like a little bear. He is smart as a whip, and I cannot WAIT for him to start school next year just because I don't have the time to really push him. He has read through the first 12 books on hooked on phonics, and I actually try not to push him to do more because I don't want him bored out of his gored in Kindergarten. I just don't know. I am sure that is not a great game plan, but it's all I've got right now. He Loooooooooooooves baseball, and this is our first foray into team sports with him. It is super fun to watch, but lately, with sickness, weather and spring break, we've missed a lot of games!!

Kaylie: Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh. This girl is crazy challenging. Peter says is like a rock, meeting an immovable object. Neither one of us will budge. Case in point, Kaylie is harassing Jaxon in the car. I say, Kaylie, stop. She says, No. I say Kaylie, give me the headphones (I can't quite reach them) She says, "No". I say Kaylie, say sorry to Jaxon, she says, "NO" .  At this point, she is directly behind me and we are driving on the freeway and there is NOTHING I CAN DO. She seems to sense this, and digs in. I am in a whole heap with this girl. The other day, I told her to get in her car seat, and she said, "It's MY LIFE!" She's starting young.....

Well, I don't think i'll solve the world's problems, but I am sure I will learn something.

Spring Break

 I love spring. There are sooooooooooo many reasons for me to love spring! The flowers come out, (aren't these AMAZING?? They are at my favorite beach spot)

 There is my Anniversary. .. We did lots of fun things this year, a visit to Pinks, a back lot tour, and a visit to the Staples center to see a Lakers/Clippers game. It was fantastic, of course.

 The sun is out, and everyone is happy to be outside. The weather is mild, and the kids are out of school for a few weeks so I don't have to maintain that killer school schedule. . .

 We get to go the beach, and I am going to tell you right here, and now, that there is NOTHING I love more than going to the beach. Who doesn't want to sit in the sun all day, and watch the surf roll in??

 My kids are finally getting big enough where I don't have to worry too much about them. The ones that CAN handle the water, I have a hard time getting OUT of the water, and those that can't play happily in the sand. I hope they love it as much as I do when they are my age. I mean, I think they love it now, but I hope their love just grows stronger...

 I finally took Easter pictures this year.(first year in like... 4) Of course, I didn't take the time to grab my NICE camera, even though I was home. These shots would have turned out soooooooooo much better. But they are documented still the same. 

 Taking pictures with 4 kids is NEVER easy.

 Especially when you have a few posers...

 These pictures make me so happy. I have 4 healthy, happy children.. . .

We have our fair share of challenges, and a large work load, but things are on a better keel. . .
I look back at where we've been, and I am so grateful to be HERE. I post pictures of my family at Disneyland and at the beach because I can hardly believe we are there myself! It is wonderful to be in a place where we finally feel settled, and even though there is a lot to do, we have a HOME, and our kids like it here, and they are growing, and thriving.

I am grateful, so grateful. I would not rather be in another place, or another time. I am blessed, and I know that the challenges we have are for our good. I feel peace. Because I know that God lives, and has a hand in our life. I am reminded daily of that.

M-I-C-K-E-Y

Our family got season passes from  generous grandparents for Christmas this year. . . I was so thrilled, and have been able to use them several times. I know it might seem like overkill to have season passes to the Happiest Place on Earth, but I truly love it. We finally got to have Peter take a day off and come with us. It was our first day of spring break, and I was thrilled to have him along. (I am usually solo, or with a friend.)

The Happiest Place on Earth is a WHOLE LOT HAPPIER when we use the Jaxon pass. Basically, it is a special services pass that we get because of Jaxon's autism. Believe it or not, having autism at Disneyland can be trying and difficult. As a matter of fact, on this very trip Peter was waiting in a regular line, and Jaxon flew around and ran into someone who was holding a baby... Needless to say, that person got mad. Anywho, having the Jaxon pass allows us to hop in any fast pass line, without a fast pass, and believe me, it helps a LOT. 

Peter used to feel  a little bit of guilt for using the Jaxon pass. (For the record, I never did- ps, that picture of Wade in the link KILLS me) But, recently, I asked Peter when he thought we would stop using the "Jaxon Pass" and he said, "When Jaxon is no longer in special education!" I would tend to agree, but I hope that is sooner than later. 

The other great thing about the pass is the way it entertains kids, on days off, spring break and just about any other Holiday you can think of, and we have not ever had a kid say, "Oh, man.. NOT DISNEYLAND!" on the day that we do, we will most certainly not get that child a pass ever again. 

 Most of our trips to Disneyland are not without incident, and this one wasn't either. Wade was/is sick, and runnin' a temp. At one point, he even said he wanted to go home, but nothing a quick trip to the gift shop couldn't fix. A couple of tablespoons of motrin and he was on his way (after a quick nap).

 My husband may consider himself at times a "Disneyland Nazi" Parade? NO! We can't wait around for a parade!!! We have to go on ____________ ride! This is another great reason for D-land passes. Time. Time to do whatever you want. We even went to the Tiki room which I don't think I have ever been to in my 38 years  of life. I finally went, and you know what? Once was probably enough.

 But the parades, the parades in my opinion are a CAN'T MISS. They are so well done, so colorful, so fun to watch.

 My kids were enthralled the ENTIRE time, and soaked up every second.

 I couldn't decide what to watch. Their faces? Or the parade!

Of course snow white turned her back on me the split second I clicked the camera. . . .We had a fantastic time, and always do. I am grateful for generous grandparents who make it all possible!

Mr. Mario

I have this system for birthdays, it goes like this. You can have a birthday party every year... WITH FAMILY. i.e. Grandparents coming over, maybe one or two family friends, you know, low key, low budget kind of stuff. 

Occasionally, you can have a BIRTHDAY PARTY (WITH FRIENDS!)! Abby has received more than her allotted amount. Jaxon has had ONE birthday party with "friends" (neighbors down the street) last summer. It is tough to get a party together for someone who doesn't really have "friends." And Wade, turning 5, seemed an appropriate time to have his "FIRST" birthday party.....

Peter made the cake. Okay, he picked up a blank Costco Cake, and decorated it per our "theme" I think he did an amazing job. More importantly he did a job I did not want/have time/need to do. I am a TOTAL cake snob when it comes to eating cake, but honestly, I just don't care what kind of cake my kids get. I was perfectly happy just picking up one at Albie's. Peter was NOT. 

 Look at the precision!

 I think it was awesome, and juuuuuuuuuust after I took this picture. . . . 

 I sliiiiiiiiiiiiid the cake back away from little hands and the counter edge and BAM! My fingers went right into Wade's name. :(

 We decorated with Boo. I had to confirm with Abby the exact placement of the cones.. Are they ears? She assured me they are hands... And should be pointed down. . .  . Of course I got this idea off of Pinterest. So let it be heard.. Pinterest has indeed been in operation for probably 2-3 years now, and there will never be another original idea ever again.  However, I love thee pinterest for making my creative life easier.

 We had Papa Murphy's Mini Murph's. OF COURSE. 

And, we opened presents. We did a few games, but I had to keep it simple this year. I had several PM events this week along with the most wicked cold I have had in probably a couple of years and I had one foot in the grave by the end of this week, BUT, we did it. And today, he asked me when his birthday party is.. I swear, that is why I do NOT do these kinda things often!!!!!

A successful party and all. Now, if I have my way about it, and my plans go accordingly... He will not have another "FRIEND" party until he is 8.  (Then 12, then 16, and maybe 18... thus, I am only obligated to 5 "FRIEND" birthday parties in a lifetime... and I like it that way, thank you....)

What are you doing?

From time to time I wonder,
What is it that I am doing that makes it so hard to blog?
Honestly, right now, I could easily crawl back into bed and not think about it for a single second.
But, I don't want a huge gap in my history and I hope that sometime down the line,
my kids will read this and realize that I was not just a crazed lunatic who frequently melted into a pile of goo (no wicked witch reference intended) but that I was indeed just a busy mom trying to keep her stuff together.

Owning your own business is such a crazy undertaking.
I felt like I had a pretty good idea of how it was going to effect our lives,
because we had done it before.
But, in fact, "I" had not done it before.
Because I wasn't really involved in our first business venture.

When we decided to do this one, Peter insisted that I be involved.
I was reticent at first.
I didn't want to give up my *own* business (Pampered Chef).
But, in time, I realized that he was going to need me to do full time marketing for the store.

So, he works 200% of the time,
And I work 100% of the time and it is indeed crazy for the both of us.

It leaves little time for blogging,
but, I want my kids to know some day exactly (or sort of) what we went through at this time in their lives.
Some people may think it a detriment to have such young children during this time, for both them, and us.
But honestly, I think that it is an amazing process for all of us.

We all have to work hard to get things done,
to enjoy time together,
to have other activities we enjoy.
It is a full life,
but a good life.
And our kids see us working.
And working together.
And sometimes they work.
Abby works at the store, asking people if they have ever baked our pizzas, and opening the door for people. Doing dishes at home, walking the dog, and believe me, just getting her to clean her room is a major ordeal.
Wade comes with me in the pizza trailer, and hands out pizzas after school, brings garbages downstairs and clears the table.
Jaxon... okay, Jaxon doesn't work with me per se, but he has to pick up extra slack at home, and empties the dishwasher every day, takes out the recycling and trash, and picks up the family room, and sometimes his bedroom. He brings down the laundry from his room, and he takes the clean laundry upstairs and puts it away.

We all pitch in, to make life a little easier on everyone else. My house is not always clean, neither are my bathrooms, but I am grateful that it forces me to rely on my kids, because they in turn, learn to work, and do their fair share, because I will admit, I am one of those who *may* just do it myself, instead of having my kids do it, because I can do it better, faster, and I will be happier with the results.

Instead, I hope that I am teaching children the meaning of hard work, and I hope, in time, they will see what success hard work brings. We are all in this together, in fact, we did this FOR them. So that we can all have the life we want to have, and enjoy the things we want to enjoy, and by golly, sometimes doing that, and getting that includes a lot of hard work.

I don't think I could ever list on here all of the things I do for work. I am sure you can imagine. But overall, we love it. It's challenging, but we love it.

Pearl Girl

Abby gets into her fair share of trouble.
And my personal favorite consequence is banning of TV and all other electrical objects.
So, when Abby is banned from said objects, she turns to book making.

Doesn't EVERY kid?

No? I know.

She has made several books. One other one I posted HERE. If you haven't read it, it is VERY worth the read.

But she is at it again, and this time in CoLoR! 

PRESENTING: 

PEARL GIRL

The History of Orange

When Peter and I got married it was two separate, individual, selfish, and independent worlds colliding.
I was a 27 year old single female with a successful job (in financial planning, managing about 5 million in assets, HEY! That is great for a 2nd year advisor!). I had a condo, a car, and a lifestyle of travel and leisure, planning get-aways with friends and having a constant stream of house (condo) visitors.

He was a 27 year old single male. Had been living on his own in Seattle for several years, doing school and dabbling in the Seattle grunge band scene and trying to find his way in life. He eventually decided to enter the family business (hotel management) and was managing a hotel in Renton, WA, doing his own thing, and attending a very small singles branch.

His taste was strictly modern.
My taste was strictly my own.

We clashed in many ways (and sometimes still do) but when we moved in together after dating only LONG DISTANCE for 6 months, it was a clash of the TITANS! We both had our own furniture, and we moved into an apartment in Eugene, OR. He was working, and I was newly unemployed. A position I had not been in in several (if ever?) years. I was ready for a life of wifehood. As much as a 27 year old strong minded, independent woman can be. I was NOT ready for compromise.

I figured our house would be MY own, and I determined that I would make it that way as soon as possible.
For the most part, our things meshed together in a sort of cheap eclectic way. I had my favorite items. He had his, but since we moved frequently, things, and pieces of furniture were constantly shifting, and where I could, I would banish the unsightly (to me) pieces of modern furniture, and conveniently replace them with things of my own choosing.

Peter, for the most part, relented.

He even told me that our house was my office, and I could do with it what I want.
However, there was ONE item that I was forbidden to get rid of. 

The Orange Plastic Ikea Table.

It's first home was by our couch.
It's second home was in Peter's office.
It's home right now is in our garage.
And I am pretty sure it's next home will be to the dump. (JUST KIDDING HONEY! I WOULD NEVER!)

When I started painting my kitchen table orange a few days ago. Peter was bemused.
He chuckled, "An ORANGE table? I thought you didn't like those!"
Turns out, I didn't.
Turns out, I changed my mind.
I can remember a time where "orange" would have been a color I hate.
And now it seems, it is a color I cannot live without.

Maybe it is because I live in California now? And everything is sun and oranges? I am not quite sure what possessed me, but I am QUITE sure, I love it.
However, I am also quite sure I still don't love HIS orange table.

 But I sure do love mine.
Probably his biggest gripe.
My "florescent orange urn"
Peter can't stand it.
Or rather, just can't believe it.
He is wondering what happened to me.
And to be honest, I just don't know.

But I love it.

Click HERE to see my kitchen BEFORE it's transformation