I learned an important truth about myself yesterday. While I may make awesome birthday cakes, rock the gift giving and am generally a terrific mom, I am not gifted in creating Halloween costumes.
Someone gave me the idea of dressing Juniper up as a skunk for Halloween - a pretty clever idea, I thought! The execution, however, well...take a look for yourself...
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Pumpkin Patch
On Saturday, my fall dreams came true.
A pumpkin patch huntin' did we go!
When we lived in Oregon (sob), we had a tradition every fall of going on the Hood River Fruit Loop. For one thing, it is a beautiful drive through leaves that are every shade of yellow, red and brown. For another thing, we always stop at a beautiful white house for wine tasting, Rasmussens for pumpkin picking and this other stand (I can't remember the name) for apple gathering. For the last thing, it is tradition and it pained my heart to not keep up the tradition this year.
The pumpkin patch we found near Pocatello was pretty darn cute. There was a hay ride out to the pumpkin field, a corn maze, tons of activities for kids and two greenhouses full of already picked pumpkins. This year, we forego the hay ride (Forrest is a tad allergic) and we got our pumpkins from the already picked pile.
We still had fun posing the little girl on the pumpkins, near the pumpkins, etc, etc.
Apparently we are those parents.
We have yet to carve up the large pumpkin, but I let Juni paint her little pumpkin. She lost interest pretty quick, but it was fun while it lasted.
How was your weekend?
Love,
Elizabeth
A pumpkin patch huntin' did we go!
When we lived in Oregon (sob), we had a tradition every fall of going on the Hood River Fruit Loop. For one thing, it is a beautiful drive through leaves that are every shade of yellow, red and brown. For another thing, we always stop at a beautiful white house for wine tasting, Rasmussens for pumpkin picking and this other stand (I can't remember the name) for apple gathering. For the last thing, it is tradition and it pained my heart to not keep up the tradition this year.
The pumpkin patch we found near Pocatello was pretty darn cute. There was a hay ride out to the pumpkin field, a corn maze, tons of activities for kids and two greenhouses full of already picked pumpkins. This year, we forego the hay ride (Forrest is a tad allergic) and we got our pumpkins from the already picked pile.
We still had fun posing the little girl on the pumpkins, near the pumpkins, etc, etc.
Apparently we are those parents.
We have yet to carve up the large pumpkin, but I let Juni paint her little pumpkin. She lost interest pretty quick, but it was fun while it lasted.
How was your weekend?
Love,
Elizabeth
Friday, October 25, 2013
Happy Weekend
Do you have fun weekend plans? We have swim class, and I'm crossing my fingers that this is finally the weekend we'll go to a pumpkin patch! Better late than never, right? Then, probably football on Sunday and my parents come on Monday!! Even though it is just for a night, I am so excited to see them.
Not too many links this week, but if you are in a browsing mood, I thought these were interesting:
Men knit too.
Did you know that some women have severe depression from weaning?
Amelia makes me laugh out loud.
The Science of Siblings.
Love,
Elizabeth
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Thursday
I wake up to the sound of bare feet shuffling the few steps from our room to the baby's room. Angry cries are contrasted by a gentle, soothing voice and all goes quiet.
A pajama clad baby with hair sticking up on one side joins me under the covers and snuggles in. I breathe in the scent of her clean, baby hair and close my eyes for a few more moments of sleep. But the baby is insistent that now is the time for breakfast, so while she eats I sleepily look at Instagram, Facebook and email.
I can hear and smell the coffee percolating and the eggs cooking. The baby and I stumble out of bed and assume our regular positions in the living room while Curious George and the Cat in the Hat teach us all about bees and how to stay cool when it's hot.
The rest of the morning goes by in a blur with Forrest off to school and the baby off to a nap, but wait...no nap. In a flurry of makeup, diapers and outfit changes we are ready to take on the world. Into the stroller goes the baby, sandwiches, peanuts, grapes and cookies. Leaves crunch under the stroller wheels and unknown birds sing in nearby trees and bushes. We find the perfect spot under a large tree with leaves like a carpet underneath.
We wait and then we see him, walking quickly and with a huge smile on his face at the sight of his girls. The three of us settle into each others company and enjoy our feast. Sticky hands demand more grapes while dad patiently teaches how to say "please" in sign language. The smartest girl in the world quickly learns and earns more grapes than she really needs.
A walk home, some play time and then it is time for nap number 2, or is it really number 1? A little bit of effort and the baby is sleeping soundly, covered by the blanket that took me almost 9 months to complete.
The afternoon goes by with dinner prep, cheerios sharing and squeals of laughter. Dad comes home, but then, just like that, he is gone again.
A clean diaper, pajamas and the baby and I cuddle into our rocking chair. Quiet melodies escape from my lips and soon the baby is lulled into a sleepy stupor. With a kiss and a flick of the light, my job as mom is done for the day.
Dishes done and sweatpants on, I cuddle the dog and relax into the evening. A good book, a little Bon Appetempt and Parenthood on NBC.
Soon, Forrest will be home and we'll make some toast while watching an Andy Griffith in bed. Then lights turned low and pillows fluffed, we'll read until our eyes are too heavy to stay open. Lights off and it is finally time to sleep until...it is time to start all over again.
I am so thankful for this life. For the gift of being Juniper's mom and Forrest's wife. I wouldn't change one thing.
xo,
Elizabeth
A pajama clad baby with hair sticking up on one side joins me under the covers and snuggles in. I breathe in the scent of her clean, baby hair and close my eyes for a few more moments of sleep. But the baby is insistent that now is the time for breakfast, so while she eats I sleepily look at Instagram, Facebook and email.
I can hear and smell the coffee percolating and the eggs cooking. The baby and I stumble out of bed and assume our regular positions in the living room while Curious George and the Cat in the Hat teach us all about bees and how to stay cool when it's hot.
The rest of the morning goes by in a blur with Forrest off to school and the baby off to a nap, but wait...no nap. In a flurry of makeup, diapers and outfit changes we are ready to take on the world. Into the stroller goes the baby, sandwiches, peanuts, grapes and cookies. Leaves crunch under the stroller wheels and unknown birds sing in nearby trees and bushes. We find the perfect spot under a large tree with leaves like a carpet underneath.
We wait and then we see him, walking quickly and with a huge smile on his face at the sight of his girls. The three of us settle into each others company and enjoy our feast. Sticky hands demand more grapes while dad patiently teaches how to say "please" in sign language. The smartest girl in the world quickly learns and earns more grapes than she really needs.
A walk home, some play time and then it is time for nap number 2, or is it really number 1? A little bit of effort and the baby is sleeping soundly, covered by the blanket that took me almost 9 months to complete.
The afternoon goes by with dinner prep, cheerios sharing and squeals of laughter. Dad comes home, but then, just like that, he is gone again.
A clean diaper, pajamas and the baby and I cuddle into our rocking chair. Quiet melodies escape from my lips and soon the baby is lulled into a sleepy stupor. With a kiss and a flick of the light, my job as mom is done for the day.
Dishes done and sweatpants on, I cuddle the dog and relax into the evening. A good book, a little Bon Appetempt and Parenthood on NBC.
Soon, Forrest will be home and we'll make some toast while watching an Andy Griffith in bed. Then lights turned low and pillows fluffed, we'll read until our eyes are too heavy to stay open. Lights off and it is finally time to sleep until...it is time to start all over again.
I am so thankful for this life. For the gift of being Juniper's mom and Forrest's wife. I wouldn't change one thing.
xo,
Elizabeth
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Review: Colors by Thierry Laval
I know I just posted a book review yesterday, but when I saw Juniper's expression over the board book Colors by Thierry Laval, I just had to tell you about it.
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| Image retrieved from here |
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Review: Rose Under Fire
I have tried writing this review two times already.
Two unsuccessful attempts.
Third time is the charm, right?
Right??
Last year I read this book, you might've heard of it, called Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. When I was a kid and then teen, I read a lot of Holocaust books. Who knows where my fascination came from, but I still (usually) love a book about that time in history. Morbid? Probably. Well, Code Name Verity absolutely blew my mind. The plot twists, emotion and writing style were excellent and left me crying and wanting to read it again right away.
Rose Under Fire is a companion novel to CNV and had quite a bit of expectations to live up to. While not as surprising or gut-wrenching as CNV, I still gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. Why? I'll tell you.
Rose Justice is an American transport pilot working in England during World War II. On her way back from a routine drop off, she gets lost over Germany and then taken to Ravensbruck, a German work camp. She quickly befriends a group of women known as the Rabbits, women who have been physically experimented on. A few of these women become her family and together they fight to survive while hoping to someday escape or be rescued from the cruelty and horrors they face every day
Two unsuccessful attempts.
Third time is the charm, right?
Right??
Last year I read this book, you might've heard of it, called Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. When I was a kid and then teen, I read a lot of Holocaust books. Who knows where my fascination came from, but I still (usually) love a book about that time in history. Morbid? Probably. Well, Code Name Verity absolutely blew my mind. The plot twists, emotion and writing style were excellent and left me crying and wanting to read it again right away.
Rose Under Fire is a companion novel to CNV and had quite a bit of expectations to live up to. While not as surprising or gut-wrenching as CNV, I still gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. Why? I'll tell you.
 |
| Image retrieved from here |
Rose Justice is an American transport pilot working in England during World War II. On her way back from a routine drop off, she gets lost over Germany and then taken to Ravensbruck, a German work camp. She quickly befriends a group of women known as the Rabbits, women who have been physically experimented on. A few of these women become her family and together they fight to survive while hoping to someday escape or be rescued from the cruelty and horrors they face every day
Monday, October 21, 2013
Off to the Zoo
As you know, Juniper has been fighting naps for about a week now.
(Update: I failed to mention this earlier, but I'm not trying to force Juniper to nap just for the heck of it. The kid is genuinely tired and genuinely needs to sleep; however, she fights it pretty hard. We're trying to figure out how to help her get the sleep she needs. End of update.)
So, after two failed attempts at a morning nap, we loaded up the van and headed to the zoo to meet our friends, Tom and Jan. Wouldn't you know that the kid zonked out within minutes? Sigh. We let her sleep for awhile in the van but eventually woke her up. Needless to say, she was a little groggy in most of these pictures.
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| Monkeys! |
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