Before and After

This is what filled my afternoon yesterday.

Before:
After:


Would you like a cake like this (princess daisy lemon cake filled with 2 batches of homemade lemon curd, topped with buttercream and then covered and decorated with homemade marshmallow fondant). Cakes are $60.00 and need to be ordered a few days in advance!

Introducing the Market

Yesterday I was able to bring a friend to our local farmer's market for the first time. Since I am home alone right now, I did not buy very much for me, but I just love going and seeing all of the beautiful local produce.


So pretty. Confession: my tomato plants are gasping for life on the back deck. I think I have a black thumb. I can't grow basil either; it dies on me every year. Now mint on the other hand . . .


What do you use this for? Is it eaten raw in salads? Does it taste like a red radish, or is it mild?


I tried to ask what this was called, but the seller did not speak English. He did cut a piece off for me and told me to try it. Yikes! Whatever this is, it has a REALLY strong, bitter taste.


Aren't these gorgeous? They are pretty expensive, but so flavorful. When my kids are with me, this is what they beg for. Well, these and the kettle corn!


Aren't these funny? The longest beans I've ever seen. The seller said they were traditionally used in soup.


I ended up getting a bunch a basil to make fresh pesto which I can easily freeze. Jamie was hooked and I think she'll be back again!

These Two

These two brought their scooters with them to Grandma's house. According to Sophie-loo they spent their day yesterday riding, playing, watching TV (real channels!), reading, playing Moose on the Loose and eating. Not a bad life.

Little Calvin related a very sad story about their visit to the ice cream shop. Evidently he ordered a flavor that he did not like. I asked what kind it was and he said "the kind that comes from a cow!" Evidently he does not care for that variety. I think he was comforted by Poppy, one of my parents dogs who Calvin claims was fighting with herself a lot yesterday. He's doing fine. I miss them.

Sand Storm

I just finished three hours of on-line training in Adult/Child/Infant CPR and First Aid. I have another 4 hours hands-on training tomorrow. I think my butt is asleep.

These are some photos of our 2nd trip to the beach this summer, which really has not been a summer because it always feels like September. The kids love to be in the water. Max is a pretty decent swimmer and Sophie is trying hard. Calvin just likes to go out too deep and scare his Mom.

The kids and I met up with Kelly and her kids to sit in the sun and people-watch.


Kelly is a fellow lover of people watching. We had a long discussion on the high number of adults with tattoos (Kelly had just returned from the Dells). How many of them do you think regret that tacky dolphin on their ankle or the skulls on their backs? Why is every tattoo this ugly blue-grey color? Can't they do other colors? Do they just fade?

By The Way . . .

This is the clip Sophie is wearing in the photo below. I make and sell these for $7.00 if you are interested!

Updates from the Road 2

These three cuties are safe and sound in Idaho Falls with their Grandparents. I spoke with my sister Koo before talking to them, and she informed me that Dad was thinking of flying them home instead of driving as planned. I think they wore him out! Sorry Dad.

Everyone sounded extremely excited to be out of the car. They had already picked up the dogs and Calvin was going on and on about their antics. Max was thrilled to be heading out to the first of many trips to the local dairy for milk and ice cream (they have the most amazing chocolate milk there - the secret ingredient is potato flakes!). Sophie was impressed that they've already picked bowls of beans from the garden. They are in good hands and I'm sure they'll quickly remind my parents of just how noisy a house can be with three small children running about!

Updates from the Road

I spoke with these little monkeys tonight. They are in Warland, WY, about 100 miles East of Yellowstone. Oh, I miss them!

According to their Grandparents, they had another good day of driving, the kids were all well behaved and Calvin took a long nap. Evidently poor Calvin was up a lot last night with coughing, runny nose and nightmares (sob!). I told Sophie to give him lots of kisses and snuggles from me. By the way, he has the most charming little dimple that I adore. See below.


They stopped at Mt. Rushmore today along with 6,000 bikers. There is some bike get-together going on and the lines for everything were very long. Tomorrow should be their last day of driving.

I spent the day with Gina and her two kids who came over to help wash walls and tape while I packed up the rest of the basement, bagged stuff for goodwill and washed the remaining toys and laundry. Before they left, this guy arrived, so there were kids in the house today to keep me company.

Changes and Renovations

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of work around this house. I am in the process of licensing my in-home daycare and the biggest project that had to be tackled was the toy room. The window in the basement was one inch short of the required width to pass inspection. That meant switching the office/craft room with the toy room. For those who have been in our house, you can imagine the terror I felt realizing I had to actually move the craft space - nightmare!

I am so grateful for the friends who have helped me get this project done so quickly. Paula, her boys, Lori, Susan and her girls, Kelly and Ken and my parents all helped at different times to move everything out of the office and into the garage, putty the holes in the walls, sand and wash the walls, steam clean the carpets, paint bookshelves, tape and paint two new coats (don't you love the color? - it used to be barn red), empty the computer armoire and movie it to sell, wash every toy with bleach and get rid of any broken toys, take apart the playhouse and then put it back together, mount the shelving on the walls and secure the bookcases and dress-up armoire to the walls . . . . . . yeah, it has been insane.

The room still needs art on the walls and more shelving, but it is pretty much done and it looks great! So, here is where I need your help! I have opening for a couple of preschoolers in the daycare. If you know of anyone searching for daycare for the upcoming school year, will you please mention my name? I want to keep the group small so we can still enjoy field trips, but I do need to fill a couple of spots. I have an ad on craigslist as well. Thank you!!

Maybe it's a Prince?

These photos are from a few weeks ago. Bryan found a frog in the yard which is cause for great celebrations around these parts. Luckily, I did not catch Sophie trying to kiss this particular frog.

My Children Have Left Me

There go my children at 9:00 this morning. All packed an ready to go, they drove off this morning for two weeks of fun at my parent's house in Idaho. I find myself pretty melancholy tonight. I miss them already.

I hope I packed enough books for Max. I put new batteries in his tetris game and he was happy as could be when he left this morning. I hope he has nothing but fun on this trip; not a care in the world.


Sweet Sophie tucked herself in with her favorite blanket, princess bear, lamb, her bug necklace (named browny) and a framed photo of her Mom and Dad.


I could not find Calvin's sandals. I hope he gets enough snuggles. He gave me 254 kisses this morning and at one point hid in my room as he was having second thoughts about leaving. He had a great time packing his backpack with cars, planes, 2 stuffed tigers (Hobbes #1 and #2), giraffe, Cutie (the hedgehog), cheerios, his Thomas the Train water bottle, smarties, and who knows what else Grandma and Grandpa might find. He was already busy looking at his Magic School bus books when it was time to leave.


I have never been apart from any of my children for more than three nights, so this is a big step for me. I already miss them terribly.

I have always wanted children. When we first got married, we had both agreed to wait for a least a year before trying to get pregnant. It seemed like the rational and logical thing to do. However, once we finally tied the knot (I was almost 26), it was like a light came on and I realized, "I could have a baby if I wanted to." We were pregnant with Max before we had been married 9 months.

I wanted more children that we were able to conceive, but I am so grateful for the three beautiful children God has entrusted into our care. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a Mother and though Motherhood is much harder in reality that the longings of a teenage girl, I can honestly say - I still love it. I have never, ever wanted to change being a stay at home Mom. Though circumstances have changed in our lives, watching additional children has allowed me to keep doing what is most important to me, being there to see my children off to school and to welcome them home in the afternoon; even if it is exhausting. I am so grateful to have been present for every little learning moment and every new milestone in their lives. I love that I can immediately spot a new freckle on Calvin and that he still wants to snuggle every morning.

I have learned to make a life that works around having kids present at almost every moment of every day. I am rarely, if ever alone at any time. I think these next two weeks are going to feel very lonely and very quiet. I imagine I will spend a lot of time thinking about how I could be a better Mother to these kids I miss so much.

The silence is very loud.

Air Force Band

Two Fridays ago, I took the kids and blanket and some snacks over to the community center for the free Air Force band concert. It was a gorgeous night and we brought Max's friend Greg along for the ride. I was pretty impressed with the band and not so impressed with the annoying family next to us who have apparently never heard of concert etiquette. Even at an outdoor concert, talking loudly the entire time about your opinion of the i phone and the pizza you are eating is in bad form. We love free concerts.

Yard Sale Love

These are from a couple of weeks ago. Last week the yard sales were a huge disappointment. I need my bargain therapy!

3 red books - $1.00
green twine - free
carousel horse salt and pepper shakers (a gift) - $1.00
6 cute glass dessert cups - $0.50 each
1 happy vintage spoon rest for the stove -$1.00


1 old round cheese box - $3.00


Yesterday I painted the back of my front door. It used to be white and now it is green. I am toying with the idea of painting the front of the front door green as well. I don't know though, the gold (was supposed to be chartreuse) is kind of growing on me!