The red-headed stepchild with a side of randomness.

This week has been a red-headed-stepchild type of week, as in it’s been out of control and fighting
for my undivided attention.

There were moments when I’d give it my undivided attention -and it was good, for awhile-  but it got so wild and unruly and overbearing, that I had to just throw my hands up and walk away.

Didn’t your mom ever tell you that it’s best to walk away from a fight?

My days are become so insane that if you’re on my facebook or twitter, my status for the next 12 weeks are most likely going to be as followed:

“I’m working on a commission.”
 
“I’m getting the house ready for the movers.”
 
Or flat out, “I can’t comment to one status at the moment.”


So for now, before my sanity is ripped to shreds, I’m embracing the small moments from this week
that puts my red-headed-stepchild moments to shame...

Like, my sweet girl is turning eight next week! Now this is no small moment- this is in fact, a VERY BIG MOMENT. An array of paper, tissue, jars, and other crafting supplies are adorning my kitchen table waiting to turn into party decorations.

As you can see, Krysta is ecstatic!

We’re ecstatic!

And speaking of birthdays, Will is still enjoying the aftermath from his. Shaking the bejesus out of the balloons and twisting himself around the string is how he prefers to spend his time. We’re hanging on to every once from his BIG day, deflated balloons and all.

When you have a sunrise to start off your day that looks like this, and a perfectly round moon to grace your black sky at night, how can your moment’s in-between not be full of lovely fantastic happenings?

It really was lovely and fantastic, just as February’s should be- full of bright blue skies, sunshine, and crystal snowflakes that danced among our windowsill. We all enjoyed basking in this incredible weather, especially Louie.

Since it’s still February, and love still fills the air, I want to share with you a few of my favorite moments from Valentine’s Day…

A card from my girl. It says,

Dear Mom and Dad,
You are my Valentine. You are always in my heart. You are the family I always want. I Love You.
Love, Krysta

Krysta’s handmade mailbox filled with sweets and valentines from her classmates.

And a little knickknack from my mom. I hung it on my easel as a daily reminder, especially when I’m getting frustrated with a painting!

Even though we’ve been having beautiful weather, it’s still not warm enough for outdoor spring activities.

What’s a girl to do?

Bring the spring inside, of course! Krysta had a blast blowing bubbles and William had a blast popping them. His eyes were in complete wonder as he watched each glossy bubble bob through the air.

bubbles, compliments from my mom.

Krysta’s school book fair was this week, so of course we had to purchase one or six. She has been reading practically non-stop and saying things like, “Reading is SOOOO much fun! I feel like I’m a teenager!” She truly melts my heart. I love how she’s so eager and excited to learn.

One of her new books is called, The Purple Princess. You know what that means, right?

Her obsession with the color orange has now been replaced with purple!

Since we’re on the topic of replacement and changing things up, we now have a new tradition. Every week between Krysta’s XC Skiing and dance class, we pick up Subway sandwiches for dinner and head to the Arctic Oasis to let William interact with other little kids. Needless to say, this is a win-win.

Krysta says, "look mom, it's a giraffe head." My girl KNOWS what she's talking about!

In a nutshell, these were my small moments from this week.

Now I’m off to get crafty in the party department and stretch Belgian linen canvas…


Happy Weekending.

Em

We celebrated.

William went and did it- he turned one. Throughout the day, Ron and I kept looking at each other and we would say, “I can’t believe it has already been a year! Where did the time go?”

Birthdays are always bittersweet, especially FIRST birthdays. A year has come and gone, but the anticipation and wonder of a new era in our life is such a sweet feeling.

As I search for the perfect words to describe this beautiful day, all I could think about was our journey. How we went from this to this to this to this to this, and now we have a perfectly healthy little boy. It has been an emotional roller-coaster ride, but well worth the admission fee. It’s the fast paced loops, surprises around the bend, and the sends-your-stomach-into-your-throat sudden drops that forces us to realize how fragile and delicate life is. It is heart squeezing hurdles like this that shapes us and makes us stronger, and I’d pay for an encore in a heartbeat.

Because here we are. One year later.

We defeated the gauntlet. We laid down our arms. And we celebrated.

We celebrated to life, to new beginnings, and new chapters. We celebrated milestones and strength. We celebrated to turning points and life changing moments. But most importantly, we celebrated a healthy baby turning one.

 

It was the perfect day to turn one year old, to make the shift from baby to toddler.

We’ll forever memory bank these first 12 precious months of William’s life, and hold them dear to our hearts.

My darling little boy turned ONE!

Exactly one year ago.

Exactly one year ago, I had a baby in my belly that was twisting and turning and aggressively fighting his way out to meet us. 

It's one of my greatest achievements as a woman-- birthing my baby.

He was strong, and he was ready. My only relief from the pain was to be on all fours with my face buried in the cushion of a rocking chair while my husband rubbed my back through each contraction.

Nurses would come in and say, "you know we can give you something for the pain... something to make you more comfortable. Pain meds in an IV? An epidural?" I replied, "No, I'm fine-- not yet."

As the night rolled on, the contractions got stronger and closer. All I could think about was, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Until it was, breathe in, and push.

At exactly 12:00am, I birthed my baby boy into this world.

And it was beautiful.

birth announcements

And so today, we celebrate.

More to come...

Happy, Go, Lucky

 I feel like I’m ordering my days through the line at Subway.

Why yes, I’ll take the busy wheat bread of life, topped with dance class, XC Ski Team, appointments, grocery and post office runs, commissions, and just a sprinkle of stress and time management and a sleepless teething baby for good measure.

Would you like your sandwich toasted?

Nope, no time. I’ll just indulge in it right now, thankyouverymuch.

Why the food analogy? Because I started a diet this week, and food is all I can think about! I will say this, I’m kicking ass. I’ve been tempted, oh believe me, temptation was mean and strong and knocking at my door, but I defeated it. Heck yes!

Moving on.

Lately, I’ve been a “happy, go, lucky” girl. Life is good. So good that it’s overflowing and bursting-at-the-seams. I’m fulfilled to the rim.


As I sipped my morning coffee and starred out my window with a fantastic view-- pure white snow that shimmers through the light of golden rays hugging the snow-capped mountains that are surrounded by a bright blue backdrop-- I couldn’t help but to feel blessed. Blessed in so many ways. There’s so much good happening in my life right now, that I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all.

So what does a girl do when she’s constantly giddy from her ears to the tips of her toes?

She wears sparkles, of course!

Mr. Golden Sun has been shining down us and it has been nothing less than divine. I bundled up my babe in his over-stuffed-marshmallow-looking snowsuit and happily jumped outside to bask in the light. After a very cold dark January, this felt like heaven.

Happiness Factor= Very High

Gah, how can you not eat his fluffy cheeks? Nom Nom Nom.

Krysta joined the Cross-Country Ski Team and is rocking it out. Her confidence has soared to a whole new level. And that makes my heart swell 4 ½ times its normal size.

This also means, our evenings are extra busy- especially Thursdays. After school she goes straight into skiing until 5pm, then rush to dinner, then it’s off to ballet, tap, and jazz until 8:30pm…. then it’s homework and bath.

Um yeah, I know it’s a lot, but Krysta really wants this, so I say “go for it”! Who am I to tell her she can’t, when she’s feeling so ambitious, you know?

And her ambition doesn’t stop there. She constantly wants to help her dad shovel snow.

snow in face= daddy fail! oops.

Even though we’re slammed packed with extra activities, we still take the time to slow down and enjoy the little things in life, like freshly bathed babes.

Bath time is one of my favorite times of the day. It’s our chance to put the chaos aside and just be. William is 100% a water baby. He freely splashes around and pops lavender scented bubbles that fizz in the water.

We play until the water shrivels up little fingers and toes.

Bath times are fun times. Sometimes Krysta will sit on the toilet seat and tell William stories. Sometimes we pretend to be pirates who like to eat mermaids. Sometimes we’re ocean monsters and we whack shampoo bottles off the edge of the tub. But sometimes we like to sacrifice animals, such as a goat or a lamb or… er, a calf?

Sorry calf. You’ll now be dunked in the Tub of Doom for my baby’s enjoyment.

In non-sacrificing news: Spring is coming. I can feel it. Krysta can feel it too. Her obsession with the color orange proves it. She only wants to wear orange, eat only orange foods, drink only orange drinks…you get my drift.

William, on the other hand, will eat anything and everything and in any color you put in front of his face. He’s a human garage disposal, downing anything from goldfish to magazine pages.

We’re nothing short of busy. My house officially looks like a daycare- a happy daycare at that.

Toys are scattered over every inch of the floor like confetti; there’s no doubt a baby lives here and we’re pretty content with that.

I’m going to wrap this post up now. I gotta a wee one waiting for me to play blocks.

Happy Tuesday!

~Em