Early Haloween Boo Bash

I just love living in Camas!!! I love that the community holds events that are great for families and especially for the kiddos!!!

Mike had the week off and it was so nice to have him home. We dressed the kids up and went to Downtown Camas to do some treating at the business's on main street. This year Evan chose to be a UPS guy ( gee wonder why?). I think it is so cute that he wants to be like his daddy. It is so nice to see how much he looks up to his dad and respects him. Mike had the idea for Lilah's costume and I just LOVE it!!! Since Evan was going to be the UPS kid then Lilah should be his package!!!

We made Caramel apples before and the kids LOVED it. They had so much fun. More fun eating them, but still a great time!!!

Everyone down at Boo Bash was saying how cute the kids were. They loved the idea. Mike printed off some stickers. One that said fragile that was taped over her heart and the other ones with hazardous and toxic fumes that were taped, you guessed it, on her rear!!! Her outfit was a hit and FREE!!! I loved that part the most.

We had so much fun out getting candy. Grammie, Grampie and Lilly came with us as well and we ran into plenty of people we know. I just LOVE this town!!!

PUMPKIN PATCH

This year was such a wonderful day for the pumpkin patch. It was so nice outside and DRY!!! We went as a whole group this year and had so much fun. I love having a big family and being able to get out and do stuff together. It makes it so much fun. We went to Bi-Zi farms; rode the hayride out to the pumpkin patch...then walked them back, played on the haystacks, fed the animals, went through the maze and did the pumpkin sling shot!!! The kids had so much fun. We stop to grab a little bite to eat o the way home. Evan wanted a couple of fries so we gave him some and he feel asleep eating them :) He was so tired. They did so well being there through their nap time.

I just love how much fun we have with the kids. How easy they are, for the most part, to take places now and not really have to worry about anything. As long as I have some water, milk, and a few snacks we are golden!!! I love all of these memories that we make we the kids and as a family.

Evan's First Day of Preschool!!!

Yesterday was Evan's first day of preschool and he did WONDERFUL!!! We got there and he went right in with his pack back ( pack-pack) and started playing with the toys. I was so happy that he just got right in there and of course Lilah was right in there as well :)

When it was time for me to go and the more and more kids came (8 in his class), he got shy and wanted up. The teacher was great, she asked Evan if he wanted to go pick out some toys with her and he went right to her. Then there is Lilah who I had to pick up and take her out of there. She wanted to stay and play!!!

I was so proud of him and those couple hrs went by so fast. They did some shape projects and the did some pumpkin stuff!!! I can not wait to have a wall filled with Evan's drawings.

We were hacked :(

Ok so Mike and I are working super hard to fix our email. We got hacked last night...I am so mad and irritated by it.

Our contacts are lost so we can not send an email telling everyone we are ok. We sent our something with facebook and have gotten phone calls and texts this am.

I am so sorry...this is so frustrating. We have had this account for many years and so many things get sent to it daily. ARGH!!!!!


I am really sorry...I am trying to send stuff out to as many people as possible. Please help us get the word out that we are fine.

We are sitting at home, not in London

Thank you and sorry

Rearranging

Rearranging your furniture or your closet is a lot like rearranging your life. You need to change things up a bit depending on what fits in your life at that time. Sometimes you have fantasy business clothes and then you go to jeans, T-shits, and sweatpants or maybe the opposite. Sometimes you have beautiful furniture and carpet with no stains to carpet and your furniture with stains...I love it!!!

We grow in different ways and in different times of our lives. Some of us adapt much easier than others and the ones that adapt faster are there to help transition the ones that have trouble. I have a love hate relationship with my carpet right now...yes it has stains, but those stains are there because of those 2 little blessing that run around dropping their snacks and their cups all day long :) I would not change the fact that I have to get down on my hand and knees and scrub the carpet to heck trying to make it look some what decent and that I don't live with complete crazy animals ( well not all the time).

I do like change, for the most part. I feel I adapt pretty well to it and that I just try and roll with the punches. I love the changes tat are going on in my life right now...Kids are getting older, so I can start to bring out some of the glass things I've had tucked away for about 3 years now and we are just growing as a family so well. the kids are getting bigger now that we can do more activities and make many memories. I love the stages and ages of the kids right now. I love that everyday it is something new with them and they are playing so well together. It seems lately that there has been a good 30 mins before we check on the kids. They are just playing in the toy room or in one of their rooms so nicely together. It just crack us up!!!

I am so excited to see the next stage that the kids grow into and the next season of our family. I just love how we have grown so much as a family and I just love the smiles I get from them all the time.

Stains and all!!!

Grandma!!!

My grandma has been teaching me to sew..I do really enjoy it and have always really wanted to learn. My grandma Lee did a little bit here and there and would teach me a few things when I was younger, but I don't really remember much about it and never really dug deep into it. So when my grandma Juanita asked to teach me I was really excited!!!

We started off with a dress for Lilah and it turned out really well, now my grandma did do most of the work, but taught me a lot of basic things, that you don't always think about with sewing and money saving tips, which of course is right up my ally!!!

Then one day I went up to the house to clean it, my weekly job and there was the coolest thing...a SEWING MACHINE and a big tote all organized with all sorts of goodies...Yes, my grandma is an organizational freak like me :) That day I got my plans in motion for my sewing room. Saturday morning came around and it was time to get the plan into motion. We got a HUGE computer desk out of downstairs and have plenty of room now for me to set up "shop." My intention was to stay down there till it was done. but that did not happen. At least we got the desk out of there.

I have still yet to go down there an competley finish that room and get it all set up...It is just this time of year that I barely have time to sit down and breathe most days, but that is fine. I know what I am doing besides sitting down is WAY worth it...I just need to make the time to get down there and finish it so I can grab that sewing machine out and put all my ideas to work.

I am so, so thankful that my grandma has the heart to teach me and to get me a sewing machine and I promise I will not let her down, the sewing machine down or myself!!! It is just another awesome ways to save money and to be frugal.


I seriously have been sitting down writing this post since the 22nd of Sept...I just can not get it done!!! until now!!! YAY ME!!! Hopefully I will get a few more under my belt today and this week.

So excited!!!

So I said a few post ago that Preschool was not in our budget for this year and Evan is only 3...He doesn't really need it, but I know he does in some ways. Well I have really prayed about it and really wanted to do what I/we needed to do as a parent for Evan. In some ways Evan has been left behind a little with having Lilah so close. I know that is normal and I know he does not feel that way or see it that way, but as a parent you always worry about it or at least I do. Sometimes I think I should just let him stay up from nap so we can have time alone together and I could do arts and crafts with him and learning games with him, without stopping because Lilah has a poopie diaper, or because she is eating a magnet letter, you know those things that are so wonderful!!! I feel bad for him and Lilah is just not there yet on the arts and crafts.

Well it feel into my lap!!! I was looking to see when there was a playgroup and a sports class for Evan and there it was...a one day a week preschool class!!! YAY!!!! I was so excited...I could not wait for Mike to get home and talk to him about it. I was so excited to call and see if they had an opening in the class for Evan. Called today and YAY!!! There was an opening. I am just so happy for him that he will be able to get this time that he needs to grow. I do in some ways wish I could be in there with him and do one on one time with him, but I know it is important for him to get use to having a teacher.

Now it will be getting him excited for it and preparing ourselves for this next journey. It will also be nice to have time with Lilah...2 hrs with one kid will feel so weird. I just can't wait and I am so excited that God answered my prayers, that I was led to find that class and there were/are openings!!

now to find a sports class for him as well!!! he needs to be out there kicking a ball and playing!!!

I will keep everyone posted on his day at school every week and walking in with his pack pack ( as he calls it)!!!

ZOO with the GRAMMIES

This week the kids and I loaded the Grammies up and went to the zoo!!! We had a blast. It was a little chilly, but perfect for the zoo. We walked around got to see a decent amount of animals.
We went into the Lorekette landing and got to feed the birds nectar. Evan was super cute bending down to Lilah saying, " Be carful Sweetheart." I think both grammies wet their pants they laughed to hard. The things he says.
It was so much fun to go to the zoo with both grammies and have the kids spend that time with them.

When we were all done the grammies bought the kiddos something at the gift shop...Of course Evan chose quads, that is a no brainer and Lilah chose animals. She loves her animals.

Evan's kids' name

Today after nap we went to Costco to grab a few things and then to get dinner. On our way home we had one of the funniest conversation with Evan!!!

It started off with him looking like he was going to cry, Lilah was yelling, so he said that Lilah makes him want to cry. It was funny :)
Then he was telling me that his best friend was named Kaylie. I asked him where he met her at and he said at church. Then he went to tell us that he had a daughter named Patweech. Seriously, how and the heck did he come up with that name. He told us that Patweech was 6 and she was holding a baby also named Kaylie. He said that they are 2 Kaylies and 2 Patweechs. We asked him how e came up with the name and he said that God gave him the name.

I could barely ask him questions. I was cracking up while Mike was asking questions. Evan was so serious about the names and the story.

I love the age that he is and the kid who he is becoming. He is a wonderful brother, son and friend. He just loves life and if full of it. He is cracking us up daily. I love how he is with Lilah. he is so very caring and loves her so much.

He is a wonderful kid and so respectful to others. I am so blessed that he has all of the traits as well as many others.

SUPER HERO!!!

So today I feel like this awesome mom!!! This am I got up and got to do one of my most favorite things in the day ( that I rarely get to do), I got up and got to sit and just drink a freshly cup of HOT coffee with no kids!!! I just love this time. It is my time. I have always loved it, even before we had kids. It just changes my mood for the day :)

Then the kids and I had a blast!!! We got zucchinis shredded up for bread, or sauces and got those into the freezer. Got the dishes loaded ran, unloaded and loaded again!!! That is a chore in and of its self. I swear when the kids can reach the shelves wit stools they are so getting dish duty :)

This year I have decided to "home school" Evan. I just want a time our of 4 days during the week where i sit with him and teach him things that he needs to know. preschool is a little out of our budget this year and he really doesn't need to go this year. Last year we bought him learning activity books, so we are putting those to use.
We had a blast!!! He kept wanting to do more pages, sing the songs and do the counting!!! I LOVED IT!!! I can't wait to do it again tomorrow. I just love the feeling of watching him learn new things. Lilah even joined along and did some stuff with us.

Today is just one of the reasons why I LOVE having the kids!! I love being a stay at home mom, even in the trying times. Today is all worth it. I know I will never get these days back and I am glad that I get to be here with them and learn right along with them :)

YAY!!!!

We had the dentist appt this am and it was wonderful. Evan hit his teeth just right, so they did not damage the perm ante teeth!!! YAY!!!

So this is where we go from today... Soft foods, Popsicles, frozen yogurts, and whatever else I can make up in the freezer. No chewing on his front teeth for about a week. maybe more. He will tell me and now when he is ready to bite down.
Needs to keep taking the meds and the mouthwash to make sure the bacteria does not infect the open gums.

There is a change from now to about 6 months after the injury that a little white head will show up on his gums and that means that the infection and then that means the tooth will need to come out, but that will not happen!!!

He is doing really well. We are going to make some homemade Popsicles and some yummy peach smoothies this afternoon!!

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!!! There was just an overwhelming calmness this am at the dentist.

Thank you again

Ice cream fixes everything :)

Well I am posting this morning about yesterday...I just kind of forgot to post yesterday, so there will probably be 2 post today.

Evan did well yesterday, we kept up on the Motrin and the antibiotics. He was eating fine. We made sure to just do soft foods and told him to either tear something and put it in his mouth or to try and bite it on the side. He went more to tearing, just easier.

We stayed home most the day and I need to go to the grocery store and Evan was asking for a milkshake!!! So we loaded up and my parents met us there to take Evan out to ice cream and of course Lilah had to get her own as well. She has that ice cream cone lickin' down !!

I brushed his teeth last night and went slow and careful, got to the front and made them bleed a little again and he was just telling me to stop since they were hurting so much.

He did really well last night. I am praying that today at the Dentist it goes just fine.


Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I will keep you posted about Evan today sometime.

Big OL' Lip :(

Today was my Aunt's 50th birthday party at my parents house. Family, food, kids playing!!! Just a wonderful time. THEN.....( DUN DUN DUN)

Evan was getting out of the hot tub with a towel wrapped all around him, slipped on the deck and fell, no hands to brace him. His poor lip just bleed and bleed. he had skin hanging down and it was a fat lip almost instantly.

We got ice on it and finally got him calmed down enough to talk a little and let us look at it. When we looked at it his gum above his two front teeth were/are black and blue and his lip was even bigger. I felt one of his teeth at it was loose, so we decided to call the dentist.

Our dentist is the best!!! He called in a prescription right away for Evan and made sure it was super easy for us to get to. He told me things that needed to be done and to watch out for until we are able to see him on Tuesday, of course a Holiday weekend :(

So as we sit now, we call at 8 am on Tuesday to get in to the dentist. From there we will get an x-ray if the roots are fractured then the teeth will need to be pulled, if not then they will try and wiggle them back into place a little, but that they will turn black and blue in a couple weeks. I am not sure if they will stay black and blue until they eventually fall out or what.

I just want him to not be in pain. Yes, I probably will cry if they say a tooth needs to come out and I am preparing myself for a tooth coming out. We have a feeling that one of his top teeth will need to come out. It is in worst shape than the other one.

Please send your prayers to Evan. I just feel so bad and feel so helpless for him.

Thank you for your prayers, I know what happens we will be prepared for it and I also know it could of been a lot worst.

We will keep you all posted on how he is doing

Calling,,,

So this is not going to be a typical Blog. As a lot of you know I have been couponing like crazy the last 6 months or so and while it is hard and time consuming it has saved us money, a lot of money. I can't do it like I would love to, with the kids and Mike's work schedule, but I still get stuff done.

I have been having this calling that I should start up a blog on things I do to save us money or to save me time. Plus I know what it is like to be a mom of 2 and a husband that has long hrs at work and sometimes you just need a break yourself. I would love to help other mom's in this way to save time and energy cooking and cleaning and doing all the other little things we do on a daily basis. Not really about coupons, but just little things that I do daily, weekly that help my family. I am not really sure if I should add it to this blog or create a new one and if it is even worth my time. Plus do I really have the time right now???

In a couple weeks Bible study is starting and I am co-leading a table with a fabulous friend and digging deeper into the Women's ministries at church, plus I am really involved in preschool at church, so that takes some time. Not to mention, my husband, my kids, my household and myself.

I really would love it if you would pray for me and help me figure out if it is the right time for me to start doing it.

Thank you for your prayers and hopefully I will get an answer soon :)

Fugal ME!!!

I have always hated paying for Evan to get his haircut...I mean I hate paying for mine. Honestly in the past 4 yrs I have gotten my hair cut 4 times, yes, Oh my goodness, Once a year. I know this will sound weird, but I really don't have the time to go get my hair cut and I don't really want to pay for it. Plus if I had the time I have a list of things I would rather do with that time then sit and get my hair cut.

I cringe every time I would pay for Evan's haircut...I of course always had a coupon, but still. So today I decided to try it on my own!!! I differently did not do a great of a job as the ladies do, but I did a darn good job for my first time cutting his hair. It is all the same length and I even trimmed up his ears and neck line with no blood!!! I want to learn to fade next, but I will do that when I don't have Lilah on my hip and trying to learn to cut Evan's hair with one hand :)

He did wonderful. He just sat there and let me do what I needed to do. He looks so cute and I am just so proud of myself...Now that is about 14.00 I saved right there by doing something that took my less than 10 mins.

My grandma has also been teaching me how to sew, so I will have a dress soon for Lilah!!! YAY!!! I really enjoyed it...Makes me nervous learning it and you need like 10 arms to sew, I feel. I will get it. I can't wait to see her in the dress!!!

SO NOT US!!!

So Mike had Monday off and I really wanted to do something fun and as a family, since I know the summer will be ending shortly. We couldn't really think of something that we wanted to do, so we didn't make any plans.

Sunday came around and we went to church, came home and got the kids lunch. While they were eating I said to Mike that I just kind of wanted to pack up drive to the beach and stay the night. So Mike and I started to look for hotels online...found one, while Mike booked the room I booked it around the house trying to fill the suitcase and get everything ready so we could hit the road and the kiddos could take their naps while we drove up there.

We had a blast!!! We got there and played on the beach. Lilah has NO FEAR!!! Great thing and bad thing, since she just runs to the ocean and wants to get in it. I love that about them, but they freak me out. She would not leave the water. Evan brought his monster trucks and him and Mike made a big track for the trucks. He was "vrooming" all over the place.

We cleaned off and headed to McMenamins for dinner...Thanks to GC from my parents for Mike for Father's day our dinner was FREE!!! LOVE IT!!! Only downside to it, was that they were out of tater tots :( The beer made up for that and the wonderful view. Oh and of course we had to stop by our ice cream shop and get some cones!!!
Then back to the hotel for some pool time. The kids had a blast jumping in, swimming and going under water. We had so much fun.
We ended the night snuggling up in bed watching a little movie and then we put the kiddos to bed. We laid their for about 10 mins quiet and then Mike and I got up and did some stuff of the computer and watched a TV show. I just love how the kids will sleep through it. I mean we weren't loud, but we were still able to stay up and hang out together.

We woke up, got breakfast, played in the arcade for a few then back to the pool!!! We have such water kiddos :) I love it. We got everything ready and went to walk around took them on the carousel, bumper cars and even rented a scurry!!! We all had a blast. The kids loved the scurry, wanting to go down the hills so they could put their hands up like a roller coaster. We ended our day back on the beach...water time, track building, kite flying and just having fun.

This was just such a fun trip. I love how there are so many things within a few hrs from home that we can do for a fairly reasonable price as a family. Mike and I never stay in hotel rooms and we never just get up and go.
This was Lilah's first time in a hotel and Evan's 2nd time ( first time he was like 6 wks old). We had a blast and would love to do it again next year. It was so nice to be able to get out of town for the night and just be together as a family. I love how the kids are getting old enough to be able to do these little day trips/overnight trips. I love how they just walk around with us like big kids and try their hardest at many things. They even try new foods and it just makes my heart so happy.

These trips are just preparing Mike, the kids and myself for bigger trips in the future.

Maybe this will even start to be our annual tradition for the end of summer!!!

My JOY!!!!

So I decided after dinner tonight that I would make brownies!!! YUM!!! I put both kids up on the counter and they took turns helping me put stuff in the mixer. They had a blast, well they thought they were until I gave Evan the beater and Lilah the spoon, watch out world!!! This was the most amazing brownie making EVER. I rarely let Evan lick the utensils when we bake and I have never let Lilah, but I am sure glad I did :) They had the best time for about 5 mins.

These are the times that I truly look at them and feel so blessed to have them as my children. God truly works miracles in every way. We have had a lay low day since the 3 of us are under the weather, so this really made my spirits lift up and realize that no matter how junky I feel having moments like this is all worth not getting a nap and being able to curl up in bed for a few hrs.

Obviously we went straight to the bath when we were done, actually I think I still have a diaper on the kitchen counter....ooops :)

Crazy?!?!? I think NOT!!!

One of my very best blessings is having my childhood best friend move back to Oregon a couple years ago and have a baby a year after I had Evan. Talk about your little girl dream coming true!!!
So she is a little crazy (in a good way)...She is a wonderful mom...Going to school full time, while raising O'rien, her step daughter Rhyan and her husband is overseas working, Oh wait and she is 23 wks pregnant with number 2, yes she is crazy!!! She inspires me so much...If she can do all of this, then I know I can do a lot as well. Her kids are thriving and so is she is school and in her intern. I know she is so tired, but just continues on.

So the reason for this blog is that I get to watch the kids from time to time, mainly OC ( O'rien), Rhyan is a busy little bee this summer :) This last week we met at IKEA for a meet stop and I decided that it would be so cool to take the kids to IKEA!!! HAHA Some might think I am crazy for these thoughts, but it gets worst...I also walked Meg over to the max station for her to take it to her intern...All while have 3 unstrollered kids!!! On a busy street, at a max station and no fences!!! They listened so WELL!!!! I was feeling really nervous, but very accomplished that I could get them all walking there safely and watching the "trains" go by and back to IKEA.

Then we hit IKEA, the cart was already full....of kids!!! The kids were AWESOME!!! They helped me load the cart up when I needed stuff...ate fruit snacks and had a blast with the little pencils, paper and paper measuring tape. Then we had lunch there, they helped me in line and stayed right with me. It was easy breezy!!! I still looked a little like a zoo, with a 1, 2, and 3 yrs old, but we had so much fun. Everyone was on their best behavior and ate well.

We had a blast with all the kiddos!!! It was great. I guess you make it as hard as you want it to be. We had fun and I think I made it fun...Letting them run around a little, playing games with them while they were in the cart...We had a lot of fun :)
These kids are just so awesome. I love how all the kids get along so well, I can't wait to meet the new little one and have the baby join the kid clan!!!

We ended our day with outside play!!! We had a blast in the pool and play structure. The kids were soaked and laughing so hard at each other.

I could not ask for anything more than having them close to me. I love watching our kids grow up together like Meg and I did!!!

BEACH DAY

We were spoiled this last Wednesday...Mike was given the day off and we had nothing to do!!! That is very uncommon around here, differently when he has a day off, it is always for some reason. We packed up the kiddos and headed to Seaside for the day.

It was a beautiful day, and we had a blast. Seaside is a beach where you can have so much fun for very little money, bonus!!!We played at the beach a couple different times. The kids do not have a fear of the ocean...Good and Bad thing. They both are very good at asking for a hand. We kind of built sand castles, until Lilah knocked them down, she loves to demolish things. I don't know if it will happen this summer, but I really want to go back and stay the night. Really soak up the beach and the family time.

Evan got to ride his first bumper cars and was laughing the whole time. We went and fed the Sea Lions and Evan held a snail and baby crab!!! They both have no fear with animals and sea creatures. I love how kids don't have the same hesitations that we as adults do. I have notice that as the kids get older some of my fears have gone away so that they will do it and not be afraid because I am. They have helped me more than I have helped them in some ways!!!

We ended our day on a bench with a ice cream cone. The day went by so fast, which was so sad....I wanted to keep playing and not stop. The kids were such troopers. We barely used the stroller. The kids did awesome walking around and walking on the sand down to the water and back. It is so nice that we can do that and not have to have a stroller and also not carry them, but sad that they are growing up so much that we don't really need it anymore.

I really enjoyed our time together and have truly realized that we need to do it more often. It was such a blessing for us to get up and get out of town for the day. We are defiantly making it a priority to just explore more.