May The Fours Be With You

Today, my firstborn son is four years old. There are a few things that I have a hard time believing.

One, that I have such a thing as a firstborn son. When my husband & I got married, neither of us wanted to have children. It was eight years before we had Jude. It wasn’t an accident either – we simply changed our minds & decided we wanted to have kids. It was a very good decision for us. I have no problem with people who chose not have children, but I am glad that we changed our minds.

Two, how much I love being a Mom. I am tearing up a bit as I write that. I actually cried at my MOPS meeting when I said that to the whole group. It’s true though. It’s been a great journey. It is hard, so very hard sometimes, but it is very good.

Three, that Jude is is four years old! How did that happen? It’s hard to imagine this time four years ago – an induction, 60 hours of labour & finally a C-section & there he was, healthy & strong. There we were feeling out of our depth & happy. Now I look at him & how smart & funny & fun & sensitive he is & I am amazed. Not at anything I’ve done, but at how blessed I am.

A Week Old

Happy Birthday Young Jedi! I love you so much.

Almost Four

I Love Me a Good Royal Wedding

Ok, so I don’t love it enough to get up in the middle of the night, but I do love it & thanks to modern technology, I can see it all on my computer. I know there are people who think it’s a waste of time, boring & there are things going on the world that are more important (this is true, but it’s not wrong to rejoice in good things happening). Thankfully for them, no one is forcing them to watch it. I just thinks it’s fun, romantic & beautiful. If I wasn’t knee-deep in Star Wars prep, I’d have taken more time today to plan some British activities.

Alas, all I can do is pay homage to my former homeland with a couple of British accents in my outfit today. I’ve had my Union Jack earrings forever & thanks to my Dad, yes, my Dad for buying me these great shoes a few years ago for Christmas.

I was inspired by this skirt on this fashion blog. Until I get one like it, I decided to alter a maxi dress that I already had & never wear. I love it! I think I’ll wear it a lot more now that I altered it.

Disregard the Goosebumps

 

I love my Union Jack sunglasses sent to me from one of my English friends, but I didn’t wear them out on the town today – thought it might be too much!

Sweater: George
Dress: Ross (altered by me)
Shoes: Rocket Dog
Earrings: ???
Sunglasses: The United Kingdom

Challenge #3 Stuffed Meatballs & Wiggly Hotdog Monsters

This week’s new recipe is Stuffed Meatballs with a side of strangeness. I used this recipe for the meatballs & took a little liberty, not measuring much. I also used ground turkey instead of ground beef or pork. They were so yummy! My youngest couldn’t get enough of them & my oldest liked taking the cheese out of the middle. Colin liked them except for his aversion to “globs of cheese”.  Again, this is an aversion that I really don’t understand, but to each his own. And I definitely could have made a bit more sauce. They take a bit of extra effort, but I loved them! What else could I stuff them with besides cheese? Olives, peppers…

Stuffed Meatballs

 

I also came across something on Pinterest that I really wanted to try for the boys – I have no idea what to call it besides Wiggly Hot Dog Monsters. There wasn’t a link to where this came from, but there was a picture. Since I was making pasta for dinner & I needed to use up a couple of hotdogs, I thought I’d try it out. They are so fun & easy. My oldest had a lot of fun helping me impale the poor little hotdogs with pasta. In the end though, they weren’t the hit that I had hoped they would be. My oldest ate all the pasta & not much of the hotdog. My youngest spent a lot of time pulling the pasta out & eating the hotdogs. Ah well. Still a great idea!

Before They Became Wiggly Monsters

 

After They Became Wiggly Monsters

For details of this challenge, click here.

Snow, Star Wars & Chaos

You can’t see it in the photos, but it was snowing while I was taking these pictures! Crazy days. I figured since it was snowing, I was allowed to wear one of my favourite shawls again.

I am in full on preparation mode for Jude’s birthday – he’s 4 tomorrow! We are having a Star Wars party on Saturday. I can’t believe that he’s going to be 4. He’s such an amazing young man – so smart, funny & sensitive. I am so blessed.  We ran lots of errands this morning – not an easy thing to do with two boys. I thought going to stores was tough with one child – now if I just have one of the boys, I’m racing all over town & enjoying the simplicity of it.

On a side note: I just looked up & Jude is in the kitchen squeezing oranges into a bottle of water & making his own orange juice. That will be fun to clean up. He just brought me a taste – it’s pretty good.

It’s also Take Your Child To Work Day & while that’s not really possible when the boys are so small, we stopped by Colin’s work & saw him for a bit. The boys were a bit loud as they raced through the halls!

My house is in chaos at the moment, but I’m hesitant to clean up too much because I know the boys will still be rampaging. Maybe I’ll just wait until Friday night when the boys go to sleep, now there’s an idea!

Shawl: Thrifted
T shirt:  Old Navy
Jeggings: Pure Energy
Boots: Ross
Earrings: Forever 21
Headband: Can’t remember…

A Rant & A Rave About Forever 21

One of the things I like about going to see my sister & her family in Tacoma (besides all the good family times, of course), is visiting stores we don’t have in wee Bend. I was super excited about going to H&M this past weekend – I’ve found lots of fun stuff there in the past – both for me & the boys.

So Stephanie & I headed out to H&M on Friday. When we got to the mall, I saw that there was a Forever 21 store. I must be a bit behind the times, but I had no idea they had actual brick & mortar stores – I thought they were only online. So we went in & had some interesting experiences. We actually ended up going back the next day so that I could exchange something, but I will include all our experiences as one visit to the store.

First off, the music was so loud – maybe I’m just getting old, but it was crazy! It was also the most disorganised store I’ve ever been into – nothing is sorted by anything really – size, style, color. If you see something you like on a rack, you then have to search through racks trying to find it in your size. Good luck! saw a cute top on a mannequin & I really wanted to find it – never did. We asked assistants several times & they just wandered around like we had been doing, searching through the racks – except one girl who just said, “If it’s here, it will be somewhere around the escalator.” Hmmm. Helpful. Eventually, I told them that I thought the one on the mannequin would fit me, & could they please get it for me – nope, apparently that’s against the rules. I told them that I wanted to give them money for their product, that their merchandisers had done their jobs well & I wanted to buy what they were selling…nope. I left without that lovely top.

There were so many people working there, but I’m not sure what they were doing. It was crazy. Such a very odd shopping experience. On a more positive note, the store was HUGE & I don’t think we scratched the surface of looking at everything. They have super fun clothes & accessories at great prices & both my sister & I got some great stuff (but not that cute poncho top). Oh, and I’m glad we went to Forever 21, because H&M didn’t have much that interested me this time.

My leggings are from the super clearance sale at Old Navy, but I’m not too sure about them. I love the zipper on the side, but they are so long! My shoes from Forever 21 are so comfortable, I can’t believe how high they are & I’ve been wanting a pair of wedges like this for ages. It’s a grey & black outfit so I added a bit of colour with my earrings.

Top: Ross
Skirt: Target
Leggings: Old Navy
Shoes: Forever 21
Earrings: Forever 21

Did you mug a doll for that hat?

I got quite a few comments at church on my little top hat. Mostly good, but also a bit taken aback. My husband was fairly cheeky about my wee little hat – he liked the rest of my Easter outfit, but thought the little hat was slightly ridiculous. I love it though! One lady asked me if I got it from a doll. Ah well.

We had a lovely Easter weekend with my sister & her family up in Washington. Good times of celebrating Passover, birthdays, Easter & just being together. Sunday was packed with church, photos, Easter baskets, lunch & the long journey home over the mountains. Today will be filled with getting groceries & unpacking!

 

I tip my hat to you

I love the bit of tulle poking out.

Me & My Colin

 Sweater: Ross
Dress: Ross
Shoes: Sbecca
Headband: Claires

Twas the Day Before Easter

What a beautiful day in my sister’s neighbourhood! We had a lovely day as a family. We took the boys to an Easter egg hunt at a local church – lots of fun. What a great church – reaching out to the community. The boys loved looking for the eggs.

Home again for lunch & play time & nap time. We did a lot of prep for Easter lunch tomorrow since it will be a bit of a rush day with travelling back to Bend. We also made Jamaican Easter bun – haven’t tried it yet so we’ll see if it turned out like it’s supposed to. The bun itself required multiple trips to the supermarket – just couldn’t seem to get our list together. We shall see!

We had an amazing Thai curry cooked by my sister this evening & then decorated eggs with the boys before getting them off to bed – they were ready!

Excited for tomorrow. Thankful for all it means.

Shirt: Walmart
T Shirt: Target
Shorts: Target
Tights: Forever 21
Earrings: Forever 21

Challenge #4 Passover

It’s Good Friday. I love this Easter season – the idea of Spring, the candy, the eggs, the kid’s excitement, but most especially the reminder of life & resurrection. Tonight, my Mom organised a Passover meal for us. My sister, my Mom & I all prepared various dishes & my Dad led us through the words & ceremony of Passover. Mom had prepared some packets for the kids & they loved participating in the recitations & tasting the different foods. I think we have a new tradition in our family. An amazing opportunity to reflect on freedom from slavery & Jesus’ sacrifice. It was just a great time for our family. My Dad wrote a bit about our celebrations here.

For details of this challenge, click here.

It’s a Very Good Friday

What a beautiful day. Good Friday commemorates a dark event, but the “deeper magic” is already at work. We have cause to celebrate.

I am with my parents, my sister, her family & my family & it is good. So thankful for times together – seeing our children grow together. We are having a very special celebration tonight, that I will tell you about soon.

Another quick photo post. I’m wearing another of my super dooper Old Navy clearance finds – an oversize black sweater. I also have on one of my vintage owl necklaces. Love!

I got to have some sister-time today – went to Forever 21 & H&M. Good just to hang out & I got a few cool things.

Sweater: Old Navy
Capris: Target
Shoes: American Eagle
Necklace: Vintage/Thrifted

Maundy, Maundy, Can’t Trust That Day

Woke up to more snow today, yes, snow. It’s all good. It didn’t last long. Kind of messed with some travel plans, but it all turned out ok. So thankful for times of celebration & joy with our family. Not much time to post, but took a quick picture of my outfit today.

Shirt: Torrid
Skirt: Source of Wisdom
Leggings: Walmart
Shoes: Target