Snapshots 08.15.17

We recently stayed at an old friend's home in Seattle. She was out of town, but all the little pockets of detail in every corner made it feel like she was there with us. They live in a small apartment, but I could not get over how personal and loving the space was. It reminded me how much I love the  places in our home that make this space unique and wonderful, and bring us little bits of joy every day. I thought I would start sharing little snapshots to showcase these special things and places in our lives.

Anyone who has tried to purchase a Japanese maple knows how much it can set a buyer back. Many years ago, maybe 6 or 7 years, I bought a tiny Japanese maple from a local nursery for $28.00. It was about 10 inches tall, and I was told it is a rare breed of maple that would cost me hundreds of dollars at full size. It lived proudly in the front yard of our old house. Multiple gardeners and landscapers commented on it over the years, as it is not a common breed seen in the average yard. It grew and grew into a full, beautiful tree, and I told the realtor we were taking it with us to the new house.

A 90 degree day in June is not an ideal time to transplant a tree, but we didn't have a choice, and naturally it went into shock.

We didn't have time to do a stellar job with this transplant, and we later learned we should have cut back a bunch of growth on the tree before we attempted to move it. Because we didn't do this, the tree decided to sacrifice a portion of itself, hence all the dead leaves.

But beneath all those dead leaves you can find vibrant and healthy new growth.

Every day there is new growth, and promise that this thing just might make it through the move. I will be so sad if it dies. It is irreplaceable and priceless, holding much physical and emotional value. There is no way we could afford a new one, and the nursery that sold the seedlings is now closed.

The same new leaves 2 days later.

The garden was not what it usually is this year. However, I did manage to transplant some squash in the new garden beds Jeff made for me, and they are thriving. Is there anything more endearing than a pumpkin?

And of course we are just living our lives, loving spending these precious days together. Some days are easier than others (Mondays and Tuesdays are usually nightmares), but I try to snuggle and love on my crabby baby/toddler during those bitching witching hours.

She plays with his toys, he comes and bugs her.

Trucks are everything.

She woke up with crazy hair and I just had to document it.

She is happiest when she is playing outside.

Finding All the Balance

It's the end of another year, and that makes this the perfect time to sit back and reflect on what we did, what we did not do, and what we want to do better in the days going forward. In the spirit of the Zeitgeist, I can honestly say 2016 was one of the hardest years our family has experienced, so we are definitely looking forward to new beginnings. Things will still be hard for a while, but we can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

So what have we been doing to find balance during this hectic time of life?

Look forward

I never really get the post-holiday blues, and I think this is because my life so full that I always have something to which I can look forward. Having something fun in sight always keeps me motivated. Even during our darkest days of 2016, I planned family trips to Glacier and the Portland Zoo. When finances were tight, small and budget-friendly ways to fill our days were planned in advance: taking a city bus to the park, walking to story hour at the library, taking hikes, and wildlife watching excursions.

Each Friday, Jeff brought Everett (and sometimes me and the baby when I was on maternity leave) to the Waldorf school for a parent-child class. After each class they would go to a coffee shop or the Donut Parade (RIP) for quality time. Having events on a schedule removes so much daily anxiety. And you are forced to get up, get ready, get out! Our hardest parenting days are the ones we spend cooped up inside with nothing to do.

Put others first

Doing things with kids is never easy. Taking a trip to Glacier with kids is vastly different than the National Parks trips we took a few years ago (we will not be carting 60 lbs of kiddos into the Grand Canyon anytime soon), but Everett soooo appreciated the experience. Even when the wind and rain kept most tourists inside, he wanted to throw rocks into the lake or drive around looking for bears (we saw many!). On a regular basis he asks if we can go to Glacier again. The trip was hard, but it would have been even harder had we not set aside our adult expectations and let the kids have a good time.

I found myself frustrated this Christmas for many different reasons. I was cranky, irritable, and determined to show it! Then I got to thinking, do I want my kids to remember me mad on Christmas day? Do I really want to be selfish and steal away the magic of the day? I did a complete 180 with my attitude, put my family's feelings first, and we had such a great day after that. Turns out empathy feels pretty good.

Make good choices

This year Jeff and I practiced "A Week of [...]" This meant choosing one healthy activity to focus on every day for a week - i.e. monitoring our device usage, eating more servings of fresh and local produce, drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day, drinking tea instead of coffee, exercising daily, going to bed early, etc. By choosing one activity to focus on each week, we were able to create healthier lifestyles for ourselves without the drama.

It's amazing how doing something every day for as short as a week can make the activity essential to your overall health and well-being.

Be creative

Whether you keep a sketchbook, take pictures, write a poem, paint with your kiddos, or sing a song, art and creativity should be a daily part of life. Checking out an art book from the library and trying to replicate a favorite piece of art is a great way to start. Even if it does not look like the original, the process is important.

I try to practice creativity in my job as well. I ask myself, "What can I do today that is new and exciting? How can I make this process faster or easier in the future?" Take the tools you have and go! Maybe watching a YouTube video about Excel spreadsheets is all you need to streamline a mundane task! You never know until you empower yourself with knowledge and creativity, and you will never be creative and knowledgeable without trying.

Focus on the right things

When I look at my full calendar and limited number of nap time hours, I have to say "No" to many things. And guess what...it feels good. This year I did not bake Christmas cookies. I did not plan a huge birthday bash for Everett. I did not go to Costco as often as I should have. I did not clean the shower for 2 months (calm down I did it the other day). I didn't blog...

I chose to put my limited time and energy elsewhere, and I think my kids benefited from having a balanced mother. I had the energy to get up at 5:00 in the morning to exercise, and guess what, I didn't even shower afterwards. Gasp! No one noticed. The shower was dirty anyway.

Never look back

Don't hold grudges. It's just too much weight for a human heart to bear. We are all human, we all have our own viewpoints, and things/people that are different can be scary. Just do what makes you happy and gives you the least amount of anxiety, and stop judging others for their choices if those choices are different from your own. We are more alike than we realize, and we each just have a different way of experiencing the world. Stop hating on my Flow, because I already stopped hating on yours.

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So my New Year's Resolution? To keep doing all these things, but to do them exponentially better. 

Telecommuting (3)

Everett and I had quite the busy telecommuting day. Between checking emails and finishing work projects, we brought the cat to a $400 vet appointment (not doing that again), worked on his Halloween costume, went to a parent-teacher conference at his school, got his hair cut, and visited the Finch Arboretum. At the end of the day I went to prego yoga, then crashed on the couch and binge watched Vampire Diaries.

What a perfect day it was! I was especially ecstatic about taking Everett to the arboretum on a day when there weren't a million families in matching outfits getting their Christmas photos taken (that will be us in a couple weeks, so no judgment).

Observing the leaves falling from the trees.

Everett's favorite part of the arboretum is the stream. Big surprise?

He loved throwing leaves in the water, then watching them float away. I find these types of activities helpful for raising a little boy. They do not need piles of toys to stay entertained when imagination and natural reasoning skills are properly developed.

We found an awesome pile of leaves on our way back to the car. 

I have a hysterical video of him jumping in the pile, turning around to tell me to stop taking pictures, then walking toward me demanding I put my phone away. After that he searched really hard to find me the perfect leaf. Such a sweet and sassy boy! And for the record, he loved watching those videos of himself later. You're welcome, sonny. Mom knows best.

 The arboretum is one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon in Spokane. I love exploring all the trails and unique trees, and Everett had a pretty good time, too.

We absolutely love the gal who cuts Everett's hair. If you live in Spokane and need someone to do your family's hair, Miranda is theeee best. She is great with kids, and has a kid-friendly area for when moms and dads need to get their hair done. Most of the time I will book Everett's and my appointment back to back, then he gets to play with her awesome toys while I get beautified. I will not let anyone else touch my hair, or Everett's for that matter. You have to book her pretty far in advance, because she is that awesome, but the wait is totally worth it.

I am so proud of this little guy. He is growing up to be quite the young man. He is respectful to his friends, has made huge strides with sharing (thanks daycare!), I can trust him when he's playing independently, and he has been an incredible listener these last few weeks. Of course he has his moments, but at the end of the day I feel so lucky to be his mom. #blessed

Around Here

This week has been a crazy one. I think my "favorite" moment this week was coming home to discover the freezer door had been left wide open all day (we don't have AC and it was 100 degrees that day). I had a pretty big mess to clean up.

In the midst of all the random craziness, I am always ever so grateful for my telecommuting days. It is a welcome sigh of relief to have a day where I can schedule work hours around my family. Between this week's telecommuting work projects, I was able to snap a few photos with my new camera!

As much as I hated spending so much on an object that is not important in the grand scheme of life, sometimes we just need to embrace our #firstworld problems and fork out hundreds of dollars on the things we love. The new camera is a million times better than my old one, and it has been quite the adjustment. I have always preferred shooting in manual mode, and this camera does much of the work that made my old camera difficult while taking manual shots. I still have a lot to learn, but I hope to get there soon. I think I finally have all the settings where I want them to be.

These were all shot with the 50mm lens Jeff bought me for Christmas a couple years ago. I love this lens! And it works far better on this camera than my old one.

I also wanted to capture a few indoor shots at a higher ISO. I think it still works great, even with a wiggling subject. 

Yesterday morning Everett broke out of the house, turned on the sprinkler, and started running through the water. I told him he needed shoes on if he was going to play outside, so he ran inside and attempted to put on a pair of shoes. He is such a funny little kid.

I am pretty darned proud of myself. I made my first ever batch of non-freezer jam (even though we now have plenty of room in our freezer). I had nightmares that all the lids popped up overnight, but when I woke up in the morning, not one had popped. This is probably because I had Jeff use his man hands to tighten them. Hopefully we will be able to get them open when it comes time to consume the deliciousness. 

Peaches for days!

We finally got some calls from daycares this week. We have been on waitlists for months! My little baby will be starting "preschool" soon!

New Etsy Listings!

If you have not been over to my Etsy Shop in a while, I have posted a few new listings. One of my favorite parts about traveling is getting to share images and memories from places I have visited around the world. That said, I recently added 2 photographs from our trip to Yellowstone. I hope you enjoy them!

Feel free to check out some of my other listings as well. I am always happy to take custom orders if there is something that tickles your fancy. Sometime soon I plan on sharing how I use these images around my house for decorating - that is, if life will allow me a few spare moments of time to take pictures, edit them, post them, etc.

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Aslan's Country

I read The Chronicles of Narnia my freshman year of college. Since I lived off campus, I camped out in the school library and read books between classes. I had my own special chair, and rarely saw anyone else in my secluded area. I promise, I made friends a few weeks into school. But before I did, I finished all seven novels.

My first trip to the Oregon Coast happened a short while after finishing these books. Jeff brought me there after we had been dating for a few months, and my breath was instantly taken away. "This is the gateway to Aslan's Country!" Jeff had no idea what I was talking about...

In the final pages of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Reepicheep crossed the waves into Aslan's Country, which is a metaphor for heaven. It might sound crazy and suicidal, but sometimes I feel it is possible to walk straight into the ocean and land in paradise.

Except one time I wandered too far into the water, was immediately consumed by terror (and the knowledge that I was going to die), so started screaming and swam back to shore. Yeah, it turns out the ocean is terrifying - not to mention frigid.

Despite the fact that it almost killed me that one time, I still LOVE the Oregon Coast.

Palouse

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Walla Walla with my mother- and sister-in-law. We drank all the wine, ate all the food, and soaked up all the sun. You can see a few of my pictures on Instagram. Given all components of the weekend's equation (wine, food, sun), it was obviously an incredible time. And I got to spend some time sans husband and child. 

Over the weekend the more populated vineyards seemed to be the ones south of town. It was definitely the most scenic, but we also enjoyed exploring the tasting rooms west of town. L'Ecole No 41 and Woodward Canyon were unique and beautiful venues, and they were quiet enough for us to enjoy a quick snack outside (read: sober up). My favorite is still Garrison Creek (south side of town), so be sure to schedule an appointment if you are going to be tasting in Walla Walla!

L'Ecole No 41

Beautiful field of mustard outside Amavi Cellars

Tasting at Basel Cellars

I have been getting a lot of compliments on my new clutch. Jeff's friend from home has an Etsy shop and she makes the cutest stuff. She works professionally with textiles, so she knows what the heck she is doing. This clutch was made out of real Pendleton wool - like, that she bought from the company. A few people have actually mistaken my bag for Pendleton, so that's a testament to the quality of her design. Anyway, I am going to buy another because I love it so much. 

Back to Walla Walla...

Everyone who knows me knows that brunch is my favorite pastime. We visited the two local hot spots for brunch: Bacon & Eggs and Maple Counter. Bacon & Eggs was theee best brunch I have ever had. The brioche french toast...mouth watering. And the vegetarian eggs benedict with pesto...bomb.

Driving through the Palouse during spring is breathtaking. Soon all the hills and farmland will be brown and dry. However, I caught the tail end of the Pacific Northwest's rainy season, so everything was still lush and the wildflowers were in bloom. Viewing this scenery was a great way to end a fantastic weekend.

When I pulled into the driveway, Jeff and Everett (pantless) came running out of house to greet me. It was so sweet that I started to cry. I wondered how I ever survived an entire weekend without them.