Kickin' It Thursday Night Style

Thursday nights for the Riddle's (under 30 excluded) are spent on the couch with cereal, watching Jim and Pam.

Don't you just love the way they look at each other? Matt and I love The Office and there is nothing better then us both belly laughing with the TiVo on pause (so we don't miss ANY lines). And here's a little unknown fact about me. I love Michael. Sure he has no social skills and Dunder Mifflin's problems are in fact all because of his managing style but he is endearing to me because of his painful desire to belong and to have a family. Anyone else love Michael? Anyone?

Wordless Wednesday

Leave a comment and tell me what you think Jabe was thinking.

Savoring

I am transitioning seasons in my life right now. My three year olds are doing more and more for themselves and making it very apparent that I am not the mom of babies anymore.

• Almost without fail I sleep through the night.
• Jabe and Phoebe sleep in big kid beds and brush their own teeth with me just giving them a quick once over.
• Diapers are gone with the exception of sleep time and even then, Jabe is dry most of the time and they both throw their used pull-ups away and put on underwear.
• I don't have to mess with bibs or cleaning high chairs.
• My kitchen clean up is easier with the food to mouth ratio increasing.
• The twins don't even use a stroller anymore!

The saying, "The days are long but the years are fast", resinates with me on so many levels. I am sad to say that in the drudgery of living the everyday grind my goal can sometimes becomes surviving to make it to nap time and then to bed time. Then before I know it all those nap and bed times add up to years of prodding them to grow up. I don't want to be too hard on myself with rushing babyhood, for a momma it's down right messy, hard work. But with the knowledge that our family is complete and babyhood is over, I am ready to slow things down a bit and savor.

I found that I really started noticing this change over the summer. We went to our family cabin for a vacation in McCall. Although if you're a parent, you know that vacationing with your kids is not really a "vacation" yet just a change in routine. Most of the time requiring more work than at home because of the packing, unpacking, sleep adjustments, hyper kids, and baby-proofing a new place. This year we were unusually light with much less baby gear. In general they don't have to be watched every second and are all marvelous sleepers so Matt and I were truly able to relax. So much so that we thought we'd try a family canoe trip.

We all stayed dry and each took turns trying out different moose calls. They never came and I am slightly grateful for that.

I'm not going to lie, I wouldn't mind time traveling and taking this now six-year-old on a stroll:

Or smell this little girls newborn breath:

Or rock this sweet baby Jabe to sleep:

Gotta go, I think my milk just let down.

Downer

Matt and I just finished watching, "Slum Dog Millionaire" and I feel like I want to stab my eyes out with Q-tips. It's the kind of movie that makes me want to sneak into my babies rooms just to gaze at some innocents for a few minuets. Well done movie, but really, really hard to watch and not suck my thumb and want to adopt every sweet, beautiful orphaned Indian child. So tonight as I sit at the computer, traumatized, all I want to post is memory of watching the fireworks at Disneyland this spring.



Ok, I think I can sleep now.

Sunday Open House: Kitchen and Laundry

These pictures were all taken the day before we moved in. In these two rooms I made the not-so-popular choice of painting my cabinets milk glass green. Matt gave me total control in these types of decisions and to make it fair on him I let him know that he would get to spend our lottery winnings any way he pleased (we've never played). He was very concerned over my clear insanity when I insisted (cried) that this was the color the cabinets had to be. I even bought a cream and sugar set of jadeite so I could color match the paint to my exact vision. Throw in some white subway tile and Absolute black granite counter tops and I am thrilled how it turned out.

I took in a picture of our old "coffee station" to the carpenter and we created this little nook for my new pad. Likey?
The laundry room has the same lovely green cabinets except I put polished chrome hardware on the doors.

The washer and dryer were built on pedestals which is very convenient. Did you see my farm sink (swoon)? You think I had to cry to get green cabinets? This sink was an all out campaign to get.

Matt: You do realize that this one sink would be more money than all our other sinks combined?

Me: Yes, but it has a built in soap dish, so I am pretty sure it all evens out.

Matt: You do realize that the cabinets will have to be specially built to accommodate the weight of this massive cast iron tank of a sink?

Me: Yes, but every time I look at this sink I will weep with gratitude that I, a little girl who grew up on food stamps, gets to wash all of my delicates in such a fine monument of our indoor American plumbing history.

Matt: If you promise to get more of said "delicates" and promise to wear them often and you swear to never again speak of, "American plumbing history" we can get the sink.

Me: Deal.

This is the other side of the laundry room. A great place to store our shoes, hang our coats and store craft items in the cubbies.

Do you see the little center nook? I call it the "charging station". We can walk in from the garage and plug in our cells, hang up our keys, dump our mail and check our home phone messages in one little area. The most useful two feet in our house.

Useful Information

Because I am helpful in nature, I wanted to pass on a little tip for all you married ladies out there. Make this cake for your man. It's the 2nd best thing you can do for him today.

My stepmom made a version of this cake (only we called it Texas Sheet Cake) and I was so excited to see Pioneer Woman version. She always gives the best step by step directions and it will melt in your mouth and make you beg for milk. Give it a try.

(Picture from Pioneer Woman Cooks.)

PS I really want Santa to get me a copy of her cookbook. So Santa, if your listening. . . purdy please.

Quacked Up

Do you have a store that when you walk into your eyes dance with utter joy and excitement? I do. If you ever get a chance to go to an Anthropologie, you will be in my personal heaven. In fact in my heaven this store is right across the street of my craftsman lakeside bungalow, next to my personal Starbucks, just kitty corner from Rebecca's True La Boo Foo Foo Spa.

Anthropologie is way out of my pocketbook's league but oh my, do I love me some inspiration when I stroll through this eclectic paradise. Their vintage stuff is really what kills me. I am the proud owner of some of these glasses:

Then something happened that rocked me to my core and made me question all that I believe in. In their catalogue I saw these shoes:

Have you ever, EVER seen shoes this ridiculous? And then I thought to myself, "Self, what if you had a cousin that collected mallard ducks and you thought this would bring a smile to her face if I bought these for her." Then I saw that these duck-head shoes are $350 ducks, I mean BUCKS. My faith has been shaken and that buyer needs to be fired.

Camera Hogs

I wanted to find something special for ya'll tonight so I started looking at old home video. This one made me laugh so it won for the evening. This is a battle for camera time and you'll be surprised who wins the fight and makes a run for it with the evidence. Watch at your own risk. I will not be responsible for the irritating whining that may cause your ears to bleed.

Run Jabe, run!

Scientific Evidence

Here at Glory Laine we are all about giving you the facts. We believe knowledge is the key to education. (Feel free to embroider that last sentence on a pillow.) So with that I give you the honest to goodness reason the dinosaurs became existent.

Wordless Wednesday: Daphne 9 Months

Inspired by this post.

Very Cool

A few pictures of our last day.

I have had 32 years of being cool, and my coolness told me I NEEDED to buy this hat.

Hot Hot Hot

Don't tell, but I'm steeling Wi-Fi again, but I had to show you these natural hot springs that Matt and I got to enjoy tonight.

It claims to have, "healing mineral waters" I was hoping to come out a bit thinner but alas still all my vacation calories are still on my hips. I hate false advertising.

Where I'm At

Matt and I are on a little get-a-way to our family cabin in Idaho. We are "little house on the prairie-ing" it and have no internet access. I guess we aren't roughing it too bad, we do have running water, soft beds, wine and chocolate cake but with no internet I feel like a true pioneer. So I've had to drive around the small city of McCall trying to steel internet to continue my commitment to blogging everyday. Sleep well blogging friends.

Flashback Friday

This is me in eighth or ninth grade. I know because I have braces and my bangs are sprayed to the side. My next phase I would have straight bangs trying to imitate Kelly from 90210. A few things take note of: The phone. It has a rotary dial, no caller ID, it was just a crap shoot when the phone was ringing. And notice the phone cord. We got an extra long one so I could stretch it as far as possible, behind the fridge, out to the garage.

And just look at the clothes! Jeans that went up to my neck and a vest. A VEST. I also have that teenage look of perpetual annoyance on my face. And then at last my little sister. Six years younger, gazing upon me just praying she can be as cool as me. I know she still thinks that to this day.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Wordless Wednesday

Daydreamin'

daydream |ˈdāˌdrēm|

nouna series of pleasant thoughts that distract one's attention from the present.
I really don't have anything to be stressed about right now. Tobin is watching a movie, the twins are ignoring the construction work outside their window and are sleeping away. Matt is bringing home the bacon and I had a great MOPS meeting and a $2 Java Crew today. Life is good. But I can't help to daydream about some quality me time. I'll share my fantasy if you share yours. A little cabin nestled in the woods by a lake. A hammock, books, and a box of Little Debbies. A few days of that and I'd come back a new woman. I'd still have saggy breasts but my mind would be firm. Here is a great picture of Jill, Stef, and I at Stef's family cabin. This picture takes me back to all of us surrounded by quiet. Only breaking it if someone had to share what they were reading.So now it's your turn. Tell me your daydream.

How Do They Do That?

I'm not finished with my story I'm writing about how Matt tried to trick and deceive me when we were 17 and I need to post something tonight so I went flipping through old photos for something half way interesting to blog about tonight. And I found myself staring at this photo of Phoebe just a few weeks old.

It's amazing how bendy infants are. Maybe mine had to be extra bendy to fit two inside my tiny apartment. Did you know they were womb mates?

Here she is flashing some gang signs.

Warning: I'm not a parenting expert but I don't recommend having your newborns hat covering her access to air. So grab your cameras quick so she can breath again.

Sunday Open House: Entryway

I'm really going to try to do this blogging everyday for a month thing again. And I'll take this opportunity during Nanoploblablabla. . . to finally welcome you into the house that we have been living in for almost a year now. Each Sunday I'll take you to a different part of the house but I am cheating today and just letting you into the entryway. This is a picture of the house in August. Can you see Phoebe?

There she is!

So wipe your feet and come on in.

These pictures are all done from the living room looking at the font door. My apologies that I wasn't thinking of this post when snapping away.

You'll notice we did some extra trim work in this small area to really make it interesting. I have no hall closet so I added black hooks for guest to hang coats, hats and bags.

I spent an entire summer hunting down cheep, unique black frames so I could acheive this gallery look. It's an awesome way to welcome people.

And did you notice the small church pews? They might be my most favorite pieces of anything I have in my home. They are from our church. The same church that Matt and I met in when we were six years old. The same church that we fell in love with God and then each other. The same one we married in and dedicated our children in. Our church recently got rid of all of it's beautiful wooden pews and put in chairs for our growing congregation. In the back of our sanctuary sat these little four foot pews and while sitting on them one Sunday morning, I whispered to Matt, "I wonder what the church is planning on doing with these little pews? I would love to buy them." Matt told me, "pipe down and listen to the preaching Devil Woman!". Fast forward two hours I'm saying goodbye to my four and five year old class and making sure they have all their puppets made from lunch sacks and removing the felt Jesus from the flannel board and Matt tells me that the little pews are mine! I mean ours. We refinished them and I am so honored to have them in our home.

BOO!

Halloween 2009

Introducing:

Tobin as Luke Skywalker (who stole Darth Vader's light saber because Tobin can't find his blue one.)

Phoebe as Wendy Darling

Seeing her hair in "grandma" curlers.

Jabe as Peter Pan

I am so proud of myself that I spent only $10 total on all these costumes! Martha needs to just step it up a notch before I do a hostile take over on her empire. I thought I should at least do one post in the month of October. Really I was just saving my energy because starting tomorrow I will be blogging everyday during the month of November!