What are you doing?

We've been busy this last month of 2012. Busy drinking hot chocolate, getting ready for christmas, spending time with friends and family, making loads and loads of cinnamon rolls, celebrating an extra special three year old boy, watching for Santa (and actually seeing him on Christmas Eve!), and just taking some time off to breath. 

Cheers to 2012 - see you in 2013.

Light the Lights

We made sure to grab our warmest quilts as we headed off to Light the Lights in a cute little downtown area not too far from our house - a tradition introduced to us from our friends.  Normally we are fighting against snow and wind but this year we were able to wear lighter jackets and enjoy the evening sitting on the street, drinking cider, holding candles, and waiting for Santa to come and turn on thousands and thousands of lights in the trees above.  There are certain things I look forward to during this time of year - homemade soup, peppermint ice cream, mittens, uggs, and of course, Christmas lights. 

Thankful

So thankful.

For my family and friends.

For a roof over my head and a little money in my pocket.

For a wonderful job.

For creative outlets and fun adventures.

So thankful for a husband who loves me and who puts up with my antics.

Thankful for these crazy, sweet girls...

And this darling boy who wasn't feeling so great today.

The Paper Kites - Featherstone

Welcome Winter...

For several years we have ushered in the winter season by going to see the Warren Miller film.  We pile into a theater and hoot and holler while watching some of the most amazing ski and snowboard footage.  I have very limited experience with skiing and snowboarding and from what I can recall it was more stressful than fun for me, but the Warren Miller films make me want to hop on a helicopter and ride to the top of the biggest mountain I can find and just go for it.  

It makes me want to fly to the most remote village in Switzerland to experience a place where you can only ski or snowshoe - no cars allowed. 

It makes me long for a blizzard to come so we can have our own winter playground.  

I start thinking -maybe we should just pack up and move to some remote place that can only be accessed by snowmobiles and where there is always hot chocolate and a warm quilt near by... 

Ultimately, it makes me realize how amazing nature is, and that we should be enjoying this world we live in, and that surely God is a skier or snowboarder.

We did it! He did it! We survived the first week of school!    Quinn's first day of school was dreamy. We had been talking for weeks and weeks about what it would be like when I dropped him off - he was prepared and I was prepared and his teacher is the sweetest thing on earth so that helped a ton. He went right into his classroom and took his teacher's hand and started their first activity.  I'm use to teachers having the peel my kids off of me when I take them to their first day of school...I was pleasantly surprised that he had no tears and I had no tears.   I was able to actually go home and mop my floors like they have never been mopped before. Ever.  It's amazing what two hours of uninterrupted cleaning time can do for a person.  I am so proud of Quinn and how far he has come in the last few years.  

Dear Autumn, I think you are super cool.  I love your crispy cool mornings and your yellow leaves too.  I especially love the fact that along with the cooler weather comes to opportunity to wear some cute brown boots and drink lattes whenever I want. Please stay. Forever.

Dear Starbucks, This morning when the boy and I got our drinks I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is Holiday Starbucks Cup time. This made my day and made me realize that Christmas is just around the corner. Welcome Holiday Starbucks Cup...it's nice to see you again!

Dear Punky Halloween Kids, I know we were "that house" with our bowl of candy on the porch.  I fully planned on you taking off with all our candy for the neighborhood children in one fell swoop, I wasn't shocked that it was gone - but can I please have my bowl back? Were your pillowcases so brimming with sweets that you had to take my stainless mixing bowl? I hope you get lots and lots of cavities.

Dear Twenties, You've been good to me.  In the last decade I celebrated ten years of marriage,  welcomed three children, graduated college, bought a home, been to some really cool places, and have learned a ton! I don't feel like our time is over - I still feel like I should be 23. But, I hear the thirties are pretty okay too. Here's to the last few day of my twenties!

Happy Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween from a sweet Puppy Dog, Rosie the Riveter, and a beautiful Butterfly!

Graduation

Life is crazy.  Its fast.  Its loads of fun.  And sometimes it just gets busy.  So busy that things you really like to do (ahem, blog) fall to the side. I look back at the last year or so and realize that I really do miss having my little blog to write about my little happenings in my little world.  So, we are going to try this again folks and see what happens - no promises.

Last week my boy graduated from Toddler Group.  We started this group last October and I was so thankful for it.  The kids in this group all have varying degrees of hearing loss and when  you are trying to figure out about your child's hearing loss it is amazing to be surrounded with parents and kids who are trying to figure it all out also.  Ms. Lynne and Ms. Nancy were amazing teachers - they encouraged us and answered questions and pushed us.  I am going to miss our group so very much.

We found out about Quinn's hearing loss at birth. He has normal hearing in one ear and profound loss in the other.  We were scared and frustrated and hurt and very confused about what it means to have a child with a profound loss. We started right away in a program called CHIP (Colorado Home Intervention Program) where Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy would come to our house to work with us.  We have met some amazing people through this program and I know I am a better parent from what I learned from all these people.

Now, I have a funny, sweet almost-three-year old who is walking, sometimes running, climbing, singing and starting to say so many words and sentences here and there. We are still just starting our journey into hearing loss and figuring out what that means for Quinn but I feel like we have come so very far thanks to all the people who have walked along side of us.

Quinn will start preschool next week.

I can't believe he will start preschool next week. Three years ago when I had a 4-year old, 18-month old, and newborn - I felt like this day was so, so far away.  We've been talking about it a lot trying to get him (me) prepared for it. I'm not ready.  I never am when it comes to my kids going off to school.  It will be good for him to fly on his own for a few hours each day. He will learn so much and I can't wait to see his growth. But secretly, I am so sad - I might need a few more vanilla lattes that day.  

Brown Sugar Granola

Sometimes I start craving granola. Especially on cold windy mornings when things are a little rushed. I've tried loads and loads of granola recipes looking for that special one. I have learned that I like my granola on the decadent side and to me, that means butter and brown sugar.

6 cups Rolled Oats

1/3 cups toasted flax seed

1 cup raw sunflower seeds - you can add other seeds/nuts but this is how my kids like to eat it

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/2 t. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl mix together the oats, seeds/nuts, and salt. Melt the butter over the stove and add the honey and brown sugar.

Add the buttery sugary goodness to the oat and mix well.

Line a cookie sheet (the ones with sides) with foil and pour the granola mixture on it. Bake for 30 minutes, stir, and bake for another 30 minutes...by now the house should start smelling really good.

Let the granola cool and then break up into smaller clumps. Who wants a granola-yogurt parfait?

Valentine's Day 2012

There is something about Valentine's Day that I just love. Every year when the Valentine's candy comes out I search the stores for the red juju hearts - they are my favorite of all candy. I seriously think of stocking up every year. The kids woke up to small treats on the table and we have a heart-shaped waffles with whipped cream and strawberries for breakfast. We had a special family dinner and the kids each got a pair of TOMS Shoes. If you don't know TOMS - they give a pair of shoes to someone in need for each pair they sell. It is an awesome company! This is what Valentine's 2012 looked like at our house.

Climb On.

My husband is amazing. He can build pretty much anything I ask for. I wanted a wall removed between our living room and kitchen and he figured it out. Before Christmas I showed him a recipe box that I loved and he made it for me. We dreamed up the idea of putting a climbing wall in our basement and he did it.

Everyone pitched in one way or another to help get it built.

The angled section of the wall is at a 42° pitch.

We decided that we would add a hideout for the kids to play in - we call it the cave. It's big enough for multiple kids to hang out in and even long enough for an adult to sleep in.

We have spent hours each day climbing the wall. It's the first thing the kids want to do in the morning and the last thing they ask to do before we get ready for bed. Blakeley has gotten so good that she has almost climbed to the top of the angled section of the wall. Anyone wanna climb?

Favorite Things...Recipe

On our trip back from Idaho we stopped at a small bagel place in Wilson, WY called Pearl Street Bagels. The bagels were chewy and filling and pretty darn perfect and the cream cheese was divine. The veggie cream cheese is full of carrots, celery, onions...the best veggie cream cheese I have ever had. I ordered the Mexican cream cheese for Andy and after only one bite he had to run back into Pearl Street and order a second. The Mexican cream cheese was spicy with bits of tomato and jalapeño. I dreamed of bagels the whole way home from Wilson, Wy. I just knew I had to try and make them.

I found this amazing recipe and quickly made three batches of these with in two days. These bagels are a scinch to make and they taste amazing. I actually don't think I will ever have to purchase bagels ever again. They are so simple that I was able to make a batch before taking Blake to the bus stop one morning. If you have never attempted baking bread or working with yeast please take an afternoon and try it. Yeast isn't as difficult as you would think it is and the results of a fresh loaf of handmade bread is so rewarding.

Out For Adventure

Last week we went out for adventure in the beautiful Idaho Mountains. We played in copious amounts of snow and spent time with friends and wished that we could just stay in that place where you can relax and play and enjoy each other.

My boys all bundled up and enjoying the snow.

Poor Quinn could hardly move in his snow suit and boots.

B Hope loved playing in the snow.

She especially loved the hot chocolate that was

waiting for her when she got back inside.

Blakeley lived for the epic snowball fight between the dads

and the kids and she also really enjoyed going snowshoeing.

We got home from our trip and we were exhausted but we were also refreshed. I love the start of the new year because it just feels fresh and clean - ready for good things to happen. I came back home with a list of things I want to do this year - one of which is blogging again. I felt like blogging was getting redundant - losing its creativity. It was no longer something that I enjoyed doing. I am moving forward and giving it another go. I am expecting good things in 2012 and am excited to record them here.