Balancing Bliss

spike......

 a few years ago at ag fest luci rode a pony named spike.......and ever since has been on the obsessed side of infatuated with him.....

2007

2008

luci prays every week for spike. she has woke us up in the middle of the night with nightmares about spike. she comes down the stairs some mornings with happy dreams to share about spike. she draws pictures of spike. she tell random strangers about spike......get the picture. obsessed.

she had marked her calendar 6wks ago for the count down to spike.........

her wait was up.....

mmmmmmmmmmmmmnm nnnmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (and that was me cleaning mustard off the keyboard....thank goodness my husband rarely reads this blog any more....shhhhhh don't tell.......ok...onto a story about a pony!)

we waited in a 45min line to ride spike...and then missed another turn because spike was already taken....by the look on her face....totally worth it!

that smile never left her face! i've got 50+ pics to prove it....i will spare you and only share a few...

good bye spike....until next year....i did ask the owners if they do any other events so we wouldn't need to wait an entire year....they only do one other and it is in washington....i asked the dates and she seemed stunned...then asked "would you really drive to washington?" and of course we would... only for spike!

the story of spike....

tomorrow.....

that time of year......

 every spring we go to ag fest. i know...it sounds kinda 'hickish' but it's not, it's filled with plants, animals, and goodness. it is one of our favorite family activities throughout the year. it is such a blessing to come from such a green lush land where we can so easily grow our own food. i try each and every year to introduce my kids to another green gift from God....after all that is what they are...gifts.

 

 once you get in the doors everything is free. booth after booth with plants to pot. this year we came home with 5trees, 4bushes, 2 pumpkins, 4 corns, 1 pepper and, 3 marigolds. the trees with get large pots until we buy a home, 3 of the trees will be planted in the forest, the veggies will go in poppy's garden.

last year eli blu brought home some corn. he nurtured that corn throughout spring and summer. that was until his momma, who was convinced we were moving out of state, tossed all of our plants that wouldn't make the move and then packed away the pots. he was heart broken....so this was very special for this big eyed boy.

 they milked a cow....eli blu was always boob obsessed...so it was hard to tear him away from this one..

gaven found the queen bee which was very exciting even to the bee keeper who said most people go all their lives without seeing a queen bee. i put my camera over some kids heads to get a not so descent shot....still i got the queen...it's the one with the red spot...

off to the barns....

this tiny little goat who would not stay still in the dark barn and was impossible to get a pic of and keep your eyes on 3 small kids who were running from pen to pen.

the tiniest of animals. the calf was only 3 days old.

we also made a bird feeder, dug for potatoes, ate ice-cream bars, and met a great clown who showed us step by step how to make these...

such a good day....yet so exhausted and ready to go home!

domestic goddess no longer.....

 i was feeling like a domestic goddess yesterday.....preschool snack mom, library, hospital bills/insurance all balanced, laundry, dishes, and to top it all off....a casserole. me! casserole!.....and 2 out of 3 kids ate it....all was well with the sade world...

 then it came crashing down....well almost literally......if you ever had a bunk bed as a child you had a very good chance of having the flu while on the top bunk and you need to call your mother today and thank her.....thank goodness it was the kid who didn't want the casserole! it was the longest night ever... eli blu was sick every 20-40min all night. i feel old.....my body just can't do all nighters like it used to... and then i thought about it .... how am i going to do this with another baby? i will be 10+yrs older with this kid than i was with gav.....i guess you just do.

 the irony of it all is that today was going to be our easter dinner since luci had the flu on easter and we had pancakes for dinner. scratch that off the domestic to do list! i'm going for pj's, scrapbooking and possibly pizza with a blazer game....it's more me anyways.

blooms to be...

it's been an amazing couple of days out on the front porch. the cement is now speckled with rain drops and i surprisingly welcome it. as much as i love the sunshine.....i do not love heat so i welcome a cooler day before summer comes. so much so that i came inside to make a casserole....i know so wifey of me.....doing my best so i feel free to sit in my jammies and scrapbook on pj friday.

stopped by the library on my way to the preschool today. being without children, i just stumbled across a gardening section where i spent many uninterrupted moments finding a book on potting plants. love the book i picked, creative potting. it's about layering different seasons of plants in pots so you have foliage all year around. saving the rest of my pots until i find something i NEED to create. as cute as i thought my porch was earlier today it looks rather vague after thumbing through their creations.

(still deliriously happy and content over my new lavender)

today is the day i've been waiting 6 months for....

and i have a helper....

blissfully trying.......

 after being so ill i couldn't stand for more than 10min at a time...i decided i wouldn't be sick come monday...that was my plan...i refused to be sick.....

 sunday was beautiful! i wanted to mow my lawn, plant a few flowers, or wash the car. instead i showered and got as far as my porch and fell asleep in my chair. seriously? yes.

 so monday....is the day. i'm filling my life with bliss.......i'm heading to the plant nursery that i love so much.......no to do's on the calendar....oops...what is that? oh ya.....i have a dentist appt right in the smack middle of my day and am quite certain i am getting the tooth pulled......yay me. sigh.....

 so this morning i am making each moment count.

 enjoying my cute pj pants i made in sewing class last week....fresh toenail polish....and my jasmine coming to life.

 and today would be 4-20....one of my favorite days of the year....used to be because i was a silly little 20 something stoner but it has turned into a day to stop long enough to recognize our Mother Earth and give Her the respect She so deserves.....

bummer......

 

so as luck would have it....i would become very ill on the weekend my sister is having her bridal shower, the weekend i've been looking forward to for a month so we could shop, eat, and chat. actually the weekend i've been looking fwd to for years.......she is joining my world of marriage and kids....too bad she's going to bring crazy ass aaron into our world....wink...i really like the guy i've just called him that for years now....

 eli blu has been talking about going to jenny's for weeks so i sent him and brian up there without us anyways. brian is going to a baseball game and eli blu is going to have fun with his cousin otto (a 12mo old dobie). it was a hard decision to make but when i finally did brian gave me a look like "really? you are going to ditch me?" and i gave a look back "seriously? you don't think i want to be in portland shopping, eating (she was taking me to the cupcake store!), and sharing her day with her?"....i guess that is what 8yrs of marriage brings....conversation via glances....wonder what 48 will bring?...conversations by breathing i suppose....

 so they off and left us....

i have to hang out with this little face and paint her fingernails as promised..

and this guy who had quite an exciting day yesterday...first he went steelhead fishing with his poppy who brought him home early because why? because he ran his boat up on a sand bar and almost lost everyone off the boat! so i asked gaven "did you hear poppy swear?" (which is really a joke because my dad swears in EVERY sentence) and gaven replies "actually mom...poppy let me swear!" nice.  then he had to shower and head off to the pine wood derby.

he made this car out of a block of wood....what is it??....it is my kid being creative without expectations being put on his little head (mouthy head but little)....he wanted it to be a bird...he cut notches out and put back in it's place wings...see the eyes and beak? the red part was the only thing that lost me but made total sense when he told me they were flames...duh mom...

 my proudest moment was when he came in and was so happy i said "what did you win?" and he said "oh no mom....i didn't win one race....but i got an award for the weirdest car".....my boy...

it's sunny outside and i am so ill i can't be outside....not even a voice to yell at kids from the couch...
and i think we just polished off all the easter candy....what to do what to do....

little things....

 

some little things happening here....little as in .6, .2, -.9, yada yada...... those were lbs....it has only taken me 6months to lose 15lbs but i officially did it this week. i am feeling good....wearing pants i haven't worn in 3yrs....but at the same time know that if i really put effort into it... i could be down 30 by now.....i really don't deny myself of much i just do it in smaller portions....i think some of the weight watcher ladies would KILL me if they knew that i still eat chocolate throughout my day...everyday...

either way...i did it....hitting a mark made me more inspired to do better...i went to winco with a list of mostly good foods (except for pizza for game night...GO BLAZERS!...and tater tots because my kids had never had them...i know weird..i just don't by them?) anywhoooooo.......so i'm unloading $120 worth of planned out meals and my dad drove up....he went to costco.......and brought me;

thanks dad............

we need to get on that......i don't think it will still be good after a long weekend away.... going to portland to my little sis' 'unbridal' shower....lots of sunshine...shopping...and good times...

i forgot to add that meg and i signed up to do a 5k..........5k sounds huge but really it's 3+miles... totally up to it already but we are 'in training'....it's a ww thing.......and no i will NOT be running it! walking ................fast but walking

eventful, spiritual, typical holiday.....

EVENTFUL.......

we went to a brunch on saturday with an easter egg hunt to follow.......kids had a good time....

gaven was way too cool to carry the pink basket this year....who can blame him!  so he quickly unloaded his loot into his cargo pants!

eli blu was his usual crazy happy self......

luci (dressed herself...just a disclaimer) did very well for herself......and had fun doing it...

 

everyone donated eggs....someone put gold $1 coins in theirs.....well no one knowing that just tossed the eggs out on the lawn....luci's part....see the boys were on another lawn....so as we are driving in the van and the kids are comparing candy...luci would yell out 'another coin'......which after $5.50 got really old to the boys..hehe....

this is the only easter pic i got this year....

sunday morning came and i was waiting to get luci in her dress before i took pics...i layered her up in pink....floor length taffeta dress, tights, gloves, hat.......and she ran to the bathroom and puked! i thought it was too much candy from the day before.....nope poor girl was doing that for 12hrs....and that is why it was a TYPICAL holiday for the Sades....we have had 2 thanksgivings with the flu, hospitalized 1x on christmas (and luci puked on the missionaries), countless other holidays spent at home, just us, no family gatherings....it's just typical. we made pancakes for easter dinner because i was afraid the boys might be sick too.

i however did go to church that morning. the resurrection and the meaning of it humbled me throughout the week. amazed to have the knowledge that Jesus Christ walked this earth and He lives. so blessed to know it's more than about easter candy and we could take in the SPIRITUAL part of it.

luci is feeling better and is just holding out for some chocolate bunny. my dad bought us a ham so we can have a true easter dinner...i decided to hold off till wednesday so i could partake after weight watchers weigh in.

brian and gav are working on this;

it's pinewood derby time for scouts. and once again.....'too cool' for his mom and her camera. the race is on friday.....pics to be posted i'm sure.