seventeen years...

Dennis was telling the kids we had been married for 17 years tomorrow (which is now today). Jaiden said 'And you didn't get a divorce.' 
Dennis said 'no. we are committed to staying together...' 
As I interjected 'should we get a divorce?'
Jaiden gave me that adorably funny and cute smile and said 'no way.' 
I then said 'but you would get two rooms'. 
He replied with 'but that would make Christmas a pain and very busy.'
I said 'but you would have double the amount of toys.'
He said 'I could have two nintendo ds'
I said 'no, that is portable, so only one.'
He decided that we need to stay married!

Tonight, we celebrated seventeen years of marriage. Dennis couldn't find a 1995 bottle of wine (we clearly didn't buy enough of that year!) so he pulled out a 1993 - the year we lived in London. It was wonderful... and instead of the traditional 17 year anniversary gift of furniture?! we chose a matching set of iPhones. Not to worry we talked at dinner instead of im'd each other!

ah... summer evenings...

Remember how I mentioned I was taking a class with writing prompts? Today's topic was evening.  I thought I would share it but before I do that I figured I should probably fill you in. This house now is home to a 3rd grader and a 1st grader! We are on day 2 of summer vacation and all I can say is I am soooo loving it. I was exhausted by 6:30 tonight but I swear I want to capture every summer day and share the many things we do in one day... it's rather exciting.

Today, the kids and Dennis started with a fishing derby at 7 am. Alyssa was so excited she was in our room at 6 am, dressed and hair brushed... looking very cute! I went to yoga, swung by the lake to pick her up for t-ball practice at 9 am. At 10:15 am we were on our way home. I finally got showered! and we were out the door at 11:30 for the bbq at the fishing derby, than off to look at new bikes, back home to ride bikes and play for 3 hours outside in the sun. Just as we started to relax at about 4 pm, our good friends stopped by and Ken asked Jaiden 'do you want to go climb the trees?' (he has amazing trees near his house that the kids love to climb) and so we were off to their house on our bikes to spend another 2 hours in the sun (although I relaxed in the shade with Noriko while the boys climbed and the girls played on the swings), then home for dinner at 6 pm and a short ride so I could capture Jaiden and his cool led lights on his bike.... yes, I am loving summer!

This is the photo I used for my prompt today and the journaling is below...

evening. ah, summer evening. summer evenings are very different from fall, winter or spring evenings. summer evenings here are loose, flexible, carefree. there is always a bit of a plan but always room for spontaneous bike rides, climbing trees or exploring by the stream.

dinner is casual and light. the kids and i prefer to eat outside under the umbrella so if daddy is traveling that is where you will find us but if daddy is home, it’s indoors we go. dinner is sometime between 5:30 and 6 pm. the kids currently drive the time of dinner only because they tend to get hungry and waiting for daddy isn’t always realistic. we know this is temporary as was our 5 pm dinner time a few years ago. i love to have us all sit down together. it is a time to connect as a family, a time to share our days, our thoughts, our dreams, a joke or two.

this is where summer evenings diverge from our typical school year routine. this is when we can relax together. sometimes relaxing on the porch swing, sometimes riding our bikes, sometimes running through the sprinkles.

by 7:30, alyssa is getting tired so dennis or i take her upstairs and wind her down with a bath, a story or two depending on what we are reading. when i put her to bed, i pull a book or two for her to read to me. i let her choose which one or if she wants both, then i let her choose two books for me to read to her. we snuggle, we laugh, we read. it’s peaceful and delightful. in the beginning, she was not a good sleeper but ever since she stopped napping and moving around more, she tends to be completely worn out so by the time i kiss her good night and turn on her night light, she has almost fallen asleep before i leave the room. i am so thankful for that!

by 8 pm, one of us (whoever is not with alyssa) is bargaining bedtime with jaiden. if it’s me and we are riding bikes, i give him the choice to ride another 15-20 minutes and a short story or head home and read a long story. sometimes the choice is to continue our activity and no story, or end the activity and read stories. some nights he wants lots of snuggle time but he makes the choice. he is still learning about the choice he makes but i think he relishes the idea of being up late and having special time with one of us.

if daddy is traveling, then i do it all by myself and it follows very similar to the above minus a bike ride or if we decide on a bike ride, we start early so we can be home by 7:30 for alyssa. i try to have them both in bed or at least in their rooms since jaiden sometimes chooses to stay up and read to himself by 8:30 pm. this way i can unwind. it sort of depends if dennis is home or not, but most the time we are in the same room, not always doing the same thing but we have the time to connect, to share, to be together.

by 9:30 pm, i am unwinding fast and often head upstairs for bed. i used to read in bed but now, i am so tired at the end of the day, i typically lay down and before my head hits the pillow, i have entered dreamland.

lunch time conversations

I had mentioned in a previous post that I was taking a class with writing prompts, and I had shared with you my journaling on our morning routine... well, I was thinking I would post the layouts when I was done... maybe, if I remember! 

I am really having fun with the class. I have kept it simple so that I focus on the writing and hopefully, a photo opportunity presents itself or I might just pull one from the past year or so. Yesterday, the topic was difficult. It was spirit and it challenged me to not just write but to really put my thoughts to pen or in my case photoshop. I think it is going to be a really cool mini album when I am finished. 

Today's prompt was conversation and of course, I had to record Alyssa's and my conversation at lunch time. I thought you might enjoy to read it here as well. This was the photo I used and the journaling goes:

lunch time.  there are 3 days left of half day kindergarten for this little peach and then my lunchtime will change from having her here with me to eating by myself. i am keenly aware of this change and am savouring these last few days. most days our conversation starts with what to have for lunch and she always says “peanut butter and jelly, grandpa’s jelly, not that other stuff”. today’s conversation went as follows...

m: what did you do today at school?

a: used the ipads.

m: what did you do on the ipads?

a: there is a movie with puzzles and math. she is miss spider. {pause} and she wears a hat.

m: should we look at adding that to mommy’s ipad?

a: i also spelled my name with words i like... like alligator, lion and yodeling {she begins to yodel}

m: how do you know about yodeling?

a: russell told me. i got hurt today. see? mrs. bottke gave me a bandaid but it fell off. we called it the unsticky bandaid.

m: what about the rest of your name?

a: spicy cookie, snickerdoodle... see? i know!

m: what about the a?

a: how about cricket?

m: that begins with a c.

a: i wish i had a c in my name.

i am going to miss our lunch time conversations even if they are scattered thoughts from her day. i was intensely aware when jaiden’s last days of kindergarten left us with one less sweet little voice. but come fall, i will have to learn a new lunch time conversation.

growwwwllll....

I don't know how to spell growl as if someone was growling like a bear but there was some growling today! Today was cub scout graduation and Jaiden moved up in the ranks from Wolf to Bear. Unfortunately, after a full week of warm, sunny weather we were greeted with cold, wet, rainy weather and the graduation was moved into cramped quarters at our local parks barn facility except that half the barn is only open and the other half is bathrooms. I wasn't able to get the photos of Dennis and him during the ceremony in which the cub scout is given their new neckerchief and handbook, and then the parent removes the old one to put on the new one but I did get a few photos of Jaiden intently watching the entire ceremony.

In this photo, he is watching from behind but the light blue is his new Bear neckerchief with his old wolf neckerchief clip on it. His wolf badge is the red one that is hanging upside down. They have a tradition to pin on the badge upside down and when a good deed is done, they are allowed to turn it right side up and attach. Jaiden already chose his good deed by donating his wolf neckerchief to the community uniform collection!

Here he is watching older boys come up for their various awards.

And one last time up to the front for their final service awards. I love watching him and seeing how intent he is on being a cub scout. He really enjoys it and we are so excited to see him grow with it. Jaiden and I even volunteered Daddy to be the assistant den leader since their den leader is moving up to the cub master!

It is turning into one big scout family around here!

morning routines

I started another online class this week... I really couldn't resist as it is about photos and the stories behind them or maybe it is the stories and the photos complete the story. The never ending which came first the story or the photo conundrum? 

For me, it doesn't matter. They are much too intertwined to exist without one or the other. This morning the prompt was morning routine, and as I tried to capture something about our morning routine, I had a bit of noncooperation and bit of cooperation.

Jaiden was the first to interfere with my photo but how can you resist such sweetness?

Alyssa needed to be part of the action too, and well I can't resist one but I certainly can not resist two! 

Look at those beautiful, pure eyes on both of them... simply amazing to me.

This, however, is the photo I settled on for my prompt and story. It actually was a little cropped down once I fit it into the layout but it turned our perfect for me. And my story about morning routines... well, if you are interested, it is a bit long but it's below the photo. I will share the layout tomorrow when I add in the next day's prompt. And not to worry, I won't be offended if it's too long to read.

journaling...

morning routine. these are two words i wouldn’t necessarily put together. morning floods me with feelings of calm, peaceful, bird songs, light streaming in, a soft sweet beginning of a fresh new day. routine is consistent, something done with regularity and perhaps without thought. when i saw morning routine, i envisioned regimented, bound by a schedule of to dos, things that need to happen, a timeline, a schedule - all of which i cringe and try to reject and yet thinking about my morning routine I realize it envelops stability, knowing what typically happens in a morning as a means to start the day. my morning routine is loosely followed. it varies from day to day, even minute by minute. these morning routines help me be centered and prepare me to begin at the beginning. these involve a few of my favorites.

slowly waking in bed. i never set an alarm. i find it too jolting, too abrupt to start my day. it is a bit odd but i can tell myself the night before what time i want to be awake and i naturally wake within 5 to 10 minutes of that time. uncanny? maybe but it works well for me. it can be pitch black and i need to rise at 4:30 am, i will wake at 4:25. 

yoga. stepping onto my mat, finding the peace, serenity, the process of awakening. and when i finish, i am balanced. centered. ready to face whatever chaos may greet me, i return to the breath that i started with.

morning lattes. an unexpected routine and one i find comical. i love coffee, the smell, the taste but caffeine is definitely something i do not need. when dennis received his espresso machine, i was pregnant with alyssa. i had morning sickness bad. i didn’t have coffee then and when i could, my morning latte began. dennis makes me one every morning, two on weekend mornings. i like it dark, rich, decaffeinated and a splash of milk 

breakfast with my family. sometimes it is the kids and i and other times it is all 4 of us but whoever is there, it is a beautiful start to connect. to discuss plans for the day, to be present, to be together.

planning. ironically, yes. planning involves helping jaiden decide if he wants hot or cold lunch,  helping the kids stay focused on getting dressed, hair brushed, teeth brushed. planning means checking the calendar or email for any unexpected changes in events. planning means preparing for jaiden’s medicine poke. planning means pulling anything out from the freezer for dinner. planning is those tasks i do to ensure we are ready.

it is these morning routines that i thrive on. i love the consistency. i love the intentional practice. i love the way they center me to be fully present.

the sweetness behind these gestures

The sweetness behind these gestures literally melts my heart. I was treated to Mother's day early by these two pumpkins. On Friday, I picked up a screaming "it's raining and your present is getting wet" Alyssa from school. And we dashed home, while it was drying she cut out her own self so we could play.

At first, I didn't understand what she meant and then I realized she had made me my own paper doll of me! And we played ... you guessed it... Mommy and me!


Then it was time to pick up Jaiden and he came trotting out toting his own version of Mommy but he greeted with me with a big smile and "happy mom's day, mom!"

Both of these versions of me are hilariously sweet and unique; and both are totally loved.

I had a very mellow Mother's day especially since I was still having difficulty getting around but it was also nice because it was chilly and rainy. The perfect kind of day to stay inside and play with paper dolls.

Each version had its own interpretation of me, and here is what each had to say:

From Alyssa |  the dress flipped up with tidbits of questions that she had to answer about me such as

My mother loves me best when ... (she wrote) I am laughing

My mother looks prettiest when ... (she wrote) wearing makeup!

I like being with my mom most when ... (she wrote)  is baking.

My favorite thing about my mom is ... (she wrote) when she hugs me

On the next page was My Mother... (she wrote) I love you very much. I love to hug my mommy.

On the next page was Facts About My Mom ... name: Kim / age: 40 / eyes: blue / hair: blonde / height: 5 / weight: 15 / hobbies: make coats / occupation: take care of my family

From Jaiden | He filled his portrait with words such as kind, cool, best, nice, awesome, smart, sweet, fun, happy, and You love Me!


Boy do I love those two!

hello may...

It's been awhile since I have posted and for that, I am sorry. A lot has been going on around this house and it looks like I am going to have play catch up but before I start with catching up (I do have a few photos and stories I need to share!) I have a few things to share from this weekend... without further ado, here is the weekend lens around here....


Around here... 

Daddy installed new lights in Alyssa's dollhouse. Next up is a balcony and garage!

Around here... 

Alyssa finally found that missing Easter egg, and to Jaiden's delight, my disappointment, it was not one of his 'camouflage' eggs! (note: when I was talking to my dad on Easter, I said something about how we lost an egg and it was probably one of Jaiden's camouflage eggs. Dad heard Jaiden say in the background "oh sure, blame it on me!")

Around here...

I finally got some serious yard work done. 


Around here...

Jaiden is consumed with playing with the neighbor boys. It involves lots of bike riding, scootering, skateboarding and things I probably don't want to know about.


Around here...

Alyssa is the center of the attention with the 4 year olds on our street. Brody adores her and she adores him.


Around here... I was planning for spring with temperatures in something of the 80s yesterday and today, the 50s with temps dropping into the 30s by nightfall so now I am winterizing again.


Around here... Jaiden and Alyssa are going to be recognized for being one of the top two families earning the most for their school jog-a-thon! And tomorrow, with a bit of luck, I should be able to get their photograph getting into a limousine with their Principal to go meet the Mayor for lunch at our local brew house! (the mayor owns it).


Hope you had a wonderful weekend!