Not Just a Mom

Kids: Chores & Rewards

2013-05-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

My boys are 7.5(Donx) and almost 9, in July (Big Red). Donx is extremely helpful and genuinely likes to clean and be assigned little chores around the house. Because of this, I normally don't take issue when he asks for little things like playing games on his kindle, asking for Pokemon cards when at the store or even for a piece of candy or pack of gum. However my Big Red nearly always gets jealous when I do buy Donx these things. I've explained to Big Red, numerous times, that Donx willingly helps and when we ask him to do things he does so without complaining. Big Red usually just growls and stomps away.

Big Red is a lazy one. He doesn't like to help out around the house and will do so, usually with a lot of complaining, only if there is something he really wants us to buy him or to let him do something. Big Red loves TV, loves video games and loves his Kindle Fire HD. The thing is I don't willingly dish out the time to do these couch potato activities, I like to make the kids earn the time. For Big Red this is a big, fat problem. When he realized there was no bending the rules he started helping out a little but he only wanted "easy" chores.

This got me thinking. I wanted to find an app that would be easy for the kids to understand and quick and easy to set up and maintain. I read many blogs and websites that had topics on "Apps every parents should have," "Apps for Kids Chores" and so on. Ultimately I didn't see anything i really liked and just logged onto the Apple App Store and searched on the keyword "Chores."

Read more »

So Busy

2013-05-09T22:45:00.001-07:00

Life's been busy and I apologize. This whole moving thing has taken up a lot of my time. Honestly after our abrupt move from Portland to Seattle last summer I actually believed we wouldn't be moving for a few years. But here I am about 10 months later packing to move again! FML!

I'm totally lazy about the packing this time around. I think because we are only moving about a mile away I don't feel I really have to pack as well since the move is nearby and most things will be thrown into the car and not get manhandled by the movers. Screwy between this and all the extracurricular a goi g on in my household I'm just drained.

To top that off we have a houseguest with us for a couple of weeks. It's a friend of T's and its not bad her just does his own thing I don't have to entertain or anything. When he leaves my 20-something cousin is heading out for about to 10-days. So you see taking a break is not really an option. I hauled ass and packed a tonof stuff yesterday, laid low today and cleaned but tomorrow i have to pack a lot yet still keep my teensiest little occupied and happy.

I have so much on my plate that I could totally use a part time nanny. To bad my sitter is in school until mid-June. I don't count on T helping much. His work days are getting longer and longer. I don't say anything because honestly it's not worth it. When I worked I still did about 90% of the things I do now so personally I don't see the issue but he sees things completely differently. This is a story for another time. But I don't ask and I don't rely on him......not one bit. It's just easier for me that way.

So yes, I'm overwhelmed but I'm coping. If I only have myself to count on things WILL get done. Because ultimately I can only blame myself. Until I move posts will be sporatic. My life is crash busy right now. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying.

Life Happens

2013-04-22T14:21:00.003-07:00

No sooner did the paint dry on the boys bedroom re-do did we get a call saying the house we are currently renting will be put on the market. We will be let out of our lease with no penalty if we find something ASAP. I love how that spin sounds like we are getting thrown a huge bone when I know the owners are the ones jumping for joy since they will get to sell sooner rather then when our lease is up.

It's only been 8 months that we've been in this house. We moved last summer and pretty much spent the entire summer packing, moving and unpacking. It was terrible and rushed and stressful. We do not want to repeat this.

The day we got this news I began looking. You see in Seattle the rental market is insane. There is a lot of competition and we faced this last year and now with the school year still happening, and we'll be moving while the kids are in school, we don't want any additional stress and now we have requirements. You know like school district, neighborhood and community. We've started creating our life in this area, we've become comfortable and familiar. Exactly what we all need in this still new city.

There are about 3 houses for rent in our price range but only one we really like the other 2 or just "eh." One out of our price range which we looked at and is still a contender There are lots of town homes and apartments but we aren't willing to go there; not yet anyway.

We saw one we really like, its a bit smaller then what we are in now and a totally different style but still beautiful. I love this mid-century modern and its totally my preference but we are in a rush (again, like last year) so beggars can't be choosers. We applied for the new home, the selected us and as I type screenings are in progress. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out and i can' check this ball of stress of my list.

We'll buy again someday but that day isn't now. I'm not 100% comfortable with where I want to be in this city. T and I have a dream of what we'd like to buy and now is not that time.

Spring Cleaning: Boys Room

2013-04-22T13:59:00.001-07:00

As much as I wanted to put off spring cleaning I buckled up and dove straight into my son's room. You see about 3 months ago we moved Big Red out of the room he shared with his brother and into his own room, which was our guest room. It was working out pretty good and the boys really enjoyed having their own private space. However two things happened, Big Red realized the guest room was about half the size of his brothers room and I think he was getting lonely having his own room. The timing was perfect. Big Red wanted back into his old room, we were leading into guest season and it was time for spring cleaning.

One day last week while my husband was out of town and the boys were at school and I had enough ammo to keep Crash busy so I could go into full on OCD cleaning mode I jumped right into cleaning the boys shared room (prior to moving Big Red back in.) You still with me? I got everything off the floor and did a preliminary vacuum. I then started moving furniture away from the walls and lugged my step ladder in. With my home made vinegar cleaner in hand I started cleaning windows and walls, top to bottom. It's amazing all the little bits of grimey hand prints, dirt and pencil marks you come across when you are that close to your kids wall. I scrubbed the sh*t out of those walls and baseboards! I dusted shelves, toys, knick knacks and books. I moved things around and finally got rid of a constantly shedding carpet and most importantly I purged a ton of toys (some broken and some they just didn't care about anymore. I then moved some furniture around and vacuumed again! Since Big Red was moving back in I wanted the room to feel new and fresh and not like he was just moving into his brothers room. We brought up painting the room for the boys and they were super stoked on that idea. Since we didn't have the paint already picked out I knew that we were going to be moving some, just moved, furniture again so we can paint a couple of walls.

Read more »

Wordless Wednesday - First Signs of Spring!

2013-04-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Spring Cleaning - Staring down the long, dark tunnel

2013-04-01T12:33:00.001-07:00

Spring cleaning is something I both loathe and love. I loathe it because it has been, historically, so daunting and time consuming and not to mention I never know where to even begin. On the flip side I also love it because it allows me to purge things we haven't used in a while and to get rid of knick knacks that have accumulated over the last 6-12 months. And who doesn't love a good purge of junk?

Well, Spring is officially upon us. (And here in Seattle we have had a truly magnificent first couple of weeks of spring but that is a post for another day.) I have been thinking how I will tackle this years Spring cleaning. Because I'm always looking for more efficient ways to do things I researched Spring Cleaning and have decided that tackling this annual chore "room-by-room" will be the most effective and least daunting way to get this done.

I found that the checklist at the Imperfect Homemaking to be the most compatible with my comfort level. I took the list she created and copied it into Excel adding and removing items that did and didn't fit into my home scheme. This week i'll be surveying my cleaning supplies and get started at the end of the week or over the weekend. I'll be starting with my boys bedroom and the guest room. Ideally i'd be doing one bedroom at a time but currently my two boys are in their own rooms and have requested to share a bedroom again so in the process of cleaning i'll also be moving Big Red, who is in the smaller room, back into the big bedroom with Donx. If I have time I'd also like to a wall in their room to make it feel new and fresh.

I'm giddy about this. I love big projects like this. Especially projects that allows me to purge & organize! I get the feeling most females enjoy these sort of things. With Spring upon us here in Seattle I'm looking forward to a fresh, clean house. Less clutter. And lots of organization!!!!

Field Trip: Ballard Locks

2013-03-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

The Ballard Locks is located very near me, just over Salmon Bay an is officially named the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. We love exploring the city and since we moved here in August we've visited the Ballard Locks numerous times, but summer is the best when people are out on their boats and the locks really fills up. My kids (ages 3 through 8) love this spectacle so much and i'm not going to lie I love watching it as well. Prior to visiting the Ballard Locks I never realized just how dramatic watching locks in action can be.

If you're new to the area or visiting I would highly recommend checking out the Ballard Locks.
Read more »

Living Simply 2013: Update 2

2013-03-05T16:17:00.001-08:00

I've been incorporating the ideas of living simply into my daily life and honestly it makes me smile when I have a moment to sit back and reflect on how my day has been going. I mena really, they are no longer ideas, ideas are things we think about doing when these ideas are put into motion they are now a part of your lifestyle. This is the lifestyle I have fantasized about over the last couple of years and it makes me feel so warm and fuzzy seeing, no living it. Making it my reality.

As I've covered the first five points covered in Zen Habits I wanted to talk about how I've worked on the next five, points 6-10. These points are:

Learn to say no
Limit your communications
Limit your media consumption
Purge your stuff
Get rid of your big items

These points totally make sense to me and are areas of my life that I had been working on for a while, especially when I took the opportunity to really shake off the dead weight when my family made the move form Portland, OR to Seattle, WA. But I'll touch on each item individually.

Learning to say no is huge. I feel like so many people, myself included feel an obligation to satisfy everyone around us. It's as though we are afraid that saying "no" will disappoint our friends, coworkers, neighbors etc. So we say "yes" and then dread every second of our decision. Okay, so maybe that's not everyone but i'll be honest here and say I have on many occasions and I get so angry at myself for saying "yes" and making a commitment I really did not want in the first place. Sure we don't want to disappoint others, or even come off flakey or an uncommitted friend or employee but shouldn't we care about our own happiness and well being first? When I started realizing where my priorities should be and making time for me ad what is important to me saying "no" was no longer hard. I don't make hard and fast commitments unless its something I truly want to do or something I am truly interested in doing. I'd much rather say "no" now then saying "yes" only to back out later with some lame excess. So really learn to say "no" and you'll be amazed by the amount of time you gain back in your life to do the things that are important to you.

About our Vacation

2013-02-20T09:17:00.000-08:00

Our trip back to Hawaii was really nice. We were there for two weeks, which is about the norm for us. I never really commit myself to anything because when I'm on vacation I like to live in the moment. I know it must come off flakey to friends but I don't mean for it to be. When I over commit myself to things I feel like everything just becomes a chore and I really don't want to do anything. So I live in the moment and sometimes let my mom guide our activities.

With the exception of T, we all got a nice tan, me especially. It was kind of great to come back to Seattle with a winter tan, one that is still very faintly sticking around. We went to the beach as much as we could, the weather was a bit rainy much of our trip so we did our best. We hiked. I worked out every, single, day. It was actually really nice to be able to get outdoors every morning and run.

Living Simply- Making Time For The Things That Matter

2013-02-18T10:05:00.001-08:00

A large component of Living Simply is being able to identify the things that mean the most to do AND finding/making the time to do it. For me that was eliminating all that doesn't matter but more importantly was making the time in my every day life and with a family of five much of this amounts to keeping house. This took some serious thought, trial & error and what was the most efficient and less stressful way to get the things done. Luckily I worked on the steps for POYEL about a year and a half ago so the battle was waged and won way back when and I just needed to incorporate it into my Living Simply mantra.

When I tell people about my cleaning schedule (and 11-weeks of dinner) I get some crazy looks and I'm pretty sure people think I'm borderline neurotic but whatevs I'm not slaving away over these things that take away from my precious time. But I preach and share what I do because if you can get past my craziness its actually quite freeing. Recently my friend Shel inquired about my cleaning routine and I am happy to share.

First I have to preface with this: if you are used to being obsessively crazy clean you HAVE TO LEARN TO LET THINGS GO. If you can't do that then this will likely not be the ideal situation for you. For me, I was able to let go because allowing myself to do so provided me with precious time. Time to spend with my T, my kids or with myself and this was first and foremost very important to me.

Read more »

Wordless Wednesday: Me

2013-02-13T16:51:00.002-08:00

Living Simply 2013: Unplugged

2013-02-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

Technology is awesome. However sometimes I feel that my life is to technology driven. Ipads, Kindle Fires, streaming TV, smartphones, iphones etc..... It blankets my life. My 3-yr old is very iwhatever savvy and its freaky. Totally, jaw dropping crazy. She navigates the Roku like a pro and could probably teach my parents the ins and outs of how to search, download, play, and rewind. But that's not the bad stuff. The bad stuff is the amount of time my husband, T, and I spend on our phones. Everything is accessible to us and we are accessible to all. We fall prey to the lure of all those apps whether it be news, facebook, shopping apps or email. Because its in our pocket/bag and so easy to access we cannot stop ourselves and that is a problem.

As part of my Live Simply goal I really want to find ways to scale back on all this technology. I've taken the first step and severely limited my kids daily screen time; Mon-Thursday they get a half hour of screen time (typically its playing Minecraft on their Kindles) only after they've read for 30-minutes. However in the evenings we do allow them to watch TV with us, the key phrase is "with us" which means they are watching what we want to watch not cartoons or any other kind of kid show. On the weekends we do allow them more TV but we do monitor their Kindle time and they get 1-hr and if they want any more time we do require them to do chores to earn the extra time. This arrangement is working out great and the leverage we have with these Kindles, which they received as XMas gifts, has been fantastic!

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Vacation - Hawaii

2013-02-06T07:55:00.000-08:00

We just returned from 2-weeks in Hawaii. Enjoy!

Above photos via my Instagram, follow me @xamberlinax

Living Simply 2013: Update 1

2013-01-15T19:03:00.002-08:00

As I've stated here, I really want to continue living simply this new year. I've been using Zen Habits Simple Living Manifesto as a guide to help get me on track and keep me focused on organizing my priorities.

I spent some time going through the first five points in the Simple Living Manifesto. These points are:

Make a list of your top 4-5 important things
Evaluate your commitments
Evaluate your time
Simplify work tasks
Simplify home tasks

The time I spent thinking these things through was so calming for me. Reflecting on what I want to be important rather then making nearly everything important. I used to take so many things so seriously and made everything so urgent when it wasn't necessary. This ultimately made me feel rushed and stressed me out. A few years ago I made a promise to myself, this promise was to let things go. Things that didn't matter, things that stressed me out or caused drama and by things I mean people as well. I learn to not get mad about the little things, that just accepting the situation or make the necessary change/fix and move on. I learn to let go. Letting go was one of the best things I ever did for myself. I felt lighter and felt like I could live my life with less distraction. This decision that I made was the Best.Thing.Ever.

I've been on a long journey trying to get my life in a good place I made some progress but getting laid off, nearly 2 years ago, was the big push I needed. Now I'm in a great place. Living simply was the biggest change and the most impactful in my life. To continue living simply and to do it with gusto is something I want and this is the year I want to make it happen.

So, as I was saying I spent some time going through the first 5 points above and I came up with three items that are most important for me.

Quality Family Time
Healthier Lifestyle (as a family)
Self Improvement

Indoor Plants

2013-01-09T12:14:00.001-08:00

I like plants. Succulents of all kinds, ferns, indoor tree type greenery, orchids, air plants those types of plants are my speed. I do okay with keeping them alive, except for the orchids that is T's territory. He's become quite the orchid whisperer! And when I say i'm "okay" with keeping them alive its mainly because I choose plants that are low maintenance and typically require very little attention from me.

Many of our plants are kept outdoors and thrive in the sun but due to the wet weather and cold temps our plants have had to be moved indoors. I'm normally okay with the abundance of planters but now that all these plants are indoors i'm not to keen on them. Not to mention how low they all are and that we have them all sitting on melamine plates. I think it looks like a mess:

You see all shoved into a corner, a corner that actually gets quite a bit of light on a sunny day. Funnily enough these plants are all thriving indoors; which they are probably all grateful for the warmth.

So I've been thinking i'd like to replant some of these. Concerning the orchids, I don't think i'll replant but instead just paint the terra cotta pots. I'm thinking just a gloss white and a second color and doing a basic color block.

I was thinking, with the gloss white maybe a metallic gold, bright glossy yellow or orange. We'll see once I get the pots painted maybe they'll both end up white and gold. The orchid in the smaller pot blooms white flowers and we found the large orchid shoved in an outside corner of the property when we moved and left for dead, but we've nursed it back to life and there are three buds on it. We are anxiously awaiting to see what color flower we'll be bestowed with. Maybe the color of the bloom will determine the color the pot?

Living Simply in 2013

2013-01-04T08:05:00.002-08:00

Nearly all of 2012 I learned to live simply out of necessity. It was a good exercise for me. Coming from a great paying job to living on unemployment was jarring to say the least. No more expensive shopping, on the whim eating out, buying the kids stuff just for the hell of it. I became very frugal and very creative.

I adopted POYEL and to say this was nearly life changing for me is an understatement. I carry these ideas with me daily and my home routine has never been more efficient and has given me so much time back into my life! I honestly believe the ideas shared in POYEL will be with me for the rest of my life, no exaggeration.

Now my family is in a good place but living simply has been good to us. As I've previously mentioned, this is something I want to continue in all areas of my life. My family is first priority and spending time with my kids has become essential, weather that means driving them between activities or just playing a game of UNO. I'm a person who values personal time and it is important that the time I do have is maximized and used in the most valuable way possible.

Figuring out where to start will be hard but I've taken baby steps and have gone through my laptop eliminating bookmarks that are meaningless to me and just take up my precious time.

I'll muddle through this over the next few weeks trying to figure out how to tackle this and get myself in a good place to live the life I want and to teach my family that living simply will be great for all of us.

Zen Habits has a great article called Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your life. There are a lot of great points in there that I will surely adopt as they line up to what I envision for my life.

We'll see where this journey takes me.

Crafty: Feathers

2013-01-02T10:35:00.002-08:00

I'm always look for a simple, kid friendly, aesthetically pleasing craft(s) I can do with the kids. Especially when we have a long stretch of vacation in front of us, like now. We all enjoy craft time, I mean, really, who doesn't?

I found a great feather craft a few weeks back and bookmarked it for winter break. The craft was to make feathers using cardboard, acrylic paint and spaghetti noodles and glue. It looked simple, engaging for the kids and something we could ultimately display in the house and it would and to the overall decor of the living room.

I immediately started saving cardboard such as those for cereal boxes, granola bars, crackers etc..... sturdy yet thin. Next up was a quick trip to the craft store for some acrylic paint, as suggested by the original tutorial we used metallic and I'm sure glad we did because it was more beautiful and shiny then I expected. Supply wise it wasn't so bad and you may already have most of this in your craft supplies, for me I just needed to pick up paint.

1. Metallic acrylic paint ($1.69/bottle)
2. Mod Podge
3. Foam Brushes
4. Spaghetti Noodles
5. cardboard

2013: Let's Do this

2013-01-01T08:46:00.000-08:00

With 2012 packaged up neatly behind me, nothing forgotten but definitely lessons learned, I welcome 2013 with open eyes, open mind and mostly open arms.

I want to embrace this year with big giant bear hugs and allow it to give me all that I can make of it.

I don't do resolutions. I've learned that historically when I do this I fail. My resolutions tend to be stupid, unrealistic and big, to big and broad. But I never said I would never do this, in fact renaming them "goals" and setting these goals to be attainable is what I have to do.

I've thought long and hard about setting goals for myself over the last few months and with the lessons I've learned during 2012 I think I'm now at a point in my life that I feel confident, determined and powerful enough to reach my goals and not give up. So let's get this show on the road.

Just a warning this may be all over the place:

Continue on the path of living more simply. This has made me feel infinitely lighter both emotionally and mentally. I feel much happier about life. Living simply has been something i learned out of necessity and I've turned it into something that is now just a part of my everyday life. In 2013 I'd like to learn more ways to simplify my life both personally and on the homefront with my family.
Continue with my "me: exercise" time. Healthy body, healthy me! I want more. Since my me time consists of me working out, I want to increase the amount of time I do this. I'm seeing results in what I do and I'm liking it and want more. Yes, I do have a goal but I keep it in the back of mind, I live in the present am happy with what's happening and want to keep at it. I'd like to make the effort to add a day of strengthening to my cardio heavy routine.
Update/Re-Vamp my obsessive cleaning schedule. I'm in a happy place when I can let my made up OCD habits take over. I have let this lag since moving to Seattle and I want to dust off, update and get back into this cleaning schedule. My house runs smoothly and remains clean with what feels like little effort, I need to recapture this rainbow.
I'm most calm when working with my hands. Carving time into my week to spend sewing, embroidering, creating something with my hands. And ultimately having 1 item to show for at the end of each month. Maintainable goal and not just a broad statement, right?
Research and start a small edible garden with T.

Not bad, huh. Five small things with big impacts. I feel good about my goals. I feel like they are realistic and not over the top.

With my kids I have a whole bunch of other things I want to do, not goals, not resolutions just a bunch of bullet pointed things I want to incorporate into their routine, do with them, and teach them. This will be a separate post.

2012: Mahalo for the Memories

2012-12-31T07:41:00.000-08:00

In mere hours another year will come to a close 2012. It's crazy how these years fly by! I wish I could stop and take a moment and just close my eyes and watch the highlights (and low points, since we learn from things that defeat, challenge and scare us) of my year. You know like in movies when you quickly watch the seasons change and/or children grow, yeah, I want to close my eyes and see/do that. Just to soak in the year one last time before starting 2013.

2012 was a year of change for my family. We accomplished a lot, we all grew and we started a new chapter in our life, a chapter that will continue to grow in 2013.

2012 was the year I finally faced the realization I wasn't totally happy with my self, I was tired of feeling fat and sluggish. I was tired of being tired and not being able to have time for myself. I wanted time for myself where I could reflect, think, mentally catalog things and most importantly I wanted this all to cost e $0.00. Thus this was the year I've busted out and really got into exercising. I do it for me. It's been grounding and centering and calming for me. I feel better both mentally and physically. I'm losing weight that should never have attached to me in the first place. I don't feel guilty when I have a sweet or a calorie ridden beverage. I feel present for my kids and for my hubs. The fact that I fit in clothes I haven't fit in for years is totally a bonus. Doing this for myself has changed my overall attitude and feelings toward other things making me feel a zillion times better about myself and the world around me.

2012 was the year I continued to be unemployed. I was employed for a hot second with a great paying job that I could do from home. But those two points did not make the job ideal. The owners/ultimate bosses were micro-managing and completely unrealistic about how I should be doing in the job and expected big, big, big things from me when I still hadn't learned how to do my job. So yes I was employed for a second but then I abruptly and with no warning also resigned from said job. That old saying, "money isn't everything," is so true. My mental stability is way more important then any amount of money.
Read more »

Checking In...

2012-12-30T17:50:00.002-08:00

Forgive me for the lack of posts. Honestly this isn't even going to be a real post i'm going to try and do that later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Things have been busy, kids are on vacation, play dates galore, T has been on vacation so we could hang as a family thus really digging the family, relaxing time.

Christmas was a hit. The kids were all genuinely surprised and happy with what they received. This was the first year T and I consciously scaled back on gifts for the kids. We've reached a point where enough is enough and the kids really need to appreciate the things they have rather then just wanting more and more (and more and more...) We all kept our fingers crossed for a white christmas but it didn't happen.

I can't believe we come to the end of another year tomorrow. Wow! Anyway hope you all had a fantastic Christmas.

Coffee Table

2012-12-17T10:44:00.002-08:00

We've been living coffee table free since leaving Los Angeles in 2009. We sold much of our big furniture with the house (we actually used it as leverage when countering the offers we received) and the coffee table was a casualty. Anyway, as I was saying we've been leaving without a coffee table and its becoming a real pain in the ass.

I like to sit in our living room and flip through a magazine while sipping some coffee or tea but it is a little bit of a balancing act since I have to hold my mug the entire time. The other option is putting my mug on the ground but I run the risk of one of my kids knocking it over because it would totally happen.

T and I have been perusing coffee tables for years looking for the perfect specimen. The commitment is hard the price tag is harder. We have both discussed the price we're comfortable with and the only thing we are both adamant about is we do not want a coffee table from IKEA. Nothings wrong with IKEA but we don't want our house looking like a page out of one of their catalogs if you know what I mean.

We both know we want something that feels and looks light, not in weight but in stature. We want airy and open first and foremost. I would love a Saarinen Tulip coffee table but we already have a dining table like that and there is really no need to have multiples and the redundancy of the lines would probably drive me crazy after awhile.

I think T and I have matured a little and are ready to make a coffee table commitment. This is a big step for us but we have evolved and invested in a few pieces of furniture that we feel confident it is nearing the right time to buy a coffee table. Although we have a living room and a family room this will definitely be in the living room, the room we hang out in and not really watch a ton of tv but instead play games in and read in and generally hang out with music on. Our family room is where we have the big tv, the kids lay around on the ground and relax and fall asleep on the ground with the tv on; no real need for coffee table there but eventually some side tables.

Anyway this is what we are deciding upon and we are definitely leaning towards the Dunn Table as it feels more "airy." We'll probably keep our eyes peeled, as I'm constantly on craigslist and ebay but this is where we are at.

Platner Table

Dunn Table w/Glass Top

What do you think?

Some Things...

2012-12-14T21:00:00.001-08:00

Just some things that have been happening.

Been super busy lately. Dad's record label's newest release had all their CD release events this past week. Since I do all the consulting and media blasts I've been busy making announcements left and right
I have become completed obsessed with an Australian teen show called H2O: Just Add Water. Its from about 5 years ago but I'm hooked. Donx and I cannot get enough. Funnily enough two of the three girls are on Vampire Diaries.
After next week 99% of my credit card debt will be GONE! I cannot wait.
I've since realized how strange it is to buy my husband a christmas gift when I'm not working. I never had this problem in the past but now its just strange and we actually talked about this but he deserves something. I did buy him something (my household is big on Amazon Wish Lists so I bought him something he wanted and I really hope he likes it.)
I've been working out non-stop and have totally adjusted my diet. It's paying off big time and it make me even more determined to keep on doing what I'm doing so I can eventually reach my goal.
I wish I had a workout buddy so we could chat, gossip, and encourage each other.
T and I are planning on having a cocktail party/lunch sometime soon. Im excited it'll be our first chance at entertaining. Just need to pick a date.
My oldest had a reading assessment recently. He scored a 30 on an average scale of 18 for his grade. I'm so proud of him!!!
Right about now I'm wishing we were heading out to Hawaii this month. But we'll be off in January. Bummed but still looking forward to it.
Still in need of a haircut. It's been months and my ends are dry and raggedy. A friend of mine and her family are coming by next month for a weekend. Since she was a hairstylist maybe I can convince her to work on my hair

Field Trips: The Seattle Aquarium

2012-12-12T21:59:00.000-08:00

We go to the Seattle Aquarium a lot. It's one of the places that we do have membership for and so far it has been money well spent. The aquarium is located along the waterfront, just below Pike Place Market and one pier over from The Great Wheel.

No matter your age or your kids age everyone loves an aquarium. No matter how often we go we are always fascinated by all the sea life. My kids cannot resist touching starfish or anemone and are now finally brave enough to gently touch the sea urchins. The collection at the aquarium is vast and beautifully laid out. Just after paying your admission the main lobby area of the aquarium boasts a massive floor to ceiling tank filled with a variety of fish and underwater life and no kid can resist the diver that makes an appearance to feed the fish and do a bit of "show and tell" for the gathered crowd. During the holidays there's even a diving santa!

We normally spend a good 10 minutes at the massive entry tank which the kids run straight up to and presses their body right into the glass to get as close to the fish as possible! There are two great interactive areas filled with anemones, starfishes and sea urchins, these tanks are staffed with docents who are happy to answer any and all questions, talk to you about the sea creatures and even pull out some of the animals for a more up close and personal look.

Three

2012-12-09T21:54:00.000-08:00

This past Friday Crash turned 3! Three Years Old! I can't believe how fast she's growing up. I've been telling Crash about her birthday all week long so come Friday morning she knew exactly what day it was and we allowed her to open one present first thing in the morning and saved the few others for the afternoon when we were doing the whole birthday cake thing.

Crash requested only two things for her birthday. 1) To spend her birthday riding the christmas carousel in downtown Seattle and 2) for a pink Furby. And yes, my baby lady received both those things and she was over the moon thrilled!

Happy Birthday Crash! My world finally felt complete the day you entered this world. I love you!

Read more »

Mane

2012-11-30T08:36:00.003-08:00

The other day, after washing my hair, I french braided in into two braids running down my head. I wore it that way for two days. When the braids finally started coming loose and the amount of flyaways were climbing fast I knew it was time to undo the braids. I knew it be curly and my good was it. Tight, controlled curls! I left it for a day (or two) but yesterday I decided to brush the curls out and see what I was dealing with. (If you're doing the math, yes I was my hair like once maybe twice per week). Anyway what I was left with was a superbly, amazing, fantastic gigantic mane of hair. It was crazy and I took a ton of pics. I decided to gather them into pigtails and you know what, I totally dug it and even debated if I should even bother washing my hair or let the amazingness flow for one extra day.