In my own words

My great escape

2012-01-19T16:48:00.000-08:00

Today Logan is having a two-year-old day. A day where he wants chocolate milk for breakfast, demands to watch tv shows that don't exist, throws a huge fit with each article of clothing I try to put on him, then runs out into the pouring rain and jumps into puddles the second I open the garage door.

Today I am having a pregnancy day. A day where I also only want chocolate milk for breakfast, cry listening to music from glee (they have great voices but covers of justin bieber and katy perry don't usually do it for me), get frustrated easily at dumb things, and will do anything to get out of the house to run one of those meaningless errands that I used to have the energy to do all the time.

I haven't left the house for anything not church related since Friday.

It's Thursday.

So after changing Logan's clothes again from being soaked in the rain and bribing him with m&m's to get in the car we went to Joann's. One of the worst places to take a child after the post office and the bank.

Actually those two are way worse but today Joann's was the torture of the day. After steering the cart into several secret corners to hide my screaming child while I shamelessly continued to bribe him to be good (terrible parenting, but usually works in a pinch) I finally let him run free. And run free he did. After pulling on every shiny bauble he saw, throwing pots on the floor, screaming at the top of his lungs, and racing into the restricted framing area we were done.

We got to the car (empty handed) and I made him repeat after me several times "I will not run away from mom in the store" while I took a picture of someone who is probably having a worse day than me.

We've had a lot of rain today.

I don't even know where I'm going with this story anymore but I'm going to keep writing .

So I was upset and frustrated (and crying, I know) when I got home and I just wanted to get away. Luckily Tyson was just getting home for his lunch break when I pulled up so he took Logan out of the car for me and I drove away. You know, after telling Tyson I needed a break. I didn't just peel away like the crazy person that I am inside.

Anyway, I was free.

What does a pregnant woman do when suddenly presented with almost an hour of alone time?

Go to Taco Bell.

I picked up a couple of beef supreme chalupas and with the smell of (probably) fake meat and fried bread in the car I drove to the nearest Goodwill where I shamelessly ate 500 calories of sour cream in their parking lot. In the rain. Listening to soft rock. I took a swig from Logan's sippy cup, remembering too late that it was laced with mirilax, but I figured it was nothing that a little pregnancy couldn't equal out.

And then I went inside and found myself a cute Target maternity sweater for $7.

And that was all I needed. A moment to be myself so I could come home and be a better mom. So I could appreciate the good in my little boy and keep the naughtiness from making me upset. So I could be reminded again of what an amazing and understanding husband I have.

So I could have Taco Bell again.

Kidding.

But maybe not that much. :-)

On pregnancy

2012-01-17T19:07:00.000-08:00

Oh pregnancy, how I've ~~missed you~~ ~~loved you~~ forgotten what you were really like.

My vow to run throughout at least the first trimester was broken as soon as the morning sickness hit, and was quickly replaced by a vow to eat nachos with abandon and ignore the needs of the household.

Well, I am taking care of Logan but we have definitely been watching more tv than usual.

This time around the morning sickness has been worse, the heartburn has been better, the tiredness has been worse, the weight gain has been better (i.e. not 12 lbs in 12 weeks), and still I'm showing already.

Revenge of the Nachos.

But overall we're doing good. The evenings have been rough but the upside is I have an excuse to not cook. Logan wears his pajamas 24 hours a day which is pretty much his dream anyway so nothing wrong there. And I tell myself that Tyson appreciates the higher balance in our bank account since I only leave the house for mandatory outings and haven't had the energy to craft. Of course the overage might be going to Taco Bell...

Yep, we're getting through this.

Sometimes you don't get the perfect shot

2012-01-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

A two-year-old's cooperation is a fleeting thing.

Especially when mom accidentally zipped his finger into his coat a few minutes before.

But you hope it will be enough to get the message across.

Big brother in the house, August 1, 2012.

Board and batten project revealed!

2012-01-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

So we decided to change things up in the green room a little. We actually want to do this in more of the house but we started with this room because, well, we don't spend much time in here so if it was a disaster we could just close the door and forget about it for awhile.

Here are a few before pictures because the afters are no fun without them.

Here I am, photographic proof that I did at least a little work in here.

We painted the wall first to try and minimize the detail painting that we would have to do once the boards were all up.

Truly though, the majority of the work was done by Tyson and his dad while I watched wonderpets in the living room with Logan.

They even planed (shaved) down every one of the vertical boards because they come a little bit deeper than the baseboard and we didn't like how they looked hanging over the edge.

Then when Tyson brought all the boards home he realized he used a board that was still too wide as his measurement and the vertical boards still hung over a bit.

So he took them back to his dad's and they planed them again.

We don't bring that up often.

The result was beautiful though and I am grateful for a husband who is willing to work extra hard to get the details just the way he wants them.

You ready for the after?

Here's a before again for comparison.

And after!

Hooray!

The longest and most tedious part for sure was the painting once all the boards were up. Painting the wall first and using boards that were primed helped for sure but still. There are a lot of nooks and crannies on this wall. Plus you've got to fill in nail holes and sand and caulk all the cracks and paint over all that. Twice.

Lots of work.

Poor Tyson.

I'm still working on how I want to decorate this room exactly but I knew I wanted a little shelf as part of the board and batten to set things on.

Sorry I'm not tall enough to get a better angle on that. Probably should have stood on a chair.

It turned out just the way I wanted and I couldn't be happier!

Tyson is totally ready to tackle the rest of the house :)

Styrofoam is evil

2012-01-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

I came downstairs the other day to find Tyson putting his grill together and Logan playing in the box. Aw, so precious.

Then I noticed Logan quickly destroying one piece of foam after another and throwing it in the air pretending it was snow. My heart clenched a little as I saw the rapidly spreading mess, but, one of my goals is to give Logan more opportunities for sensory play so why not start with this?

I mean it's not like it would get tracked all through the house, stick to the walls and floor, wind up in our food, and become statically bonded to my hair or anything, right? Ha ha ha ha. HA.

I believe he was pretending he was in Polar Express with his train in the "snow". And his opportunities for creativity are worth any mess.

Maybe.

Or actually not.

This was not even half of it.

Have you ever tried to sweep up this stuff? It is horrible. The little bits were literally jumping out of the dustpan back onto the floor. And I spent like eleven minutes trying to flick one piece off of my hand. Stupid static making me look like a spazz.

Lesson learned: no more styrofoam. I'd rather have a house full of dirt. At least I can throw that back outside without killing the environment.

The one about Christmas

2011-12-31T16:25:00.000-08:00

Yikes! I'd better get my Christmas post up before the new year begins. You'd think with Tyson taking two weeks off (yes we really were that lucky) that I would have plenty of time to blog. But I'd rather spend time with him.

Can you blame me?

Anyway, we had another wonderful Christmas. We spend Christmas Eve at the Lowder home where we ate scones and did an interactive version of the Christmas story which included singing and gluing pictures for the kids.

Christmas morning we woke up around our usual 7:30 and although Logan may have been confused by the change in routine, he fed off our excitement and got into it.

Especially once he found the candy in his stocking. And our stockings...

I believe I look appropriately tired/disheveled for Christmas morning.

After looking through our stockings we went to the kitchen and had a delicious breakfast of Costco cinnamon rolls, chocolate milk, and orange juice (easiest Christmas breakfast I ever didn't make). And I think Logan had some cold cereal. He is a child of habit.

Breakfast didn't last too long though because A. I wanted to open some presents, and B. we had church at 11 that we were gonna have to get ready for at some point.

Also, I wanted Tyson to open the biggest present I ever wrapped.

Not to ruin the suspense for you guys but it was a grill. And he loved it. Wife points!

Logan was also thrilled with his Thomas pillow pet, a toy I didn't understand the appeal of until Logan wanted one. Then it didn't matter what I thought because it was Christmas and if he wanted it that bad, then by golly he was gonna get it.

The annual gift of the nerf gun was also popular.

And here is my "yaaaaaayyyyI'mgratefulbecauseit'sChristmasbutwhatisthis" face that occasionally shows up Christmas morning. It took me a minute to figure it out because the actual present was wrapped in some of our towels and for a minute I thought I was getting new towels but in the same color I had been trying to get rid of for the last three years. And that would have been a bummer.

But never fear! Tyson would not do that to me. It was a porcelain pitcher that I had been coveting from Target.

After a joyous time of gift giving and skyping with my family we went to church which was awesome. It definitely made me wish we had Christmas on Sunday every year. Then we came home, took Christmas naps, and headed back to the Lowder's for Christmas dinner and some more gift giving.

I only took about 3 pictures and they were pretty much all like this. Goal for next year: photographically document our lives better. Especially since I got a new point and shoot camera that fits in my purse. No excuses!

And that was our Christmas! We've been keeping busy over our break with a home improvement project which I can't wait to show you, but will have to wait until it's done. Because I love a big reveal.

Have a Happy New Year!

It was a full roll when he started

2011-12-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

Mission complete.

Another week down!

2011-12-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

Well it's been another crazy week. Somehow I keep finding myself away from home 5-6 nights a week and it is totally draining! I get home at night and I'm like, "Oh, hello man in my house. I think I might be your wife."

We have been able to do a few fun things together though. Last Friday night we had our ward Christmas party. It was pretty much all music, so you know I was busy singing in the choirs.

Well, during the course of the program I had to switch sides of the chapel multiple times to move from choir to choir. During a few of those switches I had to duck/crawl under a projector in the dark as I tried my best to be inconspicuous.

Due to the hip slimming/blood restricting numbness of the control top pantyhose I was wearing, I didn't realize that my skirt was slowly sliding off my bum with each pass until I reached back to pull my shirt down and found my wasteband hanging off me like some 16-year-old boy's jeans. And I didn't even have colorful boxers on to show off. Just my charcoal L'eggs.

Seriously hoping that the tenors standing behind me were as oblivious as I was.

********

The next night we went to the Festival of Nativities.

It was so beautiful! I loved walking around drooling over all the incredible nativities and my heart stopping every time Logan tried to touch one didn't even ruin it for me.

Meanwhile I've got this at home. Baby Jesus still strapped to his cradle. And why is He so dirty?

Then there's this one. Which is worse? Plastic strap or cradle completely missing?

Sad.

Good thing for Logan they had some kid friendly stuff at the festival, otherwise it would have been a five minute visit.

Tyson makes a very beautiful Mary I think.

We were smelling frankincense and myrrh.

********

This has nothing to do with Christmas but it happened this week. We woke up one morning and this frozen shape had appeared. There wasn't a stick or anything in the water so I'm not sure how it came to be.

*********

We did our annual stocking decorating on Monday. This was also the day that Tyson came home from work and I was complaining because Logan hadn't taken a nap and it had been a long day. He was very loving and supportive even when he said sadly "And did you even get a chance to shower?"

...

Yes, I had showered! But my blow dryer broke so my hair was a hideous mess; according to Tyson it looked tired.

Well, it was. But that didn't make decorating any less fun, just less appealing to watch.

Logan was really excited that he got to paint snakes all over his stocking.

Tyson did a traditional tree.

And I did a subway art style stocking. They are ready to be filled!

*********

My favorite (and tallest?) uncle came to visit and had dinner with us and my Aunt Nancy. We had a good time reminiscing about the handful of occasions where we've seen each other and lamented as always that it's not more often.

Uh, and to all my other uncles out there, you're my favorite too! :)

The last thing that we did this week, that I took pictures of, was our trip to visit Santa. A nearby dentist office does a free Santa every year and it is crazy busy. This year they decided to spread out the crowd a little bit so they had a petting zoo and games outside while you waited for your turn to see the big man.

Logan cried right after this because the goat shook his head or something and scared him.

The fear carried on to his Santa visit.

Not that there was a chance of him sitting on Santa's lap anyway.

Here's to another busy week, one closer to Christmas, yay!

wreathapalooza

2011-12-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

The other day I got together with a couple of my cute friends to make wreaths!

I probably shouldn't make any more after this because I've been on a bit of a wreath kick lately and I have more wreaths than I know what to do with. As in, I've got 6 wreaths around the house right now and I already put 2 away.

It's like that time I was obsessed with clocks.

Here's the one I finished the day before my girls came over. I'll tell you about it later.

No I won't.

Here's the recap. I cut about 6 million different sized circles out of satin, burned the edges, and then sewed them together with a pearl bead to make about 2 million flowers which I hot glued to a wreath form covered in the same satin.

All except for 3.

Those I used to make a headband.

(please ignore the clothes all over the floor. logan likes to empty the laundry basket and use it as a step stool. plus when i took this I was only thinking of sending it to my sister, not putting it out for the world to see.)

Anyway, I thought the wreath went well with the pumpkins from Halloween so... there you have it.

Back to the point, we had all seen these Christmas ball wreaths all around pinterest lately so we thought we would give it a shot.

Even after we found out you needed like a hundred ornaments to make it.

Since I am ~~cheap~~ thrifty, I got mine at the dollar store and called it good.

We used a couple different methods when we made them. Amber used a garland as her base while Brittany and I strung ours on a wire hanger.

Both methods worked great, I'd say if you want a larger wreath don't do the wire hanger method. You could also glue them on a wreath form too. The possibilities are endless! Or maybe limited to what hot glue can do for you.

We didn't bother gluing the tops to the ornaments before stringing them on although it might have been a good idea since about 4 of mine popped off as I was trying to twist the hanger back together.

I love the colors she used!

This is Amber's unfinished wreath if you can believe it. She added a ton more balls later and it looks amazing! It is huge and spectacular.

Meanwhile, I had glued a few extra balls for filler and one of them popped off right after this picture.

Good thing I didn't try to glue them all on.

Hopefully it lasts because I love it!

A thanksgiving recap

2011-11-29T18:37:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was the best!

We had so much fun with Emily and Jason that none of us were ready for the holiday to be over. Logan especially was in love with these new best friends who tickled him, chased him, and never even tried to change his diaper.

We thought that a trip to Multnomah falls would be fun since it's a regular Oregon highlight. It was almost as if the pouring rain didn't even cross our minds when we left the house in regular shoes and coats with no thoughts of even looking for an umbrella.

We were about halfway there when we thought, wait, are we seriously going outside in this?

Yes, I should have taken multiple self portraits so as to give myself a better option than this for the blog. But I did not. My bangs were like whoa.

Anyway, we did go outside in that rain and lucky for me I had an umbrella in my trunk which I immediately confiscated.

I had to move at light speed to keep people from stealing it which is why this picture is blurry.

Or a raindrop was on the lens.

After we got home and dried out we made some chocolate covered oreo turkeys.

Which didn't look like turkeys at all.

Thanksgiving morning Tyson and I did our turkey trot.

Logan didn't want us to leave but... he was fine :)

Tyson and I were separated most of the time since I was doing the 10k and he was doing the 5. This shot was taken by the race's photographer as he approached the finish. Go babe!

I was too slow for the photographer unfortunately (fortunately? i'm not a pretty runner) but in spite of being slow I still made my goal of running a consistent 10 minute mile. In face I did 6.2 miles in 62 minutes so... basically the best 10 minute miles ever run.

People I passed:
An elderly man, possible octogenarian.

2 women speedwalking.

1 overweight woman.

a few others.

People who passed me:

At least 3 children 10 and under.

A woman pushing a double jogging stroller.

Someone with a turkey on their head.

Many others.

It was a good time.

After our race we got ready and headed over to Tyson's parent's house for The Dinner.

15 seconds before we said the prayer Logan spilled a glass of water all over himself and was nude the rest of the day.

After a delicious meal we made more treat turkeys.

Some of which were more interesting than others...

I didn't take anymore pictures that day. We had a relaxing rest of the afternoon where the most dramatic event was when Logan did his business (it's becoming quite the event, miralax is on the job) and he ran back into the living room, arms in the air, and shouted "I did it!!!!" to anyone who would listen.

We were all grateful for his success that day.

On Friday we went and got our tree!

Considering we chose one that started about 5 feet above the ground it's amazing that it fits into our house perfectly.

Aren't newlyweds disgusting? Love them.

That night my aunt and her family came by for a visit,

we put up some decorations,

and our fun vacation was pretty much done.

We had a great Thanksgiving this year and are so grateful for all our friends and family. Love you all!

Hello Blog!

2011-11-23T08:45:00.000-08:00

So it turns out I can't do it all. Who knew?

Just kidding I actually did already know that.

But I guess when life got busy the old bloggy blog got put on the back burner.

What we've been up to:

1. I started getting up at 6 every day to run. Logan went all anti-stroller on me and with the time change it was too dark when Tyson got home from work for me to go out. Granted, it's darker than pitch at 6, but I tell myself that criminals and miscreants sleep in. Plus I have a sweet headlamp to light my way/blind my attacker.

This has probably been the main reason the blog has been neglected. My brain used to work better at night but now I'm half asleep by 9:30 and definitely in bed by 10.

Bonus: I'm pretty sure I'm ready for my 10K tomorrow!!!

2. I gave a demonstration on cake pops at my mother-in-law's super saturday.

In related news, Logan has learned how to say cake ball, climb onto the counter, sneak a bowl of melted chocolate up the stairs, and convince his mom that cake should be eaten after every meal.

Also, I have been amused by both his ability and inability to be deceitful. If he steals a cake ball while I'm in the shower he'll run upstairs with chocolate on his face and say "Cake ball! It's good!"

On the other hand, he climbed on the counter behind me while I was busy with dinner and started eating the bottoms of all the cake balls. Then he stuck them back in their wrappers so you couldn't tell they had been munched on. Sneaky sneaky.

3. I sorta, but not really, changed my hair/took my life into my own hands when I trimmed my bangs shorter than usual. They turned out ok.

Nothing says class like taking your picture with an open toilet in the background.

4. We've been sick with nasty colds.

This face pretty much sums up how we felt about it.

5. Emily and Jason are here for Thanksgiving!

This picture is totally old but I don't care.

Anyway, I started blogging before everyone woke up and they are all awake now. So I am off to play! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I love Holidays!

2011-11-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

I'm so sad that Halloween is over! We had a great time this year. We started our celebration on Friday at a party at Kelly's house.

Where I took no pictures.

Possibly because I got there at the same time as a few other moms. Who were not dressed up. And I was. And I didn't know anyone besides Kelly.

You know the feeling.

Anyway, a few other moms came who ended up being dressed up too so I didn't have to feel awkward anymore. But I still didn't take any pictures.

On to the next thing!

We carved pumpkins (of course). I was shouting out Gross! and Sick! while we pulled the guts out (trying to be dramatic and get Logan to say gross because I think it's cute when he does) until Tyson told me he was trying to get Logan involved in the process by not getting him freaked out.

Oh.

Good idea.

It totally worked too. After we got all the seeds and slime out of the pumpkin, Logan turned around and started putting it all back in. Not afraid of the guts.

And then he picked up a piece of rind, called it an apple, and started trying to bite it.

Proof that I was there, ready to disembowel a pumpkin.

Here's our finished product!

Yeah, mine was the skull, what up?

Next!

And by the way I just realized how many pictures this post has so I'm gonna try not to talk as much.

Tyson's parents had their annual Halloween party which we get excited for each year. We started off by taking pictures of our sweet selves outside.

I tried to have an America's Next Top Model moment by "flying" through the air.

Nailed it.

(Have you seen those "nailed it" things on pinterest? Hilarious.)

He's cute.

The chocolate covered oreos strike again.

And this time they even included pretzels.

Spider craft that Tyson's mom prepared for us. They were so cute! Logan has been carrying his around ever since.

Ghost hunt.

My attempt at getting the kids in one shot.

Logan actually caught on that you weren't supposed to use your hands while eating the doughnut.

At least for the first couple minutes.

Mummy dogs for lunch!

Later that night we had our ward trunk or treat. I was super busy that night so I didn't get any pictures. We did have a photobooth again though!

Logan was obsessed with pushing the button.

Hence, this:

So we had to do it again.

By the time we got to Halloween day I was ready to put away the orange and start playing Christmas music.

But we had to introduce Logan to trick or treating since he's old enough to get it.

This guy has been on our neighbor's porch the last several days and Logan loves him. He calls him Guy.

"Hi Guy!"

"Bye Guy!"

"What's Guy doin'?"

Today when we got home from playgroup Guy was gone.

And that's how we knew Halloween was over.

Self Portrait

2011-10-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

Last day of the photo challennnnnnnnnnnnnnge!

Done done duh-duh-duh done!

Today for my self portrait you get "Mari Unscripted"

I don't even know what that means actually. Basically what you're getting is me with no makeup and wet hair.

And by the way I don't even like to go out in public like this so you should feel very special. I like to pretend the blog isn't really me so if you see me on the street let's just say this never happened.

So, just as I was getting started guess who wanted to get in on the action?

Yep, that one.

I figured having him there would be nothing but helpful so I let him stick around.

Would you like to know where my exclusive photo location with the nice light is?

It's the bathtub.

Glamour shots by Mari coming to a tub near you.

Black and white

2011-10-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

If there's a puddle, he's in it.

Flower

2011-10-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

So at this point in the season the only flower I have in my yard is this.

Okay who am I kidding. The state of this flower and my front yard has nothing to do with the season. I've always only had one or two sad little marigolds surrounded by dead things on display in front of my home.

We can't all be Martha.

My neighbor on the other hand, who even has a full time job, always has tons of pretty flowers and beautiful landscaping surround her home. I'm counting on her to keep our property value up.

So I creeped over there this afternoon (under the guise of chasing Logan) to take pictures of her flowers.

Until I looked up to see her husband through the front window.

Hi!

Then I creeped back home.

From a Distance

2011-10-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon we went to Lucia Falls to watch the salmon run and enjoy the fall colors.

I'll admit the first time I saw the "falls" I thought they should have been called Lucia Rapids but seeing the salmon leaping up through the water increased their cool factor.

Um, and that's what we did there. Ha ha, I can't think of anything to say today!

I did wake up this morning to find that two more frames from my alphabet wall fell down.

Crud.

I gave in and now all the frames have nails holding them up. So you don't have to worry about things falling off the wall and landing on your kid if they come to play.

I know. I'm a good mom.

Hope you've had a great Wednesday!

Close up

2011-10-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite treat.

Oreos, specifically mint oreos, dipped in almond bark with sprinkles on top.

Gotta have the sprinkles.

Ever since Logan's birthday I have made these for every occasion I can think of. Friend's birthday? Oreos. Dinner party? Oreos. Ran 7 miles? Oreos.

Oh, did I not mention that I ran 7 miles? I did. This 10K is gonna be a cinch!

Especially since I keep giving myself double stuffed reasons to run.

Pumpkin patch in pictures

2011-10-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Something Pink

2011-10-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

We're on day 25 of the challenge, woo hoo! At this rate I'll finish by... Christmas at the latest.

My something pink is, of course, a part of a bigger project.

An alphabet wall for the playroom!

I was so proud of myself for finally getting these up. I started making these letters like, two months ago maybe?

This was one of those projects that you think is a brilliant, fun, totally-worth-the-time idea. But then about halfway through the only thing keeping you going is sheer determination because your fingers have blisters on them from using an x-acto knife so much, you've accidentally hot glued so many pieces of fabric to the carpet you don't even tell your husband anymore, and you're not even sure you like crafting that much anyway.

Anyway, I used this sticky silly putty type stuff to adhere everything to the wall. I sorta knew that wasn't a great idea for the heavier things but I thought if I put enough blobs on it would do the job.

Actually, you know what? If I had put enough on it probably would have done the job. But the instructions said 4 tabs hold a pound, this weighs max 3 lbs, 3x4=12 so... I'll just go ahead and put 6 tabs on.

This is why I usually wait for Tyson to hang things for me.

And, as you might expect, as soon as I got the final letter hung and put all my stuff away I grabbed the camera, jumped for joy, and the board with "DEF" on it fell off taking half the letters and another frame with it.

Daaaaayyngggg it.

(notice my yarn balls hung in the corner? yep, finally got that done too.)

My "hang it on faith" approach failed me.

Then, when I went to pick up the pieces I found that the frame took a bite out of the baseboard.

There is a 95% chance that this does not get fixed in my lifetime.

Luckily the clatter of wood crashing to the ground did not wake Logan from his nap and neither did the sound of his mother hammering the bare minimum of nails into the wall.

Sometimes the risk of waking your kid is worth getting a project off your back.

Also, next time you come to my house don't slam any doors or do anything else that might vibrate the walls.

Just sayin'.

Mothers Without Borders

2011-10-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

I recently contacted a friend of mine about volunteering for a charity that she does a lot of work with. I've been wanting to do more service lately and this seemed like a good opportunity.

"Whether children are orphaned as a result of disease, poverty, violence, or natural disaster, the results are the same - children alone. Mothers Without Borders is committed to supporting programs that offer sustainable, long-term solutions to this global orphan crisis."

They are currently working on children's feeding programs in Zambia and Zimbabwe, a children's resource center, and more.

Seems like a good cause, right?

Want to help?

We are doing a fundraiser on Monday, October 24 for those of you in the Vancouver/Portland area. This is where it gets kinda tricky so lean in...

What you've got to do is put down your pots and pans and go out to dinner at Chevy's.

Yep! That's it! If you eat at Chevy's from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm, 25% of their proceeds will be donated to MWB. Here's the part that actually is kinda tricky. You've got to bring one of these flyers with you when you go in otherwise, like calories on Christmas, it won't count.

Want one?

Just let me know! :)

Hope to see you there!

Animal

2011-10-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

It seems that we have a serious lack of animals in our area.

What we DO have is a dog costume that Logan likes to carry around and bark at (with?). So I had a great idea that I'd get him to wear it and he could be the animal.

But he won't do it.

Which is posing a problem for Halloween, and how am I going to dress him up without making him think he's dressing up, but that's a discussion for another day.

So here is Logan dressed as animals for the last two Halloweens.

Year One: Giraffe

Year Two: Penguin

And that's the best I've got for animals today. Clearly a trip to the zoo is in order.

New Blog!

2011-10-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

So I'm starting another blog. I wanted to have a place where I could write about more family stuff and not worry so much about what strangers will learn about us.

So, Fingerprints on a Windowpane is up and running and will be a private blog.

Let me know if you want to read! If you want to leave your email address in the comments I won't publish them. Or you can send me an email at marissalowder at gmail dot com.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Woot woot!

2011-10-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

Guess wha-at!

I ran FIVE POINT THREE miles this morning, what up endorphins!? Tyson does not even KNOW the runner that he married. And it only took me 3 hours! Ha ha, kidding, it was under an hour but still slow. I pretty much had an entire conversation with an elderly couple I was passing.

But, dare I say, it kinda felt good. Or at least not bad. I'm pretty sure it's some sort of trickery. Like when I was was in cross country freshman year of high school and I ran seven miles and felt awesome. I thought I was really turning a corner with the whole running thing. Maybe I could be good! But then I still stunk at it and continued to find myself racing at the end of the pack chatting it up with slow girls from opposing teams.

So today was probably a fluke and now I'm going to spent the next couple months trying to recreate that feeling before I give up again.

But for now I'm going to be joyful that I ran 5 whole miles.

And don't laugh, that's a lot for me. I've had a 3 mile barrier since that freshman year of high school *cough* 14 years ago! *cough* and it has been plaguing me until now. For now I am victorious.

Downside: definitely gonna be sore tomorrow. Bad.

On a related note, have you seen this?

source

Except I both look and feel like that little girl.

Especially since having Logan. Things will just never be the same I guess.

Sunflare

2011-10-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it's that time of the year in the Northwest where the sun is replaced by clouds, fog, and mist and we all become Vitamin D deprived and pale and walk around telling ourselves that we like the rain in order to preserve our sanity.

And then, since we know we'll be wearing bulky sweaters and jackets for the next 8 months, we start overdoing the Halloween candy a month early because we can blame the appearance of pudge on a sweatshirt.

But then our love handles jiggle when we walk.

So we use that as motivation to run.

But it doesn't work.

So we ~~buy another bag of~~ finish off our Reese's, sign up for a 10K, and use that as motivation to run.

And STRESS OUT because we've never run a 10K before and what were we thinking and who wants to run more than, well, any miles anyway, and why does running in the rain WITH a jogging stroller have to be so hard?

Running = Boo, frowny face, and hurt.

Eating = Happy, yummy, and Biggest Loser.

You win for now, running.

Does anyone remember my original point? I must have had caffeine today.

What I was trying to say is that I did not take this picture today because there was no sun.

It was like a month ago, maybe more. Logan was sitting in the yard, pulling peas off the vine and opening the pods. We now have rogue pea plants continuously coming up through the grass.

And uh, this is sunflare, right? Sun... bubbles?

Hands

2011-10-06T22:32:00.000-07:00

When we wrapped Logan's presents for his birthday we had ordered them so that a tricycle would be the last gift he opened. The Grand Finale if you will. He loves bikes and always wants to ride them and we were worried that once he saw it he wouldn't be interested in looking at anything else.

We envisioned the excitement of his previous gifts would make the anticipation so great that when we brought out the final present he would screaming with joy (he does that) and our role as parents would be triumphantly validated. It's possible Tyson and I high fived over how awesome we are. No one will know.

So that meant he opened a train set before the trike. He loves Thomas the train. He wanted Thomas opened right then. He showed Thomas to everyone. He would have been done after Thomas.

But the CHAMPION PRESENT would be better! We knew it.

When it came time to open it I had the regular camera and video going to capture his moment of delight and joy upon unveiling The Finale. And maybe even his first unprompted "thank you"? A mom can hope.

Tyson brought out the carefully wrapped present (sometimes we wrap birthday presents in Christmas paper and newspaper, not a reflection of our love and devotion to the recipient) and set it in front of Logan.

"What do you think it is, buddy? Tyson asked as he lifted up the paper to reveal a wheel.

"Bike."

Logan's monotone and uninterested reply after tearing his eyes away from Thomas.

Grand Finale FAIL.

He did give his bike a whirl that night and has enjoyed many rides since but man, he loves those trains.

Especially when Dad is here to play with him