three things for thursday.

1.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to pick up my interlibrary loaners today. If I'm missing from the blogosphere for awhile this is why:

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (the sequel to The Hunger Games).

I'm not a big fan of genre, nor was I very happy about the ending of The Hunger Games (an interlude to the next book) but I obviously got sucked in because I automatically went for it at the library...and it's the one I'll probably start in on first. SO different from what I typically read. A refreshing chance, perhaps?!

2. Night Road by (who else?) Kristin Hannah.

THIS is her brand new book and I'm VERY happy to have my hands on it. I can't wait to devour every word.

3. I can't believe I haven't read this yet, but I WILL finish it before I watch the movie:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

 2.

I caught Kai indulging in his FAVORITE, FAVORITE treat:

Blackberry.

3.

DIVA?

Pouting in purple.

 (cousin Jude's bib).

Mommy: "Kai, quit acting like what your bib says and eat your peas..."

Tommorow I will post some pics of my brand new niece, Parker Jo!

I get to hold her for the very first time and

I CAN'T WAIT!

Goodnight friends! (I'm gonna go READ!)

the arrival of Parker Jo (update on mommy & baby girl)

the last couple of days have been a whirlwind of phone calls, texts, work, diapers, baths, lots of prayers and very little sleep.

yesterday afternoon Abbey called the doctor about some weird pain she was experiencing, which a few hours later led to her being transported via ambulance to Kadlec in Richland for further examination.

little did we all know her sweet baby {girl!} would be born just hours later.

her labor was literally effortless (praise God!)

Parker Jo Winkler was born 5 weeks early and weighed in at over 7 pounds!!
(i can't WAIT to post pictures!)

however, once Mommies epidural wore off, that excruciating pain that had sent her to the hospital in the first place was back and even stronger than before.

with Parker being cared for in the NICU, Abbey underwent a days worth of testing with at LAST a possible diagnosis of adrenal gland hemorrhage, which they are hoping will clear up over the next few days (prayers appreciated!)

she is in good hands there at Kadlec, and the last time i spoke with her, her pain was minimal.

what hurts worse than  her condition is the fact that her baby is away from her--all alone--on a table hooked up to tubes. i can't imagine not being able to snuggle my newborn.

my heart hurts for her.

but with prayer and God's goodness and grace, they will soon be reunited.

Parker and Abbey could be in the hospital for awhile. i had planned to host a shower for her on Friday, and after her delivery (before her epidural wore off) Abbey gave me the go-ahead for a "meet the baby shower." and now, it's going to be postponed for a later date.

[i might WILL need help eating the three dozen "surprise gender" cookies i custom ordered...]

anyway, i've been keeping Caleb, Abbey and Steven's oldest at my house.

(he LOVES Honey, and Kai LOVES the company of his cousin Caleb!).

after i talked with my Mom and learned that Abbey had Parker (a girl, which i totally called!), i enthusiastically informed Caleb....

he just smiled and asked me for some paper and crayons.

a welcome gift from a proud big brother.

Welcome to our family, sweet little Parker Jo!

two-cent tuesday: 5 tidbits.

1.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE house plants! My house would be a mini-rainforest if I didn't have a 9 month old who loves to eat potting soil and leaves. I have a handful of houseplants now, but want MORE. I need shelves...and hooks that hang from the ceiling! Here's HOW houseplants purify the air in your home, and HERE are the "Top 10 Houseplants for Cleaner Air."

source

2.

Even as I'm trying to feed Kai home-made, natural foods, I'm still accumulating several baby food jars. I've been brainstorming creative uses for these little guys and found lots of fun ideas here!

3.

I'm such a teacher in my gift-giving. My go-to gift for children's birthday's is ALWAYS books. And puzzles. Boring compared to all of the flashy electronic gadgets others shower them with? At the moment, probably. But you know what? A book or good puzzle will OUTLAST those loud and annoying toys anyday, AND make your child smarter while they play! One of the BEST things parents can do for their children is something that is so inexpensive and easy it is often overlooked: READING!! Here's why you should start reading to your kiddos when they are BABIES!

4.

 CUTE, Comfy shoes!

5.

 Stuck in a rut? Feeling depressed? Sorry for yourself? Not sure you have a purpose here on earth?

Check it out: How Helping Others Helps YOU!

(inspiring stories of kindness!)

Kai's 1st Easter: A rough start to a beautiful day

Kai's first Easter.

Easter morning started out a bit rocky.

Kai slept quite poorly (cutting bottom tooth #2!) so Mommy AND baby were up very early and in need of a nap. So after eating breakfast, playing with toys and watching some Sunday morning tele we promptly took one. A good one. SUCH a good nap that, well, we almost slept through Easter Church service...

I had nursury duty, so this would have been a bad thing (especially for Tiff, my nursury partner, ha!)

I glanced over at the clock, and swore we had "just" fallen asleep and saw that it had been almost 2 hours and I needed to be at church in literally 5 minutes.

 I decide to keep Kai asleep so I can try to keep my head on straight amidst the ensuing panic, sweaty armpits and hotflashes that inevitably occur when I begin to stress about unavoidable lateness.

I shake my hair out (meaning to grab a scrunchie) throw some clothes on (meaning to put on pants that FIT) and gather all of Kai's things.

I mentally debate whether or not I should be late to nursury duty/Easter sunday so I can dress him all cute like most good Moms.

But he looked so dang cozy and comfy in his warm, soft jammies.

So I just swooped up my sweet lil' sleepy head, wrapped him in a blankie and before he knew what had hit him we were running down main street in the rain and into the (already occupied) nursury.

Once we made it I realized that my hair was matted and kinked from sleeping in a pony tail and I failed to grab that scrunchie I so desperately needed....

and in my hurried dressing efforts I also failed to make a good nursury wardrobe choice as I chose a pair of pants that haven't fit me since early 2009 (shoot me.) that were VERY tight. Not in the waist, not really in the butt. But oh-so-suffocating in the thigh area, which feels so lovely when you are bending down playing with littles for the better part of the morning. I even ripped them a bit as I complained to Tiff about their tightness while doing that "my-pants-are-too-tight-awkward leg stretch/squat" in attempt to create some more space.

THAT was my morning.

Kai in his "Easter Jammies"...?

On our way to Nana & Papa's for Easter Dinner and Egg hunt! (and OUT of my PJs!)

Not sure about the eggs...but these yellow flowers I KNOW I like...

This one looks kind of nice...

So, what now? (Looking around for direction)

"Like this, Kai! It's fun, there's goodies inside!"

Well in THAT case...

 

And just like that,
Easter Egg hunt #1 is officially in the books.

***

Sunshine came after that morning rain,

Mommy put some sweats on,

found a scrunchie

 and stopped sweating

 and I got to eat bites of ham and

a few licks of bunny cake frosting.

It was a good day.

"...You ask me know I know He lives...He lives within my heart!"

two-cent Tuesday...

yep my dears,

i'm giving ya'll my two-cents on some of the fine things in life

(according to me).

lots of links, so hope this finds you full of adventure!

on the motherhood front:

awesome post today from one of the great mommy blogs (on secretly wishing for a particular gender when expecting...)

i'm planning a diaper/bathtime supply shower for my lovely very prego sister and was researching practical gifts online and stumbled accross this AWESOME eco-friendly, unique baby product store.

post-bath snuggles. ahhhh.

on the shopping/fashion front:

i won a give-away today!! my friend Tricia has an etsy store that offers some wonderfully unique items and today i won a $20 credit to her store!!! so excited. i knew exactly what i wanted: the music note and map/atlas print coaster sets:

how awesome are these?!

....................................

my closet is looking so bare, depressing and bland these days...i'm in dire need of a new wardrobe.

{dreaming}

if i was granted a shopping spree to any one store it would SO be HERE.

 

all photos found here.

convinced?

i fashion-dream in FP. it's SO out of my price range it's not even funny. what i usually do is visit their store/websites and drool and take mental images of the items that i {love} and then hunt for similar articles online or at thrify city-based second hand stores....

on the fitness front:

confirmed benefits of taking your workouts OUTDOORS!

The study found that most trials showed an improvement in mental well-being: compared with exercising indoors, exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalisation, increased energy and positive engagement, together with decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression. Participants also reported greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity and stated that they were more likely to repeat the activity at a later date.

source

check out this fabulous opportunity to co-mingle two of life's best gifts (running & wine!)

*any takers, i'm gonna talk my mom and sister(s?) into it!!

 and there, my friends, is my Tuesday two-cents.

weekend potpourri

 {good}neighbors are rare finds, and i am so lucky to have them. on BOTH sides. my sweet neighbor brought me a handful of lilacs. just because.  i needed a reminder of how something as simple as a few flowers plucked from your yard can brighten someone's day...

on THAT note i spent the afternoon clearing out my garden and flower beds, making mental notes of what to buy, plant, start, etc.

my parents gave me some leftover lettuce/spinach plants, which we planted today...i have strawberry's coming back and am going to plant LOTS of tomatoes, green onions, peppers, cucumbers and RASPBERRIES!

oh, and don't even get me started on the flowers...i need to start putting money away just for landscaping costs! i DO have a cool project in store for this spring: i'm going to turn our old brick built-in bbq pit into a raised flower bed....be on the lookout for before/after pics!

it felt AWESOME to get lost in the weeds and winter-brush and get my hands and feet dirty, even if it was a bit on the chilly side...it was sunny, so i was content--and as for the wind, that's just an Eastern Oregon springtime staple...

i stocked up on squash! (for Kai).

he LOVES squash, and i just feel so much better about giving him fresh food that hasn't been sitting in a can for Lord knows how long. one of his faves is squash (this is acorn squash) mixed with apple and brown rice. yummy yummy!

i've got a freezer full of home-made baby food cubes and jars: peaches, nectarines, apples, pear, pear-apple, squash, beans and peas. This website has some great baby food recipes if you are into that kind of thing...

i'm finding socks AND shoes all over the place.

he is literally walking out of his socks...

i'm constantly finding him with one on and one off!

all smiles!

the last few nights he's been sleeping AWESOME--like up only once from 8pm-8am...i probably shouldn't blog about this, because it will inevitably jinx me. but, it's been fabulous to get a few extra hours of sleep.

and on top of that he's still taking two naps a day for anywhere from 1-3 hours at a time!

my little stinker's growin' like crazy...

i'll leave you with a little somethin' that Kai's been practicing up on

for summer pool/ocean/river time:

(he was mimicking me splashing with my feet!)

Wishing you all a great week!

springtime in our backyard

progress proofs.

Post-baby (taken last fall):
 

Let this be a lesson to all of you Moms-to-be: DON'T gain 70 lbs. while pregnant!!! 

Post-Baby (taken in April 2011):

This may not look like much, but these jeans were once VERY tight, and now I can slide them on and off without having to unbutton them!

(still my most comfy pair, but starting to look silly as they kind of fall off of my hips...)

 Yes, it's taken 8 months for this little bit of progress.

I've had to work harder than I ever have for what seems should be way more results,

and I still have a ways to go...

but even after the stubborn weight and stretch marks, man, was it all worth it!