paper hydrangeas

My friend Emily saw this project on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to do. What I liked about it:

1. It's cheap
2. It's super easy (by easy I mean no fail)
3. It's cute

The 3 requirements for me to do a craft. I am a perfectionist with very little skill or patience when it comes to crafts. It's a bad combination. Our husbands watched the babies (well kinda) while we crafted away. When Emily had to nurse her daughter Juniper she made her husband step in and take over the flower making process. He could even do it! The paper we used were brown paper bags and I got sticks out of our yard. Here is the link to the craft tutorial. Overall a success!!
Click here to learn how to do it  Don't judge hers look way better :)

boxes are so fun

We recently got a big package....(thanks Carmen!) that came in a big box. Isaac was entertained for hours. Isaac uses it to walk around the house...who needs a walker! We have had it for about a month and it has been colored and remains a major staple in the living room.

cute song

I came across this video on a blog and fell in love with it. Thought I would share if anyone has any little ones and gets sick of singing the same songs over and over like me :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Npu_ly3ZM

mirror over mantle

 When we moved in I thought ugh...that mirror has to go. Then Peter told me that the mirror is glued on so strongly that if he tried to take it off most likely chunks of the dry wall would come off with it and that is more trouble than it is worth. So Peter spent many late night hours working in the garage "perfecting" this frame that he glued over the mirror. He is such a perfectionist and I often get frustrated asking...."is it done yet" and he says "not yet". I really am grateful because everything he does turns out so well done and beautiful. Like the saying goes "if it ain't done right it ain't worth doing"

Before:

After:

 

red lentil soup with lemon

This soup is to die for. We first had it when Peter's sister Elsa made it for us after we had Isaac. The combination of flavors are genius and it is so satisfying. Isaac even liked it! It is from one of my favorite websites: 101 cookbooks

2 cups / 14 oz / 400 g split red lentils, picked over and rinsed well
1 tablespoon turmeric
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
fine grain sea salt
1 large onion / ~ 2 cups, diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
1 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of three lemons, or to taste
1 large bunch of spinach leaves, chopped
plenty of cooked (warm) brown rice, to serve
plenty of plain Greek yogurt, to serve

Put the lentils in a pot with 7 cups / 1.6 l water, the turmeric, 1 tablespoon of the butter, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart - twenty minutes or so. Puree with a hand blender. Add more water until the soup is the consistency you like, then taste and add more salt if needed. Keep the soup warm/hot.
While the lentils are cooking, prepare the onion. In a skillet over low heat cook the onion in 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter along with the cumin and mustard seeds, stirring occasionally. When the onions have softened, roughly 10 or 15 minutes, add the cilantro and cook for a few seconds before removing from the heat. Add the onion mixture to the soup, then add the juice of the lemons, one lemon at a time - until the soup has a nice bit of tang. Also, add more salt to taste at this point if needed.
Just before serving, add the last of the butter to the skillet, when hot add the spinach and a good pinch of salt. Stir well, and cook just long enough for the spinach to collapse.
Serve by placing a scoop of rice in each bowl, then soup, spinach, and a dollop of yogurt.
Serves 6.
 

i did it!

It has been a life long dream of mine to be a runner. You would think why in the world did it take you this long? Because you have to push through the pain to get to the "fun" part and I was never able to do that. Well in all things that I do making it social makes it way more fun....and well lets face it I actually do it and somebody is there to push me. My friend Emily who I met at Evergreen Parent Baby class and I downloaded a free app "Couch to 5k" picked a 5k three months ahead and followed the exercise programs with our little babies in tow (the strollers). We completed the program and ran the Iron Girl at Greenlake yesterday. It was so fun to see the husbands and the babies cheering us on along the way and at the finish line. I ran 3.2 miles and even though that is drops in a bucket to most I couldn't be more proud of myself. Peter has always dreamed of the day the two of us could run together and it has finally arrived, he couldn't be more proud also! Of course we can't stop there. We are downloading the bridge to 10k app and Emily, Karl, baby Juniper, Peter, baby Isaac, and I plan on running the Greenlake Gobble 5k all together on November 18th. 

eight months

baby i turned 8 months on August 19th so I'm playing a little catch up.This month Isaac has been busy exploring every inch of our house. Opening up cupboards, trying to play in the toilets, eating every single piece of lint off the floor, pulling things of shelves. He goes and goes without stopping so he keeps me constantly busy all day long. This month was a big dose of separation anxiety which paired nicely with Peter's family reunion where everyone he didn't know wanted to hold him. It lasted a couple weeks and now he prefers Peter right now! Which works out great at bedtime and in the middle of the night.....finally!!! New fun things are he loves to clap and imitate us when we clap. He grooves along to music by bouncing up and down, he still is enamored with dogs and we have decided to get one before his 1st birthday, he loves to "scream" not speak "ya ya ya ya" when he is really happy. We had a crazy busy August and he held on for dear life napping in the car or wherever he could. We are looking forward to Fall and setting into our routine. Most importantly establishing Isaac's daily nap schedule with a consistent bedtime and night routine of a bath and a book. We have already started this for about 2 weeks now and he sleeps like a champ! We will see what next month brings but for now I never thought I would say this "I'm so glad he isn't walking yet"

third year anniversary

My parents offered to watch Isaac overnight for our anniversary. On that sleep deprived day I thought "OK!!" Thinking what I would give for one night of complete uninterrupted sleep! Peter got a great deal on a night at Semiahmoo Resort north of Bellingham. I had never been there before so was excited to go somewhere new. The resort is absolutely stunning and on this remote spit where you are surrounded on both sides by the Puget Sound. Isaac had a really good time with my parents, well that is what they claim at least :)We are always reluctant to leave Isaac and especially was for an overnight. But every time we do it completely recharges us and is so important for our relationship and we never regret it.

This picture of Isaac was captured the morning after by my parents. "Parents....what Parents??"

sommar

I haven't posted in awhile and this is why! We've had a busy summer but it has been amazing. So many fun first for Isaac and so many great memories made. Here's a glimpse!

We had a great time going to Marymoor Park at the Veladrome on Thursdays to watch Peter race and on Fridays to watch our friend Randy race.

We have enjoyed our new grass and Isaac has enjoyed eating things he finds in it. 

Isaac's first boat ride on Lake Washington, he seemed to really like it.

Eating sand at Lake Cavenaugh

We had my family reunion and celebrated my Grandpa's 80th birthday. It was so fun to have my sisters home and have them spend time with Isaac. He loves them and they love him!

Peter went backpacking with the men in my family and had a great time. We hope that have Isaac go along next year.

We went camping at Colonial Creek Campground with our good friends Chris and Meghan in the North Cascades. The weather was so warm and we got a great campsite. We look forward to camping next summer when Isaac is older and walking (not eating rocks). It was definitely a highlight of the summer!

Peter's cousin Sam and his family stayed with us and Isaac was part of the family watching cartoons on the couch.

We had Peter's family reunion at Cama Beach State Park. We also had lots of his family over to our house for a bbq.

Isaac and all of his baby friends. We moms get together about once a month at each others houses for dinner. Usually it is without the babies but this was an exception! There is only 2 other boys besides Isaac.

Isaac got lots of lake time this summer. The above pictures is me with my high school friends who all live out of town and we all got together at my friend Carmen's lake cabin.

All muddy!!

Overall I think Isaac loves summer just as much as Peter and I!