Since her room had the taupe color that is all over our house, we decided to use a primer first. That added extra time to the project, but we got all three colors done by Monday afternoon. Derick was a good helper! He enjoyed helping Daddy take the trim off with a pry bar and did a little painting too. During the project, Darla slept in our room in her pack-n-play. I have to say I am looking forward to moving her back into her own room again. 
D & D playing in the tent.
When I was a kid, my family had a fun tradition of making home made pizzas on Friday nights. We would make four and each of us would pick the toppings for one of the pizzas. My mom would make the dough from scratch, and I loved to help kneed it. After eating our fill, we would save the rest and have pizza all weekend long.
Happy New Years! Welcome the new decade. 2010 is going to be fantastic!
I've been doing some reflecting about the new year that is coming. Being a stay at home mom can be pretty amazing. I have such a strong bond with my kids and I enjoy watching them grow. That said, there are some pretty repetitive, lonely, and mundane parts of it too. Earlier this week, I was feeling a bit depressed about another year of alot of the same moments. What can I look forward to? What will be my goals for 2010? What will I do for myself?
The day after Christmas was spent with my family in Edmonds. My sister and her hubby hosted a breakfast feast this year. We got spoiled in all the right ways. We were having such a nice time, we just stayed the whole day! Darla took a nap in Sydney's crib and Derick had some quiet time while Cooper crashed. We played video games and visited. Dinner was leftover ham sandwiches. YUM!
Jeremy has a passion for motorcycles...on and off road. And one of the ways he celebrates it is to attend the Seattle Motorcycle show every year in December. I've been a few times, but don't enjoy it as much as he does. So, for the last few years, he's gone with his brother Josh and Derick. They have a good time hanging out and talking with the other motor heads at the event. There's usually a stunt show and lots of machines to check out. Derick does his best to sit on every motorcycle he can get to. He gets pretty excited about each one too. 
Just for fun, here's a few pics from years past:
It's good Daddy and Derick time....and I get a chunk of testosterone-free time out of it too.
Like many families, the holidays bring a mixed bag of feelings. There's lots of love, some joy, some sadness, some fear, and some dread. It's hard to stay focused on what's important and positive. Jeremy and I are working off of our tightest budget we've ever had. It's tough. And totally do-able. I keep reminding both of us that Christmas is not about how many presents are under the tree, but about the feelings, the love, and the togetherness we feel when we exchange those gifts. We both want to provide fun and lasting memories for our children, similar to what we remember from our childhood.
One of our favorite family traditions is to start off the holiday season by going to the Ivar's Clam Lights at Coulon park. I love Christm
as lights....it's something I got from my mother. And Renton does the park up with an amazing amount of lights. There's holiday entertainment, Santa with candy canes, horse drawn waggon rides, Christmas carols by the fire, and the Christmas ships cruise by the waterfront all decked out in lights. The four of us bundled up and enjoyed the spectacle. It was *just* the thing to get us in the right mood for the holidays. 
It won't be long before she's able to keep up with the boys.
Mother, Father, Spirit within;
Watching her explore the world brings me such joy. Thank you for the supportive family, and the rich circle of friends that surround us. Thank you for the roof over our heads and the food on our table. But, most of all, thank you for living inside my heart. Thank you for helping me shine my light and be the best me for all to see..jpg)
