A Christmas treasure...

My family and I went for a hike along the Sandy River to get some fresh air on Christmas. I have been so cooped up lately that I couldn't handle it anymore. It was sunny and beautiful on Christmas Day but by the time we got to the river in the very late afternoon the sun was no longer hitting our side of the river. Nalah was leading our hike through the woods full charge and the other older kids were hesitant at first but had a fun time building forts and throwing rocks into the river. The kids stayed behind with their Papa and Uncle, and I walked  up ahead to check out the rocks along the shore. I  noticed my footprints were the only ones along on the beach that day and lucky for me there was a giant red agate just sitting there on the beach. My Christmas treasure!

Holiday market in the woods.....

 (photos from Christmas in the Garden at the Oregon Garden)

Wishing you all love and light this holiday season!

This Moment...

Look who I busted putting on mascara in the bathroom?

 (Sigh)...they grow up fast ;)

Join along with Soulemama to share your moment this week.

Frozen Beauties...

 Nalah and I took a chilly walk one morning to take pictures of our unusually cold weather last week. There is something so beautiful about frozen roses. We never had them in Wisconsin, by the time the frost came the roses were long gone but here in Oregon they hold on all winter, it is amazing. When moved here in January of 2003  I remember being amazed that there were still roses...and a homeless peacock living on our roof, but that is a different story.

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt...........

Feeling Thankful

  I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday!

We threw together a last minute traditional Thanksgiving dinner with a trip to the farmers market on Wednesday to get a ton of seasonal root vegetables to make this. It was yummy and I don't think I have ever even had a rutabaga before. We also threw in some potatoes that Sollie grew in our garden! It was our super local,home grown and seasonal side dish. 

These are Sollie' home grown potatoes, he is especially fond of the tiny "snowman" potato, we didn't cook that one.

Ben looked super happy when he walked out of the bakery with this, however it looked way better that in tasted. We are going to try turning it into french toast.

 Being a vegetarian and living 3,000 miles from my extended family I am not really a huge fan of Thanksgiving and would rather just feast on Indian take out (we did this last year). But Thanksgiving is my Husband's favorite holiday and he arranged his work schedule so he could be home, so we did it his way this year. Although very last minute(we were grocery shopping at 10pm on Wednesday)it came together quite nicely.

 I was thankful that Ben worked through the weekend last week so he could take this week off to help with the kids so I could participate in a  holiday craft show at my son's school. It was a really nice change of pace for me, to get out of my house by myself for several hours. I sell my crafts mainly online I don't usually get to interact face to face with the people who purchase my goods. It was very nice to hear positive comments on my work. It was a lot of sitting around but I feel it was totally worth it. As a stay at home mom with out a regular paycheck it feels really good to contribute financially. The first day sales were a bit slow but the second day was a huge blessing for me. Each sale from HumbleLuna means a lot to my family and helps me provide Christmas gifts for my kids each year. Despite all the stress leading up to it, I feel it was a success and I hope I can participate again next year.

Here are some  crappy pictures of my booth:

Getting by

Last week was very hard for me. Lately I feel like I am using all my physical and mental effort just to get through the day. I don't look forward to the future like I used to and am having a hard time getting out of the funk. Hopefully it is just motivation to change my life.

I have never liked change and I avoid it at all costs but I am coming to realize just how much that is holding me back from getting what I want out of life. My family really needs a change, a fresh start.

The lifestyle we have right now is not working but we feel trapped and can't seem to find another option. It feels hopeless and sometimes all I feel I can count on for sure anymore is bad luck.

I think one huge problem is that I am not taking care of myself or getting a break at all. On top of having some poor health issues that are not being taken care of at the moment since I lost my insurance this past summer.

 This past weekend I was hoping to do things differently. I usually feel obligated to find something fun(and mostly free) for us to do as a family on the weekends since we only have two days of the week to be together as a family. This is great, but then I end up starting another week alone with the kids without ever getting time for myself alone. I am an introvert meaning, I NEED time alone in order to feel happy, being around people, even my own kids, 24/7 is extremely draining for me. I never get the time alone that I need to reboot and feel refreshed.

This weekend was really nice.Ben got back into town in time for me to make it to the monthly pub knitting on Friday night.  On Saturday I made time for myself to go for a long walk up Mt. Tabor park near my home, this used to be a daily ritual for me when Ben was home during the week. I think it really helps me de-stress and have my own uninterrupted thoughts which is a rare thing for me these days. I am hoping I can find a way to get back into the rhythm of this. On Sunday we took the kids to a fun park with a huge castle like play structure in a small town near Mt Hood, it gave us time to talk to each other and have a conversation in the car and also gave us time to play with the kids and have a good time as a family. Then on Sunday night we went to our friend Ken's kid friendly bluegrass show at a pub in North Portland. It was really fun to get out and see some music all together. Going out to see music is something Ben and I used to really enjoy doing together and we just stopped doing it once we had kids. It is a different dynamic with the kids along, but they had a great time. There was even a little kids mosh pit that my children just sat quietly and watched...ironic because at home that would never happen. 

I am hopeful that I can continue to find the time to do more things I love and make a little time for myself. Maybe then I can start looking forward to life again without feeling like I am just barely getting by.

A walk in the park

The kids had off of school for the holiday on Monday and the weather was just beautiful. It was warm and sunny and breezy. I love how the sun is so low in the sky all day this time of year giving everything that 4pm glow. We took a walk to a neighborhood park and soaked up the sun for several hours.The kids had fun playing in the leaves and running down the hills and they even got along (for several minutes ;)

Solomon ran into some friends from school and got to play with his buddies at the playground while Sophie helped Nalah on the play structure. It was pretty crowed so I was busy keeping track of everyone. Nalah has the tendency to never want to get back in the stroller once I take her out so it was a long walk home.

It felt really good to spend several hours outside.

Isn't it too early for cabin fever??

A four day weekend for the kids and a pulled muscle in my neck= crabby overwhelmed mama who needed to get the heck out of her trashed noisy house and breath in some fresh air. Luckily I was feeling a little better by Sunday and we were able to head out as a family into nature.

20 Months!!

Going to take some time to have fun with my baby girl today. We still celebrate her monthly birthdays. She is such a joy to be around and I love this age so much. She is a mushy lover who is very sweet and likes to cuddle and give kisses. She also likes motorcycles and AC/DC...no joke.

My funny sweet fiesty girl who now refuses to sit in shopping carts or get in her carseat which makes running errands a battle of wills. Good thing we live in a neighborhood where we can walk to the stores to get what we need most of the time.

There are no words to express how much I love her!!

Cheech and Chong, an evil wind up doll,spiderman, and an Octopus.

***Halloween 2013***

We had a great Halloween! Papa was in town and the kids got to go out trick or treating with their friends. Ben and I did our first couples costume after 14 years as a couple. I couldn't stop laughing at him, good thing I couldn't see myself, he he.

I found all the stuff for the Cheech and Chong and Spiderman costumes at the thrift store. I made Nalah's octopus skirt and hat, Sophie's skirt and her wind up crank(cardboard and metallic paint) and a heart eye patch that she forgot to wear. It wasn't too hard to get it all done, but after sewing several costume order for my Etsy shop, Nalah and Sophie's costumes were put off until the very last minutes.

Nalah had her first experience trick or treating this year. All the houses we went to required climbing at least one flight of stairs, but she never got tired or cranky. It was so stinking adorable to watch her walk up with her little bag, I just wonder what she was thinking.

The next morning after we dropped brother off at school she wanted to walk up to all the houses to get more candy, she was pretty upset when she found out the party was over. Poor buddy. She has already forgotten about the candy. The older kids, not so much.

You just have to see my little octopus in motion....

I hope you all had a fun time this year! I am already planning costumes to make for next year :)