It seems weird to me that some people think that once you have a baby, you’re no longer able to enjoy the things you used to enjoy doing. We’ve always wanted to include Elise in our lives (within reason); not have our lives constantly revolve around her and risk losing sight of who we were as individuals/husband & wife before she came along. {I realize those sentences alone could warrant an entire blogpost some other time.} I only bring this up because I had numerous people and other hikers say how they were impressed the babies were hiking with us—and it kinda took me by surprise.

But, I digress.

This was a great hike to do with the babies—not too strenuous or steep—but I think we could’ve hiked longer if we’d gone earlier in the morning or later in the evening since there really wasn’t any shade out there {I blame it on Elise for actually taking a long morning nap before we left to hike}.

Nonetheless, it was fun. Plus, I did not see a single rattlesnake, so that alone makes it a good time.

Bonus was getting to spend some time with my supercool brother.

Sometimes I think Kim & Todd just don’t understand us. {Todd moreso than Kim…she’s been around us for 20 years by now}

But that’s okay. It’s valid. We are a bit weird. And when we’re together the weirdness just amplifies itself tenfold.

Every good trip needs a jumping picture, right?

Challenge accepted.

Ben captured this in one take. And then we rolled on down the mountain.

The last time I took a jumping picture was a little over a year before, also on a hike…..in Hawaii. I wasn’t quite as limber then. Plus, somebody was weighing me down a bit.

I’m reluctant to call it a vacation, because in my mind, a vacation is a time when you get to sleep in after a long night of uninterrupted sleep, decompress from your job, and completely relax.

And, well…there isn’t much relaxing when your boss travels with you.

{sure is cute though.}

We were ‘on’ pretty much 24/7. No rest for the weary. C’est la vie, right?

We wouldn’t have wanted to spend this time without her anyways. Except that she decided she doesn’t like sleeping somewhere other than her own crib—but that’s a whole other story that we’ve tried to wipe from our memories and have since recovered from.

So this family trip….back in September, my mom started planning a surprise for my dad’s 70th birthday and thought it’d be fun to fly us kids & grandbabies somewhere for a week.  We narrowed down the location options and decided on Phoenix since my aunt & uncle, along with several cousins live there {plus, the perfect sunny weather was a nice bonus}. Mom rented a big house with a pool, organized everything, and worked up a plan to get my dad down there without him suspecting anything. We had a surprise party planned with family & friends, and then my dad had a medical ‘hiccup’ and we had to change some plans.

The party was cancelled, but we ended up seeing everyone at some point during the week anyways. It was a lot more relaxing too, which was nice for everyone, especially dad.

We were super excited to spend some quality time with my parents and brother Ben, SIL Kim & little Nephew B.

My cousin Ryan, his wife Lindsay, and their daughter Lily live in Phoenix so we got to see them several times. And my aunt Janice flew over from California for a couple days.

Seriously, it was like a weeklong family reunion of both sides of the family. People dropped by to visit every day. I thought it was awesome…Todd (and Elise) may have been a bit overwhelmed by it all.

{chatterbox Lily was more interested in talking/marching/splashing in the pool than posing for a picture}

{but this funny guy wasn’t camera shy at all.}

{Elise’s first time splashing in a pool! LOVED it.}

{my sweet Aunt Barb…reminds me SO much of my grandma Mildred.}

{my cousins Martelle, Darin & his wife Candis, very ornery Uncle Gene & Aunt Barb}

{brother & sister.}

We spent a lot of time just sitting outside around the fire pit every night; talking, roasting our feet, making S’mores….not really something you can do in Seattle in March.

I say, “Yaay! Look at the wintery wonderland! I loooooove snow!”

He says, “Grumble grumble. I’m moving somewhere warm.”

I was pretty intent on getting Elise out to enjoy her first snowfall, so I called up Ryan & Aubrey—who are always up for snow fun—and they walked up to our neighborhood for some sledding.

We went  to the same hill/street we conquered last year, only this time we had real sleds! Gone are the days of riding on cookie sheets and in Rubbermaid tote boxes. Sadly, other kids were onto our secret and the two neighborhood hills were busy. Anybody else absolutely hate waiting their turn on the sledding hill? “C’mon kids, move it along! Need a push?” No? Just me?

Naturally, I had to take Elise on her first sled ride. Safety first, I wrapped my arms tightly around her and we did a shortened version of the hill (like maybe 15 feet worth). Wheeee!

I remember my sled rides as a youngster…..sitting on a rusty old car hood with my brother and cousin Ryan, being pulled behind our dads’ motorcycles over the snow covered soybean field.

It really amazes me sometimes how we survived childhood.

I think she liked loved it. Next year we’ll go further up the hill!

We’re supposed to get even more snow the next couple of days, which is great except that it melts during the day and freezes at night, making the hilly roads better for ice skating than driving.

Oh well.

Thankfully, my boss lets me work from home.

{Seriously monster cheeks. What’s she storing in there?}

Do you know how difficult it is to get Elise and my parents to both look & smile at the camera?!

Very.

And usually Elise is the one who is better at it.

{she’s thinking: who’s that crazy lady?}

.    .    .    .    .

Ah, and remember when I challenged myself to take a picture of just Todd & I when we were out with friends?

{success.}

That was like an entire month ago! We got a babysitter and enjoyed an evening out at Black Raven, our local microbrewery. Todd and the guys go there frequently (or they used to before Elise was born), but this was my first time there. Naturally, they suggested I order a sampler.

{this momma needs to get out more.}

Despite the fact that Elise has taken over the blog postings for the past 4 months—err, longer actually, even while I was pregnant she was the star of this show—it’s not like our social life has totally gone by the wayside. We still get to enjoy non-baby time, it just doesn’t get documented as well.

Recently though, we got to help Ryan celebrate his 30th birthday with a surprise shindig that Aubrey organized. Lots of cheese & wine, and cake! (okay, technically Elise was there, but she was asleep upstairs the entire time)

I just realized that there are no pictures of just Todd & I together. So…..maybe we actually don’t have that much non-baby time out and about amongst society. Elise still seems to be hovering around wherever we go, but that’s perfectly fine with me. She’s the best accessory I’ve ever had. Plus, it’s a proven fact (done by my own scientific research) that you become 100 times more popular in public when you’re with a baby.

Recently though, ‘Auntie’ Catherine came to spend a weekend with us. And while we didn’t do any real exciting touristy things, we got to spend some quality time together and relax. Plus, next to the grandparents’, she’s our most frequent visitor so we’ve done all the fun stuff before baby arrived.  I’ll admit, it’s hard doing activities outside of the house when you have a baby. I try to keep Elise on a daily routine so it takes some pre-planning to figure out when we can venture out and about.

We went on a nice long walk by the lake, did a little shopping, visited Gasworks Park & IKEA, drank plenty of wine, and even had our first non-grandparent babysitter so us three adults could enjoy a nice dinner out. Best of all, having Cat as my running buddy helped me get in my longest post-pregnancy run so far (almost 3.5 miles….yaaay!), while Todd took Elise for their weekly daddy/daughter date.

Can’t wait for your next visit, Auntie Cat!

Elise LOVES you. You have a special gift in being able to make her so calm, happy & smiley. If she could talk, I’m pretty sure she’d say she misses you lots.

In other exciting news, my phone now has video capabilities so I’ve been taking videos of Elise like it’s going out of style. We recently watched a video that Todd’s parents had made from when he was born until age 2, and it motivated me to start capturing more memories so someday we can look back and say “I can’t believe you were ever that small”.

Oh wait. I already do that.

If I can figure out how to upload them onto here without having to consult my computer genius husband, I’ll share some giggles with you.

“Oh, totally a boy, you’re straight out like a bullet, like I was with my 3 boys”. “Definitely a girl, you’re all belly, not big all over like I was with my boy”.  Basically, I’ve decided that you can’t determine a baby’s gender by how mom’s belly looks, every women is different.

If the heart rate’s below 139, must be a boy. Above 140? Girl.  To be honest, this baby’s heartbeat has been both. A good variation means the baby is healthy.

“Do you have cravings for sour or salty foods? Boy.” “Are you craving sweets? Girl.” Ok, fine. But what if I don’t have any cravings?? I just like all flavors equally.

We asked our parents and brother & sis-in-law for their predictions and the results came back an even split: 3 voted girl, 3 voted boy. Now’s your chance to voice your opinion before the little one arrives.

And just because I like guessing games, here’s one more for you:

If you’re feeling really confident, leave us a comment with how you voted (the exact date of birth gets you bonus points!).

The winner gets……[drumroll please]………bragging rights!

Yaaay!

I love seeing my mom & dad without months in between.  It’s nice.  Like living close to home.

They brought along their close friends Linda & Norm, a couple of Seattle newbies (not counting that Norm was stationed nearby here in the Navy many years ago), so we did the introductory sightseeing stops.  And it seemed like I made them walk a lot, not realizing that I’m used to walking everywhere downtown and they—well— they were on a leisurely vacation, not a sprint race.  Oops.

Our time was short and sweet, but I’m thankful for what time we could spend together.  Maybe next time you’ll take us along with you on the cruise??

And even better, Todd’s parents are here this weekend, so its like 3 weeks in a row of seeing parents.  Sometimes you just need a good heavy dose of family.

I like stuff that has a story behind it….even if I don’t know what that story is.  When I lived closer to my parents, my favorite place to find good, cheap free stuff was in my dad’s shed.  I still have a few pieces that I cleaned up, repainted and cherish deeply.  And I like stuff that I can build on the foundation of and make it my own.

My most recent furnishing creation was a quick & easy pillow. Anthropologie was having a sale last week so I bought a couple fabric items (okay, contrary to my earlier statement, I’d love to buy everything from their store. But I can’t afford it anyways, so what’s the point in trying?).

I found this pretty painted and embellished placemat for $6 (originally $14).  Would I pay $6 to actually use it as a placemat?  No.  But I knew it would make a lovely & cheap accent pillow for the living room.  Bonus about this one is that it has two different sides.  That’s like getting two pillows for the price of one!

(By no means am I a skilled seamstress, so I’m convinced that anyone can handle this project)

Step 1. Have the item inspected by your minions.

Step 2.  Iron it smooth if you feel like it.  I did not feel like it.

Here you see our model, Stig, displaying the two different fabrics. Purple on back!

Step 3.  Use a seam ripper thingy (see, I don’t even know the technical term, that’s how amateur I am) to create a hole big enough to fit your hand through.

Step 4.  Stuff the thing with polyester filling until it’s nice and full.

Step 5.  Now sew the opening shut.  Do not expect perfection. That’s my crafting motto.

(notice the minions in the background fighting over who gets to help me)

Step 6.  Once you are all sewn up, tie a knot of some sort with the thread and throw on the couch. Simple as that.

Look at that expensive beading on my $6 pillow (well, $10 when you add in the price of polyester filling, but I also have enough of that leftover for another placemat-to-pillow conversion).

Step 7.   Brag to your husband about how you gave a placemat an exciting new life as a pillow and become frustrated when he doesn’t get as enthusiastic about it as you do.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

I actually did this next project awhile back after I found this sad looking side table for $10.  The minute I saw it, I knew I could give it a breath of fresh air with a new darker stain.  Speaking of fresh air, it’s very important in any project like this when you’re working with stain.  Otherwise you might pass out.  Or grow a third hand or something.

I don’t have a step-by-step lesson, but it was pretty easy, just a little time consuming.  Sand, clean, apply wood stain (I used Minwax Red Mahogany) and let dry, about 4-6 hours. Or, if you’re impatient like me, about 1 hour.  Apply another coat to get an even darker finish.  Let that coat dry for 24 hours (I suggest moving the item into a garage so you don’t get pine needles sticking to the table).

Finally, apply a good coat of Polyurethane to give it a protective finish. Let it dry for at least another 24 hours or until it isn’t sticky.

Ta da!  All done.  A unique side table for about $20 once you add in the cost of stain, brush & polyurethane.

It has a cozy new home in the living room. Right next to the Anthropillow.

Are they perfect?  No way.  But I (kinda) made them myself and that’s what counts most.