A trip to the hills

My sister and I got together for an impromptu trip into the hills. We went to be outdoors and to gather crafting "stuff" from nature. We collected and the kids played. I got a bunch of charred wood from the last camper's fire for the kids to draw with.

(because I'm trying to put a few more pictures of me on my blog)

It was a beautiful, if chilly day in the sun. It only took 20 minutes for the sun to settle behind the hills and then it was much colder.


My sis and I both saw this fun tree shape as a great picture op. She actually got one of them all looking - and smiling!


And then they were all off to collect/play more.


Emma did a lot of this:


And a lot of conversations with her cousin (the day ended with a plea for a sleep-over)



Daniel did a lot of this:


And was always on the hunt for a great rock to throw in the small stream that ran next to the camp site.

That's a good one I think!

Beth mostly did this:


Both my sister and I did a lot of this:


I can't wait until summer for some great camping trips!

Our Thankful Tree

Inspired by this project that my sister did with her kids, we made our own Thankful Tree.

Emma helped me draw aand cut out the leaves. Both she and Daniel colored the tree.


Emma is thankful for Jesus and Beth. Daniel is thankful for chips! lol

dishes

Simple title. Meaningful gesture.

When Tuan and I got married he took over the chore of washing dishes. It was never somethimg I actually asked him to do. He just did it because he is such an awesome husband. You see whwn we first got married, I didn't know that I was allergic to gluten and was still eating it. So my hands and arms were always dry and itchy and usually cracked and bleeding (attractive, I know!). Water - especially hot water made it worse.

When I stopped eating gluten to try and clear up Daniel's rashes, mine cleared up too! The excema and itchy blisters went away!! But Tuan kept washing dishes because, well, he's such an awesome husband! lol

But it was never fun giving up time with him in the evenings so that he could wash the dishes. So I decided that I would try to get them done during the day instead. Most days I do and it is working out much better. There are only a days worth of dishes and Tuan doesn't have to come home to a dirty kitchen full of dishes to do. Because I am just an awesome wife like that. hee.

My secret?











Make the kids do it! He'll never know. Well, until he reads this post that is.

Thanksgiving dinner

Since we have both Vietnamese heritage and American heritage in our family our Thanksgiving dinner reflects that. Tuan didn't grow up celebrating Thanksgiving (natch) so a special dinner is from my side. Before Daniel and I stopped eating gluten, I made these eggrolls (Tuan's Dad's recipe and method) often. Now they are a once a year treat for Tuan and Emma. I should make them more often but I hate even bringing gluten into the house.


(Not bad for only making them once a year, eh?)

Roast chicken, Mashed potatoes and gravy, crannberries and stuffing from my side.

Egg rolls and shrimp fried rice from Tuan's side. (If I knew how to make other of his dad's dishes I would - believe me I will learn as soon as I get the chance.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Family Pictures

I added some family pictures to our family website.

http://www.ourfamilylife.com/osufamlefamily/home.php?example=true

Right This Minute

What do you get . . .

When you undo this hairdo after 4 days?



This!

Snapshot Sunday - Emma and Daniel Edition

Introducing my two adorable guest bloggers!

I forgot to take pictures today so I handed the camera to the kids and they snapped away.

I love the foot theme.








How it all started

When kids get the camera

Mommy - take our picture!

I heard fom the bedroom "mom, come take our picture!" I love hearing that. This is what Emma wanted me to take a picture of. I love this picture - it's so colorful and the three adorable kids are nice too!

Black and White

Guess what - my camera has a black and white setting! Who knew? Daniel discovered it for me!

Kiddie Kandids

I took the kids in to have their pictures taken. We got some really cute ones. I get so stressed about choosing what to have them wear. I made the girl's hair bows. I think the outfits look alright. I set up a family website that has all of the pictures on it. It is only free for 2 weeks so this link won't work after then. lol I put some of them up in this post but the quality is really poor - the website quality will be better. Click on the picture under "kids" to see more pics of them

Enjoy!

Right this minute

watercolors



leftover sand from sand art

EC or Elimination Communication

We practice EC or Elimination Comunication and have with all three of our kids. Instead of teaching them that is is ok to pee and poop in a diaper (cloth or sposie) and then re-teach them to only pee and poop in a toilet we help them learn from birth to eliminate in a small potty/sink/toilet. Just like your baby will give you cues to help you learn when they are hungry they will also give you cues as to when they need to eliminate.

With Emma we used sposies as back-up and I went by timing more or less. I had a lot of misses and she took a potty strike when we moved across the country.
With Daniel we used poquito pants or one-wets as back-up. I also ECed him at night. He was night-dry at 8-mos. For the first few months of his life I worked on strengthening my intuition and connection with Daniel. I would just hold him and offer him the potty any time that I had a thought "maybe he needs to pee". I much prefer that method to timing! lol
With Beth I am doing as I did with Daniel but have added soakers. Love the soakers! But our night-time routine is very different. Daniel would latch on and pee into the bowl I would hold him over. Beth hates to pee while nursing. So I use poquito pants on her at night instead of bare-bum like Daniel.

When Emma was born my sister visited us for a week and brought us a Baby Bjorn Little Potty. I really love them! I just bought two more since we have a second floor now. But when they came I saw that they have a new design.
The potty on the left if their old design - the one I much prefer.



The new design is great for toddlers but it is too tall and too wide for a newborn. We have to hold her over the large one and inevitably pee gets all over - I miss being able to aim my boy! lol


But she can sit assisted on the smaller ones.


My sister and I are trading potties for now. I got right to work making potty covers for them. That plastic is cold on little legs and bums!

I think the zebra print is my favorite!

No mom, it's not too cold to jump on the trampoline!

projects

Since Beth came I have been super busy with lots of projects. Things that she needed sooner than later so I had to really step it up. Luckely she has given me lots of time to crochet/sew while she slumbers away.

First up - soakers! These are the first soakers I have ever made. I can't believe I never knew about them when Daniel was a baby. Bummer. A soaker is a wool diaper cover. You lanolize it to give it extra water-proofing. When we are out I don't worry about her outfits getting soaked if we miss a pee because the soakers keep her outfits from wicking up the pee. It also cuts down on the extra outfits I don't need to haul around now.

This is the first one I made. You can see how huge it is on her. At least she'll grow into it.


So I made another one that fits much better.


Next up - babylegs!
I made several pairs out of adult knee-hight socks before realizing that she wouldn't fit into them until she was at least a year and a half old! Oops. So I got some girls knee-high socks and made her a few pairs that fit her right now. They are very easy to make - let me know if you want the instructions.


Next - poquito pants!
These are like a fitted diaper without a cover. We call them one-wets because it's easier for the kids to say and because they only hold one 'wet'. lol My sister gave me the ones she used for her littles and thank goodness because the ones that I made for Daniel three years ago were not working. I made them specifically for a boy with the bulk of the absorbancy at the very front. Us girls need it in the middle. So I took advantage of the 50% off flannel sale at Hancocks and got some really, really cute fabric. Perhaps too many different prints but they were so cute! I'll post pics of the other when I get them done. A friend has offered to use her snap press and put snaps on for me. Some of the fabric is for larger sizes as she grows.





Next we have a sweater:
She is an October baby and while Emma was a Febuary baby, she was born in Oklahoma. So I didn't have any o-3 mos sweaters or jackets saved. So I used this bloggers idea and made it my own. I used a nice bulky yarn for super cozy feel. Then I added just a touch of bright pink on the seams and put an embelishment at the shoulders. And because I could I added some sweet flowers to the front. Since it was 1 am when I finished I took this pictures and went to bed. The next day I tried it on her and it was quite tight under the arms and wrists. So I took the seams out and re-did them adding in some width and ease under the arms and a slit opening at the wrists. And it fits beautifully!




And finally hats!
I found this pattern and knew I was going to make one for Beth. But a friend had twin girls first. So I made her two daughters their own hats.


Then I made one for a friend due with a baby boy in Nov (Congrats Jenni!)


When Beth was born I wanted to start right away on hers but the colors just weren't coming to me. I started two times with different colors but took the stitches out when I didn't like the colors. Then I started this one and really like it. It doesn't hurt that it's on such a beautiful little girl! lol


So yep, I've been doing a ton of this -

It's the angle I promise - she really wasn't about to roll off my lap!