Lovin' Life: 2010

12/17/10

I Love...

...Finding little toys on the tree branches that have been added for more decoration, a certain middle child's fingers sneaking into every dish I am preparing (she just can't help herself), except for when she touches the raw meat; a baby boy's obsession with opening and closing doors and constant movement and clapping to music, an oldest daughter's love of wildlife (almost every night she picks out our "Encyclopedia of Animals" as her bedtime story), and a hubby's habit of taking off his shoes six feet away from where the shoe basket is placed. ;)

11/4/10

Halloween, Stitches, DIY, and Craigslist

A fun day at the pumpkin patch/petting zoo chasing the turkey. It kept fluffing itself up trying to look all big and impressive. Cute.

Little man kept peeking into hubby's face and laughing. I sure have two handsome fellas.

Little sis was allowed to walk with big sis in the Halloween parade at school. Big sis wanted the "real Cinderella do" and said that everyone at school thought she was the real Cinderella, because she had the same hair, except her friend knew that it was her because the real one doesn't wear glasses. :)

Little man was a basketball player for Halloween, courtesy of my sister Mary.

First stitches: running at recess and tripped over a boy's leg, headfirst into the pavement. Ouch.

I finally realized (don't know why it took me so long) that if I want my decor to look and be the style I want it to, I am going to have to be a little more proactive about it. I kept thinking that years down the road when we have the money, I could then start purchasing all the antiques and other decor items that I have been pining after. So lately I have become a little obsessed about tackling projects myself. Here are a few of the projects I have been working on (and items I have found on Craigslist).

I got this bench at a yard sale for 5.oo and decided to try my hand at a first redo paint project and distressing job.

These gold frames I got on clearance at Home Goods. I love the look of antique gold frames but they are hard to come by in decent condition and at a good price, so I decided to try a little antiquing myself. The one on the left is the one undone.

Sorry about the sideways pic. I love the look of these lamps but when pricing them discovered that they were way more expensive then I was willing to pay (cheapest was 60.00 at Target, and that was a deal), so I decided to make 2 of them on my own. Cost me 30.00 a piece. Why are lamps so expensive?

Found this beauty on Craigslist. Not only did I love the style, but when I went to pick it up, I found out that it had been in the family for 20 years, and was the father's grandmother's dresser before that. It had the original stamp on the back and so I looked it up and found out it came from a company based in San Fran that was in business from the late 1800's to the 1930's. NICE!

This old thing also came from Craigslist for FREE (it is obviously in pretty rough shape). The man said that it was from the 1920's and he just didn't have the heart to throw it away. On a bit of a whim, hubby and I decided to take it off his hands and have a go at our first reupholstery project. We priced out how much it would cost to have it done professionally and were given an estimate at both places for 1200.00. We calculated out the costs and figure we can do it for under 300.00. Now if it turns out is the question. :)

10/18/10

Ideas

This post is mainly for my sisters who have been asking to see pics of the new place we moved into (well 8 months ago now). I would love any ideas or advice on how to decorate better. :)

Master Bedroom

Kitchen

Girls' room

Little Man's room

Living room

6/28/10

Enjoy

Inseparable sisters

The child above likes to get as sandy (and dirty, sticky, messy...) as possible...

and the one below, not so much. :)

Why can't life be so simply enjoyable for all of us?

Exploring the world around him.

4/14/10

Things I Love

*Peanut butter
*Spring blossoms
*Fall leaves
*Homemade bread
*Listening to my girls sing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" over and over in the car
*Pickles
*Journal writing for myself and kids
*Spinach fruit smoothies
*Fall decorations
*Tuna fish sandwiches
*Taking walks on the trail
*The sound of running water: water falls, rivers, streams, creeks...
*"Reading Rainbow"
*Reading books to my children
*Listening to my girls play together
*Sunsets
*The tide pools at the beach
*Ice cream (a little too much of a love there)
*Drawing
*Having picnics
*Snuggling
*Books, books, books
*"Pottery Barn" magazines
*Shopping for vintage and antiques
*French bread pizza
*A slight breeze coming in the window
*Cheese
*Thunderstorms
*The scriptures
*Birds chirping
*Movie night with hubby
*The Cheesecake Factory
*Camping at Hobble Creek
*The sound of my sisters' voices on the phone
*My one-toothed 27 lb 8-month-old
*All the cuddles and kisses I get from my little 31 lb 3-yr-old
*My singing, dancing, non-stop talking 5-yr-old
*My strong, hard-working, teasing 28 yr-old
*There is so much to cherish in this life. My list could go on and on. What else could I ask for?

3/29/10

Updates

This year has been very busy so far.

Here are the Hawks family updates:

SICKNESS, SICKNESS, SICKNESS! So far this year it has been never-ending runny noses and coughs, not to mention stomach-flu (the above pic), pink eye, and neck yeast/bacterial infections (the below pic, the latter taking a month to clear up). It is so fun being a mom sometimes.

We moved to a new place last month and have been enjoying the third bedroom (we finally have our room to ourselves!), and the walking trail just outside the front door. The girls were "sore" from walking up the stairs all the time, but are used to it now.

Ambyr turned 5! She really wanted a cheetah cake, so that is what she got.

She is obsessed with wild cats these days and is constantly stalking and pouncing on her stuffed animal muskox. She likes being a leopard and ocelot the best. She loves to draw and color and spent 3 straight hours coloring Easter pictures the other day. We read together a lot and she is so great at watching over Braeden when he needs some attention when I am in the middle of something. She is still in the 90th + percentile for height and is going to be taller than me before too long. Looks like she might have her dad's genes for height. What an awesome big sis!

Our 3 year old likes to "read" to herself these days and was so into reading "Jane Eyre" that she didn't even notice me taking pics of her. She sat there for a good 10-15 minutes reading outloud to herself as she made up a story to go along with the words. McKenna is our shy one but is very silly at home and likes to crack jokes and say funny things. She loves to play with her big sister and loves everything pink. She will eat anything and everything and is hungry all the time. She likes to do "Mommy-and-McKenna preschool" whenever Ambyr is at her preschool.

At 8 months, Braeden is as smiley and chubby as ever. He is sitting really well on his own now and can roll over both ways. We really had to work with him on rolling over as he lays there like a "beached whale" as Michael calls him, and didn't have a whole lot of desire to get moving on his own. He is loving eating solids and looks like we are on the way to having another good eater. What a cutie!

I have been enjoying going on outings with the kids: library, walks on the trail, park, etc. We went to the zoo last week and Ambyr couldn't wait to see her tiger.

So, I had some requests to show the latest projects I have been working on lately. I love to draw but haven't had much training, so those of you who are experts, don't look too close. The pic of the old barn is my latest drawing which I completed a few months ago. The one of the horse, I did a while back. I also like to do a little photography every now and then. But I don't know a thing about it yet, so buying a nice camera and maybe taking a class is next on my list.

Michael is busy with work and studying for CFA #3 on the weekends. He still enjoys watching sports in his free time and keeping up with all the political junk going on. He grilled up some delicious chicken and sausages for dinner last night! Gotta love CA weather.

2/2/10

Finally a post

Braeden's 6 month stats:

23 lbs 2 oz (off the charts)

28 3/4 inches tall (99th percentile)

The doctor was concerned about my back. I wonder why?

Enjoying playing in the snow for the first time. The girls went crazy about the sledding, even with the rocky terrain. I got a nice bruise on my bum from running over a big one.

Opening stockings Christmas morning.

In Moab, spending time with cousins, making gingerbread houses (these little guys are actually Michael's cousins). The roof on Ambyr's wouldn't hold, so Michael "fixed" it so they had a house with a false front.

One of Braeden's favorite spots (at my folk's house).

Braeden at 5 months with cousin Carolyn at 2 months. Don't they look so cute together?

Lovin' Life