This morning reminds me of this morning . She is up but not nearly as cheerful, actually. She is so tired, I think overly stimulated, and possibly has a sinus infection again. Oy. Church is not going to be fun....

...this post is about showing off this children's table that my husband built (with a little help from his dad ;) The chairs are coming. The only reason I'm posting about it is because he doesn't want to 'show off' his creation himself. Hmpf! He just doesn't understand the blogging world! Showing your creativity is very acceptable and encouraged around here. I don't see it as bragging (well, certainly it could come to that if you're just really vain) but rather as a way to show people what you've been doing with yourself. Human creativity - it's really a sharing in God's creation, right? God gave you talents to use and when you use them for good things, it's appropriate for others to admire what you've done. I think so anyway. Just as long as you don't create purely for approval from others for vanities sake, and you remember that it is all for God's glory. He is the one who gave us everything we have - from the skill of our own hands to the materials we use. Who agrees with me on this?

Anyway, Michael, you did an awesome job on Lou's table. I asked to to make it and you and your dad did. It's beautiful. Both me and Louisa are so excited about it and I hope in the future you can make more awesome things! Thank you! Thank you to papa as well, who provided the guidance and garage space :)

So, did everyone have a grand weekend? Ours was very nice. My only complaint is that it went by too quickly. But Mike and I agree that they always do. It's hard having to say goodbye to your spouse for 8+ hours every weekday. Then, you so look forward to the weekend, but you blink and it's over! But that's just how it is I suppose. Not ideal but you have to live with it. So, our Saturday was relaxing enough, and very sunny! Sunday, I got to go to our home parish for the first time in 3 weeks! I had two weddings to go to and then I was out of town, so this was the first time in 3 weeks. I didn't realize how much I'd missed it until I walked in and instantly my senses were calmed and soothed by the incense, the singing, and the real presence of Christ. I always enjoy being in church. But going back to the familiar after being in other churches felt even better than usual. Never mind the fact that Louisa has been a real handful lately during mass. She is just going through a rough stage where she wants to be up and running and talking....oy I admit I've lost my patience on many occasions. Which is kind of bad considering we're in church. We're working on it....I am looking forward to a time when she can sit quietly for longer periods just doodling or something. Oh, but then Josie will probably be a toddler...and then another baby perhaps....oh! One Sunday at a time, Kayleen. Speaking of little Josie pie. She has had her own little issues lately. Poor lady, she's teething and consequently; very much of a fussy bucket. She is nursing alot lately. Like more than she ever has. She's always been a pretty laid back nurser, nothing like Louisa used to be. But lately I've actually found myself becoming a bit sore even...just because she wants to nurse for comfort more and doesn't really appreciate being popped off prematurely. I just look at her little face and my heart melts with love. She is such a sweetheart. As soon as she's over her discomfort, I know she will be back to her usual self. Oh, and we've tried some Ora-gel (as well as the Hyland's version) and she really hates it. So it's mama mama mama for comfort :) (And then at night daddy has been rocking her to sleep, which she also loves)

So I guess I just wanted to ramble a little. I am going to go lay down with Josie for a rest soon. I was just waiting to hear if Louisa was going to stay in bed. So far, so good, though it's not completely quiet in there yet. I have been pushing her nap back to make sure she's good and tired - though this can backfire if she becomes overly tired. You know, cause then she's a total mess and can't calm herself down enough to fall asleep. Sigh - I really could use a nap this afternoon. We've been going to bed pretty late for the past few weeks and it's wearing us down. I remember a time when I thought I'd enjoy a 9:30 bedtime my whole life. Haha; I was so naive* back then ;)

*Ok this is really random, but I did a google search to make sure I spelled the word "naive" correctly. Well, the wiki page definition is pretty interesting! For example, did you know that "In computer science, a naivealgorithm is one that is correct and simple, but not efficient, e.g. bubble sort for sorting or linear search to find a value in a list." 


(Well, I bet my DH knew that :)


Oh yeah, finally, if you want to read a post that's actually interesting (and even created a little stir; read through the comment box) Go here. I found it fascinating and followed the 'comment war.' I like Calah's blog. She has this gritty honesty that I enjoy and she cracks me up. Read some of her other posts if you want to get to know her a little bit better. Even the 7 quick takes that follows this post gives you a better idea of who she is.

Would you believe we have been living here almost 3 months and I just now made it to our local Farmer's Market? I don't know what took me so long. It turns out ours is fairly big. They had entertainment (a young magician, he was so cute) ethnic foods, crafts (some awesome knitted and crochet'ed baby things) and of course fresh fruit and veggies. Although I've heard due to our rainy spring and summer some crops are having a hard time locally, which is just too bad. I didn't actually buy anything this time, except for a lemonade made with cane sugar. We had to get going, unfortunately there was a Josie poo explosion that cut our visit short. Oh well, still several more Saturdays until October! I'm excited. Oh, and it's such a beautiful day, I hope to get some gardening done, wash the van, and get myself a good dose of Vitamin D!

 It's only been a fairly recent development for Louisa, but she is really starting to enjoy having stories read to her. For the longest time, she was only really interested in destroying books. Perhaps Mike and I could have been better about consistently sitting down and at least trying to read her something, but admittedly we didn't seem to have the patience with her insistence on grabbing the books and putting them in her mouth. Of course, she is almost 2 1/2 now, so this tendency seems to be mostly gone, however, we still have to be careful leaving her with books unattended.

As a child, I adored reading. I recall being physically unable to fall asleep until I had read a stack of books to myself in bed. I credit it to my nature, but also to my mom who did a good job reading to me from the very beginning. I have so many childhood favorites. I have been quietly smuggling some of them from my mom and dad's. Shhhh...don't tell her! (yeah right, my mom is one of the biggest readers of this blog, I think. But mostly for the pictures) Anyway, I am so excited to share these books with my own children. What a unique joy of parenting it is to be able to share with them your childhood loves...



My hope, like many parents, is to foster a love for reading in my children. I have so many favorite...I hope Louisa enjoys some of them as much as I did.

Do you have many favorite books from your childhood? One fun thing to do is to look through the Children's section of the library. You might be surprised at how many books catch your eye as ones you remember reading.

Outside my window… Cloudy and misty. And chilly. oh Seattle. Check this out. 
I am thinking… About my how I might have spoken to soon about the success of a 'big girl' bed for Louisa. Yesterday's naptime was a disaster. Bedtime was no better. Oy. It's going to take some getting used to! At one point last night I was ready to throw in the towel tell Mike to grab the wrench and put the crib back together! But no, we made our bed and now we have to sleep in it......ha. ha. Very clever Kayleen.

When I left for college I left this little bench behind. My sister adopted it and I believe she used it as her make-up chair in front of the mirror. Not surprisingly, it got rather dirty and since my sister's not really the domestic type (well, not yet :) I got it back stained. I decided to do a re-cover and it was a piece of cake! (I need projects that I can do start to finish in the span of a naptime - maybe two. Oh, and leave me time for blogging real quick, too!) I thought this fabric was perfect because it's a little heavier (got it in the outdoor fabric section) and it reminds me of my grandma. It's always good to go for stuff that is grandma-esque. Well maybe not always good, but as a general rule of thumb, if my grandma would like it, it's probably pretty classy.

(my cousin Gayla is visiting and wanted to be the model for my shots)

New sandals I got in Leavenworth last weekend!

happy right after waking up from her nap!

This is from the 4th of July but I just think it's funny because Lou LOVES -what she calls- SunScream. She asks me to put it on her all the time Aren't kids supposed to hate sunscreen??

It's REALLY yucky out this morning! Blah! So what's a girl supposed to do when she wants to wear her cute new sandals and it turns out to be a day like this? Head to the mall, of course! See ya!

 ....because this state is so gosh darn beautiful!

This weekend Josie and I took a drive with my grandma and stayed over night at 'the cabin' with my uncle and cousins. They live in the prettiest location. We had a nice time, and I enjoyed taking pictures among the trees and by the river where I have so many sweet childhood memories. It is odd going up there as an adult with a fancy camera when all I used to think about was playing in the glacier-cold river and running around in the woods. It was a nice, refreshing little getaway - even though I missed my Michael bear and my big girl a lot. Looking forward to going next time and bringing the whole fam.

When I look at these pictures I breath in and can almost feel the fresh mountain air coming into my lungs. I really have no desire to travel anywhere else except in my own state. For now anyway, there is enough to explore.