the Wash-Cause

Lovely Lorene

2012-02-19T07:36:00.001-08:00

This is me and my Mamaw.

I was blessed enough to soak up some time with her during our visit to Georgia. She reminded me of all the good times spent at her house. My most fondest of memories is time spent catching the lighting bugs in mason jars with holes poked through the lids. The scent of those bugs on those nights is as fresh as my morning coffee right before me. This particular memory is tattooed on our hearts and minds, but the most important of memories is that day I called her from a payphone declaring that I was saved. I can't imagine how strongly that struck her heart-chords, but just to think of my own kids sharing that glorious news with me has me weak at the knees, in the best of ways.

Mamaw talked about how she wanted to live long enough to experience all of her children and grandchildren coming to know and love the Lord. And she has. I can't imagine all the prayers she prayed requesting that one thing, and for her to experience the fruit is the most glorious of all things. She is a blessed woman and I am beyond blessed to have her in my story.

Mamaw said every time she saw those lighting bugs she would pray for me, and now what has turned into a family. What a quiet, humble, and yet powerful discipline she has applied for the lives of many. It is a discipline I am still working on. To pray and to know the power. Pray as I fold everyone's clothes, as I wash dishes, as I prepare meal after meal, and so on. It is powerful. It keeps me honed in on the Kingdom work that we are doing in each day.

Mamaw, thank you for loving me the way the Lord loves us. She signs John 3:16 by her name over and over again and what an awesome testimony to her life and legacy as she continues to live on.

Georgia 2012

2012-02-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe 20 days away from home have already come and gone. These times away, no matter how many days, seem to pass us by faster and faster. Our time with family and friends was nothing short of a pure gift. We deeply cherish the good times we had in this past month away from home. We are grateful for the Turpin family and for how well they love us. They took very good care of us and made the trip as easy as possible. We think it might be a while before we venture across the country with little ones again, but we are thankful for the opportunity to have precious face time with loved ones while we did. Here are some beautiful photos my sister did for us while visiting. These shots are such a gift for us. We are blessed.

Check out her sweet blog, Beneath the Pines. Straight up gifted.

DIY Play Kitchen

2012-01-17T09:05:00.000-08:00

Find a sweet piece of furniture that has repurposing potential for a little one.
Draw up many sketches until you get your design just perfect (with lots of inspirational help from Pinterest and other sources).
Get lots of manly tools and begin working. Work some more, and then some more.
Tell your little one(s) it's not ready yet.
Prep everything for painting to begin.
Tell your little one(s) it's still not ready yet and to be careful of the chaotic mess.
Paint and paint and paint until you have lost track of how many coats are on the front of that future microwave door.
Tell your little one(s) that it's almost there, but not quite yet.
Add little details (curtains, chalkboard, elements, and all the other things you desire to fit the furniture you have).
Stock it with all the kitchen goodies that previously had no real suitable home.
Tell your little one(s) that their play kitchen is all finished. The look they respond with will be total shock, followed by caution, leading right into sheer joy!

A special thanks to blogs making this task look easy (sarcasm), but we couldn't be happier with the end product. It's neat to know that no one else has one quite like this and we hope it lasts many generations (with some cosmetic help along the way).

There are still some tweaks and final touches to add, but I really wanted to have this up before our big trip to the east coast. Hope you enjoy....

Apple Goatee

2012-01-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

The days of real food have commenced for my sweet son. I quickly remembered that in order to successfully feed a baby lies in the wonderful art of distraction (read: taking these photos). Enjoy.

STAPLES in my kid's cuisine.

2011-12-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

Yeah it's true, most toddlers are born with a strain of picky in their DNA. I did everything the books told me to when it came to nourishing my little one. I was confident that Piper would eat anything I put on her plate. We waited on introducing fruits, making sure she developed a palette that took a liking to veggies. This is almost comical as I type it, because my particular case of "new mom syndrome" with Piper was quite severe. Poor girl probably developed a resentment towards my preparations rather than a love. Whatever route I did or did not take would most likely still lead to a picky toddler. Maybe genes have an impact (ahem ahem, Jesse).

Moving on. I have had to create a few tricks up my sleeve to make sure the bodies in this house were being filled with goodness. My tricks continue to grow, but I will share a few with you.

I sneak wheat germ, freshly ground flax seeds (flax meal made at home), and processed walnuts into many, many things. Breads, cereals, yogurts, etc.. They are super versatile because they are all quite mild in taste. They offer up many healthy benefits. Just Google it.
I like to hide processed legumes into many things. Soups, pasta sauces, spreads, you name it. Just last night I cooked up a bunch of lentils, processed them, and added them to our pasta sauce. Not only could you not tell, but it gave the sauce a thick, creamy texture that made the dish even more savory. So processed beans are the way to go. Especially if you have a little one that is not a big fan of meats (like mine). That gene does not come from either one of us. We love animal proteins.
Cooked and pureed spinach can be added to many things as well without overwhelming you with a green veggie taste. Smoothies, sauces, mayo, on and on.
Cooked and pureed carrots work well too. With these (and the spinach above) I prepare them as I do Ezra's babyfood. Cook, puree, freeze into cubes, pop out into ziplocks, and then they are ready to used by the cube when needed.

Okay, so those are my most widely-used tricks. I think I have many years before Piper or the other kids read this post. Who reads their mom's blog as a dependent? Exactly.

Bubba.

2011-12-07T13:58:00.001-08:00

THIS FACE.

My heart just melts.

Bedroom Makeover

2011-12-07T13:46:00.001-08:00

It's true, our bedroom needs a little TLC. I have put forth so much creative energy toward all the other rooms in the house, resulting in the decline of our own. Here are some frames that I completed yesterday for one wall. I have a few other projects in mind to complete it entirely (covered below). Here is the start of our new bedroom:

There will be an oversized Oregon piece above the head of our bed, some sweet IKEA fabric made into curtains (thanks to my new sewing machine), twine wrapped wine bottles placed on shelves, and an upholstered box spring to give it a finished, tailored look. Check out my inspiration board here: http://pinterest.com/washkau/bedroom-inspiration/

Toodles.

Post Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-27T08:42:00.001-08:00

Since I was born I have never made an entire holiday meal on my own. To this day, that is still true, but it may not last much longer. This Thanksgiving we gathered with some of the other families that stuck around for a big potluck celebration. With potlucks you never know what you are going to get, which can be hard for those with little ones (or certain adults with certain expectations). Thankfully the food selection was large, but there were some beloved Thanksgiving items missing for me (I'll touch on this below somewhere).

On top of that, my Piper has never been a fan of group functions and now Ezra is proving to possess that same quality. As I try to converse with friends or feed my nursing appetite, I have a toddler hanging from my leg saying "mommy I want to go home" and a baby crying in my arms. It was just too perfect that Piper happened to be wearing her glittery red shoes.

But she is right. There is no place like home. And with that said I will begin to host holiday meals for us here at home. Making the foods we love in the comfort of our home. Maybe we'll invite another family or two, maybe not. But after this most recent experience I am now more than ever motivated to do it on my own.

So, some of the foods that were missing that are must-haves for me on Thanksgiving Day include: cranberry sauce or some cranberry dish, sweet potato casserole, creamed onions, appetizers in general and some kind of dessert that just transports me to a little piece of heaven. Oh, and booze (in a classy way).

I am planning to make up for the personal loss this Christmas. I don't plan on stressing myself out, but I want it to be what we desire for a holiday meal. In our home.

We had a great time with friends, don't get me wrong, it's just always a challenge given the circumstances. So here's to finally accepting that I must face a holiday meal on my own. It's going to rock.

And after many hours of hunting this past week, Jesse did take down an elk yesterday! We are excited and I plan to incorporate that meat into the Christmas meal in a special way. She was a fairly younger cow, so I am hoping for tasty, tender meat. He has worked so hard and I am so proud of him for providing in that way. Now the new, bigger deep freezer hunt continues! We need it seeing that ours is fully stocked with the venison along with other freezer items.

Enough about me, I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration.

Treat Trickery

2011-11-25T09:12:00.001-08:00

Yes, I know it's black Friday. Halloween is long gone. This title is totally unrelated to that holiday. Trust that I am already in Christmas mode. Crafts and unpacking the storage bins have begun.

So for a week now potty training has been in session with Miss Piper. Things are going pretty well. For each elimination in the potty Piper receives treats. One for number one, two for number two. Simple.

There is a big container full of M&Ms - regular and peanut varieties. Since day one Piper insists on the oval shaped ones, thinking that they have more chocolate in them since they are bigger. I have tried to explain the difference between the two, but she it set on choosing the oval ones. I can't complain. At least she is getting a little protein with her treats....

The Dollar Tree and me

2011-11-11T12:37:00.001-08:00

Since moving out to Oregon the Dollar Tree and me have become good friends. It is the perfect place for a hyper-organized, bargain-searching, toddler teaching mama. Now I am not the type to pass up quality products, but I have found several items that have rocked my world in different ways. Don't believe me? Well I guess I must do a list to prove it....

baskets for organization (I use these in the playroom, craft room, kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, pretty much any room or area that calls for organized items)
toothbrushes (a fantastic selection for kids and adults)
hair brushes (I bought my first last week and it works so well for this thick, dry, snarly head of hair. I actually thought bristles would fall out immediately, but I am super impressed by its performance thus far.)
pregnancy tests (They work perfectly, just don't forego the instructions on the first try. There is an extra step or two, but well worth it compared to prices elsewhere.)
flash cards/ teaching materials (Piper learned her ABCs, 123s, shapes and colors thanks to these.)
birthday bash decor (numbered candles, streamers, balloons, you name it)
cards/ gift bags/ wrapping paper (surprisingly very cute selections)
random toys and treats
yellow rubber gloves for cleaning
funnels (for making homemade cleaning products)
measuring cups and spoons
foam core

Well I'm sure that is only to name a few that come to this sleep-deprived mind, but all fantastic deals that have proven to work, last, and/or save money.

Some things you definitely want to buy elsewhere:

art materials
food products of any kind, including most candy
books
beauty products

In other news.... Ezra is 4 months today. We begin potty-training with Piper next week. Cadence arrives tonight for a short visit from Houston. Elk season opens today. And if you didn't already know it, we adore life out here in central Oregon. Signing out.

Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches

2011-10-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love Amazon. You can't deny the fact that their "recommendations" are usually dead-on. I came across one book titled Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches and decided to order it after reading reviews. This book is easy to read, short (about 100 pages) and filled with relevant wisdom. I could have finished this book in one sitting, but I'm not single or without children. Below are some quotes that spoke to my heart.

"It is something that I love about fruit-bearing trees and bushes - that God told them to make something, and they do it enthusiastically. They don't care about what happens to the fruit. The do not measure their efforts or fuss when no one appreciates it." (on being fruitful with raising children)

"Be bountiful with your fruit and free with it. The only thing that you can know for certain is that God will use it."

"When God gives us children, it is work that He is giving us. Work that comes with huge attendant blessings and bonuses, but work nonetheless."

"Christian childrearing is a pastoral pursuit, not an organizational challenge."

"Prioritize your children far and away above the other work you need to get done. They are the only part of your work that really matters."

"Most of the time children do not know that what they are doing is overwhelming. This is because they do not forget that they are individuals." (on addressing each one as an individual rather than part of the group)

"It is just that very often it is a fine time for helpers - even a good time for them, if I am willing to get the grace for it." (talking about the many times little ones want to help in the kitchen and many other tasks that might increase or expand clean-up time)

It was hard to insert some quotes since they are parts of stories, but if you are a mom or a dad, this book is a great read, especially if you have little ones right now. This author is legit. While writing this book she had a 5-year-old, a 4-year-old, twin 2-year-olds and a 5 month old. She knows.

October "Looking-Forward-To's"

2011-10-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

Pumpkins
Maybe getting back into some kind of shape
Jesse bringing home local meat from his hunts
Making more baby food from home
Completing the craft room and using it daily
Spending time in the Word and just listening rather than talking so much
Researching the ins and outs of gardening and canning
Researching the possibility of having bees and chickens
Sarah and Mike's wedding
Seeing all our NJ/PA family
Watching trees shed their leaves on the east coast
Trick-or-treating with the neighborhood kids
Lots of cuddles with the little beans
Quality time with my wonderful husband

Each day I make the choice to be thankful for all that greets me minute by minute. It is not always easy, but it makes all the difference. This is going to be a blessed month, no doubt about that.

Spoken Truth

2011-09-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

"I think it's important for us to raise self-sufficient individuals who know how to make and do things, as opposed to simply consume things.... I feel like we're not going to solve the problems that face us by watching the news and trying to consume differently. We're going to have to be original thinkers, and we're going to have to have capabilities that we are able to employ, and we're going to have to say to ourselves, "I can learn this; there isn't any reason I can't learn this."

-Rebecca James, Radical Homemakers

September, how I love you.

2011-09-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

Check out our Flickr link to the right for photos of this month.

Here is a little peek (just some goodies from the community orchard):

Radical Homemakers

2011-09-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

"And herein lies a moment of truth. When a person opts to pursue the radical homemaking life described in this book, to forego conventional employment to build sustainable home life, the odds are that he or she will not be able to reverse their decision. The handwriting is on the wall: if you leave the workplace, in most instances, they will not want you back. The good news is that the odds are even greater that, once one steps out of this dysfunctional relationship, she or he won't wantto go back."

"Our gauge of success or personal worth has become so reliant on external validation that women and men now find it difficult to believe that a life centered around the home can satisfy their needs for personal fulfillment and genuine achievement."

Get this book. I have only read chapter one, but it is clear that this is a book that cannot go unread in your life. Male or female. Do it soon.

The many faces of Ezra:

2011-09-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

We cook together.

2011-09-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

Piper loves to cook with me.

This makes me very happy.

On her menu for this particular day:

Bug-shaped pasta with sprinkles on top.

Creative Endeavors!

2011-09-09T19:42:00.001-07:00

Somehow I was able to talk Jesse into transforming the dining room into a craft room. I am so pumped about this. For the past week I have been pulling inspiration from Pinterest and books galore, drawing up layout plans and daydreaming about all the projects I will be doing with the kiddos.

It. is. going. to. be. awesome.

Now to learn how to sew! And to get a sewing machine! Wrong order.

Piper is getting excited as I talk to her about what purpose this room will serve. I cannot wait to incorporate education and creativity more intentionally into our daily agenda.

It is now several hours later from when I began this post. Tonight I spent about a half hour, maybe more with Piper reading one bedtime book. We snuggled up in my bed as we read with the view of the moon from the window. I had my wine, she had her milk. What a blessing to really soak up that special time at the end of the day.

Peace out girl scouts.

Purpose

2011-09-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

For so long I was hungry to spend my days as if they were my last. I was searching for joy. I was searching for purpose.

The Lord has been speaking to me loudly since I brought home Ezra. He is teaching me new things daily. He is directing me to scripture that is challenging and encouraging. But most of all he is telling me "Jane, your days are filled with purpose".

I can honestly say that I am spending today as if it were my last. I would not change a thing. No less diapers, no less laundry, no less dishes. I am happy to be busy in my home and serve my family fully. I want nothing more than to rehearse The Very Hungry Caterpillar 12 times by heart during lunch with my daughter. I want nothing more than to have my son lock eyes with me and smile abundantly while nursing. My day is overflowing with joy and purpose.

It has arrived. I feel productive in the body of Christ as a wife and mom. If I died tomorrow I would have no regrets as to how I spent my last day. True joy and purpose have revealed themselves more and more and I die to myself more and more. It's not about me. It's about Him.

Zombieland.

2011-08-20T14:25:00.001-07:00

I am living in what we moms call "Zombieland". It is that phase that takes place when you are raising a newborn (plus additional children) and are very, very sleep-deprived. You know you are in this phase the minute you step out of the door. You move like a sloth and so does your thought process. You can barely finish a sentence, let alone converse with others. So with that said, I am going to write down some random blurbs that I am not able to fully blog about at the moment, but would love to share anyway.

Yesterday all four of us ventured out to town. There were no meltdowns. We survived in the summer heat, in the civic, all four of us.
On our way home we saw our favorite "$3 bag sale" sign outside a thrift store. The days are randomly chosen, so we know it's a beautiful thing when it happens the same day we are in town. I stocked up on boy stuff. This was the first time I went shopping for Ezra and I had an absolute blast. It's a nice change from pinks and purples.
Last night was my first night alone with the kiddos. Jesse went hammock camping with a buddy. All went smoothly.
I just baked a ton of pumpkin bread.
I just cooked a ton of dried chickpeas.
I am in preparation for when our friends arrive from Illinois this upcoming week.
I am making most dishes ahead of time so I won't be super stressed and so I can enjoy the quality time while we have it together.
All four of us venture out to town again on Monday. This time it will be a longer trip. Prayers are appreciated. And that is only if our car is okay. Oh, I forgot to mention a specific light went off in it last night that could mean 85 different things. Jesse is having the diagnostic done today. More prayers appreciated.
Ezra weighs 14 1/2 lbs. at 5 weeks. He is in the 99% for height and weight. 'Atta boy!

Okay, that is all I wanted to write. I think. Must finish my afternoon coffee and find the energy to clean some potties. Peace fellow zombies and non-zombies.

The good news is that Zombieland doesn't last forever. It is temporary and all so worth it. I have the sweetest son who has been smiling at me all day. He melts my heart with his new discovered responses. And my sweet girl Piper brings joy and laughter to all my days. Have I mentioned how blessed we are?

Goodbye diamonds.

2011-08-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a long time coming. Jesse and I plan to sell my engagement ring to a fellow this upcoming Friday.

Don't get me wrong, the ring is beautiful, but I NEVER wear it. It has literally sat in our safe almost everyday of our marriage. The style is not quite "Jane" if you catch my drift. It is very top-heavy and showy. It isn't very practical with changing diapers on little buns either. Almost every time I try to wear it while being a mom I end up scratching someone with a protruding diamond from my hand by the end of the day.

Jesse found a great deal on this ring at the time and just went for it. It definitely served its purpose, but we would rather someone else enjoy it while we can make some profit. The money is welcomed over a piece of metal sitting in our closet.

We are thinking maybe a dirt bike for Jesse to take to work or an upright freezer for food storage. Maybe both! Or maybe savings. And maybe one day (10 year anniversary perhaps) Jesse and I can go ring shopping for something I totally adore and would wear 24/7/365. I'm thinking some type of rare or antique stone and setting. It'll be good.

For now, farewell to the engagement ring. It will be going to another woman celebrating her 10 years.

Siblings?

2011-08-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

The 1st two are of Ezra and the next set of two are of Piper - both at 1 month old. Thoughts? I definitely see differences as I compare, but similarities do exist.

Guilty Pleasures

2011-08-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

While living through the newborn stage again, I have had to indulge in some guilty pleasures to get me though the days. These things include:

coffee, coffee & COFFEE
an iced Oregon chai latte following lunch (when the kiddos go down for their naps)
my neighbor Jan's A-Z bread
journeying through the entire series of Friday Night Lights - I'm addicted
deviled eggs - so tasty (thanks to mom's recipe) and great protein to grab quickly
words with friends (usually while rocking Ezra to sleep in the evenings)

I think that about names them all. I have been clinging close to all these treats, because once I have my 6 week postpartum appointment (this Friday!), I know I need to buckle down and start dropping this baby weight - especially if I plan to look decent at my sister-in-law's upcoming wedding.

But seriously, all of these things are superficial and do not carry me through each day. It is the endless blessings the Lord has surrounded me with that do it all for me. The love of my sweet Lord and my sweet family keep me moving. Sure I indulge in all those guilty pleasures listed above, but I don't rely on them fully. That would be silly.

Well naptimes are coming to an end and I think I need some afternoon coffee, especially it being Jesse's night to be "on-call". Two bathtimes. Two bedtimes. Feeding two mouths. Cleaning lots of diapers. Doing many loads of laundry. I got this. Bring it on, because after all I am a domestic goddess.

Baking Date

2011-08-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Piper and I had our first baking date. By no means am I any type of experienced, passionate baker, but I do get in the mood every once in a while. Piper came up with the lovely idea of baking our Mark 2 Ministry friends some cookies and I thought it would be a great way to spend our morning together while Ezra was sleeping.

We baked up just over 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies. I talked to her about each ingredient and when to add it and how much. All she really cared about was eating the butter and chocolate chips. I know, butter sounds a little odd, but for some reason she loves it. I was a mean mom and made her keep her hands off the butter, but I did allow some chocolate chips. Who can resist that little face?

After lunch we did the usual routine of putting Piper down for her "quiet time". It's kind of like a nap, but she is not required to sleep. She just has to spend 2 full hours to herself in her room. Mommy and Piper both get a break. It's a win-win. Okay, back to the point of this paragraph. We wrapped up the routine with a prayer. We usually go down a list of things we are thankful for and Piper said "and thank you for the brown sugar and the white sugar". It melted my heart. I look forward to teaching her many things in the kitchen (as I continue to learn myself). It is just such a practical and fun way to bond with her and educate her on life. Maybe the next bonding experience will be with loading dishes! Hahahaha. No, but seriously, I have learned that little ones love to help and to be cheered on, even in the simple daily tasks.

Okay, now back to motherhood as I take my last sips of my afternoon coffee. Thank you neighbor for giving me your stash of Starbucks' Vias. Instant coffee isn't too shabby.

Ezra & Life in the Canyon

2011-08-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

It is always hard for me to figure out where to start when there has been such a gaping lapse of time since my last post.

Ezra Jesse arrived on July 11, 2011 - only 3 days past the due date. The birth was what I envisioned and beyond. My contractions began at 7p, we arrived at the birth center at 9p and Ezra was born at 11p. Everything was fast and smooth. I was able to have him in the lovely birthing tub - all in one push if I may add. The water felt good, the atmosphere and trusting relationships with the midwives put me at ease and my body knew what it was doing. When I say I was "at ease", I was actually smiling and laughing during transition - in between contractions of course. This experience was a total 180 from when I had Piper. My breathing was controlled, I was focused, and the only time I let out a holler was when Ezra emerged, which should be totally understandable. I just love trusting my body and what the Lord designed it to do. He absolutely blessed the entire experience. It really felt so holy - and remember, no drugs. I really don't feel like I would have been able to experience that holiness if there had been any kind of intervention. It was a beautiful birth.

Ezra came out measuring 22 1/2" (very tall boy) and weighing 9 lbs. 8 oz. (and that was after her first bowel movement). He is a great baby. Being through it all before my attitude is relaxed. Transitioning from 1 to 2 kids has been, dare I say it, easy. Sure I'm exhausted and constantly sipping on some form of caffeine, but sleep will increase as time goes on. Having a toddler is my daytime challenge and having a newborn is my nighttime challenge. It is constant service, but so rewarding. Jesse and I are blessed with the two most beautiful children I have ever laid eyes on. Piper is naturally a great big sister. I already see how God created her for that role in life. Ezra already lights up when she is around.

Ezra turns 1 month tomorrow.

Stay in 1 more week please!

2011-06-22T14:51:00.001-07:00

In one week I will picking up my lovely mother at the airport. I am hoping and praying the baby stays inside until that moment happens. After that it's all fair game.

There is nothing like family coming to help, especially when it is caring for Piper. To be honest, this might be the longest that I will have to be away from her since she was born, and there is no one better to be with than her Nana.

Nana already knows her heart so well. I say this because she shared with me that she bought Piper a Lightning McQueen treat. Piper is going to be stoked. She also knows what to do with my crazy cloth diapers and where everything lives inside our condo. Nana will have it taken care of, so my prayer is that this baby can just wait another week and allow me to make it to that beautiful birthing tub in Bend, Oregon.

I am 38 weeks, so we are getting close. Tomorrow is the weekly appointment with my friends at Motherwise (the birth center crew). Four hours of driving is always not so fun, but I am excited to see and hear the progress. Oh, and also to stock up on diapers at Costco, among many other paper products.

Yes, my posts have been all about rambling lately, but that's how my mind works these days. Deal with it. Loves.

At the Playground

2011-06-16T20:08:00.001-07:00

Just some shots my neighbor snatched of Piper and friends playing at one of the playgrounds here. She was loving those monkey bars today. Lately she has a thing for hanging onto things.

Expanding the Family

2011-06-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

Wowee. Summer is almost here. Campers arrive this weekend. My mom will be here in less than two weeks to ease my mind and workload. My wedding anniversary to the amazing Jesse is coming up. My birth center bags are packed. My appointments are every week now. The baby is considered full term today. There is a lot going on in this neck of the woods, but I could not be more thrilled. I am beyond blessed.

I know times can be tough with a little newborn, and probably more-so with a toddler-in-toe, but I know the Lord will guide us through it all one day at a time. I could not live in a better location where moms and kids fill the homes on our street. And not just ordinary moms, moms that love the Lord and love their families. I sense God about to do a big work in my heart as we expand the family and I am so excited about it. I am not one who does so well on little sleep, so I must keep reminding myself to rely on him strongly.

It blows my mind that I will be birthing another child in just a matter of days, but with all my experience set aside (knowing the intensity of pain), I just cannot wait to catch that baby in my arms and welcome him or her into this beautiful world. Pain schmain. It is so worth it. I am affirmed of that every day that I am blessed enough to look into Piper's eyes. To know that she is loved, that she is healthy and that she is going to be taken care of no matter what happens is God's comfort so evident in my life. I am at peace. I think that is a good place to be with big things in store in the days ahead.

Your prayers and support are warmly welcomed. I am praying that everything happens according to God's will. It is out of my control and it feels good. Sometimes that is when peace enters into my heart most, when I know I have no say as to what is about to happen.

Here's to having another baby bless many people's lives!

Life Lately

2011-05-29T14:31:00.001-07:00

As I realize how soon I will be giving birth, there has not been ample time for blogging. This summer is going to be pretty awesome though.

My sister, Cadence, arrived here a week ago for her summer internship. She is staying uber busy with the work they have for her, but I am so excited for this new adventure in her life. I am slightly envious of the awesome summer she is about to experience. Piper has loved having Cadence close by too. I am so thankful for their bonding time.

Tomorrow I have my 34-week checkup with the midwife. This baby will be here before we know it! I cannot wait to meet this little bean. Taking out all of the baby equipment and clothing has been so much fun. I can't wait to put it all to use again. It will be such a joy to see Piper meet her new sibling as well.

This upcoming week I have a couple of final art projects to complete before the baby arrives. My mom arrives in 1 month! That really puts things into perspective. I am trying to iron out final plans for where I will be around my due date, seeing that we live 2 hours away from the birthing center. I am hoping to temporarily stay somewhere closer and not for more than a week. You never know with babies.

We just ordered some new Happy Heiny's, which I am stoked about. Once a cloth diaper-er always a cloth diaper-er. I have been so pleased with the "one size with snaps" quality that I can't try any other kind.

Most things have been purchased off of my baby registry to the right, which has been a huge blessing. I am so thankful for all the love and support. It can be tough on a ministry salary while raising a family, but the Lord has provided again and again, as he always does.

So this post was totally random. Hope you enjoyed it.

Look similar?

2011-05-13T20:42:00.001-07:00

This is Piper right after her birth in the hospital. It reminds me a lot of those 3D images below of baby #2. She has been rallying for a sister this week, so she might be on target.

Baby Washkau in 3D

2011-05-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

These were taken a week ago at 30 weeks pregnant. The tech totally surprised us with 3D (4D?) technology and was nice enough to print us some sweet shots. As you can see, baby is sleeping comfortably while resting on his/her arms.

I can't help but be reminded of Piper as a newborn when I look at these. We cannot wait to meet this little bean! Little might be an inaccurate description, seeing that he/she weighed about 4 lbs. already during this ultrasound. But then I looked at the size 1-2 diapers my neighbor gave me and was humbly reminded of how small they actually are right out of the womb.

The New Nursery

2011-05-01T09:04:00.001-07:00

After trashing 8 paintings total, the art collection/vision for the baby's room is complete! Below are some photos to prove it.

These two will go above the changing table:

These will go on an open wall:

This will go on the crib wall (kind of a decal on painted wall look since we aren't able to paint our walls here):

Another shot of the paintings:

The 8' x 10' rug:

And there will also be orange curtains to finish it all off (those are already hung).

All there is left to do is tear up the carpet and paint the floors and get this stuff moved in there.

Yes, it is bold for a nursery, but that is what I wanted.

Birthday Snapshots

2011-04-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Piper had an awesome birthday. Click HERE to see the photos we captured!

2 years ago I was pushing...

2011-04-25T21:17:00.001-07:00

Drugs. Not really, but I guess I could say I pushed them away from me as I howled through labor.

This time (east coast time) I had reached 10 centimeters and began pushing my beautiful baby girl out of my body. Hanging up balloons and streamers has been a fun alternative tonight, but nothing will ever conquer that moment in time.

Two years ago I survived natural birth, met my beautiful daughter Piper, and became a mommy. It blows my mind to know that two years have passed already, but what a blessed two years they have been. There is not a day that goes by that I do not thank the Lord for the life of Piper. She has blessed me and her father in more ways than we could have ever imagined.

All decorations are up, the birthday outfit is laid out, the cake is in the fridge and the presents await to be opened. Tonight I begin celebrating Piper's 2nd birthday as she sleeps like an angel in her bed. What a joy it will be to see her face light up again and again tomorrow.

I love being Piper's mommy. Happy 2nd birthday my love :)

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Some photos from our day are up on our Flickr - check them out HERE!

Cuties.

2011-04-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

Today is Nana's birthday and we have the honor of her being here in Oregon with us. Happy Birthday Nana! Yesterday the girls (Nana, Piper and I) took a trip to Sisters, Oregon to play for the day. We had a fantastic time despite the rainy weather. Here are some photos that captured the day: A Day in Sisters, Oregon.

And a major thank you to Mimi (Jesse's mom) for buying that bookbag/leash creation. Piper loved it and it enabled her to walk around and get some energy out after spending hours in the car. It made our lives much easier.

Things I Would Have Never Done Last Time

2011-04-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

This pregnancy has been so entirely different from my last, thankfully. I have not upchucked anywhere near the amount of liquids and foods I did last go around. Nor have I blacked out in public places. Overall, I have felt like this one has been much more of a "textbook-like" pregnancy. So here are just a few things I have done with number two that I would not have been caught dead doing with number one:

Drinking caffeine
Taking allergy medicine
Painting floors with exterior house paint
Working out on a regular basis - without checking my heart rate
Eating feta cheese almost daily

Well that is all I can think of at the moment. What's next? A glass of wine? Perhaps. I might save that novelty for when my due date is closer.

Let me clear, I am no idiot during this pregnancy, just not as uptight and worried about certain restrictions. Most all of these things have been okay-ed by my midwife. Anyway, it's nice to feel a little more freedom from the paranoia I experienced last go around. Let's hope this makes for a more relaxed baby! We shall see....

I just knew it.

2011-04-01T13:07:00.001-07:00

I just knew April would start off on a good foot. Today has to be close to 70, if not more in the sun, with beautiful clear blue skies. The mountains have never looked more beautiful. I sense some near-future trips down to the river to picnic with my loves. That also means it's about time for the top to come off of the old Scout. Oh how I love this weather. Please do not deceive me. Let this be permanent. Thanks.

Time is precious.

2011-03-31T21:07:00.001-07:00

Jesse and I are both Voddie Baucham fans. He has a powerful gift to deliver the truth. Tonight I started his book titled Family Driven Faith: Doing What it Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk With God. Here are just some quotes that have resonated with me as I head off to bed:

"It seems there are a few things that we deem more important for our children to grow in grace.

Making the Grade: The world's limited view of life says that the most important thing we can do is get good grades, go to a good college, get out of school, and get a good job so we can make more money than our mom and dad did. There is more to life than making the grade.
Making the Team: If I teach my son to keep his eye on the ball but fail to teach him to keep his eyes on Christ, I have failed as a father. We must refuse to allow trivial, temporal pursuits to interfere with the main thing. No sports endeavor will ever be as important as becoming a man or woman of God.
Making Time: Modern American dating is no more than glorified divorce practice. Young people are learning how to give themselves away in exclusive, romantic, highly committed relationships, only to break up and do it all over again. God never intended for His kids to live like this. And instead of stepping in and doing something, many Christian parents simply view these types of relationships as a normal and necessary part of growing up.

Many Christians have settled for just getting by. Unfortunately, our children are paying the price."

"Again Mohler places his finger firmly on the pulse of the culture when he writes, 'Christians must recognize that this rebellion against parenthood represents nothing less than an absolute revolt against God's design'."

"The idea that motherhood, fatherhood, and family are not as honorable as high-income careers or highly visibly ministry positions is biblically uninformed at best and grossly heretical at worst."

"We cannot expect our children to rise above our example."

"Time is precious, and you only get one chance to raise your children. They are only young once, and they are only in your home for a short while. Once they are born the clock starts ticking, and there is nothing you can do to stop it or slow it down. Your only hope is to make the most of the time you have."

"I believe marriage is far more important than college. Moreover, I think we lead our children to compromise when we ask them to endure 2-year engagements while remaining true to their Christian convictions. If they weren't ready to be married, we shouldn't have allowed the relationship to blossom."

"The key is to understand that our children don't belong to us - they belong to God."

"Mom and Dad's marriage takes precedence over everything else."

"You show me a wife who is not in submission to her husband, and I'll show you a household in disarray."

You might think or say "ouch" to some of these statements, but just like he says it, he doesn't write the mail, he just delivers it. I look forward to diving in more and hopefully growing our family in the right direction.

I am also so blessed to be able to be at home with Piper and children to follow. Already I see how fast it does go by, and my heart would break if I had to miss out on any of it.

Trampoline Fun

2011-03-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Piper LOVES to play on the neighbor's trampoline when it isn't bombarded with big kids. Her face is full of joy the second you bring up the subject of a trampoline.

Nesting-Mode

2011-03-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

Nesting, nesting, nesting is the name of my game lately. I have been non-stop with cleaning, organizing and taking on projects. My mind has been ongoing with things that I would like to conquer before this baby enters the world.

This is all good though. It keeps me busy in the way that I like. I am able to be creative and productive, while not having to get it done right away. I can always take breaks and time aside when little Piper needs me. That is my first priority during the day without a doubt.

We will be having lots of visitors and what not in the months ahead, so doing these things now will pay-off (hopefully). I also know once the weather warms up, I won't want to be stuck in this house anymore, making me less-prone to getting things done. Now is the time! Back to work, I mean fun.

April 2011: I am looking forward to you.

2011-03-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received a phone call from my mom that an official trip out here has been planned for next month. She is coming out on her own for a whole two weeks and we could not be more thrilled.

She also booked the trip during her 50th birthday - super exciting. April is a busy birthday month for both sides of our extended family, but 3 out of 4 people in this house next month will have a birthday! Jesse will be 27, Mom will be 50 and Piper will be 2! I look forward to enjoying lots of birthday cake with them all as we celebrate those very special days. It must be something in our genes that drives us to conceive in the month of July.... TMI?

We are still, I should say "Jesse" is still, working hard to get all the carpet up in this place. Living here and moving furniture around each time can be challenging, but we're getting there. I am just so thankful I have a hardworking husband that is willing to spend his off-time serving at home.

I cannot believe I will be giving birth in just a little over 3 months! There is much to be done! For starters, I need to figure out some fun stuff to do while Nana is visiting. That will probably just come organically, but I'd still like to think up some fun activities. Oh how I am already praying for beautiful weather. No more snow. We had cabin fever last time the Turpins visited. Oh and if I could discover a pain-free, medicine-free way of giving birth, I would be golden.

Well back to drinking my afternoon Rooibos before I get Piper up.

Lots of Paintings

2011-03-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

In total I completed 11 paintings for Piper's room. They are all finished and hung up. There are maybe 3-5 additional "touches" that must be added to her room before I can take the "after" photos. The paintings turned out great. They really liven up the room. Piper approves too.

This week I have been working on the baby's room. I completed 7 paintings so far. I only have one left to do, but it is going to be massive. It has to be about 4'-0" x 5'-0" in size. That's just an estimation. It will almost serve as a mural since we are unable to paint our walls here.

The paintings and heart of the room are centered on the colors in the green and teal family. Orange will be the accent, showing up in the curtains and maybe some other fun accessories. The theme is not super babyish, which should hopefully allow it to last into the toddler years (we'll see). I am doing a lot of safari animal silhouettes, along with mixed media (wood, paint and newspaper). It is clean, simple, yet still interesting. I look forward to finishing this room and posting some debut photos in the near future.

For now I am going to finish my rooibos tea and enjoy my last 5 minutes of freedom while Piper is enjoying her "quiet time". Thank you Lord for sending me South African friends to introduce this tea to me. It tastes so heavenly with local honey and cream.

So that totals 18 paintings in the past 2-3 months. Not bad progress in my opinion. And all on free wood. Doesn't get much better than that folks. Winning.

Strawberry Greens

2011-03-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

This past week I purchased some strawberries from Costco since the pricing was pretty good. Piper devours them. She would eat her weight in them if I didn't put a stop to it.

Any-who, I have been cutting off the tops and freezing them, leaves and all. Today I used them in a smoothie and it was delish. I am becoming quite the pioneer woman out here, letting nothing go to waste, unless absolutely necessary. I just want to savor fresh produce and make it last as long as I can.

Sooooo, if you hate waste like me, you can freeze those strawberry tops and add them to a nutritious smoothie to pick you up in the afternoon, or whenever you fancy.

Cadence Coming Out (to Oregon)

2011-02-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

That's right, my sister will be here all summer as an intern. We are stoked. She will be the first administration intern the camp has ever had. She'll pretty much be heading up the new office at the new camp, which opens this summer. She is going to have the time of her life. Here is her blog as to why she decided to come out:

My sister's BLOG.

A Book About Where I Live

2011-02-22T09:56:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe I did not know this until living here for 9 months, but there is actually a novel based off of true stories written about Washington Family Ranch (where we work and live).

The book has been pretty good. It chronicles three separate generations leading up to the story of today. The first part was kind of hard to get through, but once I entered the Rajneeshpurim section (the cult that resided here in the mid-1980s) I was unable to put it down.

You may not care about this place one bit, but if you like novels with some history tied in, it's pretty decent.

The best part of the book is to read and know about all the hell it has been dragged through and how God has just totally restored it, using the bad for good as he usually tends to do. He had a plan for this place all along and the fruit is overflowing today. Young Life has had ownership of the property since the late 1990s, but there is still much work to be done. Restoring 64,000 acres is not an easy task, but it is happening. Check out the book.

Tomato Basil Soup

2011-02-20T10:11:00.001-08:00

This recipe is being posted in response to my post on Facebook last night. This is by far the best tomato soup recipe I have come across thus far. It is so simple to do also. You can even make it in bulk and freeze portions for later use. It is from a cookbook that I highly recommend and will link to following the recipe.

What you need:

2 tablespoons EVOO
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 14.5 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil and butter in a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and salt and saute until onions are soft and translucent. Add stock, tomatoes and honey and simmer for about 10-15 minutes to marry flavors.

Let soup cool slightly and put 1/2 of it into blender with sour cream. Blend until smooth. Transfer to another pot. Blend the other half of the soup and add. Warm blended soup. Add basil and pepper before serving.

Preparation time: 25-30 minutes
Makes 4 servings

*You can totally improvise with this recipe. Last night, for example, I didn't have basil or sour cream on hand, so I substituted half and half instead and it still tasted delish. Just work with what you have on hand. It's so good it won't disappoint.

Recipe came from:
Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods

This book is worth the investment. Enjoy the soup!!! I know I will be having leftovers for lunch today. Pair it with some type of grilled cheese also. Get creative with your cheese. Simple cheddar or goat cheese will both appear gourmet with the soup being the star.

Transitions and Letting Go

2011-02-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

Piper hasn't been a huge fan of naps lately, so she usually just ends up talking to herself for an hour or two. This is exactly what happened on Monday, Valentine's Day.

So let me rewind a little bit. Almost a year ago when Piper began to stand up in her crib, she began to bite on the wood to relieve teething pain and whatnot. We created a cover to prevent her from damaging it further. Just a few months ago I took the eyesores off of the crib thinking she had moved on from that phase. Well when I went in to get her on Monday I noticed many new teeth marks on the crib. This is when I decided that Piper was done with the crib.

We moved it out to the baby's room and set Piper up with a big girl bed. Big girl bed meaning a twin size mattress on the floor until Jesse has time to build a bed. It was a sad and weird feeling that night knowing that she wasn't in her crib. My baby is becoming a big girl. She has been doing great so far, so we will see how it progresses.

It is also strange to see that crib in the baby's room, already set back up on the high mattress setting for newborns. It is just a reality check that a baby is surely on its way! I am 20 weeks already.

Speaking of letting go, I vowed not to allow Piper to play on a McDonald's playground, at least until she knows how to beg. Yesterday we had some time to blow in town, McDonald's happened to be dead and there was no questionable ball pit attached to the area. It had snowed the night before, so outdoor play wasn't really an option. McDonald's provided the perfect indoor atmosphere for Piper to run off some energy. It worked out well.

So for now, goodbye to cribs and strict rules on fast food joint playgrounds.

I peeked in.

2011-02-11T18:49:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure if I have blogged about Piper being an avid nail-biter yet, but she is. She bites them down ultra-low, just like her daddy. Saying that, I made a new discovery today.

As I was making dinner tonight, Piper sat on the sofa watching a Sesame Street video. A few minutes into cooking I peeked in on my bean, and sure enough, she was biting HER TOE NAILS. Can you believe this? Where does she pick this up? Yes, Jesse might nibble his nails some, but never his toe nails. Unbelievable.

Downside, Piper has a not so pretty habit. Upside, I don't have to clip her nails.

Breakfast of Champions

2011-02-09T15:00:00.001-08:00

We literally eat the same exact thing for breakfast every morning, as long as we have eggs in stock. It is packed with protein and savory goodness. Try it if you would like to incorporate more eggs into your diet, but want to do it in a tasty way, or if you are cool like us.

"The Egg Wrap"

What you need:

3 large eggs
a splash of milk
Penzey's Arizona Dreaming blend
2 large flour tortillas
shredded cheese - Mexican blend
2 tablespoons sour cream OR plain yogurt
4 tablespoons salsa

Set your pan up on med-high heat. Grease it if you want those eggs to come off. Beat all eggs and milk together. Add them to the pan. While eggs start to cook, get your tortillas placed on plates. Begin to fill them each with a small handful of cheese. Return to your eggs. Sprinkle a generous amount of the Penzey's Arizona Dreaming to the eggs. Keep them moving until they are all cooked. Top the cheese with the cooked eggs. Top the eggs with salsa. Add the sour cream to the wrap (spread it directly onto the tortilla behind the eggs so that you get an even coating and not just one glob in the middle). When I say behind the eggs, I mean on the side of the tortilla where you will begin to wrap it. Once all ingredients are present, roll up the tortilla so that there is no leakage anywhere. Place the wraps into the toaster oven. You need a toaster over to experience the full impact of how delish these bad boys can be. Toast them until they are lightly browned and crispy. Return to plates and enjoy.

Warning: addiction breeds quickly.

Wrinkly Fingers

2011-02-09T13:28:00.001-08:00

Last night Piper was in need of a bath. She loves bathtime, always has.

Following the bath I was getting her all comfy in her jammies and ready for bed. She was intently studying her fingertips. Something was different about them. I explained to her that when in the water for a long time, your skin becomes wrinkly.

For the next several minutes she continuously repeated what I had told her and talked about her wrinkly fingers. It is so much fun talking to her and seeing her soak up all new information. It is the little things that bring joy to my day.

Other great news is in the past week I have began to feel baby move. I was never thrilled about that experience with Piper, I just thought it felt kind of weird, but I have been enjoying it this time. There is nothing better than feeling those strong kicks and knowing that your little one is healthy. Hopefully the kicks won't get too intense, we still have 21 weeks to go....

Farewell, Carpet.

2011-02-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right. My husband began the "ridding of ancient carpet" in our house yesterday. It will take time, a lot of time, but I'm happy to see the project started. If anyone knows my husband, once he starts something, he works, works, works to get it done.

Our plan now is to just live with the sub-floor. We will be painting it a neutral color to enhance aesthetics. It should be interesting. Carpet is nice, but not when it is the same age as you and is probably infested with all the things you are allergic to. Here's to breathing through my nose!

Oh, and a big thanks to our friend Curtis who helped us tear it up. I know Jesse appreciated the expertise and help yesterday. Living out here is great. People love to help other people out. What a servant to spend most of his day off helping us rip up carpet.

Like I said, there is much carpet to still be ripped up here, but the journey has begun. Maybe I can take some before and after photos of this project also.

Room Update

2011-02-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry there has been a gap of time since the last time I posted about Piper's room makeover. Things all of the sudden got a little busy. Jesse was able to hang up all the paintings. I then decided the room needed a little more, so I did two more paintings that still need to go up. That is a total of 11 paintings (remember I did individual ones for the letters in her name).

As you saw in my blog before, it turns out I am allergic to quite a bit of junk. Because of that we are tearing up our 25-tear-old carpet. That's right, it was put down as I was being born. Yucky. This project might take a good month or more to get it where we want it to be. There is lots of carpet. LOTS.

Also, we are going to be transitioning Piper to a big girl bed in the next few months. This means that we will probably be moving her crib and changing table into the baby's room. I probably won't post before and after makeover photos until the flooring is finished, as well as new furniture is placed in her room.

Her room is already looking cute with the new paintings up. Just hold tight, it will realistically be a few months before it is complete.

Until then we have some projects to work on and I have a design plan for the baby's room as well, involving even more paintings. I'm really excited about the plan for it. Baby is going to approve. Well he/she doesn't really have a choice.

I have 22 (give or take) weeks of pregnancy left, so I have to be wise with what's left of my time. I can imagine life will get super busy with another little one around. Stay tuned folks.

A Day to Myself, Yesterday.

2011-02-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

It's true. For the first time since I had Piper I spent the entire day yesterday by my lonesome.

I had to make a trip to town for a couple of appointments, as well as the usual grocery stocking-up. We decided it would be less stressful for me to go alone and for daddy and Piper to stay home. Was it? OH YES. It has been so long since my attention wasn't divided. I was able to listen to my own music in the car, drive how I want to, hold conversations with the doctors, cruise through my list at Costco and just really enjoy my time to myself. God showed me what a precious gift that time can be, even if I am doing things I consider "all-business". It was rejuvenating and produced a more focused, productive day.

Now what doctors did I drive in 2 hours to see? An allergist and my midwife, Nicole. Since moving to Oregon I have had chronic allergies. My sinuses are so swollen I haven't been able to breathe out of my nose since last July and I am constantly blowing my nose. The amount of tissues I have gone through is disgusting. I finally decided it was time to put a name on what was causing this mess.

My appointment with the allergist took a total of 2 hours with all the testing we did. Praise the Lord, I was able to come out with some answers and steps to follow immediately. Things that I am allergic to include:

3 types of grasses (grass mix, alfalfa & ryegrass)
Juniper, western (these trees surround us here in OR)
Mountain Cedar
Pine Mix
2 types of weeds (dock/sorrel & sage)
All forms of dust and dust mites
Cats (I had no idea)
Dogs (I had some idea)
Feathers (goodbye down bedding)

The main culprits seem to be what are in my home, being the dust mite-infested 25-year-old carpet, feathers and my cat. All to say I am ridding of all down bedding, sanitizing all other bedding (to kill dust mites), keeping Marta somewhat contained and if there is no progress within the month we will resort to tearing up this carpet. I will also start taking Claritin tomorrow to relieve other symptoms, but mainly to bring the swelling down. Don't worry, my midwife approved. I hope this didn't bore you, but I am just thrilled to know what measures to take and hopefully begin on this road to recovery. Allergies stink.

My other appointment, the one with my midwife went wonderfully. Baby is measuring where he/she should and the heartbeat is strong. He/she was moving all over the place, so it was fun to hear all the activity in there as well. Praise the Lord for healthy progress!

I did pamper myself in between my business appointments, all being food or drink related pampering. On my way in I was able to pick up some breakfast and a coffee. At lunch I sat by myself inside somewhere to eat and just people watched. I picked up a smoothie at Costco to enjoy for the ride home. It was delightful.

Time alone is worth it. It was so good to see my loveys when I arrived home too. What a blessing to have them to come home to.

Revisiting Vaccines

2011-01-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

It has been about 19 months since I refreshed my memory on vaccines (I remember being in a panic right before Piper's 2 month appointment thinking I needed to educate myself on them). Educate I did and I am so thankful I did.

Since then her schedule has been revised several times due to shots not being available and other reasons. It is amazing how much you forget when you don't stay consistent with things. I know this from experience in many arenas of my life (being in the Word, using AutoCAD, etc.).

Anyway, it is reassuring to know that I am making wise decisions based off of what I know as a mom. They may not always be the best, but I am trying the hardest I can. I have finalized Piper's vaccine schedule up until age 13. This means opting out of certain vaccines, making sure she has all the ones she needs in time to enter school, while spacing them all out in a healthy manner. It just blows my mind how many immunizations these little ones need. It never seems to stop, but I know it will eventually. For now I will continue to educate myself and reflect what I know on each little Washkau vaccine schedule.

Now I need a fun break. Another tea party perhaps?

Today's Example...

2011-01-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

Of why I love my job.

We can enjoy breakfast without rushing.
We can hang out in our pajamas all morning if we choose.
I can sit down in the playroom and have a full-on tea party with my daughter, Elmo, Winnie the Pooh and many other random stuffed animals in our collection.
We can exercise our creativity and imaginations.
All while drinking my coffee and adoring my precious time spent with Piper.

And this is only part of my morning. I am beyond blessed to be able to do this all day, every day.

Completed Paintings

2011-01-23T12:57:00.000-08:00

Here are the four major paintings going into Piper's room. I also added a photo or two of the remaining five that I hope to complete today. Those last five will spell out "P-I-P-E-R".

I Miss Craigs

2011-01-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

For some reason in the past week I have really been missing Craigslist. I loved utilizing Craigs pre-Oregon, especially for Piper. Probably half of what we own has come from Craigslist. Well maybe not that much, but definitely in the furniture and baby item departments. Atlanta Craigslist had such fantastic activity. If you still live there and love bargains you better take advantage of it now.

I thought it would be a good thing not to have access to Craigslist out here in the boondocks, thinking it would save us money, but now I think we have to spend more money to buy things new on Amazon. I guess I just find myself assessing whether I really need something or not.

Oh, and I also miss IKEA being a 15 minute drive away. Farewell for now Craigslist and IKEA. It was fun while it lasted. For now we'll just score things from our neighbors, and of course Amazon.

Jesse's SWEET Project

2011-01-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

This has been an idea of ours for a while, but we didn't know quite what it would look like.

We definitely wanted to start charting the growth of Piper and kiddos to come. Jesse decided on a large piece of wood and found the ruler idea on another blog. There were lots of cute ideas out there, but this just looked classic, elegant and funky all at the same time.

He took this idea and started running. After two days it is nearly finished. All that needs to be added is some clear coat or sealer on top of the paint, then the whole piece needs to be oiled and then some heights need to be recorded! Oh, and we have to figure out how to mount it to the wall in the angled position we are showing. Pretty sweet, huh?

Room Progression

2011-01-18T16:06:00.000-08:00

One painting is complete, which will not be revealed at this time, BUT here is a sneak peak of the next three that I am beginning. These were taken last night so more work has been done. The process has been fun, especially since Piper is able to tell what animals I am painting. Enjoy.

Inspiration for Piper's Room

2011-01-15T10:31:00.001-08:00

We bought this fabric from IKEA back in Atlanta and I have always adored it. All I can tell you is that it is my inspiration for her new room. Her current room's condition is in need of some designer help. I began art piece number one this morning while Piper colored in her thrift store Precious Moments coloring book. We had a good art session. This is all I am going to reveal for now. Whenever I finish this project I will post before and after photos of Piper's room. Let's hope it's a winner!

Looking at these photos from when we first moved out here made me realize even more how fast she is growing up. She looks like such a baby in these photos. I still choose to call her my baby. She will always be my baby, no matter how old and wrinkly she gets one day. So deal with it.

My Bean in Real Time (like 10 minutes ago)

2011-01-13T15:13:00.001-08:00

My Friend Emily

2011-01-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

There is a wonderful ministry here on our property that partners with Young Life. It is called Mark 2. Here is their exact description found on Facebook:

The mission of Mark 2 Ministries is to empower adults with developmental disabilities to live, work/volunteer, and be a part of a community. Mark 2 endeavors to do this by providing support services for activities of daily living, job supports, community inclusion, and social/recreation.

I have the awesome privilege of spending time with a couple of the ladies from Mark 2 each Thursday. Today it was my friend Emily's turn to visit and our time was blessed. She made the most beautiful ear warmer/headbands for us. I am convinced she could totally have an Etsy shop selling these beauties. With being a mom, I could see mommies everywhere wanting to buy these for their children. Shown are her kind creations for Piper and I. What a gift she has!

Mark 2 is also seeking some fine men and women to work for the ministry. It is a young ministry, but such a unique one that enables adults with disabilities to live independently in a community that loves Jesus. Please spread the word if you know of a special someone that has a heart for working with the disabled. Below are some links about Mark 2 Ministries. Plus, you could be my neighbor! I kid, but seriously, spread the word.

THEIR FACEBOOK

THEIR WEBSITE

Free Bedding

2011-01-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

Just another reason as to why I love it out here.

We have a married couple out here who are full-time volunteers. The live right down the road from us and they are in their 80s. The husband heads-up the woodshop (making all the camp bunkbeds, among other projects) and the wife heads-up the sweatshop. The sweatshop is where anything that requires sewing takes place. She sews all the curtains for camp facilities, among many other projects as well. Between the two, they knock-out a ton of labor. They do it all for free because they want to serve the Lord whole-heartedly. There is nothing more beautiful than that.

Yesterday the wife gave me a call and asked if I could use some twin bedding since Jesse just built us a bunkbed (not for us, but for the kids when they are older). I responded "well of course". The housekeeping department weeds out old bedding that is not in the best of shape and gives it all to this lady to use in her sewing projects. To be quite honest, the bedding looked like it was in great shape. It was all white, which makes it super easy to pair with other bedding and accessories. We were able to snatch 6 sets of sheets along with about 10 pillow cases. What a steal, and all for free! We could have taken more, but I didn't want to go overboard. This is just another benefit to living in a community such as this.

So fun. Free bedding. What a blessing.

Ultrasound @ 14 Weeks

2011-01-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

Updates from Jane

2011-01-10T14:51:00.001-08:00

Well I figured out what I need in order to blog: coffee. It is a rarity when I am pregnant, but today my lovely husband brought me some and it livened up my entire day. I felt inspired and motivated to actually get things done. Most of it was cleaning, but all that to say there is nothing quite like coffee. Of course in moderation folks.

This past Friday we were able to see a little baby in my belly. It was a dating ultrasound to make sure we had our dates correct (which I did, thank you). The baby looked great. We made it out of there like bandits with nine pictures of our little bun. I am hoping Jesse finds some time in his off days this week to scan them in so that I can get them posted. What a blessing it is to be pregnant with a healthy baby. I do not take it for granted.

Things are starting back up here on the ranch (potlucks, small groups, growing relationships). December felt like a dead season around here with people gone and being sickly pregnant. Of course my family visited and that was wonderful, but the rest of the month was kind of glum. My best friend's father passed away. There has been so much snow. I find myself looking more and more forward to warm and sunny days ahead. I have to work hard on loving today. I just want to go outside, breathe in the fresh air and soak up some vitamin D. For now I'll pretend.

The 2nd trimester is here and my days have gotten better. A lot less puking and a lot more of feeling like the normal Jane. What a difference the way you feel makes.

We are super pumped for the new year. I think the Lord has some fabulous things in store (obviously). The baby, my sister graduating college, Jesse's sister just got engaged and many travels and visits being planned from the east coast to the west coast and back. Moving away equals lots of time spent traveling. I could do without that, but it is something you just have to do. If I had one special power if would be to snap my fingers and appear where I want to in that moment. No doubt.

Well my little Piper is not wanting to nap today. She would rather talk, sing and whine. This might be a day without a nap. Happy Monday and hopefully we'll have those ultrasound pictures up soon. Stay posted.

Piper-isms @ 20 Months

2010-12-27T21:13:00.000-08:00

First off I cannot believe my baby is going to be 2 in just 4 months. Thoughts of potty training and a big girl bed make me both sad and excited. Here are some new things that are taking place in Piper's little brain:

Anytime Piper coughs or sneezes she immediately says to herself "Bless you, Piper", or in other cute instances she says, "Bless you, munchkin".
Whenever I ask Piper what she would like to eat, 90% of the time the answer is "chocolate". There are no lack of sweets in this house around the holidays and she knows it.
Piper likes to announce "lunch is ready!" anytime she thinks she should be served a meal or one is on the way. She'll even notify Dada if he is MIA from the dinner table.
In the past week Piper has associated peanut butter with being a big sister. We say peanut butter is for a big sister and she recites it anytime peanut butter is in view, when she is eating it or when she wants to be eating it.
Jesse just built a bunk bed which Piper calls the "big kid/girl bed". I usually find her on the bottom bunk playing when I am looking for her upstairs. She loves it.
Piper absolutely loves the tea set Mimi got her for Christmas and cannot stop playing with it. She even serves tea to her stuffed animal friends.
Something not super cute (and I'm guessing she gets this from her dad): Piper has started to bite her nails. It had been a couple of weeks since I had to cut them and then I noticed why. We'll have to work on this one.
Piper is really catching onto the alphabet. She is pointing out letters in words. She loves to do her flashcards. She is just a sponge soaking everything up.
When Piper is feeling in a lazy mood, she hops onto the sofa, covers herself with a blanket and says "Watch movie, watch show". Sometimes her wish is granted depending on how pregnant mommy feels.
Piper continues to live in complete adoration of our cat Marta. She would kiss and hug her eternally if Marta would put up with it.

Welp this is all I can think up at the moment. I'm sure there are many more, but it's fun to write some down for now. I have just loved hearing what is going on in that little brain of hers.

A Heavenly Week

2010-12-19T16:14:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful week we just experienced. The whole Turpin gang (my mom, dad and sister) made a brave trip out to Oregon just to see us! They departed this afternoon, in which I wept. I know these times will be rare and precious, so I am cherishing them deeply.

We spent the first few days in Portland at a beautiful townhome. It was so nice to stay somewhere new for a few days. The cable didn't hurt either. We ate out many times, visited the Zoo, shopped around Portland, it was spectacular. Piper was so happy to see Nana, Papaw and Aunt Cadence. We captured many photographs (major thanks to Cadence) and videos. The photographs are located on our Flickr page to the right for all to view. Enjoy those golden nuggets.

The rest of the week was spent here at our home on the ranch in the middle of nowhere. It was a nice change from the city life. We had nowhere to be, nothing to do, just to enjoy each other's company. My mom treated us to many wonderful meals. She made my life very easy this week. I do not take that for granted. We played lots of games, watched Christmas movies, played in the snow and the list goes on. We had such a great time for lack of better words.

Thank you Turpin family for blessing our lives. We love you eternally!

Most of these photos were taken by Cadence, the one shown here was of our bizarre box of donuts from Voodoo Donuts in Portland. Pretty creative.

Being Pregnant = Bad @ Blogging

2010-12-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

Well my blogging consistency has stunk lately. It's probably because I'm in the first trimester and not feeling my best these days. Thinking back, I would always blog when I was feeling upbeat and positive. I still feel that at times, just not as often. It's hard feeling cruddy and mustering up the motivation to blog, or even do small things such as make a meal.

I am so very thankful that I am not as sick as last time. I didn't know what to expect with round two, but it has been totally different. God has totally blessed this pregnancy and made it so I can manage simple daily tasks. I will take just a small amount of puking daily over 10 times a day (as it was last time). I am so thankful to be able to hold most food and drinks down. When it's all said and done, it is so worth it no matter what. I cannot wait to meet this second little bean.

Piper has already learned to say "big sister" and it is the most adorable thing on this planet. Having a family has brought richness to my life.

Making it "Blog Official"

2010-12-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

We are expecting baby number two! Yes indeed. Piper will be a BIG sister in July 2011. We are all so excited to meet this little gift.

Yesterday I had my first official visit with the midwife I chose for my care. It went the best it could have went. The birth facility was beautiful (especially that huge, overflow birthing tub room), the people were so warm and caring, I could go on and on. And I will. The prenatal visit rooms have a whole toy area to keep little ones occupied. There was lots of natural light throughout the building. The architecture was so fitting for the trendy Bend area. I am just really excited about the midwife, birthing center experience this time around.

We weren't expecting to hear baby's heartbeat this early on (8 weeks), but sure enough it happened! The midwife was so excited saying she never gets to hear a heartbeat so early on, it's usually closer to 10 weeks. That experience will make for a short four weeks until my next appointment.

God is so good. Hearing that heartbeat is just what we needed after spending two days in a car, doing lots of grocery shopping, while it was snowing, and not to mention Piper puked all on her carseat on the way out of the ranch, so smelling upchucked goldfish for the whole first day until we could get to a washing machine was quite trying for a pregnant lady and dad. It's probably why she didn't nap the whole day either. Poor thing.

Apologies for not being consistent with the blogs lately. Life has been busy. We have been trying to get out house cleaned up and decorated for Christmas before my family visits in just two weeks. We are so excited to see them all and spend some quality time together. Life is good. No complaining on this end.

Much love folks. Enjoy the good news.

Ummm, it's cold.

2010-11-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Out of nowhere it has become freezing temperatures here in central Oregon. Today it lightly snowed. Tomorrow they are expecting 4-7 inches! Can you believe this madness? I don't think I'm ready for all this crazy weather.

The craziest person at the moment would be my husband since he is outside playing in it tonight. The annual "Turkey Bowl" game is happening down at camp and he wanted to go play. I would much rather be here in my warm PJs, in my cozy home, blogging about randomness. It's good for him though. I'm sure he'll sleep great!

So for now I will try to focus on happy thoughts instead of this insane coldness surrounding us.

An Illustration

2010-11-16T12:21:00.000-08:00

The essence of motherhood was illustrated to me moments ago.

Jesse took Piper out to play for a couple of hours while I got some much-needed rest. I don't spend too much time away from Piper, so even after a couple of hours I get excited about seeing her walking through that door into my arms for a big, fuzzy hug.

As she walked through the door she smiled at me as I squatted down with my arms extended, waiting to receive a Piper hug. She started to approach me and then swiftly passed me to the right saying "lunch, lunch" as she headed toward the kitchen. The essence of motherhood folks.

Birthday Girl

2010-11-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

My sweet sister turns 21 today! Wahooooo! Party time. I kid, I kid. I can't believe you are already 21 Cadence. It makes me feel old. We're both in our 20+s :) Lots of love and celebration for this blessed day!

A great video my sister reminded me of today:

2010-11-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

Where The Hell is Matt? This is the title, not my words. What a great idea.

I hope I live to see all these places and more.

Rearranging

2010-11-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday we completely rearranged almost our entire house, all in one day, while taking care of and entertaining a toddler. I don't know how we did it, but I am sure glad we did.

Here is how it went down.

We moved the workout room and playroom upstairs.

We created an actual dining room (where the playroom was).

We moved the main guest suite downstairs.

We moved the office downstairs.

Now we are just working on the final touches (moving art, rugs, lights, curtains, etc.). We love the new layout though. Totally practical and enjoyable. I am hoping my family enjoys it when they visit next month too. I think we made it more guest-friendly.

It is two days later and I am still pooped. There is much laundry to do, but I am very tempted to take a nap while Piper does. We'll see which one wins over.

We passed!

2010-11-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

We are official Oregon residents. We got the IDs to prove it. That's right. Studying paid off today folks. Jesse and I got every single question correct. I hope this doesn't sound like boasting, but we were so proud.

We visited the Madras library right after to get official library cards. This day was all about making things official. I continue to be shocked by Madras. They had a great set-up for children. We even got a bag full of new books to keep for Piper with a reusable bag that says "I <3 books". It doesn't take much to please me.

Piper got her 18 month shots. Never fun, but something we have to do. Usually she doesn't go down for bed too well after shots, but so far so good. I put her down about five minutes ago. We shall see how the night goes! Poor girl. Even when I get shots they bother me for hours to follow. I can't imagine what it feels like to her itty bitty self. The drugs do help though.

It is good to be home, as always.

Bee Sting

2010-11-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

First off, we survived since the last post. The Aquatic Center was beautiful! The water was 89 degrees and we practically had the whole place to ourselves. I was in shock that Madras had such a nice facility.

Yesterday it got up into the 60s and Piper was not up for napping, so we made an escape to the playground down the road. We have three on the property, two of them being brand new. Piper loves to play in the pea-gravel and I love to just sit, watch and chat it up with visitors. Her friend Caleb (2) usually comes to play, adding lots of energy to the atmosphere. Whew, boys are just made of something else.

Anyway, I was just sitting and chatting with Piper in my lap (she took a snack break) and out of nowhere, BOOM, a bee stung me on the hand. It has been ages since the last time this happened. I am remembering high school while driving my manual Hyundai Tiburon, sitting in traffic, when all of the sudden a wasp attacks my thigh. Not fun.

Anyway, it hurt at first. It's a little swollen and tender today, but not too much of a nuisance. I'm just glad it happened to me and not Piper.

Tomorrow we are off to retake the Oregon driver's license tests (wish us luck, we are studying and preparing this time) and Piper has an appointment for shots. Hopefully there will be some room for fun to make up for all the not-so-fun.

To the Madras Aquatic Center!

2010-11-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

This morning we are headed to the Mommy and Me Swim at the Madras Aquatic Center. The website looks kind of lame, but it is actually impressive that a place in Madras even has a website. I've heard awesome things about this facility. We are meeting up with Piper's friend Auryn and her family for a day of fun. It's dreary and cold outside, so it's perfect to spend our time indoors playing in the water.

I think this might be the first time I have ventured off the ranch without Jesse. Let's hope I make it through all the windy, gravely roads with no cell service smoothly. If I blog again later, that means we survived!

I am also dreading getting back into a bathing suit now that my skin is back to pale, but I'm sure everyone else is in the same boat. We'll see! The good news is that I shaved.

Pass & Fail in the Same Day

2010-11-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we made a trip to Madras (an hour away) for a much-needed dentist appointment. It had been over three years since I had my last cleaning. I was so nervous to hear the verdict on my chompers. All I could think about was the months and months that I continuously vomited while pregnant with Piper and how it probably wreaked havoc on my precious teeth. Well to my delightful surprise there were nothing but compliments on how good my gums and teeth appeared. I was in shock. It made me very happy.

After two hours of being at the dentist we all grabbed some lunch. Soon to follow lunch would be testing for our Oregon driver's licenses (dun, dun, dun). Even after studying we both failed. All we have to pass is a written test, and boy are there some tricky ones that they slide in - totally not fair. I was very close scoring 73% and I won't mention Jesse's for pride's sake. We compared, and to be honest it does sound like his questions were a little bit trickier than mine.

We are hoping to retest next week. Let's hope this is the last DMV trip we will have to make for a while. Piper was pooped as usual, and fell asleep as soon as we hit the road home.

Pass = my teeth. Fail = Oregon written test for driver's licenses. All in a day.

"Eye-oh"

2010-10-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

For the past week or two Piper has begun to say "I love you" in return. It melts our hearts. Sometimes we don't even have to say it first, she'll just express her love anyway. For instance today I asked if she would like to go to the playground, and of course she responded "please". About a minute after I was carrying her down the stairs and out of nowhere she said "eye-oh". Priceless. Jesse whispered "I love you" before bed tonight and she whispered "eye-oh" right back. I cannot count the amount of times I express my love to Piper in one single day, but to have her say it back just completes my world. What a precious gift she is to us all.

Sassy Chicks

2010-10-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

My friend Sarah posted a cute blog today on her daughter and Piper. They are both sassy chicks that are becoming good friends. Read about it HERE.

Halloween Festivities Part 1

2010-10-29T12:40:00.001-07:00

Check out our latest upload of photos on our Flickr link to the right.

18 months ago...

2010-10-27T17:50:00.001-07:00

Piper came into the world. It has been the best 18 months of my life. Hard to believe she has reached this mark already. Piper, I look forward to millions of more months with you!

Harvest Party TONIGHT

2010-10-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the annual Harvest Party here at the ranch. We spent the whole morning decorating the building with carnival games, lights, bales of hay, etc.. There is also going to be a pie contest in which yours truly is on the panel of judges. All of the kiddos dress up in the Halloween costumes. It's going to be great fun. I'll put Jesse on camera duty while I'm judging! Hopefully I'll have some photos to follow soon. I love community get-togethers!

Short Story:

2010-10-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I was applying a mattress cover to Piper's mattress (the one that is supposed to prevent gases from penetrating). The instructions mentioned to air it out before covering. I slid it down the stairs so that I could bring it out to the deck.

As it was sliding, it caught some stairs and flipped up and the left, which was the exact location of our large, red, Crate & Barrel clock. In slow motion the mattress hit the clock up and then sharply down into the ground, breaking the glass and denting the frame. I screamed. Piper raced out from the room her 123s video was playing and said, "Uh-oh, dock". I responded, "Yes, very big uh-oh mama did to the clock".

Just a few minutes ago I found another piece of glass that I missed that day. I hate cleaning up glass and I hate breaking nice things. I guess it's a good thing that material things mean zilch.

Piper continues to say, "Uh-oh, dock", every time she sees the clock laying on our dining table. I love the fact that she can bring humor to a stressful situation. She is such a bundle of joy.

Today = back @ it.

2010-10-26T14:17:00.001-07:00

A few months back I blogged about my experimentation with freezer cooking. To recap, you cook your heart out for a couple of days and freeze many portions to create easy dinners for the future.

We continue to live off of the ones I made a few months back, but the freezer was beginning to look empty. Yesterday was spent in town stocking up on mostly meat, among other things. This time around I chose to take an easier route. Instead of cooking all the meals then freezing, what I have done is basically assembled lots of crockery meals that can just be thawed and then cooked. Still easy and it saves me the headache of cooking twice (or cooking and then reheating).

With Jesse being home today I have been able to crank out about half of the freezer meals. I will probably wrap up the rest of them in the next day or two. Here is what I put together today:

16 servings of Beef Brisket with BBQ sauce
18 servings of Gingersnap Pot Roast
24 servings of Pork Roast with Cherries (I used golden raisins instead of cherries)
12 servings of Garlic Chicken with Artichokes

There is lots of chicken left and some pork that I will be assembling for meals here shortly. I really love having dinner ready in the freezer. The meals have been delicious. Having a deep freezer rocks my world. Even if we moved closer to a city one day, I don't know if I'll ever stray from these methods. I also don't plan on moving away. Looks like it's a definite win-win!

Now back to the Fudge Ribbon Pie and am making for the pie contest tomorrow night. I am also a judge, so I doubt my pie will be winning. That might look too shady.

Current Piper Favorites

2010-10-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

Bachees, also known as pumpkins.
Slides. Anytime we are approaching, passing or at a playground, she exclaims, "slides". I ask if she wants to go outside and play and she responds, "slides?". She points them out in books and videos as well.
Apples. Like I've mentioned before, we have full access to an orchard here and we take full advantage of that. Much like the slides, anytime we pass apple trees Piper says, "apple, apple, apple", until we affirm that she is correct. She loves to munch on them daily.
Cleaning up (WAHOO!). Piper is learning to help me clean up. She says "back" when it is time to put things away. She also tries to sing my Barney clean-up song when she's ready to move on to something else. Lets hope she keeps up this habit! Well, she really has no choice. She will keep up this habit.
Moo-moos, also known as smoothies.
Ca-cas, also known as crackers.
Piper loves to say goodbye to things. For instance I was playing an acoustic song on my laptop this morning and once the song ended she said, "bye-bye tar (word for guitar)". She also likes to say "bye-bye" when she wants to go home.
Trash. Piper loves any opportunity when I have trash for her to throw away. This is very helpful in the kitchen. Yes, some non-trash-like objects have been placed in the trash as well, but we are working on that. She'll even pick up little crumbs on the floor and say "trash", as to which I respond, "yes", and she proceeds to throw it away.
The moon. Piper points to it anytime she can see it outside. She loves to point them out in books as well.
The Scout. That is her all-time favorite thing.
To say "up" when she wants more attention, which is taking place as we speak.

Well I must get someone down for a nap. I'm sure there are many other things that would make this list if I had the time. I just love how we are able to communicate more and more each day. If I haven't emphasized it enough, I love being a mom to my Piper.

Driving the Scout

2010-10-20T09:20:00.001-07:00

I finally womaned-up and did it. I have been so hesitant to drive this 1961 manual machine. I know how to drive a stick, but this is an antique stick. It requires sensitive movements and operation.

Yesterday we were in a large, quiet spot and I figured it was perfect for me to humiliate myself driving the Scout. Well my friends, there was no humiliation whatsoever. I drove that thing like I was a pro. I did not stall out once. I even felt so confident to drive it all the way home (passing lots of neighbors, may have even required me to fully stop on a hill and continue - very scary). Thankfully there were no obstacles and we arrived home safely.

I can't wait to drive it again!

Addicted.

2010-10-17T14:39:00.001-07:00

This is the second year that Little Muddy Preschool has been in session here at the ranch. I told a neighbor that I would scan some blogs for some ideas that would take up our days there.

And I cannot stop. The blogs and ideas are ENDLESS. There is just so much good stuff out there. Who knew that there was so much to occupy and teach little ones?!

Since Piper has awakened from her nap I have been trying things out (free form art, matching colors). I cleaned and organized her entire playroom as well, which is mainly composed of books.

Many of them are very worn. I came across one of her favorite "touch-and-feel and lift-the-flap" books where each "lift the flap" has been torn off. With that said, I totally whipped out some duct tape and pieced this book back together. Lets see how long it lasts now. With Piper's record, probably not super long. I can't believe I duct-taped a toddler book back together. I'm feeling extreme this afternoon after all that blogging.

Extreme would also mean blasting educational, kids music around the house. Being a kid rocks. I have the best job in the world. One that enables me to be a mom and a kid at the right times.

You better believe I'll be scanning more blogs once Piper goes to bed tonight.

Bachee?

2010-10-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone is getting festive around here with all their Halloween decor. As you saw, even we got into the spirit and jumped on the pumpkin-train early (see below).

With the abundance of pumpkins surrounding us, Piper has found yet another favorite thing. She cannot pronounce the word "pumpkin" yet, so her version sounds like "bachee". It is adorable.

She carries her trick-or-treating pumpkin around with her as much as she can around the house. She'll be even more stoked once she finds out what she will be filling it with (candy!).

Here's to Halloween and the entire holiday season that is right around the corner! I think people decided to plan a lot of holidays in winter to keep people's minds off of the cold weather and in a positive state. Boy am I glad for that. It will be a miracle if I survive this winter.

"Bachee! Bachee! Bachee!". She is not saying that as we speak. She is actually chasing around dust particles that she can see in the sun rays beaming through the window. Oh wait, now she's eating food off the floor. Must go and be a good parent :)

Isn't she cute?

2010-10-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

My sister is adorable, especially this photo with her hipster slash poser glasses. I love the look. I always know what's in style based off her wardrobe and accessories. It's important to have someone like that when you live in the middle of nowhere without television. Cadence you are such a lovely sister. You will also be 21 in a month.... Uh oh. No really though, I just love you lots.

Also, check out her sweet blog HERE.

It has been FIVE years!

2010-10-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

Five years ago I was just a college-girl visiting a college-boy in the beautiful city of Chicago.

Jesse and I had met the summer previous working at a Young Life camp in Colorado. We maybe introduced ourselves once that entire month and that was the only form of communication we had while we were out there.

We both went our separate ways. Back to real life. Back to school. Then an instant message from Jesse popped up. We began to talk. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of how honest Jesse was with me about my character and actions while we were out at Colorado (lets just say I had a bunch of crushes and a boyfriend back home). But once we got past that junk we began to realize that we had a whole lot in common. And thus it all started.

It went from computer to phone for hours each night. Then Jesse decided to fly me up to Chicago to figure out if things could be potentially serious. I arrived on a Wednesday and left on a Sunday.

That Friday in between we spent the whole day in the city of Chicago riding our bikes and sight-seeing. When it was time for the sun to go down, we laid in the grass by Lake Michigan, along with our bikes.

It was in those moments that we discussed the direction we wanted our relationship to go in, and here we are today five years later. Married with our beautiful daughter Piper, our cat Marta, living in lovely central Oregon. What an awesome plan God has revealed in just five years.

Preschoolers

2010-10-14T08:27:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo my friend Sarah snapped of the preschool crew last week at the apple orchard. What a bunch of cuties! Piper is in mid-escape mode.

Pumpkin-Carving Festivities

2010-10-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

While we were in town on Monday, we picked up a pumpkin for $2 at the grocery store. On Tuesday after Piper's nap (directly after her nap, as to why her cheeks are so rosy), we cleaned out the pumpkin, roasted the seeds and carved a generic face. We made great timing, all within an hour if I am remembering correctly. We'll probably be doing it again in the near-future since we have a planned trip to the pumpkin-patch. Oh, and that would be the Elmo costume we scored thrifting for Piper. Enjoy.

New Fall Shows

2010-10-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

There is no television in this house. There is the option to get some form of cable out here, but we decided not to. A., it's really pricey. B., we thought it would be wise for our family.

Don't get me wrong, we still watch TV. It's just all through either Hulu or a network site. We stay updated on all our shows thanks to the internet we do have.

Each season of TV there are always endless pilots debuting to make their mark. Jesse and I usually give them a chance. Upon watching some pilots recently we have found two shows that we declare as "really good". These shows include Raising Hope and Running Wilde. Both comedies. Both well-written. Both make us laugh a lot.

Just because we like them doesn't mean they will make it through the first season, but we have hope. We will continue to be faithful, web-streaming viewers to these shows, among others. If you have a way of watching these shows, please do. They are great in our opinions.

"Elmo, Elmo".

2010-10-11T21:31:00.001-07:00

Today is considered our beginning of the weekend. Around 10 this morning we decided to make a trip to town. I needed some groceries to tide us over until we hit up the bulk store in a couple of weeks, and we thought we could knock-out our written tests at the DMV in order to get our Oregon licenses.

Well one of those two things happened. It was the grocery shopping. Sadly our paperwork did not have a physical address on it, just a PO Box, so we'll have to try again next time. I will say that it made my day to be the only people in the entire DMV building. This is the second time we have been there (the first was to get our manuals to study-up) and both times it has been dead. AND the people are friendly and thorough. I don't know if I can ever live in a big city again. Phew, those DMV offices in the Greater Atlanta area are wicked.

It was a beautiful fall day to spend in town.

We stopped at a park so Piper could run around for a little bit. We ate lunch at our favorite spot, La Posada, and ordered our usual. This place does mexican well. A total hole-in-the-wall, but the food is full of authentic flavor.

And of course we hit up our favorite thrift stores. We got an entire bag of children books for a whopping total of $1.00. Our entire bag = 44 books. Beat that my friends. I also came across a Sesame Street brand Elmo costume, in which Piper came across and demanded immediately. She kept saying "Elmo, Elmo" as she expressed her love with hugs and kisses (to Elmo, not mom). She dragged it around with her everywhere she went once we got home. I usually don't allow her to touch things from the thrift store until I have sanitized every square inch, but it was just too darn cute to resist. I promise, Elmo will be taking a bath tomorrow.

We unloaded the groceries once we got home and headed out for soccer night. It is one of those nights where it feels way later than it actually is, probably because we did so much in one day.

TIME FOR BED. Goodnight Moon.

Lobster please!

2010-10-10T08:59:00.001-07:00

I meant to blog about this last night, so I'll probably blog at another point today about something else.

I love to watch shows involving food. It is a weakness. I love to just soak up every method or technique they are using.

Lately at lunch I have been putting on a 20-minute show of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay". Bobby Flay took a while to grow on me, but I really enjoy watching his shows now. It had been a while since I had watched any of his shows seeing that we don't have cable out here (just Hulu).

Anyway there are only about 5 episodes on Hulu to watch, and most of them involve seafood and New England. My mouth watered as I watched Lobster Clubs being put together. YUM! I have a new bullet on my bucket list, to someday make it up to Maine to have a Lobster Club from The Brass Compass Cafe. I cannot wait to blog about it.

Maybe you cool kids can join me on my adventure there.

The Orchard

2010-10-08T19:37:00.001-07:00

Today preschool was spent at the orchard here on the ranch.

Back in the 80s the Rajneesh cult planted that orchard and it has been producing fruit ever since. It just amazes me how fruitful the trees are with such lack of maintenance over the years. There are apples, pears, plums and something else that isn't meant for eating, but it has a lot of pectin to use for jams and whatnot.

We have picked tons of apples before today and they have just been sitting in the kitchen for days. But not tonight. Tonight I am sauteing sliced up orchard apples in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, and they are divine.

They are sizzling as we speak. All we need is some vanilla ice-cream to top them. If only the grocery store wasn't an hour away. Any who... must go devour with husband.

Disturbing Article

2010-10-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

I was browsing the web this morning and came across an article that disgusted me. It is all about baby mattresses and the toxic gases they are emitting, and probably causing many cases of SIDS. The studies are summed up as such:

Three chemicals that have been approved for baby mattress construction include phosphorus, arsenic and antimony.
Scopulariopsis brevicaulis (a common household fungus) takes root in the mattress from baby's sweat, spitting up, etc..
The fungus and chemicals combined produce deadly (to infants) nerve gasses: phosphine, arsine and stibine.
All of the above have proven to be present in mattresses on which SIDS babies died.
High levels of antimony were present in their blood samples.
Fellow researchers developed a gas impermeable plastic for wrapping the mattress, that would keep gases from contaminating the sleeping area (along with cotton bedding).
Since this has been implemented on baby mattresses, no deaths have been reported.

The mattress covers can be purchased here. I will probably be purchasing one soon, even though Piper is now out of the affected age range. I definitely want to have one on there if babies-to-follow will be using that very same mattress.

What a shame. There is no integrity in the way a lot of companies do business these days. YOU HAVE TO DO LONG-TERM STUDIES. I cannot stress that fact alone enough. And not only do their products suck, they don't have the decency to inform their consumers nor correct the issue-at-hand.

Hopefully you learned something new today, because I certainly did.

Wednes-to-the-day

2010-10-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

Today was the actual true kick-off of preschool. As you know from previous blogs, Piper is just not a fan of group activities. I spent most of my time keeping her happy and away from all the new faces. I think being more relaxed is just something she will have to grow into. We lasted the whole chunk of time today, which is already progress compared to last week's session.

Random story, but yesterday a neighbor asked "is Piper a lot like you?". To which I responded, "what do you mean?". She went on to say that Piper has a sass about her, which she does. I now know what my neighbor thinks about me, but that's okay. I do think Piper is a lot like I was at that age, meaning she will turn out well, right?

I posted three new videos today to our YouTube to the right of this post. Enjoy!

Tonight is Bruschetta night at the neighbors, so I will attempt to make some for the very first time. I found a well-rated "Double Tomato Bruschetta" recipe online. Lets hope it delivers.

Wednesdays to us are like everyone else's Mondays. Jesse's weekend is Monday and Tuesday, so Wednesdays always seem to be slow-going. I get used to having him around and then I have to adjust right back to not. Oh how I love weekends. I foresee this being a good week though! I am a blessed lady.