Cozy Living

More from the Everyday

I promised you more of my week in pictures. That was a really eye-opening project. I used to hate it when people who aren't stay-at-home moms asked me, "What do you do all day?" (Yes, people do ask.) I never had a good answer. This was not only a good exercise for me for posterity, but also one to remind myself that I'm valuable. My job is valuable. If I were working, I would lose this once in a lifetime opportunity to read (and read and read) "just one more" story in that same old Curious George treasury and cuddle on the couch with the boys. I would miss the chance to help Jake carve a "shamu" killer whale out of a cucumber, just because he had a bizarre longing to do it. I know I would miss Tyler's spontaneous hugs, and I'm quite aware that those won't be coming to me for long.

And speaking of pictures, I'm oh so desperately hoping to win this giveaway of a beautiful printer on Simple Mom's wonderful blog. I've had trouble the last few times with my usually so dependable Costco photo printing.  Head on over to the link and play the odds...but don't you go ruining my chances of winning!

Beachy Bonding Time

We're safely home from our family camping reunion, saturated with salty water, covered in ashy dirt, and full of new family memories.  We had an afternoon of digging and romping in the beach sand, two evenings of s'mores by the fire, and a healthy dose of playing and being together.  And if anyone wonders where I get my competitive nature, let me just say that our weekend also included a kite making & flying contest, a survival fire making contest, a trac ball contest, and a rousing game of musical chairs, courtesy of my cousin Kendy's lovely singing.  Oh yes, this is what our family calls fun.  

You've heard the phrase, "The family who plays together stays together"... cheesy, but definitely true for our family.  I only hope that my own boys will still like hanging out with me when Greg and I are "old folks at home," as I so affectionately call my parents.  

Only my dear uncle Don would think to bring the boys back issues of his magazines: "Trains" and "Equipment Today," which has page after page of pictures of and articles about construction equipment.  Come to think of it, it could be that it is only my dear uncle Don who has ever heard of these magazines.

I love this family 'portrait' of us just living life together...the boys and I eating popsicles while Greg keeps working on the fire making contest.  Yes, now we've revealed who does the real work around here.

How Tyler spent his Saturday afternoon...oblivious to the mud covering his body, but hanging on to the all important baseball cap, which he can be found wearing at all times, even when running around our house naked.

the kite flying contest, which my dad and brother in law Rob won for actual flying, as well as my cousin Becky, who won the 'most creative flyer' award, as she ran with her kite on a six foot string, just hoping it would defy all odds and soar.  Better luck next time, Becky.

Sunrise over San Elijo State Beach...

and sunset.

Family fun...

and family bonding.

I'm off now to do some family bonding with my own two trying little boys. I'm ever so tempted to focus on the fact I'm exhausted by the cold that's settled into my exploding sinuses, and that the boys' "rest time" was far from restful for any of us, and that my little pocket of afternoon silence wasn't as silent as I expect it to be.  There was no time for 'official' meditation, prayer, and renewal, but there was a brief time for writing and reflection, and I'm finding that God can speak peace to me through that time, too. Thank you, Lord, for beautiful photos and words, and for the strength to change my attitude.  

As Helen Keller said, "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  

I'm off to improve mine.  I hope your day is wonderful.  

The Year Round Outdoor Life

April 2007

Sometimes it's hard not to be jealous as I see the crisp fall weather pictures from various parts of the world.  Here we are, in another 90+ heat wave.  This is unusual, but it does come with the territory here in Southern California.  My roses are confused.  This picture is from last year, but outside my door right now the roses are blooming like crazy.  

I got to thinking about our heat, and realized how blessed we are to have this kind of weather where we can be outdoors, in nature, all year round.  I know some of you can't imagine Christmas without snow.  Growing up, I couldn't imagine Christmas without going rollerblading on the boardwalk at Huntington Beach.  Rather than be annoyed about the extreme heat today, I'm going to be thankful, especially since we're heading out to our annual family reunion camping trip on the beach today!  The boys favorite cd right now is a Veggie Tales sing-a-long, and there's a song that reminds me to be thankful:

'A thankful heart is a happy heart.  I'm glad for what I have, that's an easy place to start.'

I'm remembering this as I look back at some favorite old pictures of our adventures outside in the past couple years.

January 2007

March 2007

Annual family reunion campout on the beach (we're leaving for this year's today!), October 2007

Christmas Eve 2007

The Rose Parade: January 2008

Our meadow: January 2008

San Diego Train Museum trip for the boys' birthdays: February 2008

Around the neighborhood: February (yes, February!) 2008

Our first pool trip of the year: March 4, 2008

I do hope you're enjoying your beautiful fall weather, wherever you are.  As for me, I've decided to enjoy the heat around here.  Happy weekend to you all.

Daily Life in Pictures and Words

This week I'm participating in Ali Edwards' "A Week in the Life" project, at the end of which I'll have a small scrapbook album documenting the everyday events in a regular week in our lives.  This is the kind of thing that I wish I had from my grandparents or my parents.  How did they deal with the stresses of everyday living, especially without all of the modern conveniences we have now?  What did they do day in and day out?  How much did their groceries cost and what did they buy?

I think I'm going to try this every few years, just to give a glimpse of the stage of life I'm in as I go.  Imagine how different my everyday life will be in five years...  I'm really enjoying photographing the little meaningless stuff that adds up to be so meaningfully "us."

I'll be putting a little journaling onto each of the days of the week in my scrapbook...a schedule, some little tidbits about the day, what I was thinking about, what our moods were.  My thoughts on faith throughout the day and the way my prayers transform my attitude will have a big part in the book, too.  My faith is such an integral part of my life that it's sometimes unnatural for me to write about topics close to my heart without delving into my faith and why I value certain ideals in my life.

Have you ever been forced to play that horrible baby shower game, where they give everyone a clothespin and you can't say the word "baby" or someone can take your clothespin as her own?  I hate that game.  The moment it starts I simply say "baby" and get rid of the clothespin so I can simply enjoy myself.  I know, I'm such a poor sport.  At times I feel like I'm playing that game here on my blog.  Trying not to offend or sound preachy with my thoughts on God, trying to stay neutral and sound universal.  But it's hard to talk about the everyday things in my life without talking about the One who keeps my life afloat, both physically and in my spirit.  I'm ready to give up the clothespin.  I hope it won't seem presumptuous of me to share about my own faith, knowing that your faith is most likely different from mine.  It may be taboo, but you'll be seeing a bit more writing about my own faith around here, because I'm simply not me without it.

Our faith is important to all of us, really, whether we trust in God or the government or our network of friends and family to sustain us in hard times and rejoice with us in good times.  We all turn to someone when we're proud or we're struggling, even if it's only to ourselves.  I hope when I mention the One to whom I turn throughout my everyday life, you can still follow along here and be strengthened in your own faith, or be challenged to think about what's sustaining your own everyday.

Here are some everyday moments from Monday through Wednesday.  I'll share more soon.

Ty helps with the crock pot stew.  At dinner that night...me: "I hate it when no one eats the dinner I work so hard to make." greg: "Then don't make stew."  

haircuts...jake's came out a little uneven in front...just in time for picture day.

greg's usual late evening pose...with the t.v., the remote, the favorite chair, and the cat.  I'm still in denial.  But her name is Mittens Elizabeth, which means the boys just couldn't let go of calling her Mittens, but mostly we all call her Ellie.  (Thanks for your votes on names.) And she's such a sweet kitty.

Finally taking a walk again, and the tire's flat.  Trying to change it.

On our walk...taking a break as the boys play at the park...to read my current book, which I'll post about (along with her other wonderful books) soon.  I love the walking shoes, park bench, lenscap, pen and book...so everyday for me.  (Well, except the walking shoes part!  Gotta get back into that.)

Dyeing the halloween costumes.  What a project.  "Tub dyeing...it's easy!" proclaimed the instruction manual! Ha.

Jumping on the bed during quiet time (which around here means 'go upstairs and play with your brother and work everything out on your own' time.)

Sunset in the corn maze at the pumpkin patch last night...I told you we go multiple times in October!

On the Third Day of (handmade) Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me...

 

With all of the play with toy dinosaurs and cars and such around here, I thought the boys might enjoy having a person to do some imaginative play with.  So a few months ago I asked them if they'd like a doll to play with.  Tyler said, yes, he would, but Jake said NO WAY...dolls are for girls.  Hence, our "Camping Guys" were born.  My neighbor suggested Jake might like it if I called it a "guy" instead of a doll, and I brought them out for the first time while we were camping in Yosemite.  I had looked into the Waldorf type dolls out there, but the ones I found were all around $70ish and I just couldn't see spending that much since I wasn't sure the boys would like them.  So here's what I did:

1. trace the shape of a man on large tracing paper.  Make him a pudgy man because he needs some room for seams, especially on his arms, legs, and neck.

2. cut him out and trace him onto two pieces of fabric (in my case, some extra cream colored fleece type material.

3. Embroider his face.  I just did a few simple stitches for the nose, a flat mouth (so he can be mad or nice or sad or whatever the boys feel like making him), and a couple french knots for the eyes.  If it's not a surprise, your recipient might enjoy choosing the eye and mouth color (not to mention the hair, clothes, etc...)

4. If, like me, you do not envision yourself designing and sewing a bunch of doll clothes, embroider some clothes on him now!  I just gave each guy a pair of shorts and a t shirt.  The boys insisted on belly buttons, too.

5. Putting right sides together, sew the two halves together, leaving a section open for turning him right side out.  (I left a portion of the inside of one of the legs open.)

6. Add the hair.  I made curls by knotting the end of a doubled piece of yarn, and repeatedly putting the needle through to the right sides and then back out (to the wrong sides that I could see since I hadn't turned him right side out yet) and then knotting it again, leaving some slack so that his curls could be pulled out long once I turned him right side out.  I'm sorry this is so hard to explain.  Basically I'm taking a very slack stitch with a doubled over piece of yarn, then knotting it before starting the next slack stitch.

7. Turn him right side out.

8. Using a chopstick or toothpick pull the curls of yarn so that the extra loops of yarn are now showing as hair on the outside.  (I'm realizing now I should've taken pictures of this part!)

9. Stuff him with whatever you'd stuff pillows or stuffed animals with.  Keep pushing it in there tight so his arms and legs don't end up floppy!

10. Sew the last seam shut. 

11. Sign and date your work in case this guy becomes a well loved guy to pass down.

The whole process probably took me three or four evenings to make. (spending an hour or two each night...while watching t.v. with Greg...the hair took the longest!)  I'm sure there are some wonderful doll patterns out there, but if you're looking for a simple one to make right now, give this a try.  The only thing we had to go out and buy was the yarn for the hair.  Let me know if you make one of these...I'd love to see it!

And did you notice that little Tyler wanted rainbow colored hair for his guy?  Yes, it quite suits his personality, my bright spot of a boy.  I'm going to throw these guys in the washer soon, as they had some adventures in Yosemite.  I'll let you know how they hold up.

On the Second Day of (handmade) Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me...

_{^{...a castle, and it was all free!}}

Today, after several months of playing, the boys and I finally dismantled our castle.  You had a castle, you ask?  Why yes, we did.  And it struck me as we joyously ripped it down, that this could be a perfect Christmas present for those of you with kids in the early imaginative play phase.  I love that it was free, we made it together, it required imagination and ingenuity, and it encouraged the boys to play on their own. It didn't add to our pile of plastic toys, and it was also quite fun to rip apart and race cars on the rubble.  The ripping is still going on full force as I type.

I got this idea from Family Fun magazine early this year, and immediately began collecting cereal boxes.  When we had other large boxes (new mirror, new shades from our remodel made a perfect turret) and toilet paper and paper towel tubes (perfect cannons and lookouts) we added those to the growing pile of castle supplies.  It took several months to collect enough, so if you like the idea, start collecting now.  Or get your neighbors/relatives in on it.

On building day, my aunt Krissy, who's always been my creative "mom," came to help us, and luckily brought tons of pizza boxes that she'd bought at Smart and Final, although I'm wondering if you could get some from your local pizza parlor?  We gathered the supplies we'd been saving, plus tons of masking tape, and began making "bricks" of two cereal boxes or pizza boxes taped together.  Krissy brought some old matte board from previous framing projects, and with a razor she cut those stair-step-up-and-down thingies that go on the top of the walls (oh, dear. I'm too lazy to find out their official name right now.)  I had thought we'd use the toilet paper rolls for that, but her cut matte board was much better because it left room for the dinosaurs to stand on top of the pizza boxes and defend the castle. 

It took most of the afternoon to put it all together, and the blue fabric Krissy brought to be a moat was a nice touch.  Of course, we had a drawbridge for over the moat, too, and fierce stuffed animals to hide in the water.  We did most of the work while Tyler was napping (ah, the good old days), but Jake was in on it all.

I love the idea of giving the boys a pile of boxes in an open corner of the house somewhere, along with a few castle books as a Christmas present.  Maybe they could unwrap a treasure hunt clue that leads to a wrapped book somewhere in the house, that has another clue and leads to the pile of stuff with a picture of a finished castle!  Then we could spend part of Christmas day making the castle together.  Perhaps even some princess and knight's costumes would go well with this? (big old t-shirts with rope belts and duct tape along the bottom cut into zig zags.  The duct tape will keep it from raveling.)  It sounds like such fun that I almost wish we hadn't already had our castle fun.  But maybe some of you can have a Christmas castle.  And if you're lucky, you'll find some loving adult to sacrifice a night for a "sleepover" like our Nonna did.

Here's one last look that shows the turret (and the nursery mural I painted while pregnant with Jake...which will NEVER be painted over!)  I've got quite a few more handmade ideas swirling around in my head, (and yes, some are for adults!) so keep checking back here for more!

Home Sweet Home.

We've just returned from a beautiful week in three perfect spots: Bass Lake, Yosemite, & San Francisco.  We are refueled, reconnected, worn out, and happy.  Tonight I will just share a few favorite photos before collapsing with contentment onto our much missed bed.  Good night.

raspberry picking in Bass Lake.

canoeing...

...and blowing dandelions.

 

tree huggers in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias (just inside Yosemite National Park)

skipping rocks (or trying to) on the Merced River, just next to our campsite

the sheet fort in the woods

a favorite hike by the stream

late night games with Amy & Rob, who conquered Half Dome, by the way!

the boys (and the ever present flashlight) by the campfire, all tuckered out.

the Golden Gate Bridge at night, as seen from the front of our hotel on the third leg of our trip

...and as seen early next morning by the bay.  Each morning we woke up, fueled ourselves with free croissants and coffee on the front porch of the hotel, then walked across the lawn to this deserted and beautiful spot.  Aaahhh...

one of my favorite moments...flying our kite on the hotel lawn with the city and the bridge as a backdrop.  Can we say blessed?

And I'll leave you with a view of the breathtaking Yosemite valley, where every pathway lead me to say, "Oh my gosh, look at this! It's gorgeous! I have to take a picture here."  And so I did.

 

The Last of the Summer Beach Nights and a Photography Tip.

 

I know it seems a little strange (and I hope not too cruel) to be sharing the last of our beach nights with you on the second day of fall, but then again, there are some of us yearning for a bit of the fall crispness that other parts of the country are enjoying while we southern californians go through the typical September heat waves.  But for all of us, there is a changing of seasons happening, subtle though it may be.  For us, it means the end of our weekly beach nights.  It means a bit of a nip in the air after dinner on the sand, enough of a chill for me to bring out the sweatpants and last year's knitted winter hats and realize they're a bit small these days.  

It means no more cousins romping together in the waves, no more excuses for Aunt Krissy to concoct another last minute creative dinner idea like the gorgeous one below.  

The end of summer here means no more watching my dad fish from the shore through the misty haze of a beachy evening.  

The end of summer means less running around barefoot, and a bit of fall sweater shopping, even if it's only wishful thinking for now.  Summer has always been my favorite season.  Then again, I certainly do love the rolling green hills above our house in Spring.  And Winter is full of excitement with so many birthdays in our house and a few days of rain here and there for puddle jumping.  

Oh, but Fall is here!  And I do so love taking the boys to the pumpkin patch to explore the hay maze.  And of course, December is my favorite month...full of excitement and "tactivities," as my nephew would say.  Okay, so I don't mind too much the moving forward of life.  There's a wonderful rhythm to the year, isn't there?  Just when we're almost tired of the sameness of a season, we're given something new to enjoy.  I hope you're enjoying your fall, wherever you are.

P.S. I'd like to share my favorite photography tip from my Creative Photography Retreat, for those of you with SLR cameras.  You probably already know how to do this, but just in case it's new to you as it was to me, here it is.  When you're shooting into a place that's either extremely light (like shooting into the sun so your subject is backlit) or extremely dark (like shooting someone standing in front of a large dark archway or something) you can adjust your camera to capture the features of the subject instead of the features of the background.  If you want your subject's face properly exposed, set your camera on one of the 'sort of' automatic modes, like P or TV (shutter speed priority) or AV (aperture priority) on my Canon.  Move close in to your subject and fill your shot with their face, so that there's none of the dark or light background in your viewfinder.  Press the shutter button halfway down and look inside your viewfinder to get the aperture (f stop) and the shutter speed recommended for their face.  Remember those numbers, then change your camera's mode to M (manual) and set your aperture and shutter speed to the settings the camera recommended.  Move back and reframe your shot and take it with the new manual settings.  Your subject's face should be properly exposed so you can capture those moments exactly how you want to.  Here are some example shots:

Tyler, without adjusting the camera to manual settings (in this case, I actually like the first photo better, but at least you'll see what I mean with the difference it makes.)

The same shot a few moments later, after I moved in close, filled my screen with his face, pressed the shutter button halfway to get a recommended exposure, moved back and changed to manual mode, putting in the recommended exposure for his face:

 

Sometimes you want the backlit look of a silhouette, like in this shot from the boys' party last month, where I wanted to capture the location more than the individual kids:

 

...but when you want the features of someone's face to stand out, try the technique and see what you think.  Here's another example from our last beach night using this technique, which blew out the background, but that wasn't the focus of my photo, so I didn't care.

I'm not sure how many of you are really interested in more photo tips, so if you like these tips, please leave a comment to let me know and I'll add some more photo tips in upcoming posts.  If you're interested in tips for better point and shoot photos, throw a comment in there, too, as I have used a point and shoot (and still do sometimes) up until about a year ago.  I love photography although I do not proclaim to be an expert, but I am happy to share any knowledge I do have if anyone out there is actually interested.

A Few of My Favorite Things...day 4

...playing the piano while the boys spin and dance with all their hearts.

We started this activity way back before Tyler was even born, and Jake would flip and spin and roll around on the floor as I played for him.  As we've been reading the Little House on the Prairie series I've been so jealous of their evenings singing with Pa's fiddle, but have lately realized that this is our own version.  I'll begin playing and the boys will yell out, "adagio!" for me to play slower and they'll dance slower, then "allegro" or "presto" and I'll play as fast as I can while they run and dance with everything they've got, until they fall in heaps onto the floor.  When they get a little older and I have some daily moments to myself, I look forward to re-learning some of my old piano pieces.  I love the quiet of the house filled with the warm tones of classical music.

I began piano lessons in second grade, and continued on with them more or less regularly for the next twelve years.  This piano is my grandmother's, and has brought me moments of peace and calm in the midst of wonderful, crazy, and horrible life moments.  When Jake was an infant and couldn't be consoled, I'd sit down with him and play for him, and he would settle in against my chest, leaning back, mesmerized by the music. At the moment, I can really only remember how to play a few favorite pieces, but I do hope that at least one of my boys will show an interest someday in learning to play.  Wouldn't it be fun to play a duet together with my little boy?  For now, they're playing cacophonous duets of their own...

Digging Dinosaurs

I am pleased to report that a new obsession has slowly been claiming territory in our home, now that trains seem to be chugging their way into the sunset...(and by slowly, I mean that trains are being played with more like several times a week, rather than several times a day.)

I must say, I'm ready for the dinosaurs to roll in.  They really are awe-inspiring, aren't they?  And to think that they were really here wandering around and ever so big...it's fascinating to me.  You may have noticed the dinosaur birthday party and dino arranging, so perhaps you knew where we were headed if you have older boys who've been through this.  In any case, I do love an opportunity to teach my boys multi-syllabic words like carnivore, habitat, and brachiosaurus.  

Jake won a contest in our local newspaper, so we all got to go see "Walking with the Dinosaurs: Live" which is exactly what it sounds like: life-sized dinosaurs tromping around the stadium, leaving us all in awe of their size and grandeur.  The music and lighting and the dinosaurs combined for many a dropped jaw, and a few hours of enjoying each others' amazed faces.

How else could a mom respond but with freezer paper stenciled dinosaur shirts?  I'm sure I'm the last person on earth to try freezer paper stencils, and they're really so easy that I plan to do a few more. (helicopter and jet have been ever so fervently requested. uncle rob, the pilot, will be so proud.)  It's also a perfect way to hide stains on old shirts...not that we have any stains around here, ahem.  In case you, like me, missed this fashion design boat, check out this tutorial for directions.  And I'll leave you with a few photos of the process. 

Unexpected Beauty

Could you have guessed that these photos were taken at the Happiest Place on Earth?  I'm so enjoying using the skills I learned last weekend at the photography retreat as I see everyday things through new eyes.  Now that I have my nice camera bag, I'm not embarrassed to bring my nice camera to Disneyland with us, instead of just my little pocket camera.  And one of the nicest things about having unhurried weekday mornings at Disneyland now and then, is the discovering of hidden pockets of beauty.  When the boys were littler, we might spend an hour feeding the ducks on the Rivers of America, or just wander around looking at the pretty flowers and the people.  My favorite spots are Tom Sawyer's Island and a similar exploration-based area in Disney's California Adventure park.  The boys love to explore as if we lived in the country and could find caves and treehouses of our own.  And now Greg has arrived home early and we'll relax and recover from the heat and excitement of the morning.  

Be sure to come back in the next days for a birthday/100th post giveaway!

Appreciating the New

Just taking a moment to reminisce:  I distinctly remember the feeling of flying back into Los Angeles after living in Germany and Poland for eight months.  I loved traveling all over Europe. I loved the old buildings, the quaint beauty, the amazing architecture.  And as I flew into L.A., I remember clearly how much I loved seeing the modern buildings.  Those cityscapes that had always seemed so ugly and streamlined were suddenly beautiful to me. New.

I often find myself wishing I could live in the country settings that some of you live in.  Or in the weather you get to enjoy. The fall. The spring. The crisp air.  I have to remind myself to live here and to live now.  And although I still do prefer the wilderness adventures we go on, when we went to the playground, I reminded myself to seek the beauty where we live. It wasn't the natural beauty of the meadow or the creek or the beach, but there is art everywhere, if I remember to look. 

I hope you'll find some beauty somewhere today. Happy Labor Day!

Is This Illegal?

I certainly hope not, because it sure is a lot of fun.  No one report us for child abuse, please.  Oh yes, the disclaimer: No children were harmed in the filming of this event. 

 

 

   

 

Here's wishing you some fun in your day...whether it's just doing something silly, reading a book you love, laughing with a friend, tickling a little one, or even flying through the air to land on a billowy bed.  (Well, you never know who might get a chance to do that today!) 

P.S. Photos taken with a high shutter speed to stop the action (my SLR camera set on TV mode) with a bounce flash off the ceiling...if you don't have an external flash yet for your SLR, get one!  I've purposely kept all my ceilings white in the house so indoor flash pictures look natural, by aiming the flash at the ceiling for this bounce flash look.  (And how often do you shoot with a flash in the house? my husband would ask...good point. Okay, so the ceilings are white because I'm lazy.)  Although I do admit the lighting in these is rather surreal looking, but I think it works with this subject.

Back to Nature

I told you we'd go back to the meadow, didn't I?  I have a newfound determination to get the three of us out of the house and experience nature. I could already see it paying off when we walked from the meadow over to the creek area, with Jake exclaiming, "I get to chase the skater bugs!" (Progress already: last week he was convinced they were spiders sliding on top of the water.) I get a feeling of such satisfaction in seeing the boys get dirty outside. I think it's some kind of belief that if we're outside enough, the boys will want to run barefoot through the weeds all summer and learn how to whittle. I've always wanted to learn how to whittle. 

Did you read Mark Twain when you were younger? His characters, although often quite naughty, were just so adventurous and resourceful and tough and determined. I hope our adventures outdoors bring that out in our family (the good parts, not the naughty parts!) If anything, I want to teach my boys to love the world around us.

And if you take a look past Jake's shoes on the table, you'll see a sneak peek of what I've been slaving away at on the sewing machine these past weeks...