paint some pottery

last weekend i went to one of those paint your own pottery places. something i have wanted to do for many many many years but never did. well HighCountryMommies was having a get together there and thanks to alaska's heavy appetite for solid foods i was able to leave BOTH the kids at home with ben and venture out ON MY OWN and have some fun with the ladies. what a great time. this was my very first time going anywhere without children since alaska was born. (ok, well i have been to the grocery store several times, but i don't think that really counts). it was such a great feeling to be my own person and think only about myself for those few hours. and it was really really really FUN - i LOVED the pottery painting experience.

we went here and they had so many different items to choose from. not knowing quite how it worked or how my project would turn out i decided on something purposeful and not too pricey - a cereal bowl. there were many other great and purposeful items i had my eye on like a spoon rest, salt and pepper shakers, and some really cool travel mugs. but the cereal bowl seemed like a good first time option. and it was. let me tell you, this was so so so enjoyable. to be able to leave my house, be away from my kids, do something creative and new, make a mess and have someone else clean up after me, and then end up with a new kick-ass bowl. totally satisfying. i can't wait to go back.

of course i had to show off my project, i am quite proud of how it turned out.

a new kind of year

so.........happy 2009!

i made a list of resolutions. something i always do. most years i do not follow through. i would like to believe that this year WILL BE a following through year though. here goes:

1. re-establish a healthy lifestyle (ditch sweets, eat better, drink more water, exercise regularly)
2. declutter, simplify, and curb my impulse buying and tendency to over consume
3. bring more structure to my homelife (conquer housework, form some routines both for myself and the kids, plan meals, bake more)
4. work on improving our finances, pay down debts and increase savings
5. (which goes along with #1) get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and shape by alaska's first birthday

we've got some big things in store for us this year. we are buying our first home. we will be moving sometime around february/march. we will have a yard for the kids, be in walking distance to the park, library, farmers market, downtown area. granted this is a SMALL town, i think the population is under 1200 people. a little redneck, a little artsy fartsy, a little quaint, i'm excited.

this year our little boy will turn 1 and our little girl will turn 3. the 2s started out ok and have gotten progressively worse. i hear the 3s are not much better. i'm hoping having a yard to exert some energy in will help us all out with that. ben and i just celebrated our 3rd anniversary which also marked 5 years together in life for us. this spring we will also celebrate our 3rd anniversary owning coyote. maybe, just maybe, i will get a mini-van this year. thats pretty wishful thinking, but i'm just putting it out there. i will also become an aunt this summer, ben an uncle, and the kids will become cousins. i will be wishing more than ever that i were not so far away from my family (and ever more thankful and appreciative of skype and the internet in general). all in all i think 2009 is going to ROCK!

i am currently working on a new blog for my family and "a new kind of juggling" will start to be devoted solely to my creativity and crafts. hoping to unveil said new blog in the next couple of weeks. stay tuned.

life is good and getting gooder. cheers!

cool giveaway on high country mom squad

a great freebie friday today at the high country mom squad. you can win a kozy carrier, all you have to do is leave a comment. check it out : http://www.highcountrymomsquad.com/freebie-friday-kozy-baby-carrier/

tough cookies

its really hard to get a good brother/sister shot these day. and it doesn't help when you forget to wipe the mac n cheese goo of your kids face before you attempt this. but at least i got a smile out of maple. we will keep trying.

watch this video. i'm not kidding. do it.

Please go watch this captivating, entertaining, and educational video. Its only 20 minutes and trust me, well worth it. a great reminder for all of us. www.thestoryofstuff.com

what are you waiting for? do it!!

What is the Story of Stuff?

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

CRUNCH!!!!!

the advent calendar is getting full! less than 2 weeks until the big day. that means one week left until i HAVE to get packages mailed out. yikes! thank goodness i only have one more big(ish) project left to finish. this wouldn't be so bad if we were not also house hunting, taking a crash course in homebuying 101 (we are hopefully putting in an offer by weeks end), AND doing a major revamp to coyote's menu which we hope to roll out for the new year. whoa. can you say exhaustion? is that even a word, it sounds funny? please please please let the kids sleep past 5am tomorrow. PLEASE!!!! wish us luck on this house, we really love it!

deck the halls

finally got the decorations up. we have a tiny tree. i love that we can fit on top of the (fake) fireplace though. sometimes i really want a big one, but this saves a lot of stress with little ones running around. happy holidays!