Insta Joys

we made it through re entry week

back to routine

back to school

back to real life

 we spent our last saturday before school chilling at home

it was wonderful

landon spent the morning building legos

january photo a day: favorite

popcorn

popped on the stove top and then sprinkled with salt

love it 

 every time i buy paper towels at costco landon creates something

a tower

a hideout

a little cave

every single time

who knew paper towels were such an exciting toy?

 my goal is to get up at 5 am

i set my alarm but forgot to turn the volume up on my iPad

i was up by 5:20 and at the gym by 5:35... not too shabby!

 school time for the little miss

she always makes the biggest mess

piles and piles of things around her

 january photo of the day: childhood

me: 1 year photo

modeling my kimono from our japanese exchange student around age 4

we are studying the human body in science

our lessons right now are around the human heart

we made a simplified {edible} model 

 a mid day battleship game with my boy

 landon and mauryn decided to make a hide out

in the pantry

on the top shelf

really?

they each crawled up to the top and took a side

they brought up toys and snacks to keep them busy

as soon as i found them {after snapping a pic} the new hide out became off limits

for safety reasons

crazy kids

 my boy gets his hair cut at the barber shop with his dad

its a boys only gig

i took him once

once was enough

the place is for boys and dads not moms

when he comes home from the barber shop he smells good

so so good

i always grab him and smell his neck

over and over and over again

i love it

as much as he squirms and complains

i think he likes it too :o)

 little miss has dance class once a week

after class was over one of the floors was open

as she was getting ready to go she decided to put on a show in front of the mirror

i couldn't get her to leave

she was loving every minute of having those mirrors to check out her moves

little miss has a touch of diva in her

morgan generally has practice from 2-6:30 four days a week

last week one day they had a schedule change due to coaches being gone

she had practice from 4-8 pm

i was not a fan

not a fan at all

getting home at close to 9 pm on a school night

not so fun

we are so spoiled with her normal schedule

i am so thankful that late practice is not a norm

how was your week?

linking up with jeannett for insta friday

10 on 10: January 2012

ten on ten: Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments.

out the door at early o'clock for the gym

i set the alarm on my iPad but had turned the volume down so i was running a little behind

when i got home from the gym i threw a roast and some carrots in the crock pot

we got our school day started EARLY... whoop!

impressive for our first day back at it

landon takes a PE class once a week at our local rec center

he loves it!

sister here was looking quite fierce ready to take on the day

or anyone getting in her way at the rec :o)

after landon finishes his PE class he always wants to shoot hoops for a bit

working on his skills for basketball season

it was back home to finish up school for the day

while i was on the phone with our former phone/internet provider {who "forgot" to follow through on our order to cancel service. ugh!}, i ordered some new straws for my starbucks sippy.

a little boy child who shall remain nameless chewed on my straw

it NEEDS to be replaced

check that off the list

i love when i find things i had hidden away for the kids

i bought this large roll of color sheets at michaels last summer

landon and mauryn rolled it out and spent some time coloring

while they were busy coloring, i sat down for a few minutes and read

then i fell asleep

a little cat nap on the couch while the kids played clue jr

little miss got a leap pad for her birthday

she loves it!

her favorite thing to do is make videos and watch them

she usually finds a quiet place to watch her videos

the stairway was her place yesterday!

there's my ten!

landon had bb practice last night so after dinner he and lance were off.

morgan usually babysits for our friends small group but they were all sick so she had an unexpected night at home.

the girls and i quick whipped the house into shape and then settled in to watch dance moms.

i am telling you that dance teacher is CRAZY and those moms are CRAZY!

yikes!

anyone else watch it??

linking up for ten on ten here

Bring it 2012!

it's the tenth of january {what? already} 

i am just getting around to posting my goals for the new year

i am blaming it on christmas break

the best christmas break we have EVER had

true story

time spent organizing, 

playing games, 

reading, 

swimming {kids not me}, 

watching movies, 

and just hanging out

it was wonderful

my brain took a little vacation too

i had no brain power to write out a blog post

none

i don't think i even touched my computer more than twice over break

i would check email, fb, and twitter from my phone but even that was minimal

we started back to school yesterday

we are getting into our routine again

my brain is slowly coming out of vacation mode

time to get some goals set for 2012

over the last few years i have had a word for the year to guide me in my goals.

this year as i was searching for a word, i couldn't find just one word as the focus for this year

i decided to go with a phrase

something that i saw in a parking lot when i was in california last fall

show up for life

at the beginning of last year, i was ready to kick 2010 to the curb
really ready!
although this past year wouldn't rank quite as low, it still wasn't stellar
in mid july i told lance things needed to change with our schedule
i felt like i was never home and we were always on the go
carting kids to and from activities
maintaining the house
running errands
teaching school
i just felt overwhelmed with keeping up on everything


i had gone digital with my calendar and it just wasn't working for me
i didn't like not being able to see weeks and months laid out in front of me
it was causing me to feel a bit overwhelmed
i felt scattered and disorganized


one of the biggest changes i made was getting a planner
it really made a huge difference almost immediately
i needed that visual to know exactly what was going on each day, week, month
it was a planner/organizer dream come true!
it helped me to show up for life


my goals for 2012 {now that i am feeling more on top of things}:


- get up a 5 am each weekday.  i really really like the early morning. its quiet.  i can get my workout in and get some things done before the kids get up.  i got out of the habit and our mornings/school days were quite rushed. this week i've gotten up and we started school earlier and our days have run so much more smoothly!


- workout 5-6 days/week. run 2-3 of those days.  so far so good.  i need to get back into my running routine.  right now i've been running 3 days a week hoping that i can run a half marathon this spring. after that i might cut back to 2 days a week. i miss time on the spin bike and elliptical.


- write one handwritten note per week. i love getting mail. i love december when our mailbox is filled with cards and letters.  in the age of emails and texting, the handwritten letter is going by the wayside a bit.  i want to try and send little notes every week to brighten someones day.


- do a better job of being intentional with our neighbors. the other day i went out to get the mail. our neighbor across the street came out. we exchanged greetings and talked about the weather. she then informed me how she was so ready for the new year since their mother had died in october {their mother who lived with them} and their sister {who also lived with them} had been in the hospital in a  coma. how did we not know this?? i was embarrassed that we had no clue.  it made me realized i need to do a better job of paying attention to and loving on our neighbors.


- make healthier food choices. lose 15-20 lbs.  to kick off the new year and healthier eating,  lance and i have been on a no junk food challenge.  so far so good.  it definitely takes some retraining on my go to items for snacks.  i hope that after a month my habits will have changed and i can enjoy a treat every week instead of every day :o)


-maintain the house and daily top six.  by the end of the day, i have a tendency to just want to curl up on the couch with a book or mindless tv once the kids are in bed.  i find if i take an extra 10-15 minutes to make sure the house is in order our day goes so much better.  i need to do a better job of putting in that time right after dinner.  my friend erin does a top six every day. she makes a list of six things that need to get done each day.  my to do list is often not attainable.  i might mark things off but its never done. i love that this will give me that sense of accomplishment and keep the to do list to a minimum. it will force me to prioritize what must get done each day.  i can't wait to put my top six into action!


-play more. i am a homebody by nature.  i want to play more with the kids, lance, and with our friends.  i am fine with hanging out at home reading or watching a movie on the weekend.  we have so many weekends that are busy when we have a free weekend i tend to be selfish of that time at home.  i don't want to go crazy and fill up every minute of free time but i'd like to try and schedule more time with friends.


- sew more. it is something i don't make enough time for every week/month. i usually do a project when i have a deadline.  i would like to get in the habit of setting aside a day each week to work on a something. i really want to improve my skills and the only way to do that is to practice.  


-be more intentional with my relationships. i can get very caught up in the to do lists and not put forth the effort i should with my friends. i don't set enough time aside for them.  if i have a 30 minutes, i don't think its enough time to make a phone call. but really isn't 30 minutes better than no making the phone call. i say yes!  {i don't really like talking no the phone so it isn't a natural choice to pick up the phone}


-do a better job of journaling our life in idaho...ie maintaining this blog.  i have a few posts from summer/fall i want to post date and get up on the blog.  i am post dating them so if i ever print my blog they will be in the correct year :o)  i need to do a better job of posting regularly.  i often get caught up in feeling like what i might blog about isn't important or my words aren't just right BUT the purpose of this blog is as a journal, a place to document the life of our family. i want to remember all of it no matter how insignificant it might seem.  here's to posting more often!


for now, these are at the top of my list.  
i can see, even in the first 10 days of the month, that just by having a routine, setting up my top six, and having my planner in order i can more easily show up for life.
when i don't feel stressed or overwhelmed
when i feel like i have some down time to catch my breath
i can then show up for life.


i don't want the years to pass by in a flurry of activity and busyness
i want to be present
i want to intentional
i want to embrace this stage of life
i want to show up for my life and not be a bystander


bring it on 2012!


what are your goals for the new year?

Insta Joys

happy friday!

we are one week into the new year and we are still on christmas break.

it has been a wonderful break

i would have to say this was our best christmas break EVER

it was super productive but we also had plenty of down time

i am not quite ready to hit the routine again on monday.

since we have been on break, i didn't post our pictures for insta joys last friday.  

so this week there are a bunch of pictures.

 i received a sweet surprise in my email one morning from kim

a download of this single from the upcoming hunger games movie {can NOT wait}

this is soo good

get it

then listen to it over and over again

your welcome!

 mauryn's method of decorating her tree

one m&m in her mouth

one on the tree

repeat

 this girls had colored hair for a christmas party and christmas

so fun!

 landon and mauryn turning lefse on christmas eve

 skyping with cousins in MN on christmas eve

so thankful for skype

 this is what i get for trying to get a good picture of my kids before church on christmas eve

a bunch of crazies!

 my boy at candlelight service

 this is harley's spot

don't even think about sitting in this chair when he is in the house or you will have a dog in your lap

but he's so cute

so we let him

 i took one day over break and read

the entire day

my family was lucky to get lunch and dinner

it was pretty much perfection:

fire place

blanket

a great book 

{divergent. read it. its awesome. i read it in that one day}

thanks to erin and kim for suggesting it.

i am ready to read it again

i loved it that much!

 good morning michael scofield.

lance and i watched the entire prison break series a few years ago

we loved it

i need something filled with action and suspense when i workout

prison break definitely fits the bill

{i'll take any other show suggestions for when i am done}

 landon camped out on our floor the other night

harley was in his spot next to my side of the bed

these two ended up snuggled next to each other

eventually harley moved/kicked too much so landon went to his own bed

 i couldn't find landon the other morning

he was hiding

 in our dryer

can you see him?

crazy kid!

 our friends got a new puppy

they invited us over to meet her

they are probably wishing they didn't invite us

mauryn dragged that puppy everywhere

she treated it like a real baby

she would lay her on her little bed and tuck her in with blankets

it was quite sweet

i think piper, the puppy, was ready to see her new mother go home :o)

 thanksgiving to christmas was a sugary blur

lance and i are starting off the new year on a no junk food challenge

we are basically following this challenge

a fresh start to the new year

 tebowing

 cleaned out the refrigerator

i took every shelf and drawer out and scrubbed that baby down

she is shiny clean

i wonder how long she will stay that way??

 back at it: hitting the track for a run

i've slacked off the last few weeks on my workouts so time to get back in the groove

i am sore

its hard to get motivated some days to do it

i always feel good when i am done

if only i could have that feeling to start

 another christmas break project:

clean out my closet

organize my shelves

check.

check.

aah!

feels so good.

 some snuggle time with my little man

i sure love him

 i am doing the #janphotoaday challenge

day 3 was something that you adore

i completely adore my erin condren planner

love it!

it has made life so much better around here

i couldn't do the digital any longer

i need to see everything laid out in front of me

each month

each week

and seeing months in advance

this is a perfection for this planner

 i was in need of some new running shoes

i had a groupon to use up at our local running store

i got a new pair of kicks

they are pretty fancy

my feet like them

 a smoothie every morning

i am not a huge fan of veggies so i throw spinach in my smoothie

i can't taste it

smoothie FTW 

{thanks erin for all the great recipes}

 the weather here has been gorgeous

my hubby is bummed since there is no snow in the mountains

but i am loving afternoons at the park

kids playing outside until dark

taking bike rides

its been great!

someone got ahold of my phone and had a little photo session

she likes taking pictures of herself

good things she is so cute!

how was your week?

is your new year off to a great start?

linking up with jeannett for insta friday