I broke down and bought myself a SodaStream. I really don't like drinking water, but have come to like sparkling water. A friend of mine has one and raves about how much she loves it and uses it all the time. I must say, I'm hooked. I have started drinking more water than I normally do and it's just plain fun to make it! If you're on the fence, I say go for it! I haven't tried the drink mixes... Read More Read More ...

Last month, Maddie was invited to a birthday party of a girl in her preschool class (side note, this girl's parents have quickly become some of our closest friends here and we hang out with them all the time!). Wiggle Works is a cute little place located inside a mall. They have a bunch of bright colors and inflatable toys for the kids to play on. Just take a look! The kids had a great time and I can't wait... Read More Read More ...

Alex is 5 months old! This little guy just melts my heart. He's such a sweetheart and my tiny snuggle bug. He loves his mommy and his smile just lights up the room. The biggest things I have noticed from him this month are his babbling (this kid just “talks” all day long). I've taken a couple videos because he just acts like he's having a serious conversation. The other thing is his hand control. He's gotten great at grabbing... Read More Read More ...

My friend invited me to a nearby park the other day. It was a gorgeous day, so we packed lunches and headed there after school. The park is right on a river and has original historical buildings near the park. There's a bridge that crosses the river onto the Burke Gillman Trail. We wandered, played and I can't wait to go back again!   ...

My mom came to visit us during her spring break from work. One of the fun things we did (that I had been wanting to do) was go to Chateau Ste. Michelle. It is only about 15 minutes from my house and since we had a nice morning, we went to visit and take a tour. The grounds were beautiful. They have a small area with grape vines near the entrance (which I didn't take a picture of), but their... Read More Read More ...

I'm about a month late writing about this. I couldn't skip it, so better late than never! In the midst of our move, our sweet Maddie turned 4! She's turned into quite an amazing little girl and we are so proud of her. She's silly and caring and sensitive and helpful and smart and understanding and sassy and independent. Moving was hard on her. Leaving friends and family, her house and things she was familiar with. But she's been a... Read More Read More ...

I had a request or the recipe. Since I changed so much, I figured I should do a post to show how I made it. I have to say that I'm not usually very good about finding a recipe and modifying it. Especially the first time. Usually, I would try a meal following the directions and then change it up the second time. I guess I was feeling daring. HERE is the original recipe I found on Pinterest. These are... Read More Read More ...

Alex is FOUR months old today. We just love him more each day. He's the sweetest, happiest, most easy going little baby. His sisters love him to pieces and he's the perfect addition to our family. This month, I stopped nursing and although it was a hard choice, it has definitely been the right one for us. Alex has been happy and I have been able to get a lot done since I'm not tied to the couch with him.... Read More Read More ...

As I sit here nursing what is likely my last baby for the final time, I realized a few things. I feel so lucky that I have been able to nurse all three of my babies. I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but I knew it was something I wanted try to do and I made it work. I struggled quite a bit with each of them at the beginning (Alex being the most challenging) and I started using... Read More Read More ...

There were hundreds like this that I deleted. And both Maddie and Dannie are the budding photographers. From the eyes of a child, right? ...

This past month has been a whirlwind. We closed on our house, started renovations (we had planned to do things more gradually, but Chuck's allergies required us to start sooner), my dad flew out to vist/help (thanks, dad!), Maddie started a new preschool (closer to home), and our little man has been a little trooper through it all (the girls, too). Alex has been sleeping through the night for a couple weeks now. He's a champion sleeper. I love him!... Read More Read More ...

Today I had great intentions to make everything go smoothly. Of course, things don’t always go as planned. For the first time in a few days, I woke up with a good attitude and I was ready to tackle the day. I had Maddie’s conferences today and had everyone ready on time and started heading out the door. When we got down the hall to the elevator, the day starts going down hill. * The elevator was broken. Therefore requiring... Read More Read More ...

Another month has gone by and our baby boy is two months old. This month has been busy while we have been house hunting, getting settled here in Washington, Chuck going back to work leaving me to fend for myself with these three monsters, getting into a groove after the move and time change and a whole bunch of other stuff. But our little man has been acclimating well to all the craziness! He’s such a mellow little dude and... Read More Read More ...

We've been here a week now and I can't complain about the weather at all! There have been a couple drizzly mornings, but overall, it's been great. Coming from Minnesota where it's so cold in the winter, I am loving these 40+ degree days. We wear sweatshirts, take walks outside…it's wonderful. There's also green grass and huge green trees. The leaves have fallen off trees, but with all the evergreens, it's still so lush and gorgeous here! And this coming... Read More Read More ...

This year Christmas was a little different. We celebrated with our families a bit early since we moved before Christmas. And since we were moving, I didn't want to move presents, so I had Amazon ship some gifts to our place in Washington. This worked out great! We needed to make a trip to Target to get basic stuff and Maddie asked for a little tree. So for $8, we made a little girl very happy! Maddie was worried Santa... Read More Read More ...

Last weekend, we packed everything we would want for the next couple months, packed up the kids, and headed to the airport to start our journey. We took Chuck's step-mom, Jean, with us to help with the kids and all our luggage. I'm not sure we could have done it without her! We arrived at the airport and made our way through security and then had some lunch. The kids were really good and had fun looking at everything at... Read More Read More ...

Last year, Chuck picked out a necklace for me. This year I added a new stone to it for Alex. I love how it turned out! We didn't go with birthstone colors. I love that Chuck picked darker colors for us and lighter ones for the kids. It's one of my favorite and most special pieces of jewelry! I highly recommend getting one.   ...

Chuck's mom has made lovely blankets for each of our kids when they are born. Maddie's blanket had a duck on it, Dannie's blanket is an owl, and I picked a robot for Alex's blanket. She puts their name, birth date and info and signs it. I gave her this image as a guide for the robot. And here's the blanket! She did such a wonderful job! I just love it and I can't wait for him to use it... Read More Read More ...

Maddie had her Holiday concert at school last week. It was so cute. They sang about three songs. As you can imagine, it was a bunch of three year olds yelling, singing off-key and flailing their limbs around wildly. But oh so adorable! She was so proud. She waved to us from stage and sang her little heart out! This ended up being her last event for school. She was supposed to go one more day before they took a... Read More Read More ...

I’m not sure how this blog post is here already. My baby boy is 1 month old! It’s been quite a transition to three kids. I’m actually glad we are moving because Chuck has been home to help out with the kids. I’ve really been trying to take it easy as much as possible so I can be in top-top shape for our move. The girls get along most of the time, but whining and fighting has been a frequent... Read More Read More ...