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I’ll admit it. Sometimes as a parent I can be a real buzz kill. I get caught up with cleaning and laundry and projects that have sat unfinished for weeks. I do all these things and the last thing on my mind is playing dress up, or building a sand castle, or hide and seek. Which is where Andy comes in and saves the day. He’s the fun one. The really fun one. He takes Hayden most everywhere he goes and she loves it. Trips to the hardware store, pudding cups galore, and stops at swings and slides are the bees knees to a 3 year old.
I do my best to keep in mind though that very soon my free time with her will be occupied with another tiny human, and I need to soak up this time I have with her now. Which is why yesterday we just played. I have a kitchen filled with dirty dishes. Hayden and I have both been rummaging in the dryer to find clean underwear, and don’t get me started on how filthy my bathrooms are. But it was 81 degrees and gorgeous and we needed a play day. So we went here.

I had just a few errands to do, then we grabbed some lunch and headed to the park. What just fills my heart is when other children are there. Hayden gets so excited her “friends” are there and immediately asks permission to say hi and play with them. I wish with all my heart that she would never outgrow that spirit. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a little blonde girl in the creek whose grandmother was continuously trying to corral her back into her car. I know the feeling.
Hayden sprinted from the car and ran up to introduce herself, then beelined for the open grass. I grabbed our lunch and my reading materials and found a good spot to settle. There were a few other kids there but they seemed much older and uninterested in playing with a toddler. Until our little friend came back…

Meet Becca. We first saw her in a purple swimsuit in the creek. It looked as though grandma had caved and thrown some dry clothes on her and let her come back to adventure longer. Hayden brought her new friend over and Becca introduced herself. She was sweet and polite, and excited to play. Becca asked if I knew where her mom was. I glanced over and saw grandma had made her way over to a picnic table and sat down to chat on her cell phone. When I looked back at the girl, she was pointing up and replied that her mom was up in the sky. Just break my heart into a million pieces. I couldn’t even come up with a response before they ran off to play again. Once you become a parent, you learn that you possess a kind of love that is almost indescribable. You’ll also find that the thought of your child losing you is unbearable. The idea of not being here to love on her with every ounce of my being just kills me inside, and I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around it. If we could of stayed at that park forever so the girls could play together, I just might have. They were inseparable.

The park began to fill with more and more people and the two girls remained by each other’s side the entire time.

A woman had brought her little dog which they chased all over. They played countless rounds of tag in the grass. Made sand angels in the volleyball court. Ran down to the creek to spy on the boys. Becca pushed Hayden in the swings and not once asked for a turn herself. They made a cave under the slides and hid from monsters. In a matter of a few short minutes, they had become the sweetest of friends.
Becca’s grandmother had been yelling at her for a while now to get her shoes and head for the car, with her requests ignored. Hayden was now 14 shades of dirt and was going to be in need of a nap. It was sadly time to go. As I packed up our things in the Jeep, the girls got in one last barefoot dredge in the creek.

I loaded up Hayden as we waved goodbye to our small new friend. Usually this is the worst part. A fit inevitably ensues when we have to leave a place she’s having fun at. A few tears are shed and we have to go into that speel that we’ll come back really soon and play another day. But this day was different. She was sad but content. She didn’t cry or throw a fit. She just asked for the window down, “ALL of them mom..” and her water bottle, and talked about her new friend. At home we ate Popsicles and played in the sprinkler, soaking up more of that warm summer sunshine. It’s in moments like these that I am so incredibly thankful to be the mama to this amazing little person.

I’ve mentioned before I’m part of a book club. Going on a year and a half. Just like good wine, it gets better over time. This month was no acceptation. Our pick of the month was The Great Gatsby.

I think it’s safe to say that most of us read it in high school. I’ll be honest though, I had forgotten most of the plot. Okay, all of it. I was so irritated with myself that I had so leisurely passed by this story. It has it all. History and drama. Excitement and suspense. Love and despair. It’s romantic, and tragic all at once. It completely kept me drawn in until the very end, and I happily read it in one afternoon. I’m hooked. I realize now that I need to go back and review all of the classics that I’ve “read” because I obviously haven’t read them. *sigh*

Alright back to book club. Food. There’s always amazing food. I made homemade oatmeal cream cookies, which if you didn’t know, were first introduced in the 1920’s. Jennifer was going to have mint juleps for the ladies so I brought along ingredients for a non alcoholic version. I also made a side dish of Tortellini salad. Delish my friends, I gobbled a few bowls before I even left the house.

To get in spirit, I made myself a mocktail and listened to the Gatsby soundtrack while I got ready for the party.

Now when I say she really outdid herself this time, I mean, she reeeally outdid herself. Jennifer’s house looked so spectacular.

She put so much thought and time into all the decor, she is just a party machine.

On top of it looking fabulous, she went all out on the cocktails and had an assortment of 20’s style drinks for the other ladies to choose from. She’s a doll and always has sparkling cider for me too.

There were so many little details throughout the house that I can only imagine how long it took her to get it ready.

Leo showed up for the party too. So easy on the eyes that man.

As if she wasn’t already the sweetest person on the planet, she planned a surprise mini baby shower for me.

She had all the ladies bring a book of their choice for me. Some brought new stories, some gave me classics. It was perfect, and all I could of asked for from these incredible women. We talked about the book and referenced the movie, which played in the background during our discussion. We ate and drank to our hearts content. Laughed a lot and enjoyed some serious topics. We all have different personalities and quirks and it makes for such a lively bunch. It was a jump back in time to cherish, and I’m so grateful to have these classy ladies in my life. 

 

It’s been a whirlwind of a week. My best friend/sister in law arrived just over a week ago and we’ve been cramming as much as we can into her time here. We started with a festive 5k known as The Color Run. If there is ever one near you be sure to check it out. Here is our before…

And our during and afters.

Our colorful selves did a little shopping in town then headed home to clean up and prep for our next event. My baby shower! The great part is that we didn’t take any pictures. Except for this beauty.

The shower was amazing. The ladies did such a fantastic job putting it all together. The food couldn’t have been any more delicious. We did some fun crafts and played a few games that were just hilarious. We had lots of prizes for the guests and had a stellar prize for the diaper raffle. Don’t you wish you could see pictures? Maybe next time friends.
The ladies worked so hard that I had to treat them to some pampering.

The rest of our week involved lots of eating and family time. The warm sunshine made several appearances so a lake visit was necessary as well.

We had a 4th of July BBQ at our house and invited the masses. Lots of food and fireworks always makes for a good time.

The tricky part about 4th of July in Alaska is nighttime looks like this.

It makes for long fun filled days but also means that our fireworks show doesn’t start until midnight. It still made for a great show though.

We rolled home close to 1 in the morning and even though it was beyond her bedtime, Hayden was perhaps the filthiest I’ve ever seen her. There was no way she was touching any part of her bed without a bath.

The rest of our holiday weekend turned out be perfect boating weather and we wasted no time.

Now if only I could make days like this last a little longer..

Where does the time go? Seriously. It’s been weeks since I’ve posted, yet most days I take pictures or start a post in my head, but it never makes it to the page. The past few weeks have been packed to the max. Yard work and house projects. Andy’s parents moved here from the lower 48 and that has been time consuming for everyone to say the least. Andy’s brother was our house guest for the past week also. There are babies to prepare for, and more family due to arrive in a couple weeks. In the middle of all that, a celebration was in order. A year ago, life looked a little something like this…

This last one is one of my favorites and blondie in the front is probably going to yell at me, but it’s to much fun to pass up. These ladies are simply put, the best ever.

The last year has been a whirlwind. A whirlwind I’ll always cherish though. Andy and I didn’t get the opportunity to go on a honeymoon so in the past few months we’ve been trying to plan for a special trip on our first anniversary. Plans A, B, and C all fell through. And plan D of at least getting away for a night didn’t even get called into play until hours before we were due to leave. We just decided to wing it. I planned the night before for Hayden to have a sleepover with her cousins and got up Sunday morning with Andy and we booked a hotel and made dinner reservations in Anchorage. We’d figure out the rest as we went. The weather didn’t look like it was really going to be in our favor so we figured we would at the very least enjoy some alone time to reminisce about the past year.

Someone was looking out for us though.

The hotel we booked has an unsolved glitch with their website that it allows you to book a room that is not available. Fantastic. So when we arrived to check in, our reservation was non existent. The hotel we attempted to stay at happens to be owned by one of Anchorage’s finest hotels, The Captain Cook. It’s beautiful and fancy, and really expensive. For our inconvenience, they set us up with a gorgeous ocean facing room at a rate $150 cheaper than what they normally charge. Score! We settled in, and soaked in the view.

The forecasted rain held off for us and we enjoyed sunny skies and ice cream for a stroll through downtown. We hit up a new spot for dinner. An Asian fusion restaurant, Ginger.

Andy tried out a new brew and I kicked back with a few virgin mojitos. Our lettuce wrap appetizer was AMAZING.

Andy ordered a king salmon fillet over coconut jasmine rice, with blood orange coleslaw and a fancy sauce that I can’t even remember how it’s pronounced. I went for the seared sea scallops over a 3 cheese pasta with truffle oil. We literally sat in silence for a good 10 minutes inhaling our food, it was that delicious.

We polished our plates clean, thankful we actually had a few blocks worth of walking to do in order to get back to our hotel. We needed the exercise in order to breathe. On our trek back we encountered Betty and Bill the horse, offering carriage rides through the city. Yes please!

Annoyingly all the other pictures I took of our horse drawn adventure didn’t save. Oh bother.

After our city stroll, we headed back to the hotel. On our way, we stopped and bought a bottle of wine to save for next years anniversary. We each wrote a note to each other saying what we hoped the next years worth of marriage would bring for us. The wine and notes got wrapped up and hopefully I can remember for next year, and we can start a new tradition.

Our evening was quiet and romantic and absolutely perfect.

We woke up to another day that had sunshine when forecasted to rain. We took advantage of our open schedule, grabbed some breakfast and coffees to go and walked down the next block to the bike rental trailer.

We picked out a blue beauty of a cruiser and set off for the coastal trail. The best part of a tandem bike is that this 7 month prego got to hang out on the back and do a whole lot of nothing but laugh and smile.

I couldn’t have asked for a better ending for our first anniversary celebration. If this is a glimpse into what all the years to come look like, I will truly feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Happy Anniversary to the wonderful man of my dreams.

Friends are a funny thing. Literally. My friends are hilarious.

I moved to Alaska 3 years ago this month. I won’t lie, the first year was really hard. I left my support group and the town I grew up in, and entered a place where the people I knew, I could count on my one hand. All of this on top of having a new baby.

Over time, I branched out, meeting some new amazing people. I can now say that I’ve acquired another support group that I would dearly miss if we were ever to move.

The friends I’ve left behind are still my posse though. The best part of our relationship is no matter the time or distance apart, we remain close. We became adults together. We lived together, all in one way or another. Went through breakups and career changes. Heartache and happiness. Most of us are now married or committed to someone, and have children or are trying.

Each and every one of us is truly strange. In our own beautiful ways. And as time passes, we grow and change. Yet, when we all get together, it’s as if time as stood still. There’s only ever laughter, no judgment or criticism. We stand behind each other and provide fierce love. I’m lucky to have these people in my life and I hope that I can remain that person for them and all the new ones in my path.

This post’s nostalgia is brought on by the departure of Cristina. For those of you that don’t know, that’s Sandra Oh’s character on Grey’s Anatomy. *your eye roll goes here* Yes, another reference to that show. This last week was the show’s season finale and Cristina’s farewell episode. I’ll admit it. I cried like a baby. The show has been on for a decade people! I started watching this show with the friends I’m referencing in this post. Margarita Thursday is a true past time. We drank pitchers of margaritas and watched Grey’s every week, religiously. So to say goodbye to her is like saying goodbye to one of my best friends.

In a conversation with one these ladies a few days ago, she mentioned a mutual friend was having a rough time lately. The ladies that remain in my hometown refer to themselves as Rita’s. It’s incredibly fun, I love it. A little pick me up to the distressed Rita was in order. What better way to cheer someone up then a package of random stuff?!? She doesn’t know about this post and hopefully won’t until she gets her package. If not, she’ll get to anticipate all this totally rad stuff :

That’s absolutely my pregnant belly in the way also. It get’s in the way a lot.

1. baby lint roller- every woman needs this. Rita is a business woman, so she dresses the part. Linty pants. Disaster.

2. chocolate bar- I saw this new line of goodies, and they all have these hilarious names. This one says Hello My Name is Caramel Brownie, pleased to meet you.

3. mini gel pens- I’m a sucker for anything miniature and these pens didn’t disappoint.

4. set of adorable notecards- Now she can use those gel pens and send out some fabulous notes to people, like maybe me. *hint, hint*

5. Detox kit- Target always takes the win. They had these pamper kits that include cooling eye pads, face masks and aromatherapy goodies.

6. Hubba Bubba gum- Just because it’s awesome.

7. Goo Gone Wine Out- How handy is this?! All the Rita’s are wine drinkers and are also all clumsy so this seemed like a perfect fit.

8. Jergens BB Body lotion- This lotion is uh-mazing. It’s uber creamy and doesn’t leave you all filmy. It also smells fantastic.

9. Taylor Lautner picture-  I found this gem while thrift store shopping. Rita was Team Jacob while I was Team Edward ( I swear we’re not as lame as we sound). So this beauty I’m sure will be forever treasured by her.

My friends are my family. Whether I get to see them all the time or once a year, they matter immensely to me. I don’t sum up friendship by how often I see you or talk to you. It’s when that time comes, how our time is spent together. These people relieve my stress, not causing it. Acknowledge who I am, and appreciate that. They all dismiss chaos and focus on what’s important in life.

Your in my thoughts Rita and I’m here for you from afar. I might be stuck in the arctic, but I’m always by your side.

We recently bought new furniture. We picked out the couch we wanted already, we just had to decide on the other few pieces to add. Andy’s recliner broke last year, so replacing it seemed like a good fit.

Growing up my parents always had recliners. It’s one of my fondest memories with my mother. She would always sit and relax in her recliner during her down time and I would cuddle up with her and she would rock me. Whenever I was sick or had a bad dream, she would rock me to sleep in her chair. One leg was tucked under her, and she would use her other foot to keep a slow and steady pace.

As I got older, I would sit next to her and just talk. She is an amazing listener. It didn’t matter what was going on, she would listen and never judge. Even if I was in the wrong, she would find a way to comfort me along with correcting me. She was so good about helping me realize the person I am. Acknowledge my personal characteristics, even if they were flaws at times. Always calm and patient, even during those times when I really did mess something up.

This is one thing I hope to carry on with my children. Rock them in the recliner and listen to all their stories. Be able to listen and help, without judgment or criticism.

Motherhood is hard. And no one can tell you otherwise. It tests you in ways you’d never imagine. It’s exhausting and difficult at times. Most things come last for you. Food, showers, especially sleep. For instance, Hayden is pictured laying in one of the recliners. She’s wearing a swimsuit that is two sizes to small because the other one is being washed and she refused to play outside without one on. Her hair on one side is also crunchy and matted, because I spilt coffee on her head this morning. She’s mesmerized by what she’s watching, which is The Little Mermaid, for the second time in a row. Most likely it will play again at least once more today. She’s asked me “Why??” approximately 463 times. I gave her real responses until we got to about the 32nd why, then the dreaded “because I said so” came out.

Despite all those things I said though, motherhood is beyond fulfilling. It’s a love that cannot be replaced or substituted. I woke up to Hayden already awake, going to the bathroom, all by herself. She gave me so many hugs today and said “I love you soooo much mama.” She spent most of the afternoon with me outside, helping with yard work and telling me stories. Funny jokes were swapped and lots of jelly beans consumed. It might seem like an uneventful day to most, but to me, it was perfect.

I am the woman, the wife, the mother I am today because of my mother. She provided me with so many life skills. For those that enjoy my meals or baked goods, you can thank my mother. When I wrap my new little guy up in his cool new bicycle blanket, I’ll be quietly thanking my mother for teaching me to sew. I’m enjoying a patio filled with gorgeous green plant life due to a little green thumb, you guessed it, because of my mother.

To all of you mothers out there, you are amazing. I understand your tears and heartaches, and I share in your triumphs and joy. You have the hardest and most rewarding job. May you all have received many blessings and love on this day we celebrate you.

Purse.

All the cool kids are doing it. Ok, not really, but the majority of my favorite bloggers have covered this topic at least once (they usually have really cute and fancy stuff though, unlike me). After a trip to the grocery store today, and after being attacked by a parade of garbage , I decided my purse needed purging. So let’s take a glimpse into this abyss known as my handbag.

Alright, so here’s what I’m packing around these days.

I love a good vintage bag. I found this treasure at a local thrift store, for $8! Right up my alley. I change bags like I change my underwear, every few days. Ha. Just kidding guys. But I really do change out bags at least once a week so I never spend more than $20 on one. On to the innards.

First up, the usual.

1. Target wallet

2. Thrift store sunnies. I’m ruthless on sunglasses, so spending $5 is a must.

3. Lip coverage for every occasion.

4. Keys, duh. I enjoy that I have two house keys on there.

5. Random change. The great part? I had no idea I even had that. The quarters would have really come in handy at Old Navy today when Hayden asked 74,000 times for a bouncy ball out of the machine.

6. A sweet nail file combo I got from my gym.

7. Measurements for curtains and a high chair cushion. I’m a bit of a project dreamer. I feel like I have a lot of good plans and ideas, it just takes me a while to complete them. Case in point, I’ve had this note in my purse for a couple weeks and haven’t even looked at fabric yet. I’ll get there.

8. A card for my next prenatal checkup. What’s awesome is what the back says. Tues- 11 am- May. I suppose I get 4 guesses on that one.

9.  Doc McStuffins leap pad cartridge

10. Tiossan hand crème. I got this sample in my Birchbox a few months ago, and love it!

11. Bath and Body Works lotion, Sweet Pea. It’s not fancy, but it’s always been my favorite.

Now we’re getting into the good stuff.

12. Reese’s Minis. I need these for medical purposes alright. A pregnant lady needs to keep her blood sugar levels balanced.

13. Feather earrings.

14. Fabric coffee sleeve. I made a bunch of these for the members of my book club and had a few extras, so of course I kept one for myself. So easy to make, and then your triple shot white chocolate mocha is uber cool and fashionable.

15. A pair of Hayden’s dirty socks. I can’t even remember when she wore these. Or why they are in my purse. Don’t worry, they are no longer in my purse. They’re on the counter now.

16. Berry Tums. Remember those Reese’s I need to regulate my blood sugar level? Well after leveling it out, I get heartburn. *sigh*

17. A tiny yellow fork. This would be the work of the three year old. But hey, you never know when you will run into an unattended meatball that needs eaten, so really she’s doing me a favor.

18. Princess hair tie. I’ve had to use these on occasion. I’m not to proud.

The culprit. This paper monster is what attacked me today. It’s now long gone. Give it a few more days though….

There you have it people. Except my chocolate stash was hijacked. She’s lucky she’s cute.

We have been having some amazing spring days lately. The snow in our yard is completely melted and little bits of green are starting to pop up everywhere. We’ve been doing our best to work hard and get our yard summer ready. The warm spring air makes yard chores a whole lot more enjoyable. But sometimes you need to give yourself a break and just enjoy the fresh air. Which is exactly what we did yesterday.

It was sunny in the morning so we opted for a quick bike down to the park that’s below our house.

Andy helped out and did a little spring clean up.

And then attempted to cheat on the ride back home. He let go though and toughed out the upcoming brutal hill with his pregnant wife. Such love.

We got back home, ditched the bikes and loaded up the crew to head up to Eklutna Lake for a hike. In the short distance to the trail head, our sunny weather abandoned us. The scenery was just so gorgeous though we all agreed, the spring showers and cold breeze would be well worth continuing on.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 The lake is glacier fed and really is that bright blue. It’s amazing.

On top of the driftwood that Andy packed out for me, such a sweetheart, he managed to find some treasures of his own. A few classic pop cans to add to his collection.

Hayden had the hook up of the day. With blankets and snacks in her ride, even a bear stick to boot.

The rest of us used what God gave us.

The trail goes 13 miles back ending at the mouth of the glacier. Our crew wasn’t quite prepared for that, myself included. Another day perhaps. We made it several miles in, enjoyed the views and company, then made our way back to the truck. Spring seems to really suit this bunch.