the weekend:

can you tell we:

• rode bikes (a lot)?
• went to farmers market (3rd week in a row!)?
• planted a garden?
• climbed a tree?
• made a swing?
• cuddled in our jammies (until we absolutely had to get dressed for church)?
• played with friends?
• ate spaghetti?
• enjoyed the sun (it did show up for a little bit)?
• ran home from church?

$1/yrd

Keep your eye out at walmart for their $1/yard fabric, folks:

I am a lover of stripes.

(and awkward poses too apparently, don't judge)

Skirt: tutorial HERE...although I tweaked how I did it. The way she does it is way cuter on her than me. So I made it less bunchy for me.

Top:...I literally wrapped the left overs from the skirt around me, pinned it, then sewed....very, very imperfect but I likey.

necklace soul mate

well my friends, I found my necklace soul-mate.

Its big, bright, bold, and beautiful.

And yet, still really soft and light too.

It really pops any outfit, weather it be a v-neck and skinny jeans, or maybe something more fancy for a hot date.

Its awesome.

And its totally legit when it comes to price. (yes I said legit!)

And your kids can yank on it, and slobber on it and not only does it hold up, its WASHABLE.

So no, the ketchup, fishy crumbs and yogurt are not on there forever.

Get yours now.

And get it HERE!, tell her Rach sent ya.

Word on the street, there are even more colors on the way....I may have had a sneak peak...and I already am collecting all the change around the house to buy another!

(and yes, to answer a question, the creator of my necklace is wonder woman, she took this picture too.)

bro

If you know my brother Scott, or even if you don't,

please click HERE.

I have no idea who made this,

one of his friends I'm pretty sure,

I almost peed myself laughing.

Enjoy.

hard to beat

I woke up excited to make a nice lunch, and eat outside cause the sun decided to join us for a bit.

(try and spot the lady bug!)

So the four of us enjoyed whole wheat-veggie calzones along with some black death ((aka coke) from mexico!) in the kinda warm weather,

Then Chad says "how bout we go on a 30 mile bike ride?"

then I say: "....um, Ok."

And then we were off!

It was so beautiful, Oregon really is a choice land.

The girls slept the first hour we were out, then Lily watched movies/played games on my phone and Eden squawked sucked her thumb.

To top it off, when we got home some friends BBQed for us AND made brownies.

Hard to beat a day like this.

good eat'n

another healthy snack/meal!

vegetarian explosion sandwich:

Toast some whole wheat bread

smear with hummus {my recipe HERE}

top with what's in your fridge at the moment:

sliced tomatoes, grate up some carrots, tear up lettuce from your neighbors garden (yes! our neighbors rock again!)

sprinkle with crumbled feta

devour.

I really do love this.

So, so good, and so good for you.

and drink it with this:

now thats good eat'n.

crisp

On Saturday we walked to Farmer's Market and came home with some beautiful produce, and peonies full of ants.

We got some rhubarb and I decided tonight was the night to use it and enjoy my favorite flower outside.

Two families came over to help us devour a strawberry/rhubarb crisp + vanilla ice cream.

Rock on tastes buds, rock on.

I love that summer is so close, I love eating, I love being with my family, I love being with my friends, I love having friends that are such good examples to me. (not in that order)

Things are right in the world for this girl.

WARNING: you heart might explode/melt

I was thinking that Lily was about Eden's age when my COUSIN did a wedding here and she took some family pics for us.

I was thinking today that I missed my cousin, and also that I wish I could have her do some shots of Eden.

Alas, she lives too, too far away.BOO!

So I called her and she helped me through some cameral mumbo-jumbo and I did some my self!

Now all I need to do is not be so scared/intimidated of photoshop...

So here is my Eden, my sweet little one.

Oh I am getting kinda choked up just thinking about how much I love this girl.

"ALL DONE MOM!" is probably what she was yelling here.

Yes she is just as sweet as she looks, and no you can not have her.

addict

It might be past midnight,

I am still up.

I have been watching 30 Rock and The Office on hulu.

I cant stop, and I can not stop laughing!

Lily and Eden wake up by 6:30 every morning.

I am going to wicked tired tomorrow, but I have to say, it will be worth it.

1!2!3!

On our walk home from some of our amigos house, it was pouring.

Lily and I stayed out in it a little longer than my husband and youngest baby.

Lily would count for me:

1!

2!

3!!!!!!

I highly recommend staying out in the rain a little longer,

especially when there are puddles,

and especially with your toddler.

fire place love

Confession: I SUCK at taking pictures of when family comes to visit.

THESE guys+Nana came down for a long weekend and I have no pictures. Someday I'll learn.

Chad got this pic of me and Lils in front of the fire.

{Yeah, its the end of May and we had a fire}

It was so lovely, made me really hope we are in this house for Christmas, it would be SO magical.

we be jamm'n.

Chad is such a good wife.

He made the most AMAZING strawberry jam this weekend.

He never ceases to amaze me.

He did all the work and my job was to put lids on the jars, just like you would have a 3 year old do to "help" you.

And then fed Lily warm jam by the spoonful.

Literally:

Tonight we got on our bikes with a trailer full of babies and jars of jam and did deliveries to some very lucky folks.

I came home very happy with my life.

ant party

I love peonies.

I know objects shouldn't be a source of happiness....

but these REALLY do make me happy.

We learned this weekend, that when you buy your peonies from farmers market, they sometimes come with their companions: ants.

So no more pretty flowers on the mantle or table.

Anyone want to have a tea party or fancy lunch on our picnic table tomorrow, in the rain?

swing'n

Our house is full this weekend again.

Its cri-za-zy here, but in a good way.

week end plans:

be crafty

make food

wear kids out

ride bikes

have a good weekend!

hope yours is full of swings tied to trees.

Pray, cont.

I had many concerned questions about my dear friend who lost her sweet baby girl a few days ago.

HERE is the whole story, written by her.

In times of pain, a little bit of comfort can be brought knowing that people are praying for you, even if you do not know them.

Cause we are all in this together, aren't we?

We love you Calders.

breakfast of champs:

would be a tofu-dog.

This morning after nuking one up for Lils I decided I will never ever have to take a pregnancy test again in my life.

All I have to do is cook one of these bad boys at 6:30 am,

If I don't puke, Im not prego.

They smell uh-maze-'n

(no, I did NOT puke)

pantless spicy dance party

tonight:

spicy Thai soup

+

great buddies

+

hunting bad guys/sharks/pirates/bears and making them into soup

+

mommy slides

+

sweet tooth run

+

dance party (some with pants, some with out)

=

A VERY fun night, so fun in fact we didn't get home 'til 10,

I love having good friends to laugh, eat and let our kids go crazy together with.

Life is good.

tomatillo goodness:

Lets be honest folks, I have sucked at posting "healthy snack" recipes.

I'm repenting. Starting today.

Behold!

Tomatillo Salsa!:

• About 12 tomatillos (mas o menos), husked and chopped roughly
• 1/2 large white onion, chopped roughly
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro (make sure its very fragrant...it means its a good bunch), chopped roughly
• spoonful of minced garlic
• about 1/4 cup lime juice
• salt to taste

{all ingredients can be more or less, make it your own!}

• Throw the chopped tomatillos into your food processor until there are no large chunks (to your liking)
• dump the tomatillo mush into a mesh strainer to rid yourself of extra juice (NOT necessary but I like to do it), then dump into a bowl
• Place the rest of the ingredients in food processor until there are no large chunks (to your liking)
• stir it all together!

Its that easy folks. If you heart a lime+cilantro marriage of flavor like I do, this is for you. Its not spicy, but zingy from all the lime. If you want to make it spicy add some jalapeno in there. My only warning is you will probably eat the huge bowl it makes, all by yourself.

dear sun,

Last week you were here and we didnt get enough of you.

We spent a minimum of 12 hours a day on our blanket,

we pretended that I was a jungle gym and the girls jumped and climbed all over me,

we ate fresh strawberries on our porch and watched ants crawl around,

we even got some sun on our cheeks,

please, please come back.

The end.

(pictures from my iphone)

translation:

Lily: "Mommy, I want egg-in-my-hand."

Translation?

-Mommy, I want a hard boiled egg.

pray

For the second time, a dear friend lost a baby prematurely last night.

They were able to hold her for one sweet hour, and now she is gone.

My heart is broken for them.

They are all I thought about yesterday,

all I dreamed about last night,

and all I can think of right now.

I guess that's all I have to say about it.

Pray.

Tuesday celebration!

Sometimes we need a party to help us remember there is always reason to celebrate.

Sometimes we need a party to help us forget hard stuff.

Sometimes we need a party because it is Tuesday.

Some buddies of ours came over for some homemade pizza and cake (which we grown-ups ate ALL up before the kids could notice).

We laughed, wore crowns, talked about life and sniffed flowers too.

Happy Tuesday to you!

typical tuesday:

first thing:

Lily wearing shoes and pull-up

Eden chow'n down

tummy decorated with stickers (cars!)

Then we play jump on mommy and cover her in oatmeal!

Then we have a dance party (with the Shins, The Strokes, and White stripes) around Eden who flails like crazy (its how she dances)

Then I teach Lily how to "gallop" like a pony....the most hilarious thing ever.

Now on to changing everyones clothes (again) and packing up for my favorite place....costco! And then play pretend that we don't have a mountain of laundry.

good morning!

ps-Eden has 1.5 teeth! I tried to get a picture, but you probably know that thats like trying to catch a wave upon the sand. Or perhaps like trying to hold a moon-beam in your hand?

mi casa, su casa

So, here is the main floor of our bungalow.

You walk in our orange door and you find this room, if you're lucky, a chubster baby too.

Our room is on the right,

The girl's room is next,

When sitting on the john, this is what ya see,

looking into the kitchen,

probably my most favorite part of the house is our little nook:

I am in love with the peonies Chad's mom got us at farmers market. I put them in some cool bottles the last tenants left in recycling (along with allllll their trash).

Any decor I have is typically homemade, repainted, thrifted stuff. That's what you do when you are lacking in funds in grad school right? Its fun though. I love this place so, so, so much.

I'll try and get the back yard and the dungeon next k?