can you believe this???

The plum count was 48 so that would make Elizabeth a second time winner. I am knee deep in laundry and packing for Whistler so the winner would be getting another jar of peach salsa. I decided I would pick the person with the farthest answer. That would be Rebecca!! Aren't accountants supposed to be good with numbers? Just kidding. I will get your little prizes delivered today.

home office organization part 1

Last week end Dale and I switched around the family room and bought a desk and file cabinet to try and attempt a home office. We have never really had an organized space for bill paying and household management. Gasp, I know. We have the spare bedroom/craft room in the basement but the computer isn't in there and I don't really like other people around my stuff. The file cabinets are in the basement for old bills etc. but where do I keep the few bills that aren't auto pay. School info was to be hole punched and put in a binder that's a little fussy and that's not my style. This morning I labeled the file folders and I was a wee bit giddy about breaking out the label maker. It was almost a Carrie Bradshaw moment in the SITC movie when she sees her new closet. Sooo.. here's my plan for the folders. Keeping in mind we have another place to store old bills, statements, etc.
-Aiden: will have his activity and school info, school phone numbers
-Amelia: activity info
-Bills: bills to be paid
-Dale: anything specific to him that he would need to reference quickly (I'm not really sure right now)
Dining out: take out menus, restaurant recommendations, Papa Murphy coupons
Emergency info: contact info, emergency shutoff for water and gas ( I don't know where that is right now but I plan on asking Dale and writing it down)
Gift ideas: birthday list organized by month, gift ideas and size info, (a lil confession- I make my birthday/Christmas list in the summer when I start to think about how long since I received agift,sigh)
Household: garbage day, recycling info, HOA newsletter, housecleaning schedule etc
Jen: anything specific for me
Meal plan: master grocery list, recipes I'd like to try, meal ideas, meal plans
Party: ideas, magazine clippings, destination info, party catalogs
Receipts: all receipts placed in this file for the month (hopefully we can track our spending better and reduce the outflow!!! also planning to sign back up with www.pearbudget.com this fall)
School: phone lists, newsletters
Vacation: itineraries, info, driving directions, ideas, plane tickets
*If anyone is still reading this and need some haniging file folders I have lots!

outdoor swim lessons

I have wanted to do outdoor swim lessons with Aiden since I heard about them. But each year we would be too busy or I didn't sign up in time. This year I remembered and he is having so much fun. I think outdoor summer swim lessons would be so memorable for a kid. Dale disagreed with me. That was his only option as a kid and he froze. Wimp. They have a separate baby pool that Amelia can swim in which is perfect. Next year Amelia will be old enough to do lessons as well. That will be so fun to have the kids doing the same activity at the same time.

another milestone. check.

Aiden had his first real sleep over last night. It wasn't at a family members and we weren't with him. Sigh. It was a little hard and it was the house across the street with people we've known for five years. I don't know if I like this sleep over business. He was overjoyed at the thought of doing something 'so big kid.' I think I probably lost more sleep than he did trying to sleep in a tent with 5 other boys. I am not looking forward to his sleep deprived mood today :( But if this was his first real sleep over experience I'm glad I could look out the window and see the room he was sleeping in.

guessing game

Here's another contest. Can you guess how many plums in the container. Winner gets something...I just haven't decided yet.

guys night out

Dale and Aiden went to pre season Seahawks game last night. The game didn't start until 7p and they didn't get home til after midnight. Yikes. Today was better than expected behavior wise. What a fun father/son tradition. They went to a game 2 years ago and I had to post the 2 pictures!

ornithophobia...

that is what I've got! Last night when we returned home from the fair we decided to continue the party in the backyard. When we got there Aiden discovered a bird had gotten itself trapped inside our cast iron chimnea. I promptly screamed and ran inside. Yelling at Dale to come free the bird and also shouting instructions to Aiden. He bravely opened the door and freed the bird. All the while I stayed inside yelling and gesturing how to free the bird from the window. Not a top ten moment as a mother. It brought flashbacks to last summer when the giant pigeon attacked me for my sandwich at Olympic National Park. It's scurvy claws got caught in my sweater and I had a very similar screaming fit. I hate birds. Also the reason we do no have any strawberry jam or strawberries in our freezer is because I discovered a dead bird in our strawberry patch this year. Uhhhhhh. Those strawberries were dead to me. And then this morning a bird flew into our kitchen window (it must have been because it was so sparkling clean). I peeked on the patio and it was headfirst on the concrete flapping it's wings. Gross,gross,gross. I hate birds.

the fair was...

corn dogs, ice cream, mini donuts and kettle corn (no wonder I still have a stomache ache!)
little kid rides and big kid rides, face painting, and fairway games
smelly animals including a goat eating Amelia's shirt

lemon blueberry zucchini muffins(or 'cupcakes for breakfast' is what Amelia calls them)

I found this recipe on the maya made blog and it is delicious! I may have just scarfed down 4 mini muffins after a run this morning. No wonder I never see any results:)

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini(I used yellow zuchinni)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup maple syrup(I used pancake syrup)
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour(I used whole wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of one lemon
1 1/2 cups fresh berries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately and then combine. Add berries last and gently stir until incorporated evenly into the batter. Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 of the way to the top. Bake until golden and a toothpick slides out clean...25 minutes.

peach count

there were...63 peaches in the bowl....so that would make Elizabeth the lucky winner of a jar of peach salsa! It's already made and I will deliver it to you soon. Thanks to everyone for playing along and I'm already thinking of something else...

summer is...

eating breakfast in your bathing suits. Especially when swim lessons start at 9:15 for the next 2 weeks!

peachy contest

My friend Jodi told me to come over and bring a bowl to pick peaches from her tree. I grabbed my biggest bowl (it's huge it came with it's own stand) and got busy! I'm thinking peach salsa and I'm not sure what else. Can you guess how many peaches are in the bowl? Winner gets a jar of peach salsa!

tada

I finished the chalkboard yesterday and Dale put it up last night. I told Dale I didn't know what to write on it. He suggested this. I hope it makes him smile when he gets home from work today.

look what I got

for $8.07 at Goodwill this week end. Isn't it pretty? I am going to make a chalkboard out of it for the front hallway! Stay tuned for pictures.

this week end was...

fun home projects
sweet peas from my neighbors garden,
2 parents tending to one child (Aiden was at the cabin)
a very long anticipated project almost completed
afternoon naps
super fast dinner at Anthony's
backyard campfire
sleeping in
blackberries
a walk around Padden
welcoming our boy home but dealing with the 'holiday' version of said child

precious moment

The other day I was sitting at the computer. I realized it was quiet and no one was trying to climb onto my lap. I looked to my right and the kids were having their own quiet story time. Precious moment.

I'm so excited!

This arrived in the mail yesterday. It means my photography class starts in a few weeks. I can't wait.

finally

got something completed off my to do list. My December Daily album is done! I thought I would finish it in January but August was more like it.

another little giggle

We received this anniversary card from Dale's sister. Danelle you are too funny!

it's the most wonderful time of the year...

I really don't feel that way but you know that back to school jingle... As of last week I think I am officially done with back to school shopping. Aiden is at the in between stage for clothing. Size 7 pants are just skimming his ankles (and you know my issues with too short pants {as well as turtlenecks and sweatpants} on boys) and the size 8's are enormous. Hopefully we have a hot September and he will grow the required 3 inches before jean weather hits (he probably will)!

anniversary dinner

Last minute Dale and I decided we did want to go out for our anniversary. We had gone away a few week ends ago and thought was quite enough celebrating until the big day arrived. Thanks to some fabulous last minute babysitters who also gave us the sweetest surprise at the restaurant we had a wonderful evening. We went to the Oyster Bar on Chuckanut and were pleasantly impressed. The view was incredible, a quaint atmosphere and delicious food. They took our picture and gave it to us in a nice keepsake envelope. A nice memento from our night out.

a little giggle.

Sorry, I'm suffering from insomnia hence the marathon blogging. This is from a new line of cards at Hallmark via design mom blog.

I need one of those buttons....

that says "I dressed myself!" Recently, Amelia has become quite interested and opinionated about her clothing. She was a long sleeved dress she tries to wear most days and lately it's been too hot. This week she paired her favorite dress with some striped tights (she loves to wear tights and pull them up to her armpits and nothing else) and it actually matched a little better than I thought it would. But then she finished off her ensemble with flip flops(worn on the wrong feet). She wouldn't wear any other shoes and struggled to walk around until she had an accident at the gym and I was more than happy to change into her a mother approved outfit! I also went out and bought her some pink shoes that day because I was tired of arguing about flip flops with socks and tights. She would insist on wearing them together and then get so frustrated trying to walk and who could refuse bright pink mary janes! ( I couldn't).

soccer camp

Aiden had soccer camp this week. Thankfully, the temperatures had cooled and playing outside for 3 hours straight was a possibility. I don't mean to complain but could we just get a few days of rain that we need and get back to the sunny weather. There's only a few weeks of summer left, right?

'made it to the double digits'

That would be Dale and I! Today is our tenth wedding anniversary. We've made it through college, immigration, 2 houses,1 cat,5 cars and 2 kids (the last one being the absolute best). Ten years has really passed by in a blink of an eye and I really look forward to the next 65!

the beach

Amelia loves the beach. Well, we all love a nice sandy beach but they are hard to find around here. A friend of Dale's invited us out to Sudden Valley to play at their beach and do a little jet skiing this week end. I had no idea there was such a nice beach there. We had a great time digging in the sand, splashing in the water and playing on the Sea Doo. All four of us piled on for a slow (quick) cruise. Amelia kept trying to push on the gas. That girl is going to be trouble!