Our Happy Nest

garrett's carrot:: a poem from mom

2012-02-09T12:25:00.002-06:00

My Garrett, he had him a carrot.
It was maybe a half an inch tall.
And that Garrett was happy to share it,
With his plastic pets, oh so small.

All morning long he had shared it.
That Garrett he shared his carrot.
Until at last I suppose he could no longer bare it,
So he stuck it up his nose.

The End.

the five-year-old's little monster

2012-02-07T13:49:00.001-06:00

some days it feels a lot like pulling teeth to get the five-year-old to sit down with me and go over the contents of his backpack. {except on days when he has a book order slip of course.} i think it's mostly because getting him to do anything that involves being still is a challenge after those seven long hours of school. so this day was extra special when he drug me to the couch and opened up his folder to show me his art.

i fell in love. i have to say it is by far my favorite of the art projects he has brought home. it is water colors and crayons and i just love the colors and super love the expression his little monster has. i've been debating how i should go about displaying him and this afternoon i finally put him on the wall with help from some clothespins and a handy dandy command strip. {those things are amazing!}

i love that both of my boys are so big into creating. i love that they can translate their imaginations into artwork and forts and book towers or whatever else it may be. they never cease to impress me with what they are capable of.

in case you are wondering, i just really think that my children are quite amazing.

i also think that this monster looks like the sweetest little monster i have ever seen.

happy tuesday!
xoxo.ash

three months

2012-02-06T10:32:00.000-06:00

happy three months of life to our squishy little sister lady.

as you can see, the five-year-old has mastered the art of carrying her, despite her large stature. she is not entirely sure how she feels about it yet.

the three-year-old makes sure not to miss out on any wardrobe changes, as he feels it his calling in life to make sure that she is well dressed. well dressed meaning that she is wearing something pink and/or fluffy and that overall is fit for a princess. because try as i might to avoid falling into that princess trap, i just don't think i can win.

fine i'll say it, she's our princess.

on another note, and unrelated to anything i have said so far, i have to own up to some geographically influenced changes i've been going through. i have recently been known {on more than one occasion} to refer to the shopping cart as "the buggy" and just a few weeks ago i asked someone "so where are ya'll from?" i then promptly slapped both hands over my mouth as if i had just cursed in front of my mother. since then i have been considering private speech lessons. so if i roll into arizona with a southern drawl and an infant caked in zebra print and enormous sparkly bows, do not be alarmed folks. do not be alarmed.

and that's all.

happy monday!

xoxo. ash

eight weeks of pure awesomeness

2012-01-04T07:20:00.001-06:00

you coo.
you smile. like whole mouth smile.
you let out the occasional adorable chuckle.
you sleep like an angel at night.
the good nights are probably due to the fact that you fight sleep all day.
you love your milk.
your brothers swoon over your every outfit change.
they also kiss your noggin about one hundred and sixty times a day.
you love mirrors.
your bald spots are filling back in.
your eyes are still blue.
your tolerance for tummy time lasts about ten minutes.
you love to sit in my lap as i crochet. you stare and stare at that hook.
your desire to stay awake is powerless against the swing.
you are the only one of our children to ever love their pacifier.
you melt our hearts miss kelsie.

happy eight weeks!
love, mama

twelve photos from our year. 2011 edition.

2012-01-03T08:51:00.001-06:00

it's 2012 people!  i can hardly believe it.  this year flew by in record speed and i know i will say the exact same thing next year.  but really, i do believe that there is some crazy phenomenon going on here where life speeds up more and more each year.  i am not big on setting resolutions, mostly because i never have accomplished any and that just makes me feel sad.  but i think every day i want to be better than the last.  so that is still my game plan.

as an ode to the year behind us, i picked out one favorite photo for each month.  as i browsed through each month's photo file i realized that this year truly was filled with many wonderful moments.  here are just a few.  enjoy!

.january.

we experienced our first texas snow.  the boys were in heaven!  we made snow angels, threw snowballs and had a grand time.  my favorite part was the aftermath of it all when the bitter cold finally forced us inside to dry socks and mugs of hot cocoa.

.february.

we welcomed tilly, the mini pincer, into our mix.  our boys were terrified of dogs {of any size} and we really thought her presence would be a bit therapeutic for them.  and it surely has.  we love our little tilly dog!

.march.

with gage back in school and me down in the dumps with morning sickness, garrett found his calling in life.  trampoline basketball extraordinaire.  every single morning it was breakfast, clothes and then basketball time.  i loved it!

.april.

we had a happy little surprise when we discovered wild blackberry bushes near our property.  every couple of days we would go out and collect them until we had plenty to make our own jam.  we are still enjoying those pretty berries to this day!

.may.

we had a family day and headed off to the train station in marshall.  gage and garrett ate it all up.  there was  a museum inside the station that was just oozing with old gadgets and photos and maps.  it really was pretty darn cool.  i snapped this photo as we were leaving.  this tunnel went underneath the railway and was just so neat.  i loved the subway tiling and have every intention of using that inspiration it in my future kitchen.

.june.

this was just a fun filled month for us!  firstly, gage finished up preschool which was a grand accomplishment in his little life.  and then we kicked off the summer with a visit from my family, a trip with them to south texas for water park and beach bliss and then the boys and i loaded up in what they call "the bus" and made the trip back to arizona with them.  we had so much fun getting to spend time with people that we miss so much!

.july.

grandma broomall treated us to our first "balloon race" experience.  we played the day away and then at dark got to enjoy the balloons come to life for the balloon glow.  it was so cool and definitely something i would like to repeat this year.

.august.

this was a pretty chill month.  we just tried to soak in every bit of summer that we had left.  with gage's return to school looming over head we spent as much time as we could just playing and having fun.  i don't remember a single morning where the boys didn't make an escape to the backyard as soon as they woke up.

.september.

gage's first season of soccer kicked off in september.  we loved going to his games each week.  his first game ever we really thought gage might be terrified of the ball.  every time it got close to him he backed right on down.  we weren't in this to pressure him so we just let it be and told him he was awesome!  the next week you could not keep the boy back and every week we saw more and more improvement.  it was pretty fun for me to see my wild five-year-old sewing his oats out on the field.  there will definitely be more of this in our future.

.october.

this month was absolute madness!  between gage's school and soccer and the hubby's work and school there was just no rest for the weary.  i was half the size of jupiter and preparing for baby was still a work in progress.  when i think back on this month i really think i must have seemed insane to everyone.  but thanks to lots of help from family and friends we pulled through and managed to get our home ready to welcome our baby girl.

.november.

one week into november this little beauty graced us with her presence.  in a month geared towards thanksgiving, what blessing could have been greater?  it was love at first sight for the entire family.  and the blessings just kept flowing in the form of my mother, mother-in-law, brother and sister-in-law and kind friends.  this was a beautiful month!

.december.

we had a fun family photo session with my wonderful photographer friend, lacey newman.  i still look at this picture and tell myself hey ashley, you have THREE kids!  and every time i still surprise myself with that realization.  i am so grateful for their health and their spunk.  we got to keep our five-year-old home with us for two full weeks as we enjoyed the holidays and that was great fun!  and the extra sleep that came with it was certainly a perk.  we had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to another year full of great moments, large or small, whatever they may be.

and we wish you all the same.

xoxo.ash

christmas in our nest

2011-12-20T13:58:00.001-06:00

i had two themes for decorating this year.  simple and child friendly.  scratch that.  there were three.  simple, child friendly and inexpensive.  half of my decor stayed in boxes, we shopped all other rooms in the house, including the boys' toy bins.  after pulling together what i already had i went ahead and spent a whopping twelve dollars on berry sprigs, miniature pines, dollar store foliage and one small box of red and green ornaments.

i really do enjoy the simplicity of it.  i probably wont ever go back to crowded shelves and over achieving.

the boys love our little deer in the pickle jar.  compliments of their animal figurine stash.

this glass vase sets on my counter year round and i have never seen it looking so happy as it does now.  mister polar bear was another of the boys contributions and we have grown quite fond of having him in our dining room.

these are my favorite ornaments on our trees.  they are the children's Christmas angels.  they are in order oldest to youngest.  i really just love them.

because i didn't have a wreathe to put above our mantle this year {and i didn't want to spend money on one} i went ahead and hand crafted this fine piece of artwork.  it looks much better in person but the lighting in that room is terrible for photographing.  i don't have a picture of the entire mantle but it is very simple.  a few deer, a few plush trees i sewed a couple years back and an apothecary drawer.  not even a stocking.  we hang ours on Christmas Eve.

i am really looking forward to our Christmas morning.  nothing beats the wonder i see on my boys' puffy morning faces each year.  it's even better than being six again.

merry Christmas!

xoxo. ash

in the here and now

2011-12-20T10:00:00.000-06:00

tonight i rocked my baby girl to sleep with the blinds open. raindrops dripped down the window in bright Christmas colors from the icicle lights matthew draped our home with nearly a month ago. Christmastime in texas has been less of a shock on my system this time around. almost normal even. the idea of a cloudy and wet Christmas morning sounds nearly as cozy as those Christmas mornings in the mountains when i woke up to a world blanketed in fluffy white snow and a fire glowing warm in the corner fireplace.

lost in my thoughts i nearly missed the low growling of thunder. but nothing could distract me from the lightning that woke up the whole night sky. the street illuminated and i looked down at my arms to see a flash of sleeping babe. there she lay, snuggled in her mama's arms with her perfectly juicy cheeks and sweet puckery lips. her arms crossed her chest as they do quite often. she has a knack for looking cherubic.

before i was old enough to have any reasonable desire for children, i dreamed of this girl. a happy little dream. the reality of her is so much better than i could have ever dreamed up. she is soft and warm and fuzzy in all the right places. when she smiles her whole mouth opens up wide and her eyes twinkle. her little button nose scrunches up and when the smile is gone you can find a hint of a crease leftover on the bridge. she roots into my chest within minutes of filling her belly just because it comforts her. she snorts and grunts like no man's business but in fleeting moments finds the perfect coo to melt my heart. she transforms our rough and tough little boys into tender little men who just drip with gooey sweetness for their baby sister. and a daddy of boys is now a daddy to a little girl. it amazes me how such a little woman could change a grown man in the way that she has. he's like butter in her hands. and i'm sure he's already shining up those shotguns of his.

of all the things that texas has offered us, this sweet bundle is far and away the very best. our own little certified texan gal.

as i rocked and rocked there next to the window i found the beauty in this new kind of Christmas. and i realized that there is more beauty to be found in this new kind of life than i have been willing to give credit. i have overextended my stay in the past and i've wasted more time than i should admit trying to dream up the perfect future. but right here i was living in the perfect moment. which is where i should stay, in the here and now and make the very best of it. because one day this will be the past. my babies will be grown and living in lives of their own. the struggles of a young family will disappear and i will remember only the excitement and thrills of a young family in a new place and a new season.

thirty years from now i may be sitting next to a roaring fire, watching snow fall and rocking a grandbaby in my arms. and when i remember this soggy night in texas i will miss it and be ever so grateful to have lived in it.

family photo by the sweet lacey newman.

mama's got a brand new 'tude

2011-12-17T11:10:00.002-06:00

so far our Christmas season has been incredibly laid back. as far as festivities go, we haven't done much. it feels different. real different.

there have been some definite pluses to the slow down of pace however. i've been able to sit and read Christmas stories with the boys almost every evening. i make sure they are stories that share the spirit and meaning of this season that i cherish so much. stories that center around our Savior Jesus Christ. some nights i feel like they did more goofing off than listening, but i know that i have to start now. it is important to me that they grow up anticipating more than presents and Santa Clause at Christmas time.

yesterday was gage's last day of school before the new year. the two little homebodies and i went with him to school to celebrate. we had some yummy breakfast, listened to some sweet kinder-singing and watched the glitter fly as they showed off their Christmas artwork. i think we'll be cleaning glitter from our faces for the next month. but it was magical. it reminded me of my own little self at that age. and while it was may be just a hectic morning of carting around kids for me, that little five-year-old boy was experiencing pure joy. and i love that.

after the party we headed home and the day seemed to drag on forever. there was a lot of mixed martial arts going on in my family room. there were things hitting walls in rooms and words of fury a flyin' over who had what first and who loved kelsie more. {true story} it was a bit overwhelming and then i thought to myself...two more weeks. frightening. i turned a little bit scrooge i will admit.

but after a much needed change of perspective and possibly even more needed rest i am feeling better. i am resolved to make the most of these two weeks and as a gift to all those who live with me, i will be exercising my patience to the enth degree. that is my pre-new year resolution.

so bring it on Christmas Break, bring it on wild children....mama's got this. and it is a going to be fun!

welcome december

2011-12-06T10:17:00.000-06:00

december is officially underway. we are in our seventh day of Christmas decorating. this has never happened before. it's usually a good full day's work but yowza! three children has felt a lot less like adding one child and a lot more like adding five monkeys. and no i'm not calling my sweet babies monkeys, but if only you could spend a few hours with us, especially during nursing time, you might just understand.

on the first of the month we had our fellow texan family over for dinner. we invited them, we had good intentions of cooking them a tasty meal. one broken down dryer, one very late paramedic class and four loads of laundry at the in-law's later, our kind family showed up at our door with more fresh laundry and two piping hot pizzas. our early Christmas present no doubt. it was much appreciated.

we spent the night sizing up our three week old to their four month old and i wanted to cry as i conceded that my baby is not so teeny tiny anymore. the three boys who were left to themselves came and posed for us in front of our half dressed Christmas tree in their finest attire. mittens and church ties. dashing for sure.

i told them to do "buddy arms" which my boys know to mean put your arms around each other. being the non-conformist that he is however, the three-year-old opted to do "buddy arms" as in his rendition of Buddy the tyrannosaurus rex off of Dinosaur Train. do a double take of the above photo, you're sure to get a giggle. and yes, the five-year-old is surely trying to correct him while still managing to pull of a smile for the camera. that's my boy!

the rest of this month has gone forward much like the first day. still waiting for a working dryer, still sporting a half dressed tree, still too many late classes on top of clinicals on top of work. when did life get so full?

happy monday y'all!

xoxo.ash

three weeks later

2011-11-27T13:09:00.000-06:00

can someone please tell me where the last three weeks have gone to? i can hardly believe that thanksgiving has come and gone, gage's school-free week has come to an end and we are just days away from our 25 days til christmas countdown. no i certainly do not have an advent calendar ready. tisk tisk.

thanksgiving day was a chilly one. we haven't had many of those days here so to me it felt like a tender mercy on my behalf. it made my second year away from our little mountain home just a little more homey. the boys played outside and gathered leaves as i cooked up our offerings to the thanksgiving feast. they came in with red noses and great big smiles. i loved it!

we had a great dinner with my brother and sister-in-law's little family and the hubby's parents who came in from arizona. i wish i had taken a picture of the turkey. it was sad to see it carved, it was just so pretty! we are so thankful for all of our wonderful family! those we could spend the holiday with and those who we were missing. {which was many!}

our little kelsie gal will be three weeks old tomorrow and we are so in love with her. we just can't help ourselves. she has been such a sweet sweet baby. in three short weeks it already feels like she's been here all along.

happy sunday to all!

xoxo. ash

the missing link

2011-11-17T13:10:00.001-06:00

when the three-year-old was handed to me, cord still connected and covered in that white sticky stuff, i wondered to myself whose brother are you? i must have been expecting a little clone of the five-year-old to be placed in my arms but alas, i could find no resemblances. try as i might i still struggle to see any similarities between the two aside from their insatiable need to play in mud and throw things.

you can imagine my joy then when i look at our newest little person and see a little blend of the two of them. convincing me once and for all that they are in deed related. she is the missing link. some days she looks like gage, others she looks like garrett. i love it!

matthew has been casually starting conversations with phrases like "last one", "three feels perfect", "complete" and despite my urge to plug my ears and make ridiculous noises with my tongue i just sit and pretend he never said a word. it's not so easy for me to put the kabosh on it. i guess i am still waiting for the feeling of finality. but just the thought that she may be our last child has turned me into a terrible baby hog. i want to hold her and look at her for the entirety of the day. i want to soak in every bit of fresh new baby that i can. she is the sweetest, calmest and might i add, sleepiest baby there ever was. i love her. and all three of the men love her too. she's already softened them all up a bit i can tell. they are all googley eyed for her. and understandably so.

i feel like i'm probably supposed to be surfacing back into real life by now but i am not. i'm just allowing myself plenty of hermit time and thoroughly enjoying it. babies are such amazing little creatures. we are so grateful for our third little blessing!

perfect.

2011-11-07T23:49:00.006-06:00

here's a little peek at what i've been doing today.

introducing miss kelsie jane broomall.

born november 7th, 2011 @ 1:13 pm.

8 pounds 4 ounces, 20.5 inches long.

perfect. today has been perfect. she is perfect. i feel like somehow i cheated the system and got myself a baby without actually doing anything to get her here. it was a breeze.

i'm still soaking it all in to make sure it's real. i want to kiss on her and smell her neck every chance i get. have you ever noticed how a baby's neck smells heavenly? i also poke and prod her every so often {which i am sure she appreciates} just to get a good jump out of her.

paranoid? me? never.

more to come later but for now i am going to go enjoy this sweet little one.

xoxo. ash

the nursery

2011-11-03T13:44:00.001-05:00

    
i really wanted to paint the walls in the baby's room.  but i lost that battle on several levels.  don't feel bad for me though, i won a few too.  overall i wanted to end up with a room that was simple and sweet and trimmed with vintage loveliness.  i feel like that is what we got so i am pleased.

the cradle on the left was a chance find from my mother-in-law.  she surprised us with it one saturday morning.  it was less than pretty when she brought it over but we all saw the potential in it.  matthew bought new hardware and made it all stable again and then cleaned it up and painted it.  i love it!

the dresser was a craigslist find.  after months and months of searching!  it turned out different than i had planned in my head, but actually quite perfect.

a little print i did up for her pink picture frame.

the rocker is the same one that i had with both of the boys.  i couldn't part with it.  we sold the rest of their nursery set before moving to texas but i just had to hold onto this one piece.  i recovered it with this canary yellow chevron fabric and had plans to paint it white.  the hubby boycotted my painting idea and truthfully i am glad now that we left it.  it adds a little contrast to the room and it doesn't bother me at all like i thought it would.

the 'be filled with joy' print is an etsy buy i made quite some time ago from the wheatfield.  i never knew where to put it...until we found out we were expecting a baby girl.  perfect.

the aqua board was a gift of sorts from my brother.  knowing that i am a hoarder of all things random that may have potential...he scored this old cabinet door for me about 3 years ago.  it's been hiding and traveling with us all this time.  all it took was some handy work from the hubs, a few knobs from hobby lobby and a coat of paint and she was finally transformed.  the crocheted sweater was made for me twenty-six years ago.

and i already mentioned it, but the curtains are from a set of linens that once belonged to matthew's great-grandmother.  i'm happy to say that there are pieces of sentiment in our sweet baby's room.

and this picture i just took because who doesn't love a pile of fresh clean baby blankets?  i do.

we are down to four days on the countdown and couldn't be happier.  i love hearing the boys talk about it.  it's replaced christmas list talk in our house which is quite alright with me.

happy thursday!

xoxo.ash

hope ya'll had a fine halloween mateys. arg.

2011-11-01T18:25:00.000-05:00

this was by far the funnest halloween for our family yet! i mean this mostly because the boys were in full character and loving every second of the festivities. having your boys grow up is bittersweet. enjoying fun holidays with them as they grow is part of the sweet for sure.

on thursday gare was invited to a super fun party. we had his spiderman costume all ready to go, but he refused to wear it. he decided he wanted to be a pirate. so we raided the attic and the closets and found him this sweet get-up. on friday gage got to dress up as a book character for school. he went with cowboy sam, from his favorite vintage books. saturday evening we had a great time at our ward's party. complete with an awesome haunted hayride through the woods. and then finally, there was all hallows eve night.

we made the rounds in our neighborhood as well as our in-laws neighborhood and i am almost ashamed to admit that our little pirate and cowboy came home with eight, yes EIGHT, pounds of candy. yikes! what do you do with eight pounds of candy exactly? i've already hidden it in a cupboard.

i hope your halloween was happy and spooky and safe!

xoxo.ash

more thoughts as the day gets closer

2011-10-28T18:49:00.001-05:00

on average i am probably asked about sixteen times a day when our baby girl is going to be here. at least ninety percent of the time it is being asked by two smallish boys. it seems almost a joke that instead of responding with weeks, we are now down to days. days.

back in the summer when the boys started to see my tummy growing and really understanding that a baby was really truly growing in there, they, the five-year-old especially, became persistent on knowing when exactly she would be here. so i gave him mile markers that would make sense to him. first you'll start school, then you'll start soccer, then it will be halloween, then you'll have your last soccer game, then she will be here. school, check. soccer, check. halloween, half check. last soccer game, pending. it all came so fast!

we've started family nesting it seems. gage is becoming very particular about keeping his bedroom clean. he's become very picky about his bed and how it is to be made. garrett is becoming even more cautious of the whereabouts and well-being of all of his babies. they get hugged, kissed, fed and put to bed several times a day. the husband who usually rolls his eyes at all of my projects, has found himself helping me from time to time. today we hung the curtains in her room together. he helped but made sure to tease me that we now, literally, have sheets hanging in our windows. he asked me if i really missed our trailer living that much. i love the sheets in our window! they were matt's great-grandma's and i love that they went so well in her room and they have some sentimental value. that's just the kind of girl i am i guess.

this evening after dinner was finished and being cleaned up i realized that our home was oddly quiet. freakishly quiet even. so i tiptoed down the hall and found my two boys huddled together in the baby's room, reading dinosaur books. i asked them why they were in there reading instead of in their room and gage chirped out, "because we love it in here!" they are so excited for their baby sister to get here.

i, like them, steal away to that room frequently these days and just rock away my anxieties next to the window. i try to fathom what having three children will actually feel like. i try to train my tongue to say "the children" rather than "the boys". it is scary and exciting all at once. it's funny to know that your heart is about to grow even more than you thought it ever could. i already love her but i know that when i see her and hold her i will love her just as much as i love the child i gave birth to five years ago. she will be just as important and precious as the two little boys who first took room in my heart years before her. i will love her the same but differently. just as i love my children now. i love being a mom. it's not just a thing that i say to try to convince people that i'm not crazy or miserable. i really truly love it. i think that it's amazing and i wouldn't trade my place in life for anything in the world. my joys and my dreams and my hopes for the future all revolve around these little people who i love so much. i am richly blessed.

a fall treat

2011-10-24T21:07:00.001-05:00

honest to goodness these are my favorite thing to bake for fall.  ever.  they are delicious!  so of course i feel the need to share.  try them out.  they're so simple and so yummy.  if you don't feel like baking up a bunch of cookies just do a sheet full and refrigerate the dough for another day.

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies


1 C butter {room temperature}
1 C shortening
2 C granulated sugar

++Cream first three ingredients together.

15 oz pumpkin {plain}
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

++Add pumpkin, eggs and vanilla to creamed mixture.  Stir just to combine.

4 C flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

++Add all dry ingredients to mixture and mix well.  Dough should have even coloring.

Drop in spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Enjoy with a nice cold glass of milk!

Happy baking friends!

xoxo.ash

it's monday

2011-10-24T13:46:00.000-05:00

i overslept by thirty minutes this morning. i woke up frantic to get gage out of bed and ready for school. the whole frantic feeling slipped away quickly though as i opened the windows and saw what seemed a scene from the end of days. thick white fog blocking the view of our fence line. barely peeking through was the boys' swing set and trampoline and little blurs of yellowing grass. on the porch our usually happy morning pooch was still snuggled in cozy with her blanket.

that set the mood for the day. gage dressed and ate quickly and we dropped him off at school with plenty of time to spare. i finished packaging my last crochet orders and from there the three-year-old and i have really kept it simple today. he's still sporting his pajamas. i'm sporting an over-sized house dress and messy bun and we just pulled a batch of fresh pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from the oven. they smell divine!

i've been feeling a little less than chipper over the last few days. my body feels full and swollen and ready. i can honestly say that my face has never been so full and my feet never so unrecognizable. my wedding ring is hesitant to even twist on my plump finger. it hasn't come off in months. so even though the fog is gone, the air is still and the sun is shining, i am going to just go ahead and pretend that things haven't changed since this morning. i'm going to ride this foggy day out for all it's worth.

so happy fog filled monday to you!

xoxo.ash

p.s. have i told you? only two weeks to go!

week thirty-six

2011-10-17T10:31:00.000-05:00

i had such a great baby shower this past weekend! my friend lacey did such a great job putting it all together. it was decorated so perfectly and all the food was delicious! there were some super sweet women there and best of all my mom and sisters surprised me and made it here this weekend for it. i had no idea that they were coming. in fact i had asked lacey to send them an invite, not because they would be able to come, but i thought it would be nice for them to at least feel involved. so what a wonderful surprise it was! let me remind you that this is no short drive. it took them eighteen hours to get there and miraculously no one spilled the beans. well, except for my brother in argentina but i thought he must just be confused and thought nothing of it.

sadly i forgot my camera, but i will probably be heisting some from lacey to share with you all because honestly, it was so adorable!

i can't believe i'm in the home stretch already. saturday marked week thirty-six! today i have an appointment where i'll be getting a peek at our little woman and i'm so excited. it's starting to feel real all of a sudden. her nursery is finally coming together thanks to a lot of elbow grease from matt and his mom. it was becoming debatable whether or not she would have a dresser. and then once we finally found the dresser, it was questionable whether or not it would ever get a facelift. i really appreciate all of the help! it turned out perfect!

it's yet to all be completed but here are a few little snippets of what's going on in there.

the cute crocheted sweater at the top was mine when i was a baby.  my aunt handmade it for me along with a super cute afghan.  sadly the sweater was the only thing that survived the twenty-five years of storage but i love it and it goes so well with the colors i chose for her nursery.

i had a hard time getting a decent picture this morning.  i lined the drawers because i needed it to feel like her clothes were safe in there.  i kind of think it makes it even more adorable too.  i LOVE the color yellow that we chose.  amazingly this is something that the hubby and i were able to agree on.  it's a miracle!  have i mentioned that our baby is still without name?  true story.

well my kinderboy has the day off in honor of fall so we are going to go have some fun!

happy monday!

xoxo.ash

ushering in the new season

2011-10-06T11:20:00.001-05:00

oh me oh my!  the past few months have all but escaped me.  even with this growing belly of mine, time has not stood still for even a moment.  it's a funny sensation looking back on my first pregnancy.  it felt like an eternity.  the second felt like half of an eternity and this one, well, it's almost felt like less than a flash.

i've been busy finishing up final orders before i take off some time to get ready for this baby.  the nursery is currently in shambles.  it's a frightening mess!  i've been working like crazy.  but i did take this tuesday off and spent the day doing some much needed cleaning and decorating.  i'm trying to channel in the feeling of fall since the weather here is still screaming summer to me.

it has helped.  the five-year-old proclaimed upon his arrival from school tuesday afternoon, "now i can really believe that it's almost halloween!"  he was over the moon excited for the decor to have made it out of our attic.  which of course makes it all worth my while.

now i think some cookie baking is in order.  pumpkin chocolate chip cookies anyone?  i can't survive this season without them!  and i may be biased but i think i have the most amazing recipe for them.  maybe when my crochet is all done i'll take some time and share it with you.

in the meantime have a wonderful first week of october!  and if you are living in my dear arizona mountains enjoying all that brisk weather and chance of snow...kindly think of me.

happy thursday!

xoxo.ash

peek.a.boo

2011-10-04T09:16:00.000-05:00

this is what happens when you put a baby girl on a bean bag for five minutes within reach of the three-year-old.

do you spot her in there?

she's there, i promise. and quite perplexed over all her new found friends. isn't my niece a doll?

happy tuesday!

xoxo.ash

his little mini-me

2011-09-27T07:13:00.000-05:00

this little doll is garrett's buddy. it was made by my mom long before his time, but he still insists "grandma made it for me!" when i finished up this beanie order yesterday he really wanted to get to wear them with his baby so they could match. so i let them pose for a picture in them and i thought they made a rather dashing pair.

what do you think?

happy tuesday!

xoxo. ash

what our saturdays look like

2011-09-26T10:46:00.000-05:00

i'm not the type of mom that gets big into over-scheduling young children.  but the hubby really wanted gage to get to play a sport this fall and the five-year-old really thought that soccer sounded fun, so we went for it!

it's been awesome to see the changes in gage's personality since he started back in august.  his confidence has multiplied and multiplied with each game, and as a mother that is something that you love to watch.

he's had three games.  two of which they won and one of which they were totally smoked.  but you know the awesome thing about watching five-year-olds play sports?  the game that they lost was his favorite by far!  he thought it was just the greatest game of his little life, and who am i to argue with that?

oh and did i mention that he is number five?  and five is the most wonderful number in the entire universe!  when he was handed his jersey you would have thought he'd just won that darned frog game at chuck e. cheese and it was just spitting tickets at him!  he was ecstatic!

and here is his number one fan! 

this three-year-old loves watching his brother play but is very very excited for the day when he can jump in there with him.  after last week's game we were all loading into the car and the hubs told gage "you did awesome!  i'm so proud of you."  to which garrett chirped in "and i'm so proud of you too gage!" 

i'm so happy that my boys have each other.

congratulations number five on being such an awesome little dude!

xoxo. mom

little surprises

2011-09-20T08:35:00.000-05:00

the five-year-old was at school and the three-year-old was down for a nap when i walked in to find this wonderful parade of dinosaurs on the window sill.  it made me want to wake up one boy and go whisk another boy from school and squeeze them until they just wouldn't let me anymore.

i love those two boys even more than they love dinosaurs!  it's hard to imagine that one day i wont be finding these sweet little surprises around my home.  thank goodness we still have a good handful of years left!

do you want to see the sweetest one-year-old photo shoot done by my very talented friend?  i got to make the cake for it and thought it all turned out adorably.  check it out here.

happy tuesday!
xoxo.ash

shop sale & info

2011-09-16T13:12:00.000-05:00

hey everyone! just a heads up that these beauties are now 25% off. visit my shop here to check them out.

also, there is only two weeks left to place custom orders before i begin maternity leave. i won't be taking custom orders again until january. so if you're in the market for a super cute beanie just send me an email before September 30th. if you are looking to buy more than one, just ask me about special pricing.

it's finally beginning to feel like fall around here and i couldn't be more excited! bring on the layers, the hot apple cider and crisp evening walks where we can enjoy the new colors!

happy weekend!
xoxo.ash

code for i love you

2011-09-13T11:10:00.001-05:00

this boy has been my little sidekick for the last three weeks while his big brother is exploring the world of kindergarten.  it's been quite the experience for both of us.  we've never had so much time for just us before and i am loving it.  i realize that it will be short lived.  come november we will be joined by one more smallish amigo.

so i am grateful for this opportunity we're getting now.

we've even developed our own secret language.  to everyone else it may look like he is just shooting me up with spider webs...but this momma knows he's really saying "i love you, A LOT!"

and on that note, happy tuesday!

xoxo. ash

nursery progress::crib blanket

2011-09-07T13:06:00.000-05:00

i finally sewed a blanket for the crib.  it's one of those things that i've been going over and over again in my mind.  trying to think of the best way to tackle it.  i finally decided on monday evening that i was just going to have to go for it.  i was relieved when it turned out almost just as i had hoped.  my inspiration was the nimbus jersey duvet cover from anthropology.  i am in love with it!

now i'm just working on the fun and colorful pieces that i want to add.  i still have quite a ways to go in that room but every little step feels like a huge accomplishment at this point.  i can't wait to see it finished.

mostly though i just can't wait to meet our little girl.  i have dreams about her almost nightly and it gets me so anxious.  in my dreams she is the most beautiful little girl i have ever laid eyes on.  which i know is exactly what i will say when she is born.

happy wednesday!

xoxo.ash

wait, where did you go august?

2011-09-03T09:28:00.001-05:00

august was a real doozie.  i dreaded it for months and then i blinked and it was gone.  almost completely painless but full of change none the less.

with school in session and a three-year-old who wanted to go cavorting through town with his dad every day he could, i had some quiet time.  lots of really quiet time.  and it was strange, and nice and strange again.

and oh dear, august brought with her some of the most undesirable weather i have ever experienced.  except for this day.  august twenty-fourth.  a freak wind storm came in and blew with it hundreds of leaves and eighty-five degree temperatures.  it was pure bliss i tell you.  blondie and i sat outside the school with our windows down just soaking it all in waiting for our school boy.  the windows didn't even come up when the rain started falling.  we just were loving it.

mother nature even threw the dog a bone.  a twiggy bone.  she went wild trying to conquer the fearsome thing.

we're still adjusting our internal settings to early mornings, early bedtimes and soccer practice on evenings when we'd rather just lounge around on the cool leather couches.

oh and we're close approaching the arrival of a little someone we like to call baby sister.  ten weeks left and time is speeding right along.  i can't decide if that's okay or not, so i'm just rolling with it.

i like to win

2011-08-24T10:56:00.002-05:00

do you remember beuford?

he's been cramping my style and clouding my creativity in our future nursery for quite some time now.

well.....

i know, i know, i was pretty excited when i saw the hubby getting him down for project relocation.

that was until i later walked across the hall and found this...

it was promptly put to a vote and i lost. three to one. i am thinking that this baby girl is going to need a sister if we women are ever going to stand a chance around here!

happy wednesday!

xoxo.ash

he can be loud all by himself

2011-08-22T09:02:00.000-05:00

we woke up bright and early this morning to get gage off to school in time for his first day!  he was so excited to put on his new clothes and load his snack up in his backpack.  he is very particular about his appearance and boy was he sure to make today perfect.  he tugged and tugged at his jeans until the hem was just at the right place on his shoes, he made me button his top button even though i tried to talk him out of it and after he finished brushing his teeth he asked me "do they look all clean?"  i reassured him that they did and he said "do they really?"  like mom was just going to send him off with waffles stuck to his pearly whites.

i coaxed him outside for a few pictures and out ran the three-year-old to join him.  the three-year-old is several times less particular.  note the bedhead and the mouth still full of breakfast?  he doesn't care at all.  he just wants to be right there with his big brother.

we dropped the kindergartner off without a hitch.  he found his desk and sat himself down to color.  i know he'll do awesome!  it's going to be a looong day for mom, three fifteen can't come soon enough.  but i know he is going to love it!

when we got home i told little blondie boy that it was just too quiet in the house with only one boy.  to which he promptly and enthusiastically responded "i can be loud!"

and that he can.  no lies there.

on today's agenda::  a doctor's appointment {28 weeks}, a trip to the store, crochet orders and just enjoying my time with my one loud boy.

happy monday!

xoxo.ash

just stay little

2011-08-19T17:12:00.001-05:00

gage and garrett august 2009

i've had a lot on my heart these past few weeks thanks to the approaching school year, another birthday and this growing baby i'm toting around in my tummy. i have always felt like my boys are growing at lightning speed but in recent weeks it has felt like i looked at them one day and saw those little baby faces that i remember and then suddenly one day i was staring at two big boys. i started questioning myself. have i taught them enough? have i loved them enough? have i given them enough of me? with gage on the verge of kindergarten and what i fear will be a non-stop road to high school, i have really had to console myself that yes, i have done well. he is ready.

i sometimes long for those mornings when i was a new mother and i realized that sleeping in was no longer in the cards for me. gage was such an early riser and some mornings the best that i could do was to lay out a blanket and toys on the floor and drift in and out of sleep while he scooted back and forth and rolled over for his favorite toys. i remember many times talking to other moms about sleep schedules and most being shocked that i didn't just let him cry himself back to sleep at five o'clock in the morning. i never did and i never could. i wouldn't change a thing with this baby either. i long to have mornings like that again with my now five-year-old.

i think about my time with garrett and realize that our time together was more infrequent and more rushed. i am grateful that he has held on to his snuggle bug tendencies a little longer than his brother did so that we can make up for time that we didn't always have. as much as we will miss gage during the days, i am looking forward to some quality time with my little blonde boy before we welcome our newest addition.

which brings me to another one of my concerns. how am i going to split myself three ways? the boys and i have a routine of bedtime books and nighttime songs before bed each night. we hardly miss out on it. it's always been so convenient even when gare was smaller because they were in the same room and i could stay as long as i wanted in there with them. now it's not just going to be me and "the boys". it's going to be me and "the children" and that sounds pretty bizarre to me. there will be a girls room and a boys room and my time will be cut and so will my attention. it gives me anxiety. not that i am not incredibly thrilled to be welcoming this sweet little girl into our family, i just feel so inadequate sometimes.

i love being a mother. i always knew that would be the greatest joy of my life. i always knew that of all my dreams, that was the one that i could not pass up.

i have two lively {and when i say lively i mean full on rowdy hooligan} boys who keep me on my toes and who at times make me believe that my sanity is all but gone. but boy when i see those little sparks of brilliance and imagination and accomplishment in their eyes i thank my heavenly father for sending me two little boys who think that jumping off of the couches is just as good as flying in a rocket and that unloading every blanket and pillow from every closet in the house can provide them the materials to build a mansion fit for a king. dull moments are something that we just don't have around here and for that i am actually thankful.

nearly three years ago when callie was still comatose in the hospital i remember talking to my mom and complaining about how difficult the boys were being. and i'll never forget what she said. she told me "i would give anything for callie to be driving me crazy right now." but she wasn't. instead, there she lay. hooked up to who knows how many machines and tubes and monitors. unable to be held, unable to move and barely able to breathe on her own. with no certainty on whether or not she would be still be alive within the next twenty-four hours. i felt about the size of a crumb for ever complaining about my two healthy, lively children who later that night i would tuck into bed and then go to sleep peacefully knowing that they were going to be there tomorrow.

since that conversation i have tried to fully embrace every moment with my boys. the good, the bad, the ugly and the terrible even. sometimes, a lot of the time actually, i fall miserably short and find myself praying for bedtime. but i do keep trying.

the mother i hope to become is full of patience and understanding. she does everything right. she never yells, she never misses an opportunity to teach. i realize i may never get there but i wont ever stop trying because i know that what i do today and every day with my children will have lasting results that carry not just through their lives but through generations to come. that is where my anxiety comes from. knowing that i can't just say "well i did my best. i didn't know any better."

i do know better. and i want more than better for them. the great thing about us humans is that we have the capacity to learn and to grow. i chose to be a mother and right now that is where my efforts need to be.

so the anxiety may not go away anytime soon, but i just hope and pray that one day when they aren't so little anymore, i will look back and realize that my list of regrets is really not bad at all. and i will be surrounded by my amazing children who will probably all be taller than me!

twenty six.

2011-08-12T21:12:00.000-05:00

do you remember how i waited my whole life to turn twenty-five? well i did.

and then today i turned twenty-six. i guess i didn't put a whole lot of thought into the "after twenty-five" stage of my life. all i could think about today was how now i'm only four years from thirty. and when i'm thirty, gage will be "the nine year old" and little gare will be "the seven year old". and then i nearly had a panic attack.

but instead of freaking out i grabbed a few cookies, a glass of milk, a handful of fritos and a swig of root beer and sat down to how to lose a guy in ten days. i made it through the first twenty minutes before i fell asleep. like, comatose asleep. i woke up to two well napped boys poking at my face and the strong urge that i needed to go throw up.

hello twenty-six. and pregnant. with child number three.

now that should be a television show. it would be several times less depressing than what we're currently offered. humorous for sure and highly entertaining.

on a more serious note though, i am thankful to be twenty-six and to be where i am. before the hubby left for work this afternoon he and the boys took me out to lunch at olive garden. i was so proud when my boys finished all of their chicken and completely thrilled by their skills as they colored all over their place mats. i loved it when the hubby let me steal some of his fettuccine straight off of his plate and then we all devoured my raspberry cheesecake in about three minutes flat. except for blondie, he was still coloring. i loved thinking that i was the luckiest twenty-six year old there, surrounded by three handsome men who make me laugh so hard.

so hello twenty-six. please be good to me!

xoxo. ash

he had his breakfast in bed

2011-08-11T10:16:00.000-05:00

happy thursday all.

i'm feeling a bit under the weather today. this morning i drug myself from bed to make the boys their pancakes and let them know i was alive. then i went back to hiding.

a few minutes later my little blondie boy joined me. with his breakfast. in nothing but his lightning mcqueen undies.

he's my little pal. he doesn't even mind that i look like something from a horror film.

i have the best boys. now if i can just teach them how to clean up their messes.

a quote and a print

2011-08-10T06:37:00.000-05:00

i scribble all over everything i touch. i can't help myself. this has driven teachers, the hubby, employers and the like crazy for years. sorry guys. lately i've been trying to take my scribbles a little step further and play around in photoshop with them.

i'm sure learning a lot along the way and i have way too much fun. wayyy too much.

here's some of my mums in print form with a quote i love. i call them mums anyways...what would you say they are? i'm thinking of where i could put this. on my nightstand perhaps. we shall see.

but while i mull this one over, YOU have a great wednesday!

xoxo. ash

a happy monday to you

2011-08-08T13:24:00.000-05:00

mondays and i have a rather complicated relationship. 

i love that my week is new and my to-do list still seems attainable...but i drag coming out of my sunday mindset.  sunday is my day of rest.  we attend church and i try to limit myself to only what is necessary and try to fit in things that i don't get to on a regular basis.  for example, letters to my missionary brother, loading up on old conference talks, games with my boys and the occasional batch of cookies.  yesterday was coconut chocolate chip cookie day.  yummy.

the boys had one fresh from the oven with milk right before bed last  night.  they don't normally get treats before bed so they thought that  was pretty special.

i had a few this morning as i thumbed through my new country living magazine.  it always feels a little like my birthday or something when they come.

and just because i loved how it turned out, i thought i would share the bunting that i made for baby girl's nursery.  p.s. i also finished binding her quilt and i am in love.  i can't wait for her to try it out!

i also worked on another nursery project last weekend that i'm not ready to share yet, but i did have some excess fabric and made this little pillow cover to put in the shop.  i kind of understand the rage over chevron patterns now.  love it!

what's your take on mondays?  love them, hate them, don't really care either way.

i'm all ears!

xoxo. ash

i had some fun this week

2011-08-05T09:45:00.002-05:00

i took a break from crocheting this week and pulled out my sewing machine. i have a long list of projects that have been waiting for me. in the meantime i pulled out some fabrics and had a fun idea for a pillow using some crocheted flowers i had made a few weeks ago.

i think that it's perfect for the upcoming autumn season.

i love how it turned out and really thought about keeping it for myself. but alas! it's listed in my shop. and there's just the one so if you love it, go take a quick looksie!

happy weekend!

xoxo.ash

p.s. i had an ultrasound yesterday. it's still a girl! phew! and in case you're wondering i am twenty-six weeks along. i'm completely torn on if i want the next fourteen weeks to fly by or take their jolly sweet time.

pretend rain

2011-08-03T09:35:00.000-05:00

the hubs sleeping in after a long day of work and school.

some mornings i wake up to the sound of tip tapping on my window. so i hurry over and pull up the blinds, generally to be disappointed and realize that it's just the sprinklers. not rain.

i love rain and it's no secret. my favorite time of the year in arizona was monsoon season. it always hits about mid-july and carries through august. the beautiful thing about arizona rain is that rather than just up the mugginess, the temperature will drop and the air will seem perfectly clear and cool and crisp. at home i would turn off the air in the house and open all my windows and just let that beautiful mountain air run through each room. all the while we would get the full effect of the rain drops on the rocks and trees and porches. it's something that i miss terribly right now. i keep telling myself, just a few more months, just a few more months. the fall weather here is beautiful.

the five and three year olds however hold no favoritism to rain or sprinklers, mugginess or no mugginess. if there is water to be found, they are to be found in it. i came outside just in time to witness tilly be hoisted up to the soggy trampoline. she was having none of it. the boys thought it was funny how she hunkered down, scared out of her mind. with a bit of prodding from me, the fun crasher, we got her down and the boys ran wild and carefree in our make believe rain in our lovely, green, tree lined yard.

rain or no rain, it was still a pretty wonderful way to welcome in the morning.

just ask blondie here.  i'm sure he'd agree.

happy wednesday! 
and if you happen to live down our street, happy trash day as well.  i really enjoy knowing that our stinky trash can is about to be emptied!

but maybe that's just me.

xoxo. ash

my date with the five year old

2011-08-02T20:04:00.000-05:00

the ever dreaded first day of kindergarten is encroaching upon our blissful summertime.  as much as i like to pretend that our summer will be eternal, there's that darn "back to school list" and those overcrowded isles at every store that continue to rudely interrupt me and my fantasy world.

it makes me sad.  sad for me.  and sad for the three year old.  and then sad for me again.  i have to admit that for the five year old, i am grudgingly happy.  i know he will love it!  {most days}  but boy will we miss him badly. 

i'm not nearly prepared to fill his shoes.  poor blondie is going to be beside himself.

but gage will have a blast.

that is what i tell myself.

so anyways, enough crying, today was our big shopping date!  when i was getting ready this morning, the happy almost kinderboy pulled out my jewelery box and found this fancy butterfly ring.  he won it for me several months ago from a twenty-five cent machine.  so sweet that boy.  he handed it to me and insisted that i wear it for our big date.  so i did of course and with every poke i got from those sharp little antenna, i thought just how blessed i am to have this sweetheart of a boy all to myself.  he is a treasure.  and he loves me.

we topped off our fun day with sprinkles and a touch of ice-cream.  as requested by my little brown haired wonder.  and as you can see by his newly acquired, ultra cheesy smile, our date was a success!  i love you little man of mine and hope that you will always think that mom is way cooler than kindergarten!

xoxo

photos brought to you by my really terrible, completely unfancy camera phone. haha

sunday afternoon style

2011-08-01T20:01:00.000-05:00

tonight i am feeling lonely and burned out on my go-to playlist. don't get me wrong....pride and prejudice, harry potter, leap year....i still love you. you are always there for me on the many many nights that i am hogging the bed all to myself.

but tonight i am wishing for the late sunday afternoon style movies where the family would squeeze into the family room and turn on a good ol' musical. or two. or maybe even three.

gene kelly, i love you. when i was nine, i planned our wedding. you amaze me.

i have the feeling that when this sweet baby girl in my belly grows up, she will make wedding plans with you too. because i'm realllly counting on sunday afternoons full of musicals and popcorn...with the boys and the hubby rolling their eyes at us all along.

{but standing behind us, quietly watching of course...}

i can't wait.

looks like i need to start up my very own collection.

do you like old hollywood musicals? i do i do i do.

what are your faves?

mine are::

singin in the rain, brigadoon, my fair lady, the sound of music, the king and i, oklahoma.

and that's just a start.

want to know a secret?

one day i'm going to bribe the hubs into recreating this photo with me. yup the same hubs who you see so little of because he detests the camera lens being pointed at him. it may be a challenge, but i'm getting increasingly more stubborn in my old age i've learned.

if you haven't watched a musical recently, do it! it's good for the soul i tell you.

good night monday.

xoxo.ash

photo credits::
one, two, three, four

some hot air balloon fun

2011-08-01T09:12:00.001-05:00

what is the great balloon race you ask?  well it is kind of a big-to-do around here.  combine slews of hot air balloons, big bounce houses, ponies, barbeque, night time concerts and lots and lots of propane and you have yourself a genuine, one of a kind event.  it takes place each july in the fair city of longview, texas.

this was obviously our first year to go and we had a great time.  the hubby had to work so he couldn't enjoy the festivities with us.  instead he has lots of pictures and two excited little boys to relay the evening's events.

we headed out sometime after six o'clock.  it was still a sweltering ninety-seven degrees with a humidity level of saturating, but it didn't take long for us to forget our discomfort and get lost in the fun!  our first stop was in kid land where we tried out just about every bounce house that we could.  some even twice.  from there it was the ponies.  we couldn't miss the ponies!  when your five-year-old's greatest ambition in life is to be a farmer and to ride lots of horses....well, you just don't skip over the ponies!

just before the sun was setting we got to watch all of the "fun shape" balloons take shape.  the wells fargo wagon was by far the largest.  it was pretty amazing to watch it come to life.

when mom said no to toys, all it took was one puppy dog look to grandma and they all three had themselves a top of the line light up sword.

{no eyes were poked out in the taking of this picture.}

gage and trenton braved the ladder while gare kept a close hold on my leg.  champion skills i tell you!

more and more balloons took shape as the last shred of sun was in the sky.

this was the neatest part of the night.  right after the national anthem was sung, the sports balloons filled up all around us.  we experienced our first balloon glow and it was actually a lot neater than i imagined in my head.

the heat from each of the flames would feel so intense as they all lit up.

through all the noise of the crowds and the roaring of the torches i could hear gage saying over and over "i've never seen so many hot air balloons in all my life!  this is the most awesome night ever!"

things like that make the money, the sweat, the dirty feet and waiting in lines all worth it.

oh to be five again!

thank you texas {and grandma broomall} for this one of a kind evening.  we plan to see you next year!

xoxo. ash

thank you::and okay::let's do it

2011-07-28T19:31:00.000-05:00

i've gotten a lot of positive feedback and encouragement and i feel like i'm ready to put myself out there! this is so hard, mostly i think, because i don't want to mess it up. i want to take my time and do things right. but i guess even taking it slow, i will have to start somewhere! so here we go!

{ashley broomall photography}

my photography blog is up and running. it is still under construction, but you can find photos and info there. i'd love any and all feedback or suggestions on it. my most recent photos are from a session today with my one week old niece. she's a sweetie!

i hope you enjoy!

xoxo.ash

i've had this dream and i'm trying to be brave enough to chase it

2011-07-26T14:17:00.000-05:00

so i've had this dream for a while now. i want to be a photographer. like, i want to take beautiful photos that families can hang in their homes for years and years and never want to take down. i love capturing emotion and beauty and moments on film and it's something that has just become a part of me over the years. lately i have been pouring into every bit of material that i can to learn to better myself and to reach a point where i feel like i am capturing exactly what i want, how i want. i have a loooong ways to go but i am getting there.

i have short term goals and long term goals. the short term goals basically include practice, practice, practice, learn, learn, learn. my sister-in-law was gracious enough to let me use her cute pregnant self all for the sake of just that. {thank you thank you monica!}

so i am beginning the venture to what i hope will be a bright future! i have been working away and when i feel ready...or brave enough...i will share it all with you! let me just tell you that i have kept myself plenty busy as of late and i'm so excited to share what i've been doing! all in due time.

tell me what are your thoughts/suggestions??

xoxo.ash

lazy summer bones

2011-07-19T13:43:00.001-05:00

the weather 'round these parts has been hot.  hot hot hot.  and humid to boot.  so much different than the dry desert heat that we are use to.  we keep inside for the most part these days.  except for the times when we fill up the swimming pool or switch on the sprinklers.  this is promptly followed by an ice-cold fun pop and a movie...in the house, a/c blasting, fan on high.  and then we slip off to sleep.  well most of us slip off to sleep.  the five-year-old likes to prove himself and stay awake while the three-year-old and i sleep away our exhaustion.

this is where i found him after one such afternoon nap.  i guess if i tried sleeping up there, i wouldn't be able to either.  whether it be the uncomfortable wooden board or the sheer terror of falling off mid-dream.  i just don't imagine i could.

i couldn't resist a little bit of picture text humor to the hubby at work.

"when did we get a cat?"

sometimes i feel so clever.  and funny.  bahaha!

aside from heat, water, fun pops, naps and feline tendencies, here is a little bit of what our summer days involve.

* lots of reading.
* lots of grilling.
* not a lot of cleaning.
* as much crochet as my hands can take.
* letters to and from the missionary uncle.
* playtime with our local cousin.
* kool-aid, kool-aid and more kool-aid.
* pb & j at least twice a day.
* lots and lots of talk of disney land.  someday gage, someday...
* late night movies with popcorn.
* wishing that our mountains weren't quite so far away.

it's been a fun summer for us!  it started out busy busy and now we are just unwinding and making this last month drag on as long as we can.  because soon we'll have a soccer playing kindergartener in our midst!

+++++

and i know it seems odd to talk about the summer heat and then jump to pom pom topped beanies...but so be it.  here is another item that has been listed in my shop this week.  i love them and can't wait for brisk enough weather to put some on my boys.

remember, free shipping until the end of the month, so now would be a great time to order for winter!

just click here if you'd like to take a look.



p.s. i will have a new little niece by the end of the week!  i can't wait to meet her.

happy tuesday!

xoxo. ash

truth.

2011-07-18T07:16:00.001-05:00

{roses}

happy monday!

xoxo. ash

the shop is open::free shipping

2011-07-15T11:12:00.000-05:00

well friends i am opening up shop again! it's something i have been stewing over for a few months now and i finally just decided to make the jump. i will be adding new items over the next few weeks so keep an eye open for updates.

i'm really excited to get going again!

my first listing is the strawberry fields beanie. i think it's precious! i made one for my little niece who should be arriving any day now and i just can't wait to see it on her little noggin.

+++++

and now for the best part! with it being my re-opening i decided i wanted to do something special for my blog readers. so if you order this sweet hat anytime in the month of july you can use the coupon code HAPPYNEST0711 and receive free shipping!

i hope you'll stop by hazel.jayne. and take a look!

happy weekend!

xoxo.ash

a project and a tiny peek

2011-07-13T11:47:00.000-05:00

i've been working on my girl stash since my first pregnancy.  nothing big and fancy just little things here and there that i just thought i couldn't live without and if i never did have a girl, well then it wouldn't be much of a loss.

so this little bitty lamp i picked up at the dollar store in arizona a year or more ago.  it was marked down and i want to say i paid two dollars for it.  it had some ugly fabric on it but i loved the size and the white porcelain base.

today i finally gave it a facelift.  i carefully pulled off all of the fabric so that i could save it as a guide.  once it was all naked {photo above} i cut out my fabric, some debby mumm polka dots that i've had in my fabric stash, and whipped out my trusty glue gun.  it was pretty simple and my one regret is that i didn't start with a wider trim.  live and learn.

here she is all prettied up.  sitting with the rest of the mess that is the future nursery.  slowly but surely i will get there.

here is the crib that i got online a few months ago for a steal.  it's pretty much exactly what i wanted::white and simple.  and then there's the quilt that i need to bind.  i'm looking for some pretty yellow fabric.  any ideas?

and now for the best part of the room.  prepare yourselves....

i call him beuford.

true story.  a few days ago i asked the hubby what he wanted to do with his deer mount.

"i want to take it off the wall but i don't know where to put it."  i encouraged.

"well why don't we just leave it in there?  seriously."

ummm.

and that my friends is why the women are left to the decorating.  can you imagine?  i figure i'll cook him up a big dinner one of these nights and re-approach the subject.  wish me luck!

xoxo. ash

the five-year-old wants to be a farmer

2011-07-12T17:59:00.001-05:00

during our visit to arizona, grandma surprised the children with a visit to our sweet friend becky's beautiful home.  it was a special day.  auntie brin was celebrating her seventh birthday and it was our last day there with everyone.

we're so thankful that she was so gracious with us.  it was a perfect afternoon.

gage was mesmerized by all of it.  feeding the horse and pony, sitting on the pony, attempting to feed the cattle, roaming through the grassy field and watching for cow pies.  all of it was fun to him!  and of course there were the chickens.  chickens are still kind of a sore spot with him right now since he begged and pleaded for some this spring and never had his way with it.

he told becky "you have all the animals you're supposed to have on a farm!"

he already knew he wanted to be a farmer before our visit but the wonder of it all just affirmed it for him.  this boy really wants to be a farmer.  and a chef.  he could have quite the set up i am sure.

doodle bop the pony {left}:: uncle marcus, becky and gage {right}

callie taking her time on the pony {left}:: gage sharing a healthy snack {right}

gage atop his noble steed

callie sharing a snack with the horse {left}::  the birthday girl on doodle bop

here they were all trying to convince one of the cows to lick oats out of their hands when mr. horse decided to sneak in on the action.

garrett loved this wagon with the "monster truck wheels".  every time he sees this picture he says "look i'm jacking it up!"  he is boy through and through.

gare heading out to see the chickens {left}:: gare helping callie navigate

the five-year-old had a hay day in the chicken coop with auntie emm.  maybe next spring this boy will get his chicken wish.

mayyyybe.

i love me a pretty garden.

uncle marcus with {excuse me if i'm mistaken} cooper

thank you for being our afternoon hostess becky. we had a lovely time!

xoxo. ash

three.

2011-07-08T11:04:00.001-05:00

just go ahead and ask this sweaty haired little boy how old he is. 

i dare you!

he'll shoot you one of spiderman's signature web shooting hand gestures and tell you "this many!"  followed by swish, swish, piou!  because that is what spiderman's super awesome webs sound like when flying from his wrists.  you might even get a perfectly delivered roundhouse kick.  it's truly remarkable to behold.

to say that celebrating my baby's third birthday was a little hard to swallow, is a bit of an understatement.  when you have a five-year-old and a two-year-old, you can still lay claim on at least one of them being a toddler.  so when you squish and squeeze and kiss on them in public, it's still acceptable.  but now i think i have to claim them both as big boys.  that's a hard thing for me.  but thank heavens when i tuck this little man child into his bed at night he still puckers up those perfect little lips and lets me give him a big fat smooch!

he's growing up so fast!  he counts to twenty, he knows his abc's, he refuses my help to put his shoes on,  he colors in the lines (and has since he was 2), plus he's like our own personal jukebox full of primary songs and nursery rhymes and has the sweetest little voice you ever heard.

i sure do love you my big three-year-old boy!

p.s.  just for the sake of the future, your dad had full reign over your birthday plans.  he let you go to chuck-e-cheese with your brother and your cousin trenton, he took you to the store and for desert you picked out strawberry cake with strawberry frosting and oreos on the side.  then he made it for you...and can you guess who put the letters on your cake???

happy birthday!!!

xoxo. mom

the day we went to the beach

2011-07-06T16:18:00.000-05:00

mid-june we took a little trip down to south texas with my family.  we could only stay for a few days but we had a lot of fun!  we went to schlitterbahn water park which was awesome!  and i suggest if you ever take a trip there, you plan to spend more than one day.  it is huge and full of all kinds of good, cool, wet fun.  a perfect getaway for a hot and sticky texas summer.

on our last day there we drove a few hours south, to padre island.  that beach is beautiful!  it's completely non-commercialized which can have it's downfalls in some ways, but for the most part it just keeps it looking natural and beautiful.

i didn't take many pictures because i was mostly just focused on staying cool and making sure my little water puppies didn't get too cozy with the waves....but you get the idea.  we would definitely love to go back someday.

tell me please, what's your favorite beach??

how are you with mental pictures?

2011-07-05T20:15:00.001-05:00

 i do not have a single photo from yesterday's festivities.  not a one.  i whipped out my camera mid-barbeque, only to discover that my battery was dead.  so into the outlet it went so that i could at least capture some fireworks or post eating smiles.  you know, the kind where you're so happy and full that you can't really see straight.  but if you can imagine it rained and poured all the way up to the fireworks and then it drizzled for the remainder of the evening.  so my poor little camera had to sit tucked away safe and dry in the car. so this is my attempt at painting a mental picture of our fourth of july.

*********

i'm the type of person that over prepares.  okay, so not really.  i am more like the person that you see running through the stores at the very last minute, looking like a chicken with her head cut off.  kids in tow of course.  it just seems to be my thing.  that being said, let me share a story with you.

this all begins on thursday evening as the family and i made our way home from dallas after our flight from arizona.  i started to have one of my pitty parties {which i have more than i should admit lately}.  i was telling the hubby how terrible a plight it seemed that we would not be around family for this holiday and unable to join in the traditional festivities of it all.  the parade, bbq's, fireworks, homemade ice-cream parties and so forth.  that is about the point where he got fed up with my whining and asked "well then why not still do those things?"   ummm.  does that give you a little insight on what a sorry sap i've been lately?  it's embarrassing but true, the thought really had never crossed my mind.  still have fun when we're miles away from everything that has ever been normal to us???  i guess i was just bound and determined to be sad.

so fast forward through the next few days where we celebrated a birthday, unpacked, tried to catch up with our time change withdrawals and laundry and all that nonsense and oh shoot it's monday already!  where does the time go?  so at about 9 o'clock in the morning i text my sister-in-law to see if their little family would like to come barbeque with us.  she gives me the green light and after that it was a mad dash to get ready.

i let the boys pick out some patriotic decor {being a slacker has it's perks....everything was at least 50% off....} and grabbed a couple of last minute grocery items in town and set off home to get ready.

we ended up having a lot of fun for being so last minute.  we ate our hamburgers and freshly grilled corn on the cob out in the 95 degree weather and watched the boys splash around in the kiddie pool.  it was hot.  and then a miracle happened.  about two minutes after scooping out bowls of homemade ice-cream for everyone storm clouds gathered, thunder boomed {and i mean BOOMED} and lightning lit up the darkening skies.  sitting under the patio felt amazing.  the temperature dropped, the wind blew little mists of cool water onto my face and arms and leaves started to flutter down into our yard like a picture perfect scene from a movie.  it was an absolutely wonderful and relaxing way to finish up our meal.

we sat around and talked while the big boys played a very soggy game of ladder ball  and the little boys played a very soggy game of, well whatever it is that little boys play.  then about an hour before dark we gathered up blankets and chairs and headed out to watch some fireworks.  we drove through some torrential downpour and questioned whether the show would even go on.  but a few minutes before parking the rain let up to a soft drizzle and continued that way until the very last firework lit up the night.  and as garrett said, them was amazin'.

we had such a great time and are so thankful for the many blessings we have been given.  such as our family and our freedom just to name a few.

i hope that everyone's holiday was just as enjoyable!

xoxo.ash

red, white & blue

2011-07-04T08:12:00.001-05:00

heber parade 2009

we're about to experience our first fourth of july as texans. i guess you could say that we have actually already began the experience, being that we were all awoken several times in the night by neighbors setting off ill-timed fireworks. oh well though....it is just once a year. right? right?

so it is with very puffy morning eyes that i say
Happy Birthday America!

i truly am grateful for this wonderful country and the sacrifices and the ideals that it was founded on. God Bless America!

my little brother

2011-07-03T17:01:00.000-05:00

we are back safe and sound in our texas home with lots of memories of family and fun to hold us over until next time.

+++++

my phone sat abandoned in my room for the last half of yesterday while we were busy celebrating a special three-year-old's birthday. when i finally lugged my tired body to the bedroom at 11:36 i picked it up to find a few missed calls and a text.

"well i thought i would just say hello the last time that i can use a phone."

i knew who it was from. my brother marcus. our whole trip to arizona revolved around the fact that it was our last opportunity in the next two years to spend time with him. he has chosen to spend these next years sharing the good message of our Savior Jesus Christ with the people of Resistencia, Argentina. we are proud of him but will miss him something fierce.

our first sunday in arizona was spent listening to him talk to the congregation, which is what is typically done in the LDS church before a young man or woman leaves on their mission. i guess it's like a final parting message before stepping into shoes that seem so very big to fill. you listen to the boy that you have watched wander the church halls since his head hit somewhere around your hips and you realize that he is giving up the last days of his boyhood to serve the Lord and to become a man, far away from the comforts of his home.

at the end of the meeting his bishop spoke for a few moments and recounted a story of marcus from a few years back. i will probably botch the story, but hopefully the spirit of it stays intact because that is the part that touched me.

as a newly called bishop, he had been invited to join the young men on their yearly trip to the grand canyon. being that he was a bit past his prime, on the morning that they were to hike up out of the canyon, the bishop made sure that he was the first to set off. so he started the 12 mile hike at the lead and just shortly after was passed up by his son, levi, and marcus.

more time passed and eventually all but two of the young men had come and gone. he kept on and the other two stayed within viewing distance behind him. as he reached the last two miles, full of switchbacks and steep slopes he looked up to see one young man making his way back down. it was marcus. he reached the bishop and asked if he could help him. he responded that he was okay but that maybe he could check on the last two boys who were slipping slowly behind. marcus followed the suggestion and continued back down.

after a little time passed he heard someone behind him. with two new packs on his back, marcus had caught up and continued the final and probably most difficult leg of the hike. soon after the two boys were also passing him and he was now bringing up the back.

once again he noticed a young man, making his way down the mouth of the canyon. and once again it was marcus offering his help. he took the pack from the bishop and made his very last trip up to the top with him.

after relating the story he continued that this was the kind of missionary that he pictured marcus to be. being very aware of the needs of the people he served and being willing to take their packs for them and ease their burdens. it made me emotional to hear those words from someone else. i have always known marcus to be this kind of a person. it reminded me of a time when i was first pregnant with our little gage. it was in the afternoon on a fast sunday and my phone rang. on the other end of the line was my then thirteen-year-old brother calling to make sure i knew that i wasn't supposed to be fasting while i was pregnant. his concern over me was something that made me teary eyed. he has always been a tender person. of course i remember his pestering our youngest brother to tears at times, but the overpowering trait that marcus has always carried is selflessness.

i know that he will serve the Lord well and i know that he will be a blessing to the lives of many many people. i already miss him but couldn't be more inspired by the person that he is becoming.

i love you marcus!

xoxo.ash

sweet mountain sunshine

2011-06-24T08:50:00.002-05:00

gare being silly with his auntie brin

the boys and i embarked on a twenty-one hour tour to the motherland last sunday evening. it was everything that a road trip should be. complete with crying kids, sugary and salty snacks, lots and lots of pee stops a tire blow out and sandwiches from the ice chest. it was the three of us plus ten in a swagger wagon of major proportions. i got the star treatment because i'm pregnant and apparently that translates to: this woman ain't gotta do nothin'. i was kind of a fan.

we've been loving the sunshine without the intense humidity. although my lips are dry and my nose tends to bleed....dry heat is a commodity that we just don't get much of anymore. and i am kind of a fan of that too.

we'll be back next week and ready to share some of our fun with you!

happy weekend!

xoxo. ash

gare, auntie brin, auntie callie, gage and cousin aiden

five is the new old

2011-06-17T14:13:00.000-05:00

attention all readers:: "the four-year-old" aka: gage will now be referred to as "the five-year-old".  the five-year-old is a new and improved little character who makes his own sandwiches {ketchup and cheese is his specialty}, jumps especially high, puts on his own sunscreen and apparently goes to bed anytime he would like, because he is five.  and in case you missed the memo, FIVE IS OLD.

it's hard to believe that my first baby boy is growing up so fast.  we registered him for kindergarten and stuck five candles on his cake all within a week's time.  he's big and strong, as our little mexican scooby doo pinata would affirm.  that is if he weren't sitting in the bottom of a park trashcan, bloodied and bruised.

we are so proud of you gage and all that you have accomplished and learned in your five years of life.  you amaze us everyday in just about every way possible.  you are sweet, creative, curious, giving, thoughtful, observant and full of energy.  some days you are more than one mother can handle, but even then you are loved more and more each day.

i hope you never stop sticking your fingers in the frosting and i hope you never stop using that beautiful imagination of yours!

happy 5th birthday big boy!

all my love, mom

xoxo

happy-go-lucky

2011-06-08T16:21:00.001-05:00

the alarm on my phone cried out at 10:30 a.m. on the dot. just about the same time that i was quickly picking a steaming hot waffle off of the iron. and only moments after having placed breakfast before our preschool graduate and his little blonde brother. school has been out for nearly a week now and i have yet to cancel the 10:30 a.m. alarm. the one that has sounded off every weekday since february the 10th proclaiming the near arrival of the four-year-old on his big yellow bus. i have a hard time doing trivial things like that. kind of like i have a hard time not making messes when i cook.

what i don't have a hard time doing are things like enjoying the happy-go-lucky mornings of summertime. so what if we're eating breakfast just thirty minutes before we were eating lunch last week? it's summer! summer is for eating whenever you eat. and summer is for letting your kids wake you up on occasion. like this morning when i woke up to the smell of wet dog on my two-year-old.

"did you go outside this morning?" i asked very very groggily.

"ummm. umm. yesssssss." came back the sweet little voice that was lathered in guilt.

that is summer for you. at least that's how we do summer around here. it's a schedule that we're pretty good at keeping.

what's your favorite part about school free summers?

p.s. in case you were wondering, my boys are still in their pajamas.

your random post of the week

2011-06-06T18:21:00.003-05:00

my mind just wont sit still for a minute these days and so as you can imagine i'm having a super hard time of coming up with just one thing to post about.  so with that logic i have decided that i'm allowing myself one very incredibly random post this week.  you're welcome.  or i'm sorry.  i'm not sure which is more appropriate.

++++++++++++++

exhibit a

{gage. july 2010}

we are officially in the good ol' summertime.  oh what do YOU do in the summertime when all the world is green?  and might i add, when the climate is oh so hot!  i imagine our days may start looking a lot like this again.  i think we could eat our weight in otter pops here in east texas.  time to stock pile the freezer!

exhibit b

{bump watch. 16 weeks.}

we're fast approaching a long awaited visit from my family which will involve a few days in a swimming suit.  have i mentioned lately that i'm incubating a small person in my womb?  and that with said condition i am soft, white, and squishy?  perhaps those thoughts are what drug me out into the morning heat, donning my mizunos and some ill fitting running attire.  i ran one measly mile.  probably not my brightest plan ever.  scratch that.  DEFINITELY not my brightest plan ever.  my body has been punishing me ever since.

exhibit c

{the soon to be elder butler.}

my two little ducklings and i will be accompanying my family on their return to arizona so that we can bid our last farewells to my brother marcus before he leaves to serve the Lord for two years in argentina.  we'll be flying home just in time to celebrate blondie's third birthday and experience our first ever texan fourth of july.  i've been scouring the web for affordable airfare and have decided that it might be about time for my humble little online shop to reopen.  thankfully my parents have come to our rescue to make this trip possible for us.  i would be broken hearted to miss out on this!  thank you mom and dad!! xoxo.

exhibit d

{smoke filled skies in alpine from the wallow fire. june 2011.}

there is a wildfire just devouring up the land in some of the most beautiful country of arizona that i have ever seen.  it is devastating the forests and has required the evacuation of many people from their homes, likely to be more.  it brings back so many memories of the rodeo/chediski fire that decimated forest and homes in the white mountain area nearly nine years ago.  prayers for the firefighters and those being affected are greatly appreciated.

exhibit e

i stumbled across a new blog that has me entirely smitten!  ever heard of armelle?  i am in love!  want to see two things that i fully intend on shamelessly copying in the future??

a perfectly boyish birthday soiree.

just my brand of baby girl nursery.
big on the girlie, easy on the pink. and not to mention i LOVE yellow!

++++++++++++++

and there friends is a good little sneak peak into the workings of my brain.  a little this and a little that.

happy monday and happy summer!!!
love. ash

maria maria. you remind me of the west side story.

2011-06-02T10:59:00.001-05:00

we moved to show low when i was just a young little thing.  shy as a mouse as they say.  the thing about small towns is that even by the time you are six you know everyone and your parents who all grew up together back in the good ol' days have already helped predetermine your future friends and life partners.  that's just how it is.

i started first grade in the winter.  i remember the snow on the ground the day my mom came home and announced to me that i was all set up to start school.  my little classroom of students accepted me graciously and i fell in love with my teacher.  she was a dream!  especially compared to mrs. olchesky, my utah kindergarten teacher, whom only months into the school year had compelled my mom into withdrawing me from school and home teaching me herself.  she was a nightmare.  ever seen matilda??  'nuff said.

but i'm straying from the subject.

the church front proved to be slightly more difficult. apparently little girls who don't talk, don't get talked to.  not for a few months at least. with a little patience, i found my friend!  there was an incident involving white lace easter gloves that hindered our friendship for just a few short weeks, but we managed to get past that.  and in the last nearly two decades i would say we have gotten over a whole pile of things.  that's when you know you're friends!

our escapades in high school included, but are not limited to, accidental half-naked encounters with a stranded cowboy, jam-out sessions all across our little mountain, several awkward drive-thru moments {how does that happen you ask??  you don't want to know.}, early morning wake-up calls for jogs that turned into let's just find a nice place to sit down and talk's, really baaaaad double-dates, questionable hair do's and rock climbing adventures gone awry.  we were good girls who managed to do some really dumb things.  things that i would incarcerate my own children for.  disclaimer:: none of these indiscretions were actually illegal...rest assured.

girlfriends are definitely one of God's tender mercies.  i love my husband, i love my mom, dad, sisters, cousins, brothers, etc.  but sometimes you just need a friend there with you in life.  i'm thankful i found that in mareez.  {i'm using her alias because i know she's not a big fan of publicity.}  but i had to brag a little anyways because this girl is the bomb and a much better friend than i am and i miss her face out here in texas!

thanks for the good times mareez!

xoxo. smash

all aboard

2011-05-31T10:24:00.001-05:00

matthew has had a break from school the past couple of weeks so we've been able to have a little fun time.  last weekend we took the boys to the marshall train station to have a look around.  as soon as we got out of the truck one of the trains started to leave.  the engineer waved and blew his whistle/horn (???) for the boys.  neither one was a fan of the noise but they still managed to sneak a wave back.

i wish i didn't have a pregnant brain so that i could tell you when this station was first built, but i can't for the life of me seem to remember.  it's old.  we'll just leave it at that.  this was a major railway back in the day and has some pretty neat history which we got to experience a bit of in the museum.

this is from the top of the station, overlooking the grounds and the tracks.  the boys thought it was 'amazin'.

this is my favorite picture of the day!  them boys are so handsome.  it was so dang hot outside but they were good sports and loved getting to climb up on the engine and caboose that they had parked outside.

this was an old desk they had set up in the museum.  there was plexiglass in front of it, so i didn't get a great picture.  but i thought it was neat.  the creepy mannequin...maybe not so much.

the entrance to the station is a tunnel beneath the tracks which just added a little excitement for the boys.  for me it was a nice retreat from the beating sun.  good-bye train station, hello ice-cream stop!

bows and curls or puppy tog tails??

2011-05-23T16:31:00.000-05:00

i am just over fifteen weeks along in this pregnancy and finally had my first doctor's visit today. truth be told i loved the doctor i was seeing before we moved and it's been a hard thing to make the leap to see someone new. it's not like this is just a doctor for the sneezy snifflies. oh no. this is a doctor who gets to know ALL of your business. you follow? it's never too comfy to do a meet-and-greet handshake with someone and then two minutes later be all spread eagle on a table with your bare feet in cold stirrups. at least that's my opinion.

but such is life. so you do it and you turn your eyes up to the ceiling and go to your happy place. which is what i did. i was at the beach. it was lovely. and then i was brought back to life when the ice cold sensation of oozy slime hit my tummy. there was the lovely sonogram machine. amazingly enough the non-stop, all day long sickness and protruding belly have not been all i needed to solidify that there is a little person taking up quarters in there. so the first little glimpse of our tiny addition was like coming up for air. we saw the heart fluttering away, we saw wild hands flapping about and tiny little legs stretching to their max. we saw the face, which i know is precious, but at this point reminds me of something not of this world. we saw life inside of life, which will never cease to be amazing to me!

now do you want to know what we didn't see? we didn't see boy parts. not a single trace of them. i kept waiting to get excited thinking that for sure any second i would hear "oh wait. there it is." but that second never came. can it be? will i finally be dragging out "the box" ? i do think so friends, i do think so. it's a GIRL for the broomall home! finally we'll be swinging a little balance this way. the four-year-old and two-year-old are happy with the idea of a sister too! they've even chosen a few more gender appropriate names, which for now are our little secret. i WILL tell you however that their first choice, which was "larry boy", has been happily tossed out. phew!

the ultrasound showed me a week ahead of my due date of November 12th, but for now it looks like we will stick with it. watch out girls department, here i come! {wild eyes and all!}

xoxo.ash

one fine day + a paranoid mother's confession

2011-05-21T19:34:00.000-05:00

the four-year-old pranced into my room all bright eyed and bushy tailed at approximately 6:41 a.m. thursday morning.  he perched himself at the foot of my bed and proclaimed "i'm so 'cited mom!  it's tomorrow!"

to those of you whose worlds do not revolve around this especially cute brown haired boy, "tomorrow" indicates that it was indeed the day that his entire school would be out on an all day field trip.  yahoo!  we made our way to the kitchen and put together all of the required ingredients for a top of the line sack lunch.  ham and cheese sandwich, apple slices, frozen go-gurt, rice crispy treat and a special bag of chips that the hubs had prepared the night before.  after the tooth-brushing, hair brushing and dressing was done he sat himself on the couch in anticipation.  by 7:20 a.m. he was dropped off at school with his fancy lunch and his million dollar smile, all too happy to be leaving the nest for the day.

i plopped down next to the two-year-old once i got home and wondered to myself what we would do without our other boy for an entire day.  and then it occurred to me, we can actually go to playgroup today!  yahoo!  so we freshened up, packed another lunch into blondie's mini backpack, loaded up the bicycle and bid the hubby adieu.

i helped my sidekick into the car and he was clearly planning to live up this day to it's full potential.  he sat himself right down in big brother's seat and insisted that i buckle him in there.  he had to get while the gettin' was good i suppose.

we made it to the park for playgroup and had a great time until the heat chased us off.  we headed back down the road, headed for the main road.  the main road where i was supposed to turn right, but instead i turned left.  it was a calculated error.  about 1.2 miles later we found ourselves sitting in a parking lot with several buses and administrative vehicles.  yes, i may have stalked my preschooler's field trip.  yes, i may be a slightly paranoid mother.  we sat outside the glass front building and watched children in tunnels just like an ant farm.  we sat and sat and nearly gave up hope when who should come bouncing up to the tippity-top of the maze but our very own preschool lovin' four-year-old.

the nerves that had been attacking my system all day long seemed to settle and we made our way back to the mother road.

at home we found hours of entertainment with our giant bucket of sidewalk chalk.  my little blonde sidekick made sure to cover every possible surface of his clothing and body in the stuff.  i dare say he was thoroughly pleased with himself.

we had a fun day together but by 3 o'clock the two-year-old was suggesting that maybe if we made lunch again then brother would come home.  because gagey always comes home for lunch.  needless to say we look forward to summer when we can steal him away all for ourselves!

today i'll be making freezer jam::wish me luck

2011-05-11T08:21:00.001-05:00

i found yet another blackberry bush near home. it is absolutely exploding with yummy fruit.

++++++

i've never made my own jam before so this will be a fun new experience. and with any luck we'll be enjoying these little gems for a good long while.

happy wednesday!

xoxo. ash

saturday to tuesday in photo form

2011-05-10T16:59:00.002-05:00

saturday night partay in the hizouse. the hubster celebrates twenty-seven years and our nephew wonders why his cake only had three candles.

sunday/mother's day with some fam. the boys brought their leetle friend for trenton to see. he was by far the tiniest we have found. i think he was half the size of my palm.

his shell reminds me of those sweet oriental hats. he was a chill little dude.

a bowl of milk + a slice of left over cake = monday morning breakfast. my mess + matt's mess + gage's mess = life as we know it.

tuesday's peeping tom. this fine fella has been living the high life in our flower bed for the past few days. he's a little shy.

have a lovely day and thanks for stopping by!

xoxo. ash

secrets

2011-05-09T08:47:00.002-05:00

i took a picture of myself last friday because i was proud. i, ashley b, applied make-up, accessorized and fixed my hair all in the same day. just so we are clear, that is my hair "fixed". oh yeah, and i got dressed. laugh all you'd like but that has been a chore for me lately.

many moons ago this would not have been a cause for celebration. i used to take pride in my appearance and you might even say that was the main focus of my everyday. vain? i like to think it's just a part of being a teenager. lately however it's the last focus, sometimes even the non-focus of my days. because i have been busy keeping a secret.

the kind of secret where i spend the majority of my day in a lazy fog wondering when i'm going to be forced to get off my rear and book it to the nearest toilet. and not just to look at it but to get all personal with it, even hugging it at times. and then when it's all said and done, rather than cry to the blogging world about it i sit and stew over what happy things have been going on and what i can blog about without giving myself away.

we're talking baby in the making here! nobody wants sob stories. we want the sweet photos six months from now of soft, new, peachy flesh, fuzzy backs and wrinkly little fingers and toes. so i hereby take this time, and only this time, to let you know that these first thirteen weeks have been trying. death defying almost. you know it's bad when you cry to your husband that "i can't do this anymore" before the baby is any bigger than a walnut. the first and only time i cried these words during my first pregnancy was on the second to the last push. i blurted them out without even thinking it. and then about forty-five seconds later there was a beautiful, crying baby in my arms. i never even had the chance to utter them with my second pregnancy because i was emerged in an epidural induced euphoria. so clearly it is safe to say that i have gone soft. weak even.

then a miracle happened. last wednesday i was asked to speak in church on the topic of-what else-motherhood. so i poured over talks, personal stories and so on. through the inspiration of it all i realized that i can do this thing. i am not alone in motherhood. my job is not trivial and it is not impossible. it is oh so important. mothers have a lot on their shoulders, shaping and moulding and leading these tiny souls who will one day be the leaders of this country and this world. thank goodness for a Heavenly Father who blesses and guides us women in these responsibilities. i know i have felt his love and comfort immensely these past few months, especially on my very worst of days. and that is the thing that got me through with the slightest amount of dignity.

obviously at some point we have no choice but to keep moving. and while that is an accomplishment as well, my goal is to do it with a little more poise. sure i will still give myself pajama days. just not every day.

i am thankful to be a mother. i adore my boys. they have each changed my heart in different ways. all of which are for the better. i am so grateful for the blessing i have had to be able to stay home with them. although there are times that i absolutely crave some alone time, i would never wish away these days that i have with them. motherhood is divine.

i hope all of you mothers, hopeful mothers, soon-to-be mothers, stand-in mothers, and all others had a wonderful mother's day!

xoxo. ash

p.s. one of the sources from my talk. all mothers should watch this.

we had visitors::oh yes we did

2011-05-06T10:31:00.002-05:00

My brother Jamison graduated from Paramedic School in Dallas a few weeks ago so we were happy to have a couple of house guests. {Did I mention that he graduated with the second highest grade in the class? And by less than a point. The boy has smarts.} Grandma Butler and Uncle Marcus graced us with their presence and we had a great time even though they were only here for a few short days.

The last night that they were here we packed into their little rental car and made our way to Shreveport. Marcus will be leaving for Argentina in a few months and now he can at least say he has been halfway across the motherland. We sure will miss him but I am so proud of the decisions he is making in his life. This is a boy who loves the Lord and is sacrificing to share that love with others.

And yes, when I say boy I mean boy. Just look at that face.

Grandma narrowly escaped with her life.

And Gage found the man eating alligator to be a little boring for his taste. Keep in mind he is used to fighting off dragons and such. This was child's play.

And you just haven't experienced Louisiana until you've observed the swamp life.

Oh yes, and the ferry boats.

We took a ride on the carousel which the boys loved. I love carousel music. I don't know why but it always makes me smile.

Standing by the wishing pond. Grandma pulled out a handful of pennies for them and they had a great time tossing them all in.

While browsing through shops we stopped in for some yummy frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf. It was oh so tasty and I wish I would have pocketed a few of their spoons. They were like teeny tiny shovels, so cute.

Thanks for the fun Grandma and Marcus! We miss you guys {and everyone else too} and can't wait to see you this summer!

X's and O's,
The Texans

2011-05-01T16:26:00.005-05:00

i have been having dreams of a sunny beachside vacation for a while now. so saturday morning i gave in and did a search for beach house rentals in huntington. i came across this dream of a little cottage. and um. i've been defeated. this place is calling to me.

trips to california have been a favorite of mine since i was young. with a dad who grew up in the golden state, we always had plenty of reasons and plenty of family to keep us going back. i miss that now. call it what you may, but i do love california. it feels cozy and homey to me and i am down with that. who can't do with a little bit of the laid back spirit that place is channeling? i'm all for it. yeah man.

so for today i'm dreaming of cold sand in my toes, warm sun on my skin, little boys in board shorts and sunscreen and frothy blue horizons that turn to orange and golden sunsets. a mini mental vacay if you will. go ahead and join me if you'd like. i'll be back in business tomorrow. maybe.

hot dogs and marshmallows with the fam::seal beach 2007

i love you a bushel and a peck

2011-04-25T16:28:00.002-05:00

we found us some plump and ripe and juicy wild blackberries growing beside the homestead. we are going to try our hand at blackberry jam. that is if i can keep the two-year-old from plopping them all into his eager little mouth first.

after our gathering i snapped a few pictures because these boys are just so darn cute. especially in their fancy rubber goulashes.

yes they are cute. and necessary to boot. you see, we're making a snake burial ground behind our fence. we've found two, yes two, copperheads lurking in our grass in the past month. that's the kind of thing that makes a mom feel warm and cozy inside. not.

dear boyish offspring of mine:: i love you oh so much!

xoxo. your mama

a happy easter sunday to you

2011-04-24T18:36:00.001-05:00

after church today we made a quick stop by that old building i told you about last week. it is amazing. i wanted a few photos of the boys on Easter Sunday {even though i went to no extreme measures this year to dress them up}. i decided this year would be low key so we would have more opportunity to talk and learn about the true meaning of Easter.

and we did have quite a few good discussions. but let me tell you, explaining the concept of resurrection to two small boys is nothing short of interesting. and a few times i thought to myself...maybe this should wait. but then on Saturday night as they were climbing into bed gage tells me "i think that the most important thing in the world is to follow God's plan. and i think that Jesus is the best part of Easter."

and then i remembered that these little people are so much more understanding of these sacred things than we sometimes give them credit for.

our church meetings were lovely. i loved singing the Easter hymns. Easter is just such a tender day for me. we teach and learn of Christ in our home all through the year but it always seems that the sacrifice feels so poignant on this day especially.

i love my Savior and i am forever and ever grateful for the life that he lived and gave so freely for simple little me.

i hope that your Easter has been full of love and family and friends.

xo. ash

p.s. here is an excellent Easter message.

an easter EGGstravaganza

2011-04-21T12:45:00.002-05:00

+++ gage's class getting ready for the hunt +++

+++ and they're off +++

+++ the smallish accomplice who helped hide the eggs +++

+++ and who also felt the need to help them be found +++

+++ gage and mrs. tutt counting the goods +++

+++ i think this boy is extremely good looking +++

+++ class photo and gare photo +++

this was the cherry on top for me:: gage and gare were cruising on these little bikes and his friend wanted to get on too. gage stopped and said "okay. but we can't go too fast because my little brother is on." i love that he looks out for his little brother. i have me some sweetheart boys.

Happy Easter weekend!

xo. ash

days like this

2011-04-17T18:28:00.002-05:00

on april first we made a trip to shreveport, louisianna. my camera ended up captive in the vehicle so all i got were a few pretty terrible shots on the way out of town. see the brick pavers in the road? that is one of the simple little details i like to find around this area. i love old things and there seems to be a treasure trove of historical little nothings here. on our way to church each sunday we pass a massive old brick building that was once a hospital to the busy railroads here. it's old and crumbly and completely covered in green vines. i love it. it makes me smile every time. also in the heart of that same town is nestled the historic buildings of the town's beginnings. the original fire department, which still sports it's name on a slab of stone at the top of the fourth story. at the bottom you can see traces of the sections which housed the horses as they were fed and rested between calls. yes, you read that right. they had horses that pulled their water wagons. water wagons? maybe i made up that word. all the while you are driving across cobbled brick roads that are so old that you bump bump bump the entire way. {please don't ever change that.} these are the little things that get my heart bump bump bumping. and have i mentioned once or twice the thick thick cover of trees and vines and vibrant green grass? i think i have. i love that too. and it's a good thing that i do because there are oh so many things i miss on days like this.

i miss family dinners at my parents house where it is usually so loud that you can't even think and at any given time you can be found holding three different conversations with six different people while enjoying a show of acrobatics performed by some small group or another.

i miss going into to heber market and running into half the town or the neighboring kids who rode their bikes over for a piece of candy and a pop.

i miss pushing my stroller full of boys to the county park for the afternoon.

i miss park wednesdays with the familia. the aunties and the uncles who would play with my kiddos while i sat on a picnic blanket and enjoyed adult conversation in the warm weather under the shade trees with my bare feet.

i miss lunches out with my longtime friend and conversations that dated back to our primary days.

i miss the boys playing with poppy and nana out at the swing set and all the funnies the boys would get out of poppy. i thought for sure they would get to help him in his garden this year. i loved poppy's garden.

i miss just being able to pack up in the car and stop by a friends house to say hi or drop by some goodies. i miss how every one's homes were always open.

i miss primary. i miss being in there with gage and i miss all of those kids and the teachers and the women i served with. i even miss those eleven year old boys!

i miss camp-outs and get-togethers.

i miss picking up a handful of the sibs before a trip to wally world and goofing off with them in the arcade after the torment of shopping was over.

i miss sharing books.

i miss our neighbor kids showing up to play with the boys and the funny things they did and said.

i miss life back in arizona. i miss the place itself but the people even more. if i could convince a few truckloads of family and friends to pack up their things and head for texas i would be perfectly happy to live out the rest of my days here.

does it sound like i'm feeling sorry for myself? maybe a little. i just really do miss it sometimes and i guess that's probably normal. that's just me getting through and somehow writing it out is slightly therapeutic for me. so i hope you don't mind me on days like this.

critters

2011-04-11T10:37:00.000-05:00

Since moving here we have had many a critter sightings. From deer, to armadillos, to possums, to palm sized little turtle twins, to this grumpy old gus here. We've been told he is a snapping turtle. No fears familia, we are all still sporting all ten fingers and toes. Phew.

We found this guy cruising his way across the road just before the railroad tracks. I hopped out of the hubby's truck and snatched him up for further inspection. I've never seen anything like it, but of course I've never really had a one-on-one with a turtle in Texas either. He retracted all his limbs and closed up shop. Literally closed up shop. There wasn't even a hairline slit in that shell, he's like a gosh darn armored tank.

We took him home and the boys had a fun time watching him and trying to force him to eat their lettuce. He never touched the stuff. We let him loose and he burrowed into our flower garden under one of the shadier bushes. He must have cooled down and rested up because when we went back he was long gone. I can truly say I don't understand why turtles are known to be slow. This guy surely was not.

See what I mean, a tank? {You're probably busy admiring that fancy band aid aren't you?}

And here's a few shots of some of the less slimy and/or hairy critters we have around these parts. Notice the one on the trampoline wrastlin with the hubby? He's one of the feistier ones. The little boy on the right is my brothers son Trenton. We sure do love having them near by.

What kind of critters do you find lurking around your house?

my first baby

2011-04-04T00:42:00.000-05:00

this morning we woke up to wet roads and cloudy skies. i rubbed the four-year-old's back until he woke. very very unwillingly might i add. his first words, i don't want to go to school. who can blame the boy? gage has been in school since he was this big. not even three. just young enough to look slightly ridiculous with a giant backpack strapped to him.

he started early because of his speech delay. now i can hardly believe that he ever had trouble expressing himself at all. ever. he is a motor mouth and he comes by it righteously. and he has a lot to talk about because his memory is excellent. it should be taken and sealed up in some laboratory somewhere to be used on the first family-friendly robot. or something cool. he can remember what he was wearing, what he ate, where he was standing and who he was with two years ago or more. i don't even question him anymore. i just listen and think that thank goodness one of us remembers him growing up. because i sure as heck don't. it happened much too fast and is mostly a blur.

he says things that make me laugh all the time. and he is not one who enjoys being laughed at. not at all. he is for the most part, very serious. until i try to take his picture and ask him to smile. oh the faces! yesterday he was sat in time-out for hitting his brother. when the timer went off i sat by him for a pre-release discussion and asked him if it made him happy or sad to hurt his brother. he told me {very seriously} it makes me sad because when he cries it hurts my ears. {just picture me turning my head and holding in a ferocious laugh.} i feel like i'm really getting through to the boy.

he is a good boy though. he is tender and sweet and concerned about everyone. he says the most thoughtful and sincere prayers and it melts me every time. i am so thankful for his sweet spirit in our home and also thankful for what i learn from him. we have our battles and some days i feel like i might go crazy but when it's time for bed and we read our books and tell our last stories of the day and say our prayers it makes me remember what a wonderful blessing my first baby really has been.

i love you gage lee!

*****

this last weekend general conference was held for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. there were two general sessions on saturday as well as a priesthood session that evening for the men and two more sessions on sunday. this is something i look forward to every six months and i always feel so uplifted afterwards. all of the talks were inspiring but this one in particular touched my heart and spoke to my current season in life.

thanks for stopping by and have a lovely monday!

xo.ash

while everyone else is getting formally edumacated

2011-03-28T13:59:00.001-05:00

when the hubs and the four-year-old head off to school, the two-year-old gets a little home ec lesson {of the tasy variety} in his jammies.

he pours rice all over the counter and empties the utensil drawer.....with his monkey toes.

he gets away with it because he's so darn cute and his teacher has a crush on him.

A+ on the rice pudding. yum!

then it's time for some physical education. {just call him coach} still in our jammies. still with traces of the previous class on his face.

he schools me in hoops.

he's good.

he's real good.

whoever said that learning was a bore?

psh.

happy little springtime + things for tiny people::post edit

2011-03-22T14:42:00.002-05:00

my spring wreath is up!

i am quite genuinely loving this new season in texas. texas roadways definitely leave something to be desired but man are the views here gorgeous! i don't know that i've ever seen so many shades of green all packed in together. i almost feel like i should be on vacation somewhere. i love it!

i have been contemplating trying to get a garden started this year. yesterday gage told me it's very important that we have a garden. and i want my very own with watermelon and strawberries and other food for my friends.

my dilemma is that while i would love nothing more than to have a garden again, there is so much work involved and right now it feels like our lives couldn't be more hectic.

another thought i'm mulling over in my mind...cutting my hair! i feel like such a traitor just mentioning this because i have worked so hard to grow it out. and by work i mean, used a whole lot of self control. but hot dang! three days ago we had eighty-five degree weather which i would be loving in the mountains, but was struggling with here. because here we have this fabulous little wonder called humidity. i quite literally had to unstick my hair from my face and neck every five seconds until it finally went up in a messy bun. now i love me a messy bun. but all summer long? no bueno.

what would you do?

and in other news i have been crocheting up a storm as of late. here are a few of my projects. i can't wait to have photos with living, breathing, cuddly little souls inside.

my etsy shop is still closed but if you are interested in anything just email me. my email address is on my sidebar and i'd love to do a custom order for you!

+++++++

wishing you all a very happy spring!!

xo.ash

Post Edit::: today i thought i might better clarify on the crocheted goodies. they are infant photography props. i do not in anyway suggest that we start toting our little ones around in crocheted slings or bundling them in a cocoon to sleep. in fact i strongly advocate that we do not. and that's pretty much it. have a lovely day!

sanctuary

2011-03-18T09:33:00.002-05:00

so this room is my own personal sanctuary. i love my powder room. {that's the nicer way of saying bathroom right?} it's so light and fresh and it makes starting my day so much happier. the white cabinets are throughout the house, except for the kitchen. i love them. i'm kind of on this kick where i want everything to be white. it just feels so clean and peaceful to me and i'm totally digging it.

i do have to admit that i have not yet tried out the bath. all of the men have though and i hear it's quite lovely. my day will come i am sure.

decorating in here is still a work in progress. as it is in the rest of the house. with our new budget it will probably be a long work in progress but that's okay with me.

one thing that is driving me crazy though is that if you look at the first picture you'll notice there are no rugs in front of the sinks. i think i probably brought home three or four different options and none seemed to fit quite right. if anyone out there happens across an "L" shaped rug, feel free to email me. don't worry, i wont hold my breath.

i am thinking that today will be a good day for the boys and i to hit up some thrift shops. it has been a while since we've scouted out any new ones. and i am dying to head up to marshall and adventure in their downtown strip. there are some awesome window displays and i just really want to peek inside.

what will you do with your friday?

whatever it is....enjoy!

xo. ash

i can't mom.

2011-03-16T22:11:00.002-05:00

this is where you will generally find the two-year-old about five minutes before the four-year-old's big yellow carriage delivers him home. these are the shoes and the general "get up" you find the two-year-old sporting about five days out of seven. he particularly likes when one of his cowboy boots is three sizes too big and the other is just right. i imagine it helps him with his man chores. like shoveling this here hole. just look at that balance.

the backyard is where you will generally find the four-year-old about five seconds after said yellow chariot makes its delivery. toting around his favorite pup and telling the two-year-old all about his big boy adventures and newly acquired knowledge.

but last friday he was not found in the backyard.

last friday the two-year-old and i abandonded our trampoline time to go find him.

last friday i called and called for the four-year-old. but there was no response.

at least not until i found him laying on my bed. i asked the boy if he wanted to come join us and he just layed there with lids half shut {which was clearly taking effort on his part} and lazily replied "i can't mom. i have to sleep for a really long time and be tired because i'm having my spring break."

it looks like preschool has got this boy plain tuckered out.

but i still think he's swell.

our nest, lighting and the new neighbors

2011-03-15T21:40:00.002-05:00

hey folks!

i've never given you the official tour of the new nest now have i? as for my list of excuses i can say i have been busy, i have been busy and i have been really busy. in that order. i do have to tell you though that i am in love with it. i fell in love with the style of homes out here in east texas right away and even though this was completely finished out when we found it, it fits us {and more specifically me} perfectly. there's small things of course, like in my perfect world this kitchen work space would have been fitted with some fantastic pendant lighting rather than cans and, um, well that's pretty much it i guess. we have been very blessed. we love it {did i say that already?} and it's my goal over these next few weeks to share a little more with you.

as for now i am off to get some sleep because tomorrow will be a busy day of helping some new "neighbors" move in. sure it's about ten miles away, but that's just a stone's throw in the lone star state. and did i mention that it's family?! woo hoo!

welcome to town butler crew!

xoxo.ash

brother bear

2011-03-10T20:20:00.000-06:00

my two little men folk are about as opposite as they come. starting with their hair, moving down to their cheeky bums and into the internal working of it all. gage is my tender little guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and expects perfection of himself. gare is my rough and tumble boy who means well {most of the time} and who for the most part keeps his feelings to himself.

one common thread they do share however is that while they neither one minds beating the holy tar out of the other, you had best watch yourself if YOU mess with their brother.

it reminds me of a time when my not-even-two-year-old sister was getting the treatment from a boy in her nursery class. my also nursery aged brother {about two years older} came to the rescue and informed said boy that "if you mess up with my sister, i mess up with you."

and these boys will "mess up with you" indeed.

case in point. this afternoon the doorbell rang and gare and i met a sullen faced gage standing on the front porch.

"those girls are being mean to me. they called me a baby cause they said i don't know my numbers."

i start to try to fix things with my limited knowledge and know-how when the two-year-old marches his buns out the door and to the edge of the grass. he raises up on his tippy toes and with the biggest voice he can muster, which is quite big, he shouts "you don't call my brother a baby!" he settles back down on his heels and just stares for a minute, decides he said all he needs to say and then struts on back through the door.

the girls are ten and eleven and thus i am lead to believe that he decided that hand-to-hand combat wouldn't be in his best interest.

it wasn't more than five minutes later that garrett found himself in time-out for calling his brother a "stinky head".

and that is pretty much how they roll.

the sun did not shine. it was too wet to play. so we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day.

2011-03-09T10:15:00.002-06:00

i walked in on this scene yesterday afternoon and immediately thought of {what else?} dr. seuss's the cat in the hat. two bummed out little people just sitting by the window waiting for a break in the cloud cover. all that was missing was a responsible orange fish.

********

it drizzled on and off all day. i love that. to me the world just feels cozy and comfy and small when you're beneath a heavy cloud. there was a lot to get done and i stayed up into the wee hours doing it. just as i was making my last rounds through the house, the four-year-old made a cry out for mom. instead of tucking him in and finding my own bed i crawled up in the covers and laid with him. he asked for a foot rub and i obliged. his breathing started to slow to sleep mode and i noticed that the tiny tip-tapping of rain on the window had stopped. and what should replace that sound but what i guess to be a hundred croaking frogs out in the creek next door. their song kept on until gage was sound asleep again. i got up and adjusted his covers then crept over to gare and did the same. it was quiet for about thirty seconds and then the tip-tapping began again. it was kind of like my own personal performance in the comfort of my home.

i love life's simple pleasures.

this and that and stuff

2011-03-08T12:31:00.000-06:00

overwhelmed is not quite the word i would use to describe how i have felt the past couple of weeks. completely stressed out might be a more appropriate statement.

everywhere i turn there are toys and laundry and papers and stuff. i have come to the conclusion that i am ready to commit to a new lifestyle. i am a minimalist in training. slowly i have been working my way from room to room purging them of clutter and over excess. and let me tell you, i have still got a ways to go. there's still an entire attic to deal with. it gives me chills just thinking about it. but dang. where did all this stuff come from anyways?

but let me tell you something else. my boys have been a dream. don't let me fool you, they still fight and kick and pinch and yell sometimes {and just yesterday gare decided to wizz in the fireplace} but for the first time in EVER we are conquering nap and bedtime. they have gotten to the point where i can just lay them down, read them a book, kiss their fresh clean faces and tip-toe out of the room. i truly thought this day might never come. but boy am i grateful that it has. i like to call that a tender mercy.

and last but not least i am so excited for spring! i love that the world is brightening up a bit. i love that everywhere i drive i can see all kinds of beautiful trees in bloom. by far my favorites are the bradford pear trees that are all over the place here. they are full of tiny white blossoms and they smell amazing. i've been intending to cart the boys out somewhere to snap some photos beneath one. but like most of my good intentions, it hasn't happened. i need to work on that.

my goal for this month:: read a book that is more than fourteen pages long and has nothing to do with tractors, dinosaurs, dragons or trains.

happy tuesday!

xoxo.ash

dinosaurs, boy geniuses and such {edit with the art}

2011-03-02T08:13:00.005-06:00

cuddling with my man cub on a cold day in february. unrelated to the post but precious.

***edited to add the glorious masterpiece***

gare sat perched atop my counter as i readied myself for the day. equipped with a notepad and a pen the boy was set. as i ran the hot iron through my hair he chirped and chirped about how he was drawing a dinosaur.

"i drawing a dinosaur!"

"oh nice."

"and it's on dino squad."

{a questionably tasteful show about teenagers who mutate into dinosaurs to save our precious planet. he and his brother's latest fave.}

"oh that's cool."

all the while i continue to check myself out in the mirror. fretting over fly aways, pining over my once-clear-skin, checking for the slightest sign of resistance and then attacking it full on with my sizzling chi. go ahead and hand me the mother of the year award because that is top notch parenting at its best.

we continue to go back and forth while he tells me about each and every glide of the pen. i move on to make-up and he decides that my little side comments are no longer going to entertain him and proceeds to execute a dare devil move to descend from the counter.

as i'm wrapping up production the hubster appears from the shower. i'm la-dee-da-ing when matt asks "didn't he say he was drawing a dinosaur?"

he holds up the masterpiece and lo and behold if you tilt your head to the approximate setting of a two-year-and-eight-month-old boy and then squint your eyes just slightly, there was in fact a dinosaur. he's got mad skills i tell you.

and it would appear that my skills could use a little cultivating. like maybe next time that pint sized davinci starts telling me about his work, i could put the mascara down and go and have a look-see. maybe i could even pick up a few tips. because at this rate, by the time he's five my goofy artwork, such as this one, just aren't going to cut it anymore. and then we move on to bigger problems like the day that he and his big brother realize that they have far surpassed me in brains and skills and i am of no further use to them.

with all the dignity of a clingy mother i say, that just cannot be allowed. scares the living daylights out of me.

spin it

2011-02-28T13:49:00.002-06:00

blocks for the quilt i'm working on. i think i'm going to love it!

and i thought i would share with you that i am crushing on pinwheels in general right now.

and how could i help myself?

i give you:: pinwheels for your noggin.

pinwheels for your wall.

pinwheels and more pinwheels for your wedding.

i'm pretty sure i could go on all day but i will spare you.

happy monday world!

xoxo.ash

bottle it up

2011-02-24T09:19:00.000-06:00

oh my goodness the weather has been fantastic around here! we've been soaking it all up at every possible chance. the bummer deal has been that the four-year-old has been battling an on-again off-again crazy high fever. i can't for the life of me figure out what is going down here. we made our first trip to a pediatrician here and all we could get was a possible virus, not much to be done. if it is in fact a virus, i ask "please mr. virus, leave my boy alone already. you kinda suck."

i just want to bottle up all the happy, healthy, sunny days and keep them somewhere safe. we could always use a few extra days like that.

gage is growing, gare is growing. heck. even the dog is growing. my boys are amazing me and cracking me up on a daily basis.

a few nights ago the boys and i went to grab a bite to eat. i finished speaking the order into the fancy black box at the drive-thru and before i could roll up the window garrett shouts a very loud and very audible "and pizza and a macaroni lady!" the dear little girl was still giggling as we pulled up to the window. classic.

gage is slipping back into a tender little man. we went through a phase where he had decided he was wayyy too cool for his old lady. but i'm back on top folks and i'm loving it! i want to bottle that up too. who knows when i will need a little more of that. high school maybe??

i have a goal for march. family walks. lots of them! we were so good about that before the move and we need to reinstate it. plus it will be a great way to explore our new neighborhood.

happy thursday!

xo. ash

a little self divulging

2011-02-22T18:54:00.000-06:00

last night the hubby and i made tacos while the two and four-year-olds were dreaming on the couch. i kept thinking to myself, "self, you should really wake the boys if you want a drop of sleep tonight." but then the other little voice up there was feeling like maybe i should just go with it and enjoy some quiet time alone with the hubs.

the second plan won and we were able to enjoy a plate {or two} of delicious tacos, just the two of us. this rarely happens. in fact, if there is a word to compensate for something less than rare, i would use that word instead. we talked about the day, the future, a touch of the past and of course the two most scrumptious toddlers there ever were.

it's been amazing the growth that our relationship has recently experienced. a lot of it has been us finding ways to show gratitude for each other. some of it has been just allowing ourselves to have fun again. when we first began dating, matt and i had so much fun together. but the very essential part of what we're experiencing has been the effort we have put into bettering ourselves and our family and drawing closer to our Savior. not just individually, but together.

we're days away from our six year anniversary. i feel so blessed that we've made it this far. i feel even more blessed to be able to say that we are stronger and more in love today than we have ever been before.

a marriage is work. but i'm learning that it can be fun work. and most importantly i know that it's the most important work that we will ever do.

i love my family. i love the new season we are in and can't wait for the many seasons to come!

i love you long time babe!

xo.ash

home in the sound of a train

2011-02-20T19:41:00.003-06:00

photo

it was about two o'clock in the morning when i counted the fourth train howl by. disoriented but determined i made my way to the far bedroom to find what would hopefully be the last of my bedroom boxes.

*********

when we first looked at the house in november we were lucky enough to have the neighbor step out and talk to us. one of our big questions was about the railroad track which is barely more than a stone's throw behind the back fence.

"is it pretty loud inside the house?" matt questioned our prospective neighbor.

apparently they had moved in during the summer and he assured us that then the sound hadn't really been that noticeable. but then the leaves began to fall {in buckets, because that's how they do it here in texas} and the sound traveled further and louder than ever.

i can safely say that was the only doubt we had on the home.

everything else about it was perfect. size, style, location, yard....perfection.

we were undeterred.

********

i unpacked box after box as mechanically as any woman could. with each passing train i winced in dread of the children waking. first the thundering, then the horn at the crossing, another bout of thunder, another horn and then nothing. just silence and boxes.

i wondered to myself how we had ended up here in texas. far away from the mountains that i love and the people who i love even more. in truth i never saw myself staying put in arizona. i saw traveling and adventures for us. so why was this such a shock to me? maybe because the travels and adventures that i had not so carefully planned out in my head had nothing to do with the great state of texas. not a single thing. or maybe it was that in my head i think i'm a much stronger person than in reality i tend to be.

the unpacking commenced and so did the time. christmas, new years, beloved family holidays in a foreign home in a foreign town, in a foreign state.

i began to wonder if it would ever feel real.

until last week when the boys and i returned home from a shopping trip. we bumped over the railroad tracks and beneath the cover of tall trees and straggly vines. in perfect melody the boys chimed that we were almost home. we pulled down the street and up our drive and into the house with our purchases. we were spot on time to hear the beginnings of a train. first the thundering, then the horn at the crossing, another bout of thunder, another horn and then nothing. a kind of nothing that is everything. it was the peaceful, calm silence that warms you inside and tells you that you are home.

dreamy

2011-02-18T07:28:00.001-06:00

a few things about this photo::

aren't those blue skies and puffy clouds dreamy?

isn't that little boy dreamy? super cape, soccer bag and all.

isn't that skyscraper of a tree dreamy as well? or wouldn't it be if it were covered in a million green leaves and shading us from the texas sun?

come on spring!

out of the attic

2011-02-17T22:06:00.000-06:00

after a five month sabbatical i have finally dug my crochet and other crafting paraphernalia from the attic and am soooo ready to get my hands busy with them. i'm starting work on a super cute project and can't wait to see how it turns out! i'm seriously so excited!

yay!