the new year

the new year is always such a convinient time to think about new goals and changing directions.
i have been hiding out in my own little cave lately.
i venture out to help with school projects and church activities, but otherwise i stay tucked inside.
i need to get out.
i need to expand.
after coming across several posts of '30 before 30' lists, i have decided to compile my own.
i turned 30 in january and wrote down a '30 while 30' list.
some of the items on the list will be fairly easy to accomplish....read at least 1 book per month.
other items will require more planning.....paint 1 large watercolor (seeing as i have not painted in months and months...)
i also hope to write more in the form of journaling or blogging or both.

still here

wreath
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

still alive
mostly surviving the holidays

----------->
all of the 1st grade kids were asked to make a 'tradition' wreath.
parker's wreath is covered in stars; glitter, pipe cleaner, wood, foam, everything.
we used stars because every year our family makes a new star to top our tree.
it is one of the few traditions we have at this point in life.
the orange and red star in the center of the wreath now rests atop our christmas tree.

miles' first haircut

haircut
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

life can be so freaking traumatic.

first haircuts are a huge deal in my world.
they mean that my baby is no longer a baby, but has moved into the realm of child, kid, big boy, etc.
i tend to put off first haircuts for a ridiculous amount of time so that i can continue in my state of denial.
for parker, his bangs were in his eyes long before i cut his hair.
for miles, he sported a mullet for a rather long time, but no more.
sunday night i proceeded to chop his mullet off.
he was not happy and neither was i.
but he no longer looks like a redneck.

i am beginning to wonder about my parenting skills...

fat lip
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

last friday, we were taking a stroll through the neighborhood.
parker wanted to run to the stop sign and i said sure since it wasn't too far ahead.
in the process of getting there, parker lost a shoe, slipped, and tore up his face.
his eye turned light purple, puffed up, and was surrounded by a huge scrap/scab.
a mere week later, miles decided to run down the hallway at church.
he tripped, fell, and chomped his tooth through his lip.
it bleed for a while and got really swollen and he drooled the rest of the day.

i am hoping that the next 10 days are much less eventful.

parker lost a tooth

lost tooth
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i want to post that he lost his first tooth,
but since he knocked out his first tooth 3+ years ago in a tumble down the stairs,
this must qualify as his second lost tooth.
his first lost tooth from natural causes.
he was not happy that i insisted on popping it out.
but one lego kit later says he really is pleased at the end result.

1st day of school

1st day of school
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

oh. my. goodness.
time really does fly.
parker went off to first grade and had a great first week.
i, on the other hand, am not doing so well.
parker is off learning and impressing his teachers.
he is off playing with old and new friends.
he is making art and enjoying music.
i am sitting at home wondering what to do with my time.
its not like i have nothing to do.
there are always chores around the house...
there is a sweet baby to play with and tickle...
but i just want my little big boy back home to chat with, to read to, to read with, to giggle and laugh with, to share silly and gross jokes with, to snuggle with.....

bike assembly

bike
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

after the distress of having a bicycle stolen and the long and complicated choice over the replacement, we have a bike!!
if only we had known how worth it that $10 was for the store to assemble the bike for us.
i am choosing to look at this as a learning experience and a great daddy/son bonding time.
yes, i was smart enough to stay inside while the insanity ensued.
now that the bike is together, we are back to riding daily.
parker is getting better and better and is even figuring out how to stop with handbrakes.
he even brags about the 'tricks' he can do.....
cruising
no feet
pedaling backwards
standing up
its all pretty impressive.

father's day

fathers day
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

was nice for all my boys.

it started off with sleeping in (at least for some.)
then a breakfast of bacon and french toast.
(of course, i ended up covered in bacon grease and a few burns.)
then came the cheesy matching ties and sour patch kids.
after church, the boys all got naps and the two little ones accompanied me on a walk so ryan could sleep even longer.
next, a dinner of steak, fries, and homemade mac n cheese.
finally, a rerun of chuck (because we are slightly behind.)

now, we are all off to jackson hole, wy for the week.
i plan on taking billions of pictures and hopefully won't be so lax in posting them.

baking and such

blackberry icecream
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i have been on a homemade sweets kick.
first, i started off baking batches of chocochip and heath bar and chocochip cookies that i found on emily's blog.
then, i decided to make some blackberry icecream.
since time for jewelry has been almost zero and the time i do fit in results in melted metal and cursing, i may stick to homemade sweets for a while.

the bikers II

Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i have to admit that i really enjoyed having laura and russ crash at our house.
(and can i say that parker loved it too.....he gave up his room for almost a week, shared his legos rather well, and made sure laura made it to the living room before he started monsters vs aliens.)
not only was it nice to have adult conversation during the day, but it was interesting to reflect on our different lifestyle choices.

if YOU would like to support laura and russ on their ride across the country go here.
if you would like to host other cyclists go here.

the bikers are here

Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

or rather the cross country cyclists are here.

for the past couple of weeks i have been frantically getting things ready for their visit: painting trim, cleaning, stocking up on groceries, clearing my schedule, etc.
laura and russ pulled into town on sunday and will roll out on thursday.
previously, i have only chatted around laura on the etsymetal forums and she was my secret santa.
it was an odd experience to then meet this person in real life.
don't get me wrong, it has been nice to put a voice to all the typed words and my family has enjoyed sharing our home (which is a big adventure for us), chatting about the trek and zombie movies, and building random lego contraptions at all hours of the day.

so much has happened....

1st birthday
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

*miles is a one year old now and is walking around the house like a pro.
its still funny seeing such a little thing walk around, but he is so proud of himself.
*parker had his first school program and performed like a star.
afterwards they gave out the kindergarten awards and parker got a certificate for participating in the accelerated reading program and received the visual art award for his class.
*parker had his last day of school and is officially a first grader.
*my sister and her husband came to visit and play.
*laura and russ came to visit (more on this in another post.)

being a boy is tough

Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

but i think it is just as tough on the parents.
my son had to sit at home rather than go to field day today at school.
now he will have to wait until next year.
it makes me want to cry.

parker loves everything

Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

parker went to retrieve a stray wiffle ball after we practiced baseball in the backyard, but when he reached into the bush to grab it, he found six itty, bitty kittens.
so, we cut all of our balckberry bushes out of the way (boo) and one by one added the kittens to the pile up.
parker decided that the ones with black were the brothers and the ones that were mostly orange were the sisters.
he checked on them every ten minutes until he went to bed that night.
the next day, my friend melinda picked them up and nursed them back to health while scouting out a new home for them.

blogging

tattoo
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i have officially decided that blogs are odd.
its amazing what one can confess without worrying about the visible judgement on the other end of the conversation.

oh....and things stink in the studio.
i haven't been able to make anything without running into some sort of problem or another in weeks.
it makes me want to cry.
it makes me want to go back to sleep during naptime rather than trying to accomplish anything.
but....i am determined to complete the project runway jewelry mini collection by the end of the week.

five teeth down

1st
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

too many more to go.

parker was a magically easy teether.
he cried the night before one cut through and that was it.
poor miles has been gnawing on things for weeks and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

i'm off of drugs

self portrait thursday
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

after miles was born i was prescribed sertraline, but i did not count on it to be a magical cure.
i tried to sleep.
i tried to eat well.
i exercised more regularly than i had in a long time.
i did not obsess over things around the house as much.

it did help, but i decided that it wasn't helping enough for the side effects i now had to deal with.
it made it harder to cry, which can be both a good and bad thing.
it helped me pack on 30lbs which i can't shake.

so, i am attempting to make a go of it without the drugs or at least get on something that might work better if things get bad again.

and i guess i have decided to add in all of life's dirty little secrets, at least for now.

pink....

Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i am not a girlie girlie.
i do not always mesh with women who are actually girlie girls.
i do not wear pink.
i rarely create with pink.

but isn't this callie just the sweetest, cutest thing you have ever seen?

it's not fair!!

Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

parker has recently taken to complaining 'it's not fair' when he doesn't get his way.
the action taken might actually be fair, but parker still proceeds with his complaint.
i've too decided it's not fair.
i've been thinking about how parents get to be proud of their children, but when do their children stop to think about how proud they should be of their parents?
this weekend we all (the siblings that is) gathered at district conference to celebrate the almost end of my dad's year as district governor.
it was so nice to see how much everyone appreciated both him and my mother.
so, right now, i will say that i am proud of my parents....
they have always been good people and usually put others' needs before their own.
they have served their family and friends for years.
now, they have extended their sphere of influence and have encouraged others to serve and be as charitable as the example they show.
so YAY for surviving the grand poohbahness and YAY for encouraging everyone else to be as good as you both are.

this boy

Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

is the reason i make it day in and day out.

he has had to survive postpartum depression once and now he is doing it again.
he is remaining the sweetest kid in the process.
he often comes up to me and says 'you know what i am going to do to make you happy...' and then proceeds to give me a kiss, give me some snuggles or huggles (hugs & snuggles), or draw me a picture.
he is the most generous child and shares with friends and especially his little brother.
he sings, giggles, and tickles miles when no one else can make him happy.
he reads WAY better than most kids his age and knows everything about dinosaurs and sharks.
he keeps me going and will save the world some day.