Fall

Pros of fall...

Scarves. tons of them. In bright colors and big sloppy knots.

Colors of leafs. red, orange yellow and brown. They remind me of an Afghan my g-ma made in the 70's It was beautiful.

Crisp cool air. I love living on the Puget sound. I'm a big fan of cool climates.

The light. The sun is lower in the sky and it shimmers through the trees. As an artist It's pure inspiration.

Pea Coats. I love coats and boots.

School. The boys are back in it and I have to admit it's blissful.

Harvesting. Home grown food is the best thing in the world. Yeah i'm a hippy. so what?

Halloween. My favorite holiday. I'm looking forward to throwing an actual Halloween party for the first time this year.

Bugs. They are everywhere right now all wanting their pictures taken.

Coziness. Time for blankets and cuddling.



Cons of Fall...

Slugs. they are everywhere. Little slimy road kill all over. They are fine in small doses but nasty in masses.

Colds. They are the worst part of going back to school. If i don't have one now check back tomorrow.

Mud. Dirty dog feet are a bummer.

Lock down. Putting my patio furniture away and watching my plants die back is enough to bring me to tears.

Alarm clocks. If you like yours you are crazy.

Heaters. They stink and dry out my sinuses. I miss the warmth of sun already.

Winter. Knowing that it's right around the corner.

Flip flops. See you next year. I will miss you more than you know!

Cleaning. Closing all windows and doors make it feel dirty. I can't seem to get it clean enough lately.

Socks. I have never been a fan of socks. I'm not sure why.



Here a few of my recent photos. Fall related.

Lisa... The Entertianer!

Ahhh... So far this summer has been amazing. We have had the luxury to get to spend some really great family time together. Deane has weekends off for the the first summer ever and has been able to enjoy a lot with us. Having him home is a huge relief to me. Dealing with two growing men can trying. But this year i have found a loop hole. My goal is to keep them busy, so busy that they forget to fight/thrash/destroy. They both have gotten so big that the plain old hang around the house all day thing just doesn't work, and for my boys boredom equals trouble! So for the months of july and august i dub myself "Lisa the entertainer"! I am making this summer great! I awake in the morning with plans in my head and things to get done. It takes some planning to be a great entertainer.

There is the comedic aspect. Yesterday I had the masses rolling laughing. Simply by calling my dear sweet dog Dizzy " My pretty precious poopy patty" In an English accent of course. This is what it has come to, jokes about poo? With two soon to be preteen boys, Yes.

Then we have the professional chef detail. I have givin my children the run of the kitchen (boundary's are in place) I am letting them shop for themselves, pick out what they want to eat and make it. With any needed safety assistance of course. They are really enjoying the creativity part of it, and the power of salt. haha

Sometimes a referee can be needed. With any brothers there will always be scuffles. Well more along the lines of " I'm going to argue every little thing that comes out of your mouth" type things than scuffles. But they are pretty good about not holding grudges.

Party mom is rocking the block. Ok maybe not the block, but the back yard for sure. I'm always around quick to provide them with good tunes and endless otter pops. It's how i roll. Me and i think the pool helps. We found and quickly purchased an amazing mini pool. Seriously it is the cutest thing ever, and it keeps the boys busy for hours on end. It's my lil blue life saver!

After hours hostess. Summer is prime time for late nights. I am a natural born insomniac. So i enjoy having the company after my very sleepy hubby dozes off. Cylis my oldest is my late owl, we spend hours watching AFV reruns, covering our mouths to laugh quietly. It will be one of my teary old lady memory's someday :)

So to sum it all up this summer has been a hoot, despite a bad hair cut, mosquitoes bites on my feet, and the occasional over stimulated, over sugared, all out over summered kids. I love my life and the people in it. Much love and a great tan ~Lisa

Roaming gnomes

Today was full of preparation again. I'm preparing for another weekend of travel and exploration! We are heading to the coast for my b-day/father's day/last week of school celebration. Deane's plan, and it was a great one. But like any over night adventure preparations must be made. Extra socks, dog beds, favorite pillows, games, cameras, and everything else needed to maintain my 3 rowdy boys (and the diz of course) for days of fun. So mom gets the job of remembering everything. If it was up to dad we'd be in the dirt. It takes a lot to create these memory making family adventures. But I am willing and good at it and I know it's worth it. Just to leave it all behind for a while, a chance to press pause on the everyday grind. To turn off the PC (it rarely happens), leave the cell phones at home, and not play any video games for days on end. To enjoy each others voices and humor without distraction.
I love it now and I loved it when i was little. My parents took us every where and all the time. I could usually count on at least one day a weekend the whole family would do something fun. We would rarely stay longer than a night any where, but with four kids that's understandable. I love that my guys like to go as much as I do. They can still appreciate nature along with the technology. I think we have a good balance right now. We are equally having a blast together. Well maybe not Dizzy she is still a bit of a baby. But I have to admit she is getting braver by the trip. She will get there.
This one will be a new one for all of us. This is the first summer we have all had bikes, and I hope I'm not the first one to crash and burn. Wish me luck, I'm going to have crazy kids to keep up with, and i'm not known for my gracefulness. They ride bikes everyday, I ride mine once a week. It should be fun though. I'm excited. I guess 29 isn't so bad, at least I'm not 30 yet!

Haha I love you all my 30 and over friends, I'm being optimistic!

Much love everyone. ~lisa and crew

I've spilled

No real reason, no real rhyme, just thoughts i need to spill.

Me regardless the size, I am not that fat right now. yet i feel like I'll never reach that goal weight. It took 5 years to steadily gain back the weight i lost. Can i lose it now in 2 months? I am beginning to see the a difference in my body. But I will never be a 110 pound girl. I am me even if I'm fluffy. I'm not looking forward to bathing suit season. I am looking forward to a nice dark tan though. I use to love my body. I now hate my clothes. Why the sudden lapse in self esteem? The sun maybe. I've got a crush on it and i want to look good in it.

I turn 29 in two weeks. 29 jeez I'm getting old. I feel achy today. I never ached when i was 19. what happens at 39? I am terrified of getting cancer. I procrastinate important things. Cylis will be 10 in a month and I'm pondering life again. What have i done with it? This summer is a mile stone. I am running out of reasons to be home. I'm anxious to see what is in store for me. What will I make happen?

I'm a hermit. Rearranging in her home all day long. Better things to do? Yes i'm sure. Therapy is easily achieved through the movement of couches. I feel better. Sleepless body restless mind. Realization that i will not be included. Pictures will go un taken. Words will go unsaid. I am not at fault this time. Yet i am punished. I crave to drive somewhere far. Escape. Little parts of me want to cry. I've tried everything else. When do you start to feel grown up? Is that when it becomes no fun anymore?

Selfish? self absorbed? self centered? in love with myself? selfless? whole self? self contained? self worth? I've lost myself again. I'm searching for myself. Have you seen me? Someone knows me. He knows me. But what me? The me 10 years ago or the me now. The me now is better i think. more seasoned. Calm. He is my rock, he makes it ok. It works it's self out. It always does. I have love. Love is amazing.

The things i do?

Sometimes my routine can get ahead of me. As in any household, chores must be done. It is a must or its disgust lol... yeah i know ;) The three loves of my life are all men, and well as men go they really are not that bad. They are just forgetful boys that don't have the same desire to cleanse as i do. My other love is my dog ( The Diz) who on the bright side is probably cleaner than the boys. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good cleaning every now and then but the day to day can get a bit tedious.
Laundry for instance. I fold my laundry on my bed. Where else could you sit and fold 14 loads of clothes comfortably, and organized? But i do this thing, I fold it through out the day making a city of laundry buildings that reach toward the sky, transforming my bed into a folded city of sorts. If you have been to my home you have probably witnessed this. Now I don't like it, but it has to be done. It's just how I'm programed i guess. So i put all this time into organizing it perfectly, then come bed time i carefully take my nicely stacked piles and move them to the floor, just to be picked up the following morning for the cycle to start all over again. Rinse, repeat!
This is my life. Sometimes i feel like I'm stuck in the movie ground hog day, where i just keep living the same day over and over again. Folding the same shirts everyday, hanging the same towels, washing those same dishes. Who am i kidding? I don't wash dishes :) Haha But as i was saying, running a household can get old. I find myself asking myself WHY? Why do i spend these hours cleaning and organizing? Is it for me? Partially yes. I love having a clean house, but i think it's for them as well. I grew up in a clean home, Ok a really clean home. My mom woke up before everyone in the house and would dust and vacuum. So we would just awake to it like magic! Now I am defiantly not my mom. I am a more slack version I'd say, clean but not obsessive... anymore.
I have convinced myself that i am setting a good example. That they will grow into cleanly young men that won't disgust their future wives. Or at least will be appreciative of some good solid cleaning. My hubby loves a clean home too. That is why we try to have one cleaning day a weekend, just so come Monday my spirit isn't crushed when i wake up to the messes that the weekend brings. They say cleanliness is next to godliness. I don't know about how godly i feel but my house and yard are clean and it makes me happy. Spring cleaning is the best.

World stopping weekends

This last weekend was amazing. It was the kind that you don't want to end, the kind I want to share with all of you. Last year on this very day I was feeling very angry. I can tell you that i was angry due to countless books on using your words and teaching kids to express their feelings correctly. So I voice my feelings when i feel them. It helps me not to over react to things. So back to my point. Why was I angry you ask? Well last year my hubby dropped the ball... he forgot mothers day. Dun dun dun! I woke up to boys fighting in the living room, no coffee left in the house, and not even a mention when i talked to him on the phone. So as you can imagine i was pretty upset and me being me i voiced it, loud and clear for quite a while.
This year was a whole different story. It was great. It was a weekend long event. I got handmade artworks from both of my boys, they are just precious are always a favorite with me. Deane was so sweet, cleaning the house and making sure that mothers day was a very a big deal. Ohh and i can't forget, they bought me a bicycle. "I want to ride my bicycle... i want to ride my bikeee!" ~Queen. Anyway its a red and white mongoose mountain bike. I just love it. I forgot how good riding a bike feels. The wind in your face and freedom you feel its just amazing. It was a great gift, and i am so proud of my hubby. He did good ;) Now fathers day is right around the corner, but i'm not worried. I got a really good idea to rip off. hehe Happy spring bike rides!

Cold coma

To breathe. It is an amazing thing isnt it? So refreshing and easy, not really something you think about. more like something you just do right? wrong.
This past week was pretty much a blur. I remember thursday when i started feeling a we bit sniffly, but as for the weekend, what weekend?
I've always considered myself a healthy person, ok maybe not super healthy per say, but I'm conscious of my health. We try to eat organic and avoid red meats and pork. The kids take vitamins and a fruit or veggie must be consumed at every meal. We have made it pretty routine and its something i am proud of. I would love to see my boys grow into healthy men without ever having to deal with weight issues or health problems. Having being raised in a hamburger and kool aid generation we now know error of our parents ways.
We live in a pretty small town. There is one grade school and both of my boys go there. The school is amazing, full of culture and life, we just love it. The teachers are great and we just love the principal. But in my little town are a lot of parents that don't put the time into their kids the way they deserve. Kids that get sent to school sick, kids with low immunity's, that no matter how healthy you are, contagious is contagious. So occasionally we get sick. The boys (being 3 times as healthy as i am) will bring home a cough or maybe a little runny nose. Sometimes its the mother of all head colds that knocks you off your feet. That is what i received last Thursday. Have you ever had a cold so bad you actually lost time. A week of my life has disappeared, and i'm glad i don't remember it. It was one of those colds that your day consists of one thing, waiting to go back to sleep. Waking up just to pass back out. Feeling so awful you start to realize why people back in the day use to die from illnesses like these. Along with the head cold i got to experience a blocked tear duct as well. If you have never had one these I'll explain. Think of your tear duct as a valve, if something gets stuck in the valve it will stay open. Open to release tears constantly. You have no idea how terrible it was to cry out of only one eye for 4 whole days. Now it looks like i got punched in the eye. I'm not usually one of those people to talk about my ailments, but this was not your average sick. It was a coma, can't function,world standing still, moms out of commission, sick. A sickness worth blogging about. Its been a week since this arrived and I'm just starting to taste again. I'm hoping this is worst i'll see this year. It feels good to breathe again. Just one of those things, don't know what you got till its gone.

P.s. Eat your fruits and veggies!