Wordless Wednesday- Stella's Birthday Party!

Stella, the birthday girl!

(Emersyn was a "barista" for Halloween....Stella's party was a costume party!)

Busy bakers

Life around my house has been crazy lately. Like I said yesterday, we are down to one car which means I spend a large part of my (or what seems like anyways) driving back and forth from wherever Emersyn is hanging out that day (usually at her Nana's in Tigard) and my work in Hillsboro and either Brett's work downtown or the MAX lightrail station.

Because of all this driving, I feel like our evenings are so short and sometimes my heart aches a little at the lack of time that I get to spend with Emersyn due to work and just LIFE I guess. Last night we got home at about 7:45 and I decided to just seize the opportunity to spend some quality time with my girl. Fortunately, she had already eaten dinner (thank you Brianne!) so we didn't have to spend time preparing and eating. Brett heated up some leftover pizza and I decided to wait to eat until after Emersyn went to bed.

Emersyn just LOVES the pumpkin loaf at Starbucks; who doesn't?!?! I knew I had a can of pumpkin in my pantry so I decided that our evening would be best spent baking. Ems and I made these pumpkin muffins from AllRecipes.com. (I used a 15oz can of pumpkin in place of the fresh roasted pumpkin and also substituted applesauce for the oil).

"I'm ready to bake Mommy!"

Instead of spending the evening dwelling over the fact that I didn't get to spend as much time with Emersyn as I might have liked, I seized the evening and made a fun memory with my sweet girl. It won't be long before I don't have as much on my plate with work and I can say with full confidence that I will NEVER take my life as a SAHM for granted.

Do you ever get discouraged with how *busy* you are?

Monday Miscellany

{1} My thoughts on Halloween: yesterday we went down to visit Emersyn's great grandparents, as per our usual Halloween tradition. I was still kinda undecided about what we as a family are going to do on the actual day. I grew up trick or treating until I was about 8 or 9 and then my mom went with her personal convictions and decided to not let us go anymore. Ironically, the same year she made this decision, our Pastor's daughter borrowed a dress from me so SHE could go trick or treating. I was not pleased with this decision, LOL. Anyways, last night we got home about about 7:30 and there were SO many kids out and about. I got a little sad that we didn't have any candy and hadn't planned on taking Ems trick or treating. It's such a community event and I think we will do it next year. I know everyone has their own convictions about Halloween but so far, I don't think it needs to be something we forbid in our home. This may change as Emersyn grows up and grows more aware. We'll see. I want to do the best I can at protecting Emersyn from the "evils" of this world without making it so forbidden that she rebels in the future. We'll see how that goes. I love a fun reason to dress up and have a good time with friends. :)

{2} Today I peeked into the bathroom while Ems was playing in the bath and she cheerfully announced, "I washed my lady parts!". I love her.

{3} Last week we sold Brett's Honda on Craigslist and I almost had a nervous breakdown. I struggle with the fear of people....that's a whole other blog post for another day. The good news is, we sold the car. The bad news, now we are car shopping. We're praying for a good deal! Low price and low miles, please and thank you Lord!!

{4} 46 days until I enter the ranks of SAHM's!!!!

{5} I am not a fan of Eve today, nor will I be for the next 3 or 4 days. Just sayin'.

{6} Brett and I had a date night on Friday night! We used a "Groupon" and went to the Jopa Grill in Portland. It was delicious and fun, except for when Brett literally burnt off the roof of his mouth on some dangerously hot artichoke dip. :( Other then that, we had a great night. I have a confession though, instead of going out on the town after dinner we went home. And I went to bed. At 9:30. And apparently I snored loudly (which is unusual...I must have been OUT...I was SO tired) and kept Brett up for hours. I'm pretty sure that makes me a lousy date, lol.

{7} I have found that one mini sized box of Nerds candy will entertain one toddler for approx. 5 minutes. Keep as many boxes with you as needed.

{8} I always have TONS of miscellany type things in my head during the week and when I go to write this, hardly anything comes to mind!!

{9} I am going to be participating in NaBloPoMo this month!! It's "National Blog Posting Month" for those of you who don't know the blogger lingo. :) I did it last November and it was fun to re-read. When I challenge myself to blog more regularly, I find myself striving for more content in life...new recipes, life lessons, fun pics, etc. It should be a great month of blog posts!

Happy Monday!

Wordless Wednesday- Em & Em at the Apple Farm!

Thursday Tidbits & Random Pics

*The other night while my mom was in town we went to Best Teriyaki for dinner. We didn't order Ems her own dinner, figuring she could eat off our big portions. When my mom tried to give her some rice, Emersyn said, "It's okay....my cheese-bare-ger (cheeseburger) is coming!". I think she grew a little too accustomed to cheeseburgers while my mom was visiting!!


*This week I am feeling a little fried. It's an adjustment getting used to a new schedule with Brett's work weeks. I am realizing the importance of being prepared for the week by the time the week starts on Monday morning. This week I was not prepared, thus we have eaten out every night and my fridge is BARE. I need to be better about scheduling time at home. What can I say though, I'm a social girl. :)

Emersyn and her cousins....

Genevieve, Annabel and Penelope...Uncle Brandon & Aunt Marcy's new puppy!

*A couple nights ago Brett was driving too fast around a corner and Emersyn exclaims, "Oh! Daddy tipping Mommy over!"


*My mother-in-law told me that the other day Emersyn told her "Gigi in Heaven with Jesus on an airplane....Mommy crying...Mommy miss her". How precious is that?


*The other day I was extremely irritated mildly upset with my husband regarding a particular issue (don't get me started....) and expressed my concerns to him on the phone. After I hung up Emersyn goes, "ohhh....Daddy naughty!". Hahahaha.

Emersyn and Estella enjoying the leaves!

*I am making THIS yummy pumpkin bar recipe this weekend for a get together. It's not so much a bar though, it's more of a pumpkin cake but it's YUMMY!


*After years and years (literally) of offering, I am finally going to take my neighbor up on her offer to let me clean and organize my house. I am stoked. Sherrie is an amazingly clean and organized person. I know a lot of people give her a hard time about it but it's only because we are all J E A L O U S!! I think that we all have our talents in life and organizing is NOT one of mine. I'm hoping we can make some progress before the holidays but I'm not holding my breath. Life is busy for both of us. :) You know I'll be taking before and after pic and blogging through the progress!!

Emersyn and baby Sophia

*I am really wanting some grey nail polish. It's all about grey it seems this fall. Is it gray or grey??


*This might be my favorite quote EVER……A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright

I love my girl.

Wordless Wednesday

Thursday Tidbits

*Yesterday was our last morning of gymnastics! It was a fun class but I don't think we'll re-enroll until Ems is a little older. She was the youngest of the bunch (along with her buddy Emery) and some of the moves they wanted the kids to do were a little advanced for their age. They had fun running around though and it was fun to see the sheer joy on Emersyn's face as she ran around. I took this picture (above) on my phone right before we left; doesn't she look like a little gymnast in her warm up suit? My mom got it for her at Gymboree, LOVE IT!!

*Tuesday morning I was having a bit of a rough time; I can't remember why exactly. All I know is that when I went to Bible Study and got to hold my precious little Sophia Rose, all was right in the world. :) It surprises me how much I LOVE my friends' kids. I mean, duh, of course I like them and am happy they are friends with Emersyn. But I truly LOVE them, like a family member. I am so proud of Sophia's mommy too. You know those women who are just natural parents? She is one of them.....Sophia is so lucky to have her!

*This week has been a little crazy and Emersyn has gotten to spend some good times with my mom due to me working and having various other commitments. Normally I get really sad when I don't get to spend as much time with E but since I know she is with her MiMi I am okay with it. They are such little partners in crime together and it makes my heart SO happy to see and hear them play together.

*This morning I had a meeting for the ladies retreat that I am helping plan at my church in February. It was refreshing to spend time with older Godly ladies and come up with our theme. I am excited to be taking on a bigger role in women's ministries at my church and it's very timely seeing as I will have a little more time on my hands after the first of the year. I am really praying that God will use me in this ministry. I am a fairly confident girl but whenever I leave these kinds of settings (like my meeting this morning) with women who I don't know incredibly well, I get so nervous afterwards and thoughts flood my head like "I hope I didn't say anything stupid, offend anyone, etc.". I know that my confidence needs to come from God and through Him, I can be assured that I am doing the best that I can.

*Three weeks from tomorrow we are going to Sunriver with some friends for a couple nights. I cannot wait!!!! Sophia and Stella, two of Emersyn's besties, will be there with their parents and it's going to be so fun. Just thinking of the cute picture opportunities is enough to make me squeal with excitement. :)

*I am thinking that I am going to overhaul my blog after the holidays. I think I need a new title, especially if we are thinking of adding to our family in the not too distant future. ;) I'm excited, it will be a new chapter in my life as a SAHM and deserves to be commemorated with a new blog title, etc. :)

*This Saturday night we are having a family night, just Brett, Ems and I. I am missing a dear friends birthday party but because of the crazy emotional weeks that I have had, I need a night OFF. Not that having my mom here is stressful or anything, but I definitely need a night to re-coop from the chaos of the last few weeks. I just hope Vanessa can forgive me. :(

Happy Thursday everyone!!