with love.

sending big love to you all this holiday season...

all while trying to exhale here and remember that there is no need to get caught up in madness and chaos and holiday frenzy-ishness....

it is about spending time with the ones you love, and having that big ole bucket filled right up with love...

it is about gingerbread houses and frosting messes

it is about sticky fingers squeezing your face

it is about late night chats by the fire with wine and cozy feet

it is about early morning snuggles

it is about vacation musings

it is about crafting

it is about sharing

it is about giving

it is about making memories

it is about loving all that is right there in front of you

it is about knowing what matters most

it is about lessons in letting go

it is about so many many things...


i know for all of us it is about something different...but for me it is JOY, and discovery, and excitement, and the love that dances in these beans eyes, and how that makes me remember all the goodness

namaste.
happiest of holidays to you friends...

with love,

me and hubs and the beans...

the unveiling...

okay peeps,
i know i have been sucking on the blog front lately - but we have been working VERY hard to get these children back into their own spaces and regain some sanity. we have about one more week or so till we get to move out of the playroom...meh, but i can deal, as long as these beans are back in their rooms....

but first a quick shout out about thanksgiving...i don't know if it was just me, but this year was my most favorite ever...it seemed like there was so much love, and completeness, and amazing food, and good wine, and, and, and....it was 3 days of kick ass good stuff...i have so many pics to share, but for now...











it was amazing. i felt rested and whole....

it's what i wait for all year long...and it was as perfect as i dreamed it would be....
it was everything i needed.



so, although i have so much more to add, i have relatives threatening to disown me if i don't blog soon...SO....

benji'r room:

still needs to be painted, as this was t's old color, but the little man stuck some car wall stickers up and was so freaking happy to have his own space. there is a car run out of sight, and he just lays on it and drives the cars around all afternoon....


M's big kid room. he hasn't come out for 2 days...no really, i actually have to drag him out to go to school and eat etc, as he is so busy "ORGANIZING" his stuff...there are a few more details in here that hubs is working on as i type, like trimming out one of the windows etc...





t's room....it's called gyspy pink - and it rocks her world, so i am totally on board...
she goes up to her room to play with her dolls and every time yells down the stairs "MOM, i am going UPSTAIRS to MY room to play with my dolls - don't worry, i won't make a mess..."




and this makes for a MUCH happier mum and dad....


will be back soon with a much more coherent post :)

hope you all are well and full swing into the holiday season...i am going to work on the holiday cards and watch for the 5-7 inches of snow headed our way...
*namaste*
xo, a

thankfulls...

thanksgiving is around the corner peeps, and i am straight up determined to get everyone healthy in time to enjoy the holiday...so rather than dwell on all the chaos, i am going to start my thankfulls early because damn it - i am freakin' thankful.

so a few for you

*first and foremost that these beans are kicking influenza ass and taking names.

*benji making his own play dough rules...never leave a two year old to his own devices while cleaning another room of the house - even for 5 minutes....remember quiet is not good. ever.

*that hubs let me loose in the paint store and has not looked back since...and that the man at the paint store thinks my color choices rock his world - as they are not the shades of white he makes over and over and over. (and by the way, AURA paint kicks ass - it is better for the environment, @ 50 vocs, dries in an hour, and doesn't need primer...i know...the things that excite me these days...)

*that this house is almost ready for us to move everyone back to their respective places - there has been no "go to your room and relax" for 3 months. it is driving me out of my mind. we still have the time out step - but sometimes these beans need a few minutes to chill it down...

*cuddling on the couch with my sickie little bean...i hate it when he is sick, but i do love that he will climb in my lap and fall asleep with me rubbing his hot little back like when he was itty bitty...

*how t's face lights up when she looks at the stunning pink we chose for her room...yup i said pink...you won't believe it. hubs nearly fell over when he opened the can...

* hubs trying to reason with the children as though they were small adults - it always make me smile.

*my dad who will drop what they are doing to make an emergency trip to the er with a feverish and messy little man, even when the er looks like a freaking pandemic breakout of nightmarish chaos...

*that i have not given in to my germ thing and started drinking purell YET.

*thanksgiving, thanksgiving, thanksgiving....i cannot wait to make that familiar drive into the vermonster hills...and to be surrounded by all the best folks, and feelings and comforts...

*hot coffee and bagels (gluten-free none the less) that will start my sunday...

*facebook. i know lame, but i so love to reconnect with peeps from my past, and somehow it settles me...explain?

*a mama date to a secret place coming up with exciting event to come...you know who you are girlie, and i cannot wait....

*more to come loves, hope you are all rocking your thankfulls these days...it does so help the icks move along....

round up...

chaos people. just some pics as i am spending the weekend sniffling, sneezing and painting....but just a few VERY important pics to post.....

halloweenies...

*i heart fall so much that my heart is swelling.
the beans are obsessed with halloween...

we draw skeletons daily, and peruse the web for cool halloween activities, like brain shaped jello, which is so not gonna happen, we have a countdown on the kitchen chalkboard that has taken the place of the grocery list, so who knows what will happen when the food runs out...


it's just lotsa goodness...and so much more to come...


peace out.
*a

life...

we are good. we are busy. we are blessed. we are insulated. we are grouchy. we are enamored. we are in love. we are soaking it all up. we are fallish delights. we are cozy fireplace filled nights. we are anticipating. we are content...


we just are right now. lots of just being. and not much more.

*namaste*

xo, a

we heart fall...just sayin'.

we are all lovin' up on fall. i was getting a bit frazzled here, as we are STILL sleeping in the playroom, and the house is still in the works, which i will post some pics of soon-ish...and life has been a bit chaotic...

but i woke up today and remembered....it's fall. and i wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING.

so we are sweater wearing, coffee sipping, apple pickin', pie baking fools.....

lovin' it up here every stinking second...even the ones that don't so much rock.

fall is me....i am fall.....

namaste.
xo, a


(p.s. - that freaking awesome ring, was made by judy you should most definitely pop over and check her out....)

(p.p.s - there are 37 day till thanksgiving madness begins...time to talk menu people....let's do it!!!! what's your tried and true thanksgiving staple....?)

the good - the bad - the daily

we have been chock full o' sickies in this house and it is absolutely NOT been fun.  

there has been fevers and whining, and glazed over pleading little eyes, and chest x-rays and flu swabs and and and....

but these kiddos are trooping through...mom is pretty worn out...but we are doing our best.  and i guess that is just about all we can do right?  

i have been determined to soak up all this glorious fallish-ness, sick or not, and we have been trolling the orchards all pumped full of tylenol, motrin, and antibiotics.  we have been devouring fresh crisp cool macintosh apples picked off the trees, and staring at mums of brilliant hues...*sigh*  fall.

so fevers and all, these beans are doing okay.  

i am back at work, and enjoying my days there as well - i am super blessed, as i work two and a half days at my school, and am home the rest of the week.  when people ask me if i like my schedule, i always smile and nod and say something nice-ish like, 

"yes, it is so nice to have a weekend in the middle of my week."  

but lets be frank people.  i don't even really have a weekend on my actual weekend - so lets not pretend that wednesday or thursday resemble anything even similar to a weekend.  they don't.  

let me give you a peek.  and tell you to have a superb rest of your weekend.

wednesday afternoon, i decided that i would venture to the nearby outdoor mall, as i wanted to window shop and check out a pair of jeans, as i had a freebie coupon.  so the two smaller beans and i headed out on a mini field trip, and when we arrived, i should have known to turn the car around and just go home, as princess T was in the backseat calling me a "spy-cho"  which is t speak for psycho, as i was going into the big people GAP, and not the kids one.  but no...i was determined to carry out our trip to the wishing fountain and the slammin' sale section of anthropologie(me loves).

so we do the rounds and lastly hit up gap....T is already peeved, acting like i microwaved her my little ponies or something, when in reality, i thought i might buy myself a SWEATER.  dear god how could i.  she is walking by the nicely piled and perfectly folded shirts and unfolding them, then stacking them all messy-like back on the tables while glaring in my direction. as if to say "i'll show you."

So i quickly pack everyone up and head to the car...

oh no wait...that is what i SHOULD have done.    

So i grab a few pair of pants, taking her nonsense with a GIANT grain of salt, throw a few sweaters on top of the stroller, and head to the fitting rooms.  all the while T is SHOUTING. "I-WANT-TO-GO-TO-THE-KID-GAP-YOU-ARE-A-BAD-BAD-MOMMY."  and stomping her little feet all with hands on her hips and everything- yup -the whole nine. and little benji....sweet as can be is sitting in the stroller looking at his truck book smiling and rocking his head side to side repeating "you bad-bad mommy..."  over and over.  LOVE it.

Once we are locked securely in the fitting room, i am ignoring her nonsense and trying on the few things i was able to grab, and she is punching the walls...all dramatic, with a wind up and then she slows down before her hand hits the wall, as she is really only trying to make a statement and not hurt herself of course.

*now would be a good time to mention that the store was BUSY.  like black friday busy.

at this point i have had enough, and am just about ready to lose my mind....so i firmly grasp her arm, and tell her she has a one.  which she knows is her gentle reminded to get her freaking act together.  

so this child...no joke....GRABS her arm and starts yelling "OWWWWWW now i need a GIANT BAND-AID BECAUSE YOU PUNCHED ME SOOOOOO HARD OWWWWWWW."

i shit you not.

so i calmly continue to redress - and multitasking - (rolling my eyes into the back of my brain and thinking what a FULL time job might pay) i explain to her , 

"TEAGAN, you cannot say things like that, the police will come and take mommy away from you because they will think that mommy hurts you..."

hand on the hips and glaring, she states, "WELL THAN MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T PUNCH ME SO HARD."  

honestly.

so we are holed up in the fitting room four days later and typing this, as i was simply too mortified to leave.  can you bring me some coffee?

weekend my ass.

namaste,

xo, 

*a

getting back to it....

i know i know.  i am working on it.  i am sitting here sipping /devouring my morning coffee, and enjoying this sweet sunday morning, listening to t explain to benji that all the dolls need to be dressed up so that nobody sees the gynas....

and i realized that i am being selfish...

i am savoring all their deliciousness, and sometimes not so deliciousness, and i have been so stinking busy that i haven't posted any of it....

so for that i apologize, and i will try to get back at it.

tj started her second year of preschool, and i must say that she is largely unimpressed.  i mean don't get me wrong, she does love school, but she is totally over the excitement.  she doesn't understand why M gets a new teacher every year and she "stays the same,"  which is "kinda good, its just i really wanna have a kindergarten teacher."  

she is delving into the realm of ballet - which should be interesting, and i figure it's not a total waste, because she can always use the leotards for gymnastics if she decides she really doesn't like it...but all her little girlie friends are doing it...who knew there was peer pressure at 4. 

M is doing well in first grade. He still doesn't eat his lunch(his notes say "EAT" now, instead of "have a great day- i love you-and blah, blah, blah,") and sometimes misses the bus, but overall, i think that we are getting in the swing of things.  By college we should have it down pat.   Last week when i went in to wake him for school, the conversation went like this...

me - "c'mon pal, you gotta get up - school today"

him "hmmmpht."

me-" really buddy, it's time."

him - "mom, yah know what?"

me - (sighing as i am sure this conversation is going south,) "yes myles?"

him - "waking up for school in the morning SUCKS."

me (picking my head up off the floor and trying to stuff the brain matter back in through my ears) "Okay buddy, we do not use that word, and mommy has work, and you neeeeeeed to get up.  NOW."

him - "but daddy uses that word"

 me - "but you are not a daddy."

him - "when i am a daddy can i use that word?" 

me -(not believeing that it is 6:30 IN THE  MORNING and i have already begun talking about this with my 6 year old son, who i am sure now is keeping a list in his journal of good reasons to have a baby when he turns sixteen, hopefully his girlfriend won't be on board.)  "LAST TIME - GET UP."

so, mornings ROCK here, and that is one of the reasons why i am on the fritz.  life has been crazy....and everytime i sit down to take a breathe, things get even more chaotic....but i promise to try, and thanks to all of you who have been checking in and reminding me to get off my bum and post....

so with that,  a few last things...

benji is swell.  isn't he always though?  the kid just rocks my whole entire world.  

and bry is still cranking on the house, i will post new pics of that soon, problem with that is he is mostly roofing, and really a roof just doesn't look that exciting, but if you were swarmed with bugs and shit all summer, you would be damn psyched too. :)

we had a super fabulous visit with uncle ben, (above) and bry and he got to talk shop - which was neat, as ben is probably one of bry's biggest mentors, and it is always nice for the beans to get to catch up with some of the folks that they don't get to see often....

anyhow....hope you are all enjoying this fallishness, 

peace out, 

*a

p.s.  (drum roll, ***72 days till thanksgiving...uhm, yayyy!!!)

buses and dormers and chaos oh my....

well folks,

it's here - school is back in sessions - for me, for myles and next week, for t girl too....

i feel like the summer went by in the blink of an eye - yet at the same time, i am so filled full with excitement for the big guy to experience school - all day school and learning and interacting, and wow - i just cannot believe that i have a big old first grader tearing it up at my place.

and so far school has more or less gone off without a hitch. we had a last minute change of babysitting arrangements - as our normal sitter bailed - BY TEXT - which is a whole other issue - but at any rate - we have worked out a wonderful situation and a girl who lives about 15 seconds down the road - that i grew up with - who watches the beans on my work days - and because she lives ON our street - no worries and no bus changes etc.

the beans love Shane, and her kiddos, and i am excited that all is running smoothly....mostly.

the events of the first three days - have been so exciting

*new teacher

*new classmates

*new lunch box

*lost new lunch box

*all day school

*bus rides to and from school

*missed bus home - and little man just was so in awe of his vice principal being able to walkie talkie the bus and "THEY CAME BACK JUST FOR ME!!" amazing - not even phased....

but he does seem to love love school - and for that i am so grateful....

i have asumed my place as president of the preschool and i have never dealt with such nonsense - seriously - you would think that we were running the country - not a small cooperative preschool. people - never agree to do this, never - not ever.

and the house as so many of you have requested pics of - continues to be a work in progress. the hubs is busting his butt, and working everyday when he gets home from work, and we are aiming to be wrapped up and happily in our new space by thanksgiving...(i know - i will start the countdown come sept.)

anyway peeps - my head is spinning....so i must go -

but i promise to return soon....

peace out -

xo, a