independence day

the willow parade is... simple.  the kids get loaded up with candy, even a free book from the library, countless toots and honks from the big rigs... it's short, un-crowded, and they chatter about all the fun had the entire drive home.      

with our weeks and weeks of gorgeous weather, it must have been too much to ask for the 4th of july to be blue-skied and sunny - we had gloom and rain.  but, i'm hearing from all my momma-friends that the few days of rain we've had has been welcomed to them as well.  finally, a chance to catch up on duties inside (and not feel guilty about missing out on the glorious sunshine) - scrub the toilets, vacuum a floor, put away the stacks of clean clothes... so as it was, after our morning trip to willow for the parade, we came back home and snuggled in for snoozes.  

all things love.

{i am not all there in my mind.  my husband can attest to that statement.  i mean, i feel & think that i have it all together, but then i come across something like this - a blog, a month-old blog, that i've skimmed over and purposely not posted, when in fact, it was done and edited weeks ago.  i blame pregnancy brain.  the good news is this is all coming to an end, shortly, but the bad news is that i need to make room for nursing brain and 3-kid-mom brain...}

v-day at bub's school.  we made heart-shaped crayons - super fun!  we even had extras to keep for ourselves.  

the valentine bags included one recycled crayon, a pack of organic fruit leather shaped mini-hearts and a spiderman hologram.  jack's not too keen on writing just yet, but he was all over the stuffing of the baggies.

of course, grandma and grandpa needed flowers for valentine's day - i couldn't not show them love!  my grandpa was so great about bringing her flowers, so it's only right for me to continue the tradition for him.  if pink tulips were available, that's what he picked up.  naturally, i couldn't help myself.

baby 3's room!  looking forward to getting all the extras in place.  as of last weekend (again, another one of these posts that i started pre-bed rest...), all my gender neutral clothes are washed and hanging in the closet.  the blankies and sheets are washed and folded on the shelves.  the closet is cleared out of big kid toys, the baby board books are in place, and i have a hefty supply of diapers ranging from newborn to size 2!  i feel like i'd be ok with baby coming... except that she/he needs to gain some chub and develop his lungs a little more.  ah!  i said his.  yep, maybe jack has convinced me...  

one sewing project that is complete is 5 strands (3 feet each) of pennants.  i chose an array of gender neutral colors, traced my triangles from a scrap of cardboard and cut them out using pinking shears.  pinking shears, totally masculine, right?!  currently in production is the valance and cover for the warm windows aka darkening shade.  it's a lot of work - it's big and bulky (as am i) and crawling on the floor, cutting and pinning fabric in place, proves to be a work out in itself.  but, i'm totally up for the task.  anything for baby 3!    

we added paint glitter to the yellow stripe; so fun when the light touches it!

more baby 3 room pictures to come, among other nesting projects.  my husband already said he wasn't sure if he was going to survive nesting 3.0 - it's been tough on all of us!

christmases

christmas eve, we celebrate at our house.  unlike our past years of moose steak and crab dinner, the baby is off seafood and any game meat, so we settled on prime rib.  ugh, prime rib, whatta bummer... oh, it was sooo de-lish.  ben prepped the meat the night before, using an allen & peterson rub recipe - thank you, aunt connie!  i threw together a {pinterest} baked potato salad, and gramma d and mark brought everything else - salad, dinner rolls, cherry pie, more cookies and lots of presents and love!  auntie lory ann and nana lynn drove out, and we all watched as jb and dyl tore into their gifts, at lightning speed.  perfect way to spend a holiday.

 loved doing this gift for lory ann - her own pot of gold - fun!

 Christmas Eve was a success!

after we said our good byes and our good nights, the kids opened a few presents from us - their matching jammies and a new movie, cinderella.  and then, after the kids were nestled all snug in their beds, ben went to work on putting together their new wheels.  we then spent a few minutes playing santa, placing the rest of their presents from us under the tree.

when jack woke me up at 7:45 Christmas morning, he whispered ever so quietly,

mama, santa came.  he brought me a new red bike, and duey a scooter yike mine.  come yook.  hurry.   

sure enough, that's exactly what santa brought.
 

Christmas Day, we drove into anchorage and spent the morning with the miebs family.  {great} grandma shirley put together quite the spread for "dinner."  more presents, more smiles and plenty of yummy desserts were had by all.  i never take enough pictures; it's so nice to take it all in.

after the miebs, we went to {great} grandma millie's where there were more goodies to devour, more presents and even more laughs and smiles.  hearing the kiddos run around with their second cousins, running up and down the same halls that ben and his cousins trampled up and down - it has to be so neat for ben to watch.  they all play so nice together.  i can practically hear the giggling.

the highlight of my Christmas was a gift from grandma millie.  although, she made it clear this was not in place of my Christmas present.  silly her.  she pulled out this long brown box and displayed a bracelet that was once given to her by my husband, when he was 10 or 11 years old.  oh.  my.  gosh.  this dainty gold bracelet with open and closed etched hearts.  it's beautiful.  i cried, naturally.  to think of little ben, a mere 5 years older than our jack, picking out this gift for his grandma.  kinda gets you, right?!

when we returned home, the kids changed back into their matching jammies and opened their presents from the flanagan's.  i'm pretty sure these rascals will not need any more gifts until they're in their double-digits.  goodness.  

bedtime stories by dada

swoon.

home life during the holidays

from thanksgiving on, the end of the year just flew by at warp speed.  we were so busy between wrapping up the building project, to decorating for the holidays, baking and cooking, shopping and getting ready for our oahu trip, we even squeezed in a 12-day pass at the alaska club to enjoy some swimming and water park fun.  (i really need to invest in a waterproof camera.)  watching the kiddos transform into underwater-breath-holding-fishies was quite remarkable!  dylan has no fear (umm, scary to say the least) and even with my extra-cautious son, he still turned into a dare devil, holding his breath and swimming underwater for what seemed like several, several seconds.  i think swimming lessons are in our near future...

baking.  while i like to (usually!) spread out cookie making over multiple days, i found myself on Christmas Eve-Eve with bare countertops that should have been filled with plates of cookies!  so we pumped out 4 different kinds: the token peanut butter blossoms, gingerbread drop cookies with white chocolate chips in the centers, pumpkin whoopie pies with super-delish cream cheese fillings and an amazing (and oh-so simple) thin mint cookie version of the girl scout gem.  oh my.  by night's end, i paid for this cookie making marathon.  i could barely stand, let alone walk!  but - totally worth the pregnancy pain, i should add. 

jack helped roll the balls of dough in sugar for me.  

he even had fun placing them on the cookie sheet.

because there's SO much empty space between baking times, we had to find something to fill the void.  jb decided there weren't possibly enough toys out in the great room so he dragged out all their favorites.  bella was quite appreciative of his effort.

speaking of the bean...

this is how she spends most days.  the last of the bulldogs is getting up there in age.  i can't believe she'll be NINE this year!  i still remember the very day we brought her home.  "mem-ries, like the corners of my mind..."  she still has moments of friskiness, but for the most part, she's a great couch companion.

exhibit B

and, if you've ever heard the thing about dogs sensing a pregnancy???  

...yeah, me either.

oooh, i had almost forgot!  (no, surprise.)  we spent the better part of november and december making homemade play dough for our friends!  such a fun craft for all!  the kiddos LOVED kneading out the extra warm dough, and ok, ok, i really liked that part, too.  i can't even recall how many batches we made, but i had several store runs to grab more salt and cream of tartar because i ran out frequently.  we made red, yellow with red glitter, white with a rainbow of glitter, green with red and yellow glitter, the bluish-green seen below.  and, just when i thought i was out of ideas, we added kool-aid to the mix (instead of food coloring) and voila! we had super-yummy smelling orange and berry play dough!  the possibilities are endless with this craft.  we included alaska-themed cookie cutters and the recipe with our gift.  

we spend many winter evenings rough-housing.  ok, so when i say "we," i mean ben and the kids.  that's my time to sit back and relax... and ok, cringe at the sight of them almost getting hurt.  ben discovers new ways to almost break a limb(s), and while i have to look away initially, i find myself marveling at them all.  he's the perfect dada for these wild and crazy miebs kiddos.

then, there's those tender moments that i spy out of the corner of my eye: the siblings, cuddled up together - smooching, poking eyes, giggling, picking noses, hugging, pretend sleeping.  i'm so thankful for their displays of love.  most of the time, they pick on each other until someone is screaming (dylan) or someone is crying (jack).  i cherish moments like this.

through ben's work, they had this fill a backpack, fill a need program for the holidays.  we thought this was an excellent way to make a child's christmas.  we could choose the gender and age of the child, so naturally, we chose to shop for a 5-6 year old boy and a 2-3 year old girl.  

when we brought our loot home, the kids helped us take off tags and place everything into the backpacks - scarf & hat sets, books, stickers, crayons and coloring/paint books, hair ties, football and matchbox trucks, super-soft blankies big enough to wrap up in and little figurine play sets.  stuffed animals/dollies.  bath bubbles, toothbrushes and toothpaste.  it was so much fun putting everything together.  i'm hopeful the little girl that opened this backpack was as excited about her gift as dylan was to help.

and, just as i love seeing sweet moments of my kiddos together, i have to thank my benji for capturing this gem.  oh, jb, i love you so.  

meeting santa

we've never done the santa-thing before.  maybe, a little on purpose?  i guess my reservations on hyping up this fictional character makes me a tad uneasy.  i vividly remember my big brother spilling that beans that santa wasn't real.  (i know.  i'm sorry.  but, if you didn't know by now, you probably should...) 

up until this year, it was in my control.  oh, but the kids grow up.  they hear things.  they find out from friends at school, and it's all strangers talk about in stores - whattaya askin' santa for?  it happens.  so this year, we asked jb if he wanted to visit santa.  with a quick YEP! we ventured down to our local toy store to check out this santa personality.  little did i know, we'd be meeting santa himself!

i mean, c'mon - look at him!  check the beard!  and, his excitement in meeting The Miebs Duo, you know, the ones taking up space on his naughty list?!  he was very sweet.  he listened intently when dylan asked for chips.  he even made a written note when jb asked for a blue dump truck.  maybe i can be ok with santa making their 5 minutes of the day.  even ben was tickled to meet ol' st. nick.      

gingerbread

dylan's going to be three in the spring, and yet, it still catches me by surprise - just how different the kiddos are from each other.  you would think after nearly 3 years of seeing them together, i'd be used to their differences, but they continuously make me giggle at what they will and will not do.  

when i picked up the gingerbread kits, i thought they would be a super-fun activity which both kiddos would enjoy.  while jb was excited with the idea of putting together a train, it was just entirely too messy.  his hands were washed and dried moments later, and ultimately, he became general manager over the project.  it's a good thing benji doesn't mind putting in work; my boys make a great team. 

  

dylan was ALL over these projects.  does that really surprise you?!  she preferred to direct where the icing went, but she wouldn't let me near the candy.  i must have heard "put some wight here" several dozen times, in reference to the icing.  i guess we breed leaders over here!

such focus.

fast-forward october

october came and went.  that's usually the way this month goes for us - jb's birthday; halloween; frolicking in the woods, capturing the leaves changing; last minute hiking attempts; savoring every last bit of warmth in the air.  i love fall.  this year just went by way too fast for my liking.

we were spared of snow in october, but the wind and the nippy air froze things up and made for some chilly outings.  we managed to get outside a few times, long enough to freeze up our hands and require tissues for our runny noses.  although, if it's going to be cold, i think everyone is just ready for the snow to fly...    

frozen lake lucille

sunrise out the studio window

on {what would have been} grandma pat's 81st birthday, we brought her flowers - pink-tipped roses - grandpa jack would have chosen the same, for sure.  in the past, i've done these sorts of gestures with the kids, but having gramma d along, made it even more special.  i know she thought so, too. 

rather than carving pumpkins this year, we bought a bag of mini ones and painted the heck outta them.  the kids enjoyed this WAY more than they ever have carving.  it makes sense though.  so far, they have yet to carve a pumpkin; they get to just sit back and watch.  and, who carves a pumpkin quickly - or rather, who carves a pumpkin at a toddler's preferred fast-pace?!  not us.  we're left to the goop and sliminess, while the kids have been long over it, playing on the floor with trucks, puzzles, bulldog, etc.  next year, i'm sure will be a repeat of paints and sparkles.

  super-serious pumpkin decorating.

but, the seriousness faded quickly.

the next night, after the paint had dried, we were able to decorate our pumpkins with (our personal favorite) googly eyes, mustaches, puffy paint mouths and foam stickers.  dada even got in on the fun.

 jb decorated with trucks, ben took over applying tiny faces

masterpieces.

halloween was extremely low-key.  in the past, i've spent waaay too much time and money on costumes they can't wait to get out of.  and, considering my energy level, i just didn't care to put so much effort into such a thankless "holiday" - oh, that's sounds like the pits.  but.  i'm already over it.

jb asked repeatedly to be a caterpillar, but this year, you couldn't have paid me to sit at my sewing machine.  so, if he wants to be a caterpillar next year, dammit, i'm making the most elaborate insect ever.  there.  dylan wanted nothing to do with any part of halloween.  well, no, except the candy part.  she was all over that.  but costumes?  leave her alone.

i bought jb a spiderman mask for his school party, and he picked out a matching tee at the store.  done.  considering it was negative degrees for trick or treating, i'm so thankful i didn't waste my energies only to watch him leave the house in full snow gear.  if i've learned anything being a mother, it's practicality!

yep, we hand out the big bars.