One (4or5) year anniversary...

September 24th was our one year wedding anniversary... not that we are really keeping track, we were pretty much married before the actual date, just not officially.. When we got pregnant with ollie, we thought it was'nt the right time to get married, we thought we would wait, though we were very happy together. A little over 2 years later we decided to get married and found out I was pregnant again, all in the same week. This time I felt like we should just do it, so I walked down the aisle in a red dress at almost 8 months pregnant... what was I thinking?

To celebrate our anniversary we loaded up the fam and headed to the beach, only fitting since we were all there at the actual wedding also. When you think of wedding's or even anniversaries you think of mushy stuff, all that L word stuff, I don't know if it is fortunate, or unfortunate, but romance on these special days just has'nt worked out for b and I... On our wedding night, I passed out dead tired, nothing special going on there, and on our anniversary, I slept in one bed with max, and B slept with ollie... too funny.... we have promised eachother that next year there will be no kids on our trip, we will see how that works out...

It was a great weekend though, neither B or I had really planned anything, B tried to get a cabin at our favorite place in Cannon Beach, but they were booked up, so we just got in the car and drove with really no plans. It was very free-ing actually. We ended up staying at a cute little hotel on Siletz bay. It was good for the kids, a quick walk to the beach, and it was the bay so we did'nt have all the crazy wind. We ate a great dinner of steamed clams and chowder and just enjoyed spending time together. It was a really great escape from the everyday hub bub of B's work, and my life at home with the kids.

I am already planning my kid-free trip next year, I am taking sign-ups for babysitter's if anyone wants to volunteer???

perks of the job....

I complain alot about my "job"... but sometimes I forget to mention the perks... I just got up from a two hour nap snuggling with max... he did keep me up half the night, so I felt instead of finishing the laundry I deserved to catch up on some precious Z's... to bad B can't sleep in his office... shhhh don't tell him I got a nap in..

raising hooligans...

It starts out all innocent....
playing with the trains... setting up a track... I go to start dinner, and hear some weird noises...
walk in the living room and the train table has become a trampoline... i will be in big trouble when max is big enough to hike himself up there too....

everyone has said that the next 16 years of my life are going to be filled with trips to the emergency room, trips to costco, and loud evenings...

Not that I mind... me and b were talking about when the boys do become teenagers how hard it will be to keep food in the house.... it reminded me of when i was growing up... my brothers used to eat cereal out of mixing bowls, and not just one pack of ramen, but two or three... I ran into an old co-worker at costco who has 4 boys all in the teen years.... here cart was piled high... and all she said was get used to shopping at costco.... fun, fun, fun....

Bi-polar?

all photo's were taken consecutively... max is a faker... especially at 3 in the morning...

he will be crying, sobbing, screaming, the world is ending tears... you pick him up and he instantly is calm and almost asleep... put him back down in his crib you turned on the "world is ending" button....

last night I let him cry for seriously almost an hour.... at 3 in the morning.... I am trying to get him to sleep through the night, we try the wait the 10-15 minutes and go in and pat the back... ya right, my kid is practically crawling up my arms, I can't seem to get him calm enough to just stay in his bed.... he stands at the side of the crib and screams for the entire 15 minutes.... unfortuneatly Max inherited a double dose of stubborness from his momma and daddy..... we have been having a nightly stand off... unfortuneately and against everything I have read max is winning... that kid can keep it up for quite a long time...

anyone want a free kid for the weekend?

imaginitive play...

Oliver Beans best friend of the week...we had a very special guest at dinner last week. Ollie has been carrying around this bear for awhile. Which he never has been really into stuffed animals, but lately he has been feeding his stuffed dog, carrying around the bear, and insisting it eat dinner with us.

At first I just stuck the bear on the table, but ollie insisted he needed a chair, and than was so upset when the bear did not reach the table, so I jerry-rigged a bear seat. He than had to share his bib with the bear, and was trying to feed him his dinner. So I gave him an empty bowl and spoon, that did not trick ollie, so we filled the bowl with cheerios. That worked for a minute but ollie still had to share peaches and oranges.

The next day, ollie was playing in his room, I heard him talking a bunch and went to check on him. He had set up a little circle of bears and was feeding them "cookies" or whatever roundish thing he could find... I love his little imagination..... or maybe we need to get out of the house a little more and meet some real life kids... haaaaa

oh boys...

so we don't gender specify our toy selection at this house, we have a pink kitchen and some baby dolls, also a lovely array of stuffed animals...

but my boys gravitate to the cars... my neighbor brought us over a huge box of cars the beginning of the summer... we have cars all over the yard, and all over the house. Max found a car he is in love with. he pushes that thing all over the house, it is pretty funny...

I need to get a picture, but max also plays hide and seek, complete with saying the word "boo" he is growing up so fast, I can't believe it....

How does your garden grow..

just a little garden update...almost the end of the season, our tomatoes are still going strong, our carrots never got very big, but that is okay, it was fun to grow them anyway.
I don't know if our pumpkins will last till halloween, they are looking a little sad. Some are still growing but some have already started rotting... guess I am not that great of a pumpkin farmer... oh well, we will try again next year. Not that bad for my first try at a garden though....

What to do....

Last week this is what I woke up to, I was not in the mood at all to start my day by cleaning the kitchen from the night before, to turn around and make a mess in it making breakfast...and than just have to clean that up....So instead I put on my walking shoes, loaded the boys up and headed to the coffee shop, if I have to clean I might as well get a yummy soy latte to help me along... we pass a McDonald's on the way to the coffee shop, with a play area outside... so I got my latte and an organic apple juice for ollie, and head back to McDonald's.... thinking it is really funny that I got ollie an apple juice, but am about to feed him a really not good for him fast food breakfast thingy.... Parks are hard lately since max is walking, but not walking well enough for the challenges of the park. He is no longer content to just hang out in the backpack or stroller. So it becomes a struggle and not to much fun for me.... but at the Golden Arches....(so sad) the floor is padded, and the play area is fenced and he can't get away....

This was the first time that we have gone to a fast food place to eat and play.... I mean we do pick up the occasional burger, but it is not a habit, well not for me, ollie, and max... B is a different story, but what he puts into his body is his business, and we eat pretty healthy at home... so I can't give him to much crap...

all in all it was a great morning, even though I did have to go home and clean the dishes... but playing took up most of our morning....

When we first got there, I had to climb in there with him and try to direct him to the slide... those play things are high, and like little mazes.... as soon as he was out of my sight up in that thing he would start screaming and crying....I kept thinking, I really do not want to have to climb up there....I have a fear of things collapsing.... but once he found his way to the slide, with my gentle coaxing through the maze, he was stoked... he just kept running circles around the thing and down the slide... it was fun...

I do blame Mcdonald's (might have been costco) for getting sick though... me and the boys have stayed very healthy over the last year that I have been home, which before, ollie or I was sick all the time... so 2 days after our morning on the germy play thing... all three of us were cranky and had runny noses, and I had a killer sore throat.... that is why I should just stay home.... I did get a huge supply of airborne though... i love that stuff......

busy momma....

check out my other blog...... I have been busy, and it really paid off, we almost sold out at the street fair.... and have quite a few stores interested in our stuff... how exciting for our family... maybe B can stop working so many hours soon, if we can make some income..... awesome....send me all your good luck vibes...

I am not the best....

I am not the best Mom... I am not the best house cleaner... I am not the best wife... I am not the best sister.... and I am not the best friend...



Wow... that felt great, just getting it out there. Sometimes I feel like I am constantly failing, and than I realize, I don't have to be the best at everything.... well the best compared to everyone else, I only have to do the best that I can do, and sometimes I can fall short of that, and that is okay..



Today I had a surprise visit, nothing like a surprise visitor to make you take a second look at how clean you are keeping your home, when you aren't expecting people. Not that it was that big of a deal, it was just my sister... But my house was beyond messy... I seem to have this thing where I like to start projects even if i haven't cleaned up the mess from my last "project." Today I started screen printing, even though last nights dishes sat in the sink, two different kinds of cereal had been dropped by miniature hands on the living room floor, waiting to be vacuumed, which also had an array of shades of thread from my embroidery projects, also waiting for the vacuum. So instead of cleaning the house I decide to start a new project and add to the mess.... in the midst of the mess my older sister walks in... how embarrassing! I never remember walking into her home and thinking wow, someone needs to clean... but here I sat squirming, looking around and thinking wow, my floors really need to be mopped, I should really bring the rug in off the front porch, good God why can't I ever get the laundry put away... so after our visit, which was great, don't get me wrong I love visitors... I went into a cleaning frenzy, and got the house straightened up, but I still didn't get the laundry put away....



Also due to my above stated "projects" lately, I have not been the most attentive Mommy, which could be why my house is suffering, and I feel like I am failing. Today was especially hard. Ollie being the 2 yr old that he is, if he is not getting my almost full attention melts into a tantrum over everything... me being distracted today caused this..... so to get my stuff done I put him and max down for an early nap. Thank God they both agreed to cooperate.... but I bribed Ollie with the hope of making Chocolate chip cookies when he got up... I don't give my kids a ton of sweets, I don't keep that kind of stuff in the house, so this is a big deal for us... so during nap I got some of my stuff done, than realizing the state of my home, spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning. Ollie woke up and helped me clean a little... helped me fix the vacuum since I managed to clog it up with cheerios and a plastic ollie spoon, don't ask me how I managed to vacuum up a spoon. And than we started to make cookies, usually cooking together is a great experience for both of us, today not so much. I got mad, he was flinging butter and sugar all over the place, trying to eat the raw egg, and kept crying for the chocolate chips.... it was not very fun, he ended up in time out, crying big crocodile tears... as stated above, sometimes I am not the best mom...

at 5 p.m.... I poured two cups a milk... a sippy cup with water, put a couple of fresh, out of the oven, ooey gooey, chocolate chip cookies on a plate, and sat down at the table with my two boys, and we ate cookies.... at 5 p.m.... I thought this would make us all feel better, it didn't.... B was home late, we were all cranky, and eating chocolate chip cookies did not help....



B came home, I passed off two, crying, cranky, driving me crazy kids, and went and took a shower.... I realized in the shower I do not have to be the best at everything, and tomorrow will be better.

I hate cleaning my kitchen...

Being a stay at home mom means alot of cleaning... when I worked the house stayed much tidier... my kid was at someone elses home making a mess... and me and b split the housework 50/50... well not anymore... and today I am trying to avoid cleaning at all costs... this is not working so well, since it looks like a bomb went off in the middle of my house... this bomb was filled with train parts, cheerios, and last night's dinner dishes... plus about a million and a half pint sized cups and bowls from ikea.... sucks.... yesterday I did manage to deep clean the bathroom, I had to, since I noticied while brushing my teeth in the morning, that it looked like a science experiment was growing in my sink.... crappy..... I have laundry to do too.... I thought maybe if I wrote it out, it might motivate me... I still don't want to clean my kitchen.... dishes suck... especially when your dishwasher's brand name is mom... no automatic dishwasher in this house... I need to get palmolive, I have dishpan hands....

the dentist...

Ollie had is 2nd dentist appointment yesterday. We will be seeing the dentist alot with this kid. Because he was so early his teeth did'nt get as much time as they needed to fully develop. They came in with some dark spots where the enamel did not fully develop, so he is super prone to cavities in his poor little baby teeth... He has to have 4 covered in two weeks... sucks....

His dentist is awesome though... they specialize in children dentistry, the staff was great. All morning we practiced showing our teeth to the dentist, by the time we got to the dentist he was a pro.... When he goes in for the fillings he will get a little laughing gas and a movie will be playing on the ceiling, hopefully it will be a good experience for the little guy... I got teary eyed watching him be such a big boy in the chair when they cleaned his teeth.... he could'nt have been happier though... he was doing his little happy walk all over the office, and saying thankyou to all the nurses... and was really impressed with the fish tank...

There was also construction going on outside the big window he was getting his teeth cleaned in front of... so with his mouth full he kept yelling "big truck" and pointing out the window...... it was kind of funny...

My "not such a baby anymore" baby...

Max is walking... yep walking... at only nine months... he started really taking steps on Monday... It makes me so sad... I am already having the urges for another baby... which scares the heck out of B... we are planning on another baby, but not till max is closer to 3... at least that is the plan... I may get there and realize that I don't want to do the baby thing all over again... but I don't think I will feel that way...

I could'nt get a good pic of max walking... I will keep trying...

Max is such a little cuddle bug... he is a chunk of baby and just melts into your body when you hold him... I love it.. but he is starting to exert is independence which at times makes me sad.... but he is still at the age for a good snuggle, even if it is 3 in the morning.... I find myself not minding so much anymore... I realize my baby is not a baby anymore and my time for snuggles is limited...

He had is 9 month check yesterday... he is 20 lbs on the dot.... and 27.5 inches long.... I don't remember what percentile he is... but he is our rollie pollie little man... built like his dad, solid with a big rib cage.... and block feet... the funny thing is, max totally has my personality but looks like B... Ollie is much more like B personality wise, but looks more like me.... funny how genetics work...

more pics from the lake...

Perfect day..

I love big lake... We have been camping there for as long as I can remember, and I just love the place more and more... well I wish I could have a cabin there, instead of having to camp, but whatever... it is beautiful there just the same...

we drove up on saturday night, stopped and had dinner at a really great pizza place in sandy. We did'nt make it to bend until almost 11pm... but that was okay, the kids slept most of the way.... we stayed the night with jo, her friend gina, and gina's son steven... it was super fun and they were super gracious to let us crash there weekend for a night... the next morning.... the girls and little boys took a nice walk, which gave steven and B time to watch t.v... which was funny when we got back to the house the boys were sitting in opposite rooms watching different stuff... boys are so weird...

anyway we packed a lunch and headed to the lake for the afternoon.... it was great....

Gina was great at helping with the boys..... I guess it's the years of experience with her own, it made me sad though, gina's boys are grown, and she seems so young, it just made me realize how fast they grow up... my boys are going to be in there twenties before I know it.... so sad....

We spent the day by the tree that we buried my dad's ashes under a couple of years ago... I love that he is laid to rest at such a beautiful place... much better than visiting a cemetary...I miss my dad.... tear

Random goings-on at the Raetz House...

I have slacked a little on the update's so here we go...

Max and Ollie are really learning to play together, Ollie spent the other morning attaching max to his blanket and pulling him from one end of the kitchen to the other, Max was stoked...

I have tomatoes coming out of my ears.... it is fun having a garden... I made an awesome mole sauce, which I turned into butternut squash mole enchilada's... and chicken mole enchilada's...B is mole'd out... I also have made quite a few batches of spaghetti sauce... I think I am going to try to can this year.... I will be sure to let you know how that goes...

this pic is just too cute with the two boys...

Ollie is kind of potty training... we have him sit on the potty before and after nap and bed... and anytime he tells me he wants to go... we are easing into it... don't know if that is good or bad, but I don't think he is ready completely just yet... but it would be oh so awesome if he was...

... just another morning at the Raetz house... Ollie decided to help and pour max some more cereal... I cleaned up half of the cereal before I snapped the picture... the boys had a mountain of cheerios... I guess that is what happens when you leave the box within reaching distance and are reading your e-mail when you should be feeding your kids...