Christmas with the Anderson's

It's hard for me to believe its that time of year again. Already. This whole time thing is still hard for me to wrap my head around. So here we have malia warming the butter for me so we could make delicious cookies to snack on while we had what malia called our Christmas party! Ella was already in bed for this event. Growing babies need their rest!

 

 

So cookies were made and christmas music was played

Here daddy is explaining the nativity scene to a very curious Malia. She was excited to see sheep there

 

 

Here is the aftermath of it all! Along with a very sleepy daddy!

 

Merry christmas!!

 

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What's in a year?

Time flies when your having fun! 2 kids and practically working somewhere around 4 jobs! (Teeter, kids, houses, lawns etc...)

 

Here is just a glimpse of what a year holds

The photo on the left is malia last year at the pumpkin patch. And on the right is this year! Its really neat to watch your kids grow and develop. Seeing features that resemble David or me, personality traits...it's a lot of fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what just 3 months holds! Time is a precious thing.

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Note to self...

She says she wants to draw on her eisle, which is located in her room.

Sure, ok. But, mom and dad will keep an eye on you, you can only draw on the paper!

Ok!

 

.........nap time............

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, crap! I forgot to take the markers out of her room!

Note to self: don't forget the MARKER bucket in your 2 year olds room at nap time.

 

She claims she knew nothing of it. I have my doubts.

;)

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She's a builder

She might become an architect one day! This is a daily activity for Malia. She loves to stack and build with just about anything.

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The artist at work

It's a dreary drizzly day here in concord...but that didn't stop our artist from her work. But, instead of markers, crayons and pens, she took to the wet sidewalk chalk that was forgotten about until the rain. So now, the chalk is more like a solid form of paint.

As you can see here, she starts at the back porch with lovely reds and blues, then moves on to the dog with beautiful blues, greens and a creamy white ( which actually was drywall putty from her daddy's pan that was left out! Momma had to stop her or we would be sanding down poor Barkley!). Then she's off to the flower pots and then the garage!

But here, her masterpiece! The trunk of this tree has never looked so spectacular! From top to bottom it's just beautiful.

 

Here is the artist, showing her work.

 

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Positive thinking

 

I want to frame this! How lovely

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Where's malia?

Well, my maternity leave is drawing to a close, and I must say I am heart broken that I have to go back to work. The good news is, I'm only going back part time! I have so enjoyed being home with my girls day after day. Don't get me wrong, we have had our moments but the good outweighs the bad in a big way.

Anyway! Thanks to my wonderful handy husband we have this great fenced in back yard for malia and Barkley to run around in! Malia, like most kids, loves to be outside. She would be outside from the moment she woke up until she went to bed if I let her!

But now that she's getting older, I can let her and Barkley loose! She loves to be out fetching him (or finding new hiding places for his ball! Poor dog). Today, she found a hiding place for herself!

So, where is she? Where IS malia?? "Malia??"

Oh no! I can't find her! MALIA??

Oh!! There she is!

Silly girl! These bushes are a perfect hiding spot!

And here is little Ella enjoying the beautiful fall day!

 

A little side note...let your kids get dirty, it's good for them :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Playdough

Well, my days are a little more hectic now :) but in a good way. Every day has its challenges, but I love being with my girls. Being around everyday I notice how much and how quickly they change. Time flies and before I know it, my little Ella will be 2 1/2.

 

Today I had a little downtime with Ella napping. While browsing around on pinterest (my breast feeding companion!) I came across a recipe for playdough. I loved playing with it when I was little, so I figured malia might enjoy it as well.

It was super easy and cheap to make! And malia was really into it as I had hoped! Here she's counting how many we have.

and here we made daddy a cheese burger :)

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It's getting close...

I am 36 weeks pregnant today. That means, if I make it to my due date, I only have 4 weeks to go. As I sit here, malia is napping away like a good little girl, and I'm beginning to realize that this moments of silence and freedom are about to be gone. But all for a good cause of course. David and I are growing increasingly excited to meet this new tiny member of our family (although he or she doesn't feel so tiny stuffed up in my belly!).

So, with this pregnancy quickly drawing to a close, it's time for me to get my butt into gear, and get stuff ready. The other day I finally pulled out my container of "0-3 months" clothes. You gotta wash them! If I'm anything like I was with malia, they might go through the wash once more! But, this time around I don't have as much time on my hands, and baby laundry not being so new, I don't see the second wash happening!

 

 

 

I started going through the pile, realizing it wasn't that long ago I was getting these same clothes ready for malia! And here she is, over 2 years old! Where has the time gone?

Anyway, time now to pick out 2 outfits! One for a boy and one for a girl! It's harder than it looks!

 

 

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Going crazy?

Becoming a mom opens up a whole new world full of new things. Things that before you became a mother you never thought about. One of those things for me, and I assume for most parents is packing for a trip. Now, malia is 2 and has been on a number of trips since she's been born, and yes I'll admit it has taken me this long to figure out that the more organized you are, the easier life is while you are gone. (or anywhere for that matter!)

As usual I was browsing around on pintrest and saw a few tips on how to be an organized packer. So, I gave It a try, this is what I came up with...

Ziplock bags. A wonderful invention! A bag with an outfit for each day, one for shoes, one for accessories etc...this may just be a little overboard for some, but I have to say it eliminated the "where the heck did I out that?, I can't find this" etc... And, made for more packing space since everything isn't shoved in the bag.

It's that time to start packing for the beach, so break out the ziplock bags! Don't worry, I reuse them!

4 days......

Little sewing projects

I haven't sewn in a while, but got the itch when I saw this cute sun bonnet pattern online. With babies all around and a trip to the beach coming up, I figured now is a good time to make them!

The first one I made was for my cousin up in pennsylvania, who is due anytime with a baby girl. I have come to the conclusion that I'm terrible with remembering to take pics as I go...I take a few at the beginning then get into it and forget! So my apologies for the huge gap!

Here we have my fabric choices. The bonnet is reversible, so the solid pink will be for all 3, the light pink with what I believe to be apples is for my cousins baby and Audrey, and the flowers are for malia.

A big thanks to my wonderful hubby who got me all these fun tools for Christmas! Making sewing even more enjoyable :) he always says "the right tools make all the difference". I have to agree! Here I am cutting out the fat quarter I need. I didn't know what a "fat quarter" was...it's a square of 18x21" fabric.

Fat quarters ready. Then I cut the pattern peices (all 3 of them!) and off I went...

All done! Now on to Audrey and malias!

 

Keep busy when moms busy

These days malia is a very busy bee. Her mind going a mile a minute! When I am in the Middle of my daily chores she suddenly demands moms attention. Wanting to play, go outside, etc... So to keep her busy I sometimes get her a big bowl with soapy water and let her have at it!

Today we tried something a little different! She loves to draw, so I grabbed a large sheet of freezer paper and stuck it to the fridge, got her markers and crayons and let her go! She enjoyed it, and I got the kitchen clean uninterrupted. I must say, she is quite the little artist!

 

Under the bathroom sink...

Just a quick before and after of the bathroom sink cabinet. Nothing too special!

Here we have the jumbled up mess of before. Lotion and body spray galore...

and here is the after! Not too shabby :) I suppose the next place I need to tackle is the linen closet...I'm not too excited about that one!

 

Organization cont...

Here we are again. Yet another crazy cabinet that can bring on a bad mood with the tug of a cookie sheet. Literally. I had organized the top a long time ago successfully (surprise), so that needed no attention. What you see here is just a pile of madness. I would carefully lean all the flat stuff up against the side of the cabinet, then strategically place pots and pans beside them to keep them from slipping or falling over. Ok, who has time for jenga type game when putting the dishes away, or just simply wants a cutting board? well, not me. I had had it!

I found this pan divider at Walmart when shopping for baskets for the kitchen sink. David secured it down for me, and just like that, the cabinet is organized. This one was easier than the last. I thought about lining the bottom, but it was getting late and dinner needed to be made. I can do that another day!

And on I go to the next.....

Organizing inspiration...or nesting in action?

When you live in a small house like ours, being organized and utilizing every nook and cranny to its full potential is a must. Something that I have yet to master. Being truly organized, having a well thought out plan is something that does not come easily for me. Why? I don't know, it's just who I am! But, thanks to this wonderful invention named Pinterest, all that has changed. I might not be able to come up with my own ideas on how to organize, but I can take other peoples ideas and use them for my own! This idea comes from a blog I found on Pinterest Called a bowl full of lemons.

Below you see a picture of the under the sink cabinet. We are about to enter...BEWARE!

YIKES!! We have been living like this for quite some time! Using about 10% of what is in there. After seeing the blog, and seeing what this space could be, I knew it was time. So, first, remove all this junk. The big basket is full of cleaners. Some, I'm ashamed to say are EMPTY! I took all the stuff out, got out what I use daily, cleaned the basket, put all the rarely used cleaners back. Things like the wasp spray, febreez, carpet and floor cleaner. This basket now resides in the laundry room. Next the big plastic drawer. Really just a big waste of space. Got rid of it. It can be used for something else, somewhere else!

 

Ok, we are empty! I wiped it down good with soapy water. It was gross. (this pic is pre wipe down)

Next, I lined the bottom with contact paper. The blogger raved about targets selection, but it must have been from a later time because their good selection is now online only :( so, I found this bright cheerful color at Walmart. It's really just to add a little something to an otherwise boring space.

And, walah! Ah, it's like a breath of fresh air!

I had a few cabinet organizers that were not being used to their full potential, so I had David move them here to be better used!

 

I can actually put the dish rack down here! It's great!

With another Anderson addition on the way, organizing is a must. Trying to make life a little less hectic! I plan to continue my organizing itch throughout the house. Poor David! I'm sure you will all hear about how he can't find anything because I keep moving it all! Well, he's right...but hopefully once I find a way to do these things in a good, functional manner, they wont have to be moved again and again. That's my goal anyway!

Thank you PINTEREST for leading me to a bowl full of lemons to help me!