Learning to make tea!

drying lavendar

For a while now, I thought it would be awesome to learn how to make tea. Fortunately moving into our new place, we've had tons of edible plant life that I can turn into tea. I'm starting with lavendar & mint tea. And maybe I'll expand upon it once I've learned. MM.

So in a few months if you get a present from me... and it's tea, don't be sad! Be happy, I worked hard on it. (And ooooh, my hands smell so good after picking that lavendar!!)

Up and down skills

Standing!

I just adore this photo of Sophia. For some reason, there are only a few conditions which she presently is willing to strand: 1) In the bathtub & 2) When we say UP, DOWN. She seems to think both are a lot of fun and deem some standing... so who are we to argue that?!

I am completely excited that she is now doing some standing. I try to walk that line between fear & being lax, being paranoid & knowing everything will be alright (like bob marley sings!). The doctor said that if she weren't walking at 15 months, to have her checked out again. Well at 15 months she wasn't walking, so we had her back in at the doc & also had her seen by Kern Start to see if the county had any tools to help Sophia's motor skills.

After both appointments, she is still checking out healthy, just behind. She has a physical therapy eval coming up soon, as well as an appointment to see a pediatric neurologist next month (just to cover all bases). She also qualifies for a class where they'll work on her motor skills. I was feeling pretty rotten as a mom about it, but realized looking inward was not helping! Plus, people pay tons of money for activities that stimulate their child's brain, heart and body, so I'm grateful she has that tool!!

Anyways, our sweet girl is making all kinds of progress. She's standing on her own without help this week, what will next week hold.

Progress in Professionalizing Motherhood

Some weeks are just miracles. I try hard to step outside of myself and my week to see the beauty in the mundane. This week has been SUCH a good, proactive, healing week... and I've been praising God for it.  I've been on top of my work, got extra time soaking in the Living Water, took initiative & got in some exercise, lots of laughing with my fam, sophia making all kinds of progress, blessing matt with his countdown calendar, zoe already getting better with swim lessons, growing by heaps & getting organized as a mom... AND I finished reading another book.

I'm feeling good... like I could do anything. And yet, I think I've been realizing more than anything else this week how much work there is when it comes to making a home. I'm coming to realize to how when I became a parent, my life is forever changed... and I have to quite wishing and hoping for a different reality, but I need to embrace the reality that's right in front of me. I think Matt & I both are getting better at knowing our life right now is as a family (our time, energy, and resources all go towards this cause!). This quote really encouraged me this week in homemaking & helped me to see how important it is!! My heart is at home!

Cultivate your skills, not only of housekeeping, but of making a home for your family. As you know already, they are not always exactly the same.

Housekeeping consists of the laundry, the dishes, the toilets, and floors that need to be scrubbed, but homemake is something else. The difference between housekeeping and homemakeing is the difference between a barren field and lovely, fragrant garden.

Homemaking is the deliberate cultivation of beauty and productivity in family relationships. Homemaking is about helping your family feel loved and comforted. Homemaking is about celebrating each other, and about caring for each other, as well as for your friends and extended families and even the occasional stranger. Anyone can keep a house. Not everyone bothers to make a home.

I've been having a blast preparing for months, maybe even years for Matt's 30th birthday. I finally got to give him part of his gift last week, a countdown calendar that counts down to his 30th! For each day, he opens a window and it has a fun little surprise underneath. I'm posting each fun thing on facebook that he gets, so we're "friends" on there, check it out. For now, here's the front of the calendar:

I am hoping it will be truly fun for him & that he can enjoy it!!

Thankful

Just made myself a peppermint tea. So I should make it through this blog-- even on my mommy energy. Okay, maybe not, but I'll do my best, hehe.

Matt's sister, Erika ('Rika) has been staying with us. It's been about a month so far... and I've been so enjoying having her here!

She may be our part-time paid nanny, but she is a full-time auntie to the girls & friend to Matt & I. She is so fun to hang around. I love having lots of similar interests as her so I never run out of projects we intend to work on or things we have to talk about.

I continue to grow in my valuing the relationships of family- both those I've acquired by birth and by marriage. They are naturally invested in your life, and you're stuck with them for the long run, so might as well embrace the beautiful relationships family members bring.

Anyways, it's great to have family in town! We have her for sure until the end of the summer and then maybe longer, maybe not.

Blessings!

Fear

I realized last week that fear has totally seeped into my life!! This ephipany made me want to shake myself out of my comfort zone bad-- and mess myself up with taking more risks!!  Too much fear, not enough faith. I had the opportunity to act on my decision right away. Matt challenged me to ride our new scooter. I resisted at first, but then sped off into the sunset and felt free and alive and good. I also threw in a run through sprinklers. I throw water in my comfort zone's FACE! ♥

I find the responsibility as parents to be HUGE. I never want to be caught in an unhealthy spot because I don't want our kids to follow that lead. They are always watching, always observing who we are and what we do. What a compliment and how freaking scary at the same time!!

Watching Zoe at her swim lessons the last few weeks made me realize even more how fear had become a factor in my heart. First off, i don't think I am equipped to know how to teach our daughter how to swim properly and it was so a reminder that it's such a blessing to have other honorable people teach our children from their expertise. But I think I have held her back in the water because I have not wanted her to get hurt in any way.

They are messing up this whole idea of fear and just getting her all over in the water. They are teaching her skills to dive down & paddle in the deep water. Sometimes, I still want to jump in and tell her to only stay where she can touch or to just doggie paddle, but then I realize that idea is insane and the reality is that she is getting better with each lesson. She is learning tools that will give her the ability to withstand deep water.

And doesn't God do that for us? Doesn't His Word give us that strength? You never read promises that we have it easy, but that He'll never leave us... that He's given us the things we need. And that's what I choose!

Homemade playdough... FINALLY!!

Did it REALLY take me this long to make homemade playdough? Yes, it really did.

Zoe's been playing playdough since she was a toddler, but I never made my own. But oh well! I'm making it now :) The first batch-yellow!!

What new things are you trying today?

Our sweet Sophia has become such a CLIMBER! She may not be walking yet, but she's finding a way around to explore everything. It's hard to keep her off all these interesting spaces. She loves the fridge, dishwasher & stairs. :)

I love seeing our girls mind run. Sophia has lots of good ideas. She loves to manipulate things to see how they work. Pictured below she thought she'd give her coffee can shakers a ride! :)

Carrot Party... and other reasons to party

Lately, we've been making everything a party... from "Curb Parties" when you accidently hit the curb to "Carrot Party" where you eat carrots. Life's good when everything's a party. :)

My favorite moment...

We recently took a camping trip to Pismo Beach with my sister and nephew. We really had a fun adventure. The first night we were there, things weren't looking good at our camp ground. After getting completely smoked out from our neighbors at the camp site, we decided to head to the city to explore and see how things would look for the holiday weekend.

It ended up being the nicest evening while we were there. There was hardly anyone in Pismo that night, so we just had fun exploring and enjoying the nice night. One of the best parts of their public beach is the swings. We swang and swang and swang as the sun was setting, weather perfect.

TWAS a nice night!