No guarantees

I found this today at kaleyann.com and it struck me, so I wanted to share it here. I thought, wow, if we only thought of everything in our life through a lens of gratitude, we'd be complaining a lot less, about everything. I am grateful today for the life I have, though it may not be what I envisioned for myself and definitely far from perfect, but I get to live it. And no matter how bleak things may look on any given day, I know I have been given much. I am still here every day and I can watch my family grow and I can love the ones around me. Nothing is gauranteed, including being able to get older.

Shop update

 

I updated my Etsy shop with a few housewares today, including this sweet brass boat. I can just see this in someone's home amid all the books, art and trinkets...

 

I'm hoping to list some children's items later tonight if I don't collapse from exhaustion first. I have been sleeping horribly and my beloved insomnia is back (third trimester woes), so we'll see what happens.

Last weekend was a good one

Well, we ended up making it to the zoo last weekend after all, and it was a wonderful day spent with my little family and my sister's family as well. It started off with an early morning soccer game of Ben's, which was actually really relaxing for me. I don't get to be out in the fresh air as much as I would like, so it was refreshing sitting there wrapped up in a blanket, sipping my latte, watching the boys do their thing. Mila and Olivia had actually spent the night at their cousin Noah's house, so I headed over there to pick them up and got treated to breakfast as well. Bonus!

Then we all headed to the zoo, which the kids loved, especially since we hadn't been in a while. Olivia talked about the monkeys afterwards, which were probably a highlight for them. We even saw two monkeys hugging, which was a first for all of us and so sweet to witness. One of them just came over to the other one in the enclosure and wrapped its arms around it. And we all oohed and aaawed... :)

It seems I ended up with a lot of pictures of the guys standing around with the kids. Typical, since the moms are usually behind the cameras or helping one of the kids with something. B ended up really enjoying himself, which was nice, and that guy needs to destress when he's home on the weekends anyway, so it was perfect. We ended the day with a stop at Lulu's Pizza, which serves the best pizza in town, hands down. If you're planning on going, try the Athenian--it's mouthwatering. And get a side of their homemade ranch, or one of their enormous salads, and you'll be in heaven. By the time the food came I forgot all about my camera, so I just got a couple shots of the kids at the table. Looks like my priorities are skewed towards feeding myself over this blogging thing!

xoxo,
Tanya

Happy weekend!

We were at the park yesterday during Ben's soccer practice, so I busted my phone out (since I forgot my camera...again) and took some photos of the girls and me on the playground. I was reading War and Peace (still plugging away on that book; 800 pages in so far) and the girls were happy to be outside. The swings are still their favorite, and I just love that they find enjoyment in such simple things as swinging. I got to watch them doing their thing and I started thinking about how big Olivia is getting, and I tried to see her as a big girl instead of the baby she is in my head. Soon she won't be the baby anymore and I'm kind of sad. She will graduate to 'big sister' status and will be in kindergarten in the fall! And I will do this motherhood thing all over again with the big kids all in school and me at home feeding the baby. I can't wait and I'm also kind of nervous about it. I have always had either all very little kids or all bigger kids, but now I will have an almost-10-year-old and a newborn, and that is going to require some adjusting for me. I just can't imagine it yet. I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there.

Some things I noticed in these pictures:
1) I have gained a lot of weight. Oops. It looks like it's going to be a long road back to feeling normal again after I have this baby.
2) Olivia belongs in Cirque du Soleil.
3)Mila looks to be a clutz, just like me, with all her bumps and bruises. She is so much like me, it's getting a little weird, but she looks the least like me of the three kids. How does that happen?

On another note, I had the most productive day ever today, and I'm tired now that it's 1:30 in the morning, but I did pretty good today, if I do say so myself. I got a decent night's sleep yesterday for the first time all week, and I woke up refreshed and ready to take on the day. It was pretty great! These are all the things I got done today: read my book for an hour and almost dozed off, cleaned all three bathrooms (hallelujah!!), vaccumed/dusted/changed sheets in Ben's room, washed the kitchen floor, cleaned the kitchen, put the third and last layer of paint on in the baby room, ran out of paint and ran to Home Depot for more, Ben had two boys over on a playdate, made purple salad and hard-boiled eggs for lunch, bathed Olivia, took the girls to my sister's for a sleepover, chatted there for an hour, went out to a late dinner with B and Ben for pizza bianca magnifica (mmmmm), and now I'm taking way too long blogging about it. Time to get some sleep for tomorrow's early morning soccer game. I was thinking to take the kids to the zoo tomorrow, but now that I'm not going to get very much sleep, I'm seriously reconsidering. I have so little energy these days, and it doesn't help that I wake up 30 times a night, so I know I'll be tired tomorrow...

I hope your weekend is wonderful!

xoxo,
Tanya

It was a good day

I still can't believe this baby shower! My sweet sisters threw it for me, even though this is my fourth baby, and they did it from two separate states. Julia came to town the night before the party and Natalia has two little kiddos keeping her busy, and they still managed to pull this beautiful party off! Everything was basically perfect, and I enjoyed looking over every last detail when I arrived. I was pretty mesmerized! I have amazing sisters with amazing taste who are not afraid to get their hands dirty to put something lovely together, and I love them for it!

The party had a woodland theme with lots of natural wood, moss, forest animals, and mushrooms, which was so insanely perfect (I have always had a soft spot for mushrooms). There were macarons, a beautiful meringue mushroom cake, and my mom's famous berry cake, just to name a few things on that glorious dessert table. The favors were little cookie mushrooms with chocolate tops--almost too cute to eat. I even got to keep the print above featuring Julia's painting/graphic design skills, which will be on the nursery wall soon.

We snuck outside before it got dark for some family pictures with my baby belly (and now I see the water retention starting...dang it!). B and Ben stopped by before Ben's soccer game and got to enjoy the party for a bit as well, which was nice. It was really fun having the girls with me all night as well. It was my first baby shower where my kids are old enough to care and even understand what's going on. All three of the kids are just so excited about this baby!

I feel like I'm really close to being ready for this baby with all the wonderful gifts I recieved. I went out and bought a baby bassinet last week, I got the coolest vintage high chair I have ever seen from my sis, and I have plenty of time to get a bouncer and walker and all that good stuff because you don't need those things until later. The baby will be sleeping in my room for the first six months or so, so the nursery doesn't really have to be done when the baby arrives. Once I settle on a stroller and high chair, I will be set for this little miracle to arrive!

xoxo,
Tanya

A shop update

I am happy to report I got some new adult items in the shop over the weekend, which is always fun. Now that I feel all accomplished, I can go to bed happy. ;) Today was spent finishing up listing items on Etsy, visiting my husband at work after getting the girls from school, a Starbucks run as a pick-me-up (because I slept horribly last night), and baby-sitting my niece and nephew in the evening. We even made homemade ice cream, so I'm calling today a success, and on to conquering other things tomorrow! Good night.

xoxo,
Tanya

Being very picky

I've been on the lookout for a new coffee table for months to replace our old, repainted, country-style table that we've kept around for nine years now. It doesn't seem like it's been with us that long, but time stands still for no one, as they say.

I've tried finding something at a thrift or consignment shop, but the local selection is just not what I'm looking for. And soon I won't have the luxury of being able to stop in here and there, so I've had a Favorites folder full of coffee tables that I revisit and add to every once in a while. I find this is the best way for me to figure out what I would really be able to live with long-term, or if maybe that particular choice was something I only liked that day.

The first table below would be my ultimate choice, with it's stone top resting on those pretty walnut legs, but the price is steep, so I'm thinking either the second one from West Elm or the fifth one from YLiving. I love that that one is rectangular in shape but has rounded corners for a mid-century modern/Scandinavian look. If you know of a website you think I would like, I would love to know.

No. 1 / No. 2 / No. 3 / No. 4 / No. 5 / No. 6 / No. 7 / No. 8 

xoxo,
Tanya

Eating for two

I have been cooking up a storm lately, squeezing in as much kitchen time as I can in between everything else. Sometimes by 4pm I am so tired I become pretty worthless for several hours, and evening sneaks up on me before I get my bearings. Then I am late with dinner, with cleaning up, with homework, and with bedtime. I hate when that happens. I've taken a nap three days out of four this week so far--this baby is just taking everything I have! That's okay, as long as she's growing and developing and getting ready to join the outside world in two short months, I'm okay with it. I made this delicious zuppa Toscana on Tuesday night after seeing it on Instagram (and salivating a little), and have been eating it for lunch every day since. I ate the last of it today, and it tasted almost as good as on the first day. I love finding a good recipe I know I will be using again and again. Now I don't know what in the world I'm going to have for lunch tomorrow...

xoxo, 

Tanya

Dreaming

Who else is dreaming of warmer days and getting super excited about summer? This summer will be very different for me with a newborn and three bigs to take care of, but I'm sure it will be good nonetheless. I will definitely not have enough arms at the pool now, so B will have to be home more and lend me his arms. I'm also dreaming about camping in the woods, one of my favorite things about summer, though in reality I probably won't get to do it this year. So tell me, what are you looking forward to most about warmer weather?

xoxo,
Tanya

February on my phone

1. Doing lots of maternity shopping these days.
2. Getting some nice weather and the snow is slowly melting.
3. The view from frozen Payette Lake.
4. My other half.
5. Too tired to sled sitting up.
6. Firework to end the McCall Winter Festival.
7. B and I enjoying our weekend.
8. The offspring.
9. Matching boots.
10. A cold day by the river.
11. Selfie
12. A long walk with this belly isn't easy.

13. Ben's first place Valentine robot.
14.Registering at Babies R Us.
15. A burger on my way home. Valentine's day was rough.
16. Some sweet Valentines from my cousin.
17. Mila's drawer contents before.
18. Mila's drawer after.
19. Silly girls in the parking lot.
20. Throwing rocks at a frozen pond.
21. Banana bread in progress.
22. New white walls.
23. Mila's new LaLaLoopsy friend.
24. Berry parfaits are a favorite around here.
25. New things from Anthropologie.
26. I want that dog letter holder!
27. From my walk.
28. Fruit bowl
29. Play date baking going on.
30. Puffy eyes are my new look these days.
31. We have a new jump roper in the house.
32. Another day, another fruit bowl.
33. Mexican comfort food
34. So thankful for my husband.

It's a lot of fun looking back at the previous month and seeing it all in review like this. It reminds me that it's not all cleaning and cooking and folding laundry. In between all that, we are spending time together and making memories. Though we may not get out of the house as much as I would like, looking at these reminds me that I'm doing pretty good keeping all my balls in the air, and I can't ask much more of myself than that. It's also nice to see that March is already shaping up to be much warmer than February was, which gets me even more excited for the rest of the month!

xoxo,
Tanya