Time to get serious!?!

For the first time in my life, I have been carrying a bit of extra weight long term (okay, so there what that time after first getting married....).  I don't know whether the three miscarriages in the last year or my nightly indulgence of sweet sugary somethings is more to blame but it's become quite the problem.  The kids are even starting to notice.

The other day I was loading the kids up in the car.  As I strapped Kian in his seat I was taken aback by just how cute his big chubby cheeks were.  I said to him, "Oh Kian....why can't 'chubby' look so cute on everyone."  Gabe, walking up behind me says, "Chubby does look good on everyone."  To which I replied, while grabbing the rolls of fat that have found their home around my middle, "Well, it's not cute on me."  Gabe thinks about this for a second, shrugs his shoulders and says, "But it's not UGLY on you either."  Sweet unobservant boy.

I laughed....hard.  I could have kissed the boy (come to think of it I probably should have).

and... 


Yesterday, as I'm putting Isaac and Cael to bed, Isaac looks at me and says, "Why is your tummy getting bigger?" *OUCH* "Is there a baby in there?"  *Sigh*  "No," I replied, "There is not."  He just looked at me, as though he didn't believe me.  Poor confused kid.  The only time my kids have ever seen me "round" is when there IS a baby in there.


I think it may be time to get serious about eating more healthy and loosing this excess poundage. 

Not that it stops me from doing things (I finally signed up for the Omak Warrior Stampede which will be this Saturday) but it will make me feel more comfortable in my own skin (literally) and that's pretty important to me.

We'll see how it goes.  (I sound TERRIBLY motivated, don't I...he he he).

We call him Mr. "Mini Rob"...

Isaac REALLY is a "Mini Rob".  

Check out these two.

(photo cropped from my desktop birthday calendar for 2012)

From birth he looked so much like Roberto we just KNEW they were destined to be a lot alike.  And they are.

Today we celebrate his 5th birthday with a few of my most favorite photos (and one super CUTE video) of my Isaac (aka Little Lincoln).

Sweet Baby Boy #3

Isaac and Grandma H. sharing a tender moment (Love this pic!)

Isaac means "he who laughs"

"I wanna help unpack"

Always smiling

7 staples to the head and I'm STILL smiling

This boy LOVES him some bugs

Typical Isaac face

again...very typical

This naughty boy got into mommy's "feminine things"

and made a mess of flour and sugar

Makes one ADORABLE pirate

and a killer monkey face, too!

He's a completely loyal "boyfriend"

and loves to monkey around

Isaac is an energetic, rambunctious, very curious, even more independent, and extremely lovable boy.  He has kept me on my toes, and knees (in prayer) from the get go.  Our home wouldn't be complete without his dimpled smile and love for all things "little".  

I can't believe he is FIVE!

Love you Little Lincoln.  :)

I leave you with this incredibly adorable video taken on his first birthday (the quality stinks but still worth watching).  It brings a smile to my face EVERY TIME (and we've already watched it 20+ times between yesterday and today).

(actual birthday post to come later.  Be sure to come back and check out his super simple and super cool Batman birthday cake.  I'll even post a tutorial). 

Trampoline Netting Repair (aka I may have been a fisherman)

Perhaps I was a fisherman in a past life....

for today I did the most AMAZING job of netting repair in the whole entire world.

Okay....maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration (pardon me while I toot my own horn).

Here's what happened.

Just weeks after purchasing our trampoline last year, someone found a loose thread on the netting and pulled...and pulled....and pulled until there was a sizeable snag reaching 2/3 the way around the diameter of the netting. 

SO NOT COOL! 

 I was not happy (to say the least) but, after threatening them with expulsion from the trampoline for eternity if they ever did it again, I let the matter go.  Enough said.  Or so I thought.

A few days ago someone got the brilliant idea of sticking their little fingers in the snag and pulling until the hole grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger (hello pretty garden).   

Blood!  Fire!

WHOSE ARE THESE CHILDREN ANYWAY? 

After cooling down (ha ha) I figured I had two choices.  I could either let the problem go and watch it get worse until the whole net was destroyed and had to be replaced ($200+) or I could come up with a plan to fix it.

After brainstorming, I came up with this....

 (Fishing line...20lbs.  Cost me less than $3.00 at Walmart)

and I went to work.

Result: EXCELLENT (toot, toot)
Cost:  < $3.00
Effort:  Minimal

If I can do it...anyone can.

Here are my suggestions on HOW:

#1  Pull out a sizable amount of fishing line (about 1 1/2 times the length of the hole) and than double that length again.  Fold line in half (as if you were using a double thread for swing/stitching) and slip on a quilting or other large eyed needle (I didn't use one myself....wish I had). 

#2  Weave the line through a few squares (about a 1/4 inch from the start of the hole) and tie a good knot.

#3  Starting right next to the knot weave a few vertical stitches and continue on until you reach the actual hole(to secure it).  Once you reach the hole, start widening the height of the stitch (I skipped the first set of squares right on the edge of the rip and started on the second row (for added stability).  Pull the line through and take it vertically to the edge (or one row in) on the other side of the hole and pull tight.  Skip a few squares horizontally (I did every other) and do it again.  Do this for a couple of stitches until you get the hang of it.  (you may have to pull the net closed as you work to tighten it at first).

#4 Once you get the hang of it, try doing several loops up and down before pulling tight.  It saves a LOT of time.

  #5 The completed line WILL unravel unless you keep it tight at all times.  Unless you are an octopus with 8 arms, this will require some finagling.  Pull the line tight (seen below).  (Now here comes the weird part)  Clamp the line in your front teeth to hold it tight.  Yep, that's what I said.  In your teeth.  (Just don't tell my mother...or my orthodontist...he he).

This way both hands will be free to work on the next set of stitching without undoing what you have just done.

#6  Work your way to the other end of the hole.  Back stitch the line a few times and tie it off with another good knot.  You are done.

The finished repair should look something like this.

 

BEAUTIFUL, yes?

I'm gonna make a pre-emptive strike on these two babies before they meet the same fate as the last one. 

Happy Stitching Y'all!

Summer Lovin'--The Jungle

I am going to attempt to catch up on life and the adventures therein.  I was a little (a lot) burned out with blogging and decided to phase my addiction into something more instantaneously gratifying ...facebook. 

But I've missed actual writing and so I think I'm back for a while now. 

Maybe.

As for catching up, here's the first installment. Introducing " Summer Lovin'-- The Jungle. 

What started out as this: 

Has now become this:

This is what we lovingly refer to as "The Jungle".

Goes to show what a little bit of compost and steer manure can do to otherwise extremely sterile soil.  (sterile, as in, not ONE weed popped up the entire spring)

We've never experienced anything like it.  It boggles my mind.  The plants are bigger than anything I have ever seen.  The green bean plants reach well above my knees.  It's insane.   Not even the hail storm we had the other day could stop their growth.

 Holy Monkey Lovin'.

As you can see, we didn't plan enough room for their ginormousness.


Who knew there was gold in dung? Not me...that's who.

Check it out....

The pumpkin plants have started taking over the kids digging area.

 I'm not gonna lie....I'm not too sad about that.  I'm thinkin' we may just need all of that space next year.  No more dirt caked faces (clothes, hair, eyes, tongues, etc) and no more mud pie slinging.  DARN, DARN, DARN! (wink)

Back to the goods.

The biggest yield-er, so far?  The ZUCCHINI!

These babies are just from today (sans 2 that Rob took to work).  That's 9...in ONE day!  Plus the 15-20 we have previously harvested makes for A LOT OF ZUCCHINI!  It's a good thing we love it.

In addition to plumping back up my freezer stores (sliced for regular dinner table consumption and shredded for tasty winter baked goods awesomeness) we have been enjoying a lot of this:

Squash, green beans (also from the garden), 1/2 to 1 TBSP olive oil, 1 tsp minced garlic and a dash of seasoned salt.  SO TASTY (unless Rob cooks it and puts in 4 TBSP oil).

 and some of this:

Grilled pizza---SO GOOD!  You can find grilling instructions on Our Best Bites here.  I also make my own pizza sauce using 1to2 15 oz cans tomato sauce and Our Best Bites garlic bread seasoning recipe (to die for).  Better than ANYTHING you will find at the store.

Next on the list for zucchini love:
This,  this, this (SO GOOD--already had it once--thank you Lisa), this , ohhhh and maybe this.

(Pinterest....I LOVE YOU!)

In the meantime we will are anxiously awaiting more green beans, tomatoes, crookneck squash, cantaloupe, cucumbers, walla walla onions, pumpkins and carrots. 

Fresh food makes my mouth water. 

How about you?

Sigh.....

Now I'm off to eat a Twix.

Goodnight!

Privacy is HIGHLY overrated

Who was I kidding.  When have I EVER been a private person. 

So...I've given up my privacy and opted again for an open blog. 

I hope y'all are excited about that. 

Not that you care, really but hey...if it makes you feel better, blogging buddies, it means that I will most likely be blogging more often. 

I know that will excite a few of you (aka Kara).

Love,

Melanie