Trophy

We had a lovely day today- trip to the Zoo and then a stop at Trophy Cupcakes in Wallingford, a neighborhood of Seattle. We usually do Cupcake Royale, woman owned and she gives her employees health care. Trophy is a level fancier, similar price, cute decor and they have a parking lot. I had peanut butter frosting on chocolate cupcake. The kids got lemon cupcake with strawberry frosting and sprinkles. We brought home a snicker doodle for Dad! I refuse to choose sides, I'll go to the one closest to me!

You can tell that Butters is tired of being photographed but E certainly is not!

On the way home, the kids played their favorite car game: Butters yells E's name and she turns her head and pretends to ignore him. Tomorrow I'm hosting a park clean up for Sept 11th remembrance and day of service and then next week we start pre-school!

Butters Photo Shoot

I let Butters take photos the other day, here are the things important to a young boy!

Size 4

Proof my kids are huge, they are both wearing the same size pajamas from the same set. Size four on my 4.5 year old and my almost 2 year old. To be fair, PJs run a bit small, but it looks like I can move the PJs from Butter's drawer right to Es!

Beach

These two photos show off the kid's personalities at this point in time: exuberant and grouchy.


E is happy doing pretty much anything. "I did it," she screams.

Butters has been a little grouchy about doing things. "I don't want to go to the park/museum/beach." "Don't take my picture." But when we get there, he has fun. It's like he turned 16 already.

Today we are back home after a trip to Vashon Island for a wedding, had a lovely time but Butters came home with a bad cough maybe even croup (sp?). He woke up last night and could hardly breath so we are all recovering. Except for E who slept through it all and is having fun doing whatever she does!

Mini Quilts

This has to do with P. Mookie's visit from way back when. We continued my sewing/quilting lessons. Whenever we are together, she teaches me more about sewing, pressing, cutting, etc.

So, here are some doll quilts I made and then a crib sized quilt for an unknown baby girl. The red binded one and the larger crib size are called 'stacked coins.' The other is a mix matched practice quilt that I tried cutting corners on. I turned it inside out and wanted to see if you need binding or not. You can tell it is wonkier, so the answer is yes, you do need binding!

Humble

I had a humbling day at the park. I hosted another big park wedding work day with the Everett Gospel Mission. We had around 20 women there, we've got about 10 acres of dandelions, so we put a dent in the work but not much! The women who came today have nothing, or at least not much. They have a good spirit and big hearts. But they also have stories, ones I don't want to ask about. It reminds me of how much I have. It's almost hard to be around them-I drove my leather seated SUV to the grocery after and bought whatever we needed. I filled the tank up with gas, I didn't have to ration my money. I try not to buy too much, rarely buy clothes for any of us and I've cut back on fancy stuff from the store-like expensive cheese and prepackaged foods. But, I didn't have to pick between groceries or gas. Or, groceries or health insurance.

As a parent, I'm torn. I recognize my kids have more than the need, but isn't that what you want for your kids? To have more than you had. On one hand, I want them to appreciate what they've got and yet also want to give them anything they ask for, if we can afford it. I could buy a new toy for the kids, or push them on the swing for free entertainment.

In the long run, I think it's more important to teach, "No," and let your kids go without. I don't want my children to take things for granted, but I want them to have any opportunity for success that comes to them. I also want to share what we've got with people who don't. Time to sort through the toys and donate them to the mission. Along with my maternity clothes, I don't need those anymore!

Almost Famous

I was interviewed by KSER, the local public radio station. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here, or copy and paste this link:




http://recyclewithkbk.podbean.com/2009/08/17/pesticide-free-everett-lowell-park


I also created a blog about the pesticide free work. Stop by or bookmark it!



http://www.pesticidefreeeverett.blogspot.com/