POD "Bringing in the Wood"

When Fin is in good spirits (remember... he's two...) he loves to help. He helps sweep, dust, wipe windows, clean the counters, cut veggies, cook dinner and bake cookies. His new love is helping to start the fire. He helps crumple up the scrap paper, hands me kindling, and even "bwow"s on the fire to get it going. 

He also helps us bring in the wood. We take our wheelbarrows over to the woodpile, fill 'em up, and wheel them back to the house. 

There is something just ridiculously cute about children copying mom and dad using small, toy versions of the adult things: wheelbarrows, lawn mowers, kitchens... Etc. 

 

Gotta love having a big helper!

Happy Halloween!

It was a great Halloween. I spent the entire day pumping Fin up for an evening of fun and throwing everything together: finding the kids costumes, packing a bag for the evening, throwing dinner in the crockpot and deciding what (if anything) Matt and I could wear! 

Hmmmm, what should Kai wear? Spider or Robot?

At about 1pm while the boys were napping I called Matt and asked if I could wear his old uniform. He gave me the go ahead. So, this year, I got realllllly creative and dressed up as Matt Thomsen. :) I continued to prepare during naptime and got my hair pinned up and slicked down with gel. Hehe. You should have seen Fin's grumpy, confused stare when he saw me after he woke up. Then, when I showed him the wig, he started to lose it. "No! No!" :) It was then that I realized I was going to have to eaaaase him into the whole costume/wig thing. He got over it eventually.

Matt Thomsen Selfie:

Matt also had no costume lined up, but wanted to do SOMETHING if I was dressing up. Well, I scrounged up some old parts to a devil costume: horns, a bowtie, a tail and red fishnets. I don't think Matt was that impressed, but he didn't have many other options. "What am I????!," he asked me. What if someone asks me what I am???!

"Tell them you are a hot mess,"I replied.

The happy family. Matt Thomsen, She-Devil... something, Tiger and Robot. :)

Poor Kai Guy was less than impressed with his outfit.

This photo is titled: "Ok, I need to go get a beer if I'm going to wear this..."

And we're off!

We hit a few neighbors, but we decided we needed more than our quiet dead-end street. Fin needed to see all the other kids, the decorated doorsteps, the streets bustling in the dark. So we packed 'em in the car and headed downtown to some busier neighborhoods.

My lil guy was very happy... that is, once he got out of that silly costume and got a snack. 

Fin got the swing of it after just a few homes. "Mo. Mo houses," he would mumble after every stop. :) It was a great night and the candy was deeeeelicious!

Andrea's Visit!!!

Last weekend my friend Andrea (who I met when we were stationed in Great Lakes) came to visit!

Things are a little different now than when we had plenty of time for beach combing, long walks with our dogs and dinners together. Still, even with two kids in diapers, we managed to have a few relaxing days together. Errrrrr... at least I found them relaxing? You'll have to ask Andrea what she REALLY thought of her "relaxing" getaway sometime when I'm not around. ;) There were hectic moments, as there always are with kiddos, but we still managed to squeeze a lot in without it feeling like too much. 

Our weekend in photos: 

After watching a tense Michigan football game, Fin, Andrea and I zipped down to the local beach for a Puget Sound sunset. We get a lot of cloudy, overcast weather here, but it was as if Andrea brought the sunshine! So beautiful!

Andrea, Kai and I also spent a fun day out and about in Langley (Dad and Fin held down the fort.) 

We explored the town a tad, had a very nice lunch and hit a couple wineries for a tasting. Whidbey Island has like... eight wineries on it! Four or five are right in Langley. The Spoiled Dog winery with its Australian Shepards was a must see for Andrea.

All of us (including Mateo) spent a super relaxing couple hours at Deception Park one afternoon. We brought along some Portuguese wine, cheese, crackers and... wait for it... super classy dixie cups. Once again the weather was perfect and the scenery was awesome!

Giant driftwood Teeter-totter anyone??? :) A first for Fin! 

 Oh! And for like 10 minutes we had an adorable little seal swimming around right in front of us! It was awesome!

After a couple very relaxing hours at the park, we headed back to the house to start making a delicious dinner. We were getting a much later start than we wanted on making dinner, but the park was well worth it. 5:30 PM is not that late to begin making dinner, but when you're making something as adventurous as homemade raviolis ... 5:30 is a little late! Needless to say between a fussy baby and a crazy two-year-old, the dinner making process was not quite as relaxing as we had envisioned. :-o 

Thankfully, the stress paid off and dinner was great. After the kiddos were asleep, we enjoyed our homemade goat cheese raviolis in a white wine sauce with cranberries, asparagus and chicken sausage. 

Our last day together was a low-key one since Andrea had to board the shuttle at 7 PM for her 11 PM flight out of Seattle. We got some things done around the house, made a yummy chicken pot pie, and spent an hour in the afternoon walking around and getting ice cream in Coupeville. It was high tide so we didn't get to see the starfish I wanted to show Andrea (photos in a future post), but... because of the high tide, we DID see another seal. He was hanging right around the docks! 

Such a great and MUCH needed weekend. Wish she lived closer!!!

POD "Late Afternoon Grayness"

Snapped this pic with my iphone from the passenger seat of a 45 mph moving car. The sunset was gorgeous and although I fully expected that I would not be able to capture the beauty on camera, I figured it was worth a try. As suspected, the photo did it no justice, but I still liked the picture. 

It may not have captured the sunset, but it did capture the high wall of driftwood that lines many beaches out here, the range of mountains that surround us, and the late afternoon grayness that often makes it hard to tell where the ocean ends and the sky begins. :) Beautiful.

All Things Fall

 The season has officially changed here on Whidbey Island. It's Fall! The sad news is it's going to get darker earlier, windier, colder, rainier; but ... it's okay because it's fall and this weather is to be expected. 

Fall is my favorite season. It's time for warm hearty crockpots and delicious soups and stews. Time to pull out my cozy sweaters, my favorite scarves, and my rain boots. (Oh wait I never actually put those away this summer...) Time for pumpkins and all foods and drinks to start offering pumpkin flavors. Time to start taking vitamin D cause I probably won't see the sun again until May... ;)

All jokes aside, we've been having fun and staying busy doing some fall-ish activities: 

Finlay and dad carved his first pumpkin! 

Fin loved playing with the seeds and insides! He scooped and dumped and separated for probably two hours! We surprised him after dinner by lighting it and putting it in the bathroom so it was waiting there when he went in for his tub tub. He loved it. I have a feeling there will be more pumpkins carved this season. 

Of course we had to show Finlay what you can do with the seeds! So we whipped up a small batch of maple spiced pumpkin seeds. Yum! 

Halloween is just around the corner so when a friend told me that the local thrift store had lots of costumes available, I had to go check it out. There were a few costumes in Fin's size but I couldn't resist the tiger. Being a tall kid, I knew that a costume in size 2T would be a little snug, but Finlay has developed a small fear of tigers so I went for this one regardless. We hoped this might help with his "There are tigers hiding in the woods that are going to eat me" fear . He might be afraid of tigers but he is not afraid of this tiger costume!

Decided this year Fin is old enough to appreciate some fall decorations! So off to the dollar store we went! Fin loved the leaves and spiders and bats so we got a little of everything. I stayed away from witches, ghosts, skeletons... etc. Not sure how he would have reacted, but the last thing I want to do is scare the kid anymore than he already is. I know Halloween is all about being scared but I think it can wait a few years. We need all the sleep in this house we can get. Anyway, while Kai snoozed in the swing, Fin and I enjoyed a fun morning putting up decorations. 

Loving Fall already! Can't wait for more Fall fun!

POD "ConiFURous Trees"

It's very green and lush and moist and damp (and often dark) here which means lots of cool moss. Many trees branches are LINED with the stuff, giving them a fun, furry look. The BEST is when it's misty and this stuff gets all white and frozen. The trees look magical! Hoping to get a pic of that for you this winter! 

POD "The Deer With No Fear"

The POD today is just a quick pic of one of thousands of deer that inhabit this island. I'm pretty sure these things have no predators which makes them practically fearless.

 

Fin and I were just standing in our driveway talking to our neighbor when we spotted this guy. He spotted us about the same time we spotted him and yet he proceeded to walk closer and closer and closer until he walked right by us. I kept thinking he was going to at SOME point feel threatened, turn, and book it... but...  not so much. He just casually walked by us with a look on his face like "Hey guys. What's up?"

Anyway... this guys behavior is the norm for deer on this island. You find them hanging out on your front lawn in the middle of the day, birthing fawns under the bush in your backyard and trotting down the middle of the road oblivious to your car about 5 feet from their black tails. 

Not a day goes by without seeing a deer. Sometimes my Dad goes an entire hunting SEASON without seeing a buck. I think it's fair to say you'd have a freezer-full here, Dad. :) 

Ps. Props to my neighbor for the photo. My phone was inside.

POD "Sweet, Sweet Quiet Time"

Fin's down for his nap which means time just for Kai and I. I've always enjoyed the peace and quiet that comes with nap time, but it's even more precious now. 

Look at that big gummy smile. :) Someone is dreaming about something nice! I wonder what they could be dreaming about this early in life? 

Well, I'm going to stop blogging so I can just enjoy this sweet, sweet quiet time. :)

Backyard Barnyards

(Photo courtesy of an actual, legit farm)

This morning I decided that Washington state has a lot more farmland than I previously thought. Don't get me wrong, there's all kinds of big beautiful forests and mountains covered with tall evergreens. But at least here on the island, there's a lot of farmland. 

Actually, I think I need to clarify. There's a lot of FARMING ... not necessarily a lot of farmland. Yeaaaaaa most people just turn their normal homes and yards into makeshift farms. They fence off a big section and put in it whatever tickles their farmer fancy: horses, ducks ... chickens are a popular selection. Everybody and their brother have chickens scratching around their yards. So, in the event of an apocalyptic disaster, us Washingtonians can probably sustain ourselves on eggs. :) But I digress ...

A lady down the road was crazy enough to purchase eight geese. Those things run all over her front yard with their wings up and their heads down hissing and honking at whoever goes by. I actually spoke with her the other day and she warned me that Fin should not get within a few feet of the fence because the geese would actually stick their necks through the fence and bite! Pleasant little critters. 

So the upside to all this "farming" is that it's very entertaining for my two-year-old. 

We left our house this morning and went for just a short two-mile walk. Within this two-mile span we saw all sorts of animals: the cuddly geese, ducks, chickens, dogs (of course), 2 llamas, 9 horses and 11 cows. We also heard a rooster. ;) Cockadoodledoo. 

 All this farming (some legit, but most just backyard barnyards) made for a very eventful walk! Fin's requests to get "OUT! OUT!" were drastically reduced. It was wonderful and very relaxing (as relaxing as a walk with two little ones can be). I will need to make it a point to find walking loops that have plenty of these "farms." :) 

POD "Smiling"

He's officially smiling! :) Not the random, googly-eyed dream smiles. Not the "I'm whippin' up something special" gas smiles. REAL, open mouthed, happy, "I love this person I am looking at" smiles. 

Love those DIMPLES!

POD "The Faker"

I've been working on getting Kai in the crib, but it's far from perfect. So, many mornings, we end up with this (see above photo). After the fifth failed 3AM attempt to crib the lil guy, I concede defeat and Kai (winner) gets tucked in next to me. That's all fine and good, but morning comes (very early morning) and someone else wants IN. I tell him to go back to sleep and this is what I get. Faker. :) Let me tell you, the double bed just isn't cutting it anymore folks! Thank God for the futon! 

POD "Tummy Time"

Tummy time. The days are crazy! I have to squeeze it in whenever I can! SO,while we fill ours, he can lay on his. Tummy time. :)

POD "Dew You See the Beauty?"

Fall is quickly approaching here on the island. It is our first Fall here, but I suspect these foggy, dewy mornings are all part of what I can expect. As much as I am a sun worshipper, I can still find the beauty in this kind of weather. (MOST days!) 

Quickly snapped this pic during a walk with the boys the other morning. I am a little busier these days so I can't promise all my pictures will be centered, focused, or good at all, for that matter. BUT there will be pictures! Hopefully through these photos you'll be able to get a taste of where we live. :)

POD "A Foggy Morning Stroll(er)"

Well my friends, the time has come. On Friday I got the go ahead from the doc to start exercising again. So Monday morn, despite the cool, foggy (semi-uninviting weather), despite my throbbing stubbed toe, I popped a couple Ibphrophin, packed both the boys up and headed out. 

As much as I wasn't feeling like going outside, the cool air and mist actually felt pretty refreshing. It was a short walk, but you gotta start somewhere! 

I look forward to getting back in shape, but I also told myself that after Friday's appointment, my eat-whatever-I-want paradise is over too. Yep. Diet time. That part, I do NOT look forward to! I will miss my twice-a-day or more chocolate indulgences, all the baking, the drive thru lunches, the weekly Dairy Queen Blizzard runs... Etc! Nevertheless, let's focus on the positive: as much as a lot is going to change, I still can look forward to that cup of coffee every morning and a glass of wine at night! :)