A Few of My Favorite Things....

These are a few of my favorite things...not necessarily anything that holds super significance, just simple pleasures that make me smile : )

honey-nut cheerios as a finger food (crunchy and yummy!!!)
mud puddles and rubber boots
the sound of a fog horn...even in the middle of the night
pumpkin smelling candles (mmm-ahhh)
homemade chai tea...with honey and cream
big fuzzy slippers
new earings
chubby babies
paper muffin cups and parchment paper (no sticking...and less cleaning-Perfect!)
scarfs
ballroom dancing (Kiely and I have been taking classes....soooo fun)
naked baby bottoms
porch swings
pregnant mommies
baking pies or other goodies...and the way my house smells (so delicious)
really stormy, rainy days
rollerblades
super hero capes (dun-da-duuuuunnnn)
long, dark, eyelashes
my kids playing pretend....

Sooo, what are some of your daily "SIMPLE PLEASURES"??? Do share!!!

Simply Simplify

"Hi, my name is Melody...and I'm a multi-taskaholic". Sadly, I am drawn more toward accomplishing "tasks" than investing in people...and with a husband and three little men-to-be, that certainly isn't the way to go. So, I have been doing a lot of thinking and re-directing of my daily habits and priorities. I seemed to find myself always in a rush, constantly trying to tackle 6 tasks at one time and laying in bed at night feeling like I made very little progress...only to repeat the same routine the next day.

Sooo, I've been simplyfying life... One step at a time. I started by nixing my multitasking. BIG DEAL. One thing at a time...until it's done! Phew! It sounds easy, but what a test of my will. I'm always so tempted to go throw that last load of laundry in the washer, or make the bed real quick while I run to the bathroom and read the mail while I'm at it so I'm not wasting time...and then only to come full circle realizing an hour later I was in the middle of doing dishes that are still sitting on the counter...and by the way, why are the boys being so quiet?? : ) Oy! This last week has been my first test run and what a difference it has made!!! Sure I don't get to all my "extra" projects like sewing and crafting, but "OH" the extra time I've had to sit and read books or play with the blocks on the floor (with my kids of course : ). Just yesterday I had our bed sheets in the wash so our matress was bare and for about 45 minutes we all congregated on the bed and the boys jumped, tumbled and played airplane on my feet(A tradition we just might start for whenever the sheets get washed : ). It seems now, I get into bed and so much more has been accomplished and I was even able to enjoy it along the way!

I have many weak points, many that are so much more evident now that I have children. Being able to build strong relationships is one of them...but certainly not something I want to drown out the time I have been entrusted for raising my boys. What a challenge and wonderful way for my Creator to capture my heart and refine some of the deepest parts of me. Oh, that I would be humble enough to allow Him to search me and give me strength to change...one day, one kiss, one story book at a time.

Well, this ended up being a little more serious than I expected...just to finish it, I wanted to share a quote from an article I recently read. It has challenged me as well as given me determination to make the choices that count. I hope it blesses and encourages.

“Parenting is the most accurate test of one’s true character. It reveals all the secrets and uncovers all that is hidden. Children reflect the soul of their parents; they manifest the heart that may have been formally concealed behind sophisticated screens and carefully crafted public perceptions. We parents can manipulate the public perceptions, leading others to believe we are something quite different from reality. But, it is our children who become windows to our true selves, often opening the windows wider than we want them to go. They find and expose the real you and tap into and follow that reality as their guide…. It is not about doing; it is about being. Get real. Love God until the joy of the Lord fills your cup to overflowing. …Let the Holy Spirit create discipline in you so that you use your time wisely and have more time to be with your children. It is a matter of perspective—of where your heart is actually fixed.
Your children are your legacy, the only one that will endure in future generations. Thankfully, we don’t have to be perfect people, or even especially wise. We don’t have to be thoroughly informed as to all the ins and outs of parenting. We don’t need schooling. We need to be real—consistently real and caring. We need to be there. Everything else will somehow fall into place when our hearts are right. A right heart can make up for a lot of wrong headedness, but great knowledge and understanding can never make up for indifference.”

Yippee for Harvest Time

This is the first year we have played dress up for Harvest...and it was absolutely worth it! I was still contemplating whether or not to have costumes for the boys and waited until about 1 o'clock on Friday to finally decide! Gabriel was easy because we already had the props that we needed, but Justus was totally excited about being SUPER WHY (from PBS kids) and I figured it only required a small amount of fabric and iron-on paper we already had to do the trick. Before I began sewing I printed out the "Super why" logo to iron on to his shirt (juck like the character) and just that alone thrilled him. After seeing it and looking at pictures of Super Why to see that he had the same thing Justus came to me and very thoughtfully said. "Mom....I think that is soo cool you made this for me!" Now THAT made me feel pretty cool....then a minute later he said, a little hesitantly, "But mom, I don't want to wear this paper on my shirt. " (lol) No problem, after it was ironed on he totally got it and had to wear it immediately, and was quite concerned when I asked him to take it off to sew the cape on....to make a long story shorter, he has worn his costume every day since!!! It's great!

Gabriel was my little builder. He wore overalls, a hardhat, and carried around a construction pencil, tape measure and a screw driver. We had a blast!

For my own little Fall treat I indulged myself in some artistic pumpkin carving...when everyone was asleep of course. Sadly, they rotted away quite quickly, but I took some pictures before they were completely gone. I had a blast! Who knew?!

The days of...cold!

Yes, the weather is getting colder, but tis the season for other sorts of colds and "bugs" in general! With three small children, I should be dreading it, but I have been expanding my knowledge on herbal remedies and feel fairly confident in tackling what comes our way! Apothecary here I come!!!

Just tonight I made my very first Glycerite. If you've ever bought a little dark bottle of "Echinacea" or "Immune Support" that has a little dropper and is a little syrupy, THAT is a glycerite. It's where you use glycerine to extract the healing properties out of herbs. It's highly concentrated so you only need a little, but it's also sweet, so it's pleasant for children. My very first recipe is a great multifunction formula that can be used for just about any minor illness. It contains, Elderflower, Yarrow and Peppermint! I was a little intimidated in trying it out, but after extensive reading and finally making it to our herb store I jumped right in...and now I think I'm hooked! It was far easier than I'd imagined and the savings is pretty substantial. (less than $1/oz compared to $5/oz)

I'm already planning my next formula...I really do believe in being my families primary health provider and now I'm beginning to feel like I actually have the adequate tools to do it with confidence!!!

If you're interested in the recipe's let me know...or check out "The ABC Herbal". It is a VERY simple but sufficient guide to taking care of childhood illnesses. I even gave Benjamin an enema (per instruction from the book-I had to read ALOT about it before I was brave enough) the other night due to a fever and he immediately broke a sweat and cooled down. We may even get a chance to treat chickenpox sometime soon...and "Yes, I'm excited!!!"

Mexico Wedding/Vacation

We went on our very first official family vacation and it was a great success! However, I'll say so right now I totally failed in the picture department. I've decided it must just be one more thing to carry around...and possibly lose, so thus we can back from our wonderful vacation with a grand total of about 10 pictures. Yikes. (We do have one video of our hike through the redwoods though-that's something!)

So, one week before leaving Kiely was sent off to Kentucky for work...scheduled to return the day of our departure. I was able to get everything packed up and ready to go so we just picked him up from the airport on our way down. A few of our major stops along the way...

Aunt Eowyn's in Eugene-we stayed the night and had a blast visiting with her, Korinne and Kaj (Eowyn's man : ) Kiely's sister runs a daycare so her house was a huge playhouse for the boys..plus, she has a culinary degree so eating is always super yummy!

Next stop-Eureka, California. We camped at the local KOA, took until about 12 to eat breakfast and clean up both days. However, Eureka had a great little zoo we took the kids to and then a great redwood park. Then...

San Fransisco- Kiely and I have a friend from highschool and his wife that live there (Nick and Megan). They let us stay the night and we went out to Chevy's Fresh Mex with the kids and then ice-cream. Yum-yum.

We then drove from San Fransisco straight to San Diego- We met up with the rest of the wedding party and so it began. Picking up tuxes, getting nails painted etc. The guys went into Mexico that night (Wednesday) for bachelor festivities, and we ladies followed the next morning. We spent the most of Thursday lounging by the pools and enjoying the gorgeous resort...then Friday-Wedding day!!!

Lot's of decorating, running around, fussing and getting ready. It was great. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous and we had a blast. Lots of fun and dancing! I'll get a hold of pics and share them....when I get a chance : )

Saturday morning-we went out to breakfast with 5 of my siblings in Rosorito (Peter, Daniel, Maria, Leah and Micah) After breakfast we headed back for the border and safely got back to the states. From there we headed North and really only stopped for food/potty breaks. One or two park stops and lots of driving. We got home around 6am on Monday. We all went straight to bed and amazingly the kids even slept until 9am. We still had a lot of sleep catch up over the next few days...but it was all worth it! We had a great vacation!!!!

Birthday Boy!!!

My handsome little Gabriel turned two on the 31st!!!
He is such a sweetheart, and we celebrated his birthday last Thursday at Grandpa and Grandma Bondurants! Gabriel was my easiest birth and made adding the second addition a pretty easy transition. (Thank you Gabe) He's always been a little on the chubbier side (which I love) and all around sweet. He started talking around 16months...sentence talking, and he is absolutely adorable to listen to these days. He is a big fan of his brother Justus and is constantly mimicking him and trying to keep up. However, he also has his own little niche's. First, he is left handed, even with things we didn't show him how to do, like swinging a golf club. He is definitely my biggest eater and very interested in helping me cook. He likes to stand with me and will repeat what I say, "Oh, we put onions in the pan now!" "Okay mom, I cut up this apple" It's great! Even though he has an agreeable disposition, he is Mr. Curios, but on the clumsy side, so we've sacrificed a lot of dishes and other breakable objects to his curiosity and adventure seeking (ahhh, what's a few broken plates and glasses). He has the most similarities to my baby pictures, except that he has stiff straight hair (Kiely and I are both curly-go figure) So, Happy Birthday to my chubby boy!

Yippee for birthdays...and family...and fun!
Gabriel got his very own apple red tricycle and after trying it out for a few minutes asked Justus to take a ride on the back (Sooo sweet!) He's still practicing riding it...he's not quite as suave as Justus with the pedaling, but he's picking it up. There are also some pics of grandma Shary and Peggy...grandpa Larry with Benjamin...and my oh-so-handsome man!

Also, we went to our first soccer game of the season today. Kiely is helping coach the highschool boys team, so we came out to show our love! Here are the boys playin'! I love it!

p.s. I have been pondering the subject of "simplifying" lately, so stay tuned for my next post and my newest thoughts on managing a busy household... : ) Much love

Heaven Help!!!

We had quite an adventure this last Sunday morning...
It all started Saturday evening when we drank the last of the milk! Honestly, somewhat of a crisis in the Bondurant family. However, we were either too tired to go to the store, forgot, or just didn't hardly think about it, so when we awoke Sunday morning, there was no milk!

Now, I'm okay to go a meal or two without milk, but Justus is not quite so content under such circumstances, so about every 10 or so minutes he would ask, "Mawwwwwwm, Will you go to the store and buy milk?" After about the 30th time, while sitting on the couch nursing Benjamin, I jokingly ask him why he didn't want to go to the store and buy milk? He thought about it, and then told me that he couldn't get the keys, put them in the car and drive to the store without me. "Bummer" I said and thought maybe that was that! Unfortunately not!

A few minutes later he heads out the front door with Gabriel faithfully in toe. Assuming they were just going out to play or perhaps get in the car, I didn't bother to ask what they were up to...but with the thought in the back of my mind that maybe he would try to go to the store (Which is within walking distance of our house). So, after not hearing them for a minute or two I finished feeding Benjamin and headed out the front door. I ran down our driveway and to the next block so I could see all the way down the hill and there was no sight of them. Hoping that they had gone the other way (Up the hill to our neighbors house), I ran back up to see if Kiely had found them. When I found out he didn't, I jumped into our car and headed farther down the hill, praying and getting more frantic as I thought about them getting down to the highway...where we had walked just the night before (With no lights or crosswalks....just fast cars).

As I turned down the last block before the highway, I heard Justus yell, "Hey Daddy! (I was driving Kiely's car). Not seeing him right away I thought maybe I was hearing things until I spotted him in my rear view. Just as I wanted to turn around another car came up the road and was heading for the intersection Justus was running across. Knowing the other car had a "Right Turn Permitted Without Stopping" sign, my heart just about froze in the split second I had to turn the car around and find my horn, so hopefully the other driver would slow down or know something was up. And sure enough. Justus was already standing in the road about 10 feet from my car, and Gabriel was in the middle of the crosswalk, carrying a ball and headed towards me. The other car stopped!

I didn't even know where to begin and was thoroughly shook up from every other thought that crossed my mind in those few minutes. After hugging them and puting the boys in the car...Justus, sadly says, "I just wanted to go to the store to buy milk!"

Ahhhhhh! And, Lord, I just want my boys to be safe. I know I can't protect or shelter them from everything, but how my heart aches to think of something happening to one of my precious little men.