Old school pumpkin carving!

So the conversation went a little something like this. 

Mom, "let's carve our pumpkins tonight"

Boy, "how are we going to do that we don't have anything to do it with" (referring to the fancy tools you buy with the design templates)

Mom, "well, we're just going to have to do it old school"

Boy,  "what do you mean"

Mom, "with a knife and you design your own face"

Boy, "oh great...I like the old time ways"

I'm an "old timer"!!!!!

Halloween 2013

Brothers decided this is what Tsetse was going to be for Halloween. The only draw back was the inability to eat gold fish. 

Sugar Added To Chicken Breasts

This is absolutely absurd...sugar (aka-evaporated cane juice) added to raw chicken (upon other things like salt, and "natural flavorings"). I bought chicken recently while shopping at Target (maybe that was my first mistake). I brought it home started cooking it and then I proceeded to look at the ingredient list on this package of raw chicken - after all it was raw chicken what more could it have in it besides raw chicken-well some of you may roll your eyes at me but I was completely shocked to find evaporated cane juice on the list. That is sugar added to chicken. As a society we are way overweight already and this kind of thing is going to make us even bigger. Was the chicken good-yeah, it had sugar in it to make it sweet, of course it was good. Most people are addicted to sugar or salt or both and this kind of practice from companies is going to make us even more addicted and more obese. Read the labels-- please. If we stop buying the grocery items with added sugars whether it be in the form of evaporated cane juice, sugar, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, etc. they will have to stop putting it in our food. And then because we are no longer eating all the hidden sugars maybe we can go back to having a Twinkie now and then;-) I'd rather have a piece of cake and enjoy my sugar on occasion then eat it hidden in foods that absolutely do not need it- like raw chicken. Errrrr-- I was so mad at myself for not reading the label before I bought it and then my anger turned toward Target and the company that prepares and packages the chicken. I may even stop shopping at Target. Meh, so annoying! Thanks Target and Gold n' Plump for making us even fatter, maybe you should pay for the increased medical expenses and the way overpriced insurance plans coming in our future.

Summertime.

I totally pulled a rookie mom move and went on a 15 mile bike ride (up and down the Hiawatha trail in Idaho and Montana in the middle of the wilderness) with Tsetse and without any extra diapers or wipes and yes of course she totally did! Thanks for creeks that still flow in August to give a certain someone a bath. After pondering the solution to this conundrum I did what any reasonable mom would do and, after digging a hole for burying the contents of the diaper, I thought that I would just reuse the diaper, after all it was just a little dirty. Well I just could not do it, I could not put it back on her so I decided she was just going to have to go without. The first picture shown here is Tsetse in the clothes we had because - that's right I did not bring a change of clothes.
Now all she needs is a hunting riffle because she's totally ready with the outfit.

Where has the time gone?

The Bob

Loretta's first real haircut, the bob.

14 Months Today

We are so lucky to be a part of your journey Tsetse (Aka Little Loretta). You're gloriously independent, attentive, focused, funny, lovable and determined.

10 crazy months

Tres amigos.

Loretta

She's a gun totting, glue stick smokin, baby doll.
*my dear friends made me realize maybe this isn't an entirely appropriate public post;) this after a totally unrelated conversation about how to nurturing your children so that they make good decisions even without laws in place to prohibit them from doing stupid things and well little Miss Loretta please know that smoking glue sticks would probably catch you on fire and unless you're hunting or you become a police officer lady totting guns would really make your uncles and Grandpa Mark proud but is probably completely unnecessary... with that said I am inappropriate at times and I kinda like it that way...cheers

Twinners

Jamie loves to be matchy matchy with his daughter.

The things we love

Yay! Yay for being on top of snow covered mountains and yay for sweet potatoes and the babies that love them.

Bear

Bear you will be missed!!

Teething

The teething toy of a sister with six year old brothers.

More Ding Dongs

Tsetse wanted in on the action so here she is. Yes she'd like to be changed out of her dirty diaper but her mom is busy remembering Hostess desserts. I thought it funny that I had both a Ding Dong and Kombucha which is a tea for those of you who do not know filled with antioxidants, probiotics and lots of vitamins. I know both will keep me healthy and living a long productive life.

Hostess is leaving this earth?

Ok, so now I think this whole "world is ending" ridiculousness might not be so ridiculous after all.  Hostess turning off their Twinkie makers is a crying shame especially when Twinkie is obviously the quintessential survival kit food. Oh let's also talk about the idea of Twinkies' potential as diet food- weren't these beauties really popular when we were all about 25% trimmer?
Just to relive the good ol days I bought a box of Ding Dongs and a Hostess blackberry frosted pie which I promptly had for lunch. The Ding Dong was super disappointing- I only finished 1/2 of it, well ok 3/4 of it. I was so annoyed by the chocolate that was falling into my lap so I foiled it back up and threw the rest away. Now the pie well that was pretty tasty. Worth the 430 kcal and the 20 grams of fat? Hmm not sure but it took me back to the hostess outlet as a kid ogling the bins of Twinkies, Sno Balls, CupCakes, Ding Dongs, HoHo's, and fruit filled pies and that was worth every extra mile I might have to run to burn those calories off. Unfortunately the store was out of Twinkie's and my all time favorite HoHo's so I will just have to live with their memory because I doubt they will ever cross my lips again. Sad but true. Good bye HoHo's!

Tsetse's most favorite place to hang out

It's a real amusement park here.

Fleet Feet Stroller Moms Running/ Walking Group

Fleet Feet Tacoma Stroller Moms


Looking for a group of Moms to run or walk with your stroller? We have just the group!
Fleet Feet Tacoma Stroller Mom’s meet once a week and it is designed for moms by Fleet Feet as a way to help moms improve or maintain their health while meeting other moms with an interest in fitness. Strollers are welcome at each run/walk and water is provided. All paces welcome, no one strolls alone.

Start date: November 7, 2012
Every Wednesday

Time: 10:00 am
Location: Fleet Feet Sports Tacoma

A perfect fall day!

Fall is the best time of year!

Happy Father's Day