Portland's Art Museum ~ Day 31

My new thing for the day was the Portlands Art Museum, I loved it. I had never been there before, it was a site to see. I wish I had some pictures to show unfortunately you can't take pictures inside the museum which I understand so instead I grab a few shot outside the building as we left walking in the rain. The best part about the trip was the fact I was there with my oldest. We talked about our favorite pieces and what must inspired these people to create the things they did. All I can say is the mind of a child is amazing. She saw things in pieces that others would have missed and talked about the sculptures the rest of the evening.

I loved this tree, there was something about it that seemed so alive to me.


My new thing for the day was the Portland Art Museum, something everyone should see. I plan on going back.

Check it out at http://portlandartmuseum.org/

Day 58 ~ Pump it Up and The Invention of Lying

All three girls went to a Birthday party at Pump it up and it was the first time for my youngest daughter. She was climbing, jumping and sliding with the big kids and as I watched I felt my heart squeeze, my baby is not a baby anymore.

Pump it Up is "The Inflatable Party Zone" with huge bounce houses, tall blown up slides, and large blown up obstacle courses. I was climbing and jumping in with my youngest and was laughing and giggling like I was one of the birthday kids. I kept thinking how great it would be with a few adult friends, to just go and spend an hour. Guaranteed everyone would have as much fun as the kids did, and it would bring out that inner child. There aren't too many things today that really bring out the kid inside us and allow us to do a face plant and still laugh it off! By the end of the party the kids were whipped and so was I, it was a good time. Side note... button up shirts aren't ideal for the obstacle course, unless your plan is to become the entertainment, if you know what I mean! NEVER AGAIN!

Another new thing for the day was the movie The Invention of Lying. Anything Ricky Gervais is in I can almost be guaranteed a good laugh. I admit the first scene threw me off, and I wasn't sure how much I would like it, but by the end of the movie I had laughed and cried and I loved it! It is definitely an adult movie, the humor can be a little crude at times, but if you need a good laugh, you are sure to have a few with this one!

Day 46 ~ Santa Cruz

Today my husband and I spent some time looking through the local shops in Santa Cruz. This was my first time and all I can say is I can not wait for summer!!! The weather was outstanding and I was able to wear a T-shirt and shorts. Back home I would be in pants and a sweatshirt. Although I do love Oregon, you can't deny the Cali love. My husband and I both grew up close to the beach, and although he is from NorCal, and I am from SoCal, the beach just brings a smile out in both of us. It is hard to believe tomorrow is our last day.

We also watched a new movie tonight and laughed our butts off. Couples Retreat was hilarious and with my in-laws 60 inch TV, it was just as good as a movie theater. We made popcorn, and had candy, and enjoyed one of our last nights here. I have to say I am pretty lucky to have the in-laws I do. I hear so many horror stories of peoples in-laws being a little on the crazy side, but mine are pretty fabulous.

New shops with a new movie was a pretty great way to spend the day. Tomorrow is our last day and I plan on enjoying it and the sun as much as possible.

Day 44 ~ A Day of Family

Today was an awesome day. It was not about just me doing something new, it was about all of us doing something new.

My husband got to go mountain biking, something he enjoys more than anything else. He hasn't been able to do this for over a year and a half and not only that, but got to go with his brother and one of his best friends. The girls spent the day with their cousins riding scooters and playing hide and seek on 3 acres of what I like to call Narnia, aka Grandpa's gardens. They were always too little for these things before, but now were able to join in the big kid activities and loved it. I got to spend the day visiting with my sister in law, one of the best sister in laws in the world. She is so inspiring and a go getter, and being around her makes me feel like I can do anything.

Last but not least we got to sit and have dinner with my husbands entire family and eat skirt steak and delicious food, my amazing mother in law cooked.

At the end of the day, I look around and think, how lucky I am. In one day we all did something new, and I wish today was an every day thing.

Day 40 ~ Packing for a Road Trip

Last minute we decided on a road trip to see my husbands family we haven't seen in 2 years. My new thing is packing for it, and I think I am ready to pull my hair out. I haven't packed for a vacation in 4 years and I think I have forgotten how.

Literally, I have been packing and organizing ALL DAY! I am ready to go to bed yet I hear the suitcases calling me.......

Jennifer, did you remember enough socks for the kids, Jennifer don't forget the snacks, Jennifer did you remember DVDs, Jennifer are you a crazy woman!

This drive will take us about 13 hours. I am so excited yet I am a little afraid. Afraid of what I will do to myself after 13 hours in the car. We haven't had a vacation in about 4 years. This summer I will also be heading on vacation to San Diego to see more family. Two vacations in one year, I think I am on a roll!!

Although this trip won't be a long trip, it will be fun trip, and damn it, I will be prepared, so back to packing I go. MONTEREY HERE WE COME!!!!!

Day 38~ Oregon Zoo

Today my friend called and asked if we felt like ditching the Super Bowl and taking the girls to the zoo, she had extra tickets and thought it would be fun to go. My poor hubby had to work so I thought why not? Could be a lot of fun! I was right, it was and the Wild Six were at it again.

It had to be the perfect day to take the kids, nice weather, very few people and all the cats were out. I love the spur of the moments things. Where you don't have to plan it all out, you just go. Those type of things always seem to be so much fun. I thought about a million other places I would love to go during Super Bowl, like Disneyland! Can you imagine how short the lines would be. HMMMM.... maybe next year!

So there you have it, our new thing today was ditching the game and going to the zoo and we all had a wonderful time!

Day 36 ~ Children's Museum and a Spray Tan

Today we surprised the youngest two with a trip to the Children's Museum. They had the Clifford Exhibit out and the girls LOVED IT!! There were so many great activities and things for the girls to do. The Children's Museum was amazing, and the girls kept running from one thing to another.


Hailey always had this look of excitement and "NO WAY!" I swear you can hear her scream from a block away and her happiness is felt across the room.


Our youngest's expressions are a little different from those of her sister. She is little more along the lines of "What the hell?" "What are you looking at?" I think this is her permanent look at all times. It seems to fit in any situation she is in. She is sweet and loving, but she can give you a look like you have never seen before.

It was so nice being able to get out together, and although my oldest was in school and we missed her a ton, we all had a lot of fun, and it was a great new thing to do this afternoon.

A Spray Tan

My other new thing for the day was a spray tan. As most of you know, or don't know, I am pretty fair. I grew up in San Diego where the sun never stops shining, and spent way too much time sun bathing as a kid. Now as an adult with as much money and energy as I put into keeping my skin nice, I avoid tanning. I have heard about spray tans but have never had one. I have nothing against tanning beds, but I do have something against wrinkles on my face.

My very good friend told me about a special at a local tan and spa salon. The Ultimate Tan and Spa in Newberg offers 50% off on Fridays for spray tans. Sounded like a great deal to me so I decided to go in. I can not tell you how good it smelt in there, like sunshine and coconuts all wrapped up in one. Seriously, just hanging out in there made me feel like summer. The girl behind the counter was so nice. She set me up, and showed me what to do. I went in a room and rubbed lotion on my hands and feet to reduce any chance of crazy stains from dye, I put a hair cover on, and then stepped into the machine. I pushed this green button and waited for the spray... blink, blink, blink and then the spraying began. It scared the crap out of me and I gasped for air, which at that moment included a heavy dose of tanning solution. I felt like a white man doing the sprinkler dance as I tried to make sure I got my body covered, doing the things the nice girl at the counter showed me to do. Then it stoped and I turned to get my back side while repeating the crazy stances/dance moves.

Once I was done, I stepped out and dotted the excess, got dressed, and came out. I unfortunatley have extremely dry hands, and noticed a streak, so I go to wash it off. After my hands are washed I noticed something. OH NO! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! I have washed off the mist on my hands and now they are soooo white, I look like I am wearing white gloves. I go out with this look on my face. The nice girl just smiles and fixes it for me. I guess I am not the only one who has done this before. I am to wait 4 hours before showering to help it set.

I am so glad I did this because it gave me such a nice bronze color, not too dark but still enough to make me feel great. I feel next time I will be a little better with my moves in the spray room, but other than that, it was soooooo worth it. I definitely will be doing this again.

I got a tan today and I am loving it!

Day 33 ~ Variety

Today I did a variety of things that were out of the ordinary for February, and I am ready for bed!

Where I live we get a lot of rain. We spend too much of the winter indoors, and it is pretty gray. This morning I woke up singing Tonight's gonna be a good night, sang it all day long, and I think the sunshine had something to do with it. Today was BEAUTIFUL. The sun shined all afternoon and my husband and I tried to suck up as much sun as we could. We ate outside, played outside, worked on our yard, planted some bulbs and just sat and watched our youngest play. It has been months since we have been able to sit and enjoy a beautiful day together. My husband normally works a 65 hour week, so just having him here today to hang out all day was new in itself. I have to say there is nothing better than a beautiful sunny day in February. That was definitely something we haven't had for a while.

All I have is one word for you, LOST! LOST is finally back on and in its last season. I love this show!!! I wish it would never end. Enough of that.... OK one more thing... LOST is the best show ever.

Today consisted of a variety of new things for February. I wish the sun always shined like this. I would never come indoors. One thing I did realize is my legs have not seen the sun since October, and I think my new thing this week will consist of a spray tan.

Day 31 ~ Homemade Valentines

Valentines Day is fun. The kids love it and so do I. Every year we get cards for all their classmates and they address them and stuff them with candy. This year I wanted to make a little change. I decide that instead of spending so much time and energy on Valentines for our classmates, we would focus more time and energy on those we love. Isn't that what Valentines is really all about? Besides, kids will be delighted with any card that holds a sugar treasure.

My day started out a little off. I got something in my eye that would not come out and I walked around this afternoon like a one eyed pirate. I would hoot and holler at any random minute when the pain would just bug me enough, and yes, I even was yelling ARRRRR! My eye was so red I didn't even want to open it, and kept it closed a good part of the day. My daughter pointed out the fact that I looked and sounded like a pirate with my eye all scrunched up. If I had an option of an eye patch, I swear I would have worn it!



I had a plan to start our Valentine's cards today, so we made our way to Micheal's, the best store in the world. We got our supplies, came home, and got started. I sat down and made my own Valentines for my nieces and nephews, and the girls made some for all the family they could think of. It ended up being not just fun for them, but for me. So often I have a project for them, and I am so busy helping I don't get to sit to have fun myself. I can't wait to get these sent out and to see how our family reacts.

Today our new thing was homemade Valentine's cards, and although my eye is still driving me a little NUTS, I had a lot of fun!

Day 30 ~ The Magic of Ordinary Days

Tonight I watched a wonderful movie titled, The Magic of Ordinary Days. I thought it was the perfect title to my day.

As this month ends, I am so happy to say I have made it this far on my journey. 365 days seems like a big task to unfold but it is the magic in the ordinary days that keeps me going. I would love to go to Paris, Hawaii, travel the world but it is the magic I share every day with my family that keeps me happy. It is the little things we try together, like bowling, and movies, puppets and even a new treat that make our days special. I sat and wrote down 100 things I would like to do this year and I am hoping whoever reads this will also give me some great ideas of adventure, or even some great grubb to get my hands on. I plan on taking a hot air balloon ride, and I am sooooooo terrified but I am going to conquer my fear. I want to learn to swing dance with my hubby, and even finish a few things I started years ago, including a song and a tattoo.

Today's ordinary magic was teaching my girls 3 of my favorite things as a child, two square, slam ball and how to pitch a softball. I wish I would have recorded it. My oldest was laughing so hard she could barely hit the ball and when she pitched her first shot it nearly went over the fence. As for my 5 year old, I just about died laughing when playing two square. I threw the ball to her and she grabbed it, took it, and chucked it out in the yard. I asked her, "What are you doing?" "I am getting you out mom," she says, "I thought I was suppose to keep it away from you." For the rest of my life I will remember today. I will remember their laughter and smiles and how much fun we had.

It is truly the magic in ordinary days that make life special and I plan on making each day count. So hears to you and hears to another 335 days of Living, Giving and Laughter!

Day 29 ~ Bowling

When I was a kid we had a bowling alley in town that was within walking distance. My brothers would take me down there to bowl and play video games. I can still remember playing pac man and centipede and how much fun we would have. As I got older, it was torn down and I was so sad to see it go. It was such a fun memory from childhood.

My mission was to find a fun bowling alley for us to have a great family night. My two youngest have never gone bowling, and I haven't bowled in about 4 years. We took them to Wilsonville Lanes, got them shoes, and set them up at a lane. I would have to say, this was the best thing so far this year. The kids were so funny!!Every time the kids would knock down a pin they would clap, cheer, hug each other, and give high fives. Hailey was skipping, dancing and singing. She sang this is SO AWESOME, over and over again until she slipped and fell flat on her butt. People were laughing and smiling at how much fun the kids were having.

After their game was over we went and played at the arcade area. We raced in the Fast and the Furious cars and I was shocked at how well my 7 year old did. My husband kept saying, "Try your break Madelynn!" She would yell back, "Why? What for?" She just kept the gas pedal to the floor the whole race. I am guessing it is a sign of what is to come.

While racing with the kids I heard a sound, it sounded like angels singing and when I turned it was like a light was shinning down from the heavens. Do you know what I saw? Ms PAC MAN! It has to be my favorite game of all time. Most of all, it reminds me of being a kid. I turned 7 again and laughed, giggled and clapped my hands, and ran to the game. This time it was me yelling THIS IS SO AWESOME!! Did I play it? You bet your sweet bippy I did, 3 times. It was so much fun and I still have a smile on my face. It may also be the fact I kicked my husband's butt in air hockey, and once again I was the CHAMP!!!!

Our new thing tonight was bowling and arcade games. We really had a wonderful time tonight and I hope to do it again soon.

Day 23 ~ A Reminder

Yesterday was a bad day. A real crappy day.

I got a call from my husband yesterday while I was grocery shopping. He found out they are doing major layoffs at the site he works at and the contract workers were the first to go. Needless to say, his last day will be this coming Friday. Although it was a contract job, this was unexpected, but as you know with corporate business, it is nothing personal. It is always a numbers game. So we are right back where we were 10 months ago and I woke up mad. Not mad at anyone, just mad at the circumstances. Mad at life. I spent all of yesterday in shock and most of this morning mad. I don’t worry about me, my wants, my needs, it is my children who I worry about. It is that fear of how will we provide? Yes, I know it will all work out fine, but the job market really stinks, there is not much out there and it is scary. I am so thankful for the fact my husband has a second job because although it won’t pay all the bills it is still an income and we are very fortunate for that. I spent most of my morning whining and bitching and moaning until I heard this little voice saying "LORD ALMIGHTY, SSSHHHUUUTTT UP!!!!!” Yes, it was me talking to myself. “Jennifer, pull it together and stop your bitching! This is so pathetic! You are so blessed!” I swear it was strange, just like a movie. I decided that minute I would stop the negative and focus on the positive because I am blessed. Everything is so relative. You look at the aftermath of the earth quake in Haiti and the tragedy involved and how so many people don’t even have their basic needs and I am complaining? So many have lost their family and friends and I am bitching? It made me really take a second look at my situation and realize how lucky I really am because I am VERY BLESSED.

Later in the day I got a call from a very close friend who had gone through the same financial struggle we are facing once again. She wanted to meet us for a little shopping and dinner. I was still feeling a little down and at first said no. The truth is I can’t afford it. Well, she was not taking no for an answer and finally convinced me to meet her with the kids. I figured there is no harm in looking, plus some good company would be a good distraction. Remember, I am done whining. Well, I had no idea what she had in store for me. Not only did she take myself and the kids to my very favorite restaurant (Zao Noodles) her treat, but proceeded to purchase each one of my girls something special. I said no, but once again, she wasn’t taking no for an answer. As for why she did this, she did it to make me smile. She did this because she knew I would say no at first, but that ultimately she would win, and ultimately it would make me laugh and the kids would love it. She did this for me because she wanted to let me know that no matter how bad things got, that she was there. What she did was remind me of the fact that it isn’t the things you have, the home you own, or the cars you drive that make you happy, it is the people in your life that count. So I sit here tonight and smile, and really feel like everything will be alright because I am truly blessed.

My new thing for the day was a wonderful surprise from a dear friend and the reminder of how truly blessed I am!

Day 22 ~ Dinner with Friends

Tonight we had new friends over for dinner.

My husband has a friend at work that we have been meaning to have over and tonight he and his wife came for dinner. When they arrived they came bearing gifts. I had made pasta for dinner but found myself forgetting my meal all together to eat what they had brought us. I had baklava, CHOCO sandwich cookies, pismaniye and loads of fresh pita bread with hummus and baba ganoush. So many of these flavors I have never had before, and they were delicious. I must say it was WAY better than my pasta!

After dinner we all sat and visited and laughed and had such a good time. Even as I type this I wonder why we didn't do this sooner and plan on making sure we have them over again.

Today my new thing was new friends over for dinner and it was the silver lining to a hard day.

Day 21 ~ Under the Stars

Tonight my husband and I took some time to sit outside and spend some time alone. We borrowed a fire pit from my neighbor, bought a new beer, and sat outside and relaxed. We rarely get time alone, and it was so nice to snuggle under the stars with a warm fire. It is great to have him home tonight, where we can just hang out together.We must have sat out there for 3 hours and just enjoyed the fire pit.

To be honest, I have always wanted a fire pit so when my neighbor offered hers tonight I jumped at it. We have never had one in our backyard so it is definitely something new, something we plan on getting this year for sure. My hubby, a warm fire, and a cold beer. What a great night!

Day 18 ~ Started a new challenge

Today we started this challenge as a family. I consider our family pretty close but thought this would be a fun challenge to tackle. Ours is slightly modified but here is how it is posted on Oprah: http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Peter-Walshs-Stripped-Down-Family-Challenge/2

Rule 1: No Cell Phones or Texting
Technology allows us to keep in touch in 24 hours a day, but that doesn't guarantee meaningful connections. "That's the confusion," Peter says. "You could lock yourself in a room and send a thousand e-mails a day and 100,000 text messages, but you are not connected."

For one week, ban the use of cell phones, texting devices and PDAs in your home. The short texts you often receive from your kids may just turn into real conversations!

This is easy for us. My kids are too young for cell phones and I rarely use my cell phone. As for texting my husband and I are very slow so we avoid it all together.

Rule 2: No Electronics
How many times have you found your family watching the same show in different rooms? Can you even count the number of fights your children have over who gets to use the computer next? "[Shift the focus of the family, and particularly children, away from self-parenting, away from TV, away from passive entertainment," Peter says.

Give your family the gift of peace and quiet by banning all electronic devices for one week. Institute family game nights, nightly story time or a daily walk to the park. By the end of the week, your family will realize the greatest entertainment in life comes from spending time with one another.

I have to use the computer for work and my blog but swear to only use it for those instances. I also plan on saving it for night when the children are in bed and when my husband is working. Today was the first day of no TV and I was so nervous about it and whether I could stick to it. The truth is, when I am getting dinner ready it's normally the perfect time to put something on and have the children relax. Today they knew there would be no TV and it actually went really well, and I enjoyed not having a battle about it. We played with Lego's, blocks, went to the park (no rain today), read books and had a really good time today.

Rule 3: Prepare and Eat Healthy Meals Together
For families, no room in the home is more important than the kitchen. "The kitchen nourishes your family in so many ways," Peter says. "If your children are not receiving that nourishment—and not just the stuff into their mouths, but the stuff into their beings—if they are not getting that around the table, where are they being nourished?"

Stripping away the junk food and make healthy meals together is an instant way to reconnect. Try it for a week and you'll find that everyone in your family will feel better about themselves mind, body and soul.

The girls and I all sat around the table tonight and ate together and it was so nice. I normally cook healthy food but I admit I am normally standing, not sitting and enoying my time with them.

Rule 4: Clean and Organize the House
Your home should be your sanctuary, and clutter does nothing but create tension and unrest in families. "If you're not connected to your home, if you are not connected to where you live, if your home doesn't bring you peace and calm and focus and harmony, where are you getting that from?"

Still working on this one but I am really liking the office right now it is beautiful and clutter free!!

Rule 5: You Must Hug and Say "I Love You" to Each Family Member at Least Once a Day
With so many other distractions in your life, you may be neglecting to do the one thing your family needs even more than the latest video game system or designer dress. Everyone needs love and affection, and here's your chance to let your family know how you really feel about them.

This is not a problem. I think I must hug and kiss my husband and girls a 1,000 times a day. I love you is something I say all the time. I always want them to know that they are the loves of my life. We are all like that in this family.

Under this rule, moms and dads have a special assignment—have a date night! "One night once a month is worth a hundred weeks of vacation at the end of the year," Peter says. "Once a month, reconnect."

We love date night but we just never get to it. My hubby works a lot and it is hard to find a babysitter but this will definitely be something we shoot for this year.

Rule 6: Create 6 New Stripped Down Rules at the End of the Week
This week may have been difficult, but it's also been eye-opening. Look back at what worked and what didn't. Continue to build upon the positive things that came out of the challenge by creating six new rules as a group and follow them for years to come.

Looking forward to what we come up with at the end of the week!

Day 17 ~ Recycling

Holy mother of goodness and grace! What did I get myself into? As I posted yesterday I started stripping down the house of clutter and this is a HUGE project.

I continued boxing up things, throwing things away, building a massive shred pile and organizing the home. This is definitely a process. I really didn't think my house was all that cluttered but the paper work is the one thing that is getting me. I feel like my head is going to explode. Needless to say I got a lot done today but I will continue on for the next week going through each room of the house.

Something new we did today was teach the girls how they can recycle. We also made a promise as a family that for the 2010 year we would give up paper and plastic bags at the grocery store and stick with our recycled bags.

The first thing we did was took the girls to the recycling area and showed them how you recycle cans. At the recycling centers where I grew up, you would take all your cans, put them in a giant bucket, and they would weigh them. Where I live now you load them into a machine and one by one they are counted and crushed, with a loud ROAR, CRASH, CRRRRRRR, you get the picture. The area also has a smell of stale beer and soda pop which for some reason makes me laugh. I often compare the experience to a rock concert. You leave with your ears ringing and with the faint smell of stale beer on your clothes.

My mother use to take me as a girl to recycle cans and we would go get a treat after with the cash back. It was a fun thing. That is what I wanted to do with my girls too! I want it to be something they will continue to do as they grow older. My view on recycling cans is you are getting payed to take care of the environment. I mean, I would do it for free, but heck, if you want to pay me for it then by all means. I don't understand why people wouldn't recycle.

Needless to say, the girls thought it was awesome and I am so glad because I expect my girls to teach their children someday! As for the recyclable bags, I love this idea. I plan on sticking to it!

Day 15 ~ The Importance of Friendship

I am a firm believer in the importance of family, family love, and family loyalty. We spend most of our time together and my girls are great friends. What I focused on today was the importance of friendship for my eldest daughter.

I have always stressed to our girls to always have each others backs. That family will be there always, no matter what, but what I realized is that I also need to teach my girls the importance of friendships. I can honestly say that a lot of my friends I have today I have known most of my life. In fact, one of the closest people to me in life, I have known since 4th grade. I have been blessed with so many wonderful friends that have been there for me through good and bad times, and many of these friendships I developed as a child. My daughters are growing older and I realized they need that too. We all need our girlsfriends. I can’t imagine my life without mine.



Today we had my daughter’s best friend over from school. They are two peas in a pod. They laughed and smiled and hid out in Madelynn’s room just being girls. They discussed a club, rules and who would be invited, and they whispered and giggled all the way through. In that moment it was a flash back to age 7, and how your best friend was the coolest thing ever. How they understood you better than anyone else and how you enjoyed just hanging out together. They rode the bus home together, talked, played, had pizza, then finally said goodbye, and my daughter immediately asked when we can do this again. It is funny to think in 28 years they could be sitting and talking about the time they spent together as kids and what fun they had. I realized tonight how enjoyable it was having my daughter’s friend here, and that my little girl is growing up.

Today began my daughter’s lesson in the bonds girls can share, and the importance of friendship.

Day 14 ~ Stop being so dang uptight!

Stop being so dang uptight! That is right, my husband and I have been known to be a little uptight on occasion.

My kids have been begging to go to McDonalds for what seems like forever. We used to go and play in the play area in town and they loved it, but we haven’t really been in two years. After my girls had the H1N1 virus last year I swore off any and all play areas that are indoors which is hard living in a area that gets a lot of rain. I guess you could say I turned into a mild germaphobe.



I also did not like fast food for the kids, but lately I have come to the conclusion that a hamburger now and again is not going to kill you and to be honest sometimes they are so good. My mother always says, everything in moderation, and I think she is right. So tonight we decided to not be so dang uptight and surprised the kids by taking them to McDonalds for a happy meal and some play. I cannot tell you how excited they were. Tonight my youngest had her first happy meal and to be honest I think the thing they were most excited about was the toy in the bag. I think we all felt that way as a kid.

It is the little things in life that make our children happy. Taking them to McDonalds, a happy meal, dad and mom there, and a play area, that is all it took for pure joy to spread across their faces. Seeing true joy in my children’s faces put true joy in my heart. Yes, I had them wash their hands before they ate, and before we left, and they did take showers when they got home but little by little I will lighten up and it is going to be a process for me too. Tonight my husband and I tried something new, we stopped being so dang uptight and found out we had a pretty good time.

Day 12 ~ A New Boutique

Normally when I hear the word Boutique I think cute, sassy, unique and CHA CHING. When I see them a little voice goes off in my head, do not stop, do not shop, warning, warning! I wonder, will buying something there cost me my arm, my leg or both. I have driven by a little boutique everyday for a year with that warning in my head, today I ignored it and went in. I was glad I did.

I love shopping but these days with three kids I can’t decide which is more painful, a root canal or shopping with 3 little girls at the mall. My girls are sweet but you know the routine, stay close to the stroller, don’t touch that please, stop hiding in the clothes rack, please don’t be running in the store, we are inside so use your inside voice, stop messing with your sister! Today I had an hour to myself, well myself and my 2-year old co-pilot, and we headed to the local boutique in town I have heard so much about, but had not yet dared to enter. I had planned on going in and just looking. I love boutiques but quite often they are way out of my price range. With a tight budget, I rarely spend money on new clothes for myself, but I thought it would be fun to just look at the new fashions and styles.

I loved it! She had SO many cute things, many high end brands that I was sure were way out of my budget, but I was completely wrong. I was so surprised when I found her pricing to be very affordable. I even found the BEST jeans on sale (70 % off) that lifted and tucked in all the right spots. Is there anything better than finding an amazing deal? It is funny, it goes back to the simple idea that you don’t really know unless you try. All this time there has been a great little boutique that I have been passing by on my way to the mall, when I could have saved time and money by shopping locally. I plan on going back very soon! I tried something new today and not only did I find a cool shop, but now my new jeans have put my butt right back where it belongs!

Nikki Jane's Boutique
1505 Portland Rd (Hwy 99), Suite# 210
Newberg, Oregon 97132
503.538.2620
www.nikkijanes.com

Day 10 - Movie Night with the Wild Six

My friend and I both have 3 girls and all our girls are under the age of seven. Every one of our girls have strong personalities and when we go places we feel like we just don't arrive, we seem to take over. Tonight I invited the girls over for a late night movie night, something we haven't yet attempted. So began my new thing for the day.


Tonight I had 6 girls on the couch, Madelynn 7, Madeline 7, Hailey 5, Margaret 4, Miriam 3, and Kyndall 2. They all got in their PJs, got their blankets, and parked it. They laughed and giggled together while shoveling handfuls full of popcorn in their mouth. If you think 6 teenage girls is loud, try 6 under the age of 7. They all talk to each other in one voice, loud, and each one gets louder with a new story to share. Their laugh though, it is almost contagious, and once one starts giggling, they all follow in a matter of seconds. My friend and I just sit and smile. We have learned so much from each other including the importance of patience and ear plugs. We love to sit and have a soda pop and laugh at how crazy our kids are.

Tonight my new thing was movie night with the wild six and although I have lost hearing in my left ear, we had a blast.