Proof of My Painted Walls

And here it is! My amazing wall inspired by HGTV and my mom. Really my mom.

She's amazing.

Did I mention that she is here visiting and that's how I was able to paint with three kids? Bekah and Jacob stayed the night at her house Tuesday night and didn't sleep great, so when naptime came on Wednesday they slept great! I had three kids take a three hour nap

at the same time!

So here is the finished product minus the pillows and beautiful nightstands (that will one day magically appear, I am sure...)

Beau was really exhausted by it all...see for yourself...

Triumphant Painting of the Walls

I am tired.

Exhausted.

My poor little paint covered fingers keep stumbling all over the keyboard.

I might be overplaying the exhaustion thing just a little bit, but really I had a big day and got a ton of stuff done! My room is now a soft velvety tan with a big blue square at the head of my bed, where tomorrow (or the next day) I will hang my newly painted dark brown poppies. You wouldn't guess by the wonderful, orderly cleanness of my room that I painted today. Rus got home from work and said it looked just like someone snapped their fingers and the walls changed from white to tan.

Yeah.

That's what happened, sweetie!

Anyways I am so excited and I will post a pic as soon as I hang up my poppies...

On another note...

Does anyone else feel like

turning up the heat in your house to at least 80 degrees,

pushing the dining room table out of the way,

filling up a little kiddie swimming pool,

changing into a swimsuit,

and pretending like it is summer already?

Just wondering...

On My Mind...

I guess I've been a little nostalgic lately. Well, that and I've been trying to jump start my horrible memory by reading my old journals. I used to keep a journal really really well. My amazing friend Lindsey was an inspiration to me in high school of journal keeping and I tried really hard to follow her footsteps. So I've been looking over my old journals, remembering long-forgotten events and feelings and getting a little chuckle over the "drama" of my life. I think everyday I used to write, "I need to do so much better tomorrow." Yep, that could pretty much sum up all of my teen years. I got pretty sick of reading that and so I pulled out my current journal and wrote, "I am doing the best that I can." I think I can thank Rus for helping me relax my perfectionistic drive. I was really on a roll and maybe that's one of my regrets. Mistakes are human, commonplace, necessary. It is impossible to get it all right, everyday. I think it's important to give thanks everyday for the things that I do get right and not lose sleep over the rest of it. (I should embroider that on my pillow case, huh!)
One piece of paper stuck in the pages of 1999 had "10 things that I want to have done in 10 years." It was fun to read because I'd actually accomplished most of them, like "Marry a wonderful man" and "Have beautiful children." Check. Check. Some of them are still challenges to be met, like "Make a sculpture out of ice cream," and "Try all 31 flavors." One other one does not hold the same importance that it used to: "Learn to water ski really good." I think I'll be okay if I don't cross that one off.
Other things made me laugh, like this from when I was 14 or 15...
"I miss Amanda and James so much. But I don't miss Jared because he's on his mission and that's okay."
Or..."I wish Amanda could come visit. But not Jared because he's on his mission and I know that's where he's supposed to be." Ha!
And I can't even count the number of times I wrote that I had gotten in a fight with Tyler! (Mostly from when I was 9, 10, 11-ish.) Everyday! It's especially funny because I love him so much and we have so much fun together. He is totally amazing and available and isn't married simply because I haven't found anyone worthy of him. :) (j/k)
So all this looking back has made me super-aware of the now. I think all the little things are the most important. Like...Jacob got new shoes. They are spiderman and they light up and they cost twenty bucks. That's how much I plan to spend on my own shoes, not a three-year-old's! But he will wear them everyday for at least six months and he will love them. They turn his ordinary toes into SuperToes and he can run faster and jump higher in them, so it's totally worth it.
Bekah was helping me get ready the other day and wanted so badly to wear all of my makeup. She said she needed sparkly lips so that she could look pretty. Ah, Bekah girl, you are perfect and beautiful and overflowing with sparkle!
Rus went to work late this morning because I have a horrible, horrible, nose-chapping sinus infection and Beau was up all night and I needed some extra sleep. Actually he just stayed home because he loves me. I hope he knows that meant a lot to me. (And he probably saved our kids from a firm, raspy-voiced, talking to because they can be so ornery in the morning!)
And Beau is my sunshine. Seriously. I know one day he will hold the power to make me feel like going crazy, but right now he is nothing but sunshine. I think a lot of it has to do with being the third kid. I stressed over every little thing with Bekah, raced past Jacob's milestones without looking, and now I'm in a position to relax and just enjoy being with Beau. I am really having fun with him and I consider his personality a gift from my Heavenly Father.
Hmmm...I think that is all that was on my mind. I hope you don't mind the ramblings and I wish you a happy day!

El Magnifico El Malpais

Today we broke free. Escaped. Had an adventure. Tried to outrun the sickness that has been plaguing our home for over a week. (But we did allow the kleenex box to tag along or else there would have been a big boogery mess, myself being the main contributor...) We headed an hour west to El Malpais, meaning "The Badlands". It was amazing! Check it out!

It was like a huge rock playground with a big drop-off on one side. And it was freezing. Almost. I guess it was 35 degrees. That's why I look like a hoodlum with my hood pulled up. Once my nose went numb it wasn't bad at all! Here I am holding onto my kids for dear life. I know we were standing still, but we were less than 6 feet away from a big fall and I could just visualize my kids tripping and plummeting to their deaths.

There were ice puddles all over the place. Bekah and Jacob had a blast "ice skating" on them. This was my favorite formation...two rocks just far enough apart to create a fun little secret passageway. I felt like a kid on an adventure.

Look at my hot honey! So strong!

Beau was so happy to be a part of our expedition. I'm pretty sure his nose was frozen, too, but he was all smiles!

Jacob was dubbed "Speed Racer" on this trip because...well actually because he was SO slow! Where Bekah is an adventurer and an explorer, Jacob is a careful, cautious, fearful, do-it-for-the-candy kind of hiker. This is us lagging behind. Just a little further down the road there was a trail called Lava Falls that of course we had to check out. The entire area was covered with lava rock. It was amazing! Also amazing was the fact that anything could grow there!

There were cracks in the rocks all over the place, some just inches deep, and some like this one, which was probably six feet in its deepest parts. The cracks made Rus and I nervous, especially because some of them were disguised by snow and because they could swallow our children whole. Next time we're taking rope.
The trail was marked by carins. (Piles of rocks. Is that how you spell it?) We would find one carin and then find the next and hike to it. There was absolutely no pathway or trail. Here is Jacob and carin.


All this fun adventuring wore Beau out. And yes, he could breathe in this position. I checked.

All in all we had a great time exploring and I can't wait to go back when it's not so cold!

A Breakfast Conversation

Bekah: What's that smell?
Mom: I don't know. I can't smell anything. (Seriously. My sinuses make my head feel the size of a hot air balloon. The tweetie bird shaped kind.)
Bekah moves her barstool away from whatever smell it is she smelled.
Jacob: MAWWWMEE! What mell i'sat?
Mom: I don't know. My nose doesn't smell good right now.
Bekah: Mom, where can I move so that I don't smell your nose anymore?

That gave my tweetie bird head a good laugh... :)

Poppy "Headboard"

Here is what I've been up to yesterday and today!

My mom saw this on HGTV's summer showdown. (Here is the link to that picture: http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/before-and-after-designs-from-isummer-showdowni/pictures/page-10.html) There are two panels, even though you can't quite see the line in the middle. I'm going to paint them either poppy red or icy blue and hang them on the wall behind my bed. I've wanted a headboard for forever and here is my $30 version which will have to do for now. I'm actually really excited about them, although I'm not looking forward to painting them. Cutting them out wasn't too hard. I used my friend Taffy's jigsaw and it went pretty fast. Wahoo! I'll have to post a new pic when they're actually up on my wall.

What Can I Get Myself Into in 2009?...And some Christmas pics...

2009.

Can you believe that? This year completely flew by. Probably because I wished the first half of it away (you do that when you're pregnant, I think) and then spent the latter half in a daze (you do that with a newborn, I think). My overall impression of this last year is...um..."Phew! I made it!" Or, quite possibly, "Three kids is PLENTY. For now. Or until I become crazy enough to think I can handle more." So for this year I'm thinking of taking up a new hobby. Like cross-stitching or knitting or sweat-shirt-puffy-paint-decorating. I really need something to soak up all that spare time. And I need something else to soak up all the crazy junk food/sweets/chocolate-in-excess. Well, something besides myself, that is. I'll blame my parents for passing on such powerful (and particular) taste buds.

Really I am excited for a new year. It brings with it that wonderful overwhelming/empowering feeling thinking of all the opportunities that lie ahead. I want to take a Spanish class this year with Rus. I want to paint my room and somehow come up with bedroom furniture (like nightstands and a dresser and a desk and a headboard, just to name a few...) I want to explore the entire state of NM and camp out in our pop-up trailer. I want to make clip art. I want to learn to play more songs on the piano. I want to get better at sewing purses and baby things. I want to put all my pictures in a photo album. I want to develop all the pictures I've taken. I want to have a garden again. I want to build a playhouse for my kids outside. I want this year to pass more slowly. This is the year Bekah starts school and our little family really starts growing up. I don't want to wish this year away...

Hmmm, that's probably more than enough "window into Keri".

Here are some pics for you to enjoy!

Jacob in his new spiderman helmet and pads. Thank you Santa!

Me and my new Ipod radio. Thank you Mom!

Jacob, the stud with his "spicy" (spikey) hair, hugging aunt Emilee (Rus's little sister). Isn't he such a stud?! Emilee got to stay with us for a few nights over the break and we had a blast. We played Monopoly, watched movies, played with play dough, started a purse for her, and listed to lots of music. And doubled on a date with her. Yep. We were cool enough to go on a double date with teenagers. Rus and I didn't even talk about our kids the whole time. And we didn't embarrass her. Kudos to us.

Jacob turned 3!! Poor kid, his birthday always gets overshadowed by Christmas. He had a dump truck cake and got a hot wheels loop-d-loop track thing. He is so much fun now and such a boy. I wish you could hear his deep raspy voice, especially when he's spiderman or a lion hunter.

On Christmas eve we acted out the nativity for the grandparents. All the cousins got to join in and we had wonderful hot chocolate for dessert. It was really, really fun! Here was our little sheep.

Here's a hat I made for Bekah. I got the directions from Ashley's make it and love it blog (see button at side.) Bekah's turned out a little bit to tight and short, but she still liked it.

Jacob and Beau in their matching hats. Ummm...Tara, is this fleece familiar? Um...do you want a hat made out of it? There is some left. I guess that's what happens when I forget to return something. It gets made into a hat. Or two. Or three (Alden, my nephew, has one too.) Um..Call me!

Rus gave me a true gift of the heart for Christmas...a trip to Santa Fe. He's not really into art or art towns or art people, so it was a true gift and he did really good letting me look at everything. Beau was our chaperone. What a cutie!

Wow. I have so many more pictures but I think I've done enough damage for today.

Happy New Year! Make it great!