puddles at the farm

zula got new boots the last time we went to the farm (aka oma and opa's house). we tried them out and took some pictures. she had lots of fun. since it doesn't rain too much in yakima whenever we go west over the mountains we enjoy the gray clouds.

poor effi sat this one out and stayed inside with oma where it was nice and warm :)

honesty hour

yes sometimes i dont make my bed. actually i didnt ever make my bed until pretty recently. i used to think it was dumb to make a bed that you were just going to mess up again that night. but then i climbed into my own freshly made bed and havent gone back since! its so nice to slip in between nice neat sheets!

tiny tour

have you ever noticed a super cool old building and thought "i wish i could just take a quick peak inside"? i think this ALL the time. especially when we are going for walks. we live in one of the oldest neighborhoods in yakima. you can tell that in its heyday it was once a very wealthy and prominent street. it is full of huge old houses and has a grassy median lined with giant trees . it is sad to see all the beautiful houses in such poor shape.
recently our neighbors bought a house down the street and i got a chance to look around and take some pictures! my dream had come true to just take a "tiny tour."  its previous owner was a sweet old lady who would sweep her sidewalk on nice days and say hello to zula when we walked by.

this house is a gem! as you can see, it has alot of things going for it; tall ceilings, beautiful hardwood floors, leaded windows, claw foot tub, radiator heaters (that work!), an awesome porch and back yard.

have you ever had a similar experience, where you got to see/explore something you've always admired?

the best day ever

so yesterday i went to estate sales with my bestie, danae. it was so much fun and i got some awesome stuff! it is so nice to get out without the toddler in tow. and it was so nice to have a full day with danae. she brings life to my soul:) when we were out hunting we realized that we hadnt been to estate sales together since before farm chicks last year! crazy. check out gather and hunt's facebook page to see more pictures from our day.
here are a few a took while we were out:

 

1. treasures i found.

2. effi being a champ!

3. a pretty ring i picked up for a buck!

Gather and Hunt feature

hello again.... i know right? another post this week?! i'm on a roll!
today isn't an actual post since we will be packing up the car and headed to oma's house, hopefully the pass will be pass-ible.
but you should head over to danae's blog gather and hunt for her new series: a curated life.  featuring ME!

zula's birthday party #2

zula just turned two. here is her party... the one at our house. it is actually her second second birthday party. you know what i mean right? ;) her first party was at oma's house. it was super fun. we had cake pops and played with cousins. this is birthday party number two!

 

when the husby and i had kids we decided that we wanted to make a big deal out of birthdays. do it up right, ya know? her party this year was kid themed. we had chicken nuggets, juice boxes, sweet potato fries and ice cream sandwiches. my goal was to get pictures of adults drinking out of juice boxes. ha i was successful and we all had fun! also i really like juice boxes.

and zula really liked her ice cream sandwich:)

ps have you checked out my bestie's blog lately? its SUper cool!

thankful tuesdays

today i am thankful for spring! i hate being cold and this nice warm weather is just what i've been needing. we've been playing outside alot and enjoying the sunshine. zula says, "its nice today" and so we go out and have a snack on the porch.
spring is so fun. its such a fresh season full of dreams and plans for the future.

i'm dreaming of:
vegetable gardens
backyard chickens
homemade hammicks
kiddie pools
daily walks
lots of sunshine
bicycle rides
green grass

ps what are you looking forward to?

honesty hour

this is what zula's hair looks like most mornings, and sometimes all day.

it is almost literally a rat's nest. in the second picture she's saying "no mama" cuz she didnt want her picture taken. ha!

see her giant monkey in the last frame? she got him for her birthday and does everything with him. he was having breakfast with her. 

oh hello again!

my deepest, most sincere apologies to all of you. there have been some rather large and obnoxious crickets over here. we have been busy as usual. thats such a lame excuse but we really have been busy!

zula has turned two. it is crazy to think that i have been a parent for that long.... that she has only been here for two years. her new favorite phrase is "i can do it myself" which is cute and frustrating at the same time. our conversations go like this:

z, "i can do it by myself"
me, "ok you can wash your hands."

z, "i can do it"
me, "no you may not pick up effi."

z, "i can do it!!!!"
me, "sorry i can only let kids do things that dont yell at mom"

z, "i can do it by myself."
me. "sorry its mom's job to change your diaper."

all day long she is trying to establish her independence. which is good. really good. i want her to do things on her own, even though at this point it takes much longer and is frustrating at times. its sad though when they dont need you as much, they are not babies anymore but you still just want to hug them and kiss them all day. i imagine this gets harder as they are teenagers.  so i just do my best and focus on having a good relationship with zula.

oh and did i mention, she's started playing by herself!!!?