Bend!

if you know me at all, then i am sure you have heard me talk about my hometown. it is a point of pride, if you've been there, you know why. and even though i haven't lived there in almost ten years, i always catch myself saying, "i'm goin' home for the weekend" or something like that. 

now having two little gals to tag along with me on my visits makes it extra special. we visit places that are loaded with memories, we have q-time with cousins, and we soak up that vitamin d we've been missing! this time we got to celebrate evelyn may's first year, visit kari sue at her school, and drink lots of yummy coffee from backporch. here are some of my favorite moments from this last visit home....

 papa love

 happy girl, as usual

 nana's sandbox

 addison, life of the party

 i'm not sure what the park's real name is, but i've always known it as the boat park...cause there's a big boat in it. mackenzie thought the boat was a-mazing.

 kenze took this picture herself, i think it is awesome

peyton letting mackenzie know exactly what she thinks...love her!

 isn't that the best! seriously can't you just feel the love??

 our trip was mostly spent in costume, or dancing

 another little number. avery was real proud because she dressed mackenzie up herself...can you tell?

 view on my morning run

all tuckered out...

sometimes love hurts...

did you ever watch tiny toons? 

there was a character on there...elmyra

 

she was known for her deep love for animals, that actually looked more like animal abuse. her hugs were headlocks, her pats a slap, and her attempts to care for her animals always left someone hurt.

well, i have my own elmyra. her name is mackenzie. and she is in love, big time, with her little sister. she equally loves being the big sister. she likes to have addison watch her do her daily tasks (go potty, bathing, eating). and shouts ever so loudly, "see addison!"  or "see me addison, like this!"

that's not the problem though, that's pretty sweet. the problem is her desire to love on addison. teeth clenched, knuckles white, she gives addison daily...scratch that...hourly doses of elmyra-like affection. it leads to tears (addison, usually hurt or startled) and more tears (mackenzie, confused why sister isn't cooing and smiling at her hugs or fearing she's in trouble). 

i am happy to report, despite these moments of sisterly love,  addison is as happy as ever. 

smiling addie, notice war wound from morning hug

DIY hair-flowers-things

i was inspired by my gals' hair  

 addison, givin' j. bieber a run for his money

mackenzie is our curly girly

 

so i thought i'd give these hair-flower-things a shot. they turned out pretty cute, were incredibly easy, and took no time in all...like maybe ten minutes. a great accessory in a bind.

step one: choose your fabric

the flowers can truly be made from scraps...i have a bit of a love affair with fabric so i had plenty on hand to choose from.

step two: cut your circles

i found (by trial and error) that the flowers look best with at least 4 layers of fabric. it also pops when you use different textures. another lesson learned is to put the busiest/smallest print fabric as the first layer, so that the larger patterned prints aren't blocked...duh! (opposite of what i did below). play around with the different sizes you cut, they do not have to be perfect circles by any means. also, using different types of scissors adds some funk. i have a sweet vintage pair of shears from my great-grandma that did the trick

step three: sew circles together

with a simple stitch through the center you can attach all the circles, but i did a large stitch and then cinched it tight and it gave it a gathered/curled-in look.

step four: add buttons

again, i have inherited half of my sewing supplies, and with it, a bunch of fun buttons. i attached the desired button with a hot glue gun.

step five: attach to hair accessories

i picked up a collection of hair things from the dollar store. i attached them with the hot glue gun, positioned asymmetrical. i am still playing around with different size flowers for the bands, so bare with me on some of these pictures. little curly likes the big girl plastic hair bands, and bieber hair girl rocks the soft ones. 

finished product:

challenge

"are you crazy????"

that is a direct quote from my dear ol' mum when i explained to her what justin and i had just signed up for. and for the record, she did call back and promise to support all my efforts even if they are a bit loony. 

the decision in question is the deschutes dash. all my bend friends have probably heard about it. justin and i both have competed in it in the past, but this time i decided to take on a little more.i signed up for the duathlon...olympic distance. 

that means that i am going to be getting this postpartum booty movin'! a duathlon for this race entails a 3.1 mile run, followed by a 25 mile bike, finished with a 6.2 mile run. no sweat! errrr...

but this is one of my core truths, one of the things that defines my very being, i like me a challenge. seriously, i live for pushing myself, not just physically. i like to push the limits to see how much i can handle, which is funny because then there are other areas of my life that i refuse to take one step out of my comfort zone.

in truth, the reason why this is so rewarding and such a challenge is because this june marks the 7th anniversary of my L4, L5 bilateral fusion. at 20 i got four screws in my back. not only was that real painful, and a sluggish recovery, but i also had to face that there were just some things my body simply could no longer physically do. that's a hard pill to swallow at 20 when you have your whole life ahead of you. but this is a happy ending, because each time i cross a finish line, or meet a goal i've set, it is the sweetest gift. so stay tuned as i whine and complain and celebrate my way through this training time. (which i can't even start for another few weeks but still half of the battle is gettin' my mind ready, right?)

jessica and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (week)

i am all for looking at life through rose colored glasses. i consider my glass half full. give me a bag of lemons and i will be sure to give you lemonade. but this week...this week i just wasn't really feelin' it.

i will spare the details of the beginning of the week, because there are some male readers...but i will say it involved my boob + an infection + misdiagnosis = a little surgery. so needless to say i was feeling a little glum by wednesday. as i sat trying to nurse on my injured side trying not to be a baby, i started thinking that it would really cheer me up to put on my big sparkly engagement ring. i love this ring. it is special for lots of reasons, mainly because my husband used this very ring to ask to spend his life with me, and it would be special if only for that...but it also happens to be a diamond that was past down from my great-grandmother, to my grandmother, and then to me. 

as soon as my little hoover vac of a baby stopped nursing i slid (okay...jammed) the ring onto my finger. it was tight. but my golly it went on. for a fleeting moment i was so happy. i felt like my finger was finally clothed after a month of being naked. but then i i thought...this ring is a little too tight, i should try it again in a few weeks. and i went to take it off. the ring wasn't going anywhere. 

i tried real hard for a few minutes to slide the sucker off...but no. so i ignored the problem, thinking if i gave myself a bit of time and came back to it, i could get it. my finger slowly began to swell. i showed justin. he didn't know what to do either. so we went to bed.

i laid in bed trying to bend my finger, it felt hot and swollen like a bee sting. i asked justin to turn the light back on. we both stared down at my finger. was it looking a little purple? we got out of bed and tried a couple of other tactics, involving oil, then tape, then brute force...nada. the sucker didn't budge and my finger was slowly growing to the size of my big toe. it was time to hit the ER. 

so at 2 am i found myself driving towards the ER to see what they could do....

 notice anything?

 this actually hurt because the pressure was so tight as he cut

this is my sad face, and that is my sad stretched apart ring

yummy yummy!

justin turned 30 over the weekend. his birthday looked a little different than usual since our honored guests were a sassy two year old and a gassy new born. i made him a "birthday menu", allowing him to choose throughout the day different things to make his birthday special...for example; sleep in, no diaper duty, breakfast of your choice, open a gift...etc. it ended up being a fabulous day, and was topped off with a awesome birthday dinner supplied by his brother and sister-n-law. 

his birthday breakfast choice was delicious, it came from one of our favorite magazines, ready made. i thought i would share with you all our two favorites from this last issue...seriously you have to try 'em

Berry & Goat Cheese French Toast (birthday breakfast)

• Orange Butter:
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
• 2 T freshly grated orange zest, divided
• 2 T fresh-squeezed orange juice
• French Toast:
• 4 eggs
• 1 c whole milk
• 1 T freshly grated orange zest
• 1 T honey
• Pinch of salt
• 4 slices French bread, 1 inch thick
• 4 T goat cheese, at room temp
• 1 c mixed berries
• 2 T unsalted butter
• Maple syrup, to serve

Make the butter by combining all ingredients (1 tbsp of zest) in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

1. In a shallow glass baking dish, whisk together eggs, milk, remaining orange zest, honey, and salt. Set aside.

2. Cut an opening that extends along the middle of each bread slice. Care-fully spread one-fourth of goat cheese into opening, then fill with berries. Gently press and repeat with remaining slices. Transfer to custard; let sit for 15 seconds on each side.

3.Preheat oven to 200°F. Heat 1 tbsp butter over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Once butter has melted, add two slices of the bread and cook about 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while preparing the remaining two servings.

4. Serve with Orange Butter and syrup. Store leftover butter, covered, in the fridge and use within one week.

Variations: Sub cream cheese for the goat cheese; brioche or challah for the French bread; fruit jam for fresh fruit.

Pecan French Toast:

• Pecan Maple Syrup: 
• 1 c pecans, chopped and toasted until just fragrant in a dry skillet
• 2 c pure maple syrup
• Chai Butter: 
• ½ c butter (1 stick) at room temp
• 2 T honey
• ½ t cinnamon
• ½ t ground cardamom
• ¼ t ground cloves
• ¼ t nutmeg
• ¼ t allspice
• French Toast:
• 1¼ cup whole milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 T honey
• ½ t vanilla
• ½ t cinnamon
• 8 thick slices whole grain bread

1. Make the syrup by combining the toasted pecan pieces and maple syrup together in a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

2. Make the butter by combining all ingredients well in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet pan with parchment.

4. In a shallow glass 3-quart baking dish, whisk together milk, eggs, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. Add bread, flip several times, and let stand for 20 minutes. Transfer to lined baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Serve with Chai Butter and Pecan Maple Syrup.

It Goes So Fast...

how many times have you heard that before? i swear, when mackenzie was born every other person (specifically mothers) i talked to said those words to me. and no wonder. as mackenzie pranced around the other night in her new bathing suit, i found myself picturing her all rolly and polly in her very first red swim suit. and the words echoed in my heart, it goes so fast. so here's to treasuring every fleeting moment, all the stages we swear are the best, the sleepless nights and the first steps...i'm so excited to do it again with miss addison!

 mackenzie, 6 months, zihuatanejo mexico

mackenzie, 2 years