my little robot

And just like that, it's November. As Ben said this morning, "It's kind of unbelievable". The months are just flying by and I feel like suddenly we're going to be parents of teenagers feeling like we just took Malakai to his first Harvest Party the night before.

Saturday we did some last minute pumpkin carving. Malakai wasn't really in to touching the slimy stuff. Once Ben started carving pieces out of his pumpkin, Kai started putting them back in. Just like his toys! We put him in his costume to give his grandparents a preview.

He wore it for longer than he had ever before without trying to pull it off. Then we had to get photos of everyone with the pumpkins. 

Well last night we did venture out to Camp Harlow, where Ben had worked for 8 summers as a young adult. It was our first time going to their Harvest Party and it was fairly hectic, but a lot of fun. We went with some friends of ours and it was so cute to see Malakai + his friend Titus dressed up together.

{robot + dragon with their daddies}

We maneuvered our way through the crowd while Ben stopped every few feet to catch up with old friends that he hadn't seen in years. We found a few of the kid friendly games + the boys earned their parents some yummy treats.

I was worried that Malakai would want to keep the bean bags instead of throwing them for the games, but he understood right away! Ben + I were amazed, what a smart little robot!

{he loved having everyone cheer for him}

I had a hard time getting really good photos of his face because he was constantly turning to take in all the sights + sounds. I also brought our out-dated point + shoot camera, so I didn't get the best quality photos either. I was glad to not be lugging around a giant camera the whole time though. 

It didn't take us long to get through all the games that our little ones could do. We did find some animals outside. Malakai got to pet a pony, a rabbit + goats. He was so excited!

The boys seemed to most enjoy running around outside. We couldn't really let them loose inside where the activities were because of how large the crowd was. I tried letting Kai walk + hold my hand but he just wanted to run off.

We were only out for about an hour and a half, which was perfect for getting home for dinner and playtime before putting Malakai to bed and eating all the candy.

{my fluffy little robot}

coming up

I have some reviews + giveaways coming very soon. I'm continuing to work with CSN stores to provide reviews for relevant products. CSN has a variety of stores + products like nightstands + other bedroom furniture as well as anything you could ever need for your kitchen.

I'll also be working with some Etsy sellers + other handmade shops to share new goodies with you before the Holiday season.

Be sure to follow me publicly through google friend connect (to the right) so you don't miss any of the helpful reviews and exciting giveaways coming up soon! Also, because I really want to see your smiling face on the sidebar.

And now I'm off for the weekend for pumpkin carving, football, a Harvest festival + one very cute little robot.

trip to the farm

At the end of last weekend I realized that we were running out of days to take Malakai to the pumpkin patch. The weather was finally acting like fall in Oregon, tons of rain and fairly cold days.

Ben + I both wanted to be there for his first real trip to the pumpkin patch. Last year, he wasn't even crawling yet. It looked a little something like this...

{I posted a photo of this orchard earlier this week}

We didn't buy a pumpkin that year. This year we went to a farm closer to our house and we didn't buy a pumpkin there either. I had envisioned having Malakai "select" one from the patch, but they were all rotten. All the nice ones were in the farms store front and I figured we could save money and pick one up at ANY storefront. So, we let Malakai loose in the patch for a bit and took advantage of the photo ops  as fast as we could during the break in rain.

We dressed Malakai in grubby clothes so I wasn't worried about mud. We did however make sure he didn't stick his hand into the moldy pumpkins. He tripped over vines a lot, but didn't seem to care. He was literally running all over that field. 

Ben's mom was able to come with us at a moments notice. She took some photos as well and helped us corral Malakai a few times. He really didn't want to stand still or be held for photos, he's pretty much a little blur in most of them.

{Kai loved drumming on the pumpkins}

{he didn't seem to like the water on his hands though}

Unfortunately we didn't get to take the hayride out to the pumpkin patch. We're guessing it was too late in the day or maybe they only run it on the weekends.  We did get to see some hay though...

The rain washed away some of the paint, but you get the idea. They had a lot of things like this that made for some pretty fun pictures. I was actually thankful for the overcast sky which made for some great lighting, it was terribly cold though!

They had a playground area and near it were some places to take photos. There was an adorable little train. 

But it didn't interest Malakai for very long. As soon as he wriggled free of Ben's grip...

{I just wanna be freeee!}

There were some goats + sheep that we couldn't get very good photos of, but Malakai enjoyed looking at them. We were set to go because it was so cold when we saw a few more photo ops we couldn't resist. 

Ben set Malakai among a bunch of large pumpkins and I thought it would help him stay still for a photo. Instead he made this pathetic face and whined until we set him free again. Can't fence him in!

We had a great time watching Malakai run around and enjoy the new sights. Tomorrow we will attempt pumpkin carving with our 15 month old! That may make for a scary Halloween!

Happy Weekend + 

PS I'll post Halloween photos from the Harvest party we're attending and of course pics of Kai in his costume on Monday.

Thankful on a Thursday: influencing change

As those of you who have been reading here for a while know, I talk a lot about change (hence the name of this space). It's one of few things in this world that you can always count on. Much of it is out of our control, and I really prefer it that way. What I mean is, that I try to let go of as much as I can so that God can lead.

I also know that letting God lead doesn't mean waiting around for things to happen. Ecclesiastes 10:18 says "If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks." This is just one of many Biblical examples of why not to be stagnant in your faith.

It's important to find balance with God between taking control over your own affairs and not letting God's guidance in and sitting around doing nothing in the name of trusting in God. How unique is it to be a follower of Christ that we get to have a relationship with our God and commune with Him in this life through the Holy Spirit.

I am the most guilty of waiting idly for God to fix things when it comes to finances. I know it's important to trust in God for provision, but I also need to partner with Him and let Him guide me to solutions when there are problems. Easier said than done, but I'm trying.

Ben + I have also realized that we've let the romance in our relationship take a back burner to many things like home ownership and especially parenthood. It's the concept of the squeakiest wheel getting the oil first. I finally had to speak up a little louder for us to come to a realization that we were starting to fall behind in caring for our marriage.

We are far from having deep marital issues, and we show each other love + affection on a daily basis. However, we were still in a bit of a rut romantically. Each evening we'd both be so exhausted that after Malakai went to sleep we'd lazily sit in front of the tv until bedtime. It wasn't good enough, for either of us. We're influencing change that we finally realized needed to happen. We came together to do household tasks as a team, planned more family outings and more importantly date nights, we started doing small things for each other to show our love and bigger things to show our commitment. Since making these changes, while most are quite subtle, I've felt a big difference in my mood each day.

I am so thankful for :

351. change. good, bad + everything in between.

352. The Loerke's of Today's Letters. They have such a fun take on marriage. Ben + I have used some of the tips from their blog. If you haven't already, please check them out.

353. Our son who teaches us how to love in a new way each day.

354. relationships. I'm so blessed to have close family + friends in real life and through the internet.

355. my sweet husband who takes such good care of us physically, emotionally, + spiritually.

356. a chance to gather with other mom's at church this morning + make new connections.

357. our HVAC system. So much better than the space heaters we had at the old house in previous fall + winter chills.

358. again, Kai's grandmas. Both are always willing to babysit which allows us to go on date nights!

359. Malakai running around through the pumpkin patch, so much wonder + joy despite the clouds + rain.

{our little blur, running through the patch- more on this tomorrow}

360. as always, my God, Jehovah Jireh who is everything I need at all times.

What are you thankful for this week?

parenting choices

When we were getting started with wedding planning in the winter of 2007, I was starting from scratch. I hadn't looked at a single bridal magazine, lurked on The Knot or gone into any shops. It just wasn't my thing. I then found myself overwhelmed by all the questions my mom would ask me about details I hadn't yet considered. I often found myself in over my head and needing help.

Thankfully when it came to pregnancy and parenting, I did my research ahead of time. However, I still sometimes find myself overwhelmed by the list of choices to be made. There are the daily choices that are relatively easy like how to dress my son for the day, how to react when he has a mild tantrum, what to feed him and then what else I can feed him after he throws the original meal on the floor...

There are also the larger scale choices like breastfeeding or formula feeding, immunizations, cord-blood banking, sleep solutions and other individual scenarios.

Then there are what seem like no-brainer choices. Child is running a fever, give them Tylenol; child is enduring extreme teething pain on a regular basis try the most natural remedy available.

Sadly, in both of those cases we've faced recalls. By now everyone is familiar with the Tylenol recall. As a mother who trusted in their product I was furious that we had gone through 2 bottles of the affected medicines.

Recently the FDA has banned Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets. I found myself feeling the same disappointment and anger in yet another company I trusted to make a product to help, not harm, my baby. I had chosen these tablets in an effort to not over medicate my constantly teething son. I chose them over numbing gels as there's known side effects.

Yesterday a friend shared this article with me on Facebook. Now I'm not sure what to think or who to believe on this issue. I do know we'll surely stop using the teething tablets we currently have, it's not worth any risk there might be. But for the future of what the FDA could recall, I'm not sure how much weight I can put in their decisions.

So, now some choices that seemed easy from the beginning have become a bit more complicated. What do you think? If you've used these products, how have the recalls affected you + your family?