my sweet girl in big sur

YEEEAAA!!!!! California! (Big Sur in the pic)

a new little cook in the kitchen...

This little kiddo picked out her own outfit at our friend's house. She reminds me of the pillsbury doughboy; I just want to pinch those lil' cheekies!

overwhelmed.

That is the theme of my life right now. Just...overwhelmed. So I end up doing nothing, because I don't even know where to start. Here is my kitchen. After a day with my kids, this is how it looks. I've been trying to make things better but I don't know how. I thought, maybe, the solution is to do small things, a lot. So I made a list. 5 healthy habits. And I am going to try hard to do them.

5 habits for getting things done when I'm overwhelmed~

*Start, and end, each day with a tall glass of water
*Do something with the laundry each day. Do a load, fold a load, whatever. Just something.
*Before being lazy and sacking out in front of the TV, do just 10 minutes of hard work. In 10 minutes, you can clean the bathroom countertops, or wash a few dishes, or throw a load in.
*go to bed by midnight at the latest, even if it requires drugging myself with benadryl, because I am useless if tired in the morning. And cranky.
*get dressed by 10am every day. Make an attempt to look presentable, and you'll feel less slovenly, and probably get more done.

Does anyone else have a list? How do you keep from feeling overwhelmed???

another picture of miss aili... alki beach

scooby dooby do

Apparently, Scooby can be scary. As evidenced by these oh-so-adorable little girls. One day, hopefully before too long, there will be less work, and more time for playdates. I was forced to do a little overtime this week, unfun. I don't do overtime. I don't care if it pays well. You know what they say; overtime pays so well because of what you're missing. And I don't want to give up anything.

the last of the twenties...

I turned 29 yesterday. I guess I have mixed feelings about it; on the one hand, it is just a birthday, however, it is the last of this decade of my life. I haven't exactly accomplished everything I'd hoped to by this age, so if we could just pause it that would be awesome. That being said I hear your 30s is better- your 20s is where you pay your dues, are overworked and overwhelmed with Childcare duties right? But physically, your body is still somewhat able to handle all of those stressors, so that is good. And I have a lot of amazing experiences from my 20s. So, I am in no rush for it to be over. Here are a sample of things my 20s have brought:
1. A lot of crazy partying in my early 20s. Going out a lot, being free to drink a little too much, and just be care free. Ahhhh memories.

2. Having roomates. You learn a lot from that. Sitting on Kristin's bed and just talking about everything that was going on in our lives.

3. Finding, and losing, love

4. Traveling. Lots of traveling. Playing soccer with tribes in the amazon, doing yoga in India, feeding deer in Japan, renting a boat by myself in Hong Kong, safari in Tanzania, climbing temples barefoot in Myanmar, skydiving in South Africa, getting stupid drunk in a bar in Cuba (ahhh mojitos...) getting lost in Vietnam...and so much more, too much to type.

5. Getting married. The wonderful security of knowing that you're with the kindest person you've ever met, who loves you, supports you, and is always on your side. Who became a firefighter/medic because he wants to save people, he wants to make this world a better place, and at the end of the day, we can talk to each other about our bad day at work and the other gets it. Our bad day at work is not like other people's, our bad day includes fears about killing people. Perspective.

6. Being pregnant and giving birth twice.

7. Becoming a mom...snuggling a baby late at night, nursing, watching then do all the "firsts," the first time they say "I love you mama..."

8. Becoming a nurse. Surviving nursing school which academically wasn't too bad but was the hardest two years of my life, alone in a new place, living alone, dumped for another woman, lonelier than you can imagine... It was horrible. I threw up every day for a long time. But I did it. And I am better for it.

9. Working in a hospital, seeing and helping with birth and death, handing a baby over to be held for the first time, holding someone's hand when their family was gone so they wouldn't die alone.

So, it's not that I don't feel ready for my 30s. I'm ready, but I like still feeling young, and having energy (some days!) Being in your 20s is pretty amazing. After all no matter how great being in your 30s might be, what chance could it possibly have to top all of that?

:-)