pumpkin patch

Last Friday we went to local farm to pick out pumpkins and check out the little festival they put on this time of year. Mostly the kids just ran around and played once the perfect pumpkins were selected.

Too bad Asher wouldn't smile for this pic. It could have been so cute.

How sweet is it to see Isaac carrying his baby sister?

This plane toy was the hit of the night. It rocks back and forth. 

And how adorable is my little pumpkin baby?

this is getting ridiculous

catch up

Dude, its been two weeks since I posted last. Anyone still out there? Here's what I've been up to:

~ Surviving an entire week flying solo with the two littles. Jared flew to North Carolina to defend his dissertation proposal. He passed and had a great time seeing some NC peeps, but we are so glad to have him back home! I need to tip my hat to all the military wives or wives whose husbands travel a lot and the single moms. Taking care of babies alone is not fun. Bed time is by far the worst part. I couldn't get Asher in bed until Miriam was asleep, so he was often staying up until 10 or 10:30. And then it takes me at least 2 or 3 times as long to get him settled down as it does for Jared. Let's just say that I am so happy to have a husband who is around for bed time and nap time. He makes my life so much easier. By the time I got both kids asleep without him I was exhausted. Hence the no blogging.

~The big kids have been here since Jared got home and its fall break so no school. I still feel like I'm playing catch up from Jared's trip so its been a little crazy around here. All good though. :-)

~Still doing At Mother's Breast although I haven't updated the site. I have TONS of photo editing to catch up on. That's on the agenda for the next couple weeks.

~Read the memoir Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer. It was my book club's pick this month. SO good. I really enjoyed it. Very well written and super fascinating look at modern day polygamists. I read it in a day and a half.

~Saturday we took family photos. Man, getting 7 people ready for the camera was an all day event! My friend Katie Dudley took our photos, and I took photos of her family. Easy way to get family pics done don't you think?

~Practicing for the ward talent show with some ladies from church. We are doing an ABBA medley. It's been fun and I think we might be pretty awesome this Friday night. :-)

~Meeting friends at the park and having a girls night out.

~Really enjoying time with my husband. It is true--absence really does make the heart grow fonder. I'm so grateful for Jared and all he does for our family. I am so blessed to get to call him mine.

daddy and daughter

We were hanging out in the hammock the other evening and the light was so pretty I had to run in and get my camera. Jared was somewhat annoyed at me because he was ready to go in anyway, but it was so worth the trouble for these images. I love perfect light like this on two of my most favorite people.

photos of moi

Instead of photos by me, there are photos of me over on At Mother's Breast. I was photographed twice--back in May by my friend Nicki Wright and then in July by another friend Timbra Wiist. They both captured some wonderful images of me breastfeeding my babies. I'm so happy to have these photographs. Thanks, ladies!

sassy

Can you see the future sassiness coming out in this pic? (I swear I won't post any more pictures from our 3 month shoot after this.) There is just something about this photo that I love. Well it is my freaking adorable baby of course. Hard not to love. That face is irresistible.

By the way... is it bad that I sometimes see pics of other people's babies and think to myself, "My baby is SO much prettier than that baby"? Do all parents do that? I suppose it's just evolution's way of making sure we take care of our offspring so our genetic material is passed along.

sister wives

Have you heard of TLC's new show Sister Wives? It's about a polygamist family that lives right here in Utah (of course). You can watch the first episode online. Find it here. We watched it last night and were totally fascinated by this family. Kody Brown has three wives and 12 going on 13 children. He's been married to the first for 20 years, the second for 17 and the third for 16. During the first episode you find out they've decided to welcome a new wife to the family-- a divorced mother of 3.

What is so interesting about this family is first of all how fairly normal they seem. We are so used to seeing the pioneer dressed, puffy hair kind of polygamists. This family is more along the lines of "Big Love". The other thing that struck me is how happy they all are with this arrangement. It really works for them. Two of the wives work and Kody has a very good job. They live in one large home that is divided into three separate but connecting apartments. The kids all wander freely between the homes. Kody seems to do a great job dividing his time between the wives. And the wives area all great friends.

I could never share my husband but I do see the appeal in having other women around to help out. For example one of the wives really loves working and doesn't enjoy all the housewifely duties so it works out well that her sisterwife loves taking care of all the kids while she works. It's an amazing little system they have worked out.

The other thing we are really curious about is their religion. They are FLDS but obviously not of the Texas compound variety. Kody actually explained the difference between LDS or Mormonism and FLDS really well. He said they are totally separate although related religions similar to Catholics and Protestants.  Jared being the religion teacher totally wants to find out if they have open church services. Wouldn't that be so interesting to see how they are similar or different from mainstream LDS meetings?

So yeah check it out. We don't have cable so I'm really hoping they keep posting the episodes online.

baby shoes

I'm not that big into babies wearing shoes before they can walk. Although they can be cute, it seems rather pointless to me. However with the coming of cooler weather here in Utah I've realized that socks do not like to stay on Miriam's feet. I got sick of constantly putting them back on so I decided she needed some shoes. I figured some simple Robeez would work well because they would fit her for awhile and stay on her feet. I set out to check out our local children's consignment store and got lucky! Check out the darling good as new Robeez I bought... two for less than the price you'd pay for one pair new.

I love the little faux fur detail. The inside is so cozy!

Don't you love the moccasin fringe on these? 

Miriam's feet are gonna be toasty all winter long.

could this be any cuter?

Pretty sure not.

mother artists

And what are any of us if not artists, we mothers who begin with only a tiny newborn canvas that we must help develop into an exquisite success? Sometimes our strokes are confident as Picasso's, when we administer needed discipline or deny candy to the cavity-prone. At other times we falter; we sling drops of green across the floor; we make a terrible mess and stain our children with mistakes. All the same there is beauty in our very effort, and each day, thankfully, is an opportunity for further attempts at triumph.

from "Artistry" by Anne Trisler