I wish blogging wasn't like my journaling.

I always have medium expectations of myself with blogging. Medium, because it's really not that hard and I take enough pictures to do something several times a week. But I am just plain lazy. Laaaazy. I should work on that. Or make Matt work on that. Oh, but I have. Check out the project that only took him 5 months to finish.

Not too bad eh? I didn't think so. I wish I had taken a picture with all the drawer fronts because there was this like ivy detail that he filled in and sanded. And I wanted to put it in our front entryway but when we got it in the house it was much too large to go there. Oh well. 

I'll share some cute pictures of my cute kids.

 He may or may not look like a bit of a creeper...haha. 

 Laughing and having a good time in his "pretty skirt". 

His cuteness kills me. Kills. Me. 

My monkey girl. 

And it's been a while since I've shown you a moose...so here you go. 

We had spring break week before last and at the tail end I was up dealing with sick kids at 2 am and saw the biggest aurora ever. Right outside my bedroom window. Again. I need to upload the pics to my computer and as soon as I do that I'll try better to get them up faster. So come back:)

A face-lift

Sometimes you just need a quick face-lift to make you feel better. Of course I've never had a face-lift so I really can't make that claim. But this blog needed something to make it better feeling.

We are just about 25 weeks into this pregnancy. I have to say, these last few weeks have taken forever. Forever. 

Spring is flirting with us here in Alaska and I wish she'd stop being prude. I could use some warm sunshine and no more snow on the ground. 

I could also use a baby name. We still haven't figured one out for girl #2 that's making me look farther along than I am. Any suggestions? Granted, I probably will just shoot them down...but why not humor me:) Please. I'm desperate.

This was a bunch of randomness. But I feel better. And this picture will make you feel better.

Yes. She is crazy. We are aware.

Take a ride on the crazy train

Halloween is now like a week and a half away. Since I have a son that is old enough to not let me get away with sitting at home with the lights off, I had to think of costumes. Do I buy? Or make? Well, I certainly don't want to fight the people in line trying to buy costumes. I'll make them. I have never made a piece of clothing. No, I take that back. I made some baby night gowns for she-devil and they came out like,...poo. But she wore them so they were ok I guess. I won't give details yet just so if it is an epic fail...you never knew the difference:)

I also have this hair brained idea that I can run a half marathon next year. It's in June. So it's in 8 months and I already feel like I can't do it. Mostly. But I've got this thing with giving up things that seem to difficult so I'm really going to try to quit sucking. Ha! I'll keep you posted on how things progress.

And remember how I mentioned that I was going to team up with my sister in law? Well, she has gotten super busy with trying to take over the world. Which means that you are stuck with me...here...in Alaska. I'm hoping I can get her to participate in the Pinterest challenge occasionally. Speaking of that, do any of you want to get in on that? Either via link up, or a post? Just throwing that out there. Maybe I should wait till I hit 50 followers....so follow people! Follow!

Ok, I'm out to get some rest before I sew for the next few days straight! Wish me luck!

Co-author

Hi! So I'm taking part in a new sort of adventure. I'm teaming up with my sister in law over at Pursuing Perfection. She thinks I can add some creative fun to her already creative blog and, what the heck, I say:) I'll still post here but it's probably going to be more of random catching up. But, because I LOVE all of my readers and don't want to lose them, please follow me over there! But not yet, cause I won't officially be posting until next week:)

The quarterly switch up

Well I don't know if it's a quarterly switch up, but I have revamped. I think I can live with this for a while. I'm also trying to find an area of my life that I can focus on, or at least 'organize' most of it. While I would continue to update you all on my new life changing epiphany,....a certain child's dirty diaper is screaming to be changed. This will make today's grand total poopie diapers to 5  6. baby 4 she-devil 2.

Thank goodness potty training is right around the corner...

Construction zone...slow speed, serious fines will be enforced

I am re-vamping here folks....please bare with me as I switch it up! 

living

I am not dead my friends.

We have camped, packed, and moved. And in an hour I go to the airport to pick up the hubs!!!! So, while I have a ton of things to write about...I'm not sure it's going to get soon:) So I apologize for those of you whose lives revolve around my blog. Ha! Talk to you soon...

Read the fine print

I have this obsession with craigslist. If you follow my blog you should be aware of that from this post, and this one. I used it to find our new home. I also use it to compare my photography to those that advertise on there. This is usually a big ego boost for me. Seriously. I don't advertise myself mostly because I have poor self-esteem and no guts if I were to get someone interested, I don't have someone I can call anytime to watch my kids if need be. So when I need a pick-me-up I check it out. I'm usually never disappointed!

But this time I stumbled upon a page for 'talented Alaskan moms'. So being a mother, and "talented" I opened the ad and saw a facebook page address. I found this Mom that had crochet hats for sale along with some other things and they looked really cute. The pictures were O-K. Something I thought could use some help. Well on the left of her page I saw "need...photographer". So I thought...oh wow she needs a photographer to take some pictures of her stuff. Ok, I'll email her and tell her I would do it.

But then I read it again.

She was the photographer! Advertising herself for work! I'm glad I caught that before I insulted her badly by offering myself to take some product pictures!!! whew!! Crisis averted! 

BUT, I follow this other blog and her name is Jenn and she cracks me up! You can find her not jiggling HERE. She recently posted about making her own cloth diapers and deciding to open up her own Etsy shop to sell them. Since she also frequents my blog, and has commented on my pictures, I thought I'd extend my offer to her. Lucky me...she said yes!!! And I only know this because I went back and looked at her comment section;)

ANYWAY!

She wrote back in her comment section for me to send her an email with my address in it so she could send the diaper to me. All I saw was...."email.....your". So what did I do? I wrote her an email with my email address!!! Holy embarrassing! I think it's time for me to slow down a second and actually take in the information that is presented to me.

Who knows what I could say next....

Did you know?

Things I am

...perfectionist

...stubborn

...creative

...talented

Things I am not

...patient

...skinny

...fit

...sloppy

Things I love

...my husband

...my children

...my camera

...thunderstorms

Things I do not love

...wet socks

...wet peanut butter

...ticks

...hypocrites

Things I like to eat

...butterfinger icecream

...fries

...cereal

...Bajios

Things I do not like to eat

...onions

...cottage cheese

...salmon

...miracle whip

Things I have

...the perfect man

...an iMac

...three kids to keep me young

...an obsession with fries

Things I still want

...to be debt free

...to be a successful photographer

...to be a better Mother

...to be a better me

Things I want to do tomorrow

...learn a lot at my photo workshop

...take some great pictures

...not yell at my kids

...talk to my hubs

Things I want to do in a year

...lose 20 lbs

...learn to prioritize better

...go to school

...launch my photography company

Things I wished for and received

...a new home

...a good school for my son

...CS5

...to be closer as a family

Things I keep wishing for

...patience

...patience

...patience

...a nanny

Blogland etiquette...

I've been thinking a lot about my etiquette here. It's not a whole slew of things, but one in particular.

I love getting comments and sometimes there are some that deserve some sort of recognition. I have seen other bloggers write back with an "@ so and so" but I find myself wondering if that's the best way? I would totally do that but when I leave a comment on someone's blog I rarely, if ever go back and see if they wrote back to me.

So what's a girl to do. I don't want my buddies from other blogs thinking I'm snooty and can't possibly be bothered with what they say! And I certainly don't want them to think I have forgotten about them when I get all famous and stuff;) Of course I'm slight disillusioned here!

So, help me out here readers!

The good the bad and the ugly

Yup, Matt is leaving again. For some reason I was under the impression that he wasn't going to be traveling since he did get a job in the office. But alas...our time has come. Saturday is the day that I start counting down the days till his return. It's a three week stint, then home for a week and a half. If things in the office are still running as slowly as they have been, then he will go back up.

I try to keep my head up and think of all the positives. Like we will finally be able to pay off all the stupid hospital bills that nag at us. I can stay up and work on projects and not feel bad. It's the summer time so we won't be stuck in the house. B starts soccer soon so hopefully he won't be quite so wound.

Of course there are a million things I can think about that just start me in a downward spiral of life sucking beyond all control....why do that to myself?!?!?! The kids certainly don't need a mother that has no patience with them and would rather just sit in a dark hole than be pleasant. lol. Not that I ever do that.

So I will read my CS5 help book, Christlike parenting, Matched, and the Explosive child. I think I will also do some sewing, crocheting and possibly even make myself a skirt with my friend Amanda who lives across the street.

One thing that's really going to chafe my chaps is exercise. No more peaceful morning runs outside with the moose and bear. No, it's back to the boring treadmill. There goes the negativity again! The treadmill was my friend before the outdoors, so I can't be hating on it now! Ooooh maybe I'll blog about super awesome stuff and gain some more followers since all the blogs I follow are leaving me in the dust! Hmmmm....seek some inspiration Meggoooooo! Till then, good night!

MIA

Some days/weeks blogging just takes a back seat. 

It takes a back seat to reading. I have been doing a bit of that. I finished (finally) the third book in the series These is my Words. I found that after I read the first book, that it really felt done to me. When I realized that there were two other I was somewhat hesitant about reading them. Did I really want to taint the ending that I thought was perfect? Well I did. This last book was good. I enjoyed the way the author wrote them.

I also finished the seventh book in the Maise Dobbs series. I love these books! I love the fact that they are set back in the 1930's and include as many realistic details as possible. I have googled a few things from them and learned things about the 'Great War' that you don't learn about in school. I also love how the author kept to the era in her writing. There is no language and when you read the intense sections it's not gory. Now I've got to figure out when I'm going to read the 8th, and latest installment, that my Aunt sent me for my birthday.  If you are ready for a new series I highly recommend it! 

I have been, thus far, unable to find the books you guys suggested for me. They are always checked out!!! It's almost half-way through the year and my total so far is 12. Wow...that's it? Boo! I can't even cont the book club read 'The Secret Life of Bees' because I have already read it! I gotta get on the ball. Do you think I can count self help books? Like photography ones? Let me know your opinions my friends! 

Blogging also takes a back seat to family. I mean obviously. We have been trying to do more things on weekend so so that a certain male figure in our house isn't so cranky/hyper. So yesterday we went to a park at a school. I took along the camera and snapped some cute ones....but I am behind in helping my SIL edit some pictures she sent me. So that's on the back burner also. I am just a big can of lame-o! :) I've got to get myself organized! 

On a side note I have been running in the morning with a neighbor and it has been great! She is pushing me out of my comfort zone and not letting me quit when it gets a little tough.

And another note, lol, I LOVED your comments on my last post! I didn't think it was going to be nearly as funny as it was! I thought you would just chuckle at the nothingness that was there, and instead, wrote about refreshing your browsers a few hundred times! Ha!! I appreciate you my readers and sticking in with my insanity!

ohhhh Maui

Yes, I am revisiting Maui this week. It's going to be a blast. I am going to bask in the sun. I will certainly be more careful than last time and not get burned my first few days there.

The water in Hawaii is heavenly. Seriously. I have never enjoyed the ocean quite as much as when I was here.  

The sunsets are always gorgeous. I didn't do them any justice, however, with my pictures. This was outside of Bubba Gump's restaurant in Lahaina. I think when I go this time I will stay in Lahaina. Ka'anapali is GORGEOUS!!! The picture of the beach is from there. Yes, this is where I will stay. 

And maybe I'll make it to the top of Haleakala volcano. This was half-way up the mountain. We didn't go all the way because there was some serious cloud cover. Which would have done no good to see a view.

AND since it is the "rearing up calves" season....I expect to see a fair amount of humpback whales again. They swim all the way down from Alaska's frigid winter waters to have babies in the Hawaiian islands. And because I'm so spoiled I'll get to see them again this summer in Alaska! Oh I'm super excited again to go!

Any takers on this trip?

Where in the world?!

I've decided that each week I am going to pick a travel destination to go to. Just a fun little thing to set my mind to an "easy, carefree" state:) This week I am vacationing in Australia. I love the thought of going here! I think the biggest reason to go is the accent! I loooove a good accent.
I'm going to go to Sydney to start. You can't go to Australia and not see the Opera house!

(source)

After some fine dining and city tourism I'll make my way up the coast to Brisbane. And would you know that this city has a Temple?! So I'll stop and do a session. I'm a beach girl through and through. And since I'm on the coast....guess where I'll spend most of my time? Yea...the beach...naked. No...jk! I won't be naked but my feet will be. I'll find a place to "rent" a horse and ride up and down the beach. Maybe this one,

(source)

In the next or maybe even two I am going to go to Fraser Island. This would be the home of the world's largest sand dune. How neat is that?! I'll will certainly take a few days here. But, apparently there are scavenging dingoes....so best be careful. I'm not sure Cesar Milan's dog "shhhh-ing" will work :)
Next stop: Capricorn caves. In hopes of seeing some kangaroos. I think I'll take a jaunt through some of the city and take in the local life and food. The mangoes are on my list:)
Traveling further north I'll pit stop at Eungella National park. But the highlight of this stop will definitely be Whitesunday Island.

(source)

Oh...the basking in the sun! The snorkeling! I'm so excited! If it is anything like Hawaii(I'm sure it will be better) than I may just stay! No....I can't. I do have responsibilities...don't I? :) Well....I better quit talking and get mentally packing! I've got a serious vacation to take;) Should I pack for you also? Or do you have your destination this week?

It's like rubber...ya wanna flick it?

This week I am joining the fun for Breastfeeding Blog Hop, Week 5.

This weeks theme is Nursing In Public (NIP)

Nursing in public eh? Three kids later and I'm just entering this field. Of course I don't count family as public. I don't think I nursed in public for our first two children and with the unexpected arrival of number three...all the chains came off. 

 Our third child. And he's a porker. No really...he was 8 lbs 7 oz when he came out and I'm guessing at 8 weeks old he's close to 15 lbs. Wearing a size 3 diaper and 3-6 month clothes...tightly. Having such a "healthy" baby has turned my life into an every 3 hour feeding cow. When he's hungry..he wants it. But sometimes, just like testing the water at a pool, he has to taste the boob before he eats. So I'll get him into position and he'll look at it...and stick his little tongue out, like a snake, and make sure it's ok. haha.

In his short life here, I have nursed him in restaurants, church and in front of my husband's friends. And in these places, I haven't been weirded out or super paranoid. Until we decided to drive up to ALASKA in the middle of WINTER! With the use of a hand pump (another post entirely) and frequent stops I managed to keep up the milk production. On one of these stops we landed ourselves in a grocery store in the Yukon. With Eskimos. Or natives I guess is what they call them:)

Mr. Porky pants was hungry...no joke! So we decided to take a longer break than normal and let us all stretch our legs and get him fed. There were two "natives" there eating so I found a corner in their grocery/restaurant with my back to them, whipped out my hooter hider, and commenced with the feeding. (I have to say that this was an all inclusive stop because it had groceries, a restaurant, and a separate laundry area that was glassed off.)  While I was doing my duty the hubby was figuring out something with the car. So I was trying to keep our 5 year old under control.

Unbeknownst to me the "natives" finished eating and left the dining area. I see, out of the corner of my eye, one of the guys standing in the laundry area. He was looking straight. But I knew if I could see him, he could see me. Are you serious? Granted I was all covered up, but he just kept standing there. He'd walk to the washing machine...do his thing and then be right back there...standing diagonal and no more than 3 feet away! haha..even when the hubs came in to sit with us he was still staring. 

I don't know about you other Moms, but when I'm in breast-feeding mode, they aren't pleasure things anymore. They are like big ol' cow teats. And that is there only purpose...to feed the helpless infant. But I can't get my husband to understand that, much less, a Yukon "native"! 

And so continues my nursing journey with all it's insanities!

About me-I'm a 25 year old SAHM nursing my third child. My family just moved to Alaska. Follow me and the insanity that ensues with 3 kids, a husband and moose!

Are you addicted?

To the readers of this blog....what do you find your day being most consumed with? And this doesn't include children if you are at that point in your life. What does my day get filled with when I'm not chasing a 17 month old, reprimanding a 5 year old or breastfeeding an 8 week old? hmmm...well...probably the internet. How lame. :) 

 I might not think it was lame if I was actually looking at things that made me smarter. Ha! Excuse me if I'm wrong in thinking that checking facebook 800 times a day makes me smarter. Ok, 800 is kind of extreme. There's no way I get on that many times. More like 799...jk....sort of....I think:) I read somewhere once, probably facebook:), that going on there is like looking in the fridge every few minutes to see if anything has changed. And you KNOW it hasn't. 

So what's the craze? Anyone?

 till then,
Meg

lackluster at best

I find myself wondering why I started writing on this stupid blog again when facebook is much more appealing to me. I don't feel competition of pressure from it. Lol. Jen and I quit writing on here roughly the same time. Me, because I didn't have the "following" that is wanted from blogging in the blogworld. Jen did...and I had a big inner struggle with why she actually has this following, and I think I still struggle, but I know its retarded. I think she stopped because,partly, of the struggle I was having. She tries to make nice with me because most of the time she is a nice person;) And she knew that I was being psycho:P

But here we are again. I moved up to Alaska and thought I would start writing again to keep those, who wanted to know, up with what's going on; and I find myself hating it. I'm boring. I'm not a creative writer in the least. I sucked at in school and it still burdens me. And I look at hers and even Stacie's blog and they write in a way that grabs your attention. And it bothers me! lol.  So what do I do? Continue to write the mundane things that are going on around me? Try to make them seem more exciting? Or maybe I still need to work on getting my head out of my butt?

Too much information

So I have really been trying to figure out what it is that attracts people to others blogs. I think I have come up with the answer....lots of personal thoughts and feelings. I can't expect people to hang around and read my bring mundane life, if all I do is write about the really boring and mundane things. I've come across blogs of women that really are no different than me. They have kids, religion, and a computer. So why do they all have "followers" and dozens of "comments"? Because they blog like they are writing in their journal. I'm not sure I will be able to accomplish that since my journal really isn't all that detailed either. Kind of a problem. There are all sorts of things that happen on a daily basis in my life. Either the kids are making me want a stiff shot of Jack, or they are being the cutest little shmoopsie poos, or being dorks!  Some days I get lost in my thoughts of this really being my life and others I bawl while trying to sing primary songs in the car with B. SO...I just need to write about them. Hopefully this will help me see myself as someone of interest. Please don't ask how me wanting other people to "follow" and leave "comments" will make me feel good:) It's just one of those things I guess.

Tagged eh?...disclaimer.....5 things you may not know

OK...so I was going through my answers in my head last night, and realized that the one about kids sounded like I don't want kids, so I need to clairfy that. When I was in school I was never going to get married or have kids. I had a health class where you had to take a fake baby home and I refused to do it. I did a different assignmenet instead. LOL. I still almost failed the class :) So just so I'm clear, I can't see myself not having kids now:)




5 Things on my To Do List:

*finish a project for someone having a baby ;)
*clean my house
*put B to bed and pray he goes right to sleep :)
*read my how-to book for Corel Paint Shop Pro
*stay healthy for my pregnancy

Jobs I Have Had:

*food prep for a nursing home
*busser/kitchen help for BHOP
*sales assoc for Harley Davidson
*Wal-mart
*kennel caretaker at an animal shelter

5 Places I have lived:

*Alexandria, NH
*Hebron, NH
*Concord, NH
*North Ogden, UT
*Harrisville, UT

5 Favorite Snacks:

*PB and Fluff graham crackers
*icecream
*cereal
*oreos
*FRIES!!!!

5 Things you May Not Know About Me:

*I have low self confidence
*I thought kids weren't for me
*I think about my parents getting back together
*I'm pretty sure I am slightly OCD
*I volunteer for ESRA, and most of the time dogs irritate me...lol

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire

*Pay off all our debts
*Set aside a plan for retirement
*get lipo after having 6 six kids :)
*pay off my parents debt
*buy a farm with LOTS of horses

Things I love:

*my family
*B
*my freckles
*FRIES
*being a stay at home mom

Maybe Amy and I should get to know eachother...

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation. At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

What's Your Personality Type?