Self-Care: Hygge Style

This fall I have been eager to embrace comfort. And no, this isn't just chocolates and a bottle of wine. Although, that would be a nice way to spend an evening.

Maybe it is because we are grieving the loss of our foster daughter after raising her for two years...maybe it is because I am in need of a deep breath while we a break from foster parenting and all that comes with it, for however long God wants. Maybe because I am just emotionally and physically exhausted. Whatever the reason I have felt a need for slow, mellow, comfort, making my home a place to breathe.

Garbage Truck Birthday Party

My youngest son is obsessed with anything related to garbage. He loves the garbage trucks, squeels with joy when it is garbage day at our house and even steals his sisters tiny toys and puts them in socks, you know- garbage bags. :)

So we of course had to throw him a garbage truck themed birthday party. Here are some ideas for you! Enjoy!

These were so fun to put together. Party favors with candy and tattoos and treats inside. 

Disneyland Road Trip: Large Family Adventure!

I am so excited to share with you all of my tips and tricks as I planned our first family trip to Disneyland! We took 8 days, (2 driving from Oregon, 4 Park Days, 2 driving home).
Our kids were ages 8, 6, 5, 5, 4.

PREP WORK: 

Snacks! 
I made snack containers for each of us!
 I added a variety of snacks that would not go bad like fruit, or get too messy, like applesauce etc...

We included all GF friendly snacks: 
Cheetos, Popcorn, Whole grain chips, fruit snacks, Dry cereal, Pretzels, Larabars and cookies. 

Everyone had their own snacks with their own name on it. The idea was that  they could pick and choose what they were in the mood to eat at the time and eventually make their way through the tub.

The plan was to put them under their seat so they would have them with in reach as we stopped for breaks. However, our suburban was getting the check up for our trip weeks before and it turns out we needed a new engine! WHAT?! Yep that wasn't my favorite piece of news. SO thankfully we had our second 8 passenger vehicle available and squeezed into it. So my plan for room got tight real quick.

What I would do different: Put 7 of the same snacks in each tub, this way we can condense tubs when empty and just pass around one tub as needed. We ended up having to store most of them in the back because of space issues. 

Controlling the Chaos: Traveling with the littles.

Traveling with littles.

Going to the doctor with our group can be a huge adventure! :) The picture below is six of my kiddos while my oldest daughter was still in school. 

My new foster son put a bead up his nose, yep, he did.  Surprisingly, this was a first for me as a parent. It was way up there and we all had to go in, to a new doctor mind you, since he and his sister just came into my care a week earlier. 

Planning so we are early or on time: 

I have learned that the more I am rushing everyone, the more they are bound to meltdown from the stress. So for the sanity of everyone involved, I work hard to keep at a calm pace. This gives me extra time when I suddenly lose my keys while buckling everyone in the car and spend over ten minutes looking under all of their bums and carseats trying to find them; or for the times when the seatbelt has been pulled over and over by one of the kids and completely locks up and won't stretch to the buckle, and it won't retract because it is tangled in the carseat loop; or on the mornings when I hadn't even had time to look outside and I see that my car is completely frozen over. I plan in order to make time for the chaos. :)

Expectations:  

When we arrive at our destination and sometimes even while we are driving to our appointment, I go over all of the rules before we get out of the car. I talk to the kids about walking with a buddy and staying in our group while we cross the parking lot. I remind them we have to have quiet voices in the waiting room with no fighting or fussing. I let them know that I packed a special treat and if they can do these things, then they get a treat when we get back to the car to head home. I usually keep it a surprise so the anticipation keeps them going. Otherwise they sometimes decide that it isn't worth whatever I have. :) 

Christmas 2014

We have had a busy, super fun, month! I have been looking forward to Christmas for a long time! Maybe it is all of the fun family time. Below are several pictures!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! 

We finally found our tree! 

Christmas Cookies!

We have had a bit of a slow start with all of our Christmas fun this year. So I was really excited to kick off our vacation with our first ever, Christmas cookie decorating party!

Enjoy the pictures!

Lets just say, when my husband saw this, he thought I was a little nuts. :) I wanted everyone to have their own set of toppings. Plus for the kids, it was great, because, unlike the fistfuls they could grab in a shared bowl, they could only grab a little pinch at a time. There were 19 of us and I made 20 cups total. Never hurts to have a back up. :) I may have been a little excited about the options. :)

We moved furniture around and set up the table. My favorite part. :) 

What a difference a year makes!

After church yesterday, we went to the pumpkin patch with the kids. We had perfect weather. The fresh air felt so good, a little crisp, but not too cold. 

I was looking forward to this day for a while now but inside I was a little anxious about how it would go. Last year we had such a short and hard visit to this same place. Our youngest little guy was right in the thick of pushing me away and social outings were especially hard for him. 

What a difference a year can make. Last year at this time I was scared, exhausted, and I spent a lot of time trying to predict the future. I worried about every parenting decision I made, for fear that I was only adding to the problem and not fixing it. Attachment, or lack of it, had creeped into my home when I was unaware and unprepared. 

But on this day, we took our time visiting the "farm" and saw the chickens and horses and ponds covered in lily pads.  We were not rushed. We had no agenda. Robert would run up the hill and reach for my hand. The kids climbed on bales of hay, and I even found them laying down, relaxing, on the green grass.

Fishing/Camping Trip

I  just had an amazing weekend at Trillium Lake. This was the first fishing trip for our kiddos and they loved every minute of it. I had to share some of our fun pics!

I had never been there and was so moved by the amazing view of Mt. Hood.

Our amazing view.

Walking down to the lake

Spring Break Fun!

We had an incredible day yesterday. Not only did we celebrate a birthday in our family but it was also the 4 year anniversary of our very first foster kid placement and the 3 year anniversary of finding out that our son James could join our family!

Halloween Fun

I hope you all had a fun, safe halloween.

We have had a month long of fall fun and I thought I would share some pictures.
We have spent the last month playing in the leaves, painting pumpkins, playing at the pumpkin patch and making memories~

My three girls on the hay ride at the pumpkin patch. 

Painting Pumpkins and Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

Buzz light year visiting our local Trunk or Treat

 Oh how our boy loves Spiderman. He has lived in his costume for 3 days. 

Our little cheerleader!

Washing their hands after riding horses at the pumpkin patch. 

Homemade spring rolls and peanut sauce. A great dinner along with curry chicken and veggies over rice. It can all be made ahead of time so we can enjoy the fun come home eat dinner and then go trick or treating. Rice in rice cooker, curry chicken in crockpot and these I made in the morning and put in the fridge.

Beach Fun!

Finally the stomach bug has left our house and we started our summer fun with a day at the beach! It has been in the 90's at our house and were eager for some cooler weather. It was perfect. This was our first beach trip with all five kids. We have gone before with different combinations of the group but not all 5 together. So of course I was picture happy. :)

Here are a few! Hope you are all having a great summer!

Fun in the Sun

I have to share some pictures I took yesterday. We had so much fun and realized summer vacation is so close. My husband and I were driving the kids home after a family function and he turned to me and smiled this huge grin. He told me he was so thankful for our family. Who would have thought all those years ago that this was the plan for our life. That God wanted to bless us with five wonderful children to love. Our hearts were so happy on that drive home.

The Littles

I just have to share one of the best photos I have taken of 2 of my kids. This will be an all time favorite. They are only 1 month a part in age. I just love the sweetness of this photo!