sofa, so good

Last week I sold our couch.
I decided I'd grown sick of the cheery red color.  I really had no game plan at all when I did this.
Since I've STILL been unable to find a replacement, we're living with this arrangement (like throw pillows, I also have an obscene number of chairs):

And I have to say, so far so good.
Although the kids are a bit sick of it...they yearn for the good ol' days of jumping on a plush couch, ripping the cushions off, and jumping off the arm(none of those things are allowed, but still frequent happenings).
So I've been looking.  I actually started looking for a new couch about 3 months ago...and I've been diligent (sounds far better than obsessive or neurotic) about scouring every website.  Although I haven't found our best fit yet, I am bound too sooner or later.  For now, these are a few I'm considering lusting after:

And this is the one I'm fantasizing over, but feel that $2850.00 might be out of our price range, since our income right now is $0 (what can I say?!  I'm very practical):

Isn't she lovely?

xoxo,
tracy

PS: what I really want to do is just have an entire living room of mismatched chairs.  But then what would the kids use to practice flying off?!

problem

Today while I was getting the day started, I noticed I have a REAL problem:

We live in a 1000 square foot apartment, and we have 23 throw pillows.  That does not include necessary sleeping pillows. 

Do you think I have a problem?

xoxo,
tracy

ps: yes, my kids all have throw pillows on their beds, even the boys.

like father like son

We have gotten into this habit with our children, where we withhold exciting information as long as possible, to avoid hearing about it over and over and over and over and over...(you get the point).  For instance, last month we visited my grandma and grandpa in Medford(about 5 hours away).  We didn't tell the kids we were going until we were loaded in the car and on the freeway.  It really works in our favor.
Saturday afternoon we informed them that in just a few short hours, they would be spoiled beyond their wildest dreams, for the entire weekend.  That's right, grandma and grandpa Hatfield were coming to town.  They were VERY excited about the news!

watching a movie together, waiting for our company to arrive

Little did they know that the Hatfields were not coming to see them(this is a first.  It's a well-known fact that the grandbabies are ALWAYS the reason for visits. Dylan and I are just a bonus).  They made the trip from Boise to be with this hottie(the one on the left.  The one on the right is cute too, but was denied by the military due to his body fat percentage, and the fact that he doesn't communicate beyond a scream yet)...:




  ...as he was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Force.  The most exciting part was that Leon was able to swear Dylan in, because he is a CW5 Warrant Officer in the Army.  Here are a few pictures I was able to capture:

officer hatfield

swearing to defend the country and the constitution

saluting officer hatfield(aka: dad)

congratulations

is this allowed?  i didn't think military men showed affection?!



like father, like son



signing on the dotted line

Dylan was honored that his dad could swear him in, and I think Leon was proud of his only sons choice to serve his country. 
Leon is a funny guy(not haha funny)....think stereotypical Army brat: rough and tough.  He's been in the Army for over 35 years.  He's quiet and doesn't laugh a lot.  I think I remember him making a joke once...and I remember being really caught off guard.  I've been in his family for 5 years now, and I think I've only seen him cry once(keep in mind that's 1 wedding+3 grandchild births+his only son moving out of state).  He may not laugh much and he may not cry much, but there are a few things I've learned that soften this rough tough Army guy:
he raised 4 successful children, he married his high school sweetheart 33(almost 34) years ago, and has 9 beautiful grandchildren(I might be biased)...he loves them all very much(and in-laws, I hope!)  He is very generous with his time, talents, and resources(even though he tries to blame his generosity on his wife).  He would rather be in a garage or working on a project(rebuilding a car, repairing anything broken, or making rocking horses for his grandkids).  He secretly loves when his grandkids come to visit and make a total mess of his house(note: he DOES NOT love when they bang on his big screen and then deny it).  He appreciates when one of his kids calls him for advice on their car, or an investment(or a loan in most of our cases).  He served his country in Iraq for 18 months and experienced things that I'm sure, changed his life forever.  He is a wonderful soldier, husband, father, grandfather, and father-in-law.
 I am grateful that Dylan has chosen to follow in his footsteps, and hope he emulates some of his accomplishments...as a soldier and otherwise.
And what would a blog post be without some pictures of our little ones?  They attended the commissioning as well...everyone involved was pretty excited:

the mood was lightened by the trotting of the pink pony and rumble of the monster truck...
through the entire ceremony

the truck kept making its way to the other end of the table

leon, dylan, and jill

yep, that's a string of gum.  don't worry, i took it away right after snapping this photo

proud of her daddy(or excited about getting a dum dum for being good)

three generations of hatfields

Don't worry, I was there too and was really excited about the entire process.  However, I wasn't in any pictures because I was too busy keeping kids quiet, taking gum away, picking tonka trucks off the floor, shhhhh-ing children, snapping pictures, being a supportive wife, and trying to listen to what my sweet husband was signing up for.   
The weekend was full of other fun too, of course.  It started with lots of bubble gum, combing grandpa's hair head and ended with swimming at the hotel:

grandma brought each child their own pack of bubble gum.  harper ate her entire pack in an hour

combing grandpas hair

so excited to be in the water!

this is the only picture where beckham is smiling.  he did NOT like the water

our little fish...on her way to the potty, obviously

beckham was much happier to be in grandpas arms than in the water

We're grateful that our family could celebrate this special event with us.  We're also grateful
xoxo,
tracy

PS: the entire time Leon had his uniform on, Dawson kept telling him how much he loved his costume :)

nostalgia



It's been a long day...one of those 'is it over yet? no, it's still only noon' kind of days.  It's 11:14p and the kids(and Dylan) are finally in bed.  Not before some peeing on the floor(courtesy of h), throwing of pizza(thank b), and screaming while being carried off by an arm and a leg(mr. d).  After cleaning up dinner(oh and the urine), changing jammies a few times, vacuuming, grocery shopping, cleaning up toys, unloading the dishwasher, writing some emails for church, cleaning out the refrigerator, and folding 3 loads of laundry(don't worry, there are still at least 6 left to be done), I have a free moment to blog.  I realized somewhere between loads 2 and 3 of laundry that A MOTHER'S JOB IS NEVER DONE.  And so, it's with that in mind that I write this short(I do need to sleep at some point so I can have the energy to do it all again in 8 hours) post. I had the opportunity last week to visit this sweet lady (the one on the right, not the left.  The one on the left is on my SL for peeing on my floor, remember?):



grandma carol and harper

We decided to make the trip to Medford, Oregon(about 5 hours) to see my grandma Carol and this sweet guy, grandpa Stan (who I love so much):



grandpa stan

It was so worth the trip.  The kids loved visiting, doing art, playing dominoes, and decorating the windows for Valentines day. 

 

we didn't actually play dominoes, carol doesn't care for it.  we made cities instead.



harper with her city



sometimes beckham helped with the dominoes



the only group picture I took the entire weekend...lame right?



our little artist

 All of the previous had nothing to do with the purpose of this post, but I thought you'd probably want to know the background and see some pictures.  Now for my point....
While there, I was reading through some memory books that my mother and her 4 extremely talented sisters made for Grandma's birthday.  The books were memories, photos, and keepsakes mounted into vintage story books...Little Women, Little Men, etc.  Each daughter created their own book and they were all very different.  The one thing they all had in common though was that they all contained memories and thank-yous to Carol...for the teaching, the stories, time spent together, memorable experiences, opportunities to focus on talents, and friendships formed throughout their lives as mothers and daughters, and eventually friends.  I appreciated the chance to see my grandmother as a mother, through her 5 daughters eyes.  This wonderful woman who I remember as a grandma...the woman who always had a warm hug and welcoming smile.  The grandma who offered carefree summers filled with cartwheels on the lawn and hours in the swimming pool.  The grandma whose house always smelled of coffee and the chime of her cuckoo clock woke you each morning.  My grandma was once a maid, cook, and chauffeur to these 5 little girls.
Okay, enough nostalgia...I am choking up (PS: I am a total cry baby, just for the record...song lyrics, commercials, tv shows...you name it).
Fast forward a few years...to this gal:

jill with grandbaby katherine

My mother Jill, began the task of raising her 4 little girls, just as her mother had done.  She was the perfect example of what every mother should be...understanding, thoughtful, and kind.  I couldn't begin to count the nights she was up much past 11:14p doing things for 'the girls'...making rice pudding for breakfast the next morning, finishing prom dresses, baking home made gingernsnaps(I'd never had a store bought cookie until college), and I'm guessing...folding load after load of laundry.  Without a complaint she performed the same thank-less services she had seen her mother do years before.  And now when I need someone to bounce ideas off of, or a delicious fool-proof recipe, or parenting advice for my own 3 kids, I call my mother because her work is still not done.
As I folded that 3rd load of laundry and sang 'I Saw the Sign' (yes, I occasionally sing songs reminiscent of the 1990s, but who doesn't?!) to the hum of the clothes dryer, I realized that a mothers work really is NEVER done.  And I am grateful that I have the examples of two wonderful women...
*sorry in advance to Jen and Jac, who are going to hate the following picture

And that I have these three to keep me on my toes...every day:

And that my work will never be done either.
xo,
tracy

PS: While in Medford, Harper insisted on calling Grandma by her first name...'Carol.'  It was so funny.









confessions

I have a confession....
I haven't even thought about my blog for a whole week. 
I knew this would happen...life got busy and I quit taking pictures and had a realization that my life is very uneventful and boring and frankly I have nothing to say. 
That being said, I'm recommitting myself. 
Moving on.

There were so many things we did over our Christmas break that I'd hoped to share...prepare yourself for a plethora of pictures, in no particular order(that's the fun part of blogs anyway, right?!):

making holiday Jello jigglers

hanging out with Daddy

helping make chocolate covered pretzels

delish

and more delish

moving the bear

painting holiday decorations

we had some visits with Santa

making a gift for Dawson

we cleaned out the garage...that was a project.  Note: the nice outfit.



dylan went fishing on the Wilson a few times...brrrr



lots of art projects at preschool

being so careful with the roof of his gingerbread house

gingerbread houses with friends...more eating than decorating happened

my favorite decoration, the nativity.  Beckham just LOVED all those cute sheep.

daily treats from the advent calendar

an entire neighborhood of cuteness

We spent Christmas day in Forest Grove, enjoying the fun gifts, excitement, and great company.  Our kids had very specific requests this year, which makes Santa's job a lot easier....especially when the requests are superheros, a pillow pet, and Mike & Ikes(I am savoring these years when requests are simple and small...I know within a short time they'll be asking for things like cars and house boats).  Santa really delivered this year:

dawson

 harper

 beckham

There was the usual opening of gifts, squealing children, and arguing over whose cereal from their stocking was better.



All in all, I'd say it was a success. 

The day flew by in the the joy of the children, in the presence of family, in the spirit of love.  I am always grateful for the holiday season and the opportunity it gives us to reflect on family, friends, and the true meaning of Christmas. 

xo,

tracy

ps: the next pictures you see will probably be for summer vacation...but I'll try to blog before then.