Week in Rewind

Brock had his first one of these!

I finished reading this!

I tried to learn how to do this (solder). Didn't go so well, but I'm not giving up. Anyone ever soldered before?

And I ordered this off a maternity shop on etsy!

(I secretly wanted to order this one!)

*This week I hope to feel some warm weather coming on and I am for sure counting down the days until SPRING BREAK!*

Ridding Myself

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and, although I wish to think myself immune, I know the real truth. Kristin, not unlike the masses, sometimes finds herself victim to a long list of personal insecurities, self-doubts, and fears.

Why, you ask?

In part, because I am human and in part, because I am in the life long process of trying to figure out exactly who I am.

So, in honor of the ferocious Tri-cities spring wind (you know the kind that rips your face off when you step outside), I'm pledging today to work harder on ridding myself of my insecurities. Maybe all at once and in one hour. . .most likely one at a time and over the span of my simple little life.

My intention: to sluff off feelings of personal inadequacy for the purpose of feeling a little more at home in my own skin. Only then can I see what He sees in me. What more could I want?

Maybe you too will find the spring wind a good reason to "rid yourself." Take inventory and let them go. Let the wind take them where it may.

And, as a side note:

I promise not to blow my issues in your direction if you promise not to blow yours in mine!

The Hunt

Every year my in-laws do an Easter egg hunt for their grandkids. Every year my kids walk away with Easter baskets that "runith over." This year was no exception. Thank You Grandma and Grandpa!

The Hunt 2008

They're off!

An egg spied.

Taking a break from the hunt to try out Grandma and Grandpa's new playground.

The goods.

A sure sign of a good Easter egg hunt. . .chocolate face!

It's been brought to my attention that I have some what of a modern taste when it comes to home decor. Maybe a slightly modern style with a hint of country. Who knows really? However, what I do know is that I was drawn to these wall graphics that I found here while I was messing around on the internet this weekend. This would look great in my master bathroom or bedroom.
This shop also had a wall graphic that I'm thinking I will use in my next BIG home project . . .the boys' room. (Coming late spring 2008 or sometime before baby!)

The Weigh In

I had my monthly weigh in today! I swear I placed an order for all of these things (see commercial above) upon conception of #4 Andelin. Thankfully, I know it's all worth it. Oh. . .and I am super excited to bring home my 35 pound bundle of joy!

The Big Egg Reveal

So this is one of the Martha Stewart Easter egg ideas, done Andelin style. Not quite as cool as Martha's, but Brynn and I had fun doing them.(Brynn insisted we do a few "boy" eggs for Cole and Brock. Thus, the prehistoric punch found its way into our project.)

If I'm being completely honest. . .the eggs dyed with lace trimmings. . not happening. Pregnant and tired Mom resurfaced and crafty and creative Mom went back to wherever she goes until we need her again. Until then, we will be enjoying our Easter eggs and appreciating crafty and creative Mom's handy work and her superior egg blowing out abilities!

Early Easter

Brynn loves to decorate Easter eggs. We do it every year. The only problem is we do it the day before Easter and have less than 24 hours to enjoy our creations. This year we are going to decorate eggs early. I am even going to try blowing out the eggs first. (We'll see how that goes. Anyone have any tips?) I found a couple of egg decorating ideas I want to try with her. They are super easy and look pretty too.

(These eggs were done with tissue paper punch outs and glued on with mod podge.)

(These eggs were dyed with old lace trimmings rubber banded around them before sticking them in the dye.)

I'll keep you "posted" (blogger pun there) as to the final results!

Goodly Parent

I am one who was born to goodly parents. Today I celebrate this goodly parent because it is his BIRTHDAY!

Here are a few things I love about my Dad:

*He makes the best buttermilk pancakes.

(Mom yours are a close second.)

*He introduced me to Billy Joel.

(not literally, just his music. Although that would have been more than cool!)

*He can be found sitting in the audience at a Broadway musical, or in some remote part of Alaska fishing across stream from a wild brown bear. He is man enough to be comfortable doing either!

*He always knows what to say and when to say it.

* He thinks I am a good cook!

(I know...can you believe it!)

* He adores my Mom.

*He grew-up with practically nothing and worked hard his whole life to have a small measure of financial success.

(Early retirement looks good on you Dad!)

*He taught me that the best things come to those who wait patiently.

(this I learned from him after logging in many hours on a lake in a boat waiting for that rod to bend.)

*He is the male version of Martha Stewart in more ways than I think he would care to admit.

(I still want him to make me one of his Christmas wreaths.)

*He has and will always be there for me no matter what.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Hey Mom!

Guess what I got in my hands?

True to form my husband brought home yet another creature from one of his fishing excersions. I cannot tell you how many frogs, lizards, and snakes my husband has plucked out of their natural habitat and brought home to show the kids. Brock, Brynn, and Cole love it! I'm not so sure these creatures are as thrilled seeing as their immediate futures seem to be a little less bright.

This girl will hold anything her brother does.


This boy is not quite as brave, but he did let the frog rest on his shoe long enough for me to snap this picture.

Where Have All the Cartoons Gone?

I take issue with some of the cartoons on T.V. these days. What happened to all the good ones? The ones I used to wake-up to watch at the crack of dawn on Saturdays. Anyway, I was printing some coloring pages off the internet for my kids and found this website that has vintage coloring pages! I found pages with some of the cartoons I used to watch and pages with some of the toys I used to play with. I'm not quite sure my kids liked them as much as I did. In fact, I pretty sure they thought it wierd when I went searching for their crayons.

*Smurfs (one of my favorites)

*She-Ra (come on. . . you know you watched it too! Who didn't aspire to someday become a Princess of Power???)

*old school Strawberry Shortcake


*Rainbow Brite

Just a Moment to Jewel

On occassion I find myself with a "need-to-bead." A friend's birthday gives me just the excuse. I loved these beads the second I saw them. I knotted them on thread so they would lay nicely.

. . .and of course some earrings.

*T.G.I.F.!!!!*
Have a Great Weekend!

Tornado Warning!

I call him the toddler tornado. I don't even have to actually look down and see him, to sense that he is standing at my knee while I do the dishes. Which is quite remarkable if you think about it... to be standing still, but have nothing still about you.

His favorite things to do:

*find every toy with more than 5 pieces and spread those pieces throughout the house in less than 30 seconds.

*talk really loud

*call me Sis. Andelin (thanks to an hour with the Activity Day girls)

*tell other people that they are "out of control" (someone must have said this to him once or twice before.)

*and write on other things besides paper (thank you to the person who invented Magic Eraser)

So, when Cole goes to sleep. . .I breathe an exhausted sigh of relief.

And yet, for some strange reason. . .I look forward to hearing him run down the hallway every morning. I must be insane or maybe just a Mom whose life wouldn't be the same without my very own miniture natural disaster.

Lessons on Tantrums and Humility from the Book of Kristin

I am well aware that my biggest parental down fall is my utter lack of patience at my children's display of raw emotion. Be it complete and absolute outrage at not getting something someone else has, uncontrollable tears of frustration when one's jacket won't zip-up, or horrific mental break down when the toy you picked out isn't what you thought it was going to be. . .but you know you're stuck with it anyway because you ripped the package to shreds in your excitement to get it out.

Funny thing is, I experience many of the same emotions my kids do. . .I have just learned to rise above the raw emotion to a level of calm and reasonable thought. Or so I think! And then I am humbled to find myself having my own kind of tantrum at some innocent comment my husband made to me that I chose to take offense to and another kind of tantrum at the condition of my house which is far from perfect, but instead fairly messy and lived in. To spare you additional details lets just say drama, drama, and more drama.

And so it dawns on me that I am either spending so much time with my kids that their behavior is rubbing off on me or. . . that I am not that much different from them sometimes. Funny how being a parent shows you just how much you have to learn. That's a good thing I think.

"Pride makes us artificial. Humility makes us real"-Thomas Merton

Texas is the place I really LOVE to be!

There is nothing quite like going home. Especially when going home means spending time with possibly the greatest people on the planet. Here are a few of the high lights.

*A concert in Austin.

(My sister sees Buble for the first time. Look at her face. Pure Joy!)

(Toni, Karen, and I standing with MB.)

*A Whole Lot of Shopping!!!!!

(I got this at GapMaternity. Love it!)

*A little Elmer Family Craziness

(A game of Red Rover with the grandkids. Sorry about the picture Mom. I had to. It's too cute!)

(My brother with his little boy Nate.)

* A photo shoot (courtesy of Toni) with this baby girl!

(go here to see a few of the pics.)

*And a YMCA Celebration

(My grandpa was the founder of the Town North YMCA. They had a huge 50th Anniversary bash while we were there complete with dinner and dancing. And yes. . my pregnant self was on that dance floor!

So, family+ friend + 5 days away= way too much fun! And to top it all off, I came home to a clean house, zero laundry, and some flowers. Someone pinch me!

(Oh. . .and did I mention I got to see him.)