summer

Summer Summer! Mile is 3.5 and is so smart, inquisitive, and imaginative. He's still pretty un-interested in the alphabet, despite my attempts...

Likes: talking to strangers, any and all kids at the play ground, DONUTs, the zoo, PBS shows, pretending to hunt animals at home with Daddy or Mason

 

Mason 1.5: is very quick these days! picking up words so fast and mimicking everyone, especially Miles, so effortlessly! He loves "mi mi" for Miles a lot! their playfulness is *finally* fun and cute and NOT life threatening (to mason's life that is:). He also says hi to everyone on the play ground and chats endlessly (babbles, really) to strangers frequently.

Likes: the PARK, cakers (crackers) BATH time

 

I'm oh-so-tired starting my 3rd trimester. I'm excited to one day experience California in a non-pregnant way again...ever since we bought a car with AIR conditioning, I've been all the sudden aware of all the beautiful places there are nearby to us. But, in the exciting weeks ahead, I get to head home to TX for an injection of Tex Mex and Hope Chapel time. Followed by a weekend in Tahoe! Yay!! thank goodness for some 3rd trimester distractions:)

 

 

what i wore wednesday

The What I wore Wednesday idea is from the Pleated Poppy...

I was in peril of not getting dressed today. It looked like Matt was taking the truck and the only thing i could think of to do was organize some closets, maybe make some granola bars, try to do a reading lesson with Miles and maybe watch a cooking show. So, it was looking bleak on the outfit horizon. But! Guess who should appear?! Grandpa Paul parked outside offering to take Matt to work. PTL! I jumped on the chance to not have to load the boys up immediately after breakfast (as is required if I want to have a vehicle..) and quickly formulated a plan. First, to get dressed! yay!
This is my new Liz Lange target tank that I got last night with mother's day money. After two babies, I'm seriously annoyed with my maternity clothes:)

Tank: liz lange, target, Maternity pencil skirt: Gap, necklace: Noonday Collection (I WON this on a Facebook giveaway!), now to find a clean sweater as it's freezing!! (well, not really, but like 54 degrees till the sun comes up more, in Texas that is technically freezing for late May).

happy Wednesday!

no mother left behind

I think my dream of being a stay-at-home-mom is somehow couched in a pioneer version of the lifestyle. Where friends work together on canning, gardening, drinking tea and chatting...so: FRIENDS! All at home and nearby each other.

But today as we took a random morning walk around the neighborhood, and I watched all the women and men heading off for the morning commute...I felt almost jealous! Ridiculous, I know. But, I'm realizing the reality, that there aren't that many stay at home moms around me!! So, though I'm staying home and hoping to home school and all that, sometimes it's so strange, because I feel left behind by all the folks driving off to have a career, or sit on their computer and drink tea and read blogs, or whatever people do at their 'real' jobs:)

Anyway, it's just a strange thing to be a stay at home mom these days. I still don't really feel like a stay at home mom, since all my lofty ideals of what 'stay at home moms' do all day have pretty much been deflated: between the realities of cross country relocation and first trimester...i haven't gotten around to many of the home stuff I envisioned...
I guess no matter is going on, the blog version and pinterst grandeur of home school-stay at home mom world, is a lot more ordinary and everyday that I had hoped;0

well, i can't say i miss blogging, but i will say I want to write more and since Dinosaur Train is entertaining Miles, I thought I'd scribble something out.

Hello MONDAY!
Hello messy house...
Hello day after Pentecost celebration!
Hello week that I find out the gender of this baby!:0

happy Monday!

pretty, happy, funny, real

This is one of my very favorite blogs!! She has great practical advice on lots of stuff: child rearing, homeschooling, cooking dinner [every night!] and quilting/crafting...
I guess I'm recently into the blogs that have predictable routines/posts (as in Lisa leonards Monday, wed, and Friday posts and this one with every Thursday practicing contentment in the things around us).

What i wore Wednesday...

I started this on the bus this morning...so funny! or more, witty, but really really sad facts actually. [it's delightful when you laugh out loud on a cap metro bus, how ALL the little UT students stare;)]
I was going to post my outfit today (alas, no iphone, so maybe not a realistic goal), along with Lisa's blog and this fun one. BECAUSE, i really like the motivation to dress cute! Which I want to do. But, not at the expense of sacrificing my soul to fashion...chasing a moving target that changes every month. "The US now makes 2% of the clothing it's costumers purchase, down from about 50% in 1990." ahh! = decline in middle class wages, loss of middle class, and more unemployment...She explains that the costs of clothing is plummeting, so you have lots of cheap clothes or really, really expensive, but few in between.

I think there is way to dress well, fashionable and stay within a budget, wear clothes out, and buy high quality...Or at least that's what I'm hoping this book will reveal more about...


Here are two of Heathers highlighted products that are 1. cute and 2. recycled goods:
beautiful necklaces
locally made skirts

hello monday!

hello Monday!
hello Mason sleeping 12hrs two nights in a row (hence the return to my long lost blog)
hello darker mornings!
hello bus stop...i was on time today:)
hello Jesus calling....
hello bags under my eyes (chronic sleep deprivation for 11mo now...)
hello clean house. I love! Austin All Maids!

This is the day that the lord has made! I'll rejoice and be glad in it--Ps118:24

Thanks Lisa  Leonard for blog format inspiration & fashion ideas...
Thanks Mandy and Christine and Laura for blogs to read:)

hello turning 30!

10 wks + 17th months!

Miles is almost 17 months old! He loves playing in his pool and reading stories and eating and saying the few words he's got down: dadda, momma, papa, nana, chichi, and lots of animal noises:) HeLOVES to dance! and sing. He will spin in a circle till he's dizzy and falls over while any music is playing. He has a big personality already! Yesterday while Alicia and I tried to carry on a conversation, he kept busting in between us with his arms spread wide shouting about something!

And, I am 10wks pregnant. Mostly it exhausts me, but my nauseau comes in waves...which I guess is better than the constant feeling I had a few weeks ago. Already, I feel much more peaceful about having a newborn. Maybe because I've done it before, but mostly because we have a house, so we're not house hunting and I kinda know how to clean the house and nothing will be in boxes as I figure out breastfeeing wtih baby #2. Ah! what a dreamy way to start this kids' life:)

I've had lots of dreams: twins, a girl, a boy. So, who knows what I'm having! Next appt is Mon and we'll get to hear a hearbeat!!

15 mo.

Some random things I keep meaning to write down:

-Miles started signing 'more' Sunday March 6th on a long car ride home from the coast. I almost cried, i was so happy!

-outside has become a big part of his day. I keep him away from the baby plants, he picks up sticks and eats handfuls of dirt; its a good time:)

-he can climb up on things (the couch, the benches at our table)-scary!

-he puts his hand up to his ear when matt or i am on the phone

-Miles does somersaults:)

-he understands a lot of what i say! very helpful!!

Miles is still a great sleeper although his naps are in constant fluctuation. I can tell he needs less but it varies so much day to day. He seems to be teething a lot right now, so he's sleeping more during the day...

he is a pretty happy kid and such a blessing to our family!

13 mo old!

We all survived the plane ride to Cali and back. It was stressful b/c i care WAY too much about what people think--i know, fatal flaw.

So, Miles had party #2 there, saw Proegers and soon to be Eberts, took a bath:), went to the zoo, and got presents, ate all sorts of new foods and was a great traveler overall!

He started walking shortly after coming home to Texas and hasn't stopped since.

He got his one year round of shots and blood taken and has had an aversion to band aids ever since. He has also been sick off and on since then. But so are tons of people, so i guess it's a winter thing.

Miles has started chattering more and more. He is mimicking well! And singing! the boy loves to sing. My mom taught him this old song, "Ha, Ha, Hallelujah, Ho Ho Hosanna..."and he instantly picked it up and often starts bouncing up and down saying, Ha, Ha, Ha....:) It's so precious.

almost a year...

Miles LOVES ChiChi (Aunt) Rachie. They have a special connection. Her and her boyfriend, Merlin, were in town for a week at Thanksgiving, but now that they are gone, whenever he sees her picture he gets so excited:)

Somehow my last post at 10 months has quickly led to the one year birthday of little Miles! i love reading blogs, but I am not as great with my own...
Updates:
-Sunday he took a step without holding on to anything!
-yesterday he did it again....he starts at the coffee table and kinda lunges to some other horizontal surface...or person
-He has FOUR teeth up top!
-He LOVES dogs, and animals in general, but mostly dogs
-He laughs really loud and can really ham it up when he gets going...
-He weighed 21lbs at our appt last week
-He eats non stop

Monday will be our first plane flight with the munchkin. For all my experiences flying, I have no clue what to expect! He can be really social when he's so inclined, but can also be a real pill when he needs a nap. The kid likes to nap! Which is a blessing for me. So, I am praying for a smooth flight and stocking up on snacks and distractions...

Here are some pics from Mt. Bonnell etc...

5 reasons to not leave the house in princess pajama pants

1. you might see your next door neighbor (who just turned 96!) outside with his daughter, who you've wanted to meet...but don't want your first impression to involve princess pj pants.

2. you might realize that since you're out you could run by Ross and see if they have any of those shoes you've been wanting to get your son, but again you don't want to get caught up in shopping with house shoes and sweat pants on....

3. you might realize that the tasty treat you were out of the house getting isn't as easy to eat in the car as you thought ...thus spilling it on the princess pants

4. spilling said treat will cause you to have to do ANOTHER load of laundry when you get home-before you can slip comfortably back into bed in the cold fall weather.

5. you could have been photographed or caught on film in a yet- to- be famous Austin movie or photo--in SWEATS! without any intention of running or doing anything athletic, but in order to quickly consume a fattening treat:( [think George, on Seinfeld, guzzling a sundae:)

all these thoughts will cause you to realize that if you'd just worn jeans on your outing, it would have been more efficient and less stressful.

moral: never, ever, leave the house in sweatpants

TEN months!

So, Miley is ten months tomorrow. He has conquered many milestones in the past months. Grabbing small pieces of food (Cheerios, cheese, etc)

Cruising furniture

Pulling to standing

Saying "ba ba" and ('ma' a couple of times)!

Dropping the third nap

Weaning off the feeding I miss while at work (today is first day, so we'll see how it goes)

Kissing!

Crawling

Likes: [chewing on] shoes, eating cheerios, muffins, grilled cheese, pinto beans

Dislikes: diaper changes, staying up past bedtime, not being allowed to crawl around in public areas

In other news, Matt and I have been married 3 years!! We went out for a fancy schmancy dinner and walk around downtown. I am so very thankful for such a great, Godly and encouraging husband. He seriously helps me stay sane in this learning curve of parent hood:)

meal plan

Amazingly, the past three nights I've come up with a new-to-our-table dinner. Two were inspired by friends or blogs! yay. I am posting them here cause I know I won't loose the ideas this way. Unless the Internet stops working someday?!
meal # 1
Poblano enchilada casserole
Thinly slice 1 jalapeno and one poblano pepper. Spread over 9x13. Sprinkle a little cheese on top and then put two corn tortillas (broken into pieces) over the cheese. Spread and smear or somehow get some smashed avocado over those tortillas. Add a can of black beans (drained) or about a cup cooked beans. Another layer of tortillas. Finally add about 1/2lb of ground meat with taco seasoning. Cover with a few more tortillas. Then add a fistful of grated cheese and a 7oz can of verde salsa. Bake 20 min.
Add more pepper or mushroom and leave out meat if eaters are obliging (unlike my husband).

meal #2
Meatball and mushroom surprise
Cook some kind of small pasta shapes. Heat spaghetti sauce and add a few meatballs. Slice portabella mushroom and toss in sauce. Drain pasta, throw into sauce. Pour it all into a casserole dish. Sprinkle parmesan, mozzarella and breadcrumbs on top and bake 20min.

meal#3
Jalapeno-Tuscan soup and grilled cheese
http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/03/06/nourishing-frugal-recipes/

I basically made this soup, but cut it in half and added a whole jalapeno=spicy! Hopefully Matt will like it even though there is a shocking lack of meat! I just ate it with the grilled cheese she suggests, with mozzarella, spinach and some more of my portabella mushroom.

Friday I hope to make a quiche to use the rest of my spinach and mushrooms...

9 months

So, Miles turns 9 months next week! He is full on crawling, vocalizing, pulling himself to standing and other amazing things. We love him:)

Life with Miles

Triangle Farmers Market. I love these pictures Mandy took. It was his first 'sitting in grass' experience:)

Grandpa and Grandma visit!

about to swim!

"the days are long, but the years are short"-simplemom

Hm. I was on a blogging roll, but now I've lost steam. Miles is developing a lot! He's been sitting up on his own since the beginning of July. This is a huge step and very helpful cause i can put him down with a book and he's fine for 10 min! He's slowly disintegrating his board book collection by teething on every.single.book.

Likes: sweet potatoes, being tickled by daddy, bath time, cinnamon applesauce

dislikes: diaper changes, nap time, being in the hot car when running errands

still deciding: strangers-sometimes he smiles at complete strangers, but will cry when he sees old friends of ours? who knows...

sleep: mercifully, he's consistently sleeping through the night. I cannot emphasize enough how this has CHANGED my life. I feel like I am person again. After 7pm, I can go to the gym, take a long bath, clean, or whatever. I just felt so tense having to be 'on call' to nurse every three hours. Now, I hope and pray, it will be MUCH easier with baby Boudreau #2 cause I will really really know that the frequent nursing does END at some point (like everyone kept telling me, but i didn't really believe them). oh boy...:)

crafts/homemaking etc:

the baby food is coming along. I really only make a big batch once a month it seems, but then use bananas, avocado, applesauce daily to complete the frozen stuff that I have on hand.

crafts. I've been working on Miles' baby book for the past week but have been neglecting crafting in general. Really, I could work all year on Christmas gifts. I just really, really like making my own things and buying less. But, I still lack confidence in giving homemade things (mostly that involve a lot of sewing...). Rachel and I, for years, have had some major project every Christmas that we give to all our aunts and coworkers and such. I just started my vanilla, so maybe I'll have some to give away. I only did a half batch though, in case it doesn't work:)

OK, well that's my rambling update!

Mush

My goal for this week is to make more baby food. Miles is eating more and more! But first, a peak at story time last night. He really was cuddly and paying a lot of attention, till he saw the camera:)

So, using my handy KidCo foodmill, I plan to roast, puree and freeze the following veggies.

Carrots, acorn squash and sweet potatoes are on the menu. Plus, some steamed zucchini and maybe peas too [not pictured]. The food mill is quite simple to use (after a brief tutorial on youtube, i figured it right out:). I am excited to start exploring more foods as we were stuck on banana and rice cereal for like a month there...Exciting, but also more work to do!

I was encouraged by D. Taylors sermon yesterday that we need not be in such a hurry on this earth, but can look forward to an eternity of creativity (among other things:). I certainly feel like I've got way more ideas than time...and more desires to create things than supplies, time and money. But, I am happy to make baby food for Miles and dinner for Matt and be creative one meal or one load of laundry at a time...

Seriously, in the repetition of homemaking, it so helps to remember that the little things like laundry and dinner are not so little when done out of joyful heart to care for one's family!

Crafts!

So, Rachel returned from California and my sewing machine is back on track! Rachie helped get me jump started Sat night and I completed two pillow covers, baby play squares and a random denim chew toy.

Cloth wipes-some one ply and others two.

Random denim chew toyed-named Ralphy (in honor of the denim donor). I put plastic from a package of brownies in the inside to give it a crinkle sound and then attached a scrap piece of red...not sure why...a handle perhaps?

Throw pillows!

Baby play squares...At this point, I enjoy these much more than Miley:)

So, I want to re purpose this blog to talk about baby Miles as well as homemaking, crafting, and whatnot. Kinda like a Boudreau Family Matters Blog. I don't want to start a new one, but just continue on...any ideas for a new title??

A few firsts!!

Monday was our 6 month check-up, a week early. Miles weighed 17lbs, 11ounces and was 27 1/4 inches long. 85th somethin percentile...


He also got another round of vaccines. Which led to #1. first fever! poor little guy was crying as he was making 'ba' and raspberries sounds. It was very sad, but generic tylenol was very helpful. The fever was off and on all day yesterday, but I think it's totally gone now.





2. First 12 hrs stretch of sleep! May or may not have been caused of the fever...He slept that stretch Mon night, after the shots, so yeah...but, his stretches of nighttime sleep have been getting longer and longer. Praise the Lord!





3. First time to see Aunt Rachel since he was a newborn!! She is back from California for the summer. yay!





4. First time to hold a book up! while, the book was propped by the boppy, i turned around and he'd grasped both the sides of the book. It was too cute!

Matt and I thank God for little Miles everyday...it's overwhelming to be so so in love with this little boy:)

post frenzy

I guess I have not blogged in so long-I've got ideas stored up!!

1. Play square for baby- I want to make these! BUT my sewing machine had turned against me and I have to wait till Rachel returns from Cali--hopefully she can help and I can go on sewing!

2. I did make these-ok, well not exactly those-but I cut some flannel fabric I had and am going to hem the edges to prevent it from raveling--once the sewing machine is back in commision.

3. I keep this one hand--the Easy Peasy kind, to use with my cloth wipes. My mom and husband use the huggies pure and natural wipes, and I do too when its a blowout or middle of the night exhaustion, but otherwise I stick to my cloth wipes and solution which hardly adds any bulk to my diaper washing and lengthens the life of the huggies pack.

4. I am not hard core about cloth dipes. Sometimes, if I am exhausted or sick of laundry, I'll use disposables. But, I'd say 85-90% of the time I use cloth; for Matt and my mom it's probably like 60%. All in all, I still know we're saving money as we've only actually bought diapers twice so far. (also thanks to my aunt Marilyn who carried us through size 1 and the infant days!)

5. It is a fun challenge to make stuff yourself and live a more simpler, frugal lifestyle. I do find it challenging though! And I get waves of motivation and then sometimes crash and quit:)

6. I made (or more accurately, watched while holding Miles, as the others made) homemade pickles a few weeks ago. Canning again and reading blogs about all the sugar in store bought spaghetti sauce and watching Food, Inc. and once again being disgusted at the American food biz has encouraged me to start making (more of) my own food. It's the time that's the issue!
But, I am hoping to start saving for my own canning supplies and make tons of spaghetti sauce and tomato soups before the season ends...

ok, that's all my random thoughts on crafts and babystuff for now:)

Miley 6 months June 14th!

Hi, I was thinking of changing the title of this blog so it more accurately describes the growth of our family. Not that our family is growing in numbers any time soon, but you know, like how Miles' is growing and developing, etc.

So after three weeks of repetitive mashed banana and rice cereal, I finally added a new player to the mashed foods that I feed Miles! Avacado! My favorite. He, apparently, did not care for it. So, I mashed it with the banana so he couldn't quite distinguish it....(i mean, i am guessing, since he didn't tell me or anything). I tried applesauce and he obviously hated it, so today I mixed it with rice cereal and it was ok.

I was really concerned about not feeding him too much too soon, since there is some AAP rule about no solids till 6 months...but after talking to Ceci she encouraged me that he can eat it all-except meat and dairy for now. yay!!

Also, he can defintely roll over to either side, almost sit up by himself, and pick his legs up while on his belly (as if he wants to crawl) but then usually topples over:) Mercifully, he is sleeping longer stretches at night, which means I usually feel more sane and functional these days.