Peck Life

Weekending

Ahhh, a low key weekend. Between the dreary rain and colds we are all trying to fight off, it was one of those weekends where the pillow seemed like the best spot. We did, however, manage to not be completely lazy! There was dinner with family, banana bread making, a bit of thrifting, and many challenging hours spent dealing with Sky’s tantrums and poor sleeping.

Do you think he’s teething? I can’t tell. Not only is he sick right now {oh my gosh the snot!}, but we have started to transition him to a big bed via a mattress that’s on the floor of his bedroom. The ratio of bad to good nights is about 50/50 so I’m still trying to figure out if it’s his cold or this new sleeping situation. When he’s not being cranky and totally hysterical, he is a very very sweet boy. In between the spurts of 2-year old ishness, were many snuggles and silly play times, book reading, and of course, throwing a handful of bouncy balls ALL OVER the house.

On Saturday morning, Sky slept until 9:15 am. A world record I think? All this morning free time allowed me to make banana bread with the rotting bananas that had been sitting on our counter all week! Whoo hoo! I used this recipe from our America’s Test Kitchen cookbook.

Saturday afternoon we stepped out to go visit grandma, grandpa, and GREAT grandma! We ended up at Chinese food for dinner where Sky was actually pretty well behaved, thanks to the toys and endless supply of cheese-its and craisins while we waited for the food to arrive.

{Emily: scarf/marshalls, sweater/don’t remember, it’s old!, jeans/american rag, boots/ office via top shop. Sky: fleece/REI, jeans/osh kosh, shoes/etnies}

{linking up with Mandy at Harper’s Happenings}

Sunday was mostly a lazy day at home with the exception of an early evening goodwill drop off. I had 3 huge bags taking up space in the garage! We did a cruise through the store and while there were a few cute things {like the pyrex below}, we walked away mostly empty handed. The big score was a toy caterpillar excavator truck that was nearly brand new and working. It matches the backhoe we already have! Sky spotted it right away and carried it around the entire store, stopping to play with it whenever there was a little break. I get a little freaked about all the germs and grime but our local goodwill is fairly new so it’s not too bad. Definitely need to some wipes and soap when you’re done though.

And so, the weekend comes to close. As I type this, I’m eating giant peppermint patty hearts. They are pink inside….for Valentine’s day…oh such a good way to end a Sunday!

Getting Sh*t Done

Lately I’ve been feeling REALLY busy, yet also really unproductive. The day flies by and I feel like I start it with a million things to do and end it with a million things to do. In a nutshell, work and home life is king right now and creative time is getting squashed. I get that it’s not realistic to think I can sit around all day and do what I want, such as {but not limited to}: learning to knit, making valentines, reading the dottie angel book I got for Christmas, taking pictures, gardening, learning the business of blogging, shaving my legs for once, thinking about BlogHer, editing photos, baking cookies, and working on Sky’s big boy room BUT when it's festering in my head 24/7 vs. getting worked on, I get a little crazy, a little frustrated, and a little stifled. Why is this stuff even important? I don’t know. Sometimes, it just makes me feel better, I guess. Two years into this whole “kid” thing, and I’m still learning to accept that the “me” time I had pre-baby will never, EVER come back. Not ever. Or, maybe it will...when I’m 60.

Even though I spend 40 hours a week working, another 10 commuting, and many more in between caring for Sky and not seeing my husband as much as I’d like, I also blame my lack of creative DOING on the internet. Yeah, that’s right. YOU INTERNET. I love it to bits but sometimes I feel like all my free time is spent reading other blogs and keeping up with the constant churn that is Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. It shouldn’t go away completely, and it won’t…but, there has to be balance. I think as bloggers, we have all gone through this, right? It’s a never ending struggle to stay in that sweet space where life feels equally distributed. Ebb and Flow, Shift and Settle. Words that stick in my brain lately. I feel like a buoy.

Kirsten’s ALT recap brought to light a good point, that I’ve heard before, but it can never be said too much. Via Jenny {at little green notebook}:

10% of your time should be spent on inspiration {blogs, pinterest, magazines} and 90% of your time should be spent on doing and acting {working on projects, getting outside and taking photos, decorating, shopping, etc.}.

It’s SO TRUE.

{photo via Ez via Stephanie Reid}

I’m not sure what the answer is to complete balance. Perhaps it’s that spurts of pure balance are few and far between and what keeps us going is the constant corrections we make to stay on the right path. Or, maybe balance is more wine and chocolate. Could be.

Sick Day

I’ve been fighting a cold since Tuesday and I just don’t have it in me today. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy this picture of the chicken noodle soup we made last week {found via Jones Design Company}. I need more stat.

Sweet Finds: Little Otsu

I’m a closet paper geek and love it when I find fun shops, like Little Otsu, that match my style. There are always bonus points for those that can successfully incorporate sloths into their goods, one of my favorite odd animals {side note: the other day I watched “TOO CUTE: Baby Sloths!” on Animal Planet. It was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen}. I’m also secretly coveting this feather print. Maybe for Sky’s room?

{from left to right, top to bottom: feathers print, owl to-do list, weekly planner, things that are round coaster set, animal postcard set, sloth card}

The Best of Times

Over the weekend, we took a magical trip to the land of snow and winter. One of the great things about Washington is that a two hour drive can put you into another world; there are so many types of landscapes. Our particular location happened to be Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, a 6,400 acre luxury resort with so many amenities it will make your head explode.

This trip had been many months in the planning. My girls, all our kids, and husbands {plus one boyfriend} too, decided to rent an amazing house with the intent of chillin’, eating, and playing all weekend. And, that’s just what we did. Each family took a meal and between the 20 of us, there was probably enough food to last the entire week. Aside from constantly eating meatloaf, tacos, spaghetti, pancakes, eggs, and Jill’s amazing monkey bread, we had our fair share of drinks after the kiddos went to bed and fireside chats about nothing and everything. Even with the chaos of so many kids, it was so peaceful to be here – just spending our days watching the snow fall.

This is my friend Flannery’s sweet baby girl, Morgan. Isn’t she the most darling thing you’ve ever seen? She is such a happy baby!

We have the best group of friends! Maybe E! should make a reality show about our lives, we are pretty funny and our kids are hilarious. Oh the stories!

Although our trip was wonderful, Sky was clingy, whiny, and non-social with nearly every other kid and adult. The morning after we arrived home, he came down with a cold so maybe it was the pre-sick blahs, but it was exhausting and frustrating at times. I get that he’s a little young to play WITH other kids but sometimes you just wish your kid would act like he’s having fun. I’ve been feeling kind of annoyed with his behavior lately but then, on Monday, I read this post from Melissa, with good perspective and good insight. It was just what I needed to remind me. We are given the type of children we have for a reason. Where we, as mothers, need to grow and learn, that’s what we are provided. It will be fine and these ARE the best of times.

Camera driving during snowmageddon

Snow is funny in the Pacific Northwest. Just a little bit and everyone freaks out; the news stays on 24/7 with silly reporters blowing tiny stories up into huge events and coining terms like “snowpocalypse” and “snowmageddon”, no one can drive, and the world shuts down. This time though? It really was something. Our week included: 10 inches of snow, an ice storm, 300,000 residents without power, breaking trees everywhere, and completely ridiculous grocery store lines {seriously…}. But, among all the chaos, it’s really so beautiful and I love just watching it snow. Or, in this case – my cell phone camera liked watching it snow as I drove with all eyes on the road and my hands at 10 and 2 {don’t worry dad, I also made sure my windshield was clean and my mirrors were all properly adjusted}. Days like these make me fall in love with my Subaru all wheel drive all over again.

Just as the storm was winding down, we left the mess behind and headed over the mountains to Eastern Washington {where they handle their snow a bit better} and spent the weekend hunkered down in a giant cozy mansion cabin as it dumped foot after foot after foot. It was the best. Watching it blizzard outside knowing we didn’t have to go anywhere or do anything besides sled or eat is one of my favorite feelings in the world, right up there with living in pajamas. More on that later this week.

Winter has officially arrived!

Friday Favorites

{photo courtesy of Katie Daisy}

1. Days like this, I wish I had an iPhone – Katie Daisy covers coming soon!

2. Now this would be something to add to my sticky note addiction.

3. Geninne’s inspiring art room. I’m such a fan of her work!

4. I think Sky might do well with these routine charts. Bed time has been challenging lately.

5. Have you ever thought about the gypsy lifestyle?

6. A great article about saying “no” to your kids differently. Thanks Melissa!

7. I am not vegan or vegetarian. But, I still thought this was a wonderfully thorough article about ways to have a diverse diet and deal with substitutions.

8. I love sweet potatoes. This looks soooo yummy.

And finally, one of my BIG favorites for the week. My sweet boy eating snow. Enjoy!

Can stripes be an addiction?

As you can see if you are viewing this post on the actual blog page, I have a thing for yellow and a big thing for stripes. Put them together and it just might be my favorite thing. Remember the yellow stripe tablecloth I used for Sky’s birthday party? Well, it wasn’t really a tablecloth. It was actually 2 yards of fabric that I had secret plans for later.

You see, we have this bookcase in our living room and while it has doors and is perfectly fine as is, I wanted to try and brighten it up a little.

If you look close, there are imperfections. But overall, I think it will do! With the doors closed you don’t really see it but I like knowing that there is a little bit of color hidden in there. In case you’re in the mood for more bookshelf “backing” inspiration, here are a few of my other favorites: one, two, three, four, five.

{Linking up with the Colour Me Happy Project!}

January Garden

The January garden can be dismal at first glance. But, after spending 30 minutes walking the yard the other day, the longer I was out there, the more I saw. A lot of things are sleeping, but there is a small bunch of tried and true performers who always let me know that spring is on the way. Little did I know, it would all be covered with snow a few days later so I’m thankful to have captured a glimpse of what’s been goin’ on!

My two favorites - the witch hazel and the early magnolias, always give that first inkling of life. I was giddy to see those very first few yellow strands of winter bloom.

I also have an early blooming euphorbia that shoots out poufs of lime green this time of year. The flowers will follow in about a month. The leaves are so bright against the yucky brown!

What the garden lacks in luster this time of year, the sky gives us in amazing sunrises and sunsets. Our house faces east, toward the mountains, so I’m partial to seeing all the yellow, orange, purple, and pink sunrises. January and February usually produce some of the best!

Such gorgeous country we live in!

#business

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today? A few housekeeping items!

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So, I did it. FINALLY. I'm on Twitter. I've put it off for so long, partly because I just never really understood how it worked, but also because I was worried about keeping up with yet ANOTHER social media stream. I already feel like my eyes could burn some days just by how much screen time they see.

But, all complaining aside - I'm kind of excited to join the fun and I'm sure I'll be totally obsessed in no time. I'm still getting used to it so if you have any tips or reasons why twitter makes your life better, I'd love to know. You can follow me at @pecklife and likewise, I'd love to follow you! Just leave me your deets! Tweet tweet! PS – if we aren’t already friends on facebook or pinterest, we totally should be.

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Even more serious and amazing than Twitter, is BLOGGERS FOR BABIES 2012!

I’ll be joining a team of other super wonderful ladies {like her, her, and her} to help raise money for the March of Dimes as we venture on a 6 mile jaunt with our babies throughout downtown Tacoma on May 12th! My personal fundraising goal is $200 so if you feel compelled, your donation would mean the world to me! $2, $5, $10, $20 or whatever you want to give will go toward ensuring that all mommies to be can have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies! More Information, including other ways to get involved, can be found by clicking on the giant button on the right hand side of this blog.

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Now, last but not least, very VERY important business…Portlandia Season 2 has started. It so perfectly exploits every single stereotype we have here in the Northwest, and sometimes, it makes me snort laugh. {view on blog to see video!}