This is why I take so many freaking pictures.

I fill my camera. And then I fill my back-up memory card. And then I fill my hard drive. And now my back-up drive is full. Plus, I print the pictures and organize them into page after page of albums, then line them up on shelves. Officially, having pictures is a hobby of mine. Not just taking pictures, but looking through them, editing them, sharing them, reflecting, etc, etc. All the things you do with them after the shutter clicks. Take a lot of time and energy.

So, why do I do it? Good question. I ask myself the same thing. Don't always come up with an answer, but this helps:

Luckily, Lilah (and Jak and Eva) love to look at photo albums. I let them each grab an album from the shelf and they get so excited as they turn the pages, recognizing people and themselves. As Lilah has gotten older, she actually seems to recall some of the memories - or at least I tell myself that. Before we go see friends or family that we haven't seen lately, I always pull out a book and we talk about who they are.

Lilah really appreciates looking at all these photos we snap, and I hope that never fades. I know that I still enjoy sifting through albums of my childhood and talking over them with my parents. Every photo means something different for them than for me. Like, I remember my incredible 5th birthday and the awesome bike I got, while my mom remembers slaving away on my Rainbow Brite cake up to the last minute before the party.

Mmmmmm, cake...

DIYday, Vol. 1

As a far as crafting goes, I am a collector. I collect piles of fabric, jars of buttons, stacks (and stacks) of papers, drawers of thread and notions, rows of ribbons, piles of clippings, etc, etc. Actually, instead of "collect" a more appropriate word might be "hoard". I hoard all these things in hopes that someday I'll have time to do something creative with them. One of my favorite things to hoard is tutorials. Like, free online tutorials where somebody has come up with some cute little sewing or paper project that they explain in photos and tell you how to do it. I seriously have hundreds of these bookmarked on my computer. Hundreds. I know, silly, right? Please don't ask me how many I've actually used.

Anyways, in an effort to bring purpose to all that tutorial hoarding, I want to share some with you. I'm calling this DIYday. You'll see tutorials for sewing, crafting, cooking - just about any kind of making. So, here goes:

Pinwheels by Heather Bailey. My daughter loves pinwheels and I have been wanting to make one of these for her. Hmmm ... maybe with my new SAHM-status, we could do that together. Break out the safety scissors!

Poms by Martha (no last name required). My SIL has made some flowers similar to these, and I keep them on the window sill by my computer, so I see them every day! A little bit of color that never wilts!

Cowgirl Cookie Jars by Bakerella

Fun stuff, huh? I'm thinking those poms would be great decor for a baby shower, or even a baby's room? And I love that the cookie jars can be customized with a different color for another occasion. Not that the pink isn't awesome.

Okay, now I don't feel so guilty for hoarding all those fabulous ideas!

Even straighter.

About a year ago, I wrote that I was "getting my priorities straight." Well, here I am, taking that one step further. Yesterday was my first day as a professional mommy. I'm out of the office and back in the house for 24 hours, 7 days a week of motherhood bliss.

Okay, who I am I kidding? Bliss? Pish. I know it's gonna be tough. I know there will be days where I will be calling the agency and begging to come back. I'm quite positive that I will long for adult conversation and advertising talk. And I'm sure that I will want to throw my kids at their dad when he walks in from work and jump in the car, head to the liqour store and never come back. But, the thing is, I think it's going to be better than dropping them at daycare every day and missing so much. Like today when I got to listen to Lilah sneak in to sing Graham to sleep. Or when Graham sat up on his own today for a full 15 seconds - and then Lilah had to show me she could do it, too.

So, it's a temporary tradeoff. I'll go back to work, someday. Fingers crossed, I make it past next week :)

Some random photos from the last month or so:

Digging potatoes with Brady's family in Clay Center. Lilah was pretty excited to get dirty and play with her cousins. As you can see, the adults did all the hard work. Me, I took pictures and held Graham.

My family's vacation to Beaver Lake - in Arkansas. We have friends that have a home there that we borrow and the whole trip is fabulous. We swam, boated, grilled, floated, took walks, toured a local hatchery and ate incredibly well. Tried some new recipes, including my families new favorite, Jalapeño Poppers. (Please note: I am not a fan of these, but everybody else who eats them is.)

Lilah's first French braid. As a child, my mother did this to my hair A LOT. And one day on vacation, while my mom had Lilah, I was surprised and delighted to come back and see this. I love it and have been trying to master it myself. Would be much easier if she wasn't so wiggly.

And, also on vacation - my favorite picture of Lilah and my dad. It just captures everything - she absolutely adores him. So much so that she would rather chill on a picnic table with him than go play on the beach with her cousins.

This little guy is growing up so much lately. So close to being able to sit up on his own. Plus two teeth now. And the jolliest little fart ever.

Check out those baby blues on my favorite little girl:

Going green. (A new reason to potty train.)

Everybody's doing it, right? A few months ago, we started seriously recycling. We switched waste companies and started getting curbside recycling. In Wichita, you can now get a huge container that you can throw ALL your recyclables into. EVERYTHING. Paper. All plastics. Aluminum. Cardboard. Chipboard. Glass, etc. No sorting. No hauling it to your nearest recycle bin. It feels great and is super-easy. It has really cut down on our amount of waste. If there were no diapers in it, we'd hardly have any trash each week. (But we're working very dilligently to reduce the amount diapers that go into it!!! See photo below!)

I also even started collecting plastic bags to recycle (Not throught the same service.) - Dillon's takes all kinds of plastic bags, plastic packing, etc. Not just your grocery bags (cause now everybody uses those canvas bags anyways, right?), but all plastic. I've been really amazed at how much this has added up in just the few weeks I've been collecting. Seems like everything comes in a plastic bag.

If you're interested, Waste Connnections is who offers the recycling service. As a bonus, you get rewards for how much you throw away - they weigh your bin each week and then you get "points" for how much you've collected overtime that can be redeemed online. (We have over 1600 points already! Pretty sure those are going to a target gift card soon...)

Anyways, the whole point of this post came from this letter I got in the mail today. It was one of those fabulous credit offers where they say you have some crazy amount of credit line available to you and they'll give it to you at some insane pseudo-low rate. I get a ton of these, don't you? What a waste of paper and postage and stuff! I was about to toss it into the recycling bin when I read this at the bottom of it:

You can choose to stop receiving "prescreened" offers of credit from this and other companies by calling toll-free 1.866.567.8688.

Sweet! Five minutes later, Brady and I were both opted-out for the next five years! Even better than recycling! Let's call it pre-cycling! (The process online was super-simple. It recongnized our home phone number and had all our info already. All I need was SS#'s.) Okay, no excuse, go do it now, if you haven't already!

Uneventful and lovely.

Just a few photos from a quiet weekend at home. I can't get over how much I love to just stay home! We spend last week on vacation with my family, so it was greatly appreciated to just hang out in our house and be anti-social.

Right after bath time, which is a favorite for him. And, if I'm being honest, doesn't happen as often as it should, unfortunately. (All you mom's out there with more than one kid understand, right?? RIGHT?)

That's my man. Suckin' his thumb. See, he gets rid of his own germs :)

This evening we took the kids and our nephew Jak to Buffalo Park, which has been recently updated. A great place for the kids to let out some energy.

Say cheese.

I am officially signed up for an online photography class today! And not just any photography class. One that I am super excited about. It's taught by my dear friend, Karen Russell. Okay, not my dear friend, but a blogger that I've actually never met before. But because I keep up with her day-to-day life on her blog, I feel like we are buds. 

Each 8-week class she teaches has 100 openings - and when she opened registration today at 11AM, it filled up in FOUR MINUTES! But thanks to my lightning-fast typing skills, I got enrolled during those minutes. Kinda dorky, but my heart was pounding so hard while I typed! I guess that's what it feels like to be competitive??? (I don't have a competitive bone in my entire body.)

The class doesn't start until January, unfortunately. But that's okay, cause I don't even own an appropriate camera right now. (But I'm working on it!) I'm really looking forward to learning how to take some better shots of the fam. 

Thought I'd share some of her photos. She has the cutest little girl that always reminds me of my daughter. (Wonder if there's a lesson in the class on how to get your toddler to look at the camera and smile?) I think one of the reasons I find her so intriguing is that she is a self-taught photographer. Before that she was a self-taught designer. And before that she was a dental hygenist for 10 years! And this chick isn't even that old. Pretty inspiring to come so far and find what it is that really makes you happy.

and one of my absolute favorites:

Sidenote: I've had many friends discuss with me which camera is the right camera for them. Well, I have no idea, but this blog post that Karen wrote is going to help me decide. Lots of money, so you better choose wisely! 

So, until January, I apologize for the lack of skill in my photos. Know that they will get better!!!

Happy birthday to me.

Tomorrow is my 27th birthday. I think the older you get, the faster time flies by. Especially when you start watching your own kids grow. 

Anyways, I always try to stay positive when my birthday comes around. I've got a lot to be thankful for, so why should another year make me sad? I decided to compile a list of 27 things that make me happy:

1. Catching a great smile from my kids on camera. Sadly, this doesn't happen often enough.

2. The song Sideways, by Dierks Bentley + the fact that Lilah calls it by name within the first few beats.

3. The BBQ grill. It can make anything taste good. And how fun is it to hang out on the deck while your man is cooking you dinner?

4. Diet coke.

5. My big, gigantic king-size bed. I love being a grown-up and having such a great place to rest.

6. The three days in July each year when I get to be three years younger than my husband.

7. Etsy.com

8. Jumping in my car and being just minutes away from the home I grew up in. Feels so right.

9. Lynchberg Lemonade. 

10. The notes my husband leaves me on the counter in the morning before I even wake up. Simple and sweet.

11. Lakes. Swimming, boating, skiing, floating, etc. Such a great way to spend some downtime. Water is so soothing.

12. The fact that my husband and I share a dream of living on a lake someday.

13. Stationary. Love the tradition of handwriting notes on beautiful paper. Makes me sad that it is a lost art.

14. Medium-sized styrofoam Sonic cups. Perfect for a wide range of drinks (see #4 and #9). They don't sweat all over the table + they keep my drink super cold.

15. Sunflower seeds - a lifelong weakness. When we were kids, my brother used to tell me that I'd never find a husband because of all the sunflower seed chewing/spitting I used to do. Good thing he was wrong! 

16. Dropping my kiddos off to daycare at their Aunt Jenny's. They love it and I know she loves them. What a blessing. (Hope she feels the same way!)

17. My Mac. When it's behaving.

18. A good sunburn. I know that one's kinda weird, but I just love the way you feel after a day in the sun. Isn't there a vitamin you get from the sun? Vitamin K or something? Maybe they named that after me :)

19. Fabric stores. I love all the colors and textures in rows and piles. I could shop all day. Usually buy some just for the hell of it. Leaving me with stacks of fabric at home and no time to do anything with it.

20. The feeling after a good workout. Or even a not-so-good workout. When have you ever left the gym and thought "man, I wish I hadn't done that"?

21. The blue eyes that my husband has, and my children have inherited. (It's why I married him.)

22. The hot dog dance. If you know what this is, you would get along with my daughter. And when Lilah's happy, I'm happy.

23. A Lot Like Love. Or any good romantic film. But this one in particular always leaves me with a smile.

24. The way that Graham's smile gradually appears on his face. I love the transition. Seems so honest.

25. Bud Lime

26. Traditions. For instance, my family's annual trip to Beaver Lake. Bunco on the second Tuesday of every month. Grey's Anatomy every Thursday night with my friend, Linds. Burger Binge at work every Wednesday at lunch. There is something about that predictability and commitment that feels so reassuring. 

27. And of course, this blog! A great place for me to air my thoughts and feel like somebody's listening. Thanks!

Hope something on that list left you with a smile! 

Here's to 27 more years.