30th & the Tooth Fairy

Well it happened.  I turned 30.
It came and went.  It wasn't a very special day.  Sad to say but as a mom of 4, what more can I expect?  Jake has been battling a tough case of teething so he was crying on and off all day.  We were recovering from being inside the house all weekend due to the ice storm.  I also had to brave the grocery stores to stock up our fridge and cupboards.
Is this a downer post?  As much as i'm trying for it to not be, I'm writing the reality of things right now.  And i'm okay with it.  Seriously.  Because I know it is not going to stay this way forever.  As my kids grow up, they become more responsible and they get their teeth.

I think the hardest part of the day was my own emotions.  There is just too much going on right now.  I can't keep my head straight.  My hormones are going CRA-ZAY.  I know it has something to do with turning 30, plus weaning Jake.  I usually get a low after I wean my babies.
And for some reason, I keep myself insanely busy with one project to the next.  All the while, try to keep up with the kids and the house.  AND stare at myself in the mirror and watch as my body falls apart.
Birthdays are a great time for a breakdown right?

Good things happened too though :)
On top of Joe bringing home pizza and cleaning the kitchen, Kate lost her first tooth!  This tooth was hanging by a thread and looked all snaggley-like.  It had to go.  She was so scared and nervous.  But we helped her to twist the tooth right now.  She started crying from nerves and also screaming, I did it!!
It was so cute.  She was so excited.
She wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy:
"Today I lost my first tooth!  It was hard work but I did it.  Today is my moms birthday and I get a surprise."
I love this girl

Park days.

The days have been wonderful.  Not too cold, not too hot.
This park is a walk away.  So we wonder there often.  I forget how fun the park is to my kids.  When it was too hot during the summer, we didn't venture out much.  For obvious reason....

But the all the kids are at a great stage right now!  So I had to document a few of them at play.

Jake's First Fall

It's so weird to think that this has been Jake's first fall.

But it's true.  Being born a year ago, in Central WA is considered winter already.    The leaves were long gone.  So here's his first taste of colorful, crunchy leaves...literally.

Halloween Dead Tree

This week's DT craft is my Halloween Tree.  If you are curious to see what it looked like before, head over to the Craftwell DT blog for details!

The bats are coming...

Doesn't this make you want to go camping?
My bat project is over on the Craftwell blog!  Go check it out!

me and my kids.

A little something about me...
I prefer to stay behind the camera.  I typically don't like to be in pictures.  I have too many insecurities that are so ingrained in my mind from growing up that they are just here to stay...in other words, i'm my own worst critic!

But, I want to be in pictures with my kids.  I want them to see me in them as well as themselves when they look back on their childhood.
So one day, when I was all fancied up, I was determined to do just that.  So we took a lot, a lot a lot of timer pictures.   I think under the circumstances, they turned out amazing.  They each show their personalities perfect.  And it helps that I love them so darn much.

The weather is nice.

I gotta admit, TN in the fall is beautiful.  It's the perfect weather.  We hit the park a lot these days.  Jake loves to watch the others play and be played with.
On the way home, we walked around the Cove again.  They have added more stuff!