100 Percent Cottam

Of Kid-Meltdowns and Singing Epiphanies

2012-01-15T13:00:00.000-06:00

I had an a-ha moment this week with Lucy:

My "down-time" during the day occurs usually from 1:30-2:30...my "lunch hour", if you will. Simon & Lucy are napping and Maya & Mason are still at school. I usually make my lunch, then eat it in front of the computer while I read Facebook or blogs, or whatever. It's my little re-charge before the craziness of after-school and homework and driving to activities and cooking/eating and the whole bedtime routine begins.

One day this week I was sitting at the computer when I heard Lucy start to cry. When she does that during her nap, it is usually disastrous. She's in sort of a half-sleep and it takes a long time to calm her down. She'll never go back to sleep after one of those episodes, and is cranky until bedtime. I hurried in to hold her before she got too worked up. I sat down in the chair with her and tried rocking her, patting her, snuggling her, but she resisted and continued crying uncontrollably.

Then I started singing to her. I used Simon's "playlist" of songs he likes me to sing to him before his nap...all of his Mormon-kid favorites. I Am A Child of God. Teach Me to Walk in the Light. She started to calm down. She relaxed. She stopped crying. And then I sang I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was singing as I sat cuddling my baby, rubbing her back and singing softly into the top of her head, until I got to the words "Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought, for these are the things Jesus taught".

All of a sudden, it hit me. I'm doing it! I'm being gentle and loving. I'm not frustrated that my me-time was interrupted. I'm not annoyed. I'm not fussing at her to just go.to.sleep. I'm being gentle and loving. I'm actually following Jesus! So I started the song over and paid attention. I love the words of the chorus: "Love one another as Jesus loves you. Try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought, for these are the things Jesus taught.".

What would Jesus do? Love one another. Be kind. Be gentle. Be loving. I SO want to remember that...I so want to be like that. Not just because I know (duh!) that those are good ways to be, but also because I want to be like Jesus. I'm a follower of Christ (far from perfect as I am), but sometimes I don't know exactly what to do, day in, day out, to show that to the world. But this mini-epiphany is a great place to start!

{Miss Lucy post-meltdown on another occasion. A little 5 minute snoozer after an hour of mania. Good times. I do enjoy the snuggles when I can get them!}

Easy Green

2012-01-13T09:41:00.002-06:00

I have been singing the praises of my green morning smoothie all over town this week. Best way to start my day and my kids love it, too!

And why wouldn't they? Look at all that deliciousness!

(Actually, my big kids are skeptical, since it's green and they know it has spinach in it. They know it's yummy, but they think it shouldn't be. The littles LOVE it.)

So here's my lineup:

A good handful of baby spinach

A whole orange, peeled and sectioned

A whole small apple, cored and chunked

A handful of blueberries

A few strawberries

A couple scoops of strawberry yogurt (I get the light version)

A splash or 2 or orange juice

Lots o' ice

I don't have an awesome, $500 blender, so I wasn't sure I could make this type of smoothie. But I totally can! I have to babysit it a bit...blend, then stir, blend, then stir...a couple of times, but then it gets rolling and chop chop, I have a day's worth of fruit and some veggies in a cup. SUPER yummy, as that's my top priority, and gives me tons more energy than I would otherwise have in the morning.

Try it! Any mix of fruits will work...pick your favorites!

(Thank you, Jen, for teaching me your smoothie method! Yum and YUM!)

Best of 2011: Phone Pics

2011-12-29T08:07:00.002-06:00

Phone pics are the best. You know, sort of. They make it to Facebook. Well, most of them. But they don't usually get downloaded to the computer or make it onto the blog. Until now! Here's a backwards look at some of my favorite phone pics of the past few months.

Lucy is so strong-willed! I've never had a toddler care what they were wearing. Lucy loves to be fancy, she loves to wear shoes and hats, etc. And when she found this Santa dress in her closet, she was wearing it, baby, no matter what!

I never wonder more if Maya is actually my flesh and blood than when she wanders into a petting zoo. Never in a million years would I pick up a rooster! But that's Maya for you. She picked up all the animals, I think, including the baby goats. You can't see me shaking my head back and forth, wrinkling my nose, so you'll just have to imagine it. I'm no animal lover, but my kids definitely are. Which is a good thing.

Mason does this awesome wink that we all love, complete with clicking sound. So here's a look at the wink + a painted-on ninja mask. Pretty awesome!

Maya dressed up in a Wales-ish costume (made by me-truly with the help of my trusty glue gun) for her school heritage presentation on Wales. So cute!

34 and counting, baby! How much do I love my Happy Birthday Natalie cake? Very, very much. (Thanks, Michelle!)

Maya broke her mother's heart when she chopped off all that beautiful hair. And by that I mean, I'm so proud of Maya for donating her hair to Locks for Love. (Sniff, sniff.)

Maya loves her new look, and so do I. But what I really love is that there is no crying at hair-brushing time anymore! It's a beautiful thing all the way around.

Purple girl! This was a favorite outfit of Maya's when she was this age. I can't believe how much they look alike.

My shopping buddy! Simon prefers "the big part" of the cart and really is the best go-along guy ever. Anytime he senses anyone might be leaving, he's there, ready to go. "I go." is definitely Simon's motto.

Oh boy, blankie washing day is the saddest day ever. Poor Lucy.

Maya & I had the best time at the Texas book festival. While I waited in line to meet Rosemary Wells (so awesome!), Maya stood next to a "No Stopping, No Standing" sign. I thought it was funny.

Give me the sucker and no one gets hurt.

Simon & Jonathan out for a spin around the neighborhood. (Notice: rain boots.)

Simon's favorite place to eat is Freddy's Frozen Custard, or "Big Wass Cream Cone", as he says. They're getting to be on an even more familiar basis lately, so he just refers to it as "Big Wass" most of the time. And we all know what he means. And we head there immediately because their hot dogs, fries and chocolate custard shakes are not to be missed. Big Wass forever.

Fun event of 2011 for Chris & Natalie: Chris won tickets (but I was the one that entered us both into the contest) to the Austin City Limits television show taping of Coldplay's New Year's special. We were literally sitting directly next to the stage. It was freaking awesome.

Why yes, that is Chris Martin's piano just a few feet in front of me, thanks for asking. Truly, super amazing concert experience. Nobody beats Coldplay.

Silly girls! We are so happy that Maya & Addie are in the same class again this year. They're making it a thing, having spent Pre-K and 1st grade together also. We love their friendship because it's no-drama and all fun. Such great little buddies.

Snuggler! Mason is famous for sneaking into our bed Ninja-style. We don't mind, since most of the time, he's the only one that will give us the snuggles we need and deserve.

Lucy's such a big help! Rearranging the laundry is only one of her skills. She's actually really good at rearranging anything you leave in her reach.

Look! It's the stroller from the movie Up! Seriously, though, why all the balloons? Nordstrom half yearly sale, maybe? And each kid has to have one, of course. It has to be fair.

Two of Maya's best little friends decorated our drive way while we were out to birthday dinner. Thanks, Addie & Alia!

Man, this traffic sucks!

And finally, obligatory Santa picture. And not a bad one, at that! Merry Christmas, 2011!

Obligatory Christmas Sunday Pictures

2011-12-29T07:33:00.000-06:00

My kids only get new church clothes maybe twice a year...Christmas and Easter. So when they do, I try to make them sort of matchy and cute, you know. And then, of course, we're obligated to pull out the tripod and try to get a bit of a family photo, such as this:

Do you see that? Everyone looking at the camera? Almost everyone smiling? Only one person wearing his distracting rain boots. (And then there's the one in the distracting yellow tights...)

Ta Da! It's the Cottam kids. This might be one of my favorite ever Cottam kids pics, really. Except that one rascal, still not smiling.

Get over here, Simon! Let's work on that smile. See, like Mommy. Do it.

Hmm, almost...

That's really more grimace than smile.

Mason, show your brother how to smile. Ugh, forget it.

Bring me the baby. She's a good smiler.

Now how 'bout just one of me and my tights. Wait a second! What? There's a what behind who? Oh, you silly Cottams.

Merry belated Christmas from the Cottams & hap hap happiest 2012 to you!

Best of 2011: THREE Years Old & Loving It!

2011-12-28T14:06:00.004-06:00

Simon! That kid is such a character. There is really no other good way to describe him. He is fun and funny and has quite the mind of his own. As we always say of Simon, "The little man knows everything!". He walks into every room like he owns the place and knows just what his plans are.

This is Simon on his 3rd birthday, October 29. We had a party at the park with some of his best little buddies. Of course, after being 100+ degrees for , oh, 5ish months, suddenly it was windy and freezing that day. Of course.

Oh well, we had a blast anyway. Sure the cute decor and doughnut-pops blew away. Do you think this guy cared? (No, he did not.)

He played on the swings, ran around with his friends, went down the slide...

...so much fun!

My favorite part was when we sang Happy Birthday to Simon, and he sang along, 10 times louder than anyone else in the crowd. "Happy Birthday, dear Simon!"

Mmm, worm cake!

Due to his mother's extreme laziness and distaste for potty training, we have waited until the last week of 2011 to cross "Potty Train Simon" of my 2011 to-do list. He's doing awesome and I'm super proud of him, but I super hate potty training. But just think, if I get my act together, I could legitimately be DONE with diapers by this time next year...Lucy will be 2 1/2, so maybe we'll make post-Christmas/pre-New Year's week a traditional potty training week. Now that would be pretty exciting!

Other Simon tidbits:

Simon loves his blankies. His favorite one is named...wait for it..."Favorite One". But in a pinch, "Number Four", "Choo Choo" or "Whitie" will do. "Greenie" never really caught on, but "Big New Favorite One" is finding some favor lately.
Simon recently said "bye-bye to cribbie" and is loving his big boy bed. He has it filled with his "Octis" (a shameful number of Sonic kid-meal stuffed toys) and all of his many Snoopys. He also keeps several flashlights handy and loves his glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars.
Simon likes to do what Simon likes to do whenever Simon likes to do it and he is not concerned with pleasing you. Most of the time. Every now and then he'll throw you a bone.
Simon loves to be read to and sung to. He also loves Phineas and Ferb, but who doesn't? :)
Simon can sing his "ABCDs" and count really well, but has no concept of color. He can sort things into color piles, so I don't think he's color blind, but for some reason color names just aren't sticking for him. I'm sure it will click when he feels like making it click.
After being super slow to speak, Simon is that chattiest, most articulate kiddo ever. I just love some of the crazy things that come out of his mouth. He is truly a budding comedian. Just ask him. No one thinks Simon is funnier than Simon himself.

And I could go on, but I'll stop. So glad to have this guy in my brood. He keeps me on my toes and I just adore him.

Best of 2011: Punk Kids

2011-12-28T13:48:00.005-06:00

One of the most important discoveries I made in 2011 is that I, in fact, can't do everything. I'm sure I always knew this, logically, but as life becomes busier and busier, it's being demonstrated more and more often. Some of these things, we're used to, i.e. I can't keep my house clean. Others have been more of a surprise, such as not writing blog posts and thank-you cards. I've always been so good at both of those things, but this year, I've come up short. So I've missed journaling some fun parts of the year, such as the annual visit to the pumpkin patch.

4 kids in the patch and 3/4 of them looking at the camera = success!

Maya age 8

Mason, 5 1/2

Simon, "almost" 3

Lucy - 1 1/2

We were quite the disastrous bunch at the pumpkin patch. Simon latched onto a wheel-barrow that he was convinced belonged only to him and was heart-broken when that didn't seem to be the case.

Lucy made more than one break toward the busy street and Chris & I had to do some sprinting. Maya "juggled" pumpkins we had no intention of buying. Mason, I believe, behaved himself. There's always one. Thank goodness for that!

Best of 2011: Running

2011-12-26T14:25:00.011-06:00

"Learn to Run" was one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2011. And in fact, looking over the list, is the only one that I completed with much success. But that's what great about running. It's a good, quantifiable goal, unlike "Be a more thoughtful friend" and "Speak kind words". (Actual goals from my 2011 list, ugh. Mission not accomplished: "Be on time.".)

As I've blah blah blogged (and blah blah blahed to anyone who would listen), I started in April with the Couch to 5k program. Nine weeks later I graduated and just kept running. My uncle suggested I join him in Vegas for a 1/2 marathon in December. I laughed in his face. (Via Facebook message, which is so much less insulting.) Then one of my "running mentor-ish" friends told me I should do it. Then she posted a training schedule to my Facebook page. So I decided, what the heck!

Fast forward to December. In an attempt to be more fiscally responsible (read: I'm cheap) I decided to skip Vegas and find a race to do closer to home. And that's how I ended up in College Station, Texas on December 11, 2011, pumped and ready to run 13.1 miles with 2,500 of my new best friends.

At least that's how it felt at the starting line. Everyone talks about the "energy" at races. I didn't know what that was about, but now I do. I got a little choked up at how far I'd come to be there that day, and I just wanted to hug everyone else, knowing they'd come that far and farther (it was a full marathon as well), too.

Hey guys! Isn't this fun?

Woo hoo, mile 3 and the sun was coming up. This was my first time running in "gear". Usually if it's cold enough to want a jacket and gloves, I'll just pass on running that day. It was a lot colder than I was used to, but by mile 3 I was feeling good and warm.

Natalie! You're going the wrong way! Wait, no I wasn't. I just thought it was a funny picture. Silly, silly.

Double fisting my water, baby. I'm proud to say I ran all 13.1 miles, except for (quickly) walking through 4 water stops. I took my "shot blocks" (awesome little inventions) at miles 5 and 10, while running.

Hi everyone! Still having fun!

This run/walker behind me ended up smoking the heck out of me. I was amazed to watch people do that. But that wasn't my goal. Running it was my goal, and I did it!

Here we come thru the adorable Texas A&M campus. We were very impressed with the campus and the town. I'm surrounded by my silent running buddies. By mile 4ish, I was in a pack with the same people for most of the race. I'd pass them, then they'd pass me. We never talked, but it was nice having them there.

Thumbs up! I think this was maybe mile 8 or 9. After that Chris was trying to connect with my parents & the kiddos, and I kept missing them, so I was on my own from then until the end.

Here I am coming into the finish line! There's a big(ish) hill riiiight at the end that you have to go up before you come down. It felt good coming down that hill and seeing my family all there at the finish line.

Nice rear shot as I come into the finish line...pardon me. :)

Woo hoo! I got my apple juice!

What? Oh right, and my medal, too. I hogged down some oranges and a banana but passed on the BBQ and beer (at 9:30am, really people?).

I just wanted a picture with my cheering squad, but they weren't having it. 3/4 of them were crying, thank you very much. Nice way to greet your mother who has been running for 2 1/2 hours. (Make that 2:21:27, a 10:49 pace, just below the race average of 2:22:33.)

Ah, good thing I love those little turkeys!

Ta da! It is done.

So, overall thoughts on the race. Super fun! I had a blast doing it and would totally do it again. I was super, super duper pooped after. Like, about to die pooped, but only afterward. I was tired during, but never close to death and/or quitting. And literally a hour or 2 after the race, I started to feel myself getting sick and ended up with the worst case of bronchitis of my life...lasting 2 miserable weeks. I have no idea if this is race-related or just a coincidence, but I hope that never happens again. I'll definitely run another to find out, though I can't see myself doing more than 1 or maybe 2 in a year. The training is really time consuming. Instead, Chris & I are doing a 1,000 mile challenge for 2012. That comes out to about 20 miles per week (with 2 weeks off). I think 4 5-mile runs per week sounds just lovely and I'm totally looking forward to it.

Again, let me use any small piece of influence I have to encourage you to give running a shot if you never have. I never thought I'd be able run...I can't emphasize that enough. I just never thought I could do it. It is very empowering to find out what your body can do, and I have never been healthier in my life. Added bonus, it's motivated not only Chris to run, but also Maya, who is up to 3 miles at this point. It makes me happy.

I'll see you out there for 1,000 miles in 2012!

If It's Options You're After: Tinyprints For Christmas Cards

2011-11-18T13:36:00.006-06:00

One of my new favorites for 2011: TinyPrints for custom greeting cards. I've made several purchases from them this year...back to school cards for the kiddos were a big hit...and I've been very impressed with the quality. First of all, you can buy a quantity of just one card, if you'd like. Shipping to you is always free, or you can have it sent directly to the recipient for the price of a stamp. The cards are beautiful and the designs are super fun. I had a great time checking out the TinyPrints holiday & Christmas card line. So many unique options.

For example, I love the tri-fold card! My forward-thinking friend Holly did a tri-fold last year, and it was one of my favorites. I love this design from TinyPrints:

(The style is called Winterberry.) But get this. Say you like the Winterberry design, but you're not digging the tri-fold. (How dare you!) ;) No worries, because TinyPrints is all about options! Each is available in several different formats, up to six ways!

Here's the 5.25x5.25 flat version (printed with the cutest stripe on the back).

This is the 5x7 folded version, with lots of layout options available. This is the inside...

...and this is the outside.

Or perhaps a 5x7 flat is more to your liking?
Portrait or landscape, you pick.

Or my personal favorite (well, besides the tri-fold...), the circle ornament. So cute!

Lots to choose from! So go, browse around, find a design you like and play with the format. There are tons of cute options. Here are a few of my favorites.

Or here's a little something fun: a "flip card" with a spinning photo in the middle. I love it! Especially this design, Fun Fair Isle.

Historic Charm is pretty, too.

But in the end, I think the circle ornament cards may win out. Because I keep seeing them. And admiring them. And I know that one of them is going to end up in my mailbox, and I'll be mad if I wasn't the one that sent them out. I especially love this adorable design. And it would require me to keep my message brief, which I think most people would appreciate, if not disbelieve. :)

I also like the Merry Love. So colorful & stripey!

And the Traditional Tidings is just so classic and pretty.

Truly, with so many options and such fabulous quality, you can't go wrong.

As I've said before, Christmas cards are my favorite. This is the time of year I get so excited to start finding Christmas cards in mail, rather than just toy catalog after toy catalog...give or take a few Pottery Barn catalogs. My refrigerator is all cleared off and ready for me to start taping up this year's batch o' cards!

'Tis the season!

{This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.}

A SUPER (hero...) Halloween!

2011-11-16T14:29:00.003-06:00

So, I'm a little behind...as ever. Sickness has been circulating at our house ever since Halloween. I was standing so strong, fighting off germs, crediting my new, healthier body with helping me stay well (I'm up to 11 miles in my training, woo!). But even Mom can't hang on forever. Now that that darn bug has made the rounds to everyone, maybe it will leave us alone for a while!

But! Before we move on to even MORE holidays (hooray for a Dallas Thanksgiving next week!), I thought I should recap the last one. This year I got smart and took my kids out a few days before Halloween and just let them run and play in their costumes. For the first time ever, I got a decent Halloween costume shot, yay!

My little band of superheros! I feel so safe with them all sleeping under my roof!

Maya chose Batgirl! She looked awesome.

And then there was Super-Mase, ahem, SuperMAN!Sweet little Simey Spidey.
And the WONDER-ful Lucy Goose as Wonder Woman. Such a fun theme! It's the first year I've convinced the older kids that a theme would be fun, and I'm hoping it sticks. Mason already has ideas about a team of Cottam Ninjas next year! Sounds promising.

Anyway, may the force be with you. Wait, no. Well, something like that!

Winner, Winner: Updated (oops)

2011-11-04T19:57:00.002-05:00

As I went to dig out the winner's codes, I noticed that I was supposed to be giving away THREE sets of cards, not two. Whoops! So, let's pick one more winner, shall we?

Sarah said...

Cute cards, though I think my list is a little over 50, so I'd have to order two more sets even if I won.

Hooray! Sarah, I'll track you down.

jeaner29, please contact me by Monday night to claim your prize, or I'll be giving it away to one of the other lovely contestants on Tuesday! :)

Now, I'm off to get my act together. (Ha.)

Winner, Winner

2011-11-04T07:29:00.001-05:00

As in, winner winner, chicken dinner.

First of all, thank you to my buddies for entering! You guys are awesome. You get a car! And you get a car! And you get a...oh, somebody stop me!

So we have 2 winners. First of all,

jeaner29 said...

Shutterfly is my all-time favorite. Funny that you are needing more every year; the max in one year was 175 and I've been scaling back every year since. I find many do the fb, blog, smilebox or email "green" greeting instead! I live their folded cards & haven't decided on a design yet. Our pics have been rescheduled cuz I can't decide on clothing colors for our annual pics!

Woo hoo! Send me a message at 100percentcottam@gmail.com and I'll send your code to you.

And also, the charming, talented and always stylish...

Jesse Anthony said...

I really want to win these cards!!!

Wooty woot, so glad I could make it happen, Mr. Jesse! Since I know where to find that boy (he's married to my cousin, after all!), I'll just send your prize-winning code your way! And I expect to see one of those cards in my mailbox come Christmas-time, okay? :)

Thanks, y'all for playing. And thanks again, Shutterfly!

'Tis The Season: Shutterfly For Holiday Cards + A Giveaway!

2011-10-30T09:17:00.013-05:00

**Be sure to scroll down to the bottom to enter to win 25 free cards from Shutterfly!**
Sure, we've got 2 more big holidays to get through before we get to the Holidays. But if you're anything like me, you're already thinking about your Christmas cards. (In fact, I'm thinking of a "Have a SUPER Christmas" caption for our cards after yesterday's superhero costume photo shoot with my kiddos...coming soon...)

Last year we ordered our cards from Shutterfly and were SO happy with them. (No big surprise there...we order Shutterfly Photo Books regularly and LOVE them, and we make a new Shutterfly calendar every year.) We picked a folded card with 3 photos on the front and room for a full update on the inside. I'm thinking along the same lines for this year. There are plenty of options in their 925+ (!) item catalog of Christmas & Holiday cards with fabulous designs, no matter what your price range.

Pardon the photo overload, but I found so many I liked and wanted to share as many as possible. These are all flat or folded 5x7 Stationery Cards, which start as low as $1.04 for large quantities and under $1.50 per card for quantities of 50 (Smaller quantities available...as low as one card!). So.Many.Options!

{Great option if you're a design whiz & want to come up with your own creation & upload it...}

I'm also really digging the 4x8 Stationery Cards, same price range as the 5x7.

5x5 is a unique option (same price range for these, also).

And if stationery cards aren't in your budget, Shutterfly has the cutest photo cards I've seen. I LOVE this 5x7 (starting at 44 cents per card):
And there are lots o' 4x8's to choose from as well (as low as 32 cents each):

All designs come with envelopes included. Shipping is not included, but right now Shutterfly is offering FREE shipping on orders of $30 or more when you use the code SHIP30 (not sure when that one expires, but give it a shot!).

Best of all, Shutterfly has offered to give away three sets of 25 holiday cards to 3 of my readers! (Shipping not included.) Woo hoo! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post (If you're reading on Facebook, please click over and comment on the actual blog post...Facebook comments won't be counted.) Any comment will do, but if you're feeling extra cooperative, tell me one of these things:

1) How many Christmas/Holiday cards you usually send out. (I'm very curious about this one...our list just keeps getting longer & longer...)

or

2) Click over to Shutterfly and let me know which Holiday card design has caught your eye.

AND, please leave your e-mail address so I can get your prize to you if you win!

Good luck! The contest will close on Thursday, November 3 at Midnight, and I'll randomly draw three winners on Friday morning. One entry per person, please. Duplicate entries will be deleted.

Thanks for playing! And thanks, Shutterfly, for sponsoring this post!

To Stripe...Or Not To Stripe

2011-10-23T20:33:00.002-05:00

Am I the only one who misses What I Wore Wednesday? I do miss it. But What I Wore in the Texas Summer is a really boring blog feature. Here's what I wore for 6 months straight: shorts and a t-shirt. Blah and blah.

Anyway, every so often I'll be getting ready and think...I should take a picture and start back up What I Wore Wednesday. And then, as per everything else in my life, my gnat-like attention span thwarts my plans and I never do anything I think about doing. Oh well.

I digress. The question at hand is...to stripe...or not to stripe. Here's what happened. I was at the Old Navy with my dear Mother, and found this super awesome fantastic extra long sweater dress on the clearance rack ($14.95! Perhaps that was my first clue.) I loved it immediately and showed it to my Mom. Her response?

"WOW!"

Hmm. Not sure what that means. But I tried it on and I looooved it.

Fast forward to to the checkout line. I pull it out of my cart and hold it up to admire it...and notice the clerk grimacing at it. She calls me over. "You don't like it?", I ask her. "I love it", I tell her, just so she knows where I stand. "No, I like it! But you have to be really tall and really skinny to pull it off!". Either she was telling me I was really tall (yes!) and really skinny (not quite so much) or she was insulting/warning me. Either way I bought it, but I still considered it strike two.

Back at home I pulled it out of the bag to show Chris. His reaction was pretty easy to read. "What IS that?! You would wear that?!" Chris isn't usually very opinionated about my clothing choices (which is good, because I'm well aware that my style isn't for everyone), so I suppose I should heed his concern and return this baby. But somehow it seems like the more that people dislike it, the more I like it. So...what do you think?

It's bright, it's slightly 80s-ish, but in a good way, I'd say. There we have it with bare legs & flats. (And months since my last What I Wore post and I still haven't cleaned my mirror! The shame.)

I also like it with tall boots and a teeeeeny bit o' pink tights peeking out.And you could also pull out the leggings with this. If I had a wide black belt, I would have tried that, too.

So, what say you? To stripe or not to stripe? Is this "something only I could pull off" (which I will take as a compliment) or something I should pull off (and return promptly to the store)?

Keep in mind: anonymous comments about how stupid I look will make me sad! And comments about how all that running is paying off will make me HAPPY! :) Seriously, though. Yay or nay?

Stay tuned: I'll be giving away 2 Shutterfly codes each good for 25 Shutterfly cards later this week! Hooray!

You're Invited...

2011-10-22T20:23:00.003-05:00

October is party month for us, and this year was a double whammy!

First, we celebrated Maya's birthday with a pajama party! (I got the template for the invites here.)

Then we had a baptism! I designed the invites and had them printed by Overnight Prints. Super happy with how they came out!

Also for the baptism...I used the same fonts & colors for her programs and then used a corner punch to make them fancy. I also had I am a Child of God cards printed with the Articles of Faith (basic summary of Mormon beliefs) on the back. Overnight Prints will round the corners for super cheap, and I loved the way they turned out. (I also have a zillion left over if anyone can think of a brilliant use for them...)

And last but not least, we'll be celebrating our Simon this week! Since he's such a lover of "noomies", I thought it appropriate to deliver the invites with a balloon. It seemed like a great idea until I had a car full of balloons on a blustery fall day. But it was...exciting! :) We're going with a low-key park play-date party. With lots of yummy snacks, of course!

Don't forget to throw a church trunk-or-treat and a neighborhood Halloween-night potluck into the mix, and you've got one heck of an October party month!

Oh, and let us all remember...my birthday is less than two weeks away! Party on, party on.

Cookies + Lemonade & a Baptism

2011-10-16T20:17:00.003-05:00

Eighth birthdays are special for us because it's the year that children are baptized in our church. It was a beautiful day and we had lots of friends and family to share it with us. So of course, that meant we needed a party, right? Just a little one, with treats + lemonade...oh, and a 25 minute slideshow of my girl's 8 years. I thought about posting it, but then realized that NO ONE (beside her parents and grandparents, maybe) wants to watch 25 minutes of Maya, as wonderful as she is. (And if you DID want to, that would be a little...creepy...) :)

I borrowed a friend's gorgeous cake stands (available at Home Goods), bought some colorful candy at the good ol' Party City (they carry LOTS of pretty colors now!) and set out some yummy stuff...

Rice Krispie balls dipped in white chocolate (a group effort by my Mom, me and my Mother in Law); Jen's gorgeous and delicious sugar cookies (piped with a broken wrist, thank you, Jen!), my ugly but delicious mint brownies, Stacie's super amazingly delicious raspberry lemonade cake pops (mmmmm!!!) and Mom's world famous and super yummy lime bars. It was a delicious spread. My big regret is that somehow I didn't get pictures of all the wonderful friends who came to share this occasion with us!

I did get the obligatory family shots, though. Oh, Simon! He's not much of a co-operator. How 'bout Maya's gorgeous dress? Chris' talented mother sewed it from a 1940s pattern and it was absolutely beautiful!

And we got the requisite church-photos, too. Maya & Daddy looked lovely all decked out pre-baptism (it is done in a font, by immersion, so Maya got to sport a lovely jumpsuit!).

It was definitely a family affair...Maya sang, I spoke, Chris performed the baptism and confirmation and our family provided the music and prayers. It all came together just right, and I was so proud of Maya!

Maya's 8th Birthday Party: Pajama-Rama

2011-10-15T14:23:00.002-05:00

Maya decided on a pajama party (UN-sleepover) for her 8th birthday! It was nice to be back at home after a few Cottam parties "on location" lately. It was good old-fashioned fun!

We started out by making flower & feather hair clips (and I didn't take any pictures?!). The girls designed their creations and there were Moms standing by with glue guns to help put them together. They came up with some pretty extravagant stuff, that is for sure! And they snacked on popcorn and candy kabobs while they waited for everyone to be finished.

We tried to do a "photo booth" type thing, hanging a sheet up and setting out a box of hats, feather boas, etc. But it wasn't a big hit and we only ended up with a couple of shots...

And yes, I don't think we had the flash settings quite right! :) Oh well. This is only a few of the many girls who came over for a wild and crazy time that night.

We played a couple of games. First up: toilet paper race! Each girl had a partner and she tried to wrap her up with toilet paper as fast as she could. They had fun with it, though next time I'd give them a few tips to get them going. Of course, afterward it turned into a big toilet paper FIGHT, which was also fun.

We also did an "I have never" game where the girls wrote down something they've never done. I read them out and the girls who HAD done that thing had to put a gumball in their mouth. There were some big, nasty wads of gum after that game!Breakfast for dinner seemed like just the thing! Chris whipped up a huge stack o' pancakes, and we served bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit and juice. Yum!

After dinner, the girls brought the toilet paper fun outside! They toilet papered the trees and each other, and just generally ran around, dog-piled, laughed & were silly.

Then we brought the silliness back inside, this time for a sing-along dance party! I went onto YouTube and found karaoke-style versions of their favorites, made a playlist and voila, the girls sang at the top of their lungs! Eventually, it all erupted into a massive pillow fight...as all good pajama parties should!And finally, it was time to sing to the birthday girl. Have I mentioned how stoked I was about the cake?! I loved how it turned out. It's nice when things are remedial enough for even me! :) Watching this tutorial helped.

So another year, another party, and not enough pictures of some of my favorite party elements (Where are the candy kabobs?! They were so cute!). Not to worry, I had another party to throw for Maya the following week, after her baptism. That's up next...

My Latest Black Hole(s)

2011-10-05T13:31:00.002-05:00

Does anyone remember those days when I used to blog daily? Multiple times? Man, I barely do. Life. Is. Crazy! And I'm keeping busy. With things such as...

Ruffle icing piping! Maya is turning 8 tomorrow (!!!) and we hosted quite the wild and crazy pajama party at our house last weekend. Great times, and it deserves it's own post, if I ever get around to that. There were awesome sleepmask invitations, breakfast for dinner, slumber party games, a sing-along dance party and amazing embroidered pillowcase favors courtesy of Chris' generous mother. (I don't think she knew what she was getting into!) :) Aaaand, there was my best effort at a cake so far. (There have been...ahem...some not so nice efforts in the past...)
Baptism preparations. In our church, turning 8 means being baptized! It's a big milestone and a huge deal, so there have been lots of things going on around here to get ready for that.
Running! Still running! Still loving it and still making progress. In fact, I ran my first-ever 7-miler this week. Which was VERY exciting. And felt awesome. This makes 6 months of running, and I'm SO excited at how far I've come. I'm trying to spread the gospel of running far and wide, while training for my half-marathon in December. I was happy to have gone over half the distance to my goal of 13.1 miles, and I'm SUPER happy that I still have 2 more months to get ready!
Thinking ahead: Simon turns 3 at the end of the month. I'm thinking we're going with a park/playdate party. (I don't think I will have recovered from having 19 sweet and wonderful - and not at all loud and crazy! - kids at my house this past weekend, yowza!) Two days later, it's Halloween time! I'm hoping to convince my two bigger kids that a family superheros theme is just the thing, but we'll see...

I'll be back with party details eventually, I'm sure of it! :)

Rules of Dinner

2011-09-19T09:22:00.003-05:00

With 4 kids 7 and under at our dinner table, I'm sure you can imagine that dinner is not always a calm and pleasant endeavor. And by "not always" I mean "almost never", of course. :) So I loved these 10 Rules of Dinner. We went over this last week during our family night, and I posted a printed copy next to the table. They're definitely worth a look, and possibly a review...you know, if your dinner time is anything like our dinner time!

My favorite rule?
Chris is partial to this one.
One week in and it's helping. Of course, we don't expect perfection, but it's nice to see the big kids at least taking it to heart and making an effort.

Putting kid-friendly options on the table helps. Tonight I'm doing a big pot of chicken noodle soup and homemade bread and later in the week I'm trying a new recipe with beef and broccoli over rice. The weekend is reserved for pizza night and breakfast for dinner, always popular kid-options!

What are you cooking this week?

Back To School

2011-08-29T11:05:00.005-05:00

Although it's a heatwave in Austin (110s the last 2 days, oucha!) my kiddos headed back to school last week. I'm the queen of happy and sad at the same time. I think that school is great and they LOVE it, but I also love having my buddies around all the time. Still, that last week before school started, the kids logged record hours watching SpongeBob and playing on Poptropica. It was just time to get back on a routine. So back they went!

It's so crazy that I have TWO kids in school this year! Mason was really, really excited to be joining Maya at school.

The big 2nd grader! So crazy! I can't believe she's so old already. She has a wonderful teacher who is perfect for Maya! And she has several of her favorite friends in class with her, too. I think she's going to have a really fun year.

Say cheese! This boy was so excited and only a little bit nervous.

He has a really super sweet teacher, too. He's already having the best time. And he was happy & relieved to find several familiar faces in his class. He did great last week...much better than I expected.

The requisite backpack shots! Mason is all about characters. Everything's Cars or Mario brothes. And Maya LOVES purple!

We had such a fun summer. I will miss having Maya around full time. She's full of big ideas and always gets everyone in on her schemes. She's the best big sister in the world! She's super helpful to me and loves to learn and do whatever I'm doing. All 3 of her younger siblings adore her.

And I will definitely miss having this guy home with me. Mason has so much going on in that little head of his, he can hardly get it all out fast enough. He's so fun to talk to. Mason is very concerned about people's feelings and works really hard to take care of his little brother and sister. I know he'll do great in Kindergarten!

I have to say, though, as much as I miss my big kids, I'm having so much fun being home with just these 2 little guys. We've pulled out all the board books and the wooden puzzles and been doing little kid stuff for a change! Simon works hard to keep me amused...

...as does my little Goose. She's really come out of her shell lately. She's such a funny girl, full of spunk and mischief. It's so fun to get to know who she really is as she grows up a bit. She's talking more...saying Mama, Dada, Grandma, Grandpa, Book, Shoe, Uh-oh, Out and Ouch. It's so cute to hear her little voice and watch her toddle around.

We've been doing lots of morning bath time lately. It's too hot to play outside much, so they're happy to play and splash for quite a while. Simon especially is very hard to coax out of the bath tub. Today he was so cold his lips were blue, but "I wan stay in MORN!". Eventually I wrestled him out and wrapped him up on a blanket to warm up. Silly goose.

Thank goodness I still have my 2 little buddies to keep me company. I told Chris that I don't know what I'll do when I don't have a little friend to pick up and take everywhere with me...I love these little guys!

Something Good Can Work

2011-08-23T14:16:00.003-05:00

Running in my neighborhood = running with hills. There is just no way around them. My house is at the bottom of a hill. Which means I start out going up a hill. Then I go up and down and up and down lots of hills. And then, before I can run downhill to my house, I first have to go up one last hill. And then, boom, I'm running home.

My favorite thing to do as I'm heading up the final hill of my run is to scan thru my music to find the song Something Good Can Work by Two Door Cinema club. I love flying down the hill to my house to the words of this song:

This has been a rhythm that works, you know,
You've got to step up your game to make it to the top
So, go. Go!

Yep, this running thing is still working for me. In fact, I'm totally loving it. It took me about 3 months to feel really confident running my 3 miles 3 times per week. I've worked through my aching knees. So now...it's time to step up my game.

It came about really randomly that I'm training to run the Vegas Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon in December. My uncle and 2 cousins are running it. My sister in law & brother in law are running it. A friend from college, too, and several other people I know. My first reaction to my Uncle's proposal that I join them and run, too, was to just brush it off altogether. Ha! Half marathon? I'm not ready for that! But maybe someday. Then my sister in law chimed in. You can do it! Then a couple of my preschool-Mommy friends that have turned into my running cheerleaders pushed me a little harder. You can totally do it! One of them even sent me a training schedule, which I clicked over to look at just out of curiosity. Hmm. Could I do this?

Let's make this happen, girl,
We're gonna show the world that something good can work
And it can work for you
And you know that it will.

Let's get this started, girl,
We're moving up, we're moving up
It's been a lot to change
But you will always get what you want.

So it turned into a question of want, rather than could. I studied the schedule. Could I do it? Sure. Did I want to do it? Hmm. Well...maybe. Kind of. Sort of. Wait. YES! I do want to do it.

So I'm doing it. I'm following the schedule, and I'm making something good work. I'm running 10 minute miles and if not loving every minute of it, at least a large portion. There's nothing like dripping with sweat and knowing that you really earned it.

Next week I bump up from the first stage of training. I'll be running 3.5 miles twice, 2 miles and 5 miles. I'm nervous! Right now I've maxed out at 4 miles. But I'm excited to see what this ol' body can do. I'm excited to know that, at least with, I can get what I want. I want to run!

See you in Vegas?

Most Wanted Missoni

2011-08-12T07:15:00.000-05:00

As much of a Target lover that I am, it's been a while since they've blown me away with one of their special collections. But from what I've seen and heard, their 400+ item line from Missoni is going to be super awesome. I'm excited to check it out next month! I'm already compiling my wish list.

I want that gorgeous sweater/cape/shawlish thing for sure.

And I'm hoping this isn't just a throw blanket, but a quilt. That comes in king size. Because we need a bed makeover!

Love the bike. Okay, it's not on the list. I live in the gateway to the Texas hill country, after all. I need gears, and lots of 'em.

I'm hoping this will come big enough for little Lu. In fact, I'm very excited to see all the girls' clothes.

Yay, Target! Can't wait to see these beauties in person.

{Via Jordan.}

The Tour

2011-08-11T21:27:00.002-05:00

I'm dying over this amazing Tour de France print series! I wish that I had any legitimate reason to buy one...i.e. I love the tour, I love to ride bicycles, I love Lance Armstrong, I've been to France...alas, none of those things are true. In fact, I didn't even know the Tour was going on. (Is it still?) But these prints are perfection. Check them all out here. These are a few of my favorites:

Via Emily.

Homeward Bound: Days 18&19

2011-08-10T20:04:00.002-05:00

This trip did eventually end! It took two loooong days of driving and included a quick drive-thru of Arches National Park and one last stop in Albuquerque, where Chris' awesome Uncle John & Aunt Pam took us in for the night. There was a speeding ticket (thanks a lot, small-town Utah!), an overpriced stop at Long John Silver's that mostly ended up in the garbage (no one to blame but ourselves...) and little else but miles and miles and miles of New Mexico and Texas. But mostly Texas. Everything's bigger in Texas.

We were happy to be home. Especially when we were greeted by this:

Our massive stack of postcards home from the road! Such fun! We covered every day...sometimes sending several postcards home per day. Here's what we got:

5 postcards from the Redwoods, 6 from Utah, 1 from Phoenix, 2 from New Mexico (1 coming, 1 going) 2 from Texas, 4 from San Francisco, 4 from Santa Barbara and 6 from Oregon. 30 cards filled to the brim with all the highlights and details of our 19 days on the road. Good times! I think I'll just hole-punch 'em and tie 'em up with a ribbon for an anytime trip down memory lane.

And now, in just over a week, summer is coming to a close! Maya wraps up her last camp this week. Next week we shop for shoes that Mason will actually wear AND the school will approve of. And maybe go bowling or something. And find out who will be teaching my kiddos next year. And which of their friends they'll be in class with. And all that good stuff. I've enjoyed this break from super-schedules and early-mornings, but I do like the school year, and so do my kids. Here's hoping it's another great one!

I've Always Loved You

2011-08-01T23:20:00.002-05:00

Tonight as I was putting Lucy to bed, I told her the story of the moments just after she was born. I took me to the 4th child to get that perfect moment with my brand new baby. For one reason or another, I've always had them whisked away immediately and didn't get to hold them for a few minutes or longer (I didn't get Mason for an hour, and I only had Simon for a minute and then he was whisked off to the NICU for several hours.). So I told my doctor my one request: I just want to hold that baby right away, goop and goo and all, as soon as she comes out. And it happened. I got my girl right off the bat. And I totally remember that moment so vividly.

I was just so excited to see her, totally out of breath, totally gushing, just telling my little brand new baby Lucy how happy I was to finally meet her, how much I loved her. I was just giggling and giddy and just so immediately full of love for this little girl. It's so surreal, meeting a baby. It wasn't instant with all of my kids, but very quickly, I just felt that I'd known them forever, and that I'd loved them for such a long time, with no condition, without even meeting them.

My feeling now, still as the mother of only young children, is that no matter what my kids do in life, I will always love them. I know that it's inevitable that my kids will make decisions in their life that I won't necessarily like. I'm sure it won't always be easy to love them no matter what, but I'm determined to do it. And I'm so glad to have the memory of that overwhelming love that just appeared out of nowhere when each baby was born.

Little Cottams: Always loved you, always will.

(I'm still going to wrap up the road trip. I just wanted to write this down.)

Living the Mormon Dream: Days 15,16&17

2011-07-30T21:10:00.002-05:00

One thing about being a Mormon in Texas is that all of your Mormon friends abandon you and "return to the mothership", as I say. Many, if not most Mormons have family in Utah or somewhere out west. And all normal people love to get out of Texas during our 1 million degree summers. So they head home. For like a month. And it's lame. (Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, most of my non-Mormon friends abandon ship for extended periods during the summer, too. I guess it's just the smart thing to do.) We have no parents or siblings in Utah (yet...one is moving there soon!), but we DO have a BFF! Chris' BFF, to be exact. So we always find time to see Ricky-boy and the awesome Freeman clan. As I like to say, the hospitality at the Freeman B&B is always unmatched. We had the best time spending a few days in Salt Lake City, living the Mormon dream with the Freeman fam.

And by living the Mormon dream, I mean visiting Temple Square, for one thing. Seeing the giant Christus statue is always a must-do for me. (Rick & I got a big laugh at the crazy look I got from a passer-by outside the building when I said to Simon "Okay, let's go in and see Jesus." Haha, I meant the STATUE of Jesus, of course.)

The grounds are always beautiful. (Got the family shot! Check out poor Lucy. She's such a good sport.) Jen's stash of Strawberry Newtons saved the day with Simon & the rest of the kids. (She's the snack queen! And don't even get me started on the cereal selection at the Freeman's. Hospitality, I tell ya!)

Other favorite things: checking out the "old" tabernacle (amazing), pulling a handcart (just like the pioneers) and the scale model of the interior of the Salt Lake City temple (amazingly detailed and super interesting).

We also visited the children's area of the church history museum...big hit with my kids. The girls loved the display about Mexican Mormons, especially the costumes! Oh, and Simon and Mason goofed off a lot, as you can imagine.

And boom, got the shot! This is the spot where Chris proposed to me in front of the temple where we were married in 6 months later. It's where it all began, baby!

And this is where all photographic evidence of our trip stopped. But for my own memory's sake, a few more SLC tidbits:

I always have to hit a Utah mall and get my souvenir in clothing form - thank you, Down East.
Meeting an old friend at the mall makes it even better - thank you, Jane!
Going out to dinner with your favorite friends (and no children) is a rare treat - thank you, Rick & Jen!
Pulled pork and roast beef meatloaf in a berry sauce is also a rare treat. Still thinking about that one - thank you, Tuscany.
A trip down to visit my fabulous cousin & her awesome husband for sandwiches, cards and Legos is still being talked about by my kids - thank you, Heather & Jesse!
Naps taken at the Freemans are extra wonderful - thank you, basement bedroom.
Pre-4th of July BBQs complete with an amazing fireworks display put on by the entire neighborhood/valley is the best - thank you, Utah and your liberal firework laws!
Sitting out on the front porch, looking out over the valley with great company, music and conversation until waaaay too late is only made better by break & bake cookies - thank you, Chris & Rick! :)

After all that staying up too late, we hit the road for our loooong 2-day drive back to Austin. No more pictures to prove it, but we made it home, so that's what counts. I'll wrap the trip tomorrow...then it's back to real life around here.

Reunited And It Feels So Good: Days 11,12,13&14

2011-07-24T16:08:00.009-05:00

Ah, this is what we came for! 5 days of hanging out, eating, chatting, playing and having fun. A whole bunch of pictures coming up after I say a few words about family reunions.

Big houses. I mentioned this in my last post. The big, shared house was perfect for a bunch of families with little kids. It allowed for a lot more hanging out and family togetherness than individual rooms does. The kids were able to stay on their usual schedules, take naps as needed, go to bed on time and the adults had plenty of time to hang out together. Which is the whole point, right?
Food. Maybe it's just me, but I think that food is the key to any successful occasion. And we had lots of it! The reunion hosts brought TONS of breakfast and lunch foods not to mention snacks! Then we all took trips to the grocery store and added our own favorites to the mix. Each family took a turn hosting dinner, and everyone really pitched in with prep and clean-up. It was awesome.
Realistic Expectations. There were 8 children in our group. (Yes, we account for half the Grandchildren on that side, though not for long...) 5 of them were 2 and under. You know what that means. Everything takes twice as long. Naps have to be taken. Diapers have to be changed. We weren't there to conquer the world. We just planned one big activity per day, and the rest of the day was spent taking a walk or a bike ride, hitting the pool or playground, or just hanging around chatting (and eating, of course).

We had a fabulous time at "Camp Cottam". And now, I will prove it to you with millions and millions of pictures that may or may not be interesting to anyone other than me. But that's okay.

Breakfast time! We had a bit of a co-op system going. Someone would lay out a bunch of bowls and pour the cereal while someone else was slicing strawberries for the group. I have to say, it was a handy arrangement. Is that an attractive picture of me or what?! I just wanted to model the "I don't like Mommy's glasses" glasses in person. Tell me, how do you feel about my glasses? For the record, I LOVE them, but I'm also aware that they're not for everyone.

Out for a walk! What gorgeous weather. But I was still sweating. I think it's just my natural reaction to outside air, at this point. Beautiful scenery all around. Oh, and there is Chris' favorite picture of Lucy (Cottam face, Cottam face!) of the whole trip. I have to admit, pretty darn cute. And also, my favorite picture of Chris' sister Megan. Makes me laugh every time I see it.

You've got to follow up any good, long walk with some pool time, of course!

Simon was looking for mischief up there! No surprise. Maya helped her Grandparents with dinner prep by slicing tomatoes. Simon is showing off the favorite "kid-attraction" of the house: the rubber coasters. Kids are so weird! They fought over those and then played with them all week long. And then, there are my big & little cuties.

Something fun Chris' parents did at the reunion was a Grandkids Birthday Party. Such a cute idea! Chris' mom made all the kids these adorable embroidered outfits (which they LOVE!), busted out a pinata and party favors, the works.

Trying to capture a Grandkid group photo is one of my favorite memories of the trip. Just looking at these pictures cracks me up. Olivia and Mckensie were NOT happy about taking this picture. Click the pic to see them howling away - so insulted! It was pure comedy. (Is that evil of me? I would have been just as amused had it been one of my kids, for the record...)

No party is complete without CAKE! And bubbles! And party favors! So much fun!

Maya got hold of the camera and captured some nice headshots: Audrey & Adam up top, Megan & I down below. What face am I making?

Next day: a hike! I stayed behind with some of the napping babies, and got hit by the nap truck myself! Ah, bliss. Nothing like waking up not knowing what YEAR it is! Anyway, there was a hike and a trail and other stuff, I'm told. And some Grandmother/Granddaughter bonding.

Oh, and the kissing cousins are at it again! Where are those lovebirds off to? Well, if they get into trouble, Simon will be there to rescue them with his "stickies", which he took everywhere with him.

So much cuteness, so little time. Look at these beautiful people! I like them so much.

And more of Little Lion Man, as we started calling him on the trip. Perhaps it's that wild mane of hair that inspired that.

Another day: canoeing! Only the brave ones ventured out into that frigid water.

The kids had an absolute blast.

One night we hit the town square for some fun. A few fun pics here: Chris and his siblings with their babies, all born within 9 months of each other - a #4 for Chris, #1 for both his brothers and #2 for his sister. Also, one of my favorite Cottam-kid (MY Cottam kids) pics of the trip and another favorite of Megan. She was full of it on this trip.

While the boys bounced in the bounce houses, Maya challenged everyone to races. Aunt Megan was impressed with Maya's speed and scrappy-ness. Yep, she fights dirty. Lucy enjoyed her fast and floppy race on Dad's shoulders.

We ended that night with ice cream! Can't beat that.

Next day: time for a family bike ride! Well, Lucy tolerated that for all of 10 minutes.

So they dropped Lucy & I back home and headed to the park for the afternoon. Good times.

Our final day started out with the Cottam 5k - good fun! Megan took 1st, Sam took 2nd, Maya took 3rd, Adam took 4th and I took 5th. The others weren't running because they were watching kids, but whatever! :) And Adam was sweet to run with Maya, who legit beat me in her CROCS! That girl is a machine.

All good reunions end with a family photo session, of course!

Oh, the crazy Cottam kids!

We ended our last night by throwing some poppers (cool Uncle Quinn brought those...) and then...

Pajama dance party! Awesome fun.

After the kids were in bed, the boys had a little more time to solve the world's problems, as they usually do!

Not pictured: epic rounds of Hearts, break and bake cookies, and LOTS of hot tub time. It was fantastic.

And then we were off for a LONG day of driving, which took us to our next stop: Salt Lake City!

The Whole Point of This Trip = Cottam Family Reunion: Day 10

2011-07-24T15:45:00.003-05:00

Okay, that makes 9 days down, 10 to go! Which makes day 10 pretty much the half-way mark of this epic journey. We began the day in Medford, OR where we rushed like wild maniacs to get showered and dressed, car packed, and to church on time! Yes, we managed to find church on the road...there's an app for that! Good times. After church, we sported the Cottam Family Road Trip tees again and headed off to the big destination of this trip: Cottam Family Reunion!

But first, we donned our sandals and goggles (?) and braved the snowy conditions at Crater Lake.

Crater Lake is a big freaking WOW! It really is one of the most beautiful things I've seen. The kids were, of course, most excited about a snow-sighting. Mason even decided to wear his goggles, resulting in the best Mason-pic of the whole trip. If you think he flopped face first into the snow before long, you would be correct.

And again, we gather the family together to get the shot. And I think to myself...what a wonderful world. No really, though. Amazingly beautiful. And then on we cruised, headed for Sun River, Oregon for 5 days of family togetherness.

This place was awesome. Not only did it have the perfect fireplace/stage (well-utilized by ALL the kiddos), it was just totally perfect for a reunion, particularly when there are 8 children involved, 5 of them being 2 and under. Each family had a room (each with its own bathroom) and then there was a kid room (which contained 3 of mine and 1 other) with bunk beds. There was an awesome eat-in kitchen with bar plus a dining room, a downstairs family room with TV, an upstairs playroom with a huge TV, pool table, foosball table and a huge wet bar, a great outside deck and hot tub. It was perfect. We could put the kids to bed on time and then just hang out, play cards, hit the hot tub...I highly recommend the big house scenario for family reunions. It was awesome.

Coming up next: 5 days of family togetherness and fun. With millions of pictures to prove it. Which will be really boring for you if you weren't there...:)

The Day I Was Attacked By A Redwood Tree: Also Known As Day 9

2011-07-17T20:46:00.010-05:00

After a quickie stop in McKinleyville, CA, we were ready to see more Redwoods! Of course, we weren't aware of what the Redwoods had in store for us...well, ME! That story after I say a few more words...

First Aid Kit - before we left, I packed up a little cosmetic bag with baby Tylenol, kids Tylenol and grown-up Advil, Tums, cough drops, band aids, first aid ointment, eye drops, etc. I kept that little bag in my purse and we utilized it often! It was great to have those items handy.
Sense of Humor - if you're going to laugh about it later, you might as well laugh about it now!
Prayer - We're prayers. We'd start every day of our journey with a prayer asking for protection and safety and I'm a big believer. Somebody is watching over us! :)

And now...the story of BIG TREE!!!

There she is! Big Tree. There were signs advertising Big Tree for miles, so of course, we had to stop. Especially when we saw the sign that said "Big Tree - .04 Miles". That is the sort of hiking we can handle. And Big Tree was impressive, she was. Big. Very big.

So big and seemingly friendly, I gave her a little tap. It was a love tap, I swear.

I liked her so much, I gathered my children 'round her. "Look, kids! Big Tree! Isn't she big?!"

Chris even jimmy-rigged a fallen log into a tripod so we could GET THE SHOT! (Ta da!)

Ah, and then the kids scampered off down the trail. How picturesque, right? But moments after Chris snapped this shot we heard a crackling sound and looked up at the canopy 150ish feet above just in time to see a branch falling directly toward us. I swear that we must have looked like cartoon characters...feet moving so fast you can't see them, but not moving at all because we didn't know which way to go. Before we could even figure out what to do, BAM! And I yelled out "I'm hit!". Wait, no, that's the loogie-spitting, Keith Hernandez episode of Seinfeld. BUT, I did let out quite a yelp (perhaps wailed like a banshee...) stumbled around for a second, then landed on the ground. BOOM!

There it is! The branch of Big Tree that fell 150ish feet and smacked me on the head. I reached up and was surprised to find that my head was, in fact, still attached. And, amazingly, not bleeding. I pulled my sunglasses off their perch on the top of my head, sure they must be smashed to smithereens, but no. Somehow it just hit me on the very back of the head. Knocked me to the ground, yes, but all I got out of it was a bad headache, a giant goose-egg (record breaking) and a pretty amusing story to tell. Yes, we were already laughing about it before we got back to the car. But at the same time, I was very, very grateful that if Big Tree had to attack someone that day, that it was me and not one of my little kiddies, particularly the soft-headed baby that I was holding in my arms at the time, who was no more than 1 foot away from being smacked in the head herself. That definitely would not have ended as well. In the end, I popped some Advil (handy in my purse) said a prayer of gratitude that we were all okay, and we headed on to our next stop.

Which was the VERY awesome Trees of Mystery tourist trap. SUPER cool and highly recommended if you enjoy kitsch, which I do. Awesome for kids! We loved it. Right from the beginning, it's a hit. Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox are right up front, and Paul actually talks to you! Carries on a conversation! Makes you sing Deep In The Heart of Texas, if you're a Texan! Very magical to my kiddos.

Then you head off on a little "hike" (stroll) through the woods to check out the trees of mystery. I loved Nature's Underpass and the Family Tree...so amazing! As a side note, some of my favorite pictures of me on this trip were taken here. I would have thought I'd look dazed or something. Maybe Big Tree knocked some sense into me! (Is it wrong that I have favorite pictures of me?) :)

Me with the Fallen Giant, uh huh, I know a thing or 2 about that! And there's just something about being in a grove of trees that is somehow spiritual. They're simply amazing. (Or maybe that was just me sensing the Grim Reaper still lingering nearby, har har.) ;)

The Cathedral Tree was one of my favorites. They actually hold weddings here! So cool. Oh, and we got the family shot, too, ta-da! And there's the picture where I noticed what a giant Mason is becoming! Yowza!

Had to get some shots of the boys at the Brotherhood Tree. A good headlock isn't too bad, at least they didn't full-on wrestle in front of it...

Then it was time for our "Sky Trail" gondola ride up up up! Man, talk about one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. I'm not big on heights, but for some reason this didn't bother me at all. Simon especially loved riding a "cycolator" up the hill. "I go cycolator 'gain!"

Hey hey, got the shot up top! Holla! Seriously, though, that VIEW!

It was like the world's most awesome tree-house, Swiss Family Robinson style!

And then it's time to go back down...man, I really, really love these little turkeys!

At the bottom, we're back to scrambling 'round on the trees. (Another family shot, woot!)

Baby Cathedral Tree...now booking weddings for 500 years from now! Love it.

And finally, the trail of tall tales, AKA more opportunities for the Cottams to pose & mug. Got to love it.

Unsurprisingly, the trail ends at the GIFT SHOP! And unsurprisingly, we spent almost as much time there as we did on the trail. Free fudge sample! Redwood EVERYTHING! Ice cream! Stuff your own bears! This place was a dream come true. In the end, though, we just took our free fudge, used the clean restrooms and hit the road. Next stop: Medford, Oregon, where I take a shower and attempt to wash my conehead - yowza!

Man, Those Are Some BIG Trees! Day 8

2011-07-15T20:55:00.009-05:00

Day 8 was our first (and less eventful) day through the amazing Redwood Forest. Since I've already covered tourist traps and getting the shot, I have no special words to say about this day of our trip. (Just regular words.)

We'd heard about the enormousness and amazing-ness of the Redwood trees, and we knew one of our top Redwood priorities was to drive through a Redwood tree. So, according to their own hype, we knew we had to see the Drive-Thru Tree in Leggett, CA. And it was indeed, awesome.

How spectacular is that tree? It's like practically impossible to get any sort of perspective on them. They are just gigantic and amazing.

We tucked our mirrors in, as instructed, and I somehow kept my clausterphobia in check and we squeezed thru that tree. Of course, I had to jump out and snap some pics while the Flexer made it's second trip thru the Chandelier tree. Thumbs up, baby! That was cool.

After we drove thru, it was, of course, time for a walk-thru. Pretty crazy! Check out the size! Amazing.

Ta-da! Got the shot, holla! Look for this photo coming to a Cottam family Christmas card about 6 months from now. Probably the only sweatpant-picture of me I'll ever mail out to hundreds of my closest friends. Well, I have no pride left, what can I say.

Like any good...make that awesome...tourist trap, they had lots of photo ops. Gigantic fallen trees to screw around on...ahem...Chris!

A little brotherly/sisterly love. Well, mostly brotherly. I have never met a child that idolized his sister so much. It's actually very sweet, and Maya mostly tolerates very gracefully.

Picnic time! And then we were off to check out a few more amazing trees on our journey to Crescent City, CA.

Such as "The Living Chimney Tree". I should have taken a picture of the...oh...12 or so (adult) European tourists that piled out of 2 Priuses while we were there. It was a clown car situation, people, and we laughed and laughed. They just kept coming! Anyway, the actual attraction was the cool hollow-topped tree that apparently housed the homeless of yesteryear. Crazy stuff.

Look at my main man, cruising thru the Redwood forest. Lucky him, I was being a very good meander-er that day, I really was. We meandered a lot and saw lots of beautiful trees.

Our last stop of the day was at the Redwood National Park visitor's center where we ran around some more and ooh'd and ahh'd over big ol' gigantic trees.

More trees tomorrow! Including the now-infamous BIG TREE (dun dun dun) that attacked me in the Redwood Forest. And I lived to tell the tale. Because I'm very, very hard headed, apparently. You don't want to miss this story!

How To See San Fancisco In 1 Short Day With 4 Small Children: Day 7

2011-07-14T22:15:00.005-05:00

San Francisco in 1 day...let's do this! But first, a few words...

Suck It Up And Pay The Money - I've always prided myself on not being cheap. But then I had 4 children and frugality began to creep in. You know, somewhat. (Not as much as Chris would like.) Anyway, especially on vacation, I try to just suck it up and pay my money. You've got to! Is $60 bucks a little steep for a ride on a cable car? Maybe. But you're in San Francisco! You've GOT to ride the cable car! Suck it up and just pay the money!
Diapers - If you have 2 children in diapers, it's probably a good idea to leave for a day of tourist-ing with some diapers in your bag. Because although they sell everything else under the sun (San Francisco fleece hoodies, what what!), no one sells diapers. And toting a toddler on your shoulders with a fresh one in his pants is no way to live. Especially not on vacation.
Meet Up! - Meeting up with friends was one of my favorite parts of this trip. Nothing like a familiar face in the sea of San Francisco! It wasn't possible for us to see absolutely everyone who's path we crossed (especially in Utah!), but it was fun to see a few of our good buddies along the way.
Get The Shot - We missed a few important shots along the way in SF, but we did manage to get the all-important group shot on the cable car. In fact, we came away with quite a few fun family shots in landmark spots on our trip. I see visions of Christmas-cards future...

Okay, let's go to San Francisco! First stop: Lombard Street! It was impressively twisty and...well, just beautiful. The Flexer looked pretty sweet taking those curves! :)

The one thing Maya was dying to do in SF was ride the cable cars. I never had, so we hopped aboard at Fisherman's Wharf.

It was a fun ride. We had a hilariously mouthy driver who made it a point to get our whole family seated together on the crowded trolley, next to our girl, who was dead-set on hanging off the side of the car and feeling the sea-side air in her hair! I love that look of pure excitement on her face. Mason gave it a whirl too, but was more comfortable snuggled up between Mom & Dad. (Boy after my own heart.)

The scene along the way. We loved passing Mason Street a few times, and I know I'm the only tourist nerdy enough to insist on a picture of the SF Public Library Chinatown Branch.

And the requisite cable car shot! Such fun. Really, totally worth the money. Even Lucy had a blast on the ride. She loved it when the driver would ding the bell (clang clang clang went the trolley!), shaking her little bootie and dancing along. The ride ended at my favorite mall in Union Square. Yes, this is Natalie-style tourist-ing. It's lame, I know.

A couple of interesting things happened at the mall. First of all, Mason made several trips to the restroom to take care of some "trip business" he was "backed up on". That's always fun. And there was a gigantic meltdown from my Simon-boy that ended in me spending something like $20 bucks on a brownie and a gigantic bottle of water (just suck it up and pay the money!). The whole incident left Chris feeling as shell-shocked as he looks up there. Mason, too, apparently. (Maya is unflappable.) In the end, I got to shop at H&M (bought myself a Natalie-style souvenir) and Simon got a brownie and to ride thru endless floors of "cycolaters" (escalators). Success!

One trolley ride back and we were ready to conquer Fisherman's Wharf. I bought the SF illustrated postcards I'd been eyeballing, Maya got her I Heart SF necklace and a pair of Chinese baby-doll shoes and we all shared a bread bowl of chowder and a crab cake. It's Fisherman's Wharf! You've got to! It was about that time that Simon was in need of that nowhere to be found clean diaper. Just as we began out trek from the Wharf to Ghiradelli square. Okay, it's not a trek. It's only a few blocks. But when you're toting a stinker, it seems longer.

But that's okay, because Ghiradelli Square was totally worth it! We met my friend Jenny and her girls there, where we indulged in some rather delicious ice cream (just pay your money!!!) and lovely conversation. The kids ran around under their awesome Daddy's supervision while Jenny & I caught up. Then, all too soon, (or not even close to soon enough, depending on who's diaper you're wearing...) we were on our way out of the city.

Back to the outskirts we went. But first, a stop at a double-decker Target (missed this shot, too!) where we spotted a "cycolater" just for carts (!) and finally got our hands on that elusive diaper, and not a moment too soon. In fact, it was a few hours too late. Oh well.

So that does it for San Francisco, but California still holds lots of adventure for us! Next up: the California Redwoods!

Elephant Seals & Hanging off The Side of a Cliff: Day 6

2011-07-13T21:05:00.002-05:00

We are on our way to San Francisco, baby! The Day 6 drive coming up after I say a few more words...

Sometimes the Journey is the Destination - That one is hard for me. I'm a destination girl. Meandering our way somewhere is not really my style. But I had to suck it up and try to enjoy. This was day one of that sort of traveling. I had to be broken in, but I got with the program eventually!
Don't Stress - Yes, sometimes it will take 2 hours to find a place to stop for lunch. If the kids are happily sleeping/watching Max & Ruby/playing DSi and you have bins and bins of snack food, calm the freak down. It's going to be okay. (I'm looking at you, Natalie.)
Just Because it has "Big" in the Name Doesn't Mean it's Big - And in that case, it may not hold the lunch destination you were hoping for. (I'm looking at you Big Sur.)
Crowded Parking Lots - = awesome stops, at least in my experience. Never hurts to pull off & see what the fuss is all about.
Not All Miles Are The Same - i.e. it takes hours upon hours to cover a couple hundred miles of the windy, mountainous California coast. As in, ALL day. Unbelievable beauty and totally worth it...I just wish I'd known better what to expect.

Day 6: Here we go up the coast to San Francisco! Per the wisdom of the very famous Sharla (and supported by the packed parking lot), we made it a point to stop along the way to see the elephant seals. Awesome stop! They were super cool.

The Cottams were there!

Oh look, so were the elephant seals! These bad boys were in molting season (um, yuck), so they pull up onto the beach all nice and fat and then snooze in a big pile for a few months while they shed their skin. They roll over every now and then to "spar" with one of their buddies, practicing for mating season! We were all very impressed with their awesomeness, for real. Chris deemed it best stop ever when he spotted this:

That's right, a nice avocado v-dub! Very exciting. So much so that we had to take pics of it. And pics in front of it. Then Mason was so excited that he flashed the camera. Then, monkey see, monkey do, Simon pulled his shirt up. It was pandemonium, I tell you. We pulled out right in front of this guy. He soon passed us (so that we could get a better look, I'm sure) and I felt much safer following behind him for 30 or so miles. At least Chris was watching the road ahead of him instead of his rear-view.

And good that he was facing forward! Lots to see here. Talk about (honestly) the most gorgeous scenery of all time. Absolutely amazing. Oh, and also dangerous! I felt like we were hanging off a cliff the entire time. It was definitely not the California coast I had conjured up in my head, but I loved it.

Obviously from my notes, this was a more stressful leg of the trip for me than the others. We went for about 4 hours without seeing a gas station, a restaurant, anything. Every time a town would be coming up, I'd be expecting something, but...nothing. It was so strange. Finally we hit Monterrey/Carmel and found all of the food and resources we could ever need and really, I just needed to take a chill pill. I would totally go that route again, and enjoy it much more now that I know what to expect.

Overall: great driving day that ended at El Pollo Loco where we got our crazy chicken fix. Then on to the lovely Bay Landing hotel where we, for the first time, had to sleep all in one room. Early to bed...loving that 12 hours of sleep! And I drew the long stick and got to bed-up with Maya, meanwhile Chris was stuck sleeping with the magnet (Mason) and human tornado (Simon). Ah, good times.

Tomorrow: we explore the always-wonderful San Francisco!

Sandcastles & Shopping: Days 4&5

2011-07-12T20:12:00.006-05:00

A couple of days enjoying one of the most beautiful spots in the world, after I say a few more words about trippin':

A Different Perspective - I love handing the camera off to Maya or (a carefully supervised) Mason. It's always interesting to see what they come up with. In her Carpenteria sessions, Maya captured every boat in the harbor, tons of paddle surfers and did a rather comprehensive roundup of the plants in her Aunt Megan's yard. Fun stuff.
Be A Tourist - AKA...be a stereotype. We were near the ocean. Which mean we had to eat saltwater taffy and fish & chips. We were tourists. Which meant we had to crank out a flattened penny at the pier. We were at the beach. Which meant we had to build a sandcastle. Got to hit those tourist high notes!
Something For Everyone - Beach time for the kids. The skateboard shop for Chris. The best shopping in wherever I happen to be. Everyone likes something different, and it's not that difficult to try to please everyone just a little bit, if you can.
Solicit Advice - More than once on the trip, I hopped on Facebook to get advice from others about where to go and what to do. Such an awesome resource! We got an amazing burger out of it on this particular stop (shout out to Sharla!). It never hurts to ask!

Now, Carpenteria/Santa Barbara California in two days.

Day 4: We woke up to a gloomy morning. Well, Chris & (that stinker) Simon woke up to a very early gloomy morning. So they went for a walk, as to not wake the other 8 people still sleeping in the house.

A cloudy day seemed like the perfect opportunity to hit the Santa Barbara pier for some touristy fun.

A little cousinly-bonding! See, I told you they were kissing cousins! (Megan and I are already excited to tease them about this picture when they're 14-ish. Ah, good times!)

Being dutiful tourists, we ate our salt water taffy and fish and chips, then cranked out a smashed penny. We also hit up the gift shop for postcards and a very exciting find: a Max (of Max & Ruby on a continuous loop in my car for 2 1/2 weeks fame) stuffed animal for Simon. Yes, it will definitely always remind me of this trip! During lunch, the clouds parted and the sun came pouring down. Which was our cue...

...to head to the beach! How's this for the most epic shot of the trip? I just love this picture that Chris snapped from up above the beach. Is that just a picturesque moment or what? (Soon after that I was stung by a bee, but I didn't let it ruin my perfect beach moment. The tired, crying kids took care of that one for me in due time...) ;)

Man, my kids LOVE the beach. And who can blame them? It was absolutely beautiful.

More beach & ocean fun...

This girl LOVES the water.

This guy liked it too, although he didn't venture out too far.

This guy may or may not have been having a fit at this moment in time. (Try to imagine "NOOOOBODY IS HEEEEELPING MEEEEE!") Or he could have just been having a good laugh! Yes, let's go with that.

Lucy was shoveling the sand in her mouth like it was going out of style. Yum yum! Oh, and...COTTAM FACE!!!

Chris and Quinn chased the baby girls off down the beach for a bit. As they were heading back, Megan commented that they made a nice couple, and that it even looked like they had adopted twin baby girls. And as if on cue, this happened...

Oh my word, we laughed so hard. Got to love some brother-in-law-ish love/humor. Goofballs.

Moving on to day 5...

Shopping on State Street in Santa Barbara is always on my must-do list. Pretty epic shopping. Of course, we had 6 kids with us, so we didn't actually do any serious shopping, but we hit the high notes. A super-duper, everything for the girlie-girl shop pleased Maya greatly. Simon found some dangwater to keep him busy. And at my girl Sharla's recommendation, we hit the Habit.

Holy delicious teriyaki burger and chocolate milk shake. Yum and YUM! Oh yes, and the Powell Peralta was tops on Chris' list. His Bones Brigade tee was his top souvenir from the trip.

After that, it was time for some cruising. Santa Barbara area is where both of Chris' parents were raised, so there's lots of history there for us to inflict...uh, share...with our kids. We drove by the childhood homes of both Chris' parents, including the very famous Cottam Lane. Excellent photo op, if you're a Cottam! To reward them for their patience (shopping and driving around, wheeeee!), we of course let the kids loose at the beach!

On their second day at the beach, Maya & Mason had a vision. Of a sandcastle with baby-moats so deep that it couldn't be destroyed by those pesky little siblings of theirs. Armed with a shovel and one very enthusiastic Daddy, Maya, Mason, Sienna & Simon created this gigantic masterpiece in the sand. And that was our farewell to Carpenteria, California. Such fun!

Next: up the very not-what-I expected California coast to one of my favorite cities: San Francisco!

Destination Numero Uno: California! Day 3

2011-07-10T21:07:00.006-05:00

Next up, we say goodbye to Phoenix and hellooooo to the lovely California coast! But first, a few more words about trippin':

Short Stops. This road trip had a final destination: Chris' family reunion in Southern Oregon. But we planned for a few "short stops" along the way, which ended up being great fun. You can only plow through so many days of straight driving before you need a break. So we stopped and spent a few nights in several different spots along the way. It made it a lot easier to hop back into the car for a long drive when you've had a few days to just play and relax.
Long Days/Short Days. Chris did a great job of staggering our long & short driving days. Some days it was sun-up to sundown driving. Other days we arrived at our destination in time to enjoy some dinner and pool time before bed. It was great to mix it up a bit.
Early To Bed...When Possible. Well, often, when necessary. On our "quick stops" along the way, we were mostly bunking up in one-room hotel rooms. With a tired, crying baby and a toddler who missed his nap because he was so engrossed with Max & Ruby. Which meant that, for the most part, we'd all go to bed at 8pm. And get up at 8am. And we really needed those 12 hours of sleep. Of course, when were were visiting with family and friends, we made up for it by staying up 'til all hours of the night. But in general, our early to bed, early to rise philosophy really helped things run smoothly.

Okay, so on to Carpenteria, California, a sleepy little beach town just a few miles south of Santa Barbara and home to my very famous (to me) sister in law & brother in law, Megan & Quinn.

Megan and I love to act like dorks together. What can I say, she is literally one of my oldest friends! (We met when we were still teens, which, ahem...was a while back, now...) Megan is a tough chick, being the younger sister of my husband and their 2 wild brothers. She'll kick your butt in anything you challenge her with, plus she's super funny and an awesome Mama.

The kids quickly bonded with their cousin Sienna. There may be evidence forthcoming of a sort of "kissing cousins" type of relationship with she & Mason. (He said today that he wanted to marry her, for example...) Oh, and the beach! They liked that, too.

No surprise here, the first thing Mason "Floppy" Cottam did was flop straight into the ocean in his clothes. Sadly, no photographic evidence of that exact moment, but it was epic. And it led to him being walked home wearing my sweatshirt AKA makeshift straightjacket. Got to love Floppy. He's the best.

Maya's no land-lubber! She loves her some ocean. She especially loved checking out the starfish Uncle Quinn found for her.

Look at Lucy and her very special "Cottam Face, Cottam Face" (sung to the tune of Poker Face, of course). Many of the Cottams favor this particular expression, but I think Lucy has perfected it. You'll see it make it's appearance throughout our trip. Oh, but did you see the snuggle picture? Sleepy baby! That right there is priceless, I tell you. Price.Less! Give me more of that good loving, baby!

Simon was loving the "dang water". Yes, dang water. Or maybe it's dangwater. That's his name for any and all water, water fountains, sprinklers, etc. And he knows one thing. He wants to see it. "I see dangwater. I see morn dangwater. I see dangwater MORN!!!" So, you would have expected more smiles from him, seeing how much dangwater was in front of him. Dang.

Maya documented the very short walk from the ocean back to the house. Those guys are dang lucky to live so close to the dangocean!

The Browns wow'd us with a lovely little BBQ that night. Yum and YUM! Eating outside without sweating or getting eaten alive by bugs = yes please!

After that, it was time for a COUSINS SLEEPOVER!!! Simon was ready for some hard-core playing over there in his pack & play. That only lasted 20 minutes and that boy was OUT of there. Crazy nut. He ended up sleeping with us. But the big kids had a blast bunking up with their cousin Sienna.

Coming up next: more Carp. & Santa Barbara fun! Hooray!

Some Legs Are More Exciting Than Others: Day 2

2011-07-09T12:49:00.007-05:00

Day 2 took us through the rest of Texas (God bless Texas, you gigantic state, you!) and through a little bit o' New Mexico, into Phoenix. Good times. But first, a few more words on road trippin'.

Reusable bags. I brought along a couple of my favorite gigantic reusable shopping bags from Ikea. (One was gigantic. The other was twice that size...) I used those all the time, too. Dirty laundry, clean laundry, rounding up odds & ends at hotel stops, etc.
Seat-back DVD players. If you don't have a system in your car (as we don't), I really LOVE the seat-back style. I became whiz at handling those bad boys. I think a lap-style version would be harder to deal with.
Plastic Drawers. Perhaps you can tell in this photo...Maya is having to climb over Simon to get into her spot in the back. That's because in the aisle in between Simon & Lucy, we had one of those big plastic drawer/shelf things. Each kid had a drawer for their stuff. They got to pick some things to bring and we also stocked some basic group supplies (paper, pens, markers, etc.). When we made stops, they stashed their DSi's and when they accumulated "stuff" along the way (maps, souvenirs, etc.) they had a place to put them. It helped keep the car from turning into a total mess. You know, sort of. If you have the space for that sort of a thing, I highly recommend it! (Shout out to Terrie for that idea!)

(Smashed in like sardines, but we didn't mind...)

One last word for this leg o' the trip:

Pit Stops! I love making stops along the way, but I get very annoyed if it ends up being at McDonalds or a super lame gas station. I like "Superstations" and anything that seems kitschy or even remotely smacks of tourist trap. Those are my kinds of places! The best way to get me is with miles and miles of billboard signs extolling the virtues of your stop. Real moccasins! Indian pottery! Clean restrooms! Quick on, quick off! Homemade fudge! Mexican blankets! Turquoise jewelry! Yes, yes, and yes please! The billboards brought us to this treasure in New Mexico pictured above, and it didn't let me down.

Mason, of course, wanted to pose next to the feather-sucker Indian. He was super cool.

Simon tried on the coon-skin cap, but decided to pass. (See those moccs behind him? Yeah, we didn't pass on those. Lucy got a pink pair, and they are AWESOME.) Not pictured: Maya bought a "rabbit" fur and Mason got a wooden moose-head slingshot. I got fudge, of course. That place rocked. Excellent stop.
After that, it was on to Arizona, where we found...

Cactus!

That's right, cactus! And lots of it.

We stayed at the Point Hilton Squaw Peak, and I highly recommend it! This was the view from our room...overlooking the small pool, but the property also included an awesome mini-water park. We did the lazy river, the water slides, the baby pool...it was great. I am a very picky hotel-goer and Chris did an awesome job picking out fun spots all along the way.

So Day 2 might not have been the most exciting day, but it got us one day closer to our first long stop...Santa Barbara (area), California!

Let's Talk Trippin': Day 1

2011-07-08T21:20:00.008-05:00

Let me begin by saying that our road trip was awesome. Aw. Some. For real. It was really, really fun. Everything went smoothly, there were no major meltdowns...it was great! If you're thinking about a road trip, I highly recommend it. I can't wait to share the minute details in post upon excruciating post (hey, it's MY blog!), but first...I have a few words to say about road trippin'.

Organization. I am married to the king of organization. He had everything pre-mapped, pre-reserved, pre-planned. Not very impulsive, but very us. Chris had a binder with maps, hotel reservations, a detailed itinerary. It was awesome. We knew what to expect every day.
Smart Phones. Yes, we had the maps, but ended up using my phone's GPS most of the time. It worked out great! I also made great use of the apps iExit (use it on the Interstate to tell you what's coming up at each exit...gas stations, restaurants, rest stops, etc.) and Around Me (to find restaurants, grocery stores, etc. when off the interstate). I also used it to obnoxiously over-update my Facebook status while on the road. I like to think that all my friends really enjoyed being informed...:)
Power. We had phone chargers that plugged into the car, and also bought an electrical outlet that plugged into the car and allowed us to charge all of our electronic doo-dads. We used them a LOT!
Nintendo DSi. That really should have been the first word. You might remember my reluctance in getting my kids DS's for Christmas this past year. Because, you know, they'd want to play them 10-12 hours a day. And when you're in the car 10-12 hours a day, you're really glad to have them. We brought all sorts of books, sticker books, art supplies, etc., and they did use them some, but they truly amused themselves with their DSi's all day long.
Max & Ruby. Well, or whatever your kids like to watch. Again, we were prepared with 30+ movies. They watched maybe 6 of them, total, but Simon opted mostly to watch the 2 Max & Ruby DVDs I brought on a continuous loop. Hey, whatever makes the kid happy. And it sure beat the Super Mario Brothers Show, his 2nd favorite. Oy.
(Fruit) Snacks. Snacks, in general. Fruit snacks for Simon. In fact, Simon made his best effort to exist on a diet of just fruit snacks while on this trip. Anyway, I packed 2 Rubbermaid bins full of snacks before we left home. Nutrigrain bars, Z Bars, granola bars, fruit snacks, rice krispy treats, goldfish, Scooby snacks, etc. etc. etc. We'd designate one stop as a gas station snack stop where they could pick a treat, but mostly we'd just eat snacks out of the bin. Worked out great.
Water. Each of us brought a reusable cup on the trip. In each town, we'd stop at the grocery store to stock up on a few basics, including a big ol' jug of water for a buck. I just filled up as we went. Saved us millions of dollars in bottled water, not to mention that nasty feeling you get from drinking too much soda.
Grocery Stop. In addition to water, I'd pick up things like grapes, baby carrots, bananas, chips and a loaf of bread. For...
Lunch on the go. I never really imagined myself standing in a hotel room making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but a) fast food gets expensive for a family of 6 and b) fast food gets freaking nasty after a day or 2, not to mention that it just wastes precious time. Do you want to be hanging at McDonalds in the middle of nowhere, or reaching your destination that much earlier? So most mornings I'd whip up PB&Js (and PB&Nutellas), divy up grapes, carrots, chips, etc. into little baggies and pack up the cooler. Then when lunch time rolled around, we'd either eat in the car of find a quick picnic spot.
Plastic Bags. I brought along a box of big & little Ziplocks and a whole bunch of plastic grocery sacks. Used them all the time for lunches, car trash, dirty diapers, wet swimsuits, etc. etc. Made life so easy. I also stashed a bag of plastic cutlery and lots of paper napkins. It all came in very handy as we went along.
Postcards. In every place we could, we bought a postcard. Each day I'd recap our day in 1 or more postcards and mail them home. We got home to a whole stack of postcard memories! I'm excited to read them throughout the years and relive the good times.
T-shirts! Here we are in our trippin' tees! They were fun to wear on the road.

I'm sure more fun facts & tips will come to me as I go along, but that's a good start. And now. Steel yourself. For 19 days of fun. Coming at you. Starting with...Balmorhea State Park in West Texas!!!

Goodness, is that a picture of me in my bathing suit?! I think it is. Pardon me. At least it's from a distance. So, Balmorhea was super cool. It's a state park with a HUGE natural spring pool, which is the big draw. We stayed in the bungalows, which were built in the 1930s or 40s or something! They were adobe-style, with the big, thick walls. Not fancy, but clean & perfect for a family. Two bedrooms, three beds and one picnic table out back overlooking the canal. Loved it!

Chris has been talking about the high dive forever. What a big kid!

Maya, of course, had no qualms about jumping right off that thing. Crazy girl!

Of course we made the kids pose on the super slippery, algae covered steps. M&M loved this place. Simon & Lucy weren't so sure.

Simon stuck close to the stairs, and Lucy stuck close to me. It was so bright out there, and I think that Lucy got "no run, no tears" sunscreen in her eyes. Poor baby. Oh, and do you like Mason's pink goggles? Pretty sweet!

Mason warmed up to the idea of the high dive by taking a few turns off the low dive! Brave boy.

He climbed up and walked to the edge of the high dive...TWICE! But both times he backtracked. I was so amazed and proud that he even got up there!

Simon's favorite part was the canal, which ran right outside our room. He would hunt for "stickies" and throw them in, then run down the banks and watch their journey.

Here's a shot of the canal and mini-waterfall. The kids were scampering all over the place. Once I cropped out the trucks in the background, it was easier to remember that it truly felt like we'd gone back in time. It was such a pretty, simple place. It's hard to imagine that my parents could have come here as children and stayed in the same room and played on the same banks.

It was pretty rural out there, but we managed up to rustle up a pizza for dinner.

Proof that we had pizza is all over Mason's face!

Here's Maya, writing the first of many postcards from the trip.

Chris & Simon were bed buddies for most of the trip. Simon thought trying on my glasses was hysterical. As he always says, "I don't like Mommy glasses! Mommy glasses scurr me!". But they look so cute on him!

So that ended day 1! Up next: thru West Texas & New Mexico, to Phoenix!

Bunco Food!

2011-06-10T14:02:00.002-05:00

It was my turn to host Bunco last night, so I whipped up something old, something new and something crunchy & delicious. These recipes get 2 thumbs up from me, and serving all low-maintenance, prep-ahead finger foods worked out really well.

Kami's Super Sliders were super to-die-for. I will most certainly be making these again soon. So glad I took a gamble & tried them out for the first time last night. Everyone loved them.

My friend Jen's crunchy caramel toffee apple dip is amazing. Super simple, too. And delicious. Amazingly delicious. Did I mention that?

And I'm always looking for an excuse to make Val's veggie ranch dip. Yum yum! This is a long-time favorite of mine. Of course, my veggies weren't as artfully arranged as these...:)

I also served kettle chips (BBQ, sweet onion & sea salted), DIY Italian Cream Sodas and a variety of cupcakes from Lick It, Bite It or Both. It was a tasty evening!

{Photos by Kami Bigler & Jen Hurst.}

Trippin'!

2011-06-08T22:34:00.002-05:00

Family t-shirts are kind of a thing for us. Road trip? Special occasion? Milestone? How 'bout a family t-shirt to mark the occasion? Why not, right. Yes, we're nerdy that way.

Here's the latest & greatest, created for our upcoming epic road trip! My Dad has taken up screen printing as a hobby, so Chris acted as apprentice and they whipped these babies up.

In a rainbow of colors! (Lucy's will be an iron-on...her shirt is too tiny to fit the screen.)

I'm a design novice, but I did manage this...

Next stop: crazy town! It's going to be quite the experience spending 2 1/2+ weeks in the car with a 7, 5, 2 1/2 & 1 year old. Yep, quite the experience indeed. But if you know Chris, you know that he never has any small ideas, so we're living it up on this trip...

That's right, through Texas and Arizona, to California (with stops in Santa Barbara area and San Francisco...and the Redwoods), then Oregon for 5 days for the Cottam family reunion (woot!). Then through Idaho on our way to the motherland, AKA Utah for a day or 2, then back home via New Mexico. Phew.

It's going to be...interesting.

And super, super fun, of course. We're all very excited.

We must be trippin'!

Family Photos - Blue Lily Style

2011-06-02T22:13:00.006-05:00

When I found out Blue Lily was stopping in Austin, I started dropping major hints to Chris. Then asked nicely. And then commenced begging. And so, for my Mother's Day gift, the amazing Tyler of Blue Lily shot the Cottams. I have to say, he's definitely a pro. He was magic at getting the kids to look, to smile, how to pose our big ol' clan. etc. I'm so happy with how they came out.

Miss 7 1/2 year old, freckle-faced Maya. I love this one. (Picture & kid.)

Nobody beats Mason's smile. Or his freckles. Or his crazy teeth.

Oh, but that goose has a great smile, too. And the much-searched for yellow dress was perfect.

What a goober. That is SO Simon!

Perfect shot for this year. Lucy has been hanging out happily on my hip for a year now, and I've enjoyed every minute of it.

I still consider this guy my baby, too! But he's getting so big, so fast.

We brought our awesome blue chair to the shoot!

I love this in every way except that Mason seems to be in the shadows and annoyed about it! Look at that face! :)

Here they come! Love this one!

And another one. What beats a tackle shot?

A family dogpile, of course!

Group hug!

Love this one! 13 years later...I like this guy more every day.

Don't zoom in and see the dorky look on my face...it will ruin this cool shot for you!

Now that's Cottam-style!

Grateful to be the Mama of this group. And super grateful for this documentation! Happy Mother's day, for real.

She Believed...

2011-05-31T09:00:00.001-05:00

I want to get this for myself as a pat on the back for actually finishing something. And one for each of my girls, so that they always remember...they can do anything!

{Found via Your Homebased Mom's Pinterest. I'm pinning now, too, if you'd like to follow along. It's very addicting. If you need an invite, let me know!}

{I have lots to post, including more from Lucy's party AND our Blue Lily family photos. Love love love them.}

Runner's High AKA I'm No Longer a Couch Potato!

2011-05-30T14:04:00.002-05:00

I can't run. That is what I have always told myself. I think I must have asthma. Seriously, I can only make it a minute or two, and I can't go any further. And yet, I see people flying down my street all the time on their runs. I have friend after friend after friend who all LOVE to run. What?! Why would anyone want to run? I didn't get it.

One of my 2011 goals was "learn to run". As I...ahem...mature, I'm starting to realize that things have to be learned. I guess I just assumed that all (female) human beings just naturally knew how to bake bread, sew, and, um...run. And since I didn't know how to do those things, that meant that I "wasn't good at them". Because they should somehow come naturally??? I don't know if that makes sense. Anyway, I have finally learned that things have to be learned. We're not born knowing how to do these things, even something as seemingly natural as running.

So 9 weeks ago, I downloaded the Couch to 5k app to my phone. I'd heard lots of good things about it, and looking at week one (walk 1 minute, run 1 minute....repeat), I thought...I can do that! And I did. Week 2 I walked 90 seconds, ran 90 seconds (repeat). I was nervous to jump up to 3 minute runs the next week, but I did it. But 5 minutes? I can't do that. But I did it.

I started to get very excited to see that I was actually capable of doing something hard. I don't do hard things! My entire life's work is avoiding hard things! Pushing out a baby is the hardest thing I've done, and I do that as fully medicated as allowed! But, hmm, I could actually push my body beyond what I felt were my limits. Yes, I know running 5 minutes is not a huge achievement for most people, but for me, it was huge.

In the coming weeks, the runs jumped into the teens. I was skeptical. But I did it. At the end of week 6 (of 9 weeks), I was up to 25 minutes and a friend talked me into doing a 5k with her. But I'm not done with the program yet! I can't do it. But I decided to do it.

My only goal for the 5k was to run every step, no matter how slow, no matter how long it took. I'm not really a competitive person, so it didn't bother me at first that I pretty much felt like a sinking stone. The people were streaming past me and I was just there, chugging along. It started to get amusing when the Mamas with the jogging strollers started passing me. Then it got hilarious when the regular strollers went flying past, but I kept on my slow & steady pace. It took me around 37 minutes (12+ minute pace), but I did it! I was pretty astonished that I, ME, Natalie had actually run for 37 minutes straight.

That left 3 weeks to go in the program, increasing from 25 minutes to 28 and then to 30. Chug chug chug. And today, I finished my 27th run, my final couch to 5k run!

I have to say (again, I know this is a small achievement!) I felt like I was running a big ol' victory lap out there today. I actually did it! Started something and finished it. Did something hard, that I didn't think I could do. Pretty sweet.

And if that's not enough for you, here are some more running tidbits:

While I thought I'd battle with my mind (i.e., commitment, stamina), I've actually battled with my body! That's what happens when you're lazy for 33 years of your life. I've struggled and struggled with my knees. I've had to take days off, I've tried every stretch, new shoes, insoles, icing them, blah blah blah, it's been a big struggle.
I've received some awesome advice from all my runner friends, but I think my favorite is from my friend's husband, who is a marathoner: don't quit! There will be pain, there will be injury, but don't just say "I can't run, it hurts my knees.". It does get better. So I'm sticking with it! Per Jillian Michaels (in my yoga DVD), I'm "getting comfortable with being uncomfortable".
Music has definitely made all the difference in my runs. I never did figure out how to make my music play in the order I specified...it shuffled it up every time. So, in no specific order:

Your Surrender - Neon Trees
Till The World Ends - Britney Spears
Ready to Go - Panic! at The Disco
Price Tag - Jessie J
Send Somebody - Colin Hay
More - Usher
Beautiful World - Jim Brickman & Adam Crossley
The Cave - Mumford & Sons
Raise Your Glass - Pink
Human - The Killers

Quite the mix, right? Although I'm usually not big on pop music, I had heard (and found it to be totally right on) that it's great for running. So there we go...pop central! Anyway, that's about 38ish minutes, perfect for a 5 minute warm up and a few minutes of cool down. Of them all, I have to say that I was always relieved when Human or More came on. Very motivational! And the lyrics to The Cave always helped me along, too..."I'll find strength in pain and I will change my ways."(!)
I had lots of a-ha moments out there on the sidewalk. Lots of you are right here, right now, do you feel that moments. It reminded me how lucky I am to be here, to be living this life, to be doing the things that I'm doing. Goose bumps while dripping sweat is always cool.
The physical transformation has been...well, judging from that photo above, maybe all in my head! But no, it hasn't. After having Maya & Mason, I lost the baby weight, but not the belly. I never lost the baby weight after I had Simon...I went straight into Lucy's pregnancy. And I had resigned myself to the fact that my body had changed and that, sniff sniff, I would never wear a fitted tee again! I just thought the belly fat was here to stay, no matter what. And while there's still (obviously) some to pinch, there's a heck of a lot less than there was. And although I don't weigh myself (no scales allowed in this house!), I am positive that I've lost weight. Belly has gone down, legs have slimmed up, face isn't quite so round. I'm pretty astonished. I didn't think I'd actually see a physical difference. So hooray for that bonus!
Ice is my best friend. Along with Ibuprofen. No pain, no gain, I guess?

So what's next? Keep on keeping on! I think I'll stick with the 30 minute runs for now and see if I can get my pace into the 10 minute range, at least. I'm quite the turtle out there! But, slow & steady, baby! I can't see myself ever wanting to run a marathon or anything crazy like that, but definitely some more 5ks and maybe even a 10k when I'm ready to push a little harder. Mainly, I just want to keep working with these knees and keep getting stronger.

So the final takeaway? I am stronger than I thought I was. I can do more than I thought I could. I will see you out there on the road, huffing and puffing along. Woo hoo! I AM a runner!

Lucy Is 1! Storytime Party

2011-05-18T20:04:00.010-05:00

The best thing about throwing a birthday party for a one year old is that it's really Mom's choice. There's no opinions about colors or foods or themes. Plus, you know, it's kind of a celebration for Mom, right?? Surviving that first year and all...:) So due to my current obsession with children's literature, I decided on a storytime party out in the front yard.

Here's the whole setting. We spread out a bunch of blankets, threw down some pillows and made a cozy little spot for listening to the stories.

Chris found this rocker on Craigslist and painted it an amazing shade of blue. Love love love!

I pulled out my two tricks and hung mini tissue paper flowers in the trees, along with some red & blue bunting banners. I also made a flag banner from a Babar book I picked up at Goodwill for a buck. A little hot glue & some ric-rac and it was super cute. No picture, though.

The big ol' balloons were my favorite. Oh, and I see the paper chain peeking in here. There was also a paper chain. :)

Party favors: a copy of Zen Shorts, the requisite outdoor-party bubbles, and nose & glasses with a little Lucy note that said "You're such a character!".
The tags matched the invites, which were created by the amazing Hannah of Mini-Me Paper Dolls fame.

I didn't get a great shot of the food, but we kept it very simple. Make your own snack mix (mini-Vanilla wafers, mini-Club Crackers, Froot Loops, Teddy Grahams & Gold Fish) along with lemonade with strawberries/raspberries + strawberry & raspberry syrup. Yum yum! I had to buy the cute paper straws and snack cups, too. Had to.

The "entertainment" for the party was a few of Lucy's best people reading our favorite books. I read Zen Shorts, of course. And I have to say, I was totally surprised at how attentive and quiet the kids were, listening to 5 books! They seemed to really enjoy it!

Maya read a couple of her favorites from George & Marth a. (This is a must-have if you like a little quirky with your childrens books. Love!)

Grandpa read a sweet one called Grandpa's Little One. Did he make it through without tears? Absolutely not! We wouldn't have it any other way.

Grandma read The Hello Goodbye Window, one of my favorites.

And Chris read the always-fabulous Some Dogs Do.

Next up: cake! Note to self: if one side of the cake is cracked and ugly, how about making that the back of the cake?! That would have been brilliant. Oh well. Still, I thought it made a nice smash cake.

And for everyone else: cupcakes! My friend Stacie came and baked them, and Jen piped the icing on them all. Hey, I stuck the suckers in! :)

Big Goose with her cake! Can't believe my girl is 1!

What did I ever do without this face in my life every day?! So grateful to have Miss Lucy in our family.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow & The Next Day

2011-05-15T16:19:00.003-05:00

yesterday we threw a first birthday party for our littlest goose.
today we celebrate 13 years of marriage.
tomorrow is the first "blank" day i've had on my calendar in ages.
don't let that fool you, i've got at least 3 million things to do.
the next day miss lucy officially turns one.

so much time, so little to do, as willy wonka would say. if only!

i'll be back with a full do-up of miss lucy's party. maybe even tomorrow. how about that?

{did you think i wouldn't succumb to the pin? oh, fine, i'm pinning!}

Giddy: Storytime Party Invites

2011-04-29T23:26:00.002-05:00

I might be a little too excited about Lucy's awesome 1st birthday party invitations. There's nothing like having the idea in your head translated into exactly what you wanted on paper. Especially when you're not an artist. Which I am not. A million thank-yous go out to Hannah (of Mini Me Paper Dolls fame) for whipping up this illustration of Lucy for me. She totally got what I was looking for. It's perfect.

Care for a closer look?

Hannah did all the heavy lifting. I just added the party info, printed @ Kinkos, trimmed & rounded corners...ta da!

I absolutely adore Hannah's take on Lucy. She got her exactly right, down to the curled toes and 4-toothed grin. Love love love!

In just a couple short weeks, my baby turns 1! I'm so excited to celebrate this girl.

And You Thought Your Little Brother Was Creepy...

2011-04-25T10:33:00.002-05:00

Oh goodness. This is quite possibly my favorite picture of all time. Nothing like a pesky little brother creeping around. I think I'll get it enlarged to poster size, just for my sheer amusement.

Back soon with more Easter pics and more goodness. You know, after I hide the leftover Easter candy & whip this house back into shape from the whirlwind weekend. So in that case...possibly never. :)

Wooden Shoes

2011-04-20T07:02:00.000-05:00

Back in the day, one of my Cabbage Patch Dolls, Dorcas Cleo, was a "world traveler" edition doll, hailing from the land o' the wooden shoes. And windmills. You know, Holland. She was the cutest. And she wore awesome (plastic) pointed clogs, which I loved. And while I'm being random, may I just say that in college I had a pair of JCrew wooden-bottom clogs (with tassels) that were possibly my favorite shoes ever, may they rest in peace.

Ramblings aside, I'd love a pair of these wooden-bottomed shoes for my collection...

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Simply Smashing

2011-04-18T07:56:00.000-05:00

I've always wanted to do a cake-smash photo session with at least one of my babies. You know, present them with a big ol' cake and smash away. It's practically a 1st birthday rite of passage! And this happens to be the specialty of my friend Tamee. So though we're still a month shy of Lucy's birthday (I thought having a cake pic would be fun for the party...), we smashed cake last week! So much fun! So much cuteness!

How awesome is this cupcake?

And how HUGE is this cupcake?! Lucy was fascinated.

...but not totally sure what to do at first.

She figured it out before too long.

By the end, she was wearing it!

Oh, you little thumb sucker!

Nothing like a lap full of cake!

Tamee also took some regular pics. So fun!

Look at that almost 1 year old girl. Hard to believe!

Thanks, Tamee! I absolutely love them!

Mini Me Paper Dolls - Lily & Thistle

2011-04-17T15:45:00.002-05:00

I was delighted to discover Maya kicked back on her bed today playing with her Mini Me Paper Dolls. These dolls have been all over the blog o'sphere lately...and with good reason. They are awesome! My friend Hannah is the artist behind these bad boys, and Maya is quite the fan! (Mason, too! I need to order him a set of the boy dolls...)

Maya had so much fun when she initially got to go online (always a big treat) and customize her features. I think she did a great job...her Mini-Me has the perfect hair-color and just the right number of freckles. The dolls are hand-drawn by Hannah and customized for each child.

In her spare time (Ha! Mother of 4 small children...), I wish Hannah would design a line of clothes for grown-ups. (Okay, for kids, too.) Look at these adorable outfits! She creates new ones for each season, and has a line of Fairy Tale and Girls in Literature (Fairy/Folk tales for boys) costumes as well. (Maya was working on Little Red Riding Hood and a Tinkerbell-ish fairy today.)

One of the coolest elements of the Ultimate Paper Doll Package is the keepsake packet. All of the sheets are signed by Miss Hannah herself and come with a Family Tree and All About Me pages for the proud doll-owner to fill out. We hadn't done this yet, so that's what Maya decided to work on today.

(Ahh, remember when you could bend in half like that? Creeeeeeak. This ol' bod ain't what it used to be...) (Oh, and look how LONG her hair is getting. Oh my my! But still, sometimes you can see that sweet baby face.)

Some of the questions were easy to answer. Favorite color: purple! Favorite thing to do: read books! Others required some consideration. Favorite movie...hmm...? Favorite food: where to begin...? I'm excited to tuck these pages into the keepsake packet and put it away in her box o' goodies to check out again further down the line. Bonus? The paper doll packages come with a CD of all the customized files you purchased, and you're free to reprint them any time you need to. There are also print-it-yourself and party packages available.

There's just something sweet about good old fashioned fun with paper dolls. Makes me want to keep my littles little forever...

Food Stuffs

2011-04-15T09:05:00.003-05:00

Was everyone aware that I love food? Well, let me just say it. I LOVE food! Here are a few food items on my mind this week...

I made the Pioneer Woman's bacon & mushroom pasta for dinner swap this week. Yum and YUM! She is the queen of flavor. Must be the bacon. Or the cream. Or something. I will say that I made a double batch of sauce & a double batch of pasta and the mushrooms & bacon really got lost in all that pasta. Next time: double batch of sauce, single batch of pasta. I also made homemade bread garlic bread and it was YUM too! Add a little roasted asparagus with olive oil & parm and it was quite the tasty meal.

Your Homebased Mom is doing some really cute things with Peeps! I dipped mine in milk chocolate and they were tasty...but not as cute as hers. The chocolate-dipped bunny Peeps are adorable too. I added this tag to my bags for delivery to a few friends.

Maya & I whipped up a batch of these incredible Costco-style chocolate muffins last week. YUM! Those are dangerous to have around. So afterward we biked around and delivered them to some family & friends. I will definitely be making them again soon!

Last but not least, I'm always bookmarking the awesome recipe round-ups over at Design Crush. I don't know if I dare attempt macrons, but they're so pretty to look at! I will definitely be trying some of the recipes from the bruschetta, doughnuts, and dips lists.

(All photos copyright of their original blogs.)

{Food Stuffs might be an inadvertent shout-out to my cousin's husband Jesse, who publishes hilarious and very well-written "Stuffs" posts on his Facebook page. Inadvertent or otherwise, I'm always happy to shout-out to Jesse...he's quite the cool cat.}

Getting Down To Business

2011-04-08T22:39:00.004-05:00

Time to journal the latest & greatest on the Cottam kiddos. Drumroll please...

Look at Lucy. Almost 11 months old. Crawling around in the dirt like every good 4th child should. Lucy, much like her brothers and sister before her, thinks that she's hilarious. Oh, who are we kidding, she IS hilarious! And chatty. And smiley! Oh, so smiley!

Just look at that face. She's still my little hip buddy, and I just love it. I love being "Lucy's person", if you will. She's great company. So she's starting to realize that she might be able to stand on her own...so we shall see how much longer before she's chasing after her brothers & sister on foot. She's also started to realize that I can put her into her crib...but I can't make her sleep. Much like I can give her a sippy cup...but I can't make her drink. So we're doing the nap time shuffle and still nursing this girl! She's the winner of the Cottam kids...none of the rest made it this long.

Oh, Simon and his "foo toys". You may look at the foo toys, but don't touch, unless you enjoy a bloodcurdling "MIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!". It's his specialty, and he's not going to tolerate you touching his food toys. Or his blankie. Or anything else he deems to be hiiiiiiiiiis. He loves to sit with his basket of food and pull all the food out and tell you what it is. (We love how chatty he's gotten!) He loves his food. I like to think I somehow had something to do with this. :)

At age almost 2 1/2, the afternoon nap is still very much on the agenda. His agenda, not just mine. He loves his nap. And he's not too thrilled, 3 hours later, when I come to rouse him. He is just like his mother...do NOT think you can wake a sleeping bear and not pay the consequences. He's downright mean when he wakes up. But give him a few minutes, a treeeeeeat and a basket of food toys to love on and his smile returns eventually. This kid cracks me UP! My favorite part of the post-nap cuddle is when he gives me a rundown of everything he heard while he was away from me. "I heard an airplane! Outside!" "I heard a doggie! Outside!" "I heard a birdie! Outside!" My favorite is when he hears an owl (actually, they're mourning doves, I think, but whatever), because he says it aye-ow. It's the cutest.

And Mason is a cutie pie in his own rite. He has the best face. Look at him there, pretending to lick a plastic lemon...taking his life into his own hands, really. I'm sure Simon was over to snatch that out of his hands mere seconds after I took the shot. Mason & I read the book Lentil by Robert McCloskey (also known as Robert by Lentil McCloskey and/or McCloskey by Robert Lentil when we're feeling particularly silly) and it's become an instant Cottam classic. Top 5, for sure! Anyway, it features Ol' Sneep sucking on a lemon...perhaps the most random event to ever occur in childrens literature. We both found it hysterical and Mason likes to reenact it for me whenever he can get his hands on a lemon, real or fake.

Aside from his obvious skill at the trapeze bar, Mason's other major developments include adding Castlevania to his old-school video game repertoire, (He's already conquered classic Super Mario Bros. & Legend of Zelda.) and making some huge strides with his reading. That's my BOY! He's awesome. He's also LOVING Pre-K (still) and soccer. He's just a life-lover in general. Which makes him fun to be around.

Who is this 15-year-old?! Just kidding. She's still 7. Well, 7 1/2, technically. I just can't believe how grown up she looks in these pictures. Seriously?! And that loooong hair! Maya is such a good girl. At the moment, she's majorly enthusiastic about Daisy Scouts, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, saving her money for a 3rd American Girl doll and most of all...PLAYING WITH HER FRIENDS!!! Luckily we've got great friends right in the neighborhood, not to mention 3 younger siblings that she is super, super great about including/entertaining/watching over, so she's almost never bored.

We read the book Mirette on the Highwire one day and since then, Maya has been practicing her tightrope skills. Maya's other "thing" at the moment is her big plan to be the President of the United States one day. She has turned her room into the President's Office and has started referring to herself as The President. Luckily, she has not yet requested that the rest of us address her as such...

No pictures, but Chris & I are busy as ever. I am trying to exercise 6 times per week (3 runs, 3 yoga). Considering that I've worked out less than 6 times in the last 3 years, that might be a lofty goal, but hey. Why not aim high, right? If my daughter is going to be the President, I can at least work out for 30 minutes a day, I think. :) Two weeks in and still making it!

So there you have it! All the news you didn't need to know...but aren't you glad you do?! :)

Chocolate Wish-List

2011-04-08T08:41:00.000-05:00

I am trying to watch what I eat these days. You know, not be an utter pig at all times. (I'm also doing the Couch to 5k running program 3x per week and attempting to do Jillian Michaels yoga 3x per week. Baby weight x 2 and all...) Anyway, that doesn't stop me from keeping a chocolate wish-list. What, you don't keep one?! Oh, you know you do. Be sure to add these to it...

My friend Lauren's brownie roll-out cookies sandwiched with Nutella. I just died typing that. And you should try eating them. Hello! Lauren is a great friend to have because she does bake-offs and has generously allowed me to be one of her taste testers. I may or may not have sampled a divine cherry brownie cheesecake pie today. Just a tiiiiny bit. Ha. I'm still working on that whole self control thing.

Nutella cupcakes from the Your Cup of Cake blog. Nom nom nom. I may or may not have a sliiiight Nutella problem. Slight.

(I posted this pic to Facebook recently with the caption "Admitting you have a problem is the first step." Unsurprisingly, many of my friends could relate to my addiction.)

And one more insane concoction: Baboon Butter. No recipe listed, but the ingredients were disclosed as peanut butter, banana and chocolate chips served with graham cracker sticks. Yes and YES please!

Please do point me in the direction of your chocolate favorites. I need to keep the wish-list well stocked.

1st Birthday Party In The Making

2011-04-07T09:36:00.012-05:00

I've been gathering inspiration for Lucy's 1st birthday party next month from all over the web, and I'm getting very excited about it! It's a "Storytime" party...you know, my take on a book theme. Parents, Grandparents, Siblings, etc. will take their moment in the rocking chair (yet to be procured from Craigslist and painted a bright color...you know, maybe) to read their favorite book out loud to the group.

I'll be reading my most absolute favoritest book ever, Zen Shorts, but the inspiration for the party comes from the cover of Zen Ties (which I also adore and highly recommend). I'm trying to get my friend Hannah to watercolor the invites for me...but she just had a baby and moved 2 weeks later with her 4 kids in tow...and it just might not happen! But we'll come up with something.

I'm going to have a brand-new copy of Zen Shorts on hand for everyone to sign for the birthday girl, and I'd love to request family-favorite books (autographed by the guests, of course) as gifts, but I don't know if that's appropriate. This wording seems non-tacky. What do you think?

We'll definitely use our collection of books to create a cute table top.

You know, like this.

The color scheme that I can't get enough of is the pale blue and red. Love love! (Obviously. I did Lucy's baby blessing luncheon in those colors. And her room. Which I never did take photos of. Hmm. Such a 4th child!)

I'm hoping to hunt down some scrapbook paper to make homemade hats like these, using Jordan's tutorial.

And use it to make paper chains to hang from the trees, too...
Because I'm all about cheap & cheerful decor, I may whip up a bunch of Jordan's paper streamers in light blue & red. Maybe hang them on the front porch, or from the trees...

I've vowed to keep the food super (super!) simple, but I'd love to incorporate book pages as food wraps, a'la this adorable superhero party.

Perhaps book-page cones for the make-your-own snack mix bar?
As for the rest of the food, I really do want to keep it very simple. I'm thinking a lemonade bar (with berries & syrups to mix in) and some beautiful cupcakes.

The top right would be my first choice, but I know I'll never pull that off.
But the top ones here might be doable. You know, with help from my clever friends! :)
And for Lucy's smash cake, I'm conflicted. I adore the look of the un-iced rainbow cake. (A big bunch o' balloons is also a yes please!)

But I'm also obsessed with the pink ribbon icing.
Favors will be very simple, too. Nose and glasses for sure. And since it's an outdoor, under the trees type party, maybe bubbles? Or big bouncy balls? Packs of sidewalk chalk? Thoughts?

I know I've shared some of these links/photos before...sorry to be redundant! :) I just wanted all my thoughts in one place.

So! Any input? It's just over a month away. I can't believe Lucy is going to be 1 so soon!

"It's For Charity, Mom!"

2011-04-02T19:42:00.005-05:00

Maya isn't one for small ideas. (Ahem, I have no idea where she gets that...) One afternoon recently I checked in on the gathering of kiddos that seems to occur most afternoons on the adjoining front lawns of ours and our neighbor. "MOM!", Maya piped up. "We're having a carnival!" I responded with vague (i.e. fake) enthusiasm and a "Sure, wow, how great" that Maya immediately recognized as me pacifying them...but not taking them seriously. "BUT MOM! It's for CHARITY!" They went on and on about all the things they were going to do at their carnival while I moseyed off to check on the babies, hoping that would be that.

I should have realized that that would most certainly not be that! All through dinner Maya & Mason excitedly shared their carnival plans. They could tell I was not enthused about all this, but that did not dissuade them. They just schemed on and on.

The next morning, they were still scheming. Come afternoon, they were back out in the yard, cooking up the carnival with their friends. They had all the booths in mind. They knew what they wanted to charge, the food they wanted to serve and who they planned to invite. They had picked 2 charities to donate to. And despite what I knew this meant for me (work), I knew I had to get on board. So just a week later, they pulled off their first ever charity carnival, cooked up by the 7-and-under set on the street. Amazing kids!

We advertised via chalk-board, hand-drawn fliers that the kids distributed on the street and sent out an Evite to classmates & friends. We must have had, I don't know...75+ people there? A lot!

The kids manned all the booths. Here's Maya in her Fortune Telling booth. We made a list of a whole bunch of fantastic fortunes (My favorite of Maya's suggestions: "You'll work for Google.".) and every customer got a whole list of things they had to look forward to, ending with "I think your future is going to be very bright", at which point she handed them a glow bracelet (which she donated from her personal stash).

Mamas sat on blankets while kids lined up to play games: hopscotch, ring toss, basketball shoot, "DJ picks" (pick a song to hear from one of the neighbor kids' iPod), fortune telling, tattoos and bean bag toss. The prizes were procured from the kids' personal stashes. (Man, we have a LOT of McDonalds toys. Shameful.)

A couple of the older kids helped me man the food & ticket table. We sold hot dogs, popcorn, lemonade, cookies/cupcakes/brownies/etc. and Laffy Taffy. They were awesome workers and the food was the big moneymaker.

There was always quite the line at the tattoo booth!

And Maya's request, her Grandma & Grandpa put together a little clown act that the kids loved.

The donned their Raggedy Ann & Andy costumes, told jokes, passed out necklaces and my Dad even learned how to make a balloon animal or 2 that the kids lined up for. (Those guys are the best sports, really.)

I love the signs the kids made together for all of the stations.

I especially love Maya's fortune telling picture. Check out those mystical hands! :)

Mason's buddy William took over the bean bag toss station when Mason ran out of steam. Kids were pitching in all over the place. Once Maya tired of telling fortunes, I saw 5 or 6 different kids taking over. It was awesome.

I loved seeing all the people hanging out & having fun in the yard.

And I got some more mileage out of my one and only sewing success...birthday banners. (We really have used them LOTS!)

And here are the masterminds of this whole thing. I'm so proud of these kiddos!

They were very excited to count the money together...

...and were THRILLED when it totaled almost $250!

The kids selected the Austin Homeless Shelter and Hannah's Hope Orphanage as their charities of choice. One of our neighbors just adopted a little boy who lived at Hannah's Hope, so that made it even sweeter.

Maya asked if we could do it again next month, and I just had to laugh. But I'm so glad I "Mom-ed up" and helped them get this off the ground. Next month...no way. But maybe it will be an annual thing. It's amazing what a creative and determined bunch of kids can accomplish. I hope they always remember that they can do big things if they put their minds to it.

Wordless Wonder

2011-03-22T13:55:00.003-05:00

I'm not much for wordless picture books. I'm not much for wordless anything, in fact. I'm very wordy, you may have noticed. That's why the first, oh, FIVE or so times I was drawn to this book at the library, I flipped thru, noticed it didn't have words and put it back. But every time I saw it, I had to grab it. Those illustrations could not be any more Natalie-appealing! The colors! The flowers! The big...giant...Wonder Bear! So I finally decided to give it a shot. And hooray! This takes it place among my all-time favorites. I highly, highly recommend it.

Who knew you could tell such a Wonder-ful story with just pictures? Tao Neyu has done it, in her thesis-project picture-book debut, no less. Gorgeous and engaging.

Two little cuties plant a garden (watermelon and...a hat?) and doze off nearby.

The hat sprouts up into a gorgeous bouquet...

...and out pops Wonder Bear with his magical hat.

And from there, the adventure begins...

...until Wonder Bear tucks the children safely back in their garden-side bed.

I love hearing how my children tell the story...what they emphasize, how they describe the action. It's beautiful to look at and remarkably tells the most fantastic story...all without words. I'm in love.

Have a word-less book favorite? I'd love to hear about it!

Patchwork-y

2011-03-21T07:53:00.000-05:00

I am a lover of all things patchwork. Someday, I will learn how to do this. Until then, I'll just admire & drool...

Patchwork Tablecloth
A big yes please! How gorgeous?!

My absolute favorite...house patchworks from A Quilt is Nice.

This is what I hope to do someday...a big ol' patchwork for the bed.

Um, yes on the patchwork dress, too.

Even a "patchwork print" would do the trick.

Love love love the patchwork!

Matchy Matchy

2011-03-14T10:15:00.002-05:00

This dress + me = love at first sight. I bought them when Lucy was just a brand new babe in the biggest and smallest sizes that were available and then just crossed my fingers. And...hooray...Lucy is big enough and Maya is still (almost) small enough...they match! I had to take pictures, of course. Lots of them. But I'll spare you the slide show. Instead...three of the best.

{Lillipops Designs uses reclaimed and vintage fabrics to create some gorgeous things in limited editions. Such as this, this and this, all on my wish-list. Love, LOVE!}

Friday Favorites + Vlog

2011-03-11T09:25:00.008-06:00

Blah blah blah! I'm back to blather on with my Friday Favorites!

You've GOT to try this!

Cookies & Cream Peanut Butter

Gap Text Alerts

First Birthday Party Inspiration

- Make you r ow n snack mix

- My favorite color scheme + a rainbow cake

- Maybe a book party?

- Nose + glasses in a mini-suitcase - a MUST!

Don't forget your Free Stuff!
- Collage Mug from York Photo (thank you, Freebies 2 Deals)
- Photo Book from Picaboo
- 8x10 canvas from Canvas People (thank you, Saving with Shellie)

Follow up questions:
- Seen any great 1st birthday party ideas?
- Requesting a certain type of gifts, i.e. books - tacky or okay?
- Any tips & tricks for the leprechaun that will inevitably be visiting my house next week?

Have a great weekend!

My Friends Are The Cleverest...

2011-03-08T07:35:00.000-06:00

I mean, seriously, people.

Dar made these gorgeous hot chocolate on a stick invites for her annual chocolate party...

And Minna created this super cool calendar.

Wish some o' that goodness would rub off on me!

Natalie-ish For Spring

2011-03-07T09:28:00.002-06:00

1 - 2
3 - 4

I can always count on Forever 21 for some cheap + cheerful Natalie-ish tops. I 'specially want #3...but at these prices, I should probably just go ahead and buy them all! ;)

Behind Door Number One...

2011-03-04T15:23:00.002-06:00

I've been browsing flat panel TV stands recently. Although I do love our current TV stand, part of me would really like some doors to hide that bad boy behind. Like so...

This one would be nice in our bedroom...mirrored furniture is the thing right now...

Of course, I found some other door-less beauties while I was browsing.

Can't justify purchasing another piece of furniture of this sort...

...Super pretty, though.

Hope you find what you're looking for this weekend...:)

Glorious Green

2011-03-03T10:43:00.000-06:00

This seems like the perfect spring shirt, and I have just the (almost) infamous necklace to go with it...

Fresh Cut

2011-03-02T10:32:00.002-06:00

I love browsing the "fresh cuts" at Anthropologie, since the sale room is the only way I can come close to shopping there. This necklace is a bargain at under $20! I need it for my collection.

Latest + Greatest

2011-03-01T21:33:00.002-06:00

I have found it interesting to note in the recent days/weeks/months how my interest in blogging seems to wax and wane at a very strange pace. Some days/weeks/months, I'm very gung ho...then my interest + motivation will just fade for a while. Strange, indeed. Anyway, things are busy as ever here. As I'm always telling my kids, there's only a certain amount of time, and you have to start with the things you have to do do. My get-to-dos have been fairly varied. Last week was a very social one, filled with lunch dates and girls nights and meetings. This one is much more subdued. I have to strike that perfect balance between going and staying...and the older I get, the more staying I need to do. Which I also find interesting. Ah, self discovery and introspection...not very Natalie-ish, but what can I tell you.

Well, what I can tell you is that 4 little monkeys also keep a girl very busy, in a very good way. Soccer is back in full swing. This school year is flying by. Spring is definitely in the air in Texas! I love the shot of my 4 littles in the wagon. They do my heart good, those cuties! Are they Cottams or what?! We are working from a very strong mold...

Maya is quite an extraordinary big sister, she really is. Such a helper to me and so adored by her brothers & sister. She's the reason we were able to get these big smiles out of this big girl...

Look at that Goose! You have never met such a smiley kid! She makes friends everywhere we go because she just loves to smile and chat. Such a friendly little thing! She's shunning the baby food now (acting as though I'm trying to assault her with the feeding spoon!) and her diapers definitely reflect that. Some exciting things coming out of that girl! Clean-up on aisle Lucy! It's not my favorite, but what the heck. I'm just glad to have such an agreeable little hip-buddy. She's the best.

This Turkey becomes more and more Simon every day, if that makes sense. It's such fun to see so much personality come out. "The Little Man Knows Everything", as we say. He'll be running the show around here any day now...taking care of business. He's really starting to speak our language more every day, too. Or I'm starting to speak his. Or something. But there is communication happening. Hooray for that! He's such a perceptive kid, which has motivated me to try to teach that trait to my older kids. It comes so naturally to him, and it's such a good quality. And he's just fun and easy to have around.

Mason has been on the receiving end of the "you need to be more perceptive!" conversation a lot lately. He's just such a happy-go-lucky, head in the clouds type of kid, and he's the sweetest in the world. He heard me say that his new (bigger) bike was a bit too big for him and immediately pulled that bad boy out of the garage and proceeded to practice and practice riding it. I've never seen a kid fall so much or a kid get up so much. He's tough! And I love it that he's willing to practice and practice and practice. Cute story: Simon (who is not a very affectionate kid, he's all business) gave Mason a big ol' hug today, after which Mason told me "I'm really starting to like Simon lately! He gave me a hug and I realized...I think I really like him!". Mason loves to be loved!

And then there's Maya. She doesn't need the perceptive lecture quite so much. I'm always amazed at how tuned into my mood she is. You can see her quietly back away and begin hastily cleaning or tidying or otherwise helping if she senses I'm about to blow my top. She's good that way! :) She's enjoying her next go 'round at soccer. She loves sports, but as much for the social aspect as anything else. She's got a couple of "old" friends on her team and a couple of "new-old" friends, too. You know, the friends you make that you just feel like you've known forever? I love it when there are those types of connections. So she's having a blast, especially because Daddy is coaching!

We've had some amazing weather lately. Just that absolutely perfect, why can't every day be this beautiful, gorgeous weather. We've been playing outside for hours in the afternoon and just enjoying it immensely. This is that rare window of beautiful weather before then man-eating mosquitoes arrive, so we are taking full advantage. So maybe that's my excuse for being a disenfranchised blogger...it's just too pretty outside to sit at a computer! That, and I've got about 20 games for Words with Friends going. That being said, I've got to go compose some high-point words.

I'll be back when the tide changes, I'm sure...

Persnickity

2011-02-23T13:48:00.003-06:00

I fell in love with Persnickity's "Fancy Little Frocks" (as they say) last winter at a mall kiosk while visiting Utah and loaded up on cute stuff for my girl. I'm happy to find them online...especially with this ridiculously cute spring line! La-love the colors!

I'm wishing it all came in my size, but I'll just dress vicariously through my daughter, I suppose...particularly in this top...

...and this dress.