The Little Mermaid

This year, I dont know what came over me.... but i decided to sew. Here are a couple of pictures of the mermaid costume. I was just determined to do it and did it all by hand. As you can probably tell by the stitches and the askew shell bra:)

Children with Parents Who Work

by Kyanna Sutton

For the first time, someone has asked American kids what they think about working parents. Ellen Galinsky is author of Ask the Children: What America's Children Really Think about Working Parents.

She says parents are always trying to BALANCE which implies if you are giving to one side then you are taking away from the other. She says, "I think "navigating" is a better word for several reasons. Navigating implies that we know we're always in process .. With navigating, there can be good weather and stormy weather, just like parenting.

It's by dealing with the stormy times effectively that we're making the most important contributions as parents (such as teaching our children how to deal with their siblings without warfare). And with navigating, if we know where we want to go, we're more likely to get there." Such a wonderful way of re-wording and way to re-think parenting in general.

The Eight Critical Parenting Skills in survey of children when asked to grade mothers and fathers (from Newsweek 1999)

1. Making the child feel important and loved
   2. Responding to the child's cues and clues
   3. Accepting the child for who he or she is, but expecting success
   4. Promoting strong values
   5. Using constructive discipline
   6. Providing routines and rituals to make life predictable and create positive neural patterns in developing brains
   7. Being involved in the child's education
   8. Being there for the child

A list to go over periodically to remind me what is most important!

when mom feeds me apples and rice cereal (or anything for that matter) I perform the following steps:

a. purse lips
b. grab at spoon
c. gag
d. continuously gag until the lady figures it out.

I am happy because:

a. I threw the spoon on the floor

b. mom gave up trying to feed me

c. she is going to nurse me now

I think I love life

Kaija believes these places are magic:






because they carry these:







Yesterday we went to a friends house "She lives by 7-11 too!" We went to the Wallingford Farmers Market and she got to hang out with her friend Lucy. We did not get a push-up as we will save that for emergency bribing days:) I have some videos and pictures coming soon.

I found this picture on another blog and thought it was amazing so i decided to share it along with this quote:

“Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers ~ strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”

— Barbara Katz Rothman

"You are as ugly as a pot.

But you still a child of God."

-I think these are the right words, or at least the words I remember...from Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

My own ben and I watched this movie last week, very touching and interesting... If you have a chance, watch it.

finleys first food!

finley and her first taste of pears...

Ben and I celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary this last weekend. Here are a couple of pictures from our night out together


Finley has two teeth and is working on more. She is really starting to grab at things like the remote, my phone, my hair... etc.


last night kaija refused to eat her dinner because she insisted that she already ate her dinner. I could not believe how she convinced herself that because she ate her pretend dinner it was okay and counted as real food... We told her she could not get a "real" treat until she ate her "real" dinner. She just kept insisting, "I already had my dinner! I ate MY food!" This went on for over and hour...Her imagination is just so amazing and I really think she was living in an alternate universe or something...





She has turned a corner and is no longer fighting and having temper tantrums as much. She has been able to play on her own a lot lately and is super imaginative.

Mothers....

Here is my grandma Doris with her four boys (my dad is on the far right...I think) she my aunt Sharon as well so Five Kids under the age of 7 or something crazy like that! She was a wonder mom and so stylish...

I had the most fabulous weekend and wish I had more time to reflect and write an amazing entry here. But this will be fast as I only have a half hour lunch break at work....

Last year, on Mothers Day weekend Ben, Kaija, and I went over to the coast and had a lovely weekend getaway. I think that was one of my first posts on this blog....Finley was about a 10 week old shrimp in my belly...I was incredibly happy and was so appreciative of that time. This year, I felt exactly the same, but now with my little Finley. I just can not get over how much I love our little family. Its so amazing that Ben and I created this!!1 I know other mothers must feel the same way.

It makes me appreciate my mother, her mother... my dads mother, all those mamas and their mamas!!!

Thank you mothers for being such a safe haven of love and giving to generations...!

its nice to have friends who are photographers

most of you have gotten our easter card and if not, im sorry, give me your address and I'll send you one:) My friend Heather (heathersegars.com) has such a talent for photography and has just started her own business, if youre in the Seattle area...

I have not posted in SO long....

Things we have done lately:
Planted a garden with my parents.
I joined a gym....it finally feels okay to take some time to myself and work out...!
Had a student move in from Hong Kong. (its an adjustment... we are taking it one day at a time)
Taken many walks to the park and around the neighborhood with the girls. Kaija is very into picking flowers, sticks, weeds etc. She is actually become quite obsessed with making a beautiful bouquet any time we go anywhere. I am happy she likes nature. We just stroll around the block and explore.
Baby gaze. I could stare at Finley all day (if I had the time). She is so sweet and easy to smile. She has actually started giggling too and that lights up my day!
Ben is Mr. Handyman. He has had many projects lined up which has been good for him. He has started another quarter of school and likes his classes this quarter which helps. Still on the job search but we are positive~God will provide.:)

Im definitely going to need to post more often. I promise.

a poem for the day

my mom sent me this poem. I love her insight on things and i thought I'd share it as it is a reminder of the way we can use hard times to be joyful in what we have, just as so many have in the past.

The Emigrant Irish

Like oil lamps, we put them out the back-

of our houses, of our minds. We had lights

better than, newer than and then

a time came, this time and now

we need them. Their dread, makeshift example:

they would have thrived on our necessities.

What they survived we could not even live.

By their lights now it is time to

imagine how they stood there, what they stood with,

that their possessions may become our power:

Cardboard. Iron. Their hardships parceled in them.

Patience. Fortitude. Long-suffering

in the bruise-colored dusk of the New World.

And all the old songs. And nothing to lose.

Eavan Boland

8 weeks old!

Yay for the economy!

As of today, "we" are feeling a little sleep deprived~ or maybe just me, lets just be honest here. I think it's catching up to me but also because this week has been a little stressful. A week ago, Ben lost his job at Utilikilts- a shock but not totally a surprise. The company had been laying off many of its employees for a while and so in some ways, we saw it coming. We are not very prepared though and Ben has been working hard at the job search.
Finley also came down with a fever. I did not really think it was a big deal, just thought she seemed a little warm and not until the 3rd day did I start to consider calling the Dr. We went into the Dr. on her 4th day of her fever. I was thinking the doc would just tell me she's fine, give her tylenol, and watch her. It turned out to be a WAY bigger deal and super tiring. Little Fin was poked and prodded all day: rectal temps, a catheter (missed the first time), and a blood draw. The blood draw again was missed and we had to go to Seattle Childrens Hospital for a "real" phlebotomist or whatever they're called. I called Ben crying because I could not handle seeing my baby poked again. This has been the alternative to him being home: way more support and help with the babes than otherwise.
On a better note, Finley has just today started to do better and go back to her sweet baby self. Kaija I think, is finally adjusting (it only took 2 months of hell....) and I am remembering why I wanted to have another kid after all. :) I forgot that she could be fun, sweet, and well-behaved. I knew it was in there somewhere... She did just have her world rocked by a baby sister, I'll cut her a little slack:) We have been doing a lot of dancing together as I am loving having my range of movement back ( time to put my DANCIN' PANTS ON : Shari... that means you need to get your fancy pants up here to seattle). All in all, things are good here for the Hollands! Ben is taking Spanish and oh, boy, he has a ways to go but keeps us laughing with his pronunciation. (or lack of).
oh, if anyone wants to buy an autographed headshot of ben, he's selling them for 200$ a piece. Great deal! ;)
I will post more recent pictures soon.


Here are a couple of pictures from two different "photo shoots" we had with my friend Heather. The one of me pregnant was taken only 3 days before Finley came along. Kaija was NOT happy that day.