Asher Designs

As I mentioned last week, Asher took an interest in sewing. I posted a picture on Instagram, and Grandma Harston commented saying "I want a pillow case made by Asher Designs." I told Asher that and his eyes lit up as he said "Can we!? Can we make her a pillow case!?" So I broke out some fabric and a pillow case to use as a pattern, and we went to town. I helped and assisted, but Asher did most of the work. He measured, ironed, pinned, sewed (including threading the machine, backstitching and pivoting on the corners), cut off the excess material and flipped it right side out. He was so happy and diligent through the entire process. He made one, then the next day wanted to make a second one so that he and Grandma could have matching pillow cases.

I am so proud of him, and his desire to learn and create. He has a zest for life and creativity that is unmatched! I sure do love you, Asher!

Maple Tapping

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, meaning Sean and Brayden both had the day off school. The sky was blue and the air was crisp and we bundled up and headed to the woods, with the supplies to try our hand at maple tapping. 

On our walk we found this old fire engine. It was really cool! The boys had a lot of fun playing in, around, and on it.

We found what we think was a maple tree. It was hard to determine just based on the bark but we think we did enough research to figure it out :) Sean drilled a hole and tapped in the makeshift spile (a $3 part from the hardware store) and instantly, the sap started flowing. 

Sean put on some food grade plastic tubing and directed it into a glass jar. We'd love to find a replacement for the plastic tubing, but this was all we had for now. It works for the time being!

We tapped one tree in two spots, then did a 3rd spot on a different tree. Sean checked on them yesterday, about 22 hours after we tapped. He found this from the first tap...



He said it was dripping about once every three seconds. He didn't check the 3rd tap but the 2nd one had a little less than the first. After we have this collected, you have to boil it down to about 30 percent, so it really does take a lot of sap to make a little syrup!

This was such a fun adventure for our family. We love getting out in nature, and taking advantage of what it provides for us. We love being able to teach our kids where their food comes from. Chicken that you eat, comes from the chickens in our yard. Maple syrup comes from trees. Vegetables come out of a garden that we've worked hard on planting, cultivating, and harvesting. This is such a valuable lesson for them to learn, and they really seem to enjoy the lessons being taught!

The boys and I had a blast wandering through the woods while Sean was messing with the spiles and it is so fun to see their imaginations become uninhibited by the freedom of the outdoors.

 

I love my boys, and I can't wait to see what crazy adventure we come up with next!

CERT Search

Thursday at about 8pm I got an email saying that the Beaverton CERT team was being activated. There was a 69 year old man that had wandered away from his adult foster home he was living at. He was last seen around 2:30 pm and no one could find him. I was on my way to a presidency meeting so I couldn't go. I got home around 10pm and the CERT members were still being called in. Maverick was asleep in Sean's arms on the couch and Sean said "Go!" so...I got dressed in warm clothes, grabbed my CERT garb, and took off! I got there about 10:30, and stayed until 1am. We were working with the police. They'd go door to door knocking and getting permission to search the property. We'd then use our flashlights and look in RVs, sheds, boats, etc looking for him. At 11, they switched away from doing that and moved more towards commercial areas. My buddy and I went with a cop to a large apartment complex in the area and searched around the buildings, but mostly focused on the large park/field in the center. We didn't end up finding him that night and he actually wasn't even found until Friday evening. He was spotted on the Max by the Rose Quarter downtown by someone that had seen the news about him. He was in good condition, and was returned safely back to his home!

Although it was sad that he was lost (he wasn't all there in the head), I really enjoyed being able to help. I loved the adrenaline rush, the feeling of involvement and feeling like I was making a difference. I loved being able to help out, and I would never have been able to do it if it weren't for such an amazing husband that supports me in my hobbies! I'm so grateful for the CERT program, and am glad that I can make a difference, albeit a small one, in my local community.

Ramblings

Just over a year ago, the Harston family decided to do a 12 week challenge. It was a weight loss challenge, where we each set a goal to lose a certain number of pounds, and the person that lost the highest percentage of weight each week got a gold star. Yup. It was the most motivating thing ever. At the end of the 12 weeks, we had lost somewhere around 137 pounds between 10 of us. It was amazing. We all got shirts with our gold stars on them, the number of pounds we lost on the back, and a big "I took the challenge" on the front. (It pays having a sister that does heat press vinyl on t-shirts!) We've done the challenge a few times since but they all kind of lost their stamina.

We just started one a couple weeks ago again, and this one is as amped up as the first one. There are 11 of us participating, and everyone with goals anywhere from 5 pounds to 26 pounds. This time, we have 4 areas of focus. Fitness, Weight Loss, Nutrition, and Personal. My fitness goal is to workout for at least a half hour, 3 times a week. My weight loss goal is to lose 8 pounds. The nutrition goal is the same for everyone each week. The first week was drink 64 oz of water a day. This week it's no eating after 8pm. Next week it's making sure you eat 2 fruits/veggies for at least 2 meals a day.

I'm pretty amped up this challenge. I've been running 4 times in the past 7 days. I did 2.5 miles today. It took me a half hour, but I did it! It's hard to start out way back at the beginning. I just know that I have to start somewhere and I can't get to where I want to be without starting here. I am only down 9 pounds from when I went into the hospital to have my c-section. Yeah, steroids suck. I finally feel like they are out of my body completely. Well, mostly I guess. But regardless, I can't wait to work towards my "normal" size again. I'm sick of not fitting into any of my clothes. And standing in front of my closet every day almost in tears, only to throw on a hoodie and call it good.

I am super motivated though, and my goal is to run a race this summer. I'd like to say it will be a half marathon, but even if it's 8 miles. I don't care. I just want to do SOMETHING more than a 10k. We'll see how training goes ;)

Okay, what else to talk about...

Brayden is still a reading fiend. He recently read Oliver Twist all by himself. He loved it. He read it in like a week. We are reading Harry Potter together as a family and Brayden loves to be the one to read out loud to us.

Asher and I started a new preschool routine at the new year. The other 2 kids in the preschool decided to do different things which actually has turned out to be a huge blessing for us. I ask Asher every preschool day what he wants to learn about. The first day he wanted to learn about volcanoes. So we got on Google and looked at pictures and learned about different types. We then morphed into learning about the layers of the earth. The next day we learned about geography, and the 7 continents, oceans, etc. Yesterday, he wanted to learn how to sew. So I got out the sewing machine and he went to town. He is a quick study and already knows how to thread the machine, bring up the bobbin thread, and back stitch. He did some drills with paper and no thread and did an amazing job!



Everett is officially in the throes of his terrible terrific twos. He has an attitude that is unmatched. He likes to hit and call people names and be defiant. But when he wants to be he is still the sweetest little red head around.

We got to Maverick's pediatrician appt early yesterday so the kids were out of their carseats but just hanging out in the car. Everett came up front and saw this symbol underneath the A. He said "Look! Mom! A Football!!" Then actively signed it. He is obsessed, and loves football more than anything!



Maverick is a doll. He is currently teething...I expect his bottom 2 teeth to pop out any day now but he is still just as happy as ever! He learned a new trick this week...



He's amazing! He had a pediatrician check up yesterday and he is 14 pounds 14 ounces. He's still in the 2nd percentile. So he's only gained 13 ounces since his last appt (less than a month ago) but he grew 1.25 inches! He's 27 inches now. He is still so light that I carry him around in his carseat still. I think at this point with my others I had abandoned the carseat in the car every chance I got.

Maverick does NOT like solids. I've tried feeding him solids several times and he gags until he pukes. He doesn't like ANYTHING on his tongue that isn't breast milk. Ha. Poor kid. Hopefully he'll start liking real food soon. We need to fatten him up!

Sean and I got to go on a date last night. We went to Wunderland. It's a nickel arcade in the area. We were only away from the kids for a couple hours but it was so nice to just spend time together. We did have Maverick with us, and we had a blast playing air hockey! He won the first game (7 - 6) and I won the 2nd (7 - 2)! He kind of had a disadvantage ;)



Mom and Dad and Scott were here last week to visit. One of Mom's co-workers (and her husband) was going through the temple to receive her endowments then be sealed! They have 2 beautiful girls. I got to go with them, and it was such a great experience! Scott and Sean went on a bike ride with the boys and the boys loved having Uncle Scott here. They sure do love their uncles!

While they were here, they were both working on their laptops. I snapped this picture because it made me laugh. "Grandma and Grandpa in the 21st century...lap blankets and tablets." Super funny.



Saturday morning, before the temple, Mom, Dad and I went on a run. Well, Mom and I ran, and Dad walked. But, Dad walked as fast as we ran practically :) Mom did a killer 4 miles (on hills!) and I did 2 miles. Then I met up with Dad and walked with him until we met up with Mom. So I walked another 1.5 miles. It was so fun. And we had the most amazing view!







Horrible picture but I had to post it anyway. Mom is a machine!! And look how skinny she is. She's amazing!

Alright, I think that's enough rambling for now :) I had so much I just wanted to purge onto this page. I think I did that successfully!

Karate

Brayden and Asher both started Karate this week. It's just a class through our local Parks and Rec, but if day 1 is a sign...they're going to love it. The instructor is from Japan, and he has a really thick accent. The boys can't hardly understand what he says, but they are really good at following along. The instructor had them all line up and then showed them how to stretch every single joint and muscle in their body, starting with the toes and ending with the fingers. He got them familiar with counting to 10 in Japanese. He had them run around and burn some energy, then practice some kicks and punches.

There were 10 kids in class on the first day. 7 of those kids were running around and not really paying attention. They were too distracted with themselves in the mirror and really didn't seem to get much out of the class. There was 1 other kid, then Brayden and Asher that listened intently, and followed the instructions as closely as possible. It just solidified to Sean and I, as parents, that we are doing right by our kids by not letting them indulge in screen time very often. The other kids just seemed very over-stimulated. 

I don't know if I've blogged at all about this, but for the months of August and September, Sean and I removed all screen time from our kids. They didn't get shows, phones, computer... nothing. It was the best thing we've ever done as parents. We went on bike rides, played board games, played soccer or went to the park. We did sidewalk chalk and jumprope. It was such a great summer for them! We let them have screen time again, rarely, after October. They were excited to get it back but they still didn't ask for it very much. Even still, they much more frequently ask about playdoh, snap circuits, or for paper and scissors. They build forts and climb the stair banister. We get outside as much as possible. 

I'm so grateful for a husband who is willing to live this lifestyle with me. Yes, giving the kids tv and phone time is easy. It makes it so I can clean my house and have it stay clean. It gives me time to sit and relax. But...the benefits of not indulging in this time-killer gets more apparent every single day and I am completely happy to remove that as a "necessity" in their lives, and keep it as a special privilege! I am completely grateful for it on days that I'm sick, or exhausted, or need to get my house clean. And I still definitely use it sometimes, but I'm so grateful that this isn't a massive part of our lifestyle!

Oh, and at the end of karate class, Asher ran up to us and said "That wasn't karate! I didn't get to break a board!" He's adorable.