Nash-ville

NEW **Tween blog

2011-01-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

My girls started an awesome TWEEN style Blog. Please add this link to your blogs and pass the word around- it is going to be super awesome.

http://biddlesnscootch.blogspot.com/2011/01/who-are-we.html

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

2010-11-21T12:03:00.001-08:00

6 day journey with an iphone

2010-09-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

Trent and I are back home and getting re-settled after the whirlwind of our trip to the Netherlands and Belgium. I decided to leave my bulk of a camera at home, so here is our journey documented with my little iphone, and I couldn't be more happy with the outcome!

FYI- We joked that we will make a slide show of our trip to show our family, and bore them with our adventures, but the pics turned out so cool that we will bore you all with our trip pics, it might take a fews days worth of posts...so stay with me and enjoy!

The journey started in first class, which is an experience on its own...especially on an 11 hr flight. The food was amazing and the only time in our lives when we watched 4 movies in a row. (we were both too excited to sleep on the airplane).

Day 1 first stop- Zaanse Schans

One of the highlights in this town is that we got to tour a real working windmill. We walked in paid our 2 euros and waited for the tour, but the tour never started. So we asked the lady and she says, "Oh just go in and walk around". We were a little surprised because we basically had freedom to go where ever, climb and touch whatever with no ropes or boundries. So, we climbed up steep ladders- opened doors and walked out on rickety balcony's and ducked under the arms of the windmill.

It was raining outside this day so we hung out a bit longer in the windmill and enjoyed the view.

Inside the working windmill- This was a flour processing windmill

The town of Zaanse

Wooden shoe museum in Zaanse

Day 1- Haarlem, Holland

Corrie Ten Boom house-

Did you read the book, "The Hidding Place". Well, if you did then you know all about this place. This is the house the the author Corrie lived in during world war II. She was the only woman head of the resistance- (the dutch underground that helped jewish families and men in hiding from the Nazi's).

It was an amazing tour- the guide sat us down in the parlor of the 500 yr old house and told us the whole story of "The Hidding Place" and then we got to see the room that had the false wall where the jews hid. Trent and I both love history and especially history that involved my own family. My grandparents lived through the war in Holland and so seeing this house really hit home for me and made the stories even more alive. Outside the buildings you can still see bullet holes from where Nazi's lined up jews and shot them in the streets.......

Our favorite drink is called Cassis- I wish they had it here, it is a black current flavor and is the best soda ever........and I had at least 2-3 a day.

Check out the cute little cart with the kids in it. Kinda a wagon with huge wheels

Our awesome tiny rental car- All the cars are super tiny, and this was a far stretch from the SUV that we drive.

Amazing bakeries and cheese!!

It's official!

2010-06-22T15:15:00.001-07:00

I have a middle schooler! Yep, Brooklyn May graduated from 5th grade & she starts middle school in the fall.

I am a bundle of feelings about this new change. It brings some freedom for me, since I now have a live-in babysitter, and I can rely on her more and more as she gets older. But it also means freedom for Brooklyn, which ultimately means that she is growing up. And I have a harder time with that.

I know everyone says how fast time flies and to cherish every moment, but really it is true. I seems like last week she was the funny little 2 yr old making everyone laugh with her high voice and perfect vocabulary.

While she still does have that little high voice and perfect vocabulary, she is growing up right before our eyes. She truly is such a great girl and everyone who knows her loves her. And I love that she keeps on surprising us, like what a fierce competitor she has become in swimming. We didn't see that coming and we didn't know that was in her. She still surprises us every day and makes us so proud in everything she does.

Brooklyn 50m backstroke, she takes 1st place overall!

2010-06-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn takes 1st in heat (2nd overall) 50 FREESTYLE 6-20-10

2010-06-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

Fav pics from out last outing at the beach

2010-05-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when Uncle Andy comes to town

2010-05-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

2010-03-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

2009-12-10T19:05:00.001-08:00

Looky looky over here!

2009-12-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

Check out our sneak preview for fall 2010!!!

Click Me

Stop on over here.......

2009-12-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

Click here for a BIN Knuckleheads deal of the day!

Here is my favorite pic from our photo shoot over the weekend! We had our favorite photographer back to shoot again, and let me tell you this was no easy shoot!

This is what happens when Lily's head meets Otto's........

2009-11-28T17:44:00.001-08:00

The story behind the picture goes like this;

"Lily and Otto supposedly in bed sleeping. Lily runs into dark hallway just as Otto runs into dark hallway and they collide in the middle. Story ends with both kids crying. Lily ends up with black eye, and Otto has a hard head and Lily will milk it for quite some time".

Willie Wonka Schrooms

2009-11-15T17:20:00.001-08:00

Look what we found growing at our house on the coast! These are REAL mushrooms, I have never seen anything like it...they look fake. I wasn't sure if they are poisonous or not, but we left them alone just in case!

Enter to win!! Knucklehead giveaway

2009-11-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

Click here to WIN $100 worth of KH goodies!!

Nash Family Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

The kids put in their costume orders for Halloween a few months ago and then POOF grandma made them appear. Once again Grandma Nash did an amazing job, Brooklyn's Eliza Doolittle was amazing!

Ruby- peacock

Otto- Bubafet (starwars)

Lily- Candy Corn Witch

Brooklyn- Eliza Doolittle (From My Fair Lady)

Ruby really got into trick or treating and couldn't get enough. She would yell at the kids at each house because she wanted to be in the front of the group. We let her eat all the candy she wanted, which was pretty much a mistake because she was wired and couldn't go to sleep that night. She was literally shaking and jumping with the sugar rush. Finally hours later we looked over and she totally crashed out. So, for those of you who say that sugar doesn't make kids hyper, (hint hint Nikki).....we saw it first hand in our house. Happy Halloween!!

The Nash Life On the Road

2009-10-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

In August we loaded up the kids and headed to Las Vegas for a trade show for Knuckleheads....

Ruby was demanding........

The desert was dry and HOT..............

Daddy sang in the car........

We finally made it to the hotel and headed to the pool.........

Nothing is better than a cool pool in Vegas........

The new bridge being built over Hoover Dam.....

It was 114 this day at Hoover Dam, the kids were miserable...and I mean MISERABLE......

And finally show day..........

Although we enjoyed every bit of it, we decided that the kids are NW kids, we asked them if they would rather have 100 degree days in Vegas or a cool rainy gloomy day back home and they choose the cool rainy day..... I might even agree.

Family Outing to the Coast

2009-10-20T17:17:00.001-07:00

I have been so busy traveling that I havn't had time to sit and post some pictures. I finally edited some of my favorite pictures that I took when my family came to visit. We stayed at our beach house on the coast and had a great time.
The kids put on a show for us and we roasted marshmallows and visited some beautiful light houses. My kids love their cousins so much, we just wish we could see them more!

It's a Knuckleheads Party

2009-10-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

I have been traveling and on the road and just plain busy, so here are some new pics so you don't have to keep looking at the old ones on my blog.
These little guys had a Knuckleheads birthday party....how awesome it that???

Holland- no words

2009-09-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

So, the last 4 weeks has pretty much been a blur to me, and I am still trying to recover from jet lag.

Since Sept 1st I have flown to LA, drove to Las Vegas (with the whole family), entertained 10 kids and 9 adults at our beach house at the coast, then 2 days later headed last minute to Holland to meet up with my parents and brother.

Now don't think it is over yet...I head to New York in about 2 1/2 weeks then 2 days later to Florida where my baby bro is getting married. Obviously the trip to Holland was amazing and an experience that I will never forget, and was worth the trip. On the way home home I had an 8 hr flight to NY, then the 6 hr layover in NY and lastly a 6 hr flight home to Portland. My own bed has never felt so good before.

Instead of words, I will let the images speak of my wonderful journey to Holland. Home of my heritage, and home to many relatives that I had never met before and who welcomed us with open arms. I ate a lot and smuggled home 2 HUGE wheels of yummy dutch cheese and lots of yummy treats.

(p.s. most of landscape images were taken with my iphone)

Off

2009-09-10T04:21:00.001-07:00

Ok, I am off to Amsterdam for the weekend. It was a last minute trip and I can't wait. I have lots to fill in when I return!

I want it now........at Knuckleheads

2009-08-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Become a "follower" on Knuckleheads Blog to be notified for the 24hr, "I want it now" Sales

Click on, "I want it now" below for sale;

I want it now!

Off to the races

2009-08-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

I have been spending the week alone as my darling husband is hiking the rain forest's of Washington with the scouts. All in all, it hasn't been too bad, aside from the constant, " I miss Daddy, I am worried about Daddy" comments. This is the first time that we have been totally out of contact with Trent for this long, and the kids and I don't like it. Especially Brooklyn, she gets so worried and then gets the kids going, then they are all standing there at the top of the stairs crying. I am sure it was just a plot to stay up later or try to sleep in my bed, but it worked because I had 2 kids in my bed last night. So, much for having the whole bed to myself.

So, Trent will be home on Saturday, and will meet us down in Newport, Oregon for Brooklyn's swim meet. I will be down there already cheering her on. Wish us luck!

(Brooklyn is nervous again, and all stressed out, she is swimming 6 events total)

This is what summer is all about

2009-08-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

So great

2009-08-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

I read this the other night when I was reading my blogging friends, and I was laughing so hard, I made trent get out of bed to read his shout out from Autumn.

Click Here to see why I was laughing so hard.

Ruby is 2!

2009-07-30T23:51:00.001-07:00

Two years ago my sweet baby girl was born, it was bitter sweet knowing that she would be our last baby. Our family is complete with little miss Ruby Rose.

Things that make Ruby happy;

Blankie (here)

Binky (night time only)

"nack" (meaning fruit snacks)

Dora (& diego too)

Stretch (our weiner dog)

Food- (she looks small, but she can out eat all the kids in one sitting)

Fry-fry's- (french fries)

Brooklyn (she says, "Ah-lyn") -her second mom

Shoes----any shoes, it doesn't matter. If they are left laying around, she is wearing them.

Things that make mommy happy;

when she smiles

how she loves to sleep and loves her bed and is willing to go to bed 99% of the time

how she sleeps in till 9am- thank you Ruby

her sassy attitude--totally adorable now, I will regret saying that

her huge bucky teeth- even though they will probably end up with braces on them

her little waddle when she walks with an added swing

she is fun to feed, that kid will eat anything- including raw osters!

her laugh- totally high and sweet

kisses- perfect little kisses, with no added slobber

Love you Ru Ru's

Mommy

Trent

2009-07-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

I found these and thought they were adorable, so I had to post. Don't you think Otto looks just like Trent????

2009-07-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

Made and posted by Brooklyn;

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

New wall art

2009-07-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

We needed new photos on the wall, since I am partial to my kids, I am gonna blow these up really big. Brooklyn didn't want me taking her photo, so she isn't included. (That is what happens when you are in a poopy mood miss Brooklyn).

P.S. This photo really shows how unique each of kids eye color is; Lily is a greenish/grey, Otto is dark as dark brown can get and miss Ruby is a Hazel color. I think it is pretty amazing. I was tempted to turn these images to B&W but I love seeing their eye color, so they will remain in full color.

P.S.S. If you want to take your own photos like these, turn off that darn flash and look for natural light that isn't too strong, like a window. I make my kids sit on the couch with the window next to them, you can see the light filter on the sides of their faces, perfect for a nice portrait with some unique lighting. And don't be afraid to get CLOSE, kids faces are so perfect their skin is amazing this close up.

Today I am dreaming

2009-07-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

I hate my kitchen. I don't like to cook in it, Infact this is my excuse for never cooking, sure I bake here and there, but I don't do any real family cooking. And today this is the story that I am sticking with. So, today I am dreaming................

Cali baby

2009-07-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

All I can say is water, water and more water. The kids slipped, slided, jumped, swam and played in water the entire trip.

Here are some of our favorite images from our friends house, the beach, hotel pool and the pool at the family reunion, and I got to meet up with my BFF Julie and her cute family at the beach on our last day there. (Juls, notice the pic I used, yeah I love ya)

another sneak peak, cause I can't handle it

2009-07-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Photo shoot in So Cal

2009-07-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

To prove that I am here in Cali for work, here are some of the pics that I took today at the beach with Otto and the Rosenlof boys.

This is how you spend the 4th of July Northwest style

2009-07-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

First, you build a really big bon fire on the beach. But you have to gather the drift wood on the beach first...I prefer to bribe the kids $.10 for each log they drag back. Then when you have your big fat fire, you gather round and eat smores and hot dogs all day till you feel like puking.

Then you can attempt to swing some balls into the ocean, or in my case at the seagulls.

Watch the babies fight over sippy cups......

gab around the fire, and stare at everyone.......

Snap a few sunset pics with your hot hubby......

Burry a few kids.......

Stand around and watch them trying to get out......

And lastly dump sand on the dogs and look cute while doing it.

Rosie Coveralls- Hula Mula Spring 2010

2009-06-30T02:01:00.000-07:00

Cupcake Party

2009-06-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn had a cupcake party for her 10th birthday. We played silly cupcake games and decorated cupcakes, and we had contests for the best decorated cupcake and the ugliest cupcake. Grandma Nash (Gloria) made all the kids their own cupcake apron, even a cute little one for Ruby. The girls all got to take home their cupcakes in bakery boxes with custom stickers. Brooklyn turns 10 on wednesday and we are heading to the coast with Nanny and Poppy.

Brooklyn's first swim meet

2009-06-20T16:43:00.001-07:00

She is in the second lane from the camera, in the red/blue/white.

I lost her for a little bit...keep watching!!!

She totally kicked butt!!

P.S. she was so so nervous, she wouldn't even eat dinner last night. Now that she knows how

awesome she is, she has some confidence!

My bags are packed and I am ready to go......

2009-06-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

Hula Mula Spring 2010

No words........

2009-06-15T15:50:00.001-07:00

Please laugh with me..........and pray that we have good dental insurance someday.

11 yrs and counting

2009-06-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

June 12, 1999 - Trent and Melissa were married.

We were so young and such a hot couple......

11 yrs later, and we are still hot!

Happy Anniversary babe!

Melissa

Yes, we are white trash

2009-06-05T14:46:00.001-07:00

This is what you do when you are at the coast, you sit in your front yard and make smores...... I am not ashamed.

My cute models

2009-05-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

Please click here for Hula Mula Spring preview!

If I were a flower

2009-05-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn and Lily participated in their school talent show last week. The funny thing about it is that we didn't know anything about it, until the day before.

Brooklyn announced that she and Lily had tried out a few weeks before and the show was the next night.

They sang acapella the theme song from Juno, "If I were a flower".

I am amazed at their confidence that they could just get up there and sing in front of hundreds of people.

Brooklyn sang all the verses and Lily joined in during the chorus. It was the cutest thing that I ever saw. We video taped it, but I can't figure out how to transfer it to my mac.

For now you will have to view the pics

Oh and click here for KH spring preview

It barked at us

2009-05-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

We spend the beautiful weekend at the Coast. Imagine our surprise when this guy was washed up on shore.

He was mean too.....barking at anyone who came near him, he was alive and not hurt, just grumpy. The more he barked, the closer the kids got. The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. The next morning, the tide carried him back to the ocean so he could go home.

It was the high-light of the weekend. Thank you mr. seal for entertaining my kids.

Inspiration

2009-05-22T13:57:00.001-07:00

I am currently designing Fall 2010 for Hula Mula. I feeling inspired by these colors, what do you think? What colors are you feeling for Fall?? { I know summer is just here...but we have to be ahead of the game}

Great Wolf Lodge

2009-05-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Lily wanted a birthday party and she wanted to invite her entire 1st grade class.

To be honest I just didn't want to deal with it, that many kids....the thought of entertaining 20 kids was not exactly my idea of fun.

So, I convinced Lily to accept a family trip and skip the kid party. Thankfully she was more excited about the family trip....To Great Wolf Lodge {http://www.greatwolf.com/grandmound}.

It is only about 45 minutes away from us too.

It is a hotel and with your room stay you get water park passes, to their huge indoor park. There are about 6 big slides, a wave pool and a kiddie area. All the kids loved it, even ruby. They do have life jackets available for kids who can't swim {I don't believe in them because it doesn't let kids learn to swim, however if you are nervous, they are there}. We couldn't get the kids out of the water, and trent and I even enjoyed it too. We highly recommend it, we are definitely going back soon.

No front teeth & a birthday party!

2009-05-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

7 years ago I was in the hospital on Mother's day after just giving birth to a bald, round headed very pale baby girl in Orlando Florida.

I was so excited to have another girl, {I secretly wished her to be a girl}.

I must admit that Lily was not what we expected. Her older sister Brooklyn was dark haired, and even slightly tanned at birth. I will never forget Trent's words {when Brooklyn was pulled from my tummy via C-section}, "She looks Samoan!" It was true, she had dark hair, dark eyebrows { I mean full on eye brows} and she was totally tan.

So, when I got a glimpse of this new baby girl, with bright blue eyes, white skin and blond hair, I started laughing. Meanwhile Trent trying to decide if he is the father of this "pale" one, and probably trying to remember what the mail man looks like, and I am laughing. Right there in surgery, I am laughing and trying to stay still.

I still laugh at the fact that they are total opposites. People even ask us all the time if they have the same dad. I just laugh and say, "Yes, Lily looks like her Dutch grandpa."

Lily is a unique child, and thinks she is smarter than most adults, she often stares down her teacher and has been know to roll her eyes at authority. Last week she told me that all she wants for her birthday is "a job at Knuckleheads.....with her own office." She was dead serious too.

Lily also has a kind heart, and loves animals. She wants to be a "animal doctor" when she grows up, but we think that she will really take over Knuckleheads, and it might be a hostile takeover.

Lily is a puzzle master and can put together any puzzle faster than any adult I know. She has a very quick intelligent mind, and isn't afraid to tell you.

Lily plays piano, is an amazing artist with a very free style. She is our hippie girl, she loves nature, dirt and running without shoes, {with dreadlocks for hair}.

Lily loves to be loved. Love her back and she will be the most faithful friend you have.

So today {Mother's Day} We got together with Trent's family to celebrate many things besides Lily's Birthday, and Mother's day. Lily's two front teeth fell out.

Lily was working the final tooth, twisting, turning and pulling and finally {after we all put down $1 each on the table if she pulled it out} the last tooth came out. It was a victory!

So happy birthday to my blond, pale faced, toothless sweet baby girl!!

{I "heart" you Lily}

P.S. Check out the cake... Brooklyn and I baked & decorated it, from scratch! {A first for us both}

My Little Man

2009-05-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

My little man turned 5 {gulp} this week, so I thought I would spice things up a bit and write down some things about Otto {since this blog is really suppose to be a journal for me}

Things Otto loves

Star wars Legos

Star wars action figures

Star wars books

Star wars music

Ummm...{basically anything Star wars will work for him.}

He always has something in his pocket, sometimes it is little legos, money, or some random thing {like a paperclip he found on the ground at Fred Meyer's and thinks it is a treasure}.

Otto is sweet and sensitive, and is always willing to hand out kisses and hugs upon request.

Otto plays T.ball {loves to hit, but on the field he is either picking grass, doing the robot or belting out his best version of "Human" {by the killers}

Lily is his best friend

Brooklyn is his second mom

and Ruby is just a pest to him

Otto has awesome hair, and more hairstyle's than any 5 year old has ever had! Currently he is rocking the 80's skater side swoop.

Otto is a lady's man. At pre-school, 2 moms approached me this week to tell me that their daughters have crushes on Otto {he is clueless, and so used to having sisters that it doesn't bother him one bit}

He starts kindergarten in the fall, I am not too excited about it. I love having him at home, he is so easy and so content. I guess one thing about starting school that will help {me} is that both his sisters are there, and they will take good care of him.....Ok, changing subject. I have all summer to prepare mentally for my mamma's boy to leave the nest.

{ i "heart" you Otto}

What have I been up to??

2009-05-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well, if you must know. I am putting together a cook book...yeah I know totally random. I have a goal to cook more this year, but every time I go to cook or bake something I have to search through every cook book just to find my favorites, and too much work so I generally give up and make something generic.

So, I decided to put all of my favorite recipes {and some from family members} into one book with pictures, just for my use.

So, if you have any amazing recipes that I MUST add to to this book please send them to me!

CLICK ME

2009-04-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

Click here for Hula Mula Spring 2010 preview pics!!:

My new mid century office

2009-04-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

I solved the problem and I now have a NEW office at home and I am really thrilled with the outcome. I really wanted something cool for my new office, but everything I saw looked so boring. Since my new office is the old dinning room, you can see the space from both the kitchen and the front living room. I really wanted something that looked nice, organized and was compact.

Trent and I went on a hunt to different vintage shops in Portland, (Portland has the BEST mid century vintage stores). We had an idea of what we wanted, so when I saw this at the FIRST store we went in, I knew it would be perfect....after some wheeling and dealing it was mine!

The best part is that we can still fit a cool modern Danish dining set in here if we want. And I almost forgot, the other best part is the cabinet with a key....I can lock the kids out! Nice eh?

My cute elf

2009-04-23T18:50:00.001-07:00

Otto's team pictures came in today, and I decided that I have a cute little elf for a son.

Eat in Kitchen

2009-04-23T09:40:00.001-07:00

This is our next project........... Trent is going to build the seating area in our eat in kitchen (minus the fancy molding), and I will be searching Craigs list for the table and chairs. The color won't be green, we are going for more grey's and oranges. I hope to post pictures sooner than later! Whatcha think??

Tweet with me

2009-04-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what I am doing....but Tweet with me here

Otto plays T-ball

2009-04-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

There is one thing that Trent has been waiting and waiting for since the day Otto was born;
Little league..........
and that time has finally come. Otto is on the Devil Rays, #10. It is quite entertaining to watch him play...he sings and does the robot on the field and you have to remind him to run with JEDI speed to the bases vs slow trotting run. Trent is happy as a clam with a mouth full of sunflower seeds watching from the side lines.

Spokane + Easter = quick trip

2009-04-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in Spokane with family over the weekend. We made the 6 hr drive to see my nephew Riley get baptized, we drove on friday afternoon, and came back home sunday morning. Like I said, it was really fast.

The highlight of the trip was the Easter basket hunt that we did for my younger brothers. They had no idea that they were going to have a scavenger hunt. We left them clue after clue ,some of the best ones were, "You are a dork, and eat Pork with a ........." {fork drawer} and What time is it? {look for a clock} LOL.

In the end, the boys found their High School Musical and Hannah Montanta baskets!

The little kids got an Easter egg hunt....Ruby was so excited. The kids loved seeing Poppy, aunts, uncles and cousins. It is always hard to leave.

Snowboarding at Mt. Hood- OR

2009-04-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

We finally got a chance to take the kids up snowboarding this year. We dug out the snow clothing, gathered up the boards, boots, mittens, goggles and headed up the mountain.

One hour later up the mountain we realized that the weather was getting worse and worse. By the time we got out of the car the wind had picked up and blowing snow so hard we could hardly walk. We asked the kids if we should just turn around, but they begged and said that they wanted a few runs down the mountain.

So, we bundled them up and headed to the slopes, I must admit that I am a fair weathered snowboarder and I did not see the fun in snowboarding in crappy weather and sleet for snow.

Despite the wind and sleet coming down, they all loved it and couldn't get enough. By the end of the day both Brooklyn and Lily were going up the lift themselves, getting off, buckling back up and carving down the mountain. Otto was flying down the mountain with Trent running behind him trying to slow him down.

Ruby was pretty upset and wanted to "slide" with the kids and screamed until Grandpa who was there with ski's decided that he would ski her down the mountain, she laughed the whole way down and wanted "more, more".

4 hrs later, while the rest of us were cozy and warm in the lodge, Lily was still out snowboarding and couldn't get enough, Trent had to drag her off the mountain kicking and screaming! (Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit......)

Trent couldn't have been more proud of his kids today. Hopefully this will turn into more snowboarding trips with the family.

Homemade kites make a great spring break

2009-04-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

We headed to Long Beach Washington to our home away from home for spring break. I always look forward to going to our beach house. It is clutter free and work free. We keep the house very minimal and only keep things there that we love and especially picked out for that house. I like the simplicity there, and breathing the fresh ocean air is so nice and relaxing, even when it rains.

During our stay there, the kids got to make homemade kid friendly kites. We have a neighbor that used to own kite stores, so he invited the kids over to make their own (out of colored trash bags). It was such an easy project and was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

We watched a lot of movies, played the wii, had an Easter egg hunt on the beach with cousins, and we ate..a lot! Lily and I even ate some raw osters, not too bad!

I didn't want to come home, but I can't be on vacation for ever....so we came home. I am counting the days till we go back again.

Help......

2009-03-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your 6yr old daughter gets invited to a Twilight birthday party, then informs you that she is "totally in love with Edward" ....ummmm help!

P.S. She will NOT be attending the party, and Trent is scared to death!

Hasta La Vista

2009-03-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn and I are heading to LA in the morning. It is market week at our showroom at the California Market Center.

I hate traveling alone, so I decided to bring Brooklyn with me. She is the best little traveler, and fun to be around. She is so excited. Just the two of us.

I keep telling her that she might be bored at the show, but all she cares about is getting her own bed in the hotel, ordering room service, and just me and her hanging out.......that is what I am excited for too~

Don't get pinched!

2009-03-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

And you thought you were unorganized

2009-03-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

Help! I am drowning in my office! Yes, this is my office/makeshift old dinning room. I moved my office to my house finally. I just can't get any work done at the office and lets just face it, it isn't practical with Ruby and Otto still at home during the day. So, I took the formal dinning room (which we never used) and I am in the process of making it my office. But I feel so un-creative there. So, any ideas??? And yes, the samples must stay. It looks like a makeshift closet, but I need my clothing samples for each season I am working on. I think I have a place for the piano in the living room, and then I need to sell my dinning set. ......Help me before I drown in here!

Lil Miss Swim

2009-03-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

I downloaded the coolest application on my iphone. You can take pictures and then edit and add borders to the pictures right on your phone.

I took this picture of Lily at swimming lessons today.

The top picture is the edited one, and the bottom the original. How cool is this???
I love my iphone

Is anyone think the Bachelor is lame?

2009-03-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I totally admit that I got sucked into the Bachelor this season. I even got Trent to watch it with me (don't know how I worked that one).

I was so happy when he chose Melissa, she was my favorite because of how much he adored her. You could tell the way that he looked at her that he really loved (liked) her the most.

I even thought it was funny when Deanna came back, and he dissed her. It was awesome. She totally deserved that one.

Then the after show came on, and I was completely floored. Not because his feelings had changed for Melissa...that is totally acceptable. Except the fact that he did it on national TV.

Then he confesses his love to Molly....again totally wrong on national TV, just minutes after Melissa is gone, she probably hadn't even left the building yet. And Molly took him back...I mean seriously? What is wrong with that girl? Jason doesn't know what he wants.

Oh, and what is wrong with his kid, he has got to be the most annoying kid ever. Jason totally baby's him. I don't know what was more annoying, his kid or how much Jason cried on the show.

I am so disappointed in him...... am I wrong in thinking that?

Another give-away!

2009-03-01T13:21:00.001-08:00

CLICK HERE!!!!

Miss Lily

2009-02-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

Lily is the second child, and I admit that sometimes she gets forgotten. She is the one that never asks for anything, she is easy to please. And because of this she gets looked over easier and our attention goes to the most demanding of our kids.

I am trying to make extra effort to show her that she is not forgotten and to show her that she is special. This week I am trying to put together a book for her. Images of her as a baby, in a beautiful hard cover bound book.

Around the time when Lily was born digital cameras were starting to become affordable, so we made our big purchase, a $200 Cannon something. I didn't really know what I was doing, or what pixels meant....and now I am regretting making all the images as small as possible. But I was happy that I didn't have to develop film, so I didn't.

Over the past 6 years, I have owned 5 computers and saved her digital pictures on each of them. Unfortunately all but 1 of those computers have crashed (thankfully I did back ups). So, now I am digging through the hundreds of backup disks to find pictures of miss Lily so she is not forgotten.

She was the cutest baby, she really was. She was happy, slept through the night, and she was quiet. Which is funny if you know her now. She didn't talk one word until she was 3, and then 2 years of speech therapy later, she doesn't stop talking (just ask her teacher at school) and she is our loudest kid.

I found these images and though they are horrible quality, I loved looking and remembering what a sweet and funny baby she was.

p.s.

2009-02-26T13:52:00.001-08:00

Notice the larger pictures below? Yeah, I thought so...nice eh? It is a little trick I learned. Comment if you want to learn how to do it.

To the beach we go

2009-02-25T20:30:00.000-08:00

Nanny and Poppy came to visit us for a quick trip. We took them to our beach house and we had a great time.

Nanny gathered wood for a bon fire, poppy flew a kite, Ruby bossed everyone around, blew up in her diaper in the car so bad we had to pull over and change into new clothing. I have never seen dad move so fast as he did when he jumped out of the car, It totally stunk us out. And then Otto threw up in the car, Nice! Definitely a trip to remember.

Brooklyn is still in depression mode, she loves her Nanny & Poppy and it always takes her at least a week for her to get back to normal after family leaves. She cries for 3 days straight, looks at pictures, and then finally 3-4 days later we see her come out of her sad depression. I hope this is not a sign that she will be an emotional teen.............

This blog

2009-02-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

I am trying to keep this BLOG up more...so mark it as your favorite and check it out often. This is where we will do more raffles and fun giveaways! In other words, this is the cool place to be!

Live in LA? Read more......

2009-02-23T15:05:00.000-08:00

Click HERE for a fun Knuckleheads event!

WINNERS!!!!!! Whoo hooo

2009-02-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

Come over to this BLOG we announced the winners of the raffle. If you won, please send me your address and size you want.

Winners will be posted tomorrow!!!

2009-02-14T03:22:00.000-08:00

New designs

2009-02-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

We are busy designing our spring 2010 line and we need your advise.

I would love some feedback from you guys, pretty much everyone who reads my blog wears our label, so who could we get better feed back from?

Spring 10 will have a vintage surf inspired line, so we want to know:
#1. if you like hawaiian prints,
#2. what shirts or styles are your favorite, colors for spring??
#3. do you have any sizing issues (we just upgrades all our shirts- so they do run larger now), etc.
#4. If you could add anything to the line what would it be?? More tees? More shorts? or something else??
Basically please give us your feedback. Any and all feed back and/or ideas are great!

And we will be giving away a surprise $50 value item just for leaving a comment for us. We will randomly pick 2 winners!!!

thanks again!!

New picture

2009-02-08T15:28:00.001-08:00

I havn't taken very many recent pictures of myself, so I thought I would post a new one.

More pictures

2009-01-29T16:47:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures, thanks to Juls who hauled her camera with her all day!!

London pictures

2009-01-27T13:40:00.000-08:00

I am so lucky that I was able to take my BFF with me to London, we had a great time together and we acted as though we were 17 again at Ricks college. We were total dorks then and I discovered that we still are. It is amazing that we have 8 kids between us, and we could still behave like silly college girls when we are together. We missed our children while we were away, but it was a nice break away from the constant whines and sniffles that we are subjected to daily.

London was exactly as I had imagined it, cold rainy and very old. I marveled at the buildings and envied the boots that the women sported around town. I gawked at the Van gogh exhibit, sat in the old pews (and stole a few illegal images on my iphone) and listened to the choir boys in St. Paul's Cathedral.

We walked across the London Bridge, got lost and then found again and had a blast talking all the while.

The food was not very good, so we filled up on shortbread cookies and chocolates. Julie was my translator ( I am not kidding), the language was really hard for me to follow, there are so many slang words that I was almost completely lost! It felt so good to land in the US and hear a normal accent.

Here are a few dorky images from London, Julie has most of the images (hint hint julie) so hopefully I can post some more soon.

And just to prove that we really there for work, I have included a few pictures of our booth!

view from our hotel

Do I look like a tourist?

2009-01-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

Thursday Dec 15th- Yes, I am a total tourist! Who cares, it is part of the fun. Today we rode a double decker bus around london and we (I) ate fish and chips at the original Sherlock Holmes pub. It is freezing here, wish I brought my uggs. At least the new tourist wool scarf is keeping me warm.

P.S. I am never riding coach again, first class rocks!

London Yeah Baby! (with an austin powers accent)

2009-01-13T21:52:00.001-08:00

I am out! Off to London in the morning for a business trip with my best friend Julie. We are leaving the kids with the husbands, Good luck to them! Trent already told the kids that they get waffles every dinner. Nice

I am dreaming.....

2009-01-12T23:26:00.001-08:00

of wearing my hot summer shoes again with a wonderful pedicure

My Mid Century Beach House

2009-01-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

Well the house is almost done. Trent and I finished moving in and painting this week. With the help if Ikea and my favorite vintage shops in Portland we have it almost decorated. We have been collecting vintage mid century furniture for a while now, and I am so glad to finally have a place to put it all.

Please take note of the large starburst on the wall, this is a designer piece by C.Jere that we found at our favorite vintage shop in Portland. I am obsessed with it and the spot on the cedar walls is perfect. I am also obsessed with Herman Miller shell chairs. We still need few more, so if you seen em, let me know. We still have the kitchen and bathrooms left to tackle, but those are projects for down the road.

If anyone wants to come and stay, please let us know so we can mark you on the callender!

Here are a few images from our Orlando vacation

2009-01-05T11:52:00.000-08:00

Incase you didn't notice, Otto wore the same shorts everyday. We didn't realize that it would be 85 degrees so we only packed him one pair of shorts! Nice eh?

I married one of the Village People

2009-01-04T00:34:00.000-08:00

Scared little man

2008-12-31T09:45:00.000-08:00

Lets just say that Otto was scared out of his mind, and the mean parent that I am made him go on the ride! Ha

Hula Mula Fall 09

2008-12-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a little sneak peak.......CLICK HERE

Magical Christmas Adventure

2008-12-22T19:57:00.000-08:00

We are off to Disney World in the morning......wish us luck! The kids are excited out of their minds. They have been playing non stop with their cousins for the past 4 days, and now they get to go and have some fun with Mickey, then back to Atlanta to ring in the new year with cousins again! We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas, we wish could see all our family and friends!!!

Trent Trent he's a lego maniac!

2008-12-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

Remember that great old song? Well that sums up our house lately. All the kids (and Trent) have found their obsession. I guess the little lego guys are collectors items and hard to find. So, Trent and Otto have been on the hunt for the cool ones. Surprisingly enough Ruby doesn't really eat them, and there have been few fights since there is more than enough to go around. At least it is creative right?

Please help Knuckleheads!

2008-12-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

As most of you know I own and manufacture a children's clothing business, and as of February 10, myself and thousands of others in the children's industry will be deeply affected financially or will be out of business.

Remember the outcry last holiday season over lead in imported toys? In order to combat such safety issues, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has passed legislation called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The law sets stringent guidelines for children’s products containing lead and phthalates (a chemical used in some vinyl products).

It is supposed to go into effect February 10th, 2009, and after that date any product intended for children ages 12 and under must meet these guidelines, and have a certificate of compliance from a CPSC-accredited laboratory. This includes not just toys, but clothing, jewelry, blankets, sheets, books, bibs, strollers, carriers, and anything else that a child under 12 might come in contact with. Sounds great, right?

In theory, maybe. But in actuality the law is so far reaching that it may succeed in turning the economy upside down. For starters, the CPSIA requires end unit testing on every product intended for use by children under 12. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to do this testing, regardless of how small the business. That means that manufacturers (like myself ) will have to pay to get every different product they offer tested. These tests have to be done at a CSPC accredited lab, and cost tens of thousands of dollars. For example if you offer 3 different types of dresses. Each dress contains 2 different fabrics, as well as buttons, and thread, so that's potentially $600 to test one dress. But if you have 3 or more styles, that's $1800. And when you get a new bolt of fabric, you need to start all over again.

At present, there are no exemptions for small businesses and "micro" manufacturers and most handcraft artisans. There is no exception for quantities made, where the garments/products are made or anything else. Nor is there an exception for unadorned fabric components, unfinished wood components, materials which, by their nature, are free of lead and phthalates.

Also, the Act takes a "guilty until proven innocent" approach, which would treat a handmade, unfinished wooden toy that doesn't meet the certification deadline of 2/10/09 as a "banned hazardous substance" which would be illegal to distribute in this country. Each infraction carries a $100,000 felony charge. This legislation is also retroactive for any pre-existing inventory as of February 10th, 2009. This means that everything on the shelves in those big (or small) stores will also be "banned, hazardous substances" - contraband.

Larger corporations that can afford testing will incur thousands, maybe millions of dollars in fees, and this expense will be handed down to the consumer, probably making the prices for children's products go through the roof.

This also means that after that date, even selling your kids old things on eBay or Craigslist will be illegal. Charities will not be able to accept donations without a certificate of compliance either. February 10, 2009 is being dubbed “National Bankruptcy Day” by many people in the apparel and toy industry. If this legislation is not amended, it will affect everyone from port workers to parents looking for legal products. Billions of dollars worth of children's products will have to be destroyed because they can’t be legally sold, and this will cause major environmental problems.

While I am all for higher safety standards and keeping our kids safe, this law is so overreaching as to put thousands on manufacturers of children's products out of business -hurting our economy and causing even more loan defaults. Though this legislation was well-intentioned, it cannot be allowed to stand as is.

Please help us defend the American dream and our entrepreneurial spirit! This law affects every stay at home mom trying to help put food on the table and every grandmother knitting blankets for the local craft fair. It makes the thousands of us who have found a niche in the burgeoning children's market have to make a tough decision - continue to produce items illegally and possible incur a $100,000 fine, pay the enormous fees and raise costs of goods sold, or close up shop!

Please help us!

Contact your Congressperson using this link: http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12274476

It only takes 30 seconds!

If you have an extra minute send a hard copy of the letter as well!
To sign the online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html
Read more about it here: http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/

Please copy and paste this on your blogs, we need all the help we can get!

Ruby finally did it!

2008-12-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

She pestered Stretch (our miniature Daschund) enough that he nipped her. She kept pulling at him, tugging his ear, sitting on him and he finally had enough. He bit her cheek near her eye. I don't know who was more shocked, Ruby or Stretch. They both stood frozen for a few seconds. He knew he did something wrong. And yes he did get in BIG trouble! Poor Ruby, she loves Stretch so much and he couldn't tolerate her any more. She cried more from hurt feelings.

Beach house continued.....

2008-12-10T21:49:00.001-08:00

Beach house...enjoy it!

2008-12-10T16:37:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from our first weekend at the beach house. The kids loved it! No TV, No internet. Just our family enjoying each other.

Please come and love it with us!

Warning: you will get hooked!

2008-12-09T10:39:00.001-08:00

I found this great site and now I am hooked. You create a complete outfit or look from thousands of clothing options, then it tells you where you can buy it. Even if you don't buy it, it is fun to dream about that perfect outfit. Or in my case inspiration for Hula Mula. Here is my dream outfit that I created.

hot boots by cadichick

melissa's wish list2 by cadichick

holiday 2 by cadichick

holiday look by cadichick

2008-12-02T09:03:00.001-08:00

Click Here

Dinnerware anonymous

2008-11-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

I love dishes, and yes Trent does think it is a problem. Since we have been married we (I) have purchased at least 10 different sets. My latest obsession (collection) is the vintage FRANCISCAN STARBURST dinnerware. And since I have bought a few pieces, it is officially a collection. So, if you ever happen upon this pattern while vintage shopping..............

Does this make you drool?

2008-11-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

I love Canadian candy......and we totally stocked up!

Canada eh?

2008-11-22T18:17:00.001-08:00

I am in Canada! Be back Tuesday.......

looky looky over here!

2008-11-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

Click Here for KH fall 09 preview

Thanks Ryan for letting us photograph you and your boys. (Ryan and I go way back, he is old friend of mine from Escondido, CA -where I grew up. He lives in Portland with his beautiful wife and 4 handsome boys)

This is what you do when it is raining outside

2008-11-20T16:16:00.000-08:00

We have way too much fun with the camera on the computer.

My kids (and I) could spend hours laughing at ourselves.

Ruby on the other hand is deeply afraid of the warping application on my mac...she cries when you show her a warped image of herself. Otto and I were laughing our heads off.

2008-11-20T00:08:00.000-08:00

Your baby is no longer a baby when she feeds herself with a real fork. These milestones are killing me!

Dear Santa

2008-11-19T00:41:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or is Christmas starting a little early this year? Whatever, I don't care. I love Christmas, the music, the baking, decorations, shopping, you name it. I love it all.

This year we are kinda skipping christmas, not really but kinda. We will be in Florida/Georgia for Christmas this year. We are heading to Georgia to see family and my lil brother, then we are off to Disney World for 5 days (hopefully Santa will find us at the Hotel), then we are back to Georgia to ring in the new year with my family.

We won't be getting a real tree to decorate, since it will be a total fire hazard! So, I am living through images that get me in the holiday mood. I have been having a bit too much fun on Flickr lately, I made some awesomely cool Christmas photo collages.