helmet love...

This past Sunday proved to be one of the most beautiful days we've had so far in 2012! The sun was shining. The temps rose all day, finally peaking around the 60 mark. It. Was. Awesome. The boys were itching to get their bikes out, and Daddy gracefully obliged. The tires were pumped, and they were off! Of course, this left Maija wondering, "what about me?"... So, up to the garage attic Daddy climbed to retrieve the little bike that both Caleb and Brady rode for their first "big kid" bike. He adjusted the training wheels, and again the tires were filled with air...and just like that - she hopped on and cruised first around the driveway and then down the street, around the cul-de-sac and back again. No problems! She's a natural. Huh. Must get that from her Mommy.

Anyway, the next day Maija and I went to Target, (oh how we love Target!) to find her a helmet so she can ride her, "beautiful, new bike!" safely. After the first one we brought home turned out to be a bit too small (who knew a 3 year old would not fit into a 3+ toddler sized helmet?? OH! Right, I sometimes forget our children are not, ahem, average when it comes to fitting into ANYTHING!) we made another trip to return it and Maija successfully chose a lovely, purple 5 year old size helmet that even came with a BELL to put on her, "beautiful, new bike!"

Maija has undoubtedly fallen in love with not only her new bike...but also with her helmet. Yesterday was another gorgeous day, which had us outside most of the afternoon. But, before we even got out of our pj's for the day, the helmet was already on...

She wore it around the house all morning. Just going about her usual routine. We did finally make it outside and she rode her bike all around the driveway, talking, singing and giggling to herself. She was indeed in her own happy world. After biking, and scootering, we found ourselves digging into the sandbox for the first time this year! When asked if she'd like to remove her helmet, she gave me "the look", and simply stated, "nope."

After our busy playtime outside we came in to find some juice and a snack. Again, the helmet stayed put and she sweetly snuggled her little elephant on the couch.

And of course, if your Daddy needs help assembling a new grill.... A helmet is a must!

And when you need a little cereal before bedtime...

Oh, our funny, funny girl. We're so glad you love your pretty helmet! It looks GREAT on you... no matter what you're doing!

when Little is Big...

This is another of my blog post ideas that has been knocking around in my head for a while... "when little is big". Huh. I will, a bit shamefully, admit that I am not always able or willing to just stop and enjoy all the little things in each day. Sometimes we get rushed for time, or we are tired, or we are stressed and our patience gets stretched a bit too thinly, and we sort of miss out on all those littles. If you think about it, most of them truly are the essence of life. The littles are BIG. They deserve our appreciation. So, here is my first (of hopefully many!) list of a few of the little things that really are big in more ways than one.

• the three "thank you's" we get after dinner every evening
• Brady never forgetting to seek out a hug before leaving for school
• Mommy & Maija days
• being able to put groceries in the cart
• hearing "I love you", from my husband every day
• warm breeze on a sunny day
• bedtime cuddles
• how excited the kids get when they hear popcorn popping
• Maija's imaginative conversations when she is playing alone in her room
• cribbage games with Caleb
• phone calls from a friend
• hearing a song that just makes you wanna dance
• family fun time
• holding hands
• first sidewalk chalk drawings of the year

I guess I will make myself stop there...as the list could probably go on indefinitely...

Take a moment or two to remember your littles as often as you can.

food for thought...

find some...

HIATUS : an interruption in time or continuity : break; especially: a period when something (as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted

Why, hello there!

Wow. So yeah, it's March....March 12th, to be precise. Once again, I've slacked off on blog posts to keep you 3 or 4 Saari page readers "updated" on the latest. (Hmm. Maybe there are more of you out there?? Most often the only faithful comment writer is Manda...so it's really tough to say!) Of course, Facebook does the job most days... but I consider this blog my digital scrapbook of sorts, so I'm always a bit frustrated with myself for not sticking with regular entries. Another *sigh*...and another "oh well". Maija just fell asleep on the couch, so it is quiet for the next little while...

February was good, and busy. Between every day life, basketball for Caleb, an up and down month for weather, (the kids got their first, official "snow day" on leap day!), and me filling in as daycare provider for Noah, the days really flew by.
We didn't really go anywhere or do anything super exciting, but the little day to day stuff always comes with a handful of special...and that's what counts.

Ok, March... I'm gonna be all over you!

out on the ice...

We got all the kids skates for Christmas this year, and up until yesterday hadn't had an opportunity to go test them out. It had finally been cold enough over the past few days that the neighborhood ice rinks were open again, so we bundled up and headed over to the park! Sadly, once we were there and getting skates on, we discovered Maija's were a bit too small, so she'd have to just "boot it" for this outing.

This also happened to be Caleb and Brady's first time on skates. I know, I know... two Minnesota boys, ages 10 and 7, who have not been on the ice yet?!? Crazy to think since we live in a MAJOR hockey town... but our boys don't play hockey, and we just hadn't really gotten around to doing the skating thing...

Anyway! Caleb was a natural. But he has had experience on rollerblades the last few summers, so he had a slight advantage. Brady was quite wobbly, but by the end of our skating adventure was feeling more and more confident!

Of course, Maija wasn't going to waste a perfectly good opportunity to get some playground action in! If you can't skate, you might as well slide and swing, right?!

All in all it was a very fun and successful family outing!! I think we'll be making quite a few trips over to the rink for the rest of the winter!

***I took a few video clips of the boys and their first time out on the ice! Check them out in the post below! :)

we skate!

winter wonderland

As you all know, winter is hardly a favorite season of mine. Cold, snow, ice....yuck, yuck, yuck. However, I do have to say, there are a few things about this frigid time of year that I do enjoy. Like, watching the kids happily play in all the fresh fluffy snow, and building forts and other masterpieces out of the more solid stuff that drifts with the wind. There are also certain days when the morning light brings a glittery display on top of snow and on trees. I love when everything is covered in that beautiful, sparkling frostiness. Wednesday happened to be such a day, and when Maija and I bundled up to go play, I brought my camera along to attempt to capture the magical scene.

Sadly, my lame little camera hardly does any justice to the amazing nature show... All the trees and bushes were covered in perfectly rounded ice droplets. Like millions of tiny diamonds! It was awesome!

it's a mom thing...

In the past couple of months, the baby boom all over my Facebook news page has been tremendous! Babies, babies, everywhere!!! It's so exciting to see and hear about the countdowns as all these awesome ladies prepare for their little ones to arrive, which of course is followed up by all the heart-melting pictures of the new bundles! I can admit all these babies leave me feeling a bit nostalgic about all those amazing moments and joy they bring. And it also makes me look at our three, growing, healthy, beautiful children, and think, "WOW!", we've come a long way! I hope you won't mind me pressing the rewind button...as I reminisce about tid-bits from my own journey into mommy-hood three (and a half) times around.

~I was barely 19 when Caleb was born. Crazy, right?!! I had NO CLUE what to expect, but I guess you can say, when the time came my "natural, maternal instincts, kinda kicked in... Thank God. Of course, my Mom was also there to help. (Probably struggling through serious bouts of shock, but she was there.) Again, Thank God. And on July 10, at 4:25 am, I became a mother for the first time. It's funny how in an instant, what I had originally (and foolishly) thought to be one of the biggest mistakes I had ever, or would ever make, was suddenly transformed into a pure miracle. After 9 long months, and swinging from what was honestly the most depressed place I've ever been to one of the most amazing, blissful places I can imagine, I had done it. I was a mom. A miracle was placed in my hands. A miracle that in one, quick moment, I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt, no matter what anyone else said or thought, was indeed no mistake. He was perfect. Beautiful. A healthy, 9 lbs. 10 oz. And in that instant he filled my heart and soul with a love that was absolute and completely immeasurable. Sure, the timing might not have been the greatest... but just look at Caleb now!?! He was MEANT to be.

~Shortly after Matt and I were married, our suspicions were confirmed that we were expecting again. In true M & M fashion, we had not planned on another pregnancy... but, hey! Caleb was almost two at the time, so it seemed like a nice fit for our little family. Obviously, there was another plan intended for us...as at 16 weeks we got the news that I had miscarried. I don't really talk about that experience often, as it was truly heart wrenching, but I do actually think about it quite often. So now when an expectant Mommy shares the news that their first major ultrasound was a good one, I breathe an extended sigh of joyful relief for them. Because I know what the alternative feels like. And for me, in those two days, from the moment the ultrasound tech. grew quiet and left the room, to when Matt and I walked out of the hospital on that warm July morning, I knew I was forever changed. It's difficult to put the thoughts and feelings into words, and it makes me tear up just thinking back on those very vivid memories... but, I find comfort in knowing that without the loss of that baby then, we wouldn't have Brady now.

~Brady, Brady, Brady. I have to say the journey through a pregnancy after having a miscarriage is such a mixed bag of emotions. Every twinge, pain, "unusual" symptom throws you into a super scary "what if" mode. While, at the same time, each week that comes and goes is a joyful accomplishment. It's exhausting! It took me a while but when the personal milestone weeks of 14, 15 and 16 were safely past, I finally let hope sink in that this time we might be ok. I can clearly remember being in the waiting room on ultrasound day. My nerves were so on edge. It wasn't until the tech had pinpointed that glorious little flutter on the screen, that I allowed myself to breathe. A strong heartbeat... we could see it... hear it... and everything else checked out perfectly as well. A boy, with a big head! And the October 24 due date was right on target. So on target in fact, that at 4:25 am on October 24th, I rolled out of bed, and barely made it to the bathroom when I was surprised with a sudden jerk...followed by a gush of fluids! WHOA. I think I stood there for a good minute, gathering my senses and putting the puzzle pieces together. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"..."Honey? It's time!" I've never seen Matt so quick to be out of bed, dressed and in the car! Less than ten hours later, at 2:06 pm, our big-headed (OUCH!), healthy boy was in our arms. Another miracle... and another MEANT to be.

~March 2008, brought us one last surprise...another + sign on the ol' pregnancy test! Here we go, again! This time around I felt noticeably more tired. But then again, keeping up with an almost seven year old and an almost four year old probably helped out with my exhaustion factor! Everything was going great, and then our Dr. picked up the heartbeat for the first time with the fetal doppler, she confidently declared, "there SHE is!" Of course, us having already had two boys, were not as confident. The 20 week ultrasound also proved to be only semi-helpful in confirming Dr. Mickelson's theory. Baby # 3 was not going to give a clear view of anything gender related! Our tech placed her vote in the girl category as well, but I would not be convinced until I saw for myself! So, on November 20th, at 1:16 pm, after only a few hours laboring, and with one final push, we learned not to question Dr. Mickelson! It was a GIRL! I don't know who said it first, but I'm pretty sure I was the one who shouted it loudest. She seemed like such a peanut compared to her brothers. 8 lbs. 1 oz. is small for one of our babies! It took me several hours of simply staring at that little pink hat atop her perfectly round head to really believe that we had a girl. She was MEANT to be. And she made our family complete.

So I guess that is my little walk down memory lane... The journey that has brought us our three miracles; our three greatest joys. The only word I have to sum it all up is, GRATITUDE.

food for thought

"Life shrinks or expands

in proportion to ones courage." ~ Anais Nin

This is another favorite quote of mine... and, bonus, I just love the name Anais Nin. Come on, say it with me, "Anais Nin". Isn't it just fun to say? :)

a (not so) big idea

"I like to listen.

I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.

Most people never listen." ~Ernest Hemingway

So yesterday I shook the cobwebs off my teeny-tiny corner of the blogging world, and quickly flew through a post to "update" you on our last few months. It was good. And, I suppose, needed to get me back into the flow. But if I'm being truthful, the real reason for my decision to breathe life back into the Saari page was another idea for a post that was lurking in my thoughts. I have not yet pinpointed why this "idea" has recently blasted into my mind, but it seems worthy of a little investigation!

What is this big, blasting idea?? A day of listening. (*insert mysterious, "dun-dun-dun" music here*)

To listen is defined as:

1: to pay attention to sound (ie.listen to music)
2: to hear something with thoughtful attention; give consideration (listen to a plea)

3: to be alert to catch an expected sound (listen for his step)

Huh. Impressive right?

---Wow. Yep. She's nutty! Who cares? We are all listening all the time... what the heck does she mean, "a day of listening?"... Whoop-dee-do What so great about that idea?---

Stop. Just for a moment or two. Now. Breathe. Listen. Really listen...

What do you hear?

It amazes me when I pause and actually try to hear what is going on around me. There is so much we take in all day long - not really processing or indulging in it. I think back to one winter night a couple of years ago... it was a cold night, the wind was howling, and our power went out. In that moment, the house grew so incredibly quiet. There was no hum from the fridge. No soft tink - - tink - - from the ceiling fan. Nothing but the wind outside... naturally I was more worried about a lack of power and therefore lack of operating heat source to really sit and marvel at the beauty the wind can bring in its song, but it somehow made a dent in my memory. Another evening I can recall quite vividly was much warmer and pleasant. A busy summer day had come and gone. Kids were tucked in. Matt was already at work. And I found myself resting on the front steps. (I do this a lot if you care to know!) The neighborhood was unusually quiet, which being the country girl I am, pleased me quite a bit. I remember sitting there for what felt like a long time, simply listening to the warm breeze rustle through the leaves. That has always been a favorite sound for me. The wind in the leaves. Anyway, what these particular memories share is the sound...listening in the moment...processing...enjoying.

When we actually pay attention, there is a true symphony waiting to amaze. Whether it is in the every day noises... or the sounds of the stillness... something incredibly special or something super ordinary... Just listen.

So, I guess this is why my idea of a day of listening has intrigued me so much. I want to really listen...to hear...and attempt to document all of those moments - big & small. To appreciate them. Just to see... Will I feel a difference?

Tomorrow, I will do just that.

Spend the day listening.

rewind...in fast forward!

I stand, well sit actually, before you, hand raised and admit, I am guilty of neglect. The ol' Saari page has really collected major dust bunnies this time. Day to day happenings are enough that the blog has come up quite short in attention. Although there is A LOT to catch up on after the, ahem, complete and utter lack of any posts since... ohhh whoops! October. I don't really feel like going through the hundreds of pictures and telling the wonderful stories of each particular event! So, in typical "little bit of life" fashion we'll just call this a rewind in fast forward post!!!

October:

• A fun baking adventure with Charity & Cupcake Couture! So glad I was able to go down to help her! Can't wait to do it again!




• Brady's 7th birthday! Holy moly.




• Halloween party & trick-or-treating adventures...this year we had Green Lantern, Iron Man, and Woody from Toy Story!

November:

• Caleb's first orchestra preformance


• Deer hunting


• Maija's 3rd birthday! Again, holy moly.


• Thanksgiving travels to Grandma & Grandpa. O's.


• Lots of wonderfully mild weather! And NO SNOW!

December:

• Matt turns 30! He'd say don't even mention it...and "holy moly" would be replaced by something else which I won't include here as it could be deemed "inappropriate.


• Lots of misc. events... Fargo Force hockey, school play, basketball practices, Christmas Tree hunt 2011.
  


• Brady broke his toe the first day of Christmas break. Luckily it was a very slight fracture, and all it required was a special walking shoe for a couple weeks.



• Christmas! Grandma & Grandpa B. came to visit!



• New Year's Eve brought the Gunderson crew and Grandma & Grandpa O. to Moorhead



• Again, gloriously mild weather and having almost NO SNOW all month long was AWESOME!
  

January:

• HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2012 bring you an abundance of laughter and happy memories with those you love!




• Joyous news from The Tuttles! Miss Taitum Jane arrived on the 6th! Beautiful and healthy! YAY!




• First bball game for Caleb and the 'Lakers'. Slow to start, but finished strong. Always fun to watch!
  

So, that is my lame attempt to bring you up to speed on the basics around here. Naturally, there is much, much more to fill in all the gaps, but maybe that will be another post another day! Maybe even with pictures! Maybe.