{misc} monday

most of these misc pictures will come from my instagram account, so if you already follow me there, these will be highly anti-climactic. i post {probably too constantly} little tidbits of our days on ig. it's such a seemingly small act that sometimes feels like a waste of time, but i've been finding myself looking back at my own feed quite often lately. i love being able to look back at the beautiful little moments of our lives, especially when the days get difficult and it's hard to find the joy.

1. i fractured my foot. pretty certain it happened when i turned my ankle while carrying wyatt. for those that don't know wyatt, he is a 2-year-old in a body of a 5-year-old and that extra weight did some real damage to the ligaments around my ankle, not to mention a hairline fracture in a metatarsal. liam was the best nurse and has been helping me recover. he couldn't find a towel to place under the ice, so he used a placemat. whoever said autistic kids lack empathy needs a smack in the face from liam.

2. my eldest got an iphone. we didn't plan to get him one until he turned ten, but with him being in an older soccer division come longer practices and i'd have to drop him off and leave him with his team pretty often. a cell phone became a necessity. granted, it didn't need to be an iphone, but they were free, so what the heck. he's been assigned additional chores to earn the cost of his monthly data plan and, well, i haven't had to empty the dishwasher since. 

3. my middle boys. right after i took this picture, liam started screaming because mikey was hugging him too tightly and mikey threw tan bark at liam and made him cry. oh, the joy.

4. isaiah started at a new technology-based charter school and was issued a brand new chromebook. he's pretty stoked and i still have to get used to him doing his homework on his computer instead of on paper.

5. wyatt and i went on a coffee date. this is a first and a big deal. trust me.

6. wyatt will be starting a full-day behavior therapy program at the end of this month. i'm thrilled for him because i know it will be amazing, but i'm also a bit sad that my last baby will be away all day like his big brothers. no more babies for this mama. what am i going to do with myself all day? find myself again, that's what. for six hours a day, i get to be "katrina" again and not "mama".

7. liam got his first homework assignment from pre-k. he was so excited and couldn't wait to complete it as soon as he walked in the door. i even suggested he take a break halfway through, but he refused. he was determined to get it done, my hard-working little man. 

linking up with carissa at lowercase letters

first and last

when liam started his behavior therapy program in january of 2012, we didn't really know what to expect.

how will he do? 

will he make friends? 

will he be happy? 

will it be too much for him? 

the questions and worry were endless.

but that winter morning, i realized that my faith in my boy far outweighed the fear that i had. 

i walked him to his classroom, gave him a big hug, and handed him to the world. or maybe i handed the world to him. either way, he has been eating it all up and thriving beyond any of my expectations, every single day since then.

in the fall of 2012, he started attending a "typical' preschool, two mornings per week. he spent the rest of those days, as well as the other days of the week, at his behavior therapy program. 

fast forward one year later, and it's now the fall of 2013. he is now attending his "typical" preschool five mornings per week. and he spends his afternoons at his behavior therapy program. 

he had his first day of pre-kindergarten and recognized some friends from the previous year. 

spontaneous conversation and requests came from him at rapid fire.

hey!!

what are you guys playing?

are you playing with trucks?

can i play with you?

 no prompting needed. 

no guidance required. 

he was his own person. 

with his own thoughts. 

and his own wants and needs.

and he was able to convey them to others all on his own.

i look at this boy's face and i could burst with pride.

he has come such a long way in just a few short years.

and the journey is just beginning. 

at this time next year, he'll be off to kindergarten!

oh, heyyy. it's me.

oh, heyyy. 

yes, it's been a while. 

guess who kicked my butt into gear about writing in the blog again? 

the mister. yep. 

he said, "you haven't updated the blog in a while." 

i said, "i haven't had time." 

he said, "make time. that's for the boys read when they get older." 

i said, "hmm, you're right. i'll do tomorrow." 

well, it's about five tomorrows later and here i am!

lots and lots of shtuff has been a-happenin' over here so there will probably be an influx in your reader of short posts from yours truly. bear with me as i play catch up in documenting all of the {many!} milestones we've been celebrating over the last few months. 

these guys certainly didn't leave me with a shortage of things to write about.

first day of first grade

mommy at school

it's difficult for me to be present in the boys' classrooms regularly with wyatt having therapy every morning. it takes some coordination and hoping that our beloved babysitter is able to come and help wyatt out while i sneak over to school. well, lucky me, i was able to do this for both isaiah and mikey last week. both of them were thrilled that mommy was coming to school. maybe since i can't do it often, it's becomes something special and more exciting for them. i'll keep telling myself that.

isaiah had been working on his first big presentation for about a week. his assignment was to teach his class a lesson for 15 minutes. it could be about any topic he chose, or he could even teach them how to make a craft of cook a simple dish. he chose to teach his class about one of his passions - brazillian jiu-jitsu. we are taking a hiatus from the sport right now, but before the break he had been practicing for 4 years. so he was excited to share one of his favorite sports with his class.

he had his outline and notes and was a nervous wreck beforehand. it's horrible of me, but i was certain he would bomb it. but as soon as he got up there, it was like second nature to him. he spoke so clearly and confidently and had his audience engaged and participating the entire time. when he asked for volunteers, lots of hands popped up.

his classmates got out of their seats to watch him demonstrate some moves and he was just thrilled. 

and so were they. 

i watched from a distance and he didn't once look up at me for reassurance or approval. but i could feel him telling me, "it's ok. i got this, mom." and he sure did. as soon as he finished, he was still up in the front of the class, but he looked right at me with a huge grin and gave me a thumbs up. i was so incredibly proud of him and the confident, enthusiastic young man he is becoming.

the next day, i spent the morning with mikey and his class for kindergarten field day. now this little guy was so excited that i was going to help out, he woke up every morning 'til and counted down the days. "good morning, mommy! two more days 'til field day!"

finally the day came, and he was a happy little monkey.

it was fun seeing him interact with his friends and also meeting some of their moms.

there was lots of racing.

and jump rope snakes.

and bubble blowing.

and sidewalk chalk drawings. 

and parachute play.

'twas a fun, fun day shared with mister mikey.

so happy i was able to be there with him.

turning 30

i haven't been able to blog much lately because the hard drive on my laptop went out. i'm pretty certain it has something to do with the boys playing minecraft non-stop on it. for a few weeks, i went back and forth in deciding between getting it fixed or just getting something new. in honor of mother's day, the mister finally bit the bullet and bought me an amazing new all-in-one desktop. i haven't had a full-sized computer for a quite a while now so this is just wonderful. the screen is 23" and blogging (and pinterest-ing and facebook-ing) is a dream. the best part is there's no tower and it's all wireless! the only wire plugs into the power outlet. my new little workspace is the best and i just may start to enjoy paying bills online. not.

anyway, i turned 30 last month. i like to celebrate things by relaxing somewhere (like my backyard) with a glass of wine and something delicious to eat. so i guess that means we celebrate something every single night...hmmm. ok.

to make my 30th birthday a little more special, the grandparentals stayed with the rugrats while the mister whisked me away so that we could drink and eat our way through the beautiful, wine country town of sonoma. 

we arrived into town a little before check-in time so we stopped at a little spot called the sunflower caffe. the garden seating area was gorgeous and i was thankful my allergies didn't flare up. flowers everywhere! have i mentioned that the mister is the sweetest? i randomly told him weeks before that all i wanted for my birthday was to go to a coffee shop, not take my coffee in a to-go cup, and be able to enjoy a cute, foamy design in my mug. and that he made sure of. i love him.

we checked into the sonoma creek inn and this bottle of wine and birthday card were there to greet us. they were from shawn's aunt and uncle in portland. such a sweet surprise.

the inn was adorable and just my style.

our first dining stop was at the girl and the fig.  

delicious.

we explored a little bit and there was lots to see, eat and drink in this small, beautiful town. 

later that evening, we went to the hopmunk tavern for drinks and i was surprised by my dad and siblings. it was the best and we definitely celebrated, as evidenced by the following before and after photo.

surprise!

the next morning, we stumbled over to the little cafe attached to the inn for breakfast.

carbs. i needed carbs. and i happened to have the best french toast i've ever had. 

i'm lucky like that when i'm hungover.

took a short walk and saw the creek. so pretty.

after checking out, we stopped a nearby thrift shop called the church mouse. 

it was the best thrifting experience i've had in a while. 

the mister even found some vintage pyrex and milk glass for my collection.

he's awesome. 

our last dining stop was centre du vin at the ledson hotel for brunch.

 this place was just stunning. even the bathrooms were so gorgeous that i felt compelled to take a selfie in there, but i won't share that one....unless you really want me to.

the food was amazing. 

i ordered the croque madame. 

which then reminded me of where i celebrated my 29th birthday.

le sigh.

our final, obligatory stop on the way out of wine country was the beautiful domaine carneros.

it was a great weekend spent with my favorite person. he definitely made my 30th birthday one that i won't forget. obviously. i'm finally blogging about it a month later and i still remember all the details. 

he's awesome. i'm lucky. and 30. 

the end.