do you see that boy in the first place spot? 

he's mine. 

out of 10 cities, he took first place. 

and then, one week later, we went to the league championship tournament. 

now look where he's standing...



second place! 

out of 19 teams, he is the second best kid at 54lbs.  how amazing!  it's also only his second year wrestling.

we are so very proud of him.  he worked hard all season long and put forth his best effort! 

still beaming from a great day!

once we got home he wanted to show us how strong his muscles are...

he's 8.  can you believe that?  just look at this six pack!  really?

i can only imagine what my life will be like when he's 16...oh lord help us all! 

~tiff

trying to avoid frostbite.

we've moved out.

at least temporarily. 

this is our driveway today around 11am.  the snowstorm along with a thick layer of ice has downed trees all over the puget sound.  one of my favorite lilac trees is down along with three of our fruit trees. and, that isn't even bad compared to what we've seen driving around. 

our power went out sometime during the night on thursday and we have no firewood so by the late afternoon yesterday we could see our breath while we snuggled under blankets on the couch.  we even took a nap just to stay warm. 

our very kind neighbors offered to let us stay at their house for the night since they have a generator.  she even made me some coffee!  thanks caroline!

as it happens, my in laws are in arizona for the next couple of months and their nice warm house was just sitting empty so we were invited to move in until power comes back on.  we're hoping it's soon, but according to the news, it could be up to five days until all power is restored! 

now, that i've got a warm house to stay in, i don't really care!

oh, and i've got big news...my youngest son took 1st place at the division tournament (for wrestling) last saturday!  out of 10 teams he is the number one guy at 54 lbs!! 

the league tournament was scheduled for tomorrow, but with all the power outages, it's been bumped until sunday.  since our little guy is on a fruit/vegetable diet the day before (to make weight) it's not good news, as he has to do it again tomorrow.  i'll let y'all know how he does!  we're really excited!!

~tiff

hey girl,

it's been snowing here in seattle and we're stuck at home missing wrestling practice since we can't make it out of the driveway. 

i thought i'd just spend hours on the computer after a long afternoon of sledding with the kids. 

i know that everyone has seen these already, but in case you haven't, you are in for a treat.  i think no matter how grumpy, mad, sad, irritated, annoyed or i just plain feel like the meanest stay at home homeschooling mom i could be, i still think i'd laugh until i cried reading through these!

and, i don't even really care for ryan gosling.  but, these are just genious.  so, i've made a board on pinterest just in case i think nothing in the world is going to work out. i'm just going to head straight for my hey girl pinterest board and all will be well. 

don't you think?

Source: handmaderyangosling.tumblr.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: handmaderyangosling.tumblr.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: handmaderyangosling.tumblr.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: handmaderyangosling.tumblr.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: handmaderyangosling.tumblr.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: thehappyzombie.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

now, don't you feel better?

yes, i though so.  you're welcome.

~tiff

checking in: 2012

i wish it were easier to take family photographs.  you would think as the children grow older, it would become easier, but it almost feels harder. this one turned out pretty good though. 

it *almost* captures our true selves!!

christmas was a blast.  the hubby was home for 2 weeks, and we had lots of fun.  grandma and grandpa left for arizona (boo for snowbirds) and we miss them already. 

homeschool has officially started in again with a vengence.

i'm teaching 3 classes at our homeschool co-op: an american girl class, a magic tree house class, and a basic sewing machine class.  oh, the work...i have so much to do but i'm still trying ot hide from it.

i'm loving, loving loving my erin condren planner.  i really wish i could promise a full post, but since my beloved imac is still down, and my laptop hates me (it took me 3 days to edit and load this pic into blogger--my computer just shuts down automatically while i'm working on it) i can make no promises.  i'm desperately trying to convince the hubby to use our "extra" christmas funds to buy a new laptop. 

wish me luck!!

~tiff