Mirror To The Past.

This is my family.

I love this photo, taken at my brother's wedding in August of 2000.

I am a little disappointed with myself in regard my attitude captured here. I did not care for the photographer that day and the look on my face conveys my annoyance. My girlfriend Leilani picked up on that when she visited here a few weeks ago. She asked me what was going on with me here and since then I feel like I soiled a lovely moment, the only professional photo we have of us Sattler's as adults. I still love this photo.

See this red dress I wore to my brother's wedding? In 2000, Tim and I were living in the Napa Valley and so a few months before, I met my Mom in Sacramento one afternoon to pick out a dress to wear for the big day. I mention this because there are very few times I spent quality time with my Mom as adults, just she and I. I remember so many special details about that day, mostly because she spoiled me like no other day before. This dress she picked out at Ann Taylor, a store I didn't really frequent. She liked it so much that while I was changing in the dressing room she went to pay and slipped in a black dress with it. She told me, "Every girl needs a Little Black Dress." She treated me to new shoes, a pocketbook and lunch. It was a princess moment for me.

Last night Leilani and I met at this same shopping mall and as I stood in the handbag department at  Nordstrom's (in the very same space I picked out my pocketbook 12 years ago) she came around the corner and handed me an Ann Taylor (Loft) bag. She treated me to a black jacket she thought I would like and for just a moment, my Mom was there with me. The gift itself was lovely. It's relevance in relation to another time in my life, a happy memory, was powerful. (Thank you so much  L xo)

 This rendition of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" has been a popular song here at The Honey Hut lately. I really like the premise of two brothers arguing and reconciling with a sing-off. Could happen, I guess...

Tents Made Castles.

While The Goo napped this morning, Ivy and I played "Princess and Queen". When he woke up, he hobble-crawled into Ivy's castle. In order to create peace in her kingdom, Ivy and I set up a tent for Prince Goo.  

The Little Prince held court for quite some time in his own castle. Peace ruled the land. But Princess  Ivy's lunch proved too tempting, her castle's synthetic walls could not resist such a determined invasion. As it turns out, hunger concurs all. 

Baggu.

On our trip to Ireland, I bought a Baggu Bag. It set me back 10 Euros (yes, half my week's personal money). I cannot tell you how handy this big/little bag is. It is wicked strong, holding up to 50lbs and folds into a 4x4 pouch. I pack 2-3 plastic grocery bags worth of food in it while checking out, justifying a pinch of earth-saving pride. Recently I have been seeing Baggu in magazines and on other blogs, I just hopped over to their website (after first finding a coupon) and ordered two more in honor of Earth Day (just trying to do my part!). Go Here to shop for a Baggu bag, then use the code earthday12 for $5.00 off your order. Can't do it before Sunday? That's okay, here's another coupon  lovemom for 20% off your order.

 You're welcome.

Oh, and thank you Bethany. Whew, thanks for commenting and not leaving me hanging. I felt a little vulnerable after that post, beings that I'm all awkward about money-talk!

Love=Fuel.

Some days my energy reserves are low. What's funny about love is that it give you energy. There is nothing I love more than having the cousins together. The moment Jack walks in the door, love fuels my energy tank and I am ready to play. 

Is This Awkward?

I was raised not to talk about money in social situations. It was inappropriate and bad manners to do so coupled with the reality that growing up in a family of four children equals very limited funds. So today's post is pushing boundaries for me...a lot. My insides are literally crawling and I have typed, deleted, retyped this first bit a minimum of six times. In my particular case, not talking about money has led to some interesting financial behavior. For example, as a child I was required to do chores but I didn't get an allowance so I had zero spending money. My siblings and I would ride bikes to "the little store" and buy candy with whatever money we might have saved from birthdays or holidays. Since I was bad a saving money, I couldn't buy candy. So I got inventive. I saved my church-school offering ($1/week), pocketed it as I walked up the stairs to my classroom and dreamt about what I could buy on my next bike ride. I know...I stole from unfortunate kids in other lands, the church and God...it was a low point, one I'm not proud of. I also never knew what my salary was during my teaching years. This was a defense-mechanism I am sure. I knew whatever my salary was, it would be disappointing in terms of how much I was compensated for how much time I spent/what the job entailed. Ok...my chest isn't as tight anymore, I am loosening up. When I found out I was pregnant with Savannah, Tim and I decided one of us should stay home to raise kids. It is the best decision we have ever made. It meant scaling back from two salaries to one, and some serious budgeting. When we discussed personal spending, Tim let me choose the amount we each got per week. He must have been sweating bullets as it took a while for me to figure out what I could scale back to and what we could afford. Lucky for both of us I was very content and excited to scale back knowing it meant we would be welcoming a baby soon and wanted to provide a great life for him/her. I couldn't think of anything I needed and so I decided on $20/week. This $20 covered everything. Clothing, coffee/eating out, entertainment, gifts for friends, antiquing... It was SO hard at first, but like most situations when you find yourself with few and limited resources, you get creative. Consigning clothes, selling with yard sales, second hand shopping, asking for discounts and price adjustments, coupon-ing and stalking my next purchase in store and online for greater deals. I have become a great saver and smart shopper. And I don't buy anything I am not 100% sure I want. We have been doing this for seven years now, and I can honestly say that I enjoy my meager $20 a week. I don't feel like I am missing out on anything and the items and experiences I have indulged in are so much richer, they mean a lot to me. I know I am very fortunate and realize that some people don't even have two nickels to rub together. But I am curious, do you have a budget? Were you raised talking about money? Did it make you money-wise? 

Into The Light.

Ugh, I've just emerged from the crazy drama/information overload haze of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I have been devouring that book for the last four days, etching away at as much or little "me" time as I can in order to sneak back to Sweden and the Vanger family mystery. I'm sure there were moments over the weekend when my children felt abandoned and orphaned thanks to Tim's Kindle. He is also reading this book, for the first time in our 18 years together we decided to read the same book simultaneously. It has been really fun, like our own little Book Club.

Today is the perfect sunny spring day, I can't wait to get outside. I am currently cleaning out The Honey Hut. My house is a DISASTER but hopefully by the end of today that art shed will look presentable. My priorities are a little screwy, I'm blaming it on Lisbeth Salander. 

Look! Goo has 2 teeth!

Privacy.

The Little Girls share a room, toys and often clothes. There are very few spaces they can call their own and so when Auntie Angela gave each a monogrammed jewelry box a few years back they relished the idea that this space was theirs alone and neither sister can look in or take from another's box. Savannah's is always meticulously decorated, here with her beloved La La Lopsy Girls.

And Ivy's is a secret stash of what she currently finds precious. It is a good hiding place for her too. I try to respect her privacy but know right where to go whenever I am missing my red lipstick or favorite necklace. She finds keepsakes of mine, pieces from my childhood she also holds dear. Yesterday her jewelry box drawer was open, a familiar photo caught my eye and forced a sneak peek. An elementary school photo of Jenny Costerisan, childhood and long-time friend.

Shoes however, are no place of privacy as exhibited here with Tim's slippers. Easter bunnies are put to bed, tucked in tight with Sharon's blankies.

Easter Sunday.

Sunday morning The Little Girls dressed fancily in their new Spring dresses from Grandma (they are loved and well-worn!) and we excitedly made our way to Sharon's for Easter. This tradition is so special to us here at The Honey Hut. I adore watching all the children follow Sharon around as she does fun projects with them and plays whatever they want to play. She lives completely in the moment with each child, it is truely remarkable to watch them flock to her as she make gigantic bubbles for The Little Boys and sews baby blankets for The Little Girls. 

Grady gobbling Melissa's Company Oatmeal...

then needing a bath to get it out of his hair and ears. 

Ivy pal-ing around with Sharon, running in one door and out the next.

Savannah and Jackson in the playroom.

Easter baskets for all the kids.

Egg Hunt.

Visiting with Sharon and Dennis.

Bunny Ears.

My brother, Jared.

Botting Bunnies.

The Little Girls playing in the fountain.

Thank you Sharon and Dennis for a fun, relaxing day!

Copper Pennies.

Leilani and her kiddos came for a visit on Good Friday. The Little Girls and Julian played outside all day and well into the dark hours. Kalia walked laps around the house, she is such a big girl. And The Goo took it all in from his place rolling around on the floor. It was a fun day of catching up, great conversation, good food and a sweet egg hunt. We had to laugh as Mommies of little red-heads, both Leilani and I have dark features and so it seems strange that we have kids who have the exact same copper red hair and such fair skin too.

I had planned on posting more photos but currently my phone is resting in a sack of rice after taking a drink from a fountain on Easter Sunday. 

Dino Party.

Our friends Kristi, Hudson and Reese are in town visiting from Utah and so we got together with them to celebrate Hudson's 4th birthday. Hudson is really into dinosaurs and so his aunt made this amazing cake, the volcano even erupted! All the kids took advantage of the break in the clouds to play on Hudson's grandparent's play set, fish around in the creek and look for bullfrogs in their pond.

Cousins.

Yesterday was the perfect Spring day. My sisters and I met up at Lion's Park and set the kids (& doggies) free. Dawson and Sydney were so sweet with the little ones, following each one and helping little hands and feet up steep ladders. I find it fitting that all of my Mom's grandchildren were together on her birthday, a treat no one would have appreciated more than she. 

Savannah planned a tea party for Ivy and Jack in the afternoon. She was a lovely hostess and they were quite happy to comply.

60.

A Play Date.

Melissa invited us over for a play date last week, she is one brave Mama. She is 8 months pregnant with Baby Boy Bishop #2 and busy with Hudson (2 years old) but she pulled together a yummy lunch with Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. I was rolling large with four kids, my three and Jack in tow. She is brave indeed. We ran into each other the next night while out to dinner with our extended families and laughed about how we had a longer conversation in the ladies room for five minutes than we had the day previous when we were together for three hours! Trying to catch up with another Mom while corralling five little ones leads to very disjointed conversation.

Thank you Lissa, you are a fantastic hostess and your home is lovely.