the berkeys

10 minutes

2011-10-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

so. i have been doing this new thing: 10 minutes. (that is what i call it. my husband invented it.)
every night, once the kids are down & i am left with the remains/mess of the day, i do 10 minutes: 10 minutes of something i HAVE to do, and then 10 minutes of something i WANT to do. and then 10 minutes of HAVE to, then WANT to... and so on until the jobs are done, or i am zonked (whichever comes first). some nights i just get the basics done, and other nights i find extra energy and do 10 minutes for hours & hours (tonight is one of those nights).

i have found, that i can do ANYTHING for 10 minutes, no matter how much i don't want to deal with it. 10 minutes of a pile of dishes is ONLY 10 minutes. i can do that, and then no matter how far i am into that pile, when 10 minutes is up, i go on to 10 minutes of something i want to do. then back to the dishes for another 10 minutes.
it is awesome. tyler is AHmazing.
i find i get so many different things done, (tonight i hung a new mirror, reorganized my church bag, picked out my outfit for church, did the dishes, finished laundry, cleaned the living room, shopped for a bounce house online, checked face book, planned out jorgen's birthday cake, and made a poster for church... all in 10 minutes) and because i don't do the chores too long, i stay motivated longer.
and yes, i have been staying up later, which makes me more tired during the day, BUT i am more prepared for the day, and balanced (because i did needs & wants) & that seems more important than an extra hour of sleep (at least for now).
ah- my 10 minutes is up. on to iron the boys shirts for church.
try it out- let me know what you think!

p.s. we drove through a covered bridge today, ever since falling in love with the movie Bridges of Madison County, covered bridges have been so romantic to me, they are lovely.

ahh- HA!

2011-10-05T19:42:00.001-07:00

so today didn't start off so well. we have been enduring a week of sickness, and all the novelty of croup & cough has long worn off. and the rose colored glasses that i enjoyed for so long, (ALL my avid readers will understand this reference, that means YOU Salena) they had finally worn off as well.
and i was ticked about it all.
and i wasn't a very patient mother. why lars had to touch every twizzler in the package before selecting the one he wanted, was beyond me. i didn't know that jorgen didn't like the pink spoons, SO sorry, but thanks for the meltdown...
this went on for quite sometime.
i was a punk mom.
in the middle of a breathing exercise to pull myself together, i remembered hearing: every frustration stems from unmet expectation.
my expectations were high that day, not just high, but off. i was expecting Lars to be an adult around candy. which is dumb. and rather than soaking in the cute way he taps each twizzler with his chubby finger while saying, 'hmmmmmmmm', i got frustrated. so foolish of me to have missed that little moment. but from that moment on, i tossed my expectations & sat down on the floor: i let Soren eat my hair and spit all over me, Lars parked himself on my lap (that is what he does, he backs his trunk on up and plops down), i gave gunnar my best as he explained to me how many items he had to sell for his school fundraiser in order to get an ipod (oh, school fundraisers) and i saw EVERY one of jorgen's 'cool jumps' off the couch.
i didn't miss a moment. however, i didn't clean my house either... but i'm okay with that.
my ah-HA: the rose colored glasses are a choice, i love that i have a choice!

my dining room, before.

2011-10-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

this is my dining room. yes, it is empty. and pink. very pink. but, thanks to pinterest (uh oh, i actually thanked Heavenly Father for pinterest in my prayer last night, i am not sure what He thought of that. i am hoping he just smiled a little bit & rolled his eyes....He understands, right???)

but, thanks to pinterest, i have been able to put together some really great colors and HOPEFULLY a fresh look.

my lovely parents are coming at christmas and are going to help put in a dark hardwood like-a-so. and i plan on putting up white wood paneling about 2/3s the way up the wall, much like the paneling going up these stairs.

last night i ordered this wall paper to hang above the white paneling, the top third of the wall. the colors of this picture and the clean lines of the picture above it are my inspiration of this room... not certain that it will work. but i am excited to give it a try!
any suggestions?

in the woods

2011-10-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

we found ourselves in the woods a lot today. it was warm & sunny,

and the forest was gold. it was one of those days i always hoped

we would have, and then there it was! we followed some paths

around through the woods for a while, finding caterpillars & rabbits.

ty made some new paths through the woods and we cooked

hot dogs on the fire. our kids all smell of camp fire tonight as

we tucked them in, i love that smell-
it was a good day.

rose colored glasses

2011-09-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

today, i wore rose colored glasses. not by choice, it just happened. i woke up & my life was rosy, without any effort of my own. don't get me wrong, it wasn't perfect, it was just rosy. i made a gallon of fresh salsa, and it tasted like yard clippings, but it was juuuust fine with me. i picked up a small boys dump off the floor, and it didn't even phase me. at this very moment, every room in my home is a disaster, but all i can do is smile. is it the season? perhaps. we were outside most of the night tonight, just gawking at the colors and the cows. (okay, i was the only one gawking.) we piled around the piano (one boy on each knee, and one on each side) and i pounded out what i knew of I Am A Child Of God, and they all pounded out what they knew. we all sang at the top of our lungs, it was lovely, believe me, i almost cried. the boys found a big fat toad that could barely get it's tummy off the ground when it hopped. we took the halloween costume bin out and the boys tried on all the wigs and mustaches and such. it was a good day, but really, as many wonderful things i can thing of, i can think of just as many stinky things, if not more. which means, really, it was an ordinary day, but i saw it differently. makes me wonder: could all days be wonderful? is it completely dependent on the glasses i wear that day? rosy or dusty or sparkley or broken?
well- i am going to clean the disaster i call my home... tra la la la la.....

little boy chatter

2011-09-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

jorgen and i were talking about alligators today, and what they like to eat. he decided they liked to eat zebras and flamingos and elephants and grasshoppers. then, noticing Lars playing nearby, he asked: would an alligator eat Lars? i told him that alligators would probably eat humans if they were really hungry. he got all disappointed & annoyed, "oh man! I want to eat humans!"

i heard jorgen & lars getting all grumpy about a pile of lego diamonds they found. jorgen felt that lars had too many and had asked him to share. of course, lars said, no. jorgen threatened, " i will never share with you again!" lars answered back, "yeah, well, i will breath fire on you! RHAAAARRRR!"

after jorgen helped lars get a toy down from the shelf, lars said, "God bless us, everyone!" (he is in the midst of a slight obsession with A Christmas Carol)

at dinner we were talking to the boys about General Conference coming up. we were asking the kids if they new the names of the prophet and apostles... gunnar would whisper the names into jorgens ear and jorgen would tell us. he told us: Monson, Eyring & Poopdorf. so fun! sorry President Uchdorf, from this day forth, you will forever be known in our home as Poopdorf!

three boys at home

2011-09-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

this is what my day looks like. gunnar is away at school now, and there is no one to boss the little kids around. i used to get frustrated with gunnar when i would hear him being the social captain over his lowly brothers, but NOW, i miss it. with no one else to look to, they look to me. they are little, loud, magnets. they want to help with everything, but they don't want to do any work. they want me to play with them, but they don't want me to touch the toys. we are just adjusting to the change, i suppose. and jorgen, JORGEN, his face is a tiny peek of the CRAZY that he carries around with him. being with jorgen is kind of like being on a ride: super, creative, wacky fun, but also borderline scary because your never know what is coming up next. the other boys know what i am talking about, you can see it in their eyes... i think he is just trying to find his place. he is the big boy during the day, and the little brother at night and on weekends, hard to figure out. has anyone else had experience with that?
sweet boys- and now that they are sleeping, i will go give them each a kiss and a snuggle, take a deep breath and get ready for the crazy that comes with the sun!

garage sale victory!

2011-09-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

so- we are kind of into garage sales. when i say 'kind of', i really mean, we go every single saturday morning, with 2 snacks packed, just in case we are out longer than expected. and Park Falls has been pretty awesome for garage sales. we have found some pretty great deals, but nothing beats the motorcycle! it has a battery pack, but the owners lost the charger, and put it up for sale for 2 dollars. as soon as Lars saw it, it was his. it was a done deal- ty gave 2 dollars to the nice lady, we pried lars off of it in order to get it home (he was adamant about 'riding it home', 5 miles away). once we got it home, tyler tried different chargers we had hanging around the house, found one that fit and 24 hours later, Lars was cruisin' the sidewalk, looking for hot chicks before church. sometimes, i wonder if it was a good purchase, Lars screams if anyone so much as admires the bike, "MINE!!!" yikes. we are working on that.

gunnar flew the nest

2011-09-10T23:58:00.001-07:00

this is my sweetest first grader. and this is his new smile. he has decided that saying cheese and bearing his teeth is no longer the proper way to smile... love him.
this is where we wait for the bus in the morning, every morning. we ALL wait at the bus stop- it is a full family affair. jorgen rides his bike, lars rides his plasma car, soren is in the stroller, and tyler usually makes the trip as well. it is a quick walk: down the drive way and up the road a bit...
the first day, i did all i could to not bawl openly. i got most of it out the night before- i was a mess. who was going to help him open his applesauce? who was going to notice the way he messes with his hair while he is deep in thought? who is going to appreciate him the way i do? oh, i was not ready for him to make this step. HE was, of course. but it was hard on me. but now, he loves school, the other boys love to meet him at the bus stop and i put all of my homeschooling efforts into his homework time. but i miss him fiercely during the day- i think of him all the time, wondering what he is doing that very second, knowing that he would LOVE what we were doing or seeing... i Love Gunnar. and i am proud of him. i adore his '-isms'...he is so sure of himself, loves making and spending money, and he is so dang creative, and kind... oh Gunnar. where has my baby gone?

race around the house

2011-08-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

my favorite thing about tonight was Family Home Evening, yes, really.

after dinner, we sang Popcorn Popping, as always and Lars said our prayer. after a quick thought about being more like Jesus, tyler thought we should have a race around the house (he always comes up with the good ideas!) we took a roll of orange crepe paper out for our finish line tape and the timer. we each took turns running around the house, all of the others cheering and holding the finish line tape.
it was super fun. not, a little fun, it was AHmazingly fun.

tyler was crazy fast, i remembered why sports bras were such a brilliant idea (i was without one), gunnar & jorgen ran around the house at least 12 times and lars ate some of the crepe paper.

only after it was completely dark out and the bugs began to overtake us, were the boys ready to come in. we had a pile of cut oranges as our victory food, just like the real thing.

it was the best. the smell of fresh cut grass, the crickets, the sun setting, the looks on the boys faces as they broke the tape... awesome.

math

2011-04-09T23:49:00.000-07:00

before dinner tonight, gunnar asks me:
"what does diarrhea plus normal poop equal?

it equals normal diarrhea."
good to know i guess.

mud war

2011-04-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

so. it all began with a single water bottle. and then it was refilled. i thought the boys were just thirsty. and then- i heard gunnar laughing really hard while begging "no no no" followed by a SPLAT and the infamous cackle coming from jorgen.
the war began- and as much as the mother in me panicked about the mess and what the neighbors thought (they didn't looked pleased)
i let the mud fling-

chatfield resevour

2010-07-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

thanks to the Archers, we were able to enjoy a beautiful evening on their boat.
we had the most wonderful time!
the boys loved LOVED the boat, the water, going fast and going slow. we all jumped in the water and bobbed around a bit, had yummy sandwiches (thanks gail!) and fed the geese pirate's booty & cheetos.

lars' looked like his lifejacket would pop off his head at any moment, but it never happened. whew!
they were so happy- and then so SO tuckered out.

it has been decided: we will have a boat!

off to the movies.

2010-07-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

so we went to the movies last night. we saw inception (yes, my friends, we went to a full priced movie theater. i will admit though, we had passes, so it was free, sorry to disappoint!) the movie was ah-mazing. i had the strangest dreams that night... or was that reality?
thanks to mrs amy stone's advice, we enjoyed some oh-so-healthy popcorn. it was such a treat and oh so yummy- thanks amy.
true to hoffman tradition, we didn't eat a single bit until the actual movie began. i remember going to the movies with my parents as a kid and my dad would get snow caps and i would get sour patch kids. i would demand that we didn't eat them until the movie started, and my dad would give me such a hard time about it (what a fun movie date i was, right?!?!) still, to this day, i remember the raw feeling in my mouth after sucking on an entire box of sour patch kids, trying to make them last through the entire movie... and dumping the rest of the sour sugar in my mouth on our way out of the theater.

i love going to the movies. i still remember going to see Furn Gully with my sweet friend Jodi when we were just bitty little girls. and i remember seeing Forest Gump in the movie theater- being so amazed and swept away by the music and the history. i bought the soundtrack just after i saw it and it became the soundtrack of the first semester of my freshman year, still is. i was about 87 months pregnant when we saw Benjiman Button, and i absolutely bawled my eyes out in the beginning when the father was abandoning the baby. i nearly left, i couldn't handle the thought of it, especially with a sweet baby wrapped in my tummy. it took all i had to not dance out of the theater after seeing Mamma Mia. i still gag a bit when i remember watching Where the Wild Things Are- salena, amy and i couldn't get past the wild thing barfing up max, what was that about???
there is just something about seeing these movies in the theater that makes it an event- makes it a more full, plump memory.

boys in bed

2010-06-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

my bed is their playground.
they are the best of friends
while hopping and hiding and

giggling and tickling.

mountains instead of pillows.

caves rather than blankets.
they are flying, not bouncing.

belly laughs pour from gunnar.

jorgen cackles.
fun and more fun.

till someone falls off.

funs over.
till next time.

fat lip

2010-06-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

after lunch, i left gunnar and jorgen at the table to eat their otter pops while i put baby lars to bed. we read books, sang songs and he tried to pick my nose (he thinks it is SO funny). just as i am laying lars down, i hear a huge THUD coming from the kitchen. i stop to listen. then nothing. then i hear gunnar start to cry. then jorgen starts to cry. i run out to see what happened to find both boys sitting in their seats crying. hard. i get to jorgen first, i hug him and ask him what happened. then i go to gather gunnar in to the snuggle, and notice that blood is filling gunnar's mouth. SO SAD. SOOO SAD! i look to jorgen to see his wound, but i find nothing. after lots of crying and dabbing and snuggling and rocking, i get the story: while gunnar is showing jorgen his cool tricks, gunnar falls off his chair head first, more specifically, mouth first (the THUD). he scrambles back to his seat, and starts to cry. then, jorgen, so compassionate, begins to cry, more like wail in response to gunnar's tears. and that is how i find them. sweet gunnar's lip got so swollen, and purple. after about 2 days, the swelling went down, but it was so dark, almost as if he had been sucking on a sharpie for fun. what a sweetie.

the sartorialist

2010-06-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

this book was given to me by my oh-so-thought-full husband for my birthday. it was quickly added to my list of favorite things! (salena&amy: hope you like it too!!!)
and better yet- it originated from a blog, which i now follow and look forward to each day!
the entire book is pictures, really great pictures. the photographer has been taking pictures of people on the streets of major cities for years. people who have something to say, and say it through what they wear. some say it loudly, and boldly, others say it more subtly.
and there are no rules, no mention of what is 'in' or 'out'. because if what you wear is truly a reflection of who you are, there would be no rules to follow. just your inner voice.
this book has inspired me to seek out that voice, what would i really wear if it were completely based on my authentic self? the nicole that is untouched by insecurities or doubt?
it has become my new quest to find that voice, listen to it and dress to express.

stop by his blog- it is worth wandering through!

so handsome.

2010-05-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

so i was helping gunnar get ready to start the day and i said, "Gunnar, you are so handsome. Do you know that?"

and he says yeah like he hears it ALL the time from ALL the ladies.
then i ask, "do you know what handsome means?"

he says no.
so, to illustrate it, i suggest we think of some people that are handsome.

but that was weird, listing off good looking men with my son.

so, i suggested we think of some people that weren't handsome. but then i just felt awful for suggesting he list off all the ugly people he knew.

so finally, i ask, "well, like Shrek. is he handsome?"

and he says no way, of course not.

and to make sure we were on the same page about what handsome is, i ask: "why isn't Shrek handsome?"

he answers with a slight arrogance,

"Because he doesn't have any hair!"

when i grow up...

2010-05-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

nicole: boys, what do you want to be when you grow up?
gunnar: i am going to be a train conductor.
jorgen: i am going to be a dinosaur.

lars: ball.

nicole: well, maybe when i grow up i will be a baker!!! wouldn't that be great?

jorgen: (severely disgruntled & scowling) NO. you be a mom!

photo booth frolic

2010-05-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

three little men and a lady

2010-05-09T23:23:00.000-07:00

so i am temporarily a single mom. ty is off exploring the teeth of yonder israel. (he is blogging his trip on tylerloveshummus.blogspot.com) it is just me and the three little gentlemen. and although we miss ty fiercely (he has been gone a total of 35.4 hours) i look forward to having the boys all to myself. there is so much of me in all of them, and then so much of ty. and i love seeing us in them, but i think my favorite part is seeing brand new little things that are all their own. it always surprises me to meet each boy in a new way each day. being a mother is such a cocktail of highs and lows. but the highs are always so dang high- the spirit is so strong and clear when i am able to focus on nothing but the love and adventure that i share with these little men. so grateful.

My Little Lars

2010-05-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

my lars. larsie. buddah belly. my third bitty boy. he is quite the little man within all that chubbs. he is bold and brave, but when he wants to be close, he hooks my neck with all his mighty might. last night, i was bouncing him to bed. and amidst the routine, i gave him, oh... i don't know...a thousand quick kisses. just in passing, out of habit, i kiss him all the time. sometimes i get his ear, or his eyebrow, but often those squishy cheeks.

and suddenly, with his arm hooked around my neck, he leaned back from me, looking intently at me. i stopped bouncing and singing and kissing, and looked at him. then, quickly, he smacked his juicy lips on my cheek. he gave me his first kiss. i didn't even ask for it, it was just there. it was one of those moments that you file away in your mind under "all time favorites". i love that little man. (this picture was taken at dusk in rocky point this spring.)

Lego Madness

2010-04-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

it all started with a single indiana jones temple of doom set. i'll admit i bought it with the intention to force gunnar to love legos like i did, so that i would finally have an excuse get lost in a bucket of bricks like i used to as a kid. and, better yet, we could be building buddies. but no force was necessary, i now know that his brain is actually constructed of legos. who knew? he helped me put the temple of doom together, but destroyed it the second we were done. he wanted to make his own rocket ships. and he has been ever since.

i love sitting 'round the lego bin with the boys, all working on our different creations. gunnar is generally building a spaceship with as many guns as possible and a fully equipped lego man at each weapon. jorgen digs out all the bikes and skateboards, puts guys on them, then scoots them around the tile floor. then he makes them all skate parks so they can do cool tricks and flips with their bikes & boards. lars will sit for the longest time putting helmets on the lego men and and then off. and again and again. on and off. and when that gets old, he eats the head.

Mexico Sand

2010-04-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

we were able to spend another spring break down in rocky point, mexico this year(thank you wonderful hoffmans). with the beach right off the front porch, we spent a lot of time in the sand. tyler & gunnar were digging around out there for a while, so i asked what they were doing. "we are playing with ants" they hollered back. i, witty as ever, holler back even louder, "PLAYING IN YOUR PANTS?!?!?" it still makes me snicker.

they were actually building an ant chamber- they captured a number of large red ants and stuck them in the hole. for the better part of an hour they built and rebuilt the walls to make sure those crafy little ants couldn't escape. i rolled my eyes at the project at first, but once i took a look myself, i was hooked.

i dont know how many times we buried those boys on the first morning out there, it never got old! lars was killing himself laughing over the fact that he could shove sand in gunnar's mouth with no resistance. lars would poke a sandy finger in gunnars mouth and there would be sputtering and laughing, and of course, more sandy fingers and more spitting and sputtering. gunnar was such a good sport.

my dad has always been one to find interesting little tricks or finds and want to share. and gunnar, my dad's mini-me, is pretty interested in the little finds. it was fun to see them poking around together, my dad teaching and gunnar furrowing his brow in analysis and curiosity.
being at the beach reminds me so much of my childhood. and it was nice to share some of that with them. they are still too young and impatient to build the giant sand castles i used to make with my dad. and they get worn of the wind and the sun to shell search too long. and the water is a bit too intimidating yet for them to wade in and brave the waves as i did for hours a day. but i know that is all coming. it is like having a bitty secret for them, something that i know will be waiting for them when they are big enough to receive it, and lucky for me, i will be able to relive it all again with these handsome little men by my side.

Fun at FunLand

2009-07-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

At Grandma & Grandpas

2009-07-25T22:19:00.001-07:00

i was trying to show jorgen the holes in his binki- he was
pretty disappointed
sailing- we had to do all we could to keep jorgen in the boat

jorgen meeting gus

At Grandma & Grandpas

2009-07-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

king of the toads

Gunnar finally caught his first fish

Mexico in March

2009-07-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Rocky Point, Mexico

Spring Break 2009

Camping

2009-06-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Treasure Falls Colorado

2009-06-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

At the Zoo

2009-06-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

Lars: 4 Months

2009-06-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

sweet little Lars (or as Gunnar says: Wazie,
as he can't yet pronounce "L" or "R")
while pregs, i was preparing myself for
an ugly baby: i have two beautiful boys
already, i can actually hope for another.
but, sure enough, little larsie is a big chunk
of handsome. he has been such a sweet baby,
i can always count on an easy smile from him,
which comes handy sometimes when my
older boys give me nothing but the stink eye.
lars has been such a sweetie- so thick and
chunky (sounds like a peanut butter ad)
you just want to squeeze him.
we are so blessed!

Bike Ride to the Mesa Temple

2009-06-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

Bolder Boulder 2009

2009-05-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

Bolder Boulder
2009

2009-05-09T01:17:00.000-07:00

Lars Stone Berkey
born: february 21, 2009

2009-05-09T00:59:00.000-07:00

Jorgen Cole Berkey
born: October 17, 2007

Gunnar

2009-05-09T00:41:00.000-07:00

2009-05-09T00:38:00.000-07:00

Gunnar Ty Berkey

birthday: January 22, 2005
favorite color: blue

every outfit is better with a cape
or socks worn as gloves.

runs so fast that fire shoots
out his heels.

wants to be a ninja or a dentist
when he grows up.

favorite flicks include: speedracer,
super friends, and aqua man
(he is old school).

will eat any food if it comes with
a guarentee to make him jump
higher and run faster.

everything he draws has a cape
or is a monster with one eye.

does a ninja dance that puts us
all to shame.

always up for a bike ride or
a camping trip.