I Am Loved

I was having one of those days yesterday. One of those days where your kiddos are off track, it is snowing on the third to last day of April and you are stuck inside. A promised trip to the zoo, dinosaur museum and pool have been canceled because of a sickie brother. The kiddos were going stir crazy and consequently destroying the house.

I have been trying to get my house clean, prepare for my KSL spot, sewing up a bunch of random items to get my website up to snuff, catch up on the laundry, unclog the toilet upstairs and the list goes on and on and on. It was one of those days where the kiddos were getting the short end of the stick attention wise and it was killing me.

At one point in time, Toady kept tugging on my shirt saying "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" Family Guy style. Thinking that he wanted a sip of my energy drink, I pushed it out of his reach and went to grab a sippy cup of milk. He continued with the "Mommy" although in a much higher, whinier pitch when I turned and said, "Toady, sweetie, what do you want?" He looked up at me with those HUGE brown eyes and said, "I want my mommy." I broke down completely overwhelmed by all that was going on around me.

After rocking my Toad for a bit and putting him down for a nap, I set Nena and Bear for craft time and slipped upstairs for a quick shower (at 2:30 p.m.) and a moment of reflection. I will admit that a couple of sobs did come out as I was trying to pull it together, put my priorities in order and figure out how to be a more attentive mother.

When I came downstairs, I was met with a hug and kiss from both Nena and Bear and a huge display on the wall. They were so excited that I had just set them lose with a huge storage box of crafts that they could barely contain themselves. They decided that they were going to spend craft time making me some pictures. I can't tell you that this display couldn't have come at a better time. I certainly needed it.

My Dog

The top is a phone pict of my "cute" pooch. Which breed do you think he is????

Soccer

Yep- I noticed that everyone else started putting up the beginning of the season soccer pictures and thought that I had better jump on it. After all, you have to keep up with the Jones' don't you? Even in the blogging world ;)

Bear had his first game of the season with his soccer team and LOVED every minute of it. I think that he was a little overwhelmed and didn't know quite what to do but, he sure enjoyed it. He loves that his dad is his coach and that his best friend of all time is on the team. I personally love the uniform colors. It really beats the pumpkin orange from last season.
Toad is devastated that he is not on a soccer team. He wants so badly to participate. He was up at 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning insisting that he have a soccer uniform as well. Nena managed to find her old soccer uniform and Toad wore it proudly even though it is massively enormous on his little body.
Nena wasn't too disappointed with not participating this year. I decided this year that the kiddos would only do one activity at a time (to ease MY stress a little.) So, Nena is doing ballet. She was more than happy to play cheerleader though!We were thrilled that Derek and Jaclyn could come out and join us on his first game. The kiddos were thrilled that they showed up with snacks! Way to go Jac. We knew that we loved you!

See!

They really do love each other!

My Pixie

Last weekend, I went to the "What Women Want" expo with some friends. It should have been called the "How To Spend Mega Bucks In One Shot" even but, I digress. Actually, you would be really proud of me. I only bought eyeliner (that I love and now wish that I had bought more of) and hair tinsel. There was a salon on site that was weaving in tinsel into people hair for $1 a strand. I wished that I had had Nena there to have a couple pieces woven into her hair. However, the nice ladies there were happy to sell me a package and told me how to use it.

So.... Here is my first attempt at WEAVING in some hair tinsel to Nena's hair. I only put in 6 strands or so but, it really pops and she loves it. It is permanently attached to her hair! Well, it will fall out when the hair that it is attached to falls out. However, she can wash it, comb it, curl it, anything. Not every strand is perfect that I weaved in but I don't think that I did a horrid job at it.

We are practicing for the fairy festival this coming June. She can't wait to have more color put into her hair! I actually think that it is kind of fun and might try to teach my sister to do it so that she can weave a couple pieces into my hair too!

Two Weeks Notice

Sounds ominous doesn't it! Actually.....

I have been wanting to make this post for a very very long time and finally have reason to do so. It has now been 2 weeks since I cut off our satellite programming! WOOO HOOO!

Don't get me wrong, I love TV and will admit that sometimes I have watched a tad too much. However, after a long (several month) chat with myself, I decided that it was all in all unnecessary for me and my little life.

I would turn the TV on in the morning to entertain Toad while I was cleaning house or taking a shower. I would turn it on in the afternoon to catch up on the latest world drama. I will also admit that I LOVE Project Runway, The Bachelor, TBS and Lifetime. I would just look at the bill every month and think of the other things that I should be paying with that money. I just never got up the guts to pull the plug.

So, determined in my mind to put the money to a better use, I did it. I cut the cord. It is gone. Never to return again. And do you know what.... I don't regret it. In fact, I LOVE it. The kiddos haven't asked ONCE to turn on the TV. I have noticed that instead of staring at the screen, they are getting out the toys and playing together. They are being more creative. They are talking more. They are sharing ideas more.

Today was the first day that someone asked to watch something. I simply told them that we weren't going to have TV anymore but, that on non school nights, we could watch a video. They seemed pleased. Nena even piped up, "We are on an I diet." When I asked her what she meant she said, "Information diet."

So, I knock on wood as I write this because I am so enjoying the peace that is coming from a home without commercials. However, I will take any peace that I can get at this point.

KSL

Sorry that the last post was so vague. I wanted to get all of the details before I put it up on my blog but, my impatient nature took over and I had to make a little pre-announcement. So, here is the scoop.

Through a random series of events, a friend at KSL (a local TV station) found one of my craft blogs. I have a bunch of different ones going on, mostly for my own benefit. This one is a list of tutorials that I have made up to remind me of how I did something in the past. A lot of times I make up patterns as I go along and it is easier for me to keep up with them digitally instead of writing them down.

Soooooo.... as they were flipping through the blog, they saw that I have been making belts and thought that they were cute. They asked if I would be willing to go on their morning show and demonstrate how to make them. I was floored. The belts are easy and anyone can make them but, this will give me a chance to have my website featured on their show and on their web page. Hopefully I can get a little more traffic to my small, oh so small business.

I am actually really excited and trying to figure out exactly what styles I want to have demonstrated and how I am going to tie this all into my website. So, wish me luck!

Guess What!

Look for me on Studio 5 on May 10!!!!!!!!!!

My Life is Over

I have taken it for granted that none of my kids have ever climbed out of the crib. Nena never really slept in her crib and started out in a big girl bed. Bear never noticed and I just moved him to a big boy bed because that is what I thought that I was supposed to do. Toad however, has a MUCH stronger personality than the other two and I have decided that he will stay in a crib as long as possible. I figured that with his belly, his center of gravity would prevent him from making it over the top. It always has in the past.

Well, he hit 2 1/2 a couple of days ago and has decided that he is old enough. Today, of all days, he is not feeling well and extremely cranky and has decided that he is NOT going to take a nap. So, he devised the alternative. He has learned to climb out. AAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As soon as he did, he walked down the stairs and announced to Bear and I, "I am NOT going to take a nap. I am GOING to watch Diego." Poor kid, he doesn't realize that we no longer have TV in our house. Bear looked over at me and said, "That was impressive." I am not quite ready for this stage.

What You Will Find

If you just show up at my house randomly:

* Dishes in the sink* Yep, I am trying to keep on top of it but, the dishwasher is broken yet again and I have no idea how to fix it.

* Furniture randomly set throughout the house* I am working on rearranging my home to be more functional and pretty. The front room is swiftly becoming the sewing room, the dining room is getting a furniture makeover from the stuff in the basement and my kitchen... well, that is up for a debate at the moment.

* Paint smeared on my clothing* I have decided to start the painting once again. My room is now "Pursuit of Happiness" blue and the master bath is working its way to be "Sweetened White." Let's see how it goes. Nena has also been begging for more fairydom to her fairy room. So, that will not be going away anytime soon.

*Random piles of laundry* My dryer is slowly, ever slowly giving up the ghost and it now takes three cycles to finish a load. That is NOT including towels.

* Me in my jammies or work clothes* Yeah. If I am not going anywhere or expecting anyone, that will be me. Oh, and I will add that it will either be with wet hair or crazy hair and most likely no make up. I am actually working on that one. I need to at least make an effort.

*Ever beeping smoke detector* Yep, three years and it is still beeping. I am working on that one and think that I may have figured out the problem. Fingers crossed and knocking on wood. Funny though, I never notice it until someone else does.

* Little piles of fabric, thread and notions* Seeing as I am doing a LOT more sewing recently, I have decided that it would be in my best interest to move my sewing room upstairs. That way I can keep my kiddos in check at all times. So, until the furniture painted and arranged, the sewing room has taken temporary residence on my dining room table.

* Snacks on the counter* My two older kiddos are having a hard time keeping up their weight and are being put on a high calorie diet. So, instead of throwing butter and sour cream at the constantly, they are having an unlimited snack supply at their disposal. Unfortunately, I don't have this same problem but, I see myself diving into their stash more than I care to admit.

* Calming music* I took the HUGE HUGE step of canceling our satellite programming. I decided that we just don't watch enough TV to make it worth it. So, TV is out and relaxing music is in. Let's see how long that one lasts. I am NOT planning on giving up my netflix though. Not yet.

*Toys strewn about* I am trying to keep the toys in the basement toy room but, the kiddos really like being in the main area. Soooo, the toys come with them. We do try at the end of the day to put them back but, they make their way back up almost immediately the next morning.

*Nearly Nakie Toad* He is going through an anti-clothing stage at the moment. I am not really getting after him on this because I am really hoping and praying that potty training is coming along with this new stage. Plus... I am extremely glad that we are entering the Toad will happily take a bath instead of screaming stage.

* 32 oz. bottle of Crystal Light* I am slowly, ever slowly trying to give up caffeine. It isn't working yet but, I am working on it.

* Yippy yappy chew toy* Yes, he is teeny. Yes, he is annoying. Yes, he is a little mangy at the moment. However, he is so cute and I am actually extremely grateful that I have my own built in alarm system.

* Children's version of The Book of Mormon* We started reading this a few months ago and my kiddos LOVE it and we can't go a day without it. They often spend time looking through it and picking out the pictures that they know. It makes me feel like I am doing something good.

* Happy, Loving, Intelligent and Energetic Kiddos* I absolutely love my kiddos and they know it. I love that they know it too. I am making it my goal to keep a semi organized, calming and soothing environment for my kiddos to relax in. They love being here and love having family time. Without being too cheesy (alright, I am already past that) if I accomplish nothing else in this life, I want my kiddos to know that they are my absolute everything and that is all that matters to me.

Easter Morn

Moments before the hunt.

The race is on!Toad LOVED LOVED LOVED this and squealed the ENTIRE time.

Brothers working together.

Nena catching the high ones.

Bear got creative.
I hope we found all the eggs. I still don't know.

Toad wanted to place every single egg in its spot.

Woo Hoo for Crunch N Munch

Diving into the baskets.

Nena enjoying her morning.

Then displaying her stash.

Bear was THRILLED that the Easter Bunny knew his shirt size. THRILLED!

As you would guess, Toad was mainly thrilled over the candy.

Nena loved her dress too. I wish that I had gotten a picture of all three of them together. Oh well. I will have to get a professional one done this week.

Twinner (and yes. This is BEST of the 8 pictures that I took of this pose)
Showing Dad what they got.
Breakfast: sausage, muffins, egg salad, cinnamon rolls.
YUM!! Too bad I am trying to cut my calories.

Easter Eggs

As all of you know, my family is just plain awesome. I love our get togethers. I love that whenever we got together, you never exactly what is going to happen. Isn't that great!

This evening, I had invited everyone over for a taco bar dinner and a chance to dye eggs. Ok, so my plot was really to get more adult supervision and hopefully able to double team the kiddos in their colorful adventures. This is how the evening went from timid and mild to insane.


At the beginning of the evening, Grandpa quickly sequestered himself into a different room. He had been researching different ways to dye an egg and had come up with a really cool method. However, for reasons known only to him, he needed to have a workspace all to himself. He makes me smile.

The rest of the family paired off and picked a kiddos to help out. Danza and her friend, Tyler, picked Toad.
Bear and Dad made a great team. Bear was bound a determined to do it all on his own.

Toad LOVED it.

My cute sister in law Jac, hasn't dyed eggs in years. She was excited to find out that I had boiled 7 dozen (yes, that is not a typo) and there was enough eggs for everyone to participate.


Nena claimed Derek and Jac to herself.

The whole group.

I LOVE how intense he was over the whole thing.

Grandpa finally finished his pet project and set it to boil and rejoined the rest of us.




No, he is not ready to smack my sis in law. I ended up getting some real eggs that had been dyed, hallowed out and filled with confetti. Grandpa convinced Jac that it was a real egg and that it was a family tradition that the newest member of the family had to be egged. She was SUCH a good sport. I actually snapped the picture a split second after she got egged. I wish that I had captured the look on her face.


Nena quickly stepped up to the plate and volunteered to be confetti egged.

The eggs continued to get stranger and stranger as the night progressed.



As did the family with the dozens of confetti eggs that we had lying around.

Yep, even I smashed on on grandpa.

I hope that one day, when Derek and Jac have kids, they look as lovingly on their offspring as they did at this egg. They were so proud.

Seeing as how it was their six month anniversary, the magic and honeymoon was over. So, she gave him what he deserved.

And Toad LOVED it.

Nena laughed her head off.

Kaeson tried to get dad.


Then, Derek going along with the egg theme, didn't question an egg that turned out to be REAL.



But, he is so mellow that he just smiled.

Even with egg all over his face, beard and clothes.

The damage. We can make quite the mess.

Once the eggs were dyed, some people grappled as to what to do next. Well, that was a no brainer to some. Blowing up peeps in the microwave seemed to be the next logical choice of events. Notice who has taken charge of the kiddos at this point.

Yep, he is the pied piper of my kiddos. Probably because he is just a giant 6 year old himself.

And viola! The pet project is unveiled. My dad used silk to dye his eggs.

He was SO proud that his idea had worked.

I LOVE this picture of my dad. Whenever something works out for the good with my dad it just makes me smile. He is such an amazing guy and when things go his way we all do a silent cheer!

Then again, you can go to far with things.

Pleased, satisfied, and accomplished. All over 6 little eggs.

That turned out pretty darn amazing if you ask me.

Seriously! Isn't that beautiful.

Then came the shoving of random items into hallowed out egg shells. Bear was THRILLED to find a peep in an egg. He is still theorizing on how the peep got into the egg.

Like I said, she was excited over eggs.

Then, after reminiscing of old family stories, these two conjured up the brilliant idea of blowing up hard boiled eggs in the microwave. Seriously.... do your egg dying evenings ever go this far?

Again, he is just a giant 6 year old. Don't you just LOVE it.

Dad reenacting the exploding of the egg.

The mess. I am so glad that dad cleaned it up for me.

To continue on with the partying attitude. Jac decided that for just one evening, she would like to be a transformer, power ranger, or whatever that helmet is for. The helmet was so excited to be out for the evening that it decided to hang out for a while. She couldn't get it off!

Then what Easter evening is complete without out a peep eating contest. Here goes Jac.

Then Derek.

He won. This pict was taken just moments before the peeps hit his gag reflex and he made a mad dash for the waste basket.


I love the way our family evening turn out. You REALLY have no idea where things are going to go. I wish you all a very Happy Easter and hope that your evening of egg dying (if that is what you do) was just as great and crazy as ours was.