My Awesome Brothers

Today I got a phone call from my mom who asked me if I would like to get my car detailed. She was offering up my brothers who needed to earn some money for prom. I jumped at the opportunity.

They not only cleaned it out but they made it sparkle! They took so much time and made it look amazing. They made my day! I had to get the car cleaned before we went on our trip tomorrow and I certainly didn't want to do it by myself. So, in my opinion, worth every last penny.

I am now thinking that I should offering them college tuition to clean out my garage.

My New Baby

I have been needing (wanting) a laptop for quite some time. We have one family compouter that sits in our family room. It is really nice and very fast and has just a ton of bells and whistles. However, it is not very portable and I really need to have access to the computer down in my sewing room. So, I finally got Harvey convinced that I needed it. It finally arrived yesterday and I couldn't be more excited. Yeah!

March 15

Today is our 8th anniversary!!
We actually went out and celebrated yesterday. My parents offered to take the kids and I couldn't turn down a night with the grandparents. Plus, we rarely go out so, I jumped at the chance! We went to dinner at McGrath's and then off to see a movie. Harvey has his heart set on a movie but the ones that he wanted to see were at really late showing times so, we saw "Race to Witch Mountain." Not my first choice, but it was a lot better than I had anticipated.
As for the pictures, I have to explain. The roses were for me. Thank you!
The basket and balloon were for him. As most of you know, we got engaged twice. The first time was in a hot air balloon that looked like a smiley face. So, he got the hot air balloon filled with treats and a gift card to Best Buy. I know! It is generic. I am generally very creative but, Harvey has nearly every gadget in the world so, I thought that he might enjoy just taking himself on a shopping spree. I am actually secretly hoping that he uses it to get a WII fit!

My Minkie

The other day I was watching "Good Things Utah" and saw a short little segment with all of the cute ladies talking about their childhood blankies. It brought back an incredible flood of memories which I haven't ever shared.

Minkie came into my life almost immediately. My Grandma June made him (yes, Minkie is a him) for me while my mother was pregnant with me. His colors are the typical for the time period- yellow and green. At that time, there was no way of knowing if you were having a boy or a girl so, all little boys and girls were dressed and accessorized in the very neutral yellow and green.

Most children with addictions to their blankies are pretty secure with the fact that they can survive life without these items by the age of 7 or 8. Right! Wrong! My Minkie accompanied me well into my life.

From the very beginning Minkie never left my side. He accompanied me to the grocery store, to the doctors office, every single car ride and of course, to bed. I am sure that my mom had to wait until I was completely asleep before she would snag for a midnight washing. She recalls times of having to wash it while I was awake. It must have caused real trauma in my life because I would sit next to the washing machine and cry until my Minkie came out nice and fluffy.


Once when I was in high school, yes high school, I came home from a night out and couldn't find my Minkie. I looked everywhere and he was nowhere to be found. Frustrated and tired, I finally woke up my mom and asked her if she had seen it. She mentioned that she had seen my brother holding earlier in the evening. Uh oh, I was in trouble. He had been angry with me earlier. I ran down to his room and shook him away demanding my Minkie. He denied any knowledge of his whereabouts until I threated to decaptiate his teddy bear. It was only at this point that he confessed that he burried Minkie in the backyard while in a fit of rage. Pathetically, at 1:00 a.m. I trudged out the backyard with my shovel and dug around until I found Minkie.

Aside from being burried alive, Minkie has survived several close encounters. He has been burned more than once, painted over while staining the front deck, and lost on the bottom of Lake Powell more than once. Once I even called out a search party and the entire group searched for over a half hour with goggles and snorkling masks. That was when I was 18.

Minkie was with me when I moved up to Idaho to go to school. He even went camping with my roommates and I. Minkie had every intention in the world of going on my mission with me. He was quite the trooper in the MTC. It was with great sorrow that I handed him over at the airport to my mom. I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to withstand the harsh terrain of the Dominican Republic.

You would think that the time on my mission, learning, growing, becoming a secure independent adult would cure me of the need to have a stained, ripped baby blanket as my constant companion. Oh, well, you think wrong. Minkie and I picked up right where we had left off the day I came home. It was the happiest of reunions.

Minkie went on to travel with me to New Zealand, the Bahamas, Mexico and back and forth to visit my grandmother. Each time that she would see me and my blanket she would chuckle and say that it was stitched together with love. She kept telling me that she would have to write to the gingham company and tell them that the quality of their fabric was beyond compare.

When I got married, we honeymooned in the Virgin Islands. Minkie came along for the ride. He was there with me on the day that I gave birth to Kyra. He helped ease my stress and made my day easier. When I came home from the hospital, there was a package in my living room. It was from my grandma. I opened up a green and yellow checkered blanket. It was not exactly the same as Minkie but as close as she could come. There was a cute note that said that although Minkie was an amazing blanket, she feared that he would not last long with little ones in the house so, she was sending a backup. I was touched beyond belief.

It was a sad moment the day that I retired Minkie. He was thread bare and full of holes. I had to wash him in a pillowcase just to make sure that he made it out of the wash in one piece. Unable to relinquish him from my life, Minkie was gently tucked away in my closet in a little ziplock bag. He is now so thin that he can fit into a sandwich bag.



Grandma has since passed away. I miss her every single day. I look at Minkie from time to time and remember how much she loved me and I miss her even more. I know that Minkie truly was stitched with love. How else could a thread bare baby blanket survive 30+ years of hugs, tears, love and heartbreak. She really put a kiss in with every stitch.

I have discovered that the love for blankies is hereditary. Every single one of my kiddos has aquired a taste for a particular blankie. Grandma made Kyra's. My mother bought Kaeson's. Toads was purchased just before he was born. All three of them sleep with their blankies, carry them around the house and take them on every trip. This is one thing that I am truly excited that I passed onto my kids.

BFF

Don't you love it when your friends just "get you." Thanks for all that you do. You are amazing and I will return the favor!

Wishing

*Pause*Pause*Pause*Pause*Pause* Read the blog then watch the video!

Ever since I was a little girl I loved to wish. I would seek out the first star that I would see at night and make a fervent plea that the latest fancy of my heart would come true. My wishes have been all over the place from wanting to become a ballet dancer, to being to asked to prom to finding my car keys. I still do it and it has been one of those fixtures in my life that hasn't changed. Now, my children make their wishes and I love to hear what they whisper in their little wishes.

To me, wishing is special. It takes a special moment or event to make a wish: The finding of a complete puffy dandilion and blowing away all of its seeds, managing to extinguish all the birthday candles (a task that gets harder each year,) the rare glimpse at a shooting star, or my year with the turkey wishbone. Nighttime star wishing is still my favorite.

A wish has been described as a hope or desire for something unattainable. However, I strongly believe that our strongest desires can be achieved if we only take the time to know and believe that they will happen. That is the most important part of your wish. Making it come true!

I have added Friday the 13th to my collection of wishing moments. So many people have made it into a day of gore and horror. I have changed it to a day of fascination and magic. It is a day that doesn't come around often so, I take advantage of it. So, take today and make your wish. Believe (and work) hard that to make it come true. Then sit back and enjoy the wonder!

Enjoy the video. A mother made it for her daughters that is why the girls and the names come up. However, the words to this song are absolutely perfect. So, this is my wish for you on this day of wonder.

Asking Kids

Kyra is 6 and Kaeson is 4. I was surprised at their answers. Mostly however, I am just so glad that they know how much I love them!!!


1. What is something mom always says to you?
Kyra- I love you.
Kaeson- Thank you.

2. What makes mom happy?
Kyra- When I mind.
Kaeson- When I help you.

3. What makes mom sad?
Kyra- When I don't say good-bye to you.
Kaeson- When I don't help you.

4. What does your mom do to make you laugh?
Kyra- Tells jokes about daddy.
Kaeson- Waddle

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Kyra- Me of course.
Kaeson- Tiny

6. How old is your mom?
Kyra- This one is easy- 21! Or are you just 20? (Smart Girl)
Kaeson- I think 5.

7. How tall is your mom?
Kyra- As big as grandma. 30 inches.
Kaeson- 1000 inches.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Kyra- Making things with me. Is that correct?
Kaeson- Ring around the rosies.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Kyra- Stay home and so stuff with Kaeson.
Kaeson- Clean up the mess.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Kyra- Because she is so pretty (again, Smart Girl!)
Kaeson- ?

11. What is your mom really good at?
Kyra- Sewing- I think that's all that you are good at.
Kaeson- Piano and flute

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Kyra- Painting
Kaeson- Folding clothes

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Kyra- Take care of her kids.
Kaeson- To fix things and disappear.

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Kyra- Salad
Kaeson- Salad

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
Kyra- She stays by me no matter what.
Kaeson- Because I love you.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Kyra- Angle Cake from Strawberry Shortcake
Kaeson- Spongebob

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Kyra- Crafts and have fun
Kaeson- Go to the beach and go swimming.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Kyra- We both wear pants and we both wear shirts. (good similarity to have)
Kaeson- We wear the same blue shirt.

19. How are you and mom different?
Kyra- She has blonde hair and I have brown hair (I still have her fooled)
Kaeson- Because you are a girl and I am a boy.

20. How do you know that your mom loves you?
Kyra- She always says "I love you" and gives me hugs and kisses.
Kaeson- Because we hug each other.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Kyra- Hobby Lobby.
Kaeson- To the mall.

Darci Needs

I am in the blogging mood tonight and found this cute little tag on two friend's pages so I swiped it! Thanks girls! Google your name+the word "needs." Then post the search results. They both did just 10 but, I am going to post the ones that I liked the best.

Darci Needs:
1. All the help she can get on this so please help her!!! (actually the first thing that came up! Love it!)
2. You to clean the inside of her mouth.
3. To run and will start this weekend.
4. To have some fun!!!!!
5. You to come on down and vote to get her all the way to the $1200 Grand Prize.
6. To tell the truth.
7. A little extra loving.
8. To move back around her true friend down in the sticks or something.
9. A crib for her dollies.
10. More strange guys hitting on her (I had to include this one because phrases similar to this came up with different wordings about 25 times. There is a Darci out there that really gets around.)
11. The day off because she is needed at a hacker conference
12. Some practice doing this the grown-up way, ie, saying what she wants and then sticking to it.
13. To be made-officially.
14. A nap.
15. A new name, Darci is too....girly for her.
16. To come too. She is hilarious. she tried to be vintage but honey, she was a sellout.
17. A break. I'm listening to: Derrick.(My brothers name...but I never get sick of listening to him. He is a total stud!!!)
18. Oxygen.

This one was out of order but I found it great anyway, "It doesn't take a brain surgeon to see that Darci needs help."

Facebook

There has been quite a bit of controversy over the website Facebook. Most of you who read this are on Facebook (still waiting for you to catch up with the times Leigh.) I won't go into the inner working details of the website.

There have been all sorts of media reviews from a place to find old friends, to a complete waste of time. There have been criticisms of adding people that are only acquaintances in real life and not friends.

I just thought that I would chime and give the world my two cents worth. Now, while I think that everyone should be extremely cautious of the sites they visit and things that they post, I can emphatically say that I love it. I will admit that I may spend a little too much time on the site however, it has completely enhanced my life.

Through this site I have been able to find:
* Long lost friends from high school: We have even gotten together for lunch, ice cream, shopping trips. Others have just been fun to catch up with over our blog accounts. I love hearing from them leave their comments.
* Long lost friends from college: It was 14 years overdue, but lunch was fabulous and I love that our conversations and chats never seemed to have skipped a beat.
* People that I knew of in high school but rarely if ever spoke to: These people have been such a beacon of faith and determination in my life and I know that there was a bit of divine intervention in our meetings.
* Mission Friends: Instead of the occassional reunion, I have loved getting together for dinners, chats, photo and sharing swapping. It makes me miss the mission a little bit.
* Family ties: I have family that lives all over the country. Although we are not the "call each other on the phone" type people, I love that we are able to keep up with each other a bit.
* Reconciliations: There have been a few people that over my life with whom I have wanted to reconcile differences. Most often in life we don't have the opportunity to do this. However, through this site, I have been able to find these people and get that peace in my life.
* Total strangers: Yes, I do have 2 people on my Facebook account that I have never met (and aren't relatives of Harvey's living elsewhere in the world.) These two people are highly active in two of the groups that I support whole heartedly and have answered every single one of my questions and offered more support than I could have asked for.

Now, I don't think the site is perfect and I do think that everyone should use caution when using any social interaction site. However, for me, this site has blessed my life in ways that I will never be able to express.

When Will I Learn??

I have learned through my oh so many years to be selective with the things that I want to learn. When I say that I need more patience, my kids go out of control. When I want to learn humility, I get struck with a family crisis. When I want to learn to budget better, the economy starts to crash. Coincidentally, this little pattern also seems to occur when I say something along the line of "I could never handle...." fill in the blank. Well, when will I learn to keep my yap shut?

A little over a year ago, a friend of mine, for allergy reasons, put her entire family on a gluten free/casein free diet. That means no wheat or milk of any kind. She was completely frustrated by this because she is a fabulous cook and this dramatically impacted her cuisine. I remember telling her that it was a good thing that that was her trial and not mine. She was able to handle it. She is such a cuilary genius that she is able to adapt so many recipes to the needs of her family. My family would starve because I would have no idea what to do.

Well, I didn't knock on wood quickly enough. We have been hit by the same thing. We are now having to take our family on the same diet. Atleast we are going to try it. We have a couple of issues that are going on that we think will be helped by using this diet. We (and by "WE" I mean "I") are not doing this willy nilly but have done research and think that for now, it may be the best option. We are going to jump in with both feet and give it all we have for 6 months and see what happens.

Do you know what this mean!!!!!! I HAVE TO COOK EVERYTHING! It will limit eating out and last minute runs to the grocery store for a frozen lasagna. Wheat or milk is in nearly everything you eat: taco seasoning, salad dressing, soy sauce, tater tots, chicken broth, macaroni, oatmeal... EVERYTHING.

So, please keep your fingers crossed for me that my poor little kiddos don't starve or wither away!

So Stinking Cute!

*Pause*Pause*Pause*Pause*
Yesterday was so nice that we just had to go outside for a while. We are getting rid of the swingset in a couple of weeks but, until we do, the kids are going to get every single last swing out of it. My brother, Dalton, put Kelty on the slide and he was completely enthralled with it! Isn't he a great uncle? Thought that you might get a kick out of it. Yes, I know that my backyard looks really white trash in this video but, please ignore it. That is this year's project!

Dr. Suess Day

Today at school was Dr. Suess day. They sent home a flier on Friday informing the parents that the children could have crazy hair, wear a crazy hat or dress like their favorite Dr. Suess character. As it is typical for me, I completely forgot because I didn't write it on my calendar (note to self: get a portable calendar or PDA.)

So, last night after returning from dinner at my parents house, Kyra brought the note up to me and reminded me that I needed to get on the ball and figure something out. So, we decided to do crazy hat and crazy hair.

I called my friend Julie and went straight to work making the crazy hat. Well, you can't have a hat without the outfit so, she got the whole shebang! I wasn't sure if by the end she looked more like a "Who" or a hippie. Either way, she liked it.

(Please ignore the fact that the baseboard are STILL not up even though the hardwood has been installed for nearly two years now!)

Lowes Workshop

Recently my dad discovered the children's workshops at Lowes. Every so often, Lowes has clinics for little ones where they build different little items. A few weeks ago, my parents took the kids to the Valentines box workshop. Dad was so impressed that he signed Kaeson up for several other workshops, one of which was on Saturday.

Kaeson was SO excited to go. I don't think that he has ever minded so well in his life. He was so intent on going and sat looking for Grandpa by the front window for 20 minutes before he came. When my dad did show up, Kaeson was THRILLED to see that he had brought Uncle Derek. Uncle Derek always adds that extra ounce of excitement.\

This time at the workshop, they worked on race cars. Kaeson (so I am told) was very intent on his car. He pounded every nail, aligned every piece of wood, and centered and placed every sticker. They gave each child a work apron and a pair of work goggles. He also got a patch that was sewn onto his apron by the end of the evening.He absolutely loved every minute of it.

Afterwards, they took him to lunch at McDonalds. Kaes was in heaven when the featured toy of the month was Spiderman. This is how Kaeson was returned to me.

Create

*Press Pause on Playlist*
I saw this on another blog today and it embodied so much of what I have been feeling lately. I really wanted to pass it along and share it with you.

Kyra's Under the Sea School Program

*Push Pause on the playlist before playing the videos!* Kyra and her class had their "Under the Sea" program today at school! They did such a fabulous job! She has absolutely loved singing the songs and has even taught them to Kaeson! Thank you so much Mrs. Tapia for putting all of the time and effort into making their first grade year fabulous! You are awesome!