Eaping

This is an almost daily occurrence at lunch time at our house. Yes, the obvious solution would be to give him lunch a little earlier and put him to bed before this happens, but for some reason we can't quite get our act together to make that happen. I think there is something about eating that is sleep inducing for this guy, anyway. Lately he is not a fan of naptime, but if chewing is involved, he slowly slips into a drowsiness that makes the transition from high chair to crib effortless.

Old Friends

I was feeling nostalgic today and decided to clean my room to the tunes of my second favorite band of all time (after the Beatles, of course), Simon and Garfunkel. Leslie is the only one who will understand what I am talking about, but listening to their music automatically transports me back in time to the room we shared in Villa Park. It seems to me that every time we cleaned our room we would play our Simon and Garfunkel tape on Leslie's little pink tape player. I still know every word to every one of their songs by heart. I have a lot of favorite songs, but my most favorite is "The Only Living Boy in New York." I love it.

New Guys

Thanks to a visit from Grandma this past week, there are some new guys living at our house. We love baby big bird and unicorny!

Bath Bliss

It started with new towels

and a soap dish that perfectly match my bedroom walls . . .


. . . add some paint, a new mirror, medicine cabinet, light fixture, rug, shower curtain, and a few hectic days, and I have a (semi) new bathroom.

I just couldn't bring myself to hang such lovely towels on my dingy "navajo white" bathroom walls. Something had to be done.

Our master bathroom is the smallest room in the house, and needs a major renovation (as in all new everything), but until that is in the budget, my mini redo will have to do.

Look, Mom, No Hands!

What talent! He can almost do the splits with his hands in his pockets!
This is his new favorite stance, by the way.

Sorry, Mom, but we had to cut his hair! His head is constantly sweaty. It is too hot here in the summer time for hair.

Burp Rags and Baby Blankets

With the imminent arrival of many new babies, I have been hard at work with my Bernina. Now I am all sewn out.

I can show these burp rags only because I know that this person doesn't check my blog. At least, I don't think she does. The rest of you pregnant ladies will have to wait until your respective baby showers or mailmen.

I Heart Primary

Last month, I became a Primary teacher for the first time in my life. At first, I was bummed because I love going to Relief Society, and I knew that I was really going to miss it. But I was surprised to learn that I love Primary, too! I teach the 10 and 11 year olds. There are 4 kids in my class (2 boys and 2 girls who sit miles apart and never make direct eye contact with each other). They are so sweet. Every week I feel the Spirit. Every week I learn something new. I just hope that the kids in my class are learning something, too.

The Low

Yes folks, last night our low was a sweltering 94 degrees.
That is really hot.

If Mike Ever Left Me

A while back, when Mike and I were still in the midst of couch shopping, we got into a very long conversation with a sales woman at the La-Z-Boy store. The conversation consisted mostly of why we were LDS, what our church believes, and how lucky I am to be a stay-at-home mom. She congratulated me on being able to stay home with my kids, but immediately followed her congratulations with a warning: "If he ever leaves you, you need something to fall back on."

Thanks.

Luckily, I know Mike will never leave me, but if I did need something to fall back on (like if he was no longer able to work), this is what I would hope to do:

**Before you look at the following pictures, please know that I am not saying that I am an awesome seamstress, by any means, but this is something I love to do and rarely get the chance to practice.**

Sorry, I know this one is really blurry, but our wedding photos turned out terribly, and this is my favorite one. Oh that I had a scanner!

Happy birthday, Abbie!
You looked so beautiful on your wedding day, but you look even more beautiful as a pregnant lady!

Good Morning

This afternoon I was having a creativity crisis that only a trip to the fabric store could cure. So as soon as Mike walked in the door from work, I left the kids in his capable hands and spent the next hour perusing the aisles of our local JoAnn's. While I was gone, the kids watched Sesame Street (which we tivo everyday and usually watch the next morning). Mike isn't sure what happened, but when Sesame Street was all done, Mabel was convinced that it was morning (It was really about 5:45 pm). We think she must have dozed off for a few minutes while she was watching and woke up seriously confused. Intead of wanting dinner, she requested her daily breakfast of cinnamon oatmeal, which she had already had once this morning. I don't know how we are going to get her to go to bed. Bedtime is in half an hour. This is going to feel like one very short day to one very short little girl.

The Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to my man!

From a House to a Home

An ideal homemaker is able to transform four walls into a home by creating both spiritual and physical beauty therein.

Have you ever stopped to consider that the personality of a home is usually a reflection of the personalities that dwell in it? Winston Churchill said, "We shape our houses then our houses shape us." Because your home will REFLECT your personality and because it will also AFFECT your personality, it's well worth putting forth special effort to have it just as you would like. Your home is undoubtedly the most important temporal possession in your life. Unless you do something to create in it both spiritual and physical beauty, it remains nothing more than a shelter. A sunny, gracious atmosphere in your home makes you feel radiant and happy. Dull surroundings push you into a depression. Plan to do something each day to improve your home so that your improvement will never cease and so that it can bring out the best that is in you and the others who dwell therein. Make your home a haven of peace and beauty for your family. Make it a place where friends will want to visit again.

The Art of Homemaking

Early Morning Wake-up Call

Why, oh why, must he wake up at 5:00 on a Saturday morning?
Doesn't he know that is too early?

The Dress of the Week

It's good for twirling.

We're Back

We had a great time at Sundance (even though we missed the Horns)!
Here are some highlights:

playing pollies with pa

dancing to pretty music

coloring with the cousins

family walks
(annie, emma, mabel)

reading books


Even though Oliver threw up all over himself and me on the plane ride home, we were in good spirits when we landed. It was a fun trip!