Water Painting

So, if you're ever in the mood for an art project that requires NO cleaning up afterwards this is great.  Water painting.  I got this idea from my sister-in-law and it was such a good one.  We don't have much sidewalk that's good for this as it needs to be smooth but when my kids finnished on the porch they started into the individual rocks on our path.  We were out there for an hour and I laid down on a blanket on the front lawn and just soaked up the sun.  The best part is that when we were done we just went in the house.  No clean up and everyone was happy we got to go outside.

Being the Mom-A Sick Day

When I was young I loved sick days. My mom had nursing experience so we really had to be sick in order to stay home.  My favorite part of being sick was hanging out on the couch sleeping and watching TV.  My favorite show was "The Price Is Right."  I spent many days home being sick, getting out of chores and getting all the sleep I could stand.

 

Once you become the Mom your sick day activities change, I'm not talking about being sick yourself, I'm talking about when everyone else gets sick.  When you have young children that have some kind of stomach bug it's such a guessing game.  Sunday morning my little one woke me up and said, "I sick."  The poor kid wasn't kidding.  I spent most of that day on the couch with him with a towel on our laps "becuase it's cold in here," atleast, that's what I told him.  We read books, played cards and even watched a Christmas movie (not my first choice).  I spent that day cleaning up some messes.

 

Two days later my little one had moved on to liquid bowel movements and my older one complained, litterally moaning and groaning, of a sore stomach.  As soon as I started a load of laundry someone would make a mess that needed cleaned up.  After two days of that I had really lost my appetite; luckily my hubby was very understanding.

 

There is an upside, I did get some good quality snuggling in with both my kids, my hubby made me dinner two nights this week and I enjoyed a quiet week as no one else dared come into my house.  I still got to go play volleyball one night this week and the next night I went to a friend's house to work on a sewing project, oh, and the one day that everyone was feeling okay I went to the chiropractor so I wasn't house bound all week.  Mostly, I'm just really grateful I have a strong stomach and that we spent most of our days healthy.  Even when things get hecktic I can look back on the days the kids were sick and remember how hard it was to see them feeling miserable and be grateful for my roundy kids.  Here's to surviving another week of sick kids.  Hopefully we have reached the end of this stomach bug and with any luck I won't get it this time around.

Recycling

My hubby had an idea for family night.  He took out some paper bags, cut some hole and ta-da, instant constume.  The kids decorated them with color crayons and stickers.  Matt drew a badge on each of them and they spent the rest of the evening playing in them.

The kids have been in a very physical mood lately and we have been playing alot of castles and dragons and knights.  This has been a good outlet for them to use their aggression for play and not for actually beating each other up.  If anyone has other suggestions for how to use up all this energy let me know.

Rise Above the Gloom

We are heading into the gray part of our year.  I have found a few ways to rise above the gloom here are some of them: 1. Drink Hot chocolate       2. Smile, even when you don't feel like smiling.  3. Go somewhere the kids can play.  4.  Go to the library.  5.  Play dress up.    6.  Build a tent and have an indoor campout.    7.  Have a picnic. 8. Moive night complete with popcorn and candy.   9.  Read a good book.    10.  Plan a game night or a date night.  11.  Paint a picture.  12.  Bake something and give it to a friend or neighbor. 13. Invite kids over to play.

So that's my plan to beat the gray this year.  Mostly I've found that staying busy is key.  When you'r busy you don't have time to worry about what the weather is doing.

Life is a Battlefield

Everyday we face decisions.  There is a war raging between good and evil.  The truth is that making good decisions wouldn't be so rewarding if it weren't hard sometimes.  So, knowing that the best we can do is to be prepared.  We strengthen our armor by taking time each day to strengthen ourselves; by taking time for the things that really matter most to us.  We are committed to reading and praying together each day.  It really helps our family to come together each day for some family time.  Here's to winning the daily battles.

You Reap What You Sow

We have had so much fun with our garden this year.  What I love most about the garden (besides the food that comes out of it) is that it get me outside with my kids.  We put in a 4 x 16 garden bed at the beginning of last summer and each year I learn quite a bit.  The kids are always excited to go pick the vegitables and I love that they want to help with the work.

 I was really surpised how well the garden produced  since we planted so late and didn't start watering until into July (we had rain most of June).  The snow peas did really well and were done mid Summer.  The normal peas and beans did poorly but the few beets were delicious.  The cucumbers and pumkins were a total fail and the squash I planted in the middle of the tomatoes thinking it would just grow along the ground took over and grew up through the tomatoes.  I also planted the tomatoes too close together.

Next year I want to do more beets, replanting if needed, more onions, more potatoes and make better trelleses for my peas.  I also need to try putting my cucumbers in a different spot to see if it makes a difference.  I love having the opportunity to teach my children the benefits of putting the work in.  Here's to a great harvest and putting all this good experience to work next year.

Forever 21

I guess my hubby decided I needed an amazing cake for my birthday.  He made a from-scratch caramel cake then added a layer of pudding topped with a layer of ice cream and frosted with whipped topping.  We had a quiet night and I spent the next week eating the cake.  YUM!

The story behind the 21, we have small children so we had a 2 and a 1.  There wasn't much other reason.  I'm not ashamed or bothered by my age.  I also have young children so they keep my feeling young.  It has occured to me that my life is about half way over.  If I progress in the next half as well as I did in the last half I look forward to it.

Super Project

So, we’ve been really into super heroes  at our house.  As a result I decided to make my homemade Christmas this year super hero related.  I found a pattern online that I liked and printed out the logos from online images.  I used iron on fusing to attach the felt and topstitch around the edges before sewing the sides together.  Each cape will have a logo on both sides and will have sew on Velcro to hold it on.  I will post pics of the finished product.

I have been very surprised how much I have enjoyed this project.  It's been nice to have a project that has a far off deadline.  I coorced two friends into doing capes as well and it's fun to have someone to share the fun with.  The best part, they'll be done long before Christmas so the stress is off.

An Old Journal

Last weekend I was looking through my bookshelf and found an old journal from high school.  It was from my junior and senior years and had about six entries.  I only wrote when something really good happened or when I was reflecting on a bad situation and trying to figure out what to do about it. 

 

I was surprised the effect it had on me.  I spent the next three days thinking about the people and places that were so important to me twelve years ago. When I think of my past I tend to focus on all my shortcomings.  This is very frustrating as I had painted a picture of myself that made me a little resentful.  I got out a photo album from that same time period.  As I turned through the pages it brought back so many good memories.  I was really blessed to have friends that were a good influence on me and pushed me academically (thank you spell check).  Turning my ambitions to my school work, which I was good at, really helped me get through many ackward years.  It also set a pattern for achievment that I have tried to continue through my life.

I have spent much time lately regretting some of the decisions I made.  Most were small things that caused myself and sometimes others pain.  I must admit that there are days when I've wondered if I will ever make peace with my past self but I am making progress.  I've learned a couple of things.  First, no matter how much you analyze your past you can't change what's already been done; pondering has it's place but unless it leads to action there are times when it's just wasted brain power. Second, action is what makes us who we are and worry only lends to frustration.  The more you dread something or stew over it the bigger it becomes and the less you want to deal with it.  Less stewing, more doing. (That's pretty good, I'll have to remember that one.) And last, we live today, not yesterday and not tomorrow. 

"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."
-Pres. Thomas S. Monson



30 Great Years

Today is my birthday.  I don't feel old and I haven't been dreading this day.  I have, however, spent quite a bit of time reflecting on my life and today I'm pretty happy with what I have accomplished and look forward to many more years to come.  I would like to share some of my favorite memories from past birthdays.

 

When I turned twelve my family threw me a surprise party and I was totally in the dark.  I had gone out shopping with my Mom and when we got home my friends were there and jumped out and said "surprise" and we had a fun day.

 

When I turned 16 or 18, I can't remember which, my friends kidnapped me and took me to play laser tag at Treasure Cove.  Then we played the X-Men arcade game and had cake and ice cream.  Again, I was totally in the dark that they had planned something for me.

 

On my 25th birthday I was 10 days from having a baby so my husband invited a few people from church to come over.  It was simple but he took care of everything and I was impressed that he had planned a party for me.  He gave me a space heater (I was always cold.) Someone else gave me tiger lilies which got me started loving flowers and wanting to garden.

 

On my 27th birthday I was 8 months pregnant and Matt made me a homemade cake (this has since become a tradition).  He gave me a shovel and two big bags of flower bulbs.  My mother-in-law helped me plant them and we have beautiful flowers every Spring.  That was probably my favorite gift ever.  This was also the first year my oldest got to help do the shopping for my birthday and he was so excited about it.

 

Last Saturday my husband spoiled me by watching the kids while I locked myself in my room working on a sewing project most of the day.  He took the boys to go do some birthday shopping and they were so excited.  I could hear them talking as they were wrapping my gifts and they spent the rest of the day moving them from place to place hiding them from me so they would be a surprise.

 

Life has been good so far and my goal for this next year is to spend more time counting my blessings.