So Cupcake

The night before Valentines Day...I sat staring at this unused cupcake fabric...and I thought hey why don't I whip up some Valentine jammies for the girls. I always get them some goodies to celebrate the day of love...but this year I didn't want to get the usual basket of junk that I would regret finding all over my floor. So PJ's would be a better idea.

So off I went to cutting, pinning, and sewing. Only to realize I didn't have enough fabric for 4 little PJs. So I did what I could that night then had to dash out on Valentines day for more fabric and then back to cutting, pinning, and sewing.

Well I did finish much to my doubt..but it was already 9:20 at night ...before I presented my little gifts to my little gems. Although the littlest gem was already in bed with no cupcake jammies to keep her warm.

It's all about the wrapping that makes it look more special than it is.

To my surprise they were more excited than the usual go to bag of candy, lotion, and jewlery. They have not taken them off much since then. I have to beg them to let me wash them at least once a week.

In days past...I use to fret over every detail. Which hand made cards to make for each girl to pass out to their classmates....which shirt for them to wear to school that day (ok I still do that)...what hairstyle they will have that will be different than all the rest....what fabulous gift to present to each teacher we so love...

But as the years pass...I just don't have it in me anymore to fret over such things...what has happened to me...I have resorted to store bought licensed cards with a piece of candy stuck on... some throw together token for the teacher...girls with normal hairstyles going out the door.

OH THE SHAME...Riley took Barbie cards to school...where is the thrill in that. Then the guilt came when she came bouncing through the door to parade all of the cards she got...and the first ones I noticed were the adorable hand made cards some Mom (who cared more) had made. Someone even made mini IPOD's with head phones out of a box on converstation hearts and peanut butter cup earphones.

I have lost my edge...lost my desire to go over the top...lost my passion for making something special.

That is why I decided to hand make some jammies...I had to redeem myself to those who really mattered...my kids.

And here is the thanks I got...a nice note from the eldest daughter taped to my door.

Gotta love that fiesty girl.

Hope your Valentines day was not as crazy as mine.

LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP

NO...Since it is Valentines Day....I am NOT talking about me and hubbys relationship...but these dang shoes.

I HATE putting them on...they are so bulky and remind me of what needs to be done. The ever so nagging task of working out. The reminder that I am going to have to work HARD to undo years of neglect and damage. They feel so weighty on the ends of these birdie legs.

But I LOVE how I feel afterwards....like I have conquered the world. Like even if I get nothing else done that day...I at least got my body moving. So I set these babies out in the middle of my floor each morning...hoping that if I trip over them enough...then I will lace them up and get to running.

I know that I must be down a pant size for all the hard work I did that day.

So I go put on my ever so tight favorite pair of pants and then I HATE how they still don't fit. So I go LOVING graze on a Valentine cookie for relief.

See the LOVE/HATE thing I have going on.

Body Worlds

My cute 20 year old sister came to visit...and I dragged her to

Body Worlds in Salt Lake.

I had been wanting to see it for months and this was the closing week.

Hubby was not interested in going but I didn't want to miss it.

I marveled as I saw the human body in all it's nakedness.

The best was seeing there was no brain inside a man's "most prized possession".

Proved that theory wrong.

Then came our own amazement over Riley's new body part....

Weeks before Christmas, while dragging all 4 girls to the mall (don't recommend to anyone) Riley had her toenail violently ripped off by a big mall door.
The screaming and blood was horrific.

I am frantically searching for band-aids and tissues
(which like any bad Mom is back in the car).

I release baby Avery from her jail like stroller seat and pass the baby like a football to Madison while trying to calm the hysterical, toenail-less child in the stroller.

I dash out of the mall with girls trailing behind me...to secure the ever so vital bandaid or 2 or 3. (note to self...always keep bandaid in purse)

I successfully push the nail back into place...only to appease the OCD child who has been stripped of a part of her...her precious pink sparkling toenail.

For weeks she walked on her heel...only wearing flipflops...as to not put any pressure on the injured stub. Not a great idea in the middle of snowy December.

I so diligently changed the Dora bandaids each day...only to have her scream and yell...don't pull my pretty nail off....and then glance downward in that direction and scream....it's "gusting" (disgusting)...get my band aid on".

So after 8 weeks of looking at a ratty bandaid...I convinced her that like a butterfly...her toe had shed its ugly cocoon and a beautiful new toenail grew in its place.

She looked in amazement and bewilderment. Not sure what to think.
Her thoughts went something like this:

• 
  
  Was it as pretty as the one she lost?...no..it was short and quite bummpy.



• Would it do my sparkly purple dress up shoes justice.



• Would I ever be the same? Or is all fashion hope lost??

After 30 minutes of convincing this strong willed daughter of mine, who is only 4 mind you, I was able to paint and polish and make that new toenail dazzle.
She loved it..she got a ear to ear grin and knew that life was good again.

She also remembered to thank Heavenly Father for her new sparkly toe.

Many new things

I have been neglectin my blog of late...just haven't felt up to it in those few quiet moments I have. Truth be known...little sweet baby broke my laptop screen upstairs...that is where I would compose my latest musings and then save it until i could down load a photo or 2 on my downstairs computer. The little monster actually cracked the screen and now it has dark splotches all over it. If I scroll just right I can see the top 2 inches with out any black smears...

How can a little peanut do thousands of $$$ in damage. Well maybe she will help me get an Apple computer and I will give up my desktop for the upstairs. The sacrifices we make as mothers. :)

But I do have many new things to show you...new toenails...new fireplace...

OK..so that was only 2 new things...but that is all I have for now...but you will still have to wait...I am downstairs but forgot the dang camera to download pics.

Wish

I found the most beautiful little dresses today. With 4 girls how can I not always be looking for something different. www.chasing-fireflies.com

I was actually trying to find a fabulous Valentines dress or skirt I could make and this is what I found.
But I would need a small fortune to outfit the girls. So for now I will stick to the basic Gap tees and jeans.

I made it to District

Opps....I mean Madison made it to District Science Fair.

Did I mention I hate projects that are really take home projects for the parents.

Actually Madison did a lot of the work...but Mom had to put her decorative touches on the board. I guess I really caught their attention and she zoomed passed the classroom level, onto the school wide level and now to district.

Madison really does know her stuff though. What 3 life support systems a flower needs...what her controls were...what her variables were...what is a biocide and acidfier.

So heres to the ROSE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. If only I could find one for almost 38 year old mommies, I would be rich.

Oh by the way, the winner of the roses was the combination of water, bleach and Sprite. 3cups water, 1 cup Sprite, 1/4 tsp Bleach. The roses lasted the longest. Who knew.

Yin and Yang

And they said it wouldn't last....well it's been 14 years of blissful marriage. Never a fight or ill word spoken. Never a complaint or negative thought. Always positive and uplifting.

But seriously...it's definitely been a roller coaster ride over the last 14 years...having some great thrills but also the lowest of lows together.

But we have survived them all.

Job changes, 5 pregnancies and 5 babies, MBA schooling, Death of a Child, Busy church callings, New Job, HUGE MOVE, new state, new life.

They say if it doesn't kill you...it will make you stronger.

Some days I know that is true and some days I wonder if they really have any clue.

But I have learned that each of us are very different and handle the stressors of life extremely different.

Our challenges have made us each stronger in different ways and we have learned to allow each other to be different and not expect the same reactions.

Otherwise we would have given up long ago.

We have learned the true meaning of "enduring to the end".

Some days is prettier than others on how we are enduring.

But each day is a new day...full of choices on how we will allow the trails to affect us...how we will treat each other.

And hopefully today is better than yesterday.

So hubby thanks for the all the ups of the last 14 years of marriage and thanks for patiently loving me through all of the lows.

From the outside we are the Yin and the Yang of marriage.

But it works..our differences have helped balance the other out.

Loves and snuggles to you.