6 kids. 3 days. Not THAT bad.

Recently, we watched my friend Melinda's kids for her while she and her husband went on an uber romantic getaway for their 10th Wedding Anniversary. Well, we didn't watch ALL of her kids. Just 2. Porter and Elijah. And I will reiterate that we got the better end of that deal!

But it was certainly a real handful of kids. I couldn't even go anywhere during that time as my vehicle only seats 7 and not 8. It was just a matter of keeping them busy enough that they wouldn't start bugging each other.

There was some brain teaser worksheets:


and Clay:

And a lot of acting very silly:



We did take them to the beach which tried to give me a heart attack with the counting to 6 over and over. And then forgetting I was responsible for 2 extra kids.

And also, I didn't take my camera. Oops.

In the THICK of summer.

Just some evidence that summer is in full force round these parts.

Lucas wears just his rashguard for most of the day. Why change out of it, when you're just going back into the water?


Anna, well, these are her pajamas. Because despite the fact that we HAVE air conditioning, running it at 78 or higher will not actually keep you all that cool.

And Abbie, rotting her brain and all the knowledge that school has tried to ingrain... kidding, she's playing Brain Age 2. Take THAT Mario Kart!

Garden Update

If you go back here, you can be reminded about the small container garden I've got going on.

Well, I bring you new pictures. Growth and development. And success. Yahoo! I'm so excited for October's growing season!

My tomatoes, which grew quite well until we had about a week of record setting rain, which apparently tomatoes don't like and which invited a bunch of bugs to eat my plants. But! We still got (and are still getting) tomatoes off them. At least for a couple more weeks. Delish. We've had BLTs for dinner and it has felt awesome to know I'm eating something I made (sorta!).



And HERE are my grapefruits. Check em out! We've still got quite a while until they're actual edible fruit, but you know... progress!
NOW:

Fun with Friends.

Something I've learned. There are times in your life when you will just not have very many close friends. And you will get by.
But there will be times when you have so many close friends that you feel so blessed beyond measure and can't understand what you might have done right to deserve these people.

This post is about now. About my time of abundance.

I have the most amazing friends.

Friends I can scrapbook with.
Friends I can laugh with.
Friends I can cry with.
Friends I can share the most intimate details of my life with.
Friends I can share the most mundane details of my life with.
Friends who will watch my kids without a second thought.
Friends who I will do the same for.
Friends who I can call on the phone and talk to about absolutely nothing for so long that I go way over my cell minutes for the month and my husband threatens to take away my phone. Oops.
Friends who will come over for a BBQ with very short notice.
Friends who invite me to swim at their house.
Friends who live close. And sadly,
Friends who live far away too.
Friends who love me.
Friends who I love desperately.


I'm definitely experiencing a time of friendship gluttony. And I'm loving every minute of it.

Don't think that just because you're not in this picture, that you're not one of my friends mentioned above. You totally are. I just don't have a picture with you. Perhaps we should remedy that.

Hindsight being 20/20 and all...

Usually, when we talk about hindsight being 20/20, it is in regards to regret... something we wish we'd done differently. Instead, today I am here to tell you about the something I'm so grateful for.

Abbie was invited over to a friend's house to play. They also invited Anna over, but I figured Abbie needed some special time, so I let her go alone. Therein lies my mistake and my 20/20 moment or rather, HOURS.


With Miles and Lucas asleep, Anna had no one to occupy her time. Just me. Usually the boys' naptime is my downtime, my quiet time. Not today. Anna did not stop talking. AT ALL. For 4 hours. I found myself walking into the bathroom and closing the door, even though I didn't need to use the bathroom. I kept telling her to "go find something to do. Play quietly, read a book. WHATEVER!" I was losing my mind.


I would like to state for the record, that I am SO grateful that my girls are so close in age and so close as friends. I would never have made it through their childhood without someone else to distract them from me. Love them I do. I just can't manage to listen to three straight hours about a Superhero Baby movie...

Miles is Funny.

Today I had the opportunity to teach Miles's Primary class at church. The lesson was basically about how cool our bodies are and all the neat stuff they can do. In the lesson manual, they have you talk about what things babies, for example can't do. Unfortunately, all the children in the class are the babies of their families, except Miles. The other children know a little about babies, of course.

So I asked them.
Me: Can a baby walk?
Kids: No!
Miles: My baby can!

Me: Can a baby talk?
Kids: No!
Miles: My baby can. He speaks Spanish.
Me: ... Um... Miles, Lucas doesn't speak Spanish.
Miles: Then why can't I understand him??

Project Time: Fabric Bracelets

I'm a sucker for a super-easy, super-simple 15 minute project. Almost every project I complete must be able to be finished in one sitting. I'm fairly certain I have adult ADD and therefore lack the ability to keep interested in any one thing for an extended period of time.

I ventured upon the blog of the amazing Vanessa. The entire world already knew about her, but I've been missing out, apparently. I have grand plans for her tablecloth skirt tutorial. I've even bought the zipper already.

In her Etsy shop, Vanessa sells the directions for making these amazingly adorable bracelets. I couldn't help myself! Pattern purchased and within a 1/2 hour I had whipped up this fab bracelet for myself.


Then, literally moments after I finished it, I walked out the door to a friends' house, where I promptly left it. I couldn't go walking around without one, so I quickly whipped up a second one.


Warning: If you have a birthday coming up, you know what you're getting.

More.

Fun times!

New Favorite.

Last night after dinner, we stepped outside as family. Our house backs up to a wonderful bike trail, so we decided to take a walk in the beautiful evening weather we were having.

I can admit that I haven't been great at taking pictures lately. Sometimes I'd rather just enjoy the moments we're having. But as an afterthought (as in, I had to run back into the house to get it), I grabbed my camera. Good thing too.


Yeah, we're a little white trash. We're embracing it. And as a frame of size reference, that onesie is a 3-6 mos.

A Quick Gift!

My awesome friend, Melinda (who is blogging now!!. Yes, I know. It only took me three years of constant harping!) is celebrating her birthday today. I really didn't want to just buy her a gift. I needed it to be something more.

Enter the love of my life, Orla Kiely.

At Target last week, I found a 50% off tablecloth. I should have bought more of them. I'm thinking I might want a skirt.


I used the free Buttercup Bag Pattern from Made by Rae. Totally simple! Totally perfect!

I'm told that Melinda immediately ran out and bought a new outfit to match. (What a way to make my head grow bigger! I was secretly hoping she'd hate it so that I could keep it for myself and go buy her a generic gift. Darnit!)

Let the Busy-ness Commence.

Sorry about my lack of blogging. I'm sure there is a bunch I could be saying:
- Anna graduated preschool - off to Kindergarten in the fall.
- Miles likes Capri pants.
- The schoolyear ends on Friday (thank goodness!) and I will no longer have to drive to pick up Abbie from school, thus ruining several people's naps (including mine).
- Lucas has the most insane personality, we love it!
- We're hoping to take an actual vacation this summer.

But instead, you get some old pictures.


and how about this one?

(Click to see this one bigger.)

Good enough? Tide you over?
Be back soon with better stuff to talk about.

Project Completed!

I have so many little projects that I'm dying to do around the house, and not enough money or time to do all of them.

So today, I picked a simple easy one. And you're gonna love it.

When we moved into this awesomely decorated house, it had the most gorgeous pink blinds in the kids bedrooms. (Thickly laid on sarcasm.)


I have two more sets, if someone is dying for them. You know you want them.

Normally, I'd just have tossed them, but a couple of months ago, I came across the best idea ever!

And today, I followed her tutorial.

I used a little heavier home dec fabric because I didn't want you to be able to see the pink-ness through the fabric. It really was as easy as she makes it out to be. Took maybe one hour, start to finish.

They really just make me so darn happy!

And despite the appearance here, it's not actually crooked. I promise.

If you read the tutorial and have any questions, feel free to ask! You can do this!

Sweet Lovely Relations.

If you can name the movie that my title comes from, I'm sorry. Also, not those kind of relations.

Mother's Day tends to be a kindof sore spot for most of the women I know. We attend church where we are spoken to about the kind of mothers we should be, insinuating that we're not good enough, I guess.

And it's quite distressing for mothers who think that Mother's Day should be one day per year that we don't have to lift a finger... because inevitably, we have to lift a finger. Either our husbands just don't get it, or they don't care, or they don't have the experience necessary to micromanage 4 children to my satisfaction.

BUT. Not this year. I think that making Mother's Day a good day for me involves lowering my expectations. It involves understanding that I will have to help out getting the kids ready for church, I will still have to help juggle kids through Sacrament Meeting, and I may not get the nap after church that I so rightfully deserve. I might even have to make dinner. GASP! I know! I have come to grips with those things and this past Mother's Day was just downright pleasant for me.

I rolled Matt out of bed when the kids started stirring. He didn't even complain once. He brought me breakfast in bed. Possibly a bowl of Lucky Charms and some toast on a rusty cookie sheet. Again, lowered expectations met. There were some lovely handmade cards from the kids and a great gift from Matt (which I picked out and purchased for myself.)

I got to take a long bath by myself and even shaved my legs (I know! Unheard of!)
Matt did most of the kid juggling during Sacrament Meeting, and used his magical abilities to put Lucas to sleep. The speakers were refreshing and the music lovely (I love it when the kids sing!).

I can't remember what we had for dinner, but we had friends over for dessert! All in all, it was a wonderfully amazing day.

My favorite part of the day, however, was this:

A lovely post-breakfast snuggle with my babies.


I know... I'm not exactly look all that foxy. I'm over it.

There's just something so amazingly wonderful about feeling all their HUGE spirits shoved into those tiny bodies so very close to you. I felt my room swell with love.

And I felt a little sad that not every moment in my life as a mother is as sweet as these.

And I resolved to do better. To be a better mother.
And I was.

For 15 whole minutes.

Hodge Podge - Picture Catchup

Sometimes, I just don't blog as much as I'm sure some of you would like.

We're in a maelstrom of end-of-school activities that had me running all last week.

Matt's company picnic was a couple Saturdays ago and it was HOT. Like 96 degrees hot. As in, I felt myself getting trembly and nauseated toward the end, despite plenty of cold beverages and even a pavilion. It was just TOO hot to be outside expending energy that day.



But the kids had a good time. And how could they not, with sno cones and face painters and pony rides and cotton candy and and and!

Even Lucas managed to enjoy a corndog. Gross!

But isn't he the silliest cute thing?
And I captured these two images:


WORTH IT!

And also... the real reason it was a good time:

Matt's first time riding a horse. The girl helping had the horse break out in a slow run (don't know technical horse jargon.) Matt's been seeing the chiropractor ever since. Old fart.

I'm so vain. And you can be too.

I probably think this blog is about me.

Cuz, sometimes, your hair and makeup and the stars align to make you just feel pretty, dangit.

And cuz your husband can't keep his eyes off you, so you must be looking good.

And cuz you just don't have very many pictures of yourself.

Finally, cuz you deserve it.

That's right, I'm encouraging you to get dolled up, take pictures of yourself, and post them on YOUR blog.

Do it for your kids, who may only remember mom in her lounge pants, with no makeup and sweaty ponytail hair.

But mostly, do it for you.

And if you can't seem to bribe your 4-8 year old into taking your picture, and your husband is never around... and you don't like your camera (or whatever).

Call me. I'll do it!

Yep, I think this blog is about me. I can't wait to see the posts about YOU!