04.30.09

So Peter saw me putting this pajama top in his drawer and he started saying "car, car, car." He would not let me put anything else on and so he wore his pajama top today. Thank goodness I hid the bottoms or he would have wanted to wear those too. (In the last couple days he has been very observant of all the Cars merchandise we see. It's kind of cute.)

04.29.09

Playgroup went to the Brookfield Zoo today. It was a cool overcast day but it was perfect. We saw lots of animals out. Kirsten got to ride the carousel.

04.28.09

Some of you know that I have been having some gallbladder problems. The pain has gone away completely and I am not having problems at all. Today was a follow up with the doctor so he could tell me that none of my labs or the ultrasound showed that nothing was wrong with me.

"Come back in if it acts up again."

Exactly what I figured he would say, so why did I go in and pay a copay for that?

04.27.09

ODE TO THE DVR REMOTE

Why, oh, why did you leave us for so long?(3 weeks)
Did we hurt you, did we make you sad?
We looked high and low and couldn't find you.
We cleaned the kids rooms, we checked the garbage,
But alas you were no where to be found.

Finally in desperation on the night of the
Talledega Race we found you hidden,
In the underside of the recliner.
You didn't fall out when we shook the recliner,
You didn't make a sound. But with flashlight in hand we looked high and low again.
Searching the couches and lastly finding you inside the recliner.

We promise to be nice,
We promise to not drop you off the back of the couch.
We promise to treat you with the respect you deserve,
Please, oh, please don't ever leave us again.

04.26.09

Finished this poster this morning. I think it turned out pretty cute. Our Stake as I have mentioned before is doing a Service Project to make 2009 quilts or blankets by September. I keep getting asked "what can I do?" Well here are the answers. I have handouts that go in each pocket and they give ideas on how to help and some real easy patterns to do.

I have a bunch of fabric that I have collected over the years and I am trying to unload it on this project. So I decided to start a basic sewing class twice a month. I don't know if I will get any takers but if I do, they can help me with my projects and learn basic skills along the way. Eventually it can turn into a sewing class where you make other things, but for now this is the direction I am heading.

Sound like fun?

04.25.09

No that isn't sweat, just as I was finishing up planting a couple of packets of seeds, the rain began to pour. Kind of like when you are in the shower. I was soaked in a matter of seconds.

I worked on the front beds today. I added the border to keep the grass out of the flower beds. Hopefully I will see some seedlings popping up soon.

We have a couple of escape artists in our home, actually they live in the backyard and apparently it isn't enough fun there. They have been digging under the fence (the ground is so wet from all the rain.) We have our work cut out for us as we try and figure out how to keep them in the yard. Ugh! Does anyone want two black labs?

04.24.09

Today was a beautiful (but windy) day! We were going to go to the Morton Arboretum but obviously everyone else in the Chicagoland area went too. We decided after waiting in traffic for 30 minutes that we didn't want to fight the crowds and so we went to Hidden Lake Forest Preserve which is just north of the Arboretum. It was a beautiful lake, we walked the path around the lake and then had a picnic lunch. (Hardly anyone was there, it was perfect.) We were there with our best friends the Parkers. It was a lot of fun!

04.23.09

Look mom, I can swing. Kirsten has mastered the fine art of swinging. And her mother is ecstatic!! Now I can send her outside and she can swing by herself.

04.22.09

Say Cheese!

That's exactly what they did, but I am not sure what they were looking at. I wish this were a picture of us coming home but alas probably not this year. Today was Earth Day and the Museum of Science and Industry had a free day. So we went with our playgroup from church. As I drove there in the truck, with only me and my kids in it, sat in traffic for awhile, then used the elevator numerous times, drove home in traffic - I kind of felt like I wasn't being very "green" today. Oh well, it was fun!

04.21.09

What 2 dogs and a lot of rain can do to one yard.

(Peter loves it, if he finds a puddle his foot is splash, splash, splashing around.)

04.20.09

How to keep Peter busy while we have a family home evening lesson.
Dice and little game pieces worked for a little bit.
I love this boy. He has been giving me a run for my money the last year and a half. He never stops moving unless he is asleep. Boy am I glad some days when he goes to bed.

04.19.09

Okay I am kind of embarrassed putting a picture of me up on the web. But I want to celebrate that I can fit in a size I haven't seen for years. I have lost over 32 pounds since last September. It has been hard work but worth it. My energy is up and I am feeling great.

How did I do it? Exercise and eating less. (sorry no quick fix here, got to change for life)

04.18.09

I think this picture says it all. The church was cleaned top to bottom. It was fun and I think we all enjoyed ourselves. (Thanks goes out to Dave for taking all the pictures and putting together the collage. Love you tons!)

04.19.09

You know the "U" bolt thing-a-magiy is bad. That'll be $200 please. Ugh!

(I wish I knew what Dave or the mechanics were talking about, I just hear $$$$.)

04.16.09

You would think that I told them there was no more birthdays and Christmas presents.

No I just said it was time to go home and have lunch. (We walked over to pick up Kirsten from preschool and they got to play on the swings and slides for over 1/2 hour - I think I was more then generous since I had said 10 minutes at first.)

We had one of those really nice days and so we were outside a whole bunch. I wanted to be outside just as much as them. It's called cabin fever.

04.15.09

Can you see the excitement in Peter's face as he gets ready to knock over Kirstens tower? He was pretty fun today, everytime she built it up you could see him running to knock it down.

04.14.09

I know this is a bit hard to see but this is Kirsten's scrapbook album she created the other day. The photos are cut from the sheet that comes with your pictures. She cut the paper and put the pictures on with her glue stick. On the back are a couple of stickers she had. (The glue stick is there to give you perspective of the size, and yes it is right side up, I tried to take a picture of it the other way and Kirsten said that was wrong.)

She is going to be a scrapbooker, I can see it all ready. She came up with the idea and called it her album all by herself. I am so proud of my little girl. I like that we can be crafty together.

04.13.09

Okay so why do I need two computers to do my work. Well it stems from a problem with our new computer having Vista and some of our older programs and accessories not being compatible. I needed to use the scanner and so I had to link it to the laptop, then put it in a file there and because we haven't got the connection between the laptop and the new computer working I had to email it to myself.

The other problem I encountered today was that I didn't transfer all of the photos from our old computer, or at least I didn't transfer one picture I was looking for in particular. So I tried to link with that one, but because we had it linked with a cord before, (that I couldn't find) I couldn't send an email to myself or get the picture until Dave came home. Lucky for me my kids wanted me to be with them and I was able to stop working on my project.

All is well now, got the pictures I needed and I am almost done with my project.

04.12.09

Happy Easter! What beautiful children I have. They are so cute and sweet.

What a beautiful morning it was. I woke up singing "He is Risen". I feel a great love for my Savior and truly appreciate his sacrifice for me.

04.11.09

We searched for Easter eggs this morning. Peter has it down. Get a couple in your basket then open and eat. Don't worry about the rest all around you until you get that first bite. Kirsten on the other hand is all about quantity. Eat later, get more now. Of course neither of them get to keep the eggs but it is fun to watch them. The also got a couple of new books and stickers to play with. Didn't want too much candy around the house, thought a book or two would be nice.

04.10.09

They joys of childhood. I think I love to dye eggs as much as Kirsten does. This is a Easter tradition I can't do with out. Dave nicely "helped" by taking Peter in the other room. Peter didn't understand that they weren't BALLS and couldn't throw them. (No eggs were harmed in the making of this picture.)

04.09.09

Peter at the Playgroup Easter Egg Hunt.

Once he got the hang of it, he loved it. Of course we had to raid some of the older kids baskets so he and his younger friends could search for more. It was fun to watch the excitement in his face when he found one and put it in his basket. (Doesn't he look like a little man in his button polo and khakis?)

04.08.09

I opened my cupboards and this is what I found. Do you think a Kirsten and Peter butter sandwich would be good?

04.07.09

Here is a quilt top I was working on today. Kirsten "helped" me and so she wanted to be in the picture. She helped me decide where to place some of the pieces this afternoon. This is for our Stake Relief Society Service Project. I was surprised when Kirsten said "I hope whoever gets this, likes it." We had talked a little bit about it in Family Home Evening last night and I guess it stuck.

(I am trying to use up scraps in my fabric stash. I will have to buy a backing but other then that all the material came from my stash. I have decided to "get rid" of some of my fabric and this is the perfect opportunity. I don't piece quilts together very well and so when I found this in a book called "Bend-the-rules Sewing" by Amy Karol, I thought perfect. We will have to see what happens when I put it together and try some machine quilting. I will try and post a finished project when I am done.)

04.06.09

Need I say more? It looks like the middle of winter today.

04.05.09

What does your General Conference attire look like?

Here is Kirsten's solution to mom's suggestion that she had to wear long sleeve pajamas with pants. Just put your summer pajamas over your clothes from yesterday. Nice, looks lovely.

I loved Conference. It always answers questions for me and reconfirms my testimony. There were so many things that I felt were taught to me that I need to work on. One of my favorites was from President Richard G. Scott. His words were from years of experience and they touched me. He said when we are going through a tough time we need to ask, What does Heavenly Father want me to learn from this experience? If we are living righteously we need to realize we are in the Lord's hands. I love that idea and will strive to be better because of his words and those of the twelve apostles and the prophet.