New Super Boy Picture

His school does "personality portraits at the end of the year. Of course he had to take his elephant with him. Also, in other Super Boy news, he lost his 1st tooth! He's growing up way too fast!
As for my long awaited girl's weekend pics...you have to wait even longer! I have to pick and choose, edit and then post the pics...and this week it's not happening because I am doing job shadows with some local teachers and trying to decide what subjects I want to teach so I don't waste ANY time or money on something I'm not sure I want to do! After my 1st 2 days of shadowing a Sign Language Teacher, I KNOW I want to teach ASL, but there isn't a degree in that, so I have to find another subject to teach and add an ASL endorsement to it. Red Tape...I LOATHE it!!! So that's my life lately! I'll post more as I know more!

The BEST Mother's Day EVER!!! And life update

Sorry I haven't posted in almost a month...life is crazy. I had a total BLAST on my Girl's weekend...I'll have to go into detail once I get pictures back. I didn't take many of my own because my camera was really big and didn't fit well into my smaller dressy purses. I know...EXCUSES EXCUSES! But here are a few I did take...

Plane landing at home after the weekend...


The view from our 1 foot wide balcony


The following is what happens when 5 girls live in 1 hotel room for 3 days!



The view from our front door into the hotel

Our room door!

The Elephant planter in the hotel lobby



Back to the post at hand!
We went camping this past weekend and had a ton of fun!
But the best day by far was Sunday, Mother's day. We started off with pancakes made by Tall Boy, then we packed up camp. We drove home and picked up Goodwood barbecue for lunch along the way. I ate ribs in my pj's! Then I had a really long nap. Woke up and the kids had been bathed and put in pj's. I had Oreos and milk in bed and then I got my present, a new cookbook!
I'm really excited to try out some new recipes! Also, the kiddos traced their hands in the front of the book, so I'll always have that!

In addition to an awesome girl's weekend and mother's day, I also have decided to job shadow a couple of teachers for a week to see if I really want to teach math and sign language in either jr high or high school before I take any classes toward that goal. I will probably be going back to school as soon as I decide for sure what I want to do and make a plan that will allow me to be home with the kids like I am now. Wish me luvck, I know I need all the luck I can get!

Thanks for tuning in to the crazy lady's blog update, hope you come back soon!

Easter and Tall Boy's Bday

Not much to update, so this will be short...

Over the weekend, Tall Boy did some much needed work on cars (thanks again babe!) and spoiled his birthday present! He was a little upset when he couldn't find any tools! I think he was a little less grumpy after I showed him his present, a tool storage chest that rolls and separates. I even labeled and organized everything for him! Hopefully he really likes it. I know it will help keep our tools more organized and easier to find!

Easter Sunday was very mellow. Super Girl and I wore our matching dresses and received MANY compliments. It was a lot of fun...we BOTH looked pretty darn cute! Anyway, we just hung out at home, no Easter Egg hunt. We talked about the reason we celebrate Easter, Jesus Christ's life, Atonement, death and resurrection for us. I think Super Boy is finally getting it. He was very somber and asked lots of questions. I told him that Christ is the reason we celebrate and that the Easter Bunny is just for fun. He wrote a letter to the Easter Bunny and left him/her some cookies. The Easter Bunny even left a reply! He was VERY excited about that. Anyway, Easter was fun.

For Tall Boy's actual birthday, we didn't do a whole lot. I asked him what he wanted for dinner, he answered and I made it for him. The kids picked out a big musical card that plays the chicken dance song REALLY LOUDLY! The kids danced and giggled. Tall Boy was a good sport and even led them in a game of freeze dance! Then we had chocolate covered strawberries and cheesecake for dessert (2 of Tall Boy's favorites). However, the cheesecake was thin and not very tasty (the store was out of the kind I normally get). Anyway, we just chilled out at home and watched TV together.

Then yesterday (Tuesday) started off pretty normal. Super Boy woke up and climbed into our bed for his morning snuggle. Then a few minutes later he says, "Oh yeah, I forgot, there is throw up EVERYWHERE in my room!" Tall Boy quickly exited to work (lucky jerk!) and I examined the damage. It was SO GROSS! So Super Boy stayed home from school, but he wasn't sick AT ALL! So he had TONS of energy! He drove me crazy! Luckily enough, we had bought roses on Monday to plant in our front yard, so i went out in the light rain and planted 8 rose bushes! Super Boy had to stay inside and I got to have some fun! I stayed outside WAY longer than I needed to, but I got to breathe a little bit. Then late in the afternoon I had to tackle the nastiness. I had already stripped the bed and cleaned up the floor in the morning, so I just had to rinse the bedding in the shower before I put it in the washing machine. I did so much laundry! AND THERE'S STILL MORE!!! I HATE LAUNDRY! Anyway, I still have a couple of loads to do...

So that is our update. I have a couple of pictures of our first flowers of spring (before Super Girl got a hold of them!). Hopefully our tulips will bloom soon and maybe even some roses too! Enjoy!

Blogging the Midnight oil...

So I find myself staring at a computer screen at midnight (yet again) while everyone else is sleeping (and snoring). So I figured I could atleast post some new info and pictures for all of you who have been missing me!

So here's the latest:
Super Boy is 7! He had his "friend party on saturday between sessions of conference. He had a blast playing the same elephant bean bag toss game we played at his family party. The kids he invited were all so super sweet and fun. There was even a boy who lost a tooth that had been hanging on by a thread. He was only concerned that he didn't make a mess or cause any trouble! Anyway, thes kids all got him cool stuff like lego cars to build, brain bender puzzles (the wooden kind) and of course, TONS of ELEPHANT STUFF! We had red velvet cupcakes with white frosting and various toppings to make "Cyber chase cupcakes" as requested by Super Boy!

General conference was inspiring as usual. I loved President Monson's talk about temples and another talk (I can't remember who gave it) about choices. I have been struggling lately, but I'm doing better now. I have been so busy thinking about what my kids need and husband needs that I lost sight of myself. So I took some initiative and got a new haircut, new dress, made an appointment with my dermatologist, made an appointment to get new glasses, and have set up Fridays as temple day. I have also returned to my wednesday yoga class. It is always like feast or famine with me! So I am important again, I just need to find the right balance where everyone gets their needs met.

I have taken up a few projects too. I mentioned in a previous post about the dresses my mom and I made, but I don't remember if I mentioned the super cute and super secret flannel PJ's I'm making for my kids for Easter! I finished Super girl's today. I'll probably start and finish Super Boy's tomorrow(today) or Thursday. They will each have a short sleeve button up top, shorts and pants...here's pictures of Super Girl's. (Super Boy's won't have the girly rick-rack on it...don't worry)
I have also been having great luck shopping at my local DI for clothing and fabric. I found this really cute wrap around skirt that was HUGE! But I loved the fabric, so I bought it (2 yeards of fabric for $4) and just sewed it closed and cut off the excess for something for Super Girl...here's a couple of photos. It has a glitter to it too...so cute!

I also found a SUPER CUTE DRESS that I will be taking on a girl's only excursion at the end of this month. Some friends from high school who are all turning 30 this year are getting together in San Francisco for a much needed GETAWAY! We'll probably see WICKED and do some other stuff, but the better part of 4 days without kids! WOO HOO! GO ME! Anyway, so I found this dress and a bunch of belts that will look really cute with it, but I also found a SUPER CUTE pink courduroy jacket. I even found a perfectly matching belt for that too that I envision using as a headband! So here they are...

I took some REALLY BAD self portraits trying to show off my cute new do, I am only posting them so everyone can get an idea of my cuteness...I KNOW THEY ARE HORRIBLE PICTURES, so please don't waste your comment space to tell me so! Also, an interesting side note- these photos were taken within a total of about 5 minutes, so I can change my look quickly! FUN STUFF!


If you want to see a slide show of the friend party festivities for Super Boy, go to his blog and check out all the pics...

The snoring has died down, so I think I'll once again attempt the feat of sleeping...wish me luck!

Gma and Gpa, Super Boy's Family Bday Party and Easter Dresses!

Hello Blogging World! Yes it's really me! Yes, I AM still ALIVE! We had a lot of fun over the past 2 weeks with Gma and Gpa K visiting, but sadly, they are back home now. We were busy and the time just flew by!

We had a family bday party for Super Boy. We had just family over for a small party. We played a couple quick games of bean-bag toss into our cool elephant target.

We did chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting in the shape of an elephant with colored marshmallows to outline features of the elephant. It turned out pretty cool if I do say so myself!

Sadly "the Fab 5" were sick and couldn't make it, but they were awesome enough to send a present...they gave Super Boy a Neopet, a Blue Starry Elephant.
He had fun looking at that site, playing games and setting up his account, but likes Webkinz more still. Gma and Gpa got him a cool bank that makes a car "vroom" sound when money is put in it, the Horton movie and a book called "Seven years old and preparing for Baptism".
We gave Super Boy some MUCH NEEDED clothing and a puzzle map of the United States.
We let Super Girl in on the fun and let her have a present so she'd leave Super Boy's alone! We got her a doll with clothing and "magic" bottles from the dollar store...she loves them!
While my mom was here, we were sewing like crazy! Gma C had a serger she didn't remember how to use. So she asked my mom to figure it out. I wish we would have done this LAST YEAR! The serger works great! We used it to make Super Girl an Easter Dress...
and a cute little summery dress from fabric my mom brought for Super Girl.

We also made my Easter dress to match Super Girl!
We made 3 purses to go along with our outfits...mine is the clutch purse pictured first...

We also made numerous bean bags for birthday parties and just plain ol' fun! We joked around that we were having dueling sewing machines (cue the banjos!). We had a lot of fun just playing around and enjoying one another's company.

But by far, the best part of the visit with my parents was the AWESOME opportunity to be INSIDE a temple DURING the DEDICATION! We were so excited to be in the temple and we were seated close to the room the Prophet would be in. We were waiting for a little bit when a woman entered the room and asked a question. Before my brain had time to register the question, my hand shot into the air almost knocking my dad off his chair! The woman motioned to come with me, and as I stood up and walked out it occurred to my brain that the woman asked if there were any singles in the room, meaning if anyone would mind sitting alone in another room. I thought I might be filling in an empty spot somewhere else, so some people could sit together in our room. I didn't mind, I was just happy to be there. All of this happened inside my head within me taking a few steps outside of my original room. A few steps later the woman leading me slowed down and whispered in my ear, "You get to go in the Celestial room dear!" My jaw hit the floor, my heart started to pound and my words became jumbled. I muttered something like, "Oh my gosh, are you serious!" and proceeded to hold my heart as they led me to my seat. I was in the 3rd row back on the 3rd seat from the wall on the right facing the podium. I had no clue where the prophet would sit or enter from. I just sat there in awe that I was in that room! A few more people were ushered into seats and shortly thereafter, the prophet entered on my side and shook hands with the whole first row! If I had reached out and he had done the same, we could have shaken hands...I was within arms reach of the prophet of God! What an amazing feeling! As we proceeded through the dedication, I was in awe of the man who converses with the Lord and is His mouthpiece here on Earth. Every word that was spoken seemed meant for my ears. I used to have faith that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet of God in these latter-days, but now, I KNOW he is the Lord's chosen prophet to lead and guide us. President Uchdorf was also present at the dedication and I felt his passion and power as an apostle break though his words. What an amazing man! I was on a spiritual high...feasting on the essence of a prophet in my midst. The dedication ended too soon and we were shown the way out of the temple. I stood at a staircase looking for my parents and in-laws, but I never saw them. So I went outside and still couldn't find them. I finally decided to get on a bus and wait for them at the church building where the car was. So I boarded the bus. When I stepped of the bus, my parents were there to greet me. They told me "We thought you'd FLY back!" I felt as though I was walking on air. My soul had been fed and lifted in the most amazing way! As long as I live I will never forget nor deny the feelings and knowledge that were bestowed upon me that day. My thanks and awe go to my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandmother Pheobe Draper for her amazing testimony, faith, devotion and endurance to help settle the area that now has a dedicated temple of the Lord! What an amazing legacy of love! I am sure it was her hand that raised mine in that room, so I could have that knowledge of the Prophet poured upon my spirit. I felt her faith and her love as I sat on holy ground where she must have stood so many years before. Thank you. It will never be enough, but Thank you. And thanks to my amazing parents for raising me in the gospel. I don't know if I would have sought it out or chosen it on my own. I have heard, seen and felt their faith and it has helped my faith to blossom and grow. You are amazing and I question everyday if I can ever be as good of a parent as they were to me. I love you. I am amazed by your generosity, love an devotion to our family and to the gospel. I hope I can do just half of what you have done in your lives to affect change in the lives of others and to help and serve others. You are my shining examples of what I want to do in my life. Thank you. It will never be enough, but thank you! So much gratitude in my heart for the life I have...even though I face some steep challenges with depression, medication, parenting, and marriage...but really, who doesn't these days! I'm just glad to have the example of 2 couples who have endured much more and worse than anything I have yet endured. Mom and Dad, Gma and Gpa C, thanks for the inspiration! Well, now that I've babbled on for an hour, I should get back to my life. Take care!