Mission...Completion!

With this post, I wrap up my NaBloPoMo. 31 posts in 31 days (well, actually, 33 posts!). "They" say that one of the purposes of doing NaBloPoMo is to set yourself in a habit of blogging. Well, I was already in a pretty good habit of blogging. What NaBloPoMo did for me is burn me out. And I really do think it burned YOU out too, my dear readers. The quality of my content went way down. I was boring. So, while I'm glad I did NaBloPoMo, I don't think I'll ever do it again. But don't worry. I'll still blog plenty. Possibly too much. I'll just only do it when I want to and have something that I want to share.

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This morning started a little rocky for me. Just one of those yucky, hard to find the motivation to do what you've got to do kind of days. Richard was very sweet to me, and despite the fact that he was already late for work, stayed home a little longer so that I could take a shower and get dressed. I admit that I took my time a little in order to find my "inner peace" and be ready to face the day of sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning, etc that I had planned. Well, much to my surprise, I came downstairs to find that Richard and the kids had cleaned, vacuumed, done the dishes, etc! Basically, they accomplished in 45 minutes, what I had planned for my whole morning. (It made me seriously wonder if Richard should be the one at home and I should be the one working...) It was so sweet of Richard. He really did work hard to get all that done in that small amount of time. What a wonderful gift to me. And since he had done all the basics of cleaning, that meant that I could really dig in and do the little, oft-forgotten parts of cleaning the house. I washed all the windows inside and out, bleached the countertops, removed, washed, then re-hung all the curtains, did more laundry. Naomi wiped baseboards and cupboard fronts for me and dusted everything she could reach. My house is shiny and sparkly now! The sun is streaming in through clean windows! And the weather is nice enough outside that the kids can play in the backyard this afternoon - which means I can get even more done! Ahhhhhhh. Next step: decorating for Easter. Which will be so much more fun in an already-clean house!

What a lucky woman I am, to have such a wonderful husband. And kids. There are definitely going to be warm chocolate chip cookies waiting for my hubby upon his arrival home this evening.

...running out of clever post titles...

I was thinking I'd probably not blog today since I'm sure you all got plenty of me and my family over the weekend. But then I remembered that I have to - for NaBloPoMo. Two more days to go. Then I can take a break.

Today was a fun day. Naomi's class had a field trip to a nearby farm. The boys headed off to Grandma Worth's so that I could go with Naomi on her trip. Naomi and I had a very chilly but fun time. The wind was blowing pretty hard and had a serious Arctic chill to it. After the field trip, she and I drove out to Grandma's. The boy's came home with me and Naomi stayed with Grandma for the rest of the day (she'll come home with Richard, later). The boy's slept in the car on the way home so I didn't get much of a naptime out of them at home. But that's OK I guess. They're probably more well rested today than they have been for weeks since we've been using the word "naptime" pretty loosely around here lately.

I'd show you some pictures of the farm - but seriously... You've had plenty of pictures lately. Maybe I'll add some later. (Those posts with so many pictures take so long!) I'm feeling very tired today. Just one of those days I guess.

Next up today: dishes, laundry, and prepping for carpet cleaning this evening. Man, my life is thrilling.

Dedicated to Mom/Grandma, Part II

Well, good morning! It dawn's a beautiful, Spring-y day here in Northern Virginia. Some rain, but that's OK. It just makes more flowers bloom! Today we continue our Grandma-lovin', over-photo'n, TMI.

(If you lived near here, I'd have brought you a nice fresh bouquet of flowers from my garden. But since you don't, I'll just enjoy the bouquet for you!)

After breakfast the kids watched a new show that Daddy picked up at the Redbox last night. All about "diggersndumptrucks" (all in one word because that's how Asher says it). Asher was enthralled.

Poochy thought it was pretty great, too. Don't you love the casual coolness of his pose?

I even got in on the action and claimed a few cuddles. (Pardon the nasty picture. I think I look like 400 pounds in this shot. Those pj's and the angle of the photo are doing me no favors!)

Here you can see Isaiah's favorite way to get negative attention. Getting into the stuff on my desk. And look how happy he is. He got a serious tickle-fest for this! (You know my theory about tickling the bad out.)

Here's a shot of all 3 kids in their cute pj's as we head upstairs for a bath. I got no shots of the bath because Asher threw a colossal fit. *sigh* That's life.

Here they are all dressed for church and doing a puzzle. Don't they look like they even like each other?

Then lunch. Church at 1:00 makes our Sunday weird. Bath's THEN lunch makes no sense at all, but it's the way it must be. So we have learned to just strip the boy's shirts off during lunch. I loved this pic because I think Asher looks like some Polynesian chub-monger or something with that necklace/lei around his neck. And his deadpan "stop taking my picture" face.

Had to get a close up on Naomi's hair. I'm pretty proud of it and she got so much praise of it at church today that I'm pretty sure her head is too big to fit on her pillow tonight. (The flower in her hair was a find of mine at Pier 1 yesterday. $1! Marked down from $7!)

Church was lovely. Richard wasn't feeling well and ended up staying home with Isaiah (because why should he miss his nap if Dad is home and because I can't really handle both boy's without help anyway.) But Asher did well in Sacrament meeting thanks to the promised reward of making cookies with Mom later.

Here's the saint himself enjoying an after-church snack of apples. Random pic I know, but I just thought it was kinda fun how much he looks like a rabid animal in this shot.

And while we're on random pics, here's one of Isaiah with an entire apple slice (whole) shoved into his chipmunk cheeks. Also of note is the streak between his eyes. It is a little worse today, but not too bad. He must be a cross between a chipmunk and a raccoon (oh, and a dog, of course!). A chipcoonog. Or a Racmunkog. Or a dounkoon. Or something. ...Cute anyway...

While I was cooking dinner, Richard helped the kids decorate some plastic Easter eggs with little sparkly stickers. I plan to turn them into a garland. More pics of that later when it's finished.

Then we ate our dinner of Turkey burgers and mashed potatoes. None of the kids ate basically anything. So I guess it's a good thing I still owed Asher those cookies from being good in church. Must be time to make those!

And that about wraps up our day. Just one more thing...

(Asher's sign says "birthday" - but getting them to all hold their signs up so we could read them was more difficult than I thought it would be!)

Happy Birthday, Grandma/Mom. We love you and miss you. We wish we could be there to celebrate with you. It was fun to do this because it kept you on our mind all day. So, in a way, we did celebrate with you! Hooray!

Dedicated to Mom/Grandma

My mother's birthday is this weekend. As a special surprise for her, I'm going to over-do it on the pictures today and tomorrow. Because if Grandma's were in charge of blogs, I believe they would be 90% pictures.

We start on Friday afternoon. Here are the kids loaded into the car. It was a nice day - so no coats.

This is how we do Costco. First stop, diapers. Then the kids have a nice bench in the cart to sit on. Everybody is way too big and cool these days to sit in the "baby seats" up front.

Saturday Morning: Good morning! We're having Cheerio's for breakfast.

Did I mention that Isaiah had a little accident last night? Seconds before I was going to put him in his crib he tripped and did a header into the window sill. Caught him right between the eyes. This morning he looks a little like a raccoon.

Big plans for today. Daddy is taking the boys to The Air and Space Museum to see the airplanes and helicopters! We dress them in the same color for ease in locating them.
Naomi is heading to a girly birthday party. She must be appropriately dressed for such an occasion.

Mommy is going shopping! Alone! For two hours!
Here's Naomi, just back from her birthday party, donning her new shades that came in the goody bag.

Here's the new shoes that Mom bought for Isaiah. The cutest ever? Yes, I think so. I also got some cute Easter and Spring decorations, beads, and various other ... stuff.

When the boys got back from the museum it was naptime. However, Isaiah disagreed. No nap today. Instead he screamed for about an hour and then cuddled with Mom then Dad. (The raccoon face is definitely getting worse. What will it look like tomorrow for church?)

After naptime we went to another birthday party for our friend "Baby James" who is turning 1. Here Asher is, just back from the party, enjoying his mini Oreo's from his goody bag. Note that he's a twisty kind of guy.

That's our day so far. Now the kids are watching a movie and it will soon be bedtime. Richard is off watching a basketball game with some buddies. I can't wait for a little peace and quiet so I can make the plastic Easter egg garland that I bought supplies for today.

Stay tuned tomorrow for even more way-too-many pictures!

And Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you.

Teaser

Just you wait until tomorrow. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but you can expect a lot of pics.

.. Off to watch some James Bond ...

Small Joys

It has been suggested to me that as a mother, I should find joy in the small things. Little things that my children do each day. "They" say that some day I will long for these moments. So, this post is about that.

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Isaiah eats like a chipmunk. He takes huge bites and as many of them as possible, storing up extra food in his puffy cheeks. Then he slowly chews and swallows. Then repeat. Asher eats like each bite might bite him back. Small, dainty bites - yet he somehow manages to make a huge mess. Naomi eats like a lady - wiping her face with a napkin frequently. I love to watch them eat.

I love it when they nap. Duh. But I also love it when they nap long enough that I miss them. Then when they get up we are all energized and ready to play and talk some more.

Is there anything better than a chubby, grubby little kid laying on his tummy, little feet swinging in the air behind him? Especially when those feet are bare!

Naomi is a planner. When I tell her what the plan is for the day she always asks follow-up questions about time and details. And throughout the day as we finish one thing, she confirms what is next on the agenda.

The other day Asher was having a bad moment and he told me that he was angry. I sat next to him and very seriously said, "Do you know what happens to angry little boys?" He shook his head, no. I said, "We tickle them until they're not angry anymore!" And I tickled him. I stopped after a minute and said "Are you still angry?" He smiled and shook his head then said "Oh, I mean, yes! I angry still!" So I tickled him some more, repeat, repeat, repeat. Now he comes up to me and puts on a frowny face and says "I angry!" and then flashes me a huge grin. And off we go to tickle.

Isaiah still won't talk. I've been focusing on not giving him things until he tries to say the words. Today at lunch he wanted some more juice. I said "You have to say 'May I please have some more juice?". And he replied "Uh uh uuh uh uh uh uhh?" (All the correct cadence and emphasis, just no real words)

Isaiah lets me cuddle and kiss on him for a minute or so before pulling away, sometimes even initiating cuddles. Asher likes to sit on my lap, but doesn't like being restrained in any way during cuddles - no arms around him. Naomi sometimes tolerates me touching her because she knows it makes me happy. She goes stiff as a board and tries not to scowl or pull away immediately.

When Naomi is coming downstairs when she should be in bed, she walks very slowly and deliberately. Placing each foot carefully and noiselessly. She gives me the cutest little slow, sweet, I'm-an-angel, half-smile as she approaches to plead her case.

Asher breaks words in half and says them in the wrong order. For example: "Mom, I got-fer my tiger upstairs." (forgot)

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This turned into a much longer post than I thought it would. I guess there really are a lot of cute little quirky things that my kids do that I love. I suppose I believe "Them". I really will miss these things when they're gone.

Back in the Saddle

I'm back in the weight-loss saddle. I've been to the gym twice already this week and exercised at home the other day. And I'm doing good with my eating too. I'm a member of this fun weight-loss blog called The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. It's so great to have a community to support me. They have great posts about eating right, recipes, ideas for fitness, giveaways, etc.

Today starts a new 8-week challenge at The Sisterhood. A contest, if you will. With prizes each week (one of which will be a Chic Made gift cert.) for the "biggest looser". Great motivation! It's called Shrink Into Summer. Anybody interested in joining me in swimsuit prep? Come on, swimsuit season is coming whether you're ready or not!

A Breakthrough

The kids are currently playing so well together that I have stopped my preparations for an outing to Target and started blogging. (I think Asher has only one sock on at the moment, but if he's OK with that, so am I.) Of course, they can probably sense that I am blogging and will start whining at me any second. I am also showered, fully dressed, hair done, jewelry on - all of which was accomplished while they played happily together. I heard them jumping through the hula-hoop together, playing "animal charades" together, even Naomi "reading" a book to the boys.

*Naomi is calling "Mom!" and I am ignoring her. Oh, dear. She just said "Follow me" to the boys and is coming upstairs.*

All told, they've been playing together for about an hour and a half now. That is a miracle. I'm so happy. I'm so proud. I'm so relieved!

I see other people's children playing well together when we are at their house, and I have often wondered when my kids would get together in that way. They play in the same room, but they don't often play together unless I am leading. This breakthrough comes at a very good time since Isaiah is no longer napping in the morning, which means more time all together.

Also, it occurred to me this morning that Asher will soon not be 2 anymore. I am anxious to believe the stereotype of "terrible 2's" now that I am about to leave it. Of course, seconds after that revelation it occurred to me that there will only be a month when Asher is no longer 2 until Isaiah turns 2. Oh well. Small victories, right?

Now, where did I put those Bon Bon's?

(Just kidding. No Bon Bon's for me. I'm back to loosing weight.)

That's gonna leave a mark...

I was in the middle of writing a silly pointless post with random stuff in it when I heard thump-thud-thump-thud-thud-THUD. And I ran. Somebody had just fallen down the stairs (the wooden stairs down to the basement). I found Isaiah at the top of the stairs, Naomi at the bottom, and Asher in a heap on the bottom step. Blood was already visible around his mouth from the top of the stairs. I ran down so fast that my slippers went flying, scooped him up and took him to the kitchen where I sat him on the counter for a better look around. His mouth was bleeding pretty badly, but it only took me a minute to see that it was just a split lip. Whew. Then I went on to asses what else might be hurt. Nothing. He was shaken (literally shaking actually) but OK. Drama past. Whew.

Dinner plans took an abrupt turn since I had been mid-making soup. Soup just didn't seem like the right thing for a fatter-by-the-minute split lip. So dinner became smoothies and soup. An odd combination, but the kids loved it.

We're icing and babying. He's still a little visibly shaken and talking in a quiet, subdued voice. He must be bruised and hurting in other places, but I think he's mostly just a little scared still.

I know this isn't any big, remember-this-for-years and re-tell-the-story-at-reunions type of event. It really could have been so much worse! But it was a scary little event and since I was mid-boring-post when it happened, it only seemed right to share (and make it a good story while I was at it).

This pic isn't even as bad as it got. As he was heading to bed it had gotten much redder and fatter. Poor guy. I gave him some Tylenol before he went to bed and I'm trying to continue to feel sympathy for him despite the fact that he is now "in bed" but really torturing Isaiah in some way that has Isaiah screaming bloody murder. I figure he must be feeling a bit better if he's up to torturing Isaiah.

The BIG Giveaway

The biggest giveaway I've ever done! It's hosted by Bloggy Giveaway's. Three winners will get a $25 gift certificate each! I'm so excited that I'm kinda literally bouncing up and down!

Go enter right away!!!

Eeek

I almost went to bed without posting! Well, actually, I did go to bed. I actually got up to post this because I don't want to fail NaBloPoMo. Sad? Whatever. Goodnight.

I'll double up on posts tomorrow.

visitors and art

We had two very special visitors yesterday. My college roommate, Shanae, and her new baby, Caroline, were in town. They spent yesterday afternoon through early this morning with us before heading back to Washington. Caroline was a long time coming so it's very special to get to meet her. She certainly lived up to all expectations! And of course I always love having my Nae around. We spent our evening chatting, watching Twilight, and cuddling Caroline. That's right. I spent Friday night watching Twilight. And it wasn't released until Saturday! Amazon.com made a little boo-boo and delivered my copy a day early - wa-who! Thanks, Amazon!

Sweet Caroline!

Today we had a nice, slow Saturday morning and then the whole fam worked on a special art project. I can't share the details with you yet since it's for somebody who reads this blog - but we had fun doing it.

*Note to self* Next time we do a family art project, don't just assume that the markers are Washable. Double check.

Now we're just having a nice, slow Saturday afternoon to match our morning. Ahhh. Slow Saturday's are good.

Yes, xuxa for me! OR Asher's dreams

Well, my mother is my only admitted admirer from yesterday. And she requested pics of the boys with their nice, bright, xuxa-free smiles. And what loyal commenter's ask for, loyal commenter's get!

And a hilarious video with an unexpected twist to accompany them.

The line between reality and dreams is very thin for that boy.

Blah

This blogging every day thing is getting old. I don't really have anything entertaining/witty/mildly interesting to say every day! And I think you guys aren't that interested anyway. I didn't know it was possible, but I think I've actually been getting LESS comments this month than usual. You're all tired of me. Admit it.

(This is the part where all you lurkers chime in and tell me how much you love me. Come on. Try it. It's not that hard to comment.)

Progress Report

I just noticed that this is my 400th post! Wow!

I've been asked for an update on how the xuxa removal process is going. It's going fine I guess. There sure has been a lot more crying at bedtime than we've ever had before, but I suppose it could be worse.

No morning nap for Isaiah anymore. *boo hoo*

Afternoon naptime starts out smoothly, but if Isaiah hears one peep from anything, he's up and no way he's going back to sleep. Asher hasn't been sleeping at naptime, but he's learning to play in his room nicely. I turned off the baby monitor to his room today and that helped.

Bedtime is a bit of a mess still. Isaiah screams. Asher plays obnoxiously. Daylight Savings time is not helping at all since that means it's still light out when they go to bed. We used to rarely hear a peep after putting them in bed at night. The last few days it's been at least an hour of up and down the stairs trying to find some way to soothe whoever is freaking out at that moment.

Morning has been inconsistent. This morning I actually got to sleep all the way until 7. Yesterday I think I first heard them at 5:45. Ick.

So, I suppose it could be worse. Nobody has been waking up in the middle of the night at least. And that's the update.

It's a beautiful day outside today. The first of the flowers finally opened this morning. My Visiting Teachers are coming over. Between us we have 11 kids. So it's a great day to have nice weather since that means we can just all sit outside.

Present

I'm phoning it in for NaBloPoMo. Don't feel good. Don't feel like blogging. Stay tuned for more perky-ness tomorrow.

Goodbye, Xuxa's

If you're going "Xuxa? What the heck is a xuxa?", clearly you haven't spent much time with my family, it's pronounced shoe-sha and is the Portuguese word for pacifier.

Last week my big sis, Angela, called and tried to convince me to start potty-training Asher today - the same day she is starting with her son who's the same age as Asher. I was a little tempted, but I feel like Asher and I have a few preliminary steps to take before we take on potty-training. Step One: Ditch the pacifier. So I told Angela that I would take on the xuxa's on the same day she started potty-training - today.

Asher is sooo addicted to his beloved "xuxa". His whole day revolves around when he can get his next "fix". It's been reduced to a "only use in bed" item ever since he started talking, but he always finds ways to get at it more often. He often happily goes to his room at random times just to happily lay on his bed alone and suck away on the nasty thing. He asks about it throughout the day. When I decided to take it away I told him about it in advance. He cried just at the thought of not having it in the future.

Oh, and Isaiah is getting rid of his today, too. But I knew that wouldn't be as big a deal to him.

**Warning: I'm aware that the below is probably really more than you want to know. Skip it or skim it. Whatever. This part is really more for the "family journal" aspect of this blog.**

So this morning first thing, the boy's took their xuxa's downstairs with them and put them in the garbage cans. Then we took the garbage bag outside. Then a few minutes later we heard a truck outside and we told Asher that was the garbage truck taking away his xuxa (the garbage doesn't actually get taken away until tomorrow). No biggie for the moment since they wouldn't normally see their xuxa's again until naptime anyway.

Morning naptime for Isaiah usually only lasts about an hour and he doesn't always actually sleep. He's getting a little old for a morning nap. This morning he cried a little and was clearly confused when I put him to bed without his xuxa. But it was no biggie. He played in his crib for a while and then let me know he was ready to get out. Fine. He'll just be more tired later.

I took the boys to the mall today to wear them out really good and to buy them a special toy because "they're such big boys!" Asher picked out "Ramone" from Cars and Isaiah picked a tractor.

When it came time for naptime, Asher kind of lost it before we even got to that point. I think my wearing-them-out plan worked a little too well. But eventually everybody was in their beds. Isaiah went straight to sleep without a peep. Asher screamed bloody-murder for about an hour and 15 minutes. At that point I went up, read him a book, tucked him in to bed and handed him another book to look at. After that he played semi-contentedly for another 45 minutes until I let him come out. No sleep. And now he's so volatile it's not even funny. That boy needs a nap! What a grump! But hey, maybe it'll work like it did for Isaiah and he'll just be super tired tonight. Right?

...Yeah. I don't really think so either...

Edited to Add:
Actually, it really did work that way. Asher fell almost straight to sleep this evening (with Ramone clutched to his chest) despite the fact that Isaiah was screaming his head off. Isaiah took a turn being the one who screamed for more than an hour. I finally went up and gave him some blocks to play with in his crib and he calmed down long enough to fall asleep. I am a little concerned about the precedent I'm setting here with allowing toys into bed. Hopefully we can banish the toys again in a week or so. For now...it made the noise stop. Hallelujah!

Change

I had a wonderful trip to the temple last night with my SIL Kelly. She is great to talk to and have girl time with. In the midst of some other conversation she told me that one of the first things they talked about in her first class in school (she's a ... family therapist?...what's your actual title, Kelly? Sorry I don't know.) was "What makes people change". She said (and feel free to clarify and/or correct here, Kelly) that when Point A becomes more painful than Point B, then you can successfully move from Point A to Point B. I've been thinking about that a lot and have thought about it in relation to many different aspects of my life.

*My weight loss, of late, has plateaued. And I think that's because I'm no longer at Point A, so it's not as painful to look in the mirror. But, I haven't reached Point B yet, either. So I really need to keep going.

*With Asher... I have become increasingly aware in the last week that I am at a painful Point A with him. We need to take some major disciplinary/teaching action with him to turn some bad behavior around before it's too late.

*With our whole lives. We are, in some ways, always at a painful Point A in our life here on Earth. It is our job to constantly be moving toward perfection/Point B/Life with God. I think the trouble is, sometimes we forget that Point A, where we are, is painful. We try to tell ourselves that's it's all OK because it doesn't really seem painful. And sure, life is really great a lot of the time. But, in relation to how life with God will be, it is really, really painful.

Your thoughts?

announcement

I'm not pregnant. Again. Or still. Just thought you might want to know.

Cookie Parenting

I was talking with my Mom this morning on the phone. Asher interrupted for his chance to talk to "Gwa-ma". He told her wanted to go watch Wall-E at her house. Then he told her he was going to have "chocolate cookie chips" for a snack that day. When I got the phone back I told Mom that the chocolate chip cookie part was made up - there were no cookies in our house at the moment. Mom replied that she thought that was his little dream - his best-case-scenario - for the day.

After I got off the phone with her I thought to myself, "That 's a pretty easy dream. I can make that happen for my son." So we made chocolate chip cookies. And we had them for snack today in the morning and the afternoon. And this is the result:

Sure, money can't buy happiness. But sometimes cookies can.

Pop Quiz: Naomi style

{Scene: Mom is washing dishes at the sink. Naomi walks up behind her and dances as she asks:}

Naomi: Mom, I remember a guy in a movie named Marti. What show is that?

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Do you know? I did! Cuz I'm just that kind of Mom (and the TV is the middle of our home where I can't escape it.)

Music Therapy

Chocolate therapy, retail therapy, music therapy... There's a lot of way's to escape reality temporarily. Last night I found myself fleeing my house as soon as the kids were in bed, needing some type of therapy. I decided to go get my hair cut (it's nice and short again now). But in the meantime I was stuck in the car in traffic for 20 minutes. So I grabbed my CD case (which doesn't get opened much these days since the kids are always requesting their music). And I found solace in Alicia Keys and her "No One" and "Superwoman". (Superwoman is especially good for those exhausted-Mother moments)

That got me thinking about what other albums have been my go-to's for bad days. In High School it was probably Alanis Morissette and her Jagged Little Pill. I'm not sure I if that ever made me feel better, but it's what I listened to. After that was probably The Dixie Chicks and their Wide Open Spaces. On my mission I listened to Women At The Well.

What's your go-to music for a bad day? Now? Before?

I'm watching

One of my favorite parts of having a backyard for the kids to play in is that I get to watch my children play unbeknownst to them. I get to see Asher stomping across the yard, patting his tummy, just because that's what little boys do. I get to see how Isaiah is often content just to watch his siblings from the sidelines - but he always has a sweet smile on his face. I get to see Naomi start and lead her brothers in a made-up game.

These are the mothering moments that I need to cherish and remember.

Random

* Asher firmly believes that his new shoes make him run faster. He runs everywhere these days. He used to take his shoes off the second he stepped in the door - now he sleeps in them at naptime.

* Naomi is spending the day with Grandma Worth again today. I'm not hating it as much as I did the first time.

* Isaiah has added a new form of communication to his bag of tricks: pointing. He thinks if he adds random finger pointing to his string of "uh uhhh huh"'s his point is more clear. It's usually not. He's not pointing at things (like his cup if he wants milk). He's pointing at the person he is addressing.

* I'm going to Utah in May for my friend Janae's wedding. Will I see you there?

* I won a giveaway on Bloggy Giveaways. It's a giveaway. No, I mean I won a giveaway. The giveaway IS a giveaway. Confused? I won the right to host a giveaway on Bloggy Giveaways. On March 23rd, Chic Made will be the main attraction! I'll be giving away 3 $25 gift certificates. So I'm spending a lot of time making new stuff and beefing up the shop.

* I made a necklace yesterday that I am VERY proud of. It's using a technique that took a lot of practice to master (and, really, I haven't "mastered" it yet).

* Asher has a new pet. "Lil Baby Dinosaur". He goes everywhere with us. He eats at the table. He takes naps on Asher's shoulder. He sets a good example by eating all his food at lunch. He sleeps with Asher. He eats rock and carrots. He is so small you have to cup both your hands together and be very careful when you hold him. He is imaginary.

* Isaiah doesn't understand why, but he's been walking around with his hands cupped (just like Asher does to hold his Lil Baby Dinosaur) lately.

Spring in my kitchen

Running Wild

We had a great Saturday. First of all, the weather was beautiful. It was like 74 degrees all day. The kids spent the morning out in the backyard getting dirty and being oh so happy. Naomi is a self proclaimed worm lover. She spends all her time outside looking for, holding, loosing, and then looking for again, worms. We also got some yard prep done for Spring. Then we had a great long naptime since the kids were all tuckered out. And in the evening we headed off to Algonkian Regional Park for a Boston Market picnic and playing. It was a great day.

Isaiah Learns a New Trick

Oh, boy!