Happy almost May!

Snow, snow, more snow.

I can't wait

The subject of Mother's Day came up.  I said it was one of my favorite days of the year.

Princess said "Mine too!"

"Oh really?" I asked her.  "Why?"

"Because we get to jump on the bed and wake you up.  And give you food".

Quick curb appeal

You know those little annoyances with your house?  The ones that every time you see them they just royally bug you?  It was time to tackle one. 

Ugly peeling paint at the base of the front door trim.  Eww.

So I scraped and sanded and primed and painted.

SO much better!

But of course when you begin a project like that you notice 842 other things that need done.  Like the trim around the windows.  I went ahead and did those, too.  But now the door itself is pretty dingy. And yadda yadda yadda. 

Anyway, I also got the idea of shutters in my head and couldn't stop thinking about them. 

So we built some.

12 dog-eared fence slats for $1.42 each. 

Two sample paints tinted "Knights Armor" (looks wonderful with the charcoal roof) for $2.94 each.

Shutters and a happy wife for about $20.

Before:

After:

Next to go?  The nasty flower box under the kitchen window!


Linking to:

Oh, did you need that, Dad?

We were getting ready for bed last night and Strider could not find his toothbrush anywhere.

We looked around for a few minutes, assuming the toddler had swiped it (not the first time) and wandered away with it earlier in the day.

He pulled out an older, on-the-way-to-being-tossed one and did his business.

This morning at family prayer he decided to ask the older kids about it to see if they remembered seeing the baby with it.

Then Jedi popped up, "SURE, Dad!" and ran to the emergency kit we packed last night during our Family Home Evening.

Background:

We were going through emergency preparedness last night and pulled out our stuff to take stock and rotate the food inside our packs. I realized when I counted the toothbrushes inside that we obviously had one less child when we packed those, so I asked Jedi to run upstairs and get a *new* toothbrush from the *new* pack upstairs. He did so and I never gave it another thought.

Fast forward back to this morning.

Strider: "Why did you take my toothbrush to put in our 72 hour kit? You were told to get a new one".

Jedi:  "It was dry at the top so I thought it was new".

I can't wait to see this movie

Confessions

                                 {kids before church on Sunday}  

Confession #1
My husband is a much better bed-maker than I am.  He has a new habit of making it first thing every morning and I LOVE that.  He places all my fancy pillows and everything just how I like it.  It’s rubbing off on me, too. 

Confession #2
I am sad that my Girl Scout cookies are all gone.

Confession #3
I cannot bear to have my tables without centerpieces.  Kitchen table AND coffee table.  Must be decorated.  Simple, but not bare.  I grabbed fresh daffodils this morning to bring inside.  That’s the only reason I grow daffodils – one splendid week with a sunny yellow April table.
Same goes for my doors.  Must have wreaths.  Strider put away my Easter egg wreath from the front door three days ago and I have not replaced it yet.  I seriously have hives.

my tables as they are at this moment:

Confession #4
I have been sewing for over a year now and I am not exaggerating when I say I am no better than when I began.  I sewed some crude baby bibs last night and I cannot believe how terrible the stitching is.  Oh well.  Function over form, right?

Confession #5
My backyard is a mess.  Has been for years.  I want real grass, not weeds.  Expanded garden.  Play area.  Relaxing area.  I just don’t want the expense or the effort.  Bah.

Confession #6
I guess this isn’t a confession, but a mourning.  Why did all sports have to move to cable?  We don’t want cable right now; our family doesn’t need the expense, distraction, or extra monitoring that would come with it.  But as a sports fanatic it breaks my heart.  I’m not kidding – if I think about it too much I get extremely upset.  Listening to a huge game on the radio just doesn’t cut it.  BYU, Jazz, Penn State, whatever.  It kills me.

Confession #7
I wish I could hire a maid.  Then I wouldn’t feel guilty over the house cleaning I never get to.  Actually, then I would feel guilty that I wasn’t doing it all myself.  Isn’t that my job – to figure it all out?!  Scratch that.  No maid.  If it looks good, I want the credit, dang it.

Confession #8
I want a big trip to Costco every month that isn’t included in my grocery budget.  Like an extra bonus load.  Hmmm.  Have to work on that one.

Confession #9
I only bought Easter clothes for the three youngest.  Terrible, huh.

Confession #10
I wish for too many things.  Wheat grinder, new countertops, digital SLR camera, netbook.  I need to be content with my wonderful life in its current state.  I am over-the-top, out-of-this-world blessed.

Six simple words

posting from Strider's iPod - pretty cool!

Six Simple Words

SO many meetings tonight

oddly rejuvenating

On my mind Monday

*I feel so thankful for heat/stove/clothes dryer/fridge/lamps today. We had a power outage last night just as we were getting ready to bake cookies, boil pectin to make jam, record a show to watch later, and play a board game as a family. Instead we ended up singing a few songs during the storm and sending the kids to bed. Right before I went to sleep everything came back on after 3 hours down. I was getting worried about my cold food, my unwashed dishes, my wet laundry. All were spared.


*Rosebud told me “poop” on Saturday after she had a messy diaper. This morning she brought me the wipes and laid down on the floor. I’d say this could be a beautiful diaper-free summer ahead.

*I just booked my Jedi’s birthday party. Doesn’t sound like much until you realize we only do parties at age 8 and 12. Those are big milestones for us, and it’s a BIG birthday (read: lots of money) around here. This time we have rented our rec center to have Scales and Tails, a reptile encounter show. We think it’s worth splurging on since I’m not throwing 5 friend parties every year for all my kids. I am so thrilled for him.


*Easter was interesting. Since our church had General Conference this weekend (which we watch on TV in Utah) there were no meetings to go to. Easter Sunday is usually our dressiest day of the year. But this year we were in PJs. Wonderful messages; TONS of things I feel inspired to improve in my life. But didn’t feel like a regular Easter.


*I am thankful for healthy pregnancies and deliveries. My friend had complications a week ago and ended up with an emergency C-section, a hysterectomy, a bladder reconstruction, 20 units of blood, and three days in the ICU away from her new baby. I am grateful her life was saved and that she is now home with her family. I get to take her dinner tonight and I consider it a sweet blessing.

He is Risen

No foolin'