Growing Spuds---No Small Potatoes

tangled up in fun

2012-01-22T21:00:00.000-06:00

Four years ago, our sweet little Stella Susan was born. She has grown so fast, so pretty, and so smart. We had such a fun time celebrating her birthday Tangled style! (Which is actually very appropriate considering that this little girl also tangles her hair into huge knots with her fingers while she sleeps... another story...)

Stella loves Tangled and Stella loves Purple, so this party was just calling her name! I took a few ideas from PagingSupermom, and combined with a few of my own and I declare this Tangled party a success!

First up, the Invites. I love making invites. It's a sickness, really. I'm quite proud of these babies:

We ended up having to postpone the party by a week since Stella started running a high fever (ON her birthday, no less!) a couple of days before the party. Finally the party day came and Stella's friends were welcomed by a "WANTED" poster on our front door:

Inside was a sea of purple and gold! I can't decide if the lanterns or the sunburst bunting is my favorite.

Stella wore her Rapunzel dress and we fashioned her some braided Rapunzel hair, complete with flowers, just like when the little girls in the movie braided Rapunzel's hair.

Oh, my sweet Stella Sue! You are such a great kiddo! I love your smiles and silly grins!

I learned several birthday parties ago that Cakes are not my forté, so Thank You to Wal*Mart for a cake that Stella adored!

We started the party by coloring a few Tangled pages. I love coloring pages at the beginning of parties. It is something fun to do while all the guests arrive and for late comers, they can just take the pages home to color. After this, we played an exciting game of "Find Pascal!" I learned something very important: Three and Four year old girls cheat. They haven't quite grasped the 'no peeking' rule. Pascal wasn't too hard to find. Finally, all the girls made a paper lantern. I sent each guest home with a small glow stick to put inside her lantern at bedtime. I love the way they turned out:

Stella has the cutest little friends---Thanks for getting Tangled Up in Fun with us, girls!

i quit (sort of)

2012-01-18T21:05:00.000-06:00

There are not enough hours in the day for all the things I want to Do and/or Be. So, I've decided to do/be none of them. I'm an equal opportunity quitter. I mean, it's not fair to my scrapbooks if I go finish that quilt I'm working on. And it's certainly not fair to the book I started to finish decorating my bathroom and not finish the book. So I quit. For Today.

Tomorrow, I'm going to be a seamstress, quilter, scrapbooker, happy homemaker, novelist, writer, photographer, and Great Wife, Mom, and Friend. Because tomorrow HAS to have more hours than today, right?

pumpkin man

2011-12-26T21:41:00.004-06:00

Pumpkins. They make me happy. I love a good rich orange pumpkin in Fall.

Or maybe it's just orange that I love. Is it because I was raised attending High School sports games where the Orange was so bright it just might have glowed in the dark (Hail Orange and White!)? Was it actually attending said High School where wearing orange every friday was considered standard and the orange sequins on my show choir costume glittered with every jazz hand move? Whatever the reason, I love it. My living room walls look fantastic bathed in Orange-y goodness (not the glow-in-the-dark shade, thank you) and my newly refinished computer cabinet looks very lovely as well.

So, where was I going with this Ode to Orange? Pumpkins. My front porch was adorned with them for fall. My uncarved pumpkins didn't rot this year and were still in perfect condition when it came time to pull down Fall decor and start with Winter decor. There was NO WAY I was throwing these beautiful pumpkins away! As I took the pumpkins to the garage, I realized that they were stair-stepped in size and would be a most perfect snowman.

A bit of white paint, orange felt, buttons, and black sticky velcro circles and we had our pumpkin man. He's keeping warm in a spare scarf and hat and makes us all smile!

early resolutions

2011-12-08T20:35:00.003-06:00

Oh, blogging world. I've missed you. Really, I have. I'm not just saying that to make me you feel better. Guess what, blogging world? I'm resoluting in 2012 to add blogging back to one of the 'things I do.' (Yes, fully aware that 'resoluting' is not a real word. But, you like it too, don't you?) I'm also resoluting to work on a weakness in 2012. That weakness, friends, is Procrastination. (I know...some of you were on the edge of your seats waiting to see just which weakness I would choose. Yes, there were many to choose from.)

Here I sit fulfilling a New Year's Resolution before the New Year has even arrived. Take THAT, Procrastination!

So there's that: Two of my resolutions for 2012. I'm not sure if I have any more...I'll figure that out some other time.

cautionary tale

2010-04-22T15:42:00.003-05:00

Planting a garden with a baby on your lap is a dangerous operation. Just ask Lucy:

baby lulu--2 months old

2010-04-13T12:51:00.001-05:00

peeps

2010-04-13T12:32:00.003-05:00

Stella and the Peeps.

'Nuff Said.

lucy is here!

2010-02-07T15:21:00.002-06:00

Our newest little spud joined our family on February 2nd and here is her story:

I based a lot of my expectations for this birth on the births of my first three babies. With each one, I had had a lot of early labor and contractions, but nothing ever moved forward until my water was broken. I had always been at the hospital by 3-4 centimeters dilated and wanted an epidural by 5-6 centimeters.

On February 1st, I decided to try drinking Caster Oil to jump start the early labor I was already in. The kids were out of school for an ‘inclement weather’ day. My friend, Cori, invited us to her house where her kids played with mine and Cori and I finished decorating her daughter’s bedroom that we had been working on for the past week. I drank the Caster Oil at 11am (Cori had done this with all 4 of her babies and couldn’t be in the room when I drank mine because the memory of the taste alone was enough to make her nauseated!) I managed to gulp it without tasting much.

The contractions started at about 4:00pm, but were just like the ones that I have had for the last several weeks. Cori and I timed them and they were between 2-5 minutes apart. After invading Cori’s house (and bathrooms) for most of the day, I finally gathered up the kids and headed home about 5:30pm. The contractions continued while I made dinner and while we got the kids to bed. I took a shower and watched TV until we were ready to go to bed about 10:30. It has been typical for me to have contractions 3-5 minutes apart all evening that go away when I go to bed, so part of me really thought this would happen again. I dozed off and on, but was woken by contractions every once in awhile. At about 1am, they were definitely getting stronger and I got out of bed. I sat down at the computer to time them and couldn’t stay sitting when I’d have one. I was too uncomfortable and had to get up and move around and breathe through it. I really didn’t want to wake up Steve and call Cori to come over if this wasn’t really ‘it’, but I decided around 1:30 that something was going on and to go for it. Cori came over and Steve and I left for the hospital at 2:00am. During the drive to the hospital, the contractions came about every 3 minutes and I had to tell Steve to not talk to me during them because it was too distracting. We checked in and were taken to a Labor and Delivery room. The nurse checked me at about 2:40am and said I was 8 centimeters! I asked if she was kidding me. She assured me that she was not. I was surprisingly calm when I asked if there would be time for an epidural and she said ‘probably not.’ I looked at Steve and he was not so calm. The look on his face was like a deer in headlights. I had mentally prepared myself a little bit for the possibility that I may not have time for an epidural this time, but had neglected to prepare him! I was scared, though. I had not done any natural birthing classes or really prepared myself for this at all. I called Cori, who I knew had done this four times and who I also knew would be awake, and asked her how in the world to get through this!

The next 45 minutes or so were spent with a nurse trying to get an IV in me that hurt worse than the contractions. I was progressing, but slowly, so the doctor broke my water at 3:30am. At 3:45am, I was 9 centimeters and the baby was still pretty high up. Pretty quickly I started to feel a lot more pressure and more pain during contractions and the nurse tried to check me and I closed my legs and told her to stay away from me! The baby moved down quickly and I could actually feel it when it happened and the urge to push came fast and furious and I couldn’t help but cry out and I believe I begged for someone to help me. The doctor and nurse tried to break apart the bed, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen and I started pushing involuntarily. I think I was more afraid of the pain than the actual pain itself and all I could think was ‘ring of fire, don’t want to feel the ring of fire!’ Almost immediately my body started pushing again and the baby’s head was out along with a sense of relief immediately followed by another need to push and I delivered the shoulders and body. What a sense of complete relief!

Lucy Patricia was born at 3:57am, weighed 7 pounds (6lbs 15.5oz, technically), and measured 18.5 inches long. She didn’t cry, just grunted and made cute little sounds. I cried and cried when I got to hold her. She is so unbelievably beautiful and perfect. We love our Lucy!

huh?

2010-01-18T09:06:00.004-06:00

I got a great note from Sidney (age 5):

You ro the Best! Yao came to my prde pad to day at one fifde two. Loo loo! Hoo? Do you lic sbgede?

Translation: You are the Best! You came to my party pad today at one-fifty-two. Loo loo! hoo? Do you like spagetti?

Again I say.... huh?

happy stella day!

2010-01-12T08:26:00.004-06:00

I'm starting to be convinced that the way a child arrives into the world is very telling of his or her future personality (at least as a toddler and young child. I'll let you know if the theory holds true.)

Taylor made life easy on his pregnant mama and arrived 9 days before his due date, making a super quick entrance and waiting for no one (including the doctor). Mellow and easy to please, our doctor called him a 'trick baby'---a baby that 'tricks' you into having another one!

Sidney had to be served an eviction notice to vacate the premises and came into the world starving for both food and stimulation. A Drama Queen and Perfectionist from day one--She needed to make an entrance and make sure she was good and ready for it.

Stella didn't want to waste one moment of life and arrived 6 weeks early. Super sweet, snuggly, and mellow she captured the hearts of everyone around her. Once she started moving, though, look out! Busy and needing to explore every little detail and jumping from one thing to the next. Perfectionism is completely not a priority. Give her fun and waste no time doing it and the rest will come later.

That was two years ago today that my little Stella became part of our family. She has easily taken on the role of Baby of the family and is willing to share that role with the new baby, but is in no way ready to give it up entirely.

From my little 5 pound 8 ounce peanut to my big 2 year old today she's only gotten better!

Happy Birthday my Stella Bell!

the cardboard house

2009-12-24T19:26:00.002-06:00

Last Christmas, the kids asked to make a Gingerbread House. Now, this would be an easy task if I could just buy the kit or use graham crackers. Having a gluten-free kid takes the ease out of it, though, and I baked up a cute little Gingerbread House for them to decorate. This year, the holiday spirit just wasn't kicking me to be that ambitious. Cardboard makes a wonderful substitute for gingerbread! It's not as if the kids actually eat the gingerbread anyway. They just want the candy. Best of both worlds.

Sid's Side:

Tay's Side:

it's beginning to look a lot like....halloween?

2009-12-22T08:26:00.002-06:00

Three days before Christmas and something is amiss! It started with Sidney putting on a black dress and black tights and declaring herself a cat for the day. She insisted on whiskers and I couldn't think of a good reason to say no (and I tried). There is this word is our house that is slowly starting to become known as 'the F word' in my mind. Fair. It all must be fair and equal. I keep asking them who told them life was going to be fair and equal, but they look at me as if I have two heads. So, in all fairness, Taylor had to be painted as well. First he said he was a superhero. Now he's an Indian (excuse me. Native American.)
Even the almost two-year-old is learning the 'Fair' word and had to join in the action.
It's almost the new year, but for now, we are living in the past---Merry Halloween!

being 7

2009-12-18T06:50:00.001-06:00

life lessons by taylor

2009-12-08T09:31:00.003-06:00

Taylor (7) is such a great big brother. He's always teaching his little sister (5) profound and useful life lessons, particularly on the drive to school each morning. Things such as "Cattle is plural already, it's not Cattles! It's Cattle or Cows."

Today's life lesson: "Don't ever, ever try to lick a frozen pole!"

decor and more

2009-12-07T09:16:00.014-06:00

Anything crafty has been on the back burner for awhile now. Crafting with a toddler around puts a damper on things (no dear, you may NOT stick your fingers under the needle in the sewing machine and please leave the pedal alone when mommy is using the serger with the sharp cutting knives, I need my fingers!). Not to mention the stress of moving. But Christmas was coming and so was my mom (who loves decorating for Christmas). My Christmas decor is meager compared to hers, but it's growing each year and I chose this year to make it grow by leaps and bounds. It never hurts when mom goes to Hobby Lobby with me and can't resist things either and offers up her plastic to pay. My tree is now adorned with a beautiful tree skirt and wooden Merry Christmas sign and my mantle a little brighter with a "Believe" plague. (Click on pictures to make bigger)Inspired by my friends Lei and Kierste I created the ragamuffin garland for my mantle,
I got a little taste of the crafting/decorating bug and created one for the baby/guest room that is done in a vintage Americana theme. It needed a ragamuffin garland:
I will refrain from putting one of these in every room in the house, but a cute pink one just might appear in the big girl's room.

My mom saw a Christmas decoration that she loved---a simple Christmas tree on a square canvas. She didn't buy it and described it to me. So, we created one of our own:
She took this one home with her and it looked so good in my kitchen that I made one of my own:
Sidney has been trying to make all sorts of paper ornaments for our tree, much to my dismay. My Christmas tree is sacred ground. Once it's decorated, it's not to be touched, rearranged, or otherwise renovated. My kids just don't seem to take that seriously and I end up with all sorts of the above. In an attempt to quench her need for ornament making, we made some ornaments for her classroom tree. Taylor joined in the fun and we made a few super cute ornaments:
And then there's my new love.

The Antique (and junque!) store. My dad recently got into Antique stores, so when I passed one every day I knew I must take my dad there. We have this piano that is truly an antique---1901 Chickering. The only thing missing was something to sit on. We've been dragging a kitchen chair to the piano for the last 5 years and have been hoping to find an antique piano stoool to go with it. Guess what we found at the antique store? My dad and Steve have been working on refinishing it and it's looking better every day (pictures when it's finished).

Two other things I got at the Antique store are a couple of pitchers for my built in shelves. One is most definitely not an antique, but the other is and I love them equally.

All of this has awakened the crafter/decorator inside of me and I have, oh, about a dozen projects in mind as of this morning. I believe it was just a few days ago when I was cursing my crafty friends' very names. Now, I'm thinking of joining their ranks again. At the very bottom of the totem pole of course.

adventures in gluten-free cooking

2009-12-01T09:05:00.005-06:00

Thanksgiving is actually fairly easy to modify to gluten free (GF). Use GF flour on the turkey, cornstarch for the gravy and skip the stuffing. This year, however, after repeated Max & Ruby commercials where Max gets stuffed eating stuffing, Sidney really wanted stuffing with her Thanksgiving dinner. We were lucky enough to be invited to the home of new friends for dinner where DeAnné did most of the cooking, so I told Sidney I'd give GF stuffing a try.

I'm not sure how anyone cooked, cleaned, parented, crafted, or even survived B.I. (Before Internet). I know going GF would have been a much bigger ordeal without the Internet (aka my favorite GF resource). I searched among countless GF stuffing recipes to find a fairly simple version and got started.

It started with a loaf of GF Brown Rice bread cut into cubes and toasted in the oven.
I don't know what it is about this brand of bread we use, but I cannot stand the smell of it. I've made homemade gluten free breads (once or twice!) and they never smell. The taste is fine (as far as GF breads go), but the smell is icky, so I was glad to get some celery, onion, garlic, and other spices cooking on the stove. YUMMY!
Mixed all together with some chicken broth and it started to smell and look like stuffing. Topped with butter and baked it looked like the real deal.
And it tasted good! We're on to something!

this lemon isn't making any lemonade

2009-11-25T08:07:00.005-06:00

A drive anywhere by myself is a rare treat these days as is a grocery shopping trip by myself. I fully enjoyed the quiet in the van and shopping without stopping to pick up my list off the floor after Stella had thrown it out for the tenth time or breaking out the fruit snacks to keep her happy for 2 minutes.

After a long shopping trip of dogging turkey and stuffing seeking shoppers (no turkeys to be found) and a cart filled to overflowing, I loaded everything into the back of the van. I sat down in the driver's seat with a big sigh and moment of regret for not buying anything tasty to drink on the way home. I did have that much needed gallon of bunny tracks ice cream to look forward to when I got home, though, so I quickly put the key in the ignition and turned.

All in the turn of the ignition, the needles on the gauges started jumping around, the lights on the panel started blinking, the windshield wipers came on and sprayed wiper fluid on the windshield, the doors were locking and unlocking and the horn was blaring. I think the only thing that didn't happen was the starting of the engine. I think I laughed. Nothing was funny, but if I didn't laugh, I think I would have truly thought my van was possessed and have run screaming. I waited a moment or two and tried again---nothing but a blaring horn and locks locking and unlocking. Fantastic.

I called Steve at home and he cursed the name of our Lemon of a Van for not the first time, and found the roadside assistance phone number for me. Roadside Assistance sent someone to jump start the van, but he quickly discovered there was nothing wrong with the battery and was only rewarded with a horn in his face when I tried starting the van. The very nice 70-year-old man with very little, if any, teeth offered to drive me home when he found out that Steve couldn't come get me (kids asleep and not enough car seats for them). I politely declined his offer even when he reminded me that he was old enough to be my great-grandfather. I was too tired to make his day by telling him that he was only a year old than my Father.

I called Steve again and we tried to figure out a way to get me and the groceries home. Steve was worried about the meat going bad. All I could think about was my gallon of ice cream slowly melting in the back. Luckily for the groceries, but unluckily for me clad in flip flops and short sleeves, it was a cold night. I called the only person from church I know more than just in passing (she's a facebook friend, how much closer can we get than that!?), but couldn't get a hold of her. I called the only other person I really know here, my long-time Internet friend, Jess. She didn't hesitate to jump in her car and come rescue ~~my ice cream~~ me.

The fate of the lemon is still undecided. This morning it was towed 2+ hours away to the nearest Saturn dealership after other GM dealerships right where we live wouldn't service it (never mind that Chevy has the EXACT van with a Chevy name). All I know is that thing is not giving me any lemonade. At least I still have my ice cream.

who you callin' a tramp?

2009-11-23T08:07:00.003-06:00

I've always said I wouldn't ever have a trampoline. Words Eaten.

When we broke the big news to the kids that we were moving to Arkansas, one of the first things we told them was that we would have a big yard and would get them a trampoline. They were sold!

We made good on our promise and finally got it all set up on Saturday. Taylor and Sidney spent most of the day out there and Stella joined them later. They jumped yesterday until it was dark and time to come inside for dinner and started asking to go out to jump at 6:30 this morning (when it was still dark and wet outside). I'd say it's a hit!

tractor dad

2009-11-23T07:55:00.003-06:00

Part of the fun of having a nice big yard is having a nice big ride-on lawn mower! Steve's lawn mowing debut turned out to be quite the show. Taylor and Sidney cheered him on (go daddy go!) and the horses in the field behind us trotted over to get a glimpse (and proceeded to run away when the mower backfired).

I'm not sure mowing the lawn is supposed to be this much fun!

musings of new writers

2009-11-09T11:20:00.004-06:00

Watching my child learn to read/write is a complete joy to me! I've always loved to read and there are times when I love to write and seeing my kids find the joy in that is high on my list. Sidney just turned 5 years old and is learning to read and write. I've been finding some funny little notes around the house---on paper, on the chalkboard, etc. Here's some of the latest and greatest:

MUSKTEER iS THE BEST (Barbie has a musketeers movie out that Sidney loves).

SiDNEY iS THE BEST
TAYLOR iS THE NOT GOOD
STELLA iS THE CUTE

JANESSA BCUS YOO R MY BEST FRED I LUV YOO

SiDNEY iS THE BEST BCUS SHEE CAN ACT LiC U PRiNSSUSS

I love that she uses all caps except for the "i"s.

Sidney is just following in the footsteps of big brother, Taylor, who likes to write short stories, and loves reading. He is whipping right through the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books ( he read two last week and is halfway through another one!) and tries to read for an hour a night! Yesterday, he started writing a story that I found lying around. I'm not sure why the funny spacing....but I got a kick out of it!

Moon Myiesterys #1

Chapter 1
are we on the moon?

Once there was
1 asternot.
They live in orlando, flarda.
One time they blasted
into space!
There misson
was to
go to the moon.
When they have got there he
said "Are
we on the
moon?"
And Something anssered.
And it said "yes."

Talk about a cliffhanger! My kids are awesome!

halloween part II

2009-11-02T08:38:00.006-06:00

Have you heard the one about The Ninja, The Witch, and The Puppy?

Me neither. And it's probably not even funny.

Halloween got put on the back burner this year because of our big move to Arkansas. If we could have managed it, Halloween wouldn't have even happened this year, but as kids grow up and go to school, their teachers teach them silly things like how to read a calendar and there was no getting around it. This is the first year that we bought a costume at the store for Taylor. Normally I would care. This year, I don't! I did put together Stella's, so maybe my mom-of-the-year award won't be taken away just yet.

It took one or two houses for Stella to catch on to the trick-or-treating idea. She learned very quickly to go up to the door, speech some gibberish and hold open her bag. When she got candy, she waved goodbye and took off down the driveway saying "Go!" It was completely adorable and even though she was mistaken for a cow, she was the cutest puppy (a tie, of course, for the puppy that Taylor dressed as for his 2nd Halloween).

halloween part I

2009-11-02T08:27:00.003-06:00

I used my powers of persuasion to talk the kids into painting their pumpkins this year instead of carving (because I'm the master carver in the house and that was not on my mile long list of things to do). They must have sensed the borderline hysteria in my voice, because they complied and were happy about it.

There are some artists in the family (and that list does not include me) and one of my favorite things is to watch my kids use their creative skills and be little artists. However, next time, Taylor's artistic flair might have to be taken outside to prevent the splatters of red paint that ended up all over the kitchen. Stella had her first painting experience and was enthralled! I let her get messy, but drew the line when she started painting her face and then her chair. There are many more pictures of Stella because, well, it's her first time and these things must be documented. Enjoy!

oh Arizona!

2009-10-07T11:52:00.002-05:00

There are some things I will not miss about living in Arizona (the scorching summers, scorpions, and cinderblock fences to start). But there are certainly some things I will miss....

'Winter' in Arizona: Just beautiful and just perfect. A whole season of outdoor living: crisp, but not freezing mornings where the kids can go out and play and comfortable afternoons.

School in Arizona: Uniforms, oh how I love thee, Uniforms! And what's not to love about my kids practicing Yoga at school (and then going outside before school on a beautiful October morning and practicing Yoga in the backyard)?

There are other things (and people!!!) of course that we will miss, but the beautiful October days we are having right now bring these things to heart and mind. Leaving Arizona in July would be much easier!

just a little on the trashy side

2009-09-24T14:11:00.002-05:00

If you are like me and have a 4-year-old who wears glasses, you probably are like me and visit the eye doctor's office for repairs, adjustments, etc more than you would like. The office is great---very nice, very helpful, and they have a little children's play area to keep my kids entertained while we wait. The only problem with said play area is that it's open to those working there trying to help people choose glasses, work out their payments, etc. My kids aren't known for being especially quiet, so the faster we can get in and out of there, the better. I was just there two weeks ago for Sidney's annual eye exam where she spent 20 minutes trying on every pair of children's frames in the place before ultimately choosing the first pair she tried on. I had hoped it was the last time I'd be in there for awhile, but not so...

Taylor had his annual eye exam yesterday and I scheduled it immediately after school thinking "hey, we'll already be out and in the car, it will kill some time after school, Stella will be occupied playing in the play area. Plus, Sidney needs to pick up her new glasses. Kill two birds with one stone! Great!"

I had about 20 minutes until I needed to leave to pick up the older kids from school and I'm hanging out with Stella and hear the (locked) front door open. This is not the first time in the last couple of weeks this has happened---a few Realtors forgot to call us to show our home and assumed it was vacant. I greeted the realtor at the door and if I didn't want to sell my house so badly, I would have told her to come back the next day, but alas, I do want to sell my house, so I told her to give me 15-20 minutes and then come back. I thought I was home free from any showings by this time of the day, so the house wasn't exactly ready. I raced frantically around the house cleaning up toys, lunch dishes, wiping up crumbs, and making a bed or two. By the time I make it out of the house and into the van I smell something funky and feel something damp. I look down and realize I've got some wicked pit stains on my orange shirt. Oh well, too late to change shirts or put on some more deodorant. I'll just try and keep my arms down.

I picked up Taylor and Sidney from school and instead of my usual a-little-disheveled-but-mostly-presentable kids picked up a couple of I-rolled-in-my-lunch-instead-of-eating-it-and-I'm-not-sure-any-of-the-marker-made-it-on-the-paper kids. No time to go home and change, so I think, "It's okay--they are clearly wearing their school uniforms so people will know they just got messy at school and we don't really live like pigs." I dole out snacks to eat on the way there and off we go.

We arrive and I unbuckle and lift Stella out of her car seat and smell something funky and feel something damp. Unfortunately, it was not just my armpits this time. No time to change her diaper b/c we are barely on time as it is, so we rush inside. After a few minutes I realize a diaper change can't wait a moment longer and I go out to the car with Stella. Her shorts are beyond wearable and she refuses to wear her shoes. I head back in with a red face and armpit stains, and a tank-top- and-a-diaper only toddler who won't wear shoes.. To add to the general trashy look she had going, she pulled the elastic out of her hair and now looks like a cockatoo or rooster (take your pick.)

Luckily Taylor was sent back to the eye doctor pretty quickly (but only after he crawled all over the floor chasing a train and making a racket) and I was left with the girls. Here I am with a cute 4-year-old with blue marker on her face, some big unidentifiable stains all over her powder blue polo and a toddler who looks a little bit like an orphan. Of course, this seems to be their busiest time of day and a parade of people are in and out of the place. Lots of moms come in with kids for eye exams. One little girl who looks about 5 comes in with her blond hair perfectly combed and with a headband with a big red bow on top and pretty much looks like she stepped out of a gymboree ad. She sits happily with her mother. Another little girl (maybe 5) and her brother (about 8) who are also school uniform clad, but clean and well groomed also arrive and play quietly and sweetly with the toys. I, pit stains and baby belly and all, chase the barefoot-diaper-clad toddler around the place while she tries to swipe every pair of frames conveniently displayed at her eye level while my disheveled Kindergartner tries to be the mom and chases her too.

I know if I was 'the other mom' watching this display I'd be chuckling and thinking 'ug, I hate days like that!' Maybe it was my own insecurity, but the looks on these mom's faces seemed to say "woman, get control of your life, get some clothes on your children, wash their clothes, and for heaven's sake, get some new anti-perspirant! And what on earth are you doing having another baby anyway?"

I guess it could have been much worse....I could have been the barefoot one...

silly stella

2009-08-31T15:40:00.006-05:00

I call this photo "Leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep on this oh-so-comfy lego table."

Stella has been my first real climber and get-into-everything kid. She has her own ideas of where to do, what to do, and how to get to it. As I snapped this picture of her last night while she was pretending to sleep on the lego table (maybe she has a future with the circus laying on a bed of nails?) I thought about all the silly photos I have captured of her being her silly self. So this entire photo blog post is dedicated to my Silly Stella Sue. She couldn't make me laugh and smile more!

bubble gum anyone?

2009-08-20T15:36:00.004-05:00

When we moved into this house, I devoted the largest bedroom to my 'craft room.' Soon baby Stella came along and the Big Plan was to put Stella in Sidney's room. When we discovered that our Big Girl didn't appreciate a crying baby, Stella moved into my craft room. Of course, that put quite a damper any crafting that I hoped might occur since naptime is craft time. I moved most of my equipment downstairs and did sewing/scrapbooking/random crafting at the dining room table, much to Steve's dismay. Being the third child, Stella never had a nursery. She had the only unpainted room in the house that housed everything we didn't have a place for. Life is so unfair, baby. So here we are today with another baby on the way and we've run out of bedrooms, so the girls are going to bunk together as originally planned.

Since darlin' Sidney was born, she has lived in an Americana theme room. I have always loved it---but she had dreams of Pink. Since I'm the one who loves the Americana, Sidney's room has now become ~~my craft room~~ the nursery and the old craftroom/junk spot/nursery is now a delightful shade of pink and housing matching beds for my two little girlies. Stella, however, is staying in the crib as long as I can manage it, so she doesn't live in the room yet. Sidney is perfectly fine with that arrangement.

Here is the room as Steve was taking down the crib and moving it across the hall:

See what I mean about it being a catch-all room?

See the dresser up there in the 2nd picture? I wanted that in the girl's new room, but it didn't fit with the beds. There is a matching chest and two nightstands, though, that we painted a cream color (they look white, but they are cream, dang it!). Here's the room & the furniture after much painting:

There is nothing up on the walls yet because I'm not sure where I want to go from here. I'm sure in a few months I'll get to nesting and really finish it up.

I do need to warn anyone out there who is planning on painting a room using the colors of pink, brown, and cream that you might develop an uncontrollable craving for Brach's Neapolitan Coconut Sundaes and feel the need to buy a bag and eat them all. There. You've been warned!

party of six

2009-07-01T10:50:00.005-05:00

I've always said I wanted 4-5 children. Steve has always said 3-4 would be great (although there was a time when we had 2 when we thought that would be a perfect number for us). Here we are with 3, and a 4th on the way. When I was pregnant with Stella, I knew there was another baby for us. I knew it so much that I was convinced I was carrying twins and was shocked (though relieved!) when I learned at the ultrasoundsthat I was not. When we decided to have a 4th, Steve said "and that is it, right? We'll be done." Well, I thought so! But how could I know if I'd have that 'feeling' again and think we needed 'just one more' (famous last words from Jon now w/o Kate). Now that #4 is in the oven, guess what? I'm so done. Maybe it's the ~~morning~~ all day sickness talking, but the idea of doing this again sounds ~~horrible~~ ~~crazy~~ ~~scary~~ like not a good idea.

A family of 6---that has it's benefits. It's much easier to sit a family of 6 in a restaurant than a family of 7, right? A family of six can squeeze into a booth with three on each side (with one parent manning two children, because that would only be fair), but where is family member #7 going to sit? Actually that works out kind of well if family member #7 is in a high chair because you can stick him/her at the end of the booth. But let's be real---if I have 5 kids and the youngest is in a high chair, am I really giong to ever go out to eat?

Let's not forget the all important even numbers that make it easier on Disneyland rides. How many in your party? 7? Oh, who's going to ride alone? I guess we can pick the kid that's being most obnoxious at that moment, but when at Disneyland it's pretty much required to pretend your kids are never obnoxious and that you are one (big) magical family.

Then there is the issue of the dining room table. We have two tables---each has 6 chairs. And we can't just pull in a chair from the dining room table to the kitchen table to make 7 because the dining room table is a counter height and the kitchen table is a normal height. Buying dining tables is never fun for me, so you see, 4 children is a good number for us.

Actually, 3 has been a good number for us as well (you hear that ~~morning~~ all day sickness talking again?), but in the words of Rollo "That ain't no etch-a-sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet." So, #4, I know your little ear buds can't hear yet, but listen up---you are IT! Don't come begging mommy & daddy for a little brother or sister because it's not going to happen. I will sympathize with you (I'm the baby of six children), but I will not under any circumstances cave and give you a younger sibling. I will do what my mom did and buy you a Kid Sister Doll (and you will be lucky enough that you won't have any neices to rube desitin all over it and throw it into the pool. I'm just sayin'). Welcome to the family, kiddo!

not great clips

2009-06-22T13:13:00.005-05:00

Taylor and Sidney needed haircuts. Taylor is choosing to let his hair grow long this summer, but needed a bang trim so he could see. Sidney just needed an inch off the length. I used to always cut Taylor's hair, but longer hair is not my forté, so I loaded up the troops and headed to Great Clips. The 'stylists' were not busy and there were a few available, so they got their hair cut at the same time (really good since I had to keep Stella out of the hair on the floor during the cuts). Taylor's was finished and the lady said "it looks uneven, but it's really not---besides you don't want it to look perfect." I thought it looked funny, but since he wears his hair messy, I thought it would be okay once it dried. Sidney was finished too, so we paid and we were outta there. Quick and painless, I thought.

Not so. Next day, I start brushing Sidney's hair and this is what I find in the back:

Taylor looked like a member of the beetles, but worse. Not only was it uneven across, but one side looked completely different than the other:

I knew it was bad when Steve got home and thought I had cut their hair. I took them back and had them re-cut. The same lady got Taylor and she said "well, you only wanted his bangs cut...so that's all I cut." Well yes, lady, but I did want it even and well blended.

This is probably my 4th bad experience with Great Clips haircuts. The first three were my own, but I thought that surely they couldn't mess up kid's hair. I'm done trying to save money on hair!

our poetic family

2009-04-27T16:41:00.002-05:00

Sunday evening, the kids wanted to give the lesson for Family Home Evening. They decided on teaching us about Missionaries and for our activity, Taylor asked us all to write poems about missionaries. Here you go for your giggling pleasure:

First we start with what could only be written by a 4-year-old girl:

Mariposa Missionary
She always helps people
She teaches people
She is really nice
She is a pretty girl butterly

Then mine, which is completely lame:

Missionaries come from far and near
They teach the people and never fear
Righteous and strong young women and men
Preach the gospel and save people from sin

Taylor's was completely cute (with his spelling):

Mishinaries travel near and far. All in one place. They teach the gospel.
They eat dinner at peaples house!
I hope on my missin I will go to Guam!

And then Steve. Leave it to him to produce this little beauty:

Missionaries wear a black name tag
They never let their dress pants sag
What they teach is not a gag
Accept the gospel and eternal life's in the bag
Now listen hard or the missionaries will nag
Don't get baptized and fingers will wag
Good missionaries are famous on the cover of a mag
If you don't work hard your wife'll be a hag

playing catch up

2009-04-21T13:28:00.012-05:00

What happened to the month of March? Or the first half of April for that matter? We were busy living the good life as usual...here's a little bit of what we did:

Go Green

We went Green for St. Patty's day complete with a Green dinner. The kids planted a faux pot-o-gold to attract a leprechaun, but athe leprechauns around here were too smart to be fooled by ripped up peices of yellow construction paper.

A Pirate Says Arrrg!

With her flair for the dramatic (nobody says 'ARRRG' better than Sidney), pirate day at preschool was right up Sid's alley. Who would have thought that Sidney's white shirt that went with her Christmas outfit would also double as a perfect pirate's shirt? The pink flip-flops probably weren't exactly authentic pirate wear, but what is a pirate without a little pink glitter?

Movin' On Up

Although she still can't walk, Stella has learned to climb. She can scale the toilet and make it onto the bathrom counter in seconds flat and hanging out behind the TV has become a favorite past time. If you come over for dinner, please remember to push in your chair at the dinner table lest we find Stella on top of the table swinging from the chandelier.

Techno Baby

Every baby loves the remote control (remind me again---why do we buy them toys??), but Stella has taken it a step further and swipes any portable electronic she can get her hands on. The house phone, the cell phone, the IPod, you name it. The funny thing is, I think she really thinks that I am the one taking her stuff and she is just taking it back. Like this look----she seems to be saying "Step off, Mom, I'm trying to listen to some tunes. Hey, where'd you hide the ear buds?"

Just the Boys

Steve and Taylor made a trip to Colorado for cousin Andrew's 8th Birthday and Baptism. This was quite possibly the highlight of Taylor's short little life. Every paper he brought home from school that had any sort of creative writing assignment had the same theme: The trip to Colorado. When asked to write a story about a happy time, he wrote, "On March 24 I'm going to my cosins Birthday! On Birthdays I get Exsited! I'm going to Chokey Cheese at there. the End." For another assignment he was asked to write a newspaper article about Spring Break. Spring Break was the week before his Colorado trip, so he wrote "We will pack up, buy present for my cousin and play. It won't be fun, but playing is fun. I can't wait to go to Calorado! I'm Exsited." And one of the hottie husband and his sister, Kristina (Andrew's mom.)
And then there's Me

A lot of reading, a little sewing, and a bit of everything else thrown in. Check out this cute little purse I made:

And then came Easter...I'm not that far caught up. Maybe I'll blog about that in, oh, June or so.

babies 'n bows

2009-02-25T11:12:00.002-06:00

We've reached a milestone moment! Stella now has enough hair (if only just barely) to create an up-do. I love babies with one little sprig of hair sticking up on top. This is Stella's very first ponytail and she wears it so well!

This next baby doesn't belong to me, but his mom trusted me with his care for a little while. It's been awhile since we've had a baby boy in this house and I thought he looked a little off without any fun accessories. We fixed that problem. Jeanne, meet your new daughter, Erica!

I'm told that if Eric chooses a life of cross dressing in the future I'm to blame. I think I can live with that.

i hope they call me on a mission

2009-01-29T09:22:00.003-06:00

My mom and dad are serving a mission for our church. They have left their home in Orlando and are living in Salt Lake City for 18 months. I am so proud of my mom and dad and thankful for their example to our family. I love this picture. Maybe it's because I've never seen my dad wear a scarf before, or maybe it's because I'm still not used to seeing him minus his 'stache, but I just want to hug my dad when I see this. Thanks mom and dad! We Love You!

oh happy day!

2009-01-16T15:07:00.003-06:00

I have a major, major announcement! We are very pleased to announce that Sidney can now wipe her own rear end. This is cause for serious celebration! Please join us in celebrating this wonderful event in our lives.

happy birthday baby!

2009-01-12T20:24:00.008-06:00

One year ago today, our little Stella made her big arrival into the world! She caught us totally off guard by coming 6 weeks early and being a little tiny bug (5lbs 8oz) but she took a huge hold of our hearts in moments.
Stella's first year has flown by and I can't believe my little baby is already a year old. Stella is just as sweet as they come. Her bright eyes, silly crooked smile, and sweet personality are more than we could have ever dreamed. She loves people and loves to give hugs and kisses.
We Love You, Stell Bell!

Click below for pictures from our Little Star's party!

she makes her daddy proud

2009-01-08T17:45:00.004-06:00

The song you are currently listening to (if it's A Dustland Fairytale by The Killers) is Sidney's favorite song. Do you know any other 4-year-olds that say "The Killers ROCK!"? I'm a little bit worried that her preschool teacher might pull me aside to ask me why Sidney keeps talking about Killers.

hey, those are shower curtains!

2008-12-29T09:54:00.004-06:00

Before:

After:
When we moved here nearly 2 years ago, we went crazy painting every wall, decorating, etc. But window treatments were a last priority. When it did become a priority, Steve and I had a hard time agreeing on anything. So our windows have been unadorned. A few months ago, we were on a date at Target (this is how you measure how a. old, b. married, c. parental you are----you go to Target on your date) and passed by the shower curtains and these caught my eye. Yes, they are shower curtains. Even better they were on clearance (score!) We finally purchased rods over the weekend and put them up. I love them! And hey, if I'm ever in need of a shower curtain, I can just pull down one my window treatments---dual purpose.

merry Christmas

2008-12-25T14:09:00.006-06:00

I guess it's time to quit mourning over Obama's big win and update my blog. I took down my favorite election ad with Palin's legs and my anti-Obama signs. I would put up a sign with Obama's legs, but who wants to see that? Not me.

Obamessiah aside, today we celebrate the birth of the REAL Messiah! Merry Christmas everyone!

Jesus is the Christ! He was born in a stable to the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem and is the Savior of the World. May we follow Him, keep Him in our hearts, and keep the spirit of Christmas year round.

fluttering birthday

2008-10-28T21:06:00.004-05:00

It seems I've been blogging about Sidney a lot lately----but it IS her special birthday month, so here is one more: The Butterfly Birthday Party!

We started out the fun by decorating paper butterflies and applying butterfly tattoos on all the little girls.

Then we read some butterfly books (you can see them behind the cute little sister of the Birthday Girl).

Butterfly nets came in very handy for our backyard butterfly hunt!

All that hunting left our fluttering girls hungry for sweets! We sang Happy Birthday to the Birthday Butterfly and ate cupcakes and had (pink, of course) ice cream in the shape of butterflies.

Sidney was spoiled by all of her family and friends!

lucky me

2008-10-23T12:00:00.002-05:00

Some days I wonder what on earth made me want to be a mom. Some days I wonder why I am doing this. Some days I want to run far away. But most days I know I'm the luckiest girl alive. I have three beautiful children that are full of personality and spirit. They are sweet (usually), smart (most of the time), and funny (except when they are trying too hard, then it's just obnoxious).

Child #3 had already left for school this morning when I pulled out the camera, but rest assured he's just as beautiful.

I'm filled with love and gratitude for my children at this moment. Granted, at this moment, the two older ones are at school and the baby is sleeping, but that's besides the point.

I'm a lucky, lucky mom!

lies. in his own words

2008-10-22T12:59:00.001-05:00

B.O.'s First Thing

2008-10-15T17:47:00.002-05:00

Barrack Obama has said "The first thing I will do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act." Really? The First Thing?

Our Country is in economic turmoil and in the middle of a war and the First Thing you will do is sign an act that eliminates state laws that limit abortion and invalidate any pro-life laws passed since Roe v. Wade? The first thing you will do is allow abortion-on-demand for all 9 months of pregnancy? Repeal the partial birth abortion ban! And even better, let's remove the ban allowing the Government to help pay for it. That is an awesome solution. Our country is in debt beyond any one's reasonable comprehension and The First thing you'll do is use government funds to kill a baby? And to make it quicker, smoother, and less trouble for everyone, no pre-abortion education or waiting period required!

What other political issue results in the murder of 1.2 million American children each year? Oh. None.

getting into the fall spirit

2008-10-09T16:50:00.003-05:00

All of the cuties at Sidney's preschool got to pretend to be Scarecrows for the day. I know I'm biased, but I thought mine was the cutest Scarecrow of all!

oh say can you see?

2008-10-03T15:19:00.003-05:00

Unfortunantly, the answer for Sidney was "No." But we had no idea! Sidney's preschool teacher let me know that Sid was squinting a lot at preschool, especially during storytime and such. We thought Sidney was just being her usual quirky self, but did take her to the eye doctor just in case... Turns out, she couldn't see. But she can now!

Sidney got her glasses just before going to preschool on Thursday and stared around in amazement at the leaves on the trees, the rocks on the ground and everything else around her. "It looks so different mom!" she said. We, of course, feel terrible that she hasn't been able to see well all this time (but know it's not our fault).

Yesterday afternoon, she was playing and said "Hey! There's lines on the tile!" All this time, Sidney didn't know that the tile had grout lines. I figure if that's the height of what she's missed, she'll be okay!

perfection

2008-09-29T18:19:00.004-05:00

My Stella:

I can't get enough of this baby!!!

an oldie, but goody

2008-09-09T11:57:00.003-05:00

I have put my sewing machine aside for a little bit as I try and get caught up with my scrapbooking. I believe it has been about 18 months since the last time I scrapbooked, so needless to say, I'm behind. I am currently scrapbooking Little Sister's 2nd birthday party and came here to read the silly little poem I wrote to go along with her pictures. It's definitely among my favorite blogs to date. Read all about The Princess Party.

Sidney's 4th birthday is coming up in a month. Time to get to planning!

second to none!

2008-09-01T17:30:00.002-05:00

I entered this photo of Susie Spud in an online message board photo contest. August's theme was "Portraits." I came in second place! That little wrinkled nose grin gets me every time...

oh you're tutu cute!

2008-08-25T13:29:00.003-05:00

A few of MOFs (for my newer readers who aren't familiar with that acronym, click here) inspired me to decorate my girls with tutus. I was powerless to pass up this project! Is it wierd that I want to make one for myself?

props to ya, Sista Savings

2008-08-22T15:43:00.003-05:00

Is "props" even a cool word to say anymore? I don't even know!

There is this awesome lady that I don't even know, but she's a Super Hero of sorts in my house. Sister Savings is her name, saving money's her game! She goes through the local grocery ads weekly and posts on her site an easy-to-print spreadsheet of it all. She does this completely as a service to those of us looking to save our families a little money on the grocery bill.

I have a Walmart, Safeway, and Fry's in my area. Walmart entices me to shop there by "ad matching." They will give me the ad price from any other store in the area. Do you know how much time and money this is saving me? Walmart is within walking distance from my house (I still drive...I do live in ~~hell~~ Arizona, you know) while the other stores are across town (insert chuckle here if you know that across town for me isn't that far). I only have to go to one store if I go to Walmart. As much as I loathe the big box company that is Wally World, I still shop there because it saves me money in the long run. Shame on them. Forgive me locally owned and small grocery stores of America, when I'm rich (and famous) I'll shop from you.

Last week I clutched my trusty Sister Savings spreadsheet and grocery list in hand and set out to conquer the grocery shopping (Conquer is an appropriate word if you grocery shop at Walmart on a Saturday.) You wanna know how much I saved?

$23.82! I could buy a pair of shoes for that---and ones from like, Target even and not Payless! Instead of paying $4.26 a pound for ground beef at Walmart, I used the advertised price of $1.97 from another store. Check me out, doing all this saving!

*Disclaimer, I didn't say this was easy. Sometimes you come across the Walmart employee who doesn't know what she's talking about (I know, I was shocked too) and you have to stand firm and be a little bit pushy to get your price. Last week, Safeway had canteloupes "10 for $10" which is $1 for a canteloupe. The lady tried to tell me that I had to buy 10 canteloupes in order to get that price. Who buys 10 canteloupes at once!? I had to slowly and calmly explain it to her and eventually speak to a CSM (the red vested ones) who confirmed that I, the customer, was correct. Duh. I got my $1 canteloupe, dang it, and saved $.98 doing it.

Oooh Grapes are $0.77/lb again this week. Sweet.

moo.

2008-08-20T18:38:00.003-05:00

My latest creation (the clothes, not the kid...although I did create her too...just not lately):

back to school

2008-08-14T13:51:00.005-05:00

Hey--What's that sound? It's almost deafening. Can't you hear it? Oh wait. That's SILENCE! The only sound I hear is the click-click-click of my keyboard as I type. Taylor is at school, Sidney is at preschool, and Stella is taking a nap. A mom could get used to this!

Little Boy was so excited about his first day of First Grade. I couldn't get the boy to keep still and act somewhat normal for a picture. This is what you get when you combine excitement and picture taking from Taylor:

My Little Boy is getting to be quite the Big Boy. He's making so many decisions and choices for himself now and letting go of that control has been hard on this Gardener! At age six, longer hair and sketcher's shoes are must-haves on his list.

Little Sister was so excited to be going to school too. She's sporting a custom number made by mom (I'm shameless!). She needed to wear her purple ring to the first day so the other kids would know she's cute. We couldn't resist this cute pink and green panda backpack to make the look complete.

Back to school, back to mom's sanity. Sweet!

camping in the rain

2008-08-11T11:59:00.007-05:00

It's the end of summer vacation and we decided to go on one more adventure before getting back to the grind. The beauty of where we live in Arizona is that a one hour drive lets us leave the Saguaros behind and breathe in the fresh scent of pine.

The forecast called for a 60% chance of rain, but we decided to take our chances. Upon arriving at the campground it rained. We sat in the van and entertained ourselves the best way we knew how---by taking pictures. Even Little Boy joined in the fun!

It didn't take long for the rain to clear and we set up camp. Steve needed to run to town for a couple things, so I thought I'd take the kids on a little hike down to the lake. And it rained. The lake was beautiful and I even still say it was fun despite the hike back with Little Sister on my back while holding Susie on my front.

Luckily Coleman makes one mean water-proof tent because it was our shelter while it rained again. The weather cleared long enough for us to play catch, roast hotdogs and marshmallows, and snap a few more pictures. It started to rain again just before we turned in for the night, providing the best white noise to get our three tired spuds to sleep without event.

And a special announcement! After 18 months in Arizona, we have finally seen our first scorpion. It was a tiny little sucker hanging out on the wall in the men's bathroom. Of course, I had to be in charge of bathroom duty from then on since the kids refused to step foot in the men's. We all escaped without injury. In fact, everyone escaped without a single bug bite, scratch, or bump. Except me. I'm covered in itchy red bites all over my arms and legs. Oh the things we are willing to suffer for our children!

Today we are back to it. Taylor is enjoying (I hope!) his first day of first grade, Steve is back at work (probably enjoying the peace and quiet) and Sidney starts preschool tomorrow. More fun pics to come about that!

the littlest star

2008-07-22T11:14:00.003-05:00

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Look at you, you've come so far! Baby Stella is six months old! Where has the time gone? I can't quite say "she's getting so big!" because she's still so small! At six months, Stella weighs 13 lbs 5oz. In contrast, Taylor was 20 lbs at six months and Sidney was 18 lbs 11 oz at six months.

'Stella' means Star.... And what a perfect name for this sweet baby! Her bright sparkling eyes and big smile brighten our lives every day.

We love our Little Star!

on going gluten-free

2008-07-09T10:00:00.002-05:00

One of the many things that happened during my 9 month blogging hiatus was that Little Sister's health problems finally received a real diagnosis. If you've been a long time reader, you may remember my royal freak out in October of 2006 followed by the diagnosis. This diagnosis turned out to be wrong-- the medication didn't help and she continued to have trouble. When we moved to Arizona, we went to see a new pediatric gastroenterologist and he did another colonoscopy and endoscopy on Sidney. He mentioned Celiac Disease, but doubted that was really it since she does not fit the typical physical mold for a child with Celiac (small, thin, etc). We learned that this disease is difficult to diagnose in children under 2 (thus the reason for the wrong diagnosis the first go around).

My reaction was less than pretty. I called my mother-in-law to tell her the news and burst into tears and could barely speak. Going Gluten-Free seemed incredibly daunting and all but impossible. Little Sister existed on gluten foods! But we did it. And guess what? It hasn't been all that bad! I've learned to find hidden gluten by reading labels carefully and have learned to cook pretty well gluten-free (GF). I don't feel like Sidney misses out on much. I make delicious GF brownies, corn bread, cakes, muffins & cookies and I can buy delicious GF pretzels, cookies, bread, crackers, pastas, etc. In this day and age, going gluten-free isn't so bad. The hardest part is restaurants, but even then we've learned how and what to order and she can eat great meals.

Timing is everything, as they say, and this diagnosis couldn't have come at a better time. Twenty years ago, we would have struggled to make meals that we could all eat, eating out would probably have been next to impossible, and we certainly wouldn't have been able to buy any gluten-free baked goods. Now, Gluten-Free is practically the new Low-Carb. The LA Times is reporting that it's becoming a popular diet to try for various reasons. I don't care about the reasons, I'm just thrilled about this new trend and hope it continues because it improves Little Sister's (and selfishly, my own) quality of life with more gluten-free options available.

Go Gluten Free----It's the cool thing to do. *wink-wink*

another big idea from Little Boy

2008-07-01T17:43:00.007-05:00

~~Merry Christmas!~~

Happy Birthday!

Little Boy asked if he could have a Christmas Party for his birthday.

"No, Taylor, that's silly."

"Please mom? It would be so cool! We could wear Santa hats instead of birthday hats and we could have stockings and my friends could put my presents underneath the Christmas tree!"

He had a good point...so the Christmas Birthday Party plans got underway:

Twas the morning of the party and all through the kitchen every creature was stirring and momma's a.... complaining. The stockings were ready to be decorated with care, in hopes that friends soon would be there.The children were bouncing all over in their beds,While visions of brownie sundaes danced in their heads. And Sidney in her elf ears and me in my cap, had just declared, "We need a Nap!"
When out at the front door there arose such a clatter, we sprang from the kitchen to see what was the matter. Away to the door Taylor flew like a bat, tore open the front door and handed out hats.
He blew out his candle, and got more toys than he could handle, And away they all flew full of sugar and candy. I heard him exclaim, with his 6th year complete, "Happy Birthday to me, this party was sweet!"

where has my little boy gone?

2008-06-23T13:01:00.006-05:00

First Day of Kindergarten, August 2007:
Last Day of Kindergarten, May 2008:

with a new look comes more fun as well

2008-05-06T15:17:00.003-05:00

I've made an executive decision here at the garden to share some top-secret information with you, my favorite reader (and other members of the general public). What info? The spud's names. As more and more of my IRL (in real life) friends become MOF (my online friends) security is being breeched anyway. So here they are----Meet the spuds:

Taylor, aka Little Boy:

Sidney, aka Little Sister & Fat Girl:

Stella , aka Susie Spud: You may now die happy...you know everything.

they do exist!

2008-05-02T12:07:00.004-05:00

I've heard tales of babies who are happy without being held all the time. I've heard tales of babies who fall asleep without nursing. I've heard tales of babies who sleep through the night before a year old. I've heard about them, I just have never had one of my own and was skeptical of their very existence.

Well, folks, I'm here to testify that they do exist! Little Susie Spud is proof. I'm hesistant to even say it out loud as I'm afraid that the magical spell will be broken. I never thought I'd see the day when a baby of mine would sleep through the night at 3 months old. Alas, Susie slept last night for 12 hours straight and I had to wake her up to eat. Not counting the momentary freak out I had at 5:30am when I realized I had not heard her all night long, it was a blissful night of sleep.

May the magic continue. Please.

how much was i craving an almond joy bar?

2008-04-24T12:57:00.001-05:00

Enough to mix up chocolate chips, coconut, and almonds in a bowl and eat it like cereal. I'm not pregnant...just nursing.

susie at three months

2008-04-11T13:16:00.004-05:00

You know, I'm not sure she could be any sweeter.... Enjoy!

birth story

2008-04-06T10:34:00.000-05:00

When Little Boy was born, I wrote his birth story within days of his birth. When Little Sister was born, I wrote a birth story within weeks of her birth. Here is Susie Spud's birth story within months of her birth. Does this mean when #4 comes I have years to write about it?

On to the story...

One thing that I was blessed with during my pregnancy was the ability to sleep well. Granted, I wanted to sleep all the time, but at least I could do it reasonably well in my whale-like state. I was enjoying a peaceful slumber on Friday, January 11th when I woke suddenly at 5am. I felt something warm, flowing, and water-like. I raced (as fast as a waddling woman can race) to the bathroom where the floodgates opened. Normally water breaking would make a pregnant woman giddy, but I was only 34 weeks pregnant----6 weeks before the little one was due to arrive. I woke Steve and told him that my water had broken and we needed to get to the hospital. With my history of fast labors I was very nervous that this early baby would come before we could get to the hospital. I called my neighbor, Jeanne, who rushed right over to stay with the older kids. Steve tried to get me to pack something, but I couldn't think clearly about what I needed. We finally just grabbed the camera and went on our way without anything else.

At the hospital, they confirmed that indeed my water had broken (duh) and I was 2cm dilated. I was having contractions, but they were random and not very strong. I couldn't go home because I was 34 weeks and my water had broken, so it was just a waiting game. My doctor said that I could stay pregnant as long as my body would let me as long as I didn't show any signs of infection. Steve and I watched the news, watched Dr. Phil, and eventually watched a couple episodes of '24' on his laptop. Nothing was happening except me getting very frustrated and uncomfortable. The doctor ordered an ultrasound to get a better idea about how big the baby might be. The entire ultrasound, I was just afraid the technician was going to mess up and tell us if the baby was a boy or a girl. We had waited this long, I didn't want to find out now! Luckily, he was good at his job and all he told us was that the baby weighed around 5 pounds, 6 ounces. That was very good news. The doctor also ordered a steriod shot for me to help the baby's lung develop more quickly.

Around 10pm, I started to feel more regular contractions and they were starting to get quite uncomfortable. Most of the pain was in my back and I was not pleased to be experiencing "back labor." The pain was getting intense, so I asked the nurse to check me. A whole stinking 3cm! I remember saying "you've got to be kidding me!!" It felt more like 7cm, not 3cm. I asked for the epidural at that point. The anesthesilogist was in on a c-section and I was told it would be about an hour. I borrowed Steve's Ipod and tried to listen to a little Dave Matthews Band to distract me. That must have helped because the magical epidural man was there rather quickly. I don't remember the epidural process hurting as much the first two times I had it, but once the drugs kicked in, I didn't care and I was a happy camper.

It was after 11pm so Steve and I tried to get some sleep at this point, but it was so hard to rest. I was so nervous about the baby's health. It didn't help when a team of nurses from the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) came in with a big box full of supplies to help the baby to breathe if necessary. Somewhere around 3am, the nurse came in and checked me and lo and behold, I was 10 cm and the baby was "right there." I asked for a mirror so I could see the baby coming out and the doctor got all set up to catch. I gave one big push and prepared myself for another big push, but the doctor just said "just a little push will do it" and out this little tiny baby came! I never even had time to look at the mirror I had requested. I remember looking down and frantically searching through a mess of little legs and umbilical cord for boy or girl parts. I was surprised to see little girly parts. More importantly, she was pink and crying. And absolutely beautiful. She weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 18 inches long.

She wasn't having any trouble breathing and seemed pretty healthy, so the nurses left her with us for about 20 minutes before taking her to the NICU.

Steve went with her, snapped lots of pictures, and stayed until he was so exhausted he couldn't stand any longer.
Our Baby Girl spent one week in the NICU. She was jaundiced and had trouble maintaining her body temperature, but never needed help with breathing and was able to eat on her own from the start. We were very lucky to have a Lactation Specialist on shift in the NICU the first time I tried to nurse her and she took to it very well.

After a week, we were so thrilled to be able to bring her home! Little Boy and Little Sister had only been able to see her through the window of the nursery at the hospital and I just wanted our family at home together.

Our little surprise baby was supposed to be born around Valentine's Day, so I had picked out a little unisex red outfit. A big white bow on top made the whole thing complete.

Little Boy and Little Sister absolutely adore her. They were so sweet and proud when they held her for the first time. They both still love to hold her, hug her, and kiss her. We are all so happy to have our sweet baby girl!!!

happy easter

2008-03-24T10:54:00.002-05:00

Arizona---a place where kids can hunt for eggs on Easter morning in summer jammies:

Miracle---Three calm children all looking nicely at the camera:

Love---Being smothered in kisses whether you like it or not:

Sweet---This baby:

back by popular demand

2008-03-07T17:39:00.005-06:00

Hello all of blog-world! The Constant Gardener Lives (if only just barely)! Due to many requests for me to keep my blog updated, here I am. I feel wanted. Even if most of those requests did come from my mom.

Perhaps the biggest update is that the garden has grown and we now have three kiddos! We chose not to find out the gender of our new baby before the birth and to have a big surprise. Our new darling daughter decided to surprise us in another way by arriving six weeks early on January 12th. Susie Spud was a tiny little thing (5 pounds 8 ounces), but healthy and sweet as could be.

Everything else that has gone on in the past 9 months pales in comparison to our sweet little miracle!

But don't think that gets you out of hearing about those things....there will be blog posts, oh yesssss, there will be blog posts. The adventure of making Little Sister's Christmas dress--Little Sister's 3rd Ballerina Third Birthday Party--Our Thanksgiving adventure having all of the Assistant Gardener's family at our home--My parent's 50th Anniversary Party in Florida---and of course, Susie Spud's birth story.

Glad to be back, bloggers, glad to be back!

what have we been up to?

2007-06-28T11:12:00.001-05:00

Little Boy turned Five! It seems surreal that I'm old enough to be a mom of a five year old. He starts school this fall and will be gone all day! He's too little! My baby is growing up! We threw him a construction themed party complete with decorating hard hats, dressing up in toolbelts, "constructing" things out of construction-orange playdough, sack races (just because Little Boy wanted to) and a big dump-truck cake. Check out the festivities:

Happy Birthday, Little Boy!

Our Church threw a Princess Ball for all the little girls ages 18 months-11 years and asked the girls to dress up in their formal attire for an evening of dancing and playing with their dads. I don't know of many little girls that have a formal dress, but I decided this was a good opportunity to try my hand at making a poofy princess dress for Little Sister. She looked beautiful and was so excited about the ball! She talked of nothing else for weeks and twirled and danced the night away with daddy.

While daddy and Little Sister enjoyed their daddy/daughter date, Little Boy and I went on a mother/son date. We went out for ice cream, went shopping for daddy a Father's Day present, and played at the playground for awhile. All of us enjoyed the evening. Little Sister got alone time with her dad, Little Boy got alone time with his mom, and Steve and I got to spend some carefree fun time with our kids. We couldn't ask for more!

pssstt...

2007-06-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

I'm Pregnant!

and now...the upstairs

2007-06-15T16:32:00.001-05:00

Next on your tour of the Potato Garden, the Upstairs. Enjoy!

The top of the stairs:

The Playroom:

Little Boy's Room:

The Kid's Bathroom:
Little Sister's Yet-To-Be-Painted Room:
My Undecorated/Unorganized Craft Room:
Master Bedroom:
Master Bathroom:

Thanks for letting me show you around our new home! Hopefully by this time next year, I'll have a few things on the walls in the master bedroom and paint on the walls in the playroom and Little Sister's room!

finally...photos of our new house

2007-06-11T10:35:00.000-05:00

I've been promising pictures of our new home in Arizona since we moved. I've been putting it off because I wanted to wait until I had everything "just so." That "just so" isn't going to happen anytime soon. Rather than leave anyone in suspense a moment longer, I've decided to share what I've got so far. Today I'm just going to share pictures of the downstairs. The upstairs will follow in a day or two. Enjoy!

The Entry Way:

The Living Room:

The Dining Room:

The Laundry Room:

The Guest Bathroom:
The Guest Room:

The Family Room:

The Kitchen:

I love our new house!!!

Arrr!

2007-06-04T09:54:00.000-05:00

We seem to have a bit of a pirate obsession around here. I'm not talking the ever popular Pirates of the Caribbean with the Oh-So-Dreamy _______ <---(Insert Johnny-Bad-Boy or Orlando-Pretty-Boy here, I personally like Johnny, but that's just me). I'm talking the Backyardigans Pirate Treasure. This show has got to rank among the top children's shows of all time. It's a show that my kids love and that I can watch with them and be equally entertained. Who knew cartoon characters could dance so well?

The kids play "Arrr!" while weilding swords (old baby spoons) and cover or close one eye and say "Arrr!" and just generally act all pirate like. How do I know they are pirates? By the way they say "Arrr!"

If you wanna be a pirate, sail the ocean blue
You go and steal some treasure, 'cause that’s what pirate do
We laugh a pirate laugh, dance a pirate dance
We wear a puffy shirt and some baggy pants
Arrr! Arrr! Arrr!
A pirate, a pirate, a pirate says “Arrr!”
We sail a pirate ship, we don’t drive a car,
And they know you’re a pirate when they hear you say “Arrr!”
“Arrr!” mean yes, and “Arrr!” mean no,
And “Arrr!” means come on mates, let’s go!
Say “Arrr!” when you’re happy
And “Arrr!” when you’re smelly
And “Arrr!” when you’re having your pirate toast and jelly
Arrr! Arrr! Arrr!
A pirate, a pirate, a pirate says “Arrr!”
If you think we’re tough, you’re right, we are
‘cause they know you’re a pirate when they hear you say “Arrr!”

mid year resolutions

2007-05-25T09:53:00.001-05:00

Has it really been so long since I blogged?

Arizona is treating us well! It's been hot, but not unbearable (yet). The kids are enjoying the water and I'm enjoying new friends.

What have I been doing? Sewing. Lots of and lots of sewing. One might call me obsessed. Since that first really cute outfit I made for Little Sister, I've created four more. And because that wasn't enough, I've taken up making bows to go with them. What's that? You want to see pictures? Here's a little taste:

I'll get to work on pictures of the rest.

One problem---Little Boy is a bit jealous of all the new outfits I'm making for his sister and needs a little love sewn for him. I made spiderman pajama shorts, but that was clearly not enough. Outfits for Little Boy coming soon. Good thing he's not easily embarrassed yet because they will be matching to Little Sister.

All this sewing has put me sorely behind on the rest of my life, though, so today I'm making mid-year resolutions.

*Scrapbook! I haven't done any since our big move and I'm very behind. I miss it. As soon as all my planned outfits are finished (and the blanket I promised for a darling newborn boy), I'm trading the needle and thread for glue sticks and cardstock.

*Blog! I miss my blog. I miss the comments that make me feel like superstar. I miss writing.

*Eat Well! Oh boy. Since the move, I haven't eaten very well and have gained some of my old weight back. It's not pretty and I feel like poo. Today it ends! Today I will eat healthier and lighter.

What are your mid-year resolutions?

Easter goodness

2007-04-10T16:41:00.000-05:00

My blog seems to be becoming a bit of a photo blog. But, really, how can I NOT share this photo?

My Little Spuds in their Easter Duds:

egg-cellent work!

2007-04-05T17:42:00.000-05:00

Easter photography courtesy of 4-year-old Little Boy:

Happy Easter everyone!

a little hike

2007-03-27T14:49:00.000-05:00

We are jumping right in to Arizona. We figured we better take advantage of the beautiful cool weather before it hits 115 degrees and took a little hike with the kids. They loved it and wanted to keep going and going! Arizona is definitely different---but it's got it's own kind of beauty:

An Artist (Little Boy) point of view of the mountain:

baked potatoes

2007-03-22T16:32:00.000-05:00

Now that we are in Arizona, do I have to change my blog title? How about Growing Cactus'---Very Painful. Naw, I think I'll keep growing my spuds. We'll just be Baked Potatoes here in Arizona.

Arizona has been really nice so far. The weather was hot last week (99 degrees in March??), but it really wasn't too bad. This week it's in the high 70's, low 80's and beautiful. Our ward is nice and I'm within walking distance to a mall. What more could I ask for?

What have I been doing? Painting, painting, and more painting. So far, we've painted the kitchen, family room, living room, guest room, foyer, Little Boy's room, and the Master bedroom. I've lost count of how many gallons of paint we've gone through. We still have the playroom (which we've been putting off because the walls go over the stairwell and we don't have a ladder tall enough), Little Sister's room, and my craft room to go. Most walls are still bare and we are still furniture-less in our living room and bedroom. The furniture has been ordered, we are just waiting. I'll share pictures as soon as everything is furnished!

Organizing, unpacking, and painting had me feeling a little crazy, so I decided to take on a sewing project just to do something different. I must say I should try something different a little more often:

This also gives you a little taste of all the painting I've been doing. Don't worry, our living room is not painted Hot Orange. It is Orange, but it's a terra-cotta rust color. You'll see...it's awesome.

That's all I've got for now....The Spuds and I are going to deliver our fresh baked chocolate chip cookies to our new neighbors.

top five signs your family watches CARS too often

2007-03-07T09:31:00.000-06:00

5. When picking out matchbox cars at the store, your 4-year-old insists on trying to find a Cadillac.

4. "Ka-Chow" is a regular part of your family vocabulary.

3. Everytime you drive somewhere, your 4-year-old wonders "are we going on the interstate?"

2. A trip the gas station is not complete without the phrase "No Tires, Just Gas!"

1. When you call your 2-year-old a Drama Queen she declares "I'm NOT Drama McQueen!"

mylaraphobia

2007-01-30T10:22:00.000-06:00

Mylaraphobia (mI-"lär-&-fO-bE-&)noun Fear of Mylar balloons

Signs & Symptoms: Screaming, shrieking, crying, and shaking when in the presence of a mylar balloon. Symptoms may become more severe when the balloon takes the shape of Red Hat.

The kids and I went to Albertsons to pick up a few things and the bakery department was having a photo shoot that day for Easter and Mother's Day ads. They had a bunch of balloons and gave a couple to my kids. Little Sister picked out a pink balloon, but then wouldn't go near it. Little Boy picked out the Red Hat Society balloon and proudly carried it around the store. The balloon floated near Little Sister's head and she immediately began screaming, clinging to me, and was genuinely terrified. She told me later that night "Mom, the balloon scares me. I freaked out!"

The balloons mysteriously disappeared while the kids were asleep. We have no future plans for Mylar balloons in our home.

reality

2007-01-09T22:02:00.000-06:00

All mixed up. That's what I am. We have known that we would have to move away from Idaho for over 6 months now. I was determined to lived in denial of that fact for as long as possible. Even when we met with our realtor and made all of the plans to put our house on the market official, I still felt very distanced from it. Then one evening, I looked out the front window and saw a "For Sale" sign invading my front yard. That stupid sign sent me into tears faster than cutting an onion. This is real. We are really doing this.

We bought a house in Arizona. I've only seen pictures and the floorplan, but it has just about everything we want---5 bedrooms, lots of space, a play room even. I have little moments of excitement and then I wonder who we'll have over to play in the play room. We'll have our first formal dining room and then I wonder who we'll have over for dinner.

I want to be excited. I know this move is the right thing for us and will provide us with opportunities and adventures that we won't have here. I know change isn't bad. I have moments of excitment and then I remember what I'm leaving here. WHO I'm leaving here. My friends here mean the world to me. Living in a place without family, my friends have become family to me. I am closer to some than others, but each one has a special role in my life and I love each of them dearly.

I'm afraid I won't make any friends. And if I do make good friends, I'll feel guilty. My girls here can't be replaced. You hear that, potential friends in the desert? You have very big shoes to fill!!

We are moving in February. That's next month! Where has all the time gone? Time flies when you don't want it to.

Our Christmas

2006-12-31T13:35:00.000-06:00

A Slideshow of our very Merry Christmas.

actions speak louder than words

2006-12-21T11:41:00.000-06:00

Little Sister often complains about her socks, but I just tell "they're fine!" and tell her to relax. She has never said why she doesn't like them...but now I know. She figured out how to turn them upside down and now she doesn't complain.

I will buy non-lettered socks from now on.

Merry Christmas to all...

2006-12-16T13:03:00.000-06:00

Check out the kiddos singing Jingle Bells in matching jammies!

it's not that i don't like blogging...

2006-12-08T11:19:00.000-06:00

Really, it's not. I like it and I miss it. It's just that I can't rescue my mind from carseats. I think about it 14 hours a day and have even taken to dreaming about it at night. It's definitely an addiction. A very safe and good addiction as far as addictions go, I suppose, but consuming still. I joined a message board with people just like me on it. Yes, there are people like me. I am not alone. People like me that analyze the way cartoon characters use carseats. Arthur's baby sister? NOT properly restrained. That kid should so be rear-facing. People like me who gasp in horror at the newest Sear's commercial where the baby is strapped in a carseat with a huge snowsuit on and very loose harness straps. People like me who want to save the world one carseat at a time. I even made another blog just for random carseat stuff.

I've thought about doing a weekly post with carseat tips. But where would I start? 9 out of 10 carseats are being used improperly with an average of 3 errors per seat. I see it each and every day and sometimes it's overwhelming. I know logically that I can't help everyone. I can't help those who don't want to be helped. But where do I draw the line? Do I say something to the teacher at Little Boy's preschool who has a horribly misused carseat in the backseat of her car or do I mind my own business? What if she was in a crash tomorrow and her child was hurt or killed because I decided to mind my own business? You see why I'm so conflicted?

So you see, it's not that I don't like blogging. It's not you. It's me.

the reason we keep him around...

2006-11-27T12:29:00.000-06:00

Little Boy: Jesus made us, Dad. I want to write a letter to Jesus and say thank you for making us.

Dad: You don't have to write him a letter. You can just thank-you in your prayers.

Little Boy: I love Little Sister. Jesus made her. I want to write a letter to Jesus. It will say 'Dear Jesus, thanks for building us.'

sibling matters

2006-11-15T20:24:00.000-06:00

Hello out there? Anybody still around? I have no explanation for my absence other than I didn't have anything to say. Okay, I take that back. I had plenty of things to say, but couldn't figure out how to say them. Plus, it's all boring philosophical junk. Here's just one thing that has been on my mind...

Ever since Little Sister was born, I have been interested in sibling relationships. More specifically, how to help my kids have a good one and keep the rivalry to a minimum. I recently came across a great article in BYU Magazine called Brothers in Deviance explaining the influence that older siblings can have on younger ones. The opening paragraph caught my interest immediately:

The old adage that boys will be boys should be retired, according to BYU researcher Bert O. Burraston (BS ’91). It cuts parents too much slack when their boys bully younger siblings. Recent studies have shown that such bullying significantly increases the likelihood that younger siblings, particularly boys, will become bullies themselves—or worse.

Gulp. I've caught myself thinking "that's just what big brothers do" when Little Boy picks on Little Sister. I've also caught myself thinking "that's just what little sisters do" when Little Sister takes Little Boy's lego that he was reaching for and runs away. I've cut myself too much slack and probably should have done more to intervene and teach them the correct way to interact. I was hooked from there and thought the following information was so important:

Burraston’s findings are based on his recently published 11-year study of 105 boys at risk of delinquency. Although Burraston and his research partners acknowledge that a child’s behavior is shaped by a host of factors, having an older delinquent brother was a disproportionately strong indicator of delinquency. Using complex statistical modeling, the researchers showed that the delinquent older sibling passes on his behavior via two main ways—fighting with younger siblings and bringing deviant friends home. Children who experienced these factors were 25 percent more likely to engage in such behaviors as physical violence, criminal activity, drug and alcohol use, and sexual activity.

Fighting, or what researchers call “sibling conflict,” includes physical conflict, yelling, nagging, and stealing a sibling’s belongings. Burraston and his colleagues found that when an older sibling was in grade school, the more he fought with a younger sibling, the more likely both siblings were to become delinquents in adolescence.

But don’t all brothers and sisters, but especially brothers, yell at each other and deliver at least an occasional jab? Yes, says Burraston, and parents should be concerned. While eliminating all conflict isn’t realistic, parents should take steps to reduce it as much as possible. Parents need to teach their children to resolve conflict without violence or intimidation. “The more the children fought with one another, the more apt they were when they were older to do deviant things when they hung out together.”

Double Gulp. I've always known that I felt it was important for my kids to get along. I wanted our home to be a place where they fit in, feel loved, and don't feel threatened. If they are fighting and picking on each other that can hardly feel like a happy and safe place to be.

The article goes on to explain some ineffective parenting techniques along with some effective ones. Let's just say I'm guilty of nattering and trying to mend my nattering ways. You must read the article to figure out what that means!

Sibling conflict is basically a form of antisocial behavior, says Burraston, and the antidote is pro-social skills. So rather than nagging at kids when they quarrel, parents need to give their kids tools for handling conflict.

That's something I never would have thought of: Sibling Conflict=Antisocial Behavior. I have to admit that is a good motivator for me to help my kids learn the tools for handling conflict with each other.

Burraston likes to remind LDS parents how serious this parental responsibility is by quoting King Benjamin’s sermon in the Book of Mormon: “And ye will not suffer your children that they . . . fight and quarrel one with another. . . . But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another” (Mosiah 4:14–15).

This is not a new problem. There has been sibling conflict since the beginning of man (think Cain & Abel). It was obviously a big enough problem that King Benjamin felt it necessary to address his people about it. I just hope that I can be a parent who gets it right and can teach them to truly love one another and to serve one another.

wordless wednesday--halloween edition

2006-11-01T17:35:00.000-06:00

happy halloween

2006-10-31T10:06:00.000-06:00

Let the carving begin!

Little Sister missed the point of cleaning out pumpkins. As soon as hers was cleaned out, she filled it back up...and then some.

Little Boy's "bumpy little pumpkin":

Daddy's "Super Grumpy Gus": Mommy's "swiss cheese" pumpkin and "Nellie Nose-Job":
Happy Halloween!!!

the first safety moment

2006-10-27T09:39:00.001-05:00

Since my certification as a carseat technician, I have been thinking about what safety information I wanted to share here on my blog. I found this video yesterday and it's the answer! It was created by a 17-year-old girl trying to persuade her older sister to leave her neice rear facing. It's incredible, informative, and I'm so impressed.

As an added bonus, it has one of my favorite songs in it!

Tell me what you think.

all is well

2006-10-26T19:50:00.000-05:00

When I talked to the doc yesterday, she told me on the phone that there was some inflammation in Little Sister's colon and that we needed to talk about the why and what to do next... I thought she was giving me the tip of the iceburg and needed to tell me more. She really WAS telling me what was going on. There is inflammation in her colon and that is what is causing the diarrea. It's leftover from when she had giardia several months ago. The giardia is gone, but her immune system is over reacting and still fighting something that isn't there anymore. BUT, she doesn't have an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). But, without treatment and with my history of autoimmune disease, it could easily develop into IBD. We're starting her on some medication that should heal her colon. She also has some inflammation in her stomach, but he thinks that is caused b/c the stomach is over compensating for the colon and should go away as the colon heals. If it doesn't, he'll give her prevacid. This should also help her raspy voice to go away and her real voice (that we've never heard) come through! The meds should start working in 2 weeks and we have a follow-up in 4 weeks. I hope this works and stops her from getting IBD.

My royal freak-out (Emily, I think of you every time I use or think that term) was unnecessary, thank goodness. I kept thinking the worst. The words "Colon Cancer" kept going through my mind until I had myself convinced that she had it. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I heard that it was not so severe and treatable.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I could really feel them and it helped so much!

three things (updated)

2006-10-25T11:54:00.000-05:00

1. So, I didn't make the cake. Emily's friend, Applemom, made it for me. The moment I saw the cake that pesky ole perfect woman made for Emily, I knew that I must have one for Little Sister's party. Everything else revolved around the cake. It was vanilla cake with whipped cream frosting and mini-chocolate chips. It was delicious! And the two little candles on top? Crafted by Applemom for the occasion! She should open a business, really.

2. I talked to Sister's doctor last week about her procedure and they didn't have the results. They needed a second opinion, so they sent her biopsies to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. It looks like she could have Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or another inflammatory bowel disease. It was not what I was expecting to hear. To be perfectly honest, I was expecting to hear "Nothing is wrong...we don't know why she has the problems she does." I got my crying out and decided to move forward and wait for a definitive answer. I've waited and waited and waited. Still nothing. This mama is about to throw a tantrum.

3. Some things you should try:

*Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip at Chili's. YUM.

*Gerber Grins & Giggles baby lotion in the Sweet Pea scent. It's sweet

*Homemade laundry detergent. Yes, you heard me right. My sister-in-law introduced me and it's really easy, and really cheap! I just made the dry powder. It should last me a long while!

Have a Happy Wednesday!

**UPDATE: I heard from the doctor after I posted this yesterday. She asked us to come in this morning to discuss everything and discuss treatment options. She didn't tell me over the phone what is going on. I've been a bit of a mess. Steve is out of town (and he's very upset that he's not here), so my awesome friend Emily is going with me to the appointment for support and to help me listen to the doctor.**

princess party

2006-10-17T15:28:00.000-05:00

The prettiest princess in all of the land

is having a party that's sure to be grand!The Queen got to work and a plan was laid

Orange and Pink in every shade!To welcome the guests a carpet of red

"No, No, it should be pink!" she said.We're almost ready, it's just about time

The only thing left is the Tiara to shineThe guests arrive at the door and it's Cinderella!

and a few handsome princes and one sleeping fella.We ate some good food and made a lot of noise

We then ate some cake and opened some toys.
It's your birthday, Princess, you are officially TWO!

Happy birthday, Little Sister, Happy Birthday to YOU!

terrific two

2006-10-15T10:26:00.000-05:00

Little Sister is Two! I have been reminiscing all weekend about the day she was born. It was a perfect day and we were so excited to welcome her into our family. Shortly after she was born, I wrote up a birth story so I could always remember the details and share it with her when she starts having her own babies. Here it is:

After a couple of weeks of almost constant contractions and a false alarm that left me at 4cm and 75% effaced, we decided to induce labor. I had been very hesitant to talk about induction because I didn’t want to have to use pitocin. Since my previous labor had been very quick after my water broke, my doctor decided that we would just break my water and see where we got from there without having to use pitocin.

We arrived at the hospital at 8am on Thursday, October 14th. I had an IV started right away and started a round of antibiotics because I was Group B Strep positive. At 10am, my doctor came and broke my water and stripped my membranes. Steve and I walked the hallways for about a half hour, but there was too much pressure on my back and bladder to walk very much. We went back to the room and watched the news on TV. I was disappointed that my contractions didn’t pick up right away, but I kept reminding myself that this was going to take longer since it was an induction. Around noon, true labor got underway. The contractions started picking up quite a bit and were 3 minutes apart and hurting. They got progressively stronger for the next hour and I asked for the epidural at 1pm. The anesthesiologist was in on a c-section, so I had to wait for him and while waiting for him the contractions were pretty bad---but I was still able to breathe through them. I was 6cm dilated when the epidural went in at 1:30pm. I felt great after the epidural! My OB came in at 2:20pm and checked me and I had only changed slightly—I was a “loose” 6cm still. She suggested pitocin to speed things up so that she would be there to attend the birth (she wasn’t the OB on call that evening). I agreed since I had already had the epidural and wasn’t worried about the pain anymore. She told the nurse to start pitocin and said she was going over to the other hospital to check on some other patients and would be back in 2 hours. While waiting for the pitocin to arrive from the hospital pharmacy, I felt different and felt a lot of pressure at 2:40pm. The nurse checked me and I was 8cm. Only 3 minutes later I felt much more pressure and a slight urge to push. The nurse checked again and sure enough I was 10cm I had gone from 6cm to 10cm in 25 minutes. I guess the mere threat of pitocin got my body into gear! The nurse paged my OB and she had just gotten to the other hospital, but turned around to come back. I felt a lot of pressure with each contraction and a slight urge to push, but I didn’t need to push, so we waited for my doctor.

In the meantime, I called my mom in Florida so she could be on the line while I delivered the baby. I also asked the nurse to set up a mirror so that I could watch while I pushed and see the baby come out. My doctor arrived around 3:05pm and got dressed for the delivery and we got the bed set up. I started pushing at 3:11pm and watched in the mirror as her head came out. The cord was around her neck, so the doctor pulled that around her head and suctioned her nose and mouth. It was neat to be able to watch the entire process in the mirror. I could feel a lot of pressure, but no pain. Our darling daughter was born at 3:16pm after only 5 minutes of pushing! It was so amazing to watch her birth in the mirror and to feel her come out. She looked so tiny to me. I said something about her being tiny and the nurse and doctor said “No, she’s not!” She weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and measured 20 inches long.

We are thrilled with our birth experience! My labor and delivery was only 3 hours long and everything went perfectly with no complications at all. I had been worried about things like having an episiotomy, having to use pitocin, and not making it to the hospital in time. I didn't need the episotomy or the pitocin in the end and I am very grateful that my doctor decided to break my water. She told me that with the way things happened with the induction, I probably wouldn’t have made it to the hospital had my water broken at home since I would have already been in labor.

It seems so long ago, but it's still easy to remember how I felt. The moment she was born I immediately felt like I was seeing an old friend that I hadn't seen in a long time. I remember telling her the first time I held her "I've missed you so much!" It was kind of an odd feeling, but I know it wasn't our first time meeting. I love my little girlie!

thanks so much

2006-10-13T09:44:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Little Sister's procedures went well. She was great! She did take longer than normal to start breathing on her own afterwards and to wake up (which scared me!!!) but she did fine. The doctor said that everything looked normal and good, but he took several biopsies to test. We don't have any results yet, but should hear something by Monday. If they don't find anything wrong, they will just give her Imodium to help. I certainly don't want anything to be wrong with her, but going through all of this because she needs a little Imodium seems extreme! Time will tell...

Little Sister's big birthday party is tomorrow!!! We are excited and you'll get a full report as soon as I recover from it!

prayers for little sister, please!

2006-10-10T17:36:00.001-05:00

Little Sister is having a birthday on Saturday! She is getting the world's worst birthday present: a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy. I'm just glad she's too young to remember.

She has been seeing a pediatric GI doctor for her chronic diarrhea problems and they haven't been able to find anything wrong with the blood and stool tests. She is having the procedures done tomorrow morning. I haven't been very stressed about it because I'm a "last minute stresser" and the last minute seems to be starting. I'm not very stressed about the tests, but I am stressed about the anesthesia. She's so little!

Next on the list for birthday celebrations....immunizations next Tuesday! The poor girl can't win.

"the spinach scare is stupid! we want spinach!"

2006-10-09T09:06:00.000-05:00

A printed sign explaining why there wasn't any fresh spinach on shelf at the grocery store was hanging above the former spinach display spot. A person desperately missing his spinach scrawled the above statement on the sign.

What do you think? Is the spinach scare stupid? Do you want your spinach back? Would you buy it if it was back on shelf today?

wordless wednesday

2006-10-04T15:26:00.000-05:00

ghosts & ghouls of halloween past

2006-10-02T16:51:00.000-05:00

I love Halloween! Not the spooky-skeleton-blood-and-guts-vampires-and-monsters kind, but the fun kind! The kind where kids can dress up as whatever they want and roam the neighborhood asking for candy. I especially like the making of fun costumes and decorating with pumpkins!

The first Halloween in the Garden was rather tame. Little Boy was only four months old and I had not yet discovered the joys of costume making. He was a hand-me-down pumpkin and while he was rather cute (and round just like a pumpkin) I knew there was something missing.

The next Halloween I ventured out a little and turned Little Boy into a Little Puppy.

(See his little tail? That was my favorite part!)
Halloween #3 was only a couple weeks after Little Sister was born. I hardly remember it, but I do remember that Little Boy was a sweet Scarecrow. I didn't dress up Little Sister that first year and it didn't really matter since she spent the entire time nursing anyway. Here is Little Scarecrow with his cousins The Cat & The Princess:Halloween #4 was the first one where Little Boy had costume preferences. Not only did he have a preference about his own, but he was adamant that he knew what Little Sister wanted to be as well...
The Little Super Hero:
The Little Lady Bug:
Halloween #5 is fast approaching and two very cute costumes are in the works. Little Boy wants to be a Big Black Spider and Little Sister is going to be Minnie Mouse. They are in the process of being created...

28 Days and counting....Get a move on folks!

I DID IT!!!!!!!!

2006-09-30T10:23:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, March 29, 2006, I wrote this here on my blog:

I have a dream to become a Child Passenger Safety Expert. I love learning about this, especially about carseats. I spend a lot of time researching and reading about them and take pride in knowing how to install and use carseats correctly. Did you know that 80-95% of carseats are used incorrectly? Even a properly installed carseat won't work if the child isn't in the seat correctly. Also, a child who is in a seat correctly won't be fully protected if the carseat isn't installed correctly. I am passionate about my children being as safe as possible. I pay attention to carseats. I pay attention to how people use them, how children are harnessed in them, and to how the carseats work.

Dream fulfilled!! I am now a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician! Four days of training behind me and I completed my first carseat safety check yesterday. I had a blast and four kids in my city are now safer because I helped their moms secure the seat and the child properly and safely.

One of my instructors is a Police Officer in my city. He has asked me to volunteer doing checks at my local Police Department. I am very excited and I am so happy that I have finally done this. As silly as it may sound, I feel like this is part of my calling in life.

Look for future blogs with carseat safety tips and features!

~Constant Gardener & Carseat Technician

the time has come...

2006-09-25T14:27:00.000-05:00

...for this mom of a certain Little Boy to start checking pockets on laundry day.

Marbles, wood chips, rocks, coins, nails, beads, foam, and crayons have made their way into my washing machine hitchhiking in Little Boy's pockets. I'm starting a collection and refuse to empty it because it makes me smile every time I do the wash. I'm just adding to it and maybe I'll take another picture in a couple months.

I'm just grateful that dark crayon didn't make it into the dryer.

evidence i'm a terrible mother...

2006-09-21T18:38:00.000-05:00

It is 60 degrees outside and very windy and my almost-two-year-old daughter is playing outside.

Naked. So much for modesty. Or warmth.

wouldn't it be nice?

2006-09-19T11:35:00.000-05:00

Wouldn't it be nice if life were easy? Wouldn't it be nice if choices were easy to make? Wouldn't it be nice if every choice we made had no negative consequences? Wouldn't it be nice?

Life isn't easy, choices aren't easy to make, and every choice has it's pros and cons.

I wrote a post on May 1st all about making choices. There was a story behind the post, but one I couldn't share yet. The way I described feeling in that post is the way I have felt all summer long as we have had to make choices regarding employment and where we live. Steve was approached twice by others in his company about considering a new position within the company. The pay would be good, but we'd have to move to Arkansas. Thanks, but no thanks he told them. The third time he was approached it was by a Vice President in the company. Saying No to him didn't seem like a good thing to do, so he said he'd consider it. I was thinking about it and suddenly felt like God was saying to me "I'm trying to give you something here, but I can't force you to accept it. What more do you want me to do?" Sobbing like a baby, I told Steve we should consider it seriously. This is the right thing to do I told him. We made a trip to Arkansas, found a beautiful house, and sat back to wait for the offer. It didn't come and didn't come and didn't come. Finally, Steve's boss approached him and said that it hadn't come through because he asked them to hold it. He had another position he wanted Steve to consider. This position is the one Steve has been working towards and the one that he really wants. We put Arkansas aside and headed to Arizona. While Arizona is a great place and has it's own kind of beauty, we definitely weren't in Boise anymore, Toto.

We have only lived in Boise for 2 1/2 years, but it feels like home. Neither of us have family here and we are both far from our first homes, but we love it. We had hoped to spend a very long time here. The friends we have both made here and reconnected with here mean so much to us and I'm scared that I'll lose them. Just the idea of us moving I feel has pushed a couple of them away. I don't blame them---Why spend a lot of effort cultivating a friendship with someone who will be leaving soon? But it still hurts and I miss them. Maybe I've done some pushing away too. Maybe it won't hurt so much to leave if we aren't that close anyway.

Sometime after the New Year, we will be packing up our family and head South to in the desert among the cactus, scorpions, and rock landscaping. But for now, I'm not going thinking about it. It's not happening. Maybe in January I'll think about it again. Maybe. If I have to. But I don't to. Wouldn't it be nice if I didn't have to?

:(

2006-09-16T09:02:00.000-05:00

It's September 16th and I had to turn on my heater this morning. This is so uncool.

happy, sad, and everything in between

2006-09-13T17:18:00.000-05:00

Where have I been!? I can't believe it's really been pretty MIA for a week. But I have a good excuse...

Do you remember Mandy? She came to visit me! She brought her adorable baby boy, Special K, with her and made me all kinds of happy! We had a great visit that went completely too fast and ended entirely too soon. As I dropped her off at the airport this morning and hugged and kissed that sweet baby boy I became so sad. We live so far apart and I don't know when we will see each other next.

I thought that at the end of 5 days of being together she'd be sick of me and my kids and that she'd be itching to get out of here. I thought that I'd be ready to get back to normal (as I always am when company leaves). Neither proved true. While she did want to get home to see her husband, she wasn't ready to leave and I didn't want her to leave!

I'm so grateful that she was able to come out here. It was so fun and exciting to see each other on a new level. We've been fun and irresponsible college kids together. Now we got to see each other as wives, mothers, and women. It was eye-opening, a bit surreal, and so wonderful!

The connection that Mandy and I have never ceases to amaze me. It's like we can read each other's thoughts. It's sappy, I know, but I have no doubt that Mandy and I knew each other at some other point in time and were meant to meet and be friends at this time.

I completely fell in love with her little 9-month-old son! Check out the cuteness of this kid:

He the most sweet and loving baby! I miss him already. I kept telling Mandy that she could just leave him with me, but for some reason she wanted to keep him around.

In other news...A few of you asked to see the paint in Little Sister's room...here you go!

I can't figure out what those two reflections are (the round one and the square one)...but I couldn't get a picture without them!