happy balentimes day

the kids usually swap the v for b and/or the second n for m.... so it's balentimes day over here.

i bought myself a holga camera that i have been wanting. i'm super excited to develop the film.
this little gem was on sale at fry's grocery stores for only $4.99. it will be a big hit for whomever receives it... as barbies are a hot commodity in this household.
p and i shared dinner with my bro and sis and their sos. (significant others)
S and i made the most adorable valentines ever for her class. we copied the idea from another blog. this blogger stopped blogging, i'm so bummed because i love everything she does, but all of her crafts are still online... katydid.

we cut out little hearts for heads... S decorated them all differently
we then taped bodies together out of strips of different colored paper. i ended up just using clear tape around them... it took forever.
next, i traced S's hand and copied it onto white card stock. i used an exacto knife to cut around her pointer finger... on the paper of course... not around her real finger...

we glued the heart heads to the mini bodies and slipped them on the fingers... and there you have it! custom finger puppets instead of candy. S was so proud and signed them all herself.

all gathered in her bag... ready to pass them out.
passing them out...
here are my other little love bugs on valentines day.... they selected heart inspired clothing to wear...
i made this little jumper for big S when she was in kindergarten. L wore it in kindergarten and now it's D's turn. looks pretty good, but then again it's really only been worn 3 times.
and to top a lovely day off, we decided to make crepes at 11:30 :) oooh... i also got a new phone that makes adorable little movies....

so far today i have....

1. got the kids off to school, on time, happy, with permission slips signed and valentine cookies in hand.

2. had a fun spontaneous escape to my fav. treasure hunting spot... found some matching minnetonkas for D to match mommy. precious.

3. ate lunch at pei wei. delish, but my steamed chicken was a little more slimy than usual.

4. purchased floors for the office that paully "surprised" me with a demolish... but no remodel in sight. had to take matters into my own hands. at this store, they listened to my order, made eye contact, and then typed in something totally different into the computer.... hence a double and over charge, a return, a credit back and then a new invoice. was then late to pick up the kids at school.

5. picked up kids. had one kid throw a major tantrum until purposefully puking in the backseat. fun times. never thought i would hear myself say... "if you throw up... you are picking it up." i just passed back my empty cup.

6. got home. had the kids unload the new floors into the house, wiped some bums, got puked on by baby and opened a michelob ultra.

7. bribed a child with an entire package of red vines to learn to ride a bike. long story in that but perfectly sensible if you knew the logistics.

8. heard husband threaten certain death if he has to pick up one more empty wrapper today.

9. handed doggie treats out and am fully and whole-heatedly entrusting my 5 yr. old with the training of the new puppy.

10. am enjoying the rest of this beautiful afternoon outside with the kiddos.... until the babysitter comes in a few hours.

i want this so bad....

• i guess i'll have to make it. casserole carrier

baby, it's been cold outside!

we were very surprised when we noticed this on our fountain.....

we also got this.....
baxter. paul named him.

i like how S calls his kennel his cradle.

i just hope he catches on to the whole house training thing soon.

heart broken

my heart is breaking tonight for a friend who lost her precious 5 yr. old daughter this evening. she went to sleep and didn't wake up. this little girl was in my mary's club and in my atrium class. she was so beautiful and so sweet and it is hard to believe that this has really happened. i had randomly been looking at pictures and looked at one of her just 10 minutes before i got the call. so she was so freshly on my mind when i was asked to pray for her. i am so heart broken for her family. it is my worst nightmare.

this week i was listening to the song we live by superchick in the car and i, for some reason, really paid attention to the lyrics. it talks of holding your kids close and recognizing that each day we have here is a gift. it also makes me think of the song held by natalie grant. another beautiful and sad song about being held up in impossible times.

as i went back to sewing and finishing a project that one of my daughters waited until the very last minute to do... one of those... "oh mom! i have this huge project that needs to be sewn and finished and is due in the morning" type of comments.... i am not as angry as i might have been otherwise. with tears burning in my eyes, i am so grateful to be up late finishing this project for her.

a riddle...

i think he's trying to tell me something....

i just can't figure it out.

home school

yesterday we stumbled upon the asu surplus supply warehouse. it was awesome. we found the old desks that paul and i used to sit in when we attended asu. the kids wanted them so they could play school at home. they were only $10!

this one thinks she is clever... writing in french. i may have forgotten most of what i learned in the 8 years of french that i took, but i'm pretty sure she has some questionable sentences on there....
L likes things nice and tidy....
little S likes to draw people... and her name.
D is working hard on a fancy lady.
i also found this awesome stool for $5.
and this huge chalkboard we are going to hang in the basement. D is super excited to practice her cursive on it... that is what she does at school she says.
we also found the perfect retro desk to use in the office. now we just need a floor....

citrus trees

the trees are all bursting with citrus. S and i decided to make juice and the best smoothie ever made.

trying to figure it all out...

on open-mindedness, multi-cultural ism... should i be proud? or slightly concerned....

S has been volunteering in the toddler room at school... she is crazy about one little boy in particular and tells me cute stories about him....

S: "mom, you should have seen Enzo today. he is so cute. do you know what? he can speak german!"

me: "cool. his parents must speak to him in german at home."

S: "yep, they do. his mom is from spain. you know what? people are like dogs. you can breed them with people from different countries and then you have a beautiful child."


on stranger danger... combined with a little paranoia....

D: "mom, be careful. there is a bad man following us."

me: "where? and how do you know he is following us?

D: "i have been watching him. he has been behind us for 2 lights!"

me: "how do you know he is bad?"

D: "because he has a black car, black glasses, tiny circle silver earrings, red hair and a black watch. and because he is smoking!"

mlk day 2011

i just have to note what a beautiful, peaceful day we had in welter world. the kids were off today and we certainly celebrated our freedom. we slept in a little, met some friends at the park and stayed for 3.5 hours. when we returned home, the kids played in the backyard until the sun started going down. paully made a delicious homemade dinner... pork loin with a rub i got from the farmers market, fresh mashed potatoes, sauteed garlic spinach (i made that) and homemade applesauce made by paul's parents... with apples from their apple tree i assume. the kids cleaned their plates and had seconds. and had apples for dessert. it makes me feel so happy when they eat well. we got them all cleaned up, lunches made for the morning and are now sleeping soundly in fresh clean sheets. i just finished my 20 minute work out video... i hate jillian michaels...... i just do the work out with my eyes closed.....

but i can say that i feel healthier and the scale says that i have lost 10 lbs. not sure how accurate that is, but it makes me happy anyhow. halfway through the month and still going strong. i do have some pretty strong callings for a corona now and then then tho.....

here are some pics from our day. january is a pretty perfect month in az!!

now let's see what tomorrow brings....

she's got the whole world in her hands...

this little kindergartener is on a roll. she has been learning so much. she is just soaking up the french that her teacher is presenting to her, feeling so proud about the books she is reading, and she loves to point out countries and continents on the globe and spell them out too. this morning she spelled out russia, china and india and then found them on the globe. she also has been teaching herself the piano. paul showed her middle C and gave her a book. next thing i know, i heard he's got the whole world in his hands being hammered out on the piano.

she's a go getter that little D.

first sporting event

baby R and daddy had their first sporting event together. i guess it's a boy thing. paul was just as excited watching the game with baby R as i was when taking my girls to their first tea party. baby R loved it. he wasn't scared of all the noise, he just yelled along with them. he liked all the lights and things to look at... paul insisted he was really involved with the game. he even got his own little miniature basketball as a souvenir.

milk-frother

this is my favorite thing in the kitchen ever. it is $1.99 at ikea. i love it.

highs and lows

lows:

1. not having time to drink my coffee this morning before i left

2. 2 of the girls being sent out of religion class for fighting

3. L bumping her nose pretty hard on a brick corner

4. D falling several times and being grumpy and tired today

5. feeling a little overwhelmed at some work i need to do but don't want to do it

6. feeling tired after 3 nights of NO to little sleep

7. putting baby R down to crawl around while i ate my dinner, freaking out because he almost put an old dirty cheerio in his mouth, sadly relieved when i realized it was cemented to the floor and there is no way he could get it up.

8. realizing i need to sweep the floor more... see #5

highs:

1. after a long hard day, D running through the house shouting "i love this day!"

2. having a tea party with S and R this afternoon

3. sending the big girls with a list into the coffee/smoothie shop and having them successfully come out with the order.... and watching them hold hands while crossing the street as if setting off for a big adventure (i was parked right outside and could see in the windows)

4. getting dinner prepared early and having it ready when we got home... and making homemade cheese muffins with S.

5. having time this morning to eat the big bowl of oatmeal pscrubs made for me.

6. visiting with some lovely friends and discussing amazing stories with happy endings

see here and here check out the 911 call, i cry every time i listen to it

7. the huge smile baby R gets when he looks at his sisters

8. looking at these phone pics... they make me happy....

9. being motivated to write this post about my dirty floors, and realizing that i have had more highs than lows today.