iT'S JuST NoT FaiR

Morgan was invited to a birthday party. A swimming birthday party. Zane insisted he would be swimming too. He just didn't understand. All morning I tried to gently explain that he was not invited. The party was for Morgan's friends.

When Morgan put on her swim suit, Zane put on his. I gave her a towel and he said he would share with Morgan. Finally, as I helped Morgan wrap the birthday gift, it started to sink in. Then he cried. He told Morgan it was "just not fair" and he would have a party with just his friends and she wouldn't be invited. Oh boy!

As we drove to the party Morgan was hyper and singing. I asked her to quiet down. She kept singing and Zane kept crying. Then I told them they were making me crazy and asked them both to be quiet. (Probably not my best response. It had been a long morning. I did say please.) Then Zane said, "Yeah, Morgan. You are getting on my lonely nerd!" I guess he had enough of her excitement as well. (Seriously, you have to watch out for his "lonely nerd.")

We dropped Morgan off at the party and went to Dairy Queen. The forbidden treat seemed to calm him down and gave us both the break we needed.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a princess birthday.

It started off like any other day, with the birds singing. My alarm went off as the sun came up, that old kill joy, interrupting a good dream. And you know, a dream is a wish your heart makes, when your fast asleep.

I thought about my day and realized, I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. If only I could be up where they stay all day in the sun. Wanderin' free. Wish I could be part of that world. But, first there was work that had to be done.

I was able to do my chores quickly, as if floating on a cloud, because I whistled while I worked. It's true. It's fun to hum a happy working song. But good gracious! Who left the mop running? With the gooseberry pie baked, it was time for the princess work to be finished.

My husband surprised me at lunch with some flowers and a kiss. "You just kissed yourself a princess!" I told him and he promised to do it again. Want to know a secret? Promise you won't tell? We were standing by a wishing well.

Chocolate eclairs were the perfect ending to the best day EVER! It was just that kind of day.

Standing here, it's crystal clear,
I'm where I'm meant to be.

It's all so magical!

(Can you name all eight princess movies quoted here?)

{Easter Celebrations}

The excitement of Easter goes too quick! Zane wanted to decorate eggs all day. He wanted to find eggs all day. He wanted to eat candy all day. The celebration just didn't last long enough for him.

We spent the week talking about the reason we celebrate Easter. At first Zane thought it was all about the candy. But as we talked about the final week of the Savior's life and what it means for each of us, Zane realized that Easter is all about Jesus. I was so happy at the Primary Activity. When the question was asked, why do we celebrate Easter, Zane was the first to blurt out "Jesus!"

After the Primary activity on Saturday, we dyed eggs. The kids had so much fun watching the colors change.

They loved putting on the face stickers. (There was an issue of Morgan using the mouth sticker that Zane wanted. He was not so happy about that.)

I wrote on some of the eggs with a white crayon. They were surprised when they pulled the eggs out of the dye and saw their names. They looked at me with big eyes and big smiles. It was magical!

Sunday we had our Fast and Testimony meeting which just added to the spirit of the week. Focusing on the Savior this week made me feel so much closer to Him. I was blessed with several opportunities to see His tender mercies and feel His love. I also read and pondered the message from the Ensign this month by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, "To Always Remember Him". It is amazing! With all of the scary things happening in the world around us it is always good to read a message of hope and peace. Remembering the Savior everyday is what brings that hope and peace into our lives and allows us to "cheerfully do all things that lie in our power".

I also cooked a fabulous Easter dinner. Not that I am bragging. I was just impressed with how good everything tasted. My ham turned out great, my rolls were so light and fluffy, and my fried rice was delish! It was hard to stop eating! Scott invited Keith (one of the guys he works with who has no family here) to join us. It was a wonderful, peaceful evening. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have Brittany and Levi with us. But they were here last weekend and we are still feeling warm and fuzzy from their visit.

Best day EVER!

Super Surprise!

Last Friday at 11:00pm there was a knock on my door. Lucky for them, someone had spilled the beans or I would have been asleep and NOT opening my door.

Brittany and Levi had been planning a surprise visit for a few months. Morgan had know for a few weeks and never shared the secret. They are so sneaky!

Scott's birthday was the end of March and mine is next week. Brittany wanted to come and celebrate with us. We even had our traditional JELLO poke cake.

What a WONDERFUL weekend!

Busy, Busy, Busy

This has been a fun and busy week!
Morgan had her first soccer game on Monday. Her team actually won! After our last experience (losing all but one game) she was super excited. She did a great job blocking shots and stealing balls. The girl has no fear and was not timid at all.

The weather has been a bit unpredictable - warm one day and snowing the next. Zane wanted to be prepared for anything as we got ready to leave one morning. The sun was shining but the icy wind was blowing. He came out of his room with shorts and flip flops (just in case it warmed up) and then put on his winter coat. This boy makes me smile everyday.

We got to host preschool at our house this week. We did the letter Z, heart shape, and the theme was water. Monday we learned about the zoo and all the animals that we might find there. (Wish there was a zoo close enough that we could have visited.) We ate zebra stripe pudding pops and made elephant puppets from heart shapes.

Wednesday we focused more on the water theme. We talked about where rain comes from and learned big words - evaporation and precipitation. We ate blue jello and fish crackers.

The kids loved playing with their wave bottles. (Zane called it a snow globe so all the other kids started calling them that too.)

And, I made the BEST banana muffins EVER! I only had 2 mushy, brown bananas and my recipe called for 3. I added a little applesauce to make up for the difference. They were so moist and tender and absolutely delicious. I am putting a note on my recipe so I can make them again.

This morning we went to the library to meet a children's author, Ann Matzke, from Nebraska. She was so fun! The kids loved doing the activities and listening to her books. She made math concepts fun for the kids.

(A book about estimating by Ann Matzke)

I also finished the first quarter payroll reports this week. (Yep. Before the end of the month.) Morgan and I attended the Seminary student production. (These kids memorized all 25 Scripture Mastery songs!) I'm going to a meeting to learn about wills and trusts tonight. I have a conference call tomorrow. And, we end the week with a soccer game on Saturday. Ahh, the joy of being a busy mother!

"We may be very busy, we may be very efficient, but we will also be truly effective only when we begin with the end in mind." ~Stephen R. Covey~

{SEW Creative}

As I finished up tax returns for the season, I had a strong desire to create something. I found some fabric on-line and on sale. I'm always a little hesitant to order fabric on-line. I grew up sewing with my mother and we would spend hours in the fabric store feeling material and matching colors to find just the right stuff. It's hard to tell from a little picture on my screen if this is really the fabric I'm looking for.

But I saw this adorable floral print and a coordinating stripe and had to do it. With free shipping on my order of $35 or more I kept browsing and thought of a few more projects.

First was the skirt for Morgan. I love it! She loves it!
She was going to wear it for her Spring Concert but she was sick.

And then Zane wanted me to make him something. He needed a scripture bag and of course he wanted Spider Man. Is Spider Man appropriate for church? I started with the red bag and decided a little web in the corner would be okay.

Zane loves it! I hand stitched the web and that took the longest. The bag itself was super quick and easy.

Then, Morgan and I went shopping at Walmart. Just girls - no boys allowed. We found this twin size flat sheet on the clearance shelf for $2. That's a lot of fabric for $2!

We started with some capri pants and a
matching t-shirt. So adorable! Just need
a little more sunshine so she can wear it.

I cut out a peasant shirt and I think I have enough for another skirt. That's probably enough stripes for Morgan's wardrobe.

Then it was time to get ready for conference weekend. I have always wanted to put together fun baskets but never think about it until it's too late. I actually got things together and delivered a couple baskets to the ladies I visit teach, as well as one for my own family.

My kids LOVED it! I had to ration or they would have consumed it all during the first session. I put the Easter candy in a dish and told the kids they could have one piece when they heard a speaker talking about families. But they had to actually hear it and not just grab a piece because the other one was. They would be running around playing (with me begging them to be quiet) and suddenly Zane would dart to the bowl. "I heard him say parents. He's talking about families." Amazed me how much they could hear even when it seemed they were not even listening. It was a great weekend!

My stack of fabric is calling me. SEW long!