"Special" Dress Up

There seems to be an unwritten rule that every child has to put underwear on their head. 

And parents take pictures of it.

I did it. I have the picture to prove it.

And so did Jonathan. I also have his picture. 

Yesterday while I was cleaning up dinner dishes, the girls were in their rooms "playing," and came out giggling, showing me their "new clothes." I had to take pictures. It's what parents do. And the best (or worst) part is that their new clothes came from the dirty clothes basket. Ew. 

And aren't they cute?  I may put these in their wedding videos. :)

A few of my favorite things...

I love it when my blogging friends make posts about things that they love. So I decided to do my own version. Sorry in advance for how many times I say "love."

First of all, my favorite new find recently. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson. I love this book! It is perfect, a fun, sweet, read. It's a love story with a little mystery. If you read at all for fun, you should get this book.  Here in Mesa, you can get it at Walmart or any church bookstore or online, of course.  I read it twice in five days and I will probably read it again soon. It's good. 

 Other books I have loved reading lately:

Captive Heart by Michelle Paige Holmes

Dangerous Favor by Joyce DiPastena

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen

Entwined by Heather Dixon

A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander

*Of course, I will always recommend my favorite book of all time, Tregaron's Daughter by Madeleine Brent. It starts out slow but it gets so, so good. 

I have also loved watching Emma, made by the BBC. It's the most recent version and it's so good. I watched it on Netflix while J was at work (to spare him the sappy period pieces, as he calls them). Then my mother-in-law surprised me by getting it for me for Mother's Day. When my mom and sis came to visit, we watched it again together. And of course, they loved it too. If you love period films or films by the BBC, you will enjoy it. 

 And one of Jonathan's favorite things that I discovered recently are crock-pot liners. Make cleaning the crock pot a breeze. I keep these in stock at my house. You can find them in Wal-mart by the paper plates, aluminum foil, saran wrap, etc. It encourages me to use my crock-pot.

And Dave Ramsey. My friend, Julie, kept talking "Financial Peace University" by Dave Ramsey and how it had totally changed their outlook on money. She kept telling me that I should borrow the cds or videos. Finally I did. Jonathan and I have been watching the dvds together and I can honestly say it has changed our outlook on everything financial. He talks about budgeting, saving, how/when to buy/sell a house, retirement, insurances, anything/everything financial. I always thought we were good "money wise" but watching him has helped so much as we plan on how to get out of debt. Now I feel like Jonathan and I are on the same page financially. It's awesome.

When I want a sweet treat, Cadbury is heavenly. Need I say more? Delish. And only 150 calories for a mini bar. 

One of my new fave cooking blogs: Jamie Cooks It Up.  Her pictures are awesome and her recipes are equally so.

 I also love watching how to do craft projects on My Craft Channel. My favorite is Create to Remember. So fun if you have "spare time." 

So these are a few of my favorite things lately. I would love to hear about some of your favorite finds!

Janie's a Big Girl

This week we had Janie's "Big Girl Party." 

That happens in our house when you move from a crib to a bed.

But Janie was also required to be fully potty trained. And now she is! {Finally! Whew!}

So now she is sleeping in her big bed and has no more accidents. Yay for Janie! 

For the party, we had pizza and cupcakes and Grandma came over. And there were a few fun presents. Sami also got a present for being such a good sister to Janie. Everyone had fun.

(As a side note, I realize that is kinda weird that my girls are over 3 years old when the crib comes down, but they just never realized that they could climb out. That was nice. And we took full advantage. It was so nice know that they were safe in their crib and wouldn't get out.)

She is a big girl.

We sure do love her.

Today I re-learned some lessons the hard way.

When I woke up, I decided to have fun with the girls today. So we went to some yard sales, then we went and got their hair cut (swimming lessons are coming up and bobs are so much easier to comb out), and then we ran to target to get a few things. Then it was time to go to the Mommy and Me playgroup at church. The girls were really excited. So we left Target and headed out to the parking lot but when I got the girls in their car seats, and went to turn on the air conditioning, I got nothing.

My car battery was dead.

So I called AAA. I love them. But it took a few minutes to get to me and even longer for them to replace battery. It was hot out (of course, we live in AZ) and I wanted to cool us off so I decided to take the girls to Famous Footwear. It was right next to Target and would be a nice distraction. Bad idea. I should have gone back to Target and kept the girls busy with popcorn.

The girls were running around, and being loud in the store. I was trying on a few shoes, hoping the AAA guy would call me and say my car was done. At first I really got on the girls for running around and being loud, but it was hard. They were tired, I was tired. We had been out all morning, we were hungry, and the playgroup was not going to happen. 

And then a lady yelled at me from the other side of the store. Yelling that my kids were "brats," and "wild indians" and that I should "control them."

I was mortified. I took the girls and left. 

As I was walking away, I got mad. I wanted to go back and tell her, "Listen Lady, I am doing the best I can. I wouldn't even be here if my car wasn't broken down outside. We are in here to just keep cool and look at pretty shoes. I know my kids are being crazy, but they are tired, hot, and hungry. And they are children, for crying out loud!"

I cried when I got home. Then I called my mom and like always, she reassured me that I was not a bad mom. 

And this is what I am going to take away:

1. I NEVER want to be the person who is critical of other moms. It is hard work. It is not easy and kids don't always act perfect. But we are all trying. Moms need compassion, not criticism.

2. When I seeing a struggling mom, I want to offer help. Even if it just a smile of encouragement. 

3. Stay out of stores without carts. Carts help me corral my kids.

Now, I know my kids are good, and are not brats. Today was a hard day, but that's not how it is every time we go to a store. And I wouldn't trade my kids (or my experiences with them) for anything in the world, even on the worst days. We are all learning together.

Thanks for letting me vent. 

:)

Our Super Fun Family Filled Week!

My mom and sis came in to town and stayed for a whole week. We had a blast! Rachel and I got our hair and nails done. I am now sporting a bob, which I love. No more pony tail days for me for a while. And Sami and Janie had so much fun, spoiled and entertained for a whole week. 

She is my only sister. And I love her.

I love this picture of my sister laughing. Jonathan was taking the pictures, it was getting late at night, and he was just goofing off, so I was telling him to take a picture the "right" way. It didn't work. 

These girls now know that Grandma is their best friend. 

On Sunday, Larry and his wife, Aloma, also popped in for a visit. How lucky can two girls be?  I am happy that they have lots of grandparents that adore them.

I love these two: my mom and my sissy. They left on Wednesday And I miss them. A week flies by.

Birthday and Graduation

Jonathan had a birthday this past week. I think he had a good day. He had to work, but we went out to dinner and he got some fun presents and the girls loved helping me with the cake. Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

And Sami graduated from preschool. Well, not really, because she is going to the same preschool next year, but ya know, they do this at the end of every year.

 She was so happy. So happy that Dad and Grandma came and that she got to dress up and be with her friends.

 They did a little program. It was short and sweet, perfect. They did the Pledge of Allegiance...

 sang some cute songs...

got her certificate and report card...

 and we were so proud!

She did have a small embarrassing moment after this picture. She was going to sit down and missed the chair. She fell and landed between her chair and her neighbor's chair and started crying. She was hurt a little but mostly embarrassed. Jonathan went up and put her in her chair and talked to her and she recovered quite well, I thought. I wasn't sure she would, I thought she might need to come and be with us. But I was so happy when she was able to stay up there and not cry. After the program we told her how proud of her we were and how things like that happen to everyone. 

 Sami has learned so much this year in preschool: how to spell and write her name, write all her letters, use pencils and scissors, memorized her phone number, and learned the Pledge of Allegience (well, mostly). And she kept her light on green all year, meaning she didn't get in trouble. There were some mornings that I would not have been surprised if she didn't come home with her green stamp, because we had a hard morning here, but she always came home with her green stamp. That makes me happy. 

Congratulations, Sami Girl!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was really fun for us this year. Sami made me the cookie flower bouquet at preschool and the booklet about her. The girls can't figure out why we aren't eating the cookie flowers. But I just love looking at it.

Sami has the best CTR teacher. She started as Sami's nursery teacher and has just moved up with her class every year. Plus, she (Sis. Harris) has sat in the bench with me every Sunday that Jonathan has had to work for the past 4 years. I just love her! And she helped her class make these cute flower magnets. And she made one for Janie, just because. Janie is a sunbeam but she knew I would want one of both. She is another grandma to our family. 

This is the inside page of Sami's preschool booklet that she made for me. I love her little self-portraits. She understands that everyone in the family has brown eyes except her so I always know when she is drawing herself because they have blue eyes.

I LOVE this page of what our family looks like and the picture of me jump roping. I have been doing an exercise video in the morning and jump rope in place, and so Sami drew me exercising.

In Primary, we had the kids fill out these cards about their Moms. Kristen, the Primary president, didn't tell me what Janie's said but she told me that she had tears coming out of her eyes she was laughing so hard. Now I understand why.

If you can't read this picture, it says: (Janie's answers are in the large type)

You rock. You are scary face.

When you dance with me, it makes me happy. I love doing things with you, especially help me do dishes. You are so good at taking naps.

Jonathan and I were both laughing so hard when we read this! The scary face must come out when I am trying to take a nap. :)

And Sami drew me another sweet picture of herself.

Being a mom really is the best. It is as awesome as I always knew it would be. I am one blessed Mama.

Happy Mother's Day 2012