Hello

Today I had the pleasure of reuniting with a friend from our Oklahoma years, and it made me remember all sorts of people I loved in all the different places we've lived.

I'm not one for keeping in touch with people, and not one for blogging, as you may have noticed. I had almost given up on blogging completely - in fact, I had. But after my friend left this evening, I thought, "Why not?"

So here I am, with no commitment to continue regularly but just a desire to share our most recent (decent) family picture with all of you and say hi. I'm no good at keeping in touch, but if you read this blog (read in the past tense, since there are no present-tense blog posts to read) then I just want to say hello and thanks for being my friend. Maybe I'll stop by here again sometime.

A week in New Mexico

We just got home from a trip to visit our family in New Mexico. It was a great trip and we loved hanging out with people we love. The kids had a blast with cousins especially. On our last night, Eva said as I put her to bed, "Mom, thanks for bringing us to Mammy's house. I love it here." It was so sweet.

We got to see the new dealership, which had incredible lighting. Maybe it could double as a photography studio. If only Eva could manage to put her face in a suitable position...she can't seem to decide what to do.

Dean bonded with Isaac. Two cutest boys on earth.

Leighton thought he was pretty funny making a hat out of his Burger King box on the way there. Long roadtrip notwithstanding, it's always worth it to see our family!

Stuck in the house? I have the solution for you.

Okay, I just used that title because I really wanted to tie in this unrelated picture of Dean. He LOVES the dollhouse and the other day he apparently wanted to move in there. At least learning to climb the stairs won't be a problem, as he's holding them in his hand.

Here's the real deal: I want to tell you about our TV situation. We don't have cable. We don't have dish. But we still watch all our favorite shows every week.

We have a Roku. I might say this ranks in our top 5 best purchases of our married life. We can stream all sorts of things on it. We use our Netflix there, of course, and we also have a Hulu Plus account. I found that my Picasa Web albums can be linked there, so I can have up a slideshow of all the pictures on my blog going on my TV. We have an Amazon video account where we can order movies for about $5 if we're too lazy to go to Redbox and we want to watch something new. (Also, their customer service is EXCELLENT with Amazon video - once we ordered a movie that had trouble streaming, and they gave us our money back automatically. I didn't even have to call or anything.) We listen to all our Pandora stations on there - it's great to have music coming from our TV in the middle of the house instead of a computer in a back room.

Last night I discovered possibly my new favorite feature. It's called The Gymbox. Now instead of doing the same workout video all the time (as much as I love Jillian), I can get new videos every week. This morning I did my first one...a TREADMILL workout. Hello? That is SO genius. I have a treadmill, but I'm not a runner, so I never use it. Now it's like I have a trainer to tell me how to use my treadmill. She tells me what my incline and speed should be at and leads me through hills and sprints and whatnot - things I wouldn't figure out on my own. Walking and a bit of running. It was an awesome 30 mintue workout. There are a million categories on there - kickboxing, yoga, dancing, strength training...it's awesome. I'm on a free guest pass right now, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to upgrade to the membership ($10 a month, I think) so I can continue to get new videos.

I also found last night that all the major news stations do a little recap of the day's news. ON a free station, of course. This is becoming a must for me as I NEVER watch the news and have to find out about all major news through the grapevine, way delayed. (Like Japan - I embarassingly didn't even hear about that tragedy until a week later. You'd think I lived under a rock.) No excuse for that in this decade, right?

There are all sorts of stations you can download, most of them free. Games, kid drawing stuff...it's awesome. And it's not like the TV is on all the time - it's what you want to watch, when you want to watch it, and it's way cheaper than a cable bill with DVR.

Obviously I'm not being paid to tell you about this, but I just wanted to pass along the info. Get a Roku if you don't already have one (I just saw they are now only $60!! We got ours for $100 a couple years ago. Still worth the price.) and discover all the awesome things you can do. We use ours dozens of times a day - for working out, music, distraction for the kids, and relaxing for me. In the words of Kip, I love technology - especially my Roku.

Living Room Pillows, Part 1

I have been wanting to make pillows for my living room for a LONG time and just hadn't made time for it. But now, with the curtains and the painted wall, it was starting to look a little odd without pillows on the couch. So a couple weeks ago, I saw this tutorial from V and Co for an awesome shag pillow. It was the kick I needed - I knew that I would make that pillow. It looked totally easy.

I decided to plan all my pillows at once and ordered fabric for 5 pillows from fabric.com - all for a little less than $35. And free shipping! That's the way to go - I didn't even have to take my kids to the fabric store!! My fabric came Monday, and it was beautiful.

Today I sat down in front of Biggest Loser with my cutting mat and board and my gorgeous lime jersey (which ended up having a bit of polyester in it so it has a bit of a shine) and cut everything out. I thought I would just do the cutting (it was a LOT of cutting), but when I had finished I felt like I was in a groove. I marched straight upstairs, got my machine out, and finished the whole dang pillow in one sitting! It was quick and easy. When Andrew saw how close I was to being done, he said, "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" See, I'm not usually a project finisher.

It feels so good to have this done!! So I'm 20% done with my pillow project, and I'm on a roll. The next one will be coming soon.

P.S. Please ignore my dirty couch with fingerprints on it. Just feast your eyes on the shag beauty in the foreground.

P.P.S. If you make this pillow (make this pillow!!), know that 1 yd. is generous - I have a LOT of jersey left. But since jersey is so cheap and you can't order less than 1 yd. from fabric.com, it's okay. Maybe I'll make another one as a gift or something.

The internet is awesome.

Sorry to do another post about a link, but this is the coolest video I've ever seen. It made me cry. I feel like this is what the internet is intended for, awesome things like this. It's a little long - over 14 minutes - but it's worth it. (You could probably also find it on YouTube, but this is the link someone emailed me.)

And here's a picture of my technologically-inclined son, just in case the video is not great enough for a post on its own.

Our Easter highlights

Well, my Easter grass was, as my mother prophesied, a bad idea. I had to hire some handsome men to come rake/sweep the living room after Leighton had finished his destruction. I paid them in delicious food.

Family pictures with three children...that's about as fun as grocery shopping with three kids. We had a sum total of zero succesful shots, but oh well. I never did get a decent picture of the boys' ties, but let me tell you, they were the cutest things they've ever worn.

Speaking of unsuccesful things, my last-minute hunt for an Easter dress for myself was a flop. After numerous stores and failed outfits that made me look like a mother whale, I left those gross clothes behind, along with a little of my self-esteem. I came home to my own dismal closet and selected...wait for it...a maternity dress. One that I wore all of ONE time during my maternity phase. It wasn't very cute, and it gave me a complex that I looked pregnant, but it matched Eva's dress when I added a little pink flower clip.

Eva's dress, however, was a smashing success. She looked adorable. We were running late before church and I didn't get to fancy up her hair like she wanted, but she still looked dazzling.

We had a grand Easter feast with friends. It was potluck, so all I had to take care of was the rolls (Lion House, of course) and carrot cake for dessert. Marelize brought lamb (that will surely be a new Easter tradition - delicious!!) and roasted veggies, Kara brought a potato dish (I am reluctant to call them funeral potatoes on the day we celebrated resurrection! but that's what they were), and Stacey brought ham and salad. YUM. Every last bite was delicious. A party in my mouth. Despite the fact that my hair went a little insane as the day went on (see above picture, look for tail on the left side of my head), we captured a picture of the girls. I love these girls.

It was a wonderful Easter.

This is a post.

I know I haven't even come CLOSE to my daily blogging goal this month. But admit it - I'm doing way better than last month.

So here's a picture of my children. Let's call that a post, shall we?

I can do hard things.

Andrew is deploying again in one month.

One month from yesterday, actually. We are now on the official countdown until he leaves, and I as I prepare for single momhood again, I am filled with memories of last time. As hard as it was, I can honestly say I was better after it was over. I was strong and felt victorious when he came home, like I had fought a battle and won. Which, in a way, I had.

So now, I'm preparing another go at it. This time, with renewed insight (especially from General Conference!) and a desire to do even better than last time.

I think Andrew is dreading it even more than I am. I don't blame him. This time won't be nearly as "fun" for him - he won't be as busy or doing as many cool things. I mean, saving the world is pretty cool, but you know, it gets old day in and day out. I imagine. I find him clinging logner to the kids or kissing Dean extra times, and I know what he's thinking. He doesn't want to miss it. He doesn't want to be gone when Dean learns to crawl and probably walk. He will miss so many thousands of little things - another one of Leighton's birthdays, for instance. (We're going on 50% father's birthday attendance here for poor Bubba!) Last time I thought I had the worse end of the deal, but this time I feel like he does. And I am trying to be the strong one. For once in my life.

As I told my mom the other day, the Lord knows I like to plan things, so he allowed me to put my biggest trials and tribulations (so far) on the calendar. 4 months long, 120 days of hardship. I like it that way. I don't like deployment, but I am trying to remind myself that it is a blessing to sacrifice for this country, and that we will never ever ever be left alone, though we will be apart.

I found this free print today from one of my new favorite blogs, and it was absolutely perfect for me. I will be printing this off and hanging it where I can see it every day. Because it's true - I CAN do hard things, and I can do them well.

The Case of the Tipped-Over Trash Can

I'm not sure when my baby grew up.

The other day (Thursday) I thought that maybe Dean might like a walker to get around in. I called Stacey and she had one we could borrow.

I put him in it Thursday evening, and he seemed to enjoy it. Didn't really go anywhere, but liked it anyway.

Yesterday, I put him in it and ran to the bathroom. I came back and he had made his way around the kitchen, knocked the trash can over, and dug out two butter wrappers and was licking the butter off. (I made these cookies that morning. Umm, delicious.)

Mind you, he's only 7 months old. I have no CLUE how he did this, because really, he seems a little young to be getting into things.

He was covered in butter, and I had to laugh and grab my camera. He is obviously drawn to fattening foods...he must be my son.

He is the world's easiest baby, and this was definitely his first trouble-making experience. And it was mild. Unfortunately, knowing he is apprentice to masters of mischevious behavior, it will not be his last.

A little mood boost

Sometimes I am so disappointed in humanity. Sometimes I don't believe there is much good left in the world, and I feel discouraged. I hear stories of people doing terrible things to each other, and it's sad.

And then, I see something like this article, and I think how cool people are. How probably, most people are good deep down. I don't know why, but just knowing that somewhere in the world there actually was a house floating on balloons made me happy.

Maybe it will cheer you up, too.

Easter preparations in earnest

The other day, I thought it would be a good idea to start getting ready for Easter. I am famous for having all sorts of awesome, cute ideas and good intentions...and then never getting around to them. First up: Easter baskets. Last year we were out of town and did absolutely NOTHING for Easter. It was disappointing and I felt I had failed as a holiday-loving mother. So I went to Target on Friday and got some darling buckets for baskets. I even got...Easter grass. (Mom, I know you are rolling your eyes.) My mother hates Easter grass and always talked about how awful it was to clean up for weeks afterward, so I didn't think I would ever do it. But I did need SOME sort of padding in the bucket so the eggs didn't break...and it was only $.49 a bag...I know, I'll pay for it later, but oh well. Next was outfits for the kids. I got the idea to make ties for the boys and a skirt or dress for Eva. I found this tutorial for little boy ties that looked do-able and cute. I have fabric to make this skirt for Eva, which I am in love with. (I might still do that...unless I get lazy.) But after a couple hours of stressing out over the ties, I decided, maybe it's not worth it. I'm sure I can find a cute tie somewhere. Looked at Target - nothing. Old Navy - nothing. Etsy - SCORE. Big time. I found the cutest tie on the entire internet, and it was the FIRST box that came up in my search for "little boy tie." Oh man, I am seriously in love. The shop was called "The Little Gentleman's Closet," and everything there was adorable. I ordered it immediately, which is very uncharacteristic for me when it comes to online shopping. I put in the comments that I needed two, and I got an email literally less than 2 minutes later from the owner, Michelle, who said she had just listed it again so I could purchase it, and she gave me a coupon code so I'd only have to pay shipping once. I was totally impressed with her immediate response! That was on Friday. Then, this morning, I get an email from her letting me know she had just shipped the ties this morning!! Talk about customer service! I was worried about getting them in time for Easter, since they are handmade and all, but I will have them way ahead of time. I am so completely happy with my experience with this shop, I just wanted to tell you all about it. If you have little boys, please go look at her shop. Great prices, ADORABLE ties, and outstanding customer service. I will post a picture when I get the ties...I can't wait!!

Be witty, be pretty, be cheerful.

My Grandma had a quote hanging in her house my whole life until she passed away. It said, "Be witty if you can, be pretty if you are, but be cheerful if it kills you." My mom also had it up in our house while I was growing up. My sister Lindsay called yesterday wondering if I would make a print with that quote on it. (I did a series of prints for my sister Kim for Christmas and they turned out pertty cute!) Seeing as how those words are near and dear to me heart and I frequently need a reminder to be cheerful, I agreed.

So today, I sat down to make it. I used Crystal Wilkerson's Sweet Summertime elements for the colors and flowers - she is my all-time favorite digital designer. (My blog banner elements are from her as well.) Anyway.

I made several different versions of it, and I can't decide which one I like the best. So I'm putting it up here for some input. Also, because I love all of you who continue to read my blog, I'm giving you a few free downloads. Leave a comment which one you like the best, or even if you like none of them, and take one or all of them! They are 8 x 10, fyi. (Warning: they look weird because they are on a white background and it's not showing the outer border! Sorry, don't know how to fix that!)