Results

After four weeks of working my tail off, quite literally, I have lost a total of 7.4lbs since January 3rd.

I know that is not a lot of weight, but in reality I did not have a lot I wanted to lose. Because of my height and the way I am built any extra weight shows. I'm not tall and lean with a torso that goes for miles that is able to hide a few pounds. Nope. Every pound shows. 

What is amazing to me is that I have been trying for over a year to lose this same weight and in a mere four weeks it is nearly all gone.

My "tight" pant no longer stay up. I have nothing to wear, but in a good way. In order to keep my pants up I find I am walking as if I have just ridden bare back across Montana. My arms are toned. I am seeing a glimpse of a six pack, something I was sure I would never have in my life, and I feel strong and healthy.

I am so grateful to have this part of my life finally under control. It's an amazing and unfamiliar feeling to know that anything I have in my closet will fit. Or better yet, be even a little big.

I am KICKING myself for not taking a Before picture.

I will post a picture after the six weeks are over.

I have just started my 5th week.

I love that the work outs are usually less than 30 minutes and produce HUGE results. Even though $100 dollars is very expensive, it is worth every penny.

Hooray for almost meeting my goal!

Looking HARD for the silver lining

Church was H.A.R.D today.

Well, sacrament meeting anyway. The first two kid free hours were fine and educational.

Our meeting schedule has changed from starting at 9:00 am  to starting at 11:00am. While this is very conducive to a bit more shut eye it is quite the challenge when you throw little ones into the mix that still require some shut eye between the times of 12:00 and 2.

Instead of cranky, Sanders becomes LOUD and full of energy. It is equally as difficult to manage as a cranky child.

Today was especially “special” because Kevin was playing the organ which left me, the lone parent, to corral four children into a semi reverent state. You would think that the 8 year old would be helpful and accommodating, but no, she was tired and therefore extra resistant to the gentle reminders which quickly became not so gentle.

The six year old was actually the best behaved…not something that happens much for him during sacrament meeting…because there was the promise of a new work book to occupy him if he remained seated and reverent until after the sacrament.

The three year old was just as tired as the one year old. When that happens his ears close off and he no longer can hear any words you say that don’t allow him to do just as he pleases.

Meanwhile the one year old is yelling as loud as he can that he can see Dad at the organ and how RUDE of me not to let him go visit him. Not to mention how completely unfair it is that I won’t let him got bench hoping and play with the toys everyone has. And he very much does NOT want any of the snacks that are available...however he does see some in our neighbors hands that are the only thing in this world that will please him.

As if that whole scenario was not enough all the talks today where on parenting. 

I'm sure most of the ward was thinking, "Lady, if you would get your children to be quiet, you might actually hear some advice that will help you parent your children so they will behave."

Guess who heard about 3 words…….

Sigh. 

I was nearly in tears by the end of the meeting. It's one thing to go to church and not hear the messages because of your children. It quite another to go to church and not hear the messages because of your children and KNOW that if you had heard them then maybe you wouldn't be having these problems in the first place.

But what's done is done and I have to believe that most people know that I don't let my children get away with inappropriate behavior but sometimes things are just beyond my control.

SO, the rest of this post will be dedicated to pictures that remind me that most of the time having kids brings so much joy and laughter into my life. And most of the time I don’t feel like running away and finding the nearest 3 week cruise. 

See....he is cute...most of the time

The favorite spot to sit while playing the Wii

This is the picnic table my step-dad Dave made. We LOVE it. If fold up flat and is perfect in every way.

Playing

Playing games with the family....I almost forgot I had to post. And now we have to pack up the kids and get them home.

So.......that's all.

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So cool

Tonight Tennyson asked if he could sleep with his sunglasses on.

"Sure."

As I went to put them on him, I heard him mutter under his breath, "I am going to be SO cool."

Can't argue with that logic.

Emmerie

 Well, I finally did it.

I opened an Etsy shop.

I really don't have time for an Etsy shop.

However, the gym I am going to costs $100 a month (yes I know it very expensive). And my Christmas money is running out quickly. I can't walk away from all of the hard work I have done there.

So, I opened an Etsy shop.

It took FOREVER to think of a name.

I finally came up with the name Emmerie.

My uncle used to call me Emmers, which I loved. (I wish more people called me that) But Emmers was already taken.

I took off the S and added IE to the end (Because I spell my name with an IE at the end) and Voila! Emmerie was born. (And yes, it does sound like the Chinese waiters from The Christmas Story are saying, "Emilie"...but it makes me giggle every time I think about that, so I think of it as a bonus.)

I am still working out the logo. It's ok, but I don't love it.

At the moment the only item listed is a custom order crocheted Baptism dress. My mom will be making these and then I will be making scripture cases, like the one I made Karaia. Really it will be one stop shopping.

I'm excited and stressed about the whole thing.

It will be fun....right?

Early

Tennyson and Sanders are on a schedule that is slowly draining all the energy out of me. It doesn't matter when they are put into their beds they will wake up sometime between 5:30 AM and 6:20 AM. That is SO early.

That makes them oh so pleasant during the last few hours of the day.

We've tried everything.

I am ramping up my prayers at nice spending a significant amount of time on the subject.

Sooner or later they are going to learn that sleep is good.

Watch them be the hardest to wake up when they hit the teenage years.

Yesterday at 5:45am, Tennyson told me after I got very frustrated with him for getting out of his bed for the millionth time to turn his light on (Come on people....it was 5:45 AM!!!! There was no way I wasn't going to try everything within my power to get him back to sleep), "Mom, do you know WHY I have to keep turning my light on?"

"No. Why?"

"Because I can't find my alarm clock."

Um....I think having a clock that wakes people up is the last thing he needs.

It's all worth it.

It's been a hard diet day. I'm not sure why. I've eaten this same way for 3 1/2 weeks. Most days, I am just fine. But today I found I was SOOOOO hungry by dinner.

I still didn't cheat, but oh I wanted too!

That being said, I keep remembering just how hard I've worked. That makes cheating out of the question. Which I am grateful for. I've come too far to sabotage myself.

Still, today I will be glad for when I can eat a bit more normally. 

Grateful

I've decided that one day a week, maybe even every Monday, I will dedicate the blog to the things I am grateful for.

I am grateful for my children. Never has there been any group of people that have caused me such growth, frustration, love, and learning in all my life. They always love me despite my fledgling skills as a mother and the multiple mistakes I make during the day. I am always pondering and praying and thinking and planning ways to improve my skills and improve their growth and potential. I find myself often reflecting on how my Father in Heaven must feel if this is how I, a mortal, feel about my own children.

They draw me closer to who I want to become and at the end of the day I am better because I have been in their presence....well, some days it more like I'm left with a resolve to be better when I am in their presence (you know the days I'm talking about). They are not perfect and neither am I. I like that we know this about each other. I doubt any truly honest mother will say she or her children are perfect. There is always room for growth. And because of my children, the desire to grow and change and to become more and better is always there.

I am grateful for their love and patience and delight with life.

I am grateful I am a mom.

Familiar

Because of illnesses or baby blessings or stake conference we had yet to attend our ward this year.

I love our ward. The group of people, the diversity of experiences, the talents. It was so nice to be among our friends and ward family again and feel as if we had never been parted.

The BIG thing for this new year is that Tennyson is now a Sunbeam. He was SO excited to go and be in primary with his siblings. It's a weird thing to have most of your children be counted among the primary as opposed to at least half belong to the nursery.

Sanders did fine on his own. He easily makes friends and is becoming very good at sharing.

It's the start of a new chapter for our little family. We've experienced similar things with the older two, but if I have learned nothing as a mother I have learned this. You can recreate every detail to mimic a previous situation and all you have to do is change which child experiences it and you get a whole different out come.

Children have an unpredictable variable to them that makes the challenge of raising them well worth rising to.

Hope

We went to Grandma Cathy's Christmas party today.

Yes, I am aware that it is near the end of January, but we wanted to wait for Jim to come home.

I designed and sewed a craft bag for Grandma. Unfortunately, I left it to such last minute that I didn't have time to take any pictures. I think it turned out lovely and I hope she uses it a lot.

I also made princess capes for the three older cousins and an I Spy bag for Kasidy.

While at the party my sister-in-law, Lyndi (Hi Lyndi!), gave me an article that she had ripped out of a magazine about a fabric designer....just because she was thinking of me. *smile* The fabric designer interviewed was Anna Maria Horner. One of my all time favorite designers.

As I read the article my heart literally skipped a beat when I read that it took Anna Maria Horner SEVEN years before she landed a contract with a manufacturer. I couldn't believe it! Anna Maria Horner (yes, I usually say her WHOLE name when referring to her) is amazingly talented and highly successful. If manufacturers didn't recognize her potential right off then I feel like there is hope. Maybe manufactures just haven't realized my potential yet. I have to believe that I have it, or else what am I doing?

I hope it doesn't take seven years. But remember, I have given myself ten. So if it's seven then I'll just feel blessed I had three years to spare.

Speaking Kinder

I've known this for many, many, many years but it always astounds me when I pay attention to it. The "it" I am referring to is the tone of voice you use when you are talking.

You can say the same words and convey SO many different meanings just by the inflexions and accents you put on certain words. You can make your tone, kind, indifferent, sarcastic, uncaring, distracted, loving, hateful, mean, jealous...etc. All without changing a single word in your sentence.

I particularly notice this when I am talking to my kids. Some of them are getting to the age where I can mix more and more of a friendship in our relationship amongst the parenting. I'm sure you all know what I mean, if you get an imbalance between the friendship and the parenting at too young of an age the children will sense the lack of leadership and start to try and lead. They crave structure.

Anyway.

My point is, I try and speak kindly to my kids, but if I am in a hurry, or it's the MILLIONTH time I have asked them to do the same thing, the words stay the same, but the tone changes....big time.

But if I point out to my kids that I am trying to be kind, they seem to be more likely to accommodate my desires without the big ordeal.

It's not always easy to remember that the TONE I use is just as, if not more important, than the words I use.

I am still a parent in progress, but I hope I am better tomorrow because of what I learned today.

A little young

Beckham told me today that Elise (or Alise--I'm not sure of the spelling yet) broke up with him.

(WHAT?!?)

But then she got back together with him when he made the 25 mile club. 

(the 25 mile club is a category you get put in if you've ran or walked or played the equivalent of 25 miles from the beginning of the school year)

First of all I didn't even know he had a girlfriend, let alone that she had broken up with him. Secondly, he is in KINDERGARTEN!

"Beckham, that is awesome you are in the 25 mile club!Oh, but you can't have a girlfriend."


"Mom, I told her that and she said I still could."

Hmmm this girl may be trouble...wait a second she is SIX surely I can handle this.

"Well, I say you can't and I'm the Mom."

There. Done.

"Beckham, there hasn't been any kissing has there?"

Turning as red as I have ever seen any boy when asked that question then talking really fast Beckham answered, "Well, only on the cheek. AND I was SO embarrassed. Reagan even saw!!!!!"

"Who kissed who?"

"She kissed me."

"Beckham, no kissing and NO girlfriends. Got it."

Still trying to bury his head into his arms because he's talking with his mom about kissing, "Got it."

As if this weren't enough for a mother to stress about, Karaia told me that Asia asked Cole if he liked Karaia and he said,"yes." So Asia asked Karaia if she liked Cole and she said, "Yes."

Seriously?

It might be time for homeschooling.

Lucky There's This Much

Tonight I fell asleep on the couch at 8:30. 

I am waking up just long enough to throw some words down on the blog, and now I'm heading to bed. 

Some days are just like that.

GPP Fitness

Here's the deal with GPP Fitness.

I asked my mother-in-law for the gift of some time with a personal trainer or gym membership (thank you Candace!!!). I did a lot of research and decided that GPP Fitness was the best fit for me. Think of it as small group personal training.

The same exercises are done no matter what time you go to class. These aren't your traditional exercise classes full of jogging and jumping jacks and aerobics. No, these classes are full of pull-ups, weight lifting, sit-ups, and jump roping, to name a few.

The theory behind this type of exercise is that, combined with low calorie intake, you will actually increase your resting metabolism if you train with resistance as opposed to training with strictly cardio. Don't think for a second that my heart rate doesn't get up and that I'm not dripping sweat nearly every day just because I'm not running all the time. The body can't tell the difference between the exercises are far as the breathing goes, but the benefit is you are building more muscle this way.

What I signed up for was their Crash Course Challenge. The basics of this challenge is you put $50 dollars down. You then define some goals. If you meet your goals at the end of 6 weeks you get your $50 dollars back. To meet all the goals you have to commit to coming in to the gym 5 days a week and following one of their 3 diet plans.

The diet plan I chose was the Burst Cycle Diet. I didn't want to do any of the 3 diets, but this one was the most logical for my life. With this diet I am 3 days on (up to 1000 calories) and 1 day off (as close to 2000 calories as I can get without going over and eating whatever I want).

When I am on my on days the diet is very strict. If I cheat I have failed the diet and must discontinue it. My on days go like this:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1/2 cup fruit

Lunch: 3-4 oz of meat --any kind, 2 slices of bread, 1 oz of cheese, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes

Dinner: 4-6oz of meat---any kind, 1 cup veggies.

Nothing but water in between and no snacks.
I must drink 64 oz of water every day and take a multivitamin.

The first two days were incredibly hard! I cried a LOT. Physically, I was fine, but emotionally I was STARVING! But now, I almost prefer my on days to my off. I'm finding I like the control I have. Almost too much....something that I am highly aware of.

I know that when the diet time is over I will struggle adjusting to the reality that 800 calories a day (my average daily caloric intake with ON days) is not a healthy level.  I mean to combat this potential problem by one, telling a lot of people that I know that this will be a struggle for me so I can have a good support network. And two, committing to eat at a healthy level just as I have committed to this diet.

I foresee it as more of an internal struggle as opposed to me having physical behaviors to modify.

The good news? After two weeks I have lost 4.6 lbs and have started to see my body change. I have earned every last inch and pound. I am extremely pleased to find strength within me that I was unsure that I had.

It's nice to know you really can define your own future.

A few random posts....but with picutres!

 Awwww Sanders is my little buddy.

 He is the FIRST one to clean up any liquid on the floor.

 He's slightly obsessive about it.

 He also is been known to be talked into doing some odd jobs around the house......

 Like pushing the new diaper box into his room.

 Even if he isn't super happy about it.

 So, I mentioned that Christmas came again yesterday. These little beauties are what Kevin asked for. (OH, not the new black dishwasher. But doesn't it look nice?)

 I'm talking about the gorgeous white dishes.

Sigh.

I love them.

 We have been looking for months for plain white dishes that had bowls that were actually bowls and not merely plates with curved edges. Kevin is all about asking for practical things for Christmas this year and this fit perfectly.

 Speaking of Christmas. Do you see those cute things on my kids arms? They are leg/arm warmers from their Aunt Danica. SO cute. We have loved them!

Danica has a cute Etsy shop and she sells them here.

 Sanders REALLY wanted in on the picture.

 One more thing about yesterday. (I know I promised more about the exercise, but I'm not in the mood tonight)

Sander's is prone to getting a diaper rash. It is very odd because he almost always tells us immediately when he has pooped. And yet his little bum is very often very sore. Last night was no exception and probably one of the more sever cases. He was crying and screaming because it hurt so bad to wipe him.

Kevin looked in his mom's cabinets for something to sooth the pain. He handed me two tubs. One said, "Pain relief" and the other was neosporin. He said, "There isn't any diaper rash cream, but this one should take away the pain and the neosporin should help it heal."

Sounded good to me.

Because Sanders was crying so hard, I thought I would use the pain relief first. I should have looked at the tube closer because the second I put it on his raw little bum he started crying harder. I began to say, "It's ok, Honey. It doesn't hur......"

That's when I got a BIG whiff of menthol.

I had just applied MUSCLE pain relief cream to his diaper rash!

The poor kid.

He was inconsolable for about 20 minutes and we rushed him to the tub and tried to convince him that sitting down in the water on his stinging rear end would actually help him not hurt him more.

It was so sad. And now it is so funny.

Sorry, Sanders. Lesson learned.

Christmas in January

My Father in law has been out of the country since September. We wanted to wait to celebrate Christmas when he returned.

So today, was Christmas....in January!!!!!

We are so glad and grateful to have Grandpa Jim back home!

The Daly's LOVE Christmas and we are always SO spoiled. There were pillow pets, jewlery, legos, nerf guns, new dishes, lights, and time with a personal trainer/gym time.

Which means I can now unvail my BIG secret from earlier this month. My big secret is that I started working out at GPP Fitness (seriously, my baby is almost two and I STILL have baby weight to lose). Specifically doing their crash corse challenge. That means I go to their gym 6 days a week and follow a very stritch diet.

I will expond more on my AWESOME present (Thank you Candace and Jim!!!!) tomorrow because right now, we are going to play games as a family.

It is Christmas afterall.

New

Today has been a day full of new.

A few weeks ago our dishwasher, that we found out is at least 11 years old, died. We've been washing dishes by hand. I have found that to be a very plesant chore. However, I don't think that I would always feel that way so we got a new dishwasher.

We were able to pick it up today and I am so lucky that my awesome husband is talented enough to install it for us. I'm sorry I don't have a picture for you, I am rushing to get this post in before the clock strikes midnight.  (Kev and I went with my family to the Desert Star Theater)

Our old washer was cream/white. Our new friend is black. That matches the fridge. Hooray!

The other new thing we got this weekend is two new phones. We have finally entered the land of technology. I am still getting used to it, but I think I will really like it.....AND it's purple. A major bonus.

And that's what's new.

A bit about Tennyson

Before I start with Tennyson...

Kevin is HOME!!!! I am never so aware of how challenging single parenthood is until he is back. I believe that is one of the Lord's tender mercies. Raising children is meant to be done as a pair.

On to Tennyson.

Today Tennyson told me, "Mom, I am going to beat you putting on my seat belt. I beat everybody. I beat everyone when I am eating cereal and when I drink hot chocolate milk and when I eat oatmeal and when I drink milk!"

So watch out world. He is on a roll!

He also as developed a new sense of style. Whether or not it's pajamas or day time clothes, this is latest and greatest new look.

It's a compromise I can live with.

This kid keeps us laughing.

Memory lapse

Through out the day I find myself thinking after someone has said something or someone has done something, "Perfect! That is what I'll blog about today."

Then I get to the point where I actually have a chance I can sit down and put a few of my thoughts in black and white and I cannot for the life of me remember what I was going to post about. I have been sitting here for 10 minutes trying my hardest to remember....but no...it alludes me.

The only thing I can remember is Beckham came up to me and said, "Mom, when the dinosaurs come back to life, can I ride a pterodactyl?"

"Um....sure Beckahm."

"Great! It will be my first time flying in my WHOLE life!"

That in of itself is funny, but consider this. For the past two weeks Beckham will come up to me, randomly, with no foreshadowing, and say something like, "Mom, can I go jump off the roof?", "Mom, can I ride this stool down the stairs?", "Mom, can I (insert some other crazy adventure)"

I'm not sure why he is asking these things. Surely he knows the answer will always be no. Maybe part of him wants me to think he is very clever in the ways he is thinking to get a thrill. I have no idea.

Either way, if you drive past my house and see Beckham climbing up a ladder to get to the roof, will you please stop and tell him to get down....he has already been told, "No!"

Knee homework

Pretty much I was on the move before I really opened my eyes this morning. I had scheduled a meeting with Andrew (although in my head I call him Andy because that is how I first met him) so he could have a look at Karaia's knee. He is a great friend of ours and a personal trainer. He went out of his way to see her and we really appreciate it. Thank you, Andy!..er....I mean....Andrew.

We met him at his gym at 8:00am.

Now before we move on, lets just take a moment to fully soak in what that means. That means that me, myself, and I got all four kids ready, three of which had to be ready for school, and out the door in time to be at the gym by 8:00. Which means we actually had to be ready before 8. Technically we didn't pull out of the driveway until 7:51, I was shooting for 7:45, but I will still call it a win.

Andrew had Karaia do all sorts of movements and bends and runs. (While he was working with Andrew the boys were having the time of their life on the indoor soccer court. They talked about it ALL day.) Andrew is more than sharp when it comes to how the body should move to perform at it's best. He noticed right away that her knees, especially the right one, bend in toward each other instead of straight ahead. He said this is very common in girls and can be exaggerated if they have a growth spurt. Well Karaia has grown 1/2 in since the last of November.

He gave us some exercises to do to strengthen all the right muscles and to teach Karaia's body how to bend her knees properly. That means a couple of things for Karaia.

1) NO more sitting with her knees touching the ground with her calves nearly perpendicular to her torso. Yes, it is as painfully looking as it sounds. But it's her preferred method of sitting when on the ground...or a chair...or the couch.

2) More homework after school. I am hoping she will find this fun and not something else to whine at. I am pretty sure I will play the Do-you-really-want-your-knee-to-hurt-like-that-again card if there is too much whining.

Hopefully, this will fix the problem and we won't have to investigate any further.

We did all this and STILL got the kids to school on time.

It was a January miracle.

Not too bad

Today was the first full day alone. Kevin is out of town for the week. Normally, this sends me into a panic a day or two before, but I kind of forgot it was coming up. All of the sudden the day for him to leave arrived and he was gone.

Kevin going out of town isn't new to us. It's always easier to have him here for sure, but we do pretty good. It's a really nice change from the when.is.he.coming.home! kind of feeling. The kids were great today. Nothing more than the normal whining. Very manageable.

So there you have it. Not the best day, but not the worst either.

This post should be longer and more detailed, but I am tired and on my own for a few days. We should just all count ourselves lucky that I even remembered to post tonight.

Mystery

I help out with Karaia's class on Mondays.

Wait, let me back up a bit. Last Tuesday I got a call from Karaia's school saying she was telling them she was in a lot of pain and her knee had a charlie horse in it. Well, knees don't normally get charlie horses. By the time I got there the pain, that had lasted about 15 minutes or so was gone, but she was terrified to move or put any weight on that leg in case the pain came back. The pain is that sever.  The office staff was really worried. They said the pain had been significant enough that they could read it on her face.

Back to today. As I was helping with Karaia's class, taking kids in the hallway and testing them, her teacher came and got me and told me Karaia was screaming in pain. I rushed in. Indeed she was. Her desk is right next to Mrs. Pickett's this week allowing Mrs. Pickett to have a good view of what happened just before the pain....nothing.

Not a thing. She was just sitting in her chair, laughing with friends, doing her work, when out of the blue she stopped talking grabbed her knee and began screaming and crying.

The pain lasted, again, for about 15 minutes (during which she refused to let me take her to the doctors--I later found out she was afraid to go to the doctors because she though they were going to hit her knee with that hammer thing while she was in so much pain. We have since cleared that up) She told me that last time when the pain started going away she felt a pop on the side of her knee. This time there was no pop, but the pain subsided enough. She was still terrified of moving it. I have never seen such fear in my little girl's eyes as when I asked her to try and stand up. She was sure the pain would come back.

I told her it was time to stand up on it or I would carry her out of there and we would go to the doctors. It took a little while but we finally managed to get some weight on that knee. It was fine now.

Now Karaia is not one who is dramatic for attention...well not that kind of dramatic. If she's mad or thinks somethings unfair she is VERY dramatic. But being sick or getting hurt has never been anything she's faked for some extra lime light.

I learned two important things today.

1) Karaia has amazing friends. They were very supportive. They cheered her on when she didn't think she could do it. They offered comfort. She is one lucky girl

2) Something is wrong with Karaia's right knee. I don't know what, but her doctor suggests she see a sports medicine specialist. We have some names and we will get appointments this week. Hopefully.

For documentation purposes the pain is on the outside of her right knee, just below the knee cap. She says it feels like something is squeezing and twisting inside and it hurts more if, when she is having an attack, she flexes her calf muscle. The attacks don't seem to have a trigger point. The first one came as she was sitting down to the computer at school. The second one came with no movement at all. She was just sitting.

I hope when we go they know exactly what's wrong. I'm pretty sure I don't ever want to see her in that much pain again until she is in labor. Because then at least it's worth it.

relaxed

Naming a post everyday is a daunting thing. It takes me longer to think of a name (which ends up not being a grand name anyway) then it does typing the whole post.

We got to go to my sister, Meghan's, son's baby blessing today. There was a bit of drama in the morning, however. We didn't go to church last Sunday because we were all still sick. It was the first Sunday of the year and therefor the kids would have new teachers.

When Beckham found out we weren't going to church AGAIN he said, very dramatically, "You're acting as if you are NEVER going to let us go to church with our new teachers until NEXT year when we will have even newer teachers!!!!"

Sigh.

I told him he could choose. We would drop him off at our ward while we attended the baby blessing, but Meghan and Alex where looking forward to seeing him.

He wasn't happy about that either.

Eventually he made his choice, "Mom, I decided to go to the baby blessing because that is the right choice. "

We were happy to have him with us.

We got there just in time. Which seems to be the theme for my little family. Graham was a very good, wide awake, baby and Alex did a beautiful job with the blessing.

My children were pretty well behaved. As I've said before, as far as church is concerned, this is always somewhat shocking to me. I'm not sure why as I am told often that people think my children manage themselves very well, but somehow in church they are usually the opposite. It is happy to think that they may be moving into a new phase in which there may be some actual learning at church for us parents.

Afterward we went to Meghan and Alex's for a lunch. We love being with family.

The rest of the day was spent at home, watching movies, snuggling and playing.

The perfect Sunday.

kind of normal

I fear there may be more days like today. Not much happening, but feeling pretty busy. It makes for a boring blog post, but a goal is a goal.

I put some more of Christmas away. Apparently it will take me two weeks to get it all done. A little here a little there. Not sure why I don't just muscle through it and do it all.

I did have the chance to sew a little baptism present for our cute niece, Morgan, who got baptized this evening.

 

I enjoy making these dear little towels. I wrap them up with a ribbon and attach a poem about a baptism towel with it. I meant to take a picture of it all wrapped up, but I have children and they distracted me after I had that thought.:)

My children were very well behaved at the baptism, in accordance of their ages. It's nice to see that happening more and more. Who knows maybe that means that hearing ALL of the messages on Sunday is just around the corner.

Why you should never judge...

....a house that is currently harboring a toddler.

 A little messy....oh but wait. Let's get a closer look.

SALT!!!!! ARRRRGH!

This is what happens when the mom runs downstairs to clean the play room and leaves the one year old coloring....with a salt shaker near by.

Clean one mess just in time to tackle another.

Some day my house will be clean. Some day my house will be clean. Some day my house will be clean.

Fireworks

I try really hard not to listen to Katy Perry songs. For a number of reasons. But the biggest reason is that they are so addicting to me. I kind of love them. However, they, more often than not, don't have lyrics I agree with or have lyrics that are very suggestive. Either way, when one of her songs comes on I am quick to change the station. Sadly, it's a hard choice, to listen or not to listen. For the most part I am able to make the right choice.

That being said, I am in love with Katy Perry's song "Fireworks". Finally, one of her songs with lyrics I can let my kids listen to. The lyrics speak to the place I feel like I am in  on my journey of fabric design.

Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time you know

You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the Fourth of July

'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "ah, ah, ah!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go boom boom boom, make em brighter then the moon moon moon

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time you let it flew

 As a result, I cannot help but cry when this song comes on. I turn it up full blast and cry and dream and cry some more. I'm sure my kids think I am loony tunes seeing that the only time I have time to listen to music right now is in the car during my chauffeuring duties. I do try to keep the tears to a minimum. Lest the children feel like they need to call their grandmas to rescue them.

I realize that is so cheesy, or maybe we could say passionate? But it perfectly describes how I feel most days. That there is this light, these fireworks, just waiting to explode. All they need is a little ignition. A little recognition.

For now I  suppose I am just setting up the show.

Someday, my friends, someday.