Cute Quotes

Will--the deep thinker---said in all seriousness after Wyatt ruined one of his lego creations, "Mom, sometimes having a brother is bad, but sometimes having a brother is good."

Wyatt--the information junkie--he's always informing me of things, "Mom, did you know Jordan Michael was really a real person?" (referring to Michael Jordan)

Anna--the mini-me---she's starting to observe and say things that surprise me, "When I grow up I might want to be a mom so I can reach stuff."

Spring Break

Spring Break has come and gone and this is the only picture I took of our trip to Seaside. Because of the rainy, windy weather we spent lots of time indoors, playing games, watching movies, and reading magazines. These boots were well used when we did venture outdoors. Maybe my lack of pictures is proof that I took time to just slow down and relax. We all had a great time.

I do have clams in my fridge for chowder this week, which will be a yummy reminder of our mini vacation.

Flower Hair Clips

Make these cute flower hair clips for the little lady in your life. I did, by following THIS tutorial.

And yes, they are quite addicting. I made 24 in the past 20 hours!

Let's Party!!

Because we have an "in" with the PE teacher from school so we got to use the gym to host Will's birthday party with his friends!

We had a Lego building contest....

Ran an obstacle course...




Made crazy, sweaty boy hair-do's....

Sang Happy Birthday...(it's suppose to be a Lego cake)

Got a group shot

Opened presents...

And had a BLAST!

I love little boys...and still can't believe my "little" boy is 8!! I loved watching him interact with his friends. They are so much fun, and make me laugh so much. God has blessed me beyond what I ever imagined through Will. I'm so excited to see what God has in store for his life.

Rag Curlers

Another fun book I picked up at the Library is The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life by Jennifer Worrick. I browsed through it one evening and while I probably won't actually do 99% of the ideas in the book, it was again, inspirational. I came across a section on rag curlers and I was immediately reminded of my own experience with rag curlers. As a little girl about 8 or 9 years old, my grandma would dampen my hair with beer (I know gross, but true) and wrap my hair up in rag curlers. For this little girl with fine, straight hair, awaking to a head full of tight curls was quite exciting. I had never done this with Anna, so I thought I'd give it a try:

First, you need a little girl with shoulder length or longer hair. Then, about 20 1-2'' x 10'' pieces of flannel strips. Start with freshly washed, damp hair and roll up your hair around the strip in 1-2" sections starting at the neck line and working your way up. When you reach the scalp, tie each in a tight knot. When you are finished your head will look like this. Too cute!

It you happen to have a sleeping cap, that would be even more adorable. But here she is ready for bead and a head full of curls in the morning.
Untie the rags in the morning and gently loosen each curl with your fingers (I used a spray or two of de-tangler, just to soften the curls, they will be very tight!)

Admire your pretty hair in the mirror!

And as the author of the book writes, "Tie back with a ribbon if you want to look your Sunday best. Leave your curls loose and messy if you're planning to hit the saloon instead."

get inspired!

Inspiration comes in waves for me. There are days...even weeks when I'll go about my daily routines, not feeling particularly inspired. But every once in a while there are little things in the everyday that pop out to me and really inspire.

A wonderful, deep conversation with my husband,

the "almost" spring sunshine pouring through my bedroom windows,

brisk morning walks in the sunshine pushing my Annie-girl, and praying,

looking through fun magazines and tearing out ideas or anything that catches my eye,

grabbing a couple books for ME at the library to browse through,

AND, believe it or not, getting a cold and forcing myself to slow down, take a break, and snuggle on the couch with my 5 year old for most of the afternoon yesterday.

Lately I have also been inspired by these crafty mama's and their blogs. I haven't posted anything new for a while mostly because I was feeling a little un-inspired. But I'm still enjoying everyone's elses blogs, especially Tiffany, Emily and Tanya, who have some awesome crafty ideas, and have inspired me to tap into some of that inspiration myself.

I started with this clothespin bag. Yes, I am one of the few who actually hang my clothes out on the line to dry in the warmer weather. Won't this look cute hanging on my line, storing my clothespins for me?

I am contemplating making a couple more for Anna's closet to store her undies and socks in, or maybe little toys, or (if you are so inspired) you could make some for your pantry or hall closets to hold plastic bags or other fun stuff in. Everything seems so much more fun with a cute container!

One of the books I grabbed at the library was "Toys to Sew" by Claire Garland. It caught my eye on my way up to the counter to check-out and after looking through it I decided to attempt this Ballerina Doll for Anna, made entirely from scraps from my fabric tubs. Will those things ever be empty??
She has HUGE brown eyes, and is a little funny looking, but there is something so sweet about a homemade doll...

....and the best part is, Anna just loves her!

Stay tuned for more of my blast of inspiration which may be coming your way sooner or later. And, let me know, how have you been inspired lately?

Dirt

Not just any dirt....RICH BLACK COMPOST....is it weird that looking at these pictures of dirt excite me? Yesterday my wonderful husband indulged me and bought me a huge load of compost for my garden beds, which I helped him unload and put into our garden beds. Every year I try my hand at gardening and I have decided that this is the year for the ultimate garden. I have big plans for these little beds.....

Carrots, lettuce, snap peas, tomatoes, onions, basil, peppers, beets, radishes, cilantro, and cucumbers are on the list so far. I'm also planning on planting a pumpkin and squash patch further out along out fence. Call me crazy, but it's thrilling!

So, do you plant a garden? And if so, I love to know what's on your list this year....and any tips you might have for the best garden yet. Please share....

Where, oh where, has my little boy gone?

Will between his two good friends, Braden and Braydon!

Receiving his medal and certificate for basketball...
In action during the last game of the season.

Lately I have been looking at Will and just thinking, "man he is getting so big!" In just 3 weeks he will be 8 years old and I can still remember the excitement of being pregnant with him and nearing my due date. With your first baby everything is new and I tended to dream a lot about this child and starting this new chapter in my life as a mommy. But really, I had no clue how he would change my life. I looked forward to the day I would become a mom and wondered if it would be a son or a daughter that would crown me with that title.

All my children are special and unique and bless me in different ways. Will is not often the center of attention. Wyatt gets more attention for his silliness, or more (negative) attention for acting up. Anna gets a TON of attention being our baby girl and is quite an attention seeker at that. But Will, he's behind the scenes. Always lending me a hand and looking out for his younger siblings without even being asked. Always a peacemaker. Always responsible. And always reminding me to pray. Every morning and evening before dinner it is almost always Will who asks, "are we gonna pray?" That, more than anything, blesses my heart.

I was at school the other day and the office ladies were telling me a story about how when Will's class was walking down the hall they passed Wyatt's room and Will saw Wyatt's jacket laying on the floor in the hall. Noticing it was Wyatt's jacket, he quietly stepped out of line and hung it up on the hook. That is the essence of Will.

I always looked up the meaning of my children's names before we decided on them. Would you believe the meaning of William is "guardian or protector". I couldn't have come up with a better description of my Will if I tried.