Life and Gardening

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The ten dollar bill I found in the dryer this morning.  It's nice to get "paid" for the work I do around the house. :)

2. Lillian's prayer when she said she's grateful for the rain because it helps all the flowers and trees grow.

3. The way Liam holds onto the corner of his pillow as he's falling asleep.

4. Sydney's big, blue eyes with long eyelashes and the freckles on her nose.

5. Flower seeds and gardening.  It's amazing how many parallels and metaphors can be made between planting/growing seeds and life.  Four young women from church came to my house tonight and we planted flower seeds in little clay pots together.  We talked about how growing flowers is like growing faith- they both need specific things in order to grow (flowers need soil, sun and water; faith needs desire, prayer and opportunities to be taught by the Holy Spirit)- they also both need to be nurtured and cared for on a consistent basis.  It's amazing how a seed the size of a pin head can grow into a tall, beautiful, blooming flower- and then that flower can produce lots more teeny tiny seeds that will grow into even more flowers and more seeds....and the cycle goes on forever.  This process of creation reminds me of a quote I heard from a talk a few years ago:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty..." -President Uchtdorf; "Happiness, Your Heritage"

Cilantro, Dinosaurs, Dogs, & Dinner

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Two little cilantro sprouts!  I'm trying to grow herbs.  My green thumb isn't quite so sure about this endeavor.  A couple of weeks ago, I bought oregano, mint, and basil as little starter plants and transplanted them into cute, colorful pots.  The basil has already died.  The mint looks like it's holding on as best it can, and the oregano is pretty good...I think.  Cilantro is my favorite herb to cook with, but I couldn't get a starter plant so I bought some seeds and started from scratch.  I noticed today that two little sprouts just poked up out of the dirt.  Wish them luck!

2. Dinosaurs.  Sydney wanted to do a "preschool lesson" this morning.  The kitchen sink was piled high with dirty dishes, but I suppressed the urge to go into Crazy-Cleaning-Mama-Mode and instead threw together some activities for the kids.  Liam requested dinosaurs.  We recited poems with hand motions about dinosaurs; pretended to stomp, fly, and run like dinosaurs; learned about herbivores and carnivores; compared Liam's dinosaur toys by color, size, how many legs they walked on, etc; and we looked at pictures of dinosaurs.  The best thing the kids got to do was play with little plastic dinosaurs in play-dough.  I buried them in balls of play dough so they could excavate them like paleontologists.  Then they made fossil footprints in the play dough and Liam pretended that his dinosaurs got stuck in sticky mud and hot lava.  They entertained themselves for almost an hour; it was amazing!

We also read a book called "Chalk" by Bill Thomson...actually, the book has no words so we make up the story every time.  The illustrations are amazing and the kids really like it when I name the three characters in the book after them.  It's basically about three kids who go for a walk in the rain and find a mysterious bag of sidewalk chalk at the park.  The chalk proves to turn a boring rainy afternoon into quite an adventure!  We've gotten this book from the library so many times that I've considered buying it.

Since dinosaur starts with the letter D, I couldn't resist incorporating some Teacher's Creatures in our mini preschool lesson.  I introduced Donald the Dog to the kids. Liam now knows what sound the letter D makes, even though he can't always identify what the letter looks like. :)  At least it's a start....

To go along with our dog and letter D, we read a book about Donald the Dog's friend Marley.  "Bad Dog Marley" is one of Lillian's favorite books.  Her Aunt Sharon gave it to her when she was about 2, along with a stuffed Marley dog from the book/movie "Marley & Me."  Marley is her most beloved stuffed animal.  It is her first choice of snuggle item when she is tired, not feeling well, gets hurt, or needs comfort.  If she can only bring one stuffed animal on a trip, Marley is always the one that gets to come along.  I think her other stuffed animals all have Marley Envy.  Anyways, Marley happens to be a good friend of Donald the Dog, so we read his story today too.  It's a fun story about a family dog who causes lots of trouble but in the end proves that he's right where he belongs.

It was fun, and rewarding, to see the kids learning...and the dishes eventually got cleaned in the afternoon. :)

3. Bobby getting home before we were done eating dinner.  It's such a change from the first three months of the year when he was gone all week long.  I like being able to ask him when he thinks he'll be home and if he'll make it in time for dinner.  He isn't always able to join us at the dinner table, but at least there's a chance he will. 

Grateful Sabbath

Today I'm thankful for...

1. My Savior.  Because of Him I understand that I am a divine daughter with an invaluable sole.  Because of Him I can reach for perfection and become perfected in the process.  Because of Him I don't feel fear or despair when I remember my family members and friends who have passed away.  Instead, I feel a comforting peace and hope in the belief that death is not a dark ending, but rather a beautiful, bright beginning to a new phase of our existence.  Because of Him I know joy.  I know love.   I know.

Easter is over, but this is still a very powerful portrayal of Christ and what he did.  For you, for me, for all of us.  It's only 2 1/2 minutes long, and it's definitely worth watching!

2. BBQ picnics outside on our front porch.  For dinner tonight Bobby grilled his famous chicken and I made our favorite lime-cilantro rice with pineapple (recipe here at Our Best Bites...SO good!).  Bobby also grilled up some teeny-tiny potatoes (real name) from our neighbor along with sweet peppers.  Eaten on a paper plate with the sun on my face, it was the perfect meal!  The kids picnicked on top of the slide while the neighborhood kids lingered around waiting for them to finish so they could have a turn at our new softball-on-a-string batting tee.  After meal time, the neighborhood batting practice session was in full swing (no pun intended).  We sure have some sluggers on our street.  One of my neighbors told me a story about her very first babysitting job when she was 13.  She was watching a little 3 year old.  They were outside in the yard and he had a batting tee like ours.  The first hit he made off the tee sent the ball flying straight through a window in the house!  Imagine that for your first babysitting job!  I didn't ask if she ever babysat for them again.

3. Barbie's new couch.

Barbie is lounging in style.  She doesn't have any kids with messy fingers and leaky sippy cups, so she can enjoy the luxury of white upholstery. :)  I found a really easy tutorial online. (thanks, Pinterest!) All you basically need is an empty tissue box, fabric, tape, and a hot glue gun.  A 4 year-old assistant helps, too.  Sydney sat in my lap during the project, directing where the hot glue should go, giving design advice, and holding fabric in place.  The pillows were entirely her idea and she came up with the designs.  She even helped sew them together!  It was so cute to watch her little delicate fingers work the needle.  I think she has more pillow designs in mind, so the Mom Factory will have to get back to work soon.  The next Barbie furniture project might be bunk beds, so stay tuned.  We're furnishing Barbie's mansion piece-by-cardboard-piece....Barbie has been struck by economic hard times like the rest of us, plus she likes to upcycle her recyclable goods. :)

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Beautiful blossoming trees. Pink, purple, and white buds are everywhere. I love it! Spring time really lifts my spirits after a long, cold winter!

2. Softball. Lillian had her second softball/tee-ball practice and "game" this afternoon. Her best friend from across the street is on her team. They have nice yellow jerseys (better quality than any of the Little League jerseys I ever had!) with matching yellow visors. Their team name is the Liberties. Lillian made a yellow rainbow loom bracelet this morning to give to one of her coaches. I saw him wearing it after the game today. :)

It's so much fun to see Lillian play in the field and herd toward the ball whenever it gets hit her way (which has only been a few times). She has a good swing and she knows how to hustle to first base with her hand clamped down on top of her helmet so it doesn't slump down over her eyes or fall off the back of her head. Any time she sees Bobby or me on the sidelines she jumps up and down and waves to us. It makes my heart jump for joy to see her having fun playing a sport that was such a big part of my own childhood. I hope it brings her fun and excitement.

When Lilly turned three I was ambitious and bought her a real, high quality batting tee. It's finally getting some good use.  Bobby is a genius and he rigged up a softball on a rope so Lillian can have batting practice without breaking any windows or losing her ball in the street. He just drilled a hole straight through one of our softballs and threaded a thin rope through the hole. Then he tied a knot in the rope on either side of the ball to keep it in place and tied the other end of the rope around the base of the tee. It works great!! And it's the coolest new toy on the block. The boys from down the street like to take a few hits every time we have it out in the yard. Lillian's swing is getting better every day.  Sydney is also getting some good batting practice... It's never too early to start! :)

3. Brinner... Breakfast for dinner. Bobby is on call today and tonight. The afternoon was pretty quiet so he was able to see Lilly's softball game and play at home afterwards. When I was about to start making dinner he got called back into the hospital. I decided to ditch nice dinner plans and made chocolate chip pancakes, cheesy eggs, and bacon instead. We love brinner.  Poor Bobby has been swamped ever since. Since he missed eating with us tonight, maybe he can have brinner for breakfast tomorrow morning. Oh, wait. That would be breakfast. Just breakfast.

4. Dance parties. Every where I go I hear kids singing Frozen songs. Especially "Let it Go." I can't get away from that song. So naturally it got stuck in my head today. The only way to get rid of it is to listen to it, so I queued up my Disney kids Pandora station and sure enough it was one of the first songs. We all belted it out along with Ms. Menzel. When the other songs came on Liam asked me to dance with him. How could I refuse that invitation?! Lillian declared an official dance competition so we all busted out our best moves on the living room floor. I had so much fun bopping and hopping around with the kids, but I'm glad the curtains were drawn. :)

Spring...almost!

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Spring....that ALMOST came this week!  Yesterday it hit 60 degrees...so nice!  We discovered little flower buds poking out of the ground beneath all of the snow in our yard.  It's amazing that they came up under such a freezing cold blanket, and through frozen solid ground!  Today was kind of warm, but with rain and lots of wind.  Temps are plummeting into the 20's at this very moment.  Winter coats, hats and gloves will go back on tomorrow.  :-/  BUT there is still hope for Spring- it's coming!!

2. "Smoovies"- I made some smoothies with strawberries, kiwi, and bananas tonight.  Liam called it a "smoovie."  :-)

3. The Huggy Monster.  Lillian and Sydney were invited to their friend's house across the street for a play date late this afternoon, which gave Liam and me some rare one-on-one time.  We played "catch" with a Chicago-style softball, I gave him airplane and rocket rides, and we played tickle monster.  He likes to tackle me to the ground, then hug me tight and say, "I GOTcha!"  I ask him if he his rescuing me or capturing me, and he always says he's rescuing me....my hero. :)  At one point while we were playing I started chasing him around saying I was going to get him.  He got a little scared...I guess I'm scary?  So instead I told him to catch me.  He started chasing me and I played my damsel in distress role by screaming, "Aaah!  Aaah!  Help me!"  Liam suddenly stopped and looked directly at me and said, "No, I not SCARY monster."  I said, "Oh?  Are you a NICE monster?"  To which he replied, "No.  I a HUG monster!"  Then he hugged me really tight and said, "I HAPPY!  I HUGGY monster!"  So we sat there and hugged....while my heart melted.

4. Stories with Big Sister.  Sydney got her fingers slammed in the window by accident.  She's fine, but she was pretty sad about it.  Lillian felt really bad- she was the one closing the window when Syd's fingers were in the way.  Lillian invited Sydney into her bed to read "One Fish, Two Fish..." by Dr. Seuss.  Then she let Sydney fall asleep in her bed next to her.  It was a nice sister-sister moment.

5. A clean van!!  Well, the outside is clean anyway.  The inside is another story.  My neighbor always has a clean car.  (He also doesn't have any kids...just as a side note).  I asked him where he gets his car washed and he recommended this place he goes to all the time.  I thought it was worth a shot.  My van was so crusted over in salt and grime and it was a sad site.  So I took the kids on an adventure to the car wash!  Sydney reminded me of the time Grandma took her to the car wash in Grandma's car.  She prepped us by explaining everything that would happen with the soap, the water, and all the brushes and the drying.  Her favorite part were the "ballerina brushes"....the tall round ones that spin around really fast and look like a tutu twirling around.  My neighbor's recommendation did not disappoint.  The car wash and the attendants did a great job.  Well worth the $11.79 and tip.  All afternoon, Sydney made it a point to show everyone how clean the van is.  Now who wants to vacuum out the inside?  I'm afraid to even look under the kids' car seats.  I'll probably need a bio chem suit to clean under there...