Here's to you Martha

Thinking of my old friend Martha from NV who loved Dolly, played the cello, ate ketchup (what a wierd word) with everything except chocolate, and is hands down THE most accident prone person I have ever ever known. Oh, how I wish we had kept in touch. Oh, the arsenal of funny stories I could have had.

Thanks, Dolly!

OK, I'm just now getting to Wednesday's Dancing with the Stars. And I have to say...I love Dolly Parton. And it wasn't from growing up in her old stomping grounds either. I think it was actually from college road trips with my friend Martha. We would go to Vegas to visit her family and we listened to Jolene over and over again to memorize the words. SO FUNNY! and SO FUN! I miss Martha, she was something else! Actually, now that I think of it I did the same thing with another Dolly song and my friend Cameron. And I love Dolly's new song. So inspiring. I need to take her advice. I feel so lazy lately and I need to get it in gear. Being in Mommy land for so long I forget what it's like to really push myself. Not that being a mom isn't difficult and non stop it's also really fun and vacation like. Going to parks, reading stories, playdates, hanging out with friends granted all the while dealing with the kids. But I am going to have to start working in some way or another but I can't leave my kids....so this should be interesting to say the least. I'm thankful for a really tough challenge!

princess of crazy

OK I'm officially a blogging slacker. I don't know what's up. Life has been a little...a lot crazy lately. Our contract on the house fell through. And we have started showing the house again. I have decided I need to work. So I am going to start teaching ballroom dance lessons on Saturdays and I have been trying to work on getting that started up. It should be fun, all I need are students. :) Wish me luck. Chickie got sick this week and I have been working so hard to get her better. It's so sad. I hate that she may have to miss Ellie's birthday party. Today she seemed back to her old self, but there is still that lingering cough....

Today was really beautiful and we had fun sitting outside enjoying the day. Which reminds me of the day last week, that I didn't blog about. It was another beautiful day and we went on a walk across the street to the part of the park where we can walk to a little produce market. We had fun picking out fruit together. Chickie protested all of my picture taking. Funny! And she made a really funny paper dress for her elephant. This elephant is named Violet, after her very first hair dresser.

Speaking of hairdressing. Chickie likes to play salon a lot and fixes all of our hair. Today she declared herself "Princess of Crazy" after getting and giving some crazy hair. Today I'm thankful for Chickie feeling better.

blog on little blogger

I have tried to keep this blog really positive. Even my sister said, "No one can really be that happy." Usually I am. It's not a lie, but it is skewed towards the good in my life. But things have been kind of rough lately. Which maybe explains my blogging absence. Or is it my lack of blogging that has made things seem a little rough lately.
It's one of those things in life....it really doesn't matter how bad things are, it's all about how you perceive the events in your life and if you are only looking at the negative or if you are looking at all the positive. You just have to give yourself as many positive outlets as possible.
Our friend Holland told us yesterday of a missionary he knew who always added an unexpected bit of gratitude to his prayers. "Like I'm thankful for grasshopper I saw this morning." If you say everyday that you are grateful for your amazing family...it's still always true, but it becomes stale. You have to think of different reasons why. True gratitude comes to life in the specifics. That's my theory. When you give yourself the real reasons ,when you really notice the particulars of WHY you are grateful, then you begin to take notice. Does that make any sense?
I was having one of many bad days last week and two of my best friends that I hadn't talked to in a while called out of the blue. I didn't think a thing of it...until I really did think about it, and how great it was to talk to Trea in particular and what a kindred spirit she is. How much I relate to her and how it makes me feel so much better just to hear her laugh. And how ironic it is that we tend to have the very same problems. And how great it was to hear her exciting news that she is pregnant. All of those specifics make it so much sweeter than just thinking, "I'm grateful for my friends." And when I reflected on those two calls on that day, I began to feel very blessed.

A few silly random things I am grateful for:

Tim Gunn's guide to style....because I seriously need the help.

And the funniest picture ever, I have been laughing for days. It is from The Sartorialist. A great fashion blog.

remember this?

Does remembering a really fun day help on a really stressful day? Actually, today was really fun for a stressful day. Thanks Mandee for taking care of us today.
Today I'm greatful for memories, family, and really great friends!

Eliza Magazine

So excited about this. A modest magazine! Too good to be true?

little lost blogger

It has been FOREVER since I last blogged. How sad. The good news is that we have been having a showing on our house almost everyday and now have a contract on our house. Yay! We'll see how the inspection goes. Chickie also had her first week of preschool and started soccer. And I finished my cute wallet. So we have been very busy. Mostly cleaning for showings. There was one very bad side effect from my lack of blogging. My old habit of babbling on and on came back. We went to an enrichment meeting at church...which was on strengthening your immune system...very good, and as soon as I sat down I was babbling on and on about my wallet and all the salmon I was eating that week blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I couldn't stop myself.

How I

have missed you. I'm so glad to be blogging right now!

mashed potatoes & acorn squash

Bentley is learning to self feed...I don't know about you but I think he did a pretty good job!
He actually did get a few bites in his mouth with the spoon. And his shirt is surprisingly clean. He is VERY vocal at meal times. Typical man, very passionate about his food.

I'm so thankful for this little guy. I'm thankful for both my guys.

Not so bad day

You know it's going to be a bad day when you find yourself pilfering through your daughter's dress up box in order to get yourself dressed in the morning! I am bound and determined to get my wallet finished! It has been well over a week...I got derailed for a bit with the neighborhood newsletter. So this morning I was trying to get as many hours/minutes as possible dedicated to this project, which meant cutting out hair time. So in order to disguise the grease (eww!), I needed a headband. My daughter has many scarves, most of them used to be mine...now they are doing duty as bridal veils, Cinderella aprons, and Mary headdresses. This very inventive look is done with the use of a small floatie, a valentines day pillow case, two headbands and a swaddling blanket. I'm not sure if she was Mary or Maid Marian...either way this kid could rock Project Runway! At any rate, hair semi-under control, I got almost done with my cute wallet.

Nice, right! I look v. pirate -esque.

And, even better news...Chickie is off the waiting list for preschool! Hallelujah! She SO needs it. We go Monday to get her all signed in and meet the teacher! And you know what this means for me...I go from having about 2 hours of alone time every other week to 6 hours every week! That is, provided Bentley keeps up with his regular nap time. I'm gonna get so much done! Or not, either way it's awesome.
Today I'm thankful for preschool, sewing, more house showings, and peanut butter cookies!

Carolina Rain Babys Got Her Blue Jeans On

This is for Tall Tall Sister. To make you smile. I will never forget the first day you wore a pair of jeans! This song came on the radio and little you bounced up and down, so happy and pleased with yourself! It was the cutest thing! I'm thankful for you sis!

SO FUNNY

The season premiere of Ellen was SO FUNNY. It seriously cracked me up. I know it was on a couple of days ago, but I'm just now getting to it thanks to tivo. The Alvin Ailey dancers cracked me up. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Chickie was very interested because she is taking modern this year. We were doing laundry while we watched it and we ended up dancing all around the house to put the laundry away. Very Fun! It reminded me of being little and watching FAME the TV show and dancing all around the house! LOVE IT! If you hurry you can see it for yourself on Ellen's website.

Cute Kids

Two cute things each of my kids did today:

Turns out Bentley knows what bobby pins are for. He has been putting them in my hair. And after his bottle I was burping him and he started patting me on the back, too. It was such a sweet little pat. I melted! What a sweetie!

And Chickie made glittery signs to post around the yard for our neighbors to see. She had me write on each one. They say "COMING SOON PIRATE PLAY AT CHICKIE'S HOUSE." I guess I could have taught her how to write that, but I was feeling a little impatient and there were a lot of signs. Her glue stick wasn't working so I volunteered to staple them to the trees for her. And this morning she made a trail of toys to lure Bentley away from the excitement of mom doing the dishes to play with her. Totally worked.

I am SO thankful for my kids!

Cleaning Therapy

The comments on this post have become a post in their own right. I would love to have more comments on the subject because I am seriously distraught over this matter and I just won't let it die! Check it out here. If you have been reading all the madness, but haven't posted a comment yet. Now is the time! If you aren't a blogger, you can click the 'other' button and type in your name.

Edit: Chickie took this pic of me sweeping her room. I guess I killed the cleaning subject...It's just as well, my lovely neighbor told me "A clean house is a boring life!" She said that is what she did for 35 years to please her husband...now she is more lax. I adore her. She is a very sweet woman and a lovely lovely neighbor. And her house is so so cute, basement and all!

neat vs. messy

I found two cute new blogs. One from Jordan Ferney, who on her profile lists the following under interests: nice cleaning supplies, a nice linen closet, and the best way to fold a fitted sheet. I think it is safe to guess that she is a neat freak and possible perfectionist. She obviously likes pretty things.
The other, Kyran Pittman, definitely not a neat freak, but obviously delightful. Her dandelion essay cracks me up. Especially her dad's poem to the neighbors.

It just goes to show that neither neat or messy is wrong. We are all so different. That is what makes life beautiful.

I'm thankful for new inspiration.

Why I am the way I am...

These are my cute sisters singing. They sound awesome, by the way! I wish I could carry a tune!
Notice in this picture the brown drawer. Then look over to the top left at the lone handle.
This is my mom's kitchen. It has been this way for a good two years. I asked her why was it again, that there is one brown drawer. She had been painting and she got tired. And besides, she likes it. The handle was a trial run. She was trying to find some hardware that fit the old holes in the cabinets exactly. I told her that you are supposed to putty the old holes and make new ones. She doesn't mind, not one bit that her kitchen is a little quirky and unfinished. She thinks it's funny, I think.
And then there is my Grammy, on my dad's side. I remember her fixing some sort of hole in the wall with duct tape and a paper plate. It really didn't look that bad. I think she may have painted the paper plate. Grammy lives in a very cute white house with a pink door. It used to be a church and her bedroom is where the pulpit used to be. It is 100% charming, even if she uses duct tape for home repair.
This is why being a perfectionist is completely against my nature. I try. Really, I do. But, it really does not come naturally. Much to my husband's dismay (he wants our house to look spotless 24/7). A lot of the time I don't see the need for things to be perfect. I don't care if there is a mess once in a while. Apparently other people do. They do things that don't even occur to me to do. Like my friend Christina who folds her used grocery bags into a knot. I have always been of the "Make it work" philosophy. I don't think there is anything wrong with being the way I am, at the same time, I would hope that all of the perfectionism from the people around me can wear off on me a little. If only because I like things to be pretty. Perfectionists know how to make things pretty.
Today I'm thankful for my quirky family and the perfectionists.

Love Love Love - Tristan Prettyman

This is the song Katie and Rose are singing in the picture above. What a great song!

Happy Labor Day

Gracias, Danka, Merci

On Sundays we started a new tradition of having breakfast for dinner. A lot like Sam's pizza nights...which are a lot of fun. I have also decided to do this more in my life, a schedule I guess. It's kind of nice. I think it probably makes things a lot more productive...instead of just hit or miss. So I thought it would be fun to start gratitude Sundays on my blog.
First of all. I love blogging. It has been really beneficial to me for several reasons. For one, I have an outlet for my thoughts. Because of that, I find myself listening a lot more to others. Instead of waiting for a certain topic to come up in conversation and then pouncing on an unsuspecting friend, unloading all that has been on my mind, I find myself much more able to listen. Secondly, this blog has really helped me on my quest to live a grateful life. A lot of the turmoil in my life has been brought upon myself by ingratitude. Because of that I have started trying to saturate our days with gratitude. One instrument in this cause that has been very effective has been our gratitude moments at the end of the day. As a part of our bedtime routine, before family prayer and scripture study we all go around and say what we are thankful for that day. Of course the most enthusiastic thanks giver is Chickie. Children are a delight! Our prayers, in turn, which were once lack luster in the thanks department are now 90% thanksgiving. I think it has had a very positive effect on our outlook on life.
Today in church our teacher asked us to think of an unsuspected service that someone has done for us to share later in the class. I, of course, had to take my baby out in to the hall. So I'll share mine now. The first one was when a friend brought over 3 months worth of FHE ideas geared toward my daughter. She brought a basket filled with activities and toys to supplement the lessons. I was amazed and so grateful, this really helped us get into the habit of FHE. We didn't have anymore excuses and we realized how easy they could be. Plus, Chickie loved it! The other was after a funeral. We were all so devastated, and a neighbor left a bag of food and a note. It was at the perfect time, unsuspected and such a comfort.
I am the first person to sign up when someone needs a meal or when I hear of a need where someone has asked for specific help. But both of the most meaningful acts of service to me were done without me asking for help. They were just thought of and performed. Both of those acts taught me how to truly be of service to others (now if I'll just try it).
If you want something else to be thankful for read this beautiful talk on gratitude: here.
I am thankful for you who read my blog and thankful for your comments. I would love to hear any comments if you have inspiring stories of service, or things you were grateful for today. I saw a squirrel with a huge nut in his mouth, that was kind of cool. I'm thankful for the huge windows in my sun room.