Summer Loving

It used to be when anyone asked what my favorite season was, I'd reply summer without hesitation. As I've become an adult (ha- whatever that means:) ) I've gained more of an appreciation for all the seasons, but summer is really winning me over this year. Maybe because of the "lazy days of summer"- I can do nothing all day and feel justified, because hey, it's summer! Maybe because of the increased time we've been spending outside, and how much I love watching my kids enjoy it. Maybe it's because it's so much easier to be active and eat healthier, which in turn makes me a happier person (so why don't I do those things year round?). Maybe it's because it seems extra appropriate to blast music and have fun (again, why don't I do that year round?). Maybe because of the flowers in bloom and the inspiration that I feel is everywhere I turn (inspiration for what I'm not sure since I'm not the craftiest gal, but the explosion of color does leave me feeling inspired to do something crafty).

Speaking of flowers, Tib was asking about what my favorite flower was for her My Favorite Monday post today. I love flowers (honestly, what girl doesn't?) and I saw many of my favorites on friends blogs today (peonies, tulips, and hydrangeas to name a few. I thought I'd share my latest favorite- ranunculus.
It's so delicate but full, has such personality, and comes in some of the greatest hues. I tried to load more pictures but blogger wasn't cooperating. Images found via flickr, and who knew they had a whole group of ranunculus pics? Check it out.

And keep enjoying summer. I know I sure am!

Thankful Thursday

1. I'm thankful for perspective. There have been a myriad of happenings lately with a variety of people in my life. I'm thankful for the perspective that allows me to let some things go and really try to worry about the things that matter most.
2. I'm thankful for produce in season. I think this is why summer is one of my favorite times. It's so much easier to eat healthy when such great stuff is so accessible.
3. I'm thankful for my garden. It's growing! And it makes me so happy to watch it grow. I'll continue to plant because part of the whole sfg thing is to stagger your crops so you don't have 20 heads of lettuce all at once when you can't possibly use it all at once. I am really excited to start eating the fruits of my labors!
4. Great friends. I've been blessed with some really good ones along the way, especially in the past year or so. I'm so glad I can spend an afternoon with Candis and chat and laugh and let our kids play and relax. I feel like I'm enjoying the lazy days of summer like I did when I was a kid on our afternoons together, and it's so nice!
5. Local traditions. This week is our local city days. It will be Addie's first time walking in the parade with the primary kids from church. I think technically she'll ride on the float. But it's such a fun thing for my kids to grow up with. Tonight we went to the stock parade-how fun to watch all the horses going down Main street! Addie was totally enamored with the sparkly shirts- I think much to my chagrin she may be a rodeo queen in the making, but I can hope her love for sparkly is a passing fancy. I can't wait for more fun this weekend!

Thanks for the banner, Tib. :)

A New Mantra...

I had a huge pile of good stuff in my mail box the other day. My gift (pictured above, except in red) from Natalie just happened to be in the pile! This charm is too cute. I hope that by wearing it I can really become the saying because I need all the calm and perseverance I can get- you know, osmosis or something, right? HomeStudio is the company behind this little gem, and they've got lots of great stuff. Just another great Etsy find. Thanks again- you go above and beyond in your giveaways, Natalie!

I Met a Celeb

Bonnie, I know you're going to blog about this too, but I couldn't not blog about it!

On Saturday Bonnie and I went to make some Relief Society visits. We had a great time chatting it up with some of the older ladies in the ward, reminiscing with them about their days gone by and seeing some of their treasures. One visit that we made was with Beulah, a 98 year old lady in our ward who's still sharp as a tack. She climbs her tree to pick her peaches and she still hangs her own Christmas lights (or so I've heard). She told us all about when she was the Relief Society president (I'm guessing close to 60 years ago!), all about a local girl who had to go to prom in the back of a truck because her dress was too big and she couldn't fit in the car with it on, all about her kids and grandkids and her neighbors and her furniture. Last night I got home from presidency meeting and was shocked to see her on the news! She didn't even mention this huge upcoming event during our visit. She was quoted on the news as saying if it was her time to go, she wanted to go out in style. So she went skydiving! With a bunch of her family. Here's the clip. Check her out. She's totally awesome. I really hope that I can be so together and fun at that age- I hope I even make it to 98!

Family Planning

One of my best friends had her second baby last week. So now she has a little girl and a little boy, about 25 months apart, just like me. I've seen some pretty cute pictures via email, but I still wish I was there to hold that new baby. Which always leaves me thinking about when our next one will come.

This topic has been on my mind a lot lately. By the time Addie was this age, I was already pregnant again with Sam. I have always known in my head that I wanted a bigger gap between Sam and the next baby, but now that I'm in that gap it feels kind of funny. Not like we're supposed to have another baby right now, just that it's different from last time. As I've been thinking about future plans, I've felt like I need to know right now when we're going to have our next baby. Which is totally untrue, but I can't help but think all the time "if we get pregnant in x month then we'll have the baby in y month" and "should we try for a baby in '09 or in '10" and "if I get braces in x month then I wouldn't want to get pregnant until at least y" and "how much would we need to add to our fsa to cover braces plus a baby" and "if we have a baby in x month then I'll only have y months before my 10 year reunion". Can you tell I've been over thinking? But even though I have, I still don't totally feel that itch. I actually had a recent "scare" and was quite relieved to not be currently pregnant. So I guess that's part of my answer for the moment.

So although I don't quite know what our plan is for baby #3, I do know it will come when the timing is right. And I am currently totally enamored with my two kiddos. I know they were meant just for me. Sam has been starting the transition to nursery the past couple of weeks, and as nice as it is to not worry as much during my Sunday meetings, I miss him. It means he's growing up. All parents go through the mix of joy and heartache watching their kids grow up. All parents go through the questioning in deciding what they want their family to be- number of kids, spacing, as well as hopes and dreams for each of those kids. I know these experiences aren't unique to me, but they're where I am right now. I'm so glad to know that we're building our family with our Heavenly Father, and dedicating it to Him. And with that knowledge, hopefully I'll rest a little easier tonight.

Thankful Thursday

1. I'm thankful for an AC that's fixed- hooray! An embarrassingly dirty filter is not a good thing. A little low on the freon wasn't too good either. A cool house is a great thing, inspiring my kids to sleep in this morning- double hooray!
2. I'm thankful for the plan. I've never been so closely involved in an LDS funeral as I was today. I'd never been to a family prayer or anything like that before the funeral. It was really nice to have the plan as the frame of reference that today's events were fitting in. I got teary as Pat's aunt, cousins, and cousin's families said good-bye to Pat's uncle. But it is easier knowing that they're only saying good-bye to a body, his spirit is still alive and doing very well, better than it has been in years. I honestly don't know how people get through life events like this without knowledge of the gospel.
3. I'm thankful for a great enrichment committee that totally stepped it up and helped with tonight's event. It was a great success. So much feedback on what an awesome night it was. We had probably around 35 people. Attendance wasn't as great as I'd hoped for, but definitely not terrible. And the food was delicious. And the spirit of the night was felt. I think the details really pulled everything together. And I'm so thankful it's done!
4. I'm thankful for family support. Even though it was a long day for everyone, my mother-in-law came and watched my kids from 3:30-9:00 so I could do my Enrichment stuff. My brother-in-law came and adjusted our sprinklers so our lawn isn't going to die and so Pat won't have to worry about it as soon as he gets back. My sister-in-law and brothers-in-law helped wrangle my kids during the funeral today. It's so nice to have a family to call on. Having lived close to all of them, I can't ever imagine moving away!
5. I'm thankful Pat is coming home tomorrow night! I can't wait to see him!

Thanks for the banner, Tib!

T Minus...

I'm still around, just swamped! I'm in the final countdown to our big Enrichment summer picnic tomorrow night. Things are coming together. The labels look fabulous thanks to a dear friend with serious skills, most of the food has been purchased, and help is lined up for tomorrow. Before I'm into the throw of party details, however, I will have made a few last minute purchases, attended Pat's uncles funeral plus burial and possibly the luncheon (although knowing my kids, we may need to come home to start naps at this point), and written my 5 minute talk helping to introduce our theme. I started on it just now, but my eyes are burning (I always tend to stay up too late when Pat is gone) and I've got to get to sleep. I can't wait for this week to be over and my large amounts of blogging time to return once again!

Notes from the Weekend

Lots to share, so let's wrap it up bullet point style, shall we?

-Birthday dinner at Pizzeria 712 was fab, as always. Although the patio dining is charming, it's a little crowded (but the whole restaurant is kind of that way). We were on our own out there for a while, but as soon as someone was seated next to us we couldn't help but talk to each other we were so close together. But, the roasted corn appetizer, delicious pizza, and panna cotta certainly makes up for the cozy factor, and I'd actually love to go there with friends when the cozy factor is more appreciated so you can hear the whole conversation easily regardless of your seat. Mmm, I love that place.
-A little shopping success post dinner was a great birthday present. I love the half-yearly sale at Nordstrom. I love some good deals at the Gap, especially since I had a credit on my Gap card account.
-Pat's uncle passed away Saturday. It was a blessing and expected, but it's still hard, especially to see the pain of people who I care about who were close to him. Funeral events are one more thing added to this week's busy schedule, but it will be nice to see family and reflect on the blessings of eternal families and the knowledge we have.
-Kneader's+Xpedx+Losee Jewelers for a ring cleaning+family bbq+sweet gifts from friends=a great birthday. Thanks to all who made my day really great.
-When emotional about your husband's upcoming trip and the fact that he'll be gone for Father's Day, don't watch the last hour of The Notebook when you happen to catch it on tv the night before departure. You'll turn into a blubbering mess, realizing how much more you should tell your husband that you love him, realizing how much you'll miss him while he's gone, and any other stress or emotion will leave you a sobbing heap for way too long.
-Don't save mounds of laundry for the night before your husband is leaving on a trip. It will leave you up doing laundry for way too long (which may have contributed to afore-mentioned sobbing).
-The week is off to a crappy start when you arrive home from church on a 90+ degree day to find your air conditioning not working. Hopefully the wisdom of a brother-in-law to thaw the ac will have it back in commission tomorrow. If not, the week could get really ugly really fast.

Happy Father's Day. I missed my husband. I got my Dad's voice mail. I saw my father-in-law. I hope you got to spend more time/conversation with the important dads in your life!

Anticipation

I have high hopes for this weekend. Wrapping up all garden planting (which involves buying a few more starts and some marigolds). Hot date with Pat tonight. Running the billion errands I need to run. Partying it up tomorrow with family for the birthday. Passing out 150 fliers for this Enrichment activity (enlisting other presidency members for assistance). Getting labels printed for the Enrichment activity. Packing Pat's suitcase successfully and letting him know what an amazing dad he is before he takes off early Sunday morning. Sneaking in a nap this afternoon and getting my tummy to settle down so I can accomplish/enjoy all of the above.

Happy Flag Day tomorrow! Have a great weekend.

Just a Number...

Today I had a consultation with an orthodontist. I've had some issues in my mouth for years, and through a recent trip to the dentist I've discovered that I really can't put off dealing with them for much longer. So, hopefully soon (if I can suck up the costs and not be so frustrated with dental insurance!) I'll be rocking the adult orthodontia. But after my appointment today, I may pull it off better than I thought!

I was making small talk with the "treatment coordinator" while we waited for the ortho to make his appearance. She asked me where I was from and what had brought me to Utah. She followed up by asking if I'd moved here with my family. When I let her know that no, in fact I'd moved here to go to BYU, she asked if I was enjoying it and still in classes. I let her know that no, I graduated from BYU in '03. Seeing her confusion, I thought I'd really throw her for a loop and dropped the big bomb: "I have two kids." She was stunned and speechless. Well, not quite, she was too bubbly to remain speechless for long. Ms. Coordinator was so sweet and cute, probably younger than I am, but seemed to think I was about 16. The fact that I'll be a decade older than that this weekend is slightly frustrating. Not that I want people to think I'm 40, but come on, give me a little credit for my (albeit small) amount of life experience!

Suddenly the ortho waltzed in, did the thorough exam, informed me that I'd be the proud wearer of braces for 18 months to 2 years, and then launched into the same scenario. "You've got so much life ahead, you'll be so happy to have this taken care of," he coaxed, trying to get me to sign up for the overpriced metal. And then, he paused, studied for a moment, and asked "How old are you?" I'm sure he expected me to tell him I couldn't wait to go to prom next year, so when I said (almost) 26, he shook his head in disbelief. "Well, I didn't think you were that old, but it will still be a great move for you, you still have a lot of life ahead." Gee, thanks, doctor. You sure do know the way to win a new patient. Then he followed up with, "You may want to go with the clear braces so people don't think you're quite as young." Then I decided to make him squirm by asking if braces would impact pregnancy in any way. This is a huge deciding factor for me. We'll most likely have another baby in the next two years. And puking with braces just doesn't sound too awesome.

Maybe it was the few zits I'm currently sporting- acne keeps you youthful, right? Maybe it's my 5'0 stature. Maybe it was my white boat neck 3/4 sleeves fuss-free shirt with jeans (which I thought was pretty mom-uniform-like, but maybe I just looked like a fashion challenged teen). Whatever it was, I walked out of the office today feeling a little confused about the image I must be portraying. Leaving the kids with my sister-in-law takes years off my life. Or maybe people just think I'm the babysitter.

I picked up the kids and headed to McD's for lunch with my sister-in-law and the niece and nephew. And I ordered a happy meal. After all, I can pull it off- it's not like I'm (almost) 26!

Notes from the weekend

-From the profound song/graduation speech that came out around the end of my high school career, I repeat the great wisdom to "Wear sunscreen." Such a one hit wonder I'm left wondering if any of you will remember the "song" I'm talking about!?! I'm only a little red today, mostly brown, but totally ticked I was so anxious to work outside Saturday I forgot to put sunscreen on.
-The set up for these garden boxes has been a lot of work! I was hoping we'd be planted by the end of the weekend, but it still hasn't happened. The boxes were prepped with linseed. The dirt is mixed and in. I'm still constructing the grids. And we're (as in mostly Pat with some assistance from me, I'm sure) still constructing the trellises. And then I can plant. Hopefully by Wednesday? If the weather holds out? Good thing for the principle of continual harvest. And although I'm a little frustrated I'm not done planting, I still think this is the coolest thing ever. It's really not as hard as I'm making it out to be. Seriously, go check it out.
-Try not to get too preachy when teaching Relief Society. I had one of those experiences on Sunday when I felt like the words that were coming were not necessarily what I'd prepared, which is usually most definitely a good thing. But then I kind of stopped and listened to myself and realized that maybe I was on a huge soapbox and needed to slow down a tad. Asking the sisters if the lesson stops at the door when they leave the Relief Society room or if they're applying the principles they learn at church could maybe come off as a little too preachy... It's hard to get people to overcome complacency without giving them a little wake up call. I'm still thinking about this one and trying to discover the best approach. Despite this fact, I think my lesson went ok.
-Stop overestimating the amount of things that can be accomplished in a weekend. Movie watching just didn't happen. Hopefully on a less full weekend in the future I can start chipping away at the must-see list.
-A light canopy is perfect party ambiance. Ideas are swirling for an upcoming party. Basking in the leftover ambiance post-party with a good friend who shares chocolate cake is the perfect way to spend a Friday night! Had it not been so windy, I could've sat under the lights for a long time.
-Exercise makes me a happier person. I really should do it more often. Hopefully I will, since I did eventually decide to work on that healthy habits challenge (thanks for the motivation, Hannah!). I've got my work cut out for me. Who knew drinking water could be so hard? I'm not a soda drinker usually, I'm a crystal light drinker. I've got to get on the water-drinking. Any tips on making it easier would be much appreciated!

That's all for now. I'm off to bed soon. Hope your week is off to a great start!

On the Agenda

So happy it's Pat's long weekend! Last weekend was a wash with all the wash I was doing keeping up with bodily fluids, so I'm hoping this weekend will more than make up for last!

-Finish our garden. We've still got a bit of work to do, but I will be so happy when all the starts that are in my garage are in my garden boxes.
-Prepare Relief Society lesson for Sunday. I'm excited to have a chance to teach again.
-Prep work for the Enrichment picnic. I need to price out food costs. I need to make fliers to remind people. I need to work on all of the labels for everything. I need to make a trip to xpedx.
-Hopefully we'll have a quiet night to relax and watch a movie. Lars and the Real Girl is on our list of things to see. I still haven't caught Juno. I'd love to have some movie time.
-I'm due for another Costco run. We buy cases of soy milk there for Sam which keeps me going back pretty regularly. Not that I'm complaining! I love Costco. I love the quality of the meat and produce. The items I can't find anywhere else. And the affordable and delicious food court treats on the way out. Churro? Yes, please. Smoothie? Of course!
-I need some time to exercise. My pan of caramel sin is gone. I've got work to do.

Hope your weekend is fantastic. I love June. Next weekend is birthday weekend- Hooray!

In a Mood...

It has been one of those days. I have been so short on patience, and between a clingy one year old whose favorite pastime is crawling on his mom and a whiny three year old who has done nothing but disobey all day, I'm feeling pretty empty and worn out. I woke up to Addie scratching me and hitting me around 6:45. What a great way to start the day! She clocked Sam in the head with a Weeble around 8:30. On the way to the grocery store she turned her sippy cup upside down and successfully spilled her whole cup of water all over her car seat. She apparently hadn't learned her lesson about spilling water because she spilled another cup all over Sam while I was making dinner, soaking the carpet as well as her brother. The only redeeming thing she did was take a nap!

During one of our conversations after something naughty, she asked me "Mom, do you still love me?" That was the wake up call I needed. We had a good talk about the fact that I will always love her no matter what, even though some of her choices make me sad.

This parenting thing- heck, this life thing, is a hard job. I've felt very worn out lately. And then I feel selfish for wanting a minute to myself. Finding the balance is a constant struggle. As I was making dinner it donned on me that the adversary is always working on me, but will probably try to make Tuesdays extra hard when I'm needing to prepare myself for presidency meeting. I've got a lot of work to do. I've got a long way to go. But I am grateful for moments of awakening like that, making me aware of why I may be struggling so I can work harder at overcoming.

Tomorrow will be better. I'm making the choice now to work harder. I am the maker of my home, and although I can't control everything, I do have a say in how I react and what I have to offer. I've got to offer more of my best.

Decisions, decisions

I was giving serious thought to starting this today. Really, it would be a good thing.

But, I made these last night. I don't think anyone in my family has touched them besides me. And there's about 1/3 of the pan left. What would you do?

Finish the pan? After all, you can't let it go to waste...
or
Throw out the pan and gain some motivation. After all, your pants don't fit...

Virtual Enrichment Help

Hey friends! How was your weekend? Mine was less than fab and included A waking up at 4:30 Saturday morning throwing up. The vomiting, accompanied by its BFF diarrhea, lasted all day, and the latter stuck around for Sunday. My plans of getting my square foot garden all finished up did not come to pass. Hopefully by the weekend (yes, it is June, a little late for sure, but better late than never, no?) we will be awaiting plant success. I scored some great beefsteak tomato plant starts at Costco which already have blooms- hopefully we'll have tomatoes in no time, which is really my favorite reason to plant a garden anyway!

On to the real point of today's post. Since I currently don't have an Enrichment Leader and my Enrichment committee is average-age 75, I'm looking to you, my faithful friends, for a little affirmation and help with my planning. We're having a summer picnic on June 19th- less than 3 weeks away, so I'm definitely in crunch mode. It will be in the backyard of a ward member- location: check. We'll visit and eat, and then we're having a spiritual program to introduce the theme we came up with for our Relief Society that we're wanting everyone to work towards. I'll post more about that later. Let me share where my inspiration is coming from (images via Oh Happy Day):
This has been in my head since I saw it in April. I don't think I'm going to do quite as many labels for every food item. For this party they did facts on the labels about the birthday boy. For our activity I thought maybe I'd do scriptures or quotes that relate to our theme we'll be introducing. I love the gable boxes and have already tracked some down online, although I'll call a few local places to compare costs before ordering. I've thought about changing colors to maybe greens with white, or blues and white, but red is my favorite color (shout-out to Tib's My Favorite Monday today), so I'll most likely stick to this palate.

So, on to the food. I'm thinking a typical sandwich/fruit/salad or chips/cookie type picnic- everything will wrap up so nicely in the boxes. Most likely water to drink. Here are some places I've looked for inspiration on the menu:
Sandwiches: this or a variation on this (no mayo will make it easier to make ahead, is my thinking)
Fruit: maybe something like this?
Salad or chips: chips would definitely be easier- maybe some sun chips or something kind of different/fun
Cookie: most likely the gold standard chocolate chip- Pat's mom makes the best- maybe I could convince her to make them "with" (for) me
Drinks: water? fun drinks that won't break the bank? If I do water bottles they'll fit nicely in the boxes- a definite plus.

Seating: should I bring round tables over and set up chairs making it a little more formal, or should I just have chairs everywhere and blankets for people to sit and eat more casually?

Decor: I'm thinking white lights along the fence. Red and white balloons at the gate to welcome people in. Flowers in jelly jars and mason jars along the table the boxes are on, and possibly other tables if we end up eating at tables. Maybe votives in jelly jars for when the dusk settles in?

I'm sure I'm over thinking, but I do love a good party, and I really think food and decor will help set the tone for the night. I want it to be a smash hit so the sisters have a great desire to be more involved in attending Enrichment, too- it's kind of my debut activity.

Help me out, readers. Food suggestions, decor ideas, it's all welcome.