Happy Birthday Little Miss C!

Today, Little Miss C is 8 years old. We had an old fashioned, backyard carnival for her on Saturday. Corn dogs, cracker jacks, balloon twisting, donuts on a string, a clothespin drop, a fishing pond... you get the idea.

We were on quite a strict budget, but were quite pleased with how it turned out. It appears that a lot can be done with a stack of colored cardstock and some imagination. Not to mention a really, really big red balloon. {after filling it with helium, we worried we wouldn't be able to fit it through the door!}

It was great fun. J made an amazing video of the day. I love the way he captured the energy and color. I just wish she weren't growing up so fast...


 And to top it all off, Daisy laid her first egg!

Little Miss C proclaimed that even the hens knew enough to give her a present. :) Happy Birthday, Little Miss!

Close Up

I have strict instructions from my mother to take some pictures this weekend. Which means {now that our SLR is dead and gone} I must charge the camera phone and upload some semi blurry goodness on Monday. Aren't you excited? You should be! Happy weekend, all.

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Long Portrait

I'll warn you now. This is a video only a mother could love. It's long. It's almost entirely unedited. And it involves a significant mess. But sometimes J and I just have the urge to preserve all of the little nuances of our children's behavior, before they've grown out of that phase and we can no longer remember how baby L used to eat the bottom of the ice cream cone first. So. Indulge me.

RSVP or RIP

There is a difference {sometimes vast} between religion and culture. As a Latter Day Saint, I hold my christian beliefs close to my heart. They are sacred and I would never make light of them. Mormon culture, on the other hand, can drive me up a wall.

For instance; among other things, Mormons strive to be organized, thoughtful and thrifty. And yet most find it almost impossible to RSVP for an event. Ever. Why is that? Surely, it helps when organizing an event to know how many will be in attendance? If one has ever hosted an event, it is quite easy to remember being in such a position, standing in the isles of a party store wondering if one package of napkins will suffice or if two are in order. It would be thoughtful to spare someone the guessing game by giving them a short phone call with a yay or a nay. And as for thrifty-- well, let's just say there is no need to bake 24 cupcakes if 12 will do just fine.

This is not meant to be a tirade. I've been guilty of such infractions myself. But it's been on my mind this week as I've been preparing for Little Miss C's birthday. We sent out 20 invitations. Half have RSVP'd.

The half that isn't Mormon. :)

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Briefly

Dear Lifetime Channel,

I never thought I'd have a reason to watch you. Still, thank you for putting full episodes Project Runway's new season online. It has made giving up cable in order to pay more pressing bills virtually painless.

Dear Mom & Dad,

My polka dotted blouse arrived in the mail today and I was so excited I wore it around the house with red heels. Do you think I'd look overdressed if I swung by the library in it? No, I thought not. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You spoil me unceasingly.

Dear Kate Spade,

I'm so glad that you'll be selling legwear this fall. I'm thrilled that I can get something at your store for under $20. I'm already planning on buying those fabulous green tights to wear with my new blouse. And the red tights. And the teal ones. And those amazing polka dotted knee socks....

Dear Hot Weather,

Please go away. I want to wear tights and sweaters and knee high boots. I miss running in crisp air and wish I could plan a Halloween costume without wondering if my face makeup will melt.

Dear Brownies on the Kitchen Counter,

I can't hear you. I can't hear you. I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

Dear Running Shoes,

Please speak up. The brownies keep drowning you out.

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Family Portrait 2009

It's been over a year since Robot Parade and our last Family Portrait video. I can't believe how much everyone has grown {or how badly I'm in need of a haircut....} Enjoy. And don't miss the outtakes at the end! :)

Chickies

The other morning while I was reposing near the garden and reading my scriptures, our little black & white hen hopped up into my lap and settled in. It was quite unexpected and oddly heartwarming. I haven't had a pet {that I've liked} for a long time, but I'm finding that I'm becoming rather fond of these little biddies. They're useful. Low maintenance. Entertaining. And, unbelievably, affectionate. 

Besides, there's something so striking about a black, white and red hen standing on an expanse of emerald grass. Lovely. 

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Paint vs Paper

So, I finally finished painting Little Miss C's room. It's a lovely, barely-there shade called Ballerina Gown {which helped tremendously when it came to talking her out of her first choice, the garish Sleeping Beauty Pink}. 

It took me longer than I'd first planned-- I leapt right into the project the minute I had enough cash for a gallon of primer and paint, forgetting, of course, that it takes two gallons to adequately cover the walls. Little Miss C had to spend a few weeks with the furniture pushed to the center of a room that looked as though Flora and Merryweather had had a wand fight.

But eventually I finished. And I set up the furniture. Added accents of pale green and yellow. Organized her toys in the closet with storage containers and clever labels. It was absolutely perfect for about an hour.

The very next day, every surface of the wall was covered in paper. Bright. Neon. Pink. Paper. She colored on it. She cut out words. She made paper chains. And hung them everywhere. She was so thrilled to have so many walls as her own personal gallery. It's cute, I guess. If I don't look directly at it. 

*sigh* 

My daughter the artist.

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Laundry Day

Remember my New Year's resolution to fold laundry directly after removing it from the dryer? One unforeseen consequence of my determination to actually follow through has been a complete avoidance of laundry altogether! I suppose subconsciously I figure that if I don't feel like folding laundry, just don't wash it. No broken resolutions, no harm done. That is, until days like today, when there isn't a stitch of clean clothing to be found and a bazillion loads of mountainous laundry crowd the laundry room. *sigh* I have resigned myself to an entire day of washing, drying and folding {I have no choice, unless I want venture out in public wearing pajamas!}. At least I have TiVo to keep me company.

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Run Along

I'm not sure what it is about running. Even when I take my medicine faithfully, I'm not fully myself unless I put my body through an invigorating workout. After spending the week moping and unsatisfied, I've just come home from a nice, long run and my! What a difference endorphins make! Suddenly, the weekend looks quite rosy. Hope yours is refreshing as well. 

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Denim is Dead

I know everyone in the blogosphere is already talking about Kate Spade's new clothing collection, but I simply can't help myself. Each of these perfectly styled ensembles only reinforces my deeply held belief that dresses are to be worn every day. Ah, I love being a woman.

I think I'm going to pick up a cream cardigan and some black felt and turn it into this: 

It shouldn't be too hard, and it'll cost less than $300. 

Irrational Fear and Other Random Musings

1) Sometimes as I'm rinsing dirty dishes, I'm struck with the fear that I'll somehow become confused about what I'm doing and lick my fingers. Ick.

2) I hate taking my medicine, so I've started allowing myself a bite of ice cream every morning after swallowing my pills. Yesterday, I found that we'd run out, and could not make myself take my medication until I'd run to the store and purchased more chocolate peanut butter ripple. I guess that whole "spoon full of sugar" thing is spot on, in my case.

3) While pulling on my pajama bottoms last night, I noticed that the waistband was feeling tighter, and commented to J that I have got to start training harder since I'm gaining weight. "No," he said, "Your clothes have just shrunk. Look, mine have too." He pulled at his own waistband. I tried to suppress a smile and said, as delicately as I could, that I didn't think that the clothing was the problem. Awkward. 

4) I'm still not giving up my spoon full of ice cream every morning. 

Weekend with a Camera-Phone

I spent the weekend wearing this dress {thanks mom & dad!}.......

... sipping on a few of these {thanks J!},....

... and watching the first season of this show. How was your weekend?

Yellow Polka Dot

Look what just popped up in the Final Sale section! And in my size! If I weren't broke, I'd snap it right up. Nothing suites triple digit weather like a happy little yellow polka dotted number. 

Tweet Tweet

Last night as I finished my dinner, I promised the children that if they could get ready for bed quickly, I would read another chapter of The Enormous Egg before tucking them in. Little Miss C raced up the stairs, calling, "I'm going to wear my pink pajamas!" 

J and I smiled, eager to fill the temporary silence with actual conversation, but were interrupted by Little Miss C yelling, "I'm putting away my dirty clothes!" and a mere moment later, "I'm brushing my teeth now!"

"Um, good." I called back, annoyed at the distraction.

I hadn't even finished my next sentence before her voice rang out, "I'm using the bathroom!"

J and I exchanged glances. "Does she really think I need a play by play report? Honestly, the bathroom?"

J just shrugged and explained, "She's tweeting."

{fabric wall decals via Mae}

Sleep

When depression creeps in, I find myself avoiding the harshness of the day by sleeping. I crave the numbness that sleep provides, and it becomes increasingly difficult to leave the dark, enveloping folds of my blankets come morning. But it's dangerous to give in to the lull of sleep. Not only do I neglect my children and my duties, sleep does nothing to break me from the grip of depression. It is a false and all too temporary reprieve. I know what truly works: Early morning running, healthy eating, lots of sunshine, and remembering to take my medicine. But it's awfully hard to remind myself off all that when the alarm goes off at 5 am and the softness of my bed invites me to ignore the world.

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The Ball Game

J has been taking Little Miss C out for daddy-daughter dates for a few years now. Lately we've been noticing that E is old enough to have some one-on-one time, too. So when J scored some free tickets to a baseball game, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. 

E has only recently been learning to play baseball, so seeing it in person was a marvel. He's also been learning all his numbers, and spent much of the game matching the score to the numbers on the bleacher seats. 

Of course, the food was half the fun. Of all our children, E is the most difficult to force food into. Except when said food is a hot dog, soda and ice cream. Boyhood heaven. By the time they made it home, he was asleep on his daddy's shoulder, but the next morning he couldn't stop pantomiming the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, and the way the ball splashed into a swimming pool {truly!}. He can hardly wait for his next father-son outing.