{good morning}

Good morning rain.

Good morning sweet baby.

Good morning sleepy boys.

Good morning sausage and cheesy eggs.

Good morning wild hair.

Good morning dry-erase markers and white boards.

Good morning snotty nose.

Good morning pile of laundry.

Good morning pretty music.

Good morning gloomy sky.

Good morning poor mama bird building another nest in the dryer vent.  I'm so sorry for you.

Good morning zit on my chin.

Good morning Monday.

You are gunna rock. 

(Just trying to psych myself out for the day.)

{ Happy Mother's Day}

I could write a wonderful and loving post about how much I love my mother, and my mother-in-law and how much I love being a mother, but let's be honest.

Because Ryan had to work today, and we just got home from church and nobody had naps, it ain't happening.  I'm not cranky by any means.  I promise.  The house just looks like a wreck and I'm exhausted.

So instead I'll just share a picture or two and wish you all a Happy Mother's Day.  Just keeping it real and within reason.  Love you all!

Plus I have two little boys that insist that they're going to do the dishes for me...so I need to go supervise.  :)  Oh, happy day!

*Ryan had to work in the afternoon, so we ventured church just the four of us...he came for the first 30 minutes.
*Tanner sang with all the primary children, and did a wonderful job!
*Taylor slept through the second half of Sacrament.
*The boys helped me do the dishes, then promptly cut their bed sheets with the kitchen scissors when I sat down to make this initial post.
*Got to talk to Sister Crandall for about 17 seconds, and she reminded me to not bee too hard on them...which is exactly what I needed.

Poor, poor Birdie

We've had a live-in visitor.  Remember the nest we pulled from the dryer duct on Sunday Morning (6 days ago)?  Well, Mrs. Birdie and her significant other didn't let the packing tape grid put a damper on their baby plans.

I've heard them all week, and figured they were just 'starting over'.

Well, start over they did!

 They had a deadline to make:

And I have laundry to do.

So we transplanted the little blue eggs and nest (pretty solid 3 foot nest, compared to the last one) to a safe bush where the boys couldn't bug them, but the eggs got a little more love than they needed in the process, and probably won't survive the rain that's coming our way.  Besides, everybody had to handle the poor things.

Poor Birdie and her eggs.  Poor, poor Birdie.

*I know that you should never EVER touch a mama's baby birdie eggs...but we didn't really know how else to get them back in their nest...The poor mama has been looking for her babies all afternoon...I still hear her scritchity-scratchity in the vent (now covered with a screen) but there's a good 6 inches I'm afraid she'll try to rebuild...or something...(Hint, Hint, Nick and Tiffany...do you have a ladder we can borrow?)

**We also had a very in depth discussion about why the birds are going to die.  It started out with being gentle, talking about smells, abandonment, and needing to stay warm, but Tanner just kept on asking questions.  I finally just had to say, "Tanner, the baby birds will die.  There's no way around it.  I'm sorry for your loss."  And that was the end of that.  Made me smile...that little inquisitive mind of his just needed the truth.  The whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  I guess when you've seen cattle slaughtered and then cooked on the stove, one needs to understand the full circle of things.  And I needed to finish screwing the duct onto the back of the dryer.  After all, I had laundry breeding in my bedroom as I was sitting there explaining life to a five year old.

In happier news, WE HAVE TWO RUNNING CARS NOW!!!

YIPPIE!

We were down to one for a week, then down to none, but we hobbled to Rexburg in the Neon on a prayer to get the Tarus' starter rebuilt.  Turns out it just needed a new coil (I have NO idea what that means.  I'm just regurgitating what I've heard 'the men folk' talking about).  Ryan got 'er hooked back up and my husband has me a car again!!!

That said, we've saved about $40 in gas this week.  LOL!  I still plan on riding bikes nearly everywhere this summer...especially since I got an early Mother's Day gift...a bike child carrier thingie!!!  (We got one from a friend for free, but it was missing the main clamp that held it on the bike...kinda essential for Taylor to sit in it.)  Ryan was so tired of hearing my suggestions of where we could walk/some of us ride to find a replacement, he just went and bought a new one when he picked up the fixed part.

So if you see a mother with her three ducklings, one strapped on behind her and two more being pulled in a bike trailer, feel free to wave, but don't honk or whistle or cat call...I might just wreck the whole load.  :)  Okay...maybe a little honk would be okay...just don't expect a wave back.  Maybe by the end of the summer I can do ' no hands!' or just one hand.  But it's going to take some practice.

And some humility to stick with it.

Five things I {love} about being a mom.

{Moments}  Like when we were riding bikes Thursday and I heard a little voice from the trailer I was pulling say, "Mom, you're really strong.  I love you".  Or when a certain chubster throws his head back and grins from ear to ear, bearing the pink gums that show signs of beaver teeth about to pop through in the coming months.  Or when a little boy holds my hand all the way to Kindergarten Round-up, and we talk about the signs that help us cross the street safely, and when the first day of school is, and how nice his teacher will be, and about all the letters in the Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom tree that come crashing down.  It's these little moments I live for.  

{Forts}  This couch of ours has been jumped on more than any trampoline I've ever seen, but it has also been the foundation of even more forts.  Along with every pillow in the apartment (that's 23 pillows, mind you) and every quilt or blanket (14 to be exact), we are constantly building forts and cleaning them up (Taylor built 5 today.)  As of late, they are built in the four-foot space between the front door, couch and bookshelf...so if you ever come over and we can't get to the door, you might have to crawl through the window, or come around back.  I love seeing their imaginations run wild!

{Stillness}  At bedtime, while napping, during prayers.  But especially at church during Sacrament Meeting.  My heart swells with gratitude and loving pride when I see my boys, all three, sitting quietly, sitting still, and sitting reverently.  It doesn't happen every week for the whole three-hour block or even during all of Sacrament Meeting, but it happens sometimes, and it's those times of stillness that I'm so thankful for obedient children.

{Today}  What better time to be a mother, than today.  I think of all the wonderful principles and values that my children need to learn to be a good citizen, a loving family member, a righteous missionary, a worthy priesthood holder, a good brother, and I just love that I am the one who gets to plant these seeds at home and watch them grow.  I'll admit, that sometimes this task is overwhelming, if not daunting, but it's what our Heavenly Father wants for us and his children, so I try my best, and pray that they'll get it.  I love to see the wheels in their heads turning as they learn these principles and values.  I honestly don't give them enough credit.  They know far more than I think they know or should know... They amaze me every. single. day.

{Smiles}  Real, genuine smiles that say, "This curry and rice is yummy!" or "I found my shoes right where you said they were!" or "Thanks for taking us to the library and the park" or "I love to play with your shirt while I nurse" or "Can we have some more marshmallows to shoot in our catapults?"  This is a very, very, very small sampling of instances where I've seen smiles just today.  It hurts when their faces are sad because they're hurting...but it is so beautiful to see their happy faces for any reason.  I love their grins, mischievous and happy, excited and surprised.

My heart is full with even more reasons that I love about being a mom.  Especially that I have a loving and hard working husband that is willing to work around the clock just so I can stay home with our charming boys and be their mama.

Another one down

I finished my pillows!

Here's a shameless show-off.  :)


I REEEEAAAAAAAAAAAALLY want to paint that ugly wood paneling...have wanted to for the last five years.  and I am on the fence about painting the piano...dead serious.  

{1} simple square, used existing pillow 'forms' that had no life and added a little more batting.  (Most simple and Easy)  *The most awesome thing, is that Tanner was mad at me because he had some privileges taken away this morning (like swimming and preschool) so he took my kitchen scissors to the big patterned pillow.  It needs a re-vamp now...any suggestions???  It's barely 5 days old.  grrrr!  Just has 1/2 inch snipped out of each corner.  I've banned him to outer Magnolia for the rest of the day.  Seriously. 


{2} Pleated the material, then sewed in a simple square stuffed full to the gills...had the layers somewhat stitched down, but the kids ripped them out, on day two.  Go figure.  "Hey, mom!  What's this thread for? *pulllllllllllllllllll*" (Most time consuming...measure, press, sew, press, repeat for an hour, but still easy)

{3} Messy pleat/gather going down on the left, up on the right for a shabby look; stitched down, stuffed full as well. I obviously ran out of fabric on this one...but don't tell anyone. This one will be a good whacking pillow.  I call dibs on the ugly one!  (Most desperate...thrown together, simple, but ehhhh.)

{4} Another lifeless pillow form under a dressed up simple square with an awesome craft-store doily.  Stitched down, just in case this one gets used in a brawl, too. (Still simple, fast, baste doily with glue then stitch down, then same simple and easy square.)

This next one is Ryan's pillow.  It is a store-bought pillow form, that I had a stitchery on...and it was more for decorative purposes in it's pre-life stage...but when I stuffed the original couch pillows to add some life into them (making them more firm, and less flexible to fold in half) he adopted this pillow to lay his weary head on.  It just happened to be the pillow that was near me when I discovered I had a whole yard of the solid blue, and still didn't have any rosettes...so it got a makeover.  Much to my hubby's demise.   

{5} Simple square form, but I sewed nine rosettes with knots in the middle to the front piece BEFORE stitching the back on.  It's my new favorite.  There better not be any puking on this pillow...I am SO not washing it.  (By far the most complicated mess you ever would see.  No rhyme or reason, other than each 2" x 56" strip had to be twisted/gathered/twirled within its allotted space on the 'grid'.  That chalked on grid was brilliant, until it disappeared after sewing the first and center rosette on.  Still fun, and easy though.)

**All of these pillows are stitched completely closed.  Besides the fact that I'm a cheap-skate and didn't want to buy zippers, I didn't want to even put them in.  I'm tired.  The room needed a face-lift with as little time and effort as possible. Worst case scenario (puke, poop, or poppage from fights or fort building), I'll just rip out the whip-stitch, wash, and whip-stitch the thing back closed.  It was that easy.  

***I only spent $4 on 2 yards of solid at Home Fabrics, and $7 on one yard of the print at JoAnns.  I used three existing pillows, in addition to two full bags of fiberfill (I've been stashing them away for something fun like this!  Now the mountain of fiberfill and fabric is GONE from my bedroom!  finally.)

One more down, and a mile-long-list-full to go.  

Next:  Tablerunner for the piano and possibly a new one for under the tv, on my hopechest.  Don't worry though...they've been in the works for 4 or so years...folded and put away...for one of these days.  Goodness, I have a lot of unfinished crafts!    

What's next on your craft docket? 

Wanted to share

...some small little snippets; adding to my previous gratitude post.

Kortlen waves.  My others never did till about 14 months.  It's adorable, and charming.  And he knows it.

We applied to an amazing job that would be perfect for Ryan.  And I'm praying like crazy.  Feel free to join me. It's at Bettis, as a Human Resources Business Partner.  It'd be a perfect fit.  And I'd be incredibly grateful.  As would he.

I chopped my hair.  Again.  I love it.  Traded some dress altering for a haircut.  LOVE!

A must-read: THIS post by Diapers and Divinity.  LOVED it.  Forget whatever show you were going to watch, or project you were going to do tonight.  When your kids fall fast asleep at bedtime (or for a naptomorrow) READ THIS!!!

"Being a good mom is a lot easier if you're a good wife."

This just hit home to me today.  Just wanted to share.

...Off to figure out dinner and fold the laundry...it never ends...and it make me so happy that I CAN nurture and love and support.

Where I was...

I remember driving to school on that terrible day when planes crashed, buildings burned and people lost lives.

September 11th, 2001.

I don't remember much about that day other than sitting in Yearbook with a few of my fellow students and the Army recruiter that was supposed to recruit students...and just talked (I asked questions, he answered them) about the politics of what had just happened.  I remember feeling stunned, somewhat numb, and very naive.  Politics is NOT my strong point...I felt unprepared to understand what had really happened.

This morning while perusing the blogs I follow, I read somewhere that Osama Bin Laden had been killed.  At first I thought it was a joke.  I left the computer to make roller-uppers and start some wash.  I went about my 'motherly duties' of getting children ready, pointing to where shoes were and instructing little boys to get them on.  Then I hopped back onto the computer to make sure I knew what library books I was getting, and read the news.

It wasn't a joke.  And I'm still just as naive about politics...But the 'death of a terrorist' story is true...

I have so many interesting emotions.  I've read different articles from the AP, our local news, CNN, etc, and so far, the DNA is matching, the dead person is recognizable as Bin Laden, but seriously...he's evaded us for this long...I have to wonder if it really WAS him that was killed.

Ehhh...this is kindof getting morbid to write about.

I just wanted to write and jot down "Where I was" on such a significant day...

Home with my babies...loving them...snuggling them...waking up with them.

So grateful that I'm at home with my three precious boys.
So grateful that my husband has two jobs (we could have no jobs).
So grateful for the gospel in my life.  For my testimony, the blessings of the temple, and the priesthood.
So grateful I'm surrounded by family and dear friends.
So grateful I have food to eat, clothes to wear, a toilet that works, and all my teeth.
So grateful for modern technology.
So grateful for modern medicine.
So grateful for So. Much. More than I can possible write at this moment.

So where were you when you 'heard the news'?  Twittering?  changing diapers?  driving to work or to pick up groceries???

I'm pretty confident had I not been on the computer, I'd have been clueless all day...if not for a few days.

I'm so grateful for the little bubble I live in.

randomness

This morning I got the giant 10 inch long bird's nest out of my dryer vent.  Not a Sunday activity, by any means, but their scritchity-scratchity little feet on that aluminum tubing down to the bottom of the dryer (yes, the little birdies, three to be exact, were getting clear to the back of 5 feet of dryer vent...shudder) was driving me nuts and giving me the heebie-jeebies.  I also had to wash and dry crib bedding and blankets from a cheap leaky diaper.  I didn't think "cause of fire: bird's nest in the dryer" would be a viable statement on our Renter's Insurance claim to burning down the apartment building.  Maybe I should take pictures next time...then they'd believe me.

.  .  .    

Tanner prayed over breakfast this morning that Kortlen could be a big brother.  *bwahahaha!*

.  .  .

Taylor asked me yesterday "how many more minutes till we have a baby sister?" and I laughed hysterically.  Then I cried.

.  .  .

Tanner is also saving his money to buy a house.  I think somebody has big ears.  

.  .  .

I have three of my four pillows finished.  I'm trying to get up the guts to embellish one with doilies.  Do I?  Don't I?  I've got a 20' solid blue pillow that I was going to do rosettes on...but a doily sounds easier...LOL!  Which would look better?

.  .  .

Staying home from church because my sunbeam now has croup.  I think I'll listen to some of my favorite Conference Talks and read the Sunday School lesson...

.  .  .

As part of our "Family Committment Fee" on the swim team, I went and timed at a swim meet last night.  It was a blast.  Super fun to re-live the glory days.

.  .  .

Making cherry cream pie...or apple...if it doesn't warm up here, I'm thinking hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

.  .  .

My hair is long enough to French braid...which kinda-sorta makes me look homely, but it was easier than trying to get it to curl this morning.  Getting it cut on Tuesday...trim?  or CUT?