Remember Today 3.31.08

{remember} how good it feels to be back to our afternoon routine after a week with Camden home sick.

Remember Today 3.30.08

{remember} how well behaved the three boys were sitting through over an hour of voice recital to hear Kate sing, and how she was the best one!

Remember Today 3.29.08

{remember} how even the best laid plans & jammed schedule can all be tossed out the window when the boys are sick.

Remember Today 3.28.08

{remember} how quickly a 6 1/2 year old can go from wanting McDonald's for dinner to feeling like he's going to be sick before we even get to the drive-thru.

Remember Today 3.27.08

{remember} listening to Logan read aloud the story he wrote about Easter to his class.

Remember Today 3.26.08

{remember} stepping on the scale and for a split second wondering how I have gained about 5 pounds this month and then remembering the six pounds of Jelly Belly's I have eaten.

Lions and Ellies and Crocs, oh my!

I've been working on invites for Camden's 5th birthday: a "Go, Diego, Go" theme, or more simply, an animal party. Here's my mock-up:

It's a diorama card (directions can be found here) reminiscent of those little shoebox projects we used to do in grade school. It's difficult to get a good picture of these cards because they're so dimensional. This one measures 4.5 "l x 4" h x2" d and folds flat to fit in a business-sized envelope. The card itself is pretty simple to make and put together; it's cutting all the animals and grass fringe that's so darn tedious. Needless to say, my fingers are cramped, my thumb has a dent in it from the scissors that may be permanent, and my contacts are dried out and stuck to my eyeballs. But I'm not complaining--I love every second of it. Plus, it keeps my hands busy while watching American Idol so I can't stuff my face with Baked Lay's and Jelly Belly's!

Remember Today 3.25.08

{remember} watching Logan and Maddox read together at bedtime; listening to Maddox ask questions about the book, and Logan answer him.

Remember Today 3.24.08

{remember} that Logan sleeps curled up on his right side, Camden sleeps on his back, and Maddox sleeps on his tummy. . .just in case I someday forget.

Easter Traditions

I am a big fan of traditions, and Easter has its share of annual things to do. Here's a few from this year:

1. Photo with the Easter Bunny:

I am admittedly disappointed with this year's photo. First of all, notice anyone missing? Yes, my youngest who vowed he would not cry when he saw the bunny and psyched himself up during our 30 minute wait in line with the mantra, "I like the Easter Bunny. He's nice. I like the Easter Bunny. He's nice. I like. . ." burst into tears when we rounded the corner to greet the bunny for our turn. Oh well, there's always next year!

2. Photo shoot on the decorated staircase:

I have a dozen or so photos of my boys sitting in this spot with all the happy spring flowers, but this is my favorite. After all, it's all about the chocolate, isn't it? Amazing how quickly those tears dried up at the sight of the chocolate.

3. Coloring eggs

This year I got smart and boiled 13 eggs, because inevitably 1 always cracks. Why do I worry over how many eggs survive the coloring process? I have no idea! I guess I just like all the little slots to be filled in the egg carton.

4. The pre egg hunt photo:

I know, I torture the poor little things. But someday they'll thank me for snapping all those pictures of the cousins together on Easter. Note the shorts and t-shirts my two insisted on wearing even though it was like 30 outside.

5. The egg hunt:

I hope they never get too old for this!

6. The family photo shoot

This is pretty much the only photo of us that gets taken during the year, and let me tell you this photo gets lots of use (ie. goes into school whenever a family picture is needed for a project). Since going digital, I love that I can put the camera up on the tripod, set it to timer mode, snap away, and then check out the photo to be sure we caught a good one (not an easy feat with a family of five!)

Remember Today 3.23.08

{remember} celebrating Easter with family, and enjoying myself because I actually didn't stress about all the "to do's"

The straight (and unwrinkled) truth

The iron is not my friend. I can count on 2 fingers how many times I iron in a year: one summer day and Easter (I would add Christmas, but luckily we wear sweaters). I have an aunt who has been known to iron her socks (she has no children). I have a mother who would throw the to-be-ironed articles into a round plastic laundry basket which would be tackled weekly (she has four kids); this is the same woman who would throw all of Dad's socks into one bottom drawer and entice us into a fun game of matching during Saturday morning cartoons (did I mention they were all brown, black, and navy?). I have a husband who, by the love of God, has all his button-downs cleaned and pressed at the dry cleaners. My idea of ironing is throwing it back in the dryer with a damp wash cloth and hoping for the best. I have bought clothing that I've worn once, washed into a wrinkled mess, and then hung on a hanger until it went out of style. Maybe by the time it comes back into style, gravity will have worked out all the wrinkles for me.

So here it is, Easter Eve, and the traditions of the day have been completed: the eggs are colored, the baskets put out for the bunny, and the boys' Easter shirts are pressed and hung.

Happy Easter !

Remember Today 3.22.08

{remember} being able to take time from holiday preparations to spend a bit of time outside playing with the boys--reminding myself that somehow the work still gets done.

Remember Today 3.21.08

{remember} how happy Logan and Camden were to have a friend over to share their Friday Night Pizza and a Movie.

Remember Today 3.20.08

{remember} sometimes a much needed 20 minute power nap at 3:00 is all you need to get you through the rest of the day; and sometimes giving myself permission to do this without any guilt makes all the difference.

I love God

Tonight while saying prayers, Maddox asks me, "Are we saying these prayers to God?" I reply yes, and he asks, "Mommy, does God scare you?" "No honey, God is kind and caring. God is great," I say. He ends the conversation, with the sincerity only a child has, by saying quite simply: "I love God."

Remember Today 3.19.08

{remember} curling up on the couch with Camden & Maddox to watch a movie on a rainy day and falling asleep with Maddox laying on me (also sleeping).

Remember Today 3.18.08

{remember} watching Maddox switch between piano and guitar while watching The Wiggles.

Remember Today 3.17.08

{remember} having some time while the boys had a blast (as always) at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

Remember Today 3.16.08

{remember} getting together with family after SO many years, and feeling totally comfortable.

Remember Today 3.15.08

{remember} holding Maddox in my arms as we danced around the kitchen to my blog music with the scent of baking cinnamon rolls in the air.

Remember Today 3.14.08

{remember} the expression on Camden's face after he watched a bunny high tail it from our garden, across the front yard, and to the safety of a bush across the street--wish I had my camera to capture that one!

An early visit from the Easter Bunny

This little guy has been visiting us outside our window for a few weeks now.

Remember Today 3.13.08

{remember} how happy Camden was that I was going into his classroom today, and how happy I was to be there.

Going Green

I heard the other night as I was half listening to the news that it takes something like 1,000 years for a plastic grocery bag to decompose, and burning them produces toxic gases. I try to opt for paper bags at checkout, but only remember when I'm not digging through my purse trying to find my credit card, keeping wandering fingers from touching (and opening) the candy bars, or supervising my little helpers who insist on putting the eggs and all glass jars on the register belt (so that's pretty much never). So today, I went green. I purchased those reusable green grocery bags. The "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" logo had me humming Jack Johnson through the store. And my weekly shopping, which averages about 17 plastic bags, fit into just 5 of these green babies. Five grocery bags meant only two trips from the car to the house rather than the usual 10. Who said it's not easy being green? Now I just have to remember to bring the bags into the store.

Conversation on the way to school:

C: Mommy when are you going to have another baby?
M: I think our family is just right the way it is, don't you?
C: No.
M: Why not, what's missing?
C: Shrek's missing because he died.

Shrek was his pet fish, he died nearly two years ago.

Remember Today 3.12.08

{remember} the expression on Maddox's face when he saw all the guitars at the guitar store.

Remember Today 3.11.08

{remember} Maddox saying "I like this song" to nearly every song that came on the car radio and then singing along with many of them.

Remember Today 3.10.08

{remember} Logan deciding to stick it out in a challenging swim class.

An afternoon of scrapping

Made three pages today--yippee!

Playing catch-up on Maddox's first year book. After all, he'll be 3 this summer!
Made these two pages with a new paper pack I bought on clearance at Target--man, I love that store. And I love using new products before they have a chance to collect dust (and before I forget I have them!).
A super quick page: one piece of patterned paper + one photo + some computer generated text=easy peasy lemon squeezy scrappin'!

Remember Today 3.9.08

{remember} getting some much needed time for myself and scrapping 3 whole pages!

Remember Today 3.8.08

{remember} how Logan stepped up to clean up the playroom despite not wanting to do it, but knew it would cheer me up--it worked!

Remember Today 3.7.08

{remember} how Maddox peeked around my book and out of the blue asked if we could put the pool outside--love these glimpses into how his mind works and love his adorable little face right in my face.

Remember Today 3.6.08

{remember} how Maddox quotes Rattatouille during dinner when I tell him to eat: "Sut up an' eatcha gahbage!"

The Neat Freak

Every year around this time the organization bug bites me (guess it's better than the cold bug, puke bug, or flu bug). I don't know if it's the always-too-long winter of being stuck inside staring at the same four walls, or a prelude to the spring that is right around the corner and the cleaning that will go along with it. But it's always the same. I have this urge to purge, to clean out, throw away, organize, change around. This week I have cleaned up and reorganized my "studio" (I always have to put that in quotes because it is not my term, but a dear friend's) and my overflow craft closet (no small feat). I have thrown out, recycled, and set aside a box to drop off at my LSS (they donate unwanted craft items to local Boys and Girls clubs, and schools--love that). As I write this I am thinking about the pantry, cleaning, linen, and toiletry closets that could all use an overhaul. I have a disease. I tell people that I need to be organized so that I can find things because I am just not smart enough to remember where I put things (I still manage to lose stuff, though not nearly as often as Perry). I tell myself that it's important for the toys to be in labeled bins on the shelves so that the boys can be self-sufficient in cleaning up their things (yet, somehow I am the one to clean up the playroom 97 times out of 100). So why then have I spent hours with Logan and Camden alphabetizing their Pokemon cards? Not so I can teach them how to put things in ABC order. No, because I am a freak. Why have I painstakingly separated tiny Legos by type into compartmentalized drawers. Because I am a freak. Why do some people get hand cramping from texting their friends, and I get it from using my label maker? Because I am a freak. This is feeling very therapeutic for me right now. I am feeling the beginnings of a breakthrough, a healing of sorts. Isn't admission the first of the 12 steps? Ah, this feels great. Now I am off to put my markers back into rainbow colored order.

Remember Today 3.5.08

{remember} how great it was to get outside with C & M today in the "almost spring" sunshine and warmth.

Remember Today 3.4.08

{remember} cozying down in my bed with my freshly showered boys to read books, and then falling fast asleep with them.

Remember Today 3.3.08

{remember} cherishing my two hours to myself while C's at school and M naps--these days are numbered as naps are becoming more rare.

Remember Today 3.2.08

{remember} time alone with Maddox while Perry took the older two out for a hockey game, and Maddox saying, "I no go to hockey, I stay home with you, Momma." So sweet!

Remember Today 3.1.08

{remember} having fun bowling with friends--love spur of the moment plans.