Here are the girls hamming it up while Steve put things back together.

*Some people asked about the computers.  (I meant to leave them out of the pictures, but the desk got put together while I was at a meeting.)  I promise--the computers aren't as fancy as they look.  The kids' computers are ancient hand-me-downs, and we got a steal of a deal on the monitors.  We chose flat screen so that the kids had room to do homework, color, etc.  The kids mainly use the computers for pbskids.org, starfall.com, and lds.org (friend magazine).

I'm not homeschooling.  I'm just finally consolidating all the mini desks into one place.  I wanted the computers all in a place where the family will use them together--to reduce the risk of the kids getting onto sites they shouldn't.  Hopefully it will also inspire me to use some of my old teaching materials that I have pulled out.  Maybe we'll do a little Summer School or something.

We're having a yard sale this Saturday.  I should've mentioned this a long time ago, but anyone local is welcome to bring stuff over and join me!  It's more fun to sit outside when there is someone to chat with!

If you're in the shopping mood, we have tons of stuff . . . including my corner computer desk and lots of things from my teaching days (children's books, teaching books, math manipulatives, etc.).  Send any elementary education students you know my way!  (We also have toys, clothes, a stroller, baby bedding and all the other miscellaneous stuff you'd expect at a yard sale.)

Why do they bother to name colors things like "Churchill Hotel Maple," "Mark Twain House Tan," and "Strawberry Malt" . . . ?

Why don't they just keep it real and say, "Use this color and your project will turn out the exact same color as Silly Putty."

If they used better titles, I might not be confused whether I should use my desk to write on or press it against the Sunday comics to make prints.

. . . if I weren't afraid of what the kids would do while I was gone.

While I was cleaning up Lacie's second accident of the day (I jinxed myself by telling someone she was potty trained), Megan did this with the scissors:

 I think I lulled myself into a false sense of security that none of my kids would try cutting their own (or someone else's) hair.  At least Melissa didn't do it.

Maybe Lacie won't try it . . . (Who am I kidding?) 

*If you don't know what Calgon is, please don't tell me.  I feel old and tired enough today as it is!

. . . . Ronald McDonald, that is!

I learned the hard way that just because a paint color looks good on the chip, it won't necessarily look good on the project.  It doesn't look too bad in this picture, but it looks awful in the room.  (The paint is much more yellow than it looks.  The red has dust all over it--it's not really that badly done.)  Bummer.

I just finished changing the paint from yellow to brown.  It looks much better now.

This is just silly. Humor me.

Steve had to work today, so I was on my own for getting the girls ready for church.

The morning went pretty smoothly, and the girls looked better than they ever do for church. But, as usual, as time got short, things got crazy, mom got a little impatient, and we arrived at church about two minutes after the hour. Lacie only had on one shoe, and she was not about to let me put the other one on for her. I finally decided to let her walk in wearing only one shoe. As we neared the chapel, I picked her up and carried her in.

As we got settled, I searched for the shoe, but couldn't find it. I stood up, turned in circles, looked under the church bag, and still couldn't find the shoe. I sighed and got up to search the hall for the shoe. Halfway to the door, I found the shoe . . . dangling from my skirt by the velcro strap. I was wearing it! Nothing like making a grand entrance!

The good news: Lacie is potty trained! (I think.)

The bad news: Since Lacie now spends time alone in the bathroom, my free time is spent re-rolling toilet paper!

As if the pictures from Steve's camera weren't enough to make me nervous . . . here are the pics his friends took of him.

Didn't the mothers of these boys ever teach them that shorts are t-shirts aren't the proper attire for snow?

Do you suppose the slide through deep snow came before or after the trip through the river. I think I don't want to know!

Guess what happens when you hammer the primer can shut without moving it away from the finished drawers?


Yeah. Something like that.

I can't wait to repaint it!

Sometimes it's better not to know all of the details.

For example, had I known that Steve--dressed like this:


was hiking through this:

and this:
and repelling down this:
and this:

I might have made him stay home.

Then he would have missed all of this:

If you are a frequent visitor to this blog, you may have noticed that my girls (particularly this one) love to dress up like princesses. Unfortunately, in the real (well, make-believe) world of princesses, they just might not make the cut. I'm absolutely positive that not one of them would pass the "pea under the mattress test." All three of them could sleep on a high-heeled shoe! (Just look at that bed! How can anyone sleep in the middle of all that junk?)

And as for the handsome prince awakening them with a kiss? Well, since they're not allowed to have boys in their rooms, I think that test would be a failure, too! (Okay--that's not really a rule yet, but it will be as soon as they're old enough to stop thinking that being awakened by a kiss from a boy would be yucky!)

*If you're wondering why Megan is in the toddler bed . . . she and Lacie traded places. Lacie's bedtime tantrums have all but disappeared, so I'm not complaining.

Lacie went potty just as we were getting ready to go somewhere. I helped her and then left her in the bathroom to wash her hands. (No . . . it's not what you think. There was no H2O catastrophe.) Lacie came out of the bathroom, I handed her a baggie of peanuts, and she went out the door to join the other girls in the van (which was in the driveway because my garage is full of my desk project).

The neighbor kids were in our yard. As I walked out, one of them asked, "Did you know that Lacie is naked?"

Sure enough, Lacie was in the van wearing nothing but her shirt.

Call the doctor . . . I think the observation center of my brain is on the fritz!

Here are a few highlights from our Easter celebration:

The kids woke up around 7, but they didn't come downstairs. We heard them upstairs, but figured they'd come down when they were ready. We wondered why they were letting us sleep in, but hey . . . we weren't going to complain!

Around 7:30 we heard, "Can we come down yet?" I guess they were remembering Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Michigan. No kids are allowed downstairs on Christmas morning until everyone is up. Oops!

Yes, the Easter Bunny did make it. After finding the silk-dyed eggs she (or is the Easter Bunny a he?) hid, we made the inedible eggs into a cute centerpiece for our table.


Since it was General Conference weekend, and we didn't need to get ready for church, we tried some Easter pancakes. First, I tried pouring the batter into the pan and then swirling in drops of food coloring. Not the best idea. The pancakes cook too fast, and you get some spots that are swimming in food coloring. Next, I tried adding drops to the batter in the bowl and stirring gently. That worked better. Maybe next time I'll put the batter in a few different bowls to make different colors. (It was kind of a silly idea, but the kids really liked it.)


Can you guess what this is a picture of? It's a "peep" s'more. It was pretty good, but a little sugary.

We spent the day watching General Conference and the evening reading the real story of Easter from the scriptures. We are grateful for our Savior. We know that he atoned for our sins, and was resurrected. Because of him, we can repent and return to live with our Father in Heaven after we die.

We hope you all had a great Easter!

When I was looking for an early picture of Melissa with freckles, I came across this picture. What is wrong with Melissa's hair, you ask?

Well, this is after picture from an unfortunate event involving a blender.

Here's what I wrote in my journal that night:

We just learned the hard way that Missy needs to have a ponytail in her hair when she helps Mommy make cake!

Missy was helping me hold the mixer while we mixed up a cake together. Megan crawled up on the chair next to her, and Missy bent down to talk to her. Before I could say, "Missy, your hair is too close to the . . ." her hair was wound up all the way to her head, and I had completely forgotten how to turn off the mixer. It's amazing how blank my mind went!

I got it turned off, and Steve came in and unwound her hair. She ended up with a Princess Leah-type bun on the side of her head that was coated in yellow cake batter! She now has even thinner hair on one side of her head! Poor girl. It was pretty traumatic!

It's a well-known fact (well--at least to my immediate family) that I cannot and rarely have been able to touch my toes. I blame it on the fact that I have a short waist and long legs. (That means I have to stretch farther than most people, right? It can't possibly be blamed on the fact that I am simply out of shape.)

Guess what? I can now touch my toes. Why is that, you ask?

Here's what I did all day (and I do mean ALL day):


Apparently bending over for five or six hours dramatically increases flexibility (and gives one a very sore back). So, for today at least, I can finally touch my toes!

(That's three coats of paint on 12 drawers and four pedestals. I'm beat, but really proud!)

*See the doors in the back of the second picture? They are the next part of my project. ( I just have to decide what color to paint them.) I found them at the Habitat for Humanity "Restore It" store. Regular people and contractors donate building stuff--new and used (mostly used) to be sold to profit Habitat for Humanity. I found those 8-foot doors for $15 each--you can't even get 8 foot hollow doors except by special order. 8 feet + 8 feet (topped with plexiglass) will make the perfect 16 foot desk top for my project! I also found a bunch of cool looking drawer pulls. Did I mention that I am totally excited about this project?

What happened to all of Lacie's Easter candy? It can't possibly be gone already!!!

. . . make the best rainbows!

After a rainy and gloomy day, the sun suddenly burst through the clouds. Fortunately, we looked out the window just in time to catch the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen. It was even a double rainbow. It was so close it looked as if we could touch it, and we could see both ends. I have never seen brighter colors in a rainbow.


Unfortunately, the closest camera was Steve's, and I don't know how to use it. I couldn't fit the whole rainbow in the frame because I don't know how to change the lenses. By the time I found my point and shoot camera (much easier!), I was able to capture the whole rainbow, but the colors were fading in the center.

The first two pics are from Steve's camera, and the last three are from mine.

Ever since seeing my friend Chantel's eggs last Easter, I have been excited to try out this egg-dying idea. Instructions can be found at OurBestBites.com.

You use old silk ties to color the eggs. You don't have to boil them first, there is no mess, and they are super easy. The girls loved it!

There's only one problem with this fabulous idea. After dying 15 eggs, I learned that you should not eat silk-dyed eggs because clothing dye can be toxic. If only I hadn't colored 15!

On the up side, since the eggs can't be eaten, they make a fantastic center piece that can be left out the whole Easter season. (I'll blog a picture tomorrow.)

Here are our finished eggs. The thread on one of the ties must have been silk, because one of the eggs even has a stitched line on the top. Thanks, Chantel, for sharing your extra tie pieces.


Despite the fact that we can't eat them, we still love the project. We'll definitely do this again next year. (We'll just be sure to hard boil some extras that we can actually eat!)

For the second year in a row, we were a bit disappointed with the community egg hunt in our area. Last year, we went to a hunt with no eggs, so we tried a different hunt this year. Again--it was an eggless egg hunt! Each age group had a roped off area strewn with candy and only two or three eggs (containing a prize).

Thank goodness, this year we were prepared. When we saw the candy, we told the kids that this must be how they do the hunts around here, and that they shouldn't be disappointed if they didn't find an egg. The result? A much happier egg hunt than last year. The kids took it in stride, and Melissa actually got an egg (she and about twenty other kids went for the same egg, and she got it)!

Lacie (who spent last year's hunt examining each piece of candy for a good sixty seconds before putting it into her basket) dove right in and grabbed all she could find--saving the examining for later.

Megan (who spent last year's hunt admiring the candy from afar and forgetting to actually put any in her basket) painstakingly selected only tootsie rolls. (I had no idea she was a fan.)

Melissa (who spent last year sobbing because she didn't get an egg) miraculously came out the winner in the battle for the single egg. (She tossed aside her fears and went for it with all she could give.)

Yeah for a fun hunt! (After last year's fiasco, things could only get better this year!)

*We're grateful to the organizers of the hunt and happy that the girls had a good time, but I'm still perplexed why the candy isn't in eggs. If you ask me, a field of candy with only a few eggs is asking for lots of tears from disappointed kids. We'll keep looking for a hunt with eggs for next year.

Megan likes to do things by herself. This dress-up dress has a long zipper down the back. Impossible to take off by yourself--right?

Not impossible for this problem solver!



Would you have thought of that?

(Please ignore my dumb comments.)

Melissa is afraid of dogs and cats. Not just the won't-go-near-an-animal afraid--but the peel-her-off-the-ceiling-if-an-animal-so-much-as-looks-at-her afraid.

My most recent memory is of her refusing to get out of the car to accompany me to an appointment because a cat was sitting on the front porch.

Imagine my delighted surprise when I witnessed this in our backyard:




Life is good.

(No, those are not my children screaming in the background.)

I love freckles. Not the head to toe kind, but the smattering across the cheeks and the bridge of the nose kind.

Guess what?

Melissa got them around age four . . .


And Megan's just arrived.


I wonder where they got them?