Fabulous Four!

My middle child recently turned four.  He has been asking when his birthday is, and telling everyone he is going to turn four for months.  I think he thinks when people ask "How are you" they are asking "How old are you."  I see how he could make that mistake.

So, I don't do birthday parties for my children. You may think my kids are deprived, but I like to think my kids are wholly unspoiled.  Maybe when they start begging for it, but definitely not before they are old enough to appreciate it. I'm sorry, but I've been to parties for children who were too young where all the children couldn't understand why they couldn't have the presents, and then there was crying and fighting and... no thank you.  It's hard enough when we have younger siblings around.  That's why this year I decided to give each of my other kids a "consolation present," so they wouldn't hover or whine quite so much. Then they took turns sharing and taking turns with each others' toys. It worked pretty well.
To be honest though, I mostly don't have parties because I am too lazy, and I admit I'm a bit stingy too. I love just having my family to myself, and making it a special day for the whole family (not to mention that no one wants a stressed out mommy around on their birthday).

We celebrate with traditions, such as waking up to initial-shaped pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. (Yeah, we pretty much begin and end the day with cake --isn't that what birthdays are for?)

We also prefer to go on special family outings for birthdays.  It's a great excuse to do something out of the ordinary... like bowling for instance.  (We were going to go to the zoo, but alas, it was a rainy day.)

We also went to Big Jud's and got a giant hamburger to share. The kids thought it was pretty cool.

On a less birthday-ish note, we also visited my sister-in-law who's in the hospital on bed-rest, and then went home for naps while I made the cake. It's still a pretty busy day, and to help us all have a good day, I like to do whatever I can make it easy on myself. For example, thanks to my husband, my kids have been trained to like box mix cakes (something that was unheard of in my household growing up) and the usual birthday staple is rainbow chip cake with rainbow chip frosting (another thing unheard of in my household).  The kids still like their cake decorated in fun ways, and it wasn't until the last minute that my now four-year-old decided he wanted a robot.  I wasn't about to try any kind of cutting and shaping with a box mix, and I didn't want to make even more frosting after already having the store bought stuff, so this is what he got.

He absolutely loved it. (I told you my kids are unspoiled.  Any other kid might start crying at a disgruntled looking robot staring back at him, but mine was thrilled.)

He got his choice of dinner, and we finished off our evening at home with cake and presents.

It was a perfect day.

He even got a rainbow.


And that's how we do birthdays.  At least for now.

Scarlet Pimpernel Party

A friend and I came up with a get-together for a bunch of girls (a.k.a. other mothers) we knew in order to have some quality kid-free girly time.  We started it kinda late after the kids were down and ate a ton of good food and watched the Scarlet Pimpernel. It was way fun, there were door prizes and everything, but none of us thought to take any pictures.
To go with the theme, I thought it would be fun to write love letters to our husbands or kids and seal them with wax like they do in the movie.  I couldn't find a suitable seal to imprint the wax with though, so I decided to make my own. I googled the image from the movie and copied the design.

movie original

mine

Not bad for my first try eh? I figure it's close enough anyway.

All it took was some sealing wax I bought online, and a piece of soapstone, which I carved easily using a nut pick I already had around the house.  The soapstone comes in sticks that are 11mm wide and about 5 inches long and are found at just about any hardware store for about five bucks (you can see them to the right in the first picture).  There are at least 7 sticks and they are generally used to mark metal for welding.

I also found an 11mm ring base and made my own personal signet ring.

What do you think?  Etsy material?

Tremolo

I've never had an overabundance of confidence.

Not to say that I don't shine in a few areas where I feel pretty comfortable... but there are certain areas where it's really pushing the envelope for me, and sometimes I crash and burn.  One of those areas is singing in front of people.

I've always thought I had a pretty nice voice. I can sing in tune as well as read music and hold my own part.  As long as I can remember I've been musically inclined. I play the piano, and beginning in middle school I chose to play the clarinet (because besides a few trumpets and a trombone that was the only instrument my family owned) and I even participated in a handbell choir back in high school and beyond.  I was in the school choirs, and the summer before my senior year I decided I wanted to sing even better so I paid my way through about 8 weeks of voice lessons (then I ran out of money).  In fact, I just saw my old voice teacher last Sunday on TV.  She was singing in General Conference as a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

During my first year of college, I had a roommate who would play the piano and sing duets with me in the empty student lounge, as a sort of stress reliever.  It was fun.

On my mission in Poland, we used music to open doors. We often sang out on the street to attract attention while other missionaries handed out flyers and talked to people about our Church.  In fact, the very first person I ever taught and saw baptized was a girl who stopped to listen to us sing.  She said as she listened she had been touched and would meet with us to learn more.

When I came back to the states, I sang in the college choirs, and even took a voice class or two.

When I got married, my in-laws, who are very musical, enlisted me as the new family soprano, and we spent many evenings gathered around the piano singing together.  I especially enjoyed singing duets with my husband's younger sister.  Our voices really compliment each other.

I usually participated in ward choirs wherever I went (which, by the way, was a mandate by my college choir director to all of us, to help out the ward choirs of the world), however, as I started having kids it was harder and harder to do, especially as both my husband and I wanted to participate and there wasn't always someone to watch the little ones.  I did, however, find that with all our moving around, joining the ward choir was a sure-fire way to make friends fast in a new ward.  So I've started to make ward choir more of a priority.  At first, my husband and I tried taking turns being in the choir, but different choirs have different needs, and usually it was men that they needed.  Finally though, this year my husband realized my need, and he has let me go to choir without even asking to trade.  Of course, when I got there and I realized that they needed more men, I mentioned that my husband sang, and voila!  One of the choir members offered for her daughter to come to our house every Sunday and babysit our kids so we can both come to the practices! She's even willing to sit with them when we sing in Church! To her, it may be a small thing, but to us it's huge.  It's not only an opportunity to be together and share our talents, but it makes us feels so wanted and appreciated!

So where was I going with this besides giving you something akin to my musical resume?  Oh yeah.

So a week and a half ago was our Easter Program where we got to sing a few numbers in Church.  Somewhere along the way, during one of our practices, the choir members decided that I should sing a little solo part in one of the medleys. There are plenty of others who could have done it, and although I told them I don't generally sing solos, they still thought it was a good idea for some reason (I don't know why, but something about fresh meat comes to mind).  Anyway, I allowed them to bully me into it encourage me, and besides, it's not like it was a whole song...

The truth is, I've never sung a solo in public before.  I mean, I've sung in a number of small ensembles, and even a few duets and did just fine but that was because I could always just assume that everyone was paying attention to the other singers rather than me. However the thought of being the center of attention is just too much pressure for me.  I suffered through a few tryouts over the years where my nerves got the better of me and instead of singing nicely I ended up doing a great impression of a bleating lamb. I sang solos in front of a few voice classes and except for a little added tremolo that wasn't mine I did okay.  But we were all beginners there and half of them did the bleating lamb impersonation too, which made me feel a little better. There was also that time when I was 18 and they were going to have me sing a solo for a ward Christmas party, but the day before I got sick and lost my voice and didn't have to do it. (I say "have to" because I was super scared, even though I managed to do great while rehearsing in front of a few people). Last year I was asked to sing a solo in Relief Society, and I literally wrote in a duet part so I wouldn't have to sing it alone.  I still had to do a bit on my own, and it didn't go so well for me.  In fact, to be completely honest, I confess that I tried to make it look like I was getting all emotional when really my voice was merely betraying how nervous I was.  Sounds silly, but at the moment it seemed logical.  Sometimes I'm so ridiculous.

Anyway, so back to this latest episode.
Somehow I managed to sing the solo in our choir practice --in front of everyone in the ward who probably sings better than me, and it actually went pretty well.  In fact, everyone loved it and they were so supportive and kind. It was like having my own little cheerleading section.  I had to sing it many times, and still halfway through the song I would have little spasms in my stomach every time I thought about the fact that I had to sing that last line all by myself.  Then they decided that the first line should be a solo as well, so now I had to start the song out.  That particular part was a little easier for me actually, because it was easier notes for me to hit.  My confidence was slowly growing, and then I did something rash.  I told my parents about it and invited them to come to hear it.  Ack!  To tell the truth, I don't think my parents have ever heard me really sing.  I know, kinda weird.... don't ask why.  This time I felt ready though, and hoped to make them proud. (It was also helpful because then we had someone to watch the kids when we had to be to church early for one last practice, as well as someone to sit with them in the pews during the whole meeting.)

We got there for practice and they decided I needed a mic.  I had to agree, I've never been able to be very loud, but there's a reason for that somewhere in my subconscious and the mic made me uneasy.  I went through rehearsals okay --a little nervous when I was told to sing out to the audience, and I may have faltered a bit when I noticed that my parents had arrived a little early, but I managed to keep it together.  The meeting started, and everything went fine until it was time for our big number.  After sitting there for 20 minutes in what was probably not the most relaxed state, we stood and the music began.  I took a deep breath and...  my voice cracked!  I only had eight measures to sing, and my voice cracked several times!  I couldnt' figure out what was wrong with me.  I had breathed deeply, I had thought all the positive thoughts I could muster, was feeling pretty confident, and still my voice betrayed me.
We sang through the song, and I was determined to make up for it at the end, and surprisingly enough the end went perfectly.  I even managed to remember to smile.  Afterwards, I got lots of compliments --not that that is what I was looking for, my main goal was merely to add to the spirit of the meeting-- but I felt I had failed and I had to force myself to accept them gracefully.  In fact, I figured everyone was just trying to make me feel better about myself for that first part (because of course, in my head the first part is the only thing anyone would remember, right?).

And that was that.

I know, it could have been worse.  You were probably hoping for some exciting story where I faint and knock people over domino-style, or, if you're nicer than me, a story where I conquer my fears, make my parents proud, and everyone feels the Spirit so strongly... but really this was just a long story with a very disappointing ending.  I'm sorry.

I hope it's not how my story ends though. I want to keep trying.  I have to redeem myself.  I need to get back on the horse that bucked me off, right?

But my questions is, how do I get over this stage fright?  How do I erase all the failures that haunt me and tell me that I'll crash and burn like before because that's what I always do?

(The imp in my head says that perhaps one way is to stop dwelling on it by writing long boring blog posts.)

Ironically, the words I had to sing were, "The Lord is my light, then why should I fear?"

The Fruits of Our Labors

March came in like a lamb and went out like a lamb.  In fact, we have been enjoying the weather so much we keep forgetting to get out the camera.

Spring is officially here though. The work we put in last Fall to plant some bulbs has come to full fruition and I have had a happy little garden of daffodils to greet me this spring.  They're so cheery, it makes me happy to look at them! 

Although we missed most of the month, we did however record the end of it.  We had a great Spring Break and Easter at home with my parents.  I don't know if they considered it much of a break though since we put them to work on a few major projects while they were here. 

You might have noticed that I'm not much of a seamstress, I don't even own a machine, however our trampoline badly needed some new pads.  My mom brought some material they had lying around and some heavy duty nylon thread, plus my friend let me borrow her sewing machine. So while my mom was here we made new pads together!  Okay, so my mom did almost all of the sewing because every time I sat down at the machine it had a conniption and the bobbin knotted up and we had to un-pick it all (I don't own a sewing machine, so I obviously don't have a seam ripper and it was very irritating, so it was better for us both if she did most of the sewing). They actually turned out great and I'm so pleased. Now the baby can jump on it safely without fear of his leg going through the springs.

Before

After

Before

After

My Dad wasn't left out of the fun of course.  I found a perfect project for him and my husband.  My husband isn't much of a mechanic, although he does own a very basic set of tools. I sent them to a salvage yard (my husband's first time) to find a new door for our car since when we bought it it had a huge dent in the side.  They successfully found one that matched, took off the old one, and put the new one on (despite the many "helpers" they had around) and voila!  It looks so much better! 

We definitely capitalized on their visit, I hope they don't feel too used.  I made sure to take care of them well though, feeding them good food and taking them to some of our favorite places.  

Mmmm... Crepes.

They were here for our Easter Bunny Saturday celebrations (we celebrate the true meaning of Easter on Sunday and try not to mix the two).  Since it was good weather, the Easter bunny decided to be tricky and hide the baskets outside.  The kids had fun finding them.  

 Bubble swords were a big hit.

We went for a walk by the fishing ponds and lo and behold they were having a free fishing event.  They gave us rods and bait and the place had been recently stocked.  Well, that still didn't mean we had any luck (we've talked about how it's called fishing, not catching for a reason right?).  I didn't mind that much since it was such a beautiful day.

We also had a picnic later at a park near the lake.  We ate in peril of the fuzzy worm things falling from the trees and into our dinner every time the wind blew.  Quite the adventure.  At least the kids had fun climbing the trees.

It was a good weekend.  (...Until I had to sing a solo in church as part of our Easter program, but that's for another post.)

DIY pom-pom sorter

So back in February, my 18 month old went in for surgery.  I'm sure he'd love me later for blogging about this, so I won't say exactly what it was for, but it was a pretty simple procedure and we were in-and-out within a few hours. He's doing great. The night before, I was frantic though, worried about how he would deal with everything (especially about the part where I abandon him to strangers), and what I could do to keep him happy and distracted during the wait before and the recovery after.  I needed something new.

I knew he liked filling things and dumping them out, and I remembered seeing something like this on pinterest somewhere, so I stayed up late and made one myself.

 

It's a pom-pom color sorter!

Now, to be real, my 18 month old does not do the color thing, but he really gets a kick out of pushing those little puff balls through the holes over and over again.

I made mine out of an empty cashew can, covered it with fun paper, melted the holes in the lid with my wood burner and painted the colors around the holes on the underside of the lid. (note: although that is what's pictured, acrylic paint does not stay on the plastic for long, I ended up having to use sharpies to redo it a few days later --the red one in the picture is sharpie because I didn't have any red paint).

It was the perfect waiting room toy, since he was already a little antsy when the nurses came near.  This totally distracted him.  It was also really funny how when they gave him some kind of medicine to prep him for the surgery he was so loopy and thought everything was super hilarious, especially disappearing pom-poms. 
After the procedure though, he was mad.  Upon waking, they wanted to calm him down a little before they brought me in, but they decided it would be best to just go get me because he was totally inconsolable. However, even my attempts to console him were futile.  But then, I brought out the pom-pom sorter and just like I turned off a switch he was suddenly calm and happy.  I immediately felt that staying up so late to get that finished the night before was totally worth it.  In fact, I think the whole thing was inspired.

It's a fun and easy toy to make. True, you'll end up finding pom-poms everywhere, and before long they learn that it's much more fun throwing them and poking them down heater vents.  Still, every once in a while we pull it out and he sits there and pushes them all in.  I also hope that as he learns his colors it'll give him lots of great practice.

Just Hangin' Out

(This was February, now it's April. My first line pretty much sums it up.)

I haven't felt like blogging lately.  Perhaps I will get back into the swing of things as the weather gets warmer.

Poor kid. I know how he feels, I wish I could go climb trees too.

He's a quick study though, and is full of his own shenanigans.  This is his new favorite place.  It's great motivation for me to clear the table anyway.

He's apparently developed a taste for granola bars.

as well as ketchup

And washable markers for that matter.  Good thing they're non-toxic.


Valentines day we made heart-shaped personal pizzas.

A few days later we celebrated our 7 year anniversary. 7 years!

However, recently, the wind blew over a mirror I had set out for a DI drive pick-up.

7 years bad luck.  Hopefully it's retroactive, and the future will be bliss. (I'm not really superstitious). My wonderful husband picked up the pieces. 

The snow left, 

and came back

and left,

and came back again.

Notice my husband's solution to gloves being pulled off --duct tape.

We try to make the most of it no matter the weather, but some days that's easier said than done.

It's so nice to know that even when I don't feel like being adventurous, my efforts in the past have not been in vain. The kids planned and packed and executed this lovely spring picnic all on their own!  (notice the snow in the background of the above picture, but they were determined not to waste a sunny day.)

Success!