Happy Birthday Sally Jane!

Today is my youngest daughters birthday. She is one years old today. I took these photos yesterday in her new birthday dress from Mimi. (thanks mimi)
Things I remember about last year on this day.
Great delievery nurse, annie kate's excitement, all of jeff's friends visiting while i was in labor, jeff having lunch at Panera while i was trying to hold the baby in til he got back, Dr. Rush saying , "it looks like a Sally Jane" laughing while i was delivering her, wonderful nurses, little pink chicken, the pink minkie outfit she came home in, Sharon driving all the way to the hospital that night so the girls could see Sally Jane, jeff sleeping in my room with me, visit from Dr. Netterville that night, sweet potato pancakes from Sonja D. and that wonderful feeling of loving your husband so much more when you hold his sweet little baby. (ohh i am getting a little emotional)
Happy Birthday Sally Jane! We love you. and a happy birthday to my friend Kelli F!

Magazines!
My friend Stacy S. turned me on to the art of finding good magazines. she knows the best ones out there. This above photo is a brand new one out by the makes for Family Fun. I bought the premier issue and love it. It is more the emotional side of raising kids.
So I decided to add to my side bar on the right hand side some of my favorite magazines along with the links to order them. I will update often so keep your eye out. I think magazines are some of the best gifts to give. They are inexpensive and your friend gets them every month and they always think of you.
Here is a highlight from this issue that I loved:
Questions that may reuslt in more than one word answers to find out how your childs day was...
What made you laugh really hard?
How does the song go that you sang at circle time?
Who brought the best lunch and what was in it?
Was there a birthday today?
Did you use fingerpaints or watercolors?
What equipment did you see on the playground?
Who has the loosest tooth in your class? Did it come out yet?
How did you help your friends or teacher today?

What magazines do you subscribe to?

not grilled cheese!
So saturday is yet another holiday. April Fools Day! Do the Cutler's celebrate it? you better beleive it. I thought i would do an early post about the day so you can be thinking of what you are going to do.
the above photo is pound cake with icing.

INGREDIENTS:
Pound cake (we used Entenmann's brand)
1 cup buttercream or white frosting (canned is just fine)
Yellow and red food coloring

Cut the pound cake into bread-like slices and toast them in a toaster oven just until they turn golden brown. Once they've cooled for a few minutes, stack two slices for each sandwich and cut the stack in half diagonally (slicing the sandwich before you fill it makes for fewer crumbs).

Now tint the frosting by stirring in a few drops of yellow and red food coloring (more yellow than red) to get a shade of orange that resembles American cheese.

Over the years family fun has been the best resource of ideas for celebrating the day.
here is the link
We always celebrated it because it is my moms birthday. She was really good about always playing a good joke. We always woke up to , "girls is snowed" which it never did. We always made cupcakes and gave them to friends made with cotton balls in them. we still do this every year.
One year we stuck a for sale sign in our front yard and watched our neighbors freak out thinking we were moving. one year i went to the grocery store and bought all the vegetables that were growing in my neighbors garden (he was a chef and always had something growing in his garden no matter the time of year it was amazing) and we put a bunch of those vegetables in his garden as if they had grown over night.
I have not come up with anything yet for this year, but you better believe i will.
get your minds thinking. and if you have any good ideas please share.
Lanessa, I was thinking it would be funny if made David believe you lost your wedding ring. you could start the joke on Friday night so it wouldn't seem so obvious!

moNey tRee.
a year ago today i received this awesome gift. It was the day before i went into the hosptial to have sweet sally Jane. my young women from church (at the time i was in the YW presidency) came over the night before i delivered and brought me this tree with $1.00 and $2.00 bills on it totallying over $120, for me to buy something for the baby. It was incredible. it was such a generous gift.
I had had a rough few last weeks of my pregnancy emotionally and physcially and these girls were such a huge help. I had one girl take Annie Kate every day during spring break for a special "Annie Kate" camp. Two girls made me a calendar and one of them came over every night to give Caroline a bath since I could not lift her up.
i had a really hard time understanding why i had a calling that seemed so time consuming. The two years i was in there i had two babies. But i then learned that it was because i had not just two visiting teachers to help me i had 2 visiting teachers, 20 girls and 20 mothers who helped me through a difficult journey. I love those girls! Remembering Sally Jane's birth is better because of the service you gave me during this time last year.

easter centerpiece

I have finally finished me easter centerpiece for the dining room table. I found a photo in country living this month and thought it would be the perfect thing to try to make.
I picked some branches before they started to bloom, the green buds made it a perfect spring start.
I blew the eggs and then tea dyed them. (i know there are brown eggs, but i liked the way they looked old. I did do one green one and two pink ones and then stained them with a cherry stain.
I use a brown twine embroidery floss and threaded it through the egg. I had to tape two needles together because i didn't have on long enough.
the little nest i tied on with the ribbon yarn.
instead of ribbon i used two kinds of yarn. with knitting so popular these days you can find some great yarn. it is so much cheaper than ribbon. (67 yards for $6.00) the brown yarn i used was almost like panty hose. but i loved the way it felt.
the ceramic eggs i bought at joann's in their cheesey easter section for $4.00 for all of them. the pitcher and bowl was one of my great goodwill finds for $7.00 a few years ago. It is perfect for what i wanted to do.
this year is my year to really change how we celebrate easter (oh yes more to come, i am working on a easter advent calendar to do for the 8 days before easter) and i thought this was a great way to get it started.

Simple. Beautiful. Delicate. Signs of Spring.

what are you doing to get ready for easter? here are the photos of my creation

I also updated my garage sale finds page with more photos.

gift from spencer!
Today in the mail i got a total surprise. my brother spencer sent me this enlarged and matted print of my sister and I. I don't think i had ever seen it before. I do remember these coats. I love that there are so many photots of my sister and i in the same thing but different color. ( i tend to just make all my girls excatly the same)
what i love about this photo is it reminded me of our front door we had when we were growing up. i loved that front door! i loved that we always had red chili's hanging everywhere. I love my sister's expression on her face, it is so cute. and i love that there is snow falling. in Las Cruces, NM it happens about every 12 years. What a fun memory to have.
thanks spence!

show off!
I just had to show off my friends nursery. it is something out of a magazine! Michelle was my roomate in the dorms. she had all the style and i... well didn't! (it took me awhile to find my creative side) She is so amazingly talented everything she touches is beautiful. So take a peek at her nursery of her little girl.
all her photos

2 new bloggers.
two of my friends started blogs. YEA. i am so proud of them. one of the tells you how to make these darling suckers. So cute. So check them out and give them a big blog welcome!
Way to go girls!
ellen & tasha

garage sAle!
One thing i love about spring is the beginning of the garage sale season. I love garage sales (i get this from my dad) I would say that about 75% of the furniture in our home is from a garage sale and is no longer it's original color. The above photo is a metal cabinet with 30 drawers in it that i bought at a garage sale in New Orleans. I think I paid about $20 for it. It has labels for each drawer, some of the include.. scissors, pink ribbon, beads and baubles, large pucnhes, craft notions, sewing notions... My girlfriend Kelly F. helped me organize it last year. I needed someone to step in and help me do it. It is such a great storage cabinet and hold all my treasures, yet i would be thrilled if i had two more of these.
this weekend will be the first weekend of the start of garge sales around here, i am getting my bag of change ready.

whAt the hAir wAs i thinKing?
I found all my school pictures the other day and thought you might get a kick out of watching me grow up in an instant. I sent these to my brother and he replied back whith..."what the hair were you thinking?'
..yet i must say if i could get my hair to look like the above photo i would be thrilled. no one will give my straw for hair a perm! click here to see the transformation.

romance!
The above photo is a napkin i just found in a box this weekend that was given to Jeff and I right after we got married.
The night of the reception that we had at my parents house one of my moms friends had taken a sampling of food from that night and put it on a tray with flowers and had it sitting on our bed with this napkin beside it. I have never forgotten this and actually gave someone a bedside tray table for a wedding gift with this inscribed on the table. I loved it. Jeff and I were so hungry and i remember sitting there eating everything on the plate and laughing and kissing.

This week jeff worked over 100 hours. he came home from work this morning with two consecutive sleepless nights, unshaven, exhausted and the first thing he did when he walked in was kiss me. He then put all three girls in the bike trailer and rode them around the neighborhood so i could have 15 minutes to myself.
12 years ago when i married him i thought i knew what being in love with him was and that giving me flowers was romantic. It has taken me a long time to realize that jeff's way of showing me he loves me is by the silent acts of service ... and the flowers and chocolate are just the icing on the cake.

Napkin:

Jeff & Kristi,

Keep passion and romance alive in your marriage for many years - forever by eating rasberries and chocolate mint brownies in bed without napkins and under the covers. You enjoy life and live spontaneously. - A bed without crumbs is a marriage without romance.

Ouch!
Ouch that smarts! Bacon will make you feel beter.
How could i not document these bacon bandaids. I can't stop laughing.
you can buy them for just $4.25.

Baby stuff!
Need a baby gift? this is it. I bought this for Caroline and it is a life saver. It is from Kiddopotamus. It is a rubber mat that has suction cups underneath. It sits on our table all the time. we don't even use a plate for her anymore. the great thing about it is it catches the food from falling on the floor. Love it love it! It rolls up to take with you when you go out to eat as well.
This company also makes a great swadling blanket for a newborn.

One of my favorite things.

You know how you have those things besides documents and photos that you would take with you if your house was on fire. Well this is one of my things i would go back and grab.

My sister in law (DCC) had one of these in her home that her mother in law made. I went crazy over it when i saw it and a few weeks later she sent me in the mail. (Jill talk about a good mail day) Her mother in law has a kiln and made each ceramic piece. It is a wood board with magents drilled in, a kraft brown paper decopodged on top and then each peice has a magnet on the back.

I love this thing. Everytime i see it i am so happy. My kids are not allowed to play with it unless i am right with them (the J is the only one we are missing, the gorilla is in the wrong place) which is fun because it makes me play with them.

It would be an easy project to make and you could do one for a holiday, used family photos, oh the ideas are racing through my head. My hands are jealous of the work my mind is doing.

Thanks again Deb for the great gift!

6:15 am artist.
She does her best work in the mornings and when I am on the computer. This is what Caroline was doing while i was on the computer this morning typing my post about how much we need to love our kids! She got ahold of a marker (i promise i thought i had thrown them all away) and colored all over herself and our white sheets, white comforter and pillow shams. (yea for bleach)
at 7:45 i threw her and sally jane in the stroller and had annie kate get on her bike to go for our walk (jeff slept at the hospital last night and does not come home until Sunday, if you were wondering where he is, funny how they don't act like this when he is around)
long story short annie kate got lost on the bike ride i thought she was back at home, so i had to get in my car looking the neighborhood for her and knocked on my neighbors door and asked her to watch the kids in the stroller. she took one look at caroline who is covered head to toe in marker and i am sure was ready to call social services.
i found annie kate on the corner half a mile away crying, she had been there i think about 15 minutes. got home changed for karate all by 9:15 am. I was ready for a nap by 10:00am.
I am starting a new gallery in smugug Carolines Creations!

my cuRrent emPloyment.
The above photo is two days after Caroline Benson was born and we were leaving the hospital. I had no idea what i was getting myself into. Annie Kate was the easiest child!
My girlfriend asked me the other day if I had read the article on parenting in the Ensign this month (the Ensign is magazine put out by my church) I was greatful for her reminder to sit down and read it.
It is the best article! You can read it by clicking here. I would encourage it for any parent no matter what your beliefs. ... any help you can get is what i say.
But the highlights that rang true to me last night.

" A mother's nurturing love aroused in children, from their earliest days on earth, an awakening of the memories of love and goodness they experienced in the premortal existence. Because our mothers loves us, we learn, or more accurately remember, that God also loves us. "

and...

"Women today are being encouraged by some to have it all - generally, all simultaneously: money, travel, marriage, motherhood, separate careers in the world...

Doing things sequentially - filling roles one at a time at different times - is not always possible, as we know, but it gives a woman the opportunity to do each thing well in its time and to fill a variety of roles inher life. A woman... may fit more than one career into the various seasons of life. She need not try to sing all of the verses of her song at the same time."

M. Russell Ballard

So I realized when i get frusterated withCaroline because she pees on me after sitting down at Karate in the first 5 minutes and i have to spend the rest of the time in the car, or when she destroyes every piece of jewlery that i own, or the she sprays bleach cleaner on the walls that we just had painted, I am not doing a very good job of reminding her she lived with Heavenly Father before she came to live with me and he loves her!!

I hope you take the time to read this article even if you don't have little ones at home!

My Walks.
This morning is the first day of spring break. since we already took jeff's vacation for the wedding we are sporting it at home. it is going to be a long week. at 7:30 annie kate was wanting to go the neighbors to play. we went for our walk at 8:00 in 45 degrees. it was so windy. the only way i could get annie kate to go was to let her wear my ipod and listen to highschool musical. (my favorite movie)
so i decided to start talking photos of what i remember about the different walks i take in my neighborhood. with spring there are so many awesome colors. the above photo is our community in our development. Bentley Park.
I love when the tulips come up. and i love it when they die. because the gardners throw the bulbs away, so i always dig them up the day before and replant them in my yard. you should have seen me a few years ago. I probably had 100 bulbs i was digging with Caroline 8 months old in my arms screaming. i will do anything for free... well not anything, but close.
If you have a chance get out and take a walk!
click here to see photos of my walks. more photos to come.

Best Wedding Gift Ever!
This is one of my favorite wedding gifts. It was the card that held a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. But the card was the true gift. It was handmade by Randy and Jill Stuart. Randy drew it and Jill wrote it. Here is what is says on the front..

The Salt Lake Tribune
Thrusday, August 4, 1994
Freshman Wins Dream Date

Sources told this ace reporter that Kristi Buchanan of Farmington, New Mexico is to marry Jeff Cutler, a fine young man from Issaquah, Washington. Rumor has it that their whilwind romance had is beginnings in a pubic speaking class at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, the town once hailed as the "Most Liveable City" in the United States. Talk of a reception has Salt Lake City buzzing with activity. Inside reports place the alleged reception at the Josesph Smith Memorial Building, Empire Room at seven o'clock pm on
Thrusday, August 4, 1994.
Talk of open houses, to be held in the couples' home towns, is also in the air. One can only hope that the rumors are true. As for this reporter, I wish them the very best of luck in their new life together.

Girl goes Gah-Gah, gorgeous guy glad
Sources, which can't be revealed, have confirmed the reports of a giddy young woman in Provo, Utah. The young lady, appropriately named the "Gah-Gah Girl," was seen about town with a huge smile, battering eyes, and a visibly palpitating heart. The girl, last seen wearing a blue denim shirt, khaki shorts, and Birkenstock sandles, was unavailble for comment.

Jeff and I do have quite a story of how we met and then how I stalked him for 5 years and then begged him to marry me. It is kind of dreamy

Thanks Jill and Randy for the treasure.

*****What is one of your favorite wedding gifts??

cAll fOr quArters
My 7 year old daughter is collecting the state quarters.
She will wait until she gets 10 dollars accumulated in her allowance and then has us give that to her in a roll of quarters. This morning she got to open her roll. She usually gets about 2 new quarters per roll. It has been a really fun thing to collect.
There are a few that are getting harder and harder to find. The ones from 1999 -2001. So I told annie kate that I would let my blog readers know that she was looking for a few hard to find ones.
If you have one and want to mail it to her she will send you back a thank you gift which she informs me will be a surprise... ohh the suspense.
these are the ones she is looking for:

Massachusetts D - Mississippi P- Missouri P - Maine D

The "D" or "P" stands for what mint it was made in, Denver or Philidelphis. On the front of every quarter on the right near the bottom you will see a D or P. (for some reason the photo of the above quarter does not have it) She is collecting one for each state from each mint.
You can send your quarters to:

Annie Kate the Quarter Queen

kristi.cutler@comcast.net email me for the address.

feel free to email this page to your friends so they have a chance to receive a free gift from Annie Kate too.

Best invention!

I am home sewing today some pillows for one of the teachers at annie kate's school. They are ruffled floor pillows. Thanks to the best invention ever the ruffle foot, it is making my life so much easier. I can ruffle the edge and attach it to the pillow at the same time. If you sew and don't have one of these get one! I love it!

greAt find!
Just had to post this great shirt! it is from Gymboree.
I was a little disappointed that i could not find one they have for a boy. Anyway fun shirt to have for your daughters birthday or great gift to send! and happy late birthday Kim G.! this month is a crazy birthday month in our family.. i am so behind!

"i just have to ask...?"
Here at Vanderbilt the graduating quarterback, Jay Cutler,( age 21) is destined for a career in the NFL, being one of the top 5 picks for the draft. It has been a fun last name to have working at Vanderbilt because of how well he has done. Jeff (my husband, age 35) often gets asked by patients if he is Jay's brother. Jeff always answers,
"I wish"

Well, today after seing one of his last patients in the clinic (who was about 21 himself) He said to Jeff I just have to ask you this question,
"Dr. Cutler are you Jay Cutlers Father?"

hee hee!! Go Commodores!

Curly Hair?

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Is there a chance one of our kids could get hair with a little bit of curl? I doubt it, but for now I will hang on to every little bit of curl Sally Jane has. This was her on Sunday before chruch, in her most recent $1.49 dress from Goodwill. Note her playing with one of her favorite toys

waLk in the rAin!
Today when i woke up i knew only one thing, i was not going to repeat yesterday! I knew i had to get out of the house and so did my girls (and that did not include target, the bank, or the grocery store) so as Annie Kate got on the bus at 8:00 am, Sally Jane and Caroline and I went for a walk. My neighbors said, "Kristi what are you doing?" and I replied back, "avoiding a nervous breakdown" It was raining. Not hard but a constant drizzle. I left with no coat, no socks on the kids feet, no hat or use of any of the wonderful REI outwear that we own. I just gave each of them an 8oz bottle, put on my nano and was a women with a mission. It has been too long since i have down my 4 mile route and today i knew i needed it.
Thanks to a wonderful gift by Jeff's grandparents the above stroller made it a smooth ride, even though the girls did get a little wet (i should probably order the rain guard).
I have high hopes for a better day! i am amazed at how exercise changes my outlook and attitude. It is my legal drug!
*** what is something that you do that gives you the boost you need?*** i am curious to know!

Great Day.
I know i had already posted about Lenessa and David's wedding but the family has now all put their photos online (173 total) I have been looking at them today and just had to share what a great day it was!
The highlights for me:
The ceremony was awesome. having the ENTIRE family there was incredible.
The thought of angels being there
The cake was yummy unlike mine that was lame or so everyone thought
Lenessa dress. it was so beautiful, handmade by her mother.
The dancing at the reception. Annie Kate will never forget it.
Caroline screaming the entire day, not a highlight be memorable
The smile of David's face
Seeing debbie and julie's face during the wedding
when they gave the boquet to the couple that had married the longest (67 years)
Caroline singing happy birthday to everyone that brought in a gift

it was a great day enjoy the photos.

carOline's dAy!
I was going to title this bad day gone worse, but i decided to have a positive attitude and focus on how great of a day this must be for Caroline. (because for me not so great!)
We went to Target at 8:00 am in the pouring rain and Caroline got to jump through all the puddles on the way to the store. We went for new shoes and diapers for her. I was totally out of diapers and her shoes are all size 7 and below and she wears an 8. She got a new pair of Princess shoes, (there was a day when i promised I would never buy character shoes , today i caved) when trying on the shoes at Target Caroline was screaming like she always does when we do anything. and the nice lady in the red shirt who works there came up to me and said"here let me hold your hand" i told her don't bother she screams all the time, and the lady said, "not her hand i was meaning yours" she said it looks like you need some attention too. She truly was an angel! Her distraction kept Caroline from kicking me in the gut!
So as we get our few items in the store Caroline has picked every treat mothers swear they will never buy or at least i do, like those baby bottle pops and pez dispensers and chocolate wrapped candy in the shape of footballs and basketballs (the chocolate is always so gross!)
When we get up to pay Caroline throws up her stash and i was too tired today to fight it. Sally Jane was crying (not typical for her) and i said whatever she gave you ring it up. The lady put it all in a little bag for her and Caroline skipped back out into the rain.
When we came home she layed out her stash and was so excited.
Later when laying her down for a nap i put her in my room so she could be in the big bed. Both girls asleep perfect for me to do a few things. I called Dessert book to preorder conference on DVD so i won't feel so bad when i don't watch it. (i have not seen it in 6 years!) as i am on the phone ordering it i hear Caroline, when i get off the phone i go in my room to find caroline has colored all over my dresser, walls and ruined 90% of my jewlery. what saved her life is that i went to find my camera to take a photo to document for jeff the day i was having. by the time i got the camera and took a photo, i had callmed down and didn't care as much.
Then she came downstairs climbed in the basket that holds the blankets and curls up and takes a nap. For her it has been a great day full of discovery, treats and artistic expression. as for me i am now in my white pj's calling it a day.
** jeff looking for a great mother's day gift. a jewlery box with a pad lock on it!
*** also note the saggy diaper in the above photo since she had to wear sally jane's to the store a size 3 she wears a size 6!

photos of the destruction

Love - Hate!
I have a love - hate relationship with the Doodlebops. (kids show on the Disney chanel for all of you lukcy people who get to watch the Today Show.) My kids love them, Caroline and Sally Jane love the music and move around while the show is on which makes me love them, but they are so freaky looking and drive me crazy, which makes me hate them. (i can't believe i am typing the word hate, we are not allowed to say that word in our house so typing it is making me feel guilty) They have the cutest song about Cauliflower but the most annoying song about getting on the bus. They just moved the time slot to be the show right before Annie Kate gets on the bus for schoool, which is usally the time the TV is on to distract the babies so i can finish helping Annie Kate get ready for school.
Oh i dream of the day i get to watch the news again and feel like i know what is going on in the world!

we Caught hiM!

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This year for Christmas Annie Kate used her video camera (yes her video camera; an upcoming post for sure) to try to catch Santa coming into our home. She set it on that mode that only tapes when someone walk by (hee hee)and we caught him! She still talks about this video. We burned it on a disk and she took it to school to show everyone.

Although running 6 miles a day has really slimmed down that good old Santa Clause.

I wish I would have had this blog during Christmas (i can't wait until this year) because we had one of the best Christmas' ever! It was the first year in 5 years that Jeff had spent home on Christmas. It was so nice not having to lug the kids up to the hospital. And if you think about it, Annie kate is only 7 so probably the first year she would remember having him home. We didn't get any great big gifts (most of the girls came from goodwill and then went back about 2 months later when the house went on the market) go on any fancy trips, have any visitors. But we did start one new tradition. Jeff borrowed this Santa suit from a friend and at about 8:30 took a little walk down the middle of our street. WE told all neighbors to have a look out the window with their kids. OUr street is lined with kids Annie Kate's age. And he rang is sleigh bells and waved. It was so great. Caroline was looking out the window screaming I love you Santa. Then for our 12 days christmas (we deliver one piece of the nativity every night for 12 days) Santa went to the home to give them the last piece. They still don't know it was jeff.

It was the best Christmas ever because we were all home together and because Shari Oman made the best dinner ever! enjoy the video.

lucky mE!
Today is St. Patricks day. and since every holiday is like the last holiday we will ever celebrate this is no exception. I love holidays and i love traditions.
We have had a fun fille day. The above photo is what annie kate took to school for lunch. i know a bunch of junk, but oh so fun. she doesnt' know what was inside, i cant' wait to hear how she liked it.
We woke up to money left in the trap that did not catch the leprechaun, furniture upside down, green dyed toilets, box of lucky charms left by the front door, gellies on the fridge and mirrors, fun shamrock glasses on AK's backpack, streamers and shamrocks on the kitchen cabinets.
I have full documentation on our website with fun photos.
But the highlight of the festivities have to be the Leprechaun outfit.
Yesterday before school Annie Kate told me she wanted to design an outfit for the leprechaun. She was going to go to the library and look up in a book how big he is so we could sew him an outift. She figured he was about 6 inches. So she made a pattern to sew and outfit for him with black buttons down the front. She came home yesterday and we sewed it together. (i have created a monster) She left it in the trap (which had a glue floor so his feet would get stuck) and put the clothes in there for him to have a fresh new outfit. It was so cute! I took the clothes and am going to write her a letter and send them back to her in a few weeks. I think I will send it to the school it will be more fun that way.
50 minutes before she had to be on the bus i hurried and embroidered her sweatshirt to wear. it said "Shamrockin" with a big green bug on the front.
We are having cabbage and corned beef for dinner with green jello and pistachio pudding. I hope I am always this lucky/blessed as i feel today. I needed this holiday to give me a pick-me-up and remind me how lucky I am to have these three children!

higHest biDder!
Last night was our Relief Society's* first enrichment this year and a celebration of the birth of the organization. It was an awesome night!
The theme was a service auction. Everyone picked some form of service that they would donate to be auctioned off, ie: babsitting, photo shoot, quilt, family game, baked goods, prepare your will for you, stoller etc. The way you earned money was by answering a list of questions
and then gets points for them which turn into fake money.
I wrote in more detail about it on my smugmug site and took a ton of photos. click here if you want to bask in the festivities.
I made a bag with the seal of the theme of Relief Society, "Charity Never Faileth" then i bound a R.S. manual with a cute cover.
I only had $340 and most things were selling for about $500 so i was a little poor last night. and then of course i am chatting with friends so i missed half of the stuff for sale. but i did get a cool set of handmade cards and tags in a cute little box.
Jordan b. and Sarah c. did a great job and put so much time into it. I am glad is was them and not me!
*to learn more about what the R.S. is click here.

wonDerful bOOk!
i just got this book to give to my girls. It is by the author who wrote, "Guess How Much I love You" It is a precious book! It would make a great gift for someone one having their third child. (or even better for someone having their 6th)
Inside cover:

Once upon a time, a Mommy bear and a Daddy Bear told their three little cubs that they were the best baby bears in the whole wide world. But the time came when each of the siblings began to wonder. They couldn't all be the best. They couldn't all be the favorites. Or could they?

If you want to buy it.
also to this link check our the used book section you can buy a new one for $2.00

Everything White!
Although on the outisde my favorite color is pink, inside it is white. I realized this morning how almost everything I own is white. All of our towels are white . All of our sheets are white. I probably own 20 shirts and 10 of them are white. I believe you can never have too many white t-shirts, especially ones from banana republic . My girls all have a white dresses. My whole bedding to my bedroom is white. And today i realized i own three white eyelet skirts (now that is crazy!)
The main reason is I love to bleach things! it is the only way to get things really clean. I go through a jug of bleach a week. One of my favorite cleaning products is the Clorox Pen just this week it saved one of Caroline's outfits she wore to the beach. My favorite bleach is the splashless one but my favorite scent is the orance citrus.
I just bought some new white pj's at target yesterday. when the lady was ringing me up, she said, "oh i would never buy white pj's how are you going to keep these clean?" of course my response, "Bleach baby!" (side note on the pj's they are awesome, only $25 for top and bottom, light weight long sleeve cotton with a subtle stripe, couldn't find a photo and would look great with a monogram, mine are gettting done today!)
But I loved getting in my white bed with my white sheets and white pj's.
If you want to see an enjoyable website click on The White Company. Beautiful! It is a london based company and it is probably where Pottery Barn gets all of their ideas.
So the next time you are trying to decide what color to buy. Go for white, you won't regret it! And we all know that in beauty pagents the girl wearing the white dress usually wins.

take the time!
My friend Jill has the best Sunday posts on her blog. I love reading them. She just posted her sunday notes today. If you have a minute take the time to read them. you won't regret it.
to read click here.

I also stole this photo from her site. She is a great photographer as well as great sunday note taker.

also my thoughts as the day is coming to an end.. why is life so dang hard!
today has been a long day i have got to get a leash!!

going oUt of business! TARGET!
I went to target today and this is the sign that should have been on the front of the store. I felt like everything in there was 75% off. So if you need:

cute denim jacket for your daughter size 4-14
wrapping paper
photo albums
gift bags
any stationery
candles
basically any gift wrap
printer for your computer (i scored, it was the purpose of my visit)
any scrapbook supplies
(sorry Utah folk this may not apply to you, people here just don't buy that stuff, which i call eye candy since i don't know what to do with it)

I love those days where it seems like everything is on sale. So if you are in the need of any of the above hit a Target today (get it, Hit a Target hee hee)

The other sign on the door should have said, if you have two children extremely close together and can't control the one that can walks don't come in! I will be saving this for a future post, I am still to flustered to talk about it! Who sells child leashes!!!!!!!!

ButcHer!
Growing up we had one of these butcher blocks. We all loved it! I think it was one of my parents best purchases. I had always told myself when i had the space to have one i would buy one. I found this on a website for $1,300. Yikes.
I am so curious what my parents paid for theirs 35 years ago. So I guess my butcher block dream has come to a crashing end the small one that goes under my sink will have to do.
So i decided to document a few other things i loved in our house as a kid.
* the tiffany lamp in the kitchen
* the silver wallpaper that had velvet stripes
* the yellow furniture made out of pvc pipes
* the big green frog toy box
* the little navajo hut that burned inscense
* the black and white houndstooth chair (until someone etched I hate Kristi in the wood, feel free to defend)
* the awesome print of the prophets standing int he celestial room (my church building has the same print)
* our yellow floral couches
* the brown doughnut phone
* and i always wanted one of these!
think about what are some favorite things you had when you were a kid and write them in your journal so you don't forget.

SouPies!
A few years ago i had a phone conversation with one of my sister in laws (MHC) that changed my life. There was so many things that it would take all day, but one of her words of wisdom was the importance of aunts and uncles in our children's lives. She talked about how important it is to have relationships with your brothers and sisters so that you children will have aunts and uncles who they will go to when they don't want to talk to their parents. it gives them one more adult in their life that they feel they can turn to, rely on and one that loves them.
I was so greatful for her advice. I had shared with her how hard it is to not live around one member of our family. I kind of always feel like our kids are on the outside looking in. (of course i know this is a mass insecurity and if anyone in my family reads this they are going to say i am crazy, but how would i know if anyone from my family reads this blog since no one says anything about it, ok enough of that!)
So i decided that day to do things that would teach my kids about our brothers and sisters.
To this Day annie kate loves to hear the story of Jeff's brother Scott and how he ripped out 6 teeth in one day. in fact everytime she loses a tooth we tell that story that night.
On of the other things I did was to start calling the girls blankets their Soup. (even though our own version has become Soupies) My sister in law (lizzi) had a blanket when she was a little girl and she used to call it her soup. So to teach my girls about their Aunt Lizzi we adopted that name. What is even funnier is that everyone in our family has their own soup, even Jeff and I and with our names monogrammed on them. So i had to take a photo. see above
we all love our blankets and each sleep with them at night.
I am forever greatful to the advice given to me.

What do you do in your life to be apart of your siblings kids lives?

HaPpy BiRtHday!
Today is Albert Einsteins birthday, but more importantly it is my friend Michelle's birthday and my neices Abigail and Madelyn. So happy birthday girls!
If you want to see what famous person was born on your birthday click here!

HoliDay!
I couldn't wait until Friday to do my first St. Patricks post in case someone is looking for some new ideas for the great holiday. if you are new to my blog, we go a little overboard with holidays in this house, so beware. So here are the things we do for the holiday and my list of things to get ready.
*set out a trap the night before, with something shiny to attract the leprechaun. then in the morning the trap has been closed (of course we never catch him) and there are gold coins left instead.
*We wake up the the furniture in the house all upside down and kind of crazy. because he is such a trickster
*Lucky Charms for Breakfast
*dye the milk green
* I ususally put those shamrock gel things on the mirrors and windows
* i make annie kate a green lunch with everything green, i will for sure take a photo
*we have a green dinner, it always looks so gross, so i may have to come up with something else
*annie kate willing wears this funky green hat to school. two years ago photos
* we put leprechaun kisses in our friends mailbox. (hersey kisses) poem to follow at end of post so you can make them for your friends.
*I did just come across this new poem and idea for a magic treasure box. i like the idea of going on a hunt. I found this on Family Fun website. A great resource for any holiday.

This St. Patrick's Day, let your child in on a well-guarded secret and start a new family tradition in the process. The fun begins with the legend of the leprechauns and leads to a treasure box filled with goodies and gifts. Here's what to do. On the day before the holiday, read aloud the following tale:

LEGEND OF THE LEPRECHAUNS
Full of magic and trickery, the leprechauns remain in their hidden world until the night before St. Patrick's Day. On that one night of the year they appear throughout the world to dance and sing and frolic.

Disguising themselves as leaves and grass, and sounding like the wind and the crickets, they come and go unnoticed.

However, it is said that if a decorated treasure box is left empty under the moon, the leprechauns must fill the box with gold or jewels or gifts. But then they will hide the filled box in the most unlikely of places.

If the box is found on St. Patrick's Day, the treasure remains in our world. If not, the leprechauns may retrieve what is rightfully theirs. And though the leprechauns are very clever, it is not impossible to find the treasure because, unknowingly, leprechauns often leave a trail of greenery behind them.

Here is the Leprechaun Kisses poem. A great little something for a teacher or bus driver.

Here's a wee present for you
Full of luck and wishes
Celebrate this St. Patrick's Day
With these Leprechaun Kisses!

I would love to know your traditions for St. Patricks day! I will for sure take lots of photos of the day.

enoUgh iS enoUgh!
Ok i have gone too far! I monogrammed a real diaper! I admit this is crazy. But i had to show yet how cute it is as the same time! hee hee!

orAnge milk!
The other day I was cleaning out Annie Kate's back pack and this is what I found. I was laughing so hard. I started to throw this away thinking why did she bring a dirty milk carton home. She saw me throwing it away and grabbed it out of my hands. She tells me that she wants to save this forever. I didn't even know they had orange milk at the school. She wanted me to save it in her scrapbook box. I told her I would take a photo of it to save it.
Like Mother like daughter, we save everything! I love this girl!

sAnta crUz!
What a great day! Jeff, the girls and I spent the day in Santa Cruz, CA. We had a great day and wonderful weather. Here are the photos of the day. Photos! I did some journaling on the page so i won't go into all the fun details of the day twice.
Caroline love the Beach. It was cracking us up making her say Beach over and over. It was kind of like the way she said Bridge, when we going over the Golden Gate. I am sure you can use your imagination on what it sounded like.

wedDing dAy!
It was a beautiful day at the Oakland Temple. Lenessa and David got married on March 4, 2006. It was a great day full of activities, feeling the spirit in the temple, cake, hula dancing, caroline screaming her head off, more scott and jeff karaoke, kissing, tired feet, late night grilled chesse sandwiches and brie, dirty white dresses (caroline had to wear two) Caroline singing happy birthday to everyone because she saw them bringing gifts to the reception and all of us falling asleep very fast! Congrats to David and Lenessa! Click here for photos of the day.

ThRee giRls!
What a day! We had the most incredible day today! We started with Pink pancakes made by Melissa R., a drive into the city on the most beautiful clear day. With the help of our Garmin GPS system we have wonderful ease getting to all destinations. Our first stop was Union Square. I left the girls and jeff there so I could run into Britex Fabrics. My Mecca!! You can't even imagine how happy i was to be in there. (my dream is to some day fly to S.F. witheach of my girls to buy the fabric for their wedding dress) While I was in the store Jeff got his taste of all three girls. He was in the plaza at Union Square getting some hot chocolate for the girls when Caroline spilled hers all over Annie Kate's butter yellow pants. So when i come back up annie kate is covered in hot chocolate. We looked all over for a Gap but ended up running into Macy's. To make a long story short we had a hard time finding a pair of plain pants. This store was a little too hip for us. Annie kate walked out with a pair of guess jeans with rhinestones all over the front. it was seriously killing me, but she just kept thanking Caroline for spilling the drink on her. We then went down to Pier 39 and saw the sea lions, the merry go round was closed, we had cotton candy, fresh donuts and caroline chased the birds everywhere. We then headed out to the golden gate park and went over the bridge and then to Sausalito. We had yummy ice cream at this little ice cream parlor. I had peppermint fudge. As we were leaving Annie Kate and I ran to a artist loft above the ice cream shop. Here name is Connie Pecorao. Here is her website. Nonamegirl.com
The above photo is one of her original drawings. Her prices are SO reasonable and she has darling cards, prints and even t-shirts. She gave annie kate a tank with her western girl on a horse on the front. Annie Kate put it right on and wore it the rest of the day. But if you need some prints or gifts for a little girls room take a look her stuff is darling.
We then went to Scott and Melissa's home in the Marina District. They will be selling it in a few weeks so we had to get our fill in before they move. We love their home and love spending time there. The kids made art projects, (jeff's brother scott is an artist, incredible one at that, so his son has adopted his ways) posters, clay figures, ate pancakes, watched movies and then did a little karaoke. Scott brought out his karaoke machine. What a blast. Jeff and Scott were on that all night long. It started with guns and roses and then winded down to air supply and some love ballads. Those two were in heaven. We didn't leave until after 10:00 pm and didn't plan on staying past 6:00. We had to drag ourselves out. We will miss visiting them in the city. We had a great day with our three girls, Scott, Melissa, Jack, Audrey and Matthew. Here is a link to see our photos of the day! Photos!