Super Saturday Overload?

My ward (church congregation) had their Relief Society Super Saturday (a day of crafting and eating) on August 6th. I ordered several projects, because I always do. I do it because I like to give the things I make as gifts (like all the "fall" decorations I've made and thought I kept for myself, but found out last November that I had actually given as gifts every "fall craft I've ever made) and I do usually get a few things for myself.

So, I ordered 8 different projects knowing I would probably only get to one, maybe two on the actual day. (I was only able to complete one that day. No big deal.) A "Happy Birthday" sign Avery (she insisted on coming with me) felt we should work on first so that we could put it out for her dad's birthday the next day. Fine. The "Happy Birthday" sign is done and placed on our piano in honor of Ryan's birthday. I took the other projects home thinking it won't be too big of a deal to work on them over the next couple of months. I may have had seven more projects to complete, but they're fairly easy to do. But, the problem is that I decided to pick up 4 more projects that were available on my way out the door. In my defense, a couple of them are "fall" themed and since I've given all previous ones away, it was necessary to pick up more. Right!? So, I now have 11 different craft projects to complete, three of which need to be done by October if I want them to be of any use. Looking at all of the work I now have to do, it's kind of making me think I went just a little overboard.

Because I'm the Mom!

"Because I'm the mom," is something I say to my kids ummm....pretty much daily. I know it makes my kids bonkers to hear it (actually, I think it completely enrages them ☺) because I could never stand to hear any sort of similar phrase when I was a kid. But, you know, sometimes, things are what they are simply because "the mom" says so. (It did take until I was a mom to understand.) No further explanation of "why?" it was said is necessary. So, my kids can hate it now, but they'll understand (and say/hear their wives say the very same thing) when they have kids of their own.

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My dog's shedding has been a bit on the extreme side, lately. I was talking to my mom about it and she shared with me something a vet told her. They suggested cutting open a fish oil capsule and mixing it in with the food. My mom said that when she was doing it consistently, it worked wonders. Well, I need wonders to be worked on my dog. I brushed him just before I talked to her about this and I swear I pulled out enough hair to knit a sweater. It was so disgusting! (Oh, and you should see the amount I'm able to vacuum up daily!) So, I've been putting it on his food for 4 days now. I can't say whether or not I've noticed an improvement yet, but I've decided to give it around a week to ten days before I really pass judgment. I'm crossing my fingers!

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My kids like to eat toast for breakfast. And by toast, I mean toast with cinnamon & sugar. It's the only way they will. No toast with just butter for them or even jam. Oh, and by "my kids", I mean my boys like to eat it with cinnamon & sugar. Avery likes it with sugar only and for some reason, this irritates Cameron to no end. He can't believe she even dares to call what she makes "toast". He thinks the only thing worthy of that title MUST have the cinnamon AND the sugar. He considers it a crime against humanity to make it any other way.

I Hope You Don't Mind

Today is my husband's birthday. So, and I hope you don't mind, I'd like to paraphrase Elton John and tell you how wonderful my life is because he's in this world. I love him more than anything and I just wanted to share that.

I hope you had a good time yesterday, Ryan, when we went out to eat at the restaurant I chose. (The Dodo. Take that Barrett! I told you I would make him take me there. And I'm making a huge assumption here that Barrett will even read this. ☺ Totally fine if he doesn't.) And I hope you had fun when I suggested we go shopping for fun afterward. (The fun part being that we bought a new pair of shoes for me.) I know those activities were a little selfish (well, a lot selfish), but that's just the kind of guy that you are. You are kind, generous, caring and really only concerned with making sure that I and your family am happy. I hope you have a very, very Happy Birthday today because you deserve it. You're wonderful!

It Looks So Pretty!

I've been making so many changes physically lately, I decided it was time to update and change the design on my blog. I used Designer Blogs again and, once again, I'm totally thrilled with the result. My blog design is light, airy, pretty, not fussy & everything I wanted it to be. Thank you so much, Erin! You do wonderful look.

I'm still having the issues with Blogger. (It's time to contact them directly and DEMAND they fix the problems. Anyone think it will actually happen? ☺) So, I can't do a hyper link to Designer Blogs for you. What you can do is scroll down to the bottom of my blog and click on the link that's there. If you have a Blogger or Word Press blog and are looking to do something "more" with it, contact them. They do fantastic work!

When Ryan is Away

In the past, Ryan would travel all the time. Sometimes, he would be gone 4-5 days a week for every week of the month. He did that for years. It started to taper off about 4 years ago when he moved from installation to engineering. He would still travel on occasion, but only for 4-5 days in a month, usually spread out and usually only 1-2 days at a time. He moved to sales a year and a half ago and it slowed down a little more. Now, he has the occasional, once or twice a month, overnight at the most, sales trip. Just because he doesn't do it nearly as much as he has, that doesn't mean that it's any easier. It's hard having him gone. And so, when he is away, I don't like cook an extravagant dinner. The days seem longer and harder when he's gone and cooking is usually the last thing I feel like doing. So, it's Ramen noodles, macaroni & cheese, or whatever quick fix we can come up with. I put the kids to bed much earlier than normal. (Because, like I said, the days seem longer and harder when he's gone and I'm usually VERY ready for them to be over.) I watch television shows he can't stand. I stay up late watching movies he thinks are crappy. Or, I stay up late reading. Or, I stay up late washing every dirty item of clothing or linens in the house. Or, I stay up late cleaning. Or, I stay up late doing some sort of craft. Or....basically I just stay up late because I don't sleep well when he's not here. It throws off my routine because I always, always miss him when he's away. I'm glad this trip is "probably" only an overnighter.

A Happy List

Just a few things that make me happy:

1. All the crazy, off the wall things that Peyton says. Like when he burped the other day and told me it was "a mouth fart".

2. All of my kids. Yes, there are days they can make me totally crazy, but I still love them and the crazy doesn't last forever. They make me happy more often than not.

3. My husband. Oh, I just love him!

4. Progress being made on home improvement projects. We have the driveway done and the roof is underway. I'm happy to be improving the look of our home.

5. Watching any of the Toy Story movies with Peyton. They're just so darn cute. And he's just so darn cute watching them.

6. Good conversations with friends.

7. Good conversations with my husband.

8. Good conversations with my family.

9. Learning from an experience.

10. Listening to my favorite music.

11. My new, orange sheets. I bought them because I wanted something bright and cheery to lie on while I was recovering from my tonsillectomy. I can't help but feel happy when I look at them.

12. The fact that my tonsils are gone. It's been a rough couple of weeks, but I wouldn't take them back for anything.

13. A delicious piece of fruit.

14. A super cold glass of water.

15. Cozy, quiet evenings spent with my family.

16. Watching one of my favorite movies.

17. Reading a great book.

18. Cooking and or baking.

19. Watching Cooking Channel or Food Network. I would watch either of those all day long if I could.

20. Completing a task and feeling like I've accomplished something worthwhile.

21. Finding fun, new blogs to read. I've really been into handmade/fashion/lifestyle/vintage ones.

22. Just being alive. There's a quote from Emily Dickinson on my side bar that I just love. That's why it's there. It says: "Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough." So true.

Summer?

School starts for my kids in just 3 weeks. It feels strange that it is because this summer has hardly felt like summer to me. At all. I feel like it's still waiting to start. Kind of like we've been stuck in a permanent spring. The weather has been so incredibly mild. It's been (at least the way I remember it ☺) hot, but not too hot with lots of rain. I don't remember many days with temperatures too far above 90. Today, in fact, it's cloudy and rainy and the high temp is only supposed to be 79. (By the way, I totally adore cloudy and rainy days. They're comforting to me, for some strange reason.) I'm not complaining because overly hot weather isn't my thing. If I could control the weather and maintain the temperature at around 75 degrees, I would be a very happy person. So, all this mild weather suits me just fine. And....now that I've said that, karma is going to come and bite me in the butt and temperatures will soar to astronomical, melt your face off heights.

Oh, and since school starts in just 3 weeks, I started back to school clothes shopping last week. I need to get a couple more pairs of pants for Tyler & Cameron (they have enough to start, but really do need a couple more) and few more shirts for Avery. (She seems to have had a bit of a growth spurt. She hasn't grown longer legs, but she is longer in the waist. A size 8 shirt is kind of a belly shirt on her now. Well, not quite, but close. She now needs a size 10 and that's just crazy to me because Cameron is in the same size & he's 2 years and almost 9 months older than her.) I also need to get shoes for all and then I'll be done with the wardrobe part. Next, we'll stock up on school supplies and we can really call it good. (I'll get Peyton's preschool wardrobe in September because he isn't starting until then.) It's unbelievable to me that Tyler will be in 6th grade, Cameron will be in 4th, Avery will be in 2nd and my baby will be in preschool. Wow. I really have no other words to describe the feeling. Just....wow.