O.K

one of my hobbies is taking pictures of flowers and this is the first daffodil in my back yard :)

Have a Beautiful weekend!

Happy Spring

Today is the first official day of Spring

The birds have been singing good morning

The grass is turning green

Daffodils are blooming and some are picked & inside my house in vases

WELCOME Spring!

a LUCKY lady bug

So, there is a superstitious rumor that if you find a lady bug in your house you will have good luck! Well, since i have lived in our house every spring there is a little friendly lady bug that loves to live in my kitchen window. We must be pretty lucky folks ;)

Since i am mentioning luck, we hope everyone had a good St. Patty's Day. As you all know my son loves traditions and holidays and he was so excited to wake up and find a treat from a sneaky little leprechaun. I have told Dallin that Leprechauns are not real and it's all just for pretend fun. Well, i had bought the kids some LUCKY charms cereal and thought that would be plenty for there morning treat. When Dallin came downstairs and he couldn't find anything from a lucky leprechaun he came back upstairs and sadly told his Mommy that no sneaky little guy came to our house. I felt so bad i was just trying to keep the day low key and then he said " Mommy you tricked me" O' man, it was sad to hear his little voice say that! So, to please my child i went to the bank later that morning while he was at preschool and bought a real gold dollar coin :) and slipped it under his pillow with a treat. So, later that day he discovered after all that the Leprechaun did make a visit and when he found it he shouted these words "THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE"
I definitely learned my lesson to not dissappoint my child. He is spoiled! What kind of kid have i created?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Dallin has started soccer practice. Last night was his first practice and he had an "AWESOME" time :) We laid out his clothes last night before the kids went to bed and made sure to pick green shirts for today. Today he has Pre-school and they are having a talent show. So, for his talent he is going to do some Magic tricks he learned at a story time at the library. He has a Magic pet named Squirmle and he has a trick where he can turn a quarter into a penny or make it disappear. They're pretty cool tricks!

This is a scrapbook page I made five years ago. Wow! I can't believe how much my little boy has grown. 5 years ago Dallin giggled for the first time on St. Pat's Day!! He was the cutest little boy! And he made that St. Patrick's Day very special.

We hope you have a GREAT day!

A beautiful sunny morning!

It is the first mild day of March.
Each minute sweeter than before . . .
There is a blessing in the air. . .

- William Wordsworth

My little daffodils are blooming, tulips bulbs are sprouting! The blessing of spring is definitely in the air! Yesterday we did some spring cleaning, made homemade vegetable soup & bread and enjoyed the sun shining thru all our opened windows. I love this time of year!

Baby Booties

i think these little booties are adorable! I 'm debating whether to attempt making some of these for our little girl. Also, on my WANT to do list is make some baby headbands. I always find lots of ideas but whether i do them is another thing :)

You can see more pictures of these little booties at this Etsy shop: Baby Booties

Library Time

Since Dallin was two months old we have taken a weekly trip to the library. I am so grateful for the programs our local libraries put on. I enjoy the time at the library as much as the kids do.

The past few weeks there has been a Thursday night program at our library where they have had a workshop with Parents and children called "Every child ready to read" Teaching Parents that early literacy begins with you and how we can help our kids.

I have really enjoyed the workshops and at the end of each session you receive a new(free) book.
So, far i have been to four classes. Here are some fun tips that i will pass along that we have enjoyed learning:

1. Phonological Awareness - Being able to hear the sounds that make up words helps children sound out written words as they begin to read. The kids have enjoyed learning to clap the number of syllables in words. Play word games. You can say nursery rhymes so that your child hears the words that rhyme. Singing songs is a good way to help your child hear syllables. And Dallin has loved making up his own silly rhymes. He's really good at it :)
   

The book the kids received to practice the skill of rhyming was
"LLAMA LLAMA RED PAJAMA" It's a fun book to read at bed time.

2. Vocabulary -The more words children hear and understand, the more ready they will be to read on their own. Books offer vocabulary that conversation, t.v and computer games do not. The tips given were to find new words in books that your child does not know and explain the meanings. Talk to your child a lot! Read to your child everyday. Talk and repeat. Learn new ways to describe things.

The book given "The very hungry caterpillar" This book definitely encourages your kids to be involved and talk about what they are seeing.

3. Narrative Skills - This workshop was my favorite! Narrative skills are the expressive part of language, being able to describe things, to tell what happened, to retell stories. This skill helps children later understand what they read. Tips - have patience, pause for response, ask questions. Tell family stories, encourage your child to tell stories using puppets, dolls or animals. We were given a little notebook to have the children draw a story. Dallin started with a picture of a dog, then I asked him "what does a dog like to do, eat etc?" He did great drawing a story. The kids were also read a simple story that they could retell. My kids love to talk, so this skill has been great to encourage in a productive way :)

Book: "What do you do with a tail like this"

4. Print Awareness - Being familiar with printed language helps children feel comfortable with books and understand that print is useful. Tips - point to words, show children that print is all around us, let kids turn pages, have kids scribble, draw and write.

Book: "Good Night Gorilla" You can easily point to repeated words with this book. Teaching them to recognize the same print.

So, i know this is a long post but for some of you who have not been able to attend this workshop this is a summary that you might find helpful. My kids have done great with learning these skills and it has definitely taught me a lot.

Our little Baby at 31 weeks

Today we had another ultrasound! And our baby is still for sure a girl, you could definitely tell this time. The first ultrasound was a little questionable ;) I love being able to have ultrasounds later in the pregnancy, you can see more of there facial features. She is almost 4 lbs and has cute chubby cheeks :)

The reason for the Ultrasound was to check the location of my placenta and I still have Placenta Previa. I am a little nervous, the birth will need to be a planned C-section and generally if you have Placenta Previa you have the baby no later than 37 weeks. So, this little girl will be coming in April instead of May. Now, i just need to be cautious with any spotting and hope all will go well until at least the middle of April.

So, that is the latest with our baby girl! Six weeks left (hopefully a little longer than that) it's going to be here before we know it.

Sarahjane's Art Work

Recently I have found a new artist that I really like. I would love to frame some of these pictures in Penny's room. I really like old fashion vintage childhood illustrations and her art is simple and absolutely LOVE-ly.

The picture above is a great windy day picture, very fitting for the month of March. I can think of many refreshing moments of being in the outdoors and the wind blowing my hair! Yesterday, was definitely a 'Marching in like a lion' kind of day with the wind. We still went outside and did some yard work and I planted over thirty strawberry plants, I can't wait to eat the fruits of our labor.

Well, tomorrow i have another ultrasound and i am excited to take another little peak at our baby. And even double check to make sure it's a girl! We're having a hard time deciding on a name, with the previous kiddos once we came up with the name we knew it was the right one, but I don't know about this little one. Time will tell!

February - Has been a month full of love!

Well, the month is almost over and I have one more post about LOVE :)

LOVE NOTES!

On Wednesday Dallin took my post-it notes and wanted to write me "something" ?? I just figured he was going to draw me a picture. When he was done writing his notes he told me to come look and I found yellow little post it notes ALL OVER my house . . . in the pantry, on my vacuum, on books, chairs, he used a lot of post-its!!! ;)

I 'heart' - 'LOVE' Mom


I 'love' U

I don't want to take 'em down, they are sweet little love notes from my sweet son!

Signs of Spring

All the flower bulbs i planted in the fall are starting to sprout from the ground!

I am so excited! Spring is just around the corner!

Our backyard is under some serious construction. We are making our garden spot larger. My hubby as been a busy man working in the yard a little bit each day. We have had some nice weather lately and it feels great to be outside.

On my to do list today is to plant a box full of strawberry plants our neighbor gave us. Oh, i hope we can get a nice strawberry patch this year. I love gardening, the only down side are my allergies and my belly is in the way a little bit :) It hasn't stopped me yet from going outside. My Mom always reminds me "By the inch is a cinch, by the yard is hard" it goes something of that sorts, and I am definitely having to take the yard work a inch at a time.

Another little exciting side note. Last night we had a Service gift exchange with a bunch of ladies at church and i was fortunate enough to receive the gift of Four cake decorating classes. I am so excited to learn some more Wilton cake decorating tips.

Well, that is all the good news at our house! Have a great day :)

Acts of kindness

The other day i had done some small thing for Penny and out of the blue she said " THANK YOU, ROCHA MOM" And it made me pause and be grateful for little acts of kindness. I love my blue eyed little girl and hearing the words Rocha Mom from her little voice is music to my soul! I had to write it down and put it on my bulletin board for a simple reminder that those little Thank you's make being a mother worth every sacrifice.

"Be kind. No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted." -Aesop

Words for Mothers to live by

"I never feel so good as when I'm pregnant.
It's the only time a woman can sit still,
and do nothing at all,
and be beautifully productive."
-Maria Riva

A HEART-y Breakfast

It was fun making little hearts with strawberries and it was yummy to the tummy to have french toast with strawberries. We are still love'in it up at our house. The kids are still wanting to make lots of hearts, we have even made mini heart shaped pizza's for the munchkins.

Well, for you curious folks out there here is a peak at my 7 month belly. I no longer have any waist line to be concerned about, it's gone :) All this good food is definitely helping my baby to grow!

We (baby&me) are LOVEing all the yummy food :)

Our Valentine Weekend

We had a lovely weekend. The kids had a nice Friday inviting friends over and making lots of Valentine's, including more treats. My golly gee, we eat way to much sweets.

My motto for our home is "A family that BAKES, plays, & prays together - stays together"

Then i had a date night with my hubby! We had a good evening together! Then saturday morning i had taken the kids favorite stuffed animals and surrounded them with lots of love/goodies. It was fun to be able to tell the kids to go down stairs and they would find a surprise. There little surprises entertained them all morning :) Then off to a birthday party, did some more baking and then off again to our ward V-day party. I was exhausted to say the least and ready to go to bed when we got home.

The best part about my weekend is this:

My handsome son and his good looking father went on a top secret outing on Friday! Dallin was just beaming with joy when he came home and said "Happy Valentine's Mom and Penny" He handed Penny a little flower and told us to come downstairs and see our surprise. He picked it out with his Daddy's help and he even told me the exact amount that they spent while at the store, just a cute little tidbit of information he wanted to share!



They bought this beautiful plant: Azalea's

and some Chocolate ice-cream bars!

I am grateful for Rolo teaching Dallin the importance of love! Dallin knows how to treat a lady, and he has learned it from his Daddy. I am blessed to have two wonderful boys in my life and I love them both so much!

Here is a fitting quote: ". . the best thing parents can do for their children is to love each other."

Thank you for your love!

This is Dallin's V-day card he made for me! A picture of him and cupid bringing me hearts :)

A kiss for you!

SWEETS and more SWEETS

XxXXxx Big kisses & Little kisses XxXxXx

We made Rice Krispie treats today wrapped in tin foil! Mmm Mmm Good! I know i am raising my daughter well when i hear these words out of her mouth while she eats sweets "Yummy to my Tummy" :)

A kiss for you XxXx

"To love is to receive a glimpse of Heaven" - Karen Sunde

Yesterday we did some Valentine crafts and the kids were jumping and dancing with glea to make these little heart guys. I love watching there creative minds at work. Penny insisted that her hearts have hair on top and Dallin made an amazing ROCK STAR. At least from my own Mommy perspective I think there art work is amazing ;) Dallin is at such an impressionable age (5) He loves holidays! Today he had a Valentine's Party with his pre-school group. He had "SO MUCH FUN" he said and he "LOVED EVERYTHING" He was excited to come home and show me all his Valentine crafts he made and received.

Creative Excursions;

The gift of time for yourself!

Today I had a couple hours on my own, without children! At first i always think 'What am I going to do by myself' Then the lists of possibilities start forming in my mind. So, today i went on some creative excursions! I have been wanting to go to a junk store and browse around. It is always fun to look for little treasures! I found a few good deals. I bought a couple darling outfits for our new little one on the way. And I found a 25 dollar item on sale for 4! Great deals always add a little extra happiness :) But, more important than shopping it's nice to have some quiet time for yourself, it is refreshing and it gives you time to clear your mind, so vital and should be a higher priority for Mom's. Just a couple hours a week on your own (not work related) makes a difference!

And just another little random note - I have been blessed this winter to not have had a single cold (knock on wood) I think the secret has been Ester C. If i feel any symptoms of a cold I start taking some vitamin C and it has worked every time! Also, with this pregnancy I have been addicted to making Orange Julius's. So, my body must be staying strong with all the extra Vitamin C! So, if you don't have this vitamin in your Medicine cabinet i highly recommend it :)

A great day for Penny

Penny got all dressed up this morning ;) to go to a friends birthday party! She had so much fun! One of the high lights was being able to plan and make the birthday cake for her friend. Penny has been waiting all week to get to go to a Princess party!

I made a Snow White Princess Cake for her friend. Every cake I make is an experiment and I never know how it will turn out. I was excited about this one! I need to take some Wilton cake decorating classes so I can learn more techniques. At the Wilton website is where I found the idea for this Princess cake I made . . .

All of the little Princesses had a great time at the Party! And they were in AWE with the special guest (Snow White) that arrived at there gathering!

O' it is so sweet to watch our little girls adore Princesses and have fun themselves dressing up like royalty.

I am so glad that Penny is my pretty little Princess!

Made with Love

I have been sewing a Valentine's outfit for Penny and I am DONE! I need to first say thanks to my sewing instructors :) It has been really neat learning how to do some new things, for example - a skirt, collar and a zipper. I thought it was all going to be more complicated than what it was. I especially liked sewing the skirt. Super Easy! Well, even though this outfit has been made with lots of love, my daughter does not want to wear it ;) She knows i really want her to and she has been watching me sew and now her stubborn gene is shining and she won't put it on!

I will need to bribe her with candy or something and then she will wear it! Hopefully, I will get some cute pictures of her modeling her Valentine's outfit. We shall see! I also tried a new hair do on her the other day, with a braided heart! She thought that was cute :) I found the idea at the blog Tip Junkie.

Lucky You!

Lucky you!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows?
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Thanks Maren for this fun idea/post :)

Groundhog Day February 2, 2009

Groundhog Day 2009: Did the Groundhog See His Shadow?
By Cathy Beers Feb 2, 2009

Its groundhog day 2009! Puxatony Phil, that buck toothed weather forecaster is out of the hole. Did the groundhog see his shadow? Unlike Al Gore's dire warning earlier that the earth is almost so hot it is ready to spontaneously combust, the rather large rodent used his incredible forecasting skills to predict, six more weeks of Winter! The groundhog saw his shadow.

Groundhog Day 2009: Did the Groundhog See His Shadow?

It's unclear if Al Gore has chastised Puxatony Phil, screaming at the little furry creature that no matter what the weather and the consitions actually are showing, global warming is here and we are all going to die unless we stop living our lives.

***

I think that is why Puxatony Phil is so much more popular than Al Gore, even when he gives this forecast. New York brought out a copycat that they call Staten Island Chuck, and he says that six weeks more of winter is the wrong forecast.

Chuck -- "speaking" through New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg -- saw "absolutely no shadow."


Our local Boise Bill also saw his shadow!

Well, here is some interesting info:

This Groundhog’s Day, 2009, Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow!

But did you know that if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow there’s going to be 6 more weeks (44 days) of winter and if he does not see his shadow there is only going to be 42 days of winter left? So why do we dedicate a day to the Groundhog?

So, we can have a reason to eat chocolate pudding and I am excited we get to put cool whip on top for 44 more days of winter ;)

It's a fun event regardless of the outcome! The kids couldn't wait to come down stairs this morning and turn on the news and see Phil the Groundhog. They thought it was pretty cool!

What does Groundhog’s Day mean to you? Referring to the movie (Groundhog's day) what would be your perfect day?

Groundhog Day

Fun info. at this site Groundhog day.org

I am personally hoping that Mr. Phil the Groundhog does not see his shadow. I am anxious for spring time and looking forward to warmer weather. The past two years that I can think of he has been right! Last year he saw his shadow and it was still snowing this time last year. And the year before that I remember starting our garden early and that year he did not see his shadow :)

Tomorrow we are planning on waking up early since I put my kids to bed super early and looking forward to the weather forecast!

We're planning on watching the movie Groundhog's Day and having a yummy treat with chocolate pudding and graham crackers crumbled on top with a Ground hog topper. If we will be having six more weeks of winter we will put cool whip on top for more winter snow and if not we will look forward to soon be playing in the mud and dirt for spring time!

Happy soon to be Ground Hog Day :)