The kind of post that happens when I'm laying in bed next to Shane and he's reading and I might as well blog, even though I don't really have anything to blog about.

In case you were wondering after my last post, I did manage to pull together some motivation and had two very successful days. I woke up on Wednesday morning exhausted, so I gave the kids a box of golden graham cereal with sippy cups of milk (almond milk for Collin), turned on cartoons and went back to bed. After an hour, give or take, I felt great. Came in to find it had actually snowed golden grahams all over the living room. Of course I had totally expected that. And now I had motivation to vacuum!

After that I took the kids to the gym and I ran. (check) Played with kids in the rain. (check) Did laundry. (check) Did some service and prepared my talk for church. (check, check) I even figured out some of that Easter origami that I was wasting so much time on. Bonus!

Can you tell Shane was out of town? I get so much done when he isn't around to distract me with his manly nature.

Some things I'm excited about.....

General Conference this weekend! - 

It's the time when the leaders of the Mormon church speak and it's wonderful. 

Root Beer Slurpees. Have you tried these things? Taste just like Root Beer floats! 

(They have them at Fast Edy's in Boise -  FYI)

Shane has started texting his clothing choices to me to make sure he looks right for the particular occasion. Which means, of course, I've succeeded in life. 

He is just 6 feet of scrumptious, I'll tell you what.

Found this old collage in a box while I was at my parents. 

It made me laugh and laugh and laugh some more. Ah, high school.

Don't I look so sexy with my hand running through my hair? 

How did anyone resist me, that's what I want to know?

See that prom pic? Two HOURS of curling my hair with a tiny curling iron. 

Yikes. 

And Randi, are those really the clothes we chose for traveling in Europe?

Head to toe denim and high waisted khakis. Are those socks with my Birkenstocks? Surely not.

I mean, it was the grunge era and we were from Washington, but really, had I no dignity? 

Well, I say that, but then I look at the fashion choices I've made more recently and I may not have changed so much. Really Natalie, yellow nails?

Getting a manicure this weekend. Totally forgot about celebrating my birthing day in January!

Lots of celebrating in our house...

Collin pooped in the potty! Woot woot!

(potty chart here)

So proud of our big boy!

And the huge news in our family is the edition of a niece last week!

My sister Abby went into labor while watching the Hunger Games, and soon after gave birth to little Katniss!

Just kidding, they named her Lexi Michelle. 

AND 

I can't believe I didn't mention the birth of my sister Emily's son, Grant Stephen, born Feb 2!

Congrats!!!!!!

Oh dear. I may just need to get me one of those. I just don't think 2 kids is going to cut it for me.

Ok. That was a lot more blogging that I had previously planned on.

Shane's been asleep for 30 minutes.

nite nite.

Simple Bathroom Wall

12:00 AM Wednesday. Can't sleep.

Oh man I'm unmotivated lately. Really, really unmotivated. Is there a pill for that? 

Actually I'm sure there is, but it's probably not a good idea to take it.

 I pretty much did paperwork tonight and ignored the massive to-do list I put together earlier.

And when I say paperwork, I mean I put the kids to bed, paid two bills and spent over an hour trying to do some Easter origami. There is a lot of colored paper in the trash.

It was this weekend I found myself slightly more motivated and I started looking for a house project.

One that look minimal effort and expense. I did say "slightly" more motivated.

The half bath needed the most attention as it was completely bare.

I had the (I think) brilliant idea to frame photos from an Etsy desk calendar.

They are all over the place on Etsy for under $20 and for 12 frame-able photos, that's a bargain.

Search for Photo Desk Calendars.

I got the frames at Hobby Lobby (always 50% it seems). 

Use a level to get them just right. 

(or a husband with a level in my case.)

Easy peasy.

Except for the shot of my Chattanooga home, which I photographed, my prints came from Amelia Kay Photography, but there aren't any more calendars in stock. I made a list of other shops below.

I know the photos of the bathroom aren't great, but I took them tonight with bad lighting and I didn't want to take them again. Remember...unmotivated.

Now on to the rest of the house. I'll keep you updated.

Some desk calendars I like:

shannon blue

alice b gardens

circe creations

lori a mckee

my beach wishes

jude mcconkey

the shutterbug eye

jessa mae

If you want to splurge - grab this set from Eye Poetry. Just perfect.

***

Tomorrow is going to be great. I'm going to be so motivated, I will start of load of laundry that includes running clothes worn that morning, my kids will take great naps just because I exhausted them will all my focused playtime, and there will be a pattern in my vacuum tracks. 

I mean it. 

Seriously, I'm confident it's happening.

well, slightly confident.

Lydia's favorite shoes

I've been trying to get the kids Easter clothes put together, but I have been dealing with one major hiccup. Lydia is extremely picky with the "feel" of her clothes. Pretty much, if it doesn't feel as comfortable as pajamas, she hates it. Shoes are even worse. We can go shoe shopping for hours without finding one pair she likes. Then I remembered how much Collin loved his Pedipeds, so I decided to try out some for Lydia. They now come in sizes from newborn all the way to 8 year olds. I really like my kids to have good quality shoes, and pedipeds all leather design and special fit technology are perfect for their developing feet.

Lydia's new Flex Penny shoes came a few days ago and she hasn't taken them off. In fact, after church on Sunday she was begging me to take her photo in her new Sunday shoes. 

All leather, stays on her feet and and she says "they are so comfortable, like my slippers!"

The great thing about these shoes is the incredible pediped Flex Fit system, so if the shoes have a little extra room in the toe, just add the included 2mm insole to make them the perfect fit. As feet grow, just remove the special insole. These shoes should last Lydia through next Spring!

Deal alert! These Flex Pennys are all on Sale right now in gold, silver and white.

Also - pediped just announced the Original baby shoes new slip resistant sole. These are pretty much the only shoes I ever put my babies in. I highly highly recommend them. 

You can see all the darling styles here. 

Getting these Grip and Go Piers for Collin's nice summer shoes. 

These Flex Sahara for all the running around at the park and in the water.

and the Flex Amazon for Lydia's summer play shoes. 

pedipeds have so many darling styles for Spring and Summer including boat shoes, sandals, mary janes, athletic styles, comfy dress shoes, water safe shoes (their Adventure Line) and more…

Check pediped out and get your Easter orders in!

Easter Pancakes and sneak peak

Tomorrow's Saturday, so grab your condiment dispenser, pancake batter and food coloring....

And make some Easter pancake magic with your kids. 

(Dad's I'm talking to you!)

I didn't marry Shane for his pancakes skills. But it helped woo me, that's for sure....

*****

Here's a little sneak peek of my kids photo shoot with M photo this week.

This shot took with film. i.e. No editing.

Could you just die? Just wait till you see their Easter shots. They made me gitty.

(Randi, you are the most incredible photographer. Thank you!!!)

The Perfect Easter Dessert

Well I find myself in Spokane Washington this week taking care of my sick mommy. She's had back surgery and is recovering. My dad is out of town, so the kids and I drove up for a week. It has been freezing and rainy the entire time. Happy Spring break in Washington....grab your mittens! I'm very impressed with my kids. They handled the 7 hour drive like champs. Though we went through an entire box of fruit snacks to keep the peace. If there is ever a time for excess sugar, it's a road trip. That and during a professional photo-shoot. Which we have scheduled next week now that I think of it. People ask me all the time how I get such great photos of my kids. It's candy people. Candy.

Candy is okay for them, but I'm more of a dessert gal.

Speaking of.....

I had some friends over a couple weeks ago and decided to make Ina Garten's Raspberry Orange Trifle. Oh My. This was insane. And since you can make all the parts up early and combine it right before your guests arrive, it's perfect for Easter. It feeds about 12. And just look how pretty!

You can get the recipe here at the food network. But read the reviews first. Ina says the Orange Cream (custard) cooks in 7 minutes, but it took me almost 30 and I added extra cornstarch. And I doubled the custard. The amount in the recipe wasn't near enough. It takes some time, but sooooo worth the effort. You could save some time and buy a couple pound cakes. No one will know. But if you use Cool whip instead of whipped cream, I will come and cheerfully beat you with orange rinds.

Yum. Let me know what you think if you make it.

I'll be back in a week or so. I'm off to enjoy my family. And the rain.

I actually really love cold dreary days. I look great in sweaters and jeans.

Spring Mantel

The enormous mirror over my mantel has been perplexing me since we moved in. 

This is my latest attempt at mastering it. 

The artwork is from The Wheatfield on Etsy. So very Springtime appropriate. 

I hung the egg wreath with a little clear suction cup. It's actually a garland all rolled up. 

This little yellow bird was just too tempting. (Tai pan $5) 

And it makes sure the big frame stays put.

I like it. At least for this month.
What would you put on this mantel???

Hey! Where did Collin go? He's Stealing my Minky Blanket AGAIN!

Collin had just gotten out of the bath and was wrapped up in a warm towel. I turned my back for just a minute, and when I turned back around, there was just an empty towel on the floor. 

"Hey! Where did you go?"

Well look at that. He's fallen asleep in my bed. 

Totally asleep.

Tricked you Mommy!!!!

Man, this kid is darling. 

By the way, I find my kids in my bed a lot since I got myself a Minky Throw Blanket from The Baby's Bundle. It is the softest, most cozy blanket imaginable. I haven't slept a night without it since it arrived. My kids (and husband) steal it all the time. And of course, I got it in yellow :) 

Help me decide on my Minted Easter Cards!

Can you believe Easter is only a month away?! This year is flying. I've been putting up Spring decor and shopping for new Easter clothes for the family. 

Every year I get several Easter cards from friends and I love them. Usually it's from people who choose to send cards during Spring, instead of stressing over Christmas cards. I love getting such an unexpected treat in the mail. I send Easter cards every once in a while, but I really would like to make more of an effort. Of course I'm ordering them from Minted. I LOVE Minted's Easter cards. They are classic and soft for the season, but always the height of style. My Christmas cards turned out amazing last year, mostly due to the help of my Minted designer. They make sure your card is exactly how you want it, and you have a lot of play with fonts and colors. I got tons of compliments. I still have it framed and up in my house. 

Now to Easter cards. I am still waiting for a warm day to take photos, 

so I tested out several designs with some "vintage" shots. 

Which one do you like best???

Kaleidoscope Easter Card

Easter Blessings Easter Card

Banner and Bloom Easter Card

What a perfect way to do a birth announcement!

Sunny Blessings Easter Card

A Tweet Easter Card

Easter Joy Easter Card

Classic Bunny Invites

Ok, not a card, but these Easter invites are beautiful. 

Makes me want so bust out some scones and clotted cream.

(I don't actually know what clotted cream is.)

Everything Roses Easter Card

Easter Chick Cards

This is an old photo of me pregnant with Collin. I'm not pregnant. Just clarifying. :)

Uplifting Easter Card

Fresh Floral Easter Card

They are all so perfect, I can't decide! Which Minted card would you pick?

Pinterest

So I'm officially on Pinterest. 

It's pretty awesome. 

I wasn't planning on joining, but I was checking out my analytics for the first time in months and there was a whole lot of traffic coming my way from Pinterest. Low and behold, people had been pinning me. How sweet!

I'm just getting started, but if you would like to follow me, you can find my pins here. 

I really love the idea of Pinterest. 

I love having a place where all my favorite ideas are nice and tidy together. 

Of course, Pinterest has that really annoying effect of making you feel completely inept. 

You think you like your bathroom, but then you find hundreds of ideas to make it better. 

Thousands of ways your wardrobe could be improved. 

Countless (countless) ways to delight your family with new culinary delights. 

The other day we had a lovely little snow. I didn't really feel like heading out with the kids this time, so they went out to play in the backyard and I promised a yummy treat when they were done. 

I went over to Pinterest and found a new cookie recipe. 

It sucked and they burned.

We made snow ice cream instead. We used almond milk, sugar and vanilla. 

I think they liked it better. 

Don't forget, Pinterest, Blogging, Twitter, all of it....it's just for fun. Don't let it make you feel like you aren't measuring up. It's just to add a little spice. A few ideas. Not to take over your world. 

Not to distract you completely. 

At the end of the day, the people who matter most won't care if you serve gourmet cookies, or snow ice cream. Just as long as you are there with them enjoying it.

Follow me on Pinterest here. 

Waffle Maker Cornbread

I didn't think about dinner until about 5 minutes to 5PM. That's not a good idea with my kids. They get a bit cranky when dinner is late. In a moment of desperation, I grabbed some cornbread mix, (the Marie Callendars that you just add water), mixed it up and dropped it in the waffle iron. It was perfect. Served it with leftover crockpot pulled pork and steamer bag broccoli.

Note - you probably will have to turn the waffle iron upside-down to get the waffle out in one piece. It's a bit crumbly. Serve with honey. To your honeys.

See what I did there? Word play.

Have a great weekend!