Easter Primary/ Visiting Teaching Gifts

I never claim to be the most crafty person, but occasionally I feel the need to pull out the 5 year old glue stick and try to make something. I was recently called into Primary Presidency and was asked to make a (very inexpensive) spiritually themed gift for all the kids to take home with them after this weeks Easter Activity. Primary kind of freaks me out. When it comes to church I have always worked with the teenage girls or on activities. Teenagers and adults I can handle. Kids under 12....I have no idea. My last exposure with 7 year olds was when I was a 7 year old. Still, I'm excited. They are such sweet kids.

I ended up making these little seed packets for the kids to take home to share with their families. Cute huh? When I was done I had a couple extra boxes of wildflower seeds. I thought they would be nice Easter gifts for the women I visit teach.

All I did was wrap the boxes in scrapbook paper, then decorate with stickers. I cut out the planting directions off an empty box of seeds and glued it to the back. You could glue on a copy instead. Lastly, I tied it with a bow. Each box ended up costing me less that $2, including the box of seeds. I plan on attaching the same little saying that is on the Primary seed packets.

One week until Easter! Ham dinner, chocolate bunnies...Shane even promised he would sit for a Easter family photo without complaint. Can't wait!

Life on the Couch....Day 1

I have officially dawned "the sweatshirt". Shane has this great grey J. Crew sweatshirt that I claim as my own when I am sick or very pregnant. Now that I am very pregnant and basically couch ridden (as I mentioned in my last post) you can guess I will be wearing it a lot. And no, you will not see any photos of me wearing it. It is fantastic because it is comfortable, not flattering. Though I will say that Shane looks absolutely scrumptious in it.

Last night Shane and I had dinner reservations that I didn't want to break. I figured I would sit in the car and at the table so no major exertion necessary. There was a dance floor, but we only danced one slow dance.

When I woke up this morning, I found that my "babysitter" (my friend Wendy who switches weekend sitting with me) left me the cutest "water" supplies. Not only am I now stocked for water, but she remembered that I love to favor my water with lemons, limes and...while it may sound odd, cucumbers. Never tried it? So refreshing. I had it once at a spa and have been drinking cucumber water ever since. In fact, I am drinking my cucumber water right now.

Thanks to Kristi too, who loaned me a supply of crack-literature to get me through the week. Kristi - I wasn't sure I was going to read these, but I did a little research and found that fans say these books are very similar to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. Did you know I am a closet fan?

Alright. I'm off to watch General Conference. On the couch.

Flashback Friday

"It will be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then suddenly they disappear. "

- Dorothy Evslin
Lydia - 5 months old.

Baby update - I mentioned in an earlier post that I was exposed to the parvovirus and am now a high risk pregnancy. I have been having weekly ultrasounds to watch the baby's development. So far, things look good. We couldn't get a good reading this week since he was so low in my pelvis, but the doctor is optimistic. (We also can see that his head is covered in hair!) Unfortunately, my amniotic fluid level is very low. Two weeks ago my doctor said to drink more water to see if we could improve my levels. I thought that was strange because I drink a lot of water. I really like water and I am always carrying a water bottle around. For the last two weeks I have been drinking copious amounts of water and running to the bathroom (literally) every 15 minutes.

This week my fluid level was even lower. My doctor said that if I don't get it up he is putting me on bed rest and that I may have to deliver much earlier than planned. (We are already planning on the baby being born at 38 weeks.) His advice - drink more water (!!!!!) and slow way down. No more visits to the gym, no more running around the park with Lydia, no more mad cleaning days - or even mild cleaning days. I am supposed to stay off my feet. At that point I could feel the tears springing to my eyes. For the love! I have an extremely active 3 year old and a baby to get ready for. Stay off my feet?!? I have no relatives around to help me. How exactly is this supposed to work? I would vent more, but I have to pee.

I'm a Soccer Mom...April Fools!

I was all prepared for the Soccer mom title. Just a minivan and a Tupperware party away from the total stereotype. Lydia seems to have other plans.

To be honest, I never would have signed Lydia up for Pee Wee soccer had I known the times that they would be playing. The paperwork indicated morning games. That to me means between 9 and 11. The schedule came back showing games at 12:30 and 1:30. Nap time. Lydia is one of those children that needs a nap. Skipping naps usually results in disastrous consequences in her (and my) sanity.

Shane and I decided to try one game to see if she could make it. She yawned the entire drive to the YMCA. When we got there she jumped out of the car and ran off to pick dandelions. Shane gave me one of those "This does not bode well" looks. It is a well known fact in my family (mostly because my Dad will not let the story die) that when I "played" softball in Elementary school, I was always put in right field where I would promptly sit in the grass and pick dandelions. My poor parents. They showed up to every game.

Anyway - Lydia was not a fan of Soccer. All the practicing, the new equipment and pump-up sessions we engaged in as a family did not prepare her for the screaming, whistle blowing and in short...total chaos that is 3 and 4 year old boys racing around on the gym floor. The sideline was as close as she came to playing. To be fair, she was the only girl on her team, and the girls on the other team didn't make it out either. I think we will wait on soccer for a few years.

Maybe gymnastics next?

Consignment day!

I've mentioned before that I love children's consignment sales. Why not buy high quality play clothes for the same price as cheap ones? The sale they have here is great - no rips, no stains- everything is washed- no gross thrift center smell. (I still wash my purchases as soon as I get home of course.) I couldn't get a babysitter so Lydia came along. She did so well, I let her pick out an outfit. Not too hard to guess...a really overpriced Ariel outfit from the Disney Store. I even tried to move it before she saw it, but that girl has eagle eyes for Princesses. I like the outfit she is sporting in these pics. Gymboree sweater and skirt for $8, gap baby doll tee $4. For that price, I didn't even mind that she started writing on her clothes with chalk. By the way, she isn't a genius. It was me who wrote her name. She can spell her name out loud, but can only write the "L" and "Y" before she needs help.

Even though she just turned 3, most of what I bought was 4-5T. This girl is so dang tall! People ask me if she is starting kindergarten soon. :)

My purchase of the day was this little baby album I found still in the wrapping. For $2 I thought it was pretty cute. When I opened it at home, I saw the $64 price tag. I thought it was a joke. Then I saw it was a Maude Asbury and realized I totally scored. (Seriously though. Who pays $64 for a small fabric baby album?)

love me a good favorites swap...

Want to join in?

A Gift for Baby

Last Christmas I was at a total lost as to what to get my new niece Lucca. At only 6 months old, there isn't a lot to get a baby that they can enjoy. I bought something cute for her to wear, a nice personalised Christmas ornament for her to keep, but really, those are gifts for her mom to get excited about. I decided to make her a little sticker "tummy time pad". Lydia and I spend a lot of time putting stickers on paper. She likes doing it and it isn't very messy, so two bonus points there. I hit the scrap booking store and picked up some cute baby friendly stickers, some card stock and we were good to go. I gave Lydia full reign over what stickers she wanted and where to put them. The only thing that I did was spell out "To Lucca" on the page. When Lydia was finished, she drew a little picture on the back as her signature.

All I had left to do was get it laminated (Hard lamination, not that flimsy stuff). Voilà! A something colorful for baby to look at and totally durable to drool, chewing, crawling and all else that babies can inflict. My sister in law told me that Lucca LOVES her Tummy Time pad. Not only does she stay on her tummy to look at it, but at night she requires it to be tied to the crib so she can fall asleep touching it! How that for the perfect gift? Fun, heartfelt, something she can keep forever and....totally cheap. How many things can you say that about?

How cute is this baby?! I want one. Wait, I'm getting one!

P.S. My family may recognise the little stuffed animal that Lucca is holding. It is Lou Lou! Lydia's very best friend. Actually, I found a new Lou Lou just like Lydia's and sent it to Lucca as a welcome home from the hospital gift. Funny that she would choose it as her lovey too. I am thinking there might be some issues this summer when she comes to visit and Lydia sees that Lucca has a Lou Lou too.....

awesome

Not the beer. Just the commercial. Wouldn't it be great if companies that grew broccoli had the kind of advertising budget of beer commercials? We might be a nation of thin people!

Big Year for the Sisters

This is a really busy year for my family. How busy you ask?.....

• Emily had a her first baby on March 6th.
• Molly got married on March 14th with a reception in Spokane just around the corner. This photo was taken 30 seconds before she left on her honeymoon.
• I am having my second baby around the first of June.
• Abby just announced that she is almost 5 months pregnant with her first, due August 23rd. (Congrats!!!!)

Could someone please head over to my parent's house and administer oxygen to my mother? Luckily my brother Zac seems to be having a pretty laid back year. Mom -this time last year all of us sisters really did think we would be able to make it home for your 60th b-day. I hope you can just accept three new grandchildren (and a new son-in-law) instead :)

Winner!

My bad! I awarded the Paisley Lane Giveaway a little early. Should have read my own fine print. Thought it would only be fair to award a second prize. And the randomly selected winner is..... Lauren (from Bryan and Lauren) Congrats! Email me your address and I will get you your prize.