Have You Herd?

 Look who was enjoying breakfast with the herd this morning!

                                   

Prepare to launch

 On a beautiful, chilly President's Day, we took Tim's new rocket to the farm to try it out. It was so fun! The girls were a little nervous at first, as you can see by Aubrey hiding in the car and Lydia running toward- and then away from- the launch site. I am not a good action photographer, so I don't have a picture of it in the air, but it was. I should have snapped a pic of it floating back to Earth, but I was too busy watching it! Every family needs a toy rocket!

Re-purpose: Ancient cassette holder to art kit

We were looking for something special for my niece for her birthday. She loves to do craft projects, so I thought we'd give her some supplies. Since she had three younger siblings, a safe place to put the supplies would be a good idea!

We found this old cassette tape holder at the D.I. (Utah's version of Goodwill) for $2 and gave it a new life! It was in very good condition, so no repairs were needed.

I had planned to cover the inside, but it coordinated well with the fabric, so I left it as-is.

I cut my fabric so it was ever-so-slightly wider than the face of the case, planning to tuck the edges under the existing trim. (Sorry I didn't take pictures during construction). I wrapped the fabric around the case, securing it with clothes pins on the "lid" edge. It it important to do this step with the case closed so you have enough fabric to stretch the entire way. Next, I started at the handle end, cutting away parts for the handle and latch. It is very forgiving, since you're going to glue it all together. Don't be afraid! You can't tell where I had to patch a few places where there were gaps!

I put a thin layer of Mod Podge on the case, laid the fabric down, smoothed out bubbles with my hand, and then put another thin layer of Mod Podge on top. I used a hair clip (because it was in my craft supplies) to push the fabric under the trip around the edge. My fabric already had glitter on it, but you could spray a fine layer of glitter spray paint over the top.

I left it to dry over night and then we filled it with all sorts of fun, girly craft supplies.

My girls all want one too!

Dazed and confused

I found this funny picture of Eliza that Jenna took at our old house. Her funny face reminded me of the etrade babies!

Get something for yourself!

Hope you had a great Valentine's day yesterday! We had fun. For us, it is more for the kids. We celebrated our anniversary two weeks ago, so V-Day is time to shower the kids with some extra love. 

If you didn't get what you were hoping for yesterday, why not pick something out for yourself! I've started making jewelry- mostly earrings. I'm going to open by boutique blog again soon, but in the mean time, here's something to get you started. 

Earrings are generally $5/ pair, $8 for two pairs

These cuties are ready for Easter dresses!

Rings are $7- on adjustable band, so they fit anyone. Even sausage fingers.

Customize a memory ring with a map of a place that's special to you! $7.

Aloha bobby pins $3 for the set. (Last set available)
There are also lots of other bobbies to choose from $1 per pin or $1.75 per pair.

You can see more on my facebook page under the album "Get something for yourself."

I will ship via USPS as needed. Leave me a message here, email me or facebook me to place your order. Some items are very limited in quantity, so order soon!

A story about triplets

 Once upon a time two of my sisters and I had babies- each one month apart. Lydia was born March 20, Makayla April 23, Emma May 20. We call them the triplets. Separated at birth, which was probably a good thing. They would be scary if they were together all day, every day.

 Emma and her family live in Pennsylvania, but were here for a visit over the last week. We all got together at Grandma & Grandpa's house to celebrate Zach's bday the Sunday they were here. The triplets were happily reunited! They are so silly and not camera shy in the least!

Frequently for bedtime stories, Lydia likes me to make up (and tell her) stories about their adventures. Usually the girls are princesses and everything has to be yellow for Lyd, pink for Kayla, and blue for Emma. Last night I changed it up a bit:

"Once upon a time there were three little girls: Lydia, Makayla and Emma. They wanted to go to the aquarium, so they got in their pink carriage. The carriage was pulled by a yellow horse, a pink horse and a blue horse. Max, the driver, took them up the big hill towards the aquarium."

"Wait, Mom! That's not right!" She was obviously not OK with my story.

"What's the matter?"

"Mom, only princesses can ride in carriages to the aquarium. We MUST be princesses."

They certainly are not ordinary girls!

Why you shouldn't talk on the phone and drive at the same time.

On Saturday, I was trying to arrange a get-together with my friend, Lisa. We missed our traditional New Year's Eve bash because my kids were sick and have been trying to reschedule now that we are moved and slightly more settled. I sent her a message on facebook, she replied, and I sent her another message to see if they wanted to come for dinner Sunday night (aka Superbowl Sunday).

I went out to run a few errands Saturday afternoon and figured I'd call Lisa to see if she could come for dinner. I was headed to the grocery store as my last stop and wanted to make sure I had what I needed if I was cooking for company.  While I was at a stop light, I pulled out my cell phone (which I rarely use) and scrolled down to "Lisa" in my contact list. Here's how our conversation went.

"Hi Lisa, it's Corrine."
"Oh, hi!" (Sounding surprised to hear from me)
"Did you get my second message?"
"Uh, nooo." (Sounding confused)
"Well, since you guys can't come over tonight, I wondered if you guys wanted to come over for dinner tomorrow during the Superbowl, but we don't have to watch the game."
"Umm, well, my son CJ called to say he wanted to come over for dinner..." (Sweetly trying to let me down gently)

Wait. What? Hold the phone. Who am I talking to? Lisa G.'s son is 6. He's not going to call to see if he can come for dinner.

I panicked, pulled the phone away from me ear, yep, it said Lisa. In my panicky, bonehead state, I closed my phone and hung up on her.

A split-second later, I realized I had been talking to Lisa H., the sweet lady I lived next to briefly at our rental. I probably talked to her face-to-face ten times while we lived there. She is such a kind, friendly, accommodating lady! She must have thought I was a total freak inviting her over to watch the Superbowl. I'm such and idiot! I hurried and called her back, but it went straight to voice mail. I left an apologetic message that went something like this.

"Hi, Lisa. It's Corrine again. Sorry we go cut off. I have to apologize. I had been messaging my friend, Lisa  this morning and called the wrong Lisa just now. You guys are welcome at our house anytime, but you are off the hook for tomorrow. I'm so sorry. Again. Sorry. Bye."

Now I have a story to tell when people ask what my most embarrassing moment was.

Start right now

In my last post I said I want to work more on helping others, looking outside myself. I got a new calling at church today- Compassionate Service Leader. I'll get started on that goal right away!

If you are not familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the lingo, a calling is where we serve/work in the church. The callings/jobs are extended to us by the leaders of the ward/ congregation and we can accept or decline them. Compassionate Service Leader means that I will coordinate meals taken to families who are in need because of illness, injury, family circumstances, new babies, etc. I am excited to meet more of my neighbors and also to have the chance to serve them directly! We sure love it here! We have been the recipients of service and kindness already in this ward and in every ward we have lived in! I am so blessed to be in a position to return the favor and pay it forward.

Creative gift giving

I have been the grateful recipient of some amazing gifts in my day. They aren't necessarily huge or expensive, but incredibly thoughtful and insightful. The best gift-givers pay attention and they remember- months later- that thing you mentioned off-hand that you liked. I showed you my UUuuuu vinyl decal from Kelli. Genius! My sister, Hillary, made us a book of the trip to Nauvoo that our families took last April. I cried the first time I read it- to the point where I couldn't speak- and I still get teary just thinking about it! Brilliant!

I am trying to be a more thoughtful gift giver. Even a more thoughtful compliment giver. We've been so focused on selling our house and moving for nearly a year now that I feel like I have not been looking outside of me enough. I will work on that. For now, how about being a creative gift giver? Creative gift wrapper? Why not!

(forgive the fuzzies)

Got something awkward to wrap? Make it look like something else! Jenna gave her friend a little make up bag filled with lip gloss, hair accessories, earrings, etc. To wrap it, we covered it with some plain brown craft  paper, taped some ribbon on the sides like a handle and taped a button over the flap we cut to look like a purse. She might have been confused at first, but her friend loved the wrapping! (Jenna took the picture in the car on the way to the party.

For the person who has everything- gift cards are a fairly safe bet, but a little boring. I had a BIG thank-you to give, so I grouped gift cards to Chili's, Home Depot and Jiffy Lube (since I knew the receiver frequents these places) and I found that "You Rock" gift tag with a little chain already attached. I added a note on a plain piece of paper and put it between the tag and the first card so you could better see the "You Rock." Simple, yet effective.

Crazy girls

 

Eliza has this thing for shoes. Not HER shoes but everyone else's. Here she is at 5:30 in the morning walking around in Aubrey's galoshes. She prefers to clunk around in the dress up Cinderella glass slippers, but she will use whatever is handy. If I put her shoes on her, they will be off as fast as can be. I don't think she has made it through church with her shoes still on by the end. Maybe I will start putting her in Aubrey's shoes- they'd last longer!

This is a look at a typical shopping trip for us these days. Lydia skips and dances her way around the store while Eliza takes notes from her perch in the cart. I don't dare let Eliza out until she is 10- she has learned too many tricks from her mentor.

This particular trip ended with a dramatic flare as Lydia set her sights on the produce section with singleness of purpose. Not sassy, just determined. "I need a lime, Mom. I will get a lime if it's the LAST THING I DO!"

It almost was.