conference thoughts 2014

i had lofty plans for this most recent lds conference weekend. i don't go for picture perfect but i still wanted it to be *just right*; full of traditions and baking and family time, a small yard project on saturday morning and of course, the actual listening to the inspired words of the prophet and other servants of the Lord. 

i got up early and had a quick but glorious run through my neighborhood. look at this light! the weather was perfect!

nature's glow! all can be right in the world!

the glorious sky beckoning me home! i was on FI-YAH!!!

 i made a cutesy little egg muffiny thing that took forever to bake.

and then i went to home depot for hostas and a new patio door and one minute i was fine and the next minute i was sssssiiiiiiicccckkkkk. just like that. 

i tried to finish my yard project but by the noon conference start time i was delirious with whatever was afflicting me. 

in the september 2011 liahona magazine, elder Utchdorf stated so wisely that "(we) are entitled to personal revelation as (we) listen to and study the inspired words spoken at general conference.

i've had a lot of heavy issues on my mind the last 6 months and decided to approach conference with extra prayer and specific needs in mind. 
unfortunately, my sudden plague was making this difficult to follow through on. simply taking acetaminophen knocks me out and having to sit still and listen in a quiet room is a death knell for me. i was doomed! 

but i had made a commitment to watch and God did not fail me! though i was wrapped in a blanket and propped up on the couch on a mountain of pillows, God still provided me the answers i needed. 
i've been worried about the direction our family should take on so many things but while watching conference i had the impression that i needed to be fearless. so, i will be 
fearless! elder utchdorf talked about gratitude and i was reminded of how much i truly have.

"I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God- it changes me."C.S. Lewis

i was still in the deepest throes of illness the next day. blythe pee peed on my sweatshirt and tried to force feed me goldfish.

(doc mcstuffins and i were sick on the same day.)

blythe had the time of her life, being naked, eating goldfish on the couch and watching hour upon hour of television while i slipped in and out of consciousness.

i'm better now and i will choose be fearless.

projecting

"behold, mine is a house of order...and not a house of confusion" doctrine and covenants 132:8

well, not really. but i'm trying. 

this past winter i've really tried to rededicate myself to having some sort of functional organization system that even kids can understand and participate in.

truthfully though, it's mostly for me. i feel like everyone at our house depends on me to be able to find most anything in an instant and our previous organization "system" simply wasn't cutting it. as in, no one could find anything when it was all shoved in one drawer and that drawer couldn't even close. i guess not every drawer can be the junk drawer. 

the task is far from complete, but i've made a few key improvements so that tupperware and it's plethora of mismatched lids is not a nightmare and i can pack a lunch in less than a minute. go ahead, i'll let you time me. 

plus, i found that by putting things that spilled easily, like all my plastic untensils, on a higher shelf, they were less likely to spill! it's like rocket surgery!

it took me about 10 minutes tops to organize each drawer. i thought it would be some daunting task, but it really wasn't. i bought several organizing tubs and everything practically jumped in place, like a disney musical. i have BIG PLANS for my pantry! it may include a label maker. 

i still get excited and occasionally will open drawers just to see if they are still in good shape. more entertaining and satisfying than TV!

these used to be the junk drawers that stuff went into and nothing ever came out:

CRUMBS!!! so nasty! how does that happen?

my junk drawers are now called "le junque" drawers because they are so pretty. 

in other decorative developments, i've been trying to finish furnishing and decorating my home on an ultra small budget. i was inspired by a good friend's ultra frugality(she had just paid off her whole mortgage way ahead of schedule) and i decided to up my frugal game in my decorative quest. last fall i found a table set at goodwill for $60. it's a little old but other than that it's in good-if-you-have-rambunctious-kids condition. 

before, a classy card table:

after:

the hardest part was finding ample cushions for a price that didn't break the bank. i paid more than twice on cushions than what i paid for the table. i wanted something really colorful, but those cushions were either crazy Golden Girls style tacky or CRAZY expensive. i decided to be happy with a neutral. perhaps in all my copious amounts of free time i will paint the table set a nice glossy grass green or ocean blue. thomas already vetoed a lacquered orange shade. every party needs a pooper.

my most recent development was recovering the chairs from my dining room set. ALL 8 CHAIRS. i found the set and china cabinet on craigslist for a STEAL. probably a fourth of the original price and she had only had it a couple of years. i think i paid the previous owner's balance on what she still owed for the set. 

the previous owner had about 54 cats and 40 kids and most everything was still in nearly perfect condition except the seat covers. 

my inspiration came from this post on little green notebook. 

this is me in room decor. i don't pinterest, but i did bookmark this. the only other thing i have bookmarked is my recipe for the world's best bread machine pizza dough. (and it is!) 

i love the predominant black and white color scheme with animal prints as as neutrals, the mix of metallics(so brave!), the blue and white chinoiserie delftware china, faux bamboo everywhere, greek key trim, and LUCITE! it's a bit of heaven for me.  

i'm still at the very beginning stages of this room, but recovering the chairs has really inspired me to think of more cost-saving ways to decorate this room. i spent $60 on striped fabric from fabric.com, which is my favorite resource for any fabric, and i still only used about half of the fabric. i foresee scarlett and blythe both wearing several different sizes and variations in striped skirts over the next few years. 

the first morning i started on the chairs it took me about 3 hours to do three chairs and after that i needed a break. it's really hard to be precise with a baby on your lap constantly asking you to blow up balloons. 

i'm pretty thrilled. i feel like a real grown up with a mortgage and everything!

the final inexpensive update of late was this plant stand and planter. a friend gave me all her plants when she moved. 2 coats of metallic spray paint and it looked brand new and like it belonged in the room.

while i'll never consider myself crafty, i guess i am a little decoraty. 

the end. 

nine is officially the new black

my darling is 9. 

our family tradition is breakfast presents. then thomas sneaked off to ward council. all before the sun was up! thank you daylight savings!

a new puppet to add to the theatrical ensemble.

darth was a hit.

so much so, that i caught her slow dancing with him in the kitchen. darth was practically rounding second base with her. that darth is all hands. without even using his hands. the force!

our tree bloomed just for the occasion. my favorite.

reagan requested homemade pizza for his birthday dinner and this may be the most perfect pizza ever made. ever. 

side view:

i know! i made that!

 but i didn't make this. i may not make pretty cakes but i make cakes that taste good. this one from publix only looked good. reagan specifically requested a texas and missouri cake. naturally. cartography lovers unite!

 no blowout party this year. we're heading to wild adventure in valdosta instead. special request. 

but we had a few our reagan's favorite people over for mediocre cake, great ice cream and crystal light. reagan thinks crystal light is living large.

i'm pretty lucky that he's mine.

our sweet preemie.

i finally got to hold him a week after he was born. tears of joy.

blessing day, which ironically is the same weekend i started coloring my gray hair and last saturday night before his birthday i was up late coloring my grays. just lucky i guess.

booty pop in a family picture? don't mind if i do!

his gift to me was snuggling during church. a rarity. 

cheaters occasionally do prosper

so you don't want to but have to build a pinewood derby car? here's a step by step tutorial on what you should do!

1. give yourself plenty of time. after that, panic and realize you have no time and no tools.

2. go to the nearest junk(5 and dime)store and buy a pre-made pinewood car for 3 times the price. this might be considered cheating. i simply consider this smart. every parent has a talent. mine is finding the best solution to my problems.

3. spray paint on your front porch on a day when you haven't showered for 48 hours and you are trying to help your kids with homework at the same time. multitasking=yelling

4. skip dinner the night of the derby and shove several large handfuls of chocolate chips in your mouth while you are rubbing racing decals on. with your third arm, google the proper way to attach the tires. 

5. promise you will pray for forgiveness for all the swearing in your head.(and your mouth.)

6. apparently you can add weights to your car to achieve weight limit. that's good to know beforehand. as is knowing there is a desired weight limit. i didn't know this beforehand. this was my first pinewood. thomas was never a boy scout either. i'm tucking all this information away for when i'm a scout leader and need to share it with my pack in case there are a few clueless parents who like getting instructions on how to do things properly.

probably my least favorite thing of all time is going to church on wednesday night. i just want to put my kids to bed. i know my limits and evening activities put me way over the top. our afternoons are always already full and i get neither overtime nor hazard pay for evenings. i apologize to any who have encountered me on a wednesday night at church. i'm grumpy. i don't enjoy my bad attitude either. i feel i should be able to plead temporary insanity the nights my kids aren't in bed on time. everyone is happier when they are following their regular schedule. it's a fact. thus sayeth me. 

my other issue is that NOTHING STARTS ON TIME. 

 we took pictures to kill time until everything started and we killed that time dead.

scarlett and the "pink road rocket". 

our pack encouraged anyone who wanted to build a car to race after all the regulation scout racing was completed. scarlett was more excited than reagan about this activity and she gave me LOADS more input on her car design. luckily, the junk store had a pinewood truck and pink decals she just had to have. and i'm a pushover in a pinch so we ran with it. (scarlett dresses herself. she never met a pink sequin she didn't like.)

reagan with "green car bear". he is not good at naming things on the fly. 

still waiting for everything to start. it took so long that thomas made it before everything got rolling(punny) and he knew he was going to be late. blythe lives because he was at this activity.

finally! in case i need to plead my case before a judge, here is evidence of how long we waited: 37 minutes is way beyond my righteous thoughts capacity.

for the record, reagan does own a scout shirt. it is in pristine condition hanging in his closet. i'm just waiting for the perfect moment to sew all those patches on. hopefully, before he gets his eagle. 

in a complete 180 from my negative attitude, reagan was the best sport! he LOVES scouts. missing cub scouts has been a great bargaining tool. this scout activity was top notch in his book. after each race, he would declare himself the winner. he actually did win one race and was equally upbeat about each loss.

scarlett told me afterwards, "a boy said he hated my car! i think it's because mine beat his car!"

the moderately fast and none too furious. (not pictured, the furious. that was me.)

some kid named regan won for best classic car design. i'll keep this award until we run into a kid named regan so i can pass it along to him.

i thought i would pose with my creations:

how i really felt:

the end! until next year! and i'm sure there's no rule about re-spray painting a previous year's car! if there is, they probably won't tell me anyway!!!)