Thanks
I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words the last few days. I'm doing a lot better, but still struggling.
I've heard from a friend that the oldest son is really struggling. He's the same age as Red... and I just can't imagine what he's going through. I think about Red and what he would do... and I just crumble.
We spent most of Saturday trying to find a way to go to the funeral. It just didn't work out. We turned the world upside down trying to make it work. I'm frustrated and sad that things just didn't fall into place like I wanted it to.
Hubby has requested that I change my playlist. And I will... after tomorrow.
I probably won't be back blogging till I feel like I have something a little more uplifting to blog about.

Heart Broken
A friend has passed away in a car accident. She leaves behind her husband and four little boys that range in age from 2 to 9. She was 30. A sincerely gentle, kind and sweet woman. A friend from Oregon. The funeral is in Idaho. I am in California. And my heart breaks at the thought of not being there. But it shatters when I think of her family and how will they ever go on without her.
I'm not comfortable sharing names of other people here on my blog. But, if you'd pray for this family... I'm sure the Lord will know who you mean.
And pray for me. I can't seem to pull myself together. I ache over this loss. It makes everything else in my life seem petty. Almost ridiculous. I hate this kind of perspective.

Thinking
I've been thinking a lot about life the last few days. I know. Deep.
You see, I had a conversation with a friend the other day that just kind of left me in a stupor. She is one of those ultimate amazing people. We've known each other for a multitude of years (that means a lot) and through all the craziness of teenage life we were able to remain friends. Getting a call from her is like getting a shot of adrenaline! She's such an energetic person!
She was single till last year when she married an awesome guy! I sat and thought of all the things she has accomplished. She learned Russian while we were at Ricks college and lo and behold, ended up serving a mission in Russia. She has multiple degrees and is a certified massage therapist. Not like a massage that you'd get at a day spa...no, a therapist. Meaning she had to learn anatomy and physiology and the medical aspects of massage and its benefits. And she's good at it. She worked with troubled teens at a camp for several years. She started her own organization business and was successful with that. She decided to get certified as a realtor - just so she would know the ins and outs of the business. She has now started speaking at seminars as a motivational speaker. And she's good at that too. She is an accomplished pianist and has an amazing voice. Can one person really be this talented?
And I sat. And I thought... and, as we all know, thoughts can be rather dangerous things...but still, they tumbled into my mind: did I get married to young? Did I start my family too soon? What did I miss out on by getting married at 21 and having a baby at 22? What things could I have accomplished if I had waited? What did I miss out on?
And then it hit me... yes, there were things that I missed out on. And I'm sure that if I sat and thought about it long enough, I could come up with a gargantuan list. But, what would I miss out on while making that list? If I allow myself to wallow (I'm good at wallowing...it's a gift) then I'm missing out on my life now. I can't go back and change things... and I'm not sure if I would... but if I dwell on what might have happened then I miss what's happening now.
Gosh... I sound like a Disney movie...
And so, once again, I am resolving to actually live my life. I'll be back on Monday! I've decided, like Kim, not to blog on the weekends. Just a simple post and then done! So, I'll catch ya on the flip side! Have a great weekend :)

Eyes, Ears, Mouth and Nose
Ah... it's spring here in the valley. Well, it's always spring here... but right now is when the most plants are in bloom. The winter grass is dying and the summer grass is starting to come in. The sweet smells fill my nose... and.... I ...a... aaaa..... aaaaaaaaa....... ACHOO!! Ugh. Excuse be. Gah! Spring is such a wonderful season, but I spend it with itchy ears, watery eyes, a plugged nose, sore throat and plenty of sneezes to share! I've tried several different allergy meds, but they just make me crazy. Most of them make me feel sluggish - not the best way to feel when one is trying to keep up with the kiddos. Does anyone else suffer from seasonal allergies? Do you have some kind of magical allergy pill that helps you out? Mind sharing what the name of it might be? I don't want to go to a doctor. It's not THAT bad yet. And I don't think we could pay for a prescription anyway... so, any over the counter suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Random

• First off - thanks to all who commented on the pictures! I think my kids are cuties and I had a lot of fun sharing the pictures. We've come to an agreement that I can put up pictures on occasion, but then I will take the photos down a day or so later... so, more pictures will come another day!
• Little Bug is sick (C - if you're reading this... it is NOT what you guys had... something totally different...). Hopefully it will be short lived...
• I just finished the first Artemis Fowl book... I liked it! I'm hoping to get my hands on book number two sometime soon!
• I am removing the blogroll from my sidebar... I haven't updated it in a long time and it seems like the blogs that I read are always changing. I don't want to mess with it!
• Also, I've decided to delete the "Good Mail Girls Blog". I haven't been able to do anything with it for such a long time. It is another source of guilt for me... and I'm trying to downsize on the guilt stuff in my life - especially if it deals with the computer. So... if any of you are members, I'm sorry that it won't be continuing... if you'd like to go and grab any of the addresses, do it now. It will come down in about a week.
• A friend called yesterday and asked for a favor... she had made too much dessert and asked if we could take some off her hands. I was a little reluctant, but in the end I gave in. I try to be a good friend when I can. I suffered through SEVERAL helpings last night (no, I won't tell you exactly how many) and I ate one bowl this morning. I know she needs her dish back as soon as possible... the fact that the dessert consists of brownies, a chocolate pudding/mousse, homemade whipped cream and sprinkled with Butterfinger candy bar has NOTHING to do with it...
• It feels like Friday. I'm kind of annoyed that it isn't. One more day...
• We got "The Smurfs" from Netflix yesterday! I don't know who is enjoying it more - me or the kids!
• I have family coming to visit in just a few weeks! I'm so excited to have them here... I told them if they would come visit, I would feed them amazingly wonderful food and now I'm trying to figure out what that food might be! Does anyone have some favorite recipes they would be willing to share?

Well, that's about it from here! Happy Thursday!

Decisions
First of all, you guys are the best! Thank you for all your encouragement and patience. I am so amazed by the awesome people that read my blog! I had some time to really think about the things that you all said in my "blah" post. And I've come to a few conclusions...

1. I don't spend enough time with my kids - this one was obvious. They don't look for me anywhere except the computer. They can't find me if I'm not here... sigh. This is wrong on so many levels...
2. I'm going to cut my blog list down... there is no reason to have that many blogs to read. There were so many of you who commented about only reading blogs you feel connected to - this is wonderful advice!
3. I'm not going to read every day.... AND I'm not going to feel guilty about it. I love you guys, and I will try to get around to each blog several times a week, but, I hope you'll forgive me if I miss a few posts.

My priorities have GOT TO CHANGE. Family needs to come first, then computer, then laundry. That's my list. Laundry will only take precedence on days when we are contemplating wearing birthday suits. Not a pretty site.
The way I'm plodding through my days right now is not acceptable... and it's time to move forward! I'm done hiding behind the computer... it's time to live and laugh with the people... now, remind me, who are the people?

I hope that your day is filled with the hope that only the true spirit of this day can bring! Happy Easter!

Blah
Yesterday I read Holly's post about religion and beliefs. I've struggled with some of those topics in the last while. You see... I had a Bishop that I adored. He was amazing... taught me more about Christ and His grace and love than any other person. Then, this man fell away from the church. He wrote an article and, being the idiot that I am, I read it. It claimed that he didn't believe in the church during his time as Bishop. This really hit me hard and kind of shattered my testimony in a lot of ways. I have been in an uphill battle ever since to regain my faith.
Then, I read Kim's post about hiding behind the computer. I do the same thing in a lot of ways. I will look for things to do on the computer just so I don't have to do anything else. It's easy. There's not committment or investment on my part.
The combination of the two posts has made my head swim just a bit.
I find myself doing things out of duty rather than love or respect. And I hide from my duties here on the computer. It's not the greatest combination in the world, I know. It's so much easier to sit here and come up with things to do on the Internet, than it is to go out and do something. And I know I spend too much time on here.
How do I know? Well, a couple of days ago Baby Girl came looking for me. I was not on the computer. I was in the kitchen. She freaked out because she couldn't find me. She thought I had left her... the only place she looked was the computer desk. Yeah...
So tell me - how do you find balance? I get up this morning, turn the computer on and there are 20 posts from the most amazing bloggers in the world. And my heart sinks just a little because I know it will probably take me an hour to read them all. I love you guys and I love reading about your lives... but I have 67 subscriptions in my Google Reader - and I just deleted a bunch that I don't read any more. Not all of those 67 blogs have a new post every day, but a fairly good number of them do. Do any of you read that many blogs? Am I crazy? Do you only read on certain days? Do you skim posts? If I don't read any of them, there will be over 50 posts by the end of the day... That's the average number of posts each day. I'm curious... how do you manage your time on the computer? And how do you decide what blogs you will or will not read? Any and all suggestions would be appreciated...

Just So You Know....
If you ever cut up a Fresno Red Jalapeno, Hot Yellow Pepper and an Anaheim Pepper, wear gloves. If you forget to wear gloves, vegetable oil will help take some of the pepper oil off your hands. But rubbing alcohol works best... put a little on a cotton ball and wipe once. Then get a new cotton ball... just thought I'd pass on that tidbit of information... I'm off to buy some kitchen gloves that will be for food prep only...

NetFlix Flicks
We watched two movies last night... this one...

And this one...

May I just say, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH CHURCH BALL! Yes, it had a few laughs, but really, over all, bad bad bad bad! The movie ended and we both just sat there for a minute. Desperately trying to figure out a way to get the last hour and a half of our lives back...
Enchanted was cute! Very girly princessy kind of movie... which means I kind of liked it. It was better than Church Ball, but I am still struggling to find my inner princess... Baby Girl and I will watch it today... we'll see if she likes it or not.
Have you seen any good movies lately? I'm trying to update my NetFlix Queue and need some suggestions... anyone??

ACHOO!
My kids went through the house today and turned on all the ceiling fans.
The ones that have been off all winter.
The ones that while being off have collected a 1/2 inch layer of dust on them.
The ones that I DIDN'T get around to cleaning before they were turned on.
I can see the dust bunnies floating in the air. You think I'm kidding? I'm not... great big dust bunnies... I guess, since they are flying, perhaps they are now dust birds or perhaps dust butterflies... that seems to fit their flight pattern a little better. The dust butterflies are happily flitting around my home.
Sigh.

Tasty
"Some consider carob an adequate substitute for chocolate . . . because it can be made to approximate the color and consistency of chocolate. The same arguments can be made in favor of dirt." Sandra Boynton
Amen.

Spring Bunny
Before I start... I want to preface this post with this... I am not preaching. I am not suggesting that one way is better than another. I am simply sharing a story and a tradition and what works for us as a family...
In a previous post I mentioned the Spring Bunny... and I'm sure that a lot of you were thinking, "What kind of craziness is this?" Or maybe none of you were thinking that... but I'm going to tell you about it anyway. I'm going to explain the craziness that is my family. You see, we love the crazy. We're good at it.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away called Idaho, there was a family with four young children. These children were, in general, good kids. They did, however, seem a little hard in the head at times. You see, if you asked them to tell you about Easter, you would be inundated with stories of rabbits and plastic eggs and candy of every kind! If you asked for more information you'd get a response about baskets and baby chicks and candy of EVERY KIND! And if you persisted, hoping for some kind of REAL understanding about this holiday, you would hear about coloring eggs and new clothes for Sunday and CANDY OF EVERY KIND!! And if you point blank asked them about how Jesus fit in to the Easter holiday - they would stare blankly and then say, "Oh yeah... I forgot about that part... did you know we will get CANDY FOR EASTER?!"
Now, the parents of this family had tried all sorts of things to get their kids to understand what Easter was really about. They had lessons, talked to the kids, read out of scriptures, minimized what was in those baskets, but, as I mentioned before, the kids were a little hard headed and it just didn't seem to be getting through. Bunnies and chocolates filled their hearts and minds rather than the hope and peace that should be brought by understanding Easter.
And so, the totally awesome mom of this family decided that the Easter Bunny was going to disappear. She replaced him with the Spring Bunny - who came the Saturday after the first day of spring. He still brought eggs and candy, but now the focus could change. Easter could be a holiday to remember the Savior again.
There are those who ask, "Well, what about Santa?? Why didn't you get rid of him too??" Here's the funny thing about those totally weird kids... they got Christmas. They understood that a long time ago, a tiny baby came to this earth. And that He grew up and gave us the ultimate gift! Gifts were given in a spirit of love for one another. Somehow, everything about Christmas pointed this family back to Christ. That's not to say that the family wasn't excited about Santa and the presents... but the real message had somehow sunk in.
Not so with Easter. Somehow, it was really hard to tie in baskets, a large rabbit hopping around hiding plastic eggs, and oodles of candy with the Savior and His sacrifice for us. This new idea worked for us....
And it's a tradition that I carry on. Yes, I was one of the hard headed children (how'd ya guess??) and for some reason Easter was never a religious holiday to me as a kid. I just couldn't connect the two together... We don't do our Spring Bunny stuff right after the first day of spring... we do it the day before Easter. And then, Easter Sunday can have a focus on our Savior... and exactly why we call Him that.

An Apology
I must ask your forgiveness. I haven't been around to any one's blog since Friday. I had plans to come visit, honest, I did! But Friday was not a fun day. We got a letter from the insurance saying that it is "not medically necessary" for Little Bug to have speech therapy, again. I cried all day long. And then I went to the lovely dinner, where, honestly, I kind of sulked. The food was great, but I wasn't in the mood for chatting... it didn't keep me from playing Scrabulous on Facebook though...I'm slightly addicted...
And then Saturday I needed a family day. We saw "Horton Hears a Who" at the 10:05 showing... and we learned a very important lesson. Saturday mornings are the BEST time to go see movies! There were 10 other families in the theatre with us. It was great! And the movie was SO CUTE! The kids loved it and so did we. The part where they start singing "Can't Fight this Feelin" by REO Speedwagon CRACKED. ME. UP!!! Too funny!! So, if you're looking for something fun to watch... go see this one!

After the movie we went on a much needed grocery run and then hit Barnes and Noble. I was looking for the next book in this series:

Read the first book and loved it! But, they didn't have the second, so I came out empty handed.
Red Robin was our next stop for lunch on the way home. We haven't been out to eat in awhile and thought everyone could use a good treat. And it was a great treat for everyone but me... sigh... my burger was pink. And I just kept telling myself, it's not that bad... but when I hit the part that was pink and still cold, I gagged. Not a good thing.
After that we came home and watched another movie here at the house. We got "Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium" from Netflix. It was cute! We really enjoyed that one too.

That night Hubby took Red and a friend to the church for the road show. I think they had a good time...
Sunday was church and then family time. We were just setting up Risk when we got a call from a friend to come over and play board games for awhile. So we headed out and had so much fun playing games and visiting. Last night I watched "Pride and Prejudice" and just relaxed. But it was late when I went to bed. Which means I'm tired today...
So, I got up and was ready to do some serious blog reading when I accidentally hit the "mark all read" button on my Google Reader. There are almost 70 blogs in my Reader. I would love to go through each one and try to figure out who has new posts, but that would take a rather large amount of time today... time I don't have. (I not only put off blog reading over the weekend, but also laundry... :S)
So, I apologize. All the posts from Friday through this morning will probably not be read by me. Sorry... from this moment on, I will read new blog posts... till I have another brain freeze and hit the wrong thing again... sigh...

Food, Glorious Food

We had a dinner for the women at our church tonight and I was in charge of bringing the salad. At first, they just wanted to buy big bags of the premade iceberg salad stuff. Yum... crunchy water. That is what is what iceberg lettuce tastes like to me. I dislike that taste. Immensely. And so, I suggested a spinach strawberry salad. Always divine, but no one wanted to spend an afternoon slicing strawberries... but, um, I really wanted that salad! So, I said I'd do it. And they were willing to eat it as long as I was willing to make it.
So, Baby Girl and I headed to Costco today to buy strawberries and spinach. The strawberries looked AMAZING!! I bought two containers of berries. We have sooooo many left over! Anyone want to join me for some strawberry shortcake tomorrow?

And the dinner tonight? SUPERB! It was so tasty! Would you like to see it??

The theme for the night was "Love is a Verb". Hence, all the hearts. The soup was tomato... and it was wonderful... they used canned soup and mixed it with half and half instead of water. Then they added fresh basil and threw in a home made heart shaped crouton... very yummy. The sandwiches had a chicken salad spread in one and a tuna with sun dried tomatoes in the other. Again, delicious. And my little salad... well, doesn't it just look fabulous?

What's that you say? You'd like the recipe for the wonderful salad? Well, I'd be happy to share it with you!

Spinach Strawberry Salad

1 1/2 bags baby spinach - rinsed and drained

1 pint strawberries, washed and sliced

Dressing:

2 T. sesame seeds

1 T. poppy seeds

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. minced onion

1/4 t. paprika

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/4 c. white vinegar

Mix ingredients for dressing, toss with spinach and serve with berries on top. You can mix the berries into the salad, but they tend to sink to the bottom. Also, once you put the dressing on, you have to eat the salad pretty soon. This is not one you can make ahead. The spinach wilts too fast.

And WAH-LAH! There you have it! A wonderful salad that will tickle your taste buds and satisfy your tummy! Let me know if you try it out and what you think.

[per-spek-tiv]
I complain a lot. I know that I do. When things don't go my way, I'm vocal about it. I moan and groan. I whine and mope. I do it all the time.... I didn't get enough sleep last night. I spent most of the day trying to get things cleaned up. It's 80 degrees in the house again tonight - I'm hot. I'm tired. I'm cranky.
And tonight, I feel more than just a little self-centered.
You see, my nephew is serving a mission for our church in Guatemala. His mom sent us a few pictures today. There is a young man that my nephew and his companion (missionaries always go out in pairs) are trying to help. This boy's mom left him. He's addicted to sniffing pain thinner. I guess there was some kind of fire in the home that had left quite a mess. A group from church went in to help clean things up.
This is the after shot...

And again, I am reminded: it's all about perspective.

Have You Ever...
Every now and again I wonder - am I the only one who feels this way? Or thinks this way? Or experiences these situations? And so, in this quizzical state, I turn to you. I ask a bunch of "have you ever" questions hoping that somehow, you will alleviate my fears of being a complete weirdo!
Have you ever....
.... been completely exhausted, but couldn't sleep? Your eyes close, your body rests, but your brain zips through the night like a hummingbird searching for food... is it just me?
.... bought yourself a gift? Like, um... say, a boogie board? And been so excited about it, you could hardly stand yourself?
.... opened your windows and smelled something so delicious, so intoxicating, that you decide to go for a walk and smell all the neighbors flowers until you figure it out? (I think it's Jasmine... but, it might be the orange tree blossoms....whatever it is, it is from heaven itself!)
.... wanted to turn your air conditioner on in March?? (it was 80 degrees in our house last night... which is what we usually keep it at in the summer, but we aren't used to it right now!)
.... laughed so hard at a comment left on your blog that you thought you'd wet your pants?
.... got a book for your kid as a gift, and tried to decide if you would read it before you gave it to him or not?
.... begged and pleaded for family to come and visit, and then when they said "yes" you couldn't wipe the stupid grin off your face because of how happy this made you? (4 weeks and counting!!)
.... played Scrabulous with Holly on Facebook? It's a lot of fun... she beats me pretty good most of the time, but every now and again, I eek out a win! Want to challenge me? Anyone who has Facebook is more than welcome to add me as a friend...
.... had a HUGE day of housework ahead of you, and so you look for things to keep you from it? Like writing blog posts??
Sigh... off I go! Laundry, dishes and dust bunnies are calling my name...
Oh, and just to clarify a few things... my friend that I forgot about, she immediately forgave me. I'm thinking of asking her to be my Vice President.
And to those of you who asked about moving the furniture... well, that would require effort. I'm inherently lazy... making a new blog look requires me to sit on my butt and click buttons. Moving furniture requires me to push, shove, and in general, do work. So, to answer your questions, no, I don't move my furniture around very often... actually, it's been in the same place for over a year now... maybe I should move it... later... ;)

It's a New Day
Well, actually, the new day is more than half over...
Whatever.
As you can see, I've changed the blog again... what do you think? Do you like it? Tell me honestly... what are the things you like? What don't you like? I'm still not sure about all the font colors... does it look like a circus exploded on my blog? Please tell me the truth... I'm still learning all this fun stuff... what say ye?

Political Prowess
I flexed my political muscles today! I am on my way to the White House! I can just feel it... you see, yesterday, a friend called and asked if I could watch her little girl today while she was at the dentist. I said, "Sure - not a problem!" And then I did the unthinkable... I didn't write it on the calendar. Now, I don't know about you, but if something isn't on my calendar, then it isn't happening!
About half an hour before they were to show up, I decided to go to the bank. I had to deposit our tax return (which was kind of odd because we e-filed and it was supposed to be direct deposited... another thing I could fix if I were President). And the bank took forever. Not that I was in a great hurry... there wasn't anything on my calendar for the day.
I get home, get Baby Girl and I some lunch and then check email. That's when I see the flashing red light on the answering machine. I push the button and hear my sweet friend asking where I'm at! GAH!! What have I done?
I'll tell you what I've done: I made a promise and then I broke it! I am a political machine!
I did talk to my friend later on and apologized profusely. I guess the correct way to do that would have been to call a press conference and have it televised during every one's favorite T.V. shows this evening... I still have a lot to learn...

Commander and Chief
Dear Friends,
I feel the need to address this issue with you at this time. I have noticed that the current candidates for our Presidential election are avoiding a very serious issue. An issue, that, in my opinion, needs immediate addressing. Our country needs these people to step up, take action, and resolve this problem that plagues so many families. The issue?
Daylight Savings Time
I am exhausted. My children are exhausted. Their bodies struggle to adjust to this horrific event that is thrust upon us twice a year. It's almost enough to pack up and move to Arizona! There is no need for the change.
And so, here and now, I would like to announce that I am running for President of the United States. I know it will be an uphill battle, but with your support, I think we can win!
Do I know anything about...
economic development? Not really.
health care reform? Ummm... no.
immigration laws? Uh....
policy on war? Well....
how a country should be run in general? Not a clue
the sleepless nights, early morning and general crankiness that rules our land two times a year by the accursed Daylight Savings plan? Oh yeah baby!
I know that this is the only platform that I have, but I promise to figure the other things out - as soon as I have had a good night's sleep.
Help me, dear friends! When you go to vote this fall, write in my name, and together, we will put an end to the madness!
Thank you.
I am Melissa, and I approve this message.

Post 500
Okay... so technically, my post announcing my break was post 500. I've written more than that, but not all of them have been published. Sometimes I come and write a super frustrated blog rant. And no one wants to read THAT! So, it gets saved, but never published.
I enjoyed my bloggy break. Sometimes, I just need to step away from the blog for a few days. It was good, but now I'm back. My head is full of great ideas for blog posts... but I'm too tired to make any of them come out in coherent sentences. So, instead, we will do the ever famous "what someone typed into Google to find my blog". Should be fun! Away we go...

• http://mejojacspot.blogspot.com/ - really? Wouldn't it be just as easy to type it in the little box at the top. 4 people searched for my blog using the exact address... is it you? Would you tell me why? I am so curious!!
• how to make an icing tiara - Several people searched for this one. That was a fun project! I hope you found this post or this one or this one with the final royal icing tiara
• kank-aid - I think someone suggested this when I said I had a canker (or cranker) sore
• jon schmidt - ah... the man is an amazing pianist! And, apparently, I spelled his name wrong in my post or you never would have found me. Try John (instead of Jon). I still have his stuff in my playlist... it's just more in the middle now. Check out his site here
• uses for hydrocortizone - I don't remember this... maybe it was suggested when I had super dry hands... which brings me too...
• cause of cut dry hands in winter - there are several variations on this theme..."cut dry skin", and "split knuckles dry skin"
• cornerstones of marriage - this was part of President Hinckley's talk in our Stake Conference...
• can you but Lysol bombs for the home - nope. I've looked. You can fumigate the place with about 2 cans... but, you should remove everyone first!
• klutz horse isms - um... what??
• glow in the dark obstacle course - we had something kind of like this for Red's birthday party...
• stomach flu - ick... if you've got this, I'm so sorry. Get better soon!

And there you have it. Nothing too crazy, but it's always interesting to see what brings people here to my little blog!
As a side note, I have a confession to make. I didn't stay "off" my blog. One afternoon I spent some time messing with my playlist. I couldn't resist! And, as soon as they get a better link for David Cook's version of "Hello", I'll get it up there. (For those of you who don't know, he's an American Idol contestant... as well as David Archuleta who sings "Imagine" on my playlist!)

I'm Melissa and I approve this message.

Again?
I've decided to take a little bloggy break... I feel like my thoughts are spinning and my posts are forced. Something isn't quite right in my life... and I need to take some time to put my finger on it. It's nothing serious. There are just a few things I need to attend to... like cleaning and reminding my family that I can cook. No really... I can!! And I need to have some time away from the computer to try and work through some thoughts...
And so, the blog is going to be silent for a few days. Well, not really silent. The playlist will still be up and going.
I bid you adieu...(if you've been here for any of my other bloggy breaks, you know that I'll probably be back tonight or tomorrow morning... I'm not only confused and cluttered, but indecisive too)

Fairytopia
When I was a kid I always wanted to believe in fairies. But, I was too much of a tomboy to really do anything about it. It would have severely damaged my rough and tumble image. I tossed all fairy-ish things to the side.
Then I grew up. Got married. And felt too old for fairies. So, again, I just kind of shoved those thoughts to the side.
Enter Baby Girl. I have said before that she is the perfect mix of girlie girl and tom boy. She puts on her plastic high heels, some jewelry, a crown and her princess dress to go out and dig in the dirt. She wants her toenails painted, but she wants bugs on them. She is able to blend the girl stuff with the rough and tumble. Except... I didn't know what to do with the girlie side of her. I tried to get into the princess thing. It's just not in me to be a princess... but then I remembered fairies.
At Christmas time I got Baby Girl a book called "The Midnight Fairies". It is a cute little story and it came with a necklace. She fell in love with the story. And what little girl doesn't love a little bling with their books?

Then, the other day Tracey at Just Another Mommy Blog put up a link to create your own fairy. We tried it out. We are both hooked on this site. We make a fairy or two in the morning. Then we make one or two in the afternoon. And she insists on making one before bed.
Then I told her about making fairy houses... another thing Tracey mentioned on her blog... the thought was intoxicating to her. She had to build one! So, we went out and found a piece of palm tree bark for the frame. Hibiscus leaves around the doorway, Bougainvillea flowers for chairs and decor, leaves for the bed, moss for the pillow, another piece of palm bark for the table, and twigs and tall grasses for the sidewalk. She was excited for a fairy to move into our little home. On Sunday, I stayed home with my boys (who were still sick but are now ALMOST better). I looked around online for some other fairy items that might interest her. I had a hard time finding dolls that I really liked or that were within my price range. So, I pulled out the felt, ribbon and yarn... I finished it yesterday afternoon. She's not the most beautiful doll in the world, but Baby Girl seems to like her. She has already requested a friend for her doll. We'll see what I can come up with....
I think she will be getting this...in her Spring Bunny basket this year! (More about the Spring Bunny in an upcoming post...)
It has been so much fun to have something that we are both interested in! In a way, it's like entering an unexplored part of my childhood and I can't wait to see what comes next!
***Update*** If you live in a rental home and someone else takes care of the garden, they will think your fairy house is just branches and dead leaves. They will remove it and throw it away... sigh...

A Book Review
I have a question... have any of you ever ready any of these books?

I'm thinking of getting the first one for Red, but I was wondering if any of you had read them. Can you give me any info on them? Also... if you have any other ideas for books for 9 year old boys? Red is a voracious reader - over 1,000 pages last month. He's starting to reread a lot of his books and is getting bored... any suggestions?

Bug Off!
Baby Girl has been feeling a lot better. I would even venture to declare that she is "well"! Unfortunately, at the moment, she is a tad on the neglected side. When Little Bug gets sick, he gets really sick. His immune system just doesn't fight things off like it should. And so, when he gets ill, we know it will be for a few weeks. He is doing better, but not great. Red is also still sick. His fever seems to be gone, but that lingering cough is still.... well... lingering.
And so, with her new found wellness has come a never ending supply of energy... which, of course, has turned her into even MORE of a little mischievous imp than usual! She wants attention RIGHT NOW and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. And so, being the extremely wise being that I am, I decided to spend a little time with her before she decided to express herself with hieroglyphs on my walls or something clever like that.
We did pedicures again - okay, well, to be honest, we just painted toes. This time I'm going to post pictures... she wanted butterflies. Then she wanted bumble bees. Then flowers. She just couldn't make up her mind. So, we did this instead:

Big toes - butterflies
Next toes - bees
Middle toes - flower - that didn't turn out so well because she wanted the glitter polish...
Next toes - dragon flies
Baby toes - caterpillars
The only thing we didn't get on there that she wanted was "swirly whirls". We'll do that next time.
The really amazing thing was that she calmed down. She got some one on one time with Mom and she was very pleasant for the rest of the day. It was a good reminder for me. I need to take time one on one with each of my kids. They get a lot of "group" time. But it's just not the same.
It only took about half an hour of my time. The boys survived. And she was a happy girl... which, in turn, translated into a happy mom!