Spring Craft

I decided last Summer that I needed some seasonal decorations, I really didn't have any so I got to thinking, I knew I didn't want to spend over $20 on anything so I came up with one for fall, I skipped Winter (couldn't think of one and too busy) and I just made my Spring craft. I really like it. I got the idea from a friend of mine's blog (so cute), you can check it out here.

So I started with some jars, I had a few to chose from and decided to go with bigger ones. I soaked off the stickers. And then had to kinda stuff them into the background while we had a baby and moved. A few months later, I busted them out and painted them. I then found some flowers at Walmart for $2. Booyah!

I only had the vinyl lettering to get to finish the product but wasn't sure what words I wanted on them.


Then I got the idea of ribbon. I got some double sided tape, and taped the ribbon to the jars.

I love them. We had to get a little creative with the last one but it still turned out great!

So there's my seasonal craft, I plan on doing one a season for a couple of years, that way I have something cute for each room!

A Beautiful Day Gone Bad

It started out wonderfully, a healthy breakfast, kids completing chores, and even with me, excited about my rollerblades being delivered. It was the sort of day that I love, that makes me feel accomplished and fulfilled. Emma wasn't even complaining about school (that much) and we all had a blast learning about tints and shades in Art.

It was such a great day



And then it went wrong...


I had no clue that paint could potentially turn out looking like a crime scene.
This is after I cleaned up the floor (Daniel had foot prints EVERYWHERE), counter and toilet. They were all covered in black paint. Sigh.

What the kids learned in Art today, Shades and Tints, what I learned in Art today, follow Daniel to the bathroom.

Feeling Productive

For the past week I've been really working on catching up on the housework that was neglected while the kidos were sick and let me tell you, it actually hasn't been that bad...

I decided I wouldn't do it all in one day and that I would implemant things to do daily. And I am so close to being done!

Thanks to Pam (one of the wonderful ladies in my ward), I am six batches of laundry closer to being caught up! Six batches seems like a lot, and it is, but, unfortunelty, it's only a batch or two more that I would do a week. My mom also came over and washed some dishes for me, bless her heart.


When others do things to help me on my way or to accomplish something, I find myself striving to do that thing even more then I was before, I don't want them putting their time into me and it being wasted.

Something I have found that makes a huge difference in the type of day of have is one of these...


This is obviously one of my fancy ones, I'm not going to show you my mama bras.

I am SO much more productive if I wear a bra, how weird is that? Lol, I think it's kinda funny. But I will use what I can get. I'm glad I found this, and that I can use it to my advantage in bettering my (and my family's) life and in accomplishing my goal this year.

Premises Protected by Mossburg

So here is our dog,

we found him on Craigslist.com from an awesome couple that were moving and couldn't take him with them. They had the CUTEST little girl, but, that's beside the point.
He was originally named Jackson, and that's a great name, but I started having a hard time getting attached to him. After talking to my mom about it, I realized that I had been through some traumatic experiences that had inadvertently been associated with dogs. I'll give you a condensed story...
My dad died of cancer, which was so heartbreaking to go through, a few months later, my dog died, from heat stroke, it was horrible to watch. A few years later, our family dog, who was 13 (?) years old, developed cancer, of all things and had to be put down, that, was heartbreaking as well. It's hard to explain the loss of those you love but, I did love all of them and had a lot of pain from their passing.
So, I found myself actually feeling a little resentful towards him. Silly, I know. He's such a good dog. And after talking to my mom and realizing why, I decided I needed to find a way to break through that wall and one way I thought of, was to rename him so he felt more... mine.

This, is the sign we put on our door;

(it says, Premises Protected by Mossburg)

Ryan requested that I get it.

Shortly after we put it on, I told Ryan that I wanted a dog. We looked for a few weeks actually and while we were, Ryan and I talked about a name for him/her. I thought it would be awesome to name a dog Mossburg, That way the sign had two meanings. So, I renamed Jackson, Mossburg! We call him Moss for short.

We have another member of the family and we love him, he's an awesome dog and will be a great companion for years to come!

They Attack While I Sleep...

Something tells me I'm not snuggling with my kids enough, especially when the best time to get quality time in is when I'm sleeping.... I don't waking up being snuggled though.


I've got Kevlie on my arm, Daniel laying on my tummy and Kaylyn laying up my back. I love these kids.

RSV + ER Visit = Stress

Kevlie was diagnosed with RSV on Friday morning. I took her in because the way she was breathing didn't look right to me, she was having a hard time. They did a mucous swab and it came back positive, the poor thing. The Dr suggested they do a breathing treatment right there in the office and if it helped then he wanted to see her before closing that day to make sure shew as still doing well, if the treatment didn't help he was going to recommend we take her up to the hospital. Well, the treatment helped, a lot. I could really see a difference in her breathing and overall well being, so we were sent home with the request that we bring her back in before closing. We did that and she was still doing good. After we got her home the second time she started showing negative side effects from the Albuturol, the ones that are listed under the 'severe' category, she was showing at least four,possibly five, of them so about midnight we took her up to Madison.

Once we were back into a room the Dr. came in to take a look and ordered a CBC, which honestly I don't think was necessary, but it turned out to be a good thing. She had started eating a lot less then she usually does and had become dehydrated so after they had gotten in IV in one of the veins on her head, they pulled some blood and then attached a saline bag. That helped her the most, she started looking so much better!

Kevlie girl after the IV was taken out

The Dr wasn't very worried about the side effects and mostly worried about her oxygen levels. Which, after a treatment,were fine.

They sent us home and we ended up going to bed around 4-5, we had to grab our Bountiful Basket the next morning and Ryan was awesome enough to get up and get it. All in all, we are a little sleep deprived, and stressed.

Kevlie is doing much better, she's our happy girl again and has started eating normally. As long as we keep doing what we're doing she should be fine in a week or two. Until that time, STAY AWAY from our place, while RSV is usually presented as a common cold (runny nose, cough and the like) in toddlers and infants it can turn severe and life threatening. That isn't something I want to give to anyone.

5:20am

I'm up before 5am today. Not because I really want to be, but because the baby was hungry and it's my job to feed her. Yes, I could have gone back to sleep, but if I would have, I know I would have slept until 9 (cause I do it almost everyday!) That is a bad thing because then the whole day seems to fly by and I don't accomplish everything I need to. So here I am, writting a journal entry of sorts.

Things have been really good, and a little crazy. The kids are sick, each in their own stage of sickenss, but all sick. Obviously the main one I'm really worried about it Kevlie, being so young and all. We will be blessing her this Sunday (the 23rd) and will only be staying for sacrament. Which will be sad, I'm sure everyone will want to peek at her and exclaim how freaking adorable she is. Sorry in advance, while I know becoming ill would be worth it, I just can't bring myself to.
Ryan and I finally made it to the temple this week! I'm not saying this in a 'look how rightious we are' sort of thing, I'm saying it cause it's been over 4 years... that's a long time. It was wonderful to go, and amazing that I could go with my husband, I'm so grateful for him. After we got home and got the kids settled back into their daily activities I was pondering on the experience and realized that my spirit felt... full. You know how they'll talk about 'feeding our spirits' and we do that with scripture study and prayer, fasting and service, stuff like and that's how we keep our spirits fed and healthy, well, I felt positively plump. And it was awesome. I love how peaceful and centered I feel. And determined, I know what I need to do and I'm dead set on doing it.

Speaking of which, I've been trying to work on my goal this year, and I've been making progress, in most areas. I don't know if it's cause Ryan's home or if it's cause the kids have been feeling ucky (probably the ucky part the most) but this week hasnt been too great, there have been days where all I do is snuggle sick kids (alternating between rubbing or patting them, per demand). And I can tell you, my house is looking oh so very sad. There has been at least one day that we skipped school and I'm starting to feel like I'm rather burried and can't dig myself out. Ryan has been awesome and will do anything he can to help me, including cheering me on or calming me down with reasurance, I'm sure the calming me down is in hopes to avoid an emotional breakdown on my part, lol, poor guy.

In my efforts to bettter mine and my families home life I've been reading a lot of General Conference talks. This morning I found and read this one, I don't have teenagers, yet, but I think the things that are addressed here can be applied to my life. Most of all the five things to do that will strengthen familes. We do about one of those, the family dinner. We have seriously slacked on the rest and it's killing me. I feel like I need to redirect my family and that we should be centered around Christ and the Gospel. ]

Wish us luck in our adventures!!