Feelin' The Love

Grandmas are great. I think this year, I'm not sure we would have had nearly as fun of a Valentine's Day if it wasn't for Grandma. We had a fun dinner and everyone got a candy bar, which was fun. But not nearly as fun as Grandma Becky's package. She sent all kinds of fun stuff for the kids as well as socks for everyone (except Dad).


Thanks Mom!

2 Friday Afternoons

See this stack? 29 scrapbook pages...done (well, except for journaling). I sat down the last 2 Friday afternoons for about 2 hours each day and assigned photos to my stack of finished exchange pages, then taped them in. Ah, it's a good feeling. This is why I like exchanges.

Now about 30 more to go!

Letters

Last week my friend, Olivia, did a post about letters. At the end she asked which letters we would write. As I was cleaning my kitchen today, I got to thinking...

Dear Crafty Bloggers,

Why do you have to be so creative? Ok, I won't blame it all on YOU, half of it is all those other crafty blogs you link to. One or two of these ideas is enough to send me to my sewing machine or scrap table, but you soon get very inspirational-overwhelming! I wonder though, do you ever clean, cook, fold laundry, or help your kids with schoolwork or piano practice? With all you get done and post on your blogs, sometimes I wonder!

Sincerely,
Have the ideas, lack the time


Dear Children,

Is it too much to ask to PLEASE eat your food, do your schoolwork, clean your room, make your bed, fold the laundry, practice your music, pick up after yourself and stay on track without having to be reminded 50 million times?

Sincerey,
The Broken Record a.k.a. Mom


Dear Old Navy,

Why, oh WHY did you close your store closest to me!?!?!? I know, I know, it's because Southlands was charging too much rent, but is that any reason to make me drive to a part of town I rarely go to? I won't visit your store nearly as much... or maybe I will anyway. I am still very sad.

Sincerely,
Clearance rack shopper


I'll end with the same one Olivia did:

Dear blog readers,

What letters would you write?

Love,
Me.

Samuel Says

One of the fun things about kids is that they say really funny things.

When we were in Utah over Christmas, Samuel had an epiphany. We were driving around and he suddenly said, "Did you know that Papa has kids?" We answered that we did and asked him who they were. His reply was very thought-out and earnest, "Jaron, Stacey, and Nick!" He was so happy to have figured it out. I guess marriage brings more kids, but he forgot about his mom, and how he is related to Papa. I love how kids think.

Yesterday, Samuel informed me that he wants to be in Papa's family because our house is boring. Then he proceeded to pack his backpack to go to Utah. By this morning, it was all ready to go!


He packed just the necessities, of course: Starting out with Steg (his Stegosaurus) and a few blocks.

In the next pocket, his trusty parachute guy (the parachute itself has long since disappeared).

And rounding it out in the front pocket with George the Elephant and Spikey the Ankylosaurus.
Now to get there... As of now there's no current plans to go to Utah. We'll have to think of something.

New Sunday Dress

I love new Sunday dresses. They are just neat.

Sarah was in desperate need of a new Sunday dress. Is it just me, or is it hard to find dresses beyond, oh...size 6x? You know, those ones that are modest; with a high neckline, sleeves, and a hem that is below the knees.

We've been pretty lucky the last few years with some great ones Grandma found and gave to the girls, cute jumpers from Children's Place and some hand-me-downs from my friend, Kim. I even sewed a couple for my sister-in-law's wedding and for Sarah's Baptism.

But, that was then... Now Sarah is in that "pre-teen" sizing that is so hard. I even looked in a few "specialty" stores in Utah hoping to find something that fit my definition of modest. But, no luck. I don't know if I just am looking in the wrong places or what, but I determined that I could probably sew one up in less time than I would take looking for one.

A few weeks ago, we went to Jo-Ann's and found a pattern (Simplicity 5645), a linen-look solid, and some trim. Less than $15 and a bit of time later:


I also can't resist putting a photo of my "helper" while I was laying out the fabric.

Tee Hee!

I got some other fabric for another dress. I hope to get it done soon, but for now Sarah has a new Sunday dress. A modest one. Hooray!