Day 128--Old Reliable

Day 127--Rockin' Out at the Air & Space Museum

Leave it to Cami and her friends to find a way to dance at the Air & Space Museum. Luckily I had my camera handy to capture the moment!

Just as a side note, I wanted to mention that today was the easiest field trip chaperoning job EVER.

Cami + 3 best friends=No Stress Whatsoever!

Day 126--Medieval Princess

We attended a Medieval Faire today for the culmination of Spencer's medieval times class. There was a display of some fun projects they'd worked on through the class and some hands-on demonstrations for everyone to try.  Here Ellie is making a medieval air freshener by sticking whole cloves into an orange.   It actually had quite a pleasant smell, but still I'll take deodorant and soap instead. :)  

 Princess Ellie had a little suitor there...a dashing young man dressed as Robin Hood who followed her around and played with her.

Rain, Rain...

You probably think I'm going to say, "Rain, Rain Go Away", since I'm about as fair weather fan as they come.  I pretty much like sunshine and temperatures in the 60's or 70's and that's about it.  But after a couple straight weeks of constantly dark skies and near daily rain storms, I'm changing my tune a little...

A few reasons why I'm not minding the rain so much anymore:  

--Clean car.  When it rains and rains and rains, there is no time for dirt and pollen to collect on our cars.  

--Projects.   I don't have to feel guilty for putting off that big planting/lawn project I'm planning since every day is either threatening rain or already raining.     

--Menu planning.  It means I can keep all my favorite soups in my menu for a little longer, before switching over to a summer menu. 

--Sports practices.  Everything is canceled, sometimes even before it actually starts raining, so my trips out of the house are cut to a minimum.  

--Sleep.   All this rain is keeping Glen from waking up at 6:00am for his morning bike rides.  That means more sleep for both of us!

--Hairstyle.  After completely disastrous attempts at styling my hair after a new haircut, I realize that it doesn't really matter.  I can just blame it on the rain.  

 --Fashion.  The cute raincoats I bought for Ellie, Adam, and Emma for $3 each at Unique are getting put to good use. 

Cute raincoats, delicious warm soups, clean cars, sleeping in...what's not to love?

Uh, wait. You don't have to answer that.  

Have you noticed?

that suddenly my tummy is saggier and the circles under my eyes have gotten darker?  

There's a good reason for it....I have a new baby in my house. 

 She's so sweet!   It's taken me a while to get the hang of her personality and little quirks, but it's been so worth the late nights getting to know her fun, smart personality.  

And truly you've never seen such beauty.  I hate to admit it, but she's so much better looking and graceful than her clumsy, awkward cousins (no offense meant).    Oh, and did I mention how smokin' fast she is?  She's quite the powerhouse for a someone so little.  

So without further ado, here's a little snapshot of me with my new little Mac-y poo. 

Isn't she a thing of beauty? 

Day 125--Working Hard

I couldn't help but laugh when I came to pick up Cami and her friend Mikhaela from school today.  They were red-faced, winded, barefoot and soaked from head to toe!  The girls had had their practice 5K run for Girls on the Run this afternoon, which was a formidable enough of a challenge  under the best of circumstances, but all the more impressive considering that they did it in the pouring rain.  

MBA Class Syllabus

Professor and successful entrepreneur Emma Kristine will teach you the basics of running a profitable business and how to maximize your profits.

#1--Pick something you love (like lemonade and cookies)

#2--Pick the right partners (like a sister and two friends)

#3--Find the loudest yeller possible to be your main advertiser

#4--Price your goods right (75 cents for a glass of lemonade, $1 for a cookie, $2 for a dozen cookies, and $2.15 for a lemonade and a cookie)

#5--Pick your venue right (minimum cars per hour: 2)

#6--Quality is everything. Taste test everything to make sure it's okay, then let everyone else taste test it too.
#7--Don't underestimate the power of relatives with deep pockets as customers

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PS You're all invited to a lemonade and cookie party at my house tomorrow.

Little Graduate

After getting a little grumpy last week when they changed the rules of the theme late in the game, I almost didn't do an I Heart Faces this week either just in rebellion.  {I know how much you all missed me last week....ha!}  However  when I came across this cute picture of Adam in his preschool graduation cap I decided  it was just too adorable not to post.    

I think preschool graduations are just the cutest things ever.  I love how excited they are to wear that special cap and go on to new exciting adventures (like kindergarten).  

 Be sure to go check out lots of other cute faces and hats at I Heart Faces this week.  

Day 124--Mouse Traps and Temptation

Tonight after a FHE lesson about avoiding temptation we played the mouse trap game.  Everyone puts their mouse in the middle while one person is the trapper (with the pan lid).  The trapper picks a certain number and when that number is rolled on the die she clamps down the mouse trap and tries to capture the mice before everyone can pull theirs' to safety.  The kids were rolling on the floor in laughter and I loved how it illustrated the lesson so well about how you always have to be on your guard to avoid temptation.  

Helpful Advice

When I sit down, I fall asleep. It's just an inescapable part of who I am. I attribute it to my early morning seminary days when I had to catch a little snooze whenever the opportunity arose. French class was where I first discovered this, um, gift. It was right after lunch and it didn't matter what anti-napping method I used, every single day my cheek would end up in a pile of drool on the cold desktop.

I used to struggle staying awake during church too. In fact there was a day when you could glance at the Crain pew during sacrament meeting and see all eight of us kids sound asleep. Little ones strewn on the floor and across laps and older kids (like me) with heads bobbing and eyes rolling. My mom and dad didn't mind at all, or even notice for that matter, since they were also snoozing.

I'd like to think I inherited my extreme napping skills from my mother, who as you can see here can
fall sound asleep even in a metal folding chair.

As a parent I've done my best to avoid the sacrament meeting napping fest for my family and as a good citizen I try hard to make sure that no one around us could ever fall asleep either. It's just this civic duty I feel towards others.

Usually we just try to make sure that at least one of the kids has to take a potty break somewhere in the middle of sacrament meeting. Two consecutive trips is even better. It breaks up the routine and makes just enough noise to make sure none of the people in the 4 closest pews could possibly stay asleep.

Lately, though we noticed that some people several rows away were still snoozing through our antics so we decided we needed to take our public service to the next level.

Take last week for instance. While digging through the church bag for a crayon Ellie pulls out a tampon, unwraps it, and holds it high over her head and says a little too loudly, "What's this Mommy?" I was so proud of her. I couldn't have planned a better giggle inducer, sleep avoiding gesture myself.

Ever the competitor, Adam, could not be outdone by his younger sister. Today he decided a shriek, a gush of blood dripping on the floor, and a mad dash to the bathroom five minutes into sacrament meeting would do just the trick in making sure that even the Bishop wasn't sleeping today. After taking care of Adam's newly opened gap in his mouth and totally missing Spencer being sustained as a Teacher, an older guy came and slipped us some money (I'm not making this up). At first we thought he was trying to bribe us to change seats and couldn't believe he thought we could be bought for a mere dollar.
Then he informed us that kids who lose teeth during church get "special" money from the tooth fairy and presented us with a bow tie shaped dollar bill to slip under his pillow tonight.

Wow! What luck. Not only did we succeed in our mission to keep the ward awake, but we also made money on the deal. Sweet!

Now we need something really good for next week...any ideas?

Day 123--Fast Sunday Excitement

Every fast Sunday we get together with two of my brothers, my cousin and all their families to hang out and eat a yummy dinner. It's always a little chaotic with 13 kids running around, but it's a fun way to stay connected!

Day 122--Kids' Workshop

About a year ago we discovered a new fun activity that has since become a favorite family tradition. The first Saturday of each month all the Home Depots sponsor a kids' workshop where they have aprons and little kits for all the kids. The kits are simple little construction projects that take about 15-20 minutes that the kids can do them themselves. My kids LOVE that they each get their own hammer and nails and they come home with a completed project that they did all by themselves. Even Ellie makes her own (with a lot of help). Today it was cute little wooden wheelbarrows that they eagerly painted when they got home.

Day 121--Mud Puddles

What's better than a good old-fashioned mud puddle to splash in? The other moms we were with were a little irritated that Ellie and her friend Thomas had worn boots and were happily splashing around, while the other kids were wearing their normal shoes and trying to follow right behind them through the puddles. In any case, Ellie came back from Frying Pan Farm Park wet, muddy, happy, and exhausted!