Signs of Spring
TULIPS
Pastel Sixlets (i searched high and low for these… thank you Dollar Tree for coming through for me!)
Happy Shoes
Blue Skies & Sunshine
This makes me very, very happy.
Mountains of Laundry
This is for Ms Angela, my friend, who gets a kick out of my crazy laundry piles.
“Give me this mountain. Give me these challenges.” Spencer W. Kimball
I do not ask for more laundry… Oh dear, do you see why?
I failed to do laundry for a while. See where we are now.
I had to do a red batch… 2 white batches (one is mostly socks – and boy howdy do boy socks stink to high heaven)… and 2 dark batches, jeans, lights, and towels. And the loveliest part is that I found another unsorted basket of dirty clothes in the hall after I took this picture. Fun. Guess what I’m doing today and tomorrow?
It’s Simply Fresh or something like that
I have this little business. It’s something that is fun … a creative outlet. I like to think that we provide a nice service… inexpensive wall art. Recently I changed everything to Instant Download in my etsy shop. It makes my business 1,000 easier. Instead of knowing I had hours of work ahead of me when I saw orders come through, now I delight in knowing that it’s all automated. lovely. It’s really just that simple … and fresh… ha-ha.
With Green being my color of the year (more on that someday)… I decided to swap out my logo. It’s still simple… but it’s cheerful. I don’t know that I like the name of my business anymore. But I guess we’ll keep it around for Search Engine Optimization (my husband’s specialty.)
I wanted a record on this blog of some of the new designs I’ve done recently.
I quite like them.
And maybe coming soon…
We’ll see about this one. I want to make this a family business with the kids helping to package and ship.
a happy heart
jimmy came home from work yesterday with these happy flowers.
they make my heart happy.
he is my love.
today we painted eliza’s nails.
We – meaning I painted, Max picked the colors.
He really wanted her to have red fingernails for Valentine’s Day.
She was so curious about it all that she held still.
It made my heart happy.
fresh courage take
1st theme of the day… inspired by my friend Julie.
2nd theme for the day… the thought on our white-board… for me, for Hannah… our positive affirmation.
3rd theme for the day… this is for Janey. Isn’t it so true some days?
Took Abe to the doctor this a.m. Strep throat … and the flu. Nice. Or not. At least antibiotics will help something. He’ll be on the mend. He’s gotten enough movie time in during the past 6 days for the entire year.
Liza is laying in my lap watching baby einstein. She keeps sinking deeper. She moaned and groaned all night long – poor little thing.
Jimmy is curled up in bed with a belly ache, fever, and cough. He got up with Liza once last night so I could have a few hours of sleep. Bless him.
Hannah is having lunch with the principal because she was the top reader in her grade this week for the jazz read-a-thon (2,000 minutes). She is thrilled.
Tru & Max are playing super mario… because I needed a break.
We have 6 loads of laundry waiting and a counter full of dishes… yes, I believe I must gird up my loins, fresh courage take.
With the tender mercies from God, we will make it through… and look forward to sunnier days.
Oh good… the sun just came out for a second… see… there is always hope.
Tender Mercies
Yesterday evening when I was getting Liza’s jammmies on, I realized that we had been abundantly blessed that day to endure. With sickies all over the place, this mama was somehow able to take care of everyone. It wasn’t because I was super capable or patient… It was strength from God. It helped that Jimmy could snuggle Liza since they were both sick. It helped that Tru watched movies – oh, like all day. It helped that Hannah did a little here and there. But blessings from above were evident.
I’m so very grateful.
I like this mormon message by Elder Bednar about Tender Mercies…
the vintage typewriter
In December we visited Grandma Beck. She is living in an assisted living home and is 95 years old. She communicates with her family by typing weekly letters on her typewriter. My dad showed the kids her typewriter and they were completely AMAZED! They’d never seen such a thing.
A few days later, Abe asked if we could buy a typewriter. Awesome! I found this one on etsy for over $600.
I don’t think we’ll be buying a typewriter, son.
I remember we had a red typewriter growing up. I liked typing on it. It was fun to get all the keys stuck together by the ribbon. In college I used an electric typewriter to address labels for work. Anyhoo…. here’s to vintage typewriters.
Warm Regards
I’ve recently received several emails ending with:
‘warmly’
or
‘warm regards’
I quite like it.
It reminds me that there is warmth somewhere out there…
and that there are warm hearts lifting me up.
I’d like to announce that we made it to the 40s over the weekend.
As I type I see blue skies…
yes, real BLUE skies.
It’s a Monday Miracle.
See those cheerful mugs up top.
My parents gave me the yellow one for my birthday.
Warm drinks in that mug are one of my comforts this winter.
Today I am grateful for warmth…
Warmth from our heater and cozy blankets…
Warmth from the Holy Ghost who comforts & guides…
Warmth from those who share their light with me…
Warmth from little smoochy wet kid kisses…
Warmth from cozy hoodies…
Today is going to be a good, good day.
Warmest Regards…
nature’s color
today is beyond dreary.
when the grey and white world looks like this…
and the mountains can’t be seen through the smog and fog ….
there is nothing left to do but
drive 3 little tots to the store
to pick out some colorful healthy foods.
We bought broccoli, zucchini, baby peppers, carrots, cucumbers,
lettuce, spinach, celery, tomatoes, strawberries, apples, bananas …
yum …
and then there is nothing else left to do but
come home and eat fresh peppers,
strawberries, grilled cheese …
and watch backyardigans during quiet time.
Because Backyardigans has cheerful music.
p.s. i also bought this…
which completely negates any of the healthy foods we bought.
but buying it once a year might be okay. maybe.
p.p.s. it was definitely a dreary day miracle
because the kids were beyond good at the grocery store.
truly a miracle that needs to be noted.
Claud the Chameleon
I love this guy. Let’s call him Claud. I’m feeling this way… whatever way that is. Don’t ya love his expression?
I’ve had a morning full of work, work, work. I tried so hard to get stuff tidied. I actually put away my laundry that’s been sitting around for like … forever. I vacuumed the car with all 3 tots in there… claustrophobic. How in the world are there so many crumbs in that car?
Liza fell off my bed when I was cleaning off my nightstand. She now has a big fat bloody lip. It’s very sad.
But back to Claud… I’d like to be like a chameleon.
For 1… their eyes move independently from one another. Awesome! This would come in quite handy as a mother. This would give me a full 360-degree arc of vision around my body (thank you wikipedia for that sentence). Now, I always tell Max that I have eyes in the back of my head. He always tests me to see if I can see things. And when I do, he asks how I saw. And I tell him I’m that amazing. Hardy-har-har.
Anyhoo… Isn’t Claud a cheerful color? I like that he goes with the flow… able to adapt to change. That would be a nice quality to have as a mother. As Hannah advised the other day, “Expect the unexpected.” I ought to know by now that her advice is essential to sanity as a mom. Keep calm, like Claud… and go with the flow of the day… Come what May and Love it!
This is a random, odd sort of post… But a nice diversion during quiet time… while I mend and rest from mothering tots and laundry and vacuuming that squishy van. I love quiet time.
Thank you Claud for your cheerful colorful self.