Dear Universe

Please stop. Too much going on. Sick kids+ extremely sleep deprived Mama+gross weather=me needing a break. Send chocolate and a massage asap.

Thanks Universe.
Kim

P.S. I know that in light of other thongs going on (floods, hunger, children dying, etc.,etc.,etc.) this may seem like a very silly post. But it is my reality now and something has got to give.

P.P.S. Thongs...yeah, can you tell I'm exhausted. Hope it made more than just Steph laugh!

Random

Spring?!?! What is that? Something that was supposed to start last week? Because Grandfather Winter isn't getting the message.

It is snowing here today. It is supposed to continue snowing for...who knows how long. I really don't mean this to become a weather blog...but...it is making me CRAZY!

And...because the weather was nice for a week then got freaky cold...all of my kids are sick. Amelia has had a fever for the last 2 days and is sleeping a ton. She and Libby both have barky coughs and all 3 have gross noses. Ugh.

In lighter news...I am using this time to get some sewing done. I have a couple new dress designs and will be stocking my shop soon.

Thank you all for your kind words about my sweet niece. Her Mama, Stephanie, sent along her thanks also for Miss Meredith. If you want to learn more about Merry's heart, you can go here and read her blog.

We are planning our garden these days and are just waiting for the snow to melt. I can't wait to plant tomatoes, melons, squashes, lettuce, spinach, peppers, beans...any other suggestions?

Oh, and on Saturday I received the first part of my Welcome Spring package from the Spring Swap put together by Inspired Mama. I have been told that I have more coming, so when everything gets here, I will do a full post about it, complete with pictures.

But for now, I am off to nurse my sweet baby girl and pray that the healing properties in my breast milk will give her some good comfort and hurry and make her better.

I'm Going!

Remember last week when I told you about my partial sponsorship by Signing Time to Blogher? Well, I am SO excited to go and can't wait for July!!!

I am still looking for some more sponsors to help me with the flight and hotel cost. So, you can imagine my excitement when I found out that ZRecommends is giving away a 3 night hotel stay for the Conference!!!

They are not only giving away a room, but it is on the Executive Club Level. From their website:
In addition to the standard amenities in every room at this hotel (chief among them are great views of either the Chicago River, Lake Michigan or the city skyline from every room), the Executive Club Level offers access to a bi-level lounge which features not just "breathtaking views" but daily complimentary breakfasts, evening hors d'oeurves, and snacks and beverages throughout the day, plus free high-speed internet access, PC and Mac workstations, office supplies, and massage chairs. (The lefthand photo above was taken in the Club Level lounge.) Club Level guests also have access to an executive health club, free in-room high-speed internet (standard room residents pay a daily fee), 60 minutes of free local calls (did you know hotels charge for that now?), "plush robes," turndown service, free mouthwash, etc. etc. Bring your own cucumber slices for your eyelids and you're all set!

Sounds good to me!!! If you're going and need a room, go on over and see how you can enter to win. And if you win and I don't, let me come crash with you ok? ;)

Bless Their Hearts

Some of you know, but many do not that I have a niece who was born with several heart defects. She and Seth are 2 months and 3 days apart. She has had open heart surgery and has been doing ok. She has a blood clot in her heart right now and we are all praying that it will dissolve and not go to her lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism. She is a very active 4 year old and can't wait for Kindergarten in the Fall. Pray for her ok? Pray that when she goes back to the cardiologist on April 15, that the blot clot will be gone. Pray that they will figure out why this happened and that she can continue to be the sweet, funny, active little girl that is my son's best friend.

While you're at it, there is a sweet baby named Stellan who is just about my Libby's age. He is a little bit younger and has already been through so much. When his Mama was pregnant with him, the doctors told her that his heart was so sick that he would not live after he was born. Well, he was born and was healed. There were no signs of his heart problems.

On Sunday, he was taken to the Emergency Room and his heart is in SVT (the same thing that was wrong in the womb). Basically, his heart is in overdrive, beating around 230 beats per minute. The doctors are working on him and his sweet parents are praying. Would you join with me and pray for them? Pray that his heart can go back into normal rhythm so he can rest? That it doesn't permanatly damage his heart. That his Mama and Daddy (not to mention 3 siblings at home) can have some peace?

I really really really don't want for either of these families to have to know what it is like to lose a child. So, let's pray.

Thanks friends. Y'all rock.

Sigh

On Saturday it looked like this outside...





Today, it looks like this... (insert picture of SNOW! for some reason, my computer has eaten the picture...I guess it is in denial about the weather also)

Sigh.

Good thing I have some crafting to keep me thinking Spring.

Square Bears from Sew Darn Cute (I did make one more, but Amelia wouldn't let me photograph hers)

Basic Pillowcase Dress with shirring at the top instead of the elastic casing. I love it, but it still needs a little tweaking. Nothing better than getting a dress done while the boy is at Preschool.

Hello?

Are you still here? I have been feeling very blah recently and just haven't felt like doing anything I want to do. I have sewing to do, knitting to do, children to tend to, a house to clean and well...I'm feel quite overwhelmed.

I will be getting some help a couple days a week now though. I have one of the girls from church coming over after school for a couple hours 2 days a week. So, hopefully I can get some writing done in that time.

Jeremy has been working late recently so I've been single Momming it. I don't know how people do this regularly. I bow down to every single Mom and Mom whose husbands go out of town a lot for work (yes Heather, YOU!).

I have been doing a lot of pondering the last couple weeks though about what I want this blog to be. This is my space to be creative, to write, to dream...but I also want to know what you all want from it. I used to show my various projects I'd been working on, but haven't done that in a long time. Is this something you want? I also have a review and a giveaway to do...do you want more of those? What kind of things do you want from this space? I want it to be a retreat of sorts...a place that I can escape to when needed, and so can you.

So...talk to me. Let me know what you're thinking. Or just tell me how sad you are for me that after a week of temperatures in the 60's and 70's, it is now snowing at my house. Yep...gotta love Spring in Utah.

Spring

Welcome back, we've missed you. The days are slowly growing longer and warmer. We are spending more time outside basking in the sunshine, working in the garden, and just enjoying not being cooped up inside anymore.

Motherhood Is...

I have been contemplating this post for a while now. I wanted to write about Motherhood. I wanted to write about how I feel about being a Mother. I wanted to write about what it means to me. I have been pondering several questions about Motherhood. Like; What kind of Mother do I want to be? Who do I want my children to remember (the screaming, raving lunatic? or the funny sassy Mama?) What do I want my legacy to be? What kind of parents do I want my children to be?

As I have been thinking about these things, a few events in my life have really given me direction with this. First was a lesson given in Church about the Divine Roles of Mothers. The second was this fabulous series done at Sew Liberated called Motherhood Is... I really enjoyed reading what Motherhood means to four different Mothers. So different, yet so similar.

Today I give you my thoughts on Motherhood. My feelings about Motherhood change and develop daily, but right now, this is where they are and how I am feeling.

I remember very vividly October 2007. We were in our rental house here in Logan and were listening to the General Conference of our Church. Sister Julie B. Beck stood and gave a talk that changed the way I looked at being a Mother; Mothers Who Know.

At first, I got really defensive. I think it was because I was having a very difficult day being the Mother of a 3 and 1 year old. I was very upset that my children were not the perfect little people that I thought I would have if I did everything right. However, upon further study of this fabulous article, I have found that I have peace. I have peace that I am doing everything I can and that I am being a Mother who knows.

Over the next little while, I am going to highlight bits of this talk she gave. Right now I am trying to really slow down, relax and enjoy my children. Because I am making a concerted effort to slow down, this bit has really been speaking to me.

Mothers Who Know Do Less
Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world's goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord's kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power.

So, Motherhood to me, right now, is doing less. The snow is melting, the sun is shining and I can see signs of Spring all around me. I am building forts, sewing dresses, weeding the garden, pushing the swing and taking walks. I am doing less and pray that doing so, I am building stronger character in my children. I am doing less and pray that it will, to my children, seem that I am doing more.

Sponsor :: Signing Time

I have my first Sponsor for Blogher!!! I have worked with Signing Time in the past and am thrilled to do so again!

When I started contemplating companies I wanted to work with and represent at Blogher, Signing Time was at the top of my list. I contacted them and was thrilled to have Rachel email me back stating that they would love to help me.

I have talked before about the benefits of signing with preverbal infants and children. I was an interpreter for the Deaf for 3 years before having Emma and am fluent in American Sign Language (ASL). So, when I first heard about Signing Time...well, honestly, I was a little skeptical. I know that there are many programs out there that say they are ASL, yet are mostly made up signs. When Jeremy's Aunt gave me the first 3 DVD's, I sat down to watch them, prepared to laugh at how terrible and wrong they were.

Boy was I surprised. Signing Time started as a labor of love by two sisters. Rachel Coleman and her sister, Emilie Brown, made a few videos to help teach ASL to family and friends. You see, Rachel, a musician, has a daughter who is Deaf. When she learned that her daughter was Deaf, she and her husband learned ASL as fast as they could and started teaching Leah.
Something remarkable happened: by the time Leah was 18 months old, her baby sign language vocabulary far surpassed the spoken vocabulary of hearing children her same age. While Leah's little friends could only point and whine for something they wanted, Leah found it much more effective to sign, "Juice, not milk" or, "Cheese and crackers, please". Other parents took notice, including Rachel's sister Emilie, who started teaching sign language to her infant son Alex, so that he would be able to communicate with Leah. Emilie was thrilled one morning when baby Alex, then only ten months old, found his own use for sign language: he stopped fussing, looked up at her, and signed "milk".

I was most impressed by the fact that Rachel and her husband wanted to learn to communicate with their daughter. I grew up around Deaf adults, and had Deaf roommates in college. I can't tell you how many of them had parents that could not communicate with them because they wouldn't learn ASL. When I learned this, I became very excited about this company and started telling everyone I know about them.

While living in Salt Lake City, I taught Sign with your Baby Classes and did various workshops about how to get started. I always recommended these videos to parents as a fabulous supplement to their learning. I even lent out my own copies of the programs to the parents.

During this time, I also had the opportunity to be a "proofer" for Signing Time. I would get a DVD and check for errors. Not errors in the Signing (they have Deaf adults on set for this purpose), but for technical errors with the videos. This company is just fantastic and always a joy to work with.

So, why Signing Time you ask? Go over to their website and look around. Not only are there 17 DVD's to choose from, there are also message boards where you can connect with other parents signing with their children, Rachel and Emilie's blog, and games for the kids to play -- there is also the Signing Time Foundation -- a foundation whose goal it is to enrich the lives of children of all abilities.

This is a company that truly gives back. Their primary goal is to assist families in communication. I am thrilled to represent them, and want you to go check them out today!

Gratitude Sunday::Temples

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has produced this video about Temples and why we have them.


I want to share this with you today. I am grateful for the Temple. I am grateful that through the Temple, my family is forever and I have the promise of not only seeing my Emma again someday, but raising her and knowing that she is my daughter, forever. I am grateful that Seth, Amelia and Liberty are also mine forever. And that my sweet husband and I are married forever. To know that it doesn't end at death. To know that when this life ends, we will still be together. It gives me such peace and such hope.

That is what I am grateful for today.

They're 2, They're 4, They're 6, They're 8...

Yesterday we took a trip to Salt Lake City for two reasons. First, we went to the open house of the new Draper, UT LDS Temple. It was a great experience for the kids, and it really is a beautiful House of the Lord. If you live in the area, be sure to go today or tomorrow. Well worth it.


The houses up by the Temple are INSANE! Oh my gosh, they are HUGE! There was one that was for sale and touted having 8800 square feet. Um, I could fit FOUR of my houses in that one. I asked Jeremy if there were multiple families living in one house. It is crazy. (I do have pictures of some of the houses, if you want I will post them later.)


To sum it up -- The Temple = Beautiful, Inspiring and Amazing. The houses built by the Temple = HUGE and INSANE!

The second reason we went to Salt Lake yesterday was to see Thomas and Friends Live on Stage! I won tickets through Mom Select (go now and sign up for this!). The kids were SO excited. We were about 30 minutes late (Mom read the tickets wrong), but they still really enjoyed it.

Seth is playing that he is the Strong Man today but is in love with the "girl in the red dress". They had so much fun. I think that the ice cream and popcorn that Daddy bought them just sealed the deal -- best day ever for these 2 littles.








Come on, singing, dancing, THOMAS and PERCY (their two favorites), Sir Topham Hatt, Harold, a Strong Man, Clown and "Pretty girl in the red dress"?? What's not to love?

Awesome day. We got home late, the kids all went to bed and so did I.

P.S. Can I do P.S. in a blog? Anyway...thank you for all the vaccine suggestions. Thanks to Top Hat, I found out that the Doc's office should have record of all of his vaccines to date. I have already done the exemption form for the 2 that he does not need (in my opinion...really, this is a hard thing for Jeremy and I. We are on opposite sides of the fence on this issue, so we do delayed and selected to compromise). He needs 3 boosters which he will get today and be good to go for registration. I have made a HUGE note to self to make sure that the rest of my kids have their paperwork all in order before Kindergarten registration comes again. What a P.I.T.A.!

Maybe I'll Just Homeschool.

If the school district really wants kids in Kindergarten so badly, and wants them to register early, you would think they would be a little easier to work with.

I took Seth to register for Kindergarten this year. This is hard for me because, with all my heart, I want to homeschool, but I know it is not the right choice for us at this time. Sucks.

So, I trek to the Board of Education building with all 3 hooligans in tow. Looks like everyone else in Logan decided to do this today also. It is hot, crowded, I lose Amelia 2.5 thousand times and then she has to pee. So, we race to the potty, she pees, we go back and get in line (nice guy saved my place). We get to our first stop and find out that because I am only exempting Seth from a couple of vaccinations, I need the records of everything he's had to this point. Ok. I'm working on that. He's had 3 doctors in his 4.5 years of life and we don't have a vaccination card that tells us the dates that he's had everything. So, I need that and I need to come back today, tomorrow, Friday, Monday or Tuesday. Sure.

So, I come home call the Doctor's office to see if I can get Seth in for his shots. They won't do the shots until he has his Kindergarten well child exam. The soonest they can get me in? Tuesday afternoon...after Kindergarten registration has closed.

Why doesn't anyone tell you MONTHS before not DAYS before what you will need to register your child for school? Why do the ladies at the registration have to be SO rude when you tell them that you are working on getting all of his records together? Why won't the doc's office in Salt Lake call me back so I can get his records when I am down there tomorrow?

Why does he have to go to school? Can't I just have him my little guy for a bit longer?

Where I've Been :: Wordless Wednesday Style

Ok, a couple words. 18 inches in 1 day. Just when I thought Spring was here. Bah.

I ♥ Faces :: Kids Entry

This week over at I ♥ Faces the theme is Creative Cropping. Here is my entry.

This is the picture straight out of the camera. I love showing her in the swing, but wanted to really see her face.

So, I cropped way up to her face in Picasa, then did the color saturation, sharpen and glow tool. I love how it turned out.

6 Months

When did this happen?

When did my baby go from this

To this?!?!

My darling Liberty. You are such an amazing little person. I am so happy to be your Mama. You are getting so big and trying to do so many things right now! I've never met a baby who loved their tummy as much as you do. I can barely keep you on your back to change your diaper! You get up on all fours and rock, trying to keep up with your brother and sister I am sure! You love those two hooligans with all you've got and miss them when they are not with us. You laugh at Seth and Amelia, and only get a little upset when Amelia is in your face all the time. You're learning how to get her to leave you alone though...pulling her hair. Good job baby!


You love Mama more than anything and just want to be with her all the time. You always give me the biggest smiles and laughs, oh how I love those! The slobbery kisses and falling asleep with your head on my shoulder while you sing, just melts my heart every time.


I love you more than you will ever know. You are such a sweet baby, so happy, and so much fun. I am so grateful Heavenly Father sent you to our family.

Love,
Mama

And Just Like That...

Winter to Spring, Spring to Winter

Give it to Me.

I'm exhausted. My medicine ran out early in the week and Walgreens Perscription Mail hasn't sent me my new ones yet. So, my thyroid is all sorts of whacked out and so is my brain. I am exhausted. I can barely think straight. I feel like I'm pregnant but know I am not. Just exhausted.

So, to help combat my irritation at little things (and little children), my darling husband has ordered me to "sit down" while he finishes making dinner and cleaning up the kitchen. No, you can't have him, he's all mine.

While I sit here, I have decided to participate in Lolli's Give Me Your Best Shot. This is a great opportunity to share my favorite photo I took this week.

I love this photo so much. It is way cropped just to her face. The sun was shining on Monday morning and the children and I took the opportunity to play outside for a bit before taking Seth to school. Amelia was loving being in her swing again after the long cold winter.


I am not sure what she was looking at here, but I love the way the sun shines on her hair, and the wind and well, everything.

Baby Dress

Here is the "shirt'" that I made for Libby. I am actually really glad it turned out a bit big. It is a super cute dress for right now, and then will be a shirt later. SO CUTE!

It's Amazing

It is so amazing to me what I can get done when A. Libby sleeps for 3 hours in the day (thank you Miracle Blanket!!!) and B. I don't spend that time sitting at the computer reading blogs!

First, thank you all for your love and support. I don't know how often I will be posting, but know I will be taking breaks. I am going to start taking the weekends off and moving Gratitude Sunday to a different day -- or maybe writing it before Sunday and just having it scheduled. I'm not sure yet. But I do know that weekends are going to be family time now.

So, about this sleep...Libby is finally taking naps!!! I didn't really do anything except start doing the same thing everyday, and she likes schedule. Go figure! Oh, and the best part is the Miracle Blanket. I was a little reluctant to continue using it because she is almost 6 months old (did you just hear my jaw hit the floor?!?!), but she still really likes to be swaddled. This thing rocks my world. I wish I had another just so that I could wash the one she uses for naps and bedtime. Anyhoo...I swaddle her up, nurse her and she is out. I then lay her down and she sleeps for a good 3 or 4 hours! I LOVE IT!!! Go get a Miracle Blanket today. I wish I would have had one with Seth.

Now, for what I got accomplished. I did laundry (haven't folded it yet, that's tomorrow's nap chore!), swept, fed my children, did some dishes and made 2 shirts for my girls. Yes, I made 2 shirts today. Can I just tell you how much I enjoy sewing? I have my Grandmother's serger, and I can hear her cheering me on when I am using it, or figuring out something new with it. I just figured out how to do a rolled hem and I love it. She had everything in a nice, neat little box, so it was really easy for me. There is something just so cathartic about sewing for my family. I have decided that I am going to sew all of my children's clothes this summer. Everything they need, I can do. So why not? I have this adorable pattern from Pink Fig. I cut out the shirts the other night and put them together today. Seriously easy and fun. Amelia loves hers and Libby hasn't gotten to try hers on yet.


Cute isn't it? I also bought this pattern today for some cute dresses and shirts for the girls. I have another dress pattern also, so they will be set. Oh, and how could I forget this great skirt pattern? I made these from the pattern for a friend in the Carribean, and had so much fun making them! When I am done with this, I will be cutting out skirts for my girlies.


We have had some Springish weather here this week, so it has really brought out the desire to sew more for my children. Of course it is snowing now and will be all day tomorrow also. But no matter, Spring will be here soon and they will want to be outside in short sleeves and skirts.

Go sew something for your kids today...or buy them something cute on Etsy if you can't sew.

Prioirities

Ah such a big word...priorities. Yet so often it is something that we don't think much about. Sure, we hear people saying that their families are their top priorities, or that they have their priorities in order. But what does that mean? What does it really mean?


This is something that has really been weighing on my mind and in my heart recently. What is most important to me? My family. Hands down, the most important thing in the world to me. My husband and children. They mean more than anything to me. However, do I show them this? Do my actions, what I do daily, reflect this? Or do they wonder if I love them more than I love...well, this blog, or other blogs?

I have a hard time balancing things. I want to be the best at everything I do and typically when I attempt this, invariably something suffers and I fail. I do not know how to be the best Mother, Wife, Housekeeper, Homemaker (two different things that I will talk about in another post, another day), Friend, Sister, Blogger, Reviewer, etc, etc, etc. I just can't do it all. And this is hard to accept.


I sat my family down this weekend and told them that I needed their help with the cleaning of the house. I can not do it all alone. I just can't. My house is a mess and while I don't need it spotless, I would LOVE to have a home where I don't have to make a path from the front door to the kitchen. So, I made a chart for myself with what chores I have to do daily, weekly and monthly. I'll let you know in a month how it is going.

I also gave my children more responsibility and made them each a chart. So far so good...of course it has only been 2 days, but I have high hopes.

Back to me wanting to be the best. I just want to do everything I do the best that I can. Sadly though, my family has been suffering. My children have been asking for more and more of my time. And, when I say asking, I mean demanding, screaming, crying, acting out. It's hard. It is really hard to balance it all.

This has brought up some big heart felt discussions with my darling husband. I have talked and he has listened. I have shared my concerns and he has listened. Through his listening, I have really heard myself and what I am saying.

I need to slow down. My babies will only be babies for such a short time. I know how quickly it goes and how quickly and unexpectedly these babies can be taken from us.


So, I am slowing down. I may not be posting everyday. I have to say that it scares me to write that. What if I don't post everyday and I lose people who like to read my blog? Will the few of you who read my blog continue to if I don't post daily?

But, what if I don't slow down, and don't stop posting everyday and lose the people who rely on me for everything. What if they stop trusting me and stop demanding my time? What if they think that I love my blog and the computer more than I love them?

That would break my heart. So, I am not going to read as many blogs as I do now. I am going to turn away from the computer and towards the sunshine and my children. I will check blogs at breakfast and lunch and after the kids are in bed.

I am going to be the Mama that my children deserve. Because really, they are what it is all about. They are my top priority. And how could they not be?