Sidewalk Chalk Math

I love when it's warm enough to take our math outside and do it with sidewalk chalk. For some reason my kids think Math is so much more fun if they are using chalk than if they are using pencils. (Even though I usually make them write the answer in their books in pencil as well.) Hazzah for Spring!

Adelia Writes Her Name

Adelia has been working really hard learning how to write her name this year. She's doing a great job! She did this one all by herself, with me only giving her a couple of verbal hints.

Hair Cut for Ollie

Now he looks like a boy instead of a baby. Oh, and he's wearing size 24 months, sheesh.

Ivan's 5th Birthday

Ivan is 5 years old. He’s been waiting to be 5 for a long time. He wanted to have a birthday party, and planned out everything he wanted to do, and who he wanted to invite, and what he wanted his cake to be. It was adorable. Aaron and I made Ivan this Superman shirt using iron transfer paper and hung it up right outside his bedroom door, so he’d find it first thing when he got up in the morning. It was with a note wishing him a Happy Birthday and a Super day. :) He loved it.

He started the day off by taking cupcakes to preschool to share with the other kids. The mom teaching preschool made him a paper crown that said, “Happy Birthday Ivan” on it, and he was so thrilled. He talked about it all day long.

After preschool, we worked on making more cupcakes for his birthday party, and his birthday cake for after dinner. He wanted Superman, so everything was red and blue. I was thrilled, because this cake was a piece of cake. ;)

I had a stroke of brilliance, and that was to reserve the church gym for Ivan’s birthday party. It was awesome, because about 25 kids came, and they had a place to run and jump and let out all their energy, and it wasn’t in my house. It was perfect.

Aaron came home from work early, and we went over to the church to decorate. We did pretty simple balloons and streamers, and some little puff ball things; all blue and red of course, but I thought it turned out really nice looking.

We started off with the game, Pin the S on Superman. Each kid colored an S when then came in, then we tied a blindfold around them and let them try to pin it on an awesome picture of Superman that Aaron drew.

After that we played a game I invented called Superman Tag. Basically, we gave every kid a bandana and had them stuff it in the back of their shirt like a cape. Then when we said go, everyone ran around and tried to pull the capes off of people. If your cape got pulled off, you had to sit down. The last kid with a cape was Superman. The kids were all over it! I was kind of surprised how much they liked this game. We played several rounds.

After that we opened presents. It was like a mosh pit of 4 and 5 year-olds. Haha! I couldn’t see who was giving Ivan what. I tried my best to make sure he said thank you to everyone. He got some really awesome things. And he has really enjoyed playing with all of them since.

Then we did cupcakes, soda, and Cheetos. Which are the foods Ivan requested. I got so absorbed in passing out cupcakes, I almost forgot to have everyone sing happy birthday! Good thing a couple of my great homeschool mom friends had stuck around to help out, and they reminded me. (I was so grateful to have you guys there. THANK YOU!)

 

After eating the kids had a few more minutes to run around and play, and then moms started coming to pick up kids. It was a fun, successful party, and most importantly Ivan loved it. (Even though he got a bloody nose from getting bonked during the last few minutes of crazy running around time.)

The plan was that after the party we were going to get Papa Murphy’s pizzas to bake at home, and Aaron’s parents were going to come over to celebrate. But my house was kind of a disaster from getting the party stuff ready all day, and I felt like we’d been go-go-going non-stop since we woke up, and I wasn’t in the mood to try and clean up again. So instead, we went out to Pier 49, and Grandma and Grandpa Swan came with us there. Ivan wanted a pizza that was half pepperoni and half pineapple. We also ordered a vegetarian (because it’s fantastic, not because we don’t like meat) for the adults I love Pier 49 pizza. It’s my all-time favorite. Happy Ivan’s Birthday to me too I guess. :)

Then we headed back to the house for presents and cake and ice cream. Ivan’s main present was a plasma car. I think he’s really going to enjoy it. And I’m happy that he has one more reason to be outside. The first thing he said when he opened it was “Oh cool! Jeremiah (his cousin) has one of these!”

He also got a compass/whistle/magnifying glass all in one, and a water bottle from Lincoln. A giant Superman stuffed person from Del. The game Guess Who from Ollie. A Superman pillowcase and bedspread from Gramma Tam and Papa Kerry. And binoculars from Grandma and Grandpa Swan. The kid made out like a bandit, if you ask me. (We opened the presents from the grandparents on Sunday when my mom and Kerry and Aaron’s dad came over for birthday dinner.)

The older kids went outside to try out the plasma car before it got dark, and while I put Ollie to bed. Then we had cake.

Happy Birthday Ivan Boy! I hope it was everything you wanted it to be and more. I’m so glad you are 5 and even more glad that you are a part of our family.

Top O’the Mornin’ to Ya!

30 Day Challenge Completed!

I’ve been talking a lot lately about Dressing Your Truth and The Child Whisperer, and Energy Profiling in general. I’ve loved it all. When I bought my Dressing Your Truth course, it comes with a 30 day challenge to go through your course and learn how to dress and accessorize for your type of beauty, and then to dress your own personal truth for 30 days. I took the challenge and completed it! I feel amazing. What’s on the inside of me is reflected on the outside of me. I feel dynamic and confident. It’s seriously been such and interesting change, and all around process…it’s about way more than just clothes and hair and makeup.

I don’t really know why exactly, but for years now, I’ve been trying to bite down my tongue and fade into the background, to be more soft and subtle, and unnoticeable;  which is NOT my nature! I’ve been feeling really passive-aggressive about it. This program, and the books I’ve been reading, have been really emotional, and freeing, because I know it’s ok to be me. I can be bold, I can be dynamic and active…yes, I need to be tactful and sensitive to other people, but I need to SPEAK when I feel so inclined, instead of holding back and being afraid that what I have to say will be too much, or come across pushy, or direct. I am a spirited, energetic, feisty, passionate person, and for too long I have been trying to shove that into a closet. Maybe because I’ve viewed some of those traits in a negative light. But no more. I've got the eye of the tiger, and you’re gonna hear me roar! As the song goes. :)

I had an interesting experience the other night, as I was mulling this all over in my head, specifically about trying to hold my tongue, and not speaking up, particularly in situations where I know it’s the right thing to do (like standing up for something I believe, or sticking up for a person). I was reading my scriptures in 1 Nephi, it’s during some of the Isaiah chapters, so I’m not sure what exactly the scripture is literally talking about, but holy cow, I can tell you what jumped right off the page and karate-chopped my eyeballs. 1 Ne. 21:2-3 “And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me. And said unto me: Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” The Lord made me the way I am. He made me active and feisty and passionate. But even more importantly, he did it for a purpose.  He made my mouth “like a sharp sword” so that I could glorify Him. In my patriarchal blessing I am told repeatedly that I will have opportunities to “speak and teach”, probably to share the gospel, is my guess. And if I’m going to be able to do that in today’s world I am going to have to be bold, direct, and powerful; unflinching from what I know is right and good and true. No beating around the bush. No hiding in a corner.

Coming to this realization is kind of scary. But also freeing, because I’ve felt this wave of energy within me all along but have been trying to suppress it. But now I can feed it and fuel it and let it come out in all it’s glory, and see what happens.

I think the dressing part is just an outward sign of what’s going on inside, but I’m not gonna lie, it’s been pretty fun. I finally know what clothes go together, and what accessories will go with the clothes, and how to do my makeup to tie everything in together. I know what colors look good on me, and I know how to shop for what I need and what I want. I’m trying things (like earrings, belts, bracelets, skinny jeans) that I NEVER would have been brave enough to try in a million years. But I know how to try them the right way so that they work for me, instead of just looking silly. And the really cool thing is, that most of the changes I’ve made are just little tweaks…I part my hair a little further over, I do my eyeliner slightly different…but WOW the improvement is incredible!

So that’s my official Before and After picture above, but I also took lots of pictures along the way, and thought it would be fun to put them up here as evidence of my journey. Enjoy!

First thing I had to do was start wearing earrings again. During my course, I found out that my metals are gold, bronze, and copper. I also found out that my jewelry is supposed to be substantial, chunky, and textured. The minuscule amount of jewelry I owned was silver and tiny. So, I had to invest in a couple of pieces to get me started, and then work my way from there. It took me a solid two weeks to get used to wearing earrings.

This chunky tiger's eye necklace though, I fell head-over-heels in love with it immediately. The weight of it is comfortable on my neck, grounding almost. And that fact that it's made out of rocks instead of plastic, or something gives me an earthy feel that I love.

 And my purse felt huge at first, like a giant red sign calling attention to itself...but now I love it.

I did my best to make things I already owned work. I painted these earrings blue with nail polish.

And I dyed these jeans to be a dirty wash. (And I've been dyeing everything...but you've read all about that.)

My birthday came at a really opportune time this year, and I was able to go shopping and get a few pieces to fit my new style. My clothes are supposed to by textured, angular (think v-neck), and substantial (think layers, and jean fabric).

Soooo, new hair for me is all about texture, it's chunky, and has medium contrast. I've been trying to flip mine up in the back, and make it look a little more piece-y. I haven't taken the plunge to go get it cut or dyed yet, but it's in my future. ;) I also love my spiky earrings, because they fit all the requirements but aren't dangle-y, so Ollie can't pull them. And my new Go Walk Sketchers are to die for. Seriously, they are like walking on a cloud.

Here are some more necklace, earring, hair, shots...as well as more of my colors. Oh! And I should mention make-up, most notable is the lip color. Yes...for the first time in my entire life, I am wearing color on my lips. And of course my Type doesn't do anything subtly, so it's rich, dynamic color. Aka dark...think the colors black ladies would wear. :) 

This is my St. Paddy's Day green. :) 

I have acquired quite the necklace collection...still trying to come up with a brilliant idea for necklace storage, since my current jewelry box would hold, oh, maybe ONE of my necklaces. :) Also humorous, the two in the middle were my very first two necklaces...I thought they were HUGE! Haha! Now they are some of my smallest pieces.

You can see my eye liner pretty well in this picture. I go 2/3rds over on the top, and just barely enough on the bottom to create a point at the corner of my eye.

Once I was comfortable with earrings and necklaces, the next items on the list were skinny jeans and belts. And I don't mean through-your-pant-loops, hold-your-pants-up, functional belts either. I mean accessory belts. Think wide. This is the first outfit I ever wore a belt with, and I felt so awkward the first day, like everyone was looking at my belt (they weren't). But I've gotten used to how they feel, and I actually really like them! They are super for keeping that little baby pooch under control. And I really like how they look. I have a really long torso, so wide belts are a nice accessory for me. And the skinny jeans aren't bad either. I think I'll like them more when the weather warms up a bit, but right now I get cold and have to wear socks, and they just look kind of funny with socks. 

I thought the flower belt would be my favorite, and I do like it a lot, but I actually like this one the best so far. I don't know what it is about it, but I feel like it fits my personality really well. Or maybe I just feel really good wearing it, who knows. 

 My most recent venture has been scarves and bracelets. Supposedly, I can pull off a stack of bracelets that go from wrist to, pretty much, elbow... but right now one feels like a lot. And it has to be the right kinds of bracelet too. Some thing flat, that won't poke my wrist when I'm typing or writing. And I'm not a big fan of bangles or cuffs (yet). I love my scarf though. I'll take a scarf over a necklace any day of the week. Much more comfortable. Also, my Type is big into animal print...me, not so much. But this scarf was a subtle enough tribute to animal print that I could stomach it. And, actually, I really, really love this scarf. I feel like a million bucks when I have it on.

The bracelet, meh, I'm still getting used to it. But I like the way it looks. 

So their is my thirty-day journey. I still have a long way to go, and it can only get better from here. One thing I'll be experimenting with in the near future is cowboy boots! I've always wanted some, but always been so afraid...haha! And now I can't wait, because I know they'll work, and I know what to put with them to make them work.

 But seriously, I'm really satisfied with the results of this whole process. Money well spent. It's great to walk into my closet every morning and know I have something awesome to put on. And it's even better knowing that how I'm dressed on the outside, reminds me of who I am on the inside, and that it's ok to let that loud, passionate, opinionated person come out and shine like she was meant to. I don't know where I lost her in the first place, but I'm glad she's coming back.

Please Shine Down on Me!

Saturday was a lovely day, wasn’t it? Oh my goodness, we spent every possible second outside in the marvelous sunshine! I got my garden all tilled and weeded. Lincoln and Aaron gathered up and burned about a billion tumbleweeds. And we all sat out of the patio and just basked in the sun. Ahhh, sun. It always comes out to tease a little this time of year, and disappears again before the real spring. But we’ll take what we can get, and enjoy every ray of it.

Lincoln’s Latest Invention

The boys have been playing Super Heroes, that’s not a surprise. But Lincoln has been desperately trying to think of a way to actually shoot webs out of his hands like Spiderman. Today he came up with this: We tied a long piece of white yarn in a slipknot around each of his wrists, then he died the opposite end to a safety pin. The safety pin was to weigh down the string, so it would go where he wanted it to when he threw it. Pretty genius if you ask me. Ivan took it a step further, and he would actually pin the safety pin to things, and then pretend to climb along his webs to get where he wanted. Adelia, she made sure that every single one of her toys, also had webs attached to them, “just like their mommy”. All three ran around all morning “webbing” everything in site. :)

I Hug Mom

Ivan made this for me. It’s a big hug from him to me. It makes me warm and fuzzy inside. Ivan isn’t very touchy feely. He definitely only shows affection on his own terms. So I am always grateful when he chooses to show or tell me he loves me in some way. I know when he does, that it’s because he feels like our relationship is in a safe and comfortable place. Which is something I try to make happen all the time, but sometimes I don’t succeed. But sometimes I do, and then I get cute notes like this on my pillow, or little hugs, or he’ll tell me, “You’re a good mom, Mom.” And it makes everything right in the world for a little while.