Moms R Us

These are from Mother's Day 11 years ago.  It must have been really bright and sunny out, hard for the kids to keep their eyes open.

And their heads up and turned the right way (love Emma's hands on Roxie's head!)

I got teary finding these old Mother's Day photos.  This is what it is like, in the trenches!  

I think of my daughters and wonder what they think it is like being a mom. 

Being the oldest in a big family gives you lots of chances to feel the frustrations of being a mom without the benefits of having a husband to help and the joy of seeing your children grow, learn, and love you back!

(yesterday at DC Temple with Suzanna)

I want my daughters to look forward to motherhood.  Not to feel rushed, but positive about the potential, possibilities, and the promises.

(Flour Baby Mahonri was a lot of work and good practice for Roxie, but real babies are more rewarding, more work, but easier to love as you serve them.)

 (Fairy Festival in Darlington yesterday!).

A Wedding to Create A Marriage: Public, Official, & Permanent

Me & husband of 25 years.  He is a keeper, yes.

 Weddings are fun!  Celebrating is fun!  I love to see couples starting out together...

How cool is an OREO tower?  There was a fountain of milk next to it (instead of a chocolate fountain, same hardware).  Below is their cake (top layer was an actual cake, rest of tiers were triangular cut cheesecake brownies).

Butterflies everywhere, because she loves them, and he proposed with one:

Cute story:  they love to Geo-cache, and he planted a "fake" one, complete with log.  When she found it, she tried to put it back, saying it was somebody's proposal, turned around and saw him down on one knee with a ring..

Jon Schmidt played the prelude--so we have something in common with this couple!  The groom sang a song to her that was swooning romantic.  The bishop married them in a nice ceremony.  She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He is not.  He comes to Church with her and attends John's Sunday School class so we have gotten to know him a little bit.

They obliged me with a photo kiss.  Actually, I have never seen such a kissy couple at a reception! Super happy, sweet vows exchanged (she loves him more than milk.  And more than bacon.  Made everyone laugh, but by the end we were all teary).

Part of our gift to the newlyweds was a Mr & Mrs.  Actually, it was really just a fun way to decorate the package.
During the reception there were several drawings--at the guest book spot there was a big jar we could put our name in to win one of her beautiful vases and pots--she just graduated from BYU-Idaho with an art degree, emphasis ceramics.  It made me want to stay to the end!

I am convinced that all the details of the party don't matter as much as how the newlyweds treat each other, if they stick together at the reception, if they kiss and kiss and kiss blissfully unaware of anything but each other in that moment...Dancing is fun.  Details of decorating can be memorable.  Food details can be forgotten.  But how happy the new couple is, how they hold on to each other, how you can feel their love for each other--that is the celebration.  That is what you think about as you walk back to your car hugging your sweetie and feeling grateful for marriage and love and couples who want to be together!


Psychology Today article:  Marriage is the process by which two people who love each other make their relationship public, official, and permanent.

Double Baby Shower (FLOUR BABY)

 We had a baby shower for our 12-almost-13 year old's baby boy.  And for another newborn baby boy of a 13 year old father.  Mahonri and Leo, each held by their single parents below.

When I invited her brother Max, out of context, his eyes widened...

(Roxie with GREAT GRANDPA John!)

And I had to quickly explain it is an English class assignment, to carry and care for a 5 lbs sack of flour, dressed up in baby clothes, swaddled.  Be a parent for a week and a half, 24 hours every day.  Unless you contract a babysitter, which you have to pay in chores.  Not a class on human development (carry an egg) but a writing assignment, similar to the experiment that takes place in the book, Flour Babies, by Anne Fine.

Roxie says Mahonri is getting heavier.  He goes everywhere in her arms.  No stroller or baby carrier allowed (although a health teacher is doing project as well, and he has baby carrier).  No babies in backpacks or grocery sacks.  Forbidden to keep in your locker or home alone.  Protect your baby from the weather (we had a crazy storm yesterday and it was tough to keep him dry!) She has been very faithful and sweet with him, and says, delightedly, that he takes lots of naps, so she can read.

Grandma & Grandpa brought presents:

One of my favorite games we played:  guess the correct popular baby names by decade according to Census information.  (I only used the top 20 names, for years 2000, 1990, 1960, 1940, 1910, 1880, put them out of order on sheet and let them circle correct decade).  Grandma Sandy and Laura both got them all correct. 

Smell/taste/guess 10 bottles of unlabeled baby food. GROSS!  The Texas Tacos and cupcakes made up for it!

Make as many words as you can from the baby's name.

NOT say "baby" "boy" or "son" or your corsage (tissue paper glued to clothes pin) gets taken away by whomever caught you saying the word.

Carry/waddle with a ping pong ball between your legs and drop it successfully into a cup.  Balloons under shirt makes it so you can't see your knees or the cup--we didn't do that detail with a mixed gender guest crowd.

Blindfolded undress (baby doll, not REAL flour babies!) and change baby's diaper!

Write down wishes/blessings for baby.

So far Roxie has been a great mom!

And this gives us a good chance to pass on what we learned as parents:

(Yes, that is a MAM pacifier, hot glued in place & GRANDPA John showing off his burping skills!)

I am a grandma of a flour baby, and we have had fun with outfits, trying not to give too much advice. I am surprisingly protective and fiercely loyal to this little guy, and it is comforting holding him, rocking him with that dance/rhythm that comes back with a baby in your arms.  There is power in role play.  I look forward to reading Roxie's project at the end of the week and a half.

She has already told me she would like to find Sunday clothes for him for Church, maybe a bow tie or something...

Homemade Gifts for Mother's Day

If you soak these craft sticks for 24 hours, or boil them for 15 minutes, they become bendable, pliable.  To make the cuff small enough, a jelly jar had the smallest curve circumference.  DO NOT USE slopped glasses like the one pictured above.  STRAIGHT sided glasses, mugs, or jars work better for a consistent curve.  Too big, and the cuff falls right off your wrist.  They are still bendy when dry, so don't worry about making them "too small"--smaller the better.

 Dry for 24 hours, then write a statement word with regular Elmer's white glue.  Let dry.  Rub wood stain over craft stick, let dry, and finish with protective clear coat.

Permanent sharpie markers also work to decorate, but bleed into wood...paint, decoupage with pretty paper, lots of options!

Making wrist cuffs for Mother's Day craft with seminary students!

My favorite is "WOW" or "MOM" depending on which way you read it.

Other suggestions: wise, grace, lovely, gorgeous, faithful, vibrant, friendly, peace, courage, truthful, virtue...

Spooning, Rubberbands & CDs

Using everyday objects for crafting is crazy fun!  I had to try a plastic spoon mirror as seen all over Pintrist  (I pointed spoon fronts towards mirror) hot glued to round mirror.  Spoons are a metallic gold from Ollie's, took almost 3 bags (so just shy of 150 spoons for 3 rows).

Rubber bands wrap a gift, and CD's cut with regular scissors into star shapes and hung from drapery rod with fishing line.  I love to see them twirl and reflect light from window in the morning!  (LOOK, blooming azalea bushes!  Spring is gorgeous here in Maryland!)

Decorating Back Yard: trampoline pool noodles & moss graffiti

Saw this idea on pintrist: take pool noodle foam and cut to wrap around trampoline springs!  I used a bread knife, eyeballed the length, and sliced a vertical line to open noodle and wrap around spring without removing spring.  11 noodles almost fit all the way around, really need one more for this big trampoline.  If they are purely decorative or really help keep kids safe, I don't know.  But it looks so good and brightens up this corner of yard!  I wanted yellow ones (super big ones at Walmart), but they were 4 times as expensive.  Thank you, dollar store won with a shade of turquoise and lighter blue.

The "Jump 4 Joy" made with graffit moss:

Directions vary (some recipes suggest using cheap beer or yougurt), but most agree to wash dirt from moss, put in blender with buttermilk, little sugar, grind up to release moss spores, and "paint" on brick and keep moist with spray bottle to help it take root and grow.   My mixture was so runny it was hard to keep it from dripping or to make smaller letters...I am curious to see how well these take off growing.  All are on the north-shady side of our home.  I will take photos in a few weeks to show the progress or the pintrist-fail...

Why I'd Rather Paint than Sand (refinishing takes too much time)

I can start in the morning with a painting project and using primer and still get two-three coats of paint applied and clean up all in one day. Project finished. No patience needed. Immediate gratification. Instant beauty. Quick clean, fast smooth, wonderful-looking glory.

Proof I'd rather repaint than sand. How many colors has this door been? When we bought this home 6 years ago the back kitchen door was scratched up, barn red paint over moldy wood. I cleaned it, primed it hot pink (I had two colors of primer, hot pink and bright turquoise that year), painted it khaki beige to match garage/living room and then tried a dark dark teal that read as black from a distance, then a bright mint that last almost three years.

It is an architectural dig, peeling back layers of color.

And it is sloooooooow going. Scrape. Scrape. Sand. Reapply spray-on paint remover. Scrape. Scrape.

I finally cleaned up the wood, but it still needs more sanding, hopefully with a borrowed power tool. Or maybe bleaching to get rid of past stains. And then a protective clear coat of polyurethane. Then it will be back to its original 1950 retro glory days!http://orangeismyfavoritecolormostdays.blogspot.com/