I look like Abby!

Cat with her pigtails.

Pauly Perrette with her pigtails.

Catherine needed her hair done the other day and Brady offered to do it. He did two pigtails and Cat came running up to me and said, "I look like Abby!' I thought she was talking about her cousin and just blew her off a little bit. "NO" "Like dark-haired Abby", she said. I had no idea what she was talking about until it dawned on me she was talking about Abby from NCIS played by Pauly Perrette who usually has pigtails. She was so happy we decided to take a picture! Do you see the resemblance?

Our First Strawberry

The gorgeous bounty

Wait for it....

Delicious!

Pictures of Curtains!

Over-all effect

Looking up

Close up of the fabric and trim

A little perspective on how big these really are. They make our huge entertainment center look like a little ant

The dining room curtains

The decorative wall. The color is off a little from the flash, but it looked worse without it.

A close up of the dining room fabric, which I personally think is really beautiful. It took me about a week to get these all knocked out. The living room ones took the longest just because it took forever to get the fabric laid out and straight so that I could cut it; sewing it only took about an hour per curtain once it was cut. I had to sew creatively because the store in Phoenix had 30 yards and I had to order 10 yards from Tucson, so I had to piece them together so that I could get the most long pieces without seams. It was a little tricky, but I figured it out and I love them!

Easter 09

Sarah cracking herself up with her bedhead and goofy antics.

Cat and Sarah in their Easter aprons from Grammy and Grampy.

The all-famous chocolate Easter bunny.

Sarah in all of her Easter cuteness!

Striking a pose!

A picture of myself I was willing to put up.

The girls and I in our Easter attire.

Catherine and I

Sarah dying her Easter eggs

Catherine dying eggs

The finished product. Aren't they just so colorful to look at?

Our family picture

Cat in her Easter dress

Sarah hunting eggs in the living room

Cat hunting eggs. We had a great time dying eggs, hunting them and looking pretty on Easter.

Family Reunion

We had a really good time during the 09 Frownfelter Family Reunion. It was the first time in 5 years that all of us have been together as a family. The kids all had a good time playing together and so did all of us adults.

We had a blast at Turf Paradise horse racing track! The kids all loved seeing the horses and the guys really got into picking out the winning horses.

Cat and Grampy; doesn't she look adorable in her derby hat?!

Sarah wearing Auntie Staci's bug glasses.

We also celebrated Auntie Suzi's Birthday while everyone was together.

The 4 of us girls.

Me realizing in my haste to get the cake cooled and glazed that I hadn't put any ganache in the middle and that the cake was just falling apart. Go me...

Fabric, Fabric and more Fabric!

Isn't it amazing how the more you try to accomplish tasks and get things cleaned up and in order, the more messy and unorganized they have to become first? This week in preparation for my family reunion, we have cleaned out the garage and the toy room. We bought shelves for the garage and also a new fridge/freezer for all of my produce and farm fresh goodies. Our nursery was doing a toy drive so that was an easy fix to march our donations over to a friend's house. Two rooms down, all of the rest to do. I did finish the 5 curtains that I had left to sew. Between all 5 I sewed roughly 32 1/2 yards or 97 1/2 ft. of fabric this week, plus trim. I feel a sense of accomplishment over that one. Now, I just have to get the rest of the house done this weekend. Those were the big ones, but the little dusting, vacuuming and laundry seem so much bigger and more daunting to me. Brady has been a little under the weather, so the curtains did not get hung today, but hopefully tomorrow and I will post pictures. I am so excited to see my family!

The Garden

The first box I planted out of 6 in our garden

The dirty work

Some of the herbs and some flowers went on the patio in planters

Here is the basil; it is just starting to really come up

These are the peas, I love how fast they have grown

This is spinach and it was also one of the first to sprout which is a miracle because I planted them a little late in the season and didn't think they would make it

Here is my little bean sprout. It is pushing itself up through the dirt as I write. It is such a phenomenal feeling to work so hard each day and see no progress and then to see a little shoot or sprout and have such feelings of joy and accomplishment! I grew up having a garden and taking it for granted that it always grew and turned out. My Dad is an expert gardener and has always kept us eating peas, corn, carrot, cukes (cucumbers), radishes, tomatoes and so many other fruits and vegetables straight from the garden. My Mom would always yell from the kitchen that we needed to wash them, and my Dad would answer that a little dirt never hurt anyone and it was minerals. I used to sit on the back porch and eat a sun kissed tomato with salt. We would pick our raspberries right off of the vine. I watched as my Dad transplanted a black berry bush from my Grandparents house and nurtured it for at least 10 years until it is now growing plenty of juicy, lush berries. We have had a whole separate garden just for potatoes and grown wacky rhubarb, dark delicious beets, tangy cantaloupe and once a white pumpkin that glowed in the dark. We always just had a garden. My Mom would can things and we would eat them year round. I didn't realize how much I missed all of that until we were advised by our Stake Presidency to follow the teachings of the Prophet and plant a garden now. There is a cute primary song that says:

The Prophet says to plant a garden, so that's what we'll do,

For God has given rich, brown soil, the rain and sunshine too.

And if we plant the seeds just right, and tend them carefully,

Before we know, good things will grow, to feed our family.

I am so happy that we received the revelation to plant a garden so that I could honor the memories that I have and also to make memories with my children as they watch our garden grow and learn to follow the teachings of the Prophet. I love going out every morning in the sunshine and watering the tiny little green sprouts. I hope that they all grow! Even if I lose some, I am learning something new that I can pass on to my kids and hopefully it will mean as much to them as it has to me.

Little Boo has left the building

Sarah has finally given up her little boo (pacifier). With Catherine we bribed her with a Snow White Barbie and a toy horse. Sarah was much harder. We tried candy, treats, balloons, a new toy, 2 new toys, any toy at Walmart...well, she took us at our word and picked the biggest toy she could find that she thought would make it worth it. We made her wait a week while she adjusted to not having one before she got her reward. Each night when she was sad and crying Brady would take her out to the garage to look at her car box. After her week was up, Brady put the car together and left it in the garage while she was sleeping. When she woke up she got to go out and get in. She was sooooo excited and she only threatened to take it back to Walmart twice. She is still having a rough time adjusting and is not sleeping as well, but she is no longer asking for it and talks about being a big girl. When she is particularly sad, she goes out and drives her car around. I am thankful for how quickly and painlessly the whole thing went!

Cat's Birthday

Cat opening her new Mr. Potato Head. These are a huge hit in our family!

Cat loved her Barbie horse from Sarah.

Cat wearing her new horse necklace from Auntie Suzi and Uncle Rod

Auntie Suzi found a perfect gift for Cat. The little horse charm was adorable and just right for a little girl who wants nothing more than to keep a horse in our backyard.

Cat with her pile before she opened all of them. She is such a sweet, obedient child! I can't imagine life without my little helper! She is one of the most helpful children I have ever known. It is just her nature to want to be with me and please me. She is always smiling and trying to do what is right. I couldn't have asked for a better first child to help me learn and to grow with. She takes my mistakes in stride and always forgives me. Even when I don't learn the first time. She is smart and funny and beautiful and I love her so much!

Never A Moment's Peace

So today, I am getting ready to go to the temple. I needed to take a shower and get ready to go, so I told the girls the drill. No answering phone, doors or going outside; come get Mommy! I took a leisurely shower, letting the nice hot water rinse away all of my nasty feelings from my horrible day yesterday. I felt like I was just enjoying one of the first silent moments in my motherhood career. I felt acomplished that my children were finally old enough to stay out of trouble and to entertain themselves for 15 minutes. How WRONG I was! I was feeling so serene and prepared to go to the temple and feel the spirit. I was envisioning what a fufilling trip it would be and how I was going to feel less rushed and distracted than normal. How beautiful the day outside was and how good I was going to smell and look. I turn off the water to hear a cresendo of, "Mommy, I'm done!" By this point she was practically in tears, which meant she had been done and calling for a while. I wrapped up and dripping went out to wipe her. I asked her where she was and heard, "downstairs". Weird, I thought, we have had this conversation like 100 times; you go potty where Mommy is and you tell her you are going. I trudged down and go to wipe her only to realize there is no TP. Weird again, I just replaced the powder room TP yesterday, it shouldn't be gone. It was....every scrap was in the toilet, so much in fact, that it had absorbed all of the water and there was none left. About this moment, all of my carefully laid plans for a spiritual day flew, no raced, out the window amid my inner screams and very realistic biting of my tongue. I managed to finally get rid of all the TP and Sarah did get a spanking, I am not that patient yet. At which point I gave up ever feeling like a woman again, I am completely resigned to only being a mother from this point onward. I will never expect a moment to myself again, nor the ablitity to pee with the door shut and no one watching. I will not expect to eat my own food or watch something that is not a cartoon. Henceforth I vow to only live for my children and not myself, to be selfless in the face of adversity...blah, blah, blah...you didn't think I was serious did you? I do feel like a hopeless mess of a mother and woman, but on the bright side I have now purged myself of all my feelings and emotionally barfed on all of you, so...I feel better. Thanks!