Our week in just a few words

On Sunday, we had our friends the Andersons over. Their son, Simon, is in Sarah's primary class. Apparently, earlier that week he had asked his Mom if he could marry her and she had said no because she was married to Daddy. Simon was stumped for a couple of minutes and then asked her, "Who can I take to the Temple"? Mandy just said he would have to wait and see. Another couple of minutes passed before he came back and said, "I am going to take Sarah to the Temple"! How cute is he?

Fashion Show

The girls put on a fashion show for me yesterday. I had to enter my phone number to get my ticket, then I was expected to be the photographer as well as the DJ. By request, we had some very loud, very rockin Justin Beiber on and the girl's strutted down the towel runway. They are full of SASS and totally rocked the runway. It is funny to me that instinctively they pose and put their hands on their hips and such. They have never seen that being done, where do they learn it? It was a lot of fun and made a pretty rotten day, much brighter! Thanks babies!

Tulips

I found these beautiful tulips at Fry's and had to have them for Sarah's birthday. They were only $4.99 for 20 stems, so I bought two. They are so gorgeous, and have lasted so well.

Sarah Ann Thomason, age 5

My gorgeous little fiesty Sarah girl has turned 5 years old! I cannot believe it! My sweet little Bellie is not a baby anymore. It is so weird to think that my baby is so big. I can't even call her a little girl, without her telling me that she is a big girl. She is so excited to go to Eagleridge; the other day she looked at me in suprise and said, "Mom, I'm 5, am I going to school with Cat tomorrow"? I tried not to laugh and explained that she will go in the fall. Sarah just is ready to be grown up and on her own. I am thankful that she has so much stubborness in her because she will need it to make it in the world we live in, but sometimes it is hard to channel her energy for good, not evil. She can be so naughty when she wants to be, and then turn around and be so sweet and obedient. We love Sarah so much and are so thankful for her. Happy Birthday Sarah!

Valentine's Day Decor

I have little to no Valentine's Day decor. I have a few things that my Mom has made me, and stuff from my room growing up that happens to work ok, but I really don't have that many decorations or cute things. What is not to like about pink and red decorations? Nothing! So, why don't I have any? It is baffling to me too. Here is what I have done this week.



I have been wanting to do this wreath since I first saw it on Just A Girl. She changes out the color of ribbon depending on the holiday or season and moves it around occasionally. I loved it and had just never tackled it. Well, I did and I think it turned out lovely. The only problem is that it is the same color as the door. I have been wanting to paint it black....hmmm.



This was a gift bag from Hobby Lobby that I loved and wanted to use it to decorate. I just cut one side of the gift bag off and hung it up. I think I might get rid of the ribbon and glue it to a canvas and sit it in an easel somewhere next year. Super cute and cheap!




I found this black and pink board at Hobby Lobby yesterday for $2 plus 40% off. Then, I had my sister-in-law, Amanda, use her silhouette to cut out the cute vinyl. Super cute, super easy, super cheap. Now I finally have some Valentine's Day decor.

Butterflies

For Christmas, Grandma Thomason got Catherine a butterfly garden. We sent away for the caterpillars and the girl's anxiously awaited for them to come in the mail. They finally came and the caterpillars looked like little black rice specks. Not very exciting when you are expecting to see caterpillars and butterflies. They grew so fast though, within about 10 days they had grown huge and were hanging upside down. After a few more days, a hard shell encased all of the caterpillars and they moved on to their pupa stage which was the grossest for me because I then had to transfer them from their enclosed little containers to the garden. This involved me ripping the paper they were attached to off of the lid and pinning it to the side of the net. They were nasty-looking and they wobbled and it really wasn't my favorite thing. Then, they hung there for almost 10 days before the first one hatched into a beautiful painted lady butterfly. We had two the first day, then by Sunday morning 9 had hatched. The last 3 hatched on Monday and now there are no more. We released them this morning. It was a very fun experience, but I am glad it is over. The girls want me to order more, but I think it might be a once a year sort of deal. They are so beautiful though and I got to hold them while I was letting them go which was really neat.

Matthew Mead Summer Issue!!!

I am so excited to share this information with you. Matthew Mead is doing a Summer Issue! I purchased the Holiday with Matthew Mead this past Christmas; everyday from the moment I knew they had started shipping I waited at the mailbox to see if that would be the day that it came. When it did arrive, I stayed up late pouring over every article and picture spread. I even implimented a couple of Matthew's tricks using some of my Grandmother's antique ribbons and lace. I am so excited for the Summer Issue to come so that I can get more great ideas. Head over to the blog and check it all out!

Curtains

Over Christmas break I grabbed some fabric and sewed some curtains for my bedroom and for the girl's bedroom. They already had some curtains I had made from our house in Gilbert, but they weren't long enough or wide enough for their bedroom here. I ended up just sewing the new fabric right over the old because they were blackout curtains and I didn't want to waste the fabric. Small hitch, when the light shines in, which is all the time, you can see where the old curtains end. Will fix that later. On to my curtains, love the fabric! Got it at SAS in Tempe. If you haven't been you are in for a real treat. It is quite possibly the most ghetto place I have ever been to besides the ranch market and Uncle Bear's BBQ. Both the ranch market and the BBQ turned out okay, the verdict is still out on SAS. You can't argue with the prices though. My really nice, chocolate brown, gathered fabric was $3.99 a yard. The criss-crossed champagne colored fabric was $6.99 a yard. HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT? You can't! So, I guess it was worth it, but still very ghetto. As you can probably see from the pictures, I wanted to get them up for company and didn't line them yet. Will fix that later too. So, there you have it. One more sewing project to come...when it will happen is yet to be decided. Back to school.

BRADY'S BOOK!!!!!!

"Angelic:Beginning" is now officially available for download on Kindle!!! It is only $1, so please go read it and spread the word. Brady has been working so hard on this book for over a year now and we would be so thrilled if everyone fell in love with it the way that we have!

Monday, Monday...

Things around here are always crazy on Mondays; Catherine goes to Eagleridge on Mondays. We rush to get everything together and out the door, then after dropping Cat off, Sarah and I spend the majority of our day running errands and grocery shopping in Mesa. Anything that needs to get done, happens on Monday. It makes for one long day! Today, I have no grocery shopping and only have to go to the bank. I have a nice book downloaded to Kindle and am looking forward to sitting on Gram's couch while Sarah plays with cousins and enjoying a little "Me-Time". So, here I sit telling you about my day, while downstairs cereal was just dropped and spilled all over the floor and I still need to make Cat's lunch and pack her bag. I am getting into the relaxed spirit of my day, which involves not being worried about a little spilled milk....or cereal. Have a great day!