Finally! The Goods Have Arrived!

Our hens have finally started laying! The blue comes from our Americauna, Isa, and the brown comes from our Buff Orpington, Noodle. Isa started laying first and delivered almost a dozen eggs before Noodle joined in. We get one egg from each hen per day so we get a baker's dozen a week. Not bad! Our other Buff, Mrs. Buff, is possibly Mr. Buff and has become very aggressive and noisy. We are going to have her looked at, but soon I fear that Mrs./Mr. Buff will be chicken pot pie. Wish me luck! For now, we are enjoying having fresh, yummy eggs straight from our backyard!

Catherine's Birthday

Catherine had a sweet and relaxing birthday. She requested BLTs for dinner and lemon cake, lemon ice cream, and lemonade. Yellow is her favorite color so I think that is where the theme came from. Cat is such a joy to have in my life. She takes such joy from being a helper to Mom and by being nice to everyone. We love her so much and it was so good to celebrate her for an entire day.

Part Two

The whole family came over for dinner for the girl's birthdays. We had a taco salad bar and cupcakes and ice cream. It was again, low-key and relaxing. It was also Randy's last night before being deployed overseas so it was nice to get to spend some time with him.

The Girl's Birthday Party Part One

This year we did really low-key birthday parties for the girls. They had a friend party with friends from church and the neighborhood and then we did our family party that evening. We played Wii and Kinect and board games and then ate cupcakes and had a treasure hunt. It was nice to relax and have a good time.

One Last Pretty

I made this little lovely the day before Valentine's Day. It is just a piece of jute that I tied a bajillion little pieces of ribbon to. I sat and tied ribbons while watching, "Downton Abbey" on Netflix. If you haven't seen it you should! It was such a simple little project I couldn't resist finishing it for this year.

Making "Old-Fashioned" Valentines

I asked the girls if they wanted to make Valentines, I received blank stares from both of them. Cat said, "Mom, I already wrote my name on all of my valentine's". This is when I sighed, sat down, and got really nostalgic. I had been collecting crafties since January to make some real Valentines. The kind with paper heart doilies, glue, glitter and stickers. It was time for some drastic action! I explained to the girls that giving valentines was a victorian-era practice and that girls their age would spend hours gluing and cutting and making special valentines to give to people; that it was fun and that we would do it together. They caught on quickly and sat down at the table to craft beautiful works of art. A little glitter, some glue and a lot of Frank Sinatra on Pandora and we made some of the most beautiful valentines ever! We sat at the kitchen table for a good three hours. It was fantastic!

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!