let's hear it for our moms

one of the best ideas i've ever had was to take photographs with the kids each year on mother's day. it's so fun to look back and see how everyone looks, and for me, an opportunity to reflect on the past year and how i've grown as a mother. the kids know it's photo-shoot day and are pretty good to pose for me but somehow even after all these years, spencer still rushes home from church to change clothes, only to be disappointed about having to change back into them again. some day we'll get this down. we all took turns with the camera and i was so pleased with the results, i especially loved some of the self-poraits. so, mother's day admittedly, is not my favorite holiday but this year was a little better because of a few things...1. i tried to enjoy the talks in sacrament meeting instead of sitting there feeling like a big fat failure. 2. i spent a good amount of time with the kids, just playing, having fun and enjoying time with them 3. i focused on the moms in our life, and tried to be as thoughtful about them and their gifts and cards as i would want someone to be about mine.

4. my super awesome SIL jenny made me the most darling skirt which made me feel cute all day long, feeling cute is not a small thing, especially for me. unfortunately i didn't get a photo of it and will have to post about her awesomeness later. so, in keeping with the spirit of feeling good about mother's day, i've decided to post a few motherhood related things that i think i do well. then next year when i'm feeling like a loser again i can look back and be reminded! some of today's photos intermixed with my list...

1. i'm not afraid to be silly with my kids, silly is important and i do this really well.

2. i am a hugger and a lip kisser and hand both out on a regular basis. 3. i volunteer at their schools so they can see me as a presence in their lives outside of our home. 4. i can allow them to embrace their inner rebel without freaking out - too much. 5. i've tried to instill my love of reading in them, some have it more than others. 6. i am not above apologizing for my melt-downs. i think it's important to show them that i'm human but that even grown-ups have to say they're sorry.

7. i LOVE and ADORE my kids and tell them a lot and try to show them even more than i tell them.

i'm so lucky, how did i get so lucky?

i was also super-inspired by kristi's post about elder ballard's talk about mothers. i loved reading clips from his talk while viewing her photographs, it made everything he said very personal, like he was talking directly to her. inspired enough, that i am copying this wonderful idea and doing this for myself, she's always encouraging us to copy her ideas, so here i go...

"I surely know that there is no role in life more essential and more eternal than that of motherhood." "There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be “full-time moms,” at least during the most formative years of their children’s lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part- or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." "There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration.There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction."Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs." "Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together." “Behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6). I hope all of you dear sisters, married or single, never wonder if you have worth in the sight of the Lord and to the leaders of the Church. We love you. We respect you and appreciate your influence in preserving the family and assisting with the growth and the spiritual vitality of the Church. Let us remember that “the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World”). The scriptures and the teachings of the prophets and apostles help all family members to prepare together now to be together through all eternity. I pray that God will continually bless the women of the Church to find joy and happiness in their sacred roles as daughters of God."

sweet surprises

last thursday i was looking forward to staying home all day for the first time in a while. lauri came over to put together cards for card swap, i don't know why i didn't take a photo, probably because my hair was atrocious. while digging through a bucket of punches i found a happy little surprise, the sd card that had gone missing about 18 months ago was in there! i thought for sure ethan had swallowed it, i could do a whole blog entry about the crazy things that kid swallows. i hurridly put it in the reader and was so happy with what i found. photos of spencer's tenth birthday - look at his short hair! funny photos of ethan's tumbling stage...and a darling photo of allie with ethan...the best part though...baby joey's birthday! look at that little guy! i remember feeling so awful when the card went missing and telling jenny that some day we would find it and it would be a little treat to see all the newborn pics of little joey and today it actually happened! later when i went to pick allie up from school i noticed the lilac bushes were just beginning to bloom, i couldn't resist a few photos.lilac bushes could possibly be my favorite plant ever, the smell is amazing and they're just so pretty to look at. i'm so lucky that the people who lived here long ago planted several bushes that i get to enjoy now. i planted a few of them in my old house and hope that whoever lives there now feels the same way. right around the time that i was beginning to warm up the oven for a dinner that i didn't feel like cooking, lauri called and invited us to eat her fabulous oriental chicken salad!the recipe makes such a big batch and doesn't stay good for very long, and she knows it's my favorite so she was sweet enough to invite us over to eat. happy day! no cooking and great dinner company. sweet surprises all day long.

the new "f" word is "fundraising"

i have been dragging my feet about this post forever, mostly because i'm so sick to death of it that i don't even want to think about it any more. also because it was such a huge project that it seems daunting to try and sum it up without putting people to sleep. i'll do my best... this is kristy and i's second (and last) year putting together the gift baskets for our elementary school's fundraiser, and this year came way too soon because we were both still having serious burn-out left over from last year. raising money for the school was the obvious benefit, but my friendship with kristy has been the biggest blessing that has come from this ridiculous project. it has made all the time and errand running and grief worth it in the end. i don't know how i could've done it without her, i would've thrown in the cellophane and given up a long time ago! she is motivated and focused and can pull me out of the whole i wanted to crawl into more than once over the last few months. she also has magical wrapping and bow-tieing skills, she can wrap baskets without another person's help, how does she do this?these are not skills that i posess, i need another set of hands to help lift and gather and tie. she's also a ton of fun, we laughed, a lot, especially late at night and while we were shopping. so basically, the recipe for a successful gift basket fundraiser is simple...1. two friends who don't mind spending every waking moment of april and more togther, including a few super-late nights the weekend before the baskets go on display. 2. candy and diet coke, lots and lots of diet coke. 3. a never-ending budget for eating out because we were too busy to cook for our families and because we are always together for lunch. (bajio was one of our faves so we didn't get too burned out on burgers - plus, they have the best coke!) 4. cellophane, tons and tons of cellophane. 5. super-patient husbands who don't complain too much when your basement looks like a cellophane bomb went off down there and you become incapable of doing any laundry...in the end, we had 40 plus baskets that turned out fantastic and raised great money for technology for our school. these photos do not do them justice, for one thing, i'm sparing you the bordem of looking at each and every one, but there were several tables with big baskets like these, cellophane makes everything prettier! kristy told me today that the last basket was being picked up on monday....halleujah! we're done! now i've got go do some laundry...

blogging goodness

i had been looking forward to last saturday's date, may 3rd, for a long time for several reasons. it would mean the first day after the gift basket bidding was officially closed and so that is obviously huge, but it was really the blog party that i couldn't wait for. for almost a year now i've been reading jill's and kristi's and michelle's blogs and feeling sort of guilty - sort of a voyeur kind of guilt i guess, like maybe because i hadn't met them i didn't really have a right getting to know them on such a personal level. make sense? i was super excited to meet them in person, along with several other women i've grown to admire, the anticipation leading up to the party felt sort of like a class reunion! these girls put on a great party, there was tons of great food - just look at these cupcakes with ribbons! and kristi thought of the ribbon-adorned keyboards as centerpieces - so clever! when we first walked in, jill was right there to greet us and i said, "hi jill, i'm wende" and she laughed and said, "i know who you are!" and gave me a big hug. that was such a great moment for me, it was a little surreal to be taking photographs and having a conversation but at the same time felt totally natural because i know her already! it was great meeting kristi too, i have really loved reading about her cute girls, especially her washington d.c. posts because they take me back to when we lived there. i've also copied several of her ideas already so it seemed only appropriate to be able to thank her in person for sharing her brain with the rest of us - i'm so glad she does! michelle was darling and her lipstick was perfect - of course i was sort of expecting that, and chatting with her was just so delightful, i'm such a fan of her beautiful blog and it was nice to have the opportunitity to tell her so. i met lots of fabulous women and especially loved how much we laughed and laughed trying to get a good group photo. kristi requested the "jazz hands" pose which of course made us laugh harder! good times. i needed those laughs after the stressful couple of months with the fundraiser, it felt so good to stay out until 1:30am! it's been a long time since i've done that just for fun. i loved sharing the experience with my fellow blogger moms, i mean the local ones. of course we all went together and it made it a whole lot less scary to mingle and meet other people knowing we were all there supporting each other. what i really want to say in this post that's getting longer by the minute, is what a blessing blogging has been to me. i draw strength from all these women somehow and it buoys me up to share in their triumphs and struggles because i realize we are all the same this way, we all have good days and bad. and i'm grateful for friends, because seriously, who doesn't need a friend? i love these girls! thanks so much to jill, kristi and michelle for putting on such a great event!

apey's thirty!

wednesday was apey's 30th birthday and we celebrated a day late by heading to our favorite place, HAPPY SUMO at the gateway mall. lauri and i have loved this place for a long time because we are huge sushi lovers, this place has spoiled us on being able to eat it anywhere else. april is not a sushi fan, but they have awesome food besides sushi, like apey's favorite salmon salad. the babies made it more interesting but we still enjoyed super yummy food and great company. and, april found out some exciting news yesterday...she's haiving a BOY! i knew it! congratulations apey! in honor of her birthday, here's her list...

1. apey is always smiling, seriously, always.

2. she makes the cutest babies, i can't wait to see what she's brewing up this time.

3. whenever she comes over to my house, she cleans out the fridge and pantry for me, she's very organized.

4. she has tended my kids a couple of different times while rich and i went on vacation, when we're gone i never have to worry about a thing.

5. she's a wonderful chef and always brings me yummy leftovers.

6. she is not afraid to be silly and my kids love her for this.

7. she is a "wordy" and loves to find gramatical errors in everything printed, her and rich do the crossword puzzle every sunday - they're only ones in the family smart enough to do this.

8. she is a saint for putting up with my moody brother. (love ya jake)

9. she's slowly learning to love herself as much as everyone else.

10. she's a wonderful friend, and SISTER!

love ya apey! happy 30th!

the shoes

a few months ago at target, ethan discovered these super-ugly lightning mcqueen faux crocs and he had to hold them for the rest of the time we were there. every time we've gon to target since then (and i'm averaging about 4 times a week at that dang place) he points towards the direction of the shoes and says with a serious face, "nnn-nnn sooos?" - let me translate "nnn-nnn" which sounds like a car reving noise, is how he says "lightning" and "sooos" is how he says "shoes". he never forgot they were there! i'm normally not the mom that buys tons of clothes, especially shoes, that are character themed but after the twenty-something trip to target and him begging to go see them, i finally caved and bought them. so, they could be the ugliest pair of shoes i've ever seen, but the toddler loves them and more importantly, will wear them, so i guess that's all that matters.

the entorage

lately ethan has been insisting on taking his "entroage" every where we go including from room to room. the toys in his entroage vary - usually whatever is in his line of sight the second i tell him it's time to go - but his favorites are the big toy story character dolls we bought for taylor, allie and spencer during our trip to disneyland when they were younger. ethan was super excited when taylor found them stashed in a rubbermaid in the basement. i am usually the opposite of a hoarder, cleaning out closets constantly so i'm grateful i had enough sense in me to save these guys. since then, they have taken quite the beating being drug around everywhere we go. ethan's voacbulary has grown enormously, including the names of the members of the entorage. "wee-wee" is woody, "bzzzz" is buzz lightyear, "buddy" is bulls-eye the horse and "daddy" is jessie. (he calls rich "papa"). he is constantly telling me a story about one of them and usually tells me the same story 20,000 times a day. if i'm not looking him in the eye he puts his hand on my cheek to guide my eyes towards his while saying, "mama mama mama" until he has my full attention. most of the time this is really cute.

funny boy

thursday was shopping day with lauri, we headed to the stores to run errands, it's always more fun with a friend. my one goal was to buy clothes for ME and not for allie, i always end up buying nothing for me but something for allie. ethan was mostly well-behaved for a toddler who was drug around all day long, he usually doesn't mind the stroller too much, just don't try to put him in a shopping cart - eeek. while walking around a department store i could hear him laughing in the stroller but with the sun visor thing up i couldn't see what was so funny. something was cracking him up because he just kept giggling, those great belly laughs too that are so contageous! i finally glanced down for some reason and saw his funny little face smiling back at me through the small plastic window in the visor. he had figured out that he could see me if he turned around in the stroller and looked up. i'm still not sure what was so funny about this, but apparently i'm a very entertaining shopper. once i realized what he was up to i joined in the belly laughing, he's just so funny.