Prom 2014 #2

Teeny Bopper was asked to go to prom at Red Mountain this year as well as Heritage. Her date was a boy she has done a few plays with through AYT.  She wore her "princess dress", which she got several years ago as a choir dress.  I think this was a perfect application of such a lovely dress. She did hot pink accents and was a Hot-to-trot!!! 
I ended up making boutenniers for both of her dates out of a bouquet from Trader Joes. We got her necklace, the pink roses for the earrings and the pink flower in her hair at Hobby Lobby.  The earrings were from the paper crafting section. We just stuck them onto some blank earring studs and clipped the flower onto a headband we already had. He was a very nice date, and she was glad she got to go.
Without further adieu, the pics of Prom 2.0.

 OK, LOVE the shoes!!!

Prom 2014 #1

Teeny Bopper got asked to two different Proms this year. Yes, she is hot stuff. Obviously. :)
Her good friend Andrew asked her to her school's Prom. The theme was Masquerade, but neither of them wanted to wear masks. Teeny Bopper did want to dress in kind of a modern 20's look, which she rocked the socks off of.
We hired a friend in the ward to make her dress. I ended up making the shrug, because we didn't decide what we wanted in enough time to have it made with the dress. I regret that because I really struggled with that jacket, but on the other hand I was able to tailor it just right for her. At any rate it's done now and the sting of frustration is gone. haha
It was a busy day of preparation today. We had Nana come over and do her hair, and thank goodness we did! She knew how to do the finger waves we tried and tried to do and it came out very authentic 20's, I thought. I made the jacket and the boutenniere, and her headband all today. Yeah, I should have spread those things out but whatever. It really wasn't that stressful, except for the jacket that made me want to curse.
Anyhoo, Andrew picked TB up, they exchanged flowers and then we were off to the dinner location to take pictures. Dinner was set up in Andrew's grandpa's backyard, and it was so charming.
There was a golf course nearby, so we took most of the shots there. It was getting really dark, so the pictures came out pretty grainy. It actually kind of worked with the vintage look they were sporting, though. Here are some fav's:

 

And here is my favorite of the night:

 

 

I don't know why, I just LOVE this one.  Hello, Great Gatsby!!  Some lovely ladies and sweet gangsta's goin on there.  Something like that.  So, it was the best dance ever and everyone lived happily ever after. The End.

Bedroom Updates

My bedroom was feeling a little blah. The only real color (besides occassional piles of laundry) was my two citron pillows and one teal pillow. 

 

As you can see, there was also an issue with stuff collecting on the sides of the bed.  Our little nightstands seem to be a little too small for us, especially for DH with his c-pap machine on there.  That is why we have wall sconces instead of bedside lamps; there just wasn't any room for a lamp on those teeny tables. (and why do we so many cords???)
I got some money for my birthday, so I went to IKEA and got a curtain rod.  I debated on whether or not to make one like I did downstairs from metal conduit and other supplies, but it was only slightly more to get the IKEA one, and it was ready to install immediately. No waiting around for paint to dry and all that, so I went that route. SO glad!  I then went to Ross and found a sheet set that was just the right color (it took 3 sheet sets to get it right!  i just kept returning the ones that weren't right) and made basic curtains.

It makes such a big difference! It adds color and richness to the room.  I also went to Goodwill to look for nightstands, and found this one that is really well made and has a lovely shape to it.  (read: will get a paint job one if these days)  I put it on DH's side and corralled all his clutter in it.  Then for a temporary solution on my side I put his old little table next to mine.  It doesn't look too bad at all!  Good enough to not drive me crazy until I can get a new table. Then these little tables can go to one of the kids rooms.  All my clutter fit into these and I feel like the room is so much cleaner! I stuck my church bag and choir bag in the little space next to my tables for easy access.

I dressed up my side with a few accessories, but they are temporary until I figure out what to put there and on the dresser.
I think the room looks much nicer now!!  Hurray for the little changes that make a big difference!

One more week!!

Only one more week until my manly, hunky, handsome husband graduates with his Bachelor's degree!!!  We are ALL super excited, because we will have a daddy back for the summer!  He actually went 3 days last week without seeing the boys AT ALL.  He left before they were up and got home really late so never even saw them.  That is sad. I am so, so proud of DH for working so hard. He isn't just going for finishing. Nope. He has been gettting all straight A's and is on the Dean's list and graduating with honors.  He has had a couple of his teachers tell him they are not sure what to do with a student who writes better than they do.  My attitude would be just do enough to get it done, but not him.  OK, I say that now, but when I was in school I always worked for A's as well.  I don't know if I would have the same attitude now or not.  A friend recently told me the mantra of the Engineering college is "C's get degrees!".  I love it.
I love you, honey!  And cannot wait to have you back!  Then after the summer, it's on to the Master's!
 Heaven help us.

moments

The best moment of my day-when Dr. D came up and gave me the sweetest sincere hug and a kiss on the cheek. Randomly and with no words spoken. Just a tender moment shared.
Years ago I made a sign for a relief society craft that said "the joy of motherhood is in moments". I thought it was cute because it was about my favorite things -motherhood.  And, you know. It was a craft and we all know I have a passion for crafts. So I made it but didn't really get it. It has taken me more years of ups and downs as a mother to fully understand that quote and agree with my whole heart. Motherhood is made by moments like my hug today.
I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Oh, baby!

Oh, this little sweetie captured my heart!  She is pure baby bliss.  I was privileged to take some pictures of her at one week old, and here are a few of my favorites.   I am still just dying over how little and sweet she is!!  

See what I mean???

She has lots of soft baby hair.  We tried to spike it a bit, but she wasn't too happy with her head being messed with at the moment.

Oh, how I love this squishy face look!!

We were even lucky enough to catch a little smile!!

And we can't leave out the flower-that-is-bigger-than-baby's-head shot.  Kink of reminiscent of Anne Geddes, no?

Thanks for letting me take these!!

quick post about the kids

Little miss-informed us last night that she wants to have two children from her own uterus, and then adopt twins from China. A boy and a girl, and the girl WILL have bangs.

Tailgunner-his new name is B-dog. (Self given) he is so pleased whenever I remember to call him that and to feed him "dog food", brush his teeth with "dog paste", groom his paws, etc.  I really do try but sometimes in forget. The smile on his face when I get it right is so cute though. I will try my doggone best, hee hee.

Teeny bopper-is doing a research paper on the paleo diet and gets extra credit for actually doing it. So she is eating paleo style this week. Its interesting...

Blondie-has decided to switch schools next year and got to shadow someone at that school yesterday. She liked it and is sure she wants to try it now. I am sure she will do well wherever she goes.

Sweet G-really wants a job. She has been looking and doing a great job of checking into prospective work. It looks like she may be getting a job in the school cafeteria at lunch time and with a dog groomer on the weekends. Its smelly work, but dogs out there are counting on her.  :-)  I wonder if we can get a discount for Chiquita?

Dr. D-has figured out that he has to do his chores before he can play. Its awesome! After school, he asks me if he can play, I ask him if his homework is done, he says I did it before I got home, I start to say "what about your ch..." And before I can finish he has run off to get all the garbages to empty.  I love seeing my kids work! That skill will get them far in life.