I LOVE MYSELF RIGHT NOW!!!!

Today, I finally did something about the potted flowers I've been envisioning for the last month.

Ever since watching the General Young Women broadcast with Jess, I've been dying to try this magenta/coral/yellow combo.  These were the colors the choir was wearing in the broadcast, and it totally inspired me.  (Is it wrong that this is what most inspired me from the broadcast?  I meant to say that I was most inspired by Pres. Uchtdorf's talk--there, now I feel better).

Easily the best thing about living here is that Brad is back in our lives.  His job requires almost no travel, and his office is close enough to home that he only has a 10 minute commute.  This also means that it is super easy for him and me to meet for lunch dates during the week.

*sigh*

This afternoon, I caught my two teen-aged children engrossed in a showing of Cinderella.

Not five minutes later, my six-year-old came strutting into the room, gave me a studly half-nod, and asked, "S'up, Mom?".

What is wrong with this scenario?

 A few years ago, I found a book about my dad's hometown of Garland, UT, and there was this picture of my dad at a random Primary activity.  He was probably about three years old.

I was astounded at the resemblance between my three-year-old dad and my three-year-old son, Adam.

RIGHT??

 I have an irresistible urge to whistle the theme song from The Andy Griffith Show.

We've been here for six months, and I just now discovered that we didn't own an American iron.  

When we moved in, I unpacked a couple of boxes of electronics that we'd stored while we were in Germany.  Since I did this in a flurry of unpacking, I guess I didn't really note that there wasn't an iron in those boxes.  All this time, I'd just sort of assumed that I'd unpacked an American iron when I put away the crock pots and toasters and blenders from my boxes.

But then last Sunday, I pulled my skirt-of-choice off the hanger and noticed it needed a go-over with an iron before I could wear it to church.  That is when I discovered that we had no iron.

What does this tell you about my ironing habits?

HOW DID I NOT KNOW A NEW SEASON OF PROJECT RUNWAY WAS HAPPENING??

 My Project Runway Season 11 marathon starts . . . NOW.
 (said in a Tim Gunn voice)

Lately, I've been trying to make some head-way on decorating this house.  Because I am overwhelmed by my living room/kitchen, I decided to focus my attention on the laundry room.  

Because a cute laundry room is soooooooooo important.

In my book, decorating a laundry room consists of going to Target and buying any rug, clock, and wall plaque that catches my eye.  Oh, and I went all out and bought a little basket at Walmart the next day because I want some place to put dirty rags until wash day.  I'm fancy like that.  I also got that rack from Amazon so my mops, etc. are off the floor.

But here's where I feel really clever.  I put this spring rod in the sink so I have a place to hang wet rags to dry before I put them in my fancy basket to wait for laundry day.  No, I did not find this idea on Pinterest--I came up with it my very own self.

Because when it comes to decorating, the laundry room is just my speed.

Occasionally, I will wake up in the middle of the night and I won't be able to turn my brain off and go back to sleep.  This happened last night/this morning.  

When I woke up at 3:55 AM, I made the mistake of going over my Mental To-Do list, which included calling a plumber to fix the clogged bathtub drain in the boys' bathroom.  At 4:15, it occurred to me that maybe I could fix it myself, so I got up and googled how to do it. 

By 4:50 AM, I was an expert on removing the drain plug from this particular tub and flushing out the pipes with a baking soda/vinegar solution. 

 At 5:25 AM, it was accomplished.

(with a slight detour around 5:00 when Pepper woke up and appeared in the doorway like a phantom, scaring the wits out of me)

Unfortunately, it is now time to get up and take Jess to seminary.  Good freaking morning.

What is it with Sunday nights and doing hair?

The whole time we were doing this, I kept thinking "My work tends to be too poofy when I'm nervous."

Name that movie.

♪ ♪ ♫ Saturday is a special day . . . ♫ ♪ ♫

We had to get our septic tank pumped out today, so this guy came and did the job.

I am absolutely positive that this is the worst job in the world.

 Brad and I were just talking about how we need to remove this dead tree from our front yard.  Thanks to last night's wind storm, we'll be doing that immediately.

Me and My Girl.

 Lukie's new Shoe-Tie shoes.

Luke has been bugging me for the last couple of weeks to buy him some new school shoes that tie.  His last pair had the velcro fasteners, which I am a big fan of since they don't come untied and they don't require Mom to help put them on.  Well, apparently, there is a Shoe-Tie Club at his school, which Luke is a proud member of.  All they do at the Shoe-Tie Club is, well, tie shoes, which Lukie informed me he is sooooooooooooo good at.  But, he needed the appropriate shoes to demonstrate his skills.  

Not wanting him to hide his light under a bushel, we went to Target tonight and he chose these fine shoes.  Now his shoe-tying talent is highlighted in neon orange for all the world to see.

YAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!

Jess got her driving permit today!

Finally.  They don't do driver's ed through the school system here, so it took us a while to find out how to get her going.  We ended up choosing a parent-taught course that we got online, and now she is good-to-go with her permit.  She has to wait six months before she can get her real driver's license, but she can drive now as long as Brad or I am in the car with her and nobody else is.

So, of course, she wants to go driving all the time.  You know those stories of white-knuckled parents slamming their feet onto imaginary brakes on the passenger side of the car?  I am now one of those.  The stories are not an exaggeration.

It's a well-established fact that Sunday dinner dishes are The Worst.

Ever since we lived in Germany, Pepper has been a little bit obsessed with soccer.  And by "a little bit", I mean a lot.

This spring, he's been playing in a local club soccer league.  He is in HEAVEN.

 Oh yeah.  He's bad.

 Tonight was our ward Father/Son campout, so Jess and I got to have a Girls' Night while Brad and the boys roughed it in the woods. 

Olive Garden, here we come!

Back in September, when we went to the Humane Society and my family picked Joey, I had my doubts.  Serious doubts.  Mostly, I was worried that because Joey is part German Shepherd, he'd be aggressive and possibly dangerous.

Oh boy, was I ever wrong.

For the last week and a half or so, this little bunny rabbit has been terrorizing my part-German-Shepherd-maybe-aggressive-and-possibly-dangerous dog (NOT!).  The rabbit likes to hang out in the bushes by this window, which FREAKS JOEY OUT.  Joey will bark like a lunatic, whine, and shy away from the window whenever he sees the fwuffy bunny sitting there.  And I think the bunny likes it--he will just sit there with a smug look on his face while Joey goes nuts.  What a tease.

Lately, our weeknights have been crazy, scheduled to the hilt with baseball, soccer, and tennis practices.  As soon as 5 o'clock hits, I am pretty much in my car until around 7:30 every night.

But, today a big storm came in, soaking everything and causing all outdoor sports to be cancelled.  So, we had our first mid-week family dinner in a long time.

I tried a new recipe.  Too bad it was semi-gross.

After dinner, the boys went fishing in our neighborhood pond.

They only fished for a half hour or so, but Pepper managed to snag this guy.  He promptly threw the fish back in--the only thing grosser than tonight's dinner would be my attempt to cook this.

Oh my goodness, I'm crying over Dancing With the Stars.

Tonight, they showcased a girl who is legally blind and loves to dance.  They arranged for her to do a duet with her favorite (and mine), Derek Hough.  It seriously broke my heart.

It was so beautiful, and to think that she did all that without being able to see and mimic choreography blows my mind.  Derek talked about how as they danced, they'd move apart and come together and he'd have to make some kind of a noise so she'd know where he was.  The connectedness (I'm using this word intentionally - "connection" doesn't cut it) they both seemed to feel to one another was amazing to me.  I got teary just watching.

And then afterward, when Derek was too moved to speak about the experience, I sank into a full-blown cry.  I've said before that nobody cries alone in my presence.  Apparently, "my presence" includes me watching you on TV.

Watch the dance HERE.

 We get some killer wind around here, so the Easter Bunny was smart and brought the boys kites.

The first Texas installment of the General Conference Brunch-a-Palooza!

These two stood here for the entire session, chatting and solving all the world's problems.

The missionaries and the Cool Kids hung out upstairs.

Church should happen every week on reclining sofas.  With food.

We had a crazy day today!  Two baseball games, one soccer game, grocery shopping/housecleaning/yard work preparation for having people over tomorrow--whew!

And what do I take a picture of?

Lukie taking care of Jessica's "baby".  He loves this thing.

 

 Jess has a Child Development class this semester, and this weekend she gets to take care of her "baby".  This is Isabella, and she is a computerized doll that will cry and need to be taken care of just like a real baby for the next 3 days.  Jess has to wear a bracelet that connects to the baby, which records how she responds to the baby's cries for diaper changes, feedings, and attention.

Awwwww.  Teenage mothering at its finest.

Oh, the trauma.

Jess broke up with The Boyfriend today, and it hasn't been pretty.  Luckily, she has Joey to comfort her.

This is literally a plea for help.

If this entertainment center was built into your living room, what would you do to make it look nice?  What would you put on top of it?  How would you fill the big, brown space above the TV?  

And if this was your kitchen, what would you do about those windows?  Curtains--yes or no?  If yes, what kind?  Keep in mind that this room adjoins the living room, so they have to flow.  Or do they?  See, I know nothing.

Finally, what would you do with this wall?  It's big and tall and beige.  Ideas?

(Don't worry--even I know the table, chairs, and rug have to go.  We're working on that.)

Help!!!

So sad!!

Tonight, we had to say good-bye to Elder Young, who is being transferred tomorrow out of our ward (he's the one holding Adam in a head-lock).  Elder Young has been here since December, and we've gotten pretty attached to him.  The only downside to having the missionaries over is that just as we start to think of them as part of our family, they get transferred.  I need to have a word with the mission president--if he's going to move the missionaries every couple of months, he needs to start sending us Duds so we won't miss them when they leave.

A couple of Easter Remnants:

This guy has been hanging out by my window all morning.  Apparently, he isn't ready for the Easter fun to be over.

I noticed this last night.  I'm just going to leave them there and see how long it takes for someone to find them.