scooter and a craft.

My day started out with my little Wolverine riding his new Transformer scooter. Spencer earned this scooter and he has yet to take it outside so for now he scoots around the house from room to room. I watched him scoot to the bathroom, heard the toilet flush and then out he came. It's his favorite mode of transportation!
I had a little project I wanted to do for Mataya's room. It started with this frame I got at a second hand store for a few dollars.
And this is the finished product. I saw something similar to this online for $35...I made this for around $8! I wanted something to hang her flowers and hair things on and I thought this was a fun idea because it is cute and functional.
I love the pink and brown material. I had a moment in JoAnn's right there in the fabric section when I saw this material I got so excited I was a little embarrassed afterwards:)

cute.

This was the best pic I could get!

pajama buds.

Pajama buddies!

I got Spencer these pajamas at Kohl's for $4! He has worn them for about 4 days straight. He would get dressed when we had to go to the store and once we got home he was back in them.

so it's come to this.

I have found that as a mother it is my job to know where every single thing we own is at at any given moment. For example, Spencer will ask me where his tiny pirate sword it to his little pirate guy and expect me to know it's exact location. If I can't find it within 5 minutes of him requesting it then I have shamed him in some way. Although, I always seem to find what he is looking for so I can see why he comes to me in his time of need.

Now Cory is a different matter. I get questions such as: "where are my car keys?", "what happened to my black belt?", and my favorite "where is that little piece of paper that I wrote a phone number on last week?"...oh boy!

Now what is a mother to do when I can't find something of MINE? Who do I turn to for help? I do seek answers from all the people that live here, but they can't seem to help me. I ask them where something is and I get a blank stare and sometimes a look of total confusion. So I recently realized what I've been reduced to...

Dollar store, alligator scissors!

Really, shouldn't a mother's scissors be the one thing that is off limits? I once had a very nice pair that I kept in the kitchen when I needed to cut open a package of bacon or cut the top off a Gogurt that wouldn't cooperate. I remember my mom threatening bodily harm to anyone that cut anything made of metal with her "good" scissors! It's serious, people!

I'm considering getting a good pair and attaching them on the kitchen counter with a bank, pen chain so it will stay where it's supposed to.

A while ago, I bought a good set of metal measuring cups. I keep them in the knife drawer (which the kids know is off limits) so they are protected from being lost. The boys like to use measuring cups and fill them with snacks to enjoy which means they don't always get returned to the kitchen, which then means I try to make something and have to measure everything with an old 1/8 cup with a broken handle because I'm not in the mood to search the house for missing measuring cups.

Maybe if they found their way to the toy bin I would find them...

I mod podged and lived to tell about it.

I copied my friend who did her daughters name with wood letters....thanks Kayli! I had the letters for a long time and didn't know what I wanted to do with them. And if some of you recall my "confessions" post you will understand that this project was a big step for me. I feel like I can walk into church with my head held high, because I too own a hot glue gun and my mod podge attempt was a success.

It turned out way cute....I love it!

the goddess venus.

I'm sure you are all familiar with this painting. I cropped it a bit for obvious reasons. Well I'm sure you all remember the grilled cheese with the face of the virgin Mary on it. I had a similar experience, but it involved the likeness of the goddess Venus and a quesadilla.
Crazy, right?! Take that grilled cheese lady. I thought about contacting my local news, but Parker and I were really hungry so all we have is a photo to remember it by.

a day in the life.

Mataya got a ride in her chariot from her brothers. Parker made sure she had enough padding and toys for her journey.

She was loving it, she even had some snacks in there. The boys really like to take care of her.

We got to visit with some of our favorite girls. Lexi only gets to have her binky at night and naps and she was looking around to see if anyone would notice if she took a quick hit off Mataya's pacifier. Lexi was a wiggle worm. We tried to get a good pic of them. I hope Mataya has a head of hair like that in a year. We still haven't achieved the Lexi arms so we will shoot for the hair now:)

I love this shirt Spencer got from Grandma and Grandpa Jones for Christmas. He put on the safety goggles and he looked like he was ready for the wood shop.

Parker's snake attacked him in the night. His name is Smoothie. Parker got him at Reptile Gardens in S.D. According to Parker that may perhaps be one of the coolest places on the planet!

the cookie aisle.

Last Saturday Cory took the boys to a movie and I was left to go to the grocery store. And not just any store...Wal-Mart! I was grumpy and pouty and did not want to go. (can you blame me?)So while the boys were sitting comfortably watching a movie and eating their weight in popcorn I was stuck with the Saturday crowd of shoppers. I was a little jealous and wished I was with them, but once I got to the store..........

.....I realized there is no where else I would rather be!

2 questions.

Sometimes you have days where your 3 year old walks out with under-roos on his head and says it's a ninja mask and two questions come to mind: 1-Are those clean underwear? and 2-What in the [bleep] did I get myself into?

bowling.

We were so excited to have Grandpa and Grandma Blackwell up for a few days around New Year's. We went to Boondocks and played in the Pirate Cove and went bowling.

The cool kids were in this lane:) Parker is P Diddy, Cory is Spike, Spenc is T Rex, I'm Paula Deen, and my Mom is Shelley. Cory wanted to put Silver Fox, but didn't dare. Love ya Mom! Spencer got a little fatigued. He was starting to zone out on us. It was so hot in there and Spencer was wanting to have a nap.Parker did good. He is so competitive he kept looking at every one's score to see if his was higher.

4 cream puffs, a wedding, and a mohawk

Last weekend I had the opportunity of attending the sealing of my cousin in the Bountiful Temple. It's always nice to go to the temple and great to see my family. My awesome husband watched the kids so I could be there. These are the girls of '09. Mataya is on the right and then the other two are my cousin's babies. Lily on the left was born 4 days after Mataya. They had fun getting to know each other:) The dinner/reception was fun. The boys enjoyed exploring. Here is my bro Aaron with a mohawk. There is a long history of strangeness coupled with weddings in the Blackwell family. It started years ago!Spencer wandered around with his plate asking where the doughnuts were. Here he is with 4 cream puffs on his plate. (which he never ate).

7 months

----7 months old---- It got a little emotional. The poor girl just woke up from a nap and I made her pose for pics. I told her "tough, get used to it.":-)Parker came it to help and played peek-a-boo and we got a little red-faced smile out of her.

warning...it's ugly people

I wasn't going to even post these because of the hideous nature of them...but I've had some requests. I washed my hair the day before and had just let it go. So I hadn't actually done it so it was a hot mess. I showed my sister these and she said, "Whoa, did you just wake up?" I knew it had gone too far when Cory called me and said, "I made you an appointment to get your hair done." He didn't even ask he just went ahead and made the appointment....what a great husband!Here is the after. I think this is the first time I've come home from getting my hair done feeling like it was a little too flat. I used to go to a girl and every time I would come home with the "Mormon Dome" (as Cor would say) and it would take me about 10 minutes to comb it.

bring on 2010!

We had a great New Year's Eve party at my sister's house. We ate prime rib, shrimp, crab, potatoes, chip, dip, salad, and cheesecake. My Dad was in charge of the menu and when that happens you know it's going to be good:) The man loves his food! Gotta hurry and pack in all of the eating before the new year begins. I figure if I pack on a few extra pounds then any weight loss in the near future will seem more impressive.

We rocked out on my bro-in-law's instruments. Spencer loves music and musical instruments so he was really in his element. I love his face in this pic.
Parker enjoyed banging on the drums.Grandma and Grandpa Blackwell spoiled us with gifts. Mataya is so excited about her new outfit. The boys showing off their matchy Adidas outfits. Parker loves his new crayon carrier from his cousin Abbi! I made little goodie bags for the kids and Lexi really enjoyed her sucker. We were clearly so excited for the New Year to begin....we could hardly contain our excitement!
Bring on 2010!