Hall Closet Slide

Our hall closet has a slanted floor because it sits over the stairs. My kids discovered that it's a great fun place to play! Works great for a slide.

You can also scoot down, just be careful not to fall forward and land on your nose!

Laughing with each other is inevitable.

And it's just a lot of fun!

More about Madeline

Madeline had her 15 month well-check today and here are her stats:
32 1/2 inches long . . . that's the 95th percentile!
19 pounds 8 ounces . . . that's the 7th percentile!! (yes, I typed that correctly, the 7th!)

Madeline's my little skinny minny.

love ya girly.

15 Months Old!

Madeline is 15 months old today! I always enjoy doing month photoshoots. Here are some of my favorites:

Showing off her pretty hair

Showing off her flexibility!

Just being cute

Watching birds play.

Madeline is my joy!

Flowers

Today's random fact is brought to you by Ethan:

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"Flowers fly! Hmmmm . . . airplanes AND flowers fly!"

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So if you ever see one of these up in the sky:

now you'll know why.

Lots of Lovies!

Madeline is really funny about what she wants to sleep with. She has her regular lovies, but each night she adds a few more random things that she insists on taking to bed with her. Last night was the biggest list by far. Always with her are her bear Francis and her little orange cloth. The racquetball is becoming a regular too. But last night she also insisted on sleeping with a new dish cloth made by Great Grandma Morris and with socks on her hands. You can see in the picture that this morning she STILL had one of the socks on her hand. I’m not sure why, but she REALLY likes wearing socks on her hands. She also slept with jammie pants on and her sleepsack (which she is also very fond of). She’s taking her nap right now and has all the same things in her bed as last night minus the socks and add one more bear. I guess she sleeps better with lots of lovies.

Madeline's last night lovies

Piles and Projects

I don't normally like piles. Piles around the house drive me crazy! But this is a pile that I REALLY like:

Because it means I've had time to work on a project and make something fun. And I like projects! Most of these fabric scraps are from a project I have yet to finish (stay tuned for that one) but some of the scraps are from this:

A pretty cute apron if you ask me!

Here I am modeling it. But I didn't make it for myself. I gave it to a dear friend today at her bridal shower and I gave it to her with this bouquet:

Cooking utensils, dish rag roses and some lovely silk flowers!

Fun!

Like I said, I'm really liking projects lately. Thanks for the apron idea Carrie. I might just have to make myself one now.

Las Vegas

I have never been to Las Vegas. Most people blink and say, “Never?” when I mention this. But the funny thing is, I won’t be able to say this for much longer. I already have two plans this year to go to Vegas. Once in the summer and once in the fall. Go figure.

And while neither of the two times I’m going to Vegas actually has anything to do with Vegas, I’m thinking there will be some pretty fun photo opportunities there. I guess we’ll see.

One More

Sorry, can't help myself. Baby Destry is just too good looking.

Little Destry

I was lucky enough to do a shoot of my little nephew this morning. He's a week and a half old and he was delightful the whole time I took pictures. Here are just three of my favorites:

Easter

Here is Madeline, the Easter Angel:

Wearing her beautiful Easter Dress made by her Nana!

Ethan showing off his goodies from the Saturday Egg Hunt

Madeline exploring her Easter Basket

Ethan shaking his eggs to make sure they have candy in them

Madeline's Easter Hat.

We had a lovely family Easter dinner last night. I started taking pictures of the beautiful food, but got side-tracked and never actually finished documenting the festivites. I guess I was enjoying myself too much.

Easter Eggs!

Nine colors:

Twelve eggs:

Ethan pointing to his egg

And Four Special ones:

Lots of fun!

Happy Easter!

Fun Outside

The weather isn't so great today, but the last few days have been WONDERFUL!! Ethan helped me collect this HUGE pile of sticks from off our grass. The trees in our yard (and the neighbors yards) have been doing a lot of . . . shedding? Anyway, we had fun making this big pile, but Ethan just can't get used to the sun. He spent too much of his life in Washington, I guess, because he just kept saying, "I don't like the sun mom, it's too bright, it's too sunny." I'm trying to convince him that sunny is GOOD!! You can see him squinting in the picture:

Madeline LOVES being outside. She doesn't need a sock on her hand anymore and even scoots on gravel without noticing. She makes piles of rocks, plays with sticks, digs in the dirt, and plays with the balls. She was way dirtier than Ethan and she cried when we went inside for dinner! It's so nice to have a big backyard with a fence!

Where is Everybody?

Today I hosted play group. It was supposed to be from 10-11:30 this morning and no one came. Ethan stood at the window looking out and watching for people from 10-10:30. During that time, these are the things he said:

“Where is everybody? I thought they were coming.”

“Hello . . . is anybody coming to my house? . . . I hope so.”

“Hmmm, I don’t see anybody Mom.”

“But somebody will come, I think.”

At about 10:30, I looked at Ethan and said, “I don’t think anybody is going to come sweetie.” Ethan immediately replied, “Well somebody should! I wonder where they are.”

It’s kind of sad that everyone is so busy doing their own things that we can’t even take an hour out of each week to stop and talk and play with neighbors and friends. I realize that since I’m not on the ward directory, neither address nor phone, that maybe people just didn’t know where to go. Either way, it was hard to explain to Ethan why no one came over to play with his toys that he so lovingly helped my get ready this morning.

There is a bit of good news though, because of our preparation, my house is now very clean and my family has an entire batch of oatmeal raisin cookies to enjoy.

I hope for a better turn out next week! I have enjoyed the play groups I've been to in the past.

April Recipe

Avgolemono
Egg and Lemon Sauce
From The Gourmet Cookbook

“This sauce is lighter, brothier, and more versatile than hollandaise. It’s delicious poured over steamed asparagus or broccoli. And it’s really nice with a piece of fish.”

Whisking my sauce.

I served mine with broccoli, shrimp, and rice. I thought it was quite delightful!

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Makes about 2 ½ cups
Start to Finish: 20 minutes

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2 cups chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ tsp salt

Heat stock in a small saucepan until hot; keep warm.

Combine eggs, egg white, lemon juice, and salt in the top of a double broiler or a metal bowl and beat (off heat) with an electric mixer at high speed until frothy, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup hot stock in a stream, beating, then stir in the remaining 1 cup of stock. Set over simmering water and cook sauce, whisking, until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

An Ethan Interview

I got this Kid Quiz from my sister-in-law, Emily. I thought it sounded like a fun thing to do with Ethan. Ethan had fun too and when it was over he said, "do a couple more questions Mom, just a few more!" I thought that was funny.

Kid Quiz
Ask your child(ren) to answer the questions and type their answers in.

1. What is something mom always says?
“turn your show off”

2. What makes mom happy?
“when I turn my show off myself and not take toys”

3. What makes mom sad?
“take toys from Madeline”

4. How does mom make you laugh?
“wiggles and stuff, that makes me laugh!”

5. What do you think your mom was like as a child?
“I don’t know”

6. How tall is your mom?
“big like this (raising his had high above his head), and Daddy is same as you and Madeline is low like this (crouching down low to the ground)”

7. How old is your mom?
“25”

8. What is your mom's favorite thing to watch on TV?
“Conference”

9. What does your mom do when you are not around?
“load the dishwasher”

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
“um . . .uh . . . um . . . can you tell me?”

11. What is your mom really good at?
“I don’t know . . . brush your teeth!”

12. What is your mom not very good at?
“play basketball”

13. What does your mom do for her job?
“clean up toys”

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
“noodles”

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
“when you let me close the door on my car”

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
“You”

17. What do you and your mom do together?
“play”

18. How are you and your mom the same?
“You’re taller and I’m this tall”

19. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
“with me to the library”

I'm in Love . . .

with avacados!


Toasted bread + light mayo + warm turkey + avacado = the perfect lunch!

My Sister

Today is my sister's birthday. She is sick and in the hospital. I wish so very much that I could do something to make her feel well. I pray for her and talk to her on the phone and send her cards, but it feels like not much at all. She lives in Washington DC and it feels even farther away than normal these days.

Ethan, my sister Raelynn, and her daughter Kate 2008

I love you Raelynn. My thoughts are on you today. I hope somehow it can be a happy birthday.

Long Night

I went into Ethan's room FIVE TIMES last night! He just kept waking up and crying. I think the first time he had bad dreams. By the fourth time I asked him if he was sick and he said yes. I asked him where he was feeling sick and he pointed to his leg. I don't know if his leg actually hurt or if he was just trying to be agreeable. He seems perfectly like himself today, no sign of sickness. Maybe it was growing pains, or maybe it was just one of those nights. Either way, I'm glad he's not sick today.