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Derek has a small obsession with egg-white omelets.  He makes one every morning for breakfast.  And they're really yummy.

Jacob has a small obsession with wanting to know if Santa Claus is real or not.  He's cornered me 3 times in the last 3 days.  And I skirt the issue by asking "what do you think, bud?".  And "what about that letter that you got from him?"  He's really examining all the angles, and has talked to lots of friends about it apparently.  I think his investigation is pretty sweet.  He doesn't seem frustrated or angry about it…just inquisitive and very practical.  Yesterday he said in a very big-boy kind of way, "Mom – can we revisit that issue we talked about at another time?"  How can I say no.  :)

Caleb has a small (but large) obsession with Star Wars.  "Mom, remember in episode 3, this and this happened?  Mom, mom remember how Luke did this and Darth Vadar did that? "  And I get that glazed over look that comes every time the boys talk about things that don't interest me (like video games), but I answer, "uh-huh, cool, wow, yea, buddy". 

Samuel has a small obsession with Curious George, the TV show.  He LOVES that monkey.  And frankly, I think he's starting to resemble the object of his obsession a little bit. :)  He dances to the intro-song and everytime we turn the tv on he asks "oo-oo, ah-ah" (his monkey imitation) and we have to say "no monkey" when it's not on.

And me – well, I have too many small obsessions to mention, but mostly I'm minorly obsessed with these four handsome men.

There are several things around our home that have been "thorns in my side". 

1.  The Backyard.  Period.  The whole thing – particularly the white trash swingset and the large flower bed that had no flowers (only dirt).

2.  The piano room.  The first room you see when you walk through the front door.  The only room that I can have full sway in as far as decorating.  The only room that was empty and undone after 3 and 1/2 years of living here.  I've bought different pieces of furniture for it over the years, but it had never really come together for me.

3.  The front "island" bed – a large flower bed that everyone sees in the corner of our lawn that was great on one side and miserable on the other.

And would you believe, that by Derek taking 3 days off last week we were able to get all three taken care of and they look beautiful!!

1.  The backyard:  Derek re-did the entire swingset…moved the slide, built a climbing wall, a floor for the bottom of the fort, re-did the beams, and painted the whole thing!  He worked so hard (like always) and it looks SO much better.  I thought we were going to have to trash it and buy a new one…not with Derek around!  And that tall beam sticking up?  That's for the zip line that is still in the works. 🙂

BEFORE (but really during):

 

 

AFTER:

 

And here's our new flower bed that has actual plants in it now!  Designed my moi with new and transferred plants.  My favorite part is the new "Red Rocket" crepe myrtle…my FAVORITE one because of its deep red blooms.

2.  Piano Room:  A fresh coat of paint, new lamps, and a new home for those platters…I love it now.  Above the settee I'm going to do a collage of my b/w pictures of ancestors.

 

 

3.  The front island bed: With some help from our master gardner neighbors, a lot of drawing, and visits to 4 different nurseries, we came up with a good plan.  We made the bed bigger (Derek did all of this) in the front, and now it has juniper, 2 types of yucca, salvia, sage, texas betony, two types of gaura, lots of daylilies, and two wild rose plants (and an oak tree).  It will look beautiful once its matured.

 

 

Oh…AND I planted some flower pots for the front door, some cilantro, and a hydrangea for the backyard, and we mulched both front beds, and Derek aerated the grass.  We WERE EXHAUSTED come Sat. night.  But there is SO MUCH satisfaction from planting and watching things grow, from creating things with your hands and your head, and from beautifying your space.  A good feeling, indeed!

   

I know some of you probably already read this blog, as I do.  But this latest post is so poignant and moving to me.  This beautiful mother who was in a plane crash with her husband, and burned over 80% of her body, and comatosed for 3 months, and whose sisters cared for her 4 children while she was sleeping, now continues her blog (that was popular before the crash) and talks about her daily struggles.  Some of the things that she writes, like this post entitled "A mother", simply take my breath away.  I applaud her courage.  Her story will make you appreciate the little things.  If you're unfamiliar with the blog, click on the link below.

We had originally planned to head down to Austin for Spring Break, but Caleb's tonsilectomy changed those plans.  So my Dad and Christy decided to head up here instead. 

Dinner at La Hacienda, fishing/shopping, a movie (Race to Witch Mountain – a little too violent for me, but Jacob loved it!), an engagement celebration dinner for Mark and Anne at Fireside Pies, and a yummy breakfast at the Original Pancake House

It was a laidback, but wonderful, visit.  Thanks for coming, Papa C and Mimi!

 

(please ignore the above picture of Caleb – it's the only expression he would give me all week.  poor guys was miserable, but also has an overdramatic tendency.)

 

 

We had a fun evening with our friends the Hickens and Dalebouts last night playing Family Kickball.  It was fun to have a game that kids of all ages could participate in and enjoy.   

Have I mentioned that we love these families?!

 

Sidenote: Caleb played hard and was happy to be out with his buddies last night, but paid for it in the middle of the night with a very sore throat.  I thought American Idol was GREAT last night…my favorites are Danny, Kris, Matt and Anoop!  And my DVR made the mistake of skipping Biggest Loser to tape Dancing with the Stars instead – BIG mistake, unacceptable!

Derek and I have filled out our brackets, and are now ready for the 'madness' which is March.

Winner gets dinner at III Forks with their spouse (and bragging rights, of course)!  It's a win-win!

Spring Break started yesterday and I feel like I am "walking on sunshine".  I love the slower pace and less structured nature of having the kids home on a break.  It makes me happy.  And the weather helps too – after days and days of cold rain last week, we are enjoying blue skies and 70-degree temps.  Hooray!

Caleb is recovering well, albeit slow.  I remember now that it took Jacob awhile too.  Some of the energy is back, but the pain is still there in full force, poor guy.  Lots and lots of popsicles, jammies all day, and plenty of codeine.  The bonus, for him, is that he gets to sleep in our bedroom, which he loves (even if it is just a soft palette on the floor).

Yesterday I had the piano room and master bathroom painted.  I love what a fresh coat of satin paint can do for my spirits!  I have a slight obsession with Laura Ashley paint colors from Lowe's – they are "no fail" in my opinion.  The piano room is Olive 4 and the bathroom is Taupe 4.  Both rooms look great!

 

Also yesterday, I went to see my OB/Gyn and got her to approve NHRT (natural hormone replacement therapy) for me.  I did a bunch of tests for a compounding pharmacist who analyzed my results and recommended a course of action.  I'm excited to see if a hormone (progesterone) and some other things help my energy level, irritability (who me?!) and overall health each month.  We'll see…

On my way to Costco today in preparation for a fun family activity tonight.  More later…

Caleb’s surgery went well this morning.  Other than being slightly grumpy at times (expected and certainly allowed), he is doing wonderfully!  3 popsicles, yogurt, pudding, two fruit smoothies, and bread and jam…I’d say he’s doing ok.  And he loves his (*ugly*) new orange & blue teddy bear (from the doctors) and airplane hat (made by one of the nurses).

Before surgery, the nurses gave him Versed to relax him and make him sleepy.  We all (Caleb included) laughed at the result.  He told me I had two heads and four eyeballs.  Cracked us up.

Sidenote: I thought it was nice that the ENT, Dr. McDuffie, stopped by our house this afternoon with his kids, to check on Caleb.  He happens to live in our neighborhood.  House calls are rare!

flock together.

I had to laugh when I read my two best gal pals blogs this morning.

One is entitled "Wait that's not all…" and she describes the many meetings and responsibilities she currently has associated with her calling as Stake Young Women's president.

The other is called "Up to My Eyeballs" and describes the many projects she is working on in her church responsibilities (particularly with the children in her ward).

And here I am about to post about the list after list that I stayed up last night working on so I could organize the hundreds of little tasks that I need to be working on for PTA and Girls Camp responsibilities, not to mention home and family stuff.  I'm a little overwhelmed – with good things – but trying very hard to organize myself a little better.

It just reminds me why I love those two girls – as one of the husbands puts it "we're out of the same mold".

Leave it to my creative family to have zany, crazy, silly, loony, but FUN activities.  Like the one we had last Saturday, for example.

It started like this:  At the Christmas dinner table, Steve (a.k.a. Pops, who knows everything about everything) informed us all that 2009 was the centennial of Errol Flynn's birth. 

"Who's Errol Flynn?" we asked.

"You don't know Errol Flynn?!" he exclaimed.

And so he decided we needed to be educated.  Errol Flynn, a Hollywood icon, starred in the movie The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938.  Steve insisted that we needed to have an Errol Flynn party so we could watch the movie!

He and Mom hosted:

 

 

 

Everyone came…we had barbecue (medieval meat), and "mud" for dessert (choc pudding, oreos and gummy worms) because my Mom insisted that would be the only thing found in Sherwood Forest.  And we watched the movie, which is very fun!

 

 

 

 

I have a feeling that we were the ONLY family having an Errol Flynn/Robin Hood party this weekend.  But that's why I love us!