Emma has been in school for a week and a half now while Isaac’s preschool doesn’t start until after labor day. I never would have guessed that I’d be wishing for preschool to start so badly. Isaac has been bored and lonely to the point of driving me crazy. I have done my best to plan activities or have something to keep us busy every morning but my efforts don’t seem to keep him satisfied.

The moment we get home to put Leah down for a nap I hear, “Mama, Who can I pway wiff?” I reply with “Sorry bud, everyone is at school.” They I get a great big frowny face and some whining.

“But mommmmm!”

It really isn’t fun for either of us.

To stave off some of the whining today I helped the little guy build a “todally awesome fort” to keep him occupied for a while.

After we had it fixed up just right, it did the job for an hour or so as long as he had his trusty flashlight with him. He specifically wanted no holes in the fort so that it would be as dark as possible inside.

For an hour of peace I give two thumbs up for blanket forts.

If you are like me, then you have a stack of layouts piled up on your hard drive waiting to be printed. I have about half of my 2009 album waiting to come to life on a real tangible paper.

I love printing out my layouts because then I can flip through them over and over again. I tend to scrutinized them for mistakes and cringe over spelling mistakes that I regretfully always make but I still love having a hard copy. I pick out my favorites and smile over the fact that I created them. I give myself a big pat on the back and then I show my kids, show my mom, husband and any other poor soul who happens along my way.

Luckily Simply Scrapping is having a sale this weekend. 25% off any order – Friday August 27th through Sunday August 29th. No coupon code needed. Neat-O. I’m ready to take advantage of this sale. How about you?

Yea!

Oh my, I can’t stop thinking about it. I attended the Candlelight Serenade Acoustic Festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was sooo incredible. The bands were amazing! I was able to get front and center with Chris Carrabba (Dashboard), Nick Hexum (311), Priscilla Ahn, and Neon Trees. I also loved Relient K and Allred. Concerts are always sooo much fun. It’s been so long.

The festival was for such a great cause. I’m not quite sure what to say about it because it’s totally disturbing. Here are a few news highlights of the event. My friend is Stephanie Larsen in the first clip. Four generations of her family have been affected by child sex trafficking in America. Her life is a miracle, I tell you. Her husband, Jess, has hit the ground running with his Child Rescue efforts. So inspiring.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

This is awful! I can’t believe things like this are happening. I wish they wouldn’t add in the awful pics but I guess it’s to get the point across. I met this girl, Amanda, that is in this clip. Her story was heartbreaking.

That is what Isaac told me this morning when I told him he had to pick between cereal, toast, or oatmeal. He wanted all 3.

I say “Ahh, nuts!” because I had a  jam packed, awesome filled, last week of summer and have no photos to show for it.

I did the best I could to get in all the swimming we could handle, make the kids play outside for hours on end and of course squeeze in some rock climbing and mountain biking.

I wish I had one more week to play in the sun but I had to send my darling 2nd grader off to school this morning.

Ahh, nuts. She was super excited to go to second grade but after she left, I looked around the house and it felt mighty empty.

As promised, I said I’d share Emma’s new pet. She declared that her “dream came true!” I think that is what Jeremy intended when he brought home this little guy.

Yes, I know many of you are squirming in your chair but my little 7 year old is soooo happy. She reports what he is up to every morning to me… under a rock, in his castle, in the water bowl. She said she couldn’t stop thinking about the way he moves. Then she obliged me by showing me how it looks by wiggling her tiny hips and belly side to side. So funny.

The little guy, Coolie she calls him, came from the pasture at my parents house. I felt bad taking him from the wild but my dad has a plethora at his house and mows up one or two snakes each week (he lives in farming country) so I figure we might be saving his life. Jeremy’s plan is that we can always release him when we’re tired of him. We’re just borrowing him for a bit.

So far he has been easy to take care of. We were happy when he ate his first goldfish and shed his skin. Yes, he eats goldfish, one or two a week we are told. Crazy, huh? I figure that since my pet poll was in favor of a pet fish we are really getting both… only the little goldfish gets gobbled in the end. But really it is much nicer that a mouse, yes?

Here is my birthday girl happy as can be. She’s coming to attack me with her “scary face” pose.

We had a little pool party for Emma. We did it last year and loved it. Loved it again, in fact. I love the minimal amount of preparation and no need to entertain or plan games for the little people. The summer thunderstorms even held off long enough to make things perfect.

Happy birthday, Emma!

Hey everyone. If you are in the Utah area I wanted to let you know about a really good cause. Have you heard about the Candlelight Serenade Acoustic Festival at Thanksgiving Point?

It’s a benefit concert for Child Rescue on August 21st. They are trying  to reduce child trafficking & sexual exploitation by 90% in the US and Canada by 2020. I can’t believe some of the stuff that is going on with these kids. It makes me sick to learn about it. Just plain sick.

I have some good friends who put this concert together to help raise awareness for this child trafficking. I think it should be great and there are a ton of awesome bands playing. Be sure to check it out.

A list of some of the bands that will be playing!

CHRIS CARRABBA from DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL
THIRD EYE BLIND
RELIENT K
NEON TREES
VEDERA
ALLRED
PRISCILLA AHN
JOEL AND LUKE
ALLIE MOSS
SHERWOOD
EVERYBODY ELSE
MAKING APRIL
NIGHT NIGHT
FICTIONIST
MORE TO COME……

Hey, thanks for all the great comments on my pet survey! There were so many great comments that I was swayed in many directions. It was completely apparent that you most of  you prefer fish as pets. They are obviously the easiest to take care of, especially betas.

We actually tried fish over a year ago and it didn’t work out so well. We worked so hard to take care of the tank just like the pet store told us but the sudden death of all our fish came as a shock and still to this day is unexplained (although many fingers are pointing to the neighbor boys.) So I will say we have decided not to get more fish right now.

We have made our final decision… well, Jeremy made the decision, but I wont be revealing it until Emma’s birthday on Friday.

Changing the subject…

I have to say that I love where I live. I can escape the summer heat in a 10-15 minute drive up the canyon. The kids and I were having a somewhat down day last week and I decided to get out of the house and go for a picnic up the canyon for lunch. We found a fun little place right off the road that was perfect for exploring, throwing rocks in the river and breathing fresh air. I couldn’t help marvel how crystal clear the water looked.

I took the opportunity to snap a bunch of pictures because Emma was wearing a dress I had recently made. I was very proud of it because I made it without a pattern. With mom’s help of course, I copied a dress of Emma’s that I love. I call it a sack dress. I’m not sure what it really is though. It’s very simple.

Nice power punch, Isaac.

At the fabric store I spent an hour staring at Amy Butler and Heather Bailey Fabric, which I normally drool over, and in the end came home with some vintage-y looking fabric. I was pretty happy with my choice until my sister in law started singing the song Pioneer Children. Perhaps it does look a tad old fashioned but Emma loves it.

I’ve been doing a sugar detox for two weeks now. I was super nervous to start it because I’ve never done anything like this before. I was afraid that I had no self control but guess what… I’m doing it. I’m so proud of myself! It’s not as hard as I thought to pass up cookies, ice cream and warm toast with honey.

I’ve always tried to eat on the healthy side of things but I’m not a super-crazy-organic-no-sugar kinda girl. I certainly enjoy a treat now and then. I’ve noticed lately that my metabolism is slowing down and the baby fat isn’t coming off as easy as it use to. I need to stop snacking on the quick sugary carb type treats.

I played with the idea of a liver detox but the one I wanted to do was around 200 dollars. So when my mom said she was going to do this sugar detox I jumped at the idea of doing it with her. We both needed the support. It makes it easier to know that I’m not the only one suffering.

I thought I’d share this diet if any of you are looking for a healthier you. I’m hoping in the long run that I will gain more self control, eat more veggies and avoid the bad foods.

This sugar detox was develop by a local doctor of mine. He’s a well known integrative doctor around these parts. I really like how he uses healthy eating and natural methods to treat people instead of jumping right into medical medicine. www.hugorodier.com

This diet burns up sugar/glycogen stored in the liver. This is critical to adjust your metabolism.  When the liver is full of sugar, it keeps your blood sugar at a level that maintains addictions and metabolic problems. You will emerge with your sugar cravings gone.

Here it is.

I think it’s been great and I have lost a couple pounds. It’s not as hard as I thought it would be. I think having support is the key. The first few days is the worst. I had this awful sugar withdrawal that made me shaky and weak but once I got past it I’ve been feeling great. I’m rarely hungry and have had plenty of energy for biking and climbing and chasing after kids. It’s important not to get caught hungry around tempting food so I even took a gigantic bowl of salad camping this last weekend.

Crazy eh?

It’s officially summer in our next of the woods and I’m sorry to report that our summer school efforts have almost completely fizzled out. I mentioned school this morning and the kids turned to mush and rolled around on the floor moaning.

DRATS!

Emma told me today that our school was soooo boring and that she wasn’t learning anything. I’m not quite sure what she wants me to teach (molecular physics?) but I’m sure it’s not the math facts that she needs to work on.

I just can’t compete with recess and hot lunch.

I’ll now have to come up with some sort of incentive to get the kids going. If I can get Emma excited again then I’m pretty sure that Isaac will follow. I think the biggest problem is getting breakfast done and out of the way before 9:00 so we have time for school. The neighbor boys start knocking down the door right on the stroke of 10:00 and once that happens there is no hope for starting school.

I think that means no sleeping in for me. Aargggg. I thought that was what summer was all about.

My party girl, Emma wants to figure out a way to celebrate Summer Solstice today. I thought maybe we’d just set up the wading pool in the backyard and call it good but I think she’s looking for something bigger… a festival with merry-go-rounds and cotton candy? a sunset bonfire dance with bells tied around our ankles? A giant pancake made in the shape of the sun?

Any ideas for the struggling mommy?

Good gracious, I’m glad it is bed time!

My wee little one has been sick this weekend and I expected her to be feeling better today. I’m sad to say that she whined and fussed the greater part of the day. My arms and my back ache from having the little tike attached to my right hip.

By 3:00 pm I was about ready to do myself harm and anyone else who came near me. Luckily I kept my cool until the daddy came home.

She didn’t want to sit. She didn’t want to play outside. She didn’t want to nap, eat, read books or swing in the hammock. She didn’t want to walk around the block or cuddle on the couch.

Frankly, I think she wanted to cry, fuss, scream, and throw her first real fit. She wanted to get mad, smack me in the face and rip pages out of my book.

She did however enjoy a handful of chocolate chips.
{imagine here a picture of my baby girl with brown messy smears across her face.}

How do you manage to get through these types of days?