Day 31

Last day of the month! I’ve posted a picture—not always on time, but still—for every day of the month! That’s suuuper exciting. I’ve challenged myself to aim for one family shot a month. I’ve let myself off the hook in terms of pretty-ness of said photo; I just want to be sure to have one of our whole troop each month. I was lucky enough to get a few last night during Family Home Evening.

Day 30

I hope you aren’t getting tired of pictures of Savvy yet…..because I don’t see myself getting sick of them anytime soon! This is Savvy this morning, sleeping peacefully while I edit/read scriptures/eat breakfast/shower. I love the pillow lines. The shadows under her eyes make me sad, though, because I’m reminded that she’s sick. For the last several days, she’s been fighting congestion and ear pain. Last night I administered Similisan’s ear wax relief drops, which helped immensely, and then also put garlic oil in her ears. She was feeling a lot better last night than she has for a while. I’m hopeful, and really glad that she’s still sleeping.

Day 29

One day last week, I played dolls with Savvy and Jaxon. (Jaxon loves the dollhouse. It’s pretty awesome.) It was raining really hard and thundering/lightninging outside. So we had the dolls watching the storm outside their window. Jaxon was being a Lego cube, I was being the mom and the aunt, and Savvy was being everyone else. Pretty much par for the course.

Day 28

I'm still in love with my little mid-century-modern dresser. And still at a loss for what to do with it, paint-wise/style-wise/etc.-wise. Ideas?

Day 27

Does this make you hungry? I mean, I know it’s not very pretty, and actually, it’s sort of awful as far as food photography goes…..but. But it’s SO good. I’ve been doing homemade pita bread, then loading it with sauce and mozzarella and parmesan, and putting it under the broiler for a few minutes. My favorite way to do it, though, is to put Dean’s French Onion Dip on the pita for a sort of white sauce, then sprinkle it with the mozz and parm. (Then broil.) It’s insanely good. And actually makes for a low-cal lunch—I think 400 calories, ballpark, for two? In any case, it’s super-tasty.

Day 26

Now I want to make a whole army of these sock bunnies. I can’t help myself; they’re hilarious and cute and fun to make! This is Reed’s sock bunny, whom he has named Agent B. (Agent Bunny.) Agent B doesn’t have arms yet; I like him better without, but Reed wants him to have some. We’re having some minor aesthetic differences. I’m pretty sure Agent B will earn some arms. (Though maybe he lost his arms in a secret mission?) See? Too much fun.

Day 25

I finally put pictures on the walls. Makes it feel like it’s MY house with MY mark on it. I like it.

Day 24

I’m enjoying my recurring sewing phases. This is Lucy the Sock Bunny. Savvy adores her. I adore Lucy’s eyelashes, her tail, and her nose/mouth. (P.S.-To whomever left their lone sock at our house, thank you. It makes a perfect bunny.)

Day 23

Reed is entertaining, intelligent, intuitive, showing promising signs of becoming very responsible, and growing way too fast. I adore him with every fiber of my being. He slays me.

Day 22

I sewed Jaxon a Monster Tooth Fairy Pillow. We saw something similar (much better-executed, I’m sure; we only had black felt and I would’ve liked white for the teeth) on Pinterest, and he loved the idea. He’ll slip a baggy with his tooth in it into the pocket (the mouth) tonight, and the Tooth Fairy will slip something else into it in exchange.

Day 21

Jaxon lost his first tooth (yesterday)!! He was so excited, he yelled, “MOM! MY TOOTH CAME OUT!” and came running up the stairs to show me. Doll.

Day 20

It's my dad's birthday today. Happy Birthday, Papa!
A little about my dad:

He sings opera when he makes his famous dinner rolls. (Anytime rolls.)

He loves chocolate. Especially good-quality chocolate.

He and my mom have been married for four decades.

Sometimes at the dinner table, he'd look at us five girls and say, "Yep, I'm a rich man. Rich in daughters. So blessed."

His typical response to "How are you?" is "Blessed."

He was in the Army for loooonnng time and retired a Colonel. Now he is an adjunct professor at BYU, and he loves it.

He loves to brag about my mom, and we love to listen.

He taught us girls fantastically-debilitating self-defense, or, in shorthand, how to "fight like a lion".

He called me from an airport once to tell me that Brown-Eyed Girl was on, and that it made him think of me.

Day 19

This is Blizzard, the superhero lizard. My beloved Q made it for Jaxon for Christmas! Jaxon LOVES tiny things, and this little piece of felt perfection made him swoon. There’s also a kitty (Savvy’s) and a monkey (Reed’s) that I need to relocate. Q is a brilliant crafter, wouldn’t you say?

Day 18

This cake looks gorgeous, right? It looks delectable, right? Like gourmet food?

Sadly, it was not near as good as I hoped it would be! I think I over-baked the cake, because it was really dry and oddly dense. I was disappointed, especially since I was trying to show off for the book club ladies. (Pride goes before the fall, eh?) Hee hee....anyway, it was gorgeous, and I was still proud of it. Next time I'll try a different cake recipe (one I'm comfortable with), and then just decorate it the same, or with some fun variations. (HERE is the source for the recipe)

Day 17

On some Sundays, I feel like I need to record how cute/clean my kids look before I let them loose. They were adorably compliant this time, really sweet to each other, and gave me some options for future posts.

Oh, and I LOVE the height difference in the second picture. It just makes me smile.

Day 16

Jaxon and I made these cookie bowls. They didn't turn out near as pretty as the originals, but they were yummy and lots of fun anyway.

Day 15

My heart breaks a little more every time he gets a haircut. He looks so much older to me. *sigh*

Day 14

I guess it was really only a matter of time before I joined the ranks of couponers posting pictures of their spoils. :) This was my first time. I was REALLY slow, REALLY disorganized, and REALLY grateful to have my friend, Kimber, helping me with every little detail. I'll keep practicing, so hopefully I'll become more efficient and accomplish my goal, which is to build a good supply of toiletries and food staples. As it is, I'm pretty happy with my shopping for today! Twenty-three dollars' worth of stuff for ten dollars. Not too shabby!
P.S.-It isn't obvious that my hair is THICK-CURLY-THICK, is it?

Day 13

Jaxon's weekly homework usually has a space on the back that directs him to write a sentence and illustrate it. Yesterday he was dreading that part of his assignments, so to make it fun for him, I suggested a simple sentence, and it made him laugh so hard! Then I laughed really hard, too, while I watched him illustrate it. Behold: The cat is fat. (That thing around its belly is a belt.)

Day 12

When I am putting away laundry at night (it's usually at night, and lately it has been every night), I can't help but sneak a look at my sleeping children. They look so relaxed and angelic, it's always a treat. It also always reminds me of their true nature--pure and beautiful. So last night I captured a look at Savvy. The light on her face is from her closet.

Day 11

Oh, to be a cat. They love the boys' beds.

Day 10

The problem with making an effort to make my bed every day is that I just want to sleep in it all day. It looks too comfortable....

Day 9

It's raining today, and it was raining yesterday when I took this picture and meant to post it, but forgot! It seems that when it rains in Texas, it does it for a week at a time. I like rain, thankfully, but it does require a little more creativity on my part when it comes to entertaining the kids, and I prefer that in one-day doses. ;)

Day 8

These gorgeous little earrings (each about the size of a penny) were (made and) sent to me by my (creative inspiration and) dear friend, Cara, whose example I've followed in starting this blog. I LOVE these earrings! The color is delicious and looks amazing with the dark-teal dress I'm wearing to church today, and they kind of remind me of the 50's mysterious-demure-feminine-sexy sort of ladies. My favorite!

Day 7

I've been posting daily for a week! That's a big deal.

I love lamp. (Name that movie.) I have a thing for lamps! This is a little funny and a lot weird, but a good lamp just makes me feel really happy.

Day 6

My pictures are kind of boring, aren't they?! I'm going to have to step it up.....anyway, today I have been working out for FIVE DAYS IN A ROW! People, that is a HUGE deal for me right now! I don't WANT to work out, I don't want to eat mindfully, but I know I need to and I'm (begrudgingly) doing it. I promised myself I'd ease into this new routine, and I have. I've only been doing about 20-40 minutes each workout, and usually Pilates or fast-walking/slow-running, usually with my music (which I LOVE). And I didn't give myself any sort of minimum/max for this week, I just resolved to move more and eat less. I'm happy to say I have!

Day 5

I'm actually really proud of this little bandaid on my arm. I got my TdaP booster today!

Day 4

My current reading material. Top one is mine, bottom one is what I'm reading to the kids at night. Top one made me laugh and yell today. (You would, too, if you were reading about the man who discovered that doctors should WASH THEIR HANDS so as to NOT KILL THEIR PATIENTS.....seriously. Read it.)

Day 3

Today the boys went back to school after their winter break. I wasn't terribly excited about the thought of waking up early again, but I knew the boys would be happier (read: less contentious and stir-crazy) in their regular routine again, and I knew Savvy and I would enjoy having our mornings with each other again. Today we did Pilates together (her? adorable. me? not adorable.), read books, ate cashews, made chicken soup, and cleaned and cuddled. She's my little buddy; I think I'm probably going to melt into a puddle of tears on her first day of school.

Day 2

One day I came into our bedroom and was just putting some stuff away. I glanced at my bed, which was unmade. I moved to start making it--and my blankets moved! This was the darling little surprise I found therein.

Day 1

This is how we started our new year--at 2:50a.m. Reed and Savvy woke up during the ungodly hours of the night/early morning with various difficulties, and then poor Jaxon bit his cheek in his sleep! He woke up crying and saying, "It hurts so baaaad!" Phill went to the store to buy every sort of numbing oral agent he could find. He also bought a nasal aspirator, as Jaxon's nose was insanely stuffed. Phill really saved the day! We slept quite late; too late, in fact, to make it to church on time. But I'm feeling grateful for my husband today, and enjoying the quiet time at home after a weekend with (wonderful) family!

Intro

I'm going to follow in the footsteps of my dear friend, Cara Jean Means, and (try to) blog a picture a day for a year! (You've got to go look at her blog; it's such a cool perspective to see an entire year of pictures!) I'm sure I'll miss a day here or there, or maybe have to post ahead of time some days, but I'm pretty excited to try it out! It'll be good for me to have (even more of) an excuse to take out my camera. And it'll keep my skills fresh, maybe. ;)