A conversation

Portia: Mom, Spiderman really loves spiders. I think they're his favorite.

Me. Yeah, I think so.

Portia: I guess his family forgot to tell him that spiders are scary.

Spoken like the true daughter of a mother who suffers from Arachnophobia. 

My Fam

Today's Write Yourself Happy prompt is:  

What are ten things you love about your family?

1. I married my best friend. I love Brandon more and more each day.

What a hunk!

2. I have beautiful babies. 

Seriously. Beautiful babies.

3. We have fun together. 

Whenever the four of us hang out, just us, we always have a blast!

4. We can be silly together.

We have no problems letting loose and laughing our butts off.

5. My girls are best friends.

I love that they are buddies!

6. Brandon is an excellent dad.

He loves spending time with our daughters, and adores them.

7. My girls love spending time with me.

I love that they request snuggles and kisses from me all day long!

8. Brandon is a hard worker.

He works so hard every day to provide for us, and I love him all the more for it.

9. I get to watch my girls discover the world.

This last week, they discovered dandelions.

10. I get to spend eternity with my three favorite people.

http://www.mormon.org/values/family

Today's Makeup

I love this look from Linda Hallberg, so I thought I'd try it out!

I like it!

Timothy the Bunny

Last night, Brandon found a tiny baby bunny cowering in our garage. He was crying, soaking wet, and terrified of our cats, who were stalking him. 

Brandon scooped him up, and brought him inside, where I did some swifty googling.

I found out that he was a baby cottontail, and was old enough to leave his nest by himself. I think he probably got lost and then cornered by the cats.

After texting back and forth with a wildlife rescuer from Wild Heart Ranch, we put him in a box with a towel in the bottom and some fresh grass, and a hot pad underneath to keep him warm.

He was so cute and tiny, but so scared! The girls decided to call him Timothy. They were so excited, and so sweet to him. They whispered and stayed back so as not to frighten him, and they were so excited to release him in the morning, that they went right to sleep!

He slept overnight, and this morning, we released him outside again. He was terrified at first, but once he realized he was outside again, he started to move around and nibble on some grass.

Sweet little guy! Go find your mama, Timothy!

Happy Easter!

http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694

Because of Him, families are forever.

And I get to be their mother!

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Quotes to Live By

Today's Write Yourself Happy prompt is: 

Write down five positive affirmations, quotes, or bible verses you want to incorporate more in your daily life.

Several quotes came to mind right away.


1. "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."
-Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (movie)
I love this quote, even though it's not technically in the book. It's another reminder that happiness is a choice, one that is made every day.

2. "Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it." -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (book)
I love the reminder that what we say to others and ourselves can leave either lasting damage or heal unseen wounds.


3. "I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls." -Audrey Hepburn
I agree completely! When we love ourselves, when we choose happiness, we are beautiful.


4."Most people are [real nice]... when you finally see them." -Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
Everyone has good in them. Every person is a child of God, and when we try, it is easy to see.


5.

Oh, Mr. Feeny, you wise man! I think I wept when I first saw this episode all those years ago. This is what he was trying to teach Cory the entire series: Believe in yourself. Dream. Try. Do good. What words to live by!

Paper Dolls

While browsing Pinterest this morning, I came across some gorgeous Disney paper dolls from artist, Cory Jensen. He is amazing! First of all, he has every Disney princess, plus the princes, villains, side characters, and even celebrities like Beyonce and Marilyn Monroe. And, they are all free to download!

Check out his Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/PaperDollsByCory

I decided to make paper doll quiet books for the girls for church. So I printed out the princesses and dresses that the girls picked on heavy cardstock. We got Anna and Elsa from Frozen, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, and Jasmine from Aladdin. I printed mine at UPS, but if your printer can handle it, it's much cheaper to do at home!

Gorgeous, right?

I cut everything out,

and laminated the dolls to the inside of file folders. 

I just used some laminating strips bought at any craft store.

Next, I laminated all the dresses and re-cut them out. Then, I put velcro strips on both the princesses and the dresses.

 And voila! 

The girls haven't stopped playing with them!

Mommy win!

Chocolate Bunny

This morning on one of the girls' cartoons, the Easter bunny gave the kids animal crackers instead of candy.

As you can see, Portia and Margot were less than impressed.

Portia said "Mom, when the Easter bunny comes to our house, he's going to bring chocolate."

You bet, kiddo.

5 People I Love

Today's Write Yourself Happy prompt is:

List 5 people you completely admire and role model. Tell us why you love them so and what attributes are so admirable.

Here you go! In no particular order, here are 5 people I love:


1. My sister, Carrie.

She is brave and hard-working, beautiful and kind, and more hilarious than anyone else I know. The wonderful thing about Carrie is that I know that no matter what, she will be there for me. I don't know where I'd be with out her.
I loce you, Larry!


2. Brandon, my amazing husband.

He makes me so happy, and I can't imagine life without him. He tells me I'm beautiful every day, even when I'm still in pjs and my hair's not brushed. He gave me two beautiful daughters, and is the best daddy to them I could imagine. He is funny and good and smart and handsome, and I love him with all my heart.


3. Ron Weasley. (C'mon, like I'm going to make a list of influential people without someone from Harry Potter on it.)

Here's the dealio: I love Ron. A lot of people take him at face value - a funny guy. And he is funny, but he's so much more as well. He is the first friend Harry ever had, and from the very beginning, he is willing to put his own wishes and desires on the back burner. Think about it. In the first book, when Ron looks in the Mirror or Erised, all he sees is himself getting a little recognition. All he wants in life is to not be in someone's shadow. And yet, for 99% of the series, he hops right into Harry's shadow, simply because he knows Harry needs him.


4. My friend, Hannah.

She is one of the strongest women I know. She is graceful and intelligent, and a spectacular friend. One of my favorite memories of Hannah is also one of my earliest. She came over to my house when I was about 8 1/2 months pregnant with Margot, and just sat and talked with me for hours. I always have fun when we get together.


5. My old roommate, Ashlee.

I have been thinking of her a lot recently, as she just got married! I don't think she knows how much of an influence she had on me 9 years ago when we lived together. When I think back to my college years, every happy memory has Ashlee in it. She was always kind to me, even when I was really hard to live with. If I can be half the friend to someone that Ashlee was to me, than I have succeeded.

mommy win

The other day, Portia walked up to me, wrapped her arms around my neck and said "You're a good mommy."

Win!

Chateau de Gudanes

In 2013, a couple bought an abandoned French mansion in the Midi-Pyrénées, and started the long and exciting journey of restoring it to its 18th century glory.

And I just found the blog.

The Chateau de Gundanes was built in the early 1700s by Louis Gaspard de Sales, Marquis de Gudanes.

It has sat empty for years now, and the Australian couple who purchased it are planning to restore the house, and the gardens and orchards as well. 

I am loving this. It's like HGTV, but fancier, and French.

Read more here: http://www.messynessychic.com/2014/03/28/couple-buys-abandoned-french-chateau-start-blog-share-journey/

Check out the blog here: http://www.chateaugudanes.com/

Mormon Prom

This past Friday night was the Youth Prom for our church. I had the pleasure of planning it, along with my friend, Genelle. We've been brainstorming, meeting together, shopping, and building for weeks now, and we were so excited to see our vision come to life!

The prom was for all youth in our area, ages 16 and up, and it was Hollywood Glam themed. Genelle and I had a ton of help building and setting up the decor, and running the dance itself!

Our photo booth, complete with every prop you can imagine:

The youth had a blast, and so did we!

My awesome mother-in-law, Sherrie, and I.

Thanks to everyone who made the night possible!