North Carolina

So way back in April, I was so lucky to go to North Carolina to visit Jon and Sharmyn.  I don't know why I haven't blogged about it yet.  No offense Sharmyn, I'm just lazy.

In March, Ryan received a super secret phone call from Jon inviting me to fly out and visit with them as a suprise to Sharmyn for my birthday.  Of course, I was jumping for joy!  It was all I could do to not say anything to Sharmyn.  Turns out, Jon is not a good secret keeper.  He spilled the beans, but it made it even funner because we got to plan out our limited time. 

I flew all day to get to North Carolina.  I was warmly welcomed, took a house tour of Sharmyn's beautiful house and enjoyed her home cooking.  It was the best spaghetti I've ever had with the most delicious cheese on top.  What was it called again?  I then retreated to my lovely guest bedroom complete with beautiful tulips just for me. 

Saturday was my birthday!  Sharmyn made delcious crepes with the best homemade strawberry jam and a delicous green smoothie complete with her own homemade yogurt.  Mmm!  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.  We then went and did a little bit of the day of service her ward was doing.  I've never seen so many people working so hard together.  It was inspiring!  We then snuck out to do a little shopping.   Anthropology, Pottery Barn and Barnes and Noble of course.  I got the cutest little number and spice jars and a pretty plate just to name a few of the goodies that I bought there. 

At Barnes and Noble, I was introduced to this sweet line of sationary goods for kids.  What was it called?  Can't remember, but I loved it all.  I got the kids there own tin pencil box with pencil, sharpener, eraser, pen and ruler.  They love them!

We grabbed a HUGE burrito and ran home to get ready for my birthday party.  Shramyn invited some of their friends to celebrate with me.  The food, of course, was fantastic!  Homemade bread, spaghetti with yummy turkey bolagnese (sp?), salad and strawberry drink.  Martha Stewart strawberry cupcakes were delicious!  Sharmyn made me a cute little tray and a fabric flower.  They are so fun!

Sunday was delightful.  It was fun to watch Jon and Sharmyn in action.  The people were all so friendly.  I miss them very much.  That afternoon, I took a delightfully long nap.  I didn't mean to, but the room was so pleasant.  Then up for a delicious dinner of course.  That night, we played games and laughed so hard.  It was the BEST!

Monday, we ran around thrifting.  I was thrilled with everything that I got.  North Carolina is like a goldmine of thrify goodness.  I'm pretty sure it was mostly because I was with my sister.  Half-way through the day, I started to miss her already.  That night,  more friends came over for Family night.  Family night was really nice.  I liked having a group family night and thought that I should do that when I get home.  Maybe I've been home long enough? 

Tuesday morning, bright and early, I was out the door to fly home.  It was so hard to leave.  I miss my sister dearly and I am so thankful that she did this for me.  I only wish that I could do it everyday with her.  I miss watching Jon and their dog in the yard.  I miss the kitties sitting on the table eating their breakfast.  I miss the beautiful tree lined roads and everything about it.  North Carolina is a beautiful place !

Much love! Megan

Refilled

Apparently, I think that I can do it all. In the midst of giving my upstairs bathroom a little lipstick (well - make that a face lift) redo, I got a call from the New American Philharmonic needing a substitute flute player. Even though I knew that I would have to get a babysitter for most of the rehearsals and performances, I could not say no. The bathroom got put on hold and I danced off to play with the symphony.

Symphony + me = true love
Ahhh...pure bliss for me.

If just playing with the symphony wasn't enough, I also got to play a fantastic piccolo part (Thank you to Lorinda for letting me borrow her handmade Haynes picc! It was lovely!), I got to reunite with three of my best college friends Erin, Justin and Holly. It's amazing how different our lives are now. Imagine Peace Corp, living in New York, performing with Ballet West/Utah Symphony/Salt Lake Symphony etc., Master degrees and such compared to my child rearing days.
I find myself at the end of a whirlwind the last two weeks were feeling my "just me and myself only" cup refilled. A bonus for taking some time to be challenged and rising to the opportunity, I learned a few things.

1. I love being a mother to my three children. I love being a wife to my sweet husband. I am grateful for my life and my experiences these past ten years.
2. I realized that I really do have a real talent and it is one of the things that define who I am now not as something that I used to do.
3. It's just like riding a bike, you never forget. It's been ten years since I played with a symphony and ten years since I played a piccolo. While sight reading the first night, I turned the page and discovered my piccolo part. I turned to the principal flute Lorinda needing a piccolo. She tossed me hers and I dove right in right there with no warning. This was invigorating! Even though I have continued to play with the flute choir and teach flute lessons, I haven't had to challenge myself for quite a while.
4. I figured out how to practice efficiently. I was able to learn five symphonies in just a few short days with limited practice time.
   I do better when I enjoy myself. The Principle flautist for Ballet West shared with Holly her philosophy for performing. She tells herself that she won't make mistakes. (You must know that Jane is a machine. She is amazing!) Holly laughed and said "Good for you, but for the rest of us humans...". Over the years, I've learned that people aren't listening for mistakes and they usually don't hear them. When I didn't worry about myself and just enjoyed the audience enjoying the ballet, I played my best.
5. I am hungry for more!

Now I am back to the daily grind, trying to force myself to get the bathroom finished (don't worry, I will share the afters) apologizing for the delay on several custom orders (Don't worry girls! You will have your new tassels this week.), and neglecting the blog and the shop. You see, even though I think that I can do it all, I can't. Especially all at the same time! :)

Mother's Day

Happily, Mother's Day was a nice day this year. The kids were super excited about it this year and it was especially nice that Mia's birthday didn't fall on the same day. It makes for a conflicting day!

For weeks ahead of time, Jake excitedly asked me my favorite colors and what I liked. Mia told me about cards and gifts that she had made in school and drew a new card for me daily. Together, they crafted something special with their Grandma just for me. There excitement about it all was the best part of my day!

That morning, I was showered with gifts and love from my babies. They brought me breakfast in bed. Cereal and toast with honey butter. They brought me card after card that they had made. They gave me the gifts that they made. Three brand new beaded bracelets and a matching necklace were my gift from them. Jake water colored on a photograph of him from school. Mia's cards were darling. Lots of hugs and kisses too. It was wonderful fun!

Church was busy of course, but they brought a sweet little card that Sam colored in nursery with a flower pen that had a cute poem on it. Another card from Mia and Jake from Primary. A sweet Mother's Day medley sung by my Primary kids and red geraniums.

We enjoyed dinner with the in-laws and dessert with my parents. I had just two tags left over from my Piper and Chloe Spring showcase that we perfect to decorate my mother's and mother-in-laws presents.

That night, I got spoiled one more time when Ryan gave me his sweet and loving card and my all time favorite movie, The Italian Job. Go ahead and laugh if you need to, but I love it!

I wish that I would of had Ryan take my picture with my kids but I was so enjoying my time with them, that I forgot to ask. So, even though it's late, Thank you to all my loved ones for a Happy Mother's Day for me!

Sore. So sore.

Usually when I have a deadline (big boutique at the end of the month) I can't seem to focus on the project at hand. (You know, make a billion things to fill my booth so I can actually pay for the costs of the boutique.) But my work space, it just wasn't cutting it. Imagine a room where a bomb of crafting, scrapbooking, tasseling, reading and computering stuff has exploded. Now times that by ten and you may have a visual of our room. I couldn't stand it anymore. It had to be cleaned. It had to be a space that I could work in.

I had spent the morning complaining to Kem that I should really be doing XYZ but all I wanted to do was project overhaul. Mid-conversation, I wonder why I wasn't going to do it and decided that I could. I'm tough, right? Right?? Fast-forward to me moving all of the furniture myself and cursing my weak little self for not waiting for the muscles to help. Why was everything so heavy? I realized something very important about myself:

Tough I am not, determined I am.

Finally, after hours of moving, removing and moving one more time, stopping for a parent-teacher conference, visiting teaching visit and babysitting for the night oh, and forgetting about a meeting, I figured it out. A new work space that is looking like it might function a lot better than the old one. Feels much better than the bombed room that it was even though it still sports throw up carpet, wood paneling and pink and blue floral wallpaper. The pretty it up part is going to have to wait. I am too sore from moving all that furniture!

So are you wondering where the big reveal pictures are now?? Sorry, no pictures today. Still working on Mission Organization. Need something to look at?? Visit Megity's Handmade and see my primer white mantel! Oh, and some fun Easter tassels too.

Hot Rod Mama

This girl taught me how to ride a motorcycle and I LOVED it! I rode up and down the street shivering cold, laughing so hard my eyes were tearing up and had a huge perma-grin on my face. It was awesome!! Kem was laughing just as hard as I was, especially when I stalled it and couldn't get it started again then tipped over her bike. That was the highlight of the entertainment that I brought to the neighborhood that day. Wouldn't you love to watch some silly girl laughing hard like an idiot, riding a bike around?

I'm cool. I can (sorta) ride a dirt bike now.

Yellow Pages

Explain to me why me, the girl who never chooses yellow, has a sudden attraction to bright yellow accessories?

Ooooo! A punchy yellow yet inviting armchair! Aaaah!! Bright and cheery plates! And now I should co-ordinate with my new decor with this chunky yellow necklace and sassy flats.

Anthropology. How do I love thee. Too bad I will never be able to actually purchase something from you.

(*Even though I am craving yellow, I been using lots of cream, brown and pink. Check out my newest tassels on Megity's Handmade!*)

Two years ago....

I looked like this:

Flautisimo

This year, the flute choir that I play in, Flautisimo, Christmas schedule was nice and light. I am very thankful for that! Last year it was so crazy!

Our first performance was at the Joseph Smith Memorial building. It's such a pretty place to be and fun to play at. We played from the balcony to the visitors below as they came and went.

Do you see me?? Second from the right, bottom row.

The building was decorated beautifully. The tree was amazing! Thanks to Nicole for having the foresight to take a few pictures of the performance. It's nice to have.

That night, we played at the local Nativity celebration. It was quick and easy and I was fortunate to have my mother-in-law Sharon and Aunt Megan (Dee! Dee!) come and help with my kids. It's always helpful to not have to pay for a babysitter. I snuck little peaks at my kids while we were playing. It's hard not to laugh! It's not something that they really, um, enjoy. Thank goodness for Gram, Dee! Dee! and snacks!

Afterwards, we enjoyed the displays and craft projects they had to offer. Then it was time for the lighting parade. The Christmas parade is such a crack up!! I think it might be the worlds shortest parade yet. The parade got to us at 6:13pm and we were home by 6:27pm. All of the cars and fire engines and what nots are all lit up. My favorite by far is the V-Dub club. They were decked out in lights complete with trees on top of the bugs and buses. (I drove a VW bus in High School and college and it was an absolute blast! I do miss it.) Of course the Grinch on top of a little beater car with a snow shovel strapped to the front that had a stuffed dog on it made me laugh. I sure wish that I would remember my camera for this stuff. It's a priceless tradition that we have enjoyed for the past two years.

Just one more flute performance and we will be done for the holiday. I can't believe how fast it all is flying by. Sammy's birthday is next week!

Happy Birthday to me!

Growing up, birthdays were a huge deal in our house. We looked forward to being completely entertained and spoiled all day long. I remember my mom making breakfast in bed served on the "You are special today" plate, lots of singing - made up songs are always the best, Mom renting me a favorite movie to watch after school with popcorn and gummy bears, making my favorite dinner and a beautiful cake. It was always grand and always fun and who doesn't love to be spoiled? As we have grown up, moved out and had our own families we have continued some traditions, others lost, and some new traditions made but we haven't lost the birthday song. Oh no, it's has only improved over the years. The best "singer" in our family, hands down, is Sharmyn. All day long she will call just to sing you another rendition of birthday songs. It's so hilarious and I love every second of it. Today, I seemed to miss everyone of Sharm's calls. The only thing that makes it okay that I missed these calls are all of the messages that I get to keep. Several amazing, original songs were created today. You see, Sharmyn has this special talent of making up songs on the spot and she is most definitely gifted. Thank you Sharmyn for all of your calls and songs! They make me so happy! I think that the yodeling song was my favorite of the day!




Another tradition is that everything that you do during your birthday day, has to be explained as if it was some sort of spectacular birthday celebration. For example, my celebration started off with getting Jake out to school and a washing dishes! Later that day, we went shopping with all the customers that came out shopping for my birthday. Everything is a birthday something when it's your birthday, no matter how mundane and un-birthday it might be.


Ryan grilled us a wonderful dinner. Steak and asparagus that was so tasty. (Side note, I actually dislike steak in general but love the way Ryan makes steak. I only like his and no others. He knows just how I like it! Odd, I know!)

The kids made me birthday cards tonight. They were so cute asking me not to peak but coming over and having me pick my favorite animal or favorite fish. They created a birthday card masterpieces and were very proud of themselves. They were more than excited to give them to me. I enjoyed their excitement and their cards, a candy bar that Jake bought for me with his own money, a pretty silver bracelet and as always, a great card for Ryan. He finds the best cards and writes the nicest things in them.

We moved onto the birthday cake which was yummy fruit pizza. I love fruit pizza! I love the strawberries, kiwis and the orange zest sauce. Mmmmm!! Yum!! We didn't have 31 candles of course, so the kids made a three and a one out of several candles. They sang me a song and blew out the candles when Mia proclaimed "This birthday is the best birthday I ever had for you!!".


Mom, Dad and Colin came over late tonight and spoiled me. It was so fun to have them over. I am happy that we live close to them. Overall, it was a good birthday I think. I am grateful for my family who loves me and all the calls that I got and the special songs sang just for me. Thank you everybody!! I really loved it!

And finally, of course, a very Happy Birthday to Megan!! No, not me silly. Jessica's Megan. She was born on my birthday and as Jess puts it, just needed her name to be Megan. She's an adorable spunky little girl that we all love to bits!

Not for cleaning anymore.

Saturdays used to be the day that everyone worked and worked to get the house clean. We had lots of chores that had to be done before we could play. There were never ending projects and Dad's lists that were longer than the rest of ours. He always worked all day long into the wee hours of the morning. Then we had a sparkly clean house with many new projects finished and the sense of accomplishment mixed with exhaustion. That's how Saturdays used to be. Fast forward to today. There was no cleaning done today. I really want it all clean, but there is just no time. This is what my Saturdays are like now.

• Wake up with baby before 7am. Nurse baby and feed kids.
• Run early to the craft store to get the crafts that I need for Christmas presents on sale. 40% discount is definitely worth it.
• Then went oh so late to my 8:30am rehearsal.
• Back home after 10:30am.
• Take care of baby that couldn't wait to see me again and negotiate play time for Mia.
• Wash, dry and style Mom's hair. She's my babysitter on Saturday mornings. It's wonderful! She comes to ME so I can go to rehearsals.
• Send home the extra four children that had migrated to my house so I can take Mom to run errands.
• Go to Rod Works for Mom where she buys a really fun Santa. Jessica, you would love it!
• Run into Target so I can see if they have any sale toys left that we wanted. Get one rain check, a bag of carrots, a free box of brownies and chocolate icing. The samples sold me.
• Drop Mom off at home where she loads me up with Thanksgiving leftovers and homemade fudge. I am the favorite you know. :)
• Hurry home to bathe everyone and finally get a shower. It's after 1:30pm by now.
• Dry my hair and Mia's new do and get some make-up on.
• Put baby down for nap.
• Talk Mia out of playing outside in her best church dress and put on something warm. We settle on cowboy boots, a long sleeve dress, coat, Jake's gloves and a pretty bow. The bow part was crucial.
• Finally get a chance to eat some lunch but realize that something spilled in the fridge, the dishes are still on the table, the stove has dried soup on it and there are 180 million crayons all over the floor.
• Remember that I heated up soup 15 minutes ago and force myself to stop so I can eat. Hearty Hodgepodge soup with whole wheat bread and butter and a glass of Gingerale. Mmmm....comfort food.
• Negotiate more playtime.
• Find clean clothes for kids for tonight's concert.
• Realize that I need to leave to pick up Mom in just 20 minutes and I am blogging about my day while my house is not cleaning itself.

Still need to figure out my concert clothes for the flute concert tonight in just over an hour. Guess I don't have time to practice. And I haven't started my Primary lesson. Don't forget that! I think that I will go and eat another piece of homemade fudge and then go squeeze myself into my concert black and hustle out to get Mom.

You would think that I'd know better.

Isn't it hilarious that I thought last night was almost done. Hahahahaha! Just "eat dinner, put the kids to bed and watch a movie." Yeah.....right. I forgot about the homework that wasn't finished, the laundry, the baby being grumpy, the dinner dishes, vacuuming the stupid kitchen because I dropped and shattered a glass while washing the dishes, cleaning up a billion and one crayons, scrubbing down the highchair, Sammy's huge stinky diaper, Mia's bath, the urge to make apple fritters and share them with friends, Mia's family preschool page needed to be made for today, and we needed to get shredded paper from Papa for Jake's school project. Phew.

The apple fritters were okay. I added cinnamon because I have a strong love affair with apples and cinnamon. I was happy that the kitchen was clean and the forced vacuuming of the dreaded blue kitchen carpet is always good even if it only stays clean for a nano-second. Who puts carpet in the kitchen anyway? Finally, the kids were in bed and actually asleep after they came out 15 billion times when I finally yelled to them to STAY. IN. THEIR. ROOMS. PUH-LLLEASE!!! All the while wondering if this day would ever end. Blasted daylight savings. I would think it's time for bed and it would only be 7pm. Argh. Another hour. Exhausted, I fell asleep before the movie.

Does anyone else think that these daylight savings day are dragging on forever?

Overlapping schedules

Today, I had tons to do and everything overlapped.

• 8:00am-8:45am :: Parents and pastries reading activity.
• 9:00am :: Doctor appointment for Sam - including a flu shot for the little man. He had the cutest little frown on his face after he got it.
• 9:30am-11:15am :: Babysit the cutest little girl in the neighborhood. well next to Mia of course.
• 11:30am-4:15pm :: Went to work. It was a lot of information.
• 4:48pm :: Get home in time to leave again for the big kids and I to get flu shots. We got the last two Flu Mists. Halle-stinking- lujah! I got the shot.
• 5:40pm-ish :: Finally get home
• 5:46pm :: Jessica calls and promptly hangs up the phone then calls back again. She blamed it on her earring. It happens.
• 6:10pm :: Blogged about my day. Gotta keep my NaBloPoMo up.
• 6:22pm :: Going to eat dinner! Ryan is making fried chicken. I LOVE when Ryan makes dinner.

I just have a some laundry that I have to do, put the kids to bed and then snuggle up with my husband to watch disk 4 of "The Unit". He totally got me into it. It's been a busy day but all was good. Hope your day was good!

It works for me.

I dug through mounds of t-shirts and jeans today looking for a nice blouse and pants praying that they would fit. Then dusted off my black heels that were buried in the back of my closet. Obviously, being a stay at home mom, it's not everyday that I use these things. Dropped the baby off at the babysitters then dropped off Mia at preschool. The feeling of freedom rushes over me. It's quiet. No Radio Disney blaring High School Musical. No demands to find a small toy that has fallen at their feet. No non-stop talking or bickering. Peace and quiet, a side benefit from the job interview I had today. The job that I got, thank you very much. She hired me on the spot saying that she usually waits until the next day to let the candidates know. She thought I was just darling, cute, perfect for the job. So, months after the Gap closing, I got myself a little part time job. I am so excited to go to work and have a break from the demands of three children. Isn't it funny that a job becomes a break for me?

Me + flute + Flautisimo = one happy mama.

Very happy to be playing again with the flute choir.

It's an indulgent for me.

It still makes my heart go pitter-patter.

I was reading this post today about a little man named Sam and how he loves the mail. Immediately, I remembered my passion; I loved to play office.
I had a fun little set up. I remember setting up my little table by my window in my pink stripe wallpapered room. I had Dad's fabulous calculator that would print out and some of his stamps for official business use. I would make sheets of paper crinkly by spraying them lightly with the Amway spray bottle and laying them in the sun to dry. Oh, what a wonderful crinkly sound they would make. I would officially walk around my desk, type numbers as fast as I could and shuffle and stamp, shuffle and stamp. It was all very important ya know.
I remember the squish, squish sound that my green carpet made that I liked, the sunshine streaming in from my window and my closet that I would hide in to take naps. And that crinkling paper. *sigh*
It's funny, but I still love big print out calculators, stamps and that crinkling sound. And cash registers. Love cash registers! I remember seeing one at a garage sale with Teryn many, many years ago and really wanting it. It makes me smile.
What did you love? Yes, I am talking to all of my "lurking not wanna commenter's". Don't worry, I won't bite, but I might make you play office with me.