Saved!

I was summoned the jury duty a while back and my summons date is for tomorrow. But I called like you are supposed to the day before and I don't think I'll have to go! My group has to call in at 11. But I am thinking/hoping I won't have to go in! I am so glad!!!

The potty training continues. She doesn't have it down yet, but we are getting there. She is great at night--no accidents (knock on wood), and great on errands, etc., we are just working on home! She knows, but it's getting to the potty before it comes out!

Today was back to the routine--back to school and preschool. We ventured out to Albertson's for some groceries, but that is it. It's been another day of following Ellie very closely and asking every few minutes, "Are you dry? Tell mommy if you need to go potty."

For dinner tonight I tried a new recipe and it was a hit (with Brian and Eliza at least). I made German pancakes. We put syrup, strawberries and powdered sugar on top. We decided the taste is similar to french toast. Yum! So so easy, too, which I love.

After dinner we all went out back and had fun playing. Eliza and Brian played soccer and I threw the ball to Libby and she practiced hitting. Ellie was mostly in or pulling the wagon with Hattie. We stayed outside for family home evening, which I had to cut out early for a potty break with Ellie. Then baths and bed!

It's just a start to a busy week!

End of Spring Break

Spring Break Day 5: First a sad update on the cow. The mom didn't make it either. I guess they are both together now, but how sad! And it was a total loss as they couldn't butcher her either because the baby was dead inside of her for so long.

On Friday morning, Brian got all packed up and ready for the last exciting event of spring break: a father/daughter camp out. My brother (Brian) and his two kids went, too. They picked up Eliza and Libby at his parents, then they were off. They went to the Superstition Mountains. They did a drive, then camped out for the night. Dinner was roasted hot dogs and s'mores. This morning they had breakfast, did a little more driving and some hiking. They all seemed to have a great time.








The last day of spring break was my first day of potty training with Ellie. That is what we did while they were off camping. My parents came over on Friday to help entertain Hattie so I could focus all my attention on Ellie. Things are going okay--mediocre, but I am not going back. I am going to keep with it until she gets it. I bought an e-book I found online about potty-training and it's quite similar to what I have done with both girls so far, but she did give a few other suggestions in her book that I am trying. She has had more accidents than successes, but I can tell she is learning. I'll be so thrilled when she gets it and we're done! But I am so so tired of following her around and asking, "Are your panties dry? Let mommy know when you need to go potty."

Tonight I got a little break when I went to the General Young Women's Broadcast. It was a great meeting...all the talks were great. I especially loved one of the stories that Susan Tanner shared. I can't wait until the transcripts come out.

Here is to day three of potty training!

Spring Break Days 3 & 4

Yesterday was pretty low-key. Eliza went to her cousin Katie's birthday party. While she was there we hung out at my parent's house. We ate lunch and played. My dad came home for a minute and played outside with them. In the afternoon, Ellie and Hattie napped while the rest of us had quiet time (read: tried to keep my eyes open). I had mutual at night, and the laurels went to Marcy's house and played "ultimate spoons." You start by playing the card game "spoons" and whoever doesn't get a spoon is the "hider." She goes into a room in the house and hides spoons (one less than whoever is left in the game). Then we are in another room playing spoons (minus the spoons in the middle). Whoever gets four of a kind, drops her cards and runs into the other room to look for a spoon. Everyone else follows suit and runs in, too. Whoever doesn't find a spoon is the next hider, etc, until there is a champion. It was fun!

Today we hung out at home, spent some time outside--reading, playing, having a mini-picnic, etc. It got too hot (it's only March!), so we came in. The fun thing for today is that Libby and Eliza get to spend the night at Brian's parents' house. We took them over there in the late afternoon. They are having a great time, except one of their cows starting having a baby and sadly, the calf was too big and got stuck. They have been trying for a few hours to get it out (the vet is there), but the calf has passed away. It is not looking good for the mom either. It is so sad. My girls have been inside, but they are still sad. I didn't think I'd ever pray for a cow, but tonight that has changed. I hope they can save her.

Tonight I took senior pictures for one of my young women who is graduating, then I went visiting teaching.

Spring Break Day 2

This morning Eliza had her piano lesson so we didn't have to wait until this afternoon. Then we worked on the puzzles they got for Easter. Let me just say...puzzles are addicting! When I get working on a puzzle, I don't want to stop...it's like just one more piece..one more piece.... It's like reading a book or eating chips...just one more!!! But we had fun with them and finished Libby's puzzle from yesterday and did Eliza's, too.

Today's activity was Fiddlesticks. We got a babysitter for Hattie since she wouldn't have much fun, then the rest of us headed over there. We started with a round of miniature golf. It seemed like a speed round because they were so excited to get to the next hole. But they all had fun and loved having Brian help them with their swing. Ellie's strategy was to hit the ball once, then pick it up and drop it in the hole. I forgot my camera, but if I can get pictures off my phone, I'll upload them. After golf, we went inside for water and ice cream "novelties" (e.g. ice cream sandwich and Drumstick type things). Then we went back out for Eliza and Libby to ride the rookie go-karts. They had a blast! They each got their own car and went around and around. They both had smiles on the entire time. We ended with them riding a kiddie roller coaster. We got Ellie a ticket, too, and she got in, but when the worker came and put the seat belt down, she started crying. So we had to get her out and she just watched. Overall, it was a fun day together.

Spring Break Day 1

This is our first true spring break. Since we haven't had a child in school, spring break really didn't mean much. So this is a first!

This morning we hung out at home--spent some time out front, E & L watched Enchanted, and they (and Ellie) played in their room for a while. We had lunch and tidied up the house a bit. Brian came home soon after so we could do our first "spring break" activity: swimming at the resort.



My girls were so excited. And yes, the water was COLD!!! They are supposed to heat it up to 82 degrees, but we were told some hit the emergency shut off and the regular pool guy wasn't there to fix it. Bummer! Once you got in, it wasn't too bad, but getting in was hard. I only made not quite to my shoulders. Everyone else (except Hattie) got in all the way. Hattie did have a blast though in the water. She absolutely loved it! They have a beach entry at one end, so we hung out there, and she kept wanting to crawl farther and farther in. I would hold her and walk about a bit and she would wiggle to try to get down. We were glad she loved it. The highlight was the slide. Eliza, Libby and Brian went down several times. Ellie was so so sad that she was too little. She was ready to climb the stairs and we had to tell her she couldn't. She got a very sad face and was just heartbroken. So sad! She kept saying, "I do it. I do it." She did enjoy "swimming" and would say, "I swim to you, Mom." She is just so cute. We got out and the girls basked in the sun for a minute before we grabbed muffins from the concierge. As we were driving to get Papa Murphy's for dinner, Ellie said, "That was really fun." After family home evening and after Ellie and Hattie went to bed, the rest of us watched Enchanted. It was Brian's first time seeing it and he enjoyed it. The night ended with Libby doing my hair and Eliza doing my make up. I am glad her play make-up is very, very light! Then it was bedtime. We had plans for tomorrow, but E & L had some listening and sassy issues before bed, so we'll see if we actually go.

I think I could get used to spring breaks!

Easter

This morning started way too early with Eliza and Libby coming in at 4:30, wondering if the Easter bunny had come yet. I was like, "Um...not yet. You need to go back to sleep so he can come." They both climbed into bed with us and Libby went right back to bed. Eliza took a while to get back to sleep. And unfortunately, I never could get back to sleep. By 7:15 Libby was up and wanted me to get up with her see if the Easter bunny had come. She looked first and came back to report that she looked all around but couldn't find their baskets! This year the Easter bunny decided to do a scavenger hunt for them to find their baskets. So I went back in their with her to help her find the note he left. She grabbed the note and ran back in to our room and waited for Eliza to wake up (Ellie had woken up by now, too). So it was on to the hunt to find their Easter baskets. They LOVED it. I heard comments like, "This is the best Easter ever" and "The Easter bunny is so nice!" It was cute to see Eliza and Libby so excited. They found their baskets in our closet and had fun going through them. Eliza and Libby both got a pair of shorts and a t-shirt along with a puzzle and a "Reeseter Bunny" (a bunny-shaped peanut butter cup). Ellie got a Frisbee and sand toys and Hattie got a book. In her basket was a gift for everyone: the new Enchanted movie (Leslie--you can come watch anytime! I know it's your favorite! LOL!). And all this happened before church!

We got ready for church. I didn't do new Easter dresses for my girls. Probably a bad mom, but Eliza just got a new dress and my other girls had great looking hand-me-downs they had never worn yet, so I put them in those. ...except for Libby who opted for a tried and true outfit. Oh well! See...she probably wouldn't have worn a new dress anyway!


Church was great. The choir did a nice program with singing and narration. I didn't teach in young women, so I got to sit and enjoy Marci's lesson.

After church we came home and I quickly put together our dessert to bring to Brian's parents' for dinner. We went over there and had Easter dinner (ham, potatoes, etc.), then had dessert. I made two things basically because I couldn't decide. I've been wanting to make a "Lemon Poke Cake" that my grandma used to make. So I made that, and I also made a Strawberry Cheesecake trifle. Yum! When I am not so tired, I'll include the recipe. It was a hit!

We stayed there a while and visited while the kids played both inside and out. We had fun except I am so tired of my allergies or sinus or whatever I have!

Sleeping babies are irresistible aren't they?

Thursday night I went to our ward Enrichment night. We had dinner and they put on the musical presentation of the Ten Virgins parable. It was great. We have lots of talented women in our ward, even 3 of the young women were in it and sang solos. The room was beautifully decorated, like what a wedding in Jerusalem would have looked like. It was very well done. I love the book that the musical is based off of. Basically it gives each of the ten virgins a "story" and why she does or why she doesn't keep her lamp lit. It gives you a lot to think about. I love the thought of being ready for the "bridegroom" and making sure your lamp is lit as we don't know the "day or the hour," but I also like to think about being ready for all those "lamp moments" we have in our life. I spoke about this at our young women New Beginnings last year, but I like to ask myself if I'll have enough oil in my lamp for any thing or circumstance that is thrown in my path throughout my life. For example, will you be ready or prepared to deal with a difficult child, difficult in-laws, financial trouble, health issues...the list could go on. It's important that we are prepared for things in our life as well as for when the "end" comes. ...getting off my soapbox.

Friday Lib had preschool, and I met with Karolyn to talk about girls' camp stuff. It's not until July, but I am getting fairly excited and it'll go quick! Brian came home early, and I headed out to do some errands before date night. After we got our sitter, we had to sign our tax return so it could be filed, we got dinner at Sandbar, went to JoAnn's, then to a wedding reception. Then it was on to Target to finish Easter preparations.

Today was our 4th (I think) annual family Easter party. We met at my parents and enjoyed a good BBQ lunch. Then we had games. Dan & Chris had everyone guess how many robin eggs were in a container, then Brian (my brother) did his uber-popular "Tootie-Ta" with all kids. This year, Libby didn't do it nor did she do the relay game. Silly girl. I led the kids in a relay with the plastic egg on a spoon. Then it was inside for the fish pond where Grandpa and Grandma spoiled all the grandkids. After some fishing, Chris had the kids decorate a cupcake before they went out back for the Easter egg hunt.










It was a great time and everyone had fun celebrating and socializing.

We ended the day watching the city of Glendale channel 11. They are running a special about my dad who has been with the city as a police officer for 35 years--longer than anyone on the force. It was well done and fun to watch. So if you live in Glendale, you'll have to check it out!



I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning out closets, packing up winter clothes getting out stuff for the next season and cleaning out to give to DI. I never look forward to that job because it's a HUGE job and takes a long time. But it feels so good and refreshing to have it done.

I am trying to kick a sore throat and sinus yuck. I finally got some Aleeve cold and sinus, so I am hoping for some relief soon! That stuff works so great.

Egg Hunt #47

Yesterday I got out my girls' Easter baskets from last year and I had some leftover plastic eggs. So yesterday, Libby and Ellie made it the day-of-the-egg-hunts! First we started in the front room. I would hide the eggs and Libby would find them and vice versa. After a few times in there, we moved to Hattie's room. Then their room. Then my room. And then the backyard! I was egg-hunted out! Libby could have kept going all day; she loved it! She loved finding them and watching me try to find where she hid them. Ellie had fun, too, showing either of us where they were.

And today was yet another egg hunt! It was play group day at the park, so we all met there and the kids played a bit. We moms "hid" the eggs (a.k.a. spread them out over a grassy area), then each kid got to get 10 eggs. So fun! After that it was candy central! So much for trying to get my girls to eat their lunch there. My girls had fun and I had fun watching them and visiting with friends.

I have to record a funny, too, about Ellie. She calls her Easter basket "punkin" (translation: pumpkin). It's the funniest thing. In the garage I keep all the holiday stuff in one cabinet, and I had stacked their Easter buckets inside Ellie's pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket from this past year. So when we would go out there, she would say, "I want my punkin," meaning her Easter basket. So that is what she calls it.

This is also a very random thing, but ever since we got our van a few years ago, we've had trouble with the remote to unlock the doors and open the back doors. We've changed the batteries, but it didn't help. So for Christmas, Brian surprised me with new openers that worked--even inside the house. Well, it turned out to be worse than having one that didn't work great. The slightest budge would lock or unlock the door or turn it on the valet setting or passive setting or take it off of mute, etc. It was annoying!!! It was also somehow bad for the battery as every time we started the car, we would hold our breath hoping it would start! We took it in a couple of times and finally asked them to take it off and put it back how it was with the old remote that worked from only a few inches away. But he sent Brian away with a tip...to point the remote at your chin when trying to use it. Yeah...I was thinking what you are thinking. Yeah right; that is the dumbest thing I've heard. Well...it totally works! If your remote isn't working well, try it. You'll be surprised. I don't know how it makes it work better, but it totally does! I can be farther away and it'll open the doors.

I forgot to post about Monday--St. Patrick's day. Eliza made sure we all remembered to wear green, which we did. For dinner I made green pancakes. That was the extent of our celebrating! With an Irish name, you'd think I'd go crazy! My mom used to have a pin that would wear when I was younger that I thought was so funny. It said, "Erin go Braugh." She used to tease me and add a "less" to the end. LOL.

Last night was mutual and we had a get-to-know-you activity. It was a bit crazy. Each girl brought a basket with 3 things in it that described them or was something they liked. We were in a circle with someone directly across from us. We had one minute to share both of our baskets, then the outside circle moved to the right and we had a new person. We were in the primary room, so we were very crowded and it was so loud, I couldn't hardly hear my partner. That didn't take as long as expected, but the MiaMaid leaders were were in charge had a couple games planned. So they did some egg relays. Think 40 girls in the primary room doing egg (plastic) relays. Craaaaa--zzzyy! It seemed like they had fun, I hope!


That was random stuff! Maybe tomorrow I'll be more organized.

While the Cat is Away...

While I was gone to California, Brian and the girls had some fun of their own. Brian took the day off on Friday. While Libby was at preschool, Brian took Ellie and Hattie to Eliza's school to watch her in her "field day," which basically is a bunch of several fun events. Brian said she had fun and did well and did all the activities without wimping out like several of the kids did. Brian said it was a little hectic with Ellie and Hattie, but he survived. After Eliza got home from school, he loaded up and took them to his parent's cabin up north. I thought he was quite brave since it is still very cold up there with snow and neither of his parents could go up this weekend. But they had a fun time. They played in the snow, made a snowman, played and just enjoyed each other. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures since I had the camera with me in LA. On Saturday then went a little further north to Flagstaff to his sister's, then they came home a scenic route that evening. I am so grateful for such a wonderful husband who takes great care of our girls and who goes above and beyond. I love you, Brian!

Today we a pretty low key day at home. We did some chores inside and had lots of play time outside.

Wicked

This past Friday and Saturday I enjoyed a girls getaway trip with 10 friends. We left Friday morning at 7 AM and headed to LA. We stopped at the outlets on the way and shopped for a couple hours. I was able to resist the temptations at the Coach store. Some weren't so lucky--I won't mention names! :) I did get a couple things at Gap for Eliza and Libby. We ate lunch at their food court and continued on in to LA. We found our hotel--the Wilshire Plaza Hotel...nothing fancy but clean and a place to sleep. We hurried and got ready in our dressier clothes. At the hotel, I gave everyone their little goodie bags that I had made.

I had bought green bags and filled it with green items to go with our Wicked theme. They all seemed to enjoy them! From there we drove to Pantages theater and ate at a little Italian restaurant. It was small place and we had to sit at three different tables, but the service was so fast and we were in and out quick! We were so glad so we weren't late to the play. Then it was time for the whole reason for the trip--to go see Wicked. It was AMAZING. I was blown away...the music, sets, costumes...all was just incredible. We had such great seats, too. Perfect! I would totally see it again in a heartbeat. I was most blown away by Elphaba. Wow. She had the most amazing voice. I wanted her to keep singing.

I was so tired after the play was over. Kari and I were having a hard time staying awake. I think I was so exhausted I just didn't feel great. I got back and hurried and got ready for bed and got in bed. I was out! Of course we all had the chance to sleep in, but we were up a little after seven. We got ready for the day and went to Beverly Center (a mall) for breakfast. The food court was lacking in good breakfast places, so we had a less than desirable breakfast at the California Crisp. Brooke and I decided to try the pancakes because we thought how bad can pancakes be? Well...they were pretty bad. Mine were like eating a sponge. Ewww. We tried to muster them down, but it wasn't easy and we didn't eat them all. After breakfast we spent a lot of time in H&M.

They had some cute clothes and I think everyone bought something there. I got a couple of shirts and one shirt for Libby. We did a little more shopping there including "XXI" (totally laughing, Karolyn!). After a little morning shopping, one car left for home and us die-hard shoppers headed over to the Fashion District in the heart of LA. We stuck together for safety but had a really fun time. We didn't even touch the tip of the iceberg for how much else we could have looked at. We only went down part of two streets. We kept seeing the same things over and over again, but there was everything from knock-off everything (purses, shoes, sunglasses, clothes, etc.) to ethnic music playing as loud as the speakers could go, $1.00 jewelry, and you can't forget the belly-dancing shirts, the super super tight stretchy tights that looked like blue jeans or the brassieres that were 5 for $10. What a steal! LOL. I bought some sunglasses and a necklace. I saw a purse I wanted, but they weren't willing to go down far enough in price! I also wanted a wallet but again, I saw one but passed it up because I wasn't willing to compromise on price. We decided to also pass up the street vendors selling their food. Scary! But we could have had fruit in a bag (who knows how many hands touched it!), bacon-wrapped hot dogs cooked on a magic stove (it was a cookie sheet type surface but didn't look like there was much under it to provide heat) or the corn in a bowl that you could add mayonnaise or chili to. I know Brooke wants to go back just for one of those! It was such a great time! After our shopping adventure and probably totally wearing Leslie out who is like 8.5 months pregnant, we headed out of town, grabbed Chevy's for dinner, then drove home. Overall it was such a fun time...great company, great conversation and wonderful friendship. Thanks friends for a fun weekend.

I got home at midnight, so my night was way too short! I was very tired today. The young women sang in church and it went well. I love the song we sang: "To Become Like Him." I had to teach in young womens, too, so it was a busy day! I taught "Encouraging Family Unity." I felt like I rambled, but hopefully the girls were encouraged to work on it in their own home. After church we came home and ate lunch, Ellie and Hattie took a nap and the rest of us started a movie. I didn't last long before I was napping. I more than needed it and could have used an additional 5 hours! We went over to my parents and we had our Easter dinner with my side of the family. It was good food and a fun time.

I think I am off to bed soon!

Camping

On Friday night, Brian took Libby camping. She has been wanting to go for a long time and talked about it for so long. His dad went, too. They went up to Table Mesa and camped. Brian said she had a great time! She loved eating, reading, sitting by the campfire and throwing rocks in the water. She came home dirty--must mean she had fun!

While they were gone on Friday night the rest of the girls and I did a couple errands, then I stopped by Sandbar and got my favorite salad for takeout. I came home and put Ellie and Hattie to bed. Then Eliza and I watched Bambi and shared the salad.

On Saturday morning we got ready, then went to one of the young women's house for her birthday. We get four new laurels in our class this month, and this was the start of them! We took her a little gift and wished her happy birthday.

In the afternoon, we went to Brian's parent's house to help them clean out their barn that is full of furniture and stuff.

Saturday night was date night. I was asked to take pictures of a pre-prom dinner that some of the youth we know were having. They invited Brian, too, so I took pictures, then we got to enjoy dinner inside with a couple sets of parents and the prom-goers were outside eating. It was a fun night visiting.

Sunday was church. Started with an early meeting. Ellie didn't have a great sacrament meeting. Frustrating! Brian took Hattie for the rest of church, so I was able to enjoy the rest of church. We stayed home for the rest of the day--the day went so fast!

This morning after Eliza and Libby got off to school, I picked up Becky's kids to play for the morning. Ellie loved the new friends to play with. The rest of the day was spent playing--inside and out. After dinner and family home evening, I went to Lindsay's to get my hair done. I stayed long, but did get color. Maybe next time I'll go a little shorter. Maybe.

Only 4 days until one Wicked trip!

Week in Review

On Tuesday my visiting teachers came over in the morning to help me paint some boards for my motherhood class I did last night. I enjoyed visiting and painting! Thanks Leslie and Danielle! :) It was a big help!

That night my parents took Eliza and Libby to Vistancia's book fair with Abby and Dallin. I snuck off to get a pedicure (much needed!) and to get some groceries at Wal-Mart.

Wednesday night was free burritos at Chipotle because they are just opening, so we got there at about 4:50 and the line was long! We waited. I left with Hattie while Brian waited with the other girls, but we ended up having to leave so I could get to mutual. So sad! Eliza was devastated. A little over dramatic but sad nonetheless! Our stake president's daughter is getting married this weekend and the reception is in their yard, so the priests and laurels went over and did some yard work. We basically shoveled rocks and dirt and smoothed out the areas on either side of the road. I am surprise I'm not sore. I thought for sure I would wake up the next morning so sore from all the shoveling, but I was ok!

Thursday was early release, so we picked up Eliza and came back home for lunch. My mom and sister-in-law and her kids were over to eat lunch, so we all enjoyed lunch together. After they left, I loaded everyone up and checked out Home Goods. It is a way fun store. My girls were so well behaved (I was so happy with them) but I still want to go back when I have more time to look more slowly. We stopped by Frys on the way home to get some sale items for food storage (canned vegetables 3 for $1.00 just to name one). Then it was home again. That night was a fundraiser for Eliza's school at Chipotle, so we told them we'd try again! We only had a slight wait last night and were able to eat there. Yum! I had the carnitas burrito. I liked it. And so did Ellie and Hattie!!

Last night was my big enrichment activity that I have been planning for a while. It came about as one of my value projects for Personal Progress that I am doing because of serving in Young Women's. I wanted to do a motherhood class where people would come share ideas, then I would give a little blurb about motherhood as a boost before they left. I had about 20 ladies come and it went great! First we went around the group and everyone shared one or two of their best mothering ideas or what works for them. There were so many great ideas shared; I can't want to implement many of them. At the end I shared some of my thoughts on motherhood. I had to leave a lot out because the sharing took way longer than I thought, but that was okay because everyone really enjoyed that part. I ended my part with a slide show I put together of pictures of the kids of most everyone who was there. I had them e-mail me pictures in advance, then put them together. I used the song "Every Moment" by Joy Williams. So touching and makes all the hard days of motherhood seem worth it! I emphasized that "mothers matter" and all that we do as mothers does really matter. I made each person a board with vinyl that says mothers matter that they could put up where they'll see it to remind them.



I made pretzel bites for refreshments. They are so addicting!

This time I used Hugs and the eggs M&Ms--think a regular M&M but a bigger sized one! YUM!

In house news, our room is done!!! Well, all except the cabinets and such. But structurally it's done! Yeah! We are happy with how it all turned out and came together. Now on to the cabinets! I need some ideas. We've gotten a few bids on cabinets for what we want in there and it's a bit pricier than we were hoping to spend. Does anyone have any other ideas? We are trying to brainstorm other pre-made furniture pieces we could use instead of wall cabinets along with other work surfaces. We aren't having much luck. I'm so antsy though because I don't want the room to just sit there without being able to use it!



This is what happens when Ellie thinks she can feed Hattie!

Field Trip

Today Eliza had a field trip and Brian was able to go with her. They went to the Desert Botanical Garden. Eliza has been so excited about going and about having Brian go with her. Brian said they had a really great time. I guess they were a little rushed while they were there, but it was a fun time. They got to go into the butterfly exhibit and butterflies landed on both of their hats. Eliza made a paint brush from a plant. They enjoyed their lunch at Papago Park which was chicken salad on crackers, chips, raspberry lemonde and cookies.

Today Libby got the "mystery box" at school. She has been so excited for about two weeks now that it was almost her turn. She was supposed to get it on Friday, but the other girl forgot it at home. So she got it today! She was so giddy to get it. She came right home and put in her "mystery item." She put in the toy phone from the play kitchen. She already has it in her backpack and ready to go for Wednesday.

This morning I watched two friends' boys while one was at a doctor's appoinment and one was on the field trip. They played so great, I didn't hardly know they were there.

The rest of the day included a long nap by Hattie (yeah!), scooter and play time out front, movie time (Curious George) and a nap by Ellie (yay!).

Tonight was family home evening and Eliza wanted to do her own lesson after mine. She talked about music and wanted everyone to write their own song. She is such a leader.

I leave you with a cute picture of Hattie.