Halloween cuties

First primary program & Halloween fun

Yesterday was the primary program at church and our girls had their first opportunity to 'speak' in church. And we decided to record it, is that against some church rule??? Oh well! We practiced their parts until they both had them memorized. Audrey had a little stage fright, but she did say her part really quietly and Lucy was awesome! So proud of my little angels. Sage was crying for Lucy & Audrey most of the time and even walked up to the stage at the end of the program.

You can barely hear Audrey say her part at the very end of the video. "I can treat my body like a temple by dressing modestly."




Then that evening we decided to let them try on their Halloween costumes and after 3 hours they were already starting to fall apart a little. WHY do they make kid costumes so cheap????? Good thing they don't care, but I told them they have to wait until Halloween to wear them again.

Audrey

Audrey was watching Martha Speaks and the episode was about pets. She yelled over to me in the kitchen and said "MOM, I want a pet!" To which I responded, "Oh really? What kind of pet?" She said "A puppy!" with a big grin on her face. Then I said "Did you know that puppies poop and pee all over the place and you'll have to clean it up?" Her smile faded and she thought for a second and yelled "A kitty?"

"Well, they pee and poop, too."

"A horse?"

Sorry, honey, you're getting colder. Keep trying...

some thoughts on developing talents

A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to know more about food. I wanted to know more about cheeses and chocolates. I wanted to know more about cooking exotic foods from all over the world. I tried simple delicious recipes and complex long recipes with detailed methods. I absorbed as much as I could and found some great foodie blogs to follow. I attempted some great dishes and failed a few, but I found that I really enjoy creating in my kitchen. I now only use Kosher salt, real butter and whipping cream, extra sharp cheddar, Ghirardelli chocolate chips and I don't think I can ever make a dessert from a box again! I now have pure vanilla extract, saffron, whole peppercorns and LOTS of cumin in my spice cupboard. Tonight I made my own version of mexican lasagna with corn tortillas, chicken, corn and cheese, with some homemade black beans and a cilantro/onion/lettuce salad on the side. I know my meals are a success when Lucy says, "MMMMM, mommy this is the best dinner I ever saw!" I am by no means done learning, but I feel satisfied with my progress and am fairly confident in my ability to throw something tasty together. Plus I really enjoy the creating AND the eating!

My newest desired talent is design. I want to be crafty, I want to create and do a pretty good job of throwing things together. But I fear this talent will be much more difficult to develop because I am beyond awful at just knowing what will look good. I'm scared I will completely ruin items beyond repair or choose the wrong paint colors and then what do I do? At least with food, I can throw it away or cringe while my sweet husband tries to swallow it down. But the idea of buying furniture/artwork or painting a bedroom wall scares me to death. I have zero confidence in my design abilities. So the last couple of weeks I've been reading/absorbing design blogs. I am blown away by the talented women out there who not only mother children, but design, sew, craft and create beautiful works of art like these stuffed colorful cat pillows or this darling Easter dress.

And LOOK at this kitchen, I covet it. I know covet has a negative connotation, but I covet nonetheless. Since I will never be able to afford this kitchen I want to try to slowly create something like it...on a smaller scale...someday. It will probably take me 10 years, so therefore I am starting now. My obsession for the design talent has begun.

The green backsplash, and the yellow walls, the dark wood floors, the skylights, that island, everything (except maybe the rug, not loving it). A part of me wants to throw in some orange to complete the citrus look, but would that be overdoing it??? Would it look just awful with a touch of orange??? I don't know. I made an orange checkered valance for a kitchen window last year and I like it, but sometimes I look at it and wonder if it just looks really goofy or something. If anyone out there has some design ideas, advice, favorite blogs, etc, then please enlighten me!