The Little Gym

I told my girls that they could try something this summer—anything they wanted. Robyn immediately chose gymnastics since June got to do it eons ago (read: when she was 3) and Robyn has not forgotten. Ivory thought gymnastics sounded good to her too, and then June was eventually convinced that she needed to be doing what her sisters were doing. So I looked around and found The Little Gym. It is close, it is affordable, and it has combined classes, so now the girls get to do gymnastics along with dance (tap and ballet). I think this will be a fun summer. I will just have to endure a thousand requests to 'watch me dance mom', or 'look what I can do.'

I can't wait.

If you want to check them out they have a website thelittegym.com, or they have a blog.

You Know Tyler Would Want to Ride in There

So, I'm thinking that this is one of the coolest bike ideas I have ever seen. And if you could win one for free, why not try? Plus, they are giving one away on the day my baby turns one. That could be a sign. Check them out here MADSEN Cargo Bikes

As if This House Needed More Girly Stuff

Yesterday was Super. This is not describing my mood, which has been in a funk recently, but more the activities involved. See, it was Super Saturday. As always, I signed up for too much, but I couldn't resist; there was so much good stuff.

I made flower clips for the girls.



Now I have a few more things to make my ribbon wall look complete. When my mother in law bought these ribbon hangars to hold bows and such, I had two things to put on them (and she bought me those two things with the ribbon hangars). I have girls and yet I don't always have particular items you expect with girls. I have a drawer full of ribbon, but no clips. Well, now I have remedied that, a bit. There are more to come (some felt ones) but I ran out of time to make them yesterday.

I also made a tutusie for Daisy (she can't really benefit from the clips yet—grow hair, grow). This was the most work intensive project there, but I think it turned out really well. And I like that it has a little overlap so you can tuck a flower in it (ooh, maybe she can benefit after all).



I put it on her for church today and she promptly spit up all over it. For the record, the no-dairy thing didn't work; neither did the acid reflux medication. So, we are trying the wait-it-out system and hope that Dad doesn't get too frustrated and sell her on Ebay (you would get annoyed too if someone vomited on you every day).

Tyler took care of the kids while I crafted, then I came home and let him go off shooting (pretty good swap I think). The kids played in the sprinkler, I made jam. My hands smelled like fresh squeezed lemons for hours. Then I noticed that I used the wrong pectin (the box says that pectin brands are NOT interchangeable with recipes). I'm not really worried though. It is freezer jam, and even if it stayed liquid, it would still taste sweet and strawberryish.

Here are some pictures of the girls. I don't know if it was really warm enough to be playing in cold water, but they seemed to enjoy themselves.




Later in the evening, Tyler and I went over to the Neilsen's to roast Marshmallows over their new fire pit. The weather and company were perfect and Tyler devised a new (genius) way to do S'mores. He stuck a piece of chocolate inside the marshmallow and as the marshmallow cooked, the chocolate melted and became a liquid treat inside. So yummy.

A Few Lessons Learned

Don't leave open containers of ANYTHING in your fridge. There is no doubt you will manage to spill them and if you are really lucky, it will be all over yourself.

If your child uses her head to bash you in the cheek, she will win hands down and you will get a black eye. But then you can make jokes about your husband beating you (which shouldn't be funny because women are abused everyday, but if you use humor to deal with awkward situations...then it might be okay).

If you have been avoiding putting a plethora of girls into gymnastics/dance because it would be extremely expensive, don't be surprised when it is, IN FACT, even more expensive than that. Just take lots of pictures this year so when they are older and not allowed to be in any extracurricular activities because you have no money, at least you still have pictures to show that you did let them join something at one point (back before the bankruptcy).

If you give someone a movie and tell them to watch it, you might mention if the ending is the worst ending known to man that doesn't tie up any of the show or details that go with it. If I were speaking to anyone in particular, it would be YOU, Dad.

Clowns too, but that is a whole other post

Baby dolls...you would think they would be cute, but they really just freak me out a little. None of my kids have been too interested in them, until Ivory. She had one baby and now she is starting to collect them. I am a bit disgusted as I gather naked, bald dolls in my arms to heap on her bed before she goes to sleep. But it makes her happy. And when I see them like this, I can smile and look past the freakishness for a moment.

Hello Molly, Meet Maleen

So I haven't had the chance to brag about my fabulous new acquisitions. I wanted to try them out first and see if I will use them, and you better believe that if I don't use them, I will be beat to death. In the kitchen. By my husband. With the checkbook.

Yep, my latest toys are not cheap and they have probably pushed me over the edge of Molly Mormonism. Not that Molly would buy expensive things; she seems more of a thrifty lady. But she would definitely make her own graham crackers. ME TOO! Check it out.



This here is a Bosch mixer that certifies me as a woman who loves to cook enough that she would buy this instead of taking her kids to Disneyland this summer (I am such a good mom).



This here is a bonus gift.



A Nutrimill which allows me to make this;



my own ground flour (you can almost smell the extra nutrients, can't you?)

And it helps that I just found this site that talks all about using your food storage (meaning all that wheat that I can now grind). Actually, I think this is Molly's site. I never pictured her as being very technologically savvy, but it turns out she makes how-to videos and she wrote her own book.

Now I just have to master bread (that was the initial goal, but I don't have all the key ingredients, i.e. gluten). Hopefully, I will find an easy recipe that my family enjoys and then all you people who live too close will have to put up with bread as gifts until I get tired of it.

The graham crackers were just on a whim, but I was very proud of them. They are a bit crunchier (but hello, they are a cracker) and I like that, and I like the rustic look of the different sized pieces. June said she likes 'homemade.' This bodes well. And Daisy's verdict was...delicious.

You Might Have Mentioned

Dear Orem Rec Center Employee,

I would appreciate that next time when you tell me that swim registration opens at midnight on the 11th, that you also mention that you can't actually register until 5am. This would allow me more than five hours of sleep, as I would probably not stay up until midnight and then curse you aloud as I set my alarm for five in the morning.

Sincerest Regards,

Maleen