Words and Illustrations by . . .

As a child, I loved to write books. I was always stapling pieces of paper together and writing my latest story down, complete with illustrations. Katelee also loves to imagine and tell new stories. When she pretend plays with her dolls or animals, she always use the phrases, "He said," or "She shouted!" or "They all gasped," and so forth. Even when she is playing by herself, she is using the words to tell a story. It is really cute.

So the other day, I asked her if she wanted to write her own book. She was sooo enthusiastic about the idea! She told the story, and I wrote the words exactly as they came out of her mouth as quickly as I could. Then she drew the illustrations. I'm frustrated that I can't get the images to turn the right direction, so if you could like to see her pictures at the right angle, you're going to have to kink your neck.

She named her story, "Princess Analiese" after the princess from the Barbie and the Pauper movie. :)

Once upon a time there was a princess who lived in a castle. Her King and Queen were wanting to send her away, but she was very afraid.

So instead she had a camp-out in her bedroom. She had a lamb and the princess was so excited cause her lamb had a birthday tomorrow!

She had a birthday the next day after her lamb. She really wanted her freckles to grow. So the King and Queen wanted to send her away because she wanted to play with her friends and whined when it was time to clean up.

(Note: At this point she put on her whiniest voice and proceeded to really whine about having to clean up. Unfortunately, I could not convey this quickly enough or well enough in words to do it justice, so I just left it out of the book. But it was some amazing whining!)

She didn't want to help clean up. So the Queen was sad and didn't want to send her away because she loved her pretty princess. The King sent her away but the queen made her come back.

(Imagine all the voices on this part; Katelee is really good at making the voices!)

"I don't want to send her away! She's my pretty, pretty princess!" said the Queen. "Well, I guess you can stay," said the King. Then the princess said, "Where is my bed going to be?"

"Upstairs where you used to sleep," said the King. The King and Queen didn't have a bed, so they slept there, too. The King loved the princess.

The End.

Update on my Dad

So many of you have asked about my dad. Thank you for caring. My dad is in the hospital right now and has been for the past few days. Sadly, the kidney my brother gave him in January simply couldn't stand against the aggressiveness of his disease, and the kidney has officially failed. My dad is back on dialysis, and has been pretty sick the last few days. We would so appreciate it if you could keep him in your prayers. Thanks for all your love and support!

Stop Growing

Katelee and I have a little daily joke. She'll do something incredibly grown up, and I'll ask her to please stop growing. Then she'll giggle and say, "No! I want to grow!" Honestly, it is a daily routine.

Because lately Katelee has seemed so grown up!

Here are just a few signs that she is becoming a seriously big girl:

• She's taken a sudden interest in the TV shows I watch. If asked, she'll gush her opinion that 'The Office' is soooooo funny (though I've never actually let her watch it) and she really likes to watch American Idol with me. She cried when Katie was voted off the show. But only because I think she liked her name. ;)
• She's starting to read. We've been learning sight words, and she is learning to sound out words, too. She loves it and is so excited to read. She read her first complete sentence by herself a couple weeks ago: "A princess is kind."
• She talks to me like a little adult. And uses words and phrases that sound so funny coming from her mouth. Like today she said to me, "Mom, I have a clever idea!"
• She has started playing outside without adult supervision. But only on rare occasions, and only with lots of other kids, and only when my door is open and I check on her every other minute. (I'm not quite ready for this step yet!)
• She has started to go ahead in her piano books and play songs on her own.
• I no longer dress her, put on her shoes, open locked doors, or buckle her in her car seat anymore. She is so independent. Some of these things I thought I would never miss doing, but I do.

I love you, my big grown-up girl.

But really, stop growing. Or at least just slow it down a bit. You're growing up too fast!

Piano Recital

Last night was my Spring Piano Recital. It went well; the kids did a great job, including Katelee, who loves being in my recitals! Somehow I was put in charge of the camera last night, and so I (of course) completely forgot to videotape Katelee's performance. In my defense, I had plenty of other things on my mind. I was so disappointed when I realized that I didn't get it on tape! She did a wonderful job, as always; she played her song perfectly, and she definitely loves to perform! I did get one picture of her towards the end of her song:

After the recital ended, I made Katelee perform again so I could get it on tape. It's not the best example (notice that she doesn't even sit on the bench!) and there are clean-up noises in the background. But even so, she's adorable! I love how you can hear her count to four as she holds out the whole note at the end of the song.

I made a cake for the recital. Each of the 26 student's names were somewhere on the cake, which they thought was awesome! Every bit of cake was gone by the end of the night. It was definitely a success.

Best Moment of the Day

Katelee has this

sweet, tender

moment,

right before she falls asleep.

If you happen to be nearby,

when her eyelids are drooping and she's almost out,

and you catch her eye,

and smile,

she'll give you the most

beautiful

charming

beaming

loving

smile

in return.

No matter what mood she was in just a few minutes earlier.

I love this particular

smile,

because it's both

sleepy and stunning

at the same time.

I can't get enough of it.

Last night I kept her awake

an extra

five or ten minutes

just because I couldn't resist

smiling at her again

once

or twice

every minute.

Her sleepy smile took my breath away.

It's a small window - the time when I can elicit that smile.

I don't always catch it.

But when I do

it's one of the best

moments

of the day.

Thrifty Tip Thursday

Anyone who knows my family knows I have some pretty cool relatives. My cousins are no exception. Over a year ago, one of my amazing cousins started making her own laundry detergent. I was impressed, but I had a friend who had had a bad experience with this, so I didn't try to do it myself. However, the detergent making spread throughout the family. I think all my cousin's sisters and sister-in-laws are now making their own detergent.

Enough time had passed that I could start asking my cousins questions like: Does it really clean your clothes as well? Does it ruin your clothes over time? What about new washing machines? Because I know my cousins well, I really trusted their opinions. They all are very happy with how well the detergent cleans their clothes; one cousin says it cleans her clothes better than Tide used to; since they have been using it for quite awhile (longer than a year) they can safely say it isn't ruining their clothes at all. Also, if you have a new High Efficiency washer, it works just fine for that, too, as one of my cousins did a ton of research to make sure before she began using it with hers.

I was still skeptical that making the detergent would be a lot of work and effort, and I wasn't sure it would be worth it. But I decided to give it a try. And I was amazed - AMAZED! - at how easy it was to make. And how inexpensive. I have definitely committed to making this for years to come. I usually bought cheap store detergent (All, anyone?) and I have been using this homemade detergent long enough to confidently say that it cleans at least as well as the All or Sun brand detergents did. Probably better. Definitely better. I like the smell. And I made 5 gallons of detergent for less than $4. Are you convinced yet? Here's how to make it if you want to give it a try.

STEP 1: GATHER THE SUPPLIES

You will need:

• 1 Bar Fels Naptha Soap
• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
• Water
• a measuring cup
• a stirring spoon
• a cheese grater
• a large pot
• some sort of 5 gallon container
• and a large stirring stick (for the 5 gallon container)

Notes: I spent about $12 on all the supplies up front, but I only used 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda, and I'll reuse my 5 gallon container, so next time it will only cost me $1 to make. I found all the soap supplies at my local King Soopers grocery store. Walmart sells the Borax for cheaper, but doesn't carry the other things. I used an especially large pot, because I was warned that it's easy to accidently boil over the soap. But I definitely think you could get away with using a much smaller pot, especially if you're watchful so it doesn't boil over. I didn't want to buy a 5 gallon bucket for this, so I went to Walmart and bought a five gallon basic plastic garbage can for about $2. And my large stirring stick is an old wand from our blinds that broke. :)

STEP 2: COOK THE SOAP

• Pour 6 cups of water into your pot and heat it just shy of boiling. You want it warm enough to melt the soap, but not enough to boil over.
• While the water is warming, grate the bar of soap into small pieces. I took a picture of this, but it didn't turn out, but my plate of grated soap looked exactly like a plate of grated cheese! Ha ha ha! Better warn your husband and kids before they try a handful! ;)
• Add the shredded soap to the pot of heated water. Stir the mixture until the soap is completely melted.
• Once the soap is melted, add 1 cup Borax and 1 cup Washing Soda to the melted soap mixture. Stir until dissolved. (This is where your soap might boil over if you're not careful!)

STEP 3: MIX EVERYTHING IN A 5-GALLON CONTAINER

• Pour three gallons of hot water into the 5-gallon container, then add in the melted soap mixture from the stove top.
• Mix everything together.
• Optional fragrance: if you prefer to have a pleasant scent, you can add a few drops of essential oils at this time. I didn't add anything, because I liked the smell of the soap just fine. The amount of fragrance you add is strictly personal preference.

STEP 4: LET SIT OVERNIGHT

• Now that everything is mixed and dissolved, cover your 5-gallon container and place it somewhere it won't be disturbed. Let is cool over night. It will begin to gel as it cools. It does not gel uniformly so the next day it will look like Egg Drop soup. See:

STEP 5: STORE IN SMALLER CONTAINERS

Isn't this a great post for Earth Day? Now is your chance to re-use all those almost-empty detergent bottles around your house and stop adding them to the landfills! ;)

• A funnel and a large pouring container, such as a pitcher, is useful for this step. Pour the finished detergent from your 5-gallon container into smaller containers to use. It will look something like this:

And look what you did! You're amazing! Make sure not to tell your husband how easy this is, so he can brag about what a wonder woman you are! And look how much detergent I now have; everything is filled to the brim expect the clear soap container, which was the last one I filled:

Happy Laundering!

Scripture Power

For Christmas, we gave Katelee her own personal copy of the Book of Mormon to take to primary. Since that time, I am amazed about how much she loves her Book of Mormon. I catch her quite frequently sitting quietly and looking at her scriptures. The other day, she had tucked her baby into a bed by her side and was reading her scriptures. The camera happened to be nearby and I snapped a picture, to remember the sweetness of the scene.

At our recent General Conference, Elder Bednar said something that really struck me:

"Youth of all ages, even infants, can and do respond to the distinctive spirit of the Book of Mormon. Children may not understand all of the words and stories, but they certainly can feel the “familiar spirit” described by Isaiah (Isaiah 29:4; see also 2 Nephi 26:16). And the questions a child asks, the observations a child shares, and the discussions that occur provide crucial spiritual early warning signals. Importantly, such conversations can help parents to discern what their children are learning, thinking, and feeling about the truths contained in this sacred volume of scripture, as well as the difficulties they may be facing."

To read this talk in it's entirety, you can click here.

As far as reading the scriptures daily as a family goes, we have been an on-again, off-again type of family. And in the past year, it's been mostly 'off-again.' So, we're trying to be better. We've picked a new time of day that seems to be working better for our schedule. We've chosen to read the real scriptural language, but supplement it with the picture book version as we read. It's only been a week since we began reading daily, but the changes I have felt are already enormous. The spirit is definitely more in our home. And Katelee shocks us with her depth of understanding.

The blessings we are receiving are definitely worth any sacrifice involved.

The Fruits of My Labor

I spent most of today making and bottling strawberry jam. Our local grocery store had a wonderful sale on strawberries, and the opportunity was too good to pass up! I really love preserving my own food; it's a lot of work but also really satisfying. I made 25 pint-sized jars of jam today, so I probably won't need to make more jam for a really long time! :) The jam looks so pretty on my pantry shelf. And you can't beat the delicious taste and cheaper price of home made jam. Yum! I found this website helpful today, if you are interested in making your own jam.

Climbing Trees

Yesterday Katelee was playing behind our apartment with some friends, with our patio door open. I was listening to the sounds of their playing, and went out to check on Katelee. I couldn't see her, and when I shouted for her, she responded, "Mom, come look! I'm climbing a tree!" I couldn't decide whether this was a good thing or not, but I did grab my camera on my way out the door. When I got outside, this is what I saw:

She really is quite high, for her first time ever climbing a tree. Her feet were above my head, anyway.

A close-up on her way back down.

I soon realized that Katelee is a climbing pro. She did really well and thought climbing trees was the new best thing ever! Pine trees are really quite good for climbing.

Drat all those low, sturdy branches that make it easy for kids to climb up!

Farm Friends

Last weekend Katelee and I made some farm animal masks for use in my toddler music class. (Since it seems many toddler songs involve farm animals ... and isn't it much more fun to sing a song when you have a farm animal mask?) We tried to find some online templates, but couldn't find all the animals we wanted to make, so we designed our own templates. We made the masks from sheets of foam (available at my craft store for about 60 cents) and popsicle sticks (even cheaper), so this is a fun craft idea for anyone looking for something inexpensive to do with kids, and the foam is nice and sturdy. Katelee made her own personal mask. It is, in Katelee's words, "a desert camel named Nee-Hah, because camels say, 'Nee-Hah.'" Still, four days later, Katelee is running around with her best friend, Nee-Hah, and shouts of "Nee-Hah, Nee-Hah, Nee-Hah" are ringing through the house!

We took pictures of the farm animal masks, in case any of you want to make your own and copy our templates. Many thanks to the beautiful face mask model, Snow White Katelee. :)

cow

pig

dog

chicken

sheep

horse

duck

cat

turkey

frog

(I know, a frog's not exactly a farm animal, but I needed one more animal that makes a distinctive noise...)

Nee-Hah! Nee-Hah!

Belated Easter Pictures

Here are the few pictures I got of the Easter Egg hunt last weekend:

The hill where we hid most of the eggs.

Also, my parents sent me copies of their pictures of Katelee in her Easter dress. Maybe I'm biased, but isn't Katelee so beautiful?!

Easter

Happy Easter everyone!

We had a busy but very fun weekend. Unfortunately, my camera is getting more impossible to use all the time, so I have hardly any pictures of our weekend. At least I'll write about it so we can remember it that way!

The fun started Friday night when we were invited to a 'Good Friday' dinner at our friends' house. Everyone brought something 'mediterranean.' I had no idea what to bring, so my helpful friend, Laurie, gave me a great recipe for Taboulleh, which was very easy to make and turned out really good. It was fun to try so many unique and different foods, most of which I had never even heard of before.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to set up for the Easter egg hunt we organized. (Thanks, Juli, for doing that in Lehi and giving us the inspiration!) We kept waiting to hear about a ward or neighborhood egg hunt, but when we finally realized that nothing had been planned, we decided to do it ourselves. :) We only started organizing it on Tuesday, so we were pleasantly surprised and happy when we had 25 kids participate. We held the hunt at a local park. The kids each found plenty of eggs and afterward we enjoyed a yummy pot-luck breakfast. It was a ton of fun; I think it's destined to become an annual event.

We got home Saturday morning in time to settle in and enjoy the opening session of General Conference. Fortunately, Katelee was surprisingly good during the first session of conference, thanks to the coloring pages and activities we printed off lds.org. Unfortunately, she finished them all during the first session of conference, and the other sessions proved to be a bit more of a challenge. :) Then last night, while Gerald went to the priesthood session, Katelee and I and some other friends were invited to our friend Tiffany's new home for a potluck dinner, visiting, playing and egg dying. It was great to see Tiffany and her new place and Katelee especially loved coloring her eggs!

The Easter bunny also came on Saturday. He hid Katelee's basket under the desk (is that the same place he hid it last year? I feel a trend beginning...) She loved finding all the candy he brought, and the new flip flops, watering can and sandbox toys.

Today we had a wonderful Easter. We read the Easter story aloud, listened to conference, and made a yummy dinner that we shared with the missionaries and our nice upstairs neighbors. Overall, it's been a fun and memorable weekend. We are so happy to have this occasion to celebrate our Savior, Jesus Christ, and his resurrection.

Katelee last week in her new Easter dress. Isn't she beautiful? Thanks, mom, for shortening the hem!

Spring in my Step

I tried to be in a bad mood today.

I woke up feeling grumpy, with a nasty UTI and worries about some frustrating news we received yesterday still swirling in my head.

But despite my worries, the doctor's visit that I had to add my to-do list, and Katelee's morning crankiness, I simply couldn't be in a bad mood.

Spring wouldn't let me.

Instead, Spring took one look at me and gave me a sharp slap across the face (in the form of a chilly breeze). And Spring told me, Look!

The sky was the most extraordinarily shade of blue.

The tulips in the grocery store were bursting with color. (Katelee and I debated about which color was the best and settled on red.)

Look! Spring said to me. And Remember.

It's Easter. Our Savior lives. It's General Conference weekend, which means we get to listen to living prophets. There is so much to be grateful for.

And I am happy.