Cherry Blossoms

Now that we've done it twice, it's officially our tradition to go see the cherry blossoms in a beautiful neighborhood in Maryland. When the children are older, we'll venture downtown to the memorials once again, but for now, it's nice not to have to worry about parking and traffic and the crowds! We met up with a sweet little cousin, and made a day of it - playing at the playground, eating our hodgepodge picnic, walking through the cherry blossom lined streets, and splashing in the stream. This year, we also hit Georgetown Cupcakes on the way home, which I think will definitely become part of the tradition!

General Conference - April 2013

L did NOT announce (as he has other times), "I HATE General Conference!" So we'll call this one a success!

Spring has FINALLY sprung (I hope it's here to stay!!!). We had outside time before conference in the mornings, and in between sessions, which helped break things up for L. It has been so nice to just get out and get some sunshine! Yay for Vitamin D!

For the first time ever, I actually got my act together and had a couple of conference activities for L to do. For Family Home Evening last week, we made these charts - the pictures of the prophet and apostles with a space next to their names. L enjoyed finding the one who was currently speaking and listening for a word to write down. He's just starting to show some interest in writing. I love all the little backwards letters. 

In case you're curious, L's list reads, "Temple, Sacrament, Light, Jesus, God, Good"

Snacks are important. I "planned" - I use that word very loosely - a fun snack for each session. Here L's trying to sneak something ;)

The picture below has nothing to do with Conference, but we are growing some awesome wheat grass! 

And here's little J who napped through most of each session! He was awesome!

And here's L in his uniform his friend's Spiderman costume. I'm totally going to have to order one, so I can return this one!

Hair, there and everywhere

Hair, hair, how I have been neglecting you. I've been cutting my own hair, for better or for worse, for almost two years now. That sounds like a long time, but it really means three or four haircuts. I do it so infrequently that each time, it feels like the first time all over again, and I make some horrific mistake that dictates how short I must cut the rest! It's been awesome. But I have saved myself some serious money!

Recently, I watched all the Dressing Your Truth videos (the free ones - I'm so cheap!), and it confirmed what I had been feeling lately - my hair wasn't working for me! I needed something more structured, less all over the place. My hair used to be REALLY curly. I look back at pictures from my mission or our engagement pictures, and WOW - it was super spirally all over. After L was born, it relaxed a lot, and I think it may have even relaxed more after J, and I was left with waves. I've been styling them curly ever since we moved to the humid East Coast. Didn't seem worth it to bother with straightening. Plus, what mom doesn't want a hairstyle she can scrunch gel into and then forget about? That part was great. But it was time to move on.

I've had short hair before so I knew basically what I wanted, but let's be honest, I was spurred on by Snow White/Mary Margaret/Ginnifer Goodwin. That's some seriously awesome hair.

Source: cablecarcouture.com via Karey on Pinterest

I asked around to friends, and ALL of them use the same person, so I figured if I went with her, I'd be in good hands. And I was.

I LOVE IT! The night before, I was having second thoughts, but all my fears melted away as I browsed photos of short cuts and pixie cuts online. My sister Kelly came along "for moral support", but I think she was more nervous than I was! Well, I don't know about that, but I wasn't nervous at all! Just excited!

When I came home, L gave me lots of hugs and kisses, which I think means he likes it. I brought home a little bag from the salon. It had a few little freebies inside. L brought it to me the next morning and hesitantly asked, "Mom, is this where they put the hair they cut off?" That cracked me up! Of course! What else would be in that bag?!

Math

Millions of wonderful details of life + one very forgetful me = some desire (however inconsistent) to keep blogging. So here I am.


Yesterday we were driving in the car. This is where lots of L's thinking happens. I can't remember what we were talking about counting, but L said, "Mom, if you don't feel like counting all the numbers you can count by two's."
I didn't remember talking to him about this, so I quizzed him, "Oh yeah? How do you do that?"
"Like this: 2... 4... 6... 8... 10!"
"Wow, L!" I said, "That's awesome!"
"If you don't feel like counting by two's," he continued, "you can count by three's."
"Yes, I guess you could!" I replied, thinking that I never count by three's because three's are tricky.
Of his own volition, L begins, "3... 6... 9... 12..."
At this point, I was freaking out about L's awesomeness! I couldn't believe what he was doing. I'm sure it was because I gave him a great reaction, but he kept going to 48. Two or three times, he was one off, and I gave him a little higher or lower clue, but STILL! This kid is destined to be a mathematician or an engineer. It's amazing to see how his brain works!