Tricked again!

This year we decided to make some rainbow cupcakes to lure the leprechauns into our trap. Hannah and Johnny tried a variation of our trap from two years ago where they propped the box up with a butter knife. It was so funny to see the appalled look on Hannah's face when she found that the leprechauns had very crudely cut through the box with the butter knife to escape. This year they decided to use a baby spoon because there is no possible way to cut through a box with something so dull. Well, they set the trap up on our table and each got dressed up in a pair of one of Johnny's many sets of green pajamas. Then Hannah decided it would be better to put the trap on the floor to make it easier for the leprechauns to reach. This turned out to be the trap's downfall. They did bump the spoon and were trapped long enough to devour the cupcake. Then they pushed the box over to the heat vent, lifted the cover off and escaped through the air duct.

I actually didn't see it ;), but this is what Hannah said she saw when she woke up around 1:00 a.m. to check the trap (and have a little snack on the coins the leprechaun dropped.) I had to recreate the scene because she moved the trap and fixed the vent cover when she woke up. Sadly, Johnny couldn't enjoy the trickiness of the leprechauns. He woke up sick that night because he had a cupcake before bed. I am so glad that I know how to keep him well now, but sometimes I wish I could relax just a little bit. "No milk or sweets two hours before bed" needs to be his rule from now on.

John's dream theater room

Finishing rooms is like a disease for John, once the food storage room was finished it was all he could do to wait a few weeks to start the theater room.

This is what it looked like in February:

He had a lot of extra help down there, and luckily all of his little helpers survived. Lucy loved "helping" her dad and it was hard to keep her out of the basement with the door constantly opening and closing. She experienced her first, and hopefully only, 120 volt shock during this time. Very sad, but she recovered quickly. This picture scared me, too. This is what happens when you leave a child who has no fear with a dad who has no fear.

This is the media center computer, a pretty cool thing I think. We can access any movie saved on any of our computers from this computer. Don't ask me what all of the different parts are, I don't know.

Almost ready to sand.

Paint and in wall speakers.
We wanted a darker paint to make it look more theater-ish, and the color I used upstairs seemed nice.

Drapes over the window and equipment nooks, and the pillows that I covered.

Sconce lighting and double doors to our "someday playroom"

Now this is where we should have put up moulding and wall to wall carpet, but we decided that we would rather have a little bit of money put away for a fun vacation and some yard work this summer. We justified waiting until the whole basement is finished so that we could get all of the moulding and carpet at the same time. We are thinking this will happen sometime in the early Fall.

So this was the crowning moment! We have already had some awesome movie nights. Great job John!

Basement out-take

Oops, it wasn't supposed to look YELLOW! The name "soft camel" is so vague and I only had an hour total to decide on a color, how was I supposed to know? Luckily, you can always repaint.

More pieces of art for the refrigerator door

I just couldn't resist, Hannah's doodles amaze me!

I love how small she made this picture, look at her little creatures compared to the letters and my finger.

Time to play the glad game

...and after a week of slow mornings, lying in bed, dreading the same tasks that I did the day before, it is way overdue. I try so hard to be positive about motherhood and life in general, but sometimes it can be brutally mundane and prosaic. So today I decided it was time to play the glad game, it always helps. I think Pollyanna was wise beyond her years.

So here goes...

1. I'm glad that I have a home

2. I'm glad that I have children

3. I'm glad that I have a loving husband

4. I'm glad that my husband has a job

5. I'm glad that I can stay home and raise our children

6. I'm glad that our children are healthy

7. I'm glad that we don't have to use outhouses

8. I'm glad that my inability to decide what to make for dinner isn't for lack of food.

9. I'm glad that I have friends who love me.

10. I'm glad that Hannah and Johnny have excellent teachers in school this year.

11. I'm glad that each of our children is unique and has something important to teach us.

12. I'm glad that I have the knowledge of the restored gospel and our purpose here on Earth.

13. I'm glad that my life has been filled with so many willing and patient teachers, including my mom who has always had grand visions of my potential.

Sometimes it is so easy to take these things for granted. My heart goes out to those women who want to be mothers, but aren't able to, for some reason or other; or those who have to raise their children alone. I feel for those families who don't have shelter or enough food; those people who feel alone, or think that their lives don't have purpose. I know that with each blessing comes a responsibility to do the best I can with what I have.

Life really is good....nothing to complain about here.

My night :)

John and I both love our projects, but sometimes it is hard to make time for ourselves to do them. About two months ago we realized that we needed a plan if we were ever going to retain our sanity and have some quality "me" time. We decided that we needed "our nights." Well tonight was my night, John cleaned up dinner and put the kids to bed while I locked myself in my craft room. I wanted to try a little craft that I came across yesterday on one of my new favorite blogs, The Salty Pineapple. These flowers turned out so cute that my girls might just wear them for our family pictures this month.

The games they play

Who would have guessed that the little gummy bears that John brought home from his last business trip would be so much fun. I was busy with one of my many chores the other day while the kids were running around the house making noise. I didn't think much of it until I started noticing gummy bears stuck to the walls, the cupboard doors and chairs. Hannah and Johnny had licked the back of each bear and stuck them everywhere. Frustrated that they didn't realize that I was trying to CLEAN the house, I told them that they had better find and clean up behind every last gummy bear.

It was then when they explained their game to me. They were pretending to be part of a computer game. To win, they had to collect points by running around the house, finding and eating as many gummy bears as they could. I had to laugh when I realized how much fun they must be having, it was just the kind of game I would have loved when I was their age. Nonetheless, I am their mom, and my job is to make sure they don't have any fun ;) not to mention how gross it was to eat something that someone else licked. So I stood firm that the gummy bears must go. I could just imagine what would happen to the finish on the cabinets and the paint on the walls if those sticky bears stayed too long.

A few days later, I noticed one lone gummy bear stuck high on a cabinet door in the kitchen. It is strange to say, but I felt kind of sentimental when I saw it there, and I didn't want to take it off. It stayed there for another day before I mentioned it to Hannah, and she hopped up onto the counter to take it off. I love their games.