Busy & a giveaway!

I have been very busy with spring cleaning. Not because it's spring by any means, but because I'm wishing spring would arrive. Which would mean summer is closer, and I would once again enjoy Utah weather.

We've organized the food storage by doubling our shelves and steam cleaned the entire house, including all the upholstery and the van interior. I've cleaned and conditioned the leather sofa, and am getting ready to wash walls, baseboards and blinds. There's much to do still.

I am all decorated for Valentine's Day and thought I'd share with you a little bonus. Read on . . .

It always starts with the entry table

My favorite is Bella asking me it that is a really old picture of Daddy and Reed, because it doesn't have any color.
And my tradition of hanging something above the stairs continues:
My mirror, which changes with each holiday. You can see the reflection of the hanging hearts in it, which makes it hard to distinguish what's on the mirror, and what's n0t.
And the upstairs even got a little "sweet treat"
And for your bonus - I'm giving away this Valentine garland to one lucky winner!
All you have to do is make a comment on this post with a fav0rite Valentine's day tradition. Click here to see our tradition. The contest will end Wednesday night, Feb. 4th at midnight. I will use random generator to pick a winner. Only one entry per person please!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Birthday Debbie!

My sister Debbie is having a birthday today. She is 37! (I love being the youngest girl - now that we're older!)Debbie is hilarious. If you ever want a great game, play Apples to Apples with her. She giggles nonstop, and loves to have fun.
She enjoys playing with her nieces and nephews, and coming up with funny names to call them. When Reed was just a bald little baby, she called him "Dallin H. Oaks". When she meets you, she'll tell you who you look like. Often times, it's a lesser known role in a movie. So don't be surprised if you don't know who she's talking about. Go back and watch the movie though, because she'll have the name right (whether they really resemble you or not!).

Love you Debs - you're one in a million! Happy Birthday!

Have you gone to get your free items?

I went today to pick up some free treasures. First to the mall, where I went to Nordstrom & Dillards and picked up some free cosmetics.

If you haven't heard about it, there is a class action settlement that $175 million worth of cosmetics needs to be given away for free. You just show up, there's a table and a line. Sign the paper, and pick your product. At Nordstrom I had 3 to choose from. At Dillards, I had 2 to choose from. It started Tuesday, and can go for as long as 7 days, but it is until supplies last (Be careful, the first one's always free - you may get yourself hooked!).

Then I went to Bath & Body Works, and used this coupon (click here). There's no minimum purchase, we just bought a $1 item, and you get your free product.

Enjoy!

Mr. Greedy

Bella got a "Crazy 8" card game for Christmas in her stocking. It was attached to a tube of big gumballs. She and Jeff had played many a round of the card game, each of them losing many hands. It's quite funny to see Jeff playing with cards that measure 1" x 1 1/2". They're about as big as his thumbs. Bella loves playing the game and doesn't mind losing, just so that she gets to play it again.

So with that in mind, we played a game at the end of our Family Home Evening lesson last Monday night. The lesson was so cute and was on sharing our love with others. The card game used characters from the lesson. The object was to collect sets of the same suit of card, and not get stuck with "Mr. Greedy". Instead, you wanted to have "Mr. Nicely" when the game ended.
So we played, and when the game ended Bella had "Mr. Greedy". Suddenly she burst into tears and was a complete lunatic. Upon questioning, she freaked out because she "didn't want the bad guy". Never did we know this would have such an effect on her. So we played two more hands, so that Mommy and Daddy each ended with him one time, and all was well.

OH REED!

Reed still loves bananas, but he now has a new obsession that is quickly taking over the banana's 1st place ranking.

Oranges. Not just any old oranges, clementines.

He loves them so much that he'll ask for them AT LEAST 20 times a day. When we decided that 4 a day was plenty for a one year old, that wasn't good enough for him. He quickly realized how to open the refrigerator and get the oranges out himself. He then proceeds to bite the skin to peel it.

So, we have resorted to locking the refrigerator. He has messed with this lock all day long. He's pulled it and bent it, and tugged at it and has been unsuccessful at retrieving his orange.

So today I find him with a stepstool, trying to unlock the water and ice. For several months this has been another fascination. Pushing the lever so ice cold water goes streaming down his arm and all over the floor.

Here his giving one last try at picking the lock:

What is the government doing now?

Some of you may have heard about the law that is going into effect February 10. It is called the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act. It was signed by Congress last August. It states that any item that comes into contact with a child has to be lab tested and certified that it is lead free. Due to the cost, this will prohibit anyone selling handmade items for children.

Go here for more information on it.

Click here to contact your congressman

Click here to contact your senator

Click here for a sample form letter

I'm back to blogging!

Happy 2009! It's been a bit crazy trying to get Christmas taken down, sorted through, and put away. I did it and even have a box to donate of Christmas decorations to boot.

We have been busy cleaning and organizing, since that is one of my New Year's Resolutions. So far, we've thoroughly cleaned the playroom (happens about every couple of months) and have it so that children can no longer be lost in the mess.

My laundry room has been a sore subject for quite some time. Simply because it is unfinished, in the unfinished basement. It's a pain to get everything down there, back up again, and to remember that I have laundry to do (out of sight, out of mind). Also, my washer was starting to not work so good (I wonder why, it's only about 30 years old). It started with the gift of a washer and dryer from my friend Michelle. They bought front loaders on an amazing sale, and gave us their 8 year old set. It's amazing how 20 years newer affects your laundry! We are working on the dryer, it has a little part that needs fixing, so it still isn't installed yet, but soon will be. So with new machines coming, I got busy while Jeff was watching the second half of the Sugar Bowl.

There was a closeline strung up between the studs for me to hang my clothes on to dry (I only put towels, socks, jammies, etc. in the dryer). We took advantage of a terrific IKEA sale on some shelves. I went to Lowe's and picked up a 10' closet rod, and some brackets to hold it up. We had been storing everything (detergent, cleaning supplies, cleaning rags, etc.) on the floor in boxes because I had no shelves or cupboards. It always bothered me that it is right next to the playroom and completely accessible to the children, or any children visitng for that matter. So now they are up off the floor and out of the way. My laundry room feels so much larger now!

Eventually, when we finish the laundry room, I am making a laundry chute from our closet down to the laundry room. And of course we'll have plenty of cupboards and baskets and such. But in the mean time, this is TONS better.

Before:

After:And we did it all for under $50! The shelves and the rod we can reuse when we actually finish the room, so it definitely wasn't money wasted.