three.

It's been 10 days since my last post.

The natives are getting hostile. Their leader, the young one, has brought chaos to the clan.

It seems once these primitive creatures turn three they become dominate and bossy, leaving no room for reason. We're no longer able to communicate; negotiations for a peaceful solution look dim.

I'm left to reminisce the peaceful days, when all existed in harmony. When the decibels were much lower. when progress...progressed.

To add an unpleasant flavor to this party, it also appears as though these changes occur when one turns 33. The brain becomes mushy and unreasonable. These things we call hormones decide to produce such reactions as irrational irritation, acne equivalent to the early 90's, and a thing called metabolism. The scales increase with chocolate consumption. Not favorable.

All I can do is camp out and record these unwelcome behavior changes, and hope the quiet days and clear complexions return.

and eat chocolate chips.

he calls himself the SugarPlum.

Dani asked him if he was the tooth fairy or something.

He says quite irritated, "trrrry Sugar Plum, Dani. geesh. tooth fairy.

you think I'm an idiot?"

And I guess SugarPlum's go around fixing things.

Not to be confused with the Tinker fairy.

Oh no. He's a SugarPlum.

He takes his job very seriously.

mishell's.

she crochets.

you know,

it's okay not to make 80 crafty valentines when they're happy with Phineas & Ferb from a box.

I watched way more than 2 hours of tv a day and had the movie Grease memorized before I was 10.

I look funny with big earrings.

I drag my feet when I walk on the carpet to make fake vaccum marks.

I like high fructose corn syrup.

gustafer yellowgold.

My all time favorite kids music.

I listen to him more than the kids do.

& his website is the coolest.

so so great.

Gustafer Yellowgold.

easy headband tutorial.

I made some headbands for {cousin} Emma's birthday a couple weeks ago & they turned out so great I wanted to share.

I bought the cheap ones for $1.99 a pack,

because they're lightweight

& don't hurt behind the ears.

Cut off the woven covers.

so if your headband is 13" x 1/4"

you'd cut your fabric 15" x 1 1/4".

Don't judge my manicure.

just a couple straight stitches back and forth will do.

{I will show you the ruffle in a second}

and that's it!

Here's how you do the ruffle:

I made the bow by sewing the strip for the headband

about 3" longer than needed and used the extra length

to fold into a bow. I used another piece of the strip

to wrap around the bow & hot-glued it onto the headband.

So quick and easy.

ps. I'm trying to cut down on sugar.

I'm cranky.

Totally headband unrelated,

but relevant none-the-less.

i need a cookie.

movie monday.

you watch movies

ALL DAY

on movie monday.

and break for the potty

every once in a while

because you're snacking

on a strong cereal.

mmm, maple.

Make a butter pecan cake mix

and add two drops of maple flavoring

to your vanilla icing.

I'm still mad Krispy Kreme disbanded the maple.

I'm all about maple.

I've had two for breakfast.

mmmm.

{I'm still trying to clear my head from last night. I feel all anxious with details. He's going to use Richard's body to get into the temple. The temple, huh? I've got to relax and let Sawyer grieve. but what's going on, really.}

And Rose knows something. She's a smart suspicious cookie.

In honor of tonight's festivities, let's have a recap:

Okay. So Jacob's dead. Ben killed him because Locke, or really the smoke monster {who is really the other guy on the beach with Jacob who couldn't kill Jacob even though he wanted to real bad so he made Ben do it because Ben's a goob} told him to. And now he wants to kill Richard. Who's a pirate that doesn't die and wears eyeliner.

We know Jacob was the keeper of the island & went to land and touched each of the survivors during their life somehow (gave Sawyer a pen, etc} that led them to the island. Or something. And Richard has files on all of them. I dunno.

We know Juilet was pulled into the magnet hole and detonated the atomic bomb because Farraday told them it would reverse time and she could go back to being a Fertility Doctor. We still don't know why no one can have babies on the island. But we do know James is real sad, 'cause he luv her. And Farraday's dead because he got shot when he was telling his mom he was from the future, and got real sad before he died because his mom sent him to the island even though she knew he'd get shot. She's tricky.

And his girlfriend who's in the coma that Penny's dad is paying for is somehow stuck in between times, maybe, and she's going to show up somehow on the island. I think.

And Desmond & Penny are sailing back to the island, why? to fulfill their destiny, duh.

And Charlie will make a comeback.

And Jack's name is on a magic list in a big temple with people who want to kill Saied with a spear. And Ben sees Lockes dead body on the beach, but wait, he's in there with dead Jacob, but no he's not, he's laying here dead on the beach. I've been duped! Is what he says. here.

So this is what we know.

Some people are under a big foot on the beach with dead Locke, people with guns, and a smoke monster.

Some people are in the 7o's with an atomic bomb and sad Sawyer.

A mean mom is under a church with a pendulum.

And Claire is incognito. {I think Christian, aka smoke monster, lured her to the cabin to break the ash chain and let him out. something like that.}

Oh, and Walt. Wud up with that?

It keeps me up at night.

I'm going to be occupied with these thoughts for the next 6 weeks or so.

hooray.

over the piano.

This canvas has been 6 different colors with 100 different sketches; I couldn't decide what I wanted prominently displayed in our living room. I had elaborate ideas of a big family portrait, a grand modge podge of hymns & scriptures, a collage of good words, a giant fabric flower, a doughnut; the ideas were endless. I needed a big thing the kids would see every day, staring at them with a colorful reminder of something wonderful.

So I thought about it. What do I want my kids to know. To do. Every day.

Pick up their socks.

Use a tissue.

Be nice.

Yup. That was it. But on a grander scale.

We're nice because we're happy. We're happy because we're loved. We feel loved when someone's nice.

Love one another. As simple as that.

Deep, but not really.

Because when she's upset she lost the spelling bee to that boy...again...she can be happy for him. And when he's disappointed that girl didn't come watch his game, he can give her the benefit of the doubt. And when he watches his friends embarrass that kid, he'll tell them to knock it off. Because when their little brother ruins their lego house, they can invite him to build a castle. And when we feel mad, we can be nice. And when we feel alone, we can remember.

It's a difficult concept for our selfish selves.

So that's what it became.

A big, simple reminder of something wonderful.

"As I have loved you, love one another."

Hanging over the piano.

more ruffles...

...is what I always say.