Myla's Preschool Graduation

Myla completed her first year of preschool at Tiny Footsteps Preschool. She loved it! Yesterday was her super cute graduation. The kids all sang a couple of songs they learned during the year. Then each child was called up to receive their diploma. They told how old they were and what they wanted to be when they grew up. Myla said she wanted to be a mom. So sweet! Usually she says she wants to be a dinosaur. Hmmm, maybe that's in the same category as a mom in her mind. :)

Myla receiving her diploma from Ms. Lisa.

Myla loves her Aunt Jamie and loved that Jamie was her teacher too!

Myla with her other teacher, Lisa.

Myla and her cousin Bradley (or as Myla calls him, Brabley). They got to be such good friends. See that cute book Bradley is holding? Each child got their very own book with pictures and things they colored. They also got a DVD of their school year. Very fun!

Tiny Footsteps Preschool is registering for next year. They are holding two day classes and three day classes. Go here for more information!

Little Ballerina

Myla had her dance recital last weekend. She did a fantastic job! She was really nervous, but she did it anyway. I wish I could include pictures of her whole group. They were so cute! But I didn't have permission from the other parents. Here are a few of Myla:

Myla in her tap costume.

Myla in her ballet costume.

We are so glad we put Myla in dance. She LOVES her dance teacher and she LOVES dancing. She's showing me her moves all the time and tells me she's going to teach me how to dance. :) She already can't wait until the next session starts in the fall.

Kevin's Graduation

Kevin graduated!! Kevin successfully completed the nursing program at Scottsdale Community College. All he has to do now is pass the nursing boards and he will be a full-fledged RN! We are so proud of Kevin and all the hard work he has put into his schooling. Here are a few pics of the pinning ceremony.

The processional

Receiving his pin. They did a pretty cool thing here. They told a little bit about each graduate and what their future goals are. It was sweet.

Handsome graduate

I've learned a few things about Kevin throughout this whole schooling process.

* He's not a complainer. Kevin's first clinical rotation was in a long-term care facility (nursing home). Basically he changed diapers all day. Adult diapers. Crappy job. (Ha ha) But not once did I hear him complain. Not once! In fact, I had to ask what he did at the nursing home. He just does his job without complaint. I admire that. Because, believe me, I'd be complaining about changing poopy adult diapers.

* Kevin really loves his kids. Like really a lot. He didn't like being away from them so much. He made every minute count that he was with them.

* Kevin very rarely stresses out. He gets busy. Most of the time there were four or five different important things he needed to focus on, but he rarely gets stressed.

* Kevin was called to be the Elders Quorum president in our ward about two weeks before he started nursing school. He also worked 20-30 hours a week at his regular job. And he has a family. He was really worried that he wouldn't be able to give everything 100%. There were times when one job had to be put on the backburner so he could focus on the others. I know he has given his very best effort in all things. He had almost no free time. He was going, going, going. Always. He had endless amounts of energy. There were many times when I sat in awe of everything he was trying to do. We know that the Lord was strengthening him. And we are so thankful for that.

* Working hard is good for the soul. And for a family. I've said this many times throughout the past several years, but I'll say it again: Anything worth having has to be worked for, sacrificed for. Kevin has proven that.

* I always knew this about Kevin, but he is a very compassionate person...especially for a guy. He'd worry about patients long after he worked with them. He'll make a great nurse.

* Kevin is good at a lot of things, which is why it took so long to really find a major that he wanted to stick with. This came in handy during nursing school. For projects and presentations he'd write scripts, make movies and put all that computer knowledge to work. (Before nursing, Kevin's majors were computer graphics, screenwriting, drafting and pharmacy.)

Let's Get Personal

It's 11:00 on a Saturday night. My kids and hubby are snoring away in their beds. I'm listening to some Brandi Carlile while catching up on my favorite blogs and enjoying the breeze through my window. Down time. Nice. I haven't done one of these in a while and saw it on this blog. Remember when tagging was all the rage in blogging? Anyway, I like these questions. They go beyond "Who did you talk to last on the phone?" and "Chocolate or vanilla?" So feel free to play along. Or not. We are pretty laid back around here. :)

1. When do you feel happiest? When my life is balanced. As much as it can be balanced.

2. How do you take care of yourself? As most adults know, when you have limited time, limited money, many responsibilities and precious little people depending on you, you have to pick and choose the best way to take care of yourself. I choose to buy fabric. It's that simple for me right now. Why? I love the process of finding fabric. I love the colors, the smells, the textures, the patterns. I love combining fabrics for a unique look. I love deciding what I want to create from the fabric. And when I buy fabric it's mine and only mine. No one else cares about the fabric I choose but me.

3. Are you internally (by yourself) or externally (by others) motivated? A little of both. I prefer to think that I'm inspired by others' successes and ideas. But the older I get the more I am internally motivated. I think that comes from knowing more what I want to accomplish in life and knowing what things don't fit into my ideals.

4. What do you do for fun? House cleaning. Just kidding! Have you seen my house lately?

I love fun. Isn't fun, fun? What movie is that from? Anyway, there are different kinds of fun. I'll break it down for you:
Kid fun: playing in the water, tickle time, looking through old pictures, dancing to Mamma Mia
Kevin fun: Talking. (These days we are lucky if we even get to have one conversation during the day, but I do love talking to Kevin.) Playing Super Mario Brothers on Wii together.
Girl fun: sewing nights, midnight showings, talking
Me fun: listening to music, reading, fabric shopping, sewing, vegging in front of the TV

5. What intimidates you? Supermoms. I will never be one. I'm not really going for the Supermom title, but sometimes I wonder what I'm missing. What is it about me that can't keep it all together? I'm not looking for any psychological advice. I'm not really worried about it.

6. What is something you're proud of? My family. My heritage. I'm proud of my wonderful, hardworking, talented grandparents who passed down their wisdom, their faith and their beautiful qualities. I'm proud of lovely parents. I would not be who I am without them...all of them. I'm proud of my brothers and sister and the lives they have created (with the amazing people they married) for themselves and their families. I'm so proud of my husband and the good man that he is. He is hardworking and kind and tries so hard to do the right thing. He has taught me so much. I am so proud of my beautiful children. I'd like to take credit for the amazing little people they are. But I can't. They are the way they are.

7. Finish this sentence. I never make my bed. I don't. There, my dirty little secret is out.

8. Favorite vacation spot. California. Hopefully someday we'll be able to expand our travels to experience more of the world than the southwest.

9. Today is a (rate from 1 - 10). To be honest, I'd rate it a 4. I'm glad it's over. I won't bore you with the details. :)

10. Finish this sentence. If you knew me really well you'd know that I'm a worrier. I'll probably have an ulcer in a couple of years. If Kevin is home 15 minutes late I've already got his funeral planned. If one of my kids cries for an unknown reason I'm convinced they have some crazy disease. I'll analyze a conversation I've had with a friend over and over again to make sure I didn't say anything offensive. I worry about the future. I worry about the past. I worry. It's annoying. I wish I didn't worry as much.

So there you go. This is my fun on a Saturday night. I was hoping to cuddle up with Kevin and watch Avatar. But since he hasn't slept for 28 hours I'm thinking sleep is more important that watching a bunch of blue people run around a jungle. On a side note about Avatar, have you heard that there is a hotline for people who are depressed that they can't live on Pandora? There's a hotline for everything these days. I need a hotline for people who can't figure out how to get their almost two year old to sleep through the night. And on that note, the Gavman needs his mom. Good night!

Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Simplify your Life giveaway is Aubrey! She says: Here is my favorite snack for kids: Sliced apples, a gogurt, and string cheese.

Thanks for all your ideas and suggestions for healthy snacks. It's nice to try a new thing or two. Don't forget to grab your coupon for a free box of Simply...GoGurt. (For friends who live around here, I found Simply...GoGurt at Albertsons. They may have it at other stores now, but when I checked a couple of weeks ago they didn't.)

The Final Countdown

Do you have the Europe song in your head now? I do...in all it's '80's glory. :)

Like the cap and diploma made out of Lego? It just screams Kevin. Once he sees this he'll probably put it on his list of things he wants to build with Lego. That list is getting pretty long. :)

The day is coming. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. Kevin is almost breathing a final sigh of relief. He has three weeks until he graduates! He has taken his finals and finished lecture. Now he just needs to complete three weeks of a preceptorship at Mayo clinic and then he graduates. After than he'll still have to take the NCLEX to get his RN license, but the majority of the work is done. He's done a fantastic job and I'm so proud of him.


MySpace-Countdowns

Simplify Your Life giveaway

GoGurt....one of the best creations invented for the modern mom. I love that I can throw a few frozen GoGurts in my diaper bag and pass them out to the kids on the run. Yoplait, through MyBlogSpark, sent a free coupon to try out their latest product, Simply...GoGurt. Simply...GoGurt is made from simple ingredients and doesn't have all the added stuff we don't like, like high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors or colors. We tried it out this morning and I got the official thumbs up from Cade and Myla. They are all about yogurt. We go through it pretty quickly around here.

The great thing is that Yoplait has provided a link for 30 readers to get a coupon to try Simply...GoGurt for free. So if you are one of the first 30 people to click on the Free Yogurt tab below you'll get a coupon for a free package. After the 3o coupons are shared there will be a new link for $1.10 off coupon.

Yoplait, through MyBlogSpark, sent this great "Simplify Your Life" prize pack that includes a pocket Etch-a-Sketch, backseat organizer and and pretty little weekly organizer. They have also provided one to give away to you!

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment sharing some wholesome snacking tips for the kids. Giveaway closes Thursday, April 22nd at 11:59pm.

To the ballgame

There's just something adorable about watching 5 year olds trying to play t-ball. Some of them kinda get it. Most of them don't. But they have fun. (Although the enthusiasm over the treats at the end of the game makes me think that's what they really look forward to.) Cade got to play first base last night and really had no idea what to do with all these balls that were coming his way or the kids running their little hearts at towards him. Most of the time he just moved out of the way. When he hit the ball he kindly took the bat back to the dugout and then trotted leisurely to first base. Like I said, pretty adorable!

School Pictures I'm Happy About!

At the beginning of the school year Cade came home with an order form for school pictures. I was floored at the prices for one pose of not-so-great pictures. I was so excited when I learned that Jenna Jameson was offering Better School Pictures for a fantastic price. She was scheduled to take pictures of Myla's preschool class, so I arranged for her to take Cade and Gavin's pictures too. I'm so glad it worked out! Check some of them out:

Myla's preschool class



And I just had to include a picture of the cute way she packaged the CD. Such a sweet personal touch!

E-day

Here are a few pics from the day. I only got a few of Myla, and she was scowling in every one of them, so they didn't make the cut. :)

Waiting for the eggs to be hid.

Easter Basket Hat

Gavin thought this was the best part. He didn't really care about the eggs.

At one point he was running toward Grandma Cat and giggling with the bucket over his eyes.

Gavin with my Grandma.

They kids got these cute gummy bunny teeth. They loved them.

Sister Shoutouts

Check out the new Royalty Bowtique created by Nicki and her friend, Erin. There are tons of cute accessories for your little boy or girl. Capes, tutus, bracelets, hair bows...so much fun! Great prices and quality product. They are having a giveaway to kick off their grand opening! You can also catch Nicki on Etsy!

My sis-in-law, Jamie, is now registering for preschool for the 2010-2011 school year. She will be offering two different preschool classes this year. Go here to get all the lovely details. Myla has LOVED preschool with Miss Jamie and Miss Lisa this year. They make learning so fun. She always comes home with art projects and learning sheets and stories to tell about outside time or what her friend said. I love it! It has been so wonderful for Myla. I love that there are two teachers. Double the fun!

The winner of the Spring Treats prize pack is Jill!

She said:

My favorite spring/summer time treat is fresh watermelon. Oh my gosh, I could eat a whole melon all by myself. Yummers!

Mmmm, watermelon is my favorite too. I could live off of watermelon during the summer. I can't wait until they are in season. Congrats Jill!

Thanks for all of your great spring baking recipe ideas! It was so fun reading them. Have a wonderful Easter weekend.

Spring Baking

Spring cleaning? Bleh. Spring baking? Yay! I love baking. My quiet, Christie place is in the kitchen baking up some sweet treat. (Now I need to figure out how to bake without eating the product. That's a tough one.) In the past couple of weeks I've made Lemon Cream cupcakes (my favorite!), tried out this awesome carrot cake recipe (very rich - yummy!), and intend to bake up some Key Lime Pie cupcakes for Easter (if you like Key Lime Pie even a teensy little bit, you must try this recipe).

I love finding new recipes. I have a variety of websites and blogs that I look at for inspiration and direction. Baking from scratch is something I enjoy, but I am also so glad there are quicker options out there. There is a new website called Bake Sweet Memories that has some great spring recipe ideas for fun desserts using Betty Crocker cake, cookie and brownie mixes. There is a cute Easter Bunny cake that I think the kids would love.

For sewing night last night I decided to try out the Spring Fruit Pizza. Very good and very easy!

The best part is that Safeway (and family of stores) is having a fantastic sale on Betty Crocker products. Now through April 6th, Betty Crocker cake mixes and traditional brownie mixes are on sale for $0.69 each when you buy 4. You can also download coupons directly to your Safeway card from the Bake Sweet Memories website. I love that option because I can never remember my coupons.

Safeway and Betty Crocker, through MyBlogSpark generously sent me this cute little Spring Sweet Treats pack, which included a silicon baking pan, stainless steel mixing bowl, mixing spoon, oven mitt, free Betty Crocker brownie mix coupon and a $25 gift certificate to Safeway. (The silicon baking pan is a dream to bake with. I made the fruit pizza with it and I couldn't believe how easy it was to get the big cookie out. I'm thinking I need to invest in more of these babies.) They have provided me one to give away to one of you!

If you would like to win your own Spring Sweet Treats prize pack (including a silicon baking pan, stainless steel mixing bowl, mixing spoon, oven mitt, and a $25 gift certificate to Safeway), check out the Bake Sweet Memories website and come back and tell me which recipe you'd like to try out. Want a second chance? Leave another comment telling me your favorite spring treat ever - and maybe you could leave the recipe or a link to it?? I'm always on the hunt for new recipes. Want a third chance? Blog, tweet, Facebook or (whatever you do) about this giveaway and come back leaving a comment that you did.

Just to recap, you have three chances to win:
1. Leave a comment telling me what you'd like to try out from Bake Sweet Memories.
2. Leave another comment telling me your favorite spring treat.
3. Blog, tweet, Facebook about the giveaway and come back and leave a comment telling me you did.

Giveaway ends soon on Wednesday, March 31st at 11:59pm. I will randomly choose a winner at that time. Good luck!

McMillan Spring Training

The weather is amazing right now, and we are taking advantage of it while it lasts!

I'm one of those moms

I love to make the kids all matchy-matchy. Sometimes it's a sickness. Sometimes I have to stop myself from trying to convince Kevin to coordinate with what the kids are wearing. Like I said, it's a sickness. And no, I don't feel the need for Kevin and I to get all matchy-matchy. That's just weird. :)

Anyway, for Myla's Easter dress I did something new: I sewed dress that required a zipper. If you saw the zipper you would not be impressed. It looks pretty crappy from the back. So I won't show you the back. But it's in, and that's what matters, right? I'm trying to improve my sewing skills. I think I've got elastic and velcro down; it's time to move to the next level. I bought a fun tie pattern from here and made coordinating ties so that the boys could match their sister. I know my time is limited--soon they will be disgusted if I try to make them match. I'm taking it while I can get it. :)