Easter

 At church

 Before church

 Emma can never be far from Cecilia

Her First Easter and first bunny!

Yes, I know, three blog posts in one day.  But, so many pictures were taken it was ridiculous!  Sorry.  This morning I slept in some, because Cecilia kept me up until 10 and then Leah was up until after midnight.  Sheesh!  I'm still tired!  Not as tired as my poor Nursery Co-Leader.  She works as a nurse and got off at 7 this morning.  So, she'd been up 30 hours!  I feel blessed to have gotten my seven!  We were late to church, but we made it!  Leah was quite the character today.  I'm glad she's in "my" class!  That way I could try to keep her away from people.  We took some kiddo pictures before leaving.  The first picture was taken in the hall at church.  We came home, had lunch and I took the Cecilia's pictures.  Then I made 2 loaves of banana nut bread, 24 cupcakes (that Kira frosted) and 24 cookies.  Can you tell I have a sweet tooth?  Obviously I'm trying to keep fat in my bones!  I have plans for a very yummy dinner tonight.  I will just make it a little later than usual, since Scott's going hometeaching and he just ate a bunch of snacks after his nap.  I'm excited for dinner!

Easter Eve

So, we do the fun Easter baskets (that my sister Mandy so kindly provided) on Saturday, because the candy sickness that usually follows isn't Sunday-appropriate.  Among other reasons...  The kids woke me up at 6:30 for this fun.  Hurray.  Here's some pics of that mess!  Although they loved it!

After our huge cleanup effort yesterday, the main floor is looking great!  So, as a reward, the kids got to get one of the butterflies out of its habitat.  We had one with a crippled wing (it had a hard time coming out of the coccoon), so the kids got to look at that one.

We did this while Scott was enjoying the 20% off everything at Sutherland's!  He got mulch, some hanging plants, screens for our decrepit back porch and more!  Fun stuff!  So, once again our front landscape is looking better!  Now, for the roses to grow and spread beautifully!  Then I'll be posting pictures again!

A fun Easter weekend

I love that the Elementary school was out on Friday and on Monday, so 4 day weekend for them.  Too bad we still had school!  Oh well!  We didn't do much on Friday, but Kira had a playdate with a friend from church.  The super cool thing about this friend is that we have known her since she was a baby!  And we were at her parents' wedding reception!  A very fun thing in this small town that we moved to almost a year ago!  Technically, we're in-law in-laws, because her dad's twin brother is my brother-in-law (he married my husband's sister).  Anyway, that was fun, because I got to hang out and talk with her mom who is awesome!  She likes my Temple hairclip idea, so I'm going to do it (in the next couple of weeks).  I wanted to work on it on Friday night, but Scott wanted me to go to bed earlier.  I'm a night owl, especially on weekends when I have a possibility of "sleeping in!"  So, instead I made something else, that wouldn't take long or special equipment.  See?  I personally think it turned out pretty well, since I didn't have instructions!

Nice, huh?  You put the amount of "eggs" as children.  So, this one is for someone with 6 kids.  Anyway.  I had to include this picture from Cub Scouts last Wednesday.

Funny kiddo.  He couldn't find his shoes quickly and my "All lost items locator" wasn't functioning up-to-par, so he wore these.  It's hard to lose them!

The Road Show by Braden Bell

I just finished this book and had to review it, so that everyone gets their own copy (I'm not letting mine out of my house)! Wow! I love, love, love it!  People from all different walks of life and how they come together and are healed through the Savior, Awesome! This is one of those books that gets you so deeply involved that you want to cry when it ends! What happens next? Yes, they are healed, but do they stay healed? Do they forget the next day what an awesome experience they had? Do they become better people? After having read this book, I want to be a better person! I should talk more to others in the Ward and really get to know them, so I can maybe be the person that is a real friend and helps someone feel Our Savior's Love. It is a fantastic book, but you might want to get 2, so you can keep yours and give one away. What a helpful way to remember His love! I hope someone makes it into a movie! That would be awesome!  It's only $6 new on Amazon and is completely worth the price!  It certainly opened my eyes to what it is like for those suffering from postpartum depression, a pornography addiction, loneliness, pride and complacency!  I can't say enough how awesome this book is!  Here's the link to buy it:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599553562/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img.

Great day yesterday (and today)

Yesterday was a pretty big day at our house and we had even prepared by cleaning the main floor of our house and Scott even steam cleaned the floor!  We went to church and walked in as the first hymn was being sung!  Scott was able to give a name and blessing to our adorable baby girl, Cecilia Marie Westhoff.  It was a very small circle, because Scott forgot to ask anyone to be in the circle.  So, it was him, my dad, my brother Bill and Brother Cayton.  And Cecilia was wearing a dress that my fellow Nursery teacher gave me!  Ann, if you ever read this, know that you are AWESOME!  I had added lace to a dress and my girls' skirts and matching bows, but that dress was way too small for my well-fed baby!  Here's my pretty baby in her dress:

 That Ann so kindly gave me!

 And our family all together after church.  Notice the matching lace?

 Kira and I on our bowling "date."  We had bumpers up and still Kira got a 67 and I got a 77.  Yeah, I stunk.  This was her first time and she said, "This isn't like the Wii game."  Imagine!

 In our flowers

 Ben and Cecilia before I cut his hair on Saturday

 Emma posing

 Kira eating the first bite

 Ben eating lunch with me at school

 Kira was on the other side

 The cupcakes.  It's supposed to look like a ring.  You can see it, right?  Luckily I made cupcakes, because I wasn't thinking about the fact that I have a big family and didn't have enough plates, forks or spoons!  I also didn't make enough spaghetti the first time, so I needed to make another batch, and had salad out of a bag.  I was planning on making rolls, but forgot that they needed to rise.  So, we had them for dinner.  After everyone left.  Good times!  Luckily, I had family willing (and able) to eat spaghetti and salad with a spoon or wait their turn.  I washed dishes and my mom dried them.  The dishwasher isn't fast enough.  It worked out okay though!  Kira got a ton of presents that she didn't seem to appreciate yesterday, but LOVES today!  Mandy-she wore every one of the bracelets you gave her and hasn't taken them off.  Sam-she was wearing one of the shirts you got her.  Mom-she colored on the Princess desk sheets.  Kim-she played with the dolls and she's now more modest (Emma played with hers too and Ben can't stand being far from his whale and dolphin).  So, even though she wasn't near as appreciative as she should have been, THANKS!

 Me and Emma

Emma having ice cream on our "date," because she has gone potty so well for over 2 weeks!  So, she got a kids' meal and a big ice cream cone.

Sorry, no Leah pictures.  Strange!  It might have something to do with the fact that Emma told her markers are for makeup.  So, she has quite the decorated body!

Today was fun, because I got a ton of diapers and wipes in!  Hurray!  We're covered for a while!  And I only had one class (that I was late to, again).  But I got an 80 on that test!  Not bad for studying during the open part of the test!

The Crazy Daze of Motherhood by Jane Isfeld Still

Since I am currently experiencing the crazy days that being a momma could bring, I was pretty excited to review this book!  I read her first book and loved it, so I wanted more!

From the back cover


A mother's day is filled with all kinds of emergencies, from bumps and bruises to hospital stays. Find the perfect way to recover from your own family's little emergencies with Jane Isfeld Still's latest book on the hilarious daily challenges of a mother in the fray. You're sure to laugh and cry as you celebrate the joys of motherhood.

About the Author

Jane is married to Rick Still, who she believes has the distinction of being the only man in history brave enough to give her earwax candles for her birthday. They had six children in eight years, and while her children were growing up, she discovered she had a great sense of humor. At least that was her take. Rick once said to her, "Honey, you know all those real corny things you say all the time? Who ever thought you could make money at it?" Her son Adam once told her, "Mom could you please stop telling jokes to my friends? It's really embarrassing." One of Jane's philosophies is, "You're not doing your job unless your children are worried about being seen in public with you."

My Review

Crazy Daze of Motherhood is a fantastic book for all moms, grandmas, and soon-to-be moms!  There are 19 short stories and each is perfect for a little pick-me-up when you're having a crazy day!  One of my favorites is the "Drama Queen," because I have at least one of those at my house!  I know that being on the phone means a crisis is about to happen!  It's nice to know I'm not alone!  This book would be a fabulous shower present or Mother's Day present (though you might want to include some chocolate, I prefer white chocolate)!

To read more about Jane and her exploits visit her website at janeisfeldstill.com or her blog at janeisfeldstill.blogspot.com Her books are available in stores nationwide. Here is a link to purchase from

Amazon.

Contest

You can win a fun prize from Jane to help celebrate the release of her book. Just go to her blog at http://www.janeisfeldstill.blogspot.com and become a follower, and then leave her a comment and tell her that you're a new follower. You could win:

1. Mother's Daze basket, soap, chocolate, lotion, decorative candles, and recipe cards

2. Box of blank cards with a smattering of Canadian chocolate

3. Chocolate

Juicy Bunch

I am a member of the Juicy Bunch!  So, now I get to find out what's going on in the Juicy Juice World!  Pretty cool!  We all love Juicy Juice at our house!  I love that it's 100% juice!  Great stuff!