Cool Madsen Bike Contest

"and all the animals talk there..."

On our way home with our pizza and movie--where the wild things are--my children started having a conversation about Paris... Seriously...my 6 year old and my 4 year old. I am not sure how it started, but my ears perked up when Miss A stated that there is a castle in Paris. I immediately knew what she was talking about, so I countered with, "Are you talking about the castle in the Barbie and the 3 Musketeers movie?" 

Of course she answered YES. She then when on to talk about how in Paris,

at the castle there is a prince and 4 girls that live there and  

ALL the animals there talk. 

And then she proceeded to list them out too.  We have a cat, dog and fish and none of them talk, 

but she was confident in her thoughts. I bet she'd really really like to go visit there... What do you think?

On another note, we watched where the wild things are tonight and I've got to say that I just didn't get it. I love the book and I totally get that the book alone wouldn't fill an hour and half movie. I just got confused though and even said to hubby that maybe we should have previewed this movie. At the beginning we kept saying to Mr. L, uhh, don't do that...that's not a good thing...he shouldn't be doing that. That sort of thing. 

I knew we should have watched Barbie...

I almost hugged her...

My dear sweet husband has been working some really crazy hours lately, resulting in me getting a little stir crazy. So when he came home at 6 pm and didn't have plans to go back to work, I knew what I had to do. As soon as the kids were in bed, I hopped in the car went to Hancock Fabrics. I got there with about 35 minutes before they closed and let me just say, I stayed the full 35 minutes. I only needed some felt squares, but it was so nice to browse through the fabrics and the patterns without my little angels running around me. So, THANK YOU dear husband!!

While I was looking through the patterns, a women walked up and asked me if I was looking for a prom dress. I laughed and told her no, I have 3 kids. But, I wonder if she really mistook me for a high school senior?? Dear sweet hubby said that she probably thought I was a teacher, but we will ignore him. I will pretend that my 10 year reunion didn't just pass and that I really look that young.

Thank you woman from the fabric store! You, combined with my solo store visit made my night.

Getting the perfect soil

Boy am I tired! My friend Sarah and I just got finished mixing our soil. We are following the square foot gardening "recipe."

Here's what we put in
8 cubic ft of course vermiculite
8 cubic ft of peat moss
8 cubic ft of compost--a mix of organic, horse manure, and mushroom compost.


Earlier in the week I borrowed a truck from my girl Amy and picked up the organic mix. Sarah got the vermiculite and I got the rest. Today we finally mixed it all up. The good news is that after that, I didn't feel guilty about not going to the gym today...it was a huge workout. Tomorrow we plan on getting the soil into our boxes.

I am starting out with one 4x4 box and Sarah is starting out with two 4x4's. (The "recipe" is for three 4x4's.) I am NOT looking forward to adding another box because that means I will have to make more of the perfect soil.

The soil looks awesome though and I am so excited to get it into the box and get seeds in the ground.

Here is the square foot gardening site...I don't have his books though...


Now I am off to get the kids in bed...THEN I can enjoy a nice hot shower and relax by working on my quilt some more...

Why am I doing this?

The question must be asked and it must be answered. Growing up my mother and father took care of a great garden...at least I think it was great and it seemed huge to me. The one plant I remember the most was carrots. I picked it to plant and I loved pulling them up. So, one of the reasons for this garden is so that my children can experience hard work and see the fabulous (hopefully) returns that will come from it.

The 2nd reason is because the prophet has told us to plant a garden. Who knows when I will need to know how to grow my own food...whether it be b/c that becomes more economical or because of disasters...WHO KNOWS??? All I am saying is, I don't want to be that girl that doesn't know how and has to rely on other people.

I want to be self-reliant.

I truly hope to see blessings come from this experience....and I hope it doesn't become a one time thing...I want to keep it up and try new things each planting. I am keeping this blog mostly for myself. I want to look back in a year and see my progress. If you are reading this though and have any tips for me..oh please share!

Happy Gardening to everyone!!

Glad to be my age

Today my little girl had her 4 year well child visit with our doctor. Just 1 month ago, my 2 year old had her well child visit and was great. She was a real big girl! Today was a different story though. First she tells me she isn't going. She also says she isn't a big girl like her sister. She runs from me in the car forcing me to carry her into the office. She refused to step on the scale or stand against the wall for her height. SO, I got to stand on the scale with her and do that old trick. The good news? I have lost 1 more pound!! That's it. There really isn't any more good news. When it was time for the shots, another nurse came in to help me hold her down. It was really not a pleasant experience and I don't want to do it again. Don't get me wrong, I am a believer in immunizations (my dad had polio as a kid...what a different life he would have had with that vaccine!) I just hope next time there won't be tears and screaming.

So, to make things better, we hit the dollar tree and are now watching a movie (she's got sore legs.)