Make A Statement!

My rings are famous! KSL's Studio 5 did a segment on the show Friday on Statement Rings. They featured some of my bead rings. Click here to see the clip. It is pretty exciting for me to have others excited about my rings. Of course, I was totally nervous through out the entire segment...and I wasn't even there. I was sitting on my bed watching. Anyway, it was pretty cool.

This is my newest style...The Bouquet Ring.

Check out my Bead Queen Blog to see my other styles.

Trunk Show Tonight

I am now selling my rings at a cute boutique in Centerville called Madeleine L'Amour. There are some new designs that I am selling exclusively through them. Check them out on their blog: http://madeleinelamour.blogspot.com/

Check out their trunk show tonight from 6-8pm. The details are on their blog.

Margo

My New Adventure...

I finally got my little side business up and running.

Click here to check out my new blog.

2010 at a Glance....

Well, we're all another year older...and hopefully wiser, too. Here are some of the events that stick out in our minds from this past year...

Sassy turned 6

Sassy performed in the ballet, Swan Lake

little dude turned 3

big daddy turned 40

Went to Boston to visit family.

Had some family visit from Indiana.

big daddy had an accident and had his first, and hopefully last, operation.

We mourned the loss of big daddy's younger brother, Jeff! We miss him!

Girls started school

sassy pants is in 1st grade

sister tsu is in kindergarten

Carved pumpkins for Halloween

little dude officially became big dude when he became completely potty trained!!!

YEAH!!

Click on these links to see a few videos.

little dude's acting debut at ward talent night

sassy pants' snowflake dance

sister tsu's beam routine at gymnastics show

tsu's trampoline tricks

Kids with favorite gymnastics coach!!

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season!

(check back next year. I promise to post regularly)

Once there was a snowman...

About 4 weeks ago we had a great, big snowstorm. People got stuck on the way to and from church. The snowplow drivers were working overtime, etc, etc, etc...you get the picture. As soon as we got home from church, the kids put on their snow clothes and headed outside to enjoy the cold, white mess. With some help from their dad, they built a wonderful snowman, complete with long branches for arms. This snowman was a little crooked from the start...in fact, it was leaning over almost at a 45 degree angle. And there it stayed for the last 4 weeks.




Every day as I pull in and out of the driveway, I see this crooked snowman. Neighbors comment that they are surprised it is still standing. But, there it stands! "big daddy likes to tell people that it's a representation of our mental status...completely off balance!


Yesterday, while I was in the shower getting ready for church, I was thinking about that silly snowman. I started drawing a parallel between this lopsided snowman and my life. Against all odds, this snowman has stood in the yard for the last month. The wind blows, the sun comes out and melts part of the head away, one of the stick arms falls out...everything, not the least of which is gravity, was working against this snowman...trying to knock it down. Life feels like that so often. We keep trying to live right...helping kids with homework, cooking, doing laundry, trying to magnify our church callings, doing visiting teaching, trying to be a good neighbor and friend, being involved in the community...trying to find time and energy to be involved in our own families...all the while trying to develop a better relationship with Christ...and yet we feel like we just aren't measuring up...that we are not really getting anywhere...or that we are just not feeling "balanced"...yet, through all of the trials, we hang on...just like our silly snowman.


Well, after thinking about all of this while trying to get ready for church, I decided that I needed to go out and take another picture of the snowman...just to show that it was still standing after all of this time, and through all the struggles. I thought it would be a good testament to what we, as human beings in this world, are trying to do! So I got out of the shower and went downstairs to get the camera...and this is what I found...

Draw your own parallel :)

Princess "sassy pants" Turns 6...

So this was the year for "sassy pants" to have her first friend birthday party. Since most of her friends have already had big birthday parties...and most of them had princess parties...I knew I was going to have to come up with some original ideas! So, we decided to have a Princess Tea Party. I made some invitations on the computer and we set out to deliver them.

I wanted "big daddy" to get on his tights and tunic and deliver the invites on a pink pillow, but for some strange reason, he said, "NO"! So "sassy pants" and "tsu" delivered them by going to each door, with the invite on a little pillow, and delivering it to Princess So-and-so. I think they thought it was cute.

We decided to have the Tea Party at the Queen's Castle (my mom's house) because ours is still a construction zone and not very princessy. She was in charge of decorations and I was in charge of the food, activities and the cake. I wanted to do a fun menu so we had peanut butter sandwiches on pink bread cut out in the shape of flowers, fruit kabobs, baby carrots, and pink lemonade with ice cubes frozen with raspberry lemonade, raspberries and lemon wedges. I wish I had taken better pictures of the food because I think the lunch was really cute. My mom had pink salad plates with flowers on them so it all turned out great!

For the activities I had wanted to decorate sugar cookies with the girls but I didn't want them to get frosting on their princess dresses so I decided to make little aprons for each girl as a party favor. So I spent 5 days sewing aprons out of hot pink fabric with green polka dots and green ribbon ties. I also made little gift bags out of coordinating fabric and ribbon in which to put the aprons and other princess accessories. I ordered sugar cookies from the local bakery and asked them to frost the flower cookies with hot pink buttercream and the butterflies with lime green buttercream so we could just decorate with candy and not worry about frosting them. But when I went to pick them up, they had already decorated the cookies. I was very frustrated but decided to get them anyway. So, I guess the aprons were no longer necessary, but they sure were cute! I wish I had a picture of them. Oh well.

I decided, with a little encouragement from "the queen", to make another princess castle cake for the party. After all, what a better occassion for a castle cake than a princess tea party. Luckily, since this was my 6th one, I was able to make this one in a fraction of the time it took me do the first one a year ago. "the queen" is better a piping than I am, so I baked and frosted the cake, and assembled the castle, and she did the piping and added the silk flowers. I think it turned out really pretty.

"sassy pants" got a personalized cd mix of princess songs for a gift so we turned on the music and did a little Princess Fashion Show/Dance. We had each of the girls walk down the catwalk (through the pink curtain) and pose for the photographer. Then, when everyone had gone down the catwalk, we turned up the music and danced. I think the girls had fun dancing.

The highlight, of course, had to be the surpise appearance of our celebrity princess, Cinderella. One of my best childhood friends has a little sister who was the perfect princess. The girls were so surprised. Most of them just sat silently as she told them of her story...all, that is, except "tsu". She was dressed up as Cinderella, too, and wouldn't stop talking about her dress, and the prince, and the castle, and the mice, and the horse, and the pumpkin...it was so funny! She talks a million miles a minute and doesn't stop to breathe in case someone else might be waiting to talk. I finally had to ask her to let the "real" Cinderella finish telling the story. We took pictures of all the little princesses with Cinderella and I got copies made for each of the girls to put in their little princess picture book that they got in their little bag of goodies.

All in all, I think everyone had a great time, including my little princess"sassy pants". I, of course, was exhausted after the event, but I felt pretty proud of myself for pulling it off without too much drama!! But I couldn't have done it without "the queen" and my good friend, Lisa. Thank you so much!!! Now, I hope that "tsu" doesn't want a princess tea party for her first friend birthday party. I don't know if I have the energy to do this again! Luckily, I have 18 months to think of another idea for her...one that is a lot less work!!

Bah Humbug...

I have lost my Christmas spirit. In the midst of all the present shopping and crowd fighting and Christmas card writing and snow shoveling and kids whining and mom yelling...I've lost my Christmas spirit. I'm not exactly sure where I was when I lost it. I guess if I knew that I could find it. Anyway, it's gone and the chance of it coming back is partly cloudy with a 50% chance of "not likely"!

Yesterday, while shopping with the kids, I was standing at the 1 Hour Photo counter waiting for someone to help me. All three kids were in the shopping cart behind me and I was leaning on the counter as if I could no longer stand without assistance. This was only the 3rd stop on our long "TO DO" list. Behind me, "tsu" and "little dude" were playing a rousing game of "MOM, HE HIT ME" and "STOP COPYING ME" while "sassy" moaned in the back as if she were literally going to die RIGHT THERE! I turned to the ladies that were in line next to me and said, "I will pay you to take them right now!" They, of course, gave each other that knowing look...you know the one your mom gives you when inside she is laughing because it's you, not her, that has to take that child home. Anyway, they both said that they'd "been there" and "done that" and I realized that I would have to take the three terrors home with me after all.

When we got to the car, after threatening to leave them at Costco, I yelled and told them that if they didn't buckle their seat belts right away, WITHOUT MAKING A SOUND, I was going to cancel Christmas!! "tsu"piped up and asked if I could really do that. Of course, I answered "yes"! And we drove home in silence, with half of my "TO Do" list still not done.

So, as you are driving down the street, if you happen to find some Christmas spirit laying lifeless in the gutter, please return it to me.