How to turn 4 in style of course.

According to Jane and Ruby:

1. Receive birthday cards and money in the mail from Gma and Gpa Z. the day BEFORE your birthday. Spend all your money immediately, and then enjoy a dish of ice cream. This gets you in the mood for a good party the next day, on your real birthday.

2. The decorations. No regular streamers will do for these girls. Have your mom stay up WAY too late crafting fabric streamers. Much more stylish.

3. Start the party EARLY. Gives you another chance to model your sleepwear before you get dressed for the day. All early morning styles acceptable at the 7am party. No shirts required.

4. Smile and stretch simultaneously. We always wanted Mermaid Barbie, but boy is it ever early. (p.s. Thank your mom for your crown, it will come in handy all day long.)

5. Get dressed in new birthday outfits (thank your mom again that they are NOT handmade. Sometimes a good outfit from the mall is perfect.), and head out for your lunch date with dad.



6. Lunch date. Don't forget your crown, it will be good evidence that it really is your birthday when the waiters come to your table to sing. Relish the moment. This is your day to shine.

7. Don't spill too much on your new clothes. Lunch should be followed up by your first ever manicure at the Beauty Salon:

8. Matching your nails to your outfit should always be your objective when picking out nail polish color:

9. Score yourself a long afternoon playdate. But don't forget to be home in time for cake decorating and an evening dinner party.

10. Save a few presents to open after dinner. You want to feel the full impact of a day long party!

P.S. How did Grandma Lark know that we were dreaming of having these princesses that come with a prince AND a horse?! She must be a genius.

11. Never forget to say Thank You!! Everyone was so kind and generous all day long. You got so many amazing packages in the mail.

12. Go to sleep with a grin on your face, dreaming about how to turn 5 in style...

Happy Birthday to the Ladies.

They are four today, and oh boy am I feeling nostalgic...




Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Lazy Days Skirt.

Leaves you feeling neither lazy, nor dazed.

This skirt was started at 10:15 pm, and was finished at exactly 11:07 pm (I'm a runner, I love to time events). I'm only sorry the ladies aren't available to spin and twirl right at the moment.

Follow this link HERE if you have an hour to spare today. The only change I made was instead of using ribbon, I made a quick piece of bias tape. Had I used ribbon, this might possibly have been the 30-minute skirt.

I wonder who will want to wear it in the morning? All of my creations are not equally loved by both ladies. It's convenient really, but I will also let them do some of their own design, should the Kelly- green polka dot not be to their liking. Too bad shapeless, elastic waistband skirts aren't equally flattering on the 31 year-old figure, else you know what my closet would be full of, right?!

Nighty-night.

**Fashion update**

Jane picked the skirt.
Ruby explained had the polka dots been green, instead of white, then she would have liked it. Instead she insisted it's Jane's skirt, with the wrong colored polka dots and all.

Just in case you were wondering.

Twice as much fun.

Here's one reason why one computer doesn't cut it around here anymore...simultaneous Princess playing. Awesome way to spend an afternoon.

A discovery on the road today.

With a handfuls of sick children throughout this week, running has been at the bottom of the list. But today was Thursday, and everyone was healthy! So I had a morning all to myself. Due to the before mentioned blizzardy conditions, and then the slushy, melted-blizzardy conditions, my running has been mostly indoors as of late. But today the road was calling, and so I obliged. And the running was profound.

Recently I have come across a few articles about the plight of the young mother (or the mothers of young children), centering around the age old dilemma which we all supposedly encounter of wondering if we are losing our sense of identity, or being lost and forgotten amidst the travails of the task at hand. And it's not just the young mother who suffers such sensations of being lost, over the years hasn't Oprah been championing the cause for all women to "find themselves", and to put themselves first?

So while I was reading the article I was somewhat tired of the subject. I guess I don't feel all that lost to begin with, and therefore don't really understand what exactly I should be looking for. But one comment by a reader of the article particularly perplexed me. It said something along the lines of, "like many young mothers, I have taken to the common hobby of running as a form of escapism..." and then her comment continued on, to which point I do not remember. But that one line never really left me, I guess because it bothered me. I had never really viewed my running as a form of escapism. While I run, I maybe am literally escaping from my house at that particular moment, but I don't think that I had felt like I was wishing to be escaped from all that was in my house. And while the title of running is a nice one to have, I don't think it was ever my intention to possess it. Running was something I had simply found along the way. It is something I do for now. But I realize I may not always do it, and therefore would hate to tie too much of my sense of identity to simply one aspect of my life.

Rather for me I have viewed the running not as an escape, but as my strength training. God in all of his great wisdom decided eons ago to make me a Woman. And in so doing made me inevitably soft and sensitive. A nurturer. A burden lifter. A listener (okay, and a talker, I don't deny it). A multi-tasker. Someone who naturally thinks of others, often before herself. Those are things that women naturally do. And when I decided to become a mother, all of those innate traits suddenly had the most profound way of being implemented. But to do all of those things 24 hours a day, 7 days of a week is never going to be easy. And it requires strength. And therefore, I have to strength train.

With every step I take on my run, I am strengthening my muscles to be able to lift more burdens. I am teaching my lungs to breath deeply and efficiently. With that skill, when my kids want to race me from the elevator to the front door for the 400th time since moving here, I can do so easily, and they derive joy out of the game, which in turn makes me happy that they are happy. With the running I gain insight and peace, which translates into patience and love at home. Because someone is always about to cry around here, and my name is usually the first name called to sooth and make better. But I can, and I do. The running teaches me endurance and stamina, because I don't really foresee the day when my skills of wiping tears away will not be needed by someone. To learn to run a little bit further, a little bit faster helps me train for the days which feel never ending and all together too hard. But I know I can finish them. The run always ends eventually. The running is like depositing money into the bank and saving it for a rainy day. The strength is deposited and ready to be called upon when it is needed, because you never know when someone is going to need to be carried instead of being able to walk for themselves.

But to run to escape? How could it be? Every trail that I choose, ever path that I take, every course that I invent, eventually leads me right back to my home. And the metaphor of that never eludes me.

The title that occurred to me today, is that I am His. I belong to Him. And ultimately that is the only title that matters. We all want to have a purpose. We all want to feel like we belong. But in realizing that I am His, I also get to know where I belong, which is basically all I wanted to know in the first place.

That my days are often filled with mundane tasks; That I do not relish the role of sock matcher, or meal planner, or taxi car driver, or master finder; are all true facts. But that I am trying to give my children a very clear and undeniable knowledge that they belong to me, that they are not in the least bit lost, because I am RIGHT HERE, is truly an edified employment. Until they are old enough to know and understand for themselves that they too are His, I need to make sure that they know that they are mine, and that I give to them that same warm and satisfying feeling of belonging, just as I receive from my Father in Heaven. That is my journey. That is my job. That is my title. And I hope that it is enough.

And that's what I discovered on the road today.

Baby love.

There are no more babies in this house. But these little shoes almost make me wish that there were....(just kidding Darin!)

Or maybe I just wish to have a house full of adorable baby shoes... This tutorial has been bookmarked for far too long. When I saw my sister-in-law Valeria making some, I decided it was time to try some for myself. Nothing is perfect the first time around, but these are slightly heart breaking, are they not?!

Is it okay that I hope that a little piece of Heaven is full of buttons? I thoroughly enjoyed my day off on Super Bowl Monday. Thank you so much Darin.