spring cleaning

Spring is in the air, the blog background has been updated, and I figured it's time for another run-down of what we've been up to (this is, after all, about as close to spring cleaning as I get).

Goodness, things have been busy lately.  Really, though, when are they not?  I suppose that's just life.  I gotta say, though, I'm loving life lately.  It's busy and crazy and filled with constantly wild/grumpy/naughty/screeching hoodlums (and I don't just mean the ones from across the street), but I'm really enjoying it.  I suspect this happy little man has a heck of a lot to do with it.  His smile is just so infectious.  Anyway, on to the update!

I've had some inquiries and, yes, I did celebrate Mardi Gras again this year.  I actually had a mini-party and even splurged on some decorations.  We ate beignets (we fell in love with them after our visit to the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans), andouille sausages with peppers, moon pies, and the absolutely necessary king cake (Miss Scarlett was the lucky finder of the plastic baby Jesus in her piece).  Spence even made some homemade yeast root beer for the occasion.  The chilluns decorated masks and we all danced around like crazies.  I didn't remember to take pictures during the actual shin-dig (shocker, I know;), but I managed to snap a few before the revelries really got going.

My new tulle wreath.  I used this tutorial here, although I used a bigger wreath-form (hence why it looks like it's attacking my door).  I'd like to add more beads and masks and what-not next year, but I ran out of steam this time around.  Oh well, it's good enough for the girls we go with. (you can thank my husband's Uncle Wes for that saying ;)

 Here are some of the decorations and mask-making supplies.  I loved getting the chance to use the random green dishes that my grandma passed on to me. (that statement makes her sound dead.  She's actually still alive.  promise.)  She thinks they're hideous.  I think they're fabulously vintage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I added some semi-edgy blonde streaks to my hair a couple of weeks ago.  I think it's my last-ditch attempt to feel young while still in my 20s.  I'll let you know if it works.

Excuse the bad hair.  I actually pulled it out of my pony to take these pictures.  One can tell.

 Overall, I'm pleased with them.  They're not quite as yellow in real life as they are in the pictures.  I was tempted to do some bright red ones instead but was worried about them fading funky.  I might still do them next time.  We'll see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, the other day I was trying to clean out all of the leaves that have accumulated in our landscaping over the winter (and from the end of last fall when I got sick of picking up leaves and decided I'd leave them 'til Spring :P).  Ezra was willing to help (always unusual).  His big contribution? Engineering ways to prop up the bushes to increase under-foliage access to the leftover leaves.  Gotta love the way his little mind works.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Leap Year only happens once ever four years, I figured it was reason to celebrate.  So, I threw out convention and fed us all banana splits for dinner.  How fun is that?! An extra bit of fun was when Spence (whose not typically the type to splurge) came home with a pricey pint of soy ice cream so that Oak and I could join in the creamy goodness.  How sweet was that?

Thanks Gretchen and Jen for the idea!

Oak fully enjoyed his first taste of ice cream(ish) goodness.  He literally ate every little non-melted piece of both his first and second servings.  Makes his mama proud.

Scarlett was totally posing for this picture.  She's started doing that for most every picture lately.  Why, oh why, am I not surprised?

Both Georgia and Ezra couldn't believe their luck.  Scarlett took the sugary dinner in stride ('cause, ya know, why wouldn't one serve ice cream for dinner, after all?), but E and G knew just how unusual the whole thing was.  They were in heaven.

While enjoying our dinner we got to listen to Ezra long-windededly explain the frequency of leap year to us.  Complain what I will of Ezra, at least the boy listens at school.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had a fabulous 70 degree day the other day.  (there's actually another one forecast for this week.  yay! yay!) The kids ran around bare-legged, I cracked open the windows and baked...it was heaven.  I couldn't resist breaking out my super-duper-secret stash of popsicles for the kids to enjoy. (what, you don't have your own secret stash of frozen treats? well you should.  Breaking one out mid-afternoon is about as close as any mormon mommy can get to happy hour).

Anyway, I couldn't resist taking a shot of The Official First Popsicle of The Year.

Now if that isn't pure joy, I don't know what is.

Oh, on a last note...Georgia's new nickname for Oak?

Zoey.

Someone wanna explain that one to me?

The End.